AVON.

AVON, or township number seven, in range sixteen, is located in the northeast corner of Lorain county, and is bounded as follows: on the north by Lake Erie; on the south by the township of Ridgeville; on the east by Dover township, in Cuyahoga county, and on the west by Sheffield township.

The surface is generally level. Passing through the township from east to west and bearing southward, 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. The soil from the ridge to the Lake is varied; first sand, then a marshy strip extending entirely across the township, and north of that clay and sand. South of the ridge for a short distance the soil is sandy, and from this to the southern boundary line of the township clay largely predominates.

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.

There is but one stream of water in the township of sufficient importance to deserve mention. This is known as French creek. It flows from the southeast corner of the township in a general northwesterly course, crossing the west township line on section four. This stream was of almost incalculable service to the early settlers, and was of respectable size; but since the forest has disappeared along its banks, the waters have subsided until now it is a diminutive affair indeed, except during the fall and spring months.

ORIGINAL PROPRIETOR.*

"Pierpont Edwards became proprietor at the draft in 1807, of town number seven, range seventeen (Avon) together with Bass Island number one, comprising one thousand three hundred and twenty-two acres; .Bass Island number two, of seven hundred acres, and Island number five, thirty-two acres, in Lake Erie, west of 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, to the great inconvenience of the inhabitants, until December, 1824, when, upon the petition of forty citizens, the name was changed to Avon by the Commissioners of Lorain County."

* Boynton.

SETTLEMENT.

Early in the history of the Western Reserve, a road was established from Cleveland westward along the shore of the lake. Over this the mail was transported as early as 1807. (See history of Columbia.) Through the township of Avon this road passes 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. Two years pass 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, with their substantial residences, skirting the line of the settlement (the ridge road) bear ample evidence.

In the summer of 1814, Wilber 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 number seven, in the sixteenth range. The cavalcade consisted of five horses, four yoke of oxen and five 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 Hall's, in Dover township, Cuyahoga county. Here the families remained until a road had been cut along the summit of the ridge to section eleven, 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 removed. This stood on the site of the present homestead residenoe, which was built in the year 1826, and was the first frame house built in the township of Avon.

Mrs. Cahoon was formerly Miss Priscilla Sweet, of Rhode Island. The children were, Susan, who married Harley Mason, and now lives in Erie county, this State; Jessie S., who married Marcus Moore, (deceased); Wilber, who married Theresa Moore, (died in California); Ora B., who married Jane T. Jameson. He now resides on a portion of the old homestead, in section eleven, and to him we wish to

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272 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

acknowledge our obligations for valuable aid in collecting data for the history of Avon. His family numbers seven, all living. Orra, the next child, married Henry Titus, (deceased); Huldah died in 1826; Melissa M. married John C. Steele, (deceased); and Leonard, who married Mary Titus, and lives in Elyria.

Wilber Cahoon purchased his lands in Avon, 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. He had in addition to the three hundred acres in section eleven, about two hundred acres in section six. Mr. 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 was dead. This was in 1826. The wife and mother survived him many years; she died in 1857.

The lands of Nicholas Young, consisted of one hundred acres in section twenty-two; now 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 it was ready for occupancy, Mr. Young returned east for his family, with whom he arrived in Avon in the month of October. He had, at this date, five children. Several more were added to the family circle during the years he lived in Avon. He exchanged his farm in section twenty-two for lands in section fifteen, at the center, upon which he remained until 1835, when he disposed of his property, and removed to Wisconsin.

Lewis Austin settled on fifty acres of land, in section twenty-seven, 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 now remain in the township except Reuena, now Mrs. Justin Williams, and Elsie, wife of John Tomlin.

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 eleven. His family were a wife and three children, none of whom are now remaining in the township.

The Messrs. Cooper became the owners of the entire lands contained in section one. Spink Cooper and wife both died in 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 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 Lodowick Moon, reached Avon at about the same period the Coopers did, and, a short time after, Amos Moon, another brother, arrived. Colonel Abraham Moon married Gerissa 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 one and two. 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. The eldest son, E. G. Moon, was born in 1821. He married A. E. Wilder in 1844, and still resides on section one. The other two sons were D. C. and S. Moon. The daughter married E. S. Jackson in 1844.

Elah Park, whose place of nativity was Tyringham, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, married Elizabeth Moon, of the same place. He settled on section twenty-one, 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 children of this couple are Etna E., who died at the age of six years; Plumb M. (mute), who married Charlotte Peck, resides at Columbus, Ohio; Theresa M. married James S. Brown, who superintended the building of, and was superintendent of the institution for mutes, at Indianapolis, Indiana; he held the same position at Baton Rouge until public sentiment forced him north; Candace E. married Thomas E. Foot, and resides in Amherst, this county; Sarah H. married John Yaryan, a distinguished lawyer at Richmond, Indiana; Clarissa married David Skillman (deceased); Etna E., 2d, married Jay Terrell, proprietor of "Lake Breeze" summer resort, Sheffield township; Margaret married Janus H. McNeely, and resides at Evansville, Indiana; Alice H. (mute), married Martin M. Hanson (deceased); and Harriet C., who resides at Evansville, Indiana.

Waterman Sweet came from Norway, Herkimer county, New York, to Avon, in the year 1817, arriving on July 18th of that year. He located on three hundred acres of land in section twenty-seven, and built his log house upon the site where now stands the residence of a son George W. 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, Calvin 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. The following is the record of the children: William, the eldest, died some two years subsequent to the

Residence of Edwin Snow, Avon Tp., Lorain Co., Ohio

HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 273

arrival of the family in Avon, from the effect of the kick of an ox; and Calvin, the next child, married Bricene Chadwick, of Lee, Massachusetts; she died May, 29, 1863. The three eldest children of this couple, Luther Alfred, Theodore Parish and William Edward were soldiers in the Union army during the rebellion. The eldest was a non-commissioned officer in company E., Forty-second Ohio .volunteer infantry, and died at Memphis, Tennessee, March 27, 1863. The other children are Calvin, Melville (deceased), Bricene Etta, Mary Malvina, Waterman, George and Charles Denison. The next child of Waterman Sweet was Laura, who married

Dr. Samuel M. Hopkins, now residing in Black River township. Of the children born in Ohio, Eliza married James E. Brooks, and lives in Elyria; Henrietta R. married Charles Caryl (deceased); Cinderella married James Towner and resides in New York, while Mary Ann died. in infancy.

John Steele was the first settler on French creek. He came in 1817. His log house was erected on the site of the present parsonage. He had a family of six children, who now reside, the majority of them at least, in California.

Adam Miller and Gaston Young were the first permanent settlers on the lake shore. Mr. Miller located on section six; Mr. Young moved into the Davis cabin. Of other settlers along the shore we find that Joseph Moore, from Middletown, Connecticut, settled on section eighteen. John Mastin, Edmonds, Colby, — Britton and others were early settlers in this locality, but we were unable to learn anything further of them.

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.

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 and fifteen acres in section twenty-two. His wife was Miss Clarissa Moon, of Avon. They died upon this farm—she May 3, 1866, and he February 17, 1867. Three children were born of this union: S. R., married Catharine M. Crow, and lives on the old farm, (he has five children); Serepta R. married Rev. L. D. Johnson, of Olena, Huron county; and Sidney A., married Julia M. Goldsmith, of Vermillion, Erie county. He also lives on the old homestead, and has two children.

John Burlingame came from Rutland, Vermont, to Ohio in the fall of 1822, locating on one hundred acres of land in section seven, directly on the bank of the lake. Mr. Burlingame was single when he came to Avon, but was married about one year subsequently to Sophia, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Moore of former mention. The children of this couple are: Hannah, now Mrs. Sheldon Comfort, living in Wisconsin, and Melvin and Esther, deceased.

Joseph B. Jameson, wife and three children, from New England, settled in Avon in 1824. Their location was on the ridge, some half a mile east of French creek, now occupied by Malcom B. Jameson. Of the children, two are deceased; the eldest, Jane Thankful, is now the wife of Ora B. Cahoon. Mr. Jameson died in Avon in June 1867.

John Schwartz and Catharine his wife came from Bavaria, in Germany, and located in the wilderness, on section twenty-three. The family consisted of five children, namely: Joseph, who married, and still resides on section twenty-three; Anna, Mary, Catharine and Frederick. The date of their settlement was December 24, 1833. Jacob Miller and Paul Faber, with their families, came with Mr. Schwartz. They located near, and were the only settlers direct from Germany for some years. In 1840, a brother, Peter Schwartz, with a family of seven, settled in this locality, and soon German settlers began to locate rapidly in this vicinity. They are a frugal, thrifty people. John Schwartz died January, 1870, aged eighty-four years, and Mrs. Schwartz in July, 1858, aged sixty-five years.

FIRST EVENTS.

The pioneer baby in Avon township was a son to Wilber and Priscilla Cahoon,—the date December 1, 1814. This child is Leonard Cahoon, who married Mary Titus, and now resides in Elyria village.

First marriage : This highly interesting event 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. This couple are both deceased.

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. The present medical staff of Avon consists of Dr. Beers, Daly and Smyth.

The first death was Lydia M., daughter of Larkin Williams, January 11, 1818. Her remains were the first interred in the cemetery at the center.

It is believed that the first post office was established in 1825, and that Dr. Williams was the first postmaster. The present postmaster is James West, at French creek.

The first wheat sown was by Wilber Cahoon, on section eleven, in the fall of 1815. The previous season a crop of corn was raised on the same ground.

The spring following his settlement in Avon, Wilber Cahoon planted an orchard of one hundred trees on section eleven. The trees were procured at Newburgh, Cuyahoga county. The greater part of this orchard is still standing.

Samuel Carpenter opened the pioneer store in Avon, at French creek, in 1824 or 1825. His venture does not appear to have been a success, as he soon closed

274 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

out and removed from the township. The present business at this point is as follows : General merchandise, John Burgett and John Lansing; groceries, Lewis Keeler ; tinware and stoves, James West ; boots and shoes, George Fisher. There is also a harness and tailor shop. At the center Peter Ostermann has a dry goods and grocery store, G. Dingler, boot and shoe shop. There are also a blacksmith, a carriage-maker and a painter.

The first blacksmith in Avon township was a man named Cheeney. He removed from the township prior to 1818. Adolphus Garlick succeeded him in 1818 or 1819. This was at French creek. Cyrus Buel came soon after. There are now several of these useful artisans at this point.

The first hotel was kept by John Steel, at French creek, soon after the settlement. The Avon house at this place is kept by Lewis Keeler. A distillery was erected at French creek quite early in the settlement, by two men from Dover township, Cuyahoga county. This was in operation only a few years.

ORGANIZATION.

On the 27th of October, 1818, the land at presnt comprised within the limits of Avon township, together with the annexations before mentioned, was set off from Dover, and organized a separate township by the name of Troy, by the commissioners of Cuyahoga county. 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, at which time the following persons were elected: Elah. Park, John Williams and Lodovick Moon, trustees; Larkin Williams, clerk; Abraham Moon, treasurer; James B. Fitch and Tyler Williams, constables. June 22, 1819, Jabez Burrell and Wilber Cahoon were elected justices of the peace.

The officers for 1878 are, Ezra Jackson, Luther Hicks and Laurence Heckle, trustees; Horace Wilcox, clerk; E. E. Williams, treasurer; H. J. Cahoon, assessor; Oscar Wilcox, Lemuel Stickney and John Osterman, constables; H. J. Cahoon, Joseph Creitzer and A. W. Sherbonda, justices of the peace. 

CHURCHES.

BAPTIST CHURCH.

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 faith, named Jashar Taylor, then residing in Dover township, Cuyahoga county. A church was not formed, however, until the summer of 1817. In June of that year Elder Hartwell, from the east, making a missionary tour through this portion of the Reserve, 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 was that the following persons were formed into a church: Nicholas Young and wife and Jared Barr, of Avon; Jashar Taylor and ___Alwell and wife, of Dover; ____Dean and Alexander and wife, of Rockport. In 1818 a log school house 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. He was followed by the Rev. Mr. Teachout and others, whose names are forgotten. In the year 1826, or 1827, a large block meeting house was built by the members and friends of this church. In it meetings were held by all denominations, and it was a great convenience. This was accidently burned in 1837 and again this congregation was without a place of worship. The present church was erected in 1839 or 1840, and is thirty by forty feet in size. It has been repaired, painted and otherwise improved at a recent date, the cost of which was twenty-five hundred dollars. The present pastor is Rev. D. R. Owens, who has cared for this flock for four years past. The church officers are H. H. Williams, J. B. Cahoon and Selam Moon, trustees; Burton C. Jameson, clerk; William Nesbett and Milo Williams, deacons; Everett Williams and D. L. Sawyer, super. intendents of Sabbath school, upon which there is an attendance of sixty scholars. The foregoing history of the Baptist church is furnished from memory by O. B. Cahoon and wife.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The first class of the Methodist Episcopal church was organized as early as 1820. Mr. Calvin Sweet furnishes the data from which the following brief history is prepared: 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. In the year 1834 the first Methodist Episcopal church was built. This was in size twenty-six by thirty feet, 'cost five hundred dollars, and stood on the site of the present church. The old church was sold upon the completion of the present one in 1855, and was converted into a dwelling. The neat edifice now occupied by the denomination cost two thousand dollars. The Rev. Newel Close is the present pastor ; the membership is sixty. The stewards are Calvin Sweet, Ezra Jackson, George Bliss and John Benham; class leaders, George W. Sweet and William Wilder; superintendent of Sabbath school, Clemant Snow.

The following list of ministers who have presided over the Methodist Episcopal church, in Avon, is fur-

Residence of G. W. and W. O. Hurst, Avon Tp., Lorain Co., Ohio

HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 275

nished from memory from 1820 to 1836, the remainder is copied from the records: Orren Gilmore, James Goddard, Walker Brothers, -- Alesbury, Loners, Z. Costin, — Rouark,         Havens,— Elliott, Berry, Colclasier, Elnathan Gavitt, Taylor, Carpenter, William Reynolds, William Billings, James Wheeler, Thomas Barkdull, Samuel Allen, William Hudson, Daniel Conant, William Harris, M. L. Starr, Leonard Parker, William C. Pierce, John L. Tibbals, Hugh L. Parrish, T. L. Pope, Peter Sharp, Zara C. Norton, L. M. Pounds, Orrin Mitchell, Joseph Wykes, N. Worden, William Hitchcock, John R. Jewett, C. L. Foote, D. D. T. Mattison, Jacob A. Brown, Samuel M. Beatty, L. F. Ward, William C. Huestiss, J. W. Redding, John Sites, Tracy L. Waite, George W. Dunn, Omar Lawrence, James Evans, Orlando Pearce, Z. Kauffman, 0. Milton Ashbaugh, Elijah H. Dissell, John McKean, and Newell J. Close who is the present minister in charge.

THE HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.

The first settlers at East Avon were Catholics, natives of Bavaria, Germany. Those who formed the church were as follows: Jacob Muller, Paulus Faber, John Schwarz, settled in 1835; Peter Schwarz, John Nagel, and Peter Biermacker, 1841; Simon and Adam Zeh, Nicholas Matsch and P. Kraus, 1842; John Nagel, second, Nicholas Maringer, and Peter Scheit, who came in 1845, joined immediately afterward. The first church was erected in 1843, and was a substantial frame structure, thirty by forty feet in size, and stood on what is now the cemetery. Soon the church became too small, and under the direction of Simon Zeah as treasurer, and Peter Wirsch, Nicholas Maringer and Henry Seibert, building committee, the present church was erected. The original dimensions were thirty-five by sixty feet. The cost was about three thousand dollars. The old church was joined to the rear of the new one, making a total length of one hundred feet. This now serves as a sanctuary and sacristy. The building was finished in 1862. There is a neat parsonage in connection; and a pretty brick school house, in which school is taught by the pastor, Rev. T. Heidegger, ten months in the year. The income of the church is thirteen hundred dollars per year. There is another Catholic church, at French creek, but of this we have been unable to procure the data necessary for a history.

There was at one time quite an extensive Congregational church in Avon. This has long since ceased to be.

SCHOOLS.

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, near the present residence of William Ellison. The subsequent fall, Larkin A. Williams began school in this building. There were twenty-five children in attendance, mostly from the families of Cahoon, Cooper, Williams and Steel. From the report of the board of education of Avon township, for the year 1878, we find the present items of school interest, as follows: There are ten school houses, which are valued, with grounds and fixtures, at ten thousand dollars. The total amount paid to teachers was twenty-five hundred and ninety-three dollars; and the whole number of youth of the requisite school age, four hundred and seventy-seven.

INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS.

The first saw mill was erected on section eleven, in the fall of 1815, by Wilber Cahoon. The waters of French creek were utilized to propel the rude machinery of this mill, which was in operation full fifty years; now there is scarcely a vestige of it remaining. Another saw mill was built on the same stream, by Messrs. Jameson & Hemingway Brothers, in the year 1824. This is still in operation.

In the summer of 1818, Mr. Cahoon built a grist mill near the saw mill mentioned above, 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.

The large steam flouring mill on French creek, now in successful operation, was constructed by H. H. Williams in 1857. This is equipped in first class style throughout, and has three run of stone. The engine is of fifty horse power. The entire cost of mill, real estate and machinery was eight thousand dollars. The steam saw mill adown French creek was built by Mr. Williams the same season.

The first cheese factory was erected on section twenty-eight, in about 1865, by Messrs. Jamesons, Snow & Phelps. It was not a success, and was discontinued after one season.

The "French Creek Factory" was built in March, 1875, by Wilber and Joseph B. Cahoon, on section eleven. The first season there were one hundred and twenty-five cows in contribution. There is at present a capital invested of fifteen hundred dollars. During the season of 1878, the milk of two hundred cows was used.

CARRIAGE MANUFACTORY.—In the year 1850, John Benham came to Avon, and locating at French creek, began in a small way the manufacture of wagons. This increased until in 1873, when the business had assumed extensive proportions. He had some twelve thousand dollars invested, and employed an average of fourteen workmen. He manufactures an excellent grade of carriages. The depression of the past few years has materially effected the business. He employs at present six workmen.

ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS.

When the settlement was made in Avon, there was on the west bank of French creek, on section eleven, 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

276 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

were of small size, and were not regularly laid, but were simply piled up.

Farther 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, 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 fortifications were drawn away as required, until nothing now remains to mark the spot.

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS FOR 1878.

Wheat, 1,508 acres. 28,283 bushels.

Oats, 1,471 " 59,603          "

Corn, 1,562 " 57,355

Potatoes, 200 " 21,617

Orchards, 441 " 9,030

Meadow, 2,516 " 2,961

Butter 37,347 pounds. Cheese 13,275 "

Population in 1870 1,924

VOTE FOR PRESIDENT IN 1876.

R. B. Hayes 169

S. J. Tilden 280

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

EDWIN SNOW.

Early tradition says three brothers came from England in the Mayflower. From them came the ancestor of Edwin Snow.

His grandfather, Oliver Snow, resided at Beckett, Massachusetts; removing from there, he settled in Auburn, Geauga county, Ohio. About the year 1825, he died at Auburn.

Franklin Snow, his son, and father of Edwin Snow, was born at Beckett, Massachusetts, January 27, 1779. His business was farming; he married Miss Lydia Olcott. Eight children—five girls and three sons— were born to them. Mrs. Lydia Snow died in 1820, and was buried at Mantua, Portage county, Ohio.

Mr. F. Snow remaining, had issue, one daughter, Hannah Snow. Burying his second wife at Avon, Ohio, in 1856, he, respected by all, died at Avon, Ohio, in 1863; aged eighty-four years and ten months.

Edwin Snow, son of the above, was born at Portage county, Ohio, February 17, 1809. He removed to Avon, Lorain county, Ohio, in 1837. When purchasing four hundred acres of land, he commenced life as a farmer, which he has ever since been engaged in with great success; married, in the year 1843, to Julia, daughter of Trueman and Lucy Lewis, of Orangeville, Wyoming county, New York. Five children, viz: Theodore L., Oliver S., Clemon H., Florence H. and Lucy L., all living, perpetuate the many virtues of their parents.

Mr. Snow has been honored by his fellow tow men with the office of trustee of the township, and no. with every comfort around him, he looks back to t past with no regrets; to the future for the " Good."

WILLIAM HURST.

William Hurst was born at Elkington, Northamptonshire, England, January 7, 1804. He came to this country in June. 1831, and was a resident of Dover, Cuyahoga county, until the year 1834; he then moved to Elyria, and was engaged in the township business for four years. He thence removed to Avon; Lorain county, where he has since resided, and was engaged in farming, in which he was enterprise and successful until the time of his death. He di December 6, 1875, of paralysis, aged seventy-one years and eleven months. He married Elizabeth Townshend for his first wife; she died, and he married: Lucina E. Moon, September 26, 1837. She was born March 23, 1820. They had six children: Elizabeth. S., born August 12, 1838; she was married to Edward'. Carter, August, 1861, by whom she had five children;: she died January 24, 1872. Wm. H. was born April, 23, 1840; died October 25, 1844. Josiah O., born May 19, 1842, died November 8, 1844. Lucina M. was born November 16, 1845. Geo. W., born January 26, 1848. Wm. O., born February 23, 1851, was married January 19, 1876, to Jennie Hawley, by whom he has one son, George H, who was born January 30, 1877. Mrs. Lucina E., the mother, died January 25, 1872.

JOSEPH SCHWARTZ,

son of the oldest German settler in Avon, Ohio, tells his own story in the following words:

"My father, John Schwartz, came with my mother, Catharine, from Bavaria, Germany, in 1833. Their young family consisted of five children, namely: Joseph, Anna, Mary, Catharine and Frederick. My father settled on section thirty-three, in Avon, on the 24th of December, 1833. Two other persons, both heads of families, accompanied him, by name, Jacob Miller and Paul Faber. These were the first and only German settlers that I know of in Avon until 1840, when my uncle, Peter Schwartz, came in with a family of seven persons. Then German settlers came flocking in. In 1844, Trinity church was built in East Avon."

Mr. Joseph Schwartz lived with his father until the latter's death, in the year 1870; his mother having died in .July, 1858. He married Catharine, daughter of Peter Kraus. This marriage left eight children, seven sons and one daughter, all living. Still living on the"

276A - ALBIN STICKNEY.

The genealogy of the Stickney family is as follows :

Lemuel, who is the son of Solomon, who is the son of Albin, who was the son of Lemuel, who was the son of Moses, who was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Benjamin, who was the son of Benjamin, who was the son of Amos, who was the son of William, who was the son of William, who was the son of Robert.

In the county of Lincolnshire, in England, is situated the parish of Stickney, from which the family derives its surname.

The first who came to America by this name was William Stickney, who settled at Rowley, Essex Co., Mass., in 1637. He was born in Frampton, England, in 1592 (the day and date not known), and was baptized Sept. 6, 1592, in St. Mary's Church at Frampton. It is not known when he was married, or to whom, except that her name was Elizabeth. To them were born ten children. He died at Rowley, Mass., in 1665, at the age of seventy-three years.

His father, whose name was also William, of Frampton, was baptized Dec. 30, 1558, and married Margaret Pierson, June 16, 1585. His grandfather's name was Robert. We find that he made his will October 3, and was buried Oct. 18, 1582.

Amos, the second son of William and Elizabeth Stickney, who emigrated to America, was born in England about the year 1635, and married Sarah Morse, at Newbury, Mass., June 24, 1663. He was a weaver by trade, and set up at Rowley the first fulling-mill in America, about the year 1643. To Amos Stickney and his wife Sarah there were born nine children. He died in Newbury, Aug. 29, 1678, at the age of forty-three years.

Benjamin Stickney, the sixth son of Amos, was born at Newbury, April 4, 1673. He married Mary Palmer, June 16, 1700. To him were born eleven children. He died March 5, 1756, at the age of eighty-three years.

Joseph Stickney, the third son of Benjamin, was born at Rowley, Oct. 8, 1705, was baptized April 1, 1706, and was married Dec. 26, 1727, to Jane Pickard, who was born March 5, 1704. She died, and he was married in Boxford, Nov. 7, 1737, to Hannah Goodrich, who was born in Newbury, Feb. 1, 1712. By these two wives he had sixteen children : by his first wife five, and by his second wife eleven. He died in March, 1766, at the age of fifty-one years.

Moses, the first son of Joseph and Jane Stickney, was born at Boxford, Feb. 11, 1729; was married there to Abigail Hall, Aug. 28, 1750. He was a private soldier in Captain William Thurlow's company, and served through the Revolutionary war. He had eleven children, and died at Springfield, Vt., Aug. 11, 1819, in the ninety-first year of his age.

Lemuel Stickney, the fifth son of Moses, was born at Boxford, Feb. 13, 1761; was married in 1781 to Polly Tomlinson. He settled in Cornwall, Vt., where three of his children were born. Here his wife died, and he married for his second wife, in Weybridge, Addison Co., Vt., Martha Scovill, who was born at Saybrook, Conn., June 14, 1760, by whom he had eight children, all born at Weybridge. He finally moved to and settled in Franklin, Franklin Co., N. Y., where he died May 3, 1842, at the age of eighty-one years.

Albin Stickney, the second son of Lemuel, and subject of this sketch, was born at Cornwall, Vt., Nov. 29, 1786. He served for a time in the war of 1812, and came to Madison, Ohio, in 1815, and from there he came to what is now Avon, Lorain Co., Ohio ; here he bought a farm and settled in 1817, where he lived until his death. He married Clarissa Moon, Feb. 1, 1821, at Avon. She was born at Tyringham, Mass., May 30, 1795, and died at Avon, May 3, 1866, aged seventy years. Albin Stickney was a man of great industry and perseverance, of moral integrity, and honesty of purpose. He accumulated considerable property, and in his later years loaned money ; but such were his convictions of uprightness, that while money everywhere commanded ten and twelve per cent., he never asked or would receive but six per cent., the then legal interest. He died Feb. 7, 1867, at the age of eighty- one years. They had three children,-Solomon R., born at Avon, Ohio, Jan. 22, 1823; Sarepta R., born at Avon, Ohio, June 9, 1826; Sidney A., born at Avon, Ohio, Oct. 29, 1830.

Solomon R. was married to Catharine Crow, Jan 1, 1845. To them have been born Amos M., Nov. 30, 1846, who died July 17, 1865; Clarissa E., born Aug. 23, 1848, and died March 1, 1849; Esther J., born June 20, 1850, and died May 7, 1866 ; Lemuel S., born Aug. 2, 1852, and married Josephine Mumm, Oct. 13, 1878; and Clarissa C., born July 8, 1864. They now live on the old homestead at Avon.

Sarepta R., only daughter of Albin and Clarissa Stickney, was married at Avon, Ohio, to Rev. L. S. Johnson, Aug. 11, 1844, by whom she has five children,-William A., born March 5, 1851; Albert W., born Dec. 10, 1854; Cora E., born May 7, 1862; Clarissa A., born Nov. 25, 1864. They now live in Fairfield, Huron Co., Ohio.

Sidney A., youngest son of Albin and Clarissa Stickney, married Julia M. Goldsmith, July 4, 1852. To them have been born three children,-Albin S., born March 4, 1855; Eddie A., born Feb. 9, 1859, and died July 25, 1860 ; Martha H., born June 17, 1875. They live at Avon, Lorain Co., Ohio.

HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 277

old homestead, a member of the German Catholic church, with his dear old wife, always and ever attending to the farm and its interests, refusing always any tender of office from his fellow citizens, he is a striking example of what German thrift may do for a man.

ELBRIDGE G. MOON.

Jacob Moon, who lived at Lennox, Mass., was the father of Colonel Abraham Moon, who was born at Lennox, Berkshire county, Mass., in 1790. He came to Troy (now Avon), this county, in the spring of 1816, when he commenced the stern realities of frontier life. He bought and cleared up a farm on which he lived until his death. In 1820 he was married to Teressa Durand, who was born in 1803. To them were born five children: Elbridge G. was born March 5, 1822 ; Selim born in 1824 and died in 1828 ; Dewit O., born October 15, 1825, and died January 14, 1861; Cordelia Q., born June, 1827 ; Stern W., born November 5, 1829. Col. Abraham Moon died in September, 1831. Elbridge G. Moon was married on the 29th day of December, 1844, to Ann Eliza Wilder, who was born March 28, 1825, at Bristol, Ontario county, N. Y. To them were born Russel E., December 21, 1845 ; Durand D., November 5, 1854 ; C. Bell, August 11, 1857. Dewit C. married Mary J. Davis, October, 1852. They had one son and four daughters. Cordelia Q. married Ezra Jackson, December 29, 1844. They have had three sons and four daughters. Stern W. married Ann C. Hicks, in the spring of 1858. They have one daughter born February 14, 1861. Mrs. Terresa D. Moon, the mother of Elbridge, died at Avon, December 3d, 1877, aged 74 years. Russel E., eldest son of El bridge, married Rachel Orum, February 16, 1872. They have Gertrude E., born January 30, 1873 ; Myra B., born December, 1874 ; Morris R., November, 1876 ; May S., born April, 1878.

The subject of this sketch is a farmer, having inherited the farm from his father, it being a part of the original homestead. He has constantly improved it until he has built up for himself and family a beautiful home. He excels as a horticulturist and stock raiser, the Jerseys being his especial pets. As a man, neighbor, citizen and christian, he ranks high in the community in which he lives.

DR. TRUMAN B. DAILEY.

Elijah Dailey, the grandfather of Dr. Dailey, emigrated when a boy, with his father's family, from Ireland to Massachusetts, about 1750. He went into the revolutionary war at its commencement, and continued until its close. He was at the defense of Boston and in the battle of Bunker Hill. He died about 1837, at Potsdam, New York. His son Benjamin was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1780. He married Jane Moe, in Essex, Essex county, Vermont, in 1802. She was born in Massachusetts, in 1785, and died in 1871, at the age of eighty-six years. He was a farmer and a man of the strictest integrity ; one who lived to do his neighbors good. He set a just value upon his labor, and estimated and regulated the sale of his products accordingly ; for instance, he estimated that he could produce hay for six dollars per ton. If the price was below that he would not sell ; if above, no matter how much, he would only ask that, and would receive no more ; so with all his other products. He would not, however, sell to speculators, only to those who needed it for their own consumption. He came from Essex, Vermont, to Potsdam, St. Lawrence county, New York, about the year 1807, at which place he bought and cleared up a farm, on which he lived until his death. He served as a soldier through the war of 1812, and died in 1872, at the age of ninety-two years. He had ten children.

Dr. T. B. Dailey, the subject of this sketch, lived with his father on the farm, until he was twenty-one years of age, working on the farm during the summer, attending the St. Lawrence academy in the fall, and teaching in the winter. He graduated at the St. Lawrence academy in the twenty-first year of his age, at which time he commenced the study of medicine at Madrid, St. Lawrence county, with Drs. Pierce and Manley, with whom he studied two years, teaching school winters. In the spring of 1844 he came to Dover, Cuyahoga county, Ohio. Here he continued the study of medicine with Dr. Jason Peabody, his uncle. He remained with him two years, and finally graduated at the Cleveland medical college, in March, 1846.

In 1847 he settled at Avon, Lorain county, where he commenced the practice of .medicine, and soon by his untiring industry and perseverance, built up a large practice. He educated himself, and by his own energy and integrity, has won an honorable name in the community in which he lives and may justly be said to be a self-made man.

He was married to Laura A. Rogers, at Avon, April 5th, 1848, by whom he had three children : Jamin, born January 6th, 1849 ; Ezra, born September 3d, 1851, and died April 1st, 1853 ; Leslie, born January 29, 1853, and died October 8th, 1853. His wife, Laura A., died July 2d, 1853. He married a second time, his choice being Martha Ballou, March 26, 1854.

He united with the M. E. Church at the age of seventeen years, and has ever continued a living working member.

He still lives at Avon, this county, where he has a large medical practice and a host of friends.