Tracing our Roots: Early Settlers of the Western Reserve

George Phelps, with his wife, Eliza Griswold Phelps and their two small children said goodbye to many family members when they left Tolland, Connecticut, in 1799 and made the slow, difficult trip to the new land of the Western Reserve. They chose to settle in Windsor, Ohio. This would be the third of four townships settled in our county in 1799, which included Conneaut, Austinburg and Windsor. Harpersfield was settled first in 1798.
This series seeks to identify the where, why and who of those who settled our county in its earliest years. How many descendants are still living in the area 250 years later? I have heard from some of you and love reading your stories.
Finding material from that early of the settling of our county can only be found in historical books, of which we have basically three that can be depended on. In addition, some wonderful historians from each county took the time to record the memories of grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as word of mouth of old-timers.
After the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress would give any veteran land on which to settle in place of their due pay. It would be several more years before the men would receive a pension as a result of their service. Before the pension plan, the veteran or his widow had to fill out a complete history of himself and his service. These records were an invaluable resource until a great fire in Washington, D.C., at the beginning of the 19th century destroyed nearly all the records.
Family Bibles, personal diaries, small court records, census and veteran pension records are the sources now in place of those early applications with the wealth of information they could have provided.
Although not a Revolutionary War veteran himself, George Phelps’ father, Noah, had been a Major General in the war. Major General Noah Phelps, in disguise, was able to penetrate Fort Ticonderoga, New York, and observe and obtain information concerning troops, movements and armaments. Escaping by boat, he was able to help led the surprise attack on the fort and its surrender. His headstone reads, “Major General Noah Phelps” A Patriot of 1776. Died March 4, 1809. To whom we are indebted for our National Independence.”
Nine years before the Major General died, he said goodbye to his son, George, his wife, Eliza and their two children. In those days, those goodbyes were forever unless more family members followed. But the little family was not alone. There was a family member who left at the same time. Solomon Griswold had lost his wife and was left to rear six daughters alone. How he made the decision to take them by boat to the Western Reserve can only be explained by the hearty and daring spirit of our early settlers. Their endurance defies explanation.
Solomon and Eliza’s brother, Simeon, had sent Solomon to follow his sister and brother-in-law to the Western Reserve. But Solomon had taken a different route than his sister and brother-in-law. He went through Canada and was delayed by ice which blocked the lake, preventing their journey until the lake thawed. He would not arrive until the following year of 1800.
When the Phelps family of four arrived in what would become Ashtabula County, they chose to name the area Windsor, after the city of Windsor, Connecticut, the birthplace of Eliza Griswold Phelps. The first thing they needed was shelter. They built a crude cabin that sat in the southeast of Windsor, one mile south of Windsor Corners on the banks of Phelps Creek which runs through Warner’s Hollow. The Phelps’ simple cabin had no windows, floors or doors and was covered by bark for a roof. It would make do for a short while before a larger cabin could be built.
A new baby would soon join the little family when Eliza gave birth to the first child born in Windsor Township. They named the girl after her mother, Eliza Griswold Phelps. The mother, Eliza, would die in 1804, just five years after enduring that long arduous journey to Windsor. Shortly before her death, she moved to Warren, perhaps to be taken care of by relatives.
Her daughter, Eliza, would be adopted by Colonel Humprey in Connecticut, according to historical records. I am assuming this is the Colonel Iona Humprey who married mother, Eliza’s sister, Lydia Griswold Humprey. Daughter Eliza grew up to become head of a female seminary in Connecticut. For 14 years, she dreamed of returning to Windsor and the land of her mother and father which she had inherited. In 1839, Eliza did just that. Coming with her husband George March, she located on her parents’ land south of Windsor Mills and planned to erect a school for higher education for women. But the following year, Eliza would pass away, but her life is still recalled even in the book, “Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve, 1799-1850.”
When Solomon and his six daughters arrived in 1800, they built their cabin north of present-day Windsor Corners. According to the booklet, “History of Windsor,” by W.D. Loomis, July 1989, self-published, Solomon “was far-and-away the most significant person in Windsor’s early days.”
Unfortunately, it was in Solomon’s cabin that the first death occurred. Eli Porter passed away in the winter of 1801 while at Solomon’s cabin. Porter was on his way to the doctor in Mesopotamia and became so ill he could not go on. He had been traveling by boat up the Grand River and had just come to the banks of Griswold’s Landing and could not go further. Entering Solomon’s cabin, he expired before help could come.
It was also in Solomon’s cabin that the first sermon was preached in 1802 by the Western Reserve’s pioneer preacher, Joseph Badger. You will read of this man’s impact and presence in the early days of nearly all the townships.
It was a happy occasion and one for celebrating when Keziah Griswold married Jonathan Higley, Jr. in a wedding ceremony held at Solomon’s cabin in 1803. Keziah would become the first schoolteacher holding classes in the blacksmith shop of Skened Sackett.
A portion of the land Solomon owned was used to build Windsor’s first church, Episcopalian, known as Solomon’s Temple. Solomon would become the town’s first postmaster and serve many years as a county judge. I am using Solomon’s first name to distinguish him from the other Griswold family members.
In 1802, only one family joined the settlement. Charles Jewell, joined the Griswolds and Phelps. But in the following few years, up to 1818, many families would create a full community. It began in 1804 when Jonathan and wife, Rachel (Negus) Higley, Joseph Alderman and his sons, Joseph Jr., and Alexander settled nearby. Rachel Higley brought apple seeds with her which proved to be fruitful in seven years by producing sixty to seventy bushels of large, rosy, tart apples. The “Jonathan” apple can still be found today.
The Alderman name is synonymous with Windsor. Generations of Aldermans have called Windsor home. The late historian, teacher and church pianist at Windsor Methodist Church for fifty years, Marian (McCalmont) Alderman, helped me record and find pictures and information for my history book on Ashtabula County Schools of 1856-1956 written more than 20 years ago. Although she had researched Windsor all her life, she and I were able to discover where the “lost” Alderman school was and we found the path through the woods and across a swinging bridge that students had to take to reach it. We began with finding a picture in the old archives at the Windsor church museum.
In 1805, Skened Sackett, Hezekiah Skinner, Oliver Loomis, Elijah Hill and son, Elijah Jr., and John White found their way to the settlement. In 1806, John Gladding, Benjamin Cook and his son Benjamin Cook, Jr. came. Caleb Holcomb came in 1807. But in the year of 1810, a Revolutionary War veteran, Ebenezer Lampson, would come and leave an imprint on our county even until today. His descendants are still here and active and contributing to our community. He is an ancestor of the Lampson family of Jefferson and owners of Gazette Newspapers of Jefferson, Ohio.
The Lampson story is so full of adventure and many descendants, I will continue it next week as we explore and trace the family roots of our county.