b. 1808
d. 1876, Elyria, Ohio
Emeline “Emma” Hackett Cahoon was born in 1808. She married Benjamin Cahoon on December 1, 1835. They had at least eight children together. Their daughters can be seen in a group portrait at Rose Hill in frames #8 and #22. She was described by Ida Cahoon, in her book History of the Cahoon Family, as “…a most excellent wife and model mother.” Emma lived to be 68 years old and is buried in Ridgelawn Cemetery, Elyria, Ohio.

Joel Butler Cahoon, along with his family, were the first settlers of Bay Village. He sat for a few different portraits over the years. This portrait was painted in his old age, after he had let his beard grow long. To read more about Joel and view a portrait of him as a young man, go to frame #5.

b. 14 July 1805, Montgomery County, New York
d. 29 Sept. 1872, Elyria, Ohio
Benjamin Reynolds Cahoon was the eighth child of Joseph and Lydia Cahoon and came with the family to Dover in 1810. Benjamin worked as a stone cutter in Cincinnati and Elyria. He married Emeline Hackett on December 1, 1835. They had at least eight children together. Benjamin and Emma’s daughters can be seen in a group portrait at Rose Hill in frames #8 and #22.
According to Ida Cahoon, in her book History of the Cahoon Family, “…Uncle Benjamin was very fond of flowers, fruits and all the beautiful objects he could have about him and was excellent company among his many friends.” Benjamin passed away at the age of 67. He is buried in Ridgelawn Cemetery, Elyria, Ohio.

b. 6 May 1796, Salisbury, Herkimer, New York d. 3 May 1869, Dover Township, Ohio
Abigail was the daughter of Joseph and Lydia Cahoon. She came to Dover with her parents when she was twelve years old. She married Leverett H. Johnson in July of 1814, which was the first marriage in Dover. The couple had nine children.

b. 27 Aug. 1793, Salisbury, New York
d. 28 Sept. 1882, Rose Hill, Dover Township, Ohio
Joel Butler Cahoon was the third son of Joseph and Lydia Cahoon. He moved to Dover with his parents and siblings in 1810. Joel and his brother Daniel started a contracting business building public works such as canals, aqueducts, viaducts, and railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Maryland.
While in Maryland he married Margaret Van Allen Dickson on July 14, 1831. They would move into Rose Hill in 1842. In 1881, they celebrated their golden anniversary. A photo was taken of the couple with the many guests who visited them at Rose Hill for the occasion. Joel passed away the next year at the age of 89 and is buried in Lakeside Cemetery.
He likely sat for this portrait soon after his marriage to Margaret. You can view other portraits of him in frames #2 and #26.

b. 8 Feb. 1810, Washington D. C.
d. 21 June 1894, Cleveland, Ohio
Margaret Van Allen Dickson Cahoon married John Douglas Van Allen on August 16, 1827, who passed away two years later in March 1829. She met Joel in Maryland in 1830 while staying with an aunt. They married a year later and had eleven children together, eventually settling at Rose Hill. In 1881, they celebrated their golden anniversary. A photo was taken of the couple with the many guests who visited them at Rose Hill for the occasion. Margaret passed away at the age of 84, outliving her husband and all but six of her children. She is buried in Lakeside Cemetery.

b. 17 July 1793, Woodbridge, New Haven, Connecticut d. 19 April 1856, Dover Township, Ohio
Leverett traveled to Dover Township with his sister, Rebecca Porter’s family, and brother-in-law, Reuben Osborn, arriving the same day as the Cahoon’s in 1810. He was Westlake’s first settler, a Justice of the Peace, Cuyahoga County Commissioner, five-term Ohio state legislator. He donated land for Evergreen Cemetery.

The daughters of Benjamin Cahoon (back row) pose with the children of Joel Cahoon (front row) at Rose Hill. The Cahoon Barn (now the Community Center) can be seen in the distance. This group portrait was likely taken at the Cahoon reunion seen in frame #22. Of Joel’s children, only the four sisters and Thomas are seen, placing the photograph between August 1899, when John Marshall Cahoon passed, and December 1902, when Jeanette Cahoon passed. Scroll down to read about Benjamin’s daughters, visit frame #17 to read about Joel’s daughters, and visit frame #25 to read about Thomas.
Daughters of Benjamin Cahoon, back row, left to right: Helen Bullock, Abigail Schneerer, Jeanette Cahoon, and Minerva Hollenbach.
Children of Joel Cahoon, front row, left to right: Martha Cahoon, Lydia Cahoon, Thomas Cahoon, Ida Cahoon, and Laura Cahoon.

Helen Cahoon Bullock
b. 24 Dec. 1836, Elyria, Ohio
d. 19 July 1924, Elyria, Ohio
Helen was the second child of Benjamin and Emma Cahoon. She married Aaron H. Bullock in 1870. They lived in Elyria. Helen lived to be 88 years old and is buried in Ridgelawn Cemetery.

Abigail Frances Cahoon Schneerer
b. 7 Aug. 1852, Elyria, Ohio
d. 13 Aug. 1925, Norwalk, Ohio
Abigail was the eighth child of Benjamin and Emma Cahoon. She married Dr. Frederick W. Schneerer, a Union soldier. She passed away at the age of 73 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Norwalk, Ohio.

Jeanette Rebecca Cahoon
b. 26 Jan. 1842
d. 18 Dec. 1902, Elyria, Ohio
Jeanette was the sixth child of Benjamin and Emma Cahoon. She never married. Jeanette lived with her cousin, Thomas Cahoon, and his wife, Elizabeth, in Cleveland. She lived to be 59 years old.

Minerva Cahoon Hollenbach
b. 1 Mar. 1838
d. 1 Dec. 1915, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Minerva was the fourth child of Benjamin and Emma Cahoon. She married Reuben Hollenbach on September 17, 1863 in Lorain County. They lived in Cleveland. She lived to be 77 years old.

b. 1798, Salisbury, New York
d. 1859
Rebecca Cahoon was the sixth child of Joseph and Lydia Cahoon. She came to Dover with her parents when she was twelve years old. She married Jacob Heath on November 16, 1823. The couple had two children, Silicia Heath and Franklin Heath. However, the marriage didn’t last and they divorced. On November 14, 1850, Rebecca married Ebenezer Griffith. Her daughter’s son, Walter Wright, became the Cahoon family’s lawyer and processed the will that set up Rose Hill as a museum. Walter and his family can be seen at the Cahoon family reunion in frame #22 and their daughter, Margaret Wright Glendenning’s portrait is in frame #16.

The Cahoon family gathered at Rose Hill for Joel and Margaret’s golden wedding anniversary on July 14, 1881. In Margaret’s autobiography, she estimates there were 150 guests present. She describes how, that morning, she and Joel exchanged rings engraved with their initials and date of their anniversary. A photograph was taken that day of all the guests. Her children can be seen in the front row, sitting from youngest to oldest.