Earliest History of Ashtabula

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="02c285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <B>Ashtabula Bicentennial Celebration</B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>   </B></FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>    </B></FONT><A HREF="Home.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ashtabula Bicentennial Celebration"><U><B>Home</B></U></A><B>          </B><A HREF="History.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" History "><U><B>History</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="02ad4c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="16ab2dc0.jpg" border=0 ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="178" height="220"></B></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Moses Cleaveland</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>1754 - 1806</B></I><I><B>  </B></I></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Earliest History of Ashtabula</I></div> <div> <B>   </B></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="572" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1469 ><NOBR><div> <B>                       Earliest History of  Ashtabula</B></div> <div> <B>                                                      </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0066CC" FACE="Century Schoolbook" ><B>by</B></FONT></div> <div> <B>                                             Darrell E. Hamilton</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     In May 1795, the legislature of Connecticut appointed a commit-</B></div> <div> <B>tee to receive and sell to  individuals  the land of  the Connecticut</B></div> <div> <B> Western  Reserve.  In   September   1795,   the  lands  were sold and</B></div> <div> <B>deeded.  Even  though  the  lands of the Western Reserve in reality</B></div> <div> <B>still belonged to the Indians that lived in the Western Reserve, the</B></div> <div> <B>lands  were  sold  to  individuals  whom  had  never had sat foot on</B></div> <div> <B> "their" land and some never would.</B></div> <div> <B>      The  Connecticut  Land  Company in 1796, hired General Moses</B></div> <div> <B>Cleavland to make treaties with  the  Indians,  survey  the Reserve</B></div> <div> <B>into five  mile  townships  townships  and  establish  a  city.  Moses</B></div> <div> <B>Cleaveland  was  not  your  typical  Daniel  Boone.  Mr. Cleaveland</B></div> <div> <B>was a  Yale  Graduate,  appointed  a   Captain in  the Army by Con-</B></div> <div> <B>ress served in  the  Connecticut  legislature  and  was  a  Brigadier</B></div> <div> <B>General in Connecticut's militia.</B></div> <div> <B>       On June 21, 1796, Moses Cleaveland met with six  Indian Cheifs</B></div> <div> <B>around a council fire in Buffalo, New York.  Cleaveland was to set-</B></div> <div> <B>tle with the  Indians  in the quickest, eastiest and cheapest way he</B></div> <div> <B>could.  Cleaveland  provided  great  feasts and dancing  for the In-</B></div> <div> <B>dians not to mention the never ending supply of  whiskey for four</B></div> <div> <B>days to soften their thinking. Originally Moses Cleaveland had of-</B></div> <div> <B>fered the  Indians  $1,000  for  giving  up title to the land of the Re-</B></div> <div> <B>serve. The Chiefs turned Cleaveland down but the whiskey flowed</B></div> <div> <B>and the  Chiefs  softened.  In the  end  the  Indians  were paid $500,</B></div> <div> <B>provisions to see them home,  two beef  cattle  and of course a hun-</B></div> <div> <B>dred  gallons of  whiskey.  This  "settlement"  would enable Cleave-</B></div> <div> <B>land to begin  surveying  so  settlers could move into the  Connect-</B></div> <div> <B>icut Western Reserve. </B></div> <div> <B>       Moses Cleaveland then set out for the Connecticut Western Re-</B></div> <div> <B>serve just west of the  Pennsylvania  line.  Most of the  party  of  52</B></div> <div> <B>traveled in boats but a few traveled by land to  reach  the  Reserve.</B></div> <div> <B>Among  the party  of  52  were  at least two mem who brought their</B></div> <div> <B>wives and children.</B></div> <div> <B>      On July 4, 1796, Cleaveland and his surveying party would land</B></div> <div> <B>at  Conneaut  Creek   in which  the surveying party would christen</B></div> <div> <B>"Fort Independence".  After settling and much celebrating, on July</B></div> <div> <B> 7, the men organized into four field parties to begin surveying.</B></div> <div> <B>       After  completing  the surveying of the eastern most part of the</B></div> <div> <B>Connecticut   Western   Reserve,   the   party   continued  on  to the</B></div> <div> <B>mouth of the  Ashtabula River. The Ashtabula River was named by</B></div> <div> <B>the  Indians  of  this  area  translating  into  "river of many fish"  or</B></div> <div> <B>sometimes   different   variations   of   the   same   meaning.   Moses</B></div> <div> <B>Cleaveland was so entraced  over  the  beauty of the surroundings</B></div> <div> <B>that he proposed to  those  accompanying   him  that  the  name of </B></div> <div> <B>the  stream   be changed to Mary  Esther, in honor of his daughter.</B></div> <div> <B> The men were not overly enthused over the  proposition  until  he</B></div> <div> <B> brought up two gallons of wine from the  hold  of  their  craft.  The</B></div> <div> <B> men  were  then  all  in  favor  of  renaming   the   Ashtabula  River,</B></div> <div> <B> "Mary Esther".  But  unlike the Indians, when the wine ran out, the</B></div> <div> <B> name was forgotton and the Ashtabula name would live on.</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3b235c40.jpg" border=0 ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="565" height="452"></B></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>