Wolves and Bears in Trumbull County, Ohio

Warren's location in Trumbull County, Ohio.
Wikipedia image.

My 6th great grandmother Mary (Bretta?) Lane, her husband Henry Lane, and her children from both her marriages, were among the first settlers of Warren in Trumbull County, Ohio. Mary's two sons from her first marriage, Caleb Jones (our ancestor) and Edward Jones,  arrived in 1799. Henry Lane brought Mary and the younger children in the spring of 1800. 

Mary is an ancestor on my father's side of the family. (Note to my kids: You remember that Almus Hill's mother was Mary Ann Jones. Mary Bretta was Mary Ann Jones's great grandmother, and her son Caleb Jones was Mary Ann Jones's grandfather.)

A small book, Early Settlement of Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio,  written in 1876 by Leonard Case, has quite a bit of information about the Lane family and other pioneers of the area. I thought the following description of the wolves was interesting.  This comes from pages 4-5.

   Wolves and bears committed depredations almost continually upon the cattle and hogs, and other smaller vermin upon the domestic fowls. The wolves would approach even within two rods [about 35 feet] of the cabin, seize a pig, run off with it and eat it, and as soon as the flock became still again, would return again and seize another in like manner; pursuing their depredations to such an extent as to render it difficult to raise anything.  The wolves would likewise seize and destroy the weaker cattle. In winter, when quite hungry, they were bold and would come among the settlers' cabins.
   The writer recollects one night in February, 1801, when the weather had been stormy-- the wind then blowing a severe gale-- when the wolves attacked the cattle on the Bottoms, on Lots 35 & 42 in Warren. The cattle gathered together in large numbers; the oxen and stronger ones endeavoring to defend the weaker ones. They ran, bellowing from one place to another and the wolves, trying to seize their prey, howled fearfully. In the morning, it was evident that the oxen had pitched at the wolves, burying their horns up to their sculls [sic] in the mud and earth. Several of the weaker cattle were found badly bitten.
   The bears preyed more upon the larger hogs; frequently carrying off alive some weighing as much as 150 pounds, though they preferred smaller ones.
   The foxes and other vermin so preyed upon the domestic fowls, that for some years it was difficult to keep any. That wolves prey upon sheep is usual wherever they exist in the same vicinity; but they were so bad about Trumbull, in its early settlement, that the settlers were unable to protect the sheep from the ravages of the wolves, for six or seven years.

Related:  I wrote about my 2nd great grandfather Almus Hill some years ago in my Prairie Bluestem blog. See "The Almus Hill-Almus Lentz Legend."

Almus Hill's Land Deals

My great-great grandfather Almus Hill, born 23 Dec 1843, lost his mother, Mary Ann Jones Hill when he was just five months old. His father John Hill passed away in 1849, leaving Almus an orphan at five years of age.

Almus was raised by a childless great-uncle and great-aunt, Robert and Rachel Hill. Uncle Robert had a small farm, but by the time Almus was a teenager, Robert and Rachel had moved to town (Loudonville, Ohio,) where Robert became a businessman, the town constable, and eventually the mayor. It's likely that Almus had a rather pampered "only child" life with this older couple before he finally left home for good.

Almus married my great-great grandmother Lucinda Martin in about 1864, and their first child was born in Loudonville in 1865. I don't know if Almus and Lucinda were living with Robert and Rachel Hill or not, but I wouldn't be surprised. By 1867, they moved to Allen County, Ohio, where some of Lucinda's brothers and sisters lived.Then they moved to Crawford County, Ohio, and Almus started working for the railroad as a brakeman.

In 1878, Almus's maternal grandmother, Barbara Jones, passed away, and Almus inherited his mother's share of the Jones farm -- 119 acres of land in Mahoning County, Ohio. Almus could have moved there and assumed ownership of part of a prosperous  farm. But instead, Almus accepted an offer of $1200 for his inheritance from the other Jones heirs (two uncles and an aunt, Mary Ann Jones' siblings).

An 1880 newspaper ad for Kansas land

With $1200 in his pocket, Almus quit his railroad job. By 1880, he had moved his family to Republic County, Kansas and become a farmer. An 1884 map of the county shows that Almus owned 80 acres of land with a small creek running through one end of it.

Sadly, farming in Kansas didn't go well for Almus. Periods of drought and bad weather made life hard. The economy was experiencing booms and busts. By 1889, Almus was so fed up that he moved back to Crawford County, Ohio.

Too broke to afford the train, Almus and Lucinda and the younger children made the 900 mile trip in a wagon, arriving in the fall. (Several of the older children stayed in Kansas, including my great-grandfather Charlie Hill.)  Almus got his old job as a railroad brakeman back, and about six months later, he fell between railroad cars and lost his life.

I've wondered if the reason that Almus didn't want to start farming the Jones land was that he didn't know much about farming and didn't want to be embarassed in front of the Jones family whom he didn't know very well. (I'm pretty sure that Almus had some psychological issues.)

Tonight, I transcribed the 1870 Agricultural Schedule (part of the Federal Census) for Edward Jones, one of the uncles who bought Almus's share of the Jones farm. Edward owned a farm of his own and was obviously very successful.

The $1200 that Almus got for 119 acres of the Jones farm was a pittance, compared to Edward Jones' farm revenue for 1870 (not even considering the other Jones brother and sister.) I suspect that Almus was poorly informed about the value of the land he inherited. With his head full of dreams about making a fortune in Kansas, he sold his birthright cheap and lost it all.

This narrative was written by Genevieve L. Netz. Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to use this document for genealogical purposes. It may be attached to online family trees. This note about usage must remain attached. Any other use requires written permission. Contact the author at gnetz51@gmail.com .

Download an easy-to-print copy at  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oHbVZfPhA8pbV1xiZc0TDQJrzDfKrYF1ZwRfjfREQpY

Grandmother Patience (Rogers) Hill, c. 1780 - c. 1835

The area in Sussex Co.
where Patience grew up.

My 5th great grandmother, Patience Rogers, was born about 1780 in Sussex County, Delaware. Her father, John Rogers, was a sea captain and a property owner. John and his wife Comfort (Prettyman) Rogers lived and raised their family near Lewes, Delaware, where the Delaware River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Both John and Comfort came from long-established families of the Delmarva peninsula.

John Rogers passed away in 1794. In his will, he described himself as "John Rogers, planter," and called his wife and children "well-beloved." The older girls had already married when John wrote his will, but Leah, Unice, and Patience were still at home. Patience, about 14 years old, was the youngest of the family. John Rogers left livestock and farm equipment and tools to his sons and land that they would inherit after Comfort, their mother, died. He did not mention any slaves in his will, so he probably didn't have any. Leah, John, Eunice and Patience were to divide their father's "movable property" after their mother's death.

Comfort (Prettyman) Rogers lived less than three years after her husband's death. She signed her will with her mark on January 28, 1797. She provided for her two youngest daughters, Unice and Patience, by willing her "dwelling house" and the old orchard and peach trees to her son John Rogers and stating that Eunice and Patience were to have a home with John as long as they were unmarried.

From Comfort Prettyman Rogers' will

Soon after her mother's death, Patience married my 5th great grandfather, Robert Hill. Y-chromosome DNA testing has proved that Robert was related to a Hill family who lived in the Sussex County area, but I don't know whom Robert's father and mother were.

A year or two after their marriage, Robert took his bride and their newborn son, Rogers Hill (my 4th great grandfather,) and moved to western Pennsylvania. Patience probably never saw her brothers and sisters again. I don't know if she was given her share of her father's belongings before she left or if she was able to take any family mementos with her.

By 1810, Robert and Patience had settled on Beaver Creek in Columbiana County, Ohio. Soon, their family grew to ten children -- six sons, three daughters, and one child (sex unknown) who probably died young. Patience named two daughters for her sisters -- Eunice and Orpha.  The first son (Rogers Hill, my 4th great grandfather) was given his mother's maiden name. Three other sons were named John, Robert, and George. I am still researching the names of two sons and a daughter.

An early Ohio cabin

Life in the wilds of Ohio must have very different from civilized Delaware. Patience and Robert surely missed the seafood of the Atlantic coast, but they probably caught fish in Beaver Creek and the Ohio River.

Robert took up shoemaking as a livelihood. He probably tried to grow some farm crops too. I am certain that Patience had a work-filled life. She probably had to spin and possibly had to weave for the family, as well as sew their clothing by hand. I am sure she had a big garden in summer and preserved as much food as possible for winter.

I think that Patience knew how to write, which was somewhat unusual for a woman in her time. In 1833, marriage records of Columbiana County, Ohio, state that George Hill brought a certificate from his mother Patience Hill giving him permission to marry at the age of 17. Later that year, Patience Hill sent another certificate, giving permission for her daughter Orpha Hill to marry at the age of 14. It appears that Patience gave permission because Robert was deceased. Those marriage records and their mention of the certificates Patience provided are the last record of her that I have found.

 Robert Hill is buried somewhere in Mahoning County, Ohio, probably near Youngstown. I do not know where Patience was laid to rest, but I am hopeful that she is at her husband's side.

This narrative of Patience Rogers Hill's life was written by Genevieve L. Netz. Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to use this document for genealogical purposes. It may be attached to online family trees. This note about usage must remain attached. Any other use requires written permission. Contact the author at gnetz51@gmail.com .

Download an easy-to-print copy at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0WMJrHF96-UbmFCYXJMZGc4aG8/view?usp=sharing .