Geauga record. [volume] (Chardon, Geauga County, Ohio) 1952-1962, 1958-07-26

grandfather Sylvester Clapp
sold his stock, farming tools
and some of the household fur
niture and moved to Lee Cen
ter, Illinois about 1881, great
grandmother was already living
there with her daughter Eliza
Wri G h t, of whose property
grandfather became the mana
ger. About 1885 great-grandmo-
ther expressed the wish to re-
turn to the town of her younger
DAYS SO aunt Aliza rented the
house next south of the Oren
Barnes home at the Center and
if was there l often visited
them taking eggs, milk or but
ter and usually driving the fam
lily pet a small bay stallion we
called Fly, hitched to a two
wheeled cart. And how Fly
would do that very thing. often
putting me in the right bracket
for a good ScOlding from moth
er when I reached home for haV-
ing made the two miles up and
back, done the errandS, got the
mail from Box 81 and home in
less than twenty minutes. Actu-
ally I believe Fly could have
made the homeWard trip in
three minutes or less. I did o.
bey fathers demand that I not
trot Fly or any other horse, go
ing down the Center Hill, but
the rest of the way was enough
down grade to make the going
easy during the summer when
the roads were good.
But we were talking about
great grandmother, were we
not? I remember her as always
wearing a white lace cap tied
with black ribbons atop her
neatly done white hair; perhaps
with a shawl over her shoulders
and when she and aunt Eliza
would occasionally ride homo
with us after church on Sunday
lust to tast Carries good din
ner", a bonnet would cover the
cap and a heavier shawl would
give the needed warmth. Those
were great occasions for US chill
dren, for We would invariably
hear some good stories Of the
pioneer days, including the bear
story of uncle Eliiah's brewing
She delighted to tell of how
handsome Charles CIapp came
a COurting her and Of how hard
he worked to have the home
ready for her when She became
his bride. Then we children
would ask questions all bout the
house, for it was still standing,
though vacant, in those days,
nearly two miles north Of town
and on the west side of the road
The great fireplace with its
cranes and andirOnS intrigued
me most of all and we delighted
! to hear how she had cooked in
| it; of how, on occasion, the
! banked fire would not come to
| life in the morning and someone
would have to take an iron kct-
tie with cover and go to neigh
Dor to borrow live Goals.
TIL n great grandmother
would tell of how husband Char
les had planted large apple or
chards in which there was a
great variety of fruit. such as
MAIDEN Blush, Greetings, Bald
Vst and, best of all, as l re-
member it still produced while
was a lad, a yellow Sweet Ap-
pie which "could give you a
tOmach ache if you ate too
many of them, Children
The house must have been 80
or 80 feet wide and 40 to As fct
long; a story and a half, with 4
large opent-O~the-frOnt wood
shed, adjoining to the north.
Later Grandfather Sylvester
Clapp purchased the One-hund-
red acres across the road east
and operated both farms, i'm,
proving them with additional
orchards of pears and apples.
When great-grandmOther pas
sed away on January /, 1890
followed by uncle Elijah Pom
, eroy the following February 5th
there were laid to rest the las
of the immediate pioneer fam