Kingsville Township

Kingsville Township

The early history of this township, written by Harvey Nettleton for the Ashtabula County historical society, is so excellent in its style of composition and statement of fact that we adopt a large portion of it with but slight change.

This township is situated on the lake-shore, in the county of Ashtabula, State of Ohio, being number thirteen in the second range of townships of the Connecticut Western Reserve. The township lines, in common with others of the eastern part of the Reserve, were run out by the Connecticut land company during the year 1796-97. Having no fractional township or gore attached, it varies from a square, the eastern line being longer than the western. It is likewise curtailed of a small portion of its territory by a slight variation of the line drawn between the first and second ranges of townships, which takes off from its eastern side and adds it to Conneaut.

Original Proprietors

John H. Buell. Timothy Burr, Elijah White, Theodore Ely, Enoch Perkins, Royal Tyler, and Ephraim Robbins were the parties that came into possession of this township, together with Conneaut gore, at the time that the Connecticut land company's drawing was effected, in 1798. This accounts for the Buell tract, the Perkins tract, etc., which were so familiar to the early settlers. It required twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents to entitle these parties to the ownership of this township. Of this sum White and Ely each contributed three thousand dollars ; Burr, two thousand ; Buell, nine hundred ; Perkins, seventeen hundred and forty-five ; Tyler, eighteen hundred and eighty ; and Robbins, three hundred and seventy-eight dollars and twentythree cents.

Natural Features

The two principal ridges running from east to west through the township, at convenient distances, give an agreeable variety to the surface, afford good roads and favorable building sites, and furnish a soil well adapted to the cultivation of the grains, of fruit, and of garden vegetables. This township is without doubt a better agricultural district than any other in the county, although Conneaut contests the right to this reputation very stubbornly. It is watered by the Conneaut and Ashtabula creeks, with their affluents, together with several smaller streams that empty into the lake, making this an excellently-watered district, and furnishing admirable advantages for the use of water-power.

Primeval Scenery

The forest with its unbroken ranks of trees and its ocean of leafy boughs, the rich and luxuriant vegetation that clothed the ground, presented a scene which lovers of nature would have delighted to contemplate, filled with beauties which the untutored savage was wholly unable to appreciate. Nature delights to decorate herself with flowers, and enjoys the fragrance of her own perfumes. Here the wild-flowers which decked this region constituted one of the principal beauties of the woods. Among the earliest of these was the violet, which sprang up in profusion as the snow melted in spring, and although a modest, unpretentious flower, is not excelled in sweetness by any other that blooms. As spring advanced and the warm summer days came there appeared the cowslip, the lady-slipper, the wild pink and the wild balm, the primrose, and others too numerous to mention. Here too grew the wild plum and the crab-apple, whose blossoms yield so rich a fragrance. These beauties of nature had for ages, as the years followed each other, sprung up in this vast forest garden, bloomed, and then withered and died, and no heart was made glad by them, verifying the truth that

Yet they may have courted the admiration of the red children of the forest, and some of them may have decked the dark and glossy locks of many a fair young Indian maiden, and graced the bower of many an Indian queen.

Fish, Birds, And Animals

TV hen the first settlers arrived the streams were plentifully supplied with fish, such as the sturgeon, the pike, the pickerel, muskelonge, the buffalo, with shoals of the smaller kinds.

Large herds of elk and deer ranged' in unrestrained freedom through the wilderness in summer, cropping the luxuriant herbage and basking in shades, and during the deep snows of winter congregating together in some sheltering thicket, subsisting on the small twigs and bark of trees. These animals were the unrestrained denizens of the woods, where they had long had peaceable possession, disturbed only by the occasional attack of the wolf, or the sharp crack of the Indian rifle. Panthers, though never numerous, were known to visit this region occasionally upon the arrival of the first settlers. There was likewise a large species of the wild-cat, which was a fierce and formidable animal, and more troublesome than almost any other, destroying sheep and poultry. They have been known to drag a deer, which had been wounded and left by the hunters, a considerable distance into their dens. In addition to these were found bear, wolves, otter, beaver, muskrat, red, gray, and black foxes, raccoons, and porcupines, with a variety of smaller game ; all of which, with the exception of the beaver, were numerous at the time of first settlement in the township. The beaver had been, at no remote period, very numerous, as the existence of their dams yet remaining in the early years of the settlement of the township furnished the proof. These dams were full of brush and sticks, covered with mud, and so ingeniously contrived as to form an obstruction capable of resisting the force of a current and becoming perfectly tight. The beavers were taken by the Indians by cutting a hole in the dams, and setting traps in the water. The unsuspecting animals perceiving the drain, and coming down to repair the breach, were easily caught in the traps. The woods were enlivened by a multitude of birds, whose wild and cheerful notes, especially those of the wild robin, were singularly sweet and pleasant. These birds were very numerous, inhabiting the tops of the tallest trees, beginning their song at the first dawn of morning, and filling the woods with the sweetest melody. Wild turkeys were found in great abundance, being frequently seen with their broods numbering thirty or forty in a drove. The partridge and the quail were also inhabitants of the wood. Among the birds of prey were the eagle, hawk, buzzard, raven, and the owl.

The First Settlers

Eldad Harrington, originally a native of the Bay State, but used to frontier life, and immigrating to the township from western Pennsylvania, was the first resident. He was what was termed a " squatter," not possessing a title to the land whereon he settled, but appropriating it to his use. A hunter of great repute, and incited by the abundance of fish and game, and by the rich appearance of the bottom-lands along the Conneaut, he erected his cabin on a second bottom tract, in the bend of this stream, some time in the year 1803. He thus availed himself of the advantages of an excellent spring of water, and of a small opening in the creek bottom, which had been cleared by the Indians for the purpose of raising corn. His example was soon followed by others of the same class, who, to the number of six or seven families, located without color of title along the creek within the limits of this township, the date of their settlement most probably being in the year 1805. Their names were Andrew Stull, Leonard and Michael Widener, Daniel Tolbert, Elijah Lewis, Israel Harrington, a Mu Blackman, and a Mr. Blackamore. Except the last named they all came from western Pennsylvania. They were nearly all of them men of no property, and without resources except such as could be gathered from the woods and waters, and from cultivating small patches of potatoes and corn. It is said of them that they were a happy and contented company of men, aspiring to nothing of the good things of this life beyond the hoe-cake, the porringer of milk, and the dish of fried leeks.

Blackamore had been a Continental soldier ; had served his country in the Revolutionary war ; had been in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth ; was a genuine patriot, and an honest man.

Andrew Stull was an ingenious blacksmith, and possessed greater skill in climbing trees than any man known to the settlers. He made for himself a set of iron claws, which he fastened to his wrists and knees, by means of which he would ascend the largest trees with great ease and alacrity. As this ability enabled these hunters to forego the necessity of felling trees, some of which were oftentimes three or four feet in diameter, and thus with much labor to obtain the hide of a raccoon or an opossum, it was by them highly appreciated. Some of these men afterwards became property-holders in the township, and lived out use-

The first settler in the township, who was also a proprietor of Kingsville soil, was Captain Walter Fobes, who came in the fall of the year 1805 from Norwich, Massachusetts, and located on the north ridge, about one mile and a quarter from the west line of the township. Here he purchased about five hundred acres of land, and an equal amount in the township of Madison, Lake county, designing to have his children, of whom he then had five, to settle on these lands, and thus to be near to him. At this date, however, only one of his descendants, Mrs. John Merriam, of the fourth generation, resides on, and is owner of, any part of these lands. The county infirmary farm and the north village are included in his Kingsville purchase. He donated lands to the public to be used for burial purposes, and was himself the first to be buried therein, in the spring of the year 1816. He was a useful citizen, and may be regarded as the first permanent settler in the township.

In August of the following year, 1806, Captain Rodger Nettleton removed from Austinburg township to Kingsville, and purchasing three hundred acres adjoining Mr. Fobes on the west, located himself and family thereon, where he continued to reside up to the time of his death, in 1854.

He was originally from Norfolk, Litchfield county, Connecticut, and was one of the pioneers of the Western Reserve, settling in Austinburg in the year 1800. He held a captain's commission in the militia, under the Territorial government, signed by Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwestern Territory. He was a Presbyterian of the Puritan school, and took the lead in organizing the first church in the township. He was a zealous church member, a man of probity, and lived for nearly fifty years a useful and honest citizen of the township.

Thomas Hamilton, known to the Kingsville pioneers as the Duke of York, in 1806 purchased a piece of laud on the north side of the North Ridge road to the east of Mr. Fobes. His cabin and that of Mr. Fobes were about one mile distant from each other.

In the spring of 1809, Deacon Clark Webster, from the State of New York, made a purchase of what was known as the Skinner tract, and located himself thereon. In a narrative written by himself many years ago he says, " In April, 1809, I had a log house rolled up, and in the following May moved my family into it. It had no chimney. Here I had not resided long before my wife was taken sick, and she lay eleven weeks, neither able to dress or undress herself, nor even to feed herself. It was the Lord's will that she should recover, but this misfortune threw me back in my business. I had no team to help me, nor any means of buying one. Mr. Nettleton had a team which he let me use, and so I got in some grain, and made partial provision for the future as best I could." It is said of Mr. Webster that he was an industrious and enterprising inhabitant.

Shortly after Mr. Webster's arrival, Captain White Webster, from Litchfield, Connecticut, arrived, and settled in the centre of the township on land lying adjoining the farm of the former.

The year 1809 witnessed also the settlement in the township of Jonathan and Isaac Hart, - brothers, - the former purchasing a lot from Mr. Fobes, and the latter a portion of the Buell tract, his western line being bounded by the western line of the township.

Silas Tinker, from Chester, Massachusetts, settled on the south ridge, and erected the first building west of Kingsville Centre. This was in the year 1809. The settlement in the bend of the Conneaut, where the squatters were residing, was augmented about this time by the accession thereto of Thomas Kezartee, from Virginia, and Amos Batchelor, from New Hampshire. Zachariah Olmstead settled on the lot formerly occupied by Thomas Hamilton.

Thus did the settlement grow, until there were, in 1810, when the township was organized, between twenty-five and thirty families within its limits.

The subject of obtaining an appropriate name for the township was early a matter of discussion among the settlers. There seemed to be a variety of opinion or choice in the matter. The name first proposed, and so far adopted as to have designated the name in the first township map that was made, was " Fobes' Dale," in honor of the first permanent settler. Some one, not having proper respect for Noah Webster, had the audacity to attempt the correction of the orthography, and change the meaning conveyed, by obliterating the " D" and substituting " T." The settlers would not tolerate this, and clamored for a change. The name of Norwich was then applied, by which designation it was known for a short time, when a certain individual by the name of Kingsville, not a resident of the township nor proprietor of any part of it, proposed to the settlers to give them four gallons of whisky if they would honor him by bestowing upon it his name. The proposition was agreed to, and accordingly it was christened " Kingsville."

Other Early Settlers

The following trace their residence, either of themselves or of their ancestors, in the township as given herewith : B. L. Noyes, 1810 ; M. Whitney, 1811 ; ILL'. Dibble, 1815 ; Jeremiah Luce and A. Luce, 1816 ; F. B. Phelps, Amos Barrett, and Alvin Fox, 1817; H. P. Newton, 1818; F. B. Nettleton, 1819; Edwin Dibble, 1820; Morris Carter, 1821; A. Nettleton, 1822; S. J. Wright and L. D. Fox, 1823; R. L. Grover, E. O'Harra, and Charlotte Brown, 1824; A. B. Luce, 1825; P. H. Dibble and E. M. Webster, 1827 ; E. O. Butler and J. V. Welton, 1828; Judson A. Knapp, 1829. The above are subscribers to the history. Other early settlers deserving mention are Daniel C. Phelps, Edward and Nathan Blood, William Woodbury, Reuben Heath, Girard Griswold, Joseph Hawkins, Reuben Harman, William and Stutson Benson, Charles Brown, Jacob Crater, Ezekiel Sheldon, Wheeler Woodbury, Samuel Rugg, Anson Titus, Aaron Lyon, Smith Webster, Elijah Webster, Urial Munger, Stephen Munger, Libeus Hill, Eden Wilcox, Samuel Rice, Jedediah Hibbard, Samuel Newton, Gideon and Reuben Luce, Zacheus Bugbee, Thomas and Roswell Cook, Daniel Noyes, Nathan Russell, David Wood, Ives Morse, William Corwin, Andrew Stanton, Obadiah and Samuel Wood, John and Obed Dibble, Andrew and Silas Harvey, Elijah Hill, Mr. Beardsley, and Rev. Benj. Barnes. The Dibble family, originally from Massachusetts, removed to Kingsville from Denmark township, in 1820. John Dibble, Sr., settled in Denmark in 1810. The family is a large and influential one.

The first mill for dressing lumber and manufacturing flooring, siding, etc., in the township of Kingsville, was built by A. N. Case, in 1863, using steam-power. In 1871, Quincy A. Case was admitted as partner. The firm-name changed to A. N. Case & Son.

They have lately added machinery for manufacturing extension tables. They also make and keep for sale all kinds of cabinet-ware, and also have a full stock of undertakers' goods.

Organization

The first township election was held in a log cabin situated in the bend of the Conneaut, in the fall of the year 1810. William Ferguson, Israel Harrington, and Roger Nettleton were chosen trustees ; Alpha Nettleton, clerk ; Silas Tinker, Jr., assessor; and Thomas Kezartee, constable. At a subsequent election, during the same year, Israel Harrington was made justice of the peace. The following have been the officers in this township in addition to the above named. Some persons named have held the office more than once, although named but a single time :

Clerics. - Silas Tinker, Jr., Boswell Cook, Lewis Badger, Artemus Luce, Luia Bymgton, Thomas Cook, Gilbert Webster, Daniel M. Spencer, Harvey Nettleton, J. M. Davis, H. G. Thurbur, A. B. Luce, Sidney Luce, O. Luce, A. R. Eastman, J. H. Kinnear, A. Bagley, P. L. Groover. J. II. Kinnear is the present clerk.

Treasurers. - Walter Fobes, Roger Nettleton, William Corwin, Harvey Sperry, Libbeus Hills, Artemus Luce, Gideon Bushnell, George G. Gillett, E. G. Luce, S. G. Osborne, Henry G. Thurbur, Thomas Cook, George Harden, Elisha A. Way, S. P. Gillett, Nathan Parish, M. W. Wright, O. Barrett, A. E. Whitney, Robert Smith, A. B. Luce, who is at present the treasurer, and B. F. Phelps and M. W. Wright are at present the justices of the peace.

The country bordering on the lake-shore was the favorite hunting-ground of the Indians, being apportioned by certain stipulations entered into and understood among themselves. The Ashtabula creek marked the boundary between the eastern and western tribes. None of these tribes possessed any right to inhabit permanently this region, as the Indian title to the soil had been extinguished at the treaty of Greenville, in 1795 ; but in that treaty they stipulated that the right be granted to them of hunting and fishing in this locality for a certain number of years. They thus continued to occupy the country for that purpose as late as 1811, or until the commencement of the last war with Great Britain. During the hunting seasons they flocked here in great numbers, so that from about the 1st of November until the 1st of April the number of Indians vastly exceeded that of the white settlers. They generally arrived in their bark canoes, took up their quarters at the usual places of rendezvous in the woods in season to avail themselves of the first tracking suows. They were generally cheerful and friendly in their intercourse with the whites, but could not well conceal their displeasure and regret at seeing the forests disappear, and their game grow less and less abundant in response to the encroachments of civilization.

Before commencing to hunt and to fish, they were in the habit of paying a ceremonious visit to the settlers arrayed in their richest attire, and literally covered with silver ornaments. They invariably called at every house in the settlement, and to show that the rites of hospitality tendered by the whites were impartially received, they made a hearty meal at every house. The same visits were made upon their quitting the country in the spring. The white residents were thankful that they were not made more frequently than this.

This township, from the abundance of its game, was a favorite hunting-spot with the tribes, and an enterprising Indian hunter, during one season, would possess himself of skins and furs to the value of three or four hundred dollars, besides the flesh and oil of the animals, which were esteemed by him almost equally valuable.

The lesson which had recently been taught the Indians at the disastrous battle of the Miami was still fresh in their memories, and made them desirous of cultivating the friendship and esteem of the whites, who were thus happily exempted from those conflicts with the savages which have given a melancholy interest to most of our border settlements.

Notwithstanding this desire generally manifested to avoid collision with the settlers, instances were not wanting in the conduct of individuals evincive of their hatred, and that they were restrained from hostilities more from fear than from real good will. Harvey Nettleton, in his sketch from which the above facts are taken, says, " When a child I remember of being left with two younger sisters in the cabin, while the remainder of the family were in attendance upon religious worship, and of receiving a visit from some eight or ten of the natives, who, on finding us alone, exhibited the genuine malignity of the savage by brandishing their weapons and threatening us with instant death. A young chief of the company, by the name of Po-ea-caw, or John Omick, cocked and pointed his rifle at us, moving the muzzle to correspond with our movements to avoid the shot. He likewise raised the tomahawk above our heads, as if about to strike, and then feeling of the edge, signified that the weapon needed sharpening, and compelled me to turn the grindstone while he gave to the tool the necessary edge. After thus inflicting us for nearly two hours with, and compelling us to realize, all the horrors of an Indian massacre, he possessed himself of a set of tea-spoons, a quantity of salt, with some other trifling articles from the house, and decamped with his party into the woods." For the fate of this Indian the reader is referred to the Morgan history.

Another iustanc-e is given in which an Indian by the name of Armstrong made his appearance on a certain day at the only cabin in the centre of Kingsville, and was observed to be in great ill humor. He entered the cabin with his rifle in his hand, instead of leaving it at a little distance, a courtesy usually observed by the Indians before entering the houses of the whites. Mr. Webster, the owner of the cabin, observing this circumstance, met him on his entrance, took hold of his gun, which he relinquished very unwillingly. Mr. Webster set it aside and invited him to take a seat, but he remained very unsocial and sullen during his stay. The family were all convinced that he was meditating some evil design, and were much relieved to see him soon rise from his seat and depart.

He then went to one or two more cabins in the other parts of the township, repeating his former movements, but did not meet with any favorable opportunity of gratifying his evil intent.

At length calling at the cabin of one of the settlers who happened to be absent from his family, he made his introduction by seizing one of the children by the hair, drawing his knife and passing it near the child's throat, then twirling it dexterously above the child's head, representing the manner of cutting and tearing off the scalp. The child uttered violent screams, in which the other children joined. The mother, with great coolness, stood at the window anxiously looking for the coming of her husband, and exhorting the children not to be alarmed, as their father would soon arrive. Hearing this the Indian gave a grunt significant of its being time for him to go, and hastily snatching up his rifle, followed the nearest path into the woods. The father soon arrived. The story made his blood boil. He hurriedly seized his rifle, inquiring which direction the Indian villain took. He was a determined man, fearless of danger, and the outrage to his little one stirred within him the deepest sense of the wrong of the brutal savage. The flight of the Indian was swift, but that of the outraged father was swifter. The result can be given in a few words. The Indian paid for his brutal folly with the forfeiture of his life.

One of the settlers residing on the banks of the Conneaut had obtained what at that period was considered highly valuable, a fine drove of hogs, and although he was obliged in common with his neighbors to occupy the woods as a place of pasturage, he watched over them with great care, and to prevent the depredations of the bears, built them a bed near his dwelling, to which they were in the habit of returning every night. Notwithstanding his pains, he had the mortification frequently on their return of finding one or more of their number missing. His drove was rapidly diminishing. The settler soon perceived that this state of things must not continue, or the dreams of rich supplies of hog and hominy for the winter would soon vanish. Armed with his rifle, he started for the forest, resolved to punish the bears for their depredations. Placing himself at a convenient distance where he could watch, unperceived, any disturbance among his swine, he saw an Indian dart suddenly from a thicket upon one of the herd, but missing his hold, he again slunk back into the bushes. This manoeuvre was repeated several times with like results, when the patience of the settler was fully exhausted, and a rifle-ball was sent through the body of the Indian, and the hogs were no more disturbed.

Some of the pioneer settlers valued the life of an Indian very lightly indeed. Indeed, there was a class who entertained feelings of a deadly hostility towards the savages. They had passed the greater share of their lives upon the frontiers, witnessing their cold-blooded massacres, and had seen their nearest friends fall victims to the deadly tomahawk, and thus had sworn eternal vengeance against the race.

Eakly Events

Life in the woods, with all its attendant evils, had its enjoyments, and there are few early settlers who in later years, relating the events of those days, did not look back to the spot where stood the cabin, and to the friends who surrounded them at its cheerful fireside, with tender and hallowed recollections, and acknowledge that the years spent within its precincts were the happiest of their lives.

The quiet scenes of nature, the deep solitude of the forest, the murmuring of the brooks, the music of the woodland songsters, all these exert a chastening influence on the mind, and restrain the grosser passions of men. The social gatherings of the scattered settlers were enjoyed with a real delight. They were almost absolutely free from the collisions and strifes which too often distract larger communities, and the evils of their condition were diminished by being endured with a cheerfulness rarely equaled.

The first frame building in the township was a barn built by Daniel C. Phelps, in the year 1813. The nails for its covering were wrought by his own hands in the State of Connecticut. The second frame structure was a house built soon afterwards, in the same year, by William Woodbury, great-uncle to Judge Woodbury, of Jefferson. In the following year both Walter Fobes and Roger Nettleton erected frame barns. All these buildings are in a good state of preservation, and are owned and occupied at present as follows: the first by D. M. Phelps; the second by Mrs. 0. Cleveland ; the third by William Callow ; and the fourth by A. M. Nettleton.

Early attention was bestowed by the inhabitants upon the founding of schools and the establishment of religious worship. To the primitive settler those, indeed, were momentous subjects. Isolated from the great world, shut up in a dense wilderness, the facilities for obtaining the needed educational and religious instruction were matters of weighty consideration. In the first instance, the settlers' dwellings were used for school purposes. The first school taught in the township occupied a private room attached to the dwelling of Walter Fobes. This was in 1806, and Miss Rebecca Cowles was the teacher. She had seven pupils the first term. This building continued to be used for this purpose until the year 1810. From this small beginning, as the population increased, schools began to multiply, until the township came to enjoy facilities for affording education to its youth scarcely equaled by any other township in the county. In 1810 a school was taught by Thomas Cook in the bend of Conneaut creek. In 1S12 the first school-house was erected in the township, was built of logs, and stood on Deacon Clarke Webster's land, now the property of William Carr, and was situated about forty rods to the east of the present townhouse. Thomas Cook was the first teacher in this building. The first frame school-house was built at North Kingsville Corners in the fall of 1S21, and was devoted to educational uses for fifty-three years. It is now occupied as a dwelling. At first, the district included the north half of the township, and about forty scholars were in attendance upon the first term of school. The late Hon. E. B. Woodbury was a pupil for several winters in the schools taught in this building. Of the forty scholars who composed the first school in the winter of 1821, but eighteen are now living ( January, 1878 j, four of whom still reside in Kingsville, whose ages are as follows : Burr Griswold, seventy-five ; Mrs. E. A. Butler, seventy-one ; D. M. Phelps, seventy ; F. B. Phelps, sixty-one. The latter gentlef man, to whom we are indebted for the facts in relation to this first frame school building, in an article published in the Geneva Times, September, 1876, says, " If that school-house could talk, it might tell of the numberless apple-cores and paper-wads thrown at teachers' heads, and the tunes stepped out at the measure of witch-hazel gads as a consequence. The writer has stepped many a tune of this character in that old house, in which, as he thought at the time, there were altogether too many beats to the bar."

Kingsville Academy

Such a deep interest was awakened in the cause of education among the early inhabitants of this township that, in the latter part of the year 1834 and the early part of the year 1835, a scheme was set on foot and matured for the establishment of a higher institution of learning than the common school, and a joint stock company was organized for the erection of a suitable building. Sixty shares of stock of ten dollars each were subscribed for by the leading citizens of the township, and on the 6th day of January, 1834, the first meeting for the election of officers was held, resulting as follows : President, Daniel M. Spencer ; B. S. Noyes, Treasurer; and Nathan Wakefield, Secretary. Trustees: Artemus Luce, Jonathan Gillett, and J. P. Eastman. Nathan Wakefield, Daniel M. Spencer, and Joseph P. Eastman were appointed a committee to draft a constitution, and the trustees were instructed to furnish a plan with estimates of the cost of a building, and ascertain if a suitable site could be obtained. Mr. Gilbert Webster furnished a lot for the building, and in 1836 the first academy edifice was erected. Its dimensions were forty-two feet in length by twenty-eight in breadth, with two stories of two rooms each. The following are the names of the principals who have taught in this academy : Mr. La Hatt, 1836; Mr. Sharp, from 1837 to 1839; J. Graves, 1840 ; Z. C. Graves, from 1841 to 1852 ; I. J. Fowler, 1852; C. H. Haywood, from 1857 to 1861, assisted by Mr. Drake; A. J. and S. P. Barrett, from 1861 to 1868; J. B. Corey, from 1868 to 1870; and S. D. Bentley, from 1870 to 1872.

The Burning Op The First Academy Building

On the 20th of December, 1847, the building was burned to the ground. Nothing was rescued from the flames. Suspicion was aroused that this unhappy event was the result of incendiarism, and the crime was finally fastened upon two students by the names of Kinner and Moore. It is said that both the boys confessed their guilt to Z. C. Graves, the preceptor at that time. Their parents on their knees implored for the pardon of the young men. They escaped punishment. Some years after this, Moore was hung in California for the crime of murder, and confessed upon the scaffold that the burning of the Kingsville academy was his first criminal act, which was followed by the murder of four of his fellowbeings at different periods in his wretched, wicked career.

The school for many years enjoyed a high degree of prosperity. From 1848 to 1868 the average attendance was more than one hundred and fifty. Professor Graves had at one time as many as two hundred and twenty-five students under his tuition. The people ever manifested a laudable public spirit towards this enterprise. The students from abroad were boarded at a mere nominal sum, oftentimes securing their meals and comfortable lodgings for one dollar per week.

About the time the Akron school-law passed (1 849 J, there began to spring up in neighboring localities rival institutions of learning, and the numbers that had hitherto been attracted hither were distributed in part among the other academies, and the Kingsville high school began to lose ground. In 1872 the patronage had come to be so small that the stockholders presented their stock to the township, and the building has since been devoted to the use of the public schools of the town. Mr. Frank Geer was principal in 1872 to 1873, and Mr. J. P. Treat from 1873 to 1876. G. B. Wilson succeeded Mr. Treat, and is at present the head teacher.

The comparative advantages of acquiring knowledge at the present period over those enjoyed by the early settlers will be better understood by an examination of the following list of the standard text-books and literary works in use at the time the first settlers began to arrive: Webster's spelling-book, and his third part of the "American Selections," Dilworth's arithmetic, Dwight's geography, "Trumbull's Sermons," " Pilgrim's Progress," and " Sketches of the Lives of John Rogers," "Valentine and Orson," and " Baron Munchausen."

The woods with the early settlers were literally " God's first temple." They worshiped in the shades of the forest, and in the experience of many hearts the fire of true devotion was kept aglow with as pure a flame as ever ascended from the beautiful, richly-adorned churches of later days.

The first structures built for the purpose of religious worship were necessarily of extremely rude construction. Mr. Nettleton adds, " The scenes which have passed within their walls have sometimes been deeply solemn and impressive, made so by marked manifestations of the Divine Spirit." There were not wanting among the clergy those who were earnest, thoughtful, devoted, pious men, whose labors received the reward, not of a generous salary, but of that far better compensation, the consciousness of doing good, and with this thought and object alone before them cheerfully shared in the hardships and destitution suffered by their people.

The Congregational Church

In August, 1810, the first organization of Christians in the township was effected by the Congregationalists, Rev. Samuel Crocker, their first pastor, officiating. The membership was six, as follows: Walter Fobes and Amanda, his wife, James Montgomery and Mary, his wife, Lois Badger, and John P. Read. They worshiped for a time in each others' dwellings, and in 1821 erected their first church building where the town-house now stands. This structure was destroyed by fire in 1848, and there being then a predominant Presbyterian element in the township, a new church organization was effected embracing both the Congregationalists and Presbyterians, and another church building was erected in 1848, on lot No. 20 Main street. Erastus Williams was the first pastor of this new church. L. L. Bickford is the present pastor.

The Baptist Church

This body of Christians effected an organization in 1813, with a membership of eleven, - four males and seven females. They first held services in the log schoolhouse, then situated on lot No. 17. In 1825 this building was destroyed, and they then held service in a public hall hired for this purpose until 1829, when they erected their present church edifice, at a cost of two thousand dollars. Elder Benjamin Barnes was their first pastor ; he was succeeded by Elder Jacob Bailey, who was succeeded by Elder Samuel Hough. Their present pastor is Rev. David Williams, and the present membership one hundred and fourteen. Rev. A. J. Bennett, at present the able pastor of the Rochester Lake Avenue Baptist church, and Henry Knapp, who weut as a missionary to India, were members of this church.

The Methodist Episcopal Church

was organized in Kingsville in 1831, with sixteen members, in a school-house located on the site of the present academy building. The organization was effected by the Rev. Samuel Ayers, the first pastor. Ira Maltby was the first class-leader.

The society worshiped in the school-house until 1834, when a small brick church was built costing about one thousand dollars, located near the site of the present edifice.

Joseph Maltby, Seymour Sloan, and Elijah Bachelor were among the first trustees. Previous to the erection of this building the congregation was sometimes locked out of the school-house by opposers, and services were then held in a barn.

An Independent Church

A church edifice was erected in North Kingsville, near the depot, in 1877, not wholly completed, wherein any minister of the gospel is at liberty to hold service who chooses so to do, and will receive the voluntary offerings of the membership for services thus rendered.

The Kingsville Cemetery

A more beautiful village cemetery is rarely to be met with. Its location, its surroundings, its natural advantages, contribute largely to its loveliness, though the citizens have done much to beautify it. The reader will find a large and elegant sketch of the cemetery in another part of this volume.

Carlos Eugene Curtiss

whose portrait appears in connection with the view of the county infirmary, in another part of this volume, was born in Genesee county, New York, on the first dav of June, 1825, and is a son of Ichabod and Selima Camp Curtiss, originally of Middletown, Connecticut, but who removed to Ohio in 1833, and are now deceased, - the father January 17, 1867, and the mother October 9, 1868. The education of Mr. Curtiss was acquired at the schools of Kingsville township, and his occupation has been that of farming, though in the year 1852 he caught the "- gold fever,'' and the subsequent five years of his life were passed in the goldbearing districts of California, - a portion of the time in the mines. He was also for a time partner in a store there, but acquired the greater portion of his wealth in hay speculations in the before-mentioned State. Returning to Ohio, he was elected to the office of superintendent of the county infirmary in 1860, and the fact of his having served in that capacity for eleven years seems pretty conclusive evidence that he is the " right man in the right place." He was elected trustee of Kingsville township in the year 1870, and has served five years in that position. On the 5th day of January, 1859, Mr. Curtiss was united in marriage to Miss Julia Elba, daughter of Allen W. and Betsey Wilder Niles, of Kingsville township, from whom have been born to him the following children : Mary E., the date of whose birth occurred September 5, 1860 ; Halle N., born November 2, 1869 ; and Albert D., the baby, who was born on the 12th day of March, 1871.

Mr. Curtiss is a firm adherent to the principles inculcated by the Republican party. He is kind and considerate towards those who are under his supervision, and is looked upon by them as a superior representative of the genus homo.

a fine portrait of whom appears in connection with the sketch of the county infirmary, was born on the 27th day of August, 1818, and is a child of Sherman and Fanny Howes Wright, originally of Wilbraham, Hampden county, Massachusetts, but who removed to Ohio and located in the township of Conneaut in the fall of 1811, where they resided until their decease, which occurred - the father's on January 3. 1847, and the mother's January 15, 1872. The education of Mr. Wright was received at a common district school, principally at the school-house on the south ridge in Conneaut. His time was divided between labor in his father's tannery and shoe-shop, and the tilling of the small farm owned by him, until his failure in business in 184S, since which time he has served his township and the county in the discharge of various public trusts. He was first elected a justice of the peace in 1851, and since that date has been an incumbent of that office some thirteen years, and still administers justice to those who are unfortunately compelled to resort to the law to settle their differences. In the year 1S53 he was elected to the office of sheriff of Ashtabula County, and served two terms, and in 1868 was elected county commissioner, and continued in office one term of three years ; was elected to his present position as infirmary director in the fall of 1877. He has also served as trustee of his township several terms,

On the 1st of August, 1862, he entered the volunteer service of the United States in the capacity of quartermaster of the One Hundred and Fifth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry; served until April, 1864, at which time he was compelled by failing health to resign. In reply to the question, " Were you wounded ?" he answered, li Once only, when at home on leave of absence in 1863, by a friend congratulating me on the position I held in the service, which would give me an opportunity to make money."

On the 27th day of March, 1844, Esquire Wright was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Wayland, daughter of the Rev. Asa and Sarah Saxton Jacobs, of Conneaut (this county). The children of this marriage are Elizabeth, born February 9, 1845 ; married Levi T. Scofield, and now resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Lydia, born March 20, 1847 ; married Conrad J. Brown ; residence, Erie, Pennsylvania. Altie, born April 23, 1850; married the Rev. Jeremiah Phillips, Jr., and whose home is now in Kenosha county, Wisconsin. Sherman, the next child, was born September 29, 1854 ; and Nellie, the last, whose birth occurred on January 8, 1859.

The 'squire was from the outset a Liberty-party man, and is, as a matter of course, at this writing a Republican, and believes that one hundred cents should make a dollar. He is a member of Kingsville post, Grand Army of the Republic, and his religious belief is in keeping with the tenets of the Free-Will Baptist church, of which he is a member. We cannot perhaps better close this sketch than by quoting from the notes of the gentleman himself: Have thus far lived on my own resources ; none of my family have as yet been charged with crime, have became a public charge or a member of congress."

In connection with the view of the county infirmary is shown a portrait of the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. Of him we learn that he was the fifth child of John and Sarah Hammond, of West Worldham, Hampshire county, England, was born on the 16th day of August, 1817, and derived the principal part of his education in England, embarking with the family for America on the 1st day of June, 1836. The date of their arrival and location in Kingsville was on the 1st day of the following August. The parents died, - the mother in 1851, and the father in 1856. The life-occupation of Mr. Hammond has been that of a farmer. He was elected to the office of trustee of Kingsville in 1862, and served for the succeeding eight years in that position; was elected to his present position in the year 1873, and re-elected in the fall of 1876. He has been twice married: the first time on July 11, 1842, to Harriet Gunn, daughter of Comfort and Sarah Gunn, of Kingsville ; from this wife were born two children : John B., born July 11, 1843 ; he married Maria Van Slyke, and now resides in Michigan. Ellen E. was born August 31, 1844; her husband is Sabin Holmes. They live in Kingsville. Mr. Hammond was married to his present wife, who was a sister of his former one, on the 15th day of May, 1851. The following are the children of this marriage: Charlotte, born April 1, 1857 ; Margaret G., born October 16, 1859, died August 22, 1864; Gess and Gessie were born September 28, 1862. Mr. Hammond is Republican in politics; is a member of the fraternity of Freemasons, and has taken the Royal Arch degrees.

Marcus Kingsley, M.D.

was bom in Barrington, Yates county, New York, on March 15, 1837. He is the youngest of five children. His father, Simon Kingsley, was a native of Providence, Rhode Island, and his mother, Miss L. Stanton, of Litchfield county, Connecticut, at which point they were married. Removed to Barrington in about 1828, and here the father died, in the fall of 1844. The mother soon afterwards removed to Dundee, New York, and remained until 1 8G0, when she removed to Kingsville, and yet resides there. The subject of this sketch attended district school and Dundee academy until at the age of nineteen years, when he chose the profession of medicine as the best suited to be his life's labor, and began its study in the office of Dr. George Z. Noble, of Dundee. Continued to read medicine three years, making himself generally useful about the place as an equivalent for his board. He attended the Cleveland Homoeopathic college during the years 1859 and 1860. In the spring of the latter year coming to Kingsville, he located there as the pioneer of his practice in northeast Ashtabula County. His means were limited ; there was prejudice against his school ; he was an entire stranger ; yet he went to work, and, as a result, has now a large, rapidlyincreasing, and lucrative practice. He was elected in 1863 an honorary member of the Ontario and Yates County medical society, of New York, and in the following year of the Ohio Homoeopathic medical society, of Cleveland. Was elected a member of the board of education of Kingsville township in 1870, and was mainly instrumental in the organization of the special school district, where is now a fine graded school, with an average attendance of over one hundred scholars. In the fall of 1873 was elected coroner of Ashtabula County, and, on the death of Sheriff Hart, the subsequent July, assumed the duties of that office; he, however, soon resigned. He was in 1875 the originator of the First Evangelical society of North Kingsville, and was instrumental in erecting an edifice for public worship. He is a member of the Baptist church and a Knight Templar, affiliating with Cach6 commandery, No. 27, of Conneaut, and the lodges subordinate to that. Dr. Kingsley was on the 3d day of March, 1870, united in marriage to Celina Stella, daughter of James C. and Clarissa M. Smith, who were of New England parentage. Dr. Kingsley is Republican in politics, and a strong advocate of total abstinence.