USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > The pioneer families of Cleveland 1796-1840 Vol. I > Part 30
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(3) Then came the shop of Abram Hickox the blacksmith, an eccen- tric but fine character. His sign read something like this: "Can I get my horse shod here?" "Yes, sir." Later he built a carriage-shop west of it and on the same lot.
(4) A small house where lived Jonathan and Mrs. Bliss. Jonathan Bliss died of malarial fever, in 1823. His adopted doughter married Herchel Foote, and the family afterward moved to the north-west corner of the Square, where Marshall's drug-store is now situated. Here they kept a book-store for years. Deacon Rouse succeeded them there.
(5) The residence of Hiram Wellman. He removed to Massillon, O.
(6) Stephen Dudley's dry-goods store. He was unmarried, a gay, young fellow, much liked think he went to Buffalo, not certain of it.
(7) William Bliss, his residence and shop. He was a goldsmith and kept silverware for sale. Stoughton Bliss, a son.
Between 7 and 8 a wide, vacant lot.
(8) A double-front store and dwelling built by Elisha Taylor. East side of it was occupied by a dry-goods and general merchandise store. He sold out to T. P. May, who lived here and carried on the business for many years.
(9) William Duckworth's drug-store and residence. Fine people. They returned east to live.
(10) Store, post-office, and residence of Irad Kelley. The only brick structure on the street, and built previous to my remembrance .* The Kelleys, in later years, lived out on Euclid Avenue.
(11) Residence of my uncle Ashbel Walworth, set back from the street a few feet. He removed later to a farm. His home there was where the Friendly Inn now stands.
(12) Custom House and office of Ashbel Walworth. Dr. David Long, Alfred Kelley, and James Root came to Cleveland about the same time, all young and unmarried. They became warm friends, and roomed to- gether in this office, taking their meals at Judge Walworth's. The three young men were warmly welcomed in the community, and they were made as comfortable as circumstances admitted. Root was disappointed in the town and returned east.
Between 12 and 13, and far back in the lot, stood the log-house built by Samuel Huntington. In it I was born. It was my parents' first resi- dence.
* It faced Bank Street.
281
1825
RECOLLECTIONS OF MRS. MARY LONG SEVERANCE
(13) Dr. Long lived here before he built on the corner of Superior and Seneca streets. No. 2.
(14) Office and store kept by Dr. David Long.
(15) Residence and shop of Deacon Moses White.
(16) Ben. Tuell, a silver-smith. (Nothing is known of subsequent history.)
(17) Benjamin Rouse, in 1830, removed to corner of Public Square later. The first family living here, whose name escapes my memory, all died.
(18) William Stockwell. His step-daughter married J. G. Hogan. Mr. Stockwell died of cholera in 1834, leaving no children.
(19) Silas Walworth's store and residence. He made and sold hats, dealt in leather, etc.
(20) Merwin Tavern, built by Amos Spafford, in 1802. Occupied by George Wallace, in 1809, and by Noble Merwin, in 1811.
NORTH SIDE OF SUPERIOR STREET, BEGINNING AT THE PUBLIC SQUARE
I. Herchel Foote's book-store. In the late '30s kept by Benj. Rouse.
II. Three small houses built by Reuben Champion. The first ones in village built to rent. The site of the first newspaper plant. The Adver- tiser, which two years later became the Cleveland Herald.
III. On this corner was David Burrough's blacksmith shop and resi- dence. He removed to Newburgh later.
Large vacant lot north-west corner of Seneca St.
IV. Tavern built and occupied by George Wallace before War of 1812. He sold out to Michael Spangler.
V. Residence of Leonard Case, a small frame-house.
VI. Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, from 1816 to 1842. Alfred Kelley, president; Leonard Case, cashier.
Back of this bank and facing Bank Street was the little log-house occupied by the Stiles, the first Cleveland settlers, now used for various purposes.
VII. The store of Peter M. Weddell. Adjoining it to the west, his residence.
VIII. Wide lot, in the center, Levi Johnson's residence. Carpenter shop in rear of lot.
81/2. Home and small liquor-store, later occupied by N. E. Crittenden the jeweler.
IX. Philo Scovill's tavern, The Franklin House.
282
1825
SOCIAL LIFE IN CLEVELAND IN AND PREVIOUS TO 1825
IX1/2. Orland Cutter, auction store.
X. 2nd Residence of Nathan Perry. First one back of store and on Water Street.
XI. Store of Nathan Perry.
Nearly all the residences and stores on Superior Street before 1835 were small, and close to the sidewalk.
1825
SOCIAL LIFE IN CLEVELAND IN AND PREVIOUS TO 1825
Entertainment was of the simplest kind. Often the hostess lacked chairs enough to seat her guests, and neighbors were called upon to help out.
Dishes, etc., were frequently borrowed in the interests of hospitality.
Sometimes, when a house was too small to entertain comfortably, bed- steads would be taken down, and with other furniture set outside until festivities were over.
(One cannot realize the extent of this sacrifice to friendship who has never witnessed the ceremony of roping an old-fashioned bedstead. It took time and muscle to make the rope taut enough to prevent its sagging.)
In those primitive entertainments any one who could sing, recite poetry, or was gifted with any other modest accomplishment, would in- variably be pressed into service for the benefit of the company.
Social hours were between six and ten o'clock of an evening, and rarely extended even in the event of a ball.
It was not uncommon to see two young people on one horse, and bound for a dance at some tavern in East Cleveland, Brooklyn, or at Rocky River. The young man would be astride and guiding the animal, the young woman seated behind him, and with both arms around his waist to steady herself.
Judge Kingsbury's house on Kinsman near Woodhill Road was a favorite resort for the young people of Cleveland hamlet and village. Without any special invitation they would end a merry sleighride at this very hospitable home and be warmed and fed before returning to town.
283
1825
CLARK
"An ancestor of an ancient line Who came with the Pilgrims o'er the brine, The captain's mate (on a pilgrim bark) Bearing the name of Thomas Clark,
At length became a man of renown Among the settlers of Plymouth town."
Judah Clark, sixth generation in line from the above "Mayflower" ancestor, was living in Conway, Mass., in the last quarter of the 18th century. His wife was Abigail Freeman Clark, one of the many inter- marriages between the Freemans and the Clarks.
Mr. and Mrs. Judah Clark had a typical New England family, eleven children, of whom five died in infancy, and only one of the remainder left posterity.
Of these one was a son, Edmund Clark, who became a pioneer mer- chant and banker of Cleveland. In 1825 he was living in Buffalo, N. Y., and was twenty-six years of age, when he was offered a partnership with Peter M. Weddell, who had a dry-goods store at the corner of Superior and Bank streets, the site of the Rockefeller Building. This partner- ship lasted but five years, as Mr. Clark became interested in other lines of business and withdrew permanently from the dry-goods trade.
He became president of the Cleveland Insurance Company, treasurer of the first railroad project, and a director of the Commercial Bank of Lake Erie. From the latter he withdrew and engaged in private bank- ing, out of which grew the National Bank of Cleveland, the sixth one in the country.
In connection with Richard Hilliard he invested in real-estate which proved exceedingly profitable.
Mrs. Edmund Clark was Anna Maria Billings, daughter of William and Polly Williams Billings of Conway, Mass. She was a beautiful woman, of charming personality, admired and beloved. Her chief accom- plishment was a fine voice, with which she gave pleasure to the church in whose choir she sang and often in private entertainments. She lost three children in infancy.
The only living child of Edmund and Anna Maria Billings Clark was Henry Freeman Clark, b. 1839. He married Eliza S. Crowell, daughter of John Crowell. They were married in 1859, in old Trinity Church.
Edmund Clark's home, at first, was on the corner of Superior and Water streets, where the Perrys had been living. He then built a home on the south side of the Public Square. The west end of the May Com- pany's department store covers the site. Here the family lived many years, and here Mr. Clark died.
His portrait hangs in the library of Mrs. Eliza S. Clark, his son's widow. There also hangs a beautiful childhood portrait of the late H. F. Clark.
"The funeral of Edmund Clark was held at his residence, south side of Public Square, Jan. 2, 1862; a large concourse of the older citizens was present." His pall-bearers were Orland Cutter, Philo Scovil, H. B. Payne, Joseph H. Crittenden, George C. Dodge, Joseph Perkins.
284
1825
OVIATT
All of the above names save the last one will be recognized as Cleve- land pioneers.
1825
OVIATT
In May, 1825, Marvin Oviatt of Richfield, O., came to town and en- gaged in mercantile pursuits.
He was full of life and ambition, was confident of Cleveland's future prosperity, and sanguine of his ability to manage his affairs so that, when the time came, he would be well established in business and share with others in the future that awaited them.
He built a three-storied brick block on the old Carter site, corner of Superior and Water, now West 9th St. The grading of those streets in 1830 in order to lower the steep hill between Water Street and the river left this building high in the air; so high that there was ample room to place an additional story under it. Nathan Perry's store was on the other corner of the two streets and his residence over it. He nearly monop- olized the Indian trade and the Oviatt family often watched those dusky sons of the forest cross the river, and gleefully leave it with guns, ammu- nition, trinkets, etc.
Mr. Oviatt's business ventures proved disastrous. He tied up all his ready capital in them at or before a time when there happened to be an almost total absence of money in the community, leaving him in sore straits which was taken advantage of by men waiting for just such opportunities. This experience was not confined to Marvin Oviatt.
The great fortune of one Cleveland financier at least was founded and increased largely by the business misfortune of some of the early pio- neers of the city.
After some years of plucky effort to retrieve his fortune, Mr. Oviatt returned to Richfield. His wife was Mary Foote of Norfolk, Conn., daughter of Luther and Mary A. Phelps Foote.
Her grandmother was Asahel Phelps. She was a finely educated woman and an intimate friend of Mary Grant Ballister and a teacher in her school at Ipswich, the first ever started for the higher education of women of limited means. It culminated in Wellesley College.
Mary Foote came to Ohio with her sister, Mrs. Anna Pomeroy Bald- win, to be a companion for her in the wilderness of Portage County. Here in 1818 at the age of 23 she married Marvin Oviatt. Most of her after life, excepting the few years' sojourn in Cleveland, was spent in Richfield, and she died in that place aged 81 years.
She was small and slight with a fair complexion and very dark eyes. She was very proud-spirited and possessed remarkable energy. Her passionate love of flowers often took her out of her bed at four o'clock in the morning in order to gain time to cultivate them.
285
1825
NOBLE
Like other women of her day, she spun and wove blankets, sheets and linen cloth for domestic use.
Interested in all religious and social happenings, her fine mind and conversational powers drew to her side many warm friends both in Cleve- land and Richfield. Among the former were Mrs. Long, Mrs. Merwin, and Mrs. Weddell.
The children of Marvin and Mary Clark Oviatt:
Schuyler Oviatt, m. Charlotte, Celia Oviatt, born in Cleveland;
daughter of James W. Wells of married Baxter Wood of Medina, Richfield, O. 0.
Tracy Oviatt, m. Eliza Towne of Hudson. He was a clergyman.
Virgil Oviatt.
Don Carlos Oviatt.
Edward Oviatt, a lawyer, lived in Akron, O.
Schuyler Oviatt lived in Cleveland many years a successful and hon- ored business man.
He was a member of the Old Settlers' Association, and not long before his death made a valuable and interesting address before the society. He had a son James Oviatt and a daughter Charlotte Oviatt. The former died previous to his father's demise. His last residence was on East 82nd Street.
1825
NOBLE
In 1826 the first house-moving took place. Philo Scovil had been keeping a drug-store, and living in a small story-and-a-half house on the north side of Superior street half-way to Water street, and he had con- cluded to buy this lot belonging to Nathan Perry, and put up a large tavern. And the small house would either have to be pulled down or moved off. The latter recourse was made possible through its purchase by a young carpenter who had been living and working in town for the past five years, was about to be married, and wanted the little house for a home for his bride.
His name was Henry L. Noble, the son of Martin Noble of New Lisbon, N. Y. He was but 22 years old when he left New York State to seek his fortune in Cleveland, and it gives pleasure to state that he found it.
We can imagine the interest or curiosity of the adult members of the small community, and the excitement of its children as the building made slow progress up Superior Street. How it reached its destination, the lot upon which now stands the east end of the Society of Savings Building, whether through the Square, or skirting its north-east corner, we have no means of knowing. The trees, and the stumps of old ones not yet grubbed out, must have been great obstacles in the way, and often
286
1825
NOBLE
threatened disaster, but the little house eventually was safely landed upon the lot, and not long afterward curtains at the windows and a girlish figure flitting in and out of the door proclaimed that it was occupied.
Mrs. Hope Noble, or "Hopy," as she was affectionately called, was a slender, blue-eyed woman, very ambitious and energetic. She was the daughter of Gideon Johnson of Bethany, Conn. Her mother was a Crit- tenden, and may have been related to N. E. Crittenden, who afterward lived on the corner of the same lot.
Mr. Noble must have been a superior workman, for soon he had more work than he could accomplish single-handed, and employed other car- penters to assist him. These were boarded in his house, which means that his wife was doing her part toward the competency they both had in view. And doubtless, she stood in the door of her home and watched with pride the old, volunteer fire department, commanded by her husband, march through the Square. It was a social passport, those days, to be even a member of it, and to be "Chief" was distinction.
Two years after his marriage, in company with such men as Sher- lock J. Andrews, John W. Allen, James S. Clarke, etc., Mr. Noble was organizing Trinity Church, erecting a building for it, and serving as vestry man. In 1836, he helped to incorporate the City of Cleveland, and he was the man who, as councilman, offered the resolution to buy the first lots upon which to build public schools.
Ten years after their marriage, we find Mr. and Mrs. Noble living at 90 Ontario street. He had sold the half of his lot facing the Square to C. M. Giddings and John W. Allen. The latter had erected a tall, brick house, New York style, upon the site of the old one, and Mr. Giddings had built an elegant stone residence on the corner, facing the Square, and close to the Ontario street side. This was afterward occupied for many years by N. E. Crittenden.
Mr. Noble retained the north end of the lot, reaching to St. Clair street, and here built a nice home for himself, facing Ontario street. Henry Gaylord afterward lived here, and other early Cleveland people.
Another flitting, this time to Euclid Ave., where Mr. Noble died in 1842 at the age of 53.
The children were :
Henry Martin Noble, who became Evaline E. Noble, who married in a civil engineer, and lived in Mar- 1861, William G. Yates.
quette, Mich.
The first-born, little Eliza Noble, was severely burned at six years of age, and died from the effects of it.
The family rests in Woodland Cemetery.
287
1825
MAY
Thomas P. May came from Amenia, N. Y., in 1825, and bought out Elisha Taylor's store of dry-goods and general merchandise, doing busi- ness on the south side of Superior street. It had a residence attached to it, and here he lived for some years.
Amenia is on the western border of Connecticut, and close to several Connecticut towns, and its mail often comes to Goshen, as being more con- venient.
In New Britain, Conn., lived three Judd sisters, all charming girls, the daughters of Belah Judd, who was a soldier in the War of 1812. Major Judd was a civil engineer by profession. It is said that he came to Cleveland in 1825 with his daughters, after a short sojourn in Cherry Valley, N. Y.
Thomas May married Jeanette Judd, who was born in 1793, and her two sisters coming on to visit her met their fates in the shape of two young Cleveland men, whom they married.
Mr. May sent for Melancthon Barnett then living in Armenia to assist him in the store, and a little later took him into partnership, and until 1839, they did a flourishing business under the firm name of "May and Barnett."
Mr. May invested in a ten-acre lot on Erie Street and built a home, its front facing Superior. The eastern end of that street ended at Erie, and for some years Mr. May was hounded by city officials, backed by those interested in having Superior street extended through his prop- erty. He was a man of strong character, and refused to give up the homestead he had established with much pride and pleasure, setting out fruit of all kinds, flowering shrubs, and a large flower-garden, and as long as he lived he succeeded in retaining it. It was a charming home in which was dispensed unfailing hospitality of the old-fashioned kind.
Mrs. May was an estimable and large-hearted woman who won the love of all who knew her. Her health was delicate, preventing her from mingling much in society, but her circle of friends included every one who had been early residents of the city, their children, and the mem- bers of her church, to all of whom she showed a personal interest.
Her two sons were handsome little fellows in youth, and her two daughters inherited, or were influenced by their mother's strong per- sonality.
William May was for many years one of the editors of the Cleveland Herald. He was a ready and brilliant writer; a warm-hearted and gen- erous man who died young.
He married first, Miss Cook, who lived but a year; 2nd, Miss Eva E. Ferrell, daughter of Isaac Vrooman and Catharine Truax Ferrell of San- dusky, but formerly of Schenectady, N. Y.
William May's health failed, and having an interest in some mining property in Mexico, he went there to look after it, and at the same time experience a warmer climate. His search for health was futile and he died at Tehuantepec. He left a young, interesting widow and three pretty little daughters, one of whom died in girlhood.
Helen May, daughter of Thomas and Jeanette May, married Bur- ritt Horton of the firm of Alcott and Horton, wholesale dry-goods, whose place of business was on Water Street.
288
1825
MAY
He came from Medina, Ohio, and after a few years removed to New York where Mrs. Horton died. He afterward married into the Vander- bilt family.
George W. May married a Miss Amelia Chapin, who was a sister of Mrs. J. G. Holland, wife of the author.
They lived in a pretty cottage back of the May homestead on Muirson Street. The May grounds extend back to beyond this street. He also died leaving three daughters:
Minnie May, who married Charles Chamberlain of Brooklyn, N. Y. Sarah May, m. Edward Lawton of Troy, N. Y.
Elisabeth May, m. a Mr. Maitland
living in Manchester, England.
Katharine May, daughter of Thomas and Jeanette May, never mar- ried. She continued to live in the old homestead until sold to the city, but remained in town all her life. Like her mother she had a strong and interesting personality, and her friendship or interest in any one was considered a valuable social asset. She had beautiful, curly hair, that after it had grown gray made a striking frame to her face which was of an oval, aristocratic type. At her death, by previous request, her body was taken to a crematory in Pittsburgh and reduced to ashes, an event quite unusual, almost exceptional in her circle of friends.
In some way, the large and unincumbered property left by Thomas May slipped away from the family. The bulk of it was left to the widow, Jeanette May, who in turn bequeathed what remained of it to her only living daughter Katharine. And at the latter's death the agent or admin- istrator, a relative living in New York, claimed there was little left. So far as can be learned, no accounting of the property was ever furnished to the heirs.
The only survivors living in the city are Mrs. Eva May, widow of William, and her daughters Nelly May and Jeanette May Barnum, liv- ing on the west side of Doan street near Hough Ave.
Mrs. Eva May is an aged lady of the old-fashioned type now almost extinct. Her mind is stored with memories of the city in which she has lived since early womanhood. A fine conversationalist, her voice, her inflections, her choice of words, the apt turn of speech, all indicate that upon her birthright of gentle breeding has been engrafted a lifetime of constant reading, of keen but kindly observation, and of long social experience.
Deeply interested as either of her daughters in public events, alive to every religious or socialistic question of the day, she is as much a companion for them as one of their own age could be. Years of sor- row and anxiety have left her untouched by indifference or bitterness.
Nellie May, following the example of her aunt Katherine, or "Kate," as she was called, has never married, and, as might be expected, is a very interesting personality.
Jeanette May married Frank S. Barnum, son of David and Virginia C. Barnum of Norwalk, O. He is an architect of proved ability and has been employed for many years by the Board of Education in designing and supervising the city's public schools.
289
1825
ROSS
Joshua Ross married Miss Mary Eayrs in the Old North Church of Boston, Mass. The family of the bride were residents of that city, and the young couple began housekeeping there. But Mr. Ross became quite a rover because of his inability to be easily satisfied with conditions ex- isting in Boston and in other towns and cities to which he moved and re- moved, so that by the time he reached Cleveland, about 1825, the older children of his family of nine must have become quite cosmopolitan through their many previous changes of residence. He was a merchant, also a chandler, and eventually manufactured soap and candles on a large scale at the end of Champlain Street, under the hill.
His wholesale and retail grocery was in the old Hancock Block, number 93 and 95 Superior Street, north-west corner of Seneca. Back of the store and facing Seneca street was for some years the family residence. He afterward built several houses, occupying them one by one. The last one was on Woodland Ave., then called Kinsman street. It was in the neighborhood of the Burnhams, Bradburns, etc., and there he died.
After vacating the Seneca street home, it was occupied, from time to time, by other well-known families of that period. Mr. Ross's young- est child, Elisabeth, now Mrs. Stillman, aged 87 years, was about two years old when the family came to Cleveland, and ten years later her older brothers were married and in business for themselves. About 1838, Mrs. Ross concluded to visit her girlhood home in Boston, and at the same time place Elisabeth in a finishing school in which a sister of Mrs. Ross was a resident teacher. For many weeks previous to their journey, the little girl watched the making of pretty garments, and patiently submitted to tedious fittings of school and "best" dresses, and when, at last, all was finished, she surveyed her new, first trunk, packed to overflowing, with much complacency. If one had to be separated from parents and home, what could be more sustaining than such a handsome and complete wardrobe?
Mr. and Mrs. Ross and Elisabeth made the journey to Boston via the Hudson River and New York City. Upon reaching the latter, it was found that the precious trunk had been stolen on the way, and poor Elis- abeth had nothing to wear save the clothes she happened to have on her person. She cried herself to sleep as she thought of the pretty silk dresses in that trunk, the silk stockings, and gay slippers. In the morn- ing, she refused to go on to school. As the youngest of her parents' flock, she had been used to much laxity of parental authority, and there- fore gained the day, Mrs. Ross continuing the journey alone, and visit- ing her relatives in Boston, while Mr. Ross and his daughter retraced their steps home.
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