Jabez Colver was born June 19, 1731 at Hunterdon County, New Jersey, He was married to Ann, who was born about 1740 and who died March 10, 1813. All their children were born in New Jersey. The family moved from Hunterdon County to Sussex County where Jabez owned considerable property. Colver Lake and Colver Gap in Sussex County are named for Jabez Colver. In the book The Loyalists of New Jersey in the Revolution it states that the Rev. Jabez Collver performed the marriage of a James Brittain and a Eleanor Butler in Knowlton, Sussex, New Jersey. James Brittain during the Revolutionary War was an officer of a Loyalist Battalion. "He (Jabez) was a Presbyterian Minister and Pastor of a church near Darkertown, New Jersey during the Revolutionary War, his sympathy was with the British. But due to his American influence and owning considerable real estate, he chose the bible rather than the sword and joined Washington's army as a Chaplain. Before and after the war he went to many areas and established new churches and would then move on once a regular one was installed."

When the new province of Upper Canada was organized, he traveled from New Jersey to Neward(Newark?) on horseback, to consult with Governor Simcoe as to terms of settlement in the new province. Canada was largely French and Catholic at this time, yet it was under British rule. Lt. Gov. Simcoe felt that if he were to encourage settlers, especially Protestant and Baptist ministers from the United States, he could change the make up of Canada to be more in tune with England. He brought in many of these missionaries under the condition, that he would over look the "Loyalty" issues (as the US had just thrown off English rule) if they would concern themselves with just religious issues and avoid the political ones. The missionaries agreed to this and it seemed to work pretty good. He was promised 600 acres, and 400 acres for each of his married children, and 200 for each unmarried child. They were the first pioneers to take a group of people into the Norfolk Canada.

In 1794 he went to Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, and settled on lot 1-12, concession of Windham, and erected the first log house in the town- ship. Eight of his 13 children came with him. He stayed until his death in 1812. Today there is a memorial park to the Colvers where the house stood. It is built of native rock and the plaque reads:

It was erected by their descendants, and by them presented to the Norfolk Historical Society. The triangle stone above the plaque for many years marked Rev. Jabez Culver's grave in old Windham cemetery. Much of the land around Simcoe, Ontario, Canada is still in the Culver name.

A son Nathan (b. 1764) died leaving a son Jabez B. Culver (b. 1789) who was adopted by the Rev. Jabez. This is a good place to pick up the trail as apparently the direct descendants of Jabez B. still live in Windham, Ontario Canada.

1763 to 1791, were very critical periods in US history. The revolutionary war started in Massachusetts in 1775 and ended at Yorktown Virginia in Oct 1781. It took another two years before an official peace treaty was signed. The colonies had formed into a loose federation with power at the state level and a weak central government. The Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in Sept. 1787, with the signing of the Constitution. It wasn't until May 1790 before hold out states such as Rhode Island and North Carolina ratified it (under extreme pressure).

It is unclear at this writing, as to why the Rev. Jabez moved his family to Canada, apparently a lot of people who were sympathetic to the British (Tories) took Gov. Simcoe up on his offer. So it could be he was under local pressure to leave or he just wanted the chance to do continue missionary work. Other possible explanations are: an outbreak of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia caused a panic and sanitary conditions in the older cities were getting pretty bad. Another interesting note, the US and Britain were close to war at that time, in fact President Washington ordered troops into the Ohio ( Then called the Northwest Territory) area to crush Indian resistance and to force a withdrawal of British troops from various forts like Fort Detroit.

At the end of the Revolutionary the Tories that left the former Colonies were given land in Canada, equal to the amount they lost. If Jabez had been a Tory, wouldn't he have headed to Canada in the early 1780's and not wait until 1793? He was considered by other Canadians to be a "Late Loyalist" which was a name given to people who migrated to Canada after the offer of free lands were given.

In the "The Long Point Settlers" there is an entry: "recorded 15 Jun. 1798 - From a principle hath ever been strongly attached to the British Crown and Government; suffered such persecution and loss in the time of the late American War; In order to favor an idea or intention entertained by the loyalists of Sussex County in the Province of New Jersey in or about the month of Jan 1776 to erect the royal standard in the said County of Sussex, subscribed his name in writing too an enrollment under John Petit, who was nominated as an officer of a battalion to be raised for that purpose; hopes that the said John Petit had a legal authority to take such enrollment; proofs adduced, not sufficient to entitle the petitioner to be entered on the U.E. list. But the council is perfectly satisfied that the petitioner has been firmly attached to his majesty and the constitution of Great Britain, and the quantity of the land given to him in a larger proportion than has been extended to others of his condition is proof of their sentiments in his favor.

The U.E. mentioned above was the United Empire Loyalists and he was denied membership as there was too little proof. But they closed by saying that they felt he was "enough" of a loyalist to receive preferential treatment in land grants. He was also slow to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown, which was preventing him from receiving a license to be a pastor. During the war of 1812, some of his nephews and grand children were brought up on conspiracy and treason charges. So was he a Tory, or merely opportunistic?

There is also accounts from various sources that document that both American and British forces used the "Collver House" at Turkey Point in Long Point settlement as a headquarters for their armies. John Collver is listed as a petitioner for compensation for war damages caused by both armies. In some of the letters a British officer writes about the bad behavior and looting by both American and British troops.

The Children of Jabez and Anna:

Ebenezer Culver, born 1756.
Phoebe Culver, born 1757.
Ann Culver, born 1759.
Jabez Culver, born 1760.
Freelove Culver, born 1762.
Nathan Culver, born 1764.
Aaron Culver, born 1766.
John Culver, born 1768.
Hannah Culver, born 1770.
Micheal Culver, born 1772.
Gabriel Culver, born 1774.
Griffith Culver, born 1778.
Benjamin Culver, born 1780.

Apparently it was Jabez’s son John (b. 1768) and wife Miriam Culver, who were the first white people to build and settle in Norfolk Canada. John and his brothers Jabez (b. 1760), Aaron (b. 1766), and Gabriel (b. 1774) were married to four daughters of Timothy and Sovereign Culver ( Rev. Jabez and Timothy were first cousins.) Miriam, Anna, Elizabeth and Martha Culver respectively. Apparently this event occurred while still in New Jersey. In New Jersey in 1793 by James S. Norton, he lists a John Colver in the Sussex County Militia ( roster number 36 ) whether this is this John or another, is unclear. A short description of his journey describes the young couple walking through path- less lands and warding off wild beasts, as she carried a baby in her arms. He lived most of his life in Ontario, Canada, but is believed to have re- turned to New Jersey in 1834 and died there. His wife Marian or Merriam was born 1772 and died 1852 in New Jersey. John Culver was a preacher but never assumed the duties of regular pastor. He was a poet, and in 1828 wrote a volume of Hymns, which were published as the Upper Canada Hymn book. He was said to have been a bit eccentric and in his later years devoted himself to Universalism, which was some form of religion.

Their children were:

Micheal Culver b. 1784, New Jersey.
Gabriel Culver b. 1793
Darius Culver b. 1798, Ontario Canada.
John Mark Culver, Ontario Canada.
Hiram Culver, born 1815, in Ontario Canada.
Rhoda, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Miriam(Marian), Dorcas, Susanna.

John's son Gabriel (b. 1792, d. 8 April 1849) was born in New Jersey, as an infant during their move to Canada and it is said that he was carried there in his mothers arms. He was issued the degree of master mason by his lodge, No. 26 at Townsend in Upper Canada, May 18, 1815, then was said to have moved to America with his sister Elizabeth ( From my limited understanding of the Masons, I wonder if the Gabriel achieving Master Mason was more likely his Uncle Gabriel as this Gabriel would be only 23 years old). Various Collvers were charged with treason during the war of 1812, and some of them had to prove their loyalties by oath or by their actions, for example Rev. Jabez Collver had to take an oath of loyalty to the crown and renounce his American citizenship. Apparently several Collvers did leave for the states because of this, but whether Gabriel was one of them was unclear.

After the war of 1812 and various Indian wars, the US Government offered land at extremely cheap prices to get people to settle in Ohio and Illinois, to counter the British influence of the region. Gabriel, having been born in America, he may have retained his US Citizenship ( or citizenship wasn’t important then. ) and moved to Ohio to take advantage of the new policies. The crux of these new policies was the treaty of Ghent. Ohio in particular had been hard hit by these wars, and little or no immigration or expansion occurred there until the signing of the Treaty. The period of 1816 through the early 1830's was a boom cycle for the frontier and especially Ohio.

Gabriel appears in Cuyahoga County Ohio, in the Township of Warrensville, in which is located south east of Cleveland and is near the shores of Lake Erie and due south of Norfolk Ontario. Also a Marshall/Micheal Culver appears by examination of land and census records about the same time.

He married on 3 April 1819 to Philura Brown daughter of Peleg Brown, a prominent figure in early Warrensville. According to the book "history of the Mc Intosh Family" located at the Eva Brook Donly Museum in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, Gabriel’s sister Elizabeth married into the Mc Intosh family and in a letter she mentions her brother Gabriel as having married Philura, Daughter of Peleg Brown and had a son Alfred. Upon cross-checking for alternate Gabriel Collvers, I ran across a branch of Collvers from upstate NY, but not a Gabriel Culver, but if he had been a young man, his name would not appear anyway as they only listed the name of the head of family and not the children. From what I understand about names in the early to late 1700's, Gabriel was not an extremely common name for puritan descendants, as they tended to use biblical names (i.e.: John, Paul, etc...) but not the names of Angels and other holy persons (i.e.: Jesus) as they considered this rather tactless.

Gabriel was considered one of the earliest residents and was elected to the board of trustees in 1818, 1822, 1824 and 1830, as was his neighbor Beckwith Cook. The northern part of the Township had a small community of Shakers, who operated and sawmill and a grist mill. Apparently there was also a community of Quakers as well, but the majority of the county was Protestant and Methodist. I’m guessing by saying this, but he was probably one of the latter as the Quakers and Shakers largely kept to themselves and since he was active in local affairs, he was probably not one of those two groups. Philura Brown apparently passed away, some sources say in childbirth with Alfred, but the facts don’t bear this out. He re-married in 1829, and he already had 3 children by then, this is also supported by the 1820 and 1830 census:

1820:
MALES		FEMALES		occupation farming
10 and under	16-26	16-26	Over 26
1	1	1

1830:
MALES					FEMALES					slave	free-color
under 5	6-10	11-15	16-30	31-40	under 5	6-10	11-15	16-20	21-30	24-36	36-55
1	1	1		1	1			1	1	1	1

-------------------------------------------------------- 

1820: 
MALES                   FEMALES
10 and under   6-26         16 - 26   Occupation farming
              1           1              1
---------------------------------------------------------
1830:
MALES                     FEMALES        slave Free-color
under 5 5-10 10-15 30-40 under 5 15-20 21-30 24-36 36-55
        1      1        1        1             1      1        1         1        1
---------------------------------------------------------

If Philura was born in 1797, then she would be 33 in the 1830 Census, and if she died in childbirth with Alfred (1819), then why would a 16-26 year old female be in residence (his future wife Brazilda would only be 11 years old in 1820) Now lets get a little bold with the census figures for 1830. Lets say that Philura died in the birth of the 3rd child Emily in 1827, then Gabriel would need a nanny to care for the children , thus: female slave 24-36 and free colored female 36-55. He marries Berzilda which accounts for the 21-30 female in the census.

Gabriel re-married to Brazilda Rosalin Cook (b. 1810) daughter of Beckwith Cook on 7 July 1829 and it assumed that she is the mother of four more children in Ohio. There is talk of a Cornelius Collver born in Iowa in different charts, so he is a little hard to verify.

The late 1820's were an interesting period of expansion and also heralded the arrival of the Mormons to Ohio. The articles written then spoke of numerous persons that left the township, having been "taken by the Mormons". Joseph Smith passed through that area and started communities and set up a large one in Missouri, I believe. Also either Warrensville, or one of the neighboring townships, was credited with having the first Mormon Temple.

A canal was put into Lake Erie from a nearby River and a fever caught on as Cleveland was going to be a big port town and land prices jumped and over spending and borrowing started to occur. The federal government had been selling land on credit , which also spurred over expansion. In 1832 Andrew Jackson took office and by 1835 had dissolved the federal bank which popped the economic bubble. The government was also cashed strapped and changed it's policy of cheap credit to cash only for land transactions, and when people tried to sell their lands, the value became seriously depreciated and many foreclosures followed. Thus almost every single business in the township (as well as the frontier) failed and went into bankruptcy.

Cuyahoga County had no industrial base at that time, and the land was not self sufficient for agriculture, thus a mass exodus of people left Ohio for points west. The economy did not recover until 1840-41, the older states weren’t hurt as badly as the frontier states, as the established families had more equity in their land unlike the frontiersman. Many families through out the frontier banded together and went as trains. The Culvers, Rices and Cooks formed a train in 1839 and headed for Iowa.

The Three families traveled together to Iowa, and many of the sons and daughters of these families married each other after reaching Iowa and some of the parents as well, Beckwith Cook married Mary Rice (the mother of Ruth Rice, Alfred’s wife) and Gabriel married Brazilda, the daughter of Beckwith Cook. Gabriel is mentioned several times in Cedar County documents, most notably he was a juror in the murder trial of a young woman who was acquitted of killing her child by exposure to the elements. He died 8 April 1849 and is buried at the Virginia Grove Cemetery, Cedar Co. Iowa. It appears that Rosalin re-married and she is also buried in the Virginia Grove Cemetery. In the 1850's many of the Collvers, Cooks and Rices, packed up again and headed for Oregon. The descendants of Alfred’s brother, Orace Collver stayed in the area as he appears several times in histories of the county and court documents in the latter 1800's.

The Children of Gabriel and Philura and/or Brazilda

Alfred Bainbridge Collver, born 12 Dec. 1819, Warrensville Ohio.
Orace Micheal Culver, born 14 Jun. 1821/3, Ohio.
Emily Culver, born 1827, Ohio.
Darius Culver, born 1830, Ohio.
Charles Culver, born 1832, Ohio.
Hiram Culver, born 1834, Ohio.
Orrin Culver, born 1837, Ohio.
Cornelius A. Culver, born 1844, Iowa.


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dennis@mystic.com