900 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   The subject of this memoir was educated in the schools of the neighborhood of his place of birth, and was reared to agricultural pursuits, which have been his lifework. He has a neat, compact farm of eighty-two acres devoted to general farming. In 1876 he was married in Elyria township to Miss Nettie Cochran, a native of same, and daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Thompson) Cochran, pioneers of Lorain county from Vermont. Six children, named as follows, have been born to this union, Ray, Nina, Irwin, Alta, Lewis and Orlo. In his political associations our subject is a Republican, and he and his wife are members of the M. E. Church.   R. E. JUMP has been a resident of Oberlin for the past thirty-five years, having established himself in the town in 1858, for the purpose of study in Oberlin College.   Mr. Jump was born in Westchester county, N. Y., in 1832, a son of Ira and Sarah (Dan) Jump, natives of New York, who in 1835 moved to Norwalk, Huron Co., Ohio, and from there, about 1843, to Vermillion, Erie Co., Ohio, where both died at a ripe old age. Ira Jump was a basket maker, and his son, R. E:, was brought up to that trade, which he followed for some time in Oberlin. Mr. Jump received his education at the common schools in Erie county, and in the Preparatory Department of Oberlin College. Failing health prevented him from continuing his studies. He taught several terms in the schools of Erie county, Ohio, and in Indiana. In 1863 he enlisted in Company F,One Hundred and Twenty-eighth O.V. I., for three years or during the war, serving under Gen. Hooker, on Johnson's Island and Cedar Point, guarding and exchanging prisoners at Fortress Monroe and other points, and on detached duty at Toledo, on service as provost-guard, and in recruiting service. Mr. Jump was honorably discharged from the service at Camp Chase, in July, 1865.   In 1852 Mr. Jump was married to Miss Julia Chapin, a native of New York, but reared and educated in North Amherst, Ohio, and to this union one son was born, C. Ellis Jump.   Mr. Jump in politics is a Republican, having cast his first vote for Fremont in 1856, and voted with that party since. He is a member of henry Lincoln Post, No. 364, G. A. R., in which he has held the rank of surgeon and junior vice-commander. During the past fifteen years, in his leisure time, he has done considerable taxidermist work, and has now a very fine collec- tion of stuffed animals and birds. He is practically interested in agriculture, being the owner of thirty acres of well-improved land, half of which lies within the corporate limits of Oberlin. He also takes a lively interest in bee and small fruit culture. He was engaged in the Oberlin and Wellington Rescue case.   MRS. JULIA CHAPIN JUMP, M. D., was born in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1832, the second child of John and Eliza (Clark) Chapin, natives of New England, who removed to Brownhelm, Ohio, in 1836, and from there to North Amherst, Ohio, in 1839. [See the following sketch of John Chapin.   Dr. Jump received her early education in the common schools of North Amherst, Ohio. At the age of seventeen she began to teach. This profession she followed thirty years. For the first two or three terms she taught for one dollar a week and " boarded round." In 1852 she married R. E. Jump, of Erie county, Ohio. They had one son, C. Ellis Jump. In 1858 they removed to Oberlin, for the purpose of securing a liberal education. During the last three years of her couse of study Dr. Jump taught in the Academy. After six years of study, she graduated from Oberlin College, Lit. in 1865. She then taught seventeen consecutive years, nearly five in   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 903   the Grammar School of Oberlin, and over twelve years in the Public Schools of Cleveland. She then began the study of medicine in The Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College, from which she graduated in 1884, since which time she has been practicing medicine in Oberlin.   The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred on her by Oberlin College, in 1891, and that of F. H. S. by the Medical College from which she received her diploma. She is a member of the board of Censors of the Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College; a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy, The Ohio State Homeopathic Society, and The Lorain County Homeopathic Society. Dr. Jump is a member of the First Congregational Church, and of the W. R. C. of Oberlin, Ohio.   JOHN CHAPIN was born in Sheffield, Berkshire Co., Mass., in 1804. At the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a Mr. Catlin, of the adjoining town of New Marlboro, to learn the trade of tanner and currier.   In 1827 he was married to Miss Eliza Clark, a native of Norwich, Conn., though reared in New Marlboro. They had five daughters and two sons. In 1836 Mr. Chapin moved to Ohio, then the " Far. West," and located in Brownhelm. In 1839 he removed to North Amherst, where he spentthe rest of his life. Mr. Chapin and his wife united with a few others to organize a Presbyterian Church in North Amherst, and Mr. Chapin was elected deacon, an office which he held till his death in 1852. Deacon Chapin was a man of strong convictions, a thorough temperance man, and an Old-line Whig. He was strongly anti-slavery in his views and took the ground before his death, which became the platform of the Free-Soil party in 1856.   The Deacon was a strong, well-built man, and was considered very desirable help at the raising of buildings in those days. Whiskey was usually served freely, and at the first important "raising" to which he was invited the men were nearly all under the influence of whiskey before the work was half done. Deacon Chapin and a Mr. Rose were the only total abstainers in the party. On raising a heavy " bent" of the frame the men allowed their pikes to slip, and the bent fell, crushing Mr. Rose under the heavy timbers. His back was broken, and though he lived many years, he was a cripple. When the men were sober, Deacon Chapin urged them to give up the use of strong drink, citing the accident to Mr. Rose to give weight to his arguments. Soon after this the Deacon prepared to build a large tannery. The timbers were very heavy, and the building was two stories on one side and three on the other. While the timbers were being prepared there was another, raising—a small barn. Three broth ors owned the property. They always drank freely at raisings, but decided from motives of economy to furnish no whiskey for their own raising. When the men who had been invited to assist arrived, some of them called for whiskey before beginning work. When told that none would be furnished, the men said the timbers might rot before they would touch them without whiskey. The whiskey was sent for at once, and the frame went up. People who knew Deacon Chapin's strong temperance principles, and that he never tasted whiskey, wondered what he would do at his raising. In those early days the raising of such a building was quite an event. The builder in charge one day asked the Deacon if he should furnish whiskey for the raising. On receiving a reply in the negative, he said he would not be responsible then for the raising of it, as it could not be raised without liquor. The Deacon then replied that the raising would be " a cold-water raising" or none. Many friends in the adjoining town of Brownhelm sympathized with Deacon Chapin in his temperance prin-   904 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   ciples, and sent him a message saying that if the Amherst people failed him, they would come to his aid. When the time for the raising drew near, the Deacon started on his round of invitations. Nearly every man invited asked if he would have whiskey, and on receiving a negative reply, answered: " Then I will not come." As every one declined the invitation, the Deacon invited every available man in the village and the adjacent country. Mrs. Chapin prepared for the entertainment of the men by brewing a barrel of root beer, and the brick oven was kept full of good things —bread, biscuits, cakes of all kinds, pies, puddings, chicken pies and pork and beans. Roast meats of all available kinds were prepared in abundance. The day set for the raising dawned bright and still. At an early hour the invited men began to arrive singly or in small parties until every man who had been invited put in an appearance. With much, joking about a " cold-water raising " they set to work with hearty good will. The small or root beer was passed in pails, and one man told the Deacon that he had a chunk of ice as big as his fist in his throat from drinking the beer, and he wanted something to thaw it out. When the bents had all been raised, and were supposed to be securely fastened in place, several men went to the top to fasten the large wooden plates to the bents to bind them in position and to support the rafters. Deacon Chapin and Staunton Merriman, a carpenter, were on the bent on the east side of the building, which was three stories high. The ground on that side was covered with broken stone, the refuse from dressing the stone for the foundation. Soon after they reached the top the bent began to sway with them, but the men on the ground were all sober, and, rallying with their pikes, held the heavy timbers in position till they were securely fastened. All knew that the fall of the bent would be certain death to the men. When the work was completed the Deacon said: "Come down to the house now and we will have something to thaw the ice out of your throats." Mrs. Chapin was a good cook, and her heart was in her work. Long tables were loaded with every good thing which she could devise, and with tea and coffee in abundance. Many of the men said to the Deacon: "If this is what you call a cold-water raising, I would like to go to one every day." They said they came because they knew he was acting from principle, that although he was one of the best workers always at a raising he never drank whiskey. Deacon Chapin died in 1852 of typhoid fever; Mrs. Chapin lived to be eighty-six years old.   The family was well represented in the war of the Rebellion. John Clark Chapin, the youngest son of Deacon Chapin, enlisted in the Forty-first 0: V. I., at the organization of the regiment, for three years; re-enlisted with the regiment, was engaged in all the battles in which the regiment fought except Chickamauga, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. Two sons-in-law, J. J. Millen (the husband of the eldest daughter, Eunice), and R. E. Jump (who married the second daughter, Julia), were also in the Union army, and were honorably discharged at the close of the war.   GEORGE L. SEARS, florist and manufacturer of pottery, Elyria, is a native of Massachusetts, born in New Lenox, March 8. 1854, a son of L. L. Sears, a prominent agriculturist of Elyria township.   In 1861 the family came to Ohio, and for a time located in Medina county, then in 1867 settling in Lorain county, on a farm within the corporate limits of Elyria. Our subject has since resided in Elyria, and in 1881 he commenced business as a florist, in which vocation he has risen, by industry and good management, to considerable prominence. He now owns seven large greenhouses, and ships all kinds of   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 905   flower germs to every part of the United States. He makes a specialty of wedding and funeral decorations, his taste in designs being considered " nulli secundus." Having concluded to manufacture his own flower-pots, of which his extensive business demands a vast number, he opened up a pottery, and he now makes from 18,000 to 20,000 flower-pots per week, supplying not only his own requirements, but also markets in Cleveland, Chicago, and all the great cities of the West.   In 1878 Mr. Sears was married to Miss Emma Bradbur, and three children have come to brighten their home, named respectively: Harry, Roy and Grace W. Our subject and wife are members of the Congregational Church, and in politics he is a Republican.   ANSEL JENNE, for over half a century a resident of Lorain county, and one of the best known and most prosperous agriculturists of Amherst township, was born in Cayuga county, N. Y., in 1825.   His father, also named Ansel Jenne, was a native of New York, where he married Elizabeth Brown, and from there moved to Cayuga county, same State, in 1825. In 1826 he and the family came to Ohio, making their home in Cuyahoga county until 1841, in which year they removed to Lorain county, arriving on March 9, locating on Middle Ridge; but in 1845 they removed to a farm where the parents passed the remainder of their days, the father dying in July, 1872, the mother in August, 1885, at the patriarchal age of ninety-one years. They reared a family of seven children, of whom four are yet living, as follows: Alfred, married and living in Cuyahoga county, Ohio; Ansel, of whom this sketch more specially relates; Bethia, wife of F. A. Griffin, of Elyria township, Lorain county; and John P., married and residing in Amherst township, same county. The deceased are Arad Joy (the eldest in family), born July 9, 1819, died September 5, 1820; Eliza, born April 25, 1827, who was married to Solon McElrath, and died in Lorain county, September 18, 1871; and Annette, born August 27, 1830, died in 1832.   Ansel Jenne, whose name opens this biographical sketch, received his education at the primitive log schoolhouse of the early days of Cuyahoga county, Ohio. At the age of sixteen he came with the rest of the family to Lorain county, and has ever since been a resident of Amherst township, owning now the old homestead, consisting of sixty acres prime land. He and his brother John P. cleared in all some 400 acres in Amherst township.   On December 9, 1859, Mr. Jenne was married, in Amherst township, to Phoebe Wing, a native of Wyoming county, N, Y., daughter of Benjamin and Polly (Wescott) Wing, natives of New York, where the father died in September, 1857. In 1858 the widowed mother came to Lorain county, and made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Jenne, for the rest of her days, dying in 1868. Two of her children came to Lorain county besides Mrs. Jenne, viz.: Sterling, who died here in 1874, and Dora, wife of Luman Van Tassel, of Bowling Green, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Ansel Jenne were born five children, of whom the following is a brief record: Sarah Ellen married Bird Richmond, and they have one child, Frank Harrison; William Henry is married, resides in Amherst township, Lorain county, and has one child, Blanche; George is married, has his home in Detroit, Mich., and has two children, Willie and Winfield; Frank died at the age of nineteen years; Albert K. is married, resides on the home farm, and has two children, Bertie and Lucile. In politics Mr. Jenne is a Democrat. When he came to Lorain county fifty-two years ago, the now flourishing city of Elyria was but a hamlet consisting of nine cabins, surrounded by dense woods,   906 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   wherein roamed the Indian and wild animals innumerable. He has seen in his township the old rickety stage coach relegated into retirement by the palatial cars of the aggressive railroads, and the mail-carrier's weekly or semi-weekly visits metamorphosed into the modern mail of three or four deliveries and collections every day in the week; not to speak of the advent of the magic-like universal telegraph and telephone, which had their birth within comparatively recent years.   EDWIN ROBSON, a representative and prosperous agriculturist of Carlisle township, is a native of Yorkshire, England, born in 1839.   Our subject. is a son of Edward and Ann (Traci) Robson, of the same place, who in 1843 came to the United States and made a settlement in Eaton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where they are yet living. They were the parents of a large family, as under: Emma, who married Seth C. Felt, and died in Huron county; Edwin, subject of this sketch; Mary Jane, who died unmarried; James, deceased in childhood; David, deceased when young; Henry, also deceased when young; William, deceased in Grafton township, Lorain county; John, married, residing in Grafton; and Lizzie, wife of Charles Johnson, of Grafton township.   Edwin Robson was, as will be seen, four years old when lie came to Lorain county with his parents, and at the common schools of Eaton township he received a liberal education, in the meantime working on his father's farm. He now owns a fine property of 225 acres in a good state of cultivation. On November 14, 1866, he was married, in Oberlin, Russia township, to Miss Ann Johnson, a native of same, daughter of James and Mary (Atkinson) Johnson, who were early pioneers of Lorain county, coming here in 1826; the father died in Elyria in 1888, the mother in Cleveland in 1864. To them children as follows were born: Jane, wife of Leroy Rogers, of henry county, Ohio; Elizabeth, widow of John Bucher, of Elyria; Thomas, who died during the Civil war, in Lexington, Ky.; Ann, Mrs. Robson; John, a resident of Eaton township; James, deceased at the age of eighteen; George, married, living in Elyria; Mary Ellen, wife of M. A. Pounds, of Elyria; and Mary and William, both deceased in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. Robson have been born seven children, to wit: Charles Edmund, James Edward, Adalbert Johnson, Mary Louise, Thomas Putnam, Thaddeus Warren and Leroy Walter. Our subject and wife are members of the M. E. Church at LaPorte. In politics he is a Republican, and has been a member of the school board, of which he is now a director in his district.   H. WIGHT, owner of a fertile farm in Eaton township, where he has resided for nearly. threescore years, is a native of New York State, born in St. Lawrence county on Christmas Day, 1821.   He is a son of Reuben and Susannah (Van Buren) Wight, the mother a native of New York. The father was born in Oxford, Worcester Co., Mass., and in 1794 moved to Herkimer county, N. Y., with his father, John Wight, who was born November 2, 1752, and married Betsy Robinson, born in 1765, and died in 1858. They had a family of children, of whom the following is a brief record: Uzziah was horn in 1781, and died in 1784; Abner died in St. Lawrence county, N. Y.; Jason was born in 1785, died January 20, 1835; Reuben was the father of our subject; Abigail died in New York State in 1849; Betsy died young; John died in New York State in 1863; Alvin, a car-   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 907   penter and builder, came to Lorain county, Ohio, in 1835, and died in Ottawa county, Ohio, January 1, 1857; Harvey died in Green county, Wis., in 1876.   Reuben Wight was reared and educated in New York State, and was married in what is now Fulton county, same State, July 14, 1814. In 1834 the family came to Ohio, arriving August 9 in Cleveland, but settling at Rockport, in the same county, where the father died of cholera same year. He served in the war of 1812, and after his death his widow enjoyed a pension. In 1836 the widowed mother, with her children, came to Lorain county, making her final home in Eaton township, where she died April 21, 1882, aged eighty-nine years, having been born in 1793. The following is a record of the children: Leonard was married in Eaton township, Lorain county, and in 1858 moved to Gratiot county, Mich.; Almina is the widow of Daniel Pearce, and resides in Eaton township, Lorain county; William, who became one of the early teachers of Lorain county, married in Eaton township, and died in 1853; Segatia died in Cleveland at the age of eighteen years; the next in order of birth is the subject of this sketch, of whom further mention will presently be made; Adeline C. is the wife of James Duffy, of Charlotte, Eaton Co., Mich.; Julius, a widower, is a resident of Eaton township, Lorain county; Reuben is married, and dwells in LaGrange township, Lorain county; Mary S. is the wife of James W. Fitch, of Milan, Erie Co., Ohio; Ziel, who was an engineer, horn August 13, 1832, married, and on November 12, 1892, died in Delaware county, Ohio; Rosella is the widow of John King, of Clark county, Wisconsin. H. Wight, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, was reared to the age of thirteen years in New York State, and was there educated, his school training being much improved by his native ability, close application to books, and general study of men and things. He was remark ably quick at figures and geometry, and he is widely known throughout northern Ohio for his ability as a mathematician. In his younger days he taught school in Lorain, Medina and Cuyahoga counties, and then embarked in agricultural pursuits. In 1834 he came to Ohio, and in 1836 settled in Eaton township, where he has since resided. Politically he has been a Republican since the organization of the party, and he served as real-estate assessor in 1870, and on the school board several years.   MATHIAS NUHN, one of the many industrious, honest and loyal citizens the Fatherland has given to Lorain county, is a prosperous farmer of Ridgeville township, of which he has been a resident since 1845.   Mr. Nuhn was born in Germany in 1838, a son of Peter and Anna Mary (Moss) Nuhn, the father a native of France, the mother of Prussia. Peter was a shoe., maker by trade, at which he worked seven years in Paris, France, after which for two years he was coachman for Napoleon's nephew. In 1824, while working at his trade in Prussia, he married. In 1845 he and his wife and family emigrated to America, sailing from Havre, France, the voyage to New York occupying sixty-two days. From there they proceeded westward to Ohio, by way of the Hudson river, Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Cleveland, and from that city by wagon to Ridgeville township, Lorain county, where Mr. Nuhn bought twenty-five acres of land which he cleared and improved, at the same time working at his trade. To this first purchase of land he added forty acres, and, later, twelve acres. Of the nine children of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Nuhn we give record of seven children, as follows: Mary, wife of Peter Donenfelcer, died in 1854; Nicholas, married, resides in Ridgeville township; Elizabeth is the wife of Anton   908 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   Smith, of Center, Ridgeville township; Hannah is the wife of John Roth, of Lorain; Catherine is the wife of Peter Smith, of Avon township; Mathias is the subject of this memoir; and Peter, married, lives in Lorain. The father died March 8, 1874, a Democrat in politics, a member of the school board and supervisor; he was buried on the fiftieth anniversary of his marriage; the mother was called from earth in 1875.   Mathias Nuhn, whose name introduces this sketch, was, as will be seen, about six years old when he came to Lorain county, and during his first summer his home was in a barn in Stony Ridge, Ridgeville township, while a log house was being erected for the family. He received his education at the common schools of the locality, and learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he followed exclusively up to the time of the breaking out of the Civil war; he then combined farming with his trade, and he has met with well-merited success. In 1862 Mr. Nuhn enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Seventh 0. V. I., for three years or during the war, and his regiment was assigned to the army of the Potomac. At the battle of Chancellorsville he was taken prisoner, and confined first in Libby, afterward in Belle Isle, whence he was taken on parole to Camp Annapolis, Md., and then detailed to the pioneer corps that served through Tennessee; to the close of the war he was stationed at Chattanooga and Kingston. In 1865 he was discharged, at Columbus, Ohio, and returned to his home in Ridgeville township, Lorain county, where he resumed the pursuits of peace.   In 1860 Mr. Nuhn was married, in Liverpool, Medina Co., Ohio, to Mary Magdalene Kolb, who was born in that county, daughter of Joseph and Sophia (Gravensteter) Kolb, natives of Germany, who about the year 1838 immigrated to the United States, settling in Medina county, Ohio, where the father died in 1878, and the mother is yet living. To this union children as follows were born: Rosa, the wife of Mr. Douglas, constable of Lorain, has three children—Mathias, Edith and Nora; Catherine, wife of Mathias Burkhart, of Lorain, also has three children—Clara, Lillian and Frank; Mary, wife of Charley Perry, of Cleveland, has one child; Hannah, wife of John Alfen, of Cleveland, has two children—Willie and Mabel; John, married, resides in Ridgeville township; Elizabeth, a widow, residing with her father, has two children—Olive and Bertha; Lena; Clara; and Mathias. Politically our subject is a Democrat, but in township matters he votes for whom he considers the best man for office, regardless of party. He has been a member of the school board eighteen consecutive years, such is the confidence his constituents repose in him, and he and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic Church at Ridgeville. Socially he is a member of Wesley. Kibby Post No. 708, G. A. R., North Ridgeville, and has served as assistant quarter-master two terms. He is owner of nearly sixty acres of land in an excellent state of cultivation, on which in 1888 he built his present residence—a two-story frame house, 35 x 28—also a commodious barn, 56 x 36, and granary (with workshop combined), 16 x 22 feet.   ALONZO WRIGHT, a highly respected and prosperous agriculturist of Russia township, hard-working, and scrupulously honest in all his dealings, is a native of Essex county, N. Y., born November 11, 1825.   His father, Alonzo Wright, Sr., was brought up to farm life, and served for a time in a woolen factory. He married Philomilla Andrews, who was born in Stillwater, N. Y., and children as follows were born to them: Charles A., who died in California; Bushnell A., a physician of San Jacinto, Cal.; Alonzo, Jr., subject of this memoir; Harriet, deceased in youth; Sarah D., who was first married to Charles   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 909   Lyman, and is now the wife of Lewis Ozmun (they reside in Amherst township); Laura B., who married Edwin Durand, and died in Wellington, Ohio. In June, 1834, the family set out for Ohio, making the trip partly by sailing vessel, partly by canal to Buffalo, N. Y., and from there to Black River Harbor (now Lorain), Ohio, by steamer, thence to Oberlin by wagon. In Russia township the father bought ninety acres of land at ten dollars per acre (nine hundred dollars), which amount he paid in cash, part of the proceeds of his farm in New York State, which he had sold prior to coming west. He had previously visited Ohio, in order to select land, got as far as Cleveland, but returned east without succeeding in his purpose. For some time after their settling in Russia township the family lived in an old log cabin, till a new one was built. Here was born one more daughter, Mary, who died at the age of fourteen years. On this farm the father passed away in 1883, having been preceded to the grave by his wife in 1862. They lie buried in South Amherst cemetery. He was a Whig and Republican in politics, and a member of and deacon in the Congregational Church.   Alonzo Wright, the subject proper of these lines, received the earlier part of his education at the public schools of the vicinity of his place of birth, and after coming to Lorain county attended District school No. 1, his first teacher here being Samuel Rossiter. Later he attended a few terms at Oberlin College. He then taught school several terms, and subsequently attended the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati three years. He had previously studied medicine under Dr. James Fisher, of Tiffin, Ohio; and thus it will be seen lie was well prepared for the arena of medicine, which, however, he never entered. After completing his course he returned to his home, and in 1848 commenced agriculture on his father's farm, which he now owns; of late years he has added the cultivation of small fruits to general farming.   In 1861 Mr. Wright was united in marriage with Adelia C. Whipple, and children as follows were born to them: Douglass, deceased at the age of nine years; Della, teaching in the public schools of Findlay, Ohio; Eddie, deceased in infancy; Henry, farming on the home place, and Jessie, still living with her parents. The surviving children have all enjoyed excellent educational opportunities. In politics Mr. Wright is a stanch Republican, and until the organization of that party was a Whig; his wife and children are members of the Congregational Church.   W. B. BEDORTHA, an attorney at law, of Oberlin, was born May 5, 1854, in Russia township, Lorain Co., Ohio, the only child of Luther and Eliza A. (Brown) Bedortha, the former of whom was a native of Sheffield, Mass., the latter of the city of New York.   Luther Bedortha, father of subject, came to Lorain county with his parents in 1824, and they made a settlement in Sheffield township. He was twice married, first time, in Sheffield township, to Miss Sarah Strong, soon after which they moved to Iowa, where they remained a few months and then returned to Ohio, Mr. Bedortha in 1852 establishing his residence on a farm in Russia township, Lorain county. To this first marriage were born two children: B. S. Bedortha, Esq., of Bridgman, Mich., and Dr. B. T. Bedortha, of London, England. The mother of these died at Joliet, Ill., while en route on the return trip to Ohio from Iowa, and on February 17, 1853, Luther Bedortha married Eliza A. Brown, who had come to Oberlin in 1852; she survives him, he having died December 29, 1864, at Oberlin, Ohio, to which place he had removed but a short time previous to his death.   W. B. Bedortha received his education at the public schools of his native town-   910 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   ship, and in 1868 entered the office of the Lorain County News, at Oberlin, where he learned the printer's trade, continuing in the printing business either as employe or proprietor for about ten years. In 1877 he commenced the study of law in the office of Judge J. W. Steele, the present postmaster at Oberlin, and in October, 1880, was admitted to the bar, where he at once commenced the general practice of his profession.   On February 8, 1881, W. B. Bedortha was married to Fannie J. E. Jenney. He is a Republican and a member of the Congregational Church.   WILLIAM RININGER. Whatever may be the form of government under which men live, it is the men of opinions who rule. They have circumscribed the power of kings, and in representative governments they are the leaders of the common people in both public and private concerns. They seldom fill official positions. Our ablest statesmen have never filled the Presidential chair. It is the Utopian ideal of Democratic governments that broad, intelligent, honest, partrician citizenship, with financial independence, unfettered by official burdens, is the goal of the best man's ambition. When this idea is adopted by our educators, and thoroughly implanted in the bosoms of the youth of our land—when we cease to be hero worshipers, and Napoleon and Alexander become object lessons of less importance than the patrician citizen, we will have taken the first great step toward the millennium. As a type of the character of the men foreshadowed above, we introduce a brief sketch of Mr. William Rininger, merchant and capitalist, of Wellington, Ohio.   Mr. Rininger descends from German stock. His grandparents emigrated from Germany, locating in Center county, Penn., when the father of our subject, Peter Rininger, was a boy. There the grandparents lived and died. Peter Rininger married Miss Mary Miller, and to their union were born two children: William, the subject of this memoir, and Eliza. The latter married in Pennsylvania, and died some years since, leaving two children. Peter Rininger died when his son William was only two years of age. By the subsequent marriage of his mother, our subject was thrown upon the charities of the world when a mere child. He was born April 2, 1823, and at the age of eight years was given the choice of remaining in Pennsylvania or emigrating to Ohio with his uncle, William Miller. He chose the latter expedient, and they located in Seneca county, Ohio. His uncle William subsequently purchased the site of the present village of Attica, and laid out the plat for a town. It was with this uncle that the boy William Rin- inger found the only semblance of what his early days knew as a home. He alternated between work and school, and was in return for his services clothed and fed. His uncle entered a variety of businesses besides farming. He operated an ashery, built and carried on a hotel, and finally kept a general merchandise store. Corning in contact with a variety of pursuits, William Bin inger familiarized himself with the leading features of each, meanwhile applying himself assiduously to mastering the essential elements of an English education.   Thus early thrown upon his own resources, he learned the most important lesson in life—the lesson which only those strongly endowed by nature can learn—to think independently, to think for himself —and through life this has been his leading personal characteristic. All arbitrary laws in religion, politics and elsewhere—all theories advanced that are not based upon reason and humanity—have ever appeared to him the schemes of duplicity formulated to dominate the minds of the weak and the credulous.   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 913   Mr. Rininger made his first money with a paint brush. He had watched the painters around the hotel, and took up the trade. He worked at that business for a salary of one dollar per day, subsequently working in the harvest field. Saving his money he went to making brick, and subsequently made investments in various limited ways, and each proved a success. He not only made money, but saved it, and invested to the best possible advantage. By making the best of his opportunities, in 1844 he found himself possessed of a few hundred dollars in cash, which he invested in a store in Attica in connection with his uncles, William and Samuel Miller. From that time forward he felt his success assured. He remained personally in connection with his business at Attica, Ohio, until 1866, when he left his partner, one John Silcox, in charge there, came to Wellington with a view of establishing himself in business here, and bought the store of Charles Foote. In Wellington he had a partner, for about a year, William Barnard, but bought out the latter's interest, and has since operated his general merchandise store with the assistance of clerks. He still retains his interest in the store at Attica. Mr. Rininger's practice in buying has been to purchase for cash, although he has constantly had to tide customers over hard periods, as his books will show. He is generally recognized as a just but lenient creditor.   Mr. Rininger was formerly a Republican, but says: "When that party diverged from its original principles," he did not follow it. He believes in principles and in men, but not in party dominance. He is not a church member, being an independent thinker in this as in all other matters; but he is philanthropic in its broadest sense, believing that to be just and humane is the highest condition of consciousness. During the years that have passed, Mr. Rininger has been an intelligent witness of the greatest political and commercial changes the country has ever experienced, and is one of the soundest and best versed men in its financial history and conditions that can be found.   Although his life has been one of indefatigable work and constant application to business, and he has always had the courage of his convictions and expressed his opinions freely, it is not in public but within the domestic circle of his home—with his family gathered around his hearth-stone--that Mr. Rininger has felt the cup of life most nearly full. He was married, September 9, 1844, to Miss Eliza J. King, who was born in Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. Y., April 2, 1820. By this marriage there are five daughters and one son, viz.: Lillian, wife of Edward Phelps, now of Scranton, Iowa (they have five children: Mabel, Edna,Homer, Raymond and Hazel); Delphene, wife of J. L. Smith, of Delaware, Ohio (they have three children: Ward, William R. and Louise); Natella, wife of William C. Miller, of. Gallipolis, Ohio, now at Cincinnati (they have one son, Frank); Augusta, at home; Frank, who died at the age of fourteen years: and Celestia A., who died at the age of one year.   Mr. Rininger is a representative self-made man, his life bearing testimony to what it is possible to accomplish with willing heart and hands, steadfast integrity and honest toil. In brief, he started in life penniless; to-day he commands the highest quotation in Dunn's Commercial Agency of any individual merchant in the State of Ohio.   JOSEPH WESBECHER, a member of the prosperous firm of Wesbecher & Co., dealers in hardware, North Amherst, is a native of Germany. He was born February 25, 1852, in Mugensturm, Duchy of Baden, the seventh in a family of eight children born to Aloysius and Matta (Melcher) Wesbecher, who were also natives of Mugensturm, Baden, Ger-   914 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   many, where they were reared and married; the father was a farmer, and died in the Fatherland; the mother is yet living. Of their family three sons came to America: John, now in Botkins, Ohio; George, a resident of Greensburgh, Penn., and Joseph, our subject.   Joseph Wesbecher was educated in his native land, and, not wishing to enter the German army, in 1869 came to America. He learned the tinner's trade, and after working at different places for three years, came, in 1872, to North Amherst, Ohio, where he continued to work at his trade until 1876, when he embarked in the hardware business on his own account; the style of the firm was Cook & Wesbecher until 1880, since which time it has been Wesbecher & Co. Mr. Wesbecher was married November 28, 1878, in North Amherst, to Miss Matilda C. Plato, and they have had five children: Henry, Edd, Carl, Leo and Frank. Politically our subject is a stanch Democrat, and in religion he is a member of the Catholic Church. He gives his entire attention to his business, and by industry and perseverance has succeeded in building up a good trade.   S. TOMPKINS, a well-known, highly respected agriculturist of Eaton township, has been a resident of same for over sixty years. He was born hi 1833 in Tompkins county, N. Y., son of Samuel and Betsy (Tellis) Tompkins, natives of Pennsylvania, who were reared and married in Newfield, Tompkins county, N. Y. In 1833 they came with their family to Eaton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where they opened up a farm. The father died many years before the mother, who passed away in 1885. They reared a family of four children, namely: John, married, who settled near his parents; Nathaniel, married, who resides in Eaton township; S. Tompkins, subject of this memoir; and Mary, wife of Joseph Dewhurst, of Eaton township.   The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in Eaton township, and has always followed agricultural pursuits. He owns a highly cultivated farm of eighty-four acres. Mr. Tompkins was married in Eaton township, to Miss Sarah Jane Bassett, a native of same, and to this union have come six children: Otis; Charley, married, residing in Eaton township; Ellen, wife of Bird Farr, residing in Amherst township (they have two children); Fred, Ira and Ida, all three residing at home. In politics Mr. Tompkins is a member of the Democratic party.   CAPTAIN THOMAS WILFORD, a well-known lake captain and prominent citizen of Lorain, has been identified with sailing interests on the Lakes for the past thirty-four years, and is still in active demand. His father, Joseph Wilford, a native of Northamptonshire, England, married Mary Ellen Griffin, also a native of that county, and they had a family of ten children, of whom Thomas was the eighth in order of birth. They came to America, locating in North Amherst, Lorain Co., Ohio, where the father followed farming, which was his life vocation. He died at the age of fifty-three; his widow passed away When aged seventy-three.   Thomas Wilford was born June 21, 1841, in Northamptonshire, England, and remained in his native country until twelve years of age, when he came with his parents to North Amherst. He received his education in the common schools, and for two years afterward worked on a farm. He began life on the Lakes as a common sailor, and then became mate, from which position he was promoted to captain. He was master of sailing vessels for eight years, first of the schooner " Exile," and next serving for two years on the steamer "John M. Osborne." In 1884 the latter collided with the steamer " Aberta," in   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 915   Lake Superior, and went down in five minutes, three of the crew being lost; and it was only due to Capt. Wilford's promptitude, in ordering the " Aberta " to keep forward and not pull off, that any of the passengers. were saved. He had on board his wife, his two little girls, and a young lady friend from Ashtabula, Ohio, and he succeeded in saving his wife, the two little girls being rescued by the mate. Capt. Wilford spent part of the next season in superintending the building of the steamer "J. H. Devereaux," which he commanded for five years, and pext superintended the building of the steamer J. H. Wade," which he commanded for two years. He afterward had charge of the building of the steamer " Samuel Mitchell," of which he is still in command.   Capt. Wilford was married December 29, 1870, in Lorain, to Miss Fannie Gill-more, a native of that place, daughter of Alanson Gillmore, and they have had two children: Cora E., wife of Charles F. Bartenfeld, and F. Adelaide, who died of typhoid fever May 28, 1893, aged sixteen years two months and seven days. In politics our snbject is a Republican, and socially he is a member of the Royal Arcanum and also of the Ship Masters Association. He has been a resident of Lorain since 1861.   H. A. DEMING, a highly respected citizen of Camden, now retired from active public life, is a native of Washington, Berkshire Co., Mass., born June 27, 1822. He is the youngest in the family of nine children of Absalom and Sarah (Eames) Deming, the former of whom was a native of Connecticut, and a farmer by occupation. His parents were both of Puritan stock, he being able, on his father's side, to trace his ancestry back to John Deming, Esq., who was active in the early settlement of Hartford, Conn. Upon his mother's side his lineage runs back, by direct line, to George William Bradford, who came over in the " Mayflower," hence he was of pure English extraction.   Our subject, received his elementary education at the public schools of his early day, after which he attended an academy at Westfield, Mass., and in this way prepared himself for teaching, which he followed for sixteen terms in his native State. He was reared on his father's farm, and well trained to agricultural pursuits. When he had attained his majority (1843) his father died, and young Deming took charge of the home place, renting the portion belong. ing to the other heirs, and here remained until 1855, when he removed to Hinsdale, Berkshire Co., Mass., where he bought a farm and continued in agricultural pursuits. Finding his health failing at the end of one year., he gave up the farm, and entered a dry-goods store in Hinsdale, as a clerk and bookkeeper, but after a time he embarked, for his own account, in the flour and feed business. Abandoning this, he accepted the position of bookkeeper in a furniture factory. In December, 1869, he moved to Mattoon, Ill., and bought property, and here he formed a partnership with his brother as loan agents, in which they continued till September, 1882, when our subject came to Oberlin, Ohio, in order that his adopted daughter might enjoy the best of school advantages. While living here, in retirement, he spent one winter in Florida, and while a resident of Illinois passed a winter in Maryland. In 1889 he came to Kipton, a village in Camden township, Lorain county, where he has since made his home.   Mr. Deming has been twice married, first time December 4, 1850, to Isabel Miliken, born March 30, 1827, in Hinsdale, Mass., a daughter of Robert Miliken. This wife died in Oberlin, Ohio, January 25, 1886, and on April 3, 1889, Mr. Deming was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Rowland, born in Rochester, Lorain county, a daughter of Samuel W. and   916 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   Harmony (Blair) Rowland. Mr. Deming has an adopted daughter, Carrie B., born July 3, 1864, now Mrs. E. E. Hopkins, of Lorain, Ohio. Politically our subject was originally a Whig, then a Republican, and finally a Prohibitionist. At the age of twenty-three years he was a member of the school board at Washington, Mass., on which he served ten years; at twenty-five he was elected assessor, overseer of the poor and select man of the town during his residence in Washington. While a citizen of Hinsdale he served on the school board thirteen years continuously, as assessor six years, and treasury of the town three years. During his stay in Mattoon, Ill., he was a member of the city council four years, and of the school board three years; and he took a leading part in organizing the First Congregational Church, in which lie was an active Deacon for ten years. Mr. Deming has been a great reader in his day, is well posted and possessed of sound judgment, is very popular and is universally respected.   CHARLES H. HORTON. This gentleman, the widely-known inventor and manufacturer, and formerly superintendent of the Wellington (Brick) Machine Co., of Wellington, is a native of the State of New York, born April 25, 1845, in Holley, Orleans county, a son of Chauncey and Nancy (Masten) Horton. The father was born in the New England States, and died while our subject was young; the mother passed from earth in Rochester, Lorain county. Our subject's maternal grandfather and grandmother were of French and Yankee birth, respectively; his father's grandfather served in the Revolutionary war.   C. H. Horton was reared on a farm to the age of sixteen. years, receiving during the winter months a liberal education at the common schools, chiefly in Hunting ton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, whither he had come when nine years old. Later he removed to Ripley, Huron Co., Ohio, where, in October, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Fifty-fifth O. V. I. (for three years service, or during the war), which regiment was sent first to West Virginia, and afterward assigned to the army of the Potomac, Eleventh Army Corps. It participated in the battles of Bull Run, Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, after which it was transferred to the army of the West. Mr. Horton was in the battles of Chattanooga and Buzzard's Roost, and was severely wounded at Resaca, but recovering rapidly rejoined his company, and was with Sherman on his march to the sea. He participated, in all, in twenty-eight engagements, chiefly in the rank of sergeant, to which he was promoted soon after his enlistment. At the close of the war his regiment took part in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., where, in July, 1865, he received his discharge, having been in the service about four years. He returned home and for a time lived in Rochester, Lorain county, and then came to Wellington, which has since been his place of residence. Mr. Horton is an inventor of considerable repute, and his first invention was a threshing machine which had a self-registering grain measure. This patent he sold, and the machine was afterward manufactured and sold very extensively. He then had the sale of threshing machines and engines for several years till becoming a member of the Wellington Machine Co. He is the inventor of the " Monarch Brick Machine," which is made of iron, its capacity being six thousand bricks per hour, and is the chief article turned out by the Wellington Machine Company, of whose shops Mr. Horton was superintendent from the organization of the company until July 1, 1893, when he sold his interest therein.   On November 8, 1877, our subject was married to Miss Amelia Callin, daughter   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO -919   of James and Many Callin, of Monroeville, Ohio. Politically he is a Republican, socially a Knight Templar, and a member of Hamlin Post, G. A. R., Wellington. He has been a member of the city council since the spring of 1893, at which time he was elected. In 1889 he built a fine block in Wellington, north side of Mechanic street.   C. W. HARRINGTON, a leading farmer of Columbia township, is a native of same, horn February 29, 1848, a son of Elisha and Jane Harrington, of Vermont birth, who in an early day migrated to Lorain county, Ohio, settling in Columbia township. They died here on their farm, the mother in 1858, the father in January, 1884; he dealt considerably in live stock, was a Republican in politics, and served as trustee of his township. They had a family of six children, as follows: George (deceased when three years old), Hiram (who resides with his brother, C. W.), C. W., Wallace (married, living in Columbia township), Julia (who died unmarried) and Sarah (who also died unmarried). The grandfather of subject had fourteen sons and two daughters.   C. W. Harrington received a liberal school training in his native township, and attended an educational institute in Cleveland one term. Brought up to agricultural pursuits, he has made farming his life work, and is now the owner of ninety-four and three-fourths acres of well-cultivated land in Columbia township, on which he settled in 1868. He has considerably improved the property, erecting a comfortable residence, etc. In December, 1867, Mr. Harrington married Miss Susan Maria Heath, born in Elyria, Ohio, daughter of William and Mary (Green) Heath, natives of Vermont, and who migrated westward to Ohio, settling in Columbia township, Lorain county, where they are yet residing. To Mr. and Mrs. Harring ton have been born seven children--four KIDS and three daughters—as follows: Wallace W., who died at the age of two months and fourteen days; Willie E., who resides in Chicago; Bertha G., who died when two years and six months old; Afton B., deceased when two months old; Eva M., married to Charles Putt, and has one child, Mamie; Julia Frances, who died when fourteen years and six months old (she united with the M. E. Church when nine years old, and was a faithful worker for the Lord at the time of her death; she was an alto singer in the choir from the time she was nine years old up to her death); and Warren C., who resides at home. Politically our subject is a Republican, and he is a member of the Baptist Church, his wife of the M. E. Church. They are rearing an adopted child named Lester Leon Lockwood.   C. H. SNOW, county surveyor of Lorain county, is a native of .Lorain county, Ohio, born in the town of Avon, September 22, 1848.   His father, Edwin Snow, was born in Portage county, Ohio, and was there married to Miss Julia Lewis, a native of New York State. They became settlers of Lorain county, where the father followed agricultural pursuits, owning a farm of 400 acres, 200 of which he cleared with his own hands. This was in Avon township, and one of the roads there, still known as " Snow's road," was named after him. Edwin Snow was a leading farmer, enjoying the respect and esteem of the entire community. He died in 1886, at the age of seventy-seven years. In his political preferences he was a Republican. His widow is still living in Elyria, now aged seventy-four years.   C. H. Snow, who is the third of five children born to Edwin and Julia Snow, received a liberal education, in part at the   920 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   common schools of his native town, and .41 part at Oberlin College. His school days over, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and there spent one year in civil engineering work. Returning to Lorain county, he married, May 24, 1880, Miss Mary Sweet, and settled down to agricultural pursuits, which he followed several years, at intervals working at his profession. In this he continued from 1874 till about 1886, in June of which latter year he was appointed, without any solicitation on his part, county surveyor of Lorain county; was elected in the following fall on the Republican ticket, and is now serving his second term. He still operates his farm, although attending closely to his professional duties. Since 1887 lie has, by special appointment, been serving as civil engineer for the city of Elyria.   To Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Snow have been bern two children: Franklin and Bricena. The family are members of the M. E. Church.   HENRY SPICER, one of the well-known old residents of LaGrange township, was born January 4, 1829, in Lancashire, England.   He is the son of Richard and Harriet (Upton) Spicer, the former of whom was a teamster, and drove in his day the usual six-horse team. Their children were named as follows: Alfred, Thomas, Jesse, Henry, Mary and Harriet, of whom Alfred and Thomas now reside in Charlotte, Mich.; Jesse is in Iowa; Mary is the deceased wife of Jesse Conover; and Harriet is the deceased wife of Sheldon Seares, who was her second husband she was first married, in England, to John Pickwood). In 1832 Richard Spicer came to the United States (bringing our subject but not the entire family), landing at New York, and thence proceeding by river, canal and lake to Cleveland, Ohio, from which city he came to Lorain county, locating east of the center of Ridgeville township. By that time he had only a small sum of money left, and he rented land and earned his livelihood by threshing (in the old-fashioned way), in which line he was quite expert, being able to thresh ten bushels of grain and clean up after it in one day, a feat at that time looked upon as almost phenomenal. Later he removed to Butternut Ridge, where he resided some time, and then lived for a while at Grafton Station, Grafton township, moving thence to Carlisle township, where he bought fifty acres of land, then all in the woods. He removed his family thereon, but after clearing it and making some improvements he sold the tract and invested in land in the northern part of LaGrange township, on which a vast amount of clearing also had to be done. He was a hard-working, industrious man, and though beginning life poor he owned at the time of his death one hundred acres of land, all accumulated by his own untiring efforts. He and his wife both died on the farm in LaGrange.   Henry Spicer was but three years old when brought by his parents to the United States and Ohio, where he received his education in the common schools of the day. He could attend even these for only a short period, however, as his eyes became affected, which compelled him to abandon study. He was reared to farm life, and during his boyhood he frequently saw wild animals— bears, deer, wolves, turkeys, etc., which were then still abundant in the region—in the clearings on the farm. He remained on the home place until his marriage, January 8, 1850, to Lucinda P. Hastings, who was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., daughter of Otis Hastings, a pioneer of LaGrange township. At this time Mr. Spicer's circumstances were somewhat limited. Locating in one of the wildest portions of LaGrange township, he purchased a tract at eight dollars per acre, being obliged to go into debt for the land, which was heavily timbered and difficult   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 921   to clear. He next removed to Henrietta township, where he afterward sold out at a profit, and in 1870 came to his present farm, in LaGrange township, then comprising 111 acres, part of which he has since sold, having now eighty-six acres. Mr. and Mrs. Spicer have had the following children: Richard, who died after reaching adult age; Elbridge, a farmer of Grange township; Perry, also a farmer of LaGrange; Harriet, now Mrs. Lewis Curtice, of LaGrange; and Carrie, Mrs. 0. Nichols, of Lorain. In politics, Mr. Spicer was a Democrat until 1890, since when he has been a Republican. In religious connection he is a member of the Baptist Church. For seventeen years he has conducted a threshing business, and he is unusually well acquainted in his section. He is a much respected member of his community, and fully merits the esteem and regard in which he is held by his fellow citizens. From a start of comparatively nothing he has made a success in life, reared his family well, and now enjoys a comfortable competence.   ROBERT SALISBURY, a typical self-made man, and one of the leading agriculturists of Grafton township, is an Englishman by birth, born near Hull, Yorkshire, July 7, 1821, a son of Joseph and Mary (Graspy) Salisbury. They had three children born in England, viz.: Robert, subject of sketch; Hannah, now Mrs. John Dunn, of Nebraska; and Graspy, who died at the age of five years, and is buried in Belden cemetery.   In 1827 the family took passage in a sailing vessel from Hull for the New World, and after a voyage of six weeks and three days they landed at New York. From there they proceeded by river, canal and lake to Cleveland, Ohio, thence to Grafton township, Lorain county, by wagon, the driver being a man who had come from Spencer, Medina county. The father of our subject had borrowed ten dollars from a companion on the voyage, and this was expended in bringing the family to Grafton. One John Langdon, a friend of Mr. Salisbury, had previously located in the township, and the latter was on that account the more resolved to come here, although while at Cleveland he received some inducement to stay there, being offered not only work, but also land at four dollars per acre, which, however, he declined for the reason stated. On their arrival in Grafton the family were in needy circumstances, but Mr. Jonathan Rawson, with whom they staid over night, supplied them with provisions enough to last them two or three days. At last Mr. Salisbury secured work as a farm hand, working for Judge Wells for twenty acres of land, which he afterward traded; then bought and sold, each time to advantage, until he and his son, our subject, found themselves possessors of 218 acres. After coming to the United States two more children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Salisbury, as follows: Betsey, now Mrs. Nelson Knowles, of LaGrange, Lorain county; and Miney, now Mrs. Alonzo Ryan, also of LaGrange. The father died in 1869, the mother on February 15,1881, and they are buried in the cemetery at East LaGrange.   The subject of this sketch was six years old when the family came to the United States, and he well remembers crossing the ocean, and of being corrected by the captain of the ship for climbing the rigging. In Grafton township he attended the first schoolhouse built there, a very primitive one, constructed of logs and rudely furnished. He was reared to farming, and has made it his life work, for a considerable time he and his father working together, clearing land in various places; he also learned the trade of cooper, and has followed it in connection with agricultural pursuits. At the age of nine-   922 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   teen he met with an accident, from the result of which he has since suffered not a little. One night he was coon-hunting, and having climbed a tree after one of the `animals, he lost his hold, falling to the ground, a distance of thirty-eight feet, and through this mishap he became the first patient of Dr. G. C. Underhill, in Grafton or LaGrange township.   On September 19, 1857, Mr. Salisbury was united in marriage, by Elder Nesbit, with Miss Nancy L. McKenzie, a native of Grafton, Ohio, and three children were born to them, as follows: Charles F., marshal of Grafton; Franklin G., deceased at the age of three years; and a son that died in infancy, unnamed. After marriage our subject continued to reside on the home place, which is situated on the northwest corner of Grafton township, and his parents passed their declining years with him. At one time he owned 235 acres of land, but having given away and sold some, he has now 168 acres left, besides three residences in the village of Grafton. A Republican in politics, he is a stanch member of the party. He and his wife have been members for twenty-seven years of the Congregational Church, in which he has held various offices.   JOHN HOWK, one of the most prominent and affluent of Lorain county's retired agriculturists, is a native of New York State, born in Chenango county December 13, 1820.   David Howk, father of subject, was born in Lee township, Berkshire county, Mass., of Holland-Dutch descent, his father having come from that land of pure butter and cheese and variegated flowers to America in an early day, settling in Lee township, above referred to. Grandfather Howk brought his wife with him, and in their new home in the New World they reared four sons and four daughters. The grandfather died at the age of sixty-two years. His son, David, married Miss Pollie Bradley, a native of the same place, and they had six children, as follows: Clara (who died in infancy), Eli B. (who died in February, 1884), Hiram H., John, David, and Mary (who died in 1884). After marriage David Howk moved to New York State,. locating near Oxford, in Chenango county, and there resided till July 15, 1834, when the family came to Wellington township, Lorain Co., Ohio, making the trip by canal and lake to Cleveland, thence by wagons to their destination. They were pioneers in the literal sense, for they had to hew their way in the woods, and found no neighbor less than two and one-half miles distant, excepting wolves, bears, panthers and many other wild animals. Here the father died in 1853 aged sixty-eight years, the mother in 1872 at the advanced age of eighty-one; they were members of the M. E. Church, and in politics he was a Whig.   John Howk, the subject proper of this sketch, was fourteen years old when he came to Lorain county, with the rest of the family, and nobly did his share toward the clearing up of the wild woods. After his marriage he settled on a farm in Wellington township, which now comprises 236 acres of prime land. On September 27, 1849, he was married to Miss Esther A. Baird, born April 11, 1825, a daughter of Bidwell and Sophia (Cheney) Baird, who were natives of Massachusetts, the father born in Berkshire county in 1796, and died November 28, 1876; the mother born in 1801, and died August 21, 1891. They came to Ohio in 1832, settling in Wellington township, Lorain county. They were the parents of ten children, viz.: Kendal W., Esther A., Catherine S., Robert H. Sylvester B. (deceased), Almena A., Albert E. (deceased), LucindaE., Adelaide P., and Abram P. (deceased).   The children born to our subject and wife were as follows: Addle M., wife of H. O. Barber (they have three children: Jessie Bell, Clara May and John L.); Hattie, in   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 925   the auditor's office, Cincinnati, Ohio; and Mary Ella, Emma A., Willie Perry and Freddie E., all four deceased. Politically our subject was first a Whig, then a Republican, and since S. J. Tilden ran for the Presidential chair he has been a Democrat. He has been a member of Congressional conventions, also senatorial committees, and served as trustee of his township nine consecutive years, part of the time during the Civil war. In church matters he is a member of the M. E. Church. For the past twelve years Mr. Howk has lived a retired life in the town of Wellington, honored and respected by all.   H. E. CLARK, who was born May 15, 1846, in Pittsfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio, was a grandson of Nathan Clark, who was one of the first two settlers in LaGrange township.   Jonathan L. Clark, son of Nathan, was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., and when eight years old came with his parents to LaGrange township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where he was reared to farm life. He married Rhoda Dale, a native of Vermont, and they became the parents of four children, viz.: Julia, who died at the age of twenty-two years; H. E.; Carrie, Mrs. Richard Gibbing, of Pittsfield township, and John G., an attorney of Kansas City, Mo. The father of this family was a Republican in politics. He died in 1877, and was buried in Pittsfield cemetery. His widow is still living at an advanced age.   H. E. Clark received a common-school education, in the same district where his children now attend school, and resided at home until his marriage. On March 28, 1873, he was wedded to Miss Mary Rogers, who was born April 28, 1842, in Pittsfield township, daughter of Edward and Ann (Bailey) Rogers; the latter were the par- ents of three children—one son and two daughters—and came to Lorain county, Ohio, from Cornwall, England. After marriage Mr. Clark settled on the present farm, where he was principally occupied in general farming and dairying; he also took considerable interest in stock raising, and was formerly engaged in breeding fancy poultry, Oxford-Down registered sheep, Ayrshire cattle (registered) and Poland-China hogs, having experimented with various strains, all eligible to record. He also raised fine dogs—Scotch collies, Newfoundland dogs and English pugs—as well as ferrets, sending his stock to all parts of the United States and Mexico. He owned four imported horses, one Percheron and one Norman stallion (French coach stallions), and two mares. The farm now comprises 253 acres, and the stock enterprises netted him no small amount of clear annual profit, In addition to general farming he carried on a creamery of his own, having regular customers who bought the products of the same. His extensive business was built up entirely by himself, and hid fair, honest dealing, business-like methods, and complete practical knowledge of the business were important factors in his success. To Mr. and Mrs. Clark had been born four children: Rhoda A., Carrie M., Edward L., and Rosella M. (who died when five years old). Mr. Clark died July 21, 1893, a member of the Methodist Church, as is also his widow.   G. J. BRAMAN, a well-known and popular citizen of Lorain, is a native of Lorain county, born in 1839, a son of Daniel and Belinda (Falconer) Braman, the father a native of Massachusetts, the mother of Pennsylvania. In an early day the parents came to Lorain county, Ohio, but in 1851 they migrated to Allamakee county, Iowa, sojourning there until 1856, in which year they moved to Jackson county, Wis.,   926 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   where they passed the rest of their days in farming pursuits. The father died in 1883, the mother in 1891; he was a Democrat, and took some interest in politics.   G. J. Braman was reared and educated in Lorain county, and at the age of twelve years moved with his parents to Iowa, where in 1852 lie carried the chain on a survey locating the boundary line of Iowa and Minnesota. In 1857 he located at Red Wing, Minn., and was a pilot on the Mississippi river until 1860, when he returned to Lorain county, and again attended school, also following the trade of carpenter. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Twenty-third 0. V. I., for three years or during the war, serving under Col. R. B. (afterward General) Hayes, assigned to the Eastern army. He was first under fire September 10, 1861, at Carnifex Ferry, and participated in the battles of Sewell Mountain, Cotton Mountain (Va.), and Newberne (N. C.); after that he was assigned to the army of the Potomac, and was in the battles of Fairfax Courthouse, South Mountain, and Antietam; he was then ordered to the Kanawha. While in the army of the Potomac, he was detailed in charge of transportations. Mr. Braman was honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, in July, 1864, and returned to Lorain county, Ohio, where he remained till 1873, in that year moving to Michigan. For a time he was engaged as superintendent of a bridge gang in Texas, but in 1882 lie again came to Lorain county, making his home in Lorain, and was engaged on the C. L. & W. for some time. Mr. Braman has been a member of the Lorain police force since 1889, and constable since 1890.   On December 25, 1864, Mr. Braman was united in marriage, at Grafton, Ohio, with Miss Belle M. Crittenden, also a native of Lorain county, daughter of William H. and Clara (Arnold) Crittenden, of Massachusetts, who became early settlers of Lorain county. To this union was born one daughter, Rena Belle, now the wife of William H. Ault, of Lorain county. Mr. Braman is a Republican, and takes an active interest in politics; in 1888 he served as a member of the town council. He is a member of the Q. A. Gillmore Post, G. A. R., Lorain, and of the K. 0. T. M.   O. F. CARTER, proprietor of a flourishing hardware establishment in Oberlin, one of the leading business houses in that line in Lorain county, is a native of New York State, born in Cattaraugus county in 1838.   Thomas Carter, his father, was a native of Connecticut, and when he was a child his parents, also natives of the "Nutmeg State," came to Onondaga county, N. Y., from there moving to the western part of the same State. The father, who was a tanner and shoemaker, died at the patriarchal age of eighty-three years. In 1854 Thomas Carter and his family came to Lorain county, Ohio, settling on a farm in Russia township. By trade he was a tanner and shoemaker, but after coming to Ohio he followed farming exclusively. An Old-line Whig in his younger days, he has, since the organization of the party, been a stanch Republican. His wife, Abi (Hotchkiss), died in 1864, the mother of six children. He now lives with a daughter at Riceville, Penn., at the great age of ninety-five years.   O. F. Carter, whose name introduces this biographical sketch, is fourth in order of birth in his father's family. His school training was received in part in his native county, and in part at Oberlin, Ohio. He remained on his father's farm, assisting thereon until his mother's death, after which he bought the old homestead and cultivated same till 1866, when he sold out and returned to Cattaraugus county, N. Y. Here, in Randolph township, he embarked in the hardware business with a   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 927   brother, but some little time afterward returned to Lorain county and opened in Oberlin his present hardware store, the style of the firm being, first—" Carter, Franks & Co.," arid, for the past four years—" Carter & Huckus."   In 1860 our subject was united in marriage with Miss Emily M. Brown, and one child, Carrie J., was born to them; she is the wife of Elmer M. Rice, of Riceville, Penn., and has one child, named Robert Hughes. Politically Mr. Carter is an active Republican, and has been a regular delegate to State and county conventions for several years. Socially he is a member of the Royal Arcanum and Knights of Honor. In church relationship he is a Congregationalist.   JOHN DAGUE, a lifelong farmer and a highly respected citizen of Penfield township, is a native of Ohio, born November 16, 1820, in Milton township, Wayne county, son of Frederick Dague. Michael Dague, grandfather of our subject, was of German extraction.   Frederick Dague, father of John Dague, was a native of Washington county, Penn., where he was married to Catherine Harsh, also born in Washington county, daughter of Henry Harsh, and in 1820 the young couple migrated westward to Ohio. The road were very rough, but they came in a wagon, and located in Wayne county, then a very wild section, where wild animals—deer, bears, wolves, etc.—abounded. Here Mr. Dague purchased 160 acres of land, all heavily timbered and without improvements of any sort, erecting thereon a rude cabin, with puncheon floor, stick chimney, etc. He had a family of eight children, one of whom died in Pennsylvania, and six of whom still survive, viz.: Frederick, John, Henry, Levi, Sarah and Ann. The father of these passed his remaining years on the pioneer farm in Wayne county, liv ing to see the transformation of his property from the primeval forest to a fertile farm. Much hard labor was necessarily involved in accomplishing this, but he was assisted in the work by his family, every member of which worked with a will to secure a home, and at the time of his death the property was worth several thousand dollars. He made many substantial improvements thereon in the way of buildings, putting up a fine barn and outbuildings, also a handsome brick residence, and was progressive in every way. He acquired and retained universal respect and esteem, and instilled into the minds of his children those sterling principles so characteristic of his life, and now so apparent in theirs. He lived to a ripe old age. Mrs. Catherine Dague died July 12, 1834, and Mr. Dague subsequently married Margaret Baker, who had come from Maryland., there were no children by this union.   John Dague received in his youth a meager training in the common schools of that early day, his attendance being restricted to five days during one winter term. From early boyhood lie engaged in the arduous duties of farm life, and remained at home until reaching his majority, assisting in the clearing of the pioneer farm, where he labored zealously to help his father secure a home. an January 20, 1842, he was united in marriage with Miss Barbara Waltner, who was born in December, 1816, in Adams county, Penn., daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Bowser) Waltner, who came by wagon to Ohio in 1834, the family, which then consisted of three daughters, walking the greater part of the way to Milton township. Wayne county, where they located. For nine years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dague rented land, and he worked for fifty cents a day, clearing land for others, laboring from sunrise to sunset, his wife helping all the while. In Feb ruary, 1852, they came to Penfield township, purchasing 102 acres at five dollars per acre, and there made their home in a   928 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   log house, the walls of which were so open that the snow blew through the cracks. Children as follows were born to them: Mary, who died at the age of thirty-one years, unmarried; Sarah, Mrs. Alfred Brouse, of Penfield; Margaret, Mrs. Harvey Brouse, of Penfield; Jacob, a farmer, deceased; Hattie, Mrs. Robert Davidson, of Wellington, Ohio, Fred, a farmer of Penfield; John, also a farmer of Penfield; and William, a farmer of Spencer, Medina Co., Ohio. About twenty-five years ago Mr. Dague lost almost entirely the use of his arm, but his children have taken hold of the manual labor, and the affairs of the farm have progressed finely. At one time he owned over 200 acres of land, and now, after having started his children in life, he has an excellent farm and a most beautiful home and enjoys a comfortable competence. His noble wife deserves no small amount of credit for the part she has taken, and now, though over seventy-seven years of age, she is still in the enjoyment of remarkably good health. Mr. Dague is extremely fond of his home, seldom leaving it for more than a day at a time. He is a self-made man in every respect, and from small beginnings has made a complete success, having acquired during his business career an enviable record for fair, honest dealing. In politics he sympathizes with the Democratic party, and in religious connection he and his wife are members of the German Baptist Church.   CHARLES A. FOWLER was the eldest son of Charles and Eliza (Baker) Fowler, and was born January 28, 1834, in Chestertown, Warren Co., N. Y. (where he spent his boyhood days), a very picturesque village situated a short distance from the Adirondack Mountains.   Here during his leisure hours he roamed at will down through the deep glens or over the rugged mountains. After having graduated at the high school, and receiving a thorough business education, he entered his father's mercantile establishment, where he became familiar with the practical works of a merchant. About the year 1854 he came to Ohio to look after an extensive land estate in the townships of Grafton and Eaton, Lorain county. This estate was purchased from Jonathan Rawson, it being a large tract of land situated on both sides of Black river, and covered nearly all the territory on which the pres-ent prosperous village of Grafton Station now stands. After remaining in Grafton for a short time, Mr. Fowler went to Michi-gan and engaged in the mercantile busi-ness, but in about one year returned to Grafton to take care of the property there, which was deeded to him by his father. He spent his time in general farming, stock raising and so forth. There was a sawmill on the premises which he operated until the year 1862, when it was carried away by a flood, after which he devoted his spare time to local politics, and filled some of the most important offices of the place with great credit; was mayor of Grafton one term, and is still quoted as the honest and business-like mayor. Politically he was a Democrat. While he was very outspoken, he was very kind-hearted, generous and charitable to a fault. In 1891 he rebuilt his home, which now ranks among the finest in northern Ohio. Mr. Fowler died December 30, 1891, in LaGrange, from injuries received while stepping from a moving train. His remains rest in the cemetery in Elyria, in a vault erected by his wife at an enormous expense, it being the finest in Lorain county. The business part of the community feel the loss of a good councilor and citizen, and the poor mourn him as a benefactor.   On February 15, 1857, in the city of Adrian, Mich., Charles A. Fowler was united in marriage with Miss Mary J. Hendee, who was born April 6, 1835, in Spencer, Medina Co., Ohio, a daughter of James and Anna (Hoover) Hendee, early   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 929   settlers in Medina county, formerly residents of Monroe county, N. Y. Mr. Hendee was a lifelong farmer, a man of moderate means. He had a family of eight children, of whom five at this date are yet living. Mrs. Fowler is a lady of sound judgment, and manages her farm of 140 acres in a manner that well exemplifies her innate business sagacity and acumen. Her residence is one of the finest in the county, and is elegantly furnished, all its surroundings giving evidence of the exquisite taste and refinement of its owner.   ALFRED FAUVER, ex-commissioner of Lorain county, and retired agriculturist, is a native of the county, born in Eaton township in the year 1835.   In his boyhood and early youth Mr. Fauver attended the common schools, and learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, at which he was working when the war of the Rebellion broke out. He was the first to volunteer into the service of the Union from Eaton township, enlisting in the Eighth O. V. I., which regiment was sent to Camp Dennison from Cleveland, and there being no accommodation prepared for them the men had to bivouac in a field among the snow and mud; in consequence of such exposure our subject was seized with pneumonia, but did not leave the service. The regiment then proceeded to West Virginia, to guard the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and participated in the battle of Winchester, where Mr. Fauver received a musket-ball and three buckshot in the leg, which wounds necessitated his confinement in hospital at Winchester for some time. Returning home when convalescent, he was honorably discharged from the service August 19, 1862. He then settled down to agricultural pursuits in Eaton township, which he carried on successfully till 1891, in which year he re tired from active life, and took up his residence in Oberlin, in order the better to educate his children.   On October 24, 1863, Mr. Fauver married Miss Elizabeth King, of Eaton township, Lorain county, by which union there are six children—five sons and one daughter, as follows: Lester A., graduate of a civil engineering school, and now city engineer of Lorain; Louis B., attending Oberlin College; Clayton K., in college; Edwin and Edgar (twins), both in high school at Oberlin; and Mabel. In politics Mr. Fauver is a stalwart member of the Republican party, and in 1884 was elected county commissioner, in which incumbency le served nine years and one month. He has been active in the interests of the county in many ways, and was a member of the gubernatorial convention that nominated Foster for governor of Ohio. He assisted in the organization of the First National Bank of Lorain, and is one of its directors; he is also a stockholder in the Savings Bank of Elyria.   WILLIAM H. SAXTON, one of the most prominent and influential of the prosperous agriculturists of Russia township, was born October 28, 1827, in Jefferson county, N. Y., a son of Elisha Saxton, also a native of New York State.   The father of our subject married Miss Ardelia Cottrel, of the State of New York, and they then settled in the vicinity of where he was reared. He had served in the capacity of coachman (rising to that position from one of day laborer) for Joseph Bonaparte, a heavy landowner and prominent man, who at the time of his death gave each of his employes fifty acres of land, Elisha Saxton being one of the beneficiaries. This he commenced farming on, but it was new land and proved to be not worth much, and later he moved to Otsego county, same State, to a town then'   930 - LORAIN COUNTY , OHIO.   called Butternuts. Thence he proceeded to Jefferson county, locating for a time in Denmark, and from there the family came in 1835 to Ohio, by way of the Erie Canal from Syracuse to Buffalo, thence by boat to Huron, Ohio, from which place they were conveyed by wagon to Richland county, where they sojourned a month or two. From that county they moved to LaGrange township, Lorain county, where Mr. Saxton bought for cash seventy-five acres at about five dollars per acre. Here he lived for some years, at the end of which time he removed to Wellington township, same county, whence after a time he returned to La Grange town-ship, where he died in July, 1863; his widow passed from earth in 1870, in Ohio, at the home of her son Nelson. They are buried side by side in Pittsfield town-ship, Lorain county. He was a successful hard-working farmer, and by industry and frugality accumulated a comfortable competence. Politically he was a Democrat until the Anti-slavery movement, when he turned Abolitionist; he held various offices of trust in his township. When he first came to Ohio he was a Baptist, but later became an adherent of the Universalist faith, remaining so to the close of his life. The children born to him prior to his removal to Ohio were as follows: Elzina, who married Hiram Jones, and died in LaGrange township, Lorain county; William H., subject of this sketch; Daniel, who died soon after coming to Ohio; Nelson, a minister of the Universalist faith, who died in 1890; and Emily, who married Cyrus Batchelor, and died in LaGrange town-ship. Those born in Ohio are Albert D., now a resident of Eaton Rapids, Mich.; and John, a farmer of Deerfield, Michigan. William H. Saxton, the subject proper of this sketch, received his education at the subscription school of LaGrange town-ship, which was held in an old log cabin, with slab seats, puncheon floor and greased paper for windows in lieu of glass, the first teacher being Lura Cross. Here our sub-ject drank of the “Pierian Spring" during the winter months until he was eighteen years old, working on the farm in the summer season. He lived at home till he was twenty-one years old, when he purchased a piece of land containing fifty acres, price three hundred and fifty dollars, paying one hundred dollars down, and in a few years by hard labor and judicious economy he was enabled to pay for it in full. He built thereon a log cabin, al-most entirely with his own hands, the chimney being made of mud and sticks, and an old "hard-head boulder" constituted the back of the fireplace.   In May, 1849, Mr. Saxton was married to Mary Allyn, a native of Connecticut, born in June, 1824, daughter of Matthew Allyn, and they commenced their wedded life in the humble log house just described. The first road, in those parts, between Cleveland and Toledo, came near their home, and so they kept boarders, which helped Mr. Saxton toward paying for his farm; and he also sold cross ties from the land he was clearing. This property of originally fifty acres he has from time to time added to, and he now owns in all over 700 acres—some in Ohio, some in Michigan and some in Iowa. For five years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Saxton lived in the old log cabin, and then moved into a frame house. Their children were born as follows: Clara, Mrs. Raphael Rogers, of Cleveland, Ohio; Judson, a farmer of Humboldt county, Iowa; William, a farmer of LaGrange township, Lorain county; Arthur, of Cleveland, Ohio; and Edith, Mrs. M. Mason, of Oberlin, Ohio.   Mr. Saxton has been a great reader in his day, and has a very retentive memory for everything he Ends of use from books. He also takes a deep interest in various branches of industry, and has been a patron of all the leading industrial Expositions held in the United States for the past twenty-five years, including the Centennial at Philadelphia, the New Orleans Exposi-   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 931   tion, the World's Fair at Chicago, etc. In 1889 he and his wife made a trip to the Pacific Slope, visiting among other places San Francisco and San Diego, Cal., and Seattle, Wash.; they also traveled through the New England States, visiting his wife's place of birth. In the summer of 1892 he visited the Western States, proceeding as far north as Alaska, and traveling through various parts of that new Territory. In his political preferences Mr. Saxton was a Republican up to the time of Horace Greeley's campaign, since when he has been a Prohibitionist.   G. H. ARNET, retired, who enjoys the record of being one of the most painstaking and successful farmers of Russia township, a shrewd manager and sound financier, is a native of Western New York, born July 17, 1827, in Jerusalem township, in the lake country.   James S. Arnet, father of subject, was born November 26, 1783, and about the year 1835 came to Ohio, locating in Hartland township, Huron county, in the pioneer days of that locality. After some years residence there he moved to Illinois, but returning to Ohio he passed the rest of his days among his children. He died in Townsend township, Huron county, in October, 1868, and was buried at Hartland Ridge by the side of his second wife. Politically he was for several years a Whig, afterward, on the organization of the party, a steadfast Republican. He had been twice married, first time September 11, 1804, to Julia Terry, who was born March 31, 1785, and died when her son G. H., our subject, was two months old. Mr. Arnet then removed to Sheffield township, Warren Co., Penn., where, on August 12, 1830, he married Rebecca Shipman, who died in Hartland township, Huron county.   G. H. Arnet, the subject proper of this sketch, being but an infant when his mother died, was brought up by his sister Caroline, and attended the subscription schools of the period. At about the age of twenty-one he began to work out for himself, with a lumber company (four years) and in sawmills, etc., in Huron and Lorain counties. On December 28, 1854, Mr. Arnet was married to Elizabeth West, who was born September 7, 1831, in .Geneva, N. Y., and in 1841 came to Wellington township-, Lorain county, with her parents, Horace and Susan (Weiser) West. The children born to this union are Melvin D., born October 13, 1859, a farmer in Russia township; Helen S., born March 17, 1863, married to Manasses Baker, of Oberlin, Ohio; and George W., who died young.   Prior to his marriage our subject had bought on credit 121 acres of wild land at eight dollars per acre, where he is yet living, and this he has improved and from time to time added to until he now has 180 acres of as good farming land as can be found in the county. For some years he has lived retired from active life, his son, Melvin D., having charge of the place; but he can not remain idle, for at all times he is to be seen doing light work of one kind or another about the premises. He has a bright, pleasant home; where he and his estimable wife are quietly and comfortably passing the declining years of their lives. Politically Mr. Arnet is a stanch Republican, formerly an Old-line Whig.   H. G. RUSTED, senior member of the well-known firm of H. G. and D. S. Husted, dentists, in Oberlin, is a worthy representative of one of the earliest pioneer families. His grandfather, Samuel Husted, came in a very early day from Danbury, Conn., and erected the first flour mill in the county. Hoyt Rusted, father of subject, was born in Danbury, Conn., and learned the milling business, which he followed for many years in Clarks-field township, Huron Co., Ohio. For his   932 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   first wife he married Sarah Gray, a native of New York State, who came with her parents to Ohio in 1825, settling in Clarks, field, Huron county. His second wife, Anna C. Stone, was born in Connecticut, and removed with her parents to Clarksfield when but a child.   H. G. Husted, son of Hoyt and Sarah (Gray) Husted, was born April 6, 1851, in Clarksfield township, Huron Co., Ohio, and was reared to farm life, receiving his primary education in the common schools. For three and one-half years he studied dentistry under a preceptor, in Norwalk, and since September, 1878, he has resided in Oberlin, where he has built up a good practice. Mr. Husted was united in marriage, November 11, 1879, in Norwalk, Huron county, with Miss Alberta Jackson, a native of Norwalk, and to this union have been born three children: Walter, Clara and Hubert. Politically our subject is an active member of the Republican party, and has served two terms as member of the town council. In religious faith he is an adherent of the Congregational Church. He is a member of the Northern Ohio Dental Association.   D. S. HUSTED, junior member of the well-known dentist firm, in Oberlin, of H. G. and D. S. Husted, is descended from an early pioneer family of this section. His grandfather, Samuel Husted, came in a very early day from Danbury, Conn., and erected the first flour mill in the county. Hoyt Husted, father of subject, was born in Danbury, Conn., and learned the miller's trade, which he followed for many years in Clarksfield township, Huron Co., Ohio. For his first wife he married Sarah Gray, a native of New York State, who came with her par-ents to Ohio in 1825, settling in Clarksfield, Huron county. His second wife, Anna C. Stone, was a native of Connecticut, and came to Clarksfield with her parents when but a child.   D. S. Husted, son of Hoyt and Anna C. (Stone) Husted, was born March 17, 1861, in Clarksfield township, Huron county, where he was reared, and where he received his primary education at the common schools. In 1885 he was graduated from the Dental Department of the University of Michigan, and commenced the practice of his profession at Troy, Miami Co., Ohio, where he remained for some time. Later he formed a partnership with his brother, H. G. Husted, and they are now conduct-ing an extensive practice in Oberlin. The Doctor was married, April 25, 1889, to Miss Lizzie Hurlburt, of Oberlin, Ohio, and they have had two children, namely: Howard and Edith. Politically Mr. Husted is a Prohibition-Republican, and in religion he is an adherent of the M. E. Church. He is a member of the Northern Ohio Dental Association.   DAVID BURKE is one of the most prominent representative agriculturists of Lorain county, his residence being on Butternut Ridge, Eaton township.   He is a native of New York State, born in 1827, in the town of De Kalb, a son of David and Isabella (McIlwe) Burke, the former of whom, a native of Londonderry, Ireland, when a young man sailed from Belfast for this country, and after his ar-rival proceeded to De Kalb, N. Y., where he married, and his children were born. From there in March, 1834, the family came to Lorain county, Ohio, settling in Ridgeville township, where the father opened up a farm, subsequently purchasing the Alcott property in the same town-ship. He died in August, 1875, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1872. 'They reared a family of seven children, all of Whom are yet living, as follows: Samuel Burke, married, residing in Indiana; Matthew Burke, married, living in Chicago; Judge Stevenson Burke, of Cleveland;     LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 935   David Burke received his education at the common schools of Ridgeville township, Lorain county, whither he had come with his parents when seven years old. In early life he went on the lakes, first as fireman on a steam vessel, in course of time being promoted to engineer, remaining in all nine years, during " the cholera year," working on the Sandusky line. On leaving the lakes, he came to Eaton township, and bought six acres of wild land, to which he added from time to time until he now owns 360 acres in Eaton township, and fifty in Ridgeville township. All his property he has greatly improved, and the barn he built 86 x 46 feet-24 foot posts —has a capacity of 200 tons of hay, with basement for cattle and horses. In addition to general farming operations, Mr. Burke trades considerably in horses, matching teams, and so forth. In 1850 he was married in Ridgeville township to Miss Hannah Kemp, who was born in Kenninghall, England, daughter of Robert and Hannah (Colley) Kemp, also natives of England, who came to America and, in 1830, made a permanent settlement in Ridgeville township, Lorain Co., Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Burke have been born two children: Albert (married), on his father's farm, and Lyman, attending school in Elyria. In his political predilections our subject is a Republican.   DANIEL AUBLE, a widely respected, upright citizen of Penfield township, is a native of the State of Ohio, born July 6, 1828, near Greentown, Stark county. His father, Christopher Auble, was born in Pennsylvania, and his grandfather, Conrad Auble, was a native of Germany.   David Burke, the subject proper of this memoir; Mary J., wife of Henry Smith, of Olmsted Falls, Ohio; James Burke, married, a resident of Ridgeville township, Lorain county; and R chel, wife of Henry Marsh, of Summit county, Colorado. Christopher Auble was reared to farm life, was married in Pennsylvania to Miss Mary Crumbaugh, also born in that State, of German parentage, and in an early day they came west to Stark county, Ohio, where they resided for some years. In 1829 they moved to Wadsworth township, Medina county, where he purchased 160 acres, all in the woods, erected a small log house, and immediately set to work clearing the land, where he made his home for many. years. In their later life, after their children had all married, Mr. and Mrs. Auble removed to Spencer township, Medina county, where he passed from earth at the age of eighty-two years, she at the age of ninety-two, both members of the Evangelical Church. They now lie buried in Spencer cemetery. Mr. Auble was a soldier in the war of 1812, awl' drew a pension for his services. He was an honest, industrious, hard-working farmer, who accumulated an ample share of this world's goods, and lived to enjoy a comfortable competence. He was actively interested in religious work, and became a minister in the Albright Church, being a naturally bright, intelligent man. His children, ten in number, all became successful, well-to-do citizens.   Daniel Auble was but an infant when his parents removed to Medina county, where he was reared to mandood on the home farm, receiving an education in the common schools. As soon as he was old enough to help, he was put to work clearing the land, and he continued to do general farm work, remaining at home until reaching his majority, and turning over all his earnings to his parents. On September 19, 1861, he was united in marriage with Miss Ruth E. Space, who was born January 10, 1843, in Spencer township, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Benjamin) Space, and they first located on a rented farm in Spencer township. They then rented various other places for about five years, when Mr. Auble purchased a small tract of land near Spencer Mills,   936 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   whence in 1866 they came to Penfield township, Lorain county, locating on the Smith road. Here they resided for about twenty-five years, and in 1891 came to the present farm, which comprises one hun-dred acres of excellent land. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Auble are as follows: Mary E., Mrs. William Haulk, of Wellington ; Alice L., Mrs. George White, of Penfield; Ida J., Mrs. Frank England, of Huntington; Aaron, Francis and Lucius L., at home; and Christopher, deceased. By hard toil and the practice of economy Mr. Auble has met with encouraging success in his life vocation, and though be-ginning life with almost nothing, he is now a well-to-do farmer citizen, highly esteemed for his square, honest methods in dealing with his fellowmen. In his political predilections he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and in religious faith he and his wife are members of the Evangelical Church.   JOHN STANG, railroad and Government contractor, Lorain, is a native of Germany, born February 19, 1836, at Kurhassen, where he was educated, and learned the trade of manufacturer of broadcloth. At the age of nineteen he immigrated to the United States, and after landing came directly to Lorain, Ohio, where he worked first in a shipyard, in the meantime making himself master of the English language. With characteristic energy and his well-known ability he soon advanced himself, and it was not long before he was largely interested in contracting and building, including bridge building for the county, as well as for railroads, in connection with which latter the first bridges he contracted for were on the Cleveland & Akron road, and on the Nickel Plate; he also constructed foundations for iron bridges. Prior to this he had done Government work, chiefly building piers and breakwaters, from which he drifted, in 1881, into harbor dredging. Nor did Mr. Stang confine himself to contracting and building, for in 1864 we find him already deep in the timber business, shipping to New York, Buffalo and Cleveland, and to Quebec (Canada) for foreign shipment; and he is still interested in that line of trade in Ottawa county, Ohio, where he has, in connection, sawmills, stores etc. He more closely confines himself to Government contracts for the building of dry-docks, coal-docks etc., also the raising of sunken vessels, and other such work on the lakes.   Mr. Stang has been twice married, first time, in 1863, to Miss Mary Brown, by whom he has four children: Christina M., wife of H. Little; W. F. and John J., at-tending to their father's timber interests, and Lizzie, wife of P. Jackson. The mother of these dying in 1875, Mr. Stang married, in 1876, Miss Catherine Brown. In his political sympathies our subject is a Republican; socially he is a member of' the Royal Arcanum, Knights of the Mac-cabees and Knights of Honor. In matters of religion he is a member of the Congre-gational Church. Mr. Stang's parents, Augustus and Margaret (Herwig) Stang, were also natives of Kurhassen, Germany, where they passed their lives, and where the father carried on a merchant tailoring business. They were Presbyterians. Their family consisted of six children--four sons and two daughters—of whom the subject of this sketch is fourth in order of birth.   THOMAS ROACH, a prosperous farmer of Eaton township, is a native of Northamptonshire, England, born November 29, 1848, son of John and Elizabeth (Ames) Roach.   The parents of our subject were also natives of the same county in England, and in 1853 came to the United States,   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 937   locating first on rented land in Amherst township, Lorain Co., Ohio. In 1854 the family removed to Ridgeville township, and thence in 1856 to Eaton township, settling on the farm where Thomas Roach now resides, which at that time was but partly improved. The father afterward resided in Carlisle township. He died in 1888; the mother preceded him to the grave, having passed away in the fall of 1853, in Amherst township. They reared .a family of seven children, all born in England, a brief record of whom is as follows: Mary was married in England to Samuel Maddock, and now resides in Defiance county, Ohio; Joseph is married, and resides in Nebraska; Ann is the wife of Henry Townsend, of Carlisle township; William enlisted, in 1861, in Amherst township, as a member of Company K, Twenty-third O. V. I., for three years, and was accidentally shot and killed the same year; Betsy, the wife of Henry Montague, resides in Neosha county, Kans.; Sophia is the wife of Peter Watts, of Knightstown, Ind.; Thomas is the subject of this memoir. John Roach took an active interest in politics, and held various local offices of trust, serving as township trustee, member of the school board and road supervisor. In religious faith he was a member of the Disciple Church.   Thomas Roach was reared in England until five years of age, when he came with his parents to Lorain county, Ohio. He received his education in the common schools of Eaton township, and has since been engaged in agriculture, which he has made his life vocation. He now owns the homestead farm, consisting of fifty acres of good land, in a high state of cultivation. In September. 1879, Mr. Roach was married, in Eaton township. to Miss Jennie Artress, a native of England, daughter of William and Mary (Johnson) Artress, who were also born in England; they came from their native country to Amherst township, Lorain Co., Ohio, removed thence to Elyria, and from Elyria to Grafton (all in Lorain county), finally returning to Elyria, however, where Mrs. Artress still resides. William Artress died in 1884. Mrs. Roach died July 1, 1891, leaving one daughter, Elizabeth Ann. In politics Mr. Roach is a Republican.   LORENZ HORN, furniture dealer, undertaker, and postmaster at North Amherst, was born December 23, 1839, in Hessia, Germany, a son of Andrew and Sophia (Bechstein) Horn, also natives of Hessia. Their parents were born in France, and removed to Germany, where our subject's father and mother are yet living. Andrew Horn served in the German army ten years, and afterward as a Government employe.   Lorenz Horn left the paternal roof in the Fatherland on March 23, 1856, and after a voyage of forty-two days landed in New York, whence he came to Lorain county, Ohio, arriving in North Amherst on June 7 following. Here he made a stop of one week, and then proceeded to Louisville, Ky., where he learned the trade of shoemaker, following same until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, at which time he enlisted in the Twenty-second Regiment, Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, in which he served sixteen months; then enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment, 0. V. I., for nineteen months. He was attached to the army of the Cumberland; was at the siege of Charleston, and in pursuit of Morgan at the time of his raid. On his return to the pursuits of peace, Mr. Horn followed his trade of shoemaker until 1871, when he commenced in his present business, which has grown to considerable proportions, and proved very successful.   Mr. Horn was married, August 16, 1863, in North Amherst, to Miss Margaret Ray, a lady of Scotch and German parent- au e, and six children—one son and five   938 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   daughters—were born to them, as follows: Lucy, Emma, Catherine, Daisy, Franklin G. and Pansy. The entire family are members of the Congregational Church, and all assist in the choir. Mr. Horn is an active Republican, and has served his town and county in various offices of trust, such as member of the council, three terms; president of the school board, three years; treasurer, six years, and also clerk. In July, 1887, he received the appointment of postmaster at North Amherst, which incumbency lre is yet filling. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and G. A. R.   E. D. HANCE, a leading native-born farmer of Eaton township, first saw the light December 13, 1836, a son of Hiram and Rhoda Ann (Ames) Hance, the former of whom was born in New York, the latter in Massachusetts.   Hiram Hance came to Eaton township, Lorain county, at the age of fourteen. On January 2, 1836, he was married in Grafton township, same county, to Rhoda Ann Ames, and they at once settled on a farm, his previous business having been distilling, which he carried on for some time in Newburg, Cuyahoga county. Children as follows were born to this pioneer couple: Ed., subject of this memoir; Grove, married, residing in Eaton township; Jerome, who died in Eaton township at the age of twenty-seven (he attended Oberlin College, and was a teacher in Lorain county; lie died from over-study); Abbie, residing in Philadelphia, Penn.; Florence, deceased April 7, 1883, in Eaton township; and Oscar, married, residing in the township. The father died January 22, 1886, aged seventy-six years; the mother July 2, 1885, aged sixty-five. In politics Mr. Hance was originally a Democrat, his first Republican vote being cast for John C. Fremont, from which time, however, he was a Republican.   Jeremiah and Abbie Hance, grandparents of subject, were natives of Holland, whence in an early day they immigrated to America, settling on Long Island. He was a saltwater sailor for over twenty years in the merchant service, and after leaving the sea carried on a shoemaking business in Long Island and Jersey City, in which latter place he was burned out. In 1821 he came with his family to Eaton township, making a settlement in the woods, where they cleared a farm. Here he died in 1866, aged ninety-seven years, his wife passing away in 1871. The names of the children they brought with them to Ohio are Riley, Hiram, Ira, Charles, Abigail, Sterling, Mary (widow of Theron Jackson, of Delta, Ohio), and Lloyd (married and residing in Liverpool, Medina Co., Ohio). Of these Hiram died January 22, 1886, Ira January 25, 1886, and Abigail January 26, 1886.   Ed. Hance, the subject proper of this biographical sketch, was the first white child born in the southern part of Eaton township. He received a limited education at the district schools of the vicinity, giving only seven months' attendance, but experience and self application brought him up to a fair standard among his confreres. His first business experience was as a boatman on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and Gulf of Mexico, after which he took up general farming, and has since followed same with marked ability, making a specialty of stock raising. In 1864 he bought 130 acres of land in Eaton township, on which he has erected a comfortable residence and commodious barn, and to which he has added from time to time till he is now owner of 300 acres of prime land in a good state of cultivation.   In September, 1864, Mr. Hance was married in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, to Miss Letitia Emerson, a native of same, and daughter of Asa and Louise (Freeman) Emerson, natives of Maine and Massachusetts, respectively, and early pioneers of Cuyahoga county; Mr. Emerson died   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 941   there June 17, 1890. To this union children as follows were born: George (a sailor, who was drowned November 12, 1886, at Avon Point), Jerome, Willfred, Hubert, Lucretia and Lloyd (twins, the latter of whom died at the age of three years), and Anna. The mother of these passed from earth March 11, 1890. She was a lady of superior literary abilities, and was a writer of considerable merit, several of her productions appearing in Washburn's paper. She was also an excellent judge of fine art, and served on committees. On December 23,1891, Mr. Hance wedded Mrs. Lucy (Crane) Sprague, widow of Charles Sprague.   In his political associations our subject is a straight Republican, and has served as trustee of Eaton township eleven years —nine in succession. He has been one of the directors of the County Association twenty-two years; president of the County Fair two years, where he invariably makes an exhibit, and has been superintendent of exhibits at Columbus. He is the possessor of the largest individual collection of stone-age implements in the county, and has devoted considerable time to the study of their use and history.   CHARLES S. FERGUSON, editor and proprietor of the Lorain News, the only Democratic newspaper published in that town, is a native of Ohio, born in Milan, Erie county, July 15, 1863, and comes in a direct line from an old Scotch family.   P. M. Ferguson, his father, was born November 12, 1833, in Luzerne county, Penn., and received his education at the schools of Dallas in the same county. In 1855 he came west to Ohio, and made a new home in the town of Milan, Erie county; where for a time he followed butchering, then worked in a shipyard, and afterward became a farmer. In 1887 he moved to Lorain, Lorain county, where he is now engaged in the livery business. In 1862 Mr. Ferguson married, at Sandusky, Ohio, Miss Mary A. Smith, and three children have been born to them, viz.: Charles S., Nettie M. and Ada P. In politics the son of whom we write in no way differs from the father, who is a “true blue" Democrat.   Charles S. Ferguson received a liberal education at the public schools of his native town, and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, three years. On his return home he took up the profession of civil engineering and became surveyor for Erie county, an incumbency he filled from 1885 to 1888, in which latter year he came to Lorain, and in 1889 established the first and only Democratic newspaper in the place. The News is a bright, newsy weekly, and, under Mr. Ferguson's sole proprietorship and editorship, it is bound to succeed and make its mark in the arena of journalism.   CAPT. ALEXANDER McPHAIL, a well-known captain on the Great Lakes, and a citizen of Lorain, was born September 7, 1831, at Greenock, on the Clyde, Scotland, son of Alexander and Elizabeth (McKennon) McPhail, both of whom were also natives of Scotland. The father was a sailor, and died in his native country in 1838, and in 1873 his widow came to America, locating in Lorain, Lorain Co., Ohio, where she died in 1889.   Alexander McPhail was feared on the banks of the Clyde, and received his education in the schools of his native country. At the age of about fourteen he commenced to lead a sea-faring life, and he has made sailing his life vocation. For seven years he served on vessels sailing from Liverpool and Glasgow to the East and West Indies, and he also made a trip around the world. In August, 1851, he left the vessel at Montreal, and coming to   942 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   Cleveland, Ohio, has since been identified with the Great Lakes, for nrany years as eaptain, sailing from Buffalo to Chicago, and along the entire chain of the lakes. Since 1852 he has been a resident of Lorain.   On December 20, 1858, Mr. McPhail was married to Miss Annie Ludlum, a na-tive of Lorain, this county, whose father, Henry Ludlum, was a native of New Jersey, and was a mason by trade. He married Annie Howsworth, a native of Germany, and they located in Ridgeville, Ohio, in an early day, thence coming to Lorain, where they passed the remainder of their lives. To the union of Alexander and Annie McPhail were born six children, four of whom are now living, viz.: Frances, wife of Lewis Hoffman, of Lorain; Charles, an engineer, residing at home; Henry, at home, and Elizabeth. The mother of these children died in November, 1891. In politics the Captain supports the principles of the Republican party, and socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. In religions faith he is a member of the M. E. Church, with which he has been identified since 1857.   DAVID A. RAWSON, one of those noble old pioneers who has been spared by the ravages of time, was born October 12, 1819, in Grafton, Lorain Co., Ohio.   The father of our subject, Grindall Rawson, was born in West Southbridge, Mass., in 1792, a son of Samuel Grindall Rawson, who was by trade a wagon-maker, and from Massachusetts moved to Genesee county, N. Y., whence after about one year he came (in 1816) to Ohio, landing first at Cleveland, then a collection of huts. From there he walked to Liverpool, Medina county, thence to Grafton township, Lorain county, at that time a primeval wilderness, where yet roamed the Indian and many a savage wild animal.   His father had traded land in Connecticut for a tract in Grafton township, and his sons Grindall and Jonathan selected 160 acres each near where the village of Graf-ton now stands, after which Grindall re-turned to Genesee county, N. Y., and for some time made his home with one Hanford Boughton.   In 1817 Grindall Rawson once more came to Ohio, and permanently located on his 160 acres, bravely setting to work to clear the land, erecting at first a rude log cabin. Here he married Maria Ashley, a native of Massachusetts, and daughter of David Ashley, who came as a pioneer to Grafton township, settling near the Center. To this union were born children as fol-lows: David A., the subject of sketch; Angelo D., a farmer of Eaton township; a son that died when two months old; Henry, a farmer, who died in San Diego, Cal., where he had gone in search of health; Rachel, Mrs. Samuel Wilson, of Windsor, Ashtabula Co., Ohio; Adaline, of Prescott, Wis.; Phebe, Mrs. Cassana Lovejoy, of Cleveland, and Theodore, who died when a young man. Mr. Rawson followed his trade in connection with farming, and was one of. the leading men of his time. When he first came to Grafton township, in order to get his milling done he had to go to the Tuscarawas river, a nine-days' trip through the woods, and oxen were the only beasts of burden. He cleared all his land, which at the time of his death amounted to over 300 acres, and he was looked upon as a hard-working, thrifty man. He died May 21, 1876, his wife about two years afterward, and both lie buried in Center cemetery. Politically he was originally an Old-line Whig, later a Republican.   David A. Rawson, whose name opens this sketch, was educated at the subscription schools of the period, one Samuel Curtis being his first teacher, and his attendance was limited to a few months in the winter season. In January, 1845, he was married to Miss Amanda M. Jadwin,   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 943   a native of the State of Massachusetts, daughter of Rensselaer Jadwin, who came to Lorain county, Ohio, in pioneer times. After marriage our subject and his young wife located on eighty-four acres of land which he paid for out of his savings, the amount being four hundred and eighty dollars. Here he has since continued to live, and has seen his property converted from a howling wilderness into a smiling, fertile farm. To him and his wife were born four children, to wit: J. Henry, who died when four years old; J. A., a leading farmer of Grafton; Eva, Mrs. George Cragin, of Grafton; and William T., who died at the age of sixteen years. The mother of these departed.this life in May, 1876, a consistent member of the M. E. Church. In his political preferences Mr. Rawson is a stanch Republican, formerly an Old-line Whig, and while not a member of church, he is a Universalist in sentiment. He has always been a hard worker, has managed well, and he is one of the successful farmers in Grafton township.   S. G. COLE, prominent among the successful agriculturists of Columbia township, is a native of same, born December 31, 1842, a son of William A. and Electa A. (Smith) Cole.   William A. Cole was born in Connecticut in 1816, a son of John and Bethany (Cole) Cole, natives of the same State, who in 1828 came with their family to Lorain county, settling in Columbia township on 600 acres of wild: land. The journey from Connecticut to Cleveland was made by water and occupied three weeks, the rest of the trip being made on foot. John Cole died in 1851, his wife about six months later. A brief record of their children is as follows: Constant G., who married and lived in Elyria, was county surveyor for nine years, and was drowned in the Black river; W. G., married, resides in Ridgeville township; William A. is spoken of further on in this sketch; John resides in Columbia township; Mary (twin sister of John), who became the wife of Thomas Churchwood, died in Berea, Ohio; Nathaniel N. resides in Columbia township.   W. A. Cole was twelve years old when he came to Lorain county, so the greater part of his education was received in Connecticut, the remainder in Columbia township. He is a lifelong agriculturist, and he is now owner of ninety-seven acres of prime land, upon which he makes his home. In 1841 he was married, in Columbia township, to Miss Electa A. Smith, a native of New York, whose father was a sheriff in Pennsylvania, and was killed while making an arrest. Five children were born to this union, viz.: S. G., subject proper of sketch; Ezra, residing in Michigan, who is married and has seven children—Mary, Stella, Dolly, Viola, Mabel, Earl and Inez; Ora, married and residing in Kansas, who has one son, Clarence; Zelora, residing in Eaton township, who is married and has two children, Roy and Ralph; and Nettie, the wife of George Allen, of Columbia township, who has two children, Ray and Floyd. When Mr. Cole first came to Columbia township, there were only a few people in it, and his family is now the oldest extant. He and his wife have been members of the Baptist Church for over fifty years.   S. G. Cole received a liberal education at the schools of his native township, and three years at Oberlin. lie was reared to agricultural pursuits, and in early manhood commenced teaching school, a vocation he followed for twenty winters in Columbia township, all the time in adjoining districts, his summers being occupied in farming. He owned, at first, twenty-frve acres, which has since been added to until he has now one hundred and ninety acres of excellent land. On December 25, 1865, Mr. Cole was married, in Columbia township, to Miss Lydia A. Robinson, a native of Summit county, Ohio, daughter   944 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   of Daniel and Julia (Wilson) Robinson-he a native of New York, she of New Jersey; in an early, day they came to Summit county, Ohio, where they married, afterward, in 1842, moving to Columbia township, Lorain county, and settling on a farm where the father is yet living; the mother died in 1874. Two children have been horn to Mr. and Mrs. Cole, as follows: Willie D., married, and living on a farm (lie has one son, Leon); and George H., living at home, who was married December 25, 1893, to Miss Jennie Longbon. A Democrat in politics, our subject has served his township as clerk, also as trustee several terms, and he has been a justice of the peace for three years. He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church at Columbia Center, of which he is a trustee.   JOHN PORTER, a retired, honored resident of the town of Rochester, is a native of New York State, born in Montgomery county July 18, 1810.   William Porter (father of subject), also a native of Montgomery county, N. Y., was born July 19, 1789, a son of John Porter. He (William) learned the trade of fanning-mill maker of an uncle, Aaron Porter, and this business he worked at, more or less, during the rest of his life. On April 24, 1808, in Montgomery county, N. Y., he married Dolly Smith, who was born June 13, 1790, a daughter of. John Smith, and here their firstborn, John, the subject of these lines, came into the world. In 1813 this little family moved to Aurelius township, Cayuga county, same State, locating on a twenty-five-acre tract about six miles southwest of Auburn, which land William cultivated, at the same time following his trade. Here the home circle was increased by two more children -Martha, born September 29, 1812, married to Jacob Hershey in Genesee county, N. Y., and died February 20, 1839, in Ruggles township, Ashland Co., Ohio; and Sanford, born June 4, 1815, who died April 6, 1862, in Jasper county, Iowa. In the early part of 1819 the family removed to Livonia, Livingston Co., N. Y., where Mr. Porter bought twenty-five acres, having sold his property in Cayuga county; and here be labored chiefly on his farm, doing but little at his trade. Another ray of sunshine entered the Porter home in the corning of the fourth child in the person of Maria A., who was born April 25, 1819, and died August 26, 1849, in Ruggles, Ashland county. After a three-years residence in Livonia the family again moved, this time to Lima, same county, and for a period of nine years the husband and father continued at his trade, meeting with very fair success. The remainder of his family were born there, to wit: Enoch, born July 1, 1821, now of New London, Ohio; William George, born January 15, 1823, who died in Ruggles, Ashland Co., Ohio, February 7, 1882; and Jacob, born February 16, 1825, who died November 20, 1857, in Ruggles, Ohio.   About the year 1830 William Porter, having purchased a farm in Genesee county, N. Y., removed his family thither, and in the fall of 1832 they came to Ohio. In the previous spring the father, together with his eldest son (our subject) and a brother-in-law, Jacob Hershey, had come to Ohio for the purpose of looking up land. To Buffalo, N. Y., they traveled by team, thence by lake vessel to Sandusky, Ohio, from which town they walked through the woods to Ruggles, Huron (now in Ashland) county, " blazing " their way as they went. In what was then the northwest corner of Ashland county, and is now the southeast corner of Huron county, Mr. Porter bought 200 acres of the wildest of wild land - a four-mile journey from the nearest gleam of civilization--for which he paid two dollars per acre. Returning to Genesee county, N. Y., in the following fall, these " avant-couriers " made the necessary preparations to transport the entire Porter family to their new Ohio home. They all made the   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 947   journey in a wagon, driven by William Porter, except our subject and Mr. Hershey, who came by water, arriving in advance of the rest of the party. The latter arrived in the section of where their new home was to be on a certain dark night, without the slightest knowledge of their whereabouts; but finding the cabin of a settler, by name Leebow, they enquired of him how they should proceed to reach the settlement of Jacob Rohrback, which was to be their temporary abiding place. Making a torch out of a kindled strip of hickory bark, the only light to be had, Leebow set out in front of the benighted travelers; but though comparatively well acquainted with the locality he lost his way, and in the dense, dark, wild beast haunted forest they wandered about until dawn, when at last they found the long sought haven. At Rohrback's place they remained a short time, while John and Hershey were building, for their reception, on their own land, a rude log cabin, at that time having neither door, floor nor window, but which later was made more complete and comfortable. When the family came to Ohio Mrs. Porter brought along enough soap to last them through the first year, and when that had been exhausted they found that they could get no grease to make another supply. This difficulty, however, was overcome by young Porter, who supplied the grease by killing hedgehogs, and dressing them and rendering the fat. During their first winter in this forest home the family cleared four acres, and, following spring, planted corn, sowing it in depressions made in the soil by sinking an old axe in it between the numerous beech stumps that almost covered the surface of the clearing. Considering the primitive condition of things, a remarkably good crop was gathered the succeeding fall; and so year by year these brave pioneers, nothing daunted, kept improving their little farm, clearing it gradually of both trees and stumps, and erecting outbuildings as necessity demanded. The father lived to see that entire section transformed from its primeval state into prosperous farms surrounded with blossoming gardens and smiling fields of grain. He died February 7, 1872, and was buried in the cemetery at New London, Huron county, by the side of his wife, who had preceded him to the " Land of the leal " June 1, 1866. She was a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Porter, in his political sympathies, was originally an Old-line Whig, and, after its organization, a faithful member of the Republican party.   John Porter, whose name introduces this sketch, being the eldest in his father's family, had the lion's share of hard work to do, but he found time, prior to coming to Ohio, to secure a good subscription-school education, besides learning the trade of fanning-mill maker. After coming to Ohio he bought of his father (on credit) one hundred acres of the latter's original purchase, and this by untiring energy and hard work he succeeded in clearing and converting into a well-cultivated farm. Immediately after marriage he and his bride took up their residence in a newly erected log cabin on his farm, and this he left in 1881, coining with his wife into the town of Rochester, Lorain county, which has since been his home.   On September 26, 1837, Mr. Porter married Miss Sally Clarke, born in Cayuga county, N. Y., a daughter of Nathaniel Clarke, who came to Troy township, Ashland county, in an early day. To this union children as follows were born: William, a Methodist minister of Kansas; Franklin, who died at the age of thirty years in Rowlesburgh, Ashland Co., Ohio, where he was a merchant; Leander R., of Troy, Ashland Co., Ohio, a horseman; Martha E., who died when three years old; and Alice F., Mrs. Joseph Yacomb, of Wellington, Ohio. Mrs. Sally Porter died May 24, 1876, and was buried in the family lot at New London, Huron county: For his second wife Mr. Porter .married June 16, 1878, Miss Martha Beck, a native of Harrison county, Ohio.   948 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   Mr. Porter is a living example of what may be accomplished by industry, resolution and thrift. His methods through life have always been most exemplary, and the motto The Golden Rule" he has assiduously observed. He never was sued, and never sued any one. Although a time-honored Whig and Republican from principle, his first Presidential vote was cast for Andrew Jackson, but that was his last polling for a Democratic administration. In both Ruggles township and Rochester he has served in offices of trust faithfully and satisfactorily. In religious faith he and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, of which he is trustee.   CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ, one of that class of indefatigable Germans who prosper better after reverses, and whose motto and watchword is "Verzage nicht," was born March 14, 1833, in Fraudenthal, Würtemberg, a son of Christian Schwarz, who in the Fatherland was by trade a confectioner. There were eleven children in the family, eight of whom grew to be men and women. The father died in 1849, the mother two and one-half years before him. They were much respected people, honest and indus-trious, and in good circumstances.   The subject of our sketch received all his education in his native country, not having attended any schools since coming to America, but nevertheless he can read and write English fairly well. In his boyhood he partly learned the trade of butcher, and after his father's death he returned to it, to serve a regular apprenticeship, the premium paid by him for same being sixty-five guilders, equal to about twenty-live dollars United States money. At the end of nine months he passed an examination, and then in August, 1851, with some money he had received from his guardian, he started for the United States, sailing from Havre, France, on the ship "Baltimore" for New York. Be was without any friend or relative when he cast his last look on the Fatherland, but, though yet a lad of seventeen summers, was possessed of a stout heart, a strong determination and a willing pair of hands. At the end of thirty days he found himself in New York—a stranger in a strange land—and hastening on westward he reached Cleveland, Ohio, on September 25, one dollar in debt, for he had been assisted by a friend whose acquaintance he made on the voyage. In that city he obtained work at his trade, and for five years was with George Ross. Later he embarked in the butchering business for his own account, and prospered beyond his expectations, for at one time Ile was worth as much as twenty thousand dollars; but later, owing to the fall in price of cattle, of which he had a quantity en route, he suffered severe loss. In Cleveland he remained till 1869, in which year he came to Liverpool, Medina county, whence after three years he moved to Grafton township, Lorain county, where he has since resided, en-gaged in the butchering business and farming. He has bought a great deal of cattle in his day, his experience eminently qualifying him for being an expert in that line, and made a great deal of money; but reverses came sufficient to discourage al-most any other man, yet he was never dis-couraged. He now owns in Grafton township 150 acres of prime land, equipped with good buildings, his good wife having nobly done her share toward the accumu-lation and improvement of the property. Politically he is a zealous member of the Democratic party.   In 185'7, while residing in Cleveland, Mr. Schwarz was married to Christina Refl. born in Liverpool township, Medina. Co.. Ohio, December 22, 1835, daughter of John Bleil. She is a typical German-American lady, and has been of invaluable assistance to her husband in both prosperity and adversity. She was on a visit   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 949   to a married sister in Cleveland when she met and was married to Mr. Schwarz. Her father was among the early residents of Liverpool township, whither he had come from Germany in 1831. In 1846, with his wife and six children, all stowed in a two-horse wagon, he made a trip to Wisconsin with the intention of settling there, and arrived at the end of a three-weeks' pretty rough journey. After a two-years' residence in Rock county, they concluded to return to Ohio, and on their way spent a Sunday in Ch icago, the " World's Fair City," then a very unpromising muddy little town, which Mrs. Schwarz remembers well. The children born to our subject and wife were as follows: Charles, a butcher by trade, and working on the farm; Frederick, a carpenter, of Missouri; Albert, a farmer, also of Missouri; Ida, Mrs. E. R. Mennells, of California; Caroline, deceased ; Rosa, residing at home; and Bertha, Mrs. John Bezing, of Grafton.   F. A. GREENE, a retired ship captain, and farmer of LaGrange township, was born March 10, 1836, in St. Lawrence county, New York.   He is a son of Frederick and Betsey (Beverly) Greene, the former of whom was a farmer in New York State, and later moved to near Watertown, Jefferson county, whence in 1843 he came to Ohio. He had four children, viz.: Fordice B., who was a soldier in the Federal army, and died in the service; Vint Roy, now of Mendon, Mich.; Aurora, now Mrs. Sylvester Parsons, of Michigan; and F. A:, subject of this sketch. Frederick Greene brought his family in a covered wagon drawn by one horse, and they located in Ridgeville township, Lorain county, where he had bargained for forty acres of land. He intended to pay for that land and make a home there, but one day while chopping in the woods his axe was so caught while he was carrying it, in getting away from a falling tree, that it struck him, the wound causing his death. He was buried in Ridgeville cemetery. The mother kept the family together a short while, but she too was soon called from earth, dying June 30, 1849.   Being thus left an orphan at an early age, our subject, through force of circumstances, left home to battle with the world alone. For six months he lived with Levi Tomlinson, but, being dissatisfied, left and went to Avon township, concluding after a short stay there, however, that Cleveland would be a better place for him. Taking all his earthly effects, which he easily carried in a handkerchief, he set out on foot for the city, which was twenty-two miles distant; and so anxious was he to reach his destination that he ran more of the way than he walked. Shortly after going to Cleveland he shipped on board the propeller " Oneida," bound for Chicago, carrying principally immigrants, and made eight trips on her that season. He next went out on the scow "Commodore Lawrence," as cook, where he served satisfactorily, and during the winter season, when navigation closed, he found employment carrying cross country mails from Vermillion to New London. For a long time he made his home with Capt. Judson, of Vermillion, becoming very much attached to him and his family. For many years he was employed by Mr. Bradley, then so well-known among-vesselmen, with whom he remained thirty-five years, serving as cook, mate and captain, and proving efficient, thorough, faithful and trustworthy in all these positions. In the season of 1892 he shipped for three months on the vessel " Ida Keich," and this was the last work he did on the lakes. Mr. Greene has been one of the most successful men on the lakes; he was sailing for nearly fifty years, and during that time never lost a doller for either the underwriters or his employers.   On December 22, 1863, Mr. Greene was married to Miss Lucy Underhill, who was   950 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   born in LaGrange, daughter of Dr. G. C. Underhill, the well-known medical practitioner in that place; they had met at Berea University, which institution both attended. To this marriage came three children, as follows: Hettie E., now the wife of Rev. W. W. Long, a Methodist Episcopal minister, of Ashland county, Ohio; Mary, who died in 1881; and George Judson, residing at home. After his marriage our subject located at Vermillion, thence removing to Cleveland and later to LaGrange. In 1875 he moved to Oberlin, returning to LaGrange in 1886, in which village he erected a very comfortable house, which he afterward sold, erecting another dwelling, which he still owns, and which is one of the pleasantest residences in the town. He now resides on eighty acres of land, bought from the tract of Dr. G. C. Underhill, where he now finds pleasure in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Greene is a self-made man, having by hard work and incessant toil risen to his present prosperous position, undergoing all the hardships incident to the lot of a twelve year old boy on board a vessel, and endeavoring to obtain an education. Mr. Greene is a Democrat, but takes little interest in politics; he was formerly a great admirer of Stephen Douglas. Mrs. Greene is a member of the Methodist Church.   LESTER J. RICHMOND, a prosperous, self-made citizen of Penfield township, was born November 22, 1842, in Akron, Ohio, son of Charles B. and Matilda (Welton) Richmond. He was one of twins, the other named Lucy J.   Our subject received the greater part of his education before reaching the age of sixteen, in the meantime being reared to farming pursuits on the home place, and also working out for other farmers. In August, 1862, he enlisted, at Penfield, in Company B, First Ohio Light Artillery, and went into camp at Cleveland, whence the command was sent to Louisville, Ky. They took part in the battles of Perrysville, Wild Cat, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga, and thence went to Nashville, Tenn., where they remained for some time. Mr. Richmond was never wounded, but he lay sick three months with fever and other camp ailments at Hospital No. 1, Nashville, where he was his own physician. At the close of the war he was discharged at Nashville, and returned to Penfield, where he resided with his parents, and in the following season went to Geneva, Ashtabula county, where he worked as a farm hand.   On November 13, 1866, Mr. Richmond was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Dolgleish, who was born December 10, 1843, in Penfield township, daughter of Robert Dolgleish, who came hither from Scotland. After marriage Mr. Richmond lived for a short time with his father, and then rented a farm in LaGrange township, where he made his home for one year. He next removed to the center of Penfield township, where he was employed one year in a sawmill, thence going to Wellington township, where he acted as superintendent on the farm of Edwin Hensdale. He then took up his home in Wakeman township, Huron county, and for three years took contracts for furnishing cordwood for the Lake Shore Railway Company. At the end of this time he purchased sixty acres of land in Ross township, Wood Co., Ohio, which he cleared and improved, and whereon he resided for seven years, when he rented it and returned to Penfield township, taking charge of the home farm for a year. He next rented a farm in the northeast corner of Penfield township, later removing to Wellington village for the benefit of his children's education, and finally, in March, 1889, returning to Penfield township, and locating on the farm of 198 acres which he still occupies. To Mr. and Mrs. Richmond have been born children as follows: Elmer A., who lives   LORAIN. COUNTY, OHIO - 951   on the home place, which is the oldest farm in the township, having been taken up by Peter Penfield, after whom the township was named (the first sawmill built and operated in the township is on this place); Frank E., of Huntington; Nora, Mrs. Waller Hull, of Wellington, Ohio; Mamie, who died young; and Victoria and Robert, at home. In politics our subject is a Republican, and in religious connection he and his wife are members of the Congregational Church, in which he is a deacon.   JAMES GAWN (deceased) was born in the Isle of Man, in August, 1829, and died in Lorain county, Ohio, January 23, 1885.   When three years old he came with his parents to the United States, and to Lorain county, Ohio. In Black River township he followed blacksmithing and fanning till 1848, in which year he was united in marriage with Miss Louisa E. Barnes, and the young couple then for seven years made their home in the village of North Amherst. In 1855 Mr. Gawn purchased the farm of one hundred acres in Amherst township, where he passed the remainder of his days, and where his widow now resides. Three children were born to this marriage, viz.: Ellen, wife of H. N. Steele, of North Amherst (they have four children); Henry J.; and Marion E., who died September 6, 1888.   Henry J. Gawn, only son, of James and Louisa E. (Barnes) Gawn, was born in Amherst township, Lorain Co., Ohio, June 25, 1855. He received his education at the common schools on Middle Ridge, Amherst township, and learned the trade of blacksmith with his father, at which he works a little, but is chiefly engaged in farming. In 1888 he was married to Miss Melissa Swartwood, of Amherst township, and one child, Frank, has been born to them. Henry J. Gawn operates a nice farm of thirty-six acres devoted to general agriculture. Politically he is a Democrat, and takes a lively interest in all county affairs.   Mrs. Louisa E. Gawn was born, reared and educated in Amherst township, when there was little else than wild woods, and settlers were, literally, "few and far between." She was born August 27, 1828, a daughter of Ezekiel G. and Elvira (Harrington) Barnes, the former of whom was born September 1, 1799, in Old Becket, Mass., and came with his parents to Amherst, Lorain county, in 1817. In 1825 he revisited the East, and was there married same year to Miss Elvira Harrington, who was born March 5, 1805, in Massachusetts. Returning to Amherst township, he continued agricultural pursuits, and became prosperous. He and his wife were the parents of five children, viz.: Gilbert H., a resident of. Amherst township; Louisa E., widow of James Gawn; G. Monroe, who died in 1891, leaving a widow; Henry D., deceased in 1869, and Sardis N., a prominent farmer of Amherst township. The father was called from earth December 18, 1881, the mother on January 29, 1888.   DAVID BRICKNELL. The stalwart sons of England are to be found the wide world over, ever aggressive, plodding, loyal and honest. Such an one is the subject of this brief sketch.   Mr. Bricknell was born March 8, 1840, in Northamptonshire, England, a son of John and Mary Bricknell, who both died in that county. He received his education at the country schools of his native parish, and was brought up a farmer lad. He hired out twelve years as farmers' servant, and in 1866 he married, in England, Miss Sarah Ann Townsend, who was born May 13, 1841, a native of Warwickshire,   952 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   a daughter of William Townsend. For six and one-half years he filled the position of under gardener for one employer, and during that time two children had been born —Ellen and Emily. In 1875 Mr. Bricknell immigrated to the United States, corning to Lorain county, Ohio, living and working in Elyria the first year. He then rented a small farm, and also worked in Elyria as gardener. For the next five years he rented farms, and during that time two more children were born—Rosa and Daisy Josephine. In 1882 he bought his present farm of fifty acres, all in a good state of cultivation, and here he successfully carries on general farming. Of the children, Ellen, who is the wife of Frank Bowman, resides in Eaton township (they have one child, Cora May); Emily, wife of Richard Tran, of Grafton township, has three children : Goldie May, Sylva Bell and Roy Richard.   In his political preferences Mr. Bricknell is independent; he and his wife are members of the Disciple Church at North Eaton. He is a typical self-made man, having from a commencement of nothing accumulated all he owns by hard labor, honest toil, and judicious economy.   LEGRAND ROOT, the only one left of the old settlers in the northeast quarter of Wellington township, is a native of Connecticut, born in Litchfield, March 18, 1831, a son of William R. and Serena (Terrell) Root.   Grandfather Root was a native of England, and immigrated to the American Colonies before the Revolutionary war. In that struggle he enlisted in the cause of the patriots, and participated in the engagement that led to the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne; also served as one of Washington's aids, and was captured by the British, but subsequently exchanged. After the close of the war, he was leading his regiment on a march, and in crossing a bridge, the structure gave way, killing him and several of his men. His son William R., father of subject, was born about the period of the Revolutionary struggle in one of the New England States. He married Miss Serena Terrell, and when their son, Legrand, was four years old, they came to Ohio, locating first in Eaton township, Lorain county, then in Wellington township, on the farm now owned by our subject. Finally Mr. Root moved to Allegan county, Mich., where he and his wife died during the same year, she at the age of sixty-nine years. They were the parents of ten children, of whom the following is a brief record: Eliza married L. L. West, of- Minnesota, where they reside; Legrand is the subject of this sketch; Leroy lives in Kansas (during the Civil war he entered the Union army, and was with Sherman on his march from Atlanta to the sea); Amarilla, who married H. Oliver, resides in Michigan; Charlotte, who was the wife of John Everatts, died in Michigan ; Finette died when about eighteen years old; Rosette is married to A. D. Wallers, and resides in Dakota; Sarah Ann, who was a. school teacher in Kansas, married Abner Folk, of Rich county, that State; George is deceased; Benjamin Franklin died in childhood.   Legrand Root, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, was married in 1855 to Miss Lucinda Kelsey, born in Huntington township, Lorain county, in September, 1835, and the young couple then settled on his present farm of 220 acres well-unproved land. Prior to this he had lived for a time in Eaton, then in Huntington township, same county, and in 1851 went to California on a prospecting tour, but soon returned. In addition to general farming Mr. Root carries on dairying to a considerable extent, and he is progressive and prosperous. The children born to this marriage, seven in number, were as follows: Those deceased are Leroy, who died when aged four years; Aner, when aged   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 953   two years; Albert, when aged twenty-seven years (he was married and had one child); Dennis, when aged sixteen years (this was the youngest child); those living are: Emery, married, who has one child, Elmer; Mary, wife of Arnold Taylor, of Lodi, Ohio; Ada, residing at home, who was educated in Wellington township, and is now teaching school in Huntington township. Politically our subject is a stanch Republican, and, during the dark days of the Rebellion, showed his loyalty to the Union cause by subscribing to the Government liberally of his means. Mr. Root is a man of more than average education and ability, and is well informed on all the public issues of the day.   RAYMOND HAVEN, for forty-six years a resident of Eaton township, where his name is "familiar as household words," is a native of Portage county, Ohio, born in Shalersville in 1823.   He is a son of John Haven, a native of Vermont, who came on foot to Ohio when a young man, settling on a farm in Portage county, and becoming prosperous and comparatively wealthy. He here married Miss Julia Sanford, and reared the following family of children: Annis, deceased in Portage county; Raymond; John, deceased in Portage county; Julia, living in Ohio; George, married, residing in Bloomingdale, Mich. The father of these died in 1882, the mother in 1853. Politically Mr. Haven was a Republican, and served as township trustee.   Raymond Haven received a liberal school training in Portage county, Ohio; was brought up a practical farmer, and has always made general agriculture his business, principally dairying, in which he has met with unqualified success. In 1847 he came with a team from Shalersville to Eaton township, Lorain county, and bought eighty acres of partly improved land, having thereon a log house and barn, in lieu of which Mr. Haven in course of time erected a one and one-half story house, 24 x 40, with two L one-story wings; also a commodious barn. To his original purchase of eighty acres he has added from time to time until he now owns 321 acres. In 1845 Mr. Haven married, in Portage county, Miss Lucinda C.. Scouten, a native of that county, daughter of John Scouten, an early pioneer of same. To this union children as follows have been born: Ellen, wife of Locks Lemert, of Kansas; Alice, who married Laban Lemert, and died in Ohio, July 23, 1873; George, who died April 30, 1865; Julia, wife of Oscar Durkee, of Eaton township; Frank, married, residing in Eaton township, who owns a good farm given him by his father; Newton, married, residing in Eaton township (he owns a good farm); Hattie, wife of William Sawyer, of Eaton township; Jennie, who died January 23, 1867; and Myra, wife of Charles Sawyer, a merchant of Grafton. Politically our subject is a Republican, and he has served as trustee of Eaton township. He and his wife are members of the Disciple Church, in which he has been a deacon for some forty-five years. He has made all he owns by industry and frugality, and is listed among the most successful of Lorain county's farmer citizens.   ARTHUR WALKDEN, a leader in the agricultural community of Columbia township, is a native of England, a "Lancashire lad," born in that county in November, 1823, third son of William and Mary (Blundell) Walkden.   The parents of our subject were natives of Devonshire, England, whence in 1826 they emigrated to this country, locating first in Lowell, Mass., where they worked   954 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   in factories, moving in 1833 westward to Ohio, living in Newburgh one year, and then settling on a farm in Cuyahoga county. The father died in Berea, Ohio, in April, 1873, aged ninety-two, the mother in September, 1857, in Cuyahoga county, at the age of sixty-four years. Mr. Walkden had been twice married, and by his first wife had three children, viz.: John, who remained in England; Jane, Mrs. John Bainbridge, who died in Ridgeville township; and William, who came to Lorain county in 1843, died oh the ocean in 1879. By his marriage with Miss Mary Blundell he had children as follows: Alice, who died in 1890 in Cuyahoga county; James, who died in 1875 in Lowell, Mass.; Thomas, residing in Cuyahoga county; Ann, widow of Eastman Bradford, of Berea; Mary, widow of Joseph Chevalier, of Berea; Arthur, residing in Columbia township; Peter, who came to Lorain in an early day, and died in Ridgeville township in 1880; Richard; Peggy, deceased; and Margaret, widow of Henry Woods, of Cuyahoga county.   Arthur Walkden was a three-year-old boy when his parents brought him to the United States, and was about ten rears old when they came to Cuyahoga county, where he was educated and learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed for some years after coming to Columbia township in 1843. Here he made a settlement in the woods, having bought thirty-seven acres of improved land, to which he has from time to time added until now he has 226 acres all in a good state of cultivation. In 1846 he was married to Miss Tirzah Wetton, a native of Derbyshire, England, and daughter of Thomas and Mary (Holden) Wetton, of the same county, who, in 1833, came to Hamilton, N. Y., and thence in 1842 to Columbia township, Lorain county, settling where our subject now resides. The father died in 1879, aged seventy-eight years; the mother survived him till March 31, 1893; they were members of the M. E. Church, and politically Mr. Wetton was a Republican. Three children were born to them, namely: Tirzah, Mrs. Walkden; Harriet, who married Joseph Chamberlain, and died in Columbia township in 1856; and Samantha, wife of John Meehan, of Denver, Colorado.   After marriage our subject resided on his present farm till 1857, in which year he went to. San Francisco, Cal., by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and there remained two and one-half years, working at his trade, at the end of which time he returned to Columbia township. Politically Mr. Walkden is a prominent Republican, and he and his wife are members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church at West View, Cuyahoga county, in which lie has been steward for several years, and is now serving as trustee.   S. V. R. HOWARD. Prominent in the front rank of the wealthy and intelligent agriculturists of Rochester township is found the gentleman whose name is here recorded.   He is a son of Morris Howard, a farmer, who was born in Andover, Windsor Co., Vt., where he married Hannah, daughter of William Smith. To them were born seven children—three sons and four daughters. In 1836 Morris Howard came to Ohio with his family, making the journey with three horses and two wagons, their first tarrying place being Elyria, Lorain county, whence after a month's residence with a relative there, they moved to Richland county, now Ashland county, locating for a year near the town of Ashland. The father at this time made a trade with one Smith for a farm in Rochester township, Lorain county, the same one whereon our subject now resides. At that time but a few acres were cleared on it, and for some years Morris Howard lived there. Later he moved to Racine, Wis., and died there at   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 957   the age of seventy-seven years; his wife had passed away in her fifty-seventh year.   S. V. R. Howard was born September 3, 1817, in Andover, Windsor Co., Vt., at the subscription schools of which town he received his education. He was reared to farm life, and in early youth worked from home at fifty cents per day, at that time considered fair wages. He was, as will be seen, nineteen years old when he came to Ohio with the rest of his father's family, and when yet a young man he set out on foot for Illinois, his purpose being to make a tour of that then new territory, but returned eastward, satisfied that there was no place like home. On December 11, 1843, he married Miss Barbara Bowman, who was born June 11, 1821, in Orange township, Ashland Co., Ohio, a daughter of. John N. Bowman, and his next residence was in a house erected by himself immediately opposite his present home, Children were born to this marriage, the following being a brief record of same: Mary J. is the wife of H. K. Kob, of Findlay, Ohio; Laurilla is the wife of Chester Chorpening, of Benton Harbor, Mich.; Lydia is married to E. M. June, of Greenwich, Ohio; Lrllian is married to Thomas Whitney, of Benton Harbor, Mich.; Charles G. is a farmer of Rochester township, married to Miss Emma Fast, of Troy township, Ashland Co., Ohio; Cynthia is the wife of Thomas Landis, of Rochester. The mother of these died October 11, 1882, and was buried in Rochester cemetery; she was a member of the Lutheran Church. On February 2, 1885, Mr. Howard married Miss Emily Bowman, born April 18, 1835, in Green township, Mahoning Co., Ohio, a daughter of Joshua and Mary (Reed) Bowman, who came from Washington county, Penn., to Ohio, being among the first settlers of Ellsworth township, Mahoning county, at that time an unknown forest. Mrs. Howard, who is well educated and highly cultivated, taught district school no less than twenty-nine terms in Mahoning and Columbiana counties, Ohio.   Mr. Howard's first purchase of land was seventy-five acres at eleven dollars per acre, which still forms a part of his splendid farm of over five hundred acres, lying partly in Lorain county, and partly in Huron. He is a typical self-made farmer, enjoying the most robust health, and still capable of doing a long day's work. In his political predilections he was originally a Whig, of later years a Republican, and has held the office of township trustee several years. Mrs. Howard, well-known, most popular and highly respected, is an exemplary member of the Presbyterian Church.   GEORGE E. HILL. Prominent among the citizens of Ridgeville township, in both public and private life, stands this gentleman, who is a native of the county, born in Eaton township, October 16, 1852.   Mr. Hill is a son of Edward and Jane (Gulliford) Hill, natives of England, who in the year 1849 immigrated to the United States, settling in Eaton township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where the father died September 10, 1889; the mother is yet residing at the old homestead. The subject of our sketch received a good practical education in the schools of his native township, and was reared to the arduous duties of the farm. In 1889 be left Eaton township, and moved to his present place in Ridgeville township, comprising some seventy-six acres of highly-cultivated land, the property being known as the "Homer Terrell Farm," though it was improved by Franklin Terrell. In 1874 he was married, in Columbia Center, Lorain county, to Miss Evalyn Terrell, a native of Ridgeville township,who was born July 26,1855, daughter of Homer and Mary (Kelley) Terrell, the former of whom was born on the farm now owned by our subject; the latter was born August 11, 1823, in Taunton, Mass.; the father died on his farm   958 - LORAIN COUNTY , OHIO.   here August 16, 1888, the mother July 29, 1869. They were the parents of three children, namely: Evalyn (Mrs. Hill); Irving, born September 24, 1857, married, and residing in Ridgeville township; and Edward, born December 29, 1864, residing in Elyria.   After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hill settled on the Wescott farm in Eaton township, containing 148 acres prime land which he yet owns, and here remained till 1889, as already related. To them have been born five children, as follows: Freddie, born January 26, 1875, died March 16, 1875; George, born October 6, 1879, died March 24, 1880; Raymond, born June 14, 1881; Mary Jane, born January 23, 1884; and Ella E., born January 25, 1888. In politics our subject is a Republican, and takes an active interest in the affairs of his party. He has served on the school board, and been trustee of Ridgeville township since 1889.   A. BAKER, the well-known, wide-awake and enterprising clothier and tailor, of North Amherst, is a na-tive of Germany, born in Mechlen-burg May 22, 1857.   At the age of ten years he came with his parents to the United States and to Illinois, where for about one year they lived on a farm near Mascontah, St. Clair county, after which they moved to town, where our subject attended school one year. About this time he was attacked with hip disease, which caused permanent lameness, although he went to St. Louis for treatment. The family then moved to Elyria, Ohio, and here Mr. Baker finished his school days in the German Lutheran Parochial School. He then commenced business life in a woolen factory, where he partly learned the cloth manufacturing business, which he would undoubtedly have followed but for his lameness. Having now learned how to make cloth, it was a natural transition for him to learn tailor-ing. He served two years with Moebius & Wimmers, and after they dissolved part-nership, Moebius came to Amherst, Mr. Baker remaining with Wimmers as a journeyman tailor, for another year. He then concluded to go to Cleveland for the purpose of learning more about his trade; and . after working for some of the best tailors in the city four years, he set out on a business tour throughout the States, in course of which he worked in Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Omaha, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, Little Rock, Natchez, New Orleans, Mobile, then back to New Orleans, thence down to Houston, . Texas. After this he returned home to spend Christmas, and then traveled east, stopping for a time in New York to attend a cutting school, and before he had quite finished was given a situation on Third avenue as cutter. While holding this latter position he attended the Peter Cooper Institute in the evening. On ac-count of his widowed mother, who was still living in Elyria, he came nearer home, and accepted a position as cutter in Clyde, Ohio; after about five months he secured a position as cutter in Cleveland. Not being satisfied with this situation of things, Mr. Baker concluded to start in business for himself, and after many trials and difficulties, all of which he bravely over-came, in the fall of 1882, at the age of twenty-five, he opened up, in Elyria, a merchant tailoring establishment with a capital of three dollars, and a line of woolen samples furnished by a Cleveland woolen house.   This was in a room upstairs in the M. W. Pond building, opposite the old " Beebe House," and here he remained about two years; then moved in the old Perry building, where now stands the elegant Sharp block. Here he remained about three years, by which time, with hard work and economy, he had saved   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 959   enough to build him a nice house on Middle avenue. He now traded his property for a clothing store in North Amherst, with his old boss, Mr. Moebius. It is here that Mr. Baker begins to take an active part in business and public affairs. He talks and writes in public, and often differs with men, but he has the respect of his community for honesty and fairness. He is a hard worker, and although he should now have all his work done, he still sticks to the work-bench, and in a little time-book to advertise his business he writes and encourages all laboring men to economize, and tells them that he himself never thought that he would some day be able to buy out his boss. He is yet in the prime of life, and unless some unforeseen misfortune overtakes him, we predict for him a prosperous future. We know that the men who move onward step by step are the safest and surest in the long run.   In the spring of 1883 Mr. Baker was united in marriage with Miss Hattie Rosenwald, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and five children have been born to them, viz.: Mabel, Cora, Alphabet, Lillie and Esther. In politics our subject is a Republican, and he is very active in municipal and county affairs. In 1891 he built a block in North Amherst, two stories in height, of which he occupies one of the lower rooms, rents the other, while the upper room, a hall, is occupied by Jaeger Lodge, I. O. O. F.   D. C. BUNT, a systematic farmer of Penfield township, was born August 19, 1832, in Jefferson county, N.Y., a son of George Bunt, who was a native of eastern New York. His father came from Holland, and died when George was but six years old.   George Bunt was married in early manhood to Elizabeth Cottrell, and followed farming in his native State, where children as follows were born to him: Stephen, Philip, Henry, and David C., our subject, who is the only survivor. In 1833 the family removed to Ohio, corning by water to Cleveland, and thence being driven to LaGrange township, where Mr. Bunt rented land for six years; and while living there one child was added to the family, Lucy Ann, who married Alvin Nichols and died in Michigan. He then purchased, at six dollars per acre, twenty-five acres of land in Penfield township where our subject now resides, settling thereon in February, 1839, at which time the place was entirely in the woods, and abounded with wild animals. At the time of their coming there was no bridge over the stream which they were obliged to cross en, route to Penfield township, but they contrived to float over. Mr. Bunt lived to the ripe old age of eighty-eight years, preceded to the grave by his wife, who passed away when aged seventy-two; both are buried in Penfield township cemetery. In religious connection they were members of the M. E. Church, and in politics he was originally a Whig, later a Republican.   D. C. Bunt was but an infant when brought by his parents to Ohio, and received such an education as the common schools of those pioneer days afforded, his first teacher being Caroline Blanchard. On April 14, 1859, he was united in marriage with Mary J. Mosher, who was born August 29, 1842, in New York State, daughter of Elihu and Rebecca (Freeman) Mosher, who came to Ohio in 1844, settling in LaGrange township, Lorain county, where the father, who was a cooper, followed his trade. Our subject held an interest in some land with his father, with whom he took up his residence after marriage, and here, with the exception of four years, he has ever since resided. Though having but twelve acres at the start, he now owns a fine tract of 170 acres, highly improved and cultivated, whereon he has erected a number of substantial buildings.   960 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   Mr. and Mrs. Bunt have had four children, as follows: Josephine, who died at the age of fifteen years; Grant W., of New Mex-ico; Frank C., who died when twenty-one years of age; and Elmer M., residing at home. Mr. Bunt has been engaged all his life in agriculture, of' which he has a thorough knowledge, and for some time also conducted a dairy business; he has been successful in the full sense of the word. He and his wife are both members of the M. E. Church, and in his political pref-erences he is a stanch Republican; his first vote was cast for John C. Fremont. He is actively interested in the welfare of his party, and has served as trustee and in various other township offices. He is very popular and highly respected and esteemed in his community.   W. R. McCONNELL, owner of a highly-cultivated farm in Rochester township, where he is well and favorably known, is a native of New York State, born in Belfast township, Allegany county, December 17, 1825.   His father, James McConnell, was born in Yates county, N. Y., where he was reared to pioneer farming, and in early manhood married Miss Margaret Rooraback, daughter of John Rooraback. The children of this union, eight in number, were as follows: Martha, who married Jonathan Bridge, and died in Quincy, Mich.; Mary, who married John Corey, and died in Quincy, Mich.; Nancy, who married Amos Darby, and died in New London, Ohio; Betsy, who married Henry Close, and died in Williams county, Ohio; Alexander, deceased in Clyde, Ohio; John, a soldier in the Civil war, who enlisted from Williams county, Ohio, and died in Rochester township at the home of our subject; W. R., whose name heads this sketch; and Jane, who married John Rooraback, and died in New London, Ohio. After marriage James McConnell and his bride moved to Allegany county, N. Y., where for some years he conducted a farm, small in extent, as he was a man of but limited means. In 1833 the family came to Ohio, making a fresh home in New London township, Huron county, where Alexander, a brother of James Mc-Connell, as well as several brothers-in-law, had previously made a settlement. The family made the long journey, which was a tedious one of three weeks' duration, by wagons to Buffalo, thence to Elyria, Lorain county, thence to Wakeman, Huron county, and from there to New London township, where the father bought fifty-six acres of land at five dollars per acre. The family found a temporary home at Alexander McConnell's, while a rude log cabin was being built for their reception, kind hearted and willing neighbors giving all the assistance in their power toward its completion. The land was entirely new, not a tree having been cut from the dense growth of beech, maple and black walnut, and wild animals were abundant; but bravely did the family set to work to make a clearing, and before long they had a small tract ready for a garden which the following spring produced divers kinds of vegetable foods. Coming to the new home in October, there was no time to grow any of the necessaries of life that year, and the entire support of the family for the ensuing winter fell on the father. For two days' labor for a neighbor he received a bushel of corn, which he had to carry to a mill in Ruggles township to be ground, his journey there and back taking him along the Vermillion river. The first corn he planted on his farm was dropped into a " gash " made in the soil with an old axe, but it grew, ripened, -and was harvested, and was found to make a few grists from which some sturdy johnny-cakes were made. The abundance of sugar maples around the clearing afforded them, by tapping, some revenue, and game being plentiful, there was after a time no lack of   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 961   provisions of all kinds. On this farm they lived till 1849, in which year they removed to Rochester township, settling on the 100-acre tract where yet lives the subject of this sketch. Here James McConnell, the brave pioneer, died September 28, 1867, his loving and faithful wife having preceded him. to the grave October 28, 1862; they sleep their last sleep in New London cemetery. Politically James McConnell was a stanch Democrat, and in Church connection he and his wife were devout Methodists.   W. R. McConnell, whose name opens this sketch, received but a limited education in his boyhood at the subscription schools, and in later life, when other educational systems were introduced, he attended school a short time longer, but he was a studious youth, an apt scholar, and garnered not a little useful practical instruction. Reared to pioneer habits and cus toms, when but a young boy he was put to work at chopping in the clearing, experiencing all the hardships incident to backwoods life.   On February 26, 1852, he married Miss Lydia L. Carvy, born May 3, 1833, in Rochester township, a daughter of William and Eunice (Thomas) Carvy, early settlers in that township from New York State. The young couple then took up their residence in a 14 x 18 addition of logs, built to the old home cabin of his parents on the 100-acre farm already alluded to. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. W. R. McConnell were as follows: Stewart N.; a farmer of Rochester township; Newell J., who died of diphtheria at the age of eleven years; Edwin L., a farmer of Rochester township; Etta L., at home; Ransom C., at home; Newell C., who attended Berea (Ohio) College, deceased when twenty-three years old; and Nellie E., at borne. Mr. McConnell has now 410 acres of as fine farm land as can be found in the county, representing, in the aggregate, years of honest toil, good management and judicious thrift. Besides the cereal and root crops he for some years was extensively engaged in dairying, and lre has always made the rearing of sheep a specialty. A. straight Whig and Republican, his first vote was cast for John C. Fremont, and he has never missed his franchise at the polls except once, on which occasion he was visiting outside the State. Popular in his party and the community at large, he has been entrusted with various township offices, such as justice of the peace and trustee, filling all with characteristic ability and honesty.   D. C. HOLLADAY, a retired agriculturist of Grafton township, was born October 25, 1827, in Berkshire county, Mass., son of James Holladay, also a native of Berkshire county, where he followed farming. James Holladay served four years in the Revolutionary war, and justly deserved a place among the patriots. When forty-five years of age he was married to Mary Gibson, and to their union was born one child, D. C., the subject of this memoir. The mother died in December, 1827, the father in 1829, and both are buried in Massachusetts.   The subject of these lines was reared by a maiden aunt, Ruth Holladay, who died in 1856, in Salt Lake City, Utah, whither she had gone to pass her declining years. When seven years old he came west to Ohio with his aunt and an uncle, Moses Holladay, the journey being made by canal and lake as far as Cleveland, whence they were driven to Litchfield, Medina county, where they settled. Mr. Holladay was early put to farm work, and attended school but little in Medina county, as the schoolhouse was four miles distant. He was subsequently reared by relatives who came to Grafton township, Lorain county, in 1836, and resided at Kingsley's Corners, remaining with them until twenty-one years of age. He was soon afterward united in marriage with Miss Roxina Sheldon, who was born   962 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO   in Johnstown, Penn., and they became the parents of two children, namely: Alvira, Mrs. James Tucker, of Eaton township, and Erastus, on the home farm in Grafton township. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Holladay purchased the farm he yet resides on, where he was for many years success-fully engaged in general agriculture; of late years, however, he has retired from active farm work-, leaving the management of the place to his son. Mrs. Holladay passed from earth February 17, 1886, and her remains are interred in Nesbit cemetery. Our subject is a stanch member of the Democratic party, but has no desire for political preferments, having declined to serve as justice of the peace.   Mr. Holladay is an excellent type of those sturdy old pioneers who have passed their lives in Grafton township, to whom too much credit cannot be given for the assistance they have rendered in the im-provement and advancement of the coun-try. He has seen the dense forest give place to fertile fields of grain, and has himself been instrumental in effecting these changes.   WILLIAM H. JOHNSON, an enterprising agriculturist, and representative citizen of LaGrange township, is the oldest male representative of his father's family, which is one of the most prominent in Lorain county. He was born May 30, 1834, in LaGrange township, a son of Hon. Nathan Porter and Laura (Waite) Johnson.   Hon. Nathan P. Johnson was of New England stock, his parents, Stephen and Phebe Johnson, having been born in Old Haddam, Conn., whence in 1785 they removed to Hartford, Washington Co., N. Y., finally in April, 1801, migrating to Champion, Jefferson Co., same State. Nathan P. was born in Hartford, N. Y., January 30, 1801, and was, as will be seen, an infant when his parents removed to Jefferson county. He received but a limited education, the schools of those early days being very primitive in their character, but being an apt scholar, and of a bright and studious disposition, he made wonderful progress. In Jefferson county he was married October 20, 1822, to Miss Laura Waite, who was born in February, 1804, in Champion,,N. Y., a daughter of Dorastus and Sally (McNitt) Waite. While residing in New York State the following children were born to them, their names, dates of birth, etc., being given: Sarah L., September 14, 1823, now living in LaGrange, the widow of William F. Hubbard; William H., Sep-tember 19, 1825, died October 11, 1829; Cynthia A., September 25, 1827, wife of Charles A. Wilcox, of LaGrange; Mary L., June 29, 1830. now the widow of Spencer Lincoln, of LaGrange; and Phoebe M., April 24, 1832, married Henry Sterrot, and died April 4, 1866. In Ohio were born as follows: William H. (subject of sketch); Elizur G., November 24, 1836, living in Elyria; Ellen M., January 25, 1840, married Henry Noble, and died in LaGrange; and Ann Eliza, February 11, 1842, twice married, first time to Andrew J. Lemore, second time to Harry Nichols, and died in New York State December 4, 1869.   In 1833 Nathan P. Johnson traded land in New York State for a tract in Lorain county, Ohio; in November, same year, came here with his family, a two horse wagon conveying them, while their house-hold effects were transported by water as far as Cleveland. The journey occupied twenty-one days, and on their arrival in Lorain county they made their temporary home at the house of Sylvester Merriams, a brother-in-law of Nathan Johnson. In the meantime a log house was erected on the farm south of the center of LaGrange township, into which, when completed, the family removed. Mr. Johnson was originally an ardent Whig of the old   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 963   school, later a Republican, and was elected to the Legislature in 1844, reelected in 1845; was a member of the Ohio Senate, 1847-48, from the Districts composed of Lorain and Medina counties; was, after his removal in 1862 to the village of LaGrange, appointed postmaster there by Abraham Lincoln; in fact he was a thoroughly representative man, a useful citizen, honored and respected. He died December 22, 1874, and was interred in LaGrange cemetery. At the time of his death he was a member of the Methodist Church, but was in the earlier days of his life a Congregationalist. Mr. Johnson's first wife died in 1846, and he afterward married Miss Mary Hart, of Elyria, by whom there was no issue.   William H. Johnson, whose name opens this sketch, received his primary education at the common schools of his township, his sister Sarah L. being his first teacher, and, later, he attended the higher schools of Oberlin and Elyria. He was reared to farming pursuits, and lived on his father's farm until his marriage, at which time he moved to his fine property situated south of LaGrange, and there remained till 1891, in which year he came to his farm, lying in the center of LaGrange township, and which comprises 141 acres prime land, highly cultivated. On September 15, 1856, Mr. Johnson married Miss Mary A. Parsons, born in Windham, Portage county, Ohio, and two 'children were born to them: Laura V., now wife of M. W. Ingalls, and Mary A., at home. The mother of these was called from earth- in 1860, and in 1862 our subject married Mrs. Lucy H. Bruce (nee Bradley), widow of O. Bruce. By this union there were three children, viz.: William H. (1) (deceased in infancy), William H. (2) (also died in infancy), and Anita S., now Mrs. C. H. Curtis, of Berea, Ohio. In politics Mr. Johnson is a leader in the ranks of. the Republican party, and has held various township offices with credit and ability, such as assessor, trustee, etc. Formerly he was a Congregationalist, but of late years he has been a member of the M. E. Church, in which he is a class-leader. He is remarkably temperate in his habits, never having used tobacco in any form, and alcoholic liquor only occasionally for its medicinal properties.   R. B. BELDEN is a native of Lorain county, born in Brownhelm township in 1846. His father, Martin Belden, was a native of Landisfield, Mass., born in 1810, and was married May 1, 1833, in Colebrook, Conn., to Eliza Murray, who was born in Delhi, N. Y., in 1811. In 1834 they came to Lorain county, Ohio, locating in Amherst township till 1842, in which year they moved to Brownhelm township, same county, and in 1854 proceeded to the village of North Amherst, where for two years the father was engaged in the dry-goods business. In 1860 they moved to Wood county, Ohio, where they resided till` 1872, in which year they returned to Lorain county. The father died November 6, 1888; he was a Democrat and served as county commissioner. The mother is yet living. They had a family of eight children, four of whom are yet living, namely: Eliza Ann, wife of Albert Aldrich, of East Amherst, Ohio; Prudence B., a graduate of the University of Philadelphia, who is a practicing physician in Chicago, Ill.; R. B., the subject of sketch; Clara L., the wife of Warren Bulsey, a druggist of Napoleon, Henry Co., Ohio.   R. B. Belden received his education at the public schools of North Amherst, and was reared to farming pursuits, which he has successfully followed. He has resided in Lorain county all his life with the exception of nine years spent in Trumbull and Portage counties, Ohio, where he was engaged in the cheese business. He now devotes his attention exclusively to his farming interests.   964 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   On April 20, 1887, Mr. Belden was united in marriage with Mrs. Arthur Carr, a native of Huron county, Ohio, daughter of Robert and Mary (Wright) Curtis, the former of whom was born in Vermont, the latter in New York State. Robert Curtis came to Huron county, Ohio, locating in North Fairfield township, where he kept hotel; lie died in 1873 in the village of North Fairfield. His wife had passed away in 1866. Mr. Belden is a Democrat, and has served as trustee of Amherst. He is a member of the F. & A. M., Stonin ton Lodge No. 503, and of the I. O. O. F., Plato Lodge, No. 203, having passed all the Chairs. Mrs. Belden is a member of the Daughters of Rebekah, Lodge No. 257, of which she is a charter member; she is also a rnern ber of the Ladies of the Maccabees.   J. T. HENDERSON. The Oberlin Business College has for many years held an exalted place among the business schools of this country, and many young men and women, now prominent in the business world or as teachers, received their training in this school. We are pleased to be able to present to the readers of this book a brief biography of J. T. Henderson, whose portrait appears upon the opposite page, and whose ability as a teacher, good judgment and character as a man have had much to do in building up this useful school.   About four miles north of McConnelsville, Morgan Co., Ohio, is found a quiet country home, surrounded by fertile hills and valleys, in which was born the subject of this sketch May 18, 1862. He is the son of John and Cecelia (Richardson) Henderson, also natives of the Buckeye State, the former of whom died in Morgan county in 1884, where his widow is yet residing. His early life was very much as that of other country boys, the summers being spent in work upon the farm, and the winters in the district school, except that he early manifested an unusual interest in his studies, and made such rapid progress in them that before he was sixteen years old he had secured a county teacher's certificate. This opened the way for him to a broader and more useful life, and after this the farm had little attraction for him.   He began teaching when seventeen years old, and continued to teach in country schools for several years, with a degree of success not often attained by even older instructors. As evidence of this success, he was retained in his first school seven terms. During these years lie developed an extraordinary fondness for fine writing, and, by long and faithful practice, considerable ability to execute the same. To gratify this fondness, and to improve himself in this chosen profession, he was induced to attend the Muskingum Valley Normal School for four summers in succession. This school was under the able manage-merit of Prof. Jacob Schwartz, for twenty years superintendent of penmanship in the public schools of Zanesville, Ohio. This gentleman was a penman of rare ability, and to his competence as a teacher is due the great number of penmen and business educators which Morgan county has produced. As might well be supposed. in this association Mr. Henderson found plenty of fuel for his burning passion for penmanship, and his indefatigable labors were rewarded at the close of the last term by receiving the prize for being the best penman in the school, consisting of about one hundred competitors. This seems to have been the flood-tide in the affairs of this energetic young man, for the prize was a scholarship in the Zanesville Business College. We find that Mr. Henderson completed the business course in this institution in the spring of 1883, thereby climbing one round higher on the ladder which has brought him such abundant success. The summer of 1883 was spent in traveling through different parts of the   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 967   East, visiting Chautauqua, Niagara Falls, Ocean Grove, Coney Island, Asbury Park, Long Branch, New York and other cities, a part of his expenses being defrayed by card writing at the summer resorts.   The year 1883-1884 found our subject occupying his first position as teacher of commercial branches in Baldwin University, Berea, Ohio. While connected with this college he devoted his spare time to further study, completing such branches as Geometry, English Literature, Rhetoric, etc. Pres. Schuyler says of his work in this institution : "He understands his business, is an excellent teacher and a worthy man." During the latter part of this year he was employed in the First National Bank of that city as bookkeeper, which position was filled ably and to the entire satisfaction of the management of the bank. The dream of his life now began to take definite shape, and possessing a mind quick to perceive and ready to appropriate useful information, he here obtained much practical knowledge that has been of inestimable value to him in the work upon which he was soon to enter—that of a business educator. In the fall of 1884 he purchased of Uriah McKee a half-interest in the Oberlin Business College, and since that time he has devoted his whole time and energy to building up and improving this old and well-known institution.   Business education has had an interesting history in Oberlin. The history of such work dates back to the very earliest period when such instruction was given anywhere, and many men who are now occupying eminent places in the world have been associated with the work in this place as teachers, among whom we might mention William Warren, author of the Warrenian System of Penmanship; Platt R. Spencer, author of the Spencerian System of Penmanship, now famous the world over; Charles Griffeth, S. S. Calkins, Drake Brothers, Platt R. Spencer, Jr., W. F. Lyon, Mr. Howland, Mr. Cobb, U. McKee, and many others. It was the mantle of such men as these that fell upon the shoulders of Mr. Henderson, who has for ten years demonstrated his ability .to carry to a successful issue the work for which these men laid the foundation.   In June, 1885, he was united in marriage in Morgan county,. Ohio, with Miss Ada Lawrence, a native of that county, and four children have been born to them : Fred (who died at the age of four years), Elmer Clinton, Harold Lawrence and Alice Estelle. In politics Mr. Henderson is a Republican-Prohibitionist, and he and his wife are members of the M. E. Church, of which he is treasurer, as well as assistant superintendent of the Sunday-school.   The partnership between McKee and Henderson continued until June, 1892, when Mr. McKee was compelled to with, draw from the school on account of failing health, his entire interest being purchased by the junior member of the firm, who since that time has had the entire management of the institution. Since Principal Henderson was first associated with the Oberlin Business College, the patronage has almost doubled, and its present prominent position among similar colleges is largely due to his untiring efforts. He has been a close student of all subjects bearing upon his work, and for several years has been giving his students the benefit of his researches, in what is termed the " Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Course," when such subjects as "Elements of Success in Life," " Life Insurance," " Building and Loan Associations," " Our Domestic System of Exchange," " Post Offrce Money Order System," " Banking," " New York Clearing House," etc., are discussed in a manner which has long been popular with the students, not so much because of rhetorical flourish as because of the abundant practical information contained.   Mr. Henderson takes a deep interest in the welfare of the community, and occupies a high place in the estimation of his   968 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   fellow citizens. The mayor of Oberlin said of him recently: " He is known here as an upright and conscientious teacher, a patriotic citizen, and an enthusiastic worker in the Church and benevolent Societies of the place." For several years he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Oberlin Y. M. C. A., and for some time past an efficient member of the Board of Health. He is also a member of the Executive Board of Associated Charities for Oberlin, and has recently been elected a member of the Board of Education. His superior skill as a penman, his practical experience in the banking business, together with his ability as a teacher and character as a man, render him an able instructor in the college over which he presides, a useful citizen in the community in which he lives, and place him in the front rank of business educators of the present time.   REV. NICHOLAS PFEIL, pastor of Holy Trinity Church, Avon, was born November 4, 1859, in Cleveland, on the so-called West Side, formerly known as Ohio City. The house in which he for the first time saw the light of day is still standing on the southeast corner of the intersection of Penn and Chatham streets. He is the second youngest of seven children—five boys and two girls—all of whom with their parents are still among the living. They reside in and about Cleveland, except his youngest brother, who at present is sojourning in England, near Liverpool, being a priest of the Society of Jesus.   His parents were among the pioneers of Cleveland, having immigrated in the fall of 1847. They came from the northern part of Baden, in Germany, and are descendants of that loyal race of sturdy Franks, who through all the storms of centuries remained faithful to the Catholic Church, ever since the days of Franconia's apostle, St. Kilian, who, in the latter part of the seventh century, converted the Franconian people from heathenism to catholicity.   His father, Lawrence Pfeil, hails from the town of Koenigsheim on the Tauber, and his mother, whose maiden name was Franciska Reinhart, comes from Gissigheim, a picturesque little village in the uplands of the so-called Taubergrund.   Lawrence Pfeil was a baker by profession, and upon arriving in Cleveland began to ply his trade for a time; but, seeing that ship carpenters were in greater demand and better paid, he joined their ranks, to earn a living for his little family. After several years of trials, sickness and suffering, which were the common lot of pioneers in those terrible days of fever and agile, he, being assisted by his saving and diligent wife, succeeded in acquiring a little home on Pear street hill. Later on he invested his hard-earned savings in a more comfortable home on Chatham street.   Here the subject of this sketch spent his early youth, watched over by a pious mother who taught him the first knowledge of God, and folded his hands in childlike prayer. Whet] seven years of age, he was sent to St. Mary's school on Jersey street, then as now taught by the Christian Brothers of Dayton, who enjoy a wide reputation as clever teachers.   In the latter part of the " sixties," the family removed from Chatham street on to a little farm near the crossing of Lorain and Henley streets. Though the distance to the parochial school was now three miles, the subject of this sketch very seldom missed a day, despite rain and storm, footing it regularly there and back, summer and winter, and often through what now-a-days would be called impassible roads. From his eleventh year on he attended St. Stephen's school, which was opened on Courtland street in the spring of 1870. Here, in 1872, he made his First Communion under the guidance and direction of a pious and zealous pastor, the Rev.   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 969   Casimir Reichlin, for whom he entertains filial affection and devotion to this day. For, next to the grace of God, it was, in great measure, owing to the beautiful, priestly life of this good man that he gradually felt an earnest desire of consecrating himself one day to the service of God by entering the priesthood.   Agreeably to his request, Nicholas, with his younger brother, was sent by his parents, in the fall of 1873, to Conjoins College, Buffalo, N. Y., under the able management of the Jesuit Fathers, where, for five years, he applied himself closely to the study of Christian doctrine, Latin, Greek, German, English, French, mathematics and other branches usually taught during a collegiate course. He was graduated in June, 1878, and the following September entered St. Mary's Theological Seminary on Lake street, Cleveland. Here he remained five years, studying philosophy and theology, church history, exegesis, canon law, rubrics, etc., in preparation for the reception of Holy Orders—the dream of his life.   After so many years of patient and laborious study he received minor orders on the 17th of March, subdeaconship on the 17th, and deaconship on the 18th day of May, and priesthood on the 1st of July, 1883, being then in his twenty-fourth year. On the following Sunday, -July 8, he celebrated his first public Mass in St. Stephen's Church, amidst great solemnity and a vast outpouring of people, who had known him from boyhood days up.   His first pastoral charge was St. Patrick's congregation, Hubbard, Trumbull county, where he remained seven months, when he was transferred to the 'pastorate of Holy Trinity congregation, Avon, Lorain county. It is now closely upon ten years that he has directed the temporal and spiritual affairs of this congregation, having arrived February 29, 1884.   During this period he also attended St. Peter's congregation, North Ridgeville, for somewhat over four years, holding services in both congregations every Sunday and Holy-day. He is now solely pastor of Avon, having been relieved of the arduous work of the Ridgeville mission by Bishop Horstmann, November 12, 1893.   The present pastor of Trinity Church loves to spend his leisure moments in his library among his books. He is fond of solitude because of the opportunity it affords him for reading and mental improvement, but he also loves the company of his friends, and highly appreciates a good joke when he hears it. Although born in the city, he prefers to live. in the country, regards with affection its plain people and their simplicity of life, delights in flowers and birds, and is passionately fond of music. His great pleasure, however, is to come to the relief of some poor suffering soul, and is ever ready, at any hour of the day or night, to exercise his priestly ministrations.   J. M. VANTILBURG, M. D., a popular physician and surgeon of Lorain, was born January 19, 1849, in Ashland county, Ohio, and is descended from one of the early pioneer families of that county.   His grandfather, Daniel Vantilburg, was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, and in 1812 entered land in Ashland county, same State. He returned to Jefferson county, where he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Clinton, and in 1813 settled permanently in Ashland county, where lie became a prominent citizen, residing on his farm until his death, which occurred in 1866. He took part in the war of 1812, serving six months in an Ohio regiment. Mr. and Mrs. Vantilburg reared a family of six children—three sons and three daughters; two of the sons, John and Henry (twins), are practicing physicians in Ashland county. The Van-   970 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   tilburg family was originally from Holland, and Grandfather Vantilburg was of Pennsylvania German descent.   Daniel Vantilburg, son of this old pioneer, was born on the farm in Ashland county (one mile south of Ashland), where he passed his entire life. He was married in Jefferson county, this State, to Miss Clarinda Myers, a native of same, and they had a family of four children (three yet living), namely: Margaret, who was married to Dr. Charles Campbell, of Ashland, and died in 1879; J. M., subject of sketch; William, residing at Ashland, and George, living on the home farm in Ashland county. The father of this family died in 1878, in Ashland county, where his widow still resides.   J. M. Vantilbnrg was reared in his native county, and received his education in the common schools of Ashland and in the college at Hayesville. In 1864 he enlisted, for three years or during the war, in Company G, Twenty-third O. V. I., under Gen. R. B. Hayes, Captain William McKinley (afterward Governor McKinley). He was mustered into service at Columbus, Ohio, being assigned to the army of West Virginia, and participated in the engagement of Cedar Creek and in many skir mishes. He was honorably discharged at Cumberland, Md., in July, 1865, and returned to his home in Ashland county, Ohio. In 1885 he entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and in October, 1888, came to Lorain, Lorain county, where he has since made his home, actively engaged in the duties of his profession. From 1881 to 1883 the Doctor resided in western Texas and Mexico, assisting for some time in the construction of the Texas and Pacific Railroad from Ft. Worth west. For nine months he was engaged on the construction of the Mexican Central Railroad, from El Paso to Zacatecas, and then located for a short time in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico, after which he returned to Ashland county.   Socially Dr. Vantilburg is a member of Q. A. Gillmore Post No. 752, G. A. R., and has been commander of same since its organization (this post at the present writing has twenty-three members); he is also a member of Woodland Lodge No. 226, K. of P., of Uniformed Rank No. 117 Loyal Legion, and Lorain Lodge No. 552, F. and A. M. For many years he has been a member of the Ohio National Guards, of which he was the first lieutenant. Politically he is a Republican, and has served as member of the town council.   JOHN SAYE, farmer and keeper of boarding stable, Ridgeville township, is an Englishman by birth, born December 7, 1839, in Yorkshire, a son of James and Ann (Colley) Saye, of the same county, where they married. In 1850 they came to the United States, crossing the ocean in six weeks, and from their port of landing came westward to Ohio, taking the Hudson river, Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Cleveland, thence proceeding by wagon to their destination— Eaton township, Lorain Bounty, where they lived many years; they died in Ridgeville township, the father in February, 1881, the mother in 1871. They had a family of eight children, six of whom are yet living, viz.: Watson, residing in Ridgeville township; Ann. widow of Albert Adams, of Saginaw, Mich.; Harriet, wife of John Watson, of Ridgeville township; Mary, wife of Ambrose Snow, of California; John, our subject; and Hannah, widow of Joseph Peterson, of Berea, Ohio.   John Saye, whose name introduces this sketch, was a boy when he came with the rest of the family to America, and his education was received partly in England and partlyin Ridgeville township, Lorain county, where he was also trained to agricultural pursuits. In 1872 he bought his present fine farm of forty-five acres in Ridgeville township, and here he has since been successfully   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 971   gaged in general farming and boarding horses, in connection with which latter branch of his business he has had the care of horses of all kinds, from various parts of the county. Mr. Saye has been twice married: first time in 1863 to Miss Miriam Parker, a native of Henrietta township, Lorain county, by which union were born three children—all daughters—viz.: Amy, Ella (wife of Douglas Proudfoot; they have one child, Lester), and Miriam. The mother of these died in, 1879, and in 1883 Mr. Saye married Miss Ellen Gayton, a native of Cleveland, Ohio. In politics our subject is a Republican, and he is one of the useful, loyal citizens of his locality.   LORRIN EMMONS, member of an early pioneer family of Ridgeville township, is a native of same, born in December, 1823, son of Chauncey and Charlotte (Porter) Emmons.   The parents of our subject were both natives of Connecticut, the mother born August 26, 1789, and in 1810 they migrated westward, coming with an ox-team to Lorain county, Ohio, where they passed the rest of their long lives. They located in Ridgeville township, first on Butternut Ridge, and subsequently on the farm now occupied by the subject of this sketch. Chauncey Emmons took an active interest in the politics of the day. His death occurred in Ridgeville township, June 24, 1874, his wife dying September 21, 1847. These pioneers reared a family of eight children, a brief record of whom follows: Marina was first married to Newton Adams, and is now the wife of Mr. Brandy-burg; they live in Lansing, Mich. Beecher Porter removed to Missouri, where he died in 1890. Caroline is the widow of Frederick Hall, of Olean, N. Y. Susan is the widow of David Brainerd, of Wisconsin. Edmond died in Lorain country, is the subject of this biographical memoir. Harlow Chauncey resided the greater part of his life in Elyria; his death occurred in St. Paul, Minn. Spencer died in Elyria.   Lorrin Emmons was reared in his native township, and received his education in the common schools of Ridgeville Center. He has made farming his life vocation, and now owns the old homestead of twenty-five acres, to which he has added twenty-five more, making a fine farm of fifty acres in a high state of cultivation. On March 27, 1849, Mr. Emmons was married, in Ridgeville township, to Miss Mary Burrell, daughter of Higby and Ann (Conrad) Burrell, natives of New York State, who in an early day came to Lorain county, Ohio; the father died in Ridgeville township at the age of eighty-one, the mother many years before. To Mr. and Mrs. Lorrin Emmons have come four children, namely: Lois, wife of Orrin Herrick, of Cleveland, has four children; Ada A., who married Elson Dye, died in January, 1893, leaving two children; Alice, wife of Howard Knevels, of Elkhart, Ind.; and Arthur L., married and living in Omaha, Neb., in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad. Mr. Emmons is a member of the Democratic party, and has been elected to the offices of assessor and trustee of his township, serving in the latter position many years. lie and his wife are members of the Congregational Church.   S. H. SHAW, a leading agriculturist of Ridgeville township, and a representative citizen, is a native of New York State, born in Bristol township, Ontario county, in 1829, a son of Samuel and Charlotte (Hale) Shaw, also natives of the Empire State.   In the fall of 1829 the family migrated to Ohio, making a settlement in Bath township, Summit county, the fourth or fifth family to come into that locality.   972 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO   Here the father died January 31, 1837, and in 1839 his widow married Lyman Doolittle, who died in Summit county, Ohio. To Samuel and Charlotte Shaw were born six children, as follows: Allen, who died young; S. H., our subject; Corinthia, who died young; Lorenzo, who mar-ried and lived in Summit county, died about 1890; Dency, who married Walter Simmons, and moved to Medina county, died in September, 1891 (he died in September, 1890); and Richmond, married, residing in Bath township, Summit county. By the mother's second marriage there were five children, to wit: Eliza, who married William Wylie (they came to Ridgeville township, where she died in 1875); Erwin, who died young; Lucy, who died young; Orpha, wife of Virgil R. Shaw, living on the old home; and Genevieve, wife of Virgil E. Shaw, also residing on the old homestead.     The subject proper of this sketch received a liberal education at the common schools of his boyhood home, and was reared to farming pursuits. In 1851 he came from Summit county, Ohio, to Ridgeville township, Lorain county, where he cleared a farm from out of the woods, at a time when wild animals, including all kinds of game, were yet plentiful. He bought eighteen acres of land, and after improving it sold out and moved into Medina county, where he resided till 1856; then returned to Lorain county and bought a ten -acre tract of wild timber land, which he cleared, and from time to time added to till now he is the owner of sixty-five acres all in a good state of cultivation. He has a comfortable residence, ample barn and other outbuildings, and confines himself now exclusively to mixed farming, although at one time he worked at his trade, that of carpenter and joiner, and for twelve years followed the business of building mover.   In 1851 Mr. Shaw was married, in Sum-mit county, to Miss Juliette Wylie, a native of Erie, Penn., and daughter of Joseph and Anna (Shaw) Wylie, both of Connecticut birth, who in an early day moved to Erie, Penn., and thence in 1839 to Summit county, Ohio, locating in Bath township. The father died in Erie in 1838, the mother in Ridgeville township, Lorain county, in 1872. Their -family, seven in number, were as follows: Andrew, who has resided on his present farm in Medina county since 1848; Mary Ann, wife of Isaac Warren, residing in Oklahoma; Warren, who died young; William, deceased in 1887 in Ridgeville; Favian; Jane, who died young; and Juliette, Mrs. Shaw. To Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Shaw were born seven children, a brief record of whom is as follows: Zimri, agent at Shawville, where he resides, is married and has two sons, Archer and Stanley; Arthur, agent at Olmsted Falls, is married and has one son, Glenn; Dora died at the age of two years; Diana, wife of Lafayette Phillips, residing in Carbon, Ind., has one son, Claude; Oscar, married, resides in Clarksville, Tenn. (he has two children, Hattie and Cecil); Alfaretta, wife of Morris Bills, residing at Collins, Ohio, has two children, Grace and Stella; Lola is a graduate of Elyria High School. Po-litically our subject is an ardent Republi-can, and has served as township trustee and in other offices of trust. At one time there was in Ridgeville township a post-office, Shawville, named for the family, which was changed, however, but there is still a station on the L. S. & M. S. R. R. of that name.   WILLIAM F. ESKERT. Among the well-known agriculturists of Elyria township stands prominent this gentleman. He is a native of Boston, Mass., born July 26, 1849, a son of George and Elizabeth (Abbenzeller) Eskert, who came from Germany to the United States, and were married in Bos-ton, Mass. The father, who was a rope maker by trade, died at the early age of twenty-nine years; the mother is yet living in Elyria.   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 973   The subject of this sketch received his education in Boston, and learned the trade of boiler maker, which he followed in his native city till 1868, in which year he came to Lorain county, and commenced farming, a vocation he has time prospered in. He has been a member of the board of County Infirmary directors since 1890, having been elected on the Republican ticket, and he was trustee of Elyria township for several years.   On April 30, 1870, Mr. Eskert married Miss Frances Hoadley, daughter of Luther and Hannah (Smith) Hoadley, who are among the oldest pioneers of Lorain county. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eskert: Helen, wife of Allen E. Griffin, of Oberlin, Ohio. Mr. Eskert is a member of the F. & A. M.   HENRY WARNER was born October 17, 1801, in Middletown, Middlesex Co., Conn. On April 21, 1825, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Whitcom, of Wayne county, N. Y., by which union there were eleven children, viz.: William H,, John V., Esther A., Maria J., Malita A., Augustus A., Jerome B., Cyrenius P., Vandalia S., Irving N., and Valeria E., two of whom are living, Augustus A. and Cyrenius P.   The subject of this memoir moved to Brownhelm, Lorain Co., Ohio, in 1847, having previously purchased the stone quarry now owned by the Worthington Brothers. From this quarry he shipped, it is believed, the first stone that was shipped from Lorain county; this shipment was to Canada. Some time in 1854 or 1855 he was associated with Baxter Clough in the quarry business, and was owner of the Haldeman quarry in 1859. He spent his days on the farm where he died, which is now owned and occupied by his son-in law, S. R. Miller, and located about one mile west of North Amherst village, on the Lake Shore Sr Michigan. Southern Railroad. Mr. Warner died January 25, 1876, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. His wife died August 25, 1872.   HENRY FOWL, one of the representative native-born agriculturists of Lorain county, first opened his eyes to the light of day in Amherst township in 1843.   His father, Henry Fowl, came from Germany to Ohio when about eleven years old, with his father, Godfrey Fowl, and for a year they had their residence in Cleveland, thence moving to Amherst township, Lorain county. Here Henry Fowl remained till 1864, when he came to Elyria township, settling on the farm now occupied by our subject. He married Miss Sarah E. Baker, who came to Lorain county when five years old, and they reared a family of eight children, of whom the following is a brief record: Henry is the subject of this sketch; Charles E. is on a farm in Elyria township ; Catherine, the wife of L. Haserodt, of Elyria, died March 8, 1873; Lucy, who married Conrad Brandt, of Elyria township, died in November, 1883; Leonard died in January, 1892; Lena is the wife of Emanuel Eckler, of Elyria; Andrew, married, resides in Elyria; Philip lives in Carlisle township. The parents both died in 1890, of "la grippe," the father on May 13, the mother on September 22.   Henry Fowl was reared in Amherst township, and received his education at the' public schools of the neighborhood, at the same time being trained to the practical duties of farm life. In 1889 he came to his present place in Elyria township, Lorain county, where he has since been engaged in general agriculture. In 1870 he   974 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   was married to Miss Sarah Pangborn, a native of Amherst township, Lorain county, an adopted daughter of Anson and Ida (Squires) Pangborn, he a native of Vermont, she of Whitehall, N. Y. Mrs. Pang-born came to Lorain county in 1816, Mr. Pangborn in 1827, and they both died in Elyria township in 1880 and 1888 respectively. To Mr. and Mrs, Fowl have been born six children, as follows: Sydney, Elfa (wife of E. Denman, of Elyria, who has one child, Ena P.), J. M., Ida, Leonard and Urr C. Our subject and wife are members of the Church of Christ, and in his political sympathies he is a strong Prohibitionist.   HENRY A. PLATO, vice-president of the Savings Deposit Bank, and dry-goods merchant, North Amherst, is a native of Germany, born December 28, 1845, a son of John and Wilhelmina (Bodmann) Plato, also natives of Germany.   In 1856 they came to the United States, and to Ohio, making a stay of four or five months in Vermilion, Erie county; then came to Amherst township, Lorain county, where they followed farming about three years, after which they moved into the village of North Amherst. Here for some eight or ten years the father operated a livery, assisted by his sons; also erected a grocery store, and conducted a business there till his retirement from active life, at which time his sons took charge of the grocery. He died in December, 1890, aged seventy-six years; his widow is yet living, now sixty-nine years old. Their family comprised three sons and one daughter, viz.: Henry A., John E. (partner in business with Henry A.), Herman J. and Matilda C., wife of Joseph Wesbecher, partner in the hardware business with Henry A. and John E. Henry A. commenced the grocery business with his brother, John E., in 1869, and continued therein about twelve years, or till 1881, in which year his brother-in-law (Joseph Wesbecher) being in the hardware busrness, our subject and brother, J. E., bought an interest in' same. Subsequently Mr. Plato, in conjunction with his partners, built a brick block, and up to January 1, 1892, he saw to the interest of the brothers in the hardware branch, which grew to be a thriving concern, while J. E., the brother, attended their dry-goods store; but being sickly changed positions with his brother, and went back to the dry goods store on January 1, 1892, at the same time retaining his connection with the hardware business. About two years ago the Savings Deposit Bank was organized in North Amherst, and Mr. Plato has ever since been vice-president of same. About four years ago he was instrumental in organizing the North Amherst Furniture Co., which .is one of the best equipped enterprises of the kind in Northern Ohio, putting up the building which is now occupied by the concern.   In 1866 Henry A. Plato and Miss Elizabeth Hilderbrand were united in marriage, and six children were born to them, viz.: Matilda, a clerk in her father's store; Albert D., who was educated at Notre Dame, Ind., and is connected with his father in the dry-goods business; Wilhelmina, also educated at Notre Dame, Ind.; Cecelia, Louisa and Florence, all of whom have had the best possible educational advantages. They are possessed of rare musical abilities, and form within their own circle a talented band. They have for some years furnished the music in the Catholic Church at Amherst, and are in much demand at both public and private entertainments. The" Plato Band," as it is sometimes called, consists of two violins (played by son and one of the daughters , and flute (Mr. Plato himself). daughters ; piano and cornet (two other Mr. Plato is a stanch Democrat, and a leader of the party in his vicinity. In   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO -977   1887 he was elected township clerk, a position he still fills. In 1861 (then but sixteen years of age) he wished very much to enlist as a fifer, but his father prevented hisgoing out, being too young; however, in December, 1863, he enlisted, this time in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth O. V. I., and served till July, 1865, when he was mustered out at Camp Chase, the war coming to a close.   ADAM BERRES, JR., one of the industrious and progressive farmer citizens of Ridgeville township, is a native of Prussia, Germany, born in 1837, a son of Adam and Mary (Jacobs) Berres, also natives of the Fatherland.   In 1857 the family immigrated to the United States, and settling on a farm in Ridgeville township, Lorain Co., Ohio, the parents passed the rest of their lives there, the father dying January 28, 1892, the mother in 1877. Their children, nine in number, were as follows: Peter, married, a resident of Wood county, Ohio; John, married, residingin Ridgeville township; Adam, our subject; Gertrude, wife of Joseph Schneider, of Michigan; Matt, a farmer of Avon township; Mary, wife of Mathias Myers, of Ridgeville township; Joseph, a farmer of Ridgeville township; William, residing in Elyria; and Casper, who resides in Ridgeville township.   Adam Berres, Jr., was twenty years old when he came with the rest of the family to this country, and he has always followed farming. He is now the owner of an excellent property of ninety-one acres of land all in an advanced state of cultivation, his first residence thereon being a log shanty, which was superseded by a house 18 x 36, two stories in height, with an "L" 16 x 26, two stories; there is also a commodious and well-built barn 24 x 32. In 1862 our subject enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Seventh O. V. I., army of the Potomac, for three years or during the war, but served only eleven months, being honorably discharged in 1863 in the convalescent camp near Alexandria, Va., and returning home to Lorain county, where he has since carried on general farming. In 1867 he was married to Miss Catherine Myer, a native of Germany, and daughter of Andreas Myer, and to this union have been born ten children, named as follows: Peter, Gertrude, Mathew, Joseph, "William, Casper, Kate, Jacob, Christian and Frank. Politically Mr. Berres is a Democrat. Socially he belongs to the G. A. R. Post at Ridgeville, and he and his wife are members of the Catholic Church.   JACOB MYERS, well - known and highly respected as a well-to-do farmer citizen of Lorain county, was born in Tompkins county, N. Y., in 1814, a son of Joseph and Mary Snyder Myers, who were of Dutch descent.   Joseph Myers was born March 11, 1760, in New Jersey, and was there married to Mary Snyder, who was born in the same State January 27, 1770. In an early day they removed to New York State, where the father died April 24, 1829, the widowed mother afterward removing to Ohio, and dying in Elyria township in 1853. Five children were born to them, named respectively: Margaret, Andrew, Catherine, Julia and Jacob. Of these, the youngest, who is the subject of this memoir, received his education at the subscription schools of Tompkins county, N. Y. In the winter of 1833 he came on foot to Ohio, first locating in Carlisle township, Lorain county, thence, in 1834, moving to Elyria township. He learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, and in course of time became a contractor and builder, a business   978 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   he followed for years. In 1835 he bought his farm in Elyria township, whereon he now resides, and built himself a modern comfortable home.   On November 15, 1835, Mr. Myers was united in marriage with Miss Mary Bur-rell, a native of New York State, and daughter of Arnold and Mary (Hitchcock) Burrell, of Vermont birth, who removed to New York State, whence, in 1833, they came to Lorain county, Ohio, becoming pioneers of Sheffield township, where they both died. To Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Myers were born seven children, to wit: Andrew, who died when eight years old; Mary L., wife of Judson Kinney, of Sheffield township (they have three children: Lena, Elmer and Edith); Lorin, married, living in Ely-ria; Esther, wife of William Cox, has two children—Francis and Lorin; Andrew, living on a farm, who is married and has three children—Alta, Grace and Miles; Alonzo, residing at La Porte, Ohio, who is married and has two children—Jacob and Eva; and Alligan, wife of Charles Cox, has four- children—Lottie, Mary, Sumner and George. The parents celebrated, in 1885, their "golden wedding," in the old home where they had first settled as man and wife, and Judge Day, who officiated at the marriage, was among those present. Politically Mr. Myers is a pronounced Re-publican, casting his first vote for Van Buren, and has been a member of the township school board.   EDWARD S. FITCH, who for three-score years has been a resident I of Avon township, Lorain county, where he has prospered well as a general farmer, is a native of Rutland, Vt., born in 1829.   He is a son of Cyrus and Camilla (Garrett) Fitch, also of Vermont, where they were married, and whence in 1834 they migrated to Lorain county, Ohio, locating in the woods, and there cleared the farm now owned by the subject of this sketch. They purchased, at first, sixty acres, built a log house, and continued to live there the rest of their days, the father dying in 1875; he was prominent in political affairs, first as a Whig, later as a Republican. The mother of our subject taught the first school in the district where the latter now lives, for the first six months of that onerous work receiving no salary; she died in April, 1892, aged eighty-four years. Three children were born to this pioneer couple, viz.: James, deceased when young; Edward S., subject of sketch; and Candace, who died at the age of six years.   Edward S. Fitch, who is the only living representative of the family, was reared on his present farm, and educated at the schools of Cuyahoga county. In 1856 he was married to Miss Eliza Barrows, daugh-ter of Adnah and Clarissa (Day) Barrows, and three children were the result of this union, namely: (1) Daniel, married and residing in Avon township (has two children: Scott and Camilla Louise); (2) Charles, deceased in 1878; and (3) Delia. wife of Michael Henson (they reside in Avon township, and have one child, George). Politically Mr. Fitch is a Re-publican, taking a lively interest in the af-fairs of his party.   M. H. LAMPMAN, prominent in mercantile affairs in Lorain county, and proprietor of a general merchandise store in the town of Lorain, is a native of the county, born in Avon township April 16, 1844.   M. Z. Lampman, father of subject, was born in the State of New York of German parents, and his father, who was a hatter by trade, came west many years ago, dying in Wisconsin. M. Z. Lampman in early life came to Lorain county, Ohio, and found employment on the lakes, at one time sailing on the old steamship “Bun-   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 979   ker Hill," long since passed away. After leaving the lakes he married Elizabeth Churchill, who was born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1820, and he then carried on farming till 1850, in that year removing to a hotel at French Creek, which he kept till the spring of 1853, when he came to Lorain. Here he kept hotel for some time, first in a building which stood opposite the new "Griffin House; " lre then bought the place where the "Griffin House" now stands, and in that hostelry did a flourishing business till about 1872. Mr. Lamp-man was collector for the port of Lorain for about twenty-one years, from Buchanan's time, and he kept a store in the town for some twenty-five years, up till 1865 or '67. About three years before his death he opened a hotel at Lake Breeze, Lorain county, and he also owned a farm there. Politically he was first a Jackson Democrat, and then a Republican from the time of Buchanan. He died at Lake Breeze in 1875, aged sixty-seven years, his widow in the fall of 1892. They were the parents of four children, all of whom grew to maturity, viz.: C. A., deceased wife of E. K. Porter; M. H., subject of sketch; Augusta M., wife of Harry Jones, and George, born in 1847, a painter by trade, who was unmarried, and died in Lorain in April, 1892.   M. H. Lampman, whose name opens this sketch, received a thoroughly practical school training, and from the age of sixteen till two years after his marriage was engaged as store clerk. In 1869 he went into the butchering business for a time, then worked at carpentry, remaining in the C. L. & W. R. R. shops at Lorain nine and one-half years, or till 1887, since when he has been conducting his present business, in which he has met with unqualified success. In 1867 Mr. Lampman married Miss Julia A. Miller, who was born in 1842 in Avon township, Lorain Co., Ohio, daughter of Peter Miller, who is said to have been the hero of the story related in the old-time school primers, to wit: There was once a bear that chased a boy up a tree, following him so closely that he was enabled to grab the boy's foot in his mouth, whereupon the latter let go his hold on the tree and came toppling down to the ground, bear and all, but boy on top; and so great was the surprise of Bruin, who was partially stunned, that he was unable to pursue the lad, who it is unnecessary to add took to his heels without wishing his bearship any ceremonial adieu. In his political predilections Mr. Lampman is a Republican. He is a member of the M. E. Church, and of the F. & A. M., K. P. and K. O. T. M.   E. A. SMITH, for nearly half a century ,-1 an honored resident of Ridgeville 1 township, whither he came from Connecticut in 1840, is a native of that State, born in 1823.   Our subject is a son of Edward and Sally (Hotchkiss) Smith, also of the " Nutmeg State," the former of whom died there in 1823. The widowed mother continued to reside at her old home till our subject was seventeen years old, so that he received his elementary education at the schools of the neighborhood of his place of birth. In 1840, as above intimated, the family came west to Ohio, making for themselves a new home in the wild woods of Ridgeville township, Lorain county; and here our subject labored with the rest in clearing away the timber and underbrush, and converting the somber forest into sunny fields. He had learned the trade of bone and horn button maker, which he followed in Ridgeville township. He is now owner of fifty-nine acres of land, all highly cultivated and well improved. In 1855 he was married in Ridgeville township to Miss Melvina Terrell, a native of same, and daughter of Willis and Sarepta (Phelps) Terrell, of Connecticut birth, who many years before   980 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   marriage became settlers of Ridgeville township, Lorain county. Mr. Terrell came here, when a boy, with his father, Major Willis Terrell, and clearly remembered the news of Perry's victory on Lake Erie. He died in 1881: his widow is yet living in Ridgeville township. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith one child has been born, named Charles P., now married and residing in Ridgeville Center. Politically our subject has been a lifelong Democrat, and has served his township as trustee, real-estate assessor (1870-1890) and treasurer.   J. B. SHEAHAN, of North Amherst, is a native of Hamilton county, Ontario, Canada, born, June 21, 1863, a son of John and (Ann) Fox Sheahan.   The father of our subject was born in Limerick, Ireland, and about the time of his marriage went to Canada by way of Quebec, whence he and his wife came farther west. About the year 1850 they came to the United States, where he followed various pursuits, all of a mechanical nature, till 1856, when they returned to Canada, and part of the time resided in Hamilton county, Ontario, until 1865. In that year they came to Lorain county, Ohio, locating west of North Amherst till 1872, when they removed to East Quarries, where the father died in 1876. He was a member of the Catholic Church. The mother of subject, who was born in Limerick, Ireland, November 1 (All Saints Day), 1839, is yet living, a resident of North Amherst. They were the parents of nine children, of whom the following is a brief record: Cornelius is foreman in quarries in Jackson county, Mich.; is married and has one child, Geraldine. Stephen is in Chicago, yardmaster for the Chicago & Great Western Railroad, operated by the Chicago, Kansas City & Nebraska R. R. Co.; is married and has five children, viz.: Mamie, Charley, John, Annie and Maggie. Maggie is living at home. The fourth in order of birth is the subject of this sketch. Lizzie and Jeremiah are still living at home. Patrick F. died in Michigan in 1888, at the age of eighteen years. Mamie is a teacher in the parochial school at North Amherst. Daniel died May 24, 1893, when eighteen years of age.   J. B. Sheahan received his education at the public schools of North Amherst. For eight years he operated a stone sawmill in Michigan, at the end of which time he re-turned to Lorain county, in March, 1893, and is now in business in North Amherst. He is popular in the town, and is an active member of and official in Catholic Societies, among which may be mentioned the C. M. B. A. In politics he is a Democrat. Mr. Sheahan was married September 7, 1886, and has two children: Edith, aged five years, and Bernard, aged two years.   NOAH H. PECK, one of the prominent representative farmer citizens of Ridgeville township, is a native of New York State, born in Oswego county, August 17, 1833, a son of Harmon and Lydia (Conkling) Peck.   Harmon Peck was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., a son of Noah and Belinda (Roe) Peck, who had a family of seven children, named as follows: Hiram, Edward, Harmon, Lewis, James, Albert, Lavina G. T. The father of these died in New York State; he was a farmer, also a shoemaker, and a member of the Baptist Church. Harmon Peck, who followed the same vocations as his father, married in New York State, and from there in 1833 moved to Ohio, via water to Cleveland, and thence by wagon to Lorain county, where he bought wild prairie land in Pittsfield township. This he improved and   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 981   later sold, purchasing a farm in Ridgeville township, whither he moved in 1842; he died in 1870, his wife in 1880. The children born to them were as follows: Noah H., James, Harriet (now Mrs. George Burrell), and one that died in infancy.   Noah H. Peck, the subject of this sketch, was an infant when his parents brought him to Lorain county, and he received his education at the schools of Ridgeville township. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, which have been his life work, and he is now the owner of sixty acres of pritne land, all well improved. In 1860 he was married to Miss Vesta Blain, daughter of Richard Blain, and children as follows have been born to them: Edith (now Mrs. Joseph Cutler, of Ridgeville township), Ida, Ella (deceased), Lydia (wife of Albert Hoftizer), Ernest (in Cleveland), Eddie and Lora, at home. Mr. Peck is independent in his political sympathies, and in matters of religion he is a member of the Disciple Church.   A. D. JOY, a prominent progressive agriculturist of Carlisle township, engaged also in housemoving, is a native of the Buckeye State, born in Aurora, Portage county, March 22, 1836, a son of Nehemiah and Elizabeth (Frost) Joy, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts in 1811. He came in 1831 to Parkman, Portage Co., Ohio, where he was married in 1834 to Elizabeth Frost, a native of Vergennes, Vt., who came with her parents to Portage county. In 1837 Nehemiah Joy came with his family to Lorain county, making a settlement in Carlisle township, where he carried on farming till 1871, at which time he moved to Lee county, Iowa, where he died in 1883; his wife had preceded him to the grave in Carlisle township, Lorain county, in 1882. They reared a family of three children, viz.: A. Marcia M., wife of Rev. William King, a minister of the Congregational Church, now in Michigan; and Orlando F., married, and residing in Carlisle township.   Noah and Marcia (Williams) Joy, paternal grandparents of our subject, were natives of Massachusetts, whence they came to Elyria, Ohio, in 1837. He was a millwright by trade, and in 1849 went to Walworth county, Wis., where his wife died the following year; later he returned to Portage county, Ohio, where he passed the rest of his days. Levi and Elizabeth (Slocum) Frost, maternal grandparents of our subject, were natives of Vermont, and in about 1831 came to Portage county, Ohio; subsequently they moved to St. Charles, Ill., where they both died; he had served in the Revolutionary war.   A. D. Joy, the subject proper of this memoir, received a liberal education at the schools of Carlisle township, Lorain county. For a trade he learned carpentry, which he worked at for some time; for about seven years he was railroading, from 1852 to 1858, commencing as brakeman on the Cleveland & Norwalk Railroad; then went west, and was employed on the Illinois Central, after which he was on the St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railway, as fireman, and later as engineer on the Racine & Mississippi Railway. In 1858 he returned to Lorain county, where he engaged in farming and carpentry, and since 1863 has done a considerable amount of business in house-moving. He owns a farm of fifty-one and a half acres, all in a good state of cultivation, and has accumulated what he owns by his unaided efforts, sound judgment and judicious economy.   Mr. Joy has been thrice married, first time in 1858 to Miss Groveline C. Thorpe, a native of Carlisle township, daughter of Abel M. and Emily (Squires) Thorpe, early pioneers of that township, both of whom are yet living. To this union were born three sons: Elba, married, and residing in Elyria; William, married, and living in Denver, Colo.; and Frank, married,   982 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   manager of the Denver (Colo.) College. The mother of these departed this life May 4, 1865, and in 1874 Mr. Joy married Miss Charlotte Saylor, a native of Germany, daughter of David and Margaret Saylor, who were born in Bavaria, Germany, and came to America, settling in Carlisle township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where they both died. The children by this marriage, six in number, are named as follows: Ida, Charles, Alice, Edwin, Edith and Amy. Mrs. Charlotte (Saylor) Joy died April 14, 1887, and on September 25, 1887, Mr. Joy married, for his present wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Pember. In politics he is a Democrat.   MATHIAS MYERS, one of the leading native-born residents of Ridgeville township, of which he rs a trustee, first saw the light in 1848.   His father, Mathias Myers, was a native of Coblentz, Germany, where he married Miss Mary Dehn, of the same place, and they then set sail from Antwerp for the United States. After a voyage of seventy-two days they landed in New York, and thence proceeded to Lorain county, Ohio, locating in Ridgeville township in 1847, the place being at that time wild woodlands. Here they opened up a farm of six acres, clearing and improving it until it became one of the best in the county. They had a family of nine children, as follows: Mathias; Philip, a carpenter of Elyria; Peter, married, residing in Ridgeville township; Emma, wife of M. Pitts, Jr., residing in Ridgeville township; Joseph, married, also in Ridgeville township; Maggie, wife of Joseph Blazer, of Dover, Cuyahoga county; Adam, who died at the age of sixteen, his death resulting from the kick of a horse; Clara, deceased when three or four years old; and one that died in infancy. The father was called from earth in March, 1893; the mother is yet living.   The subject of this sketch was educated in the schools of French Creek, and at the age of thirteen commenced working by the month, since when he has continued in agricultural pursuits, successfully conducting the homestead farm, which has been added to till now it comprises fifty-three acres. In 1874 he married, in Elyria, Lorain county, Miss Mary Berres, a native of Germany, daughter of Adam and Mary Berres, who about the year 1858 immigrated to America, settling in Ridgeville township, Lorain Co., Ohio. To this union have been born two children—John Matthew and Amelia. Mr. and Mrs. Myers are members of the Roman Catholic Church at Ridgeville, of which he is treasurer; politically he is a Democrat, and is now serving, in a Republican township, his second term as trustee of same.   E, NORTON, a representative farmer of Amherst township, is a native of Connecticut, born in 1810 to Seymour and Anna (Clark) Norton. The parents were also natives of the Nutmeg State, and in 1813 moved to Genesee county, N. Y., where the father followed farming, and died at the advanced age of ninety years; his wife passed away aged seventy-eight. Seymour Norton was drafted in the war of 1812, and his father served in the Revolutionary war.   The subject of this sketch was reared to manhood in Genesee county, N. Y., and received his education at the schools of the vicinity. In 1833 he came to Lorain county, and made his home for a time in Elyria. For some years he lived in the South, and at Chattanooga, Tenn., was foreman of a large foundry about three years; then, in 1848, started one in Huntsville, Ala. lie is the inventor of various kinds of cotton machines. He also traded in coal, having shipped the first coal from East Tennessee to Chattanooga by flat-   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 983   boats, and was the first to make coke in Tennessee. From the South he went to New York, and thence in 1860 came again to Lorain county, and in 1863 took up and improved the farm whereon he now resides, in Amherst township, a fine piece of property of one hundred acres, all in a good state of cultivation.   In 1856 Mr. Norton was united in marriage with Miss Adaline Matthews, of Attica, N. Y., and to this union four children have been born, as follows: Grove, a real-estate agent, who is a resident of Utah; Charles -E., in the real-estate business at Los Angeles, Cal.; Elnora, wife of George Snyder, of Lorain, and Seymour, at home. Mrs. Norton is a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Norton, in his political predilections, is a straight Democrat.   FRED WISE, a leading and well-known general farmer and stock breeder, of Eaton township, is a native of Germany, born in the Duchy of Baden in 1851, son of Peter and Louisa (Miller) Wise, also of Baden.   The parents of subject immigrated to the United States about 1854, and coming to Ohio made their home in Medina county four years; then moving to Grafton township, Lorain county, there passed the remainder of their active lives in farm work, the father dying in 1888, the mother passing away in Grafton township in 1882. The record of their family of children, nine in number, is in part as follows: Recka is the wife of Jacob Clinet, of Grafton; Louisa, who married John Kline, died about 1873 in Cuyahoga county; Henry (married) lives in Grafton township; Louis (married) is a farmer of Grafton township; Fred is the subject of sketch; Chris (married) resides in Illinois; Hannah resides in Grafton; Katie is the wife of William Law, of Liverpool township, Medina county; Jacob (unmarried) resides at Grafton.   The subject of our sketch was two and a half years of age when he came to Ohio, and received his education at the schools of Grafton township, Lorain county, gaining as well a thorough insight into the arduous duties of farming, which he has made his life vocation. In 1884 he moved to Eaton township, and here bought of W. H. Rowe the farm he now owns, comprising some ninety-two acres of valuable land, which he improved and subsequently added to until he now owns one hundred acres of prime land, all in a good state of cultivation. He is proprietor of the full registered Belgian stallion, "Gen. Chanzy," imported by Douglas & Howell. In 1873 Mr. Wise was married in Grafton township, Lorain county, to Sarah Goodman, a native of Grafton, and daughter of Jacob and Mary (Euga) Goodman, early settlers of Grafton township, both now deceased, the former of whom was born in Seneca Falls, Seneca Co., N. Y., in 1818. By this union there are font children: Nellie, Charles, Burt and Ella: Our subject takes a lively interest in politics, invariably voting the straight Democratic ticket; socially he is a memof Leonard Tent No. 31, Knights of the Maccabees, in which he has held office.   JAMES M. JAYCOX, a well-known fruit grower of Avon township, is a native of same, born in 1849, son of George and Mary (Madison) Jaycox, both of whom were born in New York State.   George Jaycox, father of our subject, was reared in his native State up to the age of fifteen years, and in 1828 migrated west with his parents, Samuel and Sarah Jaycox, who were also natives of New York. They settled in an early day in Avon township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives. George Jaycox also took up a farm in the   984 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   woods of Avon township, where he became a prominent citizen. He was a lifelong Republican, an active member of the party, and held various township offices. He died in 1873, his wife surviving him three or four years. They wort the parents of ten children, viz.: Charles, who died at the age of seven years; Jane, wife of J. Dire, of Avon township, who was a soldier in the Civil war; Eliza, wife of O. Moore, of Avon township, who also served in the Civil war; James M.; Emily, wife of J. Ketcham, residing in Lorain; Alice, wife of H. G. Brown, of Lorain; Anson, married, who makes his home in Dover township, Cuyahoga county; Henry, a resident of Lorain; Minnie, wife of J. Brown, of Lorain; and William, living in Avon township.   James M. Jaycox was brought up on the home farm in Avon township, in the common schools of which place he received his education, and later engaged in mercantile business in Lorain. He now gives his attention to the culture, as well as the buying and selling, of grapes, and since embarking in this business has handled over 400,000 baskets of that fruit. Since 1880 he has resided on his present farm in Avon township, where he has eight acres devoted to grapes, and he also raises other fruit; he is the owner of forty-one acres of land in Avon township. In 1879 Mr. Jaycox was married, in Elyria, to Miss Ida L. Hilliard, a native of Wisconsin, daughter of Joseph W. Hilliard, who was a blacksmith, and an early settler of Avon township, whence he subsequently removed to Wisconsin, where he died. To Mr. and Mrs. Jaycox have been born three children, namely: Ethel, Lora and Frances. Politically our subject is a stanch member of the Republican party, and held the position of postmaster at Avon Lake for seven years. Socially he is a member of Avon Tent No. 1, K. 0. T. M., French Creek. He is secretary and treasurer of the Lorain County Grape-growers Shipping Association, which organization has a membership of 125, and in 1893 shipped 150 carloads of grapes from Avon Station. Our subject and wife are both active workers in all religious movements; Mrs. Jaycox is an ardent worker in the temper. ance cause, and is president of the W. C. T. U. of Avon Lake. They are both members of the M. E. Church, in which Mr. Jaycox holds the offices of steward and trustee, and he has served as superintendent of the Sabbath-school for many years.   JOHN E. PLATO, of the hardware 1 firm of J. Wesbecher & Co., in North Amherst, was born in the Kingdom of Hanover November 11, 1848, a son of John and Wilhelrnina (Bodmann) Plato, also natives of Hanover.   The family came to America in 1857, and after landing proceeded westward to Ohio, locating first at Vermillion, Erie county, later settling permanently in North Amherst. The father was a professional musician, in his native land, but in this country he conducted a livery business. He died December 5, 1890, at the age of seventy-five years; his widow, now in her seventy-sixth year, is living with her son John E. They were the parents of four children.   The subject of this sketch, who is second in order of birth, received his education at the parochial schools of New York, his attendance there covering some four years, after which he returned to North Amherst and engaged in the livery business. Later he commenced in the grocery and dry-goods business, and for the past ten years has been a member of the firm of Plato Bros., in that line; also one of the firm of J. Wesbecher & Co., in hardware, at North Amherst, and connected with the North Amherst Furniture Co. Of all these interests Mr. Plato now gives his sole attention to the hardware business.   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 987   The firm carry a full and complete line of shelf and heavy goods. He is also a stockholder in the Savings Deposit Bank of North Amherst.   On November 29, 1877, Mr. Plato was nnited.in marriage with Miss Lena Menz, who was born at North Amherst, Ohio, July 26, 1856, a daughter of John Peter and Matilde Menz, natives of Bavaria, Germany, who came to America May 2, 1853. To Mr. and Mrs. Plato have been horn five children, namely: Leonora, Agatha, John, Henry and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Plato are stanch members of the Catholic Church, and influential pillars thereof. In politics he has always been a Democrat, and is active in municipal affairs.   Mr. Plato has for years been one of the leading business men of North Amherst, and is progressive and public-spirited.   THOMAS FOX, an enterprising and wide-awake farmer of Sheffield township, is a native of County Roscommon, Ireland, born in 1833, a son of John and Mary (Dowd) Fox, farmers in that county, where they both died. They reared a family of nine children, two of whom came to Lorain county, Ohio—Thomas and John, the latter of whom arrived in about 1846, settling in Sheffield township, where he cleared a farm and passed the rest of his days.   Thomas Fox came from his native Ireland to Lorain county in 1854, and worked by the month for some time. In 1858 he bought thirty-five acres of land in Sheffield township, to which he has added from time to time till he now owns sixty-six acres of highly improved land. The old log cabin in which he and his wife first lived has given place to a comfortable two-story house, 18 x 28, with an " L " 14 x 24, equipped with a good barn and outhouses, and all modern improvements.   In 1858 Mr. Fox was married to Miss Catherine Coughlin, and two children—Anna and Katie--have been born to them. The mother was called from earth March 14, 1889. Politically our subject is a Democrat, and he and his family are members of the Catholic Church.   T. J. SQUIRES, a representative agriculturist of Carlisle township, is a native of Lorain county, born in 1835 in Elyria township.   He is a son of Amasa and Jerusha (Carter) Squires, the former of whom was a native of New York State, the latter of Vermont. In early manhood Amasa Squires came westward to Lorain county, Ohio, during pioneer days, and here followed farming the remainder of his life, dying at the age of 'seventy eight years. Mrs. Squires died in Lorain county when aged fifty-five years. They were the parents of seven children, as follows: Jegertha, deceased when sixteen years old; Grazelda, who died at the age of seven years; T. J., subject of this memoir; Fitzgerald, who was shot during the Civil war; Amasa, who died on Johnson's Island; Marcella, married to Thomas Sherwood; and one that died in infancy. The father of this family was an active politician, and was an ardent member of the Democratic party.   T. J. Squires was reared on the home farm to the manifold duties of agricultural life, in the meantime receiving an education in the common schools of the district. When twenty-three years old he went to Nebraska, thence to Colorado, remaining in the West eight years, during which time was engaged in mining, and also in cattle dealing and droving, crossing the plains twelve times with stock. Mr. Squires was united in marriage, at the age of thirty-three, with Miss Perscis Farr, a native of Carlisle township, and they have five chil-   988 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   dren, namely: Arthur, Eubie, Orlin, Creta and Elwin. Since his return to Lorain county our subject has been engaged in general agriculture, and is now owner of a well-improved farm of 163 acres. In his political affiliations he is a stanch member of the Democratic party.   MRS. PHEBE L. FARR, who has been a resident of Lorain county for the past three-quarters of a century, and has been an eyewitness to its full development, deserves more than a passing notice in the pages of this volume.   She is a native of New York State, born in 1812 in the town of Ovid., a daughter of Henry and Eliza (Glazier) Halford, who were married in New York State. In 1817 the family set out with a team on a journey to the then "Far West," arriving in Lorain county, Ohio, in February, 1818, and settling in what is now Carlisle township, where they followed agriculture. The father died in Carlisle township in 1859, the mother in 1862, in her eightieth year. To Henry and Eliza Halford were born nine children, as follows: Reuben, married, died in Lorain county in 1858; Phebe L. is the subject proper of this memoir; Henry S. was married in Lorain county, and died in Michigan in 1892; Jeremiah, a widower, resides in Eaton township; Louisa and Laura are both deceased ; Humphrey served in the war of the Rebellion, and died from the effects of a wound; Rebecca is deceased, and Lorenzo died young. Grandfather Edwin Halford was a native of England, whence at the age of sixteen he came to New York. He was a soldier in both the Revolution and the French and Indian war.   Phebe L. Halford was about six years old when she came to Lorain county with her parents, and she was educated at the schools of the locality. In 1832 she was married, in Carlisle township, to Lowell Farr, son of Abel and Polly (Smith) Farr, all natives of Vermont, who in 1817 came to Lorain county, where they passed from earth, Mrs. Farr's husband in 1861. Our subject is the mother of ten children, of whom the following is a brief record: Eliza is the widow of William Pember, of Eaton, Lorain county, and has two children: Odelpha and William; Rosalie is the wife of Elias Disbro, of Michigan, and they have six children: Minerva, Phebe, Emma, Ellsworth, Euba and John; Hannah is the widow of George Seeley, and has four children: Esther, Lemuel, Eliza and Frank; Perscis is the wife of T. J. Squires, of Carlisle township; Lowell, married, resides in Pittsfield township, Lorain county, and has three children: Cora, Williatn and George; Ephraim is married, lives in Michigan, and has five children: Eddie, Emma, Florence, Lena and Hazel; Lauren is married to Hermina Drusendohl, and they have four children: Edna, Earl, Herschel and Ruby (they all reside at the old home); Phebe was married to Lafayette Dumas, and died in 1871; Laura died in childhood; Bird is married, has two children—Ethel and Phebe—and lives in Amherst township, Lorain county.   CHESTER A. PRESTON, a prosperous farmer of Carlisle township, is a native of Ohio, born in York township, Medina county, in 1840.   Adolphus Preston, father of subject, of Connecticut birth, married, in New York State, Miss Charlotte Shaw, a native of same, and in an early day they came to Ohio. For a time they resided in Medina county, in 1847 moving to Grafton township, Lorain county, later locating in LaGrange township and finally in Carlisle, where they died, the father in 1878, the mother in 1874. He served in the war of   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 989   1812 in a battery of artillery. Four children were born to them, namely: Eliza, who married Joshua Wilbur, and died in 1856 in Medina county; Emily, who died in Medina county in 1843; Horace, who died in 1852 in Grafton township, Lorain county; and Chester A., subject of this sketch. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, was taken prisoner by the British and conveyed to Van Dieman's land; after the war he was released and sent home, and died in New York State.   Chester A. Preston received a good practical school training in the educational institutions of the vicinity of his boyhood home, and was reared to agricultural pursuits, which have been his life work. He now owns a good farm of eighty-two acres in Carlisle township. In 1865 he was married, in LaGrange township, to Miss Mary Goodman, who was born in New York State, a daughter of George and Betsy (Leversee) Goodman, of New York, who came to Ohio in 1852, settling in Grafton village, Lorain county, where the father died in March, 1866, the mother some years before. To Mr. and Mrs. Preston have been born three children: Mary, Bertie and Grace. In his political sympathies our subject is a Republican. Mrs. Preston is a member of the Union Church.   C. A. REAMER, general merchant, and one of the most energetic and enterprising citizens of North Amherst, is a native of Huron county, Ohio, born near Norwalk September 16, 1859. He is a son of Anthony and Mary (Eisenbeis) Reamer, the former of whom was born in Peru township, Huron Co., Ohio. He was a merchant in Norwalk for some sixteen years, then in Monroeville, same county, eighteen or twenty years, from which place he moved to Toledo, where he now lives.   The subject of this memoir received the greater part of his education. in Monroeville, after which he lived in Tiffin, Ohio, for two years. In 1884 he came to North Amherst, worked six months- at the dry-goods business, and then entered into a partnership with Plato Bros., in mercantile business, which continued three years, at the end of which time he commenced for his own account in North Amherst. In 1889 he put up his present brick building, and in 1891 added thirty-four feet to it, the dimensions at present being 30 x 90 feet, two stories in height, while his stock in trade consists of dry goods, carpets, curtains, wall-paper, boots and shoes, etc. Five clerks do the selling for this large concern. Mr. Reamer, himself, speaks German as well as English.   On April 28, 1885, C. A. Reamer and Miss Maggie Weisenberger were United in marriage, and the following named four children were born to them: Esther, Leona, Norbert and Victor. In politics our subject is independent, and he is a member of the Catholic Church. He is active in all public affairs, and wields much influence in the community.   GEORGE WICKENS, funeral director and furniture dealer, Lorain, and president of the Funeral Directors I Association of Ohio, was born July 19, 1852, in the south of England.   At the age of ten years he commenced working in a furniture store, learning the trade of cabinet maker and joiner, and fully completing his apprenticeship when about nineteen years old. At that time (1871) he came to America, and for a time sojourned in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, whence in 1873 he came to Lorain, Ohio, making here a permanent settlement. He first engaged in carpenter work —contracting and building—which he carried on till 1883, in which year he em-   990 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO   barked in his present undertaking and furniture business in Bowens Hall. He then, in order to further qualify himself for the profession of funeral director, attended lectures at the Embalming College, Cleveland, Ohio, and at Clark's School of Embalming, from which he graduated in August, 1888. He had also become, in 1886, a member of the Funeral Directors Association of Ohio, and at the meeting of June 2, 1892, at Columbus, Ohio, was elected its president. In 1891 he erected on Broadway, Lorain, a brick building, 36 x 114, three stories high with basement, two floors of which are occupied with his business, the upper floor, which is a hall, being rented by the I. O. O. F.   In 1875 Mr. Wickens was united in marriage with Miss Celia E. Chapman, and they had one child, George B. This wife dying in 1876, our subject married, in England, in 1877, for his second wife, Miss Mary A. Colly, and three children have been born to them, viz.: William A., Elizabeth M. and Edward M. In politics Mr. Wickens is a Republican, and for many years he has been a member of arid local preacher in the M. E. Church, of the Sunday-school of which he has been superintendent for many years. He has visited his native land many times, on one occasion remaining there four years. Mr. Wickens is a representative self-made man, one who from absolutely nothing has, by intelligence, energy, business acumen and unquestionable probity, worked his way from the bottom rung of the ladder to prosperity and comparative affluence. He is now a leader in both branches of his business, in northern Ohio, and is well and favorably known throughout the entire State. " In all local matters, he is always to be found on the right side, aiming constantly to build up and improve the interests of his fellows and the city in which he lives. In addition to his many duties in connection with several Fraternal organizations, he is faithful in the discharge of the responsibilities which come to him as a di rector in the Lorain Savings and Banking Co., and also of the Citizens Home and Loan Association of Lorain. In all things Mr. Wickens has endeavored to exemplify all that is contained in one sentence, namely: An industrious Christian gentleman."   HENRY BICKEL, a prominent, well-to-do agriculturist of Black River township, was born on his present farm March 27, 1844.   He is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Wetzel) Bickel, who came from Germany to Ohio at an early day where the father worked for a time on the Maumee Canal and at other employment. They then settled on a farm in Black River township, Lorain county, where they passed the rest of their lives. When they came here Indians and wild animals roamed the forest, and the country was a comparative wilderness. The father died at the age of sixty-five years and eleven months; the mother is yet living, now aged seventy-one years. Of their children our subject is the only survivor.   Henry Bickel received his education in the public and district schools, and when a youth, during the war of the Rebellion, was drafted into the army, but had not proceeded toward the seat of hostilities farther than Cleveland, when he secured a substitute, and returned home. On March 22. 1866, he married Miss Sophia C. Hildebrand, who was horn in Black River township, Lorain Co., Ohio, March 16, 1846, a daughter of Benjamin and Eliza (Appemann) Hildebrand, natives of Germany. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bickel, viz.: Frances E. (wife of George Horn, car inspector for the C. L. & W. R. R. Co.), Emma E., Charley F., George M., Reuben E. and Arthur H. Mr. Bickel in his political predilections is a Democrat, and he is a member of the     LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 991   Evangelical Church. He has been township trustee for three years, and school director, twenty-two. His line farm of 123 acres gives evidence of the care, thrift and sound judgment of the owner, who justly enjoys the confidence and good will of his neighbors.   CYRUS L. WHITTLESEY, of Brownhelm township, is a native of same, having been born on his present farm August 8, 1831. He is a son of Solomon and Sarah (Sherman) Whittlesey, the former of whom was born in Stockbridge, Mass., April 30, 1786, the latter in New Haven, Conn., March 23, 1796.   Solomon Whittlesey, father of subject, was twice married, first time in 1811 to Miss O. Kirby, who was born in 1784. They came to Brownhelm township, Lorain Co., Ohio, and settled on the farm on which they passed the remainder of their lives. By this marriage there were four children, viz.: Mary, born February 6, 1812, now the widow of Rev. L. D. Butts, and residing in Erie, Penn.; Edmund, born June 17, 1814, married and residing in Winnebago county, Ill. ; Eliphalet, born April 7, 1816, married and residing in Calhoun county, Iowa; and Calista, born May 29, 1819, deceased wife of H. Woodruff. The mother of this family died in 1823, and in 1824 Mr. Whittlesey married Miss Sarah Sherman. Solomon Whittlesey was a soldier in the war of 1812, and received bounty land. In an early day he worked in an ashery in Lorain county, and he was a noted hunter. In politics he was originally an Abolitionist, but in his later years he voted the straight Republican ticket. Among other public offices he held the position of township trustee. He died February 22, 1871; his widow was called from earth in 1873. They were the parents of seven children, as follows: David, born September 15, 1825, died at the age of nineteen; Solomon, born February 27, 1827, died aged fifteen years; Parmelia, born May 24, 1829, wife of Henry Stoddard, lives at Olmsted Falls, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio; Cyrus L. is the subject of this sketch; Sarah, born March 11, 1833, was married to Irvin French, of Winnebago, Ill., and died in May, 1890; John M., born April 19, 1837, died in March, 1838; and James Monroe, born November 10, 1840, died March 5, 1842.   Cyrus L. Whittlesey enlisted in 1861 in the Union army, three months' service, and when the call was made for three years' men he enlisted at Columbus, Ohio, in Company K, Twenty-third 0. V. I. His regiment was assigned to the army of the Potomac, and our subject participated in the battle of Carnifex Ferry, the second fought in West Virginia; was at the capture of Morgan; Second Bull Run; South Mountain; Antietam; on scouting service in West Virginia, thence to Stanton, Va., after which they took prisoners to Columbus, Ohio. He was shot through the hand while in pursuit and capture of Morgan. He was discharged at Columbus, July 6, 1864, and returned home.   In 1869 Mr. Whittlesey was united in marriage in Brownhelm township, Lorain county, with Miss Lucy Bacon, a native of that township, and daughter of Samuel and Ruth (Davis) Bacon, the father a native of Stockbridge, Mass., the mother of Connecticut; he was a manufacturer in the East, and coming to Lorain county, Ohio, in 1828, followed farming until his death in 1865; his widow followed him to the grave in 1875. They were the parents of ten children, viz.: Jane H., wife of Edmund West, of Oberlin, Ohio; George, who died at the age of nine years; Henry, deceased at the age of three; Samuel, who died in Lorain county, Ohio, when forty years old; Eliza, residing in Oberlin, Ohio; Benjamin, who during the Civil war enlisted in the one hundred days' service, and now lives in Anderson county, Kans.; Henry Clay, who in 1862 enlisted   992 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   in Brownhelm township, Lorain county, in Company F, One Hundred and Third O. V. I., and was in the army of the West with Sherman (he now lives in Wood county, Ohio); the eighth in order of' birth is Lucy, wife- of our subject; Charles B., who died at the age of forty-six, and Ruth A., whose home is now in Oberlin, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Whittlesey have one child living, Hayes B., at home.   In his political preferences our subject is a Prohibitionist. He is a member, and has been commander, of Rice Post, No. 148 G. A. R., and he and his wife are as-sociated with the Congregational Church. They have a fine farm of 112 acres con-fined to general agriculture. Mr. Whit-tlesey is a crack rifle shot, one of the best in the county, and takes great delight in hunting.   H. B. MARTIN DALE, member of the well-known firm of Martindale & Leonard, dealers in general merchandise, hardware, tinware, tobacco, etc., French Creek, where they commenced business in 1890, has been a resident of Avon township since 1873. He was born in 1849 in Lake county, Ohio, son of Harrison L. and Ann E. (Brown) Martindale, also natives of that county, where the father still resides; the mother died in 1859. Grandmother Laura M. (Babbett) Reynolds, who is a daughter of David Babbett, a native of Massachusetts, who came to Ohio in an early day, was born in Ohio, and came to Mentor, Lake county, where she yet resides at the advanced age of eighty-five.   Our subject was reared to manhood in Lake county, where he received his early education, and then engaged in farming and tree-grafting until 1873, when, as above related, he came to Avon township, Lorain county, where he now owns a snug little farm of eleven acres in a good state of cul- tivation. In 1879 Mr. Martindale was married, in Avon township, to Miss Carrie L., daughter of David L. Sawyer, an early pioneer of the township, and to their union have been born two children: Laura E. and Mary Eleanor, who died when twenty-three months old. In politics our subject is a Republican, and is at present serving as justice of the peace, which position he has held for seven years. Socially he is a member of King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Elyria; and of the K. O. T. M., Tent 18, French Creek, in which he is past commander.   D. L. SAWYER, a well-known pioneer farmer of Avon township, where he has resided since September, 1838, was born, in 1821, in Schoharie county, New York.   John and Rhoda (Lynes) Sawyer, parents of this gentleman, were also natives of New York State, where they were married, and whence, in 1838, they removed to Lorain county, Ohio, settling near French Creek in Avon township, Where they made a permanent home. The father, who was a blacksmith, died in 1868, the mother in 1872. They had a family of ten children, a brief record of whom is as follows: D. L. is the subject of these lines; James died in Avon township in 1848; Polly became the wife of Riley Barrows, of Avon township, where she died; Philip died in Elyria, Lorain county; Henry, who was a sailor, was drowned in the St. Clair river; Ambrose, married, resides in Lorain; Betsy Ann died unmarried ; Sturgia died in Avon township; Adeline lives in Avon township; Phebe died in Michigan. Grandfather Lynes was a soldier in the Revolution, and was with Gen. St. Clair at the time of his defeat.   D. L. Sawyer received his literary train. ing in the common schools of his native State, and was reared in New York up to his eighteenth year, when he came with his   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 993   parents from. Oneida county to Avon township, Lorain. county, where he has principally engaged in farming. He learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for thirty .years, since when he has given his exclusive attention to agriculture. He owns a good fruit farm of twenty-seven acres, besides another tract, his lands comprising in all seventy-two acres. On October 19, 1843, Mr. Sawyer was united in marriage, in Avon township, with Miss Eliza Lyon, a native of New York State, daughter of Elexander and Alice Lyon, who came from New York to Lorain county, Ohio, in 1830, being among the earliest pioneers of LaGrange township. The father subsequently removed to Nauvoo, Ill., and thence to Ogden, Utah, where he now resides. To Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have been born five children, namely: David, married, who resides in Avon township; Carrie L. and Emma (twins), the former of whom is the wife of H. B. Martindale, of Avon township, the latter the wife of Rev. F. N. Phelps, a Baptist minister of Tir6, Crawford Co., Ohio; Delia; and James, married, a resident of Ridgeville township. In his political preferences Mr. Sawyer is an ardent Republican, and has served as township trustee; he cast his first ballot for James G. Birney, and later voted for John C. Fremont. Socially he is a member of King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Elyria. In religious connection he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church at French Creek.   CHARLES H. GLENN, a well-known contractor and builder, of Oberlin, was born December 20, 1857, at Delphos, Allen Co., Ohio, a son of George M. and Augusta L. W. (King) Glenn, the former a native of Virginia, the latter of Prussia.   He received his education at the public schools of Oberlin, then learned the trade of carpenter and joiner. In 1884 he em barked in the contracting business with ate firm known as Glenn & Copeland, in which he has since continued, and he has done contracting in various places, among which may be mentioned Colorado Springs, his work, however, lying chiefly. in Oberlin, where he resides. He makes a specialty of dwelling houses, and conducts quite an extensive business, giving employment to from five to thirty men.   Mr. Glenn was united in marriage December 20, 1881, with Miss Effie V. Tuck, who was born in Gallia county, Ohio, and reared in Oberlin, a daughter of John C. and Eliza (Dyer) Tuck. To this union have been born three children, namely: Lucretia, Wilhelmina, Frankie D. and Charles A., of whom Frankie died at the age of ten months. Our subject is a Republican, and takes an active interest in politics; he is now serving a second term' as member of the city council. Mr. and Mrs. Glenn are both members of the First Congregational Church at Oberlin.   ARTEMAS BEEBE, proprietor of book-store and dealer in books, stationery and mouldings, Elyria, is a native of that city, born May 26, 1869, a grandson of Artemas Beebe, who came of an old New England family, and son of Artemas and Nancy (Fisher) Beebe.   Artemas Beebe, second son of the late Artemas Beebe, who came here from Massachusetts in 1817 with the late Homan Ely, and assisted in making an opening in the wilderness where Elyria now stands,. died at his farm residence on Cleveland street, August 27, 1891. Deceased was born in Elyria, October 10, 1825, and spent all of his nearly sixty-three years in Elyria. He attended the public schools until he was about fifteen years of age, when he entered the dry-goods store of the late Seymour M. Baldwin, where he   994 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   was employed as clerk for a few years, and then engaged in farming pursuits. On November 25, 1847, he married Miss Nancy L. Fisher, of Grafton, and soon after moved to his farm near the city, where, with the exception of two years, he spent his remaining life. On the death of hrs father in 1880, he became the owner of the "Beebe House," which he leased until 1886, when he took possession as manager and remained two years, then returning to his farm, which comprised 200 acres, and was located entirely inside the corporation of Elyria. The children born to him were William A., Mary, Frank and Artemas. His widow is still living on the old homestead.   The origin of Mr. Beebe's illness dated from the winter of 1890, when he suffered from a severe attack of La Grippe, from which he recovered in a few weeks; but in January, 1891, he had a recurrence of the same disease, his heart becoming affected, resulting in dropsy, which terminated his life.   In all his duties of husband, father and neighbor, he occupied a high place in the esteem of his fellow-citizens; and while his family, consisting of his wife, three sons and one daughter, will more deeply feel their bereavement, the Church and more especially the Sunday-schools of Lorain county, in which for many years he has taken an active interest, will miss his presence and counsel. Mr. Beebe was a member and a regular attendant of the Congregational Sunday-school of Elyria for sixty years. For ten years he was its assistant superintendent. He has also for many years been the Chairman of the executive committee of the Lorain County Sunday-school Union, and the success of its annual meeting has been owing more to his constant and efficient labor than to any other cause. Mr. Beebe was an active and honored member of the Congregational Church of Elyria for thirty-three years. In his official duties; in his intercourse with his fellow-members; in the largeness of his Christian charity and fellowship, as well as in his daily social and business life, he aimed to be true to his high calling of God.   Artemas Beebe, whose name introduces this sketch, received a liberal education at the public schools of his native town, and graduated in the class of 1890. In April, 1891, he opened out his present business, and has met with well-merited success. On December 16, 1891, he was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Mapes, also a native of Elyria, and who had been a schoolmate of Mr. Beebe's. In political preferences our subject is a Republican, and in church connection he is a Congregationalist. H. G. REDINGTON, a prominent and widely esteemed attorney at law of North Amherst, is one of the rising young barristers of Lorain county, of which he is a native, born July 10, 1858.   His father, R. N. Redington, a native of Massachusetts, came to Amherst township in 1819, being at the time three years old. He was a farmer all his life, and died at the age of sixty-nine years. He married Miss M. E. Tyler, who was born in 1823 of Connecticut people, and she is yet living; she is, as was also her husband, a member of the Disciple Church.   The subject of this biographical sketch received his elementary education at the district schools, afterward attending Oberlin College, where he completed the junior year; thence went to Cornell (N. Y.) University, one term, after which he commenced to read law with Hon. J. F. Burket, now on the supreme court bench. On June 4, 1884, he was admitted to the bar, and at once opened an office in North Amherst, Lorain county, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession. He has successfully carried   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 997   through cases versus railroads, involving a considerable amount of litigation, and succeeded in securing the compromise between North Amherst and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company, the nature of which was as follows: The question involved was whether the railway company could raise the grade of its railway through the village and over the streets and narrow the streets at the intersections, without consent of the village or the payment of damages to abutting owners. The question was decided in favor of the village, that the railway company could not.   In 1885 Mr. Redington was elected mayor of North Amherst, serving till 1893, in all four continuous terms. He is president of the Savings Deposit Bank, of which he was one of the chief organizers; is president of the North Amherst Shear Company, and assisted in organizing the North Amherst Furniture Company, of which he is a stockholder. Politically he is an uncompromising Democrat, a pronounced Cleveland man on the Tariff question. Socially he is a member of the K. of P., the K. O. T. M., and the I. O. O. F., of which he was District Deputy Grand Master.   In 1884 Mr. Redington was united in marriage with Miss Lulu C. Moore, daughter of Dr. A. C. Moore, of North Amherst, and three children have been born to them: Harry M., Blanche G. and Horace Raymond.   MICHAEL EPPLEY, one of theMICHAELty and prosperous agriculturists of Elyria township, is a native of Wittenberg, Germany, born December 7, 1821, a son of Jacob and Catherine (Keller) Eppley, also natives of the Fatherland.   In April, 1832, the family set sail from Holland for the New World, and after a voyage of fifty-five days landed at Philadelphia. From there they proceeded westward to Ohio, locating at Zanesville, Muskingum county, where the parents passed from earth, the father at the age of eighty-six, the mother when seventy-six years old. They had eleven children—nine sons and two daughters—and seven of the sons are now living, all near Zanesville, Ohio, except our subject, while the two daughters reside in Michigan.   Michael Eppley was reared to manhood in Zanesville, Ohio, where he received his education, and worked hard to make a little money which he saved in his boyhood. At the age of. twenty years he commenced carpentry, a trade he followed for twenty-one years; also farming, in connection doing a considerable amount in contracting and building. He was in the employ of the State of Ohio, constructing dams and docks in the Muskingum river. At the age of twenty-three he was united in marriage with Miss Rosina Harsch (daughter of. Mr. and Mrs. John Harsch), a native of Wittenberg, Germany, coming with her parents to America when six years old. Thirteen children were born to this union—five sons and eight daughters —namely: William, who went west and died (he was married to Mary Mauer; left two children); Mary, wife of Mose Beal, also died at an early age (left seven children) ; Katherine, wife of Samuel Beal, has eight children; Caroline, wife of Jacob Schaible, has two children; Jacob, married to Kate Martin, has four children; Rosa, died at the age of twelve years; Solomon, married to Nellie Bender, and has one child; Christena, wife of Henry Martin, has four children; Abram, married Mary Martin, has four children; Matilda, wife of Ernest Drunagle, has one child; Mose, married to Mary Spiegelberg, and has one child; Lydia, wife of William Spiegelberg, and Cora, residing at home.   Shortly after: marriage Mr. Eppley purchased a farm in York township, Morgan county, containing 240 acres of   998 - LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.   land, which he improved and then sold just before coming to Elyria. He came to Lorain county in 1874, and bought his present farm, containing one hundred acres (in Elyria township), bordering on the town of Elyria (on Murry Ridge, southwest of town), paying one hundred and twenty dollars cash per acre for same. After two years the mother died at the age of fifty-one years, which was a sore loss to the whole family, and here he has since remained as a widower (his daughter Cora keeping house for him).   Mr. Eppley always was, and is to this day, for his age, an active man as well as ambitious; honest in all his dealings. In religion he is an earnest, steadfast follower of Christ, and has been from early life. He is a member of the Evangelical Church. His greatest aim is to reach his heavenly home.   ALFRED E. HALE, farmer and cheese manufacturer of Carlisle township, is a native of Lorain county, born March 23, 1862, on Henrietta Hill. He is a son of George and Anna M. (Smith) Hale, the former of whom was among the pioneers of Carlisle township, having settled there when his son, Alfred E., was but ten days old.   The subject of this sketch was reared to agricultural pursuits on his father's farm, received his literary training in the common schools of Carlisle township until sixteen years of age, and then studied for one term at the Elyria high school. For the next two years he was employed in the Hart Cheese Factory, at that time operated by William A. Braman, and then worked in Sullivan and Ashland counties, Ohio. When nineteen years old he pur-chased, in partnership with a brother, the farm on which his brother resides, and on which they have since made many im- provements, and there Mr. Hale carries on a prosperous cheese-making business, keep-ing twenty cows. He manufactures a full cream cheese, and receives New York State prices for all his dairy products, for which there is a constant demand.   In 1886 Mr. Hale was united in marriage with Miss Buda Bell Peabody, and they have two children, namely: Gilbert N. and Cassie B. Our subject is a member of the Republican party, and takes an active interest in political questions. He is recognized as one of the thorough-going, progressive business men of Carlisle town-ship, where be has established himself in a profitable line of trade.   CHARLES H. WARBURTON, master mechanic for the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad, at Lorain, was born September 17, 1846, at Cleveland, Ohio. His father, Thomas Warburton, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, married Martha Rummage, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and they reared a family of five children—four sons and one daughter—of whom Charles H. is the eldest. The mother died in 1878, the father is now residing at Birmingham, Ohio.   Charles H. Warburton grew to man. hood in his native city, receiving his edu-cation in the public schools of same. At the age of sixteen Ile engaged with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail. road Company to learn the trade of ma chinist, and served some five and a half years. For some time after he worked as contractor in the Wilson Sewing Machine Shops at Cleveland, but again returned to the railroad business. In 1873 he came to Lorain county, engaged with the Cleve. land, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad as gang boss, and afterward as general foreman, in which capacity be served until 1882, after which time he held the position of master   LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO - 999   mechanic, being superintendent of 334 men. In July, 1893, he resigned his position on the railroad to embark in his present business in Cleveland, Ohio, in partnership with E. C. Angell, the style of the firm being "Viaduct Machine and Tool Co."   On November 13, 1873, Mr. Warburton was married, at Cleveland, to Miss May J. Anvll, and to their union have been born six children: Charles, Lewis, Henry, Katie, Cora and Frank. Politically our subject is a prominent member of the Republican party, in whose welfare he takes an active interest; he has served in various positions of trust, has been a member of the city council, and for five years was president of the City Water Works. Socially he is a member of Woodland Lodge No. 226, K. of P., and of the K. O. T. M.; he is also a member of the F. & A. M., K. T., and of the A. A. O. N. M. S.   JOHN RILEY, JR., one of the prominent representative young men of Amherst township, is a nativeborn Ohioan, having first seen the light of day in Erie county in 1856.   He is a son of John and Bridget (Welch) Riley, the father born in Ireland. Coming to America in 1844 he made his home in Erie county, Ohio, a number of years. About 1868 he removed with his family to Lorain county, and he now resides in Elyria township. He has been a lifelong farmer, and in politics a stanch Democrat. Eight children were born to John and Bridget Riley, all yet living.   John Riley, Jr., received his education in the public schools of Elyria and Berlin Heights. For some years he followed agricultural pursuits, and he now owns a good farm of one hundred acres in Amherst township. In 1882 he commenced contracting for the Toledo & Cleveland Railroad, northern and southern division, and later has been employed in getting out ship timber.   Mr. Riley has been twice married: first time in 1880 to Miss Jennie Davis, who died in 1883, and he subsequently, in 1889, married Miss Carrie Armert. He takes an active interest in politics, and is a strong, useful member of the Democratic party. Since September, 1893, he has been the efficient and courteous postmaster at North Amherst.   HENRY HITCHCOCK, prominent in the farming community of Columbia township, of which he is a native, is a son of Samuel and Amelia (Osborne) Hitchcock. Samuel Hitchcock was born, in 1786, in Waterbury, Conn., whence in 1810 he came to Columbia township, Lorain county, traveling the entire distance with a team, the journey occuping some six weeks. Here he opened up three farms, and became a prosperous agriculturist. In politics he was originally a Whig, later a Republican. His wife, Amelia (Osborne), was also born in Connecticut, and died in April, 1892, a daughter of Asel and Mary (Hoadley) Osborne, who came to Columbia township, Lorain county, from Connecticut in 1810. To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Hitchcock were born seven children, of whom the following' is a brief record: Alma, who married James R. Ruple, died in Olmsted township, Cuyahoga county, in June, 1892; Julia, who was the wife of Cyrus Ruple, died in about 1882; Minerva, the wife of James Warnock, died in 1893; Marietta, widow of Winslow Shaw, resides in Michigan; Amanda, who was the wife of Abner Houston, died in Ridgeville township at the age of twenty-five; Amelia, Mrs. J. W. Doane, died in January, 1890; and Henry is the subject of this sketch.