David Eldridge (died 3 June 1797) is the earliest known person of European descent to die in the

Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms o ...

, and the first person to be buried in the newly created city of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. One of the employees of the

Connecticut Land Company The Connecticut Company or Connecticut Land Company (e.-1795) was a post-colonial land speculation company formed in the late eighteenth century to survey and encourage settlement in the eastern parts of the newly chartered Connecticut Western Re ...

, he drowned at about 11:00am on June 3, 1797, while attempting to swim his horse across the Grand River, despite being strongly advised to the contrary. He was nearly an hour in the water, before his body could be pulled out. Boats were put into the river, and Rev. Seth Hart, superintendent of the surveying party, used every precaution to save him, without effect. His corpse was brought to the

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...

. Charles Whittlesey.
Early History of Cleveland, Ohio, Including Original Papers and Other Matter Relating to the Adjacent Country
'. 1867. On the morning of June 4, a piece of land was selected for burial, on the north parts of lot 97 and 98, between Prospect and Huron streets, on the east side of Ontario street. Members of the party used wooden boards to build a strong box for a coffin. They placed him in, and strung the box on a pole with cords, to carry him up to the burial ground. A funeral service was held, and a fence was built around the grave. He was one of three in the surveying party to die that season;Maurice Joblin.
Cleveland Past and Present
'. Kessinger Publishing. 2004. . p 10. William Andrews and Peleg Washburn both died of dysentery at Cleveland, in August or September, and were buried next to Eldridge. The original burial ground was moved to Erie Street in 1835. His remains are now located in the

Erie Street Cemetery Erie Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It is the city's oldest existing cemetery. History The cemetery was established in 1826 at what was then the edge of the city, taking its name from East 9th Street's origin ...

in Cleveland.Tombstone of David Eldridge
Erie Street Cemetery. Photographs provided by Find-A-Grave. In the early 2000s, while improvements were being made to buildings currently on the original location of his burial, human bones were discovered.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldridge, David History of Cleveland Year of birth missing 1797 deaths Place of birth missing Burials at Erie Street Cemetery