| 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.
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