From the Firelands Pioneer of the mid 1980’s
The First Sabboth School on the Fire Lands was established at Florence early in the Spring of 1818.
It was taught by Miss Abby Harris, daughter of Capt. Luther Harris, an early pioneer. Abby Harris was born in 1801 in Massachusetts and came with her family to Florence at sixteen. She taught in a log schoolhouse in Brownhelm before her marriage.
John Monteith, a widower, came from Gettysburg, pa., to Florence to marry Abby Harris on Aug. 30, 1821. After living elsewhere, they moved to Elyria in 1832 when Monteith became superintendent of schools. Monteith Hall, 218 East Ave., was built in 1835. It is now the Elyria Woman’s Club.
Transcribed by Lowell Dunlap