William Sadler
b. 23 Sept. 1791, Laurel Hill, Pennsylvania
d. 23 Mar. 1875, Dover Township, Ohio
William Sadler was the son of Christopher Saddler and Sophia Oritz. In the War of 1812 he was a corporal under Captain Harris and participated in the Battle of Lake Erie as a sharpshooter. During the war he traveled through Dover Township and decided to settle there, purchasing Lots #92 and #98 along the Lake Erie shoreline. He arrived in Dover with his father in 1814 where the two prepared a home for William’s family by clearing the land and building a log cabin. In 1815, he traveled back to New York to bring his wife, Elizabeth Tryon and their daughter Sophia to Dover.
William and Elizabeth founded the Dover Lake Shore Methodist Episcopal Church in North Dover Township (today, Bay Village) in June 1827. The church met in their log cabin until William and Elizabeth deeded part of their land to the building of a frame church, providing materials and raising funds as well. William passed away at 84 years old and is buried in Lakeside Cemetery.
Henry Foote
Frame #24, far right
b. 21 Apr. 1844, Dover Township, Ohio
d. 12 Mar. 1919, Village of Bay, Ohio
Henry Foote was the son of Ransom Foote (son of David Foote) and Catharine Porter Foote (daughter of Asahel Porter). David Foote was an early settler of Bay Village. Around 1815, he bought Lot #97 in Dover Township where he built a log cabin and raised his family. Asahel Porter, Catharine’s father, arrived in Dover the same afternoon as the Cahoons.
Henry Foote, along with his siblings, helped farm the original Foote homestead. Eventually, Henry took over the remaining portion of the farm after part of it was sold. He raised mainly fruits and berries on his farm and also worked as a land agent for the Lake Shore Electric Interurban. He never married, living with his sister at the old family homestead. He passed away at the age of 75 and is buried in Lakeside Cemetery.
Reuben Osborn
Frame #24, middle left
b. 4 Nov. 1778, New Haven, Connecticut
d. 24 Mar. 1860, Dover Township, Ohio
Reuben Osborn and his brother-in-law Asahel Porter arrived in Dover Township on the same day as Joseph Cahoon on October 10, 1810. He permanently settled in Dover a year later with his wife, Sarah Johnson Osborn. He built the oldest frame house between Cleveland and Lorain in 1815. Reuben donated land for the first schoolhouse in Dover as well as the first cemetery. He passed away at the age of 81 and is buried in the cemetery he helped create: Lakeside Cemetery, Bay Village, Ohio.
This portrait, as well as Sarah Osborn’s, are carte de visite portraits. True to the carte de visite form, they were mailed to a member of the Foote family where they were placed in a photo album. Both have a green 3 cent telegraph stamp on the back, dated 10/22/1864.
Sarah Johnson Osborn
Frame #24, middle right
b. 8 Aug. 1779, Woodbridge, Connecticut
d. 6 Sept. 1858, Dover Township, Ohio
Sarah Johnson was the daughter of Eliphalet and Mary Johnson. She married Reuben Osborn in Bristol, Connecticut. Her sister married Asahel Porter. Asahel’s family along with Sarah’s husband and her brother Leverett Johnson, arrived in Dover Township in 1810. Reuben returned for her and waited for spring to settle in Dover permanently as a family in 1811. Her brother, Leverett, married Abigail Cahoon in the Cahoon log house in 1814. He later became the Justice of the Peace and served in the State Legislature.
Sarah and Reuben had three children together, but their only son, Selden, was the only child to survive to adulthood. He had a son named Reuben who would become the first mayor of Bay Village after it seceded from Dover. Sarah passed away at the age of 79 and is buried in Lakeside Cemetery, Bay Village, Ohio.