CHAPTER VI

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Kingsbury�s to the mill. But much dead timber remained on the fields. There were some orchards of apple trees on some of the farms, and Judge Kingsbury�s orchard bore a few apples that season, which was probably the first season of bearing. The Judge had a small nursery of apple trees, and there was a larger nursery of smaller trees on Mr. Williams� place."

Among the arrivals in Cleveland this year can be counted the family of Nathan Perry. He was born in Connecticut in 1760, but removed to western New York, where he built several mills and cultivated a large farm. He came to Ohio as early as 1796, but did not bring his family until 1806. He bought one thousand acres of land, in what is now known as Lake County, at fifty cents per acre. He also became the owner of five acres in Cleveland, between Superior and St. Clair and Water and Bank streets, and also the tract of land near the intersection of Broadway and Perry street, afterward known as the Horace Perry farm. A further investment was made by him at Black River. On the organization of Cuyahoga County, in 1809, he was appointed one of the court judges, and in 1813 his life labors ended.

On the removal of Judge Perry to the west, his son Nathan, then a mere boy, was placed for a time in the camp of the great chief, Red Jacket, where he learned the Indian language, and much else that gave him great influence with the red men in later years. In 1804, he commenced life on his own responsibility, establishing a trading station at Black River, thirty miles west of Cleveland. He purchased furs, and other products of the chase, selling to the Indians in exchange such goods as they needed, or, as approaching civilization had taught them to want. In 1808, he decided to make Cleveland his headquarters, and in a short time assumed a leading position as one of her pioneer merchants. He erected a combined store and dwelling, after the manner of the day, on the corner of Superior and Water streets, where the National Bank building now stands. In a few years a brick

store and dwelling replaced the old structure, and was long one of the landmarks of early Cleveland. He gave his life to business, and had neither time nor inclination for the duties of public life. In the early days of the village charter he was made trustee, but returned to private life as soon as possible, and would accept no office thereafter. His later years were passed in ease and comfort, and he died on June 24^th, 1865, leaving one daughter, the wife of Hon. Henry B. Payne.

A story somewhat illustrative of the characteristics of Lorenzo Carter, hunter, militiaman, tavern-keeper and all-around pioneer, is told⁹⁶ as happening in the year 1806, and as possessing one element that did not enter into all the anecdotes told in early days of the redoubtable Major�that of truth. In the spring, a canoe in which were a white man, his wife and several children and one colored man, was coming down the lake, and was upset. All were drowned except the black man, who held to a tree upon the bank until rescued in a half-frozen condition. He was taken to Carter�s, and cared for during the summer, although so used-up from the exposure as to be of little service to anybody. In the fall two Kentuckians rode into Cleveland and claimed the colored man, Ben, as a slave, who had been enticed away. All they asked was an interview, agreeing that he should not be taken away unless he consented to go willingly.

Major Carter expressed his opinion briefly and to the point. He did not care much for colored men, and had even less liking for the institution of slavery.

One thing was certain, however. If Ben did not wish to meet the gentlemen from Kentucky, meet them he should not.

"Finally," says Mr. Walworth, "it was agreed that the owner and Ben should see each other, near enough to converse. Ben was to stand on the west side of the river, the owner to be on the east side, near the end of Huron

Street. Many inquiries and answers passed, but the conversation was marked by good feeling on both sides." Ben agreed to go back to Kentucky. "It would seem that the Major showed no dissatisfaction to Ben�s going with his master; but two white men, one called John Thompson and the other Jas. Geer, hangers-on at the Major�s tavern, proceeded, or followed and passed the Kentuckians; for when they had got about three miles from Newburg Mills (then called Cleveland Mills), on the old �Carter road,� they appeared, one on each side of the road, each with a rifle; and as the Kentuckians and Ben were passing, Ben still mounted, one of the men says, �Ben, you d�d fool, jump off of the horse and take to the woods.� Ben obeyed, the hunters also ran, and it may be supposed, though not known, that the Kentuckians were somewhat astonished. However, they never returned to tell of their bad luck." The escaped slave camped out in the woods for awhile, and then disappeared, probably across to Canada.

Another incident, which occurred near the same time, and caused widespread excitement during a portion of 1807, came near to causing a more serious collision between the whites and the Indians than any yet occurring in that section. Daniel Diver, of Hudson, was killed in the early winter by an Indian, named John Mohawk. Two white men named Williams and Darrow set out upon a mission of revenge, and not finding Mohawk, killed another Indian named Nicksau or Nickshaw. When this wanton murder of an innocent man became known to the Senecas, to whose tribe he belonged, there was great excitement. The whites demanded Mohawk for punishment; the red men quite naturally asked that Darrow and Williams should also be punished. The great chief Seneca or Stigwanish (Standing Stone) very aptly stated the case when he declared "that the same measure of justice should be dealt out to Indians and white men." In this case both sides were treated alike. No one was arrested, and both crimes went unpunished.

The fifth and last division of the Reserve lands was made on January 5^th, 1807, the drawing occurring at Hartford, Conn. The survey of Brooklyn, across the river from Cleveland, was also made, the lots being placed upon the market for sale.

A grand scheme of internal improvement came into being in the same year, and made some headway, although its object was in no sense accomplished. It was a season when improved methods of travel were being quite earnestly discussed in the east, and as railroads in their present methods of locomotion were undreamed of, the canal and the natural water course consequently received great attention. A proposition had been made in the New York Legislature for the survey of a canal route between Lake Erie and the Hudson River, and this was followed by a movement in Ohio for the improvement of the Cuyahoga ad Tuscarawas rivers, as natural channels of communication between Lake Erie and the Ohio. The plan proposed was the clearing of both streams of all obstructions, and the deepening of the channels where necessary. The portage path, connecting the two at their nearest points, was to be made passable for loaded wagons. Goods were to be carried up the Cuyahoga, sent across from Old Portage to New Portage on the Tuscarawas, and then on down to the Ohio by way of the Muskingum.

It was thought that the whole plan could be carried out at an expense of twelve thousand dollars. The State Legislature was appealed to, and readily gave its sanction to the scheme; not by taking the money from the State Treasury or raising it by taxation, but by granting permission for a lottery, by which questionable method the needed funds were to be raised.

The plan, however, was a good one as viewed by the public opinion of the times. The best men of Cleveland were interested in its success, as shown by the board of commissioners having it in charge, who were: Samuel Huntington, Amos Spafford, John Walworth, Lorenzo

Carter, James Kingsbury, Turhand Kirtland, Timothy Doan, Bezaleel Wells, Jonathan Cass, Seth Adams, Zaccheus A. Beatty and John Shorb. It was known as the "Cuyahoga and Muskingum Navigation Lottery," for "improving the navigation between Lake Erie and the river Ohio through the Cuyahoga and Muskingum." The scheme was set forth by the commissioners as follows:

"Prizes subject to a deduction of twelve and a half per cent. The drawing of the First Class will commence at Cleveland on the first Monday of January, 1808, or as soon as three-fourths of the Tickets shall be sold; and the Prizes will be paid in sixty days after the drawing is completed."

This was to be no local affair. It was announced that payment of prizes would be made in Boston, Hartford, New York and Albany; and also in Zanesville and Steubenville, Ohio. John Walworth was appointed agent for the signing of the tickets. "The subscribers," say the commissioners, "have taken the Oath and given the Bonds required by Law, for the faithful discharge of their trust, and they flatter themselves that an object of such extensive importance will not fail to attract the attention and patronage of many, who are not allured by the advantageous prospects held out in the Scheme."

The waterway to the Ohio was compelled to remain in its unimproved condition, despite the pleasant expectations of the worthy gentlemen having the lottery in charge. The public did not purchase tickets as readily as had been expected, and in all probability not more than one-fourth of those offered for sale were taken. The day

of drawing was postponed from time to time, and finally declared off altogether; the money returned to those who had paid it in, and the "scheme" abandoned.

Two personal views we have of Cleveland in this year 1807, one of them quite brief. The Rev. Dr. S. A. Bronson, of Mansfield, told the early settlers on the Cuyahoga, some years ago, a little story⁹⁷ of emigration to the west. "At length," said he, "we reached the Cuyahoga. This was then the western boundary of civilization. No team; no white woman but Canadian French, had as yet crossed this river. Our destination was Columbia. The township had been surveyed the previous summer, and some logs had been rolled up, but your speaker was the first baby, his mother the first American woman, and ours the first team, that crossed the Cuyahoga at Cleveland." The other view is furnished by Thomas D. Webb, of Warren, who said: "I first saw Cleveland in October, 1807. I put up for a day or two with Major Amos Spafford, who kept a tavern. Governor Huntington then lived in a log-house, standing a little south of Superior street, not far from the site of the American House. He had a frame barn, in size thirty feet by forty, near by. All the families on the city or ten-acre lots, or the lands adjoining, at that time, that I recollect, and I think that I recollect all, were, Amos Spafford, ------- Gilbert, Nathan Perry, Lorenzo Carter, Samuel Huntington, John Walworth, and an Irish family I have forgotten. Samuel Dodge had lived on a ten-acre lit, but had at that time taken up his residence at Euclid; other families had resided there also, but at the time I arrived, had removed. There were the remains of some two or three buildings along the bank of the river, one of which I was told had been occupied as a store by a Scotchman, by the name of Alex. Campbell."

The little village had been without a blacksmith since Nathaniel Doan had moved out to the east, and the want was supplied in the person of Abram Hickox, whose

Arrival is set down as in 1808,⁹⁸ and who soon became a local celebrity in his way. He located on the north side of Superior street, where the Johnson House was afterwards erected; is d=said to have had a shop at one time south of Superior, near Seneca street; and afterwards built a small smithy at the corner of Euclid avenue and Hickox street, which was named in his honor.

Over his door for years was the terse notification: "Uncle Abram works here," and beneath it�for good luck, perhaps�the print of a horseshoe burned into the wood. "Uncle Abram," writes one⁹⁹ who knew him well, "was as honest as the day is long, and a patriot tried and true. He it was who on each Fourth of July, at early dawn, would arouse the sleeping inhabitants with the loud and booming report of his anvil which was then the only battery of artillery of which Cleveland could boast. And all day long he would keep up the fire along the line. The old man on one occasion met with quite a mishap, caused by the blowing-up of his powder magazine, which burned him quite severely; but, nothing daunted, he obtained a fresh supply, and continued his fusillade. Although is has been many long years since �Uncle Abram� was laid to rest, me-thinks I see him still as he used to appear in his home-spun gray suit, wide-rimmed wool hat, steel-bowed specs, and stout hickory staff. He died in 1845, at a very advanced age, and his remains now repose in Erie Street Cemetery, by the side of his wife, who died several years previous." This well-remembered old man was not only the village blacksmith, but its sexton as well, and for year super-

vised all arrangements for the burial of the dead.

A tragedy, that stirred the little community to unwonted sadness, occurred in April, 1808, when a boat-load of people was wrecked between Rocky River and Black River, and a number of lives lost. There have been several accounts thereof placed upon record, and probably the most correct, as it is certainly the most circumstantial, was written by Q. F. Atkins, an eye-witness to much of that which he relates.¹⁰¹ Briefly stated, the story runs as follows: The people of Cleveland and Newburg had learned that there was an abundance of "yellow catfish" in the deep waters of Black River, and fitted out a Schenectady boat or bateau, for a fishing expedition. Captain Joseph Plumb was placed in command, and in the party were Stephen Gilbert, Adolphus Spafford, a son of the Major, William Gilmore, a young man named White, two sons of Mr. Plumb, and a woman named Mary Billinger, who had been a domestic in the family of Nathan Perry, Sr., and was going to Black River, where the younger Nathan was then established.

"All hands went on board at Cleveland," to quote direct from the narrative, "and rowed the first afternoon, as far as Rocky River, where they stopped for the night. While there, in overhauling their fishing tackle, they found that a portion of the rope belonging to their seine, and something else belonging to it, had been left at Cleveland. Young White and the two sons of Captain Plumb were sent back to Cleveland for the missing articles, confidently expecting to get back in time to get on the boat before it left Rocky River. For this purpose they made the utmost expedition, not sparing themselves at all, lest a long walk from one river to the other, with nothing by an Indian trail along the lake shore for their guide, should pay for their remissness."

Upon their return to Rocky River they discovered that

the boat was gone. They decided to push ahead, and when near Dover Point discovered an empty cask, an oar, and some other articles afloat in the water. A little further on, they came "to an inward curve of the high, rocky bank, where they beheld the wreck of the boat, driven in upon a small strip of rock and sand beach, with a frowning rock overhanging it, some sixty or seventy feet high, and no living person save Captain Plumb, to tell how the disaster came upon them.; All his associates, four in number, were drowned."

Young White and Captain Plumb�s oldest son hastened on to Black River for help. The younger son, with a courage beyond his years, climbed a sapling upon the bank, bent it over the cliff by his weight, and when it was as low as it could go, dropped safely down upon the sand beside his exhausted father. When the expected help arrived, at night, the two were, with no little difficulty, drawn to the bank in safety. The story of the wreck was soon told�a sudden squall had upset the boat, about a half mile from the shore, and Captain Plumb was the only one permitted to reach a place of safety. The bodies of the four were afterwards discovered, where the waves had cast them upon the beach.

It was in 1808 that Major Carter inaugurated the ship building industry of Cleveland, by constructing the "Zephyr, of thirty tons burthen." Designed for the lake trade. This was followed in 1809 by the launching of the "Sally," a schooner of five or six tons, constructed by Joel Thorp; and the "Dove," of about the same size, built by Alex. Simpson; while in 1810, Murray & Bixby built the "Ohio," of sixty tons. Other lake vessels noted in connection with the early lake marine were the "Cuyahoga Packet," built at the mouth of the Chagrin River, and "Washington," the "Harlequin," the "Good Intent," the "Tracy," the "Wilkinson," the "Contractor," the "Adams," and also several of Canadian construction.

The year 1809 was in some respects an important one

to Cleveland, not because of any great event which occurred, but in an incident here and there showing that it was gradually losing its pioneer newness, and approaching the ways of modern villagehood. Thus we see Collector Walworth forwarding his formal report from the port of Cuyahoga to the Treasury Department, and although the entire value of goods exported to Canada reached but fifty dollars from April to October, there was enough to show that a beginning had been made. A framed building, to be used as an office by the collector=postmaster, was erected on Superior street, and was regarded as a novelty with metropolitan suggestions.

The projection of a road to the westward from the Cuyahoga, was yet another event pointing in the same direction. The State Legislature granted an appropriation for the opening of such road from Cleveland to the mouth of the Huron River. The work was committed to the hands of Lorenzo Carter and Nathaniel Doan, of Cleveland, and Ebenezer Murray, of Mentor. The ridge near the bank of the lake was naturally selected, and the highway thus laid out was known as the Cleveland and Huron, and afterwards as the Milan State road; which was later changed to the Detroit road, and then to Detroit street.

A mail route was laid out between Cleveland and Detroit. "The mail was carried," says John D. Taylor,¹⁰² "in a leather satchel by a man on foot; I remember him and his name--Edward McCartney�as my father had bought land and lived on the lake shore in Dover, where he kept a hotel during the war of 1812, and where the mail-carrier was accustomed to stop. After the commencement of the war, the United States mail was carried on horseback till about 1820, when stage coaches carried it until superseded by railroad coaches. In 1809, the whole contents of the mail between Cleveland and Detroit weighed from five to seven pounds, going at the rate of about thirty miles a day." At about the same time

Joseph Burke, of Euclid, held the mail-carrying contract to the eastward, the route running from Cleveland to Hudson, Ravenna, Deerfield, Warren, Mesopotamia, Windsor, Jefferson, Austinburg, Harpersfield, Painesville, and thence back to Cleveland. The two sons of the contractor alternated with each other in covering the route, going on horseback in summer when the roads permitted, and on foot the rest of the time.

In this connection we may be permitted to glance ahead at the experiences of another mail agent, Asael Adams, of Warren (whose school in early Cleveland has been already referred to, who carried the mail on horseback during the war of 1812 and 1813, two years, from Cleveland to Pittsburg. He left Pittsburg every Friday at 6:00 a. m.� arrived at Greersburg by 5:00 p. m.; left at 5:30 p m.; arrived at Canfield on Saturday by 6:00 p. m.; left at 7:00 p. m.; and arrived at Cleveland on Monday by 10:00 a. m. Then returning, he left Cleveland every Monday at 2:00 p. m.; arrived at Canfield on Wednesday by 6:00 a. m.; left at 7:00 a. m.; arrived at Greersburg the same day by 6:00 p. m.; left at 7:00 p. m.; arrived at Pittsburg on Thursday by 6:00 p. m.

The only post-offices between Pittsburg and Cleveland, at that time, and at which he stopped, were as follows: Beavertown, New Lisbon, Canfield, Deerfield, Hartland, Ravenna, Hudson and Gallatin; thence by Aurora, Mantua, Palmyra, Canfield, New Lisbon, Greersburg and Beavertown to Pittsburg, once a week. He received as salary $186¹⁰³ per quarter of a year during the continuance

of his contract, to be paid in drafts on postmasters on the route, as above mentioned, or named at the option of the Postmaster-General, Gideon Granger. He was also authorized as contractor to carry newspapers, other than those conveyed in the mail, for his own emolument. Often while riding one horse, he would lead another, loaded with articles for the pioneers from Pittsburg. Dense woods skirted both sides of the bad roads almost the whole of the way from Pittsburg to Cleveland. Wolves, bears and other wild animals roamed through these great forests, and often in the dark nights made the lonesome journey of the belated mail-carrier exceedingly unpleasant. There were no bridges over the rivers and streams, which were often very high. He would fasten the mail bag about his shoulders and swim his horse over the swollen rivers, often wet to the skin, and not a house within several miles distance.

In the matter of population, Cleveland (in 1809) lost one of its older residents, and gained several others who were in every sense desirable additions. Amos Spafford was elected a member of the lower house of the State Legislature, as a representative from Geauga County, to which Cleveland yet belonged. He soon received the appointment of collector of the new port of entry established on the Maumee River, and in the spring of the year following removed to Perrysburg.¹⁰⁴

One of the additions referred to, came in the person of Stanley Griswold, who remained about long enough to be called an Ohio man, and made eligible to office, and then passed on to higher duties. A citizen of Connecticut, he had been appointed, in 1805, secretary for the Territory of Michigan, under Governor Hull, and collector of the port of Detroit. Because of political complications, he resigned, and removing to

Cleveland, took up his residence at Doan�s �Corners. He was soon drafted into the public service, and the township records for 1809 show his name as clerk, in place of Nathaniel Doan, who had served for some years. A vacancy from Ohio occurring in the United States Senate, Governor Huntington appointed Mr. Griswold to fill out the term, and he soon left for Washington.

It was while en route to the National Capital that Senator Griswold, in correspondence with a friend,¹⁰⁵ wrote a letter that suggests some faith in the future of Cleveland, with a thorough understanding of its drawbacks in the present. It is in response to an inquiry as to the chances for a physician in the infant settlement. "I have consulted," he says, "the principal characters, particularly Judge Walworth, who concurs with me, that Cleveland would be an excellent place for a young physician, and cannot long remain unoccupied. This is based more on what the place is expected to be, that what it is. Even now a physician of eminence would command great practice, from being called to ride over a large country, say fifty miles each way. There is now none of eminent or ordinary character in that extent. But settlements are scattered, and roads new and bad, which would make it a painful practice. Within a few weeks Cleveland has been fixed upon by a committee of the Legislature as the seat of justice for Cuyahoga County. Several respectable characters will remove to that town. The country around bids fair to increase

rapidly in population. A young physician of the qualifications described by you will be certain to succeed, but for a short time, if without means, must keep school, for which there is a good chance in winter, till a piece of ground, bring on a few goods (for which it is a good stand), or do something else in connection with his practice."

Another important arrival this year was that of Levi Johnson, a native of Herkimer County, N. Y., who was about twenty-four years of age when he cast in his fortunes with those of Cleveland. His usefulness and skill as a builder were seen all about the city, in both public and private edifices. He constructed for himself a log-cabin on the Euclid road near the Public Square; built the old log court-house and jail combined, on the northwest quarter of the Square; and also the gallows on which the Indian, O�Mic, was hung. In an account of his life, recently published by the association of early settlers, we find this brief tribute to his public usefulness: He built the first frame house in Cleveland, for Judge John Walworth, where the American House now stands. In 1811, he built the Buckeye House for the father of the now venerable Rodolphus Edwards, on Woodland Hills avenue, and soon afterwards several other houses and barns in Newburg township. In 1813 or 1814, he built the schooner "Ladies� Master," near his residence, which was hauled to the foot of Superior street by ox-teams of the country people, where she was launched. In 1817, he built the schooner "Neptune," on the river, near the foot of Eagle street, which was altogether in the woods. In 1824, he built the first steamboat constructed in

Cleveland, the "Enterprise," just below the foot of St. Clair street. He sailed on the lake till 1830, and then built the old stone lighthouse where the present one now stands, and then the lighthouse at Cedar Point, and set the buoys marking the channel to and in Sandusky Bay; and later he built seventeen hundred feet of the east government pier in this city Cleveland contains may other substantial evidences of his enterprise and good judgment. He died in 1871.

One of the most noted additions in the line of citizenship that early Cleveland ever received was when Alfred Kelley appeared upon the scene in 1810. His mark upon the fortunes of Cleveland, and the financial legislation of Ohio, was broad and deep, and to the benefit of every measure to which he set his hand. He was born in Middletown, Conn., on November 7^th, 1789, was educated in Fairfield Academy, New York, and afterward read law in Whitesborough. In the spring of 1810, when several months short of his majority, he decided to try life and fortune for himself, and set off for the far west of Ohio. The journal was made on horseback, and he and Dr. Jared P; Kirtland came in company with Joshua Stow. He reached Cleveland at an opportune time, as Cuyahoga County had just taken its position as a separate organization, and its courts had been for the first time constituted. While Samuel Huntington, who was also a lawyer, had preceded Mr. Kelley by some years, he had never entered upon practice here, so to all real intent, Mr. Kelley was Cleveland�s first lawyer of note. He was certainly the first to put up his sign in Cuyahoga County.

In the November term of court, Peter Hitchcock moved

that Mr. Kelley be admitted to practice, and his name was soon upon the roll. It certainly was an occasion of interest to the young man, as it was the twenty-first anniversary of his birth, saw him become a member of a bar, to which he afterwards should lend such honor and luster, and also gave him his first office, as he was immediately made public prosecutor. He held this office until 1821, when he voluntarily relinquished it; was the first president of the incorporated village of Cleveland; represented Cuyahoga County in the General Assembly, and remained in that position almost continuously from 1814 to 1822, when he became one of Ohio�s canal commissioners, and entered upon the greatest labor of his life. In 1830, Mr. Kelley removed to Columbus; served again in the Legislature, and as State Fund Commissioner saved the Sate�almost entirely through his own practical ability and personal influence�from the stain of repudiation. His useful life was ended on December 2^nd, 1859. We shall see him again and again in the course of this narrative in connection with the great canal and railroad interests that did so much for Cleveland.

There was a noted addition to the population of Cleveland in the medical line in 1810, almost equal in importance to that of the law above mentioned. The suggestions of Senator Griswold that there was an opening for an able young physician, and that he would have enough of hard work, was made good in the case of Dr. David Long, who reached here in June of the year above named. He was a native of Washington County, N. Y., and had graduated in medicine in New York City. He was Cleveland�s first resident physician, and when he arrive there were no physicians nearer than Painesville, Hudson, Wooster and Monroe. His practice was extensive, and many illustrative and entertaining incidents in connection therewith might be related: "Dr. Long was a public-spirited man," says his chief biographer,¹⁰⁶ "and interested in whatever