NAMES	SHARES	AMT	NAMES	SHARES	AMT.
Calvin Austin David Clendennen John Ford Turhand Kirtland Polly Kirtland t John Kinsman, Sr Simon Perkins, Sr Wm. Rayen Asahel Adams, Sr Seymour Austin John Andrews John Brainard Win. Bell, Jr Adamson Bentley Mary Bentley David Bell Oliver Brooks Richard Brooks David Bell Benjamin Bentley, Jr John Leavitt Lydia Dunlap John Doud Charles Dutton Ann Jane Dutton Edward Draa Dan Heaton Francis Freeman Otis Guild Lois Guild Jerusha Guild Peter Hitchcock John B. Harmon	200 200 300 300 20 800 300 300 20 20 20 4 50 20 10 20 20 10 12 2 25 8 20 75 25 4 20 25 20 5 10 10 20	$5,000 5,000 7,500 7,500 500 20,000 7,500 7,500 500 500 500 100 1,250 500 250 500 500 250 300 50 650 200 500 1,875 625 100 500 625 500 125 250 250 500	Ira Hudson Benj. J. Jones Thos. G. Jones Jared Kirtland Abraham Kline Samuel King Charles King Samuel Leavitt Henry Lane Wheeler Lewis Lambert W. Lewis Comfort S. Mygatt Calvin Pease Laura G. Pease George Parsons Francis M. Parsons Ephraim Quinby James Quigley Samuel Quinby Nancy Quinby Plumb Sutliff Samuel Tyler Try al Tanner Mary Tanner John E. Woodbridge Elisha Whittlesey Fanny Weatherby Josiah Whetmore Henry Wick David Webb James Hezlep E. T. Boughton Robt. Montgomery	20 10 10 20 30 40 20 40 20 20 20 100 20 10 20 5 100 20 20 20 20 50 8 2 20 10 5 4 60 4 20 12 50	$500 250 250 500 750 1,000 500 1,000 500 500 500 2,500 500 250 500 125 2,500 500 500 500 500 1,250 200 50 500 250 125 100 1,500 100 500 300 1,250

* By F. K. t Deceased before the bank was organized for business. 222 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. The Board of Directors comprised the following persons : Simon Perkins, Turhand Kirtland, Francis Freeman, John Ford, William Rayen„ Calvin Austin, Comfort S. Mygatt, Calvin Pease, Henry Wick, Leonard Case, David Clendennen, Wm. Bell, Jr., and Richard Hayes. Gen. Simon Perkins was the first President, and continued until April 5, 1836, when he resigned, and Zalmon Fitch was chosen in his place. Mr. Fitch, at the organization of the bank, was elected cashier, and continued in that position until promoted to the presi. dency. He resigned January 21, 1838, and George Parsons, who was elected in his stead, held the office until the close of the business existence of the bank ; thus being an officer in the same for nearly a half century. Ralph Hickox succeeded Mr. Fitch, and was cashier until his decease in 1840. George Tayler succeeded Mr. Hickox, and served in that capacity until the. closing of the Western Reserve Bank proper. He was elected to a similar position, at the opening of the First National Bank, in 1863, and died in May, 1864. The business of the corporation was commenced November 24, 1813, in a house previously occupied as a store by Robert Erwin. It was situated on the east side of Main Street, north of the present M'Quiston's grocery, and was the only gambrel-roofed house ever built in Warren. In 1816 and 1817 what was known as the the old Western Reserve Bank Building was erected on the lot now occupied by the new and elegant edifice of the First National. The lot was purchased of Mrs. Justus Smith. The Western Reserve started with a capital of $100,000, which was increased to $300,000, the present capital of its national successor. In 1816 its charter was extended to December 31, 1843, when it went into liquidation ; but in July, 1845, it was reconstructed under the independent banking law, which extended it until 1966. It was among the first banks chartered in the State, and was the only one that continued sound and solvent to the end of the State Bank Organization. During the general suspension of specie payment in 1814 and 1836 this bank suspended for a few months. In 1836, when the New York banks first resumed payment of specie, the Western Reserve resumed also ; but when, a few weeks after, they suspended the Western Reserve did not, but continued to pay specie until the general war suspension came. Mr. Thaw, of Pittsburg, on a recent visit to Warren, after an absence of over sixty years, related that in 1816, being then quite 3 lad, he came in a wagon with his father, who, as agent for the United MAHONING VALLEY - 223 states Bank, was collecting and settling bank balances, an operation that tended to close up many of the Western concerns. On their arrival 'in Warren they proceeded at once to the bank for settlement and called for balance of accounts, presenting for redemption the hoardings that the United States Bank had made of Western Reserve paper. It was no small sum. He was promptly advised that they were ready for settlement, and that the specie was ready for the balance. Settlement was promptly made, but sober second thought determined Mr. Thaw to leave the balance due until he received further advice. This balance was not called for generally, except in common and ordinary bank settlements. Of the numerous directors, the following have passed away : ELECTED. Simon Perkins - 1813. Turhand Kirtland - 1813. Francis Freeman - 1813. John Ford - 1813. William Rayen - 1813. Calvin Austin - 1813. Henry Wick - 1813. Leonard Case - 1813. Comfort S. Mygatt - 1813. Calvin Pease - 1813. David Clendennen - 1813. William Bell, Jr.. - 1813. Richard Hayes - 1813. Charles Dutton - 1815. Samuel W. Phelps - 1815. Samuel Leavitt - 1816. John Kinsman - 1817. Samuel Quinby - 1817. Adamson Bentley - 1814. Dillingham Clark - 1820. Leicester King - 1824. David L. King - 1826. Seabury Ford - 1829. William Quinby - 1831. Daniel Gilbert - 1834. Asahel Adams - 1835. Ralph Hickox - 1839. Henry Kirtland - 1840. Elisha Whittlesey - 1841. Seth Hayes - 1841. Jacob Perkins - 1848. SURVIVORS, 1876. ELECTED. Simon Perkins 2d - 1836. Jared P. Kirtland -1825. Lemuel Wick - 1841. Joseph Perkins - 1845. Ralsa Clark - 1847. Henry Wick, Jr - 1848. John Hutchins - 1855. G. O. Griswold - 1860. The following are the directors of the national organization, into which the old Western Reserve was merged in 1863 : ELECTED. Frederick Kinsman - 1836. Atatthew B. Tayler - 1849. Samuel L. Freeman - 1852. H. B. Perkins - 1853. L. J. Iddings - 1855. B. P. Jameson - 1859. John H. M'Combs - 1863. Mr. H. B. Perkins is President, and Mr. M. B. Tayler Cashier. We find this short obituary notice of the bank in an old Cleveland Paper : DIED RESPECTED. " Fifty years are not many, but it is a long life for a bank to live and then die an honest death. In these days of financial inflation and contraction, monetary chills and monetary fevers, which 224 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. exhaust and collapse, a bank, being a soulless corporation, may not seen, entitled to an obituary. But the case of the Western Reserve Bank with which so many of the old school men have been connected, seem; exceptional. This corporation, through its half-century career, has not only made good quarterly returns, on paper, but has deservedly enjoyed a good repute among men. The Western Reserve Bank has really gone out of existence. It seems it did not wait the expiration of its charter. Although it did not take its own life, yet it was so anxious to depart and be at rest that it sort of 'gin out,' consenting, not for its own sake, but out of pure regard for others, to keep breathing until it should legally expire in May, 1866." MEMORANDA THE FIRST GRAVE-YARD was located upon a knoll of land on South Street, where is now the residence of Mrs. Thomas D. Webb. The exact date of its location can not be determined from any facts that we can discover. It must have been previous to 1807, however, for the homestead was erected in that year by J. S. Edwards. Under the kitchen-floor are three graves without head-boards. This building is probably the oldest in Warren. The plaster upon the walls of the East room is that which was first put on, and is in as good condition, apparently, as it ever was. THE OLDEST TOMBSTONE that we can find in the Old Cemetery, near Mahoning Avenue, was erected to the memory of Mrs. Sarah Adgate, who died September 19, 1804. IN 1803 THE TREES were lying in the Public Square just as they had been felled in 1801. John Harsh remembers to have seen them. Zebina Weatherbee had the contract to remove them. The surface of the ground in the Square was in a bad condition for many years; huge holes and deep gullies rendering it very uneven. It was not much improved until about 1820. About that year Mr. Simon Perkins, now of Akron, planted many of the shade-trees that are standing. AMONG THE EARLY SETTLERS bodily strength was naturally held in high esteem. There was such a vast amount of hard work to be done that the strongest man was the "best fellow." Mr. HenrY Lane had great reputation for strength. It was claimed that be could whip any man in the county; and, when he was elected to the General Assembly, his friends argued, with much effect, that he must MAHONING VALLEY - 225 be the best man for the place, because he was the strongest. When any of the settlers got drunk they usually wanted to fight ; but when they volunteered to "lick any body," they always excepted Henry Lane. IT MAY BE remarked here that a great deal of whisky was used in early times, and in the most open manner. Corn was raised in large quantities, and as there was no market for it it lay as a dead weight upon the hands of the producers. The only way to get rid of it was to make it into whisky; and the only way to get rid of the whisky was to drink it. The advocates of the "good old times" claim that the liquor was at least pure. THERE WAS more work than play in early days ; but hunting furnished, at the same time, amusement and profit. Of the settlers who acquired no small reputation in that line were Henry Lane, John Eckman, and William Hall. Fishing with a gig in the Mahoning by torch-light was also a favorite sport. It is related that when James Scott, in 1801, came to this country, he spent the first night in the Fenton-Quinby cabin, on the bank of the river. In the morning, when he opened the door, an enormous pike, "fully six feet long," (h) and impaled upon a gig, fell toward him. It proved that Henry Lane and Mr. Quinby had been out spearing fish by torchlight during the night, and, selecting one fine pike from their catch, had put a gig into his gills and had leaned it against the door, in sport and as a sort of welcome. THE EARLY settlers were renowned for their hospitality and good will; but the demands upon them were very frequent, and it soon became impossible to extend kindness to so many without some remuneration. The law required, if any pay was received for entertainment, that the host should have a regular license for a public- house. In the records of the first court, therefore, we find that Mr. Ephraim Quinby was recommended to Gov. St. Clair, on motion of Mr. J. S. Edwards, "as a suitable person to keep a house of publick entertainment." In the May term, 1801, it is found ordered that license be given to Mr. Quinby upon the payment by him to the County Treasurer of the sum of four dollars. This was the first license taken out, and, evidently, it was less expensive than was expected, for the court ordered that twelve dollars, which Mr. Quinby had advanced at the time of his application, should be returned to him. In August, 1801, Mr. James Scott also received license "to keep a publick house of entertainment." Neither he nor Mr. Quinby, however, opened 226 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. regular inns. They merely entertained passing strangers with such fare as they had themselves. John Leavitt, who lived upon Smith's corner, took boarders as early as 1801; but he did not receive .1 license until 1803, when he opened a regular hotel. That was the first in the town, and also the first building that could boast of a brick chimney. The corner of Market and Main Streets was for many years the site of the principal inn. The successors of Mr. Leavitt were Jesse Holliday, John Reed, Andrew M'Kinney, and Horace Rawdon, from whom, about 1836, Messrs. H. W. and C. Smith pur_ chased the property. AMONG THE prominent features of the town was a building erected by Wm. W. Cotgreave, probably about 1807, and which stood upon the present Van Gorder lot, on Market Street. The main building was an ungainly affair. The first story, built of logs in block-house fashion, was primarily designed for a jail. The two upper stories were framed. The west end was lower, and consisted of a log house, built by Henry Harsh in 1802. The bti,gding was called " Castle William," after the first name of its owner, and for many years, until the fire of 1846, in and out, round and about it, surged much of the judicial, social, political, religious, and literary life of Warren. At first the lower story was used as a jail, and court was held in the upper story. Afterward it was used at different times as a church, a school-room, a Masonic hall, a store, and a tavern. The dances of the settlers were for a long time given in the upper story. These balls were great affairs, and undoubtedly the ones Mr. Edwards refers to in his letters were fair samples of them all. Warren always was noted for its good society, and social entertainments were well attended. The dances began early in the afternoon, and sometimes lasted until sunrise the next morning. The music for many years was furnished by old Uncle Tony, a colored man, who was quite a character in his way. At the west end of the ball-room was a door, and a few steps leading up to the attic, whither the gentlemen sometimes resorted, between the giddy mazes of the contra-dances, to take a glass of whisky, served by Isaac Ladd. As a heading to an invitation to a ball given by a dancing-master, Gitchell, when the building was kept as a hotel by Mr. Benjamin Towne, the following verse was used: "A public ball, at B. Towne's hall, This night will be attended ; The ladies' fare being something rare, Which makes our joy more blended." MAHONING VALLEY - 227 The following story is told about Uncle Tony :* He lived opposite Mr. Asahel Adams, and one morning Mr. Adams discovered that his wood-pile had been lowered during the night. There was snow on the ground, and a foot-print and a track that looked very much like the impression made by a wooden leg were observed leading toward Tony's house. Now Tony sported a wooden leg. The old fellow was called over and accused of the theft, but he stoutly maintained his innocence. The foot-print and track being pointed out, and an explanation demanded, he replied, with an air of injured innocence, “But, Massa Adams, do n't you know that Massa Webb make a track jess like me?” THE TOWN was not unvisited by amusements from abroad, for, at a very early period, the first elephant was exhibited in a barn standing near the present residence of Mr. G. O. Griswold. The show drew immensely. People came from places twenty miles away to see the elephant. Many of the older citizens of to-day, then boys, sat on the bay-mow, and gazed, with•mingled feelings, at the huge monster. This was in 1817-18. Another early exhibition was a puppet-show, which held forth in Castle William. The elite of the place attended. The price of admission was the price of a bushel of wheat, whatever that may have been, and, at the end of the entertainment, it was considered quite a joke to inquire of your neighbor if he had had a bushel of enjoyment. THE TRAINING DAYS had a high place among the amusements of those times. In all the different townships companies were formed and officers elected for the State militia. The companies of the entire county formed several regiments, which, together, constituted a brigade, commanded by a general and his staff. There were three regiments in Trumbull County, and, at one time, they were commanded by Col. Wm. Rayen, of Youngstown; Col. Richard Hayes, of Burg- hill; and Col. Wm. Cotgreave, of Warren. On certain days in the year—generally in the Fall—the companies assembled at the county- seat for a grand training. They began to come in early in the morning, and the forenoon was spent by the sub-officers in drilling the men on the Public Square, so that, on formal parade, they might make as good an appearance as possible. The majority of the militia Were without uniforms; but, occasionally, a particularly ambitious or fashionable lot of young men would form themselves into what were * Uncle Tony was the father of Miss " Susan-Susannah-Piney-Penelope-NancyAnna-Maria" Carter. 228 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. known as independent companies, and then would appear in all the splendid trappings of war. While the preparatory drill was going on the general and his staff, with some of the distinguished citizens of the town,' sat in solemn state in the parlor of the hotel and fortified themselves for their approaching duties by drinking whisky ; and the small boys of the town tenaciously hung around the windows to get a glimpse of the great men. About two P. M. the grand parade came off. Then the ladies made an appearance, lending additional brilliancy to the scene. At the appointed time the general and his staff, mounted, rode upon the ground, and reined their prancing steeds before the brigade. They were saluted, and the troops were then reviewed, after which an address was delivered by the general; that is to say, he made the address, if his ability or condition would allow ; if not, he had a substitute, some member of his staff, who commenced, " Your general bids me say." After the address the companies were dispersed, and training day was over. Once a year there was a muster, at which the officers of the different companies and regiments drilled. WARREN IN 1816. The map of Warren in 1816 was prepared, in part, from the recorded plat of Warren, as surveyed in 1801 by Mr. Caleb Palmer, to be found at the Trumbull County Recorder's office, book A, page 115, and in part from a platted survey by Joshua Renshaw, made at an early date, and in the possession of Mr. Henry Perkins. The locations of the buildings were determined by comparing the recollections of a number of the older inhabitants of Warren. We feel particularly indebted to Mr. Henry W. Smith and Mr. Benjamin Stevens for much information in the matter. In 1816 very few of the buildings were new, and, therefore, the map may be considered as correct for even an earlier date; say 1810 or 1812. In the following explanations, which correspond with the numbers although they were originally numbered—Main Street being No. 1, High Street No. 2, Market Street No. 3, South Street No. 4, Liberty Street No. 5. Mahoning Avenue was considered to be only a con- tinuation of No. 1. But neither numbers nor names were often used for many years. As is the case in smaller places to-day, in familiar on the map, the streets are called by names, familiar to us now, MAHONING VALLEY - 229 conversation, localities were known by the names of the persons living in the neighborhood. 1. Mill and dam, built by Lane and Daily in 1802, owned in 1816 by Mr. James L. Van Gorder. 2. The Henry Lane house, now owned and occupied by Mrs. James L. Van Gorder. 3. The house of Mrs. Rowe. 4. House of Mr. Jacob Harsh. 5. House in which, at one time, lived a Mr. M'Farland. 6. House of Gen. Simon Perkins. 7. House built by George Phelps. 8. House and blacksmith-shop of Mr. Reeves. 9. Log house built by Mr. James Scott, and torn down a short time since. For nntny years it was covered up in the Graeter House. 10, House of Dr. John B. Harmon, now occupied by Dr. Julian Harmon. 11. House of Mr. George Parsons; a new house in 1816; now owned and occupied by Mrs. Heman Harmon. 12. The jail, a framed building standing in 1816, or built so soon thereafter that it is with propriety placed on the map. 13. House of Mr. James Scott. 14. House of Mr. David Bell. 15. Cabin of "John Jerrodell." 16, House and office of Judge Pease ; house still stands. 17. House of Mr. Richard Iddings. 18. House of George Mull. (2) 19. House of Mark Wescott. 20. Foundations of the old Western Reserve Bank building. 21. House and store of Asahel Adams; still standing, and long known as the Franklin House. 22. The " Shook" house. 23. House of Mrs. M'Williams. 24. A shop kept by _____, and now standing, but facing on South Street, lately occupied by Mr. Uhl. 25. House of Capt. Oliver Brooks ; still stands. 26. House of Mr. Thomas D. Webb; now occupied by Mrs. Webb. This house was built in 1 807 by Mr. John S. Edwards, and is probably the oldest building in Warren, unless 46 is older. 27. House of Mr. Hake ; still stands ; owned and occupied by Mrs. Southward. 230 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 28. House of Jonathan Rankin. 29. House and tannery (in the rear) of Mr. James Quigley. 30. House of Elihu Spencer. 31. House of Mr. Zebina Weatherbee. 32. House of Mr. Samuel Chesney. 33. A store occupied at one time by Mr. Wm. Bell and Mr. James Quigley. 34. "Castle William" or the Cotgreave house. 35. For many years the site of the first hotel in the place. 36. In 1816, probably a hatter's shop ; afterward a store kept by Judge King. 37. Four stores in which 'Wheeler Lewis, the Quinbys, and the Austins were in business. 38. House of Judge Calvin Austin. 39. House of Tony Carter. 40. House of Mr. Jeduthen Rawdon. 41. The Western Reserve Bank. 42. Little log house, in which Geo. Loveless probably opened the first store in Warren. 43. The Leavitt House; for many years a hotel, and later known as the Walter King place. 44. Building, probably erected by Mr. Adamson Bently, and in which he engaged in mercantile business. From this building the first number of the Trump of Fame, now the Western Reserve Chronicle, was issued in 1812. 45. House in which, in 1816, lived Mr. Jeremiah Brooks. It was built by Mr. Ephraim Quinby during the first Summer he was here; in 1799. Attached to it was the first jail in Trumbull County. In front of it (b) were the corn-cribs, between which the first court was held. 46. House of Judge Francis Freeman; now the eastern end of the. Austin House. 47. Mill and carding machine. This last had just been erected by Levi Hadley, and was sold in this year to Mr. Benj. Stevens 48. House of one Morrow. 49. House of James Ellis. 50. House of Mr. Burnett. 51. House of Mr. Quinby. 52. The " old court-house," then in an unfinished state. a, b, and c are explained on the map. MAHONING VALLEY - 231 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. BENAJAH AUSTIN was born in Suffield, Conn., in 1779, and, after living for some time in Ruport, Vermont, came to the Western Reserve in 1803. He first purchased and occupied the Murberger Farm, and afterward the one now owned by Mr. Harmon Austin. He was County Commissioner at the time the old jail was built, and was Sheriff from 1815 to 1818. He died in February, 1849. CALVIN AUSTIN was probably in Warren in 1800. He was a prominent man, and one of the first Justices of the Peace. He was also Associate Judge. His sons, Seymour and Calvin, were prominent merchants. ASAHEL ADAMS came to Trumbull County in 1807, and to Warren about 1814. He built the old Franklin House, on the corner of Market Street and Park Avenue, where he lived and kept store. Later he built and occupied the Adams Homestead on Mahoning Avenue, and died in October, 1852, aged sixty-five years. His wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Mygatt, still survives him. ADAMSON BENTLY was born in Alleghany County, Pa., July 4, 1785, and at an early age came to Brookfield, Trumbull County. He began life at nineteen years of age as a Baptist preacher, and was settled in Warren in 1810. In addition to his work in the ministry he was a merchant, a cattle-drover, and managed a tavern. He was a director in the Western Reserve Bank, and built a number of houses. About 1820 Mr. Bently became interested in the doctrines advanced by Alexander Campbell, and eventually became one of his followers. He died in November, 1864. CYRUS BOSWORTH was born in Plymouth County, Mass., April 12, 1791, and came to Warren in 1811. He busied himself, at first, in teaching school, but soon was employed as an express messenger between Warren and Pittsburg, and carried to that last-named city the T earliest news of Perry's victory. In 1813 he married Miss Serina Strowbridge, of New England. After his return to Warren, he built the National Hotel, and also engaged in mercantile business in a framed building standing south of the hotel, and afterward well known as "Stiles's Store." He attempted to start a distillery on Red Run, where it Lis crossed by Woodland Street, but the enterprise soon failed. Later, he purchased and occupied a farm in Lordstown, on 232 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. Canfield Road. Having lost his first wife, he married again to Miss Sarah C. Case, a sister of the late Leonard Case, of Cleveland. He was for many years prominent as a worker in the interests of the Disciple Church. He also held the offices of Sheriff and Represents. tive. His death occurred in Warren, April 4, 1861. DAVID BELL occupied a farm and house where the Jacob Per.. kins place is, on the Bazetta Road, near Red Run. He came to Warren probably previous to 1808, and was from Ireland. CAPTAIN OLIVER BROOKS came from New Jersey, and occupied the old Brooks Homestead, on South Street. LEONARD CASE was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., July 29, 1786, and died in Cleveland, December 7, 1864. Mr. Case came to the Western Reserve from Washington County, Pa., where his parents had been living, in 1800. In 1801 he was prostrated with violent inflammation in his lower limbs, caused by chasing cattle through the Mahoning River when he was overheated. He was confined to his bed a long time, and never entirely regained his strength. When he was recovering from the long illness that ensued, he cultivated his love of study, and in a great measure educated himself. He held during his life many offices of trust, all of which he filled with credit. Removing to Cleveland in 1816, he was afterward identified with that city, acquiring great wealth by judicious investments in real estate. At the time of his death he was the richest man in Northern Ohio. SAMUEL CHESNEY was born in Mifflin, Juniata County, Penn., April 18, 1778. He came to the Reserve in 1803, having previously taught school near Pittsburg. He for many years held the office of deputy postmaster, and was elected Justice of the Peace a number of years in succession, until he declined to serve. His death occurred May 5, 1866. WILLIAM W. COTGREAVE was in Warren as early as 1807. Ile was one of the active men of the place, and'a major in the war of 1812; but he seems to be best known through the number of buildings that he erected, conspicuous among which was a large house, standing upon what is now known as the Van Gorder property, and sometimes called "Castle William." He married a daughter of John Reed, and finally, removing to Mansfield, Ohio, died there. MAHONING VALLEY - 233 The following biographical sketch of John Stark Edwards is from the pen of William J. Edwards, Esq., of Youngstown : JOHN STARK EDWARDS came to Ohio in the Spring of the year 1799. He was a graduate of Princeton College, New Jersey, studied law at New Haven, attending the lectures of Judge Reeve at the celebrated law school at Litchfield, Conn. After having completed his studies he was admitted to the practice of law at New Haven, l‘farch, 1799, being then in the twenty-second year of his age. As his father, the Hon. Pierpont Edwards, had become, in the distribution of the lands of the Connecticut Land Company, proprietor of the township of Mesopotamia, to that point Mr. Edwards directed his steps and took measures to open a settlement. What other persons preceded him or went with him, or how long he stayed, or what he accomplished, I am not informed, but I have understood he was specially glad when he got a few trees cut down to let in the sun. He had the usual experiences of the time. Of course, every thing was crude. I know of no incident but only of his first night in Warren, to which he referred in after times with amusement. The place was the floor of a cabin, crowded with emigrants, and somewhat promiscuous. In the Fall of the year he returned to New Haven, where he spent the Winter. I here insert the first letter written to him by his father, as showing the interest of his friends in his enterprise. The letter is addressed to John Stark Edwards, Esq., at Meadville, County of Alleghany, State of Pennsylvania, to the care of Messrs. Denny & Beeler, Pittsburg: " NEW HAVEN, July 9, 1799, "MY DEAR SON,—Yours of the 9th of last month to me, and of the 14th of the same month to Henry, arrived this day while we were at dinner. Had you been present to witness the joy which they caused you would have possessed a new proof of the interest which we all have in your happiness. This joy was not confined to your relatives, the servants seemed to be as deeply affected as any of us, and this moment I hear Tom bawling to Eli, 'Master Stark 's slept in the woods in the open air all night.' "All accounts from the Reserve are of a most flattering kind. Caleb Atwater and Uriel Holmes, Esq., have written letters which have raised our spirits very -much. I beseech you to spare no cost in getting letters to us very often. I sent for Mr. Mills and Dr. Clark to Peruse your letters; both, are very much elated with what you have written. . . . No domestic occurrence of importance has necticut, but my authority is not to be doubted." He spent the Winter of 1800 and 1801 in New Haven. June 21, 1801, he writes from Mesopotamia : “While writing this I am seated in a log house, on an ash bench, and by the side of a white-oak table, all, fortunately, clean, which I or, under the necessity of using for want of better; but I know not but that my ideas flow as easily, and that my spirits are as good as if they were better; but this would not be the case if it were not for hope, which ' springs, eternal, in the human breast." Man never is, but always to be, blest.' This hope is our sole support, it is our life; if it were not, our situation would be deplorable indeed; but at present, with a rapidly settling country, and still more rapid increase of property, the people are happy and contented. I found my settlement in a prosperous situation. Another year and it will be able to support itself and have no more occasion for my fostering care, a time which I most earnestly hope for." In this letter he speaks of meeting Mrs. Tod and others at Pittsburg—Mrs. Tod in fine spirits. In July, 1801, he writes to his father, "Mr. Noyes arrived in Mesopotamia, with.his family, on the 6th of July, all in good health and spirits. He is much pleased with the land chosen for his farm, and immediately set the boys at work. The settlement is generally doing well. Mr. Sperry is reaping his wheat. His son passed this yesterday on his way to mill with senn"heat. His crop has turned out well; his corn looks promising. I am now living with Mr. Noyes in my own house in the center of the town. In August, 1801, to his sister: "My settlement is doing finely. We this day have had a lecture delivered by a clergyman. There were about forty people present. Every part of our country is rapidly increasing in numbers. You can have no idea what pleasure is derived from the improvements that are daily making ; every day brings a new inhabitant ; a neighbor opens a new road, raises a new house, or begins a new farm. Indeed, the Scripture is fulfilled when it says, the wilderness shall be made to blossom as the rose.' Our country does literally flow with honey. Bees are, beyond calculation, numerous. Go into a corn-field in blossom and you are stunned with their noise. Trees of them are found in every direction. The rich variety of flowers which our woods afford it would give you pleasure to see. Mrs. Huntington's, Mrs. Tod's, and Mr. Noyes's families were 234 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. taken place. Mrs. Jonathan Mix, a very valuable woman, died a week ago. "Our independence has been brilliant and felicitous. Your enter, prise has done you infinite credit, not only among your acquaintances, but among all who have heard of it. I do not believe that you could have done any act which would, at a stroke, have made you so important in the eyes of the world, as your going to the Reserve. An ascribe to you that firmness, enterprise, ambition, and perseverance, which must in a few years make you be considered as the father of that country; indeed, predictions of your future greatness are already uttered by all our oracular people. You may assure, yourself that nothing which you may reasonably hope from the general government which respects that country will be denied you. That you may be happy is the wish of all your friends; all, all who know you are of that number. Your mother and all the family join me in every wish for your felicity. We all love you. "Your affectionate father, PIERPONT EDWARDS. "JOHN STARK EDWARDS, ESQ." The settlers and pioneers of the early day were unquestionably men and women of great enterprise, resolution, and courage to break away from the conveniences and comforts of settled life in old established communities, and to go many hundred miles beyond the bounds of civilization to enter upon all the hardships and privations of a new and heavily wooded country, where it was only " fresh, untouched, unbounded, magnificent wilderness." Many of these were of marked character and individuality. With such was Mr. Edwards associated in the early labors to found a civilized community and cultivated life in these western wilds. In July of 1800 he was commissioned, by Governor St. Clair, Recorder of Trumbull County, which office he held till his death in 1813. He made Mesopotamia the place of his residence until 1801. In a letter to his sister, Mrs. Johnson, of Stratford, Conn., dated July 26, 1800, he speaks of his trip to Cincinnati: "The route leads through a new country ; 'o'f course, the accommodations are very indifferent; my blanket and the softest plank that I could find in the floor were generally my bed and bedding." He speaks of the country between the Muskingum and the Scioto as being "excellent; perhaps the sun never shone on a better. Corn, which is at present the principal product of the country, is raised in great abundance. It is frequent to raise one hundred bushels to the acre, and sixty or seventy bushels is a common crop. There is, in MAHONING VALLEY - 235 one field upon the Scioto, about six miles below Chillicothe, twelve hundred acres in corn. This would be considered wonderful in Connecticut, but my authority is not to be doubted." He spent the Winter of 1800 and 1801 in New Haven. June 21,1801, he writes from Mesopotamia: "While writing this I am seated in a log house, on an ash bench, by the side of a white-oak table, all, fortunately, clean, which I under the necessity of using for want of better; but I know not t that my ideas flow as easily, and that my spirits are as good as if they were better; but this would not be the case if it were not for pc, which springs, eternal, in the human breast.' Man never is, t always to be, blest.' This hope is our sole support, it is our life; t were not, our situation would be deplorable indeed ; but at prest, with a rapidly settling country, and still more rapid increase of perty, the people are happy and contented. I found my settlement in a prosperous situation. Another year and it will be able to support itself and have no more occasion for my fostering care, a time eh I most earnestly hope for." In this letter he speaks of meeting Mrs. Tod and others at Pittsburg—Mrs. Tod in fine spirits. In July, 1801, he writes to his her, "Mr. Noyes arrived in Mesopotamia, with, his family, on the of July, all in good health and spirits. He is much pleased th the land chosen for his farm, and immediately set the boys at rk, The settlement is generally doing well. Mr. Sperry is reaping his wheat. His son passed this yesterday on his way to mill with somewhat. His crop has turned out well ; his corn looks promising. I am now living with Mr. Noyes in my own house in the center of the town." In August, 1801, to his sister: "My settlement is doing finely. We this day have had a lecture delivered by a clergyman. There were about forty people present. Every part of our country is rapidly increasing in numbers. You can have no idea what pleasure is derived from the improvements that are daily making ; every day brings a new inhabitant ; a neighbor opens a new road, raises a new house, or begins a new farm. Indeed, the Scripture is fulfilled when it says, ‘the wilderness shall be made to blossom as the rose.' Our country does literally flow with honey. Bees are, beyond calculation, numerous. Go into a corn-field in blossom and you are stunned with their noise. Trees of them are found in every direction. The rich variety of flowers which our woods afford it would give you pleasure to see. "Mrs. Huntington's, Mrs. 'Pod's, and Mr. Noyes's families were 236 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. very fortunate in their journeys. They were short, and were accident or incident. All are in good health and spirits." In October, 1801, to his sister : "I have, at times, thought that I made too great a sacrifice in making this country the place of residence and in tearing myself from my family and friends, but I feel that it is a sacrifice made in the place of others still greater. it is a sacrifice made to pride and ambition." In this letter he directs letters to him to be sent to "Warren, Trumbull County, North-western Territory." To his sister, visiting at Fayetteville, North Carolina, January II, 1802, he writes from Youngstown : "I am now with Mrs. Tod, who is in fine health and spirits, and continues well pleased with her prospects and situation. Our Winter has, as yet, been fine and pleasant. We have had but little snow or cold. Mrs. Huntington, when I last heard from her, was in good health and spirits. She lives at Cleveland." From Mesopotamia, to his sister at Stratford, Connecticut, June 7, 1802: "Your description of the furniture of your house at the mills" (which her husband had been erecting in North Carolina) "perfectly coincides with what mine was the first Summer ; but I have now so far improved, in one respect, to be beyond you. I have a large, cross-legged table of white wood, and chairs enough for all the family to sit on, and one for a stranger, if he chances to visit me. In one respect you have improved beyond me, for you have a separate room to cook in, while we cook, eat, drink, and sleep in the same apartment. Your experience will doubtless teach you that food tastes as well, and that sleep is as sweet, in a.log as in a framed house. It is not quite so convenient, and our pride is not so well gratified; but, from not possessing much of the latter, and for the present submitting to the former, I make my situation very comfortable. Our friends, Tod and Huntington, are doing well. Mrs. Noyes died of the consumption, four weeks last Friday.* Mr. Noyes will return to Connecticut with his family this Fall. I have never attempted to persuade him from it, for I believe it best. Mrs. Hunting:ton and Mrs. Tod are well. I shall visit the former next week, when I expect to see the latter." July 28, 1802, to his brother-in-law, Samuel W. Johnson: "Yours of the 27th I have received. I feel much indebted to you and DIY sister for your kind congratulations of me on the advances of my * Probably the earliest death on the Reserve. MAHONING VALLEY - 237 country in population and wealth. Though nature has not endowed me with a very strong imagination, yet I often experience much real pleasure in contemplating the future greatness of this flourishing and rising country. I can behold cities rising which shall equal in populousness and splendor those of the Atlantic States, a rich, well improved, and highly cultivated country, and as great a share of luxuries, and enjoyments of life as are necessary for our happiness. He since I have been acquainted with the country, have the emigrations been so great as they have the present season. My situation, in some respects, is unpleasant ; but future prospects make me contented. My farming is doing well. I have six acres of first-rate corn, and shall put in twelve acres of wheat, six of which will be sowed by the 1st of September, and the remainder by the 1st of October. I am fearful that I shall get too much attached to my present life, unless I quit it soon. I grow daily more fond of it. Friend Noyes works like a hero ; it comes hard, but lie bears it like a soldier. He has cleared, since he came into the country, as much as any man in town. He bears the loss of his wife extremely well; but in the loss of her he has lost his guide. He was, for a time, entirely unhinged." The following is a part of the letter to which the foregoing was an answer : "Your good sister requests me to acknowledge the receipt of yours of the —, and to congratulate you on the regular advances of your country in population and wealth. She repines at the necessity of your seclusion from the society of all your nearest connections, and can only console herself with the hope that your residence in so retired a country will eventually be compensated by a rapid advance- ment in the dignities of life. We trust that the forming the North- western Territory into a State will be beneficial to your interest, and that, as you grow with its growth, we shall, in due season, see you descending the waters and crossing the mountains to advocate your Country's interest at Washington. We wish you success in all your Political as well as other undertakings, and trust that the more sacrifices you now submit to the more amply you will hereafter be repaid by the felicity of domestic and the honor of public life." He writes from Warren, on his return from Connecticut, April 21, 1803: "I arrived in M the 12th inst., in good health, found my affairs in as good a situation as I expected. I was fortunate in having good weather and roads. My horse stood his journey very 238 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. well, lost but little flesh, and every thing turned out according my wishes. "I saw at anchor, opposite Pittsburg, a ship of two hundred and eighty tons, ready for sea, with one thousand nine hundred barrels of flour on board—a sight somewhat curious two thousand two died miles up a river above tide water. This is a business of which there will probably be a vast deal done on the Ohio and its branches. "I am heartily tired of living alone. I must and am determined I will be married. You must look me up a wife. Things are likely to take such a course as will give us a tolerable society in this place where I must eventually settle down." "Mesopotamia, July 14, 1803. I was at Warren on the Fourth of July, where I attended a ball:. You may judge of my surprise at meeting a very considerable company, all of whom were well dressed with neatness and in fashion, some of them, elegantly. The ladies generally dressed well; some of them would have been admired for their ease and grace in a New Haven ball-room. It was held on the same spot of ground where, four years since, there was scarcely the trace of human hand, or anywhere within fifteen miles of it. We improved well the occasion; began at two o'clock in the afternoon of Monday, and left the room a little before sunrise on Tuesday morning. We dance but seldom, which is our apology." "Warren, September 29, 1803. Our country is improving, as usual, and I begin to feel more flattered than ever with my prospects. With a little patience things will do well. Business of all kinds is rapidly increasing. I have obtained the appointment of Recorder in spite of very considerable opposition. "On Thursday next there will be a ball in the neighborhood. have been invited, but shall not do myself the honor to attend. Great preparations are making for the occasion by the gentlemen and ladies. The company will be collected from the distance of from ten to twenty miles, principally. Some of the beaux will ride sixty miles to get their girls to the place of meeting. Must not this be enjoyment ! "Mesopotamia, February 4, 1804. We have' been, as it were, for about six weeks shut out from the world, during' the greater part of which time the snow has been from two to three feet deep, and the creeks and rivers almost impassable. Our mails have been very irregular. "As to myself, who am ever the first person in letters to my friends/ things pass on as usual. I live as formerly, but, having a stiller house and my business better arranged, am able to pay more atten MAHONING VALLEY - 239 tion to my books, and have, for the last six months, spent all my leisure time at them, and shall continue so to do. Law business is generally very much increasing, and my share of it in particular. Though I live very much out of the way of business, I commenced for the coming court as many suits as either of my brethren. I have not as yet removed to Warren, but still have it in contemplation. Our country is rapidly improving. The prospects of the settlement about me begin to brighten. Next Spring we elect our militia officers from a Brigadier-general down. The public mind begins to be considerably awakened at its near approach, and there will be a vast deal of heart-burning. As I shall seek for no promotion in that line, and of course shall not receive any, I shall remain an idle spectator of the scene." "Warren, March 9, 1805. A few days since I returned from Chillicothe, after an absence of more than three months. I have not since my return visited Mesopotamia, but learn that all things are well. During my absence a grist-mill has been started in the town, which, I am told, does business to advantage. My object in going to Chillicothe was to obtain a division (in opposition to the representatives of our county) of the county of Trumbull. I obtained my division in the House of Representatives in spite of opposition, two votes to one. By the Senate it was deferred to the next session." His home, at this time, was with General Perkins. "June 15, 1805. The business of my profession alone is sufficient to support me handsomely, independent of my Recordership, and I have the 45atisfaction to believe that mine is the best of any of my brethren. Mr. Tod has lately been appointed Colonel of the militia." In the Autumn of the year 1805 Mr. Edwards made a trip to New England, and on suggestion of his brother made an excursion into Vermont to see the young lady who subsequently became his wife. March 17, 1806, he writes to his sister : "Father's land in this country is generally good, but at present will not sell very rapidly, being considerably removed from the old but and from those parts of this country that are most settled, but I hope the time is not far distant when it will come into market. The emigration into our country is great, but, as it is extensive, all can not be immediately sold. The settlements were at first begun in almost every part, but the greatest was in the south-east corner, and they have been constantly extending themselves from that quarter to the north, the west, and the north-west. To get to Mesopotamia it 240 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. has been necessary to go fifteen miles through the woods over a very bad road. From this you will perceive that the settlements could net be very rapid in that town." "Warren, July 7, 1806. We are but just well through the Fourth of July. It was celebrated at Warren with great splendor. About one hundred citizens of Trumbull sat down to a superb dinner provided for the occasion. Seventeen toasts were drunk in flowing bumpers of wine under a discharge of firearms. The whole was concluded with a feu-de-joie and a procession. The greatesf harmony and hilarity prevailed throughout the day. In the evening we attended a splendid ball, at which were present about thirty couple. You would have been surprised at the elegance and taste displayed on the occasion, recollecting that within seven years, upon the same spot of ground, the only retreat from the heavens was a miserable log house, sixteen feet square, in which I was obliged to take my lodging upon the floor, wrapped up in my blanket. But, farther, not satisfied with dancing one evening, we assembled again on the fifth and had a very agreeable and pleasant ball. Before we dined, on the Fourth, we had an oration. So much for New Connecticut. Do you now think we live in the woods, or is it surprising that we forget that we do The emigrations into this part of the country have been very large this Spring. Mr. Tod is made Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio." In the Fall of the year 1806 Mr. Edwards returned to New England and spent the Winter. February 28, 1807, he was married at Springfield, Vermont, to Miss Louisa Maria Morris, daughter of General Lewis R. Morris, of that place; and in the Spring of the year returned to Ohio, bringing with him his wife. They made their home with General and Mrs. Perkins until he had prepared his own dwelling, which was in the south-east part of the village, and subsequently became the residence of Hon. Thomas D. Webb. Here he spent a few years of happiness. Here were born to him three sons, two of whom died soon after his own death; the third and youngest being the writer of these pages. I give another extract or two as indicative of Mr. Edward's standing professionally : "October 17, 1808. I had no idea that so liing a time had elapsed since writing to you as you state. The multiplicity of my employments and the constant attention which I am under the necessity of giving to business leaves me but little leisure, and months pass awaY with a rapidity heretofore unknown. . . . Of my lot in life I have every reason to be satisfied. In my profession am very successful, having much the largest share of the business within the circuit of it. MAHONING VALLEY - 241 Have surmounted the inconveniences of a new country so far as to be able to live as well as in any country." "January 22, 1810. I have every success in my profession which I hate any right to expect. . . . I am able to do considerably more than support my family, and the style of my living is equal to that of any of the people about me. I am not in the way of the honors of office; and whether I could gain them it I wished, I do not know, having never made the experiment, believing my present situation of any of the offices of our State Government. "During the last Summer I have made considerable addition to my house. * It is now forty-eight by thirty-three on the ground. Upon the lower floor I have two front rooms seventeen by eighteen, a large kitchen, small bedroom adjoining, and one bedroom occupied by Mrs. Edwards and myself, with a fire-place. It communicates with one of the front rooms and the kitchen, and has a plentiful supply of closets." In 1810-11 Mr. Edwards and his brother, Ogden, having purchased from their father the Put-in-Bay Islands, undertook the improvement, and the stocking of the same with sheep, having caught the prevailing epidemic of the time—the sheep fever, induced by the importation of Spanish merino sheep into New England by Col. David Humphreys, Minister to Spain. In the year 1811 they had one hundred and fifty sheep, and about four hundred hogs of all descriptions on the islands. The enterprise seemed promising, as he says, in the eyes of judicious men, but the disturbances on the frontier, caused by the war of 1812, and his death in the early part of 1813 brought the project to an end with considerable losses. In March, 1811, he was commissioned Colonel, Commandant of the Second Regiment, Third Brigade, Fourth Division of the Ohio Militia. On the receipt of the news of the surrender of Gen. Hull at Detroit, August 15, 1812, he with others made strenuous endeavors to put the country in a state of defense, a general and great alarm being felt, as by that surrender the whole country lay exposed to all the dangers of invasion, dread of Indian plunderings and massacres being prevalent. He marched with a portion of his regiment to Cleveland. While there new arrangements were made by the military authorities, and * Now belonging to Mrs. T. D. Webb. 242 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. his services as an officer not being longer required, he returned home. In the October election for members of Congress, Mr. Edwards was elected to represent the Sixth District, being the first congressional election after the division of the State into districts. Gen. Beall, of Wooster, was the opposing candidate. The district comprised the counties of Trumbull, Ashtabula, Geauga, Cuyahoga, Portage, Columbiana, Stark, Tuscarawas, Wayne, Knox, and Richland. He did not live to take his seat. In the month of January, 1813, he left home with the intention of going to the islands to see if any . property had escaped destruction. Mr. George Parsons and Mr. William Bell (then a merchant at Warren, afterwards at Pittsburg) went with him. (Mr. Bell had married, some time before, Miss Margaret Dwight, a cousin of Mrs. Edwards, who had come from New England to make her home with Mrs. Edwards. He was a man of great worth, genial and gentlemanly.) They got as far as Lower Sandusky, but a thaw coming on, they thought it prudent to return. On the 24th they set out for home. The streams had risen, and in crossing one they all got wet. Mr. Edwards was taken that night with vomiting and violent pain in the side. The cabin in which they were, was most miserable. The snow came in from every direction. They, however, had a number of blankets with them, which they hung round him, and secured him as well as possible from the storm. He was bled the next morning, which greatly relieved him. They then removed him about a mile and a half to a place where he could be comfortable. The waters were so high they could riot move in any direction. When Mr. Bell left for home it was at the hazard of his life. Mr. Edwards was then apparently better. Mrs. Edwards was in hourly expectation of seeing him, when Mr. Bell returned and gave information of his illness. It was not imagined that he was dangerously ill, but they thought it best for Dr. Seeley, in whom all had most confidence, to go out. Dr. Seeley was living about four miles from town; he came in d. little after dark. Mrs. Edwards describes her feelings as most gloomy, yet not apprehending what was to happen. Commending her sleeping little ones to their Maker, she went forth hoping to nurse, comfort, and restore her husband. They left Warren about eight o'clock. The night was dark; the flood excessive ; the traveling bad, in many places dangerous. They, however, proceeded about nine miles, and then stopped a few hours. MAHONING VALLEY - 243 Setting out again before day-break, they had got about forty-five miles from Warren when they met the sleigh bearing the dead body of Mr. Edwards . . . . Mr. Parsons alone was with it. They were then fourteen miles from a house, just before sundown, in a snow-storm, and they were obliged to return that distance to get even the shelter of a cabin. For four hours after dark was that coffin followed. They reached home on Monday afternoon at three o'clock. Mr. Parsons's account of his death was, that about fifteen minutes before he died, Mr. Edwards got up and walked, and then sat down, saying he thought next morning he should be able to set out for home. Mr. Parsons turned from him; in a moment he heard him choking; he turned again and saw him falling. When placed again upon the but could not. He struggled not, gasped once or twice, then closed his eyes and ceased to live. This was on the 22d of February. He was bed, he grasped Mr. Parsons's hand, moved his lips as if to speak, then in the thirty-sixth year of his age. His remains were deposited in the old grave-yard of the village of Warren, and a monument, such as deep affection would suggest, was placed over his grave. In later times this monument, by the same affection, was replaced by one more substantial. Mr. Edwards is described as "a man of fine appearance, in stature about six feet, stoutly built, of a florid complexion and commanding presence." In 1860 Hon. John Crowell, of Cleveland, gave to the public a sketch of the life and character of John Starke Edwards as a member of the bar in the Third Judicial Circuit. It is believed to be a just estimate of him as a man, a lawyer, and a citizen. He accords to him the highest traits and all that could recommend him to the esteem of his associates and acquaintances, and to the warmest regards of his relatives and friends. His death was deeply felt, and, in the language of Judge Crowell, "shed a sadness and gloom over the whole country." WILLIAM J. EDWARDS. JOAN ECKMAN was born in Lancaster County, Penn., March 24, 1789. In 1802 he came to the Reserve from Fayette County, Penn., with his father, a gunsmith. Although they settled in Weathersfield Township, Eckman was always, more or less, in Warren. He helped to build the furnace on the old Eaton place, and speaks of having seen the first bar of iron manufactured there. Adam Victory, of Pittsburg, 244 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. was the hammer-man. Mr. Eckman is still living (1876), at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. THE FUSSELMANS came early, and lived many years on what is known as the Fusselinan farm—one of the earliest settled farms in Trumbull County. HENRY HARSH came to Warren in 1801, and purchased and built a house and blacksmith-shop upon the lot now occupied by Adams's book-store. Mr. Harsh was one of the first blacksmiths in Trumbull County. He died June 5, 1828. FRANCIS FREEMAN was born in Dutchess County, New York, June 8, 1779, and died at Warren September 8, 1855. Mr. Freeman came to the Reserve in 1803, and settled upon a farm in Braceville, which was afterward transferred to his brother. In 1804 he located permanently at Warren. Mr. Freeman was Treasurer of Trumbull County for a number of years, and was also Associate Judge for seven years. His name also appears in the list of original directors of the Western Reserve Bank. DR. JOHN B. HARMON was born in Rupert, Bennington County, Vermont, October 19, 1780. He came to this country with his father, Reuben Harmon, who, locating at the Salt Springs, it is said, in 1797, attempted the manufacture of salt. Mr. Reuben Harmon removed his family to the Reserve in 1800, and died in August of that year. Young Harmon studied medicine in his sixteenth year with his brother-in law, Dr. Blackmer, in Rupert, Vermont, and, after his father's death, with Dr. Leavitt, who farmed and doctored on the Reserve at a very early day. After a' few years' practice in -Warren, Dr. Harmon spent some time in Vermont again, studying with Dr. Blackmer; but, eventually, he returned to Warren. He was, at least, the first physician who practiced regularly in this place. In 1812 he was in the war as a surgeon of the Second Regiment of Ohio Militia, under the command of Col. W. W. Cotgreave, and was present at the attack on Fort Mackinaw. Dr. .Harmon was highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens, and his reputation as a physician was very extensive. He died in February, 1858. LEVI HADLEY, who came to Warren in 1815, and followed the business of a wool-carder and hotel-keeper, soon left and became a judge in the Sangamon country, in Illinois. Later, he committed suicide by jumping from a steamboat into the Mississippi River. MAHONING VALLEY - 245 RICHARD IDDINGS was born in Berks County, Penn., August 18, 1786. He came to Warren in September, 1805, but returned to Reading in 1808, where, in January, 1809, he married Miss Justina Lewis. In February he started for the Reserve with his wife, and reached. Warren April 20th. He was in the War of 1812, and was afterward chosen Major in the militia. He was elected to the Legislature in 1830-31. His death took place March 26, 1872. At his golden wedding, in 1859, Mr. Iddings gave the following description of his trip to the Reserve with his wife: "I first came to Warren in September, 1805, and remained here until the Fall of 1808, when I returned to Berks County, my native I married Miss Justina Lewis, at Reading, Penn., on the Peviaecnei.ng of the 15th of January, 1809, at eight o'clock—just fifty years ago. On the 8th of February we started for Ohio in a two-horse sleigh, with our household furniture, for which there was plenty of room. When we reached the top of the Alleghany Mountains the snow was four feet deep ; but we learned there was no snow at the foot the mountain, nor westward to Ohio. Therefore, we went to the house of an uncle to my wife, who resided in Fayette County, some twelve miles from Brownsville. Leaving her, the sleigh, and one horse, I proceeded to this place on horseback. Here I hired a canoe, and, engaging Mr. Henry Harsh to asssist me, I went down the Mahoning and Beaver Rivers to 13eavertown, and up the Ohio and Monongahela to Brownsville. Taking my wife and a few household fixings on board, we floated down to Pittsburg, where I purchased a barrel of flour, and went on to Warren. The weather was quite cold, and the settlers few and scattering. Some nights we lodged in houses near the river, and sometimes on its bank, without shelter. Sometimes we had plenty to eat, and sometimes we went without food for a whole day. We were two days getting over the falls of Beaver River. Mr. Harsh and myself were most of the time in the water (frequently up to our waists), pulling up the empty canoe, while my Wife sat on the shore watching the goods which we had landed. At the mill-dams on the Mahoning the same process was repeated. We reached Warren on the 20th day of April, having been twenty-one days coming from Brownsville." LEICESTER KING* was born May 1, 1789, at Suffield, Conn. He Married, October 12, 1814, Julia Ann Huntington, daughter of Hon. * Furnished by D. L. King, of Akron. 246 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. Hezekiah Huntington, of Hartford, Conn., and died at North Bloom, field, Trumbull County, 0., September 19, 1856, at the residence of his son-in-law, Charles Brown. Mr. King removed from Westfield, Mass., where he was engaged in the mercantile business for a few years, to Warren, Ohio, in 1817, where he continued the same business until 1833. At that time, be, coming interested in the project of building the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, he abandoned mercantile life, and devoted the most of his time to forwarding that enterprise ; and it was mainly through his energy and labor that it was finally constructed—he being for a long time the president of the company. He filled the position of Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and represented the Trumbull District for two successive sessions (1835-39) in the State Senate. He was a decided Abolitionist, although elected as a Whig, and at each session persistently introduced and advocated a bill to repeal the infamous " Black Laws" which then disgraced our statute- books. After the spirited Presidential contest of 1840 he identified himself with the few who organized the Liberty party, and was the first candidate for Governor nominated by that party in 1842 ; and he was renominated in 1844. As the champion of that forlorn hope he thoroughly canvassed the State, discussing its platform of principles in every county and in almost every school district. He was President of the first United States Liberty Party Convention, held in Buffalo in 1844, which put in nomination James G. Birney as candidate for President, and Thomas Morris as Vice-President of the United States. In 1847 Mr. King was the nominee for Vice-President, with John P. Hale for President ; both, however, afterward declined the nomination in favor of Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams as candidates of the Free-soil party—the Liberty party thereafter being merged into this new party of antislavery principles. After the death of Mrs. King, January 24, 1849, Mr. King withdrew from politics, although he continued, until the day of his death, a warm advocate of the principles for which he had declined all political preferment and personal position from the old Whig party. The earnest zeal with which lie sowed the seed through the State of Ohio required but a few years to bring forth an abundant harvest of right sentiments, and had its due share in the successful contest for human rights, which resulted in placing Abraham Lincoln in the Executive chair in 1861. MAHONING VALLEY - 247 ____ MOSSMAN kept a tavern in a house which stood opposite the Geo. Van Gorder, and which was known as present residence of Mr. the " Button Place." CALVIN PEASE was born at Suffield, Conn., September 9, 1776, and married Laura G. Risley, daughter of Benjamin Risley, June 22, 1804. Soon after his admission to the bar in his native State he emigrated to Ohio, then a Territory, where he sustained the hardships incident to pioneer life, and rose to distinction among his fellow-citizens. He was appointed prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas and Quarterly Sessions for the county of Trumbull, under the Territorial Government, in the year 1800, which office he held for two or three years, and, on the admission of the State of Ohio into the Union, in 1803, he was appointed President Judge of the circuit, which, at that time, embraced a large section of the eastern portion of the State. In 1810 he resigned this office, and continued in practice at the bar till the year 1816. During this interval, in the Fall of 1812, he was elected a Senator to the State Legislature. In 1816 he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court, and, having been reelected in 1823, continued in this office till 1830, being a period of fourteen years, during a part of which time he was Chief-Judge of the Supreme Court. After leaving the bench he resumed practice at the bar. For a few of the last years of his life he felt admonished, by increasing infirmities of age, to retire from active business to the enjoyment of private life. He died at his residence, Warren, Ohio, September 17, 1839. EDWARD POTTER, born September 20, 1793, came to Youngstown May 11, 1798, and learned his trade of Richard Young, a celebrated chair-maker. He came to Warren in 1817, and (1876) has occupied his present residence since 1828. GEORGE PARSONS was born in Enfield, Conn., in 1781, on the 9th of April. Ile came to Warren in 1803, June 3d. In the Fall of that Year he took a school for the Winter. It was the first school in Warren. In time he became one of the most prominent citizens in the Place. He was appointed Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in 1806, and held that office until 1838, a period of thirty-two years. In 1838 he was chosen President of the Western Reserve Bank, an office which he filled with honor until his retirement in 1863. During twenty-two years he was Clerk of the Supreme Court. He died August 20, 1865. 248 - HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. SIMON PERKINS* was born at Norwich, Conn., on the 17th September, 1771. His father was a captain in the army of the Revolution, and died in camp. He emigrated to Oswego, New York, in 1795, where he spent three years in extensive land operations. A portion of the " Western Reserve" in Ohio having been sold by the State of Connecticut, the new proprietors invited Mr. Perkins to explore the domain and report a plan for the sale and settlement of the lands. He went to Ohio for that purpose in the Spring of 1798. ne spent the Summer there in the performance of the duties of his agency, and returned to Connecticut in the Autumn. This excursion and these duties were repeated by him for several successive Summers. He married in 1804, and settled on the "Reserve, at Warren. So extensive were the land agencies intrusted to him that in 1815 the State land tax paid by him into the public treasury was one-seventh of the entire revenue of the State. Mr. Perkins was the first postmaster on the "Reserve," and to him the Postmaster-General intrusted the arrangement of post-offices in that region. For twenty-eight years he received and merited the confidence of the department and the people. At the request of the Government in 1807, he established expresses through the Indian country to Detroit. His efforts led to the treaty of Brownsville, in the Autumn of 1808, when the Indians ceded lands for a road from the "Reserve" to the Maumee or Miami of the Lakes. In May of that year he was commissioned a Brigadier-General of militia, in the division commanded by Major-General Wadsworth. On hearing of the disaster to Hulls's army at Detroit, he issued orders to his colonels to prepare their regiments for active duty. To him was assigned the duty of protecting a large portion of the North-western frontier. "To the care of Brigadier-General Simon Perkins I commit you," said Wadsworth on parting with the troops of the Reserve, "who will be your commander and your friend. In his integrity, skill, and courage we all have the utmost confidence." lie was exceedingly active. His scouts were out far and near continually. His public accounts were kept with the greatest clearness and accuracy for more than forty years. "No two officers in the public service at that time," testifies the Hon. Elisha Whatlesey, "were more energetic or economical than Generals Harrison and Perkins." * From Lossing's Field Book of the War of 1812. MAHONING VALLEY - 249 When, in 1813, General Harrison was sufficiently re-enforced to dis- ease with Perkins's command, he left the service (February 28, Poo), bearing the highest encomiums of the Commander-in-Chief of the army of the North-west. President Madison, at the suggestion of Harrison and others, sent him the commission of colonel in the regular army, but duty to his wily and the demands of a greatly increasing business caused him to decline it. General Perkins was intrusted with the arrangement and execution, at the head of a commission, of the extensive canal system of Ohio. From 1826 until 1838 he was an active member of the "Board of Canal Fund Commissioners." They were under no bonds and received no pecuniary reward. In the course of about seven years they issued and sold State bonds for the public improvements, to the amount of four and a half millions of dollars. Among the remarkable men who settled the "Western Reserve" General Simon Perkins ever held one of the most conspicuous places, and his influence in social and moral life is felt in that region to this day. He died at Warren, Ohio, on the 19th of November, 1844. His widow long survived him. She died at the same place, April, 1862. JACOB PERKINS was born at Warren, September 1, 1822, being next to the youngest of the children of General Simon Perkins. In his early years Jacob Perkins developed a strong inclination for study, acquiring knowledge with unusual facility and gratifying his intense passion for reading useful works by every means within his power. He commenced fitting himself for college at the Burton Academy, then under the direction of Mr. H. L. Hitchcock, afterward President of the Western Reserve College, and completed his preparation at Middletown, Conn., in the school of Isaac Webb. He entered Yale College in 1837. While in college he was distinguished for the elegance of his style and the wide range of his literary acquirements. He delivered the Philosophic Oration at his junior exhibition, and was chosen second editor of "Yale Literary Magazine," a position in which he took great interest, and filled to the satisfaction and pride of his class. His college course was, however, interrupted by a long and severe illness before the close of his junior Year, which compelled him to leave his studies and (to his permanent regret) prevented him from graduating with his own class. he returned the following year and was graduated with the class of 1842.