Abram (or Abraham) Brokaw, born in Somerset, Somerset County, New Jersey in 1778, was a weaver and a farmer. Sometime before 1798, he moved to Ohio where he met his future wife, Margaret Scott, married about 1798. Their first child was born in Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio in 1799. Eight more children, born from 1802 to 1821, joined this family in the town of 1)Cadiz in Harrison County and 2) in Wheeling Twp., Belmont, Ohio.According to the early history of Wheeling Twp., there was a large community of Presbyterians gathered here in the 1800s. Abram and his Presbyterian friends erected a large tent for their first place of worship. Below is an excerpt from a document about this religious group:
"Crabapple Church and Cemetery are located in Wheeling Township, Belmont CO., about two miles south of Athens and a short distance north of Uniontown. The first nucleus of the Crabapple Presbyterian Church was gathered as early as 1799 by Rev. Joseph Anderson.
The first structure used by the church for worship was a so-called "tent". This was a rude pulpit erected in the forest, probably built against the side of a tree, with a small projecting roof or hood of clap-boards designed to protect the minister and his bible from the weather. The congregation usually stood in groups or were seated on the grass or on fallen logs. A log house was soon built which was replaced by a brick building and then later by a frame structure. The church is no longer there. Possibly it was located where some kind of a picnic shelter now stands.
Crabapple Cemetery is also known as Crabapple Presbyterian Church Cemetery. The cemetery is 3.27 acres and dates from 1806. The cemetery is well kept but many of the stones are difficult to read."
Because of this strong community spirit, so evident in Abram's personality, I feel very respectful towards this ancestor. Eventually these folks were able to afford to erect their building which they named the Crabapple Presbyterian Church, of which they were very proud. Next to the church, the Crabapple Cemetery was the place where the deceased members were buried.
In 1831, Abram purchased some land from the Bureau of Land Management in Jackson Township of Crawford County, Ohio, Lot #397. His daughter, Mary Brokaw and her husband, John Morrison, lived on an adjoining lot.
In their older years, Abram and Margaret moved into Mary and John Morrison's home, which was a typical arrangement in many households in the mid-1800s. In Abram's will he made certain to leave a substantial amount of money to the Crabapple Presbyterian Church. Abram died in August 1865 and is buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Galion, Crawford, Ohio where many of our relatives are buried.
Abram Brokaw
Born: 8 May 1778 Somerset, Somerset, NJ
Married: abt. 1798 , , OH
Died: abt. 1 Aug 1865 Jackson Twp., Crawford, OH
Sources: Census:1840, 1850, 1860; Government Land Records;
Book: "Cemeteries of Crawford Co., OH" by Crawford County Genealogy Society; Book: "Crabapple Church, Wheeling Twp., Belmont, OH 1800-1948" by W. M. Brokaw and E. B. Welch
