300 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for three years for Julius S. Giles. He was married in 1870, and after that lived on a farm at Bainbridge for three years. At the end of that time he came to Solon township, Cuyahoga county, and for some years lived on rented land here. In 1877 he settled on the farm on which he now lives, a mile and a quarter from Solon. Here he owns 1322 acres of excellent land, with good improvements thereon. His barn, 40 x 60 feet, with 20-foot posts, and basement, is one of the best in the township. It has a capacity for 100 tons of hay and grain. Mr. Britton has given no little attention to the stock business, and in this as well as farming has met with success. He now keeps a dairy of, twenty-five cows. Mr. Britton was married December 8, 1870, to Anna Jane Smyton, who was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, daughter of John and Margaret (Johnson) Smyton. She came to this country when she was fourteen years of age. Her father died when she was ten years old, leaving a widow and three children, the others being Rachel and Alex, the latter being now deceased. Mrs. Smyton is still a resident of county Tyrone. Mr. and Mrs. Britton have five children: May B., Carrie Anna, George William, Grace Elizabeth and Fred S. All have had the benefit of good educational advantages. Mr. Britton's family are Presbyterians, and, politically, he is a Democrat. L. D. BATTLES, one of the prosperous farmers of Mayfield township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, was born on the farm on which he now lives, October 1, 1836. He is the ninth child and sixth son of Inthox and Arthusa (Porter) Battles, and on his father's farm he grew up, and received a district-school and academic education. Two years before he reached his majority he began working out by the month on neighboring farms. November 1, 1860, he married Caroline Jacobs, who was born in this township, March 6, 1836, oldest child of Harmon and Harriett (Keyt) Jacobs. They have three children, one son and two daughters: Ewing, of this township; Harriett, wife of James Short; and Viola, wife of James Rogers. After his marriage Mr. Battles located on the farm where he now lives, and where he has since remained, with the exception of five years spent in Ashtabula county, this State. He owns 322 acres of choice farming land and carries on general farming and stock raising, being very successful in his operations. Politically, Mr. Battles is a Republican. He is now serving as Township Trustee and as School Director. JAMES COVERT, who resides near Wilson's Mills, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, is the proprietor of the "Chagrin Valley Poultry Farm." Mr. Covert was born in Mayfield township, this county, October 12, 1822, a son of one of the early pioneers of northern Ohio. His father, James Covert, Sr., a native of New Jersey, went from that State to New York when he was twelve years old, and in 1807 took up his abode in Cuyahoga county, Ohio. At that time there were but few people in Mayfield township. In the midst of the forest he secured a tract of land, built a log house, and became prominently identified with the early pioneers. He and his wife, nee Martha Judd, had fourteen children, the subject of our sketch being the eighth born. He was reared on his father's farm, and received his education in the common s schools of the district. Among the early settlers of the township were the Johnsons, Judds; Smiths, Jacksons and Coverts. Many of the older members of these families have long since passed away, but their descendants still remain here, and these names are found on most of the school records of the township. In 1847 the subject of our sketch married Mary J. Sheldon, who died some years later, leaving three sons and two daughters: Frank- CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 301 lin, Polly, Wayne, Elizabeth and Cordelia. Mr. Covert married for his present wife, in 1887, Miss Mary Maranda Higgins, a native of this township, and a daughter of Henry M. Higgins, who came to this county in an early day. Her only child died in infancy. In early life Mr. Covert was a great hunter, and has also traveled a great deal. He made the journey to California, spent some time on the plains and visited various portions of the West. His Chagrin Valley Poultry Farm, referred to at the beginning of this sketch, was the first farm taken up in Mayfield township by Abner Johnson, comprises 150 acres, and is well equipped for the purpose to which it is devoted. For some time Mr. Covert has given his special attention to the raising of fine poultry, and in this enterprise his efforts have been attended with success. Like his father before him, Mr. Covert's political affiliations are with the Democratic party. Fraternally, he has been identified with the I. O. O. F. for three or four decades, having his membership at Chagrin Falls. OSCAR JACOBS, one of the prosperous farmers of Mayfield township, Cuyahoga county, has recently retired from his farm and removed to Chagrin Falls. As one of the representative men of the county, it is appropriate that personal mention be made of him in this work. A resume of his life is as follows: Oscar Jacobs was born in Mayfield township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, December 25, 1841. Harmon Jacobs, his father, who was born in Rutland county, Vermont, in 1809, was when four years old taken by his father to New York, his mother having died in Vermont. He remained in New York until 1825, when, at the. age of sixteen, accompanied by his brother, he started on foot for Geauga county, Ohio, carrying a pack of about forty-five pounds on his back. Upon his arrival in Ohio he worked out by the month on farms in various places until he was twenty-two years of age, when he was employed by Halsey Gates to work in the mill, and remained- in his employ six months. He then took charge of the mill, and for nine years ran it on the shares. After this he bought a farm in the southeastern part of Mayfield township, where he spent the rest of his life and died. His death occurred in 1885. He was a than who was well posted on current events and occupied a leading place in the community in which he lived. For some time he served as Township Trustee. Politically, he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. Looking still further into the paternal ancestry of our subject, we find that the Jacobses are of English origin. Three brothers by the name of Jacobs emigrated to this country from England previous to the Revolutionary war. One of them, our subject's great-grandfather, was a soldier in that war, fighting on the side of the colonies, while his two brothers remained loyal to the king. Aaron Jacobs, the grandfather of Oscar, was a participant in the war of 1812. This Aaron Jacobs came to Ohio nine months after Buffalo was burned, and settled in Trumbull county, he being the first of the Jacobses to settle on the Western Reserve. The mother of Oscar Jacobs was before her marriage Miss Harriett Keyt. She was born in New York in 1814, daughter of. Gideon Keyt, a native of New Jersey and of English descent. They came to Cuyahoga county in 1832. She is still living, making her home with her youngest daughter and her son Oscar. They had a family of four children, all of whom grew up, namely: Caroline, wife of Lorenzo Battles, of Mayfield township, this county; Margaret, deceased; Oscar, the subject of our sketch; and Augusta, wife of Oliver Gary. Oscar Jacobs was reared in his native place, receiving his education in the common schools and at the seminary in Geauga county. He was married November 15, 1864, to Verlena Traver, who was born in St. Joseph county, Michigan, in 1845, daughter of Robert and Eliza (Jerome) Traver. Mr. Traver was a native 302 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. Of New York. He removed from Michigan to Ohio with his family when Mrs. Jacobs was quite small. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs have four children: Milan, Harmon O., Elmer C. and Zella A. Mr. Jacobs spent one year on his father's farm after he was married, and then moved to his own land. He owns 244 acres, on which until quite recently he was engaged in general farming and stock raising. Politically, he is a Republican. WILLIAM BRITTON, a well-known citizen of Solon township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, August 6, 1831, son of James and Catharine (Johnson) Britton, both natives of that same county. James Britton, Sr., the grandfather of William Britton, was born in Scotland, and removed from there to county Tyrone, Ireland, where he purchased 450 acres of land, most of which is still held by members of the Britton family. The subject of our sketch is one of a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters, namely: Mary, who died in New York; William; Eliza, a resident of New York city; Anna, who died in New York city; James, a resident of Ireland; Samuel, who lives in Solon, Ohio; Belle, who died in Ireland. Both parents are deceased, the mother having died at the age of fifty-six, and the father at sixty-seven. William Britton remained in his native land until after he attained his majority, and in 1854 he emigrated to America, sailing from Londonderry to Liverpool and thence to New York, where he landed after a voyage of twenty-six days. For two years he was engaged in teaming in New York city. From there he came to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and was for some time engaged in teaming for William Hutchings. It was in 1865 that he located on his present farm. Here he owns 101 acres of wed-improved land, equipped with good house, barn, stock sheds, etc. In connection with his farming operations, he also keeps a dairy of some fifteen cows. Mr. Britton was married April 20, 1858, to Rachel Johnson, who was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, June 24, 1829, daughter of John and Rebecca (McGinnes) Johnson, who were born, passed their lives and died in that county, both reaching advanced ages, her father eighty-four and her mother ninety-six. The names of their nine children are as 'follows: Margaret, Ann, Rachel, Robert, John, James (1), Arthur, Rebecca and James (2). They were members of the Church of England. Mrs. Britton came to this country unaccompanied by any of the members of her family, and was seven weeks in making the ocean voyage. Mr. and Mrs. Britton are the parents of four children, viz: Ida J., wife of Robert Thompson, of this township; Ira J., in the employ of the Brush Electric Light Company, of Cleveland; Annie R., de¬ceased; and Lucy P., who has a position in the office of the Cleveland Railroad Company. Mr. Britton's parents were Presbyterians, and he and his wife are also members of that Church. Politically he is a Democrat. For six years he has served as a member of the School Board. His whole life has been characterized by the strictest integrity, and those who know him best esteem him most.J. J. C. ROSSITER, chief clerk of the city water department, was born in Cleveland, October 24, 1852. He spent a brief period in the common schools, but not forming a remarkable liking for the routine work of the schoolroom, ceased to be a pupil at twelve years of age. He became office boy for C. R. Evatt, a coal dealer, at that age, and some time afterward was left in charge of the business while that gentleman was absent on a three months' trip to Europe. On his return the business of the concern had been so well attended to that a present of an old $20 national bank bill was CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 303 made to young Rossiter by Mr. Evatt. Mr. Evatt opened a branch coal office and at thirteen years old Mr. Rossiter was given charge of it, and conducted it seven years. He remained in the coal business with other parties, David Lucas, M. T. Thompson, and James Rossiter, his father, who purchased the business of Todd, Wells & Co., and is still a dealer. J. C. Rossiter entered the water office as a clerk in 1881. He has remained continuously through the administration of both political parties, being promoted four times, the last one in 1891, when he was made chief clerk by Director Herrick and continued in the same position by Director Farley. James Rossiter came to Cleveland in 1851, from county Wexford, Ireland. He married Margaret Cullen in the old country. Their children are: J. C.; P. F.; Mary (deceased), married C. B. Coon; J. W. (died at fifteen); Margaret, wife of Frank Fowler, a clerk for the United States Express Company; William J.; and Catharine, who died in 1889. J. C. Rossiter married, November 15, 1875, in Cleveland, Catharine, daughter of Patrick Mahon, who was born in Roscommon, Ireland, came to Cleveland in 1863, and engaged here as a custom tailor. He married Ellen Washington and reared thirteen children. Mr. and Mrs. Rossiter are the parents of James (deceased), Nellie, John, William, Margarette and Catharine. EDWARD J. MAGINN, cashier of freight /1 office of the Pennsylvania Railroad, has practically grown up in the service of this company. He entered it as a telegraph operator twenty-two years ago, and by close application to business and exemplary conduct has risen by degrees and passed through all intermediate stations, arriving at the goal in 1888, when he succeeded Agent Andrus as cashier. Mr. Maginn received a liberal education at the public schools of Milan, Norwalk and Akron. At the last named place he learned telegraphy and was made night operator at Loudonville, on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, this being his first permanent position. Overwork so aggravated an injury of the hip which he received when a boy that he was obliged to quit work, remaining idle one year, and when he again became an employe of the company it was as previously stated. Mr. Maginn was born in Glasgow, Scotland, December 15,1856. In 1856 his father, James K. Maginn, came to Ohio and located in Milan. He was a ship carpenter and joiner by trade, and followed it (including two and a half years in the Government service during war), together with machine work, till retirement. He married Anna McEwen, and Edward J. is the only living one of their two children. October 13, 1880, Mr. E. J. Maginn married, in Cleveland, Maggie McConville, whose father, Francis McConville, resided in Sandusky. Their children are Bessie, Ethel and Grover C. JAMES F. WALSH, inspector of boilers for the city of Cleveland, was born in county Cork, Ireland, April 11, 1847. His father, Michael Walsh, an engineer, came to the United States in 1848 and made his home first in Piermont, Rockland county, New York. In 1854 he came to Cleveland and was employed with the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad Company, and was a trusted man, remaining twenty-seven years. Flom 1881 until 1884 he was on the pay roll of the Lake Shore Company. He is now retired, and is eighty-two years of age. For his wife he married Mary Irving, and they have seven children, the third one being James F. The latter received only a fair English education from the Cleveland schools. On leaving them he became timekeeper for Blish & Gar., 304 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. lock. He remained with them till 1860, when he went to Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, and entered on his apprenticeship as a boiler-maker with the New York & Erie Railroad Company. In January, 1863, with trade completed, he returned to Cleveland and worked for the C. & E. two years. He then went to Meadville, Pennsylvania, remaining there till 1867 in the employ of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad. He left the Keystone State then, and after a two-years' service with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company in Cleveland, returned to Petroleum Center, Pennsylvania, and spent two years with F. J. Hanna & Company, boiler-makers. On his final return to Cleveland in 1871 Mr. Walsh entered the employment of the Cleveland Steam Boiler Works and remained till his arrangement with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company, in 1874, when he was made assistant foreman of the boiler shops, holding this place till July, 1893, when he was appointed by the director of fire department to his present position. In 1870 Mr. Walsh married, in Cleveland, Miss Ellen, a daughter of James Marr, a tailor of this city. Their children are: M. J., a machinist; J. F., Jr., W. T., Mary I., Elizabeth E., Maggie H., John T. and Joseph R. J. M. BURGESS, a farmer of Orange township, this county, was born at Boonville, Oneida county, New York, February 6, 1822, a son of William Burgess, who was born at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, June 27, 1787. The latter's father, Joseph Burgess, was also a native of that State, and the family trace their ancestry to Thomas Burgess, who came to Massachusetts in 1630. He ,became one of the prominent and influential settlers of his locality. The family have always been active workers in churches, schools, different professions, and have been soldiers in the wars of this country. William Burgess, father of our subject, was married in 1810 to Esther Williams, who was born in Lenox, Massachusetts, in 1791, and was also a member of a prominent family. After marriage they moved to Vermont, next to Boonville, Oneida county, New York, and in 1833 located in Bainbridge, Geauga county, Ohio. Mr. Burgess died there, at the age of sixty-two years, and his wife survived until eighty-two years of age. The former was a blacksmith by trade, was a Democrat in his political views, and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They had nine sons who grew to years of maturity, viz.: John Chandler, who died at Scranton, Pennsylvania; Allen, a resident of Russell, Ohio; Alvin, a prominent Methodist minister in Jamestown, New York, where he has served as Presiding Elder for a number of years; Joseph M., our subject; Theodore; Charles W.; John W.; Cornelius, engaged in railroad work at Cleveland; and D. Franklin, a resident of Solon, Ohio, who was a soldier in the late war, a member of the Sixth Ohio Cavalry. In 1862 the mother and nine sons met at Cleveland, which was the last time the ten were ever together. J. M. Burgess, the subject of this ,sketch, came to Ohio when eleven years of age, where he was reared to farm life, and attended the district schools of Bainbridge. At the age of nineteen years he was employed as mail and baggage master on the Hartford & New Haven Railroad, continuing in that position two years, and is now one of the oldest ex railroad men in Ohio. Mr. Burgess has resided on his present farm of 180 acres of well improved land for the past forty years. He has all the necessary improvements on his place, and also has a sugar grove of 900 trees. April 30, 1845, Mr. Burgess was united in marriage with Louisa Fowler, who was born, reared and educated at Bainbridge, Ohio, a daughter of Horatio Fowler, a native of Connecticut. His father, John Fowler, was one of the early pioneers of Bainbridge. Horatio was married May 31, 1821, to Jemima Russell, a CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 305 native of Middlefield, Massachusetts, and a daughter of Gideon Russell, who was born in Somers, Connecticut, December 25, 1760. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and was the first settler of Russell, Ohio, having located there in 1816. Gideon Russell married Jemima Al-yard, who was born at Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1762. Mr. and Mrs. Horatio Fowler had ten children, eight of whom grew to years of maturity, namely: Louisa, Marvin, Harriet, Emily, Norman, Laura, Justin and Alferd. During the late war Norman was a soldier in the Second Minnesota Infantry, and was killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. Two children died when young, John and Ed. Mrs. Fowler departed this life March 23, 1866, and her husband survived until August 21, 1873. Mr. J. M. Burgess and wife have four children: John .N., who received his education at Oberlin, Ohio, and is now a successful teacher in Los Angeles, California; H. N., now at home, who married Eva A. Straight; she died leaving one son, Clarence H.; Elmo J., wife of William A. Stewart, of Solon, Ohio; and Alice M., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Burgess lost two children by death: Emily, at the age of nine years, and a babe of one year. Mr. Burgess votes with the Republican party, and has served as Trustee and as a member of the School Board. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. C. F. EMERY, a farmer and stock raiser of Warrensville township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, is a man who for a number of years has been prominently identified with the various interests of this section of the country. Some personal mention of him is therefore appropriate on the pages of this work, and a brief sketch of his life is as follows: C. F. Emery was born in Jaffrey, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, April 10, 1832, son of Samuel and Mary. (Bailey) Emery, both natives of that State. Samuel Emery was a successful farmer, was a quiet and unassuming man, and in his religious belief was a Universalist. He died at the age of sixty-one years, his death resulting from blood poisoning; and previous to that sickness he was never sick a day in his life. After his death his widow came to Cleveland, Ohio, and spent her last days with her daughter, Ermina Kidd. Mrs. Emery was a woman of many estimable qualities. She was one of a family of seven, all of whom have passed away. The subject of our sketch was the fourth born in a family of seven children, four of whom are now living, namely: Louisa, widow of Samuel Bent, of Massachusetts; Almon, of Cleveland, Ohio; C. F.; and Ermina, wife of Robert Kidd, of Cleveland. C. F. Emery grew up in his native State. At the age of twelve he commenced work in a cotton factory, attending common school in winter. When he was twenty he bought the time intervening between that and his majority, paying his father $150 for the same. At the age of twenty-one he came to Ohio, and his first employment was in a chair factory in Newburg, where he remained until he was twenty-three, and during that time laid up $700. Then, on account of too close confinement in doors, he sought a change of occupation, and turned his attention to the butchering business, being engaged with William B. Falloasbee. He continued in this business until he had saved up $10,000. Then, disposing of his interest in the meat market, he became a partner in the Ohio Chair Co., with which he was connected three years. Next, he began buying horses and selling the same to the Government, and in this enterprise was also successful. In the meantime the Civil war had been inaugurated, and he had sent a substitute to the field of action. He has continued buying and selling horses up to the present time. For years he has been engaged in heavy hauling for the Cleveland Rolling Mill Co. at Newburg. Mr. Emery has for a number of years been connected with the street railway system of Cleveland. In 1880 he was engaged in what 306 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. was known as the Street Chariot Railway War, which lasted for three months. At its close he owned 125 horses and thirteen chariots, which were used to convey passengers on Woodland avenue from the work house to Bank street. When the trouble was finally settled the railway company put its road and cars in good shape, and two years later Mr. Emery was chosen president of the company, in which position he remained until it was consolidated with the West Side. He then occupied the position of vice-president until another consolidation was effected, this time with the cable line. At this writing he is one of the directors of the Cleveland City Railway Co. It was in 1881 that Mr. Emery began farming. He owns a large farm in Warrensville township, all well improved and used principally as a stock farm, blooded horses being his specialty. His place is known far and near as "Forest City Farm." During the past year he sold nine horses which were shipped to Russia, one which went to Liverpool, and at different times has made shipments to Canada and to almost every State in the Union. At this writing he has about 200 head of blooded horses. Besides the ether enterprises mentioned, Mr. Emery is also interested in the Taylor & Boggis Foundry Company, of Cleveland. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Emery was married in 1855 to Miss Antonette A. Burke, daughter of Barzillai B. and Prudence Burke, of Newburg, Ohio. They have four children, viz : Louisa, wife of L. W. Prior, resides with her father, her two children being Emory and Russell; Alfred B., engaged in a coal and teaming business in Chicago, Illinois, he and his wife, nee Laura Hartwell, having two sons, Fred and Clarence; Antonette Augusta, who is attending kindergarten school in Boston, preparing herself for a teacher; and Christopher, who is a student in the Cleveland Business College. Mrs. Emery's father was among the first settlers of Cleveland, being brought here when eight years of age by his parents in their location here. In the war of 1812 he was a drummer, and afterward was a farmer. In 1865 he received an autograph letter from General Winfield Scott, written at the age of seventy-nine years, without glasses. Mrs. Emery's mother was a daughter of Captain Philo Taylor, who kept one of the first hotels in Cleveland. This hotel stood near the present site of the New England House. JOHN A. THORPE, division superintend ent of the Cleveland Electric Railway Company, is one of those progressive young men whose success is due to an invincible ambition to go up higher and to avoid a continuous and never-ending tread in the paths of the plodder or mediocre citizen. He is of humble parents, who were of foreign birth and most limited means, and as a consequence was forced to be content with only a smattering of an education, obtained at the Cleveland city schools. At ten years of age we find him employed in a coal-breaker, sorting out the slate, and on leaving Scranton, Pennsylvania, his old home, and becoming a Cleveland boy, he sold papers, blacked boots and did any other honorable service to earn an honest penny. His mother secured two stands at the market and put her young son into the management of one of them. His next work was in a cooper shop of the Standard Oil Company, where he remained twelve years, completing his trade and becoming an efficient workman. His railroad experience begins with his exit from the cooper shop. in 1881. He was ap- pointed a conductor on the Brooklyn line and was promoted to be starter at the corner of Pearl street and Clark avenue, and so remained until the consolidation in 1893, when as a reward for long and valuable service he was made division superintendent, having charge of all South Side and West Side lines of the Cleveland Electric Company. CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 307 Mr. Thorpe was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, May 2, 1857. In 1866 his father, J. J., a native of Dublin, Ireland, came to Cleveland and was employed on the street railroad work for a number of years. He emigrated to the United States in 1856, locating in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He married Catherine Garrity, who bore him six children, viz.: W. J., on the Cleveland police force; T. P.; Ella, wife of John Bushman; May, wife of G. O. Brainard ; and Katie, single. In April, 1883, Mr. Thorpe married, in Cleveland, Miss Katie, a daughter of Timothy D. Ryan, of Ohio. Of their five children, four are living: William S., of Cincinnati; Grace A., Joseph E., Maudie Josephine (died in June, 1892, at five years of age), and Estella. A. J. EHRLER, one of the oldest railroad men in Cleveland in point of residence, and now local freight agent of the Cleve- land, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, popularly known as the "Big Four," was born in this city July 27, 1846. His father; Joseph Ehrler, of German birth, born in the province of Wurtemberg, came to Cleveland in 1838. While able for duty he followed merchant tailoring. In his latter years he was almost an invalid, dying in 1888, at sixty-nine years of age. He married a Hanoverian lady named Annie M. E. Hackman, who died in 1874, at fifty-six. Her children were: A. J.; Magdalen, wife of M. Nisius, of Cleveland; John, deceased, and Mary. A. J. Ehrler attended the Cleveland public and private schools, and after he began business attended night school, conducted by Lawyer Brown. His first work of importance was for Mr. A. M. Perry, a Cleveland miller, having charge of the retail department, remaining with him nearly two years, when his railroad career opened by accepting, February 1, 1864, a minor position with the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati 20 Railroad Company, then jointly operated with the C. & E. and B. & E. roads. He performed service as caller and tally man for three years, when it was observed by the general agent, Dr. Hills, and the chief clerk, J. T. R. McKay, that he possessed a fitness for peculiar and important duties, which the management decided should be undertaken. This work was of a secret nature and the person who did it was nothing short of a detective from one railroad investigating the business methods of one of its connection, touching the matter of earnings on mileage. Dr. Hills appointed Mr. Ehrler to this difficult task and sent him to Toledo to keep "tab" on the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad Company's business. He was absent on duty four weeks, and his work was so well performed that Dr. Hills wrote him a personal letter congratulating him on his success and stating that his report contained just the information the company desired, and, granting him a two weeks' vacation, requested him to report for regular duty at an appointed time. He was given a clerkship in the local freight office, and was promoted in line for meritorious service, and in 1883 was given charge of the central freight station. Ten years later he was made local freight agent of the "Big Four." While Mr. Ehrler was in the employ of Agent Hough, of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati, Mr. Valliant, agent of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, approached him with an offer to accept a position with his company, which proposition Mr. Ehrler submitted to Agent Hough, and then and there an agreement was entered into between the two agents not to interfere with each other's employees, which agreement has been strictly lived up to. DR. ANNETTE T. WINSHIP, physician, 363 Prospect street, Cleveland, was born in Cumberland county, Maine, a daughter of Oliver and Clementine (Morton) Winship, natives of the same State. 308 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. Dr. Winship received her literary training at the Maine State Seminary, taught school two years in Maine and three in Massachusetts, and afterward in the high school in Dover, New Hampshire. Afterward she read medicine under the instructions of Dr. N. R. Morse, of Salem, Massachusetts, and then attended the medical department of the Boston University, graduating in the class of 1882. She began the practice of her chosen profession in Cleveland, in the spring of 1883, and has enjoyed marked success. She has a general practice, which is mainly, among women and children. She is now on the staff of the Women's and Children's Dispensary at Cleveland, and she also has been a member, from the first, of the Girls' Educational and Industrial Union, and in religion she is a member of the Free Baptist Church. GEORGE CAUNTER, a prominent contractor of Cleveland, was born in England, in 1849. He learned his trade from his father, John Caunter, a large contractor, whose ancestors for many generations were mechanics. Devonshire, Ashburton, and Whitecombe were the scenes of the operations of John Caunter. His wife's maiden name was Elizabeth Hanaford. George Caunter came to the United States in 1871 and located in Cleveland, engaging in building, which he has continued with but a single interruption to the present time. The year the Nickel Plate Railroad was completed he went into Hancock county and purchased timber land, put in a sawmill and laid out a town, calling it Townwood. Upon closing out this business he went South and was engaged in operating a gold mine for three years in North Carolina, being part owner of the business. He then returned to Cleveland and invested in the Stevens Dishwashing patent, and became vice-president of a company formed for the purpose of manufacturing the machine. He is interested in the Cleveland Molding and Manufacturing Company, and was its president. Mr. Caunter is fond of the turf and is the owner of some animals that have developed some considerable speed. As a contractor Mr. Caunter's work reviews as follows: His first contract was for the building of a residence on Scoville avenue; residences of F. Hirshinaer, M. J. Mandelbaun, M. Baker, Theo. Sandford, Julius Feiss, John W. Heiser and L. Ernatine. Business blocks: Garlock block, W. J. White, gum factory, Woodland avenue street-car barns, Hays Building, John Guetz, Haber Brothers and Halle Buildings, the new Sheriff Street market, Grand Stand for the Cleveland Driving Park Company, West Side Police station, Cleveland City Hospital, and many churches and school buildings of the city, and is now contracting for the King and Uhl block and the new permanent building. Mr. Caunter married, in England, Elizabeth Ann Townsend, and their children are: John Harold, Stephen Edward, George Gilbert, Lilian May, and Maud Mary. Mr. Caunter is a Forester, a member of the Royal Arcanum, Cleveland Builders' and Dealers' Exchange, and the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. JAMES LUKE, an engineer and one Of the most trusted employes of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad Company, was born near London, England, October 14, 1848. Being but four years of age when his parents died, he was brought to America by an uncle, who proceeded on to California, leaving him in charge of a man named John G. Abraham, a farmer near Wellsville, Ohio, wHo died June 25, 1889; and his wife, nee Sarah Coe, died in August, 1884. By Mr. Abraham was young James brought up 0 the usual work of the farm. At nineteen he decided to become a railroad man, and secured a position as fireman on the road tinder Engineer B.. Rand; in 1876 he was pro- CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 309 rooted engineer, and followed that responsible calling until 1888, when he came into the Cleveland yard of his company. October 18, 1876, is the date of Mr. Luke's marriage, in Wellsville, Ohio, to Laura Frances Mackenzie, whose father, Norman K. Mackenzie, married Lydia S. Gayer, and was a physician. Mr and Mrs. Luke's children are named John Mackenzie and Edgar Gayer. The family belong to the Hough Avenue Reformed Church. JAMES NELSON BRAINARD, one of the pioneers of Brooklyn township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, is the oldest of the nine children of Seth and Delilah Brainard—a family which is well known in Cuyahoga county. James Nelson Brainard was born in Haddam, Connecticut, December 30, 1812, and in 1815 came with his parents to Cuyahoga county, in an ox-cart, being thirty-five days on the road. His father's log cabin was one of the first houses, raised in that part of the township. Amid frontier scenes he grew up, his education being limited to that received in the little log school house near his home. He helped his father to clear their land, remained at home until he was twenty three years of age, and then started out in the world to do for himself. His first location was in Parma township, where he cleared up and developed a farm. That farm he still owns. During his early life he took great pleasure in hunting, being noted far and near for his skill as a hunter. At that time the forest not only abounded in game of all kinds, but in it Indians were also found. In May, 1835, Mr. Brainard was married to Carmelia A. McComber, whose death occurred in 1842. She was the mother of three children: George E., who resides in the State of Washington ; Charles W., a resident of Michigan; and Betsey D., who died at the age of eight and a half years. November 19, 1842, Mr. Brainard married Lucia Rudd, a native of Jefferson county, New York, who was born April 10, 1822, and who came to Cuyahoga county in 1834, when she was twelve years old. Her parents, Horace and Dorcas (Wakefield) Rudd, were natives respectively of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Horace Rudd settled in Mayfield township, Cuyahoga county, at an early day, spent his life on a farm, and died in August, 1866, in his eighty-first year. His wife died at the same place, at the age of sixty-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Brainard are the parents of seven children, four daughters and three sons, namely: Carmelia A., widow of Lester D. Taylor; next came a son who died in infancy; Martha M., at home; Eliza M., wife of B. H. Brainard, of Mayfield township; Lillian A., wife of Benjamin R. Schad, of Brooklyn Village, Ohio; Seth L., who died at the age of three months; Frank R., who married Rosamond M. Clayton, resides at the old homestead. Mr. Brainard remained on his farm in Parma township until 1860, when lie moved to Mayfield township, and since 1870 he has resided at his present home. All these years he has been extensively ,engaged in general farming. He owns 122 acres of land. Politically he is a Republican, and has served as School Director and Supervisor. LAWSON STILES, a most familiar figure in the operating department of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Company, is a representative of one of the oldest families of Ashtabula county and consequently of Ohio. Aaron Stiles, the worthy founder of the family, in this State and grandfather of our subject, was born in Connecticut, May 19, 1776. In 1810 he brought his family into Ashtabula county and made a settlement in Harpersfield township, where he improved a farm from the wild forest and reared a family of seven children. His wife, a Connecticut lady, was Miss Abagail Cahoon. Ezra, seventh child of Aaron Stiles and the father of Lawson Stiles, was born in October, 310 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. 1816, and died in 1883. He adopted the occupation of his ancestors and spent his whole life in his native county. He married Cynthia Kingsley, whose father, John Kingsley, was an itinerant Methodist preacher, who covered nearly the whole of northern Ohio territory organizing churches, and was one of those self-sacrificing semi-missionary preachers whose labors did much to place Methodism on a sure and substantial foundation in the Western Reserve. He married a Mrs. Williams, who upon his death again married—this time Bartholomew Hogarty. Ezra Stiles was the father of three child ren,— Lawson, Mary Louisa and Loton M., deceased, a conductor who was killed by accident in 1891 in the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern yards at Ashtabula. Lawson Stiles, born September 18, 1843, secured a village-school and academic education, left the farm at eighteen years of age, and his first permanent employment was in the service of the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Railroad Company, being the first of his tribe to desert the farm and break the record of a long line of husbandmen. He began his service as freight brakeman, on May 21, 1864, was promoted to freight conductor January 8, 1866, and since 1880 has been in regular passenger service. During all these twenty-nine years of his service he has not failed to sign the pay-rolls a single month, giving practically uninterrupted service. September 20, 1870, Mr. Stiles was married in Ashtabula county, Ohio, to Leonora A., daughter of F. N. Bond, a farmer of Morgan township, that county. Only one of Mr. and Mrs. Stiles' three children is living: Alfred E., nineteen, in the fourth year in the Cleveland high school. This Stiles family was represented in the early Colonial history of America by one Francis Stiles, who obtained a grant from Lord Saltonstall to establish a colony on their property near Windsor, Connecticut. Francis Stiles left Milbrook, Bedfordshire, England, with a company of twenty-five persons, on the ship Christian, and in 1635 landed at Windsor, or what is now Windsor, Connecticut. He met with some difficulty in the new country by opposition from prior settlers, but being a man of decision and firmness readily established and maintained his rights. One hundred and three years from the date of his settlement, John Stiles, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born. He served through the Revolutionary war and died at Windsor. Mr. Stiles is a member of Lake Shore Lodge, No. 307, F. & A. M., Madison, Ohio; of Webb Chapter, No. 14, R. A. M., Cleveland; and Cleveland Division, No. 14, 0. R. C. GEORGE W. PARSONS, the senior conductor in the service of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad Company, was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1830. His father, Jehu Parsons, was a native of the " Blue Grass" State of Kentucky, but in his youth went into Pennsylvania, from which State he found his way to Ohio, about 1837, locating in New Lisbon, where he pursued his trade of stone-cutting until his death, the next year, at the age of thirty-three years. His wife was a grand niece of James Wilson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and of the five children of this marriage three are still living. Besides our subject two daughters survive, Mrs. McBride, at Evansville, Indiana, and Mrs. Bender in Erie, Kansas. Upon the death of his father young George was bound out to a gentleman, Joseph Straughn, a Salem (Ohio) farmer, with whom he remained until reaching his majority, when, for his faithful service and general good demeanor, he was presented by Mr. Straughn with eighty acres of Iowa land, two suits of clothes and a bible. On casting about for an opening Mr. Parsons saw that railroading Presented some possibili- CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 311 ties for an ambitious youth, and he decided to try that. The Fort Wayne was just building through Salem and Canton, and he helped lay the track between those two points. He then came to the Cleveland & Pittsburg, which was also being built. February 2, 1852, while the line from Pittsburg to Cleveland was under construction, Mr. Parsons was acting conductor of a gravel train. After the opening of the road for business Mr. Parsons served successively as brakeman, baggage man, freight conductor, and finally, April 1, 1861, was pro moted to the position of passenger conductor, running over the Tuscarawas branch. He has probably traveled a greater distance than any other man on the system, making twice the circuit of the earth annually. No incident or accident has ever happened to mar the superior record of Mr. Parsons as a safe and faithful man in the performance of his duty or to interfere in any way with the comfort of a single passenger or employee. September 24, 1854, Mr. Parsons married at Smith. Ferry, Pennsylvania, Helen Grace, a daughter of William McKinnell, a Scotchman, who in the old country was a lace merchant. He resided in Liverpool, England, where Mrs. Parsons was reared. She was educated in Wales. The family came to the United States in 1846, locating in Steubenville and later in Wellsville, Ohio, where he died in 1864, aged sixty-five years. His wife, nee Agnes Hall, bore him five children, two of whom are still living. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Parsons, viz.: Agnes Amelia, wife of George Bruner, of Chicago, Illinois, a prominent railroad man of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad; George C., an expressman in the employ of the American Express Company, who married May, a daughter of ex-Superintendent Hulburd of the American Express Company; Willie, deceased; Jennie, wife of C. R. Whitlock, of. New York city; Marion E., wife of John Widlar, of Cleveland, agent of W. P. Willis, a New York importer. Mr. Parsons' life has been an exceedingly active one, devoted to the single business of railroading, and with one company. Employers have changed, superintendents have come and gone, and new men have grown old in the service, all under the eye of George W. Parsons. GEORGE W. ARBUCKLE, a leading practitioner of medicine in the city of Cleveland, was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, on the 29th of January, 1846. His father's name is S. C. Arbuckle, while his mother's maiden name was Sarah A. Hughes, and both are of Scotch and French lineage. His mother, born in Ohio, died in August of 1878, and the father, a native of Pennsylvania, died in February, 1892, both in St. Paul, Minnesota. The maternal grandfather of Dr. Arbuckle served as a soldier under Napoleon, under whose command he crossed the Alps and with him participated in the famous battle of Waterloo. Until our subject was nine years old the family resided in East Liverpool. They then removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and in that city the son grew to maturity and attended the public school. At the age of twenty-two years he entered the wholesale grocery store of his brother, who is now a retired merchant of St. Paul. In the employ of his brother he remained until 1878. From an early age he had a manifest love for the subject of medicine and allied subjects, and throughout his early life he improved every opportunity of gaining knowledge relating to these subjects, and long before he entered the profession in which he has been so successful he was known as " Dr. Arbuckle." In 1878 he entered the State University of Iowa, where he took a course of lectures in medicine, and in 1879—'80 he attended the Hahnemann Homeopathic College at Chicago, where he graduated in the spring of 1881. His preceptor was Dr. Charles Draper Williams, who was one of the most noted physicians of his 312 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. day, being known throughout the United States. He was the chief founder of the Cleveland Homeopathic College. With Dr. Williams our subject studied and prepared himself, in the main, for his profession. While under the guidance of Dr. Williams he was sent by the doctor to Pine City, under a call for a physician to administer to the wants of an afflicted populace, who were in the midst of an epidemic of scarlet fever. Upon this errand Dr. Arbuckle distinguished himself by handling his patients with phenomenal skill and success. After graduating in his profession he located in Minnesota and there he practiced until November 1, 1884, when he removed to Toledo, Ohio, where he intended to locate, but became dissatisfied with the place and surrounding country, and came on to Cleveland. Here he has practiced since May 1, 1885. He was appointed surgeon for the Valley Railroad Company and held the same position for live years, when the road changed management and surgeons. The Doctor holds a clinique in the Cleveland Homeopathic. College of General Surgery. He has a large practice and pays special attention to the treatment of the diseases of women and children. He belongs to the clinique of gynaecology in the College Hospital of Homeopathy in Cleveland, in company with Dr. Biggar and others of merit and prominence in their profession, both as practitioners and instructors. He is a member of the Round Table Club and Medical Society, and is also a member of several other prominent medical organizations. Fraternally he is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., and of the A. F. & A. M. In 1893 Dr. Arbuckle was the regular nominee of the Republican convention for the office of Coroner of Cuyahoga county, and at the general election in November was elected by a majority of 7,791 votes, for a term of two years, beginning January 1, 1894. Dr. Arbuckle married, in Stillwater, Minnesota, December 23, 1868, Miss Martha St. Clair, who died February 15, 1870, at the age of twenty-three years. One child, a son, who died in infancy, was born by this marriage. September 7, 1871, the Doctor married Miss Elizabeth A. Caine, a daughter of .Thomas A. and Lucinda Caine, and by the second marriage six children have been born, the oldest being Samuel T., a student at the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College; the second, George W., is also a student at this college; the third child is Elizabeth Miranda; the fourth, Daisy Viola; the fifth, Cora Pearl; and the sixth, Myrtle Ivy. The Doctor and wife and family are of the Presbyterian Church faith. Politically Dr. Arbuckle is one of the active Republicans of the city. He himself is one of eight children who grew to maturity, and the following are their names: Ann J., wife of Captain Jeremiah Weber, of St. Paul, Minnesota; Samuel Culbertson, retired merchant of St. Paul, served in Company A, Sixth Minnesota Regiment; Thomas Hughes, a retired citizen of East Liverpool, Ohio; Benjamin Franklin, who died at Helena, Arkansas, as a soldier in Company A, of the Sixth Minnesota Regiment; Francis ,Marion, a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, served for six years as CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 313 Sheriff of that county, and is now a real-estate dealer; the next child in order of age is George W. Arbuckle, the subject of this sketch, while the next is William H. W., a resident and speculator of St. Paul; the last is Alfred J., a resident of the same city. The father of these children was a successful contractor and builder. He was a mason by trade, but building and contracting was his life business. He retired from active business life in 1868 and died in 1892, at the ripe old age of eighty two years. B. T. BLAISDELL, a pioneer engineer on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, was born in Lake Village, New Hampshire, December 8, 1829, a son of Eliphalet Blaisdell, a merchant in early life and afterward a farmer. He was born September 25, 1797, and died at the age of ninety-two years and six months. His father was born in New Hampshire before the American Revolution, of English ancestry, married a Miss Malone, and they had the following children: Hannah; John, a sailor; Betsey; Hugh, who served as a Captain in the war of 1812; Eliphalet; and Polly. The father was afterward married to a Mrs. Oliver. The maiden name of Mr. Blaisdell's mother was Sarah Robinson; her father was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill, January 17, 1776. Mr. and Mrs. Eliphalet Blaisdell had three children, viz: P. O., conductor on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, and died in Chicago; Jacob R., an engineer on the same road; and B. T., our subject. The latter left home at the age of seventeen years, after receiving only a limited education, went to Lowell, Massachusetts, and was employed in a market one year, and for the following four years was engaged in teaming in Boston. He then decided to try his future in the West, and accordingly located in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1854. In April of the same year Mr. Blaisdell began work as a fireman on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, under Engineer Frank Libby, long since deceased. He remained in that capacity until Christmas, 1861, was then promoted to be engineer, and for the following eight years served in the freight department. During that time an accident occurred which came near costing him his life. His train was nearing Columbus, and while going down the steep grade into town he whistled for brakes, but the brakeman discovered the train to be broken in two. He then lost his en= tire self-possession, and, being unable to render the engineer any assistance, the train went into the yard with such speed that it struck an engine standing on the turn table, sending it into the machine shop, also tore down brick walls, and wrecked things generally. Mr. Blaisdell remained with his engine and was unhurt, but the fireman jumped on entering the roundhouse and was killed, as was a wiper under the engine standing on the turn table. Since 1869 Mr. Blaisdell has been in the passenger service, and has failed to respond to his regular call on very few occasions, one having been during his visit to the World's Fair. In 1874, with the L. M. Hubby, No. 140, he pulled a Vanderbilt special from Cleveland to Cincinnati, a distance of 245 miles, in 302 minutes. Mr. Blaisdell was married in 1880, to Mrs. Singleton. WILFRID P. DITTOE, civil engineer for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, is a worthy representative of one of the pioneer families of Perry county, Ohio, where he was born at Somerset, December 25, 1855. In the spring of 1864 his parents removed to Vineland, New Jersey, where his father engaged in farming; three years later the family returned to the West, settling in Covington, Kentucky, some years afterward removing to Newport, same State. Young Dittoe attended the district schools in New Jersey, and while residing in Covington was a pupil 314 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY in the public and Catholic schools. When he had decided to devote his life to the profession of civil engineering he entered the office of Joseph Earnshaw, civil engineer and surveyor, Cincinnati, Ohio. He began his studies there April 1, 1872, applying himself diligently to mathematics, and also attending the night classes of McMicken University and the Ohio Mechanics' Institute. When the " Nickel Plate " railroad was being constructed Mr. Dittoe resigned his position with Mr. Earnshaw, and entered the service of the construction company as draughtsman: April 1, 1881, J. A. Latcha was chief engineer with headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio. When the latter resigned in 1884 the position of chief engineer was abolished, and Mr. Dittoe was placed in charge of the office with the title of engineer. He had in his care the maps and records of the company, and designed some of the principal bridges and buildings. He still fills this position, where his ability and integrity have long been recognized and appreciated. At Buffalo, New York, September 9, 1880, Mr. Dittoe was united in marriage to Isabella Bryans, daughter of Thomas and Jane (Graham) Bryans. Mr. Bryans was born at Glasgow, Scotland, April 1, 1829, and died at Buffalo, November 8, 1886. He crossed the sea to America in 1846, settling in the village of Arthur, Wellington county, Canada West, where Mrs. Dittoe was born September 30, 1859. Jacob Dittoe, the great grandfather of Wilfrid P. Dittoe, was a prominent figure in the early history of the Catholic Church in Ohio. He donated 320 acres of land near Somerset, Perry county, to Bishop Fenwick, for the purpose of establishing a Dominican convent: his ion, Peter, superintended the building of a church thereon, being the first Catholic Church erected in the State. Jacob Dittoe was a son of Joseph Dittoe, who came from Alsace when that province belonged to France; the name was then spelled De Toe. Peter Dittoe, son of Jacob Dittoe, was born at Emmitsburg, Maryland, July 18, 1793, and died at Somerset, Ohio, July 30, 1868. He came to Ohio with his parents in 1802, and in 1812, when the United States called for troops to defend the northern frontier against the invasion of the British, he joined General Harrison's army and aided in giving the arms of the Crown their second American defeat. He married Ann Spurk, the union being consummated July 4, 1817; Mrs. Dittoe was a daughter of Peter Spurk, of Chillicothe, Ohio. There were born to them a family of eight children: Elizabeth, Cecelia, Francis H., Lewis H., George M., William T., Gertrude and Peter. George M. Dittoe, father of Wilfrid P., was born at Somerset, Ohio, May 21, 1830. He completed the literary course at St. Joseph's College, which was then in existence near Somerset, studied law, and was admitted to the bar, but never engaged in the practice of his profession. Drifting into journalism he became the proprietor and editor of the Democratic Union published at Somerset, and conducted this paper successfully until the spring of 1864. For a number of years he has been editor of the Kentucky State Journal, published at Newport. November 28, 1854, he wedded Martha V. Elder, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Elder, of Somerset, Ohio. Seven children were born of this marriage: Wilfrid P.; Herman A., .a resident of Piqua, Ohio; one child that died in infancy; Gussie C., wife of H. T. Bynum, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Ralph E., of Washington, District of Columbia; Louis G. and Eugene C., both citizens of Cincinnati. The mother of this family was born at Somerset, Ohio, July 26, 1834. Charles Elder, her father, was born at Emmitsburg, Maryland, in January, 1793, and died at Lancaster, Ohio, December 8, 1870. His ancestors were among the first Catholic families to settle on Maryland soil, having come over as members of Lord Baltimore's colony in 1634. Mr. Elder removed to Ohio in 1814, but did not settle at Somerset until_ 1823; there he married Elizabeth Lynch, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ledwidge) Lynch, of Zanesville, Ohio. The maternal great-grandparents of our subject CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 315 were James and Ann (Hughes) Elder; Ann Hughes was a relative of Archbishop Hughes, and was of Irish descent. Wilfrid P. Dittoe and his wife, Isabella, are the parents of a family of seven children: Gertrude; Florence, deceased; Wilfrid, Howard G., Isabella., Gerald C. and Ralph. Mr. Dittoe belongs to the Civil Engineers' Club of Cleveland, and is one of the leading members of the profession in the State. C. GIBBS, a prominent business man of North Royalton, was born February 6, 1825, in Milford, Massachusetts, a son of Benjamin Gibbs, who was born in the same town, was a cabinet-maker by trade and married Miss Pedee Thayer, and had two children: Clarinda, who married Elihu Veber, and Clark, the subject of this sketch. In the autumn of 1825, the father moved with his family to what is now Wyoming county, New York, where the following children were born: Charles, who died at the age of twenty-one years, unmarried, in Royalton township; Leonard, who died in Medina county, this State, aged twenty-five years, married; Hiram, who died in Galesburg, Illinois, at the age of forty years; and Farnham, now a Disciple minister. In New York State Mr. Benjamin Gibbs owned and managed a nice farm of 188 acres, and worked at his trade of cabinet-making, and also built and ran a sawmill. To secure water-power for the mill he excavated an extensive ditch, in which work his health was greatly impaired. In 1835 he moved to Hamden township, Geauga county, Ohio. He sold his farm in New York State, taking mortgages upon it, but, failing to realize upon them, he made a special arrangement, in 1838, with Joseph Post, a real-estate dealer in Geauga county, and secured 106 acres of land in Royalton township, Cuyahoga county, and in the spring of that year moved upon it. At his home here one more son was born, named Alexander, who is now a farmer of Brunswick township, Medina county, Ohio. His health failing again, after moving to Ohio, Mr. Gibbs abandoned his trade and turned his attention exclusively to farming, which he continued to the time of his death, in January, 1851. His wife survived until 1876, and they are both buried in the Center cemetery. They were both sincere members of the Free-will Baptist Church, and he was a zealous Whig in his political views. Mr. Clark Gibbs, whose name heads this sketch, at the age of eighteen began to learn the trade of wagon-making, under the instructions of a man named Case, at Brighton village, and later at various other places, until he became a thorough master of the art, and he followed this trade in subsequent life. In 1847 he bought a mill privilege, with an old mill. In 1848 he built a small dwelling-house and his wagon shop; then sawed all his own lumber and rebuilt the mill in 1849. Soon afterward he put in a turning lathe, buzz saw, jig saw and a grindstone, all run by water. In August, 1861, he enlisted in the Second Ohio Cavalry, which was sent to Fort Scott, Kansas, to do duty in guarding and scouting. Next it was ordered to Monticello, Kentucky, where it had its first engagement. It followed the raider Morgan for a short distance, returned to Crab Orchard, refitted, and went to Knoxville, Tennessee, under the command of Burnside, and was part of the command that took Cumberland Gap, the last time it was captured from the Confederates, after chasing them back toward Virginia. The regiment was then brought back to assist Grant at Chattanooga. Mr. Gibbs served with his company continuously until June 25, 1865, except that he was in the hospital from December 24, 1864. He was honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio. Returning home he found his mill "sadly demoralized." The dam was washed out and the machinery mud-bound. He himself was not able to work, and labor was very high. But within two years he got the mill again under headway, with a corn-grinder added. In the fall of 1893 he put in one of the largest water- 316 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. wheels in the county,—seventeen feet in diameter and with a shaft twenty-nine inches in diameter,—and he has been engaged in milling to the present time. He is a " natural-born " mechanic, exhibiting marked skill and originality. He is unassuming in his manners, does not seek notoriety, and is a marked example among successful men. He is well preserved and strong in his physical frame, and lie has a pleasant home. Is a member of the Disciple Church, in which he is now Elder, and he has been Deacon for many years. In his political sympathies he was originally a Whig, and since the dissolution of that party he has been a decided Republican, but he will not have office. April 2, 1848, is the date of his marriage to Miss Almira Kent, who was born in Brecksville, June 16, 1823, a daughter of Hollis and Catharine (Oaks) Kent. Her parents, natives of Massachusetts, located in Brecksville, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, after their marriage. Mr. Gibbs' children are: Eugene B., a farmer of Hinckley, Medina county; and Emily, who married D. J. Cook, and died February 10, 1891, and was buried in Royalton Center cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs still make their residence on the place purchased in in 1849,—the pleasest place in the world to them. J. W. BURNETT, proprietor of the Chagrin Falls Livery, Feed and Sale Stables, was born at Russell, Geauga county, Ohio, March 1, 1857, as a son of Joshua and Annette (Smith) Burnett. His father was born at New-burry, Ohio, a son of Henry. Burnett, a native of Massachusetts, who was one of the early settlers of Newburry. Joshua and Annette Burnett had six children, five of whom are now living, namely: Mary McFarland, of Bainbridge, Ohio; Henry IL, of Bainbridge; J. W., our subject; Drusilla, wife of W. S. Wait, of Newburry, and C. R., of Russell, Ohio. The father died at Russell, January 13, 1883, and the mother is still living. J. W. was reared at Russell, and for some years was engaged in farming in that place, but later embarked in the livery business at Chagrin Falls, which he abandoned after eighteen months to engage in brick manufacturing in the same place. October 4, 1893, he again took up the livery business. Mr. Burnett thoroughly understands his line of work, having well arranged stables, stocked with horses both speedy and safe. In his spacious carriage-house buggies and carriages, both single and double, are to be found; everything is of the best quality, and patrons are so served as to make the place popular. Mr. Burnett was married in Russell, in the year 1879, to Jenny McLaughlin, a native of the town, daughter of Alexander McLaughlin, born in Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett have two children,—Myron A. and Harry. Mr. Burnett is a Republican in political principles. Fraternally he is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., Chagrin Falls Lodge, No. 290. WILLIAM C. POLLNER, Cleveland's , popular and efficient Director of Police, was born in Calbe, province of Saxons, Germany, March 7,, 1854. His father, William Pollner, was by occupation a manufacturer of woodenware. Young William's life until seventeen was passed in the usual manner,—attending schools, and performing those little odds and ends devolving on a boy about a well regulated home. At the age mentioned he sailed for America, landing at New York and locating first in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, and engaging in marble cutting and polishing. In 1873 or 1874, in response to a desire to see more of our country, he visited the States along the Missouri river and crossing he explored Texas, Kansas, Indian Territory, etc., and finding no place suitable for a permanent location he returned east and reached Cleveland in 1878. Here he engaged in the cigar business, and conducted it as a manufacturer and dealer nine years. CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 317 Mr. Pollner early evinced a taste for politics, identifying himself with the party of Jefferson and Jackson, and contributing to its cause in every succeeding campaign. As a reward for his services he was appointed in 1887 Gauger for the Eighteenth District of Ohio by President Cleveland. On retiring from office in 1890 he was made agent of the L. Schlather Brewing Company, and in April,. 1892, was elected manager of the Columbia Brewing Company's plant of Cleveland, terminating his services with them April 10, 1893, by accepting his present position tendered by Mayor Blee. He was a member of the Public Library Board for five or six years, term expiring in 1892. In discharging his official duties Mr. Pollner's aim is to give the city the best possible service with the means at his command and to secure to persons and property that protection guaranteed them by law. D. O. CASWELL, a prominent real-estate dealer of Cleveland, and. Councilman from the Sixth District, was born in Medina county, Ohio, April 17, 1857. He secured a liberal English education at the Normal College of Lodi, Ohio. At eighteen he entered a drug store at Lodi, Ohio, for the purpose of becoming a pharmacist. There he studied diligently for three years, at the end of which time he received an offer from Dr. N. H. Ambler, a cousin, to assist that well known gentleman in handling his large real-estate interests and in developing " Blue Rock " Springs, in the East End, which Mr. Caswell named. Upon the death of Dr. Ambler Mr. Caswell was the proper person to administer on his large realty and other interests, and was so appointed. While engaged in this capacity he has developed into the real-estate business as a general buyer and seller for holders in real property. Mr. Caswell is prominent in politics locally. He was nominated for Councilman first in 1892, and elected, and reelected in 1893, by a majority exceeding that of any other on the ticket. He is chairman of the Committee on Lighting and a member of the Committees on Ordinances and Judiciary. Mr. Caswell is a son of Charles Caswell, born in Brattleboro, Vermont, September 9, 1808. lie was a stock-raiser and one of the first settlers of Medina county, going there in 1831 from Huntington, Vermont. His earthly possessions at that time were an ax and twenty-five cents in change,—two scarce and indispensable articles at that time. December 31, 1833, he married Sarah A. Landon, a daughter of John R. Landon, a farmer, who came to Ohio in 1815 from Sweden, New York, but born in Massachusetts in 1794. He married Ruth P. Stickney, a daughter of Reuben Stickney, who carried a Major's commission in the Colonial army during the Revolutionary war and served through that famous struggle. One of his sons, James Stickney, was a soldier of the war of 1812. Reuben Stickney's wife, nee Sarah Cleveland, was a niece of Moses Cleaveland, the founder of the metropolis of Lake Erie. Our subject's great-great-grandmother was a Payne, a first cousin of Thomas Paine, and her uncle founded Painesville Ohio. The Landons and the Caswells are of English origin. Charles Caswell died November 26, 1859, and his wife February 19, 1877. Their children are: Clarinda, wife of W. W. Gray, of Medina, Ohio; Mary A., widow of H. H. Doan; Ruth, wife of C. L. Seeley, of Westerville, Ohio; H. A. Caswell, at Medina; and D. O. Caswell. Mr. Caswell is Adjutant of the Cleveland Gattling Gun Battery. LUCIAN J. LITTLE, a representative citizen of Solon township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, was born in Aurora, Portage county, this State, July 8, 1841. His grandfather, Warren Little, one of the first settlers of Aurora, came to Ohio from Becket, Massachusetts, and in Aurora Amasa Little, the father of our sub- 318 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY ject, was born. The latter died in Solon township, Cuyahoga county, in 1864. By occupation he was a farmer; in politics a Republican; in religion a Disciple, and was chorister of the church and a deacon. The mother of L. J. Little was, before her marriage, Miss Lucretia Jewett, her father being James Jewett. She died in 1890. Amasa Little had six children who reached maturity, four of whom are Still living, viz.: L. J., whose name heads this article; and Alice Stevenson, Frank, and Nelly Boynton, of Cleveland. Those deceased are Adelia and Anna Cloes. L. J. Little lived in Aurora and Youngstown previous to his coming to Solon, which was when he was five years old. Here he was reared. He received his education in the district schools of this county and at Hiram. Farming has been his life occupation. Lie owns 118 acres of excellent land, well improved with good buildings, etc., and in connection with his farming he is also engaged in the dairy business. Mr. Little was married, May 21, 1868, at Warrensville, Ohio, to Miss Maria Conkey, who was before her marriage a successful and popular teacher. Her parents, Pliny and Sylvia (Hanchett) Conkey, were natives of Vermont, father of Rutland and mother of Vergenns. Both are deceased. Her father died at sea, while on his way to California in 1851, aged fifty-four years; and her mother died at the age of sixty-nine. They had eight children, namely: Sabinna, Fandacy, Almeda, Andrew, Lafayette, George, Charles and Maria. Mr. and Mrs. Little have three children: Fred, a graduate of the Chagrin Falls high school with the class of 1889, is now in a surveyor's office in Cleveland; and Sylvia L. and Nellie E., both attending high school at Chagrin Falls. In the social circles of their community, Mr. Little and his family are prominent factors. They are all members of the Disciple Church. Mr. Little has been and is a prominent and active member of the Disciple Church, holding many offices in the same: is now Deacon, Treasurer and Trustee, and for about twenty-five years was chorister. ..His daughter Sylvia is now organist for the church choir and Treasurer of the Sunday-school. Mrs. Little is a member of the W. C. T. IT., and is an active worker in it as well as in the church. Politically, Mr. Little• is a Republican, and in regard to temperance is strictly a Prohibitionist. CHARLES A. MAPES is one of the intelligent and well-informed men of Solon township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio. He is a descendant of prominent early settlers of the county. Of his life we make record as follows: His grandparents, John D. and Henriette Mapes, came here from Massachusetts, being among the first settlers of Orange township, and took a prominent part in shaping its early affairs. He passed away some years ago. She is still living, having attained her eighty-first year. Notwithstanding they reared their family on the frontier, they gave their children the best educational advantages the country afforded. Their son Edwin, the father of our subject, and the late lamented. Garfield attended the district school together. Edwin Mapes died in 1884. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Thorp and who was a daughter of Ferris Thorp, had a family of seven children, six of whom are living, viz.: Perry, of Orange; John, also of Orange; Charles A.; Hortense, wife of Clarence Straight, of Michigan ; Gertrude, wife of Benjamin Jenks, of Bainbridge, Ohio; and Fred, at home. Their father owned a farm of 154 acres, was ranked with the prosperous and well-to-do men of the vicinity, and in public affairs took. an active part. He affiliated with the Republican party, served as Township Trustee several terms, also served as Clerk, and for twelve years was a Justice of the Peace. He was a member of the Free-will Baptist Church. Charles A. Mapes was reared on his father's farm, and was educated in the district schools CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 319 and at Austinburg, Ohio. When he was eighteen he began teaching school. He has taught seventeen terms. It was in 1883 that he located on his present farm, and here he has since resided, carrying on his farming operations in summer and teaching school during the winter. His farm comprises seventy-two acres and is nicely improved with good house and bank barn. Mr. Mapes was married October 18, 1881, to Eva Younker, a native of Solon township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and a daughter of A. D. and Jane (Morrison) Younker. Mr. and Mrs. Mapes are the parents of six children, viz.: Alice J., Charles Ed, Bessie, Herman A., Florence J. and Clarence E. Mr. Mapes is like his father in both politics and religion. He has served as Superintendent of the Sunday-school, and in all matters of religion, education and temperance is an active and efficient worker. BOARDMAN PEARSE, to whom belongs the distinction of being the oldest resident of Newburg township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, December 31, 1814, son of Jonathan Pearse. Jonathan Pearse was born in Rhode Island, spent the first sixteen years of his life there, and then removed with his father to Rutland, Vermont, where he remained until after his marriage. In 1817 he removed from St. Lawrence county, New York, whence he had gone from Vermont, to Cleveland, Ohio, and located at the place where the subject of this sketch now lives. Ohio was then a frontier State and in many portions of it there were no improvements whatever. At the time Mr. Pearse built his log cabin on this land there was no road in this part of the township and the settles here were few and far apart. Here he spent the rest of his life, and died in the sixty-third year of his age. The Pearses are of Welsh descent. Richard Pearse, the father of Jonathan, was a native of Rhode Island, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and by trade was a hatter. Further than this their history cannot be traced. Lucy Scovil was the maiden name of Boardman Pearse's mother. She was of English descent, was a daughter of Thomas Scovil, and was a native of Massachusetts. Massachusetts was also her father's native State, She, however, was reared in Vermont. Jonathan Pearse and his wife were the parents of eight children, one of whom died early. The others all grew up to occupy honorable and useful positions in life. Boardman Pearse was the second son and third child in the above family. He was in his third year when he came to the farm on which he now lives, and where, with the exception of one year spent in Indiana, he has passed his life. At the time he went to Indiana he was about twenty-one. All these years he has been engaged in general farming. A portion of the old home farm has been disposed of, some of it bringing the handsome price of $1,000 per acre. Mr. Pearse now retains only forty-nine and a half acres of the original tract, it being adjacent to the city. September 15, 1847, Mr. Pearse married Isabel Rathbun, who was born in Avon, New York, January 20, 1820. They have had seven children, namely: Scovil V., Mary (deceased), Louisa, Lucy A., Ellery F., Alice E. and Perry G. Previous to and during the war Mr. Pearse was a strong anti-slavery man. He has been a Republican ever since the party was organized. In his prime he took an active part in local affairs, and for a number of years served as School Director of his district. For many years he has been an Elder in the Presbyterian Church. SHERMAN B. INGERSOLL, M. D., was the son of the late Cyrus Ingersoll, who w as born in Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts. September 2, 1802. His mother was Fanny (Humphrey) Ingersoll, who was born in 320 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY North Goshen, Litchfield county, Connecticut, June 9, 1808. Cyrus Ingersoll came to Ohio with his father, Calvin Ingersoll, when he was about twelve years old, and lived in Mentor, Lake county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood, and was there married to Lydia Barlow. They settled in Mentor, where she died. They had two children, only one living to grow up, Cyrus J., who died in Madison, Lake county, Ohio, during the sixties. Cyrus Ingersoll and Fanny Humphrey were married in the old Franklin House on Pearl street, Cleveland, Ohio, August 14, 1844. They settled in Parma township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in the spring of 1848. Here Cyrus Ingersoll died, November 8, 1877. The widow still survives. Sherman B. Ingersoll was the only child. He was born in Spencer township, Medina county, Ohio, January 28, 1848. He was but three months old when his parents settled in Parma township, where he grew to manhood, and has always resided. He received a corn m on-school education, and afterward took up the study of medicine, graduating in the class of '70 at the Medical Department of the University of Wooster. Dr. Ingersoll, however, abandoned his profession, and has given his attention to farming. He is the owner of 135 acres of land, well improved. He was married in Berea, Ohio, December 24, 1877, to Miss Fannie A. Watson, daughter of James and Mary (Burton) Watson, who are residents of Brooklyn, Cuyahoga county, Ohio. Mrs. Ingersoll was born near Berea, Ohio, November 28, 1855. Four children were born in the family of Dr. and Mrs. Ingersoll, viz.: Wade Hampton, Nina Estella, Lula Lorena and Mary Burton. Mrs. Ingersoll died April 1, 1890. Dr. Ingersoll has taken a decided interest in political affairs. He has been a candidate for the Legislature on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated. Since 1870 he has been a delegate to all the Democratic county conventions, and has been Chairman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Central Committee for four years. In 1893 he received the nomination for County Commissioner on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated by his opponent on the Republican ticket. He has also been active in local affairs, having held the office of Clerk of Parma township since 1874, and having served for a number of years on the School Board. He has also been one of the directors of the Parma and Brooklyn Plank Road Company since 1877, and is the present superintendent and secretary of the company. DANIEL McAFEE, an ex-soldier of the Civil war and one of the well-known citizens of Solon township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, is a native of the Emerald Isle, born in county Derry in the year 1830, son of James McAfee. When he was eighteen years of age Mr. McAfee landed on American soil, and with this country he has ever since been identified. For two years he worked at the blacksmith trade in the city of Philadelphia. From there he came to Bainbridge, Ohio, and continued working at his trade for some time. When the war came on he was among the first to enlist his services for the protection of the Union. It was in 1861, and as a member of the Second Ohio regulars that he enlisted. He was chief of mechanics and was stationed at and near Washington for some time. Once he was captured by .the enemy. For twenty-six days he was held a prisoner at Belle Island. After the war Mr. McAfee bought his present farm, 150 acres, which is now well improved with good buildings. He keeps a dairy of twenty-three cows. Mr. McAfee was married April 3, 1852, to Mary Isabelle Huddleston, Who has proved herself a helpmate in the truest sense of that word. She was born in Belfast, Ireland, daughter of Gilbert Huddleston. Her father reached the advanced age of eighty-two years. He is de-. ceased. Her mother, now eighty-three, is still CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 321 living at the old homestead near Mr. McAfee's. They had six children: Mary Isabelle, John, Adam, James, Margaret and Sarah. Mr. and Mrs. McAfee have four sons, viz.: Thompson, a resident of the State of Michigan; William, contractor and builder at Newburg, Ohio; Norville, a telegraph operator at Bedford; and James, engaged in the practice of medicine at Cleveland. Politically, Mr. McAfee is a Democrat. He has served four terms as Township Trustee. He is a Presbyterian, and three of his sons are members of the Disciple Church. ROBERT H. HILL, auditor freight receipts for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Ry. Co., Cleveland, Ohio, was born near London, England, February 25, 1832. In 1842, at the age of ten years, he came to this country, and was sent by his parents to a private school near Boston, Massachusetts, but left school at the age of fourteen. He studied land surveying and when twenty years old was employed on a government survey in Canada. Afterward he was employed as a draughtsman for about five years in the State Engineer's department of New York. In 1857 he was engaged in surveying, but as there was little of such work to do in that year of business depression, he abandoned the occupation, and in September, 1858, entered the service of the Michigan Southern Railroad Company. Since that time lie has been continuously in the service of that company and its successor, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company. He was at first employed as a clerk in the Toledo freight office; afterward, in 1863—'64. as station agent at West Detroit and Detroit, Michigan; in 1865 was contracting freight agent at Chicago; in June, 1866, was appointed chief clerk of the general freight department, Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad; and in June, 1869, was made chief clerk of the department of freight accounts for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. In December, 1890, the title of that office was changed to " Auditor Freight Receipts." Mr. Hill has been in the railway service thirty-six years and is well known among railroad officials and agents, and his whole service has been characterized by the strictest fidelity in the performance of every duty that devolved upon him. His father, Charles Hill, an actor and theatrical manager, married Miss Ann R. Fair-brother, of London, England. His only brother is Barton Hill, well known as an actor and stage manager. Mr. Hill was married at Rochester, New York, in 1855, to Miss Mary J. Jones, of Greece, Monroe county, New York. They have two sons and two daughters. The older son, Charles R., is traveling auditor of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, and lives at Albuquerque,- New Mexico. The other son, Arthur E., is employed in the audit department of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, and the daughters, Rosalie and Grace, reside with their parents in Cleveland. HENRY RUSSELL, a large general contractor of Cleveland, was born in Stockton-on-Tees, England, September 27, 1840, a son of Samuel Russell, who moved to West Hartlepool in 1850 and was a foremost contractor of the place. He instructed his son front his youth in those principles of mechanics necessary to make him an efficient workman. July 20, 1868, the subject of this sketch reached Cleveland. He came here for the purpose of a permanent residence. He was engaged the first three years as a superintendent of workmen on salary, not taking any contracts nor being known as an independent builder until 1873. He confines himself to no especial class of buildings, having erected many business blocks, factories, residences, etc., some of which 322 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. are the residences of John E. Ensign, W. J. Morgan, Dr. Strong, J. H. Wade, H. E. Teach-out, Messrs. Barker and Strauss, R. Eli. Boggis and C. J. Morgan; and the factories of the Cleveland Foundry Company, Taylor & Boggis Foundry Company, and Silas Merchant's foundry, and the Wade and Sargent blocks. Mr. Russell employs from sixteen to fifty men, and has built up a splendid business and an enviable reputation as a builder in Cleveland. He was the first vice president of the Employing Carpenters' Association of Cleveland. Mr. Russell married, October 12, 1865, Hannah, a daughter of John Wilson, a miller by trade. To them have been born: John Wilson, an architect of Cleveland; Ann Elizabeth; Samuel, a mechanic, and- a partner with his father, firm of Russell & Son; Harrie and Emily. Mr. Russell is a devout Christian gentleman and active worker in the ranks of the Salvation Army and does his whole duty to man and to his Maker without reserve. GEORGE H. BILLMAN, attorney at law, Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the rising 'members of the bar of Cuyahoga county. He was born at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and received his elementary education in the public schools of his native town. He was afterward a student at the Western Reserve Academy, at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and at the University of Wooster, Ohio, being graduated at the latter institution with the degree of A. B. in 1887. Having determined upon the law as his profession he entered the University of Michigan, from which he received the degree of LL. B. in 1889. He was admitted to the bar of Cuyahoga county in December, 1890, and since that time has been practicing in Cleveland. For two years he was associated with the Hon. Henry McKinney, under whose direction he had begun the study of law. He now occupies offices at Nos. 929–'30–'31, Society for Savings Building, working independently. Politically Mr. Billman affiliates with the Republican party, taking an active interest in the issues of that body. He is a member of the Euclid Avenue Presbyterian Church. A young man of many social accomplishments, lie enjoys a wide circle of friends. NEWMAN ROBINSON, of Bedford, Ohio, was born in Newburg, Cuyahoga county, March 20, 1817, a son of Stephen and Mary (Benedict) Robinson. The father was from St. Lawrence county, New York, and . the mother was a native of Vermont. Mr. Stephen Robinson was in the war of 1812. In 1813 he came to Cuyahoga county with his family, and December 31, 1818, settled in Bedford as one of the first settlers of the town. Stephen and Mary Robinson had twelve children, viz.: Daniel, Isaac, Nathan, Maria, Ebenezer, Anna, Ezra, Nathaniel, Sally, John, Newman and Cornelia. Of this number two are now (1893) living—Sally and Newman; John departed this life January 7, 1894, aged seventy-nine years. Their father was a farmer, politically a Whig, and religiously a member of the Baptist church. He died September 13, 1832. The mother died March 14, 1854, at eighty-two years of age. Mr. Newman Robinson, the eleventh of the twelve children, received his education in Bedford schools, and by practical experience afterward in doing business. His first work was driving an ox team in a brick yard; later he worked on a farm. In 1840 he bought a tannery learned the trade of his workmen, and carried on this business successfully for thirty-three years. He also engaged extensively in shoe manufacturing for many years. In 1878 he sold out the tannery business, and has since been in the shoe trade. In 1860 he built a fine two-story brick building- for his business, Which was burned in 1891. In 1892 he built a three-story brick block, a credit to the town, CUYAHOGA COUNTY - 323 Mr. Robinson was married September 26, 1839, to Laura Kenyon, born at Adams, Jefferson county, New York, a daughter of James and Hannah (Oatman) Kenyon, both natives of New York, the father from Jefferson county and the mother from Herkimer county. They came to Bedford in 1838. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812. He died March 2, 1873, and the mother October 7, 1875. They had seven children, namely: Laura, Lodusca, Caroline, Roderick, James, Lucy Ann and Adaline. The father was a farmer by occupation, a Democrat and a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have had three children: Frederick H., born February 17, 1841, died June 29, 1865; F. A., born 'September 15, MO, died May 30, 1852; arid Dora B., born June 27, 1858, died September 26, 1880; she was a successful and popular teacher, active and zealous in church and Sabbath-school work; her death was a great loss to her parents, the church, the Sabbath-School and the village. Mr. Robinson is a Prohibitionist. He has been a member of the Town Council, and Treasurer of the School Board. For forty years he has been a Deacon in the Baptist Church. His wife has been active in the W. C. T. U. She united with the Baptist Church at the same time with her husband. J. P. McKINNEY, a mason, contractor and builder, and member of the City Council from the Second District, was born in county Leitrim, Ireland, in November, 1840. He arrived in Cleveland May 4, 1867, and the first year was a lay workman at his trade. Having a small surplus fund accumulated from his year's work, in 1868 he engaged in contracting and has followed the same business since, taking and completing many large contracts for buildings of every description. He is well known in his line, and his reputation for fair and square dealing is untarnished. 21 Mr. McKinney became interested in politics as soon as he became a citizen, and at once identified himself with the Democracy. His first candidacy was in 1884, when he made the race for Councilman from the Seventh ward, but was defeated. He was not again a candidate until 1891, when he made the race for the Council from the Second District, and was elected without opposition. In this Council he was chairman of the committee on Harbors and Wharves; and was on committees on License, Public Works, Streets and Railroads. In April, 1893, Mr. McKinney was re-elected to the Council by a majority of over 800 votes. Mg committee relations are much the same as they were in the previous Council of 1892. He introduced a resolution, which was unanimously adopted, providing that street railroads should not be granted any further privileges; that they should agree to pave sixteen feet of any street to be used by them as a right of way for a double track, and seven feet for a single track; and to give transfers for one continuous ride on all-branches of the same company with which. they come in contact. He was the same year interested in a measure to reduce the price of gas from $1.00 per 1,000 feet to $0.60, which resulted in a compromise of $0.80 per thousand. He also secured the passage of a resolution forcing the. cable road to run a night car between 12 P. M. and 6 A. M. In the present Council he is interested in securing the passage of the Russell Scofield Street Railway ordinance, a much needed franchise at this time. Mr. McKinney is a son of John McKinney, a farmer, who married Catharine McMorrow, now a resident of Cleveland. John McKinney died in January, 188'9, at seventy-six years of age. His children were: P. J.; Bridget; Catharine, wife. of James Mehan; John, deceased; Tereus, deceased; Mary Ann and Margaret, both deceased. Mr. McKinney is often a delegate to county and State conventions of his party, and was present at the national convention when General Hancock was nominated for President of the 324 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY. United States. He was treasurer of the county central committee during Johnson's first campaign, receiving and disbursing more than $10,000. In 1884 he was vice president of the Seventh Ward Democratic Club. The same year he passed through an almost fatal spell of sickness, and on his recovery read from half a dozen papers the announcement of his death! In February, 1886, Mr. McKinney married Eva, a daughter of George Thoma. Their children are Patrick J., Mary Ellen and John Henry. Mr. McKinney is a member of the A. O. H., of which he is State Treasurer for Ohio, and a Knight of St. John. JOHN JASTER, cashier of the Woodland Avenue Loan Company, engaged in the banking business in 1867, as collection clerk for Henry Wick & Company, just as he had completed a course at Bryant & Stratton's Business College and was but fifteen years of age, and he remained in the employ of that institution uninterruptedly for twenty-two years, serving in the several capacities of bookkeeper, discount clerk and teller, retiring when he was holding the last named position. He aided in the organization of the Dime Savings and Banking Company, but before final articles of incorporation were issued he cast his lot with the Woodland Avenue Loan Company as its cashier. In November, 1889, this institution had a capital stock of $50,000, one year later its capital was increased to $150,000, and during the summer of 1893 the capital was again increased, this time being brought up to $250,000. Its authorized capital is now (February, 1894) half a million dollars, of which half is paid up; and the. deposits now amount to $1,400,000, with a surplus of $50,000. During the recent panic this bank paid currency, refusing to permit customers to use pay-roll checks. They not only had a plenty of currency with which to meet the demand made on them, but also helped customers of other banks to meet their pay rolls. Mr. Jaster was born in New York city, March, 1852, and the same year his father, also named John Jaster, came to Cleveland and opened a merchant-tailoring establishment, and remained in that business permanently for thirty years or more, enjoying a successful trade. He is now retired, and aged seventy-five years. His birth occurred in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany, and he emigrated to this country in 1851. He married Miss Navian and had three children: J. W., Charles and Moritz,—all living in Cleveland. Mr. Jaster, whose name introduces this sketch, is usually independent in politics, taking active part in "public affairs, but prefers to keep out of " politics," although he watches the general trend of them with a sharper eye than he appears to have in that direction. Once he was nominated for the Board of Education on the Democratic ticket in a very strong Republican district, and lacked only twenty-one votes of being elected. He was married in this city, in the autumn of 1877, to Miss Lucy Abrecht, a daughter of Louis Abrecht; a jeweler, and they have three • children: Clara, fifteen years of age; Jessie, thirteen: and John, Jr., seven years of age. GAMALIEL E. HERRICK, the subject of this sketch, was born January 17, 1827, in Wellington, Lorain county, Ohio. His father was a descendant of the Revolutionary stock of that name, of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and came to Ohio when a young man. Mr. Herrick's grandfather, Francis Herrick, was a Colonel in the war of 1812, and the Herrick family owned one-fourth of the township of Wellington. He received his early education In the common schools, and subsequently attended Oberlin College, where he spent nearly three years, being forced to leave college at that time on account of ill health. He began the study of law in the office of Andrews, Foot & Hoyt in 1850, and was ad-