350 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY since a congregation the size of that over which Rev. Crocker officiated could scarcely afford to pay very much for the services of a special pastor. Walter Fobes and wife, Mr. and Mrs. James Montgomery, John P. Read and Lois Badger, six persons, constituted the membership, and they met pretty regularly, holding meetings alternately at the homes of the members. In 1821 the congregation had outgrown private dwellings, and they built a meeting house in the center of the village. This burned in 1848. For some time previous to this interruption to the services of the Congregationalists, there had been a growing sentiment of Presbyterianism. and after the fire, members and committees from both these denominations met in conference on a proposition to consolidate their forces, which they did, and another and larger house of worship was erected nearby, of which the Rev. Erastus Williams was the first pastor. In 1813 a. congregation of seven persons organized the Baptist Church of Kingsville and held meetings in one of the schoolhouses of the township, Elder Benjamin Barns performing the services of pastor. After the log school-church building was destroyed by fire, in 1825, they hired a hall for four years, at the end of which time they erected their own church building. The Methodists did not seem to strike Kingsville very numerously in the early years, as it was not until 1831 that they organized a church society in the town. Then they started with 16 names on the roll, they, too, holding their services in the schoolhouse at the center. Their first pastor was the Rev. Samuel Ayers. In 1834 the congregation had assumed such numbers, and consequent resources, that they were able to have their own building, and they erected the first brick meeting house in the town. In 1877 the spirit of religion moved the people of the north town to build an independent church structure, purely undenominational, of which character the county boasted several houses of worship. The doors were open to any minister of the gospel who cared to conduct services and be satisfied with .the voluntary contributions tendered him. The religious interests of the community progressed with the populous growth and the numerous denominations of the present years are respectively housed as becomes the modern village. North Kingsville.—North Kingsville is that section of Kingsville Township lying north of the Nickel Plate tracks and including also a small HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 351 acreage projecting south of said tracks. Kingsville village was never incorporated, and for many years the residents of the section along the North Ridge road, known as "Northtown", felt that they were being discriminated against, in respect to public school advantages, and they resolved to "pull out" and organize a town of their own. From information given by James Callow, who resides on the North Ridge a short distance west of the North village, the writer learns much of interest in connection with the divorcing of the two sections of the town. It appears that the north section, with its Lake Shore Railroad and its interurban trolley line, was supplying the lion's share of the taxes that supported both villages, and therefore felt that it should have at least an equal share in the public advantages, especially in the educational line. So the leading residents got together and took steps looking to incorporating their section of the township. This action vitally concerned the people of the village, as it was proposed by the Northtown faction to include the Nickel Plate Railroad within their corporate limits, which would leave the south portion practically "flat". Consequently there was a big fight over the boundary line on the south, and the outcome was that the village proper retained the benefit of the taxes from the Nickel Plate line. The village of North Kingsville was incorporated about 1910, and its citizens are very proud of their little municipality. Within the year they have erected a splendid modern school building, that quite meets their hearts' desire. The town has the expansive lake frontage, which is a great advantage, and also within its environs there is an artificial lake, with adjoining parkage, which affords good boating and fishing and a pleasant resort on hot summer days. Soon after the Lake Shore Railroad was put in operation, the company located at North Kingsville a large repair shop, wherein all of the iron and steel repair work for the system was done. Mr. Callow's father was one of the foremen in that shop, and the son worked there for some years before it was shut down, in 1876. The house where Mr. Callow resides was the old "Nettleton Stage House", an early day tavern and a regular stop for stage coaches. In connection, there was a very commodious barn, which was erected in 1812 and served until the fall of 1924, when it was torn down. 352 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY Whisky Stills.—("Pioneer", in Kingsville Tribune, August, 1889.) In the log cabin days of Kingsville there was no market for the little surplus grain that was raised, and, to put it into a more condensed form, that it might be shipped to Detroit or Buffalo, they felt it necessary to distill it into whisky. In 1823 there were three stills running within a radius of six miles of this place. One by a man named Ward, on the place now owned by Squire Ransom, in the east part of town ; one by Smith Webster, at the foot of Stephen Sabin's hill ; and one by Enoch Stevens, in East Ashtabula, on what is now the Frank Watrous place. Five years later one was started by Walter Atwell, on north side of road, a little east of Nickel Plate gravel pit. About the same time, Jonathan Gillette started one where the late Jacob Fickinger's saw mill now stands, and still later, Luce & Eastman started one at what is known as Kingsbury's Mill. Not all of these stills were running at the same time, but enough were going to use up the surplus corn and rye, and make good whisky easy to obtain, which at that time was considered legitimate and proper and even necessary. Farmers would get some of their grain worked up on shares and store it away in their cellars for future use, as it was thought to be very useful to protect against cold weather. Ministers of the gospel drank it, church members drank it ; all used it more or less as a remedy. The article was pure, easy to be obtained, kept in families as other remedies were kept, and no more of its evil effects were noticed, comparatively, than now. Its use was not opposed nor looked down upon, therefore none were unduly stimulated to obtain it by stealth because of its use being arbitrarily opposed. Numerous Events.—The Ashtabula County Infirmary was built in Kingsville and was made ready for business in January, 1841. The original directors were Colonel St. John, of Morgan (Rock Creek) ; Horace Luce, of Kingsville, and a Mr. Grant, of Conneaut. Obed Dibble was first superintendent. In May, 1853, Abel Brumbley tied a 20-pound stone to one end of a rope and the other end around his neck and jumped into the mill pond. In an account of the suicide, a local paper said: "A long course of whisky has brought poor Abel to this, at the age of 25. We have no tears for his escape from the enemy." In the summer of 1858 a move was started to make the green in front of the academy into a village park, by having it graded, fenced in and HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 353 planted with shrubbery. Public-spirited citizens subscribed over $500 for the purpose. Crowther & Sons' woolen factory was destroyed by fire on Oct. 16, 1860, together with contents. The loss was $7,000. Prof. M. E. Barrett opened a commercial college in the town in the summer of 1866. Lulu Falls Cemetery was formally appropriated for burial purposes on Friday, Nov. 15, 1867. A landscape artist was engaged and the lot sale opened. Kingsville's big fire occurred on Feb. 15, 1867, when the business center of the town was wiped out. It was necessary to tear down two buildings to stay the progress of the flames. A Y. M. C. A. was organized in Kingsville in 1869. A crowd of 600 persons from far and near attended the opening of Kelsey's Trotting Park, in Kingsville, in the spring of 1877. Infirmary Holocaust.—The most distressing mishap in the annals of Kingsville was the destruction by fire, on Feb. 2, 1858, of the county infirmary and the cremation of six of the inmates, while the others were turned out into the bitter winter's cold to find temporary shelter wherever it was offered. The fire started just after dark, being discovered at 5 p. m., when it had gained such headway as to be beyond any hope of control, and the management gave their entire attention to the rescue of the inmates. They succeeded in getting them all out excepting Thomas Neno, Joseph Brunson, a Mr. Minor, Eliza Percival, Anna Ellison and a Mrs. Bennett, formerly of Jefferson. Those who escaped, numbering about 60, were taken in by the sympathizing residents of the village, there being scarcely a home that did not take in one or more. Investigation disclosed that the fire was started by one of the inmates, the incendiary being Mrs. Huldah Morrison. A small boy said that she asked him to hand her a lighted stick with which to light her pipe. Upon obtaining possession of the torch, however, instead of touching it to the bowl of her pipe, she thrust the glow end into her straw tick, then threw open the door to insure a draft, and no means available could keep back the flames so nicely started. Mrs. Morrison was sent to jail, the verdict of the jury being that the victims of the fire came to their deaths by the wilful act of the pipe smoker. (21) CHAPTER XXVI. LENOX TOWNSHIP. FIRST OWNERS-FIRST SETTLERS-OTHER PIONEER SETTLERS-ROADS-SCHOOLS -SAW AND GRIST MILLS-CHURCHES-FIRST POSTMASTER-PROF. KING'S CORNET BAND-CYCLONE. The north line of Township No. 10, in the third range of Ashtabula County, is almost exactly in the center of the county. This township was deeded, in September, 1795, to Oliver Phillips, by the Connecticut Land Company, of which concern Mr. Phillips was an agent. In November, 1798, it passed to the hands of Gideon Granger Jr. and Oliver Phelps, who retained ownership until March, 1800, when they sold 12,678 acres to one Ashur Miller, and the town was called, after that owner, Millerstown. The same parcel changed hands several times and, in 1814, passed to the possession of Solomon, Alpha and Martin Rockwell. In 1813 the name of the township was changed to Lenox, presumably from the town of that name in Massachusetts. Lisle Asque is said to have been the first settler within the township, he having landed there in 1807, in the late spring, with his family. They lived in a rudely constructed shack of barks and boughs until they had built a log house, which was completed and occupied in June of that year. It stood on what is now known as "Jefferson road", on the bank of a stream that was given the name of Asque Creek. In 1806 and 1807 quite a number of families came from Washington, D. C., and vicinity, induced by Gideon Granger to emigrate to the newly opened West, where, he represented, was a great future for the tobacco industry, the men of these families being tobacco growers. How they fare, as a reward for their venture, is related in the story of Jefferson. Nearly all of the first families to arrive made but a comparatively short sojourn, then moved on to other parts, or back whence they came. Among the first to become per- - 354 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 355 manent residents, some of whose descendants still reside in the township, were the families of Erastus Oliver, Almon Fowler, Jotham, Cyrus and Isaac Williams, Benejah and Almerin House, E. S. and Sylvester Gleason, James and Johnathan Bailey, Justice Markham, Chauncy French, Asa Hartshorn, Sylvanus Norton, Horace Little, Gun, Elmote, Bacon, Moshier, VanWormer, Holeman, Wolcott, Ball, Halstead, Wheeler, Ray, Dodge, King, Lawson, Hurlburt, Carter, Udell, Church, and others. One of the important features of settlement of new country is always the laying out of roads which, as a rule, are to serve as public highways for future generations, and, therefore, must be given careful consideration before being established. In the breaking up of the forests of this county, many things had to be considered in connection with the highway proposition, and the location and direction of roadways was given very careful planning. Especially was this the case with Lenox, on account of it being the hub of the county. When Lisle Asque made a clearing and built himself a house on the bank of the creek, there were no roads in that immediate section, and it was very natural that his location should be chosen as a starting point for the first highway. It was six years after Mr. Asque built his house that work on the first road was begun. It was built from his home to the center of Dorset, or, as it was then called, Millsford. From that time new roads were established from year to year, and the state road north and south through the township was put in in 1827. There were not enough children of school age in the township to require a public establishment of learning until 1818, when a log schoolhouse was erected and the first term was taught by Asaneth Waters. The scholars graduated from the log to a frame building in 1821, and the new structure also served as a church or meeting house. The town began to take on commercial airs in 1819, when Ira French erected a saw mill, and N. A. Atkins a grist mill. With these promises of future greatness, the residents concluded that it was time to become enlisted as a village, and, on Jan. 17, 1820, pursuant to an order issued by the county commissioners, an election was held, at which Benjamin Waters, Comfort Gunn and Erastus Fowler were elected trustees, and Levi French clerk. This roster of original officers, it appears from the records, was only for temporary service, for on April 3 of the same year another general election was conducted, and that resulted in the naming of officers as 356 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY follows: Ira French, John Lawson and Benjamin Waters, trustees ; N. A. Atkins, clerk ; Orrin Elmore, treasurer ; T. Waters, constable. Levi French was the first justice of the peace of the village. About the first real industry that Lenox boasted (and it did not boast of that very loudly) was a distillery, which was installed in 1820, by John Udell and Sylvanus Merrill. In 1826 the hopes of those spiritually inclined began to become a realization, as the Rev. Mr. Carr came and organized a Methodist class. The Free-Will Baptists were next to organize, in a small way. Ten years later a meeting house was erected and was used in a partially completed condition till 1843, when the work of completion was accomplished and it was dedicated, the Rev. Ira Norris officiating. He was a Methodist. The Rev. M. W. Alfred was the first regular minister, and he also served the town as a doctor of medicine. Some years previous, William Beach, organized a Sunday school, which was conducted in the schoolhouse, and the building became familiarly known as the "synagogue". One of the House brothers, who enjoyed the title "Colonel", was commissioned Lenox's first postmaster, in 1825. In 1837 travel through that immediate section had become so large that there were daily demands for accommodations that could not be supplied, so another advance step was taken through the opening of a tavern, by James Ray. The first general store in Lenox was opened to the public by Wing & Carpenter, of New York, in 1835. In 1841 Abiather Fowler built a cheese factory, which did a good business for several years. In subsequent years, as the great dairy industry of the county developed and grew, other factories were built. One of the proudest acquisitions to the town's claims for attention was the King Cornet Band, which was organized in 1861 by Prof. H. M. King. This organization soon became known throughout this and adjoining counties and was in demand on special occasions, but their local glory was short, for the members were men of action and loyalty and the whole aggregation soon enlisted under Capt. W. R. Allen as a brigade band in General Lane's division, and left for service in Kansas. They were doomed to disappointment, however, for upon arrival in Chicago they were intercepted by an order from the secretary of war that they should return home. Not discouraged at this failure, a large number of the members went, soon afterward, to Governors Island, where they went into training HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 357 for the regular service. They returned to Lenox in 1863, and a few months later enlisted as privates in the regular army and started for the front, determined to have a hand in the struggle for freedom. Again they were doomed to disappointment, for they had proceeded no farther than Columbus, where they were held in barracks until the war had closed. The Presbyterian-Congregational Church was dedicated in January, 1852, and King & French added a new saw mill to the industries, in the same year. Nature took a hand in the clearing of the forest land of Lenox, in June, 1821, when that township was visited by a young cyclone, that leveled the forest trees for about three miles, making a clearing 60 feet wide, in which everything fell before the blast. Great trees were leveled and uprooted, and a scene of devastation resulted. Lying so far removed from a railroad that no benefit could be derived therefrom, Lenox has maintained a very even balance down the years and today is little changed from the town of our forefathers' days. CHAPTER XXVII. MONROE TOWNSHIP. NAMED FROM PRESIDENT MONROE - FIRST SETTLERS - CALEB BLODGETT-WATER POWER-WOLVES AND BEARS A MENACE-REV. JOSEPH BADGER-RELIGIOUS MEETINGS AND CHURCHES-ROADS-FIRST MAIL SERVICE- FERGUSON'S SETTLEMENT. At the time of the organization of Ashtabula County, in 1811, the northeastern section of the county, embracing Townships Nos. 12, 13 and 14 of the first range, were set aside and given the name of Salem. The assignment included what are now Conneaut and Monroe Townships. In the first division that made two distinct townships of the one, Monroe was but five miles square, but when the town was organized, in 1818, it was given two miles more in length, the same being taken from Conneaut and added to the northern portion of the new township, thus making it seven by five miles in area and the largest township in the county. The town was said to have been named from President James Monroe. The election of 1818 was held in a log cabin on what was known as the Walker Bennett farm, on the Fourth of July. After the election, David Niles, Harvey Dean and Stephen Webb were township trustees ; Martin Kellogg, clerk ; Asa Brown and Peter Peck, overseers of the poor ; Perry Gardner and Isaac Bennett, fence viewers, and Amos Kellogg, treasurer. The first settler to locate in the township was Col. Stephen Moulton, who journeyed from Whitestown, N. Y., in 1799. With him was a woman said to have been another man's wife, with whom Moulton had eloped, so it was not strange that they should choose as their place of hiding a location in a dense forest, where few white men had ever penetrated. Probably the only men of the white race that had been over that section were the men of the original Connecticut Land Company's surveying corps. History relates, further, that the woman was no more loyal to Moulton - 358 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 359 than she had been to her husband back East, for, not very long after their settlement in Ohio, other men came into the vicinity and she eloped with one of them, thus leaving the Colonel to live alone in his log cabin, the first that had been erected within the township, to ponder over the fickleness of humanity, and wonder what had become of the wife and children he had deserted in the East. Moulton and his borrowed wife had three years of each others' company before another family intruded on their privacy and came to be their neighbors. The second comer was Johnathan Harrington, and he established a home near the Moulton residence. Then came William Moss, William, James and George Ferguson. In 1802 William Hardy, of Pennsylvania, decided to cast his lot with those who were already established in Ashtabula County, so he loaded such of his household effects as could be conveyed and, taking his wife and three children, he set out for the West. While en route, Mrs. Hardy was taken ill and died. Mr. Hardy arranged for her burial and then, resumed his journey into the unbroken wilds of Ohio. When he came to Monroe, he decided to go no farther, so he began looking about for a suitable location and had the good fortune to find a vacant house at his disposal. The family arrived here in April, 1803, after having been on the travel four months. It happened that on the very day of their arrival, George Ferguson and family were taking their departure for Springfield, over the line in Pennsylvania, and, as they were abandoning their log house, the Hardy family moved into it and there established themselves, and for several generations the Hardy family continued to reside in the township of Monroe. Among the pioneer residents of Monroe, one man stood out conspicuously because of his activities in connection with the commercial interests of the settlement and its environs. That was Caleb Blodgett, who attached himself to the town in 1810 and at once got busy. He purchased 50 acres of land near where is now the village of Kelloggsville, settled thereon and proceeded to clear and cultivate his property. His first venture in the commercial line was to purchase a distillery that had been built a few years previously and was owned by W. B. Frazier. That proved so profitable that he subsequently installed several other distilleries in the near vicinity. He did not confine his activities to his own town, however, for he bought into companies operating stage lines between Buffalo and Cleveland and from Erie to Pittsburgh. The latter route lay through 360 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY Monroe Township, and was largely responsible for the upbuilding of the hamlet of Kelloggsville, through which it coursed. Blodgett was progressive in his ideas and, while his chief interest lay in the enriching of himself, his work in some lines meant much to succeeding generations. One of his best accomplishments was the building of a turnpike road from the north line of Monroe Township to the southwest corner of the township of Richmond, a distance of 15 miles. People of that day and many later years knew this particular section of highway as "Blodgett's turnpike". He built a flour mill in Sheffield, and a steam grist mill in Kelloggsville, and for a period of five years he had a contract to supply beef and pork for the U. S. garrison at Green Bay, Wis. Williams Brothers' History relates further: "He was a man who assumed great risks and many times would be unable to meet his obligations. It is said that at one time he bought a boiler in Pittsburgh, and when transporting it home hid himself in it to evade being stopped by men whom he owed at his stage stations along the route. At another time he came very near being kidnapped by a party who were going to take him to Batavia, N. Y., where a bail-bond was lying against him. He was decoyed into their wagon by the parties, on a pretense of their desiring to buy his farm, but when they reached his place they whipped up, at the same time holding him in the wagon so that he could not escape. He called to his men, and they, hearing him, took horses and pursued, overtaking the party in the vicinity of Clark's Corners, where they rescued him." Monroe Township was particularly favored with water that could be utilized for power, as both the Conneaut and Ashtabula Rivers flow through its boundaries. This advantage was improved by many and water mills of all descriptions used in that period were constructed here and there throughout the portions of the townships where the rivers were. Distilleries were among the most essential requirements of that time, and were as common as grist mills. Wolves and bears menaced the early corners to this section, where they seemed to be particularly numerous. They preyed on the stock of the settlers and made it a very hazardous and trying experience for the owners at all times. There were also quite a number of Indian families scattered throughout the township, but they were always friendly and the whites got along with them very well. This vicinity was full of elk, and at certain times of the year many Indians would come and spend weeks hunting. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 361 History relates that on one occasion Thomas Hamilton was out hunting and came upon a drove of 13 elk in a bend of the Conneaut River, where they could not get out without passing him, and that he killed every one of them. After he had completed the job of dressing them, he deposited the meat in the water to keep it fresh, and then sent word broadcast for everybody to come and help himself. The Rev. Joseph Badger was never lacking in performance of what he considered his duty. He was ever watchful of the opportunities presented for extending the work of the gospel, and when it seemed propitious to plant the seed of righteousness, he was always in the right place. Accordingly, the growing settlement of Monroe Township was considered needy of his attention, and, in 1804, he organized a "class meeting" and preached to the dwellers thereabout at stated intervals in his itinerary of the county. These meetings were held for many years at the homes of members, and taken to the schoolhouse, after one was built in 1814. An organization of the Congregational faith was affected in 1829, and the Rev. Ephraim Woodruff was the first minister. This organization erected a church home in 1832, at a cost of $1,500, which was contributed in fifths by leading members. A branch of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the Kelloggsville section in 1832, one of the same denomination at Monroe Centers in 1835, and another at Clark's Corners in 1860. Church buildings of the early years were put up at Kelloggsville in 1850, Monroe Center in 1852, and Clark's Corners in 1867. A Christian Church was organized in the winter of 1824-25, and in 1848 they erected a church home at Hatch's Corners. In 1853 a society of Universalists organized and proceeded at once to build their church. One of the ministers of this congregation, in later years, was the Rev. Charles L. Shipman, who was known as the "Marrying Parson". When he died, a few years ago, he had performed over 2,000 wedding ceremonies. The editor of this book can vouch for the success of two of those ceremonies, for he married her parents, and, twenty-odd years afterward, performed the same service for their daughter, the writer. Monroe was one of the fortunate townships as pertains to public roads, lying, as it did, on the course of the initial surveying party, their road had been worked through before anybody had settled there. This party began this portion of their survey at the Pennsylvania line, at the northeast corner of Monroe Township, they worked through in a diagonal 362 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY direction, breaking a road as they went, and continued on through the township and others till it ended at Austinburg, from which point it was later extended to Cleveland. This was known as the "Old Girdled Road" for many years. The state road was put through in 1807, and some years later the county road, which traversed from south to north, and hitting the Ridge a short distance east of Amboy. The state road went to Conneaut. The first mail service given to Monroe was the route installed from Warren to Salem (Conneaut), via Kinsman. The postoffice was named Kelloggsville, in compliment to Amos Kellogg, the first postmaster. The place of distribution and dispatch of the mail was in the Kellogg residence, and that particular section of the township has since been known as Kelloggsville. Subsequently two other postoffices were established in the county, one at Monroe Center, and the other at Clark's Corners. Prior to the establishment of the postoffice in Kelloggsville, the place now known by that name was called "Ferguson's Settlement", for the Ferguson family, previously mentioned among the first settlers, who made their homes in this immediate vicinity. This was a very lively center in its palmy days, with distilleries, several kinds of mills, stores, churches, schools, and all that goes to make up a thriving little village. At one time this township had more inhabitants than any other in the county, but as years passed, the attractions of the cities drew the boys from the farms, the girls married men who took them from the old home town, the elders gradually joined the "silent majority", and today the town is a very unassuming little hamlet. CHAPTER XXVIII. MORGAN TOWNSHIP. JOHN MORGAN-ORIGINAL OWNER-TIMOTHY P. HAWLEY-FIRST SETTLERS---GRIST MILL ERECTED IN 1808-PIONEER FARMING-EARLY HOMES-EARLY SETTLERS- CHURCHES ORGANIZED-TURNPIKE ROAD-INDUSTRIES-ROCK CREEK- BUSINESS-LODGES-FIRST TEACHERS INSTITUTE. Morgan, situated between Austinburg and Rome, in Range No. 4, was a part of the original Richfield Township until 1819, when it was detached and given the name of Morgan, after John Morgan, the man who purchased it from the Connecticut Land Company in 1798. He did not retain possession very long before he sold it to another land company of the East, who sent Timothy R. Hawley, of Farmington, Conn., to make a survey of the township and plat it into 100-acre lots, preparatory to the sale of the tract. The company gave Mr. Hawley three lots, and a mill site on the creek, in consideration of his agreement to erect a saw mill within a year. After he had completed his survey and had broken a north-and-south road through the township from Austinburg to Trumbull County, Mr. Hawley looked with satisfaction upon his accomplishment that constituted the preliminary work of a future thriving section, which he was to father, as the first active settler. He then returned to Connecticut and, in the early summer of the following year, he brought his family and household possessions to their new home in the West. His activities and interest in the settlement and development of the township of Morgan continued for several years, during which he served as postmaster, justice of the peace and as all-round prominent citizen, until he was elected clerk of courts of Ashtabula County, whereupon he moved to the county seat and there passed the remaining portion of his life. - 363 - 364 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY In the year 1801 Nathan and Asa Gillett, with their families, arrived in Morgan from Connecticut, and proceeded to establish a home. Had all of the incoming families of the good old New England stock been so large in numbers as that of Nathan Gillett, this county would have increased in population much more rapidly. There were ten mouths to feed in this little household circle, and the problem of keeping them all "fed up" was no small one in those days. The man who would venture the taking of such a family into an unbroken wilderness had, as we would say today, "some nerve". It was, of course, necessary to clear off the timber, before space could be had for raising anything in the ground to supply the family larder, and that usually meant that settlers could not hope for anything in the way of crops from their own land during the first year of their stay. No grist mill was erected in Morgan until 1808, and residents prior to that year were compelled to take their grain some distance for grinding, the nearest mill being at Austinburg. The distance in miles was not so great, but the trouble was experienced in the conveyance, for the forest roads were very difficult to travel. The earliest corners were able to raise only enough potatoes, wheat and other essentials to supply their own families, so those who followed, and had to wait a year before being able to grow what they needed for their own use, had to travel the bad roads to the nearest market town, which was often many miles and several days' journey, and buy what they needed, then cart it home. For these purchasing expeditions, several heads of families would club together and assign two or three of their number to make the journey. It was not safe for one man to undertake the trip alone, because of the chance that he might fall prey to some wild beast, or become victim of an accident that would disable him, perhaps miles from any habitation. Owing to the condition of the first made roads, a team of oxen could cover only a few miles in a whole day, and it was often necessary for the men in charge of these expeditions to spend several nights in succession on their wagons, it being usually necessary for one of the party to keep awake to protect the oxen and the men against wild beasts. The mother of today can not imagine the worry that the good wives at home must have experienced on occasions when their husbands were absent on these trips. It is difficult, in these days of easy communication, to realize the blessing of the telephone, the telegraph and the wireless. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 365 When the head of the house left his family then for an absence of several days, during which he would be in the way of many dangers, he had no way, upon his arrival at his destination, of communicating with those at home ; if he were detained at some intermediate point on his route, he could not step into a drug store and tell his wife all about it over the telephone, the same as if he were in his own house. There was nothing for the wife to do but await his return, without knowledge of his wayfaring fortunes, until her long-watchful eyes discerned up the road the old ox team plodding laborously toward its home stable, and, as they came nearer, the men of the outfit waving their hats in air in greeting and joy as they beheld the long journey's end. Nathan Gillett and has family enjoyed the advantages of an unusually cozy home, built for them in the interest of comfort. History describes the house of the Gilletts as a building 18 feet square and built of undressed logs, eight logs high. To keep out the cold winds and rain, the spaces between the logs were filled with split timbers and plastered in with clay, making them perfectly tight. Long strips of elm bark, supported by long and uniform poles, constituted the roof, all openings of which were likewise plastered tight. Three openings, each two feet square, served the purpose of giving light and air, oiled white paper taking the place of glass in the windows. A mud chimney completed the general architecture, and thus fortified against the elements, the Gillett family had a very comfortable existence, during the first few years of their sojourn ; then a new and larger home was erected, also of logs, in another nearby locality, and the original home became the first schoolhouse of the township. In this modest and crude place of learning the youth of the vicinity were schooled for their future usefulness in the community and elsewhere. The first teacher of the town was Miss Diantha Wilcox. From the arrival of the first comers, in 1801, the population increased quite rapidly. The names appearing among the early settlers, who came prior to 1805, as chronicled by history, included the families of J. B. Battell, D. M. Curtis, M. C. Wilcox, Hosea Wilcox, Eli Porter, Edmond Strong, John Wright, Sebe Bronson, Q. F. Atkins, Rosswell Stevens, I. H. Phelps, James Stone, Luman Beach, John Wright, Stephen Knowlton, Erastus Flowers, J. D. Hawley, Joseph Bates and others. Several of these families settled on adjoining properties, thus constituting a little colony that formed the nucleus for the town that grew 366 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY in later years. They were all God-fearing people and very early in their stay established Sabbath observation services. The first of these gatherings was held in 1802, at the home of John Wright and family, with the entire community in attendance. These good people held religious meetings regularly, at homes that were always open to them, for a number of years. As the roads became more stable and passable, many journeyed to Austinburg and attended the Congregational Church there, which was the first church erected on the Western Reserve. There was not a regularly organized church in Rock Creek till the year 1819, that being of the Presbyterian faith. This society built a church in 1829 at the township center. Fifteen or sixteen years later the building was moved to property adjacent to the center of population, which was nearer the southern border of the township. The Rev. Ralph Stone was the first regular minister to this congregation. In 1822 the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized at the home of Alfred Bronson, and in 1844 the organization occupied their new house of worship in the village. The Disciple Church was organized in 1874 and put up a brick church during the same year. In the early days of Morgan Township the Torrington Land Company, of Connecticut, who owned such of the property as had not been individually purchased, deeded to the future generations one lot for the establishment of schools, a lot on which should be erected a parsonage for occupancy of a resident minister, together with half of a lot as a present to the first preacher who should establish his home in the village. Then it donated a five-acre plat to be used as a public square, and on which were to be erected future churches. Thus the future religious interests of Morgan were very nicely taken care of for many years. In the early part of the year 1804, the inhabitants of Morgan began the work of clearing this tract, with the idea of utilizing it for the purposes designed. The minister who was first to avail himself of the advantages embraced in the grant was the Rev. Thomas Robbins, who had come from Connecticut, and on him was conferred the honor of inaugurating the work of clearing, by cutting down the first tree. The first building of this, what would be termed today, group plan, was a log structure, which was used jointly as a schoolhouse during the week days and as a church on Sundays and such evenings as the class meetings were held. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 367 The means of access to Morgan Township by those who emigrated from the East was a turnpike road that was built from Ashtabula Harbor to the south, a part of which thoroughfare was the one formerly mentioned as having been constructed by T. R. Hawley, from Austinburg to Trumbull County. The southern terminus, for some years, was Gustavus. Eventually it was extended through to the southern counties. During the early years following the settlement of Morgan, other roads were constructed, giving access to all neighboring settlements, and connecting with thoroughfares through adjoining townships. The evolution of highways in this county, from the installation of the "Old Salt Road" up to the present day, is made the subject for an interesting article in another part of this work. Stephen Knowlton erected the first frame house in Morgan Township, in 1811. The first resident physician was Dr. Isaac Weed, who settled there in 1818. The first cheese factory was put up by B. C. Randall, in 1867, and during the year 1870 Harrington & Randall established a factory that had an average annual output of 240,000 pounds of cheese. Next in line came the introduction of a butter factory, erected by a Mr. Dean, and that was later consolidated with the big cheese factory. The tanning industry was early inducted into the industrial activities of the town, and became the leading industry for many years. The first establishment of this nature was that of Joseph Ferry, in 1821. In 1831 G. W. Quigley erected a like institution. Covell & Son were the next to branch out in that business, installing a plant in 1843, and Baldwin & Sons added another tannery to the list in 1849. All these establishments did a thriving business, and had their source of supply near at hand, so there was no transportation problem to be considered in connection with obtaining the raw material. Ashtabula County was for many years acknowledged as the largest dairy county in the State of Ohio, and its bovine population ran from 35,000 to 50,000 head. The town, had other industrial plants that figured largely in its prosperity and growth. Roger and Lauren Foot built a carding and cloth-dressing factory in 1831, which was purchased in 1850 by the Farmer Company, which added machinery for manufacturing woolen goods. Among further industries of subsequent years were carriage shops, foundries, planing mills, cheese box factories, basket factories, saw mills, grist mills and other concerns. Morgan was organized as a township in 1819, and in 1849 the village 368 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY of Rock Creek was regularly incorporated by an act of the State Legislature, through the efforts of Representative N. L. Chaffee. The name was taken from the river running through the township from northeast to southwest, which had been named Rock Creek. The Grand River cuts into the northwestern corner of the township. Roger Foot's first venture in business, after coming to Rock Creek, was the purchase from Ambrose Humphrey of the latter's saw mill and grist mill, to which he made improvements and additions, enlarging the last named department. In the course of time so much of the county was cleared and devoted to raising of wheat, that it became a drug on the local market, and this situation decided Mr. Foot to branch out, by introducing flour-making machinery in his establishment. This necessitated the purchase of new buhr-stones and new bolting-cloth, to purchase which he sent his son, who had entered the business with him, to the East. The junior member was unable to find suitable stones in Buffalo, so journeyed on to Rochester, where the result was the same. He returned and the necessary equipment was made and installed right at home, and the quality of flour turned out at this plant was such as to create a wide demand, as it became known. They supplied not only the immediate surrounding territory, but for years sent their product to the New York market, where it ranked with the best. Rock Creek had its quota of lodges, several nearby towns contributing to the membership of the different orders. The Masonic Lodge was chartered in 1856, and in 1864 built its own home rooms, occupying the third story of one Of the Main street business blocks. This building was destroyed two years later by fire, and when it was rebuilt the following year, the Masons occupied their original position in the new block. Soon after occupying their new quarters, a Royal Arch chapter was instituted, in 1867. Rock Creek Lodge No. 254, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted June 12, 1854 ; Morgan Grange No. 1301, P. of H., in February, 1877. The "Temperance League" was organized in 1874, which was later merged into the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In 1877 a branch of the Young Men's Christian Association was added to the town societies. The Disciple Church was organized in the town in 1874. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 369 When Spencer Harvey found an abundance of flint arrowheads and other implements on his farm, in 1852, it gave rise to the idea that at some remote time that had been the scene of a battle between Indian tribes. The construction of a plank road from Rock Creek to Painesville gave the town a big impetus, as it brought much additional trade to the merchants and made it much easier for them to obtain their merchandise stock. In the summer of 1924 Rock Creek received its first modern firefighting apparatus, a chemical auto truck, together with hose and ladders. It was delivered a few days too late to be of service at a fire which burned the principal business block of the village, and other buildings, causing a loss of $100,000. At a "Home-Coming" held in Rock Creek on Labor Day, 1924, the big feature of the program of entertainment was the formal dedication of a new $160,000 school building. Teachers' Institute.—The first Teachers' Institute held in Ashtabula County was convened at Rock Creek from Nov. 1 to 6, 1852. Besides the faculty, there were in attendance over 80 teachers of the county schools. (22) CHAPTER XXIX. NEW LYME TOWNSHIP. PURCHASED BY ELISHA TRACY-FIRST SETTLERS-ORGANIZED IN 1813-FIRST OFFICERS---ROAD BUILDING-FIRST RELIGIOUS MEETING-CHEESE FACTORY-OTHER INDUSTRIES-LODGES-EARLY CUSTOMS-FIRST WEDDING-NEW LYME INSTITUTE. Township No. 9, in the third range or Ashtabula County, was originally Lebanon, now it is New Lyme, and its confines also include South New Lyme, Dodgeville and Brownsville, all distinct settlements. The land covered by this township was purchased in 1799 by Elisha Tracy, from the Connecticut Land Company, and later Josiah Barber became owner. During 1801 to 1803 he disposed of it to S. Gilbert, E. Tracy, J. Pepoon and Joel Owen. The latter's ownership included 1,000 acres, and Mr. Owen set out from his home in the far East, with his family, to take possession, but owing to the inclemency of the late fall weather, he left his wife and children at Amsterdam, N. Y., and finished the journey alone. After he had reached his destination and chosen a site for his future homestead, he proceeded to erect a house, which was the first residence put up in the township. In the spring, his home all completed, he returned to Amsterdam, rejoined his family and with them came back to the new home. Notwithstanding the cozy cabin that awaited them, it was a lonely place for them all to settle down in, surrounded by forest and seven miles removed from the nearest neighbor. In this solitude the family passed the succeeding years until 1811, in which year Samuel G. and. Daniel Peck, Joshua Strickland, Vinton B. Way and John and Salmon Gee arrived from Connecticut and settled in the vicinity of the Owen home. Later in the same year Dan Huntley, Joseph Miller, Peter Chapman and Perry Beckwith came on from the East with their families and chose future residence spots in the township. In the - 370 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 371 fall the Pecks and Mr. Hay went back to Connecticut after their waiting families, and on their return were accompanied by Eusebius Dodge, Zopher Gee, Charles Knowles and Sanford Miller, the entire party making the journey with ox teams in just six weeks. The above named individuals and families constituted the real pioneer settlers of New Lyme Township, wherein many of their descendants still reside. The influx of 1811 gave the population of New Lyme Township a big impetus. The experiences of many of the emigrants en route to the new home section were not all pleasant. For much of the way there were no broken roads and most of them followed the lake shore from Buffalo. It took several weeks to make the journey and the travelers encountered varied weather, in addition to other unpleasant features. The beach of the lake, generally, afforded a good road for the heavy wagons, but the outfits were often soaked by the waves in their passage around headlands that came near to the water, and in many instances it was necessary to push their teams and wagons through the surf for some distance. One company came very near to losing their teams, while thus making one of the difficult passages, and even their lives were endangered. Eusebius Dodge on this occasion was carrying in his pocket his title to the 1,280 acres that he had purchased in New Lyme, together with $1,000 in currency. When he had once again reached sound footing, he found the papers and money completely soaked and had considerable difficulty in restoring them to a condition of usefulness. Arrived at Ashtabula, they found much hard going still ahead of them before they could reach their goal in the interior of the county. When the township was organized, in 1813, it was given the name of Lebanon, which was changed, by act of the State Legislature, in 1825, to New Lyme. The original town officers were Daniel Huntley, Samuel Peck and Perry Beckwith, trustees ; Joseph Miller, clerk; Joel Owens, treasurer, and Edward Peck, constable. Eusebius Dodge was the first justice of the peace. Lemuel Lee was the first postmaster in the township, the mail for that village, from a route established in 1826 between Warren and Painesville, via Jefferson and Austinburg, being "worked" at his home. The first tavern to meet the needs of the traveling public was established by Elijah Brown, in 1876. The first regular mercantile establishment in the township was a general store opened in 1830 by Hayes & Carpenter. The needs of the community for, store goods had been supplied prior to that time by 372 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY members of the community who would make occasional trips to the nearest metropolis, purchase all sorts of merchandise for which they had advance orders from the people of the township generally, and, returning, fill the orders from house to house, exacting a small commission for their work. Jeremiah Dodge was for years the leading "commission merchant" of the vicinity. The first comers to New Lyme found only blazed trails, making difficult traveling for many miles before reaching their destination, and there was little else in the way of roadways until about the time of the township organization, immediately after which attention was given to means of travel, and by 1820 fairly good roads had been built in all directions. The first religious meeting was held at the home of Zopher Gee, in 1812, and conducted by the Rev. Giles H. Cowles, of Austinburg, who made frequent pilgrimages to neighboring settlements for the purpose of planting the seed of Christianity. In 1826 Elder Samuel Wires was instrumental in the organization of a church of the Free-Will Baptist faith. The original membership numbered less than a dozen, but the society prospered and grew in numbers, and in 1836 was regularly incorporated. Ten years later they built their own house of worship at Dodgeville settlement. In the meantime the Close-Communion Baptists had organized a society and built a church in 1832. The South New Lyme Presbyterian Church was built in 1890. Albert Latimer and Johnathan Bishop built a cheese factory in 1865, and Dodge & Brown installed a like institution a few years later. New Lyme very soon took a place as a leader in the cheese making industry, for which Ashtabula County became famous the country over. The output of cheese in that township has been known to reach nearly to the half-million-pound mark in a year. Dodgeville lodge of Masons was organized in the middle years of the century, and a lodge of the Order of Good Templars was instituted in Brownsville. Aside from the cheese factories, a carriage manufactory, owned by Richmond, Dodge & Company, was the leading industry of the township. A water-power saw mill on Whetstone Creek, built in 1814, and another located on Lebanon Creek, in 1820, were other sources of industrial output. In the early fifties water-cure institutions were introduced and sprang up here and there over the Western Reserve. The Ashtabula Western HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 373 Reserve Water-Cure Institute was added to the attractions of New Lyme Township in 1852, the proprietors being Doctors Kee and Ely. A sanitarium 36x40 feet on the ground and two stories high, with a wing on one side 28x40 and two stories high, and another wing 16x24 and one story, the building presented a quite formidable appearance. This institution enjoyed a more or less profitable business for a number of years, but the "water-cure" eventually had its run and went the way of all fads. From a history of New Lyme compiled by B. F. Phillips, the following is taken : "In 1807 and for many succeeding years, girls' wages ranged from 50 cents to 75 cents a week. One lady tells us that when she was a small girl she carded and spun tow for Captain Flint, of this town, for 6 cents a run, until she earned enough to buy her a calico dress ; it then required seven yards to make a grown person a dress ; the price of prints was 75 cents a yard. "Mrs. Jeremiah Dodge, in her early days, went out spinning for 621/2 cents a week, that being the usual price. The ladies, both young and old, wore plain yet neat and tidy dresses of their own manufacture. They braided their own hats from straw or bullrushes. You would see them walking for miles to meeting, barefooted, carrying their shoes (if they were so lucky as to have any) in their hands, to put on when near the church. But the young, as well as the aged, often appeared at church in their bare feet, as it was no easy task to get shoes at any price. The wife of Joseph Miller, who was well off for those times, was in the habit of wearing a pair of old shoes, and carrying a pair of better ones in her hand, until one Sunday, upon returning to the place where she had left the old ones, she found a porcupine just 'using up the last of them. This so provoked her that she walked home in her bare feet. "The first wedding in this town took place in the spring of 1812, in the log cabin of Samuel Peck. The groom was Calvin Knowlton, of Morgan ; the bride, Miss Susan Peck, daughter of Samuel Peck. Courting was not done in those early days, as at present, for it was then expected that every young couple should pass through a series of Sunday night courtships extending from 12 to 18 months, and often still longer. It was plain to be seen that it wore hard on Calvin, for the lovers were separated by almost trackless wilderness, full of all manner of wild beast, with only blazed trees to guide the lover. Yet, by an edict of those old Connecticut 374 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY Puritans, this must all be done after sundown, and that, too, on Sunday night. Now Calvin had eight long miles to walk, through mud and snow. One night he slipped out at the back door while a faint glimpse of the sun was yet to be seen above the horizon, and was soon under fair headway for his Susan. The next day poor Calvin was brought before his betters and fined $1 and costs for thus profaning the Lord's Day. Thus say the records of our county at Jefferson." New Lyme Institute.—(By Floss Forman Barker.) In the year 1876 the pioneer residents of New Lyme were aroused with a keen desire for an institution of learning, for the benefit of their young people and those of future generations. The following year the agitation began to bear fruit, and when the co-operation of Judge. William S. Deming was solicited, the success of the project became practically assured. The Judge showed his interest by volunteering to give $3,000 toward the proposed school whenever the citizens would raise an equivalent amount, and, in addition, he agreed to donate the campus, and make other generous gifts. He suggested that subscriptions be solicited to be paid on an installment basis, as called for by the building committee. With a vast amount of fortitude, and splendid harmony on the part of the citizens, they were able to overcome many hardships, due to lack of finances, and, through noble sacrifices on the part of many, finally succeeded in supplementing the generous gifts of Judge Deming. The institution was founded in 1878 under the name of the Northern Collegiate Business Institute, but was not incorporated until 1883. The original building was finished and furnished, and dedicated on Aug. 21, 1879, an elaborate program attending the ceremonies. A recitation hall, a boys' dormitory and a ladies' hall were first erected. The last named was consumed by fire a few years later, whereupon the alumni of the institute erected Tuckerman Memorial Hall, a modern and well equipped building, affording comfort and pleasure to young ladies attending the school. When James Christy died and left his small fortune to be devoted to educational uses in the county, there immediately arose petitions from both New Lyme and Grand River institutes for the dowry to be turned over to them to be dispensed. In this contest, N. L. I. had the better of the argument, for Judge Deming said he would give as much more as there was in the fund if it were turned over to the New Lyme school.