412 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

CHAPTER XVII.

(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE)

CHARLESTOWN TOWNSHIP.

A HUNTER SQUATTER-FIRST PERMANENT SETTLER-THE BLANDFORD & GRANVILLE CO.-POST-BELLUM SETTLERS-FIFTY-SIX 1N FOUR FAMILIES-LEASING FIRST EVENTS-FIRST BIRTH AND MARRIAGE-FIRST MILLS-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES-REV. CALEB PITEIN- ORGANIZATION- OFFICERS, BUSINESS, ETC.

CHARLESTOWN in the original surveys, Town 3, Range 7, fell to the lot principally, at the drawing of the land company, of John Morgon who afterward disposed of it to Samuel Hinckley, of Northampton, Mass., and went by the name, up to the organization in 1814, of Hinckley Township.

Abel Forcha came to the county about 1800, from the western part of Maryland. He was a widower and first made his headquarters near the settlement of Benjamin Tappan at Ravenna, after which he moved to Charlestown about 1803, and settled on what was afterward known as Farnham's Hill where he lived several years, when he moved to near where Bent now is, and thence to Brimfield, having married a Miss Williard, whose father lived in that township. Forcha, when he came here, made his living by hunting, and furnished the settlers with as much game as they wanted. He never acquired any land in this township, and therefore cannot be called the first settler.

John Campbell, afterward well known as Gen. Campbell, came to Deerfield in the spring of 1800, with Alva Day and Joel Thrall, and on April 7 of that year married Sarah Ely, daughter of Lewis Ely, the first settler in that township, the wedding being the first within the borders of Portage. In 1804 he was elected Ensign of a military company formed in his township, and in 1811 was elected Captain of a company which afterward took part in the operations on the northern frontier, but he being sick at the time, the command devolved upon Lieut. Day. Capt. Campbell was subsequently elected Brigadier-General of militia, and served one term in the Ohio-Senate. His elaborate address to the General is command asking- that the Irish troops be grouped and allowed to engage the enemy as a distinct command, is well remembered. In 1805 he came to this township, and settled on Lot 1, which is the extreme southwest corner, and built a house that stood one quarter each on Charlestown, Ravenna, Rootstown and Edinburg, and which afterward became the nucleus of the thriving little village of Campbellsport, but which when the old canal was relegated to the things that were, lost its grip, also, nothing now remaining of its former glory save a few houses, and one store whose owner is also Postmaster. Gen. Campbell was a man of strong natural abilities, energetic, active and. useful, but of limited education. He died in 1827, and was buried with Masonic honors. A singular fatality attended several members of his family, the coincidences being remarkable John L., a son, was burned on the steamer " Daniel Webster," on the Mississippi; Homer M., another son, died on a steamer on the Mississippi; and Robert E., still another son, while in a fit of temporary insanity shot himself at Rock Island, on the Mississippi; whilst John H. Campbell, a grandson, was so scalded that he died, on the steamer " Pennsylvania," on the Mississippi.

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In 1809 Campbell was appointed agent for Hinckley, and he proceeded to the East for the purpose of forming a company for settlement, which he did, from residents of Granville and Blandford, Mass., the members of which were Samuel Hinckley, David, Charles and Linus Curtiss, .David L. Coe, John Baldwin, Levi Sutliff, Perry Babcock, John and William King, Anson Fair. child, Joel Parsons and Solomon Noble, all of whom signed an agreement that if they did not move on to the land, clear five acres and build a cabin within five years, to forfeit their right and pay $100 besides. All of them came except Hinckley, Fairchild, Noble and Parsons, who paid their fines and stayed at home, their places being filled by others, and the $400 applied to building a house for town, school and religious purposes.

In the summer of 1810 Linus Curtiss and Levi Sutliff, with their families, and Giles and Ransley Wood and John B. Stealer, single men, came in, Curtiss settling on Lot 41, and Sutliff on Lot 33. In the fall came Molly Knowlton and Elisha King, who settled on portions of Lots 36 and 37 respectively. In the summer of 1811 Charles Curtiss settled on Lot 40, David L, Coe on Lot 41; and John Baldwin on Lot 34. In the fall came John and William King and Abel Thompson, who settled on Lot 32, Lodowick Parsons on Lot 29, and Almon Babcock on Lot 40. In 1812 Lucretius Bissell and Ralzemon Loomis, from Torringford, came in.

During the war of 1812-14 there was little or no immigration, but when hostilities closed settlers came in rapidly. In the spring of 1815 fifty-six persons arrived in one party. They were Moses James, from Windham, Conn., Lemuel Knapp, from Northampton, Mass., and Timothy and Joel Hart, from Granville, Mass. Each of these sturdy old pioneers brought his wife and twelve children. That was the way they populated a country in those times. It was quite fashionable to have a dozen or so of children, and the couple who did not have eight or ten were not considered of much account.

In this year, 1815, there were thirteen families in the township, and thirteen more came in, doubling the population, among whom were Deacon Ozias Norton, Deacon Joel Dorman, Joseph Steadman, Elisha Wetmore and James Bing. The Knapp family came from Northampton, Mass., to Charlestown in 1815, and settled on Farnham Hill, near the present residence of William Fox. The Knapp family numbered sixteen, Mr. Knapp and wife being the parents of fourteen children. George Knapp, of Garrettsville, born in Northampton, Mass., March 14, 1799, is a member of this family. Norman Rood, born in Litchfield County, Conn., July, 1806, settled in Charlestown in 1824, and is still a resident of the township.

The first death was that of Brayton King, son of John King, in 1812, which was soon followed by the death of Charles Curtiss, and about the same time Rachel, daughter of William King, while getting water at a spring, was killed by the falling of a tree.

The first white child born was John W., son of Mrs. John Baldwin, born March '7, 1813.

The initial marriage occurred March 14, 1816, and the parties were Martin Camp and Sallie Coe. The groom was from Tallmadge, and he brought with him to tie the knot Rev. Simeon Woodruff. October 21, of the same year, Leverett Norton and Polly Curtiss joined their fortunes as man and wife.

In the spring of 1812 Charles Curtiss set out an orchard on his place on Lot 40. He gave twenty bushels of wheat to John Harmon, of Mantua, for 200 apple trees.

The first saw-mill was erected by the company that came out before the war, and was located half a mile east of the Center. It did a great deal of

414 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

sawing for the county seat, as well as for the settlers in Charlestown. The Knapps also built one on the same stream lower down. Smith Hall built one south of the Center, and Capt. Curtiss and Claudius Coe built one north of the Center, but timber becoming scarce, their mills all went down. A steam saw-mill was erected by Ezra Stephenson on the land of Sheldon Farnham. Some parties from Connecticut wanted to locate an auger factory at the Center, but not getting sufficient encouragement, went a mile west and put up their works, but it did not pay and was abandoned. The name, Augerburg, is all that remains of the project.

Before leaving Massachusetts, the Blandford & Granville Company organized a Congregational Church, the members of which were Charles Curtiss and wife, John Baldwin and wife, David L. Coe and Almon Babcock. The first preachers they had were missionaries sent out by the Connecticut Missionary Society, among whom were Revs. John Seward, Joseph Treat, Simeon Wood, ruff and Nathan B. Darrow. They early had an edifice in which to hold services, thanks to the $400 forfeited by the four who backed out of the agreement, as stated previously, in addition to which Charles Curtiss agreed to contributions a barrel of whisky toward the building if they would name the township Charlestown, which was accepted, a mode of "fighting the devil with fire, quite ingenious on the part of the stern old sticklers for high morality. But it must be remembered that whisky was one of the time only products of the time in this locality that represented money. A contribution of grain would not have been thought much of, for there was no market; made into a liquid it was quite another thing—always a market for that. In 1817 Rev. Caleb Pitkin received a call from the church, which he accepted, remaining with the flock until 1827, when he resigned to take charge of the college at Hudson. The first regular church building was erected in 1829. This old building burned in the winter of 1878, and the present church was erected and opened the same year. The cost was about $3,000. This society was reorganized by Rev. J. C. Hart September 16, 1858. Rev. L. B. Wilson was Clerk; R. L. Loomis, J. W. Baldwin and Israel Greenleaf were elected Trustees, and Amos T. King, Clerk. The Methodist Episcopal Church Society elected Thomas B. King. Joel 0. Hall, Joseph Hough, J. M. Beardsley and Newton Barnes, Trustees, December 9, 1858. Their house of worship still stands just north of the Congregational Church. The present pastor is Rev. Colton. The Methodists also have a neat edifice at the Center, and Rev. S. Collier is pastor. Their house of worship was erected in 1859, just north of the Congregational building.

The first school in the township was taught in a log schoolhouse at the Center in the summer of 1811 and winter of 1812-13, by Miss Sophia Coe, a sister of Ransom L. Coe, who, by the way, together with his wife, Mrs. Rebecca M. Coe, are still living at advanced ages, she being eighty-seven and he eighty-five years. They are the only ones left in this county of the early settlers:: Mrs. Polly (Curtiss) Norton, one of the old settlers, is now a resident of Connecticut.

Mr. Coe came with his father in 1811. The scholars at this first school were Chauncy B., Joel, Melissa, Charles L., Dennis, Harris P., Prudence." Harriet and Lucretia Curtiss, Adnah C. and Phoebe Coe, Robert, Lathrop and Rachel King, Samuel and Lydia Sutliff, and Mina Forcha, daughter of Abel Forcha, the hunter-settler. The condition of the schools is as follows: Revenue for year 1883-84, $2,573.16; expenditures, $1,879.51; six school houses valued at $3,000; pupils enrolled, 83 boys and 80 girls; average pay of male teachers, $32, of female, $22.

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The township was organized in 1814, and thirteen votes were polled at the election, with the following result: Trustees, Lodowick Parsons, Lucretius Bissell, Thaddeus Curtiss; Clerk, Elijah N. Bissell; Treasurer, Thaddeus Curtiss; Lister, James Newton; Overseers of the Poor, Moses James, Ozias Norton; Fence Viewers, Joel Hall, Junia Knapp; Constable, Elisha Wetmore; Justice of the Peace, Lucretius Bissell. Squire Bissell made a good officer and served two terms. His first official duty was to marry Almon Babcock and Mary Collins. His immediate successors were Ralzemon Loomis, Thaddeus Curtiss, Lodowick Parsons and Junia Knapp. There was very little litigation in those days, and one could get his case attended to for a day's chopping.

Township Officers. —Trustees, William Baldwin, F. C. Hatfield, 0. A. Coe; Clerk, A. D. Bishop; Treasurer, W. L. Wetmore; Assessor, J. W. Copeland; Constables, W. L. Dutter, G. A. Hine; Justices of the Peace, A. P. Curtiss, William Fox.

There is a grocery store at the Center owned by W. L. Wetmore, and E. L. Wetmore, is Postmaster. There is a basket factory, also, and a wagon shop. Charlestown Co-operative Cheese Factory was established April 28, 1874. The original members were A. B. Curtiss, Jacob Phile, A. W. Loomis, William Baldwin, Carlton G. Hall, J. N. Hall, C. L. White, Edwin Halsted, Lorin C. Baldwin and Jacob L. Coe. This ceased operation in 1881 owing to litigation. The cheese factory east of the Center was established by A. P. Curtiss and Henry Carrington, but is now closed down.

The township has furnished a Sheriff, John Campbell; Senator, Campbell; and a Probate Judge, Luther L. Brown.

The land being high and rolling is finely adapted to sheep-raising, whilst the hills overlie almost exhaustless mineral wealth, all that is required being capital to develop it, and a railroad to afford the market, the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad merely touching the northwestern corner. The township is well watered by various small streams, in addition to the Mahoning River. One of the finest views to be found anywhere is from the square at the Center looking eastward, across Trumbull County to the high lands of Pennsylvania far in the distance. Charlestown furnished fifty brave soldiers to the war for the Union, nine of whom gave their lives to the glorious cause.

The statistics of this division of the county for 1884 are set forth in the following review: Acres of wheat, 790, bushels, 11,210; of oats, 532, bushels, 21,353; of barley, 6 acres; of corn, 195, bushels, 4,242; of meadow, 1,269, tons of hay, 2,269; of clover, 125, tons of hay, 212, bushels of seed, 74; of potatoes, 61, bushels (estimated), 8,259; home-made butter, 26,548 pounds; 21,774 maple trees yielded 2,225 pounds of sugar and 5,231 gallons of syrup; 20 hives yielded 210 pounds of honey; eggs, 12,692 dozens; apples, 3,127 bushels; peaches, 114 bushels; pears, 22 bushels; wool, 13,915 pounds; milch cows, 365; 1 stallion; '71 dogs killed 10 sheep and injured 17; 224 sheep died of disease; acres of cultivated lands, 2,027; of pasture, 6,362; of wood, 1,806; of waste, 942; total acreage, 11,137 acres. Population in 1850 was 809, including 304 youth; in 1870, 675; in 1880, 633; in 1884 (estimated) 600.