Rev. Dr. Alfred H. Betts
Rev. Dr. Alfred H. Betts was an early pioneer to the Western Reserve of Ohio. He was born in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1786, where he became a licensed medical doctor. In 1816, he answered the call to Ohio's wilderness where he also gained a license to preach the Word of God. He became the minister of the Brownhelm Congregational Church. In the beginning, he traveled from settlement to settlement on horseback, but health problems eventually forced him to use a horse and buggy to complete his rounds. At times, he suffered from "paroxysms of fever and ague," which we associate today with malaria. He persisted in his mission for over three decades. Dr. and Rev. Alfred Hanford Betts and his wife, Sally, lived in Brownhelm from 1820 until the end of their lives. They had thirteen children.