SKETCH CVII

A PIONEER POET AND THE CULVERS, OF WOODHOUSE

The Woodhouse branch of the great English-New Jersey Culver family has been identified with the affairs of that township from the beginning. Joseph Culver, the Norfolk grand-ancestor of this branch, was contemporary with Jabez and Timothy, the heads of the other two Norfolk branches. The three were cousins, but of what degree, relatively, is not known in Norfolk. The English ancestor came to America at a comparatively early date, as several generations of the family lived and died in the colonies before the war of the Revolution.

Simon Culver, of Morris County, New Jersey, was co-temporary with the Norfolk ancestors. He had a son, David, who, when he was ninety years old, walked from his home to Hackettstown, a distance of ten miles, and sang an old Revolutionary war song. This occurred July 4th, 1876, and when the writer saw him in the fall of that year he was a model of well-preserved manhood. He was “straight as an Indian,” possessed a ruddy complexion, and a warm, genial nature, and his hair was as white as snow and hung down over his shoulders. His mother attained a great age. She celebrated her hundredth birthday by indulging in a horse-back ride, being accompanied by her son, David, who, at that time, had scaled his 80th year.

Joseph Culver and his wife, Phoebe, came to Long Point settlement at the close of last century, and settled in the gore of Woodhouse. His family consisted of one son, William, and three daughters—Nancy, Phoebe and Amy. The son was married, and had three children, Adam being the baby. The three daughters married three of the original eight Sovereign brothers—Philip, John, and probably Leonard. The latter is a mere conjecture, founded on the apparently relative names of Leonard’s children and the supposition that the “Rhuamah” (wife of Leonard), inscribed on the old tombstone, and the “Amy” mentioned in the Culver family, are one and them same person. They all came from the same place in New Jersey, and all came together. The two families were early connected, as the records show that the original Friedrich Soverein, the German ancestor, married Lavinia Culver, of New Jersey. Joseph Culver and his wife died on the Woo[o]dhouse homestead.

It is said that William Culver, only son of Joseph, clerked in a store in Hackettstown in his boyhood days for a man named Gustin. He married Catherine Fisher, in New Jersey, and was about twenty-eight years old when the family came to Long Point.[1] In the early years of the century he operated a pioneer mill on the lake front—presumably on the stream known as “Barnum’s Creek.”[2] Subsequently he settled on the eastern portion of the gore lands taken up by the family, being the well-known homestead of the late Joseph Culver. Mr. Culver kept a pioneer tavern at this place, and it is said the second store in the county was started here by a man named Cummings.

During the war of 1812 General Brock held a meeting at the house of William Culver, for the purpose of recruiting volunteers for his Detroit expedition. This meeting is referred to more fully in the Finch family genealogy. During the McArthur raid the swarthy Kentuckians painted the Culver tavern a howling scarlet. They filled themselves full of pioneer “budge,” and turned everything inside out. After committing all the “deviltry” they could think of, they “borrowed” Mrs. Culver’s favorite New Jersey horse, and proceeded on their home-pillaging tour.

William Culver died in 1829 in his 59th year, leaving two sons—Joseph and Adam; and two daughters—Elizabeth and Charity.

Joseph Culver, eldest son of William, was about three years old when he came to the settlement. He married Jemima Backhouse and succeeded to his father’s homestead.[3] He was a generous, industrious and highly-esteemed citizen; and the old home of “Josie Culver” will not be forgotten until the present generation have all passed away. Mr. Culver was subject to fainting spells in his declining years, which was the cause of his meeting death in a calamitous manner. He was engaged in burning refuse on the farm, and, as is supposed, fell in a faint and was so severely suffocated and burned that it caused his death. This sad event occurred in 1872, when he was about seventy-seven years old. He had one son, Dr. Backhouse Culver, who settled in Port Dover; and two daughters—Amelia and Emma. The former married Hiram Bowlby, of Woodhouse Gore, and the latter married Walker Powell, the old Parliamentary representative.

Adam Culver, second son of William, was the baby when the family came to Long Point. He married Nancy Leach, and settled on the town-line side of the Gore homestead. He died in 1880, in his 83rd year, having survived his wife eight years. He had two sons—William and John; and five daughters—Catherine, Elizabeth, Hester, Nancy Jane and Flora. The sons settled on the homestead, and are both dead. William married Ruth Wood, and left one son, Charles W., who at present occupies the homestead. John married Lavinia Rouse, and left six sons—William, Albert, James, Charles, Herbert and John; and two daughters—Mary and Sarilla.

Of the daughters of Adam Culver, Catherine married Isaac Decew, of Charlotteville, and had four sons—Thomas, William, Culver and John S.; and five daughters—Martha Jane, Isabella, Emma, Alice and Elsie. Elizabeth married John Butler and settled in Woodhouse. She had one son, Hamilton, and one daughter, Sarah E. Hester married Thomas Davis, and had a family of ten children. Nancy Jane married Duncan Marr, of Woodhouse. She has no children. Flora married Joseph Cullimore, settled in Woodhouse, and had one son, John Adam.

Elizabeth Culver, elder daughter of William, was about three years old when the family left New Jersey. She married Captain Medcalf, a British soldier. The day McArthur’s soldiers raided Culver’s tavern the Captain was caught in a rainstorm while out hunting, and when he returned his red coat was hung up to dry. When the Americans arrived and espied the coat the effect produced on them was similar to that produced on a turkey gobbler at sight of a red rag.

Captain Medcalf built a carding-mill in Lynn Valley, and finally settled in Elgin County. Mrs. Medcalf left no children.

Charity Culver, younger daughter of William, was born in the Woodhouse pioneer cabin before the new century was born.[4] She married William Rusling, and settled in Woodhouse Gore.

Mr. Rusling was a tailor, and made coats for the officers in the war of 1812. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1791, and was the son of Joseph Rusling, a Methodist preacher.[5] Originality was a marked trait in his character, which made him a conspicuous and well-known personage in the later pioneer times. Being endowed with a warm, generous nature, he was exceedingly companionable, and early in life fell into the drink habit. The family emigrated from England to New Jersey when “Billy” was a mere child, and it was while learning his trade and conforming to the customs of the “Knights of the Goose,” in those times, he contracted this very common yet ruinous habit. “Billy” worked his way into Long Point settlement, and learning that Rev. Daniel Freeman, who was a particular friend of his father, was living in the settlement, he made that gentleman a visit. Mr. Freeman asked him how long it had been since he had written to his father. “Billy” said he had not written home in seven years. “My dear boy,” said Mr. Freeman, “you sit right down and write to your father and mother.” He did as advised, and his father received the letter on a Saturday; and the following morning he preached on “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” breaking down in a flood of tears in the middle of his sermon.

Young Rusling returned to the New Jersey home at the urgent request of his father, but after remaining one year he came back to the settlement. He married in 1815, and after he reformed he devoted his life to the work of temperance, lecturing and organizing temperance societies in various parts of the country.

Mr. Rusling narrowly escaped being devoured by the wolves while returning from the old “Sugar Loaf” mill with a load of flour. It was forty miles from the mill to his home, and when about half way his sleigh broke down. Being far from a settler’s house and having no tools, he was very much delayed in patching up the break. Night overtook him, and he had a long stretch of forest to go through. It was very dark and the wolves howled on all sides. He had a double-barreled gun and some ammunition with him and he resolved to make the best of his precarious situation. Finally a pack was seen approaching the sleigh. He fired and killed two of the brutes, and while the remainder of the pack fell back to devour the carcases, he tied a rope which he happened to have with him to the rear end of the sleigh letting it drag on the ground behind. The wolves, thinking (?) this was a trap of some sort, were afraid to attack the sleigh, and skulked behind. This gave Mr. Rusling ample opportunity to load and discharge his gun until their hunger was appeased, when they filed off into the forest. Daylight appeared before he was again attacked, and he reached home in safety.

William Rusling was a pioneer poet, and after his reformation composed several temperance songs. The two quoted below are among the best. The first has a counterpart, styled “The Contract,” which is omitted here:

“THE RECLAIMED”

I had lost all my pleasures, they had fled like a dream,

And from no point of heaven could happiness beam;

The cup of strong poison in madness I drained,

And naught but confusion and anguish I gained.

I had lost my existence, and was lost to mankind,

A poor wandering creature, to misery consigned;

That cup of fell poison was the source of my woes;

Oh, it had blotted out reason and stole my repose.

I had lost reputation, and by all was despised;

With the foul blight of rum I oft was disguised.

My friends all retreated whenever I came,

And my woes were completed in loss of my fame.

I had lost the affection of children and wife;

This foul cup of poison was the bane of my life;

Yet in madness I grasped the soul-damning draught,

At their tears and their sadness like a demon I laughed.

“HURRAH FOR THE TEETOTAL MILL.”

Two jolly old topers once sat in an inn

Discussing the merits of brandy and gin.

Said one to the other, “I’ll tell you what, Bill,

I’ve been hearing to-day of the Teetotal Mill.

“You must know that this comical mill has been built

Of old broken casks when the liquor’s been spilt;

You go up some high steps and when at the sill

You’ve a paper to sign at the Teetotal Mill.

“You promise by signing this paper, I think,

That wine and strong spirits you never will drink;

You give up, as they call it, such rascally swill,

And then march right into the Teetotal Mill.

There’s a wheel in this mill that they call self-denial,

They turn it a bit just to give you a trial;

Old clothes are made new, and if you’re ill,

You are very soon cured by the Teetotal Mill.

Bill listened and wondered, and then he cried out,

“Why, Tom, if it’s true what you’ve been telling about,

What fools we must be to be here sitting still,

Let us go and take a look at the Teetotal Mill.”

While they gazed with astonishment there came up a man,

Diseased and blear-eyed, his visage was wan;

He mounted the steps, signed the pledge with good-will,

And went for a turn in the Teetotal Mill.

When he came out he was the picture of health,

And walked briskly on in the highway to wealth,

And as onward he passed he cried with a will,

“Success to the wheel of the Teetotal Mill.”

The next that went in was a man and his wife.

For many long years they’d been living in strife.

He had cursed and abused her and swore he would kill,

But his heart took a turn in the Teetotal Mill.

And when they came out, how altered was he!

Steady, honest and sober; how happy was she!

At an end is their strife—“No, you shant”; “Yes, I will”—

And together they prayed for the Teetotal Mill

Next came a rough fellow as grim as a Turk,

To curse and to swear seemed his principal work.

He swore that very morning his skin he would fill,

And drunk as he was he reeled into the Mill.

And what he saw there I never could tell,

But his conduct was changed and his language as well;

I saw when he turned round the brow of the hill,

That he knelt and thanked God for the Teetotal Mill.

The poor were made rich and the weak were made strong,

Grim want was unknown for the purse was made long;

These miracles puzzled both Thomas and Bill,

But they both took a turn in the Teetotal Mill.

A little time after I heard a great shout,

And turned to see what the noise was about.

‘Twas the children and wives of Tom and poor Bill

Shouting their praises for the Teetotal Mill.

In the Rusling family were six sons—William, Thomas, Adam, David, Joseph and John; and seven daughters—Mary, Catherine, Elizabeth, Minnie, Anna, Hannah and Charlotte. Mr. Rusling died in 1872, in his 81st year, being survived by his wife nine years.

Mary Rusling, eldest daughter of William, and first-born child, married John Smith, settled in Simcoe, and had one son, Hamilton; and three daughters—Charity, Catherine and Mary Ann.

William Rusling, eldest son of William, married Margarita Backhouse, and settled in Walpole. He had a family of daughters.

Thomas Rusling, second son of William, married Eliza Deming, and settled finally in Charlotteville. He had three sons—Walter, York and Leland; and four daughters—Theresa, Erie, Cornelia and Kate.

Adam Rusling, third son of William, married Eliza Roberts, settled in Walpole, and had no family.

David Rusling, the fourth son, married Sarah Pursley, settled in Townsend, and had five sons—John, Leamon, Lincoln, Wallace and Sylvester; and two daughters—Melvina and Mary Jane.

Joseph Rusling, the fifth son, married Jane Fitch, settled in Bayham, and had two sons—William and Heman; and two daughters—Josephine and Lily.

Elizabeth Rusling, the third daughter married William Hunter, settled in Simcoe, and had two children—William and Ann Jane.

Catherine Rusling died young.

Minnie Rusling, the fourth daughter, married Edward McDermand, settled at Port Burwell, and had one son, Arthur.

Anna Rusling, the fifth daughter, married Lemuel McDermand, settled at Port Burwell, and had three daughters—Mary Ann, Ona and Adelia.

Hannah Rusling, the sixth daughter, married John Long, settled in Waterford, and had three sons—William, James and Arthur; and five daughters—Lily, Minnie, Lena, Charity and Ada.

Charlotte Rusling, the youngest daughter, married John Chadwick, and settled on the old Rusling homestead. She had one son, John, and one daughter, Ada.

John Rusling, the youngest son, married Eliza Gaffrey, and settled in Townsend. He had four sons—Charles, William, Ambrose and Harry; and five daughters—Minnie, Charlotte, Nellie, Erie and Adelia.

[1] William Culver was listed in the December 1799 muster roll of the Charlotteville Company, Norfolk County Militia. This stated that he was born in Morris County, New Jersey, aged 27 years old, a farmer, and in Norfolk for 5 months.

[2] On November 23, 1803, William Culver purchased from Levinah Mabee, 200 acres of land in Lot 8, Concession A, Charlotteville Township. Less than a year later, on August 28, 1804, he exchanged this with David Secord for Lot 19, Concession A, Charlotteville Township at present Fisher’s Glen, a few miles east of Barnum’s Creek. The next month, he purchased the mill seat in the adjoining Lot 20, also from Secord. He sold this to Reverend Titus Finch in 1806 and purchased Lots 22 and 23 in the Gore of Woodhouse Township south of Simcoe where he made his subsequent home. Source: Abstracts of Deeds Registers of Charlotteville and Woodhouse Townships.

[3] Joseph Culver settled south of the homestead in Lot 7, Gore of Woodhouse Township where he was recorded in the 1829 Assessment, the 1852 Agricultural Census, and the 1867 Gazetteer of Norfolk County.

[4] According to her gravestone in St. John’s Church Cemetery south of Simcoe, Charity was born on November 4, 1801, after the new century was born.

[5] William Rusling’s father was named James Rusling according to William’s nephew James Fowler Rusling who published The Rusling Family in 1907. According to the parish records of Frodingham, Lincolnshire, England. William was baptized to James and Mary Rusling on July 15, 1791 two days after his birth. James and Mary (Fowler) Rusling brought their family to New York City in 1795 then shortly afterwards settled at Newburgh, Warren County, New Jersey.