Who was John Larwill?

John Larwill is known in Wooster as one of the first permanent settlers of the town. Larwill was born in Deptford, England in 1792 and journeyed to the United States with his family as an infant¹Douglass, 303. His parents and four siblings moved to Chester, Pennsylvania, then to Pittsburgh, before finally settling in Fawcettstown, Ohio.²Douglass, 304. In 1807, John’s oldest brother Joseph was chosen to survey Wayne County³Douglass, 304. John, only fourteen but eager to help, went along and aided the group by packing supplies and carrying messages alone on horseback.⁴Douglass, 304. The survey finished in 1808 and John Larwill lived in Wayne County until relocating to Columbiana County to be an apprentice in a paper mill in 1809⁵Douglass, 305.  Larwill moved back to Wayne County in 1813, where he worked mainly in the dry goods business⁶Douglass, 306.

Throughout his adolescence, Larwill established himself as a trusted town figure, and in 1820 was elected Justice of the Peace. Likewise, he would go on to earn a position in the Ohio legislature in 1841 and was present at Ohio’s 1850 Constitutional Convention, where delegates drew up a new constitution to better fit the needs of the state’s growing population.⁷Douglass, 307 and Ohio History Connection, “Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851,” Ohio History Central. Throughout the nineteenth century John Larwill dedicated himself to his new home, working alongside his brothers to establish economic, political, and social foundations which allowed Wooster to flourish.

Larwill married in 1826 and had seven children.⁸Douglass, 308. On March 19^th, 1875 he quietly passed away, surrounded by his wife and daughters, leaving a great legacy in his wake.⁹“Death of Hon. John Larwill”, Wooster Republican, 25 March 1875.

For further reading:

Douglass, Ben. History of Wayne County, Vol. 1. Indianapolis, IN: B.F. Bowen & Company, 1910. https://archive.org/details/cu31924028848765/page/n609/mode/2up.    

Douglass, Ben. “Biography of Hon. John Larwill.” Wayne County Democrat. Wooster, OH, March 25^th, 1875.