was for a long time in demand on special occasions. It was used by the senior Leonard Case when he went forth to bring home his bride.

The first brick house in Cleveland was built on Superior street in 1814, and the second was that which Alfred Kelley erected in 1816. He was the owner of a piece of land running from Water street to the river, and to the lake on the northward. It was on this property that the story and a half building was erected, at a point where the Cleveland Transfer company's building now stands. He intended it for the residence of his parents, but as his mother died before its completion he and his young bride were its first occupants, and there they remained until 1827. The building then had various tenants, the family of Hon. John W. Allen being at one time among them, and was torn down some time after 1850. Mr. Kelley at one time owned the piece

of land on the flats afterwards sold to Joel Scranton, and known in later years as "Scranton's flats," and in the house upon it his family resided at one time. To Mr. and Mrs. Kelley eleven children were born, five of whom died in infancy, and six who are yet living, their ages coming in the following order: Maria, now Mrs. Judge Bates of Columbus; Jane, who was married to William Collins of Lowville, who removed to Cleveland and became a prominent member of the Cuyahoga bar; Helen, who became Mrs. Francis Collins of Columbus, her husband being a brother to William Collins; Anna, who married Colonel C. J. Freudenberg of the United States army; Alfred, the only son, who resides at the family homestead in Columbus; and Kate, the wife of Rev. W. H. Dunning of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

J. H. KENNEDY.

JOEL B. CALOON, whose name comes ever into mind when the pioneers of western Cuyahoga are mentioned, was the descendant of worthy bearers of that name who came in an early day from Scotland to the new world in the west. The first definite location of the family in America is discovered about 1680, on Block island, in Long Island sound. A settler thereon of the name of Cahoon, whose given name has not been recorded, was the father of the first white

child born on Block island. That son afterwards went to Massachusetts, and from there to Rhode Island. His son, Reynolds Cahoon, in or near the year 1780, located in Massachusetts, where he gave his attention to farming. To him, in turn, four sons were born, whose ages ranged in the order here named: Joseph, Benjamin, Wilbur and Reynolds. Benjamin remained in the east, Wilbur removed to Avon, Lorain county, Ohio, in 1812, and was the father of

Ora, Wilbur and Leonard Cahoon; Reynolds also came to Ohio, and is buried in the cemetery at Euclid. The oldest of the four, Joseph Cahoon, was the father of the subject of this sketch, and was born in Rhode Island in 1763. About the time of reaching his majority he was married to Lydia Kenyon. In 1799 he made his home in Newark, New Jersey, where he was in charge of a tide mill. In 1803 he removed to Salisbury, New York, and engaged in milling and manufacturing, and at the end of four years again removed to Vergennes, Vermont, where he had control of a planing mill for some three years. His thought had for some time set itself upon the prospects and chances of the country beyond the Alleghany mountains, and as early as 1799 he had made a tour of exploration down the Ohio river and up the Scioto. All that he saw or learned in that little raid of observation but made stronger his desire, and by 1810 he was ready to make the wish good in action. He chose his future home, and made his preparations to leave. The undertaking was one of greater moment than the most of us suppose, and the emigrant who set his face so far to the westward had full need of much courage and strength, and no small portion of hope. All the people of Vergennes assembled upon the village green to bid them a heart-felt God speed. Prayer was offered in their behalf, and they were committed to the long and dangerous journey, as are men who go down to battle. A great covered wagon A great covered wagon drawn by four horses, with a saddlehorse led behind, was their mode of

conveyance. Within it the emigrant carried his family and such goods as could not be dispensed with. They were six weeks upon the journey. It is needless to recount their trials, dangers and adventures, for the like are written on almost every page of history made in this pioneer Western Reserve.

On October 10, 1810, their destination was reached, a halt was made, and the first settler had set his foot upon the soil of Dover, Cuyahoga county, Ohio. That point, where Cahoon creek empties into Lake Erie, was chosen because of its water power. The family were housed in their wagon until a log dwelling could be erected. The forest was removed and land laid under cultivation as opportunity offered. The first grist mill west of the Cuyahoga river was set up at Ridgeville, and the men who were employed upon the second at the mouth of the creek laid down their tools on September 10, 1813, and went down to the edge of the lake, where there came to them through the gray autumn haze, the sound of Perry's guns as he blew into fragments the British domination of

these lower lakes.

Joseph Cahoon had a large family of children, of whom a brief mention is proper here before detailed reference to the son Joel B. The oldest son, Samuel, was the father of John Cahoon of Ridgeville, and James Cahoon of Penfield, Huron county. The next, Amos, with his family, removed to Wisconsin, in 1842; the daughter, Mary, married George Sexton of Ridgeville, where her son Lester is still living. Daniel, to whom reference is again made. below,

was never married, and died in Cincinnati in 1842. The next daughter, Rebecca, was married to Ebenezer Griffith of Elyria, and her only daughter, Selicia, became the wife of James Wright of Cleveland. The third daughter, Abigail, was married to Hon. Leverett Johnson of Dover, and their union was the first celebrated in Dover township. She died in 1869. Her son, L. H. Johnson, is living at the homestead-a representative man in the town. The next son, BenjaThe next son, Benjamin, lived in Elyria and left one son and four daughters. Another, William, located in Elyria, doing much for its upbuilding. His son W. E. Cahoon is at present recorder of Lorain county. The youngest son, Franklin, who was the first male child born in Dover, located in Norwalk, and on his death left one son. Joel Butler Cahoon, the fourth child of Joseph and Lydia Cahoon, was born at Salisbury, New York, on August 27, 1793. His school advantages were limited, but he made good use of them. They were not of long duration, as the lad was only seventeen years of age when his parents forsook civilization and turned their faces toward a region where schools and academies were as yet unthought of. He went earnestly to work with the rest in the long labor of subduing the forest. Early in 1814 he joined the American army, and under the brave Major Croghan went to Mackinaw in an expedition against the British at that point. He served faithfully until the close of the war, and was mustered out in Warren.

For some time thereafter he carried the mail between Cleveland and Mau

mee city, going on horseback, and meeting many adventures on his long and lonely rides-over swamps, rivers that possessed no bridges, and roads that were but bridle paths through the forest. In 1822 he returned to his birthplace at Salisbury, and while there engaged for some time in salt boiling at Salt Point, near Syracuse. He then entered the canal service, and for about a year commanded the boat Neptune, running between Salt Point and Brockport. Meanwhile his brother Daniel, who had been clerking for Nathan Perry, the Cleveland merchant, decided to go into business for himself, but before doing so wrote to his brother Joel, asking him to go into partnership. The latter accepted, and in 1825 the two opened a store at Boston, in Summit county, on the line of the Ohio canal. They remained there about a year, and then entered upon the real labors of their lives, and commenced the career in which they won such reputation and accomplished so much. They took a construction contract on the Pennsylvania canal, and in company with a man named McFarland, built the first lock in Allegheny county. In 1828 and 1829 they built a half mile on the Juniata canal, and for a number of years were engaged in similar works. When the Baltimore & Ohio railroad was commenced, they contracted for the building of several sections thereof. Their partner in this labor was General James K. Moorhead, who afterwards represented the Pittsburgh district in congress for many years. Their next venture was the building of the lateral branch of