Mantua Center, Ohio

In fall of 1799 Paschal P. Mcintosh came in and settled on Lot 23. He was a half-brother to Gen. David Mcintosh, and came from Haverhill, N. H. The fact of his being here at that early date is shown by the notes kept by Elias Harmon, where he says: "October 21, 1799, helped Mcintosh to raise his house. " In this year also came Elisha Edwards and Samuel Burroughs. The next year, 1800, brought in a number of settlers, among whom were Moses Pond, who settled on Lot 35, and afterward moved to Mesopotamia; Jonathan Brooks also came, but soon went to Burton and settled. The Windsor family came in this year, Basil Windsor, Sr. , being the head. Samuel Pond, who also came at this time, shortly before they moved away, got lost on a trip to Burton and was almost without food for nine days. It was in the winter, and all his toes were frozen off, crippling him for life. Seth Harmon, John Blair and Jotham Atwater were among the settlers, but the man who more than any other left his impress on the township and county was Amzi Atwater. Jotham and Amzi Atwater came from Hamden, Conn. , in the spring of 1800, and settled on 200 acres of the west part of Lot 41, where now is Mantua Station. On the 21st of November, 1801, Amzi married, in Aurora, Huldah Sheldon, daughter of Ebenezer Sheldon, the couple being married by ihe father of the bride, which was the only official act performed by the old Squire during the first three years of his holding that position. At the first election, on the organization of the county, Atwater was one of the Judges, and the Legislatui'e appointed him one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, which positicm he held for a long time, tilling it with marked ability, impartiality and dignity. He had received a liberal education in his native State, had selected civil engineering and surveying as his profession, and, joining the party under Cleveland, came to the Western Reserve first in 1796. Being of a hardy constitution and determined will, combined with a buoyancy of disposition, he was specially adapted to the life of pioneer and surveyor. He was possessed of great versatility of talent, vigor of intellect, having withal a genial temperament and a fund of quiet humor that made him popular. He was courageous rather than daring, persevering, resolute and of sound judgment, qualities which rendered him useful in those early times. He was very ready with his pen, and wrote many letters to his relatives in the East, entirely in rhyme, covering ten or a dozen pages of foolscap, several of which were published some years ago, but which are too long for reproduction here.

Passage source: History of Portage County, Ohio, published 1885.

The deaths in Mantua from 1799 to January 1, 1825, were as follows: Enoch Judson's first wife in 1804; Wareham Loomis' child, two years old, in 1805; Jacob Blair, killed at a "raising" in 1807; Mark Moore died in 1812; Samuel Judson's wife in 1813; IchaHod Payne in 1813; Melissa Reed in 181G; Enoch Judson's second wife died in 1816; Amzi Atwater, son of Amzi, Sr. , in 1810; Caleb, son of Rufus Edwards, about 1817; Leonard, son of Lorenzo Chapin, in 1818; wife of Basil "Windsor, Sr., in 1818; Martha, daughter of Seth Harmon, in 1820; Franklin Snow's first wife in 1820; Lorenzo Chapin's second son, Leonard M., in 1820; Persis, daughter of Dan Ladd, Jr., in 1822; Ezekiel Ladd in 1822; Ezekiel Squires in 1822; Zenas Kent, Sr., in 1822; Caleb Carlton, Sr., in 1823; Thomas Mayfield, Sr., in 1823; Basil Windsor, Sr., in 1823; Polly, daughter of Sila« Penney, in 1823; Mr. Bacon in 1821; and Harvey, son of Jotham Atwater, in 1824.

Passage source: History of Portage County, Ohio, published 1885.

In 1799 Rufus Edwards constructed a hand grist-mill, which he opened in October of that year. A small building called the tannery was established by Moses Pond in 1802, and continued until 1812, when Dan Ladd, Jr., built a house and established a regular tannery. Pond, having no tools, had the hides finished at Burton. It was he who brought the first sheep into the township, and also apple seeds.

Passage source: History of Portage County, Ohio, published 1885.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Mantua Township - it names this place 3 more 3 times.