Who settled here
Pennsylvania obtained the Erie Triangle in 1792, after New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut gave up their claims to the federal government. Competing claims slowed settlement. The conflict between settlers under the Connecticut Land Company and those who came under the 1792 act became known as the “Actual Settlement War.”
Early settlers named in a county genealogy include John Vincent, Rufus S. Reed, Judah Colt, Elisha Marvin, and Henry Loomis. Connecticut kept the Western Reserve in Ohio when it gave up its other western claims, and its Firelands, about 500,000 acres in what is now Erie and Huron Counties, Ohio, were given to Connecticut citizens whose property the British destroyed in the Revolution.
Why families moved on
- Who held title? After a Supreme Court decision favored the Company's title, actual settlers either bought their lands or left the country, according to a local history. That is one documented reason families left the Triangle.
- A nearby Western Reserve. The Connecticut Land Company bought most of the Western Reserve in 1795 and sent a survey party in 1796, so land was being sold just across the Ohio line while Erie County's title fights dragged on.
Records that say exactly why a family left are rare. Treat these as leads, and look for evidence about your own ancestors in deeds, tax lists, court cases, and church records.
Clues to look for
- Look for families who appear in Erie County deeds and then in early Ashtabula County, Ohio, records.
- Don't confuse Erie County, Pennsylvania, with Erie County, Ohio, which is in the Firelands.
