The Firelands, The Connecticut Western Reserve, and the Ohio Territory
Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG
"The part of Ohio most intimately associated with Connecticut is the Western Reserve. When Connecticut yielded her claims to any Pennsylvania land by a deed of cession to Congress in 1786 [see Susquehanna Settlers], the state specifically 'reserved' a strip of land bordering upon Lake Erie and Pennsylvania, 120 miles wide from east to west.... Congress accepted this reservation, and the area ... was governed by Connecticut until 1800." (p. 199) Albert E. van Dusen.
The following counties are included in the Western Reserve:
Ashtabula Cuyahoga Erie Geauga Huron
Lake Lorain Medina Portage Trumbull
Ashland (part) Mahoning Ottawa Summit
Connecticut had land claims in the Ohio territory since the Colonial period.
• Most of the land was given up to the federal government in 1786 so the Northwest Territory could be created in 1787.
o One portion of the land was reserved for itself in the northeast corner of Ohio, approximately 500,000 acres.
o Land was divided into two parts: . The westernmost part was known as the Firelands.
• Given to people who had lost property in the Revolution. British troops had burned several Connecticut town, and people lost everything they had.
• The Ohio Corporation distributed the land, most of which was not occupied until after the War of 1812. . The easternmost part was sold to the Connecticut Land Company in 1795 for $1.2 million dollars, which was used for education in Connecticut. • The Connecticut Land Company sent General Moses Cleaveland to survey the land and develop townships.
o Cleaveland drew up townships that were 25 miles square, while the Federal Government developed townships 36 miles square. Filling in the Ohio Frontier
Ohio’s population in 1810 – 321,000. “Ohio fever” was strongest in New England. British naval blockades War of 1812 slowed growth, but afterward it surged: 1820-581,000. 1830 – 938,000. strangled commerce. Farm land was scarce and expensive. Taxes Accessibility to Lake Erie was a great were high. consideration. Young men and women were particularly affected.
To some, the last straw was 1816, “the year without a summer”.
1.Snow and freezing temperatures struck New England every month of the year. Ohio’s moderate temperature looked pretty good. 2. Rich new land was to be at a reasonable price. 3.Many who had gone before wrote home raving about the soil, climate, size of crops (3’ long turnips, 14’ high cornstalks). 4.Most migrating New Englanders went to the Western Reserve. 5.The trip still took forty days of travel. 6.Some young men made a solitary journey, a larger number traveled in family groups with possessions packed in wagons, animals, or their own backs. 7.Few returned east.
Common migration patterns included: (These and others may be found at the link listed in the bibliography below – Routes in the Northeastern United States)
1. Across Pennsylvania Road (old Forbes Road) to Pittsburgh, down the Ohio River, up the Beaver and Mahoning River to the Youngstown-Warren area.
2. Albany and Schenectady Turnpike
3. Ancram Turnpike
4. Braddock’s Road 5. Iroquois (Mohawk) Trail
6. Seneca Road or Seneca Trail
In some counties, town or county censuses taken by the state between 1798 and 1911 may supplement the federal census records. Among these are quadrennial enumerations which exist for a few counties and list males 21 years and older.
Some questions to think about:
1 - By what date did your ancestors appear in the location where records of the family have been found; compare to each road’s timeline. 2 - What towns did each road pass through, and do you find your ancestral surname in any of those locations at the right time period? Check against census records. 3 - Remember that migrations occurred over many years, with people stopping and then moving along again. Pay attention to any recorded birth places of family members and compare to towns along the road. 4 - Look at the history of the areas to see what events might have led to migration. 5 - Consider the traffic on each road. Was it military, commercial, postal, exploratory, or was its heaviest use by families on the move? 6 - Read historic accounts of the early settlement of an area. 7 - Know that people often traveled with their neighbors or relatives, and that you will find the same surnames along a migration path. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/trails.html
Select Bibliography
An Every-Name Index to the History of the Western Reserve. Mentor, Ohio: Lake County Chapter, OGS, 1988.
Beyond Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut: http://www.usgennet.org/family/bliss/states/migrate.htm
Connecticut Land Company: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Land_Company
Connecticut Land Company Grantees: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Land_Company
Connecticut Settlers in Ohio’s Western Reserve, American Ancestors, Winter 2011, vol. 12, no. 1.+
Connecticut Western Reserve, Ohio History Central: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Connecticut_Western_Reserve?rec=691
Dwight, Margaret van Horn. A Journey to Ohio in 1810, Yale University Press, 1912.
Eldridge, Carrie. An Atlas of Trails Westward from New England
Firelands Museum: http://www.firelandsmuseum.org/
Fryxell, David A. Moving Targets, Family Tree Magazine, March 2008, Volume 9, Issue 2, pp. 22-29 (map in PowerPoint used with permission) Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of Ohio, in Two Volumes…an Encyclopedia of the State, Published by the State of Ohio, C.J. Krehbiel & Co., Printers & Binders, 1908. Available on GoogleBooks.
Knepper, George W. Ohio and Its People, The Kent State University Press, Kent, OH, 1989.
Lubbers, Ferne Reedy, and Margaret Dieringer. Advent of Religious Groups into Ohio. N.p., 1978.
Ohio Auditor of State: https://ohioauditor.gov Along the Ohio Trail The Official Ohio Lands Book:
Ohio Country: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Country
Ohio, Emigration and Immigration: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Ohio_Emigration_and_Immigration
Ohio Genealogy Express: http://www.ohiogenealogyexpress.com/
Pioneer Migration Routes Through Ohio, http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maggieoh/Gwen/migration.htm
Research Guide to Connecticut’s “Western Lands” or “Western Reserve”, Connecticut State Library: http://www.cslib.org/westernreserve.htm
Routes in the Northeastern United States: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tqpeiffer/Documents/Ancestral%20Migration%20Arc hives/Migration%20Webpage%20Folder/Northeast%20U.S.%20Migration%20Routes.htm
Shaker Historical Society: http://www.shakerhistoricalsociety.org/learn/early-settlers-and-warrensville- township/
Sanders, Scott Russell, Aurora Means Dawn, Simon & Schuster, 1998. (age 7-10 years)
Sperry, Kip. Genealogical Research in Ohio, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 2003, 2nd ed. p. 19
State Cessions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_cessions
The Firelands: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firelands
Upton, Harriet Taylor. History of the Western Reserve. 3 vols. Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1910. (FHL book 977.13 H2u; films 934867-68.)
Van Dusen, Albert E. Connecticut, Random House, first edition, 1961.
Western Reserve Historical Society: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Western_Reserve_Historical_Society
Western Reserve Historical Society, homepage: http://www.wrhs.org/
Western Reserve History, Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer: http://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en- US/WesternReserveHistory.aspx
Whitaker, Beverly. Early American Roads and Trails, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/trails.html
Wilhelm, Hubert G. H. The Origin and Distribution of Settlement Groups. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University, 1982.