Filed under: Benedict, Blanchard, Boalt, Bradford, Buckingham, Christian, Connecticut, Converse, Deaver, Farrar, French, Hassell, Lovewell, New England, Norwalk, Ohio, Ohio, Prescott, Preston, Sawyer, Talcott, Taylor, Wanton, Wickham, Winthrop | Tags: Benedict Genealogy, Norwalk Ohio History, Huron County History, New England History, Connecticut History, Preston Genealogy, Taylor Genealogy, French Genealogy, Farrar Genealogy, Hassell Genealogy, Lovewell Genealogy, Converse Genealogy, Blanchard Genealgy, Buckingham Genealogy, Bradford Genealogy, Talcott Genealogy, Wickham Genealogy, Christian Genealogy, Ohio History, Deaver Genealogy, Winthrop, Wanton
“Sufferers’ Land.”
The “Firelands.”
These evocative and descriptive phrases refer to a region in Northern Ohio set aside by the state of Connecticut for “Sufferers” who were burned out of their homes by the British in the Revolution. Part of the Western Reserve, it covers present-day Huron and Erie counties.
After the War of 1812, a flood of emigration erupted out of crowded New England, the result of a pent up desire for new land that had been held in check by the threat of Native Americans defending their homes and the spur of economic hardship engendered by the catastrophic “Year without Summer” of 1816. Most of these pioneers were bound for the Firelands.
Thus began one of the great migrations of American history; a flood of humanity that poured out of New England and settled lands stretching along the southern shores of the Great Lakes from upstate New York to Illinois and across the Mississippi River into Iowa.
These settlers greatly impacted the history of the United States. In the 1850’s, some of them entered Kansas and clashed with the leading edge of another great migration that had settled the South — a tragic foreshadowing of the Civil War. The grandchildren of the settlers of the Old Northwest formed the backbone of the Union Army of the West during that war and made possible the Republican majority that ruled the nation the remainder of the century.
This website presents histories of the Firelands and genealogies of families that settled there.
- The Sufferers’ Land is a history of the settlement of the Firelands from the founding of the town of Norwalk in 1817 by Platt Benedict to the final Pioneers Reunion and founding of The Firelands Historical Society in 1857. This story may be read from the beginning starting at the Prologue, or by selecting any of the 53 episodes in the Index of Posts.
- A genealogy of families who settled in the Firelands is also included on this website. These include the Benedict, Wickham, Preston, Taylor, Buckingham, Christian, DeForest, Deaver, Walker, Shaon, Smith, Bradford, Talcott, Farrar, French, Lovewell, Hassell, Converse, Blanchard, Wanton, Winthrop, Dudley, and Sutton families.
- Little Doctor on the Black Horse is the story of Doctor David DeForest Benedict of Norwalk, Ohio, a Union Surgeon during the Civil War. It was written by his granddaughter Harriott Benedict Wickham, who included letters he wrote to his wife in the story.
I would appreciate any comment you may have about this post. Please click on the comments button below, or contact me by email at dawbarton@aol.com. Thank you.
© 2009 by David W. Barton. All rights reserved
Thank you for reading my story of the settlement of the Sufferers’ Land, or Firelands, that I have posted on this site for the past year. During that time, this site has registered over 7,000 visits, and I have received kind comments and gentle criticisms from many people, some distant cousins, interested in the history of the region and the people who settled there. Next week, I shall begin posting Little Doctor on the Black Horse, a story written by my grandmother, Harriott Benedict Wickham Barton about the experiences of her grandfather, David DeForest Benedict, a Union surgeon in the Civil War. David wrote many letters to his wife during that conflict and over 60 survive today. My grandmother used these letters as the basis for her story and includes many extracts.
In this story, we catch a glimpse of David Benedict as a human being. He was a cheerful man on the greatest adventure of his life. In spite of the hardships he endured, his letters have a sense of fun about them. In a letter to Harriott, he described how he built a fence of split logs around where he was sleeping so he would not be trampled by horses, and then set it afire when it became so cold he couldn’t sleep.
He also had an eye for the ladies. Often in his letters, he mentioned seeing pretty young women on the streets. Displaying his sense of humor in one of these letters, he told his wife that the dirty underclothes of an otherwise elegant young lady ‘spoiled the charm some’. He was affectionate. His love for his wife and young daughters shines through in his letters. He missed them terribly and was disappointed when Harriott’s letters did not arrive.
His courage is also evident, not only in his letters, but in the description of him by Solon Hyde, an enlisted Hospitalman in the 17th OVI. When a rebel brigade attacked their hospital during the Battle of Chickamauga, all the other medical personnel ran. Only Solon and Doctor Benedict stayed behind with the wounded. He was courageous not only in the face of the enemy, but also when he saw injustice in his own ranks. When the army was encamped outside of Savannah, a soldier was bound and gagged with a bayonet as punishment for being drunk. David had the man released, in spite of the opposition of the officer who had administered the punishment.
Through all the accounts, we see a compassionate man. When Confederate guards took Solon Hyde’s blanket, David Benedict shared his with him. Wherever he was, the young doctor spent his free time caring for the civilian population, both Union and Confederate. It was while doing this that he became known as ‘the little doctor on the black horse’.
In his travels around the countryside, David befriended many people, including a farmer named Brown in Tennessee, who repaid his kindness with food and fodder for his horse. When Farmer Brown’s grandson took ill, Doctor Benedict sat with the boy through the night. In spite of his efforts, the boy died. In a letter home, he told his wife of his sadness, and of his concern for the safety of his own children. Ironically, he would one day experience a loss as heartrending himself.
Thank you for your interest in the Sufferers’ Land. I hope you will return over the next few months to read Little Doctor on the Black Horse.
Dave Barton
Littleton, Colorado
