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TRUMBULL COUNTY,  OHIO
History & Genealogy

BIOGRAPHIES.

Source:
 History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties, Ohio
Published:  Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bros.
VOLUME I
1882

CHAPTER IV.
KINSMAN TOWNSHIP
Trumbull County, Ohio

  DR. PETER ALLEN.  Kinsman has had no citizen more honored and useful in his calling than Dr. Peter Allen.  He was born at Norwich, Connecticut, July 1, 1787, the son of John and Tirzah Allen.  His father was a respectable and well-to-do farmer of Norwich, and gave his son the best advantages of education which the city at that time afforded.  He pursued and completed his professional studies with the eminent Dr. Tracy, of Norwich, emigrating to Kinsman in 1808, and immediately entering on the practice of his profession.  He was the first, and for nearly a quarter of a century the only physician in the township and a somewhat extensive surrounding country.  Possessed of an uncommonly robust constitution and great energy of character, he endured hardships and performed an amount of labor in his profession which in these days of bridges, good rounds, and short rides might seem almost incredible.  It was nothing uncommon for him in the early settlement of the country to ride over bad roads and along mere bridle-paths ten, fifteen, twenty or more miles to visit a patient, often fording streams or crossing them on logs or by canoes, exposed to west and cold, fatigues and discomforts that we are now little able to appreciate.  In his day the advantages of medical schools, hospitals, clinics, dissections were enjoyed only by a very few physicians.  Notwithstanding the disadvantages with which he had to contend, Dr. Allen attained a high standing in his profession.  He performed many difficult surgical operations, such as the operation for strangulated hernia, ligating the femoral artery for aneurism, laryngotomy, lithotomy, removal of cancers, amputation of limbs, and at the shoulder-joint, etc.  He stood high in the esteem of medical men, and his counsel was much sought by them in difficult cases of both medicine and surgery.  He was an active member of the Ohio State Medical association from its first formation, and was at one time its presiding officer.  In the War of 1812 he had the first appointment of surgeon in the army on the northern frontier of the State.  He was also a member of the Ohio State Legislature in 1840.
     He married Charity Dudley, of Bethlehem, Connecticut, May 15, 1813.  Mrs. Allen, a superior and most estimable woman, was for many years a great sufferer.  Her death was sudden, she having been thrown from the carriage in which she was riding, by the fright of her horse, June 1, 1840, and lived only a few hours after.  In 1841 Dr. Allen married Miss Fanny Brewster Starr, a niece of Mrs. R. Kinsman and General Simon Perkins.  She died in consumption in August, 1846.  Dr. Allen had but one child, Dr. Dudley Allen, born in June, 1814.
     The first office of Dr. Allen was in his father's yard, on the farm now occupied by Isaac Allen, by the maple grove on the banks of Stratton creek.  This he occupied until the fall of 1813, when he moved into a double log-house which stood in the yard in which he built his frame house in 1821.  This latter was in the time of its erection and is still a beautiful house of elaborate and superior workmanship.  It was much admired and cost $3,000, which was then considered an extravagant sum.
     His brother, Dr. Francis Allen, was in company with him from 1825 to 1829, and his son from 1837 to 1852, at which time he mostly relinquished practice.  The farm on which he lived was purchased in 1812 for $2 per acre.
     Dr. Allen is remembered by those who knew him, not merely as a skillful physician, but also as an active and steadfast member of the church of Christ.  When his business permitted he was always present in the house of God on the Sabbath.  A regular attendant at the weekly prayer-meeting, and in the latter part of his life was an active member of the Sabbath school.
     After having relinquished the business of his profession he was almost the standing representative of the church in meetings of synod, and at the meeting next succeeding his death was spoken of by that body in terms of high regard.  Only a few months before his last sickness he represented Trumbull presbytery as their lay delegate in the general assembly, at Dayton.  He retained full possession of his faculties though advanced in life, and his Christian example shone bright until the end.
Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882 - Page 301-302

Riverius Bidwell


Mrs. Riverius Bidwell

RIVERIUS AND EUNICIA BIDWELL.   Riverius Bidwell and his wife Eunicia Bidwell were among the earliest settlers of Gustavus township, the date of their emigration being the year 1812.  Mr. Bidwell was born in Connecticut, Sept. 5, 1790.  He received a fair English education, and at the age of about nineteen engaged to teach school in a small village near New Haven, where he had planned to pursue his course at Yale college, the village now known as Westville, a suburb of New Haven, was then commonly called Hotchkisstown, it being the seat of the numerous and prominent family bearing the name of Hotchkiss.  A friendship between the young schoolmaster and Eunicia Hotchkiss soon ripened into matrimony.  They were married in New Haven, Connecticut, June 27, 1910, by Rev. Abram Allen, and two years later sought a home in the wild, cheerless West.
     Riverius Bidwell, Sr., father of our subject, lived in Canton, Hartford county, Connecticut.  His family consisted of three sons and five daughters, with whom he emigrated to Ohio in the year 1813, and also settled in Gustavus.  He died July 22, 1822, aged fifty-nine years.  His wife, Phebe Bidwell, died Aug. 17, 1837, aged seventy-six years.  Their children were Wayne, died June 10, 1832; Esther (Cone), died in Kinsman Jan. 27, 1816; Achsah (Dyer) died in Canton, Connecticut; Sophia (Burnham), died at Kinsman, Jan. 5, 1851, aged fifty-four; Zehiel, died September, 1864; Phebe Humphrey, died in New York.  Marrietta, wife of Buell Barnes is the only surviving member of the family.
     Riverius Bidwell, Jr. was somewhat eccentric in habit, but was one of the most pushing, persevering and active men on the Reserve.  Under an old law in Ohio taxes were collected by an officer who was appointed for that purpose, at the homes and places of business of the citizens.  The office was very laborious on account of the great size of the county and bad condition of roads which connected the sparse settlements.  Mr. Bidwell served as collector two years.  He walked from house to house till every house in the county had been visited, part of the time being barefooted, always at a brisk gait.  After collections had all been made, he walked to Columbus and made settlement with the Treasurer of State.  This is but one incident of many which might be written to show his perseverance.  He was always ready witted, and rarely found himself in a puzzling situation.  He kept the first post-office in Gustavus, but being absent most of the time Mrs. Bidwell transacted most of the business.
     Mr. Bidwell was justice of the peace and held other local trusts.  He sold his farm in Gustavus in 1834 and removed to Kinsman.  He took an active interest and was influential in securing to Kinsman a line of railway.  This was about the last work of his busy life.  He died Feb. 6, 1870, aged eighty-one years.  Mrs. Bidwell, who is yet living, was born Mar. 24, 1794.  She is a woman of great strength of character, is yet strong, and is able to recall with clearness events of eighty years ago.
     The family of Mr. and Mrs. Bidwell consisted of three sons and one daughter - Hannah Mariah, born Sept. 20, 1811, at Canton, Connecticut, and died in childhood; Jasper Riverius, born July 25, 1813, and died at the age of twenty years;  Caleb Hotchkiss, born Sept. 26, 1815, graduated at Western Reserve college at nineteen years of age, studied law with Whittlesey & Newton, was admitted to the bar, and died at the age of twenty-five; Wayne, the only child living, was born May 6, 1821.  He married Mary Hyde, who was born Jan. 11, 1824, in Vernon township.
     Both Mr. and Mrs. Bidwell were members of the Presbyterian church and exemplary Christians.
Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882 - Page 304

James C. Bishop
Kinsman, Trumbull Co. -  
JAMES C. BISHOP, well known in the northern part of Trumbull county as a dealer in fine stock, is the subject of an illustration on an adjoining page.  He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, July 9, 1810.  His parents were  Ebenezer and Lucinda Bishop, who removed with their family to Herkimer county, New York, in the year 1813.  Mr. Bishop built a factory, and engaged extensively in the manufacture of cheese. 
     In the year 1833 James C. Bishop came to the Reserve, and the following year purchased one hundred and thirty-seven acres near the present site of Kinsman station.  After having made a clearing and planted the fall crop, he sold his land and went South, finding employment at the carpenter trade is Mississippi.  When spring opened Mr. Bishop returned to his old home in New York on a visit.  The trip resulted in his parents selling their farm, and the removal of the whole family to Gustavus township.  This was in the spring of 1834.  They purchased a dairy farm, and erected a cheese factory similar to those in use in Herkimer county.  It was the first of the kind in Trumbull county, though other manufacturers were not slow to imitate its advantageous features.
     Mr. Bishop brought with him from New York what was at that time a great curiosity in the north part of the county - a spring buggy.  Reuben Roberts, a blacksmith in Gustavus, used the springs for patterns and engaged with profit in their manufacture.  James C. operated his father's factory about four years, and then purchased it.  He conducted the business with profit to himself and with entire satisfaction to dairymen in the neighborhood for a period of about twenty years.  He purchased a second farm in Gustavus and engaged in breeding and trading in a fine stock.  He brought to the county the first thoroughbred cow, from which was descended many of the  best cattle in this part of the State.  Two oxen raised by Mr. Bishop were sold in the Pittsburgh market for $300.  Mr. Bishop, George Hezlep, and George Cowden, were the leading stock dealers in Gustavus township.  He was a patron of the Trumbull County Agricultural society, and received premiums on the productions of his farm.
     Mr. Bishop married, in 1839, Philena Gates, a daughter of Philo Gates, of Gustavus township.  She died in 1845, leaving one son - Chaplin J. Bishop, of Chicago.  In 1859 Mr. Bishop sold both his farms in Gustavus and purchased the old Swift farm in Kinsman, which he continues to own.  In 1860 he married for his second wife Mrs. Dr. Joseph P. Morford, of Johnston township.  Her maiden name was Hannah Dunbar.
     Mr. Bishop
is a well preserved man; has a clear recollection of past events, and retains the business sagacity of former years.
Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882 - Page 303
  Kinsman, Trumbull Co. -
JEDEDIAH BURNHAM.  The life of Jedediah Burnham, through a period of nearly eighty-seen years, has been intimately and variously connected with the growth and progress of the township of Kinsman.  His counsels and acts, whether in the military, civil, or religious organizations of the town, as well as in the administration of all township and county affairs entrusted to him, have been marked with eminent justice, propriety, and wisdom.  He came to Kinsman not far from the time that he became of age, and was very soon appointed to office.  From that time to the period when the infirmities of age began to press upon him, he was actively employed in the responsible duties to which he was called by his fellow-citizens of the town and county.  He was an active member and honored officer of the Congregational and Presbyterian church in Kinsman, from its beginning to the day of his death.  Pre-eminently a peace-maker, he was commonly the first one in the town resorted to for the settlement of any misunderstanding or difficulty between neighbor and neighbor, or trouble of any sort that had sprung up in the community.
     He was born in Lisbon, Connecticut, in 1785, the son of Dr. Jedediah Burnham, a respectable physician of that place, who in old age, with his wife and daughter, removed to Kinsman, and lived and died in the family of his son.  In 1804 Mr. Burnham left the home of his parents and went to Virginia, with the hope of finding in that State a location that would please him.  He returned however, without locating, but through an arrangement with Mr. Kinsman he returned to Ohio the next year, and entered the employ of Kinsman.  The new house of Mr. Kinsman was being rapidly brought to completion.  The first work of Mr. Burnham was to assist in putting in the stone chimney.  After that he was busy in various work of the farm until winter, when he was engaged to teach the first regular school of the township.  The next spring and summer he was again employed on the farm, and assisted in putting in a crop of oats on the bottom lands south of Wayne Bidwell's.  The product was an abundent crop of straw as well as oats, which was moved and stacked for winter fodder, near Mr. Kinsman's house.
     In the winter of 1806 he again commenced the school, with the understanding that Benjamin Allen would take his place as soon as he had finished a job of work in Hubbard.  In accordance with this arrangement Mr. Burnham was relieved about midwinter, and went into Mr. Kinsman's store in the capacity of a clerk, where he remained until the breaking out of the War of 1812, when he was called to serve in the army.
     In the organization of the township militia Mr. Burnham was first appointed lieutenant in Captain Randalls company, and afterward promoted to captain.  Returning form the army, Captain Burnham at once devoted himself to the cultivation and improvement of his farm.
     He was married to Miss Sophia Bidwell, of Gustavus, 1814.  In 1816 he was elected justice of the peace, in which capacity he served uninterruptedly twenty-one years.  His official acts were ever marked with justice and propriety; and all of his decisions appealed from during his long administration, it is said that not any (if any, certainly but very few) were reversed by the higher courts.
     In 1806 he was chosen collector of the civil township of Green, embracing under that name what is now Kinsman, Gustavus and Green.  Afterward he was appointed county collector, when the law required the collector to call at the residence of every person taxed to make the collection.  This arduous duty was performed by himself alone, going on horseback from house to house throughout the county.  Afterward he has the office of county assessor, the duties of which were performed in a similar manner, and labor.  The duties of his office were attended to with a high degree of exactitude, promptness and fidelity.
     He held the office of deacon in the Vernon, Hartford, and Kinsman church, and, after the formation of the Congregational and Presbyterian church in Kinsman, the same office in that until his death.  His long, prosperous, eventful, and useful life closed early in the year of 1874.
Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882 - Page 302

Miss Lottie Fobes
 
Kinsman, Trumbull Co. -
THE FOBES FAMILY.   Horatio Fobes, youngest son of Joshua and Dorothy Fobes, was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, Feb. 16, 1812.  Joshua Fobes settled in Wayne township, Ashtabula county, in 1802.  He raised a family of ten children, of whom six are living.  Horatio Fobes, until nineteen, was engaged in farming on the home place, coming to Kinsman in 1831.  He commenced with Benjamin Allen the carding and cloth dressing business.  He afterwards rented and purchased the business and conducted it until about 1852.  He was married in 1835 to Miss Louisa Dodge, of Ashtabula county, but a native of Connecticut.  They became the parents of one daughter, Charlotte L., born in 1840, died in 1863.  About 1859 Mr. Fobes purchased a half interest in the Bidwell & Fobes flouring mill, which, in connection with Bidwell and other parties he has since operated; was township treasurer for many years. 
     Lotta Louisa, only child of Horatio and Louisa (Dodge) Fobes, was born in Kinsman in the yea r1840, and died Nov. 7, 1863.  She was the pride of fond parents, and the beloved of a large circle of friends.  In her the charm of a graceful figure was united with the attraction of a a cultured mind and beautiful character.  Faithful, gentle, loving, she was death's shining mark.  No words can more nearly express a parent's feelings than the lines Byron once wrote beneath a friend's picture:

     Dear object of defeated care,
          Through now of love and thee bereft.
     To reconcile me with despair
          Thine image and my tears are left.

     'Tis said with sorrow time can cope;
          But this, I fear, can ne'er be true;
     For by the death-blow of my hope
          My memory immortal grew.

Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882 - Page 303
[PHOTO OF MISS LOTTIE FOBES]

  Kinsman, Trumbull Co. -
JOHN KINSMAN AND FAMILY*.    The ancestors of Mr. Kinsman, on his father's side, are traced from the time of their leaving England, embarking in the ship Mary and John, at Southampton, landing at Boston, settling in Ipswich, Massachusetts, as one of the Puritan fathers, in 1634.  From that time the genealogical record is traced by regularly executed recorded wills of tile ancestors of Mr. Kinsman down to and including the last will and testament of his father; and whatever of history is shown links them with the patriots of their day and generation.  The ancestry of his mother is traced from John Thomas, who came over from England in the ship Hopewell, 1635, a boy fourteen years of age, under the special charge of Governor Edward Winslow, of Plymouth, from whom sprang an honorable and patriotic line of descendants.  The name of Mr. Kinsman's mother was Sarah Thomas, sister of General John Thomas, of the American Revolution, one of the generals first appointed by the Continental Congress.
     Mr. John Kinsman was the son of Jeremiah Kinsman, a thrifty farmer of Lisbon, Connecticut.  Here he lived, working on his father's farm, and receiving such education as the schools of that day afforded, until he was of age.  At the breaking out of the Revolution, 1776, being then twenty three years old, he enlisted in a company of Connecticut militia, destined to take an active part in the bloody and disastrous battle of Long Island.  In that battle he was taken prisoner and was confined for some time in one of the prison-ships in New York harbor.  He suffered greatly from this imprisonment, being inhumanly treated, and never fully recovered from its effects upon his health with two of his companions he was finally released from the prison ship on parole and allowed to mess in a room in the city of New York.
     While in New York he acquired a knowledge of the hatting business that induced him, immediately on his release and return home, to embark in that business.  He at once established a shop, placed in it an experienced workman, Mr. Capron, as foreman, purchased a stock of goods, and devoted his time to the care of the store, furnishing the shop, and making sales of the products.  He supplied the army largely with hats, and the trade generally proved to be successful, and was continued in Connecticut, with his farm operations, until after the war.
     In 1792 he was married to Miss Rebecca Perkins, daughter of Captain Simon Perkins, of Lisbon, Connecticut.
     In 1797, having been elected to represent his native town in the State Legislature, the office was continued to him by successive re-elections for three years.  It was here that he became acquainted with many of the officers and stock holders of the Connecticut Land company, and familiar with their operations, and concluded to become one of the proprietors of the company.  It was also about this time that he first entertained the idea of a removal to Ohio.
     His first trip to the Connecticut Western Reserve was in 1799.  He came out to explore the country, and to see and survey some of the lands that had fallen to him in the drafts of the year previous.  That year he aided in the survey of the township of Kinsman, and from this time his life and business were very intimately connected with the early history and settlement of the township.  His was the ruling spirit of the settlement.  His age, experience, enterprise,
wealth, and more that, all, perhaps, his practical sound judgment, gave him an influence in the affairs of the town which no other individual could pretend to exert.
     While naturally firm and decided in his purpose, he was conciliatory in his treatment of others, eminently kind in his feelings and lenient as a creditor.
     His first office in Ohio was that of justice of the peace under the Territorial government.  Local justices were associated to form the courts called quarter sessions.  He was one of those who assisted in constituting the government of the first and subsequent county organizations, providing for county jail, and fixing its limits, etc.  Under the State government, in 1806, he was appointed one of the associate judges of the county.  Also held the office of postmaster from the time of the first establishment of an office in the town to the time of his decease.
     His own increasing business, as well as that of many others, now called for increased facilities of trade and commerce, and was the occasion of the establishment of the Western Reserve bank, the first corporation of the kind in Northern Ohio.  Mr. Kinsman was one of its principal projectors, and much the largest subscriber to the stock of the company, taking one-fifth of the $100,000 capital.  He did not live, however, to see the organization completed.
     His business life was one of great activity and toil, riding often on horseback to Connecticut, New York, and Philadelphia, to purchase goods, also over many parts of the Reserve, looking after settlements and sales of land, occasionally camping out nights.  Besides, the building of mills, attention to his store, and the clearing and improving of a large farm, brought upon him exposures and cares greater than his somewhat impaired constitution was able to bear.  He died Aug. 17, 1813, aged sixty years.  He died in testate, leaving a large estate, for that time, which was administered upon by his brother-in-law, General Simon Perkins.
     Mr. Kinsman lived and died in the house which he built on the south side of the square, near where the store and warehouse of Kay & Burrill now stands.  A few years after his decease the house took fire in the middle of the night and burned to the ground.  The family afterwards occupied the old Sutliff house, a little east of the one burned, until John Kinsman, the eldest son of the deceased, built the house now known as the “Kinsman homestead,” which was occupied by the family until by death, marriage, or otherwise, their homes were changed.
     The widow, Mrs. Rebecca Kinsman, remained there until her decease, May 27, 1854, aged eighty years.  Mrs. Kinsman was a woman of decided and devoted Christian character, of strong mind, and of large heart.  She was active in promoting the religious culture of the place, both in word and deed.  She gave freely and largely to benevolent objects; was a liberal benefactor of Western Reserve college in its earlier years, assisted largely towards the building of the Presbyterian and Congregational house of worship, gave the parsonage and grounds to be occupied by the minister of the society, and contributed generously toward an endowment for his support.  Her liberal hand, kind advice, and ready relief to those who were in need have often been gratefully remembered and acknowledged.
     The family of Mr. and Mrs. Kinsman, when they left Lisbon, Connecticut, consisted of the following children: John, aged ten years; Joseph, aged nine years, Sarah, aged five years, died Jan. 13, 1807; Olive Douglas, aged three years.
     John, the eldest of the children, soon took the place of “pater familias” in the household, living in the old homestead, which he built.  He was married Apr. 28, 1846, to Jane W. Cass, widow of John Jay Cass, and died Feb. 4,
1864.
     He was identified with the early settlement of the Western Reserve from his youth; and having uncommon energy and business capacity, he soon became connected with many of the public and business interests of the day, and devoted much of his time and means to the development of the resources of the country, and administered largely of his advice and means to the wants of those around him.
     In his extended business large credits, for provisions and supplies, were freely given to relieve the wants of the early settlers, at a time when such credits were deemed absolutely necessary to their success.
     Joseph, after remaining with his father in Ohio assisting in the store a few years, returned to Connecticut, fitted himself for college at the academy at Colchester, and entered the fresh man class at Yale college in 1816.  After three years of close application to study his health gave way, and he was advised by his physician to go South.  He spent the winter in the West Indies at St. Thomas and St. Croix, returning with the return of spring.  He died of consumption, June 17, 1819, and was buried in the old cemetery at Norwich, Connecticut.  His age was twenty-four years.
     Olive Douglas, in 1812, was sent to Norwich, Connecticut, to attend the school of Miss Lydia Huntley, afterward Mrs. Sigourney.  From there she went to Hartford, afterwards to Litchfield, where she finished her school education under the instruction of Mrs. Pierce.  While in attendance upon Miss Huntley's school for young ladies the intelligence of her father's death was received.  An only daughter, she was a favorite of her father's, and his death was to her a great affliction.
     Returning from school in 1819, she rode on horseback from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to her home.  Unaccustomed to this mode of travel the journey was so severe that it produced a spinal affection, from which she never recovered.  She married George Swift, Esq., son of Hon. Zephaniah Swift, chief justice of Connecticut. He was a graduate of Yale college, commenced the practice of law in Warren; occupied, for his first residence, a house on the corner of Main and Franklin streets, where the Anderson block now stands.  In 1823 he removed to Kinsman, purchased a farm and built a house upon it, which is now occupied by David Bracken.  He continued the practice of law for some time, but in the latter part of his life devoted himself mainly to the farm.  He was a great reader and an accomplished scholar, very agree able and instructive in conversation; was elected a Representative to the State Legislature; was a devoted Christian, and aided much in the religious exercises, and the building up of the church to which he belonged.  He died Mar. 14, 1845, of cancer.  Mrs. Swift died June 24, 1835, of spinal affection.
     Thomas was the first of the family born in Ohio, Aug. 20, 1804.  He was one of the most extensive farmers in northern Ohio.  His lands, comprising about two thousand acres, were located in the townships of Kinsman and Gustavus.  The fine quality of its soil, well watered by springs and spring brooks, its good timber, and well arranged farm buildings, made his farm one of the most attractive in the State.  It was mostly under fine cultivation; a part being devoted to dairy purposes, the number of cows ranging from sixty to eighty each year; the balance to promiscuous farming.  His large and well-bred Durham herd constituted at all times a prominent and attractive feature of his business.
     His life as a citizen of the town numbers more years than any one that has preceded him, and at his death he was the oldest native inhabitant.  His life, from childhood to old age, has been peculiarly marked by kindly relations with all with whom he had to do.  Buoyant in spirits, with a strong mind abounding in wit and humor, he drew around him a circle of friends; while his marked integrity, consistent Christian character, and a modesty that withheld him from any aspirations for fame or official position, rendered him prominent as a counselor and adviser with his neighbors and friends.
     Frederick Kinsman, the only surviving member of the family, now resides at Warren, Ohio.
Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882 - Page 296
* From the Mahoning Valley Historial Collections.
  Kinsman, Trumbull Co. -
SETH PERKINS..

Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882 - Page 301

  THE REEVE FAMILY OF KINSMAN.     Jeremiah Reeve, Sr., was born at Norwich, Connecticut, in April, 1779.  His father, Ebenezer Reeve, was born at Southold, Long Island, Aug. 23, 1751, and his wife, Bethia Hudson, at the same place, about five years after.  They were married at Southold, Long Island, in the year 1776, and moved to Morris, New Jersey.  This place was occupied at about this time by British troops, and the inhabitants were considerably annoyed by then.  For this reason my grandfather thought best to sell the farm which his father had helped him purchase, and remove to Norwich, Connecticut.  He after this served as a soldier in the war which had then commenced.  My grandmother was removed by death, at their home in Norwich, on Jan. 19, 1786, at the age of twenty-nine, leaving three small children, my father, the eldest, being not quite seven years of age.
     Of my father's early years I can speak but very little, being at the time of his death only nine years of age.  Being the only son considerable pains was taken with his education.  He pursued the study of medicine, although never practicing.  That he had gifts as a public speaker was shown by his being chosen to deliver an oration at Norwich, his native place, on the 4th of July which followed the death of Washington.  His allusion to the then recent death of the country's renowned chief and lamented ex-President, was considered by his friends quite a happy effort.
     That he was possessed of a sense of the humorous and ludicrous, and perhaps a little of the waggery which prompts to practical joking, seems apparent from an incident related by deacon Charles Wood, late of Kinsman.  He was a frequent passenger on boats plying between Norwich and New London.  On one of these occasions, when about meeting another boat, the captain of his boat knowing something of his mirthful propensities, said to him, “Now, Jerry, keep quiet and be civil.” My father demurely replied, “I will," immediately picking up a section of stove-pipe near him, turned towards the approaching boat through his improvised telescope a long and steady gaze, which had the desired effect of producing the uproarious applause and merriment of both boat-loads.  In 1802, my grandfather having traded his farm in Norwich with Judge Kinsman, for land on the Western Reserve, moved with his two younger children, Deborah, afterwards Mrs. Plumb Sutliff, and Hannah, afterwards Mrs. John Andrews, to their new home in Kinsman, Trumbull county, Ohio, my father remaining East a year longer at school.  After coming West he engaged in teaching at Hubbard, in this county, where he continued his school for one year.  He afterwards engaged in teaching at Wooster, near Marietta, where he became acquainted with and was afterwards married to Miss Mary Quigley, on Nov. 27, 1808.  Their eldest and only child, Ebenezer Reeve the second, was born at Kinsman, Ohio, Aug. 9, 1812.  His mother died Aug. 9, 1825.  His last visit in Kinsman was about the year 1842.  He had previous to this been engaged for three years in farming on a farm which he had rented in Kentucky.  He promised an other visit the next year, but did not come.  Several years after this news came to us of his death by drowning in the Mississippi river.
     The Reeve family for seven generations occupied the same estate at Southold, Long Island, which descended through the eldest son, who usually, if not in every instance, bore the Christian name of James.
     My grandfather was a younger member of a large family of brothers, whose posterity scattered and divided over the Union, and possibly with earlier branches of the family in all parts of the world, without doubt share distinguishing marks which denote a common ancestry.
     Chief Justice Tappan Reeve, of Connecticut, was a relative of my grandfather, and a sense of equity manifest in his writings display characteristics of mind and heart which my father and grandfather exemplified in daily life.
     The psalmist's description of the man “who sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not,” from the knowledge which I have been able to gain of father and son would eminently apply to each.
     My father died of typhus fever at Kinsman, Ohio, Sept. 21, 1836.
     Sarah McMichael was born at Frederick, Maryland, Nov. 27, 1800.  Her children regarded the date as felicitous, the year commencing the century, and the day of the month and the week sometimes being the same as that set apart for our National Thanksgiving day.
     My grandfather, Joseph McMichael, was born in Ireland, not far from the year 1750, and was of what is called Scotch-Irish descent.  His mother's family had a good estate about three miles from Londonderry, and after his father's death, which occurred when he was quite small, himself and mother returned to their former home.
     Annie Masters was born near Dublin, Ireland, some years later.  Her father was of English birth, and her mother, Catherine Carroll, of Irish birth, and cousin of Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence.  While visiting my grandfather's relatives in London my grandmother became acquainted with a wealthy Scotch family, and engaged with them as a governess for their children, and soon after sailed with them to America, Charleston, South Carolina, being their destination.  She remained with them several years, and then engaged as governess in the family of Judge Bey, of Baltimore, Maryland, where she remained until about the year 1795, near or at the close of the Revolutionary war, when she was married to my grandfather.  My mother was not quite five years old, and her only brother, Joseph McMichael, Jr., an infant, when her parents removed to Kinsman, Ohio, in 1805.  July which followed the death of Washington.  His allusion to the then recent death of the country's renowned chief and lamented ex-President, was considered by his friends quite a happy effort.
     That he was possessed of a sense of the humorous and ludicrous, and perhaps a little of the waggery which prompts to practical joking, seems apparent from an incident related by deacon Charles Wood, late of Kinsman.  He was a frequent passenger on boats plying between Norwich and New London.  On one of these occasions, when about meeting another boat, the captain of his boat knowing something of his mirthful propensities, said to him, “Now, Jerry, keep quiet and be civil.”  My father demurely replied, “I will," immediately picking up a section of stove-pipe near him, turned towards the approaching boat through his improvised telescope a long and steady gaze, which had the desired effect of producing the uproarious applause and merriment of both boat-loads.  In 1802, my grandfather having traded his farm in Norwich with Judge Kinsman, for land on the Western Reserve, moved with his two younger children, Deborah, afterwards Mrs. Plumb Sutliff, and Hannah, afterwards Mrs. John Andrews, to their new home in Kinsman, Trumbull county, Ohio, my father remaining East a year longer at school.  After coming West he engaged in teaching at Hubbard, in this county, where he continued his school for one year. He afterwards engaged in teaching at Wooster, near Marietta, where he became acquainted with and was afterwards married to Miss Mary Quigley, on Nov. 27, 1808.  Their eldest and only child, Ebenezer Reeve the second, was born at Kinsman, Ohio, Aug. 9, 1812.  His mother died Aug. 9, 1825.  His last visit in Kinsman was about the year 1842.  He had previous to this been engaged for three years in farming on a farm which he had rented in Kentucky.  He promised an other visit the next year, but did not come.  Several years after this news came to us of his death by drowning in the Mississippi river.
     The Reeve family for seven generations occupied the same estate at Southold, Long Island, which descended through the eldest son, who usually, if not in every instance, bore the Christian name of James.
     My grandfather was a younger member of a large family of brothers, whose posterity scattered and divided over the Union, and possibly with earlier branches of the family in all parts of the world, without doubt share distinguishing marks which denote a common ancestry.
     Chief Justice Tappan Reeve, of Connecticut, was a relative of my grandfather, and a sense of equity manifest in his writings display characteristics of mind and heart which my father and grandfather exemplified in daily life.
     The psalmist's description of the man “who sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not,” from the knowledge which I have been able to gain of father and son would eminently apply to each.
     My father died of typhus fever at Kinsman, Ohio, Sept. 21, 1836.
     Sarah McMichael was born at Frederick, Maryland, Nov. 27, 1800.  Her children regarded the date as felicitous, the year commencing the century, and the day of the month and the week sometimes being the same as that set apart for our National Thanksgiving day.
     My grandfather, Joseph McMichael, was born in Ireland, not far from the year 1750, and was of what is called Scotch-Irish descent.  His mother's family had a good estate about three miles from Londonderry, and after his father's death, which occurred when he was quite small, himself and mother returned to their former home.
     Annie Masters was born near Dublin, Ireland, some years later.  Her father was of English birth, and her mother, Catherine Carroll, of Irish birth, and cousin of Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence.  While visiting my grandfather's relatives in London my grandmother became acquainted with a wealthy Scotch family, and engaged with them as a governess for their children, and soon after sailed with them to America, Charleston, South Carolina, being their destination.  She remained with them several years, and then engaged as governess in the family of Judge Bey, of Baltimore, Maryland, where she remained until about the year 1795, near or at the close of the Revolutionary war, when she was married to my grandfather.  My mother was not quite five years old, and her only brother, Joseph McMichael, Jr., an infant, when her parents removed to Kinsman, Ohio, in 1895.
     My grandfather, Joseph McMichael, was a trader, and crossed the Atlantic six times in the course of his business, which was shipping linen to this country and flax-seed back to Ireland.  On his third homeward voyage his ship was wrecked, and with the survivors he was carried to London by a rescuing vessel, where his mother's family sent him needed assistance, and after visiting home he crossed the sea the seventh and last time.  His death occurred in Kinsman, Ohio, July 28, 1831.  That of his wife at the same place, Feb. 27, 1845.
     My mother lived to a good old age, and filled out the life of usefulness which had been allotted to her with a cheerful patience, meeting the ills of life and infirmities of age with brave composure and unyielding fortitude.  Her death took place Apr. 25th, 1880.  My parents were members of the Congregational and Presbyterian church of Kinsman.
     Their home was at some distance from the church, and it was no uncommon sight to see them on horseback on their way to church on Sabbath morning, my mother with the youngest in her arms and the eldest seated behind her, and my father with two others disposed in a similar manner.  In personal appearance my father was rather tall, well formed, with brown hair, a brown beard, blue eyes, and a very fair complexion.  He was a fine singer with an excellent voice for bass.  My mother was a trifle below the ordinary height; in childhood her hair was red, but when she grew up it turned black.  Her head was handsomely shaped, eyes blue.  Her complexion was not as fair as my father's, but very clear and fresh.  She was very lady-like and agreeable in her manners, with refined tastes and thoughtful mind.  In singing she could not distinguish one note from another, and never attempted singing, although when her children were small, and while she was busy about her work, I have heard her humming in monotones.
     My parents were desirous of giving their children the best advantages for acquiring knowledge which the place would afford. Their two eldest, when but “tiny tots,” could be seen trudging morning and evening, when the season and weather would permit, on their way to and from school.  An infant school, such as is described in Miss Gilbert's Career, written by the late Dr. J. G. Holland, was established in the Kinsman village, a mile and a half from home.  My parents' two eldest infants managed to be there to take their part in lessons in astronomy, geometry, and other deep sciences, besides doing their share of the marching, singing, clapping of hands, etc., through the greater share of two summer terms.  Were all parents as earnest in procuring educational facilities for their children, laws for compulsory education would be useless.
     My parents' family consisted of six children:  Mary Deborah, born Sept. 5, 1827; Bethiah Hudson, Jan. 29, 1829; Annie Maria, Apr. 3, 1831; Jane Eliza, Oct. 11, 1833; Jeremiah Reeve, Jr., Mar. 15, 1835; James Albert, May 7, 1837.  Bethiah H. Reeve was married to Robert Clark at Paris, Edgar county, Illinois, Aug. 10, 1853, and died at the same place Apr. 9, 1854.  Their infant daughter died at Kinsman, Ohio, Oct. 6, 1854.  Jane E. Reeve and George C. Harding were married Nov. 10, 1854.  Their daughter, Flora Krum Harding, was born at Charleston, Coles county, Illinois, in the summer of 1855, and died at Indianapolis, Indiana, Aug. 20, 1874.  Their son, Ben Shillaber Harding, was born at the same place, and was the victim of a railroad accident on the Burlington & Quincy railroad, near Ottumwa, Iowa, Dec. 29, 1879, which caused his instant death.  Annie Maria Reeve was married to John T. Edwards, of Chicago, Illinois, at Cleveland, Ohio, June 6, 1859.  His widow and a son and four daughters survive the father, who died at Benton Harbor, Michigan, Feb. 7, 1873, where his family still reside.
     James A. Reeve and Eliza Woolmer were married at Chicago, Illinois, where they now reside, in December, 1863.  Their family consists of two sons and a daughter.  Two sons who died in infancy were buried at Benton Harbor, Michigan.
     Jane E. R. Harding and John Morris were married at Charleston, Coles county, Illinois, where they still reside, Apr. 16, 1865.  Their son, Charles Thomas Morris, was born at Charleston, Illinois, Sept. 13, 1866, and died May 7, 1869.  Helen Emily Morris was born Sept. 16, 1870, at Charleston, Illinois.  The eldest son and eldest daughter of my parents still reside at Kinsman, their native place.
Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882 - Page 298
* By Mary D. Reeve.

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