(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 650 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Voris) and Mr. John Alexander (father of Hon. J. Park Alexander). Many laughable, as well as perilous, incidents might be mentioned, did space permit, but this one must suffice. In endeavoring to trace a stolen horse, which was supposed to be temporarily concealed in the jungles of Eastern Bath, Marshal Mills procured the assistance of Mr. Alexander, whom he stationed at the ford near Yellow Creek basin, while Mills himself kept guard over the ford at Old Portage. About midnight two men, riding one horse, approached the lower ford, and were requested by Mr. Alexander, to set him across the river. Refusing to do so, with many oaths and abusive epithets, Mr. Alexander seized the rein of the bridle, whereupon the fellow 'in the rear slipped off the horse, on the opposite side, and ran into the bushes. The other one started to JOHN ALEXANDER, JR.,--born in Washington county, Pa., November 18, 1799 ; common school education ; raised .a farmer ; married, September. 16, 1828, to Miss Mary Scott ; came to Ohio in February, 1831, settling on a farm near the southeast corner of Bath township, among the few permanent residents of the township, at that time, being the Hales, the Hammonds, the Nashes, the. Bald-wins, the Millers, and later, Peter Voris, with his large family of boys, including Judge Alvin Voris, now of Akron. 1r. Alexander was a man of great energy and courage, largely aiding the authorities in breaking up the strong and influential gang of counterfeiters and horse thieves then infesting the valley of the Cuyahoga, fully written of elsewhere, and though often warned that if he did not leave the township he would be killed, he lived to see the disreputable gang entirely eliminated from the valley. He was an earnest supporter of the church, the school and all public improvements. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander were the parents of seven children—David S., born July 7, 1829, died November 17, 1890 ; Joseph H., born March 11, 1832, now residing in Kansas ; John Park, whose portrait and biography are given elsewhere; and William G., of Toledo, bot November 12, 1839, the other three dying in infancy. Mr. Alexander died September 25, 1855, at the age of 55 years, 10 months and 7 days ; Mrs. Alexander, born February 14, 1799, dying June 29, 1878, aged 79 years, 4 months and 15 days. follow, when Alexander, stepping quickly to the other side of the horse, caught him as he struck the ground,. In the tussle which ensued, Alexander finally settled his man by a few vigorous blows upon the head with a solid hickory cane which he carried. Being obliged, in the melee, to release his hold upon the bridle, the horse started back towards the Basin, and Mr. Alexander went in pursuit of it. Having secured his horse he returned to gather up his prisoner, but found him non est. Alexander then mounted the horse and joined Mills at the upper ford, whereupon the two reconnoitered the river and canal as far north as Johnny Cake Lock, which they reached just at day light. Suspecting that one or both of the men which Mr. Alexander had encountered, alight be secreted about the grocery kept at that point, a search of the ROUTING OUT THE "CROOKS." - 651 premises was made, and a fellow was fished out of the loft with a "bunged" eye and a freshly bruised head. Though protesting that lie had got hurt by being squeezed between a boat and the lock, the evening before, he was taken into custody and lodged in jail. The captured horse, though not the one they were in pursuit of, proved to have been stolen from a neighboring county, and the man thus curiously arrested proved to be the thief, and was duly convicted and sent to the penitentiary. WILLIAM LATTA IN LIMBO. Though then a resident of Medina county, the grand jury of Portage county, at the January term, 1834, through the efforts of Prosecuting Attorney Lucius V. Bierce, found a bill of indictment against Latta on the charge of counterfeiting, or of having counterfeit money in his possession with intent to pass the same. To this indictment Latta entered a plea of not guilty, and gave bail in the sum of $1,000 for his appearance at the March term of court, to answer to said charge. LATTA FORFEITS HIS BAIL.—At the March term, on his case being called, Latta failed to appear, and his bail was duly declared forfeited. On investigation it was found that Latta had disposed of his interests at the Corners, closed up his business affairs, and skipped to parts unknown. Though as diligent inquiries as the condition of the country, and the facilities then in vogue, would admit of, were instituted, no trace of him could be found, though in the latter part of 1837, after the arrest of Col. William Ashley, as elsewhere stated, Latta clandestinely visited Boston, and recovered that portion of the "assets" of the firm of Latta, Holmes & Ashley, that were not found by the authorities, when the latter was arrested. These "assets" consisted of counterfeit plates as follows: One $50 plate on the Mechanics' Bank of New York; two $10's on the United States Bank, letters H. & G.; one $2, on the Bank of Newport, R. I.; $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, and $50, on the Bank of Toronto, together with some $40,000 of Toronto bills. LATTA AGAIN, IN THE TOILS.—In 1838, after Ashley's conviction and incarceration in the penitentiary, as elsewhere detailed, and while the great "generalissimo" of the fraternity, " Jim" Brown, was under $10,000 bonds in Medina county, $9,000 in Portage county, and $1,000 in Cuyahoga county ($20,000 in all), on similar charges, the latter (whether in the interest of public justice, or to "curry favor" with the officers, deponent sayeth not), gave. Latta away, informing the authorities of his whereabouts, and deposing, before Justice Jacob Brown, to having seen the two $10 United States plates in Latta's possession, and of .Latta's telling him, while in Boston, that he also had the other plates and the money above spoken of. On this affidavit, a warrant was issued, and Constable Warren H. Smith (brother of the late L. N. Smith), following the clue given by Brown, went to Indiana, secured Latta's arrest, and, as he was unwilling to come to Ohio without a requisition, lodged him in jail, and returned home to procure, one. This, it should be remembered, was before there were any railroads or telegraph facilities here, as now. LATTA'S EXTRADITION TO OHIO.—Deputy United States Marshal, Ithiel Mills, Esq., immediately, on Smith's return, went by stage to 652 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Columbus, and, securing a requisition, proceeded by stage to Indianapolis, where he obtained, from the Governor of that State, a warrant for Latta's extradition to Ohio. On his arrival at the place where Constable Smith had left him, however, Mills found that his bird had flown, having been released from jail under a writ of habeas corpus. Anticipating another visit from the Ohio officer, Latta went into concealment, but by a little strategy, Mills succeeded in tracing him to his lair, and bringing him safely to Akron. Here, on the testimony of " Jim" Brown, Justice Jacob Brown held Latta to bail in the sum of $15,000, in default of which he was committed to jail, at Ravenna. This was the latter part of August, 1838. On the same testimony, the grand jury of Portage county found a bill of indictment against. Latta, but, under one pretext or another, the trial was postponed until the September term of court, 1839. LATTA AGAIN AT LIBERTY.--In the meantime, as will be seen by a perusal of the chapter pertaining to that gentleman, "Jim" Brown, had so succeeded in "working" the witness against him, as to be beyond immediate danger, Latta's case was called, a jury empanelled and the preliminary statements of counsel made in due form. Brown, the principal witness for the State, being called to the stand, to the great surprise of the officers who had so indefatigably worked up the case, peremptorily declined to answer any questions touching the accused, on the ground that doing so would tend to criminate himself. This ended the trial and Latta was accordingly set at liberty. The former charge, in which his bail had been forfeited, having meantime been nollied, Latta immediately disappeared, and so far as the writer is aware, was never again seen in this vicinity, but was for many years thereafter reputed to be pursuing the same dark and devious ways, so characteristic of him here, in the State of Indiana. EDUCATIONAL, RELIGIOUS, ETC. Though not maintaining any academical or so-called high schools within her borders, the educational facilities of Bath, with a full complement of snug and well-equipped district school buildings, have always been exceptionally good. In religious matters, the Presbyterians for many years maintained a house of worship at the center of the town, and the Methodists at Hammond's Corners, her people also having ready access to the United Brethren "Centennial" Church, on the Richfield line upon the north, the Disciple Church on the Granger line upon the west, and the United Brethren Church at Montrose upon the south, her people at the present time being among the most intelligent and moral on the Western Reserve; maintaining, also, a most flourishing Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, now such a potent factor in promoting the intellectual, social and material interests of the people of the rural districts of the country. RETROGRADE IN POPULATION. During the first twenty-five or thirty years after the first settlement in Bath began, its growth in population was steady and comparatively rapid, so that in 1840 its population was 1,425. For POPULATION—OFFICIAL ROSTER, ETC.- 653 the past twenty-five or thirty years, however, owing to the changed conditions of doing business—merging the small industries of the villages and country places in the larger establishments in the cities, and the introduction of agricultural labor-saving machinery, by which less human muscle is needed to accomplish the same results as formerly upon the farm—to say nothing about that formerly expended in the clearing of their lands—the population of most of the townships of the Reserve has materially receded, the decennial enumeration for 1890 giving to Bath a population of 990 souls only, a falling off of 435 in 50 years. PRESENT OFFICIAL ROSTER (1891).— Trustees, John Hershey, A. W. Shade, Robert Y. Robinson; Clerk, George Youells; Treasurer, William H. Spears; Justices of the Peace, Henry Pardee, William Davis; Postmasters, Bath (at Hammond's Corners), Siegel B. Whitcraft; Ghent, Otis R. Hershey; Montrose, Samuel Briggs. CHAPTER XXVIII. BOSTON TOWNSHIP- EARLY SETTLEMENT-ORGANIZATION NAME ETC.-PIONEER INCIDENT AND EXPERIENCE-THE INDIAN'S PARADISE-MANUFACTURING RESOURCES-MILITARY PROWESS-BOSTON IN COUNTY AND STATE AFFAIRS - COUNTERFEITING HEADQUARTERS - THE GANG BROKEN UP-"COL." WILLIAM ASHLEY'S ARREST' CONVICTION, IMPRISONMENT AND DEATH-FULL HISTORY OF THE NOTORIOUS "JIM" BROWN-SUBSEQUENT EXCITING CRIMES, MURDERS, BURGLARIES, ETC.-MODERN BOSTON' MORAL INTELLIGENT' ENTERPRISING. BOSTON'S TOPOGRAPHY. The township of Boston, like most of the towns along the line of the Cuyahoga river through Summit county, is largely broken up into precipitous hills and deep gullies, though beyond these bluffs, on either side, there are some fine farming lands, and occasional fertile and tillable areas along the river bottoms. The river is exceedingly tortuous through the entire township, and, a little north and west of the geographical center, it makes an abrupt turn to the eastward, and circling around to th north and west' enclosing some 18 or 20 acres of rich bottom lam comes back to within about 50 or 60 feet of the point of divergence; whence it again resumes its general northwesterly course to Lake Erie. THE VILLAGE OF PENINSULA.—In making this peninsular Circuit, there is a fall in the river of nearly eight feet, so that by the erection of a low dam on the upper side, and tunneling through the narrow neck of land indicated, a fine water power is secured which has been utilized for milling purposes for nearly three quarters of a century. This eccentricity of the river has furnished its very appropriate name for the flourishing village of Peninsula' the principal business center of the township; a dam a short distance higher up the river furnishing a large volume of additional water-power for manufacturing purposes, upon both sides of the river. In the construction of the Valley Railway, the entire volume of the water of the river has been let through the narrow neck of the peninsula, east of the mill. The water power of the mill is considerably improved thereby, while the bottom lands of the peninsula are less liable to overflow in case of freshet. This arrangement also greatly facilitates the operations of the railway, and the making harvesting and shipping of ice from the old bed of the river which is amply supplied for that purpose, through a small creek formed by several large springs in the ledges to the eastward. THE ANCIENT VILLAGE OF BOSTON.---A mile and a-half further north is the original business point of the township, the village of Boston. Here, too, by means of a substantial dam thrown across the river, its waters have been used for milling purposes since BOSTON'S BEGINNING - 655 1821; at first upon the west side of the river, but after the construction of the Ohio Canal, transferred to the east side; the original improvement of this character in the township being made here, in the year named, by Capt. Watrous Mather, who afterward, in the early thirties, removed to Akron, erecting a story and a-half frame house on Brown street, which is still standing, and in which he died May 18, 1844, aged 66 years. GEORGE STANFORD, — born in U Beaver county, Pa., October 9, 1800; came with parents to Warren, 0, in 1802, and to Boston in 1806, which township his father, James Stanford, assisted Alfred Wolcott, Sr, in surveying the year previous, and being the second family to settle in the township, the 196 acre farm on the east bank of the Cuyahoga river being now occupied by the grandson of the original proprietor, George C. Stanford, Esq. George Stanford was married to Catharine Carter, of Boston township, January 17,1828, who died December 20, 1872. aged 68 years, having borne hint eight children, one of whom only, George C., now survives. Mr. George Stanford was a model farmer, sterling- citizen and a consistent member of the Methodist church, being appointed by the people of the township to many positions of trust and for six years officiating as justice of the peace. Mr. Stanford died March 7,1883, aged 82 years, 4 months and 8 days. George C. Stanford, born April 18, 1839, was married to Miss Lida Wetmore, daughter of William Wetmore, Esq., one of Stow's pioneer settlers, December 23, 1869. They have three children — Ellen, born February 6, 1871 ; Perkins W., born May 2, 1874 ; Clayton J., born August 4, 1877. George C. was postmaster at Boston from 1875 to 1885. " JOHNNY CAKE" LOCK.—Near the south line of the township is quite a hamlet known for many years by the above "toothsome" and "gustatory" appellation, from these alleged circumstances: A short distance above the lock, at this point, Furnace Run, an inconsiderable stream, ordinarily, empties into the canal, as a feeder. In the spring of 1828, during a heavy freshet, so much sand was washed into the bed of the canal as to entirely impede navigation for several days. This brought together a number of boats from both above and below, with not only their crews but a considerable number of passengers to be subsisted, pending the making of the necessary repairs. Commissary supplies running short on "shipboard," and the inhabitants of the vicinity being sparse and meagerly supplied with provisions, corn meal - " Johnny-cake timber" soon became the only edible obtainable, and Johnny Cake it was, morning, noon and night, until the blockade was raised, and Johnny Cake Lock it has been ever since, though for a number of years it was sought to change it to " Unionville," and since the advent of the Valley Railway, a station and a post office have been established there under the official name of "Everett." 656 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. LINE BOAT AND PACKET NAVIGATION. Previous to the advent of railroads' in addition to the transportation of merchandise and produce, canal passenger travel was considered the very acme of speed, comfort and convenience. For this purpose quite large how cabins were fitted up in good style, with sleeping and table accommodations for from 12 to 20 passengers, with corresponding culinary accommodations at the stern; the midships, only, being devoted to freight. Instead of every boat owner going upon his own hook' as now' regular freight and passenger lines were established' with stations at convenient points for the care and exchange of horses, no horses being carried upon any boat except such as were then called scows. One of the most important of these stations was Johnny Cake Lock, the largest land owner of the vicinity' the late Alanson Swan, erecting commodious stables' a grocery store and quite an extensive warehouse, so that for many years " Johnny Cake" was regarded as quite a business emporium; especially during the packet-boat era from about 1837 to 1852. MR. AND MRS. HERMON BRONSON,—were natives of Waterbury, Conn., the former born December 17, 1774, the latter (Mary Hickox) December 17 1777, were married in Waterbury December 18, 1795 ; moved to Ohio in 1801, settling in Cleveland, then a very small hamlet, Mr. B. working at the carpenter's trade in 1812, he enlisted in the army, she returning to Waterbury on horseback' with her four children, the youngest a babe. At the close of the war they removed to Lorain county and engaged in farming' in 1821 returning to Cleveland, and three years later' in 1824, locating at Peninsula, Boston township. Here Mr. Bronson became a large land owner, and built, and for many years successfully conducted the pioneer saw and grist mills at that place' besides liberally promoting the various other industrial and business enterprises of the village. Their children were—Julia, afterwards Mrs. Pope Hannah, afterwards Mrs. White Rhoda, afterwards Mrs. Bayne, and later Mrs. Jacob Barnhart ; and Hiram Volney, whose portrait and biography will be found on another page. Mr. and Mrs. Bronson were both liberal and public spirited' he having filled many local positions of trust and honor ; in 1835, organizing a Protestant Episcopal Church' building at his own expense, a comfortable house of worship (still standing) dedicated by Bishop Mcllvaine' in 1839, as "Bethel Episcopal Church," the building being remodeled in 1889, by his daughter-in-law' Mrs. Ruth Ranney Bronson' and its name changed by decree of courts to "Bronson Memorial Church." Mr. Bronson died December 18' 1853, aged 79 years and one day ; Mrs. B. dying February 18' 1858, aged 80 years' 2 months and 1 day. BOSTON'S PIONEER SETTLERS - 657 EARLY SETTLEMENT, PIONEERS, ETC.—Boston township was not settled as early as Hudson, and perhaps two or three other townships of Summit county. The first actual settler is supposed to have been Alfred Wolcott, Sr., the father of the late Hon. Alfred Wolcott, ex-representative of Summit county in the State Legislature. Mr. Wolcott was a native of Connecticut and had early emigrated to Trumbull county. Being a practical surveyor, he was sent by General Simon Perkins and others to survey the lands weed by them' in what afterwards came to be known as Boston township. This was probably, in 1803, as in the early Spring of 1806. having in the meantime been married to Miss Hannah Craig, of Youngstown he erected a log cabin on the tract of 115 acres of land, which he had selected in the northeast part of the township, and being a part of the same farm lately occupied by his son, Hon. Alfred Wolcott. Mr. Wolcott's first selection was in the valley, where Mr. George C. Stanford now lives' a short distance north of the village of Boston' but was given up, at the instance of his young wife, on account of the supposed unhealthiness of that location. Two other men, Samuel Ewart and John Teale, accomp accompanied Wolcott to the township, but of whose subsequent history ittle is now known, except that Ewart died in Sandusky in 1815. HON. ALFRED WOLCOTT,— son of Boston's pioneer settler, Alfred Wolcott, Sr.; born in Boston' January 28' 1812; educated in district schools. His father dying in 1835' April 18, 1836, Mr. Wolcott was married to Miss Mary Scovill, who was born in Connecticut, in 1821; purchasing a farm in Northfield, soon afterwards exchanging with his brother for the old homestead in Boston, which, having greatly enlarged and improved, he continuously `occupied until his death' March 17, 1891, aged 79 years 1 month and 19 days. In 1869 Mr. Wolcott was elected, on the Republican ticket, to the State Legislature, serving two years; also served as assessor and in many other positions of trust and honor in his township. Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott were the parents of six children—Hon. Simon Perkins Wolcott, a graduate of Western Reserve College, late senator for Summit and Portage counties, now practicing law in Kent; John M. Wolcott, furniture manufacturer in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Anna M. wife of Rev. Lem. B. Bissell, Congregational preacher in Monroe, Mich.; Alfred Wolcott, Jr., graduate of Western Reserve College, now practicing law in Grand Rapids' Mich.; Charles Fremont, farmer on the old homestead; Andrew A.' enlisted in Company D, 29th. 0. V. I., died at Alexandria' Va., September 4, 1862. About simultaneously with the advent of Wolcott, 1806, came James Stanford, Adam and William Vance and Abner Robinson, the former settling upon the tract in the valley, which had been rejected by Wolcott as above stated, and which has proved to be one of the most fertile farms, as well as one of the most salubrious locations in the township ; for it does not necessarily follow that 42 658 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. high lands are always healthy and low lands always unhealthy, miasmatic vapors often rising above the habitations in the r valley and invading those of the higher table lands on either s' ORGANIZATION, NAME, ETC.—From this time on, the settlement of the neighborhood was quite rapid, the three present township of Boston, Richfield and Northfield being one, so that at the first election of township officers, held by order of the county commissioners of Portage county, January 15, 1811, at the house of Timothy Bishop, there were about 30 voters present. There is some discrepancy of opinion as to the naming of the township, Mrs. Eli Gaylord, of Stow, daughter of Alfred Wolcott, Sr., claiming that it was named by her father, when making the survey, as above stated, while other accounts show that about 1807 Messrs. Wolcott, Stanford, Ewart, Teale, and a few others, held a consultation upon the subject, at which Mr. Wolcott suggested the name of Wolcottburg, and Mr. Ewart that of Ewartsville, neither of which cognomens found favor with the majority, and that finally Mr. Stanford proposed the name of Boston, which was unanimously adopted. HIRAM VOLNEY BRONSON, son of Hermon and Mary (Hickox) Bronson, was born in Cleveland, December 12, 1811; removing with parents to Peninsula, in 1824 ; educated in schools of vicinity and aided his father in conducting his large farming and milling interests in and about Peninsula. Mr. Bronson was active in politics, first as a Whig and later as a Republican, served several years as justice of the peace, was Peninsula's first postmaster, serving eight years, was also Peninsula's first mayor, and during the War of the Rebellion was Deputy U. S. Internal Revenue Assessor. Thoroughly posted in affairs, Mr. Bronson was authority in political and historical matters, local, state and national. June 7, 1835, he was married to Miss Ruth L. Ranney, a native of Boston township, daughter of Comfort Ranney, one of the earliest pioneer settlers of that vicinity, who bore three children—Lucy, born May 1, 1838, now Mrs. P. H. Dudley, of New York City ; Emily, born May 7, 1843, now Mrs. Col. A. L. Conger, of Akron, and Hermon, born August 15, 1843, now residing in Cleveland. Mr. Bronson died November 1, 1881, aged 69 years, 10 months and 19 days., Mrs. Bronson still survives. This initial election was only a temporary affair, the officers elected holding only till the regular election on the first Monday of the ensuing April. Alfred Wolcott and Moses Cunningham were chosen as justices of the peace; William Beers, clerk; Aaron Miller, Andrew Johnson and Timothy Bishop, trustees; Jonathan Iddings and Isaac Bacon, overseers of the poor; Lauricelot May treasurer, and James Jordan, constable. At the April election the justices, trustees, clerk, overseers of the poor and constable previously chosen, were re-elected, John Duncan being substituted for Launcelot Mays as treasurer, and POPULATION, GROWTH, ETC. - 659 additional offices filled, as follows: Alfred Wolcott and James Stanford, fence viewers; Moses Cunningham and William Beers, Esters; Aaron Miller, John Cunningham and James Stanford, supervisors, and Robert Donaldson as an additional constable. It will thus be seen that four of the parties above named were elected to two positions each, viz: Alfred Wolcott, justice of the peace and fence viewer; Moses Cunningham, justice of the peace and lister; William Beers, clerk and lister; Aaron Miller, trustee and supervisor.; a proceeding that, even if lawful, would hardly be sanctioned, in the general scramble for office in these latter days. ERASTUS JACKSON, —born September 16, 1810, in the Province of Upper Canada; 50 miles west of Kingston, removing with parents, in infancy, to Western New York; educated in common schools; minority passed on farm; in Winter of 1831, '32 taught school; in Spring of 1832 came West, clerking one Summer in store at Boston Village; in the Fall returned to Western New York and engaged in teaching; in 1837, again came to Boston; clerked in grocery at the "Lock" through the Summer and taught school the first Winter; in Spring of 1838 went into grocery business for himself, continuing four years; in 1842, started a furnace, which he ran two years; in 1844, in company with Mr. John, Conger, engaged in brick making, supplying brick for the Empire House, and many of the earlier business blocks and private residences of Akron. Mr. Conger dying November 30, 1853, Mr. Jackson continued the business for two years in partnership with the two sons of Mr. Conger, when he withdrew and has since been successfully engaged in farming, having, in June, 1854, married the widow of his former partner, Mrs. Hannah (Beals) Conger, who was born in Goshen, Mass., in 1805. In politics an early Whig, and later an ardent Republican, besides serving as township clerk five years, justice of the peace twelve years, and treasurer several years, Mr. Jackson was postmaster of 'Boston from 1849 to 1853, and postmaster of Peninsula from 1877 to 1885. PIONEER INCIDENT AND EXPERIENCE.—The settlement of the township of Boston, proper, after its separation from Northfield and Richfield, though not remarkably rapid, was steady, so that on the organization of Summit county, in 1840, it numbered, as shown by the census of that year, 845 souls, the census of 1880 giving the population at 1,225, an increase of a trifle over 50 per cent. in 40 years, the census of 1890 showing a slight increase, the total population of the township (including Peninsula, 562), being 1,273, a far better showing than the majority of the townships of the county. The first male child born in the township was Andrew J., son of James Stanford, born March 27, 1806; the first female child being the daughter of Alfred Wolcott, Melinda, born April 14, 1807. The first marriage in the township, on the 29th of July, 1812, was William Carter to Elizabeth Mays; the first one to. die in the township being Mary Ann Post, daughter of Henry Post, Sr., June 9, 1808. 660 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. The township is rife with traditions of pioneer incidents and adventures with Indians and wild beasts, both serious and comical, too numerous and voluminous to be fully embodied in this work. Boston and vicinity was, however, previous to the advent of the whites, a sort of Indian paradise: the bottom lands being planted to orchards, corn, etc., the hills and gullies abounding in all kinds of game, and the river and smaller streams well stocked with an almost infinite variety of fish. Here, also, were found' by the early white settlers, the remains of Indian villages' dwellings' forts, mounds, burial places, altars, idols, etc., some of which are still visible, while innumerable relics of Indian life, labor and sport, have been gathered up by their pale-faced successors to the aboriginal domain. LEWIS M. JANES, --born in Hartford, Conn., Feb. 6, 1798, in early manhood engaged in merchandising in Central New York and Montreal, Canada ; in the early thirties moved to York, Medina County, Ohio, and about 1834 to Peninsula, where he engaged in the lumber trade. In 1844, Mr. Janes was elected sheriff of Summit county, which office he ably filled two full terms, afterwards officiating as deputy for several of his successors. In 1863, Mr. Janes was elected a justice of the peace for Portage township, acceptably filling that position until his d e a t h by drowning, on the occasion of the sinking of the propeller Pewabic, on which he and his son Edward P. were passengers, by the steamer Meteor upon Lake Huron, on the night of August 9, 1865. Mrs. Janes, whose maiden name was Abby Phillips Allen, was an invalid for many years, her death occurring in Akron' October 23, 1847, at the age of 50 years and 15 days. They were the parents of eight children—Thomas Mumford, Martha Cornelia, Frances Henrietta, Mary Mumford (wife of Rev. Abraham E. Baldwin), Lewis Frederick, Elizabeth Louise, Edward Plympton and Henry Dwight, the latter, only, surviving, and with his wife and two children residing in Plainfield, N. J. BOSTON'S MILITARY PROWESS. Of Boston's early inhabitants several were well known to have participated in the Revolutionary War of 1776 to 1783 but unfortunately their names and records are not now available' exception in the case of Mr. Henry Brown, who served during the entire seven years, struggle, dying in Boston, October 17, 1837, in the 104th year of his age, and Mr. Simeon Tupper, 74, reported as a pensioner by the census of 1840. In the War of 1812, also Boston took a lively interest, furnishing a number of soldiers for the protection of the frontier, but whose names are not now ascertainable. In the scrimmage with Mexico, in 1846-48, Boston does not seem to have worked up any special enthusiasm, the names George Paige, wounded at Churubusco, William Mory, who died in the service, Charles Parker and Frank Brannan, only having been handed down as soldiers in that war. BOSTON'S MILITARY STATUS - 661 But in the War of the Rebellion Boston was " up and fully dressed." Party lines, which had theretofore been tightly drawn—with the Democratic party generally ahead—were obliterated, and the members of that party vied with their Republican neighbors in responding to the several calls for troops during the existence of that bloody struggle, as the complete roster given below abundantly demonstrates: EDMUND H. COLE,—Born in Niagara County, N. Y., in 1824; removed with parents to Ohio in 1832, settling in Northampton township (near Hawkins' Bridge); educated in district schools; afterwards engaging in teaching, and later in buying and shipping stock ; in 1856 associated himself with Frederick and Thomas Wood, under the firm name of Wood, Cole & Co., in the mercantile business at Peninsula ; in 1863 bought out his partners, successfully continuing the business until his death, Jan. 11, 1876; was married November 15, 1848, to Miss Ann L. Boies, of Peninsula, who bore him four children—Arthur M. and Herbert W., whose portraits and biographies appear elsewhere ; Nellie, now wife of Dr.William Boers- tier, of Peninsula, and Fred. Hayden, now a member of the Akron Silver Plate Company. Enterprising and energetic, Mr. Cole took a just pride in forwarding the best interests of his village and county—agricultural, educational, etc.—for several years acting as marshal of the County Fair, and during the war giving freely of his time and money in securing enlistments, and the promotion of the cause of the Union. Mrs. Cole still resides at Peninsula, the three sons all being now enterprising business men of the city of Akron. BOSTON'S ROLL OF HONOR. Robert L. Andrew, Emanuel R. Andrew, Angelo Andrew, Theft Andrew, Isidore M. Bishop, Levi B. Boody, Jacob Barnphart, William H. Barnhart, Thomas Blackburn, Frederick W. Boies, Charles E. Boies, Charles Bryant, Edward Brady, John Cady, Rufus Cook (died in service), Simon Cook, Miles J. Collier, James Cassidy, John C. Conger, Arthur L. Conger, Thomas Cody (lost on Sultana), George Chamberlin, James Courtney (killed in battle), William H. Chapman, Samuel Case, Adelbert B. Coe, George Corp, George Cassie (died in service), James Dolan (lost on Sultana), George H. Dotts, 0. A. Davis, William Everhart (died in service), William Emory, James N. Edgerly, Elijah Everett (died in service), Amzi Eddy, Charles Felton, William Fields, Philetus Foster, John G. Garrison (lost on Sultana), John Greenover, Joseph Gould, E. Harrington, William V. Howland, Asa I). Hatch, Darwin R. Hall, Richard Hickin (killed in battle), Freeman Humes (lost on Sultana), Edward S. Haskell, Wallace W. Humphrey, Alonzo W. Hancock, John Halpin, John D. Hall, Andrew Hall, Adar H. Johnson, Daniel Kilbow, Josiah A. Kellogg, Frederick W. Kellogg, George C. Kellogg, Cyrus E. Kellogg, Albert A. Kellogg, Nicholas 662 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Knapp, Edward Lee, David Lee (died in service), William Long; William Lewis, Henry Livingston' Orson J. Mott, Amos Mott, Oliver Mott (died in service). John Mott, Lorenzo Mott, Rollin H. Morgan, Joseph McCleaf, Robert Mcllwain (killed in battle), Daniel McAffee, John McIntyre, Marvin Myers, Sylvester Miller, Peter J. Murphy, James Mahan, James Moore, Charles Mead, Charles F. Miles, Adam McLaughlin, James Martin, Charles Napp',Elmus Noah (died in service), Andrew Ozman, William Patterson, George Post, Samuel W. Perry, Clark Pierce, George H. Post, Sumner Pixley, Benjamin F. Price, Luman F. Pickle, Arthur H. Pickle, C. Ranney, Irwin Richardson, Nathan E. Rose (died at home in 1864), Alvin C. Rose (killed at Five Forks), John Russell, O. C. Risden, John R. Richardson (died in service), Samuel Ready, William R. Richardson, Henry Richardson, E. Robinson, Andrew Robinson, William Robinson, M. R. Risden, Charles Scobie (killed in battle), Daniel Schoonover, James Seeley, Cyrus Singleton (died in service), Perkins W. Stanford (died in Andersonville prison), Barney Schoonover, John Scofield, William Smith, Benjamin Sovacool (wounded in foot at Pittsburg Landing, carried to rear and not heard from afterward), Richard H. Snow, Eli N. Scofield, Isaac Tupper (died in service), Joseph Timms, John Timms, John Tracy, William Van Orman, Ozro W. Van Orman, Francis Van Orman, George Van Orman, George L. Waterman (killed by rebel sympathizers while doing guard duty at Dayton, Ohio, at the time of Clement L. Vallandingham's arrest for treason, in May, 1863), H H. Wells, John Welton, Calvin Wilds (died in service), George L, Wilson, Andrew Wolcott (died in service), Jerome O. Wing, George Welton, Edward Whitney, John H. Zerly. SIDNEY P. CONGER,—Born in Vermont, Sept. 17, 1829; when a boy coming with his parents to Ohio, settling in Boston township and working at brick-making; also later engaging largely in farming, dairying, etc. Nov. 6, 1853, Mr. Conger was married to Miss Bridget I. Cody, of Boston, who died in January, 1861, leaving two children—Lucia Jeanette (now Mrs. Frank Warburton, of Akron), and Sidney John, now a resident of Akron. April 10, 1862, Mr. Conger was again married, to Miss Rose Ann McIlwain of Boston who bore him three children—George C., now a book-keeper in office of Whitman Barnes & Co., in Akron ; Mary Belle and Allie Blanche ; Mr. Conger dying August 20, 1874, at the age of 44 years, 11 months and 3 days. Mr. Conger was a prominent member of Meridian Sun Lodge, No. 266, F. & A. M.; was patriotic and liberal during the War of the Rebellion ; active in township and county affairs, filling many local positions of trust' and ably serving as county commissioner, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Commissioner Nelson Upson, from May to December, 1866. Mrs. Conger and her children now reside in Akron. MUNIFICENT MEMORIAL. Col. Arthur La tham Conger' now a citizen of Akron, was born in Boston township, and was also one of her Union soldiers in the MUNIFICENT MEMORIAL - 663 late war, his wife, Mrs. Emily Bronson Conger (daughter of the late Hiram V. Bronson, deputy United States assessor during the war), being also a native of that township. Having been highly prosperous in business, since the close of the bloody struggle, and cherishing a high degree of affection for their native town, as well as a strong sense of gratitude towards her patriotic soldiery, on the 4th clay of July, 1889,- presented to the township a beautiful granite monument, a representation of which is herewith given, a very fine presentation address being delivered by the eldest son of the donors, Kenyon B. Conger; the unveiling of the monument being done by their second son, Arthur L. Conger, Jr., a still younger son, Master Latham H. Conger, dressed in the uniform of the Grand Army of the Republic, and mounted on a fine Arabian pony, acting as orderly of the dedication procession. The monument is of Westerly granite entire, of base stone being six feet two inches square, and weighing over five tons. This is surmounted by two smaller base stones, on the upper one of which stands the three foot square pedestal the front bearing the legend : "Presented to. Boston Township, by Arthur Latham and Emily Bronson Conger, to commemorate the bravery and patriotism of the soldiers who served in the War of the Rebellion -1861-65—erected July 4, 1889;" the other three sides bearing the names of the 141 soldiers as above given. Immediately under the, sur-base are the names of four of the many engagements in which tier brave boys participated: Nashville, Five Forks, Cedar Creek and Appomattox. On the sur-base stands a handsomely tapering square shaft, of nearly twenty five feet, surmounted by a beautifully carved capitol, with a handsomely executed Grand Army badge on the front side, the finely proportioned figure of whole being surmounted by the a soldier, six feet and six inches in height, in fatigue uniform, standing at parade rest, the entire structure being a superb work of art, and a monument not only to the township, but to patriotism of the township, but to the liberality of its public-spirited donors, its entire cost being over three thousand dollars. BOSTON'S INDUSTRIES.—In addition to the quite extensive flour and lumber mills at Boston Village, and the two saw mills and flour mill at Peninsula, and similar mills in other parts of the township, a large variety of other manufactures, broom handles, cheese boxes, etc., have from time to time been carried on, while in the earlier and palmy days of the canal, both at Boston Village, Peninsula, and one or two other points, large boat yards and dry docks for building and repairing boats were operated, giving employment to a large number of men ; but at present nothing whatever is done in that line at the points named. 664 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. JOHN C. CONGER,- - born in Boston village, December 29, 1835 ; educated in district schools ; on leaving school served one season under Lieutenant Raynolds, upon the United States topographical survey of the lakes ; returning home engaged in farming and brick-making until August, 1861, when he enlisted in Company A., 2nd 0. V. C., following the fortunes of that patriotic regiment until April 8, 1863. On receiving his discharge from the army, for disability, Mr. Conger again engaged in farming, continuing that occupation to the present time, upon his finely improved 135 acre farm, adjacent to the village of Peninsula. Mr. Conger has served as township clerk and in other positions of honor and trust ; is a member of Meridian Sun Lodge, No. 266, and Summit Chapter F. & A. M., and an active member of Geo. L. Waterman Post, G. A. R, September 17, 1867, Mr. Conger was married to Miss Eunice M. Stillman, who was born in Hopkinton, R. I., January 23, 1844, who has borne him seven children—Fannie S., born December 26, 1868, married to Dr. W. O. Huston, December 28, 1887 ; Luen J., born June 20, 1870; Elmer B., born February 8, 1875; Pamelia P., born March 24, 1877; Mary G., born December 13, 1880; John C., Jr., born December 9, 1873, and Emily B., born October 28, 1880, all now living in Peninsula. Since the decadence of that interest, however, largely through the advent of railroads, other elements of industry have been developed, so that, as a whole, the township is fairly holding its own at the present date (1891), if not slowly on the increase; large shipments to Akron and Cleveland, and more distant cities, East and West, of some of the finest building stone in the United States, are now being made from the quarries here, together with most excellent flagging, a fine quality of grindstones, etc.; immense ice houses are here yearly filled with thousands of tons of the choicest ice for the Cleveland market; cheese and butter factories dispense thousands of pounds of their rich products to the various markets of the country yearly; while a large number of private dairies, by trains run for that special purpose, supply the good people of Cleveland with a large proportion of their daily milk. BOSTON IN COUNTY AND STATE AFFAIRS. In county and State affairs, Boston has fairly divided the honors and responsibilities with her sister townships of Summit county' during the nine-tenths of a century of its existence now nearly accomplished. LEWIS M. JANES, Esq., an early prominent business man of Peninsula, was Summit county's second sheriff, elected in 1844, and holding the position two full terms of two years each; also acting as the efficient deputy of several of his successors. Mr. Janes' besides being severely injured, in 1856, by a pistol shot, at the hands of a party whose property he was selling on legal process, afterwards lost his life on the ill-fated steamer Pewabic, on Lake Huron' in August 1865. BOSTON'S CIVIL SERVICE RECORD - 665 HON. SIMON PERKINS WOLCOTT,—son of Hon. Alfred and Mary (Scovill) Wolcott, born in Northfield, January 30, 1837, in infancy removing with parents to Boston; in boyhood worked on farm and attended district school; spent several winters preparing for college, at Hiram Eclectic Institute where. Hon. James A. Garfield was then a student, finishing his preparatory course under Prof. Garfield, after his graduation from Williams College; graduated from Western Reserve College in 1862; studied law with Horace B. Foster, Esq., of Hudson, and one year with Hon. Newell D. Tibbals, in Akron; admitted to the Bar in 1864, nicotine,- in Kent, Portage county, where he has- since continuously resided. In addition to his law practice, Mr. Wolcott has officiated as Nayor of Kent two terms; member of the Board of. Education ten years, and as state senator for Portage and Summit counties, in the 65th and 66th sessions of the General Assembly, 1881 to 1885. July 17, 1866, Mr. Wolcott was married to Miss Mary Helen Brewster, daughter of the late neon A. Brewster, of Hudson, who has borne him three children—Nellie Brewster Wolcott, born February 12, 1868; Jennie Brewster Wolcott, born May 14, 1870; Duncan Brewster Wolcott, born May 9, 1873. AUGUSTUS CURTISS, — born in Boston township, February 17, 1836; moved with parents to Northfield in 1840; worked on farm till 1852; at house painting till 1855; in gold mines of California 1855 to 1859 ; served in 2nd Ohio Cavalry 1861 to 1862, discharged at Fort Leavenworth for disability received at Carthage, Mo.; 1863 farmer and dairyman in Stow ; 1864 bought timber farm in Portage township, three miles north of Akron ; October, 1868, elected sheriff of Summit county, and re-elected in 1870, serving two terms, followed for four years as chief deputy of his successor, Sheriff Levi J. McMurray, the most important event of his own incumbency being the execution of John H. Hunter, for the murder of Mr. and and Mrs. Robert Gargett, in 1872, as elsewhere detailed ; January, 1877, returned to his farm, superintending same until the Fall of 1884, when, because of asthma, he went to New Mexico, where, both as agent for the Akron Live Stock Company, and on his own account, he has for the past eight years followed the business of growing cattle. November 23, 1865, Mr. Cuitiss was married to Miss Helen A. Barnhart, daughter of the late William Barnhart, Esq., of Peninsula, Mrs. Curtiss now sharing ranch life with her husband in the wilds of New Mexico. 666 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. HIRAM VOLNEY BRONSON, on the inauguration of the Internal Revenue system, during the war' was appointed deputy assessor, by Assessor John E. Hurlbut, making a most faithful and efficient officer throughout. SIDNEY P. CONGER, a substantial and levelpheaded farmer of Boston, in May, 1866, was appointed county commissioner, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Commissioner Nelson Upson' of Twinsburg' which position he very acceptably filled until the following December. Mr. Conger died in August, 1874, at the age of 45 years. ARTHUR L. CONGER, one of Boston's volunteer soldiers in the War of. the Rebellion, having, at the close of the war, returned to his farm, was, in 1866, elected county treasurer, which office he filled with marked ability and satisfaction for two successive terms; afterwards' taking an interest in the Whitman & Barnes Manufacturing Company, of Akron, extensive manufacturers of reaper and mower knives, sickles, etc., of which corporation he is still an active and influential member and officer. ALFRED WOLCOTT, Jr., the honored son of Boston's pioneer settler, Alfred Wolcott, Senior, was, in 1869, elected to represent his native county in the popular branch of the Ohio Legislature' and of his two years' record in that body, his constituents have no reason to be ashamed. SIMON PERKINS WOLCOTT, eldest son of Hon. Alfred Wolcott' a graduate of Western Reserve College, now practicing law in Kent was, in October, 1881, elected State Senator for Portage and Sum mit counties, and re-elected in 1883, serving his joint constituency with more than average ability and satisfaction. ARTHUR M. COLE, also a Bostonian, "native to the manor born," was called from his drugs and his dry goods, at the pleasant village of Peninsula, by the voice of the people of Summit county, in October, 1882, to become the custodian and disburse' of the public funds, being again invested with that important trust for a second term in 1884, serving in all four years. ROBERT L. ANDREW, now a resident of Akron, served as mem ber of city council two terms 1886 to 1890 the last two years a. president. ANGELO ANDREW, also residing in Akron' has been for three terms —1887 to 1893—a very efficient member of the board of education. WILLIAM H. PAYNE, for many years a resident of Boston, has also been honored by a seat in the city council of Akron' since residing there. BOSTON'S CROOKEDNESS. But though Boston's pioneer settlers were among the most worthy of New England's sons and daughters, and the great majority of their descendants true scions of, the original stock; and though she has ever manifested commendable industry and enterprise' and a ready alacrity in supporting the national flag and the national honor; and though, as seen above, she has justly secured some of the richest civil and political prizes within the gift of the people of Summit county, the fact still remains that her fair fame has been smirched' and her bright escutcheon sadly tarnished, by certain early adverse influences, the prevalence of BOSTON'S WRONG-DOERS - 667 many corrupt and demoralizing practices, and the perpetration of numerous serious, and some most fearful, crimes within her borders. The barest allusion to most of the matters referred to above can only be given here: viz., the counterfeiting operations of Dan" and "Jim" Brown, and their confederates, Taylor, Holmes, Ashley, et al.—the burglarizing of Edgerly's hotel,' the store of Wood, Cole & Co., and the dwelling house of Frederick Wood, Esq., in 1860; the Kerst wife-murder in 1861; the Washburn-Peeples tragedy in 1871, etc., to the most of which separate chapters will have to be devoted. "COL." WILLIAM ASHLEY.- William Ashley was a native of the state of Vermont, and though of good family, carefully reared and well educated, early became associated with an expert band of counterfeiters in his native State. In the middle twenties Ashley was arrested by the Vermont authorities, and placed under bonds to answer to the charge of making and having in his possession, with intent to pass, counterfeit bank notes. Forfeiting his bail he fled to Canada, a year or two later floating over into the then wilds of Ohio, making his first stop in Geauga county, where he soon afterwards found himself in trouble, and eluding- the vigilance of the officers, again took to wing, next, in the last of the twenties, or first of the thirties, alighting in the then congenial climate of Boston. Here he became a favorite with, and a part of, Brown, Taylor, Holmes, Latta & Co., though still carrying on some very important "financial" operation upon his own hook. In his prime, Ashley was a remarkably fine specimen of physical manhood, handsome of feature, majestic of stature, and of most gentlemanly deportment. Though never in the military service, his martial bearing spontaneously attached to his name the military prefix of "Colonel." "MOVING ON THEIR WORKS."—Though spasmodic efforts had from time to time previously been made, and though a few of the subordinates and undergraduates of the gang had been arrested and punished, no concerted and determined action, by the authorities of Portage and contiguous counties, had been taken until 1837. At this time Gen. Lucius V. Bierce, prosecuting attorney, George Y. Wallace, sheriff, and Marshal Ithiel Mills, in co-operation with similar officers in Cuyahoga and Medina counties, made a concerted effort to break up the gang, being ably seconded in their efforts by local officers and citizens of the several townships affected. Among the most active in "spying out the land" in Boston township, and in furnishing the officers with "pointers," were Alfred Wolcott, Esq., James Stanford, Hermon and Hiram V. Bronson, Lewis M. Janes, George H. Haskell, Esq., with others whose names do not now readily recur to the writer. "COL." ASHLEY ARRESTED. - In the latter part of the Summer of 1837, the officers obtained such clews as enabled them to pounce upon Ashley in the very midst of his "financial" labors, surrounded by his entire counterfeiting paraphernalia, consisting of bank-note plates, dies, presses, paper, ink, etc., with large quantities of bills in blank, and several thousand dollars fully executed; Prosecuting Attorney Bierce afterwards presenting the writer with a fine mahogany double cylinder copper-plate press, which was preserved as a relic, and for use, for several years, until finally 668 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. destroyed by fire. Ashley was taken into custody, and on being arraigned before Jacob Brown, Esq., of Akron, waived an examination and was held in the sum of $10,000 to answer to the Court of Common Pleas of Portage county, in default of which he was committed to jail at Ravenna. He was indicted at the Septembe term of the court, for having counterfeit money in his possession with intent to pass the same, to which, on being arraigned, he entered a plea of not guilty. The hearing was postponed, by reason of the ill-health of the accused, until the March term 1838, when, after Mull and fair trial, Ashley was pronounced guilty as charged in the indictment. SENTENCE—IMPRISONMENT -DEATH. In pronouncing sentence upon "Col." Ashley, Judge Van R Humphrey, who had personally known him for several years, was greatly affected, remarking that passing sentence upon a fellow-being, under any circumstances, was truly a solemn duty; but in this instance, where the court had been intimately acquainted with the prisoner for many years; a man whose intelligence and address better fitted him to occupy a high seat in the counsels of the Nation, than the cot of a felon's cell, and especially in view of the apparent frail condition of his health, the task was difficult and painful in the extreme. "Col." Ashley's naturally vigorous constitution had been gradually undermined by the excesses incident to his peculiar calling, and, from the time of his arrest, it was evident that quick consumption had marked him for its own. Though he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in the penitentiary, it was thought to be almost, if not quite, impracticable to convey him thither. But he was finally taken by Sheriff Wallace, by easy private carriage, to Columbus, and delivered at the prison May 30, 1838, where he died June 10th, surviving his incarceration only twelve days. CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, ETC. At Peninsula there are three handsome church edifices, the Protestant Episcopal "Bronson Memorial Church" founded by Mr. and Mrs. Hermon Bronson (whose portraits and biographies will be found herein), on the west side, the Methodist Episcopal upon the east side, and the Catholic, with a membership of 23 families, Rev. F. B. Doherty holding mass therein every other Sabbath. The township is also thoroughly supplied with good school buildings and competent teachers, the Union or graded system being liberally maintained at. Peninsula, so that notwithstanding the early adverse influences above and hereafter alluded to, Boston township, for nearly half a century, has held as high a rank in point of morality and intelligence, as any other township in Summit county, or elsewhere. PRESENT OFFICIAL ROSTER. Boston's township officers for the current year (1891) are as follows: Trustees, Hiram Lee, Anthony Pfaus, James Cassidy; clerk, Jorgen Petersen; treasurer, Henry Kerst; justices of the OFFICIAL ROSTER FOR 1891 - 669 peace, Henry C. Currier, Joseph Drake; constables, Orrin Markham, Alfred Wolcott. PENINSULA MUNICIPAL OFFICERS.—Mayor, H. C. Currier; clerk,. Charles M. Petersen; treasurer, Henry Kerst; marshal, Brigham. Roswell; councihnen, Lorenzo Seeley, Michael Myron, Joseph. Simon, Conrad Kerst, John Tracy, D. P. Chamberlin. POSTMASTERS. — Frederick Wood, Peninsula; Thomas Smith,, Boston; Thomas Smith, Everett. CHAPTER XXIX. DARING BURGLARIES IN PENINSULA-SINGULAR DETECTION OF THE BURGLAR -SON OF A FORMER WEALTHY RESIDENT OF PORTAGE COUNTY-ARREST, EXAMINATION AND COMMITTAL-INDICTMENT BY GRAND JURY-INGENIOUS ESCAPE FROM JAIL, AIDED BY A LUNATIC-ABETTING TREASON CONFINEMENT IN FORT LAFAYETTE-DISCHARGE BY ORDER OF SECRETARY STANTON-DETAINED BY NEW YORK CHIEF OF POLICE -REQUISITION FROM GOVERNOR TOD ON THE GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK FOR HIS EXTRADITION -IN HIS OLD QUARTERS AGAIN-ENTERS A PLEA OF GUILTY-NINE YEAR', IMPRISONMENT - LEADER OF REVOLT IN PENITENTIARY - THOROUGH REFORMATION - UNITED STATES MAIL CARRIER - HIGHLY RESPECTED CITIZEN, ETC. A MIDNIGHT RAID. ON the night of July 12, 1860, a series of the most adroit burglaries were committed in the compact little village of Peninsula, fourteen miles north of Akron, upon the Ohio Canal. Stephen Edgerly was proprietor of the only hotel in the village at that time, the "Edgerly House," later kept by Mr. Andrew R. Cassidy, under the name of the " Cassidy House." Mr. Edgerly himself was quite deaf, and consequently a good subject for burglars to work upon. But Mrs. Edgerly was in possession of all her faculties, and generally a very wide-awake sort of a woman. Some time during the night in question, Mrs. Edgerly heard the house-dog sounding an alarm, and got up and let the dog out of the house, and hearing nothing further from him soon went to sleep again. In the morning it was discovered that Mr. Edgerly's sleeping apartment had been entered and from $60 to $75 had been extracted from the sleeping landlord's pockets. On the opposite side of the river, at the west end of the “Long Bridge," stood the store of Wood, Cole & Co. (Frederick Wood and Thomas Wood, still living in Peninsula, and the late Edmund H. Cole, father of ex-County Treasurer Dr. A. M. Cole). In this store the clerk, Mr. Ransom Cole, was asleep on the counter, with his watch in the pocket of his vest under his pillow. Noiselessly entering the store, the burglar proceeded to rifle the money drawer of its contents (about $30), excepting a couple of counterfeit five-dollar bills, which he seems to have been too shrewd to appropriate. He then manipulated the clerk's vest out from under his head, and transferred the watch and chain from the clerk's vest pocket to his own, together with about $20 in money ; some $400 in cash, in another place, not being found by the burglar. On getting outside the door the burglar seems to have struck a light and examined his booty, as a worthless one-dollar bill was thrown away, while the mark made by lighting a match was found upon the side of the store. Both the hotel and the store had been entered by the front doors, the keys in the locks being readily turned from the outside by means of burglars' "nippers." THE BURGLAR UNDER ARREST - 671 from the store of Messrs. Wood, Cole & Co. the burglar, with rare good judgment, went to the house of Mr. Frederick Wood, which he entered through a window which had been left unfastened. Here, proceeding to the sleeping room of Mr. and Mrs. Wood, he overhauled Mr. Wood's clothes, in the pockets of which was a small sum of money which he confiscated, and also a $150 gold watch, with which, and his previous gatherings, he made a successful retreat, not only from the house of Mr. Wood, but from the village. It was supposed at the time that the several victims must have been chloroformed by the skilful operator, but my subsequent acquaintance with him led me to believe that the lightness of his step, the softness of his touch, and the celerity of his movements, would render all such extraneous aids in the exercise of his chosen "profession" entirely unnecessary. Mr. Wood and his family had that evening attended the commencement concert at Hudson, returning home an hour or two after midnight, and it was surmised that the thief got sight of his watch there, and followed him to Peninsula after the close of the concert. TRACING THE BURGLAR.—Nearly a month elapsed without any trace of the burglar, though the best skill and vigilance of our local detectives had been put forth. In the meantime Messrs. Wood, Cole & Co. had,.in addition to efforts of the officers, and the publicity which had been given to the affair through the newspapers, issued a private circular, minutely describing the watches which had been stolen. One of these circulars fell into the hands 01 a merchant by the name of Converse, at the center of Rootstown, in Portage county, Mr. Converse also being the postmaster of that town. In the same town, making his headquarters with his fatherimlaw, a Mr. Bassett, about two miles south of the center, near the Randolph line, was a young man of rather doubtful reputation, by the name of Sobieski Burnett. He was the son of a former highly respected resident of that neighborhood, General Joel B. Burnett, then, I believe, residing in Missouri, but now, if living, as I think he is, a wealthy citizen of New York City. Young Burnett had been so incorrigible, as a boy, that his father had finally cast him adrift, and for a time he had been received by General L. V. Bierce, an old friend of the father, as an office boy, and embryo law student. This was altogether too tame for his restless and "enterprising" turn of mind, and he drifted off down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and into all the evil associations at that time pertaining thereto; occasionally, however, returning to Rootstown, and finally marrying a playmate of his childhood, a Miss Bassett, with whose parents they were then making their home as above stated. Having no visible business, but always well-dressed and seemingly flush of money, jewelry, etc., young Burnett was more than suspected of being a "crook," and was generally pretty closely watched by the business men of the vicinity whenever he visited their establishments. "PUTTING His FOOT IN IT."—Somewhere about the 9th day of August, 1860, young Burnett visited the store of Mr. Converse, to make some small purchases, and while there rather conspicuously displayed the pretty little gold watch that he was carrying. Mr. Converse remarked, "What a pretty locket you've got," whereupon 672 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Burnett replied: " It's not a locket, but a watch," and proceeded to exhibit it in detail to Mr. Converse, it being one of those then very rare, and not very plenty, reversible pieces of mechanism' that can be changed from openpface to hunting-case, and vice-versa, at will. Burnett soon afterward leaving the store' Mr. Converse proceeded to consult Mr. Wood's circular' and finding that the description of the stolen, watch precisely tallied with tint exhibited by Burnett, Mr. Converse immediately dispatched a messenger to Peninsula to apprise Mr. Wood of the fact. EARLY SUNDAY MORNING CALL.—Thereupon, on Saturday, August 11, Mr. Wood drove to Akron and laid the case before tbe writer, who was then sheriff of Summit county, who the same evening dispatched his efficient deputy, Mr. Alfred R. Townsend accompanied by the late David A. Scott, with Mr. Wood, to Rootstown to investigate the matter. Arriving in the center of the town late at night, they held a quiet consultation with Mr. Converse, and becoming' satisfied that they were on the right track, they proceeded to the residence of Mr. Bassett, which they rather unceremoniously invaded just as the day was breaking on Sunday morning. Mr. Burnett and his wife, aroused from their matin slumbers by the stir that was being made by the entrance of the officers' had already arisen from their bed, though hardly in appropriate costume for receiving visitors. Burnett was immediately placed in irons, the officers assisting him to dress, while the wife was incautiously permitted to gather up her wardrobe and leave the room before the proper search was instituted. The missing watches were, therefore, not found, nor anything else that could in any way implicate him in the Peninsula robberies, but sundry burglarious implements and other evidences of crookedness were brought to light in the search. The statement of the merchant in question in regard to the peculiar make of the watch which Burnett had shown him was sufficient to warrant his apprehension, and he was accordingly brought to Akron and lodged in jail. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION.—Warrants were issued by Justice John W. Stephens' upon which, on the 15th day of August, 1860, a preliminary examination was had. The testimony of Mr. Converse, and other circumstances surrounding the case, were deemed sufficient by Justice Stephens to hold the young man to bail in the sum of $2,000 and $1,000 respectively, for both the Wood and the Edgerly burglaries, and in default of bail he was remanded to jail to await the action of the grand jury, at the coming November term of the court of Common Pleas. In the meantime other indications of his guilt became manifest; other parties had seen the watch described, in Burnett's possession; he had let slip sundry damaging admissions; in short a very strong chain of circumstantial evidence was being formulated, link by link, tending to prove his guilt beyond a peradventure. PLANNING TO ESCAPE, - The grand jury, at the November term of the court of Common Pleas, returned bills of indictment against Burnett, in both of the cases in which he had been bound over to court, and it was expected that his trial would take place, in due course, at that term of court. In the meantime there had, in October, been an election at which Mr. Jacob Chisnell had been elected PLANNING TO BREAK JAIL - 673 to succeed me as sheriff, his term to begin on the first Monday of January, 1861. During the time that Mr. Burnett had been in jail, several unsuccessful attempts had been made, by the prisoners, to dig through and under the walls, necessitating, of course, considerable expense to the county for repairs. After one of these attempts, in the latter part of November, I ordered my jailer to keep each prisoner confined to his own cell, instead of giving them the customary range of the corridors, during the day; letting them out a few-minutes, only, morning and evening for exercise. After a few days' confinement, Burnett sent word by the jailer that he wanted to see me. On pairing to his cell, Burnett inquired why I was keeping him and his fellow prisoners in such se confinement. "Well, Burnett," I replied, "I'll tell you. It isn't because e have any fears of you fellows breaking out of jail, as we do not depend upon the strength of these soft sandstone walls for keeping you, but upon the 'length' of our ears and the sharpness of our eyes. But every few days you make the attempt, putting us to the trouble and expense of repairs, and I am keeping you shut up simply to keep you from mutilating the walls." " Now, sheriff," said Burnett, " I want to make a bargain with ou. I am going to get my trial put over until the January term, which will carry it beyond your time as sheriff. Now, if you will give us the run of the jail again, I pledge you my word and honor that there shall be no more attempts to break out, while you are sheriff. I won't try it myself, and I wont let any of the rest of the fellows try it." “Well, Burnett," I responded, "I'll do it," and calling to the jailer for the keys, I then and there unlocked all the cell doors, and as 1 was leaving the jail, Burnett sung out: " Now, boys, three cheers for Sheriff Lane!" and the cheers were given with a will indicative of sound lungs at least. I did not then live in the jail myself, and though I had a very faithful jailer and turnkey—the late Mayor John L. Robertson—it was my custom to personally visit and inspect the jail two or three times a week, and when passing through, Burnett would say: "All right! sheriff; no more quarrying done while you are sheriff, but when that new chap collies in I'm going out ! AND OUT HE DOES Go.—Mr. Jacob Chisnell, hitherto a resident of Green township, superseded me as sheriff, on Monday, January 7, 1861. Previous to this, Mr. Chisnell had had no experience in the handling of criminals. On the day of his accession, both myself and County Auditor Charles B. Bernard, Esq., now of Cleveland, took occasion to warn the new incumbent on the slippery character of this particular prisoner, and to advise him of the fact that Burnett had secured a continuance of his case for the express purpose of taking advantage of his inexperience. "Never you fear;" replied the new sheriff, "he'll have to be, smarter than I think he is, if he gets away from me!" I immediately entered upon my new duties, as editor of the BEACON, and gave the matter no further thought, until some ten days later, when, on meeting Mr. Chisnell upon the street, I inquired how he was getting along? "First rate," said he. "Why, that man Burnett, that you cautioned me about, is a real 'clever fellow, and a perfect gentleman." " He'll be gentleman enough 43 674 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. to get away from you, if you don't keep your eye 'peeled'— I laughingly responded, and with another "never you fear," from Mr. C. we parted. About five days later Mr. Chisnell called into my office quite early in the morning and in answer to my question' "What's the news?" rather huskily replied, "Burnett's gone!" How IT WAS ACCOMPLISHED.—In the construction of the jail, the floor between the prison proper and what was then called the "Debtors' Rooms," in the upper story, was composed of ten-inch square oak timbers laid side by side, with a covering of regular matched flooring on top, and a sheathing of common sheet iron underneath. The southeast cell of the upper tier, being unoccu- pied at the time, had been unlocked and unvisited by the new turnkey, Mr. Ben Chisnell, prisoners having free access thereto at any time when not locked up in their own respective cells. Burnett's wife and other Portage county friends were very attentive to him, some of them visiting him almost every day, and some of whom, by reason of not being closely searched by the new turnkey before entering the jail, had managed to convey to pima long-handled two-inch auger. Having wrenched off a section of the iron sheathing in this unoccupied and unvisited cell' lie had leisurely twice bored off one of the timbers overhead, and through the upper floor, making a hole about ten by eighteen inches, through which he would, of course, find no difficulty in elevating himself to the room above, at his convenience. AIDED BY A LUNATIC.—At this time, the only inmate of the upper jail was a lunatic by the name of William Pierce' well known to all old residents, and who was afterwards, until his recent death, an inmate of the insane ward of our county infirmary. His lunacy, at that time, being of a mild type, he was permitted, during the day' to pass in and out as he pleased' and busied himself in assisting about the kitchen, yard, stable, etc. How Burnett finally escaped is best told by the lunatic him. self. When questioned upon the subject Pierce said: "One day I heard noise that sounded like the gnawing of a rat. It would gnaw awhile, and then it would stop a while, and kept at it two or three days. But there was one thing curious about it, it did not gnaw any during the night. Well' I thought a rat had got under the floor and was trying to gnaw through, and I began to look in the different rooms to see where it would come out. "By and by I saw what I thought was the rat's tooth cooling through the floor in the corner, there, but after watching it a few minutes, I found it was the point of an auger, and pretty soon the auger itself came through. I stooped down and said' hello, there!' and some one below said that you, Pierce?, I said Yes, who are you? He said I'm Burnett. You keep quiet; don't say any thing, and I'll come up, by and by, and see you. So he keep on boring until he made a hole big enough to crawl through' and last night, just at dark, he called to me to give him a lift. I reached down and took hold of his hands and helped him up through. Then I asked him what he was going to do next? He said he wanted to get outside, if the coast was clear, and I told him I would go down and see. So I went down, and the family were all eating supper in the dining room. I came back up stairs and told him if he was going, I thought he had better go then, and that when he got out of the back door he had better run. After he 1eft -