By Pat Cook
Christopher Saddler, born in 1756 in Hesse-Cassel, Germany, was recruited by the British Army and served as a Hessian Private, arriving in the American colonies in 1777. He was soon captured by the Colonial Army and spent two years serving as a dragoon (cavalryman), joining the Patriots under General Count Pulaski. Christopher was highly educated and fluent in German, English, and an American Indian language, making him valuable to the Patriot cause. After the war, he settled in New York, married Sophia Ortz, and fathered ten children. One of his sons, William, served in the War of 1812 and fought in the Battle of Lake Erie.
On his way home to New York, William passed through Dover Township. Unbeknownst to William, the family’s New York farmhouse was tragically destroyed in an indigenous uprising during the War of 1812. William convinced his father to go back with him to Dover Township, and at 58, Christopher began the tough journey. Because of Christopher’s prior service, his family received land from the Connecticut Land Grant Company. Traveling mostly during the winter of 1814–1815, they crossed frozen Lake Erie from Erie, Pennsylvania, a route that kept them safe from wild animals and provided a smoother ride for their oxen-drawn wagon. When they arrived, Christopher and William built a small cabin, which was later replaced by a frame farmhouse at what is now 29737 Lake Road. Christopher’s two other sons eventually left New York to farm in northern Ohio, but became unhappy and moved away. The property stayed in the Saddler family until 1997. With later updates, the house was torn down around 2008.
Sources:
Retracing Footsteps: Lakeside Cemetery, Bay Village, Cuyahoga County, OH pg. 199-200.
Bay Village A Way of Life: BVHS pg. 19-20.