150 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY The officers were chosen as follows : A. E. Adams, president; B. Hirshberg, first vice-president; C. H. Booth, second vice-president; Charles W, Gilgen, secretary ; R. Montgomery, treasurer. The board of directors consisted of C. H. Booth, A. D. Thomas, A. E. Adams, J. E. Fitch, M. I. Arms, R. Montgomery, B. .Hirshberg, Charles Hart, David Tod, Louis .Heller, J. A. Campbell, Thomas McDonald, John Stambaugh, Geo. J. Renner, Jr., H. L, McElroy. The by-laws contained eleven articles, the fourth of which provided for the creation of the following committees, each to consist of five members : Education and Schools, Entertainment, Literature, Library, Membership, Municipal, Transportation, Food and Fuel, Public Improvements, Finance Statistics, Fire Insurance, New Industries, Arbitration, Real Estate, Manufactures, Weights and Measures, Taxation, Health and Sanitary Affairs, Water and Light, Wholesale Mercantile Interests, Streets, Charity and Benevolence, Postal Affairs, Public Accounting, Auditing, Protective. The first annual report showed a satisfactory beginning along the different lines of effort, with a list of 284 members. The officers elected were: George L. Fordyce, president; John Stambaugh, first vice-president; Louis Heller, second vice-president ; Charles W. Gilgen, secretary ; R. C. Steese, treasurer. The Board f Trustees consisted of George L. Fordyce, C. H. Booth, A. D. Thomas, A. E. Adams, John H. Fitch, M. I. Arms, R. Montgomery, B. Hirshberg, R. C. Steese, David Tod, Louis Heller, J. A. Campbell, 'Thomas McDonald, John Stambaugh, Frank Hitchcock. The work of the chamber during its first year, as might be expected, was initial. A number of problems were taken hold of by the different committees, and a satisfactory start made along various lines. As its secretary said in his report : " * * * The chamber has attempted to carry out the purposes for which it was organized. It has been as successful as any organization in the first year of its experience can reasonably hope to be, and its officers have endeavored to make the community at large feel that it is a representative business men's organization, that it is interested in the wefare of our city, and that its opinions of matters of public interest are honest and deliberate." The report of the secretary for the second year ending April 30, 1907, shows that a considerable amount f work has been done in spreading information in regard to the business resources and opportunities of the city, and its future prospects, and in dealing in a practical way with various local problems, including the water question, the courthouse proposition, questions of health and sanitation, improvements in streets (particularly the widening of Federal street from Euwer's corner to Chestnut street, concerning which a measure is now pending in the council), and other important matters. The Credit Men's Association, which is a branch of the chamber, now consists of sixty-seven members, merchants, manufacturers, bankers and jobbers, whose business, which is mainly an exchange of credit information, is transacted through the office of the 374 cases have been investigated and reported. Chamber of Commerce. Within the past year This organization pays its separate individual expenses by assessments and membership dues collected from its members, and its work is not of common interest to the membership at large of the Chamber of Commerce. Some good work has been done by the chamber to encourage the establishment of new industries here. One of these, the Trussed Concrete Steel Company, has already erected in Youngstown two large factory buildings, equipped with $110,000 worth of machinery, and has spent in the city up to date $50,000 in wages and $50,000 for material. Their main business is the construction of reinforced concrete work, and the manufacture of reinforcing materials, of which latter they will produce an average of 6,000 tons per month when in full operation. They have branch works in Liverpool, England, and Wakefield, Ontario, with offices in all large cities in this and other countries. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 153 Through the chamber's efforts, also, the firm of Gross & Dallet, shirtwaist manufacturers, of Cleveland, have been prevailed upon to establish an experimental factory in this city, rented quarters having been secured for them. The experimental phase of their proposition is entirely on the question of securing a sufficiency of female help to run the plant, which will employ ultimately, if successful, from five to eight hundred women. They are already employing 125 and turning out an average of 400 garments per day, being the full capacity of their present quarters. The Chamber f Commerce is still in correspondence with other reliable enterprises, some of which may be finally induced to locate here. In view of the fact that the most threatening obstacle in the way of a brilliant future for Youngstown is a possible failure of a sufficient water supply to meet its industrial growth, the committee on water and light, consisting of Messrs. A. D. Thomas, W. P. Williamson, Carroll Thornton, Louis Liebman and B. M. Campbell, last fall made a personal examination of the available sites for additional reservoirs for the storage of the surplus water accumulating during the periods of abundant rainfall. The committee came to the conclusion that the largest available sites for such reservoirs that can be economically secured are those on the Mahoning river in Berlin township, this county, and in Deerfield township, Portage county, They accordingly began taking options on lands in these basins and now hold options on about 600 acres. A report of their proceedings was filed with the city council in April of the present year, with the offer to transfer their options free of charge to the city, with the request that the council begin proceedings to appropriate the remainder of the lands necessary to establish such reservoirs in this vicinity. The matter, at this writing, is before a special committee of the City Council. Other matters in which the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce has been stirring, for the benefit of the business community and the future welfare of the city, are mentioned in the report already alluded to. Enough has here been said to show the important nature of its work, which will be appreciated by all who are interested in the future prosperity of the city. MAHONING GAS FUEL COMPANY. The Mahoning Gas Fuel Company of Youngstown was incorporated in 1886, and has since enjoyed a steadily increasing business in the supplying of gas as fuel for household purposes, It obtains its gas from wells in Allegheny and Washington counties, Pennsylvania, and is now engaged in drilling new wells in Brooke county, West Virginia. The company has about 19,000 acres of gas territory and 103 gas wells, supplying Youngstown and the neighboring villages of Poland, Petersburg, and Middleton. As the wells become exhausted new ones have to be drilled to keep up the supply and satisfy the increasing public demand for this fuel, the average number of new wells opened being about eighteen per year. In each territory these wells are from 2,500 feet to one mile apart, and are connected by pipe lines with the trunk lines of the company. The company has a large compressor station at Allegheny, using three 500-horse power compound compressor engines, with other powerful machinery. Their boilers consume from 1,200 to 1,500 tons of coal per month. During its existence in Youngstown the company has given the public excellent service, both as to the quality and cost of its product, selling the gas at twenty-seven cents per 1,000 feet, which is several cents cheaper than the rates prevailing in Pittsburg, Cleveland and other neighboring cities. The best scientific appliances are used to avoid accidents, and it has been shown that there is less liability of fire in the use of gas fuel, as thus furnished, than in the use of coal, not counting the greater convenience and large amount of time saved. The company employs an army of men in the various departments of its business. CENTRAL UNION TELEPHONE COMPANY, This company is a branch of the Bell Telephone Company, and was established in 154 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY Youngstown as the successor of the Midland Telephone Company, a short-lived concern whose franchise was secured in 1882. The company now has 3,400 phones in the city, besides about seventy-five at Struthers and fifty at Lowellville. There are also quite a number of "farmer lines" connecting with residences in the country, making the total number of phones outside of the city proper about •400. The company is now engaged in making extensive improvements in the busi- ness section of Youngstown, laying conduits for an underground system, while in the residence section the open wires are being supplanted, as far as practicable, by cable lines. A. piece of property at the corner of West Rayen and Phelps street has been purchased, the present building thereon will be moved, and a new fire-proof building for the business Offices of the company is soon to be erected. The manager of the Youngstown district is J. P. McGahon. YOUNGSTOWN TELEPHONE COMPANY. The Youngstown Telephone Company was incorporated in June, 1896, with a capital stock of $200,000. It has at the present time about 3,500 subscribers. It has direct communication over its own lines with Hubbard, Canfield, and Lowellville, and also connects, through other companies, with North Jackson, O., North Lime, O., and New Bedford, Penna., these three places aggregating some 500 'phones. The Youngstown office is located in the Dollar Savings and Trust Company building, near Central square. The local Manager is Mr. George G. King. BUSINESS COLLEGES. A most important factor in the development of the commercial life of Mahoning county has been the excellent business training provided by the business colleges to the young men and women who have taken advantage of their opportunities in that direction. Conditions which surrounded the young man or woman twenty years ago are changed. Today a young person must show some special preparation before he can hope to enter the counting house or office. Prof, J. C. Browne was the founder of business colleges in Youngstown, as well as in Mahoning county. Corning to this city in 1885 he established the Browne Business College, which institution proudly numbers among its graduates some of the most successful young business people of the county. This college had on its faculty during its long career some of the foremost business educators among whom was R. W. Ballentine, whose ability as an instructor and skill as a pen artist was second to none in the country. In 1900 Mr. Ballentine left Youngstown to take charge of the department of penmanship in the Banks Business College of Philadelphia, one f the leading schools of its kind in America. During the last years of Mr. Browne's life, owing to his increased age and to sharp competition, this institution was not as flourishing as in its earlier days, but the same high grade work prevailed, and his honest dealing held the con.; fidence of all. Prof. J. C. Browne died in 1907, and with him the college also passed out f existence. About the year 1890, a business institution was opened in the Mouser block. Many were its early vicissitudes. The demand for trained office help at that time was small, and the Browne College, owing to its established reputation, tended to overshadow the younger school. It passed from owner to owner until 1892, when it became the property of E, A, Hall, who had been the proprietor of an institution in Logansport, Ind. Prof. Hall is known today as one of the most successful business college men in the country. He not only possesses superior ability as an instructor in commercial branches and penmanship, but is a successful manager as well. At the time f assuming control of "The Hall Business University" it numbered less than twenty students, and in 1904 it had an annual average attendance of two hundred. Prof. Hall is a jovial, whole-souled man who, during the time he was in Youngstown wort a host of friends among the business people AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 155 of the county, which was of great assistance to him in placing his students. He surrounded himself with an able corps f assistants, foremost among whom may be named Richard Vipan, instructor in stenography and typewriting. Mr. Vipan was a graduate of Dover College, Dover, England, and many of the young business people of today bear living witness of his success as an instructor. Later he. became principal of the stenographic department of the Jamestown Business College, Jamestown, N. Y., where he is at present. In 1904, Mr. Hall, desiring a broader field for his activities, disposed of his institution to Short Bros., of Akron, Ohio, and removed his family to. Pittsburg, Pa., where he is at present. the owner of two institutions; one in the heart of the city, and one at East Liberty; a suburb. Short Bros., upon taking dyer the Hall Business University, made a decided change, both in instructors and courses. Clyde W. Osborne, who under Prof. Hall, had been assistant manager and instructor, took charge of the commercial department, and Prof. Henry Durkes of Indiana the department of stenography and typewriting, while Mr. C. C. Short, not being an instructor, became manager. The Hall Business University, in 1906, moved from the place of its inception and now occupies one-half the third floor of the Homer S. Williams block, on the corner of Boardman and Market streets. In 1899, Miss Isabel McGrath, who had for a number of years previous been principal of the stenographic department f the Hall Business College, severed her connection with that institution and founded a school of her own, in the Excelsior block. In the fall of 1900 she formed a partnership with J. E. Slindee, who had also been associated with the Hall Business College for a year previous to this venture. Shortly after this the school was moved from the Excelsior block to Nos. 5 and 7 West Federal street, next to the Commercial National Bank. In May, 1903; they incorporated. Shortly 'thereafter they removed to the Wick block, No. 16 West Federal street, and have since occupied the entire third floor. On April 1, 1906, J. E. Slindee, who held the controlling interest, disposed of the same to C. W. Osborne, but Mr. Osborne took up the practice of law in January, 1907, and in February disposed of his interest to Miss Isabel McGrath, who is now sole owner. Miss McGrath, owing to her thorough knowledge of the subjects taught, and her years. of experience, will undoubtedly continue to ,reap, as in the past, a harvest of richly deserved success. Before taking up work of this nature, Miss. McGrath was engaged in public. school teach-. ing in the village of Girard and .vicinity. Her home is in Girard, where she. has hosts of friends. About 1898, Prof. Niswanger founded an institution in the Diamond block and although enjoying a splendid patronage, he was compelled to discontinue business owing to failing health. With the exception of. a commercial and. stenographic department in the Canfield Normal School, the only institutions of this nature' in the county are located in Youngstown, and the demand for their product more than equals. the supply. In 1906 the three business insti- tutions Is in that city educated and placed in positions nearly four hundred young men and women. These four hundred young people, who arc going out yearly into the business world, are to be, in a few years, the captains, of ow vast. commercial. army, YOUNGSTOWN HUMANE SOCIETY, Prior to July 22, 1895, the State Humane-Society had appointed an agent or officer to prevent cruelty to animals and children in Youngstown and Mahoning county, John A. Ladd being the first agent so appointed. On July 22, 1895, some public-spirited citizens met and resolved to organize a society to become incorporated under the laws of Ohio and to be known as "The Youngstown Humane Society" for .the prevention of cruelty to animals and children. and for the prevention of cruelty in any form. The first directors 156 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY were Dr. W. L. Buevchner, Dr. D. H. Evans,, Dr. S. R. Frazier, Mrs. T. H. Bulla, Mrs. S. J. McElevy, Mrs. Belle Ford and Rev. A. L. Frazier. First officers : Dr. S. R. Frazier, president; J. H. McEwen and Robert McCurdy, vice-presidents ; A. I. Nicholas, secretary and treasurer; Richard Morgan, agent; Frank Jacobs, counsel. In October, 1895, the late Robert McCurdy became treasurer, which position he held until his death. In October 18995, A. I. Nicholas became counsel. In December, 1895, the society took action to have a children's home established, which resulted in the establishment of the Glenwoods Children’s Home. At the annual meeting of October, 1896 the membership of the Board of Directors was changed from seven to fifteen. In 1896, J. J. Hamilton became counsel. He was succeeded in that office in January, 1899, by F. L. Baldwin, who held this position until October, 1906. In February , 1898, Joseph Williams became humane agent. The directors elected at the annual meeting held October 10, 1906, are follows: Dr. S. R. Frazier, Dr. Ida Clarke, J. G. Butler, Dr. D. H. Evans, Rev. A. L. Frazer, Harry Bonnel, C. P. Wilson, Mrs. D. M. Wise, Dr. J. J. Thomas, Gus A. Doeright, W. A. Maline, B. C. Pond, S. L Wright, F. L. Baldwin and M. C. Gibson. The present officers of the society are: President, Dr. S. R. Frazier; first vice-president, Dr. Ida Clarke; second vice-president, Dr. J. J. Thomas; treasurer, C. P. Wilson; secretary, B. C. Pond ; agent, Joseph Williams ; counsel, John Schlarb. The following is an abstract of the last annual report as published in the Youngstown Telegram of October 10, 1906 ANNUAL REPORT. To the Youngstown Humane Society : Eighth annual report of Joseph- Williams, humane agent, from October 1, 1905, to and including October 9,1906: Complaints received, 1,109. Visits made by agent to investigate cases, 1,088. Cases prosecuted, 71. Cases convicted, 69. Cases convicted for non-support of minor children, 48. Cases convicted for non-support of aged parents, 8. Cruelty to animals. 7 Cruelty to children, 2 Cruelty to wife, 2 Arrests for keeping houses of ill-fame, 4. Letters of warning sent out, 54. Horses ordered shot, 21 Horses and mules unfit for work ordered back to barn, 119. Horses examined in city and county, 600. Advice given at office and at home, 230. Telephone calls at home, 250 Fins collected, $25 Money received for support of children, $750.50. Children taken to Children's home, 16 Children put in homes, 5. WORK INCREASED. During the last year the work of the agent has increased over twofold. Many complaints are received publicity do not admit of any publicity or action by the society except such as the agent can give as mediator or peacemaker. Only such cases are brought into court that have arrived at a stage where no amount of arbitration or interceding for one or the other party is of avail. The work is on the rapid increase as regards complaints to be investigated, for the existence of the Humane Society is now known in almost every home. The trial cases, however, are not as numerous now, owing to the fact that the agent has time to thoroughly investigate each and every case, and, thus seeing the true status, can act immediately without the "airing” of the case in a court room. GRAND OPERA HOUSE. The Grand Opera House, which is situated at the southwest corner of the public square, has long been a favorite house of entertain- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 157 ment with Youngstown theater-goers. The company was organized in July, 1872, with William Powers, president; Henry Tod, vice-president ; J, H. McEwen, secretary and treasurer. The building is a substantial iron front structure, 110 feet in length by seventy-eight feet in width. The auditorium is seventy-four feet square, with an ordinary seating capacity of 1,400, which is capable on special occasions of extension to 2,000. The stage is thirty feet wide and forty feet deep, while there is an ample sufficiency of commodious and neatly furnished dressing rooms. The ceiling of the house is decorated with allegorical figures representing the drama, music, poetry, comedy, tragedy, and painting. All the decorations and furnishings are of tasteful and artistic design, and are renewed from time to time as the need arises. The house has an enterprising manager in Mr. Joseph Schagrin, who succeeded Mr. J. K. Albaugh at the beginning of the season of 1906-7, and who has shown ability in securing for its patrons a list of excellent attractions. The building is owned by a joint stock company composed of prominent citizens of Youngstown. PARK THEATER. The Park Theater, the present manager f which is Mr. William De Shon, was established in 1901, and is now owned chiefly outside of Youngstown. It is a convenient and well constructed theater, always clean, bright and cheerful ; the spacious auditorium is well heated and well ventilated, the exits in case of fire or panic are many and readily accessible. The management is thoroughly up-to-date, and the performances are clean morally, nothing unwholesomely suggestive being tolerated for an instant. The matinees are well attended by women and children, and special efforts are made to see to the comfort of all. A FEW STATISTICS. In a leaflet recently issued by the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce some interesting facts in regard to Youngstown's present degree of progress and achievement are given and may be appropriately included for purposes of present and future comparison within the limits of this chapter. The financial and manufacturing interests of the city may be found treated more in detail in separate chapters of this volume. Youngstown is located on four f the leading trunk lines of the United States and is a midway point on the proposed Ohio River and Lake Erie Ship Canal, a mammoth engineering project which, when completed, will spread a continuous town from Pitssburg to Lake Erie. It has a world-wide reputation as an iron and steel manufacturing center, Six banks have combined assets of $18,000,000, with $6,000,000 of savings deposited in these banks, Not a single bank failure within its entire history. Two substantial building and loan companies, The lowest bonded indebtedness in proportion to her tax duplicate of any of the ten largest cities of Ohio, A tonnage, commercial and industrial, in the enormous amount of 15,000,000 tons per year, freight in transit not included, Fifteen thousand men employed in her various industries, A pay roll of $1,000,000 a month. Varied and extensive manufacturing establishments representing the enormous investment of $40,006,000, Two and a half million dollars worth of new buildings erected within the past year—building permits issued at the rate of 100 per month. Three public parks containing 592 acres of land. The Mahoning river furnishes an abundant water supply for manufacturing purposes. Contemplated additions to and enlargements of present industrial plants, part f which are already in course of construction, approximating $10,000,000 in value, A splendid water works system, the most modern filtration plant in Ohio, streets well 158 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY paved and sewered. and supplied with an extensive system of water mains and hydrants. Three splendid viaducts and numerous bridges connecting the various parts of the :city, two hospitals, new city buildings, the .county buildings of Mahoning county, children's home, public library, electric light and power plant, natural gas and artificial gas company, steam heating company, two daily and five weekly newspapers, an enormous and varied output of manufactured products, consisting of steel rails, steel billets, heavy machinery, pig iron, sheet iron, pipe and tubing, blasting powder, leather, table oil cloth, mechanical rubber goods, carriages, wagons and automobiles, steel roofing, brass work, railroad cars, electric supplies, steel furniture and office filing equipment, and all varieties of :heavy iron and steel manufactures known to the iron and steel manufacturing world, The Biographical sketches which follow are of some of the earlier residents of Youngstown. Biographies of prominent citizens of later date may be found in the exclusively biographical portion of this volume, NOTABLE PERSONAGES, JOHN YOUNG came of a Scotch family that settled near Londonderry, in the north of Ireland, in the Sixteenth or Seventeenth century, Here, in 1623, the first of the family whose record is known to us .was born. In 1718, in his ninety-sixth year, with his son and grandson, their brothers and :sisters, and :sisters' husbands, forming in all fourteen, part of a Scotch-Irish colony, he sailed away from Ireland, and landed in Boston, Mass., the same year. One of the descendants settled in Petersborough,. N. H., and there John Young was born in 1763. About 1780 he emigrated to Whitestown, N. Y., and in June, 1792, was married to Mary Stone White, youngest daughter of Hugh White, the first settler there and original proprietor of a large tract of wild land. John Young lived in Whitestown until 1796; in which year he became interested in Ohio lands. In 1797 he began the settlement of Youngstown, to which place, two years later, he removed with his wife and two children — John and George. Here two more children were born to him — William, in 1799, and Mary in 1802, In 1803, Mrs, Young, finding the trials of frontier life, with a latch-string always out, and a table free to all, too great with her young family for her power of endurance, persuaded her husband to close up his business and returned with the family to Whitestown, where her father had kept a home for them. Mr. Young's nominal occupation subsequently was that of farmer, though he devoted the greater part of his time to other business interests. He was for many years engaged in the construction and superintendency of the Great Western Turnpike from Utica to Canandaigua, and later on the Erie Canal, near which he resided, and upon which one of his sons was employed as civil engineer. As one of the justices of the peace and quorum, Mr. Young sat upon the bench at the first territorial court held at Warren in 1800, and was ever after addressed as Judge Young. He died in April, 1825, at the age of sixty-two, twenty-two years after his return from Youngstown. His wife survived him fourteen years, dying in September, 1839, in the old home of her father, at Whitestown, N. Y., at the age of sixty-seven. COLONEL JAMES HILLMAN, one of the most picturesque figures of pioneer days on the Reserve, was born in Northumberland county, Pa., on the 27th of October, 1762. As a young man he fought for American independence in the Revolutionary War, and on its termination accompanied his father to the West, settling on the banks of the Ohio river, a short distance below Pittsburg. In the spring of 1786 he was employed by the firm of Duncan & Wildon as .a packhorseman and during the following summer, in the interest of his employers, visited Sandusky, the mouth of the Cuyahoga, and other places. Subsequently he AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 159 made several trading excursions up the Mahoning river, on one of which, in 1796 or 1797, he met John Young, and made arrangements with him by which he soon after removed with his family to the then newly founded settlement of Youngstown. Of this place he was afterwards a resident until his death. On his farm of sixty acres, on the west side of the river, Mr. Hillman built, so tradition says, the first frame house in the township. About 1808 he opened in the village a tavern, of which he was proprietor for several years thereafter. He sold it after his return from the War of 1812, in which he served as wagonmaster under Colonel Rayen. In 1818 he sold his farm and opened another tavern, on the corner of Federal and Walnut streets, which he kept until 1824. He then purchased another farm on the west side of the river, and resided thereon until his death, which occurred November 12, 1848, when lie had just entered his eighty-seventh year. Colonel Hillman was frequently elected to public office. In August, 1800, at the First Territorial Court held in Trumbull County, he was appointed constable of Youngstown, Subsequently he served several terms as appraiser of houses, and was a number of times elected township trustee. He was elected sheriff of Trumbull County in 1806, and on February 16. 1808, he was commissioned as lieutenant-colonel, commandant of the Second Regiment, First Brigade, Fourth Division, Ohio militia, which latter office he resigned in the following year. In 1814 he was elected representative in the State Legislature. He also held the office of justice of the peace for several years, being. first elected thereto in 1825. In early manhood, soon after his return from the Revolutionary War, he was married in Western Pennsylvania, making his wife's acquaintance at a dance and marrying her on the same evening, the dancing being suspended. for a few minutes while the ceremony was 'performed. This union; though childless, proved a happy one. Mrs. Catherine Hillman survived her husband seven years, dying in August, 1855, at the advanced age of eighty-three. She was the first white female resident of Youngstown, and was noted for her hospitality and kind neighborly traits of character, Colonel Hillman was a typical pioneer, Brave, hardy, adventurous and shrewd, he was well fitted to endure the toil and encounter the dangers of a life in the wilderness, and his fame as a man of courage and ready resource, yet of circumspect judgment, has come down to our day, and we know him as one of the most worthy among the founders of the community of which we are today members. JUDGE WILLIAM RAYEN was born in Kent County, Md., October 1, 1776, and moved to Youngstown as early as 1802, before Ohio had been admitted into the Union ; he was therefore one of the earliest pioneers of the Western Reserve. The early records of Youngstown township, then a part of Trumbull County, mention that the first public meeting to organize was held in his house, and the first township officers were elected there April 5, 1802. Subsequently he was elected and reelected to different township offices, and became one of the foremost citizens in the public life of the community, In the War of 1812, when about thirty-six years of age, he went out under General Harrison as colonel of the First Regiment, Third brigade of militia, raised in the Western Reserve, in his command being Major Mackey, Dr. Henry Manning, Charles A. Boardman, and 'Colonel Hillman. He was ever regarded with affection and esteem by those who had served under him. He was always a strong factor in the political party to which lie belonged, and its prominent members throughout the State were frequent visitors and guests at his house; among these were David Tod and John Brough, both of whom were afterwards governors of Ohio. He was appointed by the Governor of the State as associate judge on the Trumbull County bench, and from that period was generally addressed as Judge Rayen, except by his military friends, who continued to call-him colonel. The leading. events of his 160 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY life, which are of public record, establish the fact of a steadily acquired prominence, not only local, but in the State, which can be best accounted for by conceding his unusual ability to rise from moderate beginnings. In 1840 he was elected by the legislature as president of the board of public works of the State, and his entire life from the time of his coming to Youngstown up to and beyond this period shows him to have been a man of unusual energy and sagacious judgment in the management of business affairs. Without mentioning minor instances of his activity, records show that he was one of the corperators, and a director in the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal Company, the first public work affecting the growth of the town, and built a warehouse on its banks; that he was a stockholder in the Cleveland & Mahoning Railroad Company, the first railroad in the valley, and that he was the first president of the Mahoning County Bank, the first bank organized in Youngstown. During all this time he continued the extension and improvement of his landed possessions, and built a house suitable to his growing position with all the accessories—garden, orchard, shrubbery, and stables—that mark a well cared for homestead. His farms were large and easily distinguishable by the superiority of their fences and well known red gates. His cattle were of select breeds and his sheep f the finest merino. Visitors from his own and other States came long distances to see his stock, famous for their quality. As the owner of well managed farms and superior live-stock, the general acknowledgment was that he was without a peer in this part of the country. Judge Rayen was a strong man, mentally and physically, with a distinct voice and of good presence, not much above the middle height, and weighing 280 pounds. He was polite in manner, impressive in intercourse, and in the presence of women particularly courteous; though affable to all, and possessed of considerable humor, few would venture on familiarity unless on friendly terms before. He was particular in dress, somewhat in the style of earlier days ; when he was seen in his black coat, or a blue coat with gilt buttons, buff colored vest and fine ruffled shirt, his portly form seated on a bench under a large tree near his house, with his hands folded over the top of his gold-headed cane, he presented an attractive, even a picturesque, appearance, well known to everyone; and in this position, when weather permitted, his friends at home and from abroad might expect to find him when not particularly engaged. His domestic habits were simple and orderly. An early riser himself, the business of the day began early with the family and domestics. Systematic in everything, the machinery of affairs ran smoothly and proclaimed a master at the head. Integrity and candor were essentials to his esteem and favor, either in dependents or friends. He was discerning, and when favorably impressed was generous in intercourse and often liberal in aid where required. There was a certain high mindedness in himself, which made him faithful and open to his friends, but unapproachable by those on whom his esteem could not rest. He estimated men for their qualities rather than for what they possessed, and so his friendships were to be found in every walk of life. There was no disguise in his nature ; he was direct in his manner and actions at all times. He was not a prfessor of religion, although his family and household were mostly church members, but at the request f his wife, who was a religious woman, he fitted up a large room in an adjoining store building to be used for religious meetings at her disposal. On her death he built a stone vault not far from the dwelling, in which her remains were laid to rest, and to the end of his life thereafter it was his custom, on the anniversary of her death, to enter and remain in this vault for some time alone. On the subject f his religious views he was not demonstrative. Being a Royal Arch Mason and attached to the order, he had avowed his belief in God, and in the Bible as his inspired word, and that probably was the only open declaration f his faith ever made. Judge Rayen was a natural leader, not so much by what he said as by what he did, for he was not a man of many words, though earn- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 161 est and cheerful in conversation, He was endowed with practical good sense and a strong will, and in his undertakings kept abreast, if not in advance, of the times and circumstances about him, and thereby appeared to stand on elevated ground among his neighbors, and in that attitude by common consent, was recognized throughout the country when spoken of. So far the history, individuality and surroundings of the judge are presented in a concise manner, without referring to that feature of his character in which the people of Youngstown are most interested, and on which his memory will most securely rest, namely, his benevolence; and it may be well, before treating of his bequest for a public school, to have introduced the personality f a distinguished man who was a living active figure in the early settlement and growth of this part of Ohio during the first half of the Nineteenth century, and who, having passed through the hardships of pioneer times successfully, had at the end of his long life a desire to promote civilization by education of the people, and for that purpose founded an institution of learning with a liberality that is without an equal for its munificence in this community. Vague expectations of some generous act were entertained for some time by his friends, but nothing definite was known until his will was read after his death, in 1854. The secret of his intentions was his own and was not divulged to any, yet, when made known, his bequest was not a surprise. On many occasions he had spoken with commendation of gifts to public institutions, colleges, or libraries, and more than once with particular praise of Stephen Girard's will founding a college at Philadelphia. Many reasons may be advanced, not altogether speculative, why he should select a public school as the object of his benefactions. He was a thorough American, born with the Revolution, and a defender of his country in its early wars ;and living in the times when the future of the new republic was a subject discussed at home and abroad, he believed its perpetuity depended on the intelligence f the people as much as on their bravery, and that provision for their education was a patrio- - 9 - tic duty. The public school system of today was not then in existence; opportunity for education of the young was precarious, depending on private subscription, so that to adopt some plan of a permanent nature, particularly for children of the poor, was a noble inspiration, Then, again, his own education, though fair, was limited, and it was a source of regret to him that opportunity for higher attainments was not his lot when young. Whatever may have been the moving causes, the benevolent act was his own well matured purpose, and his will is the best exponent that can be given of his motives. It was framed with a sagacity for which he was noted ; the perpetuity of its benefits was a first consideration; that the doors of the school should be open to all children of Youngstown, and especially to those of poor parents, was a part of his broad philanthropy, and to avoid exclusiveness, no particular religious sect should have supremacy in its management, but good moral teaching should be an essential in its teachers, thus making the institution truly public in its benefits. At the time of his death the ,population of Youngstown was about 4,000, and the value of property greatly below the present; wealth was estimated by a different standard, and therefore the amount bequeathed was at the time relatively large ; and when it is remembered that it was given out of his most available means, not dependent on the uncertain value of landed property, which, though since, very great, could not then have been estimated, it is seen that this cherished purpose f his was, by design, most securely provided for, and in this provision of his will, the habit of doing well whatever he undertook, is clearly exemplified. Having no children of his own, and yet known to be a lover and friend of the young all his life, it might be said that he adopted the children of Youngstown to be his heirs, leaving to them an inheritance of great educational value for all time, by which his name would be perpetuated, and should this ambition have entered into the purpose of the generous deed. there is nothing unworthy in it. The 162 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY field of his benefaction has greatly enlarged since the will was made, and the trust has been so wisely and ably managed that its benefits have attained a proportion beyond any expectation the donor could have entertained at the time. The population of the city has increased to about 78,000, made up of a new generation, who generally look upon Rayen school as the ordinary outgrowth of civilization, unmindful of its founder, who, if remembered at all, is as some indistinct person in the past, almost .mythical in character. Few recognize the advantages of the school as the result of the foresight and benevolence of one f the earliest settlers in Youngstown, or consider that, if he had not existed and done the generous deed, the city would be wanting- in one of its chief attractions and most useful institutions. —[From a sketch by Hon. Thomas H, Wells.] ROBERT MONTGOMERY was born April 5, 1773, in Danville, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His father, General William Montgomery, was a colonel in the Revolutionary army, and at one time a member of the Continental Congress. Both father and son were surveyors, the subject of this sketch being employed as assistant to the surveyor-general .of Pennsylvania. While following his profession in the western part of that State prior to the settlement of the Reserve, Robert Montgomery made a journey up the Mahoning river, visiting the site of Youngstown, Here, between 1812 and 1816, he purchased land near the mouth of Dry Run, and established a 'homestead on which he subsequently resided 'until his death. Having in his younger days acquired a knowledge of the furnace business he made a second journey to Ohio, about 1805, and selected a site for a furnace on Yellow Creek, in Poland township. This site was on the farm of John Struthers, with whom he entered into partnership. A: furnace was erected and put in blast in 1806 or 1807, and was the first furnace successfully run in Ohio. A furnace on Yellow Creek had been previously erected by Dan Eaton, but was not successful. In 1807, Mr. Eaton sold his furnace, ore, and other rights to Mr. Montgomery and his partners, among the latter being James Mackay, Robert Alexander, and David Clendenin. The Montgomery furnace was run successfully until the War of 1812 interrupted the business and it was not resumed. After closing up his furnace business Mr. Montgomery took up his residence on the farm already mentioned. He was selected justice of the peace, in which office he served for a number of years. He was a man of good education and well informed on general topics. Having served for some time as a major in the militia he was generally given his military title in conversation, He died in 1857. Major Montgomery was twice married. His first wife died young, leaving one child; Mary, who married Mr. Corry. He married, second, in 1814, Mrs. Louisa M. Edwards, widow of John S. Edwards. Of this union there were three children, Robert Morris, Caroline Sarah, who became the wife of Dr. Moses Hazeltine, and Ellen, Louise, who married Samuel Hine. DAN EATON was one of several brothers who came to Ohio from Pennsylvania soon after the settlement of the Reserve, about 1803 or earlier. Little is known of his early history. His name was originally Daniel Heaton, but he had it contracted by act of legislature, deeming it to contain superfluous letters. The first authentic information in regard to him is derived from a contract made between him and Robert Alexander and David Clendenin, and dated June 23, 1807, in which -he contracts to sell them the "Hopewell Furnace," together with 102 acres of land which formed a part of the property, and all of which he held by contract with Turhand Kirtland ; also "his interest in and to the whole f the iron ore on the plantation of Lodwick which he held under an agreement with said Lodwick; also certain other rights to wood," etc. On the date of his agreement with Lodwick—August 31, 1803—he made a contract 'for iron ore preliminary to building a furnace. It also appears that on October. 17, 1804, be made contracts with others for wood for char- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 163 coal to run the furnace, which probably then was nearly ready to start. The exact date at which he "blew in" is not known, but it was undoubtedly at some time between 1804 and 1806 inclusive. This furnace was located upon Yellow Creek, about one and one-fourth miles south of its junction with the Mahoning river, in Poland township. To this place he came, it is believed, about 1800. The price for which he sold his furnace, with ore rights, etc., was $5,600, and the price of the land was not quite $3.50 per acre. After thus selling out his rights in this business he went to Niles, Trumbull County, where, with his brother James, he established a forge, using the pig iron made at the Yellow Creek furnaces, the delivery to him of which as part of the purchase price of the furnace was one of the conditions of the contract above referred to. Subsequently with the same brother, and possibly others of the family he built a furnace at Niles which was in operation as late as 1856, About 1825, with his brother James, Reese and Isaac Heaton, sons of James, and Eli Phillips, he built a furnace on Mill Creek, in Youngstown, the first in the township, a short distance below the Mahoning falls. About this time, and for a number of years after, he resided on. a small farm on the west side of Mill Creek near its junction with the Mahoning, it being a part of the tract originally purchased on which to build the furnace. Mr. Eaton was a man of strong prejudices and fiery passions. Though imperfectly educated he had a good mind and possessed a fair stock of general information. He several times changed his religious views, being in his younger days a Methodist, afterwards holding deistical views, and in his later years inclining to Spiritualism. He held pronounced opinions on financial questions, believing that banks should not issue currency, but that all paper money should be notes issued by the United States Treasury, and should be made a legal tender; that offices should be established in the several States for loaning these notes, and that the government should reap the benefit of the interest on the notes loaned and used as currency. These views with others he embodied in a bill which he prepared in 1847 and forwarded to Congress, accompanied by a petition signed by many of his friends and neighbors requesting its passage. Mr. Eaton was an early advocate of the temperance cause, organizing at Niles, as early as 1811, the first temperance society known in this region. He and his family, with many others, signed the total abstinence pledge, to which he ever afterwards adhered. That he was highly regarded by his fellow citizens is evidenced by the fact that in 1813 he was Senator from Trumbull County, and in 1820 Representative from the county in the State Legislature, his co-representative being Hon. Elisha Whittlesey. Mr. Eaton died at Youngstown about 1857, at the house f his daughter, Mrs. Hannah E. Kendle, with whom he had lived several years after the death of his wife. JAMES MACKEY, one of the most prominent and influential among the early settlers of the Western Reserve, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1776. His early history is not fully known, but that he had received a good education is evidenced by the fact that at the time of his arrival on the Reserve he was a "well trained practical surveyor, an excellent accountant, and a good mathematician." He arrived in Poland township about 1805, coming from Pennsylvania to assist Robert Montgomery in building a furnace on Yellow Creek, of which furnace he subsequently became part owner, being also connected with the company as bookkeeper until operations were discontinued about 1812. About .that time he entered the army, and was subsequently promoted to the office of adjutant in the fourth division of Ohio militia, commanded by Major-General Wadsworth. "During the war he was also assistant paymaster of the division, and his accurate rolls, and their careful preservation, was of great aid to the soldiers in after years in enabling them to furnish evidence of their military service, and thereby obtain bounty land warrants and pensions. His early 164 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY training and business capacity well qualified him for these positions, and his kind and generous treatment f the soldiers won him their gratitude, affection and respect. His military employments gave him the rank and title of major." About 1816 he entered into mercantile business in Youngstown with Colonel William Rayen, under the style of Rayen & Mackey, their store being a log building, situated on the northeast corner of Federal and Holmes streets. This partnership lasted for several years and during its continuance Major Mackey purchased a farm of 275 acres, northeast f the territory covered by the present city of Youngstown. He and Colonel Rayen, who owned a neighboring farm, just over the township line, in Coitsville, became friendly rivals in the production of fine cattle and swine. He was also often employed as land surveyor. Major Mackey was frequently elected by his fellow citizens to public office. In 1814 he was elected township clerk ; in 1822 and 1823, township trustee, and in subsequent years trustee, supervisor of highways, fence viewer, overseer of the poor and justice of the peace. In 1819 he was elected county commissioner for a term f three years. In 1822 he was elected representative from Trumbull County to the General Assembly, there being eight other candidates, His associate was Cyrus Bosworth. In 1830 he was elected treasurer of Trumbull County for two years, and in collecting the taxes he visited each year all the thirty-five townships of the county, performing his journey on the back of his favorite horse, "Bob." Major Mackey was a man of excellent qualities, active and industrious, public-spirited, f strict integrity, with good judgment, and great firmness and decision of character. Matters of difference between his neighbors were often referred to him for settlement, and his decision rendered only after full hearing of all the facts, were always accepted by them as final. His death took place August 15, 1844, when he was sixty-eight years old. He was married September 10, 1823, to Miss Margaret Earley, of Coitsville, O. She survived him many years, dying May 14, 1870, at the age of seventy-two. They were the parents of eight children of whom three died young. The others were David, Nancy, (who married Dr. Will Breaden), James, Robert and Letitia, who became the wife f Andrew Kirk. David, James and Robert Mackey were associated in partnership for a number of years in the real estate business in Youngstown. They built the first street railroad in that city, of which for a number of years James Mackey Was presirent, JOHN E. WOODBRIDGE was born in Stockbridge, Mass., June 24, 1777, son of Jahleel and Lucy (Edwards) Woodbridge. His mother was a daughter of Rev: Jonathan Edwards. He acquired his early education in his native town of Stockbridge and afterwards learned the trade of tanner with William Edwards, a relation, who resided in the State of New York, and with whom he remained until attaining 'his majority. In 1798 he went to Philadelphia where he worked at his trade, as he did subsequently in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. He was married in 1803 to Miss Mary M. Horner, who was born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1783. In the summer of 1807 the family, which then included two children, removed from Baltimore, where they were then residing, to Youngstown, making the journey in a large wagon. Here Mr. Woodbridge purchased the tannery f Joseph Townsend, who was the first tanner in Youngstown, and who then gave up his trade to become a farmer. The tannery being small, Mr. Woodbridge enlarged it and continued the business during the rest of his life, in his latter years, however, leaving the active management of the business largely to his sons, who were his partners. Among his employees, it is said, was Mr. Grant, grandfather of President Grant. In the War of 1812 Mr. Woodbridge served as paymaster of Colonel Rayen's regiment during the six months that it was in the field. He died in Youngstown December 1, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 165 1844. The following was the well deserved tribute to his character paid in a funeral discourse by Rev. Charles A. Boardman. "His uniform urbanity, intelligence, integrity, refinement, and morality of deportment commanded the respect of all, and the cordial attachment of those who best knew him, which, unshaken by adversity and trial, he has born with him to the grave, He was a modest man, with qualifications for official station which won the confidence of his fellow citizens, but he recoiled from its responsibility, and steadfastly resisted all offers of public favor." His wife survived him several years. They were the parents of eleven children : Lucy, who married Jonathan Edwards; John, George, Timothy, Henry, William, Walter, Samuel, Elizabeth, who became the wife of George Tayler ; Louisa Maria, married to Robert W, Tayler, and Stark Edwards. DANIEL SHEHY was born in County Tipperary, Ireland. The exact date of his birth is not known. He was well educated, and after arriving at man's estate came into possession of his inheritance and emigrated to America, this being just after the close of the Revolutionary War. At Albany, New York, he met John Young, by whom be was persuaded to seek his fortunes in Ohio, and whom he accompanied on the latter's first trip to the Western Reserve. In company with Mr. Isaac Powers he assisted in the survey of the Reserve. Their only white predecessor was Colonel Hillman, whom they met on the banks of the Mahoning. Mr. Shehy selected and purchased one thousand acres of land for which he paid $2,000, four hundred acres of which lay east of the present city of Youngstown, and the other six hundred on the south bank of the river, Having concluded the bargain in good faith and secured, as he thought, a homestead, Mr. Shehy married Miss Jane McLain, of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and built a cabin on the bank of the river, between Youngstown and Haselton. Here for many years they endured patiently the hardships and privations of pioneer life, and would have been content, but for one cloud which darkened their horizon. This was the difficulty in getting a title to their land. Mr. Young, who had been offered by Robert ,Gibson for the land south f the river fifty cents an acre more than Mr. Shehy had paid, refused to give the latter a deed, and there being then no law courts, the latter had no legal redress. This led to trouble between the parties, and on one occasion it is said, Mr. Shehy gave Mr. Young a sound thrashing, for which he was imprisoned and fined. As a last resource, Mr. Shehy left his wife and children in the wilderness, and set out on foot to Connecticut to try to obtain justice from the original proprietors of the land. The latter obliged Young to give Mr, Shehy a deed for the remaining four hundred acres. Though his health had been severely tried by the hardships he had undergone, he lived to rear a large family, and was recognized by his neighbors as a warm-hearted, generous, intelligent and public-spirited citizen. In religious faith he was a Roman Catholic. NATHANIEL GARDNER DABNEY was born in Boston, Mass., about the year 1770 or 1771, and was a member of a respectable and influential family, His father, Nathaniel Dabney, who was surgeon of a ship owned by himself and brother, was lost at sea, the vessel leaving port and never after being beard from. The mother of the subject of this sketch, was in maidenhood a Miss Betsey Gardner, of Connecticut, a woman of very superior qualities. Nathaniel was the only child of his parents and was given an excellent education. Having considerable means and desiring to see something of the western country, he came to Pittsburg, where he was induced by a friend to join with him in the purchase of a tract of land in Youngstown township, their intention being to engage in mercantile business. The friend dying before their plans were completed young Dabney found himself in possession of land which he scarcely knew how to turn to account, having no practical knowledge of agriculture. Marrying, in 1797, Miss Mary Keifer, of Pennsylvania, a farmer's daughter, he settled 166 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY On the land, on which he soon erected comfortable buildings. Here he reared a family of six children—three daughters and three sons. In 1813, Mr. Dabney, after a short illness, died of consumption, and his farm was divided among his children. He had a large family, several members of which subsequently became well known and prominent in the business and social world of Youngstown. COLONEL CALEB B. WICK was born October 1, 1795, son of Henry and Hannah (Baldwin) Wick. He was a descendant of Job Wick, of Southampton, Long Island, N. Y., who, according to the family records, was married to Anna Cook December 21, 1721. In April, 1802, Henry Wick purchased of John Young the square in Youngstown bounded by West Federal, Wood, Phelps, and Hazel streets, and a lot of thirty-seven acres outside of the town plat for $235. Here he engaged in business as a merchant, and in the spring of 1804 removed his wife and four children to Youngstown. He died November 4, 1845. His widow, Hannah B, Wick, died April 10, 1849. Caleb B. Wick received such an education as was obtainable in the schools of that period, a part of his time being spent in assisting his father in the latter's mercantile business. In the fall f 1815 with Dr. Henry Manning, he opened a country store, connecting with it a drug store, the first in this part f the Reserve. He remained in partnership with Dr. Manning in this store for about ten years. Subsequently he continued in mercantile business in other buildings until 1848, at which time he retired. His time afterwards was devoted to the care of his estate, which had become very large. He died June 30, 1865, when nearly seventy years of age, having been for some years previously the oldest citizen in Youngstown. During his active life he held a number of positions of public trust and honor. On June 2, 1817, he was commissioned by Governor Worthington lieutenant of the Third Company, First Batallion, First Regiment, Fourth Division, Ohio Militia, having been first elected to that position by the company. September 3, 1818, he was commissioned captain of the same company. On March 22, 1822, he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the same regiment, and in the fall of the same year colonel of the regiment, which position he held for several years. He was twice elected township clerk of Youngstown—in 1820 and 1824—was subsequently trustee, and held other township offices. He was also postmaster of Youngstown from November, 1841, to March, 1843. Colonel Wick married, January 1, 1816, Miss Rachel Kirtland, daughter of Jared Kirtland, of Poland, Ohio. Of this union there were two children, one of whom died in infancy. In November. 1828, he married for his second wife, Miss Maria Adelia Griffith, f Youngstown, previously of Caledonia, Livingston County, N. Y., who bore him ten children. "In social life, as a citizen, a neighbor, and a friend, Colonel Wick was liberal, kind and warm-hearted. In his house everybody felt at 'home and his hospitality knew no limit. Indulgent to his own family in social joys, and cheerful to the last, he had great delight in the society of the young as well as the old." JOHN M. EDWARDS was born in New Haven, Conn., October 23, 1805. His parents were Henry W. and Lydia (Miller) Edwards, and he was a grandson of Judge Pierrepont Edwards, one of the original proprietors of the Western Reserve, and a great grandson of Jonathan Edwards, the eminent theologian and an early president of Princeton College, On his father's side he was of Welsh and English descent. His maternal grandfather was John Miller, a native of London, England, who came to America prior to the Revolutionary War and who was a captain in the merchant marine. The subject of this sketch was graduated at Yale College in 1824, afterwards read law with Judge Bristol at New Haven, and was admitted to the bar of Connecticut in 1826, and to the bat of the Circuit Court of the United States in 1828. He came to Youngs- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 167 town in July, 1832, but at that time remained but a few months, soon after removing to the northern part of Trumbull county, where he engaged in business other than that pertaining to his profession, Admitted to the bar of Ohio by the Supreme Court in August, 1838, he began the practice of law at Warren. In 1840, and for some years thereafter he was editor of the Trumbull Democrat. A bankrupt law being passed in 1841, he was appointed by the United States district court commissioner of bankrupts for Trumbull County, which office he held until the repeal of the law. In 1842 he was nominated by a Democratic convention, and without any previous knowledge on his part that it was contemplated, representative in Congress from the old Nineteenth district to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Hon. Joshua R. Giddings, and although not elected, his party being greatly in the minority, he largely cut down the opposition vote. He was commissioned captain of militia in 1841, and in 1843 was appointed school examiner for Trumbull County. On the organization of Mahoning County in 1846, Mr. Edwards removed to Canfield, where he practiced law until 1864, at which time he removed his office to Youngstown, In 1868 he took up his residence in this city, remaining here subsequently until his death, While a resident f Canfield he was several times appointed school examiner for Mahoning County, and was tendered a re-appointment after his removal to Youngstown, which, however, he declined. He was one of the clerks of the Senate during the session of the Ohio Legislature of 1864-65. Subsequently he was several times elected justice of the peace of Youngstown township, holding that office from 1869 to 1878. A large part of Mr. Edwards' time was occupied by journalism. Shortly after his removal to Canfield in 1846 he became editor and one of the publishers of the Mahoning Index, the first newspaper published in Mahoning County, and from 1855 was weekly correspondent of the Mahoning Register of Youngstown, writing under the nom de plume of "Quill Pen." This correspondence was continued up to 1864, in which year he became associate editor f the Register, and was connected with it for several years subsequently, For some fourteen years—from 1865 to 1879 --he was the Youngstown correspondent of the Cleveland Herald. He was also one of the founders of the Mahoning Valley Historical. Society in 1874, and with William Powers, was editor of the valuable and interesting volume of "Historical Collections," published by the society in 1876. He contributed to the press many interesting articles containing reminiscences of pioneer days, and one of his last and most congenial labors was the editing of the "History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties," published at Cleveland, O., in 1882, Mr. Edwards was married, July 14, 1842, at Warren, O., to Miss Mary P., daughter of Joseph Grail. Mrs, Edwards was a talented amateur artist. She died at Youngstown;. May 15, 1877, leaving three children, of whom Henrietta Frances, married Stanley M. Casper, of Youngstown, and Henry W, became a merchant in Philadelphia. PATRICK O'CONNOR was born in. Clonmel, county Tipperary, Ireland, March 9, 1840, His father was a tanner who emigrated to America with his wife and son in the spring f 1842. They went first to Quebec and thence to Montreal, finally settling in Upper Canada, in the village of Newmarket, between Toronto and Lake Simcoe. Here the family was increased in course of time by one other son and three daughters, and here also the subject f this sketch received his elementary education, to which he subsequently added largely by private study. In March, 1854, he began a five years' apprenticeship to the printer's trade in Newmarket. Toward the close of this period a change took place in Mr, O'Connor's religious faith, which was brought about in agitation on the subject of establishing separate schools for the children of Roman Catholics. Mr, O'Connor had been brought up a Catholic, but on this question he took issue with his co-re- 168 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY ligionists. A careful study f the Scriptures resulted in his rejection of the doctrine of papal infallibility, and in January, 1859, he united with the Wesleyan Methodist church. At this time he was about nineteen years old, His change of faith being rebuked by his associates, and by his mother, now a widow, he left home and set out to wander as a journeyman printer from place to place. In June, 1862, he reached Youngstown and entered the employ of John M. Webb, then publishing the Mahoning Sentinel, a Democratic weekly paper that was opposed to President Lincoln's war policy, Mr, O'Connor's study of American politics while employed on this paper had the effect of making him a strong Republican, for he could not help being struck with the "inconsistency of Irishmen voting with the pro-slavery Democratic party while their fellow countrymen were suffering the oppression of tyranny on their own green isle." In the spring of 1863 Mr. O'Connor returned to Canada, but resumed residence in Youngstown in 1864. On June 30th f the latter year he Was married to Miss Lorinda Dorothea Ewing, adopted daughter of the late Cramer Marsateller, and a resident of Youngstown. Early in 1865, in company with his brother Richard, Mr. O'Connor began the publication in Youngstown of the Mahoning Courier, an independent, afterwards Republican, newspaper, f which he was editor until 1872. About the year 1868, during his editorship of this newspaper, Mr. O'Connor attracted considerable attention to himself through a newspaper controversy with the Rev, E. M. O'Callaghan, of Youngstown, on "The Errors f Rome." which was conducted through the columns of the Courier. In the winter of 1869-71, Mr. O'Connor and his brother instituted the first steam plant for newspaper printing used in Youngstown. In 1872 Mr. O'Connor sold out his interest in the newspaper business and subsequently spent some time as an itinerant preacher in the Erie conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Afterwards, on account of failing health, he returned to the newspaper business, In 1875 he was one of the editors and proprietors of the Youngstown Commercial, and in the following year became proprietor of the Morning Star, a short-lived paper devoted to the Greenback cuse. In July, 1876, Mr, O'Connor removed his family to Cleveland 0., where he resided until August, 1878, working as compositor on the different newspapers of that city. He then returned to Youngstown and was for a short time editor and publisher of the New Star. In 1869, Mr, O'Connor left the Republican party, owing to his failure, at a convention held in Canfield, to commit the convention to an espousal of the prohibition policy. CHAPTER XVI TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS Settlement and Organization of the Townships—Settlement and Founding of the Towns— Sketches of Lowellville, Canfield, Poland, Petersburg, Sebring, and Other Towns. AUSTINTOWN TOWNSHIP Austintown is township No. 2 of range No. 3 of the Connecticut Western Reserve. The soil in general is good and easily tilled, though in places stony. The early history of the township is somewhat obscure, as many of the first settlers remained but a short time, subsequently removing elsewhere. The records show that John McCollum, born in New Jersey in December 25, 1770, bought the first land in the township in 1798 and erected a cabin on it, to which he moved his family in 1800. His wife, Jane, whom he married in June, 1798, was born in New Jersey, in 1767. By a previous marriage to Robert Hamson she had five children. By her marriage to Mr. McCollum there were eight children, David, Mary, Robert, John, Daniel, Anna, Ira and Harvey. The McCollums were people of industry and resolution, well fitted for pioneer life. Mrs. McCollum was a good weaver, and after other settlers moved in, occupied what spare time she had by taking weaving to do, to assist her husband in paying for the farm, They succeeded in carving out a good homestead for themselves and their children, their farm being situated one-half a mile west of the line between Austintown and Youngstown. The parents died in 1849, within a few weeks of each other, Mrs, McCollum on March 19th and her husband on April 7th, The latter saw military service in the War of 1812 under Colonel Rayen. Another early settler was Wendell Grove, who came from Pennsylvania in 1801, and whose son John succeeded to the homestead. Then there were James Russell, Jacob Miller, and Theophilus Cotton, who settled successively on the same farm, afterwards owned by the widow Arms, The Webb family came to the township in 1814, John Lane and David Dillon were also early settlers. Dillon was the first captain of the militia in the township. John Russell, above mentioned, was also a captain in the militia at an early date. Dillon afterwards sold out and removed to the western part of the state. He had seven sons—William, Aaron, Asa, Jonathan, Jesse, Cyrus, and Eli—some of whom moved to other parts of the State. Robert Russell was 0ne of the early settlers in the southwestern part of the township, coming here with his parents in 1806. He subsequently married a Miss Hamson, and they had four sons--James, who removed to Jackson township, John, Hamson, and Samuel. George Gilbert and family at a very early date took up a farm adjoining the Russell farm on the east. The Gilberts were a large 170 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY family, members of which settled in different parts of the county, John Duncan settled on the Hamson farm in the southeastern part of the township, In the eastern part were Jacob Leach and Jacob Parkius, who settled on Jacob Leach's farm, and afterwards sold out to Benjamin Leach, who spent his life in the township. Benjamin had two brothers, John and Abraham, who resided in the eastern part f the township for several years. Henry Ohl, Sr., a blacksmith, came to the township about 1803, and set up a blacksmith shop on his farm. He had a family of ten children—Michael, David, Jacob, John, Abraham, Henry, Jr,, Jonathan, Eve, Mary and Polly. Henry Ohl, Jr., in his later years resided in Canfield. David and Michael were drafted for the war of 1812, but after getting as far as Youngstown were returned. The family resided in a two-story log house, with a porch in front, where, it is related, that upon one occasion the daughter Eve courageously attacked and killed a monstrous rattlesnake. William Wick, an early settler in the eastern part of Austintown, had the first bearing orchard in the township. John Truesdale settled about half a mile southwest of the center. He had a large family. His sons, John, James, and William, married and lived on the home farm until their death, Another early settler was James J, Russell, who came from Pennsylvania about 1806, and who died in 1870. He had ten children—six sons and four daughters. Robert Fullerton cleared a farm near the center and brought up a large family. Henry and Anthony Weatherstay settled near Four Mile Run ; both had families, the members of which are all long since dead or moved away. Another early settler in the same neighborhood was Jacob Wise. Archibald Ewing and Jacob Harding settled in the township about 1808, Harding on a partially cleared farm. Both had good sized families. John Jordan came to Austintown in 1813, having previously resided for a few years in Poland township. His family consisted of five sons and five daughters. He died in 1824, his wife's death occurring a few years later. The Cotton family were also among the first settlers. One of them, Joshua, was a captain of the militia. Frederick Moherman settled in 1803 in the eastern part of the township. His two sons, Daniel and Winchester, became prosperous farmers. Jacob Harrof came to Austintown from Canfield. He was twice married ; his two children by the first marriage, John and Elizabeth, died in Portage County, By his second marriage he had four sons and three daughters—Jacob, Andrew, William and Lewis, who all lived and died in Austintown, and Sarah, Leah and Rachel. Henry Strack settled in the southern part of the township, and lived and died upon the farm subsequently owned by Henry Crum, second. He had six sons—Henry, Samuel, John, William, Joseph and Jacob and some of his descendants still reside in the township. Abraham Wolfcale, with his sons, John and Abraham, were early settlers on the road east of the center, Henry Crum was an early settler at Smith's corners. An eight-hundred-acre tract of land, which was a part of the Salt Springs tract, and was known as the Whitman tract, as it belonged to the Whitman heirs in Connecticut, was partially cleared by Samuel Whitman, who settled at the center. Frederick Shively settled in the township in 1812, and was succeeded in possession of the homestead by his son George, who resided there for many years, The first white child born in Austintown township was John McCollum, son of the first settler, the date of his birth being 1803. He settled in Milton township, where he died in 1881. EARLY CONDITIONS. Large families were the rule among the early settlers. The women manufactured all the clothes for the household, and the spinning wheel and loom were kept going early and late. Wild animals were abundant and bears and wolves often wrought great havoc with the flocks. At night the howling of the wolves AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 171 could be heard in all directions. Deer were also numerous, and furnished the early settlers with a large part of their meat supply, The amount of taxes due in 1803 was $9.22, divided among twenty-six tax-payers. SCHOOLS. School was usually kept in some log cabin which had been abandoned for residence purposes, and, as in other parts of the county, parents wishing to send their children were expected to subscribe a certain amount for tuition. One of the earliest schools was situated near the site of the Disciple's church, Among the early teachers there were Asa Dillon and Elias Wick. There was another school house on the Shively farm, where John Fullerton taught at an early date. By 1812 there were several schools in various parts of the township. One, one the farm of Jacob Parkus, was taught by Isaac Alley. There are now seven schools in the township with a total attendance of about 150. They are located respectively as follows : Cornersburg, superintendent, W, H, Hethington. Four-mile run, superintendent, Harry May. Smith Corners (U. Evangelical), C. Bishof ; (Evangelical), W. S. Peck, Austintown, superintendent, George De Hoff. West Austintown, Evangelical, George Jordan. West Austintown, Evangelical, superintendent, Mr. Patterson. The population of Austintown is divided in religious belief. The Disciples' church was organized in 1828, a church building being erected soon after at Four-Mile Run. New buildings have been subsequently erected. Among the earliest members were William Hayden and John Henry (who were also among the first preachers and elders), John Lane, several of the Lantermans, Ira McCullom and Mrs. Jane Henry. Alexander Campbell, the founder of the sect, frequently preached here. The Evangelical church at West Austintown was organized about 1841, the first meeting being held in Jacob Harrof's barn. As the first church building was not erected until, 1853, meetings were held in private houses,. barns, and school houses for a number of years, The first preacher was Rev, Joseph, Long. The United Evangelical church at West Austintown, a frame structure with stone foundation, was erected in November, 1900, at a cost of $3,000. At one side of the main building there is an annex pulpit. The present pastor, Rev. S. T. Brandyberry, assumed charge September 20, 1904, his previous pastorate having been at Findlay, Ohio, In addition to presiding over the church at Austintown he is also pastor of two other churches, one at Sample and one at Calla, Ohio, Grace Reform church has as pastor Rev, I. C, Shaaf.. The Sunday-school superintendent is G., S, Jordan, WEST AUSTINTOWN, West Austintown, a thriving little settlement, was built soon after the completion of the Niles and New Lisbon Railroad in 1869. The first store was kept by D. B, Blott, The Anderson block was built by Robert McClure in 1871, The postoffice was established in. 1870, Windsor Calhoun being the first postmaster, The first store in Austintown Center was kept by Alexander Thompson about 1822, Soon after Dr. Packard, James Hezlip, and Colwell Porter engaged in business. The last named became quite wealthy, He finally left Austintown and went to Cincinnati, where he-continued in mercantile business with similar success. Judge Rayen started a store here about 1830, employing Cornelius Thompson to keep it. John Cotton kept store on the southeast corner in 1830-31, John McCaughtsey kept the first public house and later went into the clothing business. The coal mining industry, which is now at a practical standstill owing to the exhaustion of the mines, was started at West Austintown by 172 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY John M. Owen, John Stambauch, and others under the name of the Harrof Coal Company, the first mine being opened at West Austintown, On the exhaustion of the Harrof slope in 1880, they opened a shaft on the Jordan farm, which for a number of years produced about 130 tons of coal per day, In 1871 the New Lisbon Coal Company began operations, opening up the Pennel mine, which produced coal of excellent quality, The Tod, Wells & Co, bank, on the farm of Henry Kyle near Mineral Ridge, was opened about 1858, and was operated for many years, for a time by Morris, Robbins & Co, under lease. The Ohltown bank, opened about 1868, by Harris, Maurer & Co,, was worked until 1868, when it became exhausted, Operations on the Thornton bank on the old Cleveland farm were commenced in 1870 by Case, Thornton & Co,, under the name of the Ohltown Coal Company, They were succeeded by the John Henry Mining Co,, who sunk another shaft about 1889. The mine turned out about 100 tons per day, In early days iron ore was plentiful in some parts of the township and was taken out and hauled to the furnaces. Limestone has also been successfully quarried, The only furnace for the reduction f iron ore was the Meander furnace built by William Porter and others near Ohltown, The first grist-mill was built by William Irvin on Four-Mile Run in the northeastern corner of the township. The first saw-mill was built about 1847, in the eastern part of the township, John Justice, who died about 1880, operated a tannery north f the center on the Ohltown road for many years. Robinson Young, who settled in the township about 1826, also built a tannery, which he operated with his brother William, Many of the early settlers operated small copper stills, wherein they used up their surplus grain, thus putting it into a more salable form, BEAVER TOWNSHIP The township of Beaver has been a part of Mahoning County since 1846. The surface is moderately level, with a general northeast drainage. In parts it is slightly broken by low hills, but the land near the streams is low and subject to overflow. The township was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, mostly oak, ash, maple, beech and elm, with some pine, all of which have been much reduced in quantity. Sufficient remains, however, to give pleasing variety to the landscape, provide shade for cattle and exert a beneficial effect on atmospheric conditions, The principal stream is Mill creek, which flows through the township northward, west of the center, and which is fed by a number of small brooks. Big Bull Creek rises in the southeastern part of the township, Springs are abundant, and water may be obtained almost anywhere by digging wells. The principal occupations are farming, dairying and raising live-stock, PIONEERS, One of the first settlers in Beaver was Major Jacob Gilbert, who came to the township in 1802, and settled on the farm subsequently occupied by Michael Wieland, One of his children, a daughter, married Adam Wieland, from whom are descended most or all of the Wielands in the township, Major Gilbert saw service in the war of 1812. Another soldier of that war was John Shanefelt, who settled near Gilbert on a homestead which afterwards came into possession of his son and namesake John, In the northern part of the township the first settler was "Billy" Stewart, an old bachelor who lived alone in a small log cabin, Farther west the first settler was Abraham Miller, Adam Little at an early date settled near the center. On section 1 was Peter Stevens, who discovered coal in that locality and who used to mine it in a small way for two cents per bushel, Christopher Mentzer settled on section 13 in 1803, and soon after Christopher Clinker settled in the neighborhood of North Lima, with his sons, Abner, Josiah, Samuel and Isaac, In the same neighborhood, as early as 1804, were Michael and Frederick Dutterer. Among AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 173 the pioneers of the southern part of the township were John Harman, Henry Neidigh, and Frederick Sponseller. In the same year (1804) John Coblentz, from Frederick, Maryland, settled on the south side of section 25, He had a family of four sons and one daughter, the last-named of whom became the wife of John Eisler. ORGANIZATION. The township was organized for civil purposes in 1811, and the first election held April 1st of that year. The judges were Peter Eib, Frederick Sponseller, and Christian Clinker, The following were the officers elected : Trustees—John Crumbacher, Christian Clinker, Frederick Sponseller ; clerk—George Hoke; treasurer—John Harmon ; lister—Adam Little; house appraiser, John Coblentz ; constable, Jacob Gilbert ; overseers of the poor, Balzar Mower, David Gerringer ; fence-viewers, John Neidigh, Sr., Christopher Mentzer road supervisors—Christian Crebs and Jacob Crouse ; justices of the peace, Peter Eib and Adam Little. MINING AND MANUFACTURING, Coal was formerly mined in the county in considerable quantities. One f the largest mines was that of Azariah Paulin which yielded 1500 to 2000 tons yearly, There were also coal banks on the farms of Daniel Crouse and Abraham Yoder, and a number of other mines south of East Lewistown which yielded good coal. The good mines are now all exhausted and coal mining is practically a thing of the past. The first mill put in operation in the township was built on Mill Creek, in section fifteen, in 1805, by Matthias Glass, It was subsequently replaced by one of greater capacity built by Jacob Crouse. In 1849 a steam mill was erected by Anthony Smith, which was a three-story frame structure and had three run of stones. Peter Glass also put up a sawmill, north of the old Glass mill, which was operated many years by Solomon Crouse, Abraham Stauffer had grist and saw mills on Mill creek which were operated up to 1840, A water-power saw mill was put up on Turkey Broth creek, in section nine, by Jacob Detwiler. It was subsequently operated by John Fellnagel, who changed it to a steam mill, Jacob Esterly built one of the earliest tanneries, near the village of North Lima. NORTH LIMA. This is a pleasantly situated village, and was founded about 1826 by James Simpson. One f the earliest merchants was a man named Hartzell; others were John Glass and John Northrup. The first regular store was opened by the Neill Brothers, whose clerk, John Leslie, subsequently became a partner in the business. Other early merchants were Crouse & Northrup, Buzard & C0., J, H, Donald and Mentz, Hahn, Fell & Co. The first public house was opened by John Glass in 1830. About 1828 the first postoffice was established, with Jacob Gilbert as postmaster, Owing to the difficulty in getting the mail, the office was discontinued in 1831, but in 1834 it was re-established. Nathan Hahn was the first permanent physician in North Lima, coming her in 1846 and remaining until his death in 1874. Other doctors had previously practiced here for short periods of time, the first being Drs. Manning and Willet in 1831, EAST LEWISTOWN, This well laid out village, which is about two miles west of North Lima, was founded about 1830 by John Nold, Henry Thoman, Sr., Peter Goder, Sr,, and George Houck, In 1839 a store was opened here by Jesse Motter in the house occupied by H, Thoman as a residence. Mr, Matter continued in trade until 1845, Other early merchants were Jacob S, Thoman, T. G,. Northrup, Franklin 174 - HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY Dunn, Smith & Buzard, George Buzard and Frederick Fellnagle, The first public house was kept by a man named Morrow, about 1843, in a building opposite the Thoman residence, Ten years later Conrad Stigletz opened an inn on the square, which he conducted till 1863, The first postoffice was established about 1841 with Philip Fetzer as the first postmaster, For some time it had but a semi-weekly mail, but afterwards a daily delivery was introduced. Dr. Ethan A, Hoke was the first regular physician, SCHOOLS, The schools of Beaver township are divided as follows : 1st.—The North Lima special district, which comprises the North Lima High School of three rooms and three teachers (Superintendent H, W. Phillips) ; intermediate, Bessie B, Rice, teacher ; primary, Maude Glenn, .teacher. Fractional district—Floyd Felger, teacher. Morgantown district—Myrtle Kelley, :teacher. Erb district—J, R, Duncan, teacher, All the above are in the East precinct, which enrolls in all 190 scholars. The West district (or. Special District No. 1) contains three schools, namely : East Lewistown district, Curtis Ziegler, teacher; Beard district, Henry Crumbacher; teacher ; Boyer -district. Special No, 2. Pine Hill district, Ota Orr, teacher ; Harter district, Adelia Basinger, teacher ; Germantown district, The first mentioned schools in the above are in the East precinct, the last one in the West precinct. The special district contains 176 scholars. The Fractional district, with the school at Woodworth, comprises a small part of Beaver township, and a part of Boardman, Alice Renkenberger is the teacher, The school buildings of Beaver township are all substantial brick buildings, and a few years since were pronounced by the state school commissioner as being the best and most substantial of any township in the state. In the special school districts the branches taught are, orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, grammar, language lessons, United States history, physiology, physical geography, and algebra. MORGANTOWN GANG. While no township in Mahoning County possesses more law-abiding citizens in proportion to its size than that of Beaver, there was at one time a small but well organized lawless element that succeeded for twenty years in terrorizing a large part of the community by crimes of arson, theft, and perjury, until the reign of terror was brought to an end by the arrest and conviction of some of the ring leaders. These troubles arose about the close of the Civil War, and it is said that political differences had no small part in originating them, The disturbers of the peace were in general of that class known as southern sympathizers, or "Copperheads," and their differences with their loyal neighbors brought on acts of aggression, and retaliation that finally degenerated into the midnight crimes that for a time gave the township of Beaver an unsavory reputation. The leader of this lawless element was Azariah Paulin, a man of such natural cunning and astuteness, though united to a vindictive and criminal disposition, as to earn for him the title of 'The Old Fox." By many, owing to his leading connection with the troubles referred to, and his ability in warding off from his subordinates for so long the legal consequences of their acts, he was termed the "Old Chief." The disposition of this man is well illustrated by his conduct in connection with a contract made by him with one Tom Campbell. Paulin possessed a farm at Steamtown worth $10,000. Campbell had a berry patch on Paulin's farm and it was agreed between them that Campbell should raise the berries and that he and Paulin should share equally in the proceeds. When the patch had been planted and was in good shape Paulin ignored