Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-02-05
History Of Ashtabula Township.
Written in 1s5G-from Tile Times.
by the Late Rev JOHN HALL.

Some of the early settlers, by great
labor, attended with extreme dsadvan-
tages, had enabled themselves to provide
for their families most of the bare neces.
saries, with none of the luxuries of life.
| do not recollcct any farm but that of
Gideon Leet, ESQ.,, lying on the east
bank of the Ashtabula, one mile above
its mouth, which furnished an entire SUP
port for its occupants. This productive
farm yielded surplus. To make up
their deficiencies and complete their
supplies, the other inhabitants resorted
to Messrs. Smith, Hubbard, and Leet,
and farmers and dealers in the older set
Elements in this county and Trumbull.
Colonel NJ. Hubbard lived in q small
frame house and had frame barn; Amos
Fish had small frame house in progress
which was soon finished; VIM. Jones
had frame barn; Gideon Leet Esq, had
a large frame barn and sheds; Samuel
Beckwith had frame barn. All other
houses and barns were of logs.
The inhabitants were, many of them,
who had exchanged their small estates
with the land propretors, residing mostly
in Connecticut, for new lands here, with
some money to transport them hither
and procure them the first years subsi,s-
ence. Meanwhile, they hoped and la
bored to raise crops for supplies and pro-
visions, after their money should be ex-
hansted which they brought with them
Some were poor men who went in debt
entirely for their lands By slow pro-
cess they were obliged to clear their
farms, for the support of their families,
and for means TO make payments annu-
ally for the soil.
Another class were young, recently
become of age; some with and some
without wives; having neither money
nor property to help themselves with.
For present subsistence they wrought
for Others, and took up tracts of land
which they did not expect to pay for,
hoping to make improvements on them
to some extent, and then assign their
articles and sell their improvements to
more wealthy immigrants, who might be
desirous to purchase farms partially i'm
proved. With the money thus obtained,
they purchased new lots, of which, in
process OF time, they made farms for
themselves.
A fourth but less numerous class, were
persons of more wealth, who brought
with them money sufficient to buy out
such persons as must sell their improve
ments, and to employ those who must
work ont for living. A great majority
OF these first inhabitants were really
poor, and Dumber of serious disadvan-
tages concurred to render the process, by
which they eventually arrived at a com
potency, very slow, which do not in the
States and Territories farther west i'm
pede the progress of improvements.
But few of those tracts are found no
heavily timbered and, consequently, so
slow and expensive to clear and render
available. We had none of their advan-
tages, consisting IN prairie pastures and
affordiDg immediate snstenance for their
ffocks aud herds, making their horses and
oxen "strong to labor" and distendiDg
the udders Of their cows with milk for
the daily nutriment of themselves and
their children. Nor had we their prairie
corn-felds ready for the plow, and re-
turning rich harvests in the space OF a
few months, to supply them with abun-
dance of bread. Nor could we with the
same facility, and in equal abundance,
from our woods, as they from their
woods and prairie robtain the wild game
TO sapply our tables with meat, nor SO
soon and plentifnlly furnish them with
the fat flesh Of domestic animals.
1t was serious impediment to our
progressive improyemept. that the wide