400 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY discipline in their families and almost all of the second and third generation are reputable citizens. If any of their countrymen misbehaved, they helped him as long as it seemed best, and then dropped him with utter disgust forever. In the beginning most of them lived in the southeastern part of the town, east of Main street, below the canal. Here they had their own gardens, and their yards were full of flowers. Some of those who came later were not as well educated nor as prosperous as the first residents, but they were just as hospitable, and just as home-loving. As other nationalities came here and were employed in the rolling mill, and like places, the Germans moved to the west side and the east end, but their flowers and their prosperity went with them. When the hard times came and these other foreigners who had received large wages had to be assisted by the town, the Germans cared for themselves and when other houses filled with idle workmen sitting on the porches with the appearance of despair, the flowers bloomed in the German gardens and the German and his family felt little or nothing of the strain. The early Germans used their own language in the homes, it was preached to them in the church, and in the early days a German school was held in summer in the Fulton Street schoolhouse, and later such a school was had in the Lutheran church. These German Germans disliked very much to be confused with the Pennsylvania Dutch, and although they respected the Germans who came from Pennsylvania with their distorted language, they always distinctly made it known that they were the real Germans. CHAPTER XXIX.— BRACEVILLE. JONATHAN BRACE.—OVIATT FAMILY.—OTHER SETTLERS.—SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES.—PHALANX.—'' BATTLE OF THE SNAKES."—TORNADO. This township was named in honor of Jonathan Brace, who was one of the three men purchasing land from the Connecticut Land Company in 1799. The other two were Enoch Perkins and Roger Newberry. The following year Justin Ely, who owned land in Newton as did Jonathan Brace, became associated with them. The land was conveyed to Pardon Brown, and these five men became joint owners. The township was surveyed in 1802, and the first deed made was to Francis Freeman in 1803, and for many years some of his descendants lived on this property. He himself lived at Warren and became identified with the building up of that place. His old homestead, on the corner of South and Main streets, still stands, while a house which he built before that, and which stood at the east of the Austin House, adjoining it, was torn down only a few years ago. He built for his son, Samuel Leavitt Freeman, the brick house standing on the north side of South street between Park and Main streets. This son, Samuel, married Charlotte Tod, the daughter of Dr. Tod, of Newton, and his daughter, Olive, married for a second husband, General Robert W. Ratliff. In 1803 Mr. Milian built a log cabin between Braceville and Warren and went home to bring back his family. The Indians, as they often did, burned this empty cabin and the owner never returned, although the place was called Millantown until 1811, when it became Braceville. Some historians say that Ralph Freeman was the first settler of Braceville, while others give this credit to Samuel Oviatt. This difference of opinion comes from the fact that Freeman was a bachelor and did not maintain a real home, while Oviatt was married. Ralph married Betsey Stowe, daughter of Comfort Stowe, and their daughter. Frances, undoubtedly named for Francis Freeman, married Julius Austin. Julius was a cousin of Harmon Austin Sr. The Vol. I-26 - 401 - 402 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY Freeman and the Austin families were connected in several different ways, widow Austin, a greatgrandmother of Mrs. Pendelton, married Samuel Leavitt for a second husband. Their daughter was the mother of Samuel L. Freeman. Freeman and William Mossman erected a log cabin on the river in 1803. Freeman got his land from his brother Francis, Mossman purchased a hundred acres. They kept house by themselves, had a cow, and many stories are told of the food they served themselves, and the management they employed, while many a tidy housekeeper repeats the story of the unclean condition of their utensils, etc. Mr. Mossman did not seem to relish this life, moved to Warren, where he kept a tavern, and afterwards to Buffalo. Samuel Oviatt, with his wife, Louise Beckwith, two children, his brother Stephen and his bride, Sally Stone, came into the township in 1804. They came by the way of Pittsburg from Goshen, Connecticut. From Warren there was no road, and they had to cut one through the forest. They were six weeks on their way. Their father bad purchased a thousand acres of land. They built their cabin south of the center and here, for many years Henry, a grandson of Samuel, lived. These first settlers of Braceville suffered the same privations that the settlers of other townships did. They had few vegetables, and in the midst of the first winter they were despairing when a turkey appeared near their cabin and was shot by one of the men, while Mrs. Stephen Oviatt, seeing a deer near the house, although unused to fire-arms, killed it. Sally Stone Oviatt was the mother of the first child born in Braceville. His name was William J. Early in 1805 Joshua Bradford and his wife, Anne Dunn, with three sons settled on Braceville Ridge, the highest land in Trumbull County. A little later the father of the two Oviatts, Samuel Sr., with his wife, Sarah, his son Edmund and wife, Ruth, Seth and Mark, and their daughters Maria and Lucretia, took up their home near their sons Samuel and Steven. It will be seen, therefore, that among the early settlers the Oviatts were strong in number. They still are among the most important residents of that town. At the time that Samuel Oviatt Sr. came. the tribe of Indians who had treated with Moses Cleaveland at Conneaut had a little village on the Mahoning. Their chief, Paqua, was with them. They were friendly, but annoyed the HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 403 settlers by constantly begging for whiskey and powder. When the trouble with the Indians at Deerfield occurred, at which time a man by the name of Devine was made blind by the shot from an Indian, this village was abandoned and here was found one of the kettles which had been used at Salt Springs for the making of salt. The Braceville Indians had used it for making maple sugar. In 1811 Comfort Stowe and his wife, Rachel Woodwin, arrived in Braceville with nine children. This family was long identified with the township through the children and grandchildren. Their great-grandson, Hobart L. Taft, now resides on this homestead land. In 1812 Fowler Merwin, who with his wife, Mercy Johnson, had gone to Braceville in 1807, ran for .justice of the peace against Solomon Oviatt. This election was set aside after Merwin had been declared elected, on the ground that he was the clerk of the election. The following month, May, another election was had, when Oviatt was declared elected. This election was likewise set aside. Of course, such a contest as this made bitter feeling between the families who had resided in Goshen, Connecticut. On the Fourth of July, the third election was held and the people took hold of the matter fairly and elected Robert Freeman. He was the father of the first settler, Ralph, and a brother of Francis. He was not only the first justice of the peace of the township, but he was the first person to die. He was buried on the Freeman farm and later interred in the township cemetery. This cemetery was laid out in 1812, and Saber Lane, wife of Isaac Lane, who died in January, 1813, was the first person buried therein. Harriet Cleaveland Taft, a niece of Moses Cleaveland, whose father, Camden, settled in Liberty, married Auren P. Taft and settled in Braceville. She and her daughter, Olive, are now living on the old Taft homestead. Among the residents of Braceville who are well known citizens of Cleveland now is Frederick L. Taft,. who was born there in 1870. His father, Newton A. Taft, was of the same family as President Taft, and his mother was Laura A. Humphrey. Judge Birchard, of Warren, was his great-uncle. He graduated from the Newton Falls Union schools, attended Cincinnati Law School and was admitted when he was 21. He began practice in Cleveland, was appointed city solicitor in 1898; in 1906 he was appointed judge of the court of common pleas 404 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY to fill a vacancy. He was a delegate to the Republican convention of 1908 which nominated William H. Taft. Dr. and Mrs. N. D. Chipman, educated people, moved to Braceville in 1835. They had no children of their own, but they took eight young girls at different times into their family. Some of these were given exceptional education. They also assisted three young men to prepare for college. Martha Hedges, who was born in Canaan, Connecticut, came with her parents to Braceville in 1836. She was a successful school teacher and married Mr. Alfred Elwell of Warren. Their wedding trip was taken to a National Suffrage Convention in Akron. They resided in Warren for many years. Mrs. Elwell was a great helpmeet to Mr. Elwell and she laughingly tells how she made his clothes, coats and all, when they lived in Warren. Mrs. Elwell, in later life, when she and her husband were very prosperous financially, and lived in Willoughby, was the president of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association. Even at this date she retains a little of her New England accent and speaks of woman's suffrage as if it were spelled w-o-r-m-a-n suffrage. Her husband, Alfred, died a few years ago, after a long and tedious illness from paralysis. The first hotel was built in 1816, and kept by Aaron Stowe, who also had charge of the postoffice. He was postmaster until 1850. This building stood where John Barkley's house now stands. When the new building went up, it was moved one-half mile west of the center. The first mail carrier in Braceville, going from Cleveland to Warren was Erastus Lane. He brought the news of Hull's surrender. The first school of Braceville at the center was of logs, and built in 1812. Laura A. Humphrey Taft, the historian for the township of Braceville of the Memorial to Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve, says : "Oliver Humphrey, while hauling a load of goods to Cleveland, broke his wagon, and going to a little log house for assistance, found it was a school-house. The teacher was Mercy Anna Birchard, a sister of Judge Mathew Birchard, who was teaching the first regularly organized school in Windham. He (Humphrey) was so pleased with the appearance of the young teacher that he persuaded Samuel Oviatt, the director with whom he boarded, to engage her for the winter school. They were married in 1815." One of the early teachers was Miss Lucy Humphrey, who journeyed from Connecticut HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 405 to Farmington to visit her sister, Mrs. Daniel Taft. She married Norman Stowe. Among the other teachers were Martha Hedges, Mrs. Harriet Marsh, Miss Griswold, Miss Barnes, Miss Lane. The children of Braceville, today, do not have to wade through snow and mud in unbroken forests to schoolhouses. They have the advantage of the schools of Newton Falls, and of course some district schools still exist for the children of the lower grades. The first religious organization in Braceville was called the Bible Christian church. Its services were held at the center log schoolhouse. Father Ross led this body and his followers were known locally as Rossites. In 1812 Rev. William Penn preached in the schoolhouse and organized a Presbyterian society. This church grew and a church edifice was built, finally was disorganized, and the building was used for some time as a town hall. In 1814 Comfort Stowe was clerk and deacon of the organized Congregational church. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse with occasional preaching. In 1835 a house was erected; in 1836 twenty-seven members were added at the time of revival, and the next year Rev. Selden Haines, whose work as teacher and lawyer is mentioned elsewhere, served one year as minister. The Abolition question disrupted the church and in 1876 the property was sold and the fund loaned to the American Missionary Society. In 1816 a Methodist class was organized and Hervey Stowe became class leader, and later a new church organization was perfected. His home was the home of the Methodist ministers for sixty years. In his house regular preaching was had for twenty years and he led the congregational singing for twenty-five years. Surely the Methodist body is indebted to this devoted churchman. The first Methodist church was a large house of logs. Hervey Stowe and Hervey Allen made a trip to Pittsburg for the glass and nails for this building. The house was occupied until 1838, when a new one was built, which was remodeled in 1874. The United Brethren organized in 1857. Their first meetings were held in the old schoolhouse which occupied the same ground as the schoolhouse on Eagle Creek. The present building was dedicated in 1875. The Christian Church had preaching half the time in 186768. In 1869 Rev. J. N. Smith held a series of meetings at Braceville Center with good result. Converts were baptised 406 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY in the Mahoning river. The question of organizing a church was taken up, and on January 31, 1869, the church was organized. The early ministers gave part time only and had little salary. In 1874 it was decided to build a church. It was erected that summer and is now in a prosperous condition. The patrons of the Cleveland Division of the Erie Railroad remember the station Phalanx. In 1846 about one hundred and fifty persons formed a colony and settled in the northwest portion of the township. They erected a large house in which schools, church, and meetings could be held. They also erected a number of log cabins. They all worked, keeping their time, and dividing the profits equally. Like all such communities it was short lived, lasting only four years. Tradition has it that it was called Phalanx because the houses were close together and reminded one of soldiers. When this community was doing business it was a lively place with its mills, store, etc. No history of Braceville could be written without mention of two things which every writer has noticed, the tornado, and the battle of the snakes. Howe, the historian, gives an account of the latter in which he says that Mr. Oviatt, an old gentleman, having been informed that a number of rattlesnakes were in a certain tract of the wilderness, after asking a number of questions as to whether there was a ledge and a spring in the vicinity, planned to go to the spot about the last of May and "have some sport." Armed with sticks, forked and straight, they proceeded to the ground. In a few moments they were surrounded by rattlesnakes. The fight began, the snakes beat a retreat, and when they reached the top of the hill, the ledge was fairly covered with them. The same were collected in heaps and they were found to number 486. Some of them were as large as a man's leg below the calf, and five feet in length. They were rattlesnakes and black snakes. After this adventure men from adjoining townships visited these grounds until eventually the snakes were all made away with. The tornado is usually written up from papers left by Franklin E. Stowe. This destructive wind storm occurred on the 23rd of July, 1860. Two clouds were noticed, one going south and the other east. When they came together, a dark body seemed to fall, which swept over a certain territory as far as Pittsburg. The wind twisted off great trees, lifted barns, destroyed houses, killed people and animals. The railroad sta. tion, and a grocery store of Lucius Wood, the station agent, HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 407 were raised several hundred feet high, revolved together and went all to pieces. The station had freight in it, one being a box of hardware, containing bolts, buckles, etc. One bolt was found stuck in a tree to the depth of an inch a mile and a half from the starting place. A handsaw was carried a mile. A freight car already loaded, standing on the track, was totally demolished; another car was carried five hundred feet and splintered all to pieces. Seven hundred dollars, which was in the express office, was blown away and never found. In some houses, William Benedict's, for instance, the roof was blown off, rails and boards were fastened into the siding, while the clothing in draws was carried completely away and never found. The line of the storm went down the Mahoning, struck the corner of Lordstown and Warren. When it reached the lower part of Trumbull County it began to rise, and as it rose all sorts of debris were dropped. The number of killed and injured was not known, but for many years thereafter children who went to Braceville on the railroad and saw the grocery which arose on the sight of the old one, were filled with awe and rejoiced when the train was out of the town. CHAPTER XXX.—BAZETTA. BAZETTA AND THE COUNTY SEAT.-FIRST SETTLERS.-FIRST ORCHARD.-BACONSBURG OR CORTLAND.-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES. Bazetta is the central township of Trumbull County. For that reason, in the contention for the county seat, geographically, its claim was good. But, as Warren was very near it, people thought if there was to be a change at all, it should be more of a change. When the Connecticut Land Company was formed provision was made for the sale of a certain number of acres, and if there should be an excess it was to go to a company formed for the purpose of receiving it. Such a company had existed in the survey of a tract in New York state and the financial result had been satisfactory. However, instead of there being more land in the New Connecticut than was supposed, there was less. The survey, as we have seen in the early chapters, was not very accurate. David Huntington, Nathaniel Shalor, Samuel P. Lord, Sylvester Mather and Richard McCurdy bought the township of Bazetta. The survey showed this land to contain 17,247 acres. But, when a re-survey was made it was found there was 275 acres more than the survey showed. This was very gratifying to the proprietors, and in 1802 the land was divided off into lots. The Mosquito Creek runs through this township and one or two other small creeks. It is a fertile and a prosperous township, although it was not settled as early as some others because of the speculative natures of the proprietors. The first settlers were Edward Schofield, John Budd and their families, who had resided in Hubbard. They had to cut their way through the woods. They were soon followed by Henry K. Hulse, Joseph Purden, John Godden, Joshua. Oatley, Moses Hampton, and their families. William Davis was from Washington County, Pennsylvania. A Mrs. Dixon, a widow - 408 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 409 with a large family, was also among the early settlers. When the war of 1812 came on Henry Hulse, Benjamin Rowlee, Constant Rowlee, James Dixon, Walter Dixon, William Davis, and Samuel Tanner went to the defense of their country. Most of these went as far as Sandusky, where they had a skirmish with the Indians. When William Dixon got to Cleveland he was allowed to turn back because of the needs of his family. Walter Dixon was wounded, but recovered. It just happened that when these men were called their oats were ready to cut. The women, taking their babies into the field, left them in the shade of the wood to be cared for by older children, while they cut and harvested the grain. When their husbands returned they found the work well done. Bazetta was not unlike the other townships in that the first houses were of logs, with no floors, or at best puncheoned, no doors and no windows. Wolves carried off their sheep, killed their cattle, while bears feasted on their fattened pork. Deer and wild turkey were common. Buckwheat fields had to be watched lest the turkeys carry off the grain. Although in many places we read that clothes were made of buckskin, Aaron Davis, who wrote up this township in 1875 for the Historical Collection of Mahoning County, in speaking of the deerskin, says : "The material used for dressing the skins was the animals brains, prepared by being mixed in warm water, and being rubbed until it assumed the appearance of thick soapsuds. The hair having been loosened by soaking the hide in water, the hair, grain, and flesh is removed by rubbing with something like a currier's knife. The skin is then allowed to remain in brain water for some time; after which it is taken out and stretched, pulled, and rubbed until it assumes that porous, spongy, and peculiar feeling to the touch found only in buckskin." The first orchard planted in Bazetta was that of William Davis, Sr., who came in 1811. His wife was a granddaughter of General Stark of the Revolutionary war, her name being Ann Luce. Mrs. Davis was a woman of strong character. Her husband was an invalid for some years, dying in 1860, and she not only performed her duty, but part of his, took care of her own children, and inspired them with courage to clear the homestead. She, like many other of the pioneer women, gave home to other children, in this case, three. She lived to be nearly a hundred years old. 410 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY In 1816 Samuel Bacon and family came to Bazetta from Warren. It seems strange that few of the early families of this township were from the far east. Mr. Bacon exchanged his Warren property for the mill property of Benton & Brooks, which he or his family operated until 1850. The upper dam on the river was built about 1829; the grist mill was built by Mr. Schofield about 1812. The Bacons were good business men and before long a hamlet sprung up about their land which has continued to grow. It was known as Baconsburg. In 1829 Enos Bacon, son of Samuel, opened the first store there. The Erie Railroad, when it was the A. & G. W., named the station Cortland. The author of this history has not been able to learn why the township was called Bazetta, nor why the town was called Cortland. It was incorporated in 1824 and Asa Hine was the mayor. The family of Posts were among the early settlers. The first schoolhouse in Bazetta stood in Cortland on Walnut Creek. It was made of unhewn logs. The windows were of paper oiled with bears' grease ; they were a little unusual because they were the leaves taken from copy books, and were an abstraction for the scholars because the different kinds of writing as well as the original copy, usually a proverb, could be plainly seen. The writing desks in this building were made by boring holes in the wall, driving in wooden pegs, and laying boards thereon. In 1814 this building was replaced by a new one built on the same plan. Cortland high school was established by the special act of the legislature and was opened in 1877. Women were elected to the school board of this village almost as soon as the school law was passed. R. D. Leffingwell is the present superintendent. The first church organized in the township was at East Bazetta. This was about the year 1820 and the denomination was Baptist. The charter members were James and Dorcas Bowen, William and Anne Davis, Samuel and Rachel Headley, Samuel and Rachel Bacon. They were originally members of the Concord Baptist church at Warren. Members were soon added to this body, until they had a membership of forty-four. Meetings were held in private houses and sometimes in the schoolhouse. Edward Schofield, the pioneer, was among the leaders of this society and sometimes preached for them. Like the church at Warren this became a Disciple organization. This Christian church was organized by Thomas Campbell in HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 411 1828. There were twenty-eight charter members. The official board consisted of Elders Samuel Bacon, Samuel Hoadly, and Asher Coburn; Deacons, James Bowen, and A. W. Coburn. The "occasional preachers" for some years after the organization were Adamson Bentley, Marcus Bosworth, John Applegate, A. B. Green, William Hayden, Jonas Hartzell, J. L. Lamphere, John Henry. The pastors in succession have been Harvey Brockett, John T. Phillips, Calvin Smith, James Calvin, W. S. Winfield, Clark Braden, W. B. Goodrich, W. S. Hayden, Orrin Gates, E. Wakefield, J. M. Monroe, C. P. Cone, D. C. Hanselman, I. A. Thayer, R. T. Davis, Peter Vogle, E. A. Bosworth, D. P. Thayer, C. M. Oliphant, A. Baker, J. Mann, G. W. Moore, W. H. Smith, S. C. Pierce, B. M. Derthick and Jas. Egbert, the present pastor. The present official board consists of Elders N. A. Cowdery, E. C. Faunce, M. B. Halstead, H. L. Dray; Deacons, H. G. Bacon, E. E. Barnes, L. E. Post, A. B. Cowdrey, W. B. Galley, J. L. Bucher. The date of the erection of the first small wooden church in Cortland is not known. It stood on the south side of Main street, where E. A. Sigler's residence now is. It was moved from that spot, used as an academy, later purchased by Mr. John Johnson, and moved back onto Main street. Here the Cortland Herald office was until it burned. In 1850, on the present church lot, a larger but plain building was constructed. In 1874 it was remodeled, at an expense of $4,500, and is the present church building. The parsonage which adjoins it was built in 1898 and cost $1,800. These buildings stand at the corner of Mill and Grove streets. The present membership of the church is about 200. The first meeting held by the Presbyterians in Bazetta was in 1841. At this meeting the subject of building a house of worship was discussed and decided upon favorably. Nathan Lattin donated the land for the church at the center. This society was incorporated in 1842 under the name of the First Presbyterian and Congregational Church Society. The Methodist church of Cortland was organized in 1835 with J. J. Steadman and E. Burkett as the first preachers. The Rev. Mr. Steadman was one of the strongest men intellectually in this vicinity. W. M. Oatley was first class leader. The first church, built in 1840, stood on the hill just beyond where the present creamery stands. It occupied this position for twenty years, then it was removed to the site of the present church. 412 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY In 1880 it took another journey, this time to Park avenue, and is now known as Grange Hall. A new brick church was built at that time, of which Rev. J. E. Cope is the pastor. The parsonage was built in 1867. CHAPTER XXXI.--BLOOMFIELD. FIRST PROPRIETORS.-GRAND RIVER AND BLOOMFIELD SWAMPS.- FERRY FAMILY.-A PIONERR DOG.-MEN AND WOMEN OF NOTE.- BROWN FAMILY.- SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES. Peter Chardon Brooks, of Boston, was the owner of the land now known as Bloomfield. He sold it to Ephraim Brown of West Moreland, New Hampshire, and Thomas Howe of Williamstown, Vermont, in 1814. Brown and Howe were nephew and uncle. They had been in business together. Eventually, Howe sold out to Brown, reserving one thousand acres in the southern part of the township for himself. Although Bloomfield was settled by able people, Brown is the best known early citizen because of his ability, his wealth and his public spirit. Bloomfield is a fertile township and its citizens have always been prosperous. In the early days, in connection with Bloomfield we always heard of the Grand River and the Bloomfield swamps. The Grand River at certain times of year allowed the emigrants to paddle up it as far as Mesopotamia. But, of late years, it is hardly mentioned in Trumbull County except when a few hopeful fishermen patrol its banks longing for an occasional bite. The word "swamp" drove terror to the hearts of most children, because there were dreadful tales told of men and animals getting into quicksand and being drawn down to death. In the early days, the Bloomfield swamp, in some places, could not be crossed even by horses, but now these swamps are so drained that in some seasons of the year there is no suggestion of swamp. In the early days, huckleberries and whortleberries were found in great abundance here and here pigeons flocked in great numbers and were killed for food. People in the southern part of the country often saw large flocks going over to the Bloomfield swamps. The disappearance of the - 413 - 414 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY water, and consequently of the huckleberry, together with the work of the hunter, has made the Bloomfield pigeon a rare bird. S. E. Ensign of Mesopotamia surveyed the township for Howe and Brown, and divided it into lots. It was called West Moreland, undoubtedly because West Moreland was Mr. Brown's home town in New Hampshire. The first settler was Lyman Ferry of Brookfield, who came in 1815. He reached the township after six weeks' travel. He came as many other settlers did, by sled as far as possible, finishing up the trip by wagon. He had with him a man helper with wife and three children. There was not a road then in the township, nor a house between Rome and Bristol. .The family therefore went into a deserted cabin in .Bristol. Mr. Ferry, the man, and Mr. Ferry's son put up a cabin into which the family moved. As related in the other part of this work very often there was no fireplace in these early cabins and cooking was done outside, by the side of a chestnut log. It was too cold at this time of year to cook by a log outside, and so they built their fire next to the green logs inside, their chimney being a hole in the roof. When the logs began to burn they piled up stones to protect that end of the house. Here they lived and worked until the spring came. Mrs. Ferry was the first white woman to enter the town. In the spring of 1816 a number of settlers came to Bloomfield to clear their land and put up their cabins, and Mrs. Ferry not only took care of her own family but cooked for twenty others. Her granddaughter says : "I can remember hearing my grandmother tell how during the first year in Bloomfield she was asked to do the work for twenty, including her own family. The supper was corn-meal mush and milk, served hot from the iron kettle, dished out with what she called a puddin' stick, the only variation of the meal being the dishes in which it was eaten. The boarders were arranged on benches around the room, while basins, tin cups, pans and pails were brought into requisition to augment the limited supply of bowls. Occasionally when they could afford it, thick Orleans molasses was poured over the mush as a crowning dessert." HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 415 The women slept in the lower part of the cabin while the men crawled up the ladder and slept soundly on the floor. Mrs. Ferry lived to be ninety years old. They had seven children who lived in this vicinity. Mehitable Howe, the sister of Thomas Howe and the aunt of Ephraim Brown, was the first to die in Bloomfield. Her daughter, Harriet, was the first white child born in the county. She never married, and lived until 1862. The first marriage was that of John Weed and Jemima Bigelow. In Thomas Howe's family there was not a death among the children until the youngest was forty-six years old. An old story worth repeating is that of the dog, Argus, who accompanied the early settlers in 1815. The dog either became tired, dissatisfied or was stolen in New York state. When Mr. Howe was going through that place some months later, he saw the dog and claimed it. The landlord said he had raised him from a pup. Whereupon Mr. Howe ordered Argus into his cutter, told him to watch it, and then dared the landlord to take anything from the cutter. The dog stood guard and did not allow the landlord to come near him, and proceeded with his master. In 1815 William Crowell, Israel Proctor, Samuel Eastman, David Comstock walked from Vermont to Bloomfield. David Comstock was noted as being the best wood-chopper of the township. The first justice of the peace was Jared Kimball, who lived north of the center. Aaron Smith, who arrived in 1816, built the first frame building in the township. It was afterwards removed to Bristol. John Bellows, one of the early settlers, made bricks which were used in the construction of some of the early chimneys. Mr. Proctor, another early settler, married Betsey Huntington, a sister of Mrs. Ephraim Brown. In some of the early townships were settlements of Germans, in others, Scotch, but the foreigners who settled in Bloomfield were English. The township was organized in 1816 and the first officers were elected at the house of Ephraim Brown. Thomas Howe did not move his family to Bloomfield until 1817, his wife and five children coming with him. She was a woman of very benevolent nature. He was a member of the 416 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY Ohio legislature and he lived to be more than eighty. His children were identified more or less with Bloomfield, Dr. G. W. being one of the early teachers and later a doctor for forty-four years. He was surgeon for three years in the war of the Rebellion and his services were especially commended. He was twice elected to the Ohio legislature. William Howe did not spend much of his early life in Bloomfield. He was engaged in business in Pittsburg and the ore districts of Lake Superior. He was a clerk in the provost office in Warren during the rebellion. He married Melvina Flowers and had nine children. Mrs. Howe did not like the new country and if it had not been for the care of her large family she would have suffered greatly from homesickness. She used to make a peculiar kind of cracker of bread dough with butter pounded in which she sent to sick people. She was a fastidious housekeeper, and it is said that whenever they wanted a cobweb for medicinal purposes they never could find one in her house. Asa Works came to Bloomfield in 1817. He lived but nine years and left four children. He was a hatter. His son, Nelson Works, was long identified with the township. Mrs. Works was both father and mother to her children. It was hard for pioneers, when there were men in the family, to do the hardest of the work, but of this family of five, four were women, and still they were able to maintain themselves and the mother and the son, Nelson, who were inseparable, lived and died on the farm which they chose for their home. One daughter, Mary, was a part of this household. She was a school teacher, a tailor, and such a splendid nurse that her services were called for very often among the early settlers. Many of the children born were first dressed by her and many are those that she dressed for the grave. She was very small, retiring, but exceedingly brave. She never feared to go where there were contagious diseases, and lived to be sixty-five years old. Martha Works was left a widow early, like her mother. She too kept her little family together. She had to incur debt in the beginning, but with the assistance of her children, she paid all her obligations and her children were prosperous, and so was she. It is said that on Sunday she loaded her own children and some of the neighbors' into an open buggy and drove to the center to church, no matter what HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 417 the weather was. This was a ride of four miles. She lived until 1886. Joseph K. Wing was born in Wilmington, Vermont, and came to Bloomfield in 1831. He married Mary, the eldest daughter of Ephraim and Mary Brown. He was a merchant, was a captain in the rebellion, assistant quartermaster of United States Volunteers, brevetted major and lieutenant colonel. He was elected to the legislature in 1869 and again in 1871. One of his daughters was named for Julia King, who married Charles Brown. Eliza Knapp Haskell was one of the early temperance women. We find one or two of these in almost every township. It is said that she made the first stand against having alcohol at raisings in the township. Delana Cornell, who came to Bloomfield in 1833, was not exactly a pioneer, but she was so staunch a citizen that she is mentioned here. Before 1843 she was left a widow with four children, and with splendid management and good cheer she supported and educated her family, preserving at the same time her keen sense of humor which made her society sought for as long as she lived. In 1818 Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Goodhue moved to Bloomfield from Putney, Vermont. He was a lawyer, and Bloomfield was not much of a place for lawyers, so within a few years he moved to Warren. His wife, Sarah Sargent, belonged to a well established family of the east and was an unusual woman. Her daughter, Sarah S., married Joseph Scott, a brother of James Scott of Warren. George Washington attended the wedding of Nathaniel Goodhue and Sarah Sargent, and William McAdoo, now living in North Bloomfield, has the dress of the bride and of the groom, together with many other interesting articles belonging to this rather famous couple. Nancy C. Goodhue married James McAdoo, July 1, 1840, and settled in Michigan. William McAdoo, of Bloomfield, is their son, is a banker, a prosperous property holder of Bloomfield, and lives on the old road running to Warren, just south of the center. He married Miss Wing for a first wife, a niece of Miss Anne Brown, and Miss Marjory Leach of Warren, for a second wife. In 1822 John Smith came to Bloomfield and seven years later married Julia Anne Wright. May Wright Sewell, who had a classical school in Indianapolis and was identified for Vol. I-27 418 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY many years with the National Suffrage Association, was her niece. When Ephraim Brown and Thomas Howe decided to come into New Connecticut, they expected to take up land near Cleveland, but the Cuyahoga river and the lake shore seemed so dreary that they decided on Bloomfield. The family came in a chaise to Buffalo, then to Grand river in boats and by horseback to North Bloomfield. Mrs. Brown felt very badly about leaving the eastern country because of her home associates and because her children would not have the advantages of school. Her granddaughter, Elizabeth B. Wing, says of her: "She showed great judgment in her preparation for it [western life] by bringing stores of useful articles not obtainable in a new country, even to a well selected variety of medicines and simples, which in the absence of a physician in the settlement she used with skill and generosity. Her family was large and irregular. Seekers for land came frequently to the place and as there was no public house- of entertainment, many strangers were made welcome in her home." She was so homesick that when she had been here two years she went back to New England. It was the intention to go from Fairport by boat but when they found the boat had gone, rather than turn back, she went all the way by horseback. The old log house which was built for Ephraim Brown in 1815 was five years later made into a handsome home, and it now stands as it was then. The bricks used in it were brought from Warren. The window frames are in good condition and hold the glass, with few exceptions which was put in them in the beginning. The stone steps, somewhat worn, are still in use. At one time it was thought to change them, but Mr. Fayette Brown said too many good friends had come and gone over those steps to make any change now. The house is beautifully kept. The walls of the guest chamber are covered with blue and white paper which looks as if it might have been put on a year or two ago. In reality it has been on the walls eighty-two years. The color is a delft blue and white. It was made before paper was manufactured in rolls and it was put on in HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 419 squares. The hangings are the same color and equally clean, although they are not quite so old as the paper. The muslin curtains and bed canopy have been replaced but they are exactly the same in style, shape and material as the original. In this room are some engravings of Leicester and Mrs. King (Charles Brown married Julia King) and some Japanese etchings. In one of the other chambers is a stove, one of the first brought into the county. It has been used since 1840 and shows no signs of giving out. Of the nine children of Ephraim and Mrs. Brown but two are now living, Fayette Brown, of Cleveland, and Anne F. Brown, who lives in the homestead. Miss Brown is a charming woman. She was educated largely by her mother, went to school very little at the early schools. The education of her children was Mrs. Brown's greatest worry, and as soon as it was possible many of them were sent away to school. Mary, the oldest daughter, went east before Anne was born, and the younger girl did not see the older until she was two years old. When Mary came back she wanted Anne to go to school, and the child agreed, the older sister seating her on top of her desk with her back to the teacher. The little girl said she was willing to do this because she loved to look into the face of her beautiful sister. Miss Brown says she never remembers getting tired of having her mother read to her, and that she and her brothers and sisters often got up at four o'clock in the morning in order to have her mother read until breakfast time. The Brown children had an advantage of a peculiar kind of education, since most of the cultivated visitors to this part of the country stayed with them when passing through. Joshua R. Giddings was often in their home and stopped there on his return to Washington after his resignation. Mr. Brown was a member of the Ohio house of representatives and the senate. This house was one of the stations on the underground railway, and abolition and politics were talked here. Meetings of many kinds were held in this house. As the young ladies grew up they traveled in the east, and for this reason, and because they were of a large family connection, Miss Brown acquired the habit of staying at home and there are many people now living in Bloomfield who are not acquainted with her. She, as a child, visited the family of Leicester King. It used to be a great pleasure for her to fill Mrs. King's footstove, which she carried across the street to 420 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY church. She remembers the trundle bed in which she slept in the King home, the cabinet shop of White & Spear across the way, and that one time when she was a young lady at the sea shore, she was surprised to find a sign hanging out from a shop " White & Spear." The writer was astonished to find, on her library table, a copy of the Woman's Journal. She has taken this from its beginning. She kept all the numbers, but as magazines and periodicals multiplied, she found she was not able to save everything, and so offered these to Oberlin College, where Lucy Stone finished her education, although she was not allowed to read her graduating essay because she was a woman. The authorities were delighted to possess them and they are now in the library. The dining-room in the Brown homestead is spacious, with old silver, glass and artistic crayon pictures of Miss Brown and her older sister, Elizabeth. These children were taught music in the early day and their piano was the second one brought into Trumbull County. It is still in the possession of the family, being in the home formerly belonging to Mrs. Wing (Mary Brown). For years Miss Elizabeth and Miss Anne, devoted to each other, lived in this homestead, and it was a great blow to the latter when the older sister died. Few women are so beautifully cared for as is Miss Brown, in these, her later years. She has a care-taker, who is a nurse, a friend who makes her home with her and reads to her, two house servants, and men about the place. Although she is right in the heart of the country, from her library window she can see Mesopotamia, and Middlefield beyond. Directly east of her house is the divide from which on the north the water flows into Lake Erie, and on the south into the Ohio. When she was a child she never grew tired of having her mother read to her, and now, no one reads to her no matter how many hours at a time when she wishes them to stop. She used to drive to Warren; although there is a macadam road running in a straight line from the court house to her home, she has not driven it in many years. She goes to Cleveland to visit her brother, her nieces and grandnieces and nephews, but she says she is always glad to be home and feels so thankful that her father did not decide on Cleveland instead of Bloomfield. She thinks that under present conditions all the organizations of the present are necessary, but she has never allied herself with any of them except the Forestry Association. She regrets the wanton destruction of the splendid HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 421 forests of northern Ohio. In 1820 her father brought a young maple tree from Bristol and planted it in the door yard. This has been one of the most beautiful trees in the vicinity. A few years ago, when the leaves were heavy with rain, nearly one-half of the tree was blown off. This scar has been lately scraped and filled with cement. Mrs. Ephraim Brown had a sister, Polly, who married David Penniman. Her daughter, Mary, married Abisha Cross and now resides with her daughter, Mrs. B. F. Pond, on Washington avenue, Warren. Mrs. Cross is now ninety-three years old but retains her mental faculties. She has always been a student and interested in progressive things. She was the leading spirit in the organization of the Woman Suffrage Society which existed in Warren in the late '70s. This society did not live long because of ridicule, but its child is the Political Equality Club, the largest and most influential woman's club in Trumbull County. The first schoolhouse in Bloomfield was made of logs and stood on the farm of Leman Ferry. Here Chester Howard taught in the winter of 1817-18. (Mr. Howard was a brother of Mrs. Thomas Howe; taught forty-two winter and twenty-six summer terms.) There was a schoolhouse built early at the center, but the first school held there was in Lewis Clisby's log cabin, and Noah M. Green was the teacher. Elizabeth Huntington, the sister of Mrs. Ephraim Brown, taught in this same cabin. When Elizabeth Brown was a little girl, two or three years old, her sister Mary and her brothers took her to school. One day, as she sat there, she became greatly frightened by seeing a pair of yellow eyes, looking through the cracks of the flooring on the platform. These eyes turned out to belong to an inoffensive sheep. Elizabeth Huntington was long remembered by her pupils with great love and respect. She was very thorough with her classes in spelling, and other primary studies, and brought out a number of exceptionally good spellers. When, in 1823, she married Mr. Proctor, she went to Baltimore and New York City to live, but finally returned to Bloomfield, where she died in 1882. Among the early teachers were Mr. John Smith of Bloomfield, who was a very strict disciplinarian; later, Clarissa Howe, Sophronia Otis, Miss Goodhue (the aunt of J. S. McAdoo), Samantha Converse (afterwards Mrs. Dr. Hanna of 422 - HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY Cleveland and the mother of Mark Hanna), Caroline Converse, Miss Atkins, Julia Ann Wright, who afterwards married John Smith, Almenia Saunders, Adeline Warner, Charlotte Kendell (sister-in-law of John Smith), and Miss Ellen Gates from Connecticut, an excellent teacher of Latin. This list was followed by some others until the late '50s, when the Rev. D. L. Hickox and his wife opened a school. In 1860 George W. Andrews and his wife, Oberlin graduates, taught five or six years. Their school was most excellent, many pupils coming from neighboring townships, some even from Pittsburg, Cleveland and Massillon, to attend. Mr. Hickox gave up teaching to study for the ministry, and for the last thirty-five or forty years has been at the head of the theological department of Talladega College in Alabama, and for nine years was acting president of that institution. His school was a private one and since his day the schools in Bloomfield have not kept up to his standard. In the past few years the schools have had excellent teachers but there are fewer pupils attending than formerly. The Bloomfield schools are now centralized. There are no district schools, and there are no scholars going to other schools. Mr. C. C. Pierce is superintendent of schools. Three women have been members of the school board of Bloomfield : Mrs. Hitchcock, Mrs. Works, and Mrs. Mary Matson, who is now clerk. In 1815 the Rev. Mr. Cole, a Congregational preacher, and the Rev. Mr. Badger preached sermons in Bloomfield. Rev. Ira Eddy preached in Mr. Thayer's house in 1817. The next year Mr. Eddy organized a class of the Methodist church in Bloomfield. Charles Thayer was leader and there were seventeen members. Interest after a while died out, though there was occasional preaching in the first log schoolhouse in the southern part of the township. In 1830 interest revived and Willard Tyrrill became class leader. In 1835 a house was built by the Methodists and Congregationalists. This was burned in 1852. Five years later these two associations joined again and built a church which is now standing. The Congregational church was organized as a Presbyterian by Rev. Giles H. Cole in 1821. There were four or five charter members. Up to 1830 there were about twenty-eight members. In 1826 Calvin Clark and Asa Smith were deacons. Elijah Ballard was chosen deacon in 1832. During the early years there were a number of missionaries preaching here and HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY - 423 in 1827 Rev. Edson Hart was ordained pastor. In 1859 the church became Congregational in form. About this time there was a good deal of change such as this in the Presbyterian and Congregational churches. Slavery was the cause of this change. The Congregational society, in conjunction with the Methodists, built a church, as above stated, and sold their share to the Methodists. Recently the Disciples and Congregationalists have shared their church building, having purchased a part of the Methodist church. About 1829, at a public meeting held in Bloomfield to raise money for a preacher, it was agreed to hold services in the center schoolhouse. Under this agreement the Presbyterians were to have the use of the house one-half the time, the Baptists and Methodists one-fourth, the Unitarians one-fourth. Tim years before this, Benjamin Alton, of New York state, had settled in the township and Ephraim Brown hired him for the one-fourth time allowed the Unitarians. Alton fell under the spell of Thomas Campbell and became converted. This conversion broke up the union of the four parties, although Alton continued to preach. In 1832 he was preaching half the time and made converts. The ministers of the denomination then known as "Campbellites" visited Bloomfield and added other people to the congregation. Mr. Alton moved to Illinois and the same year Rev. Marcus Bosworth effected an organization. A large number of names were added to the membership. In 1848, under the preaching of Rev. Isaac Errett, the number was doubled. Three years later they built the church at the center, Mr. Errett being the first pastor. In 1854 Edwin Wakefield was ordained as an evangelist. Cyrus Bosworth, M. S. Clapp, Isaac Errett and B. F. Perky officiated. In 1879 a half interest in the church which was erected in 1849 and cost $1,600 was disposed of to the Congregationalists, who now hold regular meetings. CHAPTER XXXII.—BROOKFIELD. " THE GREEN. "-FIRST PERSONS AND EVENTS.-MILLS AND BLAST FURNACE.-SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS.- CHURCHES. Brookfield is probably the township in which the surveyors record that the land was high enough for them to see into Pennsylvania. Before they reached this, they had had a struggle with swamps, and were delighted at the outlook. When surveyed it was known as number 4, range 1. It was originally owned by Samuel Hinckley, of North Hampton, Massachusetts, and was probably named for Brookfield, Massachusetts. He donated land at the center, which was called "the green." He also gave the ground for the cemetery, one acre. Jacob Humason, who first settled near the center cleared the "green" and burying ground. These grounds were improved by people of the township and became the public burying place. The first person buried in this cemetery was the Rev. Mr. Johnson. It is recorded by several historians that James McMullin came to this township in 1796. This surely must be a mistake of date, because the first surveyors did not come until that summer and he could not very well have received a deed for his land then. This error probably occurred by some early recorder saying he came about that time. If, however, the date should be right, he would not only have been the first settler within the present limits of Trumbull County, but of the Reserve as well. He built a log house in the eastern part of the township not far from the state line, after the plan of all the first log houses, and here he lived for some time. He had seven sons, his grandson, James the son of William, being the first white child born in the township. The first wedding was that of his son, Samuel, to Elizabeth Chatfield. Rev. Thomas G. Jones, who preached for the - 424 -