HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 175 the sugar on board the canoe and shoved ahead with setting poles down the creek. "Having several beaver dams to cut through and many logs to chop off under water we made slow progress. Not having much experience in navigation, we made an awkward appearance—sometimes the canoe would dodge to one side, then the opposite. We had got near the old fort when we were surprised by the Indians laughing at us and saying `How ye ! How ye !' Three days after, returning up the creek, we found these beaver dams mostly repaired again." Lieutenant Simon Fobes returned to stay in 1807, bringing his whole family, including his aged father and mother. They did not live to see the spring in the new country. The mother died on February 4, 1808, and the father survived her only three days. The settlement of Ashtabula in 1803 was followed in 1804 by two young men, bachelors, from Trenton, New York, Matthew Hubbard and William Pierce. They lived their first year alone, suffering hardship, to be sure, but surmounting it with the vigor and resilience of youth. Hubbard's brief description of their first winter is vivid : "We had provided ourselves with a yoke of oxen, a cow and mush pot, also some flour and corn meal, which was packed on horseback from Youngstown. We were also possessed of two tin cups, two jack-knives, two wooden spoons, the latter of our own workmanship, and with two axes. Thus equipped we were in full tide of operation. Our beds were of cheap construction, being split from a log, sufficiently broad for convenient lodging. We lay head and foot, and enjoyed refreshing sleep. Our cow soon left us, and we saw her no more, depriving us of an article then regarded among the luxuries of life. We once during the summer indulged in eating a piece of elk's flesh. Otherwise our diet consisted of mush and water and hasty at that." 176 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO The beautiful harbor which is the pride and the reason for the prosperity of Ashtabula does not seem to have attracted many settlers until later. Again and again we find evidence that the early settlers much preferred to withdraw from the lake shore to the friendly shelter of the forest. A little east of Ashtabula, however, a small group of settlers established themselves in the bottom at the bend of the Conneaut. They had no shadow of a title, but found fine fresh water in a sheltered hollow, and squatted there. One Eldad Herrington, of Massachusetts, was the first of these squatters, and he was followed by a little group from Western Pennsylvania, among others, Andrew Stull, Leonard and Michael Widener, and Israel Harrington. These settlements were made in 1804 and 1805. Later in 1805, came Captain Walter Fobes from Norwich, Massachusetts, one of the indomitable Fobes family, and in 1806 Captain Roger Nettleton from the little settlement at Austinburg. This hamlet was first known as Norwich, but changed its name at the request of a stranger named King, who happened along. What peculiar twist of ambition or desire for fame actuated King is hard to tell, but at any rate he made the magnificent offer of four gallons of whiskey for the privilege of conferring on the settlement his name. There was a protest from the more conservative of the inhabitants, but the thirsty Pennsylvania squatters were in the majority, and the town and township remain Kingsville to this day. Kingsville, however, in spite of this episode soon showed signs of progress. A school was established in 1806, the teacher being Rebecca Cowles, and a Methodist class formed in 1808, the above named Israel Harrington acting as local preacher. The settlement of Rome Township by Abner Hall, in 1805, is interesting on account of the nature of Hall's first house : HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 177 "The log cabin which Mr. Hall built was about thirty feet long and twenty feet wide, with one door on the south side near the east end, but no windows. Near the center was built up of stone a kind of chimney back, five or six feet high, so that fires could be made on each side of it, and directly over it was a large hole or opening in the roof for the smoke to escape. "There was no floor in the cabin except a narrow one, ten or twelve feet wide, across the east end. The fires were built on the ground on each side of the chimney back, and round stones served as andirons." The description reminds one of the primitive simplicity of an ancient Saxon hall ! Rome received several new settlers in 1806. The route of one of them has been preserved. Ephraim Sawyer started from East Haddam, Connecticut, and came to Rome by way of Hartford, Pishkill (Fishkill?), on the Hudson; Easton, Pennsylvania; Harrisburg, Carlisle, Pittsburgh, Beaver, Griersburg, Petersburg, Poland, Youngstown, Warren, Champion, Bristol, Bloomfield and Orwell. William Crowell and Elijah Crosby built a school house in Rome in 1810. The schoolmaster was William Humphrey. David Wright, of Morgan Township, constructed a primitive grist mill from the stump of a beech tree. The construction was as follows : The stump of the tree was carefully smoothed. A fire was then built on its level surface. When the fire had burned out a bowl shaped hollow to a depth of a foot or more, the bowl was cleaned out and smoothed. The miller then cut a hickory sapling. A forked stick was then planted in the ground a few feet from the stump. The larger end of the sapling was anchored to the ground a little distance farther away. The sapling extended across the fork so that the small end reached to a height of ten or twelve feet, directly above 178 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO the beech stump. To the end of the sapling was attached a heavy billet of wood six or seven feet long, so that its lower end was directly above the bowl in the stump. Through this billet a wooden pin was forced at the height of a man's shoulder. The operation of the mill can easily be comprehended. The miller first placed a quantity of Indian corn in the bowl. Then he seized the two handles in his hands, and plunged the billet of wood into the cavity, the resilient sapling operating as a spring to lift his pestle back again. By this primitive method a coarse meal was ground—the staple cereal of our forefathers. The idea was, of course, borrowed from the Indians, although nearly all their hand mills seem to have been of hollowed stone. Austinburg was settled in 1799, by Eliphalet Austin. By 1802, several families were settled in the township, which must always be remembered as the spot chosen by the Reverend Joseph Badger, the great pioneer Congregational missionary, to establish his first regular congregation. Badger had fought in the Revolution, seeing service first at Bunker Hill, when he was fifteen years of age. He entered the Congregational ministry after the war, and in 1800 was sent to the Reserve by his denomination. His first entry was at Poland. For two years he moved on from place to place, preaching to any group who would listen. In this way he visited every one of the early settlements. His settlement in Austinburg did not end his travels, but he remained a resident there until the War of 1812, when, as we shall see, he entered the service again, this time as a chaplain. After the war he moved on to Perry County, where he ended his days, having had the honor of first bringing the Gospel into the wilderness of Northern Ohio. Jefferson was settled by Eldad Smith, of Suffield, Connecticut, in 1804. In 1806, a town plat was laid out in the HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 179 center of the township, and the public or "Market Square" established. Gideon Granger and Timothy Caldwell started to build a courthouse in Jefferson in 1808. For various reasons construction was delayed until 1811, when a courthouse and jail were ready for the beginning of county government. Chardon was established as the county seat of Geauga County after the separation of Ashtabula, but was not settled until 1812. Before the settlement of Chardon, and after Burton and Middlefield, the original settlements, came the following. Hambden was settled in 1801 by Dr. Solomon Bond; Parkman in 1804 by Robert B. Parkman; Huntsburg in 1807 by Stephen Pomeroy; and several smaller settlements before 1812. In 1812, Norman Canfield built a double log house to be used as a tavern in Chardon. A little later in the year came Captain Edward Paine, Junior, who built a log house which seems to have been used both as a dwelling for the captain and as a county courthouse. In spite of its double purpose the house had only one door. There was only one window, and no ceiling except the roof. The floor was made of wide rough boards. The judges sat on a split log supported by blocks, and the lawyers used a common cross-legged table of rough boards. The jury, the witnesses and spectators sat where they could find room. When the jury retired they withdrew to a log lying just outside the courthouse. This lowly court room served Geauga County until 1813, when a new and finer building was erected, and Captain Paine and his family were allowed the undisputed possession of their home. Painesville, Willoughby and Mentor, the three delightful residence cities of Lake County which now extend in a practically continuous line of beautiful homes, nurseries and flower gardens along the old main road from Buffalo to Cleveland (now U. S. Route No. Twenty) , were settled early, but were comparatively slow in development. General Ed- 180 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO ward Paine continued his residence in Painesville, and Governor Samuel Huntingden made it his residence for the latter part of his life. It is on record that General Eli Bond came to Painesville in 1805 from Brookfield, Massachusetts, and started a general store. The further development of this beautiful country will be taken up in later chapters. CHAPTER VI ORIGINAL COLUMBIANA COUNTY On May 1, 1803, the first Ohio Legislature founded Columbiana County. As originally organized the county included the territory from the mouth of Yellow Creek west to the Tuscarawas River, north along the river to the southern boundary of the Western Reserve, east along that boundary to the Pennsylvania line, and south on that line to the point of beginning; thus including, besides the present Columbiana County, the three northern townships of Carroll, all of Stark east of the Tuscarawas, two townships of Summit and the five southern townships of Mahoning. This territory was reduced when Stark County was created in 1808, but remained unchanged otherwise until the establishment of Mahoning in 1847. The organization of the county followed closely the act of the legislature. On May 10th, the judges of the court of Common Pleas met in the barn of Mathias Lower, in Fairfield Township, and proceeded to lay out the townships, define their areas, and arrange for the appointment of the first county officers. The judges divided the county into five townships for the purpose of government: Springfield and Middleton, on the northeastern boundary, St. Clair, including all the southeastern part of the county, Fairfield, west of Springfield and Middleton, and Salem, "a small state in area," including all the western side of the county. As the population rapidly increased these townships were soon subdivided. - 181 - 182 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO The court appointed Resin Beall to the office of county clerk; William Heald, surveyor; Obadiah Jennings, a resident of Steubenville, Jefferson County, was the first prosecuting attorney. John Crozer was elected sheriff in October. The original judges, chosen by the legislature, were Robert Simison, Henry Bachman and William Smith. Court continued to be held for a few weeks on Lower's farm, but it was, of course, necessary to establish a permanent location for the county seat. The decision fell to the little town of New Lisbon, laid out by Lewis Kinney. Kinney had located in 1802 in the beautiful valley hollowed out by the middle branch of Little Beaver Creek. His, location was central as regarding the population of the new county, and the judges may have been influenced by the charm of the scene. Kinney seems to have been a man of generous and public spirited character. He donated lots near the center of his little village plot for public buildings, and built a log court house and jail. For this he was awarded the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars. Around the square in his little village Kinney laid out, in 1803, the streets and alleys of his little village which has not greatly increased as the years have passed, although the influence of New Lisbon (now usually contracted to Lisbon) in county and state affairs has greatly exceeded its physical size. Lewis Kinney himself became a man of importance in the county, serving as major of the First Battalion of Columbiana County Militia, and representing the county in the state senate from 1808 to 1813. He had the pioneer wandering spirit in his blood, however, and in later years removed to the Missouri Country, where he remained until he died. Kinney's log court house served the county until 1816, when it was replaced by a brick building. This building was again replaced by a new stone court house in 1871, which is HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 183 now in 1934, in the process of reconstruction and enlargement. New Lisbon soon assumed an air of importance, as befitted the county seat. A little book entitled "An Historical Sketch of the Old Village of New Lisbon, Ohio," prepared by Messrs. C. S. Speaker, C. C. Connell and George T. Farrell, at the time of the centennial celebration of the village, gives the following account of some of the early settlers : "Among those who came early to locate in New Lisbon were General Resin Beall, the Harbaughs, Arters, Shawkes, Potters, Blocksoms, Hostetters, Watsons, Smalls, Thompsons, Endleys, Springers, Greens, Crowls Helmans, Vallandighams, Richardsons, Briggses and other whose name are very familiar, as many of their descendants are now, or have been within a comparatively recent period, residents of the town. "Resin Beall came to New Lisbon about 1803, and was a prominent citizen of the new village, being appointed by the Common Pleas Court to the offices of Recorder, or Clerk and Treasurer, on July 26, 1803, and holding the office of Clerk of Courts in 1810. He was also Brigadier General of the Second Brigade of Ohio Militia. Afterward, about the year 1815, he removed to Wooster and was elected a representative to the Thirteenth Congress of the United States. "William and Daniel Harbaugh came in 1804 and soon became prominent in the affairs of the county. Daniel Harbaugh soon after his arrival, established a tannery. John Arter came in 1805 and opened a tannery. Jacob Shawke, who was the first village blacksmith, Dr. Horace Potter and Fisher A. Blocksom came here the same year. Dr. Potter was the first physician to begin practice in New Lisbon, became surgeon in the militia regiment, and afterwards, Clerk of Courts. Mr. Blocksom was the first lawyer to make a permanent residence here, having come on horseback through the forest. He served for several years as Prosecuting At- 184 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO torney of the county, was a Representative to the General Assembly from 1826 to 1828, inclusive, and again from 1831 to 1833, and was also a State Senator from 1847 to 1851. He continued in active practice of his profession until about 1852, and remained a resident of the town until his death, December 14, 1876, at the age of a little more than ninety-five years. "Jacob Hostetter came from Switzerland in 1805 and engaged in the business of clock and watch making. David Hostetter settled here in 1806 and opened a tavern. His son and his grandson each held the office of sheriff of the county in after years. John Small came in 1806 and followed the occupation of gunsmith many years. John Watson came in the same year and also conducted a tavern. This house, it is said, had the first brick chimney in New Lisbon. Watson's son, Jacob Watson, was the first sheriff of the county. (Note. —This does not agree with the account of the election of 1803, when John Crozer was elected sheriff . Watson's election actually came later.) Dr. Joseph Springer became a resident of the town in 1807, and Holland Green, Michael Stock, who was probably the first one to begin the business of wagon making in the village, and George Crowl were among those who located here in the same year. Reverend Clement Vallandigham came to New Lisbon immediately after his marriage in May, 1807, and on June 24th of that year was ordained and installed as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in the village, and continued in that capacity during the remainder of his life, which ended October 21, 1839. "In 1808, Martin Heiman located in the village, and during the same year William D. Lepper came and established the first newspaper in the county, the Ohio Patriot. Gideon Hughes also settled here and erected a furnace a short distance northwest of the town. . . . William Clapsaddle in 1810, was the first tinner in the village. . ." A log school-house was built in the village soon after its beginning. The first teacher was David Wilson. It stood in HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 185 a grove of young white oaks, had oiled paper as a substitute for window glass, and benches made of wooden slabs. A better school building was later constructed of hewed logs. In this building, David McKinley, grandfather of President McKinley, taught for a time. New Lisbon became a post office town in 1809. William Harbaugh was the first postmaster. It has been noted that William D. Lepper started a newspaper in 1808. Lepper was a native of Hanover, Germany, and for a few months the paper was printed in the German language, under the title "Der Patriot am Ohio." After Lepper became more familiar with the English language, he changed the name to "The Ohio Patriot," and printed the paper in English. This paper had a continuous term of publication for more than one hundred years. One of the interesting items in the early history of New Lisbon is the organization of a "band," or orchestra. It was in active operation as early as 1813. The musicians and their instruments were as follows: William Hillman and John Clapsaddle, violinists; John Crafts, flutist; William D. Lepper, flutist ; Dr. John D. Gloss, triangle. Such an extraordinary collection of instrument must have produced wierd music. Most of the early settlers in New Lisbon, except those who came from Germany, were of the Presbyterian faith. The Presbyterian Church was organized in 1806, and, as has been seen, the Reverend Clement Vallandigham was called as pastor in the summer of 1807. The old log court house was originally used for the services of this church, except in fair summer weather, when the congregation worshipped in a tent located in a grove of trees near the creek. No church building was built until 1814. Of this first church the account is that "It was a large, plain, comfortable, one-story building, in which the seats were high and the aisles were paved with brick." 186 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO A German Lutheran Church was organized early in New Lisbon, but no building was erected until about 1833. A few Quakers located in the village, and for a while held meetings. A Calvinistic Baptist Church was organized about 1813. These were all the church organizations in the early days of New Lisbon. Several of the early buildings of New Lisbon still stand, and a few of these are worthy of description. The oldest house remaining is a small stone structure built by Lewis Kinney, the founder of the town. It is built of native sandstone, the walls being more than two feet in thickness. It stands at the corner of Washington Street and Huston Alley, and looks strong enough to last for ages. The brick house built by the original town lawyer, Fisher A. Blocksom, in 1811, has a beautiful doorway with side lights and a fan light above. Over the door the window in the second story also has side lights. The whole is a very fine example of the early American architecture. The old county jail was built of sandstone in 1808, and still stands at the corner of Beaver and Chestnut streets. This fine building is no longer used as a jail, it having been superseded by a newer structure of brick. The old jail is now a peaceful dwelling house. Salem, as we have seen, was settled by a group of people nearly all belonging to the Society of Friends, or Quakers, in 1801-1803. The early arrivals, in the order of their coming are as follows: After Elisha Schooley, who built a cabin in 1801 near Salem, came, in 1803, Samuel Smith, Samuel Davis, Jonas Cottell and Elisha Hunt. In 1804 came John Straughan, Abram Warrington and Jacob Cook. John Webb came in 1805, with a family of seven sons and four daughters. Zadok Streets came from Salem, New Jersey, in 1805. Street gave the name to the new settlement, in remembrance of his home HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 187 in New Jersey. He died in 1807, shortly after his arrival. His son, John Street, opened the original store in 1808. Salem Village was laid out in 1806. In 1807, a Friends Meeting House was built. Before this the Society met in the members' houses, the first recorded meeting being in the home of George Hunt in the summer of 1804. A school was begun in Salem in 1804, the first teachers being Hannah Fisher and Judith Townsend. It will be noted that Salem is an exception to the rule in the early settlements that the teachers were usually young men. One family among the early settlers of the northern portion of Columbiana County is worthy of special notice, on account of its importance in later Ohio history. In 1764, Thomas Hanna sailed from the north of Ireland for Philadelphia. He settled in Southeastern Pennsylvania. His son, Robert, after taking part in the civic affairs of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary days, moved into Fairfield Township, Columbiana County, in 1801. Robert Hanna had in his youth lived with a Quaker family as a "bound boy," and came to Ohio as part of the Quaker migration. His son, Benjamin, in 1803, married Rachael Dixson according to the Friends ceremony. Benjamin and Rachael Hanna lived in Fairfield Township until 1812, when he removed to Salem and conducted a company store established by the Quakers there. In 1814, the family moved to a farm near Lisbon, where they remained for many years. Leonard Hanna, son of Benjamin, was born in Fairfield Township in 1806. He attended school in New Lisbon, and practiced medicine and engaged in mercantile business there until 1852, when he removed to Cleveland and there founded the great Hanna mercantile business. Dr. Leonard's second child and first son, Marcus Alonzo Hanna, who was to become one of Ohio's greatest citizens, was born in New Lisbon September 24, 1837. 188 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO The grandparents of President William McKinley were also early Columbiana County residents. James McKinley was in the business of iron manufacturing in the neighborhood of New Lisbon at an early date. Nancy Allison, mother of William McKinley, lived in a house in New Lisbon which still stands, While the northern part of the county was progressing little advance was made in the river settlements before the War of 1812. A rare pamphlet, "Early Reminiscences of Fawcettsville or East Liverpool," by W. G. Smith, gives the following description of the settlements along the river in early days. (Note.—For the privilege of examination of this pamphlet the writer feels indebted to the staff of the East Liverpool Public Library.) "Prior to the advent of Wellsville, the freehold settlement along the river between Big Yellow Creek and Little Beaver Creek was about as follows : On the Ohio side at the mouth of Yellow Creek, Nessly, next above Henry Eaton; between his land and Little Yellow Creek, William Wells, Senior, owned land and improvements; next, Mr. Ramsey; next, John Rough and Thomas Ashton; Angus McBane owned the land from Ashton's up to Coonrod's Run; then Thomas Fawcett's farm and town; going east, Joseph Smith's (this tract afterward passed into many different hands) ; east of the Smith tract, John Babb owned and resided, where George S. Harker and Company's Pottery now stands; he also owned the island opposite. From J. Babb's land, John Beaver owned to the state line." Columbiana County, as originally organized, extended west to the Tuscarawas River, thus including the greater part of the present Stark County. It is certain that no white man made a permanent settlement in this country until 1805, when an interesting adventurer, one James F. Leonard, began the settlement of Stark. Leonard was born in Franklin HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 189 County, Pennsylvania, in 1779. He received some education, and at the age of twenty-three came to Ohio as a professional land viewer and surveyor. He was in Chillicothe in 1802, serving as a clerk in the land office there. In 1804, a branch of the land office was opened in Steubenville, and Leonard was transferred to it. In the early part of 1805 he conceived the idea of going into the land business on his own account. With this idea he engaged two brothers, James and Henry Barber, and with them started from Steubenville, arriving in the neighborhood of the present city of Canton in March. The three young adventurers built for themselves a shelter of saplings, and proceeded to explore and to make a rough survey. Having satisfied himself as to the character of the country, Leonard left the Barber brothers on the location and returned to Steubenville, where he proceeded to enter a claim to his surveyed holdings. He then began to advertise himself as a surveyor and land jobber, offering his services as a guide to persons who wished to take up land in this new country. One little tragedy occurred during this summer. A certain James Culberson, a Pennsylvanian, had left his family, in despair at his own inability to keep from the liquor habit, and had come to Ohio in the hope of rehabilitation in the wilderness. Leonard hired Culberson to help in his surveys, and took him to the Stark County region. Things went well with Culberson until fall, when, accidentally falling in with some traders, he got too much whiskey, and, having no shelter, lay exposed to the elements until he contracted a heavy cold. The cold turned to pneumonia, always a dread disease in the wildernes, and, as usual, it proved fatal. Culberson died and was buried in the forest, the first white man to die in the present Stark County. Among other citizens of Steubenville to be attracted by Leonard's story was Bezaleel Wells, a leading citizen who was well known in the new state. Wells had represented 190 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO Jefferson County in the Constitutional Convention of 1802, and had held many positions of honor in the county and state. He surveyed ground in 1805, and during the winter of 1805-6 laid out the original plot of the city of Canton. Wells himself did not settle in Canton, but Leonard on June 6, 1806, married Sarah Barber, and built for himself afterwards a brick house, the first in Canton, at the corner of the present Seventh and Market streets. The settlement of Canton was successful and quite rapid. In 1805, besides Leonard and the Barber brothers, there came David Bachtel, Jacob Aultman, Philip Schlosser (the name altered by local usage soon to Slusser, by a natural process of anglicization) , and William Ewing. The first three of these settlers were Germans, probably from Pennsylvania. A log school house was built in Canton in 1807. The original teacher was John Harris. Doctor Andrew Rappee began the practice of medicine in the settlement in 1808. Philip Slusser built a grist mill in 1807, and Abraham Van Metre began to operate a sawmill and "Corn-cracher" in 1808. The first death in the village and the first birth occurred when the wife of John Matthews, the town butcher, died in childbirth. Garrett Crusen started the first tavern. Canton had no lawyer until 1811, when Roswell M. Mason opened a law office. Other early settlements in Stark County were Osnaburg and Louisville. On February 13, 1808, the legislature created Stark as a separate county, and it was partially organized that year. John Bower, James Latymer and John Nichols were the first commissioners, Joseph McGuggin the first sheriff. From 1808 the separate history of Stark County begins. CHAPTER VII THE WAR OF 1812 To the student of military science, and particularly to one who has himself undergone a course of military training and perhaps engaged in actual war, the attitude of the early citizens of the United States toward military training and national defense, and their methods of military organization would be ludicrous, were it not that it resulted in so many cases in tragedy. The original Ohio Constitution contains in its Bill of Rights this clause : "The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty and shall not be kept up; and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power." (This clause, by the way, still remains in the Ohio constitution of 1934.) In accordance with the principle embodied in this clause, no regular army existed on the frontier of western civilization during these days of settlement. As a substitute, militia companies were organized all over the state. The only qualities that might have been made for success in war were the personal quality of courage on the part of the individuals and their knowledge of fire-arms. The pioneer in the wilderness needed courage to survive, and as a large part of his living was derived from the destruction of game, good marksmanship was almost universal. The weapon owned and used by nearly all of them was the Pennsylvania rifle, the best and most accurate fire-arm ever developed up to - 191 - 192 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO that time. But the discipline of these militia companies was almost non-existent. The officers were chosen by the popular vote of the men in the company; the result being that personal popularity or eminence in civil life, rather than a knowledge of military tactics, was the criterion of choice. The militia met at irregular intervals, and these meetings were little devoted to drill, usually turning into a frolic and a feast before many hours passed, when officers and men sat down together on terms of perfect equality to eat and drink together. Nevertheless, the need for some organized plan of defense of the West should have been apparent to any intelligent observer. The sinister figure of Napoleon cast a shadow over all Europe during the first years of the 19th Century, and England especially, in her desire to maintain control of the seas, had, as every schoolboy knows, entered on a policy of interference at will with the shipping of every other maritime nation. Her custom of stopping American merchantmen, especially, to search for hypothetical deserters from her navy, was fast becoming intolerable. At the same time she was maintaining on her Canadian frontier a policy of encouraging the Indians of the west toward active antagonism toward the United States which was almost as hard to bear. The great Swawanoe chieftian, Tecumseh, who, in spite of his antipathy toward the United States, or perhaps on account of it, must be recognized as a true though perhaps mistaken patriot, was during these years striving by all means within his power to unite all the western Indians in a confederation whose purpose was to halt the advance of the white man. The whole situation threatened war. Tecumseh's efforts met with a setback at the Battle of Tippecanoe, when his brother, the Prophet, through his foolhardy attempt to pray on the superstitutions of his little HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 193 army, was decisively defeated by Governor Harrison of Indiana Territory. This battle relieved greatly the apprehensions of the frontiersmen. Two treaties by which the Indians bound themselves to respect the rights of Ohio citizens helped to alleviate the situation. In the case of one of these, General Simon Perkins of Warren was the leading diplomat. We have seen how he made a journey to Detroit in 1808 to confer with certain Indians about a road along the lake. But the good effects of both battle and treaties was lost when war broke out in 1812. The war in the West had little of action in it to which Americans can point with pride. To be sure, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and his fleet won a magnificent battle at Put-in-Bay, but on land only the episode of Young George Craghan's defense of Fort Stephenson and the final Battle of the Thames can be called creditable to us. The rest of the western war is a story of personal bravery coupled with weakness, sometimes almost criminal, in the high command, and discipline so lax as to be almost non-existent. General William Hull surrendered Detroit without a blow; General Winchester allowed his weary and starving troops to be massacred at the River Raisin; another army was destroyed at Fort Meigs; the ill-trained militia were poorly fed and more poorly sheltered; disease and exposure destroyed nearly as many as did the enemy. What might have been the result, if the necessity for the war had not ceased on account of the fall of Napoleon, is dreadful to contemplate. The United States has had so many lessons in war that it seems incredible that we cannot learn something about it, but the most miserable lesson of all was the western War of 1812. The Ohio Militia was organized during the first session of the state legislature in 1803-4. The whole state was divided into four divisions or geographical lines. The 194 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO Fourth Division was organized from the counties of Trumbull, Columbiana and Jefferson, thus covering the whole northeastern corner of the state. Elijah Wadsworth, of Canfield, was chosen Major General of the division. On April 6, 1804, he issued his first general order as follows: "GENERAL ORDER "FOURTH DIVISION, OHIO MILITIA "The fourth division of Militia of the state of Ohio is divided into five regiments, which for the purpose of facilitating the election of officers, and until further arrangements are made by the commander-in-chief, will be numbered as follows: The first brigade, including the County of Trumbull, in two regiments; the second brigade, including the counties of Jefferson and Columbiana, in three regiments; the first regiment of the first brigade includes all that part of the County of Trumbull lying north of the line of Township Five in the survey of said county; second regiment includes all that part of the County of Trumbull lying south of the first regiment; third regiment includes the County of Columbiana; the fourth and fifth regiments include all of Jefferson County, of which all persons concerned are to take notice and govern themselves accordingly. Benjamin Tappan and John Sloan, Esq., are appointed aides-de-camp to the major general of the fourth division and are to be obeyed and respected accordingly. ELIJAH WADSWORTH, MAJOR GENERAL FOURTH DIVISION O. M." Elijah Wadsworth was a native of Connecticut, living in Litchfield when the Revolution began. He served as a cavalry lieutenant at the beginning of the war, and was promoted to a captaincy. He had the distinction of having had in custody the unfortunate Major Andre after his capture HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 195 by Williams, Paulding and Van Wert. (Note.—It may not be generally known that the names of Andre's captors are commemorated as the names of three Ohio counties on the northwest border of the state.) Wadsworth came to Canfield in 1802, and became a large land owner in the township. He died at Canfield in 1817, a much respected citizen. On May 1, 1804, a general military election was held in the Reserve. The names of the men elected are worthy of notice. It will be seen that a large number of leading citizens are included among the officers. FIRST REGIMENT Captains, Nathaniel King, George W. Hawley, Martin Smith, Solomon Griswold, James A. Harper, Charles Parker, Josiah Cleveland, Lorenzo Carter; Lieutenants, Seth Harrington, Stephen Brown, David Randall, Thomas Martin, Ebenezer He wens, Joel Paine, Jedediah Baird, Nathaniel Drane; Ensigns Daniel Sawtell, John Henderson, Zopher Case, Skene Sackett, George Caldwell, Ela S. Clapp, Lyman Benton, Samuel Jones. SECOND REGIMENT Captains, Homer Hine, Eli Baldwin, John Struthers, Barnabas Harris, George Tod, Samuel Tylee, James Applegate, George Phelps, William Bushnell, Henry Rodgers, Thomas Wright, Ezra Wyatt, John Oviatt; Lieutenants, Aaron Collar, Josiah Walker, John Russell, James Lynn, Moses Latta, Edward Schofield, Henry Hickman, James Heaton, Daniel Hummason, John Diver, William Chard, Gersham Judson, Aaron Norton; Ensigns, Jacob Parkhurst, Nathaniel Blakesly, William Henry, James Struthers, Henry Hull, John Smith, John Elliott, John Ewalt, Ebenezer N. Combs, John Campbell, David Moore, Thomas Kennedy, James Walker. 196 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO Between the time of this first organization and the outbreak of the War of 1812, the Fourth Division was increased to four brigades, two in Trumbull County and two in Columbiana and Jefferson. The commanders in 1812 were Brigadier Generals Miller, Beall, Perkins and Paine. The third brigade included the first five ranges of townships, the fourth, all the territory in the Reserve west of the third. The Third Brigade, commanded by General Perkins, was composed of three regiments in 1812, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonels William Rayen, John S. Edwards and Richard Hayes. Colonel John Campbell commanded a regiment in Portage County. Of General Paine's brigade only fragmentary lists have been available. The rosters of the War of 1812 are lamentably incomplete in many instances. The story of the mobilization of the various regiments in northeastern Ohio and their movements in the war would require considerably more space than this history can devote to it. We shall be compelled to confine ourselves to a few individual accounts, gathered mainly from the reports of those present. Colonel John Campbell's regiment, mainly composed of Portage County men, had the unfortunate experience of arriving at the front in time to be included in General Hull's surrender. They were mobilized and ready to march on July 6, 1812. They moved to Cleveland by way of Hudson and Bedford. From Cleveland they sailed to the little town then known as Lower Sandusky, now the beautiful City of Fremont, at the head of Sandusky Bay. They assisted in building the blockhouse of Fort Stephenson at that point, afterwards the scene of Major George Croghan's heroic repulse of the British attack. From Sandusky Bay the Portage County men again sailed to the mouth of the Raisin River, arriving there on the seventh of August. HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 197 In the meantime, General Hull, stationed at Detroit with a force of two thousand men, awaited the British advance. General Brock, in command of the British forces, composed of three hundred regulars, four hundred and fifty Canadian militia and six hundred Indians, appeared before Detroit on August 16th, having crossed the Detroit River. The American forces were preparing the defenses of the fort, when to their intense surprise and dismay, General Hull ordered the white flag to be raised, and surrendered the entire garrison, stores and other public property unconditionally. The only excuses which can be offered for Hull's conduct are the doubtful ones of old age and intoxication. He was later court-martialed and condemned to death, but pardoned by President Madison, the reason for the pardon being his previous service in the Revolution and as Governor of Michigan Territory. The Portage County men were, must against their will, included in this surrender. They were imprisoned for awhile, and finally paroled and allowed to return to their homes. The regiment commanded by Colonel Richard Hayes was ordered by General Wadsworth to mobilize at Kinsman. This regiment was made up mainly of Ashtabula County and northern Trumbull County men. When they met, on August 24, 1812, they presented a motley appearance. Uniforms were scarce. Some of them were equipped with their own hunting rifles, powder horns and bullet pouches; some had rudely constructed pikes; the remainder carried hay forks. Thus equipped, they were also short of rations and camp material. In a half-starved condition they took to the march, moving through Jefferson to Austinburg and Harpersfield. Here they were halted by the news of Hull's surrender, and fear of attack on the settlements caused General Perkins to issue an order directing half the volunteer mem- 198 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO bers to return home to aid in protection of the Reserve. The rest moved in through Cleveland to Avery, a few miles east of Sandusky Bay, on the Huron River of Ohio. Here they halted and built a block-house. They remained at Avery until November, when they moved on to Fort Stephenson, becoming part of General Harrison's army. They were discharged in February, 1813, and sent home, the term of their enlistment having expired. A company of militia from Columbiana County, under the command of Captain Daniel Harbaugh, reached the neighborhood of Detroit about the time of Hull's surrender. They were summoned to surrender by the British, but according to the account preserved in Lisbon succeeded in retreating into the wilderness and returned home, thus withdrawing from the war. General Wadsworth's Division was nearly all mustered out in the early part of 1813, owing to the expiration opt their term of service. They had lost some of their number through battle casualties, but many more through disease. "Camp fever," a form probably of typhus or typhoid and malaria were common causes of death in this little army, the sanitary conditions being deplorable. The writer's paternal grandmother, an infant in arms in 1813, was left an orphan, her father, Captain Isaac Walker, dying of this so-called camp fever in the neighborhood of Fremont, where, as far as we know, he lies in an unmarked grave. Many other such cases occurred among the families of the Reserve. During the Fall of 1812 and the Winter of 1813 man power was scarce in the country, most of the young men having gone to war. Some special instances of good service should be mentioned. General Simon Perkins was acknowledged as a most efficient commander, but his business affairs made it necessary for him to return to Warren when the Reserve men were mustered out. HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 199 Judge Tod served as a major in the Nineteenth Regular Infantry in the later months of the war. He was one of the leading figures in the defense of Fort Meigs in May, 1813. He remained in the army until the end of the war, being raised to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Calvin Pease served with distinction as director of the mail and commissary service. The Reverend Joseph Badger, the first Reserve missionary, served at Camp Huron as postmaster, chaplain and nurse. His heroic character was never better shown. Many of the men in the army had listened to his preaching before the war. In this time he filled to the full that most necessary office of spiritual and temporal counselor and friend which is one of the most necessary services in war. He served the men's bodies as well as their souls. He constructed a mortar out of the stump of a tree, and there pounded corn, which he made into hasty-pudding, a most welcome change from the nauseating regular ration which was the common fare of the soldiers in this war. Any veteran of the World War who saw active service will deeply appreciate this kindly service of the great missionary, which he called "priest-craft." Colonel James Hillman also rendered exceptional service in General Harrison's army. He became wagon-master for the entire forces. His knowledge of the teamster's trade proved invaluable. It would be futile and unnecessary here to enter into a detailed account of the campaigns of the War of 1812. We have attempted simply to give some idea of the part played by the men of northeastern Ohio. The war, as far as the West was concerned, closed with the Battle of the Thames in Ontario on October 5, 1813. This and the decisive victory at Put-in-Bay had the effect of ending effectually any further attempt at aggressions toward American territory on the part of the British. From that time until