Lorain City (part 41 of 77)

The first post office in Camden was established in the year 1835, its name being Panalize. James Arnold was the first postmaster deputized. 'The office was located three-quarters of a mile east of the center. 'The name of the post office became, after a time, the same as that of the township, but it was again changed to distinguish it from an office by the same name in Preble county, tv North Camden. When the railroad was built, a post office was located at the station, and James Weeks was commissioned postmaster. A mail route was established between the office known as North Camden and this office. Finally, there still being much inconvenience arising from the similarity of name between the Preble county office and this one, the name was changed to Kipton. The present postmaster is Benjamin F. Breckenridge.

North Camden Grange, No. 1058

was organized October 26, 1874. The first officers were, John Eddy, master; C. W. Allen, overseer; Gideon Lattimer, lecturer; A. M. Tennant, steward; D. C. Gibson, assistant steward; James Van Deusen, chaplain; Hiram Prentiss, treasurer; A. Hovey, secretary; A. J. Redington, gate keeper; Mrs. A. M. Tennant, lady assistant steward; Mrs. Flora Gibson, ceres; Mrs. R. E. Allen, pomona; Mrs. H. B. Bartlett, flora.

The present officers are as follows: Philip Ritzenthaler, master; Gideon Lattimer, overseer; William Jickels, lecturer; W. W. Ward, steward; John Eddy, assistant steward; J. N. Hurd, chaplain; H. P. Draper, treasurer; S. D. Tennant, secretary; A. J. Redington, gate keeper; Mrs. W. W. Ward, ceres; Mrs. J. N. Hurd, pomona; Mrs. John Eddy, flora; Mrs. D. C. Gibson, lady assistant steward. The grange has about forty members.

The Burial Place

In the year 1837, the inhabitants of Camden township began to feel the need of having a proper resting place for their dead. Ata meeting called for the purpose of devising some place for the establishment of a cemetery, it was agreed that a committee should be appointed to select a suitable site, and that the trustees of the township should purchase it at town expense. Hzekiel Arnold, Harrison Hurd, and Reuben Kiddy were appointed said committee, and after examining several pieces of ground, they selected a location on the south side of lot number twenty-seven, in tract number cleven, on an east and west road, in the northeast part of the township. 'The trustees of the township purchased an acre of ground of Thomas Sigsworth, and cleared it of timber, for at this time, the little piece of ground which was to become ''God's acre," like most of the land lying around it, was covered with trees of a heavy growth. It was fenced in and lotted off, one lot being assigned to each resident of the township, who was the head of a family. -

Dr. William Grout moved into the township Noyember 1, 1843, and his family came in February following. He settled about three-fourths of a mile west of the center where he still lives. He has been a very reliable and successful physician throughout his long practice, and a useful memberof society. He is no longer in practice.

Dr. John Cannan came into the township with his father, when a boy. After studying medicine and surgery, he sttled on a farm in the southeast part of the township, and had quite an extensive practice. When the rebellion broke out, he volunteered his services to aid the Union, and served as assistant surgeon during a greater part of the war. At the close of the rebellion he returned to Camden, and resumed practice. He is still living upon his farm of two hundred and sixteen acres.

Another resident physician is Dr. G. W. Monosmith who settled at Kipton in 1877, and has already won a respectable share of the patronage of the community and the unqualified respect of the people among whom he lives.

The first and only grist mill ever built in the township was a small steam mill built at Kipton in the year 1859, by H. McFarland, and run by different parties for about fourteen years. Horace Hoover was its last owner, and lost the mill by fire.

Cheese Pfactories

The first cheese factory in this township was started in the spring of 1867, by L. A. Parker, G. R. Parker, D. B. Morgan and J. P. Hovey, under the firm name of Parker, Morgan & Hovey. This was the only cheese factory in the township, until 1874, when A. L. Perkins started one about a mile south of the center (the first was about the same distance north). Parker, Morgan & Hovey owned and ran their factory until the spring of 1876, when they sold out to B. F. Morrison. 'lhe same season, Perkins and Morrison consolidated their interests in the business, and they have managed since then both factories. Parker, Morgan & Hovey, when they commenced business, took the milk of about three hundred cows, but the industry gradually increased in magnitude nine hundred cows were milked for the two factories. Perkins & Morrison make now about three hundred and fifty thousand pounds of cheese. 'The Morrison factory is located on lot four, tract ten, and the Perkins factory upon lot twenty-two, tract ten.

number twenty-six, which proved a great convenience to the people in the vicinity. It was about eight miles at that time to any other mill. There were no roads - nothing but narrow and difficult trails. After the mill was put in operation it was run constantly whenever there was sufficient water, and even then turned out scarcely enough lumber for house use. Very little was at any time carried out of the township. The greater part of the lumber sawed was whitewood, and it only brought an average of five dollars per thousand feet. The best black walnut was worth but a little more. The mill was kept running until it wore out, rotted down and was never rebuilt.

In the year 1847, Hiram Allen, David Morgan and Edwin Gager built a steam saw mill on lot number two in tract nine. The mill was burned down after it had been in operation about two years.

In 1850, Messrs. Preston & Blodgett built a mill on lot number thirty, tract ten. The ownership of this mill was several times changed, and finally the mill was moved into the black swamp, near the farm of Benjamin Eldridge.

Revolving Horse Rakes, Etc

In the year 1862 or 1863, A. S. and James P. Hovey put up on lot twenty-one, in tract ten, about a mile and a half west of Kipton station, a shop in which they did quite a lively business for three or four years in manufacturing revolving horse rakes, cultivators and other farm implements and utensils.

There are five roads running north and south through the township, except that there is about a mile in that upon the east side of the township which has never been opened. 'There are three roads running east and west entirely through the township, one in the south part extending east from the center road to the next road, and one in the north part of the township, running from Kipton west to the first north and south road. The north and south and east and west center roads were the first ones laid out. They were established before the land came into the market, and the others were opened soon after the commencement of the settlement.

Following are the statistics for 1877, showing the amount of the most important productions of the township, also the population in 1870, and the vote for president in 1870:

John Rose

Jesse Rose, grandfather of the gentleman whose name is found at the head of this sketch, was a native of Virginia. He married Susan Smith, (whose home was not far from the resort known as the Warm Springs,) and six weeks subsequent was drafted into the service of the United States.. Leaving his youthful bride and his pleasant home on the banks of the Potomac, for the hardships and dangers of soldier life, he did not return until the war was over. He was in the last engagement at Yorktown, and helped to swell the glad shout of victory at the final surrender of Cornwallis, October 17, 1782. A few years later Mr. Rose removed to Ohio, locating in Poland township, Mahoning county. Here was born to them four sons and three daughters. Jesse Rose, Jr., was the third son. He married Susan Everhart in the year 1816, and settled on a farm in Ellsworth township, where he died. John Rose, the subject of this biography, was the eldest son of Jesse, Jr. He was born September 25, 1819. November 4, 1846, he was married to Lucinda Parshall, of Youngstown, Ohio, by the Rey. Dillon Prosser of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which denomination both were members. In the spring of 1854, he settled in Camden township, Lorain county, where he yet resides. He was accompanied by his youngest brother, Preston B. Rose, now professor in the university at Ann Arbor, Michigan. The children of John and Lucinda Rose, are: Euphrasia, who died when eight years of age; Eugene, who entered Oberlin college, when fourteen years of age, enlisted in the army at the age of seventeen, served until the close, was honorably discharged therefrom, and is now in business in New York City: Ezra Norris, who married Mattie Close, and now lives in Chester, Haton county, Michigan, and Olin who remains with his parents on the old homestead. Of the political history of Mr. Rose, we learn that in 1840 he came out against the party of log cabins, hard cider, and coon skins, and his first ballot was cast for Martin Van Buren. He continued with the democratic party until they nominated that arrant rebel, Vallandingham, for governor, when he became a republican, and continues to this time a firm adherent to the sterling principles of that party. He has served as township trustee and justice of the peace for many years.

Mr. Rose has been an earnest, steadfast christian from early life. At the age of nineteen years he helped to organize the Methodist Episcopal church at Ellsworth, Mahoning county, Ohio, and not only he but his worthy and estimable companion have ever been foremost in promoting the interests of the cause of christianity, and are now engaged with others in the erection of a Union church edifice at Kipton,

A suRVEY of Penfield discloses to one, upon every side, the evidences of the truest and best prosperity, evidences of material wealth and of moral well being - secured and transmitted to their descendants of to-day by the hardy pioneers whose ax blows resounded in the forest over half a hundred years ago. They are gone now - nearly all of the simple, honest, hard working, unconsciously heroic men and women who took up their abode in the wilderness; but the example of their lives endures; the good that they began moves on; the institutions that they organized still exist, increasing constantly in strength. 'The religion that they planted is flourishing in fruition, and the solid substructure of social and spiritual life which they laid down remains sound and intact, the foundation of all that is admirable in the edifice of to-day.

The ringing of the church bells will sound no more forever upon the ears of many who loved to hear their call. They have passed from the church militant to the church triumphant, but their children and their childrens'~children obey the summons, and upon Sabbath mornings, from all directions, come to listen to the gospel which was the solace and the consolation of their forefathers as it is theirs.

The inheritance which the present generation has secured, is one which included something more than the broad farms cleared and the fine orchards planted by the pioneers. It is an inheritance of good principles, morality, religion, education, of sturdy independence, of industry, of strong patriotism and of the varied qualities that combine to make the early residents of the Reserve men of sterling worth.

What we have said of Penfield is applicable in a degree to almost any of the farming townships in the New England of the west. We have simply taken it as a type.

The Face Of The Country

Penfield was first known as town number three in the seventeenth range of the original Western Reserve. It is upon what is knownas the table or level, situated about twenty miles from Lake Erie, and ten miles north of the dividing line of the waters. The Black river enters the township at about the center of its southern line, and flows northward and a little eastward in quite a tortuous course. It has broad bottom lands, and has made but few bluffs, and those not more than ten feet high. The soil isa clay loam with a mixture of more or less sand. The land is most rolling east of the river, and there contains the most sand. The subsoil is a little heavier than the

Original Proprietors

Township number three in range seventeen became by the original drawing the property of Caleb Atwater. He paid for it the not extravagant sum of twenty-five cents per acre, or about four thousand dollars for the entire township which contains not far from sixteen thousand acres. He deeded this land to his six daughters, Lucy Day, Ruth Cook, Abigail Andrews, Mary Beebe, Sarah Merrick, and the wife of Judge Cook, dividing it into six equal sections.

Peter Penfield and Calvin Spencer, both from Eastern New York, came into Penfield, in the fall of 1818, for the purpose of seeking. lands suitable for settlement. They were assisted in their examination by James, a son of Major Ingersoll, of Grafton. They experienced some considerable difficulty in finding the township lines, so as to know on what lands they were, or what township they were in. 'They finally succeeded in finding the corners of the townships that are now known as Litchfield, Grafton, LaGrange und Penfield, which occupied most of the first day. They returned to Major Ingersoll's that night. This was a trip of about thirteen miles, almost entirely through the wilderness. The next day they went out with another son of Major Ingersoll's, Marshall, and when they struck Black river they followed up the stream for some distance on the river bottoms, and the sight of the large black walnut timber growing, und the rich lands, called forth many expressions of udmiration, especially from Mr. Spencer. .With this short exploration they returned to Major Ingersoll's that night, and the next morning they set out to re- 'urn home, making the round trip in about six weeks. During the following year negotiations were made with the proprietors who proposed to give to Peter Penfield the agency of part of their lands in the township, and each to give him fifty acres off from each section, in consideration that he should move with his family into said township with a view of remaining there. The quantity of land was afterward reduced to twenty-four acres from each of the six proprietors, land. Seth C. Ingersoll being engaged to erect a house upon it, the father returned to his New York home, leaving Alanson in Sheffield, on the 22nd of February following, 1820. Peter Penfield and his nephew Lathrop, started from Harpersfield, Delaware county, New York, and with backs turned upon their old home pushed resolutely forward to the forest in which they were to make a new home. After a fatiguing journey of four weeks they arrived in Grafton and stopped at Ingersoll's headquarters for newcomers. After collecting a quantity of provisions they started for the place where they were to begin life as frontiersmen, and had a pretty hard experience upon the very outset. They were literally obliged to cut their way through the woods to the land that had been purchased. When they arrived at the cabin (Jot four, section six,) they found it unfinished. They were then alone in the midst of a wilderness, which stretched from Elyria to Harrisville, and from Medina to Wellington. Besides the work of cutting a trail from Grafton, the Penfields opened the north and south road through the wilderness as far as Butternut ridge, spending about thirty days' time, for which they never received any remuneration. They were obliged while doing this work to go to Harrisville, a distance of fifteen miles, for provisions. Their horses strayed away, and after ten days search they found them upon Rocky river, north of Medina. The work of preparing the ground for corn and wheat was immediately undertaken. Peter Penfield returned east in July, Lathrop and Alanson remaining to enlarge the clearing about their log cabin, and came back to town number three, as it was then called, bringing his family, in March, 1821. Truman Penfield came out in May, selected a site for a home, lot eleven, section four, and went back in the following month for his family, which consisted of his wife and one son, Samuel 8. He returned with his household, November 5th, 1820. His family was, therefore, the first that had a home in the township, and that of Peter Penfield the second. Lewis Penfield and his son Amos moved in the year 1824, and Amzi, another son, came in 1827. Ephraim 'came still after. Lewis located upon lot fourteen, section four.

The descendants of the Penfields have been numerous, and had even the sons and daughters of those who were among the first settlers all become residents of the township at one time, it would have had a fair population. Some of these, as has been shown, did not come into the country until several years after the arrival of Peter, Lathrop and Truman.

Peter Penfield's family alone, from first to last, numbered fifteen persons. His wife was Catharine Hawley. Their descendants were: Alanson, Marilla, Sarah, all three deceased; Horace, now in California; Austin C. and Benjamin, deceased; Homer and Russell H., residents of Elyria and heads of families; Maria, deceased; Emily (Mrs, Walker), in Massachusetts; Susan (Mrs. Clark), in Huntington township; and Harriet, deceased,

Lewis Penfield, a brother of Peter, and his wife, Ada, were the parents of Truman, Betsey (Mrs. Raymond Starr), Ephraim, Amos, Lathrop, Amzi and Gideon, all of whom are now dead but Lathrop, who is a resident of Springfield, Ohio; he married, in 1824, Caroline West, and their children were: Franklin, Betsey, Warren and Fletcher.

Amzi Penfield was also the father of a large family of children, of whom Rosalie, Henry and Euphemia are residents in Penfield, and- James in Wellington.

Truman Penfield's children were: Samuel 8. and W. W., resident in the township; Truman and Mana (Mrs. Hiram Smith), in Illinois; and Jane (Mrs. A. W. Hendry), in Sandusky, who was the second child born in the township. Truman Penfield's first wife was the first white woman who entered the wilderness; she endured many hardships, and died soon after coming into the settlement, it is said, from the effects of the pioneer's life of toil, privation and exposure. Truman Penfield married a second wife.

Again, taking up the descendants of Peter Penfield, it may be stated that the family of Austin C. is at Saratoga, and that the children of Horace - George, Myron and Willie - are at the old homestead, where the first cabin was built. Russell H. married Henrietta Virginia Blanchard; their children are: Emerson, Anna M., Florence V. and Amia P. Homer Penfield and his wife, Martha, have two sons, Norman and Roderick.

The Starrs were one of the largest families among the early settlers. Raymond was the first. He came from New Harpersfield, Delaware county, New York, in 1829, and settled on lot nine, section four (the center). He married Betsey Penfield, and they were the parents of Lewis, who resides in LaGrange; George R. and Horace U., of Elyria; Russell (dead); Franklin and Alonzo, in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Betsey (Mrs. Goodwin, of Elyria).

William Starr came into the settlement in 1830, and: took up land in lot two, section four. His three sons were, Orrin K., George W. (dead), and Gideon B. The daughters were, Polly Ann (Smith), of Wellington, Clarinda, Orline, Jane, and another.

Orrin Starr came in 1834, and took land in lots five and six, section five. His wife's name is Abigail. They have six children, four of whom are in the county. H. H. is in Nebraska, and Mana (Taylor), in Michigan. The others are: Heman E., Clapp R., Minerva (Smith), and Edna (Dixon).

Talcott came into the township last of all, having remained in Elyria sometime after coming into Ohio. He took up lot eight, section five. Two of his descendants, Matthew L. and Gideon L., are residents of Penfield. Alden is in Cleveland, Angeline in New York, and Maria dead.

The Starrs have been prominently identified with the interests of Penfield, and have contributed much, in various ways, toward its prosperity.

The Knapp family were the first permanent settlers after the pioneer Penfields. They were from Ilarpersfield, Delaware county, New York, and their first representative, Samuel, who remained in the township, came to the settlement in the spring of 1822, locating on lot' fifty-five, section three, east of the center. His wife's name was Mary. She died in 1842, and he married his second wife, Sarah Hayes. Samuel Knapp died in 1874. William Knapp had come out in the spring of the same year with Peter Penfield and located land on lot forty-nine, section four. On his way back after his family he was taken sick, and died at Hamburg, New York, near Buffalo. Stephen Knapp and his wife, Grace Johnson, came in October, 1825, and settled on lot forty-nine, section four. They brought with them two children, Lucy and William J., aged respectively three years and one year and two months. William J. is still a resident of the township, and has pot been absent more than two years altogether since his arrival. He is a carpenter and joiner by trade. His wife is Eliza Lindsley, a native also of Delaware county, New York. The other children born to Stephen and Grace Knapp, were Charles 8., Julius B,, Sally, Harriet, Van Buren, Ephraim, Helen, Charlotte and Carrie. All are living except one. Stephen Knapp died March 22, 1870, and his wife is still living. Shubael Knapp, a brother of Samuel, Stephen and William came into the township in 1830, and took up lot thirty-four, in section four. He was killed, a few years later, by the falling of a large hollow sycamore log, which he was assisting in standing upon end for the purpose of making a smoke house. His skull was crushed and he died almost instantly. His children were L. L., Abigail and Shubael. Lewis Knapp,. another brother, came in about 1834, bringing his mother and settling upon lot thirty-five, section four.

Calvin Spencer and his family, and brother Ichabod, 'moved into the settlement from Durham, New York, in the spring of 1824. Calvin had purchased land on lots seventeen, eighteen, nineteen ard twenty, section two. His children were: Merwin, Mary, Harriet, Hoyt, David and Julia (Mrs. Carman, the famous singer of Norwalk).

Benjamin E, Merwin and wife, of Durham, Greene county, New York, came in May, 1824, and located on lot thirty-seven, section five. Their children were: Dayid P. Jr., Geo. E., Caroline and Irene. Dayid P. Merwin, Sr., arrived a year later. None of the family are now resident in the township.

Elijah and Mercy Hawley came at the same time as Calvin Spencer, and the husband died in August of 1825. Their children were Jesse, Elijah, Catharine, Mary (Mrs. OC. Spencer) and Eunice. Jesse

William, usually known as Squire, Andrews settled in 1828. He was from Wallingford, Connecticut, and was a brother of Judge Andrews, of Cleveland. He died in 1876. Beri Andrews, a cousin of the Squire, became a resident in 1834,

William L. Hayes, of Delaware county, New York, arrived in 1829, and settled upon lot forty eight, section four. His father, Andrew Hayes, came two years later. William married Aurilla Lindsley, and reared a family of seven children.

H. G. Witbeck and his wife, Freelove (Welton), came from Schoharie county, New York, in 1831, bringing with them three children - Josiah H., Hiram and Mahala (afterwards Mrs. R. Peters). Josiah H. and Hiram are residents of Penfield. The other descendants of H. G. and wife were James, Abel, Mitchell and Lucinda.

D. W. C. Dixon, of Litchfield, Connecticut, settled in 1832, upon lot fourteen, section one, and Lewis Hart, of the same State, came about the same time.

In 1833, J. B. Gaylord and his wife Hannah, came from Delaware county, New York, and settled upon lot fifty-eight, in section two. Peter Bosh, of New York State, settled the same year upon a farm in section two.

Elisha Sheldon took up land in 1834, and in 1835 himself and wife settled upon it. Their homestead is upon lot sixty-one, section one. They had seven children, of whom five are still living: Sarah E., (Mrs. C. E. Starr), Daniel P., and A. E. in Wellington, William L. and CO. H. in Penfield.

'Edward Palmer, of Columbia county, New York, came in 1836. Guiles, Charles, Randolph and Sarah were his descendants. The last named is the only one now living.

Pliny Jackson made the first settlement in the northwest part of the township, taking up the extreme corner lot, in 1832. His children were Jane, Martha, George, Alonzo, Melissa, Harriet, and Eliza.

Dr. James Blanchard, who had previously made a visit to the township, settled upon lot forty, section six, in 1835. He was from Cairo, New York.

Hiram Norton, of .Allegany county, New York, settled in 1841, in the southeastern part of the township. He had three sons. George H. Norton is aresident of Penfield. Edward J. and Andrew J. are in Michigan.

When the Penfields came into the woods they found a few Wyandot Indians encamped there, pursuing their only occupation, hunting and trapping. They were seen in the vicinity more or less frequently for ten or a dozen years later, and then the last brave disappeared before the advancement of the superior race. Some of the squaws were very handsome in their swarthy savage style of beauty, and are said to have known how to enhance their charms by many rude arts of the toilet, but their appearance was rendered less suggestive of wild woodland life than the imaginative reader would like to suppose by their wearing calico dresses; the warriors wore deer skins. The Indians came sometimes to trade with the whites and bartered baskets, turkey wings and other trinkets, as well as venison, for calico, blankets, and bread or flour.

Among the Indians who were seen in early days at this settlement was the famous Seneca chieftain, Red Jacket, a savage nobleman of symmetrical figure, powerful and of commanding presence. It was evidently with great reluctance that he forsook the old hunting ground of his tribe.

The Indians were in the custom of going just before the holidays to Sandusky, where they exchanged furs and other trophies of the chase with. the traders for blankets, trinkets and supplies for the winter. In the spring they returned to the Black river country to hunt and make maple sugar. The mer chants of Sandusky would furnish them with certificates in these words: ''Thisis to certifiy that the bearer is of the Seneca tribe of Indians, which is an entirely peaceful tribe, and desires that he be permitted to hunt on the lands unmolested, and in no case to give him whiskey." were very forward to show.

Maple sugar making was very generally practiced by the Indians in the spring, and the same onos have been known to return season after season to localities favorable for following this, the most civilized practice they engaged in. They made their sap troughs of bark peeled from trees of medium size, and taken off in pieces about two feet long, half cylinders in shape. The ends were turned up and tied with thongs, the rough outer bark being removed, and the trough, when finished, was capable of holding three or four quarts of sap. The 'bark, stripped from a huge tree, would make a reservoir of sufficient size to contain half abarrel, and this was used as a receptacle for the collected contents of the smaller sap troughs. Kettles wore hung above a fire, and the same process of sugar making was pursued, that is so commonly practiced to-day. .

Nearly all of the Indians who encamped in Penfield, were upon friendly terms with the settlers, and many favors were extended by each race to the other.

W. J. Knapp, who came into tho woods when a little boy, with his father, remembers playing with the Indian children, particularly one bright, active, handsome little fellow, of whom he learned how to shoot with bow and arrow.

Spy Buck, an Indian of magnificient physique, and a great hunter, encamped with others of his tribe in the woods for some time one season, and was much admired by many of his pale-faced brethren. He had with him a very beautiful squaw, and the two seemed to live together in a condition of sylvan happiness almost idylic, but one day a party of Indians arrived from the headquarters of the tribe in Upper Sandusky, and compelled Spy Buck and _ his band, include ing the handsome squaw, to return with them. The settlers heard a long time afterward that the squaw belonged to another Indian, and that in punishment for their infidelity, she and Spy Buck had been put to death at the stake. The other Indians of this tribe were very reticent in regard to what had become of the two, but it was evident from their manner when the whereabouts of Spy Buck and the squaw was asked, that they knew perfectly well their fate.

Among the last of the Indians who came into Penfield, was Seneca John. In company with several others, he had been camping for some time in the favorite hunting grounds of this vicinity, and finally some of the settlers made up their minds that Seneca John and his untutored companions must leave the country. Three of them constituted themselves a kind of a delegation to make known to the Indians the desire of their white brothers. They took with them a colored man, and proceeding to the hut of Seneca John, informed that dignitary that he and those of his race: must depart from the country. Seneca John listened to the spokesman of the party quietly, until he had ceased speaking, and theu drawing himself up to his full height, expressed briefly but forcibly his indignation and contempt:

After this brief extempore speech, tne ** four white men" left, and notwithstanding the force of the declaration of independence he had made, Seneca John.and his braves cleared the country a few days after.

The territory lying along the Black river formed the favorite hunting grounds of the wandering bands of Indians, who had headquarters further west. They enjoyed undisputed possession of this forest before the white came in, and still lingered in the vicinity when the settlement contained a dozen families. As the forests disappeared, the Indians and the game went also. Deer were very numerous. The country was full of wild hogs, opossums, porcupine, turkeys, raccoons, and the smaller varieties of animals. Beside these, theré were wolves and wildcats. Hunting was sufficiently dangerous to be exciting, and those made a meal of. Lewis Penfield provided himself and family with their first thanksgiving dinner, with his rifle. He was a pretty good shot, and concluding that some venison would lend attractions to the board, he went out a short distance into the woods, and in a few minutes time brought down a fine buck. Stephen success in woodcraft might be cited. He was very fond of adventure, and often made long tramps in quest of the larger kinds of game. He once shot a wildcat under his dwelling house, aud made a huge panther bite the dust, over in the edge of Litchfield township. Several others were killed about the same time. Wild turkeys sometimes came very close to the dwellings of the early settlers, and quite a number of them were entrapped through their: temerity, upon one occasion. Quite a flock of them entered Mr. Knapp's barn, to pick up kernels of grain from the floor. 'They were seen to enter, and one of the family creeping cautiously to the barn, quickly shut the door. Afterwards the barn was several times baited as a trap, and once or twice the family was successful in making a catch. There were beaver in Penfield, but they abandoned their dam very soon after the first sound of the ax was heard in the clearing. The writer was shown by Mr. W. J. Knapp, the dam which still stands as a monument to the industry of these strange animals. It extends across a swale through which a small stream runs, about a quarter of a mile north of the center. It is now about six feet high above the bed of the stream, and was probably two feet higher when constructed. Its form is plainly visible. It is that of an arch, with the convex side up stream. It was built in the place where the minimum of work would secure the maximum of result, and had the intelligence of man instead of the instinct of animals, been exerted in its construction, it could not have been made more perfect. The extent of the overflow caused by the building of the dam, was from twelve to fifteen acres.

In the matters of birth, a girl got a little the start of the other sex, as girls usually do in all the affairs of life. The first child born was Harriet, daughter of Peter and Catharine Penfield. The birth occurred in December, 1821. John, son of Amor and Altana Penfield, was the first boy born.

The first marriage in the township was that of Oaroline, daughter of David Merwin, Sr., to Dr. Samuel Strong. It took place in 1826. Tae first resident of the township married, was Lathrop Penfield. He was married March 17, 1824, to Caroline West, of Grafton, the ceremony being conducted by Franklin Wells, Esq.

. The first litigation was between Peter Penfield and Levi Mills, in the summer of 1826 or 1827. It was in regard to work done upon a mill-dam, and the dispute was settled by referees.

The first log house was that built in the fall of 1819, for Peter Penfield, by Seth O. Ingersoll. The first frame house was built by Peter Penfield, upon his homestead, in 1822. The first brick house was built about 1864, near the center, by Hiram Smith.

The first row of corn was planted by Lathrop Penfield, in 1820, the small timber being cleared from two acres and a half of land for this crop. Some wheat was sown the same season, where now stands the first orchard, planted by Peter Penfield.

The township was noted for its fertile soil and fine crops. Corn and the cereals were raised in larger quantity and of better quality than in the adjoining townships. It was a not uncommon thing in the first decade of its settlement, for the pioneers of older townships to come here for produce, when, because of inferior soil, and perhaps through want of proper tillage, their own crops had proven insufficient.

A farmer once drove into the settlement at the head of a small procession of other farmers, each in a huge wagon, and, addressing one of the residents, said: 'We come after that for which the children of Israel went to Egypt - corn!" 'Their wagons went back heavily laden.

So prolific was the soil, and so rich the harvest, that, when a name was to be chosen for the township, that of Richland was popularly agreed upon, and before the town was organized the commissioners of Medina county were petitioned to bestow upon it that name. 'They took it into consideration; but, discovering that there were other localities named Richland, rejected the petition and named the township Penfield, in honor of the first settler. It may be added that the productiveness of the soil has not been decreased by the application of this name. The township is still Richland, in fact, though Penfield by name; and its farms and orchards fully attest, to-day, the truth of what was said in regard to the agricultural qualities of the township fifty years ago, by the men who first felled the forest and broke the ground.

The first township election was ordered to be held upon the first Monday of April, 1825, at the house of Truman Penfield. The following officers were elected upon that occasion: clerk, Truman Penfield; trustees, Samuel Knapp, Samuel Root, Peter Penfield; treasurer, Lathrop Penfield; overseers of the poor, Lewis Penfield, Calvin Spencer. In 1826, May 27, Benjamin Merwin was elected justice of the peace, the first in the township. At the close of 1878 the township officers were: clerk, Andrew Denham; trustees, W. C. Hastings, Elisha Sheldon, M. E. Starr; treasurer, A. D. Lindsley; justices of the peace, W. W. Penfield, George H. Norton; constables, W. J. Krebs, Perry Bost. School Board: David O. Bunt, president; Samuel McOoy, Calvin Ensign, Foster

Elisha Fields preached the first week of March in that year at David Merwin'shouse. After that, meetings were held every four weeks until fall, by the same preacher, and then the Rev. Harry O. Sheldon began his ministrations in the township, speaking to small assemblages at the old log school house. Rev. Matthew L. Starr was also an early preacher. He came from the east, and preached his first sermon in an unfinished house, standing upon a workman's bench which had been left in the largest room of the rather small dwelling.

The first church formed in Penfield was of the Presbyterian denomination. It was organized January 14, 1829, by Revs. A. H. Betts, Xenophon Betts, Joel Talcott and D. W. Lathrop. Following are the names of the original members: Lewis Penfield and wife, Peter Penfield and wife, Truman Penfield and wife, Amos Penfield and wife, Amzi L. Penfield and wife, Dr. James Hall and wife, and Anna Merwin, wife of David Merwin - thirteen in all.

The church had in 1878 forty-five members and a meeting house adequate to its needs. The pastor was the Rev. O. V. Rice and the officers the following : trustees, L. H. Penfield, Peter Dahlglish, Heman Starr; clerk, Robert McConaughy; deacons, W. W. Penfield and Robert McConaughy; Sunday school superintendent, W. W. Penfield; assistant, L. H. Penfield.

The first class of this church was organized in August, 1834, the Rev. A. Billings in charge. It was composed of the following members: Wm. L. Hayes, Aurilla L. Hayes, Mrs. Sarah Hayes, Esther Mary Hayes, Russell H. Starr, Henry G. Witbeck and Freelove Witbeck. But two of the original members are still living - Mr. and Mrs. Wm. L, Hayes. The society at this date, December, 1878, numbers one hundred and sixteen members. The Rey. Thomas G. Roberts is pastor, and the officers of church and society are as follows: stewards, Levi Smith, A. B. Hayes, E. A. Starr (recording), 8. Long, Wm. Knapp; class leaders, James Webber, Wm. Furze, Wm. P. Boice, Clapp Starr; local preachers, P. C. Bunt, George Norton, Mathew L. Starr (superanuated); Sunday school superintendent, James Weber; trustees, Orrin Starr; Mathew L. Starr, Joseph Jones, George Norton, 8. Barton, Willard Hart, James Webber, Wm. L. Hayes. building was erected in 1842, half a mile east of the center, but the society moved to the center about 1855, and occupied the more commodious house at present in use.

In the year 1839 or 1840, the Baptist church was organized with twelve members, viz: Rev. Asa Straight and wife, Samuel Knapp and wife, Wm. Rogers and wife, Peter Bost and wife, Mrs. Elisha Sheldon, Mrs. Kellogg Latham, Mrs. Edward Hart, and the mother of Wm. Rogers. Mrs. Sheldon is the only one of the original members living. For some time this church had no regularly settled pastor, but was supplied with preaching by different ministers. Meetings were held in school houses and private dwellings for several years. In 1853 efforts were made to secure funds for building, and in April of 1855 a house of worship was dedicated, Rey. E. Tibbals being the pastor in charge. Previous to this time, however, the church had a settled minister - Elder George Edwards. The present pastor is the Rev. Michael Shank; deacons, Silas Rogers, Elisha Sheldon; trustees, Elisha Sheldon, W. B. Andrews, Shubael Knapp; clerk, W. B. Andrews; treasurer, Elisha Sheldon.

Episcopal Church

An Episcopal church was organized in 1844, but did not remain long in existence. The following, from the record of the church, explains how it came into being:

''We whose names are hereunto affixed, deeply impressed with the importance of the christian religion, and earnestly wishing to promote its holy influence in the hearts and the lives of ourselves, ourfamiliesand our neighbors, do hereby associate ourselves together, under the name, and style, and title of the parish of Christ Church, in the township of Penfield, county of Lorain, and State of Ohio, and by so doing do adopt the constitution and canons of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of Ohio, in communion with the Protestant Episcopal church of the United States of America.

To the above form the names of twenty subscribers, the number required, were affixed, and a meeting was held, in conformity to notice given, upon the 13th of August, 1844, at which time Rev. Messrs. Davis and Holden, being present, the church was organized and the following officers elected: senior warden, Daniel Andrews; junior warden, Beri Andrews; vestrymen, Lewis Jones, Bishop Richmond, William -Andrews; clerk, William Andrews. The church never built a house of worship.

Before-the usual facilities for teaching were provided, Clarissa Rising, of Huntington, taught a school in Calvin Spencer's private house, about a mile south of the center. This was the first school in the township, and was held in the summer of 1829. Among the pupils were Samuel and Jane Penfield, Horace Starr and Betsey Ann Starr, William Avery Penfield, and the Spencer children, Mary Merwin, Harriet Hoyt and David Hoyt. George R. Starr, now of Elyria, taught the second school in the winter of 1829 and 1830, and Lucy Adamsalso taught after him. The first school house was erected a mile and a half east and about three quarters of a mile north of the center. It was a frame structure covered with rough boards. Several log school houses were built afterwards. The first select school was taught in 1854, by Eleazer Hale, an Oberlin student. At this writing the township has eight district schools.

Cemetery

The burial place is upon a plat of ground, half a mile east of the center, a portion of which was donated by Gideon Penfield, in 1840. Additions have been made at various times, as has been made necéssary by the increase of the population, and proportionable increase of mortality. There is a family burying ground upon the old Samuel Knapp farm, one of the earliest dedicated to those who have have passed over to the silent majority.

It is a noticable fact that, in the southern part of Lorain county, and in territory lying contiguous to it, the roads first laid out have been those running fact. We find that the settlers in this part of the country, and further south, had a desire to perfect routes of travel to the lake, for it was there that they naturally expected to find a market, in future years, for the corn and wheat they did not need for home consumption.

The first road through Penfield, was one of these roads, laid out as a line of travel, by which the inland farmers might take their produce to the larger towns near the lake shore, and to the harbors. It is known now as the River road, and was opened from Spencer and Homer, in Medina county, through Penfield, in the early days of the settlement. Much time was spent in its improvement. But little was done upon the Penfield and Wellington road for many years, the swamp in the latter township remaining a place to be dreaded at all times of the year, and nearly, if not quite, impassable during the wet seasons,

The north and south center road was laid out and planked in 1836, or the following year, and was known as one of the best roads in this part of the country, as long as it was kept in repair. The planks have been a thing of the past for many years.

In the spring of 1820, a mail route was laid out from Medina to Norwalk, through Penfield center. The first mail was carried through in April, by a man named Laborie, who traveled on foot. The Penfields living a mile and half from the line, arranged to deposit all of their mail matter in a hollow tree, at the"

In April, 1821, Truman Penfield moved on to the line, and took charge of the mail, in an informal way, until 1825, when he was commissioned postmaster. He held the office for many years, and was not a defaulter. His successor was D. W. OC. Dixon, and he was succeeded by Lyman Hayes. W. J. Krebs was commissioned as postmaster upon the 17th of December, 1878.

The first saw mill in the township was built by Peter Penfield about 1828. Samuel Knapp built one ubout two years after; and Calvin Spencer and others at a stilllaterdate. Black walnut timber was so common that it was used very largely for fence rails, and the lumber was sold for only four dollars per thousand. In 1850, a saw mill was built and operated by R. H. Penfield, Horace Penfield, Orrin Starr, Lyman Hayes and Almond Lindsley, for the purpose of furnishing lumber for the plank road leading north through LaGrange. This was burned in 1857, and subsequently rebuilt. Itis now owned by W. W. Penfield. There is also another saw mill, with a flouring mill in conjunction, owned by 8. Samson & Son, which was built in 1868, by A. C. Hitchcock. Both of these mills are located near the center, upon lot twelve, tract four.

Hiram Witbeck and John McGraw started a cheese factory upon the center road, west of the center, in the spring of 1869, and took the milk of about three hundred cows. McGraw soon sold out his interest to Witbeck, who contined to run the factory until 1877, when he sold to Mr. Crozier, of Wellington. Christy of the township, conducted it for several years, and then transferred the property to Baldwin & Laundon, of Wellington. This firm also owns the factory started in 1870, east of the river, by a Mr. Benedict, of Litchfield. S. White started a small factory in 1875, which he still manages. There is another factory upon the river, in the northeast part of the township, which was started in 1875, by R. Holeomb, and is now owned by George Rozier, of Wellington.

The following are the statistics for 1877, showing the amount of the most important productions of the township; also the population in 1870, and the vote for President in 1876:

Truman Penfield

Prominently identified with the material progress and development of Penfield township, and among its most respectable citizens, was Truman Penfield. Removing to Penfield nearly sixty years ago, he was one of the pioneers of the township, and became one of its most substantial business mén,'as well as among its best practical farmers. He not only witnessed the transition of a sparsely settled region into a prosperous and flourishing locality, from an uncultivated wilderness to a highly fertile and productive agricultural township, but by his industry, energy and thrift, did much toward the consummation of these various and beneficial improvements. !

Truman Penfield was born at Fairfield, Connecticut, October 4, 1789, and died at Penfield, Ohio, April 20, 1868. He was the son of Lewis Penfield, who was born March 26, 1765. He married Adah Beardslee, January 22, 1789. In 1802, they removed to Harpersfield, Delaware county, New York, where they became respectable citizens.

Truman Penfield was married to Ruth Ann Scoville, May 10, 1814. The fruits of this union were: Samuel 8., born July 13, 1818, in Harpersfield, New York; married Permelia Dayton, September 23, 1839; resides in Penfield. Jane A., born August 27, 1823, in Penfield, Ohio; was graduated from the Oberlin Collegiate Institute (ladies' course of 1847); in the following year, August 15, 1848, was married to Judge A. W. Hendry, of Sandusky, Ohio, where they have since resided.

Mrs. Ruth A. Penfield died December 5, 1824. For his second wife, Mr. Penfield married Maria Dayton, of Harpersfield, New York, in September, 1825. The children of this second marriage were: Maria, born August 22, 1828; married Hiram Smith, September 18, 1851; they reside at Flint, Michigan.

William Wirt Penfield was born June 29, 1831; and November 22d, 1854, was married to Martha, daughter of Jedediah Gaylord, of Penfield. He (William W.) has always lived upon the homestead farm at Penfield center, where he was born. In 1872, he removed the old farm house and built a new one, in modern style, other page of our work. He is extensively engaged in raising improved breeds of cattle, with which the old farm is well stocked. In addition to his agricultural pursuits, he is quite largely interested in the manufacture of lumber, he being the owner of a capacious and well furnished steam saw mill located at the center. He occupies a leading position in his township, and in his life and character has admirably typified what well dirccted energy, perseverance and industry will aceomplish.

Truman Penfield, third and last child of Truman and Maria (Dayton) Penfield, was born August 3, 1833; married Sarah, daughter of Levi Gaylord, March 20, 1857. He now occupies the position of general ticket and passenger agent for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company, and resides at Hannibal, Missouri. The character for personal integrity and high moral worth which the Penfield family have always maintained, is so well known to the residents of Lorain county that anything of a laudatory nature from us, in this respect, would be superfluous. The desire to improve the locality where he cast his lot nearly sixty years ago, was one of the strongly marked traits of Truman Penfield. His son has done much toward beautifying the homestead, and in adding many improvements, which his father would have done had he lived a few years longer. They have certainly, between them, made Penfield center a delightful as well as a beautiful hamlet, which, in future years, shall remain a monument to their enterprise.

Elisha Sheldon

Closely identified with affiairs tending to develop the general interests of the township of Penfield, and always endeavoring, by his life and character, to exercise a beneficial influence in the community of which for many years he has been a prominent member, Elisha Sheldon to-day deservedly enjoys a foremost position among the best citizens of that township.

Elisha Sheldon was born in the town of Kortright, Delaware county, New York, January 16, 1811. He continued to reside in Kortright until the death of his father, Jonathan Sheldon, which occurred in 1822, when he went to live with an uncle in the adjoining town of Harpersfield, where he lived until he was twenty-two years of age. He was engaged as a team. ster for Croswell & Dickerman, tanners, of Gilboa, Schoharie county, New York, with whom he continued almost one year. In the spring of 1834, he removed to Ohio and purchased one hundred and eightyeight acres, located in the town of Penfield, Lorain county, upon which he worked, and also by the and the following year married Sallie Peters, and returned to the new home in Ohio, May 3, 1835. He then put up a log cabin, in the midst of an almost unbroken wilderness, into which he moved before it had windows, and lived therein six months before it had achimney. Inthe January following, he built that necessary appendage to a comfortable dwelling, his young wife helping to lay the brick. After the elapse of forty-five years, Mrs. Sheldon very appropriately designates her experience in the brick-laying line, as ''the spice of pioneer life." The first year of his settlement, Mr. Sheldon cleared off some six or eight acres and sowed it to wheat. Every yeay since has witnessed some improvement to his farm, to which he added seventy acres, subsequent to his original purchase, upon which he still resides. He has deeded to each of his sons a good farm, thus giving them an infinitely better and easier start in life than he ever had.

Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon have had seven children, namely: Sarah E., now the wife of OC. E. Starr, resides in Penfield; Daniel P. lives at Wellington; Addison resides on a farm in Wellington township; William L. lives on a farm in Penfield; Charles H. lives at home with his parents, owning a part of the homestead; James M. and John L. are dead, the former dying at the age of five years and five months, and the latter at the age of almost ten years.

In politics Mr. Sheldon is a republican. He has served his township as assessor and trustee several terms. He and his excellent wife are both members of the Penfield Baptist church, of which Mrs. Sheldon is the only one of the constituent members now living. This worthy couple have pulled together forty-four years, and the prospects are for them to celebrate their golden wedding.

Mr. Sheldon is noted for his liberality in sustaining benevolent and charitable institutions, and for the generous aid he lends to worthy objects connected with religion and education. He is deservedly esteemed as an upright and honest citizen, a good neighbor, a kind husband and an affectionate father. He has lived an industrious and busy life, and in the management of his interests has been careful and economical, so that he and his wife, who has largely assisted him in the accumulation of his property, can pass their declining years in comparative ease and comfort. Having always been temperate and regular in his habits, he enjoys perfect good health, and bids fair to exceed by many years, the allotted span.

Beri Andrews

Prominently connected with the material interests of Penfield, and among its early and respected citizens was the subject of these lines. He was born in Meriden, Connecticut, February 5, 1806. He wasthe son of Marvel and Sallie (Bronson) Andrews, both of whom were natives of Connecticut, and among the worthy citizens of that State. At the age of twentythree, Mr. Andrews married Eliza Hall, the union resulting in four children - two sons and two daughters, namely: Bela, now married and settled in Henry county, Illinois; Hannah E., Sarah B. and William B., all living on the homestead farm. Mrs. Andrews died April 21, 1857. On the twenty-ninth of April, 1858, he married Amy, daughter of Jonathan Sheldon. She survives him.

In 1834 Mr. Andrews moved to Lorain county, Ohio, and settled on the farm where his widow now resides, The place then contained over three hundred served with general satisfaction to the people, and with personal credit. He was an exemplary member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which he was senior warden for many years. After an eminently useful life Mr. Andrews died October 9, 1868. He was a man who was greatly respected for his many excellent qualities. A good practical farmer, and an industrious and honest citizen, his death was felt as an irreparable loss in the community in which he had lived so long, and in which his worth was well known and so generally appreciated.

A portrait of himself and widow, together with a view of the old homestead, is inserted in this work, as a deserved testimonial of a meritorious life, and as a token of regard from her to whom his many virtues were as a household word, and to whom his death was asad bereavement.

Among the representative pioneers of Penfield township, who have materially assisted in the growth and progress of that town, none are more worthy a place in its history than Orrin Starr. Emigrating to this section of the country forty-five years ago, at a time when the territory now embraced within the limits of the township, contained but two frame dwellings, and when the number of families therein did not exceed a half score, he has contributed not a little to its present prosperity. Orrin Starr was born in Delaware county, New York, October 30, 1803. He is the son of Eleazar and Rebecca (Clapp) Starr, old settlers of that county. He received what literary education he ever obtained at the common schools of his native county. When seven years of age his father died, and the duty of helping to provide for his widowed mother deyolyed upon him, which duty he cheerfully preformed, assisted by his elder brothers. fis early years were spent on the homestead farm. In 1834 he sold out his interest in the family estate ind emigrated to Lorain county, Ohio, and settled on tne farm now occupied by David Drake, and located about one mile and a half northeast of Penfield center where Mr. Starr now resides. On the 12th of September, 1825, he was married to Abigail, daughter of Heman and Lucinda Hickok, of Schoharie county, New York.

sively engaged in farming and milling. He was a public benefactor, and for many years a justice of the peace of his town, a side judge, and also a member of the legislature of the State of New York, In 1823

Mr. Hickok and his wife removed to Ashtabula county, Ohio, where three of their sons, Ambrose, Heman C. and Hiram, had preceded them some years.

This worthy couple have now lived together harmoniously for fifty-three years, having celebrated their golden wedding three years ago, surrounded by many relatives and friends. They had eleven children, of whom six survive. The names of the children are as follows: Melinda, deceased ; Minerva and Maria, twins ; the former lives in Penfield, the latter in Michigan; Elizabeth, died in Kansas, Alonzo B. died of disease contracted in the army, at-Mount Vernon, Kentucky ; Hiram H. resides in Nebraska, Emma L. deceased ; Edna, resides in Oberlin ; Clapp R., Marian A., deceased. 'Those living are all married and settled in life and are good and respectable citizens.

Mr. Starr is a republican in politics, and was formerly an oldline whig. He was elected to the office of justice of the peace in his township, but resigned after serving about a year, feeling as thongh'his time was required in the management of his personal affairs. He has also been elected to other township offices. Mr. and Mrs. Starr are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, the latter having joined it in the days of her youth. Mr. Starrnow owns a fine farm of two hundred and thirty-seven and a half acres, located at the center, an illustration of the buildings of which, with portraits of himself and wife, appears on another page of this work.

Mr. and Mrs. Starr are not only among the pioneers of their town, but are also among its most respectable and influential citizens; and no history of the town of Penfield would have been complete without a representation of themselves and their home. Their entire career has been characterized by 'an honest endeavor to promote the best interests of their children, and to leave a record behind them worthy the emulation of those who follow. Industry, economy and a determination to succeed have been the prime factors of their life work, and the results have been alike flattering and well deserved.

Street Goodyear And Family

Eli Goodyear, father of Street, the subject of this sketch, married Sally Hitchcock, both residents of Hampden, Connecticut. They had five children, viz: Chester, Wooster, Ezra, Lucinda and Street.

' Street Goodyear was born May 19, 1808, and unfortunately, during his youthful days, he had little opportunity of gaining even a good common school education; but being possessed of a quick and active brain, he, by observation, or rather by intuitive perception, acquired good business qualifications, enabling him to make progress where others might have failed. At the age of eight years he was left without a protector to shield him from the rough, thorny pathway won his way step by step up the rugged hill of fortune. He was married November 25, 1834, to Miss Susan A. Jones, of North Madison, Connecticut.

Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Lucy (Austin) Jones were residents of North Madison, Connecticut. They were parents of twelve children, viz: Sally M., Lewis, Austin, Lucy Ann, Nancy, Polly, Caroline, Joseph, Emeline, Henrietta, George and Susan A., all born in North Madison, Connecticut. All are now living excepting Polly and Lucy Ann.

After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Street Goodyear settled in Northford, Connecticut, where four of their children were born, viz: Jane Ann, born March 27, 1836; Gilbert L., born June 25, 1837; Francis R., born October 12, 1841, died October 29, 1849; and Edward 8., born August 29, 1843.

In the fall of 1844, the family removed to Penfield, Lorain county, Ohio, establishing a new home amid the wilds of an unbroken forest, where wild beasts roamed at night in search of prey. After settling in this pioneer home, two more jewels were added to the mother's crown, viz: Douglas J., born. June 14, 1846; Lucy Ann, born January 4, 1851. Jane Ann married Hiram Witbeck and settled in Penfield; number of children seven. Gilbert L. married Nettie Stewart, of Hinkley, Medina county - only one heir. Edward S. married Miss Mary Crane, of Penfield; they have two children. Douglas J. married Miss Mary E. Ecker, of Rousburg, Ashland county, Ohio, three heirs; Lucy Ann remains single, ministering to the wants of the many. Like a sister of mercy, doing good as opportunities are presented.

' Mr. and Mrs. Goodyear, early experiencing a change of heart, they became members of the Congregational church in Northford, Connecticut, remaining in good and regular standing until their removal to Ohio,

After a short sojourn in their pioneer home they united with the Methodist Episcopal church, becoming active and efficient members, and workers in the vineyard of the Lord.

The toils and struggles consequent upon a pioneer life, and the many cares laid upon willing hands, have quite unfitted Mrs. Goodyear for enjoying the blessing of health. She being an invalid, is dependent upon others to guide the faltering footsteps along the shore of time. Of a quiet and pleasing address, and social temperament, she wins affection, and binds with cords of love the hearts of her household.

Although Mr. Goodyear's life has been one of almost constant toil, he has ever been personally a stranger to sickness, and yet remains an active, energetic man for one of his years. His persevering industry has yielded a competence sufficient for all necessary wants, and he is wont to compare the present with the past, when immediate wants compelled him to work for his more fortunate neighbors, receiying his pay in grain, which he was forced to take upon

How little the sons and daughters of the present time know of the toils and struggles endured to secure the independence now enjoyed by them. If they would seek for enlightenment, let them question such men as Mr. Goodyear, whose life lessons were learned in the tread-mill of experience.

La Grange

LA GRANGE is township number four, range seventeen. It presents to one who drives through its territory an appearance of thrift and plenty. Broad, well tilled fields, huge barns, almost bursting with their store, snug farm houses, and beautiful villas meet the eye upon all sides, and silently attest the wisdom, the energy, and the cultivated taste of their owners.

Physical Featukes

The township is almost perfectly level, except in the extreme eastern and western parts, where it is traversed by small streams. Here the surface is somewhat rolling, The east branch of the Black river flows from south to north, through the eastern portion of the township, and Wellington creek, a small rivulet, diversifies the western part, and adds a pleasing element to the landscape. The soil is, for the most part, clay, oraclay loam, though there are small areas in which sand and gravel appear. Deep down, under all, is the solid sandstone, which, had it lain nearer the surface, would have proved a vast element of wealth. It only appears at the surface in the northwest corner of the township, where it is quarried in a small way.

The Original Proprietors

of La Grange township were Henry Champion and Lemuel Storrs, the former having drawn two-thirds and the latter one third of the land. These men also had three thousand, seven hundred acres in tract eight, range nineteen, now in Brighton and Camden. In 1825, Champion conveyed his portion of the lands to his son-in-law, Elizur Goodrich, of Hartford, Connecticut. Goodrich was not long in possession of his western estate, for he began exchanging it, in the summer of the same year, for New York State property. Nathan Clark, Roger Phelps, Noah Holcomb, and James Pelton, of Jefferson county, were the first to obtain land of him, and soon others followed their example, the ' westward, ho!" fever extended, and so it came about that a colony of New Yorkers was located in the wilderness of southern Lorain county.

Phelps, Holcomb, and Pelton, in the autumn of 1825, came out to examine the land. After a short stay, they returned, and made so favorable a report that others, among whom were David and Asa Rockwood, Fairchild Hubbard, Joseph Robbins, Sylvester Merriam, and Levi Johnson were induced to purchase farms. They, too, exchanged lands with Goodrich.

was made by Nathan Clark, on the 14th day of November, 1825. Ciark was a native of Harlem, Connecticut, and was married in 1816, to Ann Loomis, who came with him to Ohio. He settled near the east branch of Black river, and resided there for some time, but afterward bought lot number fifty-one, upon which he remained until 1855, when he removed to Michigan, in which State he died in 1860. His first

As soon as the season of 1826 opened so as to allow journeying over the rough roads, and through the almost unbroken woods, the families of Noah Holcomb, Sylvester Merriam, James Disbrow, Joseph A. Graves, James Pelton, Levi Johnson, Curtis Hastings, Charles Rounds and two sons, Joseph Robbins, David and Asa Rockwood and Henry Townsend came into the township, and each established a rude and primitive home. Fairchild Hubbard came in November, from Brighton, where he had been living-for several months.

There were, in the latter part of the year 1826, seventy persons within the present limits of LaGrange, some in the east, some in the west, some at the center of the township. All however were neighbors. Men living five miles apart in those days knew more of each other than do many now-a-days who occupy the same city house, and felt more truly friendly concern for each other than exists at present, in most cases, between neighbors whose gardens adjoin. Half a century ago there was a vast deal of sincerity in the daily greetings of the people, a sincerity which the Amerwi

Hulu

Although there was now quite a settlement, people who had been accustomed to the more advanced conditions of life upon the farms or in the villages of New York, felt an almost unbearable sense of loneliness. was new to them, and their hearts turned fondly back to the old love, to the place of their birth and early life, around which hung the halo of the dearest associations and memories. At this period, there was scarcely a@ man or woman in the little colony who would not have gladly returned to the old home, had it been feasible to leave the new without sacrificing everything. Several did leave. Those who remained overcame more obstacles, and in the end accomplished more than their fondest hope had ever painted. The country, they found, was not all that the first enthuastic writers had represented it to be. 'The soil was of a nature difficult to handle with the rude implements they had; teaming was difficult, on account of the wet condition of the undrained ground; and the timber was of extremely large growth, rendering the clearing of the forest a greater task than in many other portions of the country: There were many hardships to be endured. Food was at certain seasons hard to obtain. Leeks grew in abundance, and were for a time about the only edible vegetable that the settlers could procure. The cows fed upon them, and their milk was tainted: by the pungent bulbs. Cattle were too valuable to be slaughtered for food; and when game failed, some of the hardy pioneers were driven to expedients which their grand-children or great-grand-children of to-day would fancy they could not endure. Itis related of the children in one family, that in a time when the provision store was low, they obtained their principal sustenance from basswood buds, which they climbed the trees to get. Murrain attacked the cattle, and often the pioneer was obliged to lose the value of considerable time expended in preparing the soil for a crop, because his oxen were suddenly stricken with this disease, to which they generally succumbed. There were few vehicles of any kind in the settlement. One man owned a wagon, of which he frequently made two carts, which he rented to the neighbors. 'The price paid for the loan of one of them to make a journey to Elyria was a day's work in logging.

There was every thing to overcome, and but very little at hand to do it with. The men who persevered in the long, hard struggle, and hewed out homes for themselves from the primeval forest, made the begining of what is now one of the most thriving, wealthy and respectable communities in the county. Every pioneer who entered the Reserve, was a hero who should be reverently and thankfully remembered by those whom he prepared the way, and as fully as the limited knowledge of the facts and the limited force of words will permit.

bins alone remains to tell of the privation and toil of the early settlers. He is still living at the age of ninety years, the father of eight children, three of whom, Nicholas L., George H. and Mrs. Delos Dernier reside in the township. Nicholas L. lives upon a farm of one hundred and thirty-three acres, a mile or more west of the center, with his wife Harriet Lamoure, daughter of an early settler, and is probably as well preserved a man of three score years, as the county contains. George H. is a merchant, and it is under his roof that his aged father's later years have been spent. Josiah, or Deacon Robbins, as he is generally known, came from Champion, Jefferson county, New York, in 1826, and settled one mile west of the present village, upon the farm now owned by Allen Sanders. He lived here with his wife, Mehitable Hurlburt, for thirty-five years, and then came to the corners. He is a man whom all revere, and his long life has been spent for the good of all who have been within the reach of its influence. Mehitable,

Of the other settlers who came at the same time Deacon Robbins entered the county, and all of whom are now dead, but little can be learned. Noah Holcomb settled upon a farm on the southeast corner of the township; Sylvester Merriam in the eastern part on what is now the River road. He died in 1862, May sixth. James Disbrow settled on the same road in the southern part of the township. Joseph A. Graves located on the east and west road near the boundary of Grafton. Fairchild Hubbard settled near the center, led a long and useful life, and was widely known and respected for his many good qualities. He died in 1859, at the age of ecighty-cight years.

One Hundred Years Old

David Rockwood, born in Manchester, New Iampshire, October 4, 1777, married Roba, daughter of Charles Rounds, of Champion, New York, and came to LaGrange in 1826, arriving on the 5th of June. He was the oldest man in the township when he dicd, having reached the age of one hundred years one mouth and twenty-five days. Ie died November 28, 1877, having been a resident of LaGrange for over half a century. The helpmate who came with 'him had an experience of pioneer life in strange disproportion to his. She died the year after coming into her new home and was the first person who passed over to the silent majority from the little settlement. Mr. Rockwood married Polly or Patty Graves in 1828, and she died in 1844. Two years afterwards he married Mrs. Lindsley, of Elyria. David Rockwood was the father of thirteen children, three of whom live in LaGrange. F. W. Rockwood lives upon a farm in the northwest corner of the township, near the one upon which his father settled. There are also two daughters - Mrs. Emeline Gott and Mrs. Palina Bussell. There-are twenty-two grandchildren, descendants of David Rockwood, and thirty-eight great-grandchildren.

The funeral was held December 2d, four days after the decease of the centennarian pioneer, and was one of the most impressive ceremonies ever witnessed in the vicinity. The sermon was preached by the Rev. John Mitchell, before a very large audience composed of the people of LaGrange and the aged friends of the deceased from adjoining and distant townships. After its conclusion the masonic fraternity, of which Mr. Rockwood had been a member for over seventy years, took charge of the service and conducted their solemn burial rite. David Rockwood well illustrated the truth of the old saying, that the longest life is too short. He said upon the one hundredth anniversary of his birth that as he looked back upon his pilgrimage it seemed brief, very brief.

Asa Rockwood, who came into the eountry about the same time as his brother David, remained in LaGrange but a short time and then removed to Pittsfield. John Rockwood, a nephew, came to the township in 1828, and made the first settlement on the street north of the center, on the farm now owned by W. W. Noble.

In 1827 there were a number of additions to the population of the township, prominent among whom was Rey. Julius Beeman, of Otsego county, New York. He was promised by Goodrich fifty acres of land on condition that he would move into the township and officiate as a minister of the gospel for ten years. He accepted, and :fter the lapse of ten years, during which he had done good service in the settlement for his religion, received a deed of the property. He was the first preacher who settled in the neighborhood and the only one for miles around. His work was not confined to LaGrange, for he rode into all of the adjoining territory and held services in a number of localities at considerable distance from his home. He died in 1853, at the advanced age of eighty, retaining his faculties in a marked degree of excellence to the lust. He was a native of Warren, Litchfield county, Connecticut, and was born January 28, 1773. He commenced preaching when twentyeight years old, in Rensselaer county, New York, having been ordained in 1803.

Calvin Wilcox was another of the settlers of 1827. He was born November 7%, 1796, in Charlestown, Montgomery county, New York, and came to Wellington in 1825. Two years later he settled at La- Grange center, and married Harriet, a daughter of Fairchild Hubbard. He was a man who held deservedly the high esteem of his neighbors, and through their election held various offices of honor and trust. He died in 1871.

Hewey Noble came in 1828 from New York, and made the second settlement upon the road north of the center, on the farm owned in 1878 by Mr. Blackwell. He died upon this place in 1871.

Russell Loomis, now living aged ninety-two' years, came in 1829, and took up a farm lying next the one upon which he now lives, which is in lot fifty. He was born in 1786, in Coventry, Connecticut. He has one son living in the same house with him, R. N., aged sixty-two years.

Jeremiah Filley was a noteworthy and eccentric genius, who came into the township in 1830. It is said that he cleared and caused to be cleared over two thousand six hundred acres of land. He was a remarkably shrewd man in bargaining, an energetic, wide awake man in the now fast growing community, and a great hunter.

An Indian Incident

of curious character, in which Filley played a prominent part, is always suggested to old settlers by the mention of his name. Most of the Indians had disappeared from the county by the time Filley arrived, but a few remained, and usually made their place of rendezvous Indian Hollow, in Carlisle township. They were occasionally to be seen sweeping through the woods upon their pouies, in pursuit of deer, and sometimes camped within the territory of La Grange. Filley had met them more than once, and had doubtless resorted to various means to get them to leave the country. At anyrate, they were known to entertain anything but friendly feelings toward him. One day while hunting, he came upon a party of them, and after a short conversation, succeeded in rousing the kill him. He saw that there was no lack of intention on their part, and resorted to a bold plan to make good his escape. 'The Indians' rifles were leaning against a tree, at a little distance from them, and in this fortunate circumstance, Filley saw his deliverance from danger. He drew his own rifle to his face, suddenly, raised the hammer, and covering, with accurate aim, the little party of braves, told them that the first who moved would be the first to die. Keeping the gun to his shoulder, and his eye upon the Indians, he slowly retreated until he had gained a safe distance, when he changed his tactics, and ran for dear life. After that, he very naturally felt somewhat suspicious of Poor Lo, and avoided his society. Several weeks, or perhaps months, after his narrow escape from the tender mercies of the Senecas, the hunter had occasion to pass the scene of the unpleasant little occurrence, and found blazed upon a large tree, his own portrait, full length and life sized, while upon other trees surrounding this one, were the figures of Indians, all with their guns pointed toward the central figure. This hieroglyphic work, the hunter interpreted as a threat to take his life, should the Indians ever have the pleasure of meeting him again. The scene of the occurrence was in the woods, only a short disa tance northeast of what is now the village of La Grange. The representations of men cut or blazed upon the trees have been seen by many persons now living, and are said to have been remarkaly natural and suggestive. Filley gave up the life of a woodman and hunter, became a preacher, and went to Michigan.

The settlement grew fast from the year 1820. In 1831 there were fifty-seven families in the township, more than twice as many as in 1828; in 1835 there were one hundred and seven, and in 1840 there were one hundred and thirty-four. The amount of public expenditures for the year ending March 2, 1829, was ten dollars and thirty-four cents.

Horace Sanders came to the township in .1830 or 1831, and is now represented by a son, Allen Sanders, who lives upon the old Robbins farm, lots fifty-eight and sixty-three.

H. C., or as he is commonly called, Casey Hastings; like most of the other settlers, came from New York. He first took a farm on the road running east from the farm of Mr. Adams, but sold. out and bought in lots forty-four and forty-seven, a mile west of the center. Heisat the present writing seventy-two years of age. Heis the father of ten children, and they form a remarkable family. His five sons and himself aggregate a weight which makes their average over two hundred pounds apiece. Mr. Hastings has some lively recollections of the ferocity of the wild or "shack" hogs, which were quite numerous when he came to the country. He went out to hunt the next morning after his arrival, and was very skeptical when told about the savageness of the undomesticated porkers. He was soon convinced, however, that all he had been told was true, for a small herd charged upon him, and he only saved himself from their tusks by climbing high up among the roots of a fallen tree, by which he was fortunately standing when the hogs made the onslaught. One of them fastened its jaws upon his boot-heel and bent it eff. These wild hogs were perhaps a greater cause of annoyance than the wolves were, to the early settlers of La Grange and its vicinity. 'They were certainly more savage, and unlike wolves, would never hesitate to attack a man in the woods. They were occasionally used for food, but the meat was coarse, spongy and ill flavored.

The year 1832 was a good one for the settlement, as it witnessed a large increase in the population. During the year came the families of Adolphus Gott, Peter Gott, Joseph Lincoln, William Lamoure, Jonathan Olmsted, and others, and in the same or the following year Phineas and Harvey Powers arrived.

Adolphus Gott bought, a farm one mile south and two miles west of the center and Peter Gott, a farm about a mile and a half northwest from the center upon which his son, William H. now lives. He has two other sons and a daughter living in the township. Jonathan Olmsted bought a farm. adjoining Gott's. Joseph Lincoln bought two miles southwest of the

A silk enterprise engaged the attention of Phineas Powers. Hecame from Worcester, New York, bought land southwest of the center, made a clearing, and, conceiving the idea of establishing himself in the silk producing business, he planted in 1836 upon six weres of ground, twenty thousand mulberry trees. He erected a factory, procured silk worm eggs from Ashland, and was soon rewarded for his enterprise by having a quantity of skeins ready for the market. He was assisted in the manufacture by his sister, Mrs. Sibley, and the two seem to have brought a large share of good judgment and industry to bear upon the business. The county paid a premium of fifteen cents per pound upon all silk manufactured, and this, with the legitimate profit of trade, led Mr. Powers to anticipate success. But unfortunately the worms all died the second year, and nearly all the money and labor expended in the enterprise was lost. Powers went to Ashland, remained there six years, returned to La Grange, and after a short time removed to Cleveland. Such, in brief, is the history of one among many failures in a business which, forty years ago, held out perhaps more inducements to the man of speculative turn of mind than any other.

The Freemans - Simeon and Olive - with their sons Boman, Glen J. and F. N., came in 1834, and the father settled upon lot forty-eight, at present owned by Boman, Sr. R. Freeman, Joshua EK. Freeman, F. R. Freeman, and Henry Freeman, came about the same time. The heads of these families have all passed away.

Prominent among the settlers of 1833 was Nathan P. Johnson, of Hartford, Washington county, New York. He married eleven years before coming into Ohio, Laura Waite, of Champion. Mr. Johnson was elected to the legislature, in 1844 and 1855, and elected senator in 1846. While serving in this capacity he took a strong stand against the repudiation of the State debt, a position which made him unpopular with his party at the time, but won respect for him in the end. His wife died in 1846, and he afterward married Mary Hart, of Elyria. In 1862 he moved to the center, and was appointed postmaster by President Lincoln. He held this office until his death in 1874, He spent his life in doing good, and he was nighly esteemed by aJl who knew him.

David C. Pelton came to the township in the same year. He has been married three times, and is the father of twenty-one children, two of whom, a son, Floyd, and daughter, Mrs. Lydia Crowner, live in the township.

Allen Sheldon and his wife, Anna Maria, settled also in 1833, on a farm one and a half miles west of the center, now owned by a son, Colonel L. A. Sheldon. There are two other sons, Wm. E. and F. V. L. A. Sheldon was colonel in the Forty-second regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and was elected to congress three terms - 1868, '70 and *72, from the second Louisiana district. Allen Sheldon, the pioneer, was a man of unquestioned probity of character. Elder Beeman baptized him, married him, and preached his funeral sermon.

Horace Knowles came in 1833, from Wellington, Massachusetts. He was until recently in excellent health, and is said to have done as much hard work as any man who ever lived in the township, aceumulating thereby a snug fortune for himself and a competency for his children. His wife, Catharine, died in 1877. Mr. Knowles is at this writing eighty-three years of age.

Minor C. Noble and Peter Crowner arrived in 1834, and took up lands, the former in the northern part of the town and the latter about a mile north and a mile west of the center. Both are living. Mr. Noble is eighty-one years of age and Mr. Crowner eighty-three. Four generations of the Crowner family are living. Mr. Noble had three sons and three daughters. W. W. Noble and M. E. Noble own farms about two miles north of the center upon the old plank road.

The first child, born in the township, was Eliza, daughter of Henry Townsend. The date of her birth is in dispute. It is said by some that she was born June 3, 1826, but there 1s a strong probability that she first opened her eyes upon this world in November of the same year. Miss Townsend went, when seven years of age, to Geauga county.

An event of considerable interest to the whole community, and particularly to Curtiss and Patty Hastings, their parents, was the birth of the twins, Goodrich and Hubbard Hastings, so named after the original proprietors of the township. They were born June 26, 1827. 'The twins were honored by visits from all the people for miles around, and were the objects of much curiosity and admiration. It is related that they were rocked to sleep in a sap trough. Both are now living near the place where born. KE. H. Hastings has a farm of two hundred and twentysix acres, and EH. G. Hastings one of one hundred and forty-two, upon which his father also has his home.

The first marriage and the first death occurred in the year 1827. A very happy occasion was that of the marriage of Calvin Wilcox, of Wellington, to Harriet, daughter of Fairchild and Phebe Hubbard. The bridegroom and a party of friends rode upon horseback from Wellington, and their horses stood tethered out of doors all night, awaiting their return. The ceremony was conducted by Rey. Alfred Betts, of Brownhelm, who earned his fee by riding twenty miles though the woods, to officiate at the wedding. The bridal trip was by bridle path to Wellington, and was performed upon the day following the wedding. This nuptial knot was tied March 8, 1827.

In the fall of the same year, November seventh, the hearts of the pioneer settlers were first saddened by the presence of the great destroyer in their midst. The family visited was that of David Rockwood, and the member taken was aloving wife and mother. She died after a short illness, of bilious fever, and the friends assembled at the bereaved home to attend the funeral, sad beyond the power of words to tell, and solemn in its simplicity. There was no sable hearse, no retinue of carriages, no luxurious or conventional expression of grief, wo funeral sermon, but tenderly ind lovingly the inanimate body was laid in earth after a homely, earnest prayer and the singing of a good old hymn, Hearts were left aching as they ever have since man came upon the earth, and ever will until the race is no more. That was all. Deacon Graves conducted what little there was of funeral service, and when the burial had been made, the sorrowing people dispersed to their homes. Mrs. Rockwood was a daughter of Charles and Lydia Rounds, of Champion, New York.

A terrible fate befel two young children of Joseph Lincoln and wife. These people, as has been before stated, settled in 1833 upon the farm now owned by Reuben Wright, two miles southwest of the center. A few years after, as Mr. Lincoln and his wife were returning, one winter evening, from a visit to a friend about three miles distant, they were startled by finding their house on fire; and when they arrived at the place, they made the horrifying discovery that two of their children had been burned alive. Two older children, girls, had escaped from the house before it was completely wrapped in flares, but were so frightened that they lost their presence of mind, and were unable to render the fire-imprisoned little ones any assistance. 'They saw the children at the windows, and heard their agonizing shrieks until they perished in the flames. Speaking of the casualty in after years, the sisters said that the memory of the horrible scene

The first frame building in the township was a barn erected by David Rockwood, on his farm near the east branch of Black river; and the first frame building at the center was a store upon the southeast corner of the square, put up and occupied by Dr. Hubbard. Calvin Wilcox built for his own occupancy the first frame dwelling house. The first brick building was

Curtiss Hastings drove the first horse team owned in the township, It is said that on one occasion he was three days in making a journey to Elyria and back, such was the state of the roud.

The. commissioners of Lorain county, at the June session, in 1824, attached La Grange township to Carlisle, for civil and judicial purposes, and it was not until 1827 that it was separately organized. It was detached in January, of the year mentioned, and the first election, at which twenty-nine ballots were cast, was held at the house of Fairchild Hubbard, in April following. These are the officers elected: Eber W. Hubbard, township clerk; Noah Holcomb,

Noah Kellogg, and Fairchild Hubbard, trustees; James Disbrow, treasurer; Joseph A. Graves and Nathan Clark, overseers of the poor; James Disbrow and Henry Townsend, fence viewers; Henry Hubbard, constable; Henry Townsend and Nathan Clark, supervisors; Eber W. Hubbard, justice of the peace. Fairchild Hubbard, Joseph A, Graves, and Noah Holcomb acted as judges of election, and Eber W. and Henry Hubbard as clerks.

The township was given its name by Dr. Eber W. Hubbard, a great admirer of General La Fayette, whose country home in France was called La Grange.

Cheese Factories, Saw Mills, Etc

The first saw mill in the township was built on the farm of Noah Holcomb, by Andrew Holcomh, and the first grist mill was a very weak one-horse power affair, in the north part of the town, of which one Cross was the proud proprietor. La Grange has now its full share of manufactories, of various kinds, - most of them are in the village. There is an old flouring and saw mill on the east branch of Black river, two miles east of the center, the property of Bradley Woodmansee, and there are three in the village.

Of cheese factories, there are three outside of the village, one owned by L. G. Parsons, half a mile east of the old plank road, and two miles and a half north from the center; one owned by George Kelner, two miles northwest from the center; and Crozier & Sheldon's factory, two miles east, and a mile and a half south of the center.

Burial Places

The remains of Mrs. David Rockwood, the first person who died in La Grange, were interred in a small "chopping," or clearing, upon the farm of Deacon Robbins, in the western portion of the township, and rested there for seventeen years, when they were removed and re-interred upon Mr. Rockwood's farm.

The first cemetery laid out was the one on the north side of the road, just west of the center. Here repose, after toilsome and noble lives, many of the brave pioneers of La Grange. There are two other cemeteries, one upon the River road, in the eastern part of the township, and one in the northwest corner. The first burial in the cemetery at the center was a child of Lewis Rounds, aged two years.

La Grange Village

Lying exactly in the center of the township, quartered by the north and south and the east and west roads, built up about an open square, is the well-to-do, progressive little village of La Grange. It has a handsome brick town hall, seventy-eight by thirty-eight feet, built in 1875, three churches, a hotel, nearly a dozen stores, several quite extensive manufactories, and as well educated, well behaved class of citizens as any community in the county.

Incorporation

The growth of ''the corners," or the center, had been a slow and steady one through many years, but the size of the little village increased so fast during a few years prior to 1875, that the people began to think of having a corporation government, and accordingly petitioned for a charter in the year mentioned. The first election was held April 8, 1875, and the choice of officers resulted as follows: Mayor, J. EK. Willard; clerk, D. D. Gott; marshal, P. Holeomb; councilmen for one year, A. Ryan, G. H. Robbins and Wm. Hopkins; for two years, D. Holcomb, E. L. Gott and O. Dale; and treasurer, D. L. Gott. In 1876, the councilmen elected were: A. Ryan, Wm. Hopkins and Chas. Kelner. The officers elected in 1877 were: Mayor, KE. W. Clark; clerk, A. A. Cragin; marshal, Horace Knowles, Jr.; councilmen, O. Dale, J. C. Willard and George Whitney; treasurer, C. C. Manville; and street commissioner (appointed), Rufus Knowles. The office of mayor was made vacant by Clarke's departure from town, and at a special clection, L. L. Crane was elected to fill the vacancy. In 1878, three councilmen were elected: Chas. Kelner, N. Marcey and J. B. Hastings.