Hi Jeff I appreciate the information. I will have to see if I can find the book on Portage County at the genealogical library. Elisha Carrier has been an enigma. I have yet to find out who his parents were or what siblings he may have had. However, there was a Betsy Carrier in Brimfield on the 1840 & 1850 census. She is listed as being born in "CT." So your theory may very well be correct in that a relative of some sort was already there or perhaps they came together. Thanks again for responding. Jan in Connecticut > There was a canal boom in this part of Ohio beginning 1835 or so--the canal > would pass through Kent, which is in a township adjacent to Brimfield. But > in general, many if not most of the early settlers of the Western Reserve > were Connecticut people. I'm researching a Bolton, CT couple who moved to > Charlestown, Portage County in 1834, when they were in their fifties. When > they arrived they were housed, I think, by relatives. Did your man have a > daughter, by chance, who settled in Brimfield? Maybe he moved to live with > her and her family. > > There's an 1885 History of Portage County by Warner, Beers and Co. that's a > big book with lots of township info. You might be able to find excepts > online. > > Good luck, > > Jeff > >