Finding aid for the Zalmon Fitch Papers

Biography of Zalmon Fitch

Zalmon Fitch, an early Ohio attorney and land agent, was born in Connecticut in 1785 to Haynes and Anna Cooke Fitch. In 1801, he and his parents moved from Washington County, Pennsylvania, to settle in Canfield, Ohio. It was in this township that young Zalmon first revealed his flair for business and established the first general store in the area with his partner Herman Canfield. In 1808, after conducting their business for four years, Fitch and Canfield added a new partner, Comfort Mygatt, to their firm. Two years later this partnership was dissolved, with Mygatt retaining ownership of the store.

After serving briefly as a first lieutenant in the Cavalry of the First Regiment of the Ohio Infantry in the War of 1812, Fitch moved to Warren, Ohio, in 1813. There he quickly established himself as one of the town's leading businessmen. In 1816, when the Western Reserve Bank was incorporated, Fitch served as its first cashier. Several years later he expanded his activities to become land agent for investors in Connecticut, several of whom were original stockholders in the Connecticut Land Company. In 1835, Fitch joined with General Simon Perkins, president of the Western Reserve Bank, in buying stock in the Bank of Geauga. After Perkins' death in 1836, Fitch took over as president of the Western Reserve Bank, a position he held until 1838.

Fitch served as a trustee on the Warren Municipal Council in 1836, and, in spite of a move to Cleveland in 1840, acted in that capacity again in 1842, 1845, 1847-1848, and 1854-1855. His residency in Cleveland similarly did not prevent his membership in the Warren Board of Education in 1849. His interest in education prompted him to become trustee for the fledgling Western Reserve College. Fitch pub his business acumen to good use in his religious life as well, through his involvement in the affairs of the First Presbyterian Society of Cleveland.

Fitch's proven abilities to serve as a capable trustee prompted the receivers for the Bank of Cleveland to appoint him to that function in the interests of the stockholders of the bank. His duties involved settling the affairs of the bank, which had collapsed in the "revulsion" of 1837. In the years that followed, Fitch also became involved with the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad, and was chosen to sit on its Board of Directors in 1859.

Fitch's personal life was not attended with the success that he realized in business. On January 17, 1808, he married Betsey Mygatt, the daughter of his Canfield business associate, Comfort Mygatt. they lost two daughters (Julia and Betsey) in infancy or early childhood. Their daughter Lucy married Fitch's friend and business partner, William Williams, in 1825, but died four years later at age twenty. Williams subsequently married Fitch's remaining daughter, Laura. In 1838, Fitch's wife died, two years prior to the death of his only son, Grant. After the death of Laura Fitch Williams in 1852, Zalmon Fitch continued to live on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland until his own death, at age 75, on April 28, 1860.

View the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Zalmon Fitch

Scope and Content

The Zalmon Fitch papers, 1781-1866 and undated, are primarily related to his dealings as a land agent for a number of individuals in Connecticut, several of whom were original stockholders in the Connecticut Land Company. The collection includes correspondence, contracts, surveys, financial calculations, tax records, receipts, promissory notes and sight drafts, insurance policies, powers of attorney, and miscellaneous legal documents, all relating to the land business. In addition, there are financial records, correspondence, land contracts, and legal papers of the Bank of Cleveland relative to Fitch's activities as Trustee for the Stockholders. Also included in the papers are receipts of the Western Reserve Bank. Correspondence related to the Banks of Geauga, Geneva, Orleans, and St. Clair can be found among Fitch's papers, as well as legal documents and correspondence concerning the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad, and the Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad. Scattered correspondence and transactions of Simon Perkins, Elihu Spencer, and William Williams are interspersed with Fitch's papers; also copies of letters, a will, affidavits, and an essay pertaining to John Fitch, inventor of the steamboat. Among those represented in this collection are Betsey, Lemuel, and William L. Storrs; Joseph, Eliza and Henry C. Trumbull; Asahel Hathaway; Charles Billings; Nehemiah Hubbard; William Ely; Francis D. Whittlesey; Eliphalet Williams; and Andrew Kingsbury.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Warren, and Canfield, Ohio, and the business affairs of Zalmon Fitch, particularly as a land agent for the original stockholders of the Connecticut Land Company. Those studying the early history of the Western Reserve will find this collection useful. Those studying business and entrepreneurship, banking, and railroads in the nineteenth century, particularly in northeast Ohio, will find this collection useful.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 581 Zalmon Fitch Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Provenance unknown.

Processing Information

Processed by Emily Van Tassel in 1976.

Detailed Description of The Collection