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BERLIN
TOWNSHIP
WEATHERLOW TRACT
Researched
by Patty Pascoe
1. Recorded in Cherry's book - 1874 Erie Co. Atlas
2.
O.G.S. - "...abandoned...former neighborhood tract near jct. of Darrow
and Barrows Roads.
The
earliest record of the family in Huron County is a very old paper sign
Jerle V. Benschooter and J.B. Flammand attesting to the value of a
stray horse they had found. Later, we found his name spelled
Orlie Benschooter when he lived in Berlin Township, which was
originally a part of Vermilion. He did not write it himself,
someone else in speaking of the Revolutionary soldiers said Orlie
Benschooter was one of them. It seemed natural for Jerle, to be
converted to Orlie by our Yankees. Later we find what we think is
the name spelled Jeremiah Benschooter, and still later Jeremiah Van
Benschooter. Is this not perhaps the same man? All three of them
are spoken of as coming first to Huron in 1810, and then moving into
Vermilion or Berlin Township as it was later called. The old
abstracts show the same property listed as belonging to the two names
on different records. They run first this record of the horse
Jerle V. Benschooter 1810 or 1811. In the 30's or 40's it is
written in the Firelands Pioneers that land in Huron and Vermilion
Townships was first taken up by Jeremiah Benschooter the Revolutionary
soldier who built the blockhouse. The maps of 1874 show the same
land as belonging to W.G. Benschooter and D.N. Benschooter. We have an
old letter written by Wm. Benschooter telling about his father building
the blockhouse, but nowhere does he give his father's name. The
histories say that Jeremiah Benschooter married Sally Weatherlow and as
this land in Section 3 of Berlin Township is called the Weatherlow
tract and it is here and near this cemetery that the Benschooter tracts
lie, it seems reasonable to suppose that this Jerle Benschooter, who
originally signed his name preceeded by a V, is the man whose name was
changed to Jeremiah to make it more English and like his Yankee
neighbors. We have several other instances of this kind in the
county. The Van Der Water Meuller family of Sandusky whose name
was changed to Mills, and our own de Cheri that was changed to Cherry.
Mr.
Hoffman had no recollections of seeing the stones in this cemetery
fallen over or broken, but when he tried to recall their disappearance
he could not remember when it happened. As I have recollections
of the James Cemetery with the stones tipped and broken, I believe if
this had happened, he would remember it. There are no broken
fragments there now, and so it seems reasonable to suppose that they
were possible moved to other places before the orchard was planted
there. Very likely the bodies and stones were moved to the Peak
Burial plot, as there are Griffins, Benschooten and Weatherels buried
there. Knights, Griffins and Benschooters are in the Berlin
Heights cemeteries.
He
said also that the road down to the beach, the only road that belonged
to Berlin Township had been there as long as he could remember.
When they tried to close the road, the lawyers asked him if it would be
a benefit to do so, and he said it would depend on who owned the
beach. It appeared that no one knew to whom the beach belonged,
so they looked up all their deeds. If the deed called for high
water mark, then the property owner had no right to the beach and the
public could go there, provided they could get to it. The
property owners could close their driveways and thus keep people from
getting to the beach. Most of the deeds did not call for the low
water mark, which was a pity as the lake had washed back so that the
road had to be continually changed. He could remember that the
bridge at Sages Grove had been moved three times in his lifetime and
two streets in Huron had completely disappeared. He had been
interested in a Saw Mill that furnished timber for building bridges in
Lorain, Sandusky, Huron and Erie counties, before the steel and
concrete bridges came into use, and so the moving of these bridges
always greatly interested him. He had often heard the name
Jeremiah Benschooter, but did not remember what relation he was to
Hoffman Benschooter.
* * * * * * * *
This was a small
neighborhood cemetery. Near it stood a log cabin, with two more
not far off, according to Mr. John Hoffman who lived in this
neighborhood all his life. I talked with him July 16, 1936, and
he told me what he remembers of it. There were perhaps 25 or 30
stones in this lot bearing the names of Weatherlow, Benschooter,
Knight, Dow, Wells and Griffin. He and Hoffman Benschooter were
boys together and the family always spelled it with an r on the end and
did not add the Van before it, but later generations spelled it with an
n on the end. He said this Hoffman Benschooter was related to Dr.
Moses Benschooter of Vermilion and whose stone's in the Baptist
Cemetery at Berlin Heights. On the stones in this cemetery, the
family spell it Benschooter, but the other branch of the family spell
it Van Benschooten, which is nearer the original name as it came from
Holland which is Van Bunschota, according to the Van Benschooten
Genealogy. Mr. Hoffman said that the Van Benschooten and the
Benschooter families always said they were related. This would
certainly seem to be born out by the records. Following the name
through the New York records, I saw any number of variations of the
spelling of one man's name as he moved from community to
community. Beginning in New York, they drifted down through
Pennsylvania and then on into Ohio.
* * * * * * * *
This cemetery was
a neighborhood plot. Near it stood a log cabin and two more not
far away. According to Mr. John Hoffman with whom I talked July
16, 1936, there was 25 or 30 stones in this cemetery. He did not
know what had become of any of them, but thought some might have been
moved to Peakes Cemetery. He did not remember to have seen them
falling over, nor to have seen any used as walks or foundations.
We stopped at several houses along the way and did not find anyone who
remembered when the stones were taken away nor what became of
them. Mr. Hoffman said the names on these stones as he remembered
them when a boy, were Weatherlow, Benschooter, Dow Wells and
Griffin. We find these names on the land abstracts for that part
of the township in 1874 and before so his memory seems to be very
correct.
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