Grandpa and Grandma Ames came to the Northwest Territory in 1798 and settled in Belpre'.

There was no house for them except the school house. The people were willing to rent that for a time, but said they had promised the young couple that they could have a singing school there every Thursday evening. Grandma said that she did not mind that and was quite willing to have the young people around her. So they moved into the school house, and every Thursday evening the supper dishes were cleared away, and the room made ready for the singing school.

They brought but little furniture with them and had no table. A large white pine chest, in which some of their goods had been packed, served as a table, and, as Grandma knew how to make the best of what she had, she sometimes invited company, and they had merry times seated around the white pine chest.

Once when she had wanted to have a little company, she thought that she must give it up; because she had no flour to make a cake. It was no small matter at that time to get flour, but she decided to make a pound cake using cornmeal instead of flour; although she felt uncertain of the result. Of course, she said nothing about it to the company. After supper was over, one of the ladies spoke of the cake and asked Grandma how she had made it; she thought it was so nice. Then Grandma told her what she had done, and they all thought it a fine joke.

This school house had a loft where kindlings had been kept, and Grandma could make some use of it. The stairs were rather rough, being a black walnut log leaning from the floor of the loft with notches cut in the log for steps. When Grandpa and Grandma wrote to their friends in New England telling them how they were situated, they wrote, "Our house has a solid black walnut stair case."

They laughed as they wrote this, as black walnut was very expensive in New England, and it sounded very grand.

While they were living in Belpre' a lady came from New England, and she was wearing a black rosette. She said all the ladies in New England were wearing them since the death of General Washington, which had occurred a few weeks before. She brought some rosettes with her which she gave or sold to the ladies of Belpre', and they all wore them.

One day a lady was visiting Grandma and they were talking of N.E. churches, pastors, ect. The lady said,"The first installation I ever saw was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when Reverend Daniel Johnson was installed." Grandma could hardly speak for a minute. Then she said, "That was my father. He was just married then and was only twenty-one years old when he was installed." This made Grandma'a visitor seem like an old acquaintance, and they became good friends, though Grandma was much the younger of the two.

Grandma and Grandpa decided to make their new Western home in what is now the Ames Township on Federal Creek. In 1800, in May I believe, they removed to that place. They now had two children, Hector born before they left Massachusetts, and Eliza born 4 March, 1800 in Belpre'.

There were no roads through the country, and Grandpa was obliged to take what furniture and other goods they had to the mouth of the Hocking. There they were put into a small boat, called a piroque, made of the bark of a tree. This was rowed up the river until they reached the mouth of Federal Creek, then up the creek until they reached their landing place.

This was not far from Judge Cutler's farm. He and his family, glad to have a new family settle near them, gave them a warm welcome and invited them to come right to their house and stay until a cabin could be built. This they were glad to do.

Their goods were taken from the little boat and left in a safe place, as they supposed, a short distance from the bank of the creek. In the night a storm arose; they heard the rain and were glad to feel themselves safe in the house of a friend and to think their goods not in danger. But in the morning when Judge Cutler and Grandpa went down to see about the goods, they found there had been a sudden and wonderful rise in the creek, such as those who settled near it saw many time in later years. The water had even reached the spot where the goods had been left, and some of things had been carried quite a distance down the creek. A few things had been destroyed; and others, more or less damaged. This was sad news to carry back to the house; but these young people who had come from New England to make a home in the wilderness were not easily discouraged. They made haste to save as much as possible. One thing altogether destroyed was their sugar, nearly a half barrel of it! This was a great loss; as there was no sugar to be had nearer than Marietta, and it must be brought from there in small quantities on horseback.

The few neighbors, some from a distance of several miles, now came with willing hearts and hands to assist in putting up the cabin. The trees were to be cut down, the logs to be prepared, and the cabin built; but this did not take many days. As there was no plastering to be done or woodwork to be finished, it was soon ready to live in. It had one large room, which was the parlor, dining room and kitchen all in one, and two little bedrooms partitioned off at one end, with a loft where some things might be kept.

Now the new life was fairly begun, and everything seemed very strange to Grandma. She had lived in Salem, Marblhead, Newburyport and Boston with her Aunts or her Grandmother; her mother died when she was ten years old. Her friends were all wealthy; slaves were kept in Massachusetts when she was a little girl, and she had been carefully and tenderly raised. She felt very timid whenever Grandpa was out of sight; as, their nearest neighbor, Judge Cutler, lived a quarter of a mile away. Indians were often seen, and she always was afraid of them, though they seemed friendly. There were some bears in the woods; and the wolves often came near the house, and their howling always sounded very terrible to her. She tried to be brave and cheerful, and perhaps no one knew, until she told many years after, how she had suffered those first years when her children were little and felt so hopeless.

One morning, soon after they had moved into their new house, Grandma was getting her breakfast, and Grandpa had gone to a distant neighbor's on some errand, when she saw some cattle not far from the house. She knew so little of country life that she did not know but they might come into the house and attack her and the children. But even then she did not feel safe; so she climbed down and wrapped the baby Eliza in a blanket and took Hector by the hand and went over to Judge Cutler's, following the creek, because she had not yet learned the way through the woods, which afterwards became so familiar to her. This made the walk a very long one for her and the little children, but they reached the house safely. When she told Mrs. Cutler why she had come, Mrs. Cutler told her those were Mr. Ewing's cattle and that she need never be afraid of cattle; they were perfectly harmless. Then they could laugh together over the whole affair. Mrs. Cutler told Grandma to stay to breakfast and then she would let her Daniel and Polly go home with her and drive the cattle away.

(To be Continued)....