250 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of Baltzer Benzel, and this union was blessed with four children, of whom three still survive, viz: Samuel, of Canton; Emaline and William (our subject). Alfred, the deceased child, died in 1855. The parents both were spared for several years after their marriage, and died in the enjoyment of the esteem of all their neighbors. William Danner was but four months old when he was adopted into the family of his uncle, George Danner, who reared him to farming until twenty-one years old; after, he worked on shares until 1859, when his uncle was called from earth. He then moved to a point near Canal Fulton, where he had an aunt living, and there passed away nineteen years of his life. He had married at Canal Fulton in October, 1855, Miss Lucinda Shriver, who was born in Bucyrus, Ohio, January 6, 1835, a daughter of Henry and Susan (Smith) Shriver, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and a life-long farmer, his wife being also a native of the Keystone state: and both dying in Ohio, in the faith of the Lutheral church. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Danner has been blessed with three children, of whom Henry A. died in September, 1862, at the age of five years and eleven months; Clara F. is the wife of 'William H. Sutter, of Copley township, Summit county, and Elva B. is the Wife of George J. Butler, and living at the home of Mr. Danner. For some time after marriage, Mr. Danner worked in a machine shop, and in 1879 sold his farm near Canal Fulton and bought a house and lot in Fulton town, where he engaged in wagonmaking until 1890, when he moved to Akron, and entered upon wagon-making for five months--a trade with which he had familiarized himself, among his other multifarious acquisitions in the mechanical arts, and which he followed, at the different places in which he lived, for a period, all told, of eighteen years in connection with that of cabinetmaking, and which he continued in Akron three years, or until 1893, when he bought his present farm in Green township, which has ever since been his home. Mr. Danner has never been an office seeker, but has served on the school board six years as a matter of public duty. He well remembers when wild deer were plenty in Stark county, and has in his possession the antlers of the last one shot, and which was killed by his uncle, David Danner; he likewise possesses a picture over 200 years old, that belonged to his grandmother's grandmother, and a piece of money over 100 years old. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, at Akron, Ohio, of which he was a trustee, and they are among the most respected residents of Green township. IRA O. FAIRCHILD, one of the prominent farmers and most respected citizens of Stowe township, Summit county, Ohio, is a man of undoubted integrity of character. Jonathan Fairchild, the grandfather of Ira 0., was a farmer of Connecticut, where he married and became the father of Zera, Sherman, Elam, Polly and Seth. Mr. Fairchild came to Ohio, but did not settle here, preferring to go on to Evansville, Ind., where he died a very aged man, both he and wife living to be between ninety and t00 years old. It is believed he was a soldier in the Revolutionary war Elam Fairchild, father of Ira O., was born in Connecticut, January 9, 1793. He became a carpenter and farmer, and married in Otsego county, N, V., where he went when a young man, Miss Lydia Wilcox. Mr. Fairchild, soon after marriage, went to Pittsburg, Pa., and thence by flat-boat to Evansville, Ind., and worked at his trade. About two or three OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 251 years later he came with ox teams to Painesville, Ohio, where he lived some time, and then moved to Mentor, Ohio, lived at Kirkland when the Mormons built their temple there, and drew stones for the building. He owned a farm one mile south. He then moved to Chester, Ohio, where he lived five years, and then, in 1837, moved to Willoughby, Ohio; in 1840 moved to Amherst, Lorain county, Ohio; in 1866 moved to Kent, Ohio; one year later, in 1867, he moved to the farm now occupied by Ira 0. Fairchild, buying fifty-two acres, ad here lived a few years, and then retired to Amherst, where he died, aged over eighty-nine years, December 22, 1882. In politics he was a democrat and in religion an Episcopalian, while his wife was a Methodist. He was a highly respected citizen and at Amherst was trustee, and was land appraiser in Lorain county. His children were Julia Ann, Martha, Lydia, Emily and Ira 0. His wife was a very ambitious and energetic woman and of many virtues, and died eighteen years before her husband. Ira O. Fairchild was born July 28, 1827, and gained a good education in the public schools. He began life as a farmer, a pursuit which he has always followed. He came to his present farm with his father in 1867 and bought him out in 1873, the farm consisting of fifty-two acres, and by his industry and thrift he has added to it, first buying sixty-six acres, and now has a fine farm of 195 acres, upon which he has excellent buildings, kept in good repair. In politics he is a democrat, is an honored citizen, and has served as justice of the peace fifteen years and township trustee and clerk two years. He has always been an industrious man of the greatest integrity of character and has always enjoyed the respect of all who know him, and stands high for his sterling worth. He is a public-spirited man and liberal to all good causes. REV. JAMES J. FARRELL, pastor of the church of the Immaculate Conception at Ravenna, Ohio, was born in county Kilkenny, Ireland, October 18, 1860, and is a son of Patrick and Catherine Farrell, the former of whom died in 1879. The six children horn to these parents were named. Mary, Michael (deceased), James J., Margaret, Anastasia and John. The mother and three of the surviving children still reside in Ireland, Anastasia being housekeeper for her brother, the Rev. James J., our subject. Rev. James J. Farrell received his elementary education in the national schools of Ireland and his literary and philosophical courses were taken at Saint Kiernan's college in Kilkenny. In 1882 he came to the United States and at once entered upon his theological studies at Saint Mary's academy in Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained under discipline for three years. In 1885 he was ordained priest by the Rt. Rev. Richard Gilmour, bishop of Cleveland (now deceased), and said his first mass in the Catholic church at Willoughby, Ohio. His first appointment was to the pastorate of St. Patrick's church at Elmore, Ottawa county, Ohio, which he held until the fall of 1885, where he faithfully ministered to the spiritual wants of a small congregation and to those of the missions at Oak Harbor, Genoa and Woodville until October, 1885, when he was transferred to Hudson, Ohio, and given the pastorate of Saint Mary's congregation, with whom he remained four years, having also under his care the missions of Cuyahoga Falls and Peninsula, Ohio. About this time the Catholics of Ravenna were deprived of their beloved pastor, the Rev. John T. Cahill, and the good and faithful service of Father Farrell being fully recognized, he was selected by the bishop as a fitting successor to the late brilliant and eloquent divine. In September, 1889, Father Farrell came to Ravenna, 252 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and has here performed his duties with untiring Zeal up to the present day, and much is due to him for the present flourishing condition of the congregation of the Immaculate Conception. This consists of about 125 families, or 500 members, and supports two schools—primary and grammar, respectively—which are conducted by the Dominican sisters of Jersey City, N. J., three of the society being sent to Ravenna for the purpose named. The fine church edifice is located at the corner of Main and Sycamore streets, and stands on a lot of 180 feet frontage on Main by a depth of 220 feet on Sycamore street, and the other property of the congregation comprises the parsonage and a residence for the sisters. Father Farrell is a profound student and has a well-stocked library; he is a delightful conversationalist, an eloquent pulpit orator, and, above all, a devout priest and servant of his church, and few can estimate the immense amount of arduous labor performed by him in promoting the spiritual welfare of his charge, who, indeed, love him as a father. As a relaxation from his onerous duties, in part, and the recuperation of his health, and in part to re-visit his beloved mother and family, Father Farrell made a trip to Ireland in the summer of 1896, and while there availed himself of visiting many points of interest in the Emerald isle, beside his old home. Since his return he has renewed his ministerial duties with increased vigor, being heartily welcomed by his people. HIRAM SILAS FALOR, a well-known citizen of Coventry township, Summit county, Ohio, was born on the farm on which he now lives, March 22, 1829, and descends from one of the old pioneer families of the county, of German origin. Adam Fehler, as the name was originally spelled, was the grandfather of subject, was a native of Germany, and was the founder of the present Falor family in Ohio. On coming to America he first located in Pennsylvania, resided in Reading a few years, and then came to Ohio. Here he lived in Stark county some time, then bought a farm near Wolf Lodge, now within the corporation of the city of Akron, but died a number of years ago in New Portage, Summit county. George Adam Falor, son of Adam Fehler, and father of Hiram Silas, the subject, was born in Lower Smithville, Northampton county, Pa., July 17, 1798, and in 1809 was brought to Ohio by his parents, and after having lived in Stark county about five years, located on what was later known as the Thornton farm, and which now constitutes a populous part of the city of Akron. He remained with his father until he was twenty-five years of age, and then bought from the government what is now the well known Falor farm of eighty-two acres in Coventry township, at $1.50 per acre, which he cultivated many years, besides following his trade of stonemason. George A. Falor was three times married—his wives being sisters, and named respectively, Nancy McCoy, Rachel McCoy, and Mrs. Jane (McCoy) Wilson. To the first marriage were born four children, viz: Milo J., deceased; James M., deceased; Lucinda, now Mrs. John Gottwalt, and Hiram S., the subject. To the second marriage were born George W., now deceased; Oliver P. ; Mary A., now Mrs. J. A. Long; Thomas J.; William W., deceased; Henry C., deceased, Martha E., married to Henry Acker; Lillie A., wife of George L. Adkins, and Perry T. To the third marriage no children were born. Mr. Falor was a captain of a militia company and also a drum-major in a company which he had aided in organizing. In politics he was first a free- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 253 silver democrat and later a republican, and was a man of great influence in his community. Having acquired a competency through his good management, he finally retired to Akron, where he died of dropsy June 29, 1868, an honored and venerated pioneer. Hiram S. Falor, the subject, received a sound common-school education and early learned the trade of harnessmaker, a business he conducted for fifteen years with unqualified success in Akron. In 1860 he went to California and for a time clerked in a wholesale store in San Francisco; worked for a brief period in the mines, and then established the pioneer harness shop in Virginia City, Nev. In 1861 he organized the City guards, and, as captain of this company, tendered its services to the government at the outbreak of the Rebellion, but, for the lack of means of transportation at that time, the tender was declined. In 1863 Capt. Falor returned to Akron, and five years later removed to his present farm, of which mention has already been made, and which now comprises eleven acres just outside the corporation limits of Akron, and also of sixty-three town or building lots. Capt. Falor has ever been a consistent republican and has faithfully and ably filled many offices of honor and trust, political and otherwise. For several years he was foreman of one of Akron's pioneer fire companies; was deputy village marshal two years; was secretary of the Summit county Agricultural society two years, and for two years its assistant secretary; he was a messenger in the office of State Treasurer Joseph Turney, at Columbus, from 1880 to 1884, and was a member of the police force in charge of Music Hall during the Ohio Centennial exposition of 1888; was census enumerator for Coventry township in 1890, and was a justice of the peace from 1893 to 1896. Fraternally, he is a royal arch Mason, and for thirty-five years has been a member of Akron lodge, No. 517, F. & A. M. As an Odd Fellow he has filled all the chairs of Summit lodge, No. 50, but is now non-affiliating. Capt. Falor was first married, July 4, 1854, to Miss Bertha E. Agard, who bore him three children, viz: Benjamin Stanton, who was born August 21, 1855, and died October 30, 1874; Claude Emerson, who was born December 23, 1856, served in the regular army fourteen years, seven months and sixteen days, and was honorably discharged for disability; and Honora N., who was born January 18, 1859, and died January 27, 1865. Mrs. Bertha E. Falor died January 4, 1873, an ardent and consistent member of the Baptist church, and July 16, 1873, Capt. Falor married Mrs. Phebe A. Lutz, of Westfield, Medina county, Ohio, a daughter of Martin and Fanny Wright, and the mother of two children by her first husband—Minnie, who died May 1, 1881, and Sylvester E. Lutz. To this second marriage of Capt. Falor have also been born two children—Hiram Garcelon, August 12, 1879, and Phebe Fanny, March 6, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Falor are members of the Main street (Akron) Methodist Episcopal church, of which the captain is a trustee, and toward the erection of which edifice he was a liberal contributor. He possesses to an unusual extent the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens and is universally recognized as one of the most public-spirited and useful members of the community in which he has so long had his being. DAVID F. FELMLY, mayor of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, for the past three years, springs from sturdy Dutch ancestry, and is the son of Jacob and Susannah (Paulus) Felmly, of old colonial descent. The grandfather of David F. was a native of Snyder county, Pa., was a farmer, 254 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and his childrrn were David, Jacob, Franklin and Mary. Jacob Felmly, father of David F., was born August 6, 1836, in Snyder county, Pa., on his father's farm, and received but a limited common education. He came to Ohio when a young man of twenty, in 1856, and married March 27, 186o, in Suffield township, Portage county, Susannah Paulus, who was born March 29, 1837, in Portage county, a daughter of David and Mary Paulus, of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. David Paulus was a farmer, and lived to the great age of eighty-six years. His children were David, Daniel, John, Peter, Henry, William, Elias, Abraham, Samuel, Mary and Susannah. Jacob Felmly, after marriage, settled on a farm in Suffield township, but now lives on his farm in Northampton township, Summit county, and has always been a farmer. In politics he is a democrat, but voted for A. Lincoln. Mr. Felmly is an industrious, hard-working man, respected by all. His children were named David F., Charles H., Mary C., Cora M., Ida J., Ewin E., Lydia A., Miles E., Amy S. (died an infant), Melly A. and Jacob L.—all now living except Amy S. David F. Felmly was born March 7, 1861, on the farm in Suffield township, and received his education in the public schools and in the college in Akron, Ohio. He taught school three years in Summit county, and then engaged as bookkeeper with Harry Thompson, in his sewer-pipe works. Mr. Felmly married, March 12, 1889. in Summit county, Emily Williamson, who was born November 13, 1865, in this county, a daughter of W. H. and Maryette (Starke) Williamson. Mr. Williamson is a farmer of Summit county, and his children were named, in order of birth, George B., Amy, Emily and Frank (died aged five years). His ancestors and his wife's were of New England stock. He is a substantial farmer and a respected citizen and in politics is a republican. Mr. Fehilly is a successful farmer. He has held, in Northampton township, the office of clerk of township two years; in Cuyahoga Falls he has served as clerk of the town, was a member of the council two years, and was elected mayor in 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Felmly are members of the Disciples' church, in which Mr. Felmly has held the office of president of the board of trustees. He is also a knight of the Ancient Essenic order, K. of P.. and a member of the Protective Home circle. Mr. Felmly stands high for his. integrity of character, and is a popular official, having, in every office he has filled, done his full duty. JUNIUS FENN, a deceased farmer of Brimfield township, Portage county, Ohio, was born in Watertown, Litchfield county, Conn., October 7, 1814; and was a son of Archibald and Mabel (Beecher) Fenn, both natives of Watertown, in the same state. Archibald Fenn was a wagon-maker by trade, and to his marriage with Miss Beecher, who was a daughter of Isaac Beecher, were born two sons—C. B., who died December 30, 1893, and Junius., whose name opens this sketch. Junius Fenn, attended the common or public schools of his native town until twelve years of age, when he entered the office of the Inquirer, and for three years worked at the printing business, and then, for three years. was employed in a clock factory, after which he went to New York, and for a short time worked as a carpenter. In 1835 he came to Ohio and located at Cuyahoga Falls, Summit county, and September 22, 1839, married Miss Mary B. Nettleton, a daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Morris) Nettleton, and this union was blessed with two children—Eoline and Joseph OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 255 M. In 1840 Mr. Fenn came to Portage county and settled on a farm, in Brimfield township, on which his widow died July 21, 1897, and where his children were born. This place he converted into one of the most productive farms in the county; and here he passed away June 11, 1881, a member of the Methodist church, and honored by the many friends he had made both in Portage and Summit counties for his strict integrity, charitable disposition, and for all the endearing qualities that so distinguished him as a husband, father, friend and citizen. Nathan Nettleton, father of Mrs. Fenn, was born in Bethany, Conn., September 24, 1791, was a shoe dealer, and married, December 25, 1817, Miss Elizabeth Morris, who was born June 4, 1791, a daughter of Asa and Mary (Bisco) Morris, and to this union were born two children—Mrs. Mary B. Fenn, who was born September 15, 1818, and Elizabeth, who died in 1831, at the age of eight years and nine months. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Fenn was also named Nathan and was born in New Haven, Conn. ; he was a farmer by occupation, was for many years sheriff of his county, and married Miss Sophia French. Asa Morris, the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Fenn, also a native of 'New Haven, married Miss Mary Brisco, a daughter of Isaac Brisco, became the father of five children, viz: Asa, Alonzo, Nathan, Orville and Elizabeth, and died July 10, 1828, his wife surviving until August 3, 1840, when she died at the age of seventy-six years. The Nettleton family was of English origin, and the branch that settled in America came to the country about the year 1650. Mrs. Mary B. Fenn, who died at nearly four score years, retained her faculties to a remarkable degree, lived in the enjoyment of the esteem of all her neighbors, and was honored as a .descendant of one of the oldest families of America and as being among the early pioneers of Brimfield township. CURTIS FENTON is one of the most substantial business men of Mogadore, and one of the best known and most highly respected men in Summit county. He is superintendent and treasurer of the Akron Standard Pipe company, of Mogiadore, and as a man of affairs and representa tive of the business interests of the place is regarded very highly in the community. He is a son of Almos J. Fenton, who was born in Ogdensburg, N. V., a son of Alonzo Fenton, a master potter. Almos Fenton inherited his father's trade as a potter, and for some years operated an extensive pottery plant in Cleveland in partnership with H. Thorpe, to whom he finally disposed of his interests and bought the pottery plant at Mogadore. He was an excellent man and an upright representative citizen, and the town of Mogadore owes much to his energetic efforts at an earlier day. He was an old-line whig, later a republican, but in his later years gave his personal support to the principles of the prohibition party. He was a constant attendant and valued contributor to the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Miss Susan Lee, daughter of Alexander Lee, and the following children were born to them: Thomas H., William, Curtis J. ( I), deceased, and Curtis (II), our subject. The latter was born in Mogadore January 22, 1853. He received an excellent common-school education, which he supplemented by a thorough course at the Cleveland Business college. As his father and grandfather before him had done, he grew up in the pottery trade, with all the details of which, even to the minutest, he is thoroughly acquainted. His excellent business capacity makes him certainly the right man in the right place in his responsible position as superintendent and treasurer of the company, which annually handles $50,000 worth of pipe. In his business he has been successful, and is one of the most sub- 256 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD stantial citizens of the place. He enjoys good living and has one of the pleasantest homes in the place. In politics he is a republican, and takes a warm interest in the local affairs of his party. On January 7, 1875, Mr. Fenton married Miss Kate L. Ferguson, daughter of Dr. James C. Ferguson. Dr. Ferguson was a native of Summit county, born August 7, 1820, son of Samuel and Rosanna (Reynolds) Ferguson, of Scotch-Irish descent. He was a graduate of Cleveland Medical college and practiced in this county all his life. His wife was Mary Ward, daughter of Calvin and Lydia Ward. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton have the following children: James T., Mary F., Marjorie, Harry W., James T. (deceased, January 7, 1878), and Mary F., the latter an accomplished musician and graduate of the Cincinnati college of Music. PETER FLATH, the fashionable clothier and merchant tailor of Ravenna, Ohio, is a native of Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, was born September 17, 1829, and is a son of Philip and Catherine Elizabeth (Flath) Flath, who were the parents of seven children, of whom three are still living, viz: Elizabeth, of Germany, and Peter and George, now of the United States. Philip Flath, father of subject, was also a merchant tailor in his younger manhood, but later engaged largely in farming. He lost his wife in 1861, and his own death occurred in Germany in 1882, at the advanced age of more than eighty-two years. Both were devoted members of the Lutheran church. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Flath was a wealthy farmer, had born to him six sons and one daughter by two marriages, and died at the age of eighty years; the matermal grandfather was a school-teacher. Peter Flath was educated in Germany and learned his trade under the instruction of his father. At the age of nineteen years he came to the United States, and after working at his trade six weeks in New York city, came to Ohio, and for six months worked in Portsmouth, Scioto county; he then went back to the Empire state, and for nearly four years worked in Rochester; thence he came west again and was employed in Chicago, Ill., until 1854, whence he returned to New York city, remained there seven or eight months, and then once more returned to Ohio and located in Cleveland. Peter Flath was married, in Cleveland, in 1856, to Miss Catherine Heimes, and this union has been blessed with one daughter--Mary Charlotte. On April 2, 1860, Mr. Flath came to Ravenna, and here he entered the employment of J. T. Green, as cutter. Five years and nine months later he bought the business from his employer. For two years, however, Mr. Flath had a partner in the person of L. W. Reed, who sold his interest to William L. Poe at the end of that time, but since April 23, 1875, Mr. Flath has been alone in the business. That he thoroughly understands this, is shown by the positions he has held as a journeyman—principally as cutter—and by the uniformly steady progress he has made since he has been in trade on his own account. Mr. Flath is a master Mason fraternally, and in politics is a democrat. He stands well socially, and as a business man his reputation is without a flaw. WILLIAM KEAN FOLTZ, M. D., a distinguished physician and surgeon of Akron, Ohio, was born in Juniata county, Pa., a son of Moses and Sarah (Kean) Foltz, February 15, 1829. Dietrich Foltz, paternal grandfather of the OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 257 doctor, was a native of Dauphin county, Pa., but whether of German or Swiss descent is unknown, but it is certain that his ancestors settled in America prior to the war of the Revolution. Dietrich was a wagonmaker by trade, but in later life bought a farm in Juniata county, on which he passed the remainder of his life. Those of his children who grew to maturity were named Moses, George, Betsy (Mrs. Harris), Samuel, Benjamin, John, Joseph and Kebecca. Moses Foltz, eldest son of Dietrich and father of Dr. Foltz, was born in Juniata county, learned wagonmaking from his father, and married Sarah Kean, a daughter of William Kean, of Scotch-Irish descent, and also a native of Juniata county. To this marriage were born ten children, of whom eight grew to maturity, viz: William. K., Joseph M., John K., Hiram H., Abner E., Heber M., Caroline (Mrs. Frank B. Clark), and George K. In 1831 Moses Foltz came to Ohio, located in Wooster, Wayne county, and for four or five years followed wagonmaking and then engaged in carpenter work. Nearly every winter, however, from 1834, he taught a term of school, as the inclement weather precluded his working as a carpenter, and this course of life he followed until his death, which occurred in Smithville, Wayne county, in 1864, at the age of fifty-seven years, a highly respected citizen. William Kean Foltz, our subject, was reared in Wayne county, Ohio, from the age of two years, and was educated at Heidelberg college. At the age of eighteen years he began the study of medicine, entering the office of Dr. C. H. Stauber, of Wooster, and in February, 1869, was graduated from the Eclectic Medical college, of Cincinnati, where he had finished his medical education. He had previously practiced a year in Lafayette, Medina county, and then in Sharon Center ten years, following which he had a lucrative practice of ten years in Ashland, Ohio. In 1877 Dr. Foltz came to Akron, where he has ever since met with the most flattering success, standing now in the front rank of his profession. He is an honored and valued member the Ohio State Eclectic Medical so: ciety and of the National Eclectic Medical association; also of the Ohio Academy of Science and the Akron Scientific club. In politics he is a stanch republican. Dr. Foltz was united in marriage May 12, 1856, with Miss Carrie Lehman, daughter of John and Nancy (Bear) Lehman, of 'Wayne township, Wayne county, Ohio, and this happy union has been blessed with one child, Kent O., a prominent oculist and aurist. HIRAM H. FOLTZ, a prominent citizen of Akron, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, June 20, 1837, a son of Moses and Sarah (Kean) Foltz, whose genealogy is given in a preceding paragraph. He attended public school until seventeen years of age, when he began learning carriage painting in Wooster, where he carried on the business until August 9, 1862, when he enlisted in company I, One Hundred and Second Ohio volunteer infantry, served until May 13, 1865, and was honorably discharged on account of sickness, with the rank of corporal—his discharge being by special order of the war department. He then worked at his trade in Wooster and in Medina county a few months, and in March, 1866, came to Akron, followed his trade, more or less, until 1885, and then filled the position of superintendent of the Akron Transfer line for a year. In 1887 he was in the directory business at Zanesville, Ohio, and in 1888 was appointed canal collector for the port of Akron, which position he filled in a most satisfactory manner for six years. In 1894 and 1895 he was in the employ of the 258 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Foltz Jewelry company of Cleveland, and was also connected with the same company in Akron during 1895-96. As a republican he served as a member of the Akron school board four years, and it was during his incumbency of this office that the principal school-houses of Akron were erected. Mr. Foltz was joined in wedlock in March, 1862, with Miss Cynthia B. Hughes, daughter of William and Mary (Flora) Hughes, of Wooster, Ohio, the marriage resulting in the birth of three children—William, who died in infancy; Minnie (the wife of Frederick W. Davis), and Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Foltz are members of the Disciples' church, and their social standing is very pleasant, as they have a large circle of estimable friends, by whom they are very highly respected. MRS. MARY FOSDICK, of Cuyahoga one of the most attractive summer Falls, Ohio, is the proprietress of resorts in northern Ohio, situated at the Big Falls of the Cuyahoga river, at the cave known as the " Old Maid's Kitchen," and has for the past twenty-two years kept a famous hostelry, well known to Cleveland and Akron people. She is the widow of David Fosdick, who was horn in New York city, came to Ohio when a young man, located at the present place in 1874, and built the hotel, it being one of the first summer resorts on the Cuyahoga river. Mr. Fosdick died in 1893 and Mrs. Fosdick has since managed the hotel. They were the parents of four children, Marion, Myrtle, Arthur, and George (deceased, aged thirty-three years). Mrs. Fosdick has one of the most attractive and romantic places on the Cuyahoga river, and makes a specialty of broiled chicken suppers for the best people of Cleveland and Akron, and also takes summer boarders. The Cuyahoga river, at this point, falls at a very rapid descent through a very rocky and picturesque glen, which it has worn through the solid rock to the depth of several hundred feet during countless ages of time. The rugged sides of this deep glen are covered with a great variety of native forest trees, and it is one of the most beautiful places in the whole west. In early times, this locality was a famous hiding place for the Indians and early hunters, and before the time of Boquet's expeditions, the savages of the Cuyahoga secreted many white prisoners in its rocky nooks. The Old Maid's Kitchen " is formed by the falling of immense blocks of sandstone from the walls of the glen, and well illustrates the powerful forces of nature. Mrs Fosdick is a lady of remarkable energy and strength of character and well calculated to manage her hotel, which is kept in the best of style. She caters only to the most respectable people, and many come to this interesting place from all parts of the United States and other countries. Mrs. Fosdick is a notable cook and the fame of her viands has spread far and wide. She does her own cooking and concocts the daintiest of dishes, and her broiled chicken should be eaten to be appreciated. GEORGE K. FOULTZ, the leading jeweler and optician of Akron, was born in Madisonburg, Wayne county, Ohio, December 14, 1849, and is a son of Moses and Sarah (Kean) Foltz, of whom mention is made in the biography of Dr. William Kean Foltz, on a preceding page. George K. Foltz received a fair education in the public schools of Wayne county, which he attended until fourteen years of age, when. in 1864, he entered the Beacon office in Akron and was a “printer's devil " for about six months. August 14, 1865, he began an apprenticeship at the jewelry business in the OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 259 store of H. S. Abbey, served out the stipulated term, and remained as a journeyman until the death of Mr. Abbey, in 1872; later he continued in the employ of his former preceptor's son, Henry E. Abbey, who subsequently became one of the most famous theatrical and operatic managers in the country. In 1875 Mr. Foltz formed a partnership with W. J. Frank in the jewelry business, under the firm name of Foltz & Frank, at No. 118 Howard street. and in the spring of 1876 this concern was consolidated with Wait, Dewey & Co. In the spring of 1877 Foltz & Frank absorbed the entire business and continued under the latter name until 1891, when Mr. Foltz disposed of his interest in the concern to Mr. Frank and went to Georgia, where he embarked in the same line of business at Thomasville, and conducted a prosperous trade from January 5, 1891, until February 12, 1892, when he had the misfortune to lose his wife. He then returned to Ohio and was engaged in business alone at Cleveland from 1892 to June, 1895. when he returned to Akron and became one of the incorporators of the Foltz company, for the purpose of conducting business as jewelers and opticians, and opened trade in the same room in which he had begun his apprenticeship thirty years previously, and of this company Mr. Foltz was the manager for two years. July 15, 1897, Mr. Foltz opened his present place of business, at 162 South Main street, under the firm name of the Foltz & Ewart company, jewelers, opticians and dealers in artists' supplies. The marriage of Mr. Foltz took place October 27, 1874, to Miss Katie Gintz, daughter of Kasimer and Susan (Varrick) Gintz, of Akron, of English and German descent—Varrick street, New York city, being named after one of her ancestors. The marriage of Mr. and •Mrs. Foltz has been blessed with one child—Adelaide Louise. Mr. Foltz attends the Dis ciples' church, to the support of which he contributes liberally, and in politics he is a republican. The Foltz family, as may readily be supposed, are highly respected in the social circles of Akron. FREDERICK FOOTE, senior member of the well-known. grocery firm of Foote & Reed, Kent, Portage county, was born in Wood county, Ohio, November 14, 1835, a son of Epaphroditus and Charlotte M. (Smith) Foote, the former of whom was a native of Connecticut and the latter of New York—the genealogy of the Foote family having been traced back through generations in New England to the mother country, England herself. Epaphroditus Foote was born July 19, 1791, was reared a farmer, and first married Miss Eunice Bixby, who, on dying, left four children, viz. : Joel, who died in 1896 in Wood county, Ohio; Mary, who was married to James Blinn, and also died in Wood county; Sarah Ann, wife of John Arnold, died in Alamakee county, Iowa, and Epaphroditus, who died, also, in Wood county, Ohio. The second marriage of Mr. Foote took place in the state of New York, November 2, 1830, to Charlotte M. Smith, and in 1827 Mr. Foote came to Ohio and settled in Wood county. The brother, Frederick, however, died in Cleveland. The father first located on a tract of timber, intermixed with prairie, and this property he improved considerably, but later sold, purchased another farm, improved this to nearly its full extent, and here passed the remainder of his life, dying October 26, 1857, and his wife December 16, 1882. They were the parents of eight children, nearly all of whom attained mature years, viz: Leroy, a farmer near Ottawa, Canada; Oscar, a teacher, who died at the age of eighteen years; Fred- 260 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD erick, the subject of this notice; Emily J., wife of Freeman Smith, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Eunice, married to John H. Matthews, of Wood county, Ohio; Martin V., a farmer of Benton county, Iowa; Josephine, who died at the age of seven years; and Harriet S., wife of Frank Yost, of Wood county, Ohio. Frederick Foote, the subject, was reared on his father's farm in Wood county, and was educated in the common schools. Mr. Foote enlisted as a member of company B, One Hundred and Forty-fourth O. N. G., and May 2, 1864, he was mustered into the United States service at Camp Chase, Ohio, and served four months, was at the battle of Monocacy Junction, Md., at the time of Jubal Early's raid on the city of Washington. He was honorably discharged in September, 1864. In 1864, also, he went to Tontogany, Wood county, and commenced his mercantile life as clerk in a dry-goods store, remaining until 1871, then engaged in the dry-goods trade on his own account in Haskins, in the same county, and in 1872 came to Kent, Portage county, and embarked in the grain and coal trade in partnership with E. A. Parsons. In November, 1873, he withdrew from this trade and became manager of the Kent Co-operative store until January 1, 1882, when, leaving this concern in a most flourishing condition, he formed a partnership with C. F. Sawyer, under the firm name of Foote & Sawyer and conducted a first-class grocery trade until 1884, when Mr. Sawyer retired and Robert Reed united with Mr. Foote under the style of Foote & Reed, and this firm stands to-day among the foremost grocers in the county of Portage and is the leading firm in its line in Kent. The block in which its extensive business is carried on is the property of Mr. Foote. The marriage of Frederick Foote took place September 2, 1872, with Miss Alice A. Underwood, who was born in Brimfield township, Portage county, Ohio, June 25, 1843, a daughter of Freeman and Mercy A. (Lincoln) Underwood, and this union has resulted in the birth of three children—Ernest U. (deceased), Mary L. and Carl Freeman. In politics Mr. Foote is a democrat, and has served as treasurer of Kent and Franklin township two terms, as member of the school board two terms—being president one year and treasurer one year—and has also served as a .member of the city council. He has always taken a deep interest in the affairs of Kent and has used his best efforts, in or out of office, to promote its prosperity. Fraternally he is a knight templar Mason, and is likewise the worshipful master of Rockton lodge, No. 316. A. F. & A. M. ; he is also treasurer of the lodge of Royal Arcanum. In November, 1889, Mr. Foote was appointed a member of the Ohio Soldiers' Relief Commission, and still holds this position. Mr. Foote is respected as a gentleman of the strictest integrity, and his long business career is a proof that this respect is well founded. ELMER E. FRANCE, postmaster of Kent, Ohio, and a leading dry-goods merchant, was born in Portage county, April 22, 1863, a son of James and Martha (Littlewood) France, natives of England, who came to the United States early in the 'fifties, and later purchased a farm in Franklin township. James France was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1820, was a weaver by trade, was married in his native land, and on coming to America was comparatively a poor man, but by his industry earned the means with which to purchase his farm. After the close of the Civil war he sold his farm and moved to Hun- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 263 tington, W. Va., where for a time he was in the dry-goods trade, then came to Kent, where he dealt in real estate for some time and then engaged in the dry-goods business, in which he continued until 1883, when he retired from business in the broader sense of the word, attending only to his limited duties as vice-president of the City bank, of which he was one of the founders. His wife, who was born in 1819, passed away on the 15th day of April, 1893, and his own health beginning to fail, he made a visit to his daughter Emily, in Denver, Colo., where he suddenly expired January 8, 1894. He was a man of excellent judgment and decided views, but liberal and generous both in mind and purse; he was not a member of any religious denomination, but was strictly moral and led an unimpeachable life; in politics he had been a republican until the nomination of Horace Greeley for the presidency by the democrats in 1872, from which time forward he acted with the democracy. He had accumulated considerable business and residence property, which he divided between the three children who grew to maturity of the five that were born to him, these three being Rhoda, born in England, and wife of William McKeon, of Kent; Emily, wife of F. C. Kendrick, of Denver, Colo.., and Elmer E., whose name opens this biographical sketch. Elmer E. France was educated in the public schools of Kent, and at Eastman's Business college in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and began his business life as an assistant to his father in his dry-goods store, thoroughly learning the business. In 1883, with his sister, Emily, he succeeded his father in the business, and in 1886 became sole proprietor, and has now the finest and the largest and best selected stock of goods in his line in Portage county. He is an excellent business man, affable and obliging, just in his dealings, and knows how - 6 - to retain the trade of a patron to whom he has an opportunity of once making a sale. Mr. France was most happily united in wedlock, August 4, 1886, with Miss Cora M. Haymaker, daughter of O. F. Haymaker, and this union has been blessed with two children, viz: Carl H., born June 8, 1887, and Marjorie, born in January, 1891. In politics Mr. France for twenty years has been active in the ranks of the democracy, and April I, 1896, was appointed postmaster of Kent, which office he has filled with his usual business ability and to the entire satisfaction of the public. Fraternally he is a royal arch Mason, is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias, and as a citizen and business man bears an unimpeached and respected name. CAPT. HERMAN O. FEEDERLE, only son of Richard and Sophia (Speck) Feederle, was born at Akron, Ohio, May 15, 1866. Richard, the first born of Karl and Rosina (Stuckle) Feederle, was born at Hufingen Baden, May 23, 1833, and at the age of eighteen years he came to this " land of promise," accompanied by two younger brothers. May 25, 1852, at Cleveland, Ohio, he married Sophia Speck, daughter of Xavier and Catherine (Smithers) Speck, also a natives of Baden. Ten children were born of this union, of whom five died in early infancy. The surviving children are Mrs. G. A. Parisette, of New York city, Mrs. M. D. Brouse, Miss F. Feederle and Miss Antoinette Feederle, all of Akron, Ohio. In 1885 Richard Feederle removed with his family to the village of Akron, where he was employed by Webster, Taplin & Co., with whom he remained nntil the tumult of war threatened his adopted country, Which enthused him to stir up the patriotism of his 264 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD German friends and company I, of the One Hundred and Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, was the result, of which he was commissioned captain. However, after nine months of faithful service, he was obliged to resign on account of impaired health, and in 1867 went abroad to regain it, receiving much benefit from the mineral springs in Baden. On his return to Akron he opened a restaurant, at the same time conducting an agency for various German periodicals, and assisting in the editing of a local German paper. He was one of the charter members of the Akron Liedertafel and a singer of the male chorus of that organization, serving as president at the time of his death; which occurred when he was again crossing the Atlantic in quest of health and to stock the German department of a book store he was about to open. He unfortunately was a passenger on the ill-fated steamship Schiller " of the Anchor line; which, on May 7, 1875, ran out of its course, among the Scilly islands, was wrecked on Bishoff rock in a dense fog and fierce storm, during which 303 passengers went to the bottom, three only surviving to tell the tale. The bereaved widow and children continued to reside at Akron, Ohio, where Herman 0. received a public school education, followed by a commercial course to qualify him for a business career, which he entered upon with R. R. Goodfellow, of Minneapolis, Minn., as clerk, and later as collector. This was followed by a position as salesman in the mercantile firm of Brouse Co., of Akron, which position he occupied for five years, at the termination of which he engaged in the insurance and real estate business, becoming local agent of the New York Life Insurance company. The following year he formed a partnership with R. A. Myers, and the firm of Feederle & Myers continued for three years, at the expiration of which time Mr. Feederle continued alone as a leader in the life, fire and accident insurance business, combined with loan and real estate. He is identified as clerk of the deputy state supervisors of elections for Summit county, and as a director of the Akron Salt company. In December, 1896, he was elected captain of company B, 0. N. G. ; receiving his commission January 25, 1897. Politically Capt. Feederle has always been an active republican, and fraternally he is a member of McPherson lodge, K. of P., of Nemo lodge, I. 0. 0. F., and of Akron encampment of the same order; he is also a member of the Loyal Legions of the first class by inheritance, and is enrolled with the Sons of Veterans, Akron camp, Ohio commandery. Herman O. Feederle, was married to Della Bowen Schoonover, daughter of the late Cola Jonas Schoonover and Mary Russell Schoonover, June 12, 1888. The union has been blessed with three children: Donna May, Carl Lamont and Dorris Lee. Together they reside at Rosedale place in the city of his birth. Capt. Feederle, it will be seen, has filled many positions of responsibility and trust, has always enjoyed, and still does enjoy, the entire confidence of his fellow-citizens, and well deserves the high esteem in which he is universally held. EZRA FOWLER, justice of the peace at Kent, was born in Portage county, Ohio, May 7, 1840, a son of Abel and Ruth (Manning) Fowler, natives of Connecticut and early settlers in the Buckeye state. In the early part of the seventeenth century three brothers, William, Samuel and John Fowler, came from England, the land of their nativity, and settled in New England. Of these, William Fowler, the paternal ancestor of our subject, built a mill at Milford, Conn., OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 265 and the site is still occupied by a building erected for the same purpose and the seventh in the order of construction. It bears the inscription Ye Fowler's Mill," and is still operated by 'William Fowler & Son—descendants of the original immigrant, William. In the tower of the bridge which spans the litttle Wepowege river at that point is a burrstone taken from the first mill erected there, and is now used as a seat. Many of the descendants of the immigrant William reached distinction in the various walks of life, and among them was Jonathan Fowler. the famous Baptist divine of Providence, R. I. The parents of Ezra Fowler, the subject, were married in Milford, Conn., where the father was a merchant, and shortly afterward came to Ohio. They first located at Poland, then moved to Randolph, Portage county, where the father kept store and also bought furs, next moved to a farm at Charlestown, and finally settled in Ravenna, where he conducted a grocery store until his death, in 1854, at the age of fifty-six years; his widow survived him until 1885, when she died at the age of eighty-three. Mr. Fowler was a man of considerable influence in his day and had taken great interest in military affairs, being at one time colonel of a rifle regiment. To him and wife were born ten children, of whom eight grew to maturity. Of these, William was killed by the overturning of a mail coach between Allegheny and Cumberland, Pa. ; Amanda was married to Frederick Caris, and is now deceased; Caroline is the wife of R. E. Patterson, of Garrettsville; Mary was the wife of Rufus Thomas and died at Warren, Ohio; Manning, who was a major in the One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteers, died at Kokomo, Ind. ; Nancy was the wife of W. H. Gibson, and died in Youngstown, Ohio; Lucy is the wife of William Collins, a resident of Parsons, Kan., and Ezra is the subject of this memoir. Ezra Fowler was four years old when his parents moved to Ravenna, and there he attended school until 1854, when he went to Warren, and lived with his sister Mary, and until 1857 attended the school of that town. For three years he drove stage between Ravenna and Newton Falls, then learned the trade of carriage trimmer in Ravenna, and afterward was in the grocery business for a short time. Early in 1862 he enlisted in company D, Seventy-second Ohio volunteer infantry, took part in the battle of Shiloh, and was then detailed as courier to Gen. R. P. Buckland, for whom he was also private secretary, and filled out a total service of three years. After the war he was employed as a clerk in a dry-goods store in Fremont, Ohio, next at Garrettsville, next in driving a saleswagon, with Warren as his headquarters, and in 1876 conducted the Poe House in Ravenna; in 1878 he came to Kent, and since has been engaged in the hotel business. November 12, 1869, Mr. Fowler was united in marriage with Miss Kate D. Taylor, who was born in Palmyra, Ohio, July 30, 1851, a daughter of Salmon and Mary A. (Calkins) Taylor. Mr. Taylor was a well-known grocer of Ravenna and died in that city in September, 1862, at the age of fifty-four years, where, also, his widow died April 5, 1894. They were the parents of two children—Walter B., of Ravenna, and Mrs, Fowler. The latter was but three years of age when her parents settled in Ravenna; she was educated in the public schools and was a very apt scholar, became a teacher of music and also a church organist, and is to-day a highly accomplished and amiable lady and an ornament to the social circles of Kent. Two children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Fowler, viz: Mary Ad-die and Elizabeth J. , the latter the wife of John Arighi, of Kent. Mr. Fowler in politics was a democrat un- 266 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD til 1896, since which time he has been an ardent republican; is a member of the board of education, and in April, 1896, was elected a justice of the peace, which office he has filled with impartiality and to the entire satisfaction to the public and credit to himself up to the present hour. TRUMAN L. FIRESTONE.—As a commercial and manufacturing center, Akron commands a position which essentially calls for hotel accommodations of good capacity and able management. In this regard the subject of this sketch will be found capable of maintaining a reputation equal to any other in the possession of a hotel that is unsurpassed in its accommodations. In support of this assertion, it is only necessary to visit the Windsor hotel, of which he is proprietor, to find it is not only one of the best hotels in northeastern Ohio, but of the entire state as well, in all that pertains to a strictly first-class hostelry. Ever since it has passed into the hands of Mr. Firestone, the Windsor, has been regarded as not only one of the most pleasant and convenient resorts for the traveling public, but one of the most homelike and comfortable hotels in this or the adjacent states. Mr. Firestone descends from one of those sturdy German pioneers who were so prominent in the early settlements of eastern Pennsylvania. Matthias Firestone, the great-grandfather of our subject, came to America about 1750, and served in the war of the Revolution and subsequently settled in eastern Pennsylvania. Jacob, his son and grandfather of our subject, settled in Maryland after he grew to manhood, locating in Frederick county, where he died at the age of fifty-five. He was a farmer by occupation, served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and was in Fort McHenry when it was bombarded by the British. He married Mary Holt, a native of Maryland, and their family consisted of six sons. George W. , the fifth son and the father of Mr. Firestone, was born on the homestead in Frederick county, Md., in 1811. He learned the millwright trade, and in 1835 settled in Wayne county, Ohio, where he followed his business until he was seventy years of age, erecting and repairing mills throughout the counties of Wayne, Stark, Homes and Ashland. He died at Fredericksburg, Ohio, in 1891, his wife having died in 1858. This lady bore the maiden name of Jane Hutchison, and was a daughter of James Hutchison, a native of Connecticut, who came to Ohio shortly after the war of 1812. By this marriage the following children were born, Truman L., Eugene T., and Mary J., wife of George Smith. Truman L. Firestone was born January 26, 1846, at Fredericksburg, Ohio. After the death of his mother he went to live with his uncle, David Firestone, in Licking county, where he was raised upon his farm, receiving a common-school education, and where he remained until June 4, 1863, when he enlisted in company E, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, for six months, and served until March 4, 1864. Returning home, he again enlisted, April 4, 1864, in company H, One Hundred and Second Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until his regiment was mustered out in 1865, when he was transferred to the One Hundred and Eighty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was stationed at Huntsville, Ala., and finally discharged in July, 1865. He participated in the following engagements: Cumberland Gap, Walker's Ford, and the three engagements at Decatur, Ala. After the close of the war Mr. Firestone located at Fredericksburg, Ohio, and learned the trade of a wood turner, serving an apprenticeship of two years. In 1869 he located in OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 267 Akron and was engaged at his trade and various occupations until 1882, when he returned to Fredericksburg and engaged in the planing-mill business for nine years. In 1890 he went to Cleveland, where he remained for two years, working for the Gobielle Pattern company and C. E. Taft company; at the expiration of this time he came to Akron and engaged in the planing-mill business, which he conducted until 1896, when he purchased the Windsor hotel. Politically he is a republican, and is a member of E. M. Mast post, No. 302, G. A. R., of Fredericksburg, Ohio. Mr. Firestone was married in May, 1874, to Miss Nellie, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (DeLashmutt) Hanson, and by this marriage they have had two sons—Cloyd W. (deceased) and George Forest. DAVID FRANK, a retired farmer, but still a dealer in agricultural implements, pianos and organs at Copley, Summit county, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state, and was born in Wayne county, November 14, 1829. Peter Frank, father of David, was born in Burgettstown, Washington county, Pa., January 23, 1789, was of German descent, was there married, at the age of thirty years, to Miss Nancy Ball, of English extraction, and soon after came to Ohio with a capital of $200; here he entered 260 acres in Wayne county, but this claim he disposed of and moved to Stark county, David, the subject, being then three years of age, and there the family lived for seven years, when they came to Copley township, Summit county. Here the mother died March 1, 1864, and the father February 9, 1872. They had a family of eight children, viz: William, born May 15, 1826, died in infancy; Sarah, born in Wayne county, Ohio, January 7. 1828, and now the wife of George Kuder, of Medina. county; David, the subject, the date of whose birth has already been given; Hiram, born April 28, 1832; Mary E., born in Stark county October 31, 1834, and now the wife of Dan Collier, a Copley township farmer; Isaiah, born in Copley township August 30, 1837, and now residing in Wadsworth, Medina county; Henry A., born September 9, 1840, now a farmer of Copley township; Peter H., born May 20, .1844, and killed by a cyclone in Sharon, Medina county, April 8, 1890. David Frank and his elder sister were rocked in their infancy in a sugar-trough, cradles proper being a scarce article of furniture in the backwoods of Ohio at the time of their birth. He assisted his father until twenty-two years of age, attending the pioneer schools meanwhile, and then began working out on his own account. He commenced life with only sixty dollars in money, which he earned by working his father's ground, and has cradled many a day with the' old-fashioned four-fingered cradle at one dollar per day. October 15, 1857, he married Miss Melissa Witner, who was born in. Summit county February 3, 1837, a daughter of Daniel and Susan (Worts) Witner, who were the parents of the following children: George, Sarah (deceased), Urias, Hettie, Lucy, Eliza, Harriet, Manda, Marietta, Daniel, Melissa, Abraham and Adelia. After his marriage Mr. Frank continued to work on a rented farm for ten years, when he became able, by hard work and the assistance of his estimable wife, to purchase a tract of eighty-five acres, his capital being added to, at the death of his father, to the extent of $3,000. By careful management and much self-denial, he has been able to add seventy-two acres to his holding, and this farm is now improved with new, modern, up-to-date buildings. Here Mr. Frank still makes his home, but some five years since re- 268 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD linquished active farming and engaged in business in Copley, as previously stated. His children are named Jennie, who was born February 12, 1860, was first married to Washington Jones, and, after his death, to A. Kuder, of Akron; Grant H., born March 16, 1864, who farms his father's place; Ze Delle, born February 6, 1869, and married to J. P. Hale, a jeweler of Akron, and Fiena, born December 10, 1871, and now the wife of E. Brunskill, a butcher by trade, also of Akron. Mr. Frank is a democrat in politics and cast his first presidential vote for James K. Polk, and he and his wife are members of the German Reformed church. He has been a hard-working, upright man, has made his own fortune, and is now considered to be one of the substantial citizens of Summit county. He enjoys the confidence and respect of all who know him, and his well-spent life fully entitles him to the esteem in which he is held. MAXWELL G. GARRISON, county treasurer of Portage county, Ohio, was born in Franklin township, this county, April 12, 1851, and is a son of James and Hannah (Walker) Garrison, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, and the latter in Summit county, Ohio, and were the parents of six children, viz: William J., who died in the army; Charles A., a veterinary surgeon of Ravenna; Alice. wife of William J. Grubb, of Kent, Ohio; Frances, married to H. D. Minnick, of Wellsville, Ohio; Maxwell G., the subject, and Edward F., a physician, who died of diphtheria at Suffield, Portage county. Joseph Garrison, paternal grandfather of Maxwell G., was a native of Pennsylvania, was an early settler of Portage county, Ohio, was the father of fourteen children, was a farmer, and died at about the age of sixty years. William 'Walker, maternal grandfather of subject, was born in Virginia, was quite young when brought to Ohio by his parents, who settled in Stowe township, Summit county, where he was reared a farmer, was married, and died between sixty and seventy years of age. James Garrison, father of Maxwell G. Garrison, was a child when brought to Ohio by his parents, who settled in Deerfield township, Portage county, where he was reared to manhood. After reaching his majority he removed to Stowe township, Summit county, where he was married, but later returned to Portage county and settled in Franklin township, and here died December 26, 1872, at the age of fifty-nine years, an elder in the Disciples' church at Kent; his widow is a resident of Kent, is a member of the same church, and is highly respected by all who know her. Maxwell G. Garrison, whose name opens this biography, was reared on his father's farm in Franklin township, and received his rudimentary education in the district schools. He next attended the high school at Hudson, and later entered Hiram college. He was an apt scholar, and was noted for his rapid progress in his studies. He early embraced the political faith of the republican party, became very popular with its members, was early elected city treasurer of Kent, and afterward treasurer of Franklin township, serving for a number of years to the entire satisfaction of the public. and, consequently, with credit to himself. Mr. Garrison began the study of law in the office of D. L. Rockwell, a prominent attorney of Kent, and was admitted to the bar in 1876. He was shortly afterward elected city solicitor of Kent, and continued in the active practice. with marked success, in that city, until 1881, when, on the organization of the City bank. he entered that institution as its cashier, held the position until 1894, when, having been OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 269 elected county treasurer, he removed to Ravenna and entered upon the duties of his office. To this responsible office he was re-elected in the fall of 1895, and is now filling his second term. This latter fact is in itself ample evidence that the citizens of Portage are well pleased with their choice. Mr. Garrison was united in marriage July 19, 1873, with Miss Sarah L. Peck, daughter of Rufus H. and Sarah (Lappin) Peck, and this happy union has been blessed by the birth of three sons and two daughters, viz: Ruth, Bessie, Charles, Guy and Iliff. Of these, Ruth is married to Harry Callihan, a car-builder of Kent, and is the mother of one child —Robert Maxwell Callihan. Mr. and Mrs. Garrison are consistent members of the Disciples' church, and fraternally Mr. Garrison is a Freemason, an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. He is still one of the directors of the City bank of Kent, and is also a director in the Portage county Building & Loan association of Ravenna. His happy home is on East Main street, and few men in Portage county stand higher in the esteem of their fellow-citizens than Maxwell G. Garrison. EMANUEL FRANKS , a well-to-do farmer of Green township, Summit county, Ohio, is a native of this township and was born July 21, 1851. He was educated in the Greensburg academy and reared to farming, which has been his life-long pursuit. Jacob Franks, great-grandfather of Emanuel Franks, was a native of Alsace, France, and emigrated to Pennsylvania in the days of William Penn. His son. Jacob Franks, Jr., was born in Washington county, Pa., there married Elizabeth Dice, a native of the same county, and soon afterward came to Ohio and settled in Trumbull county. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was serving within hearing of Perry's cannonade in the famous naval action on lake Erie. His children were born in the following order: Samuel, Andrew, John, Henry, George, Isaac, Jacob, Elizabeth (Gates) and Jonas. Isaac Franks, father of subject, was horn in Mahoning county, Ohio, February 21, 1817, and became a highly respected and substantial farmer of Green township, Summit county, owning here, at one time, 280 acres, but the greater part he has donated to his children, reserving, for his own, 117 acres. He settled in this township when a young man and married Miss Catherine Miller, of Mahoning county, June 13, 1850. This lady was born March 5, 1833, and is a daughter of John and Susan (Stambaugh) Miller, well known residents, formerly, of Ellsworth, Mahoning county. To Mr. and Mrs. Franks have been born two children, viz: Emanuel, our subject, and Mary E., now the wife of L. M. Kepler. Mr. Franks has always been a very industrious farmer, and all his possessions resulted from his personal exertions. He and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, are liberal in its support and active in its work, and well deserve the high esteem in which they are held. Emanuel Franks was united in marriage. November 21, 1876, with Miss Ella Frances Cox, who was born April 15, 1853, a daughter of Henry and Charlotte (Horner) Cox, and this marriage has been blessed with three children, viz: Lloyd M., born June 25, 1879 Bertha, November 6, 1885, and Russell 0., November 18, 1888. Mr. Franks has a handsome farm of 160 acres, which he has improved with all modern conveniences and manages with consummate skill. In politics he is a true and faithful republican, and as a citizen he is wide-awake, progressive, open-hearted and greatly respected. 270 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD JOSIAH GAYLORD, one of the substantial farmers and respected citizens of Stowe township, Summit county, Ohio, springs from an ancestor who came from England to America in old Puritan times. Stewart Gaylord, grandfather of Josiah Gaylord, was born in Connecticut, near Windsor, was there married, and became the father of the following children: Samuel, John, Stewart, Josiah, Betsey and Clarissa. Stewart Gaylord was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, in the commissary department, and served as meat packer. He was a cooper by trade and came to Stowe township with his sons, Stewart and Josiah, in 1809, making the journey with a yoke of cattle and one horse, being forty-four days on the way, and sleeping in the wagons. There was not a frame building in Cleveland, except the post-office, twelve feet square. He was an old man when he came with his family to Ohio—too old, in fact, to open a farm. He died at the residence of his son, John. Stewart Gaylord, father of subject, was born in Windsor, Conn., October 25, 1780, and married, at Middletown, Conn., Mary A. Cramer, daughter of a sea captain in the China trade. Mr. Gaylord was a ship carpenter by trade and worked on lake Erie. He had a sub-contract and built two of the vessels that were in action in Perry's fleet, in the battle on that lake. These vessels were built in the Cuyahoga river at old Portage. Mr. Gaylord had been importuned by the Commercial land company to settle in Cleveland, where land was worth between $4 and $5 per acre, but he would not do so, and settled with his wife and one child in Stowe township. He cleared up this farm from the woods and made a good home. The Indians were in the surrounding country and frequently visited the log house and would often sleep by the fireside. They were friendly, and even during the war of 1812 did no mischief. Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord were members of the Congregational church, were among its earliest members, and in politics Mr. Gaylord was a whig. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and served three months. His children were Mary, John, Stewart, Almira, George, William, Josiah, Hiram and Robert, all now deceased except Josiah, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Gaylord died October 20, 1840. He was an industrious man and well-to-do, was respected by all, and brought up an excellent family. Josiah Gaylord, son of Stewart, last mentioned, was born September 8, 1824, on his present farm in a frame house still standing, and which was a very good house for those days. He received a common-school education in the district school—first in a log schoolhouse—and has always been a farmer. He married, at the age of thirty-six years, June 14, 1861, in Stowe township, Laura Beckley, who was born September 19, 1832, in Stowe township, a daughter of Noel and Margaret (Lindsey) Beckley. Noel Beckley was a son of Selah, who was the son of Elias, mention of which family will be found in the biography of 'Squire Noel Beckley. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Gaylord settled on the Gaylord homestead and have since lived here. They have prospered and added to their land and have a fine farm, upon which they have built a substantial two-story residence. Their marriage has been blessed with four children, viz: Mary (died at twenty-two years), Willis W., Noel and Norman. Mr. Gaylord was first a whig in politics, but on the formation of the republican party joined its ranks, and has ever since been loyal to its doctrines. Mrs. Gaylord is a consistent member of the Episcopal church, and the family are among the most respected of the old pioneer stock of the county. OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 271 FREDERICK GEIDLINGER, justice of the peace, of Suffield, Portage county, and a most highly respected citizen, was born in Lake township, Stark county, Ohio, February 7, 1856, a son of Frederick and Phebe (Ginthel) Geidlinger, natives of Germany. The father was a tailor by trade, and on coming to America settled in Stark county, where he followed his trade until the end of his days, which were abridged by death in January, 1856, and where his wife died October 18, 1886, aged fifty-seven years, six months and twenty-eight days—both members of the Reformed church. Squire Geidlinger was educated, primarily, in the public schools of his native county, and completed his education at Mount Union college. He also attended a commercial college and the Ada normal school, in Hardin county, pursuing his studies during the summer months, and teaching school during the winter season. As the squire was a posthumous child, he was necessarily reared under the care of his mother, with whom he remained until about eighteen years old, up to which time he assisted her on the home farm. In 1882 Mr. Geidlinger came to Portage county and engaged in the dry-goods trade in Suffield, which for three years was conducted in partnership with a brother, under the firm name 'of Geidlinger Bros. In 1885 Mr. Geidlinger bought out the interest of his brother, and continued the business alone until the spring of 1896, when Dallas F. Kelle became a partner and the firm name now is Geidlinger & Co. The squire is also the owner of a fine farm, over which he keeps a personal supervision, and realizes therefrom a handsome income. In politics an active democrat, Mr. Geidlinger was elected township treasurer and filled the office with entire satisfaction to his party and his fellow-citizens for three terms. Under President Cleveland's first administration Mr. Geidlinger was appointed postmaster of Suffield and filled the office four years. In 1890 he was elected justice of the peace, and is now serving his third consecutive term, and during this period has adjudicated or administered several estates. Fraternally, he is a member of Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 568, of Suffield, of which he was one of the charter members, and in which he has filled all the chairs. The marriage of 'Squire Geidlinger took place January 3, 1883, at Union Town, Stark county, Ohio, to Miss Amanda E. Frank, daughter of John and Margaret (Lepper) Frank, of whom further may be read in the sketch of P. Lepper, of Springfield township, Summit county. The birth of Mrs. Geidlinger occurred October 20, 1861, and she has blessed her husband with two children—Edna and Olive B. Mr. and Mrs. Geidlinger are members of the Reformed church, to which they contribute quite freely in aid of its work for good in this and the coming world. Mr. Geidlinger, as his career shows, has been a very popular and useful citizen, and he and wife stand in the center of a wide and constantly increasing circle of warm personal friends. GEORGE GEYELIN, an ex-soldier of the Civil war and a respected citizen of Tallmadge, Summit county, Ohio, was born in Glarus, canton of Glarus, Switzerland, February 22, 1825, a son of George and Barbara (Spitteler) Geyelin. George Geyelin, father of our subject, was a native of Muellhausen, Alsace, France, but now a province of Germany, and was born in 1768. He was a calico designer and colorer, for which he received a large salary, and was the owner of considerable property. To his marriage with Miss Spitteler were born four children: Georgeina, Rosali, Benjamin and 272 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD George. His later years were passed in Glarus, Switzerland, where he died in 1826. His widow afterward married Jacob Keller, a carpenter, and to this union were born John, Judith and Casper, of whom Judith and Casper came to America. Casper served in the Civil war, in the same company with George Geyelin, our subject, and, although the shortest man in his regiment, was a good soldier. George Geyelin, our subject, was but one year old when his father died. His mother then removed with her children to Zurich, where she lived with her father, Casper Spitteler. In that city George attended school until fifteen years of age, then learned saddle and harness making and worked at his trade until about thirty years of age, when he embarked at Havre de Grace, France, on board the sailing vessel Irena, and forty-six days later, December 31, 1854, landed in New York city. He at once went to Pittsburg, Pa., where he worked at his trade from January 6 until March 5, 1855, when he came to Ohio and located in Ravenna May 1: then went to Lawrence, Kans., where he passed nine months during the troublous times of the anti-slavery agitation, and then returned to Ravenna, where he enlisted, April 25, 1861, in Capt. F. A. Seymour's company G, Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months, and assisted in building Camp Dennison. After having filled out his term of enlistment he re-enlisted in the same company, took part in the battles of Cross Lane, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Winchester, and on scout duty around Charleston. At Port Republic, June 9, 1862, he was struck on the head by a piece of shell, but did not leave the field, although he lost a great deal of blood. After the battle of Winchester, while on a ''double quick," he was ruptured and was obliged to go to the hospital at Frederick City, Md., and was finally honorably discharged at Bolivar Heights, Va., November 26, 1864. He was always prompt and cheerful in the discharge of his duty, and made an excellent military record. After his return from the army Mr. Geyelin for some time worked at his trade in Ravenna, and later opened a shop in Rootstown, Portage county, Ohio, where he lived until 1870, when he came to Tallmadge, and here he has since resided. He is a hard-working, straightforward man, is a good workman and honest in all his dealings, and stands high in the esteem of his fellow-citizens. In politics he is a republican. JOSEPH L. GILBERT, a prominent farmer of Stowe township, Summit county, Ohio, descends from an old colonial family, and was born in Litchfield, Conn., June 30, 1825. Orrin Gilbert, father of subject, was also born in Litchfield county, Conn., November 17, 1785, a son of Abner and Lydia Gilbert, and married, in Connecticut, Mary Barber. who was born in the same state, January 9, 1786. To this marriage were born ten children, in the following order: Emily Lamira, October 27, 1807; Albert Lewis, June 29, 1809; Henry Semore, June 10, 1811; Mary Ludalle, July 20, 1813; William Wallace, October 23, 1815; Harriet Lucretia, July 4, 1817; Edwin Barber, March 2, 1819; Abigail Maria, October 11, 1823; Joseph Lyman, June 30, 1825; and Louisa Ann, March 8, 1827. Of this family Orrin Gilbert, the father, died, aged sixty years, July 13, 1846; Louisa Ann died October 28, 1851, aged twenty- four years; Henry S. died in 1871, at the age of sixty years; Mary Ludalle died August 8, 1886, oged seventy-seven years, and Emily Lamira died November 26, 1887, aged eighty years. Orrin Gilbert was a farmer, owned a farm in Connecticut, and in the autumn of 1828 came OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 273 to Ohio, bringing all his children. He came by Erie canal to Buffalo and by lake to Cleveland, Ohio, and then by canal to the old Portage, four miles west of which he settled on the farm where our subject now lives. Here he bought 200 acres of land and forty acres in Litchfield township, Medina county. He had made an exchange of his farm with the Connecticut Land company before leaving the east, for his property here, and had come out in 1812 to view his land. There was a small tract of about fifty acres cleared, and a log house and barn built. The original settler was a Mr. Daily. Mr. Gilbert, assisted by his sons, cleared up a good farm, made a fine pioneer home, and about 1831 built a substantial frame house of two stories. This house is still in a good state of preservation, and the original windows, with old-fashioned panes, are still in place. The lock and latches are the same as when built, and neither the exterior nor the interior has been changed. Mrs. Lydia Gilbert, mother of Orrin Gilbert, came out at a later period, and died in Solon, Ohio. Orrin Gilbert and wife were members of the Episcopal church at Cuyahoga Falls, of which Mr. Gilbert was one of the founders, and which he assisted to build, and of which he was one of the vestrymen. Mr. Gilbert was first a whig in politics, later a republican, and filled the offices of justice of the peace and township trustee. He was industrious, and one of the substantial men of his township. He was one of the early members of the Masonic fraternity of Litchfield county, Conn. Joseph L. Gilbert was about two and a half years old when he came with his father's family to Ohio in the fall of 1828, but can remember some incidents of the trip. He received a good education for that early day, became a farmer, and married, when twenty-five years old, in Buffalo, N. Y.—when passing through that city on a visit to Connecticut, October 9, 1850—Harriet A. Hall, who was born January 13, 1828, in South Adams, Mass., a daughter of Asa and Hannah (King) Hall. Asa Hall was of sterling English stock on both sides, a carpenter by trade, and his children were Laura, Arvilla, Orrin, Salomie and Sophronia (twins), William, Harriet and Asa. Mr. Hall settled in Buffalo, N. Y., about 1827, and built the first special dry-goods house in that city. Mr. Hall moved to La Grange, N. Y., about 1835, and died about 1837, a member of and deacon in the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert settled on the old Gilbert homestead, and Mr. Gilbert still owns the old homestead and forty acres of the original farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert have been born Elsie Electa, November 14, 1851; Edward Everett, January 22, 1853; Alice Louisa, August 3, 1854; William Austin, January 23, 1856, and Dillie Bell, March 24, 1867. In politics Mr. Gilbert is a republican, and has been a member of the school board for many years, taking great interest in having good schools. He has always been an upright and respected citizen and has reared an excellent family and has always stood high for his integrity of character. REV. AMBROSE GRAHAM, pastor of Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic church at Kent, Ohio, was born in Cookstown, county Tyrone, Ireland, January 1, 1852, a son of Charles and Agnes (Devon) Graham, who were the parents of four sons and four daughters, of whom the sons all entered the learned professions—that is to say, William is a priest at Darlington, in the north of England; Robert, who was also a priest, died in Belfast, Ireland, in 1885; Ambrose, the subject, and Joseph, who is a physician of London, England. The father of the family was a well-to-do merchant of Cookstown, and neither he nor any of his children, 274 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD excepting Ambrose, the subject, ever left the Emerald isle for America. Rev. Ambrose Graham received his literary education in the Cookstown academy and then passed a year in an institution of learning in England. His theological studies were pursued in Saint Paul's college, Dublin, Ireland, and at Blair's college, Aberdeen, Scotland. He was ordained priest February 2, 1876, and his first appointment in his holy calling was as assistant at Saint Mary's church, Glasgow, Scotland. In January, 1880, he was appointed pastor of Saint Mary's church, at Irvin, Ayrshire, Scotland, but August 22, 1880, resigned his charge and came to the United States, and on September 20, 1888, was appointed to his present charge which, to the present time, he has filled to the great satisfaction of his loving and revering flock. Saint Patrick's church at Kent was organized in 1867 by Rev. P. H. Brown, at that time pastor of the Catholic church at Hudson, Summit county, with an out-mission at Kent comprising about forty families. The Saint Patrick church edifice was erected in 1868 at a cost of $12,000. The edifice was quite imposing and a cemetery was very tastefully laid out, and Father Brown officiated as priest until succeeded in consecutive order by Fathers W. J. Gibbons, J. P. Carroll, J. D. Bowles, F. J. O'Neill, James Maloy (1880-81), Louis Brairie, J. F. Cahill and George Leming. D. D., all good and faithful pastors and earnest in their work. Father Graham was now appointed to the charge, and diligently set to work to improve the edifice and add some necessary accessories, for which he secured contributions amounting to $2,000, but the worthy father was careful not to overtax the financial ability of his devoted children, and the congregation is now entirely free from debt. Through the zealous efforts of Father Graham, Saint Patrick's church now numbers within its fold over 120 families and its parochial school, taught by four sisters of the order of Saint Dominic, has an enrollment of fully eighty pupils. Naturally enough, Father Graham is fully satisfied with the approval he has met with from the superiors of the church for his zealous work, but the need of approval from laymen, even beyond the pale of his church, must be gratifying to even one in holy orders.H HENRY C. GRANT, a well-known resident of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, born in New Haven, Conn., February 3, 1836, a son of William T. and Esther F. (Treat) Grant. Henry C. Grant received his education in the public school, also attended, the academy at Orange, Conn., and became a farmer. He was in a market in New Haven three years when young. In 1855 he came to Ohio and lived a short time in Cuyahoga Falls, and in March, 1856, went to Lawrence, Kans. This was in the exciting times of the Kansas troubles over the slavery question. Mr. Grant was accompanied to Kansas by Samuel Wood, a prominent lawyer and settler in Kansas, who was later driven out of the then territory by border ruffians. Mr. Grant worked awhile at farm work for a Mr. Emery, of Maine. The committee of safety, of Lawrence, Kans., organized for the defense of the freesoilers, and the young men were armed with Sharp's rifles and organized a campaign. Mr. Grant joined company B in April, 1856, and resisted an attempt to arrest Samuel Wood, made by Sheriff Samuel Jones, a border ruffian from Missouri, growing out of the Branson rescue. As this attempt did not succeed, another was made to arrest Samuel Wood, aided by a company of United States dragoons, and that night OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 275 Sheriff Jones was shot in his tent and badly wounded, and these events led up to the Kansas war. Early in June Lawrence was sacked, Gov. Robinson's residence was burned and the hotel destroyed by fire. The city and even the private residences were plundered. These events covered the entire summer, and Mr. Grant was under arms during the entire time. At one time he was in camp with the famous John Brown, near Osawatomie. Mr. Grant was in several skirmishes with the border ruffians, at one time under the celebrated Jim Lane, who aided in the capture of a block-house five miles from Lawrence, in which attack several were killed and wounded. The block-house was burned, and fifty men with all their arms and one piece of artillery were captured. He was also in an attempt to capture border ruffians under Henry Clay Pate, nine miles from Lawrence. This band had murdered David S. Hoyt, a noted freesoiler, while on a visit to their camp by invitation and under promise of protection. He was a prominent Mason. The freesoil men, Mr. Grant being one, destroyed this camp. He was also with a party who attacked a blockhouse near Lecompton, Jim Lane being in command. They also broke up a nest of border ruffians and horse theives under Col. Titus, suffering some loss. Mr. Grant remained under fire with the freesoilers until the fall of 1856, when, the Kansas troubles being quieted, he returned to Ohio. Mr. Grant worked at farm work in Summit county until the war, when he enlisted, September 1, 1861, at Cuyahoga Falls, in company D, First regiment, Ohio light artillery, to serve three years, if not sooner discharged; later he re-enlisted, as a veteran, at Strawberry Plains, Tenn. , in same organization, to serve three years or during the war, and served until discharged as first lieutenant at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, August 31, 1865. He had been promoted, for meritorious conduct, to first sergeant and then to second lieutenant, and was assigned from company D to company A, and afterward promoted to first lieutenant and assigned to company G, from which he was mustered out. During November, 1861, in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. under Gen. Nelson, he was in several battles, and at Green River Bridge, Ky., the entire force surrendered to Gen. Bragg, later were paroled, and sent to Ohio and exchanged. The regiment was re-organized and sent into Kentucky, and was in the fights from Lexington to Knoxville and at the investment of Cumberland Gap, where 2,000 prisoners were taken; and he was in the siege of Knoxville, and the assault, when invested by Gen. Long-street, and at Blaine's Cross Roads. He took part in the great Atlanta campaign, and was in the battles of Dalton, Resaca and Pumpkinvine Creek, Peach Tree Creek, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain and general assault on Atlanta. He was also at Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station. During this remarkable campaign, Mr. Grant was under continuous fire with his comrades for 119 days. After the fall of Atlanta his battery followed Hood, and he was in the battles of Columbia, Spring Hill and Franklin, and was in the battle of Nashville when Hood's army was destroyed. After this he was in camp at different places in Alabama and Tennesse until June, 1865, when his corps was ordered to New Orleans. Mr. Grant was always an active soldier, was sick in hospital but one mouth, at Lookout Mountain, and was in all the campaigns, marches, skirmishes and battles in which his battery took part. In the beginning of the war, September t0, 1861, he married, at Tallmadge, Ohio, Sarah M. Sackett, who was born May 15, 1837, at Avon, Livingston county, N. Y., a daughter of Aaron and Hulda (Tanner) Sackett. After the war Mr. and Mrs. Grant settled 276 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD on the home farm, consisting of 150 acres, which he has improved and cleared from very heavy timber. To Mr. and Mrs. Grant have been born six children: William B., Harry S. , Charles T., Walter S., Theodosia (died aged nine years) and Dorothy. Mrs. Grant is a member of the Congregational church and in politics Mr. Grant is a stanch republican and one of the founders of the party, taking part in the early struggles and casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln on his first nomination for the presidency. He was an ardent abolitionist and fought for the cause on Kansas soil and from the beginning to the end of the Civil war. Mr. Grant is a well known man of integrity of character, and his family is well educated; his two sons are graduates of colleges—Charles of Princeton, N. J. and Walter S., of Middlebury, Vt. GEORGE B. GREEN is one of the most progressive farmers of Franklin township, Portage county, Ohio, and in this township he was born on the parental farm November 26, 1851, a son of Seneca and Mary A. (Holt) Green, relative to whom a digression may here be made. Seneca Green was born in Hampshire county, Mass., October 3, 1808, and was a son of Clark and Submit (Hastings) Green. He was reared on his father's farm until his fourteenth year, and was then apprenticed for six years at shoemaking. After learning his trade he worked for a year as a journeyman in North Lee, and then engaged in business on his own account in South Lee, Mass., and realized in this line considerable profit. In the autumn of 1836 he disposed of his business in South Lee and came to Ohio, purchased the farm in Portage county on which our subject, George B. Green, was born, and beCame one of the most prosperous and influ ential farmers of Franklin township. He first married, October 3, 1832, Miss Sarah Spellman, of Monterey, Mass., but this lady was called away May 6, 1834, and February 29, 1836, Mr. Green married Miss Mary A. Holt, of Austerlitz, N. Y. This latter union was blessed wirh six children, viz: Sarah, wife of H. L. Russell; Stephen, of Streetsboro, Ohio; Spellman, of Franklin township; Ann, wife of G. H. Taylor, of Lansing, Mich.; Mary A., married to A. A. Ross, of Kent, Ohio, and George B., whose name opens this biographical sketch: Mr. Green, in his politics, was a whig in his early days, but on the formation of the republican party became one of its most ardent supporters. Death took from him his devoted wife June 6, 1877, at the age of sixty-eight years, and his own death occurred May 9, 1887, at the age of seventy-eight. But few citizens of Franklin township ever attained a higher degree of esteem than this honored pioneer from New England, who used the best energies of his active life in the development of Franklin township. Clark Green, the father of Seneca Green. was born in Massachusetts, April 11, 1776, almost on the eve of the grandest and most successful revolutionary event recorded in the world's history. To his marriage with Miss Submit Hastings were born nine children, of whom two still survive, Salome and Clara. The deceased were named Billings, who died August 17, 1865, at the age of sixty years; David, who died December 22, 1863, at the age of sixty-two; Eunice, whose death took place September 8, 1852, aged fifty-three; Seneca, the date of whose death is given above; Porter, born May 9, 1813, whose death took place in 1893, at the age of eighty, and Hannah, who died October 17, 1842, at the age of thirty-nine years; George, born June 19, 1811. The father of this family passed away November 27, 1848, at the age OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 277 of seventy-two years, and his wife followed him to the grave April 12, 1863, aged eighty-five years. Morris Holt, the maternal grandfather of George B. Green, was born April 13, 1768, and Sallie, his wife, was born December 1, 1770. Their marriage resulted in the birth of seven children, viz: Horace, February 14, 1794; Stephen, January 15, 1796; Betsey, April I, 1798—died May 4, 1858; Sallie, born July 29, 1800—died April 9, 1865; Mercy, born June 29, 1802 ; Desire, born August 1804—died August 2, 1864, and Mary Ann, born July 13, 1809—died June 6, 1877. All the above-named children have passed away, but in some instances, it will be perceived, the dates of death are not on record. Mr. Holt departed this life March 19, 1815, at the age of forty-eight years. George B. Green, the subject of this biography, passed his early life on the home farm, assisting his father until he reached the age of twenty-one years, when he engaged in farming on his own account. His marriage took place at Earlville, Ohio, October 21, 1874, to Miss Clara L. Haymaker, daughter of James and Mary (Olin) Haymaker, and this marriage has been blessed with three children, viz: Mabel A., James S. and Walter H. In conjunction with general farming, Mr. Green deals extensively in live stock, and ranks as one of Portage county's up-to-date agriculturists. In politics he is a rigid republican, in his fraternal relations is a Knight of Pythias, and his religious devotions are paid at the Universalist church. Mrs. Clara L. Green, wife of George B. Green, was born August 30, 1850, in Earlville, and obtained her education in the district schoolhouse near the gravel bank," and after leaving school taught a term. Some sixteen years after her marriage she was taken seriously ill (in 1890) and for a year or two was a confirmed invalid, and scant hopes were entertained for her recovery, but she eventually recuperated and is now enjoying excellent health. James D. Haymaker, father of Mrs. Green, was a son of Frederick and Rachel (Davis) Haymaker, and was born in Franklin township, Portage county, Ohio, September 2, 1809, in a little log cabin near the historical site of Brady's Leap. About ten days after his birth his mother died, thus leaving him to the care of his father, who took him to Pennsylvania, leaving him to the care of his grandfather, with whom he remained until he reached his tenth year, and then returned to his father, who had in the meantime married again, and was living in Beaver county, Pa. In 1823 his father returned to Franklin Mills now known as Kent), Ohio, and there James D. obtained all the education he ever received. After staying in Franklin two years, he entered a woolen factory to learn a trade; after having four years' experience there, he embarked in the business of making wooden pails, tubs and wooden ware. This employment he followed for the next two years, and then removed to Fairport, Ohio, on lake Erie, where he opened a hotel, or, as it was then called, a " tavern." Here he continued business for two years, and then, returning to Portage county, he purchased a farm, in 1834, on which he spent the remainder of his life. It consisted of eighty-eight acres of new land, but Mr. Haymaker went bravely to work to prepare for himself a habitation, and on the 6th day of June, 1835, his house and barn were raised—this ‘‘ raising " being famed throughout this section as the first temperance, or "cold-water raising," that had been known. November 29, 1835, in the presence of neighbors and friends, James D. Haymaker and Mary Rosetta Olin took upon themselves the vows of matrimony; thirteen children have been the fruit of this union, nine of whom survive, viz: Oscar F. ; Rachel, wife of Mc- 278 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Kendree Norton; Arvin; James; Clara, wife of our subject; Almira, wife of Theodore H. Kin-dice; Amelia, wife of M. G. Norton; William J., and Abbie, wife of E. W. Case. Those who have passed away were Franklin, who died in 1850, aged fourteen years; Cora, who died February 2, 1859, aged nine months; Mary R., who passed away July 27, 1866, aged twenty years, and Ann, who died May 11, 1893, aged fifty years. James, fourth son of James Haymaker, Sr., served in the Civil war, having enlisted January 12, 1865, in the One Hundred and Ninety-third regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, at Cleveland, Ohio. James and Mary Haymaker celebrated their golden wedding anniversary November 29, 1885, when friends and neighbors, to the number of two hundred, gathered to congratulate the aged couple on having reached the zenith of half a century of wedded life. January 31, 1889, Mr. Haymaker laid down life's burdens to exchange "The cross for the crown." He left to his posterity that priceless inheritance, an irreproachable character and a stainless name. Mrs. James (Olin) Haymaker is the daughter of Arvin and Betsey (Bennett) Olin, and was born in Perry, Wyoming county, N. Y., February 22, 1820. She removed with her parents to Ohio, and here was married to James Haymaker. Arvin Olin, grandfather of Mrs. Green, was a son of Ezra and Ruth (Green) Olin. He was born in Shaftsbury, Vt., July 13, 1797; was married March 9, 1817, to Betsey Bennett, who was born in Bennington, Vt., February 6, 1801, and to them thirteen children were born. Arvin Olin died June 7, 1870, and Mrs. Olin followed him January 5, 1872, aged seventy years and eleven months. Ezra Olin, great-grandfather of Mrs. Green, was born in Rhode Island March 23, 1772, the son of John Olin, Second. In the month of March, 1791, he was married to Ruth Green, daugh ter of Samuel and Ruth Green, who was born in Rhode Island November 10, 1770, and died May 19, 1847. To this union were born ten children. In 1848 Ezra Olin, married, for his second wife, Mrs. Booth, of Orangeville, N. Y., who died in 1855; Mr. Olin died November 5, 1858, aged eighty-six years seven months and twelve days. John Olin, second, great-greatgrand-father of Mrs. Green, was born in Rhode Island in 1714, son of John Olin, first, and Susannah (Spencer) Olin. He was married in East Greenwich, R. I., to Susannah Pierce, -daughter of Jeremiah Pierce, December 9: 1734. To them were born seven children. John Olin, second, died in January, 1797. aged eighty-three years; Susannah, his wife, died in February, 1802, aged eighty-seven. John Olin, the first, great-great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Green, emigrated to America from Wales in 1700, settling near Greenwich, R. I., and is said to have come to this country at the age of fourteen years. He was married, in East Greenwich, October 4, 1708, to Susannah Spencer, daughter of John and Susannah Spencer, natives of Wales. John Olin, the first, died at Newport, R. I., June 10, 1725, aged sixty-one years. Here ends the genealogical record of Mrs. Green's family, on the maternal side of the house, as far as it is possible to trace it. So we will leave Mr. and Mrs. Green living in their comfortable home pleasantly situated on the road leading from Kent to Hudson, which is now known as the Hill Side Lawn farm. They are cheered by the presence of their three children, of whom Mabel A., born August 28, 1875, graduated from the Kent high school, in 1894, and has since been engaged' in teaching. James S. was born May 5, 1880, is also a Kent graduate of the class of 1897, and Walter H., born February 26, 1889, is still attending school. Mr. Green and family are among the most respected of the residents OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 283 of Franklin township, and Mr. Green's reputation as a farmer and stock raiser is widespread and well deserved, while his business name stands without a blemish, and he is, at present, trustee of Franklin township. EDWARD HELLER, of Ghent, Ohio, is one of the most substantial and influential farmers in Bath township. He was born in Northampton county, Pa., May 23, 1826, son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Evenrider) Heller, the former a native of Bucks county, Pa., and the latter of Lehigh county, the same state. His father was a miller by trade, and by his frugal and. industrious habits accumulated considerable property, possessing large land holdings in connection with his extensive milling interests, and operating largely in the timber and lumber way. He died in 1852, his wife surviving him some years. They were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth, Joseph, Ann, Adleman, George, Edward and Polly. Edward Heller, the subject of this sketch, spent the early part of his life with his father in the mill and upon the farm, remaining there until he was past twenty-five. In 1851 he was married to Miss Julia A. Dutt, who was born in Northampton county, Pa., in 1827. The following year Mr. Heller and his bride came to this county and located in Copley township on a farm of sixty acres which they purchased. Mr. Heller cleared half of this tract and erected a comfortable home, where they resided for nearly twenty years. In 1870 he traded this farm for the mill property west of Ghent, the largest and best steam and water power grist and saw-mill in the western part of the county. He also bought a mill half a mile east of Ghent and twenty-one acres of fine land in the township. Deciding to retire from the milling business he afterward traded his mill properties for the excellent farm of 154 acres upon which he now resides. This is known as the Hershey farm, from its former owner, A. Hershey. Mr. Heller has made large and notable improvements upon this place in the way of modern buildings and up-to-date appliances, and has an admirable home. Mr. Heller comes from vigorous and hardy stock, it being a boast that the average age in his family is eighty years—a family. too, strongly grounded in its religious faith and rigid in its observance of its tenets. He is a member of the Evangelical church, and is a pillar in that denomination. During his residence at Copley he was superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is a man upright in his business dealings, consistent in his christian walk, courteous in his manner—a gentleman who enjoys the unbounded confidence and respect of the entire community. A very sore bereavement to the Heller household was the death, November 4, 1885, of of the wife and mother. Mrs. Heller was a noble woman, devoted to her family. and a practical, earnest helpmate. Her memory is cherished socially in the household and is not a thing that dies. Following are the children of this family: Quintus A., Benjamin F., Amanda E., and Emma D. JOHN GRETHER, ex-auditor of the county of Summit, Ohio, was born in the Fourth ward of the city of Akron, February 21, 1857, and this has been his home since his birth. He is the eldest of the six children born to John G. and Barbara (Doersch) Grether, the other five being George, a blacksmith, in the employ of the Akron Salt works; Fred, receiving and shipping clerk for Strong, Copp & Co., wholesale druggists of Cleveland; Emma, in Akron: Charles, druggist 284 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of Akron, and Amelia a stenographer, who was an assistant to her brother, John, when he was county auditor. John Grether, the subject, was educated in the high school of his native city of Akron and also took a course in a business college. From the age of sixteen he assisted his father in his grocery until nineteen years of age, when he entered the employ of E. Steinbacher, wholesale and retail dealer in groceries, drugs, oils and paints, and during the six years and four months he was in the employ lost but twenty-one days. Mr. Grether then purchased the Palace drug store, which he conducted six years and eight months, when he disposed of the concern and turned his whole attention to the real estate business, having already made some investments in realty. In 1887 the real estate firm of Motz & Grether was formed at Kokomo, Ind., where they did an extensive business for three or four years, when Mr. Grether withdrew. In 1890 he organized the Kokomo Enameling works in that city, and in the same year organized the Globe Sign works in Akron, of which he is president. This plant is in South Akron, and furnishes oil-cloth and muslin signs for all parts of the United States. It is 40 x 160 feet, ground plan. and three stories high, and employs from sixteen to eighteen hands. In 1890. also, the Grether & Pfeiffer real estate firm was formed, and at once began making additions to the city of .Akron—four on North Hill and three on West Hill—the entire acreage being sixty-three. The extension of the Akron Electrical street-car railroad, from the Little Cuyahoga river and Howard street to the Cuyahoga Falls road, on North Hill, was largely brought about by Grether & Pfeiffer, they turning over their road to the Akron street-car company, on condition that both be operated as one. In 1892, Mr. Grether was elected county auditor of Summit county on the democratic ticket and filled the office three years, proving himself to be in every way worthy of the trust reposed in him, and was probably one of the most efficient officers that ever served the people of Summit county. On leaving this office he resumed his real estate transactions. He is also the manufacturer of the Buckeye Copper Polish, which has a most extensive sale throughout the whole country; he was likewise one of the founders of the Marion Keely institute of Marion, Ind., of which he is president. Fraternally, he is a member of Atolia lodge, K. of P., No. 21, as well as of the uniform rank; member of the B. & P. 0. Elks, which he joined in February, 1897; also of the Red Cross, the Turnverein and other German societies; he is a director of the German-American Building &-Loan association, and has his office under the Buchtel hotel. His religion is found in the faith of the German Reformed church. Mr. Grether has been one of the most active of the business men of Akron and has done as much for the development of the city as probably any other of its native-born residents, and is in consequence duly honored by all. JUDGE NATHANIEL PERKINS GOODHUE, recently clerk of courts of Summit county, son of Hon. Nathaniel W. Goodhue, and his wife, Nancy W., was born in Akron, Ohio, August 6, 1853, and was educated in the public schools of the city. From December, 1872, to July, 1878, he was deputy clerk in the United States court at Cleveland, Ohio; from September. 1878, until February, 1882, he was a traveling salesman for Kellar & Goodhue, wholesale dealers in boots and shoes, at Rochester, N. Y. ; from February 8, 1882, to February, 1891, he was deputy probate judge OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 285 of Summit county, having read law under his father, and from February 8, 1891, to August 2, 1897, served as clerk of courts of Summit county, having been elected on the republican ticket. April 4, 1883, Mr. Goodhue was united in marriage to Miss Mary Kent McNaughton, daughter of Finley and Ella (Kent) McNaughton, but no children have blessed this union. Mrs. Goodhue was born in Akron October 31, 1858, her parents having formerly been residents of this city, but now residing in Youngstown, Ohio. Hon. Nathaniel W. Goodhue, father of Nathaniel P. Goodhue, was elected probate judge of Summit county in October, 1881, and acceptably filled the office until his sudden death in September, 1883, when his son and deputy continued to act in the same capacity under Charles R Grant, who was appointed by Gov. Foster to fill the vacancy of judge caused by the death of Nathaniel W. Goodhue. HORACE G. GRIFFIN, sheriff of Summit county, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state, and was born in Geauga county October 8, 1840, a son of Seth B: and Huldah (King) Griffin, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Seth B. Griffin was a farmer by vocation, was active in politics, national, state, county and township, was a well informed gentleman and a counselor for his neighbors in all matters of dispute, and a member of the Masonic order in high standing, having gone to Canada to receive his last degree. He was the father of four children, born in the following order: Theressa, the deceased wife of Oscar Watts, of Geauga county, who is also deceased, having been killed in the battle of Chancellorsville; Charlotte died in childhood; Horace G. is the subject of this memoir; Lester is a contractor and builder of Cleveland. Horace G. Griffin was reared on his father's farm, was educated in the common and select schools of Geauga county, and enlisted, September 10, 1861, in company G, Forty-first regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and gallantly performed the duties of a soldier until mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., June 26, 1864. After his return he was for about a year on the sick list, and was then employed by Budlong & Stokes to conduct a cheese factory on a large scale at Charndon, but two years later this concern changed hands, and Mr. Griffin then started, for L. J. Randall, of Charndon, the first creamery ever established in Ohio, and this he operated for two years. He was then employed by a company in Versailles, Ky., to start a cheese factory at that point—the first in Kentucky—and for two and a half years conducted it with profit and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He then 286 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD returned to Geauga county, Ohio, and engaged in mercantile business in Fowler's Mills, but sold out within a few months and went to Painesville, Lake county, and re-engaged in merchandising, which he followed for two years, then disposed of his stock and came to Akron to fill a contract with the Valley Railroad company, then in course of construction, to complete the grading from Akron to .Union Town. After filling his contract he again entered the mercantile trade, and for five years did business in Akron under the firm of Viall & Griffin. The firm having sold out, Mr. Griffin at once engaged in business on his own account, in the Sixth ward, on Market street, where he now carries a full line of groceries, notions, etc., and is among the solid men of Akron. An ardent republican, Mr. Griffin has always taken an active part in the politics of the city and county; for eight years consecutively he was a member of the board of education—being the first in Akron to fill three successive terms—and during his incumbency the high school building and three common school buildings were erected. Without solicitation he was appointed by Gov. Foraker a member of the board of elections, and served four years, or during the life of that board; he also served six years as a member of the board of city assessments. In the fall of 1894 he was elected sheriff of Summit county, and at the expiration of his term he returned to the mercantile business. In all the offices he has held his efficiency has made itself self-evident, and in every case his constituents have consented to release, only to advance him, to positions of higher honor. Fraternally, Mr. Griffin is a member of Middlebury council, No. 969, Royal Arcanum; Spertian lodge, No, 126, K. of H. ; Buckley post, No. 12, G. A. R.; American Legion, No. 428, and J. O. U. M., Pride of Akron, No. 343. The marriage of Mr. Griffin occurred in Geauga county, Ohio, December 22, 1864, with Miss Harriet Taylor, daughter of Rev. Justice Taylor, and this union has been blessed with two children, viz: Lizzie T., wife of Dr. H. H. Jacobs, of Akron, and Lucy H., a student at Granville seminary, but residing with her parents. The family attend the Baptist church, and have their pleasant home at No. 111 Forrest street, when Mr. Griffin is not attending his duties as sheriff, when, of course, his residence is at the county jail on Broadway, Akron. Mr. Griffin began at the bottom of the ladder as a business man, and by his own ability and industry has reached his present eminence. He is courteous and genial in his bearing, and has made friends in all parts of the country where it has been his fate to live. CAPT. WILLIAM GRINNELL, prominent as a business man, public official and citizen of Ravenna, Ohio, as well as an ex-soldier of the Union army, was born in Allegany county, N: Y., June 28, 1839. His parents, James and Julia A. (Luce) Grinnell, were respectively born in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1810, and in Cattaraugus county, in the same state, in 1813. They were married in their native state, and about 1849 came to Ohio and settled on a farm in Franklin township, Portage county, where the mother died and where the father still lives at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Of their family of three sons and One daughter the captain is the eldest, and can trace his genealogy back to Auld Scotia. Capt. Grinnell was a lad of twelve years when brought by his parents to Portage comity, and in Franklin township was an attendant at the public schools until about the age fifteen years, when he found employment in a store at Kent. In the spring of 1859 he went OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 287 to Hardin county, Ky., where, for a time, he worked on a farm, but soon secured a position as clerk in a general store in Elizabethtown, in the same county. While thus employed, he was approached, in the winter of 1860-6r, by a committee, who urged him to join a military company of prospective Confederates then being formed, but this he declined to do, the consequence being that his stay in the state would be hazardous, and so, in the spring of 1861, he returned to Kent and re-engaged as a salesman in a store. In 1862 he enlisted in company I, One Hundred and Fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, was mustered in as fifth sergeant, and passed through the various grades of promotion until commissioned first lieutenant. At the siege of Knoxville, Tenn., November 29, 1863, he received a wound so serious that it disabled him for life, and he was furloughed home. He was never able to return to his command, and was eventually discharged on account of disability, although in the meantime, for gallantry in the face of the enemy and for meritorious conduct in the line of duty, he was promoted to the captaincy of company D, of his own regiment, the duties of which office his injury precluded him from performing. May 30, 1865, Capt. Grinnell was united in marriage with Miss Rachel A. Phillips, a native of Portage county and daughter of Benjamin Phillips. Mr. Phillips was at one time a member of the state legislature of Massachusetts, from which state he came to Ohio and settled on an extensive farm in Franklin township, Portage county, where his wife ended her days. Mr. Phillips attained great prominence, locally, after coming to this county, and died in Ravenna, honored by all who ever knew him. Mr. and Mrs. Grinnell have had no children born to them, but have adopted a son, William P. Grinnell, now seventeen years of age and attending school in Hudson. Soon after his marriage Capt. Grinnell was appointed deputy county auditor of Portage county, which position he was ably filling when elected county auditor in 1868, and this important and responsible office he held for twelve consecutive years—a recognition by the public of ability and integrity seldom accorded to official incumbents. In 1883 the captain was appointed, by the governor of the state, a member of the tax commission created to revise the tax laws, but impaired health did not permit his acceptance of the onerous and delicate office. Capt. Grinnell has been an important factor in the material progress of Ravenna. He was one of the founders and builders of the Ravenna Flint Glass works, and was secretary and treasurer of the company until 1884; he drafted the original bill to authorize the erection of the present court house, which bill was approved by the state legislature, and the county commissioners instructed to issue bonds and proceed with the work, Capt. Grinnell being appointed a member of the building committee by the court of common pleas. The captain was also the author of the present system of water-works in Ravenna, which were constructed in 1885-86, the captain having in charge the interests of the city as its agent; for nearly nine years he was a member of the board of trustees of these works, and for several years the secretary of the board. In 1890 the captain was one of the incorporators of the Ravenna Brick & Tile Manufacturing company, of which he has ever since been the secretary and treasurer. The capital stock of this company is $15,000, and it gives constant work to a force of eighteen employees. In politics Capt. Grinnell is a republican, and an active one. He has served a number of years as chairman, secretary and treasurer of the republican county committee, and in 1888 was a delegate to the national convention 288 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD which nominated Benjamin Harrison for the presidency of the United States. In 1890 he was appointed, without his knowledge, a member of the state board of equalization, the jurisdiction of which extended over the five counties of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Summit; about the same time he was appointed supervisor of the Eighth census district, comprising twelve counties — both of which positions he filled with consummate ability. The captain has also served as a member of the board of deputy state supervisors of elections under the provisions of the Australian ballot law, and has been a member of the Soldiers' relief commission ever since its formation. In religion, Mr. and Mrs. Grinnell cling to the faith of the Congregationalists and are both active in the work of their church. Fraternally, the captain is an Odd Fellow and a zealous member of the Grand Army of the Republic, being a charter member and commander of the first post organized in Portage county (at Kent) and a charter member of the David McIntosh at Ravenna, of which he is past post commander. The social standing of the captain and his wife is most enviable, forming, as they do, the center of a constantly widening circle of admiring friends. WILLIAM T. GRUNDEL, the well-known cigar manufacturer of Ravenna, Ohio, was born in the kingdom of Prussia, Germany, February 24, 1828, and is a son of John and Louisa Josephine (Lucke) Grundel, both of whom have long been deceased. The father descended from a representative German family that for generations had held offices of trust under the government; the father of subject's mother was captain and owner of a merchant vessel, and was engaged in trading with all the cities on the coast of the North sea, and other of her relatives are now holding offices under the government. There were six children born to John and Louisa J. Grundel, viz: Henrietta, Robert, Adolph, William, Theodore, Albert and Albertine, all now deceased, excepting Adolph and William Theodore, the last named being the subject, whose name opens this paragraph. Adolph, who served as a sharpshooter in the army, still resides in Prussia, in retirement. William Theodore Grundel, the subject, received a sound literary education in his native country, and after leaving school was employed by the government in its revenue department—a year and a half on land and about eight months on board of a revenue cutter. In 1848 he came to the United States, landed from the steamer Herman in New York city, where he remained about three months, thence went to Boston, Mass., returned to New York, and next went to Richmond, Va. , where he served an apprenticeship of two years at cigar-making. He then visited all the cities of any importance along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Texas, and finally married, in 1856, Miss Adeline Adams, of Connecticut, a daughter of Lorenzo and Susan (Woodworth) Adams, of whom the former was a native of Massachusetts and the latter of the Nutmeg state. Mrs. Grundel was educated in the public schools and the Ladies' seminary of Suffield, Conn., and at the time of her marriage her father was the proprietor of the Enfield Bridge hotel, at Enfield, that state. This lady, who was born in 1836, died in Ravenna, Ohio, October 16, 1884, the mother of three children, viz: Albertine, Willie and Bertha. Of these, Albertine is the wife of the Rev. J. M. Van Horn, who was formerly pastor of the Christian church of Ravenna, but is now pastor of the Disciples' church of Warren, Ohio, and has under consideration a recent call to OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 289 the pastorate of the West London tabernacle, England; Bertha is the wife of S. R. Metzger, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Willie died October 20, 1872, his remains being interred in 'Maple Grove cemetery, Ravenna. After his marriage Mr. Grundel resided in Suffield, Conn., until 1859, when he came to Ohio and secured a position in Elyria. He had been there about a year and a half when Lyman Moses, a well-known cigar manufacturer of Ravenna, Ohio, but formerly of Suffield, Conn., where he and our subject had worked together, hearing of Mr. Grundel's presence in Elyria, wrote to him and offered him a more remunerative situation in Ravenna, which was accepted, and for twenty years Mr. Grundel was in the employ of Mr. Moses, to the entire satisfaction of both parties. In 1880 Mr. Grundel rented a storeroom in the Otto Sontum block, north of the court house, Ravenna, and, with a borrowed capital of $400, purchased a stock of tobacco and smokers' articles and entered on the first business venture of his life. Inside of one year he so prospered that he was able to refund the borrowed money; from time to time he added to his stock and fixtures, and by hard work and close attention to business eventually reached the foremost position in his line in Ravenna. He to-day .enjoys a lucrative trade, both wholesale and retail, manufacturing some of the most favorite brands of cigars now used in the city and county, including the Perfectos, at ten cents each; the Golden Keys and Cubanas, at five cents each, and numerous other brands of equally good quality, but not, as yet, equally popular, yet destined to become so, as he never sends out an inferior article. In politics Mr. Grundel is a republican and a stanch friend of protection of American industries. He has served as a member of the Ravenna city council, resigning the latter position to accept the office of corporation, township and school treasurer, still holding that of township treasurer. Fraternally he is a Freemason, having been made such in Norfolk (Va.) lodge in 1851, and is a charter member of Crescent lodge, Knights of Pythias, at Ravenna. His name as a business man is without a stain, and the high esteem in which he is held as a citizen is the just reward of his personal merits. ALBERT HALE, one of the most influential farmers of Springfield township and secretary of the Summit county Agricultural society, was born July 7, 1845, at the old homestead near Mogadore, which has witnessed the development of three generations of Hales. He is of Welsh descent, and traces the arrival of his paternal ancestry in this country to the year 1636. His great-grandfather, Samuel Hale, was reared in Connecticut, and about the year 1802 settled in Suffield, Portage county, Ohio, being one of the pioneers of that region. He died there in 1809. He was the father of the following children: Thomas, Samuel, Orestes, who died of small-pox shortly after his arrival in Portage county, and Mrs. Martin Kent. Thomas, the eldest son, acquired a considerable education for that place and period, and became one of the pioneer school-teachers. He also interested himself largely in politics, and was also a land owner of considerable note about Suffield Center. About the year 1831 he moved to Mogadore and continued his vocation of teaching. He was for many years a justice of the peace, and was a man of much prominence and great personal influence in the community. His wife was Laura Moore, a native of Connecticut. Her father, Nathan Moore, was a surveyor and civil engineer, who settled in Canfield, Ohio, about 1799, and in 1806 located in Springfield town- 290 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ship, Summit county. He was a giant in size and strength, being six feet six inches in height. He cleared and improved what is now known as the Christ farm, and was concerned in all the original surveys of this region. He was a noted hunter in his day, and one of the best known and most influential pioneers. To Thomas and Laura (Moore) Hale was born but one child, Austin Moore, father of our subject. He was born May 2, 1814, on the farm in Springfield township. He became the pioneer nurseryman of Summit county, and conducted this business successfully until his death, which occurred February 25, 1889. He was married twice, his first wife being a daughter of Ephraim Bellows, a native of Connecticut, who bore him four children—Thomas, Albert, Laura (Mrs. Henry H. Stahl), and Mary (Mrs. Frank Hoff). His second wife was Laura, daughter of Erastus Brown, of Weymouth, Medina county, Ohio. To this union was born one daughter, Nellie. Thomas Hale was known for many years as an ultra-abolitionist of the radical sort, who, from the passage of the fugitive slave law in 1852 until the war, refused to take an oath to support the constitution of the United States; was one of the most active conductors on the underground railroad in days when avowed kindness to runaway slaves involved much personal risk, and was a direct violation of the law as it then existed. Albert Hale was given a careful education in the common schools and grew up to a thorough acquaintance with the details of the nursery business, in which he was engaged with his father until the latter's death in 1889. He has always taken an active interest in the county's agricultural prosperity, and since 1882 has been a director in the Summit county Agricultural society, and since 1889 the secretary of that influential association. He is keenly alive to the county's best interests, and particularly to those of Springfield township, having unselfishly devoted much of his time to public affairs. For fifteen years he served as a member of the Mogadore school board, interesting himself largely in educational matters, and for nine years was justice of the peace. Politically he is an earnest republican. He has been a member of Akron lodge, No. 83, F. & A. M., for nearly thirty years, and is a charter member of Springfield grange, P. of H., of Springfield; also a member of the state board of agriculture. On September 28, 1871, Mr. Hale was united in marriage to Ella, daughter of Henry and Mary (Gilbert) Smyth, early settlers of Suffield, Portage county, Ohio, and to them have been born five children, viz. : Ernest T., Florence, Amy, Warren M. and Constance. Ernest T. is now at Otterbein university, Westerville, where he has been for three years pursuing his studies in the classical course. Florence is pursuing a musical course, and has spent one year at Hiram college. Both are graduates of the Mogadore high school; the others are still at school at Mogadore. HON. CHARLES OVIATT HALE, ex-state representative from Summit county in the Ohio general assembly, and a prominent farmer of Bath township, Summit county, was born on the farm he now owns and occupies March 14, 1850, and is a descendant of one of the oldest families of New England. The first authoritative record of the Hale family in America is traced to Samuel Hale, who was a soldier in the Pequot war of 1639 and supposedly came from Wales, where the name was well known and the male members of the family noted for their immense physical proportions and great strength, and the female members for their great beauty and refinement OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 291 of manners. Samuel Hale was a landed proprietor in Hartford, now in Connecticut but originally an adjunct of the Massachusetts colony, and died November 9, 1693, the father of the following-named children: Martha, Samuel (2d), John, Mary, Rebecca, Thomas, Ebenezer and Dorothy. The second Samuel Hale served in the legislature of his state for a number of years and died November 18, 1711, the father, by his first wife, Ruth Edwards, of the following-named children: Samuel(3), Mary and Ruth: and by his second wife, Mary Welles, of Jonathan, David, Joseph and Benjamin. Of the children born to the marriage of Samuel (2) and his wife, Mary Welles, Jonathan had but one child, Theodore, who was born February 6, 1735, and died May 14, 1807, father of the following children: Rachel, Lucy, Jehiel (1st), Ruth, Jehiel (2d), Theodore, Sarah, Samuel, Solomon, Jonathan (2d), and Abigail. Jonathan Hale (2d) grandfather of subject, was born in Glastonbury, Hartford county, Conn., April 23, 1777, married Mercy S. Piper July 1, 1802, and in 1i8io came to Ohio. To this union were born Sophronia, William, Pamelia, Andrew, Abigail and James M. The mother, Mrs. Mercy S. Hale, was called away October 16, 1829, and the father next married, November 2, 1830, Mrs. Sarah (Cozad) Mather, and to this union were born Jonathan D., Mercy A. and Samuel C. The grandfather of subject, Jonathan Hale (2d), was the first actwas atttler in Bath township, and it was.at his suggestion that the township received its name when it was organized in 1818. He was a man fully six feet in height, weighed 180 pounds, and was, therefore, proportionately well formed. He was not given to garrulousness, although he was well educated for his day and was a constant reader and passionately fond of music. He was deeply religious, and his habits were such as to show that religion with him was no affectation. He was a husbandman by vocation and alse a skilled brickmaker, and in the latter capacity burned the brick for and built the dwelling, in 182627, which is now occupied by the subject of this memoir. Mr. Hale died May 14, 1854, and his mortal remains lie interred in the cemetery originally on the old homestead, where a beautiful granite monument marks his last resting place. Andrew Hale, son of Jonathan (2d) by his first marriage, was born in Bath township, December 5, 1811, and was the first white child to open its eyes within its limits at the time of birth. He here grew to manhood, received his education in the pioneer school and was reared to farming on the homestead his father had hewn from the wilderness. April 12, 1838, he married Miss Jane Mather, who was born in Northfield township, and who bore her husband six children, viz: Pamela L., wife of W. C. Oviatt, now a resident of Florida; Sophronia J., who is married to S. J. Ritchie, of Tallmadge township, Summit county, Ohio; Clara, now Mrs. L. H. Ashman, also of Tallmadge township; Charles Oviatt, the subject of this biography; Alida, wife of Truman Humphrey, of Richfield, Summit county; and John P., a jeweler in Akron. The father of these children was a life-long member of the Congregational church and in politics was a stanch republican, and upon its birth he ardently expoused its principles and exercised his franchise for every candidate of the party till his death. He was a genial gentleman, a true friend and and kind neighbor; a strictly honest man, a useful citizen and an affectionate husband and father. His death occurred July 29, 1884, on the farm on which he was born, and was deeply deplored, not only by his own family, but by the entire community in which he had passed all his pure and unsullied stay on earth. His widow, now 292 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in the declining years of life, is being filially and affectionately cared for by her eldest son, Charles Oviatt, the subject of this sketch. Charles Oviatt Hale, by inheritance and the purchase of the rights of the other heirs, is now the sole owner of the original Hale homestead in Bath township. This farm contains 200 finely tilled acres and is situated in the beautiful Cuyahoga bottom, and here the subject was reared to manhood. He passed through the usual common-school course, also attended the preparatory school at Oberlin, and graduated from the commercial college. He has been an omnivorous reader, and public affairs, political economy and popular jurisprudence have been his favorite studies. In politics he is a republican and has been an active factor in engineering the success of his party in local elections. He has never missed voting at a state election since attaining his majority, and has probably represented his township in more county conventions than any other man of his age in Summit county. He has officiated three years as township trustee, several years as school director, was elected to the state legislature in 1891, and was reelected at the close of his term, so satisfactorily had he served his constiuency, and has filled out his second term. Hon. Charles O. Hale cast his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant, and has ever since served the republican party with unswerving fidelity. He was the fourth representative of Summit county who served two consecutive terms in the state assembly, a fact indicative of his personal popularity. He is also secretary of the Summit county Sunday-school union. Mrs. Hale was a daughter of William T. and Mary (Drushel) Cranz, and was born November 22, 1846, and is one of thirteen children—six sons and seven daughters—of whom eleven reached maturity. Her father was a native of Germany, came to America about 1834, located, first, in Holmes county, came to Summit county in 1863, and here died in 1895, a devout member of the German Reformed church, and in politics a democrat. Mrs. Cranz is a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., was born June 22, 1826, and now resides in Bath township, a member of the Congregational church at Hammond's Corners, and also a member of the King's Daughters. Mr. Hale was united in marriage, May 20, 1875, with Miss Pauline Cranz, but no children have come to add to the happiness of his home and to perpetuate his honored name. He is a deacon in the Congregational church and for years has served as superintendent of the Sunday-school at Bath. His public services have won for him the esteem of the entire community, and his upright and conscientious walk through life has won him universal respect. A. W. HALL, one of the best-known men in Summit county. and the junior member of the firm of Myers & Hall, operating a large and flourishing pottery at Mogadore, was born in Rootstown township, Portage county, Ohio, August 15, 1844. His father, Robert Hall, was born in Armstrong counts-, Pa., in 1812. son of John Hall. a wealthy farmer of that region. While Robert was yet a young man he came to Mogadore and engaged in the sale of general merchandise on a scale which was considered quite extensive for that time and place. After two years of this business he married and moved to Portage county, where he settled on a farm in Rootstown township. His wife was Mary Warner, a native of Howard county, Md., whose parents, Jacob and Mary (Clary) Warner, came to Ohio from Maryland, first locating in Stark county, afterward corning to Mogadore, where they passed the re- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 293 mainder of their days, Mr. Warner being a strong pillar in the Methodist Episcopal church at that place. Our subject's father was a man of more than ordinary business ability, and was widely reputed in the community. He was a stanch old-line whig, and both he and his wife were zealous in the work of the Methodist Episcopal church. To them were born the following children: Edwin D., deceased; Albert W. ; Mary J., wife of Edwin Taylor, and A. W., our subject. Mr. Hall died November 16, 1851, and his good wife followed him to the grave in March of the following year. In his youth A. W. Hall received the advantages offered by the Oshkosh (Wis.) city schools and an excellent select school. In response to his country's call, and while yet a mere lad, he enlisted in company F, Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, the date of his enlistment being April 24, 1861. At the end of the three months he re-enlisted in the service. going out with company G, Twenty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which regiment he saw service in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, and participated in some of the most important engagements of the war, among which were the battles of Winchester, Chancellorsville, Lookout Mountain, the Atlanta campaign and others of a notable character. At Chancellorsville he was struck by a bursting shell and fell to the earth stunned, and while lying thus he was made a prisoner and sent to Belle Isle, and thence to Libby prison. After three months here he was paroled and sent to Annapolis, Md., where he remained another three months. While here he was detailed as commissary sergeant in the camp of the paroled prisoners, a very responsible position, the duties of which he faithfully performed. He later rejoined his regiment at Lookout Mountain, engaging in "the battle above the clouds." He was in all the forty days' campaign and engagements attending the downfall of Atlanta, and continued on with Sherman's hosts to the sea. He received his honorable discharge in December, 1865. Mr. Hall does not draw a pension. In March, 1869, Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Miss Helen J. Warren, who was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in 1845, the daughter of William H. and Phoebe (Proper). Warren, natives of New Hampshire. To Mr. and Mrs. Hall were born a son, Harry R., and a daughter, Eva A., the latter of whom lives at home. Harry R. Hall is a young man of exceptional business and executive capacity, and possesses a well-trained mind, being a graduate of the Cleveland high school and of the university at Columbus, Ohio, receiving his diploma from the latter institution in 1892. His excellent business qualifications have been recognized in a flattering manner and he occupies the responsible position of general superntendent of the Carbon Iron & Steel company's works at Mauch Chunk, Pa., and seems to have a very promising future. A sad bereavement to this family was the death, on October 22, 1894, of the wife and mother. Mr. Hall has been in business at Mogadore for twenty years, and is one of the town's most influential and respected citizens. In addition to his business affairs here he is trustee for his late wife's estate, a valuable property of eighty-acres near Cleveland. He is one of the wheel horses of the republican party in this county, and has received nominations for county offices. He is a member of R. W. Hall post, No. 218, G. A. R., and was the first post commander. He is also a member of Apollo lodge, No. 61, I. 0. 0. F., and is now trustee of Springfield township. Mr. Hall has been a resident of Mogadore for almost half a century, and his sterling integrity as a business and social light has made him very prominent_ 294 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD CURTIS A. HALL springs from an old colonial Connecticut family of Scotch descent. One of his ancestors, Lyman Hall, was a signer of the declaration of independence, and the family were among the founders of Wallingford, Conn., where they lived for many years. Dr. Andrew C. Hall, grandfather of our subject, was born at Wallingford, Conn., married Lydia Cooke, who was a descendant of Francis Cooke, who came with the Pilgrims in the Mayflower in 1620. The children of Dr. Hall were Andrew, Franklin B., Alexander and Sarah. Dr. Hall was killed by an accident, when a young man of thirty-five years, at \Vallingford, Conn. Alexander Hall was born at Wallingford, Conn., 1809. He learned the trade of a tanner and first married, in Madison, Conn., Matilda E. Wilcox. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hall settled in Haddam, Conn., where they lived a few years and then moved to Wallingford and thence to Waterbury', Conn., where he was engaged in the iron business; thence to Philadelphia, Pa., where he was engaged with his brother Franklin in the manufacturing of britannia ware. He was burned out at the time of the great fire in Philadelphia, and lost all the property he had. His wife died in New Haven, Conn., and Mr. Hall moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where he engaged in the drug business, and was afterwards in the foundry business. He came to Cuyahoga Falls in 1851, and moved, five years later, to Niles, Mich., where he kept hotel four years. He then returned to Cuyahoga Falls, where he kept hotel four years, and died in December, 1863. His children. by his first wife, were Sarah M. and Curtis A, lived to mature years. His second marriage was to Ann I)ouds, in Youngsfown, Ohio, and to this union was born one child--Anna W. Fraternally Mr. Hall was a Mason. and in religion was a member of the Congregational church. He was a fine singer and led the choir in the Congregational church at Philadelphia for several years. He was a highly respected man, had many friends, and it was said, at the time of his death, that he had no enemies. Curtis A. Hall, our subject, was born at Haddam, Conn., August 11, 1838. He attended school in Philadelphia and the high school at Youngstown, Ohio, and gained a very fair education. He came to Cuyahoga Falls when he was fourteen years old, and when about eighteen went to Chicago, and worked for a large oyster firm—afterwards for the American Express company, and for an ice company, and was next in Michigan with his father at Niles for three years. In 1861 he went to Chicago and worked in a planing mill. June, 1862, he enlisted at Chicago in Capt. Judson Reed's company D, Sixty-seventh regiment, Illinois volunteer infantry, to serve three months. He served four months, however, and was honorably discharged, as fifth corporal, at Chicago, in September. His services were at Chicago guarding prisoners, at Camp Douglas, where 10,000 rebel prisoners were confined, and it required 450 soldiers to mount guard every evening; he also did guard duty at Johnson's Island. He was also sent to Vicksburg, Miss., to make exchanges, and says that the prisoners were healthy and in good condition, with good clothing, which had been furnished by the United States government. They were in far better condition than the Union soldiers when they were returned. Mr. Hall married, at Liverpool, Medina county, Ohio, July 20, 1864, Miss Catherine Mahle (born at Liverpool, Ohio, December 1, 1843), daughter of Gotleib and Catherine Mahle. Her parents were from Wurtemberg, Germany, and were early settlers of Liverpool, Ohio. Mr. Mahle was a farmer and died a young man. His children were Frederick, OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 295 Gotleib, Catherine and Louisa, and the family were Lutherans in religion. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hall settled in Cuyahoga Falls and Mr. Hall conducted the hotel there a short time. He then worked in a still-house, later at the butcher business and in iron works at different places, including Akron, Pittsburg, and Erie, and has now been janitor of the public schools of Cuyahoga Falls for the past fifteen years. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of William C., Charles (died aged four years), Laura M. and Fred C. Mr. Hall is a member of the G. A. R., Eadie post, of Cuyahoga Falls, and has held the office of junior vice-commander. Fraternally he is a Mason, has been secretary of Starr lodge and a member thirty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Hall attend the Methodist church and assist liberally in its support. Mr. Hall is in politics a republican, and at present is a member of the town council. He is a much respected citizen, and has led an industrious and temperate life, has been thrifty, and now owns his residence and four building lots beside. JACKSON A. HALL, a leading farmer of Norton township, Summit county, Ohio, was born in the neighborhood of his present place April 11, 1847, a son of John W. and Annie (Newlin) Hall, natives, respectively, of Buffalo, N. Y. , and of the state of Pennsylvania. John W. Hall learned the carpenter's trade in his native city and came to Norton township when a single man. He here bought a tract of fifty acres of timber land, which he cleared up and improved and converted into a comfortable home, but which he afterward disposed of to John Thomas. He married Miss Newlin in this township, and to this union have been born the following children: Catherine, who was first married to Levi Heun cicker, and after his death to William Fink; Mary, who was first the wife of David Coleman, but is now Mrs. Peter Hoovler; Mary, deceased; Jeremiah; Lydia, wife of Jonas Bitner; Levina, wife of Benjamin Snyder; Sarah. wife of David Grub; Harriet, deceased at eighteen years; Jackson A., our subject, and Jacob L. The father of this family is a strict member of the Lutheran church, in which he is an elder, liberally aiding in building the first church of that denomination in his township. In politics he is a Jacksonian democrat, and a hardworking and much respected citizen. Jackson A. Hall remained on the home farm until fifteen years old, attending the district school in the meantime, and then was apprenticed for three years to Mann Snyder, wagon and carriagemaker, and this trade he followed fourteen years. In 1876 he purchased his preeent farm of 108.65 acres, which he has highly improved with a substantial dwelling and barn and out-buildings to correspond, chiefly planned by himself, and has. altogether, one of the most delightful homes in the township, which has been earned by his own personal labor. In religion he is a Reformed Lutheran, was for six years a deacon. and has always aided his church in a most liberal manner financially. In politics he is a sound democrat, has served as township trustee six years, and fraternally is a member of Wadsworth lodge, No. 385, F. & A. M. August 1, 1867, Mr. Hall was united in marriage with Miss Elmira Kemmorrer, who was born in Northampton county, Pa., March 15, 1849, a daughter of Rudolph and Julia (Laubach) Kemmorrer. The father of Mrs. Hall, Rudolph Kemmorrer, was born in Northampton county, Pa., March 5, 1805, and his wife was a native of Lehigh county, Pa. In 1851 they came to Norton township, Summit county, Ohio, and settled on a farm where they passed the remainder of their lives, the father 296 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD dying in April, 1893. He was a prominent man in the township, a pillar of the Reformed church, and in politics a stanch democrat. He and wife were parents of the following children: Sarah, deceased wife of Rufus Myers; Aaron W.; Emeline C., deceased; Joseph T.; David, deceased; Richard, and Elmira—the last named being Mrs. Hall. The paternal .grandfather of Mrs. Hall was David Kemmorrer, a substantial farmer of Northampton county, Pa., a member of the German Reformed church, and a democrat, and he, in turn, was a son of David, a native of Hoboken, Germany. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hall has been blessed with two children, viz: Ada J., who died August 16, 1886, and Ellsworth. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are highly respected by the people of Norton township, and certainly a more worthy couple does not live within its limits. JOSEPH W. HALL, one of the oldest and most experienced farmers of Brimfield township, Portage county, Ohio, is native here and was born June 11, 1829, a son of Jacob and Lydia (Osborn) Hall. Jacob Hall, father of Joseph W., was born in England and came to America in 1812, during the war with Great Britain, and was made a prisoner by the American officials, who intended to return him to his native land, but he made his escape and finally settled in Portage county, Ohio, and engaged in farming. To his marriage with Miss Osborn were born eight children, of whom three survive, viz: Elizabeth F., widow of Anthony Swartwout; Emerette, widow of Joseph Mack, and Joseph W., the subject of this biography. The deceased were named Hannah; Lewis, who died in September, 1866, at the age of thirty-three years; Elias A., who was a member of the Seventh regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and was killed in the first battle of Winchester. Va., in 1863, at the age of thirty-five years; Rossetta, wife of Adolphus Swartwout, and Thomas. The mother of these children was called from earth March 9, 1856, when sixty-five years old, and the father passed away, at the age of seventy-seven years, July 8, 1858. Joseph W. Hall was reared on his father's farm and received such education as could be obtained in the primitive schools of his early boyhood. At the age of twenty-two years he began farming- on his own account, and the following year was first married, November 2, 1852; to Miss L. Lamphare, daughter of Abner H. and Sophia (Moulton) Lamphare, to which union no children were born. Mrs. Hall departed this life December 5, 1866, at the age of forty-three years, and the second marriage of Mr. Hall took place October 20, 1868, to Miss Catherine Burdge, daughter of Moses and Elizabeth Burdge. In politics Mr. Hall is a democrat and has been active in his work for the advancement his party's interest, having also been honored by the same through election to several offices. At the early age of twenty-one he was elected constable and served one year; in 1859, he was elected trustee of Brimfield township, served two years, and was re-elected; in 1868 he was elected township assessor, and twice re-elected, serving in this office, in all, three years. He has been a successful farmer, and he and his wife are among the most respected of the residents of Brimfield township. PETER HAMMEL, founder and proprietor of Hammel's Business college. Akron, Ohio, was born in Saint Clair county, Ill., December 29, 1853, a son of Christian and Eustine (Schwinn) Ham- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 297 mel, both now deceased. These parents were born near Baden, Germany, and were single when brought to this country by the parents with their respective families. The father of subject, who was a farmer, died in 1856, leaving his widow with seven children, viz: Jacob, a farmer of Belleville, Ill. ; Margaret, wife of Adam Keck, of Saint Clair county, Ill. ; Mary, wife of Henry Walkerling, of Donaldson, Montgomery county, Ill.; Caroline, wife of Philip Schumacher, of Saint Louis, Mo. ; Christian R.; a child that died young, and Peter, the subject, The mother of this family died February, 1876. Peter Hammel was reared on a farm, but was early apprenticed to a machinist in Saint Louis, Mo., and afterward attended Bryant & Stratton's business college of that city, and after his graduation was retained as a teacher for eighteen months; he then attended the Spencerian commercial college of Cleveland, Ohio. Thence he went to Cincinnati, and for two years was a teacher in the commercial department of the Nelson business college; he then became bookkeeper for the Cincinnati Coffin company; then for the Mosler & Baughman Safe & Lock company; later, for the W. E. Dibble & Co. book publishing company, all of Cincinnati. In 1881 Mr. Hammel came to Akron and purchased a half-interest in the Akron business college. and, associated with O. S. Warmer, carried on this institution for six months, when the co-partnership was dissolved. Mr. Hammel then established the now well-known Hammel's business college, which he has since conducted with so unparalleled success and made one of the leading institutions of the kind in the state of Ohio. Here he gives thorough instruction, assisted by a competent corps of professors, in all branches pertaining to a business carriculum and for placing the student in a condition to be able to accept any position in the business world.    The line of tuition may briefly be summarized as follows: Business arithmetic, practical penmanship, practical letter writing, commercial law, short hand, type writing, banking, commission, transportation, etc. Day and night sessions are held the year round. The college is located in the new Wilcox building, Nos. 228, 230 and 232 South Main street, and contains every modern improvement. Mr. Hammel was first married, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1880, to Miss Mary Gunn, the union resulting in the birth of four children, viz: Hattie, Helen, I3essie and Jennette. Mrs. Hammel died, a member of the Episcopal church, in 1893. The second marriage of Mr. Hammel took place in June, 1896, to Miss Julia. E. Hitchcock, of Greentown, Stark county, Ohio. Mr. Hammel is an active republican and is one of the most progressive young residents of Akron, esteemed most highly by all who know him. BENJAMIN HARDING, of the firm of Harding & Wright, wholesale butchers and packers of Portage county, Ohio, was born in Somersetshire, England, March 4, 1844, a son of Samuel and Louisa (Newman) Harding, and in February, 1854, was brought to America by his parents, who landed in New York city, whence they went to Rochester, N. Y., where they lived three months, and then moved to Kent, Ohio, at that time a mere village. Here he attended school one term, adding to the information he had already acquired at the school in his native village, and then learned butchering under his father's instruction. For three years he was employed in varied lines of business in Fostoria, Ohio, but since then has devoted his entire attention to slaughtering of cattle and 298 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the packing of meats. His plant is located about a mile and a half east of Kent, on the Ravenna road, and it is the largest establishment of its kind in Portage county. Mr. Harding is the only butcher within the limits of the county who cures meats all the year round, summer included, and has achieved a well-grounded reputation of handling the best meats only, and for his skill in preserving them. March 12, 1866, Mr. Harding was united in marriage, in Franklin township, with Miss Elmira Fosnight, a native of Schuylkill county, Pa., the result of the union being two children, viz: Rhoda A., wife of Frederick T. Wright, and Benj. F., who died March 14, 1877, at the age of three years, two months and twenty days. Fraternally, Mr. Harding is a Knight of Pythias, in which order he has filled every office, and in religion he affiliates with the church of the Disciples, with which he united in Kent, when a young man, and in which he has filled the positions of deacon and trustee for the past two years, and has been an elder, and is also superintendent of the Sunday-school. William Harding, paternal grandfather of Benjamin Harding, was a sturdy farmer in England, and reared a family of eight children, viz: William, Benjamin, Samuel, Jane (wife of M. Alexander), Louisa, Caroline, Ann and Rhoda. Samuel Harding, father of Benjamin, the subject, was born April 12, 1817, was a butcher by trade, and for one year was a constable in England. He married, July 10, 1842, Miss Louisa Newman, who was born July 17, 1824, a daughter of James and Johanna (Heise) Newman, to which marriage were born four children, of whom Benjamin, the subject of this sketch, is the sole survivor: Louisa and Ann died in early childhood. and an infant died unnamed. The father of this family died November 28, 1859, at forty-one years of age, a member of the Episcopal church and the owner of a nice property; his widow has attained the age of seventy-four and makes her home with the subject. James Newman, maternal grandfather of Benjamin Harding, the subject, also a native of England, was a carpenter by trade, and was also for many years director of the poor and overseer of the poorhouse, as well as school-teacher for a term of years. To his marriage with Johanna Heise were born five children, of whom two are still living, viz: Louisa, mother of subject, and Thomas G., a resident of San Francisco, Cal. The deceased were Alfred, who died on the Rock of Gibralter; Henry, a Methodist minister, died in England, and George C. died of yellow fever on the coast of Florida. James Newman, the father of this family, died in England in 1844, at the age of forty-one years, a member of the Methodist church, and subsequently his widow came to Portage county, Ohio, and made her home with the subject, Benjamin I Harding, until her death, which occurred October 6, 1886, at the age of eighty-six years. in the Methodist faith. Mrs. Elmira (Fosnight) Harding was born January 3, 1843, a daughter of John and Sarah C. (Faust) Fosnight. Her father had been employed in various capacities in Pennsylvania, such as mining and farming, and for a time was lock-tender on the canal in Schuylkill county, and also a canal-boatman. In 1859 he came to Ohio and engaged in agricultural pursuits in Stark county, but subsequently came to Portage county. To his marriage with Miss Faust, which took place in Schuylkill county, Pa. , were born twelve children; four of whom are still living. viz: Elmira (Mrs. Harding), Simon G., Hiram and Laura (wife of Mirven Curl) Five of those. who have passed away were named John. Edwin, Kate, Abraham, Delilah, and three died