Columbia resident Benoni Adams was the first to deliver mail to Columbia Township, in 1809, and he had a route that took him from Cleveland to Maumee.
War of 1812 land grants:
Name: Adams, Benoni
Regiment: 4th Regiment Ohio Militia
Granted to: Benoni Adams
County: Clinton
Benoni Adams, an early resident of Columbia, and who later married Sally Bronson after Bela's death, contracted, in 1808, to carry the mail on foot from Cleveland to Maumee, Ohio. In those days a swamp -- the Great Black Swamp -- stretched from northwest Ohio to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and down to Findlay, Ohio and up into southern Michigan. In the History of Lorain County, the story is told: The only habitations of white men on his route were those of Nathan Perry, at the mouth of Black river, and a Frenchman at Milan. Two weeks were usually consumed in making the trip. He lost his way on one occasion, and failed of reaching the end of his journey within the required time, and his pay was withheld for that trip. Sometimes the streams were swollen to such a degree that he was compelled either to travel a long distance to find a place through which he could wade, or to construct a raft with which to cross. His route lay through the Black Swamp, the passage of which, from its extent, could not be made in a single day, and he was obliged to spend a night in the woods, usually making his bed on the trunk of a fallen tree. Says Dr. Bronson, whose mother subsequently became the wife of Mr. Adams, "I have heard him say he has traveled the swamp when the water was half-way to the knee, and he was obliged to break the ice the whole forty miles."
(Benoni Adams married the widow of Bela Bronson, Mrs Sarah "Sally" Bronson nee Twitchell on Feb 13, 1813. They had three children , two infant daughters who died in infancy and a son A.J. Adams.)
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DEATH OF A PIONEER OF THE WESTERN RESERVE.
Benoni Adams, who it is claimed had been longer a resident of the Western Reserve than any man now living, died at his residence in Columbia township, Lorain county, Ohio, about five o'clock on Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased was born in Waterbury, Conn., in February, 1785, and was therefore in his 92d year. He came to Columbia in 1805, and the whole time since has lived upon the same farm.
In 1809 he carried the mail over the route from Cleveland to Maumee, on foot following an Indian trail along the lake with no post office along the route, and the carrier was obliged to lodge in the Black Swamp one night on each trip. This and other interesting facts in his pioneer life have already passed into history.
(Grindstone City Advertiser, 10 Aug 1876)
provided by Dan Southam
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War of 1812 land grants:
Name: Adams, Benoni
Regiment: 4th Regiment Ohio Militia
Granted to: Benoni Adams
County: Clinton
Benoni Adams, an early resident of Columbia, and who later married Sally Bronson after Bela's death, contracted, in 1808, to carry the mail on foot from Cleveland to Maumee, Ohio. In those days a swamp -- the Great Black Swamp -- stretched from northwest Ohio to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and down to Findlay, Ohio and up into southern Michigan. In the History of Lorain County, the story is told: The only habitations of white men on his route were those of Nathan Perry, at the mouth of Black river, and a Frenchman at Milan. Two weeks were usually consumed in making the trip. He lost his way on one occasion, and failed of reaching the end of his journey within the required time, and his pay was withheld for that trip. Sometimes the streams were swollen to such a degree that he was compelled either to travel a long distance to find a place through which he could wade, or to construct a raft with which to cross. His route lay through the Black Swamp, the passage of which, from its extent, could not be made in a single day, and he was obliged to spend a night in the woods, usually making his bed on the trunk of a fallen tree. Says Dr. Bronson, whose mother subsequently became the wife of Mr. Adams, "I have heard him say he has traveled the swamp when the water was half-way to the knee, and he was obliged to break the ice the whole forty miles."
(Benoni Adams married the widow of Bela Bronson, Mrs Sarah "Sally" Bronson nee Twitchell on Feb 13, 1813. They had three children , two infant daughters who died in infancy and a son A.J. Adams.)
**********************************************
DEATH OF A PIONEER OF THE WESTERN RESERVE.
Benoni Adams, who it is claimed had been longer a resident of the Western Reserve than any man now living, died at his residence in Columbia township, Lorain county, Ohio, about five o'clock on Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased was born in Waterbury, Conn., in February, 1785, and was therefore in his 92d year. He came to Columbia in 1805, and the whole time since has lived upon the same farm.
In 1809 he carried the mail over the route from Cleveland to Maumee, on foot following an Indian trail along the lake with no post office along the route, and the carrier was obliged to lodge in the Black Swamp one night on each trip. This and other interesting facts in his pioneer life have already passed into history.
(Grindstone City Advertiser, 10 Aug 1876)
provided by Dan Southam
*****************************************************
Columbia resident Benoni Adams was the first to deliver mail to Columbia Township, in 1809, and he had a route that took him from Cleveland to Maumee.
War of 1812 land grants:
Name: Adams, Benoni
Regiment: 4th Regiment Ohio Militia
Granted to: Benoni Adams
County: Clinton
Benoni Adams, an early resident of Columbia, and who later married Sally Bronson after Bela's death, contracted, in 1808, to carry the mail on foot from Cleveland to Maumee, Ohio. In those days a swamp -- the Great Black Swamp -- stretched from northwest Ohio to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and down to Findlay, Ohio and up into southern Michigan. In the History of Lorain County, the story is told: The only habitations of white men on his route were those of Nathan Perry, at the mouth of Black river, and a Frenchman at Milan. Two weeks were usually consumed in making the trip. He lost his way on one occasion, and failed of reaching the end of his journey within the required time, and his pay was withheld for that trip. Sometimes the streams were swollen to such a degree that he was compelled either to travel a long distance to find a place through which he could wade, or to construct a raft with which to cross. His route lay through the Black Swamp, the passage of which, from its extent, could not be made in a single day, and he was obliged to spend a night in the woods, usually making his bed on the trunk of a fallen tree. Says Dr. Bronson, whose mother subsequently became the wife of Mr. Adams, "I have heard him say he has traveled the swamp when the water was half-way to the knee, and he was obliged to break the ice the whole forty miles."
(Benoni Adams married the widow of Bela Bronson, Mrs Sarah "Sally" Bronson nee Twitchell on Feb 13, 1813. They had three children , two infant daughters who died in infancy and a son A.J. Adams.)
**********************************************
DEATH OF A PIONEER OF THE WESTERN RESERVE.
Benoni Adams, who it is claimed had been longer a resident of the Western Reserve than any man now living, died at his residence in Columbia township, Lorain county, Ohio, about five o'clock on Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased was born in Waterbury, Conn., in February, 1785, and was therefore in his 92d year. He came to Columbia in 1805, and the whole time since has lived upon the same farm.
In 1809 he carried the mail over the route from Cleveland to Maumee, on foot following an Indian trail along the lake with no post office along the route, and the carrier was obliged to lodge in the Black Swamp one night on each trip. This and other interesting facts in his pioneer life have already passed into history.
(Grindstone City Advertiser, 10 Aug 1876)
provided by Dan Southam
*****************************************************
War of 1812 land grants:
Name: Adams, Benoni
Regiment: 4th Regiment Ohio Militia
Granted to: Benoni Adams
County: Clinton
Benoni Adams, an early resident of Columbia, and who later married Sally Bronson after Bela's death, contracted, in 1808, to carry the mail on foot from Cleveland to Maumee, Ohio. In those days a swamp -- the Great Black Swamp -- stretched from northwest Ohio to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and down to Findlay, Ohio and up into southern Michigan. In the History of Lorain County, the story is told: The only habitations of white men on his route were those of Nathan Perry, at the mouth of Black river, and a Frenchman at Milan. Two weeks were usually consumed in making the trip. He lost his way on one occasion, and failed of reaching the end of his journey within the required time, and his pay was withheld for that trip. Sometimes the streams were swollen to such a degree that he was compelled either to travel a long distance to find a place through which he could wade, or to construct a raft with which to cross. His route lay through the Black Swamp, the passage of which, from its extent, could not be made in a single day, and he was obliged to spend a night in the woods, usually making his bed on the trunk of a fallen tree. Says Dr. Bronson, whose mother subsequently became the wife of Mr. Adams, "I have heard him say he has traveled the swamp when the water was half-way to the knee, and he was obliged to break the ice the whole forty miles."
(Benoni Adams married the widow of Bela Bronson, Mrs Sarah "Sally" Bronson nee Twitchell on Feb 13, 1813. They had three children , two infant daughters who died in infancy and a son A.J. Adams.)
**********************************************
DEATH OF A PIONEER OF THE WESTERN RESERVE.
Benoni Adams, who it is claimed had been longer a resident of the Western Reserve than any man now living, died at his residence in Columbia township, Lorain county, Ohio, about five o'clock on Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased was born in Waterbury, Conn., in February, 1785, and was therefore in his 92d year. He came to Columbia in 1805, and the whole time since has lived upon the same farm.
In 1809 he carried the mail over the route from Cleveland to Maumee, on foot following an Indian trail along the lake with no post office along the route, and the carrier was obliged to lodge in the Black Swamp one night on each trip. This and other interesting facts in his pioneer life have already passed into history.
(Grindstone City Advertiser, 10 Aug 1876)
provided by Dan Southam
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Inscription
BENONI ADAMS
DIED
Aug. 9, 1876
Aged 92 Yrs.
Family Members
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