Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1901-05-25
Early History of Summit
University.
Founded by Early Settlers From
New England.
Several Academies We're Located at Other Places
Before Hudson Was Selected as Seat
Of Learning.

Western Reserve, or Hudson College.
was the pioneer establishment of the
kind in Northern Ohio. The town of
Hudson gave its name to the college
the town having been called after the
name Of it's founder, David Hudson.
The latter was descendant of Hen
drick Hudson, whose youngest son
was also a David Hudson. The same
was an ancestor in direct line of the
Ohio pioneer, being six generations
removed.
The Western Reserve owes its. origin
to certain grants of land in New Eng
land by the Earl of Warwick to Lord
Say and Seal, Lord Brook, and others.
These lands were described as extend
ing westward from the Narragansett
river, along the sea coast, and to an
indefinite distance. The northern limit
Of the grant was the southern bound.
ary of Massachusetts, the line being
two miles north of the forty-second
parallel. That old grant to the Con-
necticut colony embraced strip COM
prising one degree of latitude nOrtn
and south and extending westerly to
the Mississippi river and beyond. This
strip of territory comprised what Is
now the south eastern triangular di'
vision of New York State and almost
one half of the State of Pennsylvania
on the north side.
After New Amsterdam fell into the
hands of the British the Dutch col
onists along the Hudson river disputed
with the Connecticut colonists ne.
garding land titles and territorial
rights. As n result of this contest the
present boundary between New Yorl
and Connecticut was settled upon il
the year 1851. The New England col
ony gave up her rights to the land
between the Hudson and the Delawar,
rivers.
In like manner the colony Of Penn
| sylvania, with William Penn at 1t
head, preempted the waste lands tina
had been decided to Connecticut. Tn,
charter of Pennsylvania embraced al
Of the strip of land north of the forty
first parallel for degrees of longitud
west Of the Delaware river. The It'll
OF Connecticut TO the mountainous dis
trict OF Northern Pennsylvania lapse,
and became annulled, because Of tn
colony never having taken possession
of the country.
After the old colony became a Stat
of the federal union her title to tn
lands west of the western boundary o
Pennsylvania and north of the forty
first parallel still remained valid. Tc
gether with the other States that hell
claims to extensive tracts OF land Il
the unsettled Western country, Cor
necticut ceded her rights to the ney
federal government after it wa
formed. The Nutmeg State reserve,
however, from this transfer a sectiol
one hundred and twenty miles east an,
west and lying between the forty frs
parallel and Lake Erie. Thus wa
formed the Western Reserve, or New
Connecticut famous in later days fo
its uncompromising opposition to Ne
gro slavery as it existed in the South
ern States prior 10 the civil war
The Connecticut Land Company wa
organized and brought from the Stat
her right and title to the Western
lands for $1,2OOOO0. Moses Clevelan,
and his party Of surveyors invaded tn
wilderness in 1896 and 1897 and dlyideC
the land into townships and sections
The sllotments were placed upon tn
market and by the year 1900 the count.
became spsrsely settled. Schools an,
church societies We're soon formed. Th
indomitable spirit of Yankee independ
ence fiourished In the wilderness. Afte
the common schools the need for
higher educational institution of learn
ing pressed itself upon the wisdom o