1000 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. Henry Hitchcock, the subject proper of this memoir, was born in 1836, and was reared on his father's farm, his schooling being obtained in the primitive log cabin of the period, in Columbia Center. He has always followed farming, and has met with well-merited success, being now the owner of 108 acres of excellent land in one tract, and also a, twenty-four-acre farm elsewhere, while Mrs. Hitchcock owns a good farm of thirty-two acres; he is also guardian for thirty-two acres. In 1867 our subject was united in marriage, in Columbia township, Lorain county, with Emeline Peachey, a native of that township, and daughter of Thomas and Philemela (Smith) Peachey, of Massachusetts birth, early settlers of Columbia township, Lorain county, where they died. To this union two children were born, viz.: Aman-da, wife of William Martin, residing on the home farm; and Charley, living at home. In his political affiliations Mr. Hitchcock is a Republican; his wife is a member of the M. E. Church. ROBERT N. GOODWIN, one of the best known and most popular citizens of Lorain county, is a native of Ohio, born in Granger, Medina county, May 13, 1828. Nathaniel A. Goodwin, father of our subject, a native of Connecticut, whence he first moved to Genesee county, N. Y., and then to Ohio, was one of the earliest settlers of Granger township, Medina county, traveling the entire distance from Genesee county 'with an ox-sled, it being the winter season; at that time there was only one other family in the township, and his sister Deborah was the first white child born in Granger township. He married Miss Levinia H. Lowe, a native of the State of New York, who bore him ten children, of whom the following is a brief record: Charles A., who died at the age of seventy-four in Medina county, was for some time a resident of Michigan; Alvira, who married Earl Salsberre, died May 3, 1893, aged seventy-nine years; Mary L. is the widow of William Hopkins, of Sharon township, Medina county, and is now seventy-eight years old; Seth, who lived in Sharon township, Medina county, died of paralysis at the age of sixty-six years; Deborah died in 1871 at the age of fifty-three years; Levinia is the widow of Foster Young, of La Porte, Iowa, and is nearly seventy-one years old; Hiram, now sixty-seven years old, resides in Medina, Ohio, and is clerk of the court of common pleas; Robert N. is the subject of this sketch; William G., now sixty-three years old, is a farmer in Iowa, and resides near La Porte, that State; Marshall W., born in 1836, now a farmer, lives in Granger, Medina county, Ohio. The father died of cancer January 21, 1843, aged fifty-five years, the mother February 5, 1867, aged seventy-six years. The subject under present consideration attended school in his boyhood winters, at the nearest log schoolhouse (in which the seats were made of slabs, with wooden pins for legs), which was a mile away from his home, his summers being passed in work-ing on the farm. He also learned the trade of cooper, which he followed for some years both in his native town and five years in Lorain county, whither he came in 1861. He then clerked in a grocery store in the town of Wellington, at the same time attending to some insurance business, which was the nucleus to his present extensive connection in that line. Mr. Goodwin has served in various public capacities with characteristic ability and fidelity, and among the posItions he has held may be mentioned: secretary of an agricultural society, twelve years; justice of the peace, two terms; city clerk (Well-ington), fourteen years; township and cor-poration assessor, nineteen consecutive years (he is elected each year as assessor, and every two years as city clerk). Politi- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1001 WILLARD HART, than whom there is no better or more favorably known resident of Penfield township, is a native of same, born October 12, 1840, son of Hawley Hart. Hawley Hart was born February 10, 1807, in Litchfield county, Conn., son of Samuel, who was a farmer by occupation. The father of our subject received a common-school education, and during his Bally he is a straight Republican. During the war of the Rebellion five men were drafted on his street, he being one of them, and he reported himself at Elyria, but they were not ready to receive him, and he finally sent a substitute. He had made preparations, however, to fill a position as clerk in the commissary office, but was taken ill with fever, and reluctantly had to remain at home. He is a member of the Congregational Church. His grandfather, Seth Goodwin, served throughout the Revolutionary war and a portion of that of 1812, being a lieutenant at the time of the burning of Buffalo by the British. His father served throughout the war of 1812 as a lieutenant, and saw an Indian killed by an officer of the army, for touching a torch to a building, setting it on fire. In 1850 Mr. Goodwin was united in marriage with Miss Louisa M. Harris, a native of New York State, born in Genesee county, June 2, 1830. No children have been born to them. He and his wife, Louisa M. Goodwin, have resided in Wellington, Ohio, since 1861, when there were only 245 buildings that were used in any part for dwellings; at this time (1894) there aye many elegant dwelling houses, besides the many beautiful churches, schoolhouses, business buildings and as fine a town hall as is not often seen in cities. As he has fine property in Wellington, he expects to remain there during his natural life early manhood was engaged in peddling clocks for Lewis Hart, throughout the Western Reserve, in 1834 coming through Penfield township, Lorain county. On January 12, 1840, he married Miss Lucy Hart, who was born September 17, 1821, in the town of Winchester, Litchfield Co., Conn., daughter of Lewis and Persus (Swift) Hart, who came to Lorain county, Ohio, settling, in June, 1838, in Penfield township, where the marriage took place, the ceremony being performed by Justice Samuel Knapp. After his marriage Mr. Hart always followed farming, and made his home in Penfield township; he first took up a farm in Lot No. 45, which contained but a few rude improvements, and resided for two years on that place, where two children were born to him, namely: Willard, our subject, and Chester, who died at the age of seventeen years. From this farm he removed to Lot 37, and there remained for eight years, when he took up his residence in Lot No. 47, living there for some time. Then, in later years, he moved to a place two miles south of the center of Penfield township, where he died August 5, 1881, of apoplexy, and was buried in Center cemetery. He was, in politics, a Jacksonian Democrat, and attended the elections regularly. He was a successful farmer. Since his decease his widow has made her home with her son Willard. She has been a member of the M. E. Church since 1869. Willard Hart attended during his boyhood the common schools of the district, and received his first knowledge of agricultural work under the direction of his father. On January 15., 1861, he was united in marriage with Miss Ann E, Sooy, a native of Spencer, Medina Co., Ohio, and this union was blessed with one child, Carrie L., who is now the wife of W. B. Lindsley, a farmer of Penfield town? ship, and has two children, Marion A. and Dot H. Our subject has always followed farming, and after his marriage took up his residence with his parents on the home 1002 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. place, where he has ever since contin-uously made his home, and he now owns the excellent farm he resides on, besides two hundred acres which he rents. In addition to farming he has also conducted an extensive dairying business, an industry in which he has met with well-deserved success, and which has proved exceedingly profitable. He has constantly on his farm about thirty-five milch cows, and it is due chiefly to his efforts that Lorain is one of the principal dairy counties in the State. He was the first to introduce Holstein cattle into the county. Mr. Hart is a life-long Democrat, takes an active interest in political affairs, has served as township trustee, and is now filling the office of township treasurer. He is a warm friend of the public-school system, and has served as director of his special school district, where he labored hard for the schools they now have, in the advancement of which he takes great interest. Both he and his wife are members of the M. E. Church, in which, since his union there-with in 1869, he has been a leading factor, holding numerous offices in the Church, and being also prominently iden-tified with the Sunday-school. He is highly thought of in his community. HENRY BRADFORD, one of the most prominent and affluent of the many prosperous agriculturists of Lorain county, and the owner of one of the finest and best-equipped farms in Rochester township, is a native of the county, born August 14, 1849, in Columbia township. Hiram N. Bradford, his father, was born May 31, 1821, in Olmsted Palls, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, a son of Hosea and Hannah (Eastman) Bradford, natives of Vermont, who moved to Canada, and from there to Ohio. They were the parents of ten children, seven of whom—five sons and two daughters—grew to naturity, their names being Philo, Lester, Eastman, Hiram N., Myron, Cynthia and Laura. Hiram N. Bradford received a common-school education, and being a natural mechanic, in early youth turned his attention in that direction, learning the trade of stonemason. His first work in this line was laying the walls for wells, which was considered ordinary labor; but his ability soon asserting itself, he was given more difficult work, such as laying cellar walls, in which in course of time he became very proficient, and he was widely known as a skilled mechanic. He made his home with his parents until his marriage (at which time he was a comparatively poor man), after which he and his young wife made their home in Columbia township, Lorain coun-ty, for a short time; then lived with his wife's parents, who were getting advanced in years, and here Mr. Bradford died March 20, 1856, his remains being interred in Columbia township. He was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and in politics was originally a Whig, at the time of his death a Republican, which party had just been organzed. On July 20, 1842, Hiram N. Bradford and Eunice Eddy were united in marriage. She first saw the light February 22, 1822, in Columbia township, Lorain Co., Ohio, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Sher-dine) Eddy, born February 1, 1783, in New Jersey, and April 1, 1785, in Washington county, Penn., respectively. Mrs. Eddy's father was killed by the Indians. David Eddy came to Ohio before his marriage, and being in Cuyahoga county dur-ing the war of 1812, assisted in building blockhouses there. He died in Columbia township, Lorain county. At Hiram N. Bradford's death he left three children, viz.: Sylvia, now Mrs. Herbert Mills, of Cleveland, Ohio; Viola, who died at the age of fifteen, and Henry, the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Bradford kept the chil-dren together on the farm left by her hus- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1003 band, and February 1, 1860, married Samuel Hanley, a farmer of Lorain county. For a short time Mr. and Mrs. Hanley made their home in New London township, Huron county; then, April 15, 186Q, removed to the farm in Rochester township her son Henry now owns and lives on. Mrs. Hanley is a member of the Freewill Baptist Church, and in her declining years is honored and respected by all. Henry Bradford, the subject proper of this sketch, was reared on a farm, receiving his elementary education at the public schools of the neighborhood of his home, later attending select school. When a young man he made a trip to Michigan, and in the pineries " there worked for some time; returning, he labored in the lime quarries of northwestern Ohio. On October 16, 1872, having once more come to his native county, Mr. Bradford married Miss Ella A. Storrow, born April 12, 1853, in Brighton township, same county, a daughter of Thomas and Sophia (Baird) Storrow, and the young couple then commenced housekeeping in Brighton township. From there at the 'end of a year they removed to Rochester township, where Mr. Bradford bought the homestead of his stepfather. The children born to our subject and wife are Alton L., Lansing A. and Carrie V.—all living. Mr. Bradford enjoys the reputation of being a systematic and thoroughly practical farmer and stockman, as well as an extensive wool grower. In 1876 he became identified with the Poland-China Hog Breeding Association, from which time he has vastly improved his own stock, besides increasing its number; and he can boast of not only having some of the finest animals on his farm, but also of having been the means of improving the breed of swine all over northern Ohio. In 1889 he built at a cost of about three thousand dollars, one of the handsomest farm residences in Rochester township, furnished throughout in hardwood, and in elegance and comfort surpassing anything of the kind in his part of the county. In his political preferences Mr. Bradford is a stanch Republican, and is now serving his township as trustee. C. F. HOPKINS, a worthy member of one of the early families of Brownhelm township, is a native of Oneida county, N. Y., born December 5. 1838, a son of Fred. M. and Phila M. (Barnes) Hopkins. The family came west to Ohio in 1849, settling in the ridge in Brownhelm township, Lorain county, where the father had bought a partly improved farm, clearing the remainder himself. He was a pronounced Abolitionist, and took part in the agitating movements of that period. He died in September, 1866, his wife in May, 1867. Two children were born to them: C. F., and George M., who is chief engineer on a lake steamer, having his home in Bay City, Michigan. The subject of this memoir received his education in part in Oneida county, N. Y., and in part in Brownheltn township, Lorain Co., Ohio. In his youth he assisted in improving the home farm, and has followed fruit farming and gardening. In the spring of 1863 he bought his present property, then consisting of thirty-four acres, which he has since increased to eighty acres, and which he has planted with apples, cherries, peaches, all varieties of berries, etc. In 1863 he was united in marriage with Sophronia Vincent, a daughter of Levi and Polly (Austin) Vincent, natives of Canada, and early pioneers of Henrietta township, Lorain Co., Ohio. The father died in 1886 at the advanced age of eighty-five, the mother surviving him three years. To Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Hopkins have been born children as follows: Edna C. (wife of Charles L. West, 1004 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. of Oberlin , Frederick M., Thyrza H., Gertrude S., Eleanor V. (wife of E. S. Cook, of Bowling Green, Wood Co., Ohio), Marcia J. and Ada G., the latter of whom died at the age of two years. Mr. Hopkins is a Republican, and is a member of the F. & A. M., Stonington Lodge No. 503, North Amherst, also of Marshall Chapter No. 47, Elyria, Ohio. BENJAMIN REDFERN, retired harness manufacturer and farmer, is one of the prominent citizens of South Amherst. He is a native of County Armagh, Ireland, born March 31, 1827, a son of Robert and Ellen (McClarnen) Redfern, both also natives of the Land of Erin. The father, who was a weaver by trade, in 1830 emigrated with his family to Canada, locating near Toronto, Ontario, where they resided till 1852, and then removed to Olmsted Falls, Ohio, whence after about two years they came to Henrietta township, Lorain county, making their new home on a farm. In 1868 they moved to Amherst township, same county, where the mother died in 1883, the father in 1886. They had a family of eight children, of whom the following is a brief record: Benjamin is the subject of this sketch; Barbara R. is the widow of Alfred Chandler, and lives in Elyria; Margaret S. is the wife of David B. Wright, of Olmsted Falls, Ohio; Robert is married, and resides in Columbia township, Lorain Co., Ohio; James H. is married, and has his home in Elyria (he enlisted in Amherst township, Lorain county, in 1862, in Company F, One Hundred and Third O. V. I., for three years, and served to the close of the war); Mary was the wife of Jefferson Ormsby, who was killed by lightning in 1871 (she died in 1892); Elizabeth A. is the wife of Anson Cooper, of Strawberry Point, Iowa; Ellen died in Canada in 1851. Benjamin Redfern, whose name opens this sketch, received a good practical education in the schools of Canada, learned the trade of harness maker, and worked at same there until 1849, when he came to Lorain county, Ohio, and, locating first in Elyria, remained in that town till 1852, in the spring of which year he moved to North Amherst, whence in 1856 he came to South Amherst. He worked at his trade in Lorain county till 1863, and then commenced agricultural pursuits, having purchased a farm. In 1865 he bought out the store of Henry Jackson, in South Amherst, and conducted a general mercantile and harness business till 1867, when he abandoned that line and resumed farming till 1887, retiring in that year. Mr. Redfern owns twenty-two and one-half acres of land in South Amherst, besides a good farm of ninety acres in that town, although he has sold several lots off this property. On January 17, 1852, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Hyland, daughter of Thomas and Martha (West) Hyland, all natives of Sussex, England, who in 1841 immigrated to Canada, locating at Port Stanley, Ontario, whence in 1848 they came to Elyria, Lorain Co., Ohio, settling on a farm in Carlisle township. The father died in September, 1849; the mother is yet living in Carlisle township, now aged eighty years. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Ellen, wife of Benjamin Redfern; Henry, married in Lorain county, and moved to Ionia, Mich., where he died in February, 1893; Mary, wife of William Stall, of Carlisle township, Lorain county; D. W., who was married in Michigan, and now resides in Elyria, Lorain county (he enlisted, in 1862, in Company F, One Hundred and Third O. V. I., for three years, and served to close of the war); and Sarah A., wife of J. Jonas, of Carlisle township, Lorain county. To Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Redfern have been born two children: Eva, wife of G. W. Hazel, of Fostoria, Ohio, and Ella May, wife of William E. Parsons, of Amherst township. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1007 Mr. Redfern in his political sympathies is a Republican, and has served his township as trustee four terms; socially he is a member of Plato Lodge No. 203, I. O. O. F. He has been a Notary Public for some seven years. Although practically retired, he still carries on a snug business in general insurance, representing among other companies the " Phoenix " of Hartford, Conn. In Church connection he and his wife are Baptists. In their lifetime in Lorain they have been eyewitnesses to many nineteenth-century changes, some of them marvels of science, for at the time of their settlement here, less than half a century am), there was no railroad west of Elyria. Mr. Redfern has always been active in public matters, and has taken a genuine interest in everything tending to the advancement and prosperity of his county. MAURICE GOSS. Among the many progressive and skilled agriculturists of Brighton township, this gentleman holds a prominent place. He is of the seventh generation of a family who came to the United States in 1631, same time that Gov. Winthrop's party came from England. Mr. Goss is a son of David, a son of Philip, who was born July 13, 1755, and married Esther Yale, who bore him nine children, of whom three sons—Clark, David and Philip—came to Ohio. Philip Goss, grandfather of subject, served in the Revolutionary war under Gen. Washington, and at White Plains was commissioned major; lie died June 23, 1840. David, one of his three sons who came to Ohio, was educated at the subscription schools of the period in his native town (Boston, Mass.), where he afterward worked as a dray man. In 1832 he married Aurelia, daughter of Samuel Porter, of Dummerstown, Vt., soon after which event the young couple came to Ohio, locating in Cuyahoga county. He was then comparatively poor, for he had lost all his property by signing for others. In later years he moved to Brighton township, where he and his wife passed the rest of their pioneer days, dying August 6, 1871, and October 17, 1874, respectively; their remains were interred in Brighton cemetery. In Cuyahoga county were born to them children as follows: Maria, deceased at the age of thirty-four years; Maurice, subject of this memoir; Edmund G., deceased January 20, 1855; Otis F., a farmer of Brighton township; Julia S., Mrs. J. E. Field, of Carbondale, Ill.; Ellen A., Mrs. J. J. Lawrence, of St. Mary's, Ohio. Politically Mr. Goss was a Free-soiler and Republican, and he and his wife were members of the Congregational Church. His chief vocation was that of farming, and in connection therewith he also conducted a saw and grist mill in Brighton township. Though unfortunate in business in early life, yet he succeeded by incessant toil in accumulating a comfortable competence. Maurice Goss, whose name opens this sketch, was born November 20, 1835, in Middleburgh township, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, at the common schools of which locality he received a meager education. He was early in life inducted into the mysteries of farm labor, and a considerable portion of his time was passed in his father's gristmill, the buhrstones for which were found along Charlemont creek in Wellington township. He remained under the parental roof until he was nineteen years old, when he commenced life for his own account. His first business transaction was the sale of a calfskin his father had given him, with the proceeds of which he bought two sheep, which increased in value, and gradually adding others he soon found himself the possessor of a fine flock. He then rented land, and before he was twenty-one years old he had bought fifty acres on credit, which, being industrious and indefatigable, he soon was 1008 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. enabled to pay for. This tract of fifty acres he disposed of at a profit some time after his marriage, and he then bought seventy acres on which he built a house and barn, and where he remained until 1863, at which time he removed into Pittsfield township. ln the spring of 1865 he returned to Brighton township, and from his uncle, Philip Goss, he purchased his present farm, which has been added to until it now contains 195 acres of excel-lent farming land, since much improved, new buildings having been erected, and the old ones enlarged and remodeled. Some years ago Mr. Goss erected a cheese factory on his farm, which he successfully operated for some years, when he disposed of it to Richmond & Tracy, who retained his services as superintendent for one year. After various changes this factory again fell into Mr. Goss' hands, and later was sold to Laundon, Windecker &, Co., of Wellington, Ohio. In 1871 he erected a warehouse at Rochester, Ohio, a one-half interest in which he sold, and the style of the firm is now M. Goss & Co. In 1886 our subject moved to Rochester, where he made his home till 1893, in which year he returned to Brighton township, where he now resides, retaining his interests at Rochester. On December 8, 1856, M. Goss and Josephine M. Judd were united in marriage. She was born in January, 1834, in Brighton, Ohio, daughter of Erasmus Judd, and children as follows were born to them: Nettie, who was married to F. Twining, and died in Henrietta township, leaving one child, Maud; Herbert S., a farmer of Spink county, S. D.; May, residing at home; and Lindsey E., who died young. The mother of these died November 5, 1883, and was buried in Brighton town-ship. In 1885 Mr. Goss married Mrs. Ezilda Bridgman, a widow, sister of his first wife, and she died in 1891, her re-mains being taken to Atchison, Kans., where they were laid to rest. Mr. Goss in his early-political preferences was a straight Republican, and as such served with credit as a justice of the peace; of late years he has been a zealous Prohibitionist. He is a member of the Congregational Church, in which he has. served as deacon. A typical self-made man, he is a leader and adviser in the community, being possessed of good judgment and sound common sense. ALBERT H. SMITH, manager and city editor of the Elyria Republican, was born in Chepstow (originally a Norman stronghold and fortifica-tion), Monmouthshire, England, June 11, 1848, a son of George Frederick and Elizabeth (Chidgey) Smith, the former of whom was descended from Norman-Welsh ancestry, the latter of Saxon or English stock. George F. Smith, who was a custom-house officer, died when the sub-ject of these lines was a lad of some nine summers. A. H. Smith after leaving school en-tered the office of the West Somerset Free Press, a well-known weekly paper published at Williton, Somersetshire, England, and here he learned the profession of printer and journalist, subsequently hav-ing charge of the paper. In June, 1870, he emigrated to America, and, locating in Corry, Erie Co., Penn., took charge of a daily paper there till the fall of 1872, when he moved to Oberlin, Ohio, and accepted the position of manager of the Standard of the Cross, the Episcopal organ for the diocese of Ohio. With this paper he was connected till 1875, a period of about three years, during which time it was removed to Cleveland. Mr. Smith then came to Elyria and bought a half interest in the Republican, which he, how-ever, sold, remaining with the paper as city editor. Again becoming a stock-holder, in September, 1891, a joint-stock LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1009 company was organized, and our subject has since continued in the dual capacity of general manager and city editor. In 1871 Mr. Smith was married to Amanda H. Fuller. In church connection he is an Episcopalian, in politics a Republican, and he is a member of the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F. THOMAS LINE. Ranking among the prominent and influential citizens of Columbia township is this gentleman, who is an Englishman by birth, having been born, in 1823, in West Haddon, Northamptonshire. He is a son of William and Elizabeth (Facer) Line, who in 1848 emigrated to the United States, sailing from Liverpool, and arriving at New York after a voyage of five weeks. From there they proceeded to Lorain county, Ohio, where the father cleared a farm out of the dense forests and became a prosperous agriculturist; he was a builder by trade, but in this country followed farming exclusively up to the time of his death, which occurred September 11, 1872, when he was eighty-two years old, his wife passing away February 27, 1887, at the age of eighty years. They were the parents of four children, as follows: Charles, who died in Ridgeville township in 1892; Thomas; John, a resident of Columbia township; and Sarah, wife of George Robinson, postmaster at North Ridgeville, Lorain county. Our subject received his education at the schools of his native parish in England, and learned the trade of mason. He was married in that country February 8, 1848, to Miss Elizabeth Gare, and the same year they emigrated with the rest of his family to the United States. By this union there were four children, viz.: Sarah J., wife of John Cole, of Ridgeville township; Fred William, residing at Millbury, Wood Co., Ohio; John T., married, who is in the hardware business at Matta Bend, Mo.; and Lue, wife of Ernest Mitchell, of Ridgeville township. The mother of these died May 1, 1882, aged fifty-six years, four months, and September 1, 1884, Mr. Line married, in New York, Miss Martha Watts, also a native of England. Our subject worked at his trade in Lorain county, in the South, and in various other places, till settling down to farming pursuits. He now owns a well-cultivated place of eighty-one acres in Columbia township where he lives, and seventy-four in Eaton township. He has erected on his farm a good brick residence. Politically he is a Democrat, and was postmaster at North Eaton some years. He and his wife are members of the Church of England. The male members of the family have been masons for hundreds of years back. FRANK D. JOHNSON, foremost in the ranks of the leading engineers in the employ of the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad Company, is a native of Huron county, Ohio, born March 30, 1852, a son of John H. and Elizabeth P. (Snyder) Johnson. Our subject received a liberal education at the common schools of his native place, and was reared to agricultural pursuits, working on his father's farm until he was twenty years old. At that time, being dissatisfied with the life of a husbandman, he left the paternal roof, and proceeding to Cleveland entered the employ of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Com- pany, remaining ten years. At first he fired an engine, and then was promoted to engineer, in which capacity he has since served with characteristic carefulness and fidelity. Removing to Norwalk, Huron county, he at once commenced as engineer for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad Company, his present position. 1010 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. On June 17, 1876, Mr. Johnson married Miss Sarah E. Miller, born September 20, 1852, in Chester county, Penn., and three children have come to brighten their home, as follows: Flora V., Oliver E. and Edessa M. Politically our subject is a Republican, a hearty worker in his party, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. He is a man of magnificent physique, standing six feet in his stockings, and weighing 220 pounds. He is one of the oldest and most trustworthy engineers on the road, none more popular, and his agreeable and jovial disposition makes him friends wherever he goes. Socially lie is a member of Norwalk Lodge K. of P. His residence is No. 82 Prospect street, Norwalk, Ohio. MRS. L. A. OSBORNE, a resident of North Amherst, was born in Orwel, Vt., daughter of Ira W. and Lucy Smith, also natives of Vermont, where they were married, and where ten children were born to them. In the fall of 1832 Ira W. Smith came west to Lorain county, Ohio (the trip being made for the most part by water), and purchased a considerable amount of land about one mile from the present village of North Amherst. Later on the rest of the family joined him; but he was not fated to long enjoy his new home, for in the spring of the following year, just six weeks after the arrival of his wife and children, he was killed by a falling tree while out in the woods making a roadway through, on his land, which is now called the Middle Ridge. He was in his fifty-second year at the time, and his sudden taking off was a terrible blow to the family; his widow died about twenty years ago at the age of eighty-one years. They had a family of ten children, of whom the following is a brief record: (1) Lucy married Daniel Cuts, and settled in Windham, Portage Co., Ohio, where she died. (2) Ira W. was a landowner, farmer and stockman at Kankakee, Ill., and died there leaving a numerous family. (3) M. D. was a stockman and landowner at Wellington, Ohio, where he died leaving a large family. (4) Sarah Ann married a Mr. Streator in Vermont, and died in Licking county, Ohio. (5) Mariette is the wife of Orlum Winton, of North Amherst, Ohio. (6) Russell was a ranchman, and died at his residence in the city of Stockton, Cal. (7) John (deceased) was a farmer in Iowa. (8) Jane married Samuel Vining, and died in Illinois. (9) Charles died in Kansas. (10) L. A., the subject proper of this memoir, born in 1832, was married in 1850, at the age of seventeen, to William Walker, who was born in the State of New York and reared at North Amherst, Ohio. He died sixteen years after marriage, leaving three children, viz.: Zuleina L., wife of A. V. Kent, of Toledo, Ohio, by whom she has three children: Loula L., Grace E. and Amos Ross; Charles, a farmer on Middle Ridge, Amherst township, Lorain Co., Ohio(he has one child, Bertie); and William K., who died in October, 1892, aged thirty-two years. Our subject was married, the second time, in 1868, to Henry A. Osborne, a native of Lorain county, born in Avon, but most of whose early life was passed in Pennsylvania. After marriage they made their home in Amherst township. He was a soldier during the war of the Rebellion, and in the service contracted consumption of which he died July 26, 1871. One child was born to this union: Maude E., now the wife of J. H. Wright, of Grindstone City, on Lake Huron. For the past sixteen years Mrs. Osborne has lived on Church street, North Amherst, and among her children. She is identified with the Congregational Church; her second husband was a member of the M. E. Church. Mrs. L. A. Osborne's early education was limited to the common schools, but an LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1011 ambition to excel caused her to attain intelligence and culture rapidly, and this, coupled with a handsome appearance and genial disposition, made her an early favorite in society. Her first husband was an excellent business man, and the Walker family became known as one of the prosperous and leading families of Lorain county. Mrs. Osborne had grave responsibilities left upon her by her first husband's death; but she succeeded well. She is still young looking, and still among the social leaders of North Amherst. She is an active church worker, and .one of the leaders of the Ladies' Relief Corps of North Amherst. CHARLES BOWERS, well known and highly respected in Wellington and vicinity, where for several years he has industriously pursued his trade, that of carpenter, is a native of the town, born August 13, 1836, a son of Sylvester and Esther (Cheney) Bowers. Sylvester Bowers, a native of Connecticut, born in 1805, came west to Ohio in 1834, settling on a farm in Wellington township, Lorain county, and here reared a hardy and intelligent family. Of late years he has lived a retired life in Wellington, on Tayler street. Politically he was originally a Whig, and since the organization of the party has been a Republican; in Church connection for some years he was a Baptist, but for a considerable time back has been a Congregationalist. His wife, a native of Massachusetts, born in 1804, died at the age of eighty-two years. Their children, four in number, were: John, who joined Company H, One Hundred and Third O. V. I., and was killed at the siege of Knoxville; Charles, our subject; Victoria, deceased wife of Oscar Herrick, county auditor, living in Elyria; and Harriet, residing with her father. Charles Bowers, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, attended in his boyhood the district schools, and learned the trade of carpenter in his native town. In June, 1863, he enlisted in Company C, Eighty-sixth Regiment O. V. I., which was ordered to Cumberland Gap; he was discharged there at the expiration of his term of service, and returned home. The following season he served in the Government employ as carpenter in the vicinity of Nashville, Tenn., and after the war he worked six months longer for the Government, since when he has been a constant resident of Wellington, Lorain county. In 1870 Mr. Bowers married Miss Emma J. Webster, who was born in Wellington, Ohio, October 13, 1838, and they have two children: Ida, married to David Gammell, of Akron, Ohio, and Clayton. Mrs. Bowers is a daughter of Oliver and Melissa (Babcock) Webster, New England people, the latter of whom was eighty-five years of age in November, 1893. The father, who passed away in 1870 at the age of sixty-two years, was a Whig and Republican, and a member of the Congregational Church. Their children were: Emerson, in Denver, Colo.; Henry, in Wellington, Lorain county; Alonzo, Amelia, Philena (deceased) and Emma. Mrs.. Bowers' paternal grandfather, David Webster, came to Lorain county in a very early day, and died at an advanced age. Our subject is a Republican in politics, and a member of the G. A. R. Post; in Church connection he and his wife are Congregationalists. C. J. COLE, the genial and popular clerk of Columbia township, was born on his present farm August 19, 1860, a son of John and Sarah (Bancroft) Cole, natives of Connecticut. and Massachusetts, respectively. John Cole came to Columbia township when a boy of nine years, along with seven 1012 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. other members of the family, and was here married to Miss Sarah Bancroft, who had migrated hither in her girlhood, settling in Ridgeville township. They are yet living, the parents of four children, namely: Eliza-beth A., wife of A. H. Perry, of Colum-bia township; Harriet A., wife of F. J. Hinman, of Cleveland; Fred E. (married), died in Kansas in 1884; and C. J., our subject. The father was a farmer by occupation, a Prohibitionist-Democrat in politics, and filled various township offices, including those of clerk and trustee. C. J. Cole, the subject of this sketch, received his elementary education at the common schools of his native township, and afterward attended Oberlin College six years, graduating with the class of 1886. On account of failure in health he returned to his father's farm immediately after graduating, where he has since remained. His chief occupation has been farming and school teaching, which latter he followed some five years in Olmsted and Columbia townships, and he is the owner of sixty-five acres of prime land, all in a good state of cultivation. Politically he is a stanch Republican; has served as justice of the peace some years, and as township clerk six years, with ability and fidelity, having been elected to the office in 1887. Mr. Cole is justly recognized as a useful member of society, and one of the most prosperous citizens of his township. He is deeply interested in educational matters, and an avowed advocate of free schools and free speech. URIEL M. BEMIS, a well-known respected citizen of Lorain, was born in 1829 in Massachusetts. His parents, Charles H. and Azubah (Perry) Bemis, were also natives of Massachusetts, and in 1850 moved westward, locating in Lorain county, Ohio. They had children as follows: Uriel M., our subject; Francis, of Amherst, Lorain county, who enlisted in 1863 in an Ohio Regiment, and served through the remainder of the war; Marcus, now living in Iowa county, Mich.; Henry, deceased; Charles and Luther, who both died in the army. The father of this fam-ily died in Tennessee in 1857; the mother died in 1881, in Lorain county. Uriel M. Bemis was reared and educated in his native State, and when twenty-one years of age came to Lorain county, Ohio, locating in Black River township, where he was engaged in farming 9.nd also operated a sawmill. In 1865 he removed to Sheffield township, where he was engaged in farming and milling, and in 1886 came to Lorain, where he has since been employed as engineer in the car shops. In 1853 he was united in marriage, in Sheffield township, with Miss Mary Standen, a native of England, daughter of James and Julia (Upton) Standen, also natives of England, and who came to Sheffield town-ship, Lorain Co., Ohio. in an early day. To Mr. and Mrs. Bemis have been born the following named children: Eva M., wife of Thomas C. Burlingame; Ella, widow of Edwin Abele; Celia, married to James White; Hattie, married to Daniel Dodge, of Dayton, Ohio; Nettie, wife of Fred Olkey, of Lorain; and Harry L. In politics Mr. Bemis is a Republican, and he takes an interest in everything tending to improve and advance the community in which he resides. THOMAS C. BURLINGAME, foreman of the Car Shops at Lorain, is the oldest employe in same, having worked there the past twenty years. His father, William Burlingame, was born in Massachusetts, and in about 1836 came to Lorain county, Ohio, where he followed farming, also conducting a saw. mill for a few years. He was united in marriage, in Sheffield township, Lorain county, with Melissa Baker, a native of Pennsylvania, and they reared eight chil- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1013 dren, as follows: Sarah, married to William Smith, of Lorain; Henry, who resides in Wisconsin; Thomas Corwin; Eunice, wife of Daniel Ball, Cleveland; Maria, wife of Harry Packham, of Chicago; Lucy, wife of B. Shaw, of Geneva, Ohio; William, Jr., of Geneva; and Martha, Mrs. Brainard, of Geneva. They have a half-sister named Mina. The mother of this family died in Sheffield township in 1865, and in 1872 the father moved to Ashtabula county, Ohio, where he died in 1892. Politically he was first a Whig, and afterward, on the formation of the party, a Republican, being an ardent supporter of the principles of his party; he took an active part in the early history of the county. Thomas Corwin Burlingame was born December 22, 1846, in Sheffield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where he was reared and educated. He followed milling in the township in an early day, and in 1873 moved into Lorain, here entering the employ of the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad Company. On November 28, 1871, he was married, in Sheffield township, to Miss Eva M. Bemis, a native of Lorain, and they have had one child, Gertie. In politics our subject is a Republican. Socially he is a member of Tent No. 1, K. O. T. M., of the Royal Arcanum, and of the Order of Tonti, of which he is treasurer. In religion Mr. and Mrs. Burlingame are members of the Disciple Church. E. G. SPRAGUE, a well-to-do farmer citizen of LaGrange township, is a 1 native of Livingston county, N. Y., born August. 2, 1841, in the town of York. His father, William G. Sprague, son of William, was born February 23, 1812, in Covington, N. Y., and on November 17, 1836, married Miss Pamelia Root, who was born January 1, 1819, in Pittsfield, Mass., whence her parents, Chester and Clarissa Root, moved to New York, where she met and married Mr. Sprague. The latter learned the trade of miller, and followed it in New York State, where three children were born to him, viz.: Chester, born February 15, 1838, who died February 8, 1840; William Chester, born January 30, 1840, who was killed by a horse March 1, 1891; and Edward G., subject proper of this sketch. In the spring of 1842 the family came to Ohio, whither the father had preceded them a few months, spending the winter near Columbus, Ohio, where he had better health. When the family joined him in the spring, he purchased land in Copley, Summit Co., Ohio, residing thereon for ten years, and then removing to Lorain county, where he invested in 135 acres of land. Here he passed the remainder of his life, except one year, when he bought and conducted a gristmill at La Porte. He died on his farm February 3, 1893, preceded by his wife June 23, 1883, and they now lie buried in East cemetery, LaGrange township. The children born to them after coming to Ohio were Oliver R., born March 14, 1846, in Copley, who died May 28, 1864; and Charley, born December 6, 1848, in Copley, who died October 12, 1879. Mr. Sprague was an active man, and traveled considerably, visiting the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876; he owned some property in Michigan, which he also visited frequently. He was well informed on various questions, and though he had but limited educational advantages in his youth he acquired much practical learning by reading, travel and observation. He conducted systematically anything which he undertook, and was much respected in his community. In politics he was a Republican, and held the office of township trustee. E. G. Sprague received a common-school education, and, during his boyhood and youth was inducted into the mysteries of farm life. Upon reaching his majority he left home and went to Michigan, where he 1014 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. worked in the pineries, but being dissatisfied returned. On March 14, 1867, he was united in marriage with Miss Malissa Dale, who was born November 16, 1846, in LaGrange township, daughter of Orrie and Charille (Clark) Dale, and for one year thereafter they lived on land in Grafton township, which he rented from his father-in-law. They then moved into LaGrange township, where, with the exception of a year and a half they lived in LaPorte, they have ever since had their residence, on April 7, 1892, coming to the home farm, where they now are. He is administrator of his father's estate, and controls over three hundred acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Sprague have children as follows: Linnie, born March 5,1872; George E., born July 1, 1877; and Ora M., born February 26, 1883. In politics our subject is a Republican, but is not active in party affairs. He has been a lifelong agriculturist, and besides general farming is extensively engaged in raising horses and sheep, a large number of which he usually has on hand. F. E. GRIFFIN, a thoroughly representative self-made man, and a prosperous agriculturist of Amherst township, is a native of same, born October 15, 1847, a son of Frederick A. and Bethia L. (Jenne) Griffin. Frederick A. Griffin, father of our subject, stands prominent among the practically self-made agriculturists of Lorain county. He was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., March 5, 1824, a son of Morris and Maria (Brownell) Griffin, natives of the same place. The father was a farmer, and died in New York about the year 1827; the widowed mother then married Paul Nichols, and they lived in Cayuga county till 1875, when they came to Lorain county and made their home with Frederick A. The mother died in Michigan in 1890. Grandfather Samuel Brownell was a native of New York, and followed droving between that city and the West; he died in Wyoming county, N. Y., at the age of ninety years. On the maternal side of the house the family are of Holland extraction, and on the paternal side they are of Scotch. Three Griffin brothers came from Scotland in Colonial days, and settled in New York. Frederick A. Griffin was reared in part in Cayuga and in part in Dutchess county, N. Y., at the schools of which place he received a liberal education. In 1844 he came to Lorain county, Ohio, locating on rented land in Amherst township. In 1847 he moved into Erie county, thence in 1852 to Russia township, where he cleared a farm of 160 acres of wild land. Here he lived until 1878, when he came to Elyria township, and settled on his present farm. On September 4, 1846, Mr. Griffin was married in Ridgeville, Lorain Co., Ohio, to Miss Bethia L. Jenne, a native of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, a daughter of Ansel and Elizabeth (Brown) Jenne, of whom mention is made elsewhere. Two sons have been born to this union, viz.: Frederick E., whose name opens this sketch, and Charles B., married to Mary Gawn, and residing in Amherst township (they have four children, viz.: Charles, Frederick A., Gertrude and Eugene). In politics Mr. Griffin is a Prohibitionist, and he is a strong advocate of temperance principles. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church at Elyria. Mr. Griffin at one time owned good farms in Russia and Amherst townships, aggregating 200 acres, which he sold prior to coming to Elyria township. Frederick E. Griffin attended in his boyhood and early youth the public schools of his township, and was reared to farming, which has been his life-work. In December, 1868, he was united in marriage with Emma Bassett, who was born April 26, 1847, in Russia, Lorain Co., Ohio, daughter of Charles and Emma (Parsons) Bassett, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1017 the former of whom was born in the town of Chili, Monroe Co., N. Y., March 10, 1820, the latter in Wiltshire, England, July 28, 1819. To Mr. and Mrs. Frederick E. Griffin has been born one child, Allen E. Mr. Griffin has always taken an active interest in politics, and is an ardent Republican; recently he was nominated for the County Republican Committee. At the last election he was nominated and elected county commissioner of Lorain county, and took office January 1, 1894. In matters of religion he was a member of the Congregational Church. He is the owner of a productive farm of ninety acres, all well improved, whereon, in addition to cereals, etc., he raises sheep and fine-bred horses. S. W. KELNER, leading capitalist, and one of the most prosperous business men in LaGrange township, is a native of same, born June 20, 1850. Peter Kelner, great-grandfather of our subject, came to this country from Germany in about 1787, and first made a temporary location in the State of New Jersey. In 1788 he brought his family to Jefferson county, N. Y., and took up his residence near the town of Champion, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their days. Of their children four sons and one daughter grew to maturity, among whom was one named William, the grandfather of our subject. William Kelner was born September 1, 1787, in New Jersey, and was reared to the multitudinous duties of farm life in Jefferson county, N. Y. He had but limited educational opportunities, and learned to read after his marriage, having attended school in his youth but six weeks. In 1818 he was married in Jefferson county, N. Y., to Miss Cynthia Phelps, a native of that county, born November 13, 1792, and they became the parents of two children, namely: Elmira, born June 20, 1819, who was married in Lorain county, Ohio, to Sandrus Rockwood, and after his decease to James Waite (she died in LaGrange December 24, 1848); and Charles, born January 3, 1823. Mr. Kelner was a well-to-do farmer, and owned a good place in Jefferson county. In the spring of 1835 he set out for Ohio, with a view of locating, walking the entire distance, and after looking over the land and making a selection returned to New York, where he sold his farm and farming utensils. Mrs. Kelner died June 2, 1835, and in the fall of the same year he started for Ohio with his two motherless children, making the trip in a covered wagon drawn by two horses. After a wearisome journey they arrived in LaGrange township, Lorain county, where for a short time they were guests of Nathan Clark, LaGrange township's first permanent settler, later making their home with one Joseph Phelps, a brother-in law. Mr. Kelner purchased one hundred acres in Lot 19, N. W. Section of LaGrange township, for which tract he paid one thousand dollars in cash, and which land he cleared and improved, also adding to it as circumstances permitted. He was twice married after coming to Lorain county: first to Miss Mary Chase, who was born November 26, 1783, and died November 23, 1842, but had no children by either union. He passed from earth March 28, 1878, at the patriarchal age of ninety years, dying in LaGrange township, where he was buried. He was a successful farmer, and accumulated a very comfortable competence, being a most active man even in his old age, never content unless occupied with labor of some kind. He was constantly reading and studying the Scriptures, and in religious connection was a member of the M. E. Church, which he joined in his later years. Charles Kelner, father of our subject, was about twelve years old when he came 1018 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. with his father to Ohio, and drove the horses during most of the journey. He was reared to farm life, received an education in the common schools, and then worked on the home place until his marriage. On October 19, 1840, he wedded Miss Martha A. Clark, who was born May 13, 1820, in Jefferson county, N. Y., third daughter and fifth child of Nathan and Anna (Loomis) Clark, who came to LaGrange township in 1825, and, as previously stated, were the first permanent settlers there. To the union of Charles and Martha R. Kelner came children as follows: George H., born June 6, 1842, a cheese maker and farmer of LaGrange. township; Cynthia M., born October 7, 1844, now Mrs. Richard Rounds, of Barry county, Mich.; Emma M., born November 3, 1846, now Mrs. Nelson Wilson, of Penfield, Ohio; Stowell W., the subject of this sketch; Frank, born July 29, 1855, a farmer of LaGrange township; and Charlie, born August 13, 1860, a resident of LaGrange township. The family resided on the homestead many years, making their home there until 1875, when he built in LaGrange village the finest residence in the township, and there passed the remainder of his days, dying August 14, 1880. He was buried in a cemetery near the home farm in LaGrange township. In his political affiliations he was a stanch member of the Democratic party, and held the office of township trustee when the town hall was built. . He was very successful in his agricultural affairs, and accumulated a very comfortable competence, leaving to his widow an elegant home, which she now shares with our subject. Stowell W. Kelner received his education in the common schools of his native place, his first teacher being William A. Braman. He was reared to farming pursuits, and remained at home with his parents until December 17, 1872, when he was united in marriage with Miss Hannah E. Nichols, who was born December 3, 1853, in LaGrange, daughter of Cyrus and Henrietta (Pierce) Nichols, who came from Watertown, N. Y., to LaGrange township in an early day. Children as follows have blessed the union of Stowell W. and Hannah E. Kelner: Two sons that died in infancy; Cassie M., born October 30, 1881; Mattie M. H., born August 1, 1885; Earl W., born June 14, 1889; and Rowan B., born January 26, 1891. After marriage Mr. Kelner settled on the home place, which had been divided between two sons, and for five years conducted the stone quarry which had been discovered on the farm. But in 1884 a switch from the Lake Shore Railroad was built from Oberlin, Ohio, and the stone business (a very profitable one) and the farm of 140 acres were sold to the Cleveland Stone Co. at a handsome figure. Mr. Kelner had also erected buildings, and carried on a general store, which were disposed of at the same time.. He still owns fifty acres of valuable stone land. In the fall of 1883 he took up his residence in the village of LaGrange, and here he has since resided in the beautiful and luxuriously furnished home erected by his father. He buys and sells wool, and also deals in various kinds of stock, being a shrewd, well-known business man, popular in the commercial circles of Lorain county. He is a member of the Democratic party, but takes no particular interest in political affairs. Mrs. Kelner is a member of the M. E. Church. JOSEPH TURLEY, retired merchant, and a representative self-made man, having his residence in Wellington, is a native of Manchester, England, born in 1814. He is a son of Francis and Alice (Eckelsley) Turley, of Irish and English birth, respectively, the former of whom went to England when a young man, and there married. He was a weaver, a trade he followed in England till his death, which occurred when he was seventy years of age; LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1019 his wife also died in the mother country, aged about sixty-five. Of their children the following is a brief record: James Lionel is a weaver in Manchester, England; John was also a weaver in Manchester, where he died; Joseph is the subject of this sketch; Frank resided in Manchester; Isabel O. died in England; and one died young. Joseph Turley received his education at the schools of his native city, and worked in a large cotton-factory there. At the age of thirty-five years he immigrated to the United States, landing at Boston, Mass., and worked in the East some two years before coming West, part of the time as a mechanic at Springfield, Mass. While so employed he received a hurt in an accident, and it was then that he turned his attention, through a friend, to Wellington, Lorain Co., Ohio. This was in 1850, almost half a century ago, when the bear, the panther, the wolf and many other wild animals still roamed the imperial forest. Here Mr. Turley resolved to go into the grocery business, and after securing a suitable building found he had only twelve dollars left wherewith to buy goods; from which small beginnings, by close application to business, shrewdness and economy, he made in the course of a few years a comfortable competence. His first week's receipts amounted to between twenty and thirty dollars, and the last bill he paid, for sugar and molasses alone, amounted to two thousand dollars. In 1860 he visited England, being about fifty weeks there, and after his return located in Cleveland, Ohio, where for two years he operated a grain and produce business. At the end of that time he opened a cooperative store in Wellington, and one in Oberlin, but in about a year and a quarter he retired from business. In March, 1893, he again visited England, but returned in the following June, having been taken sick there. On both his trips he happened to be the oldest passenger on board the vessel, although he was one of about twelve hundred souls. Mr. Turley was married, on May 18, 1840, to Miss Anna Smith, who died in 1851, and in 1852 he wedded, for his second wife, Miss Anna Vincent, who died November 15, 1892. In politics our subject is strictly independent; in church matters he is a Congregationalist. He has been liberal in his contributions to various charitable institutions. Aside from a temporary affliction, he is remarkable for mental and physical vigor. THOMAS COX, for nearly half a century a resident of Elyria township, where he has been a prosperous farmer, is a native of England, born in Northamptonshire, in November, 1816, in the village of Naseby, near where was fought, in June, 1645, the memorable battle between Cromwell and the Royalists, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of five thousand men. Thomas Cox, father of our subject, a native of the same place, and by occupation a laborer and farmer, sailed in 1833 for the United States with his family, landing in. Philadelphia July 8, of that year, and first locating in Allegheny county, Penn. From there he proceeded to Lorain county, Ohio, where he made a settlement in Elyria township, east of the river. In England he had married Miss Catherine Luck, of the same county, and they had five children, viz.: William, who died at the age of eighty-five in Allegheny county, Penn.; Robert, who resided in Allegheny county, Penn., and died at about the age of seventy-two; Joseph, living in Allegheny county, Penn.; John, in Elyria township, and Thomas, our subject. The mother died in England before the family came to this country; the father died in August, 1851, at the age of seventy-six years. The subject proper of these lines received his education in Pennsylvania, and 1020 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. has followed agricultural pursuits all his life. He now owns one hundred acres of land in a high state of cultivation, and has prospered well. In 1840 he married Miss Isabella Aldridge, who was born in England in March, 1820, a daughter of John and Mary (Crisp) Aldridge, natives of Warwickshire, and who came to this country in 1831, landing in Baltimore, Md., thence proceeding to Pittsburgh, Penn., where they both died in 1854, of cholera. They had two sons: Thomas, living in Steubenville, Ohio, and John, who died in Newport, Ky. To Mr. and Mrs. Cox have been born two children, namely: Samuel, who is married and has two children, Burton and Howard; and Mary A., wife of Richard Henson, also has two children, Thomas H. and Alfred C. In politics our subject is a straight Republican, and cast his first vote for W. H. Harrison. [Since the above was written we have been informed of the death from La Grippe of Thomas Cox, the subject of the sketch, the sad event taking place December 20, 1893. A. J. RICHMOND, one of the thorough-going representative farmers of Amherst township, is a native of Lorain county, Ohio, born in Black River township, April 15, 1831. He is a son of Freeman and Eunice Richmond, the former of whom was born in Providence, R. I., August 29, 1791, the latter in New York. The father was twice married, the first time to a Miss Nancy Arnold, of Chautauqua county, N. Y. Soon after marriage they moved to Sheffield, Lorain Co., Ohio, arriving there December 1, 1815. One child, Philinda, was born September 14, 1817, being the first white child born in Sheffield. Mrs. Nancy Richmond died August 12, 1819. The daughter, Philinda, married Schuyler Strong, and died Novem ber 4, 1844. In the course of time Mr. Richmond was married to Mrs. Eunice Fox, a widow with four children-Gilbert, Orpha, Hannah and Nancy. The children of the second marriage are six in number, viz.: Sylva, born July 15, 1824, and married to Albert Arnold; Minerva, wife of Isaac Shupe, born July 21, 1826; Jane, born February 19,1829; Albert, born April 15, 1831; Milo, born January 2, 1837; Elmeda, wife of James Rankin, born July 24, 1839. Freeman Richmond moved from Sheffield to Black River township February 15, 1825, and afterward removed to Amherst. He lived to the age of ninety-one, his wife surviving him two years. A. J. Richmond, the subject proper of this sketch, received his education at the public schools of Amherst township, where he was reared to farming, which has always been his occupation, excepting in his younger days, when he worked for a time at vessel calking at Lorain, Milan and Huron. On October 9, 1852, he was married to Mary L. Gilmore, daughter of Aretus and Orra Gilmore, early pioneers of Black River township, Lorain county, and to this union one son, Bird, was born. Bird Richmond was born October 16, 1853, and was married, October 16, 1877, to Sarah E. Jenne, daughter of Ansel and Phebe Jenne, by which union one son, Frank, was born July 16, 1880. A. J. Richmond's wife died October 11, 1886, and in 1888 Mr. Richmond was married to Mrs. Emaretta Tenery, of Clyde, Ohio. In politics our subject is a Republican, and he has always taken a deep interest in the affairs of the county, of which he is a useful and loyal citizen. J. A. MEREDITH is a son of William Meredith, who was born August 8, 1813, in Herefordshire, England, eldest child of James Meredith, who was a farmer. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1021 William Meredith was reared to the duties of agricultural life, and received but a common-school education, his opportunities in that direction being limited, as his parents were poor. For a time he found employment working in noblemen's gardens, etc., but in 1848 left England, sailing from Liverpool in the vessel " Calagrimcha," which was some time afterward burned at sea. Along with William came a friend, Thomas Jones, who had been here before, and after landing at New York they proceeded to Pittsfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where Mr. Meredith invested in forty-seven acres of land at nine dollars per acre, for which he was obliged to go into debt. On April 23, 1849, he married Esther Gurney, who was born February 8, 1816, in Worcestershire, England, and passed the earlier part of her life in Herefordshire, same country. She was a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Wheeler) Gurney, who were poor people, and Esther was early in life obliged to work for a living, being thus deprived of even the smallest opportunity to obtain an education. She had met Mr. Meredith in England, where they were engaged, and he started for the United States to seek a home, concluding, if satisfactory arrangements could not be made here, to return to England. But in about a year he had made a home, and sent for Miss Gurney, who sailed from Liverpool on a vessel of the "Black Star Line," landing in New York after a voyage of thirty-three days. She immediately proceeded to Pittsfield township, where she was joined by Mr. Meredith, and here immediately after marriage they began life in a rude frame house, where they resided seven years, after which they moved to the farm. To their union were born children as follows: Mary Ann, deceased in infancy; James A., subject of this sketch; Alice, Mrs. John White, of Wellington, Ohio; and Reuben and Arthur, both farmers of Pittsfield township. He was a strong Republican, and took great interest in political issues, reading considerably and keeping himself well posted. At the time of his death, which occurred July 3, 1885, he owned 280 acres of land, all of which he had acquired by patient, honest toil, working part of the time as a farm hand. He and his wife were members of the Episcopal Church in England. Mr. Meredith was buried in the South cemetery at Wellington. Since his death the widow has resided on the home farm, and is a highly respected lady in her community. J. A. Meredith was born July 29, 1854, in Pittsfield township, and received his literary training in the common schools. He was reared to the arduous duties of agricultural life, and remained on the home farm until his marriage, working out in the summer seasons. On December 25, 1876, he wedded Miss Alice Parsons, a daughter of Ebenezer and Armitta (Corkins) Parsons, and immediately thereafter settled on his present farm, where he has since resided, carrying on a general farming and dairying business. He is one of the most enterprising and progressive young farmers in his section, and is a well-known member of the locality. Politically he is a Republican, and has held various township offices, refusing others. Socially he is a member of Lorain Lodge, No. 281, I. O. O. F., and Camp No. 247. To Mr. and Mrs. Meredith have come children as follows: Clara E., Frank A., Charles (deceased), Mabel A., Lena A., Bessie, Belle R. and Howard Edmund. W. A. WIRE, late superintendent of the C. L. & W. R. R. docks, Lorain, deservedly one of the most popular of men, is a native of the State of New York, born April 17, 1831. He is a son of Samuel and Abigail (Sherman) Wire, the former of whom was for some time a contractor on the New York Central Railroad. He was also a preacher 1022 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. in the Freewill Baptist Church, having commenced exhorting at the age of thirty-one. When our subject was three years old the family moved to Ashtabula county, Ohio, locating on a farm for a time, after which they again returned to New York State, and for six years made their home in the town of Canandaigua. The mother, who was of Scotch lineage, died in Potter, Yates Co., N. Y., and the father then re-sided for a short time in Wayne county. He lived to be eighty-one years old, and a short time before his death was cradling grain, something not to be so much marveled at when it is remembered that he came from a long lived hardy Scotch-Irish race. His grandfather was one of Washington's body guard during the Revolutionary war. W. A. Wire, the subject of this sketch, in his boyhood attended school in New York State, and at the age of twenty-one commenced railroading, first as a fireman for a locomotive on the Cleveland & Columbus Railroad; at the end of a year he was appointed brakeman on the Cleveland & Erie Railroad, which position he filled also one year. For the following eighteen years he was conductor on the Cleveland & Erie road, after which for three years he ran the yard at nights in Cleveland for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail-road. His next experience was in the Pennsylvania oil fields, two years speculating in oil. From there he came to Lorain, having received the appointment of yard-master for the Cleveland, Tuscarawas Val-ley & Wheeling (now the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling) Railroad. On his retirement from this incumbency in the spring of 1884, to go to Cleveland, Mr. Wire was presented by the city and railroad employes with a handsome gold watch as an expression of esteem. His call to Cleveland at that time was to accept the position of dockmaster on the “Big Four," remaining thereon for seven and a half years, at the end of which time, November 1, 1888, he returned to Lorain to fill the then vacant position of assistant superintendent for the C. L. & W. road, in which capacity he remained one year, and was then given charge of the docks as superintendent. In April, 1893, he left the railroad business, and moved to Glenville, Ohio. In 1853 Mr. Wire was married in Lake county, Ohio, to Miss Caroline Rosette Powers, of Perry, Lake Co., Ohio, a lady of French origin, and two children have been born to them : Samuel, a machinist in the employ of the C. L. & W. Railroad Company (he is married to a daughter of Capt. Coney, of Lorain), and Laura, who is a singing Evangelist, traveling through-out the country. Mr. Wire is a member of the F. & A. M., K. of H. and R. A., and of the Disciple Church. In politics he is a stanch Republican. NICHOLAS GRABENSTETTER, a well-known farmer citizen of Graf-ton township, was born June 29, 1820, in Baden, Germany, son of Paul and Rosa (Gross) Grabenstet-ter, farming people of that place. In June, 1833, the family, which then consisted of the parents and three children —Nicholas, Sophia and Alice—left their native country, the father having saved enough from his earnings to bring them to the United States. They embarked at Havre, France, in a full-rigged sailing vessel, and after a voyage of thirty-five days landed in New York, where they re-mained one week, strangers in a strange land. They then took a steamboat to Albany, thence to Rochester, N. Y., where they remained over winter, the father doing any honest labor he could there find, but as times were hard Nicholas could find nothing to do. In May, 1834, they left Rochester, traveling by canal to Buffalo, N. Y., thence by steamboat to Cleveland, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1023 Ohio, where they remained two weeks, searching for land. As his capital was small, Mr. Grabenstetter concluded to go to Stark county, and traveling by canal to Bethlehem (near Massillon), that county, remained three weeks, but finding himself unable to purchase land there, returned to Cleveland, taking the same route. He then went to Liverpool township, Medina county, where lie purchased forty-seven acres at four dollars per acre, which land was entirely in the woods, not a tree having been cut, or a single improvement made thereon. A rude house, constructed of rough boards and a couple of forked stocks, was put up, which, though wet and uncomfortable, served as a shelter all summer. Setting to work they began to clear the land, though during the first year they could raise nothing but garden stuff, and a log house was built, which was later supplanted by one of hewn logs. Although wild game was plentiful, the forest teeming with deer, turkeys, etc., they could not take advantage of the abundance, as they could not afford firearms, and thus they were obliged to struggle on till crops grew better. Mr. and Mrs. Grabenstetter resided on this farm the remainder of their lives, dying at the ages of eighty-five and eighty-three years, respectively, and were buried in the Catholic cemetery in Liverpool township. They were members of the Catholic Church. In Rochester, N. Y., the family was increased by one child, Frank; who is now a farmer in Litchfield, Medina county. Nicholas Grabenstetter was reared to farm life, and attended school in his native country until thirteen years of age, when he came with his parents to the United States. He grew to manhood in the woods of Liverpool township, Medina Co., Ohio, where he became inured to hard work, and he resided with his parents until his marriage. Our subject was not only employed at farm labor, but also worked on the canal then in course of construction at Milan, Ohio, before he was sixteen years of age. He was afterward employed on various other canals, the Tuscarawas Canal, the Erie Canal, the Maumee Canal, etc., toiling from sunrise to sunset for fifty cents a day, and all his earnings went to assist his father. In 1841 he was wedded to Mary Yeager, a native of Baden, Germany, daughter of Lawrence Yeager, who came to the United States, locating in Liverpool township, Medina county, in pioneer times. After marriage Mr. Grabenstetter located on the farm of his mother-in-law, remaining there for eight years, when he purchased a tract of forty-five acres in Grafton township, Lorain county; this land cost five hundred dollars, and he was obliged to go four hundred dollars into debt for same, but by hard work the loan was soon paid off. He resided thereon until 1863, when he purchased his present place, then comprising ninety-eight acres, where he has since resided, following agricultural pursuits. To our subject and wife were born eleven children, six of whom are yet living, namely: Odelia, Sophia, Alouys, Andrew, Rosa and John. The mother of these children died May 6, 1870, and was buried in the Catholic cemetery; she was a member of the Catholic Church. Mr. Grabenstetter has been a hard-working man, and by his industry has accumulated a comfortable property. He is an excellent farmer, and an honest, upright business man, highly respected and esteemed. He is a lifelong member of the Democratic party, but does not mix in politics; he is a member of the Catholic Church. J. M. SEELYE, a well-to-do farmer of Ridgeville township, where he owns. forty-four acres all in a good state of cultivation, is a native of Lorain county, born in Avon township, July 26, 1836. 1024 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. He is the son of Cornelius and Rachel (Smith) Seelye, who were natives of New York State, where they were married, and whence in an early day they came to Ohio, locating in the woods of Avon township, Lorain county, near French creek, where Mrs. Seelye died in 1843. They remained here till 1847, and then moved to Crawford county, Wis., where the father continued to live until 1854, in which year he returned to Lorain county, taking up his home in La Porte. He died in Avon township in 1866. For his second wife Mr. Seelye married, in Avon township, Mary Cadwell, who died in Elyria in 1888. By his first marriage he had fourteen children —seven sons and seven daughters—as follows: Humphrey, married, residing in Wellington; Esther, who married John Cockrell, and died in Wayne county, Ohio; Joseph, deceased in Iowa; Thomas, who resides in Michigan; Phebe, deceased wife of Hart Smith, of New York; Elmira, who was the wife of William Hubbard, died at French Creek; Daniel, married, residing in Crawford county, Wis.; Phineas, also residing in Crawford county, Wis.; J. M., subject of this sketch; Florentine, who married Asa Frary, and died in Wayne county, Ohio; Ursula, wife of William Vandeveer, of Kalamazoo, Mich.; McKindre, who enlisted in the Civil war in Avon township, and died from the effects of disease contracted in the service; and two others whose names have not been given. By his second marriage there were no children. Politically Mr. Seelye was first a Whig, later a Republican. J. M. Seelye, the subject proper of, this sketch, received his education in part at the schools of Avon township, Lorain county, and in part at those of Wayne county, Ohio, whither he had removed at the age of twelve years. After a four years' residence there he returned to Lorain county, and in Ridgeville township worked by the. month for Randall Stetson for about eight years, at the end of which time he moved to Crawford county, Wis., sojourning there one winter, and then coming back to his old home in Ridgeville township. Again he worked for Mr. Stetson, getting out lumber, until May, 1860, when he went to California, and was there engaged in the dairy business till 1864, in which year he once more found himself in Ridgeville township. In 1866 he made a trip to Michigan, where in Van Buren county he bought 120 acres of land, and farmed three years; then in the city of Lawrence, same county, he conducted a butchering business eight years. Next we find our Protean friend in the lumber business, buying and selling until 1889, when he once more came to Ridgeville township to finally remain. In 1866 J. M. Seelye was united in marriage with Miss Jane M. Stetson, born in Ridgeville township, Lorain county, a daughter of Randall and Adeline Stetson, and by this union there was one son, Randall, who died in Michigan at the age of six years. In politics our subject is a straight Democrat, and is a member of the school board. HENRY A. BARNES. One of the leading farmers of Rochester township, and one of her best known and most honored citizens, the subject of this sketch enjoys the distinction of being second to none in these respects. Mr. Barnes is a native of Massachusetts, born in Worcester county April 23, 1827, a son of Moses Barnes, whose nativity was Becket, Berkshire Co., Mass. When the latter was nine or ten years old his father died, leaving ten children, some of whom were bound out as apprentices, while Moses and others of the younger members of the family were kept at home. In his boyhood he suffered from a severe attack of fever, which resulted in his being left a cripple for life. When a young man, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1027 after leaving school, he learned the trade of cloth dresser. In 1833 Moses, with his wife and children, set out for Lorain county, Ohio, making direct for Rochester township, he and his brother Sumner having traded land in Massachusetts for 200 acres in that township, receiving also two hundred dollars as " boot money." The journey was made via canal and lake, and they landed at the mouth of the Black river in Lorain county, where they hired an ox-team to convey them to Huntington township, and here the party remained at the home of Jesse Johnson, an acquaintance, during the illness and death of Silas, a son of Moses Barnes (Silas was the first to be buried in Huntington cemetery). They then settled on their own property in Rochester township, where they had hastily built a log cabin, which at first had neither door nor chimney, but was soon afterward much improved, both in appearance and comfort. The land was all covered with timber, chiefly beech and maple, and wild animals were numerous. For their milling they had to go to Hayesville, Ashland county, the trip occupying two days. When a young man Moses Barnes had married, in Worcester, Mass., Miss Eliza Stone, a native of the same county, and who worked in a cotton factory, and in that State were born to them children as follows: Henry A. (subject of sketch), Milo, Silas (already referred to), and Orin, who died in Toledo, Ohio. Milo had rather an adventurous life. At the time of the breaking out of the Civil war he was living in Arkansas, where he was arrested by the Confederates as a spy, and was confined to prison three months and five days, at the end of which time he was released on condition of his enlisting in the Southern army, which lie did, serving one year as a teamster. But securing a pass one day, he escaped to Fort Scott, Kans., where he found the Third Wisconsin Cavalry, for whom he acted as guide, but was shot at by some Confederates and wounded; after convalescence lie enlisted in the Twelfth O. V. I. His regiment was sent to Johnson's Island at the time of the " Canada scare," and he was on duty eight hours that cold New Year's night of 1863, which brought on a violent cold that settled on his lungs, causing his death, which occurred on the Island. In Rochester township there were born seven children to Moses Barnes, namely: Rachel, who married Charles Day, and died in New London, Ohio; William, deceased at the age of twenty-one years; Alvira, deceased when young; John, who died during the Civil war at Nashville, Tenn., of smallpox, while a member of the Third Ohio Cavalry ; Johan, deceased when five years old; Lecta, deceased in infancy, and Lewis, now living on the old homestead, Rochester Station, Lorain county. The father died in September, 1888, in his eighty-seventh year, the mother in March, same year, at the age of seventy-eight years, and they are buried in Rochester cemetery. They were exemplary members of the M. E. Church, and of the first class formed in Rochester; politically Mr. Barnes was originally a Whig, afterward a Republican. Henry A. Barnes, the subject proper of these lines, was six years old when the family came from Massachusetts to Lorain county, consequently his education was limited. He attended the first school taught in Rochester township by Martha Fay, she receiving one dollar a week, and boarding from house to house; the funds were raised by subscription. Her walk to the schoolhouse, never less than two miles, was through the woods, the direction being found by marked trees. The old school-building was made of logs about sixteen feet square. Me. Barnes' schooling consisted of about three months a year until he was eighteen. At the age of sixteen he began working away from the paternal roof, first on the farm of Dr. Seager, of Clarksfield township, Huron county, later for Benjamin Perkins, of Rochester, 1028 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. Ohio, four years, and then working nearly a year at the building of the Cleveland & Columbus Railroad. After his marriage he settled on seventy acres of dense timber-covered land in Rochester township, for which he paid seven dollars per acre, and here he built a rude log cabin, 12 x16 feet inside. This was the happiest era of his life, and from time to time he added to this purchase till he now owns 180 acres of as rich farm land as can be found in this vicinity; for a part of this he paid fifty dollars per acre, and had placed on it all of the modern improvements. On January 23, 1848, Mr. Barnes was married to Miss Polly Day, who was born in New London township, Huron Co., Ohio, June 20, 1832, and died May 31, 1892, in her sixtieth year. She was the youngest child of Dr. Samuel Day, who was one of the earliest pioneers of New London township. She was, left an orphan at the age of eleven years, after which she took care of herself, making her home mostly with her half-sister, Mrs. Hendrix, until she was married and settled on the farm in Rochester township, Lorain county. Here by their united efforts they built up the beautiful home and surroundings, and here she was residing at the time of her death. She was the mother of eight children, viz.: Samuel M., who is now a farmer in Michigan; Eliza (now Mrs. A. G. Fisher), Rosina (Mrs. John Dagnan), and Matilda (Mrs. Nelson Robinson), all living in Wellington, Lorain county, Ohio; Henry W. a farmer on the homestead; Clarence, W., died at the age of six years, and two deceased in infancy. Five of these yet remain to comfort their father. Mrs. Barnes experienced religion thirty-seven years ago; and united with her husband in the M. E. Church at Rochester, Lorain Co., Ohio. Although in poor health, and being' prevented the greater part of the time from attending public worship, she ever lived a faithful and consistent Christian life. She was a loving and devoted wife and mother. Realizing that her end was near, she made needful preparations for her funeral, which was held at her late home June 2, 1892, and was attended by a large number of relatives and friends, after which she was interred in the cemetery at Rochester. In his political associations our subject is a Republican, and he served his township as trustee four years. He is a member of and steward in the M. E. Church, of the Sabbath-school of which he was superintendent some five years. On September 10, 1893, Mr. Barnes was united in marriage to Miss Lina Braman (the daughter of Samuel and Belinda Braman), a resident of Rochester and a member of the M. E. Church. TASSO DELOS PHELON, a resident of Huntington township, is a native of same, born August 31, 1843, a son of Delos and Louisa M. (Perkins) Phelon. The father of our subject was born in 1812, in Hartford county, Conn., whence in 1833 he came to Ohio, and built the first warehouse at the mouth of Black river, where is now the thriving town of Lorain (he had previously visited Cleveland with the intention of remaining, but returned to Connecticut). At this place he carried on a forwarding and commission business from 1833 to 1837, after which he had his residence for a time in Sheffield township, Lorain county, and then moved to Huntington township, where he kept a general merchandise store, and also farmed, dying October 4, 1888; his wife had passed away June 19, same year, at the age of seventy-four years, seven months, ten days; she was born in Becket, Berkshire Co., Mass. Mr. Phelon in his political associations was originally an Old-line Whig, but in later years changed to a Democrat. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1029 They were the parents of children as follows: Daniel W., who resides in Kansas; Joseph V., in Huntington; Deette, wife of L. Chapman, of Rochester; Mary, wife of G. W. Wilbur, of Hartland, Huron county, had one child, George J., who died when about twelve years old; and T. D. Grandfather Phelon was born in Suffield, Conn., and died in Lorain county, Ohio. T. D. Phelon, whose name opens this sketch, was educated at the common schools of Huntington, his summer months being occupied in learning the practical lessons of farm life. In December, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth O. V. I., for three years or during the war, and served until the close of the conflict, when he was mustered out by order of the War Department, July 13, 1865. On his return home after the war he took up agricultural pursuits, and has since successfully continued in same. In 1869 he married Miss Adelaide Noony, born in Huntington township, Lorain county, August 12, 1846, and one child, Flora N., still under the parental roof, was born to them. Mr. Phelon is a Republican, and served his township as trustee two or three terms; he is in his tenth year as justice of the peace, and was school director some fifteen years. In 1888 he was elected county commissioner, an incumbency he is yet filling with ability and fidelity. Mr. Phelon owns a large tract of land, on which part of the village of Huntington now stands. He is regarded as one of Lorain county's strongest and most popular citizens, and is a prosperous representative agriculturist. ORRIN T. BAKER, retired agriculturist, and a leading prominent citizen of Lorain county, is a native of the State of New York, born in 1818. His father, Elisha Baker, was born in Vermont July 25, 1782, and died in New York State when his son Orrin T. was a child. He married Miss Ruth Davids, who was born November 11, 1787, and died at the age of eighty years. They were the parents of children as follows: Mary, born December 23, 1812, who was married to Lucas Adams, and resided in Michigan, where she died January 11, 1891; David, born January 10, 1814, who died in Illinois; Elisha, born September 18, 1815, who was a soldier in the Civil war, and died shortly afterward, in Illinois, from the effects of exposure; Hiram, born October 16, 1816, who lives in Chittenden county, Vt.; Orrin T. (the subject of this sketch) and Alvin (twins), born in 1818; and George, born February 6, 1819, who lives in Michigan. The subject of this sketch was educated at the public schools of the locality of his place of birth, and at the age of fourteen was bound out to learn the trade of carpenter and joiner with A. L. Cook, serving a seven years' apprenticeship in Huntington township, Chittenden Co., Vt., whither he had removed, his residence being in an adjoining township. In 1835 he came to Ohio with Mr. Cook, and located in Fitchville, Huron county, for two years, after which he returned to Huntington and resumed work with his former employer. In course of time he formed a partnership with Mr. Cook, and at the end of a year commenced journeyman work for himself. On October 11, 1844, he married Miss Lydia 0. Perkins, a native of Becket, Berkshire Co., Mass., born in 1824, a daughter of Col. Darius and Polly (Dewey) Perkins, the former of whom was born in Connecticut. He was a carpenter and joiner, and in 1833 came to Ohio, making a settlement in Huntington Center, Lorain county, where he cleared a farm out of the wild woods, game at that time being plentiful and wild animals numerous. Here Mr. Perkins died at the age of eighty-one years, his wife when seventy-two years old; they were members of the Congregational Church, and in politics Mr. Perkins was a Whig. They were the parents of 1030 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. seven children, to wit: Milton D., who married, and died in 1873, leaving a family; Mary L., who married Delos Phelon, both now deceased; Orrin M., who died young; Lydia O. and Abel Dewey (twins), of whom Abel died in 1892; Samuel John, who died in 1879; and Sarah J., wife of W. W. Wells. After marriage our subject and wife remained in Huntington township, Lorain county, till 1868, when they came to the town of Wellington, same county, and have lived in their present home twenty-two years. During his entire life Mr. Baker has followed his trade of carpenter and joiner, and made sash, doors and blinds in the winter season, also contracting for the building of houses, etc. When he first commenced business in Huntington township, there were some fifteen carpenters, but they all left, leaving him in undisputed possession of the field, and as a result he put up more buildings in Huntington than any other man. In that township he owns 115 acres of land, besides the five acres on which his home stands in Wellington. Politically Mr. Baker is a Republican, his first Presidential vote being cast for William Henry Harrison, while in principle he has always been anti-slavery and a Prohibitionist. In matters of religion he is a member of the M. E. Church, his wife of the Congregational Church. She is a charter member of the Daughters of Rebekah, and was first noble grand of Lilywood Lodge. of Wellington. Socially Mr. Baker is a member of Lorain Lodge No. 281, I. O. O. F., and has passed all the Chairs of the Subordinate Lodge. Two children have been born to this honored couple, namely: Edgar D., a sketch of whom follows, and Rosa Ophelia, born in April, 1852, and married to M. N. Hill, of Kipton, Ohio (they have two children: Leo N. and Ora). Edgar D. Baker was born in Huntington township, Lorain county, September 6, 1845, and in his boyhood winters attended the common schools of the neighborhood. On December 10, 1863, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth O. V. I., and during the greater part of his term of service did duty on Johnson's Island as a private orderly, he was discharged in July, 1865, and returned home. In 1867 he married Miss Ella Moore, a native of Massachusetts, and three children have been born to them, viz.: Maude (born August 31, 1870, married to Arthur D. Eglin, of Wellington, Ohio), Lelia Belle and Ray O. Mr. E. D. Baker is now farming on the homestead in Huntington township. He is a straight Republican, and a member of the G. A. R., in which he has filled various offices. He is agent for the P. A. W. Railroad, and postmaster at Baker's Crossing. JAMES WYATT, who for a quarter of a century has been one of the successful farmers of Amherst township, is an Englishman by birth, born in Devonshire in 1825, a son of James and Hannah (Rich) Wyatt, also of Devonshire, where they were married, and where the latter died in 1854. In 1854, after the death of his wife, the bereaved father came to the United States with his children, making a settlement in Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he died the same year. He was the father of children as follows: Francis, married, and living in Minnesota; James, subject of sketch; John, married, a resident and pioneer of Dodge county. Minn.; Mary, wife of Samuel Kingston, living in Decatur county, Iowa; Harriet, wife of Edward Dow, of Corry, Penn.; Nancy, widow of Charles Hines, of Evansville, Wis.; Anna, married and living in Dodge county, Minn.; and Samuel S., married, and a resident of Clay county, Iowa. James Wyatt, whose name opens this sketch, was educated in the schools of his LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1031 native county in England, and in 1854 came with his father to America, and to Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he engaged in farming till 1867; he then came westward to Huron county, Ohio, whence in 1869 he moved to Lorain county, where he has since followed agricultural pursuits. In 1855 our subject was married in Chautauqua county, N. Y., to Mrs. Phinna N. (Culver) Arnold, widow of Chauncey Arnold, and a native of New York. Two sons were born to this union, viz.: George C., married, and residing in Butler county, Iowa (he has three children), and Frank D., married, and living on a farm. The mother of these passed away July 9, 1892, and on November 6, 1893, Mr. Wyatt married Mrs. Ann E. Wilber. Mr. Wyatt in National elections votes the Republican ticket. He is a member of the M. E. Church. ROYAL HARRIS, a prosperous and substantial agriculturist of Brownhelm township, is a native of same, born on his present farm, April 4, 1849. Thomas Harris, father of our subject, was born in 1797 in Vermont, whence when eighteen years old he came to Erie county (then a part of Huron county), Ohio, with his parents. His father, Nathan Harris, after a residence of some years in Ohio, removed to Indiana, where he died. Thomas Harris came to Lorain county in 1847, making a settlement in the woods, where he cleared a farm. He was married to Sarah Call, a native of Essex county, N. Y., and they had a family of thirteen children, of whom the following is a brief record: Betsy married Ambrose Willard, and died in Kansas in 1890; Harriet married Henry Barber, of Marshall county, Iowa; Sarah was the wife of Richard Dimmick, and died in March, 1883; Susan married Obed Noble, of Clay county, Kans.; Clara is the wife of L. Brown, of Brownhelm township, Lorain county; Alma is the wife of Daniel Hunicker, of California; Adelaide is married to David Neal, of Dallas county, Iowa; Angeline is the wife of James Bacon, of Marshall county, Iowa; Fannie died at the age of three years; Cyrus died when one year old; Essex resides in Brownhelm township, Lorain county; Charles died when aged thirteen years; Royal is the subject proper of this memoir. Royal Harris received his education in the public schools of his native township, and was reared to farming, which has been his life vocation. In 1877 he was married to Ella Tappenden, a native of the State of New York, daughter of Stephen and Eliza (Moody) Tappenden, the former of whom was born in the eastern part of Kent, England, the latter in Montgomery county, N. Y. The father, who was a cabinet maker by trade, at the age of four- teen years immigrated to New York, whence in 1872 he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1873 to Brownhelm town. ship, Lorain county, where he died in 1892 at the age of seventy-seven years; his wife had preceded him to the grave in 1889. Mrs. Royal Harris was their third child. To our subject and wife was born one child, Jessie. Mrs. Ella Harris died in 1878, and in 1882 Mr. Harris married Alice Tappenden, sister to his first wife, and second child of her parents. .By this union there are two children—Earl and Nellie. In politics our subject is a Democrat, and he is a member of Ely Lodge, No. 424, F. & A. M. N. L. COTTON, widely known as a prosperous fruit grower and gardener, having his residence in North Amherst, was born in Sheffield township, Lorain county, in 1829, a son of George Washington and Rachel (Smith) Cotton. 1032 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. The father of our subject was born in Warren, New Hampshire, in 1798. At the age of sixteen he started from his native place on foot for Truxton, N.Y., whence he paid his way to Ohio by driving and caring for cattle. After his arrival lie did farm labor for Jabez L. Burrell. In Sheffield township he married Rachel Smith, who was horn in Berkshire county, Mass., and in 1832 they moved to Elyria township, same county, and opened up a fine farm. He died there in 1865; his wife was called from earth in September, 1850; in politics lie was a strong Whig. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Jerome G., born in Sheffield township, Lorain county; died in Elyria township, in 1852, was one of the first shorthand reporters, and at one time owned the paper in Elyria, now edited by William A. Braman (he was employed as a reporter in Washington, D. C., about three years, for the New York Tribune and Cleveland Herald); Charles W., also born in Sheffield township (he enlisted in the Civil war, in Company E, First Ohio Battery, three years' servrce); Martha R. (widow of Francis A. Younglove), residing in Virginia; N. L., subject of sketch ; and George J., born in Elyria township, enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Third O. V. I., now residing in Lansing, Mich. Grandfather Benjamin Noys Cotton, a native ,of New Hampshire, was a Revolutionary soldier, serving eight years; was with Gen. Warren at the battle of Bunker Hill, and was present through the winter at Valley Forge; served to the close of the war, and was present at Washington's farewell address. He represented his District in the New Hampshire Legislature four times, and was known as " old '76." He came to Lorain county in 1836, making his home in Elyria township, and both he and his wife died in Wayne county, Ohio, at the age of eighty-nine years. N. L. Cotton was educated at the public schools of Elyria township, Lorain county, and at the academy in the town of Elyria, after which he taught school for a time in Avon township, same county. Moving to Kendall county, Ill., lie was there engaged in farming about two years. On August 6, 1862, Mr. Cotton enlisted in Sheffield township, Lorain county, in Company F, One Hundred and Third O. V. I., for three years or during the war, and was mustered into the service at Camp Mitchell, Ky., September 7, 1862. He participated in the battles of Blue Springs (Tenn.), Armstrong Hill, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Norse Creek, Atlanta, right of Atlanta, and Spring Hill. After the Atlanta campaign his regiment was made headquarters guard for the Twenty-third Corps, their colonel being provost-marshal general of the Department under General Scofield, whose corps moved from Florence, Tenn., to Cincinnati; thence to Washington, D. C.; thence by steamer to Fort Fisher; thence through Wilmington and Goldsboro to Raleigh, N. C., where it was mustered out. Our subject was discharged June 23, 1865, at Cleveland, Ohio, and returned home to Lorain county, and to the pursuits of peace. For some years he farmed in Sheffield township, and in March, 1882, lie moved to Amherst, where he embarked in his present business. On November 27, 1851, Mr. Cotton was united in marriage, in Sheffield township, Lorain county, with Miss Caroline M. Hecock, a native of Herkimer county, N.Y., and daughter of George W. and Sarah (Davis) Hecock, of New York State, who settled in Sheffield township in 1834. The father served in the war of 1812 as a drummer boy; he died in 1876, his wife in 1875. Grandfather Silas Hecock, a native of Connecticut, and a soldier in the Revolutionary war, died in New York; Grandfather Davis also served in that struggle. To Mr. and Mrs. N. L. Cotton were born children as follows: Clara M., wife of Thomas C. Foote, of Amherst township, Lorain county; Elmer F., married and living in Sheffield township; Cora B., wife of William E. Hart, of Lincoln, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1033 Neb.; Nellie B. and Lillie D. (twins), the former of whom is the wife of Stillman Cotton, and resides in Cleveland, Ohio (Lillie D. died at the age of nineteen years); Martha R., married to Charles Straw, of Elyria, Ohio; Ina S., a teacher, and Minnie, attending school at Granville, Ohio (she had been teaching for a time in Lorain county). In his political sympathies Mr. Cotton is a Republican; for ten years he served as trustee of Sheffield township, and for several years as justice of the peace. He is a member of Rice Post No. 148, G.A.R., of which he has been commander and chaplain. In church relationship he and his wife are Baptists. Joshua Smith, maternal grandfather of Mr. Cotton, came to Lorain county in 1812, and was the first white man to die in Sheffield township, the year of his death being 1813. His daughter, the mother of Mr. Cotton, was the first white woman to come into the township of Sheffield. H. E. PARKER, M. D., the pioneer of the medical profession at Lorain, since it became a town of any prominence, was born November 20, 1851, at Berea, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, son of Dr. Henry and Elizabeth (Sherwood) Parker. The father was born in Brunswick, Ohio, where he was reared, and received his medical education at a college in Cincinnati, where he graduated. He at once settled in Berea, Ohio, and there commenced the practice of his profession, in which to some extent he still continues. Politically he is a Republican, and was a member of the convention which nominated John C. Fremont for President. Grandfather Parker, who was an early pioneer of Cuyahoga county, was descended from emigrants of the same name who came from England during the seventeenth century, settling in Massachusetts. Dr. H. E. Parker was reared in Berea, Ohio, at the public schools of which place, and at Baldwin University, he received his early education. He attended his first course of lectures in 1876, in the Medical Department of Hudson School, Cleveland, and then, in 1877, began a course at the Bennett Medical College, Chicago, whence he graduated with the class of 1878. He commenced practice at Berea, in partnership with his father, and continued in same for three years, or until June 7, 1881, when lre located in Lorain, South End, where he has since resided. The Doctor is practically the pioneer of the South End, having erected the first house in that section, before the streets were even opened, and all the improvements have been made since his settlement. On March 5, 1878, he was married, in Medina county; to Miss Cora I. McConnell, a native of that county, where her parents (both of whom are now deceased) were early settlers. To this union has been born one child, Lulu T. Socially our subject is a member of Woodland Lodge No. 226 K. of P., in which he is past chancellor. In his political predilections he is a Republican, and has served as a member of the school board. H. W. SEMPLE, proprietor of fashionable tonsorial parlors in the town of Wellington, is a native Virginian, born in Fredericksburg, May 10, 1857, a son of James and Rosa (Atkins) Semple. His father, by profession a French chef de cuisine, is yet living; his mother died at the age of forty-six years. They were the parents of seven children, named respectively: John, Delila, Daniel, Maria, James, H. W. and Lucinda. In 1858, while yet an infant, our subject was taken to Washington, D. C., and here he was reared and educated, graduating in 1877; he also learned and worked 1034 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. at his trade in that city. In 1879 he entered the U. S. Coast Survey, and his first experience in that branch of the public service was in New York with Prof. Agassiz, of the Zoological Comparative Museum, at Cambridge, N. Y. He then went to South America, Hayti, Jamaica, and other West India islands, also New Orleans and many other seaports and watering places, serving over two years, at the end of which time he was offered a position in the State Department in Washington, but arrived there a day too late, whereby he not only did not get the new position but lost the old one. In consequence of this he returned home, coming by way of Detroit, where he had relatives, and on his arrival in Wellington he resumed his trade, working for eight years for one man, after which, August 26, 1889, he opened out his present place of business, and has met with unprecedented success, having already four chairs in his establishment. While a resident of Washington he shaved many prominent men. In 1884 Mr. Semple married Miss Laura A. Shepherd. A Republican in politics, he takes an active interest in the workings of his party; in matters of religion he and his wife are Baptists. E. H. HASTINGS, who is one of the ri most successful native born agriculturists of LaGrange township, was born June 20, 1827, son of Curtis H. Hastings. The father was born December 1, 1796, in Jefferson county, N. Y., eldest of ten children born to Thomas Hastings, who first saw the light April 3, 1776. Curtis H. Hastings learned the carpenter's trade, and was married in his native county to Miss Pattie Graves, who was born October 23, 1800. While residents of New York State they had children as follows: Ashley, who died when eighteen or nineteen years old; Wesley, of Penfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, and Diana S., now Mrs. Lyman C. Crane, of Chatham, Ohio. In June, 1826, he came to LaGrange township, Lorain Co., Ohio., into which he drove the first horse-team. He had visited Lorain county before settling, walking the entire distance from New York, and later traded fifty acres of land in that State for a farm in LaGrange township, whereon he located. But little of this land had been cleared, and his cabin was the third in the township, but on this farm lre passed the remainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty-two years. After coming to Ohio Mr. and Mrs. Hastings had 'children as follows: E. G. and E. H. (twins), who were the first white male children born in LaGrange township; a daughter that died in infancy unnamed; Samuel, a farmer of LaGrange; another daughter that died in infancy unnamed; and J. Edson, a farmer of LaGrange. The mother of these died at the age of forty years, and Mr. Hastings then married Miss Asenath Amy, by whom he had one son, Frank, who married and died leaving four children. E. H. Hastings was born one-fourth of a mile from his present farm, and during his youth attended the common schools of the vicinity a few weeks each year. He was reared to agricultural life on the home farm, and when eighteen years old, being of a roving disposition, he left home and hired out at ten dollars a month to Johnston Rawson, by whom he was employed for five seasons. Then, being anxious to return to school, he went home, but after attending for only a few days found he had not time, as he was busy threshing; thus he continued to work, and, saving his money, was able by hard work to pay for some land. Having caught the " gold fever," he started, on December 29, 1851, for California, going from LaGrange, Ohio, by rail to New York, where he took passage on a boat going around Cape Horn, with two companions, William Rockwood and L. L. West, who went as far as Riode LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1037 Janeiro, Brazil, where they took passage on another vessel, while the " Racehound " lay in that port twelve days for repairs. After a voyage of six months and three days our subject landed at San Francisco, where he was taken sick, and found himself, after paying a week's board in advance, nearly out of funds. He entered the State Marine Hospital until he recovered, and, while in California, he had some rather hard experiences, being without money among strangers. Later, through the efforts of a farmer, he secured work as an overseer, and remained away from home five years, also working in the lumber business (on Government land), in which he made money. On the way home he crossed the Isthmus of Panama at Aspinwall, and after remaining in his native place for two weeks he returned west in company with three others, going to Missouri. Here they purchased five thousand head of sheep, which were driven across the plains to California, and during the trip they occupied fifteen days in crossing one river, the South Platte. The entire journey, which took six months, was very satisfactory, being comparatively free from loss, and after reaching their detination Mr. Hastings kept the sheep one year. Returning to Lorain county, Ohio, he passed the winter in Penfield township, where he had fifty acres of land. There he was married, September 15, 1859, to Rosanna Dalton, who was born in New York, daughter of Benjamin Dalton, and the young couple began married life in a log house, on a farm in Penfield township. In the spring of 1860 they located in LaGrange township, since which time he has been engaged in farming and stock • raising. He now owns 226 acres of land in LaGrange township, a house and three lots in Wellington township, and one and three-fourths acres in the corporation of Wellington. Mr. Hastings is a successful business man and shrewd financier. He voted for Abraham Lincoln, but otherwise he is always a Democrat in National af fairs. On April 12, 1891, Mrs. Hastings passed from earth, and was buried in the East cemetery in LaGrange township; she was a member of the M. R Church. GEORGE W. NOBLE, a resident of , Elyria, was born August 10, 1821, in the town of Warren, Herkimer Co., N. Y., a son of Hervey and Phoebe (Wilkinson) Noble. He is descended from one of three brothers who in a very early day came from England to the New World, settling in Massachusetts. Hervey Noble, also a native of Herkimer county, N. Y., born April 1, 1795, moved from there in 1819 to Wilna, Jefferson Co., same State, and there resided till June, 1827, when he came to Ohio, settling about one and one-half miles north of LaGrange, in LaGrange township, and there followed farming. He died June 16, 1871. On December 15, 1815, be married Miss Phoebe Wilkinson, who died in LaGrange, Lorain county, April 23, 1870. They had a family of eight children, our subject being second. George W. Noble received a limited education at the district schools of LaGrange township, and remained on the home farm till he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he commenced house building, and many other kinds of mechanical work; for eight years he was engaged in a carriage works in LaGrange; then, for five years, was in a store. After that he bought a foundry and machine shop at Liverpool, Ohio, conducting same nineteen years, doing all kinds of foundry work, including the complete making of engines. He has made carriages, wagons, plows, and wood-sawing machines, with great success, a large number of them being sold. In this he continued until December 6, 1881, when he had to abandon work on account of his failing eyesight, and con- 1038 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO sequently sold out. He then moved to Berea, Ohio, where he resided eight years, thence proceeding to Cleveland and there remaining till October, 1891, when he came to Elyria, Lorain county. In 1845 Mr. Noble married Miss Jane E. Garritt, who was born in Saratoga county, N. Y., January 15, 1829, and three daughters were born to them, as follows: Amanda Helen, now the widow of Erotus M. Dixon, has her residence at 130 Herald St., Cleveland, Ohio (she has no children); Melissa Ellen, the wife of William Edgar Parmelee, of Elyria, Lorain Co., Ohio, has two daughters and one son; Charlotte Phoebe, now the wife of Dr. Rufus V. Gamble, of New London, Ohio, has one daughter, Grace. Politically our subject has always been a Republican, but says that he " is now utterly disgusted with all parties." He believes in " equal rights of man and woman "; Liberty for all. He belongs to no Church, Creed, or Lodge, To do good" being his only religion: Hoping, doubting, and trying to investigate the great mysteries of this and a future existence. EDWIN HALL, a well-known and widely-respected retired citizen of Elyria, now in his seventy-ninth year, was born in the old town of Meriden, Conn., in April, 1815, and when seven years old was brought by his father to Ohio. Avery and Lucy (Bacon) Hall, parents of Edwin Hall, were of New England de scent, and the more remote ancestors of the father came from England, while those of the mother (who was from Connecticut), claimed the land of Scott and Burns as the place of their nativity. Avery Hall was born in Meriden, Conn., in 1776, whence he removed with his wife (whom he had married in Meriden) to Berkshire Hills, Mass., and from there to New Connecticut, " Western Reserve" (now Ohio), where he died at the age of eighty-five years. He had been an industrious and well-to-do farmer all his life. He was a member of and for a long time chorister in the Congregational Church, of which denomination at Meriden his great-grandfather had been a preacher. Politically he was an Old-school Democrat, and his first vote was cast for Andrew Jackson. At the time of the burning of New London, Conn., by the British during the war of 1812, he was living at Meriden, and with others went to see the conflagration. The subject proper of this sketch received his education at the primitive schools of Lorain county, whither, as already related, he had come when a lad. The country was wild and uncleared of the timber and underbrush, and Mr. Hall remembers of having been chased by wolves on two different occasions, but he came to learn the habits of these animals and so knew how to elude them. He remained a few years on the farm with his father in what is now the southern extremity of Lorain county. and then, having a desire to revisit the scenes of, his early boyhood, returned to Connecticut; but his health failing after a short time, by the advice of his physician he set out on a sea voyage on a merchantman, for China. This trip lasted one and one-half years, and in 1837 he returned to Lorain county, again, however, after a short sojourn, to pay a visit to his native place in Connecticut. In 1838 he once more returned to Lorain county, where he has since made his home. In 1840 he entered mercantile business, in which he remained a number of years. In 1840 Mr. Hall was married to Miss Mary Beebe, daughter of A. Beebe, who was one of the original settlers of Elyria, who built the "Beebe House," which had a good reputation among the traveling men. Mr. Hall was the successful proprietor of this house for more than twelve years, and was known as a temperance man in principle and practice, never using or selling liquor himself, or renting any of LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1039 his buildings for the sale of it. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hall, viz.: Mary Beebe, who died at the age of twenty-five years; and Helen F., who married Rush R. Sloane, and has two children, Helen and Mary. Politically Mr. Hall is a stanch Republican. He and his wife live on the spot in which they began life together in 1840, enjoying life amid the scenes of early days. JAMES S. BALDWIN, one of the leading farmers of Pittsfield township,was born August 5, 1839, in Cornwall, Litchfield Co., Conn. He is the fifth son and seventh child in a family of nine children born to William and Julia (Trafford) Baldwin, as follows: William H., a lumber dealer of Lee, Mass.; Mary E., deceased at the age of twenty; Noah, died in infancy; Lecta, who married Joseph W. Gaines, of Cleveland (both are now deceased); Horace F., a retired citizen of New Haven, Conn.; Russell P., of Penfield, Ohio; James S., who will receive mention farther on; Edward D., a grain dealer of Detroit City, Minn.; and Frank C., a mechanic of New Haven, Connecticut. James S. Baldwin received his education in the common schools, and was reared to the duties of agricultural life. He remained at home until twenty-one years old, and then resided for some time with John Adams, of Salisbury, Conn., working a farm on shares. On December 31, 1863, he was married to Delphene L. Gray, who was born in Cornwall, Conn., daughter of Augustus B. Gray, a farmer, and after marriage the young couple spent two years in their native State, one year on a farm, the other in Falls Village. In the spring of 1866 they migrated to Ohio, and rented a farm in the western part of Pittsfield township, where they resided two years. They next took up their residence in Wellington township, where they remained three years, and in 1872 bought eighty acres in Pittsfield township, from Horatio Gates, to which they removed; Mr. Baldwin has since added to this farm, which now comprises 205 acres of excellent land. He has erected several farm buildings, and his residence is one of the pleasantest in the township. In politics our subject is a Republican, though not strictly partisan, and has served as justice of the peace and in various other local positions of trust. He and his wife are leading members of the Congregational Church, and he also takes great personal interest in the Sunday-school. Mr. Baldwin is one of the most successful business men of his township; he deals extensively in poultry, shipping mostly to New Haven, Conn., and is one of the leading men in Lorain county in this line. He also deals in stock and produce, which he ships to larger markets; he has reared some fine-bred Chester White hogs and registered cattle, and his stock of all kinds is excellent. His father being a poor man, Mr. Baldwin started in life with a capital of thirty-seven cents, and his success has been due to his energetic, progressive and industrious habits, his enterprise being well known throughout the county. He is fond of reading, and keeps himself well abreast of the times. NICHOLAS DIEDERICH, one of the leading representative agriculturists of Sheffield township, is a native of same, born in 1849. His father, John Diederich, was born November 28, 1805, in Germany, and was there married October 29, 1832, to Gertrude Sauerence, also a native of the Fatherland, born June 22, 1814. In 1843 the family sailed from Antwerp to New York, whence they proceeded to Cleveland, Ohio, reaching the city August 4. 1040 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. In November of the same year the father bought and settled on the farm in Sheffield township, now occupied by his son Nicholas. Nine children—four sons and five daughters—were born to John and Gertrude Diederich, as follows: Matthias, born November 15, 1833, now a ship carpenter in Cleveland; Catherine, in Sheffield; Peter, in Cleveland; Margaret, who died in December, 1874, in Tennessee; Nicholas; Gertrude, in Milan, Ohio; Anna C., wife of Anton Born, of Avon town-ship, Lorain county; Frank, at North Ridgeville; and Mary C., living in Cuya-hoga county, Ohio. The parents are yet living. Nicholas Diederich, the subject proper of these lines, received a fair common-school education, and was trained to the pursuits of the farm. He now owns a fine property of seventy-six acres highly cul-tivated land, and does an extensive general farming business. In 1878 Mr. Diederich was married to Miss Anna Burkhart, who died November 7, 1880, and in 1885 our subject wedded Catherine Schneider, to which union six children were born, as follows: Theresa, October 2, 1885; Juliet, January 11, 1887, died March 17, same year; Lidwina, July 3, 1888; Zitta, October 20, 1889; Amanda, November 6, 1891, and Leonardo, March 23, 1893. In politics Mr. Diederich is a Democrat, and has served as township trustee since 1881, having been recently reelected for another term; for several years he has been a member of the school board. J. F. HASERODT, a popular and progressive citizen of Elyria, where he carries on a prosperous harness business, was born in Medina county, Ohio, July 8, 1836, a son of H. C. and Margaret (Berdz) Haserodt, natives of Prussia. The parents of our subject came to America in 1834, and made a permanent settlement in Medina county, Ohio, where the father carried on harness making and farming; he was born in 1799, and died in 1887, aged eighty-eight years and four months; the mother was born in 1807, and passed away in 1891. Nine children were born to them, of whom our subject is the fourth in order of birth. Mr. Haserodt received his education at the common schools, which was supplemented with considerable private study and close observation of men and things. He learned his trade in Cleveland, Ohio, being apprenticed to it at the age of about seventeen years. In 1857 he proceeded to Memphis, Tenn., and there remained until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, when he came north to Pittsburgh, Penn., and after sojourn there of some eight months returned to Cleveland, becoming foreman of a harness shop in that city. His business was such that he could not join the Union army, but he furnished a substitute. In 1867 he went on his father's farm in Medina county, and there remained thirteen years, in 1880 moving thence to Elyria, where he opened out his present business. He makes a specialty of light harness, and his trade is not confined to Lorain county, for he ships full harness sets to Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and other cities. Mr. Haserodt is recognized as one of the most expert harness makers in the country, and commands a wide custom. In 1862 he was married, in Cleveland, to Miss Johanna M. Meyer, and eleven children have blessed their union, viz.: Lillie, George, Henry, Edmund, William, Otto, Oscar, Paul, Violet, Manuel and Elmer. Mr. Haserodt is a stanch Republican, and in 1889 he was elected a mem-ber of the city council from the Fourth Ward, to which position he has 'since' been twice reelected, his third term expiring in 1895. In church connection he is an Evangelical Lutheran, and has occupied the position of elder in St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church for six years, at LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1041 present serving his third term. On Mr. Haserodt's settlement in Elyria, he bought a lot on which his father built a house. He then removed his aged parents to the house, adjoining his own, and to the day of their death he cared for them with true filial devotion. L. A. BARNES, M. D., a practicing physician and surgeon of Lorain, is a native of Columbus, Ohio, born in 1853, a son of Dr. L. and Julia (Moulton) Barnes, the father a native of Connecticut, the mother of Vermont. When a boy Dr. L. Barnes came from his native State to Licking county, Ohio, where he was reared, and where he married. He has been a practicing physician for over forty years, and he and his wife now reside in Lorain, Ohio, whither they had come in 1888. Grandfather Mallory Barnes, a native of Connecticut, became an early pioneer of Licking county, Ohio, of which he was in his day a prominent citizen, closely identified with its best interests. He and his wife both died there. The parents of subject reared a family of nine children, seven of whom are yet living. One son, Leroy, enlisted in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1861, in Company C, Fourth O. V. I., and served four years in the army of the West; he is now a practicing physician in Laramie, Wyoming. The subject proper of this sketch received his elementary education at the common schools of Delaware county, Ohio, after which he attended the college at Delaware. On completing his course there, he entered Columbus (Ohio) Medical College in 1878, and afterward further continued the study of medicine in Cleveland Medical Institute, where he graduated with the class of 1880. The Doctor then practiced his chosen profession, in connection with his father, ,in Delaware, two years, and continued in same, alone, at Mechanicsburg, Champaign county, same State, until 1882, in which year he came to Lorain county, locating in Kipton, whence, in 1888, he removed to Lorain, where he now resides. He has now been some thirteen continuous years in the profession, and is in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative practice. In 1882, in Champaign county, Ohio, Dr. L. A. Barnes was united in marriage with Miss Emma Davis, of that county, daughter of Martin Van Buren and Elizabeth (Miller) Davis, natives of Pennsylvania and Maine, respectively, and early pioneers of Champaign county, where the father died in 1891; the mother now resides in Mechanicsburg. To Dr. and Mrs. Barnes have been born three daughters: Clara, Ida and Lucille. Our subject is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, Tent No. 1, Lorain, and is examining physician for the Order; is also a member of Woodland Lodge No. 226, Lorain, Knights of Pythias. E. C. FOSTER. The gentleman here named is one of the most widely known, well-to-do citizens of North Amherst. He is a native of the township, born September 1, 1827, a son of Elisha Foster, Jr., and Anna Maria (Mason) Foster. The father of our subject was born October 15, 1795, in Vermont, whence when a young man he moved to Herkimer county, N. Y. Here he resided until 1815, when he came west to Ohio, locating in Avon township, Lorain county, having purchased forty acres of land, which he cleared and cultivated; but in about a couple of years (in 1817) he came to Amherst township, where he passed the rest of his days, dying January 23, 1842, the owner of 309 acres of excellent farm land. 1042 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. In his political preferences he was a Democrat. His widow is yet living on the home farm with her daughter, Mary M., and is one of the oldest inhabitants of Amherst township. They had five children—three sons and two daughters — viz.: Leonard, who died at the age of ten years; E. C., subject of this sketch; Parks, a resident of Elyria; Mary M., wife of Ezra Straw, living on the old homestead; and Martha, wife of S. Porter, of St. Louis, Michigan. Elisha Foster, Sr., grandfather of subject, was a native of Boston, Mass. He came from Herkimer county, N. Y., to Lorain county, in 1815, with his wife, three sons and one daughter. He died in 1833 aged sixty-eight years, his wife having preceded him to the grave in September, 1828. E. C. Foster, the subject proper of this sketch, received a liberal education at the common schools of the vicinity of his place of birth, and was reared to farming pursuits, which he followed until 1867. In that year, he and his bother, Parks, bought out a stone quarry which they successfully operated some time, and then sold out. On June 10, 1847, Mr. Foster married Miss Mary M. Aiken, who was born in Brooklyn township, Cuyhoga Co., Ohio, August 25, 1831. Four children were born to this union, namely: (1) Orlando E., now on a farm in Amherst township, was born March 23, 1848, married Sophia Lesley, and has two children: Edwin E. and Cora U., of whom Edwin E. was educated in the common schools and at Elyria High School, and is now teaching school; (2) N. Franklin was born June 23, 1849, married Lillian A. Wolcott March 17, 1872, and lives on the old homestead; (3) Ella U., born May 22, 1851, was married to William Hutton, foreman in a stone quarry, and they have two sons: Willie and Frank; (4) Mrs. F. M. Barber, of Amherst, whose husband is a traveling man, has one son, Joseph E. Barber, now in Elyria High School. Mr. Foster has been eminently successful in all his business enterprises, of which there were some in Chattanooga, Tenn., also real-estate interests. He is a stockholder in the Lorain Steamship Company, etc. Politically he has been a Republican since the birth of that party, and he is an honored citizen, respected for his integrity and moral worth, and for the valuable assistance he has rendered in developing the resources of his native county. L. L. SEARS, prominent and influential among the prosperous agriculturists of Elyria township, is a native of Massachusetts, born in Lenox, Berkshire county, April 8, 1825. The family, of which our subject is a worthy member, come of English ancestry, two brothers, Paul and Silas Sears, having emigrated from England to America about the year 1600, and from Paul our subject is descended. Zachariah Sears, father of L. L., also a native of Massachusetts, was a farmer by occupation. He married Miss Almira. Butler, also of the Bay State, and they both died there. Nine children were born to them, of whom three are yet living, viz.: James, who resides in Pittsfield, Mass.; Polly, who was married to George Whittaker, and resides in Marlborough, Mass.; and L. L., subject of this memorr. L. L. Sears, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, was educated in his native State, and was trained to the duties of the farm. He has been twice married: first time in 1848 to Miss Sarah Schofield, by whom he has one son, George L., a florist and manufacturer of pottery in Elyria. Mr. Sears' second wife was Miss Charlotte Schofield, whom he wedded in 1858, and by this union there is one child, Lillian, a young lady of bright natural ability, and well educated; she is a popular school teacher, having taught first in Carlisle township, Lorain county, then in the high LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1043 school at Mentor, same State, and is now superintendent of the public schools in Mentor. She graduated in Oberlin, Ohio, class of 1890. In 1861 Mr. Sears came to Ohio, first locating in Medina county, then in 1867 settling. in Lorain county on a farm within the corporate limits of Elyria, which he subsequently sold, purchasing his present fine property. A Republican in politics, he is one of the active and influential adherents of the party, is a member of the school board, and has served as township trustee. He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church at Elyria. JOSEPH GANNETT, Wellington. This gentleman is descended from Benjamin Gannett, one of three stalwart brothers who in an early day came from England to America, he settling in Suffolk county, Mass., the other two in Virginia, but of whom nothing is known than that they both died bachelors, intestate, and their property went to the State. Jacob Gannett, grandfather of subject, was born in Suffolk county, Mass.; he was a millwright by trade, went to. New York State, and died there at the advanced age of eighty four years. Joseph, his son, was born in Massachusetts July 3, 1776, and died March 10, 1847, in Spencer, Medina Co., Ohio. When a child his parents moved to New York State; where lie was reared on a farm in Ontario county, near Palmyra, receiving but a limited subscription-school education. He was married there to a Miss Craft, by which union-there were three children: Ellit, who married Mr. A. Hill, and resided in Lockport, N. Y., and Genesee county, N. Y., finally moving to Spencer, Medina Co., Ohio, where she died; Ruth, who married R. Smith, and they lived near Spencer, Medina county, afterward in Wisconsin, where she died; and Olive, the deceased wife of S. Smith, lived in Wellington village. The mother of these died, and the father then married Miss Martha Stone, by whom there were four children, as follows: Joseph, the subject proper of this sketch; Hannah, who was married to Mr. Nooney, and died of pneumonia in November, 1893; Alvin, who died at the age of sixty-eight years, resided in Spencer, Medina county (he left a family), and Mary Jane (who never married), killed in a runaway when she was thirty-four years of age. When the family came to Ohio, the journey was made in a wagon, the distance being over 300 miles, and occupying about three weeks. They arrived in the month of November, and at once located in Spencer township, Medina county, the father having taken up one thousand acres of land there by trading his New York farm for same. Here the parents of our subject passed the rest of their days, the mother dying in 1869 aged eighty-four years, having been born in 1785; the father was a Close Communion Baptist, and in his political sympathies a Whig and Republican. He was a very strong man, of fine physique, standing six feet in his stockings. Joseph Gannett, the subject of this sketch, was born in Ontario county, N. Y., near Palmyra, February 6, 1819. At the age of sixteen he came with the rest of the family to Spencer township, Medina county, and after leaving school, which in those early days was of a very primitive nature, he took up the private study of sciences, including philosophy, astronomy, etc. In Medina county he carried on mixed farming, including dairyin, and owned 160 acres of good land. n 1871 he moved from there to Wellington township, Lorain county, and bought his present farm of 228 acres, all in one body, located in the corner of the corporation of the village of Wellington. In 1841 Mr. Gannett was married to Miss Orra Warner, sister to S. S. Warner, ex-treasurer of Ohio, and they had one 1044 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. child, Chauncey Warner, who married, and had four children: Orra E., Jo, Elmer K. and Chauncey W.; he died June 5, 1890, aged thirty-nine years. This wife was called from earth in September, 1850, at the early age of twenty-six years, and in 1851 Mr. Gannett wedded her sister, Miss Emma C. Warner, by which union there were two children: Cora E. and Mary Eliza, the youngest of whom died at the age of nineteen months. Politically our subject was a straight Whig and Republican till the last State election, when he voted the Prohibition ticket; he cast his first vote for W. H. Harrison, and supported Birney and Hall. In matters of religion he is liberal, with leanings toward the Unitarian faith. [Since the above was written we have been informed of the death of Mr. Joseph Gannett. He died November 2, 1893, of pneumonia, after three days' illness; his sister, Hannah, died of the same disease two weeks later.—Editor. BRECKENRIDGE. Norman Breckenridge, a native of Vermont, when a young man came to New York State, and in Orange county married Triphena Rosencrans, who was born in that State. In Oswego county Norman Breckenridge carried on farming, and here three children were born to lam, as follows: Alonzo L., living in Kipton ; Norman, who was a member of the Twenty-third O. V. I., and was killed in the war of the Rebellion; and Mary, now Mrs. Arnold, of Oberlin, Ohio. In 1834 the family came to Ohio by way of the Erie Canal and Lake Erie, first locating in Wakeman township, Huron county, and then in the spring of 1835 re-moving to Camden township, Lorain county, settling east of the center, where the father bought sixty-six acres of wild land at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, which by steady industry he was not long in converting into a fine farm. Here he passed the rest of his days, dying in 1860. Mrs. Breckenridge, after the death of her husband, removed to Oberlin, Ohio, where she remained until her death in 1876, and they now repose side by side in Camden cemetery. The children born to them in Ohio are as follows: Daniel W., B. F., J. A., Henry C. and Frances (Mrs. R. H. Lamphier), all in Michigan (except B. F.), where the first named is a merchant. Po-litically the father was a stanch Whig and Republican, and served with fidelity and ability in various offices of trust in his township. He was a devout and liberal member of the Disciple Church (which was removed from the center of Camden township to Kipton), and was a highly esteemed citizen. ALONZO L. BRECKENRIDGE (eldest son Of Norman Breckenridge), well known in the commercial circles of northern Ohio, more especially in Lorain county, where his business for the most part has been conducted, is a native of New York State, born in Oswego county October 20, 1831. In 1834, then a three-year-old boy, he was brought to Ohio by his father, the family locating in Wakeman township, Huron county, and then in the spring of 1835 removing to Camden township, Lorain county, where the father bought sixty-six acres of wild land at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, which with the assistance of his family he ere long converted into a fertile farm. Here young Alonzo attended, a few months in the winter time, the primitive subscription schools of those early days, his first teacher being a Min Parker, while his summer months were devoted to working on his father's farms. At the age of eighteen he hired out to farm work at nine dollars per month. After his marriage he located in Henrietta township on a farm of seventy-eight acres, which he bought at twenty-eight dollars per acre, going into debt one thousand five hundred dollars, and here lived ten years, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1045 at the end of which time he came to Kipton and commenced the business of fur buying. conducting at the same time a grocery store for some years. The firm of Breckenridge Bros., general storekeepers, was then formed, and continued twelve years, our subject then embarking in the elevator business, and buying grain, etc., in which he has since continued; has also a half interest in an elevator in Elyria. Of late years he has been somewhat retired from active work, but superintends his business affairs. Forty years ago he received a kick on the leg from a horse, and the hurt has ever since troubled him, keeping him at times from attending to business. On June 15, 1857, Mr. Breckenridge was united in marriage with Aravilla Bohan. who was born in Lewis county, N. Y., in 1828, a daughter of John Bohall, and to this union there is one child, Nina, now Mrs. Williard Granger, of Kipton. Po-litically our subject is a Republican, his first vote being cast for John P. Hale, and he has held various offices, such as town-ship treasurer over eighteen years. B. F. BRECKENRIDGE (fourth son of Nor-man Breckenridge), one of Lorain county's leading merchants, carrying on a prosper-ous business in the town of Kipton and elsewhere, was born in Camden, Ohio, November 11, 1840. For a time he attended the common schools and Oberlin College, which pre-pared him for teaching, a profession he followed some time. In 1863 he bought a farm in Camden township, Lorain county, on which he went to live, leaving the paternal roof, and this he conducted until 1868, when he moved into the town of Kipton, and purchased the general store of Thomas La Nell, which he at once took charge of, and under his direction and management the business has increased to mammoth proportions. He has erected several good business blocks in the town, and his own store occupies a substantial and commodious room. In addition to this extensive concern Mr. Breckenridge is interested in several other stores in Kipton, and is owner of one in Lorain. On June 4, 1864, our subject was married to Miss Mary Arnold, born in Camden township in 1844, daughter of George and Mary Ann (Moore) Arnold. Mr. and Mrs. Breckenridge adopted the following children: Earl N., who died at the age of seven years, and Georgie M., a highly educated young lady. Politically Mr. Breckenridge was a Republican till. 1872, when he voted for Horace Greeley, since when he has been a straight Democrat. He invariably declines office, as his various commercial interests demand and receive his undivided attention. JOHN HAWKE, an extensive agriculturist and landowner of Eaton township, has been a resident of Lorain county since 1858. He was born in 1833 in Cornwall, England, son of Richard and Grace (Hugglow) Hawke, both natives of England, where the father died; in 1858 the widowed mother came with her son John to Lorain county, Ohio, whence she subsequently moved to Jefferson county, Wisconsin. The subject proper of this sketch was reared to farm life, and was educated in the schools of his native country. In 1858 he was married, in England, to Miss Ann Sheer, who was also born in that country, daughter of John and Margery (Denis) Sheer, natives of Cornwall, who lived and died in their native land. In the year of their marriage the young couple came to the United States, locating first in Ridgeville township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where they lived some years, and then corning to Eaton township, settling near North Eaton. Here Mr. Hawke purchased a cleared farm, where he has since been successfully en-gaged in. agricultural pursuits, and his place 1046 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. now comprises 200 acres of land in a good state of cultivation, upon which be has erected a good barn. Mrs. Ann Hawke died in 1878, and in 1890 he married, in Columbia township, Lorain county, Miss Clara Holbrook, who was born in Eaton township; her parents, Charles and Phebe (Hathaway) Holbrook, were natives of Massachusetts, who in an early day came to Lorain county, where the father died August 1, 1893; the widowed mother now makes her home on the old farm. To the union of John and Clara Hawke have come two children: One who died in infancy, and Esther. Mr. Hawke has also reared an adopted child, Ernest James, now of Cleveland. In politics our subject is a Republican, and takes an active interest in the welfare of his party; Mrs. Hawke is a member of the M. E. Church. GEORGE LYON, a prominent and progressive farmer of Elyria township, was born in 1836, in Huron county, Ohio, a son of John and Elizabeth (Thurston) Lyon. John Lyon, father of subject, was born and reared in Rockland county, N. Y., where he married Elizabeth Thurston. In an early day they moved westward to Buffalo, whence they proceeded by lake to Cleveland, Ohio, and from there by road to Huron county, where he followed farming and carpentry. After a time they removed to Cleveland, where the mother died. She had children as follows: Jane (deceased in Cleveland), who was married to George W. Shepherd; Eleanor, who died in Michigan ; Jacob, deceased in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, about 1850; George, subject of sketch; and Elizabeth, who died in Cleveland. John Lyon married, for his second wife, Clarissa Huntington, and by her had two children: Melissa, who died in Brooklyn township, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, and Charles, married, and residing in Elyria township, Lorain county. The father was called from earth in 1880, in his eighty-ninth year. George Lyon, whose name introduces this biographical sketch, received his education in the common schools of his boyhood period. In April, 1861, he enlisted for three months in an independent company at Cleveland, which served chiefly in western Virginia. He participated in the engagements at Carrick's Ford and Laurel Hill, and in July, 1861, received his discharge in Columbus, Ohio. In 1864 lie re-enlisted, this time in Capt. Babcock's Light Artillery, which was sent to Sandusky and to Johnson's Island, guarding prisoners; at Sandusky he was discharged in November, 1864, and returned to Cleveland. In 1866 he came to Elyria township, and settled on his present farm of fifty-five acres, where he has since been actively engaged in general agriculture, including the rearing of Hereford cattle. In 1866 Mr. Lyon was married, in Medina county, Ohio, to Miss Jennie E. Blanchard, to which union were born three children: Ulysses G., married, and living in Elyria, Ohio; Ida A., who died at the age of five years, and William R, at home. The mother of these died in 1882, and in 1888 Mr. Lyon married Mrs. Mary Ann Fitzgerald, a native of Canada. Politically our subject is a Republican; socially he is a member of the G. A. R. and I. 0. 0. F., Elyria, and of the American Hereford Cattle Breeders Association. J. B. CHAPMAN, vessel owner and hardware man, Lorain, is a native of that town, born in the year 1859, a son of James and Elizabeth (Burk) Chapman. He received a liberal education at the common schools of his place of birth, and at the age of nine years commenced sail- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1047 ing on the lakes as cook on his father's boat. After leaving the water, at the age of fourteen, he entered a hardware store in Lorain, in which he remained twelve consecutive years, less one. For some time past he has been engaged in F. W. Edison's hardware store in Lorain, and is at present employed there. He has held interests in the following vessels: The "C. H. Burton," " Itasca," " St. Lawrence," Gen. Sigel," and the " Selkirk." Mr. Chapman was united in marriage with Miss Carrie R. Bemis, of Lorain,Ohio. In politics he is a Republican, prominently identified with the party ever since casting his first votes, and he is a member of the city council. Socially he belongs to the K. O. T. M. HARRISON A. CRAGIN, a pros- perous farmer, an unpretentious citizen and an agreeable neighbor, is one of the best known and most popular men in LaGrange township, of which he may be said to be a life resident. Mr. Cragin was born in May, 1835, in Weston, Windsor Co., Vt., a son of Benjamin Cragin, a farmer, who married Miss Mahala Boyington. In the Green Mountain State they had children, as follows: Lorena, Benjamin N., Charles C., Adna A., Esther, Horace B., and Harrison A.; in Ohio was born Elizabeth, the youngest in the family. In September, 1835, the family set out from Vermont in a wagon for Buffalo, N. Y., whence they proceeded by Lake. Erie to Cleveland, Ohio, and from there by road to Lorain county. Here, while stopping with an acquaintance to rest after their long journey, they became so impressed with the country that they decided to remain, and Mr. Cragin purchased a part of Lot No. 61, in Grafton township, con taining 160 acres of woodland, at four dollars per acre; there was no house of any kind on the place, but it was not long before a dwelling 22 x 32 feet, and one and one-half stories high, was erected, all the timber for it being cut by Mr. Cragin himself. Here this pioneer toiled and prospered, assisting in the development of the country, and witnessing the onward march of civilization close on the heels pf the retiring Red Indian and the yet more fierce panther, wolf and bear. He died July 31, 1865, his wife in 1855, and they were buried in West Grafton cemetery. They were members of the Methodist Church, in which he was trustee, steward and class-leader, and in politics he was originally an Old-line Whig, afterward a Republican. He was a very robust man, and at sixty years of age could rake and bind all day after a cradler in the harvest field. Harrison A. Cragin, the subject proper of this sketch was about five months old when the family came to Lorain county. He received such education as the subscription schools of those early times afforded, was reared to the onerous duties of farm life, and has passed his entire life on the old homestead. On September 6, 1855, he wedded, in Wood county, Ohio, Miss Fanny Richardson, born in February, 1837, in Franklin county, Maine, a daughter of Asa and Jane (Staples) Richardson, who came to Ohio in 1850, and later moved to Michigan, where the father died in 1878, and the mother is yet living: The record of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Harrison A. Cragin is as follows: Flora, born March 24, 1856, now Mrs. Frank Foster, of LaGrange; Fred, born December 11, 1860, of Grafton township; Earl, born July 7, 1863, a farmer of LaGrange township; and Ernest, born October 24, 1874, who resides at home. Mr. Cragin is the owner of 160 acres prime land, where he carried on general farming until a few years ago, since when he has lived a comparatively retired life. He had bought the old home farm, satisfying the 1048 - LORAIN COUNTY , OHIO. claims of the other heirs, and has con-siderably remodeled and improved the dwelling and outbuildings. He is a Re-publican, and cast his first vote for John C. Fremont, but is no politician, though he has never missed a vote since his first ballot. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, in which he has held various offices, for a considerable time serving as superintendent of the Sunday-school. ROBERT J. COWLEY, whose name on the Great Lakes, wherever they can be navigated, is the synonym of carefulness and superior seaman-ship, is a native of the Buckeye State, born in Cleveland, November 2, 1839. His parents, Robert A. and Catherine (Cain) Cowley, were natives of the Isle of Man, the father born in the town of Peel, the mother in the village of Ballaugh. They immigrated to America about the year 1826, and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where the father followed shipbuilding. He was the youngest of seven brothers., all of whom were sea-faring men; he died at the age of seventy years, the mother when sixty-seven years old. The subject proper of this biographical notice received a sound practical educa-tion at the public schools of Cleveland, and when old enough learned the, trade of shipbuilder, which he followed afterward, for some time, during the winter months; sailing the lakes as a man before the mast in the summers of open seasons. In 1858 he removed from Cleveland to Black Lake, near Grand Haven, Mich., where he was engaged in fishing and lumbering for three years. Late in the slimmer of the year preceding the breaking out of the Civil war, he went South, first to St. Louis, then to New Orleans, working at his trade in shipyards, and he was in the latter city at the breaking out of the Rebellion. As soon as possible in the spring of 1861 he returned North, and took up his residence in Black River (now Lorain). In the summer of 1864 he entered the navy in the service of the U. S. Government, and assisted in the blockade of the West Gulf under Commodore Farragut. While attempting the capture of Mobile, Ala., the gunboat on which our subject served was blown up by a torpedo, causing a loss of one half the crew in killed and wounded, Capt. Cowley himself having a narrow escape. After the close of the war he re-turned to Lorain, and in the summers sailed the lakes, in winter time working at his trade, until 1879, in which year he entered into an engagement with the Menominee Transportation Co., with whom he was employed winters until 1885, superintending repairs on their vessels; during the summer seasons sailing one of their steamers. Since then he has been employed by Corrigan & Co., and also by H. J. Webb & Co., both of Cleve-land, on their steamers as master. The first steamship he ever sailed on was the "David W. Rush," and many a fine propeller has he since commanded. In 1866 Capt. Cowley was married, in Lorain, to Miss Celia E. Lyons, who was born in Lorain, as were also her parents, Winfield Scott and Mary (Brooks) Lyons. Three children have been born to this union, viz.: Scott L., Rittie C. and Robert 11. In politics the Captain is a Republican, and he is a member of the F. & A. M. O. L. FISHER, a prominent and enterprising farmer and dairyman of Huntington township, was born June 11, 1839, in Brighton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, a son of Danforth and Lucinda (Wilcox) Fisher. The father of the subject of sketch was born in Burlington, Otsego Co., N. Y., July 9, 1807, and was married in Henderson, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 1049 Jefferson county, January 1, 1832, to Miss Lucinda Wilcox, born in that county April 14, 1812. In New York State they had born to them two children, and then, in 1836, they came by water to Ohio, settling in the southeast corner of Brighton township, then a wilderness, and here were born to them nine children. In 1863 the parents removed to Michigan, and made their final home in Johnstown, Barry county, dying there, the mother May 12, 1888, the father April 16, 1889. Mrs. Fisher was a member of the Disciple Church; Mr. Fisher was a strong Republican in his political preferences. Their family numbered in all eleven children, one of whom Phoebe Alice died in infancy, the rest being as follows: Eliza, wife of Joseph Powers, residing in Michigan; H. Clinton, who was a resident of Michigan, now deceased; Edward B., a farmer of Huntington township; served one year in the Tenth Michigan Cavalry; O. L., subject of sketch; Alma, who was married to Hiram Wilson, and lived in Cleveland, and who is now a widow, residing in California; Newton D., late a resident of Cleveland, where he was a lumber merchant, who served four years in the Second Ohio Cavalry (he died November 17,1893); George F., a carpenter, of Chicago; Oren D., who was educated at Oberlin College, at Olivet (Mich.) College, and later at Yale College, and is now a minister in the Congregational Church at Toledo, Ohio; Peter, a farmer in Michigan; and Wilbur, in the lumber business at Cleveland. O. L. Fisher, whose name opens this sketch, attended during the winter months the district schools of Wellington township, Lorain county, and worked on his father's farm summers. In 1862, in Brighton township, he enlisted in Battery I, First Ohio Light Artillery, and was sent to Eastern Virginia. He participated in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Valley, Rocky Face, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, bombardment of Fredericksburg, Peach Tree Creek and Atlanta, Ga., in fact all the engagements his battery took part in. On June 13, 1865, he was discharged, after having been in hospital five months, and returned to his home in Brighton township, Lorain county, whence after a month's stay he went to Michigan, whither his parents had gone, as above stated. At the end of six years he again came to Lorain county, and bought his present farm of 127 acres in Huntington township, where he successfully carries an general farming, including a lucrative dairying business. On December 27, 1865, Mr. Fisher married Miss Sarah A. Led-yard, a native of Huntington township, born July 11, 1846, and they have two children, viz.: Louis, at present residing at home, and Erva. ALLEN SANDERS. Among the several prosperous and enterprising native-born agriculturists of Lorain county, none, probably, is deserving more prominent notice in this volume than the gentleman whose name here appears. Mr. Sanders was born in LaGrange township in 1835, a son of Horace and Maranda (Clark) Sanders, natives of the State of New York, who came before marriage to Ohio. They were wedded in LaGrange township, Lorain county, and settled on a farm which he had purchased in 1826. Here they passed the rest of their pioneer lives, the father dying in 1879 aged seventy-two years, the mother in 1883, also aged seventy-two. To Mr. and Mrs. Horace Sanders were born six children, as follows: W. B., Allen, Melinda (deceased), De Loss (deceased in LaGrange township, Eber (a farmer of LaGrange township , and Clark (who died in Newburgh, Ohio). Grandfather Sanders was born, in New York State, and Grandfather Nathan Clark was a pioneer of LaGrange township, subsequently moving to Eaton county, Mich., where he died.