CHAUNCEY
METCALF - Coming on both sides of the house from noteworthy
pioneer stock, being a descendant of John Metcalf and
Peleg Sweet, Sr., very early settlers of Ashtabula, Chauncey
Metcalf well merits especial mention in this brief history of
the Western Reserve. A native born citizen, his birth occurred
Aug. 25, 1851, on the homestead where he now resides, being a son of
the late Ezra Return Metcalf, and grandson of John Metcalf.
His great-grandfather, Ezra Metcalf, married a Miss Drake,
a direct descendant of Sir Francis Drake, the noted English
explorer, and emigrated from England to New York, locating in New
Hampshire.
John Metcalf, born in Keene, New Hampshire, in
1785, was there reared and educated. On attaining man's
estate, he migrated to Canandaigua, New York, and was soon busily
employed in carrying the mail from there to Niagara, and, as soon as
a road was opened up, his route was extended to Buffalo, where he
had a distinction of carrying the first mail bag delivered in that
city. Pushing his way westward, still with a mail bag on his
back, he blazed the path through the wilderness that afterwards
became the beaten tract for the hundreds of emigrants that south
homes in the western wilds. About 1813 he settled in
Ashtabula, Ohio, opening a small mercantile establishment on the
east side, in the meantime resigning his government commission
as mail carrier. On first coming here, he loaded a small
vessel in Buffalo with a stock of general merchandise, intending to
send the cargo across the lake to Ashtabula. During a heavy
storm the craft ran into Silver creek and was there pressed into the
service of the United States. The goods were stored on the
beach, but were too badly damaged to be of use.
Shortly after coming here, John Metcalf, in
company with Edwin Harmon, secured another contract for
carrying mail, this time for the route west of Ashtabula, as far as
Cleveland, Fort Meigs, Defiance, and other places of importance.
He visited Washington as many as fourteen times to renew his
contract with the government, going always on horseback. After
coming to Ohio, he carried the mail in a wagon drawn by a pair of
stout horses, and in 1815 put on a small stage coach, with
accommodations for two passengers, using this until 1818, when he
was succeeded by a line of mail coaches operated by William
Whitman, of Ashtabula, and Calvin Cole, of Painesville, a
line which was subsequently extended to Detroit. After a
continuous service of more than thirty years, John Metcalf
surrendered his commission as mail carrier and spent his last years
in Ashtabula, dying August 20, 1853.
John Metcalf married, in 1815, Clarissa Sweet,
who was born in1797, a daughter of Peleg Sweet, Sr., who
emigrated to the Western Reserve from Winsted, Connecticut, in 1807,
settling in Ashtabula. In an early account of Jefferson, Ohio,
it says that the first Court of Common Pleas met there June 20,
1811, and the next day granted to Benjamin Sweet, a license
to keep a "house of public entertainment" in Richfield township,
also one in Austinburg, and a similar license to Peleg Sweet
for Ashtabula. Two grandchildren of Peleg Sweet, Sr.,
are now living, namely: Herman C. Sweet, of Flint, Michigan,
born April 22, 1827; and Rushbrook P. Sweet, of Cataract,
Wisconsin, born Oct. 10, 1832. Peleg Sweet, St., became
one of the most extensive landholders in Ashtabula county, owning
eight hundred or more acres. He donated the park on the east
side of training purposes, and gave to the town the original land
for the cemetery. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war,
serving at Ticonderoga in 1775, under Captain Sedgwick, and
in a New York regiment in 1778, under Captain John Hill
To him and his wife, Clarissa, six children were born, all of
whom grew to years of maturity, living to good old ages, as follows:
Birdsey S., born Aug. 20, 1816, succeeded to the ownership of
the old homestead; Ezra Return, father of Chauncey;
John Quincy, born in 1819, settled in Saybrook township; ;
Clarissa, born Oct. 28, 1822, widow of Robert Johnson,
who served in the Civil war, and died May 12, 1900, she being the
only child now living; Lorin D., born in 1824, resided in
East Ashtabula, and his widow and one son, John, are now
living in Cleveland; and Mary Matilda, born in 1827, married
Dennis Dean, and moved to Lake Superior, her death, at the
age of sixty years, being the first among this family of children.
Ezra Return Metcalf was born at East Ashtabula,
Ohio, Mar. 17, 1818, and during his earlier life sailed for number
of years on the lake. Subsequently settling permanently in
Ashtabula, he bought land and began the improvement of a homestead.
Laboring with persistency, and using excellent judgment, he
accumulated money, and from time to time invested in more land,
acquiring title to upwards of four hundred acres. About 1888
he divided his real estate among his children, and moved to the east
village, where he lived, retired from active business, until his
death, Jan. 20, 1900. He married Virginia Wilkinson Sweet,
a daughter of Peleg, Sr., and Mary (Wilkinson) Sweet.
She survived him, dying Sept. 4, 1906. She bore him four
children, who grew to maturity: Marion, Friend, Chauncey and
Dennis D.
Chauncey Metcalf has spent his entire life on the
homestead where he was born, having never been away from it more
than fourteen days at a time. He labored industriously as a
boy and youth, assisting his father in improving a homestead, and in
accumulating property, all working together most harmoniously, until
his father divided his estate as he wished. Mr. Metcalf
received as his share of the property 138 acres of the old
homestead, and has since bought fourteen acres. Here he is
carrying on general farming with eminent success, making a specialty
of dairying, keeping twenty-five cows. He also devotes much
time to stock raising, having in his herd from thirty to thirty-five
head of thoroughbred Holstein cattle.
Mr. Metcalf married, Nov. 16, 1881, Abbie
Cornelia Foote, a daughter of Loren and Cornelia (Ballard)
Foote, of Austinburg. Her father was an extensive property
owner, having interests in estates in other places, Footeville, in
Ashtabula county, having been named for his father. Mr. and
Mrs. Metcalf have two children, namely: Elmer, with his
father managing the home farm, married Lillian Large, and
they have one child, William Chauncey; and Florence Marian,
who was graduated with honors from Oberlin College with the class of
1909.
Source:
History of the Western Reserve, Vol. 3 - 1910 - Page 893 |
 
FRIEND METCALF -
The Metcalf Family is of noted stock, whether the genealogist
considers its English or its American record. Tracing the line
no further than to
Ezra Metcalf,
great-grandfather of Friend, it is fund that he married a
direct descendant of Sir Francis Drake, This original
emigrant settled in New Hampshire and his son John, who was
born in Keene, that state, became one of the pioneer mail carriers
of western New York, delivering the first government bag ever
received in Buffalo. His official duties soon took him into
the Western Reserve, but when he first settled at Ashtabula, in
1813, he opened a small store on the east side. A heavy storm
drove the ship containing his first load of goods from Buffalo into
the waters of Silver creek, where it was at once pressed into the
naval service of the United States. Shortly after settling in
Ashtabula, however, John Metcalf secured another mail
contract with the government for a western route to Cleveland,
extending his service both in territory and efficiency, one of his
lines finally extending to Detroit. As this phase of his
career covers more than thirty years, it undoubtedly places him in
the class of noteworthy western pioneers in the development of the
government mail service. John Metcalf died in Ashtabula
Aug. 20, 1853, his wife, whom he married in 1845, being Clarissa
Sweet, daughter of Peleg Sweet, Sr., who migrated
to the Western Reserve from Winsted, Connecticut, in 1807.
Mr. Sweet became one of the largest land owners in Ashtabula
county, donating many acres of his estate for public purposes.
He was a Revolutionary soldier at Ticonderoga, serving throughout
the war in a New York regiment. Mr. and Mrs. John Metcalf
had six children, of whom Ezra Return, the second born,
became the father of Friend Metcalf.
Ezra Return Metcalf was born at East Ashtabula,
Ohio, Mar. 17, 1818, and during his earlier life was a sailor on the
lakes. Later he settled in Ashtabula and became a large land
owner, dividing some 400 acres among his four children. He
died in East Village, Jan. 20, 1900, having married Virginia
Wilkinson Sweet, daughter of Peleg Sweet, Jr. His
wife, who survived him until Sept. 4, 1906, was the mother of four
children who reached maturity, viz: Marion, Friend, Chauncey
and Dennis D.
Friend Metcalf was born on the old homestead at
East Village, July 28, 1849; was reared and educated in that
locality and is still living on a portion of the family estate,
neighbor to his younger brother, Chauncey. He is a
prosperous farmer and is highly honored for his useful and virtuous
life. His wife was formerly Miss Luella Hayward, who
has borne him Bessie, Ruth C., Paul
S. and Wallace E.
Metcalf.
Source: History of the Western Reserve By Harriet Taylor Upton And a
staff of Leading Citizens collaborated on the Counties and
Biographies - ILLUSTRATED - VOL. III - Publ. The Lewis
Publishing Company - Chicago - New York - 1910 Page 893 |
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