St. Teresa of Avila Parish

In order to generate cash to offset its increasing debts, the State of Connecticut sold all of their rights to the Western Reserve to the Connecticut Land Company. The Connecticut Land Company was eager to capitalize on the influx of immigrants with money to spend on land and the promise of a new future. The Connecticut Land Company held a draft in 1814 to select shareholders in the Western Reserve of Ohio. This particular strategy ensured that they would turn a handsome profit on the sale of the lands. One who entered the draft was General William Hart of Connecticut. General Hart drew the portion of land identified as Township 7, Range 17, and in 1815, General Hart sold the entire Township to two Englishmen from Sheffield, Massachusetts, Captains Jabez Burrell and John Day. They then formed a partnership with Captain Joshua Smith and some other New Englanders for the purpose of further sub-dividing the land. Many of those who came west to the Western Reserve to inspect their purchases also selected plots of land for themselves and their friends.