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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
1798
History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio
with Illustrations
and Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers Most Prominent Men
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers
1878
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DR. D. A. HAMILTON was
born at Blandford, Massachusetts, Mar. 12, 1807, and died at
Chardon, June 7, 1867.
He was graduated M.D. at the medical college of
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and came to Hambden, Geauga County, in
1830, having, it is said, just fifteen cents when he arrived there.
Here he commenced practice, and though he remained but a year, he
made an impression of use to him, on his removal to Chardon, not
remote, a year later.
Apr. 26, 1833, he was joined in marriage with Susan,
a daughter of Judge Noah Hoyt, a most excellent and highly
esteemed woman, whom he survived and was married a second time.*
Dr. Hamilton was slight in figure, of pleasant
countenance and address, of fair capacity and great industry.
He was an enthusiast in his profession, and kept up with its current
literature. After many years of practice, he attended a
regular course of lectures at the Willoughby Medical College, and
was quite abreast of all advances of his school. Loving and
honoring his profession above all things, an intense hater of every
form of quackery, intolerant of all kinds of medical heterodoxy, his
industry and zeal, his fidelity to duty and the sick, soon carried
him to quite the head of his profession in Geauga County, which he
maintained, notwithstanding his shattered health, to the day of his
death. When once enlisted in a case, no time, no labor, no
fatigue, no cost was counted, save as dross, against success.
Kindly natured, tender, and full of sympathy, he became the warm and
steady friend of his patients, estimating their steady regard and
confidence as vastly above all other compensation. Capable of
great personal sacrifice and devotion, a defection from his school,
an abandonment of himself, was
the sorest wound he could receive, and sometimes provoked
resentment, when there was an element of personal ingratitude in the
desertion. As he was the stanchest and warmest of
friends, so his enemies found him always alert to return blows,
which he sometimes anticipated.
In two memorable criminal cases he became an important
expert witness,—in each for the defense. The case of Ohio vs.
Barnes, for murder, arose soon after Dr. Hamilton
became a resident of Chardon. It was a horrible case: a young
girl set upon in the woods, outraged, and strangled. The
prosecution permitted the case to rest largely on the proof of the
outrage, in which the evidence was not precise, while there could be
no doubt of the murder. Dr. Hamilton showed
quite conclusively on the stand the weakness of the criminative
evidence on this point. The case, however, went
off on the doubt of the defendant's identity with the murderer, and
he was undoubtedly properly acquitted. Dr. Hamilton
showed himself a master of all the medical aspects of the case.
In the later ease of Cole, for the murder of his
wife, tried once in Geauga, and again in Ashtabula, the defendant
was indicted for causing death by strychnine. The moral
evidence was overwhelming; the scientific inconclusive. On
this point the labors of Dr. Hamilton and his younger
associate, Dr. Mixer, under the solicitation and
urgency of Mr. Thrasher, counsel for Cole, were
something amazing in the number and variety of their experiments,
the time, skill, and zeal they expended in their cases under various
conditions. Dr. Hamilton felt hurt by the manner
in which the leading counsel for the State dealt with his testimony,
and it led to a suspension, almost the destruction, of a life-long
friendship.
Outside his profession, Dr. Hamilton was
an ardent politician, and a liberal public-spirited citizen, of a
high and fine sense of personal integrity and honor, never
questioned by his enemies; the kindest of neighbors, the truest of
friends, the most zealous of patriots, his death was a loss still
deplored, and in some respects not to be restored.
Source: History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, Williams Brothers - 1878 - Pg. 124
*For the fruits of the first marriage, see the
Hoyts. |
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THE HAYDENS
Source: History of Geauga and Lake
Counties, Ohio, Publ. Philadelphia by Williams Brothers - 1878 -
Page 184
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I. N. Hathaway |
ISAAC NEWTON HATHAWAY
Source: History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, Williams Brothers - 1878 - Pg. 6
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James Hathaway |
JAMES
HATHAWAY.
Of the men who emigrated to the Reserve in youth with
the limited advantages for education of an eastern boy of that day,
and who sought to make his way by the literal labor of his own
hands, quite the first place should be accorded to him whose fine
head and striking face are here illustrated.
Mr. Hathaway arrived in Geauga County in
1813 or 1814, and went into the employment of Lott
Hathaway, a distant relative, in east, or rather northeast,
Claridon, where he remained about a year in that hardest and
healthiest work, chopping and clearing land. From there he
became employed about the old Higby mill, so often spoken of
as in the south part of Hambden, but which really was in the north
part of Claridon.
Afterwards he became the owner of a steam-mill in
Hambden, which he ran with his usual enterprise and success, and to
which he added a still.
Mr. Hathaway, to a shrewd, strong mind of
unusual vigor, added that cultivation which may be acquired by a
very busy man from books and newspapers and in a wide intercourse
with men and the active world, and early became one of the best
informed men of the county, as he was one of the foremost men of
business in it. These qualities, joined with his acknowledged
integrity of character, early indicated him as one of the fittest
for the offices of the township, many of which he held. He was
for many years a justice of the peace, and his admirable judgment,
practical good sense, and the general respect of the people secured
confidence in his decisions.
In 1842 he was a candidate before the county Whig
convention for the office of sheriff, with every prospect of a
nomination, when an enemy circulated a slander with such adroit and
malignant industry as to defeat him. It was at once seen and
felt to be a malicious falsehood; but the temporary mischief was
done, though it as speedily recoiled on the head of its propagator.
This wrong was afterward repaired by a nomination and
election, followed by a re-election to this office. The law
made a. man ineligible to a third term. Mr. Hathaway
had already made himself familiar with the pension laws, and became
one of the most sagacious and successful prosecutors of claims,—a
business which he conducted for some years at Chardon, of which
place he became a resident when elected sheriff'.
He subsequently became a large purchaser of pine lands
in the northwest, and a dealer in western lands. Ultimately he
removed West, and died there several years ago.
Our artist’s sketch represents him as late in life,
after his robust constitution was broken by severe illness and his
full habit had yielded. He was of medium height, fine head,
and handsome, manly face and features. He was a man of great
vigor and activity of mind, a thorough business man, employing none
but honorable expedients. He was one of the kindest of men,
generous and liberal in his dealings. He was widely known and
generally respected and esteemed. The duties of sheriff' were
performed with ability, fidelity, and promptitude.
He married and reared a family of sons and daughters.
Of these the well known Hon. I. N. Hathaway is the oldest.
Mrs. Hathaway survives her husband,- a
lady greatly esteemed for her virtues and excellences.
Source: History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, Williams Brothers - 1878 - Pg. 127 |
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REUBEN HITCHCOCK,
lawyer, born at Burton, Geauga County, Ohio, Sept. 2, A.D. 1806, and
now (1878) living at Painesville, Lake Co., Ohio, was the son of
Peter Hitchcock, hereinbefore noticed, and Nabbie Cook.
His parents were married in 1805, and in the following year removed
to Burton from Cheshire, Connecticut, where they had both previously
lived. He received his preparatory education at the Burton
Academy, his preceptor being Rev. David S. Coe; and in the spring of
1823 entered Yale College, having made the journey there from Burton
on horseback. In September, 1826, he graduated and returned to
his home in Ohio, where, for the next three years, he had charge of
the same academy where he had acquired his preparatory education.
His spare time was occupied with the study of law in his father's
office. In 1831 he was, by the Supreme Court of the State of Geauga
County, admitted to practice in the several courts of the State, and
at once removed to Painesville, where he commenced practice in
partnership with Stephen Mathews. This association
continued but a short time, and after a few years he formed a
copartnership with Eli T. Wilder, now of Minnesota, which
continued until the year 1841, when he was appointed by the governor
president judge of the court of common pleas for that district.
Having most satisfactorily performed the duties of this appointment,
he resumed practice in Painesville with Mr. Wilder,
and continued it until 1846, when he removed to Cleveland, and
formed a partnership with H. V. Willson and Edward Wade,
under the firm-name of Hitchcock, Willson & Wade. This
firm ranked among the first in the State. In 1850 he was
elected from Cuyahoga county to the constitutional convention of the
State, and was an influential member of that body. He also
there rendered especial service in devising a system for the
liquidation of the public debt of the State. In 1851 he
returned to Painesville to live, still retaining some business
interests in Cleveland, and in the same year was elected judge of
the court of common pleas of the district of which Lake County was
part. This position he filled with acknowledged ability until
January, 1855, when he yielded to the solicitation of Governor
Tod that he should take an active part in the management of
the Cleveland and Mahoning railroad. Resigning his place on
the bench, he became vice-president and general legal adviser of
that company, and continued to devote his time and attention closely
to its business until the road was substantially completed.
Although this road proved a decided success, the company was much
embarrassed during its construction, and his position was
consequently one of much labor and anxiety. When measurably
relieved from active service here, he resumed practice in Cleveland
with James Mason and E. J. Estep, under the style of
Hitchcock, Mason & Estep, his time being divided between
the railroad company and that firm until 1865, when he retired from
general practice, but retained his connection with the railroad
company, as director and general adviser. Soon after his
admission to the bar he attained a high standing as a lawyer, and
his practice extended throughout northern Ohio, and continued thus
extensive until his retirement, as aforesaid. His familiarity
with the affairs of said railroad, and with railroad management and
legislation generally, led to his appointment, in 1869, as receiver
MORE TO COME UPON REQUEST
Source: History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, Williams Brothers - 1878 - Pg. 61
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ALONZO
HOSMER. was born in
Middle Haddon, Middlesex county, Connecticut, Feb. 9, 1778.
His father, Zachariah Hosmer, was a soldier in the war
of the Revolution. In 1812 he came to Ohio with his uncle,
Lewis Smith, and settled in Parkman. Here he began
at that early age the life of industry which distinguished him ever
after. He lived for some time in the family of Mr.
Parkman, and was went in after-life often to refer to the
incidents of that time. He was then “just at the age ‘twixt
boy and youth," when the excitements of pioneer life, the contests
with the wild beasts which abounded in the forests, as well as the
social enjoyments peculiar to the time, would make the deepest
impression. During a residence in Parkman as boy and man of
more than sixty years, he was noted for those qualities which form
the staple of American character. With industry, energy, sobriety,
perseverance, and self-reliance, he laid the foundation of a
prosperous life, and built upon it a stable superstructure.
As an illustration of some of these characteristics we
may cite the fact that when about eighteen years of age he built a
bridge across a small stream west of the village with no instrument
but his axe, which he used in felling the trees and cutting them
into logs of the right length, which he carried on his back and
adjusted to their place, and by this means earned the materials for
a new coat.
Before he became of age, in the winter of 1819, he,
with a brother, contracted to clear a piece of land, and while doing
it they occupied a room in a log house, living mainly on
johnny-cake, which they baked in the evening after their day's work
was finished, and sleeping at night on the bare floor of their room,
keeping themselves warm by a fire in the large fireplace.
Soon after this he purchased a farm in the northeast
part of the town, on the Mesopotamia road, built a log house, and
began in earnest the work of bringing it under cultivation. In
1822 he was married, at Stafford, Genesee county, New York, to
Miss Asenath Biddlecomb, daughter of Daniel Biddlecomb.
She was a woman every way fitted to be the wife of a pioneer, and
one who fully sustained her portion of the labor, as well as shared
the pleasures of those early times, and of the years that followed
till her death, in 1863. She was surely entitled to the
commendation of Napoleon, as she was the mother of twelve children,
all but one of whom survived her and lived to adult age, and who
hold her memory in tender
reverence.
Mr. Hosmer may be called the representative
farmer of Parkman; and as he honored his calling, so his calling
honored him, and his original acres were in creased from time to
time, till at his death they numbered more than three hundred and
fifty lying nearly in a solid body.
His increasing family in a few years made the log house
too small for occupation, and it was replaced by a commodious frame
one more suitable to their wants.
Mr. Hosmer was the first farmer in Parkman who
kept a sufficient number of cows to render cheese-making an
important part of farm-products, and his success gave the first
impetus to a business which has now become the rule rather than the
exception.
He was universally respected as a. citizen, and his death, which
took place Dec. 28, 1876, broke one of the few remaining links which
join the present with the past. At the time of his death but
three persons remained who were inhabitants of the town when he
first entered it in 1812.
He had been for many years a member of the Masonic
fraternity, and was buried with the ceremonies of the order on the
last day of the Centennial year.
In 1870 he married Mrs. Elizabeth Cooper, who
survives him. His children have settled in several of the
western States, except two sons, John P. and Charles,
who remain in Parkman and follow their father's useful and honorable
occupation. His youngest son, Charles H. Hosmer, owns
the homestead, which will doubtless remain in the family for another
generation. Two other sons - Alonzo, who was a member
of the Forty-first Regiment, and was wounded at Shiloh, Chickamauga,
and New Hope Church, and Sylvester Perry in the
navy-rendered faithful service to the country in the war of the
Rebellion.
In politics Mr. Hosmer was a Republican;
in his religious opinions he was a Uuiversalist.
Source: History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, Williams Brothers - 1878 - Pg. 160 |
William Howard |
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THE
HOYTS.
This family group formed for many years an important
and interesting feature in the society and history of Chardon.
The numerous descendants are widely scattered.
JUDGE NOAH HOYT
was a native of Danbury, Connecticut,
and his wife, Rhoda Waters, a native of Richmond, of the same
State. We have not the date of their marriage, nor removal to
Chardon, Ohio, nor yet of their deaths. He died at Chardon, at
the age of eighty-four. His wife survived him a few years, and
died at the age of eighty-nine. In New York he was elected a
judge, and removed to Chardon in 1822 or 1823. They were
shrewd, intelligent persons, of whom many pleasant anecdotes are
remembered. Mrs. Hoyt especially was noted for
her quaint wit and shrewd sayings, a talent which is pleasantly
shared by several of her descendants. Of their five children,
SYLVESTER N. HOYT,
only son, was born in 1795, and died in
Chardon in 1854, at the age of fifty-nine. He held the office
of county treasurer for fourteen years; was a man of more than
average ability and superior intelligence.
His wife was Eleanor Converse, sister of
Hon. Julius Converse, governor of Vermont, and
also of the late Jude Converse, of Chardon. They were
married in 1823, and removed to Chardon in 1824, where they resided
until the death of Mr. Hoyt, after which Mrs.
Hoyt removed to Cleveland, where she resides. Mrs.
Hoyt is a superior woman, endowed with a fine person, great
intelligence, and pleasing manners. In her young days was
possessed of a fine voice, and excelled as a vocalist.
Of the children of Sylvester and Eleanor, one
daughter, Susan, is the wife of E. B. Hale, Esq., the
well-known banker of Cleveland. They have a fine family.
The younger daughter, Mary, is the wife of J. S. Tilden,
Esq., also of Cleveland. Of the sons, George, has
for years been the popular city editor of the Plain Dealer, married
Abbie Worthington, of Cleveland, and resides there.
The second son, Henry, married Helen, the daughter of
Orlando Cutter, of Cleveland, and resides in
Pennsylvania. Frank, the youngest, unmarried, lived in
Topeka, Kansas. He died recently.
The eldest daughter of the elder Hoyts, Mary
Ann, became the wife of Dr. Scott, of Parkman,
and the mother of a numerous family. The second daughter,
Caroline, became the wife of Eleazar Paine, and
mother of General H. E., George E., James H., and
Mrs. Eli Bruce. Subsequently to the death of Mr.
Paine, she became the wife of Rev. Mr. Eaton,
moved away, became the-mother of two daughters, and died several
years ago. Another daughter, Susan, became the wife of
Dr. L. A. Hamilton, late of Chardon, also the mother of
Charles and Eugene, of New York; Cornelia, the
wife of Mr. Barna, of Cleveland; Mary,
unmarried, who resides with Mrs. Barna; and Maria,
the wife of Mr. Cowan, also of Cleveland. The
third daughter of Judge Hoyt, Maria, at ripe
years, became the wife of Ira Webster, Esq.,
late of Chardon, a well-known citizen of that town.
Of this whole group, all the seniors, except Mrs.
Eleanor Hoyt, of Cleveland, have passed away.
Source: History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, Williams Brothers - 1878 - Pg. 123 |
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GOVERNOR SAMUEL
HUNTINGTON. Samuel Huntington, one of the most
distinguished characters in early Ohio history, was born in
Coventry, Connecticut, Oct. 4, 1765, and was designated, as the
Norwich records show, Samuel 3d. He was the
protégé
and adopted son of Samuel Huntington,
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, president of
Congress, and governor of Connecticut. The subject of this
sketch graduated at Yale, 1785, and had for those times a very
complete education. He was a man of great refinement, and very
polished and courtly in his manner and address. Old letters
speak of him as being small in person, but of fine presence, and a
man of remarkable activity. He was married in 1791 to
Hannah, daughter of Judge Andrew Huntington; was admitted
to the bar in Norwich, and remained there practicing his profession
with his uncle until his decease, when he made a visit to Ohio.
This was in the year 1800, and in the following year Mr.
Huntington removed to Cleveland, bringing his wife. He was
immediately introduced to public life, and it followed naturally
that, with his talents, activity, ambition, and force of character,
he was successful. He appears to have belonged to the moderate
Republican faction in politics, and to have retained the confidence
of the Federalists. He was appointed by Governor St. Clair
in 1802 lieutenant-colonel of the Trumbull county militia regiment,
and a little later one of the justices of the quorum. He took
by common consent priority on the bench of quarter sessions, and his
advancement was rapid from the time he first entered the country
until his untimely death. In 1802 he was one of the delegates
to the convention which framed the State constitution, and after its
adoption was elected senator from Trumbull county, which then
included the whole Reserve; and on the meeting of the first
Legislature at Chillicothe was chosen speaker. The first
commission given under the authority of the State, made by Govern
Tiffin, appointed him as one of the three judges of the Supreme
Court. In the following year he was made chief judge, and he
held this position until 1808, when he was elected governor.
The office of receiver of public moneys at Steubenville was offered
him by President Jefferson, as was also that of judge in the
territory of Michigan; but both were declined. During the war
of 1812 he was paymaster in the army of the Northwest. Old
records show that Samuel Huntington was one of the largest
among the original land-owners of Cleveland. City lots 1 to 6,
61, 75, 76, 78, 80 to 84, 190 to 194, 206, and 210, were in his
possession. About the time that he removed to Painesville he
exchanged a portion, if not the whole, of these lots with John
Walworth for the present farm property of his sons, Colbert
and Julian C. He came to Painesville in the year 1805,
and remained in that place during the few years left of his life.
He was one of the original proprietors of Fairport, and aided in
founding that place. Governor Huntington's interests
and acquaintance were at no period confined to the immediate
locality in which he dwelt. He was known and honored
throughout the State, traveled about much through the Reserve,
always occupied with some project for the advancement of the
country's condition, and constantly exerted a strong influence.
Once, while making a journey to Cleveland upon horseback, it is
related that he came very near losing his life from the rapacity of
a pack of wolves, which attacked him while his horse was foundering
through a swamp near what is now the corner of Euclid and Willson
avenues. The horse did his part nobly, and the rider, who had
no firearms upon his person, kept the savage animals at safe
distance with an umbrella, though they followed him almost to the
door of the big double log house south of Superior street, at which
he stopped. It should be borne in mind that Mr. Huntington
rose to the dignified and honorable position of governor when
only about forty-three years of age. He was a man capable of
filling almost any position ably, and had his career extended over a
few years more than it did he would doubtless have attained even a
higher place in the service of the State or nation than that of
governor. As it was, he made an impression upon the men of his
time that outlasted his life, and exerted an influence that no doubt
had a very favorable effect upon Cleveland and Painesville, the
places of his residence. He died June 8, 1817, and his widow
Nov. 29, 1818.
The following additional matter relating to Governor
Huntington is taken from vol. xix., book v. of manuscripts in
possession of the Western Reserve Historical Society. These
extracts are evidently in Charles Whittlesey's handwriting:
Samuel Huntington made his first visit to Ohio
in 1800. He traveled over the usual route from Connecticut by
way of New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Mr.
Huntington was the nephew and protégé of Governor
Huntington, of Connecticut, whose name he bore. It is
reputed that he had visited France in early life. Whether this
report is true or not, it is known that the early settlers of Ohio
spoke of his manners as somewhat Frenchified; others say he was a
gentleman of highly polite and polished address, somewhat in
contrast with the rough usages of the pioneers of the west.
His journal shows he was a person of active habits. Soon after
his arrival, July 25, 1800, Mr. Huntington continued his
journey through the forest along the banks of the Ohio to Marietta,
the first settlement in this State. He here formed the
acquaintance of Governor St. Clair and the principal officers
of the territory northwest of the river Ohio. It was his
intention to examine the country as far as Cincinnati, but this
determination was changed, and he returned to Youngstown.
Mr. Huntington was by profession a lawyer, and was a resident of
Norwich, Connecticut, where he married Miss Huntington, a
daughter of Andrew Huntington, about 1793. His
associations at the east had been with the Federal party.
After visiting a large number of the towns of the Reserve east of
the Cuyahoga, he determined to become a resident. In the
territory of the northwest Republicanism was in the ascendant, and
by degrees Mr. Huntington assimilated himself to their ideas
. . . . In person he was neither tall nor short. In
constitution he was inclined to consumption, - a disease which,
while it tends to shorten life, gives brilliancy and precocity to
the intellect. Mr. Huntington, by the serenity and
approachability of his manners, became popular with the settlers.
By his superiority of education he immediately placed himself among
the prominent men of the territory. Having returned to
Connecticut he collected his family and effects, and, in the spring
of 1801, set forward to his new home over the Alleghenies. He
was a member of the Connecticut Land Company, and therefore always
owned real estate on the Western Reserve. The lots in
Cleveland adjoining Bath street were among his drafts.
The first week in October, 1800, was spent in examining
the city of Cleveland. He came from David Abbott's
mill, at Chagrin Falls (Willoughby), along the ridge-road, and
through the settlement in Euclid.
The day, he says, was pleasant and cool. He
lodged with Lorenzo Carter, and sallying forth the next
morning, the elevated plain where the city was laid out was covered
with small oaks. On the west side, which then belonged to the
Indians, he found a "long, deep, stagnant pond," which produced
fever among those who lived near the river. The settlement,
however, was not large or powerful, there being only three families,
all of whom had the fever. After sailing out of the mouth of
the river, in five-feet water, they coasted along the shore a few
miles to the west, and returning, proceeded along the Newbury road
to the ridge, near Kingsbury's From there, looking west over
the wooded plain, the river, and the lake, they saw a prospect
indescribably beautiful. At Newbury Falls, the mill of
Wheeler Williams was found to be nearly completed, and resting
there over the Sabbath, October 5, the party made their way among
the trail to David Hudson's (T. 4, R. 10).
Mr. Huntington selected Cleveland, then in
Trumbull county, as his future abode. A house of hewn logs,
known in those days as a block-house, was erected in the summer of
1801, and in the fall his family, consisting of three children, was
domiciled there.
He was a member of the Constitutional Convention, 1802;
State senator, January, 1803; and speaker, pro tem., March,
1803.
During the year 1807 he removed to a farm on the bank
of Grand river, below Painesville. Previous to the war
Painesville had taken the lead of Cleveland as a future city.
The great State road from the forks of the Muskingum to the lake
(laid out in 1804) terminated at Painesville. Probably on
account of the unhealthiness of the place, Judge Huntington
decided to leave Cleveland. He became interested in the mills
at Newbury, and for a short time removed his family thither.
Negotiations for an exchange of property with the late John
Walworth, Esq., of Painesville, were in progress. Mr.
Walworth had, in 1805, been appointed collector of the district
of Erie, and contemplated residing at Cleveland. In 1807
this exchange was consummated.
Mr. Huntington built his new mansion at one of
the curves of the Grand river, where a long view was had along the
shore in a southerly direction, beyond which the conglomerate hills
of Geauga County had the aspect of mountains. He cut a vista
through the forest of more than a mile in length in order to get a
view of the lake. Some tamarack-trees procured from a swamp
were planted on the lake-front by his own hands, which are still
flourishing and beautiful. The encroachments of the river upon
its banks has destroyed the old road that passed between the house
and the stream. In the winter of 1811-12 he was a member of
the lower house from the county of Geauga. The following
summer was characterized by the prosecution of the war with England.
Our arms were disgraced and the State of Ohio seriously compromised
by the surrender of Hull, at Detroit, in August of that year.
Governor Huntington took an active part in the
defense of the lake country. The surrender took place on the
16th, and on the 24th he was on his way to Washington city with
Colonel Cass, to press upon the department the absolute
necessity of vigorous action. Three regiments of Ohio troops,
the hope and sinew of the State were dissipated and rendered
useless. Having labored assiduously with the department and
aided in procuring money and supplies, he returned in September, in
the capacity of district paymaster, with funds for General
Harrison's troops.
Of his abilities as a lawyer we known but little.
The confidence shown by the Legislature in his professional
qualifications was favorable to his talents, he being then only
thirty-eight years of age. He was active almost to
restlessness. In the year 1815, while engaged in work upon the
road to Fairport, he had the misfortune to break a leg. The
fracture did not unite well, and the confinement it occasioned
greatly impaired his health. This aggravated the
constitutional tendency to pulmonary disease, and finally terminated
his life in June, 1817.
Source: History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, Williams Brothers - 1878 - Pg. 58 |
. |
