Shalersville, Ohio

In the spring of 1806 Joel Baker with his wife and one child started from Tolland County, Conn., in a wagon, and after a long and tiresome journey arrived on the spot where now is the center of Shalersville. The country at that time was an unbroken wilderness, and not the least sign of a clearing appeared, so when Baker got out of his wagon and looked around, it mast have been upon a scene calculated to daunt any but the most determined nature. He, however, went to work with a will and, fortunately, had a wife who was, indeed, a helpmeet to him, for when he dug a well, which was almost the first thing he did, his wife handled the windlass while he delved down in the depths. For the first few nights after his arrival the whole family slept in a large hollow log, but soon he reared a small cabin and made a clearing around it on Lot 46, 160 acres having been given him by Shaler to settle upon it. This cabin was located nearly opposite where the hotel now stands, and the well, we learn, is in good condition yet. Baker, some time previous to coming to the Reserve, had purchased Lot 33, and after spending two years at his first settlement, moved to this lot, where he opened up a farm, erected good buildings, and died in 1849. Those two first years were terribly lonesome ones to the sturdy pioneer and his wife, as no settler came in during that time. He had to go long distances for provisions, and the townships of Free- dom and Streetsboro were still as nature had formed them, they not being settled up for several years afterward. Mantua was beginning to till up, however, and he had some neighbors there, within two or three miles. Mrs. Baker is said to have been an extraordinary woman in points of endurance and resources, and with a patience that never wearied; just the brave wife for one of those grand old " builders without wage," who laid their foundations deep and strong, and made possible this marvellous occidental civilization.

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

In the year 1801 Simeon Crane, with his family, came to Canfield, Trumbull County, with an ox-team, a horse and a cow, making the journey in forty days. There he resided till 1808, when he, in company with two brothers, Belden and Calvin, came to Shalersville. Simeon was born in Saybrook, Conn., but the family were of "Welsh extraction, an ancestor having immigrated to America at an early day, whence sprung the entire Crane family, so numerous throughout the country. The three brothers built two log- houses during this year, then returned to Canfield, and in the spring of 1809 moved in for permanent settlement, and where their descendants live to this day, E. M. Crane being the leading representative of the family, and having the honor or good fortune to have been the first white male child born in the township. Simeon died September 14, 1846, and their first son. Squire Manly Crane, as he is better known, is a worthy scion of the original stbck.

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

The damage being repaired, the mill was largely patronized, for timber could be had for the asking, and Mr. Mason, who was elected Sheriff in 1814, added a grist-mill to the property. After studying for the ministry Muzzy became pastor of a church in Worcester, Mass., but, true to his impulsive nature, fell in love with a girl he could not get, and fled for consolation to the wilds of the West, totally disappearing from his former connections for twenty-five years, when he turned up as a carpenter in Edinburg Township. Noah and Noble Rogers moved into Shalersville from Mantua in 1829, and established a tannery near the north line of the township. This ceased existence over forty years ago.

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 Shalersville Township - it names this place 5 more 5 times.