The Minor Family of Somerset

The following memoir by Samuel's great-grandson Grant Eugene Til
lotson offersmore information about Samuel and Sarah.
"Sarah Partridge was a staunch Methodist, and the first religiou
s meetings in Brunswick, both prayer and preaching, were held a
t Samuel's home. Both their names are among the founders of th
e first Church in Brunswick -- Methodist of course.
"Sally or Sarah as shebecame known taught the first school in B
runswick, while her mother, being quite adept with herbs, travel
led for miles to alleviate the sick before the advent of a physi
cian. Sarah, the daughter and not the mother, as one might thin
k form the name, was the teacher.
"Samuel Tillotson (1758) ame to Brunswick, Medina Co.,Ohio in th
e fall of 1815, bringing with him his wife Sarah partridge, hi
s five sons and five daughters, and one daughter-in-law, Susan C
aroline Rogers, who had married Zadock in August.
"Two wagons furnished the transportation, one drawn by ayoke o
f oxen and the other by a span of horses. The men walked and th
e other either walked or rode as seemed expedient. They broug
h along a fresh cow that furnished milk and butter for daily use
. Thecow as milked morning and evening, and the unused portio
n put in the churn onthe wagon, and the rocking and jolting o
f the wagon churned the milk, so a small bit of butter was foun
d each evening at stopping time. When they went through Clevela
nd there were only twelve houses, and one of them was a block-ho
use compound, or means of defense.
"They came first to the house of TimothyDoan in Columbia townsh
ip. The Day after arriving at Mr. Doan's Samuel andthe boys al
l came on into Brunswick, locating their claims, and Samuel cu
tthe first tree to build the first house in Brunswick. Only Sa
muel returned to Mr. Doan's he going and coming each Day to brin
g food. The boys remained in the woods until the house was comp
leted.
"On returning to Mr. Doan's the first night, Samuel found tha
t a Mr. Harvey had arrived there with a large faimly, making nea
rly 20 people to sleep in a one-room log house. They slept Head
s out and heels in. Mr. Harvey's people came right on into Brun
swick, and completed cutting logs for a house also. They turne
d in and helped Samuel"roll up" his house one Day and Mr. Harve
y's the next. It was a saying afterward that Samuel Tillotson b
uilt the first house but that Solomon Harvey (Sol) rolled the fi
rst wheels in Brunswick.
"When they returned to Mr. Doan's they found Zadock's wife sic
k with measles, which delayed their moving in. They finally cam
e on with the Harveys."
WOMEN OF THE WestERN RESERVE (P 715) says this about Samuel an
d Sarah:
Brunswick Township is situated in the Northern part of Medina Co
unty, twenty miles southWest from Cleveland. No railroadhas ev
er invaded this peaceful hamlet. In October 1815, the familie
s of Samuel Tillotson and Solomon Harvey came to the unbroken wi
lderness of Brunswick, which up to this time had been the undisp
uted habitation of Indians and Wild beasts.
Sarah Partridge became the wife of Samuel Tillotson in 1785, a
tthe age of sixteen. She left her home in Lee, Massachusetts
, together with her husband and ten children, the latter part o
f August, 1815. There was a bonnie bride in the little company
, for Susan C. Rogers was married to Zadoc, one of the sons, jus
t before the family started on the long tedious journey.Susa
n was a sweet singer, and the life and joy of those around her.
The jounre was made with two yoke of oxen, a span of horses, an
d large covered wagons, and occupied six weeks. A cow was tie
d behind one of the wagons, and aftera few Days was given her l
iberty to follow. The journey from Cleveland to Timothy Doan'
s in Columbia, occupied three Days, the father and sons being ob
liged to use their axes in may places to clear the way through t
he wilderness; here the family remained until their own hous