700 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. narrowly escaped being burned. Proceeding from Cleveland to Amherst, Lorain county, they remained at the latter place one summer, and then removed to Pittsfield township, same county, where he invested in 110 acres of land at seven dollars and fifty cents per acre. This tract was completely wild, with the exception of fourteen acres which had been chopped but not cleared. The dwelling was a log cabin, with puncheon floor and Dutch chimney-place, but no hearth, and here were born two children: Robert, and John F., a well-to-do retired citizen of St. Joseph, Mo. Here Mr. Merriam passed the remainder of his life, never journeying more than forty miles from home, and he never traveled by rail. He was a hard-working, industrious farmer, and was well known in the community in which he resided. In politics he was a Democrat. He passed from earth February 27, 1871, his widow on August 12, 1890, and both are, buried in South cemetery, in Pittsfield township. In religious faith Mrs. Merriam was a member of the Congregational Church. Robert Merriam received his education in the common schools and at Wellington Seminary, and later took a commercial course at Oberlin College, when S. S. Calkins was at the head of that department. He was afterward a student at Wellington Station, on the C. C. C. & I. Railroad, at the time when Noah Hamilton was agent for the "Big Four" Railway at that place, but, being dissatisfied there, returned home and followed farming with his father. On June 2, 1869, he was united in marriage with Chloe M. Sheffield, who was born October 30, 1844, in Camden township, Lorain county, daughter of Robert S. Sheffield, who was born in Schenectady, N. Y.; in April, 1842, he came westward to Pittsfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where he married Delia Watkins, and followed farming the remainder of his life. Mr. Merriam is an industrious, persevering and enterprising man, possessing consider able business ability, and has accumulated during his active lifetime a comfortable competence. Some years since he inherited quite a sum of money, which he invested in land, and he is now the owner of 422 acres, being the largest farmer in Pittsfield township, of which he is a leading and influential citizen. In politics he is a Democrat, but beyond casting his ballot takes little active interest in affairs of State. Mrs. Merriam is a highly esteemed, intelligent lady, well-read and an interesting conversationalist. Mr. and Mrs. Merriam have enjoyed many pleasant trips to Connecticut and Massachusetts, visiting the old homes of their parents, besides other journeyings. In August, 1892, they set out on a western tour, their first stopping place being St. Joseph, Mo., where Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Merriam and daughter, and Mrs. Gray, Mrs. J. F. Merriam's mother, joined them for the remainder of the trip. From there the party proceeded to Denver, Colo., thence to Colorado Springs, stood on the summit of Pike's Peak, drank of the Manitou Springs, and visited the "Garden of the Gods." Thence they proceeded to Pueblo, where they visited the " Mineral Palace," and the smelting works, witnessing there the transforming of crude ore into perfected steel rails. Salt Lake City was their next point, where they were fortunate enough to meet a Mormon elder with whom they had some previous acquaintance, and he showed them many things of interest. From Salt Lake City they journeyed to other points, including Madera, Cal., from which town they went by stage (the first vehicle of the kind to make the trip through to the Yosemite Valley), seven days being occupied en route. Returning to Madera, the tourists there took train for Los Angeles, where they made a stay of three days, visiting the ostrich farm, etc., and here for the first time they had a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. From there they proceeded to Old Mexico; thence to Oakland and San Fran- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 701 cisco, Cal.; thence to Salem and Portland, Oreg.; thence took a flying trip into the new State of Washington. Then turning homeward, they stopped off at Shoshone, from there staging twenty-eight miles to Shoshone Falls and Blue Lake. Returning to Shoshone they traveled to Denver, thence home via St. Joseph, Mo., just escaping the great and memorable snowstorm, having from the time they first left St. Joseph been traveling seven weeks, everywhere sight-seeing and visiting most of the accessible places of interest. HENRY RIMBACH, furniture dealer and undertaker, one of the foremost business men of Elyria, was born in the city of Buffalo, N. Y., October 30, 1854. His parents, Henry and Catharine (Brandau) Rimbach, natives of Hessia, Germany, came to America in the year 1852, locating in Buffalo, N. Y., where they were shortly after married, and here Mr. Rimbach followed his trade, that of cabinet making, until late in the year 1855, when they and their young son, Henry, came to Elyria, Ohio. For a period of ten years he pursued his business in the employ of others, and at the expiration of this term he engaged in business on his own account, and this he conducted to the time of his death, when his son Henry succeeded to the business. Henry Rim bach, Sr., was born January 23, 1825, and died December 26, 1878; a man whose business career was successful, and whose character was without stain or blemish. Mrs. Rimbach was born February 7, 1833, and died November 21, 1881. Their children were as follows: Henry, whose name prefaces this sketch; Anna, wife of Charles Friday, of Elyria; Ernst C., a cigarmaker, of Elyria; George, in the boot and shoe business in Elyria; John; and Adam, an ordained minister of Cleveland, Ohio. Grandfather Rimbach, whose name was Christopher, was a native of Germany, and came to America in 1854. He was a gifted musician and a professor of the violin and clarinet. He made his home in Pennsylvania till the year 1868, when he came to Elyria, making his home with his son Henry, and, after the latter's death, with his grandson, Henry; he died at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years; he was born in 1800. Although a resident of the United States for thirty-four years he never spoke English. We cannot well conclude this notice without some favorable mention of the eldest surviving member of this family. Henry Rimbach was early taught the value of books, and also was early made aware that toil and frugality were both essential to success. He received a good school training, and when respited from his studies he was taught to shove the plane. From a poor boy he has hewn out his own prosperity, and to-day takes easy rank among established and older business men of his city. Socially he is a member of the R. A., and a member of the Funeral Directors' Association, of Ohio. Politically he is a Democrat. On May 19, 1880, he married Miss Christina Herold, of Berea, Ohio, and they have two children in their home: Emanuel and Henry. The business house of Mr. Rimbach is one of the most substantial structures of Elyria. JOSEPH H. LINCOLN, deceased farmer of Pittsfield township, was a native of Peru, Bennington Co., Vt., born January 31, 1818. He received a common-school education, was reared to the duties of agricultural life, and when a young man migrated westward with his parents to Ionia county, Mich. On the way thither Joseph stopped to visit a short while with his brother, S. W. Lincoln, who had settled on a farm in Pittsfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, and 702 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. in 1848, shortly after the death of his father, which occurred in Michigan, he came to Pittsfield township, and here resided with his brother for about one year. On April 3, 1849, Mr. Lincoln was united in marriage with Hannah N. Phelps, a native of New Marlborough, Mass., who was born January 9, 1819, youngest child of Bethuel and Levina (Norton) Phelps. The parents migrated westward, settling in Pittsfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, on the same farm where their daughter Hannah still resides; and at the time of their settlement the country was still in its primitive state, the forests abounding with bears, wolves, turkeys and other wild animals. After marriage Mr. Lincoln settled on the farm of his father-in-law, the " Phelps Homestead," where he passed the remainder of his life, successfully carrying on a general farming and dairy business. He owned a farm in Ionia county, Mich., but sold it. To Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were born two children: Louisa, who died at the age of thirty-two; and Andrew P., a farmer of Pittsfield township. The father died in February, 1862, and was buried in South cemetery, and Mrs. Lincoln has since managed the farm (excepting for four years when it was rented), displaying in this capacity considerable business ability. In politics Mr. Lincoln was an ardent Republican, and held various positions of trust in Pittsfield township. QUARTUS GILLMORE is a member of one of the early families of Lorain county, of which he is a native, born in May, 1839, a son of Quartus and Elizabeth (Reid) Gillmore. The Gillmores are of Scotch ancestry, and early settlers of Massachusetts. The father of our subject was a native of Massachusetts, whence in the spring of 1810 he set out on foot for Ohio, where he located land in what was then the Connecticut Reserve, which land is now in Lorain county. In the fall of the same year he returned to Massachusetts, and in the spring of the following year once more came to his new settlement (this time in company with his father, Edmund Gillmore), and here passed the rest of his days in farming; he died in 1869, his widow in 1876. They were both Methodists, and in politics he was first a Whig, then a Free-soiler, and, in his later years, a Republican. They reared a family of eight children, namely: Gen. Quincy A., a native of Lorain, Lorain county (after leaving school, and up to the age of twenty, he taught school; then entered the Military Academy at West Point, where in 1849 he graduated at the head of his class; he was well known in the Civil war, and his death occurred at Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1888); Elizabeth, wife of W. Prince, of Cleveland; Sophia, wife of D. S. Leslie, of Northport, Mich.; Roxana, wife of A. B. Spooner, in California; Edmund, a resident of Lorain; Alice, wife of James Connolly, of Lorain (she died in January, 1893); Quartos, subject of this sketch; and Cornelius, residing in Cleveland, Ohio. Quartus Gillmore received a liberal education at the public schools of his native county, and at the age of seventeen commenced sailing on the lakes, a vocation he followed several years, at one time as captain of a vessel. In 1866 he gave up seafaring life, and embarked in the grape-growing industry, continuing in this until 1882, when he formed a partnership with a Mr. Stang, under the firm name of Stang & Gillmore, dredgers and pier builders. In 1888 they dissolved partnership, since when Mr. Gillmore has carried on the same line of business alone. In 1859 our subject was married, in Lorain, Ohio, to Miss Mary Fitzgerald, who was born in Michigan, but reared in Lorain county, Ohio, daughter of Almond and Mary (Root) Fitzgerald, of Massachusetts, who in an early day came to Lorain county, where they died. To Mr. and Mrs. Gillmore have been born four children: LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 703 Quartus A., married and residing in Cleveland, Ohio; Mary Isabelle, wife of Theodore Burgess, of Lorain, who is employed on the C. L. & W. R. R; Theodore Leroy, married and residing at Conneaut, Ohio; and William, at home. Mr. Gillmore in his political preferences has been a Republican since his first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln. Socially he is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and Royal Arcanum. He is the owner of considerable property in Lorain. CYRUS IVES, for nearly sixty years a resident of Columbia township, where he now owns a magnificent tract of land of five hundred acres, divided into four farms, deserves special mention in this volume. He was born, in 1825, in Genesee (now Wyoming) county, N. Y., a son of Albert and Betsey (Russell) Ives, natives of Connecticut and Vermont, respectively, who in 1831 came with their family to Lorain county, locating in Columbia Center, later moving to the southwest part of Columbia township, where they hewed out for themselves a new home in the solemn woods. They were the parents of five children, to wit: Cyrus, our subject; Harriet Maria, wife of Andrew Osborne, residing in Columbia township; Ambrose, deceased; Seth, residing in Columbia; and Sarah Jane, who married Warren Bracy, and died in 1891, in Columbia township. The parents were devout and zealous members of the Baptist Church, and the father for several years was sexton in his neighborhood. He was an ardent Democrat, and a man of wide reputation for his sterling principles. He was called from earth in 1872, his wife in 1874. Cyrus Ives was reared in his native county until ten years of age, at which time his parents brought him to Lorain county, and he then attended the schools of Columbia township. Reared to agri cultural pursuits, he has been a lifelong farmer, progressive and successful, and he and his father were the prime movers in establishing Columbia township. In 1849 he was married in Elyria, Ohio, to Miss Prudence Stranahan, a native of Connecticut, and daughter of Joshua and Mary (Mason) Stranahan, also of that State. The mother died there, and the father afterward married, in Connecticut, Miss Lucy Farnham. In 1830 they came to Columbia township, Lorain county, and took up a farm. This wife died, and Mr. Stranahan then married, in 1854, Miss Jeanette Stone; he died in 1856. By his first marriage, only, there are surviving children, as follows: Sheffield J., who resides in Michigan; Martha Louisa, wife of Daniel Bigelow, of Columbia township; and Prudence, Mrs. Ives. To Mr. and Mrs. Ives was born one child, John Cyrus, who was cut off in his twenty-fourth year, April 12, 1881, after a lingering illness from catarrhal consumption. He was a member of the Baptist Church, was licensed to preach, and went to Denison University three years, never missing either a recitation or chapel service or prayer meeting in all that time. At his death he could read four languages. On the Sabbath he was called to his reward, Communion service was postponed until the following Sabbath, when his father officiated. Politically our subject is a Democrat, taking a lively interest in the affairs of his party. He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church at Columbia Center, in which he. has been a deacon forty-one years, and during all that time he never missed attending church to officiate excepting one Sabbath. JAMES WHIPPLE was born March 16, 1811, in Pomfret town, Windham Co., Conn. His parents, Charles and Hannah Whipple, were both natives of North Providence, R. I., born April 28, 1779, and November 14, 1786, 704 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. respectively. In 1807 they moved to Pomfret, Conn., and thence in 1815 to Westmoreland, Oneida Co., N. Y., where they passed the remainder of their lives. Charles Whipple died January 8, 1866, aged eighty-six years; his wife, Hannah, had preceded him to the grave December 6, 1863, when aged seventy-eight years. On May 24, 1833, James Whipple came to Lorain county, Ohio, having previously purchased in Brighton one hundred acres of land, known as the Loomis farm; this farm he afterward increased to two hundred acres. On November 14, 1839, he was united in marriage with Melinda Dunbar, who was born September 6, 1819, at Sandy Lake, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., daughter of John Dunbar, who was born June, 1777, at Bridgewater, Norfolk Co., Mass., of Scotch and English descent. He resided with his parents at Bridgewater until sixteen years of age, when he removed with them to Grantham, Sullivan Co., N. H. In 1800 he was married to Sally Annadown, who was born September 29, 1776, daughter of Joseph and Dorcas Annadown, of Southbridge, Mass., and they resided at Grantham until February, 1818, when they removed to Sandy Lake. In 1820 they went to Ludlow, Windsor Co., Vt., thence, in 1831, to Minerva, Essex Co., N. Y. In the latter part of May, 1835, they came westward to Ohio, locating, in the latter part of September, in Brighton, Lorain county, where Mr. Dunbar passed from earth January 8, 1838, when aged sixty-one years. He carried on farming on a place situated about three-fourths of a mile north of the center of the township. His widow passed away September 22, 1854, aged seventy-eight years. Melinda Dunbar received in her youth a common-school education, and was sixteen years of age when she came with her parents to Brighton township, Lorain Co., Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. James Whipple were born four children, viz.: Jefferson C., born August 18, 1841; Anzonette, born February 8, 1851, died June 17, 1859, aged eight years, four months and nine days; Emma, born April 2, 1857, died June 12, 1859, aged two years, two months and ten days; and Manette C., born October 31, 1861. The family homestead is one and a half miles from Brighton. Mr. Whipple was actively identified with the early religious and political questions of the town, taking his part in the development of the country. DAVID L. WADSWORTH AND FAMILY. David L. Wadsworth, youngest and seventh son of Lawton and Nancy R. Wadsworth, was born in Becket, Berkshire Co., Mass., June 1, 1825. He was a lad of fine promise-bright, witty and active-and grew up among the granite hills, laying the foundation for character noted in after years for geniality and good fellowship. A true son of sturdy New England ancestry. On April 15, 1833, Lawton Wadsworth and family started from Becket on a western journey, moving by overland route, with horses and covered wagons, and arrived in Wellington, Ohio, May 9, making the journey of about 600 miles in twenty-four days. David L. was then in his eighth year, and the town of Wellington in its pioneer stage. Here, for fifty-nine consecutive years, he dwelt among her people, growing with her growth, strengthening with her strength, until, step by step, he moved onward and upward, with the march of improvements of this busy, bustling town. During his youthful days he acquired a good common-school education, which was supplemented with a few terms at Oberlin College, preparatory to following the vocation of school teacher. For seven years he taught in district schools during the winter terms, establishing a good record as instructor and disciplinarian. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 707 In 1840 he commenced the study of medicine under Dr. Hall, of Orange, Ohio, but acquiring a distaste for this profession, he shortly returned to the parental homestead, and gave his attention to farming and stock dealing, developing a spirit of speculation that proved lasting, and as years passed brought forth its complement of unlimited success. On October 22, 1850, D. L. Wadsworth was united in marriage with Miss Rusenia C. Woodworth, of Rochester, Lorain county, a daughter of Hiram and Caroline L. (Wales) Woodworth, born November 5, 1831, in Bristol, N. Y., and who came with her parents to Rochester in 1832, where they settled for a term of years. Three children were the fruits of this marriage, viz.: Kitty May, born May 20, 1856, and died April 6, 1858 (she was a beautiful child, sweet and lovable, and died greatly lamented); Georgie M., born September 25, 1861, and Leon H., born October 13, 1863. In 1866 the present family residence, situate on North Main street, was completed and occupied. In 1868 Mr. Wadsworth purchased a planing mill, and embarked in the manufacture of doors, sash and blinds, dealing largely in lumber, shingles, lath, etc. Afterward other industries were added, to wit: a cheese and butter-box factory; and later on he established a lumber yard and planing-mill in Green wich, Ohio, giving employment to upward of seventy-five workmen. He was a prominent .dealer in real estate, buying farms, building houses about town for dwell - ings and other purposes, a hundred or more, adding much to the general growth and prosperity of he village wherein he dwelt. On October 22, 1875, Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in a right royal manner, with some 300 guests in attendance, who presented many elegant silver gifts in honor of the occasion. It was a fete noted for its social and enjoyable features, and ever remembered with pleasure by those who participated therein. Mr. Wadsworth's political faith dated from the famous " Rescue Case " of 1858, after which time he was a Democrat. In 1861 he became an ardent, zealous and enthusiastic War Democrat. He called the first meeting for the purpose of securing volunteers, and his cry of: " Boys, this means business," was very like a clarion note, inciting men to do their duty, and to do it well. He gave generously of his time and money to further the cause of loyalty to the Union, and was ever a true and firm, friend to the " boys in blue." Although the district in which Mr. Wadsworth lived has always been Republican, yet he received many political honors. On April 1, 1878, he was appointed, by Gov. Bishop, trustee of the Cleveland Insane Asylum, holding this position five years. Gov. Hoadley appointed him trustee of the State Institution for the Blind, and this position was held during the remainder of that governor's term of office, also the entire first term of Gov. Foraker, a Republican official. In 1875 he was nominated to fill the office of State treasurer, and was defeated by only two votes; in 1888 he was nominated for a representative to Congress, and succeeded in reducing the Republican majority in his own county over four hundred. In 1890 he was offered the same nomination, but declined the honor. Although not a member of any church, his public spirit led him to contribute largely to the building of churches without regard to color or creed. In Free Masonry he attained the thirty-second degree. Mr. Wadsworth gave his children, Georgie M. and Leon H., every facility for educational advantage. After this years' attendance in the Union schools of Wellington, Georgie was given one year of schooling in Oberlin, and two years in Miss Mittleberger's Select School for young ladies, in Cleveland. Leon H. graduated in the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Law School in 1883. On October 14, 1885, he 708 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. married Miss Mary E., only daughter of Capt. William and Sophia Trinter, of Vermilion, Ohio. The wedding was celebrated with all due honors at the home of the bride's parents, and wedding gifts were numerous and valuable. On October 22, 1885, on the thirty-fifth anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Wadsworth's wedding, their daughter Georgie M. was united in marriage with Mr. D. B. Ordway, of Hornellsville, N. Y. A reception was also tendered Mr. and Mrs. Leon H. Wadsworth at the same time and place, and once again the elegant home of Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Wadsworth was filled with many guests to celebrate this triple event in the history of the family. The generous collection of rare flowers used for decorations; the elegant home furnishings; the rich costumes, as seen under gaslight, made a charming picture, worthy of being perpetuated on canvas. Previous to the marriage of the children homes had been prepared and furnished, ready for occupancy. Mr. and Mrs. Ordway's home was located in Hornellsville, N. Y., while that of Mr. and Mrs. Leon H. Wadsworth was near the paternal homestead, and he was given an interest in his father's lumber business. In March, 1886, Mr. and Mrs. Ordway returned to Wellington, taking up a residence in the house previously occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Leon H., the latter moving to Greenwich, Ohio, and taking charge of the lumber business, previously established at that place. by his' father. Mr. Ordway was given a position in the lumber business in Wellington similar to that of Leon H. On October 25, 1886, a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Leon H. Wadsworth, and was christened William Luther, in honor of each grandfather. On November 29, 1886, a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. D. B. Ordway, and christened James Wadsworth Ordway. In 1890 D. L. Wadsworth received an appointment from Gov. Campbell as a member of the World's Fair Board from Ohio. He was a most active and tireless worker, and from overexertion in this cause was attributed the fatal illness that cut short the thread of life in so summary a manner. Mr. Wadsworth died at his home on the evening of October 7, 1892, of heart failure, at the age of sixty-seven years. His illness was only of a few hours' duration. Dr. E. G. Rust, the family physician, was in attendance, and his family all present. The funeral service was conducted at his late home, Tuesday, 2 o'clock P. M., October 11, by Rev. William Barton, pastor of the Congregational Church, assisted by Jacob W. Vanderwerf, eminent commander of the Order of Knights Templar, Oriental Commandery of Cleveland, Ohio, of which Order Mr. Wadsworth had been a member for twenty years. The perfection ring presentation was conducted by Prelates Ills. Charles A. Woodward and Brenton D. Babcock; music was rendered by a Knights Templar quartet, the ceremonies being all most solemn and impressive. Mr. Wadsworth's remains were dressed in the Knights Templar regalia, as were the fifty or more Knights in attendance. The casket and rooms were adorned with choice flower pieces, gifts from the various Orders to which the deceased belonged, also from relatives and friends, and their honied perfume made the air fragrant with sweetness. The day was most divinely fair, each shrub and tree had put on its most attractive colors, and the rich, mellow sunshine, softened by cooling breezes, baptized Mother Earth with a glory quite indescribable. All the principal business houses and shops in town were closed during the funeral obsequies, and the attendance was very large. The roomy house and extensive grounds were filled to overflowing. No greater tribute of respect was ever paid a deceased citizen of Wellington, than was freely given on this occasion, by not only the citizens of the town, but by all surrounding towns, whence came many people to pay their last respects and to extend their LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 709 sympathy to the bereaved family. The order of the procession was as follows: First Wellington Brass Band, playing a funeral dirge; carriage containing the clergy; hearse, guarded by six Knights Templar, bearing reversed swords, followed by fifty or more of same Order on foot, each dressed in regalia of their Order; Masons of all grades; workmen employed in the various industries carried on by the Wadsworth firm; carriage containing mourners; carriages containing citizens; citizens on foot, numbering several hundred. The service at the grave was conducted by Prelates same as at the family residence, and the remains were lowered into their last resting-place amid a sprinkling of evergreens and floral blossoms. " EARTH TO EARTH, AND DUST TO DUST." His widow still resides in the now lonely home, where, on every hand, are seen evidences of the thoughtful outlook and careful supervision on the part of the clear departed, for the comfort of those dwelling within the home circle. Ali! it is little wonder the bereaved heart continually cries for the protecting arms that were wont to shield it from all adverse afflictions and trials, incident to human life whilst making its earthly pilgrimage. GEORGE H. ANDRESS, a prominent agriculturist of Henrietta township, is a native of same, born August 5, 1834, a son of Carlo and Nancy (Buckly) Andress. Carlo Andress was born November 6, 1804, in Essex county, N. Y., and came to Ohio in 1817. On March 1, 1832, he was married in Henrietta to Nancy Buckly, who was born in Auburn, N. Y., May 30, 1812, and they lived together nineteen years, when she died, August 25, 1851. They had but one child, George H., the subject of this sketch. Carlo Andress was subsequently, on December 4, 1851, married to Weltha Smith, of Elyria, by which union he had two children, both born in Henrietta, at the old homestead, viz.: Alice, born October 30, 1853, and Henry, born June 19, 1855. Carlo Andress died of paralysis November 8, 1870, in Oberlin, whither he had removed in order to have his children educated; his wife was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., August 16, 1815, and died April 24, 1871. Carlo Andress commenced life as a pioneer farmer, working early and late without any of the comforts and barely the necessities of life. For the wife of his earlier years he married one that was as willing to work as was he, and together they labored and managed to lay the foundation of a competency. He was elected justice of the peace in the time of T. Corwin, in 1842, and was for many years justice in Henrietta township, where he tried to have all troubles settled without any ill-will. His wife was a Christian woman, having joined the Disciple Church while quite young, and remaining true to her early faith till the last. She was noted for her goodness to the poor and her kindness to the sick, and her sweetness of disposition is often spoken of until this day by the people who knew her best. Two brothers of hers and their descendants are living in Henrietta township at the present time. His second spouse was a model wife and mother, devoting her entire time to her family. He could at this time provide for his family far differently than in his younger days. He and his wife were deeply interested in the welfare of their children and the people that were of their household. Our subject attended the primitive country schools of his boyhood days, and Berea (Ohio) College two terms. He then assisted his father in the farm work, clearing the land of timber and undergrowth, and converting the virgin soil into fertile fields. At the age of about twenty-three years he commenced life for his own account, as a full-fledged farmer, and in his vocation has been highly successful. He 710 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. now owns 134 acres of prime land, one hundred of which were cultivated by his father. In 1859 Mr. Andress was united in marriage with Miss Matilda Elson, and three children were born to them, as follows: Maud (Mrs. Fred Fowler, of Berlin Heights, Ohio), born April 13, 1861; Ernest, born July 18, 1863, died January 16, 1873; and Leon, born March 13, 1865. The mother of these died in 1868, and in 1870 our subject intermarried with Adelaide Ennis, by which union there is one child, Frank, in the express office in Elyria. In 1872 Mr. Andress married Amelia Hutchison, daughter of William Hutchison, and children, as follows, were born to this union: Edna, at present at Painesville (Ohio) Seminary; Elsie, teaching school at Berlin Heights, Ohio; Walter, deceased ; Henry, Fred and Bessie, at home. Politically our subject is a Democrat, but in local elections he invariably votes for the best man regardless of party. EDMUND GILLMORE. A biographical record of Lorain county would be incomplete were prominent mention not made of this gentleman, who is a native of the county, born February 10, 1833, in Black River township. Mr. Gillmore is a son of Quartus and Elizabeth (Reid) Gillmore, the former of whom was a native of Chester, Hampden Co., Mass., a son of Edmund and Elizabeth (Stuart) Gillmore, also of Massachusetts, born of English and Scotch ancestry, respectively. From their native State they came west to what was then known as the "Connecticut Western Reserve," locating, in 1811, in what is now Lorain county, Ohio, where he bought wild land which he cleared, passing the rest of his days thereon. He was a farmer and landowner in Amherst and Black River townships, and he and his wife died in Black River township, in 1843 and 1844, respectively. They had a family of ten children —nine sons and one daughter---a brief record of them being as follows: (1) Quartus, born in 1790, has mention made further on. (2) Aretus, born in Massachusetts in 1792, died in Lorain county, Ohio. (3) Orrin, born in Massachusetts in 1794, died in Cuyahoga county, Ohio. (4) Simon, born in 1796, died in Detroit, Mich., in 1833; he was a ship carpenter by occupation. (5) Truman, born in 1798, died in Lorain county, Ohio, in 1881. (6) Linas, born in 1801, died in Lorain in 1881. (7) Roxanna, born in 1803, was married in Lorain county to Robert Wright, and died in Oregon. (8) Alanson was born in 1805. (9) Edmund, born in 1801, died in Minnesota. (10) James Madison, born in 1811, died in Lorain county, Ohio. Quartus Gillmore came west with his parents, the journey being made with teams. In what is now Lorain county, Ohio, he married Elizabeth Reid, who died in 1876, surviving her husband seven years, he having passed away in 1869. In politics he was an active Whig, afterward a Republican; was for many years a magistrate, and about 1837 was appointed the first trustee of Black River township. Of their family of children, Quincy A. was born in Lorain county in 1825, and was educated in the public schools of Norwalk and at Elyria Academy; was a teacher in the public schools for three years; in 1845 entered the Military Academy, where he graduated at the head of his class, and ultimately became a noted general. He died in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 7, 1888. Edmund Gillmore received his education at the public schools of Black River township, Lorain county, and at the age of fifteen commenced sailing on the lakes, making trips to Oswego, Chicago, and all lake ports, which vocation he continued in for ten years. He also worked at ship caulking, and while so engaged on one occasion received a severe injury. For ten LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 711 months he was with a brother in New York City, acting as shipping agent and assistant draughtsman. In 1858 Edmund Gillmore was united in marriage with Miss Adelaide E. Gillmore, a native of Lorain, Lorain Co., Ohio, and daughter of Alanson Gillmore, of Lorain. To this union has been born one child, Quincy A. Gillmore, a prominent attorney at law of Elyria, Ohio. Politically our subject is a pronounced Republican, and has held several offices of trust in his locality, such as assessor for some time, township clerk for fifteen years, justice of the peace since 1863, and notary public for the past twenty years. QUINCY A. GILLMORE, a leading attorney at law of Elyria, was born May 12, 1859, in Lorain county, Ohio, a son of Edmund and Adelaide E. (Gillmore) Gillmore, also natives of the county, who are now residents of the town of Lorain. Our subject received his education in Oberlin and Delaware Wesleyan Colleges, graduating in 1881. Making a study of law, he graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1883, and in the fall of 1884 located in Elyria for the practice of his chosen profession, in which he has met with well-merited success. In 1884 he was married to Miss Frankie G. Brown, and one child has come to brighten their home, named Scott E. Politically Mr. Gillmore is one of the most ardent Republicans in his section, and he is a member of the K. P. and of the Lorain County Bar Association. GEORGE W. RICE. This gentleman is descended from one of the pioneer families of Lorain county, and is a native of the same, having first seen the light on his father's farm in Amherst township February 19, 1846. His father, Abram Rice, was born April 21, 1801, in Fayette county, Penn., and in 1822 came to Lorain county, where he took up one hundred acres of wild land in Black River township. Later he moved into Amherst township and bought a partly-improved farm of one Moses Mulnick, where he passed the remainder of his pioneer days, dying in 1876. In his political preferences he was a Whig and Abolitionist, and, later, a Republican. In religious sentiment he was a Methodist. He was married in Fayette county, Penn., to Miss Margaret Stacker, who died in March, 1891. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom the following is a brief sketch: (1) Mary was married in Illinois to O. P. .Kilmer, of New York, who enlisted in Company F, Forty-First O. V. I., and was shot at Pittsburgh Landing in 1862, dying two weeks later in Cincinnati; his widow died February 28, 1891. (2) Daniel was born in 1824, was reared in the county, and here married Mary Smith, of Black River township, Lorain county, who died shortly afterward; in 1850 he went to California, where he married and had six children—five daughters and one son; he died June 23, 1889, in Arroyo Grande, Cal. (3) Samuel A., born in 1826, became an early pioneer of Grant county, Wis., where he married and passed the rest of his days, dying in 1855, leaving a widow and one daughter, now Mrs. Ella Jansen, of Clay Center, Kans. (4) Ann E., born in 1827, was married in 1850, in Lorain county, to Hiram Wilber, of New York, who came in an early day to Lorain county, where he died in 1878; they had two children : Byron E., in Adams county, Iowa (married and has two children, Stella and Jessie); and Eda B., married to M. Cunningham, ofOolumbus, Ohio, and has two children, George and Roy. (5) John S., born in 1829, was married to Miss Lucy Hale, of Lorain county, sometime in the " fifties." At the time of his marriage he was keeping a hotel at Berlin Heights, Erie Co., Ohio. Later he sold 712 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. out, and removed to Minnesota, where he was residing when the call came for volunteers to suppress the Rebellion. He enlisted in the Second Regiment Minnesota Infantry, and served until discharged on account of chronic sore eyes. Afterward he moved to Iowa, and still later went with his family to Arroyo Grande, Cal., where he now resides, surrounded by his family of eight sons and one daughter, besides numerous grandchildren. (6) Melissa, born in 1830, was married to H. P. Strickler, of Pennsylvania; she died in 1861, leaving one son and one daughter; the son, L. D., and daughter, Mrs. Meda Sandrock, reside with their families in Amherst township. (7) Adaline, born in 1832, is the widow of Wm. Pearl, and resides in North Amherst; she has three sons: Eugene F.,Corrice C. and Arthur A. (8) Margaret J., born October 7, 1833, was married to I. G. Hazel, and to them were born five children, viz.: Emma and Alma, both deceased ; Alpha, re- siding in Oberlin; Ruby, wife of Alpha, E. Walker, of North Amherst, and Harry, attending Oberlin College; Margaret J. Hazel died in North Amherst March 28, 1890. (9) Nancy O., born January 6, 1835, married R. G. Barney, who enlisted for one year in Company E, Sixth Ohio Cavalry, served his time out, and died November 12, 1872; they had two children, Mrs. Maggie Root, and Mrs. Mina Gutenfelder, of Cleveland; Nancy O. Barney died in 1869. (10) Susan, born in 1837, is the wife of John K. Hazel, who was a member of Company C, Second Wisconsin Cavalry; they live in Florida; they have three children living: Loudon C., Percy and Mark. (11) Abram J., born January 17, 1840, enlisted in 1861 in Company F, Forty-first 0. V. I., was killed at the battle of Pittsburg Landing April 7, 1862, and was buried on the battlefield; the G. A. R. Post located at Amherst is named in honor of him. (12) Wesley, born January 29, 1842, is married and resides in Oberlin ; he has two children, Alma, wife of Charles J. Maynard, and Mary Faith. (13) Charles, born December 5, 1843, died August 31, 1886, at Amherst. (14) George W. is the subject of this sketch. On the father's side the family were of French-German ancestry, on that of the mother they claim German-Dutch lineage. Grandfather Rice served in the Revolutionary war, and died in Pennsylvania. George W. Rice, the subject of this sketch, received a moderate education at the common schools of Amherst township and at Berea College. In his boyhood and youth he was thoroughly inducted into the mysteries of agricultural pursuits, which have been his life work, and he now owns the homestead, consisting of ninety acres of prime land, all in a good state of cultivation. Socially he is a member of Amherst Lodge No. 74, K. of P., and is Master of Exchequer in same; also member of Amherst Lodge No. 96, I. O. G. T. Politically he is a zealous Republican, and for nearly a quarter of a century he has been an active member of the board of education of Amherst township, being at present president of the same. Up to date he is unmarried, none the less he is the leading spirit of his neighborhood, socially and politically; his interest in the welfare of old and young never flags. GEORGE C. JEFFERIES, attorney at law and war claim agent, Elyria, was born June 22, 1837, in Spencer, Lorain (now Medina) Co., Ohio, a son of Gilbert and Mary A. (Spencer) Jefferies, the latter of whom was the eldest daughter of. Col. Spencer, after whom the town and township of Spencer (Medina county) were named. She died the day following Thanksgiving Day, 1891, at the age of eighty years, a member of the M. E. Church. Gilbert Jefferies was born in October, 1811, in the town of Webster, N. Y., and in 1832 came to Ohio, making a settlement in Spencer, Lorain (now Medina) LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 713 county. He was a farmer all his life, and died June 22, 1870. An Old-line Whig originally, he united with the Republican party in 1854 (the year of its organization), and was a member of the M. E. Church. Thomas Jefferies, paternal grandfather of subject, came to Medina county in 1847, and passed the rest of his days with our subject's parents. Gilbert and Mary A. (Spencer) Jefferies were the parents of nine children—seven sons and two daughters—of whom our subject is the eldest, and six are yet living. George C. Jefferies received his education in the country schools and at Oberlin College (where his mother was also in part educated). After reading law with Hon. H. G. Blake, of Medina, Ohio, he enlisted August 12, 1862, in Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth O. V. I. His regiment was attached to the army of the Cumberland, and its first camp was made in Elizabethtown, Ky., whence it was sent to Nashville and Franklin, Tenn., at which latter place a battle was fought.. Thence the regiment marched to Triune, same State, from there to Readyville and Manchester, Tenn., from which latter it moved to the Sequatchie Valley. On September 19, 1863, it participated in the battle of Chickamauga, where Mr. Jefferies (then serving as first sergeant) was so severely wounded that he had to retire from the army. On his return home he completed his law studies, and in 1875 was admitted to the bar of the State of Ohio, and the United States bar. In 1876 he commenced the practice of his profession, and in 1878 moved into Elyria. Since 1885, in connection with his legal business, he has given special attention to war claims. On July 7, 1870, Mr. Jefferies was married, at Chatham, Medina Co., Ohio, to Miss Mary Hine, and three children have been born to them, viz.: Gilbert C., born in Spencer, Medina Co., Ohio, August 8, 1871, now a stenographer and typewriter in Elyria; Edgar C., born at Elyria October 15, 1879, now at school, and Thomas C., born at Elyria February 7, 1881, also at school. Our subject in politics is a Republican, in religion a Methodist. He is a member of the G. A. R., and U. V. Legion. The first of this family of Jefferies in America was the first governor of Connecticut. Mrs. Mary (Hine) Jefferies was born January 6, 1846, at Chester, Wayne Co., Ohio, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Luce) Hine, the latter of whom died when Mary was a child. The father in early life settled in Wayne county, Ohio, where he became one of the largest horse and wheat raisers, and there resided until he was well advanced in years, when he moved to Chatham. There he passed from earth in November, 1876, at the age of seventy-eight years. JOHN HARVIT, one of the representative self-made men of LaGrange township, is a native of Ohio, born April 26, 1836, in Chester township, Wayne county. He is a son of Joseph and Nancy (Smith) Harvit, farming people, the former of whom died in 1838, leaving a comfortable home. His widow subsequently remarried. Our subject was educated in the common schools, and during his early manhood was employed as a farm hand, mean; time saving his earnings. On November 7, 1865, he was married to Miss Sarah Coleman, born May 30, 1847, in LaGrange township, Lorain Co., Ohio, whom he had met while a resident of Penfield; same county, whither he moved with his step-father, James Brown, who was a well to-do farmer. Mrs. Harvit was the daughter of James and Harriet Coleman, the former of whom died in 1849, of cholera, and was buried in the Catholic cemetery in Eaton township. Mrs. Coleman was subsequently married to William: Ormsby, and continued to reside on her former home; she was buried in the ceme- 714 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. tery in LaGrange township. After marriage Mr. Harvit located on the James Coleman homestead, lot No. 30, LaGrange township, where he has always followed farming, in which he has met with encouraging success. He has a natural aptitude for carpenter work. In 1885 he erected one of the most comfortable rural homes in the township on his place, which consists of 278 ½ acres of excellent land, fully equipped with good farm buildings. Mr. Harvit is a hard worker and a good business manager, and the results of his labor are shown in his surroundings, for his farm and farm buildings are among the best in the township. In party affairs he is a Republican, but is not an active politician. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Harvit has come one child, Hattie, born November 28, 1869, now the wife of Don Scwartz, a leading citizen of LaGrange township. (They have one son, Harry, born February 20, 1892). Mrs. Harvit is a member of the M. E. Church at LaGrange. HON. LUCIUS HERRICK. This gentleman, who is a prominent and well-known figure in the arena of agriculture and politics in Lorain county, is a native of Jefferson county, N. Y., born in Houndsfield, near Watertown, November 8, 1820. Philo Herrick, father of subject, was born in Tyringham, Berkshire Co., Mass., whence when a boy he, with the rest of the family, moved to Bridgewater, Oneida Co., N. Y., his father, Amasa Herrick, afterward taking them to Houndsfield, same State. Here Philo Herrick made his home till the spring of 1835, when, with his wife, Sophia (Blodgett), and family, he came to Wellington, Lorain Co., Ohio, the journey being made with an old-time "prairie schooner." Here he made a land purchase of 158 acres in Wellington township (which has since passed into the hands of his son Lucius), built a log house, and set to work to transform the wild woods into a fertile farm. The father, who was a tanner and currier, and also a shoemaker, rented a tannery in Huntington township, but soon afterward returned to Wellington. For a time he followed the shoe business in Winnebago county, Ill. He died in Wellington in 1866, a strong Republican in politics, originally a Whig, his first vote being cast for James Monroe; his wife was born September 27, 1788, and died at the age of ninety-eight years less five days. They were the parents of four children: Loring, now a resident of Meckling, Clay Co , S. Dak.; Amasa B., residing in Chicago; Lucius, and George F., a mechanic, who was accidentally killed September 15, 1844, at Janesville, Wisconsin. Lucius Herrick, the subject proper of this biographical sketch, enjoyed but limited school privileges, but the loss in that he partially compensated for by systematic, diligent home study. In 1839 he entered an academy in Elyria, where he made his home with Deacon Lane, working for his hoard. His father tried to induce him to take up the trade of shoemaker, but he preferred farming, and consequently made it his life work. In 1843 he married Miss Mary E. Griffith, who bore him one son, Luther G. This Wife was called from earth in January, 1844, and in 1849 Mr. Herrick married Miss Harriet E. Bidwell, and one son blessed their union, Bert B., who was educated at the common schools of Wellington and at Oberlin; he is now a farmer and cheese manufacturer; he married Miss Etta Wadsworth, and they have two children: Ethel and Hobart. Formerly a Whig, now a Republican, Mr. Herrick has ever taken an active interest in public affairs. He served as infirmary director two years, and also as township trustee; was elected county commissioner three full terms consecutively, resigning in order to accept nomination to the Legislature, in which he served in the Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth General As- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 717 semblies; and he says he much enjoyed the variety of being in the House, but that it was the hardest work he ever did in his life. He has in his possession several interesting public documents, and in his library the full series of "Geological Surveys of Ohio," by Newberry.̊ Mr. Herrick is the owner of 435 acres of land, and has seen the gradual evolution in. agricultural development from the hand sickle to the self-binding harvesting machine. Mrs. Herrick, with whom he is now living, was Miss Sarah West, only daughter of Francis West, of Berlin, Erie Co., Ohio. The families for three generations at least, have been members and supporters of Presbyterian and Congregational Churches. E. A. CUYLER, a well-known fruit-grower of Avon township, where he has resided for almost the last half century, is a native of New York State, born in Essex, Essex county, in August, 1822. His parents, John B. and Phoebe (Hoffnagle) Cuyler, were also natives of New York State, where they both passed their entire lives, the father dying in 1838, the mother forty years later, in Essex county. John B. Cuyler was a sergeant in the war of 1812. E. A. Cuyler, the subject proper of this memoir, was reared in his native county up to the age of twenty-one, receiving his education in the common schools. After coming, in 1843, to Avon township, Lorain Co., Ohio, he commenced sailing on the lakes, in which he continued for seventeen seasons, on boats plying between Cleveland and Buffalo, and also. Detroit. In an early day he opened up a farm in Sheffield township, Lorain county, where he resided for some years, thence removing to Avon township, where he has since had his home. In 1847 he was married, in Avon township, to Miss Ruth J. Titus, who was born in New York State, daughter of Anson and Hannah (Moore) Titus, natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and early settlers of Avon township, where they died. To this union were born four children, as follows: Minerva, who was first wedded to Lorenzo Miller, and after his decease to Frank Nesbitt (she had two children by her first husband, Vernon and Carrie, and one by her second husband, Little Elbert, named for his grandfather; she died in 1892); Jane, wife of William J. Curtis, living in Avon township; Sumner, who was drowned when five years old; and Edward, residing on the home farm, who is married and has two children—Lou and Melinda. The wife of E. A. Cuyler died in 1879. In 'his political connections our subject is an active Republican (casting his first vote for James G. Birney), and has served three terms as trustee of Avon township. In religions faith he is a member of the Episcopal Church, and socially he belongs to King Solomon Lodge, No. 56, A. F. & A. M., Elyria, and to Marshall Chapter No. 47. Mr. Cuyler owns a fertile farm of sixty-two and a half acres in Avon township, and twenty acres of another farm; he has twenty-one acres devoted exclusively to grape-culture. E. W. PITTS. This gentleman was born February 18, 1833, in Springfield township, Richland. Co., Ohio, a son of William and Mary (Buckingham) Pitts. William Pitts, grandfather of our subject, was a native of England, and when a young man emigrated to America, where he married and reared a family of children, among whom was one son, William. The latter was born April 15, 1803, in Westmoreland county, Penn., was reared to farm life, and had but meager educational advantages. When a youth of fifteen he came west to Ohio, and here passed the remainder of his life, principally engaged in agricultural pursuits. On May 6, 1832, 718 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. he was united in marriage, in Mansfield, Ohio, with Miss Mary Buckingham, who was born April 5, 1817, in Harrison county, same State, daughter of Joshua Buckingham (who was born March 28, 1781), and his wife Margaret (Randall) (who was born September 27, 1781, in Baltimore county, Md.). Gov. Buckingham, of one of the New England States, was a full cousin to Mrs. William Pitts, and consequently second cousin to E. W. Pitts, the subject proper of this sketch. The governor's father was a Methodist minister. On his mother's side E. W. Pitts has six full cousins who are physicians, and two who are lawyers, one of whom, by name William Cantwell, born near Mansfield, Ohio, died a few years ago in San Francisco, Cal. On our subject's father's side there were also many relatives of prominence, noted men in England, holding high positions there, some as "merchant princes." To Mr. and Mrs. William Pitts were born two children: Ezekiel W., subject of this memoir, and Otis W., a liverytnan of Belleville, Ohio. Mr. Pitts was obliged to begin life for himself with practically nothing, and was at first employed in chopping wood, being paid for his work in money, which was then very scarce in the backwoods regions. However, he became a successful farmer, and accumulated a comfortable property. In politics he was a Democrat until Abraham Lincoln's time, after which he remained a member of the Republican party; in religious faith he was a member of the Presbyterian Church, his wife of the Methodist denomination. He passed from earth November 21, 1884, and was followed to the grave by his widow September. 18, 1887, and they now rest side by side in Shelby cemetery, Richland county, Ohio. Ezekiel W. Pitts was reared to the duties of agricultural life, and when but five years of age attended school in his native county, at which time the now thriving city of Shelby could boast of but one store. When he was six years of age his parents moved to Springfield township (Richland county), where he went to school with his mother, who, having had no literary advantages in her early life, availed herself of the present opportunity. Our subject attended school regularly till seventeen years of age, and in 1852 came to the college at Oberlin, Ohio, where he studied nine months, fitting himself for the profession of a teacher. To pay for his tuition at Oberlin he worked on the P. F. W. & C. R. R., for ninety cents a day, and lathed at Oberlin for ten cents an hour. He began teaching in New Haven township, Huron Co., Ohio, in the Miller District, when it contained seventy-five pupils, who met in an old log schoolhouse. The school had been without a teacher for some time, and Mr. Pitts was obliged often to enforce obedience, but he nevertheless was very successful. While attending school at Oberlin Mr. Pitts met Miss Roseltha A. Rowell, who was born July 16, 1837, on the farm her husband now owns, daughter of Levi L. and Laura M. (Matcham) Rowell, and they were married September 26, 1855, in the house where he still resides. Levi L. Rowell was born in Granville, Hampden Co., Mass., a son of Sullivan and Elizabeth (Woolworth) Rowell, and was the first of the family to come to Ohio. He migrated hither from Connecticut in 1832, settling in Pittsfield township, Lorain county, when that section was in truth a "howling wilderness," abounding with wild animals. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pitts located in Springfield township, Richland Co., Ohio, on a farm of forty acres, costing nine hundred dollars, which amount he borrowed from his neighbors. The house was a rude frame structure, 16 x 24 feet, and containing but two rooms, and here they resided for ten years, when they moved to Pittsfield township, Lorain county, where he had purchased some land. In 1867 they came to their present farm, which at one time comprised 300 acres; but it has been gradually divided among LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 719 the children, until now he has but 132 acres, which he calls his own. Mr. Pitts has met with well-merited success in his chosen vocation, and he is one of the leading farmers in the county. His advice on various matters is often sought for by his neighbors, who appreciate his good common-sense and sound judgment, and respect and admire him for his many sterling qualities. To Mr. and Mrs. Pitts have come children, a brief record of whom is as follows: Effie W., who was born in Richland county, Ohio, is the wife of Dr. E. V. B. Buckingham, of Chicago Junction, Ohio; Levi M., who was also born in Richland county, Ohio, was drowned June 23, 1882, when aged twenty-three, being seized with cramps while bathing; Alton J. is a farmer of Pittsfield township; Willis W. is also a farmer of Pittsfield township; Roseltha M. has been a student at Oberlin College; Grant W. is farming in Pittsfield township. In politics Mr. Pitts is a member of the Republican party, and has served as township trustee, in which position he gave universal satisfaction; he is the present school director in his district. Mrs. Pitts is a member.of the Methodist Church. PETER McROBERTS, one of the pioneers of Pittsfield township, was born February 10, 1804, in Springfield, Vt., son of John McRoberts, who was born in Scotland in 1759, and came to America in 1775. He served as a soldier in the Continental army during the war of the Revolution, and received an honorable discharge. He died in 1813. and sleeps in an honored grave in the South cemetery of Whiting, Vt. His wife, Lucy Bradford, was born, in 1761, in Massachusetts, a descendant of the Bradfords of Puritan fame; she died in 1845, and was buried in Centre cemetery of Pittsfield. Peter's youth and early manhood were spent in farming, lumbering, and driving a mail coach from Castleton to Middlebury, Vt. His education was that of the common school, which at that time to those in his station was limited to a short term in winter. His text books were a Spelling Book, Testament, American Preceptor, for a reader, while Adams' Arithmetic (in which he excelled) completed the outfit. Peter McRoberts was married December 13, 1828, in Sudbury, Vt., to Eliza Waite, who was born in Shoreham, Vt., August 23, 1803, daughter of Samuel Waite, who died, in 1805, in. Shoreham, Vt. Her mother, Elizabeth (Smith) Waite, was born in 1765 in Massachusetts, came to Ohio, and died in Pittsfield in 1835; she was buried on the Josiah Barnard farm, there being no public burying place in the township at that time; some years later her remains were removed to the Centre cemetery of Pittsfield township, and laid by the side of Nahum Clark, a son by her first husband. On October 31, 1831, Peter, with his wife, two babies and sister Cynthia, in a covered wagon drawn by two horses, started from Sudbury, Vt., for Ohio, a journey of seven hundred miles, and at the end of six weeks they found themselves in Madison township, -Richland county, where Mrs. McRoberts had two sisters living—Mrs. William Stewart and Mrs. Horatio Harmon. On January 14, 1832, he contracted with George Mann, of Sullivan township, for the purchase of the whole of Lot 4 and the north half of Lot 17, in Pittsfield township, at two dollars and a half per acre, two hundred and fifteen dollars in hand paid, the balance in three annual payments in neat stock or wheat; and in March, same year, the family moved hither, living with a neighbor by the name of Beam until a log house could be built. They moved in as soon as the roof was on, the earth serving for a floor, and a blanket for a door. They were the twelfth family in Pittsfield township. Mr. McRoberts cleared a part of this farm, and in 1834 720 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. sold it to Josiah Barnard. He then purchased Lot No. 18, cleared a large part of it, and built a frame house and barn. But his ambition exceeded his endurance, and his health failing he gave up farming for merchandising, moving to Wellington village in 1837. For a time he did business where Benedict's hardware store now stands, in a building owned by John S. Reed, later moving his establishment to where the postoffice now is, in a building formerly occupied by R. H. Foot. He built and operated an ashery for manufacturing pearlash (crude soda, a product of wood ashes), and continued in business till 1843, when he sold out to Mathew Allen, and came back to his farm in Pittsfield township, on which he made many improvements. Politically Mr. McRoberts was a Whig, and he took great interest in public affairs, helping to organize the County Agricultural Society; he also took an active part in building the Congregational Church, and though not a member was one of the trustees of the Society. He held the offices of real-estate assessor, justice of the peace, and township trustee; having some knowledge of law he could tell what he knew, and advocated many cases before justices of the peace, being generally successful. He died in 1847, and was buried in the Centre cemetery of Pittsfield township; his wife, now in her ninety-first year, has lived continuously in the same house for more than half a century, the sole survivor of all the residents of Pittsfield township that had attained their majority when she came here sixty-two years ago. As wife, mother and neighbor she has nobly sustained her part in the trials and hardships of pioneer life, and the rearing of a large family; and now, with her mother love undimmed (children and grandchildren supplying her wants), with a faith that never faltered, her life shadow lengthening near the night, she awaits the coming dawn of a life eternal in Heaven. Her children, seven in number, were all sons, to wit: Henry, born October 31, 1829, in Hubbardton, Rutland Co., Vt., lives on the home farm, sketch of whom follows; Albert, born August 9, 1831, in Sudbury, Rutland Co., Vt., is a farmer of Pittsfield township (he draws a pension for disability incurred in the service of the United States while acting as first lieutenant in the Forty-first Regiment O. V. I.); Pitt, born December 22, 1834, in Pittsfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, is a well-to-do farmer of that township, living within fifty rods of where he was born; Charles, born December 25, 1838, in Wellington, Lorain county, who served two years in Battery E, First Regiment Ohio Artillery, was killed at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1872, while a freight conductor on the L. S. & M. S. R. R. (he was buried in the Centre cemetery of Pittsfield); Volney, born May 12, 1841, in Wellington, Ohio, a sketch of whom follows; Erwin, born February 14, 1844, in Pittsfield, enlisted in the Eighty-seventh Regiment O. V. I., for three months, was captured at Harper's Ferry, was paroled and came home, being discharged at Delaware, Ohio (he re-enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-eighth Regiment O. V. I., and served to the end of the war; he was killed at Toledo, Ohio, in 1870, while a freight conductor on the L. S. & M. S. R. R., and was buried in the Centre cemetery, Pittsfield, by Oberlin Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he was a member); and Arthur, born September 29, 1846, in Pittsfield township, where he now resides, and carries on farming (socially he is a member of Oberlin Lodge, I. O. O. F.). HENRY McROBERTS, a well-known resident of Pittsfield township, was born October 31, 1829, in Vermont, and came to Pittsfield township with his parents in 1832. His education was that of the common schools, and he lived with his parents and an uncle LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 721 by the name of Hall till his eighteenth year. He then went to Elyria, in the employ of Baldwin, Starr & Co., dealers in general merchandise, as a salesman, remaining there two years, and thence going to Chicago, where he was in the employ of William Blair & Co., hardware merchants, at No. 176 Lake St., as salesman, for three years. During that time he cast his first vote at a municipal election. He saw the first train of cars go out of the city. In 1852 he came back to Pittsfield, and has lived on the same farm forty-one years, as a farmer, dealer in fine-wool sheep, and patent rights; he also operates a stone quarry, and is a contractor for stone work. In politics a Republican, he has held the offices of President of the Board of Education, Township Trustee and Assessor,' and is serving his fourth term as Justice of the Peace. During the war of the Rebellion he was one of the " Squirrel Hunters." On April 19, 1860, Mr. McRoberts was married to Harriet Pomeroy, who was born November 2, 1834, in Newfane, Windham Co., Vt., daughter of John M. and Clarissa (Gale) Pomeroy; the parents came to Ohio in 1839, and first located in Sullivan township (then in Lorain county), whence they finally moved to Pittsfield township, where they settled. To Mr. and Mrs. McRoberts have come the following named children: Luella P., Philip L., William S., Metta G., Erwin R., ()la E. and H. Blain, all born in the same house in Pittsfield township, and all living. Mr. McRoberts is a member of the F. & A. M., and is well-known in the community where he resides. VOLNEY MeROBERTS, an influential citizen of Pittsfield township, was born May 12, 1841, in Wellington, Lorain Co., Ohio, fifth in a family of seven sons born to Peter and Eliza (Waite) McRoberts. In 1843 he came with his parents to the farm in Pitts field township, where he first attended school, his first teacher being one William Horton. After the death of his father our subject went to live with an uncle, Orlando Hall. He received his primary education at the common schools, and later took a two years' course at Oberlin College. Returning to the home of his uncle he remained there until July, 1862, when he enlisted, at Cleveland, in the First Ohio Battery, which was sent to Kentucky and stationed on the Green river, along the L. & N. Railroad, whence they were driven back by Bragg. Mr. McRoberts, along with a number of others, being taken sick near Louisville, he was discharged in the fall of 1862, and returned to Pittsfield, Ohio. On August 18, 1863, he was married to Miss Celia Pomeroy, a native of Pittsfield township, daughter of John Pomeroy, and to this union were born four children, namely: Walter V., foreman in a stone sawmill at Bedford, Lawrence Co., Ind.; Cora E., Mrs. Charles Reynolds, of Sheffield, Ohio: Lena M., wife of C. C. Carter, a farmer of Pittsfield township; and Pitt E., attending the business college at Oberlin. On February 15, 1875, the mother of these children passed from earth, and was buried in Pittsfield cemetery. On April 3, 1877, he married, for his second wife, Amelia Johnson, of Penfield, Ohio, who was born September 29, 1850, in Wellington township, daughter of Collins and Eliza (Gaylord) Johnson, who came here in an early day from Jefferson county, N. Y. To this marriage have come two children, Celia F. and Helen I., both living at home. After marriage Mr. McRoberts settled on Lot 21, in Pittsfield township, where he has since resided, principally engaged in agriculture, in which he has met with no small degree of success. His farm is an excellent one, and now comprises 137 acres of fine land. This tract contains a stone quarry, which he operated for seventeen years, and he has done con- 722 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. siderable work for the county, giving his chief attention to bridge-building, stonework, etc., all of which he has executed in a most creditable manner. Politically he is a leading member of the Republican party, and has served his township in various official capacities; he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. Socially he is a member of Oberlin Lodge No. 380, F. & A. M. HENRY H. WEEKS, a prominent resident of Camden township, is a native of New York City, born March 10, 1831, a son of Thomas T. and Mary (Hoag) Weeks, the former of when was born in Yorktown, Westchester Co., N. Y., in 1798, a son of Benjamin K. Weeks, who was born in 1773, a son of James Weeks. Thomas T. Weeks received a fair education at the schools of his native place, and being naturally bright was a clever student and an apt scholar. He was reared on a farm, and followed agricultural pursuits until 1825, when he moved to the city of New York, and, there followed the business of draying (at that time a lucrative occupation) for a large wholesale firm, until 1837, in which year he removed with his family to Ohio by river, canal and lake via Buffalo, the voyage from the latter place being made on the "Daniel Webster," the, first boat to pass through the ice that spring—then the middle of May. Prior to this he had visited Ohio (in 1833 and 1835) and bought 320 acres of land in the extreme southeastern part of Florence township, Erie county, a part of which was cleared, with a log house and barn and a small orchard thereon. He lived here thirty-four years. In 1871 he sold this farm and bought another two miles farther west, on which he lived in the family of his son, Henry, eleven years. Thomas T. Weeks was twice married: first to Miss Mary Hoag, who was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., in 1796, daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Matthews) Hoag, and the children by this marriage were: Sarah, now widow of James Daley, of Wakeman, Ohio; Lydia M., wife of Edgar Wright, a wholesale grocer of New York City; Elizabeth, who died in 1878, and Henry H. The mother of these died in New York in 1833, and in 1836 Mr. Weeks married Mrs. Freelove Fowler, nee Thorn, widow of Henry Fowler. The children of this marriage were: Theodore, who died in infancy; John F., now living at Clyde, Ohio; Benjamin K., a farmer, who died in Oberlin in 1879; 'James, who died in infancy; Martha J. and Marietta, of Oberlin, Ohio; and Emma, of Springfield, Mass. The mother of these died in Florence in 1866. Mr. Weeks died March 8, 1885, at the home of his daughters in Oberlin, where he had been temporarily sojourning. He was a man of strong convictions, fearless and outspoken, a successful farmer and good business man, self-made, and highly respected. In politics he was a Democrat until 1856, when he became a Republican, and ever after took a deep interest in the success of the principles of that party. Henry H. Weeks, the subject proper of this memoir, attended the public schools of the county of his adoption, and also one term at a select school at Birmingham, Erie county. He remained with his father until his marriage in 1855, teaching school, however, during several winters in Florence, Vermillion and Wakeman townships. Soon after his marriage he moved into a log house on a small farm which he owned in Henrietta township, Lorain county, where he lived until 1858, when he removed with his family to Findlay, Ohio, where he carried on a grocery and provision business. In 1861 he returned to Florence, and in company with his brother, Benjamin, carried on the home farm four years. The next three years he lived in the city of New York. Returning from there in 1868 he tool charge of his father's farm, on which he and his LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 723 family lived until the spring of 1883, when he purchased and moved onto the farm where he now resides in Camden township, Lorain county, about one mile west of Kipton. Mr. Weeks has been twice married: first time November 15, 1855, to Miss Cora L. Van Camp, of Quincy, Mich., and, second, October 14, 1872, to Mrs. Louise J. Shaffer, widow of George Shaffer, a member of the One Hundred and First Regiment O. V. I., who died of smallpox at Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1863. She was born at Birmingham, Erie county, March 13, 1841, a daughter of Thomas Hazard, a native of the city of New York. By the first marriage were born two children: Frank E., now a practicing physician in Clarksfield, Huron county, and Charles H., who was accidentally killed at. the age of ten years. Politically our subject is a Republican, has held several township offices, and is now serving his tenth year as township trustee. From genealogical records in his possession Mr. Weeks traces his lineage back to Anneke Jans-Bogardus, a native of Holland, who with her husband, Roelof Jans, came to New Amsterdam (now New York) in 1630, and who at her death left landed property there which has since become very valuable, and is now in the possession of Trinity Church. The immediate ancestors of our subject were Friends, or Quakers, and he is by birthright a member of that Society, but in belief' is bound by no religious creed. THOMAS FOLGER, a leading grape grower in this section of Ohio, and manager of the grape syndicate that controls the sale of grapes grown in the Lake Erie district, is a native of Medina county, Ohio, born February 14, 1842. He is a son of H. G. and E. A. (Ingersoll) Folger, the former of whom died November 26, 1883; the mother is yet living, and is making her home with her son Thomas. Thomas Folger, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born on the island of Nantucket, Mass., where his ancestors had settled, one of whom was many years ago one of the seven proprietors of that island. Grandfather Folger was a whaler, owning an interest in several whaling ships; and when the English Government passed a law granting a bounty on whale-oil products, he removed to London, England, in order to come under the provisions of said law, expecting good financial returns. He there married, and in the city of London our subject's father was born. After the rescinding, by the English Government, of the whale-oil bounty Act, Thomas Folger returned to Nantucket, taking his family with him. C. J. Folger, the prominent American politician, who was U. S. Sub-Treasurer under Grant, also Secretary of the Treasury under Arthur, and held many other high offices of trust in the U. S. Government, is an uncle of our subject. Thomas Folger received his education in part at the public schools, and in part at the Western Reserve College. At the breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted, in August, 1861, in Company H, Twenty-fifth O. V. I., and was mustered out of the service in July, 1865. His regiment, which was first assigned to the army of the Potomac, participated in the battles of Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Cedar Mountain and several minor engagements. It was then transferred to the army of the Southwest, under Sherman, was in the celebrated march to the sea, and after its return homeward took part in the Grand Review at Washington. Mr. Folger was promoted from the ranks to lieutenant and adjutant, and brevet captain. On his return to the pursuits of peace, he took up his residence in Cleveland, Ohio, where he embarked in the produce and commission business, which he carried on for some five 724 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. or six years, subsequently becoming a wholesale commission merchant. About the year 1878 he abandoned this business for grape culture, a line of industry for which he has a special liking, and to which he has since given much thought and attention. He now owns and operates a vineyard covering some forty acres, and is one of the leading organizers of a syndicate whose object is the marketing of grapes grown in this part of the country, Mr. Folger being manager of same. He attends to the details of shipment, as well as the finding of suitable markets, and, in fact, controls the entire business of the corporation. He is also a stockholder and director in the Lorain Banking Company. Mr. Folger was united in marriage, May 2, 1867, with Miss Della Beswick, and four children have been born to them: Anna B., Josephine D., Jennie P., and Ida A., who died at the age of eight years. Politically he is a Democrat, and has been a member of the city council of Elyria (of which place he is a resident). He is a F. & A. M., a member of the Chapter, and is a member of the G. A. R. A man of marked business faculties, Mr. Folger is a potent factor in all movements tending to the advancement and prosperity of the county of his adoption. SIDNEY PARDUS WARNER. This gentleman, prominent in the banking, manufacturing and farming interests of Lorain county, comes of English ancestry, who left the Mother Country many years ago for America, making a settlement in New England. Mr. Warner was born in Suffield, Conn., April 17, 1829, and in 1832 was brought by his parents to Mantua, Portage Co., Ohio, thence in 1839 to Huntington, Lorain county. There he made his home until he moved in 1868, to Wellington, where he has since resided. His father, Chauncey Warner, born in Suffield, Conn., in 1790, was a man of culture, high mental attainments and irreproachable character. He married Miss Eliza Kent, who was born in his native town in 1792, a lady of pronounced intellectual force, undimmed even in her old age, and a devoted worker in every cause tending to the advancement and enlightenment of the human race. They both attained patriarchal ages, the father dying at ninety-two, the mother at ninety-seven years. With such intellectual, hale and stanch parentage, it is not to be wondered at that at an early age, ere he had quite reached the close of the first decade of his life, the son should begin to develop that spirit of determination and enterprise that has since characterized his many and various undertakings, and elevated him to the pinnacle of success. When thirty-two years old, Mr. Warner was elected to represent Lorain county in the General Assembly of Ohio, on the " Union ticket; " was reelected in 1863, and has ever since been a Republican. His career as Representative was marked by his accuracy of judgment and political sagacity, and his fearless discharge of duty to his constituency and the State at large; and as a proof, if proof were indeed needed, of the esteem and respect in which he was held by the people, we find him elected State Treasurer on the Republican ticket in 1865, again in 1867, and yet again in 1869, serving three consecutive terms. Mr. Warner's administration was characterized by the highest efficiency and the most scrupulous honesty. After serving four years as trustee of Cleveland Hospital for the Insane, he was reappointed to the same position, by Gov. Foster, for a term of five years, during which time he filled the office of president of the board. Soon after his re-appointment, however, he resigned, in 1880, to head the Republican ticket as elector-at-large, but was, after the election of Garfield, again, December 31, same year, re-appointed to that trust, to preside at the board from which he had recently resigned. Mr. Warner's political LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 727 career has been marked, at every step, by persistent energy, strict integrity and a high sense of justice. In 1874 he was a prominent candidate for Governor of Ohio, and would probably have been nominated had not the question of U. S. senatorship entered the convention as a potent factor. As a candidate for Congress in the Fourteenth Congressional District, he secured, for 595 successive ballots, more votes than any other candidate in the convention. He withdrew, however, in the interest of harmony—naming a new candidate who was nominated the first ballot thereafter. Mr. Warner has, indeed, been highly honored by his State; and it can be said, without suspicion of flattery, that he has well merited every honor he has received. Mr. Warner's business enterprises, while numerous and varied, have been successful and prosperous. He was one of the prime movers in the organization of the First National Bank of Wellington, in 1864, and has been its president since, a period of about thirty years. Since 18,69 he has been a member of one of the largest cheese firms in the State of Ohio, widely known all over the country under the name of Horr, Warner & Co. During its existence, he was president of the Citizens Mutual Relief Association. In 1881 he was chosen president of the Clarksfield Stone Company; in 1883 he assisted in organizing the Cleveland National Bank, of which he has been the only president. He is a member of the agricultural firm of Wean, Horr, Warner & Co., and is extensively engaged in the breeding of fine blooded horses. In 1851 Mr. Warner married Miss Margaret Anna Bradner, of Huntington, Lorain county, a woman of the same sturdy New England stock, whose ability and good judgment have supplemented the endeavors of her husband, and whose accomplishments have kept pace with his career. Four children have been born to this union, as follows: Orrie Louisa, Sidney Kent, Albert Rollin and George Bradner, the youngest two being graduates of Cornell University, the daughter of Oberlin College. Surrounded by his interesting, intelligent family, Mr. Warner is a thoughtful, devoted husband, and a kind, indulgent father. Among men he is genial and companionable; manly and fearlessly independent in character and thought; consistent and temperate in all respects. His social standing is high, his integrity incorruptible. A true and loyal friend, a man of taste and culture—with broad and liberal views—Mr. Warner is a man, all in all, of large body, soul and mind. SAMUEL S. ROCKWOOD, assistant cashier of The Savings Deposit Bank Co., Elyria, is a native of that town, born October 6, 1861. His education was received in the public schools of Elyria, and he graduated from the High School in the class of 1880. In 1882 he entered into the employ of the Savings Deposit Bank as assistant bookkeeper, from which position he has been promoted step by step to the assistant cashiership, to which incumbency he was appointed in 1892, and is at present filling with characteristic ability and fidelity. In 1886 Mr. Rockwood was married to Miss Ella L. Garford, and one child, named Gertrude L., has come to brighten their home. Our subject in his political sympathies is a Republican; socially he is a member of the Royal Arcanum and National Union, and both he and his wife are members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The parents of the subject of our sketch, Augustus F. and Diantha (Spencer) Rockwood, were children of 'pioneers of the county, born, reared anc. educated there. The father, who was by trade a carpenter and joiner, died in 1874 from diseases contracted during a three years' service for the Union in the war of the Rebellion. They were the parents of three 728 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. children: Samuel S., the subject of our sketch; Angeline S., wife of J. A. Reublin, and Mary D., wife of W. G. Watts, Wellington, Ohio. Henry S. Rockwood, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was one of the pioneers of the county, having spent most of the years of a long life within its bounds. He was for some time county recorder, and is still living hale and hearty, having passed his eighty-second birthday. He came of long-lived stock, his own father having lived and died in the county at the advanced age of one hundred years. Eliel C. Spencer, the maternal grandfather of the subject of our sketch, came to Lorain county when a mere boy. He endured all the hardships and privations of pioneer life, and died at the age of eighty-two. He was an indefatigable worker, and of him it is said: " He hewed more miles of public highway through the virgin forest in the towns of Pittsfield and LaGrange than any other man in those parts." F. A. AVERY, editor and proprietor of the North Amherst Argus, is a native of Lorain county, Ohio, born January 6, 1872, in Henrietta township. He is a son of A. P. and Lucinda (Wheeler) Avery, the former of whom was born, in 1832, in Massachusetts, came west and located in Wellington, Ohio, where he married Miss Lucinda Wheeler, of LaGrange township, Lorain county. The subject of these lines left his home at the age of fourteen years, and from that time made his own way in the world. Be received his education at the common schools, also at the Wellington high school, and took a miscellaneous literary course at the Normal College of Valparaiso, Ind. In Antwerp, Ohio, he learned the printing trade, and after serving his apprenticeship came to North Amherst, where for a year and a half he was manager and local editor of the Reporter. In the fall of 1891 he severed his connection with that paper and worked as a "jour" compositor on various leading newspapers in the East and West. until October, 1892, at which time he established the Argus, a clean, bright, newsy journal which is bound to make its mark under the facile pen of its experienced though yet youthful editor. It is a paper free and untrammeled, being open to all parties, influenced by none, and neutral in politics. O. K. STARR, fanner and extensive landowner, and oldest resident of Penfield township, is a son of William Starr, who was born October 3, 17---, near Danbury, Conn., son of Eleazer and Rebecca (Clapp) Starr. William Starr was reared to farm life, and when a young man removed with his parents to Harpersfield, Delaware Co., N. Y., where he was united in marriage, in 1816, with Miss Ada Beardsley. She was born April 18, 1795, near Danbury, Conn., daughter of Gaylord and Charlotte (Bass) Beardsley, who also moved from Connecticut to Delaware county, N. Y. Here William and Ada Starr had children as follows: A son that died in infancy unnamed; Axey E., born September 20, 1818, who married Abel Dougherty, and died in Penfield, Ohio; Polly Ann, born February 29, 1820, now the widow of Jacob Smith, residing with her children in Erie county, Penn.; Clarinda E., born November 11, 1822, who married for her first husband Dr. William Jeffries, and for her second Charles Shepard (she died October 5, 1885, at Adrian, Mich.); Orline R., born January 20, 1826, now the widow of J. W. Hamilton, who died October 11, 1877 (she lives in Wellington, Ohio); Jane M., born April 1, 1827, of Wellington, Ohio; Ada L., who died when three months old; and George W.,. born March 20, 1831, who died June 8, 1878, at Penfield, Ohio. After coming to Ohio they had two more children—Orrin K., sub- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 729 ject of this sketch, and Gideon R., a township, Warren Co., Penn. In 1831 the family came by canal and lake to Ohio, hired man driving the team to Buffalo, farmer and retired merchant of Warren, N. Y., from which place they came on the boat "William Penn" to Cleveland, the trip occupying three days and two nights. During this journey a terrible storm arose on the lake, the ship being twice driven to the Canadian shore. From Cleveland they drove with a team to Medina, where Mathew L. Hamilton, a brother-in-law of Mr. Starr, resided, and here remained two weeks, when they removed to Penfield township, Lorain county; at this time there was no bridge there across the Black river, and Mrs. Starr crossed it on a foot-log, carrying her infant son George. They located on land a short distance west of the center of the township, which Mr. Starr purchased from Amzi Penfield, and made a permanent home on this farm, which still remains in the possession of the family, being now owned by the subject of this sketch. When William Starr came to Ohio his means were somewhat limited, and he was obliged to go into debt for his farm, only a few acres of which were then cleared, and which contained a log house, but no barn. Wild animals, abounded. Improvements were begun at once, and here he continued to follow farming the rest of his life, and amassed a comfortable competence. Politically he was a Democrat until the time of William H. Harrison, when he joined the Republican party, with which he affiliated the rest of his days. He died in April, 1864, preceded by his wife May 28, 1856, and both are buried in Penfield cemetery. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Penfield. O. K. Starr was born December 3, 1833, in Penfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, on the farm he now owns. He was reared to agricultural life, and obtained his education in the common schools of the day, receiving his first literary instruction under Jiles Palmer. After his seventeenth year he worked away from home, receiving eight dollars per month; later was employed three years by Hiram Smith; in 1855 went to Adair county, Iowa, and while there took up land which has since remained in the family. In 1857 he was married, in Penfield, to Miss Matilda Wager, who died a few years later, leaving one child, Ida, now Mrs. Edwin Norton, of Grand Rapids, Mich. For his second wife our subject was married, February 28, 1863, to Miss Mary E. Blanchard, who was born in 1840 in Palenville, Greene Co., N. Y. (among the Catskills), daughter of J. H. and Jane Parmelia (Myers) Blanchard, who came to Penfield township in 1850 from Morrow county, Ohio, whither they had migrated from New York. In company with his brother George Mr. Starr bought out the other heirs of the old home farm, and here he made his home until 1888, when he removed to his present farm. To his second marriage have been born two children, namely: Justice M. (a merchant of Penfield) and Alena R. (wife of Fred Andrews, a farmer of Penfield). Mr. Starr has dealt in stock, and has bought and sold wool, meeting in all his enterprises with no small degree of success. He now owns 213 acres of excellent land. In his political predilections he is a stanch member of the Republican party, and has served as township treasurer for some years. Mrs. Starr is a member of the M. E. Church. JOHN AUSTIN CHAPMAN (deceased), for many years a prosperous farmer and dairyman in Huntington township, was born in Montgomery, Mass., April 7, 1817. Isaac Chapman, paternal grandfather of John Austin Chapman, was a native of Connecticut, born in the town of Groton, December 18, 1740. His wife, Mary, was born July 13, 1742, in Plymouth, Mass., 730 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. and died May 25, 1806, the mother of nine children, all born in Groton, as follows: Content, Susanna, Isaac, Mary, Abner, Elisha, Nathan, Bradford and Sarah. John Fisher, maternal grandfather of John Austin Chapman, was born May 22, 1751, and his wife, Muriel, on November 15, 1741. Of their children, William, Olive (John A. Chapman's mother), George, Hulda and Henry all lived in Vermont. Abner Chapman, father of subject, was a native of Connecticut, born June 20, 1772. He worked on the farm of John Fisher, in Vermont, whose daughter, Olive, he married January 19, 1796, at Vergennes, same State; she was born November 20, 1778. All their children, thirteen in number, were born in Massachusetts, and the following is a brief record of the majority of them: Luther, born in 1798, died at the age of eighty-six in Geauga county, Ohio, where he had settled ; Calvin, born November 24, 1800, was married, and died in Boston, Mass., June 1, 1857; Achsah (1) died in infancy; following these come Olive, Achsah (2), Laura, Abner, William, Eunice, Hulda A., John Austin (subject of sketch) and Emeline (wife of Edward West), of Wellington, Ohio, all of whom grew to maturity excepting two. In 1833 the family came from Montgomery, Mass., to Lorain county, Ohio, settling in Huntington township. Luther, the eldest, came west before his parents and the rest of the family, walking the entire distance to Geauga county, Ohio, where he settled, as already related. The father died January 29, 1851, the mother on February 25, 1854. The subject of this sketch was married November 6, 1844, in Huntington township, Lorain county, to Miss Isabel Lindsey, born December 15, 1824, in Chester, Mass., a daughter of John and Susan (King) Lindsey, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts (it is believed) November 15, 1803. In 1836 Mr. Lindsey came to Lorain county, Ohio, settling on a farm in Huntington township. He served as deputy under Sheriff Gates, of Lorain county, and was one of the posse of detectives who hunted down the counterfeiters several years ago, bringing back in custody several of them from beyond the Mississippi river. His wife was born July 7, 1801, in County Armagh, Ireland, and died June 2, 1845, after which Mr. Lindsey removed east, but after a time again came west, for a couple of years sojourning in Illinois, where he had business, and where he died in September, 1852. In his political predilections he was a strong Douglas Democrat. To Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey there were born six children, viz.: Isabel, born December 12, 1824, widow of John A. Chapman; William K., born May 18, 1826, died young; Esther, born May 25, 1828; John G., born April 18, 1831, living in Allegan, Mich.; Margaret, born June 6, 1835; and William H., born September 28, 1839, living in Michigan, all born in Massachusetts except the youngest, who is an Ohioan. Grandfather William Lindsey, who lived in Chester, Mass., was descended from Scotch ancestry, the Chapmans being of English descent. Mrs. Chapman's maternal grandmother, Margaret Morton, married William King. Her (Mrs. Chapman's) paternal grandmother was Jane Hubble, a native of Connecticut, who had two brothers known to Mrs. Chapman, named respectively Edward and Silas; she was twice married: first to John Lindsey and then to William Lindsey. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. John Austin Chapman settled in Huntington township, Lorain county, on the Chapman homestead, taking care of his parents in their declining years. In 1876 they came to the town of Wellington, where they built the elegant and commodious residence still occupied by Mrs. Chapman. Here he died May 22, 1891, leaving a comfortable competence, the accumulation of years of honest toil and careful thrift. Prior to the Civil war he was an Old-time Democrat, but became, at the breaking out of LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 731 that struggle, a stanch Republican, remaining in the ranks of that party till the day of his death. Their home was brightened by the birth of three' children, of whom the following is a brief record: Oren P., born October 30, 1845, married Miss Ella Perkins, and has two children, Mary Isabel and Robert A.; John Lindsey, born July 31, 1852, married Mabel Noney, and has three children: William Austin, Grace and Olive; and Josephine, married to Edward Van Cleaf, has two sons: Frank Chapman and Winferd K. GEORGE M. HARRIS, M. D. This gentleman, do has successfully practiced his profession for some sixteen years n Lorain, comes of an old pioneer family of Lorain county. He was born in North Amherst, Ohio, in 1854, a son of Milo and Mary J. (Tyrrell) Harris, natives of Ohio and Massachusetts, respectively. The father is a prominent man in Lorain county, toward the growth and advancement of which he has materially. contributed. In 1861 he was elected sheriff of the county, serving eighteen months; was also a justice of the peace for many years in Amherst and Black River townships. He was twice married: first time, in 1843, to Miss Caroline Stocking, of Lorain county, by which union there was one child, Florence (widow of Hiram Leslie), now living in California. Mrs. Caroline Harris died in 1852, and Mr. Harris subsequently married Miss Mary Tyrrell, daughter of Homer and Mary F. Tyrrell (both now decease l), all natives of Massachusetts. By this marriage there were five children, of whom the following is a brief record: George M. is the subject of this sketch; Albert T. is a physician in Howard, Kans.; Lucia M. is the wife of George M. Parker, of North Amherst; Homer J. died at the age of sixteen years; Carrie F. died at the age of three years. Josiah Harris, grandfather of subject, was born November 30, 1783, in Becket, Berkshire Co., Mass., and died March 26, 1867, aged eighty-four years. In 1818 he came on foot from Massachusetts to Lorain county, where he had previously purchased land in what is now Amherst township. He was a member of the Ohio Legislature, and to attend to his duties there, at Columbus, he used to ride on horseback through a comparatively wild country. He served as postmaster (under appointment of. Postmaster-General Meigs) over forty years continuously, excepting when in the Legislature. George M. Harris received his primary education at the common schools Of North Amherst, after which, in 1875, he entered the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, where he graduated with the class of 1877, in which year he located in Lorain, a town then of but some 1,500 inhabitants, and where he has since resided. In May, 1881, the Doctor was united in marriage, in Uhrichsville, Ohio, with Miss Dorrell M. Leggett, a native of Uhrichsville, and to this union has been born one child, Florence. In politics Dr. Harris is a Republican, and he has served as a member of the town council. Socially he is a member of the K. O. T. M. JOHN CURREY, a successful well-to-do merchant, and well known as one of the stanch business men of Rochester, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Chester county February 10, 1823. William Currey, father of subject, by trade a wagon maker and wheelwright, was of the same locality by birth, as was also his wife, Rachel (Rickard). They were the parents of children as follows: Jonathan, who died in Troy, Ashland Co., Ohio; Ann, who married Thomas Wood, and died in Ashland county; Isaac, deceased in Ashland county; Harriet, who died in Pennsylvania when young; John,. 732 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. subject of sketch; Hannah, Mrs. James Walker, of. Troy, Ohio; William, of Ashland county; Matthew, a resident of the State of Washington; and Angeline, who died young. In 1837 the family came to Ohio, the journey to Columbus, their destination, being made by wagon, and their route the National Pike. In Columbus the father died, in August, 1837, and his widow about three months afterward moved to Greenwich township, Huron county, where she and the family rented land, on which they lived five years. In 1842 they moved to Troy, Ashland county, where they bought fifty acres of wild land at six dollars per acre. Here the mother died in 1854, her remains being laid to rest in Beckley cemetery, Rochester township. John Currey, whose name introduces this sketch, received his education at the schools of his native place, and was fourteen years old when the family came to Ohio, where he had to lay his hand to the axe to assist in the hewing out of a new home for the family. In 1866 he moved from Troy township, Ashland county, to Rochester, Lorain county, where he entered mercantile life, having since successfully conducted his general store, in connection with which he is interested in a hotel business, and buys and sells farm products. He owns in Troy township, Ashland county, 312 acres of excellent farming land. Mr. Currey has been twice married, first time in 1854 to Miss Almira Carrier, who was born in Ashland county, Ohio, and shortly thereafter they moved to Iowa City, where he was employed as clerk in the hardware store of Hart, Love & Co., which was not his first experience in that line, having already been in business for himself in Troy, Ohio. While in Iowa City his wife died, and about three months later he returned to Troy. In 1856, for his second helpmeet, Mr. Currey wedded Miss Matilda Wicks, a native of New York, born of English parentage. By this marriage came children whose record is as follows: Rachel, now Mrs. Adelbert Mitchell, of Rochester; Jane, Mrs. Charles Beardsley, of Rochester; Emeline, Mrs. George Smith, of Brighton township; Charles, of Troy, Ohio; Hattie, Mrs. Dwight Mann, of Rochester; and Nellie, residing at home. Politically our subject is a stanch Republican, and has held various township offices, including that of treasurer six years. Both he and his wife are exemplary members of the M. E. Church. Mr. Currey is a man of good judgment and sound common sense, and his advice, where truly needed, is frequently sought for and found valuable. THADDEUS W. FANCHER, postmaster at Lorain, was born February 25, 1839, in Greenwich, Huron Co., Ohio, where he was reared and educated. At the age of twenty-four he removed to central Michigan, where he resided about ten years, or until 1873, when he came to Lorain, Ohio, and there followed contracting and building some five or six years. At the end of that time he bought an interest in a hardware business, having as a partner a Mr. Edison, and this he continued in until his appointment, in 1880, as postmaster at Lorain. At the end of seven years' well-merited popularity in this office he was deposed by the incoming Cleveland administration, but received reappointment on the accession of Harrison to the Presidency, in 1890. He has also served in various municipal offices, such as member of council and mayor, besides as a justice of the peace for several years. In 1862 Mr. Fancher was united in marriage, in Greenwich, Huron Co., Ohio, with Miss Ermina Griffin, of the same place, daughter of Riley and Philena Griffin, the former of whom was born in 1812 in Greene county, N. Y.; his wife, Philena (Washburn), was born in Ulster LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 733 county, N. Y., in 1817, and died in 1862. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fancher: Elvadore R. and Millicent A. Our subject has been a Freemason since the age of twenty-one. He is a son of William and Mary (Vanscoy) Fancier, the former of whom was born in 1811 in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., whence in 1819 he came to Greenwich, Huron Co., Ohio, and died in 1887, at Camden, Mich., at the age of seventy-six years. Our subject's mother was a native of Geauga county, Ohio. G. C. WEEKS, whose industry and thrift have united in placing him in the front rank of Lorain county's many prosperous agriculturists, is the owner of a highly-improved farm of seventy-seven acres in Rochester township. He is the third son of German Weeks, who was born in the State of New York March 13, 1804; was united in marriage January 7, 1830, with Jane S.; daughter of Christina and Peter Thompson. She was born April 17, 1809. To Mr. and Mrs. Weeks were born thirteen children, all of whom are now living except the third child, who died in infancy. They are as follows: Matilda, Schuyler, George, Christina, Peter T., Andrew, John, Mary E., Martha A., Eliza J., Harriet L. and La Rue. Five of these accompanied the parents to Ohio in 1840, locating first in Rochester, Ohio, and two years later moving two miles south to Troy, Ashland county. Here he bought and cleared up a farm of one hundred acres, and here he lived until his death, which occurred June 25, 1886, a period of more than forty years. His faithful and beloved wife departed this life November 29, 1882, greatly mourned by her husband and children. G. C. Weeks was born September 10, 1835, and received a fairly liberal education at the schools of his native place. At the age of fourteen he left the paternal home, and worked out at what he could find to do on neighboring farms. At the end of seven years he returned to his parents, and with filial affection assisted and cared for them until he was thirty years old, at which time he bought for his own account fifty acres of land at forty &Mars per acre. Directly after his marriage he added to this purchase twenty other acres adjoining, and, still later, seven more, which in the aggregate comprise his present fine farm. During the Civil war Mr. Weeks enlisted, in February, 1865, in Company F, One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Regiment O. V. I., serving one year. Returning home January 31, 1866, he married, May 31, same year, Miss Mary B. Ford, born in Clear Creek township, Ashland Co., Ohio, February 9, 1846, a daughter of Elias Ford, one of the pioneers of Ashland county. Politically Mr. Weeks is a Republican, and in religious faith he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Troy, in which they take an active interest. WARREN. The Warren family is one of the oldest, in Wellington township, and is descended from a long line of New England ancestry. The earliest records of the family mention one Warren, born about 1650, who was the father of Joshua Warren, of Watertown, Mass. Joshua married Rebecah, daughter of Caleb Church, also of Watertown. The next in line was Joshua, Jr., who married Elizabeth Harris, of Brookline. He was followed by Benjamin Warren, born in Watertown, November 30, 1728; his wife was Hannah Lewis, and he was a Revolutionary soldier. Benjamin Warren, Jr., was born April 19, 1772, and married Lucy Burr, of Norfolk, Conn. He brought his family to 734 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. Wellington in 1831. Their children were: Polly, Harriett, Betsey, Alanson and Luther Day. The latter was born March 2, 1813, and married Laura Wait, who was born in Fredonia, N. Y., February, 6, 1814. Their descendants, who still live in Wellington, are: Harriet E. Warren, M. D.; Frank D. Warren, who married Metta Sage (they have one child—Ella); Walter D. Warren, who married Helen Comstock, and with their three children—Clarence, Albert and Emma—still lives in the old homestead on the banks of the Charlemont. HENRY HARRISON WILLIAMS, one of the earliest pioneers of Avon township, was born in Norwich, Conn., October 21, 1812; one of eight children born to John and Clarissa Williams, both natives of Massachusetts. In 1817 the parents moved to Ohio and settled in Troy (now Avon) township, Lorain county, bringing with them their eight children, as follows: Laura, Justin, Tempa, Eliza Minerva, John Wendell, Mary Harriet, Henry Harrison and James Dwight, of whom, Justin died in 1846. Here the father opened up a farm in the woods, whereon be made a permanent home, and he laid the first board floor in the township. He died June 29, 1840, his wife October 28, 1839. In politics he was a Whig, and he served as township treasurer. Some of their children lived to old age: Mrs. Tempa Garfield died January 13, 1894, in Sheffield, in her ninety-fourth year; Mrs. Eliza M. Clary, now in her ninety-first year, lives in Norwalk; John W. died in Avon in his eighty-fifth year; Henry Harrison is now -in his eighty-second year; James D. died in Avon in his seventy-fifth year. H. H. Williams was five years of age when he came with the rest of the family to what is now Avon township, at which time the country was covered with timber, wolves, bears and deer being numerous. One of the male members of the family would have to go horseback once in every two weeks, to Olmsted, to have their milling done, and as there were no roads the journey was often somewhat perilous. Many a day Harrison spent pounding corn in a stump, hollowed out, to make their bread. Shoes were a luxury, and the children would tramp miles to school in winter time with their feet bound up in cloths. Our subject received his education in the common schools of the day, which were held in log cabins, and subsequently engaged in mercantile business at French Creek for fifteen years. In 1850 he erected the first steam sawmill in the township, which he conducted for some time, and then bought a gristmill. In 1855 he was burned out, and in 1856 he built the present gristmill at French Creek, which he operated for many years. For the past few years he has given his attention to agriculture, and owns a good farm adjoining the village. On February 6, 1840, le was married at Ridgeville, Ohio, to Miss Eunice Amelia Porter, daughter of Ebenezer and Eunice (Yale) Porter, who were married in 1800 at Lee, Mass.; in 1822 they left there, with their family of eight children, for Ohio, the journey being made with covered wagons, and occupying three months. They spent the first winter in Dover, Cuyahoga county, and in the spring moved to Ridgeville, where Mr. Porter built the first log house on Sugar Ridge. He was a lifelong farmer. He died at his residence in Ridgeville July 6, 1867, at the patriarchal age of ninety-two years. His wife died at the same place November 19, 1847, aged seventy-seven years. Their children were as follows: Mrs. Griscilda Gardner, deceased; Kimball; Mrs. Marcia Smith, deceased at the age of eighty-two years; Mrs. Mary E. Chester, Mrs. Frances Sexton, Mrs. Charlotte Tinker and Charles J., all deceased, and Mrs. Eunice A. Williams. To Harrison H. and Eunice A. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 737 Williams were born five children, their names and dates of birth being as follows: (1) Howard, January 21, 1841; (.2) Annette, January 23, 1843; (3) Everett E., March 2, 1846; (4) Montville, November 15, 1847 (died December 16, 1847); and 5 Nellie L., October 5, 1853. Of these, Howard married March 13, 1871, Ada F. McCarty; he is in the slate and felt roofing business in Toronto, Ont., also Buffalo, N. Y.; their children were Allison Jay, Annette Morey, Dwight McCarty (deceased), Ralph Clark and Franklin Howard (of these Annette Morey was married June 15, 1893, to T. Corbert Thompson, a dry-goods merchant in Toronto, Ont.). (2) Annette married, June 3, 1868, Norris Morey, an attorney at law of Buffalo, N. Y., and captain in the New York cavalry; their children are Isabel Ransom, Joseph Harrison, Howard Williams and Arthur Norris.(3) Everett E. married, at Avon, October 23, 1870, Miss Laurett A. Williams; he is assistant cashier in the National Bank of Elyria; their children are Zella Messenger, Harrison Charles and Porter Hastings. (5) Nellie L. was married May 21, 1881, to Burton C. Jameson, formerly of Avon, in the gravel and composition roofing business in Buffalo, N. Y., also in Toronto, Canada; their children rare Everett Williams and Norris Morey. Howard Williams, eldest son of EL H. Williams, enlisted August 11,1862, then twenty-one years of age, in Company E, Forty-second O. V. I., as a recruit. For most of the time he was on detached, or special, duty until April 3, 1863, when, being sick, he was sent to St. Louis Hospital. Subsequently he was given a coin-mission as second lieutenant of Company B, Fifth U. S. Volunteers; was ordered to Salena, Kansas, a border town, to guard army trains across the Plains, where Indians and others were troublesome. Later he was sent to Denver, Colo., and there remained till the close of the war. He is now in Toronto, Ont., as above recorded. In political connection Henry H. Williams was originally a Whig, and cast his first Presidental vote for Gen. Harrison in 1840; since the formation of the party he has been a Republican, and he has served as treasurer of Avon township, and also as postmaster at French Creek. He and his wife have been active members of the Baptist Church at French Creek, she for fifty-nine years, he for fifty-two years, and a trustee much of the time. GOLDEN WEDDING. " Married in Ridgeville February 6, 1840, at the residence of E. Porter, Esq., by the Rev. Silas Tucker, Mr. Henry H. Williams of Avon and Miss Eunice A. Porter. " The printer's fee on this occasion was a full loaf of cake of ample dimensions, which spoke well for the sweet temper of the bride, and the prospect of future felicity to the happy-pair." The above notice appeared in the Elyria paper of February, 1840. February 6, 1890—Mr. and Mrs. Williams, who have been spending the winter in Buffalo, celebrated their golden wedding at the residence of their daughter, Mrs. Norris Morey, No. 20000mner street. The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, with their families, were all present, thirteen grandchildren, making twenty-three in the family: Howard Williams, of Toronto; Mrs. Jameson, of Buffalo; Mrs. Morey; Mr. Williams, of Elyria; it being the first reunion of the family at which every member- was present. Two deaths have occurred during the fifty years—an infant son and a -grandson. The bride arid groom of half a century received many golden gifts, also beautiful flowers and books from friends in Buffalo. EVERETT WILLIAMS, assistant cashier of the National Bank of Eyria, is a son of H. H. and En nice A. (Porter) Williams, and was born March 2, 1846, in Avon township, 738 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. Lorain Co., Ohio. He received his literary training at the public schools of Avon and at Oberlin College. At the conclusion of his studies he commenced the milling business in Avon, and is now a member of the firm of Williams, Barrows & Co., merchant millers, Lorain, Ohio. In connection he is interested in grain elevators as a memher of the firm of Williams & Breckenridge. In 1885 he was unanimously nominated and elected, on the Republican ticket, treasurer of Lorain county, and after serving his county in this capacity two terms (four years), he became connected with the National Bank of Elyria, as teller. Mr. Williams was married, at Avon, October 23, 1870, to Miss Laurett Williams, and they have three children, namely: Zella Messenger, Harrison Charles and Porter Hastings. Mr. Williams is among the best known and most progressive business men of Lorain county, and enjoys an enviable popularity. MILO HARRIS, a leading and influential citizen of North Amherst, where he carried on mercantile business for many years, but is now retired from active life, was born April 21, 1822, at that place, the third son and child of the old pioneer Josiah Harris. Josiah Harris was the most notable man to arrive in Lorain county in 1818. He was born in Becket, Berkshire Co., Mass., November 30, 1783, and died March 26, 1867, aged eighty-four years. He made journeys to Ohio in 1814-15, and purchased land ; in 1818 he came to Amherst, and soon after had a log house completed on the banks of Beaver creek. He finally settled on the Public Square. In 1821 he was elected a justice of the peace, and served thirty-six years; was the first sheriff of Lorain county, and served three years as associate judge, being appointed in 1829; was a member of the General Assembly of Ohio in 1827, representing Cuyahoga county; represented Lorain and Medina counties in the House, and afterward was elected to the State Senate from the same District. Some time. in the "twenties" he was appointed postmaster by Postmaster-general Meigs, and held the office continuously to the time of his death (over forty years), except when in the Legislature, being, probably, the oldest postmaster in the United States. He was agent for a number of eastern landowners, in which capacity he was enabled to do many a kind turn for the new comers, and no man in the township exerted a wider or more potent influence for good. He had four children, viz.: Josiah A., now deceased, for many years editor of the Cleveland Herald; Loring P., in Texas; Milo, and Emeline C., in Philadelphia. The subject of this sketch received a liberal education at the schools of North Amherst, and was reared to commercial life. In 1861 he was elected sheriff of Lorain county, serving eighteen months; he was also a justice of the peace for many years in Amherst and Black River townships. In 1843 he was married to Miss Caroline Stocking, of Lorain county, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Goodrich) Stocking, of Massachusetts, who in an early day came to Black River township, Lorain county; they are both now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Harris was born one child, Florence (widow of Hiram Leslie), a resident of California. Mrs. Caroline Harris died in 1852, and on March 1, 1853, Mr. Harris married, in Amherst township, Lorain county, Mary Tyrrell, daughter of Homer and Mary F. Tyrrell (both now deceased), all natives of Massachusetts. By this marriage there were children as follows: George M., a physician and surgeon in Lorain, Ohio; Albert T., a physician in Howard, Kans.; Lucia M., wife of George M. Parker, a member of the Amherst town council and superintendent of the Malone Stone Quarry; LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 739 and Homer J. and Carrie F., who died at the age of sixteen and three years, respectively. In politics our subject is a Republican. Socially he has been a member of Elyria Lodge, No. 103, I. O. O. F., since 1852, and was a charter member of Plato Lodge; he was also a member of the I. O. G. T. Mrs. Harris is a member of the Congregational Church. A notable fact in regard to the Harris family is that three of its members have held the office of sheriff of Lorain county: Judge Josiah Harris was the first sheriff; his son, Josiah A., held the office at a later period, being third sheriff in the county, and Milo was sheriff in 1861, as already related. HENRY WALLACE, the well-known lake captain and vessel owner, whose residence is in Lorain, was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1828, a son of Samuel and Ann (Finley) Wallace. In his native land he was reared on a farm, and educated at the Protestant schools of the vicinity of his place of birth. In 1850 he came to America and to Ohio, making his first home, in the New World, in Cleveland, where he remained till the fall of the same year, when he came to Lorain (then Black River), in which now flourishing city he has since' made his home. Here he worked in shipyards for several years, finally becoming interested in vessel property—small boats chiefly—the firm with which he was connected being known as "Wallace, Gawn & Co.," who became very successful in business. For the past several years he has been owner or part owner of some of the A 1 vessels that have sailed the lakes, and among those in which he at present has an interest may be mentioned the propeller " Vulcan " (built of steel), and the steamer "Robert Wallace" and sailing vessel " David Wallace," the " Thomas Gawn " and " Lyons," also the steel propeller " Vega," which was built by the company winter of 1892-93. For about twenty-eight consecutive years he sailed the lakes as captain, and for excellency of seamanship and care in handling his vessels, his reputation stands without a blemish. On Christmas Eve, 1856, Capt. Wallace was united in marriage with Miss Chloe Case, a native of Avon, Lorain Co., Ohio, and they have three children living, namely : Eva, wife of J. H. Hills, superintendent of the Brass Works at Lorain (they have three children: Alma, Harry and Albert); Elizabeth, and Lillie, wife of Welker McEl. Frish. The entire family, with the exception of Mrs. Hills, who is a Congregationalist, are members of the M. E. Church. Capt. Wallace is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the I. O. O. F. HENRY J. BARROWS was born March 15, 1851, in Avon township, Lorain Ca., Ohio. His early life was spent upon a farm, and he received such an education as the district schools afforded, later studying for a time in the Preparatory Department of Oberlin College. At the age of twenty-seven he married Miss Anna L. Beers (daughter of Lewis and Susan Beers), whose native place was Stratford, Conn., and two daughters, Edna and Ellen, were born of the union. Mrs. Barrows died April 5, 1893. In 1879 the subject of this sketch purchased an interest in the Avon Flouring Mills, then owned and operated by Willams, Warden & Co. Mr. Barrows at once took charge of the business of the firm, and in 1886 the style of the firm was changed to Williams, Barrows & Co. Near the close of the year 1886 the Avon property was sold, and possession given on the first day of January, 1887, and the company at once commenced the erection of a new flouring 740 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. mill of 150 barrels daily capacity, at Lorain, Ohio, which was completed and started up June 15, that year. From the start the new venture has been a success. Mr. Barrows still retains a share of and manages the business. He holds a directorship in the Citizens Savings Bank Co., and in the Lake Erie Electric Light Co.; is president of the board of Water Works Trustees, and vice-president of the Citizens Home Savings & Loan Association. In politics he has always been a Republican. James R. Barrows, father of subject, was born in New York, and at the age of seven years came to Ohio with his father, Adnah Barrows, who settled on a farm in Avon township, in what was at that time almost an unbroken wilderness, and died at the age of sixty-seven. Crarrissa Day, his wife, lived to be eighty-seven years of age. James R. Barrows married Melvina P. Sawyer, and they had a family of four children, of whom Warren J. died at the age of twenty-seven; Ellen C. died at the age of thirty-four; Henry J. and Etta M. are still living. Mr. James R. Barrows is now living at the age of seventy-two years, on a farm in Avon township, in comfortable circumstances. His first wife died at the age of thirty-two. JOHN LERSCH, member of the well-known prosperous dry-goods firm of Baldwin, Lersch & Co., Elyria, is a native of the Bavarian Palatinate, Germany, born July 25, 1841. He is a son of Carl and Louise (Schweitzer) Lersch, natives of the same place, who emigrated to America in 1851, bringing their young son John with them. At Havre, France, July 25, that year, they boarded a sailing vessel bound for the United States, and after a voyage of forty days arrived at New York September 4 following. From there they came direct to Cleveland, Ohio, where they sojourned about six months, and then proceeded to Mansfield, same State, in which city they resided one year. At the end of that time they returned to Cuyahoga county, where the father purchased a farm in North Dover, about thirteen miles east of Elyria, and not far from the Lorain county line. They did a considerable amount of their trading in the town of Elyria, and one day while there with their son, the subject of this sketch, the following seemingly trivial incident occurred, which influenced and directed the after life of the lad. They were making a purchase in the old-established store of Mussey & Co., when one of the salesmen —a Mr. Bishop--asked the boy how much a peck of the article his father was purchasing would cost at $2.62 ½ per bushel. Undaunted by the question, young Lersch gave prompt and correct answer. " Are you sure of this?" asked Mr. Bishop. The boy for a moment looked at his mother for assurance, and then, on her telling him to answer if he really knew, he replied: " Yes, that is right." Thereupon Mr. Bishop turned to Mr. Gallup, a partner in the house, with the remark: " Here is a boy we want;" and accordingly then and there it was agreed that, as soon as the proper preliminaries could be arranged, Master John Lersch should enter the store of Mussey & Co., on a thirty-days trial. Thus on April 13, 1854, our subject, then not thirteen years old, found himself installed " on trial " with the firm, a sudden transition truly from the quiet life of the farm to the bustle of a busy town. This month of probation was marked by a strict application to business on his part, and constant punctuality, so that at the end of the prescribed time indentures were signed for three years. The compensation he received for his first year's service was forty dollars and board; for the second, fifty dollars; for the third, seventy-five dollars; and for the fourth, one hundred and seventy-five dollars and board, his salary being advanced in proportion to his promotion in the store. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 743 In 1858 S. W. Baldwin, T. W. Laundon and T. L. Nelson bought out the firm of H. E. Mussey & Co., Mr. Lersch remaining with them until their retirement from business in 1872, when, each having made liberal fortunes, they sold the dry-goods department of their business to D.. C. Baldwin & Co., Mr. Lersch being the junior partner. By hard work and close attention to detail their business soon became one of the largest retail houses in the State. As years rolled by Mr. Lersch became familiar with the entire business' of buying and selling, so that, in whatever capacity he acted, his services were alike valuable. This relationship continued until 1880, when the firm was changed to Baldwin, Lersch & Co., the present style of the firm, although Mr. Baldwin has partially retired from active business. Most of the management of the concern devolves upon Mr. Lersch, than whom few men so competent, and certainly none superior, could be found. At about this time Mr. Lersch established the N. 0. Syndicate, composed of Baldwin, Lersch & Co., Elyria, Frier & Scheele, of Cleveland, and B. C. Taber & Co., of Norwalk, Ohio, formed for the purpose of purchasing goods, chiefly from manufacturers or their agents, thus saving jobbers' profits, keeping an agent constantly on the lookout for bargains, which enables them to sell at considerable advantage. In 1868 Mr. Lersch was married in Elyria, to Miss Pamela Boynton, third daughter of Joshua Boynton, and the alliance has proved a happy one. Seven children have been born to them, all of whom have had good educational privileges. They are Carl Theodore and Robert Boynton (both assistants in their father's store), Louise De Lano, Carlotta Pauline, John Walter, Arthur Emerson and Paul Harwood. After Mr. Lersch's marriage, his parents resided with him during the remainder of their lives; his mother died in February, 1877, his father in March, 1887. Although a native of Germany, and speak ing the language of that country equally as well as he does English, Mr. Lersch is a typical American. He is broad in his views and conversant with all public questions, believing it is the duty of every American citizen to be intelligent, and well informed on all public issues. As he is an ultra-protectionist, it goes without saying that he is a straight Republican. At the present time Mr. Lersch is one of the directors of the Elyria Savings Deposit Bank; also a member of the finance committee of this hank. Mr. Lersch attributes much of his business success to the admirable training he received at the hands of Mr. T. W. Laundon, than whom, probably, no better dry-goods man ever conducted business in Lorain county. Mr. Lersch has been connected with practically the same store for a period of forty years, during which time he has lost only four days on account of illness; arid the only vacation he has taken of any length was in 1882, when he spent the months of July and August in Europe. A. W. NICHOLS, one of the most progressive and intelligent of Lorain county's agriculturists, and whose magnificent farm of two hundred acres is among the most fertile of Grafton township, comes of English-Welsh ancestry. He was born July 3, 1828, in York township, Livingston Co., N. IT:, a son of Nathaniel Nichols, who was born in Rodman township, Jefferson Co., N. Y., May 7, 1806, and whose father, also named Nathaniel, served in the Revolutionary war. The father of subject was a tanner and shoemaker, at which latter trade he served a regular apprenticeship. On September 16, 1827, he married Dorcas E. Bailey, who was born March 29, 1804, in Elmira, N. Y., of Huguenot and Dutch extraction, daughter of Benjamin and Polly (Burr) Bailey. After marriage they made their 744 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. new home on a piece of land owned by his brother Albion, where for a time he followed his trade. While they were residing in Livingston county, N. Y., one son, A. W., our subject, was born to them. Later they moved to Cattaraugus county, same State, and made a temporary settlement in Dayton township, where the father bought fifty acres of land. Here two children were born to them: Martha E., born July 2, 1831, married to Milton Adams, and they now live in Eaton county, Mich.; and Mary A., born December 27, 1834, married first to Orange Adams, afterward to Samuel Denison, a ranchman near Wellborn, Texas. From Cattaraugus county the family moved to Nunda, Allegany (now Livingston) Co., same State, where two more children were born, viz:: Rollo A., born June 7, 1838, who during the Civil war, while a bookkeeper in Hunts- vine, Ala., was forced into the Confederate service, and rose from the ranks till at the battle of Spottsylvania C. H. he found himself an officer on Gen. Buell's staff; at that engagement he was taken prisoner by the Federals, and in the spring of 1864 he enlisted in the Union army, in which he served till the close of the war; afterward he served as commissary for the U. S. Government, and died in 1880 at Florence, Ga., where he was buried. The other child who came to them in Allegany county is Ellen, born September 25, 1843, married to Don Carlos VanDusen, now of Oberlin, Ohio. In 1843 Nathaniel Nichols came alone to Ohio, and deciding to settle in Grafton township, Lorain county, he purchased in the eastern part fifty acres of wild land at ten dollars an acre. In the following fall the family joined him, and they set to work to clear the land and make all necessary improvements, building a substantial log house for a dwelling. After some years the father moved to Columbia township, same county, whence after a time he returned to Grafton township, and made a final settlement in the southern portion of same. For a season he was a resident of La Grange township (also in Lorain county), and he died in 1883 in Hinckley, Medina Co., Ohio, where he was sojourning with his daughter Ellen. His wife preceded him to the grave some years, dying in La Grange township, and they now lie buried in the Western Cemetery in that township. After coming to Ohio Mr. Nichols followed farming chiefly, and to some extent his trade, shoemaking. Politically he was originally a Whig, but died a Democrat. He was a very liberal and hospitable entertainer; in his religious views he was partial to the M. E. Church, while his wife was an Old-school Presbyterian. and their home was always open to ministers of all .churches. A. W. Nichols, the subject proper of this sketch, received but a limited education at the public schools of his boyhood days, and was reared to farm work. Being bright at his studies, and an apt scholar, he made considerable progress by private reading, and became skilled in mathematics. When he was a small boy he was adopted by a bachelor uncle, Albion Nichols, and a maiden aunt, Esther Nichols, who lived together and carried on farming. In 1844 he came to Ohio, and spent his first winter in Lorain county. In the following year his uncle and aunt came to Grafton township, and here bought sixty acres of wild land from James Turner, being the farm our subject now owns and lives on, and where he has since resided, for he at once made his home with his benefactors. For some years before their death—they lived to advanced ages —he had the entire management of their farm, and when they died he succeeded to the property. He has prospered in all his undertakings, and is now the owner of 200 acres of prime land. In May, 1883, his residence was burned down, but he at once set to work and built a yet finer one, which he calls "Hurricane Haul." On February 22, 1870, prior to the death of his uncle and aunt, Mr. Nichols was LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 745 united in marriage with Mrs. Elizabeth H. Durkee, who was born April 14, 1835, in Eaton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, a daughter of John Gamble, a native of Yorkshire, England, and his wife, Mary Curtis, of Boston, Mass. Politically our subject has been a Republican since the organization of the party, and has held several township offices of trust. He is a member of the F. & A. M., Lodge No. 399, at LaGrange, and of Marshall Chapter, Elyria. R. CHESTER, who for over sixty years has been a resident of Avon township, where for nearly half a century he has been an industrious and frugal farmer, is a native of England, born in Northamptonshire, in 1823. He is a son of William and Amelia (Perrin) Chester, natives of the same county, the former of whom died in England, and his widow, after marrying John Fretter, emigrated with her family in 1833 to the United States. They settled in Avon township, Lorain county, where they lived on rented land till 1840, in which year they moved to the farm where our subject now resides. The mother died in Minnesota about the year 1878, her second husband passing away in 1846 in Avon township, Lorain county. There were five children born to her first marriage, a brief record of whom is as follows: William married and resided in Avon, where he died in 1881; John died in Avon township in 1879; Job is married and resides in Rice county, Minn., where he was the first settler; R. is the subject of these lines; Matilda became the with of Charles Blanchett and died in Avon township in 1887. Our subject had two stepsisters, viz.: Elizabeth, who married Luke Cheney, and moved to Rice county, Minn., where she died in 1880; and Lucy, who married Joseph Spriggs, and also moved to Rice county, Minn., where she died in 1885. The subject of this sketch, who was ten years old when he came to Avon township, received his education at the common schools of the neighborhood of his home, and when he was old enough to work assisted in clearing the home farm.. For four years he was in the employ of ex-Governor Wood in Rockport township, Cuyahoga county, and then returned to Avon township, in 1848 locating on his present farm of 245 acres, which for the most part he cleared himself, and where he has since been assiduously engaged in general farming. In 1852 he was married, in Elyria township, Lorain county, to Miss Eliza Mitchell, a native of Northamptonshire, England, and children were born to them, as follows: Elizabeth Ann, who died in 1864 at the age of eleven years; Clara, who died in 1892 at the age of thirty-seven years; Job, residing at home; Mary Ann; Agnes Jane; and Reuben Albert. In politics Mr. 'Chester is a Republican. DR. H. L. HALL, a well-known young physician and surgeon of North Amherst, was born May 17, 1860, at Jefferson, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. His grandfather, Daniel Hall, was a native of Connecticut, and in a very early day came westward to Ashtabula county, Ohio. O. L. Hall, son of this early pioneer, was born in Connecticut, and was reared in Ashtabula county. He was married to Laura. Hyde, a native of Connecticut, whose father, Gates Hyde, was born in Allegany county, N. Y., and was one of the earliest pioneers of Lenox township, Ashtabula county, where he assisted in clearing a farm. Mr. Hall followed the profession of a teacher. He died in 1885 at Macon, Ga.; his widow is now living in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. H. L. Hall was reared in his native county, and received his education at Grand River Institute, Austinburgh, Ohio. In 1881 he entered the Medical Department 746 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. of the Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, graduating with the class of 1884, and afterward spent eighteen months at the Lakeside Hospital, also in Cleveland, graduating therefrom in October, 1885. He then came to North Amherst, which he has since made his home, and where he has built up an extensive general practice; he is now medical examiner for seven old-line life-insurance companies. In June, 1885, the Doctor was united in marriage, in Ashtabula county, Ohio, with Miss Hattie A. Tinker, a native of that county. They are both members of the Congregational Church, in which he has filled several offices. In politics our subject is independent, and he takes an active interest in everything tending to the advancement of his community. Socially he is a member of North Amherst Lodge No. 74, K. of P. GORDON W. BAKER, senior member of the well-known clothing firm, in Elyria, of Baker & Foster, is one of the oldest established merchants in the city. He is a native of Northamptonshire, England, born June 2, 1838, a son of Richard and Sarah (Gaudern) Baker, of the same place, who emigrated to the United States when the subject of these lines was yet a boy, locating in Lorain county, Ohio. Mr. Richard Baker enjoys a wide reputation as one of the most prominent stockmen in the Buckeye State. He was one of the leaders of the State Fair annually held in Columbus, Ohio, and for several years was president and a director of that Association; was one of the first to introduce into Lorain county, Ohio, the famous Shorthorn cattle, and it is said owned the first herd of that breed exhibited in these parts. To the rearing of not only fine-bred cattle but also horses, as well as general agriculture, has Mr. Baker devoted the greater part of his useful life. Gordon W. Baker received his primary education at the schools of the neighborhood of his place of birth, which he supplemented in this country with considerable application to books and study as opportunity offered. Leaving his father's farm at the age of thirteen years he engaged his services as clerk to a general merchant in Elyria, but this employer going out of business, Mr. Baker soon found another opening, with Starr Bros., which position he filled with much credit for some four or five years. He then entered the employ of Baldwin, Laundon & Nelson, the then leading mercantile house of Elyria, and here he did efficient work for several years, becoming at the same time thoroughly conversant with all branches of mercantile trade, making his mark for application to business and thorough knowledge of all departments of the same. From the successors of the above-named firm he purchased the clothing department of their business, and received into partnership Frank H. Foster, the style of the firm becoming Baker & Foster, as it at present remains. Through his long connection with mercantile pursuits, Mr. Baker gained for himself a very extensive acquaintance, and his sturdy Anglo-Saxon qualities of integrity, liberality and candor gained for him a host of personal friends and the utmost confidence of the public. He soon became the leading clothier of Elyria, which he continues to be. Mr. Baker has often remarked that just as a man has gained sufficient knowledge of business to find a real pleasure in it, the best part of his life has passed, and he is compelled to withdraw into retirement. In 1872 Mr. Baker was united in marriage, in New York State, with Miss Charlotte Alice Linnell, a native of Northamptonshire, England, to which country the happy couple made their wedding trip. To this union were born two children, named, respectively, Alice Maud Mary and Annie Louise. The family reside in a handsome home on Washington avenue, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 749 Elyria. Mr. Baker is a Republican, and he attends the services of the Episcopal Church. In political, religious and all other views, public or private, he is liberal, always respecting the rights of every man to his own opinion and judgment. He is a stockholder in and director of the Elyria Savings Deposit Bank Co., and a member and director of the Elyria Savings and Loan Company. Mr. Baker is a great reader, and keeps himself well informed on all public questions. He has a special fondness for live stock of all descriptions, and is a good judge of same. He breeds extensively, and organized a company for the purpose of introducing and perpetuating a line of fine stock in Colorado, where he has an interest in a ranch, and a considerable amount of means invested. A traveler of no little experience, he has made several trips to Europe, visiting his old home in England and places of interest on the Continent. JOSEPH H. BALDWIN, one of the leading, intelligent and progressive agriculturists of Brownhelm township, was born in Addison county, Vt. in 1824, a son of Thomas and Esther (Wilson) Baldwin, natives of the State of New Jersey, the "father born in 1785, the mother in 1794. Thomas Baldwin, who was a wagon-maker by trade, left the paternal roof in early life, and, for a time sojourning in Vermont, married there. In 1832 he removed to Chantauqua county, N. Y., whence in 1836 he came to Brownhelm township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where he bought a farm and spent the rest of his days. He died in 1868. his widow in 1881. In politics he was first a Whig, afterward a Republican. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Baldwin, viz.: Lucus, now a resident of Paulding county, Ohio; Joseph H., the subject of our sketch; Julia, who died in 1852; and three children who died in infancy. On the father's side the family claim Welsh descent; on the mother's they are of Scotch lineage. Up to the age of twelve years the subject of our sketch was reared in the States of Vermont and New York, and, after coming to Ohio in 1836 with his parents, attended for a time the district schools of Brownhelm township, Lorain county. Learning the trade of carpenter and joiner, he worked in the shipyards at Vermillion, Erie county, much of the time until 1863, when he settled on the old homestead farm, consisting of eighty-five acres in Brownhelm township, Lorain county. While engaged in the business of farming Mr. .Baldwin has increased his farm by purchase of additional land, until now he has .a well-improved farm of 163 acres of first-class land, on which he still resides. Mr. Baldwin has been thrice married, the first time in 1851, to Miss Sarah M. Ashenhurst, by which union three children were born: Henry T., a blacksmith by trade, now residing at Berlin Heights, Ohio; William A., a railroad employe, who was killed while coupling cars, July 7, 1883; and Charlie, who died in infancy. This wife died September 5, 1864, and in December, 1865, Mr. Baldwin was wedded to Miss Adeline Hardy, a native of the State of New York, daughter of Ephraim Hardy, a pioneer of Erie county, Ohio. To this union two children were born, namely: Frank 0., who has attended school and taught for the past five or six years, he having graduated from the Commercial Department of the Ohio Normal University (September, 1892), and the Business Department of the Tri-State Normal College (October, 1893), the degree of B. C. S. being conferred upon him by each institution; and Charles A., a farmer who resides at home with his father. The mother of these departed this life April 21,1890, and February 14, 1892, the subject of our sketch married Mrs. May E. Howey, a native of Missouri, and a lady of culture and refinement (she has, by her former hus-