Memoirs Supplement

Some accounts of the ancestors, Reletives and family of Henry B. Taylor. With a memoir written by himself. (This is a self published book.) INTRODUCTION

This is a suppliment written by Rev. B. S. Taylor brought down to 10/1892

Wishing to establish a stronger tie of friendship
among ourselves, and to preserve the history and
perpetuate the memory of the early settlers of
Dover, Ohio, we, the living descendents of the
same, do presume to pen this little pamphlet.
For much of early record, to the time of Rebecca
Taylor's marriage to Johnathan Smith (1764), we
are indebted to Henry Boardman Taylor, of Moores,
N.Y., who spent much time and labor gathering
historical matter which he published in a little
memoir of the Taylor family. In this article we can only give facts and
incidents concisely, hoping it will be but a
beginning of a further and a more complete work
taken up and followed out by other hands as time
brings its changes, and we, children of to-day,
shall fulfill the desires of the fathers and
mothers of 1904.

In the year 1635 the ship Truelove sailed from
London, Eng., bearing a family whose history we
know not except that they were of noted ancestry.
The name of this family was Taylor. They settled
on the coast of Massachusetts, but later moved to
Yarmouth where their son Richard was married to
Ruth Burgess. Richard and wife built their cabin
by the side of a large rock, hence his name,
Richard Rock Taylor, to distinguish him from
another man who bore the same name but who had no
children. So we trace our lineage directly from
this family of puritans. He was a farmer by
occupation. He died 1703. His wife, Ruth, died
1693. We find, by tracing the record for five
generations down from Richard Rock Taylor's family,
that a lady by the name of Rebecca Jerusha Taylor,
married Johnathan Smith, hence this fact is the
foundation

PAGE 2

stone upon which we build our authority in tracing
the Smith genealogy. Johnathan Smith was the son
of Joseph Smith of Beverly, Mass., who moved to
Ashfield, where evidently the two families became
acquainted and remained friends.
Tradition says: "The Smith's were of noted
ancestry, also descending from nobility, and
immigrants to this country of the famous mayflower."
Rebecca Jerusha Taylor was born at Hardwick, Mass.
Unto them were born six children---- George,
Stephen, Rosnell, Rachel, Rebecca and Hepsibeth.
George was drowned at the mouth of Rocky River
soon after their settlement in Dover.
Stephen married Philura Love and moved to Wisconsin
where he died. Their children were: Johnathan,
Charles, Emarilla, Euphrasia, Emery and Caroline.
Roswell Smith married Jane Farr. Their children
were: Jerusha, melvina, Almira and Paulina.
Rachel Smith married William Doty. She died young,
leaving one daughter, Mary. Silas died a soldier
of the rebellion. Ezra died a soldier at Camp
Dennison. Harriet died young and unmarried. Pauline
married ------ Wright. Their children, a son and a
daughter Sarah.
Sylvenus was drowned at the mouth of Rocky River
at the age of fourteen.
Henry married Esther Spencer. Their children:
Arthur, Wilson and Benjamin. The mother and
children died within the same year. Henry married
Lucretia Bonney. Their children: Almetta, Dora,
Harves, DeWitt, Dallas and Bertha.
Alnetta Southworth married Frank Flint. Their
children: Luella and Frances.
Harvey Southworth married Myrtle Stearnes.
Henry Southworth died March, 1895.

PAGE 3

Rebecca Southworth married William Sprague. Their
children are Addison and Agnes.
Addison Sprague married Jennie Hestins.
Their children are Mercy and Percy.
Agnes Sprague married Herman Bidwell.
Their child, Irwin.
William Sprague died June 19th, 1892.
Jennie Nestins Sprague died May 8th, 1892.
Rachel Southworth Stearns died 1879.
Rebecca Smith married Dennis Taylor. Their
children were Dorothy,Sarah, Rhoda, Dennis and Stephen.
Dorothy married Samuel Chubb. Their children are
Elizabeth, Dennis, Mary, Wilson, Ernest, Perry,
DeWitt and Clifford. Isabel Chubb married Joseph
Hull. Their children are Ernest, Ralph, Fannie,
George and Tracy. Ernest Hull married Ruth Cox.
Ralph Hull married Ida Benedict.
Their child, Joseph.
Fannie Hull married Reed Higley.
Fannie Hull married Martin Griffin.
Their children are Margaret, James, Charley and Frank.
Wilson Chubb married Ella Merriam.
Their children are Mary, Matilda, Lura and Dorothy.
Perry Chubb married Mary Gibson.
Their children are Ray and Edith.
DeWitt Chubb married Fern Hoskins.
Their child, Hazel.
Clifford Chubb married Ivah Stewart.
Their children are Florence and Stewart.
Samuel Chubb died May 17th, 1888.
Dorothy Chubb died September 17th, 1851.
Clementina Chubb died September 14th, 1853.
Dennis Chubb died 1853.
Ernest Chubb died April 11th, 1869.
Joseph Hull died April 24th, 1905.

PAGE 4

Sarah Taylor married Daniel Winslow.
Daniel Winslow died Sept. 2nd, 1900.
Stephen Taylor married Charlotte Palmer.
Their children are Dennis, Charlie, George, Minnie,
Mildred and Ernest.
Dennis married Jennie Renner and Mollie Zender.
Charlie married Elizabeth Myers.
Minnie Taylor married William Hyman.
Charlie Taylor died about 1883.
George Taylor died ?
Dennis Taylor, Sr., died 1875.
Dennis Taylor, Jr., died Sept. 8th, 1851.
Jennie Renner Taylor died August 28th, 1898.
Hepsibeth Smith married Asaph Brown.
Their children were Sebins, Isiah, Nancy, Hepsibeth and Keziah.
Nancy Brown married Ashel Taft.
Their children are Henry, Lydia Cornelia, Emma and Ella.
Henry Taft married Maria Phips.
Their child, Nellie.
Nellie Taft married William McMullen.
Their children are Florence and Victor.
Lydia Cornelia Taft married Senzy Minard.
Their child, Edward.
Edward Minard married Clara Burt.
Emma Taft married Joseph Church.
Their child, Lula.
Lula Church married Frank Church.
Their child, Fannie.
Fannie Church married Dr. O. Monosmith.
Their child, Louis.
Ashel Taft died March, 1900.
Nancy Taft died August 8th, 1904.
Ella Church died September 12th, 1903.
Hepsibeth Brown married Jeremiah Case.
Their children are Marel, Idelia, Isiah and Eugene.
Marel Case married Emily Philips.
Their children are Maud and Emma.

PAGE 5

Maud Case married Burt Robinson.
Their children are Howard and Emily.
Emma Case married Frederic Meyers.
Isiah Case married Kitty Reddy.
Their children are Harley, Howard, Maria and Della.
Harley Case married Sadie Walton.
Idelia Case married Newton Demming.
Their children are Josiphine, Ross, Wayne, Ella,
Chauncey and Sage.
Josiphine Deeming married Bernard Oconer.
Their children are Ella and Frank.
Wayne Deeming married Sarah Knowles.
Their children are Knowles, Verno.
Ella Deeming married Earl Munn.
Their children are Harold, Alice and Idelia.
Eugene Case married Ellen Washington.
Their children are Ella, Mazle and Leonard.
Jeremiah Case died March, 1904.
Hepsibeth Case died October, 1888.
Isiah Case died March 16th, 1900.
Keziah Brown married George Standen.
Their children are Abigal, Meri, Laura, George and Charlie.
Abigal Standen married Samuel Coons.
Their child Edith.
Edith Coons married Edward Smith.
Their child, Leland.
Meri Standen married John Jackson.
Their children are Sherman, and Eunice.
George Standen married Jennie Miner.
their child Fern.
George Standen married Mary Clawson.
Their child Merion.
Charlie Standen married Anna Glendenning.
Their children are Ralph and Josh.
Jennie Miner Stenden died June 17th, 1897.
Samuel Coons died March, 1905.
Isaac Smith died April 12th, 1866.
Betsey Smith died April 29th, 1884.
Johnathan Smith died December 14th, 1824.

PAGE 6

Rebecca Smith died about 1836.
The Smiths, coming from the pilgrims of the
historical Mayflower, and the Taylor's coming from
the puritans of the Truelove, combine to make a
character the type of which any family may well be
proud, and we should hold ourselves irreverent and
our duty unfinished if we did not at least touch
upon a little of our forefathers' history.
Our grandfathers and grandmothers exercised the
same qualities and instilled the instilled the
same principles which exercised the ancient founders
of Massachusetts into their children-- the settlers
of Dover, Ohio.
We at the present time (1905), comprise ten generations
from the Plymouth settlers, and in every generation
except the tenth, it being just begun, one or more
of our sons have served in some war, from the Pequod
war to the Spanish-American and Western Regulars.
Space will not permit the details of but a very
few of the Smith's early experiences. Some of us
can remember listening to the oft-repeated stories
told us by our grandparents, and even by our
parents, hence our narration is authentic, coming
from the lips of the same and handed from family
to family. Johnathan Taylor and Joseph Smith must
have emigrated to Western Massachusetts about the
same time. It was then called the far west and considered
a wilderness. Mr. Taylor's family consisted of
three children at the time they started.
The indians being so hostile at that time they
remained a few years in the central part of the
state (Hardwick). While here three more children
were added to their list, one of which was named
Rebeca Jerusha: hence we have the birthplace of
our great grandmother. They moved to Ashfield
about 1770 where they became the neighbors and
acquaintances of Joseph Smith's family. Here
Johnathan Smith and Rebecca Taylor were united in
marriage and lived until their sojourn into the
new Canaan-Dover, Ohio,or New Connecticut as this
wilderness was then called.

PAGE 7

The street on which Rebecca's family located in
Hardwick still retains its original name, Cape
Street, from the number of settlers comin from Cape Cod.
One little matter we might consider worthy mention.
It is the growth of a little flower whose history
is older than the Revolution. It is a native of
England but was brought around goods of Mrs. Governor
Endicott in 1628. It is found in no other place in
this entire country, except Beverly and a few
other towns close by in Essex county. This plant
bears a little yellow flower and is called Genesta.
When our puritan ancestors started to cross the
state they thought their journey a dangerous one.
They drove their stock before them, but it was
only a mite compared with the undertaking of
Johnathan and Rebecca when they bid farewell to
friends and home to found a new colony and a new
home far across the country. If any person to-day
thinks lightly of their enterpsise let him for a
few moments resort to a geography of the present
date and through New York State into Ohio, bearing
in mind all the time their mode of travel
accompanied with conditions of roads and country
and decide for himself if he would be eager to
accept a like experience.
Johnathan buried his first wife who left him with
five children. He afterward married Rebecca, who
was a cousin to his first wife. They, with eleven
children, came to Dover, Ohio, in the spring of
1811. His brother Abner and wife accompanied them.
Abner Smith was the father to Hiram Smith and
grandfather to Amos Sperry, Ashel and Betsey Smith.
Their trip from Ashfield to Dover was not in an
automobile but a touring car. We imagine it was a
canopy topped, wide tired, four wheeled, springless
vehicle. The propelling force was not steam nor
electricity. It was simply ox power. After plodding
six weary weeks

PAGE 8

they arrived at Captain Hall's, in Ashtabula, Ohio,
where Johnathan left his wife and seven children
for a season, or until he with the four eldest
children: George, Sylvenus, Mary and Abigal could
erect their mansion in the unsettled forest. They
remained long enough to lay up the logs of a
square structure, minus a floor or chimney, until
their return to Captain Hall's.
They then moved the entire family and belongings.
After a time they built a puncheon floor and put
up a chimney. The chimney and fireplace was
composed of flat stones laid up with clay for mortar.
Above the roof the chimney was laid of small strips
of wood laid across each other in the form of a
cube. We are inclined to think that at this period
many, except those imbued with the spirit which
characterized these people, would have despaired.
But not so with Johnathan and Rebecca, their
children, as likewise Abner and his wife Rebecca.
They had come for a purpise and to them there was
no such word as fail. Johnathan's wife was a large,
strong woman, while Abner's wife was small of
stature and somewhat frail, so they were distinguished
as "Big Becky" and "Little Becky."
The town was a territory five miles square,
containing only two families, at the time of their
ingress into it. They located near what is now the
west bank of Cohoon Creek on the bank of Lake Erie.
They witnessed with interest the battles on the
lake, especially the famous one of which history
tells us Commodore Perry was the victor. Their
nearest grist mill was at Cuyahoga Falls, taking
three days and nights to go to mill and return.
They always drove an ox team, the road being
marked by notches on the trees. All streams were
forded as bridges were almost an unknown luxury.
Cleveland was only a small collection of houses
and inhabitants, a city which could boast of only
one bridge, called a floating bridge: That is, it
was constructed of logs lashed together somewhat
like a raft, and when crossing, the bridge was sometimes

PAGE 9

above the water and sometimes beneath the water:
likewise the feet of the traveler or animals driven
over it. The public highway to Cleveland was the
lake beach. Rocky River was forded as no bridge
crossed it at any point in its course. A great deal
of light travel was done on horseback, ladies as
well as gentlemen being experts in the practice.
After the Smiths settled others soon followed,
among whom was Mr. Taylor's family. They often
held religious meetings at the houses, Johnathan
Smith being chosen to read the written or printed
sermons. He was called Deacon Smith. After Mr.
Jasher Taylor arrived he read the sermons and
Rebecca led the singing. So Johnathan might truly
be called Dover's first preacher and Rebecca its
first chorister.
Their home lay in the unbroken forest, with wild
animals and reptiles for their neighbors and dusky
warriors for their callers. They took in the weary
and sick strangers, indians as well as white men,
and nursed and cared for them until well. They
even parted with the leaves of their dining table
to construct a coffin for an unfortunate traveler
who died at their home. They were friends to the
savages and never encountered any serious trouble
with them.
They brought all their seeds- garden, fruit and
field- with them from Ashfield, and waited for
crops, herbs and fruit to grow before they participated
of the products. A pear tree raised from seed
above mentioned is still bearing fruit on the farm
of George Standen in West Dover- a tree ninety-five
years old. Sugar was made from the sap of hickory
tress at first, afterward from the maple sap. The
buckets were hewn from short pieces of logs into
the form of a trough. The spouts were of elder or
some small sticks containing a large pith which was
burned out with a hot iron, made pointed at one end
and driven into an incision in the bark of the tree.
The boiling was done in an open kettle.
Their clothing was home-made from the sheep's

PAGE 10

back to that of the wearer for winter wear, and
from the hetchel to the wearer for summer wear.
Table linen, towels, bags, bedding were likewise
made from woolen or linen thread, hetcheled,
carded, spun and woven by the family. Their
footwear was made from home-tanned leater with
wooden pegs hand split, and linen thread from the
same manufacturers. After a little time a cobbler
was hired who went from house to house making a
year's supply for the entire family. All these
articles of clothin lasted until they wore out.
They barricaded from midnight attacks of wild
animals on their stock as well as on themselves.
Their nearest drug store was the herbs or midecinal
plants and barks of the forest. Their pills were
made from the juice of the butternut simmered to a
gum and rolled into little pellets. Their pomatum
was the true, unadulterated, unperfumed, genuine
bear's oil.
When Mr. Smith selected his 1200 acres of land in
New Connecticut he chose the poorest soil in the
town because of its color resembling the best soil
in their native state. Some of his farms were what
is now called the Weischmeyer farm, the John
Mitchell farm, The Ward farm, the Stocking farm and
some on the Hall road. They sold much of the land
exchanging for wheat, an acre of land not worh as
much as a bushel of wheat, the price being two
shillings the more for wheat.
Our forefathers encountered many dangers and experienced
many discouragements while immigrating to the west.
Once while they were crossing a swamp Rebecca took
up the task of getting the children over it because
the men and boys were busy prying the wheels of
their "touring car" and strengthening the ox power
of the same. She would carry one to a place of
safety and return for another, and thus she labored
for a distance of nearly four miles. These three
little girls were Rachel, Rebecca and Hepsibah.
At another time, when they were about to lose their

PAGE 11

way, she called for help across the Catarogus
Creek until assistance was obtained and the party
rescued and ferried across the stream. They
suffered the loss of an ox from their team. What
did they do?
They simply yoked a cow with the mate and proceeded
on their way, no doubt rejoicing that they owned a
cow to yoke.
While preparing for this journey, Rebecca, who had
repeatedly been cautioned by her husband against
burdening the luggage, surprised her husband by
bringing forth a much desired crane for their new
made fire place and for a long time theirs was the
only crane in Dover. She hid it in the bedding when
packing their goods.
When the news of their son George's death was
brought to them, Johnathan, for the time, was
completely overcome, but not so with Rebecca. She
calmly laid aside her work, donned her bonnet and
shawl, and went forth to learn the worst, but for
three days she scarely spoke so great was her grief
and so heavy her burden, but possessing such marked
self-control. Wonderful woman! Fitted not only to
be the mother of eleven children but to be the
mother of a colony. A genuine leader, always
assisting in sickness, never tiring, ready for any
emergency. A true pioneer.
The puritans came to America to find freedom to
worship God. The Smith's came to Dover to found
homes for themselves and their posterity. May
their principles ever be verdant in our memory,
and may the examples so plainly marked be
perpetuated by us who follow. May it never be said
of us, their offspring, that we are retrograding,
but the rather that we are advancing. Long live
the Smiths. May there be many Johnathans who shall
find a Rebecca as true and noble as she of
Hardwick, Mass.
The names of the family traced from the puritans:
Mary, Keziah, Hepsibeth, Rhoda, Sarah, Elizabeth,
Rachel, Philura, Jerusha and Dorothy: Johnathan,
Joseph, Stephen, Abner, Jasher, David, Sylvenus.

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