544 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY

CHAPTER XXX.

ROOTSTOWN TOWNSHIP.

THE FIRST CABIN-DAVID ROOT—A SAD DEATH-FIRST WHEAT CROP-NATHAN MUZZY-A. DISTILLERY-AN ALIEN JUSTICE-FIRST BIRTH-THE CHAPMANS —FIRST FRAME STRUCTURE-MOTHER WARD-THE FIRST CRIMINAL-PRIMITIVE SCHOOLS-THE OLD GRAVE-YARD-E ARLY CHURCHES-ORGANIZTION AND OFFICERS-NOTED EVENTS-SOIL, PRODUCTS AND STATISTICS.

ROOTSTOWN was originally the property of Ephraim Root and John Wyles, Root being the principal proprietor, and owning, in addition to the land here, a great deal of other property on the Western Reserve. He was a native of Coventry, Conn., and a lawyer of some note. He was also agent for a number of other land owners, and paid at least one visit a year to this section after its settlement till about 1811, when the Indian troubles and the war of 1812 had the effect of keeping him away. He died in 1825.

In the spring of 1800 Mr. Root, in company with a young man named Harvey Davenport, paid his first visit to the township. He employed Nathan- iel Cook to survey his property, Town 2, Range 8, into forty-eight lots of vari-

ROOTSTOWN TOWNSHIP - 545

ous sizes, commencing with Lot 1 in the southeast corner, then running north, then south, and so on, ending with Lot 48 in the southwest corner.

The first death of a white person in Rootstown was that of the young man spoken of above, Davenport. He had over-heated himself and lain down on the damp ground, whereby he took a violent cold, that in a short time caused his death. He was buried near where he died, on Lot 7.

In the spring of 1801 Mr. Root returned, he having gone back to Connecticut the fall previously, and this time brought out his brother David. They commenced improvements on Lot 6, which Ephraim Root reserved for himself, as it touched upon the portage between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Here the Roots put up a two-story log-cabin near where Campbellsport now stands. Nathan Muzzy, who came out about this time, was engaged to do the carpentering. Muzzy was a graduate of Yale College, and had been a very able and promising young minister in Massachusetts, but meeting with disappointment in a love affair, a screw became loose in his mental machinery and he wandered away to the West. He always carved the name "Emma Hale" on all buildings and gates he constructed. He discovered the little lake in this township which has ever since borne his name. The poor old man died many years ago, and was buried in Palmyra by some friends who took pity on his lonely and decrepit old age, and removed him from the county poor-house to their homes.

The first crop of wheat was put in during the fall of 1801 by the Roots, who then returned to their homes in the East, but David came out again in April of the following year and settled upon the place they had improved, afterward removing to Lot 7, where he lived till his death.

In 1802 Henry O'Niell and Samuel McCoy, natives of Ireland, who had a lived in Pennsylvania awhile, moved in and settled on Lot 3. O'Niell had a family of children, mostly grown; McCoy had only a wife. Together they put up a cabin, but McCoy afterward moved to Lot 28, and put up a cabin by the well-known "McCoy Springs." He was a man of very little education, but could, in the language of the old English tar, "play the fiddle like a hangel!" Mr. O'Niell was well educated, and in 1806 was elected Jus- tice of the Peace for Franklin, which at that time comprised what is now Franklin, Ravenna, Rootstown, Atwater, Randolph, Suffield and Brimfield. O'Niell erected the first distillery, a small affair, but enough to supply the wants of himself and McCoy and their families, and a few friends in the neigh- borhood. He remained Justice for four or five years, but his magisterial career was cut very short just before he left in 1811. He had offended some person by one of his decisions, when that person went to the Irish Justice and asked him to show his naturalization papers. Being unable to do so, he was informed that he was liable to prosecution for illegally exercising the duties of a magistrate without being a citizen, and that if he did not immediately " git up and dust," he would be arrested. He left, and the township lost one of its best residents.

Epraim Root gave notice that be would give to the first child born in the township fifty acres of land, and John McCoy, son of Samuel McCoy, won the prize. This event happened in August, 1802, and was the first birth in the township. It is said there was considerable competition between the mother of this little land winner and the wife of David Root, whose son, Solomon, came in second-best; time, about twenty days behind McCoy's W. C. Johnnie.

In the fall of 1802 Michael Hartle and Frederick Canis came in and set- tled the first on Lot 42, on the east side of Muddy Lake, and Canis on Lot 43, on the west of the lake. They were originally from Northumberland County,

546 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

Penn., but had been living on the Ohio River about thirty miles below Pittsburgh. In January, 1803, John Canis, a son of Frederick, came in, and with him Arthur Anderson, both of whom were engaged by Root to clear land. In April following John Canis, a brother of Frederick, with his wife. came and settled at Muddy Lake. Anderson returned to Pennsylvania, married, and then lived in Ravenna awhile, but finally came to Rootstown.

May 2, 1803, Ashur Ely, of Deerfield, was married to Lydia Lyman, who lived in the family of David Root, at whose house the ceremonies were performed by Squire Hudson, of Hudson Township, he being the nearest official capable of tying the knot.

In 1804 a large number of persons came in, among whom were Frederick Canis, Sr., father of Frederick, Jr., and John, and in the fall of this year Thaddeus Andrews, Nathan Chapman and his son Ephraim, Jacob, Charles and Abraham Reed, and Hannah Russell, a sister of Mrs. Andrews, all from Connecticut Those who came in the fall remained at Root's place till they erected cabins, which they did during the following winter. Andrews selected Lot 21, the northwest quarter at the Center, but did not move on to the same till a year or two afterward, as he was engaged by Root to keep his tavern near the corners of the four townships. The Chapmans settled on Lot 4, and put up a cabin. Ephraim soon afterward moved to where he resided for many years, a highly respected citizen. He drove the first team from Rootstown to Ravenna. Jacob and Abraham Reed settled on the south west corner of Lot 15, but Abraham afterward moved to the southwest corner of center Lot 22, where he kept a tavern for many years. Charles Reed lived with his brother till he was married, when he moved on to Lot 16. This year, 1804, Mr. Root erected the first frame barn in the township, which stood a little north of his house. David Wright, of Ravenna, hewed the timber, and Nathan Muzzy framed it. The lumber was obtained at the little McWhorter Mill, in the southeast corner of Ravenna Township.

In the fall of 1805 Beeman Chapman, a brother of Ephraim, arrived with his wife and brother Nathan; the latter, after a year passed at Root's settlement, moved to the south part of Lot 4. Stephen Colton and family also came in from Connecticut and settled on Lot 21, but afterward moved to Lot 14. In May, 1806, Gersham Bostwick moved in and settled on Lot 8, in a cabin he had built the fall previously. With his family came Edmund Bostwick and his wife, the parents of Gersham. Edmund died in 1826, aged. ninety-six yearn. When past eighty years he made a trip on horseback from Rootstown to Philadelphia, and thence to Vermont, and back again to Rootstown. Calvin Ellsworth, from Ellington, Conn., came in July, and settled on Lot 28. In November Alpheus, a twin-brother of Thaddeus Andrews, and their brother Samuel, with Martin Bissell, came in with their families. The Andrews set- tled on Lot 23, but Samuel soon after moved to Lot 21, where he erected the first frame house in the township. Thaddeus having exchanged land with his brother Samuel, moved to Lot 14. Bissell located on the west side of the road, on the south part of Lot 22. Samuel Andrews afterward moved to Franklin Township, and Alpheus was one of the first settlers in Brimfield. With the Andrews brothers came a niece, Miss Mary Whitney, and a teamster, Gersham Norris. This year also came Mother Ward, but she did not bring her husband along with her. She located on Lot 18, and the pond at that point was named for her. She was a remarkable woman; could split rails, lay a fence, and plow as good as any man. She walked one day from Poland to Rootstown, a distance of forty miles. She was married twice, separating from her last husband when she came here. Benjamin Simcox, noted as being the first person to be tried, by the County Court in 1808, after organization, also came.

ROOTSTOWN TOWNSHIP - 547

In February, 1807, Hiram Roundy, his wife and their adopted son, G. H. R. Prindle, came in, and about the same time Homan Bostwick, who, how-ever, did not stay long. Titus Belding came in with Bostwick, and in 1809 married Miss Lucy, a daughter of Gersham Bostwick, and settled on Lot 17. Robert McKnight also came this year, and settled on Lot 10. He had been oat the year before, purchased 300 acres of land and set out a nursery. His family consisted of his wife, his mother and an only son, Robert, Jr. William and James Alcorn, Irishmen and bachelors, came with McKnight.

The first school that was open to all children was taught by Samuel Andrews in the winter of 1807-08, in a cabin at the Center, which was soon after burned down, and another built, which for many years was used as a schoolhouse, meeting house and town-house. Miss Polly Harmon, sister of the late John Harmon, taught after Andrews. Three or four years previous to this time Mrs. Ephraim Chapman had taught a few children at her house, but it was not a school for the public. A lnumber of the Rootstown children had attended the school kept by David Root, on the road from Ravenna to Campbellsport, about 1805. The school statistics are: Revenue in 1884, $4,975; expenditures, $3,412; number of schoolhouses, 10, valued at $6,500; average pay of teachers, $35 and $20; enrollment, 193 boys and 187 girls.

In 1808 Ebenezer Bostwick and his family came, and settled on Lot 17, where not long afterward he started a pottery for the manufacture of earthenware. About this time Ephraim Root put up a saw-mill on the creek north of the Center. Also came Philip Willard and Valentine Coosard, the former settling on Lot 42, and the latter. on Lot 41. In the summer of this year Ariel Case and John Wright cleared a piece of land on Lot 10, and sowed it to wheat.

August 31, 1809, Nathan Chapman died at the age of fifty-one years, and was the first person interred in the first burial ground. The body was carried by hand to the grave, there being no road from Beeman Chapman's, where the father died. In this year came Israel Coe, who settled on Lot 5; also William and Chauncy Newbury. William located on Lot 27, and Chauncy, who at the time was single, lived with his blother till his marriage, when he settled, on Lot 28. In 1810 Merriam Richardson and David Parker arrived in the township with their families, Richardson settling on Lot 33, and Parker moving into the cabin built by McCoy. Also came Daniel and Reuben Hall, and their sister Eliza, who married Gersham Norris, and moved to Canton. In

1811 Samuel B. Spellman and Asa Seymour came from Massachusetts, and Asher C. Gurley, from Connecticut. Spellman settled on Lot•21, Gurley on Lot 9, and Seymour returned to.the East. In August, 1811, Robert J. Collins, Sr. and his three sons, Robert J., Jr., David and Daniel, with their families, arrived, Daniel locating on Lot 28, and the others on Lot 20, on the Center road. In 1819 James Wright settled in the township, and January 28, 1821, was appointed first Postmaster. William Huffman, Thomas Hayden and others came in about 1819. Wright held his position for twenty years. Mr. Wright married a daughter of Abraham Reed. He was succeeded in office by Otis Reed, his deputy. He, also, for nine successive years, was Justice of the Peace.

Until the year 1806 he Indian title to the lands west of the Cuyahoga River and Portage path had not been extinguished, and some uneasiness was felt by the settlers on these lands for fear that their title might not be as perfect as they could wish. On March 5, 1805, Ephraim Root wrote to Elijah Wadsworth that measures were pending for the extinguishment of these claims of the Indians, and stated that a treaty would shortly be made with them, and accordingly, a Treaty Council was held at Fort Industry, and the titles of

548 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

the lands obtained, but the measure had yet to pass the Senate. It came before the Senate, that body ratified the proceedings of the Council, and the claims of the aboriginies were forever silenced.

On the 16th day of August, 1810, the Rev. Giles H. Cowles, a missionary from the Connecticut Board of Home Missions of the Congregational Church, organized the first church society in Rootstown. It was composed of the fol- lowing persons: Samuel Andrews and wife, Alpheus Andrews and wife, Thaddeus Andrews and wife, Israel Coe and wife, Mason Richardson and wife, Michael Hartle and wife, Oliver Dickinson and wife, Mrs. Lois Chapman, Mrs. Ephraim Chapman, Mrs. Nathan Chapman, Jr., and Mrs. William Newbury. Samuel Andrews was chosen Deacon, and his brother Thaddeus succeeded him. In 1829 the congregation built a very neat edifice for the times, which was 36x46 feet, and various pastors have filled the pulpit of the church. This society reorganized under State law March 27, 1861, as the First Congregational Society of Rootstown, with Erastus Seymour, President, and A. H. Barlow, Clerk; J. Seymour, J. S. Austin and Gideon Seymour were elected Trustees.

In 18I4 Rev. Henry Shewell came to Rootstown and settled on Lot 12. Shortly after coming Shewell formed a class, and in 1815 organized the first Methodist Episcopal Congregation in the township. Meetings, for a number of years, were held at the house of the minister. The church belonged to the Warren District, and the circuit was 400 miles in extent. Rev. Ira Eddy was the first pastor of the Rootstown charge.

The first election held in Rootstown as an organized township was September10, 1810, when Gersham Bostwick was chosen Chairman and Samuel Andrews and Jacob Reed Judges of the Election. The following are the only names that are now remembered as appearing among the officers elected at that time: Trustees, Gersham Bostwick, Frederick Canis, Jr., Thaddeus Andrews; Clerk, Alpheus Andrews; Samuel Andrews, Justice of the Peace. The oldest records of the township, of date March 7, 1812, give the following officers: Trustees, Stephen Colton, Thaddeus Andrews, Frederick Canis, Jr.; Clerk, Alpheus Andrews; Supervisors, Israel Co6, Ephraim Chapman, Philip Willard, Stephen Colton.

In the very early days a man named Robert Wright, a member of a family which bore a bad reputation, was found on the banks of Silver Creek with his throat cut from ear to ear. Family trouble is supposed to have been the cause.

In 1815 Robert McKnight and his son Robert, Jr., and a boy cut a bee tree, which in falling struck all three of them, injuring the elder McKnight and the boy, and killing Robert McKnight, Jr., instantly. He left a wife and four children.

March 4, 1834, the dwelling-house of Hawkins Clark was burned to the ground and his two daughters, Louisa and Henrietta, were consumed in the building before they could be rescued. It was one of the saddest occurrences that has ever visited the county. A. building that occupied the same spot in 1868 was also destroyed by fire.

In 1845 an epidemic called the black erysipelas prevailed to an alarming extent, and seemed to baffle the skill of the best physicians. About one- twentieth of the inhabitants of the entire township fell before the almost irresistible plague, for it was so virulent as to deserve that title.'

One of the most singular cases in the annals of surgery and disease occurred about ten years ago. Mrs. Mary C. Burnham had been afflicted for about twenty years with throat affections, which gave her great annoyance, and in 1874 whilst eating dinner was taken with what appeared to be a choking

PAGE - 549 - PICTURE OF JOSHUA ATWOOD

PAGE - 550 - BLANK

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spell, and in her efforts to dislodge what she supposed was a piece of meat, threw her tongue out of her mouth. She lived till 1876, when death ended her sufferings. Various theories were advanced by physicians, some attributing the disease to cancer, others to catarrh, others to something else. For some time before it fell out her tongue was paralyzed, but she learned to talk intelligibly with her lips.

Mrs. Gurley, who settled here with her husband in 1819, had a singular adventure with a bear. Her husband brought two young pigs to the township in 1823-24, which were placed within strong pickets. One night in 1824 she heard the squeals of the pigs, and rushing out saw what appeared to be a large dog within the pen. On the approach of the woman this supposed large dog turned toward her, and as he looked over the fence, Mrs. Gurley struck him in the head with an as. By this time she realized that her battle was with a bear rather than a dog, and ran toward the house. Some friends there at the time ran forth to continue the battle, when, to their surprise, they found the bear dead.

Rootstown Protective Association was organized three years ago. In January. 1885, the following officers were elected: G. W. Bow, President; H. M. Deming, Vice-President; H. O. Reed, Secretary; C. H. Bradshaw, Treasurer; David Bogue, Homer Chapman and Elam Underwood were elected Directors.

The affairs of the association are in a very satisfactory shape. The amount of risks in force at the end of last year was $480,963, an increase during the year of nearly $60,000. The losses during the past year have been $16.76 or about 31 cents upon each $1,000 insured. The association has been in operation nearly three years. The average annual cost of insurance has been about 70 cents per $1,000.

The school building at Rootstown was erected in 1884 at a cost of about $3,400. This is a two-story structure, slated; close to it is the Congregational Church. The old Methodist Church here was restored about ten years ago. The only mercantile house at the Center is that of G. W. Bow. At New Milford a general store is conducted by L. F. Pike. At New Milford or Rootstown Station, a grist and flouring-mill was founded years ago. It is now operated by F. P. Root. The capacity is abont seventy-five barrels,

The C. H. Bradshaw saw-mill south of Rootstown is an important industry.

Jacob Kriss established his wagon and carriage-shop at New Milford twenty-five years ago. His sons now operate it, and do a large business.

Rootstown is one of the best townships in the county, and is populated by a thrifty, industrious class of citizens. The soil is very productive, and in addition to the usual farm crops considerable dairying is done, and its cheese interests are gradually growing in importance. The country is well watered, having besides the numerous small streams, several lakes, or large ponds. Two of the larger, Sandy and Muddy Lakes are favorite resorts during the summer season. Muzzy and Ward's ponds are the other two. The township is well supplied with schools, and the standard of education of the citizens is much above the average. The Center is a very thriving little village, and considerable business is transacted there, but it lies about one mile and a half west of New Milford, the station of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh branch of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, a portion of the great Pennsylvania system of railroads. During the struggle for the maintenance of the Union, Rootstown sent to the front fifty-seven of her best sons, eleven of whom were either killed or died in the service.

The statistics of the township are as follows: Acres of wheat, 1,430, bushels, 22,947; of oats, 779, bushels, 26,840; of corn, 6,610 bushels; of hay, 3,164

552 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

tons; of clover, 60 tons and 247 bushels of seed; of potatoes, 3,385 bushels; home-made butter, 50,700 pounds; of factory butter, 30,000 pounds; of cheese, 200,000 pounds; of sugar, 190 pounds and 1,370 gallons of syrup from 6,430 trees; of honey, 1,120 pounds from 262 hives; orchards, 421 acres; apples, 12,920 bushels; peaches, 340 bushels; pears, 30 bushels; wool, 3,035 pounds; much cows, 657; dogs, 143; killed, 8 sheep; died of disease, 11 hogs, 106 sheep, 16 cattle and 6 horses; acres under cultivation, 7,104; in pasture, 7,560; woodland, 2,091; waste, 420; total, 17,175 acres. Population in 1850 was 1,308, including 468 youth; in 1870, 1,169; in 1880, 1,217; in .1884 (estimated), 1,250.

552 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY

CHAPTER XXXI.

SHALERSVILLE TOWNSHIP.

A PIONEER FAMILY-EARLY PRIVATIONS-SOME OTHER SETTLERS-THREE SELF- MADE MEN-SILAS CROCKER, SYLVESTER BEECHER, DAVID MCINTOSH." ORGANIZATION-BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES-MUZZY AND HIS MILL-FIRST INDUSTRIES-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES-WAR RECORD-INCIDENTS AND FACTS-AN AGED LAND-MARK -BUSINESS-RESOURCES-STATISTICS.

SHALERSVILLE at the drawing of the Connecticut Land Company fell to the lot of Gen. Nathaniel Shaler, of Middletown, Conn., and from this fact the township at one time was called Middletown. He was the father of Charles Shaler, of Pittsburgh, and William D. Shaler, at one time a merchant of Ravenna. One of his daughters was the wife of Commodore McDonough, and it is said that after the victory of that naval hero on Lake Cham-plain, when the people of Middletown illuminated, Shaler refused to do so, he being a violent Federalist, until the enraged populace threatened to tear his house down, when the old Tory came to terms. The township is Town 4, Range 8.

In the spring of 1806 Joel Baker with his wife and one child started from Tolland County, Conn., in a wagon, and after a long and tiresome journey arrived on the spot where now is the center of Shalersville. The country at that time was an unbroken wilderness, and not the least sign of a clearing appeared, so when Baker got out of his wagon and looked around, it mast have been upon a scene calculated to daunt any but the most determined nat-ure. He, however, went to work with a will and, fortunately, had a wife who was, indeed, a helpmeet to him, for when he dug a well, which was almost the first thing he did, his wife handled the windlass while he delved down in the depths. For the first few nights after his arrival the whole family slept in a large hollow log, but soon he reared a small cabin and made a clear-ing around it on Lot 48, 160 acres having been given him by Shaler to settle upon it. This cabin was located nearly opposite where the hotel now stands, and the well, we learn, is in good condition yet. Baker, some time previous to coming to the Reserve, had purchased Lot 33, and after spending two years at his first settlement, moved to this lot, where he opened up a farm, erected good buildings, and died in 1849. Those two first years were terribly lonesome ones to the sturdy pioneer and his wife, as no settler came in during that time. He had to go long distances for provisions, and the townships of Free-

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dom and Streetsboro were still as nature had formed them, they not being settled up for several years afterward. Mantua was beginning to fill up, however, and he had some neighbors there, within two or three miles. Mrs. Baker is said to have been an extraordinary woman in points of endurance and resources, and with a patience that never wearied; just the brave wife for one of those grand old " builders without wage," who laid their foundations deep and strong, and made possible this marvellous occidental civilization.

In the year 1801 Simeon Crane, with his family, came to Canfield, Trumbull County, with an ox-team, a horse and a cow, making the journey in forty days. There he resided till 1808, when he, in company with two brothers, Belden and Calvin, came to Shalersville. Simeon was born in Saybrook, Conn., but the family were of Welsh extraction, an ancestor having immigrated to America at an early day, whence sprung the entire Crane family, so numerous throughout the country. The three brothers built two log-houses during this year, hen returned to Canfield, and in the spring of 1809 moved in for permanent settlement, and where their descendants live to this day, E. M. Crane being the leading representative of the family, and having the honor or good fortune to have been the first white male child born in the township. Simeon died September 14, 1840, and their first son, Squire Manly Crane, as he is better known, is a worthy scion of the original stock.

In 1808 dame Hezekiah Hine, a young man, from old Milford, Conn., who afterward married and became a leading citizen. He settled at the Center. In 1809 Daniel Keyes, from Connecticut, came and settled also at the Center. The family did not remain long, however. Daniel was the father of Asa D. Keyes, a lawyer, and agent for Gen. Shaler, and at the organization of the county was elected the first Prosecuting Attorney. Asa was a man of considerable natural talent and culture, but let the demon of intemperance get the better of him at times. Elisha Burroughs, who came in 1808, was in Stark's command and heard Stark's celebrated order.

In 1810 William Coolman and family came from Middletown, Conn. He became one of the Trustees at the organization of the township in 1812, and his son, William, Jr., was Sheriff in 1820-23, Representative in the Legislature, Justice of the Peace, and for many years an editor. In this year there came Daniel Burroughs, with his family, and sons Asa K. and Greenhood, with their families, from Vermont, Joel Walter from Connecticut, and Benjamin Bradley. Moses Carpenter also came from Connecticut.

In 1811 Horace Burroughs with wife and family came from Vermont; Ephraim Brown, a son-in-law of Daniel Burroughs, and Daniel Hine and family from old Milford, Conn. Vine Welch also came in this year, and settled south of the Center.

In 1814 Silas Crocker, then a lad of fifteen years, having been born at Chelsea, Vt., in 1799, came in with the Thompsons—Job Thompson, Sr., and Benoni Thompson, and their families—with whom he had lived from his ninth year. The mother of young Crocker died when be was nine years old, and he being of poor parents was put out at that tender age to carve his fortune for himself, and well he has done it. He has held the office of Justice of the Peace for many years, and is now comparatively hale and hearty at the age of eighty-five.

Gen. David McIntosh, a half brother of Paschal P. McIntosh, of Mantua, started in life a poor boy but fell into good hands on obtaining work with Judge Atwater, who sent him to school. His death occurred April 17. 1883; no man was more honored in his county than Gen. McIntosh. He left a sum of money to be applied to furnishing flags forever to the county, as his patriotism

554 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

was such that it amounted almost to devotion to the "starry banner." He was a Major-General of Militia and represented his county in the Legislature.

Sylvester Beecher, also a poor boy, came from Connecticut at an early day, and worked for many years as a hired hand, chopping and clearing land. He became very enterprising, running a large ashery, and merchandising. Also owned considerable land, and was a stockholder in the bank at Ravenna. He was in the war of 1812, and was at the battle of the River Raisin. He died in 1855.

The township was organized and an election held April 6, 1812, when the following officers were chosen: Trustees, William Coolman, Joel Walter, Simeon Crane; Clerk, Horace Burroughs; Overseers of the Poor, Daniel Burroughs, Daniel Keys; Fence Viewers, Samuel Munson, Benjamin Bradley; Supervisors, Daniel Burroughs, Abel Hine; Lister, Asa K. Burroughs; Treas-urer, Belden Crane; Constable, Richard E. Gay. At an election held the following September Daniel Burroughs and Belden Crane were elected Justices of the Peace, but for the first two years there was scarcely any business, only one suit being entered, Greenhood Burroughs vs. Richard Gay, the Constable, and that official had to serve the notice upon himself. It is said that he took himself aside and gravely read the summons to appear before the magistrate. The suit was to recover' the value of a cow-bell that had been loaned and lost. The plaintiff did not recover. At the second Justices' election in 1815, Job Thompson and George Barnes were chosen. Barnes was not thought of in connection with the office when the candidates were nominated, he being an erratic sort of a fellow, living down in the southwest corner of the township, without a road leading to his place. But the voters, not liking one of the regular candidates, threw their votes away, as they supposed, voting for Barnes when lot at the counting of the ballots, Barnes was found to be elected: Everybody was surprised, but Barnes, pocketing the joke, qualified and made a good Justice. Three cases were appealed from his decisions, but in every instance he was sustained by the higher court.

After the organization in 1814-15, some settlers came into the township, among whom were many prominent families: James Goodell and family, from Warwick, Mass. ; Isaac Kneeland from Colebrook, Conn., and John Hos-kins, with a large family, from Colchester, Conn.

The first child born in the township was a daughter, Lucinda, in 1808, to Joel Baker, the first settler. She died in her seventeenth year. The first male child and the second birth was that of a son, E. M. Crane, to Simeon Crane, June 14, 1810. Squire Crane, as stated elsewhere, is not only yet in the land of the living but good for many a year hence. He is a hale and hearty, active and vigorous gentleman of apparently sixty years but he has the weight of seventy-four winters upon his broad shoulders. The first death was that of Edward Crane, aged seven, a son of Simeon Crane, September 23, 1809. The next death, and the first of an adult, was in 1812, a Mr. Deming, from Vermont, father-in-law of Asa K. Burroughs.

In 1810 an event occurred, and in the higher circles, so to speak, if there was any difference where all were upon the same footing. It was a wedding, and the high contracting parties were Mr. Hezekiah Hine and Miss Mary Atwater, of Mantua, a sister of the noted surveyor, large land owner, and after-ward Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Amzi Atwater. The occasion drew out all the beauty and fashion of those primitive times, and the knot was tied by Squire Elias Harmon, ministers in those days seeming not to have been employed for the interesting ceremony.

An eccentric character named Nathan Muzzy in 1812 came to the town-

SHALERSVILLE TOWNSHIP - 555

ship, having been employed by Stephen Mason to look up a site for a saw-mill, which he found on the Cuyahoga near the western line of the township. Muzzy was a man who had been highly educated, graduating at Yale College, and afterward studied for the ministry, but was either a little "off" " of his mental balance, or had a queer streak of drollery running through him accompanied by a penchant for machine poetry, which he would get off on all occasions. After he had framed his mill and got ready for operations in the fall, a freshet came and destroyed the dam, and his neighbors went over to see how the dam stood the rushing waters. They found Muzzy silently contem- plating the devastation, and as they approached him he exclaimed, "God be praised, the Devil's raised, the world rolls round in water."

The damage being repaired, the mill was largely patronized, for timber could be had for the asking, and Mr. Mason, who was elected Sheriff in 1814, added a grist-mill to the property. After studying for the ministry Muzzy became pastor of a church in Worcester, Mass., but, true to his impulsive nature, fell in love with a girl he could not get, and fled for consolation to the wilds of the West, totally disappearing from his former connections for twenty-five years, when he turned up as a carpenter in Edinburg Township. Noah and Noble Rogers moved into Shalersville from Mantua in 1829, and established a tannery near the north line of the township. This ceased exist- ence over forty years ago.

In 1810 Moses Carpenter came in from Connecticut and started a tannery half a mile west of the Center, where he had more business than he could do. It is said that he made an excellent quality of leather, having learned the trade thoroughly before he left the East. He was a singular, reticent man, and thoroughly honest in all his dealings. He lived entirely alone, and never talked of his former home. It was said that some infelicity, or wrong, in his household, had soured a naturally good and confiding husband; at any rate, he never returned to his family, which he had left in Connecticut, and died under the care of Trustees in 1826.

Vine Welch was the first blacksmith. He came in 1811 and settled south of the Center. He lived to an exceedingly advanced age, dying some time during the late war at the house of his son in Euclid, nearly touching his one hundredth year.

The first stock of goods was brought in and the first store was opened by Sylvester Beecher in 1816. Mr. Beecher also had a factory for the manufact- ure of pot and pearl ashes. In 1817 David McIntosh cut a road through from Shalersville to Freedom, the country at that time being an unbroken forest.

In 1810 the population having grown to proportions sufficient to demand a school, Miss Witter, of Aurora, opened one at the Center, about where the barn of Dr. Proctor now stands. It was a log building of small dimensions, but scholars were not numerous. It was built of unhewn logs, "with puncheon floor, slab seats, greased paper windows, etc.," in short, having all the conveniences usually to be found in schoolhouses of that period, yet, primitive as it was, the sons and daughters of such families as the Bakers, Cranes, Bur- roughs and Coolmans received the foundations of their education. Another teacher that came afterward was Miss Sophia Coe. The condition of the schools at present is told in the following statistics: Revenue in 1884, $4,596; expenditures, $2,144; 8 schoolhouses valued at $5,110; average pay of teach- ers, $21; enrollment, 63 boys and 61 girls.

Shalersville Library Association was organized February 15, 1847, with Silas Cracker, President; E. M. Crane, Secretary; Samuel Ledyard, P. C. Bennett and A. V. Horr, Trustees, and John D. Ramsey, Treasurer.

556 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

During the early settlement there came occasionally one of those ever restless, never-tiring circuit riders of the Methodist Church, and among the num- ber were R. R. Roberts, afterward Bishop, John Waterman, Martin Retter and James McMahon. The Presbyterians, or Congregationalists, also had some early missionaries in this field, and Rev. John Seward, Rev. Timothy Hopkins and Rev. Mr. Hanford preached here. The First Congregational Church was organized in 1818, with eight members, the male portion being Enoch Searle, Roswell Waldo and Isaac Kneeland, but they never had a set- tled pastor.

Disciples Church was organized under State law, September 20, 1850, with Silas H. Eldridge, Cyrus Haskins, Trustees, and Justin Hayes, Clerk.

In the war of 1812 the township filled its quota promptly. The able-bodied men had been so reduced by voluntary enlistments that when the draft was made in that portion of the town where a company had been raised, there was only one man liable to duty. Joel Baker was drawn and he hired a substitute;" Asa K. Burroughs was a Captain. Amongst those .who went into the service were William Coolman, Jr., Job Thompson, Jr., George Barnes, Rezekiah Hine, Lyman Hine, Daniel Burroughs, Jr., and Joel Baker, the last by proxy. Capt. Campbell's company, to which they belonged, was included in the surrender of Hull, and they were sent to Malden and paroled.

At the breaking-out of the Rebellion Shalersville rushed to the rescue of the Nation with a promptitude and zeal that placed her among the front ranks. During the war she sent 108 soldiers to the field, and thirteen of them laid down their lives in the contest for the right, while six others were disabled.

About 1815 Asa Burroughs went in search of his cows which, according to the custom, or necessities, of the times, had been turned loose in the woods. He went in the direction of Freedom, but somehow got turned around in his mind so effectually, that, although he had a pocket compass with him, he believed the instrument pointed just the opposite of what it ought to, and fol- lowing this guide, mistaking the east for the west wandered along far into the night and the next morning he found himself at Garrettsville.

In 1812 Horace Burroughs was going home through the woods at about sun- set, half a mile east of the Center, when out walked, in front of him, an immense bear, which seemed bent on disputing the path with Burroughs. The latter, however, swung a shovel he had in hand, but the bear still advanced, when Horace, thinking it a good "time for disappearing," backed out, keeping his eyes on Bruin, who did not follow. Getting arms and assistance Burroughs returned, but the bear, evidently suspecting foul play, scampered off into the forest.

Rattlesnakes were common, and numerous adventures and narrow escapes were related. Mrs. Goodell, the mother of the wife of Squire Crocker, was one day spinning at her wheel, when she heard an accompaniment to the buzzing noise of the machine, and listening close to the floor heard that peculiar z—ing, which, when once heard close to one's person in field or woods is never forgotten. His snakeship was routed out and killed; he measured six feet, two inches.

About 1825 Squire Crocker, while surveying in the southwest portion of the township, came across a pile of stones five or six feet high and about eight feet in diameter. They were placed in order, and evidently brought some distance from where they were. What the purpose of them was and when they were placed there, is only a matter of conjecture. They may have been the work of Mound-Builders, but there are no other indications of that mysterious race having located in this county; yet, it is possible that in passing along—having

SHALERSVILLE TOWNSHIP - 557

lived both east and west of this point—they may have erected this pile as a temporary altar. The Indians never were guilty of doing as much work as the placing of those stones required, so we cannot blame them for this piece of mystery.

On the return of Jonas Goodell, who came to Shalersville from Vermont to locate lands, he reported "that he was homesick on account of it being so wet and muddy; but he found a small piece a leetel rollin." This piece is now known as Goodell Hill, certainly one of the largest hills in the county.

There is a huge boulder lying in a field nearly opposite Squire Crane's place, that was originally about 20x30 feet and eight or ten feet in height. It lies perfectly isolated from any rock of its kind, and is one of those masses, or a portion of one, that were transported to this section in the glacial period, when this whole country, from the Atlantic Ocean far westward, was covered with slowly moving ice. This rock was first broken from its original bed in an upheaval by volcanic force, and then when the ice which had formed around it began to move southward it was carried onward, rolling slowly over 'and over until it became rounded and smooth; then when the thaw began, it lowly sank through the ice and remained where we now find it.

The township is well watered, the Cuyahoga River and its tributaries affording a plentiful supply in the northern and northwestern sections, while 'smaller streams traverse the township in various directions. The land is highly productive, the soil being peculiarly adapted to the potato, and many thousands of bushels of the finest in the world are produced annually. In the season of 1884 one field north of Shalersville Center contained forty acres of the best varietie of this essential article of food. Cheese, also, forms one of the staple products, and the township stands No. 3 in the quantity manufactured. Considerable grazing and raising of stock is done, while the usual farm crops are produced, some of the finest farms in the county being here. The County Infirmary is located in the southwest part of the town.

In the Center there are one general store, the postoffice, and two hotels, two physicians, a saw-mill, and one church building, used by both the Christian and Methodist denominations, neither of whom have any settled pastor. There are a number of good schools scattered throughout the township.

The statistics for 1884 are as follows: Acres of wheat, 1,630, bushels 17,606; bushels of rye, 105; oats, 1,032 acres, 38,490 bushels; barley, 2013 bushels; corn, 9,650 bushels from 412 acres; 2,729 tons of hay from 1,420 acres; 1,219 tons of hay from 752 acres of clover, and 177 bushels of seed; 694 acres of potatoes gave 75,242 bushels; milk sold for family use, 28,100 gallons; home-made butter, 37,934 pounds; factory butter, 70,797 pounds; cheese, 613,860 pounds; maple sugar, 11,081 pounds; syrup, 3,340 gallons, from 15,290 trees: 2,035 pounds of honey from 61 hives; 32,441 dozens of eggs; 295 acres of orchard; 8,377 bushels of apples; 67 bushels of peaches, 8 of pears and 5 of plums; 5,427 pounds of wool; 1,234 milch cows; 2 stallions; 121 dogs; killed, 11 sheep; animals died of disease, 12 hogs, 27 sheep, 23 cattle, and 10 horses; acres cultivated, 5,861; in pasture, 7,329; woodland, 3,046; waste, 243; total, 16,479 acres. Population in 1850, 1,190, including 439 youth; in 1870, 977; in 1880, 960; in 1884 (estimated), 900.