Josiah Westlake returned to Union County in 1831 with
his wife and children. Although Christenia had been reluctant to leave Belmont
County, she finally succumbed to his near constant attempts to persuade her of
the efficacy of the move.
2 “I will not live like a common pauper,” she had
warned him. In response, he had purchased over four hundred acres near the new
village of Marysville to demonstrate to her the seriousness of his ambition to
be a prosperous and successful member of the community.
3 “People are pouring into the area,” he had
explained. “And my father has profited from that traffic by providing a place
for travelers to stop along the main road which traverses that territory.” “I
like the idea of building and operating an inn,” Christenia told her husband.
4 As a consequence, Josiah had immediately begun
construction of a large inn upon their arrival in Union County. Like most of
the other buildings of the time, the structure was composed of logs; but it was
twice the size of any other edifice in the area.
5 The taproom was a large rectangular room with an
enormous stone fireplace at one end. In fact, the beam which became the mantle
had been hewn from an enormous log of white oak and had required four men to
lift it into place. The interior walls were covered in panels of black walnut
which gave the impression of elegance and sophistication in the middle of what
was still largely a wilderness.
6 Behind the taproom, there were two more large rooms:
one for storage and the other for overnight guests. The guest room could sleep
six people comfortably, but there was enough room to squeeze in another full
bed if the need arose.
7 The family’s personal living space was housed on the
upper story of the structure. And, although there were only two rooms on the
second floor (one for Josiah and his wife and one for the children), Christenia
had insisted that each child would have his or her own bed and
chest-of-drawers. In fact, she had been successful in having most of her
furnishings transported there from Belmont County.
8 Christenia oversaw the construction of three large
tables for the taproom. She used one for food preparation and serving, and the
other two tables were set up for guests with benches running down the sides of
each one. Along the walls, there were two more benches and six chairs for extra
seating. Josiah had also provided her with a fine cabinet to store the white
ironstone dishes that she used to serve their guests.
9 “I want sand laid down for the taproom floor,” she
told him. “It will be much easier to keep clean,” she explained. She had also
insisted that the room have two windows on each side of the main door leading
into the inn, and she had personally sewn together beautiful blue curtains to
dress them. In similar fashion, she had made two matching blue and white table
cloths to cover the guest tables.
10 However, Christenia did not devote all of her
attention to the public rooms. In fact, she lavished even more attention on
their private rooms. The feather bed which she shared with Josiah was covered
in a beautiful quilt which her Belmont County friends had helped her to sew
just prior to the family’s departure from there. Likewise, the children’s beds
were covered in a rich fabric with a Kellogg style print, and the name of each
child was embroidered into a little placard that hung above the bed.
11 “Everything looks wonderful,” Josiah told her when
she was finished. “You will be the greatest hostess in Ohio!” he exclaimed. She
simply smiled and patted him on the arm in reply.
12 By 1850, Josiah’s parents were living in a new wing
which their son had added to the back of the inn. Samuel sat in the tap room
and talked with customers, and Elizabeth helped Christenia with the cooking and
cleaning.
13 Now, over the years that followed, the inn became a
popular gathering place for the people of Union County. Although its reputation
as the best place to stay when traveling through that region was unsurpassed,
much of its business came from the local citizenry. There simply wasn’t any
better place for the farmers and merchants of the county to interact with their
neighbors. After all, the people of Union county were often divided by
distance, religion and politics.
14 These divisions had been brought into sharp focus
in the year 1854. The entire country had been debating the merits of the
Kansas-Nebraska Act, and those in favor of the legislation faced strong
opposition from those who were opposed to it.
15 “I think that Mr. Douglas has taken the matter out
of the hands of the Congress and given it back to the people to decide,” the
old Democrat, Samuel Westlake, announced. “How can you say that, Mr. Westlake?”
Representative Philander Cole demanded. “This opens an old wound that many of
us felt had been settled by the Missouri Compromise.”
16 “Uncle Sam, don’t you believe that slavery will rip
this country apart?” Edward Powers asked. “I say let the people of the
territory decide whether or not they want it!” Samuel reiterated.
17 Joshua Haines had stopped into the inn on his way
back to Washington Township and had been listening to the conversation without
commenting. In fact, he had been looking for a way to defuse the tension for
several minutes when a very tall farmer entered the taproom.
18 “Who is that?” Joshua pointed toward the man.
“Abraham Orr,” the man responded. “I beg your pardon, sir, but you are one of
the tallest men I’ve ever seen in my life!” “Then you haven’t met my brother
Noah,” the man smiled.
19 The distraction had worked. By now, everyone in the
room was staring at Abraham Orr. “Your brother is taller than you?” Edward
asked. “He’s a head taller than me!” the man exclaimed. “He just joined the
circus as the ‘giant’ from Ohio,” Orr told them.
20 Unfortunately, the taproom of the Westlake Inn
wasn’t the only place where the Kansas-Nebraska Act was being discussed. The
entire country was discussing the legislation, and a great debate between
Senator Stephen Douglas and a former congressman named Abraham Lincoln was
about to commence in Illinois. In the words of Edward Powers, those
conversations would eventually ‘rip’ the country apart.
21 Still, life went on in the face of those deepening
hostilities. Philander Cole’s daughter Cornelia would eventually grow up to
marry Charles Fairbanks (the future vice-president of Republican President
Theodore Roosevelt).
22 Now these are the generations of Josiah Westlake:
23 Josiah married Christenia Knouff and had children: Elizabeth,
Mary, William, Susan, Matilda, Margaret, Samuel and Henry.
24 Samuel would eventually inherit the Westlake Inn
from his father and continue to operate it for a few years after his father
retired.
25 Henry Amziah Westlake married Providence Powers,
the daughter of Edward Powers. They had a son named Clarence.
26 Clarence Otto Westlake married Josephine Haines,
and they had children: Caleb, Donald and Clarice.
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