BRECKSVILLE TOWNSHIP HISTORY
- Transcribed by Marlene
- Proofed by Denise, County
Coordinator
Boundries - First Proprietor - Soil-First Pioneers
- A. Garrisoned House - Rattlesnakes-Hinckley Hunt - Settlements
on the River - At the Center - Up Chippewa Creek - In the North
- Horse Stealing and Counterfeiting - Pioneers before 1825 -
Prominent Men between 1826 and 1835 - First Officers - Items
from the Town Book - List of Officers - Town Hall - Tax of 1878
- A log grist mill - Other mills at the center - Saw mills on
the Chippewa - The old Fulling Mill - Tanneries and Distilleries
- Village of Brecksville - Its Post Office - Stores and Hotels
- Schools - First Congregational Church - Methodist Church.
Brecksville is in the southernmost tier of townships in the county.
The Cuyahoga river forms its eastern boundary, and beyond it
lies the township of Northfield, in Summit county. On the south
is the township of Richfield, also in Summit county; while on
the west and north lie the townships of Royalton and Independence
in Cuyahoga County. It received its name from Robert and John
Breck, two of the proprietors, who owned it in common with Reuben
Dresser, Lemeul and Asabel Pomeroy, Ebenezer Hunt, Asa White
and Welch & Hinckley. The township contains seventeen thousand
one hundred and fifty six acres of land, the surface of which
is broken by high hills and deep hollows in the eastern and central
parts; but in the south and the west forms an elevated plain.
It was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, and
in some localities a liberal supply of common forest trees may
yet be found.
The soil varies from a stiff clay to a sandy loam and is most
adapted to the raising of the various grains and grasses, the
latter being the principal product. Dairying largely engages
the attention of the people, although much mixed husbandry prevails.
The principal stream, aside from the Cuyahoga, is Chippewa creek,
with its tributary brooks. That creek flows east through the
township, a little north of its center. It has a small but fertile
valley and in some localities its banks form high and almost
perpendicular walls of shale, while in others the channel is
an unbroken mass of sandstone, its banks being fringed with evergreens
and tangle wood, which gives them a wild and picturesque appearance.
It affords a limited water power.
-
- Pioneer Settlers
- Brecksville was surveyed in 1811 by Alfred Wolcott, Esq.,
and in June of that year the first settlement in the township
was made, by Seth Paine and Melzar Clark who came from Western
Massachusetts. The former located on lot sixty-four, in the extreme
southwestern part of the township, and died there before 1818.
He had a family of two sons- Oliver N. and S. White-and two daughters.
One of them Almira, married Melzar Clark who soon after removed
to Royalton. After his death the widow married Henry Bangs of
that township.
At the breaking out of the war of 1812 the few inhabitants, for
a time, kept up a little garrison at the house of Seth Paine,
but as rumors of Indian hostilities became more alarming most
of the people fled to Hudson, where they remained until the danger
was over. After the war only a few straggling Indians were seen,
and these soon abandoned the country, leaving the settlers in
undisturbed possession of their homes.
These were of logs, often without a nail or board, and contained
but the simplest furniture and household utensils. A single article
was often made to do service for cooking, baking and washing,
and it is said that, in the absence of any other vessel, one
of the pioneer mothers was obliged to milk her cow into a jug.
Rattlesnakes were unusually abundant in the township, and would
sometimes intrude themselves through the puncheon floors of the
cabins of those living near the Chippewa - as many as thirteen
of those unpleasant reptiles having been killed in one place.
Game, also, was very abundant. We have described the great Hinckley
hunt on page sixty-six of the general history, but we add a few
facts not known when that description was written. It originated
at the house of Seth Paine, in this township, in December, 1818.
A meeting was held and officers appointed; Cary Oakes being captain
for Brecksville, John Ferris captain for Royalton, Judge John
Newton for Richfield, and 'Squire Freyer for Brunswick. As remembered
in Brecksville, the number of deer killed was three hundred and
sixty-five; of bears, seventeen; of wolves, five. These figures
differ a little from those previously given, but either set shows
a very good day's work.
In 1811 another settlement was made in the north-eastern part
of the township, by Benoni Brown and Samuel, Almon and Charles
Wolcott; most of whom moved away at an early date, the former
going to Bedford township. The following year Edward Johnson,
a native of Pennsylvania, located on the river, above the settlement
just mentioned, rearing there six sons, named Andrew, Joseph,
George, William, John and Thomas, some of whom yet live in the
township. About the same time William Moody, Thomas Timmins and
John Breen located in the same neighborhood. The latter lived
at the mouth of the Chippewa and had four sons, named John, Joseph,
David and Cyrus. Andrew Dillon was also an early settler on the
river. His sons growing to mature years were George, Peter and
James. About the time the canal was built many deaths were caused
in this locality by billious diseases.
On the 1st day of January, 1812, Walter Wait and his brother-in-law
expectant, Lemuel Bourne, built the third house in the township,
near the present center, raising the walls that day and completing
it soon after, without using any boards or nails. Although in
midwinter, the weather was very pleasant and they did not suffer
in consequence of having to live several days without doors or
windows to their cabin. Wait soon after moved away, but Bourne
settled south of the center, where he resided until his death,
in 1874, at the age of eighty-three years. He had three sons,
named William, Isaac and Rawson; and two daughters, named Harriet
and Mary. The same season John Wait, Chester Wait and Benjamin
Wait also settled in that part of the township. The last named
was the first adult that died in the township, and in 1818 the
wife of John Wait became the mother of the first child...a son,
who on reaching manhood moved to Michigan.
About the same time Bolter Colson settled in the south part of
the township, where he resided until 1878. He had five sons,
Orrin, Chandler, Lyman, Thomas and Newton, the last two being
still residents of the township.
To the center of Brecksville came, in 1812, Lemuel Hoadley and
Hosea Bradford, the former building there the first mill in the
township, the following year. Bradford, who was a shoemaker,
lived on the public square. Both removed to Olmstead in the course
of eight or ten years. Up the Chippewa Eli and Abijah Bagley
located the same year. The latter had two sons, named Russia
and Nathaniel. John Adams, Rafus Newell and Aruna Phelps were
also settlers of the township, about this period, in the Chippewa
Valley.
In 1813 Aaron Rice, with a large family, moved from Franklin
county, Massachusetts, to the south-western part of the township.
He had seven sons, named, Silas, Aaron, Seth, William, Moses,
Myron and Peter, and three daughters. His son-in-law, Ebenezer
Rice, came soon after. The latter had three sons, named Dexter,
Ebenezer and Aiken. Joseph and Oliver Edgarton came a year or
two later. The former had a numerous family, the sons being Joseph,
Elias, Erastus, Oliver, and Onick and Austin (twins).
Calvin, Cary and William Oakes came with their families by ox-teams
from Massachusetts in 1816, the journey consuming forty-two days.
Cary Oaks had five sons, named Caleb, Henry, Francis, Isaac and
Cary. The sons of William Oakes were George and William. The
same year came Josiah Wilcox and his sons, Ebba, Ambrose and
Orrie, also from Massachusetts. Ebba Wilcox had a son named Freeborn.
Ambrose died in 1834, leaving four sons, named Edwin, Whitney,
Miller and Charles. Orrin had one son named Josiah.
Asa Fenn lived in the same neighborhood, and also died in 1834.
He had three sons, Arnon, Plympton and Learno. The same year
died Aaron Barnes, another early settler in that neighborhood,
who had two sons names Giles and Jesse. In the southern part
of the township Lyman J. Frost was one of the earliest settlers,
and a short time later John Pomeroy and Eli Osborn were added
to the list of pioneers.
In 1817 Jedediah Mesch settled in the northern part of the township,
and about the same time came Daniel O'Brien. Both moved away,
but the following year Dr. Isaac M. Morgan came to that locality
and resided there until his death. He had three sons, Charles,
Harris and Consider. A son of the latter, Moses I., now occupies
the homestead. Jacob Faller and his sons, Abel, Mathew, Calvin,
Quartus, Willis and Samuel, Warren Cole, George W. Marsh, and
William, Samuel, Isaac and Abel Varney, were all early settlers
in the northern and western part of the township.
On the Warren Cole place, which is at present occupied by Emmet
Boyd, afterward lived G. B. Sperring, whose connection with a
gang of horse thieves and counterfeiters made his place a resort
of vicious characters, and a receptacle of stolen property at
hours of the night when his more honest neighbors were asleep.
At home Sperring maintained an eminent respectability, but he
was at last suspected and arrested. While being taken to Cleveland
he effected his escape to Canada. On his farm was discovered
an underground stable for stolen horses, and in the house were
name evidences of the manufacturers of counterfeit money.
West of this place Daniel Green settled about 1818, and lived
there until his removal to Sandusky. He had three sons, named
William G., John L., and Charles. A few years later Joseph Hollis,
from St. Lawrence county, New York, settled in this neighborhood,
but removed to Seneca county. He had two sons named Giles and
George W., the latter being at present a resident at the center.
At this place in 1817 settled Joseph, Allen and Alexander Darrow;
the latter being the father of Nathan, John and Alvah Darrow,
all of whom moved away, though some are now living in adjoining
townships. At a little later period Ezra Wyatt settled at the
center, and purchased the interest of Lemuel Headly in the mill
property. He had five sons, named Nathaniel, Eliphalet, Darius,
James and Lorenzo, some of whom yet live in the county.
Besides the foregoing there were among the pioneers of Brecksville,
before 1826, David McCreary, Orris Abbott, Joseph Burnham, Thomas
Patrick, Andrew Benton, John Johnson, Chester Narmore, John Jenkins,
Lewis Adams, Joab Rockwell, Thomas Scott, Gersham Bostwick, Joseph
McCreary, John G. Joslin, T. C. Stone, Isaac Packard, Elisha
Tubbs, John Pomeroy, Darius Robinson, Johnson Patrick, John Guilford,
Reuben Durfee, Alonzo Castle, Chauncey L. Young, William Breckenridge,
John Randall, Robert Donaldson and Jonas Haynes. Among the prominent
settlers who were in the township before 1835, and who have not
already been named, were David Ring, Edward Rust, Augustus Adams,
Joseph H. Breck, Theodore Breck, Moses Hunt, Verarms, Lester
and Charles Dewey, John Day, Hugh Stephenson, John Dunbar, William
Goodell, James Foster, Thomas Sanderson, Belah Norton, Martin
Chittenden, Charles B. Bostwick, Edward M. Bartlett, besides
others whose names appear in the church history.
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- Civil Organization
The qualified voters of Brecksville met at the house of Eli Bagley,
April 3, 1815, to choose township officers as follows:
Trustee, Aaron Rice, Lemuel Hoadley, Edward Johnson; clerk, John
Wait; treasurer, John Adams; constable and lister, Ebenezer Rice;
poormasters, Hosea Bradford, Aaron Rice, Walter Wait, Hubert
Baker; road supervisors, Lemuel Bourne, Hosea Bradford, Hubert
Baker, Ebenezer Rice. Charles Wolcott had been elected constable
but he refused to serve and was fined two dollars, which was
applied toward paying for a township book, which had been purchased
by Lemuel Hoadley for three dollars and seventy-five cents. We
transcribe some further notes from the old township books, which
may be interesting.
In March, 1816, Seth Paine's heirs sold an estray ox for twenty-five
dollars and seventy-five cents, charging the township twelve
dollars for his keeping. The balance was turned over to the treasurer,
who reported that he had settled the account of Lemuel Hoadley,
and that there now remained unappropriated in the treasury, twelve
dollars-a very good exhibit indeed. At an election held in October,
1815, to choose county officers, seventeen votes were polled.
In March 1816, Aaron Rice, Eli Bagley and John Wait were chosen
grand jurors; Silas Rice and Charles Wolcott, petit jurors. A
week later the trustees had a meeting to settle with the road
supervisors. They reported "that Hosea Bradford and Ebenezer
Rice had done their duty, and that Lemuel Bourne and Hubert Baker
were deficient."
At an election for justice of the peace, held February 17, 1817,
John Wait received twenty-nine votes; Hosea Bradford, one; and
Edward Johnson, one.
In November, 1817, the overseers of the poor, Calvin Oakes and
Aaron Rice, commanded Silas Rice, the constable "to order
Hubert Baker to depart from the township of Brecksville without
delay." He served the writ, receiving therefore thirty-seven
and a half cents. Later that season and the following year as
many as fifteen person were warned to depart from the township
in order to prevent their becoming public charges.
From 1815 to the present time (1879) the principal officers of
the township have been the following.
1816: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Lemuel Hoadley, Hosea Bradford;
Clerk, John Wait; treasurer, John Adams
1817: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Lemuel Hoadley, Wm. Oakes; clerk,
John Wait; treasurer, Hosea Bradford.
1818: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Bolter Colson, Wm. Oakes; clerk,
John Wait; treasurer, Calvin Oakes
1819: Trustees, John Jenkins, Isaac M. Morgan, Thomas Patrick;
clerk, John Wait; treasurer, Alex Darrow
1820: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Isaac M. Morgan, Ebba Wilcox;
clerk, Nathan B. Darrow; treasurer, Alex Darrow
1821: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Isaac M. Morgan, Ebba Wilcox;
clerk, Nathan B. Darrow; treasurer, Edward Johnson
1822: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Daniel Green, John Jenkins; clerk,
Martin Chittenden; treasurer, Edward Johnson
1823: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Daniel Green, Aaron Rice; clerk,
John Wait; treasurer, Charles Wait
1824: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Daniel Green, Aaron Rice; clerk
Isaac Packard; treasurer, Martin Chittenden
1825: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Daniel Green, Andrew Dillow;
clerk, Nathan B. Darrow; treasurer, Martin Chittenden
1826: Trustees, Aaron Rice, Daniel Green, Andrew Dillow; clerk
Nathan B. Darrow; treasurer, Johnson Patrick
1827: Trustees, Edward Johnson, Daniel Green, William Oakes;
clerk, Nathan B. Darrow; treasurer, Charles B. Bostwick
1828: Trustees, Andrew McCreary, Daniel Green, William Oakes;
clerk, William G. Green; treasurer, John Wait
1829: Trustees, Andrew McCreary, Aaron Barnes, Aaron Rice, Jr.;
clerk, William Breckenridge; treasurer, Charles B. Bostwick
1830: Trustees, Jacob Fuller, Aaron Barnes, Aaron Rice, Jr.;
clerk, William G. Green; treasurer, Chauney L. Young.
1831: Trustees, Isaac M. Morgan, Andrew Dillow, Aaron Rice, Jr.,
clerk, William G. Green; treasurer, Chauncey L. Young
1832: Trustees, Joseph McCreary, Thomas Patrick, Ebba Wilcox;
clerk, William G. Green, treasurer, Chauncey L. Young
1833: Trustees, Joseph McCreary, Edward Rust, Belah Norton, clerk,
William G. Green, treasurer, Chauncey L. Young
1834: Trustees, Andrew Dillow, Ebba Wilcox, Aaron Rice, Jr.,
Clerk, Charles Morgan, treasurer, Darius Robinson
1835: Trustees, James B. Foster, Ebba Wilcox, Edmund M. Bartlett;
Clerk, William G. Green; treasurer, Charles Morgan
1836: Trustees, Isaac M. Morgan, Eli Osborne, Asa Fenn; clerk,
William G. Green; treasurer, Theodore Breck
1837: Trustees, Joseph Bardwell, Lemuel Borne, Charles Morgan;
clerk, Theo. Breck; treasurer, Daniel Currier
1838: Trustees, Aaron Rice, Jr., Russia Bayley, Charles Morgan;
clerk, Theo. Breck; treasurer, Daniel Currier
1839: Trustees, Aaron Rice, Jr., William Burt, Charles Morgan;
clerk, Theo. Breck; Treasurer, Joseph Bardwell
1840: Trustees, Aaron Rice, Jr. Albert P. Teachout, Charles Morgan;
clerk, George W. Oakes, treasurer, Joseph Bardwell
1841: Trustees, Aaron Rice, Jr, Andrew Dillow, Charles Morgan,
clerk, George W. Oakes, treasurer, Joseph Bardwell
1842: Trustees, Ebba Wilcox, Samuel Wallace, Hugh Stevenson,
clerk, A. J. Snow, treasurer, C. I. Young
1843: Trustees, John Fitzwater, Moses Hunt, Eliphalet Wyatt,
clerk, George W. Oakes, treasurer, Anson Dwight
1844: Trustees, John Fitzwater, Moses Hunt, Cary Oakes, clerk,
George W. Oakes, treasurer, Anson Dwight
1845: Trustees, C. P. Rich, Lorenzo Wyatt, Cary Oakes, clerk
, George W. Oakes, treasurer, Anson Dwight
1846: Trustees, C. P. Rich, Lorenzo Wyatt, I. H. Ballow, clerk,
George W. Oakes, treasurer, Joseph Bardwell
1847: Trustees, C. P. Rich, John Fitzwater, I. H. Ballow, clerk,
George W. Oakes, treasurer, Joseph Bardwell
1848: Trustees, E.M. Bartlett, Edward Rush, Wm. Barr, clerk,
George W. Oakes, treasurer, John T. Mack
1849: Trustees, C. P. Rich, John Fitzwater, Russ Snow, clerk,
George W. Oakes, treasurer, John T. Mack
1850: Trustees, C. D. Rich, John Fitzwater, Russ Snow, clerk,
George W. Oakes, treasurer, John T. Mack
1851: Trustees, C. D. Rich, John Fitzwater, I. H. Ballow, clerk,
George W. Oakes, treasurer, C. C. Chapin Jr.
1852: Trustees, C. B. Rich, John Fitzwater, Moses Hunt, clerk,
Wm . W. Wright, treasurer, C. C. Chapin Jr.
1853: Trustees, C. B. Rich, Aaron Rice, Moses Hunt, clerk, Wm.
W. Wright, treasurer, C. C. Chapin, Jr.
1854: Trustees, C. B. Rich, Aaron Rice, John Fitzwater, clerk,
John Coates, Treasurer, C. C. Chapin Jr.
1855: Trustees, Theodore Breck, Moses Hunt, John Fitzwater, clerk,
R. W. Fairchild, treasurer, C. C. Chapin Jr.
1856: Trustees, Theodore Breck, Moses Hunt, John Fitzwater, clerk
, James H. Coates, treasurer, C. C. Chapin Jr.
1857: Trustees, Theodore Breck, Orrin Miller , Peter Goodal,
clerk, George W. Oakes treasurer, John S. Thomas
1858: Trustees, Moses Hunt, Orrin Miller, Peter Goodal, clerk,
George W. Oakes, treasurer, John S. Thomas
1859; Trustees, Moses Hunt, John Fitzwater, Charles Bateman,
clerk, Asa Reynolds, treasurer, John S. Thomas
1860, Trustees, Moses Hunt, Peter Dillow, Levi Booth, Jr. , clerk,
E. H. Ely, treasurer, M. N. Young
1861: Trustees, Moses Hunt, Peter Dillow, A. K. Skeels, clerk,
Asa Reynolds, treasurer, M. N. Young
1862: Trustees, Moses Hunt, Peter Dillow, O. W. Newcome, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, M. N. Young
1863: Trustees, Daniel Stocker, Peter Dillow, O. W. Newcome,
clerk, Charles S. Burt, treasurer, William Barr
1864: Trustees, H. H. Snow, Francis Oakes, C. M. Allen, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, J. H. Coates
1865: Trustees, H. H. Snow, O. W. Newcome, C. M. Allen, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, J. H. Coates
1866: Trustees, H. H. Snow, Peter Dillow, F. Oakes, clerk, Charles
S. Burt, treasurer, J. H. Coates.
1867: Trustees, H. H. Snow, Peter Dillow, F. Oakes, clerk, Charles
S. Burt, treasurer, J. H. Coates
1868: Trustees, H. H. Snow, Peter Dillow, Alonzo Watkins, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, J. H. Coates.
1869: Trustees, H. H. Snow, Emmett Boyd, Henry Ingham, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, Theodore Breck
1870: Trustees, H. H. Snow, Emmett Boyd, Henry Ingham, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, Theodore Breck
1871: Trustees, H. H. Snow, Moses I. Morgan, Julius White, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, James H. Coates
1872: Trustees, H. H. Snow, Moses I. Morgan, Julius White, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, James H. Coates
1873: Trustees, Henry M. Oakes, Moses I. Morgan, Julius White,
clerk, Charles S. Burt, treasurer, James H. Coates
1874: Trustees, L. F. Wyatt, L. E. Ring, Julius White, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, James H. Coates
1875: Trustees, Andrew Butler, L. E. Ring, Ira Fitzwater, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, James H. Coates
1876: Trustees, Julius White, M.I. Morgan, Ira Fitzwater, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, James H. Coates
1877: Trustees, Julius White, Lewis T. Rust, Ira Fitzwater, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, James H. Coates
1878: Trustees, Julius White, M. I. Morgan, Ira Fitzwater, clerk,
Charles S. Burt, treasurer, James H. Coates
1879: Trustees, Julius White, J. A. Fitzwater, Ira Fitzwater,
clerk, Charles S. Burt, treasurer, H. E. Barnes
On the 29 of April, 1872, the legislature empowered the trustees
of Brecksville to borrow money to build a town hall, and to issue
the bonds of the township for the payment of the same. Under
this act money was procured to build a very fine hall on the
north side of the public square, at Brecksville Center. It is
constructed of brick, with a shapely belfry, and was completed
in 1874, at a cost of four thousand five hundred and twenty-two
dollars.
In 1878 the trustees of the township made the following levies:
For township purposes, three-tenths of a mill; for roads, one
and one-fourth mills; for grading hills, two-tenths of a mill;
for bridges, one-tenth of a mill; for a poor fund, four-tenths
of a mill; and for a vault, one mill. The latter has been erected
at the center, and the cemeteries controlled by the township
indicate a careful attention.
Brecksville has good roads, and the streams are well bridged.
The Valley railroad will pass through the township and supply
rapid communication; just across the river good shipping facilities
are afforded by the canal.
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- Manufacturing Interests
Owing to the limited water power, but little manufacturing has
been carried on in the township. The first machinery of any kind
operated by water-power was the loggrist mill, put up at the
center by Lemuel Hoadley in 1813. The burr stones were of common
granite, found in the woods near by, and may yet be seen near
the site of the old mill. In 1820 Ezra Wyatt put up a famed gristmill
at this point, and also built a sawmill. In the course of time
Robert Prichard supplied steam power. Only a gristmill is operated
there at present. It was built by the present proprietor, Thomas
Dunbar, and is supplied with two runs of stone.
Below this point, on the Chippewa, sawmills were built in former
days, by Ambrose & Ebba Wilcox, by Young and Allen, and by
Abbott & Bostwick. Above the center sawmills were also erected
by Rufus Newell and Samuel Varney. All have been discontinued.
In the northern part of the township, as a small brook, John
Randall built a gristmill which is at present operated by Antoine
Eckenfells. Near this place, on the west side of the State road,
is a large building in which Jackson Janes once had a cloth-dressing
establishment. Subsequently wooden ware was made there but the
building has long been unused.
Tanneries have been carried on by Darius Robinson, above the
center; by Seward & Higgins, at that place, and by George
Curtis on the Spring brook, but these, too, have long since passed
away. Joseph Edgarton and Ely Osborne had distilleries many years
ago, and George Foote carried on the manufacturing of buckskin
mittens at the center. For the past eight years a cheese factory
has been successfully operated there, and this and the mills
at present constitute the only manufacturing interests of the
township.
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- The Village of Brecksville
This is on the south bank of the Chippewa near the center of
the township, and is sometimes called Brecksville Center. It
is the only village in the township. It has a pleasant location,
and contains the town hall, a very handsome school building,
a Presbyterian and a Methodist church, a number of fine residences
and the stores, etc. noted below.
T.J. Allen was the first postmaster of the Brecksville office,
which received at the time one mail per week. The successive
postmasters have been Chauncey L. Young, Asa Reynolds, and J.
H. Coates. The office at present has three mails per week from
Cleveland, distant seventeen miles.
Charles Morgan had the first store in the place, at the stand
now occupied by J. H. Coates. The intermediate merchants there
were William Towsley, E. and T. Breck, Breck & Humphrey,
and Alling and Fairchild. The brick store was put up by Chauncey
L. Young about 1857, and Young & Clark were the first to
engage in the mercantile business. J. J. Barms is the present
occupant of that stand. A drug store and a harness shop were
opened in the same building several years ago by Chauncey Ellsworth,
and are still carried on by him.
The first public house was kept by Isaac Packard in a log building
which stood on the site of the Presbyterian church. Ezra Wyatt
also entertained travelers at his house near the mill. John Randall
built the present tavern in 1839, but it was first used as a
residence. George N. Hollis has been an innkeeper there many
years.
Dr. Chester Wait was the first physician of the township, and
was in practice from 1813 until his removal to Brooklyn. Dr.
Isaac M. Morgan came in 1818, and practiced until his death.
In the same period Drs. Gibb and Cleveland followed their profession.
Dr. Edward Buck was in practice many years before his death in
1859, and had a contemporary in Dr. William Knowlton. The latter
was followed by his son, Augustus, and he in turn by another
son, the present Dr. William Knowlton.
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- The Public Schools
The first school in the township was taught at the center by
Oriana Paine, and was attended by children from the Hoadley,
Adams, Bradford and Wait families. Mrs. Benjamin Wait was also
an early teacher there. In 1819 a good log building was put up
in this locality for school and church purposes. In 1826 the
township had three districts, No. 1 having thirty-seven householders;
No. 2, twenty-five householders; and No. 3 twenty householders.
These districts were soon after divided so as to provide schools
in every neighborhood. The building was at first of logs, but
as the country was developed these were superseded by framed
houses; and nearly all those, in turn, have given way to neat
and comfortable brick edifices. The one at the center was erected
in 1874, at a cost of $4,000, and is a model of architectural
beauty. For its size it has no superior in the country.
In 1878 the township reported nine buildings, valued at $12,000.
Ten schools were maintained at an expense of $2,387.75. Twenty-eight
weeks of school were taught by nine female and seven male teachers,
whose average wages were $30.00 per month. The pupils enrolled
numbered; of boys one hundred and eighty, of girls one hundred
and twelve, and the average attendance was eighty-three percent.
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- The First Congregational (or Presbyterian) Church
In the summer of 1816 the Rev. Wm. Hanford, in the employ of
the Connecticut Missionary Society, began preaching in Brecksville,
and on the 13th of July organized the First Congregational Church
of Brecksville, with sixteen members, namely, John Adams, Lemuel
Hoadley, Cloe Hoadley, John Wait, Bolter Colson, Harriet Colson,
Hannah Paine, Lyman J. Frost, Oriana Frost, Zelpha Wait, Lucy
Wilcox, James Dickson, Mary Dickson, Joseph Rice, Orrin Wilcox
and Abigail Wilcox. Those elected Lyman J. Frost as the first
clerk. No deacon was chosen until October 1, 1821, when Bolter
Colson was ordained to that office; and the church had no regular
pastor until 1840, when Rev. Newton Barrett was ordained and
installed.
The Rev. Wm. Hanford supplied the church until 1823, coming from
Hudson every four weeks, and under his ministration the membership
increased to forty-six. The next supply was the Rev. Isaac Shaler,
who continued until 1829. For the next four years the Rev. J.
H. Breck was the supply; but in 1833 he was succeeded by Rev.
Joseph Pepoon, who remained until 1834. That year came Rev. Chester
Chapin, and continued until 1837.
On the 7th of April, 1840, the Rev. Newton Barrett was installed
as pastor, and maintained that relation until 1848. Since that
time the pastor and supplies have been the following: 1848-52,
Rev. Lucius Smith; 1855-8, Rev. C. B. Stevens; 1859-61, P. S.
Hillyer; 1862-6, Rev. Thomas Towler; 1868-70, Rev. Hubbard Lawrence;
1871-4, Rev. G. C. Reed; 1875-9, Rev. J. McK. Pittinger, and
since May, 1879, Rev. John M. Davies.
The first meetings were held at the house of Hosea Bradford,
near the square. In 1819 a log schoolhouse was built, on what
was afterwards known as the Deacon Hannum place, which was used
until the fall of 1830 when a small framed house was built for
a church, at the cost of $200. A better place of worship being
demanded, the "First Congregational Society" was formed,
under the laws of the State, on the 21st of June, 1834, to attend
to the temporal affairs of the church. The first officers were
Belah Norton, Wm. H. Judd, and Wm. Breckenridge, trustees: William
Oakes, secretary; Philip Gass, treasurer; and Darius Lyman, collector.
In addition to the foregoing the constitution was signed by Bolter
Colson, Moses Hunt, Cary Oakes, E. M. Bartlett, Peter Goodell,
Moses Boynton, Francis Oakes, Augustus Adams, William Burt, Theodore
Breck, Giles Kellogg, Otis Pomeroy, C. Hannum, Jason Jones, Edward
Rust, John L. Thomas, and others. The present trustees of the
society are L. T. Rust, O. P. Foster, O. P. Hunt, Michael Rudgers
and B. Van Noate; L. R. Ring is the clerk, and J. H. Coates treasurer.
In the fall of 1834 the meeting house was removed to a place
near the present cemetery by a committee composed of Thomas Patrick,
Jared Clark, Dorus Lyman, Daniel Carrier and William Hurt. Ten
years later, work was begun on the present church edifice, under
the direction of the following building committee: Augustus Adams,
Cary Oakes, Theodore Breck, Joseph Bardwell and E. M. Bartlett.
It was completed at a cost of about $3,000. and was dedicated
October 30, 1844.
-
- Subsequent repairs have rendered the house comfortable and
attractive, and together with the parsonage, erected in 1842,
it constitutes a very good church property. In 1876 the church
became Presbyterian in form, and so remains to this day. The
present ruling elders are Henry Dunbar, Moses Hunt and Talcott
Starr. The former is also clerk of the session. The church has
a membership of one hundred and five, and since 1833 has regularly
maintained a Sunday school, which at present has one hundred
and thirty members. L. T. Rust is the superintendent. In 1866
Augustus Adams, a member of the church donated $500. to the American
Tract Society, on condition that that body should furnish thirty
dollars worth of books yearly to the Sunday school in question.
A very good library is maintained.
Some of the other religious denominations held public worship
in the township at quite an early day, and some time after 1830
the Methodists organized themselves into a class, the names of
whose members, owing to the absence of records, cannot be here
given. In 1836 the present meeting house at the center was erected,
and has been the place of worship of the
-
- Methodist Episcopal Church
of Brecksville, and some of the adjoining townships, every since.
It has been repaired, and is a comfortable place of worship.
The trustees who control it are A. Watkins, A. C. Hitchcock,
L. F. Wyatt, and James Cleveland. The three first-named are also
the stewards of the church. The society at Brecksville has been
connected with other Methodist stations in Richfield and Royalton
in forming a circuit, but at present is only connected with the
church in the latter township. The circuit is supplied by the
Rev. Moses B. Mead, of Baldwin University. The membership of
the church is small, numbering but sixteen persons. The class
leader is T. Norvill. The Sunday school has sixty members, A.
C. Hitchcock being the superintendent.
-
- History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Part
Third: The Townships, compiled by
Crisfield Johnson, Published by D. W. Ensign & Co., 1879;
pages 411-416
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