MILAN TOWNSHIP [Erie County, Ohio] from HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO 1879 by W.W.Williams pages 458-465 MILAN is town number five in range twenty-two. It is bounded on the north by Huron, east by Berlin, south by Norwalk, and west by Oxford. Its surface is moderately even, except along the river, where it is rolling and affords a fine variety of landscape. The streams are the Huron river and several very small tributaries. The river flows through the township diagonally from the southwest to the northeast corner. ORIGINAL OWNERS. Following is a copy of the original drawing of the land in Milan township, showing who were the first owners of the soil [note: no drawing appears in this section of the book] and also the original owners of the sufferer's claims here compensated: [ note: the following list of "sufferers" is abridged. Also included was the amount of loss, by whom classified, and amount classified. This refers to those lands granted in the "Firelands" in 1808 to those in Connecticut whose property had been destroyed by fire during the Revolution.] Original Grantees. CLASSIFICATION No.1, SECTION 1. Phillip Allyn, Walter Beebe, Thomas Gardiner, David Gardiner, Abigail Holt, Jas. McEver's heirs, Gurdon Saltonstall, Cor'l's Cunningham. CLASSIFICATION No.2, SECTION 2. Elam Luddington, Abigail Hughes, Samuel Bird, Tim'thy Bonticon Jr., Henry York, Levi Pardee, Amos Morrigon, Joseph Hutts, Elenor Hoy, Alice Miles, Stephen Brown, William Alley, Nehemiah Smith , Adonijah Sherman, Elijah Painter, Matthew Oaks, Jonah Mix, Jabez Johnson, Elijah Hills, William Greenough, William Mansfield, Nathan Mansfield, Johiel Forbes, Daniel Lyman, Rev. McWilliston, Esq.John Whitney, John Woodward Jr. CLASSIFICATION No.3, SECTION 3. Cor'l's Cunningham, Joanna Beebe, Joseph Cheels, Ruth Harris, Ann Hancock, Owen Neal, Bathsheba Skinner, James Stewart, James Tilley, Rebecca Church, Matthew Griswold, Elizabeth Holzworth, Nath'l Hempstead, Thankful Stanton, Roswell Saltonsiall, Joanna Short, Robert Gallup, John Barnes, Jeremiah Miller. CLASSIFICATION No.4, SECTION 4. Sarah Harris, Jeremiah Miller, Ephraim Minor, Seth Sears, Rufus Avery, Amos Ledyard, Amos Prentice. [ The above claims were sold to one of following: Guy Richards "et al", Samuel Hughs, William Mansfield, Johiel Forbes heirs, "Committee", Ebenezer Avery "and others", John Kinsman, Joanna Short, Robert Gallup, Benjamin Trumbull, John S. Miller, Sarah Harris' heirs, heirs of Seth Sears, or Robert Latham.] ANCIENT REMAINS. When and by whom the strange earth-works and fortifications, scattered through America, were made, will ever be a matter of conjecture, but from their nature and the fact that there are, or were, no Indian traditions concerning them, it has become a common belief that they were the work of a superior race, which has passed away and left no other sign of its existence. They have, therefore, the interest of the romantic, and to every mind form a more or less fascinating subject for reflection and wonder - a subject upon which nothing can be known, and which is, therefore, rich in suggestion for the imagination. In the township of Milan there were three clearly- defined fortifications when the first settlers came into the country, and they are still not entirely leveled by the plowshare. All three were upon the high banks of the Huron; the first in the second section, near the north line, and on the west side of the river; the second in the first section, on the east side of the river, and the third in the fourth section, on the Daniels farm, more lately occupied by Mrs. Morrill. F. W. Fowler, one of the pioneers of Milan, describes these earth-works, as first seen by him, to have been from two to four feet above the surface of the ground. Large trees were growing upon some of these em- bankments. Near these forts were mounds or hil- locks,, which were found to contain human bones, promiscuously thrown together, as if a large number of bodies had been buried at one time. The skull bones, when found entire, were" shown by measure- ment to be larger, upon the average, than 'those of the present race, and all exhibited marks that would indicate that life had been taken in deadly combat. Scattered among the skulls and vertebrae, and arm and leg bones, were stone pipes and fragments of. burnt clay. Other than these poor mortal remains, and the few trinkets, there was nothing in the ancient sepulchres to testify of the nature of the vanished race. THE INDIANS AND MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES. "What tales, if there be tongues In trees, These giant oaks could tell Of beings born and buried here:" The fertile lands along the Huron afforded subsist- ence to the Indians long before the advent of the white man. The early settlers speak of having found fine fields free from timber all along the river, and say that the underbush was so cleared from the forests that the deer, as they bounded along, could be seen half a mile off through the steady vistas. The princi- pal Indian village was where the town of Milan was since located, but there were smaller settlements ex- tending from the north line of the township as far as Ridgefield. There were, undoubtedly, a thousand red men in this group, principally of the Delaware and Ottawas, - the latter commonly called Tawas. Here, to a greater extent than in most other localities where the Indians have been known to have had permanent villages, they followed in a rude way the arts of peace during the intervals between their ex- tended hunting journeys; here was to be seen the domestic side of the savage nature; here burned the council fires of the chiefs, and here were celebrated the religious rites of a race that is now scarcely known, except through scanty historical savings, and the vague, often unreliable traditions of the early whites, transmitted through the generations of their descendants. To this village and its outlying settlements, lying upon the high banks of the Huron, and surrounded by charming natural scenery, more beautiful, then; than now, came the Moravian missionaries in 1787. Their old mission stations upon the Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers being broken up by the persecu- tion of the white settlers, they had wandered from one place to another, and finally a few of them under the guidance of the Rev. Christian Frederick Deucke started a new mission on the spot where Milan now stands. The Indian name of the village was Pequot- ting, and the mission was regarded as a branch of the Gnadenhutten mission. The mission house was upon the lot adjoining that, on which the Presbyterian Church was afterwards built. The chapel, sur- mounted by a bell, stood near by. Indian David oc- cupied a house in the immediate vicinity, and there were fifteen other houses belonging to those interested in the mission,-the Christian Indians The Rev. Christian Frederick Deneke who bad charge of this mission, has been described by those who knew him, as a man of great learning and most thoroughly de- voted to the cause in which he labored. He taught his followers the rudiments of education a~ well as the tenets of his religion. According to all accounts, lie was a very kind, warm-hearted man, courteous, generous and hospitable. He was a native of Iceland, and his father was a missionary in that country. The Indians who belonged to this mission, it should be borne in mind, were only a small part of the num- ber living in the settlement. Comparatively little seems to have been accomplished in making converts among the mass of these savages, though some of them were christianized. Doubtless, many more might have been added to the little flock, had it not been for the disturbing influence of the white man's arrival. The Indians, shy always of their pale faced brother, though treated here with the utmost friend- liness, began to leave the settlement when the pioneers came, in the year 1809, and by the following year only a very few remained. Those belonging to the mission removed to Canada. There was also another Moravian missionary, with a small band of Indian followers, in the township from 1787 to 1793. Their settlement was upon the east side of the Huron, about three-quarters of a mile north of the old county seat, and was known as New Salem. David Zeisberger, of whose life and works, as well as those of Dencke, much is said elsewhere in this history, was the missionarv in charge of this settlement. THE PIONEERS AND THE WAR OF 1812. Two years after the survey was made, David Abbott bought a tract of eight hundred acres of land lying in section number two, and upon both sides of the river. Jared Ward became the first resident of Avery, now called Milan, settling upon this tract of land in the same year, and immediately beginning preparations for farming upon the Indian bottom. John Walworth, of Cleveland, purchased the same year a large tract of land, which he soon after sold to Charles Parker, who moved in with his family in 1810. Seelick Comstock came the same year. A number of families located as squatters upon the lands that had been occupied and in a measure tilled by the Indians. Three of them - Stan, Laughlin, and Burdue, after- wards bought lands in Berlin township, but most of them moved away during the war, not to return. Three settlements were formed which made the points of a triangle, of which Milan afterwards formed the center. Another settlement was commenced in 1811, in the northwest corner of the township, by Thomas Jeffrey, Josiah Smith, Dydimus and Elijah Kinney, and George Colvin. These settlements filled up rap- idly, so that prior to the war of 1812, the number, including unmarried men, was not far from two hun- dred and twenty-five. Following are the names of those who were heads of families, as given by the Hon. F. W. Fowler, of Milan. In section one: Hosmer Merry, Reuben Pixley, G. Harvey. Section two: David Abbott, David Barrett Jared Ward, Elijah Pollock, James Leach, Nathaniel Glines, Alexander Mason, A. Collins. Section three: Thomas Jeffrey, Josiah Smith, William Smith, Phineas Tillottson, George Colvin, Dydimus Kinney, Elijah Kinney, Stephen Kinney, David Smith. Section four: Charles Parker, Winslow Perry, James Payne, W. Hubbard, James Guthrie, William Howard, A. Wilson, __ Eldridge. With a beautiful location and a fertile soil, an unusually large number of settlers, and nearly all of them of the class qualified to make the commu- nity one of good character, the pioneers naturally looked forward to a pleasant and profitable residence in their new homes. But their hopes were blasted by the declaration of war on the part of Great Britain, which caused the wildest alarm and utmost anxiety throughout the sparsely settled frontier, and created grave apprehensions in the older settlements, more remote from the probable scene of the strife. But little need here be said of the incidents of that war, for a chapter elsewhere is devoted to the subject. The wild and hurried flight of the people from Milan, township, and all of the country adjacent and north- ward, though from a false alarm, was none the less terrible, for the flying people had every reason to be- lieve they were pursued by the British soldiers and their red allies. After Hull's surrender the red coats were seen landing men upon the lake shore, and im- mediately those who saw this sight, becoming panic stricken, fled through the country southward, carry- ing with them the terrible tidings. The flight was instantaneous and universal, all going in the direction of Mansfield. By the time they reached the State road, leading south, the only one then open, night had come on. The company had increased to such an extent that the road was thronged for half a mile. Many had left without sufficient clothing, or food for their needs, abandoning everything, that they might save life. About midnight the panic was arrested by the appearance in the rear, of men carrying packs but not armed. It was not long before they were discovered to be Hull's surrendered and disarmed soldiers, who by the terms of the capitulation were landed that they might return home. In the morning, after consulta- tion, a greater part of the crowd who had left their homes continued upon their way to Mansfield, and the remainder, returning to Avery, (Milan), secured their effects the best way they could, and then passed down the lake to Black River and other points. The men then made up a company and returned to Huron. Joseph Quigley, of Black River, was elected captain of this company, and David Barrett, of Milan, lieutenant. After the arrival of some scattering companies and the main army, General Perkins established Camp Avery on the east side of the Huron river, on lands owned by Ebenezer Merry. Those among the soldiers who lived in the immediate vicinity, were then dis- banded that they might attend to their home duties, though it was conditioned that they should still re- main subject to call in case of need. The, soldiers remained at this camp until the fol- lowing winter, a company of rangers also being stationed at a block house that was built in section four, of Milan township, upon the farm of Charles Parker. They had the double duty to perform of protecting themselves from the British soldiers and the property in the vicinity from the roving plun- derers, who were mostly Indians who had formerly lived in the vicinity. Many times the settlers had to abandon their homes and take shelter in the fort. Once a portion of the army was dispatched after the enemy to the peninsula. They found and attacked them there. It was in this engagement that Alexander Mason lost his life, as did also Mr. Ramsdell and Daniel Mingus. Two men, by the names of Seymour and Pixley, who went out from Parker's block house one morning, to cut down a bee-tree, were over- whelmed by Indians who lay in ambush. Seymour was killed and his companion taken prisoner. He afterwards said that most of the Indians had been among the residents of the village. Indians were constantly lurking about, and danger was present upon every side. The settlers were in constant anxiety, and every unusual sound was feared to be the signal for a terrible onslaught and massacre. Fortunately there was no such general attack, though almost every day there was some minor evil deed committed, or some occurrence to cause alarm. When peace came it brought such a sense of relief that most of those who had remained away, during the war, re- turned to this favored locality of their adoption. Other settlers came in from the east, society was formed, religious organizations sprang into being, a village was laid out, industry progressed in old and found new channels, too. Then began the period of Milan's prosperity. The growth and development of the farming interests were as rapid as was usual in other townships, and the progress of the village its and manufacturing and commercial interests some- thing quite phenomenal.[sic] FIRST EVENTS. There is reason to believe, but not positive knowl- edge, that the first white child born to any of the permanent settlers of Milan, was a daughter of Lazarus Young, afterwards the wife of Amherst Milliman, of Townsend, Huron county. The first physicians were Doctors Goodwin and Guthrie. Before their arrival in the settlement, people in need of medical attention were obliged to send to Cleveland, from which place a Dr. Long frequently came to Milan. The first military company upon the Fire-lands, was formed in the fall of 1811, and met for its first muster on April 1st, following, at John B. Flemmond's. David Barrett, of Milan, was elected captain of this militia organization. Two deaths occurred in the township in the summer season of l811. Both were children, one from the family of George Miller, and the other from that of David Barrett. The first log house was built by a party of young men, __ Barrett, Nathaniel Glines, Seth Hayes, Ebenezer Hayes, F. W. Fowler, Stephen Worthington and L. Durand, in 1810, and was located in section two. This was the first improvement by white inhabitants in the township, except the beginning made on the opposite side of the river, by Jared Ward. The first framed building was a barn built by David Abbott. The first framed dwelling was also built by Mr. Abbott. This is also said to have been the first residence, other than a log cabin, upon the Fire-lands. ORGANIZATION. The township of Avery was originally connected with Huron, and included under that name. The first election was held at John B. Fleman's (or Flemmond's), on the east bank of the river, and about two miles from the lake. Jabez Wright and David Abbott were elected justices of the peace; F. W. Fowler, constable, and Almon Ruggles, recorder. THE OLD COUNTY SEAT. The legislature passed, February 7, 1809, an act authorizing the erection of Huron county - embrac- ing all of the Fire-lands. Upon the 29th of Janu- ary, 1811, the legislature appointed as commissioners to fix the seat of the county: E. Quinby, of Trumbull county, Stephen Clark, of Geauga; and Solomon Griswold, of Ashtabula. They were ordered to make returns or reports, of the action they had taken, to the court of common pleas, to be held in Cuyahoga county, and, in pursuance to this order, they, upon June 15, 1811, reported that they had fixed upon Avery township for the seat of justice. The exact location was at Camp Avery, about a mile below the site of Milan village. The first court was held at this point, or at the residence of David Abbott, in the fall of 1815 (in which year the county was organized). Considerable dissatisfaction was expressed by those who attended this court, because there was no good water procurable, and it was suggested by somebody, familiar with the country, that there was a fine ridge running through Norwalk township, and that, in all probability, good water could there be found. Thus was begun the movement that resulted in the removal of the county seat from Milan township, which was accomplished in 1818, by a process similar to that by which it was originally located. [It is needless to say anything further upon this subject, in the history of Milan, as the facts are fully set forth in the chap- ter upon Norwalk.] A courthouse was commenced in 1817, upon the Abbott farm, but was never finished. It stood for many years. RELIGIOUS. The earliest religious meetings in Milan other than those held by the Moravian missionaries were irregular gatherings at barns and private houses addressed by various itinerant preachers. Among them was the Rev. Milton Badger who preached in the Abbott settlement before the war, and was chaplain at Fort Avery during the war. The Methodists organized a class in the Jeffrey neighborhood as early as 1816, and Thomas Jeffrey was its leader. The Rev. Father Gurley, Rev. Manger, the earnest and eccentric James McIntyre, Rev. Mr. Tillottson, "who spoke under the influence of spirits - from a bottle"; were among the early preachers of this denomination. The Presbyterian Church was organized under the name of the First Congregational Church of Huron, April 25, 1818, in a log house at Spear's corners, the preachers presiding upon that occasion being the Rev. William Williams and Rev. Alvin Coe, of the Con- necticut Missionary Society. The first members of the church, all of them deceased many years ago, were William Spears and his wife, Love, Gilbert Sexton and his wife Deborah, William and Philo Adams and their mother, Eleanor. In 1819, the church re- ceived a number of accesssons. Religious services were held every Sunday, alternately at the houses of Mr. Spears and Seth A. Adams, and later at the log houses built in the neighborhood. In 1823, the church removed from Spears' corners to Milan, and changed its name to the First Congregational Church of Milan. The first officers - two deacons - were appointed in 1824. They were Henry Buckingham and Joseph Demond. In the following year, the church changed the form of its government to the Presby- terian, and elected three ruling elders: William Spears, Joseph Demond and David Everett. At this time there were thirty-seven members. After the removal of the church to the village, meetings were held in a School house which stood on the lot now occupied by the town hall, and subsequently in the yellow school house. The call for services was the blowing of a horn. An era of unwonted prosperity dawned upon the church in 1829, beginning under the preaching of Rev. Everton Judson. A new impulse was given to the church which had lapsed somewhat from its past prosperous condition, and a strong feeling of interest was awakened in the village which had, then, about four hundred inhabitants. In 1828, the legislature incorporated the First Presbyterian Society of Milan, but no movement was made to erect a church until 1835. when a few citi- zens convened at the suggestion of N. M. Standart, Esq., to devise measures to secure this object. The result was the completion, two years later, of the present substantial house of worship, the expense being about eight thousand dollars. The first minis- ter who labored with this congregation was the Rev. Lot B. Sullivan, who preached at Spear's corners and in the Adams neighborhood. For some time after, the church was destitute of a pastor, and was sup- plied with occasional preaching by Revs. Alvin Coe, Caleb Pitkin, J. Seward, Alfred H. Betts, Wm. Sanford and J. Treat. The next regular pastor was the Rev. Thomas L. Shipman. Those who followed were Isaac S. Demund, W. M. Adams, Everton Judson, Newton Barrett, J. M. Hayes, Alanson Hartpence, and the present pastor, Rev. J. H. Walters, who was installed October 7, 1856, although he began preaching to the society as early as May, 1855. The Rev. Everton Judson, who began his labor with the church in 1829, continued his relation until removed by death in 1848, and his services were very largely instrumental in building up the church to a condi- tion of prosperous and active life. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1830, and the house of worship erected in 1845. The church has increased to a membership of about one hundred and fifty persons. St. Luke's Episcopal Church was organized in 1846, and a year later a house of worship was erected, which was destroyed in 1867 by fire. A new building was immediately erected upon the site of the old one. The Roman Catholic Church was built in 1866. More recently there have been formed two other churches in the township, the Lutheran and Re- formed Society of Friends. All of the churches ex- cept these two are in Milan village. The first Sunday school in Milan, and one of the earliest in the Fire-lands, was organized at Spear's corners in the spring of 1818, and was afterward under the superintendency of Philo Adams. Sunday schools have been regularly maintained in the village since 1830, and also throughout the township during a portion of each year. EARLY SCHOOLS. The first school in the township was undoubtedly that in the Abbott settlement, taught, before the war, by a Miss Gilbert, from Newburg, afterward Mrs. Dr. Goodwin. In the winter of 1817, a school house was built in the Spear settlement, and a school was held in it by Marshall Miller. The first school in Milan village was opened in the spring of 1819, in a new barn owned by Ebenezer Merry, and was taught by Miss Susan Williams. In the fall of the same year, a school house was built upon the spot where many years later the Eagle tavern was located, and where the town hall now stands. In 1824, the old yellow school house was built. HURON INSTITUTE. Huron Institute, which owed its existence to the extensive revivals of religion in the churches of Huron Presbytery in the years 1830 and '31, was incorporated by act of the legislature in 1832. It was proposed to raise four thousand dollars at the start for the pur- pose of securing a site and erecting a building for the use of the institution, and the people of Milan, on condition that the school should be located in their village, promised to give one-half of this amount. The pledge was fully realized, and the expectation of the friends of the movement was more than satis- fied, for the school became a very thriving concern. The people being anxious that the school should be established at once and it being impossible that the institute building could be finished before the fall or winter of 1832, the first term was opened in April, of that year, in the office of J. Smith, Esq. Six stu- dents were present at the opening; and before the quarter was finished, twenty-five were enrolled. The Rev. E. Barber was made principal. The second quarter began with thirty-six pupils, and before the year was ended, over ninety names were upon the roll - forty-six males and forty-four females. During the third year, the building having before that time been furnished and ample accommodations thus afforded, the number of students was as high as one hundred and twenty-seven. It was the desire of the the trus- tees of the institute to place education within the reach of all who would avail themselves of it, and in this they succeeded as nearly as was possible. The tuition was fixed at four dollars per quarter in the classical department, and at three dollars in the Eng- lish and female department, and the principal took it upon himself to furnish instruction from the avails of the tuition bills. Board was furnished by many of the best families in Milan at merely nominal rates. No student was ever refused admission or dismissed because too poor to pay his way in the institute. Rev. Mr. Barber's assistant, during the first year, was Henry Ballentine, afterwards a missionary to India. Benjamin Judson succeeded him, and re- mained in the institute until 1835. Mrs. C. B. Stuart and Mrs. E. A. Hubbard were also connected with the school during this period. In the summer of 1835, Mr. Barber resigned, on account of sickness, his position as principal, and S. C. Hickok was ap- pointed in his place. He remained in charge until 1839. Henry W. Williams was elected principal in 1843, and Rev. Lemuel Bliss in 1848. Two years later, Robert Bliss, a Boston gentleman, was chosen to this place, but he resigned in a few days, and T. S. Bradley, of Auburn theological seminary, became the manager of the school in his stead. He was fol- lowed by Nathan Barrows, Dwight Sayles and John McKee. In 1858, the trustees leased the building to Rev. Asa Brainard and S. F. Newman for the pur- pose of a normal school. The school was successfully conducted by these gentlemen in partnership, and after Mr. Brainard's death, by Mr. Newman alone, until 1871, when it came under the management of the present teacher, Miss Delia Palmer, who now has, in the old building, a flourishing school. A very valuable work has been accomplished by the old institute, and many have cause to look back to it lovingly and thankfully, as the Alma Mater which well prepared them for the world. At the time it was established it was the only school on the Reserve, west of Hudson, where young men could be prepared for college. THE UNION SCHOOLS were established in 1849, under the law passed in that year, and the following board of education was elected: Daniel Hamilton, James H. Kennedy, George Barney, Hiram McMillan, S. F. Taylor, Harry Chase. The first superintendent was C. F. Royce. The main school building, still in use, was erected in 1850, and the "old yellow school house," built before that time, was moved to its present location and remodeled. ROADS. The first wagon road was cut out and cleared by Ebenezer Hayes and F. W. Fowler in the winter of 1810-11, from the mouth of the Huron river on the east side, up the river to the Abbott farm, and thence southerly, past the farms of Ebenezer and Hosmer Merry and Gundin Perrin, to the north and south section line of Norwalk. The Columbia road was opened the same winter, from the east side of the mouth of the river to the east line of the Fire-lands, where it joined a road from Columbia township, Lorain county. In the spring of 1811, another road was laid out in the western part of the township by Jabez Wright, Jared Ward and Charles Barnum. It led from the lake shore, west of the mouth of the river, southerly past the farms of Wright and Ward, to the residence of Charles Parker, in the fourth section of Milan, and thence up the river to Monroeville, and from that point southerly to New Haven, on nearly the same line that is traveled to-day. MILAN VILLAGE. In 1816, say several accounts, (but in 1817 as shown by the records in the court house), Ebenezer Merry, who came into the township in 1814, laid out the town of Milan, originally known as Beatty after the first owner of the land. He also began the same year, or perhaps the previous year, in company with Isaac Tuppet and Job C. Smith, the erection of the first grist mill in the township, upon the site of the pres- ent mill. Before the mill was completed he pur- chased his partners' interests and thus became sole owner. Previous to the building of this mill, people had to go a great distance for their grist, or grind it by some rude method at home. The mill brought people to this locality from all directions and was really the nucleus around which grew the village. The location of the village, too, was a pleasant one, and people being quick to appreciate this fact, and to expect a fast growth, the lots were soon sold off. By the year 1819 quite a number of houses had been built. The first stock of goods was brought in the same year by James Williams, P. B. Hopkins and David W. Hinman. A large distillery was built by William B. Mason and Moodey Mears. F. W. Fowler began keeping a public house - the first one built - in 1821. Joseph M. Choate set in operation a carding machine and fulling works. Needham Standart, af- terwards of the firm of Standart & Hamilton, opened a store in which he did a large business for years. Ralph and George Lockwood, who were doing busi- ness in Norwalk township (Gibbs' Corners), opened a store in a large double dwelling house. Mr. Ralph Lockwood became postmaster of Merry's Mills, as the place was then called, and remained seventeen years in that office. Henry Lockwood began the hatting business in 1824. The Lockwood block, afterward burned, was built as early as 1827. In 1833 there were ten stores in the place. The Eagle tavern, which occupied the present site of the town hall; was opened in 1824. These facts afford something of an idea of what Milan was during the first few years of its existence, but there are others, relating to the vessel building, to the great grain trade, and in her commerce, that make a still more favorable showing of her importance. COMMERCE - THE MILAN CANAL. A meeting of the citizens of Milan, and the town- ship adjoining, was held at the house of F. W. Fowler, as early as 1823, to take into consideration the project of building a harbor at the mouth of the Huron, for the safe entrance of all lake craft. As a committee to examine into the feasibility of this plan, the fol- lowing men were appointed: George W. Choate, Philo Adams, N. P. Mason, Schuyler Van Rensselaer, David Gibbs, Frederick Forsyth, N. M. Standart, James Williams and Ralph Lockwood. A meeting was subsequently held, at which this committee made a report favoring the project, and a company was regularly organized to prosecute the work. Five directors were elected, as follows: Jabez Wright, Philo Adams, H. N. Jenkins, N. M. Standart, B. N. Adams. The work was begun in 1824, under the superintendence of Charles Wheaton, of Milan, and when he died, the following fall, Zebulon Stevens, of Huron, was elected to his place. The work was carried on until the company's money was exhausted, and shortly after the national government took it up and completed it. We have been thus particular to speak of this enterprise, because, though not strictly belonging to Milan township, it, nevertheless, was a project in which, as shown above, Milan people were interested; and one which did much to develop the town and bring about other improvements. Vessel building was commenced in Milan in 1827. in that year Benjamin N. Abbott built the schooner Mary Abbott, and in 1829 loaded her with produce, which he took to New York city, by the way of the lake to Buffalo, and thence by the New York and Erie canal. He returned with a cargo of merchandise. This was the first vessel to make the trip, and the only one. About the same time H. N. Jenkins built the schooner, Louisa Jenkins, at Lockwood's landing, and upon her maiden trip took a load of wheat to Buffalo. The legislature at its session of 1828 granted a charter for the formation of a company to build a ship canal from Merry's mill pond to the navigable waters of the Huron, and a tow path on the bank of the river to its mouth; the comissioners, named in the charter, for receiving subscriptions being Jabez Wright, Ebenezer Merry, Ralph Lockw6od, George Lockwood and Timothy Baker. In the summer of 1831, books were opened at Milan for subscriptions to the Milan Canal Company's stock, and a sufficient amount was immediately secured to warrant the per- fection of the organization. At a meeting held at F. W. Fowler's house August 27, 1831, the following five directors were elected: Ebenezer Merry, Ebenezer Andrews, George Lockwood, Daniel Hamilton and F. W. Fowler. The work was commenced in 1832, but, for want of means, was not completed until 1839. The Fourth of July of that year was a gala day for Milan, for it was so realized by the passage of the first boat through the canal. Early in the morning the schooner Kewaune, Captain Moran, arrived in the canal basin, and was moored at the dock. She was saluted with the firing of cannon. Later the people of the village assembled in front of the Presbyterian Church, and forming in a column, with a band of music at the head, marched through the village and down the hill to the canal wharf where the Kewaune lay. Captain Moran was saluted in behalf of the ladies of Milan, by Miss Maria Butman, and presented with a national flag for his vessel. The citizens then went aboard the Kewaune and her lighter, the Water Witch and the two boats with flying colors, bands playing, and cannon firing, sailed down the canal to the river. Upon their return a procession was again formed, and all went to the Eagle tavern, then kept by Jennings & Kline, where they partook of a dinner, and drank toasts to the future prosperity of Milan and the canal. The completion of this canal caused Milan to become a great point for vessel building, and made it the market for all the wheat and other products that the country did not need for home con- sumption. A great impetus was given to all in- dustries. In the autumn, farmers thronged all of the roads leading to Milan, bringing in their grain. Many came from a distance of seventy or eighty miles south. The roadway down to the warehouse was often blockaded with teams, and the square packed. Some of the wagons had in them loads of a hundred bushels of grain, and were drawn by four or six horses. Six or seven hundred wagons have arrived in one day. As many as twenty sail vessels have been loaded in a single day, and as much as thirty-five thousand bushels of grain put on board. The total re- ceipts from canal tolls were one hundred and two thou- sand dollars, and the dividend to stockholders, was twenty thousand dollars. The value of exports in 1844, was eight hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, mostly in wheat and flour. The value of imports, for the same time, was six hundred and thirty thousand dollars. In 1853, there were three thousand seven hundred barrels of salt imported. In 1855, stoves were shipped to the number of eight hundred and seventy-eight thousand. In 1856, four hundred and ten thousand bushels of grain were shipped, and the aggregate of grain shipped in eleven years, from 1853, was nearly five million bushels. Railroads began to draw away the business of Milan in 1850, and in 1854 the C. & T. (now the L. S. & M. S. R. R.), tapped all of the thoroughfares leading in from the south. Thus, was Milan practi- cally ruined, as a business town, though still, from its loveliness of location, neatness of keeping, and good character of people and institutions, left a desirable place of residence. Its growth was greatest between the years 1840 and 1850, when it rose from a vil- lage of five hundred inhabitants to one of over thirteen hundred. Fifty or sixty houses were built in 1849 and the following year. INCORPORATION. The village came into being as a municipal corpo- ration, in 1833, the act of the legislature being passed February 23d, and the first election held April 6th. George Lockwood and John S. Butman were judges, and William S. Hyde, clerk. The following is a transcript from the poll book: "The said election was held open until three o'clock, on said 6th day of April, when the votes were counted and it was found that John Smith,(tanner), had received a plurality of all the votes for mayor, and that the other officers elected had been as follows: Trustees, Ebenezer Merry, Henry Lockwood, Giles Chapin; John Smith, (carpenter), Philander Wilber; Recorder, Nathan Jenkins." The first ordinance passed was for the assistance of the Milan Canal Company, and it was voted that twenty bonds, each for one thousand dollars, be issued for this purpose. THE FAMILIES OF EBENEZER AND HOSMER MERRY. The Merry families, of Milan, were among the most prominent of the early settlers and most con- spicuously identified with the growth of the township. Ebenezer Merry, the elder of the brothers who came to Milan, was born in East Hartford, Connecticut, July 21, 1773, and his family removed soon after to Kinderhook, New York. In 1792, he went to the "Genesee country," and five years later made another advancement into the wilderness, stopping in Mentor, (now in Lake county), where he began clearing land. In 1800, he returned to western New York, and there married Charlotte, daughter of Aaron and Sarah Adams. She was born in Tinmouth, Vermont, on the 17th of August, 1780, and had removed to York State at the age of fourteen years. The young couple immediately set out for their western home, accom- panied by Hosmer Merry, a brother of Ebenezer, and made the wedding trip in twelve days, following the Indian trail and sleeping in Indian wigwams, upon the ground; or, if they were fortunate enough to find them, in the cabins of the white settlers. They arrived in Mentor, May 26th. Of the three families then in that place, two, those of Jared Ward and Charles Parker, afterward removed to Milan. After a residence of fourteen years, Mr. Merry moved to this township, then called Avery, and located upon the Huron river, about two miles below the present village of Milan. This village, as related already, was platted by Mr. Merry, and its rapid and substan- tial improvement was attributable almost entirely to his energy and judicious management of affairs. Himself and wife here led a happy, busy life. Mrs. Merry was, in all that the term can possibly imply, a true help-meet to her husband. She never failed, on her part, but met every duty and every danger bravely, and through all the vicissitudes of a pioneer's life was the true wife, the loving mother and the kind friend. Whether in the rude log cabin, upon the farm, or in the more commodious quarters at the village, whither they moved in 1819, she was equally at home, equally active, efficient and cheerful. Nine children were the fruit of this union, viz: Sarah (Mrs. Merrill), now in Milan; Mary (Mrs. Jacob Stevens), also in Mi- lan; Julia (Mrs. Ruggles), died October 11, 1874; Martin, in Iowa; Samuel, in Milan; Lucy (Mrs. J. B. Pier), in Texas; Elizabeth, in Milan; Ebenezer, auditor of Erie county, and Charlotte, who died, August 1, 1825. Mr. Merry died in 1846, at the age of seventy-three years. Clark Waggoner, of the Toledo "Commercial", speaking of him in the article which appeared in Feb- ruary, 1879, in regard to his widow's death, said in- cidentally: "It is due to Mr. Merry, to say that his remarkable capacity as a business man, was always pervaded and directed by a clear conscientiousness and recognition of the rights and interests of others, fully justifying Rev. Everton Judson, pastor of the Presbyterian church, in the choice of his text, for a fu- neral discourse, to wit: Proverbs xxii. 1: 'A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver or gold.' His repeated elec- tions to a seat in the Ohio legislature and two elections as associate judge (which latter he declined), indi- cate his standing with his fellow citizens." Mrs. Charlotte Merry attained the great age of ninety-eight years, five months and twenty-two days. She died on the morning of February 8, 1879, and her funeral took place upon the 11th. The sermon was preached, on this occasion, by the Rev. J. H. Walter, and from the same text which, thirty-three years before, had formed the subject for the funeral discourse over her husband. Hosmer Merry, a younger brother of Ebenezer, though not so widely known and not taking as active a part in public affairs, was a man of sterling worth of character. He was born at Kinderhook, New York, in 1793. He came, as heretofore stated, to Mentor, with his brother. He was then seventeen years of age. He returned to Genesee county when twenty-one, and there married Miss Sarah Frost, who was born in Watertown, Connecticut, October 28, 1787. He came to Milan in 1810, and removed his family there in the following year. He located upon a farm one and a half miles below the village, and here remained most of the time during the war, and was engaged, among others of the township, in the army, for a considerable time, most commonly acting as teamster and transporting goods. He was one of the first to visit the American vessels after Commo- dore Perry's victory. He used to relate that, on arriving near the fleet, and being uncertain whether the battle had terminated favorably to the American or British vessels, they ceased rowing, and upon being assured that Commodore Perry had won the fight, an old revolutionary hero, by the name of Harvey, sprang to his feet and, swinging his hat, shouted, "Row, boys, for God's sake row." Mr. Merry moved to Oxford township in 1833. His first wife died in August, 1825, leaving six chil- dren, viz: Ebenezer 0., now in Bellevue; Henry F., now deceased; Fanny, in Indiana; George, in Michi- gan; William, in Indiana, and Betsey, now deceased. Mr. Merry married, in 1826, Sarah Reed, who, upon his death, married Hon. F. W. Fowler, of Milan. By her he had two children: Mary Ann, now in Find- ley, and Stephen, deceased. Mr. Merry died in Oxford, August 23, 1835, at the age of fifty-two years. He was a man well liked, and one who did much for the settlement and improve- ment of the localities in which he lived. He was justice of the peace in Oxford township at the time of his death. His son, F. 0. Merry, is at present a justice of the peace for Lyme township. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Notice: the above material is Public Domain (no copyright)." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Ted Reising tedohio@yahoo.com Dec. 15, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------