USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > The pioneer families of Cleveland 1796-1840 Vol. I > Part 36
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Children of Cyrenus and Anna Stilson Ruggles:
Danforth Ruggles, m. Elmira Jew- ett.
Mary Ruggles, m. Hiram Ruggles, her cousin.
Caroline Ruggles, m. Nathan Rob- inson.
Laura Ruggles, m. Amasa Scoville; removed to Michigan.
Dr. Philo Ruggles, m. Abigail An- drews.
Cyrenus Ruggles, m. Eunice Ross. Octavia Ruggles, m. Samuel Pease. Cyrus and Seymour Ruggles, died unmarried.
Jarius Ruggles, m. Lydia Alvord Kellogg.
Rufus Ruggles, m. Eliza Ingersoll. Henry Ruggles, m. Minerva Rath- bun.
1828
CORLETT
William B. Corlett and his wife, Jane Cannell Corlett, arrived in Newburgh, in 1828, from the Isle of Man. Accompanying them were their daughters, Margaret and Jane Corlett.
The party traveled by canal-boat from Albany to Buffalo and from thence to Cleveland on a vessel. The captain of the latter would stop at every port, get drunk, and remain long enough to sober up, then start his craft on its way again. Consequently, it was six weeks on the trip.
The Corletts purchased a farm in Newburgh of Mr. Ellsworth, the original land-owner. They built a log-house and lived seven years in it without a door or window. When the ground was covered with snow, the deer would congregate about the cabin at night, huddling against it to keep warm.
Mrs. Corlett was a charitable, industrious woman. She spun and wove every yard of flannel used in her family from the time of her mar- riage until her death.
William B. Corlett was a blacksmith as well as a farmer.
339
1828
KELLEY
Children of William B. and Jane Corlett (not in order of age) :
Margaret Corlett, m. John Collister, D. S. P. Charlotte Corlett, unmarried.
.Christian Corlett, m. 1st, DeWitt Saxton; 2nd, William Thare.
William Corlett, unmarried.
Mary Corlett, m. John Quayle.
James E. Corlett, m. Mary Day. Charles C. Corlett, m. Isabelle Cor- lett.
Of the above only Mrs. Mary Corlett and Mrs. Isabelle Corlett are living in 1913.
1828
KELLEY
Capt. John Kelley of Virginia, born 1760, served in the Revolution- ary War. He married in 1780 Mary Manning, who died 1840. One of their family of 13 children was Dr. James Manning Kelley, born 1787. He served as a surgeon in the War of 1812.
He married in 1807, Laura Howe, 19 years of age, daughter of Dr. Samuel and Mabel Dudley Howe. After the death of her husband in 1834, Mrs. Kelley resided with her daughter Mrs. Joseph Crittenden of this city until her death in 1844.
There are several Cleveland women yet living who were personally acquainted with Mrs. Kelly, and she is remembered by them as a lovely, refined woman. She was interred in Erie street cemetery.
The children of James M. and Laura Howe Kelly were prominent in the business and social life of early Cleveland. They were:
Dulcina Kelly, b. 1811; m. Henry L. Sexton.
Eliza Ariadne Kelly, b. 1814; m. Joseph H. Crittenden.
James Howe Kelley, b. 1815; m. 1st, Emily Hussey, daughter of Rich- ard, by whom he had 12 children. He m. 2nd, Mrs. Emily E. Carr, and 4 more children were added to the family. He lived in Cleve- land from 1828 to 1856, then re-
moved to Racine, Wis. He died 1905.
Madison Kelly, m. 1st, Elisabeth Phelps of Painesville, O. He came to Cleveland from Canandaigua, N. Y., about 1828, and was a prominent citizen, taking part in all municipal proceedings of weight. He died in Cleveland, in 1879.
The children of Madison and Elisabeth Phelps Kelley:
Daniel Phelps Kelley, d. 1854. John M. Kelley.
Elisabeth Phelps Kelley, m. John M. Brayton.
Charlotte A. Kelley, m. Jerome T. Perkins (one child, John Ford Perkins) .
340
1829
OMMICK
The second wife of Madison Kelley was Julia A. Barlow.
Children of Madison and Julia A. Barlow Kelley :
Grace E. Kelley, m. George E. Jew- Barten ( ?).
Robert John Kelley, m. Mary C. Cal- ett. James M. Kelley, m. Parmeley Gray vin.
The family was living in 1856 at 186 Kinsman street. The burial lot was in Erie street cemetery, but changed recently for one in Warrens- ville.
1828
OMMICK
John Ommick was a well-known blacksmith of the East End. He came to Cleveland from New Jersey. His wife, Eliza Rockefeller, was a very superior woman. She was raised in a New Jersey home in easy circumstances, and much refinement. Her marriage to Mr. Ommick gave her family great offense, and from thenceforth she was completely estranged from it. Mr. Ommick was a good, industrious man, whose life and character were above reproach.
Children of John and Eliza Rockefeller Ommick :
Eliza Ommick, m. J. F. Hill. Mary Ommick, m. Louis Dibble.
Marian Ommick, died unmarried. John Ommick, m. Mrs. Warner.
Charles Ommick, removed west.
In one of the city directories the name is spelled Ammock.
1829
SANDFORD
Although a pioneer printer and publisher doing business on Superior street near Water street, and senior member of the firm of Sandford and Lott, old residents associate Alfred S. Sandford with local military af- fairs rather than with business interests. He was a first-class man in both respects, though had circumstances permitted in his youth, he would have found West Point and a subsequent army life more to his taste than the job-printing and book-binding to which fate had assigned him.
He was born in Milford, Conn., in 1805, the son of a sea-captain who had a large family to support, and Alfred was obliged early to strike out
341
1829
SANDFORD
for himself. He went to Albany in search of work and from there to Rochester, N. Y., where he learned the shoe-trade. Incidentally, he became a member of the crack military company of the town-the Rochester Grays.
He was 24 years old when he came to Cleveland and five years later, 1834, he founded the firm of Sanford & Lott, succeeded in recent years by Short & Forman.
The first city directory of 1837 was printed by Mr. Sanford. That lit- tle book has been invaluable to the writer of this history, enabling her to secure the names of families living in Cleveland previous to 1840, and where residing at that time. This work could not have been accomplished had Sandford & Lott failed to publish that directory, for the next one was not issued until 1845.
Alfred S. Sandford married Mrs. Maria Hayward in 1833. She was a widow and had one child, W. H. Hayward. In after years at the retire- ment of Mr. Lott, Mr. Sandford's step-son was taken into the business, and the firm became "Sandford & Hayward."
But the Civil War broke out, and Col. Hayward enlisted in the serv- ice, leaving Mr. Sandford to conduct the business as sole proprietor.
He was one of the veterans of the volunteer fire department, and was the second captain of the Cleveland Grays. As the head of the state mili- tia, he acquired the title of "General," by which he was designated for many years of his life.
Mrs. Maria Hayward Sandford was a handsome, vivacious woman, greatly admired in her day. Her son, Col. William H. Hayward, inher- ited her good looks. He also was connected with local military affairs. Nelson Hayward, one time mayor of the city, was his uncle.
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred S. Sandford had one child, Julius R. Sandford, who lived all his life in the city and died past middle age.
Col. Sandford lived to be 83 years old. He died in 1888, Mrs. Sand- ford in 1890.
Elijah Sandford, brother of Gen. Alfred S. Sandford, was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1812. He came to Cleveland at an early age and clerked for Sandford & Lott at 87 Superior street. He made his home in those years with his brother's family.
Some time subsequent to 1840, Elijah Sandford left Cleveland, re- maining away some years. He went into business for himself in Newark, O., and in New Orleans, returning in 1863 to become the partner of Col. W. H. Hayward by the purchase of his brother Alfred's interest in the business.
Elijah Sandford's patriotism was of rare degree. When the Civil War broke out he was proven exempt from service, but he paid bounty to a substitute and sent him to the front.
Mr. Sandford was a member of the Cleveland Grays, but never took a leading part in military matters as his older brother. He was consid- ered a fine business man of unswerving integrity.
He remained a bachelor until nearly 50 years of age, and then mar- ried Miss Elisabeth Hughes, daughter of William Hughes of Cincinnati, an estimable woman who at once won the friendship of all Mr. Sandford's relatives and associates. She is an active worker in Trinity Church.
342
1829
TIEBOUT
George Tiebout was originally from Greenpoint, Long Island, but had been living in Rochester, N. Y., previous to 1829, the year he came to Cleveland. He was then 30 years of age. He engaged in business as a vessel agent and in coal-mining and shipping; afterward he was cor- responding secretary for the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Co.
He married 1st, Elisabeth Fitzpatrick who died in Cleveland about 1829, the year they arrived here. He married 2nd, Martha Wilson, daugh- ter of John and Anna Aram Wilson. She was ten years of age when left an orphan by the death of her parents. The Tiebouts lived at No. 59 Ontario street at the time the first directory of the city was issued in 1837. Later they resided on the West Side. They were a very refined family, and th members of it were much respected and admired.
Children of George and Martha Wilson Tiebout:
Margaret Tiebout, m. Willet Ran- ney. Frances Tiebout, m. Charles F. Lin-
Martha Tiebout, m. 1st, George Wil- scott.
lis; 2nd, Charles B. Randolph.
1829
JONES
Herefordshire, England, on the banks of the little river Wye, fur- nished two families to the village of Cleveland, the members of which became useful citizens, several, indeed, honoring the city of their adop- tion by national reputations. John P. was U. S. senator of Nevada.
Thomas and John Jones had no money to spare when they left their English homes, but they possessed what was of more lasting value, talent, industry, self-respect, and ambition. The older of the brothers had also a wife and several children.
Thomas Jones, Sr., was a mason and marble-cutter, and he found plenty of work when he reached here in 1831. He established marble works on the corner of Prospect and Sheriff streets, which were carried on by his sons long after he had gone to the Better Land.
The family residence was on Erie, now East 9th street, directly back of the Hickox building, north-west corner of Euclid Ave. and East 9th street. That corner was a big vacant lot, where played the large family of Jones children and nearly every other boy in town to keep them com- pany. Between the Jones homestead and Superior street was a grove of trees, and the south side of Euclid Ave. several rods below Erie was covered with oaks, as was also the site of the Cleveland Trust Co.
Children of Thomas and Mary Powell Jones :
Thomas Jones, Jr., m. Mary Ann U. S. Senator John P. Jones, m. a Freeman.
California lady.
343
1829
JONES
Judge James M. Jones, m. Erminie
Burrows, daughter of Harman and Leonora Burrows of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. William Jones, m. Helen Root. Henry Jones, unmarried. Mary Jones, died young.
Cornelia Jones, m. Edward Gor- ham.
Frederick Jones, m. Mary Murray. Caroline Jones, m. George Lester. Frances Jones, m. Alonzo Hamilton. Samuel and Edward Jones, unmar- ried.
John Jones, brother of Thomas Jones, Sr., came to Cleveland in 1829. He was but a lad of 17 years when he arrived nearly penniless, and a total stranger. But pluck and energy won out, and before life ended he had become financially independent. He conducted a livery and transfer business. His home was on Huron street at its junction with Erie, now East 9th. The site is now occupied by the Cafe Bismarck.
Mrs. John Jones-Mary Mason-was a woman of fine physique, and attractive manners. Her children inherited her good looks to even a greater degree. Her only daughter after her marriage to Judge Hamil- ton, lived beside her parents on Huron street until her own children were well grown, when the family removed to an elegant stone residence on East 89th street.
Children of John and Mary Mason Jones :
William S. Jones, m. Mattie Clark.
Mary Jones, m. Judge Edwin Ham- Orville Jones, m. Maria Swain. ilton.
William S. Jones was a civil engineer by profession, but engaged in other lines of work. He was city auditor for seven years, and president of the Citizens and Savings association. Both of John Jones' sons were men of honest, moral lives, and much honored and appreciated.
1830
Town Trustees-N. C. Crittenden,
Population-1075. Postmaster-Daniel Worley. Thomas May, Edmund Clark. President of Trustees-Richard Hil- liard. Recorder-James L. Conger. Treasurer-Daniel Worley. Marshal-Silas Belden.
1830
Euclid Ave., corner of Muirson street, sold for $100 an acre.
Henry Still and wife died and were interred in Erie street cemetery.
Married. "John C. Granger of Painesville, Ohio, to Sarah Maria Phelps of Cleveland." (Herald.)
344
1830
ST. JOHN
Died. Lucintha, wife of James S. Clarke. (Erie street cemetery.) Married. Russell Bratt and Olive Chapman. (Herald.)
Died. Zibbe Willes, aged 33 years. (Erie street cemetery.)
Euclid Ave. is yet but a narrow road scarcely more than a wagon- track with trees and bushes crowding its sides beyond Erie street, and the houses on it mostly poor and dilapidated.
1830 TO WHOM DID IT BELONG? (From The Cleveland Advertiser)
"Found, On the morning of August 12, 1831, a portable trunk, which on examination in the presence of witnesses, was found to contain female wearing apparel, very rich, and of much value.
Said trunk was found between the wagon-tracks, upon the Brooklyn end of the bridge crossing from Cleveland to Brooklyn. The owner may recover same by proving property and paying charges.
JOHN D. HEACOCKS, Brooklyn."
1830
ST. JOHN
When, in the War of 1812, the British and Indians burned the hamlet of Buffalo, N. Y., one house, on Main street, was left standing unharmed among the ruins. It belonged to Mrs. Margaret Kinsman Marsh, widow of Gamaliel St. John, formerly of Norwalk, Conn., who had been drowned in Niagara river a few years previous. Moreover, a large store-house belonging to her was also left unmolested through her tact and powers of persuasion. She was a woman of remarkably strong character, and that this trait was transmitted in a marked degree was evidenced by the lives of her children and grandchildren who were pioneers of our sister city and also of our own.
The Cleveland Herald in 1820 records the marriage of her daughter Sarah St. John to Samuel Wilkinson "all of Buffalo, N. Y." This daugh- ter and her sisters Aurelia St. John-Mrs. Asaph Bemis-and Caroline St. John-Mrs. Jonathan Sibley-passed their long and prosperous lives in Buffalo universally recognized as the city's society leaders. The two younger sisters removed to this place as brides. They were Maria St. John, who married Asaph Fiske, and Martha St. John, who became Mrs. Orville Bird Skinner.
As girls, the St. John sisters were fine-looking women who always dressed in the height of fashion. Their mother was prosperous in busi- ness investments, and liberal and indulgent with her children. Previous
345
1830
ST. JOHN
to their marriages Maria and Martha St. John often visited in Cleveland, and their arrival settled all questions of style either in clothes or man- ners.
Madame Severance recalls the sensation they created, one fall, by appearing in church and upon the streets in long velvet capes lined with red or blue satin.
"Quite such elegance was overwhelming to our small frontier town," remarked Mrs. Severance.
The eldest son of the St. John family was John R. St. John, born 1805, who made Cleveland his home some years before it was incorporated as a city; when, upon that event, he became councilman from the first ward. In 1839, he was chosen chief of the volunteer fire department. He was at that time a dashing young man, handsome, alert, fiery of speech, irresistible in persuasion, who could sway a crowd at will by his impetuosity and his eloquence. He married late in life Susan Amelia Harley of Rockport, N. Y. He was living in New York City in 1857, one of the firm of Houghtaling & Co. He died in 1868.
Orson St. John, M. D., was the youngest son of Madame St. John of Buffalo. He was living in Cleveland as early as 1832, for he was one of the three physicians appointed by the city council to constitute a board of health to cope with the threatened menace of Asiatic cholera.
Dr. St. John stood high in his profession, which he followed in this locality and in Willoughby through all his life. He married Louise M. Card of the latter place, and afterwards made his home in that town, though keeping in touch with the medical profession in Cleveland. Dr. St. John's residence in the city was on Erie street near Euclid. The Lenox building covers the site of his home. His only daughter Margaret St. John was a beautiful woman in person and in character.
Children of Orson and Louise Card St. John:
Thomas St. John, b. 1842; died 19 Gamaliel St. John, b. 1848; m. Geor- gia Boyden.
years of age.
Margaret St. John, b. 1846; m. Wal- Orson St. John, Jr., b. 1852.
lace C. Andrews of Cleveland.
Wallace C. Andrews, who married Margaret St. John, was a wealthy Standard Oil man, and removing to New York, lived there in a beautiful home in a fashionable part of the city. One day, April 7, 1899, while the wife and three children of Mrs. Andrews' brother, Gamaliel St. John, were there on a visit, a terrible gas explosion wrecked the house, killing Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. Gamaliel St. John, all three of the St. John children, and two servants.
The homestead in Willoughby and two million dollars were left by will to found an industrial school for girls in Willoughby. No use was made of the bequest for many years, but finally, in 1911, the school was started on a small scale. Gamaliel St. John married again, and died in New York.
Mary Bemis, a daughter of Mrs. Aurelia St. John Bemis of Buffalo, married Frank Thompson, a young lawyer, and came to Cleveland as a
346
1830
ST. JOHN
bride in January, 1835. They lived in a house on Champlain street be- longing to the Skinners. The following September, Mrs. Thompson sent for her younger sister Catherine Bemis, who remained with her until spring. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson removed to Flint, Mich., where the latter died in 1836. The recollections of that visit, its happenings, and adventures, the personalities of the people she met, etc., remained with Catherine Bemis through a long life that terminated in this city in the 7th year of the present century. She married John Bartow of Flint, Mich., and was the mother of the late Capt. John Bartow, Jr., of this city, and Mrs. Joseph Card of Brookline, Mass. She made her home with her son during her declining years. In her old age, she belonged to literary socie- ties, often spent more than half the night in reading, and kept herself well posted in Congressional proceedings. She assisted the writer' in many instances by her reminiscences.
She told that the winter of 1835 was a lively one in the little village; parties, dances, sleighrides, etc., followed closely one upon the other. There was a furore over chess that winter, and every one who could play the game skillfully was in demand. It superseded every other quiet amusement or game. Those who excelled in it, and therefore warmly welcomed at the fireside, were John E. Lyon, Eben Ward, Judah Colt, and George Merwin. (Judah Colt married a sister of Morris and Tower Jackson of Cleveland.)
Madam Bartow spoke enthusiastically of the general culture and re- finement that existed in the small town; its hospitality and good breed- ing were proverbial. She mentioned many well-known names in this particular, among them that of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Hicks, most delight- ful people who lived on Water street in a fine home, either in the Whit- aker house or one next to it, where they entertained often.
Mr. and Mrs. Asaph Fisk lived for a time on Huron street. His health failing, they removed to Kentucky, trusting that the climate of that state might prove beneficial. But it was unavailing; he died, and his widow, Maria St. John Fisk, returned to Cleveland. While in Ken- tucky, and in the midst of her uneasiness and anxiety regarding her hus- band's illness, Mrs. Fisk underwent one of the severest tests of womanly courage and strength. Her little Hiram, four years of age, strayed away from home, and was never found. Joining her efforts with others who were unceasing in their search for her child, she walked miles day after day, climbing, wading, suffering all kinds of exposure and fatigue. There were yet wild animals in that region, and at last she concluded that the little fellow perished because of them. Her other son, John St. John Fiske, in after years lived and died in Colorado. Her only daughter, Calista Fiske, married 1st, Orson Phelps, a prominent hotel man of Buf- falo; 2nd, Dr. Talbot.
347
1830
SEAMAN
John Seaman was the son of John and Elisabeth Seaman, whose home was near Saratoga, N. Y. His father died when he was a mere lad, and he was brought up in the family of Orin Sage of Rochester, N. Y., and by him taught the trade of shoemaking. The relation between employer and apprentice was often a pleasant one, followed by life-time friend- ships.
Mrs. Seaman was Cleora Augusta Stevens, daughter of Levi and Lucy Boynton Stevens of Middlebury, Vt. They removed to Rochester, N. Y., when she was a child. At seventeen years of age she was married and started on a wedding trip to the village of Cleveland at the period when the wedding-bonnet was a green calash, and the long journey made by canal-boat and stage-coach. Her parents in after years followed her to Cleveland and died here. Mrs. Lucy Boynton Stevens is said to have been a lovely woman.
The population of Cleveland when the Seamans arrived was about 1000. With W. T. Smith, under the firm name of "Seaman and Smith," Mr. Seaman started a boot, shoe, and leather-store at 41 Superior street. The Seaman homestead was at 117 Seneca street, and the family were charter-members of the First Baptist church, which, in those days, met in a little upper room of the St. Clair street school-house corner of Acad- emy Lane, now headquarters of the fire department. So poor and strug- gling was the village life, that the oil-lamps the society used for evening services were seized for debt. The elegant and costly structure corner of Prospect and Kennard streets is the child of the small society of 1832.
Mrs. Seaman sang in the choir, and was a leader in all its social and religious affairs. Three of her younger children died, and her health became affected. She was sent to Philadelphia to recuperate, and while there to pass away the time, she attended medical lectures in the Women's Medical College of that city. She always had had a taste in that direction, had a large library of books on hygiene, etc., and had studied the subject. Upon her return to Cleveland, she longed to add to the medical knowledge she had gained while away, so Mr. Seaman fitted up a comfortable arm- chair in the little gallery of the small Homeopathic college in Cleveland that she might continue hearing lectures, as it seemed an excellent way to take her mind off the loss of her children, and keep her well.
She entered the examinations in competition with the men, and stood third or fourth from the top. Her success encouraged other women to follow her example, and the college, taking alarm, closed its doors to women. Backed by sympathetic friends, Mrs. Seaman started a medical college for her sex, which existed until the larger one was again willing to receive students of both sexes.
She began practising medicine in a quiet way, but never pushed herself, never hung out a sign, or went out of her home, but was very successful in helping women who, from the nature of their illness, could not or would not go to men physicians.
Her husband's income was sufficient for all her needs, and she began by making no charge for her advice or treatment until she found herself imposed upon; after which she exacted a small fee from those able to pay it, and used that money to assist the poor and unfortunate.
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1830
WALL
One room in her house was called the "Lord's room," and sufferers beyond help and given up by the doctors were cared for there. Her daugh- ter remembers a helpless, bed-ridden woman with her limbs drawn up through the agony of pain, being lifted from the alley in which she lived and carried into this room where she remained several years, and so helped was she by the kindness and skill there received that she was able to walk with the aid of a cane, and leaning upon it, she was one of the sincerest mourners at Mrs. Seaman's funeral which occurred in 1869. The latter died while on a visit to her daughter, Mrs. Lucy Bainbridge, in Providence, R. I.
Children of John and Cleora Seaman:
Henry Seaman, m. Louise Barr of Charles Seaman, m. Carrie Athon of Buffalo. Indianapolis.
Lucy Stevens Seaman, m. William
F. Bainbridge of Elmira, N. Y.
Mr. and Mrs. John Seaman rest in Woodland cemetery.
1830
WALL
Edward Wall, 27 years old, a boot and shoe-maker, left Wales in 1830, and crossed the sea to try new fortunes in the small village on Lake Erie. Mrs. Wall accompanied him, not willing to wait until he had be- come established here, and then travel alone to join him. They were a happy young couple when Edward had started his shop at 114 Superior street, and the household furnishings had been arranged to advantage at 69 Seneca street.
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