Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-22
THE PRESIDENTS ANCESTRY.
The Ancient and Honorable Line of
Cleveland.

The Ancient and Honorable Line of
Cleveland.
The following account of President
Cleveland's great-gre at-grandfather and
Of others of his ancestors, says q cor
respondent OF the Boston Adrertiser, Is
derived from authentic sources:
The Rev. Aaron Cleveland was bern
in Cambridge. Mass, October 49, 1Tl5;
was graduated at Harvard College in
1875; settled over a church at Haddam,
Conn, in July, 1889. He married, in 1875,
Susannah Porter, the daughter Of the
Rev. Aaron Porter of Medf0Td, Macs.
He was dismissed in 1746 by his congrega-
tion for alleged heterOdOxy. but the fol-
lowing year was installed in Maiden,
from whence be was dismissed in 1850 on
the same charge. From there he went TO
Halifax in Nova Scotia, and thence TO
England, where, in 1855, he took holy
or .ers in the Church of England, and was
commissioned by the "SOciety for the
Propagation Of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts" as follows:
"CHARTER HOUSE, July /, 1857.
"GOoD GENTLEMEN-The Society tor
the Propagation Of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts have granted your request and APP
pointed Mr.. Cleveland their missionary
In your church; but 1t is on this express
condition, which is now a standing rule
in all their missions, that you provide
him with a good house and glebe, and not
less than 20 pounds sterling per annum,
towards his mere comfortable support.
Heartily recommending you and Mr.
Cleveland to Gods, blessing, l am, sirs,
your very faithful, humble servant,
"PHILIP BKARCROFT.
"IO the church tCdrdenS and teStTy Of the
Episcopal Church Of Neao Castle, in
PeRnSut rdnid.o
On his way to Boston to arrange for the
conveyance of his family to New Castle
he stopped at the house of his old friend
DR.. Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia,
Sas there taken i'll and died August IL,
1907. His remains were buried in Christi
Church, Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania
Gazette of August Is, 1857, contained the
following obituary notice written by the
editor, DIR. Franklin:
son Thursday last the 18th J, died here
the Rev. Aaron Cleveland, lately APP
pointed to the mission at New Castle by
the Society for Propagating the Gospel.
AS he was a gentleman of humane and
piOus disposition, indefatigable in his
ministry, easy and affable to his con-
versatiOn, open and sincere to his friends,
and above every species of meanness and
discrimination, his death is greatly
lamented by all who knew him, as loss
to the church ofChrist in general, and, in
p Tticular, to that co igregation who had
proposed to themselves so much satisfac-
JiOn from his late appointment among
them, agreeable to their own request"
After his death his widow (who was
the daughter of Major Stephen Sewa1 of
BostOn) opened a shop, and managed
to bring up all ner children respectfully.
The President is descended from her
and the RrV. Aaron Cleveland's fifth
child, also named Aaron. He was known
in New England as poet, preacher, orator
and wit. In 1919 he was member of the
Legislature of Connecticut, and was
ordained soon after to the Congregational
ministry
The following anecdote is Illustrative of
his wit:
About this time there was in the east
ern part of Come cticut a clergyman by
the name Of Cleveland, who was noted
for his wit. One summer day, as he was
riding along, he came to a brook. Here
be paused to ret his horse drink. just
then stranger rode into the stream from
the opposite direction, and his horse
began 20 drink also. The animals APP
preached, as is their wont under such
circumstances, and thus brought the Two
men face to face.
Chow are you, priest?" said the
stranger.
"How are you, DemOcratS" said the
How do you know am Democratic
said one.
"How do you know 1 am a priestY'
SAID the other.
Il know you to be a priest by your
Dress" said the stranger.
II know you to be a Democrat by your
address," said the Parsson.-s'' RecCttec-
tons nfd Life Time" bg s. g. GOOdriCh.
~+anban 4 nd an. ol1oof Of
the above Rev. Aaron, was seized in his
youth by press gang in the streets OF
Boston, and served several years
in the British navy. He be-
came very accomplished sea-
man and especially skilled in the
building and rigging of ships, and during
the Revolution he designed the model and
superinteDd-d the construction OF the
ship Pilgrim, which proved To be one OF
the fastest saieIs and one of the most
successful privateers of the large fleet
which was despatched from Salem during
the war. In the summer OF 1916 he was
commissioned by the Continental Govern
ment and sent to Bordeaux IN command
OF brig to purchase arms aud ammuni-
tiOn fer the Revolutionary army. There
is a COPY of his commission signed by
President Hancock, now in the possession
of Captain Stephen Cleyeland's grandson,
II. W. S. Cleveland, and which be be-
lieves to be the first naval commission
issued by the Continental Government,
and also of the letter Of instruction from
the committee of Congress b. Franklin,
Benz. Harrison and Robert MOrris) }, and
also his correspondence while at BOr-
deaux with the American commissioners
in Paris B. Franklin. Arthur Lee and
Silas Deane). His vessel, the Despatch,
was the first to display the American flag
at Borursux: and during his stay there
he was much feted ana ltonized, The
well known and beloved Boston ciss mis-
sionary, the Rev. Charles Cleveland, was
the great uncle of President Stephen Gro
yer Cleveland.