800 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. he has entirely supported his mother, and proven himself one of the kindest and most devoted of sons. His life has all been spent in Lorain county, with the exception of a few years in Allegan, Mich., when a small child. Although leaving school at an early age, Mr. Morehouse has attained a liberal education, and a large amount of culture, by being a close student of men, and the reading of many good books. He in a pronounced champion of education, particularly a practical one for all boys, and he himself is a living example of what may be accomplished by solid integrity, strict attention to business, industry and judicious economy. Politically he is an Independent, believing in voting for good men and right principles rather than party. He has not yet enrolled himself in the noble army of Benedicts. His grandfather, Thomas Brown, is one of the oldest pioneers now living in the county, having settled in Lorain in 1829. He is remarkably well preserved, and at the age of eighty-six is still active, and a regular attendant at the county fairs. HENRY J. EADY, proprietor of a well-known and popular drug-store in Elyria, is a native of England, born in Cottesbrook, Northamptonshire, April 28, 1846. Samuel Eady, grandfather of subject, was an innkeeper at Brixworth, a village in England, during good old stage times, Where he married Elizabeth Underwood, by whom he had six children—four sons and two daughters, viz.: Thomas, John, Francis, Henry, Elizabeth (unmarried), and Mary (wife of Thomas Barker, a prominent horse dealer of London). The sons were all farmers in England, farming lands near each other, and Francis was not only a large farmer, but an innkeeper as well, doing a prosperous business. Thomas Eady, father of Henry J., was born, in 1806, at Brixworth, in Northamptonshire, where he was reared. In 1827 he married Susan Holt, of the same village, where they were neighbors and children together. Their children, six in number, were: William (in New Zealand), John (deceased), Francis and Thomas (both in England), Mary Ann (wife of John Lantsbery, of Carlisle township, Lorain county), and Henry J. (the subject of this sketch). The father died in 1862; he had been an officeholder in the villages of Cottesbrook and Creaton; the mother passed away in 1884 at the age of seventy-eight years. Henry J. Eady, whose name introduces this sketch, received his education in the public schools of his native place, taking also a grammar-school course at Guilsborough. He was reared on his father's farm, and in his early youth was of no little assistance to his parents in the many duties incident to the cultivation of the soil and the harvesting of crops. In 1864, in company with his sister and her husband, he came to the United States, landing in New York November 25, the day the attempt to set fire to that city was frustrated. Soon afterward he came to Elyria, Ohio, and for a year or two worked on a farm, after which he entered the factory of Topliff, Sampsell & Ely, in the same town, studying evenings in the office of his friend, Dr. P. W. Sampsell. In 1868, having developed a liking for the drug business, he commenced learning same with W. H. Park, in his store in the old Beebe Block, now Andwur, Elyria, where he remained five years, at the end of which time he embarked in the business for his own account, his first store being in an old wooden building, No. 8 Cheapside east of the park. In 1870 he paid a visit to his native land, spending the winter there, and in the following spring returned to the United States and to Elyria. Since 1873 he has been continuously in the drug business in the same location, and is now a LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO -803 registered pharmacist; also has held prominent positions in the State Association. His success has been almost phenomenal, and he has gradually increased his trade until to-day he is proprietor of the leading drug business in Elyria. In 1885 he erected the handsome three-story business block, on the same lot as his old store. Also, in 1892, he built the block, No. 16 Cheapside, one of the handsomest buildings in the town, the first floor of which is rented for a carpet store, and the upper floors as his own residence. Indeed, for his means, Mr. Eady has done more building than any other person in Elyria. For twenty years he has been a member of the Agricultural Association of Lorain, and has taken an active interest in everything pertaining to the farm. In 1881 he took another trip to England, spending the summer among the scenes of his boyhood. On February 16, 1876, Mr. Eady was married to Charlotte Ellen ("Nellie ") Noakes, daughter of Rev. B. T. Noakes, D. D., the then Episcopal clergyman at Elyria, now of the First Reformed Episcopal Church in Cleveland. The Noakes family trace their lineage to Sussex, England, where many of the name are still prominent. Rev. Dr. Noakes married Miss Sarah Piper, and they are the parents of five children, viz.: Charlotte Ellen (Mrs. H. J. Eady), Florence T. (Mrs. N. P. Wooster,of Elyria), Fannie,(Mrs. J. S. VanEpps, Cleveland), and Grace and Gertrude (still under the paternal roof). To Mr. and Mrs. Eady was born one child that died in infancy unnamed. Politically Mr. Eady is a stanch Republican, but his business demanding and receiving all his time, he is not an officeholder. Socially he is a member of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., and K. of H., of which last-named Order he has been treasurer since 1879; also for several years was treasurer of the I. O. O. F. at Elyria. For fifteen years he was treasurer of St. Andrews Episcopal Church of Elyria, of which he and his wife are constant attendants. Mr. Eady is a strong advocate for the support of home industries, and has given liberally of his means toward the improvement of the city of his adoption. He has brought around him a host of friends in and about Elyria, whose confidence he well merits, and is one of the best known business men of the place. GEORGE L. COUCH, mayor of Wellington, and a well-known furniture dealer, is a native of that town, born September 4, 1850. A. G. Couch, father of subject, was born in December, 1819, in Berkshire county, Mass., and in 1843 came west to Lorain county, Ohio, settling in Wellington, where he established the present business owned by his son George L.; and until recent years he was interested in the extensive furniture factory. He was married to Miss Mary E. Durkee, who was born in Pittsfield, Mass., in 124, and children as follows were born to them: Julia A., Ella N., George L., Walter E. and Nellie E. In politics the father was originally an Old-line Whig, and of later years has been a straight Republican; prior to and during the war of the Rebellion he was a strong Abolitionist. The subject of this sketch received his education in the public schools of his native township, and in early boyhood commenced to learn the trade of cabinet maker in his father's shop, which he now successfully operates. Some twenty years ago he became a partner with his father in the business, and eight years later bought out the entire business. In 1880 he was united in marriage with Miss May H., daughter of Rev. E. H. Bush, and two children have been born to them, viz.: Treva May and Florence E. Politically Mr. Couch has always been an uncompromising Republican, and since the Grant-Greeley campaign has been active in the interests of the party, attending nearly every National, State and county 804 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. convention since the Hayes administration. For more than ten years he was a member of the county committee, and in 1885 was elected a member of the State Central Committee; during the following four years he served on Gov. Foraker's military staff. In municipal affairs he has always taken a great interest, but declined to become a candidate for any office until 1890, at which time he was elected to the office of mayor. So acceptably did he fill the office as to be twice re-elected without opposition, which office he continues to hold. He is a leading man in every sway, admirably adapted to the exalted position he holds in his native town. Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Encampment, and of the Royal Arcanum. C. C. CRAGIN, the well-known farmer arid dairyman, is one of the most active men of his age in Grafton township, where he is owner of eighty-one acres of fine land and a pleasant home. Though now nearly seventy-two years of age, he can still do a good day's work in the field, " holding up his end " with the hired men, for his health and strength have been preserved by considerate care and temperate habits. Our subject was born November 15, 1821, in Weston, Windsor Co., Vt., a son of Benjamin Cragin, a farmer, who married Miss Mahala Boyington. In the Green Mountain State they had children as follows: Lorena, who married Oliver Bell, died in LaGrange, Ohio; Benjamin, a retired farmer of LaGrange; Charles C., subject of this memoir; Adna A., who died in LaGrange, Lorain county; Esther, who died at the age of eighteen; Horace, who died in LaGrange; Harrison, a farmer of LaGrange; Elizabeth (born in Ohio), widow of George Chamberlain, living in Milwaukee. In September, 1835, the family set out from Vermont in a wagon for Buffalo, N. Y., whence they proceeded by Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio, from there by road to Lorain county. Here, while stopping with an acquaintance to rest after their long journey, they became so impressed with the country that they decided to remain, and Mr. Cragin purchased a part of Lot No.61, Grafton township, containing 155 acres of woodland, at four dollars per acre; there was no house of any kind on the place, but it was not long before a dwelling 22x32 feet, and one and one-half stories high, was erected, all the timber for it being cut by Mr. Cragin himself. Here this pioneer toiled and prospered, assisting in the development of the country, and witnessing the onward march of civilization close on the heels of the retiring Red Indian and the yet more fierce panther, wolf and bear. He died July 31, 1865, his wife in 1855, and they were buried in West Grafton cemetery. They were members of the Methodist Church, in which he was trustee, steward and class-leader, and in politics he was originally an Old-line Whig, afterward a Republican. He was a very robust man, and at sixty years of age could rake and bind all day after a cradler in the harvest fields. C. C. Cragin, whose name opens this sketch, received part of hiS education in his native State, and part in Lorain county, Edward Perkins being his first teacher in the latter. He attended about three months in the year, the remainder of his boyhood being devoted to the farm, under his father's tuition. For six years after his marriage he had charge of the home farm, and then bought thirty-three acres in Grafton township, on which there was a log house, where the family lived two years, when a more substantial residence was erected. In 1863 Mr. Cragin came to his present farm, bought from Josiah Turner, and which is a part of the original Turner tract. Here he built new outbuildings, and otherwise improved the property. For the past thirty years he has been engaged in the dairying business in addition to general farming. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 805 On May 8, 1844, Mr. Cragin was married to Miss Jane Wilkins, who was born April 18, 1826, in western Vermont, a daughter of Silas and Hannah (Tenney) Wilkins, who came with their family to Ohio in 1834, driving to Troy, N. Y., thence taking canal to Buffalo, lake to Cleveland, and wagon to LaGrange township, Lorain county, where Miss Wilkins was wooed and won by our subject. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Cragin were four in number: Andrew J., who died at the age of thirteen years; Esther M., who died when thirteen months old; Ellen A., who died when three years old; and Juliette, residing with her parents. Politically our subject is a stanch Republican, although his first Presidential vote was cast for a Democrat, and he has held several township offices, such as assessor, declining many others. Mrs. Cragin is a member of the Methodist Church at Belden, and they are respected far and near as good neighbors and kind-hearted people. ARTHUR W. NICHOLS (deceased) was born in Eaton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, July 2, 1854, a son of Mason E. and Joann (Mead) Nichols, the father a native of Crown Point, Lake Champlain, whence in 1832 he came with his parents to Portage county, Ohio, to Eaton township in 1851, and to Elyria in 1876. He was a farmer by vocation, a Republican in politics, and a member of. the Disciple Church. He married Miss Joann Mead, who was born in Cattaraugus county, N. Y., July 16, 1833, and they had a family of five children, of whom one died in infancy; the others are all living, with the exception of the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Joann Nichols died November 9, 1864, and in 1865 Mason E. Nichols was united in marriage with Mahala Cousins. Arthur W. Nichols received his elementary education at the common schools of his native township, after which he at tended school at Oberlin and Delaware, Ohio. After pursuing a law course in Chicago, Ill., he located in Elyria, Lorain Co., Ohio, where, in 1880, he commenced the practice of law, carrying on at the same time an insurance and money-loaning business; and had he lived he would have made his mark in the legal profession. He died December 26, 1886. Mr. Nichols was a member of the I. O. O. F., Royal Arcanum, Chosen Friends and Good Templars, in which latter Society tie was grand secretary of the State Lodge for several years, and he visited Washington, D. C., and Toronto, Canada, as a delegate of the Order. In religious connection he was a member of the M. E. Church. On October 18, 1882, Mr. Nichols was united in marriage with Miss Nettie Squires, of Lorain county, Ohio, born in 1862 near Elyria, a daughter of Anson and Lydia (Richardson) Squires, the father born on the Canadian shore of Lake Champlain, N. Y., in 1822; when a small boy he came with his parents to Lorain county, Ohio, where he passed the rest of his days, dying April 9, 1872, in Elyria, to which town he had retired from his farm. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Methodist Church. Mrs. Nichols has one child, Mason A., a bright and interesting boy, who was born September 9, 1883. I. S. METCALF. This gentleman, a resident of Elyria, now some five or six years retired from active business, the father of a large and highly re: spected family, comes of old Puritan stock on both sides of the house. The first, in this country, was Michael Metcalf, who came in 1637, settling near Boston, Mass. His forefathers, of an old Saxon and Danish family, were originally Roman Catholics, and lost their property and titles in the time of Queen Elizabeth, being adherents of Mary, Queen of Scots; but afterward they seem to have become rigid Puritans. 806 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. The subject of this sketch was born January 29, 1822, in Worcester county, Mass., a son of Isaac and Anna (Stevens) Metcalf, the latter of whom died in Elyria, Ohio, at the age of seventy-eight years. The father was also a native of -Worcester county, Mass., and was there reared and educated. After leaving school he became a teacher in his native State, for a time having an excellent private school in Boston, in which city he died in 1831, at the age of fifty years, leaving seven children. The son, I. S., passed his boyhood in Boston, whence he moved to Bangor, Maine. At Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, he graduated in 1847, after which he pursued civil engineering on railroad surveys and constructions for ten years, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Illinois. He came west in 1850, to take part in the first survey of the Illinois Central Rail- road. In 1856 he settled in Elyria, where he has ever since been somewhat prominently connected with most public interests, moral and religious, in matters of education and business. Mr. Metcalf has been twice married: first time July 5, 1852, in Dunbarton, N. H., to Miss Antoinette Putnam, a native of that town, to which union nine children were born, as follows: W. S., now in business in Lawrence, Kans.; Charles, with his brother W. S.; Marion, for about ten years a teacher in Wellesley College, Mass., now in Hampton, Va., training colored students for the ministry; Anna, wife of Professor Root, of Oberlin; John M. P., professor in the Theological Seminary, Oberlin ; P. H., who studied theology at Oberlin, and is now assistant pastor of the First Congregational Church of Des-Moines, Iowa (he is a musician of repute); Grace Ethel, a graduate of Oberlin, and now studying at Moody's School, in Chicago, Ill., for missionary work; Henry M., a graduate of Oberlin, now clerking for his brother in Lawrence, Kans.; and Antoinette P., a graduate of Oberlin, spring of 1893. The mother of this family died August 14, 1875, and March 25, 1878, Mr. Metcalf married, for his second wife, Miss Harriet Howes, of English parentage, to which union six sons have been born, viz.: Ralph Howes, Joseph Mayo, Eliab Wight, Isaac Stevens Jr., Keyes De Witt and Thomas Nelson. Eight of Mr. Met-calf's children are college graduates, either of Oberlin, Ohio, or of Wellesley, Mass., and at least two more are now studying with a view to a similar education. Politically our subject was originally a Whig, and since the formation of the party has been a stanch Republican. He is a consistent member and for more than thirty years an officer of the Congregational Church, and is a strictly conscientious advocate of the principles of temperance. FREDERICK S. REEFY (original spelling Rifle) is a native of the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, born September 1, 1833, in the village of Boezingen. In the following year the family immigrated to America, making their first home in the United States on a farm near Mt. Eaton, Wayne Co., Ohio, where young Frederick passed his boyhood, working in the fields during the summers, and attending the common schools of the neighborhood in the winter months, at the same time receiving instruction from his parents in German. Being an apt and studious scholar, he made rapid progress with his books, and in a few years mastered the branches taught in the district schools. In 1848 the family moved to Tuscarawas county, same State, near Wilmot, and here for four years more our subject attended school and worked on the farm. He also began teaching in the winter, during the summer pursuing the higher branches of education, which course —teacher and student alternately—continued seven years, and thereby he ultimately became a successful educator. LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 809 In the spring of 1860 Mr. Reefy went to Roanoke, Ind., where he organized the Roanoke Educational Society, and by its aid founded Roanoke Seminary, at the head of which he remained eight years, during which time it was one of the most popular schools in northern Indiana. In 1868, on account of failing health, he abandoned teaching for a time, and subsequently moved to Bluffton, Ind., organized the graded schools of that place, and remained in charge as superintendent until 1872, when he resigned, and with his family removed to Elyria, Ohio, where he became editor and proprietor of the Elyria Constitution, now the Elyria Democrat. In 1862 Mr. Reefy was united in marriage with Miss Mary Shearer. JAMES JEWELL. In all the great "Buckeye State" there is no county that, for its population, can boast of a greater number of self-made men who have risen to comparative opulence than Lorain, and among this class stands no one more prominent than the subject of this sketch. Mr. Jewell is a native of Ohio, born May 18, 1828, in Belmont county, thirteen miles west of Wheeling, W. Va. He is a son of Parkinson Jewell, who was a son of Zachariah, whose father was the first of the family to land on the shores of America. This earliest known progenitor of the Jewell family came from England prior to the Revolutionary war, in which he served, being killed at the battle of Bunker Hill, just seven years after his arrival in the New World. He left a widow and three sons and two daughters, and in course of time the sons were "bound out" as apprentices to various trades. Zachariah, one of these sons, found his lot cast with a Southern planter, who took him to his estate in Virginia, and placed him as overseer of some 300 slaves owned by him, and who labored on his plantation. Here Zachariah remained some years, in the meantime losing sight of all his brothers and sisters—never again hearing of them. While in Virginia he married, and some children were there born to him. In 1805 he migrated west, coming to Ohio, and had his residence some years in Belmont county, thence moving to Tuscarawas county, later to Coshocton county, and finally to Lorain county, where in Brighton township he died at an advanced age. Parkinson Jewell, a son of Zachariah, was about four years old when his parents came to Ohio, and he was reared near Stillwater creek in Belmont county. There he married Jane Clark, who bore him seven children—five daughters and and two sons. From Belmont he moved to Tuscarawas, thence in 1837 to Coshocton, from there in 1848 to Lorain, and finally to Paulding, all counties in Ohio, and in each he followed farming. In the last-named county he and his wife died, and their remains were laid to rest in Antwerp cemetery. A brief record of their children is as follows: James is the subject of this memoir; Mary died July 20, 1872, at the home of our subject (she was the wife of Dennison Hughes, who now lives in Kansas); Rebecca married James Hayes, and died in Defiance county, Ohio; Martha J. was first married to Jacob Bruner, who was killed in the Rebellion, and she is now the wife of John Miller; Sarah is married and resides in Michigan; Nancy E. is the wife of Zene Hart, of Paulding county. James Jewell, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, received such education as the subscription schools of his boyhood days afforded, limited at the most to a few months attendance during the winter seasons. On reaching his majority he hired out as a farm hand, his wages varying from ten to twelve dollars a month. After his marriage he removed to Paulding county, Ohio, where he had bought 163 acres of unimproved land at seventy-five 810 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. cents an acre, which after a few years, having improved the property, he sold at a profit. He then came to Lorain county, where in Huntington township he purchased sixty-two acres of wild land; later moved to Spencer township, Medina county, from where, in 1870, he came to Rochester township, Lorain county, buying his present farm of Thomas Cummings, and here he has since carried on general farming and stock raising. This fine property he has greatly enhanced the value of, having in addition to other improvements erected substantial and commodious outbuildings. On October 30, 1851, Mr. Jewell was married to Mary Ensign, of Huntington township, Lorain county, and children as follows were the result of this union: Florence E., now Mrs. Nathan Snyder, of New London, Huron Co., Ohio; Carrie M., Mrs. Joel Snyder, also of New London; Cora, Mrs. Calvin Hill, of New London; Alice, Mrs. Samuel Landis, Jr., of Ruggles township, Ashland Co., Ohio; and Harley and Calvin, both at home. Mr. Jewell is a conservative Republican, as quiet in his political manifestations as he is in his domestic circle, and he is respected and honored by all who know him. He and his amiable wife, as well as their children, are exemplary members of the Congregational Church. ELNATHAN PEABODY. In November, 1833, there migrated to Henrietta township, Lorain Co., Ohio, from New Hampshire, one Andrew Peabody, who was born about the year 1795, and was one of the nation's defenders in the war of 1812. He was a militiaman, and while not in active service stood ready to respond to his country's call. A brother was mustered into the service at Plattsburgh, N. Y., when but twenty-three years of age, and served through all the notable encounters of that memorable war. Andrew Peabody was a shoemaker, and while yet a resident of New Hampshire he married, and reared a number of children. The first few years of his life in " the woods " of Lorain county he was employed at his trade, and by exercising great care and economy he was in 1836 enabled to purchase a small heavily-wooded-piece of wild land. The greater share of the labor of clearing this piece of land fell upon his sons. During the winter season and earlier months of spring the timber was felled, and then in August the brush was fired. Grain was planted in the clearing, amid the stumps of the fallen trees, and when it was ripened it was cut with the cradle and threshed with the flail. At this time a yoke of oxen brought the magnificent sum of forty dollars, while dairy animals brought ten dollars, chiefly, in orders upon some neighboring mercantile establishment, as money was a scarce commodity. Andrew Peabody married Asenath Gillis, a lady of Scotch descent, and a native of New Hampshire, and to them were born ten children, of whom those living are Elnathan, Osman, Frederick, M. B., Mary, Melissia Gill (a widow) and Clara J. Pety, all residents of Henrietta township, Lorain county. The father of these died in 1878, the mother in 1846. Elnathan Peabody was born October 23, 1830, in New Hampshire, on the Merrimac river. When he was but three years old his parents removed to Ohio, and he was therefore reared in the "Buckeye State." His early boyhood was passed in lending all assistance possible to his parents, and in attending such schools as the period afforded, which being but meager, his education was necessarily limited. His first schoolbooks consisted of an Euglish reader, United States history, and the Bible. In 1855 he married Elizabeth Petty, a daughter of Thomas Petty, who was a pioneer of Lorain county, and of English nationality. The children born to their union are H. B., in Henrietta township; L. F., at home; C. M., near Oberlin; LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 811 Mary A. (Mrs. Arnett), residing near Oberlin; and Capitola V. Rhodes, living two miles east of Oberlin. At about the age of twenty-three our subject possessed but one hundred and forty dollars, with which he in part paid for twenty-five acres of land, going in debt for the balance. This land he cleared, and had just finished paying for same, when the Civil war broke out; he enlisted in August, 1864, in Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-eighth 0. V. I., Capt. Ed. Rickey, and served till the close of the conflict. He was one of those called Tennessee Woodticks," who rendered such valuable service near New Berne, N. C. Mr. Peabody is a Republican, and is now a member of the United Brethren Church, although while in the service he was an adherent of Methodism, was a regular attendant at the services held by Chaplain James Mitchel. WILLIAM M. FRENCH, for nearly threescore years a farmer citizen of Columbia township, is a native of Herefordshire, England, born in 1824. John French, father of subject, who was born in Gloucestershire, England, married Miss Elizabeth Morton, a native of Herefordshire, whose mother was Welsh. In 1842 the family emigrated to Canada, whence in June, following year, they moved to the United States and to Ohio, settling on a farm in Columbia township, Lorain county, where they cleared a farm, and lived the rest of their lives. The mother died in January, 1855, the father in August, same year. Their family numbered three children, as follows: William M.; Thomas, who went west some years ago; and Sarah Esther, Mrs. N. R. Ingalls, of LaGrange, who died in May, 1891. The subject of this sketch received his education in his native land, and came with the rest of the family to America. At the age of twenty-two he commenced to learn the trade of cooper in Cleveland, where he followed it nine years, and afterward for some years in Columbia township, Lorain county. In 1852 he bought in that township thirty-five acres of land, to which he added from time to time, until he now owns ninety-five acres in Columbia and forty acres in Olmsted township, Cuyahoga county. In 1852 Mr. French married, in Cleveland, Ohio, Miss Rosina Maxfield, a native of Ireland, and to this union were born six children, of whom the following is a brief record: William Morton, married, who died in 1880; Sarah Elizabeth, wife of Perry D. Spencer, of LaGrange, has four children—Demby Morton, Rosa, Laura and an infant; Lucy, wife of Luther Blodgett, of Olmsted township, has three children : Lee G., Gertie and Edith; George, a physician and surgeon of Columbia Station, Lorain Co., Ohio, who is married and has one child—Emma; Alice, wife of John T. Sheer, of Olmsted, has four children: Allie, Essie, Ray and an infant; Park M., married, resides on the home farm. Politically our subject is a Republican, his first Presidential vote being cast for John C. Fremont; he has served on the school board with zeal and fidelity, and he is a member of the Baptist Church at Columbia Center. F. C. SMITH, than whom there is no more industrious or honorable citizen in Grafton township, was born July 7, 1842, in Liverpool township, Medina Co., Ohio. Frederick Smith, father of subject, was a native of Baden, Germany, where he learned the trade of harness maker and whence, when a young man, he came to America, the voyage to New York occupying six weeks. From there he came to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked at his trade till 1835, in which year he came to Liverpool township, Medina county, buying land there two miles south of the con- 812 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. ter. In Cleveland he had married Barbara , and the children born to them in that city were Louisa (married to Adolph Ganzart, a farmer, now deceased), and Caroline (now Mrs. William Zizelman, of Cleveland, Ohio). In Liverpool township the family was increased by three more, namely: Frederick C. (subject of sketch); Adolph (who was a member of Company H, Eighth O. V. I., in which he served three and one-half years; he died in LaGrange township, Lorain Co., Ohio); and Mary (deceased when young). In 1858 the mother of these died and was buried at LaGrange. This event broke up the family, and the father afterward made his home among his children, chiefly with Mrs. Ganzart and our subject. He died in 1885 at the residence of the latter, and was buried in Nesbit cemetery. Politically he was a Whig and Republican. The subject of this memoir received his education in the district schools of the days of his boyhood until the age of thirteen, when he left home and found work with F. W. Preston, who lived near Rawsonville, receiving for his services four dollars per month. On leaving there he worked at various places until his enlistment in Elyria, Ohio, August 15, 1862, in Company H, Eighth O. V. I., from which he was transferred as sergeant to the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth O. V. I., Company E. They were sent to Kentucky and then to Tennessee, where our subject was shot through the leg, May 11, 1864. He was sent to Cleveland Hospital, where he lay six months; was discharged February 6, 1865, and returned to Grafton, where he found work with his former employer, F. Preston. On the latter's leaving for Toledo, Ohio, Mr. Smith took control of the farm, and conducted it five years on his own account, at the end of which time it was sold, he buying forty acres of it. Here he lived until his removal in 1872 to the town of Grafton, where in 1874 he built his present elegant home. He now conducts a livery, coal and ice business, in addition to carrying on his farm, and in all his undertakings he has met with well-merited success. On January 8, 1868, Mr. Smith married Miss Alfarette Ackley, born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in 1849, daughter of Henry and Mary (Dickson) Ackley, and children as follows have been born to them: Charles H., bookkeeper for the Walter A. Wood Harvester Co., Chicago; Hattie M., James D., Clara A., Ida E. and Clayton F., all at home. Politically he is a stanch Republican, has served as township trustee six years, and in the town of Grafton has been treasurer of both the schools and the corporation, serving with credit to himself and satisfaction of his constituents. He and his family are members of the Congregational Church. FRED NORTON SMITH. The manufacturing interests of Elyria are well represented by this gentleman, who is one of the most active and pushing men in the county. He is a son of William L. and Juliette (Hamlin) Smith, the former a native of England, and at the present time a resident of the State of Washington, the latter a daughter of Judge Hamlin, one of the early settlers of Elyria. Fred N. Smith was born in Mowsley, Leicestershire, England, August 18, 1848, and first came to this country with his father when less than one year old, returning again to his birthplace at the age of fourteen. The following six years were chiefly spent in school, after which he again returned to the United States, where he completed his education in Oberlin College, his father having graduated from this well-known institution in 1847. After teaching school about one year, on the 1st of April, 1873, he accepted a situation as bookkeeper with Topliff & Ely, manufacturers of carriage hardware in Elyria. In 1887 this firm sold their business to a LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 815 stock company of which Mr. Smith was one of the incorporators. He was elected secretary and treasurer of the new company (The Topliff & Ely Co.), and retained this position until 1892, when he resigned to fill a like position in the Garford Manufacturing Co. In 1889 he became a partner with Mr. A. L. Garford and Mr. H. S. Follansbee, in a business known as the Garford Manufacturing Co., and has since been actively identified with its growth. Since the incorporation of the Garford Manufacturing Co., in 1891, he has been its secretary and treasurer. The present building occupied by this company is 100 feet by 40 feet, three stories and basement. This factory was completed about January 1, 1893, employs upward of one hundred men, and has a capacity of about one thousand saddles per day. The plant is fitted up with new and modern machinery throughout, and is undoubtedly the most complete saddle factory in existence to-day. In 1880 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Louise M. Porter, principal of the Elyria High School, by whom he has one child, Caryl Porter. Mr. Smith is a Republican, and a thorough Protectionist. CHARLES W. COTTON, a leader among the native-born agriculturists of Lorain county, was born in Sheffield township May 7, 1826, a son of George W. and Rachel (Smith) Cotton. Benjamin Cotton, grandfather of Charles W., was born May 1, 1758, in Coos (now Grafton) county, New Hampshire. On October 12, 1785, he married, in Went. worth, N. H., Dolly Smith, also a native of New Hampshire, born April 3, 1766, and the names and dates of birth of their children are as follows: Hannah, April 11, 1786; Benjamin N., August 25, 1787; Solomon, February 11, 1789; Dolly, Sept ember 24, 1790; Lydia, June 4, 1793; Abigal, March 22, 1795; Jonathan, December 8, 1796; George W., September 18, 1798; David, April 27, 1800; Theodore, September 24, 1802; Wiseman, July 23, 1803; Elizabeth, June 13, 1805; Joseph, April 6, 1807; and William, November 18, 1810. About the year 1834 the grandparents of our subject came to Ohio, first settling in Medina county, and they died in Wayne county, each at the age of eighty-seven years; he was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. George W. Cotton, father of subject, was born in New Hampshire, whence in 1817 he came to Ohio, locating in Sheffield township, Lorain county. His wife, Rachel (Smith), was a daughter of Joshua and Martha (Hall) Smith, and all were natives of Berkshire county, Mass. They came to Lorain county, Ohio, settling in Sheffield township in 1812, and here Joshua Smith died in 1816; he was the first white man buried in that township; his wife died in 1859. On March 26, 1833, George W. Cotton moved to Elyria township, and there died in April, 1865, his wife in 1849. Their family numbered five children, as follows: Jerome (deceased in 1852), Charles W. (subject of sketch). Martha (widow of Frank Younglove, of Virginia), N. L. (of North Amherst, Lorain county) and George J. (residing in Lansing, Michigan). Charles W. Cotton received a limited district-school education, and learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he followed some years. In 1872 he was married to Miss Catherine Arman, a native of Lorain county, Ohio, and daughter of Jacob Arman, of German birth. To this union were born five children, viz.: George W., Edwin, Erman,. Dora and Daisy. In 1887 Mr. Cotton bought a farm in Elyria township, and has since been successfully engaged in general farming and fruit growing. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Battery E, First Ohio Light Artillery, for three years, and was attached 816 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. to the army of Tennessee. He participated in the battles of Cumberland Gap, Perryville, Murfreesboro, and many other minor engagements. In 1865 he was discharged at Camp Dennison, Ohio, and returned home to the pursuits of peace. Politically he is a strong Republican; he is a member of Richard Allen Post No. 65, G. A. R., Department of Ohio. H. D. ROOT. This gentleman, who has been a shipbuilder for the past forty years, and whose name is " familiar as household words" among mariners and others, is a native of Lorain county, Ohio, born in Black River township in 1833. He is the younger of two children born to Oresten and Julia Ann (Dutton) Root, natives of Farmington, Conn., the father born in 1800. Oresten Root was well educated in the schools of his place of birth, and early in life went to Georgia, where he was in business for a time, after which he moved to Buffalo, N. Y., where he married, and there remained until 1828, in which year he proceeded to Cleveland, thence to. Wellington, Lorain county. He had bought land in the Reserve, and in 1830 he settled in Black River township, on what is known as the Gregg farm. Later he was engaged for several years in the commission and for warding business, having a warehouse at Black River, near the lake. He also owned an interest in the schooners " President" and " Vincennes," and was entire owner of the " Equator," built in 1842, which was lost on the lake, near Buffalo, uncovered by insurance. He was drowned in 1852 when the propeller " Henry Clay " was lost. Mr. Root was an Old-line Whig, active in politics, and was a justice of the peace for many years. His widow died in Lorain in 1871. They had another son besides our subject, Samuel J., who was born in Lorain county, educated in Lorain, was a sailor all his life, and served as a man before the mast up to captain. In 1889 he was skipper of the yacht "Leo," which was lost that year in Lake Erie, near Cleveland, with all on board—nine in number; he left a widow and three children. H. D. Root, whose name opens this sketch, received his education at the schools of Lorain, and at about the age of fifteen commenced the life of a sailor; at twenty he was captain, and he sailed the lakes continuously for thirteen years. He learned shipbuilding under William Jones, one of the earliest shipbuilders of Lorain, and in 1853 embarked in that business at the same place, since when he has built the following vessels there: First scow, " Cousin Mary;" 1857—" E. S. Taylor; " 1861—. E. K. Kane;" 1862—" Conrad Reid;" 1863—" H. D. Root; " 1865— " Henry Chapman;" 1866-67—brig "E. Cohen; " 1867—scow "Fannie L. Jones," and another scow; 1868—schooner "Vernie Blake," the " Ida J. Root," "German; " " Growler; " and rebuilt scow "Ferret;" 1873—steam barge "Mary Groh " 1873-74—schooner " Three Brothers; " 1874-75—schooner " Our Son;" 1875—tug " Myrtle; " 1876—the "Theodore Voyes ; " 1877—the ".Col. Gates; " 1878—tug " Telephone " and schooner " Ohio Grover; " 1879—steam barge " Luella Worthington " and tug " George W. Lorimer: " 1880—" W. H. Doon " and schooner " Conrad Reid; " 1881—rebuilt the "C. L. Hutchinson " tow-barge; 188182—the " DeGinty " and tow-barge " R. Botaford " 1882—steam barge " H. S. Hubbell " and tugs " C. E. Bolton " and "Chamberlain." At Vermillion, Erie county, he built the following: 1882—tug "J. F. Weyland," the " Marquette," the "J. S. Petton." At Cleveland he built the steam barge ",J. P. Farnham," the Margaret," the " Olwell " and the " Fire Tug." At Lorain he rebuilt the steam barges " John Martena," the 46 W. T." and the "Albert Y. Gowen;" built the "Fairport" and the tug " Daisy Moore," for LORAN COUNTY, OHIO - 817 self; 1891—the tug " J. E. Erwin; " 1892 —the tug " Susie B.," besides doing a vast amount of repairing, keeping employed as many as eighty men at one time. In 1855 Capt. Root was married in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jeanette A. Fuller, a native of Sheffield township, Lorain county, a daughter of W. A. and Chloe (McNeil) Fuller, of Connecticut, and of Scotch ancestry, the mother a distant relative of John Quincy Adams. In about 1820 they came to Lorain county, where the mother died; the father passed away at Arcadia, Neb. To Capt. and Mrs. Root were born three children, viz.: Ernest, who died at Lorain in 1885, leaving a widow and six children; W. O., married, and residing in Cleveland, where he is head draftsman for the Hill Clutch Works; and Nettie R., wife of Walter Goodell, of Lorain. In politics Capt. Root has been a lifelong Republican, his first vote being cast for John C. Fremont, and he has served in the town council of Lorain. He is a member of Tent No. 1, K. O. T. M., and of the M. E. Church, with which the entire family are associated. W. J. KREBS, an influential, leading citizen of Penfield township, was born December 13, 1846, in Orange township, Ashland Co., Ohio, a grandson of Christian Krebs. His father. Daniel G. Krebs, was born July 14, 1814, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and was reared to farm life. He was married, in Orange township, Ashland county, to Catherine Rickett, who was born May 27, 1818, in East Bethlehem township, Washington Co., Penn., daughter of Christopher Rickett, also a native of that place, where he married Mary Horn; they came to Ohio in June, 1823, and were the third family to settle in Orange township, Ashland county. To Mr. and Mrs. Krebs were born seven children, of whom W. J. is the second son and third child. Mr. Krebs died January 19, 1857, of typhoid fever, and was buried in St. Luke cemetery, Orange township. In politics he was a Democrat. His widow, who is still living, makes her home with a daughter, Mrs. J. H. Crawford, of Lodi, Medina Co., Ohio. After the father's death the family were left in limited circumstances, and Mrs. Krebs, who had learned the weaver's trade, was engaged in the summer season making homespun, thus supporting the younger children. At this time our subject left home to work for Peter Snyder, a farmer, receiving five dollars a month for his services, and he continued to follow farming during the summers, one-half of his wages going to his widowed mother, and in the winter seasons attending the common schools of the period. He was a very industrious youth, and worked at any honest labor he could find, practicing economy and saving all he could. He remained in Orange township, Ashland county, until the spring of 1864, when he moved with his mother to Rochester, Lorain Co., Ohio. On November 17, 1872, he was united in marriage, in Rochester township, Lorain county, with Miss Sarah H. Andrews, who was born August 4, 1850, in Wiltshire, England, daughter of Thomas Andrews, who came to the United States in 1852, locating in Spencer township, Medina Co., Ohio. After marriage Mr. Krebs removed to a farm in Rochester township, which he rented from A. B. Strodger, and there remained three years, when, having sold to his brother, R. W., a one-third interest, which he had at the time of his marriage,' in 140 acres of land (whereon the family had removed in 1867), he purchased ninety acres and made his home thereon one year, when, anticipating a decline in the value of land (which actually came), he sold it. On March 1, 1877, he came to Penfield, Lorain county, where, in company with his brother R. B., he embarked in the mercantile business, conducting same with well-earned success for twelve years, since when he has lived a semi-retired life. 818 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. During Hayes' administration Mr. Krebs was appointed postmaster at Penfield, serving as such for a period of six years, and on July 21, 1893, he again received the appointment, under Grover Cleveland. In State and National contests Mr. Krebs is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, but in township and county affairs he is influenced more by the ability and fitness of candidates than by party lines. He is strictly temperate in his habits, never using either tobacco or liquor in any way. In religious connection he and his wife are active members of the M. E. Church, in which he is trustee, and where he has also held other offices; for some time he was secretary of the Sunday-school. Mr. and Mrs. Krebs have two children, namely: Stella, a popular young lady teacher, connected with the primary department of the Penfield graded schools, where she was the first instructor; and Carrie M., at home. Though a resident of Penfield township for a comparatively brief space of time, Mr. Krebs has made an enviable record, and fully merits the respect and esteem which are everywhere accorded him. He was elected township clerk of Penfield township in 1880, and so satisfactorily did he discharge the duties of that office that he was re-elected ten terms in succession. He was also elected justice of the peace in 1883, and has held that office ever since. He is now serving his fourth term as justice with credit to himself and to his constituents. By his faithful attention to business, hard work and economy he has accumulated property, and has placed himself in good, comfortable circumstances. L. B. PRATT, retired, having his residence in the town of Wellington, where in 1883 he built a comfortable home, is a native of New York State, born in Deerfield, Oneida county, November 27, 1821. Benjamin Pratt, father of subject, was born in New Jersey, whence in his youth he moved to New York State, making a settlement in Oneida county, where he married Miss Lucy Biddlecomb, a native of that county, who bore him four children, viz.: Daniel, who resided in Huntington, where he purchased a farm and passed the greater part of his life, dying near Medina, in Medina county, Ohio; Caroline, who married Louis Gilbert, of Oneida county, N. Y., and now lives near Utica, same State; Benjamin, a farmer in Huntington township, and L. B. Mr. Pratt conducted a meat market for several years in Deerfield, Oneida county, where he and his wife both passed away, he in 1828, she in her forty-fifth year. L. B. Pratt, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, was seven years old when he lost his father, and as a consequence his school advantages were somewhat limited; but, nevertheless, he succeeded in receiving a good practical elementary education. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, which he followed in his native county till 1844, in which year he came west to Lorain county, Ohio, and bought a piece of wild land in Huntington township, which he cleared up and converted into a fertile farm. With his grandfather, Daniel Biddlecornb, in Oneida county, N. Y., he had commenced the study of veterinary surgery, a profession he pursued during recent years. His first experience was with a disease among cattle known as " bloody murrain," and he was so successful in his treatment of it that he was encouraged to continue the study, finally becoming as skillful a veterinarian as any in the county. In 1885 he retired from the farm to take up his residence in the town of Wellington, where to some extent he still practices his profession. Mr. Pratt has been twice married, first time to Miss Rachel Camilla Warner, by which union there is one child, a son, Otis, a gifted artist in sculpture, who studied with Hiram Powers and Larkin LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 819 Mead; he has traveled over the world, and resided four years in Paris; he now lives in Oceanville, N. J. This wife died in 1879, and for his second our subject married, in 1883, Miss Hattie Johnston. Politically Mr. Pratt is a Democrat, formerly a Republican. L. J. HART, one of the youngest and I most enterprising of the business men of Elyria, and member of the firm of Hart & Tucker, proprietors of planing-mills and lumber yard, in that town, is a native of Lorain county, Ohio, born June 30, 1865, a son of John W. and Caroline (Bassett) Hart. Our subject received his literary education in the high schools of Elyria, afterward taking a course at the Business College in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. On his return home he joined his father in the stone quarry business at Grafton, in Lorain county, but selling out his interest in this, be and his brother-in-law, Charles E. Tucker, bought the present lumber business and planing-mill from John Hart, subject's father, and they have since successfully operated same, the style of the firm being Hart & Tucker. In connection with their interests in this they do an extensive contracting and building business, altogether employing an average of one hundred hands. Politically Mr. Hart is a Democrat, and socially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias. JOSEPH BLANTERN. England has given to the United States a large proportion of her industrious, loyal and prosperous citizens, among whom may he justly numbered the gentleman whose name here appears. Mr. Blantern is a native of Shropshire, England, born August 28, 1827, a son of Robert Blantern, also an Englishman by birth, born January 30, 1772, and who was reared a farmer boy. When yet a youth he left the paternal roof to make his home with a wealthy bachelor uncle, a Shropshire farmer, and with him he lived until his marriage with Miss Elizabeth Turner, who was born in England in June, 1787. He then located on thirty acres of land in Shropshire, to which he had fallen heir through the death of a relative. While living on this farm children were born to him as follows: Hannah, residing at Grafton, widow of Thomas Hopwood, to whom she was married in England; Mary, who was married in England to Richard Ridgeway, and died in Ridgeville township, Lorain county; a son who died in infancy; Fannie, who was married in Lorain county, Ohio, to Henry Swartz, a tailor of Elyria, and died in Toledo; Robert, a tanner, of Litchfield, Medina county; Sarah, who married Samuel Lynds, and died in 1891 in Paulding county, Ohio; Martha, widow of John Pierce, residing in York township, Medina county; a son who died in infancy; and Joseph, subject of this memoir. Having decided to come to the United States, our subject's father had. to get a decree from the English Government to sell his land, on account of the "law of entail." Having settled everything, in March, 1831, he and his family set sail from Liverpool on the vessel " Ceres," which experienced a lengthy voyage, some six weeks, during which she was driven so far north that Greenland was visible from her masthead, and the passengers saw several whales spouting and sporting in the water. The sailors caught a porpoise, and our subject, then not four years old, distinctly remembers seeing it cut up for the cook's " kettle." On the ocean. Robert Blantern's youngest child was born, and at the request of the Captain was named "Ceres," after the vessel; two years and nine months afterward the little one was carried off by scarlet fever. From New York the family journeyed to Cleveland via the Hudson river, Erie Canal and Lake Erie. Here Mr. Blantern was informed by a Mr. 820 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. Dryer, that Grafton township, where his home was, would be a good place to locate, and offered to convey thither the entire family and chattels, which offer was readily accepted. After arrival Mr. Blantern purchased eighty-five acres partly cleared land, having thereon a log cabin, that after two years gave place to a better one, which the subject of this sketch utilizes as a granary. Here the parents passed the rest of their pioneer days, the father passing away February 9, 1849, his widow on December 1, 1879, aged over ninety-two years, having lived with her son Joseph from the time of the death of her husband. They were consistent members of the Methodist Church. Joseph Blantern, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, received his education at the early schools of Grafton township, which, however, he attended but four months in the year, as his services were too valuable at home in assisting in clearing up the land. His father for many years before his death was a sufferer from rheumatism, and on young " Joe" devolved a great deal of the hard work, especially as his only brother, Robert, had left home to learn a trade. At odd times while on the farm he picked up carpentry, at which he worked for a time in Grand Rapids, Mich., and while there he married, July 24, 1852, Miss Laura Ames, of that place. To this union were born four children, as follows: Elmer, a barber of Toledo, Ohio, formerly superintendent of Leetonia (Ohio) school; Charlotte, who died when aged five years four months and two .days, and was buried in Nesbit cemetery; Sarah, Mrs. William Mole, of Grafton; and Llewellyn, a farmer and schoolteacher of Grafton township. After marriage the young couple lived on the home farm in Grafton township some years, of which he still owns thirty-five of the original eighty-five acres bought by his father, having paid off all the legacies. For the past fourteen years he has lived on his present place, on which in 1882 he erected a pleasant and commodious residence, and he now owns in all 182 acres of as fine land as can be found in the county, all accumulated by incessant toil and assiduous perseverance. In addition to this he has assisted the several members of his family to good homes of their own, and a fair start in life: Mr. Blantern and his first wife were divorced in 1878, and in 1879 he married Miss Helen Perry, who was born in New York State. Politically he is a Democrat, but in township matters he invariably votes for the man best suited to the position, regardless of party. He is a well-known and highly respected citizen, his religion being the " Golden Rule of Life," has never had a lawsuit, and deals "fair and square" with every one. O. S. NICHOLS, proprietor of meat market, Elyria, was born August 21, 1829, in Cortland county, N.Y., a son of Asa and Harriet (Smith) Nichols, natives of Hartford, Conn., where they were married and where some of their children were born. In 1835 they came west from Cortland county, N. Y., where they had followed farming, and settling in Lorain county the father there carried on a stone quarrying business. He was born in 1792, and died at the age of eighty years; a Whig originally in politics, he afterward voted the straight Republican ticket. The mother lived to be seventy-five years old. They were the parents of ten children (nine of them grew to maturity, four yet survive), of whom the subject of this sketch is the fifth in order of birth. O. S. Nichols received his elementary education at the district schools, finishing at select school. His first work was on a farm, but disliking agricultural pursuits he ran away from home, and making his way eastward to the seacoast, at New Bedford, Mass., being fond of adventure, he LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 821 resolved to go to sea. Shipping aboard a merchantship, his first voyage was into the Indian Ocean and to the Sandwich Islands; thence sailed to the Behring Sea, and the Arctic Ocean; thence to China, and homeward again by way of San Francisco, at which port he concluded to remain. Here he resided for some years, working at first in the capacity of stevedore. He then assisted in fitting out the first ship for a line running between San Francisco and China. In 1861 he returned to his old home in Lorain county, Ohio, and same year came to Elyria, where in 1864 he opened out his present prosperous meat market. Mr. Nichols was married April 14, 1862, to Miss Delia Rockwood, and two children have been born to them: James and Dora. In his political preferences our subject is a Republican, and he is a member of the F. & A. M. He is possessed of good business ability, has an excellent trade, and enjoys the respect and confidence of the public at large. He claims lineal descent from " Mayflower " Puritans, and his grandfather Nichols fought valiantly in the war of the Revolution. D. M. ADAMS, who for many years was one of the leading stock buyers of the southern part of Lorain county, was born February 11, 1819, in Hector, Seneca county, New York. Our subject is the second son and fourth child of John M. Adams, who was born in 1785, son of. Benjamin Adams. The family came originally from England, locating first in Massachusetts, then in Litchfield county, Conn., and thence moving to New York State, where they first lived in Dutchess county, and finally settled in Danby, Tompkins county. Benjamin Adams was a distant relative of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. He was a tailor by trade. John Murray Adams, father of our subject, was also a tailor, and moved about with his father, Benjamin, from place to place. He was married, in Connecticut, to Polly Ann Wheeler, and they had twelve children, five of whom are yet living, viz.: D. M., subject proper of this sketch; Elizabeth Ann, widow of Orrin Parsons, of Wardsborough, Windham Co., Vt.; Eveline M., widow of Henry Murphy, also living in Wardsborough, Windham Co., Vt.; Charles B., a farmer of Lawrence, Kans.; and Maria A., residing in Chicago, Ill., widow of John W. Starr, who was a real-estate broker, and died in Washington, D. C. John M. Adams died of cholera during the epidemic, on August 10, 1854, in Shiloh, Richland Co., Ohio, while on a visit to his son, Benjamin. His widow passed away November 4, 1872, in Breckenridge, Mo., a 'member of the M. E. Church. The Adams family is an illustrious one, and among the prominent members thereof we mention Alonzo W. Adams, who enlisted in the Black Horse Cavalry, and during his service rose from the ranks to general. He subsequently practiced law in New York and in Washington, D. C., but being taken sick in the latter place came to the home of our subject to recuperate; however, he died in Cleveland on the return trip to Washington, and was buried in LaGrange cemetery, Lorain county, Ohio, in a lot provided by Mr. D. M. Adams. D. M. Adams passed his earlier years on a farm in Tompkins county, N. Y., whither he had been brought when an infant, and where he remained until sixteen years old. He received his education at the common schools; he was naturally a bright scholar, and was also possessed of considerable mechanical genius, being able to work at almost any trade, and proving especially adept at, painting and carpenter work. When he was sixteen years.of age his parents came to Cleveland, Ohio, where the father commenced to work at his trade of tailor, and later came to Eaton township, Lorain county, remaining, however, but a short time, when he again resumed his 822 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. trade in Cleveland. Our subject remained for some time in Eaton township. and then went to the town of Boston, in Cuyahoga county, where with a capital of two hundred dollars he opened a grocery store, and also carried on a hat store. Subsequently he traded his business to a man from New York named Perry, for a farm of one hundred acres in Sullivan county, N. Y., and went east to look after his farm, which he lost, as the title proved to be worthless. Not discouraged by this experience, he began again, and in 1839 started on the return trip to Ohio, stopping en route at Erie, Penn., where he worked at the carpenter trade for a year. He then came to Portage county, Ohio, where he was married, in October, 1840, to Jane A. Trotter, born December 25, 1819, in Messina village, Jefferson Co., N. Y., a daughter of Richard Trotter, who afterward came to Portage county, Ohio. The young couple commenced housekeeping in Aurora township, Portage county, where he purchased 130 acres of land, on which they resided until 1850, when he sold out and came to LaGrange township, Lorain county. Here he purchased from Z. Ensign his present farm, comprising 225 acres of good land, upon which, in 1859, he built at a cost of seven thousand dollars a very comfortable residence, then the finest in the township; he drew the plans for this house himself, made all the brick, and took upon himself the overseeing of the building, there being no contract work on the place. While engaged in the business, and while residing in that place, he bought and sold more stock than any other man in the business in Lorain county. He was among the original promoters and stockholders of the Lorain Plank Road, had a contract for seven and a half miles of same, and it was mainly through his efforts that LaGrange village secured this road; otherwise it would have gone by Grafton. He was superintendent of this road five years, and also served the same length of time as manager and collector. He had made many trips to New York City, and it was during one of these that he met with the accident —falling through a railroad bridge—which caused him to give up the business. He had a most extensive acquaintance. To the union of D. M. and Jane A. Adams came children as follows: Velorias L., of Belden, Lorain Co., Ohio; Benjamin F., a farmer of LaGrange; Eliza J., now Mrs. L. G. Parsons, of Greenville, Ohio; and Ella A., now Mrs. D. D. Gott, of Greenville, Ohio. The mother of these died October 31, 1877, and was buried in LaGrange cemetery, and on August 4, 1880, Mr. Adams was married to Miss Ella M. Moorehouse, of Cortland, N. Y. Politically he was originally a Whig, then a Republican until 1872, when he became a Democrat, and in 1892 he joined the Farmers Alliance; he takes little interest in party affairs, and has refused various township offices. He is a very temperate man, and never uses either tobacco or intoxicating liquor in any form. Owing to his eminent qualities as a business manager, Mr. Adams acts as guardian for a number of orphans, and has settled up various estates; he is now engaged in collecting the celebrated Award in favor of the La Abra Silver Mining Company, of the city of New York, against the Republic of Mexico. RICHARD DE WITT PERRY, superintendent of The Western Automatic Machine Screw Co., Elyria, is a representative self-made man, and a living example of what willing heart and hands and indomitable perseverance can accomplish. He is a son of Clinton DeWitt and Celia (Spencer) Perry, and was born in South Manchester, Conn., January 12, 1857. His parents are also natives of the Nutmeg State, the father born in North Manchester, the mother in South Manchester, and after marriage they were resi- LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 825 dents of Hartford, where the father was engaged in general business; they still reside there. The paternal grandfather of subject was a physician, and the patronymic of his maternal grandparents was Spencer (the grandmother's maiden name being Hollister). C. M. Spencer, uncle of Richard DeW. Perry, was the inventor of the widely-known Spencer rifle, and also of the Spencer automatic machine screw. The subject of these lines was educated in his native town, and learned his trade with the Hartford Machine Screw Company, with whom he remained many years, filling nearly every position in the mechanical department, and becoming thoroughly efficient in each. In 1883 he was appointed manager of The Western Automatic Machine Screw Company, at Elyria, and has ever since had charge of all the mechanical work done in that institution, which is by far the largest manufacturing concern of its kind in the West. Since Mr. Perry's connection with it, its trade has expanded vastly, and new buildings have been added to accommodate the fast increasing business, all of which development is mainly due to his thorough knowledge of the business, and his natural energy and progressiveness. In 1883 Mr. Perry was united in marriage with Miss Jennie Swan, and three children have been born to them, viz.: Philip W., Hester and Richard De Witt, Jr. In his political preferences our subject is a Republican, and in the spring of 1893 he was elected a member of the board of education of Elyria. He has recently erected a handsome residence on West Third street, which has been equipped with all modern improvements. ERASTUS BRADLEY, who in his lifetime was a well-to-do farmer of Pittsfield township, was born July 6, 1806, in Lee, Mass. His father, Jesse Bradley, was born December 9,1763, at New Haven, Conn., and on December 9, 1790, married Lucy Munson, by which union there were nine children, of whom Erastus was the seventh in. order of birth. Our subject received a common-school education, and, as his father's family was a large one, was obliged to begin life for himself at an early age, going to New York, where he learned the trade of cloth dresser. Mr. Bradley was twice married in New York State, but of the children born to both marriages none lived to adult age. About 1840, his brother Jesse having died in Knox county, Ill., Mr. Bradley made a journey thither to settle up the estate, and while en route made a short visit in Pittsfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where he met the lady who subsequently became his wife. After adjusting the affairs of his brother in Knox county, Ill., he returned to Pittsfield township, where on August 23, 184:2, he was united in marriage with Miss Orpha I. Phelps, who was born February 27, 1814, in Norfolk, Litchfield Co., Conn. In 1836 her parents, Bethuel and Levina (Norton) Phelps, migrated from Norfolk, Litchfield Co., Conn., to Ohio, coming by way of canal and lake to Cleveland, thence to Lorain county, where they settled on a farm on the north and south center road, two miles south of the center of Pittsfield township; here the father died in 1880, at the age of ninety-three years. After his marriage Mr. Bradley lived for some time with his father-in-law, and then bought a farm in Huntington township, returning, however, to Pittsfield township, where in later years he bought the farm whereon he died, and where his widow still resides. By this union there were children as follows: Mary, born July 13, 1843, who died when three years old; and Delphine, born May 6, 1845, who died when aged twenty-seven years. Mr. Bradley passed from earth April 16, 1888, and was buried in the South cemetery of Pittsfield township. In politics he was a Republican, and took considerable interest in local affairs, serving 826 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. as treasurer and in other positions of trust in his township. Though not engaging in active farm work to any great extent, he conducted successfully a general farming and dairying business, which his widow now manages, and she has proved herself a woman of unquestioned business sagacity. She is one of the oldest members of the Episcopal Church at Oberlin, as was also her husband. Mrs. Bradley is one of the most highly respected and intelligent ladies of Pittsfield township, and though already past her threescore years and ten, is still in full possession of her mental faculties; she takes great delight in reading. F. W. EDISON, proprietor of the leading hardware store in Lorain, uncle of Edison, the world-famed electrician and inventor, is a Canadian by birth, having first seen the light in the county of Elgin, Ontario, in July, 1832. His father, Samuel Edison, was born in Newark, N. J., March 5, 1761, of Holland-Dutch (Amsterdam) ancestry, and in 1805 removed to Nova Scotia, thence to what is now the Province of Ontario, Canada, where he died March 27, 1865. He was twice married, his second wife being Elizabeth (Yocum), by whom he had five children, our subject being the youngest but one; she was born in Philadelphia May 8, 1799, and died in March, 1891. The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of his native place, and served an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade. In 1854 he came to the United States, where for nearly fifteen years prior to his marriage he was a journeyman tinsmith, in the literal sense, for he traveled continuously all over the country, working at his trade. At the time of the breaking out of the Civil war he was in Kentucky, and from there came north, at various times visiting and sojourning in Port Huron (Mich.) Cleveland and Detroit. From the latter place he returned in 1865 to his home in Canada, and married an old schoolmate, Miss Emily Johnston, who was then teaching school; on the day of her wedding, she taught school up to noon, and at two o'clock was married! The young couple then resided in Port Huron, Cleveland and Detroit, respectively, until March 15, 1872, when they came to Lorain, where Mr. Edison opened out a tin-shop, and commenced a flourishing business; in 1878 he put in a full line of hardware, etc., having now one of the best assorted stocks of the kind in the county. Mrs. Emily Edison died in 1881, the mother of three children: Homer, Harry and Grace, and in 1884 our subject married, in Michigan, Martha Bell. Politically he is a Republican; he is a Chapter Mason, and a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and the Order of Tonti. HEM AN BARROWS (deceased), who had been a resident of Avon township, since early childhood, was born in 1826 in Riga, Monroe Co., N. Y., a son of Adnah and Clarissa (Day) Barrows, the former of whom was a native of Connecticut, the latter of. Bennington, Vermont. Adnah Barrows, who was born January 17, 1797, when a youth removed to New York, in which State he remained until 1828, when he came by water to Avon township, Lorain Co., Ohio, taking up a farm in the woods of Section 10, near French Creek, where he passed the rest of his days. He died October 3, 1856, a stanch Democrat in politics; his wife, born October 3, 1800, died November 26, 1882. They were the parents of six children, as follows: James R., married, who residesin Avon township; Lyman, who died in Michigan about 1889; Heman, subject proper of this memoir; Lydia, widow of Jacob Walker, of North Amherst; Mary, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 827 who died about 1836; and Eliza, wife of Edward S. Fitch, of Avon township. Grandfather Benjamin Day, who was a native of Vermont, was a soldier in the Revolution, serving with General Washington; was with him at Valley Forge, in Pennsylvania, and saw Major Andre executed; he also served in the war of 1812. He died in Bennington, Vt., at the age of ninety-three. Heman Barrows, whose name introduces this sketch, was two years of age when brought by his parents to Avon township, where he was educated in the log-cabin schools of the day. He was reared on the home farm to agricultural life, in which he has always continued, and he now owns a fertile farm of twenty-five acres, in a good state of cultivation, where he has resided since 1888. On September 23, 1843, he was married, in Avon township, to Miss Cordelia Gillett, a native of same, daughter of Gresham and Betsy (Moe) Gillett, early pioneers of the township, where both died. To this union were born children as follows: Chester, who was born August 9, 1845, and died in Avon township May 15, 1868; Frank, born November 30, 1847, now residing in Huron, Erie county, is married and has four children-Eugenia, Samuel, Nona, and one whose name is not given; Miles, born August 15, 1852, died September 6, 1853; Horace, born in 1854, married January 1, 1877, Sarepta Moon, and died January 31, 1879, in Avon township; Charley, born April 18, 1859, died November 9, 1860; and Ada, born December 28, 1863, wife of Arthur Buck, of Atchison county, Kansas. The mother of these died in 1872, and June 14, 1884, our subject was again married, this time to Mrs. Sarepta Barrows, a native of Van-Buren county, Mich., daughter of John L. and Mary Anna (Bonsor) Moon, the father a 'native of Avon township, Lorain Co., Ohio, the mother of England, from which country she came when eight years old; both died in Avon township. To this second marriage was born October 24, 1889, one child, Clara Day. John L. Moon was born April 9, 1829, and died June 16, 1886; Mary Anna Bonsor was born February 13, 1836, and died July 30, 1882. They were married September 18, 1853, and six children were born to them, as follows: (1) Sarepta, (2) George H., (3) Ellen R., (4) Lucy A., (5) John L. and (6) Bird.. Of these, (2) George H. was married in 1887 to Miss Flora Halliday, and two children were born to them: Hazel, who died at the age of nine months, and Howard J., born in 1892. (3) Ellen R. was married to Charles A. Pardee in 1879, and died December 17, same year; they had one child named Nellie Moon. (5) John L. married Miss Mary Halliday November 16, 1888. Heman Barrows, the subject of this sketch, died November 26, 1893. He was a well-known character in the town in which he lived, and had an extensive acquaintance throughout the country. He held many offices of public trust, and in all of them did he perform his duty with fidelity. He was a man of more than ordinary natural ability, and he had made good use of his opportunities. Respected by all his acquaintances while living, his memory will be honored by them now that he has passed away. In politics he was an active member of the Democratic party, and he served as justice of the peace in Avon township for twenty-four years; as assessor, ten years; real-estate assessor, two terms; and as township trustee, twenty years. He was also a notary public in the township for years. WALKER S. TERRY, farmer of Grafton township, is a son of Eleazer Terry, a native of New Hampshire, born in 1791 in the town of Colebrook, whence he moved to New York State and then to Ohio, in both of which States he followed farming. He married Miss Hannah Sawyer, born in 828 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. 1794, and the children born to them before coming to Ohio in 1834 or 1835 were as follows: Ransom, deceased in Michigan ; Lewis and Orrin, both of whom died in California; Philinda, married to J. M. Doan, and died in California; Lucinda, an invalid, living with our subject; Austin, deceased in Michigan; Lois, now Mrs. William Johnston, of California; Amanda, married to Frank Doan, died in 1853 en route to California; and William, who died in Texas. After coming to Ohio three children were added to the family, all of whom were born in Grafton township, to wit: Gardner A., now living in Michigan; Walker S., and Jonathan, the latter of whom died in Grafton. The father departed this life in 1871, the mother on October 5, 1881, and they sleep their last sleep in Belden cemetery. Prior to coming to Ohio Eleazer Terry had worked in an eastern distillery, and when he arrived here had but limited means, but when he died was comparatively opulent. In Lorain county he settled on a farm in Grafton township, where our subject now lives, the place at that time being wild woodland. He served in the war of 1812, and was present at the battle of Plattsburgh; was a Democrat in politics, and the entire family were looked upon as unassuming Christian people. Asa Terry, father of Ereazer, was a Revolutionary soldier. W. S. Terry, the subject proper of this memoir, was born February 7, 1836, and received his education, during the winter months, in the public schools of the early days of Grafton township, up to the age of fifteen. He was reared a true pioneer farmer boy, and remained under the parental roof until he was eighteen years of age, when he went to Michigan, where, in St. Joseph county, he worked in a sawmill nine years, at the end of which time he returned to Ohio, In 1857 he married Rowena D. Benton, and, then, with his young wife, once more proceeded to Michigan, this time working at the milling business and on a farm, also buying land there. In 1870 he returned to Ohio, and has since been carrying on general farming, being now owner of the homestead farm in Grafton township, Lorain county, in connection with which he operated a threshing machine for several years. In December, 1863, Mr. Terry enlisted at Leonidas, Michigan, in the Eleventh Mich. V. I., and was sent to recruit the ranks of that regiment thinned by the bullet and disease; he was assigned to Company F. They were ordered to Chattanooga, participated in the battle of Resaca, and the march to Atlanta with Sherman; then returned to Chattanooga as a detachment. After a service of twenty-two months Mr. Terry was honorably discharged, and returned to Michigan. By his first wife there were no children, and she died in 1889. In 1891 he married Florence Giesey Benton, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1864, daughter of Frederick Giesey, a native of Paris, France, where he was educated for the priesthood. Politically W. S. Terry is a Populist, formerly a Republican. LEONARD G. HAMILTON. In March, 1647, there was born in Glasgow, Scotland, one Sir William Hamilton, who came to America in 1668, married an English girl named Mary Berry, and settled in North Kingston, Rhode Island. Their children were as follows: Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Roberts, and died at the age of one hundred and two years; Joseph, born in 1693, died in Redding, Conn., aged eighty-six years; Thankful, married to a Mr. Sweet, and died aged one hundred and two years; William, Jr., who settled in Rhode Island, and died when ninety-eight years old; David, born in North Kingston, Conn., April 11, 1697, died in Sharon, Conn., in 1779, at the age of eighty-two years; Benjamin, born in LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 831 1701, died aged ninety-five; Elisha, drowned at an early age; Nathaniel, killed by a fall from a tree; John, died young. The father of these children, like the majority of them, lived to a patriarchal age, dying when five score and two years old. William Hamilton, Jr., eldest son of Sir William, had five children, viz.: William, who married Sarah Benedict; Silas, married to Elizabeth Knapp; Joseph (2), born in 1730, married to Thankful Taylor; Ruth, wife of John Knapp, and Catharine, wife of Nathaniel Gregory. Of these Silas and Joseph (2) settled in Danbury, Conn., and Joseph and Thankful (Taylor) Hamilton had children as follows: Joseph, Jr., Eden (grandfather of the subject proper of these lines, L. G. Hamilton), Asel, Eliakim and Ezra. Eden Hamilton, son of Joseph, Jr., was born in New Fairfield, five miles north of Danbury, Conn., in 1763, and was an eyewitness to the burning of that town by the British during the Revolutionary war. He married Zilla Lindsley, and removed to North Harpersfield, Delaware Co., N. Y., where he remained till 1820, in which year he came as a pioneer to Medina county, Ohio, where he carried on agriculture. He was born in 1763, and died in 1850; his wife was born in 1760, and died in 1828. He was an Old-line Whig in politics, in Church connection a Baptist. The following are the names and dates of birth and death of their children, who were all born in Harpersfield, N. Y.: Talmon, born September 18, 1782, died October 20, 1878; Ira, born 1784, died September 28, 1795; Anson, born 1786, died May 18, 1860; Adna, born 1790, died 1850; Arsa, born 1792, died October 22, 1838; Phoebe, born 1795, died July 26, 1846; Matthew Lindsley, born January 0, 1797, died Novemher 3, 1881; Elizabeth, born 1800, died 1822; Eden (father of subject), born 1802, died September 17, 1849. Eden Hamilton, Jr., youngest in the family of Eden and Zilla (Lindsley) Hamilton, grew to manhood in his native town, where he was educated and reared to farm life. About the year 1820 he migrated to Ohio, where he made a settlement in the wilds of what is now Medina county, and here followed farming to the close of his life. He was among the first settlers in that section (the first being Zenos Hamilton, his cousin, who came in 1814), his nearest neighbor, for some eighteen months after his location there, being seven miles distant. Eden, Jr., married iss Celestia Fletcher, and the children born to them were as follows: Leonard G., Hiram F., Marcus N. and Nancy A. In politics Eden, Jr., was an Old-line Whig, and he was a member of the Baptist Church. Several of the Hamilton family moved to Ohio, among them being Matthew Linda-ley Hamilton (uncle of subject), who came in 1816 and took up land, returned to his old home to be married to Achsa Beardsly, and made his final settlement in Medina county, in 1817. In fact, all of subject's uncles, excepting Talmon, removed to Medina county between the years 1816 and 1820, and his aunts located on the Cleveland and Wooster stage road, all in about the same neighborhood. Hamilton's Corners, about four miles north of the town of Medina, was named for them. Leonard G. Hamilton was born November 26, 1828, at Hamilton's Corners, Medina Co., Ohio, and received but limited school advantages. He worked from boyhood on his father's farm until twenty years of age, when he returned to the old home of his people—North Harpersfield, Delaware Co., N. Y.—where he attended select school during the winter. In the following summer he chopped wood in order to earn sufficient money to take him to Albany, N. Y., where he was in hopes of finding an opportunity to learn the carpenter's trade, or get some kind of work. Failing, however, in his expectations, he returned to North Harpersfield, working all the way, his route being over the Catskill Mountains; then set out, again on foot, for Binghamton, N. Y., 832 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. fully expecting to find work on the Erie Railroad, which was then in course of construction, but walked, instead, down to Owego, where he hired out as a raftsman on the Susquehanna river. At Peach Bottom he received an injury while rafting, from which he has never fully recovered. The river was so shallow that the raftsmen had to temporarily abandon their work, and he was trying to pull a boat out of a shoal, the rope being fastened round his waist, when by some means he got hurt. In those days he was a powerful man. At Port Deposit, at the mouth of the Susquehanna river, they made their rafts into floats, which they took up Elk river and Back creek to Chesapeake City, Md.; thence (after having converted the floats into lockins—which form they were made into so they could be towed through the locks of the canals) via the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and thence (having put all the timber into floats again) up the Delaware river with the tide to Philadelphia, thence to Bordentown, N. J. At that place they entered the Rariden Canal which carried their timber to the city of New Brunswick (where subject was seized with cholera), where it was again made into floats on the river Rariden, down which it was floated to Amboy Bay, thence by the tide up Staten Sound to New York, where it was finally marketed. Mr. Hamilton remained in that city a short time, and then -proceeded to Danbury, Conn. While there his father died, and our subject then came west to Medina county, Ohio, and worked on the home farm for a few years, but had to abandon it on account of his old hurt troubling him. From Medina county Mr. Hamilton proceeded to Randolph, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., where for two terms he attended school and an academy. Again coming to Medina county, he became salesman for his uncle, John Fairchild, who was a manufacturer of wooden bowls; but in 1852 he went to Iowa and took up 680 acres of land in Washington county, which he held about thirty years. On his return home, his uncle (just referred to) gave him an interest in a bowl manufactory at Berea, Cuyahoga, Co., Ohio, and he had just got down to business when the premises were burned to the ground. Commencing anew, however, he carried on the business several years, at the end of which time he closed out and embarked in the general mercantile business. While he and his uncle were carrying on the bowl industry, Mr. Hamilton would make trips westward to sell the wares, and in the course of his travels met with many adventures. He passed two summers _up and down the Missouri river with teams, selling bowls among the so-called " border ruffians"; on his return east he fitted up an old-fashioned flat boat at Pittsburgh, Penn., which he loaded with bowls and grindstones, and took down the river to New Orleans, two thousand miles; at Jeffersonville, Ind., where he had a shop, he filled up his boat and went to making sales at all the towns along the river, he himself piloting the vessel from about six miles above Wheeling, W. Va. He reached New Orleans just about the breaking out of the Civil war, and there sold the balance of the venture at wholesale, getting good prices. Our subject then returned northward, by boat, via the Mississippi river, The firm of Fairchild & Hamilton had bowl factories opened out at Berea, Ohio; Columbia, Lorain Co., Ohio; Jeffersonville, Ind.; St. John's, Mich.; and Chatham, Canada. Having been appointed treasurer of the Berea Savings and Loan Bank, he held that position with ability and satisfaction four years, at the end of which time (1884) he came to Elyria and bought out his present furniture business. Before coming to Elyria he was the assistant of the treasurer of Cleveland. Leonard G. Hamilton and Miss Cassie A. Marsh were united in marriage, in May, 1862, and five children were born to them, as follows: Carrie C.; May B., wife of Henry Ingersoll, an attorney at law in LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 833 Elyria, Ohio; Leonard Walter, in business with his father; Eden, deceased; and Harry G., at school. In politics, Mr. Hamilton is a Republican, and he is a member of the I. O. O. F. From another branch of the family comes David, whose son, Alexander, was born January 11, 1757, in the island of St. Christofer, West Indies. The Hamiltons can be traced back to the twelfth century, producing some eminently scientific men, dukes and lords of Scotland and England, and martyrs of the Reformation. ELIZER G. HASTINGS, a lifelong farmer of LaGrange township, is a native of same, born June 20, 1827, a son of Curtis H. and Pattie (Graves) Hastings. Our subject received an education in the common schools, and was reared to agricultural life, receiving his first training in that direction under his father. He remained on the home farm till twenty-three years of age, and then went to work for Mathew Starr, receiving for his services twelve dollars a month. In December, 1850, he was married, in LaGrange, to Miss Hannah Crane, and they had three children, viz.: Susan, Mrs. Almon Taylor, of Sandusky, Ohio (her first husband was Royal Merriam); George, a farmer of LaGrange; and Evaline, now Mrs. David McFadden, of Sandusky, Ohio. In 1851 Mr. Hastings went to work for Adison Foster; in 1852 he worked for Richard Loomis; in 1853 he was in the employ of Darius Holcomb, and in 1854 he worked at the carpenter trade. In 1855 he moved onto a piece of land owned by his father, and which he worked on shares, he having one-third. In 1858 Mr. Hastings moved with his family to Van-Wert county, Ohio, but ague and bilious fever being prevalent there, they had to return to their native place. In 1861 he moved onto the old farm, which he worked on shares until the death of his father, which occurred December 22, 1877. Our subject now owns 142 ½ acres and a commodious house; he has erected various outbuildings on the place, and a new dwelling across the road from his own. Mrs. Hannah Hastings died May 7, 1870, and Mr. Hastings was married, January 27, 1875, to Mrs. H. L. Davis, who was born February 11, 1829, in Hampshire county, Mass. Our subject has been an active, hard working man, and has always been fond of his home. In 1883 a sick spell left him almost a physical wreck, and since then he performs only light farm labor, the remainder of the work being attended to by his son George, who was married to Miss Hattie Barnes, of Penfield, Lorain Co., Ohio. Mr. Hastings is a Democrat in his political preferences. JOHN ALEXANDER. This gentleman, one of the leading agriculturists of Eaton township, is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Frankum) Alexander, natives of Gloucestershire, England, who immigrated to the United States in 1830, locating first in New York State. In 1838 they moved to Elyria, Lorain Co., Ohio, where they remained some time, thence removing to Grafton township, same county, and in 1844 to Eaton township, where they were well-known agriculturists; the home farm is still in the family. Samuel Alexander died in 1886 at the age of eighty; his wife died in 1883, aged seventy-nine. Politically he was a Whig and Republican. They had a family of eight children, as follows: Martha, who married Edwin Martin, and died in LaPorte, Lorain county, in 1884; Samuel, who married Barbara Slatershine, of Michigan, and is a resident of Carlisle township, Lorain county; Ann, wife of William Lawson, of Grafton township, Lorain 834 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. county; Sophia, wife of Cyrus Wallace, of Winnebago county, Ill.; John, subject of this sketch; Job, a farmer of Eaton township, Lorain county, who married Ann Pierce; Albert, who married Addie Goland, and who resides in Eaton township; and Amanda, who died in her youth. John Alexander, whose name opens this sketch, was born November 12, 1836, in Grafton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, and received his education at the country schools of Eaton township. In 1873 he bought one hundred acres of land in Eaton township, which he has since much improved, having erected a comfortable residence, commodious barns, etc., and has increased the area of his farm till it now comprises 186 acres, fifty-four of which are in Carlisle township. On October 6, 1876, Mr. Alexander was married, in Oberlin, Lorain county, to Miss Hannah Dimick, who was born in New York State, a daughter of Alanson and Hannah (Hill) Dimick, the father a native of Vermont, who died at the age of one hundred years, the mother a native of Connecticut, who died at the age of eighty-five, both passing away within a year, at the home of the subject of our sketch. To Mr. and Mrs. Alexander has been born one child, Grace. Politically our subject is a Republican. E. C. GRISWOLD. The family, of which this gentleman is a prominent member, claim German descent, the first of the ancestry, of whom there is record, having come to England with the Prince of Orange. The name was originally. spelled Griswolde. Edward and Matthew Griswold (the latter of whom was the direct ancestor of the two Governors Griswold) were brothers. They resided in Kenilworth,Warwickshire, England (the ancestral seat being known as Malvern Hall, the coat-of-arms two greyhounds courant), where another brother, Thomas, also lived. In 1639, in a vessel sent out by Mr. William Whiting, they came to America, in company with Rev. Ephraim Huit and several other members of his congregation, who settled in Windsor, Connecticut. (1) Edward Griswold, born in England in 1607, married, while young, Margaret —. After his arrival in America he located in a part of Windsor called Poquonnack, but afterward became one of the first settlers of Killingworth, Conn., where he appears to have been a man of much enterprise and influence. In March, 1663, he was appointed one of a committee to lay out the undivided lands in Massaco (Simsbury) to each of the inhabitants of Windsor as desired or needed. In Killing-worth he was a commissioner and large landholder. His first wife died in Killingworth August 23, 1670, and he then married Sarah, widow of James Bemis, of New London. He died about 1690. His children were Francis, George, John and Sarah, all four born in England (Sarah was twice married, first to Samuel, son of William Phelps, .November 10, 1650, and second to Nathaniel, son of Humphrey Pinney, July 21, 1670); Anne, born in America, June 19, 1642; Mary, born October 5, 1644 (married Timothy, son of William Phelps, March 19, 1661); Deborah, born June 28, 1646 (married Samuel, son of William Buel, and went to Killingworth); Joseph, born March 2, 1647; Samuel, born November 13, 1649, died at Killingworth July 6, 1672; John,born August 15,1652. (2) George married Mary Holcomb October 3, 16—; she died April 4, 1708. He settled in Windsor, was holder of considerable land, part of which he bought of the Indians, and was a man of high respectability. His children were Daniel, born October 1, 1656; Thomas, barn Sep- tember 29, 1658; Edward, born May 19, 1660; Mary, born September 28, 1663; George, born December 3, 1665; John,. born September 11, 1668; Benjamin, born August 16, 1671; Deborah, born May 20, 1674 (married Thomas Moore December LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 837 12, 1695); Abigail, born October .3, 1676, died March 7, 1682; Samuel, born November 5, 1681, died June 1, 1682. (3) Daniel, born October 1, 1656, married Mindwell, daughter of Nathaniel Bissell, February 3, 1680, who died December 31, 1728. Their children were David and Nathaniel (twins), born February 14, 1684; Peletiah, born September 13, 1689; Mary, born 1692; Edward, born March 8, 1696; Deborah, born November 7, 1698; David, born August 6, 1701. (4) David, born August 6, 1701, married Huldah Brown, 1731. Their children were David, born May 25, 1733, died March 6, 1736; Joel, born 1734; Ezekiel, born February 21, 1737; Huldah, born April 23, 1739; Sybil, born April 17, 1742; Deborah, born March 15, 1745; David, born February 15, 1748; Asinah, born September 6, 1750. (5) Joel, born 1734, married May 11, 1758, Mary Ebens. Their children were Joel, born November 4, 1758; Elijah, born August 20, 1762; Luther, Ralph, and Rufus. (6) Elijah, born August 20, 1762, married July 6, 1787, Lydia Adams, born August 30, 1767. Their children were Elijah Pinder, born June 12, 1788; Lydia, born July 24, 1790; Chauncey Gay, born September 16, 1792; Sophia, born January 4, 1794; Julia, born March 17, 1796; Fanny, born March 5, 179.8; Thirza Maria, born December 29, 1800; Edwin Elijah (father of the subject of this sketch), born August 20, 1802; Edson Adams, born June 27, 1804; Mary Catherine, born May 8, 1806; Luther Dwight, born February 7, 1809. Edwin Elijah Griswold, the last but three mentioned in the above genealogical record, was born in the township of Simsbury (of Old Windsor, now Bloomfield), Conn., and received his education at the subscription schools of the vicinity, and also in a private school. He was a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and filled incumbencies in Connecticut, New York State and New York City, many of his appointments being the best held in the several 'localities. Daniel Drew and the well-known publishers, Harper Brothers, were among his parishioners. For seventeen years he was presiding elder, part of the time officiating in New York City. After nearly forty-five years of active service in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at his own request he was released from his duties, and returned to his home in Danbury, Conti. He was a D. D. of Mt. Union College. On April 20, 1825, he married Miss Nancy Webster, who was descended by direct line from John Webster, one of Hartford's early settlers and the fifth Governor of Connecticut Colony, and the record of their children is as follows: Fanny F., born February 22, 1826; E. C. (subject of sketch); Harriet W., born Feb, ruary 23, 1830, died May 5, 1893; Ann Augusta, born September 18, 1836; and Mary Victoria, born November 27, 1838, died November 8, 1839. Mrs. Griswold died April 3, 1870, and Mr.. Griswold was subsequently married to Artemesia W. Pease (widow of a preacher), who still survives. He died, April 3, 1878. Edwin Chauncey Griswold was born in Farmington, Conn., May 18, 1827, and received his elementary education in a preparatory school, after which he took a course of study at the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., where he graduated iu 1847, being then twenty years of age. After teaching school for a time, he became connected with the Peoples Line of Steamers of the Hudson river, and was in that service some four years. He then became connected with the Methodist Book Concern, in New York City, having charge of the mailing department, but his health becoming impaired, he concluded to move westward. Accordingly, in February, 1854, he came to Elyria, Ohio, and established a book store, which he carried on for about twenty-four years, or until 1877, when he sold out. He 838 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. has since been connected with various business enterprises, among which may be mentioned the Lakeside Company, of which he is president, and one of its heaviest stockholders; had also at one time charge of their hotel at Lakeside. He owns grape growing and farming interests, and occupies much of his time in assisting to manipulate stock companies of various kinds. On February 2, 1852, in Hartford, Conn., Mr., Griswold was married to Miss Anne Sweetland, a native of Hartford, Conn., where and at Mt. Holyoke Seminary, Massachusetts, she received her education. The following is a brief record of their children: (1) Ellen Augusta, born November 23, 1852, in New York City; after graduating at Elyria High School she entered upon a course of study at Baldwin University, Berea, Ohio, and had reached the Senior class, when failing health caused her to leave; she afterward graduated at Cleveland Normal School; she was married to Rev. Lucius C. Smith, July 12, 1878, and died December 28, 1878, in Copiapo, Chili, S. A., her husband being a missionary of the M. E. Church, one of the "Taylor missionaries." (2) Edwin Luther was born February 11, 1855, and died September 26, 1881; he entered upon a course of study at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., but unavoidable circumstances prevented his completing the course; he was engaged in the book business with his father, and later in Cleveland. (3) Fannie Martha, born September 4, 1857, graduated at Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. was married, March 29, 1882, to G. W. Rice, and now resides in Hamilton, Ohio; (4) William Sweetland was born June 0, 1862, and was educated at Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, then one year in Berea, Ohio, and afterward at the Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland, Ohio. He is now in Lansing, Mich., where he is engaged in the artificial stone business and selling coal. He was married October 7,1885, to Miss Martha H. Wales, of Sandusky, Ohio, and they have two children, viz.: Edwin Chauncey, born June' 9, 1887; and Marie Sweetland, born September 17, 1892. Mr. E. C. Griswold is a strong Republican; he served as clerk of Elyria township thirteen years, and for years was also township trustee; for several years he was a member of the board of education and clerk of the same. In 1876 he was a member of the M. E. General Conference that met in Baltimore, Md., and has for many years been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Elyria. He also holds important relations with several educational institutions. WILLIAM GREEN, a prominent, well-to-do farmer of Pittsfield township, was born October 4, 1848, in Lincolnshire, England, son of William and Mary (Marshall) Green. William Green, Sr., was a shoemaker, and followed the trade exclusively in England, where he married and had three children: Henry, who died in England; Ann, who died in Wood county, Ohio, wife of William Bailey, and William. In 1854 the family embarked at Liverpool, and after a voyage of seven weeks landed in New York City. They at once proceeded to Pittsfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where William Marshall, brother of Mrs. Green, had previously located, and there purchased a partially improved tract of fifty acres, where the father began farming. Here theypassed the remainder of their lives, Mrs. Green dying in 1877, her husband in 1884, and they both rest in Pittsfield cemetery. Both were members of the Methodist Church, and in politics he was a Republican. Our subject received a common-school education, and was reared to farm life, remaining at home with his parents until LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 839 his marriage. On October 5, 1871, he was married to Rowena Cole, who was born in Wellington township, Lorain county, daughter of Horace Cole, and to this union were born two children: Lou Emma, Mrs. Frank Whitney, of Pittsfield township; and Mary Ann, who died in infancy. The mother of these children died in November, 1878, and was buried in Pittsfield cemetery. For his second wife Mr. Green married January 1, 1880, Miss Anna Jordan, who died February 3, 1883, some time afterward, without issue. In 1884 Mr. Green married Catherine Rogers, and to this union has come one child, Walter Henry. After marriage our subject located on the home farm, and there remained until 1883, when he removed to his present farm, in the center of Pittsfield township, which he had purchased the preceding fall. Here he has since resided, carrying on general agriculture and dairying, and he has met with a considerable degree of success, being an energetic, systematic farmer. Politically he is a Republican, and in religious faith he is a member of the Methodist Church, in which he has served as trustee and in various other positions. FLAVIUS A. HART, proprietor of a leading furniture establishment in Oberlin, and undertaker, comes of English ancestry. The first of this branch of the family in America was one of three brothers who came from England in 1646 or '48, one of whom settled in Connecticut, one went west and was never heard of again, and the third, from whom our subject descends, made a settlement in Lynn, Massachusetts. Sylvester Hart, father of Flavius A., was born, in 1806, in Vermont, the eldest son of George Hart, and came to Lorain county, Ohio, in 1832, settling in Carlisle township, where he carried on farming operations. He died in 1874, a stanch Republican, having originally been an Old-line Whig. He married Miss Relief Baldwin, also a native of Vermont, born in 1806, and died in 1892. They had a family of five children, of whom Flavius A. is the youngest. Our subject was born in Carlisle township, Lorain Co., Ohio, December 2, 1849. When six years old he came to Oberlin, where he received his education, first attending the public schools and then Oberlin College. For a time he read law in that town, in order the more thoroughly to qualify himself for business, and then turned his attention to agriculture, which he followed till some sixteen years since, and he still owns a farm in the township. On giving up agricultural pursuits he opened out a furniture factory in Oberlin, and also a store for sale of the products. The factory he carried on three years, since when he has confined himself to the retail business and undertaking. He carries a large stock of furniture, and enjoys, a wide business connection. In 1877 Mr. Hart was married in Oberlin to Miss Olive A. Crain, who was born in Florence township, Erie Co., Ohio, to which union three children have been born: Burton S., Merton S. and Eugene A. In politics our subject has been an ardent Democrat ever since he first exercised his franchise at the ballot, and has twice been Democratic candidate for county treasurer, also Democrat candidate for mayor of Oberlin. On December 20, 1893, he was appointed postmaster at Oberlin by President Cleveland; confirmed by Senate January 9, 1894, and commenced his duties as postmaster February 1, 1894. He is past master in the A. F. & A. M., and past noble grand in the I. O. O. F.; is a member of the Oberlin Society which governs the Congregational Church. Zerubable Hart, paternal great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Lynn, Mass. He owned the best yoke of oxen in the neighborhood of Bos- 840 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. ton, and prior to the battle of Bunker Hill he hauled hogsheads of sand up that and Breed's Hill for the making of military breastworks; his brother, John Hart, was one of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence; their father, Jonathan Hart, was captain of a privateer, and was captured on the Mediterranean Sea by the Moors. He had to work as a slave in the mines of Africa for nine long years without ever seeing the light of the sun; but one day he and two other prisoners succeeded in escaping by first killing the overseer with their picks, and another man with the guard's gun. Having now regained their liberty, they put to sea in an open boat, and were picked up by a Portuguese vessel, and ultimately reached their respective homes. FRANK A. COATES. Among the more intelligent and highly respected citizens of Henrietta township, this gentleman must certainly be classed. He is a son of Stephen Coates, who was born in Rutland county, Vt., in 1812, and was there reared to manhood. His school advantages were much limited, and his education, therefore, consisted of but the common branches. During his youth he learned the trade of shoemaking. In 1845 he migrated to Lorain county, Ohio. Subsequently he married Caroline Bodfish, a daughter of Nathan Bodfish and a native of Vermont, to which union were born six children, as follows: Delia, Janet, Augusta, Frank A., Caroll and Herbert, of whom there are living, Augusta, now the wife of M. William Thomas, of Oberlin; Herbert, a farmer of Huntington, Lorain county; Caroll, the well-known landlord of a popular hotel in Sullivan, Ohio, and Frank A. Upon the location of the family in their new home in Ohio, the father found employment at his trade, and by careful management and observance of rigid economy, he was enabled to save a portion of his earnings. After a few years he purchased a small plat of land, which he cultivated, and worked at his trade. This bit of land he subsequently sold, and bought 00 acres which he divided equally between the four children at the time of his removal to Oberlin. His career was in every respect eminently successful, and at his death he was possessor of more than 200 acres, the clearing of which was nearly all his own handiwork. Some years prior to his death he purchased a large farm in Henrietta township, upon which he resided for a number of years, keeping a dairy, cutting timber, etc. He then removed to Oberlin, where he departed this life in March, 1889, at the age of seventy-six years. Politically he was a Democrat, and for a number of years he filled the office of justice of the peace of Henrietta township. His wife had preceded him to the grave in 1887; she was a member of the Baptist Church. Frank A. Coates, the subject proper of these lines, was born in Birmingham, Ohio, March 4, 1846, and was there reared, accompanying his father to his various locations as above recorded. He was the recipient of a superior education, having at one time attended Oberlin College. In 1867 he married Miss Mira Thomas, daughter of William Thomas, Sr., who died in Vermont; his widow came to Ohio in 1855. To our subject and wife have been born the following children: Nellie, Carrie (Mrs. Cor. Courier), Jennie (Mrs. 4 Arthur Court), Lizzy and Harold. At the age of twenty-one our subject was the possessor of fifty acres of land, bequeathed to him by his father, upon which he erected buildings, and added all improvements; his handsome brick residence was erected in 1877. Mr. Coates' children have all received exceptional educations, Mrs. Courier (née Carrie) being a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Politically Mr. Coates is a Prohibitionist, and is now occupying the office of justice of the peace. He is a prominent LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 841 member of the Baptist Church. When but a boy of fifteen years he suffered an illness which left him a cripple for life, yet despite this physical disadvantage his success has been indeed marked. He successfully cultivates his farm of seventy-nine acres, and devotes much attention to the cultivation of small fruits. Mrs. Coates and her daughters are justly popular ladies in their community, and their many excellent qualities are highly appreciated by their large circle of friends. F. W. ROCKWOOD, a prosperous, intelligent farmer of La Grange township, is a native of the "Empire State," born January 18, 1817, in Champion, Jefferson county. His father, David Rockwood, was born in 1777 in New Hampshire, and was reared to farm life. When a young man he came with some of his older half-brothers to Cherry Valley, N. Y., and as they kept “bachelors' hall" he was their cook. In later years their parents came to New York State, also locating in Cherry Valley, and David and his half-brother, William, moved into Jefferson county, N. Y., and bought land. Here David Rockwood was united in marriage with Miss Ruby Rounds, a native of Westchester county, N. Y., and while living in New York State they had six sons and one daughter, viz.: Henry, of Elyria; Benjamin S., who went west years ago, and has never since been heard from; Emeline, widow of David Gott; F. W., subject proper of this sketch; Giles C., of Wood county, Ohio; David P., of La Grange Center; and Almon A., of California. Another child, Pauline, now the widow of Hiram Buswell, was born in Lorain county, Ohio. Mr. Rockwood was a well-to-do farmer in New York, and traded his farm there for 600 acres in La Grange township, Lorain Co., Ohio, for which place he set out in June, 1826, driving a team of horses. Five sons and the daughter came with the parents, the other son traveling by the water route with the household goods. Asal Rockwood, a brother of David, came at the same time. The journey from New York occupied ten days, and they came via Cleveland, where at that time there was no bridge across the Cuyahoga river, and where he was offered land—now the site of the Public Square—at four dollars an acre, or land on the west side of the city at twenty shillings an acre. However, they pushed on to Elyria, and thence to La Porte, where the family remained while the father went out to look over the land he had bargained for at LaGrange. Upon seeing this he was so disappointed that he concluded to return to Cleveland, and invest in land there, but was dissuaded from this by Belden, Ingersol and Mennels, three of the leading men in Grafton township, who induced him to remain in LaGrange in order 50 more thoroughly settle up the country. He remained on the 600-acre farm, a portion of which he traded to Nathan Clark for a like amount in Lot No. 49, and built thereon a a rude house of logs, covered with elm-bark, into which he moved. This was shortly afterward supplanted by a better one. Mrs. Rockwood died and was buried in LaGrange township, and he married, for his second wife, Polly Graves, who bore him five children, all of whom died young. He was always a farmer, and after moving on his farm in the northwest corner of LaGrange township, sold some of it, giving it out for work on other parts of the tract. He was stirring and energetic, and was active up to the age of sixty-five, when he retired. His death, which occurred in 1877, when he was one hundred years and one month old, was the result of old age. In politics he was originally a Whig, later a Democrat, and in religious connection he was a member of the Christian Church. F. W. Rockwood received his education in the common schools of his boyhood days, 842 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. when eleven years old coming to Ohio, where he also attended the schools, which were held in log buildings. From early boyhood he was reared to farm life, doing any work he could about the place, and when fifteen years old went to learn the trade of cabinet maker under his brother Henry, in LaGrange, remaining there five years, and then working as a carpenter and joiner. On October 27, 1840, he was married to Miss Clarissa Wack, who was born February 22, 1821, in Danby, Vt., daughter of Frederick W. and Hannah (Loomis) Wack, natives of Connecticut, who came to Lorain county, Ohio, in 1834, locating in Carlisle township. After his marriage he moved into Oberlin, where he followed his trade for three years, and then came to his present farm, where he himself erected a house, and has since made his home. He has two children, namely: Edgar D. and William W. For the last twenty years he has given up his trade, but previous to that time did much of the building in his section. He now owns 460 acres of land, situated in various parts of the country—Ohio, Iowa and South Dakota; his farm in Ohio is one of the most valuable in Lorain county, as it contains an exceedingly good deposit of building stone. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and has been a party leader in his section. He has a very pleasant home, rendered doubly attractive by the presence of Mrs. Rockwood, who is a most estimable, kind-hearted lady. Mr. Rockwood keeps himself well informed on the leading questions of the day, both by reading and observation. T. H. MUMFORD, a prominent, highly respected citizen of Russia township, was born in 1840 in Darlington county, South Carolina. In July, 1857, he left his native State, and he has since been identified with the interests of Lorain county, Ohio. He attended the Union schools at Oberlin, and for some time thereafter followed the trades of painting and paper hanging. In 1862 he enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry, and in 1864 reenlisted, this time in Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-eighth O. V. I., for one year or during the war, being assigned to the army of the Cumberland. He participated in the engagements at Nashville (Tenn.) and Kingston (N. C.), and was also in many skirmishes. In 1865 he received an honorable discharge at Charlotte, N. C., and returned to Oberlin, where he has since continuously resided. Mr. Mumford was married at Oberlin, October 5, 1865, to Miss Evelene Oswalt, and they have had three children, namely: William D., Sumpter Marion and Lila. In religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Mumford are both members of the First Congregational Church. In politics he is a Republican, deeply interested in the welfare of his party, and he has held the office of township trustee for the past seventeen years, having been first elected in 1876. Mr. Mumford takes an active part in every project tending toward the improvement and advancement of the interests of Lorain county. Be is a member of Henry Lincoln Post No. 564, G. A. R. JACOB LAW, a leading and successful agriculturist of Grafton township, is a German by birth, having first seen the light of day November 17, 1823, in Wittenberg, Prussia. He is a son of Mathias Law, a shepherd in the Fatherland, who married Mary Metzger, by whom there was one child, the subject of this sketch. The young mother was called from earth when Jacob was but a child, and the father afterward married Margaret Ritchley. Deciding to seek a new home in the Western World, the family, at that time consisting of our subject and his father and stepmother, in 1834 set out from Wittenberg for the port of LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 843 Bremen, a journey of fourteen days, and there on April 1, same year, set sail on a " full-rigged ship " for the shores of America. After a voyage of about forty-three days they landed at New York, whence they proceeded westward by the Hudson river and Erie Canal to Buffalo, from there sailing on Lake Erie to Cleveland, remaining in that town one week. Mr. Law there bought, for four dollars per acre, thirty-two acres of unbroken land in Liverpool township, Medina county, without a house or cabin of any kind on it, but with some five hundred feet of lumber and three 'cut forked sticks he soon erected a rude shanty under the branches of a noble beech tree, where the little family made their home from June 18 to October, same year, by which time a commodious and substantial log house was erected. Mr. Law had but a small capital to start on—one hundred dollars—and many difficulties to contend against in clearing the land, not the least of which was the continual encroachments of wild animals on his little domain. In the fall of 1834 he sowed his first wheat, which was harvested the following year, and the prospects after 1836 (which was a bad year for farmers) began to brighten. In 1842 the log house gave place to a frame one, and to the farm fifty acres were added, lying in the eastern part of lot No. 70, Grafton township. In 1877 this honored pioneer passed from earth after a brief illness, his wife in February, 1889, and they lie buried in Liverpool cemetery, Medina county. Jacob Law, whose name opens this sketch, as will be seen was ten years old when he came to America, so had attended school for some four years in his native land; after his arrival in Lorain county he had the benefit of. such English education as the then primitive schools afforded. His early youth was passed in hard work on his father's farm, and when but sixteen years of age he worked on a canal at Coshocton, Ohio, all his earnings being given his father; he also labored on other canals. After his, marriage, which will be spoken of presently, his father gave him thirty acres of land in Grafton township, where he resided up to 1863, in which year he came to his present farm in the same township. At one time he owned 468 acres, but having given much of it to his children, has now 215 acres. On June 13, 1848, our subject was married to Agnes Laundenberger, also a native of Wittenberg, Germany, born August 20, 1830, daughter of Thomas Laundenberger, who came from Bremen to the United States' in 1833, arriving in New York after a lengthy passage of ninety-one days. From there he proceeded westward to Canton, Stark Co., Ohio, where he followed his trade, that of blacksmith, as well as farming. Later he came to Liverpool township, Medina county, where Mr. Law met his daughter Agnes for the first time. The children born to our subject and wife were as follows: John, a farmer; Mary, Mrs. Henry Wise; Henry, a farmer; Catherine, Mrs. Louis Wise; Carrie, deceased; August, a harness maker, of Erhert, Ohio; Jacob, a farmer; Louisa, deceased; William, a farmer; and Joseph, residing at home. Politically Mr. Law is a Democrat, and he is a member of the Lutheran Church, in which he has held office some years. He and his esteemed wife are highly respected in the community in which they live, and he is recognized as a leader among the sturdy and prosper ous yeomen of Lorain county. PETER SCHULLER, one of the progressive agriculturists of Sheffield township, is a native of Lorain county, Ohio, born May 17, 1853, in Sheffield township. Matthias Schuller, his father, who was a German by birth, was married in his native land to Miss Katherine Klein, and two of their children were born there. Coming to the United States, the family settled on 844 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO a farm, in Sheffield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where the father died in 1871 at the age of sixty-three years, the mother on March 4, 1885, aged seventy-two. They were members of the Catholic Church, and in politics Mr. Schuller was a Democrat. They were the parents of three children, two of whom are yet living, viz.: Michael, born in Germany, now living in Sheffield township, and Peter. The subject of our sketch received his education at the public and parochial schools of his native township, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. In 1880 he was united in marriage with Miss Maggie gelling, and to them seven children were born, as follows: George, Henry, John, Matthias, Minnie, Frank and Julia. Mr. Schuller takes an active interest in politics as emphasized in the principles embodied in the platform of the Democratic party, and is a member of the school board; was also for some five or six years road supervisor. He is a member of the Catholic Church. Owner of a good farm of eighty-six acres, Mr. Schuller does a successful general agricultural business. A. R. WEBBER, prosecuting attorney for Lorain county for six years (his term ending January 2, 1894), is a native of Ohio, born in Hinckley, Medina county, January 21, 1852, of old English stock, his great-grandfather and family having been immigrants from the mother country to the New England States many years ago. His grandfather, Richard Webber, was a pioneer. of Hinckley, and a man of great worth, a preacher of rare gifts and power, wielding great influence in his community. George E. Webber, father of subject, was a native of Massachusetts, a son of Richard Webber, and a molder by trade. At the age of fourteen he moved westward to Ohio, with his father, locating in Hinckley, in Medina county, where he aided in clearing the forest to make way for farms, and cutting out the public highways. When eighteen years old he re- turned to Massachusetts and learned the trade of molder, which having completed he again came to Medina county, and started a foundry in the town of Hinckley, operating same for twenty years. After this he farmed for six years, owing to poor health, and then moved into the town of Medina, where he opened out the present Hollowware foundry, for the manufacture of iron hollow-ware, which now employs sixty-five men. He is a man of great push and force of character, and extensive reading. He was married to Miss Jane Woodruff, a native of New York, who taught school for many years in Hinckley, and was ever known for her sweet disposition and deeds of charity and kindness. They had a family as follows: Julius F. Webber, A. R. Webber, Julia Walker, Lana Webber, H. B. Webber and John Webber. Julius and Lana are dead; John and Julia reside in Medina; H. B. is an able attorney in Canton, Ohio. A. R. Webber received his education at the schools of his native town, and at Baldwin University, Berea, Ohio. He then commenced the study of law in the office of Judge Lewis, Medina, Ohio; was admitted to the bar in 1876, and at once opened a law office in Elyria, Lorain county, in partnership with a Mr. C. H. Brintnall, which copartnership continued for some six months, when it was dissolved. Mr. Webber's next partner was Mr. C. W. Johnston, at one time prosecuting attorney, and this copartnership terminated at the end of two years, the next partner being Hon. George P. Metcalf, for some years prosecuting attorney for Lorain county. Since the latter's death in 1887, Mr. Webber conducted the business of his office alone till two years ago, when he formed a partnership with Lee Stoup, a young man who read law in his office. In 1887 he was nominated and elected to the LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 847 position of prosecuting attorney, taking office in January, 1888. Mr. Webber does a general practice, and has a very large clientage. A. R. Webber and Miss Ida C. Finch were united in marriage May 17, 1875, and two children have come to brighten their home: Gilbert G. and Lawrence H. Mrs. Webber is a lady of culture, and among the foremost in works of charity and temperance in her city. Our subject is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Royal Arcanum and Knights of the Maccabees. He is a stockholder in the Savings Bank, and in the Republican newspaper company. He enjoys the enviable distinction of being one of the ablest and best informed lawyers in Lorain county; is a close student, ever keeping well abreast of the times; was a strong prosecutor and is an able jury lawyer, as well as a reliable and safe counselor. He has but few peers in the county, and certainly no superior. WILLIAM SHERMAN POWELL was born July 28, 1833, in Charlotte, Chittenden Co., Vt., in which State his parents were also born. Calvin Powell, father of William S., was born August 19, 1799. On January 6, 1819, he was married in Charlotte, Vt., to Maria Gray, who was born September 29, 1801. In Charlotte they resided until 1838, when they sold out and came to Lorain county, Ohio, with their family. The journey from Vermont, a distance of seven hundred miles, was made in a covered wagon with four horses attached, the trip taking four weeks. Here they purchased 134 acres of heavily timbered land. Mr. Powell by hard labor and perseverance cleared up the entire farm, and he resided there until his death. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Powell were as follows: Alma M., born February 27, 1821, died March 3, 1880 (wife of J. W. Rockwell); Henry Sherman, born July 25, 1823, died April 25, 1888; Harriet, born September 20, 1826, died May 4, 1893 (wife of C. J. Case); Polly Ann, born November 10, 1828 (Mrs. William Rockwell, residing in St. Louis, Mo.); Elvira, born May 9, 1831, died June 14, 1890 (wife of Albert Eldred); William S., subject of sketch ; Lorenzo C., born June 23, 1837, a resident of Frankfort, Kans.; Amelia, born August 12, 1839(Mrs. George Hub- bard, of Decatur, Mich.); and Mary, born October 9, 1842 (Mrs. M. Tuscott, of Lanark, Ill.). Calvin Powell was a man of prominence, and held various township offices. He was a member of the 'Baptist Church of Elyria, a constant attendant and earnest supporter. He died January 26, 1860. Mrs. Powell was also a faithful member of the same church. Her death occurred August 17, 1883, at the home of her youngest daughter, in Lanark, Illinois. W. S. Powell, the subject of this sketch, spent his early life in Amherst township, where he attended the common schools, first in the log schoolhouse, afterward at the select schools, where he obtained a practical education. He remained at home until he was twenty-two years of age. He then, in 1856, went to Illinois, where he remained five months, and then returned to Ohio, where he has since resided. On November 25, 1856, he was married to Miss Betsey M. Bender, daughter of Peter Bender, a resident of Elyria. After his marriage he remained .on the home farm two years, then rented a farm on Lake Avenue, where he remained one year. When his father died he again rented the home farm, which he carried on two years. He then purchased a farm in the southwest part of Amherst township, and here resided four years, at the end of which time he sold, and bought a farm of one hundred acres three miles north of Oberlin, where he lived eight years, in the meantime adding fifty-two acres of land. He then sold, and removed to his present farm, 848 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. which contains about 150 acres, and is regarded as one of the finest farms in Lorain county, sixty-two acres being in the corporation of Elyria. His children were as follows: Ella M., born June 18, 1861, died June 2, 1863; Orpha E., born October 10, 1864, married March 17, 1886, to John Stang, and now living in Elyria township (they have one child, Herbert Ralph, born June 15, 1890); Elnora T., born November 12, 1866, married March 17, 1891, to M. B. Sonnels, who holds a position as locomotive engineer on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, and they reside in Elyria; Mary May, born November 20, 1871; Edwin Sherman, born August 21, 1873; and Arthur William, born September 7, 1878. Mr. Powell is a self-made man, having made his own financial success. He is now carrying on his farm, and although sixty years of age is vigorous and active. For many years he has been prominent in all public affairs relating to both the township and county of his residence. He has always been a pronounced Democrat of the Jacksonian school, ready at all times to express his opinions, but at the same time disposed to be charitable to his opponents. Equipped by nature with strong intellectual endowments and rugged physical powers, possessing a sterling honesty which characterizes his conduct in all the offices of life, he has won a high place in the esteem and confidence of his fellowmen. J. P. BYRD is one of the most prosperous and substantial agriculturists of Brownheljn township, whither he had come in 1866. He was born in Huntsville, Ala., in 1833, a son of John and Susan (Page) Byrd, natives of England and France, respectively, in which latter country they were married. In an early day they immigrated to Richmond, Va., thence moving to near Huntsville, Ala., where John Byrd was a planter, and where he died in 1840, as did also his wife some years later, at the age of seventy years. Grandfather Page was a native of France, and coming to this country served in the Revolutionary war under LaFayette; at the time of his death he was a senator from Albemarle county, Va., of which State he was a pioneer. J. P. Byrd, the subject of this memoir, received his education at the public schools of the vicinity of Huntsville, Ala., and learned the trade of merchant tailor. When a young man he came north, and in 1862 located in Cincinnati, Ohio, Whence in 1866 he came to Lorain county, as already recorded, and after marriage settled on a farm in Brownhelm township, which now comprises 111 ½ acres of land, where he carries on general agriculture, including the breeding of high-grade Shorthorn cattle. He has an excellent stone residence, two stories high, 28 x 30 feet. In 1865 Mr. Byrd was married in Elyria to Miss D. E. Cable, a native of Brownhelm, Ohio, daughter of O. A. and Caroline (Peck) Cable, the latter of whom was born in Stockbridge, Mass., and came to Ohio with her parents when she was eight years old. Stephen Cable, grandfather of Mrs. Byrd, was a native of Vermont, whence he came to Ohio, locating in Cleveland, from there coming to Lorain county, settling in Ridgeville township in 1811. 0. A. Cable, his son (Mrs. Byrd's father), was born in 1813, in Ridgeville, and was the first white male child born in the county of Lorain. He was about one year old when his father moved to Amherst, where he lived about three years, and then moved to Henrietta township, where Stephen Cable died when 0. A. was about eight years old. The latter died in Brownhelm in 1879; his wife, Caroline P. Cable, died in the same township in 1887. Mrs. Byrd's grandfather, Elisha F. Peck, came to Brownhelm in 1817, and took up 480 acres of land—three quarter sections. He was a native of Connecticut, born in LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 849 Berlin. His grandfather came from England. Mrs. Byrd was educated in Oberlin, and graduated in the class of 1861; later she taught school in Pittsfield and LaGrange townships, Lorain county. To Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Byrd were born three children, as follows: Nina P., now wife of Harry E. Sage, of Brownhelm township; Leon F. and John O. Politically our subject is a Republican, but in municipal matters he invariably votes for the best man, irrespective of party principle. DE GRASSE AND HARRIET THOMAS. The Thomases were of old New England stock. DeGrasse Thomas was the oldest child of Edmond and Asenath Thomas, and of a family of six—two boys, De Grasse and Orrin, and four girls, Mannett, Jeanett, Julia M. and Jane. Edmond Thomas was born in the town of Rutland, Vt., one of a large family born to Wesson and Patience (Hall) Thomas, who came to Vermont from Massachusetts. Wesson Thomas was a soldier and pensioner of the Revolution. Originally the Thomases came to Massachusetts from Wales. When Edmond was about twelve years of age his father moved to the town of Adams, Jefferson Co., N. Y., where he grew to manhood and where he married Asenath Crapo, daughter of Jonathan Crapo, a soldier of the Revolution, of an old and honorable .family in the old Commonwealth, originally from France. In 1835 Edmond moved his family, then consisting of wife and five children, to Ohio, coming by lake from Sacket's Harbor to Genesee, thence on a primitive railroad, where the cars were drawn by horses, to Rochester, N. Y.; from there to Buffalo by the Erie Canal, and by steamer to Cleveland, from that point to Pittsfield by wagon. Settling in that township, a farm was cleared out of the woods, and after nine years the family moved to the western part of Rochester township, where another farm was hewn from the forests, which then covered all that country in every direction except only where farms were being cut out here and there. Here the two sons took land for themselves. cleared them up, and day by day, year by year, have grown old together with the neighborhood their work has done so much to redeem from the forest. Here the good old mother was found on May 18, 1877, by the silent Reaper, in the eighty-first year of her age, and here the father lingered until January 19, 1889, passing away in his ninety-second year; he was a soldier and pensioner of the war of 1812. Harriet Thomas, the daughter of James and Sarah Fancher, was born in the town of Mendon, Monroe Co., N. Y., September 21, 1822, one of a family of thirteen children. John Fancher, the father of James, was a soldier of the Revolution, and married a niece of Gen. Daniel Schuyler; they lived in the township of Florida, near Albany, N. Y., where James was born and where he married Sarah Doty, of Spencer township, whose father was also a soldier of the Revolution, and of Dutch descent.. When Harriet was nine years old the mother left Mendon for Ohio, to join her husband, who had preceded her. She traveled with the children from Pittsford to Buffalo by canal, then on Lake Erie by steamer to Huron, Erie county, where the father met them and took them to a temporary home in New London, Huron county, whence they soon moved to the neighborhood known as East Creek, in the eastern part of the township, where other children were born to them. Here the final summons found the father in the eighty-fourth year of his age. James Fancher was a soldier of the war of 1812 and a pensioner. At the old home in Hendon they were near neighbors of Eber Kimball, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Before her seventeenth year Harriet married Gustavus Noble, to whom she bore five children, four of whom grew to