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The brig Eureka, built by Cobb & Burnell, has a famous history. The schooner was the first boat on the upper Great Lakes to sail to the sea from Cleveland to San Francisco in 1849 with 59 passengers by way of the St. Lawrence River around Cape Horn to the gold fields. See the book written by Robert Samuel Fletcher, "Eureka from Cleveland by Ship to California." Duke University Press, 1959. Thomas Cobb died in 1851 and is buried in Cleveland Street Cemetery, Amherst, Ohio. HENRY DUTTON ROOT (1833-1914) Henry Dutton Root, was born in Black River Township on February 14, 1833. His parents were Orestes and Julia Ann Dutton Root, who were natives of Farmington, Connecticut. The father, Orestes, bought land in the Reserve, and in 1830 settled in Black River Township on what was known as the Gregg farm. He owned an interest in the Black River boats President and Vincennes and was the sole owner of the Equator. Orestes Root drowned in 1852 when the propeller Henry Clay was lost on Lake Erie. Henry Root was educated in the Lorain school system and at the age of about fifteen began his life as a sailor; at twenty he was captain and continuously sailed the lakes for thirteen years, after which time he learned the art of shipbuilding under William Jones of Black River. He was married to Jeanette A. Fuller (1838-1905) in Cleveland, Ohio in the year 1855. Their marriage was blessed with four children: Henry Ernest (1856-1883), Winnie (1859-1859), Nettie (1866-1945) and Wesley Orestes (1875-1940). Henry's brother, Samuel J. Root, a shipbuilder and captain, died in the tragedy of the steam yacht Leo on Lake Erie in 1889. In 1872, Root purchased the tools and facilities of William Jones. He moved the yard to the foot of Sixth Street, where he launched the schooner Our Son in 1875. She was built at a cost of $55,000 and was the first vessel built at the new yard. Henry Root's vocation as a shipbuilder spanned over fifty years, in which time he built nearly as many vessels. Marine historian, Richard J. Wright, described him as "the last prominent shipbuilder in Black River." All types of vessels were built at his yard, including schooners, brigs, propellers and tugs. 191