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History of
Ashtabula Co., Ohio
SOURCE: History of Ashtabula County, Ohio
Large, Moina W.
Topeka :: Historical Pub. Co.,, 1924, 1132 pgs.
Wayne Township
CHAPTER XXXVIII
ORGANIZED IN 1811 - TOWNSHIP OFFICERS - THE HOME OF JOSHUA R.
GIDDINGS - TITUS HAYS, FIRST SETTLER - EARLY CONDITIONS - FIRST WHITE CHILD -
ESTABLISHMENT OF CHURCHES - SCHOOLS - CHEESE MAKING - MOUNDS
Prior to the year 1811, that section of
Ashtabula County now included in Wayne, Williamsfield, Andover, Colebrook,
Cherry Valley and New Lyme, constituted a part of Green Township, in Trumbull
County. In that year this portion was set out and all included in the new
township of Wayne. The records in the Trumbull County commissioner's office show
that on April 11, 1811, this dissection took place, and at a called meeting,
held at the home of Nathan Fobes, the following township officers
were elected: George Wakeman, Joshua Giddings and
Ezra Woodworth, trustees; Nathaniel Coleman, clerk;
Thomas Ford, treasurer; Titus Hayes and Samuel
Tuttle, overseers of the poor; Zopher Case and Joshua
Fobes, fence viewers; David Fobes, Anson Jones and
Albigance Woodworth, supervisors. Samuel Tuttle and Nathaniel
Coleman were later named justices of the peace for the township. Thus was
organized the town that gave to the country one of the greatest advocates of the
freedom of all men, Joshua R. Giddings, whose late boy and young
manhood years were spent in Wayne, where he obtained the meager education he
acquired in the district school of that part of the township that was long known
by the name of Lindenville. The territory of the township was reduced in 1813 by
taking away New Lyme and Colebrook; in 1819 by Andover and Cherry Valley, and in
1826 Williamsfield withdrew and organized independently, leaving the Wayne
Township of today.
The first white man who disturbed the quietude of
nature in the wilds of Wayne was one Titus Hayes, a young man who happened that
way while trying to connect with the surveying parties of the Connecticut Land
Company that were working in the Western Reserve in 1798. The first real
settlers, however, came in 1803. In 1799 Wayne Township was surveyed into lots,
each of which contained 160 acres. In 1800 Oliver Phelps, one of
the members of the Connecticut Land Company, purchased this township from the
company, and in 1803 he sold 1,500 acres of it to Simon Fobes, of
Somers, Connecticut, who proceeded to the early development of the section. In
the summer of that year he took his son, Joshua, and wife, and another
son, Elias, and started for the new landed possession in Ohio, his
intention being to help them to locate and get established, after which he
expected to return to the East. On the way they were joined by David
Fobes, a cousin of the boys, whose ambition, or a spirit of adventure, had
led him to undertake the hazardous trip and brave the dangers and discomforts of
a life in unknown lands. They were 49 days en route and their journey ended at
the home of Jesse Pelton, who had preceded them a short time and
settled in the center of the township.
When these people had become established in their new home they learned that the
nearest white neighbors were five miles away. They had plenty of Redskin
neighbors, however, and the latter were very good to the newcomers and helped
them in many ways, especially favoring them with gifts of deer and bear meat,
the white men being too busy with their clearing and building operations to
spend time hunting.
This section was quite sparsely settled at that time.
The nearest neighbors on the west were in Windsor Township, 15 miles away; on
the north there were none nearer than Kingsville, about 25 miles, and on the
east the nearest whites were in Meadville, Pa. Five or more miles to the south,
in Gustavus or Kinsman, there were a few settlers with whom they occasionally
came in contact. There were no roads in any direction until the year after the
Fobes families arrived on the scene; then they and the Morgan settlers
cut a road through from the Fobes settlement to the town of Morgan (Rock
Creek), a distance of about 15 miles. By this means the Wayne residents were
able to effect a connection with other roads that gave them access to markets in
distant towns.
Something about Wayne appealed to the fancy of Titus Hayes, the
young engineer who was the first to visit the place, in 1798, but who at that
time made but a transitory call. In the winter of 1804-5 he, in company with
Elisha Giddings, moved with their families from Canandaigua, N. Y.,
to Ohio, and stopped first in Hartford, Trumbull County, where they remained
until the following winter, for the purpose of raising breadstuffs to sustain
them until they could effect a clearing and prepare for future crops in Wayne,
where they intended to locate on forest land, and to which place they journeyed
in the fall. There they settled on adjoining lots, a little northeast of the
center of the township. Others whose names are chronicled as among the early
settlers of Wayne included George Wakeman, Joshua
Giddings (father of Joshua R.), Edward Inman, Henry
Moses, Nathaniel Coleman, Nathan Fobes and
others.
In 1804 Mrs. David Fobes gave
birth to the first white child born in the township. Sarah, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Nathan Fobes, was the bride in the first
wedding ceremony performed in Wayne, that being in 1807, and the groom was
Philemon Brockway. The first death was that of Mrs.
Thankful Fobes, grandmother of Joshua. Her husband
followed her to the beyond only three days later. So it was that the Fobes
family, among the original settlers, were conspicuous in the early life of Wayne
Township, and their descendants were many and may still be found in the interior
localities of the county.
According to the records made by the Rev. Joseph
Badger, who was instrumental in the establishment of many churches in
Ashtabula County, the first Sabbath sermon preached in Wayne was at the home of
Joshua Fobes, on November 2, 1806. Ten years after that the
Congregationalists organized the town's first regular church society. Credit is
given to Linas H. Jones for the following account of the early religious
activities of the township, published in the Williams History of 1878:
"The first church organization in Wayne was
Congregational, formed in 1816. Previous to this, for some years, regular
religious services were held on the Sabbath at private houses, prominent among
which were those of Joshua and Levi Fobes, at the center,
and at the house of Benjamin Ward, on the Hayes road. These
services were conducted by Simon Fobes, a soldier of the
Revolutionary army, consisting of two services of a sermon read at each, with
prayer and singing, in accordance with the usual form of those days, which
practice continued until 1816. At this time an effort was made to establish more
permanently the institutions of the gospel. The citizens of. Wayne and
Williamsfield united in building a place of worship. Neither township was much
settled, except in the contiguous halves of each, and both were under one
township organization. A large house was built of logs, piled one above
the other, and covered with 'shakes'—much like barrel staves, except being less
in thickness—from three and a half to four feet in length. These were laid loose
upon poles, or 'ribs', which ran across the building, for their support, and
were held in their places by poles or weights. The crevices between the logs of
the sides were 'chinked' with wood and mud, making them quite formidable against
the blasts of winter. A floor of boards covered about one-half of the room,
while the remaining portion was the bare earth', except logs, hewed upon the
upper side, to support a floor, when the finances might justify the outlay.
These logs were used as seats, and made a substantial and solid sitting. In
winter a fire was built upon the ground, near the center, the smoke very tardily
making its exit through the crevices in and around the roof, but often tarrying
sufficiently to cause tears, without the aid of eloquence or pathos. After about
two years a floor covered the whole area. A gallery was erected at one end of
the building, which accommodated the choir, as aristocratic, but much less
exclusive, than those of more modern times. In this humble building the citizens
and their families assembled in mass, holding two services each Sabbath,
conducted by deacons, notable among whom were Ezra Leonard,
Norman Wilcox and Calvin Andrews. Occasionally a
missionary would spend a Sabbath with them. The first minister employed by the
church was the Rev. Alvin Coe, for a term of four Sabbaths;
afterwards, one by the name of Bowen, as a candidate for settlement; but he did
not prove acceptable. Early in the summer of 1819 we were visited by the Rev.
Ephraim P. Woodruff, in the capacity of a missionary, of the Missionary
Society of the State of Connecticut, who labored with us several weeks, when
arrangements were made with him to settle with us as our minister, and labor as
such one-half of his time, at a salary of $200 per year, which was to be
increased $10 per year until it reached $250. He was installed as pastor in
August, 1819, and returned to Connecticut for his family, which consisted of his
wife and six children. He returned with his family in October, and settled in
his log house, which had been provided for them in his absence, perfectly
surrounded by forest, with no building nearer than half a mile, except our
lonely looking forest church. One-half of Mr. Woodworth's time was
spent as a missionary among the destitute churches in this part of the Western
Reserve, making, usually, tours of two weeks each, and thus alternating in his
home and mission labors. He was a laborious, persevering and efficient man, both
as a pastor and as a citizen. Three services on the Sabbath was the rule, two at
the church, and at evening in some quarter of his parish, usually at some
schoolhouse. He exhibited much zeal in the interests of education, and made a
specialty of visiting each school twice in each session, giving notice of the
intended visit on the Sabbath previous.
To attend church was a general rule of almost the
entire population, and the difference in attendance between deacon and preaching
meetings was small. Our religious interests were harmonious and prosperous,
until the winter of 1831, when our house of sacred memory was destroyed by fire.
Our pastor was equal to the emergency, for he had a building of logs that he had
used for "all work", which he at once appropriated to the needs of the church. A
part of the upper story was taken out and the choir perched upon the remainder,
their heads coming in frequent contact with the roof, while the mass were seated
below. But this state of things could not long continue. A house, or houses,
must be built. The people upon this side of the creek thought it time that
interest called for a house nearer home, and that that interest centered upon
the Hayes road. To this those upon the Center road demurred, uniting
their interest with those upon the east side and Williamsfield, awaiting a more
favorable opportunity for building at the Center.
The Hayes road interests started forward, hewed
and drew the timber to the spot, when, in a maze of doubt, the work was
suspended. Those on the east side, with West Williamsfield, encouraged by this
suspension, united their efforts and built a house on nearly the same spot on
which stood the old log church. In this state of things, regular religious
services were established at the schoolhouse on the Hayes road, north of the
center line, and kept up from Sabbath to Sabbath, with preaching about one-half
of the time. In October, 1832, a Congregational Church was organized, with 29
members, 20 of whom were from the former church, and all living east of the
north-and-south center road. This state of things continued for about two years.
In the meantime those on the center road, and west, remained members of the
original church of Wayne and Williamsfield, but, uniting their efforts with
others of the township, commenced the building of a house at the Center, which
was undenominational, stimulated by a Center interest. In this state of things
the project of a house on the Hayes road was abandoned, and an arrangement made
to take the house at the Center. A Congregational Society was organized and
incorporated in the spring of 1835, and it assumed the financial responsibility
in connection with financing the building and supplying preaching, together with
incidental expenses. Those living upon the Center road withdrew from the mother
church and united with the new one, known as the First Congregational Church of
Wayne. This church was not finally finished until 1840, and in 1872 it was
destroyed by fire. Another church was completed and dedicated in 1875. The Wayne
and Williamsfield church was moved to West Williamsfield, about 1845, and
located near the Wayne Township line, in a section quite thickly populated. Of
the Wayne residents who continued their affiliation to this branch of the
church, it was said by those of the other branch: "They live with bodies in
Wayne, but souls in Williamsfield."
In addition to the public schools that were
opened early in the life of the township communities, there was the Wayne
Academy, an institution established by a stock company, which erected a building
in 1846, and carried on a creditable educational establishment for a number of
years. Many of the young men and women of Wayne and adjacent territory acquired
their "higher" education in this seat of learning.
Hari Miner was appointed Wayne's first
postmaster, the office being established in 1823. In 1820 Loomis &
Brown erected and put into operation the first grist mill, the same being
located on the Pymatuning Creek, in the eastern part of the township. This creek
traversed the entire length of the township from north to south, along the
eastern portion, within a mile or so of the township line, and was the chief
attraction for settlers. The southeastern portion of the township was quite
thickly populated, another populous section being in the center of the township,
being known as Lindenville. Gradually the intercourse between residents of these
respective settlements caused the intervening section to be settled and in the
course of years the population of the township was principally at and between
those points. Hayes & Stevens opened the first store in Wayne in
1825.
The western portion of the township was not favored
with any watercourses worthy of mention. A small tributary of the Pymatuning
coursed through the central section. There was, however, splendid pasturage and
for many years Wayne occupied a place of prominence in the cheese-making
industry of the county. It is noted that C. C. Wick
had about four tons of cheese on exhibition at the Ohio State Fair in the year
1852. This had to be transported many miles by team, both going and coming, and
it meant that the man who had the ambition to go to that much trouble to
advertise Ashtabula Couny to the state, was the right kind of a citizen.
That the territory embraced in the township of Wayne
was in a very early day a stronghold for the prehistoric race of which there is
evidence of existence throughout the county is shown by the presence of a few
remaining signs, even today, of what was once a commodious enclosure, doubtless
a fortress for protection against enemies of those unknown men. In the
southeastern part of the township, where "Brown's Mill" was built in
1821, there was at that time a circular embankment that enclosed two full acres,
the mounded barricade being about four feet high, and within this was an inner
circle, affording double protection to those ancients who had constructed the
works. The circle skirted the Pymatuning Creek on the banks of which the mill was
built and to make room for which, and the mill-race, a portion of the fortress
was leveled off. Indians who resided thereabouts claimed they had no history,
nor tradition, that explain the mystery of the enclosure. The site of the old
fort was even then overgrown with great forest trees that had grown since it was
constructed. |
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