100 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY Village of Amherstville. The three decades following brought a very slow growth. Then came the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad (now the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern) and an increased demand for the famous Amherst sandstone. Milo Harris bought the interests in the townsite of his father's heirs and made an addition to the village. In 1873 the Village of North Amherst was chartered. The name of the village has changed several times. First it was known as the Corners, then as Plato, next as Amherstville, was incorporated as North Amherst, and, within recent years, has dropped the North and become plain Amherst. Since the year 1886 the Village of Amherst has been the center of the large industries developed by the Cleveland Stone Company, hut, with the rapid expansion of cement manufacture, several of the quarries have been shut down and the enterprise, as a whole, has declined in importance. A large number of men, however, still find employment in the old line. A substantial plant for the making of special machine parts, a cold-storage concern, two good banks and a number of large stores, with a handsome town hall, well paved and lighted streets and other outward signs, demonstrate the standing of Amherst as the second or third village in the county after Oberlin. Wellington and Amherst claim about the same population. Amherst has a population of about 2,200, perhaps half of that credited to the beautiful college village of Russia Township. TOWNSHIPS SETTLED DURING THE WAR Sheffield, Pittsfield and Avon townships, as they are known today, received their first accession of pioneers during the war period of 1812-15. Avon, however, seems to have been the most fortunate in providing homes for a number of settlers who proved to be permanent in their character. PIERREPONT EDWARDS DRAWS AVON TOWNSHIP In 1807 Pierrepont Edwards, the famous Revolutionary soldier, congressman and judge, of Connecticut, drew town No. 7, range 16 (Avon), together with three of the Bass islands in Lake Erie west of North Sandusky, annexed to the town for purpose of equalization. In 1812 Noah Davis settled on the lake shore, erected a log house, remained but a short time and left, never to return. HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 101 THE CAHOON FAMILY In 1814, Wilbur Cahoon, Lewis Austin and Nicholas Young made the first permanent settlement. of the town, and a century afterward, on the 10th of September, their descendants celebrated the event. On that occasion, Horace J. Cahoon, grandson of Wilbur and then in his seventy-eighth year, who had been appointed historian, read an interesting paper, from which liberal extracts are taken elsewhere. Aside from the interest which attaches to the personality of Wilbur Cahoon as one of the first three settlers of Avon Township, he was the first justice of the peace elected for the jurisdiction now divided among the townships of Avon, Sheffield and Dover (the last named now a part of Cuyahoga County). He made his good influence felt in many ways, although his death occurred as early as 1826. The widow died in 1855. Of their eight children, Leonard was the only one to be born in Avon Township, and he was its first native white child. All the other children were born in Herkimer County, New York. The Cahoon family has long been identified with township and county matters, Horace J., before mentioned, serving for nearly ten years as recorder. AVON TOWNSHIP CREATED On the 27th of October, 1818, the Town of Avon, together with the annexations hereinbefore stated, was set off from Dover,. and organized in a separate township by the name of Troy, by the commissioners of Cuyahoga County. It will be remembered that, at this date, the river from the point where it passes into Sheffield north to the lake was the boundary line between Huron and Cuyahoga counties. A special election was ordered for township officers, to be held November 9, 1818. Elah Park, John Williams and Lodovick Moon were elected trustees ; Larkin Williams, township clerk ; Abraham Moon, treasurer. In June, 1819, Jabez Burrell, living in the Sheffield district, and William Cahoon were elected justices of the peace. Previous to 1818 the inhabitants called the town Xeuma, notwithstanding it was a part of Dover. In December, 1824, upon petition of forty citizens, the name of the town was changed from Troy to Avon, by the commissioners of Lorain County. In 1818, the first schoolhouse was built, near the center of the town, and in the fall of that year Larkin A. Williams opened it to the youth of the few settlers of the town. 102 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY PIONEER FAMILIES CROWD INTO SHEFFIELD Sporadically—if the expression may be applied to human beings and their coming—the pioneers of Sheffield Township extended their operations over a period of a dozen years before it was organized under its present name and with its present bounds. William Hart, of Saybrook, Ashtabula County, drew it originally. Previous to his disposition of the land, about. 1812, he agreed to give Timothy Wallace his choice of lots, if he would settle and occupy the same. Wallace accepted the offer, entered and improved a few acres on the Robbins Burrell farm, and finally abandoned it. In January, 1815, Hart conveyed the township to Capt. John Day and Capt. Jabez Burrell, of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Obediah Deland; Joshua Smith, Joseph Fitch, Solomon Fitch, Isaac Burrell and Henry Austin became joint owners with Day arid Burrell. In June of that year Jabez Burrell and Isaac, Captain Day and Joshua Smith came west and made selections. In the following November, Smith and son reached the selected ground and became fixed settlers. They were soon joined by Samuel B. Fitch and Asher Chapman, who struck hands with them, built a small shanty and occupied it during the winter of 1815-16. Freeman Richmond and family took up their abode on Lot 2. This was the first settlement of the town by a. family. In April following, Henry Root, wife and six children, two boys and four girls, arrived from Sheffield, Massachusetts, and took shelter in Smith's shanty until the log house was thrown up that was to constitute their humble habitation for the immediate future. William H. Root was the youngest of the two boys. Next and soon came Oliver Moon, Milton Garfield, John B. Garfield, A. R. Dimmick, William Richmond and Willis Porter. In July and August there came the families of John Day and Jabez Burrell, the first arriving in July. and consisting of twelve persons, and the latter consisting of ten. William, the oldest son of John Day, at a later day became one of the associate judges of the county. Captain Smith, in the fall, returned to Massachusetts, and brought on his family in March of 1817. There soon followed the Moores, Stevens, Hecocks, James, Arnold and Isaac Burrell. There is no township in the county, unless it be Grafton, and possibly Brownhelm and La Grange, that seems to have filled up as rapidly as Sheffield, in the first years of its settlement. SHEFFIELD, FIRST TOWNSHIP AFTER COUNTY ORGANIZATION When Wallace commenced the improvement of his land in 1812, the area now included in Sheffield Township was, territorially, a part of HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 103 Huron County, but it was attached to Cuyahoga County for judicial and other purposes, and so remained until 1815, when Huron County was fully organized and assumed control of its own affairs. Originally, Dover Township embraced Avon, and all of Sheffield and Black River townships east of the river. At a later day all of the territory mentioned constituted the Township of Troy, also in Cuyahoga County. From 1815 to 1824 all of Sheffield west of Black River was attached to the Township of Black River, as it existed before its territory was reduced to its present limits. That part of Sheffield was then in Huron County. On the first Monday of June, 1824, a petition was presented to the commissioners of Lorain County, which had just been organized, praying for a township organization which should embrace its present area—all of Black River Township east of the stream by that name, and so much of No. 6, range 17 (Elyria), as was set off to Enoch Perkins in the partition of that township. The petition was granted and Sheffield was the first township incorporated after the organization of Lorain County. A special election for township officers occurred July 10, 1824, and resulted in the choice of the following officers: John Day, Isaac Burrell and A. R. Dimmick, trustees ; Nathan Stevens, clerk ; Milton Garfield, treasurer. Jabez Burrell had been elected justice of the peace in 1819. while the town was a part of Troy ; was re-elected in 1822, and was still in office at the date of township organization. PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP DRAWN In the draft at Hartford, Connecticut, in 1807, what is now known as Pittsfield Township was drawn by Ebenezer Devotion, William Perkins and eight others. The first white inhabitants were a man by the name of Barker and his two sons. The father cleared a small tract on the northeast corner of Lot 96 and there built a log cabin, but early in 1813 he abandoned it for military service and left the house and the clearing to his sons. They, also, remained for but a short period, and probably were drawn into the ranks. FIRST PERMANENT SETTLERS Then came a hiatus of a dozen years, broken, in 1819, by the survey of the township into lots on the part of new proprietors. Milton Whitney was one of the largest owners of that period. In 1820 he came from the East, made an examination of the land, and entered into an arrangement with Thomas and Jeffrey Waite, sons of Thomas Waite, then of 104 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY Russia, by which they were to settle in town No. 4, range 18, upon his giving them fifty acres of land each. This he did, and in the spring of 1821 the two Waites moved into the town, and took up their residence there. They were the first permanent settlers in Pittsfield. Immediately following the settlement of the Waites, they were joined by Henry and Chauncey Remington, upon a gift of 100 acres of land to each of them by Whitney. The next settler was a minister by the name of Smith. Mr. Norton soon thereafter moved into the town. He built the first frame barn erected therein. The town filled up quite slowly, so much so that there was but one frame house in the town as late as 1834. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED The town was early annexed to Wellington for township purposes, and remained so annexed until December, 1831, when, on the petition of the inhabitants, it was detached and incorporated into a township by the name of Pittsfield. Many of its largest land-owners resided in the Massachusetts town of that name. In April, 1832, the selection of township officers completed its organization as a separate civil body. VILLAGE OF ELYRIA FOUNDED Elyria Township was settled soon after the cessation of the War of 1812. That conflict interrupted settlement in Lorain County, as in every other portion of the Western Reserve. The first settlement of the township was coincident with the founding of the Village of Elyria. It was not until 1816 that the nucleus of the settlement was formed by the arrival of a Mr. Beach, who located with his family in the western portion of what is now the townsite. The place cannot be said to have been founded, however, until the coming of Heman Ely from West Springfield, Massachusetts. He had purchased of the Connecticut Land Company about 12,000 acres of land lying around the falls of the Black River, and in March, 1817, arrived to take possession of his purchase and prepare for its improvement. Building a dam and erecting a grist and saw mill on the east branch of the river, he set about energetically to lay out the village, which, in his honor, assumed the name of Elyria. It should be stated that the first persons to arrive on the scene of the Ely improvements were three men whom the Judge had sent ahead in January, 1817. They were Roderick Ashley, Edwin Bush and James Porter. They walked the entire distance from Massachusetts to the Western Reserve, carrying axes on their shoulders. When Mr. Ely HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 105 arrived in March they had made quite a clearing in the forest for the building of the town. James Porter, the Irishman of the party, remained in Elyria, acquired property, built houses and died there ; his associates, however, returned to their homes in New England. THE ELY HOME The Village of Elyria was soon laid out and some time in the succeeding year, 1818, Mr. Ely moved into his residence, which he occupied for years afterward—the first frame house erected in the village. That residence has been described as a buiding 45 by 40 feet, two stories, with cellar under the main part ; kitchen in the rear ; fireplace in every room, and brick oven in the kitchen. No stoves were known at that time. The siding of the house was made from a single whitewood tree cut on the place near a bend in the road. A large barn was built at the same time. Invitations were sent to Ridgeville, and both frames were raised the same day. In the fall of 1818 Mr. Ely returned to his home in West Springfield, being a passenger on Walk-on-the-Water, the first steamboat which ever plied Lake Erie to Buffalo. On October 10th he married Miss Celia Belden, who returned with him to the new Village of Elyria. As the Ely home was not then completed, for some time the young couple occupied a log house. Mrs. Ely was a woman of lovable disposition, and it was to the deep grief of her many friends that she did not long enjoy the home which she helped to make. She died in 1827, leaving two sons, Heman and Albert. THE FAMOUS BEEBE TAVERN Of the party who accompanied Judge Ely to the site of Elyria, in February, 1817, was Artemas Beebe, an expert carpenter and builder. The second house to arise on the village site, after Mr. Ely's residence, was built by Mr. Beebe on the first lot purchased of the proprietor and opposite what afterward became known as the Ely homestead. It was a large two-story frame building, with an ell, and was used for many years as tavern and a stage office. In the early times Beebe's Tavern was the acknowledged center of social life for the entire Village of Elyria, as it was the general stopping place for travelers seeking western homes, and for lawyers and judges, as well as the lounging place of the villagers themselves. The tavern was long what may be called the general "news exchange," and, in a way, became the political headquarters of the county. 106 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY THE FIRST BEEBE HOME During the first year of business Mr. Beebe had a partner in his tavern venture, but from 1819 to 1835 actively conducted it himself. In 1820 he returned to his home in West Springfield, Massachusetts, also Judge Ely's old home, where he married an old acquaintance, Miss Pamelia Morgan, of that place. One of their daughters (the late Mrs. Mary Beebe Hall), who afterward became known in the community as a woman of literary ability and social distinction, not long before her death issued an interesting booklet entitled "Reminiscences of Elyria," wherein she describes the journey of the young couple to their Elyria home, as well as the appearance of the primitive house, in which they commenced their married life. "On October 4, 1820," she says, “Beebe was married to Pamelia Morgan, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, and started for their western home with a span of horses, and covered wagon filled with all possible articles required for housekeeping (necessities largely)— a big brass kettle to use over the fire for all domestic purposes; brass andirons, candlesticks, warming pan to heat the beds; foot stove to use in riding, or sitting in cold rooms; bed linen and wardrobe. THE BRIDAL TRIP "For four long weeks this young couple journeyed on through mud and various mishaps of overturned wagon and contents, and landed in Elyria to begin their home-making in a large and unplastered house. They were welcomed by Captain Cooley and family, who had occupied the house after it was finished, up to Mr. Beebe's home-coming with his wife. This home contained large fireplaces in all the living rooms and a larger one in the kitchen, with oven and crane ; a big stone hearth and plenty of wood to burn, and great back logs for foundations, for fires were always buried at night, as matches were not known. THE OLD-TIME FIREPLACE "The arrangement of this home was typical of many others of the early times, with fireplaces and ovens. Occasionally, the ovens were built outside under a shed, with a big stump used for foundation. This big fireplace deserves a passing notice, and I always feel sorry for people who never have known how much pleasure is associated with it. A large iron bake kettle, with a lid, would be utilized at times in the corner of the big hearth. What a delight for a child to sit and watch HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 107 the process ! With live coals from the fireplace under and over, biscuits, gingerbread and johnny-cake were done to a turn. Once a week the oven would be heated and filled with bread, pies and cake. What anticipations of coming good things! Beefsteak on gridiron in front of the fire, with live coals to broil it (never such steak) ; spare ribs or turkey on a cord in front of the fire, turned and basted until fit for a king! How pretty a row of apples looked roasting! How nice corn popped, and what fun to crack hickory nuts on the stone hearth (for it did not crack it), and eaten in the evenings! Basketsful were gathered and spread on the garret floor, making a winter's supply for family and friends. Sweet eider, too. Stomachs were not recognized ; one never heard of appendicitis. There were rhubarb and castor oil in the house, and peppermint in the lot, if one needed remedies in emergencies. LAST BEEBE HOUSE, PRIDE OF THE TOWN "In 1835, having built a house on the corner of Broad street and East avenue, Mr. Beebe rented the tavern to George Prior, brother-in-law of Mr. Ely, and moved to this home, which has been the homestead and is still occupied by the youngest daughter. In .1847 Mr. Beebe completed the Beebe House, at the corner of Park and Main streets. At the time of its building, no town the size of Elyria could boast of such a fine, substantial hotel; an ornament to the town and a credit to the builder, who wished to furnish suitable accommodations for the increasing population of town and country. It was built and kept as a temperance house, as long as owned by the family. Gatherings from town and country were entertained in the large parlors and dining room ; also sleigh rides and banquets. The fourth floor was the Odd Fellows' Lodge for years. The dancing hall for private parties made this hotel the center of social life." The two familiesthe Elys and. the Beebes—have the joint honor of being the central forces around which the infant Village of Elyria marshaled. its forces and became fairly established as a growing community. Although the village and the county seat early absorbed many of the activities and most forceful characters of the township, the history of the latter, as a whole, is given, according to the plan of this chapter. The facts are taken from Judge Boynton's history. ELYRIA TOWNSHIP PARTITIONED IN 1816 Town No. 6, in range 17 (Elyria), at the draft in April, 1807, was drawn by Justin Ely, Roger Newbury, Jonathan Brace, Elijah White, 108 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY Enoch Perkins, a company composed of Roger Newbury and others, John H. Buell and Jonathan Dwight. They also drew tract 3, in the nineteenth range, annexed to the town to equalize it. These lands were divided between the owners, at the September term of the Supreme Court, in Portage County, in 1816. The south part of the town, about one-third of the whole, was set off to Justin Ely ; the central part to Elijah White; 2,100 acres north of White's to Jonathan Brace ; and the remainder to Perkins and Newbury. White conveyed to Justin Ely, and Justin Ely to his son, Heman Ely, who purchased the Brace tract, making him the owner of 12,500 acres, in a solid body. PIONEER VILLAGERS In 1816 Heman Ely left his home in West Springfield, Massachusetts, to visit the lands of his father, soon to become his, in the above numbered town. In due time he arrived, and took up his abode at the hotel of Capt. Moses Eldred, in Ridgeville, about two miles east of the river. During the season he engaged Jedediah Hubbell and a Mr. Shepard, of Newburgh, to erect a sawmill and gristmill on the east branch of the river, near the foot of the present Broad Street, and in the fall of that year returned to Massachusetts. The erections contracted for were made during the winter of 1816-17. As stated, in January, Roderick Ashley, Edwin Bush and James Porter arrived from West Springfield, with axes on their shoulders, prepared to grapple with the forest along the Black River. In February, 1817, Mr. Ely, Artemus Beebe, Ebenezer Lane, Luther Lane, Miss Ann Snow, and a colored boy called Ned, left Massachusetts for Ohio, and in March joined the company that came on in the winter. Ebenezer Lane, afterward, and for many years, occupied with much distinction a place upon the bench of the Supreme Court of the state. The party, on their arrival, took up their abode in a log house, built the previous year by Mr. Ely, and the first structure of any kind erected in the town. Previous, however, to its occupancy, and in November, 1816, a family by the name of Beach had located in the western part of the town. George Douglas and Gersham Danks arrived in April, 1817. Festus Cooley arrived from Massachusetts, May 28th, having made the entire distance on foot, and on the next day took charge of the mills on the river. There were now at least eleven persons on the townsite, and work was at once commenced in earnest. HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 109 “RAISINGS " The first frame building was the one occupied during the first season for a joiner shop and thereafter, for many years, for a store. Edmund West opened the first store in 1818. The second frame building was for the residence of Mr. Ely. At the raising, as was customary in those times, men from many miles away were present, to put their shoulders to the bent, and assist their neighbor in providing a habitation. All were considered neighbors within a distance of twenty miles. While buildings were being erected the forest was being felled. Clark Eldred, then twenty years of age, in 1816, upon Mr. Ely's first visit here, entered into a contract with him for the purchase of lot No. 16, two and a half miles west of the river ; and during the winter of 1816-17 commenced to clear the ground upon which he spent nearly a life. This was the first chopping in the neighborhood. TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE SURVEYED In 1817 the survey of the township and village was commenced by Joshua Henshaw, a skillful surveyor, and continued until completed. In the fall of 1817 Heman Ely and the two Lanes returned to Massachusetts, and spent the most of the winter. In October, 1818, Mr. Ely again visited the East ; was made happy while there by his marriage to Miss Celia Belden, returned to Elyria, and directed renewed energies to the development of the town. The first schoolhouse was built in 1819, of logs, just east of the river ; and for years it served the double purpose of a schoolhouse and a church. Not far distant, and in the same year, Chester Wright erected a distillery, one of the most flourishing institutions of pioneer times. The first village lot sold was to Artemus Beebe and George Douglas, carpenters and builders. The consideration paid was $32. As noted, the Beebe Tavern was erected thereon. Maj. Calvin Hoadley, of Columbia, in the same year, as one of Mr. Ely's employes, built a bridge over the east branch of the Black River. POSTOFFICE ESTABLISHED In May, 1818, a postoffice was established under the name of Elyria, and on the 23d of the month Mr. Ely was appointed postmaster, and continued in the office until April, 1833, when he was succeeded by John S. Matteson. 110 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY TOWNSHIP ERECTED On the 20th of October, 1819, the Township of Elyria was erected. Besides its present territory, it then embraced what is now the Township of Carlisle, which became an independent organization in June, 1822, after which Elyria Township retained its separate civil administration. ELYRIA CITY OF TODAY Elyria is a busy and handsome city, and well worthy of its honor as the civil and political center of the county. Such buildings as the courthouse, the Masonic Temple, the Y. M. C. A., the high school, the Memorial Hospital and several of its churches, would be creditable to any city in the state, while the large soldiers' monument in the courthouse square indicates its standing as a patriotic community. Commencing with Judge Ely's mills, first erected on what is now Main Street, and the establishment of the first considerable manufactory at Elyria by the Lorain Iron Company in 1832, Elyria has developed her industrial life to a larger extent than most county seats. That statement will become evident in the detailed account which is elsewhere given, and four solid banks stand behind the local industry, commerce and trade. Such general statements regarding Elyria are made to fill out the bird's-eye view covering the principal events in the settlement and composition of Lorain County. FATHER AND PIONEERS OF BROWNHELM The first settler of town No. 6, range 19, lying along Lake Erie and then a part of Huron County, was Col. Henry Brown, from Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He was accompanied by Peter P. Pease, Charles Whittlesey, William Alverson and William Lincoln, who assisted Colonel Brown in building his house, as did Seth Morse and Rensselaer Cooley. Morse and Cooley returned to the East for the winter. Alverson, Lincoln, Pease and Whittlesey remained on the ground. In after years Mr. Whittlesey became distinguished not only as a general in the Civil war, but as an archaeologist and historian. He was the founder of the Western Reserve Historical Society and its president for many years. The Township of Brownhelm is named in honor of the leader of the original colony, of which Colonel Whittlesey was a member in the period of his young manhood and obscurity. Peter P. Pease was the first settler of Oberlin. On the 4th of July, 1817, the families of Levi Shepard, Sylvester HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 111 Barnum and Stephen James arrived in Brownhelm Township, and after celebrating the Fourth on the shore, entered upon pioneer life near the loghouse of Brown. These were the first families that settled in the town. During the same year the families of Solomon Whittlesey, Alva Curtis, Benjamin Bacon and Ebenezer Scott arrived. In 1818 many other families were added, giving hope of a speedy filling up of the town. They were those of Colonel Brown, Grandison Fairchild, Anson Cooper, Elisha Peck, George Bacon, Alfred Avery, Enos Cooley, Orrin Sage, John Graham and others. There were other families that arrived and settled in the south part of the town, subsequently set off to Henrietta. They will be named in connection with the mention of that town. The first framed house in the town was built by Benjamin Bacon. The first brick house in the county was built by Grandison Fairchild in the summer of 1819. TOWNSHIP CREATED AND ORGANIZED From February, 1817, until October, 1818, the town was a part of Black River. At the latter date, on the petition of the inhabitants to the commissioners of Huron County, No. 6, in the nineteenth range, together with the surplus lands adjoining west, and all lands lying west of Beaver Creek, in No. 7, eighteenth range (Black River), was organized into a separate township by the name of Brownhelm. Colonel Brown had the honor to select the name. Township officers were chosen at the spring election in 1819, held at the house of George Bacon. Calvin Leonard, Levi Shepard and Alva Curtis were elected trustees ; Anson Cooper, township clerk ; William Alverson, treasurer ; Benjamin Bacon and Levi Shepard, justices of the peace. This perfected the township organization. That part of the present Town of Black River lying west of Beaver Creek was, in June, 1829, by order of the commissioners, detached from Brownhelm, and reannexed to Black River. SETTLEMENT OF RUSSIA TOWNSHIP The original proprietors of Russia Township were Titus Street and Isaac Mills, the latter selling his interest to Samual Hughes before settlement actually commenced. In 1817, Thomas Waite moved his family from Ontario County, New York, and resided in Amherst until the spring of 1818, when he moved into Russia Township, taking up a piece of land in its northwest corner, north of the road leading from Webb's Corners to Henrietta. There, a few years afterward, he died, the first settler in the township. 112 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY In 1820 the west road began to be opened, and Daniel Rathburne and Walter and Jonathan Buck, with their families, settled in the town in that year. In 1821, the families of John McCauley and Lyman Wakely were added. They were followed in 1822 by Samuel T. Wight-man and Jesse Smith, with their families. In 1823, John Maynes joined the settlement, and in 1824, Meeker, George and Jonathan Disbro, Daniel Axtell, Abraham Wellman, Israel Cash, Richard Rice, James R. Abbott, and Henry and John Thurston took up their abode there. Some of these may have moved in, in 1823. They were soon followed by Elias Peabody, Samuel K. Mellen, Lewis D. Boynton, Eber Newton, Joseph Carpenter and others. Whether the first schoolhouse was built just north of Eber Newton's, or near the residence of Alonzo Wright, is in dispute. There was one at each place at an early day. FOUNDING OF OBERLIN Until 1833 the southern part of the township was unbroken ground and largely dense forest. In the spring of that year, Peter P. Pease, one of the Brownhelm pioneers and the advance guard of the Oberlin colony, erected his log cabin opposite where the Park Hotel now stands and on college ground. Messrs. Street and Hughes, proprietors of the town, had donated upwards of 500 acres of land to the contemplated Oberlin Collegiate Institute, and had sold to its friends 5,000 acres more at $1.50 per acre. The resale of that tract at $2.50 an acre provided the fund that founded the college, and thus was firmly established the most important movement and institution which had originated within the bounds of Lorain County. The annual report of the institute for 1834, the second year of its life, has the following: "One and a half years ago, its site was uninhabited and surrounded by a forest three miles square, which has since been taken by intelligent and pious families, which have formed a settlement called Oberlin Colony that will soon probably overspread the entire tract. This site was chosen because it was supposed to be healthy, could be readily approached by western lakes and canals, and yet was sufficiently remote from the vices and temptations of large towns, and because extensive and fertile lands could here be obtained for the manual labor department of the Institute and for the settlement of a sustaining colony on better terms than elsewhere. Its grand object is the diffusion of useful science, sound morality and true religion, among the growing multitudes of the Mississippi valley. One of its objects was the elevation of female character, and included within its general design HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 113 was the education of the common people with the higher classes in such manner as suits the nature of republican institutions." RUSSIA TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED When Black River was organized in February, 1817, by the commissioners of Huron County, the lands adjoining the present township of Amherst, on the south, were annexed to enable the inhabitants to enjoy township privileges. The inhabitants of Russia remained so annexed, until June, 1825, at which time, on petition of many of her citizens„ it was detached from Black River by the commissioners of Lorain County and incorporated into a separate township. The election of township officers was had at a log schoolhouse on the hill near Wright's in the summer of 1825, it being a special election ordered for the purpose of perfecting the township organization. At this election, George Disbro, Israel Cash, and Walter Buck, were elected trustees; Richard Rice, clerk ; and Daniel Axtell, justice of the peace. FIRST YEAR OF PIONEERING IN GRAFTON The pioneer settlers of what is now Grafton Township also came into that part of the county after the War of 1812 had spent its force and it seemed safe to locate in the region of the great lakes. The township was then attached to Medina County. Settlement commenced in. 1816. In May of that year, from fifteen to eighteen men left Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and journeyed hither for the purpose of selecting and locating lands for which they either had exchanged or were to exchange, lands owned by them in that state. Among these men were Jonathan Rawson, John and George Sibley, Seth C. and Thomas Ingersoll, sons of Major William Ingersoll and brothers of Mrs. Harriet Nesbit. The selection was made and all returned East, except the Sibleys, and the men employed by Rawson to remain and work at clearing the forest. In the fall of that year, Maj. William Ingersoll moved his family into the town, arriving on November 4th. He settled just east of Kingsley's Corners, on land selected by his sons in the spring. The journey was made with a span of horses, and three yoke of oxen. A small shanty had been built on the land of the Sibleys, and upon their invitation it was occupied by the family of Major Ingersoll for about two weeks, during which time he and the boys erected a log house upon land of his own. In February, 1817, the family of William Crittenden arrived. This was family No. 2. Vol. I— 8 114 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY In the month of March following, came the families of the Rawsons, Boughtons, Sibleys and Nesbits ; and a little later in the same season the families of Capt. William Turner, Aaron Root and Bildad Beldin ; and not long after the family of David Ashley. An attack was at once made upon the thick forest, and within twelve months from the arrival of Major Ingersoll, twelve log houses were erected, that gave shelter to ninety-seven persons. During the following year, additions were made by the arrival of many other families. TOWNSHIP INCORPORATED Medina County was not civilly organized until January, 1818, and on the 25th of the following July its commissioners incorporated the Township of Grafton. At the first election held in August, 1818, Eliphalet Jones, William Ingersoll and William B. Crittenden were elected trustees; William Bishop, clerk ; Reuben Ingersoll, treasurer ; David Ashley, appraiser of property ; Grindel Rawson and Seth C. Ingersoll, fence viewers. Previous to the organization of the township, it had been attached to Liverpool for judicial purposes, and in April, 1818, Reuben Ingersoll had been elected justice of the peace at the election held in that town. The first school was taught by Miss Mary Sibley in 1818, in the log house built near the residence of Capt. William Turner. During the same year a church was organized by Rev. T. Brooks. VILLAGE OF GRAFTON Grafton Village, which is eight miles southeast of Elyria, is a place of about 1,000 people, divided by the line between Grafton and Eaton townships, the bulk of the community lying in the former. Some years ago it was an important center of the stone industry, but the growth of the cement business, and the use of artificial material in the construction of bridges and building, so seriously interfered with the quarrying of stone that only one live quarry remains at that place. That is a branch of the Cleveland Stone Company operating under the name of the Grafton Stone Company, and its output consists chiefly of grindstones. The only other considerable business concern of the place is the Grafton Lumber and Construction Company. The village corporation dates from 1882. WELLINGTONS ORIGINAL OWNERS AND SETTLERS Although the Duke of Wellington was still a hero of the day when the pioneer settlers came into Wellington Township, and even when it HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 115 was organized politically, the origin of the name is directly traced to one William Welling, a New Yorker, who was of the original band of emigrants. Settlement commenced in 1818 and the township was organized three years later. Ephraim Root and James Ross were the original owners, and they sold the town to Frederick Hamlin, James Adams, Francis Herrick and Harmon Kingsbury, of Berkshire County, Massachusetts; two of these, Adams and Kingsbury, never became residents of the town. In the spring of 1818, the settlement of the town was commenced. Ephraim A. Wilcox, John Clifford, Charles Sweet and Joseph Wilson, of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and William Welling, of Montgomery County, New York, reached Grafton in February of that year, and in March following cut their path through to Wellington. They made an opening to the sunlight at the center of the town, and at once built a log cabin for habitation. They carried a few blankets and bed ticks, filling the ticks with dry leaves. The bedstead was constructed by driving four crotched stakes in the ground, laying poles from stake to stake, and placing white oak shakes from pole to pole. Upon this structure they placed their leafy bed, and upon this bed their weary limbs. Having provided a dwelling they at once commenced to clear the forest. As often as once a week two of the number went to Grafton, a distance of ten miles, to get their bread baked. The number and ferocity of wild animals made it dangerous for one to go alone. There being two, each constituted a body guard for the other. ARRIVAL OF FIRST FAMILY Clifford returned to Massachusetts in the following May. On July 4th, of the same year, Frederick Hamlin arrived, accompanied by the wife of Wilcox, her son Theodore, Caroline Wilcox, and Dr. D. J. Johns. Before their arrival, Wilcox had erected a log house on land selected by him northwest of the center, into which he at once took his family. This was the first family that made its advent into the town. Others were soon added, among whom were those of John Howak, Alanson Howak, Whitman De Wolf, Benjamin Wadsworth, Silas Bailey, Amos Adams, Judson Wadsworth, James Wilson and Josiah Bradley. In the spring of 1820, the first schoolhouse was opened in the house of John Clifford by Caroline Wilcox. Frederick Hamlin was one of the associate judges in the county, appointed in 1824, upon its organization. He was succeeded in that office by his fellow townsman, Dr. D. J. Johns. 116 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION The township was organized in April, 1821. It was then a part of Medina County. Hamlin was elected a trustee ; Wilcox a justice of the peace, and D. J. Johns township clerk. Colonel Herrick had been a member of the Massachusets Legislature while a resident of Massachusetts. He did not remove here until 1837. WELLINGTON VILLAGE Wellington, as a village, came into historic prominence in the late '50s because of the rescue of a fugitive slave from the hand of a United States marshal and two Kentuckians on his way to his southern owners. In later years it became one of the leading cheese centers of the country, and has developed into a Mean, substantial and progressive village of some 2,200 people. It has two banks, a number of manufactories, a handsome town hall, modern water works and electric light facilities, a well-organized school system and churches to meet the requirements of all its residents. The settlement at Wellington, or the Center, dates from the first influx of residents as early as 1818-19, but its standing as a leading center of trade and higher activities begins with the construction of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, chiefly through the persistency and ability of its Dr. D. Z. Johns, in 1849-50. That line gave Wellington control of much of the southeastern part of the county, and the permanent growth of the village, which was incorporated in 1855, was assured from that time and by that event. TOWNSHIP OF HUNTINGTON In February, 1818, about the time that Messrs. Hamlin, Wilcox and Clifford left Berkshire County, Massachusetts, to establish homes in Wellington Township, Joseph Sage, John Laborie and others departed from Huntington, Connecticut, for the town immediately to the south. It was then simply No. 2, range 18, but in 1822 was incorporated as Huntington, in honor of the Connecticut Village. THE LABORIES AND OTHER FAMILIES John Laborie and wife (the latter being the daughter of Mr. Sage) were the parents of the first family that took up its settlement in the town. They left in February, 1818, accompanied by four boys and a HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 117 girl. They made the route from Connecticut to Hudson, then in Portage county, in four weeks, traveling the whole distance in a sleigh. At Stow they hired an ox team to take them through, and after six days of severe journey, they reached town No. 1 (Sullivan), then having but four families—settlers of the previous year—within its borders. On the next day, they moved forward and took possession of a log house that had been built by Henry Chase. There was an opening for a door, but nothing to fill or close it ; no window nor chimney. The cracks, or openings between the walls, had not been chinked. They had one neighbor. He had just preceded them in settlement, and was from Easton, New York. Laborie at once erected a log house, and moved into it, and there lived for some three weeks, without a window, floor or chimney. The bedsteads were made of puncheons, and the beds were ticks filled with leaves. The boys chopped some poles, placed them on the joists above, making a chamber and took up their lodging in the loft. Sage went South, bought some hogs, drove them home, butchered them and salted them down in a trough. The trough cracked, the brine ran out, the salt lost its savor and away went the pork. Mrs. Laborie was not, however, to remain long without female friends from her Eastern home. On the 20th of June, of the same year, the family of Isaac Sage arrived. In the afternoon of the day of their arrival, they were feasted on a pot-pie, made of the meat of a young bear. WOODEN BOWL FACTORY Early in fall, there came the families of Oliver Rising and Daniel Tillotson. Benjamin Rising came with Oliver. The first framed dwelling was built by Reuel Lang. Benjamin Rising was the first manufacturer of the town. J. B. Lang thus describes his manufactory : "It was a lathe, operated by a spring-pole, for turning wooden bowls. A bark rope, attached to a long spring-pole, overhead, passing around the mandrel, which was of wood and attached to a treadle below. The treading on this threw the block around two or three times, and then the pole springing back threw the block back, ready for another 'gouge.' " ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP In August, 1822, the commissioners of Medina County, to which Huntington then belonged, incorporated the town by the name it now bears. It took its name from Huntington, Connecticut, the former abid- 118 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY ing place of the Labories. The organization also embraced the new territory now within the township of Rochester. An election was held upon the first Monday of September, 1822. Joseph Sage, Henry K. Ferris and Benjamin Banning were elected trustees; Isaac Sage, township clerk ; and David E. Hickox, treasurer. Joseph Sage was elected the first justice of the peace at a special election held soon after. PENFIELD TOWNSHIP RIGHTLY NAMED Penfield Township has an appropriate name, as its first settler was thus designated and for several years after he located the majority of its inhabitants were Penfields. Before it. was incorporated under that name it was designated by the surveyors as township No. 3, range 17. By the draft it became the property of Caleb Atwater, who gave it to his six daughters, Lucy Day, Ruth Cook, Abigail Andrews, Mary Beebe, Sarah Merrick and the wife of Judge Cook. The first exploration of the township by persons seeking western lands, was in the fall of 1818, by Peter Penfield and Calvin Spencer, then residents of Eastern New York. They were assisted in their examination of the township by James Ingersoll, of Grafton, after which they returned to the East. COMING OF THE PENFIELDS In 1819, Peter Penfield again came, and selected land, employed Seth C. Ingersoll to erect a log house upon it, and returned home. Ingersoll completed the dwelling in the fall of that year. In February the next, Peter Penfield and Lothrop Penfield arrived and in connection with Alanson, a son of Peter, already on the ground, and who remained during the winter preceding and taught school in Sheffield, commenced to open the forest four miles from the nearest inhabitant. In the fall of 1820, or early winter, Truman Penfield arrived with his family, the first that came, and moved into the log house built by Ingersoll. In the following March, the family of Peter Penfield, which up to this time had remained East, arrived and joined in the occupancy of the log cabin, until another could be erected. FAMILIES OF CALVIN SPENCER AND OTHERS Calvin Spencer came again in 1821, selected land, engaged Peter Penfield to build a house upon it, and returned to New York. In the fall of 1821, Samuel Knapp came, examined the land, made a selection HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 119 and returned home, and remained there until the fall of 1822, when with his family he took up his abode in the infant settlement, upon the lands so selected. Other families soon followed. David P. Merwin arrived in 1824. Calvin Spencer moved his family into the house prepared for him in the spring. of the same year. The family of Stephen Knapp arrived about the same time, and the family of Benjamin E. Merwin in 1825. The township was organized at an election in 1825, held at the dwelling house of Truman Penfield, having been previously ordered by the commissioners of Medina County, of which county the town then formed a part. The officers elected were Samuel Knapp, Samuel Root and Peter Penfield, trustees; Truman Penfield, clerk ; Lothrop Penfield, treasurer. In 1826 Benjamin E. Merwin was elected justice of the peace. Previous to its incorporation, the inhabitants had agreed upon Richland as the name of the town, and petitioned the commissioners for an order of incorporation by that name. But the commissioners ascertaining there were other localities having the name of Richland, rejected the application, and named. it. Penfield, in honor of the first settler. Previous to the organization of the town, it had been annexed to Grafton, and in connection with that town enjoyed township privileges until it was set apart to act under independent organization. CARLISLE TOWNSHIP As has been stated, Carlisle and Elyria were organized together for civil purposes, in October, 1819, under the name of Elyria and as a township of Huron County. Carlisle was detached and separately organized in June 4, 1822, on petition of Obed Gibbs and others. Previously, a part of town 5 had acquired the name of Murraysville, but that was not satisfactory to the inhabitants who resided any considerable distance from Murray's Ridge. Phineas Johnson, one of the first two settlers, wished the township named Berlin, after his native Connecticut town. So the citizens compromised by naming the township neither Murraysville nor Berlin, but Carlisle. PIONEER FAMILIES SETTLE The first settlement of the town was made in the spring of 1819, by Samuel Brooks, from Middletown, Connecticut. He was accompanied by Phineas Johnson, his wife's father, who assisted in selecting the spot for their future home. Johnson returned to Connecticut. A log house was soon erected, and in it Samuel Brooks took up his abode. This 120 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY was on the east branch of Black River, in the east part of the town. In September of that year Hezekiah Brooks, a brother of Samuel and whose wives were daughters of Phineas Johnson ; Capt. James Brooks and family, together with the families of Johnson and Riley Smith, left Middletown, and after the usual tedious journey of about six weeks, with ox teams, reached Elyria. Smith and family remained at Elyria for a while, and then went into Carlisle. The families of the Brookses and Johnsons pushed forward to Carlisle, and moved in with Samuel, and remained until other dwelling places could be provided. At about the same time that this settlement was making in the east part of the town another was springing up in the western part. The families of Jamison Murray, before then for some time residents of Ridgeville, and Philo Murray, and Philo, Jr., had taken up their residence on the ridge, and Obed Gibbs and family, with Ransom and David, had settled further south. Soon afterward, the families of Solomon Sutliff, Chauncey Prindle, Bennett, Drakely, Hurd and others were added. Prindle settled at the center of the town. Abel Farr and Abel Farr, Jr., and John Bacon, were among the earliest residents of the town. BRIGHTON TOWNSHIP Brighton township is a product of the early '20s. Only a few settlers had located previous to its civil organization in 1823. Its pioneer settler was Abner Loveman, Jr., who located on tract 7 in 1820, and HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 121 in the following year Joseph Kingsbury made his home in the same locality. Like most other good New Englanders, they brought their families with them. Had the territory comprised by the township lines been surveyed into a township, it would have been town 3, range 19, and it was so entered on the county records at the date of its incorporation. It was, however, formed by the commissioners of Medina County, out of tract 7, a part of tract 6, and a part of tract 8. Lemuel Storrs was the original owner of all of tract 8. He drew it at the draft in connection with Lagrange, to which it was annexed for equalization. Four thousand acres in tract 7, were annexed to Wellington, to equalize it, and were drawn by Ephraim, Root and James Ross, in connection with that township, and tract 6 by Peter Brooks, John Call, William Shaw, George Black, and Pennewel Cheney. Some of these parties sold to, and others exchanged with Tuckerman Brothers, Harman Kingsbury, Norton, Stocking, Deming, Hamlin and Alford. Tuckerman Brothers sold to Levi Bliss, of Massachusetts. The township was organized at the spring election of 1823. Joseph Kingsbury, Avory Hall, and Calvin Roice, were elected trustees ; Leonard H. Loveland, clerk ; Abner Loveland, treasurer ; and Abner Loveland, Jr., justice of the peace. There were twelve electors, just about the number of persons required to fill the offices in those days. The township belonged to Lorain, as then formed, but, with other townships, remained attached to Medina County, until the organization of Lorain was completed. LAGRANGE TOWNSHIP At the June session of the commissioners of Lorain County, town 4, range 17, was attached to Carlisle for civil and judicial purposes, and remained so attached until its separate organization, as Lagrange Township, in January, 1827. The first election for township officers was held in April of that year at the residence of Fairchild Hubbard. Eber W. Hubbard, afterward one of the associate judges of the Common Pleas Court, was elected township clerk; James Disbrow, treasurer ; Noah Holcomb, Noah Kellogg and Fairchild Hubbard, trustees, and Eber W. Hubbard, justice of the peace. Town 4, range 17, with 3,700 acres in tract 8, range 19, now in Brighton and Camden, was drawn by Henry Champion and Lemuel Storrs, Champion owning two-thirds and Storrs one-third of the purchase. Champion conveyed his part of the town to his son-in-law, Elizur Goodrich, who exchanged part of it with Nathan Clark, Roger Phelps. 122 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY Noah Holcomb and James Pelton, for lands owned by them in Jefferson County, New York, where they formerly resided. The three last named, in the fall of 1825, visited the ground to form a judgment of its merits for farming purposes, and returned home. Goodrich, also exchanged lands with David Rockwood, Asa Rockwood, Fairchild Hubbard, Joseph Robbins, Sylvester Merriam and Levi Johnson. On November 14, 1825, Nathan Clark made the first settlement of the town. During the next season the families of Noah Holcomb, Sylvester Merriam, James Disbrow and Joseph A. Graves arrived for permanent settlement and a new abiding place. In the latter part of the same year, Fairchild Hubbard moved in from Brighton, where he had remained during the reason of 1826. Population so increased, that in the fall of that year there were over sixty persons resident in the town, with more continually coming. Lagrange is a little village of about. 500 people, seven miles northeast of Wellington. on the Big Four line. It is incorporated ; has a good school, to accommodate which a substantial building was erected in 1891 and an annex in 1915 ; a reliable bank ; several churches and other evidences of intelligence, morality and progressiveness. HENRIETTA TOWNSHIP Henrietta Township was organized from Brownhelm in 1827, but it was eight years before it acquired its present form. In November. 1826, HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 123 the inhabitants in the south part of Brownhelm, petitioned the commissioners to take off the three south tiers of lots, attach them to unsettled lands lying south, and incorporate the same into a township. The petitioners took occasion to say, that it was seven miles from the lake shore to the south line of the township ; that there had been but little communication between the north and south settlements; and that if it was extremely inconvenient for a portion of the people to transact the public business of the town. The prayer of the petition was rejected, but at the same session of the commissioners it was ordered that tracts 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, in range 19, with surplus lots lying west of said tracts, be erected into a township, by the name of Henrietta, and be attached to Brighton for judicial purposes. The township, as thus formed, included a large part of the present Township of Camdem, and a little more than two-thirds of Henrietta. As organized, it was not satisfactory to the inhabitants of the south part of Brownhelm, and in February, 1827, upon their petition, two tiers of lots, being over a mile in width, were detached from the south part of Brownhelm, and annexed to Henrietta ; and tract No. 9, was detached from Henrietta, and annexed to Brighton. An election was ordered for township officers, which took place in April, 1827. Calvin Leonard. Simeon Durand and Smith Hancock, were elected trustees; Justin Abbot, clerk ; Joseph Powers, treasurer ; Edward Durand, justice of the peace. In March, 1839, lots 86, 87, and 88, were detached from Brownhelm, and annexed to Henrietta ; and in March, 1835, lots 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85, the remainder of the tier, were added. The first settlement was on the Brownhelm Territory. The first occupants were Calvin Leonard, Simeon Durand, Ruloff Andress, Joseph Swift, John Denison, Uriah Hancock, Jedediah Holcomb, Almon Holcomb, Obed Holcomb, Joseph Powers, the Abbots and possibly others. They took up their abode there, in 1817, about the same time that the Shore Settlement was made. After the organization of the town, in 1827, a postoffice was established on the hill, and 'Squire Abbot appointed first postmaster. CAMDEN TOWNSHIP The townships of Camden and Rochester were organized by the commissioners of Lorain County in March, 1835. Camden Township was carved out of Brighton and Henrietta. The prolongation of the line between Russia and Pittsfield, west to range 20, was its northern boundary, and the extension west to the same range, of the line. between Pittsfield and Wellington, its southern. Tracts 9 and 10, and parts 124 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY of lots 8 and 11, in range 19, together with surplus lands lying west, formed the material for its territorial composition. Tract 9, by the draft at Hartford, became annexed to Grafton, and was drawn by Lemuel Storrs; tract 10, annexed to Dover, by Nehemiah Hubbard and Joshua Storrs. Tract 11, annexed to Pittsfield, was drawn by Henry Champion and Lemuel Storrs. None of the 19th range south of Brownhelm, as originally formed was surveyed into townships, but was all surveyed into tracts, which were originally annexed to other towns for purposes of equalization. Leonard Clark with his family, accompanied by his wife's father, Moses Pike, made the first occupancy of land now forming the Town of Camden. This was in 1829. The family lived there but a few years before moving West. In March, 1833, the families of William Scott and John Johnston took up their settlement on tract 11. These were the first families that permanently settled, at least in that part of the town then constituting a part of Henrietta. Later in the season, a schoolhouse was "thrown up" by the inhabitants, and Mrs. Johnston gathered the few children and opened the first school. Other settlers soon joined, among whom were those of Waugh, Clark, Douglas, Washburn, Cyrenius, Holcomb, Wells, Lee, Wilcox, Smith and Eddy. On the 6th of April, 1835, the first election for township officers was held in the log schoolhouse, and resulted in the choice of Azel Washburn, Robert Douglas and Obed Holcomb, trustees; John Cyrenius, clerk; David Wells, treasurer. Gideon Waugh was the first justice of the peace. ROCHESTER TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE At the same session that Camden was set apart and organized into a township, lots 1 to 15, inclusive of tract 3, with all of tracts 4 and 5 and a part of tract 6, in range 19, together with surplus lots, 9 to 14, inclusive, lying west of the range, with a part of surplus lot 8, were formed into the Township of Rochester. Tract No. 5, was drawn by Uriah Holmes, in connection with the Town of Litchfield, Medina County; and tract 4, by Oliver Sheldon and others, was annexed to Huntington. The first settlement was made by Elijah T. Banning, in April, 1831. Between 1831 and 1835 Benjamin C. Perkins, William Shepard, John Conaut, John Baird, Samuel Smith, Luther Blair, Joseph Hadley, Nehemiah Tucker, M. W. F. Fay, Erastus Knapp, Obijah W. Babcock, John Peet and others, some with families, were joined to the settlement. The township was organized on the 6th of April, 1835, by the election of John Conaut, Joseph Hadley, and Nehemiah Tucker, trustees ; M. L HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 125 Blair, clerk; Benjamin C. Perkins, treasurer. The organization of Camden and Rochester, in March, 1835, completed the organization of the townships of the entire county. Rochester is a station and a village of perhaps 300 people on the Big Four line, half a dozen miles southwest of Wellington. It owes its origin to the old Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, which, largely through the energy and influence of Dr. D. Z. Johns, of Wellington, was put through the southeastern part of the county, several miles south of Elyria and Oberlin. The earlier settlement in the township was at the Center, although the postoffice of 1837 was at its southeast corner. But with the construction of the railroad in 1849-50 the postoffice was moved to the Station and not a few residents transferred their interests thither from the Center. The first store at the Station was opened in 1848. REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER BURIED IN EATON TOWNSHIP One of the very few Revolutionary soldiers buried in Lorain County is George Fauver, whose remains lie in Butternut Cemetery, Eaton Township. Among his descendants are such men as L. B. Fauver, Ross Fauver, L. D. Hamlin and Julian Fauver of Elyria and L. A. Fauver, of Lorain ; also .liable Gibson, of Oberlin, and the Munn and Lyons families, of Eaton Township. CHAPTER IX CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS A CENTENNIAL HERALD-EARLIEST RECORD OF LAKE SHORE REGION-THE SMITH TRAVELS-RELICS OF FRENCH ADVENTURERS-RISING OF THE LAKE LEVEL- AVON'S MYSTERIOUS FIRST SETTLER-AVON THROUGH A H UNDRED YEARS-PHYSICAL FEATURES-PIERREPONT EDWARDS, ORIGINAL PROPRIETOR- PERM ANENT COLONY ARRIVES ( 1814) -WILBUR CAHOON FOUNDS FIRST PERMANENT. FAMILY-ORIGINAL CAHOON TRACT-DEATH OF WILBUR CAHOON- NICHOLAS YOUNG-LEWIS AUSTIN-OTHER FAMILIES JOIN COLONY-ELAH PARK-THE SWEET FAMILY-FIRST SETTLER IN FRENCH LICK VILLAGE-THE STICKNEY AND WILLIAMS FAMILIES-FIRST E VENTS-INDUSTRIES -RELIGIOUS MATTERS-PIONEER SCHOOLHOUSE-HOLY TRINITY CHURCH -CHEESE-MAKING ABANDONED-CURIOUS MOUNDS RAZED-AVON'S PATRIOTISM-THE SHEFFIELD CENTENNIAL-NORMAN DAY DESCRIBES FIRST COLONISTS-THE BURRELLS EXPLORE-WALLACE, FIRST TEMPORARY SETTLER-FOUR SETTLERS IN WINTER OF 1815-16-FIRST WOMAN AND PIONEER FA M ILY-ARRIV AL OF THE DAY AND BURRELL FAMILIES-CAPTAIN SMITH AND FAMILY-OTHER BURRELLS COME-CHURCHES ORGANIZE-FIRST EVENTS-TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION-DEATH OF CAPTAIN SMITH-OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY-DECEASE OF PIONEERS- HISTORIC CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MISS MAY DAY-BUILDING THE SAW-MILL ON FRENCH CREEK-GRIST AND SAW-MILL -OTHER MILLS-BRICK HOUSES-SETTLING IN A DUCK POND-THE BURRELLS AND HECOCKS-THE ROOT FAMILY-THE DAYS-ITEMS ABOUT PIONEERS GENERALLY-TWO UNSUCCESSFUL INSTITUTIONS-SHIP BUILDERS AND LAKE CAPTAINS-GOLD HUNTERS OF 1849-50-JUDGE WILLIAM DAY, ACTIVE LA ND AGENT-THE PARKS FAMILIES -SHEFFIELD IN THE CIVIL WAR-MILTON GARFIELD--SHEFFIELD HISTORY, 1865-1915-FIRST RAILROAD-DEATH OF ROBBINS BURRELL -SECOND RAILROAD - FATALITY TO EDWARD BURRELL - WOODS LEVELED FOR STEEL PLANT-FIRST SHORT LINE STREET CAR-LAST OF THE DAY PIONEERS-FIRST CAR OVER THE ELECTRIC-EIGHTH - 126 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 127 ANNIVERSARY OF CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH-CLAIMED AS FOUNDER OF RURAL FREE DELIVERY-INDUSTRIAL MATTERS-DEATHS OF 1815-16 PIONEERS - GOLDEN WEDDINGS-OLD FAMILY RELICS - FAMOUS NATIVES-THE GERMAN RESIDENTS-ST. THERESA'S CATHOLIC CHURCH-DETAILS OF THE SHEFFIELD CELEBRATION-THE ABSENT ONES - HISTORIC PROGRAMME - HUNTINGTON 'S HOME-COMING -MYRON T. HERRICK, NATIVE SON-PROFESSOR F. D. WARD-THE HISTORIC KELSEY BAND-PLANS FOR A CENTENNIAL-THE PERRY CENTENNIAL- LOCAL PARTICIPATION-THE NIAGARA RAISED FROM THE LAKE BOTTOM-GRAND WELCOME TO THE RESTORED FLAGSHIP-PERRY RELICS EXHIBITED. In the years 1914 and 1915 occurred various historic celebrations of special interest to the old residents in the territory and townships bordering Lake Erie. There were home-comings of both families and sections, marking the passage of a century since the pioneers of the lake region in Lorain County first planted themselves therein for the benefit of the generations which were to follow. Some of their descendants yet remained in their tracks, but most of them had ventured into other counties and states. A CENTENNIAL HERALD During the early period of this centennial season of celebrations and reminiscences a worthy herald appeared in the columns of the Lorain Times-Herald, with the following message : "The time is appropriate for mentioning that the centennial anniversary of the settlement of that portion of the Lake Shore lying between Black River and Rocky River is near at hand, and that people should be gathering their reminiscences for the occasion. The townships of Black River, Sheffield, Avon and Dover are comprised within these boundaries. Each of these townships will have its own tale to relate about the early settlers and their descendants, reciting also matters relating to the life and improvements of the century. EARLIEST RECORD OF LAKE SHORE REGION "The earliest record of this part of Ohio belongs in common to all these townships, before their present boundaries were strictly marked. The first reference to this lake region hitherto discovered is contained in Charlevoix' History of New France, published in 1744. Speaking of the southern shore of Lake Erie the author says : 'All this shore is 128 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY nearly unknown.' There is also an old French map made in 1755 to be seen in the rooms of the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. This map shows the country west of the Cuyahoga to the Sandusky River, and this region, which includes the northern townships of Lorain County is designated as the seat of war, the mart of trade and the chief hunting grounds of the six Indian nations of the lake. THE SMITH TRAVELS "In the spring of 1755 one, James Smith, eighteen years of age, was captured near Bedford, 'Western Pennsylvania, by Indians from the lake region. He was adopted into their tribe and remained with them until 1760, when he rejoined his own people, rose to the rank of Colonel, and wrote an account of his adventures with his Indian friends. His memoir was first published by James Taylor, a journalist of Sandusky. in the first volume of his history of Ohio. "Smith first saw Lake Erie six miles west of Black River and tells how he was impressed by the roar of the storm-driven waves. After the storm subsided he, with the Indians, traveled east to the mouth of Black River on the sand beach along the shore. He tells of seeing a number of large fish which had been stranded on the beach in hollows in the sand by the force of the waves that, on receding, had left them there. At the mouth of the river was a camp or town of the Wyandots. They spent some time at the camp making hunting expeditions as far HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 129 south as the falls of Black River, now Elyria. They found abundance of game—deer, bear, raccoons, etc.—and loaded themselves with fur. Thence, with packs of furs, they took an easterly course and camped for the winter of 1755-56 on the banks of Rocky River, where they found much provision of game, etc., and in February made sugar. Starting the latter part of March the party made their way along the shore of Lake Erie to Sandusky, where was a French trading post. There they bartered their furs for clothes, paint and tobacco and whatever else they fancied. After this they again moved east, this time in canoes, along the shore, landing at the mouth of the Cuyahoga. They spent the winter of 1756-57 on the banks of this stream and in the spring, making a large chestnut canoe, they had a fine voyage along the south shore of the lake as far as Sandusky, when, a storm coming up, they landed on Cedar Point. Those who wish to read the further adventures of Colonel Smith may find them published in Howe's historical collections of Ohio, Vol. II, page 580. "Here we have a little ray of light thrown on the dark primeval forests of northern Ohio. Full of game they were—deer, bear, raccoons, wild turkeys—but we see the Indians preferring the water route to going too far into the umbrageous wilderness. The lake also furnished them with fish, although Smith relates that they were unskilful fishermen. The country then was claimed by the French who had a trading post at Sandusky. "As to the subsequent settlement and legal organization of these townships much may be learned from an address delivered by Judge W. W. Boynton on July 4,- 1876, on the early history of the Western Reserve and Lorain County, which must always remain a most valuable foundation for any future history. More details of these early days are, however, very desirable, especially as to the Lake townships. Judge Boynton speaks of the difficulty of obtaining accurate information. He says: 'Few of the early settlers are left to recount the incidents, privations and rude pleasures of early life, Tradition is not always reliable, and memory, once fresh and faithful, fades with advancing years.' If this were so in 1876, the difficulties now, thirty years later, are correspondingly increased. "Nevertheless, much may undoubtedly be yet collected by those interested in the subject. There are local tales and traditions that no person unaided could well gather. Much may be gleaned from old deeds, wills and other records, and there is a later history that can be readily recalled. Vol. I– 8 130 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY RELICS OF FRENCH ADVENTURES "In Avon, for instance, there is a graveyard on the shore where `the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep' close to the sounding lake they loved so well in life. Tradition says this plat was used for burial purposes long before the settlers, whose descendants now live there, arrived. And the original graves found in this God's acre were not Indian graves. The story told is that they are the graves of French soldiers or traders who died on their voyages to and fro on the lake. "A bronze or brass pipe, a reminiscence of the French traders, was, some years ago, dug out of a ditch near the bank of the lake. It was a cheap thing, evidently made for the trade, in the shape of a tomahawk. The handle, the stem of the pipe, had rotted away, but the fleur de lis, the lilies of France, were conspicuous on the patterned surface of the brass. RISING OF THE LAKE LEVEL "Traditions about the lake levels are interesting and, if well looked into, may even now prove of value. Some of the old settlers now dead used to say that the lake was much lower when the first settlements were made; that the sand-bar now existing a short distance from the bank, but now always under water, was then, in ordinary weather, above the waves, and that between the sand-bar and the bank was a narrow strip of water. When the sea rose it would wash over the bar and throw fish into the water behind the bar where, when the sea went down, they would be trapped and could be easily caught. This may have been so. Fish were more abundant, and -Smith seems to corroborate the tradition when he says he saw the sands covered with fish after a storm, and the gray and bald eagles feasting on them. These old settlers also told how the water afterward rose, and ascribed the higher level to the building of the wing dam on the Niagara River at Black Rock to impound water for the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal was completed in 1825, but the dam may have been built later. If this was the real cause of the higher water we can see the effect on our lake shore property if the recently proposed dam across the Niagara River to raise the lake level be ever constructed. "This tradition about the sand bar also relates that before there was any road on the bank, this bar was used as a road and that the IT. S. mail was carried upon it. Judge Boynton states that the first mail west of Cleveland was carried by Horace Gun in 1808, and that there were only two houses on the route over at Black River and one at Milan. In 1809, he continues, the mail over this route was carried by Benoni HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 131 Adams, of Columbia. The only road was an Indian trail along the lake and the carrier went on foot. We have seen that there was an Indian trail along the sand beaches. AVON 'S MYSTERIOUS FIRST SETTLER "The first settler in Avon on the lake shore is said to have been one Noah Davis. He came in 1812, did not remain long, went away and never returned. He was here two years before any one is known to have settled on the ridge and appears to have been the Moses Cleaveland of Avon. One wonders what became of him. Is there any way of finding out his origin or his destiny ? Like the man in the iron mask, the first settler on the lake shore in Avon, we fear will ever remain a mystery. "As the time for the centennial celebration approaches, people in each of the townships ought to be interested to recall incidents of the past, either of personal experience or of what they have been told by their fathers. Using as a foundation the address of Judge Boynton, it will no doubt be possible to obtain a fairly complete and accurate history of each of the lake townships of Lorain County." AVON THROUGH A HUNDRED YEARS Mention has already been made of the Cahoon family, representing a prominent pioneer force in the early settlement and development of Avon Township and the county as a whole. Horace J. Cahoon, the grandson of the family pioneer, Wilbur, who brought the original members into the lake region of Lorain County in 1814, is himself a native of Avon Township in his seventy-eighth year. Four generations of the family have contributed, both in public and private service, to the up-building of the county, and it is very appropriate that Horace J. Cahoon should have been appointed historian of the centennial celebration organized by the descendants of the original settlers of Avon Township and held September 10, 1914. Upon that occasion he read the following historical paper : PHYSICAL FEATURES "Avon, or township No. 7 in Range 16, is located in the northeast corner of Lorain county bounded as follows: On the north by Lake Erie, on the south by Ridgeville, on the east by Dover township in Cuyahoga county, and on the west by Sheffield. The surface is generally level. Passing through the township from east to west and bearing southward 132 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY is what seems to be a continuation of the ridge so prominently marked in the eastern counties of the State, and generally believed to have been at some remote period the shore of Lake Erie. Avon is an agricultural township, though dairying finds some encouragement, and on the extreme shore of the lake grape growing is prosecuted to quite an extent. "Pierpont Edwards became proprietor at the draft in 1807 of Town No. 7, Range 16, together with Bass Island No. 1, comprising 1,322 acres ; Bass Island No. 2 of 700 acres and Island No. 5, 35 acres, in Lake Erie, west and north of Sandusky, annexed to the town for the purpose of equalization. Previous to 1818 the inhabitants called the town Xeuma, notwithstanding it was a part of Dover. On organization the township was christened ' Troy' and continued to be thus known until December, 1824, when upon the petition of forty citizens the name was changed to `Avon' by the commissioners of Lorain county. DAVIS SETTLES ON LAKE SHORE ROAD "Early in the history of the Western Reserve a road was established from Cleveland westward along the shore of the lake. Over this mail was transported as early as 1807. Through the township of Avon, this road passed very near the bank of the lake and here, where is now a succession of tasty cottages and beautiful villas, Noah Davis, in the year 1812, made a settlement, the first in the township. He erected the first log house, but where it was located, or who composed his family, we have been unable to ascertain, as he only remained a short time, removing from the township in less than one year. PERMANENT COLONY ARRIVES (1814) "Two years passed before another attempt at a settlement is made. this time by men of great courage and a fixed determination to make themselves permanent homes in the wilderness. How well they have succeeded, the finely kept farms, their substantial residences, skirting the line of the settlement (the Ridge road) bear ample evidence. WILBUR CAHOON FOUNDS FIRST PERMANENT FAMILY "In the summer of 1814 Wilbur Cahoon and family ; Nicholas Young and son William ; Lewis Austin and family ; Ephraim Keyes and family ; and two brothers, Spink and Reuben Cooper, with their wives, took their departure from Montgomery county, New York, for Ohio—the objective point being township No. 7 in the 16th Range. The cavalcade consisted HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 133 of five horses, four yoke of oxen and three cows. Arriving at Ashtabula, Keyes and the brothers Cooper, decided to remain there for a time. The other three families came on and early in the fall reached the end of the Ridge road at Barney Hans in Dover township, Cuyahoga county. Here the families remained until a road had been cut along the summit of the ridge to Section 11, in which the greater portion of the lands selected by Mr. Cahoon were situated. Soon a log house was constructed on this section, the first built by a permanent settler, and into this the family of Mr. Cahoon soon moved. "Mrs. Cahoon was formerly Miss Priscilla Sweet of Rhode Island. Their children were : Susan, who married Harley Mason, January 1, 1820 ; Jesse S., who married Macena Moore, November 30, 1831 ; Wilbur, Jr., who married Thirza Moore, April 6, 1826 ; Ora B., who married Jane T. Jameson, December 10, 1834 ; Orra, the next child, who married Henry Titus; Huldah, who died in 1826 in the sixteenth year of her age ; Melissa M., who married John C. Steele in 1833 ; and Leonard, who married Mary Titus, November 14, 1848. "Leonard, who was born December 1, 1814, was the pioneer baby, being the first native white child born in the township. ORIGINAL CAHOON TRACT "Wilbur Cahoon purchased his land of Orrin Ensign (who had surveyed the township and received in payment certain tracts, lying in different sections of the township), paying therefor in eastern lands. The description of the lands conveyed is as follows: Premises lying in Township No. 7 in the 16th Range of townships, in the Connecticut Reserve (so called) in the State of Ohio, to wit : The north half of Lot No. 3 estimated at 328 acres; 188 acres on the west side of Lot No. 6 and 170 acres in Lot No. 11, south of lands deeded to Elias Cady in said lot by the State of Connecticut, extending through the whole length of said lot east and west and equal width, each tract to be divided by parallel lines with the lines of the lot from which the same is taken, containing 686 acres, more or less, being the same land once conveyed to the said Wilbur by the said Orrin and the same Orrin not having on record his deed of the same land, as the law requires, has taken a new deed and makes this conveyance to the said Wilbur on condition that the former or first conveyance by deed of said land is null and void and of no effect to the said Wilbur conveyed by the said Orrin. "Warranty Deed Signed by Orrin Ensign Cuyahoga Co. Deed Volume B-2 Page 207 Nancy Ensign to Wilbur Cahoon. Dated Dec. 13, 1815. Filed May 8, 1816. Consideration $2,000.00." 134 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY DEATH OF WILBUR CAHOON "Wilbur Cahoon did not live to witness the completion of the first frame house in the township. Suddenly and swiftly came the pale messenger ; while in full health he was stricken down with apoplexy and in one brief hour had passed on. This was in the year 1826. The wife and mother survived him many years, dying in 1857. NICHOLAS YOUNG "The land of Nicholas Young consisted of one hundred acres in Section 22 ; afterwards owned by Dr. N. S. Townshend. Upon this a log dwelling was constructed during the summer of 1815 by himself and his son William. When ready for occupancy Mr. Young returned east for his family, with whom he arrived in October. He exchanged his farm in Section 22 for land in Section 15, at the center, upon which he remained until 1835, when he disposed of his property and removed to Wisconsin. LEWIS AUSTIN "Lewis Austin settled on fifty acres of land in Section 27, then owned by Waterman Sweet and now the property of the heirs of William Hurst. Mr. Austin's family were a wife and seven children, none of whom remain in the township. OTHER FAMILIES JOIN COLONY "The summer of 1815, the three families who remained at Ashtabula joined our little colony. Ephraim Keyes was originally from Tyringham, Massachusetts. He settled on the west side of Section 11. His family were a wife and three children, none of whom remain in the township. "Messrs. Cooper became the owners of the entire lands contained in Section 1. Spink Cooper and wife both died about 1833, leaving no children. The wife of Reuben Cooper died soon after settling in Avon, and he married a young wife by whom he had two children. In June, 1826, he and family were returning from an adjoining township and while attempting to cross Black River (then swollen to an unusual HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 135 height by recent rains) in a cart drawn by oxen, the conveyance was overturned, and he and one child drowned, as was also a young girl, Rachel Potter, who was with them. The wife afterward married Levi Wetmore and finally removed to Michigan. "Three brothers, Abraham, Oliver and Lodowich Moon, reached Avon at about the same period the Coopers did and a short time after another brother, Amos Moon, arrived. Colonel Abraham Moon married Therissa Durand in 1819. She was a native of Essex county, New York, but had located in Henrietta, this county, prior to marriage. Colonel Moon purchased three hundred acres of land in Sections 1 and 2. He erected a double log house and in time planted an orchard of five hundred trees covering a space of ten acres. He died in September, 1831. His family consisted of three sons and one daughter. ELAH PARK "Elah Park, whose place of nativity was Tyringham, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, married Elizabeth Moon of the same place. He settled on Section 21 in Avon township in the fall of 1815. Mr. Park was a prominent public man, and held many positions of honorable distinction, beginning with the office of justice of the peace, to which he was many times elected. He was recorder of Lorain county from 1841 to 1843, and state representative from 1846 to 1848. He died in Avon October 22, 1866. Mrs. Park died March 14, 1869. THE SWEET FAMILY "Waterman Sweet (a brother of Mrs. Priscilla Cahoon) came from Norway, Herkimer county, New York, to Avon in the year 1817, arriving on July 18th. He located on three hundred acres of land in Section 27. With Mr. Sweet came his aged father and mother, Jesse and Huldah Sweet, a widowed sister, who married Daniel Wilcox, and his own family, then a wife and three children, William, Colvin and Laura. Four children were born subsequently to his locating in Avon : Eliza. Henrietta, Cinderella and Mary Ann. Waterman Sweet died November 14, 1872, and Mrs. Sweet July 28, 1843. FIRST SETTLER IN FRENCH CREEK VILLAGE "John Steele was the first settler in French Creek Village. He came in 1817, his log house was erected on the site of the present Catholic church. He subsequently moved to Amherst. 136 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY "Adam Miller and Gaston Young were the first permanent settlers on the lake shore. Mr. Miller located on Section 6, Mr. Young moved into the Davis cabin. Of other settlers along the shore we find that Joseph Moore from Middletown, Connecticut, settled on Section 18. John Mastin, Edmonds, Colby, Britton and others were early settlers in this locality, but we are unable to learn anything further of them. THE STICKNEY AND WILLIAMS FAMILIES "Albin Stickney made the trip from Cornwall, Vermont, to Ohio, in 1815, traveling the entire distance on foot. He remained in Madison, Lake county, until the year 1817, when he removed to Avon. He settled on one hundred fifteen acres in Section 22. His wife was Miss Clarissa Moon of Avon. They died upon this farm, she on May 3, 1866, and he on February 17, 1867. Three children were born to this union : Solomon R., Sarepta R. and Sidney A., the latter being the only survivor, and now in his eighty-fourth year. "Larkin Williams and family, of a wife and eight children, came from Berkshire county, Massachusetts, in the fall of 1817. He settled on the ridge east of the center. John Burlingame came from Rutland, Vermont, to Ohio in the fall of 1822, locating on one hundred acres of land in Section 7 directly on the bank of Lake Erie. "Joseph B. Jameson, wife and three children, settled in Avon in 1824. Their location was on the ridge, some one half mile east of French Creek. The eldest child, Jane T., married Ora B. Cahoon. FIRST EVENTS "The first marriage occurred in the fall of 1816, the parties most interested were William Richmond and Miss Rhoda, adopted daughter of Reuben Cooper. Joel Terrell, Esq., of Ridgeville Township made the twain one flesh. "The first doctor to locate in Avon township was Heman, son of Larkin Williams. Dr. Williams is spoken of as a gentleman of fine ability and superior professional attainments. He was also the first postmaster of Avon township, said office being established in 1825. "The first death was Lydia M., daughter of Larkin Williams, January 11, 1818. She requested that her burial might be under a chestnut tree (a favorite resting place of hers) on the knoll on the site of the present cemetery at the center of Avon township. "The first wheat sown was by Wilbur Cahoon in the fall of 1815. HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 137 The following spring he planted an orchard of one hundred trees on Section 11. The trees were procured at Newburg, Cuyahoga county. "Samuel Carpenter opened the pioneer store in Avon at French Creek in 1824 or 1825. This venture does not appear to have been a success as he soon closed out and removed from the township. "The first blacksmith in Avon township was a man named Cheeney. He removed from the township prior to 1818. Adolph Garlick succeeded him in 1818 or 1819. " The first hotel was kept by John Steele at French Creek soon after the settlement. "A distillery was erected at French Creek quite early in the settlement by two men from Dover township, Cuyahoga county. This was in operation for only a few years. "In the year 1818 a. special election was ordered for township officers to be held November 9th, at which time the following persons were elected : Elah Park, John Williams, and Lodowich Moon, trustees; Larkin Williams, clerk; Abraham Moon, treasurer ; James B. Fitch and Tyler Williams, constables. On June 22, 1819, Jabez Burrell and Wilbur Cahoon were elected justices of the peace. INDUSTRIES "The first saw-mill was erected on Section 11 in the fall of 1815 by Wilbur Cahoon. The waters of French Creek were utilized to propel the rude machinery of this mill, which was in operation full fifty years. Another saw mill was erected on the same stream by Messrs. Jameson & Heminway Brothers in the year 1824. This mill was in operation for many years. In the summer of 1818 Wilbur Cahoon built a grist mill near the saw mill above mentioned, the water propelling which being supplied from the same pond. There were two run of stone. This mill was finally abandoned in consequence of a scarcity of water. RELIGIOUS MATTERS "The first religious service in Avon township was held at the house of Nicholas Young immediately after a settlement was commenced by a local preacher of the Baptist church named Jashar Taylor, then residing in Dover township. A church was not formed however until the year 1817. In June of that year Elder Hartwell from the East held meetings at the house of Wilbur Cahoon a few times and traveled westward. Returning some two or three months later, he found that the seed sown on his first visit had brought forth fruit, the result of which 138 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY was that the following persons were formed into a church : Nicholas Young and wife, Jared Barr of Avon, Jashar Taylor, Atwell and wife of Dover, Dean Alexander and wife of Rockport. In 1818 a log schoolhouse was built at the center and in this regular services were held. The first ordained minister to settle in Avon was the Rev. John Tuttle, who remained until his death, some four years. "In the year 1826 or 1827 a large block meeting house was built. In it were held meetings of all denominations. This was burned in 1837. The present Baptist church was built in 1839 or 1840. The first class of the M. E. church was organized as early as 1820. This class was composed of Keyes Carpenter and wife, Waterman Sweet and wife, Ephraim Keyes and wife, Amasa Chapman and wife, Elah Park and Wife, Willis Potter and wife, William Richmond and wife, and Mrs. Polly and Mary Cooper, wives of David and Reuben Cooper. Keyes Carpenter was class leader. Rev. Mr. Smith, a local preacher, organized this class and was the first minister of this denomination to locate in Avon. PIONEER SCHOOLHOUSE "The first school house in Avon township was erected in the summer of 1818. The material of which it was constructed was logs and the site was at the center of the township. The subsequent fall Larkin A. Williams began teaching in this building. There were twenty-five children in attendance, mostly from the families of Cahoon, Cooper, Williams and Steele. HOLY TRINITY CHURCH "Among, the first settlers of East Avon were several families who were natives of Bavaria, Germany. The following named persons formed what is now known as The Holy Trinity church : Jacob Mueller, Paulus Faber, Peter Schwartz, John Nagel, Peter Biermacher, Simon and Adam Zeh, Nicholas Motsh, Peter Kraus, John Nagel, second, and Peter Scheit. The first church was erected in 1843 and was a substantial frame structure, 30x40 feet in size, and stood on what is now the cemetery. This church building has long since passed out of existence and has been replaced by a very pretentious and modern church building which stands on part of the land formerly owned by Dr. N. S. Townshend. There is also another very modern church at French Creek, but of this we have been unable to procure data necessary for history. There was at once time quite an extensive Congregational church in Avon. This has long ceased to be. HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 139 CHEESE-MAKING ABANDONED "The first cheese factory was erected on Section 28 about 1865 by Messrs. Jameson, Snow & Phelps. It was not a success and was discontinued after one season. The French Creek factory was built in March, 1875, by Wilbur and Joseph Cahoon on Section 11. This was operated for a number of years, but was finally discontinued for lack of patronage. CURIOUS MOUNDS RAZED "When the settlement was made in Avon there was on the west bank of French Creek in Section 11 quite a remarkable embankment. It was constructed of stone, circular in form, of some six or eight feet in height and perhaps four rods in diameter. The stone were of small size and were not regularly laid, but were simply piled up. Further down the creek was an immense mound of stone, the most remarkable feature of which was that it was composed of small sized `cobble head' stones and was located in a portion of the township where this kind of stones do not abound. On the ridge, where now stands the Methodist Episcopal church there were a number of mounds. These, on being opened, were found to contain human bones. These were leveled to the earth, and the stones comprising the fortification were drawn away as required, until nothing now remains to mark the spot. "Many remember the early days of 1861. Sumter had fallen. The Southern Confederacy was formed ; the South had organized a formidable army ; secession was unmistakably resolved upon. So appalling were these events that the North stood awhile paralyzed and awe stricken. Then came our president's call for seventy-five thousand men. Everywhere throughout the northern states there was a hearty response —nowhere was it heartier than upon the Reserve of Northern Ohio. Avon took a gallant part in this first outburst of northern patriotism ; and during the entire period of the war there was no time when she was found faithless to duty. 'Wherever danger lurked thickest there we find the Avon boys. Many, very many never returned ; their lives went out as a sacrifice, and beneath the skies of the sunny South, where the groves of the magnolia and the orange shed an undying perfume—the spot perhaps unmarked and unknown—they 'sleep the sleep that knows no waking.' " THE SHEFFIELD CENTENNIAL Sheffield Township celebrated the centennial of its original settlement in August, 1915, the Day family holding much the same relation 140 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY to its history as do the Cahoons to the pioneer progress of Avon. Capt. Jabez Burrell and Capt. John Day, of Sheffield, Massachusetts, were the first owners of the township to actually examine the land for purposes of settlement and to make a success of their venture. As they were the real founders, so in the centennial celebration members of these two families were most prominent in the literary and historic exercises of the gathering. On the fiftieth anniversary of the settlement, held on the 13th of November, 1865, Norman Day read his historic and original address covering the period up to that time. Mr. Day's paper was re-read at the centennial anniversary, and Mrs. G. L. Cuddeback presented the history of the township from 1865 to 1915. The "Early History of Sheffield Township," prepared by Miss May Day, adds many interesting items to the paper originally written by Norman Day. The material facts in these three articles are therefore given in the following paragraphs and present a complete history of one of the most interesting and substantial of the lake townships. NORMAN DAY DESCRIBES FIRST COLONISTS In January, 1815, Capt. Jabez Burrell and Capt. John Day, of Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, purchased of Gen. Wm. Hart, of Saybrook, Connecticut, township No. 7, in the 17th range of townships, Connecticut Western Reserve, State of Ohio, now Sheffield, Lorain County. After the purchase by Burrell and Day, Obadiah Deland of Sheffield, Capt. Joshua Smith, Col. Joseph Fitch, and Solomon Fitch of New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Isaac Burrell, of Salisbury, Herkimer County, State of New York and Henry Austin of Owasco, Cayuga County, became partners. THE BURRELLS EXPLORE The two Burrells, Day and Smith, explored the township in June, and selected lots for themselves and friends. About the first of October, Captain Smith and his oldest son, Douglass, then a lad seventeen years of age, left Massachusetts with a yoke of oxen and horse and necessary tools for clearing and cultivating a new farm. After starting, Captain Smith left Douglass to pursue the tedious journey alone, while he went to Sackett's Harbor to visit friends, but overtook him again before he got to Ohio. On the eleventh day of November, they arrived at Wilbur Cahoon's, in Avon. The next day being Sunday, they rested. and on the thirteenth day of November, 1815, they followed down French HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 141 Creek without a trail, and commenced the first permanent settlement in the township, on lot 64, the farm now owned by Frederick Kreble. WALLACE, FIRST TEMPORARY SETTLER Previous to the purchase of the township by Burrell and Day, about 1812, General Hart made an arrangement with a young man, Timothy Wallace, to commence a settlement, by which he was to have a choice of lots, provided Mr. Hart sold the township by lots. He selected lot 65, now owned by Robbins Burrell, improved a few acres, built a small house and then abandoned it. The cause was supposed to be fear of the Indians. Nothing more is known of his history. Captain Smith's nearest neighbors were John S. Reid and Daniel Perry, at the mouth of the river, four miles, Cahoon, of Avon, five miles, and Moses Eldred, of Ridgeville, seven miles distant. For comfortable lodgings, they spent some of their nights at the mouth of the river, and some at Cahoon's. FOUR SETTLERS IN WINTER OF 1815-16 There was a road through the town on the lake shore, the road leading from Cleveland to Huron, and a wagon track from Ridgeville to the old fishing ground, at the upper end of the Big Bottom, where men and boys came from Ridgeville and Columbia every spring to catch fish. They were taken in the night in great abundance, while running over the ripple, with a torch made of hickory barks and a spear. It was rare sport and furnished one of the necessaries of life. In a few days after the arrival of Captain Smith and son, they were joined by two young men from their native town (New Marlborough), Samuel B. Fitch and Asher Chapman. These four men soon built a rude shanty where they spent the winter of 1815-16, shut out from the outer world, dependent upon their own resources for amusement and enjoyment. Captain Smith was a humorous, jovial man; enjoyed a joke, and was fond of a good story, well calculated to amuse himself and companions in their seclusion. FIRST WOMAN AND PIONEER FAMILIES In February, 1816, Freeman Richmond settled on lot 2, now owned by Joseph Townshend. Mrs. Richmond was the first female settler. On the third day of April of this year, Henry Root and wife and six children arrived from Sheffield, Massachusetts. The children's names were Aaron J., Wm. Henry, Julia Ann, Jane, Frances and Mary. They 142 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY lived three weeks in the shanty with Captain Smith, while they prepared a habitation for themselves. Mr. Root settled on lot 17, near where the German Church now stands. Soon after the arrival of Mr. Root and family, Oliver Moon, from Avon, State of New York, located on lot 11; Milton Garfield and John B. Garfield, of Tyringham, Massachusetts, on lots 73 and 74; A. R. Dimmick on lots 75 and 76; Wm. Richmond on lot 2, with his brother Free man, and Willis Potter on lot 1. ARRIVAL OF THE DAY AND BURRELL FAMILIES On the 27th of July, Captain Day and family arrived. Their names were William, Rhoda, Maria, John, Norman, Fanny, James, Lydia, Kellogg and Frederick ; and Edmond A. and Eleanor, born in Ohio. On the 11th of August, Captain Burrell and family of eight children, and Solomon Weeks, a young man who had been an apprentice to Captain Burrell, arrived by way of the lake, on the schooner Black Snake, and came up the river on Reid's ferry scow. Their names were Julia, Sarah M., Robbins, Lyman J., Soloma, Jabez L., Eliza and Mary Ann. Messrs. Burrell and Day shipped their heavy household goods and farming utensils at Schenectady, on a small, half decked schooner of about fifteen tons burthen, called the Fire Fly, built there by Anon Harmond, of New Marborough, Massachusetts. He sailed up the Mohawk, locked by the Little Falls; and thence by the Rome Canal into Wood Creek ; down Wood Creek into Oneida Lake; then down the outlet and Oswego River to Lake Ontario. At Queenston he unloaded and drew her out ; loaded her on cart wheels, drew her by Niagara Falls to Chippewa and launched ; then drew her cargo and reloaded ; then proceeded through the lake and up Black River to the mouth of French Creek, and landed her cargo of salt and goods on the Big Bottom. CAPTAIN SMITH AND FAMILY In the fall of 1816, Captain Smith went to Massachusetts for his family, and returned in March, 1817. In his family were eight children : Douglass, Isaac, Rachel, Eleazer, Harvey, Warren, Caleb and Reuel. Ariel Moore came from New Marlborough with Captain Smith, and settled on lot 56 with three children : Lorinda, Lovina and Abigail. In February of this year, Henry Austin and wife, from Owasco, State of New York, settled on lot 81, and Nathan Stevens and wife, from New Marlborough, on lot 84. In June, Davis Heacock and Erastus HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 143 Heacock selected lots 85 and 86 and commenced improving them, keeping bachelor's hall. About the same time Samuel Munson commenced on lot 72. OTHER BURRELLS COME On the 5th of July, James Burrell, from Bloomfield, New York, arrived and settled on lot 69. His children were Harriet, Cyla, Almoran and Alva J. Arnold Burrell and wife came from Binghamton, New York. His first residence was on lot 68. Isaac Burrell, one of the proprietors, from Salisbury, New York, arrived on the 28th of February. In his family were six children : Eunice, Hiram, Jane, Augusta, Mary and Charlotte. In the spring of this year, Daniel Perry, who came from Vermont to the mouth of Black River, in 1810, sold his farm there and moved into Sheffield with a family of nine children: Polly, Harvey, Sophia, Alexander Hamilton, Royal, Julius, Lester, Bushrod and Williams, and located on lot 22. The Fleming family are old residents but not properly pioneers. In the winter of 1816, religious meetings were commenced at the house of Captain Burrell, which consisted in reading a sermon, singing and prayer by Mr. Hanchett, of Ridgeville, then working for Captain Burrell, for there was riot at that time a male professor in the settlement. Whatever of moral and religious principle hangs about the native population of Sheffield is due to the influence of pious pioneer mothers. In the spring of 1816, Alvan Coe preached the first sermon. About the first of June, Rev. Jesse Hartwell, a Baptist elder from New Marlborough, on a missionary tour to the western part of the Reserve, held meetings on his way out and when he returned. In July, Mr. Treat, of Windham, arid Mr. Seward, of Aurora, Portage County, visited the settlement as missionaries. CHURCHES ORGANIZED In the fall of this year (1817) Alvan Hyde, a young man of talent and piety—son of Reverend Doctor Hyde, of Lee, Berkshire County, Massachusetts—was commissioned by the Berkshire Missionary Association to preach in the new settlements on the Reserve. He chose for his field of labor Dover, Sheffield and Ridgeville, alternately. The settlers of Sheffield and Dover were from Berkshire County. The church at Dover was formed in his native town by his father, before they left in 1811. Mr. Hyde's labors, and the sudden death of Captain Smith, made a deep impression on the infant settlement ; a revival followed and some were hopefully converted. 144 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY On the 1st of May, 1818, Rev. William Williams, a missionary from the Connecticut Missionary Society, assisted by Mr. Hyde, formed a Congregational Church. The members were Nathan Stevens and wife ; Mrs. Mary Burrell, wife of Capt. Jabez Burrell, and their daughters Julia and Sarah M. ; Mrs. Martha Smith, wife of Capt. Joshua Smith, and Douglass their son ; Henry Root, Preston Pond, Wm. Day, Wm. Smith, Samuel B. Fitch and Daniel Perry, thirteen in number. FIRST EVENTS The first school was taught by Dr. Preston Pond, from Keene, New Hampshire. The schoolhouse stood on the brow of the hill north of the center schoolhouse. The first white child born in the town was Mary Ann Austin, August 20, 1817 ; died November 15, 1831, in the Town of Skaneateles, Onondaga. County, State of New York. The first couple married were Samuel Munson and Phila Tyler, by Ebenezer Whiton, Esq., December 17, 1818. Mr. Munson died August 6, 1820. Mrs. Munson married Mr. Rooks, and died at Niles, Cayuga County, New York, July, 1862. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION When Dover was organized it included Avon and Sheffield to Black River, which was then the dividing line between Cuyahoga and Huron counties. The west side of the river was in Black River Township. In 1818 Avon was organized with the name of Troy, including the east part of Sheffield. Jabez Burrell was elected justice of peace, June 22, 1819, and re-elected August 13, 1822. The first act of the Lorain County Commissioners, at their first session, in June, 1824, was to organize the Town of Sheffield. The first town meeting was held July 10, 1824. The officers chosen were Nathan Stevens, clerk ; John Day, Isaac Burrell and A. R. Dimmick, trustees; Milton Garfield, treasurer ; and Jabez Burrell and Henry Root, poormasters. Nathan Stevens was the first magistrate after the town was organized. DEATH OF CAPTAIN SMITH Captain Smith, the first settler, was the first to die. He fell a victim to the ague and bilious fever, and died suddenly September 29, 1817. The infant settlement was shocked as the thrilling news spread from house to house : "Captain Smith is dead !" Deacon James, of Brown- HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 145 helm, officiated at the funeral, giving out to be sung the good old funeral pieces, "Hark from the Tombs" (tune, New Durham) and the ninetieth Psalm, "Lord, What a Feeble Piece" (tune, Florida). It was a solemn day, and the death of Captain Smith was deeply lamented. A burying ground was selected on the bluff near French Creek Bridge, where he was then buried, but being afterwards abandoned, in 1848, his bones were disinterred and deposited in the Ridge Cemetery. OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY Mrs. Martha Smith, widow of Captain Smith, was married January 16, 1826, to General Isaac Hall, of Pompey (now La Fayette), Onondaga County, New York, where she lived to a good old age, and died October 18, 1859. Douglass remained in Sheffield, and died March 16, 1862. Isaac lives in Hopkinsville, Iowa. Rachel married George W. Cotton, and died in Elyria, September 21, 1859. Mr. Cotton died March 28, 1865. Eleazer died in LaFayette, New York, January 23, 1849. Harvey died in Newton, Calhoun County, Michigan, October 5, 1852. Warren lives in Michigan. Caleb died in Delhi, Delaware County, Iowa, March 14, 1861. Reuel lives in Logansport, Indiana. Samuel B. Fitch settled on lot 62. In September, 1818, he married Dolly Smith, of his native town, New Marlborough. She died May 6, 1845. Mr. Fitch married a second wife, Miss Nancy Willard, of Pawlett, Vermont. She died November 4, 1860. Mr. Fitch died September 15, 1861. Asher Chapman, the last survivor of the four who spent the winter of 1815-16 in the wilderness, first settled in Avon where Doctor Townshend now lives, moved to Amherst, then to Wisconsin, and finally died in Michigan in the early part of the present year, 1865. Freeman Richmond and Willis Potter live in Amherst. William Richmond lives in LaGrange. Mrs. Richmond, the first female settler, died in the summer of 1819. DECEASE OF PIONEERS Henry Root died April 6, 1829. Mrs. Root died February 11, 1859, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Captain Aaron Root died September 13, 1865. Francis died September 6, 1862. Mary (Mrs. Fitzgerald) died December 4, 1859. Wm. H. and Julia Ann (Mrs. Norman Day) are in Sheffield, and Jane (Mrs. Harvey Austin) is in Monroe, Michigan. Oliver Moon and wife, and John B. Garfield and wife are living on the farms where they first located. Colonel Milton Garfield died November 5, 1862. His widow is still living in Sheffield. Mr. Dimmick lost his wife in May, 1829 ; married again, moved to Vol. I-10 146 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY Amherst and there lost his second wife; moved to Illinois and from there to Oregon, where he died in the spring or summer of 1864. "Captain John Day died October 8, 1827. Mrs. Day died October 9, 1854. Rhoda Maria died October 10, 1825. These three deaths occurred each on Monday morning, and they were severally buried on the day of the State election. Frederic died August 11, 1840. Of the nine survivors eight are residents of Sheffield, and one (Kellogg) is in Denmark, Iowa. "Mrs. Jabez Burrell died August 26, 1831; Esq. Burrell married again in June, 1833, and died September 25th of the same year. Of their eight children, six survive. Julia (Mrs. Humphrey) and Sarah M. (Mrs. Knapp) live in Windham, Portage county ; Robbins on the old farm, Lyman J. in California, Jabez L. in Oberlin, and Eliza (Mrs. Whittlesey) in Cleveland; Saloma (Mrs. Warner Strong) died in October, 1856. Mary Ann (Mrs. Robert E. Gillett) died July 31, 1837. Solomon Weeks lives in Allen Township, Allen county, Indiana. Ariel Moore died February 10, 1824; Mrs. Moore removed to Fredonia, New York, where she died a few years since. Lorinda (Mrs. Norman Bedortha) and her sister Lovina live at Saratoga. Abigail (Mrs. Burgress) went on a mission to India, and died there. Nathan Stevens and wife died in Michigan. Henry Austin and wife went back to their native town in 1820, and are both living. "Davis Hecock and Erastus Hecock left their river farms and located in the southwest part of the town. Davis died October 18, 1858. Erastus is a resident of Sheffield. James Burrell died September 29, 1855. Mrs. James Burrell died July 6, 1862. Harriet (Mrs. John B. Garfield) is the only survivor of the family. Cyla died March 20, 1818. Almoran died December 28, 1841, and Alva J. died June 20, 1833. Arnold Burrell and wife live in the township of Elyria. "Isaac Burrell died March 12, 1860. Mrs. Burrell, the last of the pioneers who came into town with a family, died December 17, 1864. Their six children all survive: Eunice (Mrs. Erastus Hecock), Hiram, on the old farm, Jane (Mrs. Butman) and Augusta (Mrs. Wm. Day) live in Sheffield; Mary, in Elyria, and Charlotte (Mrs. Amanda Moore) on Put-in Bay Island." HISTORIC CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MISS MAY DAY Judge William Hart of Saybrook, Connecticut, bought the Township of Sheffield, with the addition of 1,500 acres in Henrietta, for $30,462. It is not known what Jabez Burrell and John Day agreed HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 147 to pay Mr. Hart for the township, but we do know they sold Obadiah Deland one-eighth of their purchase for $4,269.93. The township lots were of different sizes and sold for varying prices. BUILDING THE SAW-MILL ON FRENCH CREEK In the fall of 1816, within a few weeks of the coming of the Burrell and Day families to Sheffield, work was begun on a saw-mill on French Creek on what is now the James Day farm. Jabez Burrell, .John Day, and Mr. Deland seem to have been partners in this mill. Mr. Deland never lived in Sheffield, but came in the fall of 1816 while they were working on the mill and brought a millwright with him. Four men, Jabez Burrell, John Day, Joshua Smith, and the man who came with Mr. Deland, worked two months or more on the mill in the summer of 1817. Can we not pause a moment to think of the picture of these men cutting down trees, drawing them together with oxen, digging in the banks and working in the bed of the creek in the water to lay the foundation of their log dam deep and strong—the dense forest all around them and the days growing shorter and colder? They worked until November 21st. The average price of a day's work in 1816 was 6 shillings per day, but Joshua Smith received *58 for fifty-eight days' work on the mill in 1816 and $25 for twenty days' work in 1817. There is no account of sawing until April, 1818. The mill would no doubt be considered very primitive now, but it was of great value in those early days in sawing lumber for the new houses and barns; also lumber for making new furniture to replace that left in Massachusetts-. Black cherry was often used for the purpose. There are still highly prized bureaus and tables in Sheffield made in those days. In the summer of 1819 John Day built a large frame house not standing now, perhaps the first in town. It stood on the brow of the hill between the house and the barn of William S. Day. The great ambition of the early settlers was to build for themselves and families houses as large and comfortable as the houses left in New England. GRIST AND SAW-MILL In the fall of 1823 Charles Cheney built a dam to obtain power for a grist and saw-mill on the river at what is now known as Day's Dam. This dam went out in a flood before the buildings were erected. Later, in 1824, Erastus Hecock and Davis Hecock became partners with Mr. Cheney, put in a new dam and built a grist and saw-mill. Before the mill was completed the Hecock brothers bought out Mr. Cheney. 148 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY One-half of this mill changed hands many times until 1847, when Erastus Hecock and Mr. Dresser sold to William Curtiss and Wilbur Cahoon. It was bought by William Day and son Sumner in 1862. This grist mill must have been hailed with joy by the young boys as well as their mothers, for it had been the custom to send small boys long distances on horseback with a bag of grain on the horse with them to mill. They were often gone two days. William H. Root and James Day, in later life, enjoyed comparing their experiences on such trips in their boyhood. OTHER MILLS There was a steam sawmill at Globesville that sawed ship plank and a sawmill on the river opposite the island known as the Birmingham Mill. The mill on French Creek, after about ten years, was not used until about 1840, when it was rebuilt and ship plank for the Cleveland market was sawed. BRICK HOUSES Jabez Burrell, Isaac Burrell, Samuel B. Fitch and John Garfield built brick houses; all of them large, comfortable homes now, after nearly 100 years. They made their own brick and the houses testify to their good workmanship. The Jabez Burrell house was built soon after Robbins Burrell brought his bride to Sheffield from New Marlborough, Massachusetts, March 1, 1825. It has been stated that there were only twenty families in Sheffield at that time. The Henry Root frame house was probably built in 1826. SETTLING IN A DUCK POND Milton Garfield was married May 4, 1820, the couple living in a log house until they built the large pleasant home now occupied by their daughter, Mrs. Julia Root. Milton Garfield walked from Tyringham, Massachusetts, with his ax on his shoulder, to Sheffield, in 1815, trapping and hunting; then went back to Massachusetts, coming again in 1816 in the same way. When he came up the river and reached the ridge, he heard someone chopping and said to his companion, "Go see what fool has settled in this duck pond," as the woods were a swamp. It proved to be his cousin, John Garfield. The Robbins Burrell house was burned in December, 1842, in the day time and was a long time burning ; so neighbors came from all HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 149 directions and everything in the house was saved, even to the doors, windows arid the mantels of the fireplaces. Some of the old brick walls were left when the house was rebuilt and are still in good condition. THE BURRELLS AND IIECOCKS Jabez Burrell, Isaac Burrell and James Burrell were brothers, three out of a family of thirteen children. Their father was Abraham Burrell. Three Burrell brothers came over from England. One froze to death, one went back to England, the third was ancestor of the Sheffield Burrells. Two children of James Burrell died unmarried. One daughter married John Garfield. One son, Alva, died at Green Springs, Ohio, in 1833, leaving a son, Alva, who died in Elyria a few years ago. He was the last of the male line in the Burrell family. Isaac Burrell had only one son, Hiram, and Hiram Burrell had only one son, who lived to manhood, Isaac Burrell, who died in Lorain, the last in the male line in the Isaac Burrell family. Eunice, daughter of Isaac Burrell, married Erastus Hecock. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, enlisting when a boy from Salisbury, Herkimer County, New York. Mrs. Hecock received a pension for many years after his death. Mr. Hecock was captain of state militia, then colonel. They removed to the southwest part of the town and built a fine home. He met a tragic death August 23, 1866, while riding with a friend. Both were instantly killed by a train when crossing a railroad track at Carlisle. There were two brothers of Davis and Erastus Hecock, who came in early times to Sheffield, Rufus and Harry. Rufus was drowned in Black River when their boat overturned, and was buried in the old graveyard on Mr. Reid's land beside the river. Harry Hecock married Jane, daughter of Isaac Burrell. He died with fever in a few years, leaving two daughters, Hannah, and Huldah, who married Lewis Woodruff. Those who lived on the lots selected for them until their deaths were the Burrell brothers with their wives, John Day and wife, Samuel B. Fitch and wife, John and Milton Garfield with their wives, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Moon, Henry Root, Joshua Smith and Ariel Moore. Douglass Smith left the farm where his father settled, and moved to the ridge, where he lived the rest of his life on the farm now owned by Mr. Minard. Mrs. Martha Boggs, of Las Animas, Colorado, is the only remaining child of Mr. Smith.