552 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY

CHAPTER XXIII.*

TALLMADGE TOWNSHIP—ORIGINAL SURVEYS AND PROPRIETORS—TOPOGRAPHY—THE EARLY
SETTLEMENT—PIONEER REMINISCENCES—INDUSTRIES—THEIR GROWTH AND DEVEL-

OPMENT—CHURCHES AND SABBATH SCHOOLS—EDUCATIONAL. ETC.. ETC.

BY the surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company, Tallmadge was known only as Town No. 2, in the tenth range of Townships. The east line was run in July, 1797, by Wareham Shepard and Amzi Atwater, who were employed by the Connecticut Land Company in running township lines, each alternately carrying the compass. The surveys of the township lines of the Western Reserve, east of the Cuyahoga River and Portage path, by the Connecticut Land Company having been completed, and the Committee of Equalization, in company with the surveyors, having explored the townships, went to Canandaigua, N. Y., and, on the 13th of December, 1797, made out their report to the Connecticut Land Company. The drawing commenced in Hartford on the 30th of January, 1798. The book of drafts says : " The twenty-fourth draft drew Town 2, Range 10, and was drawn by Jonathan Brace, of

*Contributed by C. C. Bronson.

Hartford, Conn.; Roger Newberry, of Windsor, Conn. ; Justin Ely, of West Springfield, Mass. ; Elijah White, of Bolton, Conn. ; Enoch Perkins, of Hartford ; Azariah Rockwell, Roswell Root, Abner Root and Oliver P. Dickinson, of Pittsfield, Mass., and Stephen W. Jones, of Stockbridge, Mass., containing 15,225 acres. To which is added Lot No. 13, in Town No. 1, in Range 11, 1,918 acres ; total, 17,143 acres, valued at $12,903.23." The owners of the land received their deeds in April, 1799, and, in October of the same year, Stephen W. Jones sold his share to Ephraim Starr, of Goshen, Conn., and Stanley Griswold, of New Milford. Griswold sold to Starr, December 31, 1800, Rockwell, the Roots and Dickinson, signed a deed, dated November 9, 1799, conveying all the land they owned in Town 2, Range 10, and Town 1, Range 11, to Col. Benjamin Tallmadge, of Litchfield, Conn., which deeds are on record in Trumbull County, Ohio. Gen. Simon Per-

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kins, of Warren, being at the time agent for the proprietors, had a survey made of Town 2, Range 10, into lots a mile square, making a total of twenty-five lots, No. 1 being at northwest corner of the township. Caleb Palmer made this survey in 1803, and it was on this survey that the Brace Company, Starr and Tallmadge, made the partition of their land in May of the same year. The Brace Company were Jonathan Brace, Roger Newberry, Justin Ely, Elijah White and Enoch Perkins. In this partition the Brace Company received 6,105 60/100 acres lying on the west side of the township. Ephraim Starr received 3,493M acres, being a strip one mile wide through the center of the township, from the north to the south line, and Lot 24, east of Lot 23, on the south line. Col. Tallmadge received about 5,611 acres, lying on the east side of the township. The first sale of land to individuals was to John and Selab Payne, and Jotham Blakslee, of Kent, Conn., by Ephraim Starr and Hannah, his wife ; the deeds were dated June 28. 1805. John Payne and Elizabeth Payne, his wife, conveyed to Col. Benj. Tallmadge 884 acres of land for $1,026, the deed to which was dated August 19, 1806. These deeds may be found among the land records of Trumbull County.

Rev. David Bacon made a contract July 12, 1806, with Ephraim Starr, and soon after with Col. Tallmadge, also with the Brace Company (for part of their lands), to become their agent for the sale of their lands in Town 2, Range 10. Mr. Bacon established himself with his family in Hudson until ready to commence operations. His first step was a resurvey of the township. Seth I. Ensign was employed to make the survey on a plan devised by Mr. Bacon, which was to survey into great lots or tracts one and a fourth miles square, and the lines running to the four cardinal points of the compass to be roads, and then diagonal roads crossing at the center and terminating at or near the corner of the township. The public square or green of seven and one-half acres as a parade ground for the militia on training days, and on which the meeting house and the academy were to stand. occupied the center of the town. This square was surrounded by the store, the tavern, the mechanics' shops, dwelling houses, etc., and from it eight roads diverged, so that all residents of the townships had a road to come to meeting on the Sabbath Day. This showed

Mr. Bacons foresight, thus placing every lot or subdivision on a road, which has had a tendency to prevent much contention about roads, that some of the neighboring townships have been subjected to. Mr. Ensign made this survey in November, 1806. His assistants as far as known were Justus Sackett and Salmon Weston, of Warren, Conn., and a man named Singletary. William Prior says : "I carried their provisions to them on a mule from Northampton Mills to their camp. They found the northwest corner of the township, then run east two and a half miles, then south two and a half miles, where they set the center stake, and turned their attention to a camping-place. They chose a spot about a fourth of a mile southwest from the center stake on the bank of the brook." Mr. Weston informed the writer that the camp was between the brook and a bank several feet high. They felled a large bass-wood tree which stood on the bank, and from it split puncheons with which the sides and top of their "camp" were formed. This circumstance it was that gave to the little stream the name of Camp Brook. When their camp was finished, they again went to the northwest corner and commenced work. They run a line south one and a fourth miles, then east to town line, then south one and a fourth miles to the center line, then west again. The northwest corner tract was No. 1; the northeast corner tract was No. 4 ; and the southeast corner tract No. 16. The tracts were subdivided into six lots generally, which was time by Ensign, except Tracts 1 and 4—the latter was surveyed by Elizur Wright in 1817, for Col. Tallmadge.

The land of Tallmadge Township is rolling and somewhat elevated ; several points rising to a height of 540 feet above the level of Lake Erie. The summit of Coal Hill (near Daniel Hines'), is 636 feet, and is the highest point of land in the county, with one exception. The highest point is in Richfield Township. The soil is a light loam, and in places, somewhat sandy, but upon the whole, well adapted to grain, and also to grass. The prevailing timber is oak and chestnut, intermixed with which is hickory, elm, ash, white and black walnut, bass, cucumber, with beech and maple on the streams. On many tracts, quite a collection of sugar maples were found, from which quantities of sugar and molasses were manufactured. The drainage of Tallmadge is all into

554 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

the Cuyahoga River on the north, and the Little Cuyahoga on the south ; the east and west center road being about the divide. The streams are all small. The Little Cuyahoga runs through Springfield near the line, and the Cuyahoga runs near the north line in Stow, making a sharp bend into Tallmadge on the Speng farm. The streams are fed by numerous springs, furnishing water on almost every farm in abundance. The swamps have been mostly reclaimed, so that at the present day, there is in the township but very little land unsuitable for cultivation.

Tallmadge Township was originally bounded on the north by Stow Township, on the east by Brimfield Township (in Portage County), on the south by Springfield Township. and on the west by Portage Township. In 1851, Cuyahoga Falls was set off as a township, and takes from Tallmadge the whole of Tract No. 1, containing 899 acres, and about 100 acres off the north side of Lots 1, 2 and 3. in Tract 5. Then in 1857, Middlebury was set off as an independent township, taking from Tallmadge Lots 3 and 5, containing by Ensign's survey, 299 acres. The productions of the township are the various kinds of grain, grass and fruit. The pursuit of a large majority of the inhabitants has been that of farming in its different branches, no one branch being made a specialty.

The first permanent settlement in Tallmadge Township, from the most reliable testimony, seems to have been made by George Boosinger. He was born in 1777, and, in 1801, his father emigrated to Ohio with his family, and located in Ravenna, in Portage County. George lived there until grown to manhood, when he married Miss Nancy Simcox. He then bought seventy-five acres of land in this township, in Lot 6, Tract 14, of Jotham Blakslee. of Ravenna, and off the west side of the lot. This farm is now (1881) owned by Sherman Pettibone. Boosinger came ever and selected a spot on which to build, which was at a fine spring of water, near the south line of the township, and then returned to Ravenna. In March, 1807, he again came over, and brought help with him preparatory to building a house on his new purchase. Those who came over with him were Henry Sapp, Jotham Blakslee, Jr., John McManus, Moses Bradford, Philip Ward, William Price, David Jennings, William Chared, Robert Campbell, Abel Forshey and Henry Bozor. They assembled on the ground in the morning, cut the logs and raised the house, which was about 16x20 feet in dimensions, made the long shingles, or "shakes " (as they were called), put on the roof, cut out a door and laid down a floor of puncheons. These puncheons were split out of a straight-grained tree, and hewed smooth on one side and laid down upon the sleepers. As they seasoned, they were driven up close together, and made a good substitute for board or plank floors. The doors were also made of puncheons, pinned on to wooden battens or hinges, and often not a nail was used in making them. The windows of the pioneer cabins were quite as primitive as the doors. A place was cut out, across which sticks were put at right angles, and covered with greased paper as a substitute for glass.

His cabin being ready for occupancy. Boosinger left Ravenna the last of March or the first of April, and with his family moved into his new home, thus becoming the original settler of Tallmadge Township. At the semi-centennial of the settlement of the township, Hon. E. N. Sill, in his address on that day, gave to Rev. David Bacon the honor of making the first settlement. This was disputed at the time by several pioneers who were present, and who were familiar with all the circumstances. They were well satisfied of the fact that Boosinger settled in the township in March or April, 1807. These pioneers are now dead, but, in years that are past, the writer has interviewed some of them, and has given that attention to the subject which has confirmed him in the opinion that Boosinger was the first settler. There was no intention on the part of any one to deprive Mr. Boosinger of all the honor that belonged to him, but there was evidently a hasty conclusion of some to give the honor of priority in settlement to Mr. Bacon. Soon after Boosinger's settlement, his wife went back to Ravenna, and, while there, gave birth to twins—a boy and girl. As soon as prudent, she returned to her home in Tallmadge. In a few weeks afterward, the boy sickened and died, and was buried on his father's farm. This was the first death in the township. Mr. Boosinger and his wife were honest, upright and industrious people, and just in their dealings with their fellowmen. He was not in sympathy with Bacon

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and his grand scheme for supporting the church by direct taxation, and united with the Presbyterian Church in Springfield, where he and his family attended meeting. Mrs. Boosinger died in Tallmadge, and he married a second time, to a Miss Wolfert. He sold his farm to Pettibone in 1836, and removed to Macon pin County, 111., where he died in 1862.

To the Rev. David Bacon this township is greatly indebted for its religious and moral standing in the community. His influence induced many others to settle here from towns on the Western Reserve, and to co-operate with him in his plans for building up a state of society of Puritan tendencies. Mr. Bacon was born in Woodstock, Windham Co., Conn., in 1771. In early life he had a strong desire for a college education, but this he was unable to obtain. It did not lessen his desire, however. to preach the Gospel, and to this end he cornmenced the study of theology with Rev. Levi Hart, D. D., of Preston, New London Co., Conn. He was ordained a minister of the Gospel December 31, 1799, and was married to Miss Alice Parks about the same time, at Lebanon, Conn. He left Hartford on the 8th of August, 1800, under the patronage of the Connecticut Missionary Society, with a view of visiting the Indian tribes bordering on Lake Erie. He sailed from Buffalo September 8, arriving at Detroit on the 11th, and about the middle of December he returned to Connecticut with much valuable information. The next year he came back to Ohio. bringing his wife with him, arriving in safety at Detroit. This place was then but little else than a trading-post of the Indians, and a military point, garrisoned by United States troops. Here Mr. Bacon labored as a missionary among the Indians for some time, and here his eldest child (Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D., of New Haven, Conn.), was born February 14, 1802. He went from Detroit to Mackinaw, where he labored until the latter part of the summer of 1804, when he left the place, and after a long and dangerous voyage, part of the time in a canoe, he arrived with his family on the soil of the Western Reserve. About the 1st of October, he found a home temporarily at Hudson. He labored on the Reserve as a missionary, but soon became convinced that more good could be accomplished for the Reserve by a township with all the appliances and the accomplishments of New England civilization as an example. Dr. L. Bacon, in an address delivered June 24, 1857, speaking of his father, says : " Being on the western limits of civilization, he looked about for a vacant township, in which such an experiment might be tried. His prophetic mind saw the capabilities of Township 2, Range 10 ; its fertile soil, its salubrious air, its beautifully undulating surface, its pure and abundant water, its streams singing in the grand old woods and rich with power for the service of man. He saw the proprietorship of it was in the hands of men who, as his trusting and hopeful nature led him to believe, _would enter into his views, and would even be willing to sacrifice something of their possible gains (if need should be) for so great a scheme of public usefulness as that with which his mind was laboring." He went to Connecticut with his family near the close of the year 1804, and, as already stated, secured the agency of the proprietors of most of the land in Tallmadge Township. Being a descendant of the Puritans, and deeply imbued with New England Puritanism, he was thought by many to be visionary. His ideas were of the true Puritan stamp—the church first, and next the schoolhouse. The church was to be Congregational; and no inhabitants were to be admitted into the settlement but those of that denomination, or who were in sympathy with the strictest Puritan principles. As a people and a township we are greatly indebted to Mr. Bacon for laying, as he did, foundations so broad and deep, and embellished with moral, religious and educational principles. Some of the land he was unable to control, and a few persons settled on it that did not agree with Mr. Bacon in all his grand views. The majority of the settlers, however, for the first twenty-five years, were his adherents, and were firm supporters of the Gospel, and of elevating the standard of morality.

In the spring of 1807, Mr. Bacon began to make prepartions for moving into Tallmadge. He hired a man named Justin E. Frink, who had just arrived at Hudson from Vermont, to clear a piece of ground for a garden, and on which to build a house. He and Bacon came over and selected a place which was near Starr's west line, and the south line of the township, at a spring of good water, and about a mile west of Boosinger's cabin. Frink cleared off

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the ground and cut logs for a house. The house was built, and was of pioneer pattern, with its puncheon floor and door, stick chimney, etc., and when completed the family moved into it. Says Dr. Bacon in the address already quoted from : " I well remember among the dim and scattered reminiscences of early childhood, the pleasant day in the month of July, if I mistake not, when the family made its removal from the center of Hudson, to the new log house that had been prepared for it, in the township which had no other designation than ; No. Range 10.' The father and mother, poor in this world's goods, but rich in faith and in the treasure of God's promises rich in their well-tried mutual affection, rich in their hopes of usefulness, and of the comfort and competence to be ultimately achieved by their enterprise, rich in the parental joy with which they looked upon the three little ones that were carried in their arms or nestled among their scanty household goods in the slow-moving wagon, were familiar with whatever there is in hardship and peril, and in baffling disappointment, to try the courage of the noblest manhood or the immortal of a true woman's love. The little ones were natives of the wilderness, the youngest a delicate nursling of six months. This child's name was Juliana ; was born in Hudson February 25, 1807. The others were born in a far remoter and wilder West than this was even then. These five were the family who, on that day, removed to their new home. I remember the setting out ; the halt before the door of good old Deacon Thompson to say farewell ; the fording of the Cuyahoga, at Monroe Falls ; the slow day's journey of somewhat less than thirteen miles, along a road that had been merely cut, not made, through the unbroken forest ; the little clearing where the journey ended ; the new log house so long our home, with what seemed to me a stately hill behind it, and with a limpid rivulet winding near the door. And when at night, the first family worship was offered in that lonely cabin, when the father and mother, having read from this Bible (Dr. Bacon holding up to the audience the identical Bible his parents used on that occasion), then commended to their Covenant God, themselves, and their children, and the work which they had that day begun ; the prayer that went up from those two saintly souls, breathed the same spirit with the prayer that went of old from thedeck of the Mayflower, or from beneath the wintry sky Plymouth. In the ear of God, it was as, ' The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."'

From April, 1807, up to February, 1808, the only persons in Tallmadge were George Boosinger and wife and child ; Rev. David Bacon, his wife and three children, and J. E. Frink, a hired man in Mr. Bacon's family, making in all five adults and four children. In 1808, Ephraim Clark, Jr., came in, being the third regular settler in the township. He was a native of Southington, Conn., and, when he was sixteen years of age, his parents removed to Russell. Mass., where he lived until his maturity. He caught the Western fever, and, in 1799. left his home in Massachusetts, his destination being " New Connecticut," his objective point. Town No. 7, Range 7, of the Western Reserve, now known as Burton Township, in Geauga County. Alone and on foot, he traveled the distance, often camping out at night without fire or blanket, but, finally, arrived in safety. He liked the country and settled in Burton Township. Like many others of the pioneers of the times, he was fond of hunting. He once found the carcass of a deer that had been killed by a wolf. Around the carcass he built a pen with an opening and a door. which was set with what trappers and hunters called a figure 4, and thus caught the wolf. He pealed elm bark, made a rope, formed a noose at one end, which he succeeded in putting over the wolf's head, and by this means led it, as one might lead a dog, to Burton Square, where he tied the rope to the sign post of the tavern. Judge Calvin Pease, with an Eastern friend, were present, and the " Eastern friend " proposed to give a gallon of whisky for the privilege of shooting the beast, that he might tell it at home that he had killed a wolf. Clark agreed, and when the whisky was given him, he handed his gun to the man, who performed the great feat of shooting a wild wolf—tied to a tree. Mr. Clark killed many deer, wolves and bears. In 1805, he left Burton and settled in Mesopotamia, where, in 1807, he married a Miss Sperry, and, in 1808, removed to this township. His wife died in 1833, and he, in 1858, at the age of eighty years, having lived on the Reserve fifty-nine years. The next settler in Tallmadge was, probably, Jonathan Sprague,

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who came from Connecticut. In 1801, he emigrated to the territory northwest of the Ohio River, crossing over the mountains with his team. He stopped in Canfield where he remained until his removal to this township. He came here to cooperate with Mr. Bacon in his broad and liberal plans, and in him Mr. Bacon found an able and zealous coadjutor. He bought Lot No. 5, in Tract 14, of the Brace Company upon which he lived until his death. He was spoken of as a Puritan of the most approved Puritan style.

Next in the catalogue of early settlers, we may mention Deacon Nathaniel Chapman, Charles Chittenden, William Neal and George Kilbourn, all of whom were from Connecticut originally. Deacon Chapman, with his brother William, made a trip to the Western Reserve in 1800, on a tour of inspection. They stopped at Canfield, and, being pleased with the country, he selected land and made what preparations he could for settling on it, and then leaving his brother he returned to Connecticut. The next year, with an ox team. he started with his family, taking the south road." as it was called, through Pennsylvania, and over the mountains to Pittsburgh. When within ten miles of Canfield, his wagon sunk into the mud and his team was unable to move it. He was in a rather helpless and forlorn condition ; no help near, nor any means visible, by which he might extricate himself from his difficulties. In his trouble, he sat down on a log, the better to contemplate the situation, and while thus engaged, his brother William's dog came to him. He used often to say, that he never, in all his life, met so welcome a friend, for he knew that help was near. His brother soon appeared with a yoke of oxen and assisted him to Canfield with his family, which then consisted of his wife and five children. and his father, Titus Chapman. Mr. Bacon, when he heard of his arrival, visited Canfield, and unfolded to him his plans in Tallmadge. Mr. Chapman at once fell in with the views of Bacon. by whom he was induced to sell out at Canfield and remove to this township. He came here with his family 'in April, 1808, and settled upon Lot 3 in Tract 14. Being of the strictest Puritan principles, he heartily coincided with Mr. Bacon in the great work he had inaugurated. His daughter Sally was the first bride in Tallmadge ;. she was married to John Collins on the 7th of January, 1809, and the ceremony was performed by Joseph Harris, of Randolph, a Justice of the Peace. His father, Titus Chapman, died November 8, 1808, and was the first death of an adult person in the township, the first death being, as already noted, Boosinger's child. Mr. Chapman, Sr., was the first buried in the old Middlebury graveyard. Deacon Chapman was the first Justice of the Peace in the township after its organization. He was an exemplary man, and died November 12, 1834, at the age of sixty-six years. Charles Chittenden removed to Canfield with his family in 1801, where his wife and child died. He afterward married Elma Steele, and, in the early part of 1808, removed into this township. He settled on Lot No. 6, Tract No. 13, which he bought of the Brace Company, and built his cabin at a spring, on the place now owned by the Buckle family. Here the first white child in Tallmadge Township was born in June, 1808, to Mr. and Mrs. Chittenden. She afterward married Isaac Newton, and removed to the far West. Mr. Chittenden was a strong Episcopalian, and not in accord with the Baconian ideas of Puritanism. He sold to Deacon : Gillett about the year 1811. and moved over into Springfield Township. where he died in 1833. William Neal came to Ohio in the winter of 1806-07, and it is believed that he settled in this township in the spring of 1808. He bought land of the Brace Company. the north half of Lot No. 4, Tract 13, and lived the remainder of his life in Tallmadge and Coventry. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and (lied in December, 1842, aged seventy-eight years. George Kilbourn left Connecticut on the 1st clay of September, 1801, with ox team, and crossed the mountains to Pittsburgh, and thence to Hudson Township in this county, where he arrived on the sixtieth day of his journey. He was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, and had been in business in Farmington, where he had been quite successful before coming West. In 1805, he removed to Newburg, where he worked at tanning and shoemaking. In the spring of 1808, he came to this township and settled on Lots 8 and 9, in Tract 10, and also bought at same time Lots 1 and 6 in Tract 11. He and his sons carried on the farm and tanning business on Camp Brook. This was the first tannery in the township. He built a frame barn in 1811, and a frame dwell-

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ing in 1815. In 1817, he sold to Aaron Hine, and bought the farm of Capt. Heman Oviatt, in Hudson Township, where he died March 15, 1866, aged ninety-six years. His wife had died in 1859, aged eighty-seven years. They had traveled together over life's rugged road for sixty-eight years.

To this period in the history of Tallmadge it had been known and designated as Town 2, Range 10, and as yet had no other name. There is, however, some traditions, borne out by more or less evidence, that the settlers met at the house of Mr. Bacon in June. 1808, for the special purpose of selecting a name. Mr. Bacon expressed a desire to have it called for Col. Tallmadge, one of the original proprietors of the land, a proposition that was agreed to. It is not known whether all the settlers were present at this christening of the township ; the following, however, were holders of land at that time : Rev. David Bacon, Ephraim Clark, Jr., George Boosinger, Jonathan Sprague, Nathaniel Chapman, George Kilbourn. Charles Chittenden, William Neal and Capt. Joseph Hart. The latter was the first settler in Middlebury, now the Sixth Ward of Akron. Justin E. Frink, a single man, and another single man named Bradley, were in the town at the time. At the close of the year 1808. in addition to those named above, the following had moved in, viz.: Aaron Norton. Dr. Amos C. Wright, Moses Bradford from Ravenna. Thomas Dunlap, from Pennsylvania, and Eli Hill, from Virginia. These were all men of families, except Hill. The following births had occurred in the township since the first settlement : Cornelia, (laughter of Charles Chittenden ; Eliza, daughter of Capt. Hart, and who was the first born in Middlebury ; Eliza, daughter of George Kitbourn ; Amos, son of Dr. Wright, and the first male child born, not only in Tallmadge, but in the county ; and Alice, daughter of Mr. Bacon, making a total, perhaps, of seventy souls in the township.

Dr. Amos C. Wright was from Connecticut, and settled in Tallmadge in the latter part of the year 1808. He settled originally in Smithfield, now Vernon, in 1802, but the influence of Mr. Bacon brought him to this township, where he became an active participant in everything calculated to promote the interests of the community. He died May 19, 1845, at the age of sixty-five years. In February, 1809, the first ;additions for the year was made to the settlement, in the persons of Edmond Strong and John Wright, Jr., natives of Connecticut. They left Morgan, where they had previously located, in sleds drawn by oxen, and by this mode of travel brought their families to this township. They came by way of Cleveland, and were three days in coming from Gleason's Mills. in Bedford, in Cuyahoga ` County. to Tall madge. Strong settled on Lot No. 3, Tract No. 6, and was the first settler north of the east and west center road. Wright settled on the south half of Lot No. 10. Tract 10, where he lived until his death, in 1845. Capt. John Wright, the father of the one just mentioned, emigrated to Ohio with his family in 1802, and came to Tallmadge in the spring of 1809. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and lived here until his death, which took place July 29, 1825, aged eighty-two years. This branch of the Wright family were famous singers and music teachers, and it may be very truthfully said that, from 1808 to the present time, the choir of the Congregational Church of Tallmadge has not been without some representative of the Wright family. Alpha, another son of Capt. Wright. and who was but fourteen years of age when his father came to Ohio in 1802, settled with his father, in 1809, on Lot No. 8, in Tract 11, and continued a resident of the township until his death, in 1856. Jotham Blakslee settled on Lot 4, in Tract 15, in the early part of 1809. His nephew, also named Jotham Blakslee, and who married his daughter, came to the settlement with him. They had originally settled in Portage County, near Ravenna, in 1605, and the marriage of Jotham Blakslee, Jr., to his cousin, was the second marriage ceremony performed in Portage County. During the summer of 1809, he, in company with Gen. Elijah Wadsworth, of Canfield, Selah Payne and a Mr. Stewart. explored Tallmadge Township, and at night struck up camp on Coal Hill. The next morning, they followed the lot lines to the center. Here Gen. Wadsworth said to young Blakslee, " Boy, let us cut a brush-heap here at the center ; I shall not live long to tell of it, but you may." Three years later, Blakslee became a resident of the township, and so remained until his death, sixty-one years afterward. He it was that helped Boosinger build his log cabin, the first in the township. He was a blacksmith, and made wrought nails, when

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nails were a scarce article, not only in Tallmadge, but on the Reserve. He made the nails used in Dr. A. C. Wright's barn, the first framed barn in the township, and which was built in 1810. He was of strong anti-slavery principles and a devoted Christian. He died in 1870, at the age of eighty years. Conrad Boosinger, father to him who is recorded as the first settler in Tallmadge, settled near his son, in the spring of 1809. He was also a Revolutionary soldier. Both he and his wife died on the place of their settlement, which was on Lot 6, in Tract 14.

Elizur Wright, a wealthy farmer of Connecticut, exchanged his improved farm there for 3,000 acres of land in Tallmadge Township, and, in 1809, came out to see his new possessions. Of Puritan descent, and strong in that faith, he easily became a disciple of Bacon, and adopted his views for the building-up of a church and religious society. He made arrangements to have some land cleared and a house built, and then returned to Connecticut to prepare for removing his family to Ohio. On the 22d of May, 1810, he left his old home in the Nutmeg State for his new one in Tallmadge. His goods were brought in two large wagons, each drawn by two yoke of oxen ; the family came in a carriage drawn by two horses, and their route was over the mountains by way of Pittsburgh, arriving at their destination on the 30th of June. A man of wealth, he was a valuable acquisition to the little community ; liberal in his support of the church, and all worthy, benevolent objects. Through his immediate, influence, David Preston was induced to sell out in Connecticut, and move to Tallmadge. Mr. Preston came in the summer of 1810, and brought with him his wife ; Drake Fellows and wife and two children ; John S. Preston and wife and two children. Mr. Preston settled on Lot 2, Tract 13. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and died July 11, 1827. Fellows bought the south half of Lot No. 1, in Tract No. 14. William Neal, with that true hospitality characteristic of pioneer life, opened his cabin to Fellows until the latter could build. For the benefit of some of our modern people, we will give the following true description of Mr. Neal's cabin at the time he took in Mr. Fellows and his family : " It was about 18x24 feet ; a bed in one corner ; a loom in another corner, in the others a table, some chairs, pots, frying pan, etc., while Mr. and Mrs. Fellows made their bed on the floor under the loom. This was the way the pioneers roughed it." It is believed that Elizur Wright built the second frame barn in Tallmadge in 1811. It stood west of the residence of Daniel A. Upson, a grandson of Mr. Wright, and was taken down (the barn) a few years ago. This barn was used as a place of worship before there were any churches or schoolhouses built in the township, and, within its walls, the pioneers were assembled together for divine worship, when the news came of Hull's surrender at Detroit. The little band instantly dispersed, and, before nightfall, all the ablebodied men in the settlement were ready to march to the defense of Cleveland. A second dispatch, however, assured them that Cleveland was in no immediate danger. It was also in this barn that Rev. Simeon Woodruff preached his first sermon in Tallmadge, July 25, 1813. Mr. Wright was the senior deacon of the church for thirty years; he died in December, 1845, aged eighty-three years. Samuel McCoy, a native of Ireland, came to the township in 1810, and bought Lot No. 4, in Tract 14 ; and, the same year, Deacon Salmon Sackett came to Tallmadge to look at the land, with a view of exchanging for some of it his farm in Connecticut. He was well pleased with the country, and, returning home, made a trade with Col. Tallmadge for 648 acres of land, which he took in part payment for his farm. He moved on it in 1811, and arrived on the first Monday in July. In speaking of his first visit to Tallmadge, in after years, Deacon Sackett said : " On my arrival in Tallmadge, I was cordially received by the people after the good old New England fashion. They met for Sabbath worship in Capt. Wright's log house ; the inhabitants of the township were mostly there, men, women and children, and we had a good meeting. I found that a majority of the people were from my native county of Litchfield, and among them was Deacon Elizur Wright. It was so much like New England that I felt at home." Of his sons, and sons-in-law, with their families, the party that Deacon Sackett brought to the town numbered seventeen persons, quite a valuable addition to the settlement. He settled on Lot 9, in Tract 11, and died in November, 1846, at the age of eighty-four years. In April, 1811. John Carruthers moved in from Pennsylvania. His

560 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

family consisted of his wife and four children, and they settled on 100 acres, which he purchased on the east side of Lot No. 1, in Tract 16. When he arrived, he stopped at the cabin of Thomas Dunlap, who received him in true pioneer style, for both were Pennsylvanians. Mr. Carruthers was of Scotch descent, and Presbyterian to the core. The lives of Mr. and Mrs. Carruthers were spent in Tallmadge, where they were useful members of society. He died in 1853 ; she in 1836. Luther Chamberlain settled in Tallmadge in June, 1811, and lived to an advanced age. In 1811, Deacon Nathan Gillett and his son Ara, bought out Charles Chittenden, and settled on his place. Mr. Gillett was also a Revolutionary soldier. Hosea Wilcox came from Morgan, and bought out Peter Norton ; and, in 1812, Reuben Upson and family came in ; also, Jesse Neal, from New York, settled in the township the same year. The following incident is illustrative of the times of which we write : Hosea Wilcox, Edmond Strong and Adam Cowles, early in the spring of 1802, left Connecticut on foot for the Western Reserve. At Gennesee River, they overtook Rev. Joseph Badger with a four-horse team, moving with his family and goods. As both parties were bound to the same place, Mr. Badger proposed to them to put their knapsacks in his wagon and travel with him, which they did. Wilcox drove Mr. Badger's team, which is said to have been the first wagon that came through from Buffalo to the Western Reserve. Cowles and Strong went ahead with axes to remove any obstructions that might be in the way. The road had been cut through the year before by Gen. Payne, but had not been used. Strong and Wilcox were both pioneers of Tallmadge.

The time of the pioneer was taken up with his farming operations, or in performing a piece of work for a neighbor to obtain some needed article for the benefit of his family. In early days all ablebodied men, between eighteen and forty-five years of age, were subject to military duty. This was all the holiday the peocould afford to enjoy, the 4th of July, perhaps, excepted. The laws of Ohio set apart the first Friday in September for company training," and " regimental training " the last of the same month. Everybody attended these meetings, even those who had passed beyond the military age of forty-five, and all seemed to enjoythem. A great source of enjoyment, especially to the young people, was the pioneer quilting party." A lady would invite her friends to assist her in getting out a quilt. It must be done before night, as parlor, dining-room and kitchen were invariably comprised in one room. In the evening the quilt and its frame gave place to the tea-table, which in turn gave way to social enjoyment, as darkness usually brought in the young men of the neighborhood, when plays, forfeits, etc., were introduced for the entertainment of the young people. Sometimes, and in some particular places, a man would enter the room with a mysterious package under his arm in a green baize bag. The entrance of this important personage was the signal to clean the deck for action," or in other words, ! to clear the room of chairs and tables for a dance, as the opening of the green baize bag always produced the fiddle, and to its enlivening music the youngsters would "trip the light fantastic toe." regardless of the rough puncheon floor. A puncheon floor in a log cabin of one room was no obstacle to those who liked to dance a jig or reel to the stirring tune of “Money in Both Pockets," or. Polly Put the Kettle on," or, "Durang's Hornpipe," or, " The Girl I Left behind Me," or, The White Cockade," etc. The pleasure and enjoyments of those days, if not so refined as now. were of quite as much interest to the young people. Ye aged pioneers, how was it in the years long ago, when, on horseback, you rode to the log cabin home of her, with whom, perhaps, you have since walked life's rugged journey, and found her dressed in a flannel, linsey-woolsey, or calico dress ; and when from the corner of the rail fence, or from a convenient stump, she sprang on the horse behind you and put her arms around you to keep her seat—well ! no bad feeling existed then. People, perhaps, were more honest than they are in this fast age. The family supplies of the pioneers were mostly produced by themselves. Meat, bread and a few vegetables were the main staples in the way of provisions. Whisky was very common after 1818, and in a few families precious to that date. The surplus grain was made into whisky and thus it was put into better and more convenient shape to handle. Whisky was almost a legal tender. Previous to the opening of the Erie Canal, goods were hauled from Albany and Buffalo in Conestoga wagons, and from

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Philadelphia and Baltimore across the mountains. Of course, this put upon the goods so high a tariff that home manufactures were the main dependence for clothing. But little attention was then devoted to stockraising, or to the improvement of stock. Horses and cattle were of inferior breed, and hogs even worse if possible. Long and gaunt, with snouts of sufficient length to root a foot deep without getting dirt in their eyes ; regular racers and chuck full of fight. Sheep were native breeds, and course of wool, very unlike those we have now. The pioneer farmer worked to a great disadvantage ; his teams were oxen, and his plow was what was called the " bull plow," and was made principally of wood, by some farmer, more handy with tools than his neighbors. Crops were not raised and harvested without the severest manual labor.

Coal-mining in Tallmadge has been carried to some extent, but as this branch of industry has been more particularly mentioned in another chapter, we shall say but little on the subject. Coal was discovered at an early day, at or near the southeast corner of the township. There is a tradition that it also was discovered one mile west of the center, by means of a woodchuck, which, in digging its burrow, threw out pieces of coal. Col. Charles Whittlesey says : " Coal was first found at Coal Hill, in 1810. There was an entry made in a ravine north of the east-and-west road. which was owned by Asaph Whittlesey and Samuel Newton. The demand for coal in 1824 was considerable, and no other mine was opened then. About this time, Henry Newberry, of Cuyahoga Falls, discovered coal at the northwest six corners." In later years, coal has been extensively mined in the township, and the deposits by some are supposed to be nearly exhausted. The first attempt at manufacturing in Tallmadge was in 1817. Asaph Whittlesey. in connection with Lair & Norton, built a forge and manufactured bariron. The location is still known as the Old Forge." In 1827, Amos Avery opened a shop for the manufacture of wagons. William C. Oviatt had opened a blacksmith-shop the year before, and in 1836, he and Avery entered into partnership for the manufacture of carriages. This business, under various firms, has been continued to the present time. The manufacture of stoneware is carried on extensively, and sewer-pipe was made by Sperry & Richieuntil they were burned out. John A. Carruthers at one time did a large business in the manufacture of sorghum sirup. After carrying on the business for some time, he turned his attention to the making of apple-butter. Barnes Brothers also do a large business in this line. The first tannery was opened on Camp Brook, south of the center, by George Kilbourn, in 1809. He was followed by Anson Ashley, who for several years carried on the business. John Carruthers also did some tanning in the southeast part of the town. The streams of water in Tallmadge were small, and of little force as a water-power, but were utilized to some extent. A sawmill was built on the Sperry Farm in 1828, but finally failed for lack of water. Another, built in the southeast corner of the township, on the farm of Seth Meacham, failed from the same cause. Two steam sawmills have for years supplied lumber to the people ; one of them is still in operation. A tavern was opened by Aaron Hine in 1819, and was the first public-house in the township. This tavern was south of the center. He was followed in the business by William S. Granger. who kept a tavern on the south side of the public square. He was succeeded by William Kingsbury, Ephraim Shaler and others. A large house was built on the east side of the public square, and has since been opened as a public-house. There has nearly always been a tavern in operation at the center since 1819. the date of the first one opened in the township.

When Tallmadge first became known to the whites. there was a well-defined Indian trail passing through the township in a southeasterly course from Cuyahoga Portage, and crossed the town line a short distance west of the center road. Another trail passed up the south side of the river, through the township, and half a mile from the northeast corner passed into Stow Township. crossed the corner into Franklin, thence near the river to the ." Standing Stone," where was the Indian fording-place. One of the first roads in Tallmadge was the north-and-south center road. The petition for it was granted by the County Commissioners of Portage County, soon after its organization as a county in 1808. The signers to the petition for this road were Charles Clinttenden, Ephraim Clark, Jr., Jonathan Sprague, Nathaniel Chapman, Joseph Towsley, Theodore Bradley, William Neal, Justin E. Frink and Joel Gaylord. Upon granting

562 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

the petition, George Kilbourn, Nathaniel Chapman and David Bacon were appointed a committee, and Joseph Darrow, Surveyer. About 1824, a State road was laid out from Canton to Cleveland through Tallmadge, on the north-and-south center road. Another State road from Wooster to Mantua, in Portage County, passed through Tallmadge on the northeast and southwest diagonal road, and was laid out about 1827. A second petition for a road, dated February 20, 1809, was for what is now the southeast diagonal road to the center, thence to the east line of Great Lot No. 1, and thence to the most convenient place to build a bridge over the Cuyahoga River, near the north line of the town. Another road was laid out from Hart & Norton's Mill, called the " mill road." It was laid out in 1809-10, and another from Middlebury to Cuyahoga Falls, passing the old Forge and Bettes' Corners. The first mail route was established in 1814, over the road from Cleveland to Canton, the mail passing twice a week. For some years it was carried on horseback ; then a hack or stage was put on, and passengers as well as the mail were carried between those points. Some years later, another route was established from Akron to Kent and Ravenna, and returning via Brimfield. Still later a mail route was established from Cuyahoga Falls to Tallmadge, the mail being carried on horseback. The mail for Tallmadge is now received daily by the Pennsylvania, New York & Ohio Railroad. The Atlantic & Great Western—now the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railway—was surveyed through the township and in order to have it pass the center, the people of the township subscribed $43,000. This road has been of inestimable value to us. The Valley Railroad touches a very small corner of Tallmadge. The railroad history, however, is more fully given , in another chapter. The first store was opened in a building which stood in front of the residence of L P. Sperry, and it is supposed that the firm was Fenn & Howard. They continued in business some time, and were followed by Christopher C. Sturdevant. He erected the building now used as a store. Wiswell & Groff' opened a store in 'this building, but did not remain long, and Eleazer C. Sackett was the next merchant: William A. Hanford clerked for Sackett, and eventually bought half of his interest ; then Homer S. Carter bought out Sackett. This firm carried on business until E. V Carter bought out Hanford, when the firm be. came H. S. & E. V. Carter. E. V. sold to hie partner, who carried on the store until Clement Wright took an interest, and the firm became Carter & Wright. Carter finally withdrew, and Wright still continues the business. A man named Clark opened a store about the year 1835, in the house now the residence of Benjamin D. Wright, which was Continued for some two years or more. A post office was established in Tallmadge April 9, 1814, with Asaph Whittlesey as Postmaster, a position he held uniil his death in 1842. His son, S. H., sueceededed him as Postmaster, and he was succeeded by H. S. Carter. During Buchanan's administration, Heman K. Parsons was appointed, who resigned at the beginning of Mr. Lincoln's administration, and H. S. Carter was again appointed, who retained the office until the appointment of Clement Wright. the present Postmaster.

The first church society organized in the township is known as the " First Congregational Church of Tallmadge," and has borne that title for sixty years. Rev. David Bacon preached the first sermon, not only in Tallmadge but in Springfield and Suffield, for the few scattered inhabitants of the three townships would gather on the Sabbath Day, at the cabin of some settler, and Mr. Bacon would officiate as a volunteer missionary to the little congregation. The first meetings were held in his cabin, and afterward barns were used as temples of worship. It is supposed that Rev. Jonathan Leslie was the next preacher to Mr. Bacon. He was a missionary, sionary, and sent out in the interest of the missionary society of Connecticut. Rev. Simeon Woodruff was another of the early ministers who proclaimed the word to the pioneers of Tallmadge, and the first regular Pastor of the church. Rev. Jonathan Leslie preached his first sermon on the 20th of January, 1809, and, on the next day, which was Saturday, a number of persons met together for the purpose of forming a " Church of Christ," Mr. Leslie acting as Moderator. The following is the record of the Sabbath meeting, January 22, 1809: " Met according to adjournment. Present, George Kilbourn, Almira his wife ; Ephraim Clark, Jr.. Amelia his wife ; Alice Bacon ; Amos C. Wright, Lydia his wife; Hepsibah Chapman and Justin E. Frink. The persons above

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named presented themselves to be constituted a Church of Christ. A system of faith was then read, to which they gave their consent. They were then led to the solemn adoption of a covenant, in which they engaged to keep and walk in the ordinances of the Gospel of Christ. They were then declared a Church of Christ, commended to His blessing, and charged solemnly to keep covenant and walk worthy the followers of the Lord Jesus, the head of the church. (Signed) Jonathan Leslie, Moderator." This organization took place in Mr. Bacon's cabin, and, at the same time, the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered for the first time the township. The ordinance of baptism was also administered on four children, viz., Juliana and Alice, daughters of Mr. Bacon ; Amos, son of Dr. Amos C. Wright, and Eliza, daughter of George Kilbourn. The last one of the original nine members died in Hudson. This was the venerable George Kilbourn, who died there March 14, 1866, at the age of ninety-six years. The spot whereon Mr. Bacon's house stood and in which this church was organized has been marked, and is looked on as almost sacred. Here it was that the Scriptures were first read in the township, here the first sermon was preached, and here the first church society was organized —almost equal to the spot on which King Solomon's temple stood, which had been " thrice dedicated to the one true and living God." The Congregational Church of Tallmadge is claimed to be the eleventh church organization on the Western Reserve, a fact that is probably beyond dispute. The first is the First Presbyterian, of Youngstown, which was organized in 1800—this following in 1809.

There were some of Mr. Bacon's ideas that were not by any means popular with the mass of the people, and eventually proved impracticable. He found theory was one thing and practice another. One of his cherished ideas was that none should receive land but those who were either members of the Congregational Church or in sympathy with its principles, and $2 were to be paid on each one hundred acres of land, the sum to go toward the support of the Gospel. This provision was inserted in some of the early contracts and deeds, but never went into general use. The clause was as follows : •" Reserving an annuity of $2 on each and every 100 acres of land sold, to be paid on the 1st day of January of each yearforever, to the committee of the Society of Tallmadge for the support of the Gospel Ministry of the Calvinistic faith, and of the Congregational order of said society forever, with a right and power to distrain for the same in case the same be in arrear. Which annuity we, for divers good considerations, especially for the sum of $1, received of the society in Tallmadge, in the county of Portage, do for ourselves and our heirs hereby give, grant, sell, assign and transfer the aforesaid annuity of $2 on each and every 100 acres of land in the said society of Tallmadge, and to their successors forever ; to hold and receive the same in trust, for the use and purpose of supporting the mini istry aforesaid in said society forever. (Signed) David Bacon." As we have said, this provision did not go into general use. Edmond Strong refused to pay the sum thus levied on his land, and Mr. Bacon commenced a suit against him as a test of the legality of such contracts. Peter Hitchcock, of Burton, since a Member of Congress and Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, was Mr. Strong's attorney. Mr. Bacon lost the case, and thus ended the perpetual land tax to support the church in Tallmadge. This suit took place about the year 1811. But, notwithstanding these little difficulties, a majority of the people were Bacon's warm, true friends, and he was held in high estimation in the community. Early in 1812, he made his arrangements to return to Connecticut with his family. The people assembled in the schoolhouse at the four corners on top of the hill, near Jesse Sprague's, to hear his farewell sermon. He chose for his text 2 Tim., iii, 9 : " But they shall proceed no further : for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was." From the account given of this sermon by Mr. Blakslee, who was present, Mr. Bacon did not spare the little flock, and was very pointed and emphatic in his remarks to Ephraim Clark, Jr., and Mr. Sprague for the course they had pursued in opposition to his cherished plans. Mr. Bacon died in Hartford, Conn., August 27, 1817, at the early age of forty-six years.

The first regular Pastor of the Congregational Church of Tallmadge was Rev. Simeon Woodruff, already alluded to incidentally. He was a native of Litchfield, Conn., and a graduate of Yale College. He studied theology at Andover, and was licensed to preach in 1812. In 1813, he was sent to the Western

564 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

Reserve as a missionary, and on the 18th of May of that year he was installed Pastor of the church in Ephraim Clark's barn, a building that is still standing. His pastorate closed September 19, 1823, and he died in Bainbridge. Mich., in August, 1839. The second Pastor was Rev. John Keys, a native of New Hampshire, and a graduate of Dartmouth College. He was installed Pastor of the Tallmadge Church by the Presbytery of Portage September 9, 1824, and continued until April 16, 1832, when his connection ceased. He died in Cuyahoga County in January, 1867. Rev. Jedediah E. Parmelee succeeded Mr. Keys, and began his duties as acting Pastor of the church January 18. 1833. Owing to failing health, he resigned his charge April 14, 1840, and died in New York in June, 1841. Rev. William Magill commenced his duties as Pastor of Tallmadge Church in 1840, and was regularly installed as Pastor August 16, 1841. He remained until 1843, when his connection ceased ; he is yet living. Rev. Carlos Smith was the next Pastor, and commenced his ministrations July 25, 1847. By vote of the church he was called to the pastorate, but was never installed as such. He labored as Pastor elect until January 14, 1862, when he received and accepted a call from the 1 Second Congregational Church of Akron. He died in Akron April 22, 1877, at the age of seventy-six years. Rev. Seth W. Segur succeeded Mr. Smith as Pastor of the Tallmadge Church, and commenced his labors on the 8th of June, 1862. He continued until April, 1871, when he tendered his resignation, which was accepted, and, on the 30th of the month (Sabbath), he preached his farewell sermon. He was invited to attend the semi-centennial of the church held September 8, 1875. He came and participated, but was very unwell, and after the services went with Mr. Daniel Hine to his home, where he died on the 24th. He was the first of the Pastors of our church buried in Tallmadge. At this time (1881) there are sleeping in the little graveyard at Tallmadge Center nine ministers of he Gospel, viz.: Rev. Aaron Kitlne, Rev. Aaron Kinne Wright, Rev. Fayette D. Matthews, Rev. Willam Hanford, Rev. Elisha S. Scott, Rev. Willam Monk, Rev. Benjamin Fenn, Rev. John Seward and Rev. S. W. Segur. The next Pastor of the Tallmadge Church was Rev. Charles Cutter, who commenced his pastoral duties September 1, 1871, and closed his work wit] the church May 30, 1875. The present acting Pastor is Rev. William Blackmore Marsh.

The Congregational Church of Tallmadge ' erected a temple of worship in 1822. It is 56 x44 feet in dimensions, surmounted by a steeple 100 feet high. The building was raised and inclosed in 1822, but not finished until 1825 On the 8th of September of that year, it was dedicated to divine worship. The exact cost of it is not known, but will probably approximate $8,000. It was remodeled in 1849, and rededicated in 1850. At the time of its first dedication, it was considered the best house of worship on the Western Reserve, and upon research was proven to be the fifth built with a steeple, after the New England fashion. The first of these five was built at Austinburg (now in Ashtabula County) in 1816 ; the second in Euclid, now known as Collamer. about the year 1817 ; also in the same year, the old brick meeting-house at Aurora was begun, but was not finished until 1825 ; the fourth was built in Hudson in 1819. All of these ancient temples have passed away before the march of improvement, but those of Tallmadge and Colamer. The number of communicants of the Tallmadge Church at the present time are 105 males and 169 females. The Sunday school was organized probably about the spring of 1822. although classes had been taught after the manner of Sunday schools previous to that time by Deacon Elizur Wright and others. Previous to 1335. the school would disband at the beginning of winter, and resume work in the spring, but since that time (1835) has continued in active operation throughout the entire year.

The Methodist Episcopal Church is the only religious denomination. aside from the Congregational Church, that has ever been represented in Tallmadge by an organized society. The first introduction of Methodism into the township occurred somewhat as follows : Milo Stone and Jotham Blakslee, not fully agreeing with the Congregational doctrine in every particular, went over to Middlebury to listen to the words of wisdom falling from the lips of Rev. Billings 0. Plimpton, at that time preaching on the Canton Circuit of the M. E. Church. Being well pleased with the liberal doctrine promulgated by Rev. Mr. Plimpton, they invited him

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to Tallmadge Center to expound the truth in that locality. He accepted the invitation, and preached his first sermon in the schoolhouse, which then stood west of the Center road, nearly in front of the town hall. He continued his labors at intervals, and near the close of the year formed a class at the Center consisting of Jotham Blakslee (class leader), Milo Stone, Sarah B. Stone, his wife, S. H. Lowrey, Anna P. Lowrey, his wife, and Mrs. Martha Stephens. Mr. Plimpton was returned to the Canton Circuit the next year (1826), and Tallmadge Center became one of his regular appointments. At this time it was in the jurisdiction of the Pittsburgh Conference, and so remained until 1837, when it became a part of the Akron Circuit, Ravenna District, and Erie Conference. The first meeting-house was a plain structure, about forty feet square perhaps, costing some $1,500, and stood about two hundred rods northeast of the public square ; built in 1832, and completed and dedicated the next year. The dedicatory services were performed by Presiding Elder Rev. W. B. Mack. It was occupied by the church until 1874, when a lot was purchased on the south side of the square, and the present elegant edifice erected at a cost of $8,000, and dedicated on the 4th day of April, 1875. by Rev. J. H. Vincent, D. D. The present Pastor is Rev. E. A. Simmons, with a large and flourishing membership. A Sunday school was organized in 1830. which has been continued to the present time. It is a noteworthy fact that these two denominations have always worked together in harmony and love, holding Thanksgiving services alternately at each church, and the ministers frequently exchanging pulpits. The cause of temperance has always had many warm friends and supporters in Tallmadge, though sixty years ago it was not considered derogatory to the character and standing of a family to use spirituous liquors as a beverage. Very many farmers would exchange their grain for whisky, and often would have a barrel of it in their houses. But about 1828-30, many began to abandon the use of it altogether as a beverage, and this feeling has continued to the present clay. It is highly creditable to the people of Tallmadge that there has never been but one distillery within the town limits, and this existed but about two years. and was near the northwest six corners.

The church and the schoolhouse were always leading points in the minds of the Puritans of New England, and wherever they went they always carried these principles with them ; first, to organize a church, erect a building suitable for holding meetings, and, next, to erect a schoolhouse. Mr. Bacon, in his plan of settlement of' the town, was, as we have seen, to provide for the preaching of the Gospel and its support, and also was to provide for common schools and academic instruction. In the survey made by Ensign there was to be at the Center and at each six corners erected district schoolhouses, while at the Center was to be located the academy. On the hill now occupied as a cemetery, where sleep so many of the pioneers of Tallmadge, Mr. Bacon located in his mind the Western Reserve College, the Yale of New Connecticut. The first attempt at a school of which we have any account was in the spring of 1810. A small log building was erected for school purposes at the south four corners. A meeting was called at this place, as the writer was informed by Jotham Blakslee, but two men got into an altercation, and it was broken up without accomplishing anything. But so deeply interested was Mrs. Blakslee in having a school, that she undertook the duty of visiting the settlers upon the subject. She also went to Martin Kent's, in Suffield, and hired a Miss Lucy Foster as a teacher. She came and taught school during the spring and summer of 1810, which was doubtless the first school in Tallmadge. She afterward married Alpha Wright, and spent the remainder of her long and useful life in Tallmadge, and died September 30, 1875, at the ripe age of eighty-five years. It is thought that a schoolhouse was built in the fall of 1810, on the hill at the southwest four corners, and a school kept in it during the winter of 1810-11. A similar house was built at the south four corners, and another in the east part of the township, soon after those already mentioned. The first frame schoolhouse was built on the public square, on the spot now occupied by the Congregational Church. It was commenced in 1814, but not finished until the next year ; was 26x36 feet, two stories high, the lower story being occupied by the district school, and the upper story by the academy, and also for religious worship. The academy was opened with Rev. Simeon Woodruff as teacher or Principal, and was sue-

566 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

ceeded by Elizur Wright and others. An act incorporating the Tallmadge Academy was passed February 27, 1816. The academy building was burned on the night of January 12, 1820, and a new building erected the same year, especially for the purpose. A separate building was erected for the district school, southeast of the town hall, and it was in this building that the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized. As the population and wealth of the township increased. frame school buildings were erected in other districts, and some have been replaced with handsome and commodious bricks. When the new town hall was built, the people, by subscription, raised a sufficient amount to build the second story for the academy, and for several years competent teachers were employed in this department. But the system of graded schools finally superseded the academy. A special district was formed at the Center June 11, 187 0, and a lot was purchased and a building was erected, which was used until it was burned. It was speedily rebuilt, at a cost (building and furniture) of $4,500. There are four departments, occupying four rooms, with competent teachers.

The Deaf and Dumb School of Tallmadge was an institution that should have a place in the township's history. This project was inaugurated in consequence of there being a family in the neighborhood in which there were three children who were deaf mutes. A meeting was held March 19, 1827, to look into the matter, and a committee, consisting of Rev. John Keys, Deacon Elizur Wright, Dr. Philo Wright, Garney Treat and Alfred Fenn, with power to act and devise means for aschool. They finally adopted a measure for organizing a deaf and dumb school, secured rooms and employed Col. Smith, who had taken a thorough course in the Deaf and Dumb Asylum at Hartford, Conn. The school was opened May 1, 1827, in a room of Alpha Wright's house, one mile south of the Center. Tuition was $6 per quarter, and the session was for six months. In 1829, the Deaf and Dumb Asylum was established at Columbus, and the school was transferred to it. But Tallmadge claims the honor of establishing the first institution of the kind in the State.

A library was organized in Tallmadge in 1813, and continued in existence for over fifty years. The idea of a public library was brought from New England. It was supported by shares of stock, or memberships, fines, bids, donations, etc.. etc., and it continued to increase until it contained over three hundred volumes of standard works. Plays and novels were excluded, and the best of works only allowed. The good accomplished through this means cannot very well be measured.

Perhaps we should not close the history of Tallmadge Township without a brief notice of anti-slavery, a question in which Tallmadge felt the most lively interest. A large number of the people were in sympathy with the anti-slavery movement. and a man who would inform upon or arrest a colored individual under the Fugitive Slave Law would have found Tallmadge a rather warm climate to live in. The cause gained strength gradually, and, when Fort Sumter was fired on. in 1861, Tallmadge was ready for her part in the great battle for humanity and the Union.