with a outside john lol jsfrmr wrote: > Regarding Blackhorse, there's a tavern there on Rt 59, it's been there (I > think) since stagecoach days and until recently (I think) was a functioning > boozer. Imagine a stagecoach stopping at the sign of the black > horse--perhaps that's how the village got its name. > > Jeff > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <SpruceGuy@aol.com> > To: <OHPORTAG-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 12:01 PM > Subject: [OHPort'ge] The little towns in Portage county > > > >>I was driving through Ravenna yesterday and saw a sign that said > > Blackhorse. > >>I'm assuming that Blackhorse is a little town there right outside of > > Ravenna. > >> I'm aware of other ones in Portage county, such as Sugar Bush Knolls > > right > >>outside of Streetsboro. The Record Courier just had an article in > > Sunday's > >>paper about Yale, which is near Deerfield, Edinburg and Palmyra. There > > are > >>others, I'm sure. I guess I'm wondering what are these towns, exactly? > > Are they > >>officially recognized as towns? What are they classified as? If someone > > lives > >>in the area known as Blackhorse, are they considered to be from Ravenna or >>Blackhorse? What is the history behind these little towns? What other > > ones are > >>there in Portage county? >> >>A similar question is this: what is the difference between a township and > > a > >>village? Isn't there a Ravenna township and just a regular Ravenna? > > Other > >>cities have a village and a township, but both have the same name. I know > > that > >>Burton, in Geauga county has a Burton village and Burton township (I > > think, at > >>least). >> >>Just something I've always wondered . . . >> >>Brian >> >> >>==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== >>Web page with info for this list - > > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > >>============================== >>To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, > > go to: > >>http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >> >> > > > > ==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== > Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

I need a land record for an H. Taylor. He was the previous owner of land that Elisha Taylor at Hiram bought or inherited. Elisha paid taxes on it in 1817-1818. Does anyone know the cost to get it? I am trying to find parents of Polly Taylor Dyson. She came to Portage Co in 1804. Also her son James m. Elizabeth Taylor is their a relationship between her and Polly and who are Elizabeth's parents and siblings????? There is a John Taylor who planted trees in Hiram when he was young (probably a teen). What happened to him, who are his parents and did he have siblings????? Thanks. Sharie Oceanside, CA

Hi Karen, My guess, and it's only a guess, is that it was a little Irish settlement, like Little Ireland (later called Metz) in Summit County. (Metz was in the area of Hudson Drive and MacCauley Road, near O'Brien Cemetery in Hudson Twp.) Railroad construction workers who stayed, maybe. Jeff PS I should have written "anachronistic" with an "h"--or is worrying about spelling itself an anachronism? ----- Original Message ----- From: <Kch423@aol.com> To: <OHPORTAG-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 11:52 PM Subject: Re: [OHPort'ge] Little towns in Portage - Black Horse, townships, Cotton Corn... > Jeff, > > Do you know why it was called Moran? I grew up in area and have never heard > of that. > > Karen > > > ==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== > Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

Jeff, Do you know why it was called Moran? I grew up in area and have never heard of that. Karen

Regarding Blackhorse, there's a tavern there on Rt 59, it's been there (I think) since stagecoach days and until recently (I think) was a functioning boozer. Imagine a stagecoach stopping at the sign of the black horse--perhaps that's how the village got its name. Jeff ----- Original Message ----- From: <SpruceGuy@aol.com> To: <OHPORTAG-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 12:01 PM Subject: [OHPort'ge] The little towns in Portage county > I was driving through Ravenna yesterday and saw a sign that said Blackhorse. > I'm assuming that Blackhorse is a little town there right outside of Ravenna. > I'm aware of other ones in Portage county, such as Sugar Bush Knolls right > outside of Streetsboro. The Record Courier just had an article in Sunday's > paper about Yale, which is near Deerfield, Edinburg and Palmyra. There are > others, I'm sure. I guess I'm wondering what are these towns, exactly? Are they > officially recognized as towns? What are they classified as? If someone lives > in the area known as Blackhorse, are they considered to be from Ravenna or > Blackhorse? What is the history behind these little towns? What other ones are > there in Portage county? > > A similar question is this: what is the difference between a township and a > village? Isn't there a Ravenna township and just a regular Ravenna? Other > cities have a village and a township, but both have the same name. I know that > Burton, in Geauga county has a Burton village and Burton township (I think, at > least). > > Just something I've always wondered . . . > > Brian > > > ==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== > Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

What tickles me is that some of these anacronistic place names survive in digital maps like mapquest.com and Rand McNally Streetfinder. My favorite in Portage County is Moran in Streetsboro Twp, a cluster of houses where a railroad crosses Aurora Hudson Road and the road crosses a creek. It's wedged between an industrial park and a Hudson subdivision, but still looks like a place that was once a PLACE. Jeff ----- Original Message ----- From: "Patrick Manning" <shamrocku@yahoo.com> To: <OHPORTAG-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 12:52 PM Subject: Re: [OHPort'ge] Little towns in Portage - Black Horse, townships, Cotton Corners > Hi Brian: > > As for townships, when the Western Reserve was > surveyed originally, they used the "township and > range" system. The surveyed land was set out into > townships 5 or 6 miles square. These subdivisions > still exist, but are more notable in counties which > still have rural character, like Portage or Geauga. > Cuyahoga and Summit Counties also have the same > townships, but because most of those counties are > urban, the incorporated city boundaries comprise the > majority of jurisdictions, etc. You can have a city > within a township (such as Kent city within Franklin > Township), and they will each have their own > governance. Township administration usually disappears > when the areas are merged or acquired by a growing > city area. > > As for small towns in Portage, I think you may claim > to be a resident of Black Horse, but you will have a > Ravenna zip code, and will pay taxes to either Ravenna > city or the township(although townships are limited in > their taxing authority). > > Black Horse has always been my favorite of the Portage > small towns, as my grandfather worked on the Black > Horse railroad bridge with the WPA in the 1930's. The > bridge isn't there anymore, but I still have told my > children about their great-grandpa's efforts. > > One other item I always wanted to know is whether > Cotton Corners was ever an actual political > jurisdiction. (Cotton Corners is the junction of Rt. > 14 & Rt. 59/5, ro so I've been told). > > Patrick in Ohio > > --- SpruceGuy@aol.com wrote: > > I was driving through Ravenna yesterday and saw a > > sign that said Blackhorse. > > I'm assuming that Blackhorse is a little town there > > right outside of Ravenna. > I guess I'm wondering what are > > these towns, exactly? Are they > > officially recognized as towns? What are they > > classified as? If someone lives > > in the area known as Blackhorse, are they considered > > to be from Ravenna or > > Blackhorse? What is the history behind these little > > towns? > > > > A similar question is this: what is the difference > > between a township and a > > village? Other cities have a village and a > township, but both have the same name. > > > > Just something I've always wondered . . . > > > > Brian > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard > http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree > > > ==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== > Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

Ohio has essentially four levels of local government. The township - in Portage County, these are 5 miles by 5 miles - with an elected Board of Trustees. They are charged with maintaining Township roads and usually have several boards which deal with issues such as zoning. They also used to be charged with maintaining cemeteries. I have been told that has recently changed. Next is Villages. These are incorporated and often were the central area in the township, more densely populated. There is somewhat more variety in the form of government. Generally, the population limit is about 10,000. Usually there is an elected mayor and council. The village may be chartered which gives more flexibility in specifics of government. Next is City. Ohio still has Counties, with an elected board of Commissioners. Where most of the county is incorporated, e.g. Cuyahoga, the functions are somewhat limited but they have had enough political pull to prevent their demise. In more rural areas, such as Portage County, they are charged with a number of things, including county roads, and the Sheriff's department, although the Sheriff is elected. Hope this is helpful. Ralph (formerly of Hiram)

I'm always baffled by local government structure outside of New England. Here we have no "unincorporated" land. Everything is within an incorporated city or town. This goes back to the days of the early Puritan settlers when town government and religious meeting house were one and the same. Some towns and cities have distinct neighborhoods, but they are not "legal" places but merely neighborhood identifications although some might have seperate post offices. for example, Hyannisport, home of the Kennedys' summer houses is actually in the Town of Barnstable. County government is largely non-existent in Massachusetts. In fact, several counties were eliminated and their remaining functions were transferred to the state. ----- Original Message ----- From: <SpruceGuy@aol.com> To: <OHPORTAG-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 9:01 AM Subject: [OHPort'ge] The little towns in Portage county > I was driving through Ravenna yesterday and saw a sign that said Blackhorse. > I'm assuming that Blackhorse is a little town there right outside of Ravenna. > I'm aware of other ones in Portage county, such as Sugar Bush Knolls right > outside of Streetsboro. The Record Courier just had an article in Sunday's > paper about Yale, which is near Deerfield, Edinburg and Palmyra. There are > others, I'm sure. I guess I'm wondering what are these towns, exactly? Are they > officially recognized as towns? What are they classified as? If someone lives > in the area known as Blackhorse, are they considered to be from Ravenna or > Blackhorse? What is the history behind these little towns? What other ones are > there in Portage county? > > A similar question is this: what is the difference between a township and a > village? Isn't there a Ravenna township and just a regular Ravenna? Other > cities have a village and a township, but both have the same name. I know that > Burton, in Geauga county has a Burton village and Burton township (I think, at > least). > > Just something I've always wondered . . . > > Brian > > > ==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== > Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

I was driving through Ravenna yesterday and saw a sign that said Blackhorse. I'm assuming that Blackhorse is a little town there right outside of Ravenna. I'm aware of other ones in Portage county, such as Sugar Bush Knolls right outside of Streetsboro. The Record Courier just had an article in Sunday's paper about Yale, which is near Deerfield, Edinburg and Palmyra. There are others, I'm sure. I guess I'm wondering what are these towns, exactly? Are they officially recognized as towns? What are they classified as? If someone lives in the area known as Blackhorse, are they considered to be from Ravenna or Blackhorse? What is the history behind these little towns? What other ones are there in Portage county? A similar question is this: what is the difference between a township and a village? Isn't there a Ravenna township and just a regular Ravenna? Other cities have a village and a township, but both have the same name. I know that Burton, in Geauga county has a Burton village and Burton township (I think, at least). Just something I've always wondered . . . Brian

Hi Brian: As for townships, when the Western Reserve was surveyed originally, they used the "township and range" system. The surveyed land was set out into townships 5 or 6 miles square. These subdivisions still exist, but are more notable in counties which still have rural character, like Portage or Geauga. Cuyahoga and Summit Counties also have the same townships, but because most of those counties are urban, the incorporated city boundaries comprise the majority of jurisdictions, etc. You can have a city within a township (such as Kent city within Franklin Township), and they will each have their own governance. Township administration usually disappears when the areas are merged or acquired by a growing city area. As for small towns in Portage, I think you may claim to be a resident of Black Horse, but you will have a Ravenna zip code, and will pay taxes to either Ravenna city or the township(although townships are limited in their taxing authority). Black Horse has always been my favorite of the Portage small towns, as my grandfather worked on the Black Horse railroad bridge with the WPA in the 1930's. The bridge isn't there anymore, but I still have told my children about their great-grandpa's efforts. One other item I always wanted to know is whether Cotton Corners was ever an actual political jurisdiction. (Cotton Corners is the junction of Rt. 14 & Rt. 59/5, ro so I've been told). Patrick in Ohio --- SpruceGuy@aol.com wrote: > I was driving through Ravenna yesterday and saw a > sign that said Blackhorse. > I'm assuming that Blackhorse is a little town there > right outside of Ravenna. I guess I'm wondering what are > these towns, exactly? Are they > officially recognized as towns? What are they > classified as? If someone lives > in the area known as Blackhorse, are they considered > to be from Ravenna or > Blackhorse? What is the history behind these little > towns? > > A similar question is this: what is the difference > between a township and a > village? Other cities have a village and a township, but both have the same name. > > Just something I've always wondered . . . > > Brian > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree

Thanks for the invitation to tell about an ancestor who lived in Portage County and why I would like to meet him (since Thanksgiving is now over!). Mine is Hilan J. HOSKIN(s). He was a son of Milo HOSKIN and Mary PLATT and lived in Portage County approximately 1850-1860. Hilan married Nancy GEORGE. My reason for wanting to meet him is to find out what happened to Rachel E. HOSKIN(s), first wife of my husband's great-grandfather, Ruel Reed GEORGE (brother to Hilan's wife Nancy). Hilan was a second cousin once removed to Rachel. Rachel and her three children by Ruel George all died young, and I'd like to know the reasons, and I'd also like to know if Rachel's youngest child Narry was a male or female! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carol C-H" <cch@netdoor.com> To: <OHPORTAG-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 5:21 PM Subject: [OHPort'ge] LISTOWNER POST - Thanksgiving Dinner > Those of us who are in the USA will soon be celebrating Thanksgiving. If > you could have ONE of your ancestors - one you never met - who lived in > Portage County, Ohio, join you for Thanksgiving dinner (or, if you are in a > country other than the USA, for a family feast sometime this month), which > ancestor would you invite? > > Please send a post to the list and tell us who, and why - and please > remember to include the dates that this ancestor lived in Portage County. > > > Carol C-H <cch@netdoor.com> http://www2.netdoor.com/~cch/ > > > ==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== > Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

I have enjoyed your " Thanksgiving Dinners" My family did not settle into Portage County until the 1950's. But in the late 1970's my grandparents moved here from Fayette County, Pennsylvaniato live with my father . I would like to go back to 1980. I would love to ask my grandfather about his trips across the ocean. He traveled back and forth in 1909, 1911 and finally to stay in 1912. He was only 14 years old in 1909 and worked the ship for two trips to earn his travel. I would like to have known about his parents and grandparents. Who were his siblings? Only one other came to US from Yugoslavia in 1923. I was only 19 yrs. old then and didn't have interest. Or never really thought about asking what their lives were like. I have started to get my son's girlfriend interested now, while she is only 19 and she has already learned alot that she knew nothing about. She has a great excitement about it too! Happy Thanksgiving Karen

Because I believe in time travel, my choice for Thanksgiving dinner would be to join my great grandparents Sabra Lucinda Miner and Alfred Gallatin Sturgis, in Ravenna where they are stationed by the Methodist Church. My grandfather George Sturgiss isn't born yet; he'll come along in a couple of years when the church assigns his parents to Poland. A.G., having grown up in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, is still new to the New England traditions of Thanksgiving brought by the pioneers from Connecticut. My great-grandmother writes to her parents that he "preached us a thanksgiving sermon. He took this text, 'Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him and bless his name, for the Lord is good.' This was only the second one he ever attended. After service we went to Brother Prentiss' to partake of the bounties of Providence. [This would be Cyrus Prentiss, a devoted Methodist and proprietor of the Prentiss House, one of the major hotels in Ravenna at the time.] Sixteen of us sat down to a table loaded with roast turkey, chicken pie, turnips, potatoes, onions, pickles, sauces, cakes, pies and teas of different kinds. A. G. thinks now he has gotten to be quite a Yankee!" Oh to be number 17 at that table. I could ask questions to my heart's content and fill in all the blanks. Then maybe I could finish my book about Sabra and Alfred's lives! Happy Thanksgiving to all, Sabra in Los Angeles

I'd invite my gggrand parents, David S. and Ann (WILLIAMS) THOMAS who immigrated from Carmarthenshire, Wales about 1840 and settled the family at Whippoorwill Hill in Palmyra. I'd love to learn how they managed to raise 11 children in those difficult times. And would hope to trace the line further back - which is a blank wall right now! Dick Thomas Denver, CO Raised in Palmyra

What part of Wales, Joe? My gggrandfather, David S. Thomas came from Carmarthenshire to Palmyra about 1840. I was raised in Palmyra, 1942-1966 , and there were still Davises in the area that my dad knew as a kid. Were you raised in the area? Dick Thomas Denver, CO Joe Orfant wrote: >I'd invite my great grandfather Evan Davis, who was brave enough to >emmigrate from Wales to the US, first settling in Palmra. Thanks to his >courage, we are suceeding and thriving in this great country. What a >Thanksgiving gift! > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Carol C-H" <cch@netdoor.com> >To: <OHPORTAG-L@rootsweb.com> >Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 5:21 PM >Subject: [OHPort'ge] LISTOWNER POST - Thanksgiving Dinner > > > > >>Those of us who are in the USA will soon be celebrating Thanksgiving. If >>you could have ONE of your ancestors - one you never met - who lived in >>Portage County, Ohio, join you for Thanksgiving dinner (or, if you are in >> >> >a > > >>country other than the USA, for a family feast sometime this month), which >>ancestor would you invite? >> >>Please send a post to the list and tell us who, and why - and please >>remember to include the dates that this ancestor lived in Portage County. >> >> >>Carol C-H <cch@netdoor.com> http://www2.netdoor.com/~cch/ >> >> >>==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== >>Web page with info for this list - >> >> >http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > > >>============================== >>To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, >> >> >go to: > > >>http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >> >> >> >> > > > >==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== >Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > >

I'd invite my great grandfather Evan Davis, who was brave enough to emmigrate from Wales to the US, first settling in Palmra. Thanks to his courage, we are suceeding and thriving in this great country. What a Thanksgiving gift! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carol C-H" <cch@netdoor.com> To: <OHPORTAG-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 5:21 PM Subject: [OHPort'ge] LISTOWNER POST - Thanksgiving Dinner > Those of us who are in the USA will soon be celebrating Thanksgiving. If > you could have ONE of your ancestors - one you never met - who lived in > Portage County, Ohio, join you for Thanksgiving dinner (or, if you are in a > country other than the USA, for a family feast sometime this month), which > ancestor would you invite? > > Please send a post to the list and tell us who, and why - and please > remember to include the dates that this ancestor lived in Portage County. > > > Carol C-H <cch@netdoor.com> http://www2.netdoor.com/~cch/ > > > ==== OHPORTAG Mailing List ==== > Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/portage.html > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

Happy Thanksgiving! I would like to invite my husband's grgrgrandmother, Louisa Poland Prichard. The first I find of Louisa was in 1850 Portage County census living with the Roswell Manley Family with her brother George and other children of different names than Manley. She married Andrew Jackson Prichard in 1852. Please grandmother come to Thanksgiving dinner and tell your descendants about your life before 1850. At least let us know who your parents were so we can follow the trail ourselves! Nancy Kansas

This is such a great question, and such interesting answers, too! As for me, I'd invite Calvin WARD to dinner. I'd like to hear about his hard journey as a young man, pushing through the wilderness from Connecticut to Portage County in 1802, and about all the difficulties and adventures he had trying to establish a settlement there. I'd like to hear his tales of how Portage County became "civilized" over the next 72 years that he lived there. I can only imagine all the changes that must have taken place during his long lifetime. Considering the challenging life he had, I will be sure to be even more thankful this holiday for having such an easy life. My problems pale in comparison to the challenges these pioneers overcame! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Kathy in Austin

Hi Portage people On your who do you want to invite to Thanksgiving dinner, I would like to invite my grandpa Louis Krepleever . He died before I was 1 years old. He was a very talented man in writing. He was editor of the Wood County Democrat newspaper when he was 21 years old and he wrote a book and when he went into the service for the Spanish-American war he was the newspapers war correspondent. I have about 21 of his articles he wrote before they shipped out to the Phillipines. They are all on my home page. <A HREF="http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mugsnhugs/nance/index.htm">http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mugsnhugs/nance/index.htm</A> After he came home he started working as an editor on the Toledo Blade newspaper. He met my grandmother Lulu Fowler while on the interurban in the middle of the Maumee River crossing bridge. My mom said it was quite a romance between the two. My grandmother ran the ticket stand in Waterville Ohio and also had a little lunch stand inside a cement block building her father built that was also her brother Sam's grocery store. I loved my grandmother and I wished I had listened to her stories when I was a kid. It has taken me 50 years to find out about her FOWLER family in Clarion County Pa beyond her father and mother, till this September w hen I saw a letter in the Clarion County mail list asking for information on an Allen FOWLER. I have now 3 more generations back from Allen. HOST FMLY Nance@aol.com

I'd like to invite my gggggrandparents - Charles Johnson and Rhoda Sperry. In about 1810 they came to Ohio from Connecticut with their sons and their grandchildren, and their descendants remained in Portage County until 1893 when they went to California. I would especially like to ask Charles about his parents back in Derby, CT. I cannot confirm any of my suspicions about their identity. Carolyn M. Seaman