PIONEER WOMEN OF OTHER COUNTIES,
Ashtabula Pioneer Women
in
Other Counties
"Pioneer Women of Tallmadge, Summit County," p. 124:
In 1809 John Wright, Jr., son of Captain John Wright, and his wife, Salome Gillett, with three children, and Edmond and Anna [Gillett] Strong, with two children, and Alpha Wright, another son of captain John Wright, left Morgan, O., with three loaded sleds, bound for Tallmadge, via Cleveland. The little company encountered many difficulties, but arrived safely, and received a hearty welcome at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ephraim Clark, Jr. The father of the above-mentioned Wright families was Captain John Wright, a soldier of the Revolution, who, with his wife, Sarah Case, daughter of Lieutenant Asahel and Dorothy [Phelps] Case, of Norfolk, Conn., followed his sons the next year. They made their home with the younger son, Alpha, then unmarried. The grandchildren remember Mrs. Captain John Wright as a tall woman, with a resolute, strong face, who sat erect and dignified in a high-backed chair, and wore gold beads.
In December, 1811, Alpha Wright married Miss Lucy Foster, the first school teacher in Tallmadge. Miss Foster had, at different times, under her tuition, John Brown, of Harper's Ferry fame; Rev. Leonard Bacon and Elizur Wright, the insurance actuary of Boston, Mass. These three noted men always made it a point to call upon her whenever they came to Tallmadge in later years.
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"Pioneer Women of Charlestown, Portage County," p. 177:
Ellen [now Mrs. A. S. Peck, of Kingsville, O.], the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralzemon Loomis, was the singer of the family, and for a number of years the leading soprano in church and concert work.
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"Pioneer Women of Russia, Lorain County," p. 238:
Mrs. Henry Cowles, who was Anna Welch, of Norfolk, Conn., came to Austinburg, O., in 1835. Soon after coming to Oberlin she became peculiarly identified with the college, as principal of the young women's department, which position she occupied five years, when failing health compelled her resignation. Mrs. Cowles is described by one who knew her as a woman of commanding presence, very lovable, approachable to students who felt she knew and care for them. An incident illustrating this is told by the recipient of the favor.
A girl student was to be married. She lived in the crowded boarding hall -- everybody was crowded in those days. Mrs. Cowles invited her to come with a seamstress to her own house for several days, that in some retirement and comfort her simple outfit might be prepared. A little thing, but significant. She was the mother of J. G. W. Cowles, president of the Board of Trade of Cleveland.
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"Pioneer Women of Vernon, Trumbull County," p. 243:
Martin Smith converted his Revolutionary sword into an ax, and came to prepare a home for his wife [Sarah Kellogg] and their seven children. In the fall of 1798 he returned to Hartland, Conn., and the following spring they accompanied him here. They arrived in April, and must have been most gladly welcomed by Mrs. Brockway, who had lived for months without seeing the face of a white woman. Their daughter, Electa, taught the first school in 1802, near the southwest corner of the Samuel De Wolf farm. She also taught in Beaver, Pa., where she became acquainted with James Lyon, who she married.
Maria Smith married Allen Spencer and died in 1818, leaving in charge of her parents two little daughters, Matilda, who became the wife of Hon. Abner Kellogg and lived in Jefferson, O., and Maria [Mrs. Albert L. Kellogg], whose married life was spent at Yellow Springs, O.
Eliza Smith, born in 1803, married Samuel Helvering, and after living in Monroe, O., a few years, returned to Vernon, where she died in 1841. Her daughter, Sarah K. [Mrs. John H. Wheeler] is living very pleasantly at Chicago, O., but much of the earlier part of her life was spent in this township, when she was Mrs. Henry A. Bronson.
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"Pioneer Women of Auburn, Geauga County," p. 520:
Mrs. Henry Capron [Laura Brown] came in 1823 with her parents and settled in the wilderness with only enough land cleared to build a log cabin, minus doors or windows. Her daughter, Sabrina, married Judge H. C. White, of Cleveland, and Julia, the youngest, married Sherman Eggleston, of Geneva O., with whom she now resides.
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"Pioneer Women of Florence, Erie County," p. 587:
The first white woman in the township of Florence was the wife of Ezra Sprague, Harriet Abia Griswold, born in Hartford, Conn., in 1782. Her father, Solomon Griswold, was one of the Connecticut Land Company -- the original purchasers of the Western Reserve.
Her education was good, and her social life and surroundings had been pleasant. Business reverses induced her father to bring his motherless daughters to Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio.
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"Pioneer Women of Bloomfield, Trumbull County," p. 726:
In 1821, Asa Smith of Gill, Mass., came to Bloomfield with his wife, Olive Kendall Smith, and her sister Charlotte Kendall, who was one of the early teachers in Bloomfield. Both sisters died in Austinburgh, Charlotte as Mrs. Myron Whiting in 1868.
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"Pioneer Women of Le Roy, Lake County," p. 791:
In 1833 Harriet Tuttle, of Austinburg, became the wife of Henry Paine, and for nearly fifty years was resident of the town. O a bright, sunny temperament, and much above the average intellectually, she was a deeply religious woman, and her influence in the home and neighborhood was ever on the side of right. No one could win a more sincere regard from a large circle of friends.
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Elizabeth Kemp was born in Groton, N. H., the 28th of January, 1822. Throughout her long life -- she died when ninety-five years of age -- she always declared her strong sentiments for temperance began when she was a little girl of six years. At that time her father raised the first building in Grafton county without liquor. He announced at the time that there would be no whiskey served but that there would be the very best dinner that could be had, ready for all who came. And the barn was duly raised. This incident made a deep impression on his daughter's mind. Elizabeth Kemp went to a seminary in Linden, Vt., for a year or two and then joined her parents at Geneva, Lake [sic] county, Ohio, whither they had gone to join two uncles of hers, who had bought farms there. Here parents also had purchased a farm. In 1842 she was married to Charles H. Doolittle, an attorney who was also postmaster at Unionville. They lived in that place until about 1850 when they removed to Elyria, where they spent the rest of their lives honored and loved by all who knew them. Mrs. Doolittle was a remarkable nurse and one of the early physicians of Elyria used, facetiously yet deferentially, to speak of her as "Doctor" Doolittle. She was not in favor of drug medication, and prevented many a case of serious illness by her knowledge of hygenic measures. In fact she attributed her own long life and keen mentality to the practice of rational living. She was a woman very anxious and eager to be of service to others, a loyal friend and sympathetic with distress of every kind. No one went hungry from her door, and if occasion demanded, she was first to OFFER HER SERVICES in the care of the sick at night. She was a woman of unusual intellectual gifts and deeply interested in all the reform movements of the world. Her home was always hospitality opened to those who engaged in such work. Among these was Rev. Philo Stewart, who invented the Stewart cook stove, and who also was the co-founder of Oberlin College. Mrs. Doolittle used to recall the terrible hardships attending both of these enterprises as narrated by Rev. Stewart. When perfecting the invention of his stove, Mr. Stewart and his wife were face by most desperate poverty.
"Pioneer Women of Claridon, Geauga County," p.p. 891-892:
Unusual interest centered in a MAY WEDDING celebrated in 1821 in West Hartland, Conn., for the young couple that featured the event were to leave town soon after the ceremony and start on a three weeks journey to their future home in the wilds of Ohio.
The bride, pretty and petite, was Mary Wilder, daughter of Col. Eli Wilder, and the twenty-three years old groom was Lester Taylor, son of a Revolutionary soldier. Young Lester had been living west for three years, seeking his fortune with an older brother, Horace Taylor, and the little log cabin built by his own hands was ready to receive them. . . .
Mrs. Taylor had two brothers who became Ohio pioneers and for several years lived near their sister in Ashtabula. They were Horace and Eli T. Wilder. Both became judges, the former of the Supreme Court of Ohio. He married Phoebe Coleman, daughter of the well-known Ashtabula pioneer, Dr. Coleman. The brothers died in Red Wing, Minn., where they had been living many years.
Note: The above is a brief excerpt from several pages the Claridon article includes about various Taylor family members.
"Pioneer Women of Munson, Geauga County," p.p. 896-897:
Mrs. Caleb M. Peck [Tamer Stebbins] was born in Springfield, Mass., the descendant of one of the founders of that town in the seventeenth century. She came with her parents to Chardon, Ohio, in 1816. Mr. Peck was from New York State. He purchased land on Maple Hill and adjoining the Davis place, on the north and built a cabin of which Tamer soon became the mistress. Afterward the farm was traded for one on the State Road. Mr. Peck suddenly died while loading hay in a field. Mrs. Peck passed away in Geneva, Ohio. There were two daughters, Eliza, who remained unmarried, and Maria. She married Charles Kelly from who she was afterward divorced and later she became Mrs. Eliazur Fish. She was well educated for those days, her parents having given her all the advantages then furnished. She died in Geneva aged sixty-five years.
Just previous to her death, she revealed to a friend that she had HIDDEN A SUM OF MONEY in a tin pail under the floor. The pail was found and in it was $900 in gold, $2000 in currency, and a certificate of deposit in a Chardon bank for yet more. She had an adopted daughter who resides in Philadelphia.
"Pioneer Women of Youngstown, Mahoning County," p. 972:
Jane Knox was but two years of age when her father died so suddenly. At the age of eleven she entered the home of Rev. David Goodwillie where she lived for five years, loved and honored for her kindness and integrity.
On a visit to relatives in New Lyme, Ohio, she met Giles Scott. She became his wife and for seventeen years lived on his farm of 124 acres. Nephews and nieces loved to visit "Aunt Jane" at her home in New Lyme. She died the last of her generation.
"Pioneer Women of Vernon, Trumbull County," p. 247:
One of the ancestors of Mary Fuller came over in the Mayflower. Her early life was spent in Grandby and Hartland, Conn., where all her children were born. Her husband, Asa Haynes, Sr., bought lands in Vienna, but so many of his acquaintances had located here that he decided to join them, and brought his wife and children in 1818. The family was a very prominent one.
Selden Haines, a son, who clung to the original way of spelling the name, received his education at Yale College. He was admitted to the Trumbull county bar, and later entered the ministry. Julia Haynes married Dr. Henry Palmer and her life closed at the Homeopathic Hospital in Cleveland, with which her husband was connected. Sally [Mrs. Alanson Slater] was a resident of Williamsfield, O., and Maria [Mrs. Hiram Hall] lived in Poland. Mrs. Haynes died when in her NINETY-FIRST YEAR.
"Pioneer Women of Olmsted, Cuyahoga County," p. 254:
The country around Olmsted Falls at this time was still wild and rough -- heavily timbered and sparsely settled, with the exception of the families on Butternut Ridge. In 1836, May Eliza Mead, daughter of Aziel Mead, of Geneva, O., became the wife of Newton P. Loomis, and she is still living in good health, surrounded by friends and neighbors, whose respect and confidence she has always enjoyed. It was their pleasure to assemble at her home on May 16, this year, to congratulate herself and husband on a continued married life of SIXTY YEARS.
"Pioneer Women of Farmington, Trumbull County," p. 266:
Elizabeth Davidson Wildman, wife of Eden Wildman, came with husband and family from Cortland county, N. Y., October, 1818. They were the first white people in East Farmington. With Mrs. Wildman came her aged mother, Mrs Abigail Weeks Davidson. Mrs. Wilder stayed in Austinburg, O., till her husband built a cabin. She then came with her mother and children and for five years had no neighbor. When they needed to borrow they had to go to Smith's in Mesopotamia.
"Pioneer Women of Rockport, Cuyahoga County," p. 273:
Mrs. Calvin Giddings [Mary Bennett], born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., in 1805, was adopted by an uncle when three years of age and brought by him to Ashtabula, O., in 1808. She married Calvin Giddings. She was a woman who seldom went among her neighbors. She said: "I simply could not go, having to make, mend and COOK FOR NINE BOYS." She had not been to the mouth of Rocky River since the bears ran wild there. She was a lover of flowers and did fine needlework. Her daughter, Mrs. Gideon Pease, is the only one of her children living in Rockport.
"Pioneer Women of Ripley, Huron County," p. 286:
Among the early settlers were William Toppings and wife [Anna Hamilton], mother of Emeline Toppings, who was born in Ripley in 1842, was married to T. N. Gregory. She afterwards became the wife of G. W. Daniels, and is now a resident of Plymouth, O.
"Pioneer Women of Thompson, Geauga County," p. 291:
The second white woman was Hannah Saxton, of Waterbury, Conn., wife of Douglas Sackett, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, who came in 1802. She afterwards moved to Windsor, O.
"Pioneer Women of Thompson, Geauga County," p. 296:
Maria Hickok, when five years old, came with her parents to Jefferson, O. A sister older and herself following the covered wagon, were overtaken by an Indian, who picked her up and carried her forward to the wagon. In 1830, she and her husband, Barnett Tuttle, located in Thompson. The rest of her life was passed here. Being a good nurse, she was often found at the bedside of the sick.
"Pioneer Women of Gustavus, Trumbull County," p. 371:
In 1816 Margaret Merrils, of Canton, Conn., came with her husband, William Roberts [fifth], and their ten children. Now, the heart of the man was in music, although his trade was that of tanner and shoemaker. He taught singing here and in neighboring towns for the love of it. It seemed as if he could breathe his life through the flute; but that did not multiply riches. As to his trade, "The toil you hate fatigues you soon."
After Margaret Roberts became a widow the scant property was wasted, through no fault of hers, and there was no home for her. QUERULOUS OLD AGE had completed a wreck that privation, toil, and disappointment began, and now there was no room for her at any hearthside.
Then it was that the wife of her son Reuben [Sophy Owens], from New Lyme, O., with more to look after than any, perhaps all the other children, said "I'll not see mother want for a home." She gave her a chimney corner and faithfully tended the old mother when the light of her tear-dimmed eyes and of reason had gone out together. Of Sophy Roberts it may be well said: "In her tongue was the law of kindness" shown not only to the aged and to her children, but to all about her. Her daughters were Mrs. Electe Crittenden and Mrs. Sophie Alderman.
"Pioneer Women of Canfield, Mahoning County," p. 388:
The early settlers were from the very best families of the east. Many men of national renown have had their homes here, either permanent or temporary, among the most noted are Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, Gen Elijah Wadsworth, Joshua R. Giddings, Benjamin and Edward Wode [sic, Wade], Hon. C. A. Lancaster, Hon. Eben Newton, and many other well known names.
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Transcribed by Carol Page Tilson - 2004
Page updated May 2023
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