USA > Ohio > Summit County > Twinsburg > Twinsburg, Ohio, 1817-1917, Part I History, Part II Genealogies > Part 3
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Yale College was chartered Oct. 1701. Saybrook was decided upon as its location and Rev. Abraham Pierson, settled pastor at Killingworth, chosen as its first rector, or president. His people would not consent to his removal and until his death in 1707 the students and library were at Killingworth, while the commencements were held at Saybrook.
AN ERA OF PROSPERITY
I T is both natural and right to expect harvest after seedtime. It was the lure of harvest that drew the pioneers to the Western Reserve. They came planted, watered, and waited; but not long. The country was new, hard labor was freely bestowed, and results were bound to follow. The pioneers found here fertile land, a diversified soil, timber, waterways and free- stone. The question was how to turn these natural re- sources into "earthly goods." It was soon seen that the difficulty would be that of securing good markets rather than that of production. With no railroads and poor high- ways the matter was serious. In 1825 Mr. Alling took butter to Akron where the canal locks were being constructed and sold it for eight cents per pound. In 1828 he bought the stage-line, thus transferring to Twinsburg the route from the old Cleveland to Pittsburg road through Northfield. He had also built a tavern at the center in 1826. With a stage line through the town this tavern now did a good business, furnishing a local market for considerable produce. In 1833 about one thousand dollars worth of dairy products were disposed of outside the township. By this time, after some costly experience, the people had a good understanding as to what they could raise and market profitably, and planned accordingly. Contact with people from other localities, and a tri-weekly mail gave them some idea of the demands they might reasonably hope to be called upon to meet.
Probably the most prosperous twenty-five years of the town's life were those between 1835 and 1860. The census reports give the population in 1833 as 670 (or 607), in 1850 as 1281 and in 1860 as 1138.
Those who remember the town as it was previous to 1860 tell us there have since been many changes. Then, at the center all was activity. The prosperity in the surround- ing country, the Twinsburg Institute with its hundreds of students and the stage-line were the predominating factors in this condition. The activity at the center was a reflection of the progress throughout the township. At that time the net profits from agriculture were greater, in proportion to
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AN ERA OF PROSPERITY
the labor expended, than they have been since. The soil was at its best, labor was cheap, the outlay for machinery was negligible and the standards of living were on a less expensive plane. Consequently the man who prospered had money with which to build substantial buildings, to invest, or lay away for the eventide of life.
Yet travel was difficult. What are now nearby cities were then reached only after hours of wearisome travel. As a consequence the busy matron only infrequently went farther from home than to the center. Occasionally the farmer would take a load of produce to Cleveland or Akron and bring back some supplies in bulk. But articles of lesser importance, but much more frequently purchased, were obtained at the center.
Some understanding of conditions throughout the town- ship during this era may be gained from a list of business, mechanical and professional men in Twinsburg in 1860. At that time S. H. Bishop and Son, A. L. Nelson and Co., Hart, Stevens and Co., Osmon Riley, and James Hill were dealers in dry goods. Andrews and Ingersol sold groceries and produce, Edward Crouse dealt in stoves and tinware, while John and Peter Madden were merchant tailors. Elmore Clark was hotel keeper at that time. J. W. Harlow and J. P. Garzee were blacksmiths; James Alexander and Albert Upson were carriage makers; C. O. Stimson made harness. There were four shoemakers: Henry Livingston, Eli Holmes, Nelson Hinkston and Lot Griffith. Of carpenters and joiners there were William Clark, T. F. Riley, David Riley, Robt. Powers and Edwin Barber. John Williams is named as a cabinet maker, Frederick Stanley as a mason, and Eli Thompson and A. C. Doan are called stone masons. Chas. Bock and Jos. Isler were coopers. J. W. Fessenden is named as the only artist in town.
The spiritual welfare of the community was watched over by Revs. Kennedy, Bryant, and Henderson, who preached each Sunday in well filled churches. The sick were cared for by four physicians: J. G. Stearns, S. A. Collins, A. P. Clark, and S. A. Freeman.
At this time the Twinsburg Institute was housed in the old building at the southeast corner of the square. In the late fifties the attendance showed some decrease, though not
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TWINSBURG HISTORY
much. About three-fourths of the out-of-town students boarded in the homes about the center. Water from the springs nearby had been piped to the Institute and many homes.
In the early fifties the stage-line was discontinued. The mail was then brought daily from Macedonia. In 1860, A. L. Nelson was postmaster. The opening of the Cleveland and Pittsburg R. R. through Macedonia in 1851 caused much traffic on the west road and accordingly reduced that on the Cleveland road.
Even so late as 1860 the square was still a common. People drove across at will with whatever vehicles they chanced to possess. Some attempts at grading had been made. In 1851 Zeno Parmelee received about three hundred dollars for labor on the grounds, but as yet it was barren of trees.
Away from the center the town was more closely settled than now. The log houses had mostly been replaced by frame and, sometimes, stone houses. These new homes usually sheltered good sized families. At that time houses were constructed with regard for durability, not convenience as now understood. There was usually a fairly large cellar, none too well lighted, with a dirt floor. Here were kept the winter's supply of vegetables and fruits, the pickles, pre- serves, cider, vinegar, and soft soap. The glass fruit jar was almost unknown. Fruits were usually dried or made into thick preserves, though some were canned in stone or glass bottles, being sealed with red sealing wax. Usually, though not always, stairs of some description led to the first floor.
Here might be found a kitchen, pantry, sitting-room, one or two bedrooms, and a "square" room. The kitchen generally served also as dining-room and was uncarpeted. The whiteness of the floor determined the reputation of the housewife in the neighborhood. In the earliest houses there were sometimes huge brick ovens built in the kitchen. In those homes baking day was an event, and a not very popu- lar one with the boy whose task it was to bring the wood, good hickory preferred, to heat the oven. But those who partook of the Indian bread, baked pork and beans, and other toothsome articles of food cooked in these ovens, say
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AN ERA OF PROSPERITY
the results justified the labor. Nevertheless, they were superseded by the "elevated oven" type of cook stove, more convenient and with a less voracious appetite for good wood. Tables were of the drop-leaf pattern and when they proved inadequate to the occasion resource was had to good long boards. Chairs were of wood and constructed for hard service. Cooking utensils were of iron. Copper and pewter had some special uses. The dishes were heavy and ordi- narily had all-over decorations in gray, blues, or brown. There might have been carefully put out of harm's way some choice china, but it seldom saw service. Even the glassware was of heavy design. Steel knives and forks were in use, the best ones having choice handles. German silver was often used in spoons, though good solid silver spoons were frequent. Considerable ingenuity was frequently exer- cised in secreting these same spoons when the mistress desired to go away from home. Many matrons always took their spoons with them when leaving the house unoccupied for the day. The table napery was not infrequently of home manufacture. The fare was plain but would not today be called inexpensive. Vegetables were home-grown and meats home-cured. For fresh meats poultry was freely used, or the farmer would kill a sheep or pig. He sometimes shared this fresh meat with a neighbor who would later repay him in kind. Both corn and wheat were freely used in breads. In those days the farmer took grain to mill and returned with flour. The "patent process" was not invented and all of the kernel of wheat was used in some form. Salt rising bread was common and the yeast cake unknown. Fruits were used largely in the dried form. Apples and small fruits were fair and free from worms. Some years peaches were as plentiful as apples and large quantities would be left un- picked. Maple sugar or dark brown sugar was commonly used, white sugar being classed as a luxury. With plenty of eggs, milk, cream, home-made butter and cheese the cooks of those days made an enviable reputation for themselves in spite of many adverse circumstances. It is not inconceivable that the conveniences of the up-to-date kitchen might con- fuse the matron of olden times fully as much as the make- shifts of those days would handicap the housekeeper of the present day.
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TWINSBURG HISTORY
Although lard and kerosene lamps were introduced, the tallow candle was the chief reliance for artificial light during this period. Once the candles were made by the process of dipping the wicks repeatedly in tallow, but candle molds later came into use to the joy of the busy housekeeper. The earlier lanterns were of perforated tin, and later, four-sided glass ones were used. With both the tallow candle furnished the light. It was the custom to caution the scholars who attended the spelling schools to be sure to bring their candles. These candles were inserted in blocks of wood about four inches square. A short narrow board with a hole bored near the upper end was nailed to the block, and this wall candle hung on a nail in the schoolroom.
For reasons not now seeming reasonable there was frequently a step from the kitchen into the next room. The sitting-room floor was covered with a rag carpet and fur- nished for comfort, but the front, or best, room was for appearance's sake only. It might boast a "store" carpet, have cane-seated or horsehair chairs and a few other fur- nishings, but it was kept darkened, being opened to be swept and dusted, and was used only for very special occa- sions, such as funerals, pastoral visitations and weddings.
The bedrooms were commonly very small, but what the rooms lacked in size was more than offset by the voluminous feather beds found therein. The number and quality of goose feather beds in a housewife's possession was an indica- tion of her thrift and prosperity. It was not uncommon to give each daughter a feather bed and pair of pillows when she was beginning housekeeping in her own home. Bed- springs were unthought of, all the bedsteads being corded.
Fireplaces were commonly built in the houses but in their absence large box stoves were used. These were also used in the schools and churches.
Wall paper was used very little, whitewash being uni- versally used. Sand, whitewash and soft soap were the cleansers of that era. Windows were composed of small panes of glass, anything larger was supposed to be certain to break too easily for practical use.
The housewife was almost sure to have stored safely away a goodly supply of herbs for use in case of sickness, and
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AN ERA OF PROSPERITY
not infrequently her skill at such times was proved to be of unusual quality.
Close by or adjoining the house there was often a milk house, or room, which was the scene of much activity. A smokehouse, granary and one or more barns, without base- ments, completed the array of buildings. There was almost no machinery, nearly all kinds of farm work being done with simple tools.
The farms were composed of small fields fenced with rails, the garden often being enclosed with pickets. Even the gardens differed from those of the present. Tomatoes were by many considered harmful and the smaller vegetables were little known. Much use was made too of the smaller fruits. Wild berries were cultivated by many. The location of many an old home is marked now by a few stones and a lonely currant bush.
Love of the beautiful found expression in the culture of flowers and shrubs. Perennials were favorites but other flowers demanding more work and time were not neglected. Lilacs, snow-balls, cinnamon roses, holly hocks, bleeding hearts, tiger lilies, peonies, four o'clocks, tulips, larkspur, poppies, daffodils, jonquils and many, many others had admiring friends. The lawns of today were only door yards in those busy times.
Water was obtained from wells or springs. Where cisterns were in use they were often made of oak planks, as were most of the drains not left open. Great efforts were made to keep everything about the home clean and whole- some. Dirt was considered a disgrace but, unfortunately, everything detrimental to health was not classed as dirt. As a result epidemics were all too frequent. Diseases easily preventable now were then looked upon as visitations of Providence. It is rather startling to learn that pulmonary diseases were, for at least several years, responsible for nearly half of the mortality in town caused by disease.
As people prospered they gave more attention to the matter of clothes. For common wear, cloth of home maun- facture was used, but for Sunday and gala occasions some- thing better was desired and the merchants were glad to supply the need. Style was by no means ignored, but
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TWINSBURG HISTORY
-
fortunately it was not so changeable as now. Men as well as women bowed to its dictates. A good dress would serve for years, and as all the sewing was done by hand this was well. The men wore much broadcloth, fancy vests, and a few were the proud possessors of silk hats. Children's clothes were patterned after those of their elders, much woolen and linen goods being used. Both boys and girls wore leather boots, and few things were supposed to thrill a boy's soul as did the possession of his first pair of red-topped bocts. Shoes were made of calfskin or cowhide and had to be kept well-greased to make them impervious to water. In many families it was the custom to have the shoemaker come to the house once a year and "fit out" the entire family with shoes. Stockings and socks were knitted at home, usually from home-grown wool. No one so long as she could knit need feel herself useless or a burden.
The center was the common meeting point for the entire town, yet each neighborhood had its own life, centering usually about the school building. Difficulty in travel and mutual dependence in sickness and times of stress made this necessary as well as desirable. A notable feature of those days was the spelling-school with one district arrayed against another, sometimes township against township. During this period the Twinsburg Institute was enjoying its greatest prosperity and its exhibitions and concerts were great attractions.
There seems to have been little dearth of other social attractions. The hotel was the scene of many social func- tions, the one of March 9, 1853, being decidedly unusual. That day four of Twinsburg's young men were married, the brides all being from out of town. In the evening a great party was given in the hotel. The invitations were printed in New York and about three hundred guests including all the officiating ministers were present. In deference to the wishes of the brides the grooms hired the bar for the evening and closed it. The dining-room was enlarged for the occa- sion, enabling two hundred to be seated at one time. The party broke up about midnight, but some of the young people danced two hours longer. Those who came from the Institute could not get to their rooms until morning. Mrs. Sarah Henry Turner remembers that incident well. The
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AN ERA OF PROSPERITY 1247287
four couples were: Israel Lewis Cannon and Ruth Skeels of Bedford, Hoadly Alling and Mary Jane Webb of Newburg, Edwin Parmelee and Mary Hathaway of Independence, Rufus Bailey and Sarah Richardson of Bedford. Mrs. Lewis Cannon is the only one still living in Twinsburg, though both Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Bailey still survive. Hiram Kelly was proprietor of the hotel at that time.
It was in 1852 that Barnum brought his circus to Twinsburg. It was the first season he had Tom Thumb (Charles S. Stratton) on exhibition. Tom Thumb was then fourteen years of age, less than two feet tall, and weighed sixteen pounds. The circus tent was so crowded that there was no room for the circus. It is not surprising to hear that the people called Barnum a humbug. Nevertheless he had their money-and kept it.
The Harrison-Tyler presidential campaign in 1840 was the first of the American spectacular political campaigns, and Twinsburg did her best to give impetus to the move- ment. A log cabin and a high liberty pole were raised near the center of the square and, of course, a barrel of cider was placed beside the cabin. Wooden bowls were provided for drinking the cider. The boys had a small log cabin close by the large one. A company of forty men, each with a red flannel patch on his left shoulder, rode horseback to Ravenna to a political mass meeting. Their banner bore the in- scription :
"With the patriot Harrison We will storm Mat's garrison."
"Tippecanoe and Tyler too" was the slogan of the Whigs who called the Democrats Loco-focos. Excitement ran high. Communication was slow and reliable information as to distant affairs difficult to obtain. While local condi- tions may have colored their opinions the people gave evi- dence of a commendable spirit of patriotism in that they viewed the political situation from a national rather than a provincial standpoint.
Previous to 1840 Ravenna was the county seat and Twinsburg a part of Portage county. Summit's first county fair was held in 1850, but Akron was too distant to be popu- larly visited and in the early fifties Twinsburg arranged for a township fair. This led to the organization of the Union
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TWINSBURG HISTORY
Agricultural Society, which held fairs in Twinsburg until 1871.
It is undoubtedly trie that with some folk prosperity as well as hardship leads to discontent. Such was the case in the late fifties. The desire to better one's condition is not easily satisfied and furthermore, other causes were contri- buting toward a feeling of unrest. A farm that sufficed for a pioneer and his young family was inadequate when the children were grown and had families of their own. No longer could farms be obtained by simply clearing more forest, yet new homes must be found. The so-called western lands were very cheap and accordingly attractive. Several families left Twinsburg to try their fortunes in new fields, most of them going to Hopkins, Mich. Among those who went there were Chauncey, Harvey, William, Maria, Cath- erine, and Hannah White; Josiah, James, William, Edwin and Mary Parmelee; John, Robert, Philander and Olive Baird; Pliny and Aurelia Tucker, Albert Lane and Fred- erick Stanley.
It is difficult after the lapse of so many years to realize the changes that took place during the first forty years of Twinsburg's existence. Yet of those who came to Twins- brug in 1817 only Ethan Alling, Lewis Alling, and Frederick Stanley remained in 1860, Mr. Stanley being the only man in Twinsburg who had voted in the first township election in 1819, and he later moved to Michigan. Mr. Ethan Alling lived till April 22, 1868, having been a resident of Twinsburg fifty-one years and one week.
In 1860 the average age of the men in town who were at the head of families was forty-three years. The average family consisted of about five and one-half members. The following list of heads of families living in Twinsburg in 1860 is taken from the records made by Mr. Ethan Alling that year:
James and Margeret Alexander, Ethan and Eliza Alling, Ethan L. and Electa Alling, Lewis and Huldah Alling, Emanuel R. and Frances Andrew, William and Adeline Andrews, Odell and Eliza Appleby, Nathaniel and Alice Bailey, Henry and Amanda Baldwin, Edwin B. and Cynthia Barber, Horace and Vervelia Barber, Jarvis and Emmeline Barber, Lewis and Matilda Barber, Sophia Bar-
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AN ERA OF PROSPERITY
ber, Frederick and Mary Jane Barney, Deborah Beardsley, Elam and Sarah Bennett, Henry and Fanny Bennett, Lewis and Clorinda Bidlock, A. V. and Persis Bishop, Leonard and Sophia Bishop, Moses and Emily Bishop, Sanford and Fanny Bishop, Blodget and Fanny Bissell, Cephas and Isabel Bissell, David and Amanda Bissell, Samuel and Fanny Bissell, Morris and Laura Blodget, Charles and Hannah Bock, Emmeline Booth, Almon and Arta Brown, James and Amanda Brown, Sidney and Harriet Bryant, Henry and Mary Buell, William Burton and wife, Henry and Violetta Cannon, Horace and Mercy Cannon, Israel and Lucinda Cannon, Israel L. and Ruth Cannon, Nathan and Elizabeth Cannon, Sylvester and Rebecca Cannon, Elijah and Eliza Carpenter, Thaddeus and Margaret Carter, Mary Ann Carver, Darius and Lilias Chamberlin, Huldah Chamberlin, Luman and Huldah Chamberlin, Julia H. Chamberlin, Philo and Lydia Ann Chamberlin, Reuben and Sarah Cham- berlin, William and Victoria Chamberlin, Albert and Sarah Chapman, Erastus and Wealthy Daniels, Ansel and Sybil Doan, George and Alma Dodge, Harrison and Sylphira Dunshee, Mrs. Benjamin Elliott, Lorenzo and Jane Eno, Virgil and Sarah Eno, John W. and Mary Fessenden, Wil- liam and Minnie Flohr, Seth and Fidelia Freeman, Joel and Fanny Garzee, James Gillie, William and Anna Golding, Lot and Louisa Griffith, Reuben and Ann Griffith, Ira and Elizabeth Griswold, Carlton and Emily Hanchett, Camillus and Fanny Hanks, John and Mary Ann Hansard, Josiah W. and Muria Harlow, George D. Harris, John M. and Cicelia Hart, Joseph and Lucia Hawkins, Jarvis and Sarah Heather, Horatio and Mary Henderson, Augustus and Mary Herrick, Betsy E. Herrick, Burke and Hannah Herrick, David and Betsy Herrick, Elizabeth Herrick, Elisha and Julia Herrick, Horace and Aurelia Herrick, James and Deborah Herrick, Jonathan and Phila Herrick, Justus and Doratha Herrick, Newton and Abbie Herrick, Rufus and Sarah Herrick, Joseph and Susan Higley, Tyler and Sally Hill, Hial and Mary Hine, Nelson and Mabel Hinkston, Czar and Belinda Holcomb, Eli and Mary Holmes, Roswell and Lucy Hubbell, Wilmot and Wealthy Hull, Nathan and Laura Hutchinson Abel and Elizabeth Ingraham, Chauncey and Abigail Ingra- ham, Leander and Amanda Ingraham, Joseph and Mary
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TWINSBURG HISTORY
Isler, Oscar and Augusta Kelsey, Philo P. and Sarah Ken- nedy, Theodore and Huldah Kennedy, Solon and Mary J. Lacy, Chauncey and Phoebe Lane, Elisha and Lucy M. Lane, Julius and Mary Lane, Luman and Emma Lane, Isaac and Jane Lanning, Orris and Sally Leach, Alfred and Emma Ledsham, Henry and Laura Livingston, Adam and Elizabeth Long, Alonzo and Mariett Maxam, Ansel and Mary Maxam, Isaac and Clarissa Maxam, William and Hannah Maxam, Robert and Lucretia McAnderson, John and Olive McIntosh, John and Betsey McGoff, Loren and Hannah McMillen, William and Sarah Mead, John and Sabra Merrick, Alanson and Doratha Mills, George and Cordelia Moore, James and Annhona Moran, Alonzo and Belville Nelson, Salmon and Mary Ann Nelson, Caleb and Amanda Nichols, Francis and Lydia Nichols, Orrin P. and Wealthy Nichols, Orson and Maria Nichols, Junia and Mary North, Horace and Meranda Norton, Charles and Jane Osborn, Josiah and Harriet Oviatt, Luman and Lucinda Oviatt, Samuel and Sarah Ann Oviatt, Solomon and Marga- ret Oviatt, Charles and Minerva Parks, E. L. and Chrystia Parks, William and Hester Parks, Gardner and Rhoda Parmelee, Joel and Harriet Parmelee, George and Susan Pease, William and Charlotte Ann Platt, Mrs. Lydia Porter, William and Amanda Porter, Aaron and Amy Post, Adin and Hannah Post, Franklin and Jane Post, Giles and Ann Post, Philo and Luna Post, Robert and Catherine Powers, Mrs. Sylvia Pritchard, John and Mary Raleigh, Mrs. Esther Redfield, Josiah and Eliza Redfield, Nathaniel and Mary Reed, Daniel and Lydia Richardson, Orson and Mary Rich- mond, David and Mary Riley, Lorenzo and Melissa Riley, Orsmon and Harriet Riley, Talmon and Mary Jane Riley, Gilbert and Diantha Roach, James and Diantha Roach, Martin and Sarah Roach, Moses and Minerva Roach, Oliver and Jane Roniger, Festus Sheldon, Mrs. Agnes Smith, Edmund and Amanda Smith, Isaac and Mary Smith, Isaac and Hannah Smith, William and Asenath Southworth, Sylvester and Azubah Southworth, Albert and Josephine Stanley, Frederick and Thankful Stanley, George and Nancy Stanley, Ezra and Laura Starkweather, John G. and Mary Stevens, Charles and Mary Stimson, Michael and Bridget Sullivant, Hector and Polly C. Taylor, Eli and
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AN ERA OF PROSPERITY
Mary Thompson, William and Emmeline Thompson, Thomas and Louisa Trenbath, Lafayette and Minerva Tucker, Orrin and Deborah Tucker, Charles A. and Mary Turner, John and Lucy Tyson, Nelson and Huldah Upson, Carillus and Maria Vail, Apollos and Betsey White, Mrs. Mary White, Alexander and Julia Ann Wilcox, John and Sarah Wilcox, William and Mary Wilcox, Benson and Eliza- beth Withey, Ephram and Sarah Woodbury, Andrew and Martha Wright, John F. and Mary Wright, Hezekiah and Susan Young.
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