USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > The pioneer families of Cleveland 1796-1840 Vol. I > Part 7
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Mrs. Huntington's experiences while living here, her efforts to forget the luxuries of her Eastern home, even its commonest comforts or neces- sities, and conform to the privation, dreariness, and constant ill-health of her present one, must have been an interesting story to those so fortunate
57
1801
HUNTINGTON
as to hear it in after years. She had but two neighbors, Mrs. Spafford and Mrs. Carter, both of whom were almost as unfitted-save in loyalty, courage, and patience-as herself for such a life.
Mrs. Spafford, who was 14 years her senior, lived just west of her, and Mrs. Carter, about her own age, was far away, on the river at the foot of St. Clair, or rather what was to be St. Clair Street. There were yet no defined highways, even Superior Street was but partly cleared, trees yet standing, and stumps everywhere, Water Street but an irregular path.
Mrs. Huntington did not change her name in marriage. She was a Miss Hannah Huntington, daughter of Judge Andrew Huntington and Lucy Coit, the latter a daughter of Dr. Joseph Lahrop Coit, of New Lon- don, Conn. Mr. Huntington was married in Norwich, and all her children were born there. She was 31 years old when she came to Cleveland, and she brought with her six children, the oldest but eight years, and the youngest less than a year old. With her came a young friend and com- panion, Miss Margaret Cobb, who remained here for a time, and then returned East.
Samuel Dodge built a frame-barn for Mr. Huntington, which stood on the same lot as the house, and years afterward it was used for a school- house, and pronounced by a pupil to be quite unsuitable for the purpose, the wind and snow coming in through the cracks between the boards.
Mr. Huntington's Cleveland property included much of what, until recent years, has been extremely valuable real estate. He owned the original lots on Lake Street near Water Street, four lots on the latter street, the lots on the Public Square where the Society for Savings Bank building stands, many lots on the south side of Superior Street, and all land adjoining and including what is now Michigan and Champlain Streets, and probably many outstanding ten-acre lots. It is claimed that there were, in all, 300 acres.
In 1805, he exchanged this for property at the mouth of Grand River, now Fairport, belonging to John Walworth, removed to Newburgh, and lived there a few months, then went to Grand River, where he died eleven years afterward, June, 1817, and a year later Mrs. Huntington followed him. They were laid away in a beautiful spot near the house and overlooking Grand River, one chosen by them for the purpose. Fifty years afterward, the river had so encroached upon the spot that their two sons, Julian and Colbert, had the remains of their parents removed to Evergreen Cemetery in Painesville, and a monument marks their resting-place.
The children of Governor and Mrs. Huntinton :
Francis Huntington, b. 1793; m. Sally White, 1821; d. 1822. eanor Paine, of Chardon, O.
Martha D. Huntington, b. 1795; m. John H. Matthews, M. D., of Painesville.
Julian C. Huntington, b. 1796; m. Adaline Parkman, of Parkman, Ohio.
Colbert Huntington, b. 1797; m. El-
Samuel Huntington, b. 1799.
Dr. Robert G. Huntington, b. 1800; m. Mary L. Fitch. He d. in Ells- worth, Ohio.
58
1801
THORP
The fifth child of the Huntingtons, little Samuel, who, had he lived to manhood, would have been Samuel Huntington 4th, died in Cleveland at five years of age, and was buried here in 1804.
The Governor Huntington homestead was 11/2 miles north of Paines- ville. The property was considered one of the most naturally beautiful estates in northern Ohio. It was purchased recently by a Chardon woman, and includes a large house, two barns, and 17 acres of rich farm land.
1801
THORP
The case of Joel Thorp, quite common a hundred or more years ago, was that of a man well born and living in the heart of New England civilization, taking not only himself, but wife and little children out of safety and comfort, to plunge with them into a wilderness of which he had no previous knowledge.
Joel Thorp was a son of Yale Thorp, of New Haven, Conn. He mar- ried Miss Sarah Dayton about 1792, and in May, 1799, he put his wife and three young children into an ox-cart, and started for Ohio. Their long, slow travel ended in Ashtabula County, 20 miles from any other white family.
He was a millwright by trade, and this occupation took him away long distances from home, so that in the four years they spent in that locality, Mrs. Thorp was left much alone. What inevitably happened to her is so similar to the terrible experience of Mrs. James Kingsbury, two years previous in Conneaut, but a few miles east of the Thorps, that it reads like the same story.
In the absence of the husband a child was born with not a physician or white neighbor within call. A friendly squaw came to her aid, else mother and child would have perished.
Again when Mr. Thorp was called away from home, this time on a trip to Pittsburgh, for household supplies, the family, but for a lucky find, would have starved. Successive rains had swollen the many streams he encountered, and there were no bridges to cross them, thus making his homeward progress slow and difficult. Again and again he was de- tained on the way. Meanwhile the cupboard in the log-hut in the wilder- ness became absolutely bare. In her extremity, Mrs. Thorp emptied the straw tick of her bed in search of the few grains of wheat that clung to the filling. These she boiled and fed to the children.
Still the father did not appear, and one can imagine the anxiety and agony of suspense, and her feelings when her little ones pleaded vainly for food. At this crisis, almost a miracle happened. A wild turkey lighted on a stump near the cabin. Mrs. Thorp loaded her husband's musket with the only charge at hand, and creeping out cautiously, and under cover of brush and logs, she gained a position near enough to fire.
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1801
THORP
Her shot brought down the turkey, and it is to be hoped that it was young and tender so that the starving family had not long to wait for their dinner.
In 1801, Joel Thorp removed to Cleveland, and lived in a log-house on Lake Street, near Water-West 9th. He probably found but little work at his trade, for here he built houses mostly. The tavern for Lorenzo Carter, corner of Superior and Water streets-burned before occupied, was erected by Joel Thorp, and he built Judge Kingsbury's house on Woodhill Road, at its junction with Kinsman.
He lived in the log-house on Lake Street until 1804, and then removed to Newburgh. We find his name with others that year, signed to a protest against the election of Lorenzo Carter to head the little company of Cleveland and Newburgh militia, organized at that time.
In 1809, he built the schooner "Sally" of from six to eight tons, and he may have used her to take his family and household goods to Buffalo, to which place he removed a year or two later.
In the War of 1812 that broke out soon after, he commanded a com- pany of sharpshooters and was killed at Lundy's Lane.
When the British and Indians burned Buffalo, the widow and her seven children lost everything but the clothes they were wearing and a set of silver teaspoons that Mrs. Thorp had concealed in the bosom of her dress.
The family managed to get back to Newburgh. How this was accom- plished without money for the journey, and stripped of the necessities of bedding and cooking utensils, cannot be imagined. The Newburgh people were very kind to the Thorps. Judge Kingsbury and Israel Hubbard gave the boys employment and shelter. Mrs. Thorp in time married again.
Her second husband was Peter Gardinor, who, it is said, met with sudden death. Mrs. Thorp lost her own mother in childhood and an only brother, Bezaleel Dayton, and herself, were raised by a step-mother.
Mrs. Thorp died at the residence of her youngest son in Orange- this county. Two sons and a daughter removed to Michigan.
Children of Joel Y. and Sarah Dayton Thorp:
Julia Thorp, m. Jason Ticknor ; lived in Buffalo, N. Y.
Bezaleel Thorp, m., 1823, Polly (Mary) Brown, dau. of Nathan and Mary Clark Brown.
Lewis Thorp, b. 1798; d. 1859; m. Anna Preston in 1822; 2nd, Elva- ritta Sadler, 1847.
Warren Thorp, m. Hannah Burn- side.
Dayton Thorp, m., 1825, Catherine Countryside.
Diantha Thorp, m. Isaac Lafler; lived in Detroit, Mich.
Ferris Thorp, m. Mary Bell.
Children of Bezaleel and Polly Thorp:
Caroline Thorp, m. Orvill T. Palmer. Mary Adaline Thorp, m. Thomas C.
Bleasdale. (Mrs. M. A. Thorp- a widow-is living in Collinwood,
at the age of 83, a wonderfully preserved and intelligent woman.) Milon Thorp, m. Cornelia La Rue.
60
1801
THORP
1
Children of Warren and Hannah Thorp:
Jane B. Thorp, m. Henry Clark. Alpheus Thorp, m. 1st, -; 2nd,
Harriet Thorp, m. Lewis Harring- ton.
James Thorp, m. Catherine Weeks; 2nd,
Cynthia Barber.
Joseph Thorp, m. Melissa Norris.
Maria Thorp, m. Daniel Gardner. Wesley Thorp, m. Malinda.
THORP
A family of Thorps came to East Cleveland from Pennsylvania in 1811.
The head of it was Benjamin, aged 42 years, and his wife, Auronche Polson Thorp, a year younger than himself. They brought with them at least four children. To these may have been added others who were Ohio born.
Cornelius Thorp, b. 1769; d. 90 Jane Thorp, b. 1806; d. 27 years old.
years of age. His wife, Phebe John P. Thorp, b. 1809; d. 23 years Norris, d. in 1874, aged 69 years. of age. Elisabeth Thorp, b. 1802; d. 25 years old.
Eleanor Thorp-who may have been of the same family-was mar- ried, in 1819, by Rev. Thomas Barr to Abraham Norris.
This family is buried in the cemetery adjoining the Congregational Church on Euclid Ave. in East Cleveland.
In 1825 Ezekiel Thorp married Esther Bemis.
1800
In winter of 1800-1801, Lorenzo Carter's family was the only one re- maining in Cleveland Hamlet. All other pioneers had removed to New- burgh or "Doan's Corners."
The mail came always by way of Pittsburgh, reaching this locality . once in two weeks; continued west on an Indian trail to Huron, O.
1800
AXTELL STREET CEMETERY
In this spot was laid away the dead of Newburgh, beginning with the year 1801 and ending in 1880. Over 3,000 bodies are said to have been buried there. The cemetery was located north of Broadway, on what is now East 78th Street, and comprised about eight acres. After the de-
61
1800
AXTELL STREET CEMETEY
struction of Cleveland's first burial place on Ontario Street, the Axtell Cemetery was claimed to be the oldest one in the county.
It was sold by the city in 1880 to the Conotton Railroad, and within a few months following the sale the grewsome task of removing the bodies began. "Ashes to ashes," through 50 to 80 years of burial, and beloved forms-the falling clod upon their coffins yet haunting the bereaved, so recent was the interment-all carted away.
All? Not so. Only a short time since an excavating machine was at work on the site of the cemetery, and the big crane swinging to dump the earth, emptied on the frightened, foreign workmen the skeleton of a man. It had been scooped up entire-not a bone displaced. To whom did it once belong? No one could answer.
Many descendants of Newburgh pioneers refused to reinter their dead in Harvard Grove Cemetery-recently laid out-but brought the bodies to Erie Street Cemetery-then a beautiful "God's Acre" yet rev- erenced by the community-or, to Woodland Cemetery, two miles nearer. Both of these belong to the city. The first one is marked for destruction, and the last one awaits the certain greed of real estate dealers and an easily coerced city council.
Inscriptions in Harvard Grove Cemetery, indicating a few of the graves that had been removed from Axtell Cemetery:
"Polly, wife of Israel Lacey, died in 1812, aged 15 years 7 mo. 2 da."
"Suckey, daughter of Parker and Betsey Shattuck, in 1811."
"Dortha Thomas, wife of George Thomas, died 1812, aged 39 years."
"Oliver Seely died March, 1817, aged 50 years."
"James Payne, died 1819, aged 73 years."
"Mary Anne, wife of Samuel Dille, died 1818" (almost obliterated).
"Sarah Camp Baldwin, died 1818, aged 36 years."
"Samuel Smith Baldwin, d. 1822, aged 46 years."
"John M. Gould, d. 1826, aged 66."
(Several other Gould family graves.)
62
1802
CAPT. TIMOTHY DOAN
Timothy Doan, of Middle Haddam, Conn., and, later, of East Cleve- land, was an elder brother of Nathaniel Doan, of Doan's Corners. Like his father, Seth Doan, he was a sailor, and by the time he was 30 years of age owned his vessel, and carried his own cargoes between this country and the West Indies.
His last voyage of this kind was a disastrous one, for he suffered shipwreck and lost his boat and the load of sugar and molasses with which it was freighted.
Meanwhile, he had married Mary Carey, aged 20 years, who was born on Long Island in 1763.
When he returned to his wife and home with the news that he had lost nearly all his worldly possessions, she received it calmly, and assured him that she would much rather have him home penniless and in safety than to endure the life of loneliness and anxiety she had led while he was away and prosperous.
They then left Haddam for Herkimer Co., N. Y., that Mecca toward which, at that time, many faces were set. But a few years' sojourn there showed that little was to be gained by the move, and in 1802 they set out to join Capt. Doan's brother Nathaniel and their son Seth, who had gone to Cleveland four years previously.
The family consisted of Capt. Timothy Doan, aged 43, Mrs. Doan, 39 years old, and five children, the oldest being a daughter aged 18, and the youngest aged 3 years.
They traveled in a two-horse sleigh, accompanied by a large sled drawn by oxen, and took with them a cow, some sheep, etc., which members of the party took turns in driving.
When they reached Buffalo, a disappointment awaited them. It was in the middle of winter, and they had expected to find Lake Erie frozen over so that the journey from Buffalo to Cleveland could be made on the ice close to the shore. But the weather was unusually mild for the sea- son, and nothing but open water stretched as far as the eye could reach.
It was then concluded that the wisest course would be to have Capt. Doan and son Timothy go on with the horses, oxen, and cattle, leaving the rest of the family to follow when it seemed expedient. The experience of the father and son in driving their animals through the wilderness, often swimming ice-cold streams backward and forward-once thirteen times-before persuading all the animals to cross over, was one of almost incredible hardship, while the women fared alike, though not in degree, when they undertook the journey a month later. The latter started in an open boat, accompanied by two white men and an Indian, and kept close to shore so as to camp on it at night. When off Fairport, a storm swept suddenly down upon them, and before they could land the boat was swamped, and everything in it received a soaking-bedding, clothing, tent, and provisions.
There were several occupants of the boat who openly rejoiced at the accident-a crate of tame geese destined to be the first progenitors of their kind in the county. They were carried far out into the lake, made their escape from the crate, and swam gleefully back to shore, only to find themselves again in captivity.
Judge Walworth, who had not as yet traded his farm with Samuel
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1802
CAPT. TIMOTHY DOAN
Huntington for Cleveland property, was watching the approaching storm, chanced to espy the boat, and hastened to the beach to be of assistance. Nathaniel and Timothy Doan were also there, having come on to meet the party. Mrs. Doan concluded not to risk the safety of herself and younger children any longer upon the lake, but to finish the journey, ac- companied by Nathaniel, on horseback. It proved like jumping from the frying-pan into the fire, for not many miles farther on she had to cross a dangerously swollen river in a frail canoe that persisted in landing its occupant a quarter of a mile from the landing.
The family arrived in Cleveland in April, 1801, and remained with Nathaniel Doan at Doan's Corners until their own log-house was ready for occupancy. It was located in a hickory grove on Euclid Avenue, six miles from the Public Square, and on a farm of 320 acres, which Mr. Doan purchased for about a dollar an acre. Food was very scarce and difficult to obtain that first winter, and the hickory nuts lying thickly on the ground about their cabin proved valuable adjuncts to their bill of fare. Their nearest neighbors were a tribe of Indians encamped close by, and soon the children of the white man and the red were playmates and close friends.
Timothy Doan was soon made a justice of the peace, and associate judge when Cuyahoga County was organized in 1810. He assisted in the organization of Trinity Church, and was chosen for one of its first vestry- men.
He died in 1828, aged 69 years.
Mrs. Doan died in 1848, aged 85 years.
It will be observed that Sarah Adams Doan and Mary Carey Doan, in spite of their frequent motherhood and great hardship, lived to be very aged women, and outlived their husbands, one for 20, and the other 40 years. They were exceptionally fine, New England women, who bore more upon their shoulders than their share of life's vicissitudes. Both had to see their children, at times, go hungry, or ill, with no physician to turn to for help or encouragement. And both trod alone the long years of widowhood. Miss Mary A. C. Clark gives a beautiful pen-picture of Mrs. Timothy Doan in her sketch of East Cleveland women in the sec- ond volume of "The Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve," of which this work is but a continuance.
The children of Timothy and Mary Carey Doan:
Nancy Doan, b. 1783; m. Samuel Dodge. Brownson, of Columbia, Lorain
Seth Doan, b. 1785; m. Lucy Clark; 2nd, Joanna Wickham.
Timothy Doan, Jr., b. 1787; m. Pol- ly Pritchard; 2nd, Mrs. Nancy Russell.
Mary Doan, b. 1789; m. Daniel
Co. Deborah Doan, b. 1796; m. Jeddiah Davis Crocker.
John Doan, b. 1798; m. Ann Olivia Baldwin; 2nd, Sophia Taylor.
Seth and Timothy, on account of the persistent mispronunciation of their surname, making it two syllables-Do-ane-dropped the final "e," and thenceforth wrote their name Doan.
64
1802
CAPT. TIMOTHY DOAN
Major Seth Doan came to Cleveland with his uncle Nathaniel three years in advance of his parents. He was the 13-year-old boy who played the part of hero in the first months of his residence in the hamlet when his uncle's entire family were ill with malaria, and their only food un- ground corn. He seems to have remained with and near his uncle after his parents' arrival, and, in 1812, was living at Doan's Corners. He was evidently a man of affairs, although no mention of his business is given. He was a director in the first bank in Cleveland-the Commercial Bank of Lake Erie-organized in 1816. In 1836 he was living at 35 Prospect Street. His wife, Lucy Clark, whom he married in 1808, was the daugh- ter of David Clark, the pioneer. She died in 1828, leaving three chil- dren. Joanna Wickham, whom he married four years later, may have been the daughter of the Wickham whose worn headstone is to be found near the main entrance of Erie Street Cemetery. None of the Seth Doan posterity seem to have saved any record of her. She was 33 years of age at her marriage. She died in 1859, twelve years after the death of Seth Doan. The latter and both wives rest in Erie Street Cemetery at the left of the main drive.
The children of Seth and Lucy Clark Doan :
David Clark Doan, m. Catherine Sherwin Gardner.
Lucy Roberts. Seth Carey Doan, m. Rebecca Bell
Margaret Adeline Doan, m. Alonzo McKnight.
David Clark Doan was a business man. He died in 1861. His wife was the daughter of Hon. Clark H. Roberts, of Connecticut, a prominent man of that state. She was born at the old homestead near Robertsville, in 1816, and was married at 18 years of age. She was an active member of the Cleveland Dorcas Society, and exceedingly kind-hearted and gen- erous. She died in 1893.
Alonzo S. Gardner, as A. S. Gardner and Co., was in the grocery busi- ness at 66 Superior Street in 1836. He changed his business and was best known as a crockery merchant. He bequeathed to his children the reputation of being a scrupulously honest man. He died in 1891.
Mrs. Rebecca Doan, born in 1822, left a personal record to be envied by her sex. She was one of those women that people instinctively turned to when in mental trouble or in physical suffering, certain of sympathy, wise advice, or immediate help. She was a blessing to all the newly-made mothers of her acquaintance, and when death came to a household, she was there to comfort and assist.
Timothy Doan, Jr., married, in 1809, Polly Pritchard, daughter of Jared Pritchard, of East Cleveland, who was a pioneer from Connecticut. Her sisters Anna and Sally married Horace Gunn and Samuel Potter. They had an only brother, Baird Pritchard, who married Julia Pardee. Polly was very pretty, and considered quite a belle. She had six children, and died of consumption while comparatively young.
Timothy Doan, Jr., married 2nd, Nancy Calkins, widow of Alanson Russell. She had two daughters, who were very fine women, and a son, George Russell. After Mr. Doan's death she married William Custead,
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1802
CAPT. TIMOTHY DOAN
living on Euclid Avenue, on the corner of a street bearing his name, which was changed to Genesee Avenue, and now is known as East 82nd Street.
The children of Timothy and Polly Doan :
Jared Pritchard Doan, m. Mary R. Samantha Doan, m. Edward W.
Lewis. Slade.
Seth Doan, m. Jane E. Waring.
Mary Ann Doan, m. Darius Adams. Norton Doan, m. Lucy Ann Sawtell.
It is said that J. P. Doan lived part of his life, at least, in Columbia, Lorain Co.
Darius Adams was a well-known East Cleveland citizen. He and his wife lived to celebrate their golden wedding.
Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Slade, in 1837, were living in the city at 16 Bank Street. He was a painter and glazier. Their children had fine minds. One was a brilliant young lawyer.
George and Norton Doan lived and died on sections of the original Doan farm. The latter was named for Elisha Norton, first postmaster of Cleveland, and a connection of the family.
John Doane, the youngest child of the pioneer, did not drop the final "e" of his name, but retained it through life. He always lived within the limits of the old farm on Euclid Avenue. While still very young, he was sent to school at Newburgh, his teacher being a Spafford, either Mrs. Craw or Mrs. Stephen Gilbert. As it was miles from home, he boarded there through the week. He became lonesome and frightened because the wolves howled so at night.
There is a fine picture of John Doane in Kennedy's History of Cleve- land. The face is gentle and refined-looking. He was born in 1789, and lived to see Cleveland's centennial year. He was a genial man, much loved by his kin, and respected by his neighbors. He was called "Uncle John" by all the community, irrespective of relationship. He always at- tended the annual meetings of the Old Settlers' Association. If his face was an index of the man, he must have been a lovable character. He was a constant reader of newspapers in his old age, and was so blessed as to have received the gift of second sight. He was thus enabled to discard his spectacles forever and read without them. He died in 1896. His first wife was a daughter of Seth C. Baldwin, who lived in the Doan tavern for a time. She died young, leaving no children. Her half-brother, Dud- ley Baldwin, was a well-known citizen.
Children of John and Sophia Taylor Doane:
Mary Doane, b. 1823; m. late in life, George P. Smith.
Abigail Doane, b. 1825; m. Lafay- ette Pelton.
Edward B. Doane, b. 1828; m. Au- gusta Chapman.
Ann Olivia Doane, b. 1829. Hannah Sophia Doane, b. 1831. John Willis Doane, m. 1833; m. Margaret Marshall.
66
1802
BRONSON, OR BROWNSON
Samuel Bronson married Mary Doan, of Connecticut, daughter of Timothy Doan. She was born in 1789, and lived in East Cleveland. Samuel Bronson was one of the early settlers of Columbia Township, now Lorain. Mrs. Bronson died in Elkhart, Ind., probably at the residence of a daughter.
Children of Samuel and Mary Bronson :
Maria Bronson, b. 1806; m. George Whitney.
Lucy Bronson, b. 1813; m. Amzi Morgan.
Amanda Bronson, b. 1809; m. Alan- son Whitney.
Mercy Bronson, b. 1817; m. S. M. Comstock.
Nancy Bronson, b. 1811; m.
Martha Bronson, b. 1819.
Lay.
1803 ELISHA NORTON
FIRST POSTMASTER OF CLEVELAND
Elisha Norton, who, in 1803, married Margaret Clark, daughter of David Clark, was born in Goshen, Conn., and was the son of Aaron and Martha Foote Norton, who removed with their family of twelve children to East Bloomfield, N. Y. Elisha came to Cleveland, and his brother Aaron and sister Betsey settled somewhere in the Western Reserve. Bet- sey married Roswell Humphrey. Elisha was 22 years old when he mar- ried Margaret Clark.
David Clark carried on a trade with the Indians, and probably kept a limited stock of merchandise in his dwelling, and this was transferred across the street to larger quarters after Elisha Norton married his daughter and began to assist him in his business. For, early the follow- ing winter, Elisha bought lots 40, 50 and 51 on the corner of Superior and Water streets for the sum of $80. There had been a house on this property built and occupied by Ezekiel Hawley, who had gone out on Broadway to live. Whether the purchase price included this dwelling or it had been removed by Hawley is not known.
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