| | Abstract: | The Walworth family was one of the most influential families in the early history of the Western Reserve of Ohio. John Walworth and his family settled in Painesville, Ohio, in 1800. While there, he served as a deputy postmaster, justice of the peace, and judge. In 1806, the family moved to Cleveland to facilitate John Walworth's posts as Inspector of the Revenue for the Port of Cuyahoga and Collector for the District of Erie. He also served as a judge in the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas and as postmaster of Cleveland. His son, Ashbel W. Walworth, assumed many of his father's business responsibilities and official posts, including postmaster and collector of customs at Cleveland. He was treasurer for the Corporation of the Village of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga County Civilization Society. His son, John Walworth, continued his business interests in Cleveland. Several brothers of Ashbel W. Walworth, including J.P. (John Periander) Walworth, moved to the southern United States and established a branch of the family along the southern Mississippi River. The collection consists of correspondence, financial records, legal records, official documents, architectural drawings and various ephemera. Contains detailed correspondence concerning land transactions for the Connecticut Land Company; records of the post offices of Painesville, Ohio, and Cleveland, Ohio; records of the Port of Cuyahoga; records of the Circuit Court of Geauga County, Ohio, Corporation of the Village of Cleveland, and the Cleveland School House; records of the Cleveland Branch of the Erie Bank of Pennsylvania; land valuations and tax lists for Cleveland and the Fire Lands; and legal records of Litchfield County, Connecticut, and New London County, Connecticut. Correspondents include William Eldredge, Frederick Miner, Gideon Granger, Calvin Pease, Samuel Huntington, David Abbott, Nathaniel Ledyard, Lewis Cass, Oliver Phelps, Charles P. Barnum, Lewis Morgan, and Oliver Forward. A calendar of correspondents is included in the register to the collection. Insight into the social relations of the Walworths and their relations, including the Dunlap, Beattie, Strickland, Keyes, Wren, and Avery families, is seen through the correspondence between the women in the Walworth family. | |
