Brownhelm Township (part 2 of 5)

In 1S37, the county commissioners offered a bounty for wolf scalps - three dollars for a full-grown wolf, and half the sum for a whelp of three months. Whether any drafts were ever made upon the treasniy does not appear. As late as 1832, my brother and myself, returning on foot to the high school at Elyria, after a visit home, were stopjied on the way at evening by the howling of wolves in the road before us, and constrained to wait until morning. Now and then a wolf was taken in a trap or shot by a hunter. Probably less than a half-dozen were ever killed in the township. About the winter of 1827-'28, wolf hunts were organized in the region on a grand scale, conducted by surrounding a tract of country several miles in extent, with a line of men within sight of each other at the start, and approaching each other as they moved toward the center. The first of these hunts centered in Henrietta, and resulted in bagging large quantities of game, but never a wolf. A single wolf made his ajipea ranee at the center, and was sna]iped at and shot at by many a rifle, but my recollection is that he got off with a whole skin. The sport involved danger from the cross-shooting as the line drew near the center, and Park Harris, of Amherst, mounted on a horse, received a shot in the ankle. To avoid this danger, the next hunt centered on the river hollow, about the mill in Brownhelni, but the scale on whicli it was arranged was too grand to be carried out. The lines were too extended and liroke in many places, resulting in gathering upon the flat a small herd of deer and a solitary fox, barely furnishing an occasion for the hundreds of huntsmen above to discharge their pieces, as the friglitened animals escaped into the woods ujj the river. It was an utterly fruitless chase. A more exciting chase was the slave-hunt of a later day, in which the people bewildered and foiled the kidnappers.

Bears were less numerous than v.olves, but they were perhaps more often seen. One was shot by Solomon Whittlesey, from the ridge, a little east of the burying ground. One of the trials of my childish courage, was to pass the tree against which tradition said that he rested his rifle in the shot. Another dangerous tree was the large basswood that leaned over the brook, a little to the south-east of Harvey Perry's orchard. My mother going over the ridge to bring a pail of water from the siiring. once drove a large black animal before her, which she thought a dog, until he scrambled up that tree, when she retui-ned home without the water. The tree stood close by tlic track that led to Mr. Peck's, and it was a test of pluck for a child to jiass that tree, as I was often obliged to, just as the evening began to darken. One day, one of the half dozen sheep that I was expected to drive into pen at night, was missing. They were jiiistured in the tiekl where the oichurd now is. lu looking for the lost animal, I found a place where it seemed to have been dragged over tlie fence, and following the trail a few rods, I came upon a spot, not many feet from where we are now gathered, where a hear had made his feast, leaving the wool scattered about, and a few large hones. The tracks were still fresh in the mud. Such occurrences gave a smack of adventure to child life in the new country, and it was a matter of every day consultation among the hoys, what were tlie habits of tiie various animals supposed to be dangerous, such as the wolf, the bear, the wildcat, and the panther, and by what tactics it was safest to meet them. Similar discussions were had in reference to the Indians, who had i'ei|uiied a bad reputation during tlie war, then recent, with England. The prevailing opinion was, that any fear exhibited towards an Indian, or a wild beast, put one at a great disadvantage.

Deer were far moi"e plenty than cattle, and the sight of them was an everyday occurrence. A good marksman would sometimes shoot one from his door. The same was true of wild turkeys. Raccoons worked mischief in the unripe corn, and a favorite sport of the boys was "coon hunting" at night, the time when the creature visited the corn. A dog traversed the cornfield to start the game, and the boys ran at the first bark of the dog, to be in at the death. When the animal took to a tree, it was cut down, or a fire was built and a guard set to keep him until morning, when he was brought down by a shot. The motive for the hunt was three-fold, - the sport, the protection of the corn, and tlio value of the skin, the raccoon being a furred animal. The greatest speculation in this line of which the town can boast, was made by Job Smith, whom many will remember, and who is mentioned in the county records, in the description of a road, as " a man of some note." He is said to have bought a quantity of goods of a New York dealei', promising to pay "five hundred coon skins taken as they run," naturally meaning an average lot. The dealer, after waiting a reasonable time for his fur, came oti to investigate, and inquired of his debtor when the skins would be delivered. "Why," said Mr. Smith, "you were to take them as they run; the woods are full of them; take them when you please." The moral of the story would not be complete without stating that the same Job Smith was afterwards arrested as a manufacturer of counterfeit coin.

Thrifty men pursued the b.isiness of hunting as a pastime. The only man in town, perhaps, to wliom it afforded profitable business, in any sense, was Solomon Whittlesey. Other professional hunters were shiftless meu, to whom hunting was a mere passion, having something of the attractions of gambling. Mr. Whittlesey did not neglect his farm, but he knew every haunt and path of the deer and the turkey, and often on their track by day and by night. He is with US to-day, and reports the killing of one bear, two wolves, twenty wild cats, about one hundred and fifty deer, and smaller game too numerous to si)ecify. One branch of his business was bee hunting, a pursuit which rerjuired a keen eye, good judgnuiut and practice. The method of the hunt was to raise an odor in the forest, by placing honey comb on a hot stone, and in the vicinity another piece of comb charged with honey. The bees wei'C attracted liy the smell, and having gorged themselves with the iioney, they took ii bct'-li lie for their tree. Tliis line the hunter observed and marked iiy two or more trees in range. He then took another station, not on this line, and went through the same operation. Those two lines, if fortunately selected, would converge u])on the bee tree, and could be followed out by a pocket compass. The tree, when found, was marked by tiie hunter with his initials, and could be cut down at tlu! proper time.

Another form of the sjiort of hunting was even more classic, the hunting of the wild boar. For many years there was an unliroken forest, two miles in breidt.h, running through the township, between the North ridge and the lake shore farms. This forest became the haunt of fugitive hogs, that fed on the abundant mast, or, in Yankee phrase, "shack," whieh the forest yielded. These animals were bred in the forest, and in the third generation liecame as fierce as the wild boar of the Euro])ean forest. The animal in this condition was about as worthless, for domestic purposes, as a wolf, as gaunt and as savage. Still it was customary, in the fall and early winter, to organize hunts for reclaiming some valuable animal that had become thus degenerate. The hunt was exciting and dangerous. The genuine wild boar, exasperated by dogs, was the most terrible creature in our forest. His onset was too sudden and headlong to be avoided or turned aside, and the snaj) of his tusks, as he sharpened them in his fury, was somewhat terrible. Two at least of our young men, Walter C'rocker and Truman Tryon, were thrown down and badly rent in such encounters, and others had narrow escapes.

The principal fishing ground of the early years was the "flood wood" of the Vermillion. The lake fishing is a nuidern discovery. It was not known that the lake contained fish that wei'e accessible. Other sports and recreations were few and simple, most of them presenting the utilitarian element. There were logging bees to hel]) a, man who had been sick or unfortunate, raisings to put up a log cabin or barn, and militia trainings, which were entered into earnestly by men who had smelt ]>owder in the recent war. Then there was an occasional patriot among us of the Revolution days who tired the youthful heart by tales of the times that tried men's souls. Chief among these was George Bacon, Sr. , rejjorted to have been one of the Boston tea party, who brought honorable wounds from the battle field and drew his pension from the government. Then there was Stephen James, with a b;ir sinister in his escutcheon, because he chanced to be of tory stock, still a true patriot, and a bi'ave and stately man. It is not strange that

The Fourth of .July was observed with such humble appointments as were at hand. An old musket that liad been throusih the wars was the loudest piece that eonlil be found, and this was brought into rerpiisition. One Independence day, .John Curtis, an ambitious youth, l)rought out a cannon, whi(;h lie had manufactured by boring a cylinder of oak and strapj)ing it with iron bauds from a wagon hub. Tiie piece was well ehai'ged and placed on the bank of the river, near his father's, in the midst of a crowd of boys, and fired witii a slow match. The report was satisfactory, but the splinters flew in all directions and the iron bauds were a total loss - tliey were never found. What was more important, no one was iiurt. As the community gained new ideas and advanced in civilization, these Fourtli of .July celebrations took on a jihilan- Ihrojiic charMcter, and re]ireseuted the interests of the iSabbatli school and the temperance cause. For such a gathering, held thirty-five years ago to-day, the work on the first fraiue church was hastened forward to furnish a place for the meeting. One feature of tlie exercises brought out the Sabbath sciiool. Each scholar and each teacher was provided with a passage of scripture, selected for tlie occasion, to be recited in order. It was in the days of President Jackson, who was es|)ecially olmoxious to true New Englanders. When Alva Curtis was called on, he startled us with the petition, ''Let his days be few, and let another take his olfiee." Probably the whole congregation could say amen, for, as I remember, only three Jackson votes were cast in the township.

If any one should infer tliat early life here was more unsatisfactory or less desirable than life at the present time, it would be a misapproliensiou. There were difficulties to be encountered, but they had their compensations. Tiiere was poverty to endure, but it was ecpially disti'ilnited, and was cheered with the iiopo of a good time coming, a poverty that stimulated to activity, and brougiit no degradation. There was want of many advantages which tend to the elevation and refinement of character; but such advantages had been enjoyed by tlie early settlers in tlieir New England h(.inies, and tlie results would not be wholly lost before they gathered about themselves those desirable tilings. T'hei'e was iiard work to do, but it was well done; and such woi'k with encouragement to do it, is the best opportunity. Few of those who bore the burden and he;it of the day, ever regretted their calling; and most of them have lived to reap a good harvest. Yew cf tlie original families have reached this anniversary (July 4r, 1867,) without sad breaches in their circle. This is incidental to our mortal life.

Anotiior fifty years and not one will remain of all that gathered among these forests. Some of the families, prominent in the early times, have now no living representative in the population of the place. Among these are the families of Judge Brown, Alva Curtis, William Aherson and the Peases. Most of the others have still a pt>sterity and a name among us. The town has sent out many worthy children to help build up other communities, some to repeat, in a degree, the achievments of their parents, as pioneers at the west. The life encouraged here has been of a quiet, unambitious ty]ic, and tiio results in general corres- ])on(l. We liave no pulilic men to speak of; no politician seems to have sjiruug up amongus; few to look for public position or office. But these are not the characters the world most needs. We can gather a few ministers of tlie gospel, a few teachers, and many worthy and useful people, and this is well.

There is a little shadow upon our prosjiect as we look forward to fifty years to come. It is pleasant to believe that the places that are sacred to us with all pleasant memories, will be held by our children to an indefinite future. That another people shall come in to whom these farms, and streets, and dwellings are sini]>ly so much territmy to be appropriated, the life that has passed here ail unknown to them, is not an inviting prospect. Yet such is the jirospect that ojiens to us to-day. Stranger eyes have looked upon tiiese pleasant farms and will claim them for themselves, in all honesty and honor, with such a claim as an American citizen can never dispute, paying a fair pi'ice, and occupying them with a thrifty and successful culture. It is thirty years or more since the first German family obtained a footing here. Now the splendid (dd farms along the lake and all the northern part of the town, are in their jiossession. A similar change is taking place in the south, and the movement is towards the center. An entire change in the population of the town seems probable, and almost inevitable; a result whieli we object to, not in our reason, but in our feeling. Humanity loses nothing, norcven the country ;it large; but the sentiment of local interest which gathers us to-day, is less satisfied with the outlook. Fifty years hence, the faces, and the voices, and the names of strangers will be seen and heard at holiday gatherings and along these streets. The familiar names that seem to us identified with tlie very face of nature, will be heard here no more forever.

God grant that these names be written in His "book of ren.embrance," securing a title to "Mn inheritauco inciu'ruptible and undeflled, and that fadeth not away, eternal in the heavens."

[The greater part of this history being that of President FairchiM. delivered in an address July 4, 1867. the reader will understand th*' meaning of certain phrases and sentences, if this fact is borne in triind.J was boni ill the City of Hartford, Connecticnt, September 18, 1797, and is tlie second son of Ashbel Wells and Mary Hopkins, the former a son of Ashbel Wells, the latter a daughter of Thomas Hopkins, a prominent sea captain of his day; all of English ancestry. Thefatiicrof Deacon George Wells was a clerk in the commissary department of General Washington's army, during the Revolutionary war, and subsequently a well known and extensive mercliant at liartford. He died September 4, 1819, aged sixty-one years. He was very generally respected, and his death looked upon as a public calamity, in the community in which he had been long engaged in business.

When seventeen years of age, George Wells left his native city, and came as far west as Albany, New York, obtaining employment there, at Little Falls, and at Utica, and finally located at Canandaigua, working at his trade, which was that of a shoemaker. He remained there about one and a half years, and subsequently, on Jun 18, 1818, arrived at Brownhelm, Ohio, coming by way of the hike from Buffalo. He took up s(nne fifty acres of land, on the lake shore, which he afterward increased to one hundred acres. His time was occupied partly at farming, and partly at his trade. He built a log cabin, in which he lived nineteen years.

In 1837, he sold out, intending to move farther west, but finally purchased the place upon which he now resides, containing one hundred and twenty-five acres. He cleared and improved both farms.

Mr. Wells was married to Maria, daughter of Jouatiian Butler, of Hartford, March 22, 1825. They had seven children, - four sons and three daughters. All the sons have departed this life. The youngest was killed at the battle of South Mountain, during the war of the rebellion. They all attained to manhood. On the 28th of June, 1866, Mrs. Wells died, aged sixty-three years. The daughters all survive. Elizabeth G. married Joseph Sisson, of Hartford, who lost his life by a mowing machine accident; Mary M. married Benjamin F. Nye, who was killed at the battle 'of the Wilderness; Abigail S. married Frederick II. Bacon, and resides a short distance from her father's old home. Mr. Wells married again, December 33, 1866, Mrs. Catherine M. Gardner. She has one daughter, Marie Antoinette, wife of Lyman Yerkes, of Detroit, Michigan.

has been remarkably good. He was always an active man, and last October, (1878,) he rode twice to Elyria and back, a distance of thirty miles. He is one of the very oldest pioneers of this township, as well as one of its most woi-thy citizens. (See illustration on another page).

Solomon Whittlesey

One of the earliest and most prominent settlers of Brownhelm, was Solomon Whittlesey. We find him frequently mentioned in J. H. Fairchild's "History of Brownhelm." The exact date of his arrival is not given, but his name appears in connection with early religious matters in the year 1819. It is stated in the work above referred to that " The church was organized June 10, 1819, at the house of Solomon Whittlesey, and consisted of sixteen members, seven . men and nine women." Again referring to Mr. Whittlesey, President Fairchild says : "Thrifty men pursued the business of hunting as a pastime. The only man in town, perhaps, to whom it afforded profitable business in any sense, was Solomon Whittlesey. Other professional hunters were shiftless men, to whom hunting was a mere passion, having something of the attraction of gambling. Mr. Whittlesey did not neglect his farm, but he knew every haunt and path of the deer and the turkey, and was often in their track by day and by night. He is with us to-day, (1867) and reports the killing of one bear, two wolves, twenty wild cats, almost one hundred and fifty deer, and smaller game too numerous to specify. One branch of his business was bee hunting, a pursuit which required a keen eye, good judgment and practice. The method of the hunt was to raise an odor in the forest, by placing honey comb on a hot stone, and in the vicinity another piece of comb charged with honey. The liees were attracted by the smell, and having gorged themselves with the honey, they took a hec line for their tree. This line the hunter observed and marked by two or more trees in range. He then took another station, not on this line, and went through tiie same operation. These two lines, if fortunately selected, would conyerge upon the bee tree, and could be followed out by a pocket compass. The tree, when found, was marked by the hunter with his initials, and could be cut down by him, at the proper time." Mr. Whittlesey is also accredited with having been among the first in Brownhelm township to manufacture pearl-ash, which he did quite extensively. He seems to have been one of the most industrious and energetic of the pioneers, and a worthy man in every respect. He died February 22, 1871, aged eighty-four years, nine months and twenty-two days ; his excellent widow survived him about two years, she departing this life on the 26th of April, 1873, aged seventy-one years, one month and three days.

William Sayles

was Ijoi'ii at Milan, Erie county, Oliio, June 5, 1821, and was tlie sixth child in a family of eight children of Lemuel Sayles, who was born March 8, 1783, and Laura Adams, who was born February 4, 1789, she being a native of Utica, New York. Tlie subject of this sketch started out in life at the age of fourteen, sustaining the loss of his excellent mother at a tender Duriuir the winter months he attended school, and by being industrious and intlefatigalde in the pursuit of knowledge, he became ([uite prot:cient in the English branches, and followed school teaching as an avocation, commencing in the winter of 183'J-"40, at New London Center, Huron county, Ohio, and continued for nineteen consecutive winters, all but the first one, in the vicinity of his present home. He made his first purchase of land, consisting of fifty acres, in the year 1845, in Vermillion township. He bought his present farm of one hundred acres in the spring of 1851, and has since added some adjoining land to it.

Mr. Sayles was united in marriage with Sarah C, daughter of Perry and Elizabeth Darley, July 3, 1843. She was from Frederickstowu, Maryland. She died May G, 1870, regretted by her friends, and deeply mourned by her relatives. . She joined the Congregational Church of Vermillion, in 1845, and her connection with that body ceased only with her life. Ilcr husljand became a member of the church at the same time, and still retains his connection with it. For his second wife, Mr. Sayles married Lovina E., daughter of John and Elizabeth Gordon, of Paulding county, Ohio, in Seiitomber, 1877, who is still living.

Mr. Sayles is a self-made man in the broadest sense of that term. He secured his education by personal efforts, and the same energy and determination to succeed that characterized his endeavors in that direction, has attended him in his subsecpient business career. From .January 18, 18G4, until 1875, he occupied the position of superintendent of the Antwerp Iron Works, located in Paulding county, Ohio, and retains an interest in the same at present.

In early life he was an old line whig; and in the formation of the republican party espoused its principles as being best calculated to perpetuate popular government and our American institutions. He was elected a justice of the peace in 187(!, and still holds that office. He has also been township treasurer, assessor, etc., at ditfcrent, times. A fine illustration, surmounted with the family jiortraits, api)ears elsewhere in this volume, which forms an approjjriate page in the history of Brownlielm.

John H. Heymann

was born in Nassau, Germany, August 13, 1828. lie was the third son in a family of eight children of (ieorge Ileymann. The whole fannly emigrated t.o

America in 1848, and settled in Lyme township, Huron county, Ohio, where they purchased a farm of two hundred acres, upon which John II. worked three years. In 1851, he went to California by way of the Isthmus, where he worked at blacksinithing, mining and teaming. He remained thei'c until 1855, when ho returned to Lyme township and purchased a farm, upon which he remained until 18G8, when he bought a flouring mill, a saw mill and other buildings adjoining, situated in Brownhelm Hollow, on Vermillion river, an illustration of which mills, etc., is given elsewhere in this volume. In 1875, he obtained a half interest in the Amherst flouring mill, and three years later purchased the other half and became sole proprietor of it. The mill in Brownhelm Hollow was destroyed by fire in October, 1876; it was rebuilt the following year, and is one of the finest mills in the county. It contains all the modern improvements, and is capable of turning out as good grist as any mill within a radius of fifty miles.

In August, 1855, Mr. Hcymann and Miss Katheriiie Schied were united in marriage. She was born in Nassau, Germany, January 12, 1832. Her parents were natives of the same place. She had three brothers and two sisters, all of whom came to this country ill 1854, and settled in Peru, Huron county, Ohio, where Mr. Schied bought a farm of one hundred and sev(uity-five acres. They all now live in Huron and Erie counties, except the father, who is dead.

Mr. and Mrs. Heymann have had ten children, seven daughters and three sons, all of whom are living. The oldest son is married, as is also the oldest daughter.

Mr. Heymann is one of the substantial and respected men of his towiishi]), and enjoys a good general reputation for industry, honesty and economy.

Henry Brown

Judge Brown was born in Stockbridge. Massachusetts, .June 3, 1773. In his youth he commenced a course of liberal education and entered Harvard college, l)ut l:)y reason of the failure of his health when in his sophomore year he was compelled to discontinue his studies. After partially restoring his health by travel, he engaged in merchandise in his native town and continued in the business until his western interests required its abandonment. In the fall of 181G, he visited the tract of country, then simply known as iiuml)er six in the nineteenth range (now Brownhelm) and on his return east he entered into contract with the Connecticut Land Company for the purchase of threefourths of the township, and with the Messrs. Rockwells, of Colebrook, Connecticut, for the rest. Under his lead many of his old neighbors in Stockbridge removed to his western purchase and settled. Col. 'Brown, as he was formerly called, selected for himself a t ract of about a mile s(piare, in the northeast corner of the town, and sent out, in the winter of 1816-17, several young men to ei'ect him a house and to commence the improvement of his land. lie removed with his family in the summer of 1818, and took up his abode on the lake shore in tlie house previously built.

Upon the organization of the county of Lorain, Col. Brown was ajijiointed one of the three associate judges of the county, a position which, both by reason of his business cx]icriencc and the natural bent of liis mind, he was well (|ualitied to fill. Not unfrequeutly, in the absence of the presiding judge, he was obliged to proceed with the business, even to charging tlie jury. He was always C((ual to these emergencies. Judge Brown's record on tlio bench was an exceedingly creditable one.

He was a man of cntoi'prise and public spirit, liberally supporting with his means and time every object tending to the improvement of society. Long before his conversion, which occurred at a comparatively late period in his life, no one was more earnest in the support of the gospel, and few members of the churcli more regular in their attendance upon its appointed services. When the people in Brownhelm began to think of inviting a minister to settle among them, he proposed to pay one-eighth of the expense. After a few years he united with the church, his wife and some of the children having previously joined. ^ His lialiit of i)unctuality in everytJiing, especially in his attendance at every meeting, directly or indirectly iitfecting tlie church, was reniarkalile. It is said by one who knew liini well '"that during a whole winter, ; two evenings in a week, when nearly seventy years of age, he came through mud and rain, snow and frost, (o attend a singing school; and u}) to his last attendance on jiublic worship he was always to be found in his place in the choir."

He was frequently a delegate from the presbytery to tlie general assembly of the Presbyterian church, and in one year spent not less than five months, including his attendance at a churcli trial in Pbiladelj)hia, and the convention at Auburn.

Judge Brown also took an active part in the establishment of a college in the Western Reserve, attending the meeting at Hudson, called for the purpose. '"Indeed," says a writer on this subject, "but for him and another friend of the college, no such charter would have been obtained as the friends of the institution would have accepted. There was deadly hostility to it in the Legislature; and the charter which tliey asked was so altered in its provisions as to jtrevent the possibility of securing religious instruction, and as such was passed through the house. Intelligence of this was comnuuiicated to the friends of the institution. Judge Brown and the other (Rev. Caleb Titkin) went with haste to Columbus, and arrived just as the bill was about to be read for tlie third time. They succeeded, by the aid of a friend, in arresting this; and after days and evenings of patient waiting upon the opponents of the contemplated institution, they succeeded in obtaining the charter as they had asked, with the exception of two trustees, against whom there was such personal hostility as no arguments could overcome."

Judge Brown Avas afterwards a member of the board of trustees of this college, and continued in the ollicc until the infirmities of age compelled him to relinipiisli it.

He was a man of many social <[ualities, and of much intelligence. His hospitality was unljininded. His log house on the hdvc shore was the general rendezvous of the early emigrants and in many other ways tliey were the recipients of his practical benevolence.

Rev. Alfred Ii. Betts

Rev. Alfred H. Betts took up his residence in Brownhelm in January, 1821. He was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, September 2, 1786. November 2, 1809, he was united in marriage to Sally Harris, daughter of Captain Luther Harris, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. In early life, he adopted the profession of medicine, and ijracticed for ten years in Daubury. In the fall of 1816, he and his father-in-law came to Ohio, and selected a place for settlement in Florence, Erie county. After the erection of a cabin. Captain Harris returned cast for their families, with whom he arrived the next season. Dr. Betts sjjent the first two or three Sabbaths with Deacon Beardslee and family, who, a short time before, settled in Vermillion. They had a few religious" exercises, such as singing, prayer, and a sermon, read by Dr. Betts. He was soon invited by others in their neighborliood to come to their dwellings, and hold similar meetings, at which a few families would be invited to attend. And thus began his "i-eading meetings."

In a short time. Dr. Betts had regular appointments at Birmingham, Florence, Vermillion, and other places. In consequence of the detention of his freight at Buffalo, until the next spring after his arrival. Dr. Betts had but one suit of clothes, which, having to wear in the woods through the week, was hardly suitable for the pulpit on the Sabbath. Long before the arrival of his goods, his old coat needed repairing, and Deacon Beardslee's wife would mend it as best she could, with the means she had. Some rents were drawn up, and some covered with patclies of such cloth as she had, which was not always of the same color. In the spring his boots were gone, and a neighbor made him a pair of moccasins. The condition of his apparel greatly disturbed him, and he began to question whether he had better continue in his old clothes, or suspend the meetings until the arrival of his goods. He consulted a few of his friends in regard to the matter, who told him that, as he had

After his stock of printed sermons was exhausted ho prepared discourses of his own; yet he did not call them sermons, and he was always careful to assure his auditors that he was not actually a minister. A missionary hearing of Dr. Betts' labors called upon him for the purj)ose of satisfying himself as to the denomination to which he belonged. "I came to Vermillion," he said, 'and asked a young man if they had any preaching:" He said 'uo.' 'Have you any meetings?' 'Yes, a num comes from tlie Uidge and holds meetings on the Sabbath.' 'What is he?' 'Don't know; guess a Methodist?' Of another I made the same inquiries wlio guessed you whs a Baptist. Another still, thought you was a Univorsalist. "And now," said he, "I want to i<u(iw fnun you, yourself, what you arc?' " Dr. Betts was al)lc to satisfy him and lie departed.

In the su)rimer of 1810. Dr. Betts went to Iludsuif, Portage county, io prepare himself for the ministry. He remained until April, 1830, when he was licensed by the Presljytery. lie returned to Florence, where his family liad remained, and continued the meetings formerly held by him. In tlie winter of 1820-'21, he received a call from the Congregational church in Brownlielm, whicli he accepted and was ordained and installed Ajiril 5, 1821. He continued pastor of the church twelve years, when he 'was dismissed at his own request. Dr. Betts was one of the busiest and best known men in the country. For years he traveled all over this region, having visited every township on the fire lands, assisting in organizing churclies and performing the duties of colporteur and Bible distributor. On the occasion of a donation visit at a late period in his life, by his friends from many of the towns comprising the field of his early labors, it was remarked by one of the visitors that a great many people had assembled. "Yes," said Dr. Betts, after a moment's' reflection, "and there is not a family represented that I have not lodged with.''

His busy and useful life came to a close September 8, 1860. Of his thirteen children ten lived to mature vears. Six are now living; two of them in Brownlielm.

Source changes here: from History of Lorain County Ohio with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pionners, by Various, published 1879; 55,453 words in this source stream.

Brownhelm Township

ch Solomon Whittlesey, 1924 Portrait of Solomon Whittlesey . Residence of Cyrus L. Whittlesey Portraits of William Sayles and Wife Portrait of Mrs, Sarah C. Sayles (deceased) Residence of William Sayles

Prefatory Note

Following the settlement, is subjoined the greater part of the address of President J. H. Fairchild, on the '' Early Settlement and History of Brownhelm," delivered at Brownhelm, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its settlement. We make use of this instead of writing a new sketch, because (1) as a history of the township it is quite full and remarkably accurate, as we have verified by personal interviews with the older residents of the place; and (2) because of its admirable treatment of some phases of pioneer life of which they only, who have experienced them, can give an adequate portrayal. President Fairchild was himself a pioneer of Brownhelm, and describes the characteristics of life in the new country from the standpoint of experience.

The early settlement we have written up more fully. but regret that in regard to some of the early settlers, but little information could be obtained. Some additional matter in regard to the churches, township organization, etc., is likewise incorporated. ;

Town number six, in range nineteen, of the Connecticut Western Reserve was drawn in the draft by Asher Miller and Nathan Shalor. It originally extended south to tract fourteen and fifteen, in the nineteenth range, and included nearly a third of the

Physical Features

The western part of the township is traversed by the crooked Vermillion, whose broad valley, and high, steep banks give a pleasing diversity to the generally level surface. There are several other small streams not designated by name on the county map.

The soil is more or less clay, modified along the ridges by gravel and sand, and, in small areas in the northern part of the town, by a deep, black muck of great fertility.

'« The privilege of naming the place was yielded by the citizens, at a meeting called for the purpose, at Mr. Barnum's, to Colonel Brown. He gave it the name of Brownhelm, a name which, in the early days, was a source of some displeasure, as implying that Colonel Brown was to steer the ship, a thought which was probably not in his mind in connection with the name. He doubtless sought only for an agreeable termination of the name, and found it in the old Saxon word ham or hem, softened for euphony to helm, and signifying 'home,' or dwelling place, and thus the name means ' Brown's home." To some of the early inhabitants, it sounded like Brown at the helm, and a petition was at one time circulated to have the name changed to Freedom. We may be thankful that the popular disgust never reached such a consummation. The good old name is original, euphonious, and happy in its signification. There is no better name in the land."

Eakly Settlement

In 1816, Col. Henry Brown of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, visited this portion of the Western Reserve, with the purpose in view of selecting for purchase a large tract of land, and on his return to Massachusetts he entered into contract for this township, then known only as number six, in range nineteen. In the fall of the same year, accompanied by several young men, he came on the ground, erected a log 'house on the lake shore, and then returned to Massachusetts, leaving his men to make further preparations for the'reception of the families the next season.

Early in the foilowing year, Levi Shepard and Sylvester Barnum and their families, and two daughters of Stephen James, who came with Mr. Shepard, left Stockbridge for this township, where they arrived, after a protracted and tedious journey, in the afternoon of July 4, 1817. Mr. James with his two sons (his wife having died previously) started from Stockbridge about the same time as Deacon Shepard and his associates, but taking the boat at Buffalo for Black River, reached the place about a week in advance of them. Mr Shepard and family are the conceded first settlers. ''Mr. Shepard and his wife, without indicating their purpose to their fellow trayelers, were careful to lead the way as they approached the selected territory, so as to be first on the ground. They crossed the line between Black River and Brownhelm some rods in adyance of their associates, and thus they properly have the honor of being the first settlers."

Some of the young men who came with Colonel Brown had returned east, but four of them remained and were on the ground when the three families arrived. These were Peter P. Pease, William Alverson, Charles Whittlesey and William Lincoln. They were then single, but they subsequently married and settled in the town.

The first occurrence worthy of note after the arrival of Deacon Shepard and his party is thus described by President Fairchild: 'The first work of the assembled group was to prepare an independence dinner in honor of the occasion. 'This is believed to have been the first meal ever spread in the township by white women. Some of the young men, looking on while the women prepared the meal, were moved to tears. It was the first sight of any thing like home that had met their eyes for many months. The material for the dinner was not over-abundant or varied, embracing the bread and pork which the young men contributed, and the relics of the provisions with which the travelers had been furnished for the journey. But the seasoning of appetite, novelty and hope made it a dinner long to be remembered, such as one enjoys but once in a life time."

Of that party of sixteen persons that shared in the meal, two are yet living, - Levi Shepard and Mrs. Parkhust, then Cordelia James, - the former having reached the advanced age of ninety-four.

Shepard, Barnum, and James took up their abode on the lake shore, jointly occupying, for a time, the log house of Colonel Brown. Barnum, in a few days, vacated, his family living in a lumber wagon, on his purchase, for a short time, until the completion of his house. He remained but a few years in the township. Most of his family died of a malignant disease called '' milk sickness," or '' sick stomach," which prevailed so fatally in the town in an early day, and he returned to Massachusetts, where he subsequently died.

Shepard and James continued their occupancy of the Brown house, until the erection, by the former, of a cabin, on his purchase on lot six, when the two families took up their abode there, - Mr. James and family occupying a part of the house for about a year, when he erected a cabin on his farm, west of Colonel Brown.

It is rarely that we find, in the prosecution of our work, the first settler of a township still living. Deacon Shepard now lives in Brownhelm, well alomg in his ninety-fifth year. He was born near Sturbridge, Worcester county, Massachusetts, December 9, 1784, and when a boy, removed with his parents to Stockbridge, where he resided until his emigration to Ohio. He was a blacksmith, and prosecuted his trade in connection with his farm work, for several years in Brownhelm, his patrons paying him in work at clearing and logging on his farm. Mr. Shepard was blessed with a remarkably strong constitution. At the age of eighty-th) ee, he could work all day with almost as little consequent fatigue as in the days of his young manhood; and the summer immediately preceding his eighty-fourth birthday, he was engaged in chopping wood, and splitting rails, almost the entire season. In December, 1876, he sustained a partial stroke of paralysis in his lower limbs, and since that time, he has moved about with difficulty. His hearing and eyesight are also much impaired. But, notwithstanding his bodily infirmities, his mind still remains comparatively vigorous, and his memory of early events is remarkably good. He is small in stature, and his form is now much bent, - bowed down by the weight of years. He enjoys, extremely, a chat about pioneer times, and relates with glee how he secured for himself and family the honor of being the first settlers. Deacon Shepard has no descendants now livinging the town. His third wife died some years ago, and of his four children, - two sons and two daughters, - only the former are living, - somewhere in the west.

Stephen James was born in Middlesex, Connecticut, August 8, 1767, but removed to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, when voung. He was prominently identified with the church for many years in Brownhelm, and also in Stockbridge, where he was first elected to the office of deacon under Rev. Dr. West. This office he filled with equal credit to himself, and satisfaction to the church. He instituted the first known religious services held in this township, holding a meeting at Judge Brown's house the Sunday immediately preceding the arrival of Deacon Shepard and his associates. Before the advent of the minister, he led the meetings of the little band in the woods of Brownhelm, regularly sustaining a reading service on the Sabbath, in connection with his brethren, until they were blessed with the stated ministry of the word. He frequently officiated on funeral and other occasions, and assisted in the organization of religious services in neighboring settlements. He was well qualified for such work, possessing, it is said, among other qualifications, considerable fluency of speech. In all the walks of life, Deacon James was distinguished for benevolence, moral rectitude, and earnest, active piety. He married, at the age of twenty-seven, Hannah Schofield, of Stanford, Connecticut, who died in 1811, leaving five children, three sons and two daughters. One of the sons being an apprentice in Massachusetts, never emigrated to the west. In the fall of 1828, he married Miss Rhoda Buck, of Connecticut, who was visiting friends in

Among the prominent citizens of the town in which he resides, the subject of this sketch occupies a foremost position. He is one of the pioneers of the county, and also one of its best: practical farmers. He is the fifth child of Abishua and Anna Morse, and was born in the town of Great Barrington, Mass., Feb. 15, 1819. Two years prior to the time when he first saw the light, his grandfather, Seth Morse, himself a native of Massachusetts, made a visit to Ohio for the purpose of selecting lands. His choice fell upon the place where his son (Abishua) settled in the fall of 1821. It was not, however, until about the year 1826 or 1827 that Seth Morse came to reside on the land he had After his mained until his death. Abishua erected a primitive log house near where George G. now resides. To do this he had to fell some trees in order to effect a clearing. He continued to improve his farm, and a short time subsequent to the erection of his log house, he built a frame barn, and a few years preceding his demise he erected the present residence of his son, of whom we write more particularly.

At the time of his death, which occurred Dec. 11, 1835, he possessed from two hundred to two hundred and fifty acres of land, and had he lived to an old age he would doubtless have been a very wealthy man, as he was a very good one. He enjoyed the esteem and respect of all who knew him.

Anna Ray Morse

ing for his brother and others for some eight or ten years. His first start for himself was the purchase of forty acres of land, about the year 1845. From that time to the present he has been eminently successful, and now occupies the position of a good citizen and first-class agriculturist, and an honest man. This is the natural result of untiring energy and ceaseless industry.

Mr. Morse has been twice married. His first wife was Mary A., daughter of Purley Moulton, of Brownhelm, with whom he united his fortunes May 15, 1851. She died August 15, 1861. His second and present wife was Hliza J., daughter of Jesse Ball, Jr., of Vermilion township. They have had five children born to them, namely: Henry G., Herbert J., Jennie E., George B., who died at the age of four years, and Freddie Ray. Mrs. Morse is an exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Morse is a liberal contributor to religiousand educational enterprises, having assisted in building nearly every church in_ his vicinity.

He is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and fifty acres, upon which are good frame buildings, an illustration of which appears in another page of this work.

Owing to general regular habits, he preserves the hale and hearty appearance of a man in the prime of life, and in his personal appearance resembles

Brownhelm at the time. No children were born of this marriage. Deacon James died in 1841, his wife surviving him several years. His daughter, Mrs. Parkhurst, is still living in the township, aged seventythree.

Before the close of the year in which the families previously mentioned arrived, those of Solomon Whittlesey, Alva Curtis, Ebenezer Scott and Benjamin Bacon moved in. Mr. Whittlesey located on the farm now occupied by his son Cyrus, his original habitation being situated a short distance east of the son's pres- ént frame house. Mr. Whittlesey was a great hunter in his pioneer days. His death occurred in 1871, aged eighty-five.

Deacon Curtis settled near the Vermillion, on the spot now occupied by Fred. Bacon. He opened here, in his house, the first hotel in the town. He has no descendants living in Brownhelm, and we have but little information concerning him. He died in 1846, his wife subsequently.

Mr. Bacon made his location where his son William now resides. He was the first justice of the peace in the place. Mr. Bacon was qualified by nature to be a leader, and was probably a man of as mucb influence and extended acquaintance as any other in the settlement. This weight of character was used on the side of order, education and sound morality.

The next year the settlement was increased by the arrival of a dozen families. One of the first was that of Anson Cooper, who moved in from Euclid, Cuyahoga county, where he had resided about a year. He took up his residence on the place now occupied by his widow in her eighty-third year. Mr. Cooper died in 1846. He was the first town clerk in Brownhelm.

The families of Colonel Brown, Grandison Fairchild, Alfred Avery, Enos Cooley, Elisha Peck, George Bacon, John Graham, Orrin Sage, Chester Seymour, Thomas Ely and Dr. Brown moved in soon after. Colonel Brown took up his abode in the house on the lake shore already prepared for him. <A brief biography of Mr. Brown may be found at the close of the history of this township.

Grandison Iairchild was born in Sheftield, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, April 20, 1792. November 25, 1813, he married Nancy Harris, daughter of William Harris, who was an early settler in Brownhelm. She was born October 30, 1795. Mr. Fairchild, with his family, then consisting of wife and three children, removed from Stockbridge, Massachusetts, to Brownhelm in September, 1818, coming from Buffalo to Cleveland on the pioneer steamer, Walk-in-the- Water. Four days were spent on the water, the vessel lying for two days on a bar at Erie. From Cleveland the journey was made with team and wagon. Mr. Fairchild's location was on North ridge, between the present residence of his son Charles and the church. He is yet a resident of the town, now living a short distance east of his original location, in his eightyseventh year, erect and seemingly as vigorous as ever. Mrs. Fairchild died in August, 1875. There were

Orrin Sage, originally from Hartford, Connecticut, married Lucy Cooper, of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in June, 1818, and, immediately afterwards, with George Bacon and his wife, who was a sister of Mrs. Sage, set out for the distant west. The party had a wagon and two ox-teams, and a single horse and wagon with which they made the journey, and were five weeks coming through. At Buffalo they shipped their goods by the lake to Black river. Sage located on the farm adjoining on the north - that on which Mrs. Bacon now lives. He died in October, 1823, and his widow soon after exchanged farms with Jonathan Hosford, and returned with her little son to Stockbridge. Bacon located on the farm, now occupied by his widow, formerly Mrs. Sage. His first wife died in 1826, and he returned to Stockbridge and a year subsequently married Mrs. Sage, when they removed to Brownhelm. Mrs. Bacon died in January, 1875. Mr. Bacon is now in her eightysixth year. She says the first barrel of meat the family used in Brownhelm, cost thirty dollars, and was of the '"'shank" variety.

Enos Cooley began life in the wilderness on a cash capital of six cents. He located near the lake shore, erecting his cabin on the spot now occupied by the residence of the widow of Lewis Braun. Ue subsequently removed to a permanent location on the North ridge, where he resided until his death, in 1847. Two of his children are now living in this township. They are Moses and Chester A. The latter owns and operates at Bacon's Corners the only cheese factory in the town.

Elisha Peck, with wife and ten children, arrived in Brownhelm, in November of the year previously mentioned. The family stopped with Colonel Brown the night after their arrival, and then moved into the house of Alfred Avery, where they remained some three weeks. They then took up their abode on lot fifty-four, a log house having been rolled together. It was indeed a primitive house when the family moved into it, for it was without a floor of any kind, and the first night, the children made their bed on mother earth. The father and mother were provided with a bedstead constructed of poles, and elm. bark was made to answer in place of a cord. Mr. Peck was a shoemaker, and worked at his trade-for over sixty years. He also had a rude tannery in Brownhelm at an early day. He was born in Berlin, Connecticut, March 7, 1773, and died in Brownhelm January 7, 1858, aged eighty-four years and ten months. His wife was Millicent Byington, of Bristol, Connecticut. Four children are now living.

Deacon George Wells, now residing in Brownhelm, in the eighty-second year of his age, arrived in 1818. He was at the time unmarried. He bought a piece of land on the lake shore, felled a tree, and with a few poles and bark made himself a rude shelter, in which he lived the first summer. A short time after- ward this was substituted by a log house, in which his widowed mother and the remainder of her family took up their abode in the summer of 1820. Mr. Wells returned to Hartford in 1825, and married, immediately after which he set out with his bride for the far west. At Buffalo he engaged passage on a vessel, the captain of which agreed to land him on the shore opposite his residence in Brownhelm. He disregarded his promise, however, and carried Mr. Wells and wife to Johnson's Island, thence to Sandusky, and finally landed them, with some twenty other passengers, at Cedar Point. Mr. Wells and wife started for their Brownhelm cabin on foot, but after traveling some ten miles, were overtaken by Captain Day, who was returning to Black River from Sandusky, on horseback. He kindly offered his place on the horse to the young wife, which was accepted, Mr. Wells and the captain traveling on foot. The end of the journey was duly reached, when two men with a skiff were sent after' Mrs. Wells' baggage, which was hardly equal either in value or quantity to the outfit of the modern bride.

John Graham married a sister of Deacon Wells, and removed to Brownhelm soon after he arrived. He located on the same lot - lot four - and lived there the remainder of his life.

Abishai Morse came from Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to Brownhelm in September, 1820, with his family, consisting of his wife and five children. Eight were born subsequently. A horse team and wagon brought the family and their effects, and they were six weeks on the journey. They lived with Alva Curtis until their log house was completed. This stood a short distance east of the present residence of his son, Geo. G. Morse, west of the Vermillion. The log house was occupied until 1833, when . the pleasant frame house previously mentioned was erected. He and George Hinckley had a saw mill on the Vermillion in an early day, where Heyman's grist and saw mill now stand; and they afterwards bought the old grist mill of Judge Brown, which had been removed to the same place from its original location near the Swift place. Mr. Morse died in December, 1835. Five of his children are living and four in Lorain county.

Ira Wood came into the township in 1831. His first location was west of the river, where John Stevenson now lives. Stephen Goodrich came in at the same time, and they together established a tannery. Mr. Wood subsequently sold his interest to Goodrich, and moved to the east side of the river, where he now resides. .

There were originally five lines of settlement in town, the lake shore and the four ridges parallel to it. * * * On the lake shore there were Brown, Seymour, James, Shepard, Weed, Dr. Brown, Goodrich, Hart, Sly, Wells, Graham and Sheldon Johnson; and at a later day, Hawley Lathrop and Leach. Between the shore and the first ridge, Cooley, Barnum, Scott; and later, Perley Moulton and Rankin. Along the first ridge, Whittlesey, Alverson, Peter P. Pease, Cooper, Orrin Sage, Moulton, Joseph Scott and Ketchum; and later, Baker, Ewing, Lyon, Culver, Hiram Pease, Hamilton Perry, Parkhurst, Hastings, Bartlett, Hosford, Dimmock, Graves, Blodgett, Hemmingway, James Newbury and Job Smith. On the principal ridge, known as the North ridge, Andrews, Avery, Baldwin, Lincoln, Fairchild, Betts, Daniel Perry, and afterward his sons; the Bacons, three families, Curtis at the mill, Hinkley and Waters Betts; and beyond the river, Abishai Morse, Bradley, Hewett, Booth, Davis and his distillery, and Saunders. At a later day, along the same ridge, we have Belden, Samuel Curtis, Rodney Andrews, Henry Sage, Samuel Bacon, Leavenworth, Dr. Willard, Bailey, Kent Hawley, Edward Morse, Stephen Goodrich, Stephen Brown, John Newbury, Fancher, and many others still later. Along the middle ridge or near it, on one side or the other, Peck, George James, Seth Morse, Wallace, Jones; and at a later day, Harris, Locke, Van Dusen, Ira Rugg, Cable, Frisbie, Chapin, Bushrod Perry, 8. G. Morse, Parsons and Ira Wood;* and still further south, Joseph Swift. On the south ridge road, the earhest families were Powers, Leonard, Durand, Andrews, Hancock, Denison, Holcomb, Abbott and Fuller. This road was soon set off to Henrietta, ** * Almost all of these families came from the east, most from Berkshire county, Massachusetts, some from Connecticut, and a few from other parts. A very few, discouraged by sickness and by the hardships of the new country, returned east." * * * "Tt was not a rare thing for young men to walk the entire distance from Massachusetts to Ohio, carrying a few indispensable articles upon their backs, in a white canvas knapsack. One or more of these knapsacks might be found in almost every neighborhood during the early years, cherished as mementoes of such pedestrian feats. One young man brought in his ' pack,' from Massachusetts to this county, a pair of iron wedges, implements more valuable to him than a wedge of gold. For myself, I have moving reason for recalling the knapsack; for I remember that in the old school house, my seat mate, Delia Peck, and I shared together a flagellation for smiling over the quaint word knapsack, which we found in Webster's old spelling book, held between us. Some of my juvenile hearers will be impressed with the Puritan sternness of our early school discipline, when told that the smile was not audible, and that no whisper accompanied it. Our rebellious hearts even then would question the propriety of the chastisement.

As successive families came on, they found shelter for a few weeks with those who had preceded them, until they could roll up a log house, roof it with ''shakes " and cut an opening fora door. Then

Colonel Elisha Franklin Peck

In the year 1817, Elisha Peck came to this country and made a selection of lands, and erected a log cabin in the town of Brownhelm, Lorain Co., Ohio, which at that time was an unbroken wilderness, after which he returned for his family, consisting of a wife and ten children; and the year following made a permanent settlement, arriving Nov. 12,1818. No furniture was in possession of the family, and a bedstead was improvised for the older members of the family the first night of their stay in the then far West, the children sleeping on the floor. Mr. Peck's purchase amounted to four hundred and fifty acres.

Col. E. F. Peck remained with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, and in the month of August following started out in life for himself, with forty acres of land as a gift from his father; and the same year started for Old Stockbridge, Mass., the old home, to attend school, but was taken sick at Buffalo, N. Y., while working on the harbor. He went to an uncle's in Orleans Co., N. Y., and remained four months. He then returned to Brownhelm, having abandoned the idea of attending school in Massachusetts, and purchased the interests of several members of the family in the estate of his father, and has since added materially to his possessions.

He was married, July 3, 1833, to Sally Ann, daughter of Abishua Morse. This union resulted in the birth of four children, whose names are as follows: Ann Milicent, Lydia

Col. Peck, now seventy-three years of age, is still vigorous and active, and only last fall (1878) plowed and prepared the soil for ten acres of wheat. He has cleared over two hundred acres of heavy timbered land. His physique even now proves the advantage of a life of sobriety, industry, and uprightness. His only education was obtained by giving one day of labor for one day of instruction in the elementary branches. Its practical benefits to himself and family are evinced by his success in life, financially and morally.

In politics, Col. Peck has always been a Democrat, with which party he is prominently identified, and a working member. He is earnest, even zealous in the advocacy of his convictions, and no matter what others may think as to the facts at issue, HE IS SINCERE.

Prior to the late civil war, and during the old militia days, Mr. Peck joined an Ohio regiment, in which he became popular, both asa genial comrade and an able military commander, and passed through the several grades, from private in the ranks to that of colonel, being regimental commander when mustered out of service.

they would move into their new home and finish it at leisure. This finishing consisted in laying a floor of planks split from logs, puncheons as they were called, putting up a chimney in one end of the house, ordinarily of sticks plastered with clay, sometimes of stone, with a large open fire-place, generally made with a hearth and back, without jambs or mantel, adding at length a door, when there was leisure to go to Shupe's mill on Beaver creek, for a board, and a window of glass if it could be had; if not, oiled paper. A later stage in the operation consisted in ''chinking" the cracks between the logs with pieces of wood on the inside, and plastering them without with clay mortar. As leisure and prosperity followed, loose boards were laid above for a chamber floor, and in cases of unusual nicety and taste, the man devoted several evenings to hewing the logs on the sides within, and peeling the bark from the round joists overhead. Families unusually favored had rough stairs to the loft above, otherwise a ladder. An excavation below, entered through a trap in the floor, served as acellar. In rare cases, a family attained to the dignity of a sleeping room, separated from the common living apartment by a_ board partition ; oftener chintz curtains, or sheets, or quilts, secured the privacy of the bed. These often disappeared as the wants of the family pressed, and the bed was left. shelterless.

The furniture of this primitive home was as simple as the domicile itself. The bedstead was made of round poles, shaved or peeled, the posts at the head rising above the bed and joined by a bar in place of a headboard. Elm bark often served in place of a cord. The trundle-bed was the same thing on a smaller scale. A table was extemporized from the cover of a box in which the family goods were brought from the east, while the box itself, with a shelf introduced, served as a cupboard for provisions. A shelf on the side of the room supported the crockery and tin ware, while a few stools, with now and then a back added, according to the mechanical skill or enterprise of the proprietor, served the place of chairs. This simple house, with its simpler furniture, furnished a home by no means uncomfortable where health, and hope, and kindly feeling were the light of it. The skeleton frame house of the pioneer of modern days, without paint, or ceiling, or plaster, or tree to shelter it, will by no means compare with the snug, well chinked, substantial log house of the early settlers.

According to my recollection, the first frame house in town was built by Benjamin Bacon, and the next by Dr. Betts. I am quite sure that Mr. Bacon's was the first painted one that my eyes ever rested on. The first brick house in town, and indeed in the county, was built by my father, in 1824. To this day it is, I believe, the only brick house in the town. It was built with twenty thousand brick, at an aggregate cost of three hundred dollars. It has received some additions and improvements, but does not appear to be as large as when it was first built. The first stylish house in town was Judge Brown's, built in 1826, a grand affair in its day, and still a stately farm house.

The great drawback of the country, and at the sume time its chief advantage, was the grand old forest with which the entire surface was covered, furnishing every variety of timber that could be needed in a new country, in quantities that seemed absolutely inexhaustible. Along the ridges the chestnut prevailed, the trunk from two to four feet in diameter, and a hundred feet in height, furnishing the best fencing material that any new country was ever blessed with. The only discount on the chestnut was in the fact that the stump would remain full thirty years, an offense to the farmer, unless some strenuous means were used to eradicate it. The surest way was to undermine it, and bury it on the spot where it grew. The tree next in value for timber was the whitewood or tulip tree, of regal majesty, and second only to the white pine for finishing lumber, and for some uses superior to it. The oak and the hickory, in every variety and of magnificent proportions, were found everywhere; and, on the lowlands and river bottoms, the black walnut, probably the most stately tree of Northern Ohio forests, inferior in magnificence only to the famous red wood of California, A single specimen was standing on the Vermillion river bottom at a recent date, which was said to measure fifteen feet in diameter above the swell of the roots. In the early years, this valuable fancy timber only ranked next to the chestnut, and there are barns and cowsheds in town roofed with clean black walnut boards, two feet and more in width. With the first settlers, these magnificent forests were not held in high appreciation. They were esteemed usurpers of the soil, and the great endeavor was to exterminate them. The coming generation will not be able to comprehend the labor involved in this enterprise, or the pluck that could accomplish it. ''A man was famous according as he lifted up axes upon the thick trees." No ironsinewed engine was at hand to take the brunt of the work. The pioneer himself, equipped only with his axe, a yoke of oxen and a log chain, must attack, lay low and reduce to ashes the forests that overhung his farm. 'The men that accomplished this were sturdy in limb and strong in heart. A feeble race would have retired from the encounter. The pioneer of the present day, who has only to turn over the prairie sod, and wait for the harvest, can know little of the labor involved in settling a heavy-timbered country. Yet, if this had been a prairie country, its settlement must have been deferred full twenty years. The forests were a vast store house of material for building and fencing, and for fuel. 'The house involved no outlay of capital. Stern labor could accomplish everything. But for these forests each family would have required a capital of a thousand or two of dollars, and facilities for the transportation of lumber and other material would have been required, and a market where the products of the soil could be ex- changed for these materials. The pioneer found his best friend in the forest, but the friendship was one of stern conditions, yielding its advantages only to the brave hearted. It is a little sad to look back to the uncounted thousands of splendid trees of white. wood, and oak, and asb, and hickory, and black walnut, and chestnut, which by dint of vast labor were reduced to ashes, and recall the fact that each one of these trunks, if now standing where it grew, would sell for ten to fifty dollars. Indeed, it is probable that if the original forests could be replaced, the standing timber would bring more at sale than the farms of the township, with all their improvements, are now worth. But our case is not peculiar; at some such sacrifice every new country is settled. The farms of New England would to-day scarce sell for enough to construct the stone walls that separate their fields. 'The grain that has rotted on the prairie farms of Illinois for want of barns and granaries, sold in the market to-day, would buy all the farms of that rich State. 'To regret such a circumstance is only less absurd than to mourn over the fact that Adam did not put out afew dollars at compound interest, which child of Adam with a fortune. There is amusement in such figures, but no instruction. The divine wisdom that plunned the continent, placed the prairies west of the forests, and the gold still farther on in the direction of the ''march of empire." Any other arrangement would have obstructed or greatly retarded the occupation of the country.

The habit contracted in the clearing of the lands, the passion for destroying trees, has sometimes survived the necessity, and even to this day needs a little guarding. The men who rejoiced over the fall of every tree, are not likely to cherish with sufficient care the remnants of the grand old forests, or to replant on the grounds, cleared with so much labor, the trees necessary for shade, and ornament, and utility. I have seen a splendid elm, the delight of a whole village, ruthlessly cut down by some border ruffian whose only thought of trees is to cut them down. But such was our early training. The gladdest sound of our childhood was the crash of falling trees, and mother and children together rushed out of the cabin as each giant fell, to see how the area of vision was extended. Thus, slow'y and with huge labor, the cleared cirele expanded around each home. When ground was required for cultivation more rapidly than it could be thoroughly cleared the plan of '"'oirdling" or deadening" was adopted, which killed the larger trees and left them standing. The advantage was a doubtful one. The falling limbs of the girdled trees destroyed the crops and sometimes the eattle, und often crushed the fences, and now and then the cabin itself; and a fire in a girdling ona windy autumn night was full of terror to a whole neighborhood. The loss of many a hay-stack, and barn, and honse, was the price of the seeming advantage. Then, too, the final clearing away of the branchless timber, case hardened in the sun, was a more disconraging work than the original thorough clearing would have been. But these facts were only learned by experience, and so every settlement had its "'oirdling."

-It was a stern work, the clearing up and subduing of these beautiful farms, snatching meanwhile from among the countless stumps, by hasty culture, the support of the family, and in many cases the means of paying for the farm, or at least the interest on the purchase price, until a brighter day should bring the principal. He was a fortunate man who brought from the east the price of his land. It many cases it made the difference between success and failure. It was very discouraging, after a struggle of years with hard work and sickness, to find the original debt increasing instead of diminishing; and it is not strange that here and there one sold his '' improyements" for the means of conveying his family back to the eastern home, and retired from the conflict. The great majority stood bravely to the work, and achieved a satisfactory success.

It is difficult for the young people of this day to appreciate the conditions of hving in the new settlement, We need to recall the fact that northern Ohio, fifty years ago, was farther from the appliances of civilization than any portion of North America reckoned habitable, is to-day. The canal through the State of New York was not in existence, had scarcely been dreamed of. Western New York itself was mostly a howling wilderness. The articles needed in the new country could not be brought from the far east except at ruinous cost, and for the produce of the new country the only market was that made by the wants of the occasional new families that joined the settlement. These generally brought a little money, which was soon divided among their neighbors. The families in general came well furnished with clothing, after the New England fashion ; but a year or two of wear and tear in the woods, sadly reduced the store. The children did not stop growing in the woods, nor in those days did they cease tu multiply and replenish the earth. The outgrown garments of the older children might serve for the younger, but where were the new garments for these older children to grow into ? Flax could be raised, and summer linen of tow, and bleached linen, and copperas stripe, could be manufactured, when hands and health could be found to do it. Every woman was a spinner, but only here and there was a weaver, and each family hud to come in for its turn. The old garments often grew shabby before the piece which was to furnish the summer

In autumn the difficulty was increased. The material for winter clothing could not be extemporized in the new country. Sheep came in slowly, At first they were not safe from wolves, and afterwards the new lands proved unwholesome to them, and they died, often suddenly, without visible cause. But when wool could not be obtained, the process of man- weaving involved uncertainty, and then the web must be sent to the cloth-dresser and bide its time. It might come home long after thanksgiving, long after winter school began. Thus an unreasonable demand was made upon the summer clothing, a demand which it could but poorly answer. It was not rare to see a boy at school with his summer pants drawn over the remnants of his last winter's wear, a combination which provided both for warmth and decency. Some families dispensed altogether with the clothier's services, and by the aid of a butternut dye gave their cloth a home dressing, avoiding the loss of time and the loss of surface by shrinkage - both important elements in the solution of the problem of clothing the boys. The undressed cloth was indeed rather light for winter, especially when the extravagance of underclothing, or of overcoats for the boys was never dreamed of; but it was very much better than none.

The various devices for making clothing serve its purpose as long as possible, were in use, and some inge) lous ones, unknown at the present day. Pantaloons were given a longer lease of life by facing the exposed portions with home-dressed deerskin. This served an admirable purpose, as long as there was enough of the original garment left to supply a skeleton; but at length the whole fabric would break down together, like the '' wonderful one horse shay." Garments made wholly of buckskin were sometimes attempted, but after a single wetting and drying, they were as uncomfortable asif made of sheet iron. Leather was scarce, and shoes as aconsequence. Here and there was a tannery, after a year or two; but. where were the hides? Cattle were scarce, and too valuable to be sacrificed for such small comforts as shoes and, tallow candles, and fresh beef. If some disease had not appeared among them, now and then, the case would have been still worse. But in those simple times, a hide could not be tanned in a day. After long months the leather came, but shoemakers, proverbially slow, were indefinitely slower, when their out door work absorbed their energies, and they resorted to the bench only for spare evenings and rainy days. The boy must go for his shoes a half score of times, and return with a promise for next week. The snow often came before the shoes, and then the shoes themselves would be a curiosity, - made as they were indiscriminately from the skins of the hog, the dog, the deer, and the wolf. I remember to have worn all these myself.

Sometimes when the household store of clothing seemed nearly exhausted, and every garment had served its generation in a half dozen different forms, a box would come from the east, brought by some family moving into the new country, well, charged with half worn garments and new cloth, and a stray string of dried apples to fill out a corner, enough to make glad the hearts of the recipients for a year.

**Mother says we are rich now," said three little boys to a neighbor's children, whom they met in the road, after the arrival of a box from Stockbridge. '' Well," was the reply, ''we are not rich, we are poor, and poor folks go to heaven, and rich folks don't." This was a new view of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and the boys went home quite cerest-fallen.

It relieved this experience of poverty that all shared init. Many of our wants are merely relative. We need good things because our neighbors have them. But in those days, there were few contrasts to disturb even the poorest. Still, without any reference to others, there is some slight discomfort to a boy in calling at a neighbor's house in such a plight that he cannot safely turn his back to the people as he leaves the house; or in crossing the meadow on a frosty morning with bare feet, stopping now and then to warm them on a stone not so cold as the grass.

In the matter of necessary food, the new country was more generous. The soil yielded abundantly when once brought under cultivation, furnishing the substantials of life. The material of bread was abundant, but in a dry season, the wheat could not be ground. Brown's mill, on the Vermillion, was the first to fail; then Shupe's, on Beaver creek, or Starr's, at Birmingham, and last, Ely's, at Elyria. The grists were ground in the order of their reception, and sometimes a family was obliged to wait weeks for its turn, as the water was sufficient only for an hour's work in a day; and sometimes the mill rested for days in succession. Then it was no small enterprise to go to Elyria to mill. There was a time within my own recollection, when there were not a half dozen horses in town. Mr. Peck had a span, Mr. Bacon one, and Judge Brown a span. 'These horses were freely lent, but they could not meet the requirements of the entire settlement, when the mill was a dozen miles away, and still be of any use to their owners. When one went to mill with a team, he was expected to carry the grists of his neighbors, or brmg them home, if he found them ground. When the mills were at rest, it was allowable to boirow as long as there was any flour in the neighborhood, and when it failed, we enjoyed a week's yariety of '- jointed corn," or pounded wheat. There was a little peril to young hands in this work of 'jointing " corn, and many a thumb, fifty years old or less, bears marks as mysterious to the children of this day, as the fossil bird tracks of the Connecticut sand stone.

Pork was the stapie article in flesh diet, an ox or a cow being too valuable to slaughter. For flesh meat we had venison and other wild game, - so plenty at times as to become a drug. In the view of those who lived here in the early days, such meats are likely to be regarded as fancy adornments of a bill of fare, not satisfactory as an every day reliance. When an original Brownhelmer goes to the city, he is not likely to call for venison, unless to recall the early experience, as the people of Israel used unleavened bread and bitter herbs at the passover. He has done his duty in that line of eating. Roasted raccoon and baked opossum were never popular. Those may enjoy who have never tasted.

Our supply of fruits was not abundant. Three years sufficed to bring the peach into bearing from the stone; hence, this was the earliest cultivated fruit. And we had peaches in those times. The diseases and insects that ruin the peach tree were then unknown. <A wagon load of the finest peaches could be had for the gathering. Peach cider was attempted in various parts of the town, before the advent of teetotalism, but the cause of temperance never suffered from it. Apples and pears came on very slowly. The plan of grafting was not much in use, and the virgin soil which stimulated the growth of wood, was not favorable to early fruitage. I remember that I was called from bed one morning to see an apple tree in blossom, the first I ever saw. In the thought of the children of that time, the forbidden fruit of Eden wasan apple. Nothing else could be such a temptation. Now and then astray apple reached us from the orchard of Horatio Perry, or of Judge Ruggles in Vermillion. And what a flavor there was in that slice from a pippin, brought by Mr. Alverson, all the way from Stockbridge, in his knapsack! We have no apples now-a-days! The first pear that the boy tasted he was not allowed to see. He was told to shut his eyes and open his mouth, and a bit of the delicious mystery was placed upon his tongue.

Sugar could be obtained from the maple then, as now, but the maple tree was not abundant in the township. Many farms were entirely destitute of it, und few families made sugar enough for the year's supply. It was not arare thing for.a family to be without sugar for mouths in succession. Honey and pumpkin molasses were used us substitutes for sweetening tea and making gingerbread, - not quite equal to refined sugar; but they served to keep alive the idea of sweetness.

Genuine tea, - old or young hyson, - was regarded as a necessary of life, and no well conditioned family could be found without it; but it would astonish a modern housekeeper to hear how small a quantity would meet the necessity. Children never needed it; it was not good for them; and a pound would supply a family for a year. 'Tea must have been a different thing in those times. A single teaspoonful, well steeped, would furnish sociability to a half dozen ladies of an afternoon; and the same pot, refilled with water, would charm away the weariness of the men folks, when they returnad from their work. A cargo of such tea, in these days, would make the fortune of the importer. Store coffee was essentially unknown, and therefore not needed.

The table furniture was simple, and the frugal habits of New England on this point, favored the condition of the people. 'The food was placed in a common dish in the middle of the table, the potato mashed and seasoned to the taste, and the meat cut in mouthfuls ready for appropriation. A knife and fork at each place sufficed, or even one of them would do for the children. A drinking-cup or tumbler at each end of the table was ample. If bread and milk was the bill of fare, a single bowl and spoon could do duty for the entire family, going down from the oldest to the youngest. This may seem like imagination - it is simple fact. Commonly a tin basin or pewter porringer went around among the younger children ; but as they grew older they preferred to wait, for the sake of using the crockery ware.

In those dark-walled log cabins, a single tallow candle would not seem so afford superfluous light of a winter evening; but only favored families could indulge the luxury. The candle was lighted when visitors came. At other times the bright wood fire was the chief reliance, and for sewing or reading a nicked tea saucer filled with hog's fat, and a wick of twisted rag projecting over the edge. This was the classic lamp of the log cabin, open to accident indeed, but a dash of grease on the puncheon floor was an immaterial circumstance. Two dipped candles furnished the light for an evening meeting, the hour for which was very properly designated as 'fearly candle lighting." The out door life of the early settlers presented some peculiar features. The chief item of farm work was clearing land. The first, and in some respects the most valuable products of this labor, was derived from the ashes of the burnt forests. Black salts, or potash, concentrated much value ina small bulk; and hence would bear transportation to a distant market. For years it was the only article of farm produce which would bring money. Some trader at the mouth of Black river, or at Elyria, would pay one-third cash for this article, Thus the farmer could raise the money to pay his taxes, and a little more for tea and cotton cloth, which were always cash articles. Wheat and corn would not sell for cash, except oceasionally a little to an immigrant, until about the time of the completion of the Erie canal. It was the height of prosperity when at length white flint corn came to sell at eighteen cents a bushel, and white army beans at thirty to fifty cents. From that day we were ''out of the woods."

The appliances for farm culture were not the most efficient. Horses and wagons came slowly. Oxen and carts, however, furnished a very good substitute, indeed were best suited to the work in the midst of logs and stumps. They were not so convenient for trips to mill, or to market, or to meeting ; but they were made to answer all these purposes. Indeed, a single ox, fitly harnessed, was sometimes made to do duty as a horse in plowing corn. The plow of these times was such as each farmer possessing a little mechanical gumption, could make for himself. The share, as it was called by courtesy, was brought from the east, made of wrought iron and pointed with steel. The mould-board was split from an oak log and hewed into a slightly spiral form, and the whole was bound together by a bolt which extended from a block at the base up through the beam. The clear, shining furrow of the motlern plowman could not follow such an implement. I remember well the sensation produced by the first cast-iron plow brought into the country. People came miles to see it. The only drawback was that when the point failed, it could be replaced only by sending to Massachusetts, except that the proprietor chanced to be enough of a Yankee to whittle out a mould for himself, and thus obtained a perpetual supply from a furnace at Elyria.

Mechanics and artisans appeared slowly. All the energies of the people were concentrated upon clearing the land, and they had no surplus means to support mechanics who should supply them with the refinements of life. Shoemakers were first called for, and some men found themselves shoemakers who had never been suspected, either by their friends or themselves, of any acquaintance with the art. Among the first who were recognized as accomplished: artists in this line, were Mr. Peck and his sons, Mr. Scott near the stone quarry, Mr. Wells on the lake, and afterward Mr. Hosford and his sons. Mr. Peck established a tannery, and could thus perform the whole labor of transforming into shoes the few hides which the murrain furnished to a reluctant community. The shoemaker often went from house to house, making shoes for the entire family, an operation that was called '' whipping the cat."

The first blacksmith in town, and the only one for many years, was Deacon Shepard. A farmer like the rest, he spent his mornings and evenings and rainy days at his anvil. Such double service would seem too much for ordinary endurance; but the deacon still walks among the people whom he thus served, able, in his eighty-third year, to do a good day's work. Seth Morse made rakes, scythe snaths and farm cradles. Mr. Blodgett manufactured our brooms, and Solomon Whittlesey converted the farmer's black salts into pearlash. Alfred Avery was a wheelwright, and of course a carpenter, more strictly devoted to his trade than most of the first mechanics. 'Thomas Sly, on the lake shore, was a carpenter, and his son James after him; on the south ridge, Durand and Hancock. Many of the farmers had sufficient skill in the working of wood to construct their plows, sleds, ox-yokes and ordinary farming implements, and to put an axle into a cart or wagon. zekiel Goodrich, on the lake shore, was the first cabinet maker. There was no brick or stone mason in the early settlement. The only work in that line was the building of stick chimneys, and now and then one of stone and brick, and pointing the crevices of the log cabins every winter with clay - even the boys learned to do this. Such extempore mason-work was not always reliable. The stone chimney in the house built for Dr. Betts buried Mr. Pease in its ruins one day, when he was engaged laying the hearth. He was bruised, not killed.

place. After two or three years, it was removed down the river and piaced by the side of a saw mill, owned by Hinckley and Morse, and is the same mill now owned by Benjamin Bacon - the same perhaps in the sense that the boy's knife was the same after having a new blade and a new handle. Its original infirmity was want of motive power in a dry time, a weakness from which it has never fully recovered - the failure of the dam in a wet time, and the freezing up of the wheel in winter.

There is now - fall of 1878 - one grist mill in the township. This is the mill of John H. Heyman, called the ''Brownhelm Mills," situated in West Brownhelm, on the Vermillion. The mill was erected by the present owner, in the fall of 1877, at a cost of some fifteen thousand dollars. There are three run of stones, beside a middlings stone. The mill is usually run by water power, but an engine has been added for use in dry seasons. The new process, called the ''steaming process," is adopted in the manufacture of flour, which consists simply of steaming the wheat about six hours before grinding. About three hundred barrels of flour are now shipped per week, the principal market for which is Cleveland. It is one of the best establishments of the kind in this section of country. Mr. Heyman also has, in connection with his grist mill, a saw mill, run by the same motive power.

The first carding and cloth-dressing establishment was built by Uriah Hawley and Charles Whittlesey, on the Vermillion, but a little southwest of Brownhelm territory. The first hotel in town was kept by Alva Curtis, first in his log house, afterwards in a more stately structure. It was always a pleasant home for a traveler. The sign itself gave notice that Sunday calls were not desired. 'Travelers were also entertained, for a consideration, at any house at which they felt inclined to stop.

Mr. Curtis brought the first stock of goods into the town, and opened a store. His assortment was not extensive, but I remember buying there, one day, a clay tobacco pipe - a present for Aunt Patty Andrews, whose favor was very valuable to all boys who loved kindly words and doughnuts - and an illustrated edition of 'Cock Robin" for myself. Stores were afterwards opened at Black River, Elyria, South Amherst, North Amherst, and, in 1830, one by Ezekiel Goodrich, on the lake shore in Brownhelm, afterwards removed to the ridge road, near Mr. Curtis'.

The stores in town at the present time are the following: F. M. McGregor, Sunshine and Stevenson in West Brownhelm; W. H. Cooley, at Bacon's Corners; Gibson Brothers, J. Clark, at the station, and Chauncey Peck on Middle ridge.

Educational

The first school in town was opened by Mrs. Alverson, in her own house, in the summer of 1819. In the autumn of the same year, the first school house was built, of logs pf course, on the brow of the hill just west of Dr. Perry's. The old butternut tree, which still survives, stood near the door. The site was romantic, but it was apparently selected to give the teachers the opportunity of forbidding sliding down hill and wading in the brook. The house was of modest dimensions, eighteen by twenty-two, but was still thought by some to indicate too ambitious a disposition on the part of the people who lived on this road. Hence the street was nicknamed 'Street street" by a man who would have the house twelve feet square - a title it bore for many years.

This school house was finished with a stick chimney, and a broad fireplace without jambs. A board around the house, resting on pins projecting from the walls, served for desks; and whitewood slabs, supported by pins, made the seats. Loose boards lying on joists made a loft above, and an excavation beneath the floor, reached by raising a board, served as a dungeon for the punishment of offenders. In our childish simplicity, we supposed the excavation was made for the purpose, with malice prepense, but I have since ascertained that it was an accidental result of making mortar to build the chimney.