Henry O. Sheldon papers

Henry Olcott Sheldon was born in New York on September 15, 1799, to parents Joseph and Catharine Olcott Sheldon. In 1818, Sheldon traveled throughout northern Ohio seeking farm land to purchase. In 1819, he purchased land in Peru Township, Huron County, and began farming. On March 15, 1820, he married Ruth Bradley. She bore him twelve children, three of whom died in infancy, between the years 1820 and 1852. During this time, Sheldon joined the Methodist Church (1823), became a licensed preacher (1824) and eventually a deacon and elder of the Church. He traveled extensively throughout Ohio, specifically northern Ohio, as a circuit minister during the 1820s to mid 1830s returning to his home for short but frequent visits to check on the health of his ever-growing family and the care of his farm, and to participate in community affairs. One such community activity was the establishment of a school, the Lima Academy of Peru, Huron County, in 1822. Sheldon was elected clerk of the board. However, the academy only lasted one year. While a resident of Huron County, Sheldon was described as being "...sublime in eloquence, of noble bearing, with a voice musical and penetrating; was the type of a missionary." (A. J. Baughman, History of Huron County, volume 1. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1909, p. 96.)

In 1836, the Sheldons moved to Middleburg Township, Cuyahoga County. There Sheldon and others formed a "religious community" along Rocky River, and named the community Lyceum Village. This village later became Berea, Ohio (For more information about the development of Berea, Ohio, please see Crisfield Johnson, compiler, History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio: D. W. Ensign and Co., publishers, 1879, pp. 474-476). During the 1830s through the 1850s Sheldon continued to play an active role within the Methodist Church in Ohio and traveled extensively throughout the northeastern United States, mainly to attend religious conferences. During the late 1850s, he moved his family to Sidney, Ohio. On March 15, 1859, Ruth Sheldon died.

On April 22, 1860, Henry Sheldon married Eleanor Robertson in Sidney, Ohio and they moved to her father's farm near Hamilton, Ohio. During the 1860s, Sheldon worked for the Missouri State Board of Immigration. He traveled frequently to Missouri and upon his return trips to Oho, he attempted to induce people to settle and form religious colonies (Lyceum Villages) in Missouri. On January 25, 1867, Eleanor Sheldon died.

On August 1, 1867, Sheldon married Pamelia Tower in Oberlin, Ohio. Sheldon continued to work for the Methodist Church and care for his wife's farm until his death in December 1882.