Huron County, Ohio - The whole text, 1909 (part 1 of 29)

The whole text

Originally published in 1908 by S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago. This new edition is a photgraphically reproduced facsimile of the original and published precisely as it originally appeared except for the addition of a new all name index.

It has been well and truthfully said that fortunately the present occupants of the Firelands are not like those of some other countries, compelled to plunge into the chaos of antiquity for the origin of their settlements or to trace the founders of their prosperity to the caverns of the barbarian or to the sucklings of a wolf. The inhabitants of the pioneer period of the Firelands were for the most part, a noble-minded, generous people, bold and brave in the defense of right and upright in their dealings.

Like their ancestors of Plymouth Rock, the Firelanders when they arrived on the Western Reserve felt that they had reached the theater upon which duty, as well as interest, commanded them to devote their labors and their lives.

Having entered the threshold of the second century in the history of Huron county, a retrospective glance at the progress made during those hundred years reveals achievements of which the first settlers of the Firelands never dreamed. Being blessed with natural resources, with a healthful climate and a fertile soil. these with the industry and activity of an enterprising people made the success that has since been achieved.

The hand of improvement has certainly here been employed, and in that hundred years, which is only a short time, as nations reckon time, all these advancements have taken place. The land once covered by the forest is now cultivated fields. District schools have sprung up on all sides and churches are to be seen in all parts of the country.

Markets for the purchase of all kinds of products have been opened upon every hand, whereas then they had none. The manners of the people and the fashions of dress have undergone a revolution. Corn-huskings, flax-pullings and the old festive games have been put aside for the supposed more accomplished amusements of modern times. The still-houses have vanished. those who first broke the silence that reigned here in the wilderness in 1811 have disappeared - some to make new settlements farther west, and others have gone the way of all things earthly. Some were cut off in the midst of their toil and were buried amid the scenes of their labors. Some lived to see what was once a wilderness changed to a land smiling with peace and plenty, peopled with intelligent beings and went down to the tomb full of years.

The author acknowledges himself indebted to the members of the Advisory Board for their encouragement and assistance, and to the press for its friendly notices. Also, to other friends for their assistance in the gathering and in the compilation of the matter contained in this work. To the Firelands publications and to Williams' History of Huron County we are indebted for information which doubtless might have been unattainable otherwise.

And my thanks are especially due to the Hon. C. H. Gallup, president of the Firelands Historical Society, for courtesies and valuable information.

Many biographical sketches are given in this work, for biography is the meat and marrow of history, The aim has been to discriminate carefully in the selection of subjects, although names worthy of perpetuation have in a number of instances been omitted, either on the account of the apathy of those concerned or the inability of the compilers to secure the necessary information for the same.

The history of the Firelands and of Huron county are, to a great extent the same. The Firelands embrace the whole of Erie and Huron counties, exclusive of Kelley's island, and include the township of Ruggles, now a part of Ashland county and the township of Danbury, now included in the county of Ottawa. The history of this region, as well as of the entire continent prior to the period of modern discovery, is a matter of conjecture and will not be considered here.

What was the "Great West," but what has long since lost that appellation, was a vast track lying south of the great lakes and between the Allegheny mountains and the Mississippi river, and was for a long time a disputed territory, claimed alike by the French and English governments. The English based their title on the discoveries by the Cabots in 1497 and 1498, and therefore claimed to own the Atlantic coast from New Foundland to Florida, and between those points westward across the continent from ocean to ocean. The French, however, disputed the English title and asserted in their own behalf the ownership of what are now the British possession on the Atlantic coast as far north as Labrador and their claim extended inland so as to embrace the entire valley of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi rivers, thus encircling the English territory from the Atlantic westward and south to the Gulf of Mexico.

The rival claims of France and England to this vast territory were long the source of dissension between those nations until the treaty of Paris in 1763, by which France ceded to England all her claims to the Canadas and the adjacent provinces. Up to this time the French had, as against the English, held exclusive possession of the entire valleys of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi. and the English government had, notwithstanding the contested character of its title, proceeded as though its ownership was unquestioned, and the King of England had by various patents, granted from time to time to divers persons and companies tracts of land of great extent.

In 1606, James T., to encourage settlement granted the territory, twelve degrees in extent from Cape Fear to Halifax, all then called Virginia to two associations, known as the Plymouth Company and the London Company. The northern portion, then called North Virginia, was assigned to the Plymouth Company, but the name was soon changed to New England.

In 1628, that portion of the territory covered by the Plymouth patent and known as Massachusetts extended from the Atlantic ocean to the South sea. Under a conformatory charter the Connecticut colony was invested with a title to "all that part of our dominions in New England in America bounded on the east by Narragansett river, where the river falleth into the sea, and on the north by the line of Massachusetts plantation and in longitude as the line of Massachusetts colony running east to west."

This grant embraced a territory of the width of the state of Connecticut and extending westward from Rhode Island to the Pacific ocean, an area five times as large as the state of Ohio.

The Firelands now include only the counties of Erie and Huron, and Ruggles township in Ashland county, which was formerly a part of Huron, and the township of Danbury in Ottawa county.

Historysor Hubongcounty

Huron county was formed February 7, 1809, and organized in 1815. It originally constituted the whole of "the Firelands." The name, Huron, was given by the French to the Wyandot tribe: its signification is probably unknown. The surface is mostly level, some parts slightly undulating; soil mostly sandy mixed with clay, forming a loam. In the northwest part are some prairies, and in the northern part are the sand ridges which run on the southern side of Lake Erie and vary in width from a few rods to more than a mile. Huron was much reduced in 1838, in population and area, by the formation of Erie county. Area about 450 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were 139,956; in pasture, 79,944; woodland, 36,032; lying waste, 2,697; produced in wheat, 450,057 bushels; rye, 5,123; buckwheat, 929; oats, 1,035,018; barley, 5,167; corn, 698,536; broom corn, 200 lbs. brush; meadow hay, 34,880 tons; clover hay, 6,837; flax, 20,300 lbs. fibre; potatoes, 108,166 bushels; butter, 982,978 lbs. ; cheese, 347,037; sorghum, 2,218 gallons; maple sugar 23,087 lbs.; honey, 11,672; eggs, 493,179 dozen; grapes, 3,579 lbs.; sweet potatoes, 89 bushels; apples, 35,552; peaches, 4,052; pears, 923; wool, 539,534 milch cows owned, 7,750. School census, 1888, 9,929; teachers, 353. Miles of railroad track 138.

The Old Pioneers

Meeting of the Firelands Historical Society, held at the home of Martin Kellogg in Bronson, to celebrate his one hundredth birthday, September 21, 1886.

Huron county lies in the southwest portion of the Connecticut Western Reserve, and originally and for many years after its settlement it comprised all of the Firelands, or five hundred thousand acres. Its southern boundary is the forty-first parallel of latitude, and until 1838, when Erie county was formed out of its territory, it extended northwest to the shores of Lake Erie, including the peninsula and islands north of Sandusky bay.

The townships in the county were as nearly as possible laid out five miles square, but owing to the fact that the breadth of the Firelands' tract, from east to west, is twenty-five miles, fifty-one chains and thirty-two links, each township, from east to west, is a fraction more than five miles in extent.

The county is, then, generally speaking, a rectangle, twenty-five miles long by twenty miles in width - its greater length being from east to west. By the original survey, each township was to contain about sixteen thousand acres of land. This would give the area of the county as four hundred and seventyfive square miles, or three hundred and six thousand acres. The auditor's duplicate for 1877 has three hundred and six thousand and ninety-seven acres, which, however, does not include lands regularly laid out into town lots. Land occupied by roads is sometimes, but not generally omitted, as are public grounds, cemeteries, etc.; so that probably two or three thousand acres are thus left out.

The county is bounded on the north by Erie county, on the east by Lorain and Ashland, on the south by Ashland and Richland, and on the west by Seneca and Sandusky counties. It has nineteen townships, as follows: Wakeman, Clarksfield, New London, Townsend, Hartland, Fitchville, Greenwich, Norwalk, Bronson, Fairfield, Ripley, Ridgefield, Peru, Greenfield, New Haven, Lyme, Sherman, Norwich and Richmond. Its principal towns and villages are Norwalk, Bellevue, Monroeville, Plymouth, Wakeman, New London and Collins.

The county originally comprised twenty townships, but Ruggles was set off at the formation of Ashland county in 1846, and became a part of that county.

Huron county has no lakes or considerable ponds; no large or navigable streams; no high hills, rocky ledges, nor ravines or gorges of considerable depth or extent, and yet the surface is far from an unbroken monotonous plain; on the contrary, it is pleasantly diversified with hills and dales of often picturesque beauty and attractiveness. The slope of the county is to the northward, the numerous streams that are found within its limits all bearing tribute to Lake Erie. On its southern boundary these streams are well nigh insignificant in size; in fact, within five miles, the divide is reached, south of which the streams are tributary to the great Mississippi basin. Huron county is drained by two principal water courses - Huron and Vermillion rivers - at the mouth of each, especially at the former, there are good harbors; but the streams themselves are too small to be navigable to any distance. However, by the aid of a canal

Vermillion river has its source in Savannah lake, Ashland county, where it connects with streams which are tributary to the Ohio, the valleys uniting at the divide in a continuous channel, now deeply filled with drift, indicating that the drainage of both valleys was formerly southward. The connection of the head waters of Huron river with the streams running south is not so distinctly marked, yet it can be easily traced between them and the two valleys, one to the east and one to the west of Mansfield, in Richland county, where the drainage is also to the south.

October 19, 1809, the directors ordered that a road be laid out and cut through Huron county, from north to south, passing from, or near the shore of Lake Erie, on the east side of Huron river, running thence on the most suitable route until it strikes near the center of the north line of the township of Norwalk, and thence southward on a line as near the center of the other township as the ground will admit; that William Eldridge be appointed agent to cause the road to be laid out and cut, causewayed, logged and bridged in the best and most prudent way regarding the interest of the Firelands Company; to be cut and cleared off at least sixteen feet in width, and the stumps to be cut down smooth with the surface of the ground at least twelve feet in width. The sum of eight hundred dollars was appropriated for the work, the agent to receive no compensation for his services.

A second and similar road was ordered laid out north and south through the county, on or near the line between the twentieth and twenty-fist ranges. Six hundred dollars was appropriated for the work, and Ebenezer Jesup, Jr., appointed agent to carry it into effect, and to serve without compensation.

A third, leading east and west in the county, to commence on the east side thereof, at the termination of the road already laid, marked cut through the lands of the Connecticut Land Company, leading from the Portage in the southerly part thereof, butting on said east line, and extend to, or near the middle or center of the south line of the town of Norwalk until it intersects the road already voted to be laid out, or as near as the nature of the ground will admit.

That a fourth road be laid out to commence at or near the south line of Norwalk, where the north and south road crosses it, then running west on township lines, or as near the same as practicable, to the west line of the county.

Another similar road to begin on the south line of Fairfield at the north and south road and running west, following town lines as near as practicable to the county line.

Five hundred dollars were appropriated for the construction of the first road and six hundred dollars for the other two roads, and Isaac Mills appointed agent to construct them, to serve without compensation. On January 31, 1811, an act was passed further organizing Huron county, but the war with England prevented it from being carried out, until January 31, 1815. The first court of common pleas was held at the county seat, in Avery township, (now Milan,) George Tod, presiding judge, and Jabez Wright, Stephen Meeker and Joseph Strong, associates. Complaint having been made that the location of the county seat was unsuitable, the legislature was induced, on the 26th day of January, 1818, to appoint Abraham Tappan, of Geauga, William Wetmore, of Portage, and Elias Lee, of Cuyahoga county as commissioners to view the present seat of justice of Huron county, and to investigate the claims of other localities, and if they should consider that the interests of the county require it, were authorized to remove it to such a place as in their judgment might be more suitable.

The proprietors of Norwalk were much interested in securing a report in favor of their infant village, and were not, it is to be presumed, backward in presenting its claims, which they did with so much success that the commissioners decided in their favor and removed the county seat thither.

The first meeting of the commissioners of Huron county was held at the county seat, in Avery, on August I, 1815, at the house of David Abbott. The commissioners were Caleb Palmer, Charles Parker and Eli S. Barnum ; Ichabod Marshall was appointed clerk, pro tem. Abijah Comstock was appointed county treasurer.

Vermillion, to comprise the whole of the twentieth range, together with all that tract of country belonging to Huron county, east of the twentieth range.

The commissioners decided at this meeting that the bounty for killing wolves in the county of Huron to be paid by said county shall be: For each wolf scalp more than six months old, two dollars; for each wolf scalp less than six months old, one dollar. They also ordered that the building at the county seat which hitherto has been occupied as a school-house, should, for the future, be used for a courthouse and gaol until other arrangements could be made.

The second board of commissioners consisted of Nathan Cummins, for one year; Frederick Falley, for two years; and Bildad Adams, for three years; the length of service being determined by lot, and appointed Frederick Falley as their clerk. The meeting was held at the house of David Abbott, Esq., at the county seat, on the first Monday of December, 1815.

The following townships were ordered set off: Ridgefield, comprising the townships of Ridgefield, and Lyme, together with the township of Sherman.

June, 1822, the wolf bounty was fixed at one dollar and fifty cents for each wolf over six months old, and seventy-five cents for those under that age.

August 12, 1818, it was ordered by the commissioners that notice be given that the commissioners will, on the first Monday of December following, receive proposals for a court house, forty by thirty feet, and a jail; and on the 7th of December following, the commissioners purchased a building of David Jnderhill & Company for a court house, for the sum of eight hundred and forty-eight dollars. | |

March 2, 1819, the commissioners contracted with Platt Benedict to build a jail, twenty-four by forty-six feet, two stories high, for the sum of one thousand

In Vermillion there were two extensive fortifications on the banks of the river of the same name, and another in the southern part of the township. There were, in the same township, a number of mounds in which human skeletons and scattered bones were found.

In Berlin, in the western part of the township, there was a mound covering a quarter of an acre, with large trees growing upon it. Near the center of the township, on the farm formerly owned by the late Lewis Osborn, was another mound, and in the northern part of the township, a fortification.

In Huron township, mounds were found on the highlands on both sides of the river. Two of these mounds on the west side of the river and about two miles from its mouth, were quite large and nearly round. Human bones and "beads of different colors" were found in them.

In Ridgefield township, Huron county, circular fortifications were found in lot two and lot three of the first section, and a small mound containing human bones, in lot eighteen of the second section. The fortifications are on high banks of branches of the Huron river.

In Norwalk there were three fortifications near the Ridgefield line, and crossing it, on the farm now owned by Isaac Underhill. That gentleman has preserved reminiscences of his plowing, when a boy, through the dry and brittle bones of the men of whom these works are the monuments.

After the organization of Erie county, March 15, 1838, Huron county was left with only twenty townships, whose settlements occurred as follows:

In 1846 the county of Ashland was organized. At that time the old constitution of Ohio provided that no new counties should be created with less than four hundred square miles of territory, nor should any old county be reduced to less than that amount. In order to give the new county of Ashland the constitutional amount of territory, it was found that Huron, among other oun ties, would have to be encroached upon, and Ruggles, our southeast corner tow, was taken away from us and became part of the new county.

The Settlement Of Norwalk In 1809 By Hon. C. H. Gallup

The Pilgrims were English "Separatists" who sailed from Delfshaven (in the Netherlands) in the Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony, New England, November 11, 1620. In 1630 they were followed by others of like faith and hopes, among whom was John Winthrop, bearing a royal commission as governor of Massachusetts Colony. April 23, 1662, John Winthrop and eighteen associates received from Charles IL, of England, the munificent grant of that part of our dominions New England in America," * * from "Narragansett Bay on the east to the South Sea on the west, with the islands thereto adjoining." The same year "The Solemn League and Covenant" for religious reforms and liberties in England, Scotland and Ireland was renounced and by order of King Charles declared illegal.

In 1685 Louis XIV., of France, revoked the "Edict of Nantes" the charter of Huguenot liberties. Those reactionary measures placed the brightest intellects of Europe at the mercy of bigotry and intolerance and drove the independent, brainy men of many faiths and nationalities to this new world to find and establish civil and religious liberty. The descendants of the composite race thus begotten, formed the finest body of creative statesmen since the days of "Moses the Lawgiver" and gave this country the proud title of "The Beacon Light of Liberty."

In 1779, George III., in an effort to check and destroy this new spirit of liberty which was challenging the "Divine Right of Kings to Rule" sent Governor Tryon and Benedict Arnold with an army into Connecticut that destroyed Greenwich, Fairfield, Danbury, Ridgefield, Norwalk, New Haven, East Haven, New London and Groton by fire:

September 13, 1786, Connecticut ceded to the United States for the benefit of herself and the twelve other states, all of the King Charles grant lying west of a line parallel to, and one hundred and twenty miles west, from the west line of Pennsylvania. (West boundaries of Huron and Erie counties.) The one hundred and twenty mile strip was reserved from that concession of Connecticut and has ever since been known as "The Western Reserve."

In 1792, the state of Connecticut, to reimburse those of her citizens who suffered loss by the Tryon-Arnold raid, dedicated five hundred thousand acres of land lying next to the west line of "The Western Reserve" (Huron and Erie counties, or Huron county as first organized). This grant to the fire sufferers is known as "The Firelands." Disputes arose between the grantors and the United States relating to the ownership of the land. May 30, 1800, the United States ceded the land titles to the fire sufferers and the representatives of the "Reserve" transferred the political jurisdiction to the general government. The Indian title was extinguished by treaty July 4, 1805, on payment of eighteen thousand nine hundred and sixteen dollars and sixty-seven cents.

Thomas Comstock, of New Canaan, Connecticut, after the British raid, extended shelter and such assistance as he could to many of the Norwalk suffer- ers. To repay his kindness, Simeon Raymond and Gould Hoyt released to him their claims in the Firelands, aggregating six hundred and twenty-three pounds, fifteen shillings and three and one-half pence, which under the plan of distribution made Mr. Comstock the owner of lots numbers twenty-four to thirty-eight containing one thousand three hundred and sixty-one acres in the second section, and lots numbers fifty to fifty-six containing six hundred and eighty-four and one-quarter acres in the third section of Norwalk. In 1806, Nathan S. Comstock, son of Thomas, came on to look at and locate his father's lands but failed to find them. Early in the spring of 1809, bringing with him from Connecticut, Darius Ferris and Elijah Hoyt, he was more successful and found the land.

Milan was then Pequattiag, a Moravian Indian village. The Indians were very friendly and gave the pioneers the use of their mission house until they could build a home for themselves. This home was made of logs, with a "puncheon" door; its roof of "shakes;" its bedsteads were bunks made of poles driven into ciefts between the logs; its mattresses of sacks stuffed with leaves and moss; its floor of mother earth; its cooking range a brass kettle hung on a pole supported on two crotched stakes; its window lights of greased paper. It was no palace, but rough and strong and made for service, like the strongwilled, iron-handed men who built it; it was a home, the first home of Norwalk. It stood a few rods northeast from the "Old State Road" brick schoolhouse, and near the remains of one of "Johnny Appleseed's" old apple trees and was the birthplace of Thomas Comstock, the first white child born in Norwalk, in August, 1812.

In returning to his old home after his family, in the fall of 1809, Nathan S. Comstock encountered such exposure as to impair his health and he never returned, but sold his possessions to Abijah, his brother, who made them his home in 1810. Abijah became the first county treasurer of Huron county. After he had collected the taxes, friends successfully importuned loans of money promising repayment in time for his settlement with the county commissioners. As is usual in such cases, they failed to make good. When confronted with his defalcation, he lost no time in returning to his old home, mortgaged all his Norwalk property back to his brother, Nathan 5.; came back to Norwalk and faithfully fulfilled his trust, dollar for dollar. He never recovered his losses, but lived an honest and honored life. He was the brother of Mrs. Eben Boalt, who was the mother of Augusta Boalt, of Cleveland, and the late Giles and Stephen Boalt, of Norwalk. Nathan S. was the father of the late Philo Comstock, of Milan, whose descendants still hold "the old farm." This review is but a brief outline of events which have been our lives for the hundred years now closing. It stops on the threshold of this just maturing first century.

On Firelands Day, there will be much in reminiscent review of this passing ten-of-tens. Come and help in the review of our century and bring some one or more contributions to the rare historic collection of the Firelands historical museum, that you may there be represented and remembered in the coming

In October, 1826, an association of individuals was organized, under the name of "The President, Trustees, etc., of the Norwalk Academy." A threestory brick building was erected on the site of our present high school In October, 1829, the academy was consolidated with the district schools with John Kennan as principal.

In the museum and the Firelands historical society may be seen a catalogue of the officers and students of Norwalk academy under date of March 17, 1829. "Trustees: Platt Benedict, president; Timothy Baker, Deverett Bradley, William Gallup, Henry Buckingham, Thaddeus B. Sturgess, Obadiah Jenney. John Kennan, principal. Nathan G. Sherman, Levina Lindsey, assistants.

On the eleventh of November, 1833, the Norwalk seminary was opened in the academy building under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal church, with Rev. Jonathan E. Chaplin as principal. The seminary burned February 26, 1836; was rebuilt in 1838, and closed in January, 1846, and the whole property sold under execution in favor of the builders. Reopened as Norwalk institute in August, 1846, under the auspices of the Baptists of Norwalk.

Rev. Jeremiah Hall was the first principal of the "Institute," and was succeeded by A. S. Hutchins, who continued as principal until 1855, when the institute ceased to exist by reason of the Akron school law providing for graded public schools.

In March, 1855, the school board purchased the brick building occupied by the Norwalk institute, to be used as a central and high school building for the district. The purchase price was three thousand five hundred dollars which embraced the entire square occupied by the present beautiful high school building, a small library and some apparatus. In 1884 the central school building was erected at a cost of about sixty thousand dollars. The first graduate of the high school was Sarah E. Wilkinson in 1861. The largest class graduated is the class of 1905 numbering eighteen young men and sixteen young women. In all, two hundred and thirty-one young men and three hundred and ninetyfive young women have been graduated from the Norwalk high school.

Huron county has always had patriots ready and willing to answer any and all calls the government made upon it for troops. Hundreds of her sons perished in the war for the Union. Hundreds also responded to the call for troops in our war with Spain.

The author of this work, a soldier himself, would gladly give the name and service of every Huron county man who served under the "old flag" in war in which our country has been engaged, but the space allotted for this work is too limited for such notices.

The soldiers of the army of the United States have ever been actuated by the impulses and convictions of patriotism and of eternal right, and combined in the strong bands of fellowship and unity by the toils, the dangers, and the victories of war.

In this connection, we copy the following address delivered by the Rev. E. J. Craft, before the Mansfield historical society, June 12, 1902, the subject of the address being "Our Unknown Heroes." Craft is a minister of the Protestant Episcopal church, and at the time of delivering this address was rector of St. Timothy's, Massillon.

"Standing in our national cemetery at Gettysburg, one can see around him the marble shafts and granite blocks which mark the resting place of the nation's illustrious dead. Here and there among them are grim cannon, keeping their sombre guard over the silent city. Down the slope which stretches away south and eastward, in the early morning I saw thousands, it seemed, of little marble slabs which the sun's rays kissed into glistening beauty. They bore the simple inscription 'unknown.' I knew that after the fearful battle hundreds, yes thousands, of dead men were carried hither and buried in these long trenches - unrecognized ; no loving hand to fashion for them a last resting place; no one to preserve their memory and hand down to future generations their honored names. What part each took in the great struggle, what deeds of daring and high courage they performed, none but God can know ; but here no less than there under the fluted marble on which loving hands have caused to be engraved a fitting eulogy, sleep heroes of our nation, who toiled, suffered and died that their children might inherit the promise. Lost though their individuality may be, their personal efforts unknown, intermingled with the deeds of thousands, as their bones which lie crumbling there, yet no less to them we owe a nation's debt of gratitude.

"How typical this is of the great movements of society which have brought the blessing or upliftment to the race of man. and there, in these great epochs of history some figures stand out clear and distinct among the multitudes, and around which all interest seems to be concentrated; but back, far back, in the past are souls who inflamed with holy zeal and love for eternal right, have set in motion a current of events which gathering force has burst forth from obscurity, and sweeping onward irresistibly has carried humanity on its tide farther up the height of progress.

the pages of the ordinary historian their names are unwritten. Indeed such research from effect to primal cause is for him an impossibility. He can only gaze upon the superstructure as it emerges from obscurity and forget those who toiled with bleeding hands upon the foundation far below. Yet no one can fully appreciate a great movement of society until by tracing back through the centuries he is able to be in affinity with the thought, conditions, feeling, spirit and the endeavors which gave it birth, and can count the cost by which the gift has been transmitted to him from the past. That is the glorious work which is being performed by the Richmond county historical society. In bringing to life by patient research the early history of Richland county, telling to the generations of the present the splendid story of the past, tracing out the conditions which met the pioneers, their heroic struggle and their achievements, which have resulted in the founding and developing of one of the most splendid sections of country upon the face of the globe - bringing before the present generation that history of courage and fortitude, whose remembrance cannot but stimulate and intensify the spirit of true manhood - the

"Tt is a worthy task for worthy men, for spirit touches spirit into existence. A nation's strength is in its history. Generations are what generations have been. It is the knowledge and veneration for the past which wings loyalty to jump from one generation to another, as the sun leaps from mountain peak to mountain peak around the world. For there is that in this history of our unknown heroes, and in the development upon the foundations they have laid, which cannot but call forth admiration, which is the parent of emulation, and he who presents to mankind an ideal which takes hold upon their thoughts and imagination has given to the world as great a gift as the Olympian Jove of Phidias or the Madonna of Raphael. And what.a subject is here. Adventures which in interest and exhibition of courage and. resource equal the fabled Ulysses, deeds which outrank a Hector's prowess, devotion and sacrifice beyond that of a Prometheus, heroism transcending a Thermopylae; for even I, unskilled in this county's early history, can imagine something of that which took place in the foundation building, in the long journey from distant states, the parting of friends, the long look into the perils of the way, the paths they blazed through the trackless forest, the danger from wild beasts, the weariness, the ambush of Indians, the battle from the wagons, the shrieks of tortured captives, the blazing cabins, the mutilated bodies in the embers, the anguish of bereavement, sickness, the wayside grave, the humble prayer, the battle with the forests, the clearing of the land, the plowing of the foreign soil, the failure of crops and the wasting of the famine. Every foot of soil was won by tears . and blood. For us they suffered that we might inherit the promise. Here was enacted scenes at which a world might well have wondered, and which took as much true courage as when the Light Brigade charged at Balaklava.

"You, of this historical society, are erecting a monument to the memory of the early settlers of the county which will far outlast the marble slabs and the granite shafts. For as we are gathered here to listen to the records of the past, in the inner sanctuary of every soul, where we have placed the hallowed images of our ideals, there with warrior, statesman, poet, philosopher and heroes, we will place one of majestic outline and of lofty inspiration, which we will consecrate to the unknown heroes - the pioneers of the early days."

The Firelands

Something over two hundred and fifty years ago, John Winthrop of England was elected governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay. He was held in high esteem by Charles I, King of England, who gave him a magnificent diamond ring. Eleven years later, after the death of both these men, Charles II ascended the throne and John Winthrop the second was governor of the colony of Connecticut. 'The colonists desired larger possessions and more liberty, and in 1662 they delegated their governor to go to England and endeavor to obtain from the king a new charter. When Governor Winthrop reached

England he obtained an interview with the king, and by way of introduction showed him the ring which the elder Charles had given to the elder Winthrop. The king was so much affected by the sight of it that he was moved to tears. At this opportune moment Winthrop presented before the king the prepared charter which he had brought with him. This document provided for the right of self government and extended the territory of the colony westward to the "South Sea" as the Pacific ocean was called. When the king asked how far it was to the "South Sea," Winthrop said he thought it could be seen from the western hills of the colony. The requests seemed to the king to be very modest, so he signed the charter. That charter gave to Connecticut the territory from which the Western Reserve was created, and much more came of that diamond ring than the king or John Winthrop dared even dream of. Connecticut enjoyed the possession of her unbroken wilderness, with its vague western boundary for more than a hundred years.

Owing to the ignorance of the English people and of the colonists themselves, of the true extent of the western portion of our land, charters were given to other colonies which included the same western territory. Fierce disputes grew out of this as the lands were settled more. "Virginia, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut all claimed wide strips from sea to sea. After the war of the revolution the United States government claimed these disputed tracts and some bloodshed followed. To settle the matter Connecticut, in 1786, ceded to the United States all claim to her western lands but reserved a portion extending one hundred and twenty miles west from the west line of Pennsylvania, and, of course, the same width as the state of Connecticut, with the 41st parallel of latitude for its southern boundary. This tract of land was called New Connecticut, or the Western Reserve. The conflicting claims of the other states were not finally adjusted until 1800. The United States claimed jurisdiction over the Western Reserve, although recognizing the right of Connecticut to the ownership of the lands.

This tract of land became a portion of the Northwest. Territory and was included in the state of Ohio when that state was organized. During the war of the revolution the British sent different expeditions which burned the towns along the coast of Connecticut. Among these were the towns of New London, Norwalk and Danbury.

To compensate the sufferers, the state of Connecticut, in 1792, set apart a portion of the Western Reserve, containing a half million acres of land, and granted it to them. This was called the "Sufferers" land, or "Firelands," and was set off from the western extremity of the Reserve, and comprises the present counties of Huron and Erie, as well as the townships of Danbury, in Ottawa county and Ruggles, in Ashland county.

The state of Connecticut incorporated the grantees of the Firelands, some nineteen hundred in number, into a company which had full power to transact all business necessary to be done in surveying and dividing the lands. Nothing appears to have been done until after the state of Ohio was organized in 1802. In 1803 a new charter was granted to the owners of the Firelands by the state of Ohio. A board of directors was then chosen, and was authorized to extinguish the Indian titles, to survey the lands into townships and to divide them among the owners according to the amount of their individual losses, and to levy a tax to defray the necessary expenses. On July 4th, 1805, Isaac Mills, as agent of the company, and one Janett, representing the United States, met the chiefs of the Indian tribes at Fort Industry, where Toledo now stands, and made a treaty with them by which all Indian title was relinquished for a sum of money amounting to about nineteen thousand dollars. Thus the first owners of the soil were the last to relinquish their claims, and it is gratifying to note that the claims of the red men were recognized and respected by the Connecticut people. The title to the Firelands is derived from a monarch of England, from the state of Connecticut, from the United States and from the Indians.

In 18co the territorial government of Ohio established Trumbull county, comprising the whole of the Western Reserve. In 1805 it was divided and the counties of Geauga and Portage set off. Huron county was organized February 7, 1807, but was left attached to Geauga and Portage counties for judicial purposes. It comprised more than the Firelands at first, but a little later was reduced to the limits of the Firelands. In 1838 the northern part was cut off and organized as Erie county. In 1846 Ruggles township was detached to go towards forming Ashland county.

The first county seat of Huron county was located on the farm of David Abbott, north of the present village of Milan. This was in 1811, but in 1818 the location was changed to the new village of Norwalk.

On December 16, 1805 the Firelands Company, by their agent, Taylor Sherman, (grandfather of Hon. John Sherman) contracted with John McLean and James Clark, of Danbury, Conn., to survey the Firelands "by Almon Ruggles or some competent person," the outlines of the half million acres to be fixed and the whole to be run off into townships five miles square, the work to be done within a year, unless prevented by the Indians, and provided the Congress of the United States ratified the treaty made at Fort Industry. The United States did not run the south line of the Western Reserve as soon as expected, so the time for completing the survey was extended to June Ist, 1807. The establishment of the south line being still delayed, the directors of the Firelands Company empowered Isaac Mills and Isaac Bronson to ascertain the true south boundary of the Reserve, and the southwest corner of the Firelands, as well as the dividing line between the Firelands and the rest of the Reserve, (which had been sold to the Connecticut Land Co.). Seth Pease was employed to do the work. In the spring of 1806 a company of twelve men started from Danbury to commence the survey which Ruggles had been hired to make. Simeon Hoyt, who afterwards settled in Clarksfield, was one of the party and was employed as flagman to go ahead of the compass. They had eight horses and three wagons. At Pittsburg Almon Ruggles joined them. They spent some time at Cleveland (which had but three families) while preparing tents, pack saddles and a canoe. The latter was made from the trunk of a tree which measured eight feet in diameter. Ruggles took part of the men and the canoe and started out to get the outline of the lake shore, while James Clark took the rest of the party, of which Hoyt was one, to run the west line. One of their horses was stolen by the Indians and another was drowned in Rocky river. When the west line which was to be parallel with the west line of Pennsylvania, was run, the men went to Huron, where they found the other party. John Flemmond had established a trading post at that place in 1805, and there were plenty of Indians and squaws as well as Canadian Frenchmen. After surveying the islands in the lake, which Hoyt says was a difficult job on account of the great number of rattlesnakes and the tree tops, they went to Cleveland to wait while the surveyors could make their calculations and know just where to run the east line of the Firelands so as to cut off the half million acres. The most of the men went back to Connecticut but Hoyt and one other remained with Ruggles and Clark and were chainmen for them during their surveys of the winter. They suffered much from the severe cold while working at running the east linc and the township lines during this winter. In the spring they started for Connecticut with only twelve dollars to pay their way. They reached New York in twenty-one days with fifty cents of their money. From there they went to Danbury, after an absence of thirteen months. After a time it was found that the point from which the south line of the Reserve was measured was two miles too far west, thus making the west line of the Firelands too far west and the whole work would have to be done again.

Maxfield Ludlow, a deputy surveyor of the United States, then ran the south and west lines of the Reserve, setting a post at each mile and noting in his minutes the character of the country passed over. Ruggles then ran the east line of the Firelands again, commencing June 8th, 1808, Mr. Hoyt again assisting him. The east and west lines of the Firelands were supposed to be parallel with the west line of Pennsylvania. After the east line was run off the boundaries of the townships were marked off and Ruggles returned to Danbury, but Hoyt and Jabez Wright built a log hut on the bank of Huron river and remained during the winter. When Ruggles returned in the spring of 1809 they proceeded to survey into lots the townships of Vermillion, Florence, Wakeman and Clarksfield, and surveyed into sections the townships of New Haven, Norwalk and Berlin. Mr. Ruggles received the sum of three dollars per mile for this survey and it is interesting to note that subsequent calculations showed that the Firelands, as set off by Ruggles contained five hundred thousand and twentyseven acres. Mr. Ruggles soon afterwards settled on the lake shore in Vermillion township, on the farm which includes the well known summer resort of "Ruggles Beach," and where his son, Richard Ruggles, still lives. Jabez Wright settled at Huron and Simeon Hoyt in Clarksfield.

These surveying parties encountered many dangers and suffered many hardships. They lived principally on flour and salt pork, although a woman at Huron baked bread for them during the last survey. The party was so large as to frighten the game away and they could not take time to hunt it We should honor these pioneer surveyors for their labors in providing a way for the future settlement of the country.

After the lands were surveyed it was necessary to divide them among the various proprietors. In 1808 a committee was appointed to devise some plan, and the following one was adopted. There were thirty townships, each with four sections, making one hundred and twenty sections. The total amount of losses sustained by the original grantees was divided by one hundred and twenty and the quotient, one thousand, three hundred and twenty-four pounds (the

English division of money being still in use) represented the value of each section. One hundred and twenty tickets were prepared, with the names of claimants whose claims amounted to the total value of one section, written upon each. equal number of other tickets were prepared with the name of a township and number of a section written upon each. The tickets were put into two boxes and one of each kind drawn by a disinterested person, and the section thus drawn was the property of the persons whose names were found upon the other ticket. We do not learn how the different proprietors managed to divide the sections. The most of the claims had probably been sold to speculators or land companies who obtained possession of large tracts and the actual settlers often selected the land they desired after they had arrived here. This drawing was made on the 9th day of November, 1808. Very few, if any, of the owners of these lands ever lived upon them. Among the names of the proprietors or original fire sufferers we find many names which sound familiar to Clarksfield people, such as Barnes, Cunningham, Huested, Knapp, Barnum, Starr, Mead, Gregory, Finch, Wildman, Hoyt, Wood, etc.

Forty-six different persons by the name of Mead were "sufferers" at the town of Greenwich, Conn. On account of the method of making the division of the lands, many of the purchasers of small tracts could not tell where their land lay until they reached the borders of the Firelands and they could learn where their township lay, and when the township was reached they had to find the lot by means of the trees which the surveyor had marked. The location might be good or it might be poor and there was something of a lottery about it. Some of the pioneers who came from the rocky hillsides of New England or New York (like the grandfather of the writer) were not able to judge of the best soil and passed by the sandy land of Berlin township and chose a tract of dense timber with its heavy clay soil, further from the lake shore. By reason of the Firelands being owned by so many different persons, all anxious to sell, the new settlements did not proceed steadily westward from an older settlement, but were isolated from each other. The date of settlement of the different townships shows this:

Prior to and during the War of 1812 emigration to Ohio was slight. After the war and especially during the years of 1817-18, when there was a revival of trade and those owning property in New England could sell it if they wished to, there was a great tide of emigration. One other cause operated powerfully to hasten emigration at this time, viz., the cold summer of 1816. In New England there were severe frosts every month in the year, and crops were nearly destroyed. Mr. Zabez Hanford, of Wakeman, (father of Mrs. Marquis D. Randall, of Clarksfield) who lived in Connecticut at this time, made the following entry in his family Bible: "The year of our Lord 1816 being a remarkable year is worthy of record. The spring was very cold and backward with considerable thunder. From the 6th to the roth day of June, very cold with severe frost. The ground froze to some thickness; the wind generally from the north and dry. Snow fell in Canada on the roth of this month twelve inches deep. Corn all cut to the ground. The first of August the summer continues to be dry cold. The corn is now very small with but little hope of a crop. Frosts July 24th, August 27th and 29th, so that clothes spread out were frozen stiff."

Communication by railroad, canals and steamboats did not exist as now and it was difficult to get food from other sections of the country. The following winter was severe and the spring backward. There was much distress and many people nearly perished from starvation. At this time highly colored stories of the rich soil and mild climate of Ohio were circulated. A sort of stampede took place from the cold and desolate hills of New England to the land which promised so much. writer says that he well remembered the tide of emigration through and from Connecticut on its way west during the summer of 1817. Some persons went in covered wagons - frequently a family consisting of father, mother and eight or nine small children, with perhaps one a babe at the breast - some on foot and some crowded together under the cover with kettles, gridirons, feather beds, crockery and the family Bible, Watts' Psalms and Hymn Book and Webster's spelling book. Others started in ox carts and trudged on foot at the rate of ten miles a day. Many of these persons were in a state of poverty and begged their way as they went. Some of them died before they reached their destination.

The roads over the Alleghenies between Philadelphia and Pittsburg were then rude, steep and dangerous and some of the more precipitous slopes were consequently strewn with the carcasses of wagons, carts and oxen which had been 'shipwrecked' in their perilous descents. The scenes on the road - of families gathered at night in miserable sheds called taverns, mothers frying, children crying, fathers swearing - were a mingled comedy of errors. Even when they arrived at their new homes * * * frequently the whole family - father, mother, children - speedily exchanged the fresh eomplexion and elastic step of their first abodes for the sunken cheek and languid movement which marks the victim of intermittent fever.

Henrv Howe, the Ohio historian, in "The Family Magazine" of 1837 says: "The frontispiece of the present number represents a halt for the night of an emigrant with his family ; one, perhaps, who has left his native soil and the inheritance of his fathers, and seeks in the far west for that independence in his worldly circumstances which he has tried in vain to gain from the stony and barren patrimonial homestead ; or perhaps one who has looked on his rapidly increasing family, and, ambitious of doing something for his children while he is in the prime ot liie, or anxicus to see them settled comfortably around him, that his old age may be cheered by their presence, has resolved to go to the far west, the land which is represented as flowing with milk and honey, the land which repays with an hundred fold the labour expended upon it, and the riches of whose bosom far exceed those in the mines of Peru. Resolved to emigrate, the emigrant collects together his little property, and provides himself with a wagon and two or three horses, as his means permit ; a rifle, a shot gun and an axe slung over his shoulder form part of his equipments, and his trusty dog becomes the companion of his journey. In the wagon are placed his bedding, his provisions, and such cooking utensils as are indispensably necessary. Everything being ready, the wife and children take their seats, the father of the family mounts the box, and now they are on the mcve. As they pass through the village which has been to them the scene of many happy hours, they take a last look at the spots which are hallowed association ; the church with its lowly spire, an emblem of that humility which befits a Christian, and the burial ground where the weeping willow bends mournfull over the headstone which marks the parents' grave; nor do the children forget their playground nor the white schoolhouse where the rudiments of education have been instilled into their minds.

The road is at first comparatively smooth and their journey pleasant; their way is chequered with divers little incidents, while the continual changes in the appearance of the country around them, and the anticipation of what is to come prevent those feelings of despondency which might otherwise arise on leaving a much-loved home. When the roads are bad or hilly the family quit the wagon and plod their way oa foot, and at night they may be seen assembled round the fire made by the roadside, partaking of their frugal supper. The horses are unharnessed, watered and secured with their heads to the trough, and the emigrants arrange themselves for the night, while their faithful dog keeps watch; or if the close of the day finds them near a tavern or farm house, a bargain is struck for the use of the fireplace and part of the kitchen, and the family passes the night on the floor. Amid all the privations and vicissitudes in their journey they are cheered by the consciousness that each day lessens the distance between them and the land of promise, and that the fertile soil of the west will recompense them for all their trials. The roads become more and more rough, the swamps and little forest streams are rendered passable by logs placed side by side, and the bridges thus formed are termed "corduroy" from their ridgy and striped appearance. The axe and the rifle of the emigrant or "mover" as he is termed in the west, are now brought daily, almost hourly into use. With the former he cuts down saplings or young trees to throw across the roads which, in many places, are almost impassable; with the latter he kills squirrels, wild turkeys or such game as the forest affords him, for by this time his provisions are exhausted. If perchance a buck crosses his path and is brought down by a lucky shot, it is carefully dressed and hung up in the forks of the trees, fires are built and the meat cut into small strips and smoked and dried for future subsistence. The road through the woods now becomes intricate, the trees being merely felled and drawn aside so as to permit a wheeled carriage to pass, and the emigrant is often obliged to be guided in his route only by the "blaze" of the surveyor on the trees, and at every few rods to cut away the branches which obstruct his passage. The stroke of his axe reverberates through the woods but no answering sound meets the woodman's ear to assure him of the presence of friend or foe. At nizht in these solitudes he hears and sees the wolves stealing through the gloom and snuffing the scent of the intruders, and now and then the bloodshot eye of the catamount glares through the foliage. At length the emigrant arrives at the landmarks which indicate to him the proximity of his own possessions. A location for the cabin is now selected, near a small stream of running water, and if possible, on the south side of a slight elevation. No time is lost. The trees are immediately felled, and shortly you can perceive a cleared space of ground of perhaps a few rods in circumference. Stakes, forked at the top, are driven into the ground, on which are placed logs, and the chinks between these are stopped with clay. inclosure is thus thrown up hastily, to protect the inmates from the weather.

The trunks of the trees are rolled to the edge of the clearing and surmounted by stakes driven crosswise into the ground; the tops of the trees are piled on the trunks, thus forming a brush fence. By degrees the surrounding trees are killed by girdling. Some that are fit to make into rails are cut down and split, while others are either left to rot or are logged up and burned. The next season a visable improvement has taken place. Several acres have been added to the clearing. The emigrant's residence begins to assume the appearance of a farm. The brush fence is replaced by a worm fence. The temporary shanty is transformed into a comfortable log cabin, and although the chimney is built of only small sticks piled together and filled in with clay, and occupies an end of the cabin, it shows that the inward man is duly attended to, and the savory fumes of venison and other good things prove that the comforts of this life are not forgotten, and that due respect is paid to that important organ in the human economy - the stomach. In a few years or even months, the retired cabin, once so solitary, becomes the nucleus of a little settlement ; new portions of ground are cleared, cabins are erected, and in a short time the settlement can turn out a dozen efficient hands for a raising bee, logging bee, etc. A saw mill is soon in operation on one of the neighboring streams, the log huts receive a poplar weather-boarding, and as the little settlement increases, a church and school house appear; a mail is established, and before many years elapse, a fine road is made to the nearest town; a stage coach, which runs once or twice a week, connects the place to the populous country to the east of it. A generation passes over. The log buildings have all disappeared. In their places stand handsome edifices of brick or wood, painted of a pure white, and the settlement has all the conveniences and refinements of its parent settlements on the Atlantic frontier. The emigrant himself is now an aged man. His locks are silvered by time. His toils are over. Some fine summer's evening he may be seen seated in the porch of his dwelling, his frank, open countenance beaming with delight as he relates the tale of his early adventures to his little grandchildren, who, clustering about his knees, drink in every word with intense interest.

The first roads through the forest were mere trails and could only be followed by a line of blazed trees, made by chopping off the bark from a spot on one side of the tree, and not burning it by fire as some men supposed. The next step was fo chop the brush and small trees from the line of the road, leaving the large trees to be girdled. In miry place logs of wood, from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter and twelve or more feet in length, were laid side by side, crosswise of the road. Although the logs were of a uniform size when laid, some would sink into the mud more than others ; one end of a log might be supported by a stump or large root and held up while the other end would sink in the mud and thus the road became very uneven in time. The roots of the large trees, around which the driver must pick his way, added to the unevenness of the road and a wagon would rock as much as a ship in a storm and the horses be almost thrown from their feet. Some of these logs are to be found in the roads to this day, though placed there fifty, sixty or seventy years ago.

When the settler had selected the location for his house, near a spring, if possible, and this fact accounts for the crookedness of some of the earlier roads which wound along the banks of streams, near which the springs were found, he first cleared away the brush and trces from a space large enough so that none of the standing trees, when they were afterward felled, would endanger the safety of the house or occupants. Word would be sent to his neighbors, (everybody within a dozen miles might be considered neighbors) to come to the "raising." An experienced man was selected for the "boss" and an expert axman for each corner to cut the notches in the logs so as to make them fit together. As soon as logs enough to make a commencement had been cut and hauled, the work of buildinz the house began. The logs were laid butt and top alternately, to keep the walls level. When the walls were breast high, skids and handspikes were used. The laborers were divided into two parties and there was a strife to see which side would get their walls up first. Accidents sometimes happened from the slipping of the log, and the ever present black jug did not always help matters. Sometimes the floor of the house was "Mother Earth," but it was generally made of puncheons, which were planks or slabs two or three inches thick hewed on one side with a broadaxe and laid on sleepers. It was far from being tight or smooth. When the walls were as high as the eaves, a log was placed on each end wall, but long enough to project a foot or so beyond each side wall. These were called the "eaye bearers" and supported the "butting poles." The logs forming the gable ends, called "trappings," were of basswood or some other soft timber, which was easily chopped off to make the slant of the roof. Poles called "ribs" were laid lengthwise to support the roof. If the settler was in a hurry the roof was made of bark, but it was usually made of "shakes," which were shingles three or four feet long split from a straight grained tree by a tool called a "frow." The first course of shakes was laid on the ribs against the butting pole. A "weight pole" was laid lengthwise of the roof near the upper end of the first course of shakes and kept from rolling down by short pieces of wood called "knees," resting against the butting pole. This weight pole made the butting pole for the next course, and thus the roof was carried to the peak. No nails were used and the roof would shed water first rate and last many years.

When the logs were cut out to form a doorway a piece of plank or puncheon was set up at each side and pinned to the ends of the logs by wooden pins to form a door casing. The door was made of puncheon, or plank if a sawmil! was in reach, fastened together with a cross piece at top and bottom, pinned on with wooden pins. The wooden latch was on the inside of the door and was raised from the outside by means of a leather string which was passed through a gimlet hole in the door. The door could be locked on the inside by pulling the string inside, and from this circumstance came the accepted symbol of hospitality, "he latch string hangs out." The windows were made by sawing out a section of one of the logs and fastening some upright sticks in the opening. To these sheets of paper were pasted and well greased with lard or bear grease. They let in a kind of subdued light, but were not much needed for the door and huge chimney let in plenty of light in the summer and in the winter the light cf the fire was sufficient.

The great chimney was generally built against one end of the house. The lower part was made of small logs or of stones and the upper end of thin pieces of wood laid up in clay, and the whole chimney was well plastered on the inside with clay. Some chimneys would be built only part of the way up, and left for a more convenient time for finishing, which never came. Sometimes the chimney was built up on the inside of the house with the lower part built of stones. Sometimes the settler would not take the trouble to cut out a section of the wall for the back of the fireplace, but would wait until the logs were burned through. It is related that in such a cabin a bear once suddenly made his appearance at the opening back of the fireplace attracted by the savory odor of a kettle of corn mush which was standing one side of the fire. The woman cf the house was alone, so without any ado, he thrust his head through the opening and proceeded to eat the mush and then went away. The fireplace generally had a hearth of stones, but sometimes a portion of the cabin next the fireplace was not floored over and the fire was built on the ground. such a case it was possible to do what boys are now sometimes told to do: "Sit on the floor and hang your feet off." Building a fire in these fireplaces required some degree of skill. As large a log as could be handled was first rolled to the back side of the fireplace, and was known as the "backlog." The "andirons" were placed at the front of the hearth and a smaller log, called the "'forestick," was laid upon them. The space between the logs was filled in with fine stuff and the fire kindled. The blacklog of green timber would last for several days, and was often hauled into the house by a horse. The andirons were used to allow a draft under the forestick. They were made of wrought or cast iron, and the more expensive ones were of brass and were ornamental when kept brightly polished. The furniture of the fireplace was not complete without the long handled shovel and tongs, as well as bellows. The shovel and tongs were sometimes ornamented with brass to correspond with the andirons. The fire would be covered with ashes at night, but if not properly done might go out in the night and then a boy might have to be sent to a neighbor's to "borrow fire."

An iron crane was fastened to one side of the fireplace in such a way that it could be swung out from over the fire. The kettles were hung on the crane by hooks of different lengths or on a "trammel," according to the condition of the fire. In some of the more primitive fireplaces there was no crane, but a stick of timber called the "bearing stick" was placed across the chimney ten feet or so above the hearth, and a chain was fastened to it so as to hang down over: the fire. The hook to support the kettle was hooked into a link of the chain at the proper height to suit the fire, and this arrangement answered the purpose very well, although not as convenient as a crane. Potatoes were roasted in the ashes, and no modern way of roasting excels it for quality of the "finished product." The next improvement was the kettle" or "Dutch oven" with its three legs and a cover with a raised rim. Live coals were drawn out on the hearth and the kettle was set upon them, while more coals were heaped - not on an enemy's head - but on the cover, and thus the contents of the kettle were cooked. After this came the "tin oven," or "reflector," which was set on the hearth in front of the fire and the heat was reflected from its polished back and it would "bake roast or broil." the frame and brick house superseded the log house, while the fireplace was in use, the brick oven built at the side of the fireplace was a great improvement.

The oven was heated by building a fire in it or shoveling in some coals. When heated, the coals and ashes were swept out and the heat retained by the oven was sufficient to do the baking. The men folks had to look out and provide a supply of "oven wood," generally of white ash split fine, and have it dry for baking day. A long handled flat shovel was used for taking the bread, etc., from the oven. Last of all came the modern stove.

The spaces between the logs of the house were filled with triangular strips of wood, or moss, and well plastered with mud. Every man was his own mason. With a cord or so of blazing hickory wood in the fire place, these houses were fairly comfortable, but the objection to that kind of heat was that it was too much on one side; the face would scorch while the back was freezing.

was a loft to the house, reached by a ladder on the outside of the house or in one corner of the room. It was an airy place for a person to sleep on a winter night, for the numerous cracks let in plenty of fresh air as well as snow. In some houses the roof extended down over the eaves far enough to form a porch or "stoop.". A passable bedstead could be made by inserting one end each, of a side and end pole into holes bored into the logs at the proper distance from one corner of the room, the other ends of the poles being supported by a forked stick for a leg. The other side and end would be fastened to these and strips of basswood bark wound around the poles to support the tick. Probably the most of the settlers of this town brought their beds with them and were not reduced to this primitive method. The first settlers of this town could not bring very many articles of furniture with them and depended upon the trees of the forest to furnish the material for ordinary furniture and dishes. The table furniture consisted largely of a few pewter plates, dishes and spoons, but mostly of wooden bowls, trenches and noggins. Gourds and hard shelled squashes made serviceable dippers or other dishes, and spoons could be made from horn. The table might be made of a wide slab hewed smooth on the top with a broad-ax, with four legs inserted in auger holes. For seats, benches and three-legged stools were used. One writer says that it was necessary to have three-legged stools, for more than that number of legs could not touch the floor at once.

Poles overhead supported circles of dried pumpkins, strings of dried apples, ropes of onions, etc., at a time when these were raised. The ax, broad-ax, frow and auger were about the only tools required for building a house, and no nails were needed. The houses often had but a single room, unless the settler was a man of means and could afford the luxury of a double house which was the same as two houses joined together, end to end, with a covered passage way between them. A more pretentious house was built of hewed logs, with sawed clapboards for the gable ends, and glass windows. Many houses had two large doors opposite each other so that the back logs could be hauled in by a horse.

The barns were necessarily made of logs, and the old log house was frequently turned into a barn when a new house was built. 'Those settlers who were not fortunate enough to get a location near a spring of water were obliged to dig wells. Instead of the handy pumps of these days the pioneer used a "well sweep," which consisted of an unright post with a fork at the top, placed at the side of the well. In this crotch was fastened a pole by means of a pin, with the small end up, and to the end of this a rope or smaller pole was fastened and the bucket suspended from it. The large end of the sweep was weighted so that it would balance a bucket of water.

The new settler found his land covered with a dense growth of huge trees and thick underbrush, unlike the rocky hills of New England or New York. He frequently had but little experience in chopping trees and found it slow work to chop the large trees, but there were expert choppers who could he hired to "slash" a piece of timber for four or five dollars an acre, and one man could chop an acre a week. For ten dollars an acre they would chop the trees and pile the.brush, ready for burning. They planned their work with much skill and felled the trees so as to bring the bodies of several together, then piled the brush on top of them. After the brush was burned the trunks could be hauled around a little so as to bring them parallel and form a log heap with little labor. Others who were not so particular with their work would commence at one side of the place which was to be cleared and cut the trees partly off, in such a manner that they would fall toward the center of the strip cut over. When the other end of the strip was reached a tree was cut off, and in falling it broke another and that another, and so on until all the trees on the strip chopped over would be down in a huge winrow. The chopping was generally done in the winter and after harvest was the time for "burning the fallow." Fire was applied to the brush and the dry leaves and branches made a roaring bonfire in a few minutes. Such fires could be seen in all directions and the air was full of smoke. After the fire had burned out, the operation of "logging" began. The trunks of the trees were chopped into lengths convenient to handle. Sometimes the large logs were cut by "niggering off." A small log was laid across the large one at the point where it was to be cut in two, and set on fire at the point of intersection. As the small log was consumed it was shoved along so as to keep a fire at the one point, and in time the largest trunks were divided. Oxen hauled the logs and they were rolled together and piled high by the strong arms of the pioneers. The crevices were filled with smaller chunks, until the heap was as compact as

It was necessary, at this time, to use handspikes and poles and roll the unconsumed portions of large logs together so as to keep the fire going. After a while there would be nothing but "brands" or small pieces left. Then began the operation of "branding," which was rolling these brands together, or if the fire had gone out, hauling them to another heap. Sometimes the settler called his neighbors together to his "logging bee." man was chosen for a boss and he planned the heaps and divided the men into gangs who had certain work to perform. One set of men would take care of the logs as they were brought to the heaps and rolled them together, or used skids and levers when the heap was higher than one tier of logs. The oxen were broken to know what was wanted and as soon as they were hitched to a log would start for the heap without waiting for the word of command. The driver had to look out for himself for they would hardly wait for the chain to be hooked or unhooked before they were off. The logs were blackened by the previous fire and the men soon became as black as negroes, and if a man was not black enough to suit the fancy of the rest of the company he would be held while the charcoal was applied to his face in liberal quantities. The work of logging was laborious and the men needed no tonic to increase their appetites. The "boiled dinner" of potatoes and pork was heartily enjoyed. In some cases where the land was not immediately needed for tilling, the trees were girdled and left to die. Such tracks afforded better pasture than the woods. The fire left the ground bare except for the stumps and heaps of ashes where the log heaps were burned. The ashes were carefully gathered and sold to go to the asheries where potash was made from them, or the settler made lye from them and boiled it down to "black salts" and sold it in that form. The sale of ashes or black salts was often about the only source of revenue for the pioneer, and the great "ash wagons" were as common as the "egg wagons" are at this day. Some of the ash wagons used to carry a few articles of dry goods or other goods for barter. After a piece of timber had been chopped over a dense growth of "fireweeds" sprang up and grew to the height of six or eight feet. The seeds of these weeds were covered with fibres like fine cotton and would blow like thistle down. "There was an irritating substance about the seeds which caused sore eyes in those who worked in the "slashings."

In the fall a crop of wheat was sown. The seed was covered by a clumsy "A" drag made of three poles and nine heavy teeth. This implement was drawn by a yoke of oxen or a team of horses and went bounding over the stumps and roots, endangering the limbs of the driver if he did not keep his distance. Much of the wheat would be left uncovered and great flocks of wild pigeons and wild turkeys would feast on it. Notwithstanding these drawbacks large crops were the rule.

Gen. Franklin Sawyer says: "Such scenes were the order of the day. Everywhere the woods resounded with the stroke of the axe. The old pioneer 'let in the daylight,' built his cabin, garnished its walls with dried pumpkin and venison, danced on his puncheon floor in his moccasins or with bare feet, got jolly over an ox sleigh ride, went to church at the toot of a dinner horn and knew and loved his heighbors from one end of the county to the other." In clearing off a piece of land enough oak or black walnut trees would be saved to make rails for fencing it. Cattle and hogs could be kept out, but raccoon, woodchucks, squirrels, deer and turkeys could not be kept out and they took heavy tribute from the growing crop.

The wheat was cut with a sickle or cradle, raked by hand, threshed with a flail and winnowed by hand. A winnow was made like a basket, only shallow, perhaps three feet in diameter, with a handle at each side. The mingled chaff and grain was put into this and was tossed into the air, the chaff being blown away and the grain caught again. By repeating this several times the grain was left quite clean. A windy day was necessary for the best success at the work. After the country was cleared more and larger quantities of wheat were raised, the flail was too slow for threshing and machines were invented to do the work. The first ones used in the Firelands were made at Monroeville in 1834. Fanning mills came into use before this time. Wheat raising grew to be a great industry in this part of the state and Milan was the principal market. The grain was hauled for fifty, sixty or even more miles, and no town near had a larger trade or brighter prospects than Milan until the advent of railroads changed the scene.

Frequently the first crop of corn would be planted by striking an axe into the ground and dropping the seed into the opening and covering it with the foot. The ground was so full of roots that no effort was made to till the crop beyond chopping out the fireweeds and other weeds and sprouts from the tree roots. The native fertility of this virgin soil was such that a good crop was assured, even by this rude method of cultivation. Pumpkins, squashes and melons grew luxuriantly in the new soil and were a very welcome addition to the bill of fare of the pioneer and his growing children.

The pioneer had to contend with many difficulties in the way of wild animals. Bears and wolves were eager to taste of his sheep, hogs and calves. The sheep had to be penned up every night to keep them out of reach of wolves which were their special enemies. The wolves were shy and hard to shoot, but could often be caught in "wolf pens." These were built of rails or poles laid up so as to slope inward at the top and so high that a wolf could not jump over, but could easily clamber up from the outside, but could not escape when inside. A sheep or two was put inside the pen for bait. After a wolf was inside he would not touch a sheep unless he knew he could get out again, and the sheep was left unharmed except for the fright. The great grey wolves were arrant cowards in the daylight and when alone, but were dangerous to meet when roaming the forest in packs of twenty or thirty. More than one belated traveler has been obliged to rely on his speed for safety or has been obliged to climb a covenient tree and remain until daylight drove them to their lair in some dense swamp, or help came otherwise. Many stories are told of races with wolves, and some of them have a ludicrous side. One man re- . lates a tale of being pursued by a pack of wolves and climbing a tree for safety and sitting on a limb all night, while kept awake by their howling. At break of day, when they had left him, he put down his feet preparatory for a descent of the tree and was thoroughly disgusted with himself when he discovered that in his fright he had not progressed upward when climbing and had remained all night perched on a projection of a root a couple of feet from the ground. The howling of a woli was a most unearthly sound. One man says that it was like the discord produced bv a brass band when each player makes the most discordant sounds possible. Multiply that by the number of animals in the pack and you have an idea of what it sounds like. There used to be a bounty of several dollars on each wolf scaip and many a pioneer has felt rich when he was lucky enough to kill a woif and get the bounty to pay his taxes. The last wolf in this county was killed about 1844 or '45. William Stiles says that the last wolf heard of in this vicinity crossed the Stiles mill dam at the present village of West Clarksfield and went into the "Buckley swamp" in the northeast part of Hartland township. His tracks were seen in the snow at different places between here and Medina county. A hunt was organized and the swamp surrounded by some five hundred men. The wolf was not within the inner line of men, but attempted to get back into the swamp when he heard the noise made by another line outside. He attempted to come through near where William and Samuel Stiles were posted. A well known hunter from Townsend by the name of Mingus saw him and brought him down at the first shot. He was a very large animal, but very thin. After the wolf was killed the most of the men went to Minor's tavern and had a celebration at which the crack marksmen tried their skill by shooting at a target, the prize being a gallon of whiskey. William Bissell carried Squire Wood's old flint lock rifle and secured one of the prizes.

Bears were not so plentiful, but would make a raid on the hog pen occasionally, even in daylight. Levi Barnum was once hunting cattle and treed a young bear. He shot at him and wounded him so that he fell to the ground, but was not disabled. A hot fight ensued in which the gun was broken, but the young bruin was finally killed. Mr. Barnum removed the entrails and shouldered the carcass and went home with the pieces of his gun in his hand. Some of the regular hunters caught bears in traps. One kind was a very large spring trap, like the common rat traps in shape, with a piece of log chain to hold it. Another kind of trap was a pen made of logs with a heavy door so arranged that when the bait was disturbed it would fall and the bear was shut in. Panthers, painters or catamounts, (different names for the same animal) were heard and seen occasionally. Deer were plenty and were a convenient source of food and raiment for the pioneers. Fresh venison was worth four cents a pound, salt venison eight cents and dried vension a shiling. Venison hams were worth twenty-five cents each. Deer skins were worth about two dollars and a half each.

Deer licks were places where some salty substance was in the soil and the deer would go there and lick it. These licks were favorite places for erecting "deer blinds" of bushes, from which the hunter could easily get a shot. Rattlesnakes were numerous, but we believe only one death has occurred in this township from the bite of The snakes had a den in the rocks on the bank of Vermillion river a short distance north of the Methodist church at the "Hollow," to which they retreated when cold weather came. In April, 1819, before the snakes had emerged from their winter quarters the settlers turned out with bars and picks and proceeded to unearth the reptiles. Stones were overturned and the snakes killed until they had a pile of more than sixty of the bodies. One opening could not be followed, so it was plugged. Years afterward a quarry was opened at that place and the skeletons of scores of snakes were found. This raid greatly reduced the number of the pests, but did not exterminate them entirely. Various entries in Captain Husted's account book show that the men who took part in this raid were supplied with that popular antidote for snake bite, "Spiritus Frumenti."

The tracks of otters were sometimes seen, but these animals were so wary that they were rarely seen or captured. Beavers, wildcats and porcupines were found, as well as the wild animals of the present day. Wild turkeys were very numerous and were shot and trapped. The traps were pens made of poles or rails, covered over the top. Trenches were dug under the bottom poles, so that turkeys could creep under. A lot of corn or wheat was scattered in the pen and trails of the bait laid in different directions through the woods. When the turkeys found the bait they would be led to the pen and would follow the line of bait into the pen, through the trenches. After the bait in the pen was eaten or something alarmed them they would raise their heads and try to get out of the trap, but did not know enough to look down and creep out the way they went in. Sometimes eight or ten would be taken at once. The wild turkey disappeared from this section about thirty years ago.

"Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber, Wolves and panthers guard thy bed; Bats and screech owls without number Flit and scream around thy head!"

Cows were allowed to run in the woods and found plenty to eat in the summer in the way of coarse marsh grass, young shoots of trees, leeks, etc. Sometimes the scanty supply of hay or cornstalks provided for winter use would be exhausted before spring and the cattle would be obliged to browse the twigs of trees and bushes, which would be cut for the purpose. To assist in finding the cows in the woods bells were hung on their necks. These were made by the local blacksmiths and gave forth tones which were far from musical, although far-reaching, and each one would have some peculiarity of tone which distinguished it to the ear of the boy or girl who was sent to bring the cows home for the night.

Hogs were frequently turned out in the woods in the fall to fatten upon the acorns and other kinds of "mast." They became quite wild and could be secured only by shooting. Many a quarrel and law suit between neighbors has been caused by two men laying claim to the same hog. Cattle, horses, hogs and sheep often strayed away and it was hard to track them through the dense woods. The township records contain many notices of strays being taken up and advertised. If no owner appeared the strays were sold and the finder received pay for his trouble and the balance went into the township treasury. For the purpose of identifying corded in the township record, so as to prevent two men claiming the same mark. The marks were made by cutting the ears of stock in various ingenious ways, such as "holes," "swallow forks," "crops," "half pennies," "slopes," "spades," "slits," "nitches," etc.

In the early times the settlers suffered much from the loss of cows and by the "bloody murrain." It was a grievous loss when one of the yoke of oxen lay down and died.

The earliest settlers on the Firelands were obliged to subsist almost entirely upon wild meat until a crop of vegetables could be grown. If the settler came early enough to get a little patch of ground cleared in time to plant he could have some the first season. The meat diet was not a good one and did not satisfy hunger. Wild leeks came up in early spring in the woods and were eagerly eaten by the pioneers for they made a small change in the diet of corn bread and meat, but the breath of the eaters! It "smelled to heaven." The children, especially, narrowly watched the growth of the potato tops, pumpkin and squash vines and blades of corn, hoping from day to day to get something to answer the place of meat. How delicious was the taste of the first young potatoes! What a jubilee they had when they were permitted to pull roasting ears. Still more so when the corn was hard enough to be grated and made into johnny cake. The family then became healthy and vigorous and contented with the situation, poor as it might be. They suffered much inconvenience from the absence of mills to grind their corn and wheat. They used to go long distances to Cold Creek or Richland county. When the corn was not fully ripe it could be shaved off with a plane, but when ripe and hard it must be ground or pounded in some way. Some men had hand mills, but more of them used the inortar and pestle or a tin grater. The mortar was a hard wood stump with a cavity in the top made by boring holes and burning, then scraping the surface smooth. The pestle was a log of wood, perhaps with an iron wedge, driven into the lower end, suspended from a limb of a tree, or a spring pole or an arrangement like a well sweep. The grain was put into the mortar and pounded until fine enough. The man or boy who operated this primitive mill truly "earned his bread by the sweat of his brow." Sometimes the corn was converted into samp or hominy which made a very palatable dish. Wheat was sometimes toiled whole. The most primitive way of preparing food was to take some corn meal, mix it with water to make a batter, spread it on a chip and set it before the fire to bake. In addition to corn bread, venison, turkey, squirrel, raccoon, bear or hog meat was eaten. The ravenous appetites of growing children, tired wood choppers and hunters supplied the sauce to make this rude meal a feast. When milk could be obtained a dish o? mush and milk made a healthful and nutritious diet. Sugar could be obtained from the maple trees. Salt was scarce and high, and a dollar and a quarter a peck has been paid for it. "Store tea" was too expensive for the pioneer, so he used blackberry leaves, sassafras or spicebush bark, or parched corn. On special occasions, such as weddings, raisings, logging bees and the like, whisky was supplied. Captain Husted once went ten miles after a barrel of pork, but when it was opened it was founil to be too lean to fry itself. A deputation of neighbors was sent to the lake after catfish, and that remedied the difficulty to a certain extent.