USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > The pioneer families of Cleveland 1796-1840 Vol. II > Part 4
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William Cleveland married in 1832 Miss Martha Burrett Brooks of Pittsford, Vt., twenty-three years of age. She was the daughter of Joshua and Melinda Kieth Brooks, and sister of O. A. Brooks of Cleve- land. The family lived at 78 Water street. Some time in the '40s the three Cleveland men removed to New Orleans, La., where they re- mained some years, doing business in the cotton exchange of that city. They returned north and William Cleveland died in 1887 at Orange, N. J., aged eighty years.
Children of William and Martha Brooks Cleveland :
Martha Brooks Cleveland, b. 1833; m. Ruel Keith.
Caty Caldwell Cleveland, b. 1835; died 1886; unmarried. Mary Elisabeth Cleveland, b. 1839. Sarah Cleveland, b. 1845.
William Joshua Cleveland, b. 1849; the only son of the family became a noted Indian missionary in Da- kota. He married Hannah Stite- ler of Philadelphia, Pa.
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1832
BINGHAM
Aaron P. Cleveland remained unmarried until some years following his removal to New Orleans.
George Cleveland, who joined his brothers here in 1832, married Elisabeth Sandford, daughter of Col. Nathan and Elisabeth Mead Sand- ford. She died in 1838.
Children of George and Elisabeth Sandford Cleveland :
James Cleveland. Mary Tisdale Cleveland.
Elisabeth S. Cleveland, m. Charles George Bowen Cleveland. A. Devill. Catey Caldwell Cleveland.
1832
BINGHAM
In the thriving little town of Utica, N. Y., one August day in 1804, a middle-aged man on horseback was surrounded by a group of people. One could readily infer by the expression on the faces looking up at him that something unusual was taking place.
1 The man was Deacon David White of Coventry, Conn. His right hand held the bridle of his horse, the other clasped close to his breast a young babe, the only child of his daughter Fanny White, who with her hus- band Flavel Bingham had just died of typhoid fever and had been laid away, side by side, in the small Utica cemetery.
The good deacon was starting on his return trip to Coventry from which place he had been summoned by the news of the double bereave- ment, and was carrying the little orphan with him. It was a pathetic scene, and the many friends of the young couple who so recently had been of their number, stood with sad faces, and one by one with words of sympathy bade Deacon White a Godspeed on his journey.
The little child he held in his arms was Flavel White Bingham, who in future years was to become Judge Bingham and a mayor of the city of Cleveland. He was tenderly reared by his prandparents and given all pos- sible advantages of culture and of education. He graduated at Union Col- lege, studied law with Gen. Joseph Kirkland, in his early manhood practised in Utica in an office on a lot inherited from his father, then joined fortune with other pioneers of his profession in the thriving village of Cleve- land.
His young father, who died so prematurely, was the brother of Cyrus Bingham, whose sons William and Edward founded the present house of William Bingham and Co. He was a watchmaker in 1802, with a large gilt watch as a sign in front of his business place. He owned a lot on the east side of Genesee street, Utica, upon which he had begun to build a home when stricken down by fever.
It is regrettable that nothing btu the merest outlines, even of his pub- lic life, seem to be obtainable of Judge Bingham. His sons died during
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CLARK
the civil war, in which they probably engaged, as flags of the G. A. R. are placed on their graves each Decoration Day. All family records are in the possession of the only daughter who removed from the city years ago, and whose address, though faithfully sought, cannot be learned.
Flavel Bingham was the first judge of probate of Cuyahoga County, established in 1852 and served a term of three years. He was mayor of the city in 1849. His wife was Miss Emmeline Day, formerly of Catskill, N. Y. She was the daughter of Mrs. Lucy Day and sister of William and John Day, all well-known pioneer residents of the city.
Mrs. Bingham was a woman of character and culture, and a worthy companion of the man honored and esteemed by the community in which she lived so many years. She was "Aunt Emmeline" to her little circle of Cleveland relatives.
The family lived on St. Clair st. near Erie, now East 9th, and after- ward on the north side of Euclid ave. The Judge and his wife became members of the Old Stone Church in 1836, and thenceforth were promi- nent in all its services and its social activities. The Bingham burial-lot is in Erie street cemetery, on the left side of the main drive, and about the center of its length. Mrs. Bingham's grave was once marked by a large, white marble headstone, which has disappeared within the past few years. Those of her mother and her young sons, however, are yet standing. It is said that Judge Bingham, who outlived his wife, died East and was buried there.
The children of Flavel and Emmeline Bingham:
Charles A. Bingham, b. 1838; d. Fanny Bingham, married -- and 1861. resides in an eastern state.
Edward Day Bingham, b. 1842; d. 1863.
1832
CLARK
Peck Clark, son of Hezekiah and Mary Peck Clark, married for his second wife Polly Kellogg, a sister of James Kellogg, Jr. They lived in Conneaut, Ohio, and died there aged eighty and eighty-nine years of age. Peck Clark had a large family of children, three of whom either lived here until death, or spent many years in this city. They were Albert, Aaron, and Julia Clark.
Albert Clark, b. 1809, was the eldest son. He lived in Conneaut a few years and then came to Cleveland. Albert Clark was a very handsome man. He was six feet tall, and carried himself with a most distinguished air. His relatives loved to entertain him, as he was a charming guest, always saying the right things to every one, and ever kind and consid- erate. He was county auditor from 1848 to 1852, and previous to that was with his cousin C. L. Camp in the dry-goods business.
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ABBEY
Albert Clark married Elizabeth Hower Wright, 18 years of age. She was a pretty little woman, always pleasant in her manner, and full of fun. She possessed a beautiful complexion, and wore her lovely hair in curls each side of her face. She died in 1897, aged 83 years.
Children of Albert and Elisabeth Clark :
Amelia Clark, b. 1834; m. DeWitt Fuller. She died leaving a fam-
Patterson. ily of children.
Julia Clark, b. 1838; m. Samuel A.
S. A. Fuller m. 2nd, Louise Allen, daughter of John W. Allen. Eunice Clark, a beautiful young girl, died in Detroit, aged 18 years.
The Clark residence in 1837 was on Lake street, between Bank and Seneca. Afterward the home was on the corner of Euclid and Brownell streets. Albert Clark died in 1876.
The family burial-lot was in Erie street cemetery.
1832
ABBEY
Sarah Goodrich Abbey, a widow, with her little son Perley Abbey, and perhaps other children, left her home at Mt. Holyoke, Mass., early in the last century and settled in Conneaut, O. Upon reaching man- hood, Perley Abbey married Thankful Clark, a daughter of Zelotus and Elisabeth Clark. Mrs. Clark's brother John B. Clark was at that time a wealthy and prominent citizen of Hudson, O.
Thankful Clark Abbey was a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden of the Mayflower, their daughter having married the Clark who was Mrs. Abbey's first American ancestor. He served in the Pequot Indian War and received a grant of land from the king of England in Saybrook, Conn., upon which the family lived for many generations, Mrs. Abbey having been born on it. About 1820, and when Mrs. Abbey was eighteen years old, Zelotus Clark sold his farm in Saybrook, and be- came a pioneer of the Western Reserve.
Mrs. Abbey brought with her from Saybrook a piece of embroidery that had belonged to Priscilla Alden, which is now in the possession of her daughter Mrs. L. B. Miles of this city, and when the long-delayed Art Gallery of Cleveland is at last built and ready for such possessions, it is Mrs. Miles' intention to bequeath it this valuable heirloom.
For a few years after their marriage, the Abbeys lived in Twinsburg, where their first three children were born, and in 1832, removed to Cleve- land. Mr. Abbey was a contractor and builder in later life, erecting the Marine Hospital on Lake street, the old Allopathic college, and other
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1832
DENZER-STACEY
stone buildings; but in 1837, was a provision dealer at No. 9 Dock street. The family at that time lived on Bolivar street, but later their home for many years was on the corner of Woodland and Perry.
The children of Perley and Thankful Abbey :
Elizabeth Abbey.
Mary Abbey, m. Holden, and Sweet.
Helen Abbey, m. Cameron.
Harriet Abbey, m. Dr. L. B. Miles.
Lewis Abbey. Pettie Abbey.
The family burial-lot is in Woodland cemetery.
1832
DENZER-STACEY
Jacob Denzer, born 1782, came to Cleveland from Germany. He was 50 years of age, and his wife Magdalena 44 years.
Their son, Daniel Denzer, was a lad of seventeen when he accompan- ied his parents from the old world home to the new. There may have been a son Peter Denzer, as a young man of that name was clerking in this city in 1845.
Jacob Denzer dealt in produce and garden-truck. He died in 1857 on St. Clair street where the family were living at that time. Mr. Den- zer lived to a great age.
Daniel Denzer was also in the produce business, and made a financial success of it. He married Sarah Stacey, a handsome, dark-eyed English girl, daughter of John and Frances Stacey, who arrived here in 1837. There were several children in the Stacey family. William and James were in the fruit trade. Josiah was a confectioner and caterer. Gar- rett's Hall, a popular resort, stood on the north-east corner of Euclid Ave. and the Public Square. Here, for two decades, society devotees held private dances and other gay functions. To reach the hall, one had first to enter Stacey's confectionery store. Its door was level with Eu- clid ave., but its show-window, north of the door, faced the Square, and the steep walk that led down to Superior street. Who can forget the allurements of that window? How tempting to one with a "sweet tooth" was that display of gorgeous frosted cakes and delicious looking candy ! Mr. Josiah Stacey had a pleasant face, and kindly manners for every- body, irrespective of age or circumstance. His wife was a dear little woman, and his helpmate in the many years they passed together.
John Stacey the elder died in 1852, perhaps of cholera, aged 60 years. His wife Frances lived to be 91. They lie in the Denzer lot in Erie street cemetery.
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1832
CABLE
Eliezar and Minerva Cable came to Newburgh from Milford, Conn., about 1832, and started the first nursery in town.
Mrs. Cable was extremely neat and a great worker. She lived to be ninety years old, loved and respected by all who knew her.
She had one daughter, Elvira Cable, who married Joseph Cady. After her mother's death Mrs. Cady removed to Topeka, Kansas.
1832
PANKHURST
A young man 20 years of age was the Cleveland pioneer of this fam- ily. He was born in Rye, England, and in 1822 came to Utica, N. Y., pre- sumably with his parents. His mother was a Forster, a name of note in England. About 1832, John Pankhurst and his brother William came to Cleveland, as so many other Utica residents were doing in and after that year. The brothers were skilled carpenters and iron-workers. They expected to find the small village flourishing, but it failed to meet their expectations, and William returned to his eastern home.
But John Pankhurst remained here, whereby our city gained much, in the family he gave to it mostly of the manly, industrious type, capable of earning an honest living, and one of them, at least, of acquir- ing great wealth.
John Pankhurst's wife, whom he married here, was Sarah Wellsted, a young English girl of his own age, and also a former resident of Utica. The records of her ancestry have been preserved for several generations. Her parents were William and Mary Wellsted. In 1852 the young couple were living on Bolivar street, happy, prosperous, surrounded by a group of bright children, the oldest 18 years, the youngest a little lad of seven. One evening, in the summer of that year, Mr. Pankhurst remarked at the supper-table that he was not feeling very well. The next morning dawned upon his lifeless form, one more victim of the cholera scourge that swept over the city that year, the fourth and last visitation begin- ning in 1832.
Mrs. Pankhurst was thus suddenly bereft of the strong arm and ac- tive brain that hitherto had shielded her from all financial cares, and the children were deprived of a father whose advice and protection were yet sorely needed. But the mother seems to have been a woman of character, and equal to the emergency.
In 1860, she was living at No. 90 Muirson street. Her second son John, evidently married, resided in a house adjoining. He was an iron- worker. Thomas, the eldest son, was a boiler-maker and living in that year in a home of his own on St. Clair street.
John Pankhurst's trade proved to be a fortunate one. Eventually he became the head and chief owner of the Globe Iron Works of this city, and died in 1898 a very wealthy man, one universally admired and re-
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HECKER-BECKER
spected. His only daughter married a nobleman of high title, and resides in Athens, Greece.
Mrs. Sarah Pankhurst died in a pretty home on Arlington street in 1894. Her youngest daughter, a fine-looking woman of about 70 years, is the only remaining member of the family yet living. The parents were interred in Erie street cemetery, but may have been removed to Lake View.
The children of John and Sarah Wellsted Pankhurst:
William J. Pankhurst, b. 1833; m. Mary Brady. Ferdinand Ruple; 2nd, James Ritchie.
John Forster Pankhurst, b. 1838; m. Maria Coates.
Mary A. Pankhurst, b. 1840 ; m. Fer- dinand Ruple.
Sarah E. Pankhurst, b. 1842; m.
Thomas J. Pankhurst, b. 1845; m. Elisabeth Welhoff.
Mrs. Elisabeth Pankhurst is a widow living with her son H. F. Pank- hurst on 109th street, a sweet-faced woman of refined, cordial manners.
1139045
1832
HECKER-BECKER
Henry Hecker and his wife Christina Wilhelm Hecker were middle- aged, and with a family of four, grown children when they immigrated from near the river Rhine, Germany, to this country.
Their eldest daughter was married and did not accompany them. The eldest son of the family was a cripple, the younger one was 20 years of age; and fear that he might be forced into the German army made his mother's working hours miserable, and her nights sleepless. So the parents severed the ties of almost a life-time, sold their possessions, and came across the sea.
The Heckers settled on a farm belonging to Philip B. and Edward Andrews, an hundred-acre tract lying out Superior street near E. 79th street. (Those thoroughfares were not then laid out.)
The family lived in a log-house that had been occupied by the parents of the Andrews brothers. The site is on the south side of Superior street near its junction with E. 79th.
Mrs. Hecker died there and was buried in Doan street cemetery, cor- ner of Euclid. Long afterward, when that burial-site was demolished to make way for commerce, she was reinterred in Lake View.
The children of Henry and Christina Hecker :
Barbara Hecker, m. Jacob Becker. John Hecker, m. Julia
Elisabeth Hecker, m. Peter Miller. Peter Hecker, m. Caroline Cross.
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1832
HECKER-BECKER
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Becker followed their parents to this country after the latter were well established in their new home. They had a large family of children, the older ones of whom were born in Germany.
The Beckers lived in the same locality in Cleveland that their par- ents had chosen, near the junction of Superior and E. 79th. It was then covered with big forest-trees. Fifty years later these families gave names to two East End streets, Hecker and Becker avenues.
Children of Jacob and Barbara Becker:
Elisabeth Becker, m. Jacob Hecker, Catherine Becker, m. Catherine Bau- a cousin. bilt.
Michael Becker, m. Caroline Smith. Ellen Becker, m. Wm. Beckenback. Barbara Becker, m. David Wehl- muth.
Mary Becker, m. George Abel.
Julia Becker, m. Coonrad Rolph.
The fourth and fifth surnames of above marriages may not be cor- rect, or the writer had to spell them by sound, not being familiar with their nomenclature.
Many of the descendants of the above families reside in the vicinity of the pioneer home. Among them is William Abel, whose large furni- ture store and undertaking establishment is located at 7017 Superior street.
1833
Died. Luther Willes, aged 41 years. Josiah Pomeroy, aged 33 years. (Erie st. cemetery.)
Fugitives. Edward and Jonathan Jackson of Virginia advertise in Herald for runaway slaves Martin and Sam. $500 reward. Martin is described as a very handsome light mulatto.
Cardy Parker "wishes to sell 100 acres of land within three miles of court-house on the great road down the lake (Euclid ave.) 30 acres im- proved, frame-house and barn."
Black Hawk, the Indian Chief who had been defeated in an Indian war, carried on in the West, while a prisoner and being taken through Cleveland, requested the officers in charge to allow him to visit the grave of his mother. He went in a skiff to the present site of River st. ceme- tery and remained an hour in silent meditation.
Ague still causing much suffering in town and around and about it. New England people fumigating and disinfecting all letters received from Ohio before reading them.
At this date, and many succeeding ones, people who reached the age of 45 or 50 were considered old folks.
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1833
BALDWIN
Authorities differ regarding the birthplace of Norman C. Baldwin, pioneer produce merchant of Cleveland. One biographer states that it was Goshen, Conn., and another that it was Litchfield, but all agree that, wherever it was, he was born in 1802. He was the son of Stephen and Susannah Adams Baldwin. His father died of tuberculosis, leaving a widow and a large family, the younger members of which were of very tender age. About 1816 Mrs. Baldwin came to Ohio with her family and settled in Summit county.
Within a short time following that event, Norman but yet a lad in age and appearance, opened a small country store in Hudson, Ohio. With- in two years he had made such a success of the venture as to need the services and savings of two of his brothers, whom he took into partner- ship. His good judgment and executive ability were unprecedented, con- sidering his youth and lack of experience. He early manifested a love of spirited horses, and was a skillful driver. A feat he performed in that line caused quite a local sensation, and made him the hero of the hour. He drove from Hudson to Cleveland in 24 hours, something that had never previously been accomplished.
In 1830 he removed to Cleveland, and became a member of the firm, Giddings, Baldwin and Co. It did a large produce business, con- nected mostly with the lake and the Ohio canal. It also owned and oper- ated a line of passenger and lake steamers. Mr. Baldwin became the first president of the Bank of Cleveland, organized in 1834 and was at the head of the Canal Bank in the financial crash of 1837. The panic swept him off his feet, and when affairs were finally readjusted, he retired from mercantile life and for some years following was in the real-estate busi- ness.
A short time previous to Mr. Baldwin's removal to the city, he married Miss Mary H. Palmer, daughter of Robert Palmer of Goshen, Conn. She died in 1867. The family residence was on Euclid ave., between Perry and Sterling, now E. 22nd and E. 30th. It was one of the finest homes on the avenue.
Children of Norman C. and Mary Baldwin :
Eliza G. Baldwin, b. 1830; m. Henry B. Perkins, son of Gen. Simeon Perkins of Warren, Ohio.
Mary V. Baldwin, b. 1832; m. John T. Newton, a Toledo lawyer.
Capt. Norman A. Baldwin, b. 1835; m. Miss Ann Webster. He was a soldier in the Civil war.
Charlotte G. Baldwin, b. 1839; died 1866.
Elisabeth Baldwin, b. 1844.
Henry Parmalee Baldwin, b. 1845; died 1865.
N. C. Baldwin, Jr., b. 1848; died 1878; member of the firm of Bald- win and Collins, merchant millers of Cleveland.
Ellen Douglas Baldwin, b. 1851.
Norman C. Baldwin, Sr., died in 1887, aged 85 years.
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1833
BRIGGS
James Alfred Briggs was a young lawyer aged 22 from Claremont, N. Y., who tried his fortune in the village of Cleveland and-won out. He was the son of Rufus and Nancy Hayes Briggs of Cheshire, Mass., who removed to New York State before his birth.
In 1834, Van Rensselaer Humphrey of Hudson, O., entered into a law partnership with Mr. Briggs. Humphrey was much the older, and more experienced. He is described as broad-shouldered, ruffle-shirted, and as "Judge" Humphrey "ponderous and imposing." The office of the firm was over C. L. Camp's store on Superior street.
Mr. Briggs lived in the city 24 years. He was a valuable citizen, and was usually found on the right side of any public movement. He was an enthusiastic temperance worker. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Charles Bradburn in his successful efforts to establish the Cleveland high school system. He was the first attorney of the C. C. & I. railroad.
Mr. Briggs married Margaret Bayard, dau. of George A. Bayard. The ceremony took place in Pittsburgh in 1842. She died and he married 2nd Catherine Van Vechten. Both wives were of old, New York State families.
James A. Briggs died in Brooklyn, N. Y., where he had removed in 1857.
1833
BARNES
William Barnes and his wife Elizabeth Giles Barnes came to Cleve- land from England about 1833.
Mr. Barnes was a carpenter and worked in and about the city many years. He died of cholera in 1849 at the early age of 37 years.
The home of the Barnes family was a log-house on Lake street between Bond and Erie, now East 6th and 9th. There were four children, but only one has been secured.
William M. Barnes, m. Henrietta Fell.
1833
BRECK
In the early summer of 1837 a young man from Rochester, N. Y., bound for Huron, O., with a stock of dry-goods, and accompanied by his sister, landed from a steamer near the mouth of the Cuyahoga river.
Before reaching Cleveland, the weather became very stormy, and as he intended resuming the journey by water, and his sister had been sea- sick on the trip from Buffalo, he concluded to leave her here in care of
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1833
BRECK
some good women for a couple of weeks, or until convenient to come back for her.
Just how he came in touch with the right person has not been handed down, but she was found, and that woman's loving kindness and tender sympathy with the homesick girl who had never before spent a night away from her mother was gratefully appreciated and never forgotten.
Many years afterward, the maiden now a middle-aged woman and with grown children of her own, asked her daughter to accompany her to the Erie street cemetery, and to help her to find the grave of the dear woman who had once befriended her.
It was located near the Erie street entrance and on the right side of the main drive. An old-fashioned marble headstone marked the spot. It read:
"ANGELINE
wife of Rev. Joseph H. Breck. Died May 24, 1838."
Alice Angeline Breck was the daughter of Ralph Snow, a merchant and druggist of Northampton, Mass. She married the Rev. Joseph Hunt Breck in 1830, and accompanied him back to the Western Reserve where he had been living the past seven years in Brecksville as a missionary. He did not return there after his marriage, but took his bride to a home on Superior street, No. 103, and just east of Webb C. Ball's former jewelry store. J. F. Ryder occupied the spot many years with his pho- tograph gallery and store.
Mrs. Breck, at the time, had two brothers living in Brooklyn, N. Y., Lorenzo and George Snow, and the son of one of these men became a well- known civil engineer of New York City. Mrs. Breck was cordially wel- comed by the best element of the little village, not only through respect for her husband's calling, but because of her own fine personality, and she soon won the intimate friendship of Mrs. Dr. Long and other women most admired and respected in the community. Unfortunately, her life in Cleveland was brief. She died at the birth of her third child.
Rev. Joseph Hunt Breck was the son of Joseph Hunt Breck, Sr., and Abigail-Kingsley-Breck, and it was through his grandmother Rachel Hunt that father and son acquired their middle name.
The first New England ancestor of the family, Edward Breck, emi- grated to this country with Richard Mather, and became a freeman of Dorchester, Mass., in 1635, but for some generations that branch of the family had been living in Northampton, where Rev. Joseph H. Breck was born. He was educated at Yale, and afterward graduated from a theological seminary. Perhaps this long course of study was responsible for his delicate health which compelled him to partially relinquish the ministry, and while living in Cleveland, he made use of his thorough classical education in fitting young men for college.
The fathers of several business men of the city were thus prepared by him for a collegiate life.
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