Biographies
Source:
History of Trumbull
& Mahoning Counties
with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches
Vols. I & 2 -
Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro.
1882
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THE TANNER FAMILY.
Tryal Tanner was one of the first settles of Canfield.
He was the son of William Tanner; his father died when
Tryal was eleven years old, and thenceforth he lived with his
uncle, Justus Sackett, in Warren, Connecticut, until he
became of age. He then went to Cornwall, Connecticut, and
engaged in farming. He served five years in the Revolutionary
war, holding the rank of lieutenant, but resigned shortly before the
close of the war. For his services in behalf of his country he
was paid in Continental currency, and as an illustration of the
value of that money it will be sufficient to state that he once paid
$80 for a tea-kettle.
Soon after leaving the army he married Huldah Jackson,
purchased a farm in Cornwall, settled there, and remained until his
removal to Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Tanner were born three
sons and six daughters, whose names were as follow: Archibald,
Edmund Prior, Julius, Nancy, Peggy, Laura, Bridget, Panthea, and
one daughter who died in infancy.
In 1801 Mr. Tanner exchanged his farm with
Judson and Herman Canfield for four hundred acres of land in the
new settlement of Canfield, four hundred acres in Johnston, and
$400. This proved a good bargain. In addition to this
land Mr. Tanner took an eight-acre lot in one of the
divisions of the center of Canfield. In the spring of 1801 he
visited his new property, built a log-house on the center lot, and
commenced work on his farm by clearing thirteen acres and sowing it
to wheat.
In 1802 Mr. Tanner and family came to Canfield
and moved into the house which he had erected the previous year.
They journeyed with William Chidester and family,
making up a company of twenty-two persons in all. Mr.
Tanner had one wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen and two
horses; also two extra horses, one with harness to be used in the
team when necessary, the other with a side-saddle for his wife to
ride. The party started from Connecticut Apr. 22, 1802, and
arrived in Canfield on the 13th of the following May.
During his former visit Mr. Tanner had engaged
two men to fell ten acres of timber and get it ready for logging.
They, however, completed but six acres, and it was the summer job of
Mr. Tanner and his sons to finish this clearing and sow the
land to wheat. They began operations immediately. The
three sons, who were aged respectively sixteen, fourteen, and
twelve, assisted their father. He could handle the butt-end of
a log alone, while all three of the boys united their strength to
lift the smaller end. They worked “with a will,” and with
eagerness, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing the forest show
the results of their labor. During the summer they girdled
thirty five acres of trees, thus preparing them for future
destruction. The winter they employed in cutting out small
trees and underbrush.
In 1803 they sowed wheat among the trees which were
still standing and raised about half a crop. They sowed grass
seed with the wheat and the following year raised an abundance of
hay. Thus they lived and labored, and soon their farm began to
assume a comparatively improved appearance. In those days in
the wild woods plenty of work and very little time for pleasure were
the rules.
In 1806 Mr. Tanner built a frame house on his
eight-acre lot, in which he lived until his death. He died
Nov. 22, 1833, aged eighty-two. His first wife died Dec. 31,
1803. The following year he married Mary Doud,
who survived until July 13, 1843, when she died at the age of
eighty-seven.
Tryal Tanner was a good specimen of the hardy
pioneer, tall and sinewy, and capable of great endurance.
Toward the end of his life his sight failed by degrees and he became
almost blind. He was a man of strong will and great
determination, very tenacious of his own views. He was a
member of the Episcopal church, and one of the leaders in founding
the first church of that denomination on the Reserve. Through
his life he sustained a high social standing and was much respected
and esteemed.
Archibald Tanner, the oldest son, was a man very
much like his father, hardy, bold, and energetic. He was
engaged in boating on the Ohio for several years, then settled in
Warren, Pennsylvania, where he became a prosperous merchant and
prominent citizen.
Edmund Prior Tanner, the second son of Tryal
Tanner, and the longest survivor of the entire family, was born
in Cornwall, Litchfield county, Connecticut, in 1788, on the 22d of
February. He received all of his schooling in Connecticut; for
after coming to Ohio his life was the busy life of a pioneer
farmer's son.
Nov. 16, 1809, he was united in marriage with Fanny
Chapman, daughter of William and Sylvia Chapman, of
Vernon, Trumbull county. He lived with his father for a time,
but in the spring of 1810 moved into a house of hewed logs, which
stood on the site of the present dwelling of his son, Julius
Tanner.
Soon after the breaking out of the War of 1812 he was
called into the service and was absent from home two months and
eighteen days.
Mr. Tanner was always deeply interested
in everything that concerned the educational, moral, and religious
status of the community. He was a friend to those deserving
sympathy and never refused his support to worthy objects.
During the exciting days when slavery was under discussion he did
not hesitate at all times to denounce the infamous traffic in human
lives and became noted as a strong Abolitionist. He lived to
see that word of reproach become one of honor, and to hear his
actions spoken of as noble, whereas they were once bitterly
denounced. The underground railway received from him
assistance and encouragement.
For nearly sixty years he was an earnest and devout
member of the Congregational church. He held the office of
deacon many years, and was earnest and faithful, full of Christian
spirit and prayer for the welfare of the church. His worth and
benevolence endeared him to a large circle and his character was a
model worthy of imitation. For several years he was so
crippled by rheumatism as to be unable to walk without crutches, but
he loved the house of God and Sunday usually found him in the
sanctuary.
Sixty-three years of happy wedded life had passed
before Mr. and Mrs. Tanner were called upon to part from each
other. Death removed the aged and honored husband Oct/ 24,
1872, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. Of his life it can truly
be said that it was one of usefulness. He was a keen observer
and took a heartfelt interest in the topics of the day. Fond of
reading and study he continued until the last to keep well informed
upon current affairs. During his last illness he appeared cheerful
and hopeful and fell asleep firm in the faith and hope of a blessed
immortality.
His widow survived until Sept. 24, 1875, when she went
to join him. She was born in Barkhampton, Litchfield county,
Connecticut, Mar. 5, 1791, and was, therefore, also in her
eighty-fifth year at the time of her decease. Early in life
she united with the church, and ever continued a zealous and
confiding disciple of the Lord. She was a woman of benevolence
and a faithful helpmate to her worthy
husband. She was the mother of eight children, four of whom
are living. The family record is as follows: Mary, born
Aug. 30, 1811; married Lyman Warner, Sept. 11, 1832.
Huldah, born Dec. 5, 1812; married James Jones, Sept.
11, 1832. Jane, born Feb. 15, 1814; married David
Hollister, Sept. 11, 1832; died Mar. 19, 1834. Bridget,
born Sept. 26, 1816; died Sept. 22, 1833. Julius, born Oct.
6, 1818; married Nov. 4, 1840, to Mary Wadsworth; married
Fidelia T. Sackett, Dec. 12, 1855. Electa
Chapman, born Aug. 6, 1820; married Pierpont Edwards,
Oct. 31, 1838; died in September, 1840. Sylvia Smith,
born July 31, 1822; married Charles E. Boughton, Mar. 22,
1843. William Chapman, born July 12, 1824; died
Mar. 26, 1825. Mrs. Warner resides at Lowell,
Massachusetts; she is a widow and has one child, a daughter.
Mrs. Jones resides in Canfield; has three children
living, one deceased. Mrs. Boughton resides in
Canfield. One son is living, and one was killed in the war.
Julius Tanner, only surviving son of
Deacon Edmund P. Tanner, has resided in Canfield all his
life. His residence is the old homestead farm. His first
wife died Apr. 15, 1855, leaving three children living and one dead—Edward
Wadsworth, William Henry (deceased), Henry
Archibald, and Mary Ida. All are
married. Edward married Kate Shaffer;
resides in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Henry married
Carrie Harrison; resides in Pittsburg; he has two
children. Ida married John Delfs, and
resides in Canfield; has two children, one living.
By his second marriage Mr. Tanner is the father
of three children—Fanny Chapman, died at the age of
seventeen; Edmund Prior, and Horace Boughton.
The sons reside at home. Mrs. Tanner had one son
by her former marriage, Myron W. Sackett, now residing in
Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Vol. II - Publ.
Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. 1882 - Page 37 |
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GEORGE
TOD the pioneer lawyer of Youngstown, and one
of the earliest lawyers of the Reserve, was born in Suffield,
Connecticut, Dec. 11, 1773. He was a son of David and Rachel (Kent) Tod. He gradated
at Yale college in 1795. Subsequently he taught school at New
Haven, Connecticut; read law at the law school of Judge Reeves,
in Litchfield, Connecticut, and was admitted to the bar. He
was married at New Haven in October, 1797, to Miss Sally Isaacs,
who was born Jan. 12, 1778, and was a daughter of Ralph and Mary
Isaacs. Their two oldest children, Charlotte L. and
Jonathan I. Tod, were there born. In 1800 he came to
Youngstown, Ohio; returned to Connecticut, and in 1801 he removed
with his wife and children to Youngstown.
At the first territorial court of Trumbull county, held
in August, 1800, he was appointed prosecuting attorney. The
following is a copy of the record of the court journal: "The
court appointed George Tod, Esq., to prosecute the pleas of
the United States the present session, who took the oath of office."
At that term of the court the grand jury returned a
bill of indictment for murder against Joseph McMahon, for
shooting Captain George, an Indian, at the Salt springs, on
the 20th of July preceding, and he was tried at a special court held
at Youngstown in September following, Mr. Tod appearing in
behalf of the United States as prosecuting attorney.
During the first year of his residence in Ohio he was
appointed, by Governor St. Clair, Territorial secretary.
In April, 1802, at the first township election held at
Youngstown, upon the admission of Ohio as a State into the union, he
was elected township clerk, and re-elected in 1803 and 1804.
In 1804-05 he was Senator from Trumbull county in the State
Legislature, again in 1810-1811. In 1806 he was elected a
judge of the supreme court of the State. In the War of 1812 he
was commissioned major and afterwards colonel of the Nineteenth
regiment of Ohio militia, and served with distinction at Fort Meigs
and Sackett's Harbor. In 1815 he was elected president judge
of the court of common pleas of the old third circuit, which then
comprised a large part of the counties of the Reserve, and held the
office until 1829. He was elected prosecuting attorney of
Trumbull county in 183_ and held the office for one term.
After leaving the bench, except when attending to his
duties as prosecutor, he retired in a measure from practice and
devoted his attention to the care of his large farm, at Brier
Hill, in the north part of the township of Youngstown; the farm
which afterwards became so celebrated for its deposit of fine
mineral coal, developed by his son, the late Governor David Tod.
He died at Brier Hill Apr. 11, 1841.
As a lawyer and a judge he ranked among the first in the State of
Ohio; as a citizen was held in the highest regard. His
estimable wife survived him a few years, and died at Brier Hill
Sept. 29, 1847.
Source: History of
Trumbull & Mahoning Counties with Illustrations and Biographical
Sketches Vol. I - Mahoning Co., Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams &
Bro. 1882 - Page 209 |
NOTES:
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