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Families of
Richfield, Summit County, Ohio
Please contact us at richfieldgene@att.net if you would
like to add a brief history of your family or add information to
any of the names listed below. We hope to use this
page not only to entertain and educate but to connect people
back to their Richfield roots! -
- Don't forget to use Find (on the Edit
menu, or Ctrl+F) to locate names
throughout this
page.
- ALLEN family - Peter S.
Allen owned a harness shop on the SE corner of Rtes. 303 &
176. He dealt in saddles, harnesses, trunks, buffalo robes,
blankets, whips, etc. This building became the first
telephone exchange. It was torn down to make space for
Young's drug store.
AXTELL family - Ex-Governor
Axtell of New Mexico returned to his hometown to act as Master of
Ceremonies at the Richfield Reunion on August 11,
1880.
- The second settler, after Mays,
was Jared Barnes who arrived from Virginia.
BAUMGARDNER family
BRUSH family - Charles
Francis Brush, Sr. was the inventor of the arc light and his son,
Charles Jr., organized the Brush Laboratories. There is a
25-ton engraved stone in Furnace Run Metropark that reads,
"Brushwood - given in memory of Charles Francis Brush, Jr.
To all those who love as he loved the far sky and smiling
land." The original grant of 2100 acres was given by Charles F.
Brush, Sr. who purchased the land from pioneer owner, Everett
Farnham. Charles, Jr. died in 1927 and the total gift
amounted to 4500 acres.
- In 1811, Denton Enoch Buck
arrived from the State of New York and settled in the southwestern
part of Richfield Township with his aged parents. Both
of the old people were scalped by an invading Indian party and
were buried on a knoll back of the Buck home. That same
year, Enoch established and operated the first grist mill in
Summit County, which consisted of a large oak stump, hollowed out
on the top, with a pestle, worked by a spring pole.
BROWN family - In 1840 John
Brown came to Richfield from Hudson with his second wife, Mary, and
a large family of children. He was very poor and was never
successful in any business venture. He was somewhat of a
rover, never staying in one place or one occupation for any length
of time. He went into sheepraising and the wool business, with
Heman Oviatt as a partner and later ran a tannery.
He lived in three houses in Richfield: first home was in the
vicinity of Fountain Rd. (or Boston Mills Rd as it is now called)
where four of his children died of diptheria; his second home was
back of George Wilkinson's Green Valley Market, and the
third was a white house east of the East Center which was later
the Gilmer Davis house. Here he established an underground
railway station for run-away slaves, concealing them and helping
them escape under the cover of darkness. It was many years
later in 1859 that John Brown gave his life on the gallows at
Charleston for the principle he fought for. It has been said
that the words of the condemned man from his prison cell had far
more effect than his lifetime of fanatical deeds. The song,
"John Brown's Body", was never meant to be a comic song; it was
a deadly serious song of tribute to a martyr.
- Elias Carter arrived from Warren,
Connecticut with his wife, Sarah (also known as Sally) Farnham,
daughter of John Farnham and sister to Everett Farnham. He
lived on Greenleese Road, now known as Black Road. His
daughter, Fanny Carter, married Mason Oviatt, son of Salmon
and Mary (Humphrey) Oviatt, in Connecticut in
1831. Fanny taught school in a log house with one
room where the Bath school stands. It was Fanny who
nursed two of John Brown's children who eventually died of black
diptheria. Elwin Carter owned one of the first telephones in
Richfield in 1905.
CAVE family
DAMON family - Elmo Damon
operated a barber shop in Richfield in 1926. George Damon also
had a barbershop on the premises of what was once T.E.
Ellsworth's cabinet shop. Caleb Damon (1853-1915) was a
well-known photographer born in Richfield. Many of his photos
have been republished as postcards and are on sale at the Richfield
Historical Museum.
- Seth Dustin operated the
Hildebrand House. It was destroyed by fire later and
replaced by the Sykes and Searles grocery.
EASTMAN family - Reverend
and Mrs. F.E. Eastman set up an emergency laundry at the parsonage
to help many families where there was serious illness during the
1918 Flu Epidemic. 250 Richfield residents were
stricken. In May 1918, the Methodist and Congregational
Churches united and were then known as "The Richfield Federated
Church", Rev. F.E. Eastman was the minister who brought about this
important change.
- In 1913, Walter Eastwood
purchased the store at Rte. 303 and Front Street from Charles
Williams who had owned it since 1908. Other owners had been
Frank Brower and Russell Hunt. Walter Eastwood ran this
store for 34 years, retiring in 1947.
ELLSWORTH family - In 1820,
Elijah Ellsworth was duly elected as the town preacher to "lead in
meeting" by the town council. As he was somewhat addicted to
swearing, he agreed to abandon the practice so long as he held the
office. In 1821, Thomas E. Ellsworth came to Ohio from Litchfield,
Connecticut. Unable to purchase land in the center of town, he
went one mile west where he built his home. Being a carpenter
and a splendid mechanic, he became the builder of many homes and
public buildings and was the actual "Father of Richfield". He
had a cabinet making shop and a furniture store where George Damon
later had a barbeshop. T. E. was also the town's mortician (as
was his son, Ransom) and a deacon in the church for over 50
years, as well as the holder of many public offices. One of his
sons, Elisha T., was the father of Luther Ellsworth, Consul to
Mexico during President McKinley's administration. In 1862, R.C.
Ellsworth was one of three men in Richfield who under their
direction trained thirty men for the first draft in the Civil War.
These young men were known as the "Richfield Grays". Ellsworth
Chapter No. 247, Order of the Eastern Star was instituted August 31,
1906 with Mrs. Jennie Ellsworth as first Worthy
Matron.
(later spelled Farnum) - In
1811, John Farnham arrived from Cornwall, Litchfield County,
Connecticut and purchased 1200 acres in the north part of
town. Leamon Farnham, his son, was elected the first Justice
of the Peace in April 1816 and he taught school on Sundays - all
branches of a common school education. Leamon's
brother, Everett Farnham said, "It was not then known to be wicked
to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic on Sunday." "Lord"
Everett Farnham was known as colorful character and an eccentric
old gentleman. Of English ancestry, he went to England as a
young man and returned a self-styled "lord", built the fabulous
home (known previously as the Danish Smorgasbord) in 1840 and
established his estate in the most fantastic fashion. The
town abounds with stories of his domination over his hired hands
and over the entire countryside. For more information,
contact Richfield Historical Society. They have published a
book called The Farnums, by Bill Ellis.
FAUBLE family
GARMAN
family
HALLIWELL family - The first
class graduated from Richfield High School in 1879 with just two
members, Milo Halliwell and Harriet Pope.
- H.W. Howe owned a steam sawmill and
handle factory.
HURLBURT family
- James B. Kirby is the inventor of
the popular Kirby sweeper. On his estate now stands the Girl
Scout's Camp Julia Crowell.
LEE family (of English
heritage)
(of German heritage) - George Lee and
his family arrived from Pennsylvania and originally
resided in Boston Twp. in 1840 but then soon departed
to Williams County, Ohio and finally settled
in Cass Co., Michigan; however, the family always
kept ties with the town of Richfield. His son, John Lee,
married here to Elizabeth Sanborn, daughter of John C. &
Sibyl (Farwell) Sanborn. They had two children: John
Sanborn Lee and Helen Antoinette Lee. Later, they removed to
Steuben Co., Indiana where Elizabeth died in 1851. The
children returned to Richfield to live with their maternal
grandparents, the Sanborns. John S. Lee fought in the Civil
War and returned to Richfield where he married Frances Pettit,
daughter of John Pettit & Charlotte Hoight. They had two
daughters, one of them, Cora (Lee) Gross, lived on Humphrey
Rd. In Nov. 1863, John Lee remarried to Electa Adelia
Oviatt, daughter of Mason & Fanny (Carter) Oviatt. They
had one child, a son named Park Lee, who moved to Cleveland,
Ohio and worked as a teamster (truck driver) for the Beeman
Gum Company. It is Park Lee's great-great granddaughter
designing this website for the Richfield Historical Society.
George Lee's daughter, Lucinda, married in Williams County, Ohio
to Rufus Sanborn, son of John C. & Sibyl (Farwell)
Sanborn. They returned to Richfield to live and had two
children: Helen and Rena; later they lived in Boston
Twp. For further information, contact Lynn at manchester13@att.net.
LOCKERT family - James
Lockert came in 1834 and built the brick house at the corner of
Black and Columbia roads in 1837. He had seven children. Mrs.
Emma Lockert, widow of Rev. Alex Lockert, started the Community
Sunday School in 1939 and was assisted through the years by a
devoted staff of workers.
MALLET family - Henry
Mallet and his wife settled in the SE part of Richfield Twp.
just south of "The Point", on the lot owned later by Richard Sweet
and the McKisson family. In 1810, their daughter was the first
white child born in Richfield. Mallet had two brothers, John
and Daniel, and together they established a "mint" that became known
as the Money Shop where they manufactured currency to
order. The Shop was located on a point of land just
across the line in Northampton and about a quarter mile from
Jonathan Hale's home in Bath. The townspeople disposed of this
shop of ill repute by burning it to the ground. The
remains of the old forge were still seen for a number of years
and despite losing his shop, Mallet continued to manufacture
currency but eventually ended up in a Columbus prison where he
died.
- The first settler in Richfield
was a man by the name of Lancelot Mays, who arrived from
Pennsylvania in 1809. He and his family settled in the
southwest part of town, later sold to John Bigelow in
1814. Lancelot was a Daniel Boone-type of man and did
not relish living with Yankees! His wife, who later lived in
Hinckley, Medina Co., often said that she would rather eat raw
potatoes boiled in fresh water than live among the Yankees.
They had a daughter, Betsey, who was the wit and belle of
Richfield. She walked to a party at Copley, carrying her
shoes in her hand to preserve them from the rough wear of the
wilderness trails. The first marriage was that of Betsey
Mays and William Carter. It is said that she had a son named John,
who was noted as a pugilist and he committed the first assault and
battery in the town by beating Nathaniel Oviatt. He was
later prosecuted before Leman Farnum, Esq., who was the first
judge in town.
MCKINSTRY family - Rev. J.A.
McKinstry was pastor for 23 years and was the director in the
rebuilding of the church. Many quaint stories are recalled
about this beloved Puritanical old minister. He was one of the
speakers at the first Richfield Reunion on August 11,
1880.
- Judge John Newton, purchased most
of the land around around the town's east center and in the early
1820s, he also built the home later owned by Homer
Carter. Minot Newton owned one of the first telephones
in Richfield in 1905.
OVIATT family - The Oviatts
hailed from Litchfield County, Connecticut and were one of the first
families in Richfield. In 1811, Heman Oviatt, an early settler
that came to the area with David Hudson, purchased the N.W.
quarter of Richfield Township from Col. Tallmadge for $5,000.
However, he continued to live in Hudson until 1836 when he
removed to Richfield. In 1820, O.M. Oviatt built a store which
was located just north of the old church. The first post office
was in this store and Mr. Oviatt was named Postmaster in 1825.
The mail was brought from Hudson, which had mail service as early as
1805. Salmon Oviatt ran a bob sled factory which employed 15
to 18 men. For further information, contact Leah at kensington13@att.net.
- In 1812, the first death recorded
in Richfield was Polly Payne, aged 18 years old.
PETTIT family
PIXLEY family - Stephen
Pixley died at the age of 49 on October 31, 1829; his tombstone is
one of the oldest in the West Richfield Cemetery. Frank Pixley was
born in Richfield and graduated from Richfield High School at the
age of 15 years old; he graduated from Ohio State University in 1886
at the age of 19. About 1902 the people of Richfield were proudly
boasting that Frank Pixley was a native of the town, for the musical
comedy, "The Prince of Pilsen" was then having its successful run in
New York, Boston, Paris and London where it was given 160
times. He was professor of History and English at Buchtel
College from 1887 to 1890. He was the author of the following
plays: The Carpet Bagger, The Return of Eve, Tamin a Tartar,
Doctor Doolittle, and A Social Call. He was also author of the
following muscial comedies: The Burgomaster, The Enchanted
Isle, King Dodo, Woodland, The Grand Mogul, Marcel, The Gypsy,
Apollo and of course, The Prince of Pilsen. In the latter he
colloborated with Gustave Luders. Upon his death in 1919, his
widow established a memorial fund of $50,000 at Akron
University.
- Franklin Prickett owned a
gun shop and was the maker of the famous Prickett gun. He
lived on Hawkins Road and was the grandfather of Floyd P.
Swan. Samuel Prickett had a gun factory on Hawkins Rd. and
it was known over a wide area and did a large amount of business
for about 25 years. Allan Prickett owned one of the first
telephones in Richfield in 1905.
RAWSON family - The
first physician mentioned in Richfield's history was Dr.
Secretary Rawson in 1824. Although he practiced here for 40 years,
he is best remembered for his wide spread temperance work, for his
years of teaching at the Richfield Academy, his ability as a
lecturer, and for the establishment of the town's first library in
1825.
SANBORN family - John C.
Sanborn was born in 1802, Massachusetts. He and his wife,
Sibyl Farwell, arrived in 1834 in Boston Township and resided there
for 20 years before moving to Richfield. He moved into a home
that Everett Farnham had built in 1850 which was built for his
overseer of his estate. We do not know the overseer's name but
it could possibly be J.C. Sanborn. Land records (or deeds)
show the property on which the house now stands, was deeded in 1856
by E. Farnham to J.C. Sanborn. John and Sibyl had eight
children who married into the Thompson, Lee (w/German heritage),
Humphrey and Oviatt families. Their youngest child, Permilla
Sanborn, married Miles Oviatt and had Jennie Farwell Oviatt, who was
well-known in Richfield and told stories of her grandmother, Fanny
(Carter) Oviatt. For further information, contact Lynn,
manchester13@att.net
SEARLES family
- On the stream a little east of
the West Center, O.C. Shepard owned a steam flour and saw
mill. Mill Street and "Mill Hill" derived their names from
this mill, which furnished fine lumber for many homes in Richfield
and surrounding townships.
SHELDON
family
SWAN family
- Z.W. Townsend had a carriage
and wagon shop and a basket factory. This building was later
used as a saw mill, a cider mill, and a feed mill; it's now an
antique shop.
UNDERHILL
family
VOWLES
family
- James W. Weld, Esq. grew excellent
fruit in Richfield that was not only well noted in town but
throughout the state of Ohio! In 1824, he built the corner
store, known later as the old Sykes' store. William
Weld built the Center Hotel in 1830 which became a regular
stage coach stop on the road from Cleveland to Massillon.
Fayette Viall was proprietor at that time and the hotel later
became known to us all as the Inn at Richfield. The
family left a trust fund for the East Richfield Cemetery
(Fairview) to help maintain the field stone fence and to restore
old tombstones.
WELTON family - As one of
the first officials of the township, Isaac Welton acted
as a supervisor and he was the first Justice of the Peace in
Richfield. He was also the first master of the Meridian Sun
Lodge in 1823. It was the 69th Lodge in the State of Ohio and
its charter bears that number to this
day.
-
Baxter Wood, after serving several years as the proprietor of
the Center Tavern, started a store in
1848 known as the "Wood Block" on the south side of
Rte.303, West Richfield. He was succeeded by his two
sons, Charles and Baxter H., who later left the
store. Charles carried on the store with his two sons, Harry
and Arthur, until about 1910. The old "Wood Block" was torn
down in later years, but for three generations it was a well-known
trading place. Baxter H. Wood operated a cheese
factory just north of Shepard's saw mill. It had a large
business, using as much as 15,000 pounds of milk a day which was
hauled in from Bath, Granger, Hinckley, Royalton, Brecksville and
Boston. This factory burned in 1907.
WORDEN family
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