650 - HISTORY OF THE. WESTERN RESERVE CURIOUS BALDWIN PAPERS. Ralph Baldwin, son of Cornelius and the grandson of Stephen Baldwin of Nelson, has kept a large number of curios and papers belonging to his father. They are most interesting. to look at. One dated December 24, 1808, is signed by Isaac Mills. It is for $2.23—state arid county taxes for a year. There are several receipts §ft ned by Ezra Booth for money collected and turned over to the proper authorities in Nelson, who were interested in the Library Society. The receipt signed by Benjamin.Fenn, under date. of January 23, 1821, to Stephen R. Baldwin shows that Fenn received six bushels of Wheat in payment for five Months schooling in the year 1819 and 1820. Another receipt reads : "Received of Stephen Baldwin $13.00 for the Anti-slavery cause, to be paid to Rev.. E. 'Weed, Et Oberlin. WINDHAM, July 5, 1857, H. C. TAYLOR." The following is of interest : "This may certify that Stephen Baldwin, for the consideration of $98.00, received to our full satisfaction, is the rightful proprietor of a pew No., 7 in the Congregational meeting house in Nelson, to be holden by him, his heirs and his assigns forever. "NELSON, Sept., 17; 1825. "HEZH. P. HOPKINS, JOSHUA B. SHERWOOD, JEREMIAH .R. FULLER, EBER MANSFIELD, Committee." COUNTY'S AREA AND POPULATION. When the county lines were finally drawn, the area was .four hundred and ninety square miles. Below is the table of population of the county for the last ninety years : 1810, 2,905 1820, 0,093 1830, 18,792 1840, 23,07 1850, 24,419 1860, 24,208 1870 24,584 1880 27,500 1890, 27,868 1900, 29,246 NEWSPAPERS OF THE COUNTY. In 1825 the Western Courier and the Western. Public Advertiser was established in Ravenna. The editor was J. B. Butler, of Pittsburg. He did very good business from the beginning and two years later it was sold to William Coolman, Jr., and C. B. Thompson. The next year, in 1828, James Walker bought an interest. Mr.. Thompson died in 1829. In 1830 The Courier became the Democratic organ of the county. At one time Mr. Harsha owned an interest, but he retired in 1831 and left Mr. Coolman sole proprietor again. In 1832 John Harmon bought the paper and edited it till 1836, when Selby and Robins of Ravenna bought it, and raised the subscription price to $3.00, but it' did not prosper and Mr. Harmon took control again. n 1838 it ceased to live. In 1830 Lewis L. Rice began to publish the Ohio Star. Cyrus Prentice and Jonathan Sloane backed this proposition" financially. In 1834 Laurin Dewey succeeded Mr. Rice and the Star was the local organ of the Whigs of Portage county. n 1838 Lyman Hall bought an interest in the Star. and became tilt, senior partner. When Dr. Dewey was elected sheriff of the county, he sold it to Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall sold, to Root and Elkins, and A. L. Lewis became editor. In 1840 Elkins bought out Root, he soon retired, and William Wadsworth owned the property. Lewis continued to be editor until 1843. .Dewey and Wadsworth continued to. be proprietors until 1844, when Wadsworth bought out Dewey, and Lewis again became editor. In 1845 Lewis bought an interest in the paper, but in 1847 Wadsworth bought him out. n 1849 Lyman W. Hall bought the Star. In 1852 he enlarged it and remained editor until 1854. The Western Reserve at this time was in an 'unsettled condition. Then newspapers stood decidedly for, some political party and the parties were so mixed up, or rather the people were so divided into new parties, that altogether it was hard sledding for newspaper HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE- 651 men. The Ohio Star became the Portage County Democrat. There was a small paper published by John Harmon and issued from the Courier office in 1835, called the Watchman. John B. King,, Innis Spalding, Joseph Lyman and Ashael Tyler started the Buckeye Democrat This was intended to fill the place which the Courier, had occupied. It did not live a year, however. Lyman. W. Hill, in 1840, published the Western Reserve Cabinet and Family Visitor. It was enlarged in 1842 and discontinued in 1843. It was the history of Portage county papers, at least, that whenever they raised the subscription price, or enlarged the paper, the result was disastrous. The Plain Dealer, with Mr. Canfield as editor and publisher, was started at Ravenna in 1844. It was weak in the beginning and never grew strong. Samuel D. Harris, so long and well known as an editor, and Roswell Batterson, issued the Portage Sentinel in 1845. In 1851 Batter-son, because of poor health, retired from the paper, and. Mr. Harris became proprietor. In 1852 he 'sold to Alphonso Hart and R. E. Craig. In 1854 the name was changed to the Weekly Portage County Sentinel and was enlarged. Tie next year Mr. Hart was sole proprietor. In 1856 James W. Somerville owned part interest. In 1857 Somerville bought out Hart. In 1862 the paper was discontinued. In 1848 the Portage County Whig was established. by John S. Herrick. In 1853 its name was changed to the Home Companion and Whig, and in 1854 it lost its identity in the Ohio Star. The parents of the Portage County Democrat were the Ohio Star and the Home Companion and Whig. The Democrat was first issued in 1854.. Hall, Herrick and Wadsworth owned it. When the Republican party was established the Democrat became its organ. Two years before this, that is 1856, Mr. Wadsworth had withdrawn from the firm, and in 1859 Mr. Herrick sold it so that for many years Lyman Hall and Son owned the paper: and ran it successfully. L. W. Hall was an. able man and his paper was a good one. Since the paper was a Republican and had the name of Democrat, the Halls were urged continu- ously to change its name. They disliked to do: this because of sentiment, but little by little the word Republican crept in. First in small type in the head, afterwards at the head of the editorial column. In 1876 its name was changed to the Republican Democrat. For some reason in the early 70's it was no longer a financial success, and in 1878 L. W. Hall and Son made an assignment to J. D. Horton and C. A. Reed. Halsey R. W. Hall was then editor, and continued as such until 1882, when he moved to Minnesota and Arthur Mosley. succeeded him. It is now owned by the Ravenna Republican Publishing Company and A. D. Robinson is president and manager. In 1878 the Portage County Republican was issued, with J. H. Fluhart as editor ; in 1882 the Republican Democrat Company bought out the Republican and in 1883 the paper became known as the Ravenna Republican. The Democratic Press had a long and honorable career. It was established by Samuel D. Harris in 1868. He was one of the early editors. Mr. Harris had had experience on the Courier, the Ohio Star and the Democrat; so that his paper was a success. Since his death, it has been edited by his son of the same name. S. D. Harris should be particularly mentioned in this history, since he was an able newspaper man ; the founder of the Democratic Press and for a long lifetime associated with the welfare of Ravenna.. He was born in Ravenna township in 1816. His father was S. D. Harris, of Connecticut, and his son, as stated, bears the same name. His mother was Lucy S. Kent, daughter of Zenas and sister of Marvin. He worked in the Western Courier's office as long as it lived. He and Roswell Batterson, the first husband of . Martha F. Dodge, published the Sentinel, a . Democratic 652 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE paper, in 1845, and later he bought Mr. Batterson out. In 1868 he issued the Democratic Press, and this has been published ever since. In 1859 Dr. Alonzo Dewey established the Omnium Gatherum, the first paper of Kent. W. W. Beach was the editor. The name was not very satisfactory and in, two months was changed to the Family Visitor. This name only lasted a few months, when it was called the Literary Casket. How this paper lived at all, under such a name, is not known, but it did not live in a very high manner, and in 1865 it was called the Saturday Review. Apparently the trouble was not in the name, for it did not prosper any better under the new name, and in October of 1866 it became the Commercial Bulletin. Later it was called the Saturday Morning Bulletin, and afterwards the Saturday Bulletin; so that this paper had eight names, for it was finally known as the Bulletin. In 1873 Mr. Dewey sold out and W. J. A. Minich purchased it. The first thing he did was to change the name to the. Kent Saturday Bulletin. The Kent News was established, in 1867, by L. D. Durban & Company. The office was in charge of his son, but the paper was not prosperous. A. C. Davis and Richard Field established the present Kent News. In 1882 the News Company bought it and Paul B. Conant became editor and publisher. In 1883 O. S. Rockwell began the editing of the paper: It has been enlarged, the office is well equipped, and it is a strong Democratic paper. Warren Pierce owned the first newspaper in Garrettsville. It was called the Garrettsville Monthly Review. The office stood about where the postoffice is. Mr. Pierce was a practical printer and did his own press-work and his job work. This Review was discontinued at the end of a year and a half. In 1867 he established the Garrettsville' Journal, which has always been successful. In 1873 he sold it to Charles B. Webb, who enlarged it. It is at present owned by the Journal Publishing Company, of which. C. M. Crane is president and George H. Colton vice president. RAILROADS OF PORTAGE COUNTY. Portage county had one of the earliest railroads. The act allowing the building of the Cleveland and Pittsburg was a special one passed in 1836, but nothing came of it. Several other acts followed, which applied to this road, but in 185o the Pennsylvania legislature authorized the Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad Company to extend its line into that state. Further action was taken, in conformity with the Ohio railroad laws, and the line from Cleveland to Ravenna had its tracks laid in the fall of 1850. The last rail was laid in March, 1851, and the last spike was driven near Hudson on March 10. It was on that date that the first passenger train went from Ravenna to Cleveland and returned. The early locomotives were almost always named for one of the men who had been most efficient in promoting the road ; but this one was named Ravenna. This road connected at Ravenna with the canal-boat running to Beaver, and from Beaver people took a steamer to Pittsburg. It took twenty-six hours to go to Pittsburg in this way, and it cost $3.50, including meals on the boat. The construction of this road was the beginning of the end of the canal business. As soon as the Cleveland and Mahoning road was built, running from Cleveland to Youngstown, passengers from that section deserted the canal as they had in Portage county, and soon freight, as well as passengers, was being carried by the railroad. The Cleveland and Mahoning Valley railroad ran through some of the townships of Portage county. The Atlantic and Great "Western railroad caused unusual interest in Portage county. In fact, Marvin Kent, who was for many years president of it, gave his time and enthused his friends on the subject, and it was incorporated in 1851. Enos P. Brainard was president of the company for nearly ten years, and because of his interest the county was interested. It took a long time HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 653 to get this road under way and the work was really begun at Jamestown in 186o. In 1862 the line was completed from Warren to Ravenna ; trains were running between those points ; and the same year the telegraph office wad opened, and in January of the following Year the last rail connecting the eastern and western part of the work was laid. In February the first accommodation train between Meadville and Ravenna arrived. Three companies made up the Atlantic and Great Western and the consolidation occurred in 1865. It was broad-gauge, and in that way was not a success. But not for this reason did it go into the hands of a receiver. It was leased and then again went into the hands of a receiver. The Erie Railroad Company released it in 1870, and in 1871 it was sold and the old name of the Atlantic and Great Western Company was used. In 1874 it was again in the hands of the receiver, and in 1880 was sold and its name changed to New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Then it was that the gauge was reduced to the standard. In 1883 the New York, Lake Erie and Western leased it for ninety-nine years. It now belongs to the Erie system. Two or three other railroads touched the county in several places. The Connotten goes through Suffield, Brimfield, Franklin and Streetsboro. It is now called the Wheeling. and Lake Erie Railroad Company and is under the control of the. Wabash system. The Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburg goes through Deerfield and Palmyra, and touches Paris. The Baltimore and Ohio has a branch which runs through Franklin, Ravenna, Charleston and Paris. GARFIELD, REALLY OF PORTAGE COUNTY. Although James A. Garfield was born in Orange and his body lies in Cleveland, the larger part of his life was spent in Portage county: Here he studied and taught ; here became president of the college ; here was his first home ; here he married and raised children ; and from this county he went into state and national politics. It, therefore, seems as. if the most which is to be said about him in this history should be said in the chapter devoted to Portage county. Abraham Garfield and his wife, Eliza, lived in Orange, he dying in 1833. His oldest daughter was twelve, and there were three younger children. The farm was unpaid for and only thirteen acres of it was cleared. Sympathetic friends and neighbors told Mrs. Garfield that she could never pay off her indebtedness and that she had better give her children away, for, without them, she might be able to support herself. This advice she did not follow. Life to her, without her children, was not worth while. She sold all the farm except thirty acres, paid her debts, and she and her children planted corn, potatoes and other necessary eatables. They made fence, did all sorts of heavy work, and then, when the day's work was over, she sat by the candle light and sewed for her neighbors. For making a pair of pants and a vest she received seventy-five cents. Thus she raised her family, and those of us who knew her in her old age and saw her sweetness and the strength of character in her face, could not but feel that she was as great as the illustrious son she bore. Little did she then know that- James would stand in the great east porch of the capitol, and, in loving appreciation, after taking the oath of office, kiss her in the presence of thousands and thousands. He remembered the struggle she had to rear him, and it seems as if all the way along he was helped largely through the self-denial and sympathy of women. Whether or no he realized this we do not know, but we do know he did not consider women inferior to men. His wife possessed great intellect and loved study as did he, and Almeda Booth, his friend, assisted him in his early study, and it is supposed furnished him money to finish his 'studies in Williams College. A schoolhouse in which he taught in 185o, at Orange, was remodeled, used as a residence, and is still standing. An autograph album be- 654 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE longing to one of the granddaughters of one of the school directors of that time has the following: "James A. Garfield commenced keeping school November 1, 1850, ending February 26, at $15 per month ; three and a half months, $52.50." Garfield came to Hiram in 1851, and lived there till 1877; then moved, to Mentor. He was not twenty years old when he entered the Eclectic Institute. During two terms of his life at Hiram, he was janitor of the building, made the fires, swept the floors and rang the bell. With all this extra work he managed to keep at the head of his class and was its valedictorian. He taught school and studied by turn. He always. looked forward with pleasure to getting back to Hiram. He loved its religious atmosphere, and in a letter to a friend he says, "Though a man have all knowledge and have not the love of God in his heart he will fall short of true excellence." That one sentence was the key-note of Gar-field's character. He was the most loving and "friendly of any public man the writer has ever known. In every hamlet in his district were people who looked forward to his coming to the political conventions as they would to a loved member of their family. In all such hamlets, he has been seen with his arm around some man-friend, talking enthusiastically, pleasantly and cheerfully. At first people used to think. he did this for political reasons, but soon they learned to know it was his nature. He probably called more people by their first name, and he felt he had a right to, than any other public man on the Reserve. He possessed one quality to a larger degree than any Other person the writer has ever known, and it has always seemed strange to her that this never was commented on by his biographers. He was absolutely forgiving. He was so forgiving that he could not remember, unless it was a great offense, either the wrong done him or who did it. Of course, he had his enemies in most towns, as men who occupy so high a place surely would have, and when his friends in that town would tell him that certain parties there were his enemies, and for ,political reasons must be cut, he would really try to remember it, but when he reached the town, if he saw this old friend, he immediately forgot all about it until admonished by his political backers. Mr. Garfield early displayed the ability for debating, and it is recorded that at Hiram, when he was very young, he overthrew in de-.bate Joseph Treat, who they were wont to call. Infidel Treat. In the summer of 1852, wanting to earn some money, he stayed in Hiram and helped A. S. Kilby build his house. For work as a carpenter he received seventy-five cents a day and board. He was a strong, hearty man, and well fitted for this work. Garfield was never ordained to the ministry. Many of the early Disciple preachers were not. He held revivals and added a great many members to his church. He baptized people, married people and read funeral services. He first preached in Hiram in the winter of 1853-54, and for a number of years in churches near by. After his return from Williams College, he studied law and entered, as a student, the office of Williamson & Riddle in Cleveland. He lectured for Hiram College. Almeda Booth, in writing to James A. Garfield, then a student at Williams College, under the date of February, 1856, says : "Brother Hayden thinks you are morally bound to come back here, but I think the moral obligation resting upon him is quite as strong to give up the management to you if you do come. I know you can never endure to work under him, for it is ten times as irksome to me as it was before I went away. James, would you risk to come here and see what you can do with the school ? It certainly is a good location, and I know you would succeed, if you were not embarrassed by dictation or management." It was after this that he became principal of the Institute. He was in Hiram on the 4th of February, 1881, for the last time. On that occasion he said : "Today is a sort of burial-day in many ways. I have often been in Hiram, and have HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 655 often left it ; but, with the exception of when I went to war, ,I have never felt that I was leaving it In quite so definite a way as I do today. It was so long a work-shop, so long a home, that all absences have been temporary, andinvolved always a return. I cannot speak of all the ties that bind me to this place. There are other things buried beneath this snow besides; dead people. The trees, the rocks, the fences and the grass are all reminders of things connected with my Hiram life. * * * May the time never come when I cannot find some:food for mind and heart on Hiram Hill." As president of the Eclectic Institute, Garfield was a success. The school came into prominence and advanced under his direction. In regard to Mr. Garfield's early student life at Hiram, Mr. Munnell. is on record. In writing., to F. M. Green, who wrote the history of Hiram College, under date of December 23, 1881, he says: "Dear Sir : In compliance with your request, I send you the following fact concerning Garfield as a student. I belonged to the first faculty of Hiram College—the Eclectic Institute then—and in November, 1850, heard the first lesson ever recited within its walls, and, therefore, knew the general impression made by the noble student when he first appeared upon the campus, and, especially in the professors' rooms. "When he arrived, he had studied a little of Latin grammar, but had done nothing in the way of, translating. I had no class to suit him in elementary Latin, one being behind him and another far in advance. He resolved at once to overtake the advanced class, provided I would hear his recitation after class hours, which I readily agreed to do. Teachers all know that an average lesson for an ordinary student, beginning 'Caesar's Commentaries,' is half a page, while carrying on the usual number of other studies ; but, on no occasion did Garfield come into said recitations without three pages of 'Caesar,' or six ordinary lessons, and then could go on further if I had time to hear him. His method of getting a start, as he afterwards told me, was resolute and determined. He went to a secluded place in the college with his `Caesar,' dictionary and grammar, and undertook to translate the first paragraph of half a dozen lines by writing down every Latin word, and under it every definition of that word, till he found the one that made the best sense, and when he had fairly made out, 'All Gaul is divided into three parts,' he thought his triumph had begun ; and when he had completed the whole paragraph, he said he 'just knew that he knew it.' "This was in line with all his after studies, for he always sought a conscious victory over every difficulty. Truly yours. "THOMAS MUNNELL." Synopsis of life : He was born in Orange, 1821 ; graduated at Williams' College, 1856 ; studied and practiced law ; Ohio senator, 1859- 60 ; colonel, 1861 ; brigadier general, 1862 ; on Rosecrans' staff, 1863 ; in congress, 1863-80 ; elected to United States senate, 1880 ; did not take his seat, because elected president; assassinated July 2, 1881. Strange it was that a division in the political party which he had served so long should have made Garfield's death possible. The contention of "stalwart" or "half-breed" was enough to fire an insane man to commit an awful deed. The summer of 1881 was one of tension for the nation. Daily bulletins from the bedside of the dying president were read in every hamlet, and when the life had gone Out interest turned to Charles Guiteau, whose trial and execution in the early winter followed. 'Twas a sad ending of a joyous, happy life. The widow and five children are still living, all prosperous and happy. The first child was nicknamed Betsey Trotwood, because he hoped she would be a boy. He playfully called her Trot. She died early and is buried on Hiram Hill. Probably no campaign was ever more hotly contested than was that of 1880, and no more excitement attending, unless it was those of 1840 and 1860. The great mass meetings at 656 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE Warren, when Grant and Conklin, of the Stalwart wing, spoke and afterwards visited Mentor, was the turning point. Probably no president had so many delegations visiting him, although he was at an inaccessible place, and, although he spoke in German sometimes, and on all subjects, he never made any statement which embarrassed his party. ALMEDA A. BOOTH. Undoubtedly the greatest woman the Western Reserve has produced was Almeda A., the daughter of Ezra and Dorcas Taylor. She ALMEDA A. BOOTH. was born in 1823, on a farm west of the center of Nelson, and there lived till she was twelve years old. From the very beginning of her life she showed intellectual and moral strength. At an incredible age she puzzled her teachers with questions and lost herself in her Greek grammar. In 1835 the family moved to Mantua where they lived for thirty-five years. F. M. Green, who wrote the "History of Hiram College," says : "Few women of n0bler character, purer life, or better mental equipment, have ever lived. During all of her term of service at. Hiram the light of her soul illuminated the classroom and the social walks of the students. It is difficult to institute a comparison between her and others of her generation. She had a distinct individuality and an almost divine personality. No one who ever came in contact with her can forget her. Even-tempered, an empress in her power to control, a conqueror of every will that seemed to her to stand in the way of true progress, she was undisputed mistress of all who came within the sphere of her influence. Her early pupils regarded her with almost as much reverence as the devout Romanist does the Virgin Mary. Her sweet, Christian spirit, made more fragrant by the sorrows of her life, permeated with its riches the history of Hiram school and social life for a full quarter of a century." Mr. Garfield, who was associated with her so long, and knew her so well, in his address, June 22, 1876, at Hiram, shows such a sympathetic insight into her life and character, as to make his estimate particularly valuable to those who would know her as she was known. The lesson and legacy of her life, left to her friends and to Hiram, are felicitously expressed by her appreciative biographer : "Her life was so largely and so inseparably a part of our own, that it is not easy for any of us, least of all for me, to take a sufficiently distant standpoint from which to measure its proportions. We shall never forget her sturdy, well-formed figure ; her head that would have appeared colossal but for its symmetry of proportions ; the strongly marked features of her plain, rugged face, not moulded according to the artist's lines of beauty, but so lighted up with intelligence and kindliness as to appear positively beautiful to those who knew her well. "The basis of her character, the controlling force which developed and formed it, was strength—extraordinary intellectual power. Blessed with a vigorous constitution and robust bodily health, her capacity for close, con- HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 657 tinuous and effective mental work was remarkable. "It is hardly possible for one person to know the quality and strength of another's mind more thoroughly than I knew hers. From long association in her studies, and comparing her with all the students I have known, here and elsewhere, I do not hesitate to say, that I have never known one who grasped with greater power and handled with more ease and thoroughness, all the studies of the college course. I doubt if in all these respects I have ever known one who was her equal. She caught an author's meaning with remarkable quickness and clearness ; and, mastering the difficulties of construction, she detected, with almost unerring certainty, the most delicate shades of thought. "She abhorred all shams of scholarship, and would be content with nothing short of the whole meaning. When crowded with work, it was not unusual for her to sit by her lamp, unconscious of the hours, till far past midnight. "Her powers were well balanced. When I first knew her, it was supposed that her mind was specially adapted to mathematical study. A little later, it was thought she had found her fittest work in the field of the natural sciences ; later still, one would have said she had found her highest possibilities in the languages. "Her mind was many-sided, strong, compact, symmetrical. It was this symmetry and balance of qualities that gave her such admirable judgment and enabled her to concentrate all her powers upon any work she attempted. "To this general statement concerning her faculties there was, however, one marked exception. While she enjoyed, and in some degrees appreciated, the harmonies of music, she was almost wholly deficient in the faculty of musical expression. After her return from college, she determined to ascertain by actual test to what extent, if at all, this defect could be overcome. With a patience and courage I have never seen equalled in such a case, she Vol. I-42 persisted for six months in the attempt to master the technical mysteries of instrumental music, and even attempted one vocal piece. But she found that the struggle was nearly fruitless ; the music in her soul would not come forth at her bidding. A few of her friends will remember that, for many years, to mention 'The Suwanee River’ was the signal for a little good natured merriment at her expense, and a reminder of her heroic attempt at vocal and instrumental music. "The tone of her mind was habitually logical and serious, not specially inclined to what is technically known as wit ; but she had the heartiest appreciation of genuine humor, such as glows on the pages of Cervantes and Dickens. Clifton Bennett and Levi Brown will never forget how keenly she enjoyed the quaint drollery with which they once presented, at a public lyceum, a scene from 'Don Quixote'; and I am sure there are three persons here today who will never forget how nearly she was once suffocated with laughter over a mock presentation speech by Harry Rhodes. "Though possessed of very great intellectual powers, or, as the arrogance of our sex accustoms us to say, having a mind of masculine strength,' it was not at all masculine in the opprobrious sense in which that term is frequently applied to women. She was a most womanly woman, with a spirit of gentle and childlike sweetness, with no self-consciousness of superiority, and not the least trace of arrogance. "Though possessing these great powers, she was not unmindful of those elegant accomplishments, the love of which seems native to the mind of woman. "In her earlier years she was sometimes criticised as caring too little for the graces of dress and manner ; and there was some justice in the criticism. The possession of great powers, no doubt, carries with it a contempt for mere external show. In her early life Miss Booth dressed neatly, though with the utmost plainness, and applied herself to the 658 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE work of gaining the more enduring ornaments of mind and heart. In her first years at Hiram she had devoted all her powers to teaching and mastering the difficulties of the higher studies, and had given but little time to what are called the more elegant accomplishments. But she was not deficient in appreciation of all that really adorns and beautifies a thorough culture. After her return from Oberlin, she paid more attention to the 'mint, anise and cummin of life. During the last fifteen years of her life, few ladies dressed with more severe or elegant taste. As a means of personal culture, she read the history of art, devoted much time to drawing and painting, and acquired considerable skill with the pencil and brush. "She did not enjoy miscellaneous society. Great crowds were her abhorrence. But in a small circle of congenial friends she was a delighted and a delightful companion. "Her religious character affords an additional illustration of her remarkable combination of strength and gentleness. At an early age she became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and continued in faithful and consistent relations with that organization until she united with the Disciples, soon after she came to Hiram. "I venture to assert, that in native powers of mind, in thoroughness and breadth of scholarship, in womanly sweetness of spirit, and in the quantity and quality of effective, unselfish work done, she has not been excelled by any American woman. What she accomplished with her great powers, thoroughly trained and subordinated to the principles of a Christian life, has been briefly stated. "She did not find it necessary to make war upon society in order to capture a field, for the exercise of her great qualities. Though urging upon women the necessity of the largest and most thorough culture, and demanding for them the amplest means for acquiring it, she did not waste her years in bewailing the subjection of her sex, but employed them in making herself a great and beneficent power. She did far more to honor and exalt woman's place in society than the thousands of her contemporaries who struggle more earnestly for the barren sceptre of power than for fitness to wield it. "She might have adorned the highest walks of literature, and doubtless might thus have won a noisy fame, but it may be doubted whether in any other pursuit she could have conferred greater or more lasting benefits upon her fellow-creatures, than by the life she so faithfully and, successfully devoted to the training and culture of youth. With no greed of power or gain, she found her chief reward in blessing others. "I do not know of any man or woman, who, at fifty-one years of age, had done more or better work. I have not been able to ascertain precisely how long she taught before she came to Hiram ; but it was certainly not less than fifteen terms. She taught forty-two terms here, twenty-one terms in the Union School at Cuyahoga Falls, and, finally, two years in private classes ; in all, nearly twenty-eight years of faithful and most successful teaching, to which she devoted the wealth of her great faculties and admirable scholarship. "How rich and how full was the measure of gratitude poured out to her, from many thousands of loving hearts ! And today, from every station of life, and from every quarter of our country, are heard the voices of those who rise up to call her blessed, and to pay their tearful tribute of gratitude to her memory. "On my own behalf, I take this occasion to say, that for her generous and powerful aid, so often and so efficiently rendered, for her quick and never-failing sympathy, and for her intelligent, unselfish, and unswerving friendship, I owe her a debt of gratitude and affection, for the payment of which the longest term of life would have been too short. "To this institution she has left the honorable record of a long and faithful service, and the rich legacy of a pure and noble life. I have shown that she lived three lives. One of HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 659 these, the second, in all its richness and fullnes, she gave to Hiram. More than half of her teaching was done here, where she taught much longer than any other person has taught ; and no one has done work of better quality. "She has reared a monument which the envious years cannot wholly destroy. As long as the love of learning shall here survive ; as long as the light of this college shall be kept burning; as long as there are hearts to hold and cherish the memory of its past ; as long as high qualities of mind and heart are honored and loved among men and women—so long will the name of Almeda A. Booth be here remembered; and honored, and loved." General Garfield said of Almeda Booth in an address which he made at Hiram in 1876: "I came to the Eclectic in the fall of 1851, and a few days after the beginning of the term, I saw a class of three reciting in mathematics—geometry, I think. They sat on one of the red benches, in the center of the aisle of the lower chapel. I had never seen a geometry ; and, regarding both teacher and class with a feeling of reverential awe, from the intellectual height to which they climbed,. I studied their faces so closely that I seem to see them now as distinctly as I saw them then. And it has been my good fortune, since that time, to claim them all as intimate friends. The teacher was Thomas Munnell ; and the members of his class were William B. Hazen, George A. Baker and Almeda A. Booth." The William Hazen referred to was General Hazen, who distinguished himself in the War of the Rebellion and was the first head of the Signal. Service. CONGRESSMEN FROM PORTAGE COUNTY. The following is a list of men who have represented Portage county in congress. At first there was but one for the whole state and then, as divisions were made, the territory became limited with the growing population. At present, Portage county is in the 19th district and although there have been changes in the boundaries of this district on the east, north and south, Portage has always remained in that historic district : William H. Harrison, Hamilton county, 1799-1800. William McMillan, Hamilton county, 1800-1. Paul Fearing, Washington county, 1801-3. Jeremiah Morrow, Warren county, 1803-13. Jonathan Edwards, Trumbull county, 1813, (died before taking seat). Rezin Beall, Wayne county, 1813, (resigned same year). David Clendenen, Trumbull county, 1813-17. Peter Hitchcock, Geauga county, 1817-19. John Sloan, Wayne county, 1819-23. Elisah Whittlesey, Trumbull county, 1823-1833 Jonathan Sloane, Portage county, 1833-37. John W. Allen, Cuyahoga c0unty, 1837-41. Sherlock J. Andrews, Cuyahoga county, 1841-43. Daniel R. Tilden, Portage county, 1843-47. John Crowell, Trumbull county, 1847-51. Eben Newton, Mahoning county, 1851-53. George Bliss, Summit county, 1853-55. Benjamin F. Lighter, Stark county, 1855-1859. Sidney Edgerton, Summit county, 1859-63. James A. Garfield, Portage county, 1863-79. William McKinley, Jr., Stark county, 1879-1881. Ezra B. Taylor, Trumbull county, 1880-93. Stephen A. Northway, Ashtabula county, 1893-98. Charles Dick, Stark county, 1898-1904. William Aubrey Thomas, Trumbull county, 1904-1910. SENATORS FROM THE COUNTY. The following men have served in the 'senate from Portage county, either when it was attached to other counties or since it was alone : Samuel Huntington, 1803 ; Benj. Tappan, 1803-1804 ; George Tod, 1804-1806 ; Calvin Cone, 1806-1808; David Abbott, 1808-1812; Peter Hitchcock, 1812-1816 ; Aaron Wheeler and Almon Ruggles, 1816-1818; Aaron 660 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE Wheeler and John Campbell, 1818-1819; John Campbell and Almon Ruggles, 1819-1820; Jonathan- Foster, 1820-1822; Jonathan Sloane, 1822-1824; Aaron Norton, 1824-1825; Elkanah Richardson, 1825-1826; Jonathan Sloane, 1826-1828; .Darius Lyman, 1828-1832; Chauncy Eggleston, 1832-1834; Darius Lyman, 1834-1835; Frederick Wadsworth, 1835- 1836; Daniel Upson, 1836-1838; Gregory Powers, 1838-1839; Simon Perkins, 1839- 1840 ; Elisha N. Sill, 1840-1842; John E. Jack, 1842-1844; Wm. Wetmore, 1844-1846; Asahel H. Lewis, 1846-1848; Lucian Swift, 1848-1850; Darius Lyman, 1850-1851; Ransom A. Gillett, 1852-1854; William H. Upson, 1854-1856; Oliver P. Brown, 1856-1858; George P. Ashmun, 1858-1860; James A. Garfield, 1860-1862; Lucius V. Biene, 1862-1864; Luther Day was elected in 1864 but resigned; Alphonso Hart succeeded him, serving till 1866; N. Y. Tibbals, 1866-1868; Philo B. Conant, 1868, resigned same year ; William Stedman, served till 1870; Henry McKinney, 1870-1872; Alphonso Hart, 1872-1874; N. W. Goodhue, .1874-1876; Marvin Kent, 1876- 1878; David D. Beebe, 1878-1882; S. P. Wolcott, 1882-1886; George W. Crouse, 1886- 1888 ; J. Park Alexander, 1888-1892, 1898- Iwo; George H. Ford, 1888-1890; E. L. Lampson, 1892-1894; Friend Whittlesey, 1894-1898; James R. Garfield, 1896-1900; George Seiber, 1900-1902; _____ Harris, 1902-1906; Charles Lawyer, 1906-1910; N. O. Mather, 1906-1910. REPRESENTATIVES. The following persons have been members of the house of representatives James Pritchard was in the legislature and really represented the present part of Portage county in 1799-1801 ; Edward Payne, 1801- 1803; Ephraim Quinby and Aaron Wheeler, 1803; David Abbott and Ephraim Quinby, 1803-1804; Amos Spofford and Homer Hine, 1804-1805; Homer Hine and James Kingsbury, 1805-1806; John P. Bissell and James Kingsbury, 1806-1807; John W. Seeley and James Montgomery, 1807-1808; Abel Sabin, 1808-1809; Benj. Whedon, 1809-1810; Elias Harmon, 1810-1812; Rial McArthur, 1812- 1815; Moses Adams, 1815-1816; Darius Lyman, 1816-1820; Jonathan Sloane and James Moore, 1820-1822; George B. DePeyster and Joseph Harris, 1822-1823; George B. DePeyster and James Moore, 1823-1824; William Coolman, 1824-1828; Van R. Humphrey, 1828-1830; Thomas Earl, 1830-1832; George Powers, 1832-1833; Roan Clark, 1833-1834; Amos Seward, 1834-1835; Joseph Lyman, 1835-1836; William Quinby and Thomas C. Shreve, 1836-1837; Solomon, Day and William Wetmore, 1837-1838; Elijah Garrett and George Kirkum, 1838-1839; Rufus P. Spalding and Ephraim B. Hubbard, 1839-184o; Jason Streeter and Hiram Giddings, 184o1841 ; John Streeter, 1841-1842; Thomas Earl and Samuel H. Pardee, 1842-1843; Phil-man Bennett, 1843-1844; Robert F. Payne, 1844-1845; David McIntosh and Thomas Shreve, 1845-1846; Luther Russell, 1846- 1847; William Coolman and Amos Seward, 1847-1848; George Sheldon, 1848-1850; Lorin Bigelow, 1850-1851; Lorin :Bigelow, 1852- 1854; L. W. Cockran, 1854-1856; Erasmus Needham, 1856-1858; Cyrus Laughlin, 1858- 1860; William Steadman and A. H. Squire, 1860-1862; David L. Rockwell, 1862-1864; Samuel E. M. Kneeland, 1864-1866; William Steadman, 1866-1868; Reuben P. Cannon, 1868-1872; Joseph Conrad, 1872-1874; Orvil Blake, 1874-1878; Charles R. Harmon, 1878- 1882; Egbert S. Woodworth, 1882-1884; Aaron Sherman, 1884-1885; Friend Whittlesey, 1886-1889; Egbert S. Woodworth, 1890-1891 ; R. B. Richards, 1892-1896; Harry L. Beatty, 1896-1899; William H. Craft, 1900-1905; William Grinnell, 1906-1910. SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY. The general information in regard to the schools of the Western Reserve is given in the early chapters of this work. R. C. Brown in his History of Portage HISTORY OF. THE WESTERN RESERVE - 661 County, says : "Up tO this time (1831) women were not eligible as school teachers, for we find that an act was passed December 23, 1831, allowing the directors to employ female teachers, but the directors had to signify in writing to the school examiners that it was the desire of the inhabitants of said district to employ `a female teacher for instructing their children in spelling, writing and reading. The examiner was then empowered to give the lady a `special certificate' to teach those branches. It is unnecessary for the writer to comment on this; injustice. He takes it for granted that the most of men will agree with him that this discrimination against women was a grievous wrong and unworthy of this great commonwealth." When we remember that the greatest teacher Portage county, ever had was a woman, Almeda A. Booth, the injustice of this .seems preposterous. NOAH AND JESSE GRANT. Noah Grant and his wife located in Deerfield. He had a tannery in the summer and in winter went around among the farmers making shoes of the leather which he tanned in summer. He did work for the Indians and Was on very good terms with them. Noah Grant was an eastern man, married, and had two children. He left the oldest. one in Connecticut with relatives and, coming west stopped in Pennsylvania, where he married and came to Deerfield to live, bringing Peter, a son by his first marriage, with him. Peter had natural business ability and became a prosperous man. When things went bad with the family he could always help out. The second Mrs. Grant died in Deerfield and is buried there. Noah, not knowing what to do with his motherless family, went to James Hillman in Youngstown, who kindly took care of Roswell and, Margaret. Jesse and his other sister were taken into the family of Judge Tod. Jesse Grant never failed to praise Mrs. Tod for her kindness. Judge and Mrs. Tod were eo i le of small means and this was a generous act. Jesse Grant says in a letter : "David Tod and Frank Thorne and myself Were the leaders of all the mischief : so says Master Noise" (probably the school teacher). Jesse Grant left Judge Tod in 1810 and returned to Deerfield. In 1815, when he was twenty-three years old, he had a tannery in Ravenna. This building stood near the site of the Presbyterian church on the northeast corner of the street. For many years after his departure a little sign leaned against the old building on which were the words : "Jesse Grant, Tanner." In 1821 he sold his tannery and moved to a town on the Ohio river opposite Maysville, Georgetown; where he married. Here his son, U. S., was born. He often paid visits to Portage, Trumbull' and Mahoning counties, and possibly the writer was, too young to judge, but when he was the guest of her father and mother, she considered him a garrulous old gentleman, with a goodly amount of pride in his son. BEEBE AND CARTER AT THE LINCOLN CONVENTION In the convention which nominated Lincoln,, Horace Y. Beebe was a delegate, and upon organization became secretary of the Ohio. delegation. Hon. D. K. Carter was chairman. As long as there was any hope for Chase, the Ohio delegates stood for him. On the last ballot Lincoln was within four or five votes of the nomination. The Ohio delegates con-, suited, and Carter announced that five of Ohio's votes would be cast for Lincoln. This was followed by other states, so that he had a majority. Horace Y. Beebe, D. K. Carter and Robert F. Paine were among the five which changed their vote. Lincoln appreciated this and when he went to Washington for his inauguration the train stopped at Ravenna and took on Mr. Beebe: More than •a thousand people were at the station to see the awkward, honest Illinoisan who, save Washington, became the most illustrious president of the United States. D. K. Carter was later made judge of the Court of Claims at Washington HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 663 and Mr. Paine, United States district attorney for Northern Ohio. RAVENNA AND FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW. At the "Home Coming" of 1910, in Ravenna, William R. Day, judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, in his address said : "The generation with which my memory begins were mostly the children and grandchildren of Yan kee pioneers. They cherished as a most precious heritage the memory of those who had braved the dangers of the wilderness and subdued the new lands to the cultivated fields and thriving towns which make up the transplanted New England of the West. Like their ancestors 'they were possessed of the New England conscience, and for principles in which they believed would follow a cause even to the stake. "I suppose the most impressionable period of a human life is in the years when one is old enough to appreciate and hear for the first time the things which interest mankind in their daily life and aspirations. My most vivid recollection of Ravenna embraces the period just preceding and running through the Civil war. The people of the Western Reserve were profoundly stirred by the agitation of the question of the right to extend human slavery to the then newly settled territories of the Union. Under the leadership of such men as Wade, and Giddings and Storrs, the majority of its people were strong in their denunciation of the growth of the slave power, and firm in their demand that the new states should be free. Who that witnessed will ever forget the indignant protest against the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave law evidenced in the great . meeting in Cleveland in 1859, upon the occasion of the Federal prosecution of the Oberlin professors and others who had aided to freedom a fleeing slave from Kentucky. Ravenna furnished a large part of the great throng which assembled in the public square in Cleveland to denounce a law which made slave-catchers of freemen. The history of that case is an interesting chapter in the anti-slavery struggle which preceded the war of the rebel- lion. The appeal to the Supreme Court of Ohio to set free the prisoners held by the Federal authorities, because the Fugitive Slave law .was claimed to be unconstitutional, came within a single judicial vote of setting the commonwealth of Ohio in opposition to the interpretation of the Federal Constitution by the Supreme Court of the United States. We may stop to enquire, had Ohio's court changed by one vote, would the people of Ohio in the spirit of opposition to slavery then prevailing, have declared for armed opposition to Federal authority, and would the beginning of the war have been north instead of south of Mason and Dixon's line ? Probably not, but this much is certain, that when we read the resolutions passed and the' speeches of the leaders made at that meeting in Cleveland in 1859, declaring for the rights of the states as against what was deemed Federal usurpation, we may have more charity for those people of the South, who were reared to believe the doctrine that a state might nullify an obnoxious federal law and that this union of states was but a compact dissolvable at the will of its component members. "We have heard some things in recent days of the impropriety of criticizing judicial decisions. A perusal of the speeches made in denunciation of the then recent Dred Scott decision at the meeting in 1859 makes the modern criticism appear pale and ineffectual. The more recent reflections upon judicial conduct, compared with the fierce denunciation of that decision by the fiery orators of 1859 is, to borrow a figure used by one of the clergymen on the Reserve when comparing previous legislation upon the subject of slavery, to the act of 1850 as a mint julep to a dose of molten lead. The influence of that decision, which its internal history shows was believed by those who participated in it to be a means of forever settling the vexed question of slavery in the territories, and removing it from public agitation as a factor of danger to the Union, shows 664 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE the futility of expecting that any judicial decision will thwart the American people in their determination to adopt a policy which they believe to be right. Not that other decisions may be reversed, as was that, in the fiery ordeal of war. But true it is, that a Constitution which came from the people, can be amended by the people, and will be when enough of them are convinced that it ought to be. "Among the anecdotes of the Civil war it is related that a Yankee soldier upon one of those occasions when the approaching armies were within talking distance of one another, called out to a Confederate soldier, 'Johnny, what are you fighting for anyhow ?' " 'I am fighting,' said the Confederate, 'for the right to take my slaves into the territories under the Dred Scott decision.' "Had the question been returned in kind, the Union soldier might have answered : 'I am fighting for the supremacy of John Marshall's decisions, that the federal authority is within its sphere the supreme law of the land, and to make the government framed by the constitution in fact an indestructible union of indestructible states. Fortunately today this, question is forever settled ; and whatever perils await us, whatever vexing problems the future holds, they will be solved by a United country `now and forever one and inseparable."' LINCOLN'S VISIT TO RAVENNA. "The slavery debate led to the civil uprising of the north, and the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency. How vividly the scene comes back to memory recalling the visit of that great man to Ravenna in February, 1861, on the way to his first inauguration ; the gathering at the station, the reverberating echoes of the guns of Cotter's battery in the welcoming salute ; the appearance of the tall form of the newly-elected president on the platform of the car, and his quaint suggestion that if he tarried too long at the various stopping places he would not get to Washington until after the inauguration. And then the anecdote, not merely for the sake of a story, but bringing home to the people the necessity of united action in the then impending crisis, when he said : 'There are doubtless some here today who did not vote for me, but I believe now we all make common cause for the Union. And, now on this point I may tell an anecdote : Patrick came to me the other day, and said he : "Mr. Lincoln, I want to shake hands with you ; but I did not vote for you, sir." He. told me he went for Douglas. "Now," said I, "I will tell you what to do. If We all turn in and keep the old Ship of State from sinking on this voyage, why there may be a chance for Douglas on the next; but if we let it go down now, neither he nor anyone else will have a chance to sail in it again." Now, was not that good advice ? I thought it was ; but I cannot talk to you any longer—as I said before, I can only. say, How do you do, and goodbye.' Who was wise enough then to foresee that we looked into the face of one whose patient strength and gentle but prevailing wisdom were to lead this nation through four years of deadly strife to final triumph for the Union." HIRAM COLLEGE. Although Hiram College, from its formation, was well known by the people of its vicinity, it was not until the nomination of James A. Garfield to the office of president that its reputation became national. The. rise of the Disciple denomination, after a religious revival, was phenomenal. The followers of Alexander Campbell in 1828 came to Warren; held their meetings in the court house; interested the Baptist minister, Mr. Bentley ; held meetings in that church, and not only captured the congregation, but the minister and the meeting-house as well. fact, when they were through' with their mission, there were less than a dozen members of congregation who had not been converted to the new faith. Many of the early preachers, like the preachers in other denominations, were men who had become interested in the spiritual part of re- HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 665 ligion and had not been educated for the ministry, or, in fact, educated at all. When the church in northern Ohio was under way, the denomination suffered the sneers of the people. because of the ignorance of some of the preachers. This was one of the facts which led to the formation of a college under this denomination. Alexander Campbell, realizing this condition, had founded Bethany College, in.. the, pan handle of Virginia, in 1840. In the very beginning the Disciple ministers and their followers used to gather purposely to discuss matters pertaining to the church, and from this beginning a yearly meeting 'was established. At the yearly meeting held in Russell, Geauga county, Ohio, in 1849, the question of establishing a school was brought up and a meeting appointed for June 12, to be held in the house of A. L. Soule. At that meeting, Mr. Soule was made chairman and it was found that the delegates who were gathered there .were in favor of considering the subject and inviting the different churches to send delegates to a future meeting. Three of these meetings followed—one in North Bloomfield, August 2nd, the second at Ravenna, October 3rd, and the third at Aurora, November 7th. "At this last meeting thirty-one churches were represented by as many delegates. The question of education was at this time a very live one on the Western Reserve. Hudson and Oberlin colleges were progressing, and Ohio's public school laws were becoming very popular. At the beginning of this discussion in Russell it was decided that the school ought to be 'founded, and at each meeting the interest grew until the Aurora meeting was a very lively one. Here was a set of people who had thrown aside creeds and dogmas and were trying to live the simple truth, as Christ had presented it, but when the question of whether they should establish a college or a school, and where it should be located, was considered, feeling ran quite as high as it does in a political convention. Six towns had petitioned for the school, and the delegates were divided in regard to accepting any. These towns were Newton Falls, Hiram, Shalersville, Aurora, Russell and Bedford. The discussion lasted throughout most of the day and "rose at times to a point where Christian forbearance was stretched to a dangerous tension." Finally it was determined to decide the location by ballot, and this balloting went on into the night. A few of the delegates who grew weary went home. Finally, Carnot Mason, either because he believed. Hiram could not in or because he disliked the contention, withdrew Hiram's request. His earnest, gentle speech, as he withdrew his application, made such- an impression on the delegates that it reacted to Hiram's advantage. There were many bubbling springs on the hillsides of -Hiram at that time, which provided excellent water, and this and the fact that it was one of the highest points of the region, also entered into the decision. Although many of the men interested would have liked to have made a college in the beginning, they realized that it was wiser to have a school instead—a school, where young men and women of the neighborhood and of the church could learn the branches which they most needed, or most wanted, without having to go through the whole course, as they would, more or less, in a college. The religious side was brought forth strongly in this institute, as it was in those days in all institutes of learning. Isaac Everett, one of the most able of the early ministers, suggested the name of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. It was incorporated by the legislature in 1850, but it really was begun before it was incorporated. The building committee consisted of Pelatiah Allyn, Jr., Zeb Rudolph, Carnot Mason, Jason Rider and Alvah Udall. Alvah Udall, because of his business ability, was made chairman of the committee. To show how men from the beginning of time have had sentiment, although that characteristic is erroneously laid to the doors of women alone, I quote from Green's "History of Hiram College." In speaking of a meeting of the building committee, he says : "This meeting also adopted a seal for the institution HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 667 the design of which was a vignette ; a dove with an olive branch in its beak, its wings half raised, resting on the open Bible, with the motto, 'Let there be light.' " Thomas M. Young reluctantly sold a very nice section of land in Hiram to the men interested in this college, and it was plotted, seven acres being reserved for the campus. On one portion of this Young land was stone which was used for the foundation of the building. A good share of the work in connection with the construction of this first institution was voluntary. Pelatiah Allyn and Zeb Rudolph did the carpentering; bricks were burned on the farm of Alvah Udall, and members of the committee gave their thought, their time and their money to the work. There were very few brick structures on the Western Reserve at this time. Wood was so plenty that it was used in all building. However, this building had .the lower story of reddish sandstone and the upper part of brick. The college was opened in 1850. There were eighty-four students and three teachers. Disciples, who gathered in. great numbers on that date; had a. thanksgiving service, after which the congregation proceeded to the new building, where appropriate exercises were had and the college was really .opened. From the very beginning it. was co-educational, and probably in no school in the country has the real spirit of co-educational training been more fully demonstrated than here. As a rule, people who have attended this institute have been people of small means who had to economize and to whom an education meant capital. Among the early teachers were able women, and Possibly the ablest teacher that Hiram has ;ever had from the beginning was Almeda Booth. A sketch of her life is given elsewhere. To her, powerful as she was in morals and intellect, was due the fact that it mattered not whether. a pupil was a girl or a boy. It was only that it was a pupil. When the writer was a little girl, she heard some older people talking about the nonsense of educating boys and girls in the same schools. One man said : "I do not want my son to go to a school where he may become entangled with some girl and early contracts to marry her." Most of the people in the party were on this gentleman's side, but finally an influential man of the party said : "Well, for my part, I would rather my boy would go to a school where he will meet decent, refined girls, even if he should marry one of them, than to go to a- school with boys and become acquainted with young women of an entirely different sort, none of whom he would think of making his wife, or of telling his mother he knew them." Long after that the writer investigated, not exhaustively, however, the question of marriage among the students at Hiram, and she found that many of them did marry ; and, although there were undoubtedly some unhappy marriages from that institute, as there have been unhappy marriages everywhere, she herself does not know of any Hiram College man and woman who are unhappy in that marriage. Among the different reasons for endorsing co-education in the school, F. M. Greene says that "co-education does away with rowdyism, hazing and many other disorders." This is a pretty good endorsement. PRESIDENT HAYDEN AND EARLY TEACHERS. Amos Sutton Hayden, Thomas Munnell and Mrs. Phoebe Drake were the first teachers of the Eclectic Institute. It was not long before the number of scholars was greatly increased and new teachers were added. There is not space here to give their names nor the names of the people who early contributed to the success of the college. President Hayden was an unusual man and the right person for the beginning of this institution. He had taught at Bethany and held the position of president until 1857. He taught in other places in Ohio, and when he retired he lived at Collamer. He died in 1880. He was only "thirty-seven when he became principal. Thomas Munnell was a graduate of Beth- 668 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE any, an honored man, a good public speaker and a competent teacher. It is said he had the element of leadership among the scholars, and he had certain courteous southern ways which were very valuable in 'teaching the descendants of the Puritans. The Eclectic Institute became a college, August 13, 1867. A college was really added. to an academy. President B. A. Hinsdale, in his historical discourse of 1876, said : "Hiram has never been a hatching or moulting ground for isms and new-fangled notions." There is something very funny in a leader of the Disciple church fearing new-fangled notions, because it was only such a little time preceding this utterance of Mr. Hinsdale's that the whole world had called the Disciples new-fangled. PRESIDENT HINSDALE. B. A. Hinsdale, the third president of the college, was perhaps the best known and the greatest man connected with the Institute, Mr. Garfield excepted. He was a thorough student, a splendid teacher and an unusual writer. He was a minister and a good lecturer, but he was not really popular as a preacher. He talked over the heads of people and was not emotional. He spent his early life on a farm, was a splendid physical specimen of manhood, and his motto fr0m the beginning to the end 0f his life was "Work." Probably no man connected with Hiram College did as much work as he. When he left Hiram he was principal of the Cleveland schools ; was then elected to a chair in the University of Michigan, and this he filled to the time of his death. He was an ardent student of the history of. the Western Reserve, and admonished his students to study that history, since from it they could learn so much of real life, saying that nothing about it was too small to consider. LACK OF BOARDING ACCOMMODATIONS. One of the disadvantages which the men who built Hiram College foresaw was that there would not be room in the village for the students, providing the college was a success. Not wanting this to hurt the school, families took in all the students they possibly could manage, and cases are known where pantries were turned into bed-rooms, and three or four people occupied rooms that were not at all large. Some of the families of Hiram were exceedingly cultured, and students were very fortunate to get into these homes. This was true of Zeb Rudolph's, and students appreciated a chance to live with him. He could read Greek and Latin ; some members of his family were familiar with French, and it was really a center of culture. The same was true of John Buckingham's home and some. others. Hiram College was enlarged in 1888, and between the period of 1883 and 1888 there was much talk of removing it. There are some people connected with the Disciple church who still think it was a mistake that it was not sent to a place where there were railroad facilities and larger advantages. PRESIDENTS ZOLLARS AND BATES. President E. V. Zollars entered upon the work at Hiram College when he was forty-four years old. He had good business sense; was called at the time when the college needed just such a person, and made a great success of his administration. He had been a student at Bethany,. had taught ancient languages there and had experience in the financial work of the college. He was well equipped for the position at the time he was called to it, and the institution profited by his industry. He is at present at the head of a strong college of the church in Oklahoma. Minor L. Bates is at present president, and the college continues its usefulness. William J. Ford, son of John .A. Ford, who had been one of the early trustees, was for years connected with the Board of Trustees of Hiram College. He probably served a greater number of years than any other one trustee. For many years he was the financial agent, and at one time collected $50,000 for the endowment fund of the school. All HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 669 through the record of Hiram College we find his name and an account of the work he did. In November, 1866, he reported that he had raised $16,775 towards the endowment fund of the college; FIRST COURT HOUSES AND JAILS. In 1804 John McManus erected a house for Benjamin Tappan, which stood on the farm that Was known for many years as the Marcus Heath farm, about one mile east of Ravenna. This was the place which was designated for the holding of court. The record is not very clear on this, but it is believed that the house was burned down the night before the court was held and that it was held out of doors somewhere, but just where is not certain. The commissioners had their first meeting in the house of Robert Eaton in 1808. This house was standing in 1880, as was the residence of R. J. Thompson, erected two and was miles southeast of Ravenna. This was used for both court and jail until the public buildings were erected in 1810. Judge Tappan donated four lots for public uses-22 and 78 for school sites, and 52 and 208, for churches. These lots have been so used, and the Grace Episcopal church is now standing on one of them. William and John Tappan agreed to erect the court house at their own expense and to build a log jail two stories high, and in exchange for this work they were to take the lots given, by Benjamin Tappan for the use of the county. It is believed that in some way Judge Tappan did give land to the county, through some exchange or something, but there. is, nothing of this on any record anywhere. The buildings were completed in 1810. The court house was frame and stood a little northwest of the present building. When the old court house was removed, it became the property of Samuel Harrison, who moved it on. the ground where the Riddle carriage factory stands. Then it was purchased by James Clark & Co., who used it for a carriage Shop ; it was later owned by N. D. Clark, and finally became the property of Merts & Riddle. It stood there until 1871, when it was burned. The first jail was built of logs and the sheriff lived in it. It stood southwest of the present jail. It has been true of the history of all court houses that they are not much more than built until they are unfit for the purpose, and this was true of Ravenna's first court house. It was necessary to build an additional building for 'some of the county officers, and this building stood about where the present court house is. It was torn down and the material was used, in constructing the third court house. In 1819 a new jail was completed. Zenas Kent had the contract for building the second court house. It was completed in 1830 at a cost of about $7,000. It was a two-story brick building ; large pillars in front and a cupola on top. The court room was in the second story and the county offices in the first. The third jail was erected in 1836. Ebenezer Rawson had the contract.. Some trouble arose between the commissioners and the contractor, which delayed the building, and it was not completed until 1840, when William Staniff finished it. The present court house was built in 1881. The total cost was nearly $53,000. A fire lately destroyed some of the records, but the building has been repaired. EXECUTIONS. IN THE COUNTY. In August 1814, Epaphras Matthews, a pedler who traveled through this part of the country, was killed by. a man traveling with him, named Henry Aunghst. Aunghst had purposely accompanied the pedler with the intention of murdering him for his money. Finally when at Campbellsport the opportunity was right, and he took a beech stick from the fence of John Campbell and struck a blow which killed him. Throwing his body into the woods, he made his way to Ravenna and then to Pittsburg, where he was pursued by Robert Eaton and Lewis Ely, who followed traces of him until he was captured in a blacksmith's shop in Center county, Pennsylvania. He was HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 671 brought back, tried, and executed on gallows erected on Sycamore street, near the corner of Spruce. He confessed his guilt. This execution created great excitement. The militia, under the command of Colonel Solomon Day, of Deerfield, was on guard. Asa K. Burroughs was sheriff ; William Coolman, William Fraser and Almon Babcock his deputies About 1800 people witnessed the execution. DESIRABLE SIGHT FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN. Anybody who desired could see executions in those days and it is told that Trumbull county parents whose children were away at school sent for them to return, in order that they might not miss the chance of seeing a man hung, and the same was probably true of Portage. Aunghst was buried at the foot of the scaffold and that night his body. was dug up, probably by some young doctors, but they were pursued and dropped their "precious burden" at the corner of Oak and Meridian streets. The next night a party of Germans, (Aunghst was a Pennsylvania Dutchman) took the body, with intention .of sinking it in Mother Ward's pond to keep it from the doctors. They were pursued and made to bring it .back to the court house, where it had lain the night before. It was finally re-interred in the first grave, and when this grave was opened a few years ago the skeleton was found in a pretty good 'state of preservation. H0W ABOUT THE "SEVEN-EIGHTHS ?" The next person to suffer the death penalty was David McKisson. He and his father Samuel were accused of killing Mrs. Katherine McKisson, the wife of Robert. Samuel was the father and David was the brother. Samuel was at first accused, but he was an old man, and as the blow which was dealt her was a terrific one, suspicion was aroused against David. Samuel was first tried but found not guilty. It is supposed that David had quarreled with his brother and his wife, because he wished to marry Lucinda Croninger, Mrs. McKisson's daughter by a former marriage, and had been refused. David was found guilty and sentenced t0 be hung on the ninth of February, 1838. The gallows was erected on the corner of Prospect and Walnut streets near the Disciple church. He never admitted his guilt. Between two and three thousand people witnessed the execution, and the Ohio Star says : "We are very sorry to say, at one-eighth part were females." of course, it was a terrible thing that one-eighth of the audience to see a man struggling with death throes should be women ; but what about' the seven--eighths ? Had they no feelings to be hurt? Was such a scene`. uplifting and inspiring to them ?" MURDER OF RHODENBAUGH. Perhaps no murder trial ever occasioned as much interest and excitement as did that of John Rhodenbaugh. Mr. Rhodenbaugh lived about three miles from Kent. While going home from the latter place in October, 1865, he was set upon by two men named Cooper and Berry, who sometimes drank too heavily and, like many men when in this condition, talked about money. These men had been with him in the saloons and knew that he had some money. It was supposed that they did not intend to kill him. Cooper was a young man ; Berry was an older one ; and Cooper struck the blow. Berry cautioned him not to strike too hard. It was a long hard-fought fight, Cooper was tried first and was convicted of murder in the first degree. Berry was sentenced to the penitentiary for life, and Cooper was executed in 1866 near the jail. RAVENNA'S LEADING CHARACTERS. William R. Day, the son of Judge Luther Day, graduated from the University of Michigan in 1870. He was admitted to the bar and practiced in Canton until 1886 ; in 1889 was appointed United States district judge for Northern Ohio by President Harrison and in 1897 was assistant secretary of state under 672 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE McKinley. Ih 1898, he became secretary of state and negotiated the treaty of peace with Spain at the close of the Spanish-American war. In 1899, he was appointed United States WILLIAM R. DAY circuit judge and in 1903 was made justice of the United States supreme court by Roosevelt. Dr. A. W. Alcorn was born in 1835. He received his education in Pennsylvania where his father was a farmer. He studied medicine also in Pennsylvania, but was unable to finish because of poor health. He finished his education at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and Michigan University. He continued to practice in Ravenna until his death, 1891, having started there with his brother. His wife was Elizabeth Fletcher. One of the early and forceful characters at the. Portage county bar. was Jonathan Sloane. He was born in Massachusetts in 1785. He was educated and studied law in Massachusetts, coming to Ravenna in 1816. He was prosecuting attorney of the county ; was a representative in the state legislature, and in 1832 was elected to congress and served two terms. He never was very strong physically. He never married, and lived in the homes of Dr. Lyman Collins and J. H. Lethingwell at different times. He was interested in the early sale of lands of the Western Reserve. He is buried in the Maple Grove cemetery at Ravenna. Darius Lyman came to Portage county in 1814. He was a substantial citizen and held a number of offices of trust. He was prosecuting attorney, served two terms in the legislature and was an anti-Mason candidate for governor, but was defeated. Mr. Lyman enjoyed a good practice, being at one time a partner of Luther Day. As late as 1850 he was again elected to the state senate and became probate judge in 1855. His son Professor Darius Lyman,, who so long held an important position in the treasury department, was one of the finest of characters. He was gentle, sympathetic and a great linguist, speaking several languages and reading several more. At the time of the issuing of "The Bible for Learners" by a number 'of Dutch scholars, Mr. Lyman wanted so much to read it that he applied himself and mastered the language enough to read the book in six weeks. He was then in his sixties. One of the prominent settlers of early Trumbull county, whom people of this day also knew was Daniel R. Tilden. He was born in Connecticut about 1807. He saw the British weigh anchor and disappear from New London in the War of 1812. When he was eighteen years old he went to Virginia to enter the banking house of an uncle, but did not like the business and came to Northern Ohio in 1828. He early became justice of the peace and prosecuting attorney, and was probate judge in Cleveland for more than thirty-five years. Colonel Royal Taylor lived to be ninety-two years old. Coming to the Western Reserve in 1813, he did his first work here in a neighbor's sugar camp ; then went to Aurora and worked in the brickyard, and with the first $15.00 which he received he purchased sixty acres of HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 673 land in Solon. He did any kind of work to help support his mother and her family. The boy studied and attended school when he could, learned the printer's trade, and pursued it in New Lisbon, Ohio, for some time. He finally studied law in the office of Jonathan Sloane and in Van R. Humphrey's office, and in 1822 taught in Kentucky, marrying Rebecca Sanders of that state in 1824. He returned to Northern Ohio and at different times lived in Aurora, Russell and Twinsburg. His first wife died in 1836 and he married Sarah A. Richardson, a cousin of John Brown, having five children by his first wife and by his second, seven. He married Mrs. Annetta Hatch of Ravenna for the third wife. Mr. Taylor held many important civil positions. Colonel William Frazer came to Ravenna from Geneva, New. York, and started a jewelry store and saddlery. Among the old premiums still in existence awarded by the early agricultural association is one to him for a leather trunk. n his early life he was one 0f the most fearless men of the vicinage. He cared for sick and unfortunate travellers who happened along, and was beloved accordingly ; also nursing cholera and small-pox patients whom others fear to be near. Once a traveller died suddenly of one of these diseases. There were no papers upon his body that showed who he was. Colonel Frazer and some others made a grave and buried him. The Colonel was greatly troubled by the thought that the friends would not know what had been the traveller's fate, and as they had not looked for pockets in this underclothes, he insisted upon opening the grave. This was done and sure enough, there was the man's address and a goodly bit of money in his undershirt pocket. His family were very nice people of Pittsburg, who, as soon. as notified, came for the body. Colonel Frazer served as deputy sheriff and United States marshal of this district. He took the first newspapers published in the county and kept files of them. These at his death went to his son Homer and have been Vol. I-43 presented to the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. Colonel Frazer was at one time the joker of the village and many are the tales told of him. He scarcely threw away a stick or strap which came in his way and his house and shop were a museum at his death. A traveller stopping at the Folger house was amusing some listeners by telling of a man in a town he visited who was very saving. William Folger, or the proprietor, said: "We have a man here who has everything under the sun. I would be willing to bet that you could not ask him for a single thing which he could not furnish." The traveller laid five dollars on the desk, and Mr. Folger matched it. The traveller then went to Colonel Frazer's store, on the corner of Meridian and Main streets. "Colonel Frazer, have you a second-hand pulpit ?" he asked. "Why yes," replied the Colonel, "how did you come to know of it." He then explained that when a Ravenna church was being done over he disliked to see the pulpit split up, and so brought it to the Shop and stored it. The Colonel used to rise very early in the morning and, sitting outside his store at three or four o'clock one summer morning, he heard a man hurrying down the street to catch the train, which in the stillness of the morning could be heard approaching. As he ran by the Colonel said "Hallo!" "What do you want ?" asked the gentleman, stopping. "Nothing," replied the Colonel. "Well, what in hell did you holler hello when I was going by, for ?" roared the man. "Why did you go by as I hollered hallo ?" retorted the Colonel. 'Twas by hard sprinting that the man caught his train.. Colonel Frazer married Anna A. Campbell, daughter of Gen. John Campbell and Sarah Ely—the first people to be married in Portage county. The latter was a member of his family 674 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE for many years of her widowhood. The Frazers had a large family of children, three of whom are still living—Martha F. Dodge, of Ravenna ; Eliza F. Barnes, of Grinnell, Iowa, and William A., of San Francisco. His oldest son, Homer, who died a few years since, passed his entire life in Ravenna, being most familiar with the early history of Portage county. One of the best known physicians in Portage county was Joseph Waggoner. He was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1821. His early life was spent on a farm and that he improved the school opportunities he had is evident because at eighteen he began teaching. He prepared for college at the Steubenville Academy, but because of delicate health did not enter. He studied• medicine in the Cleveland Medical College. He located in Deerfield in 1847 and began practice in Ravenna in 1863. He died in 1897. His son, George Waggoner, followed his father's profession. John L. Ranney was born in Massachusetts in 1815, and moved to Freedom in 1824. He read law in Jefferson with. his brother, Rufus P. Ranney, and Benjamin F. Wade. He began his practice at Ravenna, forming a partnership with Daniel R. Tilden. He was successful in business, although hindered somewhat by comparison with his brilliant brother. John L. ran for congress in 1858 on the Democratic ticket. He helped to organize the first national bank of Ravenna and was its president throughout his life-time. Hon. Alfonso Hart moved from Trumbull county to Ravenna, purchasing of Samuel D. Harris the Portage County Sentinel, and con ducted this paper for three years, during which time he read law and was admitted to the bar. In 1863 he formed a partnership with Mr., Reed ; was prosecuting attorney from 1862 to 1865, state senator from 1864 to 1866, and again, from 1872 to 1874. Mr. Hart was presidential elector. in 1872 and lieutenant governor in 1873. He moved to Cleveland and thence to Hillsboro, from which place he was elected to congress. He has resided in Washington ever since, but has continued his inter est in his home town, being one of the principal speakers at the Home Coming of 1909. ATWATER TOWNSHIP. Captain Atwater, Captain Merrick and Asa Hall, with their families, arrived in Atwater in 1799 and built log houses near the Center In the fall they all returned to Connecticut, except Mr. and Mrs. Hall. This was a hard winter for these two adults, shut off from all the world, surrounded with the cold, snow and ice, with the woods full of animals and Indians. The nearest neighbors were in Deerfield. It is said that Mrs. Hall used to do very fine needle work and spin and weave exceedingly well. She is known to have been sitting at the loom with a baby tied to her apron string. In the "Pioneer Women" we read that she once labored long and vigorously to pay for a calico dress which cost fifty cents per yard, and when it was brought home it was put in a bag with indigo and ruined. The chronicler is very kind in not saying who did this dreadful thing. The next year David Baldwin and his family settled in Atwater and these two families, although. five miles apart, were comforted because they had neighbors. They were the only inhabitants of the township. Later came Joseph Baldwin, and it was from the family of Baldwins that the Baldwin apple, so well known now, was' named. A good story is told of Massey Hutton, win sehusband John and eleven children came to Atwater from South Carolina in 1818. She was a Quakeress and a woman, of strong character. "In. 1819 they planted potatoes at the proper time, but about the same time their food supply became exhausted, and the husband, a man who was never in haste, started "for Georgetown, Pennsylvania, the nearest point, to obtain supplies. Failing to return in proper time and starvation seeming inevitable, having only a very small ,amount of meal on hand, she conceived the idea of taking up the potatoes, paring them thickly, replanting the parings and eating the potatoes, thus satisfy- HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 675 ing the hungry children and having a crop of potatoes besides." It was an ingenious thought which prompted this action. Atwater is an attractive township, rolling, rich and highly cultivated. At Limaville, one of the villages, are some pretty old houses, the doorways being so artistically constructed that Pittsburg architects journeyed there to make copies. FIRST SETTLED FAMILY. Hannah Spires of Deerfield writes: "As there have been many inquiries as to who was the first child born in Portage county, I will say that Atwater Hall was certainly the first. In the early spring of 1798, Captain Atwater of Wallingford, Connecticut, brought with him to Atwater, J. Merrick, Peter Bunnell, Ashael Blakesley and Asa Hall, for the purpose of building a saw-mill on Yellow creek, in order to facilitate the coming of settlers the next year ; and Mrs. Asa Hall came along as cook for Captain Atwater's work hands. The mill was built half a mile north of what is now the Center road, between Atwater and Deerfield, and a few rods west of the township line between Atwater and Deerfield. It was kept in running order until 1841 or 1842, when it was accidentally burned. The Atwater party returned to Connecticut that fall, but as game was plentiful, Asa Hall and wife remained in a log cabin about eighty rods southwest from the mill, near where the blazed trees marked the highway through the wilderness, making a path from Deerfield farther west. "That is where I have always understood Atwater Hall was born, in the early part of 1800. I visited the spot when a little girl, with my grandmother—I think in 1838—and she, being a near neighbor of Jason Hall for four years, had the story of the first invasion of Atwater from them ; and I have no doubt it was correct, as Jason Hall was a son of Asa and brother to Atwater. "As for descendants, the family have all been gone from here many years. Atwater went west first; then Asa, Jr., after he buried his wife here (no children). Jason and family left Atwater for Mercer county, Ohio, in 1839 or 1840, and I am not sure but the mother went with them, for I never heard of her death and she lived with Jason. The remains of the old cabin could be plainly seen as late as 1850. "I have spent almost my whole life within half a mile of the site of the old mill and saw it burn down." AURORA TOWNSHIP. This township, No. 5, range 9, belonged to David, Ebenezer and Fidelia King—Ebenezer Sheldon, Jr., Gideon Granger and John Leavett having sub-interests. It was named Aurora for Major Spofford's daughter. He was surveyor for the Connecticut Land Company. Ebenezer Sheldon first visited Aurora in 1799 and, with the help of Mr. and Mrs. Elias Harmon, built a cabin and cleared a bit of ground. Mrs. Harmon was the first woman to be in the township, but when winter came on she and her husband went to Mantua and Mr. Sheldon to Connecticut ; so the real inhabitants, the Indians and wolves, were unmolested during the cold months. The following spring Mr. Sheldon, his second wife Lovey Davis and six children came to their new home. Their house was on lot 40, two and a half miles east of the Center. Aunt Lovey, as she was called, brought a willow stick with her from the east and planted it, and it became a great tree. It was said of her that she was of commanding size, possessing great strength of character, and was of lively, buoyant disposition, and was the best looking woman in town. This last might not have been as much of a compliment if it refers to the year 1800, for women were few in that region. It was their daughter Hulda who married Amzi Atwater, of Mantua, and as there was no clergyman her father read the service and pronounced them man and wife, and they went walking to their new home four miles away. A year from that time the father was appointed justice of the peace by Governor. 676 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE Tiffin, and he had his appointment dated before this wedding in order to make it legal. There are many people living today who knew Amzi and Hulda Atwater and have been in their comfortable home. A story of unusual interest is retold here to illustrate the hardships of the early settlers. John Cockran, of Blandford, Massachusetts, who had bought land in Aurora, was taken sick on the trip west, and his party hurried on their journey in order to reach Buffalo, where he might get medicine and help. His wife and one daughter remained with him while the two other girls proceeded with the company. Rhoda was helpless from rheumtism and rode on a bed all the way, her sister Laura acting as her nurse. A man named Mills was engaged to bring the girls to Aurora. He compelled Laura to walk a good part of the way. Day after day she uncomplainingly trudged along, hungry and tired and with blistered feet. One night Mills unhitched the team and with his wife disappeared, leaving the girls alone, in the dense woods four miles north of Burton. Laura was taken sick in the night, but fortunately the next day was better. He returned and took them to within twenty-five miles of Aurora, as he had promised, and left them in a settler's cabin. Laura, but a child, realizing the condition she was in, confided to the people in the cabin and asked to be allowed to work for food for herself and her sick sister, until she could communicate with her people. At that time there was a boat on the. Cuyahoga- river, between Mantua and Burton, which carried grain to be ground. The captain's sympathies were aroused and he offered to carry the girls to Mantua. It seemed that this experience was hard enough, but as soon as they had reached their new home they learned that their father had died at Buffalo. Their mother bravely came on to them and lived nineteen years of her life in that neighborhood. The crippled Rhoda died in 1806 and was the first person buried in Aurora. Laura. married Stephen Cannon and was. one of the most brave, skillful women that was ever in Portage county. The amount of weaving credited to, her seems impossible. One day she rode fifty-two miles to get medicine for a sick person. Wolves followed her during that ride, but she accomplished her mission. The township was organized in 1807. Samuel Foward was the first school teacher. Leppinius Withe erected the first grist mill in 1813. As early as 1819 Aurora cheese was shipped to distant points, and in 1898 it was said that more cheese was shipped from Aurora station than from any railroad station in the United States. Samuel Bissel, of Twinsburg, said that in 1806 his .father moved his family to Aurora and that he remembers well Rev. Joseph Badger, who preached in Aurora as early as 1801. His father, although not a professor of religion, really kept a ministers' hotel. Samuel said the children in the family liked Mr. Badger because he told such good stories. Rev. Badger, in his diary, under the date of March 22, 1804, says : "Preached in Aurora to fifteen souls. Alas, stupid as the woods in which they live !" It seems he was either too busy or too disgusted to continue his services, and the "stupid souls" met in homes, read sermons, sang songs and prayed until 1809, when a missionary, Mr. Darrow, perfected a church organization, and the next year it took the form of the Union, but was really Congregational. In 1818 there was a Methodist class and active Work was continued until 1845, and continued till 1871. The Disciple church was organized in 1830 ; the church built in 1837, destroyed by fire in 1855 ; new church built that same year and rebuilt in 1872. In this church James Garfield and B. A. Hinsdale preached with more or less regularity for a time. Rev. Amzi Atwater, grandson of the pioneer, was regular pastor. Thomas Barr, who later became so interested in the history of northern Ohio, was a preacher at the Bissel home., He preached HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 677 without notes and was very social and liked by everybody, including children. Samuel Huntington, who distinguished himself in so many ways, lived in Aurora for a little time, moving thence to Warren. The town was organized in 1807. The first sawmill was erected on the Chagrin river, near Squire Sheldon's house. In 1810 James Baldwin opened a store in the bedroom of his father's house. He sold calico at a dollar a yard. At an Aurora reunion, in 1899, a family Bible belonging to the great-great-grandfather of Louisa M. Hurd was shown. At the massacre of Wyoming this man was too old to carry arms, and was put on a horse and sent with the women and children through the swamps to New Jersey. He carried this Bible under his arm all the way. The first lamp was brought to Aurora in 1854 and was a great curiosity. In those days oil, was called coal-oil, just as later coal was called stone-coal. Warren Forward was an Aurora man, who was postmaster at Buffalo, a lawyer in Pittsburg, a member of congress, secretary of the United States treasury under Tyler, and minister to Denmark. Judge Van R. Humphry and Henry McKinney both lived in Aurora. Royal Taylor Lived in Aurora. His history is given elsewhere. He was the first state pension agent. Hon. Charles Harmon was one of the best known and best beloved of the pioneers. He was twice elected state representative. Dr. Worthy Streetor, who is well known in Cleveland as a doctor and railroad builder, was an Aurora man. Henry Hawkins, who lived in Ravenna many years, later moving to Cleveland, and becoming auditor of Cuyahoga county, and who died very recently when in the nineties, came from Aurora. Ransom A. Gillett, who kept hotel in Ravenna and afterwards was a noted hotel man in Cleveland, was from Aurora. James Converse, the railroad king of Texas, was born and raised in that town. A. M. Willard, who painted "Yankee Doodle" and the "Minute Man," and won a wide reputation as a military painter, was an Aurora boy. Victoria and Tennessee Claflin began their interesting career in Aurora. Their subsequent history is well known to the public. Victoria is dead, but Tennessee is now Lady Cook. Her husband is dead and she comes to America each year. She has much money. Victoria was the brighter of the two, had a good deal of oratorical ability and an active brain. Clara Morris' grandmother resided in Aurora for years, and when Clara was a barefooted maiden she played with the little girls. in the neighborhood. BRIMFIELD TOWNSHIP. Brimfield was first called Wylestown in honor of John Wyles, of Brimfield, Massachusetts, who owned the northern half of the township. When organization took place it was named Thorndike for the proprietor who owned the southern half. For this name, Israel Thorndike agreed to give a public square, but when asked to deliver the. goods he refused to do so. The citizens therefore petitioned the court to change the name, and in 1830 it became Brimfield. It was late when this township was settled, and some of . the early citizens came from the nearby vicinity. Henry Thorndike, a nephew of the proprietor, had the selling of the land, and Arba Twitchel came with young Thorndike and made a clearing half a mile north of the center. Arba Twitchel was unmarried and had been employed by the Thorndikes in New, Hampshire. He was the one who really made the first improvement in the township. John Boosinger cleared the land where the court house and jail now stand, and in 1816 moved to Brimfield, it was a wilderness and when he was obliged to go to court he had to leave his wife and two babies in the little- but for two days and nights. The woods all around the house were filled with bears and wolves and the only defense the family had was a dog. The 678 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE wolves crowded around this cabin at night and howled all night, and if it had not been for the dog they certainly would have walked in the doorless doorway. Boosinger was a hard worker and cleared a great deal of land. He lived to be fully ninety years old. Henry Thorndike brought his family with him and was a substantial citizen with fine business ability. His brother, Israel, followed him and Married a daughter of Martin Kent, of Suffield. Mr. Thorndike was very anxious to have his township improved and he offered to give eighty acres of land to the first child born in the township. Alpheus Andrews, who lived in Rootstown, hearing of this offer ch0pped his way from Rootstown to Brimfield—there were no roads then—and settled at the center. In three months from that time a son was born to him and he demanded the eighty acres from Mr: Thorndike. They did not agree right away as to location and before they had decided the baby died. Mr. Thorndike therefore tried to get out of his bargain, but Mr. Andrews said that it was not his fault that the child died, so they compromised on forty acres. The first adult, death in Brimfield was that of Porter Walbridge. He was not of a very religious turn of mind, and in those days it was very sinful not to be orthodox. When the Andrews' baby died, Mr. Andrews would not allow his body laid away in the regular cemetery, saying that the Devil would probably come for Walbridge and might make a mistake and get in the wrong grave. The child was, therefore, buried in Rootstown. In 1818 Israel Thorndike and Edward Thorndike had a nail factory. It was on the little stream where the saw mill used to stand. Swedish iron was used in the manufacture. This had to be brought from New York to Albany, thence to Buffalo by wagon, Cleveland by lake, by wagon again to Brimfield: Of course little money could be made after all this expense of getting the material had been met. Dr. A. M. Sherman is authority for the state ment that this was the first nail factory in the State. The first church organized was the Presbyterian in 1819, the first sermon having been preached in Henry Thorndike's log house. The Methodists organized in 1823 and built a church in 1836. Four Baptists organized a church in 1836. Soon thereafter a meeting house was erected. In 1837 a Universalist church was built. CHARLESTOWN. This was owned originally by John Morgan, but became the property of Samuel Hinckley, of Northampton, Massachusetts, and bore his name till 1814, when it was organized. John Campbell, who is referred to in several parts of the Portage county history, built a house on the corner of Charlestown, Edinburg, Rootstown and .Ravenna. He became Hinckley's agent. General Campbell went east; made an agreement with thirteen men who were members of a land company to the effect that if they did not build 'a cabin on the land and clear five acres within five years they forfeited their right and in addition must pay five dollars. Hinckley, Fairchild, Noble and Parsons forfeited their contract and the $400 thus acquired was used to build a town house, which became church and school house. The Corners was' later known as Campbellsport, and in the early canal days was a thriving hamlet. It is still a beautiful spot and the roadway runs on and near the old towpath for some time. Charlestown was little settled before the War of 1812, but in 1815 there were thirteen families. The first marriage was that of Martin Camp and Sallie Coe. First birth was a son of Mr. and Mrs. John Baldwin, 1813. First death, Brayton King, son of John, in 1812. First orchard set out by Charles Curtis in 1812. He bought two hundred apple trees of HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 679 John Harmon, of Mantua, for twenty bushels of wheat. First school, 1811, taught by first bride, Sophia Coe. The first saw mill was located half a mile east of the Center. This township, like Windham, had a church almost before it had a settler, as the church was organized. before the first party left the east. The Methodists organized in 1824. They often met in barns, as the school house was used by the Congregationalists. They finally built a church at the Center, which was unroofed by wind in 1850. It was not used thereafter. The M. E. Church was organized in 1824. When the schoolhouse was occupied by the regular Congregational appointments, meetings were held in barns, sometimes in midwinter, the women sitting on bundles of grain, the men standing during the service. A small brick church was built on the southwest corner of the public square. The first M. E. minister to reside in town with his family was Rouse P. Gardiner. There are some beautiful suburban homes in Charlestown, and the township is so near Ravenna and its interests so close to Ravenna, that its history is almost a part of it. DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP. Township 1, range 6, was owned by Gideon Granger and Oliver Phelps. The latter held two-thirds. It was named for Lewis Day's home town. He with Horatio Day, reached Portage county in June, 1799. Lewis had bought land of Phelps, as had Lewis Ely. These men were distant kin and before they came to the new country, and ever afterwards, they and their families were the closest of friends. Mrs. Ely (Anna Granger) was a relative of Gideon Granger. In February of the following year came John Campbell, Joel Thorp and Alva Day, as we have seen elsewhere. Alva Day and Lewis Ely made a dug-out and started for. Virginia to obtain supplies. Mr. and Mrs. Ely had been alone in the township during the winter and were in want of food. This trip was a hard one, and when ready to return they found that they could not row, up stream and were obliged to hire an ox-team to carry their purchases. They were gone three months and undoubtedly it was during this time that Sarah Ely learned to love John Campbell, the newly arrived. As we have seen elsewhere, their wedding was the first in the county. As an old woman, Sarah Ely Campbell was dignified and gentle ; not so, We are told, was she as a child. She delighted to push over the papooses, which the squaws left strapped to a board outside the door when they called. These Indian babies naturally, when wrongside out and upside down, cried lustily ; and, as they were not so given to crying as white babies were, much confusion followed. Alva Day became associate judge and was an officer in the War of 1812. Their daughter Polly was the first child born in Deerfield, and the first girl born' in Portage county. In 1799 Deerfield had the only wagon-road west of Canfield. This township was so near the settlements at Youngstown and Warren that it filled up rapidly. At first came the New Englander; then the Pennsylvanian, the Virginian and the Marylander. Daniel Diver, with a large family, came in 1803. In 1806 a number of Mohawk Indians were in camp at Deerfield. John Diver, a son of Daniel, was accused of having been unfair in a horse-trade with one of these Indians and John Nicksaw tried unsuccessfully to persuade Diver to take back the horse. The Indians, therefore, followed up the white men, who were enjoying themselves at a party at Lewis Day's house. They were drinking rather heavily and they tried to induce' John Diver to come outside and talk with them. This he did not think wise to do and his brother Daniel, seeing the Indians standing outside, accosted them in a friendly manner, 680 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE shaking hands with them all, but as soon as he turned to go into the house one of the Indians shot him, blinding him for life, although he lived many years thereafter. They all ran except the man who shot, the Mohawk. The Indians fled, the white men pursued and came upon them near Boston ; killed Nicksaw and returned to Deerfield with Bigson and his two sons. The squaw, escaped from them and is supposed to have died from the cold. The Indians were taken before Lewis Day for examination. They were acquitted and the Mohawk who did the shooting escaped. It is related that Edward Bostick, when he was past eighty years old, "rode on horseback to Philadelphia, thence to Connecticut and back to Ohio by the way of New York." Robert Campbell was the first school teacher. Rev. Bostwick, a noted circuit rider, lived in Deerfield when not in the field. He was a powerful preacher., The first church organized was the Methodist, in 1803 or 1804. The early families of Days and Elys were its pillars. They did not have a log church, but in 1818 erected a frame building. This denomination erected another building in 1835, and still another in 1872. The Presbyterians organized a church in 1816 and the Disciples in 1828. Deerfield figured in early history, and is best known now by the splendid coal which it put on the market some years since. ROOTSTOWN TOWNSHIP. Rootstown was named for Ephraim Root, of Coventry, Connecticut, who was one of the two original owners of the town. He was a graduate of Yale College, educated as a lawyer, and was a man of capacity and note. His father was supreme judge of the state of Connecticut and had been a member of the house of representatives of that state. At one time he was considered the wealthiest man in Hartford. He was jovial and quick at repartee. None of the early proprietors of the townships of Portage county was more popular than he. He was exceedingly honorable, but had a fondness for grog, which grew upon him with years. Grog then was what it is now, and his health was impaired and his fortune somewhat dissipated. The year 181 I was the last time he was in Ohio. Young Davenport who assisted him in the survey, died and was buried here. He was the first person to die in Rootstown. In the spring of 1801 Mr. Root, who had sowed Wheat the year before, returned, bringing with him his brother David. This brother became a permanent settler. They chose to clear a place on lot 6 because it was near the old Indian path. They built a log house which was, of course, the first in the township. Nathan Muzzey, of whom we have read, did the carpentering on this. He lived to a good old age and died in Rootstown. The story is told of Muzzey that he was disappointed in a love affair, and on every building or fence he built he carved the name of Emma Hale. Muzzey Lake was named for him. The Root house was a good deal better than many of that day, because the logs were hewn. There were so few people in the country at that time that when a family came to a township their neighbors assisted them in erecting their homes. One family came from Hudson, one from Atwater and one from Nelson, to assist in the raising of Root's house. The house was used for a family residence and also for a tavern. The next corners were Henry O'Neil and Samuel McCoy, Irishmen from Pennsylvania, who settled on lot 3. They made their houses together, but afterward McCoy moved to the place where there was a spring which now bears his name. He had the only distillery which ever was in Rootstown. John McCoy was the first child born in the township and he received fifty acres of land from Ephraim Root. Among the next settlers were Michael Hartle and Franklin Carris. The next year Frederick Carris' son John came, bringing HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 681 with him Arthur Anderson. They both helped Mr. Root to clear the land. The first marriage was that of Ashur Ely, of Deerfield, to Lydia Lyman. They had to go to Hudson to be married, since that was the nearest place they could find an official. Among the early settlers were the Chapmans and the Reeds. In 1805 more members of the Chapman family came. Rootstown seems to have been first settled by a pair, trio or quartette of brothers. In 1806 came Alpheus, Thaddeus and Samuel Andrews. In that year also Mrs. Ward, a fearless, energetic woman, capable of great physical endurance, well fitted in these respects to be a pioneer, also came to the township. She could do a man's work at logging and took long journeys on foot. She came alone, leaving her husband in Ireland. She settled on lot 18. and became familiarly known as "Mother Ward." The little pond near her home bore until recently the name of Mother Ward's Pond. The first corn in Rootstown township was planted in the spring of 1801 by Ephraim and David Root. The Mills brothers put in a crop in the same year in Nelson. David Root was a teacher and his school was in a dwelling near Campbellsport. The first public school of Rootstown was taught by Samuel Andrews in 1807. Miss Polly Harmon was the second teacher. The township was organized in 1810 and from the beginning Indians were plentiful. After the townships in lower part of Portage county were well settled there was an influx of people from Pennsylvania. They made splendid citizens, were frugal, hard working and made good farmers. They came from Pennsylvania ancestors and built good barns before they really built their houses. Their descendants are still scattered about through Portage county. Of course, almost all of the German is nabbed off, as most of the Yankee is rubbed off of the New England young people. S. B. Spellman was one of the early justices of the peace. His wife was a particularly bright woman and seemed to have more of a judicial mind than he. Therefore, when he wanted to know what the law was, in order to make certain rulings, he read it to her and she told him what it meant. She was the grandmother of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller. Rev. Giles H. Cowles organized the Congregational church of Rootstown in 1810. There were fourteen members, seven men and seven women. The first Methodist church organized in the township was organized by Father Henry SheWell. The first class was organized at his own house in the year 1815. He was blind. The first Catholics came to Rootstown in 1832. In 1866 they built their own frame church. The United Brethren held a series of meetings in 1872 and 1873 and a church was formed from this. The first teacher in Rootstown was Mrs. Ephraim Chapman, who taught her own children and those of Mr. O'Neil in the winter of 1804. STREETSBORO TOWNSHIP. Town 4, range 9, was owned by a number of the Connecticut Land Company, among them being Titus Street, for whom it was named Streetsboro. Street thought that the land in this part of the country was going to be very valuable ; so he did not sell it early and it was one of the last townships in Portage county to be settled. Lemuel Punderson was his agent. He did not live there long, and Amzi Atwater, of whom we have read so often, succeeded him. He lowered the price of the land from six to two dollars per acre, and the township immediately began to fill up. The first settler was Stephen Myers, Jr., who came in 1822. He was a distiller and conducted his business for six years. When a township had been delayed in settling often, the first settlers came from townships round-about. They had learned how to manage the cutting of the timber and were anxious to take up larger tracts of land. This was true of Streets- 682 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE boro. Street realized that he had made a mistake in holding back the land so long, and consequently made a proposition to the company which was building the stage-road from Cleveland to Wellsville, in which he offered to give eight hundred and forty acres of land if they would put the road through the township. This brought many settlers, and was a wise business proposition. Streetsboro was the last township organized in the county. Of course Garrettsville was really not a township, although it was afterward made into one. It had belonged to Hudson, Summit county, to Aurora and Mantua, Portage county, and in 1827 its present boundaries were established. Streetsboro seemed to have a great influx of poor people. All over the Reserve there was so much land that when people were destitute they moved onto new land, erected cabins, sometimes only of bark, and depended upon the woods for their food. As a rule, however, they would get into destitute circumstances and then the 'settlers, wh0 had a hard enough time to get along themselves, were obliged to help them out because no one could see anyone starve. Of course in the beginning this was not so bad, but it became an old story, and the overseer of the poor was an important man in the early days. For some reason or other, possibly because it was the last township settled in the county, Streetsboro had more than its share. The overseer of the poor warned these people, and, when some of them would not go, threatened to sell them to the highest bidder. They usually scattered, but in one case a woman in this township was sold for twelve dollars for two months. The first person born was the first person to die; whether it Was a boy or girl, whether it was named or not, is not recorded. It was a child of Samuel Walker. Frederick Nighman and Parmelia Van were the first bride and groom. The first teacher was Clarinda Case and she did not teach till 1826. She taught school and cooked for her father and boarders. Mr. Street gave a cemetery to the town and the newer cemetery is called Evergreen. EDINBURG TOWNSHIP. William Hart, of Saybrook, Connecticut, capitalist, who bought much land on the Western Reserve, was the proprietor of Edinburg. Soon after John Campbell reached this country, he and John Eddy bought this township and it was named Eddysburg—later called Edinburg. The first settler was Eber Abbott, who was early injured by a falling tree and never thereafter was able to work hard. He moved to Ravenna later and lived there the remainder of his life. Lemuel Chapman, Jr., who Came with his family in- the fall of 1811, having looked over the ground the year before, was the earliest settler who was identified with the town. His daughter was the first child born there. Richard M. Hart, a nephew of William, was also among the first corners. In March Mr. and Mrs. Justin Eddy and Mr. and Mrs. Alanson Eddy came in sleighs and soon discarded their improvised shed for log- houses. It was in the new kitchen of Alan-son Eddy that the first wedding in the township occurred. Betsey Hitchcock was the bride and Greensbury Keene, the groom. Clarissa Loomis, of Charlestown, taught the first school. The township was organized in 1819. Richard Hart and Justin Eddy were the first justices of the peace. Polly Clark (afterward Mrs. Seth Day) was one of the lively Misses of the township. The first sermon was preached by Rev. Nathan Damon in 1812. It was eleven years before a Congregation church was formed. In 1826 a Methodist class was formed and P. D. Horton, father of J. D. Horton, occasionally preached to the settlers. A church edifice was erected in 1834 ; furnished in 1837 ; remodeled in 1866. 684 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE The first saw-mill was built in 1816, on Barrel Run, and Campbell and Eddy, of Edinburg, owned it. As far as we know, the first woman's club on the Reserve, at least in Portage county, was formed in Edinburg. The women of the neighborhood made it a rule to meet once a week in one of the homes. They worked very hard during the week, and on this day they took their work and visited, and possibly improved themselves by reading. Melinda, Tuttle Gilbert, who was born in 1823, says : "I remember when I was quite young that my father built a house in the woods a mile from where we were then living. One afternoon father and mother and we children went to see the new house, father carrying the twins on his shoulder in a two-bushel basket. The next week they moved into the house which had then neither doors nor windows. I shall never forget the howling of the wolves that night and the effort made to keep them off. The next day the doors and windows were added and there was no further trouble." Edinburg is a beautiful township. Its soil is very fertile and its crops of grain and fruit are enormous. FREEDOM TOWNSHIP. Town 4, range 7, was the last of the regular townships to be organized. Garrettsville alone, which is irregular, came after it. Freedom, like Paris, had a reputation of having very poor land, but when this was cleared it proved to be very fertile. In the beginning the land about the Center was low and wet. The first settler was not from a far-away town, but from Hiram. He was a son of General Edward Paine, of whom we have read in the early parts of this work, and married a daughter of Elijah Mason. Their cabin was finished in 1818, and for four years they were the only inhabitants. In 1822 came Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Johnson, with eleven children. What would a woman of today think of making a new home for eleven children ? As there were then no street cars, no automobiles, no dynamite; and few microbes; the greater worry was caused by the want of vegetable food. A separate township was created in 1825. In a chivalric spirit, Mrs. Paine was asked to name it. Her idea was a broad one. She did not name it for herself, or her home town. She first suggested "Liberty," and finally chose "Freedom." Is it not strange that Freedom's first woman citizen, who lived alone in the forest, who laid into the virgin earth the first dead body (her baby Emeline) and who gave birth to the first child of the township, should have been considered so much of a chattel that she did not need a name ? We know now that Freedom would still be a wilderness, if no women had been allowed to enter it. Rufus Ranney was one of the earlier settlers and his daughter Harriet was Freedom's first bride. Her husband was Wakeman Sherwood. The first postmaster was Elijah W. Ranney. The first justice of the peace was Amariah Wheelock. Elihu Paine built the first saw-mill in 1828. The first church (Presbyterian) was organized at A. C. Larkcorn's home, in 1828. Their first meeting house was built in 1835. Before that, services were held in the homes of the members. A pretty church was later erected. When a child, driving with her parents from Ravenna to Nelson, the writer waited with great impatience till the white church in Freedom came in view. It looked then so much larger and whiter than the capitol at Washington twenty years later ! The Methodists organized a class in 1831. Enoch Drake's barn was the first place of meeting. Seven years later a fine house was built at Drakesburg. It was in this part of the township that the first school was held, E. W. Ranney being teacher. The public square at Hartford was given by Thomas Lloyd, of Hartford, Connecticut. HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 685 Freedom has remained an agricultural township, but it has always done its share of county work, and sustained its portion of county responsibility. GARRETTSVILLE. In 1804 John Garrett, 0f Delaware, reached Hiram township, which then included what is now Mantua, Freedom, Windham, Nelson, Shalersville and Hiram. He bought his land E. GARRETT - MRS. ELEANOR GARRETT from a company of men who owned the entire area of Nelson. His deed called for three hundred acres of land, including the waterpower on the creek and he paid $1,313 for it. Aside from his family, he brought a negress, ten years old, and a mulatto, six years old. They became free when they were eighteen years of age. One of the servants belonging to Mrs. Garrett named Flora, married Thomas Henes, a colored man, and they made their home in Mantua. Ravenna, Garrettsville and Mantua were three townships at least where the colored people were well treated from the very beginning. Abraham Dyson, his wife, two sons and daughter accompanied the Garretts, this daughter afterwards marrying Ira Hulet, who lived for many years on several farms in Nelson. These pioneers camped on what is now Main street. So necessary was a grist-mill to a settlement that sometimes before houses were built men began damming streams. This was true of Mr. Garrett. Very soon Mill creek was dammed and the saw-mill in operation, and not long after a grist-mill was erected. Dyson was a blacksmith, and he used to repair the firearms of the ndians. ELEANOR GARRETT. John Garrett died in 1806 and his widow Eleanor, with her three sons, assumed the business and the responsibilities of the husband and father. Mrs. Garrett was an exceptional woman. She really felt herself to be the 686 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE mother of the settlement, and her home was the stopping place for all. However, she was like most of the pioneers and had a great longing for "back home" ; and twice she went to Delaware on horseback. She was a great Baptist and the first meetings of that denomination were held in her house. Her husband had given land for a church and she worked untiringly for the erection of the house. When the congregation introduced a bass viol into the meeting she left the house. The cemetery in Garrettsville was given by John Garrett in 1805, and the first interment was that of his son, Josiah. The Park cemetery was bought in 1876.. The ladies of Garrettsville and of Nelson and Hiram township have taken a great interest in cemeteries and have accomplished much in beautifying them. It is supposed that the first school-house in Garrettsville was on the corner of North and Maple, avenues. Of course it was of logs. There was another school-house on Center street opposite Park cemetery. A school district of Hiram had a school-house at the intersection of South and Freeman streets. The Red School House, the best remembered of the early. buildings erected in 1841, and the present High School stands on its site. It was considered a very pretentious building of its time. When the village was incorporated, a special school district was erected. The first postmaster of Garrettsville was Eleanor Garrett. She had charge of the office in 1834. Mail then only came once a week from Parkman, through Nelson and Freedom, to Ravenna. It was at first carried on horseback. VILLAGE INCORPORATED. When Garrettsville was settled there was no road of any kind. There was an Indian trail, from Conant's corners in Windham to Hiram Rapids, where there was a village of Wyandotte Indians. Although Garrettsville had this early beginning, it was not an incorporated village until 1864, and it was not until 1874 that the village .was set off as a township. In the early days the residents of Garrettsville had to go to Hiram or Nelson to vote, which was so inconvenient that few did their duty in this direction. GARRETTSVILLE NEWSPAPERS. The first newspaper published in Garrettsville was called The Western Pearl. Its date was 1836. It was a semi-monthly. It was a literary paper and did not last long. Dr. Lyman Trask was the editor: In 1862 a small monthly gotten out by Warren Pierce, under the name of the Garrettsville Monthly Review, which was likewise short-lived. The Garrettsville Journal was first published in July, 1867, by Warren Pierce, who continued it until 1873, when he sold it to Charles B. Webb. In 1905 Mr. Webb, because of ill health, was obliged to give up work and Myers and Snow bought the paper and the next year the Journal Publishing Company was formed and D. G. Myers became editor and manager. It is now a company, of .which C. M. Crane is president. He is also editor of the paper. The Saturday Item appeared in 1885. It was a weekly and a spicy little sheet. It lived five years. The first store in Garrettsville was that of Hazen and Garrett. It was of logs, of course, and stood at the corner of the present Main street and North avenue. It was opened in 1820. John B. Hazen was the father of Stillman H. Hazen, and consequently an uncle of General William B. Hazen. David J. Garrett was a son of John Garrett, the founder. The writer remembers the first time she gazed upon the waterfall over the stone ledge at Garrettsville. It seemed to her that the air rising was as cold as ice and she wondered if it was possible that Niagara Falls, of which she had heard so much, could be larger than this, or if the water above and below could run swifter. The eldest daughter of John Taber who came to Garrettsville in 1833 was the first wife of Dr. A. M. Sherman. HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 687 ENERGETIC MEN AND WOMEN. There are numberless stories told of the energy, executive ability and industry of the early women of the different counties. Sarah Ann Pinney, who early came to live in Martin Manley's family in Garrettsville, seemed to have natural business ability. She picked up chestnuts, with which she bought her first apron. When she was seven years old she knit her first stockings, and, as did many others, carried them until she nearly reached the church before she put them on. When she was twelve years old, she made a cheese herself, curing it, and when it had seasoned properly, (and in those days cheese had to season a long time) she carried it on horseback to Atwood's store and sold it for a pair of gloves. Garrettsville has always had a business air and women, as well as men, from an early day have been good managers. The women of the fifties and sixties carried their butter, eggs, sugar, feathers, etc., to stores and exchanged them for drygoods and groceries. Few were the merchants who could "do" these women, if they had cared to do so. Garrettsville at this writing is a village of homes, and many people doing business. in Cleveland live there. FRANKLIN, OR KENT. Franklin township was the first to be organized in the county. In 1803 Benjamin Tappan, who made a road through the township when he came from Hudson, built the first bridge over the creek near "Brady's Leap.". THE HAYMAKER FAMILY. The first settler was John Haymaker. He was a German from Pennsylvania. He had stopped in Warren for a time and many years after Ephraim Quinby's daughter married one of the family. The Haymaker family consisted of the wife Sally and three children. A cabin, which had first been used by the sur veyors and later by the Indians for themselves and their houses, was cleaned and became the first home in Franklin. The following year, 1806, John's father, Jacob, and brother George, arrived. Jacob built a house, where later Kent's mills was. erected. In 1807, Frederick, another brother, appeared. He bought a goodly bit of land in the northern part of the township. He is the best remembered of the family, because of his cleverness and education. He had been Aaron Burr's private secretary and knew all of Burr's plans, as did no other man, but to his death nothing could make him divulge them. In later years he moved, to Trumbull county and his son, Jesse, married Abbie, the daughter of Samuel Quinby. FRANKLIN MILLS. This whole family was an industrious one. They put up the first mill, 1807—crude to be sure ; but they were so willing to accommodate customers that they did a fine business and the hamlet became known as the Mills, and then as Franklin Mills. There was another. settlement near it called Carthage, but its name was finally lost in Franklin Mills. The Haymakers were not only the first settlers, but the first business men of the township. The first birth was that of a Haymaker—John F., son of John and Sally ; and the first death, Eva, the wife of Jacob and mother of John, George and Frederick. Sally lived to be one of the oldest citizens. of the. township, ninety-four years of age. Not only did the mill figure in naming of the first settlement, but when Jacob Reed, of Rootstown, bought the property of Haymaker, it was called Reedsburg. In 1816 the original name was restored. From almost the beginning, Franklin Mills took on an industrial air, aside from the grist mill. In 1818 a woolen factory, a dye-house, a hotel, and a' cabinet shop were put up. 688 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE EARLY TIME MANUFACTORIES: In 1822 there were a tannery and a glass factory, a saw-mill and an ashery. In 1824 there was another glass factory and in 1831, a grist mill, saw-mill, forge and trip hammer, as well as a hemp factory. Axes, scythes and pitchforks were manufactured, and these were not nearly all of the early "works." Price and De Peyster were enterprising citizens. Mr. Price was killed by having a grindstone fall on him, and a freshet carried away their mill and fairly destroying the property. In 1832 Zenas Kent and David Ladd bought the De Peyster property for seven thousand dollars. To be sure, the mill was gone, but the land and water-power were left. This was improved- and Mr. Kent, who had bought out Ladd, disposed of his for $75,000 and Pomeroy and Rhodes, for $40,000. People were wild over speculations, and all would have been well if something unforeseen had not happened. It's always this "unforseen" which ruins. The Land Company transferred its interest to the Silk Company. The latter built a bridge, made a fine stone dam, and the canal people appearing friendly and interested really diverted the water power to Akron. Insolvency followed hoped for success. Zenas Kent was not daunted and when the property came to sale Henry A. and Marvin Kent bought it. This family made every effort to restore business and it finally came through Marvin's efforts in securing the present Erie road. This history, is given under railroads in Portage county. Although the name Carthage had disappeared, the Upper and Lower Village had been substituted for it and Franklin Mills. In 1863 these consolidated towns were named Kent, for Marvin Kent. One of the divisions ended here, so that the employees of the shop, together with the trainmen who made their homes there, added greatly to the population of the Marvin Kent was a native of Ravenna and was born in 1816. He attended the academy at Talmage and developed into a strong business man. He was at one time state senator. He was better known in connection with the projecting of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad than was any of the other commissioners. He died since the author began this work, being over ninety-two years old. His son William has taken his place in the business and political life of the city. He is identified with the newspaper business, the banking business and several other things. John Brown, of Ossawattomie, the Abolitionist of world-wide fame, was born in Torrington, Connecticut, in 1800 ; came to Hudson, Summit county, when five years of age, and worked on the farm and in a tannery with his father, Owen Brown. When he was thirty-five years old he was in Kent and built or bought a house to be used as a boarding house, but he did not so use it, although others have. He moved to Pennsylvania, but returned to Ohio in 1836. From Ohio five of his sons went to Kansas, where their father joined them in 1855. The story of his attempt to free the slaves, his arrest, imprisonment and execution are well known. The story of Captain Brady and his leap is about on a par with the story told about Israel Putnam, Pocahontas and William Tell. The latter two have been relegated to fiction, but Putnam and Brady still belong in the class of real things. Captain Samuel Brady lived on Chartier's creek. He was a very powerful man physically. About 1780 a number of Indians from the neighborhood of Cuyahoga Falls had gone south into Washington county in what was then known as the "Cat Fishing Camp." They had murdered and plundered and made nuisances of themselves until finally it was decided that they must be put out. Brady led the party which pursued them, but as the Indians had a start the white men could not catch them. At Ravenna they separated into two parties and Brady's men also divided. Brady was in the party which was to go to Indian HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 689 Village lying on the Cuyahoga river in the township of Northampton. He and his men expected to slip unnoticed into the village, but the Indian's ear was a ready ear and there was no surprise. As the number of Indians was four times that of the whites, Brady's only chance, was to run. He ordered his men to separate and each one try to save himself. Brady's size and strength were the envy of the red men and they were more anxious to catch him than any of the rest. When Brady reached the Cuyahoga where the banks are very high and only twenty-two feet apart (the spot is now a few feet above the bridge at Kent) he knew that he must either clear this river by jumping, or be captured. He made the jump successfully and held himself to the side by bushes till he finally crawled up the rocks. The Indians were perfectly astonished when they saw him on the opposite bank. He was still within shooting distance. They did not want to kill him; they longed to torture him. However, none of them could jump as he did, and in going around he gained on them. Reaching the pond which now bears his name, he jumped in, swam quietly a long way and hid under a log. The Indians hunted him hours, but as they knew he hurt himself in jumping they concluded that when he plunged into the water he drowned. Strange to say, none of the members of his party were hurt in any way by the Indians. Altogether it was a most miraculous escape. S. P. Hildreth, in "Sketches of Pioneer History", writes : "At 11 a. m., I took a seat in the mail coach for Poland, Trumbull county, Ohio, thirty-eight miles northerly from Beaverstown. Directly on leaving Bridgewater and crossing a small stream on a neat bridge, we began to ascend a long, steep hill, called Brady's Hill. It took its name from an interesting border adventure which occurred near its base in early times—about the year 1777. "Captain Samuel Brady was one of that band of brave men, who, in the trying days of Vol. I-44 the Revolutionary war, lived on the western borders of Pennsylvania, exposed to all the horrors and dangers of Indian warfare. He held a commission from the congress of the United States, and for a part of the time commanded a company of rangers, who traversed the country below Pittsburg bordering the Ohio river. He was born, as I learn from one of his sons, in Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1758, and must have removed when quite young across the mountains into The valley of the Monongahela to have become so thoroughly versed in woodcraft and Indian adventures. He was over six feet in height, remarkably erect, and active in his movements, with light blue eyes, fair skin and dark hair. "In personal and hand-to-hand conflict with the Indians he is said to have exceeded any other man west of the mountains, excepting Daniel Boone. Several interesting sketches were published in the Blairsville Recorder, a year or two since, detailing some of his adventures, which in the hands of a Weems would make a most interesting volume. At the period of this event, Captain Brady lived on Chartier creek, about twelve miles below Pittsburg, a stream much better known, however, to pilots and keelboat men of modern days, by the significant name of "Shirtee." He had become a bold and vigorous backwoodsman, inured to all the toils and hardships of a borderer's life, and very obnoxious to the savages from his num.erous successful attacks on their war parties, and from shooting them, in his hunting excursions whenever they crossed his path or came within reach of his rifle. He was, in fact, that which many of the early borderers were, 'an Indian hater. His hatred was not without cause—his father, one brother, wife and two or three children having been slain by the savages. This class of men seem to have been more numerous in the region of the Monongahela than in any other portion of the frontiers, which doubtless arose from the slaughter at Braddock's defeat, and 690 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE the numerous murders and attacks on defenseless families that followed that defeat for many years. Brady was also a very successful trapper and hunter, and took more beaver than any of the Indians themselves. "In one of his adventurous trapping excursions on the waters of the Beaver, or Mahoning, which so greatly abounded in the animals of this species in early days that it took its name from this fact, it so happened that the Indians surprised him in his camp and took him prisoner. To have shot or tomahawked him on the spot would have been but a small gratification to that 0f satiating their revenge by burning him at a slow fire, after having run the gantlet in presence of -all the Indians of their village. He was therefore taken alive to their encampment, on the right bank of the Beaver, about two miles from its mouth. After the usual exultations and rejoicing at the capture of a noted enemy, and the ceremony of the gantlet was gone through with, a fire was prepared by which Brady was placed, stripped naked, and his arms unbound.. Around him the Indians formed a large circle of men, women and children, dancing and yelling, and uttering all manner of threats and abuse, that their small knowledge of the English language could afford, previous to tying him to the stake. Brady looked on these preparations for death, and on his savage foes, with a firm countenance and a steady eye, meeting all their threats with a truly savage fortitude. "In the midst of their dancing and rejoicing, the squaw of one of their chiefs came near him with a child in her arms. Quick as thought, and with a presence of mini with which few mortals are gifted, he snatched it from her and threw it into the midst of the flames. Horror-stricken at the sudden transaction, the Indians simultaneously rushed to rescue it from the fire. In the midst of this confusion Brady darted from the circle, overturning all that came in his way, and rushed into the adjacent thickets with the Indians yelling at his heels. He ascended the steep side of the present hill amid the discharge of fifty rifles, and sprung down the opposite declivity into the deep ravines and laurel thickets that abound for some miles to the west. His knowledge of the country, and wonderful activity and strength, enabled him to elude his enemies, and reach the settlements on the south side of the Ohio. "He lived many years after this escape, and gratified his hatred by killing numbers of his foes in the several encounters which ensued. The hill near whose base this adventure was achieved still goes by his name, and the incident is often referred to by the traveler as the coach is slowly dragged up its side. In looking down upon the laurel thickets which still cluster round the rugged cliffs of sand 'rock, and by their evergreen foliage perpetuate the memory of Brady, I fancied I could still hear the shrill whoop of the savage, as he pursued with desperate energy his escaping foe." The first school in Franklin was taught by Abner H. Lanphare in 1815. The first school house erected in 1817, was also to serve as a church.. The Presbyterian church, organized in 1819, had a regular pastor in 1825. A brick church was built in the thirties and another one in 1858. A Methodist class was, formed about 1815. In 1822 it was on the circuit ; first meetings held in the school house.. In 1828 the Methodists fitted up a small building, which was really the first church in Franklin. A church was built in 1840. The Disciples organized in 1827, when people were so stirred over the "new religion." The Episcopal church was established in 1835. The Baptists had a few members in 1835, but did not grow much. They were organized in 1875. The Universalists organized in 1866. They have a nice church. Rev. Andrew Wilson has long been interested in this church as pastor. HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 691 MANTUA TOWNSHIP (TOWN 5, RANGE 8). Mantua was the first township reached by the pioneers. The main owners were David Fidelio and Ebenezer King, and Gideon Granger had a small interest in this township, as he had in so many others. Abraham Honey in 1798, built a hut, part on Plot 24, cleared a small portion and sowed wheat. He did not stay, and after wandering a little in that part of the county, settled in Cuyahoga county. It is not known whether he intended to settle at the time. At all events, his brother-in-law, Rufus Edwards, came during the next year and harvested his wheat, which, was probably the first in the county. Edwards had a grist mill in 1799. Elias Harmon was one of the best known of the first settlers. Although he started in February, 1799, he did not reach Mantua until the 12th of June. He settled in Mantua that fall, having spent the summer in Aurora. His daughter Eunice received fifty acres of land for being the first child born in the township. She ran very close to second place in the county. Atwater Hall was the first child born in the county, and Polly Day, of Deerfield, was second, unless Eunice Harmon antidates her ; the author believes she does, although the records are not sure. It was in Mantua that Amzi Atwater settled, his place known to all the early settlers, and he is remembered by men who are living today as being a genial, intelligent, successful man. His name appears more often in the early histories of the Western Reserve than any of the other surveyors. This was because he was with both surveying parties and because he became a settler and prosperous citizen. The present Mantua station stands on their old farm and part of their house was converted into a hotel. Amzi Atwater was exceedingly honorable and honest. During one season, when wheat and grain was plenty in Portage county and vicinity, and there was almost a famine in Medina county, men who were speculating came to him to buy his, wheat. Knowing that they wanted to sell it to the settlers in those counties, he refused to sell and made arrangements to dispose of his himself to those people at an ordinary profit. In 1802 there was a tannery, owned by Moses Pond, which was operated for ten years, David Ladd then established a regular tannery. Moses Pond was a valuable settler. It was he who introduced sheep into the township and also apple seeds. The first saw mill was not, erected until 1818. In the early twenties there was a glass factory. in Mantua, which later was removed to Kent, and at a centennial celebration in Aurora a glass bottle blown by Jonathan Tinker, who worked for David Ladd. From 1810 to 1824 Mantua had a distillery. It was owned by different parties. William Russell was the proprietor for the greatest number of years. For ten years there was an ashery, 1818 to 1828. In 1821 David Ladd had a brick yard. In 1825 the Rogers brothers owned a tannery. The first tavern was of logs, and Jonathan Atwater was the owner. Mantua has never had any business which' paid its citizens better than potato raising. In season trainloads are shipped from this point. It is seldom that the Methodists are early in their organization, but they were in Mantua. A class was formed in 1807 ; first meeting house erected in 1820. This was of logs and was burned in 1838. A new one was immediately constructed. The Congregational church was organized in 1812, The Baptists organized in 1809, but the Disciples succeeded in capturing it, as it did many others. This church was reorganized in 1850. The Spiritualists have been numerous in Mantua. The Catholics have a congregation here, which is rather unusual for a rural district. 692 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE ALBERT G. RIDDLE. Albert G. Riddle was a native of Geauga county. When his father died he was apprentice to Seth Harmon, who lived in Portage county, and his biography is given here for that reason. He returned to Geauga county in 1831, studied law and was admitted to the bar ; was a member of the Ohio legislature in 1848 and 1849, and then moved to Cleveland. He was naturally a radical and was much interested in the slavery question. He was United States Consul to Matanzas in 1863 ; finally went to Washington to live and was John Surratt's lawyer. He was preceptor in the Howard University, and wrote novels which dealt with the life of Northern Ohio. He was a close friend of both Giddings and Wade. NELSON TOWNSHIP. Town 5, range 6, was originally part of Hiram. Uriel Holmes was the largest owner in this territory. We have mentioned in several other parts of this work the Mills brothers—Delaun, Asahel and Isaac. The first two named were married and had children and all three started for this county. When they got as far as Youngstown, the wives and children were left and the men proceeded westward. Since Delaun had but eighteen cents, it was fortunate they met Mr. Holmes, who wanted helpers in his surveying party. He engaged them and they worked under the direction of Amzi Atwater. While- the Captain was working with the surveying party and scaring the Indians, his wife was working in a hotel, earning her board and that of her three children during all the summer. Ashael stayed in Youngstown that winter, but the Captain and his family went to Nelson. He cut a roadway from Warren to let the wagon through ; before that there had only been a blazed path. Delaun remodeled the cabin which the surveyors had used and began making" his home. It is supposed that Mr. Holmes gave him one hundred acres of land for settling there. In the next spring, the brother, Ashael, settled on the north and, south road and it is supposed his land was given to him also. Delaun's house was just west of the center where the home of P. C. Freeman now is. Delaun Mills was a most powerful man and was likewise absolutely fearless. Probably no man on the Western Reserve was so much hated by the Indians as was he and no man's life was in danger so often as was his. The stories told of him are quite equal to imaginary tales told of Indian hunters. Most of the information in regard to 'the Mills family used in this work was taken from an address delivered at the Mills family reunion at Nelson Ledges, in 1879, by Professor George Colton of Hiram College. Professor Colton was born in Nelson and married Clara Taylor, daughter of Edwin and granddaughter of Elisha, one of the early settlers. Professor Colton's father was Belden and his mother was a Tilden. The family lived at the Corners about a mile and a half west of the Center. Her brother Henry's farm adjoined hers and the Taylor farm adjoined the Tildens' on the west, while the Couch farm was across the way. This neighborhood was an intellectual center. A member of congress in the eighties said if he really wanted to know what the political situation was he had to talk with men of this vicinage. Lucius Taylor, one of the sons of Elisha, was a cattle buyer. and was possibly the best known of any of the neighbors, his business taking him into all parts of the county. He was a genial man, with a fund of good stories and an inveterate tease. His uncle, Ferris Couch, was at one time sheriff of the county and his grandfather, Elisha Taylor, was elected the first justice of the peace, although he refused to serve. Of all this New England neighborhood there is not one of the name left and the only man of that circle who dwells upon his old farm is George Pritchard who, with his wife "Aunt Em," still resides at HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 693 the Corners of Hiram and Nelson, near where the old chair factory was once located. The general statement that the early settlers suffered many hardships does not mean much to us, but when we read that Delaun Mills sowed turnips the first year and that he and his family lived upon turnips and meat. They had no corn, no potatoes and no flour. In the the spring of 1801 wheat was sown and from three pecks of seed forty-three bushels of wheat was harvested. This Captain Mills loaded onto a sled drawn by oxen and started .for the mills on Mill creek. The sleighing was good, but before his grist. was done, and he had started home a thaw began. When he was ready to leave Youngstown the water had ,frozen. His oxen were not shod and could not stand up. He therefore stopped, made an ox frame so that they could be shod and then resumed his journey. The thaw had made the river rise and when he reached Warren, as there was no bridge, he could not cross without wetting his flour. He therefore placed stakes in his' sled, put chains on top, making a rack, and when his grist was on top of that it was beyond the reach of the water. `He mounted one ox and thus brought himself and his food through without damage. He had been gone three. weeks ; his wife was .fearing he had been killed by the Indians, and as his children had been without flour so long they did not like bread. Dianthia Mills was the first child born in Nelson. She was a daughter of Asahel. Professor Colton says : "The Captain was in the habit of opening each spring a sugar camp south of the center road, under the ledge. During 'run' the whole family lived at the camp, Mrs. Mills going occasionally on horseback to their home for supplies. On one occasion she found at the house an Indian who insisted upon tiding with her to the camp. She protested ; but the horseback ride was a treat which the Indian did not seem inclined to forego, and, in spite of her protests, he seated himself on the horse behind her. He enjoyed the ride to camp greatly, but how she enjoyed it tradition does not say." Since the Mills brothers came to Nelson there has always been some of the family living there. Nelson Center is one of the most attractive of the rural centers. It has a monurnent to the soldiers, two nice churches, a town hall and centralized school. The early settlers were generally Connecticut people. A beautiful township it is, too, with its rolling surface and its view of the Hiram hills to the west and the Pennsylvania hills to the east. East of the Center is an upheaval of rocks known as "The Ledges." This is composed of pudding-stone rock standing on ends, with caves between and all covered with thick woods. A little stream makes a long water fall and in summer this is as cool and attractive a spot as anyone could wish to see. If there had been a stream of any size in the vicinity, or if a railroad was near by, this would have been one of the resorts of this part of Ohio. It is now a stopping-place for automobile parties on their way back and forth from Cleveland. While his brother was fighting the Indians and doing that sort of an act, Asahel Mills was giving more attention to domestic affairs. He preached the first sermon in the township and he and all the family were attached to the Methodist church. .Rev. Thomas G. Jones, of Sharon, who organized so many Baptist churches on the Western Reserve perfected an organization here. It was called Bethesda in 1808. The first school was at the Center, and the teacher was Hannah Baldwin. Delaun Mill's brother, Oliver,. was one of the .early teachers and it is said that he was the only one of the early Mills who cared anything about learning. There was a social Library Association very early in Nelson ; probably as early as 1820. Orders in the possession of Ralph Baldwin belonging to his grandfather, Stephen Baldwin, and signed by Birdsey Clark, Thomas Kennedy and Ezra Booth, committee, show 694 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE that assessment was made and paid for the maintenance of this library. The books were stored at the Center of Nelson, or in the house of the Rev. Mr. Fenn, and people who were ambitious to learn, or who loved reading for amusement, walked miles to borrow these books. Among the early settlers of Nelson was Stephen Baldwin, who came to the township in 1803. He lived in a hunter's cabin on the ground where the Methodist church now is, and but for the aid of Indians might possibly have starved. The next spring he bought sixty acres of land, part of which is located on the Nelson Ledge territory. Here they lived in a log house. He procured his education, as so many boys of his age did, studying by the light of hickory bark, and continued always to be interested in education. He was one of the leaders of the anti-slavery movement in Northern Ohio, being very much interested in the Portage county Anti-Slavery Society, and was one of its fourteen members. He was an active member of the Congregational church of Nelson, but because of his anti-slavery sentiment was threatened with excommunication. At one time he was mobbed for speaking his sentiments in Garrettsville, the men attacking him using rotten eggs. A party of men once lay wait for him to tar and feather him, but by the merest accident, having business in another part of town, he returned home another way. Nelson Bearse, Horatio Taylor, Elisha Taylor, Garret Gates and Orrin Smith rallied to his support and saved him much persecution. Cornelius Baldwin of Nelson lived at the foot of the Ledge for many years. His father was Stephen and his grandfather was Stephen. His son Ralph is a teacher and lives in Warren. Ralph Baldwin is very much interested in all historical things and cherishes a great many curios. He has a chair with wooden pegs which was made about 1803 and a mouse trap made of cedar which was gotten about the same year ; a wooden canteen from the war Of 1812, and an old lantern which was brought from the East. He has numerous papers and letters from old settlers and among them is a receipt from. Elisha Garrett. He has three whiskey bottles one with an eagle and morning glories on it, dated 1800 ; one with General Jackson's name on it, 1812, and the other with an eagle, stars and clasped hands. He has a fine collection of old china, among them a Clews with the words "warrantes staffordshire" upon it. This is called the rose and hawthorn pattern and is supposed to be among the rarest china of the old kind. Gen. William B. Hazen was a Nelson boy. On one lot nearly two miles west of the Center four men became judges. Two of them were the sons of Benjamin F. Brown and another was Judge Ezra B. Taylor, now living in Warren at a very advanced age, and Duane Tilden of Cleveland. The year 1802 marked the settlement of Hiram Elijah Mason, Elisha Hutchinson and Mason Tilden took up their land there. Mason and Tilden were from Connecticut and Hutchinson was a New York man. The Masons were long identified with the township. In 1830 there was a chair factory near Pritchard's Corners, which was a lively place. Many "hands" were employed and some of the chairs manufactured were very pretty. There was scarcely a housewife in Nelson who did not have some of these chairs, the backs of which were ornamented with fruits and flowers, the design, of course, being more or less conventional and the colors rather For durability they could not be surpassed. PALMYRA TOWNSHIP. No. 2, range 6, was practically owned by Elijah Boardman. David Daniels, who received one hundred acres of land, came in 1799, and the township was among those earliest settled. Daniels was from Connecticut, and married a cousin of Governor Meigs. He was active in business, but died in 1813. Mrs. Daniels lived to be eighty-three years old. HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 695 Ethelbert Baker arrived in the autumn, William Bacon came in 1800 and the families of the two men joined them in 1802. Bacon's son-in-law, E. Cutler, came that year. Amasa Preston, who came as early as 1804, was a great snake-hunter, and the story is told that his mother .hated snakes and loved to hunt them as much as he did. Even after she got too old to see them, she still went after the "varmints." In addition to the Connecticut people and the Pennsylvania Dutch, some of the settlers of Palmyra township were from the upper south —Virginia and Maryland. The first child born was Emeline, daughter of E. Cutler ; date 1802. The first death was that of a son of John Tuttle. The first marriage was that of, Benjamin McDaniels and Betsey Stevens. The first tannery was established in 1810, a little south of the Center. The first frame house was built in 1824. The first :school was taught by Betsey Diver, a daughter of the man who was shot by the Indians and blinded. There were a great number of Indians ,in Palmyra when the first settlers arrived. There was an Indian village about one mile west of the Center. They stayed there until the difficulty between John Diver and Mohawk and then they disappeared. The township of Palmyra was the one in Portage county in which was found an excellent quality of coal in large amounts. The coal of Deerfield was good, too. The character of the township of Palmyra and some parts of Deerfield was quite different 'from other townships at that time, because of the presence of so many foreigners who were miners. Florus B. Plimpton was a native of Palmyra. His family came from Connecticut in the early part of the nineteenth century. Florus' father died before he was born and he worked on his father's farm in Hartford ; was a student in Allegheny College and began his work as a journalist in Warren. His wife was Corgi delia A. Bushnell, of Hartford. He was in the newspaper business in Michigan, at Ravenna, and at Palmyra, New York, and became the editor of the Pittsburg Dispatch in 1866. He was on the staff of the Cincinnati Enquirer and a close friend and associate of Murat Halstead. He wrote poetry of more than ordinary merit. PARIS TOWNSHIP. Number 3, range 6, (originally a part of Palmyra) has the high-sounding name of Paris. Three men who owned much land in the Western Reserve were part owners of this township—Lemuel G. Storrs, Henry Champion and Gideon Granger. It was first called Storrsboro. The land of this township, which bears the name of the French capital was little thought of in the early times, being swampy and muddy. There seemed to be a certain amount of day in the soil which had a peculiar stickiness. The first settlers were from Huntington county, Pennsylvania. Richard Hudson and his wife came in 1811. Both he and his wife died Within seven or eight years. Their son-in-law, John Bridges, was the second settler. The first school in the township—a private one, of course—was taught at the home of the first settler, and Betsey North was the teacher. There were very few scholars. The first public school was taught by Daniel Leavitt. Uncle Richard Hudson went at the settlement in the right way ; built his house, sowed his crops, planted his orchards, and if he had lived to the great age which many of the pioneers did, he would have had a handsome property. The first child born in the township was that of Elijah Hawley. The first saw-mill was erected by Alexander and Titus on the Mahoning river. There is so little told of the early women of Portage county that it is interesting t0 know that Mrs.. William Case, whose husband kept a tavern, when left a widow was considered a very strong-minded person. She was greatly 696 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE in favor of Senator Jackson for president and did as much work for him as any man in the township, except that she was not allowed to cast her vote for him. In 1835 Mr. McClintock established a hamlet on the Mahoning which was a lively place during the canal days. It was known as McClintocksburg. RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP. Town 1, range 8, (Randolph), belonged largely to Lemuel Storrs and Henry Champion. Colonel Storrs purchased the interest of the others. He was a fine man, of whom we have read much, and was a member of the Connecticut Land Company. Amzi Atwater and Wareham Shephard ran the boundary of this township. Bella Hubbard and Salmond Ward were among the first settlers. They tame in the year 1802, coming from Connecticut by ox-cart. Salmond Ward was very much interested in the, township and made a good many trips back and forth to the east. On the fourth one he never returned and it was supposed that he was either drowned or murdered. The first death. in the township was in July, 1797, when a man assisting Atwater and Shephard was killed either from the effects of the heat, over-exertion 0r too much whiskey. Marcus Spelman came to Randolph in 1816. His father dying early, he made his home with his uncle, Buel Spelman, in Rootstown, and here he married. After his marriage he moved to a farm near Edinburg center. He taught school and, became greatly interested in the church" and anti-slavery work. He was deacon in the Rootstown Congregational church for forty years. Both Mr.. and Mrs. Spelman lived .to be ninety-one years old. The borne which she made for her family was the home of many travelers and particularly was it a "stopping place" for preachers. The first child born was Sophronia Upson. Bella Hubbard and Clarissa Ward were the first to be married, the date was 1806. It was from this family that the Hubbard squash was named. It is recorded that she used to tell her husband that he had to marry her, or none, as no one in the township would have him. This was because there was no unmarried person in the township. Timothy Culver began keeping tavern in 1804. His place was a financial success, not because so many people "put up" there as that the Indians drank his fire-water. Mr. Culver and Calvin Ward erected the first distillery in 1808. The first grist-mill was erected in 1808 and Josiah Ward was the proprietor. The first cider mill was built the next year and cider brought a higher price than did whiskey. Randolph was certainly the first township in which there was a co-operative club. In the early years of 1803 Calvin Ward, Harris, Hubbard, Davis and Weston lived together and Sally Bacon kept house for them. In the summer 0f 1805 these men built a school house and made a rocking chair for the teacher, Laura Ely. First distillery. was owned by Calvin Ward and Timothy Culver. Josiah Ward was the first real settler, 1808. He also had the first cider mill. Sylvester Turner was the first tanner, 1811. Campbellsport was the trading point for Randolph in the early days. Congregational church, organized in 1812, and erected a house twenty years later. Methodist class formed, 1814. Baptists organized, 1819. Disciples organized in 1828, taking members from other churches ; built church in 1884. St. Joseph's church (Catholic) established in 1829. SHALERSVILLE TOWNSHIP. Town 4, range 8, which was owned by Gen. Mathew Shaler of Middletown, Connecticut, was in the beginning called Middletown, but later Shalersville. The first settler was Joel Baker. It is said that he and his family slept in a hollow log until they could rear their HISTORY OF THE 'WESTERN RESERVE - 697 cabin. They had chosen the spot which is now the center of Shalersville. Like most first settlers, Mr., Baker, and his family were lonesome, but Mrs. Baker is reported to have had great endurance and patience. The next settlers were Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Crane. They were Connecticut people but had lived a little time in Canfield, Trumbull county. The first election in this county was in 1812 at the time of the organization. Joel Baker's daughter, Lucinda, was the first child born in the township. The first wedding was that of Hezekiah Hine, who married Mary, the sister of Amzi Atwater: The eccentric Muzzey, of whom we read in the Rootstown chapter, was one of the early settlers of Shalersville. The first school was opened in 1810 at the Center, Miss Witter of Aurora being the teacher. It was like all the other school-houses described in the various places in this work ; built of logs, with greased paper for windows, great fire-place and high benches. William Coolman. the ancestor of D. C. Coolman, arrived in 1810. Gen. David McIntosh was one of the best known of Shalersville's citizens. The Congregational church was organized in 1810 ; Disciples in 1850. The Methodists for years held their services in the churches at the Center. Shalersville in 1850 was a flourishing town and contained a store which rivaled any in Ravenna. SUFFIELD TOWNSHIP. Suffield was owned largely by Benejob Kent. Royal Pease was one of the chief small owners and the township, until its organization in 1818, was known as Peasetown, Mr. Pease came in 1802, but the town was very slow in filling up. He was literally in a wilderness, the nearest people being five riffles distant. There were no roads but, like other settlers such as he, he built" his cabin and put in his crops. The next year Benjamin Baldwin came, and Elikin Merriman, and David Way. The little daughter of the latter was the first child born in the township. Benjamin Baldwin, who lived in this township, brought with him some apple seeds, and from this orchard he raised the apples which bear his name. A goodly number of Pennsylvania Germans helped to make up the inhabitants of this township. Among these was John Fritch, for whom Fritch's pond was named. This was one of the sources of the Little Cuyahoga river. Fritch constructed a dam and erected a mill, and from that time people continued to come from Connecticut and Pennsylvania, in about the proportion of one of the former to three or four of the latter. The Fritch dam caused stagnant water and illness, so the mill constructed theron had to be abandoned. This spot was always a place for some kind of mill or factory. James Sheilds had a grist-mill, Daniel Harper a carding shop,' David Ely a saw-mill, David and Samuel Eddy, a pottery, and G. W. Fritch, shortly after the war, erected a saw-mill. The Germans of the township were so frugal and so industrious (by the way, do any of us remember a word in our German reader or story-book more often used than "arbeit") that this township, after their coming, was beautifully cultivated. They Made their German cheese, peddled fruits and vegetables, and turned everything into money. Like the Quakers, their descendants did not wear their clothing, nor use their language, but retained their characteristics. Orestes Hale, the son of Samuel, died of smallpox in 1805. Alpha (properly named) Wright and Lucy Foster were the 'first 'to be married. Every member of the household was an asset in those days ; otherwise, how could Moses Adams, a widower with a large family, have married Sarah Packer, with six children ? The thriving town of Mogadore lies on the western line of this township. 698 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE WINDHAM TOWNSHIP: Windham was not settled quite so early as some of the other townships, but it was settled in a very substantial fashion. A party left the Berkshire Hills in 1811, and, before taking their departure, secured their letters from the Congregational church of Becket and organized a church of their own which should exist in their new home. This organized church body held its first meeting in July, 1811, in a log cabin. It soon had a building erected and as soon as feasible replaced the log one with a frame. What was true of the early women of Windham, was true of other townships, of course, but it is said that there was no place where they could get a pin, needle, thread and like things, nearer than Pittsburg, in the beginning. Later they went to Warren, and when Deacon Isaac Clark opened up a little store in Windham, they were delighted. His wife was the purchasing agent and made trips back and forth to Pittsburg on horseback to buy the goods. Town 4, range 6, was principally owned by Governor Caleb Strong, of Massachusetts. A party of New England people, mostly from Berkshire county formed a c0mpany and purchased the township. Dillingham Clark put in $6,000 which entitled him to about one-fourth of the township. The town was called Strongsburg in honor of the governor. Four young men preceded the party—Elijah and Oliver Alford, Ebenezer Owe and Nathan Messenger. They walked, their baggage being carried in a sleigh. The descendants of the Alfords now live upon part of the land which he purchased. The first wheat sown in Windham was sown by Col. Benjamin Higley on the land which the Alfords had cleared, and it is said that on the four acres he raised 100 bushels of wheat the next season. Elijah Alford returned to Connecticut and at the end of two years re-located in Windham. One of the early settlers was Warham Loomis. He was a light-fingered gentleman who lived in Nelson, and was not much admired by Windham people. He moved to Mantua and from that township was sent to the penitentiary, serving a sentence of twelve years. He counterfeited money. CHANGE OF NAMES. The owners of this township began to come and it was not long until Windham was one of the finest townships in the county physically, and had the finest society. It was originally in the township of Hiram, and in 1813 the name was changed from Strongsburg to Sharon, Governor Strong having become politically unpopular. In 1820 the township was named Windham, undoubtedly for Windham, Massachusetts. The first living child born was a daughter of Wareham Loomis. As is usual with old records, her name is not given. It was sufficient in those days to be "the daughter of." In 1811 Dillingham Clark gave land for a cemetery. The seven people who were buried in this spot, were, in 1817, moved to the present burying ground. The first school in the township was taught by the daughters of two of the early residents —Elijah Streaton and Rebecca Conant. They taught alternate weeks. This was the winter of 1811-2-3 and in the fall of the latter year a school-house was erected and a goodly number of scholars attended. Windham was one of the townships which had an early library association. In 1824 100 volumes were collected. In 1851 new interest was aroused and there has been a library association in the township ever since. The first mill was that of Jacob Earl and Benjamin Yarle. It was a saw-mill. The first barn was that of Nathan Birchard, near the spot where the main line station of the Erie railroad in Windham now stands. For convenience, this station is called Mahoning. Here, when the early settlers came, was an Indian village. An orchard was also found HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 699 there which was reported to have been planted 'by the Indians. From this point the red men hunted in the townships north of them, and one of their favorite hiding places was Nelson Ledges. it was in these hunts that the Indians came in contact with Captain Mills, of whom they were so much afraid. HIRAM TOWNSHIP. Hiram is one of the most beautiful townships in the Reserve. From its hills the scenery is most picturesque. It is 1300 feet above sea level. Its people are prosperous, its homes substantial and, although some people call it "sleepy," it impresses the author as having an air of refined respectability and at the same time, romance. Most of its history is given under the topics "Hiram College," "Garfield," or "Almeda Booth." Elijah Mason, Elisha Hutchinson and Mason Tilden, arrived in 1802, looked over their possessions and returned home. John Flemings was the first real settler. He came in 1802, but did not remain long. The Masons, Tildens and Hutchinsons returned the next spring and made improvements.. It was the Masons who gave Silver creek its name. The young Masons did not like the county and persuaded their father to purchase a Vermont farm. This move discouraged Tilden and both Hutchinson and Flemings sold their lands. The latter sold his land to Richard Redden, who, with Jacob and Samuel West, had worked for the Masons and Tildens. Redden's father and family came out in the summer and they spent the winter. Russell Mason, son of the owner, finally concluded to come. It seems as if the question of settling Hiram was a hard one, for Mason did not arrive until 1806. The first inhabitants were Irishmen and Pennsylvania Germans, all 0f whom were poor. Finally Hiram stock began to rise in New England and with their coming, real growth began, Hiram was named by the Free and Accepted Masons for Hiram of Tyre. The first child born in the township was Simeon Babcock, son of Edwin. The first death was Mrs. Fenton, who died at the time her child was born. The old farm where William B. Hazen lived and which he owned until within a few years of his death, if not all his life-time, was a few years since bought by Frank Freeman, who was the son 0f Samuel Levitt Freeman. The Freemans were an old Trumbull county family and facts about them are found in that chapter. SMITH AND RIGDON TARRED AND FEATHERED. The people of Hiram tarred and feathered Rigdon and Smith, who were in Hiram at the time of the Mormon agitation. Several stories have been told as to why this was done. The truth is that they received this treatment because they were Mormons, because they had interested the people of that vicinity in their belief, and because some of these converts had decided them to be frauds. This was before the days of polygamy. It was largely a quarrel among different religions in the beginning, later because it was believed the new followers were to be deceived. Mason Tilden, now over ninty years old, who was born in Hiram, says Smith was taken from his bed in a log house standing just back of the so-called Joseph Smith oak, and that Sidney Rigdon was taken from the Stevens house, to be treated to their respective coats of tar and feathers. The Stevens house is located about two miles southwest of Hiram College. In the early days of Mormonism Joseph Smith, its founder, lived for a time in this house and thus it was the headquarters of the Mormon church. In March, 1832, a company was formed of citizens of Shalersville, Garrettsville and Hiram, which proceeded to execute their vengeance on Smith and Rigdon. One room in the house is still called the "Revelation R0om," because 700 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE here on the night following, Smith claimed to have received a. revelation instructing him to depart for. the West. ZEB RUDOLPH. Zeb Rudolph, the father of Mrs. Garfield, was a man of quiet calm nature, and when the word was brought to him that his son-in-law had been nominated for the presidency, instead of rejoicing as most elderly men would, he hesitated a few moments and then said : "I hope no harm will come from it." One of the early settlers of Hiram was Chauncey F. Black, afterward Governor of. Pennsylvania. His father was Jeremiah S. Black and Judge of the Supreme Court from 1851-57. He was a member of Buchanan's cabinet. Alvah Udall was one of the strongest men connected with the history of Hiram, and Hiram College. It would seem strange that he had so much to do with the building of this college when he was not a professor of religion. Men living today who knew his father, Samuel Udall, who came to Hiram in 1818, 'say that Samuel was a stronger character than Alvah, but the writers of the present day seem to differ with this statement. F. M. Green, in his "History of Hiram College," quotes a letter of Mrs Lucretia R. Garfield to Prof. A. C. Pierson. It is as follows : "The first commencement exercises were held under the apple trees of an old orchard which reached over the northeast corner of the Eclectic grounds. A stage was built around one of the largest trees, and decorated with whatever we were able to get from the scant flower gardens of that time. Seats for the audience were improvised in the. usual way—boards resting on chairs and blocks. No admission was charged, as the chief purpose was to call together as many people as possible to show What we were doing. I do not think the audience was large ; still a good many came. I do not remember, but I think the music must have been only vocal, as I think there was no music teacher. or an instrument those first two terms. "It was a perfect day, bright and cool, and had you not given the date as May, I should have said it was a perfect day in June, and we were all in that state of exaltation which belongs to the beginnings of new enterprises. The women of this community loaded a long table with appetizing viands, and opened their houses in the largest hospitality their accommodations would permit. This public table became a burden when it grew evident that many came merely for the 'loaves and fishes' ; and it was abandoned. The memories of those days, almost half a century away, seem to belong to another world when the enthusiasm and ambitions filled heart and soul. The details of the commencement exercises are entirely lost to me. I could not have told you that I took any part in them, and don't remember the subject of my poor little essay, nor anything about the 'Colloquy.' Like a woman, I have a rather vivid recollection of the dress I wore—that's all." RAVENNA TOWNSHIP. Ravenna (town 3, range 8) was named for Italy's Ravenna, but no one kn0ws why, nor by whom. It was owned by Luther Loomis, Calvin Austin, Ephraim Robbins, Nathaniel Patch and Stephen W. Jones. This land changed hands several times, and that owned by Mr. Loomis and his friends was bought by Benjamin Tappan, Sr. As we have seen in other parts of this history Benjamin Tappan was the first settler, coming, in the summer of 1799, with David Hudson and meeting with all sorts of misfortunes en route. Part of his goods were stolen ; a man who was to accompany him deserted him at Hudson ; one of his oxen died from the bites of flies in the woods between Hudson and Ravenna. When he arrived in Ravenna he sent a man accompanying him to the commandant at Erie, and he himself went to James Hillman, at Youngstown, to purchase another 702 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE ox. He was so late in getting, back to ,his "home" that he could not get in any cr0ps, and winter was upon him before he was prepared for it. He, however, built a log cabin and got into it before the freezing weather was upon him. There was only one other settler in the county and that was Mr. Honey of Mantua. Tappan's cabin was not done before winter, it was in the southeast corner of the township. He laid out the township in 1808. As early as 1808, Bowery, Oak, Walnut and Sycamore streets were laid out. The first building is supposed to have been erected by Josiah Woodward in the spring of 1808. This stood. nearly opposite the store which John Beatty and son so long occupied. David Thompson built a house on Chestnut street, and here in 1810, a son was born, who was given a lot by Benjamin Tappan for being the first child born in the township. Like most founders of a town, Mr. Tappan gave a cemetery lot to the, township and it was located on Chestnut street nearly opposite the early home of Henry C. Ranney. Seven or eight people were buried here and their bodies were afterwards removed. Among them were Mrs. Patterson, the mother of Mrs. Epaphorus Mathews, who was murdered by Henry Aungst. Robert Campbell, the son of Gen. John. Campbell, was also interred here. His body was removed to Campbellsport, and the most of the others to the other cemetery. The present cemetery was chosen in 1813. The first school house was erected where the residence of the late Lois Judd stood and the teacher was Achsah Eggleston. It is said that Maj. Stephen Mason, when 'he was sheriff in 1813, taught school in the court house, and when he was obliged to go away the school had to be closed. The court house yard was cleared in 1807. "It may be of interest to some to learn what prompted that particular clearing at that time. Mrs. Tappan, who was the better business man of the two, said to her husband, 'This is the place for the county seat ; now clear off the ground as fast as you can and have something to show the commissioners when they come. Franklin (Kent) is ahead of us in settlement, and they will try to get it.' Because of the energy displayed by Mrs. Tappan, Ravenna became the county town for 'Old Portage.' " RAVENNA 1N 1837. In the "Gazetteer for 1837" we find the following : "Ravenna, a township of Portage county, in which is situated the seat of justice. It is a singular fact that in this township (which is only five miles square) there are good mill sites on 'two streams, one of which empties into the Atlantic through the Gulf of Mexico, and. the other through the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It' is a fine agricultural township, and will have the Mahoning canal passing east and west through its center, affording extensive water-power. It returns 16,000 acres of land for taxation. "Ravenna, a flourishing post-town and seat of justice for Portage county, situated on the township above named, on a small branch of. the Cuyahoga river, 35 miles southeasterly from Cleveland, 25 miles north by east from Canton, and 135 miles northeastwardly from Columbus. It contains 7 stores, 3 taverns, 15 or 20 mechanics shops, 5 lawyers, 3 physicians, 2 clergymen, 3 churches, 1 academy, a splendid court house (cost $8,000) and a jail. It is expected that. the completion of the Pennsylvania and Ohio, or Mahoning canal, will materially benefit this town." As we have seen elsewhere, Benjamin Tappan was the first resident of Ravenna, but many of his immediate followers were Germans. About the time the Tappans located Benjamin Bisby settled there, and his wife was the first woman to live in Ravenna township. It was their son who died from a bite of a rattlesnake and was the first to be buried in the township. Elizabeth Boszor was the first white girl born in Ravenna township. Her aunt, Matilda, married Henry Sapp, and they came to Ra- 704 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE venna in 1803. Their home had been in Hagerstown, Maryland. Mrs. Sapp had seen George Washington. Robert Campbell was Ravenna's first jeweler. In 1822 the Congregational church of Ravenna was established. This has been a rather historical congregation. There is now not living any person, so far as we know, who was a member of the church or the Sunday-school at the time of its organization. Two years later (1824) the Methodist church was organized, and the Rev. Ira Eddy, one of the best of the early Methodist preachers, led the service every four weeks. The church of Disciples was organized in 1827, when the missionaries, of which we have spoken so many times, were laboring here. The Universalist church was in existence some time before they had an edifice ; that is, prior to 1842. The Grace Episcopal parish was organized in 1865. In 1839 a large number of Kentucky people came to Ravenna. In 1811 Josiah Woodward came from New York and made a dam across Break Neck creek. Here he erected a mill, but the obstruction to the running water brought malaria and the people protested, and when they could do nothing with him they went at night and destroyed his dam. Of course he was outraged and moved to Franklin ; however, with him the sickness disappeared. "The oldest building in Ravenna is the one on the southeast corner of Main and Chestnut streets, and the next oldest is a yellow barn standing in the rear of William Kinney's house on the corner of Main and Meridian streets. The first was a tavern which was put up by Mr. Greer. The barn was erected by General John Campbell, who kept a tavern at Campbellsport." Zenas Kent kept a store in Ravenna for many years, which stood where the Second National bank now stands. In 1825 a terrible hail storm passed over Ravenna, breaking windows and destroying property, and it was said that there was not a bit of fence left standing within its path. A two-story frame court house was built in 1810, a frame jail in 1819 and a brick court house in 1830. The first grist-mill was built in 1802. The first school was taught by Miss Sarah Wright, a sister of Mr. Tappan. The first church (Congregational) was organized in 1822 by Rev. Chas. B. Storrs. The first mayor of Ravenna was O. P. Brown, elected in 1853. The first paper was started in 1825, called the Western Courier. Union schools were organized in 1853 and D. D. Pickett was superintendent for twenty-three years. Eliza Frazer Evans, who was the widow of Captain Evans and a daughter of Colonel Frazer, held the position of postmistress in Ravenna. No Ravenna woman has since been given so important a place. This was given because of family and political influence and because her husband lost his life in the Civil war. There are many beautiful suburban homes in Portage county, the most attractive of which is Dan R. Hanna's. His grandfather, Daniel P. Rhodes, originally owned it, and Mr. Hanna has remodeled the picturesque old stone house, and beautified the grounds and added stock. It is on a hill, and is approached by a circuitous drive which leads one, in June, to a marvelous yard of flowers. Mr. Hanna is a son of the late Marcus Hanna and does business in Cleveland. OLDEST COACH COMPANY 1N THE COUNTY. Ravenna has grown greatly in civic improvements and in industrial concerns in the last few years. It has the distinction of being the home of the oldest coach and hearse company in the United States. This company was established in 1831 by W. D. Clark & Company. In 1860 Merts & Riddle bought it and in 1890 the Riddle Coach and Hearse Com- 706 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE pany purchased the business. This company, through all panics and all inflated, times, have had one policy which they have carried out. They have always put the very best material into their work, and the result is their carriages and hearses are sold all over the United States. Charles Merts, so long connected with this firm, died since this work was begun. Other industrial concerns in Ravenna are the A. C. Williams Company, .Ravenna Lamp Works, Annevar and Redfern Mills, Browning Foundry Company, Manhattan Electric Supply Company, Buckeye Chair Company, Johnson Paper Box Company, Standard Knitting. Company. Two things stand out. very plainly in the mind of the author 0f this work -in connection with Ravenna. These she saw with her childish eyes. One was a large stone which stood at the foot of Meridian street on Bowery. This was the place where all the children of the neighborhood used to gather to play, and from which one of them at least fell every day ont0 the hard. ground. That stone was responsible for 'more bruises than any one thing in the township 0f Ravenna. THE OLD GLASS FACTORY. The other thing that she remembers was the glass factory. Ravenna children never seemed to go to the glass factory in the winter, but always in the summer. How hot it. was. Yet she and her playmates stood around that old furnace watching the men roll the molten glass into balls, blow into the long pipes and then put the cooling material into molds. They staid patiently, hoping that the blowers w0uld make a bad bottle ; for when they did, it was usually handed out to the children. If so favored, they waited for it to cool and carried it home as one of their treasures. Sometimes if the blower was good natured, probably having little folks at home, he would blow a little basket or some unusual ornament madc of glass, in. the old _factory Which stood west of the Pennsylvania tracks. on Bowery. Ravenna is one of the towns which has demonstrated the fact that a town can own its own water works with profit to all parties. There is a street car line running to Akron and first class train service to Cleveland. When we remember how the Germans drank their beer, how the early fathers were often in their cups, hard to believe that Portage county does not allow intoxicants to be sold within its limits. The author is sure the old Germans, if they were here, would use a word equivalent to "mollycoddle," but she is equally sure that the Portage county fore-mother, who suffered because of the guzzling tendencies of the men, would say "Amen," or at least "Selah RAVENNA'S DISTINGUISHED PEOPLE. A history of Portage county would not be complete without the mention of John C. Beatty, who has lived in. Ravenna since August 10, 1855. He Was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, February 4, 1833, and came to Ravenna on August 10, 1855. He has been a merchant in that city from that date to this. He married Hetty Day, the brilliant daughter of H. L. Day, who was at that time one of the foremost merchants of Portage county. Hetty Day was one of the handsomest women that Ravenna has ever had. She had four children and died May 19, 1869. Some 'time later Mr. Beatty married his brother Harry's widow, Mary L. Beatty. They had three children, two boys, who died in infancy, and Jane, who married the Rev. Mr. Torrence and now lives in Detroit. For many years Mr. Beatty stood at the head of the Republican party and almost all men who held office during that time were indebted to him more or less for their positions. He was a personal friend of Garfield and. McKinley. Mr. Beatty served as county treasurer in 1874-8, and was postmaster of Ravenna in 1890-4. For ten years he was a member 0f the Girls' Industrial Home; and was honored with membership on the school board for thirty years. He is a man of fine character and a stanch and true friend. HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 707 H. Warner Riddle, Sr., a large coach and hearse manufacturer of Ravenna, Ohio, was born on the 8th of February, 1838, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. His father, Hugh Riddle, was a well-known contractor and a native of Ireland, 0f Scotch-Irish descent, while his mother, Elizabeth Thornberg, born in Pennsylvania, was of German stock, and whose ancestors lived for many generations in this county. Mr. Riddle received a common school education, and at the early age of fourteen years he was apprenticed to a manufacturer of carriages in his home city, and remained in J. C. BEATTY this position for four years. After completing his apprenticeship he went to Cincinnati, where he was employed until 1860, thoroughly acquainting himself with all the details of the business, which he has continuously followed all his life. In 1860, deciding to enter into business of his own, Mr. Riddle settled at Ravenna and formed a partnership with Charles Merts, under the firm name of Merts & Riddle. This partnership lasted until 1890, when The Riddle Coach & Hearse Company was organized, which concern at the present writing employs a large force of skilled mechanics. Mr. Riddle is the president of the company which bears his 'name, and associated with him are his two sons, his son-in-law and a nephew, all of whom are partners in the enterprise. founded by him. He is the owner of many buildings in this city, and is looked upon as one of the leading and most public spirited citizens of his community. He was married in 1866 to Emily H. Robinson, and is the father of four children, two sons and two daughters. D. C. Coolman was born in Ravenna in 1828. His mother died when he was young, and he was left to care for his older sisters. He did not finish his college- course at Allegheny because he joined the engineer corps and began work at his profession. His first w0rk was done on the Cleveland & Pittsburg Road. He helped to survey the old Clinton Air Line. In 1856 he was in the engineering department of the A. & G. W., and remained there till 1869, when he organized the Diamond Window Glass Company. He remained in this business' until 1893, when he was appointed postmaster by Grover Cleveland. He and his wife (who . was Elizabeth C. Coleman) were married in 1849, had six children—one, Clinton H., of Texas, surviving. Mr. and Mrs. Coolman now live at Clinton Terrace, the home of their nephew, William H. Beebe. If D. M. Clewell had chanced to live in a great city his name would now be known far and wide as is Wanamaker. He was a natural merchant and he made a great success in his business in his town. He was born in Canfield in 1837, and for forty-six years after he removed to Ravenna was identified with all the activities—business, social and political—of the county. He was president of the Portage County Building and Loan Association and for eleven years a member of the Ravenna School Board. He married Mary Beebe, the daughter of ,Horace Y. Beebe, and their life was an unusually happy one. She died some years since. Mr. Clewell and his daughter's (Mrs. Wagner) family have lived together the last few years on the corner of Meridian and Bowery streets. Hon. Jos. D. Horton was one of the most 708 - HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE respected and beloved of Portage county citizens. His father, Peter D., was one of the early ministers of the Methodist church, and his mother was Hannah Couch, who came to Nelson with her sister, Mrs. Elisha Taylor. Mr. Horton was a student and an excellent lawyer. From childhood he had delicate health, and this prevented him from accepting several 0ffices of trust offered him, as well as from entering the race for others. He was one of the best lawyers the county ever had. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1870, serving on the judiciary committee. His mother died early, and he lived part of the time in the family of Elisha Taylor, being a partner of Ezra B. Taylor through most of his professional life. He married Fanny Finley, of Detroit, and had five children, two of whom are living Peter, of Sharon, Pennsylvania, and Fanny, in Warren. Dr. Isaac Swift is well remembered by many 0f Ravenna's citizens today, though few of them knew him as a young man. He was born in 1790, in Connecticut, and his father was in the Revolutionary war, as were most of the fathers of that time. His parents having died young, he began the study of medicine in New York City and began practice in New Jersey. Concluding to go West, he took his belongings and started on horseback. After traveling a thousand miles, he became ill at Ravenna and by the time he had recovered he did not care to look farther. He and Seth Day had a store, part of the stock being drugs. Dr. Swift continued to practice and manage the prescription part of the business. He practiced and was in business in Ravenna most of his life. He married Eliza Thompson, the daughter of Richard Thompson, in 1818. They built the home on Chestnut street five years later, and here he lived till 1874. This home was a social one and Mrs. Swift was a lovely woman. Their daughters, Mrs. Morrison and Mrs. Waite, still reside there, and the granddaughter, Miss Waite, lives there also. The old house is largely at it was in early days and is very attractive. E. P. Brainard moved to Ravenna in 1846, having been elected the year before to the office of county treasurer. He was born in New York state ; settled at Cuyahoga Falls in 1834, where he followed his trade, that of harness making. In 1836 he married Margaret Wells, daughter of John F. Wells, of Ravenna, and they lived two years in Randolph before coming to the county seat. He and his brother-in-law were in the hardware business until 1852. He was cashier of the Franklin Bank of Portage; treasurer of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad until 1864, and secretary and director of the company at different times. He was connected with many of the enterprises of Ravenna in the fifties and sixties ; was always interested in education and for a number of years was president of the Board of Education. N. D. Clark, who was born in Tallmadge in 1814, was one of Ravenna's best known citizens. For thirty years he was a successful manufacturer of carriages and buggies. He then became connected with the old Portage County Branch Bank, and when that was merged into the First National Bank of Ravenna was elected president. He held this office from 1867 to 1885. His wife was Sarah Rawson, of Ravenna. Horace Y. Beebe was one of the respected citizens of Ravenna. He was born in Middlefield, Connecticut, in 1834 ; lived at Cuyahoga Falls and then moved to Ravenna, where he was deputy clerk under George Kirkam and seven years under William Colman. In 1853 he became connected with the bank of Robinson King & Company and held that position until his son, William H., was old enough to take it, and the latter has served in that capacity for fifty. years. He was a delegate to the convention in 1860 which nominated Lincoln, and his vote was very important in that convention. When the train which took Lincoln to Washington went through Ra- HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE - 709 venna, they stopped to take Mr. Beebe. He accompanied Lincoln to Washington and was there for his inauguration. His daughter, Mary, married D. M. Cewell and his granddaughter, Mary, married Dr. George Wagner. (A sketch of Dr. George Wagner appears elsewhere.) Portage county has furnished one judge of the supreme court of the state, Luther Day. He was born in Granville, New York, and numbered among his family connections some of the Revolutionary soldiers. He had a common-school education and prepared for college at an academy. His education was stopped because of his father's death. From the time he was fourteen until he was twenty he worked on the farm and in the saw-mill and when he had his father's debts paid, he began working his way through college by teaching. In 1838 his mother moved to Ravenna and he went there for a visit, expecting to return and complete his college course. However, he did not carry out his intention, but commenced the study of law under Rufus P. Spalding and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He was elected prosecuting attorney three years later and married two years after —that is, in 1845—the daughter of Judge Spalding. She was a granddaughter of Hon. Zepheniah Swift, chief justice of Connecticut. He died on a visit to some friends in Trumbull county and was buried in Warren. Mrs. Day died in 1852. Four years later the judge married Miss Barnes, of Lanesboro, Massachusetts. She was a mother to his three children and had a large family herself. n 1863 he was elected to the Ohio senate, and in 1864 judge of the supreme court. He served a second term, and was renominated for the third in 1864, but the state going democratic, he was defeated. He was one of the commissioners who revised the statutes of the state. Judge Day was an ardent Methodist. His children are all successful. His oldest son has had a most honorable career, having been common pleas judge and a member of McKinley's cabinet, and is now on the supreme bench. Among the early residents of Ravenna, a number came from Nantucket. There was some reason why these people who had followed the sea chose Ravenna for their home, but no one seems to know what the cause was. Among them was Isaac Brayton. He was born at Nantucket and followed the sea until 1833, when he was elected to the legislature. He was acquainted with Horace Mann and possibly, because of him, became enthusiastic in the public school system. At all events, upon reaching Ravenna he was of great help in establishing the high school there. He was associate judge and after he moved to Newburg was elected a representative of the Ohio legislature. He died in Ravenna. A Ravenna woman who attained national reputation was Mary Ann Brayton Woodbridge. She early became interested in the temperance question, was identified with the State Association and for many years was national treasurer.