550 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. was about the first white family to settle in the neighborhood, and young Theodore's first and for a number of years only playmates were young Indians. Settlement was made on the bank of a small stream which was made to furnish power for a saw and grist mill. For many years the place was known as Daniels' Mills, but as it grew in importance, the name was changed. At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion young Theodore desired to accompany his older brother when he went to the front, but his father refused to give his consent on account of his soil's delicate health. He continued to assist his father with his business until the last call for troops came in 1864. In September of that year Mr. Daniels enlisted in Battery D, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery. His company was sent to Brashear City, La., which is some distance below New Orleans. Mr. Daniels was detailed first as clerk in the company headquarters, but afterward became a messenger in the telegraph service. The responsibilities and dangers of this position were sometimes great. He was still in this service when President Lincoln was assassinated, and carried the dispatches which spread the startling news. Mr. Daniels was attacked by "southern fever," and lay for several months in different southern hospitals, being finally discharged at Prairie du Chien in July, 1865. The following winter he attended a normal school near his home, and was influenced by his teacher to go to Oberlin College. He reached Oberlin February 1, 1866, and graduated from that institution in August, 1872. The next day after he graduated he entered the First National Bank of Oberlin, and it speaks well for his conduct and close application to his work that he became its cashier in a little less than two years and a half. In May, 1875, he was married to Miss Julia H. Lewis, of Pleasanton, Mich., an Oberlin student, who was born near Athens, Ohio, September 9, 1850, daughter of Rev. William S. and Eliza (Campbell) Lewis, the former native of Bridgeport, Conn., the latter of Acworth, N. H. In 1864 the Lewis family removed to Michigan, and later thy daughter attended Oberlin College, when she met her future husband. During the summer of 1880 Mr. Daniels was attacked by the " western fever," and. took a prospecting trip through Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Wyoming. He came back satisfied with Ohio, but stile determined to launch out for himself it business. About this time Lorain began to attract attention by reason of the building of the brass works. Mr. Daniels came down from Oberlin one day to look the town over. What he saw must have pleased him, for he immediately resigned his position at Oberlin, and started the Bank of Lorain in the front room of dwelling house owned and occupied by Mrs. Mary Reid. Owing to the great demand for business rooms at that time, this was the only location that could be contained. The town grew and the bank prospered. In January, 1882, the First National Bank was organized with a capital of fifty thousand dollars as the successor of the Bank of Lorain. Mr. Daniels was offered the presidency of the new institution, but preferred the more active duties of the cashiership. The bank paid regular semi-annual dividends, and in March 1893. divided an extra twelve per cent dividend; and the First National Bank was then merged into the Citizens Saving Bank, with a subscribed capital of oral hundred thousand dollars. The new bank started out with a surplus of twelve thou sand five hundred dollars, which in till coming January will be increased to fourteen thousand dollars, notwithstanding the unprecedented panic of 1893. Mr. Daniels has held different local offices among others that of city and township treasurer, councilman, water-works trust etc. It is needless to say he has filled a these positions with credit. He has always been much interested and a great deal of LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 551 the time an active participant in local public affairs. He has a pleasant home on the bank of Lake Erie a short distance west of Lorain. His family consists of a wife and three children: Irving L., Mabel E. and Ruth R. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels were both formerly members of the First Congregational Church of Oberlin, and latterly members of the Congregational Church of Lorain. Politically our subject is a Republican. [Extract from " Men we all know," Lorain Herald, December, 1893. REV. JAMES BRAND, D. D., Oberlin, is a native of Canada, born February 26, 1834, at Three Rivers, a town on the St. Lawrence, in the Province of Quebec. He is a son of James and Jennette (Boyer) Brand, natives of Dumfries, Scotland, where they married, and whence they came to Canada shortly before the birth of our subject. The father was a school teacher and farmer, and he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian Church; they died in Canada. Our subject received a limited education in the public schools, Windsor, P. Q., and graduated from Phillipps Academy, Andover, Mass., after which, in 1861, he entered Yale College. His studies here were interrupted by a service in the Union army, he having enlisted in 1862, in the army of the Potomac, where he served under Burnside and Hooker and Mead, as color sergeant of the Twenty-seventh Connecticut Volunteers. He participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, in the first of which he was wounded in the shoulder. At the expiration of his term of service he continued his college studies at Yale, and in 1866 graduated A. B. He then entered the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass., where for three years he studied theology, at the conclusion of which he became pastor of the Maple Street Congregational Church in Danvers, Mass. After four years labor in that field he came, in 1873, to Oberlin, and became successor to President Finney as pastor of the First Church. Mr. Brand received his degree of D. D. from Iowa College, Grinnell, Iowa. He has published several books and pamphlets, all treating more or less on theological subjects, and has also written considerably for journals. To some extent he has lectured on the battle of Gettysburg. He has taken a prominent part in the Temperance Reform in Ohio; was a delegate to the International Council at London, England, where he delivered one of the addresses. In 1871 Dr. Brand married Miss Juliette H. Tenney, of Troy, Ohio, and has a family of six children. as follows: Charles A., Edith B., Mary T., Helen C., James T. and Margret R. HON. W. B. THOMPSON. In the front rank of the progressive and influential citizens of Lorain stands this gentleman, a leading attorney at law, and mayor of the city. Mr. Thompson was born September 6, 1863, at Columbia, Lorain Co.. Ohio, a son of S. B. and Emular (Osborne) Thompson, residents of Columbia. He attended school at Berea, Ohio, finally graduating from Baldwin University, class of 1885, taking the degree of Ph. B. He then, having decided on making the profession of law his life work, commenced its study with Judge Barber, of Cleveland, and completed same with prosecuting-attorney Webber, of Elyria. After a thorough delving into " Blackstone " and " Coke upon Lyttleton," our subject was admitted to the bar, December 6, 1888, and was associated in business in Elyria with his last preceptor, one year, when, seeing the great possibilities in store for Lorain, a fast growing town, he moved thither and opened an office for his own account. He 552 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. has succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations. As a cogent reasoner and jurist, he is marked for his ability, and as a pleader he has few equals among men of his age and experience. By his integrity and business capabilities he has won the confidence of the best business men of the community. In 1890 Mr. Thompson was elected mayor of Lorain, and is now filling his second term. During his incumbency as mayor have been made most of the great public improvements of the city, and in this he has always taken a leading part. During the year 1892 Lorain expended sixty thousand dollars on public sewers, and many other extensive improvements have been made. In December, 1890, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage with Lulu Sanford, of Delaware, Ohio. He is a member of the F. & A. M., K. of P. and I. O. O. F.. SILAS D. WHITNEY, the oldest citizen of Pittsfield township, is a worthy member of a pioneer family of the county. He is a grandson of Asa Whitney, who in 1792 removed from Connecticut to the vicinity of Pittsfield, Mass., where he passed the remainder of his life, dying there in 1802. He was twice married, and among the children by his first wife was Asa, Jr., who afterward became the first man to agitate the idea of a railroad to the Pacific coast. Milton Whitney, who was a son of Asa Whitney by his second wife, was born in 1786 in Salisbury, Conn., and moved with his parents to Massachusetts, where he was reared. He received a common-school education, learned the trade of blacksmith, and had wagons and plows made in his wagon shop. After the death of his father he resided with his mother until his marriage, in Pittsfield, Mass., with Miss Lydia Cleveland, who was born on the island of Martha's Vineyard, daughter of Zebdial Cleveland, an old sea captain, To this union came children, all of whom were born in Pittsfield, Mass., as follows: Asa W., a blacksmith by trade, who died in Pittsfield, Lorain Co., Ohio (he was in Lorain county when Pittsfield township was formed, it being No. 4, Range 18th Connecticut Western Reserve, and it war he who suggested that the township be called Pittsfield, after Pittsfield, Mass.); Chancey, who died young, the sharp poin: of an old-fashioned spinning-wheel having accidentally penetrated his skull; Clarissa who married Hiram Humphrey, a presiding elder and minister in the M. E. Church, and died in Pittsfield, Ohio, Wealthy, who married J. L. Wadsworth and died in Wellington, Ohio; Oliver W., deceased in Des Moines, Iowa; Silas D who will receive mention farther on Henry C., who owned a large tract of land in Colorado, where he died; and Frederic C., of Pittsfield Center. In 1820 Milton Whitney set out for Ohio, traveling by way of the Erie Canal as far as Buffalo where he remained one week, waiting for the steamer (the only one on the. lake) take him to Cleveland, which was then small village, containing but a few huts, He came by stage from Cleveland to South Amherst, and thence on foot to Pittsfield township, Lorain county, where he had some few years previously purchased a large tract of land, containing one thousand six hundred acres. He decided n to settle at that time, as the country with entirely wild, and there were but few white people in all of Lorain county. Returning to his home in Massachusetts, he a remained there until 1833, when he sold his beautiful home for a good price, and in the fall of the year came with his with wife to Lorain county, Ohio, where they decided to locate in Pittsfield township Again returning to the East, they made preparations for migration, and on January 22, 1834, their two sons, Asa W. and Silas D., left Pittsfield, Mass., setting out LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 553 with two horses and two wagons for their new home, where they arrived in the latter part of February. The rest of the family followed shortly afterward. To Thomas and Jerry Wait Mr. Whitney gave one hundred acres, and to Chauncey and Henry Remington, also one hundred acres (fifty acres to each individual), all wild land in an unbroken wilderness in No. 4, on condition that they settle on the land, which they did. The Waits (both bachelors) settled here in 1821, being the first permanent settlers in Pittsfield township. Milton Whitney was not physically a strong man, or robust, and he spent many seasons at Saratoga, N. Y., for the benefit of his health. He was an ardent member of the Democratic party, and served as postmaster during his residence in Pittsfield township, where he owned one thousand acres of land. He died in 1839, his wife in 1869, and they are both buried in the South cemetery, in Pittsfield township. Silas D. Whitney was born March 3, 1820, in Pittsfield, Mass., where he received the greater part of his education, afterward attending the old log school houses of Pittsfield, Ohio, and finally one term in Wellington. He was reared to farm life, and remained at home until two years after his father's decease. On November 11, 1841, he was married to Miss Electa N. Parsons, who was born in 1824 in Hampshire county, Mass., daughter Of Ebenezer and Electa (Naramore) Parsons, the latter of whom died when her daughter Electa was born; the father remained a widower ten years, when he remarried, and in 1835 he came to Pittsfield, Lorain Co., Ohio. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Whitney settled on the home farm, where they still reside, and here the following children have come to brighten their home: Arthur E., of St. Paul, Minn.; Ann Clarissa, a most beloved daughter, who died at the age of thirty-one; Alma E., wife of Charles E. Archer, of Massillon, Ohio; Abbie, wife of F. C. William&, of Creston, Ohio; Agnes, who was married November 22, 1893, to Frank Coleman, of Nelson, Neb.; Frances, living at home; and Edmund M., superintendent of the F. C. Kimball Manufacturing Co., Cleveland. In politics Mr. Whitney was originally a Democrat, but subsequently became an Abolitionist, and he is now an active member of the Republican party. He is a member of the Baptist Church; his wife worships at the Congregational Church. WILLIAM HAWKINS (deceased) was born July 2, 1804, in Newburgh, Orange Co., N. Y., a son of Samuel and Lydia (Van Camp) Hawkins, the latter of whom was born in the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, and was an eyewitness to some of the incidents connected with the massacre which took place in that historic vale. William Hawkins was one of a family of eight children, of whom he was the last survivor. When he was nine years of age; his father died, and the young lad then went to make his home with Adam Welty, a farmer of Owasco township, Cayuga Co., N. Y., with whom he lived some time, during which he attended the common schools in winter and worked on a farm in summer. When seventeen years of age he commenced to learn the trade of blacksmith under one Holliday, whom in later years he always referred to as his " old boss," and after an apprenticeship of three years he commenced business for his own account in Owasco township. When he started he was absolutely penniless, as during his apprenticeship he received nothing but his board and clothes, although treated very kindly, and as one of the family. His foster-father went security for an outfit of tools, which enabled hint to make a good start, and after a few years industrious application at his trade he paid off this indebtedness, his only one, and had 554 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. saved money. In 1830 he made a visit to Michigan (where he had a brother living), with the intention of remaining there, but being dissatisfied with the country, returned to New York State. In 1832 he came to Ohio, and locating in Erie county worked at his trade for a man named Tillinghurst at but meager wages. Two years after his arrival in the Buckeye State he bought 105 ½ acres on Lot 13, Tract 10, Camden township, Lorain county, at that time covered with an unbroken forest, and devoid of buildings of any kind. Here, in company with his brother Charles, he set to work to make a clearing for a home, and together they erected a substantial log house, at that time considered the best one in the township. Our subject also built a log blacksmith shop, and in connection with his farming operations followed his trade for thirty years, at the end of which time he retired from blacksmithing, and continued agriculture exclusively during the remainder of his active life. He died September 6, 1888, after a brief illness, and was laid to rest in Camden cemetery. He was a man of remarkable vitality, strong, robust constitution, and almost iron frame. He made a success in life, and from a start of positively nothing save a willing pair of hands accumulated a comfortable competence, and succeeded in securing and retaining the respect and esteem of his neighbors and many acquaintances. Politically he was originally a Whig, later a Republican, and in church matters he in an early day united with the Baptist Congregation at Camden Center. On April 22, 1835, Mr. Hawkins was united in marriage with Miss Mary Abbott, a native of Otsego county, N. Y., born March 29, 1813, a daughter of Squire and Anna (Spafford) Abbott, of Massachusetts, where they lived till they were over twenty years of age. Mr. Abbott was a Baptist minister, and in pioneer days came from New York State to Ohio on horseback, being sent out as missionary from the Baptist board. In 1820 he located in Ashtabula county, and five years later came to Henrietta township, Loral county, at that time part of Brownhelm township, where he died December 1, 1853, at the age of eighty-three years his wife had preceded him to the grave in 1847, and they peacefully await the Resurrection Morn in Henrietta township cemetery. The record of the children—eigh daughters and one son—is as follow Eliza married Egbert Ingersoll, and di( in 1886 at Camden Center; Hannah is the wife of J. B. Cook, of Elyria; Maria residing at home; Vesta married Oscar Tanner, and died May 23, 1863, in Ruggles, Ashland county; Mary is the wife L. A. Andrews, of Delphos, Ohio, a co doctor on the P. A. W. Railway; An is married to Simeon Hales, of Henriet Ohio; Charles E. is farming on the born place in Camden township; Naomi is the wife of E. H. Wing, of Chicago, Ill., Alice is the wife of Henry. Hales, of Camden township. Since the death of h husband Mrs. Hawkins, now a hale an hearty lady, in the enjoyment of almost phenomenal health, has been making h home with her son Charles and daught Maria on the old homestead, where will nigh sixty years of her honored life have already been passed. SEYMOUR WESLEY BALDWI long a merchant in Elyria, was born in Meriden, Conn., June 29, 1807, He was, quite remarkably, only in the fourth generation from the first ancestor of the name, Richard Baldwin, who settled in Milford, Conn., in 1639. The family was a very respectable one in Buckinghamshire, England, prominent : Milford and rich in lands—which we divided and re-divided among the descendants,. so that there was an unusual num of farmers of moderate wealth. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 557 Such was Mr. Baldwin's father, Charles Baldwin, an early Methodist of the last century, who bought a large farm in Meriden, and died there in 1818 leaving a widow and seven children, of whom Seymour W. was the youngest. He went to district school winters, working at the farm summers, and was thought to have considerable education when he attended the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire for one winter. When seventeen, Seymour commenced business as a peddler, which mode of life was the common and almost only one open to enterprising and respectable young men; and many prominent citizens in after days commenced as "Connecticut peddlers." Many settled in that most profitable field, the South, as merchants, and many elsewhere. When, in 1847, Mr. Baldwin retired to Meriden, the ex-member of Congress residing there—both bank presidents, the ex-president of the N. H. & H. R. R. Co., and a large share of the other leading business men of the place, had made such a beginning. When goods had to be carted overland, this was quite the natural mode of trade. The carriage of goods by railroad has nearly abolished this mode of trade, and vastly lowered its dignity. An entertaining study might be made of that business at that time. The field was on foot, or with horse and wagon in the New England States and Long Island, or with wagon in the South, and with regular routes and customers. Seymour soon entered into partnership with his brother Jesse, under the firm name of J. & S. Baldwin, as a country merchant, in Oxford, Conn., then a more thriving village than at present. The business was general, and while at first one of the brothers peddled, they also employed other peddlers and manufactured silver spoons. Soon outgrowing Oxford, J. & S. Baldwin removed to Middletown, same State. The energy, ability and high character of the brothers had already become recognized in New York. That celebrated New York merchant and philanthropist, William E. Dodge, in his little book on Old New York published by Dodd, Mead & Co., in 1880, selected the two brothers and a comrade, who together entered his store with trunks, as typical samples of Connecticut merit and success. They all became prominent and valued customers and friends of Mr. Dodge. Mr. Dodge mentioned that Mr. Jesse Baldwin had then been a bank president for twenty years, and the third a large manufacturer. Mr. Dodge then spoke of the subject of this sketch at greater length and with much respect. Both brothers became in South Carolina and Georgia strong anti-slavery men—Jesse as a leading Abolitionist, while Seymour was a Whig, becoming an early Free-soiler. Possibly his wagons at Elyria may sometimes have traveled on the "Underground Railroad," for his works were always with his faith. In May, 1835, though the South was a more alluring field for money, Mr. Baldwin with his young wife and an infant son removed to Elyria. Here with a magnificent physical constitution he displayed great energy. Business was then so perfectly unlike business now, that a sketch of it may be interesting. Elyria, the county town, was settled in 1817. The county was heavily timbered. It is easy to see that before the Erie Canal there must have been but little trade indeed. The pioneers must have lived by themselves—lives very simple and full of "hardship," and perhaps as happy as ours. In 1835 there was a general barter trade; there was very little money. The heavy timber was burned into ashes, and ashes, pot and pearl, were considered " cash, " and went to Pittsburgh for glass and also to New York. Many salts went to Pittsburgh in the shape of scorchings or black salts, which was lye reduced to a black mass and then scorched in ovens. From 1838 much white oak and many staves went to Black River, thence by sail to Buffalo, thence by canal to New York. There could 558 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. hardly have been any eastern trade without these commodities. The dry goods and groceries were bought in New York. They came by canal to Buffalo, thence by boat or sail to Cleveland, or more commonly Black River. No goods came through in the winter, and such replenishing, if any, as took place, came by Pittsburgh to Cleveland, being hauled from Baltimore and Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. Hauling was a business of considerable extent, and one spring Mr. Baldwin met east of Pittsburgh within ten miles as many as fifty wagons. After a while some goods were bought of the firm of Hilliard & Hayes, in Cleveland. In the early spring goods were hauled from Buffalo west(before that harbor was opened) to Silver Creek or elsewhere, to meet the boats, and Mr. D. B. Andrews, formerly partner of Mr. Baldwin, going down on a steamer, was compelled to land in Canada, caught cold, and died in Buffalo. The cheapest goods were then in demand. There were no ingrain carpets kept in Elyria until about 1845. Ingrain carpets, nice shawls and dresses, were bought on special orders. Mr. Baldwin was at first in company with Mr. Orrin Cowles, from Meriden. They separated, and be bought out (for the sake of the corner stand) Wilcox & Beebe. successors of the Lorain Iron Company. That store long remained with Mr. Baldwin's sign " Old New York Store." Then commenced the very energetic competition which made Elyria noted for trade. Mr. H. K. Kendall, a merchant of greatability, then had the leading business. He was first on the ground, and there had been great falls in prices of which he had the credit. A merchant's life was laborious. Mr. Baldwin used to go by stage before navigation opened on the lake—sometimes by way of Buffalo and sometimes by way of Pittsburgh—to New York and Philadelphia. It was a great thing to get the first goods in the spring, and he studied the matter carefully, spending several days in Albany. He loaded the canal boats in New York (being careful to have the boats filled with his own goods only), an early went to Albany before the canal was opened. There boats had a right to go in order of registry. For sever years he offered prizes for being amon the first ten boats at Buffalo, but there was danger of being too early; as, if unloaded, at Buffalo in warehouse, the lake boat, would take fresh canal boats rather that from the warehouse, thereby saving on loading. At the first decided triump when his rival had advertised the fir goods, Mr. Baldwin passed those first goods safely stored at Buffalo, saw his own loaded in boat, got the boat to land" at Black River, and accompanied the good to Elyria long before his rival's arrived Such single incidents seem small, but in was the many such struggles that mad Elyria the center of trade for from fiftee to twenty miles east and west, and twenty five miles south. The system of ready cash (there was but little) or barter wae introduced, and this lowered pricer Elyria in those days was a sight to see The farmer came over the mud road with his heavy wagon, frequently with oxen twenty-five miles, bringing part of h family and such articles as he had to eel and doing the trading for the spring and fall. The street at midday would be fill of wagons, there being often one hundred, more or less. Other merchants wen I crowded out, but both the chief competitor I went safely through the hard times in 1837 to 1840. In the spring of 1837 both had to ask some extension, Mr. Baldwin asking only leave to extend their debt a for some friends; but aside from this, in business life of over sixty years, Mr. Baldwin has never been obliged to ask ;Ns favor of a creditor. It is difficult even for a one who experienced it to see how business could have been conducted—with the frightful state of money and difficult transportation. The farm ers brought hut ti ter (and very poor it was in those days feathers, oats, wheat, in fact everything LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 559 they had, and the merchants bought almost everything but live beef. The butter went to New York, and the wheat was floured at the local mills. But the farmers brought little money. Some cash came in with emigrants. When the farmers could 'exchange a pound of butter for a pound of sugar there was rejoicing. In 1836 there was a general suspension of banks, and there was no resumption until 1840. There was "Michigan Wild Cat" paper, the worst currency imaginable, everybody fearing it. Mr. Baldwin once having flour to sell on commission—the currency being left to him—the farmers seemed to be very glad to get anything for such currency; and when Mr. Baldwin announced that he would charge a dollar more for currency than for barter, the currency came in only the faster. Produce was generally taken as cash, and sold again at home without profit. It was very difficult for the farmers to get enough money to pay taxes, and Mr. Baldwin earned the lasting gratitude of one farmer by giving him two dollars hard money at the current price for butter. At a later date the firm at Elyria sold at times from one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to two hundred thousand dollars, and a branch at Wellington two-thirds as much. A large share was paid in produce, the firm at Elyria handling from fifty thousand dollars to sixty thousand dollars worth of butter in a year. The firm employed at one time about forty clerks. The rivalry at Elyria was famous, and a retired New York merchant once said to the writer that, as a country store, Mr. Baldwin's was as remarkable in its way as that of Mr. Stewart's in New York City. Railroads largely revolutionized the trade. Mr. Baldwin never tried to make large profits, and never lost money except one year (about 1840), the year the banks were required to resume in Ohio. He paid a Cleveland bank that announced the intention to resume thirteen per cent. premium in its own bills for a draft on New York ten days before the appointed time. The draft was paid, the bank did not resume. At that time merchants refused to sell at any price for the currency of the country. That generation needed no more lessons as to the value of safe currency. Mr. Baldwin has been a man of very unusual poise of character. With such a business, which by its economy of labor and low profits has done the farmers of Lorain a very large amount of saving, he has not himself cared for wealth. Always fairly economical—never ostentatious—he on coming to Elyria resolved that when he had acquired a moderate fixed sum he would retire. In 1847, in accordance with that resolve, he returned to Meriden, though it is doubtful if he would have been willing to quit unless he had become the leader. But be could not let business alone. He started there a ready-pay store, and became the president of the Home (now Home National) Bank, which post he resigned on his return to Elyria. He was also a member of the banking firm of Wicks, Otis & Brownell, of Cleveland. He became acquainted with the senior mem- ber of the firm, William A. Otis, while waiting at Albany to see the goods through. In 1856 he returned to Elyria, and until his death had a small interest in the business at Elyria and at Wellington. Losses invited his return, but he had no ambition for business in large places—having declined in 1847 an invitation to partnership in the leading house in Cleveland, and at other times favorable invitations to New York. His energy and business judgment would have made large wealth in larger places, but Mr. Baldwin had such mastery of life that he cared not for it. In 1870 Mr. Baldwin went abroad for travel, and after that he was not activein his business. In 1874 he had so severe an attack of pneumonia that it was thought to be impossible for him to live, and his death was reported ; but a vigorous constitution and pure life carried him through, and he lived until the fourth day of February, 1891. He continued active in his care of an 560 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. invalid wife until her death in 1886; in his garden; in slight attention to the business of the bank, of which he was many years director; or in other private business. He was always an intelligent reader, having especially a taste for history. Mr. Baldwin was also much interested in securing, before he died, the building of a new church, donating the lot and in other ways helping much. He gave the plans and the building much thought and time. He was a man of sturdy independence of character, with a frank toleration for the opinions of others, which steadily increased with his advancing years. An interchange of thought became a pleasure, for his interlocutor was sure of a fair hearing, however diverse might be their views. His public spirit was evidenced by the deep interest he always took in the success- of the many young men with whom he was associated. Said Dr. Hoyt at his funeral: " Coining as Mr. Baldwin did from Puritan stock" he early inherited some of its marked peculiarities. He had an intense antipathy at all times to whatever he regarded as meanness, to ingratitude and to every form and manifestation of injustice. He prized personal, political and religious freedom, and he sought in every way as he had opportunity to protect the helpless and the oppressed, and to guard against the encroachment of power." Mr. Baldwin was always much interested in what he regarded as the best interests of Elyria in political or business matters, and in early days, when railroading was a problem, was a director in the Junction Railroad--built through Elyria and now a part of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. He attributed his business success to rigid adherence to principles of which the chief were to always promptly fulfill his obligations, of whatever nature, and to keep his business always within his control. It may fairly be said of him, however, that his life has been governed by a rare judgment and moderate ambition. Mr. Baldwin was twice married, first to Mary Candee, of Oxford, Conn., who died in Elyria September 23, 1836, leaving two children both under two years of age. For his second wife he married Fidelia Hall, of Meriden, Conn., who survived until 1886. He had four sons—by the first wife: Charles Candee Baldwin, of Cleveland, and David Candee Baldwin, Elyria; by the second wife: John Baldwin, a manufacturer, of New York City, and Arthur Rice, a resident Atlanta, Georgia. CHARLES CANDEE BALDWIN was born December 2, 1834, Middletown, Conn., a son of Seymour W. and Mary (Condee) Baldwin. In May, 1835, the family moved Elyria, Ohio, making a considerable part of their journey by boat on the Erie Canal where it is reported that the young travel made his presence effectively known by the vigorous use of his then lusty voice. In 1836 his mother died, too early for his remembrance. In time her tender care is supplied by a stepmother, of whom it said in the Baldwin Genealogy that she was as good a stepmother as ever lived. As illustrating the changes which has taken place in Lorain county, where childhood was spent, and which has always been his pride, it is related, among the experiences of his early childhood, that when two years old he was lost in the woods where the Elyria depot now stands. In 1847 the family returned to Connecticut, residing in Meriden until 1856, will they again came to Elyria. Meantime, the August 1, 1855, Charles had graduate with honor from the Wesleyan University Middletown, and same month entered the Harvard Law School, where, in 1857, he took the degree of LL. B. In the autumn LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 561 of the same year he was admitted to the bar at Cleveland, Ohio, and entered the office of S. B. and F. J. Prentiss. In 1861, on the election of F. J. Prentiss to the office of county clerk, Mr. Baldwin entered into partnership with S. B. Prentiss, under the firm name of S. B. Prentiss & Baldwin. In 1869, upon the election of S. B. Prentiss to the bench, the firm of Prentiss, Baldwin & Ford was formed, which in 1878 was changed to Baldwin & Ford. By too close attention to business Mr. Baldwin's health became so much impaired in 1870, that he spent some time in Europe for recuperation, which, however, was but partial; so that for some years subsequent he gave less attention than formerly to his law business, in order to secure more outdoor exercise. From 1875 to 1878 he was president of the Cleveland Board of Underwriters. He has been director of four banks, and has been twice offered the presidency of a leading bank in Cleveland. His rare capacity and sterling integrity have brought into his hands from the first a business, unusually important in its character and responsibility, largely relating to corporations and banking. A most important case—that of Brown, Bonnell & Company, the great iron manufacturers of Youngstown—was argued by him, by brief and orally, several times in the Supreme Court of the United Stated, involving the very successful issue of a million and a half. of dollars. In 1884, on the organization of the circuit court, under the change in the constitution of Ohio, Mr. Baldwin was unanimously presented by his county as their candidate. Of the 160 votes cast at file convention in Elyria Mr. Bald win received 142; the next highest candidate nominated received but 105. He has since been reelected, and is now (1894) the presiding judge of that court. Mr. Baldwin has been untiring in his attention to the duties of his office, though it has been impossible for him to relieve himself from finishing in the United States Courts a large amount of professional business of a high order. So well founded have been the most of his judicial decisions, that it is exceedingly rare for one to be reversed by the higher courts. Though a man of specially tender susceptibilities, he has shown himself, to a remarkable degree, able to rise above his sympathies in defining the exact equities of the law. In one notable case, where the death of a beautiful little girl had been caused by a railroad train, though his feelings were so overcome that he completely broke down in giving his decision, yet it was clear that he did not suffer his sympathies to warp his sense of legal equity. The inherent activity of Judge Baldwin's nature, and the liberal education with which he began his professional career, joined to natural tastes in that direction, have led him to do a large amount of effective work in promoting the general interests of science, education and culture, both in Ohio and in the country at large. Especially effective has been his work in lines of historical and archeological research. In 1866, while a vice-president of the Cleveland Library Association (now Case Library), Mr. Baldwin planned the Western Reserve Historical Society, which was first formed as a branch of the Case Library Association ; but in 1892 was organized under a separate charter. Upon the death of Colonel Whittlesey, in 1886, Mr. Baldwin was chosen his successor as president of the Society. Through his personal solicitations in 1892, sixty thousand dollars were raised to complete the purchase and remodelling of the fireproof building, upon the Public Square, in which the valuable historical library and archaeological museum of the Society are now stored. Mr. Baldwin's taste for history has been active, and in 1881 he published the " Baldwin Genealogy;" in 1882-83 the "Candee and Allied Families," and later the " Baldwin Supplement." There have also been 562 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. published from his pen some twenty-five addresses and magazine articles, among them Early Maps of Ohio and the West (the one on Indian Migrations being adopted with little change in Windsor's " Critical History of America "); an address at Youngstown on "The Geographical History of Ohio; " at Norwalk, on " Man in Ohio; " at Oberlin, on "Columbus;" and at Mansfield, on "Early Indian Migration in Ohio;" and a review of the "Margry Papers," published in Paris in the French language. He has been elected causes honoris a member of nine State or other historical societies, and in 1891 a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Prof. G. F. Wright is free to say that but for the recognition and aid of Judge Baldwin, his own work in glacial antiquities would have come to an end with the survey of Pennsylvania, and that it was largely through the advice and encouragement of Judge Baldwin that he was led to venture upon the publication of so elaborate and highly illustrated a work as his "Ice Age in North America." For portions of several seasons Judge Baldwin has been in the field with Professor Wright in prosecuting glacial investigations. In 1892 Mr. Baldwin received the degree of Doctor of Laws from his Alma Mater. Among the many who united in nominating him for this honor was David J. Brewer, of the United States Supreme Court, who sent the following letter: SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. WASHINGTON. April 6, 1892. TO THE FACULTY OF WESTERN UNIVERSITY. GENTLEMEN:— Permit me to join with others in recommending the granting of an honorary LL. D. to Judge Charles C. Baldwin, of Cleveland, Ohio: I have known Judge Baldwin ever since college days. He is now the presiding judge of the Court of Appeals in Northern Ohio, and has a high rank as a lawyer and judge. He is a gentleman of high character, and especially loved and honored in the State in which he has made his home during his active life. He has won quite a name, too, outside of the law, by his researches into the early history of his State, both before and since its settlement by the whites. He is eminently worthy of any howl the University can confer upon him, and certainly a host of friends will be gratified by hearing that he has received an LL. D. from his Alma Mater. Yours very truly, DAVID J. BREWER. DAVID CANDEE BALDWIN was born in Elyria, Ohio, September 2 1836. He was son of Seymour W. and Mary (Candee) Baldwin, the latter of whom was a daughter of David and Hannah (Catlin) Candee, of Oxford Conn. The Candees were French Huguenots. The Catlins had among their ancestor, Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, who hid the Connecticut Charter in the Charter Oak and Matthew and John Allyn, two of the grantees named in that same Charter. John Allyn was for thirty years secretary of Connecticut, and during some of the time wa practical governor, the then Connecticut constitution requiring a change of governor every year; but the secretary of State was more constant. The father a Mrs. Heman Ely, Thomas Day, was for twenty-five years secretary of the sam Commonwealth. Hannah Catlin had also among her ancestors William Pynchon, the treasurer of the Massachusetts Colony before the emigration, a member of the council, the founder of Springfield, and high in in fluence until he wrote a Unitarian book one hundred and fifty years too soon. The book was burned on Boston Common, and Mr. Pynchon returned to England, where he could enjoy religious liberty—" fearing, says Judge Savage, "that be would be treated as was his book." The State a Massachusetts at the Chicago Exposition exhibited in its State Building most conspicuously his portrait. Mr. Pynchon is th hero of Holland's "Bay Path." When Mr. Baldwin was but five day old his mother died, and his father was LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 563 left with the care of two infants, for the older son was not yet two years old. David was at first cared for by Mrs. Sarah Goodwin, who had a son of the same age. Seymour W. Baldwin's second wife, Fidelia Hall, as gentle and conscientious as any mother could be, came into the care of these two small children. She survived until 1886, in Elyria, having two children of her own. She was many years in ill 'health, a feeble, tender woman, strong in her past life, and in her character. Her own children were far away, one in Minnesota and one in New York City, and no own son could have been more attentive, thoughtful and kind than was the stepson who lost his own mother when five days old. She should certainly have loved him as tenderly as if he was her own, and she did. When our subject was ten years old his father revisited his old home in Connecticut, returning to Elyria in 1856. David was educated at the best schools to be found, first in Meriden with Hon. David N. Camp, afterward distinguished in Connecticut, and Hon. H. D. Smith, also a leader; next with D. H. Chase, LL. D., of Middletown, all still living and all honored. He closed his education at Wilbraham Academy under Dr. Raymond, now president of the University at Middletown. His father had high hopes of his practical business qualities, and he went at once into a store at Meriden, in which his father was partner. On the return to Elyria he went into the store there of Baldwin, Laundon & Nelson. Through his father he had an interest in the business, and he contributed in a large degree to the eminent success of the firm, the business of which is described in the sketch of S. W. Baldwin. His excellent sense and judgment, his easy tact, graceful manners and strict and high integrity made him an excellent salesman and an early favorite with the public. On the reorganization of that firm in 1872, it became D. C. Baldwin & Company, composed of his father, himself and Mr. John Lersch, he having principal charge of the very large business of the firm. The then leading wholesale merchant of Cleveland once said to the writer that no better merchant entered his store, than Mr. Baldwin. In time the firm became Baldwin, Lersch & Co., composed of the same partners, and later by the death of Mr. S. W. Baldwin, Mr. Lersch taking gradually a more responsible part in accordance with his own and the wishes of David. Mr. Baldwin has a fine skill and judgment in mechanics, and it is easy to see that with his business ability, if he had remained in Meriden, he would probably have engaged in manufacturing, as was indeed his first taste, and he would have become eminent. He has an excellent library, which is especially rich in archaeology--a science which at the present time, especially, needs good judgment, and his opinions are much respected. t He gave some months and considerable expense to the exhibit of Man and the Glacial period under the name of Prof. G. F. Wright and himself in the Anthropological Building at the Columbian Exposition. He has been very generous to the Western Reserve Historical Society of Cleveland, of which his brother is president, having aided handsomely in the purchase of its building, and still more handsomely in the objects of the Society. The D. C. Baldwin Collection was the first extensive collection of archaeology donated to the Society, and it is probably unexcelled by any collection of the same size in the United States. On the reorganization of that very successful Society in 1892, Mr. Baldwin was one of its incorporators; he is also a patron and an honored adviser. With no wish for wealth for its own sake, and with snore than means to gratify his wants, no one person knows his generosity. Whether as lieutenant in the Civil war, or bank director or holding other office, he has simply taken what was in the plain line of duty, with no shrinking from care, but with no desire 564 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. for place beside. He has well in his heart the idea of the Moravian prayer—"Preserve us from the unhappy desire of becoming great." Not long since a gentleman, who has been most intimately associated with a public man of distinguished and constant success, told the writer that in the plenitude of his distinction, this man said: "My life has been a failure." Who can say that, when his success is his character? Mr. Baldwin married, May 1, 1878, Miss Josephine Staub, daughter of Rev. Henry Staub, a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She is a person of tine education, with a very active mind and much intellectual strength. They are both addicted to reading (which brings the best of company of this and other ages) and to travel. They have journeyed abroad thrice, as well as extensively in this country. Mr. Baldwin's life has been quite without such incident as is usually mentioned in a biography. He did not adventure himself as a pioneer in a new country, or start business in a new place, or hold conspicuous office. To those who know him it is evident he would have been successful in any line of life he chose, as he has been in that he has chosen. He has been a prominent citizen, and especially a leader in such good deeds as need sympathy, active work and a benevolent contribution. Few men have that even poise of character that they are not carried away by the world, by the desire of wealth, of power or of political position. Mr. Baldwin's distinction is, as was his father's before him, his character—successful in everything he has ever tried, of ample fortune, but not desiring large wealth, declining the prospect of prominent station whenever offered; well educated by schooling, reading, by travel and by experience; well married, happy in society, in his own home and abroad; hospitable, thoroughly appreciated by all who know him ; intelligent, with tact and generosity; having a most charming home, with such reaso able hobbies as occupy his mind; happi contented, independent -in his own pu suits, and able to gratify every wish himself or his appreciative wife—who c hut feel that that is a life to be envied and who in the county will not think th if any one deserves it, "Dave Baldwin does? RICHARD BAKER. The subject of this sketch was born at Harpole near Northampton, England, February 8, 1818. His ancestors were Freeholders—yeomen, owners a occupiers of land for many generations both on his father's and mother's side. Up to twelve years of age our subject was kept closely to the country school, a was then sent to a first-class boarding school, one of the leading business educational institutions of that day. At the age of sixteen years he left school, an assisted his father in the management " Spratton Orange Farm," which he occupied for many years. From a young he was very fond of live-stock, especially cattle, and his father being a large breed and feeder, he had great advantages, coming an expert in judging, managing and handling cattle. While yet in his minority young Rich succeeded in gathering and establishing herd of Shorthorns, that in after years successful in the showing. He has been an admirer or Shorthorns all his life, never entertained any prejudice again other useful breeds. Having in those early years handled so many Hereford, Aberdeen, Sussex and Norfolk grades, he knew their good qualities, and has ever h ready to acknowledge their merits has been called upon to serve as " Expert Judge" on the " Beef Breeds " of cattle several different States, and many other large, exhibitions, his decisions be generally satisfactory. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 567 In 1852 Mr. Baker, accompanied by his wife and family of eight children, immigrated to this country, settling in Lorain county, where he has since been engaged in farming and stock raising. In 1856 he commenced breeding Shorthorns, and in 1871 he purchased the " Cliff Grange Farm" of 200 acres, near Elyria. The subject of this sketch was married, in England, to Sarah, sixth daughter of Jeremiah and Martha Gaudern, of Cottesbrook, Northamptonshire, England. Mr. Gaudern was a large grazier and feeder of cattle; his wife, Martha, the mother of Mrs. Baker, was a Miss Eaton, of same county; her ancestors had been prominent agriculturists for many generations. Several of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Baker died in their infancy, and two sons and one daughter--George Edward, Sarah Ann and Alfred M.—passed away in maturer years. Alfred M. died at Fort Collins, Colo., May 18, 1893. In 1874 he went out to Colorado, purchased 160 acres of land, improved it, and made himself a pleasant and substantial home, including a good brick house and all necessary outbuildings. In 1881 he married Ada, daughter of John Richardson, of Norwalk, Huron Co., Ohio. He added to his farm, and at the time of his death owned 400 acres of land, well stocked, together with other property. He left a loving wife and a daughter; Edna. In 1890 he had " La Grippe," which never quite left him, and at the above date died of quick consumption. Gordon W., the eldest son of Richard Baker, is in business in Elyria. He married Charlotte Alice, the fourth daughter of William Linnell, a farmer, of Sulby, Northamptonshire, England ; has two daughters: Alice Maud Mary and Annie Louise. Fred Richard is at Fort Collins, Colo., where he has a large farm, which he rents to a good farmer, and lives in the city. He is a director of the First National Bank, and was county commissioner one term. He was a member (from Lorain county) of the " Union Light Guards," composed of young men, one from each county in Ohio, sent to Washington by Gov. Tod, of Ohio, as an escort to President Lincoln during the war of the Rebellion. In 1876 he was married to Elnora, daughter of Mr. James Jackson, of Amherst, Lorain Co., Ohio, and their only son, Edward Richard, is the only grandson to bear the name of this branch of the Baker family. The youngest living daughter, Lizzie C., is at home, having the whole care of the household, her mother having been an invalid for several years past. Mr. Baker has held several offices. In 1858 he was elected a, director of Lorain County Agricultural Society, and was its president at different times up to 1883. In 1860 he started a county " Farmers Club," which was in useful existence for many years. He wrote up, the History of the County Agricultural Society, published by Williams in 1879. In 1888 he was appointed County Centennial Commissioner, and also elected president of the County Centennial Association. In 1879 he was elected a member of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture; re-elected in 1881; elected president of the Board in 1882; participated in establishing the " new work " of the Board; the system of gathering crop reports; analyzation of fertilizers; strongly advocated the Ohio farmers " County Institutes"; opposed premiums on wines at the State Fair. He was a delegate to the convention of agricultural and college boards, at Washington, called by Commissioner Loring in 1882; read a paper at that meeting on " Best Breeds of Cattle for Farmers of the Western States," which elicited lengthy discussion; was appointed one of a committee of five, at that convention, to urge upon Congress the necessity and importance of the ‘‘ Hatch Bill." He assisted in organizing the Lo-. rain County Farmers Institute, and was its first president; has prepared many papers and read them at the Institute meetings; is secretary of this organization at the present time (1894). In 1862 he was ap- 568 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. pointed by the first commissioner of Agriculture (Newton) as principal correspondent and reporter of condition of crops and farm stock for Lorain county, Ohio, and has held that office up to the present time, under Secretaries Coleman and Rusk and the present secretary, Morton. He has a complete set of the Annual Reports of the Department of Agriculture. The following is taken from the Ohio Farmer: "Mr; Baker became acquainted with Thomas Brown of the Farmer in 1853, and has been a subscriber, reader and occasional contributor ever since. He has always been a firm friend to this journal, and has done some noble work for it. His first communication to it was on the importance of ‘Farmers Clubs.' He is a thorough American in thought and principle, has done his duty wherever it has been made known, honestly, conscientiously and fearlessly. Mr. Baker was one of the men who earnestly advocated the Board of Agriculture owning its own grounds for State Fair purposes, and for some time stood alone in this position; but he has lived to see his plan carried into successful completion. All honor to the pioneers of progressive Agriculture in Ohio." He has been a true friend to the farmers not only of Lorain county, but of the entire State, never grudging his time, and he has been the leading spirit of the Agricultural Society. In politics the subject of this sketch has been a thorough Republican, from the organization of that party, and most heartily endorses the McKinley protective Bill. His father was the fourth son of George Baker, a large farmer of Harpole, Northamptonshire. His mother was third daughter of Thomas Marriot, Floore, same county. George Baker was the second son of John Baker, who was a son of William Baker, all large farmers. A nephew of George Baker was a noted writer of his day. He published the "History of Northamptonshire." [George Washington's ancestors were from the county.] He possessed the most complete library in the county. The Baker and Marriot families are Saxon on both sides all along the line. They have been "Free, holders," and always eligible to vote for member of the House of Commons. D. S. CUMMINGS (deceased) was a son of Archibald Cummings, who was born in Billingscake, County Down, Ireland, in March, 1781. Archibald Cummings came to Almeria in 1791, and remained in New York State until 1834, in which year he came to Sill li van (then in Lorain, now in Ashlar. county), Ohio. In 1813 he married Eliza- beth Anderson, and ten children were bon to them, as follows: (1) Sarah Ann, married Rev. Joel Talcott, who died in 1871 Sarah Ann died in 1891. (2) John P. deceased in 1868. (3) D. S., subject( sketch, died April 3, 1881. (4) Thom S., deceased October 19, 1893, in Overton county, Tenn. (5) Elizabeth, married t Dr. William Stilson, who died in Clyde Ohio; Elizabeth is now living in Kansas (6) Margaret, deceased in 1856. (7) Hai riet, deceased in .1873. (8) James And son, who lives in Milan, Ohio, and h three children. (9) Archibald, who died in St. Louis, Mo., in 1856. (10) Andrei married, and residing in Missouri. D. S. Cummings was reared to agricultural pursuits, and educated at the subscription schools of the period. He n mained with his parents until he in twenty-four years of age, at which time! came to Rochester township, Lorain count, where he hired out to C. W. Conaut. After his marriage in 1844 Mr. Cummings rent land for two years, at the expiration which time, by assiduous industry an judicious thrift, he was enabled to put chase one hundred acres of land in Roch- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 569 ester township at eight dollars per acre, paying cash for one-fourth of the amount, and giving notes for the balance. This was all uncleared land, with the exception of about fifteen acres, which could be called tillable. In about six years from that time seven acres were added, making a total of 107 acres, which is now the homestead of his widow, all being accumulated by their joint efforts. On April 13, 1844, Mr. Cummings was married, in Sullivan (then Lorain, now Ashland county), to Miss Elizabeth Close, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Gale) Close, who were the parents of sixteen children, as follows: Miranda, Alonson, Deborah Ann, one that died in infancy, Alvira, Nathaniel, Rebecca, Amy, Elizabeth, Samuel, Lockwood, Sarah, Diana, Annis, Lucy and Reuben. BENJAMIN CLOSE was born in Greenwich, Conn., a son of Benjamin Close, Sr., who was of Scotch descent, and was wounded in the Revolutionary war. These two, father and son, when the latter was about ten years old, moved to Genoa, N. Y. When grown to manhood, Benjamin, Jr., with his wife and two children, and accompanied by his elder brother. Henry, started for Ohio in June, 1817. He left his family in Painesville, and along with Henry came on to Sullivan township, then in Medina county, afterward in Lorain, now in Ashland. Of an old acquaintance living in Harrisville, thirteen miles from Sullivan, Mr. Close borrowed some corn and potatoes, and he had not a dollar to pay on his land, even his last tavern bill having to be settled in cloth Mrs. Close had made before leaving Genoa. They built the first house of logs in Sullivan township, and cut their road through the dense forest, as they moved onward with their ox-team from Harrisville to Sullivan. As soon as Mr. Close could clear a piece of land, he planted some apple seeds, thus starting an orchard, and until fruit was gathered from it the family, from the time they came into the township, eat only two apples. For tea, medicine, etc., he had to go on foot to Elyria, twenty-five miles north, there being no road for oxen, and at that time he had no horse. On one occasion he lost his way, corning homeward, it being so cloudy he could not see the sun, and his compass he had left behind. After wandering about some time, he struck a small stream which proved to be a tributary of Black river, in what is now Rochester township, then uninhabited save by roving Indians and wild animals. On the bank of this stream he spied a wolf watching him, and then our adventurer wished he had brought his gun; but his faithful dog, that had accompanied him, " tackled " brute, and after a desperate struggle got him by the throat, which so weakened the wolf that Mr. Close was able to give him a blow on the back with a hickory club he had cut for the purpose, and the dog then easily finished him. Mr. Close reached home at last, but not before darkness had set in. Mr. Close succeeded eventually in paying for 200 acres of land. The home was a regular manufacturing establishment; for there was tailoring, dressmaking, millinery work and shoemaking going on nearly all the time. Wool was spun and woven, and the cloth colored, all at home; yet with all this work the family found time to close their labor on Saturday night, ready for rest on the Sabbath—sweet rest, indeed! The family library consisted of Bible, Catechism, " History of Henry Obookiah," " Life of God in the Soul of Man " (the latter volume published in England in 1620) and the " Missionary Herald," published in the interest of the missions in the Sandwich Islands. This pioneer home was always open to ministers and school teachers, of whom those in the neighborhood had much to do with the education of the large family growing to manhood and womanhood. Mr. Close was protected through many dangers by a kind Providence; at last, on August 10, 1852, when at the age of sixty-four years, he was driv - ing a span of young horses that took fright 570 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. and ran away, throwing him from the wagon and killing him, when but a short distance from his home. his widow died in 1868. D. S. Cummings died April 3, 1881, leaving a widow but no children, as the three born to them died young, namely: Francis E., died when five year and eight months old; one died in infancy, unnamed; and Wallace A. died at the age of five years. Mr. Cummings in his political sympathies was a Whig, afterward a Republican, and he was repeatedly called upon to fill offices of trust in his township, which he did with characteristic fidelity and acknowledged ability. In Church work he was very energetic and helpful, was a deacon in the Congregational Church many years, and took particular interest in educational work. His highly respected widow is regarded in the community as a woman of high morality, and is admired for her many virtues. At the present time she is living on the old homestead with an adopted son. In 1848 there was a long and tedious lawsuit commenced by some Connecticut people against the farmers in the section where Mr. Cummings had settled. It appears that this tract of land was many years ago ceded to Ohio by some Connecticut people who afterward claimed to have never signed away their right and title to it. The suit was finally decided in favor of the farmers (of whom Mr. Cummings was one), but the cost of contesting it was about equivalent to paying for the land twice over, and fell the more heavily on the occupants, as the soil, being new, was yielding but a very small revenue. In the fall of 1843 the women of Rochester formed a Temperance Society, as they found liquor was being sold in the town, doing an inestimable amount of harm. The leaders among the women were Mrs. H. M. Tracy (afterward Mrs. Cutler), now living in California, and Mrs. Mary. Bell, now living in Kansas. They appointed the following named as a commit tee to talk to the party selling the liquor: Mrs. Orpha Conant, Mrs. Humiston and Mrs. Lucretia Stevens. The liquor dealer!' promised to stop the sale, but nevertheless continued the traffic, though more can• tiously, and the women then took the case before the county court, where the man was fined ten dollars and costs. In 1844 Mrs. Tracy edited a paper called The Pal. ladium, the temperance meetings being continued, and this lady also delivered some good temperance lectures. Some of the best citizens came with their wives to hear her, and soon afterward she was in. vited to deliver the lectures in public.. Thus meetings continued for two or three, years. Mrs. Tracy left the town, how ever, for more extended work, and Miss. Anvilla Humiston then edited The Pali ladium, and Mrs. Eliza Conant became president. Later Miss Humiston also left town for another field of usefulness, after which Mrs. E. C. Cummings edited The Palladium. The meetings still continued till public sentiment was sufficiently aroused to induce those best men to courage the women in the good work. liquor element succumbed, and as a na- tural result the morals and status of the; community greatly improved. As far as known, this was the first Woman's Temperance Society formed in the State of Ohio. JOHN I. MASTEN (deceased), wilt: in his lifetime was one of the most industrious and deservedly successful agriculturists of Rochester township was a native of. New York State, boa March 8, 1812, in Dutchess county, a sot of James Masten. Our subject received a liberal education, for his early time, at the subscription schools of the vicinity of his native place, He was reared to farm work, and being f natural mechanic was capable of following the trades of turner and shoemaker. Out LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 571 October 7, 1835, he was united in marriage with Miss Rosalia Loomis, who was born August 17, 1813, in the town of Steuben, Oneida Co., N. Y., daughter of Martin and Laura (Blanchard) Loomis. In the following spring the young couple came to Ohio, via canal and lake to Cleveland, thence by wagon to Rochester township, Lorain county. Mr. Masten, the previous winter, had visited this locality, and purchased a piece of timber-covered land in Rochester township, where wild animals—such as deer, turkeys, hogs, etc.—were almost as " plentiful as blackberries." This farm, comprising fifty acres of primeval forest, he paid four dollars and fifty cents per acre for, and the first dwelling of these honored pioneers was of a most primitive description—the floor being made of puncheon and the roof of beech bark, while a quilt nailed over the entrance served the place of a door. Here during his long residence he followed general farming, including the rearing of and extensive dealing in live stock, of which he was an excellent judge. It should here be mentioned that to the original tract of woodland he from time to time added until at his death he was the owner of 236 acres of prime farming land. For seven and one-half years he lived in the village of Rochester, at the end of which time he returned to his farm and, later, moved a short distance to where his long and busy life came to a close March 16, 1893. His remains repose in the cemetery at Rochester. In his political affiliations Mr. Masten was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party, when he enlisted under the new banner, and up to the close of his life was loyal to the cause. He was an exemplary member, as is his aged widow, of the Free-will Baptist Church, in which he held office many years. Mrs. Masten is now passing the evening of her honored life at the old homestead, calmly and hopefully awaiting the summons that shall call her hence. The farm is now ably conducted by her son Frank L., whose filial care is a blessing to his loving mother. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. John I. Masten were as follows: Decalia B., whe served in the Civil war, and afterward located in Dayton, Ohio, where he died; Amelia C., who married C. C. Boney and died in Lorain, Ohio; Mortimer C., of Charlotte, Mich.; Celia, now a widow, of Manchester, Ohio; Delia, Mrs. J. H. Bissell, of Rochester, Ohio; Nina, Mrs. A. J. Irish, of Lorain, Ohio; John D., of Charlotte, Mich.; and Frank L., in charge of the home farm. OBEDIAH BOWEN (deceased) was in his lifetime a well-known prosperous citizen of Elyria, where stands, as a monument to his memory, the " Bowen Block," on Cheapside, erected by him not long before his death. Mr. Bowen was born June 26, 1818, in the town of Roxbury, Delaware Co., N.Y., and was reared on a farm till about the age of eighteen years. He then commenced to learn the trade of merchant tailor, in Waynesburg, Ohio, whither he had come when sixteen years old, and where he followed the business about ten years. For ten or twelve years he was express and ticket agent for the Lake Shore Railroad Company, after which he embarked in the manufacture of and dealing in Babbitt metal. During the later years of his life he was retired from active work, living upon the interest of his hard-earned accumulations. He was a typical self-made man, shrewd and calculating. At the time of his marriage he had but seventy-five cents in cash, but he was very successful in all his business transactions, and when he died he left a considerable amount of property. On April 11, 1839, Mr. Bowen married Miss Diantha A. Prentiss, of whom special mention will be presently made. In August, 1857, Mr. and 572 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. Mrs. Bowen came to Elyria, where he passed from earth December 11, 1887. He was a stanch Republican, casting his first vote for W. H. Harrison, and his last vote for Benjamin Harrison. In religion he was a member of the M. E. Church, as has been his widow since 1832. For thirty years he was a member of the I. O. O. F., and was buried by the Order. Mrs. Obediah Bowen was born November 17, 1816, in Lowville, Lewis Co., N. Y., and in June, 1836, moved west with her parents to Lorain county, the family coming at that time as pioneers into a wild and unbroken forest, and making a settlement about one mile from the center of what is now Camden township. She is a daughter of William and Sarah (Bates) Prentiss, the former of whom passed away in 1819, the latter (who was born in Northampton, Mass.) dying at the age of ninety-two years. Mrs. Bowen's grandmother died January 7, 1837, at the patriarchal age of ninety-five years, less nearly four months. S. W. ROWLAND. The family, of which this gentleman is a worthy member, is well known and highly esteemed in both Huron and Lorain counties. He is a son of Aaron Rowland, who was born in a military camp at Danbury, Conn., during the Revolutionary war, a son of Hezekiah Rowland, who served all through that struggle, the exact period of his service being seven years, eleven months and seven days. By trade he was a blacksmith. Aaron Rowland was a miller, and operated flour and saw mills along the Croton river. Seven children, as follows, were born to him in New York State: Ezra, deceased in Clarksfield township, Huron Co., Ohio; Anna, deceased in infancy; Jemima, who married Linues Palmer, and died in Fitchville township, Huron county; William, a farrier by trade, who died in New York City; Samuel W., a retired farmer of Oberlin, Ohio; Tamazon, who first married Samuel Rusted, and is now the widow of Martin Pulver, of Clarksfield township, Huron county; and Betsy Ann, who first married Joseph Stiles, and is now the wife of Thomas Pelton, of Berlinville, Erie Co., Ohio. In the fall of 1818 the family set out on a journey to Ohio with two yoke of oxen and one horse, the trip as far as Cleveland occupying six or seven weeks. When they arrived at that now large and elegant city they found but one house on the " West Side," and that was occupied by the ferryman who rowed travelers across the Cuyahoga river. Corning yet farther west, the family halted at Clarksfield Hollow, in Huron county, where Aaron Rowland secured work in a new mill owned by Capt. Samuel Husted, and he and his family occupied the log cabin home of Capt. Husted, along with his family. In course of time Aaron bought a small farm north of Clarksfield Hollow, and during the summer season, when water in the streams was too low to drive the mill, he would work on this farm. He was also in charge of a mill east of the " Hollow," late owning a share in same, and he followed the business several years. When he came into what is now Clarksfield township, it contained but eight other families, the several heads of which were Samuel Husted, Smith Starr, Benjamin Benson, — Seger, Benjamin Stiles, Asa Wheeler, Simeon Hoyt, and Ezra Wood. Afte coming to Ohio the following children were born to Aaron Rowland: Charles (the third child born in Clarksfield township, Lavina, daughter of Asa Wheeler, and Samuel Stiles having been the firs and second, respectively), and Daniel. After a married life of sixty-six years less a few days the parents were called from earth, the mother dying in 1866, the fathe in 1868, and they now sleep their last sleep in the cemetery at Clarksfield. litically he was first a Whig, afterward, on LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 573 the organization of the party, a Republican. He was a pioneer in the milling industry, in those days the leading one next to farming, and was a man of prominence, well known and universally esteemed. S. W. Rowland, the subject proper of this memoir, was born July 5, 1810, in Putnam county, N. Y., and in early life learned the trade of axe-handle maker, but general farming has been his life work. He was eight years old when the family came to Ohio, and he distinctly remembers the journey. At the primitive subscription schools of the locality where his father had settled, in Huron county, he gleaned a comparatively meager education, which, however, he vastly improved by reading and study in his spare moments. On Christmas Day, 1834, Mr. Rowland was married to Harmony Blair, who was born June 25, 1814, at Becket, Mass., daughter of Luther Blair, who came in the fall of 1832, to Rochester, Lorain Co., Ohio, at that time on the frontier of the "Far West." The young couple began married life in a log cabin in Clarksfield township, Huron county. In 1836 they removed to Rochester township, Lorain county, where he bought land at three dollars per acre, which he improved and cultivated with his own hands till 1868, in which year he removed to Oberlin, same county, where he has since resided, living a retired life. Children as follows have been born to this honored pioneer and his faithful wife: Mary, now Mrs. Alonzo Welcher, of Iowa; William, deceased; Caroline, wife of H. A. Deming, of Kip-ton, Ohio; Edmund, a farmer of Rochester township, who also manages the home farm; Evaline, Mrs. J. A. Flower, of Elyria, Ohio; and Thaddeus, a druggist at Oberlin, Ohio. On Christmas Day, 1884, Mr. and Mrs. Rowland celebrated their golden wedding, members of the family, only, being present, and last Christmas (1893) being the fifty-ninth anniversary of their marriage, their children and grandchildren came home to celebrate the occasion in an appropriate manner, wishing the old couple " many happy returns." Mr. Rowland owns a fine farm of 185 acres in Rochester township, and a pleasant home in Oberlin. Politically he is a Republican, originally a Whig. Mrs. Rowland is a member of the Congregational Church. REV. WILLIAM BENTON CHAMBERLAIN, A. M., professor of elocution and rhetoric, Oberlin College, comes of an old Connecticut family, his paternal grandfather having been a native of that State, but passed a considerable portion of his life in Ohio. Joshua Chamberlain, great-grandfather of our subject, was a captain in the Revolutionary war. The gentleman under our present consideration was born at Gustavus, Trumbull Co., Ohio, September 1, 1847, a son of Rev. E. B. and Mary Ann (Cowles) Chamberlain, the former of whom was a native of western New York, the latter a sister of John P. Cowles, of Ipswich, Mass., and of Prof. Henry Cowles, D. D., of Oberlin College; she died in 1874, aged fifty-seven years. Rev. E. B. Chamberlain graduated from the second class at Oberlin College, 1838, and after being licensed preached in Ohio for the greater part of his ministerial life, and later in western Pennsylvania. in which locality he died in 1882 at the age of seventy-two years. Of their five children William B. is the youngest. He en. tered Oberlin College in 1871, and graduated from the classical course in 1875. Proceeding to Philadelphia, he studied music there from 1876 to 1878. Returning to Oberlin, he entered the Theological Seminary, graduating from there in 1881. From 1878 to 1883 he taught vocal music in Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a portion of the time giving lessons in elocu- 574 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. tion, having been appointed instructor of that art in 1881; in 1884 he was appointed to his present incumbency, of professor of elocution and rhetoric. Mr. Chamberlain is a master of vocal expression, and last year he published a work entitled " Rhetoric of Vocal Expression." He has thoroughly adopted what is recognized as the " Oberlin Ideal " of things, and although be has been offered more remunerative positions elsewhere has invariably refused them, preferring to labor in the interests of Oberlin. Mr. Chamberlain is a Congregationalist, and has filled various pulpits at different times, not as regular pastor, however, as his time is fully occupied with teaching. Prior to making his home in Oberlin he taught common schools in Erie county, Ohio. In 1875 Rev. W. B. Chamberlain and Miss Emma E. Peck were united in marriage, and the following named six children have been born to them: Fred W., John F., Ernest E., Harold, F. P. and Mary E. In his political preferences our subject is a Prohibitionist, but of that practical class that is willing to work for any measure that promises to eliminate or curtail the liquor traffic. HON. E. G. JOHNSON was born in LaGrange, Lorain Co., Ohio, November 24, 1836. His father, Hon. Nathan P. Johnson, removed from Jefferson county, N. Y., to LaGrange in 1833. The township was then sparsely settled with pioneers, mostly from the same State, living in rudely constructed log cabins, and diligently engaged in clearing away the primeval forest that surrounded their hospitable dwellings. Here he labored with ceaseless energy to transform the wild woods into fruitful fields, and with undaunted courage met the many vicissitudes incident to a pioneer's life. His intelligence, high sense of honor, and zeal in all good works won the highest regard of all who knew him, and called him to occupy places of trust and honor in after years. He was three times elected to represent his county and district in the General Assembly, serving two years in the House of Representatives and two the Senate. He died in 1874, and th memory of his noble character will long b cherished. It was surrounded by such influences an under such salutary home instruction tha the son E. G. grew up to manhood before leaving the parental roof. In early boy hood he began to display the diligence an application that have characterized his sub sequent life, and all his leisure moments were spent in willing efforts to aid hi honored parents in bearing the burden founding a home for the family, with means except their strong arms. Th efforts were not relaxed as years added his strength and the desire for stu trenched upon his hours for labor. In tit( pioneer days schools were not what th now are, and boys of sufficient age to p form farm labor were often deprived the poor facilities afforded for instructio Not so with the children of pioneer John son. He not only labored extra hours enable his two sons to attend the win school, but taught them at his own cabin fireside the rudiments of the co mon branches and the sterling virtues tp form the basis of a well-ordered life though hampered by the want of bet opportunities, the young lad early ma fested a desire to acquire more of the hi den treasures found in the books, and granted the privilege of attending the w ter school at Oberlin, a few terms, whi he improved with willing ardor. Thy between hard labor upon the farm and di gent use of leisure hours in study, he quired sufficient knowledge to become teacher before he attained his majority. When of legal age he did not lose love for this employment of his youth, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 577 his affection for his parents whose welfare was ever his earnest desire, but spent some time alternately engaged in farm labor, study and teaching. During this time he commenced the study of law under the tutelage of L. A. Sheldon, Esq., who was his townsman, and who subsequently distinguished himself as a General in the Union Army, Member of Congress from Louisiana, and Governor of New Mexico. In due time he received a certificate of admission to the bar, in Columbus, and opened an office in his native town. At the age of twenty-one years he was elected justice of the peace, and held that office with entire approbation of the people for ten consecutive years. Devoting all his leisure time to mental rather than pecuniary gain, he had but little opportunity in the quiet township of LaGrange to lay by a store for the increasing wants of his family, and in 1868, on the petition of nearly all the voters in the township, regardless of party affiliation, he consented to stand for the office of county auditor. He was nominated at the convention that soon followed, receiving twenty-eight majority on the first ballot, against a strong opponent. He was elected with great unanimity for four successive terms, but in 1876 he resigned, and has since devoted his energies to his professional duties with ever-increasing success and popularity. During his successive terms as auditor he was brought into official relations with nearly every adult person in the county, and by his courtesy, ability, unquestioned character and integrity, he gained the confidence of the people, which confidence, so well merited, he has ever since retained. Mr. Johnson has found time during the busy years of his professional life to ably serve other interests besides that of the law. Wedded in youth to the pursuit of agriculture, he has never lost his desire for the welfare of those who cultivate the soil. He has been an active member of the Lo- rain County Agricultural Society for more than thirty years, and for thirteen years was its popular and efficient secretary. For twelve years he also served as chairman of the Republican Executive Com' mittee, during which period he displayed great energy in promoting the Republican cause. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1884, and was the Republican candidate for Congress from the Fourteenth District of Ohio in 1892, but was defeated. His patriotic ardor was early enlisted in the Union cause. He was among the first citizens of LaGrange who answered the call of President Lincoln in 1861, and enlisted in Company A, afterward Company I, Eighth O. V. I., for three months. He went out as first lieutenant, but was promoted to the rank of captain. He re-enlisted with the major part of his company for three years, while in Camp Dennison, but was rejected by the surgeon who declared him to be physically unable to perform military duty. He received an honorable discharge from the service, and it was several years after his return before he fully recovered his health. Mr. Johnson's career at the bar has been one of unsullied honor and rapid advancement. He at once took a position at the head of the bar in Lorain county, and now ranks among the foremost in the list of able attorneys in Northern Ohio. He has been engaged in many important capital criminal cases, notably his defense of John Coughlin at Ravenna, who, with the notorious " Blinkey " Morgan (who was convicted and executed), was charged with the murder of detective Hulligan. Samuel Eddy, at that time one of the ablest lawyers of Ohio, was associated with Mr. Johnson. Coughlin, though at first convicted, secured a new trial, and was finally acquitted. In more than a dozen other capital cases Mr. Johnson has won a wide reputation as a successful criminal lawyer. He is a man of strong convictions, forming his opinions only after thorough in- 578 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. vestigation, and is fearless in expressing them when once formed. In combating the illogical theories and " isms " of those who defy reason and the law, of nature in their attempt to correct political and social evils, he has incurred the displeasure of a few self-constituted modern reformers, as all men do who have the courage of their convictions. He has long been an active leader in social and political reforms, and now stands in the front ranks of the great army of true progress. His whole life has been characterized by an open-hearted honesty in dealing with his fellow men, and a supreme hatred of hypocrisy and double dealing. Mr. Johnson has always retained his love for his early home life and the friends and acquaintances of his boyhood. In 1886, in company with Hon. E. H. Hinman, he made a trip to Europe, visiting many of the places of interest both in Great Britain and upon the continent. Among others he visited the famous Leaning Tower at Pisa, from which point he wrote Hon. George G.Washburn, late editor of the Elyria Republican, a letter in which he recalls the memory of his boyhood home, as follows: After breakfast we took our guide book and started for the leaning tower. It was hut a short walk, and yet it seemed a mile, so greatly had our expectations been excited. It seemed impossible that we were to set our eyes upon that famous column. I remember of hearing my mother describe it, as we sat around the fire of a long winter evening in the old log house, which, with her, long ago crumbled into dust. Oh how times and circumstances do change. Then as she told me the story, I thought life would be a failure unless my eyes should behold it, and I resolved that some day I would go and see it and come back and tell her of my journey. Here I am at the tower, but where is she? and where is that happy circle then complete, and those happy days which then seemed eternal? Memory holds them—all else is gone. In 1887 Mr. Johnson made a trip through the West, visiting among other places the National Park, which he reached by stage from Beaver Canon on the Utah Central Railroad. It is just one hundred miles from that point to the Park, through a wilderness. From his stopping place on Snake river he wrote to Mr. Washburn a letter from which is made the following extract: I am stopping to-night on the banks of Snake river, and now sitting by a stove in a log house which, if it had a big fireplace across one end, would be almost a copy of the one where fifty yea ago I first saw the sunlight, and where, thong brief were the years passed beneath its roof, that . sun-light began to fade. Out of the door I can set the same waving forests, only that was of heed and maple and whitewood and oak, while this is of spruce and pine. This house is but just erected and will long years defy the ravages of rain an frost, while that house is only one of memory treasures. The voices of the good people w have opened the doors to give us welcome gr my ears, while along the tender chords of memory come the sweet voices that when the days were young made that old house the home of mirth and happiness. As I sit here alone, fancy brings that old log structure back out of the dust, peoples with the same happy throng that gathered at the family altar and at the same table; but it is only a moment, for faithful memory will not let me forget that half of those who gathered there lie in graves which "Are severed far and wide, by mount and stream and for Mr. Johnson's unselfish generosity a kindness of heart are proverbial where he is known, and none appeal to him f aid in a worthy cause without receivingh mite, according to his means, regardless color, sect or nationality. He has always been a liberal contributor to the support the M. E. Church: and on one occasion not long ago its worthy pastor, by his vitation, accompanied him on a vacati trip to the Rocky Mountain region, at expense. Many instances might be cited of like acts of kindness, showing his characteristic regard for the happiness of oth with whom he only sustains the relat of neighbor and friend. His great dustry, unquestioned integrity and uni peachable moral character have won regard of his host of friends, who s high in social and religious circles. On January 1, 1859, Mr. Johnson married to Lydia D. Gott, also a nativ LaGrange, Ohio. Mrs. Johnson is a wo highly respected and esteemed where she is known for her many womanly tiles. Mr. Johnson is yet in the prim his usefulness, and few men have more LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 579 voted friends to wish him success in all his undertakings. [This sketch for the most part is from the able pen of Hon. George G. Washburn, late editor of the Elyria Republican.—ED. DAVID D. JOHNSON (deceased), who in his lifetime was one of the prominent and well-known citizens of Elyria township, was a native of England, born December 2, 1829. When an infant of nine months his parents set sail for the New World, but on the voyage the father died, and found a grave in the broad Atlantic, there to he until the sea shall give up its dead." The widowed mother continued on with her little family to Lorain county, Ohio, making a settlement in Avon township, where our subject was reared and educated. He followed farming pursuits all his life, and was prosperous. On January 11, 1887, he passed from earth in his fifty-eighth year. On November 15, 1860, Mr. Johnson married Mary E. Fowls, who was born, reared and educated in Amherst township, Lorain Co., Ohio. After marriage they resided in Elyria township, same county, several years, and then came to Elyria, where they owned a good farm of seventy-five acres, highly cultivated land. Mr. Johnson spent seven years in the West. He was an ardent Republican. Upright in character and of sound integrity, he was honored and respected by all. He had one son, M. B. Johnson, who was educated in Elyria and at Oberlin College, Ohio, from which latter he returned to Elyria, at the high school of which city he graduated. He then read law under Metcalf & Webber, and in 1884 was admitted to the bar, after which he located in Cleveland, where he has since enjoyed a lucrative practice. He married Miss Mary E. Laundon, of Elyria, Ohio, and two children—David Laundon and Arthur Earnest—have been born to them. After leaving Oberlin Female Seminary, where she had finished her education, Mrs. Mary E. Johnson taught school in Lorain county (Black River township), afterward in Angola, Steuben Co., Ind., and in Men-don, St. Joseph Co., Mich., both in private and public schools. She is a daughter of Godfrey and Sarah (Gardiner) Fowls, who were natives of Germany, where they were married. In 1828 they came to the United states and to Ohio, locating in what is now the very center of the city of Cleveland, and afterward corning to Amherst township, Lorain county, where they passed the remainder of their busy lives on their farm, the father dying at the age of eighty-eight years, the mother at the age of sixty-nine. They were the parents of ten children, all of whom grew to maturity. JOHN H. JOHNSON (deceased), a typical self-made man, one who has left behind a record worthy of emulation, was born August 11, 1815, in Canal township, Venango Co., Penn., a son of James Johnson, a native of Ireland, born May 6, 1785. When yet a lad James Johnson came to the United States, presumably to seek his fortune in the New World. After landing he made his way westward to Venango county, Penn., where in Canal township he settled down to agricultural pursuits on a farm of 200 acres, on which in later years, long after his death, oil was discovered. He died in Pennsylvania, a Democrat in politics, and in Church relationship an Old-school Presbyterian. On September 22, 1814, he married, in Venango county, Mrs. Elizabeth Cousins (a widow), née Sutley, born April 5, 1791, in that county, who bore him children as follows: John H.; 580 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. Sarah A., born March 24, 1821, who married John Singleton; Robert H., born December 18, 1823, died in Fulton county, Ohio; Harrison R., born May 18, 1825, died in Nashville, Tenn., where he was principal of schools (he was a graduate of Ashtabula College, Ashtabula, Ohio); and Hugh, born June 23, 1828, a blacksmith by trade, who died of smallpox while on a visit at his mother's house. The mother of these, after the death of the father, married Sylvester Knowlton, and in course of time moved to Huron county, where she passed from earth; she was interred in Ripley Methodist cemetery. John H. Johnson received such education as the early schools of his boyhood days afforded. He was reared on a farm up to the age of eighteen years, and then learned the trade of blacksmith. After completing his apprenticeship he went to Buffalo, N. Y., working there as a journeyman until 1841, and then locating in Warren, Penn., where in partnership with a half brother, William Cousins, he successfully followed his trade. Here he married Miss Elizabeth P. Snyder, born June 1, 1823, in Penn Yan, Yates Co., N. Y., a daughter of John and Eliza (Pierce) Snyder, natives of Columbia and Onondaga counties, N. Y.. respectively, and who after marriage settled in Elk township, Warren Co., Penn. In June, 1845, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson came to Ohio, to Richland county, leaving their only child, Theodosia, then two years old, in care of its grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John Snyder (a son, Alston, had died at the age of three months). Their trip to Ohio was made in order to " spy out the land," and being satisfied with it they returned to Pennsylvania for their household effects and his blacksmithing tools. The journeys were made entirely by wagon, the trips occupying six days each way. In Bloominggrove township, Richland county, Mr. Johnson bought three town lots, on which he built a shop and residence. Here for a time business with him was very poor, and to add to other causes the memorable frost of June 1, that year, damaged the wheat crop to such an extent that the price of it ran up to three dollars per bushel. Later, however, business improved, and money became more plentiful. For six years then resided at Rome, Ashtabula county, and from Rome moved to Ripley township Huron county, where Mr. Johnson purl, chased a fifty-acre farm, erecting thereon . a "smithy," in connection with his dwell.. ing, and, hiring a hand to work his farm, personally conducted his shop, at which time he was kept quite busy; at that time horse shoes were split from wagon tires, and nails were made from lighter material, all of which combined to make work for the blacksmith much more onerous than at the present day. He at all times, how. ever, had one or more apprentices working for him, which materially lessened hisl bor. Selling out his business in Riple he moved with his family to Greenwi township, having purchased seventy-four acres of land, and moving his shop to thi farm here continued his trade until the spring of 1860, when he came to Bright township and located on the farm now occupied by his son A. C. On this he erected another shop, and continued work ing at his trade till within ten days of death, which occurred February 25, 186 after a ten-days' illness from typhoid, pneumonia; his remains were interred in Brighton cemetery. He was a stars Democrat, but during the later years of life did not vote, averring that he was the opinion his party had changed th principles; in matters of religion he was strict Presbyterian. Since his death, his widow has continued to live at the o homestead in Brighton township, a highly respected lady, and a devout member the Congregational Church. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. John H. Johnson were as follows—born Rome, Richland county: Madora, n the wife of A. S. Gilson, a photographer. Norwalk, Ohio; Orestes, of Norwalk, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 581 the employ of the A. B. Chase Co.; and Adelbert C., sketch of whom follows. Born in Ripley township: Frank D., and Emma O., wife of Charles A. Finley, of Kipton, Ohio. Born in Greenwich township: Aravilla, widow of George Harris, and Albert, fireman on the Lake Erie & Wheeling Railway, at Norwalk, Ohio. Born in Brighton township: Ada, who died at the age of seven years; Charley S., in the saw-milling business at Rochester, Lorain county; and Eva, deceased at the age of three months. The eldest daughter, Theodosia, married William Callin, and lives in Brighton township. ADELBERT C. JOHNSON, a member of the firm of Laundon, Windecker & Co., manufacturers of cheese, is a native of Rome, Ohio, born March 27, 1850, the fifth child and third son of John H. and Elizabeth P. (Snyder) Johnson. When his parents removed to Greenwich township, Huron county, our subject was but an infant, and he was there reared on the home farm. With the exception of one year during which he was fireman on the Atlantic & Great Western Railway, he was never absent from the parental home till his marriage, after which he moved to Wood county, Ohio, and commenced farming on a piece of land belonging to his father-in-law. There he resided four years, and then returned to Brighton township, and for four years carried on agriculture; then went to Clarksfield, Huron county, and worked in a cheese factory for John Emmons, where his first idea of the cheese business was obtained. After about a year he came to Brighton and embarked in the manufacturing of cheese, at which he has ever since been engaged as a member of the firm of Laundon, Windecker & Co., and he is superintendent and manager of the "Goss Factory." On May 30, 1874, Mr. Johnson was married to Julia A. Emmons, who was born in Brighton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, a daughter of John and Julia Emmons, and two children, Pearlie and Lillie, have been born to them. Our subject is an ardent Republican, has held township offices in Brighton ever since his return from Wood county, Ohio, and has served three terms as trustee; he is now superintendent of the Lorain County Infirmary, which position he has occupied since November 1, 1893. He has an extensive acquaintance and considerable political influence. Socially he is a member of the F. & A. M., at Wellington, Lorain county. GORGE E. NICHOLS, dealer in real estate and insurance, is a native of New Hampshire, born in Londonderry, October 7, 1819. His father, Reuben Nichols, was born in Londonderry, N. H., in 1787, and in 1811 was married to Miss Asenath Senter of the same town. He was the son of Jacob and Sally George Nichols, natives of Massachusetts, who removed to Londonderry, N. H., where they died. They had twelve children—seven sons and five daughters—of whom Reuben was the youngest, and they all lived to be from eighty-four to ninety-six years of age except one who died young from the effects of an injury. In October, 1827, Reuben Nichols, father of George E. Nichols, left New Hampshire with his family, and started for the wilds of the West, to seek a home. On reaching Pike Hollow, Allegany Co., N. Y., the family made a halt while the father proceeded to Lorain county, Ohio, on horseback, where he secured a farm six miles south of Elyria. He then returned to his family, and they set out for their new home, reaching Elyria March 28, 1828. They first located at Butternut Ridge, then almost a dense wilderness, remaining there nearly two years, and then removed to Elyria, where in 1830 Reuben Nichols purchased the " Old Eagle Hotel." 582 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. In 1832 he commenced building the new hotel called the " Mansion House," and this he kept until 1839, when he sold it. At that time it was one of the finest hotels west of Buffalo, N. Y. While keeping this hotel, he hitched four horses to a lumber wagon, and conveyed John J. Shipherd and others to the present site of Oberlin, their first trip to that locality, to found a school. After selling out the " Mansion House " he moved his family to Oberlin in order to have his children educated. In 1842 he returned to Elyria, where he passed the remainder of his days, making business changes in property from time to time. He died in 1871, having lived eighty-four years, an honest, upright and just man; a lifelong Democrat in politics. His wife died in November, 1870. George E. Nichols, the subject proper of this sketch, after receiving a good education settled in the mercantile business in Elyria, where he remained for a number of years. In 1852, under Franklin Pierce's administration, he was appointed postmaster at Elyria, and after serving four years resigned March 5, 1856, for political reasons. During this period (1854) he was appointed one of a committee to proceed to Nebraska to try and have it become a Democratic State. He had a land office at Washington, D. C., and a large amount of land under his control; and though he made many trips to Nebraska, he did his chief land office work at Washington. This he continued in several years, having influential friends and finding good opportunities which he improved. he was interested in bringing the first printing press to Omaha, and assisted in the establishment of a paper there. Of recent years Mr. Nichols has given his attention mainly to the real-estate business, with his home and office in Elyria, Lorain county, and has met with marked success. In November, 1843, he was married to Miss Angeline D. Elliott, daughter of Rev. Joseph Elliott, Baptist clergyman, and two children have been born to them: Ella Gertrude, wife of William Mills., paugh, of Middletown, N. Y., and Lelia May, wife of Seymour Cromwell Prentiss, of Detroit, Mich. They have four grandchildren—George Marcus Millspaugh and William L. Millspaugh, of Middletown, and Marion Louise Prentiss and Edith Rouse Prentiss, of Detroit, Mich.—and two great-grandchildren. On November 22, 1893, Mr. and Mrs. George E. Nichols celebrated their Golden Wedding at the home of their daughter, Ella Millspaugh, in Middletown, Orange Co., N. Y., referring to which interesting event a Middletown (N. Y.) paper of same date contains the following: Fifty years ago to-day, Mr. and Mrs. George El Nichols, of Elyria, Ohio, were united in marriage. They are spending the winter at the residence of their daughter, Mrs. William Millspaugh, on Or: chard street in this city. Mr. and Mrs. Millspaugh do not propose to let so important an event pass'', without proper recognition, and accordingly have. invited a number of intimate friends of the family and the acquaintances Mr. and Mrs. Nichols have made during their visits to this city, to join with them in celebrating, in a quiet way, the golden anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Nichols' marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Nichols have been singularly blessed during their half-century of married life. They have been permitted to enjoy a reasonable measure of worldly prosperity, and have reached the allotted age of man in good physical and mental health. Two children have blessed their union —Mrs. Millspaugh, of this city, and Mrs. Prentiss,, of Detroit; they have four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and there has never been a death in their family, nor in those of their children. There are few who are permitted to look back over fifty years of married life, and fewer still who can survey the past with greater reason of thankfulness, The friends of Mr. and Mrs. Nichols in this city and elsewhere will wish them many happy returns of their wedding anniversary. RUSSEL B. WEBSTER. A biographical record of Lorain county — would indeed be incomplete were mention not made of this gentleman, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Wellington township, and who bore an honorable and influential part in the early history of the county. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 583 Russel B. Webster was born in Otis, Mass., April 25, 1799. He came to Ohio in 1820 in search of a home, carrying seventy pounds of baggage upon his back. He located a farm in Wellington, and returned to Otis, Mass., where he married Orpha Hunter, and, returning to his forest home with his bride, brought all their possessions in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. To Russel and Orpha Webster were born the following named children: Samuel H., now a retired merchant in Shelbyville, Ill.; Bidwell, a civil engineer, who died in Wellington, Ohio, September 7, 1856; Leander, who commanded a company in the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry during the Civil war, and who now resides in Castalia, Iowa; David Philander, who died in infancy; Philander R., who commanded a company in an Illinois regiment during its term of service, and who died in Shelbyville, Ill., April 14, 1884; William W., who emigrated to Colorado in 1859, and was for four years president of the Upper House of Colorado Territory, and now resides in Pasadena, Cal.; Loret, who died at the age of about three years as the result of a fall; Edward F., who, after four years of service during the Civil war, returned to Wellington, where he has since been actively engaged in business, and Leveret F., who died January 29, 1861, as the result of an accident. Mr. Webster was a perfect type of the good old Massachusetts Puritan stock. He was a man of remarkable physical powers and endurance, and was endowed with intellectual powers and a mental vigor no less remarkable. Rejoined the Congregational Church during his early residence in Wellington, and during a long and useful life was an earnest, active Christian worker. He was thoroughly devoted to all that was good, and sternly opposed to all that he considered wrong. He went beyond the requirements of the " golden rule " and throughout his life was constantly doing for others far more than he would have asked others to do for him under similar circumstances. In the early pioneer days, when the struggle for existence was so hard, and the opportunities for " lending a helping hand " were so numerous, he often taxed his physical powers to their utmost in assisting neighbors and friends, and never hesitated to contribute his last dollar in case of urgent need. He was active and indefatigable in every good work, and contributed his full share toward laying broad and deep the foundations of religious order, good morals and good society that have given to Lorain county its honorable history. In the early days, Mr. Webster commanded a militia company, and thereafter was known as " Capt. Webster." In politics he was an ardent Whig, while that party existed, and was considered one of the " wheel horses " of the party in the county. He joined the Republican party upon its organization, and remained steadfast in his loyalty to it during the remainder of his life. He died in Wellington January 31, 1881, honored by all who knew him. His wife, Orpha Webster, survived him about one year. To the life, work and example of the class of pioneers to which Russel and Orpha Webster belonged, Lorain county owes an inextinguishable debt of gratitude. CONRAD HAGEMANN, one of the most prominent and enterprising agriculturists of Black River township, was born in Hessia, Germany, October 10, 1831, a son of John and Martha (Heussner) Hagemann. The family emigrated to the United States and to Ohio, settling, in 1847, in Amherst township, Lorain county, where they followed farming. The father was born about the year 1800, and died in North Amherst in 1877; the mother passed away in 1869 when aged about seventy-two years. They were sturdy, hard-working people, who strove well to bring up their family to usefulness and good citizenship; 584 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. they were both members of the German Reformed Church. They had a family of eight children, as follows: John, a cabinet maker by trade, died in North Amherst, Ohio; Adam is a farmer in Black River township, Lorain Co., Ohio; Henry is a cabinet maker in Lorain, Ohio (he was a soldier in the Mexican war); George died in Louisville, Ky.; Conrad is the subject of this sketch; Antone now lives in Independence, Iowa; Catherine is the wife of Valentine Klotzbach; Matthew was a soldier when twenty-three years old, in the Civil war, and died in hospital in 1862. Two of the above-named children—Henry and Adam—had preceded the rest of the family to America in 1845. The subject of this sketch attended school two winters after coming to Lorain county, and spent the earlier years of his life working on the farm and driving team. Before reaching his majority he went to Iowa for the purpose of buying land, but remained there only one year, when he was obliged to return home to take care of his parents, who were becoming advanced in years. and needed his assistance. With true filial piety he stayed by them till their death. Mr. Hagemann purchased his present farm of 118 acres of prime land in Black River township the year after his marriage, and has lived on it ever since. On September 16, 1855, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Catharine Claus, daughter of Henry and Martha (Hildebrand) Claus, and they have had a family of fourteen children, namely: Two died in infancy; Anna is the wife of Michael Gegenheimer, and they now live in Vermillion, Ohio (they have three children: Albert, Franklin and Ralph); Elizabeth is the wife of John Beller, of North Amherst, and they have four children: Anna, William, Edna and Helen; Paulina married Henry Kolbe, and died leaving four children: Frank, August, George and Henry; Edna is the wife of Martin Trinter, and they have five children: Philip, Elmer, Lydia, Edna and William; Philip (unmarried) runs a fishing tug at Lorain; August carries on a brick yard in Lorain; Martha resides at home; Albert attended the business college at Oberlin, and is now a bookkeeper; Robert, who also attended business college, is living at home; Walter is going to school; Herman is at school; Elmer (yet a boy) is under the paternal roof. Mr. Hagemann and all his grown-up sons vote the Republican ticket, his first vote being cast in 1852 for Gen. Scott. The family are associated with the Re. formed Church at Amherst. J. C. HILL, president of the Savings Deposit Bank Company of Elyria, was born in Erie county, Ohio, October 27, 1837, a son of E. P. and Sara Hill, natives of Connecticut. His educe tion was received in his native State, first at the high school in Berlin Heights, Erie county, and afterward in Antioch Collet at Yellow Springs, Greene county, at which latter institution he was under the pi ceptorship of Horace Mann. His father and grandfather were prominent pionee of Berlin Heights, and the former was member of the Ohio State Senate from Erie county, in 1852 and 1853. J. C. Hill after leaving college studies law in Cleveland, and from the law collet in that city took his degree of LL. B. June, 1861, his A. B. having been received at the literary college in 1860. He then practiced law one year in Elyria in company with Judge J. C. Hale, the having come to the then village from Cleveland at the same time. Mr. Hill, the expiration of the year, practiced same length of time alone, and then formed second partnership with Judge Hale, which continued until. 1864, when it was desolved. In that year our subject and W. Braman entered, into a copartnership live-stock dealing, which continued LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 587 three years, and was a success financially. For several years after this he was engaged in the nursery business, doing an extensive trade, both wholesale and retail. On November 1, 1872, Mr. Hill, in company with T. L. Nelson, organized and started a private banking company, with unlimited liability of stockholders, and at the end of the second year there were twelve members in the. company representing a responsibility in the bank of half a million. This secured for the institution the unbounded confidence of the public, and as a result the bank was soon enabled to double its capital from its own earnings, besides paying regular dividends. It was known as «The Savings Deposit Bank of Elyria," and without doubt was one of the most flourishing and safe institutions of the kind in the State. In 1890 it was reorganized and incorporated as a regular stock bank with a paid-up capital of two hundred thousand dollars, and surplus amounting to twelve thousand dollars. In March, 1893, the bank carried loans to the extent of over one million dollars, and had deposit accounts aggregating nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Hill was the first cashier and manager, and, at the death in 1890 of Mr. T. L. Nelson, the president, he succeeded to the presidency, retaining the managership. At the time of the reorganization, fifteen new directors were elected, who meet twice a year, and a finance committee which meets once each week. On January 2, 1861, Mr. Hill was married to Miss Etta M. Wilson, of Elizabeth, N. J., whom he first met as a schoolmate under Horace Mann, and who lacked only one year of graduation at Antioch College. Five children have been born to this union, of whom the following three are still living: Ralph W., head bookkeeper in the bank already referred to; Arthur E., superintendent of the Independence Horse and Cattle Company, North Park, Colo., and Editha L., at present attending school in Philadelphia, Penn. Mr. Hill is a Republican in politics; socially he is a Royal Arch Mason, and a member of the Royal Arcanum. Since 1879 he has been a member of the school board of Elyria, and president of same since 1888. He is the leading stockholder in the Independence Horse and Cattle Company of North Park, Colo., which company owns a large tract of valuable land within twelve miles of the snow line in that State, and about eight hundred high-grade Hereford cattle. Mr. Hill is a man of broad views, keen, quick perceptions, sterling integrity and a spotless reputation—qualities which have secured him the unlimited confidence of the people with whom he has come in contact. In addition to his duties as manager of the largest moneyed institution in the county, he has, as executor, settled several large estates, discharging his duties with characteristic fidelity. An honorable, upright life, guided by rare mental endowments, and a delicately adjusted mental balance, rarely fails to achieve success. Success in this case has not been to the possessor of these gifts alone. His equipment and business sagacity have not only been turned to good account by his associates in business, but the public has been a generous beneficiary of his excellent common sense and sound, mature judgment. Mr. Hill having but slightly passed the noon mark of a useful career, with a lovely home, and pleasant family and social surroundings, may well take pride in the gathered fruits of his well-ordered and correct life.J. W. G. BALLANTINE, D. D., LL. D., president of Oberlin College, was born in the City of Washington, D. C., December 7, 1848, a son of Elisha and Betsey A. (Watkins) Ballantine. The name is Scotch, and the first of the family emigrated to America about the year 1648, locating in Boston, where 588 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. they and their descendants lived for some generations. The first Ballantine graduated from Harvard College in 1694. Rev. Elisha Ballantine, LL. D., father of subject, was born in the State of New York, and received his literary and classical education at the University of Athens, Ohio. For many years he was professor of Greek in the University of Indiana. He died in 1886 at an advanced age. His wife, who was Miss Betsey A. Watkins, was born in Prince Edward county, Va., and died in 1873, the mother of a large family of children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the seventh. Pres. Ballantine received his elementary education mostly at home. He took the Freshman and Sophomore years at Wabash (Indiana) College; in 1866 he entered the junior class at Marietta (Ohio) College, graduating in 1868 A. B. While yet a student and after graduation he followed civil engineering, and in 1869 became a member of the Ohio State Geological Survey. Subsequently he entered Union Seminary, New ork, and there, under the preceptorship of Dr. Henry B. Smith, studied theology, graduating in 1872. In that same year, desiring to drink still deeper of the Pierian Spring, he proceeded to Leipsic, Germany, for the purpose of studying Hebrew under Delitzsch. In 1873, as a member of the American Palestine Exploring Expedition, he traveled throughout the Holy Land for about six months, the territory east of the Jordan being the portion chiefly visited by the expedition. On his return to the United States he was appointed to a professorship in Ripon (Wis.) College, occupying the Chair of Chemistry and Natural Science from 1874 to 1876; was assistant professor of Greek in Indiana University from 1876 to 1878, and was professor of Greek and Hebrew Exegesis in Oberlin (Ohio) Theological Seminary from 1878 to 1880. From 1880 to 1891 he was Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature in the same institution. For some time the Professor was one of the editors of the "Bibliotheca- Sacra." In 1880 he was ordained to ti: Congregational ministry; in 1885 received the honorary degree of D. D. from: Marietta College, and in 1891 the degree of LL. D. from Western Reserve University. On January 28, 1891, he was elected president of Oberlin College. It will thus be seen that Prof. Ballantine's reading study and teaching, have been of a remark ably versatile nature, and his breadth knowledge and executive ability are well known to here require any comment. In 1875 Prof. W. G. Ballantine wasra married in Waupun, Wis., to Miss Ern F. Atwood, and four children have been born to them, namely: Henry W., Arthur A., Edward and Mary F.R REV. JOHN MILLOTT ELLIS, A. M., professor of mental moral philosophy, Stone profe ship, Oberlin College, is a native of New Hampshire, born in Jaffrey, March 27, 1831, a son of Seth B. Lucy (Joslin) Ellis. The father of subject was born in Keene N. H. where he was reared and educated. At the age of fifty he came west to Ohio, locating in Oberlin, where he carried planing mill and lumber yard. He in 1865, at the age of seventy-five years his wife when seventy-seven years old, the mother of ten children, nine of whom with their parents to Oberlin. Tim Ellis, great-grandfather of subject, w colonel in the Revolution, and participated in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga; was ninety years old at the time of death, which occurred in Keene, N. H. The subject of this memoir receive elementary education at the common schools of his boyhood days, after which the age of sixteen, he entered Oberlin College, where he graduated in 1851. He then taught school for a time, was professor in Mississippi College, Clinton, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 589 Miss., three years. In 1857 he was appointed to a Greek professorship in Oberlin College, which he filled for nine years; after this he occupied the Chair of philosophy, rhetoric and composition, etc., and more recently that of mental and moral philosophy. During life he has been active, for many years in ministerial work as pastor of the Second Congregational Church at Oberlin, and supplying churches in Cleveland, and other neighboring towns: In 1862 Prof. Ellis was married to Miss Minerva Emeline Tenney, and four children have been born to them, all sons, viz.: Albert H., Theodore H., John T. and Liman M. Mrs. Ellis is a graduate of the literary course of Oberlin College, class of 1858. Her grandfather, Judge Harris, was a pioneer of Lorain county, and her father, Dr. Liman Tenney, was a native of Vermont. GEORGE FREDERICK WRIGHT, D. D., LL. D., F. G. S. A., professor of the Harmony of Science and Revelation in Oberlin Theological Seminary. Concerning this learned gentleman, we excerpt from an article in a recent number of the "Popular Science Monthly " the following: " Prof. George Frederick Wright has come within a few years to a foremost position among authorities in geology and the antiquity of man. His studies of glacial action have been thorough, extended, comprehensive, and fruit ful of results beyond those of almost any other single observer, and make singularly fitting the curious designation given him by Judge Baldwin, secretary of the Western Reserve Historical Society, as ' the apostle of the Ice Age and Early Man.' " Prof. Wright was born at Whitehall, N. Y., January 22, 1838, a son of Walter and Mary (Peabody) Wright—he a native of New York State, she of New Brunswick, R. J., and both descended from New England families. " They were plain people, in moderate circumstances, not exempt from the necessity of labor, who, participating in the sentiment which that institution then .represented, sent their son to Oberlin College, five hundred miles away." Here in 1859 he graduated in the classical course, and in 1862 from the Theological Seminary. While taking his Theological course he served as a private in Company C, Seventh O. V. I., in which he had enlisted on the first call of President Lincoln for troops; but a severe sickness led to his discharge after five months enrollment. In the fall of 1862 he became pastor of the Congregational Church at Bakersfield, Vt., an incumbency he enjoyed for about ten years, at the end of which time (1872) he accepted a call to one of the Congregational Churches of Andover, Mass. From the magazine already quoted from we glean the following, illustrative of Prof. Wright's multifarious labors: " Besides attending to his pastoral duties, and engaging actively in revival work in his own church and in the surrounding towns, he entered vigorously into educational movements; started and presided over a vigorous farmers' club; studied the local geology and wrote articles for the country papers on the glacial phenomena of the region; read his Hebrew Bible through, and translated 'Kant's Critique of Pure Reason,' besides several of Plato's philosophical works." While in the discharge of his ministerial duties in Andover, Mass., he enjoyed the friendship of the professors in the Theological Seminary, made the acquaintance of Prof. Asa Gray,. of Harvard, and commenced an active literary career. His special attention was directed to the glacial phenomena of the region, and as early as 1876 his observations were voluminously reported in the "Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural Philosophy." After making himself familiar with the glacial phenomena of New England, " he was invited in 1881, by Prof. Lesley, to survey, in company with the late Prof. 590 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. H. Carvill Lewis, the boundary of the glaciated area across Pennsylvania to the border of Ohio." During his pastorate at Andover he also published a number of articles in the " Bibliotheca Sacra," notably one on the theology of President Finney, and four on Darwinism. Numerous articles from his pen also appeared in various other serials, and in 1880 he published his book entitled "The Logic of Christian Evidences." "Studies in Science and Religion," "The Relation of Death to Probation, ' and' The Divine Authority of the Bible," rapidly followed each other, and showed to the Christian public that a calm, clear, fearless yet fair advocate of Revealed Christianity was coming to the front. In 1881 he was called to the Chair of New Testament Exegesis in Oberlin Theological Seminary, and almost the first question he asked after his arrival in Oberlin was a geological one: " What is the age of the canon of Plum Creek?" This stream is modest enough in its meanderings, " but Prof. Wright made it and its work in denudation, in his 'Ice Age in North America,’ the basis of an important and interesting calculation concerning the antiquity of the Great Ice Age." During the summers of 1882-83 he continued his geological survey across Ohio, Indiana and a part of Illinois, the result of which work was published by the Western Reserve Historical Society under the title of " The Glacial Boundary in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky," which attracted wide attention. The two summer vacations of 188485 were spent by Prof. Wright under the auspices of the United States Government in tracing the terminal moraine across the western States to the Mississippi ; in reviewing the field of Ohio and western Pennsylvania, and in verifying his previous work. Later he spent a summer in Alaska, camping for a month beside the great Muir glacier. In 1887 he was invited to give a course of eight Lowell Institute Lectures at Boston, which were afterward repeated in Baltimore, Md., and Brooklyn, N. Y., and were enlarged into his volume on " The Ice Age in North America." The summer of 1890 Prof. Wright spent in the lava fields of the West, where he obtained additional and exceedingly valuable evidence of the existence of man in Idaho and California prior to the lava out pour. The summer of 1891 he passed in Europe, where he was warmly greeted b the glacialists of England, his fame as a specialist in glacial geology having pr ceded him there. In the winter of 1891: 92 he gave a second course of lectures in the Lowell Institute, Boston, to uniformly large audiences. Besides his geologic and theological publications already enmerated, numerous articles from his pen have appeared in various serials. His book entitled "Logic of Christian Evidences," already referred to, at once at. tained a wide circulation, and is used in several schools as a text book. In 1862 Prof. G. F. Wright w united in marriage in Sheffield township, Lorain county, with Miss Hulda M. Dail daughter of William Day, and four children have been born to them, named, respectively, Mary A., Etta M., Frederick B. and Helen M. A. B. EVERITT, M. D., a successful medical practitioner of Lorain county, having his residence in Kipton, Camden township, claims descent from a "Mayflower family." He was born in Litchfield township, Medina Co., Ohio, September 24, 1846 son of Abner Everitt, a native of Connecticut, born in Litchfield, April 1798, a son of Abner Everitt, who born May 12, 1764, and whose father Daniel, was born in Connecticut in 1715, Abner, father of subject, was married the " Nutmeg State," February 20, 1828, to Hannah Mallory, who was born Litchfield county, May 7, 1809. He LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 591 by occupation a farmer, and was proprietor of a grist and saw mill. About 1834 he and his family came to Genesee county, N. Y., and from there in 1836 to Ohio, making the journey by ox-team. They located in Litchfield township, where the father bought land, totally wild and unimproved. Here they had to blaze the trees to mark out the roads, etc., and in the midst of the somber forest they built them a log house of a very primitive style of architecture, but comfortable and commodious enough. Here the parents passed the remainder of their pioneer days, the father dying April 2, 1857, the mother December 25, 1888, and they rest from their labors in Litchfield cemetery. They were members of the M. E. Church. Politically Mr. Everitt was for a long time an Old-line Whig, in later years a Republican. In Connecticut children were born to them as follows: Nurania E., born September 24, 1829, widow of Hanson Cole, to whom she was married March 14, 1858, in Medina county, Ohio (she now lives in Fulton county); Jedidah, horn April 29, 1831, deceased August 16, 1834; Augusta M., born November 17, 1834, died August 15, 1866. In Litchfield township, Medina county, the following were born: A son born February 6, 1837, died February 22, 1837; Jedidah H., born May 10, 1838, died December 19, 1860; Aaron M., born March 7, 1841, died July 30, 1842; Ambrose M., born November 14, 1843, enlisted September 15, 1862, at Cleveland, in Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Regiment 0. V. I., was wounded May 15, 1864, at Resaca, Ga., and died June 8, 1864, in the hospital at Chattanooga, Tenn., and was buried in the Soldiers' cemetery (he served under Capt. G. W. Lewis, of Medina, Ohio, and took part in the following engagements: Spring Hill, Chickamauga, Brown's Ferry, Orchard Ridge, Rock Face Ridge and Resaca); Abner B., subject of this sketch; and Daniel Quincy, born August 26, 1849, died on the home farm July 5, 1872 (he was a school teacher). From history written by Thirza J. Strong, aunt of our subject on his father's side, the following is taken: "My grandparents on my mother's side emigrated to this country in the early part of the seventeenth century, to enjoy religious freedom. In England they of my grandmother's family were some of the families of the Lords or Earls, selling all of their landed possessions, reserving only their silver service and jewels with their money. Settled in Massachusetts; four daughters only of the family. The oldest married Col. Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. The second married Abraham Brownson, who was my grandfather. He was killed by being flung from a horse in the year 1785. My grandmother died at my father's in the year 1815, being between eighty and ninety years of age; Abigal Brownson by name. By this marriage there were three sons and two daughters, my mother being the oldest of the family. Her sister married Elias Merwin, and moved to the far west. Livona, in York State. She soon after died. My uncles were Deacon Myers Brownson, Abraham and Israel. None but Israel had any family. Three brothers Brownson came from England and bought a large tract of land in the town of Roxbury, Conn. Two of the brothers died, leaving my grandfather alone. Then he sold and moved to Bethlehem, Litchfield county, Connecticut, where my parents were married." A. B. Everitt, whose name opens this sketch, was reared a farmer boy, and received his elementary education at the common schools and in those of the "Nevins District," which well prepared him for taking up the profession of school teaching. He taught in Seneca, Sandusky and Medina counties. Later he attended Oberlin College for about three terms, but prior to this he had been reading medicine at home, simply to gratify a natural desire he entertains for knowledge of that nature. These studies he continued under Dr. R. V. Gamble, of Liverpool, Ohio, and in 592 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. February, 1884, he received his diploma from Adelbert College, Cleveland, Ohio, and in the first class after the consolidation of the Wooster and Adelbert Colleges. In 1880 he left the home farm, where he had hitherto lived, and which had come into his possession, and made his residence in the village of Litchfield until 1889, in which year he came to Kipton, and has here since resided. During his stay at Litchfield he practiced medicine, and he has been very successful since coming to Kipton. In March, 1880, Dr. Everitt was united in marriage with Miss Frankie A. Plank, who was born in Castorland, Lewis Co., N. Y., a daughter of Jacob Plank, a farmer. She was on a visit to relatives in Medina county, Ohio, when she and the Doctor " met by chance, the usual way." To Dr. A. B. and Frankie A. Everitt was born November 19, 1885, a daughter, Mary H. Our subject and wife are members of the Methodist Church, and in politics Dr. Everitt is a straight Republican. He is a member of Lodge No. 3S1, F. & A. M., at Litchfield, Ohio; of Wellington Lodge No. 44, K. of P., and of Tent No. 92, K. O. T. M., Kipton. JAMES W. CHAPMAN, manager 1 and secretary of the Ohio Co-operative Shear Company, Elyria, was born in Avon, Lorain Co., Ohio, July 5, 1846, the only child of Amasa and Catharine (Wood) Chapman. The parents of our subject were both of English descent, and the father was born in Ashford, Conn., December 3, 1813, the mother in Chester, Mass., January 22, 1816. The maiden name of the grandmother of James W. Chapman, on the mother's side, was Betsey Brewster, and she was a direct descendant of William Elder Brewster, who came over in the " Mayflower." The subject of this sketch was a boy of six when his father died. When he was eleven years old, his mother having remarried, the family removed to Castile, N. Y., where he remained until he was of age, when he returned to Ohio and settled in Elyria. Here he was engaged in loaning money, and attending to his property interests until 1882, at which time the Ohio Shear Company was organized, and he was elected to the managership, which position he held until the company was dissolved and the Ohio Cooperative Shear Company organized. He was then chosen manager of this company, and continued in that incumbency until January, 1890, when he was chosen manager and secretary of the company, which position he occupies at the present time. In politics he is a strong protectionist and a stanch Republican. On July 25, 1867, Mr. Chapman was married to Margaret A. Darling, daughter of Joshua H. Darling, president of the First National Bank of Warsaw, N. Y., who was the son of Judge Joshua Darling, of Henniker, N. H. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Chapman, viz.: Robert Mosher, William Brewster, Grace Darling, Arthur Wood and Alice Darling. The family are members of the First Congregational Church of Elyria, and are active workers in that organization. The works of the OHIO CO-OPERATIVE SHEAR COMPANY are situated in the west part of the town of Elyria, on the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling tracks near their junction with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern R. R. The buildings consist of three large structures, in addition to the boiler and engine rooms, the whole covering an area of some ten thousand feet, and the works are divided into ten departments. The main building is two and a half stories, with a frontage of fifty feet, running back one hundred and fifty feet, the rear part of the building being one story high. The engine room is eighteen feet square, containing a seventy-five-horse power engine and boiler. There are two LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 593 other buildings, one 16 x 30, the other 20 x 40, in which are kept the raw materials from which the shears and scissors are manufactured. The present company was organized seven years ago, and started with about forty employes. The business has so increased that now there are seventy-five employes with a monthly pay roll of over twenty-five hundred dollars. JOHN SCOTT. In the land of the Scots, of which the poets have so often sung, the "land of the mountain and the flood," and in the county of Dumfries, was born April 8, 1819, the gentleman whose name here appears. He is a son of Walter Scott, also a native of Dumfriesshire, born in 1780, a son of John Scott, who lived to be over ninety-seven years of age, and who was a shepherd on the muirs and hills of Scotland. Walter Scott married Miss Mary Burton, of the same county, a daughter of Henry Burton, and the children of this union, all born in Scotland, were Helen, deceased in Scotland; Jane, widow of Robert Brannan, of Ionia, Mich.; Henry, of Kipton, Lorain county; John, subject of this sketch; Walter G., of Kipton; and William, who died in his native country. The father was by trade a stonemason, which he followed for several years in his native land, and he was also a " carrier," doing errands, principally of a commercial character, buying, carting, delivering and marketing goods for the people along his particular route. In 1826 he came alone to the United States, landing in New York with but three half-pence (three cents) in his pocket. He at once obtained work, however, at his trade, but later he hired out as a hostler for a country tavern, and managed to save some money. Having now three hundred dollars, he decided to send for his wife and family, and accordingly proceeded to New York in order to secure their passage, but falling in with a bogus " captain," the latter swindled him out of every cent of his sayings. He had no recourse now except to go to work as before, which he did, saving his money until he had another sum of three hundred dollars laid by. In 1830 he returned to Scotland, and in April set sail with the family, arriving in Quebec after a passage of six weeks on the " Mary Ann." From Quebec they moved westward to Montreal, thence to St. John's, near that city, and from there by Lake Champlain to Ontario county, N. Y., near the foot of Seneca Lake, and here the entire family, except our subject, were seized with fever and ague. In the spring of 1834 they set out for Ohio via Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Huron, Ohio. In Camden township, Lorain county, Walter Scott bought fifty acres of wild land for two dollars per acre, and here erected a temporary shelter, very rough and primitive, which was succeeded by a more pretentious cabin in which they passed their first winter in these parts. This stood on the site of our subject's present home, and here the parents died, the father in January, 1877, the mother in November, 1847, and they lie buried in Camden cemetery. They were Presbyterians, and in politics he was a Democrat. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm, and received the greater part of his education in his native country. At the age of twenty-one he expressed a desire to leave home, but his father prevailed on him to remain, which he did, and with true filial piety cared for his parents in their declining years, at his father's death falling heir to the home farm of fifty acres. This he has since increased to 120 acres, and has in all his labor made a success. On December 22, 1842, Mr. Scott was united in marriage with Climena J. Whitney, who bore him five children, viz.: Mary L., Mrs. Charles Buckley, of Henrietta township; Jane, deceased; Helen, Mrs. Charles Arnold, of Denver, Colo.; Frances, Mrs. Leando Bates, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and John H., of Cleveland, Ohio. On August 27, 1854, the mother of these died, and she now reposes 594 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. in Camden cemetery. For his second wife Mr. Scott married, in 1855, Sarah A. Shattuc, who died in September, 1880, and in 1881 he was wedded to his present wife, Hannah E. (Brumby). In politics our subject is a Democrat, and he has held various township offices. He is a member of the Methodist Church, of which he is steward, and enjoys the respect of the entire community. Mr. Scott is remarkable. for his kind-heartedness and generosity, has never had a lawsuit, never sued anyone, and has never been sued. WM. A. BRAMAN, a leading and progressive citizen of Lorain county, is a native of the same, born in Carlisle township October 4, 1836. His grandparents, on his father's side, had come from Genesee county, N. Y., to Avon township, Lorain county, in 1822. Anson Braman, father of subject, was born May 30, 1811, in Genesee county, N. Y., whence in 1822 he removed to Avon township, Lorain county, and from there to Carlisle township, where he followed the vocation of farmer and nurseryman. In 1855 he came to Elyria, same county, and here carried on the nursery business until 1872, when he moved to Northport, Mich. In 1835, at Carlisle, Lorain county, he married Miss Emeline Vincent, a native of Massachusetts, born October 10, 1818, at Mt. Washington, Berkshire county, removing with her parents to Carlisle, Lorain Co., Ohio, in 1834. Their eldest child is the subject of these lines. W. A. Braman passed the first twenty-one years of his life on the home farm, at intervals attending the schools of the neighborhood, and then, being desirous of securing better education, he worked by the month on other farms; teaching school during the winter gave him the necessary funds with which to gratify his desires, and thus glided past six more years of his life. In 1864 he commenced the business of live-stock dealing, which he followed until 1870, in partnership with J. E. Boynton and J. C. Hill; then with J. E. Boynton was engaged in the purchase and sale of cheese. .During the spring of 1874 was founded the firm of Braman, Horr Warner, for the manufacture of and general dealing in butter and cheese, which firm became one of the largest in northern Ohio. On April 27, 1865, Mr. Braman was united in marriage with Miss Sophia E. Patterson, then twenty-one years of age, daughter of Hiram Patterson, and children as follows have been born to them: Theodore W., in 1867; Charles M., in 1869 (he is cashier of the Savings Bank at Medina); and Belle Louise, in 1872. This union has proved a most fortunate and happy one. Mrs. Braman, a most estimable woman, has done well her part in contributing to the happiness of their pleasant home. Mr. Braman has earned success by his enterprise, natural shrewdness and well-established reputation for integrity. He stands prominently among the foremost business men of the county, and the several institutions with which he has been closely in touch attest his eminent qualities as a counselor and financier in their unbroken line of successes. He enjoys a very wide acquaintance throughout the county, and has hosts of friends who have shown their appreciation of his qualifications for official positions by electing him from time to time to various offices of trust in Lorain county, among which may be mentioned: County commissioner, one term; county treasurer, four years from 1876; township trustee and city council-, man for several years; has been president of the Lorain County Agricultural Society seven years, and for a much longer period one of its officers; is present president of the Farmers' Institute of Lorain County; for twenty years was a director in the Elyria Savings Deposit Bank Co., of LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 597 which he was one of the founders, has been a member of the finance committee from its organization, and is now vice-president; has been a member of the Union School board nineteen years, and president of same a considerable time. In the House of Representatives he served four years (1887-91), throughout which entire period he was on the finance committee, and during his service in the Sixty-eighth General Assembly many bills of importance were introduced and passed, including laws affecting Temperance and Sunday observance, largely through his influence, as of. such matters he is a pronounced champion. Mr. Braman is what may be termed a Temperance Republican, taking an active interest in all moral questions. Since September 1, 1891, he has been president of the Republican Printing Co., and editor of the Elyria Republican, the oldest newspaper in the county, and enjoying the largest circulation, which, as well as its general business, has rapidly increased during the last few years of its existence. Mr. Braman has dealt largely in real estate, and has been very active in all business matters. But few men have come more directly in contact with the financial interests of Lorain county, and none have commanded more completely the respect and confidence of the community at large. He has risen by his own individual efforts and may justly be styled "a self-made man." His wide circle of friends and acquaintances confidently bespeak for him a long-continued active career. ALVIN PELTON, one of the leading and most highly esteemed farmer citizens of Russia township, is a native of Trumbull county, Ohio, born in the town of Gustavus December 1, 1819. Harvey Pelton, father of subject, was born in Connecticut, and was twelve years old when his father, Josiah, brought him to Trumbull county, they being among the first settlers there. He was reared to farming, and learned the trade of chair maker. In Ohio he was married to Miss Mary Bailey, who was born in Pittsburgh, Penn., where her parents had tarried while en route to Ohio. After marriage the young couple located on the old homestead farm, which the husband worked on, at same time occasionally following his trade. The children born to them were as follows: Seth, in Cheboygan, Wis.; Alvin, subject proper of sketch; Russell, a retired farmer of Waupaca, Wis.; Miranda, widow of W. F. Lawrence, of Sioux City, Minn.; Mary B., Mrs. John Cisson, of Minnesota; Abigail E., who married Henry Wilbur, died in Michigan; Samuel N., a harness maker of Pomona, Cal.; Martha, Mrs. J. B. Lake:' of St. Louie. Mo.; and Lydia A., who died at the age of eighteen. The father died May 10, 1837, of rapid consumption, although he had been in feeble health for many years, and was buried at Russell, Geauga Co., Ohio, whither he had moved in the fall of 1833, and bought a piece of new land, which was being cleared up. The subject of this sketch received a common-school education, and was reared a farmer boy. As he was but a youth when his father died, and next the eldest in the family, he went to work pretty early in life, in order to provide for his younger brothers and sisters, and his widowed mother. He found plenty to do in assisting to clear the land of timber and brush, chopping down trees, etc., for which he received twenty-five cents per day. Thus he remained at the old home until he was married, after which he located on fifty acres left for his mother, who went west to Cheboygan, Wis., where she died in 1858, and was there buried. In the spring of 1855 our subject sold his farm in Geauga county, Ohio, and moved to Russia township, Lorain county, where he bought his present valuable farm of ninety-four and a half acres. Here he has since resided, with 598 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. the exception of three and one half years he lived in Oberlin, same county, while having his younger daughter educated at the college there. For the past eighteen years he has been engaged in the manufacture of cheese, and has met with every success in both that and his general farming operations. On April 3, 1851, Mr. Pelton was married in Geauga county, Ohio, to Caroline McFarland, daughter of Abel and Olive (Randall) McFarland, natives, the father of Massachusetts, the mother of New York State. The latter died when her daughter Caroline was fifteen years old, and the orphan girl afterward made her home with some of her sisters. The following named children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Pelton: Clarence H., a farmer of Russia township; Flora, who was married to Milliard Franks, and died in Michigan; and Carrie M., now Mrs. Harry Cook, of Oberlin, Ohio. Mr. Pelton is a Republican, and invariably declines political preferment. Mrs. Pelton is a member of the Methodist Church. MRS. ELIZABETH W. (RUSSELL) LORD, assistant principal of the Woman's Department, Oberlin (Ohio) College, was born at Kirtland, Ohio, April 28, 1819, the eldest child of Alpheus C. and Elizabeth (Conant) Russell, natives of Massachusetts, the father of Hampshire county, the mother of Berkshire county. The subject of this memoir received her elementary education in the public schools, after which she became the pupil of Rev. Truman Coe, pastor of the Congregational Church at Kirtland, Ohio. In 1838 she came to Oberlin, Lorain county, and at the college located there finished her education. On July 21, 1842, she was married to Dr. Asa D. Lord, and they returned to Kirtland, where she assisted him in his work in the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary at that place. In 1847 they moved to Columbus, Ohio, in order to establish in that city a system of graded public schools, the first, of the kind in the State. When the high school opened, Mrs. Lord became the first principal, and she and her husband remained in connection with the public schools until 1856, when Dr. Lord was given charge of the Institution for the Blind there, in which labor Mrs. Lord assisted him till 1868, when he left that institution to organize the new State Institution for the Blind at Batavia, N. Y. With this last named they were connected till 1875, the year of his death, he as superintendent and she as 'teacher, and Mrs. Lord then succeeded him as superintendent. Mrs. Lord performed the duties of that important office until the fall of 1877, when she no longer, deemed it best to act as superintendent. Her resignation was reluctantly accepted, on condition that she remain in the institution. In this connection we here give an extract from the superintendent's report to the trustees of the New York State Institution for the Blind, showing in a measure the high esteem in which Mrs. Lord was held by all concerned, the several resolutions being adopted and printed as a part of the regular report: "Resolved, That in the judgment of this board, the connection of Mrs. Asa D. Lord with this institution for the last nine years, first as teacher and afterward as superintendent, has contributed largely to its success, and by her wise administration of its interests she has shown herself eminently fitted to conduct the education of the blind. "Resolved, That in voluntarily withdrawing from the institution she bears with her the high esteem of this board as a conscientious and accomplished Christian lady, and their best wishes for her in any station of usefulness in which she may hereafter be placed. Permit me to place on record along with these resolutions a fact which recently came to my knowledge, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 599 viz.: that Mrs. Lord has certainly taught more blind persons to read than any other single teacher of the blind in this land, and probably more than any other in the world." After a few months with her only child, Mrs. Henry Fisk Tarbox, of Batavia, N. Y., Mrs. Lord returned to the institution, and spent five more years in labors for the blind. In 1884 she was appointed to her present position of assistant principal of the Woman's Department of Oberlin College, a position in which she gives eminent satisfaction. In 1890 she gave eleven thousand dollars toward the building of Lord Cottage at Oberlin. Mrs. Lord is a member of the Second Congregational Church. DR. ASA D. LORD was born in Madrid, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., June 17, 1816, and the early years of his life were spent on the farm, and in attending the district school. The death of his father, when he was but two years of age, left the direction of his education to his mother—a gifted woman and an experienced teacher. At the age of seventeen he taught his first school, and subsequently pursued a course of study at Potsdam (N. Y.) Academy. In 1837 he moved to Ohio, and in the village of Willoughby opened a private school, and the following year entered the Sopho- more class in Western Reserve College. In 1839 he was chosen principal of the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary, at Kirtland, Ohio, a position he filled for eight years with characteristic ability and skill. In 1843 he formed a teachers' class, composed of teachers in the vicinity, and pupils in the seminary who intended to teach. This was the first teachers' institute in Ohio, and one of the first in the country. Three years later he attended and assisted in conducting the first teachers' institute in Jackson county, Mich. While principal of the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary he studied medicine, attending lectures at the Willoughby Medical College, from which he received a diploma; but he never entered upon regular practice. In 1846 he gave to life the " Ohio School Journal," publishing the first volume in Kirtland, and continuing it in Columbus. He remained in journalistic work in the cause of education for ten years—from 1846 to 1856—editing in the meantime other journals of a kindred nature. But his editorial labors did not engross the whole of his time. In 1847 he accepted the position of superintendent of public schools of Columbus. He was an instructor and lecturer in the first Institutes held in the State 'of Ohio, and was one of the organizers of the Ohio Teachers' Association. At the close of 1853 he resigned the superintendency of the Columbus schools to accept the position of agent for the State Teachers' Association, but in 1855 was again elected superintendent. In 1856 he once more resigned to accept the position of superintendent of the Ohio Institution for the Blind, which under his able direction soon took rank among the first of its kind in the land. While connected with that institution he studied theology, and in 1863 was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Franklin. After over twelve years' experience as an instructor of the blind in Ohio, Dr. Lord was given charge of the new State Institution for the Blind at Batavia, N. Y., where be remained its zealous, kind-hearted, philanthropic superintendent and instructor up to the time of his death, which occurred March 7, 1875. He died beloved and esteemed by all, and the world will truly be better because it has once felt the inspiration of his life and presence. REV. CHARLES H. CHURCHILL, A. M., Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and occupying the Jas. F. Clark professorship in Oberlin College, was born in Lyme, N. H., August 21, 1824, a son of David C. and Polly (Franklin) Churchill.