Lorenzo Carter
Encyclopedia
Major Lorenzo Carter was the first permanent settler
in Cleveland, Ohio
.
Born in 1767 Lorenzo Carter spent his early years in Warren, Connecticut
. Where he visited the local library
frequently and developed an appreciation of books. His father, Lieut. Elazer Carter enlisted in the Continental Army
and when Lorenzo was 11 years old, his father came home from his temporarily disbanded unit and died of smallpox
. About seven years later when his widow
ed mother remarried and moved to Vermont
, the 18 year old Lorenzo struck out on his own. Within four years, Lorenzo Carter bought his own land, cleared it, farmed it and married Rebecca Fuller. Lorenzo Carter is described as a swarthy, muscular man whose “gaze and speech were as direct as his actions” (Ellis, 1979, p. 42)Carter was a natural leader whose “interests transcended farming or making a living.” (Ellis, 1979, p. 42) In 1797 he left with his brother-in-law for the New Connecticut settlement of Cleaveland (now Cleveland, Ohio) via Canada
. Lorenzo Carter bought Lot 199, nearly 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) of land for $47.50. Carter made friends with the local Native American
s and it was his friendship with Chief Seneca that kept the Cleaveland colony alive through years of disease
, flood
s and poor crop
s.
home finished for the family. In 1802 he also built the Carter Tavern which became a somewhat informal town hall, hotel
, and religious meeting house
. In 1804 the state of Ohio
promoted Carter to Major and he was given the responsibility of the Cleaveland battalion
. In 1808 he built a trading vessel 30 ton schooner
called the Zephyr that traded fur
s for goods like salt
. Carter was also an active member of the first library association
in Cleveland which was formed in 1811 but quickly dissolved under the pressures of the War of 1812
.
after she told him to stop taking vegetable
s from her garden, Carter visited the Omic home on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River
. He told John Omic’s father that if John ever crossed the river again “I’ll hang him up to the first tree in five minutes.”(Johnson, 1879, p. 232)
In another exhibition of frontier justice
, Lorenzo Carter prevented two Kentuckians from returning an African named Ben to slavery
. In the spring of 1806 Ben survived a shipwreck
that killed everyone else on board just after setting sail from the nearby community of Rocky River
. Starving, frostbitten and suffering from rheumatism
Ben was taken to Carter’s tavern where the ravages of frostbite
took some of his toes. Under Lorenzo Carter's care, Ben was allowed to recover and regained his strength. In October two Kentuckians arrived in Cleaveland claiming to own Ben. Carter responded them saying “I don’t like N---ers, but I don’t believe in slavery, and Ben shan’t be taken away unless he chooses to go.” (Johnson, 1879, p. 232) Carter allowed a parley
between the Kentuckians and Ben over a stream and it ended peaceably. However, in a move that no historian
has been able to explain, Ben was taken out of Cleaveland by the Kentuckians the next day. In what has been termed a rescue
, two men who worked for Carter stopped them at gun point and told Ben to make a break for the woods. Ben jumped off the horse and ran into the woods while the two men covered him and then followed him. The Kentuckians never returned and Ben settled in the Brecksville
/Independence
area of Ohio until he left for Canada.
in February 1814 after an arduous battle with cancer
. The cancer first manifested itself on his face and after consulting physician
s in the East, he withdrew to an upper room where he refused all visitors. He even refused the ministrations of his wife who would sit on the stairs outside of his door and pray, while he loudly agonized from the pain. (Wickham, 1914) He was 47 when he died. Lorenzo Carter is buried at the Erie Street Cemetery
.
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
.
Born in 1767 Lorenzo Carter spent his early years in Warren, Connecticut
Warren, Connecticut
Warren is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,254 at the 2000 census. The town was named for Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren....
. Where he visited the local library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
frequently and developed an appreciation of books. His father, Lieut. Elazer Carter enlisted in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
and when Lorenzo was 11 years old, his father came home from his temporarily disbanded unit and died of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. About seven years later when his widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
ed mother remarried and moved to Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, the 18 year old Lorenzo struck out on his own. Within four years, Lorenzo Carter bought his own land, cleared it, farmed it and married Rebecca Fuller. Lorenzo Carter is described as a swarthy, muscular man whose “gaze and speech were as direct as his actions” (Ellis, 1979, p. 42)Carter was a natural leader whose “interests transcended farming or making a living.” (Ellis, 1979, p. 42) In 1797 he left with his brother-in-law for the New Connecticut settlement of Cleaveland (now Cleveland, Ohio) via Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Lorenzo Carter bought Lot 199, nearly 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) of land for $47.50. Carter made friends with the local Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
s and it was his friendship with Chief Seneca that kept the Cleaveland colony alive through years of disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
, flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s and poor crop
Crop
Crop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...
s.
Legacy
After building a frame house and preparing to move in Lorenzo Carter’s new home was burned down by children playing with wood shavings and only in 1803 was a two room log cabinLog cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
home finished for the family. In 1802 he also built the Carter Tavern which became a somewhat informal town hall, hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, and religious meeting house
Meeting house
A meeting house describes a building where a public meeting takes place. This includes secular buildings which function like a town or city hall, and buildings used for religious meetings, particularly of some non-conformist Christian denominations....
. In 1804 the state of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
promoted Carter to Major and he was given the responsibility of the Cleaveland battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
. In 1808 he built a trading vessel 30 ton schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
called the Zephyr that traded fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
s for goods like salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
. Carter was also an active member of the first library association
Library association
Library association may refer to:* Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, previously the Library Association...
in Cleveland which was formed in 1811 but quickly dissolved under the pressures of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Law
The common saying that "Major Carter was all the law Cleveland had." (Wickham, 1914) is seen in two documented incidents. After hearing from his wife that a local Native American teen named John Omic had chased her around her home with a knifeKnife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
after she told him to stop taking vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s from her garden, Carter visited the Omic home on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
. He told John Omic’s father that if John ever crossed the river again “I’ll hang him up to the first tree in five minutes.”(Johnson, 1879, p. 232)
In another exhibition of frontier justice
Frontier Justice
Frontier justice is extrajudicial punishment that is motivated by the nonexistence of law and order or dissatisfaction with justice. The phrase can also be used to describe a prejudiced judge...
, Lorenzo Carter prevented two Kentuckians from returning an African named Ben to slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. In the spring of 1806 Ben survived a shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
that killed everyone else on board just after setting sail from the nearby community of Rocky River
Rocky River, Ohio
Rocky River is an affluent western suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, United States located in Cuyahoga County approximately nine miles west of Public Square in downtown Cleveland. The city is named for the river that forms its eastern border...
. Starving, frostbitten and suffering from rheumatism
Rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...
Ben was taken to Carter’s tavern where the ravages of frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
took some of his toes. Under Lorenzo Carter's care, Ben was allowed to recover and regained his strength. In October two Kentuckians arrived in Cleaveland claiming to own Ben. Carter responded them saying “I don’t like N---ers, but I don’t believe in slavery, and Ben shan’t be taken away unless he chooses to go.” (Johnson, 1879, p. 232) Carter allowed a parley
Parley
Parley is a discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of a truce or other matters. The root of the word parley is parler, which is the French verb "to speak"; specifically the conjugation parlez "you speak", whether as imperative or indicative.Beginning in the High Middle...
between the Kentuckians and Ben over a stream and it ended peaceably. However, in a move that no historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
has been able to explain, Ben was taken out of Cleaveland by the Kentuckians the next day. In what has been termed a rescue
Rescue
Rescue refers to responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or prevention of injury during an incident or dangerous situation....
, two men who worked for Carter stopped them at gun point and told Ben to make a break for the woods. Ben jumped off the horse and ran into the woods while the two men covered him and then followed him. The Kentuckians never returned and Ben settled in the Brecksville
Brecksville, Ohio
-External links:* * *...
/Independence
Independence, Ohio
Independence is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,133.-Geography:Independence is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
area of Ohio until he left for Canada.
Death
Major Lorenzo Carter died at his tavernTavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
in February 1814 after an arduous battle with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. The cancer first manifested itself on his face and after consulting physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s in the East, he withdrew to an upper room where he refused all visitors. He even refused the ministrations of his wife who would sit on the stairs outside of his door and pray, while he loudly agonized from the pain. (Wickham, 1914) He was 47 when he died. Lorenzo Carter is buried at the Erie Street Cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
.