Riverius Bidwell (1790-1871) was a well-known, well-respected early citizen of Gustavus, Ohio. He was Ira Gardner’s landlord and a key witness to the 1832-murder of 16-year-old Frances Maria Buel.
Born in Connecticut, Riverius came to Gustavus in 1812 along with his family. He was described as a big, strong man, clad in simple but clean homespun, with a kind face under a wool or straw hat. (I think you can see the kindness and quiet strength in his face when you study the old portrait of him pictured below).
In the early 1820s he was treasurer of Trumbull County, which was an important and massive job. He is said to have walked barefoot, at a brisk gait, collecting taxes from every single resident in Trumbull County. And, once he had gathered the collection, he walked all the way to Columbus to deposit the funds with the state auditor. (!!)
In addition to being a tax collector, Riverius was also a justice of the peace and a postmaster of Gustavus. His wife, Eunicia, also worked as postmaster when he was not around. He was also in charge of constructing and repairing roads and bridges and played a key part in securing railroads to the area.
Riverius and his family were members of the Presbyterian Church and were devout Christians in the true sense of the word. Riverius had the reputation of being an industrious, dependable, decent, honorable man, and was someone Ira Gardner called upon for help.
After murdering Frances Maria Buel, Ira Gardner is reported to have asked Riverius if there was anything he could do to help him out of the trouble he was in.
Riverius and his family lived in a house that sits along Route 193 just south of Gustavus Center, and which still stands. Two years after the murder of Frances Maria Buel, the family moved to Kinsman, Ohio and lived in the house next to the Methodist Church on Main Street.
One historian I spoke with speculated that the move was due, in part, to wanting to escape the looming, unpleasant memories of the murder and all that was associated with it.
Riverius and his family are buried in the Kinsman Cemetery.
Men like Riverius Bidwell helped inspire me to create fictional characters such as Josiah Harper and John Day when writing my novel The Dance of the White Deer. These were hard-working men of integrity and decency who faced obstacles and hardships of the Ohio frontier with courage and dignity.
