FITCH, ZALMON (1785-28 Apr. 1860), a leader in Cleveland and Warren financial circles, was born in Norwalk, Conn., to Haynes and Ann (Cook) Fitch. Little is known about his education or early life. In 1810, he established a general store in Canfield, Ohio, the second one in the WESTERN RESERVE. He moved to Warren in 1813 and became a leading businessman. When the Western Reserve Bank was established in 1816, he became a cashier, holding that position until he became president 23 years later. He also served as land agent for several original stockholders of the CONNECTICUT LAND CO. In 1838, the receivers of the then-closed Bank of Cleveland appointed him trustee to settle its affairs after it collapsed in the Panic of 1837. Fitch served on the board of trustees of the new Western Reserve College in Hudson in 1826; and as a trustee of the Warren Municipal Court in 1836, 1842, 1847-48, and 1854-55, even after moving to Cleveland in 1838. He was a member of the board of agency of the Cleveland Medical College in 1843 and of the Warren Board of Education in 1849. He was a founding member of the Euclid St. Presbyterian Church in 1853. He was on the board of directors of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad in 1859. Fitch married Betsey Mygatt of Canfield, Ohio, in 1808 and had 3 children: Lucy, Grant, and Laura. When his first wife died in 1838, Fitch married Rebecca H. Salter of New Haven, Conn. Fitch died in Cleveland and was buried in the ERIE STREET CEMETERY.
