In the year of 1806 The West was referred to the land west of the Appalachian mountains and this land was what we call Ohio today. This territory was opened to settlement after the Revolutionary War known as the Northwest Territory. In these years the state of Connecticut claimed the northern part of Ohio which was called the Western Reserve. Men and women both saw this region as a land of unlimited personal opportunity. Women played a major role in the development and evolution of Ohio. They contributed immensely to the survival of their families. Women and their families lived in primitive conditions until land could be cleared and a cabin was built. They contributed to the family's economic well being by making much of what the family needed to survive. In addition to taking care of the home and raising the children, women provided medical care, raised livestock, grew vegetables to supplement the family's diet, made butter,candles and soap, preserved food for the winter months, and made their family's clothing often from cloth that they wove themselves. Women also made significant contributions to their communities. In particular, Women were influential in developing churches and schools.                                                                    A man's role in early 1800 Ohio was to provide for their families. They were farmers, hunters, skilled craftsmen. They traded, fished and trapped while protecting the ones they loved. They also were called to be soldiers in times of war. They were called to govern their society and their homes. The men, women, and children lived by Biblical ethics and values. This, we believe were the lives of Laura and Zadock Steele when they settled in the Western Reserve at a place which would become Andover, Ohio.