Being, as it were, the gateway to the great West, they decided that it was destined to become a place of importance, and the general beauty of the surroundings and promising outlook was what caused them to give up locating in Harpersfield, notwithstanding they would there be among their friends who had preceded them from the East.
It happened that they, too, found an inviting, ready-made domicile awaiting them, the Kingsbury family having- moved on and left the surveyors' house again vacant and free to all comers. Of this the Montgomery-Wright party took possession immediately and prepared to settle.
In addition to this, they had the advantage of cleared spaces that had been under cultivation by the Indians, who had but recently withdrawn to new localities, away from the encroachments of the white men. Thus relieved of the burden and delay necessary to the construction of a house and the clearing of trees and stumps to make room for crops, this party had a good start toward their future prosperity.
The year following the settlement of the Montgomery-Wright party they were joined by several families from the east, and one can imagine what a joy it was to have the solitude of their existence broken by the sight of friendly and familiar faces, the ring of the ax and the song of the chopper. Among the newcomers, in the year 1799, were John and Nathan King, Samuel Bemus, and Robert, Levi and John Montgomery, all from New York state. They at once decided to follow the example set by their immediate predecessors and locate on the eastern edge of the Reserve and they began the construction of cabins. Aaron Wright built his home on the site where now stand the Cummings' homes, in the western suburb of Conneaut. The following account of one little incident of makeshift pioneer life is credited to Mr. Wright:
"I once lived 16 days without seeing a human face, excepting my own, in a pail of water which I used for a looking-glass, when compelled to shave, and this was the only facility I had for making my toilet for a long time. After my 16 days' seclusion, a friend called upon me, and of course I was anxious to receive him hospitably and entertain him in good style. My larder was wanting in one very important article, viz: meat, the bones of my last porcupine having already been picked. While I was in this dilemma, two other friends called, one of them, fortunately, having killed a fine turkey. I set him to stripping the feathers, while I prepared my kettle and some dough wherewith to make a potpie, by simply putting the flour and water together. I soon had supper in readiness, and my friend has often informed me that it was the best meal to which he ever sat down, made up of my potpie, bread, pepper and salt. When it was time to retire I spread my straw bed upon the floor as usual, and, by lying crosswise, four of us enjoyed a good night's rest."
Another year brought numerous additions to the colony, many people of the East being attracted by the glowing accounts that got back there regarding the new country, its advantages and promise. Among the next settlers are named Seth Harrington, James Harper and James Montgomery, with their families; Daniel Baldwin, James and Nathaniel Laughlin, Dr. Nehemiah King, the first physician, who was a most welcome acquisition to the settlement; Peter King, Sr., and Peter King, Jr., Elisha and Amos King, Hananiah Brooks, Caleb Thompson, William Perrin, David Gould, Zebediah and Seth Thompson, Daniel Sawtell, James Dunn and others.
Each successive year brought many newcomers, from all parts of the East, and it was not many years till they who comprised the thrifty colony began to talk about organizing a village. This culminated in the year 1804, in the organization of Salem Township, and it was the first organized township in Ashtabula County. Salem included that territory to the south which is now Monroe, which latter section was taken from Salem in 1818 and given its present name. The name Salem gave way to Conneaut in 1832, after the postoffice and river had been known by that name for a long time.
The home of Nathan King was the scene of the first meeting called for the election of officers for the new town, and the men named, and their respective positions, were as follows: Clerk, James Montgomery; trustees, James Harper, Nathan King and William Ferguson; poormasters, Hananiah Brooks and Joseph Tubbs; supervisors of highways, John King and James Montgomery; fence viewers, Seth Harrington and James Ferguson; constable, Levi Montgomery; treasurer, James Harper. Dr. Samuel L. Fenton was elected the first mayor of Conneaut, in 1834.
First Family to Winter Here.—The assertion that James Kingsbury and his wife and children were the first family who spent a winter on the Western Reserve has never been disputed, and they had a most tragic experience as a result of their venturing into the unbroken West. They landed at Conneaut Creek shortly after the surveying party had moved on to the Cuyahoga River and established its permanent headquarters. The Kingsburys were in great luck, for a starter. They had not known where they might settle when they reached the new land of promise, but when they found the good house vacated by the surveyors, they at once took possession, congratulating themselves on their good fortune in not having to pitch their tent in the forest for an indefinite period till they could build a place of abode.
The late Harvey Nettleton is given credit for the following account of the experiences of the Kingsbury family, in the history published by the Williams Brothers: "The story of the sufferings of the family during that severe winter has often been told, but by those who are in the midst of plenty and to whom want has never been known, it is with difficulty appreciated.”
"Circumstances rendering it necessary during the fall for Mr. Kingsbury to make a journey to the State of New York, he left his family in expectation of a speedy return, but during his absence he was prostrated with a severe sickness that confined him to his bed until the setting in of winter. As soon as he was able, he started on the return trip to the new home, fully realizing that his extended absence might mean great hardship to the family back there in the wilds alone. At Buffalo he secured the services of an Indian guide, who conducted him through the wilderness. At Presque Isle (Erie), anticipating the wants of his family, he purchased 20 pounds of flour and proceeded on his journey. In crossing Elk Creek on the ice, he disabled his horse and left it in the snow, and, placing the flour upon his own back, pursued his way, filled with gloomy forebodings as to the condition of his family.
"On his arrival on the evening, his worst apprehensions were more than realized in the agonizing scene that met his eyes. Stretched upon the cot lay the partner of his cares, who had followed him through all the dangers and hardships of the wilderness without repining, pale and emaciated, reduced by fierce famine to the last stages in which life can be sustained, and near the mother, on a little pellet, were the remains of his youngest child, born in his absence, and who had just expired from the want of that nourishment which the mother, herself deprived of sustenance, could not supply.”
"Shut up by a gloomy wilderness, far from the aid and sympathy of, all friends, filled with anxiety for an absent husband, suffering with want, destitute of necessary assistance, she was compelled to behold two children expire around her, powerless to help them.
"Such is the picture presented, truthful in every respect, for the contemplation of the wives and daughters of today, who have no adequate conception of the hardships endured by the pioneers of this beautiful country of ours.
"It appears that Mr. Kingsbury, who later became known as Judge Kingsbury, in order to supply the wants of his family, was under the necessity of transporting his provisions from the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on a handsled, and he and his hired man drew a barrel of beef the whole distance at a single load."
In later years Mr. Kingsbury became a prominent figure in the life and progress of the Western Reserve, and eventually he changed his place of residence from Conneaut to Newburg.
Car Ferry Disasters.—There seemed to be an unkind fate guiding the Conneaut car ferries in their early career. The undertaking of winter navigation proved very costly, it being quite a common occurrence for the ships to become stuck in the ice for days or weeks, and, in one instance, at least, in the winter of 1894, the Shenango No. 1 drifted about the lake for three months before being freed from the icy shackles that held her helpless. This same boat eventually fell prey to the ice floes. Her last trip was on Jan. 8, 1904, when she left Rondeau, Canada, for her home port and, almost at the entrance to Conneaut Harbor, in sight of her home dockage, she was stopped by the heavy anchor of ice and became so solidly embedded that she was unable to move forward or backward. After several days' efforts to free her, dynamiting was resorted to as a last hope, and that proving also of no avail, there was nothing to do but wait for the spring breakup. Again this ship lay fast in the ice for three months, but was not destined to so fortunate a release as before, for on March 11 she was discovered to be on fire in her hold, and all of her that would burn was licked up by the flames and only her shell remained. When the ice broke up in the spring the hull sank, and that was the last of the Shenango No. 1. The flames worked so fast that one fireman, who was asleep in his berth, was unable to get out and was cremated.
The Bessemer & Marquette No. 2 car ferry left Conneaut on Dec. 7, 1909, for Post Stanley, Ont., with a cargo of loaded coal cars, and was lever heard of again. This case was one of the greatest mysteries of the history of Lake Erie. That a ship of such magnitude could be so utterly lost in Erie's shallow waters would be unbelievable were it not for the proof given in this case, for the lake was dragged and sounded for years, till it seemed that every foot of the lower end had been examined, and not sign of the wreck was ever located. The ship was manned by a crew of 32 men under Capt. R.R. McLeod of Conneaut, and carried 30 cars of and structural steel. During the afternoon of the day when she cleared, a strong southwest wind rapidly increased into a terrific gale which continued with unabated fury throughout the following night. No one knows where, or when, or why the staunch ship foundered, for not one who was on board survived. It was a generally accepted theory that some of the cars must have broken their fastenings and, with the ship rolling and pitching, gone through her bow or side. It was over a week before the first sign of the boat came to light, and that consisted of a most gruesome discovery. A fish tug out about 15 miles from Erie picked up one of the lifeboats of the Bessemer & Marquette No. 2, about 15 miles in the lake, which contained the frozen bodies of nine of the ship's crew. The following spring two more bodies of members of the crew were picked up on the beach below Long Point, on the Canada side, and another was recovered from the ice in the Niagara River. During the following summer the body of one of the pilots was found in midlake, and shortly afterward Captain McLeod's was discovered nearly buried in the sand of Long Point. (By C. S. Putnam.)
0 Pullmans' Contract.—The Christian Church Society of Conneaut gave to the Pullmans, of palace car fame, their first big job, and thereby helped to put them on the road to wealth and notoriety. Long years before the Pullmans ever thought of the palatial sleeping and drawing room cars, much less of founding a great city to carry their name and fame down the ages, the senior Pullman and his two sons, George and Albert, were the original inventors of a house-moving device that had proven very successful in transporting small buildings from one lot to another, and which they claimed would work equally well on large buildings, but they never had a chance to prove it out fully till they heard that the Christian Church Society of Conneaut was desirous of changing the location of their house of worship. The Pullmans lived in Dunkirk, and Mr. Pullman went to Conneaut and contracted with the church officials to move the building for a consideration of $170.
The First Christian Church was founded on May 23, 1818, and meetings were held for some time in the Peter King schoolhouse, the Rev. John Cherry being the first pastor. After a few years, the society erected church at the old center, a mile west of the present principal business section. About the middle of the last century the property on Buffalo street was acquired, and then arose the question of a building thereon, as the officials had little faith in the efficacy of the moving machines of the Pullmans, of which they had heard. The building was a heavy frame structure, 40 x 50 feet on the ground. It was built in the days when the best of timber was used and was substantial in every particular. To move such a building today a distance of a mile would be but a matter of a few days' work at most, but it took two months to accomplish the feat with the crude machinery of the Pullmans. That was before the quietude of Conneaut had been disturbed by the scream of the locomotive whistle and the rumble of the cars, and the moving apparatus was brought overland from Dunkirk, a distance of more than 50 miles. Three teams of horses were required to haul the outfit. The three Pullmans and one other man performed the work of moving. The men boarded with the Fifield family, strong supporters of the church, who took them in as an accommodation, and not for gain, as the Fifields did not need the money. In fact, they received no money. The job proved a losing venture financially, and to help recompense the contractors for their losses, the Fifields charged them nothing for the care of the men and teams while the work was going on. The old church was placed on its new foundation without damage and served the congregation well for many years. In 1913 it was displaced by the present splendid structure, in which was held the great demonstration that celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the organization, on May 26,1918.