Joseph Tuttle, Jr.
1796 - 1884
by Marie Miller
Joseph Tuttle was born in the town of Bridgewater, in Oneida County, New York on May
10, 1796. He was the eldest child of Joseph and Hannah (Messenger) Tuttle. Joseph grew up
with six younger sisters and two brothers. The second child, Hannah died at an early age in 1811,
and soon after another daughter, born in 1812, was named Hannah in her sister’s honor. In
Joseph’s narrative of his life, he recounts his memories, integrating historical information about
his family and their beginning in the New World with personal glimmers of his own beginning.
Many of his anecdotes come from listening to his elders, such as the story of his own grandfather
standing on London Bridge, witnessing the beheading of the infamous Captain Kidd. Many of
Joseph’s memories are intertwined with the history of this country. Another grandfather, John
Tuttle was a soldier in the French and Indian War. Joseph’s Messenger lineage includes several
who served in the Continental Army, three of those who were at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
When Joseph was about four years old, the family moved from Bridgewater to the town
of Richfield, New York. While working in Richfield, Joseph’s father, because of health issues,
was persuaded to move to Ohio. This country at that time was nothing but a vast wilderness and
settlers were few and far apart. Joseph relates the trip through Buffalo, New York and comments
on the size of the village “not more than one hundred.” His writings of travels through this area
are detailed and informative. He makes note about names of areas such as “Four Mile Woods”
and talks about an encounter with Indians at a drunken powwow.
In 1807, the family immigrated to the Western Reserve and located at Palmyra in Portage
County. Joseph at this time was approximately eleven years old, and he retained to the end of his
life the vivid recollections of the journey and its incidents. While passing through Painesville,
they stopped over night and stayed at “The Little Red Tavern,” which was situated on what is
now State Street. The village of Painesville at that time contained only two frame houses.
Joseph’s father eventually became discontent in his new home and in 1809 sold the farm
and the family once again returned to New York where Mr. Tuttle died in 1816. Following the
death of his father, Joseph lived with assorted people and worked various jobs such as threshing,
splitting rails, and other types of work that centered on the farming industry. During this period,
Joseph attended school several times. However, each time the educational scope was short lived,
as Joseph would need to set off and find more work. Because of this, Joseph’s education was
very limited and the total of his instruction was probably only months at best.
At the age of 18, the War of 1812 was raging on the continent between the new United
States and England. Joseph indicates that he was required to “stand draft three times” but makes
no mention of serving in the military.
Joseph once again returned to Ohio, along with his grandparents, Isaac and Anna
Messenger, arriving in Concord, near Little Mountain on March 4, 1817. At this time, Concord
Township was in Geauga County. Lake County was not formed until March 6, 1840, from
Geauga and Cuyahoga counties, and received its name from its bordering on Lake Erie. During
this time, Joseph bought 120 acres in Concord Township erecting a house in 1818. Joseph and
his grandparents lived together in a small log cabin until 1820 when Joseph built a showier log
house. The first home in this area supposedly belonged to a William Jordan and was built in
1802. So you can see by this information, Joseph and his grandparents were early settlers of this
area. Isaac Messenger died in Concord, Ohio May 8, 1839, and is buried at Concord Center, his
wife Anna lived to the age of 101; she died in 1850, and is buried next to her husband.
During that period, religion was a focal point of most families. Joseph's father had been
Baptist, but there were no records that showed the religious affiliation of Joseph Tuttle.
However, a point of interest was that Joseph Tuttle was connected to Joseph Smith, founder of
the Mormon religion through his first wife. Apparently, he had very little interest in the
Mormons and is said to have such a poor opinion that he refused contact when the Mormons
were in Kirtland. On the other hand, there was reference to his political views. He was from the
Whig party and later he became a radical anti-slavery Republican. During this time period he
aided slaves seeking freedom into Canada on what is known today as the Underground Railroad.
Household,
1850 US Federal Census – Concord Township, Lake Co., Ohio, p. 284
Name,
Age, Sex, Color, Occupation, Estate Value, Birthplace, -, in school, - Infirm
Joseph Tuttle married Mary Adams who was the widow of Martin Adams and the
daughter of Moses and Mary Kibbee of Connecticut on January 2, 1823. The union of Joseph
and Mary produced five children. One of their sons, Grandison Newell Tuttle became well
known in his own right as a lawyer and later a distinguished judge.
Joseph Tuttle, known as one of the early pioneers of this area, died on April 20, 1884.
Sources
A Narrative of the Life of Joseph Tuttle.
“Isaac Messenger 1746-1839." A Record of the Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Lake County, Ohio. Painesville,
OH: New Connecticut Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, 1902.
“Judge Grandison Newell Tuttle.” Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio.
“Death of a Pioneer.” Painesville Telegraph, 3 Jan 1884 and 30 Dec 1886.
“Judge Tuttle Passes Away.” Painesville Telegraph, 7 Aug 1922.
Picture of Headstone- Mentor Cemetery.
Geauga Deeds.
Pedigree chart from www. Familysearch.org.
U.S. Census: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880.
Lake County Cemetery Inscriptions.
Keener Funeral Home Records. Painesville 1886-1888.
Census from Ancestry.com