USA > Ohio > Medina County > Wadsworth > Wadsworth memorial; an account of the proceedings of the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the first settlement of the township of Wadsworth, Ohio > Part 7
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*Capt. George Lyman.
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WADSWORTH MEMORIAL.
GLONNG POEM, BY MRS. JENNIE G. BROWN, OF MEDFORD, MINNESOTA.
Farewell to the Pioneers! BY A STRANGER.
To call the wandering exile back across the gulf of years, To welcome him, from near and far, with gladsome song and cheers, Back to the home he loved so well, when he and home were young; That home of memory's rainbow tints, the home his heart has sung- Another claimed the graceful muse, fit for so grateful task, And but the graver, sadder one is left for me to ask.
Sun-gilded, treasure-laden streams are lost in sea at last; These golden, richly freighted days are merging in the past. The hours are speeding on, and ye must to the mandate bow; The hands that grasped in greeting then, must grasp in parting now. I know ye're brave, old friends, as when ye clave those trees apart; Aye, well y'eve beaten back the waves that welled up from each heart.
Each has left, soul-filled, every feast, not one glad moment lost ; But now, ye'll know, if we do not, the conflict it has cost, For ye must part; and while these scenes are swiftly flying past, An under current whispers, too, that this must be the last.
Old friends, for whom these double feasts have been so nobly plauned, I ween that hearts so tried and true are not to be unmanned. But few the days that wait you here-our years are few at best- Ye who laid hence those early friends must soon be laid to rest.
But there's a brighter thought than this, O pilgrim, brave and irne! A home above, surpassing all, is still reserved for you. Happy the greeting, glad the home, where change mars not its bliss; Where joy is full, and faithful ones ye will not grieve to miss.
From this ye went with bounding step; with staff in hand ye come. The Shepherd's "rod and staff" shall guide you to that better home. Hopeful ye went, with eye undimmed; changed is your visage now. At that next home-reunion sweet, no sorrows line the brow.
Ye went forth young ; ye came back old; new youth will blossom there; And all that grieved, and all that wore, no more shall grieve or wear. This home ye left knew joys and griefs; but love has made it bright; That home is happiness unmixed; and love divine its light.
Hopeful and trusting, then, old friends, we give the parting hand; Thankful that 'twas our happy lot to meet this noble band. May influence of these precious days best blessings on us shed ! To better deeds, and truer lives, by them may we be led ¿
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WADSWORTH MEMORIAL.
Andfyou, old heroes of the past, may they light up for you All the bright way to that blest home where ye shall greet anew. And they-these later bands-for whom ye these rich fielda prepared : And who in turn prepared for you these gifts which we have shared;
As they have followed you to this your so loved early home, So lovely now, in house and field, sure none need wish to reawu- So in that heavenly heritage, may all together share!
They following you where Jesus went, the mansions to prepare!
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FIRST SETTLEMENT OF WADSWORTH; ANECDOTES, ETC.
BY SHERMAN BLOCKER, OF AKRON.
In addition to the foregoing historical papers, Sherman Blocker, Esq., of Akron, a native, and for many years a resident of Wadsworth, had prepared a brief statement of reminiscences for the pioneer meeting, which was not pre- sented for want of time, and at the request of the compiler has been enlarged and re-written for this history, as will be explained by the following letter :
AKRON, DEC. 30, 1874.
Rev. Edward Brown-My Dear Sir :
I herewith send you, for publication in your pioneer his- tory of our beloved township of Wadsworth, my contri- bution of notes for the same, in accordance with your request on the 26th inst., and which I have had to compile and arrange within that short space of time, giving me no time to re-write or revise them. I have made up my statement from memory of what my father and brothers told me many years ago, when a small lad ; and I am also indebted to the late Reuben F. Warner, Jacob Miller, and Benjamin Dean, and to other pioneers yet living, for those portions of it that happened before I was born; so that, in the main, it may be relied on as correct, and I have endeavored in my hasty composition to relate what I have in plain, simple language ; and while I know the narrative may be subject to criticism, yet I venture to submit it to my dear old friends in Wadsworth, and a generous and indulgent public. Faithfully your Friend,
SHERMAN BLOCKER.
The first settlement made in the present boundaries of Wadsworth was in 1814, and among the first settlers were the Deans, Durhams, Warners, Jacob Miller, and Samuel Blocker. At that time, there was no township organiza- tion, but in the year 1810, the present territory embracing Wadsworth and Norton townships, was erected into & township, and named Wolf Creek.
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The first election in the above township was in 1816, at the house of Philemon Kirkum, Esq., in what is now Nor- ton township, on the town line between Wadsworth and Norton townships, as at present located. At said meeting of the electors, Henry VanHyning, Theodore Parmelee, and Salmon Warner were chosen judges, and Philemon Kirkum clerk of election. An old beaver hat was used, in which the ballots were deposited. The election occu- pied but a short time, as there was no discussion about the merits of the candidates. Abraham VanHyning, Nathan Bates, and Jacob Miller were chosen Trustees; John Ca- how and Daniel Dean, Overseers of the Poor; Reuben Warner and Dennis Bates, Constables ; Christopher Rasor and John Bryan, Fence Viewers ; Samuel M. Hayden and Gurdon Prior, Listers and Appraisers of Property; Na- than Bates, Treasurer ; Salmon Warner, Samuel M. Hay- den, John Bryan, John Cahow. and Gurdon Prior, Super- visors ; Salmon Warner and Henry VanHyning were cho- sen Justices of the Peace; each of the the foregoing offi- cers had 22 votes, which constituted the electoral strength of Wolf Creek township. The following are the names of the electors at that election : Henry VanHyning, James Cahow, Lyman Bates, Gurdon Prior, John Bryan, Dennis Bates, Christopher Rasor, Oliver Durham, George Cahow, Wm. H. Wright, Wm. Rasor. Talcott Bates, Christian Rit- ter, R. F. Warner, Daniel Ware, John Cahow, Christian Everhard, Samuel Blocker, Samuel M. Hayden, T. H. Par- melce, Phineas Barnes, and Philemon Kirkum.
The first death in Wolf Creek township was that of Seth Lucas. Mr. Lucas came to the township in the early part. of the summer of 1815, and died in the month of Septem- ber following. He had erected his cabin on the lot next east of Kirkum's.
The whole country was a primitive wilderness. Thers was no sawmill nearer than sixty miles, through an unbre- ken forest. The hardy pioneers needed but little timber,
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and what they did need, they had to depend on themselves to produce. The ax, maul, wedge, and froe were the tools used and depended on to produce shingles and puncheons with which to supply their limited wants. Tools of every kind were very scarce, but, happily, Mr. Lucas had brought with him from his New England home a few tools. consist- ing of two or three augers, a couple of chisels, one adz, froe, handsaw, jackplane, and two or three gimlets. At the death of Mr. Lucas, the question stared each one of his fellow-pioneers in the face: Where were the boards to come from to make a coffin, and where was the cabinet- maker to build it? Let us think of it a moment, and transport ourselves back to that period, and imagine our- selves in that position. Suppose there were only a dozen of us together, from a region ten miles square, with no cabinet shop to go to for a coffin, no sawmill to make boards, and no road to travel on except a path, as it wound its lonely way through the dense forest. This is indeed but an imperfect picture of the situation in which the sympathizing friends of Seth Lucas were placed at his decease. The inventive genius of his fellow-pioneers soon obviated the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of obtain- ing & coffin for their lamented friend. Although there were but few of them, and severely feeling the loss of one of their number, being thus early cut down in his wilder- ness home, in the prime of life, they resolved to give him as decent a burial as was possible under the circumstances. Reuben F. Warner, Daniel Dean, and Benjamin Dean vol- unteered to make a coffin. Selecting a large whitewood tree, they felled it to the earth, measured the right length for the coffin, chopped the log off, and with maul and wedge puncheons were split. The broad-ax was then used to hew them to the right thickness, after which, the jack- plane of their deceased friend put on the finishing touch. The body was then arrayed in the habiliments of the grave, and deposited in the primitive coffin.
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All the pioneers within ten miles had come to attend his funeral, and express their sympathy to the family, and to each other. After prayer and singing, the solemn march to the place of sepulcher began. It was a sad and solenin funeral procession, in the wilderness. Less than twenty souls formed the procession, aside from the family of the deceased. The coffin was placed in a one-ox cart, and hauled through the dense forest about one-fourth of a mile east from the cabin, and there, in the lonely forest, depos- ited in the silent grave. A hard-maple tree stands near the head of the grave, one of the original forest-trees, left, no doubt, as a monument to commemorate the place of interment.
This was the first funeral in the wilderness, and a ven- erable pioneer, now deceased, who assisted on that occa- sion, informed the writer of this sketch, that it was the most still and solemn scene he had ever witnessed. Not a loud word was spoken, but all were awe-stricken at this sudden and unexpected visit of the King of Terrors, who had sought them out in their wilderness homes, and snatched one of their number from their midst. Thus died Seth Lucas, and thus he was buried ; the first among as brave and devoted a band of pioneers as ever settled a country.
For the first few years, many of the settlers had to de- pend on the wild animals of the forest for their meat. Bears, deer, turkeys, raccoons, wolves, and wildcats, and the large, yellow, spotted rattlesnake, together with the smaller varieties of game usual to a new country, abound- ed by thousands in Wadsworth, and the surrounding ter- ritory.
There are many anecdotes preserved of the hunting exploits and adventures of the early pioneers. There was an Englishman of Indian habits, by the name of Holmes, from whom Holmes' Brook derives its name, who was an early and famous hunter in this region, and among the
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most celebrated pioneer hunters were Orin Loomis, David Blocker, John Waltz, and ? Phineas Butler. These men were celebrated rangers [of the wilderness, lithe, har- dy, and resolute," and had some perilous adventures with the wild animals of those days. Dressed in buckskin breeches, with linsey or linen overshirts that reached near- ly down to the knees, with 'buckskin] moccasins snugly fitted to the foot and ankle, with a leather belt buckled about the waist, in which was a sheath for a tomahawk and a stout hunting-knife; with shot-pouch and powder- horn ; with a flint and "punk" to start up a fire anywhere ; with a good rifle, and a couple of well-trained hunting- dogs, and about a loaf of bread, or "johnny-cake," and a little salt, these men would sally out into the boundless forest and dense thickets and swamps, day after day, and pursue the bears and deer, with a zest unknown to modern sportsmen. If they were belated in the"chase, and night overtook them in the woods, they would roll a couple of logs together and build a fire, and roast a chunk of bear, venison, or turkey, seasoned with the salt, which with the bread made them a hearty and wholesome meal, and which was devoured with an appetite and relish unknown to the present dyspeptic generation. After finishing the meal. with leaves for their bed, and the starry canopy of the sky for a covering, they would lie down and sleep in the for- est, wherever night overtook them.
Many times these men slept in the forest, with the howl- ing of wolves, screaming of wildcats, and the hooting of the great horned owls all about them, which dismal music lulled them to sleep. The sharp howl of the wolf and the mewing and screaming of the wildcats was pleasant music to them, as they lay by the fire in the dark woods.
It was supposed that the late David Blocker, from the vear 1816 to 1833, killed and dressed over 800 deer. within the limits of Wadsworth and adjoining townships ; and as the relator of these reminiscences is more familiar with
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the hunting exploits of David Blocker (being a brother) than with the others, he will confine himself to a rehearsal of some of his adventures in the forest.
When quite a little boy, the writer can remember when David Blocker shot and killed, in one day, six fine deer. On one occasion he was hunting deer in the River Styx Bottoms, just south of the east and west center road where it now passes, accompanied by his two faithful dogs, Cuff and Range. Cuff was part wolf, and possessed all the cun- ning of that animal in a hunt for game. Range was & large yellow mastiff, bold and resolute, good natured, and obedient to his master, while Cuff would sneak off slily and hunt on his own account. At the time of which I am speaking, Cuff had stolen away, and was ranging the woods as usual, while Range was carefully following the footsteps of his master. They had proceeded carefully a short distance through the brush, when a noble buck was discovered, with massive antlers. The hunter took aim, pressed the trigger of the deadly rifle, and drove a ball crashing through the buck. The shot was not fatal, and Range was let go to catch the deer, and being a fast runner, he soon caught the buck, which turned and gave battle to the dog, and in the skirmish got the advantage, and by the time his master arrived at the scene of the con- flict, had nearly finished the dog, by goring him with his sharp horns. Just at this juncture, Cuff, who had heard the fight, came bounding up, and instantly seized the infu- riated buck by the throat, when a desperate struggle ensued between the dog and the deer. It resulted in the buck getting Cuff under his horns and goring him almost to death in a moment. It was now high time for the hun- ter to interfere, and save the perishing dogs. He drew his hunting-knife, and springing with the agility of a cat up; on the deer, dispatched him while he was over the pros- trate dogs. Upon examination of the dogs, Cuff was so severly wounded that it was thought he would.die ou the
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spot, while Range was so deeply gashed by the horns of the buck that a part of his intestines protruded from the wounds. With his fingers the hunter pushed back the insides, and stopped up the aperture with leaves, and tied his handkerchief around the dog, an { although he weighed upwards of eighty pounds, picked him up tenderly, and . carried him a mile and a half to a neighbor's house, where his wounds were dressed and cared for until he could come : to his own home, several days atter. The hunter returned ; to dress the buck, but Cuff was gone, and could not be found, but next day came crawling home, to the great joy of his master. Both dogs recovered, and did good service in hunting.
About twelve years before this adventure occurred, David Blocker had a desperate hand to hand fight with a bear, near where Yoder's gristmill now stands, about one mile southwest of the Center. It happened about the year + 1817. The cows were wanted, and one of them had a bell - on, and they would stray along the brooks and swails for food, and David Blocker went in pursuit of them without his rifle, or weapon of any kind, which was strange, for in those days of pioneer life, few persons ventured from ; their cabins without the trusty rifle, and pouch filled with. balls and powder, ready for business.
The trail of the cattle led down Blocker's Creek, and . when he got near where the first mill stands he passed near a large treetop which had fallen the season before, when the leaf was in full growth, and in its fall had crushed a number of small saplings, which together formed a thick . mass of leaves and brush, making a cozy home for a wild · animal ; and sure enough, as he was walking around this bevy of treetops, out rushed a large, haggard looking - black bear, right at him, with ponderous jaws wide of en . ready to seize him on the spot. Having no weapon with him, and having no means of defense except his hands, and two small dogs about as large as raccoons, and being shod
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with Indian moccasins, and a swift runner, he concluded to run for his life, and thus escape the ugly embrace of the bear; but Mrs. Bruin was too fast for him, and he had to turn and fight, and dodge about as best he could, to keep out of the clutches of the sharp claws and ponderous mouth of the bear, which seemed determined to destroy him on the spot. In his extremity he got behind a tree, and ran around it with all his might, with the furious brute close at his heels. The day was hot, and in that. dense forest extremely sultry, and he was fast losing his breath and strength, when his two little dogs, hearing the fuss, came bravely to the rescue of their master. The lit- tle fellows seized the bear in the rear and tugged and bit with such vigor that the monster would have to stop and whirl round and brush them off, as one would a fly or mosquito from the hand or face, and then instantly renew the chase to catch the hunter. But these momentary lulls. in that close and desperate chase gave him a moment for fresh breath, and reflection what to do in that desper- ate condition of affairs ; but it would only be for a mo- ment, when the angry brute would renew the chase with increased rage and growls. Finding that with all his pow- erful exertions to escape her, she would seize bim, he broke for a larger tree, with the bear close to his heels, and the little dogs doing all they could to help their master.
It now seemed to him that he must give up, and be torn to pieces by the ferocious brute. Being faint from the tre- mendous exertions of nerve and mind to keep out of the clutch of the bear, he felt that his time had come, and his heart and frame shuddered at the thought of being mangled to death by an animal he would not have feared to encoun- ter if he had had his hunting-knife in hand. The little fist-like dogs seemed to know, at this juncture, the peril and fatigue of their master, for they pitched at the bear with renewed vigor, and made such good use of their sharp teeth that the bear had to turn and tussle with them
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long enough to give their master a little respite, and new breath ; but the moment she had freed herself of the dogs, she again came at him with increased rage, and it required his utmost exertions to keep clear of her jaws.
The time had now come when something besides run- ning had to be done, or he would certainly fall a victim to her rage. He had no time to spring up a small tree, and every moment his strength was failing him, while from the biting and worrying of the little dogs, the rage of the bear seemed to be increased. He watched his chance, and ran to another tree near by, with the bear close to his heels. In looking about for a club, or anything with which to defend himself, he espied a stick cut off a young hickory, which had been cut by some one to make a splint broom. It was within twenty feet of him-a good, sound club, about three feet long; and O, if he could only get this club! Encouraging his little dogs to seize hold of the bear, when on the side of the tree next to the stick, he sprang for it with all his might, and picked it up and darted behind another small tree, just as the bear was ready to grasp him with her paws and mouth. The brute now raised upon her hind legs, to grab him with her paws around the tree. With all his remaining strength, he stepped to the side of the tree and with the club in both hands, aimed a blow at her head, when, quick as a flash, the bear met the club with one of its paws and knocked it clear out of his hands, several feet away. He rushed for his club and just got it, when the monster again raised on her hind legs to clasp him with her paws, her mouth wide open, ready to tear him to pieces. Summon- ing all his powers for another desperate effort to strike her head with his club, she again met the descending blow with her paw and directed it from hitting her snout; but in its descent it struck the point of her under jaw and broke it off. Another blow followed this, and with a roar of rage the bear sprang to a large oak close by, and crawled
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up to its forks, completely beat out at last in this struggle of life and death.
The consciousness of safety from this tremendous fight, and the great fatigue produced by the mental and physical strain on the system, so overcame the hunter that he went into a sort of swoon, and lay in a dreamy and partially unconscious condition for a number of minutes, before he was able to return to his home, where he got his rifle, and with his father, Samuel Blocker, Israel Ritter, and Jacob Miller, returned to the scene of the conflict.
The faithful little dog's had staid at the foot of the tree, barking up at the bear, which had not come down. Tak- ing aim, a ball from his rifle went crashing through her head and killed her. Three beautiful cubs, nearly as large as raccoons, were found in the treetop, which accounted for her fierceness.
At another time, David Blocker, in company with In- dian Holmes, was in pursuit of a huge bear, with a pack of six dogs. The bear was a clumsy runner, and the dogs soon brought him to bay at the foot of a great sycamore tree. With his ponderous paws he would brush the dogs away as if they were mere insects, and one or two of the dogs who did not understand bear tactics, especially when it is close quarters, in their eagerness to seize the bear by the throat, got themselves within good reach of his paws and were struck by him with such force that they tumbled away, heels over head into the weeds, howling and yelling with pain and rage, and could not be tempted to again get themselves within reach of those dangerous bear-hands, which had left the imprint of their claws in their tough hides. Bracing his back against a tree, he bade defiance to his enemies. The hunters came up, but could not shoot him for fear of hitting some of the dogs, which kept , jumping at him continually. Holmes had an Indian battle ax, heavier than a tomahawk, with which Blocker pro- posed to go behind the tree, and dart suddenly around and
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strike the bear in the head and knock him down, and when once down, with the aid of the dogs, they could eas- ily dispatch him. Holmes looked upon it as a dangerous undertaking, and said he would have his rifle cocked, ready to fire instantly at the bear, if anything went wrong.
Blocker sprang around the tree, but stumbled over onc of the dogs as he was in the act of striking the bear, and only gave him a slight blow as he fell headlong in front of the beast, which instantly seized him. by the thigh, with the speed of a tiger. Holmes, who was ready, sprang up, and placing the muzzle of his gun close to the ear of the bear, sent an ounce ball through his head, which killed him on the spot, before he had fairly closed his teeth on the leg. The marks of that bite were carried to the grave. They found this to be the largest bear they had ever seen, and es- timated him to weigh 500 pounds.
At another time, meat became exceedingly scarce, in consequence of the game all leaving the neighborhood ; and the want of this indispensable article to the pioneer, produced a lamentable aching about the stomach of each. Suddenly, one Sunday afternoon while David Blocker was lying on a bed of deer and bearskins, in the cabin, the dogs sang out : "Turkeys !" and bounding off his bed and seizing the rifle and shot-pouch, he rushed to the door just · in time to see the turkeys flying and alighting among the trees in every direction from the cabin ; for the dogs had rushed among them at first sight, and kept up a tremen- dous din of howls and yells at the turkeys, while the rifle went crack, crack, as fast as he could load and shoot, until sixteen fat turkeys had fallen before his unerring aim. By this time the flock had disappeared, and in their place came Judge Brown (father of Rev. Edward), Esq. Salmon Warner, Reuben F. Warner, and Jacob Miller (father of Geo. Miller, Esq., ot Akron) ; all of whom had been at a prayer-meeting, at Esq. Warner's, half a mile east of where
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