MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, DEATHS
& OTHER COURT RECORDS & NOTICES

From the Conneaut Gazette of Nov. 13
Shipwreck and Loss of Life

Shipwreck and loss of Life - At an early hour this morning a hull of a vessel was seen off our harbor, and with the aid of a spy glass, one person was discovered on board; but as the Lake was rough, and the wind to the northward, it was impossible to go out to the vessel.  About 8 o'clock, however, when she had drifted within about thirty rods of the shore, one mile west of the Harbor, two or three individuals plunged into the Lake, and succeeded in getting on board, when a scene of horror and distress presented itself to their view.  The individual before discovered, proved to be the mate, by name Henry Waghorn.  He was unable to help himself much and seemed indifferent about getting on shore, and by his side, lashed to the windlass, were the lifeless bodies of two men, and in the cabin ten more of men, women and children.  The mate was put on shore, and soon after the lifeless bodies of four men, three boys, four girls, and one woman, were taken on shore, and decently interred, in the burying ground attached to the Presbyterian Meeting House.
     After the mate had become revived and able to converse we learned from him the following particulars relative to the accident.  The schooner is the Trader, of and from Otter Creek, Canada, loaded with lumber and bound for Cleveland, with a crew of four, including captain and mate, and ten passengers.  There was a widow lady and six children, name not known, and three gentlemen, one by name of John Richardson.  On Wednesday morning, when between Ashtabula and Grand River, about daylight, a squall struck the schooner, which split all the sails and rendered her unmanageable; and about 11 A.M. two heavy seas struck her in quick succession, which capsized her, and carried away both her masts and bowsprit, and stove a hole in her larboard bow.  At the moment she capsized, all on board were below.  In about five minutes she righted again, when the mate, two of the hands and one passenger (name not known, ) got upon deck, and all succeeded in lashing themselves to the windless, except the passenger, who was swept overboard.  The captain and remainder of the passengers did not attempt to come on deck, but remained in the cabin, about two-thirds filled with water, until they died, which was between 10 o'clock that night and day-light the next morning.  The groans and cries for help continued until about day-light.  The widow was bound for Cleveland, where she has a son residing.

A young man named Orrin Thomas, engineer on the new steamboat Cleaveland, was instantly killed on Monday evening, just as the boat was leaving Conneaut for Detroit.  While engaged in fixing some part of the machinery, his head came in contact with one of the ponderous cranks, by which it was crushed to pieces.  His age was only 18 years.

The Conneaut, Ohio, Gazette, will probably be relieved of its wonder at the course taken by the U. S. District Judge.  It was the only course by which he could detain these injured individuals in jail, to die by inches, or to be delivered over to their Spanish oppressors.  If not detained as criminals, they would have been within reach of a habeas corpus from the State courts.

The schooner Commercial of Conneaut, with 250 bbls of salt on board, was run into and sunk by the Great Western on Monday night, on Lake Erie - Alb. Dai. Adv.

The Bridge over the Conneaut Creek, in Ohio, recently fell, just as the Cleveland stage had passed it, and while the hind wheels were on it.  The driver was thrown off, but the horses had a firm footing upon the bank, and sustained themselves.  The bridge was twenty feet above the bed of this deep creek.

Samuel P. Fenton has been appointed Postmaster at Conneaut, Ohio, vice Judge Dart, deceased.

BRIG. LADY A. BLOSSOM of Conneaut, Capt. J. L. Wood, came into our port Sunday morning with a large load of freight, - 16 cabin passengers and 40 stearage.
     This fine brig of which Messrs. Lake and Carpenter of Conneaut are principal owners, was launched at that place last April.  She measures 300 tonage - 24 feet 9 inches beam and 9 feet 10 inches of hold.

We learn from the Conneaut Reporter that the Academy in Kingsville, Ashtabula county, was destroyed by fire early on Monday morning last.  How the fire originated is not known, but is supposed to be the work of an incendiary.  Most of the apparatus connected with the school, a very flourishing one, was destroyed, and the loss will be severely felt by Mr. Graves, the Principal.  Many of the books belonging to students were also lost.

FIRE AT CONNEAUT - The town of Conneaut was visited by a severe fire on Monday night.  It broke out in the large store and warehouse of Charles Hall, Arcade buildings, which was destroyed.  The lower rooms were occupied by Mr. Hall as a Dry Goods store, and the upper story by Odd Fellows and Sons of Temperance.  The building was insured for $1200 in the Portage Mutual and Mr. Hall had an insurance on his goods in the AEtna for $5000.  Goods mostly saved in a damaged state.  The furniture and regalia of the Odd Fellows insured for $200 which mainly covers the loss.  The Sons saved theirs - Cleveland Her.

Destructive Tornado.
A tornado passed over a part of Ashtabula County, Ohio, eight or ten days ago, which did immense damage to crops, fences, trees, &c.  It came from the lake, and struck the shore not far from Conneaut.  Its course first was nearly south, and after demolishing fences, acres of woodland, growing crops, &c., it suddenly turned North, and when again near the shore of the lake took an easterly direction, pouring upon the earth a perfect torrent of water accompanied with hail.  Everything within its range was leveled with the ground for two or three miles.  East of Conneaut it continued about ten miles, laying completely desolate a strip of country a mile wide.  Large sound forest trees, two and three feet through, were twisted off and carried several rods.  Some farmers lost all their crops by it, and suffered much in their improvements.  The aggregate destruction is stated by the Conneaut Reporter to be very great.

Source: Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph
Dated: Mar. 27, 1850

DIED:
     (Death of Capt. John Edmonds - We learned that Capt. Edmonds, master of the steamer Southern died at Buffalo on Sun. morning, Capt. E. was a resident of Monroe.  We understand his disease was cholera morbus, strongly resembling the cholera of last season.

DIED:
     At Conneaut, on the 2d. inst. of consumption, Capt. J. L. Wood, aged 35.

Wife of Virgil P. Kline, Esq., became the mother of twins Sept. 28, and shortly after was attacked by peritonitis from which she died at 4 o'clock Monday morning.  The children are doing well.  The maiden name of Mrs. Kline was Cozzens.  Her home before marriage was in Conneaut.

Wife of Virgil P. Kline, Esq., became the mother of twins September 28, and shortly after was attacked by Peritonitis from which she died at 4 o'clock Monday morning.  The children are doing well.  The maiden name of Mrs. Kline was Cozzens.  Her home before marriage was in Conneaut.

The Firey Element.
     CONNEAUT, Ohio, Dec. 11 - This morning fire destroyed the buildings of the Conneaut River Paper company and the Herald newspaper office.  Loss $40,000.

IMPORTANT GAME SEIZURE.
Sportsmen From Conneaut Tried to Ship Out Moose Meat.

Deputy State Game Warden John Green made an important-seizure of moose and caribou meat and hides at Two Harbors yesterday.  He has had his eye upon a party of Conneaut, O., sportsmen that have been east of Two Harbors for some days, but when they returned to Duluth they had nothing contraband about them so Mr. Green took the back trail and went to Two Harbors to investigate.
     On the platform in front of the engine house and just delivered to a drayman the warden discovered about 500 pounds of moose and caribou meat, some hides, two Winchester rifles and a Parker shotgun, all billed to be shipped on board the steamer Olympia for below.
     The guns, meat and hides are now the property of the state of Minnesota and the Conneaut men will have to settle with Sam Fullerton.  They will most probably do this at long range.  Deputy Green is inclined to believe that the meat was purchased from Indians, but even then it is liable to seizure.

Box in Which Body Was Found at Cambridge Springs, Purchased at Conneaut, Ohio.

Special to The Inquirer.
CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS, Pa., May 3. - Just a ray of light was today thrown on the corpse mystery.  Chief of Police Sutton went to Conneaut, Ohio, this morning, taking along the box in which the woman's body was found, the place of false teeth and a photograph of the dead face.  A clerk at Pelton's dry goods store, recognized the box as one of two boxes he sold April 15 to a man who looked like a workman, and who said another man would call for them.  The other man, described as about 50 years old and well dressed, called a little later and took the boxes away.
     The theory that the false teeth plate was made in Conneaut is dissolved by all the dentists of the town declaring they never saw the plate before.  There are various rumors and sensational stories regarding the affair, but the foregoing covers today's developments, and the matter is as much a mystery as at first.  The story that a bullet wound has been found in the body is pure sensation.

Bank Officials Arrested President and Cashier of Conneaut, O.,
Bank Must Answer Charges

CLEVELAND, O., Dec. 30. - Cashier O. C. Lillie and President C. M. Traver of the National Bank of Conneaut, Ohio, were placed under arrest this afternoon at Conneaut by United States Marshal Chandler upon a warrant charging the bankers with a violation of the national banking laws, the specific charge in Mr. Lillie's case being the making of a false entry in the books of the bank.  Mr. Traver is charged in the warrant with being an accomplice of the cashier in the alleged falsification.  Cashier Lillie waived preliminary examination and gave bail in the sum of $10,000.
     The National Bank of Conneaut closed its doors nearly two weeks ago, after a run upon it the preceding day.  The bank has a capital stock of $50,000.
     The cause of the run, the bankers said at the time, was that the report had gained currency that Mrs. Chadwick had succeeded in securing large loans from it.  The bank officials deny holding any Chadwick paper.

WAS HEADED WEST, WILL RETURN HOME.
Young Boy Detained by Police Admits That He Ran Away From Parents.
     Jacob Lemponen, a 15-year old runaway boy from Conneaut, Ohio, was detained yesterday at the central police station until his parents could be notified.  It was only after being locked up that the lad began to realize the error of his way and when not looking out of the window he lay on a cot bewalling his fate.  Were it not for a cross-fire of question put to him yesterday by Lieutenant Scoon the boy might still be wandering about the city or on his way west.  He claimed that he left home with the intention of going to 'Frisco.
Roaming the Streets.
     "I'm looking for my father.  He's a tall man with a light suite of clothes and if you can't find him I want a place to sleep," was the reply of the boy to a query of Police Officer Pounder when he found the lad roaming about the lower end of town early yesterday morning.  Further questioning led the officer to become suspicious and he took the boy to the central station, where he was turned over to Lieutenant Scoon.  Contradictory stories were told the lieutenant with the result that the boy was searched for marks of identification.
Lad Breaks Down.
     The first think the officer found was a 22-caliber revolver in a hip pocket while another contained a couple of dime novels.  The lad broke down when divested of his weapon and finally made a clean breast of things.  He said he left home Sept. 8, and came to the head of the lakes by boat.  He worked in a camp as a "cookee" for a short time.  He earned money enough to buy a revolver which he said he wanted for protection on his way west.
     "It's a small reason that caused me to leave home," said the lad between sobs.  "Mother was good to me, but father was so cruel and I couldn't stand it any longer.  I ran away just because father whipped me when I wouldn't go to school.  This old blue suit of overalls is the best I ever hand and I wouldn't be seen at school with such old clothes.  I guess I have had enough of this knocking around and if the folks will send a ticket I will be glad to go home and try to get along better."
     The police have communicated with the authorities at Conneaut with the expectation that the boy's parents will arrange for his transportation home.

LOCAL DISBANDS AT CONNEAUT, (News Tribune Special)
CONNEAUT, June 27 - Another Conneaut local of the longshoremen's association was disbanded Friday night when No. 98 resolved to dissolve.  About 100 hoisters and engineers were members of the organization.  Local 154 of the same organization was dissolved on Thursday last.

LAKE ERIE MAY HAVE CLAIMED 32 MORE LIVES

Big Car Ferry is Latest Toll of Wintry Gale.
Hope That Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 Has Outlived Storm Practically Abandoned by Owners.  Capt. R. R. McLeod of Conneaut and Crew of 31 Probably Lost.
Wives and Children of the Missing Keeping Cheerless Vigil on Wharf Awaiting Return of Tub.  Lifeboat of the Burned Clarion, Containing 13 Men Unreported.
DETROIT, Dec. 10 - All hope that the car ferry Marquette & Bessemer NO. 2 outlived the wintry gale which has made of Lake Erie a watery graveyard during the last 72 hours, has been practically abandoned at the head offices in Walkerville, Ont., of the Marquette & Bessemer Docks & Navigation company, owners of the ill fated vessel.  It is believed that Captain R. R. McLeod of Conneaut, Ohio and his crew of 31 men have gone down to death with the big steamer.
Steamer Sights Wreckage:
     The Marquette & Bessemer NO. 2 left Conneaut, Ohio at 10:25 o'clock Tuesday morning for Port Stanley, Ont. with 30 loaded coal cars and under ordinary conditions should have arrived at her destination at 3 p.m. the same day.  She has not been sighted by other boats.  An empty green yawl boat and some wreckage was seen by the steamer W. B. Davock near Long Point, Ont., in the path which the ferry would have taken.  The yawl boats of the No. 2 are painted green.
List of the Crew:
     The list of the crew as given out by Manager Leslie of the Marquette & Bessemer company follows:
Captain Robert McLeod; first mate, John McLeod; second mate, E. C. F. Stone; purser, R. C. Smith; Wheelsman, J. Clancy; Wheelsman, W. W. Wilson; watchman, F. Walker; chief engineer, E. Wood; first assistant engineer, E. Buchler; second assistant engineer, T. Kennedy; seamen, F. Barret, E. Harvey, P. Hughes, M. Sharp, D. Hall; firemen, J. Olson, W. Wigglesworth, J. Cook, T. Steele; oilers, J. Wirtz, J. Hart, A. Snyder, Charles Allen; coal passers, R. Hine, J. King, C. Couptf; steward, G. R. Smith; second cook, H. Thomas; waiter, J. Swartz; porter, G. Larence, and one other.
Made Homes in Conneaut.
     It is believed that all of the crew lived most of the year in Conneaut.  It is not definitely known whether or not there were any passengers on board.
     The Marquette and Bessemer No. 2 was valued at $350,000 and the cargo at upward of $40,000.  She was built at Cleveland in 1905.  The boat is operated by the Pere Marquette and the Bessemer & Lake Erie roads.  She was of 2,514 gross tons, 1,484 net tons, 241 feet long and with a beam of 54 feet.

WIVES AND CHILDREN WAITING AT WHARF

     CONNEAUT, Ohio, Dec. 10 - The wives and children of the officers and men of the missing car ferry No. 2 of the Bessemer and Marquette line are grouped tonight at the wharf awaiting the return of the tug which left Port Dover this afternoon for Long Point.  If the ferry is not found in shelter, the last hope that she is safe will be gone.
     In case the scattered wreckage reported by the steamer W. B. Davock is actually that of the ferry, the cause of the disaster will be ascribed here in part to the manner in which she was loaded.  A heavy weight of bridge iron piled on top of ordinary freight cars, may have shifted in the heavy seas, placing the craft out of control.

WRECKED CAR FERRY NEAR CONNEAUT SHORTLY BEFORE CATASTROPHE

CONNEAUT, Ohio, Dec. 13. - The field of search for the 23 bodies from the wrecked car ferry No. 2 which are still unfound, was changed today by the discovery that the ferry within a very short time of the disaster was within two miles of the port of Conneaut.  It was from here that the lost Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 put out on her last journey.
     A Pullet, harbor employe, and the captain and engineer of the steamer Black say that they saw the vessel about midnight Wednesday trying to make this harbor.  Evidently Captain McLeod decided that he could not get his boat inside and steered away toward Erie.
     It is now thought that the remaining bodies will be found on the southern shore not far from here or floating some place in the remaining yawls.
     There are three of these which have no been found, the three first launched.  The one that was found with nine of the dead was No. 4 and always the last to be lowered.

Gale on Erie Halts Search for Lost Men
No More Bodies on Car Ferry Victims Are Recovered Four of the Nine Victims.
According to Story Related in Pennsylvania City, Sister of One of Unfortunate Men Saw the Boat Sink While Dreaming Steamer Jesse Spaulding Safe.

ERIE, Pa., Dec. 13 - Four of the nine bodies picked by the Commodore Perry yesterday the first of the remains found of the 38 men who lost their lives when the car ferry Bessemer & Marquette No. 2, foundered on the angry billows of Lake Erie were sent to their homes tonight.  The bodies shipped are those of William Ray to Butler, Pa; Thomas Steele to Conneaut, Ohio; George R. Smith to Conneaut, Ohio.
     The body believed to be that of J. O'Hagan of London, Ont., was identified as that of Rhines of Port Stanley, Ont.
     The Commadore Perry which did such heroic work in bringing the bodies in Sunday afternoon, lay in her slip all day with team up, but the gale that swept over the entire lake region was of such a nature that to venture upon the waters of the lake would have been suicidal.  The wind subsided tonight.
     According to a story related here, Sarah Clancy, a sister of one of the missing men, saw the car ferry sink while dreaming Tuesday night and since that time she has insisted that her brother is dead and all with him were lost.

Rumor Proves to Be False.
     A report was received here this afternoon that another yawl boat had been signed near Westfield, N. Y.  This rumor proved false.  The south wind which has been blowing all day, would have washed all wreckage and bodies towards the Canadian shore and lake men expect that the next discovery will be made on the other side of the lake.
     Following is a corrected list of the men still missing not including all of the passengers:  R. R. McLeod, captain, Conneaut; J. C. McLeod, first mate, Courtwright, Ont.; Frank Stone, second mate, Coneaut; Eugene Wood, chief engineer, Conneaut; E. Buckler, first assistant, Conneaut; T. Kennedy, second engineer, Conneaut; W. Wiglesworth, fireman, Conneaut; W. Wilson, Wheeslman, Conneaut; Fred Walker, unknown; Watchman F. Annis, Conneaut; J. Clancy, Cleveland; J. Wirtz, oiler, Detroit; G. Lawrence, cook, Port Stanley; coal passers P. Keith, Conneaut; J. King, Port Stanley; J. Bailey, Canada; F. Barrett, seaman, Wisconsin; E. Harvey, seaman, unknown; P. Hughes, seaman, Conneaut; D. Ball, seaman, unknown; Charles Kreitts, seaman, unknown; Albert J. Weis, passenger, Erie; Christ Johnson, passenger, Erie.

CONNEAUT RECEIPTS LESS.
CONNEAUT, July 2. - Collector of Customs J. P. Reig and completed his report of the business done at the local harbor during the month of June.  The report shows that receipts of ore were 320,772 tons, which is 90,000 tons less than the same month last year.

Conneaut Harbor Work Marked by Buoy Light
     The Lake Carrier's association has sent notices to all vesselmen that the work of constructing the west outer breakwater at Conneaut Harbor has started and a temporary red spar buoy showing a fixed red light at night will be maintained at the easterly limit of the work about 1,000 feet westerly from the red light.  Vessels should pass to the eastward of the red light on entering the harbor.  By keeping out about half a mile from the red buoy light and coming in on the harbor range all danger will be avoided.

Conneaut Lumberman Killed by an Employe
CONNEAUT, Ohio, June 6, - F. R. Brydle was shot and killed today at the yards of the Pond Lumber company of which he was vice president by Jesse Sharp.  Sharp was arrested and hustled away in an automobile to Jefferson to avoid a possible lynching.
     Sharp was an employe of the yards.  The cause of the shooting is not known.
     Brydle was wealthy and prominent here.

Report comes from Conneaut, Ohio, of this sudden death of a woman at the age of 105, who had never been sick a day in her life.  The report is lacking in failing to state whether she had been a user of tobacco or not.

JEFFREY QUAD SOLVES HARD HAULAGE PROBLEM
     Because a Jeffery Quad proved its ability to negotiate the heavy mud roads leading into a tract of timber near Erie, Pa., after teams and rear drive trucks had been abandoned in dispair, the Conneaut Shovel company of Conneaut, Ohio, saved 40,000 feet of first quality white ash timber.
     "We purchased this timber under a contracta with a teaming concern to haul the logs into Erie at $7.50 per thousand, loaded on the train."  says G. W. Benton, secretary, treasurer and manager of the Conneaut Shovel Company, in a letter to C. W. Nash, president of the Nash Motors company.
     "The teamsters went into the woods with three big teams and worked two months.  At the end of that time they had made no advancement and we were forced to loan them money to continue their contract, incidentally advancing the price per thousand to $10.50.  They finally threw up the contract.
     "I went to Kenosha and saw a Jeffrey Quad perform.  We tried the Quad on the timber and found that we could bring the logs from Erie at a saving of $7 a thousand.

Municipal Summer Resort.
Little Town of Conneaut, O., is Run Strictly for Benefit of People There.

CONNEAUT, O., June 29 - The little city of Conneaut with only 9,000 inhabitants and lying forty miles east of Cleveland on Lake Erie has "out-municipated" municipal Cleveland.  This quiet little port claims the distinction of being the only municipal summer resort in the country.
     Every night hundreds of men and women leave the wharves and glass factories to enjoy a municipal swim at the municipal beach, to eat a municipal meal or to sleep in a municipal bed at the municipal hotel.  If they wish they can dance at the municipal dance hall or ride in the municipal roller coaster, and Sunday they can see a baseball game played by municipal teams.  For twelve years Conneaut saw its resort which had been purchased at a cost of $12,000, mismanaged and run down by private individuals to whom it had been leased.  Last fall D. W. Brace was elected mayor and S. W. Mahaffey director of public service on a Socialistic ticket.  Brace had been a railroad conductor and Mahaffey a day laborer.  The first thing Brace and Mahaffey did was to clean up the park so that it might become a real place of rest for people of small means.  That they succeeded was shown in the first warm days of June when people had to be turned away for lack of room.  Enlargement of the resort is planned for next year.

CONNEAUT, O., now has a municipal dance hall.

Times-Leader Travelette, CONNEAUT
     Conneaut, Ohio is where iron meets coal.  It is a shore city on the Lake where the coal trains from the Pennsylvania fields are dumped into boats and the boat-loads of iron and copper ore from the Michigan fields are dumped into trains.  Incidentally, it gives the impressive glimpse of the power and immensity of the steel industry of our Eastern district that is doing so much to win the war.
     The steel coal-cars come rumbling down to the lake-front and on each car is stenciled its weight and its capacity.  The two figures will total seventy or eighty thousand pounds.  A string of them makes the earth shake and the car of Juggernaut looks like an infant's perambulator.  But as each car reaches the wharf it is seized by a disrespectful and sturdy piece of mechanism that jerks it up on end as though it were a toy car and shoots the coal into a waiting steamer's hold.  After the black torrent has crashed down, the giant power adds the last touch of indignity by giving the car a few careless shakes to dislodge stray lumps, and then reaches out for the next.  It is an impressive spectacle.
     No less impressive is the contrary process of unloading the copper and iron ore from the boats.  The ore is dumped in huge red hills along the shore that dwarf the ships that bring them.  By this process both boats and exchanging burdens at Conneaut.  The scheme for this simple and efficient back and forth traffic was one of the things that built the Rockefeller fortune.
     For the rest, Conneaut is a pleasant, three shaded little Ohio city, with the lake before it and the broad fields behind; prospering in the shadow of the ceaseless flow of the minerals that make the skeleton of modern civilization.

LIEUT. R. O. SMITH MARRIES MISS RUTH RANGE AT CONNEAUT
     Lieut. Robert O. Smith, commissioned at the first officers training camp was back at his post in Camp Sherman today after a hurried trip on leave to Conneaut where me married Miss Ruth Range.  Both lived in Conneaut.

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Source: Plain Dealer - Cleveland, OH
Dated: July 10, 1926
CURFEW SHALL NOT RING
In Vain in Conneaut, Says Chief in Order to Children
(Plain Dealer Special)
CONNEAUT, O. July 9 - Curfew in Conneaut is going to mean something more than ringing the fire bell at 8 o'clock, Chief of Police M. C. Childs has decreed.
     boys and girls under 16 must be off the streets after that hour.  Complaints of depredations by children led to the order.

     Miss Rozelle Zimmerman of Erie became the bride of Mr. Ira Edward Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Smith of Conneaut, Wednesday in a ceremony at St. Mary's Church here.