The Sutliff Museum inside the Warren Trumbull Public Library is filled with letters, objects and other documents that are important not only to the Sutliff family history, but also to the history of Trumbull County.

One of those documents is Phebe Lord Marvin Sutliff’s “Reminiscence,” which she wrote in 1906 at the age of 84 about her family and her experience growing up while people were settling in Warren. Phebe Lord Marvin Sutliff was born July 1, 1822, to Captain Joseph Marvin and Temperance Miller Marvin in Bazetta as their 14th child.

In her “Reminiscence,” she briefly discusses the life of her parents before she was born: how they met, when they married, and how they started their journey to Ohio from Connecticut. From there, this document tells stories of her family, her church, her children, and how the community worked as one unit.

Not only does she describe events and dates that needed clarification within the collection, but she also provides an account of the settlement’s relationship with Native Americans, how and where they were taught, and the struggles the family faced.

The closest church to her home in Bazetta was 5 miles away in Warren, and the family spent entire Sundays there. Sutliff writes that there were morning and afternoon services with Sunday School in between for the children. She also wrote that “very few people lived in Warren then” and “people came to church from Bazzetta, Howland, Champion, Lordstown, Weathersfield and Braceville.” People from all over what would become Trumbull County came together for church and would stay in Warren afterward for dinner and events.

Throughout the first 16 pages, Sutliff explains the importance of community with other settlers and Native Americans. She often speaks fondly of her encounters with Native Americans, looking to them for advice and safety. She explains that people new to the area often stayed with Native Americans until their homes were built. They explained to settlers what food was safe to eat, and both groups relied on each other to survive. She wrote about the Native Americans that “we were good to them and they were good to us.”

In addition to little anecdotes about her family and community, she also includes some of the dangers of living in such an unsettled place. She talks about her father not wanting her to get off her horse when she travels, her experience coming across a bear cub she thought was a dog, and mentions “wild beasts” they must run home from school to avoid. She shares a story of her sister Mary Ann, who, while staying with a woman down the street until her husband returned, tried to return home in the dark. She was chased by wolves in the woods until her father came to rescue her. It is these stories spread throughout this recounting of her life that make the document so interesting.

There are so many documents and objects that are incredibly important to the history of the area that can be found in the Sutliff Museum collection. They shine a light on the relations of the people and how different life was at the time. Phebe Lord Marvin Sutliff created this “Reminiscence” to preserve her family’s legacy and the experiences of a typical family in this era.