USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > The pioneer families of Cleveland 1796-1840 Vol. I > Part 31
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38
There is in the possession of the family a very interesting picture of Elisabeth at the age of 19, and recently a bride. It is a fine specimen of feminine fashion of that day, in the early '40s. There are also sat- isfactory portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Ross. But a disastrous household fire destroyed other articles of incalculable value, among them the old family Bible containing much Ross genealogy. On February 22, 1846, - Mr. Ross stood with his wife and daughter watching a patriotic proces- sion pass his store on Superior street. The most attractive feature of
290
1825
STERLING
the parade was a miniature ship several feet long which had been built with great care as to detail by several lake captains of the city, and con- sidered quite an achievement. After it had passed, Mr. Ross requested that one of his sons be sent for to take charge of his store, as he felt ill. He went home to die within a day or two of pneumonia, aged 69 years. Mrs. Ross survived him thirteen years, and in the last part of her life, re- sided with her oldest son, Joshua Ross, Jr., on Woodland Ave., where she died, 1859, aged 82 years.
The children of Joshua and Mary Ross :
Joshua Ross, Jr., b. 1802; m. Abi- gail Roscoe, b. 1802, d. 1866. James Ross, m. Esther Maria Fos- ter, daughter of Capt. Foster. Benjamin Ross, m. Mary A. Coz- zens, sister of Alfred Cozzens.
Joseph Ross, m. Mary Underhill, daughter of Dr. Samuel Under- hill.
William Ross, married and lived in Akron.
Edgar Ross, m. a lady of Lima, N. Y. Sarah Ross, the oldest of the chil- dren; m. Capt. Fred Miller of a well-known Buffalo family, and lived there.
Elisabeth Ross, b. about 1823; mar- ried Capt. Chauncy Stillman of Weathersfield, Conn. She is yet living at an advanced age, the sole survivor of her generation. (She died since above was written.)
Before 1837, Joshua, Jr., and Joseph bought out their father, and under the firm name of J. & J. Ross, carried on a business at 53 Superior street, but relinquished it to him again when the panic struck the town.
Benjamin Ross, under the name of B. Ross & Co., was in partner- ship with his father-in-law, Alfred Cozzens, in the grocery business at 134 Superior Street. James Ross was in partnership with William and Thomas Lemen, grocers, ship-chandlers, soap and candle-makers, etc. In after years, two of the sons kept a wholesale and retail butcher-shop on Ontario street.
The older members of the family were reinterred from Erie Street Cemetery, recently, in the new city cemetery in Warrensville.
1825
STERLING
Some time in the late '20s, two brothers 22 and 27 years of age came to the village from Connecticut and cast their lots with the professional and business men already established here.
They were Elisha T. and John M. Sterling, sons of Gen. Elisha Ster- ling, a Yale graduate of the class of 1787, who lived in Sterling City, a suburb of Lyme, Conn.
Their mother was Alma Canfield, daughter of John and Dorcas Buell Canfield of Salisbury, Conn.
291
1825
STERLING
Elisha T. Sterling engaged in manufacturing and, in time, was presi- dent of the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace, then the largest one in the country making marine engines. In 1837 he had a hardware store at No. 1 Superior Street, and he lived on the south side of Euclid Ave., near the Square.
He married Margaret Tuttle, daughter of Asahel and Sarah Sherman Tuttle of New Haven, Conn., who died at Grosse Isle, Mich., in 1871, having outlived her husband 12 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Sterling had but one child:
Col. James Tuttle Sterling, born Cicil War in the famous 7th Reg.
1834; m. Sarah M. Webster of O. V. I.
Detroit, Mich. He served in the
John Montgomery Sterling was born in 1801 and five years older than his brother Elisha. He was married and had two very young children when he came to Cleveland. He had studied law with Judge Swift of Litchfield, Conn., and at once hung out his shingle on Superior street. Not many years elapsed before he became one of the leading lawyers of the town.
He married Marianne Beers of Salisbury, Conn., in 1824. They lived at 150 Superior St., a two-story brick house east of the Square and later on Euclid Ave. where the Andrews mansion now stands. That part of a new avenue north of Euclid when laid out ran through John M. Ster- ling's property, 300 acres, and it was named for him. It is now E. 30th St.
John M. Sterling, Sr., and Marianne Sterling had 11 children, of whom none survive. They were:
Dr. Elisha Sterling, b. 1825; mar- ried Mary Hilliard, daughter of the early merchant Richard Hil- liard.
Charlotte Beers Sterling, b. 1827; m. Albert G. Lawrence, 28 years of age, of Delphi, N. Y. He died in Belvidere, Ill., she in New York City.
Marianne Sterling, married Thomas P. Rossiter. He was an artist, and one of his paintings hangs in the capitol at Washington, D. C. Susan Fitch Sterling, was drowned in a cistern in 1844, aged 14. John M. Sterling, Jr., born 1832;
m. Louise Roberts, who died in 1894. They had no children.
Harriet Canfield Sterling, b. 1834; married George Brickham of New York City, and died in Atlanta, Ga., in 1896. No issue.
Theodore Weld Sterling, b. 1836; married Susan E. Price. They resided in Paris, France, where he died in 1893.
James Andrews Sterling, b. 1838; died unmarried in Boulder, Col., in 1863, 25 years old.
Laura Willey Sterling, b. 1842; died unmarried in Rye, N. Y., 28 years of age.
Dr. Elisha Sterling received his medical education in France. He practised medicine and surgery in Cleveland many years, and died 66 years of age. He was a striking looking man with a long, heavy, blonde
292
1825
SMELLIE
beard. He had an interesting family, mostly daughters, none of whom now reside in the city.
In his earlier days John M. Sterling, Jr., was engaged in the crockery business on old Water Street. He also was police commissioner of the city. He died in 1908 in Saegertown, Pa., where he had been residing for six months for his health. He had previously retired from active life for some years.
Frederick Sterling, son of Gen. Sterling, and an older brother of Elisha and John M., came to the city in 1849. Frederick Sterling of the firm of Sterling & Co., Dr. Theodore Sterling of Gambier College, and Mrs. Rufus Choate, wife of the New York statesman, are children of the latter.
Three unmarried granddaughters of yet another brother reside in the city, one of them, Miss Alice Sterling, is the principal of Sibley Public School.
1825
SMELLIE
In the winter of 1825 a young Scotchman came to Cleveland with a horse and sleigh. He had driven from Buffalo, N. Y., and must have entered town on a road north of the Public Square, for he drove down to the river, crossed it on the ice, and inquired of some person he met on the West Side, "Which way must I take to reach Cleveland?" and was much astonished by the answer, "You have passed through it."
Gaven Smellie was born in Baillierton, Scotland, in 1801. The date of his arrival in this country has not been preserved. He was a mason by trade, and probably at once found many opportunities for work as soon as he reached here. The following year he married Amanda Norris. Her parents were Abram and Abigail McIlrath Norris, an East Cleve- land family.
Mr. and Mrs. Smellie lived at 198 St. Clair Street. But some time in the early '40s, he purchased and removed to a farm of 100 acres at the corner of Superior and East Madison Ave., now East 79th Street, where he lived until his death in 1879.
Mr. Smellie gave five sons to his adopted country during the Civil War, two of whom were killed in action, and he much regretted that advanced age prevented his own enlistment.
The children of Gaven and Amanda Norris Smellie :
John Smellie, b. 1829; m. Lida Whit- aker.
Susan Smellie, b. 1831; m. Henry G. Pearse.
Gaven Smellie, b. 1833; m. Julia Whitaker.
Charles Smellie, b. 1841. Fell wounded in Battle of Belmont, Mo., 1861, in Civil War.
293
1825
HAYWARD
Amanda Norris Smellie died in 1841. Mr. Smellie married 2nd, Calista Richmond, daughter of William and Betsey Lamson Richmond, November, 1842.
The children of Gaven and Calista Smellie :
Emerson Smellie, b. 1845. Killed at Hickox. Her grandfather, David
Mission Ridge 1863, in Civil War. Hickox, served three years in the
William Smellie, b. 1846; m. Arietta Revolutionary Army.
1825
HAYWARD
Lebanon, Conn., furnished to the little village of Cleveland, in 1825, three brothers who became very prominent citizens, taking an active part in everything that pertained to the welfare of the community.
They were Joseph, John, and Nelson Hayward, and although they came here from Connecticut, probably were of Massachusetts stock, the progenitors of which were William and Marjory Thayer Hayward of Braintree. Joseph and John were married in Lebanon a few years before their removal to Cleveland.
Nelson Hayward remained a bachelor all his life. In 1843 he was elected mayor of the city. Joseph Hayward was a burr millstone manu- facturer doing business on Merwin Street. His wife was a Miss Ann Loomis. Their first residence was on Water street, and later on Bond street.
Their only child was a son, George Loomis Hayward, who served his country during the Civil War.
John Hayward was one of the pioneer printers of the city. He mar- ried Maria Whedon, daughter of John Whedon of Rhode Island, in which state she was born in 1802. Their first home was on the west side of Bank street, and finally on the north side of Superior, between Seneca and Bank.
Nearly all the residences on Superior street, in those days, were connected with business. Usually the store would be in front and the res- idence in the rear, with a side entrance, the second story also being used by the family, which was the arrangement in this case.
Mr. Hayward died, leaving one child, a son, and Mrs. Maria Hayward married secondly, Gen. Alfred S. Sandford, who was born in Connecticut 1805, and came to Ohio in 1829. It is said that his courtship of the widow Hayward was noted with much interest and amusement by neigh- bors and friends. He was very boyish in his addresses, often passing and repassing the house in order to catch a glimpse of his innamorata by an upper window.
His parents were Elijah and Mabel Sandford, and the latter moved in 1832 from Connecticut with her three sons and two daughters to New-
294
1825
HART
ark, Ohio. They were Alfred S., George, Charles, Harriet who married Jacob Mitchell, and Nancy who married Francis Taylor and moved to Indiana. All of these children either lived for a short time or visited the city frequently.
Gen. Alfred S. Sandford belonged to the voluntary fire department. He was commander of the Cleveland Grays at one time, which was the oldest military organization in the city after the War of 1812. His print- ing business under the name of Sandford & Lott, and Sandford & Hay- ward, was carried on through his life, and it printed the first city direc- tory in 1837. He was a fine-looking man, and a popular one. He died in 1888. His only child was Julius Sandford.
William Henry Hayward, son of John and Marie Hayward, born in Lebanon, Conn., was but two years of age when his parents brought him to Cleveland, and lived here the remainder of his life, until 1904. He learned the printing business through his step-father A. S. Sandford, and in time became a partner with him under the name of Sandford & Hay- ward. He became a member of the Cleveland Grays when only 15 years of age, and when he died was one of the last of the original company.
He served through the Civil War, and commanded the 115th regi- ment. In 1846, he married Miss Jane E. Willis.
Their children were:
Maria Hayward, m. Col. Clarence Burke.
William Hayward, m. Helen Loo- mis.
Kate Hayward, m. James E. Adams.
Georgiana Hayward, m. W. F. Roe- der.
Mr. and Mrs. Hayward celebrated their golden wedding in 1896.
Col. Hayward was a prominent figure in all military parades taking place in the city for nearly half a century, and in that time one of the best known men in the community.
His wife came to this city with her mother, Mrs. S. A. Willis, from her birthplace, Cherry Valley, N. Y. She died in her 79th year, at 2917 Prospect Street, which had been her home for 42 years.
1825
HART
William Hart was a prominent citizen of Cleveland for half a century. He came here as early as 1825, when only 14 years of age.
His parents were Judah and Abigail Belden Hart of New Britain and Norwich, Conn., who removed in 1822 to Brownhelm, Lorain Co., Ohio. They died within a few days apart in July, 1824, leaving 8 chil- dren, the youngest but 6 years old. The mother on her dying bed repeated
295
1825
HART
the promise of the Lord, "Leave thy fatherless children and I will pre- serve them."
Twenty years afterward, the brothers and sisters were all living, and all stanch members of orthodox churches. The year following his par- ents' death, William started out to make his own fortune. He came to Cleveland, and learned the trade of cabinet-making of Ashel Abel. In 1834, he was able to establish himself in business at 49 Water Street, where he made and sold furniture. His marriage occurred the same year.
His bride was Elisabeth Kirk, daughter of John Kirk of Cleveland. They began housekeeping at 27 Bank Street, but removed later to St. Clair Street.
Years passed, and he became wealthy. His large wholesale and retail furniture store on Water Street was known all over the state for its great assortment of beautiful furniture.
Mr. Hart was a bluff, warm-hearted man, full of kindness for every one, and his wife much resembled him in charateristic good deeds. They had no children of their own, but Mr. Hart had a number of nephews and nieces living in Lorain County in a rural district, and three of these he brought into his home and legally adopted.
Two of them were twin-brothers, Edward and Edwin Hart, and the third a niece, Emma Hart. Later, he adopted another little girl, who, it is said, was not a relative. All of these children were tenderly cared for, and given the liberal education and business opportunities that the Harts' own children would have had.
The boys were duly taken into the furniture establishment. Emma Hart married Hezekiah Malone, and he also became a partner, and the firm name was changed to "Hart & Malone."
Mr. Hart was a man of deep feeling, and when his sensibilities were aroused, he often showed great tenacity of purpose. Of this a characteris- tic story is told.
His youngest adopted daughter, a pretty girl, attended a private school. Some of her classmates, perhaps knowing that she was not an own child of the Harts, together with the fact that the family lived very simply, snubbed her upon several occasions. After leaving school, one of them married, and her wedding invitations were sent to all the members of her class save Miss Hart.
Her father was furious over the slight, and vowed that when her own wedding occurred, it would be the largest and finest that ever took place in Cleveland. He built a palatial home for his family on Euclid Ave. about half-way between Case and Willson Avenues, now E. 40th and E. 55th Streets, and furnished it in keeping with the exterior, and when the daughter married, he remembered his promise and kept it. But, alas! before the beautiful costly trosseau had time to tarnish or fade, the bride returned to her father's home. Her husband had proven unworthy of her love and trust.
Mr. Hart was induced to invest largely in oil and mining stock after he had retired from business, which turned out worthless. It is claimed that in this matter he was betrayed in the house of his friends, that they unloaded upon him to save their own pocket-books. However that may
296
1825
ELLET
be, he lost the larger part of his big fortune, was forced to give up the beautiful home, and the family went to live in what had been their coach- man's house.
The Euclid Ave. home was sold to Zenas King, who in time resold to L. M. Coe, whose widow still occupies it.
1825
ELLET
Rufus Ellet and his wife Mary Tift Ellet lived north of Euclid Road on a lane which afterward was widened into a street, and named Willson Avenue. The north side of Euclid Road at that point was a sandy hill.
Mr. and Mrs. Ellet had a son Rufus, Jr., who removed to Akron. Pre- vious to that he married Ruth Hudson.
The Ellets also had a daughter Delia. There may have been other children, but the above were all that could be recalled by the "oldest in- habitant."
James Douglas, a cabinet-maker, had a shop in a frame-building at the foot of Superior street, and facing that thoroughfare. His shop was in the west end of the building and on the second floor.
In the spring of 1826, he removed to a lot on the north side of Supe- rior street, and owend by Capt. Levi Johnson. His name is not found in the first city directory, eleven years later, and, meanwhile he probably left town, as there is no trace here of his family.
1825
ANDREWS
John Andrews, a prominent physician of Wallingford, Conn., fur- nished to the village of Cleveland in 1825, a well-educated, unusually tal- ented son, and a few years later, an intelligent, accomplished daughter.
Sherlock J. Andrews was 25 years old, and but recently graduated from Union College, with a supplementary course of legal study, when at the end of his journey from the east he found himself in the small Ohio town upon which, in after years, he was to make such a definite personal impress.
From many sources regarding him, it is gathered that while gifted in a high degree, and remarkably self-reliant for one so young, he was exceedingly modest and unassuming. Ready to face any difficulty, and to assume any legal responsibility required of him, yet, when playtime permitted, boyishly full of fun and frolic.
Mrs. Mary Long Severance, in an interview with the writer, said that
297
ANDREWS
1825
in the vernacular of that day, he was a "cut-up" and the life of the small social gatherings where the successful event of the evening would be his rendition of "Old Grimes is dead," accompanied by various original and mirth-provoking gestures and grimaces. It is related of him by one of his classmates that while preparing for college, he was so full of pranks that it looked as if his love for fun might preclude earnest efforts. How- ever, his long life of fine achievement in the law, in congress, and on the judicial bench suggests that a keen sense of humor may be essential to such a degree of success. He was a Christian gentleman of the highest type, loyal to his friends and his beliefs.
Ursula McCurdy Allen, a young woman made an orphan through the recent death of her mother, naturally longed to join her brother John W. Allen in Cleveland, as soon as circumstances would permit. Within three years this was accomplished. Mr. Allen married Miss Perkins of War- ren, and soon thereafter Ursula took the long journey from Litchfield, Conn., and was welcomed by her beloved brother at his own fireside. The arrival of a young lady endowed with various mental and personal at- tractions, and fresh from the social advantages of a far eastern town, re- ceived immediate attention from the coterie of professional and unat- tached young men of the western one. To Mr. Allen's great delight, Sherlock J. Andrews, his cherished friend, proved to be the favored suitor, and he had the gratification of giving his sister's hand in mar- riage to one he so much esteemed.
Mrs. Andrews was the noble, life-long companion of the young man whose fortunes she joined in her youth. She was his helpmate in her home, in society, and in the church with which they were affiliated.
A story characteristic of Mrs. Andrews' quick sympathies and reso- lute activities is herein given publicity for the first time. In 1879, the writer, while on the staff of the old Cleveland Daily Herald, was assigned the subject of women's employment in the city, especially that of mak- ing garments for the wholesale clothing establishments. The result was a reptition of the "Song of the Shirt" in dismal prose. Conditions were found to be unutterably sad, and the first article of the series on the sub- ject was received with much public comment and commiseration.
By ten o'clock of the morning the article appeared, Mrs. Andrews' carriage stood in front of the Herald office, and she was within pleading to be introduced to the young man responsible for the article, and was much astonished to learn that one of her own sex was engaged in that line of work. And naturally so, for the writer was the second, and at that time the only newspaper woman in the city. When seated and fully launched upon her mission, Mrs. Andrews' bonnet-strings trembled with her excitement. She was eager to assist in the particular cases of pov- erty and over-work, so much so that only immediate pecuniary help could relieve the tensity of her feelings. Several women who were most in need of her ministrations she tenderly guided into more lucrative lines of work, and ministered to their necessities as occasion offered.
The first home of the Andrews family was on Water street, now West 9th St., near where the light-house stands. Dr. and Mrs. Long were their close neighbors, and the Kelleys not far away on the same side of the street. Later they removed to a small house on the Public
298
1825
BARNETT
Square two doors west of the Stone Church, and here two of their chil- dren were born. In 1837, they were living on Euclid Ave., opposite the Opera House. Here their neighbors in time were the Ashbel Barneys, and later the Benedicts.
Judge and Mrs. Andrews died in a stately residence on the avenue nearly to Willson, now E. 55th Street, and were laid away in Woodland Cemetery.
Their children were eleven in all, several dying young:
Sarah Andrews, yet living. Ursula Andrews, m. Gamaliel Her- rick of a Wellington, O., family. William Andrews, m. Miss Gertrude Beardsley.
Harriet Andrews, m. Elisha Whit-
tlesey. Lived in New York City. Cornelia Andrews, unmarried; died recently.
Miss Anna Rodman, a relative from the east, visited the family at an early day, and died here. She was buried in Erie Street Cemetery.
1825
BARNETT
Amenia, Duchess County, N. Y., a small farming district so close to the state line that Sharon, Conn., used to distribute most of its mail, is a spot interesting to many native Clevelanders, as it was the birthplace of several pioneers of our city. Among them was Melancthon Barnett, who figured so prominently in our early history, and who also was the father of General James Barnett whom we lovingly and admiringly term "Our First Citizen."
Melancthon Barnett was the son of James and Martha Barnett, and was born in May, 1789. In the first decade of the last century, he joined the army of young men who, seeing nothing to be gained by remaining on New England's rocky and worn-out soil, poured over into central and western New York. He chose as the site of his future home Cherry Valley, a beautiful spot which also furnished to early Cleveland many noble men and women.
Here, in 1815, when 25 years of age, he married Mary Clark, also of New England birth, and daughter of Capt. Jerome and Annie Clark. Captain Clark was a Revolutionary hero, and fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
In 1825, Mr. Barnett began to receive letters from a boyhood friend of Amenia, and later of Cherry Valley, who had bought a dry-goods store in the little village of Cleveland. He was Thomas P. May, the well-known pioneer merchant of the city. He depicted in glowing terms the future prospects of the place, and urged Mr. Barnett to join him in his new venture.
299
1825
BARNETT
So, in that same year, Mr. and Mrs. Barnett left Cherry Valley and settled in Cleveland. He clerked for Mr. May for a time, but was soon taken into partnership which continued long after they relinquished that branch of business for the more certain and lucrative one of real estate. "May and Barnett" was as much a household word with the feminine element of the town as are some of the immense department stores of today. But one had to go down Superior Street below Seneca to reach it, and a little later the store was in the Commercial Building, near the foot of the street.
Mr. Barnett was also a director of the City Bank, and for seven years was country treasurer. It is said that he was the most capable and scrupulously honest treasurer the county ever had.
The family residence was on Bank street, corner of Lake street. Mrs. Barnett was a delicate woman, and for several years was a semi- invalid. She died in 1840, of consumption, that early scourge that robbed the town of its best men and its most useful women.
Mrs. Barnett was born in New Lebanon, Conn., October, 1793, and first met her future husband in Cherry Valley, whither her parents had moved. She belonged to that type of New England womanhood that found its complete expression in the management of her household, in the self-forgetfulness of service rendered to those she loved best, and in the spiritual training of the children God had given her. What was mortal of her rests in Erie Street Cemetery.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.