550 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY on the 22nd of May, 1892, the cost of the building being about $1,200.00. In June, 1897, Rev. Haefele removed to Cleveland, O., when Rev. S. Lindenmeyer was chosen as his successor. Under his successful administration of sixteen years the growth of the church was rapid ; it steadily grew in membership from fifty to over two hundred families. Besides this, many improvements to the property were made, the present beautiful parsonage was built and the interior of the church remodeled at an expense of nearly $10,000.00. "In June, 1913, Rev. Lindenmeyer accepted a call to Portsmouth, O. Since July 6, 1913, Rev. A. Egli has been pastor of this church. In the summer of 1914 the congregation remodeled the basement of the church and converted it into t modern Sunday School with all necessary conveniences for devotional services and social functions. " The church today has a membership of 228 families, a Sunday School of 300 enrollment, a Ladies' Aid Society of 108, and a Young People's Society of 68 members. The congregation is in a flourishing condition and owns one of the best church properties in town." ST. PAUL'S LUTHERAN CHURCH St. Paul's Lutheran Church stands at the corner of West and School streets. It was established in the corporation in 1874. Rev. Louis Dammann was the first pastor. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Jordan, an active, energetic man, who combines with his pastoral work that of teaching in the parochial school maintained by the church. The church has recently been improved. Further records of this church have not been available. ST. JOSEPH 'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH The St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church was originated in 1868. For three years previous to this time Rev. L. Molon, of Elyria, had come over and conducted services in a room belonging to John Plato in the old Reuben Wolcott Building. There were about six families who attended. The numbers having considerably increased by 1868, it was decided to have a more suitable place of worship, so a lot was bought on Tenney Street from Joseph Trost. On this lot a church was built which was consecrated in August of that year. In a short time the congregation had outgrown the building and an addition was built in 1873. In 1872 and until 1875 Rev. R. Rouchy was in charge of the parish. Father Joseph Roemer succeeded him. The present priest is Rev. Fr. Espen. The Catholic Church in Amherst is in a flourishing condition. In addi- HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 551 tion to a well kept and attractive church there is a fine rectory. Several organizations give opportunities to the members of this parish to work in the interests of the church. SALEM CHURCH (EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION) The following account comes from the pen of Rev. J. G. Zeigler, pastor of the "Stone Church." "The Salem Church of the Evangelical Association, familiarly known as ' The Stone Church,' had its inception in a class that was organized in 1836. Early in the thirties of the present century quite a number of German immigrants began to settle in the present boundaries of Lorain County. They had received an excellent religious training in the Mother Country ; but when they began to settle in the dense forests of the ' Western Reserve' they became as sheep. without a shepherd. "About the same time that these immigrants began to hew out homes for themselves and their posterity, the scouts of the Evangelical Association, those men of fearless endeavor, undaunted courage and tireless energy, at that time called ' Circuit Riders,' began to cross the Allegheny Mountains and resolutely to set their faces toward the then western wilds of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. "One of the first pioneer missionaries to push through the forests and to look up these pioneer settlers was Jacob Lutz. He would visit the scattered settlers during the day and in the evening they would gather in one of the larger log houses, or log churches, one of which stood on the Lake Road west of Oak Point, for religious services. The next day he would push on to another settlement, but would make arrangements to return in three or four weeks, according to the size of his circuit. In the following years J. J. Kopp and J. Lawprecht supplemented the labors of Jacob Lutz. "In 1836 Jacob Lutz organized the first society and called it Lake Class. The meeting was held about two miles north of North Amherst. In 1848 the first church, known as Salem Church, was erected. Mr. Adam Holl, who owned what is now known as the Hageman farm, about two miles north from Amherst, donated the necessary land to erect the building on, and George Dute, John Vetter, Adam Baumhart, Jacob and George Keller and others gave the timbers of the proposed church. The congregation prospered so that in 1861 it was thought best to purchase or erect a parsonage in North Amherst, and as soon as deemed advisable to build also a church. A few years later a parsonage was purchased which stood on the lot which the present parsonage of this church occupies. In 1866 a large and commodious church in Brownhelm Township, 552 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY near the Vermilion River, was offered for sale because the congregation had disbanded. This building was purchased, taken down and then rebuilt in North Amherst on a lot southeast of the present Stone Church. Our fellow townsman, Mr. George Aschenbach, had charge of reerecting the building. The old church north of town was sold to George Dute. In 1881 the present stone edifice was erected and in 1895 a new and commodious parsonage was built. "The old Salem congregation was not only the mother of the present Lorain, South Ridge, Brownhelm and Huron Congregations; but it also awakened a camp meeting spirit that is as fervid today as it was over fifty years ago, when the first meeting was held. This first meeting was held in 1859 on the farm of Adam Hasenpflug, in Brownhelm Township. Then for three successive years the meetings were held in the month of August, on the farm of John Berg in Black River Township ; from 1863 to 1873 they were held on the George Dute farm north of Amherst ; from 1874 to 1884 on the farm of George Hoehle, two miles west of Huron, and since 1884 on the grounds of the Camp Meeting Association in Linwood Park. "The following have served as settled pastors : 1854-55, J. G. Theuer and M. Hoehn ; 1856, G. Behner ; 1857, C. Tramer and F. French ; 1858, A. Yambert and A. Dieke ; 1859, L. Sheuemau and R. Statz; 1860, G. Behner ; 1861, John Schafer and L. Seitker ; 1862, John Walz and G. Hasenpflug ; 1863, John Walz ; 1864-65, F. French and J. K. Pontius; 1866, P. Hehn and C. Ehrhardt.; 1867, C. Ehrhardt and F. Zeller ; 1868, J. J. Kopp and A. Woehr; 1869, A. Woehr and G. Henney ; 1870, J. K. Pontius and J. D. Seip ; 1871-72, J. K. Pontius and G. Behner ; 1873-74, John Honecker and Theo. Suhr ; 1875, John Honecker and V. Braun ; 1876, C. L. Witt and V. Braun ; 1877, C. L. Witt and G. Martin ; 1878-79, Jacob Honecker and C. A. Walz ; 1880, Jacob Honecker and L. Pfeiffer ; 1881, V. Braun and J. G. Zeigler ; 1882, V. Braun and P. Fowl ; 1883, V. Braun and E. Koehue ; 1884, G. Heinrich and E. Keohue ; 1885, G. Heinrich and H. Fuessner ; 1886, C. A. Mewk and J. E. Moeller ; 1887, C. A. Mewk and C. A. Walz ; 1888, C. A. Walz and Jacob Wahe ; 1889, C. A. Walz and A. Woerner ; 1890, C. F. Braun and S. E. Goetz ; 1891, C. F. Braun and W. L. Seith ; 1892, Jacob Honecker and W. L. Seith ; 1893, Jacob Honecker and A. Peter ; 1894, Jacob Honecker and M. Kos-sin ; 1895-96, G. Gaehr and John Hoffman ; 1897, G. Gaehr and A. Peter ; 1898-99, F. Willman and A. Peter ; 1900, Jacob -Wahl and C. Parman ; 1901-02, J. Wahl and A. G. Dornheim ; 1903-4, W. L. Seith and J. G. Knippel ; 1905, W. L. Seith and A. Woerner ; 1906, H. Fuessner and A. Woerner ; 1907, H. Fuessner and W. H. Herkner ; 1908-10, H. Fuessner ; 1911-, J. G. Zeigler. HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 553 EPISCOPAL MISSION An Episcopal mission has been started in very recent years under the care of Rev. R. J. Riblet, of Oberlin. This congregation purchased and remodeled the Spring Street Schoolhouse for a church building and there services are held regularly. LODGES In the very early days Amherst did not seem to need formally organized fraternities. The pioneer situation is well stated in the sentence " the community was one large fraternity." But as the village grew, it became evident that the American thirst for lodge life must be satisfied. The Odd Fellows were the first to respond, at Amherst, and in 1852 organized Plato Lodge No. 203. Judge Harris gave the land upon which the town hall now stands, the upper story of which was to be used by the Odd Fellows for their lodge room. In 1871 they built their own hall. The Masons organized Stonington Lodge No. 503 in 1875. Its first meetings were held in a building on the corner of Main and Tenney streets. This was occupied until 1910, when the headquarters of the lodge were transferred to rooms over the German Bank, corner of Church and Elyria streets. The Knights of Pythias formed Amherst Lodge No. 74 in 1874, and Amherst Temple of Pythian Sisters No. 363 was instituted in 1909. Mystic Hive No. 12, Lady Maccabees of the World, was organized in 1893. Other organizations worthy of note are Hickory Tree Grange, reorganized in 1896 ; Amherst Aerie No. 1,442, Fraternal Order of Eagles, instituted in 1906 ; Amherst Council No. 265, Knights and Ladies of Security, instituted at South Amherst, in 1895, an(' Quarry Homestead No. 1,737, Brotherhood of American Yeomen, instituted in 1908. INDUSTRIES AND BANKS When Amherst was a small village surrounded by a promising, if not a wonderfully productive agricultural country ; when the railroad was discussed as a project of possible revival, a little iron foundry was started for the making and repairing of farming implements. After the early grist mills came the foundry, but the latter disappeared and at a later period the manufacture of cheese gave the village and the neighboring country quite an impetus. In the late '70s, when George Fuller was operating a flourishing grist mill, and Eggleson, Braman & Vol. I-36 554 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY Company and Eggleson, Horr & Warner were running big cheese factories, the products of which were shipped from Amherst, the village was an industrial center of some pretensions. At the present time, although a number of large stores and two banks accommodate not only the villagers themselves but a large rural area, there is only one considerable industry within the corporate limits. In 1908 the United States Automatic Company was organized by home people. It operates a good-sized plant in the manufacture of special parts for automobiles, washing machines and general machinery. W. H. Schibley is president of the company ; A. R. Purmont, vice president ; A. G. Menz, secretary, and A. J. Uthe, treasurer. For a number of years Amherst has had a cold storage plant. A former enterprise of that character was suspended for a time, but was revived by the 'Amherst Cold Storage Company, which erected a large building on the site of the old and smaller plant. The Amherst German Bank Company was organized in 1906, and opened for business in January of the following year. All of the men who thus combined had lived in the town at least forty years, and all but one had been born there. The officers are : E. H. Nicholl, president ; George Hollstein, vice president ; William H. Schibley, cashier. The capital of the bank is $50,000, surplus and undivided profits, $10,500, and deposits, $560,000. The Amherst Park Banking Company was organized in April, 1915. It has a capital of $25,000, and deposits of $39,000 (fall of 1915). NEWSPAPERS Moreover, as an indication of its prevailing enterprise, Amherst has two newspapers—the Reporter and the Weekly News. The first newspaper published in the village was the Amherst Free Press, issued first on July 31, 1875, by F. M. Lewis, editor and proprietor. With the exception of short periods during the first two years of the enterprise, Mr. Lewis continued in sole control until the establishment of the Reporter. The Reporter was founded in 1892 and the Amherst Weekly News in 1914. The Reporter is owned, printed and edited by H. K. Clock ; the News is under the management of a stock company and is edited by Miss Addie Fields. A STANDARD HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY OHIO An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Com- mercial, Industrial, Civic and Social De- velopment. A Chronicle of the People, with Family Lineage and Memoirs. G. FREDERICK WRIGHT SUPERVISING EDITOR Assisted by a Board of Advisory Editors ILLUSTRATED VOLUME I I THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1916 History of Lorain County HON. DAVID J. NYE. Through the last and most active forty years of his life during which he followed a constant, conservative and dignified career as lawyer, jurist and business man, David J. Nye has gained an eminence which probably has been surpassed by none and excelled by few in this community. His rise from the lowly farmer's son to that of one of the foremost lawyers of the state, and one of the leaders in the civic and business life of Northern Ohio, was far from meteorical. It was accomplished only after years of close application and hard and consistent efforts in his chosen profession. While the early years of his life are not of important historical note, yet they were busy ones and served to make up that formative period when boys of that age create for themselves their ideals of life, and form those conceptions which direct their footsteps in after years. It was during this period that Mr. Nye conceived the idea of following the law as a profession and he formed his ideals of all that this profession stood for and demanded. With these ideals firmly fixed in his mind, he clung to them, and each step in his life was in furtherance of his aim to attain to the heights on which his desires were set. No matter what the endeavor cost him in work or denials, no matter what the sacrifice might be, he faced all in his hard struggle to reach his destined goal. Born at Ellicott, Chautauqua County, New York, December 8, 1843, he was a son of Curtis F. and Susan Jerusha (Walkup) Nye. While his parents were of sturdy Vermont stock ; his paternal ancestors trace their lineage to Benjamin Nye, the original founder of the Nye family in America. He was among the foremost of those early English pioneers who cast his lot with those who strove and struggled that a new nation might be born. Benjamin Nye and Katherine Tupper, who afterward became his wife, landed on the shores of New England in 1634 and made their home in Sandwich, Massachusetts, where they reared a family which has ever grown and prospered. A few years ago the descendants of Benjamin Nye in this country, founded what is known as the Nye Family of America Association and Judge Nye was one of the prime movers in its organization and served as its president for two years. The parents of Judge Nye, five years after the birth of their son David. moved from their farm at Ellicott to Otto, Cattaraugus County, New York, where they again took up the tillage of the soil and remained there until their death. During these years, Young Nye's work on his father's farm was interrupted only by a few months during the winter, with his attendance at the district school of his neighborhood. Denied the privilege of serving his country during the great Civil conflict because of parental objections, two other brothers having enlisted, Mr. Nye turned his attention and concentrated his energies on his preparation for the future. He left his home and matriculated at - 557 - 558 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY Randolph (New York) Academy in 1862 and spent the following winter in teaching school. The succeeding year he spent in practically the same manner. From that time forward, such time as was not occupied with teaching school, was spent in working on the farm for the purpose of accumulating a stipend to be used in further pursuit of learning. Coming to Oberlin in the spring of 1866, he entered the preparatory department and a year later became a member of the freshman class of Oberlin College. Although his studies were interrupted by the necessity of teaching during the vacation, and doing other work during school terms, he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1871. The degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by the college in 1883. In his final year at Oberlin he also occupied the position of superintendent of the Public Schools at Milan, Ohio, and at the solicitation of the board of education, taught there another year after his graduation. While in Oberlin and also at Milan, he devoted his spare time to laying a foundation for the law so that in August, 1872, he successfully passed the requirements for admission and was admitted to the bar at Elyria, Ohio. The same year he went to Emporia, Kansas, with a view to locating there and growing up in what was then a new country. But finding this location not suited to this tastes he returned to Elyria. and took up the practice of law in earnest, associating himself with John C. Hale, who later became one of the leaders of the Cleveland bar, and a most worthy judge of the Circuit Court. A year later he opened his own office for the practice of law, which he retained continuously until he went upon the Common Pleas bench in 1892. From 1881 to 1884, however, he served a creditable term as prosecuting attorney of Lorain County. At various times during his private practice in Elyria, he served as county school examiner, member of the city board of education and member of the city council. With the unanimous approval of the members of the Lorain County bar, Mr. Nye's name was placed in nomination for judge of Common Pleas bench for the district composed of Lorain, Medina and Summit counties, at the judicial convention held at Medina in July, 1891. In the following November he was elected by a handsome majority and took his seat in February, 1892. Toward the close of his term, he received the nomination by acclamation for a second term and was re-elected for another five years. Judge Nye's record on the bench is distinctly unique, both in the character and the amount of work which was accomplished. Taking the position at a time when the court docket was literally clogged with old cases, he set his energies at once to a clearing away of this accumulation of cases. He made it a rule that the attorneys should try their eases as they appeared on the assignment and the oldest cases were brought forward and disposed of with as great rapidity as justice would permit. After ten years of the most arduous and exacting labor, which for a time impaired his health, Judge Nye left as a heritage to his successor, a practically up-to-date assignment with scarcely a ease on the dockets which had been started more than three years before. Many were the decisions of great public importance that came from his pen. As a jurist he pursued a course of conservative, intelligent, wise and painstaking dignity, ever watchful for that true justice which is tempered with equity and mercy. It was with much relief that he often remarked that his duty never called upon him to impose a capital sentence upon one who was tried before him. During his long term he maintained a record of having had but one criminal case at which he presided. overruled by a higher court. Probably a greater strain was never placed upon a judicial officer than during the trial of famous liquor cases of Elyria. Regardless of HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 559 the influence, violent threats and affidavits of prejudice that were used as a means to shake him, he clung tenaciously to his honest and fearless convictions that law and order should prevail. His was a mind that concentrated itself upon a principle of law until the fundamental theories were solved and their application placed upon the case in question without regard to anything except right and justice, and yet ever guided by his own high conception of gentlemanly courtesy. Among those of his decisions which will ever stand as precedents of jurisprudence in this state and nation, was one in which Judge Nye decided that the holder of National Bank shares had no right under the laws of Ohio to deduct his legal bona fide debts from the value of such shares. The Circuit Court of the county reversed Judge Nye, but the Supreme Court of Ohio and the Supreme Court of the United States sustained him, consequently setting a new and unique precedent in matters of the relation of Federal banks to counties and states. On retiring at the end of his second term, Judge Nye again opened an office for the general practice of law, which he still maintains in his service to a large clientele. Significant of the respect and esteem in which Judge Nye has been held during his long career in this one community, is the fact that among his present clients are the grandchildren of some of those who formed his clientele in the early days of his practice in Elyria—three generations having continued to come to him for counsel and advice. In 1911 the electors of Lorain County complimented Judge Nye by choosing him as one of its representatives to amend the state constitution. His work in the Fourth Constitutional Convention was of a high order, dignified, conservative and based on the sound judgment of a long experience and familiarity with legal and constitutional questions. Shortly after the adoption of the amendments to the state constitution, it became necessary to draft new rules for the procedure in the newly established Courts of Appeals. Judge Nye was chosen by the president of the Ohio State Bar Association as a member of a committee of prominent lawyers of the state to assist the judges of the court to prepare regulations for its government, in accordance with the new constitutional requirements. Ever a strong exponent for civic welfare and progress, he has interested himself in an advisory capacity as well as financially in the thriving industries of his city, which are making it a sound and prosperous manufacturing center. It has been his joy to hold himself in readiness for any honorable service he might render to others and to the community in which he lives, and he has served as president of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, a contributor to the Elyria Hospital, and a member of the Elyria Hospital Company, and a member and contributor of the Y. M. C. A., besides giving liberally of his means and energies in many other lines of upbuilding. In Masonic circles, Judge Nye has gained considerable prominence, having reached the highest pinnacle of this ancient and honored order, when in September, 1915, was conferred upon him, in Boston. Massachusetts, the thirty-third and highest degree in Masonry. He is a member of Oriental Commandery Knights Templars, of Cleveland, Ohio, and on the establishment of a commandery in Elyria, he was made an honorary member of the organization. Politically, Judge Nye is a staunch republican and what honors he has received at the hands of his party, he has fully compensated for by his counsel and activity in the interests of the principles for which the party stands and the good it has accomplished. 560 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY On September 15, 1880, Judge Nye was united in marriage with Luna Fisher, daughter of Alfred Fisher, of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The Fisher family were pioneer settlers in Independence Township and were the highly honored and respected leaders of their community. Mrs. Nye has always been an active influence for good in her home and community, her inspiration being an important factor in Judge Nye's career. Two children were born to Judge and Mrs. Nye. David Fisher Nye, born October 27, 1882, was graduated from the Elyria high School in 1902 and from Oberlin College in 1906. He received the degree of LL. B. from the law school of Western Reserve University in June, 1909, was admitted to the bar the same month and soon after formed a partnership with his father, under the firm name of D. .J. and D. F. Nye. He was a most estimable young man and was considered one of the most promising young attorneys at the Lorain County bar. But his death on June 23, 1912, deprived his family and the community of one of its most cherished members. Horace Hastings Nye, born August 4th, 1884, was graduated from Elyria High School in 1902 and from Oberlin College in 1908. He engaged in newspaper work for a few years and was afterwards, in 1915, graduated from the law school of Western Reserve University. He was admitted to the bar July 1, 1915. At the present time (1915) he is associated with his father in the practice of law in Elyria. DAVID S. TROXEL. Twenty years ago a young business man of Denver. Colorado, but who had himself been reared in Ohio, where his family was established early in the nineteenth century, invented an improved form of bicycle saddle. The foot-power bicycle was then at the height of its popularity ; automobiles were in the experimental stage of manu facture and almost unknown on public highways; while the motorcycle was still in the future. Leaving his Denver business Mr. Troxel came to Elyria and made arrangements for the manufacture of his saddle. From the first it was an article that filled a number of requirements demanded in a perfect saddle, and there has never been a year since in which the Troxel saddle has not been increased in efficiency, durability. appearance and comfort. Out of this beginning has been evolved the Troxel Manufacturing Company, makers of bicycle and motorcycle saddles and tool bags, and the goods of this now oldest saddle house in America has an established reputation over the world and have no superior in strength, style, symmetry and proportions. It is one of the leading industries of Elyria, and the plant has kept growing by additions and improved equipment, and now easily leads all other concerns of its kind. An interesting feature of the Troxel business, and one that shows the substantial character that is impressed on every single product along with excellence of material and special care in the making. is the unique guaranty that all goods are free from defects in material or workmanship, and the company states explicitly to its customers that they expect to and do live up to the guarantee to the letter. The president of the Troxel Manufacturing Company, and the original inventor of its chief product, has been as public spirited and efficient as a citizen of Elyria as he has been successful as a manufacturer. David S. Troxel was born at the old Troxel homestead near Wooster. Wayne County, Ohio, March 2. 1864. That old homestead has been in the family since 1826, and has been occupied by three successive generations of the name. The first of the name in the state was Peter Troxel, grandfather of the Elyria manufacturer. Born in Berks County, Pennsylvania. in 1804, Peter Troxel when a young man of twenty-one, in HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 561 1825, came into Wayne County, Ohio, and soon afterwards settled on a farm near Wooster. A portion of the land he secured from the Government at the cost of $1.25 per acre. On that farm the father of David S. Troxel was born in 1833, and spent a long career as a farmer, with incidental honors paid him by his fellow citizens in election to local offices. His death occurred July 25, 1908. His wife, whose maiden name was Miss Sarah Shaum, was born near Wooster in 1834, and is now living in Wayne County at the advanced age of eighty-one. The early associations and experiences of David S. Troxel were centered around the old Troxel farm in Wayne County. He attended district schools, helped in all forms and departments of the farm enterprise, but early manifested tendencies and ambitions for the commercial life. His preparatory experience in this direction was obtained as clerk in a country store where he began work in 1886 and remained one year. Realizing the need of better training, he then followed that with a course in a business college, and from Ohio sought a new field in the West, locating in Colorado. At Denver he became bookkeeper in a hardware store, but in 1889 engaged in the hardware business on his own account. He was the owner and active manager of this enterprise in Denver for nine years, and on returning East to manufacture his bicycle saddle, which he had invented in 1898, he left the store in charge of his brother, to whom he finally sold it in 1910. Mr. Troxel is still owner of property in Denver, but has no active business interests there. His home was in that city for ten years. On bringing his invention to Elyria Mr. Troxel arranged for its manufacture by The Garford Manufacturing Company, but being convinced of its merits and encouraged by its progress in popularity he soon organized the Troxel Manufacturing Company, and has since been its president and manager. This company now occupies a large four-story building in Elyria and in order to keep in touch with the trade, now extended not only throughout the United States but to all countries where the bicycle and motorcycle are used, it issues a thirty-five page catalog descriptive of the various types of saddles, tool bags and other equipment. In addition to his position as head of the Troxel Manufacturing Company, he is a director in the National Bank of Elyria, is vice president of the Tucker Woodworking Company at Sidney, Ohio, and a director and stockholder in a number of other enterprises at Elyria and elsewhere. He is one of the active members of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce. The people of Elyria remember gratefully Mr. Troxell's administration as mayor. He was elected to that office in the fall of 1907, and began the duties of his two-year term on January 1, 1908. After an interval of two years he was again called to the same post in the fall of 1911, beginning years second term January 1, 1912. He made his administration efficient and businesslike, strictly non-partisan, and with a record of many substantial improvements. During the first term he secured the erection of two new fire stations, and inaugurated extensive street paving and sewer construction. Mr. Troxel is a republican in politics, is a member of the Cleveland Athletic Club of Cleveland, of the Elyria Automobile Club, the Elyria Country Club, and finds his chief satisfaction in the way of recreation in the ancient game of golf. Fraternally he is affiliated with Elyria Lodge No. 456, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons; Marsall Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Elyria Council Royal & Select Masons; Elyria Commandery of the Knights Templar; and Al Koran Shrine of Cleveland. On February 3, 1897, in Ashland County, Ohio, Mr. Troxel married 562 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY Miss Ida Brandt, who was born in Ashland County, a daughter of David and Catherine (Swartz) Brandt. Her mother is still living and resides in Jeromesville, Ashland County. Mr. and Mrs. Troxel have one daughter, Kathryn Ida. Mr. Troxel is the owner of three of the best modern apartment houses in Elyria and has considerable other property in the city. SUMNER BURRELL DAY. One of the recent notable events that attracted wide attention in Lorain County was the celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the first settlement in Sheffield Township. This celebration was held in August, 1915. Many of the descendants of the original pioneers went up Black River to what was once known as the Heyer Farm, now included in the site of the National Tube Company's plant, and by picnic festivities and a varied program celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Township of Sheffield. The spirit of this celebration was well indicated in the words of the invitations which were sent to descendants of pioneers in many parts of the country : "The glad remembrance of one hundred years of bounteous and righteous living for themselves and their ancestors in this town inspires the dwellers of Sheffield to invite their friends, especially the early settlers and their descendants, to a homecoming and celebration of this one hundredth anniversary." Leaving out a general account of this celebration and the original founding of the township, which will be considered elsewhere, it may be briefly stated that the original owner of the land in Sheffield, William Hunt, sold the property to Capt. Jabez Burrell and Capt. John Day. This transaction, which occurred just 100 years ago. was the preliminary to the settlement of members of the Burrell, Day and a number of other families who are still represented by their descendants in this part of Ohio and elsewhere. One of the oldest living representatives of the pioneer Day family in Lorain County was Sumner Burrell Day, whose death occurred November 29, 1915. He had long been prominent as a business man and banker of Elyria. Mr. Day was born at Sheffield, Ohio, April 19, 1842. He belonged to that numerous and prominent family of Days who have left the impress of their character and activities in many communities, both in New England and in the West. The original settler was Robert Day of Hartford, Connecticut, who died in 1648. Several registers of the descendants of this Robert Day have been published, and a brief account of the descent from Robert Day to Sumner B. Day has an appropriate place in this sketch. Robert Day, who died at Hartford in 1648 at the age of forty-four, and whose interesting will, dated May 20, 1648, has been preserved in one of the publications of the genealogical register, emigrated to this country in April, 1634. He and his wife Mary came over on the bark Elizabeth to Boston, and he settled first in Newtown, now Cambridge. He was made a freeman of the town on May 6, 1635, but in 1639 was a resident, and one of the first settlers, at Hartford. Connecticut. He was probably one of the company which followed their pastor. Rev. Mr. Hooker to Hartford in 1636. For his second wife he married Editha Stebbins, and this wife was the mother of his son Thomas, who was the ancestor of the Springfield branch of the Day family and also of the Sheffield, Ohio, descendants. Thomas Day, founder of the Springfield branch, died December 27, 1711. He was married October 27, 1659, to Sarah Cooper. daughter of Lieut. Thomas Cooper, who was killed when the town was burned by the Indians. She died November 21, 1726. They were the parents HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 563 of a family of ten children, and the immediate line is carried forward through their son John, who was born September 20, 1673. John, in the third generation, a resident at West Springfield, was married March 10, 1697, to Mary Smith of Hadley, who died February 28, 1742, at the age of sixty-five. On August 27, 1743, he married Hannah Kent of Hadley. John died November 20, 1752, at the age of seventy-nine. The children, all by the first wife, were ten in number, and the lineage is carried forward through their son William. William, referred to as Captain William, was born October 23, 1713. For many years he was engaged in the seafaring business and had command of various vessels. He was married three times. About 1746-47, he married Polly, daughter of Col. John Day of Boston. She died in Jamaica about 1755. His second wife was the widow Eunice Ingersoll of Westfield. His third wife was Rhoda Hubbell of Litchfield, Connecticut, who died July 25, 1795. Captain William died at Sheffield March 22, 1797, at the age of eighty-three. As some of his children were identified with the early settlement of Northern Ohio it will be proper to mention their individual names: William, who was born about 1730; William Junius; Polly, who was born about 1749 and died in childhood; Mary, who was born April 26, 1772, and married Henry Root of Sheffield, Ohio, on September 10, 1800; John, who was the Lorain County pioneer already mentioned and referred to in the following paragraph ; Ichamar H., born August 14, 1776; James, horn June 7, 1780; and William, born March 8. 1787. At this point it will be proper to introduce a copy of the document which indicates that one ancestor of the present family in Ohio had a part in those colonial movements which brought about the independence of this country. From the proceedings of the centennial celebration of the Town of Sheffield. Berkshire County, Massachusetts, held on June 18-19 in 1876, the following is a copy of what was called "The Preliminary Statement," a record made in 1776, as follows: "At a town meeting, legally called, held in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, on the 18th of June, 1776, Captain William Day being chosen moderator and Stephen Deevey being town clerk, the report of a committee consisting of Col. -Ashley, Dr. Lemuel Barnard, Col. John Fellows, Col. Aaron Root, and Capt. Nath 'el Austin-which committee was chosen 'to draw a resolve to send to the representative'-was heard, and "It was put to vote----whether the inhabitants of the sd town of Sheffield, should the Honble. Continental Congress in their wisdom think prudent and for interest and safety of the American Colonies to declare sd colonies independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, they the inhabitants of sd Sheffield will solemnly engage with their lives and fortunes to support them in their measures. "Voted in the affirmative: "Two dissent'g only. "Wm. Day, Moderator." John Day, the Lorain County pioneer, and a son of Captain William, was born February 3, 1774, and in 1816 brought his family to Sheffield, Ohio. He was married in 1794 to Lydia Austin of Sheffield, Massachusetts. He died in Lorain County October 8, 1827. The record of their children is as follows: Rhoda, born November 26, 1794, and died November 24, 1795 ; William, born December 15, 1796; Rhoda Maria, born March 29, 1799, died October 10, 1825 ; John 2d, born March 23, 1801; Norman, born January 24, 1803 ; Fanny, horn April 3, 1805, and married on April 15, 1834, to William H. Root of Sheffield, Ohio; James, born August 27, 1807 ; Lydia, born March 5, 1810, and 564 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY married September 17, 1840; Kendrick K. Kinney of Oberlin ; Kellogg, born January 23, 1813 ; Frederick, born February 12, 1815 ; Edmund, born February 24, 1818 ; and Eleanor, born July 13, 1820, and married April 3, 1840, James Austin of Sheffield. John Day, the father of these children, was in the fifth generation from the original Robert Day. In the sixth generation was William Day, a son of the pioneer John Day. William was born December 15, 1796, and was about twenty years of age when the family came to Sheffield, Ohio. He died November 9, 1889. He was married May 6, 1832, to Augusta Burrell, of Sheffield, and also a representative of the group of pioneers who settled at Sheffield 100 years ago. She died October 9, 1887. Their children were : Huldah Maria, born March 5, 1833 ; William Augustus, born June 14, 1835 ; Henry Kellogg, born August 22, 1837 ; Marietta, born September 30, 1839 ; Sumner Burrell, born April 19, 1842 ; Eugene I., born April 12, 1847 ; and Everett E., born November 3, 1850. Sumner Burrell Day, who therefore stood in the seventh generation of the Day family in America, grew up in Lorain County, gained his education at Sheffield and at. Oberlin, and in early life was connected with the lumber industry. His home was in Elyria since 1885, and many important business achievements and institutions are associated with his name. He was president and builder of the Elyria, Grafton & Southern Electric Railway. From its foundation to his death he was a director in the Lorain County Banking Company, was its first vice president. and held that office until elected president, an office he held eight years. He was a director in the Elyria Lumber & Coal Company, in the Perry-Fay Company, and owned considerable real estate both at Elyria and elsewhere. Mr. Day served as a trustee of the Lorain County Children's Home from its establishment. In politics he was a republican. On May 28, 1867, at Russell, New York. he married Miss Sue Maria Knox, daughter of William Knox. Their two children, in the eighth generation of the family, are Lee Sumner and Edith M. Lee S. Day is a lawyer by profession. He married Maude Allen October 1, 1910, and the children of that union are : 'William Allen, born June 27, 1911; Bernice Elizabeth, born June 1, 1912, and died June 7, 1913; and twins Donna and Doris, horn May 22, 1915; Edith M. is the wife of Asaph R. Jones, a well known Elyria citizen and a member of the present city council (1915). Mr. and Mrs. Jones were married November 9, 1898, and their children are : Ernest Lee, born April 1, 1901: Sumner Richard, born November 6, 1903; Roderic Orlando, born June 4, 1911; and Edith Lucile, horn May 19. 1915. In the genealogical register of the family of Robert Day is found an interesting account of the pioneer services rendered by various members of the family who came to Sheffield, Ohio, in 1816. In order to make this individual record more complete and also for its general historical importance considered with respect to Lorain County, the following is taken without formal quotation from the register already mentioned. In 1794 John Day and Lydia Austin were married in Sheffield. Massachusetts, where they resided for twenty-one years until their removal to their new home in Ohio. Meanwhile ten children had come into the household. How in the world the mother, who at the time of her marriage is described as a frail delicate girl of nineteen summers" could care for so large a family and look after the affairs of the household as they had to be looked after in those days it is difficult for us of this generation to comprehend. The youngest one of her children, Eleanor, thus describes these duties: "In the spring the flax vas to he spun, woven into cloth and whitened for the family supply HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 565 of linen. That is a very short statement of the matter of supply, and conveys to those of the present day no idea of the amount and severity of the labor to be performed, of the many, many weary steps to be taken, the aches to be endured to accomplish all this. Later in the season the same process of spinning and weaving the wool was to be gone through with for their winter clothing; all this cloth had to be made up of course. The modern woman even with the aid of a good sewing machine considers it a great task. a burden she can scarce endure to do the family sewing and her housework too. What would they think if they had to make their cloth as well as our mothers did. Besides there was the butter and cheese to make, a large family to be fed and cared for, washing, ironing, mending, baking, brewing, cleaning and the many other things all housekeepers find to do, went on continually in the old home. the theater of our mother's unceasing industry. * * *" The journey from Massachusetts to Ohio, which can now be made with comfort in sixteen hours, required then twenty-two days of arduous exertion and strenuous self denial. In January, 1815, Capt. John Day joined with Jabez Burrell in the purchase of the tract of land now known as Sheffield, Lorain County, Ohio. After persuading several other persons to share the purchase with them they came to Sheffield in June to explore the township and to select lots for themselves and friends. On the 27th of the following July, Captain Day and his wife and his nine children arrived at their destination in Ohio, after a journey in covered wagons of more than three weeks. As told also in another chapter, the heavy household goods and farming utensils had at Schenectady, New York, been loaded on a small, half-decked schooner of about fifteen tons burden which was sailed up the Mohawk, locked around the obstruction of Little Falls and thence drawn through the rude canal which led into Oneida Lake and thence through the Oswego River to Lake Ontario. At Queenston the schooner was unloaded, put upon cart wheels and drawn past Niagara Falls to Chippewa and there launched. Her cargo followed in like manner and was there reloaded. The schooner then proceeded through the lake and up Black River to the mouth of French Creek, where her cargo of salt and goods was landed on the Big Bottom. A log house was soon built and the slow work of clearing the heavy forest begun. Here in the course of four years two other children were added to the household, making twelve in all. But they were surrounded with other households of proportionate size. Captain Burrell with his eight children arrived a few days later. Henry Root and his wife and six children had preceded them by two or three months, while Captain Smith with his eight children were already on the ground. Deer and hear abounded in the forest and fish were abundant in the river, thus affording ready made a considerable portion of the food which they required. Rut hears were not altogether pleasant neighbors. True to their traditions the Day family in Sheffield immediately set up religious and educational institutions. In the winter of 1816 religious meetings were commenced at the house of Captain Burrell, and in the absence of a clergyman a sermon was read. In the spring of 1817 Alvan Coe preached the first sermon. In the fall of the same year Rev. Alvin Hyde began regular services in Sheffield and adjoining towns, and in 1818 the Congregational Church was formed, William Day being one of the original members. A log schoolhouse was soon built, near where the church now stands, and the first school in it was taught by Preston Pond from Keene, New Hampshire. In June, 1824, the Town of Sheffield was organized by the county commissioners, and John Day chosen as one of the trustees. The interest in religion and education thus shown has continued in all the descendants of this pioneer family. 566 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY At one time or another nearly all of those who were born in Sheffield have pursued their higher education in Oberlin College, and it still remains true that nearly all the members of the family are professors of religion, and with Aunt Eleanor we can point with pride to the fact that the descendants of John Day "have never from their number furnished a criminal, or a drunkard, or a disreputable person of any kind." Not satisfied with knowledge attained in school. May, daughter of James Day, granddaughter of Capt. John Day and niece of Norman Day, became a recognized authority in the botany of Lorain County, so that she was constantly consulted by professors of Oberlin. The herbarium which she presented to the college contains some specimens that had not before been discovered in the county. Lydia, daughter of Norman, became an equal authority in the botany of the Rocky Mountain region. In due time the new hive swarmed; and as pioneers went out from Sheffield to Massachusetts, so again they went out from Sheffield. Ohio, to carry with them their habits of industry, economy and upright life and spread broadcast the leaven so successfully brought from their ancestral home. Kellogg Day was for many years a missionary among the Cherokee Indians. Alfred, a son of John II, after having served three years in the Civil war took up his residence and reared a large family in Mondovi, Wisconsin. Many others went out from Lorain County and made their mark and impress on the citizenship and growth of various localities. The members of the family who served their country in the Civil war were: Hiram A. Disbrow, husband of Marietta ; G. F. Wright, husband of Maria; Alfred, son of John; Henry C. Bacon, husband of Eliza F.; Cyrus Yale Durand, husband of Celia ; and Frederic 0.. son of Frederick ; while Carl Edmund, son of Frederic O.. served in the Cuban war. HANS P. NIELSEN. In the person of Hans P. Nielsen. the City of Lorain has a citizen who has contributed to its upbuilding a conservative and reliable jewelry business, whose abilities have been solicited in the management and direction of a number of other enterprises. and whose talents have been utilized in serving the interests of the city in various positions of trust and importance. When he first came to this country Mr. Nielsen's assets consisted principally of ambition and determination and a thorough knowledge of an honorable and useful trade ; with these as a foundation he has built up a structure of success that entitles him to a place of honor among the substantial men of his adopted city. Mr. Nielsen was born June 1, 1851, in Denmark. and is a son of Jonathan and Christina Nielsen. He received his education in the public schools and his first experience was in the store of his father, who was a jeweler, and under whom he learned the trade, which included that of silversmith, as well as watch repairing. He worked in his native land until 1873, when he emigrated to the United States, first locating at Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained for four years, and then coming to Lorain, where he established himself in business as a watchmaker. His first store was a modest one, with a small line, but his skill. fidelity and courtesy attracted custom to its door, and as business grew he found it necessary to enlarge his quarters. Each year found him adding to his stock and equipment, until he finally built his present store. a three-story structure, 30x100 feet, with the two upper floors devoted to apartments and the main floor occupied by his jewelry business and salesroom. Here he has a full and up-to-date stock of all kinds of watches, jewelry, diamonds and other precious stones, silverware. cut glass. etc., catering to the most representative trade in the city. The abilities that developed this business have not been allowed to remain tied up in it, HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 567 for Mr. Nielsen has found the time and the energy to devote to other matters, of both a business and public character, and at the present time is a director of the Lorain Banking Company and secretary of the Citizens Home Savings Association, having held the latter office for a period of twenty-five years. Always a sincere and helpful friend of education, he is at this time vice president of the Lorain Board of Education and chairman of the new high school building committee. He was formerly a trustee of the Lorain Water Works and for five years was customs officer of the port of Lorain. His public life has been characterized by faithful performance of duty and the accomplishment of many benefits for the city of his adoption. Fraternally, Mr. Nielsen is affiliated with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has many friends. On October 4, 1875, Mr. Nielsen was married to Miss Mikoline Mikkelsen, also a native of Denmark, and to this union there have been born eight children : Christina, who is the wife of Clarence Hitchcock, who is engaged in the insurance business at Lorain ; Jonathan, who learned the jewelry business under his father and is now the proprietor of an establishment at Newcastle, Pennsylvania, and one of the successful business men of that. place; Anna, who is the wife of E. M. Timms, a marine engineer of Lorain ; Gyde, who is the wife of Bert Boyes, a machinist of Lorain ; Harry and Walter, bright and energetic young business men of Lorain, who are associated with their father in the jewelry business ; Mildred, who is single and resides with her parents; and Florence, who is the wife of Frank Schworer, a carpenter of Lorain. Mr. Nielsen and his family are members of the Lutheran Church. ORVILLE ROOT. For more than half a century Orville Root has been an active factor in the life of Lorain County, as a farmer, county official, and banker. His family were among the very old settlers in the vicinity of Sheffield. and the ancestral line of the Roots extends back through nearly three centuries of American history. The original spelling of the name was Roote, and John Roote, a son of John Roote. of Badby, Northamptonshire, England, came to America with a company of Puritans and was one of the first settlers of Farmington, Connecticut, in 1640. From the beginning he was a prominent citizen of the town, and his will indicates that he was a weaver by trade. One of the old records states : "Both John and his wife were in full communion with the Farmington Congregational church." He died in 1684, leaving an estate of $4,095. In 1640 John Roote married Mary, daughter of Thomas Kilbourne. of Wood Ditton, England. With her parents she came to America in the ship Increase in 1635, and died in 1697. The successive generations down to the present citizen of Lorain County may be indicated briefly as follows : 1. John and Mary (Kilbourne) Roote, of Farmington, Connecticut ; 2. Thomas and Mary (Gridley) Roote, of Westfield. Massachusetts; 3. Ensign Joseph and Sarah Root, of Westfield, Massachusetts; 4. Colonel Aaron and Jerusha (Steele) Root, of Sheffield. Massachusetts; 5. Henry and Mary (Day) Root, of Sheffield, Massachusetts and Sheffield, Ohio, this being the generation which established its pioneer home within the limits of Lorain county ; 6. William and Fanny (Day) Root, of Sheffield, Ohio ; 7. Orville and Sarah (Howes) Root, of Sheffield, Ohio. Mr. Orville Root was born at Sheffield, Ohio. in 1837. His father. William Henry Root, was born at Sheffield, Massachusetts, June 11, 1803. and was brought when little more than a child to Northern Ohio. He became a. fanner, had only a common school education, was a member of the Congregational Church, and voted with the whig party until its dissolution and was afterwards a republican. He served as county 568 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY auditor of Lorain County from 1854 until 1860. His wife, Fanny Day Root, was born April 3, 1805, at Sheffield, Massachusetts, and in 1816 with her father and mother, John and Lydia (Austin) Day, came to Sheffield, Ohio. Her ancestor, Robert Day, came from Wales in 1634 on the bark Elizabeth, first settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and afterwards in Hartford, Connecticut. The early life of Orville Root was spent in Lorain County during the '40s and '50s, in which time he completed his education in the Elyria High School. Farming was his regular vocation for many years. and he has gradually acquired other extensive interests, chiefly as a banker, in which capacity his name is well known throughout the county. From 1878 to 1888 he filled the office of auditor of Lorain County. having gone into that office less than twenty years after his father's last service in the same position. He is a republican in his political affiliations. Mrs. Root is a member of the Congregational Church of Lorain, Ohio. On April 3, 1878, at Sheffield, Ohio, he married Sarah Ann Howes, daughter of William E. and Elizabeth Howes, of Elyria, Ohio. but formerly from Northamptonshire, England. Mr. and Mrs. Root have two children, Frances Elizabeth, born at Elyria, October 27, 1880. a graduate of Wells College, and from the Western Reserve Library School. married Mr. Albert K. Hibbard, of Cleveland, Ohio. They have two children : Robert Root Hibbard and William Loomis Hibbard. Harriet Maria Root, born at Elyria August 27. 1885, is a graduate of Wellesley ('ollege. WILLIAM HELDMYER. It is given to few men to impress their enterprise, their resources, more effectually upon a community than was true of the late William Heldmyer of Elyria. His was the familiar story of the poor boy who makes his own opportunities, and who succeeds as a result of hard and persistent toil and intelligent management. For more than thirty years Mr. Heldmyer was one of the foremost merchants of Lorain County, was a. business builder who built up a number of organizations which are still vital factors in the commercial life of the community, and for years exercised a controlling power in the business affairs of this section. A native of Medina County, Ohio, where he was born April 13. 1830, the late William Heldmyer was a son of Jacob and Julia Heldmyer, who in 1848 immigrated from Wuertemberg, Germany, establishing a home in Liverpool Township of Medina County, and in 1.851 going to Ottawa County. Jacob Heldmyer was a harness maker by trade, but during his life in Ohio was chiefly a farmer. He died at Oak Harbor in 1856. Partly owing to the early death of his father, the early lot of William Heldmyer was one of hard circumstance and limited opportunity. He gained the rudiments of an education in the country schools. and as far back as his memory could recall he was employed in some of the duties of farm work. ,Coming to Elyria in 1867, he found employment as a carpenter with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. He was careful, economical, faithful to his obligations, and wisely laid the foundation for his permanent success. In 1880 he became associated with the firm of Wright & Semple, under the name of Heldmyer. Wright & Semple in the hardware business at Elyria. He bought the interests of the other partners in 1883, and from that time until his death nearly thirty years later the hardware business was chief among his interests. In 1890 John Krantz became associated with him, and after that the style of the company was William Heldmyer & Company. In 181)7 the business was incorporated as the Heldmyer Hardware Company, with Mr. Heldmyer as secretary and treasurer of the corporation. He was also a third owner and vice president of the Elyria Hardware Company. HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 569 He also owned stock and was a director in the Lorain Hardware Company and the Krantz Hardware Company, both at Lorain. For many years his activities in the business world covered a large field. He was president of the Elyria Savings & Bank Company and one of its organizers ; assisted in organizing and became president of the Lorain County Building & Loan Association ; was also president of the Andwur Hotel Company. At one time his interest also extended to the lake marine and he was part owner in several vessels. The large Heldmyer Block where his hardware store was conducted in Elyria was erected by Mr. Heldmyer and in 1897 he organized the Elyria Building Company and constructed the Elyria Block. The burning of this central feature of the business section in 1909 caused him heavy losses and the many worries connected with the rebuilding of the new Elyria Block, which was completed in 1910 did much to undermine his health. Soon after its organization Mr. Heldmyer became a director in the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, and was also a member at one time of the city council. The immediate cause of Mr. Heldmyer's death was a fall from the fourth floor fire escape in the rear of the Elyria Building, and he was killed almost instantly. This sad loss to the business and civic community occurred July 2, 1912. In his will Mr. Heldmyer named his daughter Mrs. Hannaford as trustee of his entire estate, and for those large responsibilities she is eminently fitted, being one of the most capable business executives in Lorain County. In 1874 Mr. Heldmyer married Mary Beese. who was born at Elyria and died July 19, 1908, at the age of fifty-two. The children born to their marriage were : Florence J., Leona M., Alice C. and Harry M. The oldest daughter, Florence, had married Albert M. Hannaford just two weeks before her father's sudden death. She was married June 15, 1912, and she now has a son, John Roy Hannaford II, born June 16, 1913, and named for his grandfather Hannaford. Mrs. Hannaford has assumed active control of all the business and property interests of her father, succeeded to his place on the board of directors of the Elyria Savings & Banking Company, and is now the only woman in the State of Ohio to hold such a position. The daughter.. Leona M., married James Garnett Tyler, and they now live in Los Angeles, California. Alice C. is the wife of Willard M. Taylor of Elyria. The son, Harry, also resides at Elyria. HON. GEORGE G. WASHBURN. A rare character both in its public service and in its varied influences upon the men and institutions of Elyria and of Lorain County was that of the late George G. Washburn, for many years distinguished in this part of Ohio as a journalist and editor, as a business man, and as one of the founders and for a number of years one of the board of managers of the reformatory at Mansfield. His active career covered .a most vital period in the history of Lorain County and Ohio, beginning in the '40s and continuing until his death at his home in Elyria on June 8, 1898. Though he was largely self-educated and depended upon his own efforts for self-advancement, he came of family and antecedents of such character, that much might be predicted of his life at its beginning. He was born November 24, 1821, at Orange, Grafton County, New Hampshire, a son of Azel Washburn, who was born at Lyme, New Hampshire, and is descended from an English family that settled near Boston very early in the history of that colony. Mr. Washburn's mother was Elizabeth N. Danforth. She was born at Londonderry, New Hampshire, and was closely related to the noted family of Greggs, members of which founded the Town of Londonderry. The Greggs are distinguished as having been the first to manufacture flax spinning wheels in America. 570 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY For a number of generations at least one male member of the Greggs family was taught the art of manufacturing that implement, and it is said that the last wheels of that kind were made in Elyria about 1838 by Col. William Greggs, now deceased. As a boy both in New Hampshire and after the family came to Ohio George G. Washburn had many limitations interposed by circumstance between him and his ambitions for learning and attainment. There were no regular schools, and only for brief periods did his parents secure the services of a private instructor in their household for the training of their three sons. In 1832 the family removed from New Hampshire to Ohio, locating in Perry, now Lake County. For three years the sons attended the pioneer schools in that community. In 1835 the family came to Camden in Lorain County. This was then a wilderness country and the hard work involved in clearing up a new farm left little opportunity for growing boys to attend school. In that locality George G. Washburn spent seven years, and during the latter part of that period taught school during the winters. In 1842 he removed to Brandenburg, Kentucky, where he conducted a private school, but soon returned to Ohio and for three years alternated between teaching in the winter months and in studying at Oberlin during the summer. In the spring of 1846 he removed to Elyria, where he became an articled student of law in the office of Hon. Philemon Bliss. Two years later he was admitted to the bar, and for a similar period practiced in partnership with Hon. Sylvester Bagg. It was not in the law but in journalism that Mr. Washburn exercised his greatest influence in the life and affairs of Lorain County. His first introduction to that career came in 1850 when he was persuaded to edit the Elyria Courier. Most local newspapers of that time were organs of a political party, and the Courier was the mouthpiece for the whig party in Lorain County. In 1852, during the last presidential campaign in which the whig party was an entity, the office was destroyed by fire without insurance, and the entire investment was a total loss. However, Mr. Washburn had become thoroughly committed to journalism, had proved his ability as a trenchant and forceful writer, and the destruction of the plant proved no permanent bar to his continuance in the profession. He borrowed money enough to purchase a new outfit, gave up the practice of law, and was soon devoting all his time and energies to journalism. He was as successful in business management as he was as an editor. At that time it was hardly expected that a political organ would prove self-sustaining, and in fact such a newspaper proved usually a heavy tax upon the party. In a short time Mr. Washburn had brought his journal to independence financially, and in 1854 he merged it with the Independent Democrat. A number of years later he effected another consolidation, merging his enterprise with the Elyria. Republican, and for a long term of years Mr. Washburn was the editor and proprietor of this old and influential Lorain County paper. Outside of journalism his services extended in many other directions. At the beginning of the war in 1361 Governor Dennison appointed him secretary of the County Military Committee, and he was a member of that body until the close of the war, spending much time in visiting camps and battlefields in the interests of the soldiers of Lorain County. Although he was for many years active in the field of political warfare, he never sought any political honors for himself, and such offices as he did hold were accepted entirely from a desire to perform particular service. For a number of years he advocated a state institution as a reformatory for young men, and in order to carry out his plans effectively became a candidate for the Legislature, and served four years in that body. While in the Legislature he was author of the bill HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 571 which passed and provided for the establishment of the reformatory at Mansfield. It should be explained in passing that the reformatory at Mansfield has a somewhat distinctive character, and the ideal was present in the mind of Mr. Washburn when he planned and worked for the establishment of the institution. It could not be described as the usual type of reform school for boys, since the Mansfield Reformatory takes young men between the ages of seventeen and thirty, after weaknesses and bad habits have hardened in many cases into permanent lines of criminality. However, they are not irredeemable criminals, and the purpose of the reformatory, is not penal so much as corrective and educative and has done much to replace old lives and methods of action with new. Mr. Washburn's work in behalf of the institution was followed by his appointment by Governor James G. Campbell on April 27, 1890, as a member of the board of managers for the reformatory, and he was reappointed April 27, 1895, by Governor William McKinley. During the last eleven years of his life the welfare of the Mansfield institution was the matter closest to his heart, and of all his services he perhaps found that the most satisfying. In 1844 Mr. Washburn married Miss Lu.ana M. Hill. She died in 1855, two daughters. Celia Georgiana is now the wife of Henry Lee 'Lathrop of San Antonio, Texas. She has two children : Walter Washburn Lathrop, now a resident of Tacoma, Washington ; and Alice Washburn Lathrop of San Antonio. The second daughter, Alice Mary, who married John M. Vincent of Fort Worth, Texas, died at Elyria August 12, 1888, leaving two daughters: Stella Louise, now living at Cannel. California; Alice Vincent, who married Harry Court Cole- man, of Dalhart, exas. In October, 1856, Mr. Washburn married at Buffalo, New York, Mrs. Sarah N. Oatman of that city. Mrs. Washburn is still living at the old residence on Washington Avenue which was built by Mr. Washburn forty-four years ago, and is one of the residential landmarks of many associations in the City of Elyria. In 1858 Mr. Washburn became a stockholder in the Lorain Bank of Elyria, a branch of the old State Bank. This subsequently became the First National Bank. In addition to his service in the Legislature he was also a member of the city council and for six years was president of the school board. However, outside of his valuable work in behalf of the State Reformatory at Mansfield, he deserves to be best remembered for his strong influence and success as an editor and newspaper manager. LEONARD M. MOORE. The development of an industry in a community is no less than an epitome of the growth and development of the community itself, for a municipality is composed of but an aggregation of industries about which gather a large army of men with their families who are in some way connected with the conduct of these business enterprises. The City of Lorain, with its numerous industries and far-reaching commerce, owes its growth and prosperity to its position as a manufacturing center and to its location as a distributing point. In this connection a contributing factor to this development has been the Lorain Lumber and Manufacturing Company, in operation for forty-four years, for much of the success of which credit must be given to its secretary and treasurer, Leonard Miller Moore, whose more than ordinary enterprise and sagacity have given him a leading position among the business men of Lorain. Mr. Moore is a native son of Lorain County, born on a farm, February 20. 1869. his parents being Leonard W. and Amanda (Miller) Moore. His father, who is deceased, was a farmer. He was one of the prominent men of his locality, serving as township trustee for many Vol. II-2 572 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY years, and after his removal to Lorain served as a member of the council for some time. Leonard Miller Moore was educated in the public schools, and when but a lad secured a position as office boy with the Lorain Lumber and Manufacturing Company. Later he was to become prominently identified with that business, but at that time he thought he saw better opportunities offered him elsewhere, and after a short time entered the office of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, in the capacity of bookkeeper. One year completed his experience in the field of journalism, he then going to Erie, Pennsylvania, which city he made his home for four years while he was gaining his training in planing mills and lumber yards and securing a knowledge of the business while employed as a bookkeeper. In 1893 Mr. Moore returned to Lorain to accept the positions of secretary and treasurer of the Lorain Lumber and Manufacturing Company, the concern with which he had been connected at the outset of his career. This company was organized in 1881, being the outgrowth of the business operated under the style of Brown Brothers & Company, and which had been established in 1872. There are now fifty people employed in the lumber yards and planing mills, the plant covering five acres of land, and the present officers are : Isaac Honecker. president ; Charles F. Friend, vice president ; and Leonard M. Moore, secretary and treasurer. Wise in counsel, prudent in action.. energetic in the discharge of his duties, and at all times displaying the highest order of integrity, Mr. Moore has won and retained the entire confidence and respect of his associates, and in business circles has an excellent reputation for ability and fidelity. In addition to the duties mentioned. he is serving as vice president of the Lorain Banking Company. For several years he served as a member of the council of Lorain, and during that time displayed an eagerness to further his city's interests that was commendable. At the fall election -held in 1915 he was elected mayor of Lorain, taking the office January 1, 1916. The term of this office is two years. His fraternal connections are with the Masons, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree. His political views are those of the republican party and his religious affiliation with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a trustee. Mr. Moore was married March 15, 1895, to Miss Carrie Friend, daughter of Charles F. Friend, of Lorain, vice president of the Lorain. Lumber and Manufacturing Company. Three children have been horn to this union : Helen, Ruth A. and Eleanor A. JUDGE WASHINGTON W. BOYNTON. For a period longer than the average lifetime Judge Boynton has been a member of the Ohio bar. To the present generation his distinguished services are sufficiently familiar. To those who read these pages in the future it will suffice to indicate his prominence by saying that for years he stood second to none as a member of the Cleveland bar, and that for five years he read his clear, logical and forceful opinions into the decisions of the Ohio Supreme Court. Lorain County will always regard him as one of its foremost citizens and one of its most distinguished native sons. Born in Russia Township, Lorain County, January 27, 1833. Washington Wallace Boynton is the son of General Lewis D. and Ruth (Wellman) Boynton, both of whom were born and spent many years of their early lives in Belgrade, Maine, but in 1826 they removed to Ohio and established themselves as pioneers in Lorain County. Judge Boynton is directly descended from Sir Matthew Boynton, who was created a baronet May 25, 1618, and was a member of the English parliament during the reign of Charles I. His sympathies became enlisted on the side of the republican cause during the civil wars of England. His HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 573 second son, named Matthew, married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Stapleton, and about 1632 emigrated to America and became identified with the New England Colony of Boyntons. Gen. Lewis D. Boynton was born in Maine August 5, 1802, and his wife was born February 22, 1806. On coming to Lorain County General Boynton acquired a large tract of wild land in Russia Township. It is said that much of the land now included in that township was cleared under his superintendence and by men employed directly by him. He was a leader in thought and action in the early days, and at one time served as brigadier general of the State Militia. For the most part his years were spent in farming, and he died in September, 1871. His wife passed away on the old homestead in Russia Township January 27, 1840. Judge Boynton is a product of pioneer circumstances of the old fashioned common schools and into his character were instilled much of the fine spirit that went with the building of homes and the clearing up of the wilderness district. While the hard work of a farm was his portion as a boy he was naturally studious, and he brought a superior judgment to every task. He attended the common schools and select schools, but gained much of his liberal education by dint of hard work with no stimulus save his own ambition. When he was only a boy the people of the community frequently remarked that "he was cut out for a lawyer." At the age of sixteen he taught his first term in a district school. From 1855 to 1857 he conducted a select school in Amherst Township. From 1857 to 1864 he served as county examiner of school teachers. In the meantime he had been industriously reading law. His director in those studies was his uncle, Elbridge Gerry Boynton, then a leading lawyer at Elyria. It was in 1856, fifty-nine years ago, that Judge Boynton was admitted to the Ohio bar. However, his work as an educator continued for a year or so longer, and he did not begin active practice until 1858. His first partner was L. A. Sheldon, and they were together in practice at Elyria until 1861, when General Sheldon went out as lieutenant colonel of the Forty-second Ohio Regiment and subsequently gained distinction in the Union army. Judge Boynton was soon marked for official honor. He served as prosecuting attorney of Lorain County from 1859 to 1864, and in the meantime formed a partnership with John C. Hale. Owing to ill health Judge Boynton gave up his practice for one winter and lived in Minneapolis during that time, until he had sufficiently recuperated to resume his work in Lorain County. His next partnership was with Laertes B. Smith, and their relationship continued for several years. It was interrupted when Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, afterwards President, appointed Mr. Boynton judge of the Common Pleas Court for the second subdivision for the Fourth Judicial District. His appointment came February 9, 1869, and he retired from the firm of Boynton & Smith and held his position on the Common Pleas Bench from 1869 to 1877. His district comprised the counties of Lorain, Medina and Summit. It was his splendid work as a common pleas judge that brought his qualifications to wider renown when on February 9, 1877, he took his seat on the Supreme Bench of Ohio. He had been elected to that office in October, 1876. For nearly five years he was one of the able members of that tribunal, and every well read lawyer in the state is familiar with some of his clear, crisp opinions delivered from that bench. It was ill health that compelled Judge Boynton to retire from the Supreme Court in November, 1883, and small compensation for his work, and he soon afterwards located in the City of Cleveland. There he at once took rank with the ablest attorneys of a bar second to none 574 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY in the county. His law business soon taxed all his powers and he called to his aid his former associate, Judge John C. Hale, who resigned from the Common Pleas Bench to accept a partnership in Cleveland. The law firm of Boynton & Hale had few peers during its existence at Cleveland. In 1888 Norton T. Horr was admitted to the firm, which then became Boynton, Hale & Horr. In 1892 Judge Hale retired to accept a place as judge of the Circuit Court. The firm of Boynton & Horr handled the extensive business of the firm until January 1, 1897. Since then Judge Boynton has given his services as a special counsel and trial attorney in a number of the most important law cases settled before the Ohio and Federal courts. However, he no longer considers himself an active lawyer and he may be well satisfied to enjoy that "otium cum cignitate'' which the old Romans regarded as one of the best ends of a useful life. Judge Boynton, in spite of his many years of public service, has been essentially a lawyer. But he has been even more, a great and a good man. He has exercised splendid power as a speaker and pleader, and knows not only the law but also the sciences and general literature. At all times and under all circumstances he has been an honest and fearless advocate of the right. His general reading has been very extensive, and his knowledge of the affairs of the world and of the human heart has enabled him to meet with calm efficiency all the exigencies of a long career. From the time it was founded Judge Boynton has been a loyal supporter of the republican party. During 1865-67 he represented Lorain County in the State Legslature. While in that body he offered the resolution providing for the elimination of the word "white" from the franchise qualification of the state constitution. This resolution was defeated in the House on the first vote, but a similar resolution was subsequently passed by the Senate. The similar resolution was adopted after a- bitter contest by the Lower House, and was presented to the people for final action in the ensuing state election. It was on this issue essentially that the democratic party in Ohio was victorious over the republicans by more than 40,000 majority, and incidentally Allen G. Thurman went to the United States Senate from Ohio. Of Judge Boynton's services as a local historian it is hardly necessary to speak here, since his direct and indirect contribution to this field have been acknowledged on other pages of this publication. In the publications of the Western Reserve Historical Society Tract No. 83 contains the historical address prepared and delivered by Judge Boynton on July 4, 1876, the American centennial anniversary. Much of his address pertains to local history in Lorain County. Judge Boynton has for over forty years been a director in the Savings Deposit Bank of Elyria and for five years served as vice president. He is well known all over the state, was for years a familiar figure in the City of Cleveland, and is still a member of the Union Club of that city. He was married December 20, 1859, at Ridgeville, Ohio, to Miss Betsey A. Terrell. She was born at North Ridgeville, Lorain County, a daughter of Ichabod and Sally Terrell. At the birthplace and home of Mrs. Boynton Judge Boynton some years ago erected an attractive country home, and he lived there until 1906, when he removed to Elyria and he and his good wife have since occupied their home on Washington Avenue in that city. REV. BENJAMIN TOMPSETT NOAKES, D. D. A thoroughly trained and capable English lawyer, practicing both in England and in America, the late Doctor Noakes was chiefly distinguished and is remembered in Lorain County for his prominence as a religious leader and as former HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 575 pastor of St. Andrew 's parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Elyria, His daughter, Mrs, Henry J. Eady, is still living at Elyria. A son of William and Mary Noakes, Benjamin Tompsett Noakes was born at Ticehurst, Sussex, England, March 25, 1828, After leaving school at the age of fifteen he was articled to Thomas Baker, Esq,, in the City of London for the study of law, He received a certificate as an attorney in the courts of Queens Bench, Common Pleas and Exchequer, January 24, 1849, and on January 30, 1849, was made solicitor in the High Court of Chancery. He began the practice of law at Aylesbury in the County of Bucks, England, but in the early part of 1850 came to the United States and located in Rochester, New York, After getting established in Rochester he returned to England and in St, Peter's Church, Walworth, London, on September 28, 1850, married Miss Sarah Piper, They returned to the United States and lived at Rochester until 1855, From childhood Doctor Noakes had been under the influence of strong religious convictions, He was a man who combined practicality and enthusiasm in everything he did. While at Rochester he helped to organize the first Young Men's Christian Association in America, became one of its charter members, and was thus a pioneer in the movement which has now spread to almost every city and town in the United States. On account of his religious convictions he finally gave up the practice of law altogether and entered the Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Gambier, Ohio. He was ordained at Massillon, Ohio, by Bishop McIlvaine, April 25, 1857; In the same year he was called to his first pastorate at Elyria, becoming rector of what is now St. Andrew 's Parish. Several years later in May, 1860, he was called to the Church of the Covenant at Philadelphia, but in 1870 again returned to St. Andrew's at Elyria, During his second pastorate he was largely instrumental in causing to be erected the stone church now occupied by St, Andrew's Parish, In 1876 Doctor Noakes was called to a church in Cleveland, in which city he had his home until his death, which occurred on All Saints Day, November 1, 1904. His remains are interred in Lake View Cemetery at Cleveland, Mrs. Noakes still lives in Cleveland. There were eight children born to their union, seven daughters and one son, and the four now living are: Mrs. T, L, Berry of Baltimore, Maryland ; Mrs. J. S. Van Eps of Cleveland ; Miss Grace Noakes of Cleveland ; and Mrs, Henry J, Eady of Elyria. HENRY J, EADY, For more than half a century Mr. Eady has been a resident of Elyria, Though now retired from active business, he still manifests a keen and intelligent interest in all that affects the welfare of his home city and county, and is widely and favorably known as a man of progress and public spirit, There is much that is stimulating and instructive in such a career as that of Henry J, Eady, who came to the United States without fame or fortune and through his own efforts lifted himself to the plane of prosperity and influence, A native of England, born at Cottesbrooke, Northamptonshire, April 28, 1846, he comes of an old and substantial family of that country. His parents were Thomas and Susan (Holt) Eady, His grandfather, Samuel Eady, kept an inn at Brixworth during that interesting period before the construction of railways and when the stage coaches rolled along the highways over England. In his native environment Henry J, Eady spent the first eighteen years of his life, and secured such education as the schools of his native county could bestow, In 1864 he set out for the United States, and his home has been in Elyria since the third day of December in that year, 576 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY The Civil war was almost at its close, and he began life in this country at the rising tide of industry and prosperity which started about that time. His first employment was in farm work, subsequently he was in the factory of Topliff, Sampsell & Ely, but in 1868 began his real career as clerk in the drug store of W. H. Park. As a young man he was ever alert for opportunity, was a hard and faithful worker, and in a few years was able to realize his ambition of becoming an independent business man. In 1873 he opened a drug store on Cheapside, and in that locality he made. his business a landmark and the central point for a large and flourishing business. It is said that for thirty-two years, from 1873 to 1905, Mr. Eady's store was never closed for a full day and there was no time when it was not under his direct supervision. A merchant who steadily pursues such a policy of industry and fair dealing as Mr. Eady necessarily prospers, and his prosperity has taken form in the construction of several prominent building improvements in Elyria. In 1885 he built a large three-story brick business block on the site of his first drug store at 106 Cheapside, and in 1892 put up a handsome brick block at 122 Cheapside, the latter being a combination store and apartment building and bearing the name Northampton, by which name he honored his native shire in England. Mr. Eady retired and sold his drug business in 1905, and has since been looking after his private investments. In the past half century no citizen has manifested a finer public spirit and a more wholesome influence for the upbuildimg and improvement of Elyria. Especially in later years, when he was able to relax somewhat his close attention to business, he has given much service to the public in official positions. From 1899 to 1903 he was a member of the Elyria city council, and in January, 1908, became president of the board of public service and continued in that office two years. He is a life member of The Elyria Memorial Hospital Company, an institution which is one of the finest of its kind in Ohio, and has been a member of its board of managers since its organization. For many years he has been identified with the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, has beer prominent in fraternal circles, is a republican in politics, and for years has filled the office of warden in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Fra- ternally his relations are with the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Honor, and in the latter organization he was for more than a quarter of a century its treasurer. On February 16. 1876, about eleven years after he came to Elyria, and when he was already known as a rising young man, Mr. Eady married Miss Charlotte Ellen Noakes. Mrs. Eady is a daughter of Rev. B. T. Noakes, well remembered as an Episcopal clergyman of Elyria and of whom separate mention is made in this work. Mr. Eady lives in a modern residence on Sixth Street, which he built in 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Eady have lived over fifty-one years in almost one locality in Elyria. Mr. Eady has crossed the Atlantic thirteen times. He returned the last time in November, 1914, leaving London Thanksgiving Day, 1914. He was in London when the present war broke out. SAMUEL DAVIDSON. The distinction of having been the most prosperous farmer of Lorain County might be properly claimed by Samuel Davidson of Camden Township. Something more than forty years ago, after a varied experience in some of the remote colonies of England. he came to Lorain County and started business as a farmer with a capital of $3,000. Since then his enterprise has rapidly grown and expanded, and he probably has as large a landed estate as any other farmer in Lorain County. For a great many years he carried on general farming HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 577 and dairying in connection with the raising of hogs, cattle and other live stock. His home farm lies about five miles southwest of Oberlin, and the house and other buildings and grounds constitute one of the most beautiful estates in the county. Mr. Davidson has erected most of the buildings on his land, including a large barn, and a comfortable and commodious frame house. Samuel Davidson was born in County Down, Ireland, February 1, 1845. a son of John and Mary Ann (Brown) Davidson. His grandfather was Andrew Davidson, who spent his life as a farmer in the old country. The maternal grandfather was Robert Brown, who for twenty-one years was a regular soldier in the British army and who died in 1849. John Davidson. father of Samuel, was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1819 and died in July, 1895. His wife was born at Drogheda, Ireland, in 1823 and died in 1899. They were married in Ireland and some years later in 1869 came to Lorain County, where they bought a farm and spent the rest of their days. About a year after John Davidson had come to this country he was followed by his family in 1870. There were nine children, six daughters and three sons, and those now living are: Samuel Davidson ; Andrew, who lives in Missouri; Eliza, whose home is in New Zealand ; Emily, Jennie and Mattie, all of whom reside in Toledo; Joseph. who is a resident of Los Angeles, California; and Alice, also a resident of Toledo. The parents were active members of the Presbyterian Church. John Davidson learned the blacksmith's trade in Ireland, but after coining to Lorain County followed farming. He affiliated with the democratic party. Samuel Davidson received his early education in Irish schools. When about seventeen years of age he left Ireland on February 19, 1862, and went to Melbourne, Australia, and a year later to New Zealand, where he lived for about nine years. In those uttermost parts of the earth he followed gold mining chiefly, and acquired a modest capital which served as the foundation of his prosperity and enterprise after he came to Camden Township of Lorain County in 1872. Here his first purchase was ninety-five acres of partly cleared land. He set himself steadily to work to clear up the balance and improve it and he soon started a small dairy farm. Many of his friends say that everything Samuel Davidson undertakes turns out successfully and it is a fact that from the nucleus of land which he first acquired he has extended his investments until he now owns about 760 acres, all cultivated and managed directly by him. On June 21, 1875, Mr. Davidson married Margaret Stranaghan, a daughter of Andrew and Agnes (Cantley) Stranaghan, both of whom were born in County Down, Ireland, and died in the old country. Mrs. Davidson came to this country with a young woman friend, stopped at Pittsburgh a time, but came to Camden Township in 1875. To their marriage have been born seven children : Agnes, wife of Otto Huene, a Lorain County farmer; William D., who lives on one of his father's farms: Andrew S., who assists his father in the farm management ; Anna Eliza. wife of Lloyd Hudson, a Camden Township farmer ; Emma G.. wife of Willard A. Brumby of Camden Township ; John F. of Camden Township ; and Robert J.. a farmer of the same township. Mrs. Davidson was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Davidson while independent in political affiliation has been a very active citizen, and served Camden Township as trustee for three years and was a member of the school board for twelve years. PATRICK HENRY BOYNTON. Many of the distinctions and services associated with the name Boynton in Lorain County were the product of the career of the late Patrick Henry Boynton, who as a member of 578 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY the Elyria bar for over forty years was one of the most accomplished and successful attorneys of the county. He continued active in his profession to the last day of his life, and died suddenly while reading in his library on April 28, 1911. The Boynton family came from the State of Maine and established its home in the wilderness of Russia Township, Lorain County, as early as 1826. Patrick Henry Boynton was born in Russia Township, August 10, 1848, a son of John H. and Hulda (Heath) Boynton. His father, John Hancock Boynton, was long a familiar figure in business affairs of Elyria and died in that city in July, 1899. It was in the City of Elyria that Patrick H. Boynton spent nearly all his life, since when he was a child his parents established their home there. As a boy he attended the public schools, was also a student in Oberlin College and gained part of his legal education in the University of Michigan. For some time he read law in the office of John C. Hale, and in 1869 stood the test of examination and was admitted to the bar. From that time forward until his death he enjoyed a large and growing practice. He possessed a broad and thorough knowledge of the law, and had more than a local reputation for accuracy and painstaking industry. He was frequently called one of the best read lawyers in this part of Ohio. He was devoted to his profession but his mind ranged among many other fields and interests, and probably to a degree equal to any of his contemporaries he was truly cultured both in mind and character. He had a broad knowledge of general literature, and the occupation of the last hours of his life was reading. His life should also be remembered for his public services. In 1888 he was elected mayor of Elyria, and was three times re-elected, and gave the city an administration notable for its efficiency and vigor. On retir- ing from the office of mayor he was made a waterworks trustee, became president of the board of trustees, and worked in that capacity until the waterworks system was placed under the control of the board of public service in 1903. Up to his death he served as referee in bankruptcy in the United States Court in Lorain County. He was active in Masonry, a member of King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, and his funeral was conducted under the auspices of the order. An excellent estimate of what he was and what he stood for is contained in an editorial which appeared in the Elyria Democrat at the time of his death : "The death of P. H. Boynton takes from the activities of this city's life a man who has stood high in everybody's estimation for many years. While he was a conservative man in many ways undemonstrative, yet he won the respect of all who knew him by his innate sense of fairness and honesty. His ability in his profession was acknowledged and he was referee in many a legal tangle. He was deliberate in his opinions and stood uncompromisingly by his judgment. As a man who took delight in the fine and noble things in literature he set a high standard for the community, and to his friends he was a constant source of inspiration to the acquirement of those things which bring happiness and content in this busy world." On December 30, 1875, Mr. Boynton married Miss Mary Townshend. Mrs. Boynton died at Elyria, March 7, 1915, and there are three sons and an adopted daughter who survive. A. J. Boynton of Elyria : H. Percy Boynton, of Cleveland; Sidney H., of Elyria ; and Olga. now a student in Oberlin College. Mrs. Boynton was born in Elyria, December 21, 1849, a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Norton S. Townshend. The father was prominent in the affairs of the state, at various times was a member of the Legislature. was also a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1851-52. and filled a position in the faculty of the Ohio State University. He served during the Civil war as a medical inspector, and was professor of HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 579 agriculture and was a pioneer in this field of technical education. Mrs. Boynton for many years stood for the highest things in the cultural activities of Elyria. She attended the public schools of Elyria as a girl, continued her education in the Lake Erie Seminary at Painesville, and it is said that her ambition to continue her education in the State University led that institution to adopt plans for coeducation. For the last several years of her life Mrs. Boynton suffered bereavement and much personal illness through which she set an example of rare Christian fortitude and bravery. She was always devoted to her home, and made it not only a place of material comfort but gave it the atmosphere most stimulating to real culture. Through all her years she continued to store her mind with the results of the best thought and information and was accomplished and learned in a number of different fields. She was a charter member of the Fortnightly Club, the oldest woman's club in Ohio and the first purely literary club in the state. She belonged to that club until her death and several times filled the chair of president. She was also one of the directors of the Lorain County Historical Society and filled a similar position with the Young Women's Christian Association, was a member of the Kozy Klub, and for many years attended and subsequently became an active member of the First Congregational Church. At the time of her death she was serving as corresponding secretary of the Historical Society, and had been identified with the Young Women's Christian Association from its inception. ARTHUR L. GARFORD. In that big world of people outside of Lorain County the name Garford during the last twenty years has had many familiar associations with a very high grade of manufactured products and business service. During the decade of the '90s when nearly everybody in the United States were riding bicycles, something like two or three million people knew the name because it was associated with the most popular and best saddle used on that popular vehicle. In later years the name has had a growing significance not only in the higher circles of manufacturing and general commerce but also in politics. The State of Ohio has no more capable personality in giving vitality to the modern ideals of social democracy and the progressive political movement than Arthur L. Garford of Elyria. His influential relations with business affairs are well illustrated by a brief list of the large concerns with which he is officially identified. He is president of The Garford Manufacturing Company, president of The Cleveland Automatic Machine Company of Cleveland. president of the Republican Printing Company of Elyria, president of The Worthington Company of Elyria, treasurer of The Garford Engineering Company, chairman of the executive committee of The Elyria Lace Manufacturing Company, a director of The Savings Deposit Bank & Trust Company of Elyria, and a director of The Perry-Fay Manufacturing Company of Elyria. From the limits of Lorain County, in which he was born and which has been his home throughout his life, the influence of his work and varied activities have spread far and wide. The farm on which he was born August 4, 1858, is now included within the city limits of Elyria. Arthur Lovett Garford is a son of Georgia and Hannah (Lovett) Garford, the former a native of. Northamptonshire and the latter of Leicestershire, England. The paternal grandfather, William Garford, was for many years custodian and manager of a large English estate, upon which his ancestors had lived for generations. The maternal grandfather, Edward Lovett, was a silk and lace manufacturer in England, one of his sons was manager of the large factory and another son served many years in the British navy. George Garford, who was born in 1829, and was married in 1830 to Miss Hannah Lovett, in 1852 came to the United. States and to -Elyria. 580 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY In 1853 he sent for his young wife and their first child. The parents resided in Lorain County for more than sixty years and until the time of their death. George Garford was a famed landscape gardener when he came to Lorain County, but subsequently gained a national reputation as a breeder and raiser of 10e stock, exhibiting his sheep and cattle at state and county fairs throughout the Central West, and from 1863 until 1882 was proprietor of the Elywood Stock Farm in Elyria, Lorain County. Arthur L. Garford grew up on his father's farm, and in 1875 graduated from the Elyria High School. Two years later, at the age of nineteen, he became cashier in the china importing house of Rice & Burnett at Cleveland, the following year was promoted to head bookkeeper, but in 1880 resigned to accept a position as bookkeeper in the Savings Deposit Bank of Elyria. He was promoted to teller in 1882 and in 1884 to assistant cashier, and in 1891 to cashier, from which office he resigned in 1892, having in the meantime organized the Garford Manufacturing Company. Several years ago a special correspondent of the Cleveland Leader wrote an interesting article whose language will be used to describe Mr. Garford's entrance into the manufacturing field: "The sedentary life told on him, however, and to get fresh air and exercise he took to the bicycle. High wheels were then the rage, and Mr. Garford had several falls, some of them rather serious. He wondered if something could not be done to prevent falling from the bicycle. He studied the matter, and the invention of the famous Garford bicycle saddle was the result. He patented the invention and offered to sell the patent to a Chicago manufacturer for a hundred dollars. The tender was refused and Mr. Garford made a contract with an Elyria factory for a large number of saddles. Before these could be marketed the low or safety wheels supplanted the high wheels in public favor. He had several thousand saddles on his hands and failure seemed to be staring him in the face. He didn't lose courage,. but devised a plan by which his saddles could be remodeled for the low wheel. For three years the sales continued to increase, and then occurred the burning of the factory in which the saddles were made, destroying the entire stock. The success of his invention had been assured, however. and in 1892 Mr. Garford built a mill of his own for the manufacture of the saddles. The Garford saddle became the most popular in the country, and the inventor's concern, as it developed, picked up rival companies, until it controlled the bicycle-saddle industry of the United States. A million saddles a year were made. The companies were consolidated, and Mr. Garford formed the American Saddle Company, a great success. The saddle company was in turn absorbed by the American Bicycle Company. of which Mr. Garford became treasurer. He subsequently withdrew from the concern and organized the Automobile & Cycle Parts Company. whose title was later changed to the Federal Manufacturing Company, which had nine mills, located in Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and other cities. The controlling interest was owned by the Pope Manufacturing Company, successor to the American Bicycle Company. Mr. Garford resigned as president of The Federal Manufacturing Company and purchased its automobile-parts plant in Cleveland and Elyria. forming the Garford Company in 1905. The Federal Company was organized in 1901 and was capitalized for five million dollars. In 1907 Mr. Garford built the large automobile factory in Elyria and the same is operated under the title of The Garford Company. The great Studebaker Company. manufacturers of vehicles, became interested. but Mr. Garford retained control of the concern of which he is the executive head. and the plant constitutes one of the largest auto- HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 581 mobile factories in the land. In 1902 Mr. Garford went to France and reorganized, with a commission for the owners, The Cleveland Machine Screw Company, under the name of The Cleveland Automatic Machine Company. This corporation has an extensive plant in Cleveland and controls a large business throughout the United States and the European continent and England." In 1903 Mr. Garford organized The Columbia Steel Works of Elyria, where he built its fine plant, and also built the plant of The Worthington Company, of which he is president. In 1895 he organized the Fay Manufacturing Company, of which he became president, this being succeeded by The Worthington Manufacturing Company, and in 1905 he was a prime factor in organizing The Perry-Fay Manufacturing Company, of which he is still a director. He owns the controlling interest in The Cleveland Automatic Machine Company, a $1,000,000. corporation. He secured the controlling interest in The Republican Printing Company of Elyria in 1898, this company publishing The Elyria Evening Telegram, one of the leading dailies of Northern Ohio. In 1907 Mr. Gar-ford assisted in organizing The American Lace Manufacturing Company of Elyria. If is apparent that he has not only the technical genius which underlies all successful manufacturing, but also has developed to a high degree the executive and organizing faculty, and has never touched an enterprise without making a success of it. Of his character as a business man the article from which quotation has already been made speaks as follows: "Mr. Garford is of the best type of the successful business man. He finds time not only to build up his material fortunes but also to build up his city and to do his duty as a citizen. The story of his career is an object lesson for ambitious, courageous young men. It shows what may be accomplished by the man of energy in a comparatively few years by means of push and vigor and without deserting the hearthstone about which he played as a boy. The home in which he was horn is within the city limits of Elyria. In his early youth his parents removed to a farm, now also a part of Elyria. It was on this farm that young Garford was reared. The frame house in which he lived when first married stands upon it today, and on the same farm is the commodious and artistic modern stone residence which is now his home. Mr. Garford believes the secret of accomplishment is the economy of time and energy. He always finds time to do what he has in mind. He methodically divides his time, and thus manages to give necessary attention not only to his varied business enterprises but also to politics. to church and to various interests of the community. Mr. Garford is a long-distance thinker. He has a creative mind. When he looks into a. proposition he analyzes it thoroughly and draws a logical deduction of what there is in the future for it. When he makes up his mind to go ahead with a venture, be it business or political, he puts common sense and industry behind it." Taking up his varied interests outside of manufacturing, Mr. Gar-ford assisted in organizing and was the first president of The Elyria Chamber of Commerce, and also was the organizer of the old Elyria Board of Commerce and at one time was its president. He is now chairman of the hoard of trustees of the public library of Elyria, and is president of the Elyria Y. M. C. A. and a member of the board of trustees of the Y. W. C. A. He is a member of the National Civic Federation, a member of the Ohio Society of New York, member of the Engineers Society of New York, belongs to the Union Athletic Club of Cleveland. the Cleveland Athletic Club, is a charter member and was first president of the Elyria Country Club, is a life member of the Republican Western Reserve Club, and he and his wife are active in the First Congregational Church. 582 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY It was Mr. Garford who called the first meeting of local citizens to promote the movement to secure a pure water supply from Lake Erie, and was one of the leaders in the long campaign of seven years which was required to accomplish the result. This is a sample of his distinterested work and public spirit in local affairs, and he has carried the same ideals and practical honesty into the broader field of politics. At three different times Mr. Garford was elected delegate to republican national conventions from the Fourteenth Congressional District, and was a member of the State Central Committee nine years. He was a delegate to the convention of 1896 when McKinley was nominated, and in 1908 was in the convention at Chicago which nominated President Taft. He was already recognized at that time as one of the leaders in the Ohio movement for the securing of important reforms within the republican party organization, and this progressive stand led him naturally into the ranks of the national progressive party in 1912. He was chairman of the Ohio delegates at the republican convention in 1912, and was a candidate for governor before the Republican State Convention at Columbus a couple of weeks later as a progressive republican. For several ballots his name led all others, and his nomination was apparently assured, but on the next ballot he was defeated by a combination of all other reactionary candidates, who concentrated on Judge Dillon of Columbus as a dark horse. Later he joined the progressive party and his name was placed on the Ohio State ticket as candidate for governor. He had already been prominently mentioned for several years as a possibility for that office, and had it not been for the break in the party alignment, as a result of which the original republican vote was divided between the republicans and progressives, he would undoubtedly have been elected governor of Ohio in that year. Mr. Garford still claims allegiance to the progressive party, and in 1914 was its candidate for the United States Senate. December 14, 1881, Mr. Garford married Miss Mary Louis', Nelson, daughter of the late Thomas L. Nelson of Elyria, a prominent citizen whose career is sketched on other pages of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Garford have two daughters: Mary Katherine, now Mrs. James B. Thomas of Elyria; and Louise Ely, now Mrs. E. Lavagnino of Pasadena, California. CHRISTIAN PARSCH. Something more than half a century ago the late Christian Parsch was known in Lorain County only as a very industrious and capable carpenter. He subsequently brought the scope of his activities to work as a building contractor, and from that developed one of the largest establishments for the supplying of lumber and other building materials, and for work in building contracting lines in the entire county. Christian Parsch was a splendid type of the man who comes up from small things to large accomplishments, and his record whether in business, in private life, and in his attitude toward public concerns is one that should be remembered in this county. When he died at his home in Elyria, July 17, 1905, he had reached the age of seventy-two. Though nearly all his life was spent in Lorain County, he was horn at Lammersdorf on the River Rhine. near Cologne, Germany, January 17, 18'33. When only ten years of age he came with his family to the United States, and after a brief residence at Buffalo, New York, they came on to Cleveland. It was in Cleveland that Christian Parsch, who in the meantime had gained an education partly in the schools of Germany and partly in those of America. took up the carpenter's trade. From there he moved to Avon in Lorain County. was a journeyman worker in that section, and in 1857 removed to Elyria. Not long afterward he began taking independent contracts for building. and HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 583 out of that grew the large establishment which still bears his name in Elyria. The late Mr. Parsch vas for many years one of the active members and liberal supporters of St. Mary's Catholic Church of Elyria, to which his family also belong. Iris wife, Mrs. Catherine (Harbert) Parsch, died at her home on East Broad Street in Elyria, July 20, 1907. She was at that time seventy-one years of age, was a native of Ireland, but had lived continuously in Elyria for fully forty years. She became the mother of nine children. six of whom survived her. There are now three sons and one daughter living : William T., president of the Parsch Lumber Company ; Alexander P., vice president of the company ; John C.; and Mrs. Joseph Tyler of Elyria. The daughter Mary. who married d. Esker of Elyria. died after her mother, and the other daughter, now deceased, was Lucy, Mrs. James McCarvel. The son William is also a director of the Machine Parts Company of Elyria. For a great many years the lumber and building business was conducted under the simple name C. Parsch, but in 1900 it was incorporated as the Parsch Lumber Company, at which time Christian's sons, 'William, Alexander and John, took an active share in the business. JOHN C. PARSCH. A product of Elyria by birth, education and training, John C. Parsch has passed his entire career in this city, where he is not only known as a leading factor in business circles, but as a citizen who has contributed of his fine talents to the welfare of the community as the incumbent of official position. He was born August 16, 1870, and is a son of the late Christian and Catherine (Hurbert) Parsch, highly respected old-time citizens of Elyria, a sketch of whose careers will be found elsewhere in this work. John C. Parsch was educated in the Elyria public schools and St. Mary's parochial school, following which he took a course at the Oberlin Business College. In 1900 he secured an interest in the business which had been founded by his father many years before, and at the. same time his brothers, William T. and Alexander P., became members of the concern, the name of which was at that time changed from C. Parsch to the Parsch Lumber Company, Inc., although the father retained an interest in the business until his death, in 1905. The present officers are W. T. Parsch, president: A. P. Parsch, vice president; and J. C. Parsch, secretary and treasurer. The Parsch Lumber Company deals in lumber, coal and builders' supplies and maintains a planing mill, the office and mill being located at Mill and Lodi streets, while the yards are at Cedar and Tremont streets. In addition to this concern, Mr. Parsch is a director of the Elyria Foundry Company. He is known as one of the progressive, enterprising business men of the city, with large and important interests, but has not allowed his private affairs to interfere with the performance of his duties as a good citizen. He entered politics in 1908, when he became the republican candidate for the office of councilman-at-large, and was elected and served two years, and in the following election ran for president of the council. He has been elected to that office three times, his present term expiring January 1, 1916. In regard to his candidacy for the mayoralty, the Elyria Chronicle of May 15, 1915, had this to say editorially : "As announced in our columns the other day, John C. Parsch will be a candidate for the office of mayor of Elyria, subject to the republican primary. His candidacy is one upon which all classes of our citizens may well unite. He is the candidate of no clique, no faction, nor, in the broadest sense, will he be a mere party candidate. The citizens of Elyria are to be congratulated that he has been prevailed upon to allow the use of his name in connection with the mayoralty. We have said that he will not be a mere party candidate and this is true. The 584 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY day of such has passed. Mr. Parsch's qualifications for the mayor's office are not on the political order. He is no politician. He is primarily a business man mainly concerned in the conduct of one of Elyria's principal enterprises. As his contribution to the civic spirit of our community life he has indeed held public office. He has for some years occupied an honorable niche in our city government. At first as a member and then for several terms as president of the council, he has with conspicuous success discharged his obligations to our municipal government. His time and his trained business judgment have ever been unstintedly placed at the disposal of the city legislature and his wise counsel has ever been gladly availed of by his colleagues in that body. His course has preeminently been that of the business man applying the powers of his mind to the public business. In this he may have neglected .the arts of the politician, but we believe that the people will think none the less of him for that deficiency. Mr. Parsch was born in Elyria forty-five years ago and has always lived here. His life is an open book. Iie is known to his neighbors, friends and associates as a man of kindly spirit and generous impulses. Upright and devout in his private life he is in public affairs a man of liberal and enlightened views; no narrow bigotry or sectarianism bounds his intellectual horizon. His place in the estimation of his fellow citizens is secure. Although the candidacy of Mr. Parsch is urged on the score of his business qualifications, he is and always has been a staunch republican. It is through the instrumentality of that party chat he has been called to the public posts he has hitherto filled. He therefore naturally turns to his fellow republican electors to endorse his candidacy, nor makes any apology in so doing. It will be as the republican candidate for mayor that he will make the run or not at all.— At the primaries, held August 10, 1915, Mr. Parsch was nominated for mayor on the republican ticket by a comfortable majority, the vote standing 640 to 452. He defeated his opponent in every precinct of the city, as shown by the following figures: First Ward, Precinct A, Parsch 66. Boyden 37; First Ward, Precinct B, Parsch 36, Boyden 17 ; Second Ward. Precinct A, Parsch 59, Boyden 37 ; Second Ward, Precinct 13. Parsch 65. Boyden 52 ; Second Ward, Precinct C, Parsch 20, Boyden 15 ; Third Ward, Precinct A, Parsch 73, Boyden 46 ; Third Ward, Precinct B, Parsch 43, Boyden 23 ; Third Ward, Precinct C, Parsch 84, Boyden 75 ; Fourth Ward. Precinct A, Parsch 91, Boyden 73 ; Fourth Ward, Precinct B. Parsch 53, Boyden 48; Fourth Ward, Precinct C, Parsch 50. Boyden 27. But even with the above flattering majority Mr. Parsch was defeated at the election held November 2, 1915. Mr. Parsch is a valued and popular member of Elyria Council No. 774, Knights of Columbus, in which he has occupied all the chairs; of Elyria Lodge No. 465, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; of Elyria Lodge of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, in which he has held a number of the offices; and of Elyria Lodge No. 431. Fraternal Order of Eagles, and also holds membership in the Elyria Chamber of Commerce and the Elyria Automobile Club. With Mrs. Parsch. he is affiliated with St. Mary's Catholic Church of. Elyria. and has been a leading member of the church choir for twenty-eight years. or since he was seventeen years of age. At Cleveland, Ohio, December 28, 1898, Mr. Parsch was united in marriage with Miss Lottie M. Greesheimer, who was born and reared at Elyria and here educated in the parochial schools. She is a daughter of the late Edward and Mary (Becker) Greesheimer, early residents of Elyria, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Parsch, like her husband, is a general favorite socially and actively interested in religious and club work. HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 585 MRS. EMMA S. OLDS. Believing firmly in woman's political, social and industrial freedom, Mrs. Emma S. Olds for many years has labored effectively in support of her convictions. There is scarcely a body of representative women in Ohio in which she is unknown. and her unusual talents have been recognized, utilized and appreciated in many other states. Of most pleasing personality, endowed with versatile talents, possessed of remarkable executive ability and gifted both as a speaker and writer, Mrs. Olds has indelibly impressed herself upon the developing pages of the history of her times. Mrs. Olds was born at Florence, Ohio. She is a great-granddaughter of Reuben and Pearl (Smith) Allen, and of Jasper Miles, all very early pioneers of Lorain and Erie counties. In 1817, Reuben Allen with wife and children left Vermont and journeyed by wagon to Lorain County, Ohio, selecting a site for a home in the forest. that then covered Amherst Township. As the covered wagon had provided a shelter during the long journey it was further used as such until logs were hewed and a primitive dwelling was erected on what was then the frontier. On the original site was later built the comfortable farm-house which was one of the first if not the very first, frame houses in Amherst Township and is yet standing, the accompanying illustration showing its present condition, it being one of the old landmarks of the county. In childhood Mrs. Olds attended the village school at Birmingham, Ohio, and afterward was prepared by private tutors for college and at the age of fourteen years became a student in Berea College, Kentucky, where she spent a year and at the age of fifteen taught a mountain school. When sixteen years old she taught school at Birmingham and then returned to Berea College for two years, afterward continuing special studies with tutors and again teaching school for two more years. Mrs. Olds was twenty years old when she married and for some time found her time sufficiently taken up in managing her home, but later her old ambitions asserted themselves and she returned to the educational field and continued to teach school until 1896, and so valuable were her services considered by. the people of Birmingham that she was elected a member of the board of education and served two years as its president before coming to Elyria, in which latter city, in 1911, she was elected a member of its board of education and her efficient service in that capacity covered three years. Although Mrs. Olds has been prominently identified with many forward movements for women, perhaps she is best known in her important connection with the order of the Ladies of the Maccabees of the World, with which organization she united in 1893. Her first official position was as record keeper of the local hive and when, in 1896, she was sent as a delegate to the order's state convention, at which she was elected state commander, she resigned her position in the public schools in order to take up this new work for women with which she was in full sympathy. In 1898, when the great hive was organized in Ohio, Mrs. Olds was elected great commander and filled that office and managed the affairs of the Maccabees in Ohio continuously until June, 1915, when she was advanced to a position on the National Conference board and also was appointed deputy supreme commander. In consideration of her many years of successful and loyal service, at the Supreme Review of the order, held in New York at that time, she was given a year's vacation, after which she again resumed national work. Under Mrs. Olds' leadership the membership of the order in Ohio increased from 7,392 to 28,661. At the above named convention several important changes were made in the plans of work of the organization, including the abolishing of the independent state hives and the changing of the name to the Woman's Benefit HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 587 Association of the Maccabees. Mrs. Olds is a member-of the present advisory board of the association and formerly served one term as supreme lieutenant commander of the Maccabees. Repeatedly, as a delegate from this organization, she has addressed the National Council of Women. Few women of the present day have led busier or more fruitful lives than has Mrs. Olds almost from girlhood. In addition to the responsibilities which she carried so many years as the Ohio head of the organization above mentioned, she has been concerned and interested in many other forward movements of her sex and has been helpful and sustaining to a wonderful degree, very often giving herself unselfishly but always conscientiously. For several years Mrs. Olds was vice president of the Ohio Woman's Suffrage Association; for many years was chairman of the standing Resolution Committee of the National Council of Women; for some years was a member of the Finance Committee of the National Fraternal Congress and for two years was chairman of the Committee on Ethics ; and is a member of the Ohio Federation of Clubs. On invitation she has made addresses before the Akron Council of Women; the Cuyahoga County Women's Christian Temperance Union; the Toledo Peace Association ; the Toledo Federation of Clubs; the National Council of Women ; the National Fraternal Congress and other gatherings. She has appeared before committees from the State Legislature in the interests of shorter working hours for women, and also in the interests of adequate rates for fraternal organizations. She served two terms as a trustee of the Ohio Fraternal Congress and was a delegate from this congress to the National Fraternal Congress, representing all the Ohio fraternities at the national body. For one year she filled the office of president of the Political Study Club, which she founded and which is the largest woman's club at Elyria, devoted to civic and social improvement, and several times was sent as a delegate from Ohio to the National Suffrage Association. The above recital by no means covers all Mrs. Olds' useful activities and notable achievements. Of a decided literary bent, had not circumstances led her into executive position with its many strenuous claims, she might have had leisure in which to cultivate her talent still farther than has been possible. As it is she has numerous stories and poems to her credit, which have appeared in the magazines and the newspapers. Mrs. Olds is the author of the ritual for children, called the "Order of the Rose,— which has been adopted for the use of the Junior Auxiliary Branch of the Maccabees, and she also wrote many of the songs and charges used in the ritualistic work of the order. After a year of rest and recreation, her friends and admirers hope that she will again be found among the workers for those helpful things to which her life has been dedicated. ALLISON HILL BABCOCK, president of the A. H. Babcock Company, is a native of Lorain and so much impressed with its business, residence and other advantages that, like thousands of others, he has never been able to see that he could better himself by making a change of location. A product of the public schools. his business career, which commenced when he was but a lad, has been one of constant and consistent advancement. and his present connection with some of Lorain's leading enterprises makes him a leader in business and realty circles. Allison H. Babcock was born at Lorain, Ohio, January 21. 1874, and is a son of Allison H. and Mary (Hill) Babcock. His father, who came to Lorain in 1873, was originally a merchant and subsequently became a large owner of real estate. He was also one of the prominent men of the city in public affairs and for several terms served Lorain in the capac- Vol. II-3 588 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY ity of mayor. Allison H. Babcock, of this notice, attended the public schools until reaching his seventeenth year, at which time he entered the tobacco business, a line with which he was connected for seven years. In 1898 he became the organizer of the A. H. Babcock Company, a real estate and insurance concern, of which he has continued as president and manager to the present time and which, under his capable management and direction, has assumed large proportions. From time to time he has entered other lines of business endeavor, to which he has been called by reason of his fine organizing and executive abilities, and at the present time is president of the Hoffman Heater Company, of the Fidelity Realty Company, and of the Troike Muffler Company, all well known concerns of Lorain. While not a politician, he has discharged the duties of citizenship in a public spirited and conscientious manner, and during three terms was city treasurer of Lorain. He belongs fraternally to the Masons, in which he has reached' high degrees, being a Knights Templar and a member of the Mystic Shrine at Cleveland, and to the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His outside relations are eminently agreeable and helpful, and he is the sharer in many friendships, as well as the general good will of a community of which he is accounted one of the leading and influential citizens. Mr. Babcock was married October 15, 1894, to Miss Minnie .Mead. of Lorain, daughter of James B. Mead, who was connected with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for many years. Three children have been born to this union : Mildred Daisy, who graduated from the Lorain High School with the class of 1915 ; Floyd Ernest, who is still a student : and Leota Amanda. ALBERT WILLIAM CINNIGER. Together with the other learned professions, the bench and bar is well represented in Lorain County. a large proportion of its members being men of ability, safe counsellors and eloquent and effective advocates. One of the most prominent engaged in general practice at the City of Lorain is Albert William Cinniger, who has an office in the Century Building. A native. Ohioan, Mr. Cinniger was born near Medina. September 13, 1875; a son of John and Olive Ann (Eden) Cinniger, who were farming people in that locality. Mr. Cinniger has a very interesting ancestry, and many of his family connections have been soldiers, not only in this country but in Europe. His name is of German origin, and the German spelling is Zinniger. His grandfather, Charles Cinniger, who was born at Emmindingen, near Karlsruhe. Province of Baden, Germany. came to America in 1834. During the Civil war he enlisted in the First Ohio Light Artillery in August. 1862, and served until the following year. At the battle of Stone River he was wounded and was taken prisoner and confined at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and after being released was discharged on account of his wounds. Olive Eden, mother of the Lorain lawyer, was a daughter of George Eden, a native of England. who in 1840 married Clarissa Miller of New York. Her brother was a strong abolitionist and was commonly known as "Negro" Miller. owing to his connection with the underground railroad for assisting the escape of slaves. George Eden's brother was John Eden, who served in the English army, for twenty-one years, much of the time under the Duke of Wellington. and was killed at the battle of Waterloo. Mr. Cinniger's great-great-uncle on his father's side fought in the Prussian army under the great Napoleon, and was killed during the invasion of Russia. Mr. Cinniger's great-grandfather, Hans Loefler, whose people were among the first settlers at Germantown, Pennsylvania, served in the HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 589 colonial army as a minor officer under General Washington, and marched with that great American general from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, from the beginning to the close of the war for independence. Reared on a farm and after graduating from high school, Albert Cinniger in 1894 entered Hiram College, where he finished his literary education and graduated in 1899. He then took up the study of law in the office of Judge G. W. Lewis and Judge George Hayden and was later in the office of Judge A. R. Webber of Elyria, Ohio. Admitted to the bar December 7, 1901, he did his first practice in Elyria, where he remained about three and a half years. From January, 1902, to April, 1905, he was partner of C. A. Metcalf, under the firm name of Metcalf & Cinniger. Removing to Lorain City in April, 1905, he was a member of the firm of Thompson, Glitseh & Cinniger until December 7, 1911, since which time he has practiced alone. Well versed in the principles of jurisprudence and possessing all the most necessary qualifications for success in his profession, he has gained a high place in the bar of this county and is both respected as an able lawyer and esteemed as a man and citizen. He is a member of the Lorain County Bar Association, the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member and trustee of the Christian Church. September 11, 1900, Mr. Cinniger married Clara L. Gibbs, daughter of Alexander and Paulina (Green) Gibbs of Brunswick, Medina County, Ohio. She is a descendant of Gen. Nathanael Greene of Revolutionary fame. Her father's uncle, Alexander Thayer, was at one time ambassador from the United States to Austria, while her great-great-uncle, Samuel Gibbs, served on Washington's staff in the Revolutionary war. Alexander Gibbs, her father, enlisted in the Union army July 31, 1861, and upon reorganization his regiment became the Second Ohio Cavalry. He remained in the army until the close of the war, being mustered out in September, 1865. While a soldier he participated in a number of famous battles and had many exciting experiences. While in the Shenandoah Valley he saw Gen. Phil Sheridan in his famous ride, when he arrived just in time to rally the broken troops at Winchester and drive back Early's almost victorious legions. For several months he served as General Grant's orderly and assisted in laying mines at Petersburg. He also witnessed the surrender at Appomattox, and took part in the grand review at Washington after the surrender of Lee and Johnston's armies. He was also with Custer in the service when the latter was but a simple colonel, and was with him subsequently in Indian Territory when Col. William Cody (Buffalo Bill) was scout for the command. During the war Mr. Gibbs had several narrow escapes from death, two horses being shot from under him, and one time a bullet passed through his hat. Of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Cinniger the one now living is Edwin Gibbs Cinniger, born April 12, 1913. ELBERT JULIAN .BURRELL. A life that was an unusual record of accomplishment and influence came to a close with the death of Elbert Julian Burrell on December 28, 1.905. While Mr. Burrell spent little of his time as a resident in Lorain County, he had many interests there, had a home in Elyria, and his body now rests in the family vault at Ridgelawn Cemetery in that city. Mrs. Burrell, his widow, is living at 124 Harrison Street in Elyria, and is one of the notable women of Lorain County. Born at Leroy, Medina County, Ohio, on May 30, 1845, Elbert Julian Burrell was a son of George and Marionett (Barnes) Burrell, who a few years after his birth moved to a farm in Ridgeville Township of Lorain 590 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY County. The late Mr. Burrell grew up in Lorain County, obtained his education in the district schools, and though the horizon of his early life was bounded by a country school and by the duties of a farm, he possessed that excellent combination of energy and ambition which creates opportunity for a career of signal usefulness and service. His early practical experience was gained in his father's mill at Ridgeville, and he made himself proficient in the handling of machinery and in various mechanical pursuits. In 1870 he engaged in the lumber industry in Michigan, but not long afterwards was severely injured by the explosion of a boiler in the lumber mill. There was no handicap that could be permanently imposed upon so energetic and determined a character and he was not long in finding other opportunities, He possessed a peculiar genius in practical chemistry, became a manufacturer of chemicals and originated an improved process for the making of commercial alcohol, which was used by sixteen large companies in Michigan, Tennessee, Canada and Wisconsin. In these various companies Mr. Burrell had financial and business interests and was highly successful from a financial standpoint. His affairs called him to many parts of the country, so that he was never able to consider Elyria his permanent home, For several years prior to his death he suffered from ill health and he died at Manistique, Michigan. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was a man of utmost integrity and known and honored in many business circles in diverse parts of the country. Mrs. Burrell, who for a number of years has had her home at Elyria, since the death of her husband has been active as a philanthropist and social worker at Elyria, is a member of several woman's organizations, and served as one of the trustees of the Old Ladies Home at Elyria and belongs to the Universalist Church at her old home town, Mount Gilead, Ohio, Mr. and Mrs, Burrell had only one son, Orpheus, who died when two and a half years of age, When she married Mr, Burrell in. 1868 she was Mrs. Mahala Sharp. Her maiden name was Mahala Graves, and she was born in Morrow County, Ohio, a daughter of William and Effie (Shafer) Graves, the former a native of New York and the latter of Ridgeville, Lorain County. Mrs: Burrell's first husband was George S, Sharp. Mrs, Burrell is perhaps best known as the mother of two famous men in Ohio. Her twin sons by her first marriage are Hon, William G. Sharp and Hon, George W. Sharp. William Graves Sharp, who was born in Mount Gilead, Ohio, March 14, 1859, was graduated in law from the University of Michigan in 1881, and for many years practiced at Elyria, and also became engaged in the manufacture of charcoal, pig iron and chemicals. However, he is best known for his public services. He was prosecuting attorney of Lorain County from 1885 to 1888, was a democratic presidential elector in 1892, was delegate to the National Convention of 1904, and in 1908 was elected to represent the Fourteenth Ohio District in Congress. He served during the sixty-first, sixty-second and sixty-third congresses, retiring in 1915, and was elevated by President Wilson to the important diplomatic post of ambassador from the United States to France, and he and his family now reside at Paris, William G, Sharp married in 1895 Hallie M. Clough of Elyria. Their children are Margaret, George, William 0., Jr., Effie and Baxter, His I win brother, George W., has long been active in public affairs in the State of Michigan, formerly represented the Thirty-first District of that state in the State Senate, and is also favorably known as an author. He married Nellie Hitcheock, of Cleveland, Ohio, and they are the parents of three children : Anibell, an author of considerable note ; William 0.: and Margueretha, The last named is a graduate of an art school in Cleveland, and is a talented artist, HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 591 WILLIAM HAZLETT HAMILTON. A successful young business man of Lorain, Mr. Hamilton has been chiefly identified with this community in connection with the Wood Lumber Company, of which he is secretary. The present large business, which is both a mercantile and manufacturing concern, is the outgrowth of the old B. H. Wood & Company, which was started in 1892. In 1900 a reorganization occurred, at which time the name was changed to the Wood Lumber Company, with a capital stock of $100,000. H. O. Wood is president. D. H. Aiken is vice president, and W. H. Hamilton is secretary-treasurer. While the company deals extensively in lumber and building material, it also maintains a large plant for manufacturing purposes. The mill for the manufacture of sash, doors and other planed and milled materials is a two-story building. 54 by 106 feet. The yards occupy a total space of six acres and about forty men find regular employment in the different departments. A resident of Lorain County only a few years, William Hazlett Hamilton was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, on a farm May 10, 1879, a son of L. C. and Rebecca (Hazlett) Hamilton. His father was a miller and grain merchant, and is now living at Barberton, Ohio. The son received his education in the country schools and in the high school at Barberton and in a business college at 'Warren, Ohio. For two years he was employed as a stenographer and bookkeeper and then for two years was cashier of the American Strawboard Company at Barberton. Following that for seven years he was bookkeeper and draftsman in the Jackson Lumber Company, and in that way gained a thorough knowledge of the lumber and woodworking industry in all its details. For a time he was at Akron connected with the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Company, but in 1907 came to Lorain, first as clerk, later as bookkeeper, and since January 1. 1911, as secretary and treasurer of the Wood Lumber Company. While practical business affairs have claimed his attention during most of his years since boyhood, Mr. Hamilton is also a man of many interests, and is exceedingly popular at Lorain. He is a member and director of the board of commerce and in 1915 served as chairman of the industrial committee and is. especially active in the Knights of Pythias order at Lorain. On October 21, 1903. he married Miss Elnora McFarlin of Barberton, Ohio. They have a daughter, Marian Elizabeth. born November 5, 1912. A. EUGENE TAYLOR is president and treasurer of the Elyria Foundry Company and one of Elyria's most prominent citizens. Mr. Taylor was born in LaPorte. Carlisle Township, Lorain County, Ohio, July 3, 1872. and is a son of William G. and Emma (Haring) Taylor. His father, a native of Tioga County, New York, removed as a young man to Lorain County, Ohio, and in August, 1862, enlisted as a private in Company H, One Hundred and Third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for service during the Civil war. After two years and ten months of faithful and courageous service, he received his honorable discharge and returned to Lorain County, where he engaged in farming during the remainder of his life and became a leading and well known citizen of his community, serving for many years as constable of Carlisle Township. He died at Elyria, February 20. 1910. Mrs. Taylor. who survives her husband and makes her home with her son at Elyria, was born at Republic, Seneca County, Ohio, a daughter of Doctor Haring, one of the pioneer physicians of Lorain County. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were the parents of two sons: A. Eugene ; and George L., who died June 26, 1912, at the age of thirty-seven years. 592 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY A. Eugene Taylor was not granted exceptional advantages as a youth. He attended the district schools of LaPorte,, but the greater part of his training has come in the school of experience, However, he always made the most of every opportunity, something that has been characteristic of him during his entire career, When still a lad he was apprenticed to a machinist at Elyria, spending three years in the plant of the old Elyria Variety Works, Subsequently he was employed at his trade at the Garford Saddle Company, where he remained seven years, and. then passed two years at Cleveland as an employe of the Cleveland Elevator Bucket Company. Returning to Elyria, Mr, Taylor became one of the promoters of the Elyria Engine Company, then known as the Elyria Gas Engine Company, with which he remained until 1906. In 1905, he organized the Elyria Foundry Company, of which he has been president and treasurer ever since, and to the management of which he has given his undivided attention since 1906, This concern handles light and heavy gray iron and semi-steel castings, making a specialty of machine tool castings, and under Mr. Taylor's efficient management is doing an excellent business. He is an active and working member of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce and enjoys the friendship and confidence of many of the leading business men of the city, Mr. Taylor is a member of King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, and is president of the Elyria Automobile Club. With his family, he belongs to the First Baptist Church of Elyria, A generous and liberal man, of charitable impulses, he was one of the leading contributors to the movement for the erection of the building of the Young Men's Christian Association, of which he is a member, and belongs to the Memorial Hospital Association of Elyria. In national polities Mr. Taylor is a consistent republican, and from the time of his first vote his sympathy and support have ever been given to the republican party. He believes, however, in a great measure of political- independence, On June 2, 1897, Mr, Taylor was married at Norwalk, Ohio, to Miss Sadie R., Miller, who was born. reared and educated there. To this union there have been born two sons and one daughter : Carl L,, who is attending the Elyria High School; Russell L., also a student at that school; aid Lucille F,, the baby, who is only two years of age, All were born at Elyria. EDWARD A, DOUGLAS. After nearly fifteen years of service, marked by extreme fidelity and efficiency with one of the largest industrial concerns of Lorain County, Edward A, Douglas was promoted to one of the chief offices in the county government, county recorder, and has now filled that position with credit to himself and to the entire community for the past six years, A native of Pennsylvania, Edward A, Douglas was born at Derry, Westmoreland County, February 1, 1870, His parents were James A. and Lydia A. (Blair) Douglas, both natives of Pennsylvania. His father served in the Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and also with the cavalry and artillery branches of the army, and after the war was with the Pennsylvania Railway Company until he met his death in an accident in 1872, As a boy Edward A, Douglas had the responsibilities of mature life early thrust upon him, He attended the common schools, and at the age of twelve was sent to the Soldiers & Sailors Orphans Home and School at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, He came out of that institution at the age of sixteen, and had soon learned telegraphy and found his first work as an operator, Mr. Douglas has been a resident of Lorain HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 593 County for the past twenty years, having come to Lorain in 1895 and joined the Johnson Company, which subsequently became The National Tube Company. From one position to another he was promoted from time to time, and was chief clerk of the steel department when he resigned on July 31, 1909. Evidence of his popularity with the workingmen of the concern is found in a handsome gold watch, which Mr. Douglas constantly carries' and cherishes, and which was given him by the mill men on his retirement from the company, The company also showed its regard and appreciation for services by giving him a month's leave of absence at full pay at the close of his relations with the concern. Mr. Douglas has been a factor in republican politics in Lorain County for a number of years, He was nominated and in November, 1908, elected county recorder, and has since been reelected at the close of each two years, He is an active member of the chamber of commerce, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Sons of Veterans. He is past exalted ruler of the Elks and past president of the Eagles, and on December 3, 1915, was appointed deputy grand president under William L. Grayson, grand worthy president, Fraternal Order of Eagles, of the United States. On October 18, 1898, Mr, Douglas married Miss Elizabeth Grace Boyden, daughter of Henry T, Boyden of Elyria, REV. JOHN T. SCHAFFELD. By reason of his effective service as pastor for more than thirty years the memory of the late Father Schaffeld deserves to be lastingly cherished among his people in St. Mary's Parish at Elyria, In many ways he made that church strong and flourishing, increasing its membership more than sixfold, and upbuilding its institutions and varied philanthropies and benevolences in proportion, John T. Schaffeld, though a thorough American in spirit and spending most of his life in this country, was born in Germany, at Isselberg, October 16, 1837, When he was ten years of age his parents brought him to America and settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he continued his education in a college conducted by the Redemptorist Fathers, In 1863 the family removed to Cleveland, where Father Schaffeld entered old St. John's College and took his divinity course in St, Mary's Seminary. His ordination occurred July 17, 1870, and his first appointment as pastor was at St. Patrick's in Hubbard, He served not only that church but nearby communities, both parishes and missions. Father Schaffeld was not only a spiritual leader but an unusually capable executive and organizer, He enlarged the church at Hubbard, built school and parochial residence, and also erected St. Joseph's Church at Vienna, He came to St, Mary's Parish, Elyria, at the time that Father Molon became stricken with paralysis and continued in the pastorate of the parish and after the death of Father Molon Father Schaffeld succeeded him as pastor of St. Mary's Church in Elyria, on May 13, 1880. At that time the congregation numbered about 400 souls, and in the next thirty years the membership increased to more than 2,500, and the prosperity of the church increased even more rapidly than the growth of the city. The varied institutions of St. Mary's Parish were largely a material monument to the fruitful labors of Father Schaffeld, He left the parish with a beautiful church edifice, substantial school building, modern parochial residence, and a large home for the Sisters of Notre Dame, Members of the parish and citizens at large recall the simple dignity and happy associations connected with the celebration in July, 1910, of Father Schaffeld's fortieth anniversary in the priesthood. Many tributes were paid to the worthy priest at this jubilee and it was a fitting 594 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY climax to a life of service that had continued uninterruptedly for four decades, Among his congregation he was esteemed for his zeal, his kindness, and his fatherly interest in every member of his flock. While most of his work was done within St. Mary's Parish, he also during his pastorate constructed the Chapel of the Sacred Heart at Oberlin. Early on the morning of June 7, 1911, the tolling of the bell of St. Mary's announced the passing of this devoted priest, who had ministered to the congregation gathered within its walls for more than thirty years, Father Schaffeld was survived by three sisters : Mrs. John Schnitzler and Mrs. T, Kasinsky of Lorain, and Sister Mary Louise, in a convent at New Orleans. He also left a brother, of San Francisco, California, and three nephews: Rev. John Schaffeld of St. Michael's Church in Cleveland, and Rev. Joseph Schaffeld and Rev, John Kasinsky. The high position Father Schaffeld had earned in his work was shown in the honors paid him at his funeral in St. Mary's. Bishop Farrelly of Cleveland, was present at the service, and many priests attended from surrounding parishes, besides a host of those whom he had so loyally and unselfishly served in Elyria. GEORGE A. MOSHER, superintendent of the Children 's Home of Lorain County, is a native of Ashtabula County, Ohio, where he was born January 19, 1851. His parents were William H, and Margaret E, (Thayer) Mosher. His father was born in Troy, New York, January 18, 1821, and died December 8, 1853. The mother was born August 28, 1833, and died in February, 1914. William H, Mosher saw active service in the war with Mexico and contracted disease in that war which brought his life to a close when only thirty-three years of age. He was married at Lenox, Ohio, on December 24, 1849, to Miss Thayer, and of their union were born two children, George A, and Charles H,, the latter a resident of Richmond, Virginia. William H. Mosher was a harness maker by trade, and in his brief life had been an extensive traveler, having gone practically around the world. He was a member of the Congregational Church. William H, Mosher was a son of Alfred Mosher. who was born in Vermont, and settled in Ohio during the '30s, where he became a farmer and merchant, and died in Ashtabula County, George A. Mosher's maternal grandfather was, Calvin Thayer, a carpenter by trade, who died in Cleveland, Ohio, George A. Mosher is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution by virtue of the fact that his great-grandfather, Anthony Morse, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. George A. Mosher acquired his early education in the public schools of Syracuse, New York, For forty-two years he was a clerk and otherwise identified with the book business and spent all that time in Syracuse, New York. He returned to Ohio in 1900, locating at Oberlin in that year, but for five years was connected with the Borrows Bros, store in Cleveland. In 1905 Mr. Mosher was made superintendent of the Lorain County Children's Home, and has filled that office for the past ten years, No better selection could have been made for this delicate and important responsibility, since he has been all but a father in fact to the children under his charge. In the Home proper he now has forty-three young people, and has fifty children outside under his direct supervision, For ten years he has been superintendent of the Home ; 500 children have been at different times under his care and superintendence. On September 17, 1874, Mr, Mosher married Laura Coleman, Her father, Christopher C. Coleman, lived at Seneca Falls, New York, was a harness maker by trade, and also owned a plantation in Virginia, from HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 595 which he was driven when the Civil war broke out. Mr. and Mrs, Mosher are the parents of eight children : Alfred R,, who graduated from Oberlin College in 1898 and lives on a plantation in Texas ; William E., referred to on other pages; Clifford C,, who was a soldier in the Spanish-American war and is now superintendent and manager of the East. Machine Co. of Lima, Ohio; Bessie B., who is private secretary in a wholesale chair company at Chicago; Margaret Eleanor, who graduated from Oberlin College in 1906 and is now the wife of Charles A, Capron, an attorney of Upper Montclair, New Jersey; Charles A., who is now representing the Goodrich Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, at Aberdeen, South Dakota ; Gladys Elizabeth, who completed a domestic science course in Rochester, New York, and now teaches at Morenci, Arizona ; Marion, who is in the Conservatory of Music at Oberlin, Mr, and Mrs, Mosher are members of the Second Congregational Church and in politics he is a progressive republican, and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Foresters. WILLIAM EUGENE MOSHER for the past ten years has filled the chair of German Language and Literature at Oberlin College, Professor Mosher is an American born, and is a son of George A. Mosher, one of the best known citizens of Lorain County, where for a number of years he has been superintendent of the Children's Home, Born in Syracuse, New York, November 26, 1877, William Eugene Mosher was graduated from the high school of that city in 1893. He took one year of preparatory training at Oberlin and was graduated from Oberlin College in 1899. For three years he was an instructor in the academy, and followed that with two years of study abroad in the universities at Berlin and Halle. He was given the degree Ph. D at Halle in 1904. Returning to the United States, he became Associate Professor of German Language in Oberlin College, but after a year again went abroad and continued his studies in Berlin, On his return to Oberlin he was given the chair of German Language and Literature in the college and has since devoted his entire time to his professional duties. Besides the time spent abroad in study he has traveled extensively during the vacations of his 'college work, Mr. Mosher is author of three books, One of these is a German text book, which has been adopted and which has had an extensive sale, known as "Lern- and Lesebuch," "Wilkommen in Deutschland" is a second year text book. He is also author of " The Promise of the Christ Age in Recent Literature," In June, 1905, Professor Mosher married Laura M, Camp of Akron, Ohio, Their four children are: Horace Camp, aged eight ; William E., Jr,, aged six; Richard Thayer, aged four ; and Frederick, acted two. The family reside in a beautiful home on Forest Street, one of the most attractive places in Oberlin Village, This house was built under the direct supervision of Mr. Mosher. He is a member of the First Congregational Church and in politics is independent, CHARLES R, SUMMERS, For at least seventeen years Charles R. Summers has been enrolled among the lawyers of Northern Ohio, and since 1904 has been well established in practice at Oberlin. He is known as an industrious and careful attorney, a man who gives all his energies to his profession, and has attained a position of commendable success. His character is further illustrated by the fact that he paid his way through school for his higher education, and completed the regular three years law course in two years, Though the greater part of his life has been spent in Northern Ohio, Charles R, Summers was born in Polk City, Iowa, July 31, 1875, a son 596 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY of Roland M. and Anna (Strawn) Summers, His paternal grandfather was Horace Summers, who was of West Pennsylvania ancestry, and he himself was a carpenter by trade and in the early days moved to Indiana, The maternal grandfather was Charles W. Strawn, a native of Ohio and a farmer. Roland M, Summers was born in Indiana in 1851 and his wife was born in Ohio in the same year. They are now living at Elyria, Ohio, which has been their home since 1897. After their marriage in Ohio they drove across the country to Iowa, and the father bought land in that state and worked it as a farmer for ten or eleven years, He then moved to Norwalk, Ohio, and for a number of years was traveling salesman for the Chase Piano Company, Retiring from the road in 1897, he established a retail piano business in Elyria and has since developed a large trade all over Lorain County. He is an active republican, member of the Elyria Lodge of the Benevolent' and Protective Order of Elks, and his wife belongs to the Christian Church, There were four children, and the three now living are : Myrtle, wife of William H, Wildman, who is a manufacturer of flavoring extracts and spices at Norwalk; Horace W., who is associated with his father in the music store at Elyria ; and Charles R. Charles R. Summers acquired most of his early education in the Norwalk public schools. He was a student in Oberlin College for two years and then entered the law department of Baldwin University at Cleveland, where, after making the three years course in two years, he graduated LL, B, in 1899. Mr, Summers practiced four years at Norwalk before coming to Lorain County, and then for one year was editor and manager of the Elyria Chronicle, After this brief experience in the newspaper business he came to Oberlin and has since been looking after his law practice, He has served as justice of the peace since January, 1907, and is also teacher of commercial law in the Oberlin Business College. In 1904 Mr, Summers married Miss Nettie J. Smith, daughter of William M. Smith. Her father is a real estate and insurance man at Elyria. They are the parents of four children : Thelma May, in school; Roland M., also in school : and Stella Anna and Elsie Frances. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and Mr. Summers takes much interest in fraternal matters, particularly in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has passed all the chairs, is past district deputy in that .order, and is a retired captain of the independent Order Odd Fellows of Canton, In politics he is a republican, MISS ELCIE M. JOHNSTON. Not so many years ago it was considered the proper attitude to assume that women had, as a sex, not been generously endowed with what is termed, a "business" sense, Idealists were ready to acknowledge their many other admirable qualities, their beauty, grace and charm, their helpful sympathy and their natural virtues, but neither they nor the whole body of mankind could believe that behind all these qualities and attributes, existed the talent, and the good, hard, practical commonsense that, in more recent days. has been shown in womanly achievement. No better nor more convincing example may be cited than that afforded by the success which has been won by Miss Elcie M, Johnston, the president. owner and director of the Elyria Business College, at Elyria, Ohio. The original undertaking was one of magnitude, requiring courage, diplomacy and foresight, and with the keenest of business intelligence she has conducted the enter. prise to its present prosperous condition. Miss .Johnston was born near Detroit, Michigan. That she was an unusually apt pupil in the public schools may be inferred because of her early completion of the course, being creditably graduated when HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 597 only sixteen years of age. In making plans for her future, Miss Johnston considered one useful career after another, hesitating for a time between that of a trained nurse and a teacher. Finally, deciding to become an educator, she accepted, shortly afterward, a position in the county schools. She proved entirely acceptable to the school board, but her observation soon inclined her to the belief that commercial teaching offered better opportunities for advancement, and, being frankly ambitious, in the following year she entered a commercial college and completed the business course and afterward became a. teacher in the college from which she was graduated, After experience as a commercial teacher, Miss Johnston realized that a course in business experience would be one of the most helpful assistants in the line of work to which she had committed herself, therefore she accepted an office position in which she rendered service as a stenographer for two and one-half years for one of the largest manufacturing firms in the state. During this time not only her days but her evenings were busy for she taught night classes in the Y, M, C. A. and in a business college, additionally having private pupils. After resigning the above mentioned office position, she still further advanced her own education, taking a special teacher's course in the Gem City Business College, which school has probably the largest annual attendance of any business college in the world. Upon the completion of this special course of study, Miss Johnston was offered a responsible position as private secretary to the manager of a large electrical corporation, She continued with that corporation for two years, when, through the death of the president of the company the Boston and New York offices were consolidated and Miss Johnston returned to her native city, During this business connection she had learned much concerning the methods of conducting a. large business enterprise and had inevitably, because of her natural quickness of mind, added largely to her general knowledge, Upon her return to Detroit, Miss Johnston accepted a position which gave her charge of the Actual Business Section of the Shorthand department in the largest business college in the city, and her previous business and teaching experience made her services very valuable, From this college she subsequently went to a still more responsible position, becoming teacher, storekeeper and private secretary to the superintendent of the state industrial school, While the arduous duties and close confinement of this position somewhat impaired her health and caused her subsequently to resign, she has always felt that the experience was a very valuable one because of the opportunity it gave her of studying human nature, as every nationality and type came under her personal observation. Later she was identified with a company manufacturing special machinery for all purposes, and here, again, her time was not lost, for, possessing a natural interest in the wonderful devices that go under' the name of machinery, she studied machines at first hand. In later years many of her graduate students have expressed their gratitude on account of the unusual information she has been competent to give on many other than that pertaining to business methods and acquirements, For many years prior to 1901, when Miss Johnston 'came to Elyria, she had cherished the hope of eventually owning her own school. This ambition she satisfied when she became the owner of the Elyria Business College, which was incorporated in 1900 and of which Miss Johnston is president, This institution stands for all that is most helpful and progressive in this line of endeavor. While she has been marvelously successful, she has met with some serious discouragements, one of these being a conflagration in which the Elyria Block was burned, in which 598 - HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY the entire equipment belonging to the college was destroyed, Informing-and interesting is the following quotation from a letter to Miss Johnston, from Albert R, Green, secretary of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce about this time, "It is my pleasure, on behalf of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, to commend your college and its management for their energy as manifested by the manner in which your college was rehabilitated after the total loss you sustained by the recent destruction of the Elyria Block by fire, To have secured new quarters and refitted them with even temporary facilities in such a short time ( one day) and to have restored the classes to their usual studies under such trying circumstances, speaks volumes for the efficiency of your college and can not help but energize the working spirit of your recruits into the ranks of business. . As indicated, Miss Johnston found a new location before the tire was extinguished, picnic tables, pine boards and boxes, with new typewriters making up the equipment, These rooms being inadequate were occupied by The Elyria Business College but two months when the classes moved to the present building which had been purchased, remodeled and enlarged immediately after the fire. The new college building is situated on Second Street, Elyria, and is unique in that it is the only private school in Ohio housed in a building belonging to the school owner, unoccupied by other tenants and the only business college and building in the United States owned and managed by a woman. Miss Johnston is well known among private school owners as the one woman in the profession who owns and manages her own building and also a fully accredited business school, this college being a member of the National Accredited Schools Association, On many occasions Miss Johnston has been signally honored. As a member of the National Commercial Teachers Federation, admiration, confidence and esteem was shown her by election to office, serving three successive years as a member of the executive committee : as vice president of the School Managers' Section, and at the convention of the federation held at the Sherman Hotel, in Chicago, in December, 1914, she was not only reelected a member- of the executive committee from the Managers' Section, but was elected also second vice president of the entire association, and during the convention held in Chicago during Christmas week, 1915; was elected first vice president. As the federation is composed of the best schools in the United States and as more than 700 members were present, this distinction was creditable to Elyria and a recognition of the standards maintained by Miss Johnston in her college, An exceedingly interesting feature of the above convention was the fine 'address made by Miss Johnston, who took for her subject, The Woman in Business." The 1914 convention was reported as being the most successful in the history of the association in that recognition was secured from the Educational Bureau at Washington and a committee appointed to secure an appropriation for the establishment of a Bureau of Commercial Education, It would be unjust to close this too brief sketch of this able woman's success in business, without giving a glimpse of the womanly side of her character in which she is seen to possess all the admirable attributes of her sex, In each student who comes under her care, she sees a potential future and, with perceptions quickened by experience, she is able to judge of capacity, earnestness and probable success along one or another line of study. Her helpfulness, her interest and sympathy have been appreciated and by the yearly increasing body of successful graduates of her school, she is universally held in high esteem, While she has become a factor to be counted on in the business world, she is still HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY - 599 feminine to the core when it comes to family affection, womanly sympathy and social service, THE ELYRIA BUSINESS COLLEGE, With the motto, "Trains for Success," this institution offers encouragement at the outset very welcome to the ordinary student as he enrolls his name on a roster which shows that this claim is not an idle one but has meant prosperity and contentment to many before him, The first school in Northern Ohio to teach stenotypy (machine shorthand), it is equally progressive in other departments and thorough in every one, The Elyria Business College is located at Elyria, Ohio, a city with beautiful and healthful surroundings and with an intelligent and educated citizenship that insures peace and order and civic and cultural advantages. It has large industrial plants, well managed business houses in which the graduates readily secure employment, and many fine residences and hospitable homes, a public library and an advanced public school system, churches of all denominations and a wholesome social life, so that students who come from all parts of the United States, to this Ohio city to enter the Elyria Business College find not only a complete school with highly trained experienced business men and women as teachers, but a most desirable place of residence, This college, which is a commodious two-story pressed brick building, beautifully finished and decorated, is situated on Second Street. It is equipped with everything that modern art has provided or educational science has evolved for the instruction and convenience of students in every one of its many departments, including penmanship, bookkeeping, stenotypy, shorthand and typewriting, each department covering every detail, manner and method accepted by the business world, The Elyria Business College was established in 1896 and was incorporated in 1900, In 1901 it was purchased by its present able president, Miss Elcie M. Johnston, whose previous business training and experience admirably qualified her for the responsible duties she assumed. She entered upon these with enthusiasm and no one questions her unusual capacity. For fifteen years she has directed the affairs of the college with wisdom and efficiency and has the satisfaction of knowing that she has established its standing on a stable foundation. Not only may the graduates of this institution be found occupying important positions at Elyria, but all over the United States are efficient, thoroughly equipped young men and women who owe their prosperity to the training received in this college and sound the praises of their alma mater together with their expressions of sincere regard for Miss Johnston, and her corps of efficient teachers, whose help and encouragement they feel to have been of inestimable value. The aim of this college as announced in its handsomely bound fifteenth annual catalog is: to prepare men and women for the work which the business man wants done; to train all students to become efficient in the shortest possible time consistent with good work ; by environment to create a desire for moral living and high ideals in business; and to assist all students, at all times, old graduates as well as beginners, in securing better positions and better opportunities for advancement, Once a student, personal interest is never discontinued, There is little show or assumption about this school for it does precisely what it offers to do, each student standing in the same relation to president and teacher and each one required to live up to the established standard. Advice is given students when they desire it as to what branch of study would enable them to excel, but there is no compulsion, every pupil being permitted to make his own choice and individual instruction being given