Portage County, Ohio - Chapter 4, 1885

Chapter 4

The Pioneers of Portage Coi ntv Thkiu IIkroic Pkuskverance and Privations - New England Transplanted on tub Connecjticut Wbstekn Bbsbryb - The First Sbttlbmbnt Maob Witrin Tbx Limits of Portaob CoTTNTY - First Settlers of Mahtua. Ravenna, Attrora and Atwater TowN-sHiPS - Atwatkr Hall, thb First White Tiiild Born in the County - First skttlkks of Palmyra. Deerfiki.d. \i:lson. Rootstown, Randolph, Nuffield. Cuarliustown. Hiram, Franklin. iSiiALERSViLLE. Kdinbxtro, WumHAX, Paris. Brimfield, Freedom, Stsbbtsboeo and Oabbbttstillb Townships - Ths f oRTAOB^uiofxar Fionrbb Assooiation.

LESS thau one hundred years ago there was not a single white inhabitant a permanent settler throoghont the lengfli and bre«3th of the State of

Ohio; less than eighty soven yonrs ngo there was not a single white person in Portage County. CJoiild tin. so who ouly see this country as it now is, borrow the eyes of those who helped make the transformutiou, their amazement could not be depicted by words. In plane of the now smiling flelds and eomfortable homes* naught but a vast wilderness of forest wonld greet the sight The true story of the first settlement of Portage County has never been told. Those early pioneers were not seeking fortunes, nor fame; they were intent only on makini; a home for their children, and from that landable impelling motive haa arisen the splendid struoture of Western civilization we see all aronnd ns. It is astonishing how rapidly nccnrate and roliablo information concerning the pioneer days is perishing. The traditions of those early times have been very oarelessly kept, and whoever seeks to oolleet them Ibids mndi diffieolty in doing ea Yet, what doee remain has been carefully and cautiously collated, keeping pver in view the unreliability of cortain soiurces, but gleaning the rich kernels from out the debris of shells. The present generation can form no jnst oonoeptioii ol the Uials, tireless labors, sacrifices and privationa to which the first settlers heroically submitted. These men whose industry, enter* prise and persoveranco wiouq^ht from out nature's wilds the great prosjierity which in to day's sunlight, from every hillside and glen, looks up to smile Upon ns, have, in the benefactions they have bestowed npon their children, by leaving this to them for an inheritainoe, proved themseWes greater heroes, bf'oause their achievements wore nobler and better, than if they had laid the trophies 'of a blood-bought conquest upon their esoutoheons. Courage upon the soil of carnage wins tlte wreath of laurel that evanoRContly bedecks the brow of victory, but true, manly courage upon life's broad Held of battle shofnld bestow a more brilliant and fadeless diadem than ever pressed the war* rior'B brow, for the peaceful conquests of ax and plow are more fruitful of benefits to mankind than thoKe of the sword and the mere scorn of death.

From the time that the Connecticut Land Company put their lands upon the market, exaggerated reporta of the wonderful richness of the Connecticut Western Reserve, or New Conneetlenti as it was called, were in circnlation* Single individuals, parties and companies made their way to the far of?" wilds, nearly all of whom either returned with or Rent back to their homes glowing accuuuLs, the result of which was an exodus to and a rapid settlement oi this aeotion. The new comers were at first almost eaolnsively from OonnecUeat and Mnssnchneetts. They brought with them their religious ideas and prejndicen, their virtues and 8ociol customs, their peculiarities, and above all, their New England thrift, and to such an extent that for many years the inhabitants of Portage County, aa well aa the entire tract of territory known aa Ibe Connecticut Western Reserve, so closely resembled their ancestoris in their modes of life and veins of thoup^bt. as to be but a transplantation of, or an enlargement upon, the land of the "Pilgrim Fathers." The two upper tiers of townships, especially, were peopled htm MaasadmaettB and Oonneotiont, and a native of any other State was rarely to be found. The pionoeru of the two southern tiers of townahipe, however, were from New England and I'ennsylvania, with here and there a Virginian, a Carolinian, or a Mary lander. ICanj Germaaa came in later, bringing wiUk tbem tiieir bardineas of constitution and industry, and bringing' up the land npon which they settled to the highest point of fertility. In the eastern portion of the county many of that sturdy race, the Welsh, have settled, and in one township largely outnumber tiie purely American popnlation.

In. tboae early days the entire community were produoera-- every man, woman, boy and f^irl had their duties to perform. They lived in comparative social equality, and the almighty dollar did not form a barrier between the rich and the poor; a man was esteemed not for his money bags, but for actuaf merit A.11 aristoteratic distinctions were left beyond the mountains, and the only Bocieiy lines were to separate the bad from the frood. Rich and poor dressed alike, homespun being almost universal, whilst the primitive cabin was furnished with the same style of simplicity. Bedbteads often consisted of forloed sticks driTcn in the ground, with crosspoles to support the clapboards or cord. We have grown older, in many respects, if not wiser, and could not think of living on what our ancestorH lived. But this is an age of jjrogress and improvement, and theee observationa are made by way of contrabting the past with the preaeni The (lioneen who endured the hardshipa, and ofttimes the dangers from wild beasts and alall wilder men have, with few exceptions, passed to their linal account, and all that remains for their descendants to do is to keep bright the recollections of such names and such events as have come down to them, for the memory of their deeda should be **written in oharaotm of living light upon the firmament, there to endure as radiant aa if eveiy 1^ ter were traced in shining stars,"

The first settlement within the bounds of what is now Portage County was made in the fall of 1798, in Mantua Township, on Lot 24, by Abram B. Honey, who erected a log cabin, made a dearill^t Mid put out a small crop of wheat, which was harvested the followinnf sesBon bv his brother-in-law, Rufus Edwards, who owned the land, but who had sent Uoney in advance to prepare the wij. A man by the name of Peter Frenoh ia said to have be«i at flie point where Edwanls spttlod, ah early as Honey, but Le made no perraaQent settlement and may have been simply a helper of the latter. William Crooks was the next permsnent eettier to eome in sfter thoM named sbove, and he built a eabin and made a clearing on the southwest part uf Lot 20. He remained a reuident of Mantua till 1854, dyinf:: at the age of eighty. five. EHas Harmon arrived at the clearing Uoney had made on the 12th of June, 1799, where he remained a abort time, and tiien prooeeded to Aurora, where he had engaged to make eome improvements on the land of Ebenezer Sheldon. Harmon came in company with three other men who have had considerable local notoriety: Benjamin Tappan, Jr., of Ravenna, afterward a residentof Steubenvillo; David Hudson, of Summit County, and Jotham Atwater, of Euclid. Mr. Harmon - vaa for a number of yean one of the leading citizena of tiie oonnty and left many descendants. He was the first Treasurt^r of the county. / In Juno, 179l>, Benjamin Tappan, Jr., son of Benjamin Tappan, of Northampton, Mass., one of the principal proprietors of the present territory known as Bavenna Township, eet ont from Ids home in the East to make a settlement on the land of his faUier. On his journey, Mr. Tappan fell in with David Hudson, at Oorondaquet Bay, N. Y., whom he took in his boat an<l assisted on his way to what is now Summit County. In company they overtook Elias Harmon in a small boat with his wife^ bound to Mantua. At Niagara they found the river full of ice, which compelled them to COUTSJ their boats to some die* tance around and above the Falk. Proceeding on their dangerous way vast bodies of floating ice impeded their progress, and they had to get oat npon the shore and dragthmr boats along with ropes till they wera olear of the stronger cnrrent running to the Falls. When they arrived atthenumthof the lake they also found it full of floating ice, and had to remain tboro several days before proceeding. OS Ashtabula County their boats were driven ashore in a storm, and that of Mr. Harmon stove to pieces, &e latter trayeling thence bj land to his destination. Tappan and lJi^ companiou.s sailed along the shoreline till thoy arrived nt Cleveland, which consi.ste<l at that time ef one logoabin. Entering the Cuyahoga Kiver and following its sinuosities, but knowing nothing at all of its depth, they soon found that they would have to either abandon their boats or drag them over the frequent rapids in the river. After much difficulty, however, they passed safely onward, and, judf:^inn; from the distance traveled, thought that they were in about the latitude of the township of whieh they vrare in search. They landed at a point where now is the town of Boston, in Summit County, where Tappan left all of his goods under a tent with a hired man, and taking Benjamin Bif^'shy with him commenced to cut out a road to Bavenna. They built a sled and witb a yoke of osen Mr. Tappan had bought in Ontario County, N. Y., conveyed a load of his farming utentiils to his settlement in the southeast corner of the township, where, owing to delays, a cabin was not finished till the first of the following year, 1800. He subsequently erected a house alx)ut one mile east of Ravenna on the Marcus Heath farm. lieturning for a second load, he fouml that his eSectb had been abandoned and partly plundered, and to make it still worse, one of his oxen became over heated and died. From a sketch of Hon. Benjamin Tappan, publt^ed in the Democratic Rrvieiv for June, 1840, we extract the following:

" The death of one of his oxen left him in a vast forest, distant from any habitation, without a team, and what was still worse, with bnt a single dol* lar in money. He was not depressed for an instant by these untoward circumstances. He sent one of his men through the woods, with a compass,' to Erie, Penn., a distance of about one hundred miles, requesting from Capt Lyman, the commandant at the fort, a loan of moncty. At the same time, he himself followed the township lines to Yonngstown, where he became aoqaainted with GoL James Hillman, who did not hesitate to sell him an ox, on credit, at a fair price - an act of fi^neroBiij whidi proved of great Talne, as the want of a team must have broken ap his settlement The unexpected delays upon the journey, and other hindrances, prevented them from raising a crop this season, and they had, after the proyisions brought with them were exhausted, to depend for meat upon their sldll in hnnttng and purchases fkom the Indians, and for meal upon the scanty supplies yiroourBcl from wosttern Pennsylvania. Having set out with the determination to spend the winter, he erected a log-cabin, into which himself and one Bigsby, whom he had agreed to give one hiindred acres of land on condition of settlement, moved on the first day of Jaunaiy, 1800, before which theiy lived under a berk camp and tent." ^

During the spring following the removal of Tappan into his hrst cabin, whidi' Btm>d <»i the Capi J. D. King farm, several oilier setilen oame into Bavenna, among whom were William Chard and Conrad Boos> inger, the latter coming in August, and bringing his wife, sons George and John, and daughter Polly. Boosinger settled on 200 acres of land about one and one«haIf miles soafheest of the present town of Bavenna, made a cleaning and sowed it in wheat Chard located on Lot 88. Booeinger being a tanner, constructed a couple of vats soon after be came, which was the first effort in that direction, and the iirst public enterprise in the way of manafac* tores in the coimtf. The mrivatioos of theae early settlers of tiie Western 1 Reserve cannot DOW be ds80rit>ed or realized, and why_a young lawyer like 1 Benjamin Tappan, -Jr., surrounded with all of the comforts of an Eastprn | homet would venture juit into an unknown wildegiess, seems to us now some- I thing^wonderftd. ' ^ ^

During the same month in which Benjamin Tappan and his party arrived in Ravenna, Kbenozor Sheldon, of Suffiold, Conn., came into Aurora Township, and with the assistance of Elias Harmon and his wife, made a settlement on Lot 40. After the erection of a cabin and making a small clearing in the primitive forest, Harmon and wife moved to Mantua Township, where they ever afterward resided. Sheldon then returned to Connocticnt, and in the following spring, 1800, came out to his new home, bringing his wife, four sons and two daughters. They rode the entire distance in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, and leading a pair of yoong horses. They came safely as far as War- I ren, which at that time consisted of a few log structurcB. bnt aftf r leaving ' there a storm overtook them in the \V(X>ds and they were verv near i)ori8hing j from falling trees. They managed to avoid ail accidents, however, but were - literally penned in and had to ranain in the woods all night, only being released the next day by getting assistance and cutting a road out One of the ' daughters of this sturdy old pioneer, the year following their arrival, married Amzi Atwatey, of Mantua, one of the surveyors who accompanied Cleveland in ibe sorvsy of the Western Reserve, and who afterward became one of the Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, and a leading citizen of the county. Ebenezer Sheldon and his family were the only inhabitants of Aurora for three years after they arrived there, but in 1803 quite a number oame in, among whom were Ramnel Forward and his family, from Oranby, Conn. The next year came James M. Henry, John Cochran, Jr., David Kennedy, Sr., Ebenezer Kennedy, Samuel Ferguson and several others. Within a year or two afterward came Moses Eggleeion, father of Gen. Nelson E^leston; aleo Joeeph Eggleston, brother of Moses, together with Oapt Perkins, Col. Ebeneier Hannon, Isaac Blair and othera ftom Massachnsetts uid Oon* necticnt.

Early in April, 1709, two mouths before aoy settlers had arrived in Ravenna or Aurora Townships, and only six mouths after Honey had made his clearing in Ifantaa, eix persons made their way into what ie now Atwater Townships Thoy came from Wallingford. Conn., and were Capt. Caleb Atwater, Jonathan Merrick, Peter Bunnell, Asahel Blakosloy and Asa Hail and his wife. This party, headed by Atwater, surveyed the towubhip into lots, and in the fall all of them, witti the exoeption of Hall and his wife, retnrned to their homea in the East. From the time of the arrival of this first settler till the spring of 1801 - two years - Hall and his wife were the only persons in the township, his nearest neighbor being Lewis Ely, over in Deerfield Township, who had come out with others shortly after Halfs anrival. Although having a lonesome time during those two years in the wilderness, an incident happened witiiin Hall's household that was calculate in a measure to relieve the t«dium of, whilst it imposed additional cares upon, the life of this pioneer coapla The incident" was a child bum to mem in the spring of 1800, which wan promptly and appropriately named Atwater Hall, and had the honor of being the first whito child bom in Portage County. Hall was coUHiderable of a hunter, and as may well be supposed, had ample opportunity and game to gratify all his taste in that direction, but he eventnally got tired of his lone* some life and mored in 1801 to near the Deerfield Township line, where he could more easily rench the settlements in that townshiiv About the time Hall moved from his first location, David Baldwin. Jr., came in from Wallingford, Conn., and settled about two miles south of the Oenterof Atwater Township. These two families for the next three years were the only persons in the township, but after that period settlers came in rapidly, most of whom were from Connecticut and Massachusetts, but about 1807 quite a number of persons from South Carolina settled here, among whom were Enos Davis, whose son Isaac, then aboj of ten years is still living, nearly ninety years of age; also, from the same State, oame William Marshall, -lolm Hntton and John Camp* IxjH. Among the arrivals shortly before and about the year I80(i-U7 were Jeremiah Jones, Josiah Mix, John H. Whittlesey, Caleb Mattoon, Asahel Blakesley and Ira and Amos Morsa David Baldwin, Jr., was the agent of Capt. Atwater, who owned not only the entire township, but sovt^ral others and portions of others on the Reserve, ho being one of the original members of the Connocticiit Land Company. Maj. Ransom Baldwin, now residing, at the advanced ago of eighty-two years, on the original land located by his father, is the son of Da^d Baldwin, ho being born io 1802, the second male child bom in the township of Atwater. The settlement of this portion of the county was very rapid, as the land was considered by most of the early comers to be better in the southern than in the northern portions of the county.

The first settler in that diTision of the countT*^ known as Palmyra Township was David Daniels, who left his home in Grattan, Conn., in the spring of 1799, and arrived there in June, locating on Lot 21, about one and a half miles south of the GeoteR At the drawing the Ooimeeticut Iiasid Company, ]^Imyra Township fell to the lot of eight persons, Elijah Boardman being the principal owner, and these gentlemen, as an inducement to its settlement, gave Daniels 100 acres of land to go there, make a clearing and baild a cabin, which he aooordingly did. He put in a small crop of iraeat, which was duly harveated the following seanon, and after threshing his ctap carried a bushel of the grain on his shoulders to Poland, abouf thirty miles away, had it ^^roiind and returned with it to his humble cabin. Daniels was a soldier in the iievolutionary Army and died in 1813, having been highly respected. He was the first Justice of the Peaee of Palmyra Township alter its organization. Not long after the settlement of Daniels, Ethelbert Baker came in and located about half a mile south of the Center on the west side of the road, and the next ye«r, 1800, in the spring, William Bbooq arrived and looated one and a quarter miles south of the Center. In 1802 came a son-in-law of Nehemiah Baoon - E. Cutler - who located two miles south of the Center, and in 1804 James McKelvej, of FennsylTania, and Amasa Preston arrived. In 1805 qnite s delegation eame in from Omineotioiit, naoag whom wore David, Silaa and A^aliel Waller, John Tuttle, Jr., and Capt. John T. Baldwin; the latter, who was from Litchfield County, Conn., bringing his wife and throe sons, one of whom. Squire Alva Baldwin, still resides upon the farm originally owned bj bis father. Oapi Baldwin for many years kept a taTom at the Ctontar of Palmyra. In 1806 Truman Gilbert, Sr., also, from Liiohfleldy Ooim.» arrived and settled west of the Center. He brought his wife, aenm aons and one daughter, the latter still living at the age of eighty -six.

In the spring of 1799 Ijewis Day and - Horatio Day, of Gonneotiont, came to tlieir pnrchase of land in Deeriield Township^ Tliey came through in a wagon drawn by horses, seleoted their lo<!ations, mado a clearing and pnt out a crop of wheat The first actual settler, however, was Lewis Ely, who came in July, bringing his family and settling down to business at once, while the DnjB in the fall returned to their homes in the East Ely located on Lot 19, just east of the old grave-yard. The following year, 1800, was marked by the arrival in Deertield of several men who afterward became prominent in the history of the county. In February Alva Day, John Campbell and Joel Thrall started from their bomei in Gonneeticnt and wallrad the entire dietanoe^ arriving here in March, after an exceedingly rough time, as the mountains over which they had to pass were covered with five or six feet of snow, subjecting them to much suffering from the cold. Provisions were exceedingly scarce at this time, and Iiewis Ely and Alva Day were compelled to make a trip to the Ohio Bifor to procure some bacon and meal. They constmcted a canoe from a log, floated it down to the Ohio River, and at a j;oint opi>o«ite Steubenville^ procured what they needed and^ brought it back with an ox team. James Lao^bUn also eame this year from Pennsylvania. In Jnly Lewis Day retomed bringing out his wife and six children: Horatio, Bfnnn> Seth, iKawis, Jr., Solomon and Seba Day During the next three or four years following 1800 the township filled up very rapidly, many of the settlers coming from FennlyWania, ICaiyland and Yir^nia. Ephraim B. Hnbbard, of Gonneeticnt, eame about this time, and in 1803 Daniel Diver and his family. Noah Grant, the grandfather of Gen. U. S. Grant, is supposed to have settled in Deerfield about 1804-05, where he opened a Umnery and followed shoe-making. Noah bronght his wif^ and little son Ifeese, aged abonl ten years, father cl the now illustrious Gen. U. 8w Grant, to whom the coontry owes so much, for to him is largely dne the conception of the proper mode to crnsh out the modem python of armed secession. Bev. Shadrack Bostwick, son in-law of Daniel Diver, came in 1803. This gentleman was one of the early circuit-riders of the Methodist Church, and was a physician as well.

In the spring of 1800 there arrived in Nelson Township, from Becket, Mass., Delaun, Asahe! and Isaac Mills, sons of Deacon Ezekiel Mills. The first two were married and brought out their families; the latter was single. They came in covered wagons and several weeks were occupied in the trip^ during which time their money had dwindled down to less than 25 l ents. Falling in with Urial Hulmep, the principal proprietor of Nelson Township, the brothers engaged with him to serve as ax-raon to the surveyors, who were under charge of Amai Atwatsr. Aftsr liniabinff ttwir job^ Delann settled on a lot of 100 acres which had been donated to him by Holmee. It was ou the north side of the road just waat of the Center. Aiahel settled on a 100 aero lot on the north and south road. Del nun, or Capt. Dolann Mi 11 a, ns he was afterward known, was look(»d upon as the Daniel Boone of this section, and a full account of him will be fuund in the sketch of Nelson Township. For nearly ihree yeexe the two brothera, Delann and Aaahel (Isaao haying reljpimed to the East) and their families were the only white inhabitants of Nelson Township; but in the spring of 1803 seven families came in, they being Stephen Baldwin, Benjamin Stow and two sons, John Bancroft and four sons, Daniel Owen, two Sttlee bfothwa, William and Thomas Kennedy and Asa Traeadell. In Joly, 1804, Col. 3uhn Qarrett, who founded GarrettisYille, or vatiier built a mill at that point, and for whom that enterprising little town is named, cam© into Nelson, and about the same time Abraiiam Dyson and a German named Johaun Noah, all coming from the State of Delaware. In the following year, 1805, 4same John Tinker, Nathaniel Bancroft, Martin Manley and Daniel Wood. Ephraim Root, principal proprietor of liootstown Township, in company with a young roan named Harvey Davenport, came out in the spring of 1800 to snrr^ his land, whioh waa done, Ife Tetafning in the fall, bnt Iwrtng hia '. companion in the wilderness, the unfortunate .yonng man having f^nddenly died. In the spring of 1801 Mr. Root again came out. bringing his brother David, and they together made a settlement in the northeast corner of the township. They ereeted a iwo*atory log cabin not far from where now is / Oampbellsport. Nathan Hozzy, of whom frequent mention is made in seveval ' of the township sketches, came to the county ahnnt this time, and did the car- - penter work for the Roots. Muzzy discovered the little lake which has ever since borne his name. Poor old Nathan! His life-story was a romance: A gradnate of Yale, brilliant young minister, crossed in love, reason dethroned, a ^ wanderer in the West, decrepit and penniless, buried by tlie hand of rharfty. In 1802 Henry O'NeiH, an Irishman of tine education and a pioneer Justice of the Peace, and Samuel McCoy came in and together erected a cabin on Lot 9, bat HeCoy, also an Irishman, afterward moved to Lot 28. In the fall of this year Michael Hartlo and Frederick Caris, originally from Northumberland County, Penn,. and the following year John Caris came in, also Arthur Anderson. In lbO-4, in addition to a number of others, the Chapmans made a eettlement on Lot 4. Jaoob and Abraham Bead aettled on the aonthweat oor* ner of Lot 15. In the fall of 1805 Beman Chapman, brother of Ephraim, arrived with his wife and brother Nathan. Stephen Colton oame about thia time, and (iersham Bostwick in 1800.

fiela Hubbard and Salmon Ward, natives of Hiddletown, Oonn., in the jear 1802 removed with their families to Bandolph Township, from Jefferaon County, N. Y., where they bad resided since ITOU. These two old pioneen made a halt about half a mile weet of the Center, and the hrst night camped under a large tree, but the next day boilt them a eabin. Ward waa taken aiok, and upon recovery returned to hia Eaatem home. He, however, made three other trials at settling here, and an many times gave it up. The last time he started for the East was the last ever beard of him by his friends. For six weeks Hnbbard was the solitary inhabitant of Randolph Township, and a lonely time he must have had of it, but in July came And Upion, originally from Plymouth, Conn. ; also Joseph Harris, from the same State. In the fall came Calvin ^^ard and John Ludington. In the spring of 1803 Josiah Ward, wife and six children moved in, and during the summer Jehiel Savage and Timothy Culver arrived from Atwater, where tiiey had at first located In the fall Salmon Ward, on hie third return trip, brooght with him Aaron Weeton, Levi DaTie,

Histoby Of Po&Tagb County

two yoaoig men named Otanj and Smith, the latter two aimply ooming to trade with the Indians. In November, 1804, Ebenezer Goss, and in December following Eliakim Merriman, the first from Plymouth and tho last from Wallixtgford, Conn., came in. July 17, 1805, Oliver Dickinson and familjr, from Etet ChraaTille, ICaaa, snriTed. He wan a blaekamith bj trade, and one of the most oaefol members of the firat Hettlement. During this same year Isaac Merriman from Connecticut, Archibald Coon from Pennsylvania, John Goes, and Jeremiah hiabin and bis son Abel located in the township. In 1806 came Hiram Raymond. Thomas Miller, Nathan Sears and son BUiha, and Bev. Henry Ely, all of Connecticat, William Thornton from Pennsylvania and Daniel Cross from Vermont. In 1807 Deacon Stephen Butler and Caleb Wetmore moved in from Connecticut, bat removed to Stow Township in a few years. Dr. Bnhu Belding. from Oattaovngas Comity, N. T., settled here this year, where he practiced his profession for nearly thirty years. Among the leading names of settlers in the few years succeeding tliB Inst date ajf* those of Nathaniel Bancroft, iSylvester Tinker and Deacon James Coe.

*In the southwestern corner of the county a settlement was made in May, 1802, by Royal Pease, a native of Soffield, Oonn., who owned a considerable portion of the land comprlBod in thp township now known as Suffield. Pease settled on what in now known as the Kent Farm, and made a clearing, built a cabin and put out a crop of wheat. This old pioueer remained alone at his aettlemefit for nearly a jrear, bat the followinfjf epring after hia arrival Benjamin Baldwin made his appearance, and soon after him David Way and family. In 1804^ John FritcU, a Pennsylvania German, located at the little lake that has since borne his name. In this year also came from Connecticut Daniel Warner, Eseldel Tapper, Bradford Waldo and Ohamplin IKnard. In 1805 Martin Kent and family and Jonathan Foster came in; also, Samuel Hale anil his sons Thomas and Orestes. During the next few years settlers were qaite numerous, and among the most noted was Moses Adams, from Masaaohosetta. Many Gtormana have from time to time aettled in Soffleld Townahip, and form a large portion of iie present population.

In Charlestown Township a man by the name of Abel Forahu, from Maryland, about 1803, squatted on a piece of land afterward known as " Farnbam'e Hill,** where he lived for a short time, afterward removing to Bavenna; bat the first permanent settler was John Campbell, who moved here from Deerfield Township in 1805, and remained throughout his life one of tho leading citizens of the county. A company from Blanford and Granville, Mass., composed of thirteen families, gave the township an impetus in 1809.

Hiram Township, which originally com[iriHt> l the territory now known as Hiram, Mantua, Shalnrsvillo, Freedom, Windham and Nelson, received its first settlers in 1802, when Elijah Mason, Eiisha Hutchinson and Mason Tilden came in and settled respectively as follows: ilfason, who was from Lebanon, Conn., selected the west half of Lot 28; Hutcbineon, who was from Herkimer County, N. Y. , also selected a |>ortion of Lot 23, and Tilden, from Connecticut, selected Lot 22. In the fall thoy all returned to their homos in the East. John Fleming came about the same time, but remained only one year. In 1808 the three fint-named persona again oame ont and made improvements on their land. Mason cleared twenty-two acres, built a cabin, and put out a crop of wheat. They all then again returned to their homes. Three men whom Mason aud Tilden had in their employ, liking the counti'y, remained. These men were lUdiard Bedden and Jaeob and Samuel Wirt, all from Pennsylvania, In 1804 William Fenton and Cornelius Baker aettlod on Lot 88, the iirst on the east half of the west half, and the other on the west half of the same. Koswell Mn'^on. son of Elijah, and some otherB, came oat in 1807, bat as late as 180^ the number of inhabitants wau only twenty. In 1811 the Yonngs oame from Oonneetimtt; also Eliiha Hntehinson. For five or six years after the last date many settlors came in, and an enumeration of them will be found in the sketch of Hiram Township.

John Haymaker, a native of Pennsylvania, from near Fittsbcu^h, in the fall of 1805 made the iint Mttlemeiit in FranUin Township. & brought his wife and iiiree children, and at fint located on the Onjahoga, just west of where the upper bridge now is in Kent. The following spring George Haymaker, a brother of John, and their father, Jacob, arrived. The next year the fbjnahen bnilt a mill, the Cuyahoga BiTer at the point where they "^ftw^^wg ample water power. Settlement in Franklin was rather slow for many years, considering the natural advantages of the township. Jacob Beed, who had settled in Kootstown in 1804, came to Franklin in 1811. and pwoiiaaed the Haymaker Mill, and ran it for several years, when it was in torn pnrchaHed by George B. DePeyster. For a more extended account of the early settlement of Franklin, the reader is referred to thetwoehapters on that township.

The first settlement in Shalersrille Township was made in the spring of 1806 by Joel Baker, from Tolland County, Conn. He brought his wife and one child and located on Lot 40. erecting his cabin and digging a well nearly opposite where the hotel at the Center now stands. For two years Baker and his family were alone in this part of the wilderness, bat in 1806 Simeon Belden and Calvin Crane, from Say brook. Conn., came in, located their fntnro homes and then returned to Trumbull County, Ohio, where they had resided several years, but the following spring came out for permanent residence. Hexekiah Hine, Daniel Keyes and his son, Asu D. Keyes, also came in 180S. In 1810 William Cbolman, Sr., and family oame from Middletown, Conn.; also, Daniel Bnrronghs, and his sons, Asa K. and Groenhood, from Vermonti and others. In 1814 Silas Crocker, then a lad of tifteen years, came in with Job and Benoni Thompson. Gen. David Mclutosh and Sylvester Beecher eame later. These three last-named were all yoor boya, but they each left their impress on the county of their adoption.

Eber Ablx)tt, of Tolland County, Conn., in the spring of 1811 came to Ediuburg Township and settled on Lot 2, Subdivision 5, and shortly after him his brother-in-law, Lemnel Chapman, looatsd nesr him. In 1818 a man bj the name of Howard came in and located on Silver Creek. In 1815 Alanson and Justin Eddy, from Williamstown. arrived v>ith their families, having oome the entire distance in sleighs. Justin made his settlement on the now fine fturm of Mr. Theodore Clark. Alanson settled on the farm afterward owned by C. H. Bowell. Bobert Calvin, a Virginian, came about 1816, and settled on Lot 8. He was the father of Mr. John Calvin, who now resides in the northeastern portion of the township. David Trowbridge and Sylvester Gilbert also eame at this time. Biohard M. Hart eame in 1817, and Adnah H. BoBt\yick in 1819.

In 1810 the Becket Land Company was formed in Beckot. Berkshire Co., Mass., for the pnrchase and settlement of tlie lands now embraced in Windham, Township, most of which then belonged to OKyv. Caleb Strong, of that State. The company oonsisted of sixteen persons, viz. : Bills Messeuger, John Seely, Jeremiah Lyman, Aaron P. Jagger, Benjamin C. Perkins. Elijah Alford, Alpheus Streator, Benjamin Higley, Elisha Clark, Isaac Clark, Ebenezer N. Messenger, Thatcher Conant, Nathan Birohard, Enos Kingsley, Dillingham Clark and Oideon Bush. Early in 1811 Uie oompany sent oat foot young men - Elijah to make some preparation for the coming population. On their arrival in Windham, March 15, the Alfords began an improvement on Lot 81, and erected a cabin, which was the hrst built in the townahip. The Meesengen built a oabin on Lot SSL These two oabine oonetitnted Windam Towuhip in Uaioh, 1811, and the population np to the 2t7h of that month consisted oi the four pioneer boys previonslj mentioned. On the 27th Wareham Loorais and family moved in from Nelson. This was the first family in the townshijp. Loomis pat np a eabln on that part of Ijot 92 flnbseqaently owned by Daniel Jagger. Hiram Messenger, a son of Bills, (me of the Becket Land Gompanj, arrived with hia family in Jane, 1811, l>einjGj tbp first installment of fhe proprietors. Ue settled on 'Lot 76. HIb father came with him, and stayed sevenl months, assisting Hiram in making improvements, and then lelunied to his home. In Jnfy, 1811, Alpheus Streator, Benjamin Higley, Ebenezer N. Meflsenger, Gideon Bush, Thatcher Conant and -Jpremiah Lyman arrived and settlHd on their lands, and the following October Deacon Elijah Alford joined the settlement. From this time forward settlers continued to arrive at inter- Tals, and thia portion of the eoontjr vapidly inereased in population.

In consequence of a cortain reputation for an almost aninbabitablc swampiness, Paris Township, althoup^h excellent land, was not settled very early, at least not as early as it should have been under the circumstances. Bichard Hudson, a FennsylTanian, however, ventured in abont Jnne^ 1811, and drove his stakoe on Lot 21. John Bridt^os, eon-in-law of Hudson, came the next year, and alx)ut the same time Jolm Cox and John Younf: In 1815 Cbauncy Hawley and William Selby, in 181G Brainard, Newtuu and Thomas Selby, and in 1817 Anatin Wilaon and John Smith arrived.

The first permanent settler in Brimfield Township was John Boosinger, who removed from Ravenna Township in 1816, settling on Lot 89. In November of the same year Heiuy Thomdike and his family, with his brother Israel, airived. Li the employ of the Thomdikee waa Abner H. Lanphare, who lived to an advanced age. The following JannacyDeaoon Alpheos Andrews settled near the Center. In the year 1817 many settlers oamo, whose names will be found in the chapter on Brimheld.

Cfaariea H. raine, son of Oen. Paine, of Painesville, who hsd married a danghtflc of Elijah Mason, of Hiram Township, settled in Freedom Township in the spring of 1818, on Lots Bl and 41, and from that time till 1822 himself and family were the only inhabitants of Freedom. In the spring of the year last named, however, thirteen persons arrived, all in one family: Thomas Johnston, wife and eleven children. In 1823 came Newell Day, andBnoaand Asa AVadswortb; in 1824, Rufns Ranney, father of Jndg;e R. P. Ranney, and in lb25 Paul Larkcom, father of A. C. Larkoom, still a resident of Freedom TowDflAiip.

Streotsbovo Township settled up very rapidly from the time the first settler made his appearnnc(» in 1S22, tbat person being Stephen Myers, who located on Lot 82. He made a clearing and put up a distillery. In 1824 a number of other persons came in and rapidly filled up the township.

For the purpose of keeping tho remembraace of the old pioneer dayn fresh in the minds of the present generation, and as a humble monument to their deeds, an assooiation was formed a few years ago, entitled "ThePOTtage- Summit Pioneer Association." From the oi^^hth annual report of the Seore* tary, Pr. A. M. Sherman, of Kenti we glean tixe following:

** Some of yoa will remember that on the 10th of February, 1874, senranty* three persona Tm<t at the re«i(lonce of the venerable Samnel Olin, in Streetsboro. mainly by invitation of iiis Bistor, Mrs. J. B. Stratton, and her venerable iiuBband. The primary object was to enjoy a bociai reanion of *' Old Folks," and partake of Father Olin's pjeoeroas luiq»itality. At that meeting Ohriatiaii Cackler, being the lirHt white boy that ever crossed the Cuyahoga Kiver hero, invitod all those prenent and many others to mopt at his pleasant homo in October following to enjoy his hospitality. At that meeting an organization was effected that has enlai^^ into the grand proportiona of yomr fxreeaot organisation. There have joined up to this meeting 620 persons, and out of this number (up to the fall of 1S82) 112 have died. Comparatively few of those present at the organization remain. Another decade will evidently witneaa ibe departure fimn earth of tbe lart of the origfinal memben. The society, since it extended its borders, bas rapidly grown, inolading as it now does in its territory all of Portage and Summit Coontiee. All abOTe eixtj years of age are permitted to become members."

The anniw! meetings of tbe association are occasions of mncih intersirt and enjojmentk as many as 5,000 to 6,000 persons being in attendance. EloqvanA addresses are delivered, music by the Pioneer Band discoursed, and a sumptuous dinner served at the beautiful grounds selected in the village of XLent. This is as it should be^ for the people of to-day scarcely realise or appreciate how much they owe to the large*hearted pioneer fathers and molhers, who, with their children, braved the perils of the wilderness; who reared their families in the fear of God, and implanted within them many of the virtues neoessaxy to the welfare of humanity, then passed from the scene of action, leaving to their descendants an inheritance that should ever be cherished and kept in sacred remembrance. The history of Portngo County would be incomplete without fitting notice of those pioneers who, by reason of their limited sphere of action, could not become conspicuous in the great drama of life, but whose busy bands and conscientious regard of daty made them neosssary fae> tors in the eetablishmont of the solid foundation upon which our republican form of government is embedded. It is a little thing to preserve their names in the pages of history, yet it is all that is loft to do, for their lives were much alike; tluy met the steni neoessities of tiie boor, and were content in the eonfloionsness of dniy well dona.