594 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY

CHAPTER XIX.*

WESTFIELD TOWNSHIP--SAVAGE AND CIVILIZED LIFE ON CAMPBELL'S CREEK—TWO FAMOUS
TRIALS—OHIO FARMERS' INSURANCE COMPANY. ITS ORIGIN AND GROWTH.

THE township of Westfield, the history of which is narrated here, retains but slight resemblance to the populous community in the Old Bay State, the name of which it bears. Nevertheless, though differing widely from its namesake, it remains, and ever will remain, a worthy testimonial of the affection for the Massachusetts home of him who once owned the greater portion of its wide-reaching forests and its fertile fields. Today, the township is the same in shape and size as when George Collier, of honored memory, first surveyed it and marked out its metes and bounds. It is

*Contributed by R. J. Young.

one of a long tier of townships that lie just within the limits, and form the southern boundary line of that historic tract—the Western Reserve of Ohio—and its people partake of all those sturdy, sterling qualities and characteristics for which the inhabitants of the Reserve have been ever noted since it was set apart and settled by the whites. Westfield contains twenty-five square miles of tempting territory. Its four equal sides being each five miles long, and so surveyed as to form the figure of a perfect square. To the north of it lies La Fayette ; Guilford skirts its eastern border; Harrisville adjoins it on the west, while its southern

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boundary separates it from one of Medina's immediate neighbors among counties—Wayne.

The present inhabitants of Westfield are almost wholly devoted to the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, and few tracts of land in Ohio are better suited to this purpose than the one which these thrifty farmer till. The configuration of the land. and the character of the soil. unite to form a prospect and possession. of which it may with truth be said, that the one is as pleasing to the eye, as the other is pregnant with the choicest products of the ground. The northern half of the township is pretty level. the gentle undulations of the land being just sufficiently pronounced to relieve the expanse from the semblance of monotony. In the southern half, however. the irregularities of the surface are more strongly marked. some parts being slightly hilly ; but nowhere enough so to prevent successful cultivation. Portions of the land. particularly in the northern section. contain a considerable quantity of clay soil ; elsewhere, the ground is gravelly and sandy. There is a fine growth of timber still standing in the township, including oak. hickory, black walnut, beech and ash trees. The quality of oak grown here is excellent. The leading crops are wheat. oats and corn. with fair proportions of rye and barley. Those best acquainted with the land say it excels as a wheat-producing tract. The territory of Westfield is well watered. and everywhere through-out its confines the drainage is noticeably good. That placid and picturesque sheet of water, Chippewa Lake, lies partly within the town-ship, and the stream which forms its southern outlet. runs for a little distance through the northeast quarter of the land herein described. A prettily winding stream, called Campbell's Creek, begins its course in the northwestern corner of the township, flows south and east for a few miles, then curves in a southwesterly direction, and finally finds an outlet in Killbuck River, just across the county line.

When this century began, the banks of Campbell Creek were the chosen abode of a large band of Indians belonging to the Wolf tribe, who, having the shores of the stream and the immediate vicinity as the center of their operations, roamed betimes over the surrounding country. threading the dense and otherwise trackless forest with their mysterious trails. A favorite trip with them was a jaunt to Chippewa Lake, and it was usually one in which business and pleasure were combined ; " business" and pleasure " of a different sort. it must be granted, but, nevertheless. as intimately joined as ever happens in the case of modern travelers who now journey by rail from this same locality to the remotest cities on the sea-board. And who dare say, that, in their hunting and. trapping expeditions, these nomadic natives felt less anxiety and care than does the man of business now, who extends his trade to distant towns, or that, in their hours of sport and recreation, the wild and wanton fellows found less enjoyment than do our civilized seekers after pleasure at watering-places and other so-called popular resorts ?

This meandering stream, around which so many historic recollections cluster, was the dividing line between the possessions of Henry Thorndyke and James Fowler, who were the first individual owners of the land that now lies within the limits of the township. Henry Thorndyke, of Portage County, Ohio, owned to the west of the creek. about one-third of the present township area being included in his tract. James Fowler. of Westfield, Mass., owned the remaining two-thirds. lying east of the creek. Such was the condition of affair up to the year 1817, when the first settlers came in and made their purchases. Let it be remembered, and recorded now, that James Fowler was the man whose prominence as landed proprietor, coupled with his residence in the eastern Westfield, gave name to the new township then forming in the forest.

596 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

To collate and give in detail the real facts connected with the first settlement and incipient growth of Westfield, is a task beset with doubts and difficulties. No trustworthy record of the earliest times has heretofore been printed. The historian of to day is, therefore, dependent for his information on the personal recollections of the older settlers or the traditions transmitted to their children. The present population of the township is largely composed of those who have come in during comparatively recent years, the number of families whose founders shared in the " first beginnings of things" here, being surprisingly small. Not one of the first band of immigrants—the settlers of 1817—is numbered among the people of the township now. Indeed, so long ago as 1868, as it is stated in a sketch prepared by Mr. L. D. Ellis, all of those pioneer pilgrims had passed over to the silent majority, save three. The three then surviving were Hanmer Palmer, aged eighty-nine, living with his son, Sherwood H. Palmer, in the adjoining township of Harrisville ; Joseph S. Winston, aged eighty-eight, living with his children in Peru, La Salle Co., Ill.; and Mrs. Mary Nye, aged eighty-one. living with a daughter in Wyoming. Jones Co., Iowa. Modern civilization made its first encroachments upon the domain of the aborigines in the neighborhood of Campbell's Creek, in the year 1816, when James Chapman and Warren Brainard entered to view the land. in order to inform themselves, and many waiting friends " down East " as well, about its adaptability to. settlement and occupation by the whites. These two men encamped for a night on the spot where, one-half century afterward, stood the residence of D. L. Hart. In the early morning hours of the ensuing day, while Brainard busied himself in the unromantic but necessary work of getting their modest breakfast, Chapman made the forest ring with the rapid blows of his ax, as he felled the first tree ever cut down by Caucasian hands on the territory of the future township. The resounding blows of Chapman's ax were but the bold and peremptory knockings of a new civilization. impatient and eager for admission. A short season of inspection confirmed these two men in their belief that the land they viewed, particularly that portion of it west of Campbell's Creek. was indeed a goodly heritage, and. when they turned their faces to the East again. it was with the purpose of recommending the region to all whom they should find seeking a place for settlement. On their return. they passed through Portage County, where a happy chance threw them into the company of Eber Mallory and Hanmer Palmer. the pair of pioneers for whom fortune had reserved the honor of being the first actual settlers and permanent residents in the territory that soon afterward formed Westfield.

The finger of a kindly destiny guided Palmer and Mallory to their future homes. pointing out to them a new pathway and an abiding-place quite different from their predetermined destination. They had entered Ohio with the desire and purpose of settling near the center of the State. On their way through Portage County. they were persuaded to pause in their journey for a day or two. It was this delay that brought them face to face with Warren Brainard and James Chapman. whose account of the country around Campbell's Creek changed all their previous plans. After conferring together, Messrs. Chapman, Brainard. Mallory, Palmer and Wells. with Mr. Henry Thorndyke, who owned the soil, but never yet had seen it, all went in company to the creek's west bank. and then and there selected their several lots of land. It is said that Brainard was the first to close a bargain. Having made choice of their particular possessions. the members of this interesting party with one accord went home. In the following spring. the first actual occupancy and settlement of the land was made. It was on the 2d day of April, 1811, that Hanmer Palmer and Eber Mallory, returning with their families,

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reached their respective plats of ground and be-came the pioneer inhabitants. At subsequent dates in this same year of 1817, the following persons came to dwell in the new land : Dr. Richard Morton, John J. Morton and wife, Benjamin P. Morton and wife, Timothy Nye and wife, Richard Marshall and wife, Joseph S. Winston and wife and Isaac Ford. Mr. Winston bought the land on which now stands the town of Friendsville, and from him the original settlement at that point was called Winston's Corners. The following persons joined the young colony in the year 1818: Warren Brainard and wife, James Chapman and wife, George Collier and wife, A. Chapman and wife, N. Brainard and wife, James Ross and wife, J. M. Eastman and wife, Isaac Snell and wife, Andrew Lewis and wife, Elihu Hathaway and wife, Wiley Hamilton and wife, Moses Noble and wife and Horace Noble. In the year 1819, these were the additions to the scant population : Selah Beach and wife, Alvah Beach and wife, Sanford Beach and wife, Rufus Vaughn and wife. Joseph Kidder and wife, Joseph Kidder, Jr.. and wife. Benjamin Kidder, Francis Kidder, James Kidder and wife, Alvin Cook and wife, Thomas Cook and wife. B. Flannigan. Benjamin Farnum. Shubal Gridley and wife. Thomas Hayes, Daniel Retner. Benjamin Johnson and wife, Amasa Gear and wife, Jonathan Pitcher and wife, Peter Crush and wife. Isaiah Briggs and Benjamin Briggs. Mr. Joseph Kidder is credited with making the first purchase in the Fowler tract, on the east side of Campbell's Creek, his land lying about a half-mile south of the center of the present township. The year 1820 brought new emigrants, as follows : Calvin Phillips and wife, Jonathan Simmons and wife, Isaiah Simmons. Constant Cornell and wife, Deliverance Eastman and wife, John Ross and wife, Miles Norton and wife, John Hosford and wife, Abner Ray and wife, Timothy R. Latimer and Isaac Tyler.

After the year 1820. the accessions to thepopulation of Westfield grew in frequency and extent, bands of several families often coming in together. It was not long ere the settlements extended into all parts of the township, and the work of clearing and tilling the land, building habitations and opening highways, went on throughout the entire territory. The gradual increase in numbers above noted was, of course, wholly from immigration. But within the same period of time there were other accessions of a different and even more interesting sort. In the year 1817, very soon after their arrival in their forest home, there was born to John J. Morton and Jane Morton a daughter, whom they named Fanny. When this first white native of the township grew up to womanhood, she married Mr. Hiram Kellogg. whom she survived, and after whose death she removed to the home of her children in Michigan. The first white male child was born in the month of April, 1818. He was the son of Eber Mallory and Jemima Mallory, and was named by his parents Henry Thorndyke, in honor of the landed proprietor. Mr. Thorndyke repaid the compliment by giving to his young namesake a present of a piece of land on the west bank of Campbell's Creek, in what afterward became Lot No. 15. Henry Thorndyke Mallory grew to man's estate and married a fair maiden of the township. He afterward removed to Illinois, where he died about the year 1867. Mr. Oliver Morton, brother of Fanny Morton, above mentioned, who is now one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Westfield, barely escaped the distinction of being among the first births in the township. As a matter of fact, he was ushered into this world at Pittsburgh, Penn., where his parents had gone for a brief visit, in the year 1819 ; but his subsequent life spent in Westfield entitles him to all the honor that attaches to a native of the place. The earliest notable society event, as reporters nowadays would say. was the wedding of Mr. B. Flannigan and Miss Polly Cook, which occurred in

598 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

the year 1819, and in the "leafy month of June." " To those then living here," says a Westfield man. "this marriage was an event of no small magnitude. Instead of being made the occasion of a 'belling,' as has been the practice in some communities, it was a season of feasting and congratulations. Nor was costly apparel an indispensable accessory on such occasions. A good calico dress for the bride. and a suit of fulled cloth for the groom were considered eminently suitable ingredients of tip-top outfits for the wedding costumes.'.

The township of Westfield was organized in the year 1820. The first list of officers elected included Rufus Vaughn. Justice of the Peace : Hanmer Palmer. Wiley Hamilton and Ansel Brainard. Jr.. Trustees : George Collier, Clerk James Ross. Constable. The territory. whose affairs these officers administered, and whose peace and prosperity were their chief objects of concern, was thus divided and laid out in lots by the original survey. On each side of a due east-and-west road. passing through the center of the township. lots were laid out one mile in length by one-half mile in width. Furthermore. upon the opposite sides of two other east-and-west roads equidistant from one parallel with the center road, tiers of lots were laid out. each lot being three-quarters of a mile long by half-a mile wide. By this division, sixty lots were formed, having a uniform frontage on the highways—six rows of lots in all, ten lots in each row. The total area of the lets. it will be seen, just equals the twenty-five square miles within the township limits. The first and second elections for local officers were held at Hanmer Palmer's house. Then. for a period of six years. other private houses or buildings used for school purposes did duty as polling-places. until. in 1828. a town house was built at the township center. and dedicated to all proper public uses. In the years that intervened between the first settlement and the (late last given. when the business and political interests commencedto crystallize around the geographical center, the good people of Westfield passed through many trials and privations. During all this time, the majority of the settlers who came in were poor. Some men simply owned an ax, while others rejoiced in the possession of only two or three farm or household utensils. The land sold for about $3 per acre. and. in many cases, the purchasers were unable to pay for the property for years after they assumed possession. Those who first arrived found county roads that ran from Wooster to Medina, and from Lodi to Seville. Aside from these. there were few facilities for intercourse with the outer world. or even between the settlers themselves. who were scattered here and there in the depths of the forest. On account of their isolation. the different families. in the matter of providing the necessities of life. put to a practical test the doctrine of the sufficiency of man unto himself. In every household. domestic economy was practiced in its severest form. Money was a curiosity ; there was not enough in the township to warrant its use as a medium of exchange. Edibles and commodities were to be had in the towns. in trade for grain. which the farmer had raised in such parts of his woods as he had cleared. having girdled the large trees and cut out the small ones and the underbrush. The labors of the men were not a whit more severe or multifarious than were the different forms of work undertaken by the women. In those days. every wife deserved. and wore with pride. the title of "help-meet " to her husband. Added to the ordinary labors incident to housekeeping. which she performed as a matter of course. she made the clothing for the members of her family, males as well as females. The manufacture of woolen and linen fabrics. and making them up into dresses. shirts. coats and pantaloons, were duties which received strict attention each succeeding year. and as regularly and surely as old clothes wore out. Boots and shoes were luxuries. Even the young men and maidens of

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seventeen and eighteen went barefooted to church and school, setting an example which all the children perforce followed. It is safe to say that the young gentlemen and ladies of today, who have reached the interesting age of seventeen, would rather remain away from church and school than attend without shoes and stockings on their feet. even in midsummer ! Well, this is not the only indication that education and religion were more highly prized by the youth of 1818-28, than they now are by the youth of 1880. Nor was fine raiment then considered as essential to a presentable appearance at social gatherings as it is today. When the daughter of a pioneer purposed to attend a merrymaking or a dance, she took to the store a quantity of linen made by her own fair hands, and exchanged it for calico, from which she cut her dress for the occasion. In such a costume. she was ready to contest her title to the belle-ship of the ball.

During these days, the young community did not lack the benign influence of schools and churches. So early as 1818. a few of the settlers, belonging to the Free-Will Baptist sect, organized a society and held meetings for prayer and praise ; but, as they could not secure and support regular preaching, the gatherings were abandoned after a short time. The first Methodist Church was formed in 1819, its leading spirit being Ansel Brainard, Jr. Soon thereafter, the Baptists and Presbyterians began to hold services. The first school was opened in the summer of 1818, the teacher being Miss Jerusha Hosmer. Its daily sessions were held in the house of John J. Morton, who lived about fifty rods east of the present site of Friendsville, the place known in olden times by ;he name of Winston's and Morse's Corners. THe boys and girls who attended this first school as pupils were Alfred, Theron and Melissa Hamilton ; Lewis and Alonzo Nye ; Clarissa and Charles Mallory ; Charlotte, Jane and Sherwood Palmer ; EIiza. Lucy and Lorenzo

Brainard, and Betsey Stark. The same scholars, with possibly a few additions, were taugh in the winter of 1818-19, by Ansel Brainard Jr., the building used as schoolhouse standing about eighty rods north of Morse's Corners At the same place, the roster of students being but slightly changed, Miss Betsey Ross con ducted the third school in the summer of 1819 Subsequent to the organization of the township both winter and summer schools were held regularly, in divers log cabins and in rooms of dwelling-houses, the seat of instruction shifting about after the manner of the voting-place, until the town hall was built, in 1828.

Up from the decade that succeeded the settlement of Westfield, and even from the score of years that followed after, there rises a cloud of reminiscences and personal adventures, the narration of which, in detail, would doubtless amuse and interest the reader ; but the lapse of time has made it difficult to distinguish facts from fancies in many cases, so that he who writes a sober history is restricted to such incidents as are well authenticated. For one thing, it is on record, that, in the year 1819; Independence Day was observed by the inhabitants with patriotic fervor. The celebration was not marked by any elaborate parade or dazzling exhibition of fantastic fireworks, as has become the fashion for Fourth of July festivities of recent years. But the people, proud of their country and rejoicing in their liberties, assembled at the house of James Chapman, and felicitated one another over various State and national affairs. Finally, to vent their jovial feelings, they indulged in dancing. The music was furnished by Richard Marshal, an expert with the fiddle and the bow, but whose execution on this occasion was somewhat faulty by reason of too liberal potations. Mr. George Collier, who possessed a critic's ear, ventured to suggest certain modifications of the melodies, and, in this connection, said : Richard, why don't you come down heavier on the

600 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

bass ? " Whereupon. Mr. Marshall convulsed the company by responding, " I can't do it. Collier ; and danged if you can, either, unless you do it with an ax !

That noted citizen. Mr. Hanmer Palmer. passed through one experience in the first year of his residence, which he never cared to have repeated. It was in the afternoon of an October day, in the year 1817. that he set out for a friendly call at the cabin of Isaac Ford. in the southern part of the township. The " blazes" on the trees. along lot lines. served to direct him on his lonely journey as long as there was light by which to read them. But darkness overtook him before he reached his destination. and he lost his way. Believing himself to be near Ford's habitation, he called out lustily for help. Ford heard him, but mistaking his pleadings for a panther's cries, shut himself up in his cabin and took measures for defense ! Unhappy Palmer passed a dreary night in the forest. surrounded by a circle of blazing fires. which he made haste to build. and kept awake by dread of Indians and wolves. At earliest dawn. he hastened to more hospitable quarters. The mother of Mr. J. A. Latimer. while at home one night, with her infant son as her sole companion. received a terrifying shock from Indians. who came peering in at windows and making hideous noises and scowling darkly. Having got into the house. the copper-colored squaws. as they all proved to be. ate an alarmingly heavy meal, after which they withdrew. with demonstrations similar to those that marked their coming.

Among the adventures of these perilous times. there is one more that merits mention. A bear hunt is referred to. which was participated in by Amasa Gear. Joseph Kidder, Benjamin Kidder. Miles Norton. E. M. Norton. and other men. besides a whole brigade of dogs. The bear. when found. showed fight, and returned the attack of the canines with such vigor and ferocity as to somewhat astonish the assaulting party. At a critical moment. Mr. Gear essayed to shoot bruin. but was deterred by Reuben Gridley. who feared the shot, instead of killing the bear. might take effect in the body of one of the precious dogs. In those days. a good dog was a treasure, and settlers were particularly careful not to kill any of the tribe. Suddenly. the bear beat a retreat toward the creek. all the dogs following close upon its heels, and made good its escape. Not a shot had been fired and the only issue of the hunt was a small detachment of maimed and wounded curs.

Pleased at the rapidity with which his lands were filling up. Mr. James Fowler determined. in 1826. to found a village at the township center. He therefore selected that most eligible and commanding site on which Le Roy is built. the location being almost within a stone's throw of the exact geographical center of Westfield. At this point. he first set apart four acres for a public square. and then laid off fourteen acres on each side of the square. designing to cut them up into lots with sixty feet frontage. Two years later came the building of the town house. on the north side of the public square. To the erection of this famous old frame structure. Mr, Fowler made a cash contribution of $100. his desire coinciding fully with the wish of the citizens, namely. that the edifice should be devoted to all praiseworthy uses in which the public felt an interest. It was to be used for elections, weekday schools. Sunday schools. church services. political meetings and all public gatherings not otherwise provided for. Aside from the Fowler gift. the subscriptions to the building fund " were nearly all in the form of personal labor. pork and produce. This structure stood where it was built. and was used for the various purposes enumerated. until 1846, when it was replaced by the neat and more commodious wooden edifice which thereafter and up to the present time has been used as a townhall

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simply. At the time this new town hall was built, Westfield had already reached a high stage of its development. Indeed, almost from the date of the formation of the township, a promising industrial growth began. In 1826 or 1827, at or soon after the laying-out of the public square, two saw-mills were put in operation on Campbell's Creek. one by the Kidders, three-quarters of a mile southwest of the Center, and another by William Wolcott, one-half mile west of the Center. Ten years later, two tanneries were started ; the first by Thomas Hunt. a short distance south of the Center. and a second by Joseph Reynolds, in the south-western corner of the township. The Government was not long neglectful of the convenience of the inhabitants. for. in 1827, a post office was established at Winston's Corners. the first postmaster being Joseph Winston. This office was removed to the Center in 1836, and ever after that the community around the public square was known by the name Le Roy, by which name the post office had been previously christened. At the Center. D. B. Austin was the first Postmaster. In 1868, the western settlement had its former loss made good to it. and became independent of Le Roy in the matter of a daily mail by the establishment of Friendsville Post Office, and thus the town secured its modern name. The mail route through the township originally ran from Seville to Lodi, but now it has Seville and Friendsville as its termini. Shortly after entering the "postal service," Joseph Winston prepared himself to entertain transient guests, and opened the primitive tavern at his " corners." He also started there the first store in the township, Mr. Wilen being his partner in the latter venture. Thanks to Winston's enterprise, there were stirring times at the Corners in the thirties. The most venerable structure in Le Roy is the old store on the east side of the square. which was built and first owned by Asa Farnum. Messrs. King & Greene came down from Medina in the year 1832 and started a store on Farnum's corner. The post office and hotel building, on the west side of the square, was built by James Whiteside just in season for its official occupancy by the postal service in 1836. Two years after its erection, the house was occupied and kept by Dr. Caleb Stock as a public tavern. Naturally enough, the removal of the only post office in the township to this Whiteside corner on the square had invested the place with a peculiar interest and importance in the eyes of all the citizens, inasmuch as all went there for their mail. But the interest aroused by the establishment of the office was insignificant when compared with the turmoil and excitement which raged around that same building after Stock became landlord of the tavern. On a memorable night in the winter of 1838-39, the Doctor gave a party, to which he invited nearly the entire neighborhood, and many others from all quarters of the township. Certain young men, living in the vicinity of Le Roy. were slighted by the keeper of the caravansary, for, some reason known only to himself, they receiving no summons to the festive scene. As an offset to the pleasures in which they were denied participation, these youths joined together and sought solace in a coonhunting expedition, which they planned for the same night on which Stock had his party. Returning from the hunt at a late hour and finding the fun still going on at Stock's, the young Nimrods, standing in the street before the hotel door, fired a salute of five musket shots in the air and then scattered. This was on a Wednesday. The following Monday, an officer of the law, affectionately referred to by Westfield folks as a basswood " Constable from Medina, appeared at Le Roy at Dr. Stock's instance and arrested eight participants in the shooting performance of the previous week The double quartette, who, having made music on their muskets, were thus called to account

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as inciters of a riot, were Oliver Morton, David King, Henry Collier, Reuben Kinney, Calvin Kidder. N. W. Ellis. T. B. Ellis and Orrin Buckingham. The Constable and his eight prisoners started back to Medina in a wagon ; but, when the officer reached the county seat, he had only Morton, Buckingham and Kinney in his keeping. The other five had taken French leave at or near La Fayette Center. running off in the direction of Chippewa Lake. However, in a day or so, all were recaptured and the entire party of' eight were lodged in jail. A preliminary hearing before Squire Olcott resulted in his binding all of them over to the Court of Common Pleas, the bond in each individual case being fixed at the snug sum of $1,500 ! Mr. Joshua Bailey and two other wealthy citizens furnished bail for the appearance of them all. These transactions altogether occupied about a week. and in that week the quiet population of Westfield had lashed itself into a state of indignation and excitement seldom seen in a community of law abiding people. The prevailing sentiment was intense and bitter against Dr. Stock and all others engaged in the prosecution of the young men. When, after the usual delays, a jury trial was at last had in the spring of 1840, Westfield men and women crowded to Medina to attend the sittings of the court. The indicted parties seemed least interested in the case, for they played ball with the boys of' Medina even while the trial was going on. But their defense was ably managed by Mr. Benedict. of Elyria. and so plainly did he make it to appear that the• alleged " riot" was merely a piece of innocent and harmless sport that a general verdict of acquittal was returned. This favorable issue, instead of allaying the general excitement, caused it to break out afresh. An indignation meeting was held, attended by a large part of Westfield's population, and a set of resolutions adopted which plainly informed the world. that. in the opinion of the people, the township would be greatly benefited by Dr. Caleb Stock's immediate removal. Stock promptly brought an action for defamation and slander against the persons who had thus plainly expressed their opinions about him. Judge Samuel McClure, now the leading member of the Summit County bar, represented Stock, and Hon. David Tod. afterward Governor of Ohio. appeared for the people, who were made defendants. The trial, in the fall of 1840. resulted in a verdict of $5 for plaintiff, which compelled the wrathy citizens of Westfield to adjust the costs !

The angry passions engendered by this episode were swallowed up or swept away by the Washingtonian movement in 1843-44. which enlisted in the cause of temperance the active services and hearty sympathy of all Westfield people--sympathies and services which again displayed themselves many years afterward in the vigorous conduct of a Sons of Temperance Lodge. Since war times, no organized band of temperance workers have made themselves prominent in the township, but the present feelings of the people in this matter, are evidenced by the fact that no liquor is now sold anywhere in Westfield.

An anti-slavery sentiment first appeared in the summer of 1831, when Mr. Halsey Hulburt. coming from Enfield. Conn.. settled on the farm where he now resides. in the extreme eastern part of the township, and about one mile from Seville. At the election of 1840, three anti-slavery votes were cast in Westfield. the electors being Halsey Hulburt, William Hulburt and Dominic Williams, who had come from Oberlin to teach the Center School. The home of Halsey Hulburt has sheltered a few fugitive slaves, and from its friendly doors they have marched on to an enduring freedom. It never was a " regular station " on the underground railway. being a little aside from the customary route followed by seekers of liberty ; and yet it had its visitors. In 1843. two fleeing negroes

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came to Hulburt's house from Harrisvi' , and, after a short stop, hastened northward. One of them was remarkably intelligent. Both went armed to the teeth, fully prepared to fight for their liberty against large odds. A colored brother in distress slipped into the house one night in 1850, in the dead of winter, whose feet were frozen and full of gravel, a pair of fine boots stolen from his former master, being too badly cut and worn to be of any service or protection. This man was bound for Detroit, and he got there in good time. In 1859, an entire family of fugitives (father, mother and five children) spent one night at Hulburt's. So fearful of danger were they, and so timid, even in the house of a true friend and a fearless defender, that they all insisted on sleeping in the same room. No amount of persuasion or assurance of security could induce the father to have any member of his family even beyond the reach of his protecting arm.

From the records of the older churches many interesting items of township history can be gleaned. A Baptist Church was regularly chartered in 1835, the original incorporators being Joshua Bailey, Rufus Freeman, Levi Chapman, William Hulburt, John Mead and a few others. William Hulburt was chosen first Clerk, and was continued in the office through almost the entire life of the organization, Mr. L. D. Ellis serving the final term. Rev. Rufus Freeman was the first Pastor, and preached occasionally until the church's death. Other Pastors filled the pulpit as follows : Rev. D. A. Randall, 1840-42—since quite noted as an author ; Rev. J. Manning, 1842-45 ; Rev. Thomas E. Inman, 1846-49 ; Rev. J. G. Edwards, 1850-51 ; Rev. J. H. Collins, 1852. After 1852, there was no preaching, except now and then by Rev. Freeman, and, in 1858, the church died, its dismemberment caused by differences on political subjects.

The first Congregational Church and Society was incorporated by an act passed February 21,

1834, and articles were issued to Enoch Stiles, George Collier, Ebenezer Fowler and Noble Stiles. The society was organized April 7, 1834. First officers : Ebenezer Fowler, Moderator; Sylvanus Jones, William Henry and Calvin Chapin, Trustees ; William Russell, Secretary; Enoch Stiles, Treasurer ; Benjamin Bidder, Collector ; Rev. John McCrea, Pastor, up to June, 1834. On June 1, 1834, Rev. Joel Goodell "commenced preaching half of the time for one year." A meeting was held in the town hall at Le Roy, November 19, 1835, at which Noble Stiles offered a donation of land, lying north of the west half of the public square, and it was voted to build a church. Three weeks later Noble Stiles, George Collier and Thomas J. Dewey were appointed a building committee and went to work. April 4, 1836, this committee was instructed to build a basement story, inclose the body of the house, and proceed with the tower as far as the funds on hand would warrant. All these things were done promptly. August 14, 1837, Rev. Asaph Boutelle was offered and accepted $150 for his services as Pastor for the ensuing year. Rev. William B. Ransom preached in 1839, his term ending January 2, 1840. Rev. 0. Littlefield preached one year, beginning November 7, 1841. In 1843, on the 1st of June, Rev. J. P. Stuart, a talented and eloquent, but eccentric man, commenced to preach, under an engagement for one year; but, at the end of ten months, he was dismissed at his own request. The spring of 1844 found Stuart at the head of a large company of Westfield enthusiasts, some of them members of his former flock, who went to the banks of the Ohio River, in Belmont County, and started a community on the Fourier system. This colony lived less than one year.

More than ten years passed in which the Congregational Church maintained but a feeble existence. Finally, on the 29th of May, 1859, formal steps were taken to enter the Methodist Episcopal Conference, and the transformation

604 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

into a Methodist Church was gradually accomplished. The Methodist believers who, as previously noted, banded themselves together in 1819, maintained an organization for several years in the western part of the township, but deaths and removals broke up their band. In 1850, a new nucleus started at Le Roy, and so rapid was its development, that in 1859 it was ready to absorb the Congregational Church in ' its entirety. The first minister of the new church, after the consolidation, was Rev. L. F. Ward. The present Pastor is Rev. G. W. Huddleston, and the church is populous and flourishing. The house of worship is a substantial frame edifice, standing on the very site donated by Noble Stiles in 1835.

The Universalist Church was organized in the month of May, 1839, the preliminary meetings being held in the old schoolhouse and the Baptist Church, which stood upon a little eminence just west of the center. Alfred Peck was Moderator of these meetings, and Asa Farnum served as Clerk. Asa Farnum, Alfred Peck, Selah Beach, Simpson Simmons and Joseph Reynolds, Jr., drafted the constitution of the society. The roll of original members contains the names of forty-four men and forty-six women. Rev. Alfred Peck was the first Pastor. In the minutes of the church, under date of January 22, 1847, there is a record of the purchase of a site for a meeting-house from John Clyne, " being eighty-four feet front on the public square, and extending north far enough to include one-half acre, exclusive of the road." Price paid for ground, $60, which was paid by subscription. One year later, the building operations began, and the dedication occurred June 16, 1849. Another quotation from the minutes of historic interest is this : " Brother Eber Mallory was killed by a log rolling on him on the 7th day of August, 1849." With the exception of a slight schism in 1853, involving a very few members, this church has led a life of prosperity and peace, and today is in vigorous condition. Mrs. Abbie Danforth now conducts regular services in the comfortable frame building erected on the half-acre bought thirty-three years ago from Clyne.

There are three other church organizations in Westfield the Dunkard and the German Reformed, at Friendsville, and the United Brethren, in the southwestern section of the township. These were all organized about 1873, and all have prospered and grown strong in the seven intervening years. Rev. Mr. Sponsler was first Pastor for the German Reformed congregation, and Rev. Mr. Bolinger inaugurated services for the Dunkards. The former body of believers worship in a neat and comfortable house built for their own use. This edifice stands on the site of the old Methodist meeting-house, which, in recent years, was occupied by the United Brethren. About the time the German Reformed Church erected its new structure, the United Brethren also put up a good building, which they now occupy, on the road some distance south of Friendsville. The United Brethren may be regarded in part as an outgrowth of the ancient Methodist organization in the western part of Westfield. The Dunkards now worship in the Friendsville Schoolhouse, for the erection of which they subscribed $100.

This schoolhouse, it is claimed, accommodates one of the very best country district schools in the whole county of Medina. Indeed, Westfield has cause for pride in all of the ungraded schools in her six subdistricts. In each, about seven months instruction is given annually, male teachers being generally employed in the winter, and females in the summer, season. The Le Roy special district was created in the year 1872. In the following year, a beautiful building was erected on the south side of the square, which is admirably adapted to the uses of a graded school. There are three departments in the school—high, inter-mediate and primary—and each has its own room and teacher. A male Principal is the

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special instructor of the high school, and two lady assistants attend to the other departments. The school year is of nine months' duration. The building contains a commodious hall, in which to hold public exercises, and the different departments of the school are amply equipped with good apparatus to aid and illustrate instruction. The edifice cost $8,000. Its erection and the organization of the special district are largely due to the earnest efforts of Mr. A. G. Hawley. The present Board of Education of the township is composed of Reuben High, President ; and Philip Long, John Hugunin, S. A. Earl, J. R. Stuckey and William Hulburt. Mr. L. D. Ellis acts as Clerk, being the duly elected Township Clerk. The present Trustees of the township are George F. Daniels, J. P. Reynolds and J. F. Flickinger. Two Justices of the Peace attend to the minor matters of litigation that arise. Westfield has three burial-places for its dead. One at Friendsville, an old and small inclosure just east of the center, and the main cemetery, near Le Roy. on the old Baptist Church premises. All these are controlled by the Township Trustee. The disposition among the citizens to have all public improvements well constructed, is attested by the fine iron bridge which spans Campbell's Creek, about three-fourths of a mile west of Le Roy, and the solid stone structure on the road south of and near the Center, beneath which runs a smaller stream. There is no railroad station in Westfield Township, yet three lines infringe upon its territory. The New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio grazes its southern boundary, the Tuscarawas Valley cuts off its northeastern corner, and the Wheeling & Lake Erie, now building, touches its soil in the southwestern quarter.

To complete this sketch of Westfield, there remains to be described a powerful and progressive institution, which, though mentioned last, is preeminent in importance, and incomparably vaster in its scope than all concernsbesides combined. He who travels extensively in the States of Indiana and Ohio, journeying, perchance, on horseback along the innumerable highways, will see in every section, aye, on every road. attached to barns and houses in conspicuous places, little tin tags with black background and lettering thereon in gilt. If he attempts to read these oft-appearing plates, he will meet but a repetition, in an unending series, of the words " Ohio Farmers' Insurance Company," the name of the institution whose base of operations is in Westfield, but whose arms stretch out in all directions through the length and breadth of two great States. The Ohio Farmers' Insurance Company was chartered on the 8th day of February, 1848. Its home office was at Le Roy, and, for the first ten years of its existence, the headquarters were in the extension of the frame store building on the east side of the public square. The first Board of Directors was thus composed : Jonathan Simmons, President, and George Collier, Asa Farnum, Isaiah Phillips, Isaac Rogers, Isaac Jones, Calvin Chapin. The first Secretary of the company was D. B. Austin. This company was the pioneer in this State, in this, that it set out to do an insurance business on farm property exclusively. The founders thought this plan would involve less risk and cheaper rates than any other. The original organization was on the plan of mutual insurance. and the taking of premium notes continued as a feature of the business until 1870. The plan of cash insurance was commenced in 1858, and from that time until 1870, business was conducted on both plans, cash and mutual. In 1870, the taking of premium notes was abolished, and, since then, the company has done an exclusively cash business. The men who have acted as the Company's Presidents, and their terms of office are Jonathan Simmons, 1848 to 1852 ; Calvin Chapin, 1852 to 1858 ; Rufus Freeman, 1858 to 1870 ; James C. Johnson, 1870 to present time. In the office of

606 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

Secretary and Treasurer, D. B. Austin was succeeded by L. D. Ellis, who served from 1853 to 1858 ; A. G. Hawley followed, 1858 to 1866, and, from 1866 to this time, the post has been held by A. H. Hawley. The number of Directors was increased from seven to nine in 1878, and three are now elected annually for three-year terms. The members of the present board are James C. Johnson, Oliver Morton, Nelson Harris. S. H. Pomeroy, F. M. Ashley, J. H. Freeman. Samuel Smith, John B. Chase and T. G. Lewis. Regular meetings of the board are held the second Wednesday of each month, and the annual meeting day is the last Wednesday in September. Two adjusters are in the constant employ of the company. In nearly thirty-three years of actual business, the Ohio Farmers' has insured farm property to a total valuation of $500,000,000. Losses amounting to more than $2,000,000 have been paid in the same period. It is claimed that this far exceeds the showing of any other company doing an exclusively farm business. The operations of the Ohio Farmers' were confined strictly to the State of Ohio until 1877, when they were pushed out into Indiana also. In its first ten years, the company issued 16,000 policies ; tne next eight years, about 50,000 ; the next fourteen years, about 255,000. In the year ending September 15, 1880, 26,000 policies were issued, covering property worth $35,000,000. Every year the company's income has exceeded its expenditures. giving it a growing surplus. With the increase in business, the facilities and conveniences for its transaction have been multiplied. In 1858, the office was removed from the frame building at the corner, to a neat brick edifice near by. The latter became a part of the present office, which was built in 1866. The chance visitor in Westfield, after strolling through the quiet roads that thread the township, having noted the prevailing repose and peace that rests upon the farms, having viewed those attractive and well-peopled villages, Friendsville and Le Roy, will be surprised, beyond measure, when he happens to enter the office of this great insurance company. The large and well-constructed building, the spacious and finely furnished rooms occupied by the busy Secretary and his force of clerks, the clicking of type-writers and the ring of the telephone--all these cause him to imagine. for a moment, that he has been suddenly transported from the rural village to some great commercial city.

To the student of history, Westfield, when viewed in its various stages of development, presents an interesting illustration of the wholesome growth which has repeatedly attended institutions that have been planted by pioneers from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York watched and tended by the patient, careful immigrants from Pennsylvania, and finally made to flourish and bear fruit, by men of energy and talent, to the manor born.