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necticut colony had compromised with the other colonies of abandoned her claim to territory east of the west line of Penn's grant, except what is now the State of Connecticut, but still claimed a strip of territory due west of, and the width from north to south, of the present State of Connecticut, extending from the west line of Penn's grant to the Pacific Ocean.  After the Revolution, the United States Government claimed all of this vast western territory, including this narrow strip claimed by the State of Connecticut, which brought on a controversy between that State and the United States, and which finally resulted in a compromise; the State of Connecticut ceding to the United States all her Western territory, excepting and reserving a tract one hundred and twenty miles in length, commencing at the west line of Pennsylvania, and this tract then took the name of "New Connecticut," or the "Connecticut Western Reserve."  It lies due west of (and contains the same number of square miles as the State) of Connecticut.  The township contains 16,354 acres of land.  It was purchased by Phelps and Granger in Connecticut.  In 1798 Phelps sold his share to Gideon Granger, Postmaster General, who then became the owner of the whole township.
     Mr. Granger had the center of the town, where the village now stands, about one mile square, surveyed into two acre lots with plenty of streets crossing each other at right angles.  Many of the lots have since been divided.  Mr. Granger sued a great deal of flattery to induce people to emigrate here and when they did come, they found it a much harder job than they expected, to clear away the heavy forest trees and fit the land so that they could raise provisions enough to keep their families from starving, was a heavy task.  But they went to work with a will, and after enduring great hardships, they converted the dreary forests into smiling fields.
     In 1805, Mr. Granger persuaded Michael Webster and Jonathan Warner to leave their eastern homes and come to this, then wilderness town.  Jonathan Warner came from Saybrook, Connecticut.   He was then a young man, unmarried.  He bought about 200 acres of land of Granger, paying for it at the time, and took a deed which was the first deed recorded of land sold in this town.  The land lies on both sides of the

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road where Charles E. Warner now lives.  He then built a long house on the north side of the road near where Henry Talcott's west barn now stands.  This and Michael Webster's were the first two houses built in the township.
     Mr. Warner, like Adam in the garden of Eden, found it not good to be alone, and as God provided a help-meet for Adam so he soon provided means whereby this young man could find one in this, then uninhabited forest, to be a companion for him through the whole of his long life, and he improved the first opportunity to get the prize.
     There was a man by the name of Freithy who came here with his family, from the city of Washington D. C., in 1806.  He moved his family in a big wagon over the mountains by way of Pittsburg.  They stopped in Warren, Trumbull County, and live din one of the rooms in a log Court House two or three months, while Mr. F. made arrangements for moving them to Jefferson.  He came, and built a log house on the lot where N. E. French now lives.  To this he added an addition on one end with a shed roof for a store, into which he put the first merchants goods that were sold in this town, hauling them over the mountains in a wagon.  He also kept the first post-office in his house and was the first Justice of the Peace in the township.
     Mr. Freithy's family consisted of his wine and four children.  One of them was an accomplished young lady of 17 years.  Young Mr. Warner was not long in making her acquaintance.  Young ladies were not plenty here then, but as there was but one room in the house, how could they do their courting?  Oh!  that was very easy; no better place to talk of love than in the retired, over-shadowing forest.  But parents were very accommodating then.  They had a bed in each corner of one end of the house and hung a curtain across at the foot of the beds, and the thoughtful family retired early and left the remainder of the house to the lovers.  In about a year they had concluded their courtship and were married in 1807.
     As this was the first wedding in Jefferson, it must be minutely described.  As they had no cook stoves in those days, they built a chimney made of sticks, laid across each other, making a square tunnel extending from above the ridge of the house

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down to the round beams which were to receive the chamber floor.  Then sewing out the logs about six feet in width below the chimney; built in the opening a straight back with stone extending up to the sticks.  The inside of the chimney was then thoroughly plastered with clay mortar.  I have described the chimney, that you may understand how they did the cooking for the wedding.  A Frenchman came here about that time who was an excellent cook, as most Frenchmen are.  He was employed to cook the wedding supper.  He cut two logs about five feet long, then chopped and split out on one side of each of them a gap about three feet long, in the center; the ends left whole, so that when the logs were rolled against the back of the chimney it left quite a vacancy between the logs.  They there built the fire.  The Frenchman dressed a fine pig, put it on a spit and laid it across the logs over the fire and it baked nicely.  The front log was laid on green wood andirons.  They pulled out coals on the stone hearth, put on a bake kettle with an iron cover, put in the cake, heaped coals on the top of the cover and it baked to a charm.  A crane hung in the end of the logs, where they were sawed off, for the chimney back; to swing around over the fire.  On it hung the kettles to boil potatoes, and water for tea.  As there were no common apples they used crab apples for sauce, which sauce, Mrs. Warner tells me, was very nice.  They had no up0holstered chairs, no fine sofas, no brussels carpets, but they had warm hearts and willing hands.  A goodly number present at this first wedding in Jefferson, among whom were Noah Cowles, Esq., of Austinburg, the officiating Justice; Timothy R. Hawley, Esq., and ____ Crosby, Esq., of Morgan, and all the residents of Jefferson, some 15 people.  The occasion was to have been honored by the presence of Gideon Granger, but owing to delays he did not reach here until the day after, when with true kindness and old time politeness, he bestowed upon the newly married couple many good wishes.
     After the wedding and a substantial supper had been disposed of, the young couple started on their wedding tour.  They had no Saratoga trunks to take with them, so each mounted a horse and rode about three quarters of a mile west to their future home, in the heart of the primeval forest, and

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there began what proved to be a long and useful life to each.  Judge Jonathan Warner held several places of trust, and died in 1862 at a ripe age.  Mrs. Warner is now 87 years of age, and is in good health and retains her faculties to a remarkable degree.  She is the mother of eleven children, one of whom died in infancy; the rest are all living at this time, and are among the most respected citizens.  Mrs. Weaer bore the trials of pioneer life with the christian grace which has characterized her life.
     Michael Webster came to Jefferson in 1804. He made the first opening in the forest in town, chopping the trees down on ten acres.  Then to clear the land, he cut the trunks into logs about 12 feet log, cut up the tops and piled up the logs and burned them.  The land was then ready to put in the crops.  The stumps and roots were so thick they could not plow.  It was difficult to get dirt to even cover corn with a hoe.  The ground was quite hard where it was burnt over, consequently they used axes to plant corn, by striking one blow in the ground, droppig in the corn, copping a blow on either side of the first cut which closed it up and covered the corn.
     Mr. Webster contracted with Mr. Granger for 100 acres of land at $3 per acre, one mile west of the Court House, and returned east in the fall.  In the spring of 1805 he moved his family, from Franklin, Delaware County, New York, consisting of wife, and one child about two years old.  He built his cabin where John Pritchard now lives.  They had no neighbors except Mr. Warner.  Music was furnished by the wolves which howled around their cabin almost every night.  Indians frequently visited them but never did any harm.  As they had commenced raising crops in some of the lake towns, Mr. Webster had to go there for his first provisions.  Mrs. Webster says she lived here nine months while there was no other white woman in town, she staid many a night alone with her child, while Mr. Webster went for provisions, which had to be brought either on foot or on horseback, many miles, and there were no roads, only blazed trees, to guide them through the forest.  He bought his land on credit and made payments as fast as he

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raised the money from the sales of his farm products, which, together with clearing his land and supporting his family, must have required uncommon hard work.  He built a saw mill in 1817, on Mill's creek opposite where Robert Fetch now lies, and there sawed the lumber for his fist framed house, which is the same house, (with considerable remodeling) that John Pritchard now lives in.  His mill was one mile west of his house.  One night after sawing until midnight, he made a large torch of hickory bark and started for home.  He soon heard a drove of wolves behind him, they came very near, so that he could see them, and he became very much frightened.  As he expressed it, he "thought his end had come."  He turned around and flourished his torch in their faces, which caused them to halt; he passed on, they followed nearly to his house, but by occasionally whirling his torch at their noses he arrived safely home.
     When he was moving here with his family, in an open wagon, the hills north of Ashtabula village not being graded, were very steep.  By great effort he succeeded in getting down the hill safe, but when he came near the top of the hill on this side, his wagon turned over, and it, and his furniture went to the bottom of the hill, causing a general smash up.  The righting up of the wagon and getting of the goods up the bank took about half a day.
     By persevering industry, Mr. WEBSTER added two or three hundred acres more to his farm, improved it well and arrived at affluent circumstances, and lived near the same place where he built his first log house, until his death, which occurred in 1859, aged 80 years.  His wife died in 1862, aged 79.  They had a family of seven children.  Only four of them are now living; one of them, George, is still a resident of this town.  Their daughter, Polly, was the first child  born in Jefferson township.
     In the fall of 1805, James WILSON moved his family here and built a cabin near the well at the corner of the hotel (the Thompson House) south of the Court House square.  He died not log after coming here.  His was the first death in town.  He was buried in the west part of the township.
     About 1807, Mr. GRANGER induced 7 families to emigrate

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from Maryland, to this town.  They came by way of Pittsburgh, Warren and Eagleville.  There is but little known now about their long journey through that wilderness country.  We have gleaned enough to suppose they thought they were coming to a city, for when they were crossing Mill's creek, west of Jefferson village, by some mishap in fording the creek, they broke some of their crockery, and threw away all the injured pieces, remarking, they would not carry broken crockery into town.  They built log cabins in different parts of the town, and cleared small pieces of land, expecting to make money raising tobacco.  This seems to have been their former business. They planted and raised small patches of the weed.
     The Frenchman who cooked the first wedding supper, built a two story house, southeast of Dr. Hawley's on the ground where H. B. Seagar's house now stands.  It was enclosed, except the openings, which were never filled with doors and windows.  It remained there a number of years but was never finished.  He built it for a manufactory for the Marylander's tobacco, but it was never used but a very little.  For one or two years there was a small among hung up to cure.  They soon found they could not sell enough to buy their bread, and it was a poor article on which to make a dinner.   Mr. GRANGER, supported these families about two years, but he found that poor pay for getting them here, and they soon all left but one family, that of Mr. ASQUE.
     Mr. ASQUE, who settled three miles south east of the village, on the Dorset road, supposed it to be Jefferson, but it proved to be in the corner of Lenox, when Lenox was set off from Jefferson about 1822.  He lived there until his death which occurred at an advanced age.  One of his sons now lives in the same hoe, that he built in 1844.  The writer can recollect attending school in the winter, when his oldest children came through the woods nearly four miles, with nothing but blazed trees to guide them to a log school house on the corner, a few rods west of Henry TALCOTT's brick house.  Miss Emily ATKINS, oldest daughter of the Sheriff, Q. F. ATKINS was the teacher.  The school house took fire one night and burned down.  The next morning we went to school and looked with tearful eyes on the charred cinders of our spelling books, which

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our fathers obtained by chopping two cords of wood for each book.  Miss ADKINS commenced another school immediately, in a small log house that a family had vacated, directly east of Charles E. WARNERs.  In a short time that was burned down, it seemed that we were doomed not to get any learning.  This was about 1819.
     Daniel WEBSTER and Luman WEBSTER, moved here in 1807.  They came from Franklin, Delaware County, New York.  Luman WEBSTER bought the land where Mr. ALLEMAN now lives, one mile west of the Court house, built a log house, but left soon after and moved to Erie, Pa.  Gilbert WEBSTER then a single man, lived as a bachelor in the house Luman WEBSER left.  Mrs. Polly OSBORN, a widow sister of Michael WEBSTER, (whose husband died in Sandusky) came here about 1820.  She moved into Gilbert WEBSTER's log house, with a family of five small children.  He being a generous man, married her and provided well for her children, until they arrived to maturity.  One of her sons is now a lawyer in Painesville.  To encourage Gilbert WEBSTER, in his philanthropic spirit, he was elected County Treasurer in 1827.  He opened a small store in a framed addition on the south side of the log jail, in 1824.  This was the first merchantile house opened in Jefferson, after Mr. FREITHY closed about 1808.  In 1824 or 25, he and George WEBSTER built the store where S. N. PRIOR now trades, southwest corner of the Court House square.  Gilbert traded there a while, then sold to George HAWLEY.  About 1830 he built the house where Mr. ALLEMAN now lives.  HAWLEY sold the store to McCORD.  McCOPRD sold to George BROWN, who traded there several years.  In the meantime, Gilbert WEBSTER had moved to Kingsville.  About 1840, George BROWN sold the store to Gilbert WEBSTER, who returned to Jefferson and traded there several years then sold to GAYLORD & McINTYRE.  Gilbert WEBSTER then moved back to Kingsville, where he died some years since.   His widow is now living in Conneaut, near 100 years old, she is living with her oldest daughter, Sarah.  And speaking of Sarah reminds us of her wedding, which might be termed a wedding under difficulties.  Her intended lived in Kinsman, which was no more miles off then than now, but remember that we did not go by rail in two hours at that day.  The day was

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set, and the wedding guests were all present.  At dusk the bridegroom failed to appear.  The bride had to stand the raillery of her friends, who about filled the little log house.  It was cold weather, and a good fire burned on the hearth.  At nearly nine o'clock, when the bride was nearly broken hearted, the groom appeared, cold, wet and hungry.  An explanation followed which showed he was not to blame for the delay.  Sarah was soon in good spirits and declared that she would not marry a hungry man, and that he must have his supper.  The crane was hung full of pots and griddles, and an iron tea kettle set on the wood, to boil.  All was going finely until the stick burned off and the tea kettle upset, and the floor was flooded.  What of that?  It was soon mopped up, a good supper was eaten, and they were married before midnight.
     Daniel WEBSTER moved to Jefferson with his family, from Franklin, Delaware County, New York.  In 1807 he purchased 100 acres of land, (the farm where Mr. SKINNER now lives) about one and a half miles northwest of the Court House.  He built a temporary cabin, and lived in it during the summer.  In the meantime he built a good log house, and lived in that until about 1822, when he built the house SKINNER now lives in. 
     They had three small children when they came here.  In place of a Stewart cook stove he rolled a large log up in front of his cabin, built a fire beside the log, and then on a crane they hung their kettles.  The crane was hung on the log.  Thus they did their cooking in the open air; a very good place for women to work in the summer time.  It is claimed that the early settlers were much healthier than women are now, on account of being more exposed to the air in open houses.
     Mrs. Elvira PELTON, residing east of the village, is the only one of Daniel WEBSTER's family now living in this township.  She is seventy three years old.  Mr. WEBSTER and his wife lived to a good old age, and died with the Christian's hope, at the old homestead.
     William WEBSTER bought the old homestead of his father, Deacon Michael WEBSTER, and carried on the farm until his death, which occurred in 1859, at the age of 40.  He married Miss Gertrude WADE, niece of Senator WADE.  She remained on the farm until 1863, then sold it and moved into the village. 

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Some time after, she and her brother E. C. WADE, bought their pleasant residence on Jefferson street.  Their house was built by E. F. ABELL about 1853.
     There were many lively incidents occuring in the time of the early settlers, to break the monotony of wilderness life.  About early settlers, to break the monotony of wilderness life.  About 1814, Mr. WEBSTER procured a large trap and set it for wolves, partly to make money, (as there was a bounty of about fifty cents on a wolf then,) and partly to keep them from prowling around the houses for prey.  In a short time he had caught seven wolves.
     at this time the HICKOK family had settled near him.  Both of them had small cornfields, and a bear was destroying their corn every night.  They thought they would try their luck in trapping the bear; accordingly Uncle Daniel and Eben HICKOK, set the trap in the cornfield, in the evening.  The one that got there first in the morning, and found the bear in the trap, was to blow a horn, and all the men and boys in the neighborhood would rally.  They had chained a heavy clog to the trap, so that the bear should not drag it off.  Eben HICKOK was there early, and found that the trap, clog and all, were gone.  He blew the horn and they were soon all running there to see the bear.  But no bear was there.  They could easily see the trail the trap and clog had made, in tearing down the bushes through the woods.  They followed it about a mile north of the Griffi's mill, when they came u0p with the bear, who, with his hind foot in the trap, had become tired of drawing so heavy a load, and had stopped to rest.  Eben HICKOK stepped up and hit him a blow with an ax.  The bear whirled around, and Eben stepped back.  Uncle Daniel rushed up, and says, "Do you think of killing a bear with an ax?"  The bear sprung at him, and it was with the greatest effort that he escaped being crushed between the bear's great claws and teeth.  They then shot him and by close fighting they soon brought him to terms.  It was an exceedingly large bear, and having been fattened on corn, the meat made very good eating.  Mrs. Pelton tells me they had lard enough from the bear to fry cakes for their family all winter.
     The principal food, the first year, was corn bread and venison.  The corn was ground in a very primitive fashion, which

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I will attempt to describe.  To make the mill, a large log was cut square off, about three feet long.  This was set on end; in the end was then chopped, burned, and gouged out, a cavity, a foot or more deep.  When this was done, and made as smooth as the rude tools then in use could make it. a spring pole, from a crack between the logs of the house, was fixed.  A leather thong, or piece of rope, from the end of the spring pole to a hard wood pestle, completed the mill.  The corn was put in the mortar, and by the use of much muscle, the pestle was brought down on the corn, which was reduced to meal.  It was a laborious way to get bread, but did any one ever taste sweeter bread than was made from such meal?
     About 1808-9 Michael Webster, senior, Daniel Squires, and Elemuel Webster moved to Jefferson from Franklin, New York.  Michael Webster, sen., had a family of twelve children, six boys and six girls; they had nearly all arrived at manhood, and had families of their own, when he came here, and resided in this township some time; three of his sons' farms joined lands lying on and near where the two roads at the west end of Jefferson street diverge, and both lead to Eagleville.  Old Mr. Webster's house was on the west side of the street, opposite the school house.  He died at the uncommon age of 105 years.  His only surviving child is Mrs. Polly Webster, whose first husband was a Mr. Osborn.  She is now a widow, living with her son-in-law Mr. Sanford, in Conneaut.  She is nearly 100 years old, Elemuel Webster improved the farm and built the house where Mr. Abell lives now.  About 1855. Elemuel Webster was killed instantly by lightning when going home, on the street, about forty rods northeast from his house.  His widow is now living in Washington, D. C.
     Daniel Squires, son-in-law of Michael Webster, sen., settled between the two roads, where Clinton Montgomery lives.  Mrs. S. said when they were moving here they had to take their wagons apart when they came over the Ashtabula hills and bring them, with their furniture, over by hand.  Mr. Squires was the most skillful hunter in Jefferson.  As his neighbors were chop ping the timber down around him, he was not content there; he wanted to be near ample hunting grounds.  In 1829 he purchased three hundred acres of land on the Dorset road, where

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Pitt Nims is living.  He moved on to his land with his family, and was the first settler on that road between the residence of the late Dr. Hawley, and the northeast corner of Lenox.
     Then the wolves and deer had full control of that part of the town.  The wolves often held musical conventions there, but they did not like their new neighbor, and retreated farther into the forest, and Mr. Squires trusty rifle soon thinned out the deer.  He took it for his task to kill one hundred deer a year; and it was said that some years he killed more than that number.  He died about 1835, he had quite a large family, but all of them have moved away from Jefferson. 
     In 1812, Durlin Hickok, senior, emigrated from Sheffield, Berkshire county, Mass., to Jefferson, with his family, consisting of sixteen persons, including two sons-in-law, James Loomis. and Noah Hoskin, senior.  There were eight of their own children. They moved with three two horse wagons, one one-horse wagon, and one ox wagon.  Several other families came with them and settled in Madison, Lake county.  They made quite an imposing train, traveling through the new settlement in the State of New York.  There is nothing known of their journey worth noticing here, until they arrived at Buffalo, which was then a small village; and as it was then about the commencement of the war with England, it was burnt by the British soon after.  There were five hundred Indians in one company passing through Buffalo, to hold a council of war.
     Mr. Hickok's train, after leaving Buffalo, was soon on the verge of what every early settler in Northern Ohio (from the East,) knows to be that dreadful Four Mile Swamp.  It required a whole day to get through these woods.  Many used to travel on the beach of the Lake past these woods, but this was very dangerous, as storms frequently arose, driving them close to the bank, and the high waves overwhelming their horses and wagons.  There were also British vessels on the Lake, with their spy-glasses, watching to rob unarmed teams on the beach.  A short time before, they had robbed two wag on loads of leather or. the beach, which were coming West.  Mr. Hickok's teams traveled part of the time on the beach, and part of the way on the bank of the Lake.  At one time they saw two British vessels opposite them.  They immediately put

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     About 1809, a Mr. Shook built a log cabin on the creek that the street crosses, one-half mile directly north of the Court House; one and one-half mile west of said street and close by the cabin he built a rude grist mill for grinding wheat and corn.  The first flour made in Jefferson was made in this mill.  As there was quite a fall in the stream, he built a dam fifty of sixty rods above the mill, he then brought the water in a race to the mill, giving a fall of 15 feet.  He made a wheel I5 feet in diameter, with tight buckets.  The force and weight of the water pouring into these buckets turned the wheel quite fast.  Three or four wooden cog wheels attached to this with a shaft running up into the mill stones, constituted the machinery.  Rude as it was it made very good flour, and the boys for many miles around went there to mill with the bags strapped to the back of the horse and they on top of the bags.
     In 1814, James Loomis bought the grist mill of Shook, moved into the log cabin by the mill and run it about 9 years.  It then gave out, and we had no more flour made in Jefferson for 14 years.  He then built a frame house where the house now stands lately owned by L. R. Griffis, north of the cemetery, and resided there until his death, which occurred Dec. 25th, 1866.  He was by trade a stone cutter, and after he left the mill, he turned his attention in that direction, obtaining the stone in Thompson, Geauga County, where he bought a quarry, and many of the cemeterys in the county still contain specimens of his handiwork, and also stone for building purposes, are found in many buildings.
     From 1820 to '30, the main article with which farmers bought nails, glass, &c, for building, was black salts which were made from ashes gathered where they burnt their log heaps to clear their land.  They built large leaches near where the ashes were made for the purpose of getting the strength of the ashes into lye.  In large kettles hung an poles, the lie was boiled down until it became hard like maple sugar; this was galled black salts.  As oxen were used mostly in farming, Captain Loomis having a good span of horses and a wagon, was often employed in hauling these salts to Pittsburg, Pa., (which was then on a road most of the way through an unsettled forest) and returning with such articles as farmers needed.

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     Rufus Hawley, great-grand-father of Adelbert K. Hawley, came from here in 1819, from Connecticut, in a one horse chaise, to see his relatives here, and perform some missionary labor, he being a Presbyterian preacher.  I heard him preach in the old Court House.  He was a very pleasant appearing man.  While traveling through the wilderness in the State of New York, there came a robber behind his chaise, and seeing he was an aged man, supposed he would offer no resistance, and commenced unfastening his trunk, but the old gentleman being quick of thought, put out through the window the butt end of a large black driving whip saying, "I'll blow you through if you don't leave."  The robber left the trunk instantly.  After remaining a few months, he returned to Connecticut.  He died at the age of 85.
     Timothy R. Hawley removed with his family from Hartford county, Connecticut, to the township of Morgan, in 1802, coming on the lake from Buffalo, in an open boat, coasting along the shore during the day, and landing to pitch their tents at night.  Morgan was then an almost unbroken wilderness.  He and his family were subject to the usual hard ships of the early settlers.  He cleared up quite a farm in Morgan.  As he understood surveying, he operated largely in the business in Ashtabula county.  In 1811, he was appointed County Clerk, (the Judges of the Court, appointed the Clerks at that time,) he then removed to Jefferson and held the office until 1828.  Mr. Freithy put a frame up on the spot where the late Dr. Hawley's house now stands.  Timothy R. Hawley bought the frame, enclosed it and kept a hotel, with but little finish inside.  About 1822, he built the present front of his late residence.  He lived there until his death, which occurred in 1828, at the age of 58.  They had a family of ten children; only five of them arrived at maturity. Thales, the oldest son. lived in this town a single man; he died in 1831, at the age of 32.  He was a house joiner; he built what is now called the "Smith house" west of the Court House, he also put up the frame of the front part of the house where Israel Turner now lives, intending to finish it for a store for his own use, but died of a fever soon after it was raised. The late Dr. Almon Hawley, his

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second son, was well known here by the present citizens, he came here with his father when he was ten years old.  As soon as he was old enough, he went to Yale college, attended a full course, and graduated at that Institution in 1828.  He arrived home just in time to stand by the bed side of his dying father.  He then settled down in the old homestead, and soon began to make extensive repairs on the house.  He was the first settled physician in town; he always felt a deep interest and took an active part in any thing for the welfare of the place, he followed his profession as practising physician until his death, which occurred in l876, while visiting his friends in the west, at the age of 75.  There is but one surviving child of Timothy R. Hawley's family, Mrs. Celia Dunn, of Quincy, Ills.  There are five families of his grand-children living, who were raised in Jefferson, namely; Mrs. A. D. Olds, of the State of New York; Mrs. Milo A. Loomis; A. K. Hawley and T. E. Hawley, of Jefferson and Mrs. Clinton E. Udell, of St. Louis; also a number of others, the children of Kent Hawley, Mrs. Celia Dunn and Mrs. Sophia Stone Mather, mother of T. H. Stone, of Geneva. 
     A. K. Hawley has kindly furnished me with an old relic found among his grandfather's papers, which I think will interest the reader, although the incident stated, does not relate immediately to Jefferson, yet as his life, as I stated in a former page, was mostly spent in Jefferson, we like to have his whole history, although it does infringe a little on the history of Morgan. 
     Timothy K. Hawley, came to Ohio, in the spring of 1801, as surveyor for the Torringford Land Company, and surveyed the township of Morgan, also cut and cleared a road from Austinburg to Gustavus that year.  Draton M. Curtis was his assistant or axe man for that season, and returned to Connecticut late in the fall, and in 1802 Mr. Hawley left Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut, on the 12th day of April; came on by way of Albany to Whitlestown, thence to Buffalo, New York, where he had to wait ten days for Dr. O. K. Hawley, D. M. Curtis, and Erastus Austin, to come down from Ohio with a small open boat after them.

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At Buffalo, Mr. Hawley purchasedI barrel of flour, 1 barrel of salt and I bushel of peas, at $3.  He then left Buffalo, in the boat, with all of their goods, he wife and three children, Dr. O. K. Hawley, his wife and one child and their goods, Chancy Hawley in company; after being on the lake about a week, arrived all safe at Ashtabula creek, and came in the night about nine o'clock, on the first day of June.  He sent their teams on through the woods to Ashtabula, thence he came to Austinburg, and about the first of July he moved into Morgan with his family, where they were well accommodated with a good log cabin, built by Deacon Nathaniel Gillett; it was well covered with elm bark and the floors laid with the same.  His was the first family that moved into Morgan.  Mr. Hawley planted two or three acres with potatoes, corn and pumpkins, and his family had to live through the next winter, mostly on what he raised; the pumpkins and potatoes were boiled and eaten with milk, the corn was some of it ground at Mr. Humphrey's mill in Austinburg, some of it was pounded in a large wooden mortar, and some of the corn was boiled whole Mr. Hawley with Deacon Gillett went with a one horse dray in January, to Smithfield, now called Williamsfield, and purchased a barrel of pork at $25 per barrel, and drew it home on the dray.  The cattle were mostly kept on browse through the winter.  The Chippewa Indians were numerous and used to supply the inhabitants with bear meat, venison, elk, wild turkeys, etc.  In the summer, Captain Wright moved his family into Morgan; and in the fall Deacon Gillett and Mr. Hozeah Wilcox moved in their families, and the second and third winters, the inhabitants lived about the same as the first.  Timothy R. Hawley continued surveying for the first ten years, most of the time for the Torringford Company.
     Ashtabula county was formed June 7, 1807, from Trumbull and Geauga, and organized Jan. 22, 1811.  Soon after its organization, there began to be a stir among what few citizens there were in the county, as to which township should have the Court House.  In 1808 Austinburg had

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cleared away a place from the timber and brush, made it look as inviting as possible, and requested the Commissioners to come and locate it there.
     In the mean time, Mr. Granger and his settlers were not idle.  They invited the Commissioners to Jefferson.  They went to Austinburg and looked at that place, and two or three of the citizens there came with them to Jefferson.  Mrs. Warner says she entertained them and cooked for them in her log cabin, while they staid.  Mr. Granger agreed to build the Court House.  He made a previous agreement with Mr. Warner and Mr. Webster to furnish the hewn timber.  The Commissioners taking into consideration, that it being about the center of the county, together with Mr. Granger's offer, located the county seat at Jefferson. 
     In 1810 Mr. Granger engaged men by the names of Duty and Warren, (I think) to make the brick for the Court House.  It does not appear who was the architect.  It was a brick building about 30 by 40 feet on the ground, two stories high with a very steep roof.  The whole was a very plain building without cornice or ornament.  The court room occupied all of the lower story.  The upper story had a hall through the middle with two about equal sized rooms, (15 feet square) on either side, for county officers and jurors.  Stoves were not in use then.  There were four brick chimneys built from the foundation up,  with eight fire places, four of which were in the court room below and one in each of the upper rooms.  The buildings was completed in 1811.  There was a cage built on the east side of the court room, about 4 feet square, surrounded with pickets sharpened at the top, to hold the prisoners when they were brought into court.
     A prominent lawyer did some sharp practice once on the court, by requesting a private interview with his client, one of the prisoners, in the cage called the prisoner's bar.  It was granted.  It being in the evening he took him outside the door; knowing him to be guilty, he said to the prisoner, there is but one way that I can clear you, that is for you to pay me my fees and run with all your might.  The prisoner took his advice, and acted on it so promptly, he did

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not stop long enough even to pay the fees.  The lawyer went into court apparently quite apparently quite excited, informing the court that his client had given him the slip.  By that time he was out of the reach of justice.
     There was a square box built beside the prisoner's cage, about four feet high, for the crier.  The crier was a permanent officer in the courts, and was as much of a fixture as the Judge.  His duty was to make at the opening of each court as near as I can recollect, the following speech:
     "Hear ye!  Hear ye!  Hear ye!  All ye that have anything to do or say before the Honorable Court of Common Pleas, now sitting within and for the County of Ashtabula, as Suitors, Attorneys, Jurors or Witnesses: draw near and you shall be heard; for said Honorable Court is now open."
     Lemuel Webster was crier for several years.
     There were but one or two log cabins about the Court House square when it was decided where to build it and no place suitable to board the workmen.  Those men who had the job of making the brick, built, about one rod east of the present Beckwith House, a double log hotel.  That is, two log houses about 8 feet apart, with the roof extending over the space between.  This made a hall, with the ground for a floor, with a door opening on either side into the rooms.  After the workmen were through and the Court House completed, it being then the only hotel in town, most of those attending court, went there to board.  On a rough bench, chairs or stools, standing on the ground in this hall, in warm summer days, many a lawyer has discussed politics and law, and studied arguments for his client.  Where are those lawyers now?  I will speak more of them hereafter.
     Previous to this, in 1807 or '8, a Mr. Calwell built a large two story frame hotel, on the spot now occupied by the residence of Judge Chaffee.  It was completed, except plastering, but was doomed never to be finished.  Its destruction was due to the same agency which has destroyed many other fine hopes and houses - whisky and fire.