Deacon Elijah Hanks was born in Mansfield, Conn., 30 August 1761. He served in the "Connecticut Line" in the Revolutionary War for eight months, enlisting 10 March 1778, in Capt. Allen's 3rd Connecticut Regiment, of which Samuel Wylly was C.

      14 August 1782, he was married to Mary Walker of Ashford, Connecticut, who was born 14 August 1763. Their children were Joseph, Elijah, Benjamin and John (twins), Esther, Clorinda, and Patty.

      9th September 1811, they left Wellington, Connecticut for Madison, Lake County, Ohio, arriving there the 3rd of October when they immediately went to work to put up a log house, into which they moved 8th November, on the same farm which has ever since been in the possession of the family.

      Other families moving into the neighborhood found a shelter at Deacon Hank's hospitable home until their house were ready for occupancy.

      He died 11 February 1839, at the age of seventy-five and lies buried in the cemetery on the hill in sight of his home.

      His son, Benjamin, and a twin to John, is the next one to own the farm and raise their family. He married Martha Knowlton, and they raised a large family. The old log house has served its purpose, and a nice large house now adorns the farm. He was a splendid blacksmith, and his son, Ephraim Knowlton, learned the trade and worked with his father. He lived and died on the farm and was buried in the same cemetery.

      We find the last one to live and raise a family there was his son, Benjamin W., who married Cornelia Dewey, his brother's, Otis, widow. They lived there, raised their family and died there, being buried in sight of their home. The farm was left to Fred, Otis' son, who married Carrie Drusler but had no children; and to Dewey, their only living child, who left and went to San Francisco. So they had to sell the farm in 1930, when Retta was on her mission, and thus the farm passed to others after 119 years of ownership. Father also visited this place before Uncle Ben died.


© 2008, Daniel C. Hanks