HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. - 607

CHAPTER XX.*

HINCKLEY TOWNSHIP—A BROKEN SURFACE—THE PARADISE OF HUNTERS—A FARMERS' HUNT—A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS—CHURCHES--SCHOOL STATISTICS.

HINCKLEY forms the extreme northeast township in Medina County. Its surface is broken by rugged and abrupt ledges, and long, high and narrow ridges extend through its territory from north to south, and from south to northwest. The sides of these jutting precipices are curiously worn out, and, in many places, deep caves extend into the rocky ground, whence issue fine springs of never-failing water. The stroller over these extended ledges sees many astonishing passages in the rock, made by the falling away of large masses, consequent upon the undermining of the softer rock below. The soil of the township is loamy, for the most part, affording a growth of chestnut, walnut, hickory and oak timber. Rocky River, known as the East Branch of that stream, enters the township in the northeast corner ; it flows southerly, passing into Summit County, skirting the eastern line of Hinckley Township. At the extreme southeast corner, it again enters the township, making a large bend at the southern extremity of the ' Ridge," and then flows northwesterly through the township, passing one-half mile east of the center, gathering the water of numberless springs. It passes into Cuyahoga County directly north of Hinckley Center. This river was once a powerful torrent, filling the broad valley, through which it now so quietly flows, with a rushing, seething flood of water.

Hinckley was marked off under the Connecticut Land Company Survey as Township 4, Range 13 ; its boundaries are Granger on the south, Brunswick on the west, Cuyahoga County on the north, and Summit County on the east.

*Contributed by Charles Neil.

The area of Hinckley exceeds that of any other of the townships of Medina County. Its total acreage is 17,133, this being over 1,000 acres in excess of any one of its sister townships. York Township comprises but 13,436, it being the smallest in the county. This difference in the surface area is partially due to the swellings and elevation of ground, which forms a distinguishing feature in the physical construction of this township.

In the distribution of the lands of the Western Reserve among the original land speculators who bought it of the State of Connecticut, the township of Hinckley fell to the lot of Judge Samuel Hinckley, of Northampton, Mass. He was known as one of the shrewdest land speculators, and, aside from his Hinckley possessions, he owned numerous tracts of land in Medina and other counties of the Western Reserve. He was sharp and exacting in his dealings with the purchasers of his lands. He had been educated for a lawyer, and during his life-time was known as a prominent member of the bar of Massachusetts. His dealings in Western lands made him a wealthy man. He died in his native town in Northampton, Mass., 1840, greatly respected by all his neighbors and acquaintances. The following anecdote, that has been related of him, illustrates the prevailing idea, in those days, of the future value of Western lands. Gov. Strong, of Massachusetts, was a brother-in-law of Hinckley, and also owner of tracts of land on the Reserve. One day they were discussing the propriety of putting their land into market. Strong thought it best, as the saving in taxes and interest would more than equal the rise in value.

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Hinckley dissented, " Why," said he " the time will come when the Ohio lands will sell for more than $1 0 per acre. Yes," replied Strong, but, before that time comes, you and I will be in Heaven." "Ah ! that's the devil of is," said the Judge.

When the tide of emigration began to flow westward from the Eastern States in the second decade of this century. Judge Hinckley was not slow in placing the most of his lands on sale. He appointed his son-in-law, Joseph Lyman, who had located at Ravenna, in Portage County. as agent of his Western domain. Hinckley being rough and broken in surface. no particular effort was made by the owner to sell the land. He did not even have a survey taken of its area until several years after the adjoining township had been quite generally settled. This territory remained a dense wilderness, and. as a consequence, the wild animals made it a place of refuge. and hid in its dark shades and cavernous recesses. The valley of the Rocky River, from the Big Bend, on the Granger line northward. and the western side of the great Hinckley Ridge. was considered among the settlers the hunter's paradise. A number of the Wyandots and Seneca tribe of Indians made the township a favorite hunting resort when the country east, north and south. had already been well settled by white people. After the year 1812, they pitched their lodge but once or twice in this neighborhood. and since that time have entirely disappeared. moving West. Now and then. a few stray hunters and trappers of the copper-colored nation made their appearance up to the year 1820. but they remained shy of the white settlers.

Two remarkable events that occurred in the early days of the township have been preserved for record. The first was the hanging of an Indian squaw in the summer of 1806. She had been accused of witchcraft in predicting that darkness would come over the earth. Her prophecy caused alarm among the tribe. and acouncil was called. It was decided that she should suffer death by strangulation by having invoked the powers of the evil one. Accordingly, she was hung in the month of May, 1806, on the limb of a large tree that had fallen across the river bed, on a ledge near the Big Bend, on the Granger line, amidst the chant and howling of the savages. It is said that several white men were instrumental in her execution. The body was left swinging to the tree, and remained there as a warning, and as a carrion for the vultures of the air to feed upon, until it finally dropped into the river below. In the month of June following the tragic death of the Indian prophetess, a total eclipse of the sun took place. It is not known how the squaw got her information of the astronomical phenomenon that was to occur, but it was probably based on premonitions induced by events of a similar kind, which had always been looked upon by the Indians with a sort of mystical terror.

The depredations and annoyances by the wolves and bears whose haunts were in Hinckley, caused the farmers and settlers of Medina, Summit and Cuyahoga Counties to resolve on a war of extermination against these beasts A meeting was called in Strongsville in the fall of 1818, to make arrangements for the great hunt, and enlist everybody within available distance to help in the slaughter chase. A committee to conduct the hunt was selected, and they soon issued a proclamation to the farmers of the three counties. The day fixed upon was the 24th day of December. The order was that the farmers gather by early daybreak, armed with rifles, guns, pitchforks, flails, clubs, and every available implement of war; form a continuous line on the four sides of the township, and, at a given signal, advance toward its center, killing. shooting and slaughtering all game that came within reach. A half mile square was marked out by blazed trees in the center of the township, and on this

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line they were all to stop, and take position, and from there kill and shoot the game within reach. Cleveland, Newburg and Royalton were to form on the north line, Brecksville and Richfield on the east line, Bath and Granger on the south, and Medina, Brunswick and Strongsville on the west. Preparations on an extensive scale at once commenced throughout the entire region, and the excitement for the impending chase began to run high. The 24th day of December came. It was a clear, brisk day. A slight crust of snow covered the ground, and the little streams and the ground were frozen hard. Before the morning sunlight had commenced to steal through the leafless and shivering trees, the noise and laughter of men advancing from every direction toward the line, the bark of dogs and the sharp ring of rifle shots re-echoed through the woods from far and near. Startled and alarmed, the deer started from their lair and bounded in long strides for refuge in the wild confines of the central township. Many of these animals were overhauled in their flight by the swift bullet before the fun of the day had really commenced. The wolves and bears just returning from their night's raids in the settle: meats, sneak off in precipitous flight before the unusual noise, and hide in the thick swamps and cavernous recesses of Hinckley. Soon the large hunting host is in line on the four sides of the battle-ground. The men take their positions, the companies touching at the four corners, and soon the square is perfect, making a continuous line of twenty miles on the inside. The north line, composed of the settlers of Cuyahoga County, numbers about one hundred and thirty men, many of them from the then infant settlement of Cleveland. It is under command of T. N. Ferris, of Royalton. The east line has about one hundred and twenty-five men, and is under charge of Judge Welton, of Richfield, and Carry Oaks, of Brecksville. The south line, under command of Zenas Hamilton, number about one hundred men, and the west line, under Abraham Freeze, of Brunswick, numbers about one hundred and twenty men. These five Captains form the Board of Managers, and the whole affair is under their immediate control and direction. The hunters stand alert and anxiously wait for the signal to pass. Then a long-drawn blast from a horn comes from the high hills in the north and echoes down the valley. It is answered on the west, and down it passes along its line, then it comes east, and up back it goes to the north. As the last bugle sound dies away, the word "all ready," passes from mouth to mouth, and with it the advance begins. Steadily the columns press on, silently at first, then comes a wild shout and soon the echoing roll of musketry, as the wild game dashes through the woods and the thick underbrush before the advancing host The north column is the first to close in the square on the center, then follows east and west and south. It was almost a solid phalanx of men, standing close to one another.

Driven into madness and utter despair by the terrible confusion and slaughter, the deer, led by the stags, dash in droves against the lines ; many are shot, others are forked and clubbed, and some, the larger and fleeter, escape—bounding over the heads of the hunters. The frightened animals, quivering and foaming, with their large eyeballs protruding, rush back and forth, from side to side, and the massacre continues. The orders are strict, that all firing must be done low and toward the center, to prevent injury to the men. In one of the rushes made by the deer against the north column, Lathrop Seymour accidentally receives a buckshot in his shoulder and one in his left leg. He is disabled, and is conveyed back to the rear to have his wounds dressed. It is now past noon, and the carcasses of several hundred deer lie strewn on the ground through the woods. One or two bears and several wolves

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had been killed up to this time. The impossibility soon became apparent to the captains, that all the game enclosed in the square could be killed—and especially the bears and wolves, the extermination of which was really the purpose of the hunt—without another advance being made from the four sides. This could not be done without endangering the life and limbs of the hunters. A council of war was called, and it was decided that the lines should hold their positions, and that no further long-range firing be done, and the killing of deer and small game he prohibited. William Coggswell. of Bath. Ohio, the prince of huntsmen in his day in Ohio, and "Riley the Rover," another famous hunter, who was located at Cleveland, and whose proper name has slipped the memory of the old settlers, were then ordered, with eight more men, to advance toward the center, and " stir up " the wolves and bears, and have them come out. The men on the lines were to keep watch and kill the animals as they came out from their retreats. The men entered the arena. and their experience is best told in the words of Coggswell, who started in in advance of the little squad : * * * " I soon came in contact with plenty of wolves and bears, and shot several of them, when I saw near the center a monstrous bear—I think the largest I ever saw of that species. We wounded him twice, so that he dropped each time, when he retreated toward the south line, and I followed in hot pursuit. About this time, the south line advanced about forty rods ; they had become so enthusiastic in the hunt that they could be restrained no longer, and this brought them within a short distance of the bear and myself. My dog, which I had left in the rear, seeing me after the bear, broke away from the young man who had him in charge, and came running to my assistance. We met the bear just as he was crossing a little creek on the ice. I ran up the bank within twenty-five or thirty feet of the bear, and stood several feet above him. Aboutthis time, the men on the south line commenced shooting at the bear, apparently regardless of me and my dog. There were probably 100 guns fired within a very short space of time, and the bullets sounded to me very much like a hailstorm. As soon as old Bruin got his head still enough so I dare shoot, I laid him out. While they were firing so many guns, a great many persons hallooed to me to come out or I would be shot ; but, as it happened, neither myself nor dog were hurt The bear soon succumbed to the hot lead that was being poured into his body. When the monster had been killed, the south line broke, regardless of all orders, and they were soon joined by the three other lines." Now a general search commenced in the center and through the haunts and caves on the sides of the hills. Several more bears and wolves were found and killed, the last one being a wounded wolf which had secreted itself in the top of a fallen tree. Firing now closed, darkness was coming on. The men were all called together by a trumpet-call near the spot where the big bear had been killed. They were ordered to discharge their guns and then stack them. Then the labor of dragging the game commenced. First, the wolves were drawn in, and there were just seventeen. It was then decided that the bounty money—then paid by the State for wolf scalps —should be expended in refreshments for the hunting host. Accordingly, two men were dispatched to the settlement of Richfield, several miles on the east, there to procure what they could find, and return with it to the scene of the day's action. Within a few hours, the men returned, bringing a barrel of whisky, drawn in a sled by a yoke of oxen. In the meantime, the other game had been gathered, and it was found that there were over three hundred deer and twenty-one bears. A rousing big fire was built, and the scene which had recently been a vast slaughter-pen, had now turned into one of boisterous jubilation and merriment. A roll-call

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was made, and it was found that there were 454 men on the ground. And then, as " Riley, the Rover," of Cleveland, the bard of the occasion, describes it in his lines on this hunt, composed some years after :

" They set the barrel on one end,

     And stove the other in ;

They used for tapster to attend

     A ladle made of tin.

“The whisky, made by honest men,

     Was drank by men upright,

And none would deem it hurtful then

     To drink on such a night.

" Then every man drank what he chose,

     And all were men of spunk;

But not a fighting wrangle rose, And not a man got drunk."

The word was now passed that the whole squad camp here for the night. A half-dozen men soon had hold of the big bear, drawing him up by the hind legs ; jerked off the skin, and the fat, greasy carcass was soon roasting and spitting before the large camp fire. But few of the hunters had brought a little " Johnny cake," and a slice of bacon or venison, and they all evinced a sharp appetite for something to eat. When the roasting had been completed, an onslaught was made with bowie knives on the body. But, as there was no salt in the camp, the food served became nauseating. From this it went to song, then speeches, and finally the night wound up with anecdotes of adventure and pioneer life. As morning came, a division of the game was made. A committee consisting of Henry Hoyt, of Liverpool ; John Bigelow, of Richfield, and William Coggswell, of Bath, was elected to make the division. After the proportionate shares had been allotted to the different companies, the journey homeward was commenced, some of the hunters living twenty and thirty miles away. Many of the men who had congregated here on the wonderful occasion had been entire strangers to one another, but, after the night's strange and unusual festivities,they had grown on terms of brotherly friendship. It had been a joy and a pleasure to all of these sturdy pioneers who were the first to unfold the beauties of the beautiful "Reserve," to meet so many of their kind here, isolated and alone as their days had to be spent then in battling with the forest and clearing their farms. The game was tied on sticks, and then away the hunters wandered up the hills and down the valley, north, east, west and south, in twos, with the end of a stick on their shoulders, the trusty rifle under their arms and a deer, wolf or bear hanging between, its bloody head dragging over the frozen, snowy ground.

It was in the year following this hunt, that a survey was made of Hinckley, by Abraham Freeze, of Brunswick. The township was divided into 100 lots, each containing 160 acres. The land was then placed on the market for $3 per acre. In the eastern part of the township, Freeze found a " squatter" named Walton, who was the first settler in the township, and the only one at the time of its first survey. Where Walton had come from, or where he moved, has never been learned. He was an industrious man, and had made considerable improvement on what is considered the best lot in the township. Freeze paid Walton for his improvements, and bought the lot of Judge Hinckley. A few years later, the buyer sold it to Nathan Wilson. In 1820, Frederick Deming bought the lot adjoining the one owned by Abraham Freeze, and made the first permanent settlement in Hinckley Township, in that part which is known as the " Ridge." Here he lived alone for several years. In 1822, James Stillman came with his family from the State of New York, and bought land in this neighborhood, building a cabin in the immediate vicinity of Deming's. Stillman soon died. He was buried on a knoll a little way west of the settlement, where now is located the Ridge burial-ground. His death so discouraged his family that they returned at once to New York. In the spring following, Thomas

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N. Easton came alone into Hinckley Township from Lee, Berkshire Co., Mass., and commenced to clear a tract of land that he had bought from Hinkley, which was also located in the vicinity of Deming's settlement. He was soon joined by his young wife, who followed him from their native State, where the two had been married only the year previous. Next came the families of Jared Thayer, Joab Loomis, Bobbin Stillman, Curtis Bullard and Ingersoll Porter, all locating close together in the eastern part of the township.

A number of squatters took possession of lands in the extreme northwest part of the township, some time during the year 1821. It is not known whence they came, nor at what time they located on these lands. Their names were Joe Brink, John Stow, Bill Pool and Tytus Richardson. When regular transfer sales of the land were made to actual settlers, these " squatters " vacated the grounds and removed to parts unknown. David Babcock was the first permanent settler in this part of Hinckley. He was born in Albany County, N. Y. In 1818, he married the daughter of Isaac Isham, of Syracuse, and, in the spring of 1819, he, with his father-in-law and family, removed to Ohio, traveling in wagons, with three yoke of oxen. They settled in Strongsville. The next year, young Babcock bought 160 acres of laud in Hinckley Township, at $3 per acre. He commenced at once making improvements on the new land, by building a log cabin, clearing several acres, and set out an orchard. His wife remained with her parents for several years. In 1826, the old folks moved down from Strongsville and located on a piece of land they had bought, about a mile northeast of David Babcock's farm.

These few settlers continued to be annoyed by wolves, despite the great slaughter of wild game that had taken place only a few years previous. The pioneers were encouraged to trap or kill wolves by a liberal bounty given for theirscalps. and paid by the State. To save their flocks. the settlers built high log pens, covered over, and shut up their sheep at night. Woe to the man who neglected that precaution ! A farmer in the southern part of the township one day went to mill, and returned late in the evening. As he came home in the night, he saw his flock of forty sheep lie quietly in the open air, close to his house. He felt tired. and everything seemed so quiet, that he thought he would run the risk of the wolves catching his sheep that night. But, in the morning, thirty-nine were found dead. mangled and torn by wolves. Many and various devices were resorted to by the settlers to rid themselves of these pests. In March, 1823, William Coggswell, then living in Granger, came up into Hinckley with parts of a steer that he had lost by disease. He deposited one quarter on the Remson Brook, in the south part of the township, several rods from the stream, on one side, and the other part the same distance on the other side. Then he took large, mosscovered stones. and arranged them in the brook, several feet apart, as stepping-stones for the wolves to cross upon, for he knew that wolves. like sheep, dislike to step into water, and, if they have occasion to cross a stream too wide to jump over, will seek out a log to walk upon. or such a place as this trapper had fixed. In place of one of these stones, he put a large, double-spring wolftrap, with ponderous jaws, armed with sharp spikes. This trap he covered over with moss. so that it was nicely concealed, and resembled a mosscovered stone. Here Coggswell caught eleven wolves before his bait was all consumed.

There was living at this time in Hinckley, just a little way north of the Granger line, a Mr. Carpenter. His cattle strayed away in search of leeks and other herbage, and failed to come home at night ; so the next morning he sent a boy, about twelve years old. who was living with him, in search of the cattle. The boy,

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accompanied by a small dog, took his way to the brook bottom, where leeks grew most numerous, hoping there to find the cattle. The dog, in running about, found Coggswell's wolf-bait, and began to eat it. The boy, seeing the dog eating something on the other side of the stream, thought he would go over and see what it was, and, as the water was too wide to jump, he strove to cross on the stepping-stones so nicely arranged, never suspecting a trap was concealed there. The second step he made, snap went the trap, and he yelled out with pain. His outcry so frightened the little dog that he ran home and left the boy alone in his trouble. This was about 10 in the morning. In vain the boy tried to get loose. He tugged and strove with all his might to loosen the jaws, but they, with their cruel spikes, held him fast. Mr. Carpenter, seeing the dog come home without the boy, after a while began to suspect there was something wrong ; so he started off for the double purpose of finding the cattle and boy. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he found him, and strove to get him out of the trap by standing on the spring with his feet and using his hands at the same time ; but, failing in that, he carried the boy and trap to a log, and, getting a couple of handspikes or levers, by putting the ends under the log and resting them over the springs and bearing down, he loosened the springs and finally got the boy out. The poor fellow could not walk a step. The spikes had pierced the flesh on his foot, and it had been so tightly squeezed for so long a time that it had become swollen and benumbed. Mr. Carpenter took the boy on his back and the trap under his arm, and carried them home. The next day, Coggswell visited his trap and found it gone. From appearances, he rightly judged that it had been carried off by human hands, and not been dragged off by wolves ; so he went to Carpenter, who was the person or settler living nearest, to inquire about the trap. Here he found the boy and trap, and learnedthat Carpenter had gone to Squire Freeze's to see if he could not sue Coggswell for damages, but, as he had received no encouragement, he came back home, and, Coggswell being still there, Carpenter refused to give up the trap, and said the boy ought to keep it. Coggswell contended he had a right to set the trap where he did, and that it was the boy's misfortune that got him into the trap, and not his (Coggswell's) fault. Carpenter finally reluctantly gave up the trap.

Josiah Piper came into Ohio from his home in Massachusetts, in the spring of 1818. He located at first at Bath, working for John Hall, in that township. The young pioneer, before he had come out West to look for a new home, had affianced himself to a young lady of his neighborhood. He worked industriously to get a good start so he might return, marry his lady-love, and, as his wife, bring her back to the settlement in Ohio. He bought a tract in the center of Hinckley, after a few years, and soon accumulated sufficient funds to go back East and marry. Within a few years, he returned to Ohio and settled in Hinckley. He soon became a man quite influential in the public affairs of the township. He was appointed one of the Associate Judges of Medina County in 1832, and served for a number of years.

In 1824, Daniel L. Conant located with his family of three children, one mile north of the Center. They had come out from the State of New York. After remaining in Hinckley for a number of years, he removed with his family elsewhere, having joined the Methodist Conference of Northern Ohio as a stated minister. Orlando Wilcox, with his wife and one child, settled on a lot adjoining that of Josiah Piper's, near the Center, in the spring of 1831. One-half mile east of this point stood a small log cabin, and on the other side of the road, a little further east, was a log building, put up a few years previous, by one Ball, for a blacksmith-shop. Ball had sickened and returned to

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Richfield, where he had formerly lived, to be nursed and doctored, but he soon died, and he never used the building. Dr. Wilcox took possession of this building for a time, keeping his family in it until he could build himself one on his own lands. It had a " puncheon " floor and a roof of ' shakes "—no boards overhead. The doctor removed with his family to the southern part of the county in 1838, living for a few years at Friendsville, in Westfield Township. He then returned to Hinckley, and thereafter occupying his old possessions.

Lyman and Hiram Miller, father and son, came out to Hinckley in the spring of 1833, from their home in Monroe County, N. Y., to view the lands in the township. They purchased 650 acres in the western part of Hinckley, returned to their home in the East. and, within a few months. came back with their families to Ohio, settling on the' newly ,acquired territory. The two settlers had engaged the services of Asahel Welton, to erect a cabin for them on the new lands. But, he being unable to find the exact locality where the owners desired their building, had to defer the construction of it until their coming. These families had come by the Erie Canal to Buffalo. and thence across Lake Erie to Cleveland, whence they moved by wagons to Brunswick. There they engaged Thomas James to pilot them through the woods to their new lands on the line of Hinckley Township.

The accessions to the settlement on the " Ridge," in the eastern part, had become quite numerous by this time ; among the new arrivals being Nathan Damon with his family, and Jacob Shaw with his family, both of whom came from Massachusetts in the spring of 1831. The succeeding year Caleb Damon, with his wife and two daughters, Esther and Eliza, and their mother and grandmother, Lucy (who died several years after the arrival in Hinckley, at the remarkable age of one hundred and three years), and also Arad Damon with his family of fourchildren, came together and settled in the neighborhood.

In the fall of 1831, Erastus Waite, who had come out that year from Franklin, Mass., settled on land near the center adjoining Judge Piper's and Dr. Wilcox's land. He bought two acres cleared land of one Benjamin Buck, and moved with his family into the cabin the latter had constructed.

The civil organization of Hinckley Township took place in the year 1825. The first election was held on the 25th day of September of this year. and took place in a little log schoolhouse in the southeastern part of the town. Thomas N. Easton, Jared Thayer and D. M. Conant acted as Judges of Election, and Reuben Ingersol and Abraham Freeze as Clerks. Reuben Ingersol, T. N. Easton and Josiah Piper were elected Trustees ; Jared Thayer, Clerk ; Joab Loomis and Samuel Porter, Overseers of the Poor ; Curtis Bullard and Richard Swift, Fence View era ; D. M. Conant and Jonathan Fisk, Listers and Appraisers ; Fred Deming, Treasurer, and Thomas Stow and D. Babcock, Constables. On a promise made by Judge Hinkley, that, if the settlers of the township would name it after him, in his honor, he would deed them a lot of 160 acres for school purposes, or any use they might choose to put it to. It was therefore voted by the people that it should be named Hinckley. When, a year later, Judge Hinckley made his annual visit to the colony to collect his dues, he was reminded of his promise. The Judge hemmed and hawed, said he had been very unfortunate the past year, had met with heavy losses, had had much sickness in his family, and really did not feel able to make so large a gift. He finally compromised the matter by making out the following deed of tranfer, and giving it to the Township Trustees and their successors :

To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting : KNOW Ys, That I, Samuel Hinckley, of Northampton, Mass., for and in consideration of one dollar current money of the Commonwealth aforesaid, to me in hand

HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. - 615

paid, before the ensealing hereof by Thomas N. Easton, John Jones and Andrew McCreery, Trustees of the township of Hinckley, Medina County, Ohio, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge and am fully satisfied, contented and paid, have given, granted, bargained, sold, aliened, released, conveyed and confirmed ; and by these presents do freely, clearly and absolutely grant, give, bargain, sell, alien. release, convey and confirm unto them the said Easton, Jones and McCreery, Trustees as aforesaid, and their successors in office, forever, the following described parcels of land lying in Hinckley aforesaid, to wit:

A parcel of land bounded as follows : Beginning at a point 9 chains and 75 links, bearing south 88̊ west from the center stake of said township, in the center of the highway; thence running northwest 2 chains and 450 links ; thence south 88̊ west 5 chains ; thence south 2̊ east 5 chains ; thence north 88̊ east 5 chains ; thence north 2̊ west 2 chains and 50 links to the place of beginning, containing 2 acres and 80 rods, be the same more or less—to be by said Trustees appropriated to such purposes as shall best subserve the interests of the town—it being understood that all roads now established and lying in any of the above-described lands are not hereby conveyed.

To HAVE AND To HOLD the before-granted premises, with the appurtenances and privileges thereto belonging to them, the said Easton, Jones and McCreery, Trustees as aforesaid, and their successors in office, to them and their own above-mentioned use, benefit and behoof forevermore: And I, the said Samuel Hinckley, for myself and my heirs, executors and administrators, do covenant, premise and grant unto and with the said Easton, Jones and McCreery, Trustees as aforesaid, and their successors in office forever: That before, and until the ensealing hereof, I am the true, sole, proper and lawful owner and possessor of the before-granted premises, with the appurtenances ; I have in myself, good right, full power and lawful authority to give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, release, convey and confirm the same as aforesaid ; and that free and clear, and freely and clearly, executed, acquitted and discharged of and from all former and other gifts, grants, bargains, sales, leases, mortgages, wills, entails, jointures, dowries, thirds, executions and incumbrances whatsoever.

AND FURTHERMORE, I, the said Samuel Hinckley, for myself, my heirs, executors and administrators, do hereby covenant, promise and engage; the before-granted premises, with the appurtenances unto them, the said Easton, Jones and McCreery, and their successors in office forever, to warrant, secure and defend against the lawful claims and demands of any person whatsoever. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of June, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-one.

SAMUEL HINCKLEY [L. S.]

Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of

JOHN RANDALL.

Joseph LYMAN.

Personally appeared before me, Samuel Hinckley, signer and sealer of the within instrument, and acknowledged it to be his free act and deed.

FREDERICK DEMING, J. P.

HINCKLEY, MEDINA COUNTY, OHIO, June 23, 1831.

The Hinckley people were for quite a time, during the early days, excited on the temperance question ; and on various occasions it produced a state of ill-feeling and unpleasantness. Whisky was in those days one of the social elements, and no public occasion was thought complete, unless there was a good supply of liquor. One set of citizens finally decided that they would no longer assist at raisings if there was whisky ; and another said as determinedly they would not if there was not whisky. Between these two factions, it was often difficult to get enough help to put up a frame without going a great distance to invite hands, or made a compromise. It thus happened, one day, that, while there was a raising on Oviatt's farm, near the Center, there was also another on the " Ridge," and, between these two, help was scarce. Oviatt liked a "drop" now and then, and so did Craig and a few others present, but they could not mutter forces enough to raise without the aid of the temperance men, and so reluctantly agreed to dispense with whisky. Craig, a rough, whisky-drinking fellow, but a man of experience in barn-raisings "bossed" the job. After raising the bent, Craig called out, " There, you cold-water cusses, hold that till I tell you to let go." They did hold till they got tired and could hold no longer, and over went the bent. William West was on it, but he jumped off without injury, while a pike-pole fell and

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struck Robert McCloud, fracturing his skull. Dr. Wilcox was called; he dressed the wound, and the man got well in a few weeks. This incident rather added to the ranks of the temperance people, and a society was formed which became influential and important, sustaining its organization for a number of years.

Curtis Bullard was the first Justice of the Peace. The first couple he married, and the first couple undoubtedly married in the township, were a Mr. Carr and Miss Harriet Wallace. Among the guests present, were Judge Josiah Piper and wife, Curtis Bullard and wife, and others. They had a right jolly good time ; and among other amusing performances they sang :

“Scotland is burning, run, boys, run,

     Scotland is burning, fire ! fire ! fire !

Pour on water," etc.

They were excellent singers, and carried all the parts to perfection. The time and occasion and spirit in which it was sung, rendered it ludicrous in the extreme. Carr stayed with his wife but three or four days, and then left her for parts unknown, The first child born in the township was a daughter to F. Deming. The latter put up the first frame dwelling ever constructed in the township. It burned down in the year 1856. The next erected was by A. Freeze and is still standing. The dwellings of the first settlers were universally built of logs. Though not as commodious as the present dwellings, the dwellers therein enjoyed as much true happiness.

Hinckley has been quite prolific in deaths by accident. F. N. Ferris was killed by the fall of a tree. Richard Swift, Jr., was killed by the accidental discharge of a rifle in his own hands. J. B. Dake was killed by the kick of a horse. S. Woodruff was killed by lightning. Caleb Damon was shot by A. Shear.

A very common method of hunting turkeys was to use a turkey-bone, with the aid of which the call of a turkey for its mate could be veryclosely imitated. The hunter would lie in ambush and call until some turkey, unconscious of the fate which awaited him, would approach the hiding-place of the hunter, when he was made an easy victim of the rifle. Caleb Damon had secreted himself in this manner behind a log. Shear, who was hunting in the same locality, heard the " call," answered it, and cautiously advanced in the direction of the sound. Soon a black object was seen to rise slowly above the log, and Shear, thinking it to be' a turkey, took deadly aim with his gun and fired. A cry of My God ! I am shot !" from the object at which he had discharged his rifle, apprised Shear what he had done. Instead of killing a turkey,, he had sent a rifle bullet crashing through the brain of his ,friend and neighbor. Mr. Damon died almost, instantly. Susan Sutton committed suicide at Burk's Corners by poisoning herself. R. Swift drowned himself in a well. The most remarkable in this category of accidents and incidents, is the " Whipp Case," that created a sensation at the time of its occurrence, perhaps never equaled by any event in Medina County. Robert Whipp is a wealthy landowner in Hinckley Township. He lost his first wife by death, and was remarried, to a young widow, thirty or forty years his junior, in 1876. They lived together on his farm in the central part of Hinckley. Between the hours of 11 and 12 o'clock on Saturday night, September 15, 1877, Whipp was awakened from sleep by mysterious movements on the part of his wife. He also discovered a strong and to him peculiar smell about the bed-clothing, which he afterward described as chloroform. In a few minutes he heard footsteps approaching his bed, and his wife, getting off from the bed, asked in a whisper, " Shall I pat the light out ? " The other voice answered " Yes." The light was then put out, and they walked away from the bed together. Whipp then asked, " Who is there ? " No answer: They turned back and went into

HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. - 617

the kitchen. Other voices were then heard, all apparently in consultation together. Soon after Whipp, who still remained in bed, heard heavy footsteps approaching, and, in a moment more, he was seized by the throat. A struggle ensued. Whipp, who is a powerfully strong man, finally succeeded in getting off from the bed onto the floor. He then saw another man, of short stature, and thick set, who came to the assistance of the first, with a rope in his hand. At this time he recognized in the first, his young wife's brother, Lon Spensley. The other man, he did not know. The two men soon got him down on the floor and attempted to put a slip-noose rope over his head. It was a matter of life and death now, and the struggle was hard. They got the rope over his head and down as far as his month several times, but he desperately shoved it off ; and finally, with a desperate effort, he threw the assailants from him and gained his feet. He wrenched the rope from their hands, and they backed out into the kitchen. He then ran outdoors in his night clothes and started for a neighbor's. where he remained until morning. He then had Spensley, and, soon after, his wife and a young man named Taylor, arrested. At the winter term, in 1878, of the Medina County Court of Common Pleas, the prisoners were arraigned on the charge of attempt to kill. After a most exciting trial, of several weeks in duration, they were found guilty, and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. After a year's servitude, they were released by the Governor's pardon.

The house of Hiram Miller, in the south-western part of the township, on the Brunswick line, became noted during the Fugitive Slave excitement as a station on the " underground railroad," and its owner was known as one of the most zealous workers and abettors to keep the runaway slave out of the clutches of the pursuing master. The negroes were brought by Festus Ganyard and Ira Ingraham from Granger, where they always found succor at thehands of the two men, to the house of Miller. Here the slaves were detained until after reconnaissance had been made to the north, and, when the coast was found to be clear of slave-hunters, the darkies were transported by Miller and Egbert Ashley, of Strongsville, to the outlet of Rocky River, on Lake Erie, and thence they were shipped to Canada. Miller oftentimes had as many as twenty-five fugitives under his roof, and he supplied them with food and clothing to the best of his means. Aside from giving aid to the slaves in this way, Miller took a very decided and open stand among his neighbors on the great anti-slavery question, and he boldly advocated the cause by lecturing and preaching in its behalf. It created an intense excitement for a time, and on one or two occasions bodily assaults were made upon him by his neighbors, he at one time receiving serious injuries.

The pioneer industry of Hinckley forms a considerable factor in the affairs of the town-ship. The first store was built by A. Miles, of Brunswick, who put into it a young man named Daniel Bradigum, who erected a large ashery near the store. Ashes was then the principal article of manufacture people had to sell These ashes were converted first into black salts, and then into pearl ash. This was before the days of saleratus. Corn-cob ashes and pearl-ash were used to raise shortcake, and the cake was baked in an iron kettle. William Comstock established the first blacksmith-shop in the township, in the eastern part. Houghton Packard built a large, three-story carding-mill in the Rocky River Valley, in the southeastern part of the township, in the year 1828. A foundry, grist-mill and distillery were added to it in the course of a few years. Business was done here for some time, until, in later years, the manufacturing and business interests shifted to the center. David Babcock built a saw-mill north of town, on "Big Brook," in 1842. He was followed in this enterprise by Warren

618 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

Warren and Lewis Brown, both of whom built mills a little further up the creek. In 1852, F. P. and W. L. Wetmore established a large steam saw-mill, which was afterward, in 1857, sold to Mortimer Old, who added a grist-mill. Immediately after the war, Abram Dunham erected a foundry at the Center. This was destroyed by fire on the 1st of April, 1867, but was immediately rebuilt on a larger scale. Two years later, on May 6, 1869, the fire-fiend again reduced the establishment to ashes, involving a great loss to the proprietors and the business interests of Hinckley. The workmen had just cleared out the shop, throwing the shavings, chips and refuse pieces into the engine-room to be used for kindlings and fuel, preparatory to taking off a " heat." The fire was kindled, the engine put in motion to propel the fan to increase the heat in the cupola, and they were busy in filling the molds, when suddenly they were startled by the cry of "fire," raised without. A spark had fallen among the shavings in the engine-room, and, before they were aware, it was filled with a blaze. It burst outward, ran up the siding, and soon the roof was on fire. There was a stiff breeze from the south, which blew the fire directly into the upper room, where the woodshop was located. The workmen could save nothing; their coats and vests, hanging up on pegs, were burned. About two rods to the east stood the warehouse, filled with plows, cultivators, etc. Soon the west side of that building and the roof were on fire. The roofs of Waite's and Riley's barns and house caught fire about the same time. It seemed as if everything was about to be consumed by the devouring element. It was a time of wild excitement, when suddenly the wind changed, blowing the flames from the buildings. Men mounted the buildings and poured water on the parts of the roof on fire. Old carpets were got, saturated with water and spread on the roofs. Men and women worked like beavers, and they finally succeeded in their heroic efforts to staythe flames. Even the warehouse, which had at one time been abandoned to the flames, was partially, with all its contents, saved. Within a few years, the establishment was again resurrected, and it is today one of the most successful and extensive foundries in Medina County.

The Hinckley Lodge, of I. O. O. F., which is " hailed " as Lodge 304, was organized in 1856. The charter was given by the Ohio Grand Lodge, on the 3d of June, 1856. The petitioners for the grant were S. C. Oviatt, Wesley Pope. W. S. Wetmore. William Crooks, William S. Salisbury and A. Severance. The first regular meeting was held on the 4th of July, 1856, and the following board of officers was elected : W. S. Wetmore. N. G.; L. Parker, V. G.; A. Severance, Secretary ; G. B. Simmons, Treasurer ; M. W. Dunham, Conductor : and William Frost, Warden. After a few years, the society purchased one of the store buildings in the village, and arranged the upper story as a lodge-room. The regular meetings of the lodge are held on Saturday of each week.

A small Methodist society was organized on the "Ridge " as early as 1822. Meetings were then held at private houses, until a few years later, when the people met at the little log schoolhouse that had been erected in the vicinity. Services were conducted by missionaries from the East, and circuit-riders, who came at different times through the settlement. On preaching days. four devoted sisters, Letitia Swift, Mrs. McCreary, Mrs. Chester Conant, and Mrs. David Taman. would come through the woods together, singing hymns. and making them ring with their bright and clear voices. They came dressed in all the simplicity of the times ; a plain sunbonnet or a bandana handkerchief answered the purpose of the fashionable bonnet of today. During 1826. a Methodist society was organized by D. L. Conant, near the center, which the " Ridge " people soon joined, and the two together formed one society. Mr. Conant

HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. - 619

was the first preacher of the society, and he was quite frequently assisted by circuit-riders. The meetings were at first held in a little log house that had been erected for a blacksmith-shop, but had been abandoned by the builder. In 1844, a church edifice was constructed a little distance west of the Center, on a piece of land deeded to the society by David Babcock. The church now belongs to the Richfield charge, and contains about sixty active members.

A Congregational church was organized May 5, 1828. According to previous announcement, a number of persons met at the log schoolhouse near the Center, the usual place of holding religious meetings on this date, for the purpose of organizing into a church. There were present the Rev. Simon Woodruff and Israel Shaler. missionaries from Connecticut, and the Rev. Joseph A. Pepoon. of the Grand River Presbytery. After prayer, the following persons presented themselves for examination, viz.: James and Mary Porter, Cornelius and Mary Northrop, John and Myra Jones. Bordena Thayer, Temperance Easton, Harriet Carr (by letter), Curtis and Sarah Ball. Thomas Easton, Zilpah Loomis. Jonathan Fish and Samantha Loomis. " These persons having been examined with regard to their experimental acquaintance with religion, and having agreed to the confession of faith and covenant adopted by our churches in the country, and having expressed a willingness to hold fellowship with each other, it was concluded that they be organized into a church. A sermon was then preached by the Rev. Mr. Pepoon, after which the above-named persons, having given their public assent to the confession. of faith, were declared to be a church, and charged to be faithful. James Porter was appointed Deacon, and Curtis Bullard. Clerk. The meetings were held every other Sunday, in the little blacksmith-shop, already referred to, until in 1838, when a separate church building was erected on a piece of ground deeded to them by Judge Piper. The meetings of this societywere discontinued in 1878, for want of proper support.

A Free-Will Baptist society was organized on the " Ridge " in 1835, by Edward Waldo, Arad Damon and Russell Putman. It remained in effect for a number of years, holding meetings in schoolhouses and private dwellings, but, at the present day, has gone out of existence.

The Hinckley Disciples' Church was oorganized on the 20th of February, 1870, by Elders Robert Moffet, of Cleveland, a noted evangelist, and H. N. Allen, of Royalton. The Trustees of this society, after its first organization, were George E. Webber, Lewis Finch and John Musser. A large church edifice was erected in 1871, and dedicated in December of the same year by Prof. B. A. Hinsdale, of Hiram. H. N. Allen was Pastor of the church until in 1874, when he was succeeded by H. B. Cox, for one year, and George Musson, for two years. The present officiating Pastor of the church is E. S. Bower, of Hiram. One hundred and nineteen persons have joined the church since its organization.

The first school teacher in Hinckley was Miss Alsina Brooks, of Strongsville Township. She used to walk from Bennett's Corners to the center of Hinckley and teach all day. In one of her walks through the woods, she came across a raccoon, which she killed and brought to the schoolhouse to exhibit to the scholars. The pioneer children came two or three miles through the woods and sat all day on hard slab benches, and then their parents had to scrimp and save to pay the teacher. But the education they received was of the most practical kind, and our humble log schoolhouses turned out men of the best stamp. The following table, on school statistics in Hinckley Township, was prepared by Dr. Wilcox. It will illustrate, in a striking degree, the different phases in the school history, and also the population of the township at different times. The

620 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

enumeration of the youths, between the ages of five and twenty-one years, for the years from 1852 to 1880, is as follows : 1852, 620 ; 1853, 537 ; 1854, 493 ; 1855, 494 ; 1856, 479 ; 1857, 467; 1858, 491; 1859, 466 ; 1860, 463 ; 1861, 455; 1862, 427 ; 1863, 410 ; 1864. 394 ; 1865. 398 ; 1866, 387 ; 1867, 353 ; 1868. 333 ; 1880, 250. Beginning with 620 in 1852. it ends in 1880 with 250, a decrease of nearly 70 per cent. Again, twice 620 is 1,240. about the actual general population of the township in twice 250 is 500, which is very nearly one-half of our general population in 1880—in other words, the children have sunk from half of the whole population to a little more than one-fourth. The 370 children, lost in Hinckley in the years mentioned, this being the difference in the school population between 1852 and 1880, would form eight school districts larger than our average districts. Districts that twenty years ago enumerated eighty scholars. have now got down to twenty or less, with an average daily attendance of seven or eight scholars ; and the expense of supporting the small school is as great as the larger one. To enlarge the school districts, necessitates removing the old schoolhouses or building new ones, and sacrificing the old ones, and then many children will be so far from them that they cannot or will not attend, and ignorance will be again on the increase, with all of its inseparable evils. Medina County is capable of supporting, with ease, three times its population. Hinckley is. today. divided into eight subdistricts. The following abstract shows the financial condition of the township schools for 1880 :

Balance on hand .............................$1,298 86,

State tax................................................351 00

Township tax ....................................2,428 46

Irreducible tax school fund ....................22 56

Fines, licenses, etc ...............................252 5!

Total.................................................$4,353 85

Whole amount paid township.............l.432 3

Amount for sites, buildings. ere............506 45

Amount for fuel ....................................420 09

Balance on hand ...............................$1,974 00