Early History of Sheffield Township

by

Darrell E. Hamilton

The township of  Sheffield  was formerly called East  Matherstown with Saybrook being called  West Matherstown.  Samuel Mathers was the proprietor of  both townships.

At  the  time  of  the  first  arrival  of   the  first settlers, the whole township  was  one mass  of

forest, with the exception of here and here small openings or glades on the banks of the Ashtabula River.  The bear deer,  wolf and other animals were plentiful  in a forest that consisted of beech, black ash, cucumber, hemlock, maple, oak and whitewood trees.

The first settler, Old Major Moore as he was called, was a Revolutionary  War soldier. He was the

first man to break the  forest  in Sheffield.  He  cleared  off   two  or  three acres and erected a cabin

in  1811.  After  a  few  years  in  Sheffield,   he  moved  to  Richland County. After  an  absence  of  a

year or so, he moved back to Sheffield. In 1817, he married the sixteen year old daughter of  Reuben

Mendall. Smith Webster, justice of the peace of Kingsville, married hem and it was the first wedding in Sheffield. Shortly afterwards, Old Major Moore and his young bride moved to  Richland  County.

The first permanent settler in  Sheffield  was  a  British  soldier who became a deserter during the War of  1812. John Shaw became Sheffield's first permanent settler when he decided he  preferred  the

freedom of America to the bondage of being a British soldier.

John  Shaw  and  several other  British soldier companions left in a small boat from Long Point, Canada, making their way across Lake Erie to Ashtabula. They moved  inland  far  enough  to  feel

secure enough from being caught as deserters. Shaw settled in the western part of  Sheffield Township

thus becoming the first permanent settler in Sheffield.

Along  the  way  to  Sheffield,  Shaw  must have met Mrs. George Beckwith  and her  two  daughters, the  first  settlers  of  Ashtabula City.  John  Shaw  ended  up  marrying  one  of  the  daughters.  Her name was  Almira  Beckwith.  Almira  had  the  distinction  of being one of the first permanent settlers of Ashtabula City  and  Sheffield Township.

John R. Gage married Ruth Woodberry in  October  of  1817  and they settled on the land on the south  side  of  the  Ashtabula  River n  Sheffield  Township.  In  July  of  1818,  their  daughter  Lodema, became the first child  of  nonnative American origin born in Sheffield.

Sheffield was originally a part  of  Ashtabula  Township.  Samuel Mather in 1818, before he died, had the township divided into three equal  parts.   The  division  being  made  north  and  south. He  had three heirs that would inherit his property in Sheffield. One  of  his heirs was his daughter  Lydia, who  inherited  the  middle  section of Sheffield. Lydia married Elijah Hubbard.  Lydia later sold  much  of  the  property  to  actual  settlers  with   Matthew Hubbard acting  as  an  agent. Much of the land  in the  western part of the township was  actually  settled  by  squatters,  many  of   them   being   British soldiers that deserted the British army.

In  1820,  Sheffield  Township  was organized and was separated from Ashtabula Township.  Samuel Gregg,  the  first Justice of the Peace  of   Sheffield,  suggested  the  name  from  Sheffield, Bershire County, Massachusetts.

In  checking  with  another  book  on  the  history  of   Ashtabula County,  a  John  Griggs  was  to  have  been  the  first  Justice of the Peace  of  Sheffield. This will be clarified in my book and credit will be  given  to  the  right  person  if  possible. The first officers of Sheffield Township were John Gage,  trustee;  Chauncey Atwater, township clerk and Samuel Johnson, treasure.