350 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 1878, and attended the graded school at Union Town, and has also attended Buchtel college, and is now a student at Eastman's Business college, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Mr. Kreighbaum has a well-improved farm of 136 acres, but resides on a one-acre lot near Lake, in order to be close to business and the post-office. In politics he is a stanch democrat, and has been justice of the peace of Greene township twenty-one years, and is also a notary public, having been commissioned by Gov. Bushnell. He is a member of Apollo lodge, No. 83, F. & A. M., and is also a Royal Arch Mason. In religion his wife affiliates with the Reformed church, while Mr. Kreighbaum is a member of the Lutheran church, which he aids liberally to support. He is a very popular gentleman as well as a substantial citizen, and he and family are a credit to the township. Mrs. Kreighbaum is a native of Ashland county, Ohio, and was born March 7, at Mohican. Her father was born in the Keystone state. He was a sound democrat in politics and a true Methodist. He was a man who was ready to advance the public good. He was born in 1818 and died December 19, 1848. The mother was also a native of Lebanon, Pa., was born in 1818, and died in March, 1874. Mrs. Kreighbaum's grandparents, Jacob and Elizabeth Brubaker, were Pennsylvanians by birth, and the former a farmer by occupation, and to their marriage were born nine sons and four daughters. FRANK KUNKAL, a successful farmer and a greatly respected citizen of Suffield township, Portage county, Ohio, is a native of Belgium, and was born September 13, 1825. His father, Andrew Kunkal, was a farmer by occupation, and to him and his wife, Mollie Kunkal, were born two children, of whom John died at the age of fifty years, the other being Frank, the subject of this biography. The mother was called from earth in 1838, at the age of forty-eight years, and the father in 1855, when sixty-three years old, both dying in the faith of the Roman Catholic church. Frank Kunkal was reared on his father's farm, received a fair common-school education, and in 1851 came to America in a sailing vessel, landing in the city of New York, where he remained one year, when he came to Ohio. For two years he lived in Cleveland, where he met and married Miss Elizabeth Moledore, a daughter of Dominic and Catherine (Oluch) Moledore, the ceremony being performed June Lc), 1855, and the marriage resulting in the birth of eight children, viz: Henry, born September 13, 1856; Mary, born November 29, 1859, and now the wife of B. Weideman; Frank, born July, 1862; Jacob, who was born December 18, 1863, and died June 22, 1881; Sylvester, born January 11. 1866; Barbara, now Mrs. John Beasler, born January 14, 1870; Clara, born October 1, 1872, and married to Lewis Rothermal, and Dora, born May 12, 1876. Mrs. Elizabeth (Moledore) Kunkal was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, January 12, 1835, where her father died in 1838 and her mother in 1843, both in the faith of the Catholic church and the parents of six children, four of whom died in childhood, the two survivors being Henry and Mrs. Kunkal. This lady left her native land in 1853 and came alone to America. For a short time she lived in Randolph, Portage county, Ohio, then went to Akron, Summit county, and then to Cleveland, where she worked as a domestic until met by and married to Mr. Kunkal at the date mentioned above. Immediately after his marriage Mr. Kunkal came to Suffield township. Portage county, OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 351 and bought the farm on which he still resides, and on which his children, named above, have been born and reared. The farm is located about one mile west of Suffield Center, and fifty rods east of Suffield station, on the Cleveland, Canton & Southern railroad, and Mr. Kunkal has made it one of the most productive and profitable in the township, his long experience having made him an expert agriculturist, as everything about his premises clearly indicates. In politics he is a democrat and for two years has served as township supervisor, doing his duty well, faithfully and satisfactorily. He and family are members of St. Joseph Catholic church, and are among the most highly respected residents of Suffield township. ELI LEONARD, a prosperous and now retired farmer and prominent citizen of Franklin township, Portage county, Ohio, where he was born February 5, 1825, is a son of Sewell and Sally (Bettys) Leonard, natives of Massachusetts. His maternal grandfather, Nathaniel Bettys, was an early settler of Tallmadge township, Summit county, Ohio, at a point now known as Bettys Corners. He was a captain in the war of 1812, was an influential citizen, and died on his farm at the greatly advanced age of ninety-four years. Sewell Leonard, father of subject, came to Ohio about the year 1818, being then about twenty-five years of age, and, being a farmer, soon settled, after marriage, on a farm near Lake Brady, where his death occurred March 5, 1852, and that of his wife in 1880. They were the parents of six children, viz: Frederick, a farmer, who died at Nashville, Tenn., while serving as a soldier in a Michigan regiment of volunteers; Nathaniel, who has been a business man at Bellefontaine, Ohio, for many years; Eli, the subject of this biography; Ives, who resides in Akron, Ohio; Lyman, who was killed in a powder-mill explosion in Bedford, Ohio; and Roland, who died at the age of twenty-six years. Eli Leonard was reared a farmer and this has been his life-long calling. He was a filial son and took good care of his parents, who were both crippled, the father by disease and the mother by an accident to her buggy while attending a county fair, which accident caused her to use crutches for many years. Mr. Leonard was married, in Franklin township, April 14, 1859, to Miss Antoinette Bull, who was born in Shalersville, Ohio, in May, 1840, a daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Freeby) Bull. Her father, Samuel Bull, or, rather, Buell, as the name was originally spelled, was born' in Berks county, Pa., June t r, 1809, a son of Samuel and Barbara (Godfrey) Bull, who settled in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1826, and were the parents of eleven children. Samuel, Jr., was married November 14, 1833, to Catherine, who was born in February, 1809, a daughter of George and Catherine (Ecker) Freeby, of Coventry, Ohio, and to this union were born six children, viz: Henry Austin, who was killed while serving in the Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry; Maria, who was married to Elisha Smith, and died in Kent; George W., a school-teacher and farmer, who died in Denver, Colo. ; Antoinette, now Mrs. Leonard; Marvin, who died in infancy; and Samuel, a farmer of Brimfield township, Portage county. The father of this family died in 1886, a member of the Kent Methodist Episcopal church, as was also his widow, who died December 14, 1896. To Eli and Antoinette (Bull) Leonard have been born three children, viz: Eva, June 28, 1860, now the wife of Linus Meloney, of Kent; Addie, April 19, 1865, died March 28, 1884; George, born August 7, 1868, a business man of Canton, Ohio, mar- 352 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ried to Lou Johns, and the father of one child, Helen A. Mr. Leonard, who still owns his farm, has for the past six years lived in retirement in Kent, where he owns, also, a pleasant residence property. In politics he has always been independent, voting as suited his judgment, and has never held any office excepting that of school director. Mrs. Leonard has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Kent since 1859, and has always been faithful in her devotions, as well as faithful as a wife and mother.R RALPH H. LODGE, proprietor of Silver Lake park, one-half mile from Cuyahoga Falls, and an honored and respected citizen, was born near this city August 3, 183o, a son of George A. and Rebecca (Smith) Lodge. George H. Lodge was born fifteen miles below Philadelphia, on the Delaware river, in New Jersey, was a mason and farmer, and married, in Philadelphia, Rebecca Smith, of that city, daughter of Ralph Smith, an extensive builder. In 1829 Mr. Lodge came to Ohio and settled in Stowe township, where he bought a farm and lived on it sixteen years. He then went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he engaged in mercantile business, beside conducting an extensive market garden for many years and sold immense amounts of his vegetables in his own store. He finally returned to Cuyahoga Falls, retired, and died here in 1880, at the age of eighty years. In politics he was first a whig, but became a republican on the organization of this party. He was a man of high character and of great integrity. His children were Ralph H., Emma S., George, Mary, Cornelia and Caroline. The Lodge family descends from French stock, and the name was originally spelled DeLodge. The founder of the family in America came from England in the same ship with William Penn and settled on the Delaware river. The old homestead is still in the family name. Samuel Lodge, grandfather of our subject, married Abigail Horner, of New Jersey. Her parents were from Germany, and their children were Isaac, Hannah, Benjamin and Elizabeth, Samuel and George. Ralph H. Lodge received his education at the public schools and went to Cleveland with his father when he was sixteen years old and was engaged with him in the business of gardening, and conducted this business after his father retired. He married, April 7, 187o, at Cuyahoga Falls, Julia A. Plum, born January 7, 1847, at Massillon, Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Nancy (North) Plum. Henry Plum was born October, 1814, in Middletown, Conn., of English-Puritan ancestry, who came from England early in the settlement of this country. The Norths were of the same stock. Henry Plum married in Middletown, Conn., and moved to Ohio about 1836-7, and settled at Monroe Falls, where he established a shoe business. He afterward moved to Cuyahoga Falls and engaged in the same business and afterward went to Massillon, Ohio, where he engaged in the mercantile business as early as 1857 and conducted this business nearly forty years. when he retired. Fraternally, he is a Mason. Mr. and Mrs. Plum are both members of the Methodist church, of which Mr. Plum is trustee and steward. Politically he is a republican, and was one of the founders of the party in Ohio. His children are Mary, Wilbur, Charles (died an infant), Lucy, 'William R., Julia A., Emma, Lillian, Rose and Carrie. 'William R. Plum, one of the sons, is an attorney at law in Chicago, was on Gen. Thomas' staff during the war as telegrapher and afterward graduated at Yale with high honors. OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 353 Mr. and Mrs. Ralph H. Lodge settled, after marriage, in Cleveland, where they lived six years, and came to Summit county in April, 1865, rented land, farmed until January Jo, 1875, then bought 135 acres of land, controlling Silver Lake, for the purpose of making a summer resort. To Mr. and Mrs. Lodge have been born Ballard, Lillian, William, George, Lewis, Evelyn Anna, Mabel, Laura, Julia (who died six years old) and Ralph H. , Jr. Mrs. Lodge is a member of the Methodist church and in politics Mr. Lodge is a republican. Silver Lake park is one of the most beautiful summer resorts in the state of Ohio. Mr. Lodge has spent thousands of dollars in ornamenting and beautifying the grounds and providing many attractions for pleasure seekers. The lake is about three-fourths of a mile long and the water is as clear and pure as crystal. It is known to be a mammoth spring or many springs combined in one. In places it reaches a depth of over forty feet. Its bottom is comprised of sand and it affords excellent bathing facilities. Many bath houses are provided and also a toboggan slide into the lake. The lake is surrounded by gently sloping grounds, well wooded, and the scenery is charming and diversified. In addition to the natural forests of oak, chestnut and 'hickory, Mr. Lodge has set out a variety of shade trees which in twenty years have attained a large growth and are from one to two feet in diameter, but the luxuriant hard and soft maple predominate. Excellent bathing facilities for 200 persons are provided, with commodious private drying rooms. A fleet of about fifty row boats, an electric launch, and a steamer afford plenty of boating facilities for those who enjoy boating. The extensive groves make pleasant camping grounds and as many as 300 people have camped here at one time. Tents and floors are provided, if desired, and all necessary camp equipments. Plenty of clear and pure ice is in store for the use of the establishment. Mr. Lodge has a large experience as a caterer to the public, and a talent for amusing the patrons of his place. Among these attractions is a menagerie including three elks from their native forest. The stag is a splendid specimen of this animal, with wide, branching antlers. Two bear-pits—twenty feet in diameter—with caves and subterranean passages and trees for climbing, give comfort to six glossy, black bears, who live here contentedly with their cubs. The bears breed and rear their young as in a state of nature—twelve of them have been born here. Foxes, raccoons, wolves and squirrels live here in the park as in their native wilds. A very valuable addition is the tiger, or jaguar, from South America. They are a delight to the children and a curiosity to grown people. For the past fifteen years the raising of gold-fish has been a prominent feature of the park—as many as 40,00o being raised in one year. There are also birds of prey, such as eagles, owls, etc. ; a large merry-go-round, purchased at an expense of $3,500 with panoramic views, is another great attraction. So is the shell bazaar and photographic establishment—pavilions, with tables for the picknickers; also shooting galleries and billiard tables add to the amusements. Several cottages, built of logs, with huge old-fashioned fire-places, are rented to patrons who wish to stay for a week or more. About fifty attendants are necessary to care for the guests and provide for them during the busy season, and as many as 10,000 people have been entertained in one day. The charges are mere nominal for the -use of the grounds and popular prices prevail. Take it all in all, it is one of the most attractive places of summer resort in the west, and it is conducted in the most orderly manner. No liquor is sold in the place or in the township, neither 354 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD are any disorderly people allowed on the ground nor is the park open on Sunday. Three electric tracks connect the park closely with Cuyahoga Falls, Akron and Cleveland. A fine base ball and bicycle track, with grand stand seating 400 persons, add. to the pleasure of the patrons. A fine brass band and concert orchestra were employed last season at an expense of $1,600, not including the board of the musicians. The lake and park together contain 215 acres of woodland and water and thirty-five buildings of importance have been constructed within its limits. A fine water supply is furnished by a large windmill, with pump, sand large tank at an elevation of forty feet. This gives abundance of water for the guests, and in addition there is a large reservoir, supplying twenty drinking fountains. Mr. Lodge has now had twenty years of experience in his line, and, aided by his excellent wife and family, has created probably the finest pleasure resort existing to-day in Ohio. ZENAS KENT, of Kent, Ohio, was, at the time of his death, one of the oldest citizens of Portage county, and almost, if not quite, the last. of the business men who became identified with it in its infancy. He descended from the old Puritan stock, —his father having been a soldier in the Revolutionary war—and was born in Middletown, Conn., July 12, 1786. His childhood and early manhood were passed in Leyden, Mass. His educational advantages were necessarily meager, being those only of the common school ; but, limited as they were, he improved them to the best advantage. The arithmetic that he studied, a copy of Adams' old work published in 1802, is in the possession of his son, Marvin. Upon a portion of the leaves, left blank for that purpose, Mr. Kent worked out and proved every example in the book. \\Then a young man he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, the same that his father had followed. At the age of twenty-five he was united in marriage with Miss Pamelia Lewis, a native of Farmington, Conn. The father of Miss Lewis was a Revolutionary veteran, and also a carpenter and joiner. With these peculiar coincidences in their family history the destinies of this happy pair were united, and never went apart until soon after the anniversary of their golden wedding, when they were severed by the death of Mrs. Kent, October 2 I , 1862. In 1812 the father of Mr. Kent emigrated to Ohio and located in Mantua, where he died at an advanced age. Young Zenas accompanied the family to these western wilds, but soon afterward returned to the east for his wife, and, coming west again, settled in Hudson, then a township of Portage county. At Hudson, he formed the acquaintance and secured the friendship of Capt. Heman Oviatt. He also, while there, built a tannery for Owen Brown, and taught school in the winter season. In the summer of 1815, Mr. Kent removed to Ravenna, and went into business, Capt. Oviatt furnishing the capital for that purpose. The captain always regarded Mr. Kent with peculiar interest and friendship, and years afterward, when he was a prosperous merchant, the captain would refer with great pride to the fact that he " sot him up." In commencing his mercantile career, Mr. Kent erected a wooden store building upon the site now occupied 'by the Second National bank, working upon it with his own hands. This building, which at once became a store and a dwelling, was some years afterward moved to the south side of Main street, and stands in what is known as Little's block. OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 359 The store building finished, the firm of Oviatt & Kent commenced operations. The partnership terminated in a few years, when the junior of the firm was able to repay the capital so kindly advanced by his early friend. Once more Mr. Kent undertook a building enterprise after he commenced trade, the only diversion of the kind he allowed himself, for other parties, during his long mercantile career. In 1826 he took a contract to erect the present courthouse in Ravenna. This building was then the architectural wonder of the surrounding country. Mr. Kent's mercantile enterprise proved a grand success, and in energy and perseverance found a rival only in that of the late Cyrus Prentiss.. With all its increased facilities and manifold advantages, the present day does not give us so great a development of the tact and enterprise that characterized the pioneer tradesman. " What heroism, what perils then, How true of heart and strong of hand, How earnest, resolute, the pioneer man." From 1831 to 1850,. Mr. Kent had a store in Hudson, which was known as that of Kent & Brewster. It did a very profitable business. In 1832 Mr. Kent, in company with David Ladd, purchased five or six hundred acres of land in the township of Franklin, embracing a water-power of the Cuyahoga river at that place. In the same year he erected Kent's flouring-mill, which for the third of a century enjoyed the highest reputation. The first flour shipped from northern Ohio to Cleveland went from this mill, via the Ohio canal. The connection of Mr. Ladd with this property was temporary, and Mr. Kent became sole proprietor. In 1836 he sold the entire property for $75,000 to the Franklin Land company, which afterward became the Franklin Silk company. After Mr. Kent bought out Mr. Ladd, he arranged with John Brown—afterwards of Osawatomie fame—to carry on the tanning business, a tannery establishment having been previously commenced. In 1837 Mr. Kent built the large brick block containing a hotel, stores, etc., near the eastern bank of the Cuyahoga. In the winding up of the disastrous affairs of the silk company in 1843, most of the original property found its way back into the hands of Mr. Kent. In 1845 Mr. Kent sold his stock of goods in Ravenna to his sons, Marvin and Charles H. Kent, and, after a successful career of thirty years, retired from active business. After a fifteen months' business in Ravenna, the firm of M. Kent & Co. sold out to S. A. & R. A. Gillette, who also purchased the large brick store building of Mr. Kent, Sr. Subsequently the property adjoining this store, used as a residence, was purchased by H. L. Day, and with this transaction terminated the mercantile business identification of Zenas Kent with Ravenna. In 1849 the Franklin Bank of Portage county was established, and Mr. Kent chosen its president. This position he held until 1864, when the bank closed its business, and in its place was organized the Kent National bank, of which Mr. Kent was made president, which place he occupied at the time of his death. In 185o Mr. Kent commenced the erection of a cotton factory, at the same time built a fine dwelling house for his own occupancy. When the latter was completed, in 1851, he removed to Franklin, where his financial interests had all become centered. In the spring of 1853, Mr. Kent was chosen treasurer of the A. & G. W. R. R., which position he retained until May, 1854, when he resigned, and E. P. Brainerd became his successor, and held the office until 1864. In April, 1860, having previously built a city mansion on Euclid avenue, he removed to. Cleveland, and in November, 1864, Mrs. Kent having died on the 21st of the preceding - 11 - 360 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD October, he returned to Franklin, the name having been changed to that of Kent, where he passed the remainder of his life. Mr. Kent was not marked by any brilliant or dashing characteristics. He possessed good common sense, to which were added indomitable will, native shrewdness, and unflagging energy, and, better than all, an inflexible integrity, which gave him the confidence of all with whom he had dealings. As a tradesman he was more methodical than speculative, and his devotion to his business was almost unparalleled, and his management always safe and prosperous. It is related of him, as a sample of his caution, that in the early days of his store-keeping he once refused twenty bushels of wheat for a pound of tea, fearing that the former would not replace the latter when a new purchase should be made. As illustrative of his industry, it may be stated that upon one occasion, when in New York city for the purpose of purchasing goods, a representative of a silk house called upon him at his hotel, at the usual hour of commencing business, to solicit his patronage. Mr. Kent replied: " If you expect to sell me goods, you must get up early in the morning. I bought all my silks before breakfast." As a specimen of the spirit of his integrity, it may also be stated that when the Franklin Silk company tendered him the presidency of their banking department Mr. Kent required them to place in his hands the means to redeem their issues, saying that he would place his name upon no paper without having the power to protect it from dishonor. The arrangement was made. The disastrous history of the silk company is well known, but their paper was all redeemed, dollar for dollar. Mr. Kent's entire business life was a grand success, and he left behind him an estate estimated to be worth fully $300,000. In personal appearance Mr. Kent was tall, remarkably erect, of graceful carriage and dignified mien. He was not so much given to sociability as many, but was nevertheless pleasant and agreeable in all of his relations. Though popular as a tradesman for his fairness and honesty, he formed few intimate friendships, and fawned upon no man. His very firmness caused him, at times, when his confidence was abused, or when an injury was done him, to resent it with impulsive impetuosity; still malice was no part of his composition. Underneath a natural dignity, bordering at times upon austerity, he carried a warm and sympathetic heart. He never forgot a kindness done him, and the few friendships he formed were retained until the last. His personal habits were remarkable. He never used tobacco or other stimulant, and for thirty years never had an hour's sickness. Mr. Kent was blessed with a family of thirteen children, nine of whom were living at the time of his death, and of whom four survive at this time, viz: Marvin, Frances E., Emily K. and Amelia L. Mr. Kent died suddenly at his residence at Kent on the 4th of October, 1865, in the eightieth year of his age. His remains were interred in Woodlawn cemetery—Cleveland's beautiful city of the dead. In a lovely spot overshadowed by the cypress and the willow, by the side of the wife of his youth and the companion of his mature years and green old age, reposes all that death left of this noble man. HON. MARVIN KENT, retired capitalist of Kent, Portage county, Ohio, projector and ex-president of the Atlantic & Great Western (now forming the four western divisions of the Erie) railroad, was born in Ravenna, Portage county, September 2 I, 1816, a son of Zenas and Pamelia (Lewis) Kent, both of Connecticut birth and OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 361 of ante-Revolutionary descent—the father of each having borne arms in the struggle for American independence. Hon. Marvin Kent, whose name opens this memoir, passed his early years in his father's store and in attendance at Tallmadge academy, E. T. Sturtevant, A. M., principal, and at Claridon academy, under Rev. Sherman B. Canfield. In his nineteenth year he was dispatched to Philadelphia and New York to purchase a stock of spring goods for his father, with instructions to rely on his own judgment as to his investments, and the sagacity he displayed on this mission was very gratifying to the parent. The year after attaining his majority he was admitted into partnership with his father at Franklin Mills, now Kent, but precarious health caused him early to relinquish this business. He then assumed the management of the tannery built by his father for John Brown, of Osawatomie fame, and while thus engaged married Miss Maria Stewart, daughter of Col. William Stewart. In 1844 he resumed mercantile pursuits, and at the same time became largely interested in the manufacture of flour, continuing in the latter for nearly twenty consecutive years. In the history of Portage county it is written: In the early days the pioneers devoted themselves to the task of building up a town on the Cuyahoga river with remarkable energy; not, however, until the various enterprises were taken hold of by the master hand of Marvin Kent did theories of progress put forward by the old settlers assume practical shape. In 1850, in connection with others, he erected and put in successful operation the extensive window-glass factory at Franklin Mills, and the same year entered upon the most important enterprise of his life, which has secured to him a business reputation co-extensive with the inauguration and completion of a great public transportation route between the east and west—devising and projecting the Atlantic & Great Western railroad, designed to connect the Erie with the Ohio & Mississippi railroad, thus forming a grand trunk line, with uniform gauge throughout, from New York to St. Louis. In 1851 the necessary legislation was procured, but in order to secure the charter he was obliged to subscribe for the full amount of stock required by law for the organization of the company, as well as to indemnify some of the first board of directors for the payment of one share subscribed by each to render them eligible for election, which fact furnishes a significant illlustration of the want of faith in the success of an undertaking of that magnitude at that time. The organization of the new company was completed and Mr. Kent made its first president. The position he filled with a success characteristic of his great business tact, energy and ability, until the final completion of the road in 1864, save an interval of about three years. On the 21st of June of that year, he had the proud satisfaction of looking back over many years of unremitting labor and anxiety at last crowned with success, and also of driving home the last spike in the last rail. In his maiden speech on that occasion, he referred to the fact that on the fourth day of July, A. D. 1853, he broke ground for the new road by removing the first shovelful of earth with his own hands. There were none then to withhold from Mr. Kent a most generous compliment for the completion of this road, which, uniting the Erie and Ohio & Mississippi railways, formed a grand continental line from New York to St. Louis. A meeting was called, on the completion of the Atlantic & Great Western railroad, at Dayton, Ohio, June 21, 1864. President Marvin Kent announced the object of the meeting and T. W. Kennard, William Reynold, president of the Pennsylvania and New York division of the 362 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD road; H. F. Sweetser, general superintendent,. and Mr. Kent proceeded to lay the last rail; the ceremony of spiking was introduced with considerable merriment, Mr. Kennard driving the first spike in the last rail at four sturdy blows. Others followed in succession, one or two driving home in three, but the major portion from four to a dozen sledge-hammer strokes each. Those who participated in the ceremonies are included in the following list: T. W. Kennard, engineer, vice-president and general manager of the A. & G. W. railroad; Marvin Kent, president of the Ohio division; William Reynold, of Meadville, Pa., president of the New York and Pennsylvania division; Jacob Crall, Jacob Riblet and O. Beach, directors of the A. & G. W. railroad; H. F. Sweetser, general superintendent; William Lee, superintendent of construction; James Reynold, track master; F. W. Commins, master machinist; J. W. Tyler, secretary of the Ohio company; D. C. Coolman, resident engineer; R. J. Dukes, assistant resident engineer; C. E. Blakesley, secretary of the general manager; R. M. N. Taylor, general superintendent of the dining department; R. M. Shoemaker, vice-president of the Dayton & Michigan railroad; Lieut. -Governor Charles Anderson, of Ohio; Maj.-Gen. A. McD. McCook, Valentine Winters, T. A. Phillips, R. D. Phillips and W. D. Bickham, (editor and proprietor of Dayton Journal); S. S. L'Hommedieu; president, John W. Ellis; vice-president; D. McLaren, superintendent; F. H. Short, secretary; C. H. Hill and George T. Steadman, William Becket and John Young, directors of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad company; Gen. William H. Clement, president of the Little Miami Railroad company; Joseph C. Butler, director; Hon. M. R. Wait, Toledo; William Rietsel, editor of the Western Reserve Chronicle, Warren, Trumbull county; Paul F. Nicholson, correspondent of the New York World; George C. Harding, correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial; I. C. Bollman, correspondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer. At ten o'clock, A. M., President Kent took the sledge and addressed the company briefly as follows: Gentlemen: Before proceeding to drive the last spike, I desire to call your attention to the fact that on the fourth of July, 1853, in company with several warm friends of this enterprise, we proceeded to the line of this railway, and broke the first ground; and as I had the pleasure of removing the first earth, it is especially gratifying to me to be present on the occasion of laying the last rail and driving the last spike; but, before performing this last service, permit me to express my obligation to the gentlemen who have contributed so largely to the success of this enterprise; I allude to T. W. Kennard and James McHenry, Esqrs. ; those gentlemen, by their energy, their perseverance and great financial ability, have achieved the great end which we had in view, and had it not been for the success that attended their efforts in prosecuting this great work, we would not be assembled on an occasion so important and interesting as this. Before closing these remarks, I should do great injustice to one other gentleman by omitting to acknowledge my obligations for the valuable service he has rendered. I refer to my friend here, J. W. Tyler, Esq., who has been my confidential legal adviser from the incipiency of the project, and who has ever been a steadfast and efficient co-operator in this work —I desire, therefore, that he should drive the spike preceding the last, deeming it befitting that, having commenced the work together, we should together conclude it. After which Hon. J. W. Tyler made the following remarks: Gentlemen: However undeserving the compliment conferred upon me by Mr. Kent, the president of the company, I must proceed to the accomplishment of the work. But before doing so, allow me to say that the early friends of the road have a right to congratulate themselves upon the final completion of this great enterprise, connecting the tide OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 367 waters of the Atlantic with the Mississippi river; particularly has Mr. Kent, who conceived the project, cause for congratulation. He, to my knowledge, in the fall of 1850, was the first man to trace the line of the road on the map, and, having fully satisfied himself of its importance, drew the charter under which the company is now acting and which passed the legislature verbatim as submitted by him. On his first report he suggested the name which the company now bears, a name which it must be admitted is at least eminently proper. At first the people along the line in Ohio acknowledged its importance, gave it encouragement, and subscribed largely to its stock. But financial difficulties coming on, they generally became discouraged, and but few friends adhered to the enterprise. I recognize some here to-day who have risked their fortunes and reputations on the accomplishments of the great enterprise, conspicuous among whom is Marvin Kent, who risked his own means and those of his relations. Those, indeed, were the dark days of the road, even portending utter night. At that critical juncture Mr. Kennard, arriving in this country from England, saw at once its great advantages and immediately made favorable representations to European capitalists, securing James McHenry, of London, as financial operator and contractor of the great work; since which there have been no great difficulties in financial matters, nor in the completion of the main line and all its tributary branches. May the friends of this road live to see the day when this cruel war is over and and the country restored to new life, that the west and her thriving cities may yearn for greater facilities than the lines now constructed can furnish, and this road require its double track; then, and not until then, will be fully appreciated what has been accomplished by those who conceived and prosecuted to completion this immense artery in the commercial world. We hope to make, not many years hence, the first trip to San Francisco over this road and the Union Pacific. At the close of these remarks Mr. Tyler accepted the sledge, and with four sturdy whacks he sent home his spike. Only one, an Irish track layer (James Reynolds), had yet sent home a spike in three blows, but this was professional; President Kent, with nervy grasp struck straight—one, two and three—and the welkin rang with applause. The work was well done, and the last rail of the Atlantic & Great Western was laid and the last spike driven to the head. The construction of this road encountered, perhaps, more obstacles and greater opposition than any other in the country. Yet Mr. Kent showed himself equal to any and every emergency, and with heroic faith and one purpose, he made success possible and victory a verity. The Portage County Democrat (now the Ravenna Republican) of June 3, 1863, contained this truthful tribute: The location of the shops at Franklin Mills is doubtless due to the position and influence of Marvin Kent, Esq., the president of the road, who resides at that point. If any man ought to be gratified and benefited by the location of the shops it is President Kent. He was not only the friend of the road, but, if we are correctly informed, he originated the idea of its construction. In carrying forward this great improvement to its completion, he has toiled and struggled for over twelve years amid doubt and discouragement, amid jeers and sneers and obloquy. While others hesitated, he stood fast; when the faint-hearted turned aside, he persevered with unfaltering nerve and courage; when timid friends forsook, he succeeded in raising up other friends, and in attracting capital to this great work; and thus, with a patience, a courage, and assiduity,. and unswerving fidelity to a single aim that reaches the point of real heroism, he has held on his way through twelve laborious years of fluctuations, vicissitudes and uncertainties, neglecting or abandoning his private business, pledging or imperiling, or at least casting into the hazard of success, his large private fortune, for the benefit of his cherished enterprise. And yet he has labored all this time without general appreciation, the select few more intimately associated in official 368 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD relations with him only knowing and appreciating his trials and his toils. But it is time the man to whom more than to any other the country is indebted for this great and leading road should be understood and appreciated, for every man and every community benefited by the construction of this road owes to Marvin Kent a debt of gratitude. He is to be congratulated on the success which the intelligence, the ability and the fixed and resolute purpose which he has brought to bear on the enterprise have accomplished. The Kent Saturday Bulletin, June 26, 1880, had the following complimentary article regarding this great enterprise: The " Broad Gauge " is no more. Its name and local characteristics no longer exist, but it has a history that ought not to entirely perish from the earth. The real original projector of the road was our own distinguished citizen, Marvin Kent. In 1850 he conceived and inaugurated the project of building the Atlantic & Great Western railway, designed to connect the Erie with the Ohio & Mississippi railroads, forming a grand trunk line of six feet uniform gauge from the city of New York to Saint Louis. March 10, 1851, the charter was secured, which required a special act of the legislature, as it was under the old constitution, and this was among the last thus granted, since which time all incorporated companies are organized under the general laws of Ohio. In order to save the charter, a paid-up subscription of $20,000 was required, which Mr. Kent himself took. At that time no one had sufficient faith in the enterprise and courage to take more than one share; this was required and taken by a sufficient number to render them eligible as directors. From that time on in the varied history of its construction it became a heroic struggle to " sink or swim " with Mr. Kent. He shouldered the responsibility and went bravely in. He lifted the first shovel of earth and drove the last spike, and between these two events twelve long years elapsed, and they were years of unfaltering nerve and courage and fidelity to a single aim and purpose on the part of Mr. Kent, and which alone was the secret which crowned the effort with complete success. The construction of the road and location of the shops at Kent means a village now of over 3,000 people full of energy, push and enterprise, giving employment to hundreds of people, and more than doubling the value of every rod of land within a mile of the center of the town, and in many cases the increase has been a hundred fold. Beside what it has done for us, the road with its connections became one of national importance. We quote an extract from an editorial in the New York Tribune of June 19, 1864. It says: By the completion of this enterprise, now assured, Cincinnati, Louisville, Saint Louis, etc., will be brought into more direct and easy communication with our city, while Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis and nearly the whole of Ohio and Indiana have received a new and in many respects superior outlet to the seaboard. The value of the Erie railroad to its stockholders and to our city is nearly doubled by it (the A. & G. W.) as the rapid and vast appreciation of its stock for the past year sufficiently indicates. Ultimately the rapidly growing states of the central gold mining region, but especially that of Arizona and the head springs of the Arkansas, the Rio Grande and the Gila, will reach us in good part over the Atlantic & Great Western railroad. This city could well afford to pay the entire cost of this work rather than do without it; yet we think less than $1,000,000 in all have been paid by New Yorkers toward its construction. The more urgent, then, is the duty of honoring those by whose forecast, faith, energy and public spirit so magnificent a result has been noiselessly and frugally achieved. Among the prominent coadjutors of Mr. Kent in the enterprise we may mention James McHenry and T. W. Kennard, of England; Henry A. Kent, Dr. W. S. Streator, Henry Doolittle, E. P. Brainard and William Reynolds. Mr. Kent was the first president of the company, but in the varying vicissitudes of its subsequent history he sustained to the road no official relations. As an investment for the original stockholders the road has not been a success. For the development of the country and as a servant of the people it has been eminently successful. By a recent sale of the road and change of ownership a OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 369 complete re-organization of the company was the adopted policy, the most conspicuous of which was the change of name; the reduction of the " broad gauge " to the standard of the roads throughout the country, the present very efficient management, however, to be retained. Preparations for narrowing the road have been going on along the line for some months, and on Tuesday, June 22d, the appointed day, at four o'clock in the morning, three thousand men began work, and at 6:25 A. M. an engine was run from Kent to Akron, and at 8:25 an engine came in to Kent from the Cleveland & Pittsburg road. At 11:10 A. M., engine No. 134, John Bull engineer, came in with baggage car and coach, bearing Chief Engineer Latimer. At 11:30 A. M., regular train No. 7, from the east arrived, only one hour late, regular time. In six hours the entire line from Levittsburg to Dayton was narrowed up —the shortest time was made on the section between Urbana and Dayton, being two hours and fifty-five seconds—and we close as we begun: The broad gauge " is no more. Upon the successful completion of this road, Mr. Kent substantially retired from active business, to the enjoyment of private life. Upon the death of his father in 1865, he became his successor as president of the Kent National Bank, which position he has held ever since. In October, 1875, he was elected state senator from the Twenty-sixth district of Ohio, and he served his constituents for two years with credit and ability. Mr. Kent is a gentleman of varied experince and of varied business qualifications--equally capable as an engineer or as financial manager to conduct a great public work. He has remarkable tenacity of purpose, and once resolved as to the value of an enterprise, no ordinary obstacle can prevent him from carrying it out. He is a man of liberal views and generous impulses, and has, in a great variety of ways, aided in advancing the material welfare of those among whom he lives. He has been a generous promoter of every business enterprise in the city of Kent, which bears his name. There are enduring monuments of his public spirit on every hand in the community in which he lives, such as public and private edifices, business blocks, mills and factories, and about them all there is an evidence of permanency and durability, of exactness in details, and adaptability to the uses designed. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Kent have been born two children—Henry L, the elder, is now deceased, leaving a widow and two children: Ella Southwick, wife of John W. Reed, and Grace Emily, wife of Charles E. Curtis. The younger son, William S., is vice-president of the Kent National bank. The city of Kent is named in honor of Marvin Kent, and is one of the most thriving towns of Portage county; and it may well be said that the names of both are imperishable. WILLIAM V. ALFORD, lecturer, of Garrettsville, Ohio, is a representative of one of the pioneer families of Windham township. The family is of English origin, and the first members that came to America were among the early settlers of the Massachusetts colony. The history of the family can be traced back only to Elijah Alford, who was born in Massachusetts, and was there married in 1725. His son Elijah was born in the town of Becket, Mass., where he became a prominent deacon in the Presbyterian church. He also became a member of the co ony which purchased the tract of land now forming Windham township. He reared a family of seven children—Elijah, Oliver, Levi, Ruth, Sally, Anna, and Olive. In March, 1811, Elijah and Oliver went to Ohio to prepare a home for the family, which followed later, traveling the entire distance with an ox-team. After being several 370 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD weeks on the road they arrived at their journey's end in July and began the erection of a dwelling. This was a log cabin and was the first house built in Windham township. A momument has since been erected to commemorate the place. Of the children of Elijah Alford, mentioned above, Levi, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Becket, Mass., in 1789, and on April 6, 1814, was married to Edna C. Conant, who was born October 8, 1795. After his marriage he settled on a farm in Windham township, and followed the occupation of farming the remainder of his life. He was an energetic man, always taking an active interest in public improvements, and working for the welfare of the community in which he lived. His character was so well appreciated that he was elected to many local offices of trust and honor. He died February 12, 1869. His wife followed him January 23, 1873. Their children were Elizabeth Olive, who was born January 8, 1815, married Lyman Wright, resided in Nelson township, and died in October, 1896; Rebecca E., now Mrs. Henry Palmer, a resident of Windham township; Sidney L. is now an inmate of the Odd Fellows' Home, at Cincinnati, but was a resident of Portage county; Samuel Newell lived in Putnam county, Ohio, and died in Leipsic; Edward lost his life October 23, 1836, at the age of eleven, being consumed in a burning building; Elijah resides on the homestead first occupied by the family in 1811; Darius M., father of the subject of this sketch, and the youngest son, was born August 3, 1832. He still lives on the farm where he was born. He married Cathaline Brewster, a lineal descendant of the Elder Brewster who was one of the Pilgrims who came to America in the Mayflower in 1620. In the line of descent she is of the eighth generation. Mr. Alford has followed the business of farming all his life. In the Civil war he was in the 100 days' service. He is an ardent supporter of the principles of the republican party, with which he has affiliated since its organization. William V. Alford, the subject of this sketch, is the only son of Darius M. and Cathaline (Brewster) Alford who has lived to attain his majority. He was born October 7, 1858. From infancy to manhood his home was on the farm. His education was of the character usually received by boys in the country. After leaving the common school he entered the high school in Garrettsville, from which he graduated in 1879. After leaving school he became a civil engineer. He followed this business for several years, being engaged in railroad work in many states. In 1887 he went to Central America as assistant engineer on the Nicaragua canal. He was engaged in this work for a period of one year, when he returned home and began the study of photography, in which branch of art he prosecuted his studies for four years, becoming thoroughly proficient in the business. In the autumn of 1895 he again returned to Central America, this time to obtain photographic views of its ancient ruins, its strange aboriginal peoples, and its grand and romantic scenery. Of these he obtained about 1,000 views. He crossed the country from ocean to ocean fourteen times between Panama and the Mexican boundary. He climbed eight of the highest volcanoes and examined their craters, and enjoyed the novelty of sleeping in three of them. Without doubt he was the first white to visit certain of the aboriginal tribes, and was fortunate in obtaining many photographs of these people. In his journeys he nearly always traveled alone, except when accompanied by Indians. The last 400 miles of his journey was made on foot. In the latter part of 1896 he returned OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 373 home and has since given illustrated lectures before colleges in Ohio and Pennsylvania. These lectures are instructive and ought to encourage the scientist to pursue his investigations, to induce the ethnologist to enter into a deeper study of the races and tribes of men inhabiting that country, and to prove an incentive to the archaeologist to a more thorough research among the relics and monuments of that ancient Indian civilization whose glory long antedated the arrival of the Spaniards in Central America. Mr. Alford was married August 23, 1883, to Libbie Barnes, daughter of Peter and Julia (Stone) Barnes. She was born in Crawford county, Pa., on April 7, 1858. Her father was a native of New Jersey, an agriculturist in Crawford county, Pa., a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a republican in politics. Mrs. Barnes was from Erie, Pa., They had a family of five children: William died in Crawford county, Pa., from wounds received in the Civil war. He was a member of a Pennsylvania regiment and became a veteran; Francis, died in Erie, Pa., in 1896; Emily married James Proctor, of Crawford county, Pa. ; Joseph died in 1895. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Alford have been born three children: Carrie, born September 27, 1885; Marguerite, born February 27, 1888; William Brewster, born November 24, 1891. Mr. Alford is a member of I. O. O. F., and Mrs. Alford is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The family live in Garrettsville, where they are numbered among its most respected citizens. THE KENT COURIER was founded in 1886 by Charles H. Scott, who conducted the journal until April, 1891, when William S. Kent assumed the business management, with J. G. Paxton as editor, and with the exception of three months this arrangement has existed until the present day. The Courier is a six-column eight-page paper, is all home print, and in politics is emphatically republican. It has a large circulation throughout Portage and adjoining counties, an extensive advertising patronage, is ably edited, and under the management of Mr. Kent has been financially successful. William S. Kent, son of Marvin and Maria (Stewart) Kent, whose biographies will be found on an adjacent page, was born in Ravenna, Ohio, August 24, 1847. He was primarily educated in the schools of Kent, then attended the preparatory department of Western Reserve college at Hudson, Summit county, Ohio, and concluded his studies at the Polytechnic institute of Philadelphia, Pa. His first business venture was in the grocery trade at Kent ; his second was in the hardware trade, which business he disposed of in 1886 and engaged in the dry-goods trade until 1893, since when he has devoted his attention to the management of the Courier and to banking, being now vice-president of the Kent National bank, of which full mention is made in the biography of Marvin Kent. William S. Kent was united in marriage October 9, 1875, with Miss Kittie, daughter of W. C. North, of Cleveland, but Mrs. Kent died May 28, 1886. As will easily be inferred, Mr. Kent is strongly republican in politics. EDWARD G. LEWIS, farmer and ex-soldier, is a native of Brimfield township, Portage County, Ohio, where he still resides, and is a son of John and Alphena (Bassett) Lewis. The father was a native of Connecticut, who came to Ohio when a young man, engaged in farming, and 374 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD to his marriage with Miss Bassett were born six children, of whom four are still living, viz: Hannah, wife of L. Edson; Frank, Edward G., the subject of this sketch, and William. The deceased were named Maria and Mary, and of these Mary died in 1871. The father of this family died in December, 1882, but had been preceded to the grave by his wife, who died in May, 1881, aged seventy-six years, both being consistent members of the Congregational church. Edward G. Lewis was born July 21, 1839, was reared on his father's farm, and at the age of twenty-two years went to Illinois, where he was at work on a farm when the Civil war broke forth, when he enlisted, November 20, 1861, in the Sixty-fourth Illinois volunteer infantry, and performed faithful service for four years. At the battle of Charlton, 1862, he was wounded in the side by a shot, which disabled him for a short time, but he veteranized in the same company and continued in the service until long after the cessation of hostilities. He then went to Missouri, where he remained until 1870, when he returned to his native township, farmed a year, then went to Indiana, and for twelve years was engaged in the lumber business, and then finally returned to Brimfield township and settled on his present farm. The marriage of Edward G. Lewis took place February 17, 187o, to Miss Amelia Fenn, who was born November 1 o, 184o, daughter of Gibe B. and Jane (Wakeman) Fenn, which union was blessed with one daughter—Nellie June—a bright young stenographic graduate, but who has been teaching school the past four years. The parents of Mrs. Lewis were both natives of Connecticut, and her mother was a daughter of John and Ruhamah (Goodsell) Wakeman. Mr. and Mrs. Fenn had born to them one other daughter, Mabel, who was educated a physician and is now the widow of Dr. Robert King; a son, Berry Fenn, died in infancy. Gibe B. Fenn was a clock-case maker, was a faithful member of the Episcopal church, and died December 29, 1893, at the age of eighty-five years, his estimable wife having died October 22, 187o, when sixty-three years of age. Archibald Fenn, paternal grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, was a native of Watertown, Litchfield county, Conn., and was one of the pioneers of Portage county, Ohio. To his marriage with Miss Mabel Beecher were born two children, Gibe B. and Julia. To the marriage of John Wakeman, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, with Miss Goodsell were born seventeen children, of whom sixteen were reared to maturity, viz: Medad, Gideon, Elihu, Orman, Austin, Uriah, Amelia, Ellen, Adelia, Ruhamah, Maria, Jane, Susan, Henry, Ellen and Me-dad, Jr. Edward G. Lewis is greatly respected for his splendid military record, and his civil life has been such as to place him high in the esteem of the community in which he was born and in which he still lives. WILLIAM H. LOVE, a rising young attorney at law, of No. 168 South Main street, Akron, Ohio, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., September 2, 1865, a son of Washington and Sarah (Hamilton) Love, natives of the north of Ireland and of Scotch-Irish descent, and who came after marriage to the United States, early in the 'fifties, residing in Brooklyn until 1867, when they came to Ohio and settled at Salem, Columbiana county, where the father still resides. He is a republican in his politics and has always been active in local party affairs. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Love were born ten children, four of whom are dead. William H. Love, who was an infant when OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 375 his parents settled in Salem, Ohio, was reared in that town and educated primarily in its district school. He next attended Mount Union college, and after graduating passed some four years in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and other parts of the west, prospecting and teaching school. Returning to Salem, he read law with Hon. J. A. Amber until admitted to the bar in June, 1893, when he opened an office for the practice of his profession in Leetonia, Columbiana county, Ohio, meeting with the most flattering success in his private practice, and where he was elected solicitor of the town, in which capacity he served until August, 1896, when he resigned his office to come to Akron, where he has also met with abundant success. In politics Mr. Love is a stanch republican, and in the fall campaign of 1896 took a very active part, making many eloquent speeches in advocacy of the principles of his party and materially aiding its success. Fraternally, Mr. Love is a member of K. 0. T. M., No. 289. Mr. Love was united in marriage, in 1891, with Miss Ella Bawman, of Wooster, Ohio, and one child—Ralph A.—has blessed the happy union. The residence of the family is at No. 807 South High street. Mr. Love has made his mark as a lawyer, and it is only a matter of time as to when he will stand in the front rank of the Summit county bar, as he has already manifested a superior knowledge of the technicalities of the profession which he has chosen to be that of his life. LEWIS MELVIN LONG, sheriff of Portage county, Ohio, was born in Elkhart county, Ind., June 17, 1849, a son of John and Lydia Ann (Frank) Long, natives of Pennsylvania. The father, who was a farmer, was twice married, and to the latter marriage there were born, beside the subject, three children. viz: David, in 1851; Jacob H., in 1853, and Eva L. , now Mrs. Lot B. James, in 1857. Both parents died in Vandalia, Cass county, Mich.—the father in 1886 and the mother in 1896. Lewis M. Long was educated both in the common and high schools of Bristol, Elkhart county, Ind., and at Vandalia, Mich., and after finishing his education became a telegrapher. In 1872 he was given employment, as a substitute, by the Michigan Southern Railway company at Dowagiac, Mich., and for two years filled the places of "regulars," during their temporary absence from their posts of duty. He then came to Ohio and for a short time worked in the wholesale grocery store of W. P. Southworth & Co., on Ontario street. Cleveland. In 1880 he came to Suffield, Portage county, and was employed by the C. , C. & S. Railroad company as station agent and operator,' also served as mail messenger, and later became a retail coal dealer. The marriage of Mr. Long took place April 6, 1880, in Suffield, to Miss Mary Creque, a native of the village, born November 4, 1862, and a daughter of Ferdinand and Anna E. Creque, natives, respectively, of France and Germany. Mr. Creque died in Suffield in 1869, and there his widow died in April, 1897. Mrs. Long was educated in the common schools of her native town and in the graded school at Marlborough, Stark county, and for a time was herself a school-teacher. Two children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Long, viz: Evalena, born April 18, 1883, and Mabel, born May 5, 1884, both in Suffield, and both now attending the high school in Ravenna. In politics Mr. Long is an active republican, served for some time as constable in Suffield, and in the fall of 1896 was elected sheriff of Portage county by a majority of 124 over his opponent, Thomas Griffith, of Cyclone, Paris township. Fraternally, he is a member 376 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of Mogadore lodge, No. 568, Knights of Pythias; in religion he and family are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Since residing in Ravenna, Mr. Long has secured many warm friends, and he and family enjoy the respect and society of the best people of the city. MARK G. McCASLIN, eminent as an attorney at law in Kent, Ohio, was born in a log house near Mercer, Pa., November 8, 1851. He passed his boyhood days largely in Mercer and Lawrence counties, but extensive details of his life career will be given further on. Andrew McCaslin, grandfather of subject, was born in the north of Ireland, of Scottish ancestors. He came to the United States early in the year 1800 and settled in Venango county, Pa., where he followed mercantile pursuits and also owned and operated an iron furnace, was elected sheriff and was, in many other ways, closely identified with the official, industrial and moral progress of the county. George B. McCaslin, father of subject, was born in Venango ceunty, Pa., was there reared to manhood and married Eliza j. Gray, a native of the same county, and shortly after this event moved to Mercer county. In April, 1861, although then forty-five years of age, he offered his services as a soldier to do battle for the preservation of the Union, which were accepted, and he was mustered into company B, One Hundredth Pennsylvania volunteer infantry (otherwise known as the Roundhead regiment), and was sent to the front. He died in the service, and his remains lie interred in the National cemetery, at Lexington, Ky. ; his widow now makes her home in Kent, Ohio. To George B. McCaslin and wife were born nine children, of whom eight lived to reach the years of maturity, viz: William, a farmer and contractor in the state of Washington; Mary, wife of Sylvester Preston, of Cuba, Ill. ; Angie, married to L. D. Harris, of Omaha, Nebr. ; Josephine, married and residing in Stockton, Cal. ; Mark G., of this notice; Elizabeth; wife of C. L. Whitney, of Walla Walla, Wash. ; George A., a lawyer, who died in Butler county, Pa., and Lydia Muse, now dead. Mark G. McCaslin was educated in the public schools near his home and in the academy at Sewickley, Pa. He next read law under Hon. Joseph N. McClure, at Sharon, Pa., and then entered the Ohio Union law college at Cleveland, from which he graduated in 1872, receiving the degree of B. L., and was admitted to the bar at Mercer, Mercer county, Pa., at the September term of court preceding his arrival at his majority, and at once entered upon the practice of the legal profession in Mercer and Butler counties. He was licensed to preach in 1877, graduated from the Drew Theological seminary at Madison, N. J., in 1882, receiving the degree of B. D., and for a time filled the Methodist pulpit at Linden, N. J., and in 1880 was admitted to the East Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, and thenceforward devoted his whole attention to the preaching of the gospel until 1884, having received the degree of B. S. from the Wesleyan university of Bloomington, Ill., on examination; in 1884 he withdrew from the conference and resumed the practice of law at Colville, Stevens county, Wash. The same year he received the nomination by the republican party for joint assemblyman to represent Stevens and Spokane counties in the legislature, but, although he ran a head of his ticket, was defeated by forty-nine votes. This defeat was occasioned, beyond all doubt, by his strict adherence to the cause of temperance, in which he had always been an earnest worker, and could not be swerved from his convictions of right, even through the reward OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 377 of an elective office. In 1886 Mr. McCaslin returned to Ohio and settled in Kent, where he has since largely devoted his time to law practice, with most flattering success. Since 1891 he has somewhat modified his political views and has affiliated with the prohibitionists—although he has always been independent and never bound by strictly party ties—and in 1893 was the prohibition candidate for secretary of state of Ohio. He has ever sought to do the right and to aid the weak, and although the work of reform has been slow, discouraging, attended with financial loss and at times with danger, he has never faltered in his adherence to the cause of humanity. When he left the republican party he was township chairman of the republican committee and a member of the county committee for Portage. county, and naturally in the way of political preferment, and when it was known he was about to leave the party this fact was ably urged upon him, but feeling it to be his duty to help the little band of prohibitionists in their battle against what he regarded as the arch enemy of humanity, and his country, he cast all political ambition and personal considerations behind him and united with a party whose success he recognized to be very far in the future, if it came in his day or generation, thus laying all hope of 'preferment upon its altar. Mr. McCaslin was twice married; by his first wife he had two children, Nellie, who lives in the west, and Paul, who is a student at Buchtel college, and is a very brilliant and promising young man. May 15, 1891, Mark G. McCaslin was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Mary Bradrich, daughter of Rev. I. B. Brad-rich, of Columbus, Ohio, and this union has been blessed with three children—Wendell Phillips, Mark Donald, and Edith Louise, all of lovely personality. W. H. McCONNELL, M. D., physician and surgeon of Brimfield, Portage county, Ohio, was born in Washington county, Md., June 6, 1831, a son of John and Ellen (Moore) McConnell, both natives of Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish descent. James McConnell, father of the doctor, was a blacksmith by trade, but later became a farmer in his native state. He married Miss Ellen Moore in Pennsylvania, and eleven children were born to this union. The father of this family reached the advanced age of ninety-eight years, and the mother attained the extraordinary age of 101 years. Both were life-long members of the Presbyterian church, of which the father was an elder. Dr. McConnell received his preliminary education in the district schools of his native county, subsequently attended Florence academy, in the same county, and Hopetown academy in Beaver county, Pa. In 1853 he came to Ohio, and read medicine with Drs. Day & Willson for three years, and then entered Jefferson Medical college, of Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1857, and at once located in Bolivar, Ohio, where he practiced one year; he then removed to Stark county, where he practiced his profession for twenty years. After a seven months' service in a hospital at Louisville, Ky., during the Civil war, he concluded to go west, and sold out, with the intention of settling in Kansas, but, on account of the advanced age of his parents, decided to remain in Ohio, and the same year located in Ravenna, Portage county, where he practiced one year, and then came to Brimfield. The doctor was united in marriage, November 5, 1863, with Miss Savilla Royer, the union resulting in the birth of three children, viz: Carrie B., wife of Merritt Russell; Clarence L. and Estella. In politics the doctor is a republican, and fraternally is a Mason and a 378 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD member of various medical societies. Socially he and family stand very high, and he is as much respected in society as he is esteemed in professional circles. ANTHONY McFARLIN, one of the most highly respected agriculturists of Bath township, Summit county, Ohio, was born here January 24, 1835. John McFarlin, father of the subject, was a native of Bristol, Ontario county, N. Y., born July 27, 1805, and when a young boy was brought to Ohio by his parents, who located in Sharon, Medina county, at first, but in 1819 came to Bath township, Summit county, and purchased 165 acres in the wilderness, which the elder Mr. McFarlin cleared up and improved with substantial buildings. Here John McFarlin grew to manhood and first married Miss Azubah Lowe, who was born in Canandaigua county, N. Y., and came to Bath township in 1830. To this marriage were born five children, viz: Anthony, Adeline, Emily, Eliza Jane and Harriet, of whom Anthony, the subject, is the only survivor, and is living on the old homestead. Mrs. McFarlin was called away October I I, 1862, and on October 13, 1863, Mr. McFarlin married Mrs. Elsie A. Swan, of Medina county, who bore him one child—Jessie E., born February 20, 1865, and died March 21, 1869. Mr. McFarlin was a thrifty farmer and a public-spirited citizen, and was elected to several positions of trust and honor, among which may be mentioned that of justice of the peace, which office he held many years. He was also twice elected county commissioner—first, in 1858, for three years, and again in 1864, for the same length of time, and was a member of the board when the present extensive infirmary buildings were erected. He died September 14, 1877, at the age of seventy-two years, honored as one of the best citizens Bath township ever had. Anthony McFarlin was educated in the district schools and reared to manhood on his father's farm, which he now owns. November 15, 1860, he married Miss Frances M. Hurd, the third child born to Asa and Sarah (Beebe) Hurd, her birth occurring March 25, 1840. To this union have been born three children. in the following order: Corinne, July 10, 1864—now the wife of Jason Sumner, a prosperous farmer of Bath township; May A., May 3o, 1869, and John H., December 20, 1871—both residing on the homestead. Mrs. McFarlin is an active member of the Disciples' church, at East Granger, and in politics Mr. McFarlin is a stanch republican, and cast his first presidential vote for Honest Abe Lincoln. He has twice been elected township trustee, is at present a member of the school board, and for fourteen years has been a member of the Summit County Agricultural association. He is an upright, honorable gentleman in every respect, and no one in the township is more highly esteemed. The old family homestead is situated on the highlands in the western part of the township and contains all modern improvements and up-to-date buildings, and is one of the best cultivated farms in Summit county. Mrs. Sumner has been a student at Hiram college and at Buchtel college, at Akron, Ohio. Miss May was educated in Buchtel college and at the old time-honored college of Oberlin. John was a student at Hiram college for three years. Mr. Hurd, the father of Mrs. McFarlin, was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., and was reared to the life of a farmer. He emigrated to Ohio about 1835, and died at the age of seventy-two. Politically, he was a republican. Mrs. Hurd, the mother, was also a native of New York. She died at the age of seventy-three. In religious faith the Hurds OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 379 were Baptists. There were only four children, three sons and one daughter, in the Hurd family, and three of the four are living. ISAAC MADLEM, one of the most substantial farmers and respected citizens of Springfield township, is of German descent. His grandfather, Thomas Madlem, was a native of Lancaster county, Pa., where he married and reared a family, later moving to Lake township, Stark county, Ohio, where he passed the remainder of his days. He was a leader in the German Lutheran church, and a Jacksonian democrat in politics. The subject's father, George Madlem, was born in Lancaster county, Pa. He received a common-school education and married Catherine Hocker, who was born in that county in April, 1817. To Thomas Madlem and wife were born the following children: John, Isaac, Lena, Daniel, William, George, Susannah and Sarah. George Madlem moved to Stark county, Ohio, and after a few years' residence there located in Suffield township, Portage county, Ohio, where their permanent home was made, the father dying at the 'age of forty-one years. The mother is still living at a hale old age. Their pioneer days were full of privations and hardships of which the present generation have little or no conception, but they endured and braved all, and were fairly successful in the end. The father was engaged in the woolen manufacturing business, and was highly regarded as a man and as a citizen in the community in which he lived. He was a democrat in politics, and a member of the Reformed church. At his death the widow was left with four children, whom she reared as best she could, giving them the advantages of the rather limited common-school system of that day. Isaac Madlem, the subject, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., October 7, 1841. He was nine years of age when his parents moved to Portage county. He remained on the farm until he was seventeen years of age, when he was bound out to the carpenter trade, in which he became a competent craftsman, engaging in the same for two years before the war and for eight or nine years after his service in the army. Since retiring from his trade he has lived on his present farm. On September 3o, 1861, he enlisted in company G, Twenty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served through the war, being mustered out July 13, 1865. He was a participant in some of the most notable engagements of the war. His regiment was engaged in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, New York and Indiana, and saw some very hard service, being in the main line of battle at Cedar Mountain and Chancellorsville, where heavy loss was sustained by the regiment. At Gettysburg this regiment was in the right wing of battle and suffered heavily. At Culp's Hill it was in the main line and met a heavy loss, and also at Buzzard's Roost, Ga., where carelessness resulted in a large and unnecessary loss to the regiment. It saw service at the battle of Lookout Mountain, was in the campaign before Atlanta and marched with Sherman to the sea, and was distinguished as one of the finest in that host. Mr. Madlem was appointed corporal July 1, 1864, and on the 23d of the same month was promoted to the position of sergeant. He is now a member of Hill post, No. 218, G. A. R. On November 12, 1865, Mr. Madlem was married to Catharine Royer, who was born June 15, 1846, the daughter of John and Hettie (Royer) Royer, both natives of Lancaster county, Pa., the former being born November 12, 1808, and the latter January 3, 1809. John and Hettie Royer were married 380 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in that county and afterward moved to Stark county, Ohio, where they settled on a fine farm, which they improved highly. They were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth, Martha, Maria, Daniel, Sarah, Catherine, Leah and Salina. Mr. Royer was an old-line whig, afterward a republican. Joseph Royer, paternal grandfather of Mrs. Madlem, was a native of Lancaster county, Pa., was an agriculturist, and he and wife were devoted members of the German Baptist church. He was one of the earliest advocates of republicanism. His death took place February 11, 1890, at the age of eighty-two years, two months and twenty-six days, and the interment of his remains was made February 14. His wife was also a native of the Keystone state, and died July 13, 1891, aged eighty-two years, six months and ten days, her interment taking place July 15. To Mr. and Mrs. Madlem were born the following children: C. Etta, wife of Alvin Wearstler, and residing on the Madlem homestead; Emma B., wife of Gustus Mishler, of Springfield township; and Dora May, at home and attending school. After their marriage they lived in Portage county for six years, and then moved to Springfield township, buying their present farm of sixty-six acres, the larger part of which' is well improved, and on which there are very valuable deposits of fine potter's clay. These clay banks, covering about thirty-five acres, have been developed until at present Mr. Madlem is taking out about 3,000 tons per year. He is a stanch republican politically, and cast his first presidential vote for Honest Abe," and takes an active part in the affairs of his party in this county. Officially Mr. Madlem has been director of the schools of his district for years. He was township trustee for one year, and also treasurer of his township for three years. His wife is a member of the German Baptist Brethren church, and is a great help in that body. They are well-known and highly respected people. PETER LEPPER, a wealthy and honored citizen of Springfield township, Summit county, Ohio, and a successful farmer and live-stock raiser, and a self-made man of business, was born in Milton township, Trumbull (now Mahoning) county, Ohio, October 7, 1826, and is a son of John A. and Magdalena (Stine) Lepper, of whom mention will be made in full toward the close of this biography. At the age of three years, Peter Lepper was taken by his parents to Suffield township, Portage county, where, his parents being in somewhat indigent circumstances, and the country covered with forest growth, he began, at the age of twelve years, to make his own living by chopping wood and by assisting the neighbors in clearing up their lands. He next engaged as a driver for a canal-boat for three summers, and in 184o went on the Mississippi river as a cabin boy, and in the fall returned to Suffield township, where he attended school three months, and in the spring of 1841 re-engaged in boating on the canal, as bowsman, under Capt. Woodard, filling the position throughout the summer. Being yet a boy, he thought himself fortunate when he had accumulated sufficient cash to buy himself an ax and saw, which he took to what is now the city of Akron, and for two years went from house to house, sawing and chopping cord wood, and in this way earned enough money to pay for a two-horse team, and for two years engaged in general hauling. In 1845 he sold his team and for the following two years employed himself in peddling groceries, cigars, etc. About this time an elder sister started a grocery store in Suffield, and induced Mr. Lepper OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 385 to form a partnership with her, he to do the purchasing, in conjunction with his peddling, and she to manage the store. In 1847 Mr. Lepper bought a tract of forty-seven acres in Suffield township, adjacent to twenty-six acres owned by his parents, who, however, were well advanced in years and their property under mortgage. The son began cultivating his land, and also made an agreement with his parents, conditional on the transfer of their property to himself, to release the mortgage and to care for the parents the remainder of their existence—conditions he faithfully complied with, clothing them and providing them with every necessary until their decease. Mr. Lepper continued farming, also dealing extensively in live stock, in Suffield township, until 1855, in the meantime marrying, May 20, 1848, at Hartsville, Stark county, Miss Catherine Sausaman, daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Jarrett) Sausaman, the union being blessed with seven children, viz: John H., who is conducting a large grocery in Brittain, Summit county, and is married to Miss Anna Kling, daughter of George Kling; Louisa, still at home; B. Frank, unmarried and proprietor of a large sheep range in Montana; Margaret A., wife of Henry Swartz, a farmer of Edinburg, Portage county, Ohio; Mary Elizabeth and Jefferson, twins, Jefferson having been twice married—the first time to 011ie Smith, daughter of Orren Smith, but who died January 1, 1890, the mother of one son; his second marriage was to Maria Adams, daughter of Horace Adams; Catherine is the wife of Frederick Hawk, who resides on a farm belonging to Mr. Lepper, in Brimfield township, Portage county. Mr. Lepper, while still a resident of Suffield township, in addition to farming and stockraising, also ran a threshing machine for fourteen years, and after a residence in that - 12 - township of nearly forty years came to Springfield township in 1869, and purchased the farm of 255 acres, then known as the Philip Kramer farm, and situated on the road running from Mogadore to Akron, and now one of the finest farms in the county. Here Mr. Lepper has lived ever since, and has principally but not entirely devoted his attention to general farming and sheep raising, and is today one of the largest shippers of stock in this section of the country. For twenty-five years he has handled farm machinery and agricultural implements, and for many years has been a member of . the Agricultural society, of which he has served as president, director and superintendent of stock. In politics Mr. Lepper is a tariff democrat, and in the affairs of his party takes an active interest, and, although not an office seeker, has filled, as a matter of public duty, several important local offices, such as township trustee and assessor of Suffield township, and in 1890 was elected real estate appraiser of Springfield township, and has been a member of the school board for many years. He is a member of the Reformed church of Suffield, and while a resident there filled the office of deacon. In this faith his wife died July 9, 1896, her death being a sad blow to himself and the surviving members of the family. She was a loving wife, a kind mother, a true Christian, and a woman possessed of many rare virtues. Their daughter, Louisa, is now managing the household for her father, and manages it well. The parents of Peter Lepper were natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. John A. Lepper, the father, was born in June, 1779, was a miller by trade, and married, in 1803, Miss Mary Magdalen Stine, who was born in April, 178o, a daughter of Henry and Louisa (Von Writtenhousen) Stine. To John A. and wife were born the following children, of 386 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD whom Peter Lepper is the only survivor and the only one born in America. The deceased were Elizabeth, who died an infant on the ocean; Adam, died at the age of seven years in New Lisbon, Columbiana county, Ohio; Philip, who owned a farm in Missouri, was shot dead in the Civil war, in 1864, at the age of fifty-one years; Goodhart died, at the age of fifty-two years, ten months and twenty-one days, January 11, 1865; Catherine died the wife of Joseph Crase; Louisa, the wife of Philip Hommel, died in Germany in 1893. On the eve of embarkation of the Lepper family from the port of Bremen, Germany, after the passage to America was paid, which amounted to about $5 io, and whilst the colony of emigrants were waiting, a man by the name of Philip Damm found a bullet, about the size of a small walnut, in the street, and gave it to the third child of the Leppers, Philip by name, who, boy like, attached a string to the bullet and was swinging it in a circle, when the string broke, and the bullet flew at a tangent and crashed into a large mirror, valued at $400. This was unfortunate for Mr. Lepper; the company owning the building immediately attached the passage money, which caused great consternation in the minds of the family, for Mr. Lepper had determined to come to free America. The pieces of the mirror were gathered up and many of the colonists purchased pieces, paying a goodly sum, which greatly aided Mr. Lepper in liquidating the damage, but the balance yet amounted to over $200. The family were in a peculiar condition. The captain of the outgoing vessel had taken a liking to Mr. Lepper, since he was an educated German, and would have been very useful on board, should an insurrection arise during the voyage. He however said to Mr. Lepper, " Sir, I am very sorry for your mishap, but I cannot take you at all, unless the balance of your passage is made up and you will be compelled to remain." The old gentleman said--" No, sir; I am going to America," and seeing the decision and candor in the person of Lepper, he said, " Come back in a few days and I will decide whether I will take you across, and upon what conditions." Upon the the return of Mr. Lepper, the captain said, " Lepper I will take you to America with this understanding, hard as it may seem to you that upon the arrival of our vessel at Baltimore, you and family be placed on the block and be sold for the balance of the passage money." Mr. Lepper immediately answered" I accept the proposition," and when the ship reported at Baltimore, the sale of a family for passage across the Atlantic was promulgated through the streets, and the daughter Catharine, a maiden of fourteen years of age, was put up and sold at the stipulated price, to remain in a family till her majority, twenty-one years of age, the family then resuming their westward bound trip to Northumberland county, Pa. , where the father soon secured employment in his trade, that of a miller. The people were in great sy rnpathy with the Leppers, so a subscription was taken up, the requisite amount raised and a messenger sent to Baltimore to secure the release of the daughter, but he being a villain and a dishonest man, hypothecated the money. Another subscription was taken and a citizen and merchant of the village was then delegated to Baltimore to bring the daughter Catharine home, which was accomplished to the delight and unsurpassable joy of the family. This incident is presented to show the determined will of the Leppers, which is still apparent in the life of Summit county's honored citizen, Peter Lepper of this sketch. The family reached America in 1819, being ninety-one days on the water, during forty-one of which they never saw daylight, and at the termination of this tempestuous voyage disembarked at the port of Baltimore, OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 387 Md., whence they went direct to Northumberland county, Pa. , where the father followed milling three years, and then came to Ohio with his family. Here for three years he followed his trade in New Lisbon, then at Milton one year, and then for one year at Tinker's creek, near Cleveland ; he next came to Akron, worked two years, then came to Springfield township and worked one year at Millheim, and then bought twenty-six acres of land in Suffield township, and also took charge of the Randolph flouring-mill, his family working the farm until it was transferred to his son Peter, as mentioned in a preceding paragraph. At the age of seventy years he retired from active work, and died at the home of Peter, in Suffield township, December 11, 1868, a faithful member of the Lutheran church. His widow survived until December 11, 1871, when she passed away in the same faith, also at the home of her son Peter, who had come to Springfield township. John A. Lepper, grandfather of Peter Lepper, our subject, was also a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, was a miller, and was the father of eleven children, of whom three served in the German army—John A., father of Peter, having enlisted at the age of fourteen years and serving ten years, and John and Anthony, who were members of the same regiment with John A., and who were both killed on the field of battle. Henry Stine, maternal grandfather of Peter Lepper, was also born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, was a sutler, a wealthy man, and to his marriage with Miss Louisa von Writtenhousen were born four children, of whom Mrs. Lepper was the eldest; the others were named Catherine, Margaret and Goodhart. Isaac Sausaman, father of Mrs. Peter Lepper, was born in Union county, Pa., was a saddler by trade, and on coming to Ohio, about 1842, located in Union township, Stark county, where he followed his trade many years, and then purchased twelve acres of land in Suffield, Portage county, where he passed the remainder of his life. To his marriage with Miss Catherine Jarrett, daughter of John Jarrett, were born nine children, of whom four are still living, viz: Henry and Frederick, twins, residing in Fulton county, Ind.; Amelia, wife of Joseph Dickerhoof, of Akron, Fulton county, Ind., and Isaac, of Suffield township, Portage county, Ohio. The deceased were named John; Daniel; Esther, who was married to Aultman Hein-man; Lydia, who died in Indiana, the wife of David Long, and Mrs. Peter Lepper, who was born September 25, 1818, and died at the date mentioned above. Peter Lepper has done an immense amount of work toward the development of Springfield township, morally and temporally, and has given a helping hand to many of his less fortunate fellow-citizens. A man of most generous impulses, he has lost thousands upon thousands of dollars in saving others from ruin, or in helping them to repair their shattered fortunes, although he was but a poor boy himself when he began his business career, becoming through his own industry, sagacity and temperate life one of the wealthiest men in the county. He has given, and will yet give, with an open hand and cheerful heart, to those in distress, and the people of Springfield may well feel proud, as well as grateful, that they have in their midst so munificent a philanthropist. BENJAMIN F. MANDERBACH, chief of the Akron, Ohio, fire department, was born in New Berlin, Stark county, Ohio, January 1, 1844, and is a son of Jacob and Anna (Davis) Manderbach. The earliest paternal ancestor of whom the subject has any knowledge was his great-grandfather, who was stolen by gypsies in 388 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Germany, brought to America, and reared to manhood in Lancaster county, Pa. Martin Manderbach, grandfather of subject, was born in the county named, and there died. His son Jacob, father of subject, was born in the same county in December, 1816, came to Ohio in 1842, and kept a hotel in New Berlin, Stark county, and later at Union Town, in the same county, until the breaking out of the late Civil war, when he engaged in distilling, an occupation he followed until 1865. He then came to Akron with his son Benjamin F., and was here engaged in the flour and feed trade, under the firm name of Manderbach & Son, for fourteen years, when he retired. Of his four children two still survive—Benjamin F., the subject, and Hattie E., the wife of William H. Miller. Benjamin F. Manderbach was reared in New Berlin and Union Town, Ohio, attending public school until about seventeen years old, when he enlisted, September 3o, 1861, in company G, Twenty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was discharged in December, 1863, to veteranize in the same regiment. He participated in the first battle of Winchester, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville, Va. , and Gettysburg, and was then transferred to the western army, where he took part in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Dug Gap, Resaca, Pine Knob, Dallas, New Hope Church and Kenesaw Mountain, and in the last named was wounded in the head, June 27, 1864. He was a brave, faithful and true soldier, was promoted from private to corporal and to first sergeant, and, January 15, 1865, was commissioned first lieutenant, with which rank he was honorably discharged July 4, 1865. On his return to Ohio he united in business with his father in Akron, as related in the foregoing paragraph. Since 1868 he has been a member of the Akron fire department, and since 188-3 has been its efficient and able chief. He is also a member of the I. 0. 0. F., K. of P. , G. A. R. and Loyal Legion, and in politics is a republican. As a useful citizen, enterprising business man and sagacious disciplinarian of the fire brigade of Akron, he has won and deserves the respect of the public, and this is freely accorded to him. EDWARD A. MONTENYOHL, M. D., a native of Akron, Ohio, was born June 5, 1873, and is a son of Henry L. and Mary E. (Atwood) Montenyohl, at present residing at No. 137 Bluff street, with an office at the southwest corner of Main and Exchange streets. The father is in the employ of the Standard Hardware company, and has spent twenty-five years in the hardware business. Dr. Montenyohl was educated in Akron and graduated from its high school; he then entered the office of Dr. J. V. Cleaver, under whom he read medicine until prepared for a higher course of study. He then entered Bellevue Hospital Medical college of New York city, remained there during the years 1892 and 1893, and then entered the Medical college of Ohio, at Cincinnati, from which he graduated in the class of 1895, and later took a special course in the treatment of diseases of the eye and ear, and then, after passing a competitive examination, was appointed house surgeon of the Jewish general hospital at Cincinnati, where he spent one year, and while there became a member of the Hamilton county Medical society and was appointed a clinician in the department of the diseases of children in the Medical college of Ohio. The doctor is a genial, whole-souled gentleman, well fitted by nature for the profession he has adopted as his life pursuit, as he carries, as it were, sunshine into the sick chamber, and it is a well-known physiological or spiritualistic fact that a ra- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 389 diant countenance, working on the sympathetic patient, accomplishes as much, at times, as therapeutics. The doctor keeps thoroughly posted on the advances made daily in his science, and both as a practitioner in general medicine and as an oculist has met with more than ordinary success for one of his age. The doctor is now a member of the Union Medical society of Northeastern Ohio. JULIUS D. MARSHALL, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, springs from an old colonial New England family, of Scotch descent, and was born September 2, 1828, at Bolton, Conn., son of Samuel and Mary (Cook) Marshall. Julius D. Marshall was but three years old when his father came to Ohio in 1831, located in Twinsburg, Summit county, but later removed to Cuyahoga Falls, and here subject received his early education. He went to Michigan with his father when about fifteen years old and attended school in Berrien county. He married, when twenty-one years old, in Saint Joseph county, Mich., Julia A. Campbell, who was born in Canada, and to Mr. and Mrs. Marshall were born two children—William R. and Freddie E. Mr. Marshall returned to Cuyahoga Falls in 1861, learned the carpenter's trade, and here enlisted, March 28, 1864, in battery D, First Ohio light artillery, Capt. James J. Cockerell, to serve three years or during the war, but was honorably discharged, on account of disability, September, 1864. His services were at Nashville, Tenn., but he was taken sick at Knoxville with chronic bronchitis, caused by exposure, and was in hospital one week there. He was then in Cumberland hospital, Nashville, two months, when he was transferred to New Albany, Ind., and remained four weeks, and was then trans ferred to Camp Dennison, Ohio, where he remained until discharged. After his return, Mr. Marshall followed his trade of carpenter, and resided some time in Cuyahoga Falls. His first wife died in Berrien county, Mich., and he next married Johanna Bennett, and they had one child—Charles G. Marshall. The second wife also died in Berrien county, Mich., and he next married Harriet Clement, and they had three children—Anna B., Nellie E. and Hattie V. The third Mrs. Marshall died, and he next married Sarah H. Beckley; she died, and his fifth marriage took place June 3, 1884, to Anna B. Staufer, born June 16, 1850, near Lancaster, Pa., a daughter of Ephraim and Sarah (Kurtz) Staufer, of sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and Mennonites in religion. Mr. Staufer was a tailor by trade and settled in Stark county, Ohio, in 1856-7, there passed his remaining days, and died aged thirty-nine years. His children were Martin K., Anna B., Emma and Elizabeth. Mr. Marshall is a member of the G. A. R., Eadie post, Cuyahoga Falls, in which he has held the office of post commander. In politics he is a stanch republican. Mr. Marshall is greatly disabled and has not followed his trade for eight years, but previously was always an industrious, respected citizen, and still stands high in his community. Samuel S. Marshall, father of subject, was born in Connecticut and early left an orphan. He became a shoemaker, and married in Connecticut Mary Cook, who, like him, was early left an orphan. Their children were Libbens R., Julia A., Elizabeth L., Esther A., Laura, Gilbert R., William G. and Julius D. Mr. Marshall was a soldier in the war of 1812, a member of the Presbyterian church, an upright and industrious man, and in politics a whig, and died in Michigan at the age of seventy years. He had two sons, Julius D. 390 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and William G., soldiers in the Civil war. William G. was in an Ohio infantry regiment, served two years, and was at one time guarding prisoners on Johnson's Island, Lake Erie. Julius D. Marshall's sons are named as follows: William R., who married Ella Camp, of Cuyahoga Falls, where he is in the grocery business and has one child; Frederick E. married Dora Ulmer, is a street-car conductor, resides in Cleveland and has two children; Anna B. married F. E. Polhamus, a tinner, has one child and resides in Cuyahoga Falls; Nellie E. married Nathan Rook, a barber, of Cuyahoga Falls, and has seven children; Charles E. married Nellie Lockwood, has one child and resides in Michigan. JOHN SPENCER MARVIN, of the firm of Robert Smith & Co., lumber dealers of Ravenna, Ohio, was born in Lancaster, Erie county, N. Y., sixteen miles east of Buffalo, May 30, 1831, a son of John C. and Lydia (Phillips) Marvin, both natives of the town of Saybrook, Litchfield county, Conn., where the Marvin family were among the first settlers, long before the Revolutionary war. To John C. and Lydia Marvin were born three children, viz: Sarah Ann, widow of Cyrus H. Norcut; John S., the subject, and Franklin Norton Marvin, of Rockford, Ill. Joseph Marvin, the paternal grandfather of subject, was a native of Connecticut, was a soldier in the Revolution, and was a carpenter and builder by trade. He married a Miss Hutchinson, reared a family of four sons and seven daughters, and died in his native state at the age of sixty-five years. The maternal grandfather of subject was also a native of Litchfield county, Conn., was a farmer by calling, and died in middle life. John C. Marvin, father of John S., the subject, was a carpenter and builder, and was extensively engaged in contract work. He was first married to Lydia Phillips, and with her passed a few years in the west, and it was during this period that subject was born; and during which, also, that Mrs. Marvin died in Lancaster, N. Y., in 1835. Mr. Marvin, however, always considered his native state to be his home, and after his bereavement returned thereto, married Maria Thomas—by whom no children were born—and died in 1875, at the age of seventy-three years, a member of the Methodist church, to which denomination his family also belonged. John S. Marvin, whose name opens this biography, was reared in Litchfield county, Conn., from the age of four until nineteen years, having been placed in charge of an uncle after his mother's death. While yet a boy he was bound out to a shoemaker and worked four years for his board and $20 per annum, from which sum he paid for his clothes. His schooling was obtained at night. He then went to New Haven, Conn., learned cutting, receiving $4 per week the while, and later was paid $25 per week after he had attained proficiency. He then spent four years in New York, and afterward went to Baltimore, Md., then to Morris county, N. J., and in June, 1855, came to Ravenna, Ohio, and here worked as a journeyman on the bench for a year. In 1856 he went to Tennessee and to Kentucky, and in 1857 returned to Ravenna, formed a partnership with Ira W. Enos in the shoe and leather trade, which was continued for about ten months, after which Mr. Marvin conducted the business alone for about twelve years, then sold out and bought a farm, which he cultivated for four years, and in July, 1874, returned to Ravenna and engaged in his present business, which has since received his entire attention. Mr. Marvin was united in marriage, No- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 391 vember 20, 1859, with Miss Sarah M. Woodruff, daughter of Chauncey and Paulina (Bray) Woodruff, and this union was made the more happy by the birth of eight children, viz: Anna L., Fannie C., Paulina L., Charles L., John C., Edward W., Roland H. and William B. Of these, Anna L. and Paulina L. are still living with their parents; Fannie C. died in infancy; Charles L., a paper-hanger and decorator, married Miss Minnie Cushing, and is the father of four children—Earl Faxter, Raymond, Harold and Lilah; John C. is rate clerk for the American Cereal company of Chicago, Ill., and is married to Miss Maud Kaylor; Roland H. died January 4, 1895; William died September 26, 1895, thus leaving Edward W. as the sole survivor, who married Elizabeth Hartlerode, and now resides in Wooster, Ohio. The mother of this family was called away February 2, 1895. She was a lady of infinite worth and truly a helpmate to her husband; a loving mother and a warmhearted friend, she was mourned alike by her bereaved family and a large circle of acquaintances. Mr. Marvin is in politics a republican, and is a master Mason fraternally. He is a shrewd business man and knows thoroughly the ins and outs of the lumber trade, as he before knew the shoe and leather business. Strictly conscientious in all his transactions, a customer, once secured, never quits him. Personally he is pleasant and agreeable in his deportment, and since his residence in Ravenna, now of some forty years' duration, he has drawn to himself many devoted friends. DAVID LESLIE MARVIN, of Akron, one of the most eminent young attorneys of Summit county, Ohio, was born in Kent, Portage county, November 17, 1862, and is a son of Hon. Ulysses L. and Dorena (Rockwell) Marvin, of English extraction. Ulysses Marvin, grandfather of David L., was born in Lyme, Conn., April 1 1, 18o1, was a chairmaker by trade, as well as fuller, and on attaining his majority established a woolen mill in his native town and operated it several years. In 1829 he came to Ohio and cleared up a farm in Stowe township, Summit county, and died at the age of eighty-six years. He had married, in Connecticut, May I, 1822, Miss Elizabeth Bradley, daughter of Arba and Esther (Chamberlain) Bradley, of Middletown, Conn., and to this union were born six children, viz: Arba B. ; Jane E., wife of S. C. Weeks; Sophronia, married to H. C. Wilcox; Asahel M. ; Chloe B., now Mrs. Milton C. Danforth, and Ulysses L. The mother of this family, after a married life of over sixty-two years, passed away in 1884, at the age of eighty-four years. Ulysses L. Marvin, father of David L. Marvin, was born in Stowe township, Summit county, Ohio, March 4, 1839, was educated at Twinsburg institute and Franklin institute, and was admitted to the bar in 1860. In 1861 and part of 1862 he held the position of principal of the Kent union school, and in August, 1862, enlisted in the One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry. He was at once detailed as clerk in the judge advocate's office in Cincinnati, and served until July, 1863, when he was commissioned first lieutenant of a company in the Fifth United States colored troops, and was promoted to be captain during the siege of Richmond. April 29, 1864, he was wounded at Newmarket Heights, one of the defenses of Richmond, and on his return to duty, two months later, was assigned as adjutant-general on the staff of Gen. G. W. Shurtleff, and at the close of the war was brevetted major for gallant and meritorious services, and appointed judge advocate on the 392 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD staff of Gen. C. J. Paine, in which capacity he served until mustered out in October, 1865. On his return from the war, Major Marvin engaged in the practice of the law in Kent for two years, and in November, 1867, came to Akron. Here, in 1869, he was elected probate judge of Summit county by the republican party, and filled the office six years. In May, 1883, he was appointed common pleas judge, which office he filled six months. Since then he has served as judge of the circuit court, Eighth judicial circuit of Ohio. In 1884, also, he was elected presidential elector for the Twentieth congressional district of Ohio, and cast his vote in the electoral college for Blaine and Logan. In March, 1895, he was re-elected circuit judge for the full term, and still fills the office. The marriage of Judge U. L. Marvin took place November 24, 1861, to Miss Dorena, daughter of Hon. David L. and Mary L. (Palmetter) Rockwell, of Kent, and this marriage has been blessed with four children, viz: David L. (subject), George U., Charles A. and Francis R. David L. Marvin was reared in Akron from the age of five years, was educated in the public schools of this city, and in Kenyon college, and was graduated from the law department of Columbia university, Washington, D. C. In November, 1882, he was appointed an examiner in the United States pension office at Washington, and was the youngest man ever appointed to that position, but resigned in June, 1884, to engage in newspaper work during the cotton exposition at New Orleans, La. He passed the year 1885 in Chicago, Ill., then returned to Ohio, and February 9, 1886, was elected assistant engineer of the public works of Ohio, and was re-elected in 1888 and 1890. During his incumbency of this office he read law during leisure hours, and was admitted to the bar in December, 1889; February 15, 1891, he resigned his office as assistant state engineer and returned to Akron, where he has ever since been employed in the active and successful practice of the legal profession. On his resignation of his position as assistant state engineer, the superintendent's board adopted a resolution, expressing their regret at parting with Mr. Marvin " both as a friend and officer," and stating that he had discharged his duties with marked ability and fidelity, and that he had manifested uniform courtesy in all his relations with them. Mr. Marvin was most happily married May 16, 1888, to Miss Frances Saxe Fish, daughter of Cortes F. and Helen (Carlisle) Fish, of Shelby, Ohio, this union being made the more happy by the birth of one child, March 24, 1892, who bears the euphonious name of Helen Dorena. Mr. and Mrs. Marvin are consistent members of the Episcopalian church, and fraternally Mr. Marvin is a member of the Loyal Legion, and Iota chapter of Psi Upsilon collegiate society. He is a stanch republican in politics, but has never been an office seeker. Professionally Mr. Marvin has made a most marked success, and his social standing is decidedly with the best in the city. EDGAR W. MAXSON, one of the foremost attorneys at law of Ravenna, was born in Geauga county, Ohio, February 3, 1844, a son of William and Salina C. (Mumford) Maxson, natives of Connecticut and New York respectively, and parents of two children—Edgar W. and Victor R., the latter a resident of Hiram, Ohio. Joshua Maxson, paternal grandfather of subject, was a native of Connecticut, served in the war of 1812, and died at Hiram, Ohio, at the age of eighty-four years, a deacon in the Baptist church. William Mumford, the maternal grandfather, was born in New York, OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 393 was a farmer, and died in Troy, Ohio, aged seventy-seven years. William Maxson, father of Edgar W., was about twelve years of age when brought to Ohio, in 1825, by his parents, who settled in Hiram township, Portage county, where he was reared to manhood on the home farm, and later followed farming on his own account. He died in 1876, at sixty-two years of age, his widow surviving until September, 1894, when she died at the age of seventy-four. Edgar W. Maxson received his preliminary education in Hiram in the Western Reserve Eclectic institute, afterward Hiram college, and at the age of fifteen entered Hiram college; he next entered Michigan university, at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated, in 1865, in the literary and law courses, following which he spent five years in Springfield, Ill., as a school-teacher, and then traveled three years as state agent for the New York Underwriters' agency, an insurance company. In 1870 he commenced the practice of his profession in Garrettsville, Portage county, Ohio, where he found active employment for his talents until 1886, when he came to Ravenna, where his field for practice would have a broader scope. The first marriage of Mr. Maxson took place November 7, 1867, with Miss Elizabeth C. Mull, of Galesburg, Ill., a daughter of B. S. and Harriet (Voorhis) Mull, of Otsego county, N. Y., and this union has been blessed by the birth of one daughter, Maud M., who is a graduate of the Cleveland School of Music, and a teacher of music in Ravenna. Mrs. Elizabeth C. Maxson was called from earth September 10, 1875, and on the 14th day of December, 1876, Mr. Maxson united with his second life-companion, Miss Dora E. Lockwood, a daughter of Philander and Mary (Voorhis) Lockwood. Mr. and Mrs. Maxson are consistent members of the Congregational church, while Mr. Maxson is a member of Tyrian chapter, No. 91, royal arch Masons, and of Unity lodge, No. 12, F. & A. M., of Ravenna; he is also a member of the Royal Arcanum, and is regent of lodge No. 376, of Ravenna. Politically Mr. Maxson is a stanch republican, and served as prosecuting attorney of Ravenna from 1887 until 1890. As a lawyer he has achieved an enviable reputation, and as an official his name has never been tarnished by the slightest suspicion of dereliction in duty or corrupt practices. Socially his standing is very high, and his wife enjoys, with himself, the esteem of all with whom they exchange the courtesies of life. THEODORE R. MASON, of Portage county, Ohio, is a native of Ithaca, N. Y., and was born May 16, 1836, a son of Rufus I. and Amelia (Root) Mason. Rufus I. Mason was born in Castle-ton, Vt., and Amelia Root was a native of Watertown, N. Y. Their marriage took place in Ithaca, and in 1840 they came to Ohio, settling in Franklin county, where they lived for ten years. Of their three children, one son died in infancy; their daughter, Mrs. Seraph C. Young, resides in Hiram, and the third, Theodore R., will be duly referred to a little further on. The Mason family is of English origin, and the American branch was founded in New England prior to the Revolution, in which the great-great-grandfather of subject served as a soldier; the paternal grandfather of subject was a drum-major in the war of 1812, and other ancestors were active in the early Indian wars. In fact, the Mason family may be considered as Americans for more than two centuries, as many of its members were instrumental in founding the settlements of the country at the east as well as in the west. 394 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Theodore R. Mason, the subject, secured a good common-school education in Ravenna, and then was engaged as clerk and salesman until the breaking out of the Civil war aroused the patriotic spirit he had inherited from his ancestors. He enlisted in Cleveland in September, 1862, and served in Corn. Porter's fleet on the lower Mississippi river, for awhile on board the gunboat Mamora, on which he was steward, and then as steward of the receiving boat at Cairo, Ill., for two months; then again on board the Mamora as steward, was promoted to be paymaster's steward, and served until December, 1863, when he was discharged, having served three months over the term of his enlistment. He returned to Ravenna, and in September, 1864, enlisted in company G, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served until the close of the war. In this arm of the service he was placed as clerk in the quartermaster's department, medical directory, army of the Ohio. At the surrender of Gen. Johnston's army, subject was detailed to take account of the rebel camp equipage, etc., and to write the paroles of the Confederate prisoners—a task that required two and one-half days of constant labor. He was nest detailed to take account of the camp and garrison equipage of the Third brigade, Third division, Twenty-third army corps, and then, this duty ended, came his discharge as clerk of the medical directory of the army of the Ohio, as noted above. On his return home from the war, Mr. Mason was employed for about ten years as a commercial traveler, after which he was appointed as a railway postal clerk, but, the position being uncongenial, he resigned shortly afterward. He next served five years as marshal of Ravenna, health officer, constable of the city, and then as deputy United States marshal, and has filled some of these offices, also, since he was appointed deputy sheriff of Portage county fourteen years ago. In 1859 Mr. Mason was united in marriage with Miss Mary C. Rood, a native of Portage county, Ohio, and of the two daughters born to this union, Kittie, the elder, died at the age of twenty-one years; Clara, the younger is the wife of Joseph Davis, a prominent attorney at law of Youngstown, Ohio. Mr. Mason has been prominent in G. A. R. circles, being past post commander of David McIntosh post of Ravenna, and for the past eleven years its adjutant, and being one of the organizers of the post. He has been secretary of the National Union for the last ten years, and in no position that he has ever held has he failed to give the utmost satisfaction. As a member of the G. A. R. he has been a delegate to several national encampments, representing, notably, the posts of Portage and Summit counties in the national encampment at Saint Paul, Minn., in 1896; and for three years he also acted as aid-de-camp on the staff of the department commander. In politics he is a stanch republican, and in religion he sympathizes with his wife, who is a devout member of the Congregational church. JOHN E. MERKEL, an old soldier of the Civil war, the head of a respected family and one of the most enterprising farmers of Stowe township, was born in Hudson, Ohio, December 2, 1838. Stephen Merkel, father of John E., was born December 24, 1809, in Baden, Germany, and came to America when about twenty years of age, landing in New York city. He was a farmer and lived two years in Connecticut and then came to Hudson, Ohio, and worked at farm work. He married, in Hudson, Barbara Fillius, who was born about 181 i in Bavaria, OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 395 Germany, a daughter of Philip Fillius, who came from Germany to Hudson at an early day. Mr. Merkel bought forty acres of land in Stowe township and lived here until 1852, when he moved to Hudson township. In 1857 he moved to Minnesota and bought 160 acres in Rice county and lived there fifteen or sixteen years, then moved to Faribault county, Minn., and bought 160 acres, where he lived until he retired, and now lives with his son, Curtis S. Merkel, in Minn. His children were John E., Jacob and Curtis S. Mr. and Mrs. Merkel are members of the Methodist church and in politics Mr. Merkel was first a democrat but later in life became a republican. He was a hard-working industrious man and prospered well. John E. Merkel received a common education, became a farmer and went to Minnesota in 1857 with his father. August 4, 1862, he enlisted, at Cannon City, Minn., in company C, Sixth Minnesota volunteer infantry, to serve three years or during the war, and was honorably discharged May 23, 1865, at New Orleans, La., by general order, as the war was closed. His service, the first year, was in fighting the Sioux Indians, under chief Little Crow, who made a raid on the Minnesota frontier in 1862 and massacred many settlers, especially at New Ulm. Mr. Merkel's regiment was sent to Fort Ridgley and pursued the Indians to Wood Locke, where they had a hard fight. After this service the regiment went to Arkansas in the spring of 1864 and guarded Helena for three months and there Mr. Merkel was taken sick with malaria typhus fever and was in hospital in Jefferson I Barracks, Mo., for three or four months, came near death, and has never recovered from this disability. After partially recovering, he joined his regiment at New Orleans. He was then detailed a clerk for a while at St. Louis, and February 14, 1865, was detailed from his regi ment as clerk at headquarters, adjutant-general's office, department of the Gulf, New Orleans, and was transferred February 23, 1865, to headquarters of military division of the West Mississippi at New Orleans and here served as clerk until discharged. Until taken sick, Mr. Merkel was an active soldier and performed his full duty promptly and cheerfully. After the war, Mr. Merkel returned to Ohio and married, in Stowe township, July 20, 1865, Frances Eleanor Walker, who was born in Stowe township, December 16, 1843, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Robinson) Walker. Samuel Walker was born January 26, 1809, in Stowe township, a son of one of the original pioneers of the township. William Walker, who was born in 'Virginia, came to Summit county in 1802 and built a log cabin the same year, which is believed to have been the first in Stowe township. He lived to be sixty-two years old. His wife was Rachael Stewart and they were married in Virginia. Samuel Walker owned two farms and had a good education for his day and taught school several terms in Columbiana county, Ohio. He married Sarah Robinson, of Columbiana county, Ohio, a daughter of John and Eleanor (Hueston) Robinson. John Robinson was a soldier in the war of 1812. Samuel Walker settled in Stowe township and cleared up a good farm of ninety acres, which he bought of Leonard Case. Mr. and Mrs. Walker were the parents of two children—Frances E. and Frank. Mr. Walker lived to be sixty-five years old and died on his farm February 21, 1874. In politics he was a democrat, held the office of trustee of township, and was an honored citizen. Mrs. Merkel has a conch shell which was given to Sarah Robinson (her mother) by her mother, Eleanor Hueston. This shell was used during the war of the Revolution by members of the Robinson family to give notice when returning home, and 396 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD when blown upon emitted a loud sound much like a dinner horn, and was thus used in the family for generations. Mrs. Merkel also had an old-fashioned bear trap used in olden times, and at one time a man was caught by accident in this trap and held for several hours. She also had a surveyor's chain used in this county by George Walker in surveying land in early times, and several other interesting relics. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Merkel settled in Faribault county, Minn., and bought eighty acres of land, lived there nine years, when they came to Stowe township in January, 1870, and bought fifty acres of their present farm, and added to it until they have 169 acres; they built a substantial house in 1884, and have a very nice home. Their children are Edward C., John, Frank, Fannie A. and Charles E. In politics Mr. Merkel was first a republican but is now a populist and free-silver democrat. He is a prosperous citizen and has a fine farm. Edward C. Merkel, son of John E. Merkel, married Ella Stanley, is a machinist in Beaver Falls, Pa., and is the father of one child, Eleanor. The second son, John F., is an electric engineer of Chicago. Mr. Merkel is a man of strictly moral character and integrity and stands high in the esteem of his fellow-citizens. EDWIN H. MERRILL, deceased, was born in Painesville, Ohio, February 9, 1808, and was a son of Abijah Merrill, who was born in Connecticut in 1777. Abijah was a potter by trade, married Miss Abigail Scott, who bore him six children, and came to Ohio at a very early day, established a pottery, and died in Middlebury in 1854, aged seventy-seven years. Edwin H. Merrill learned the potter's trade from his father, and was educated in the com mon schools. At the age of twenty-two years he came to Springfield township, Summit county, Ohio, where, after working a short time for various potters, started in business for himself, about 1835, inventing machinery for the production of beer bottles, for which he secured letters patent; and soon afterward commenced the manufacture of tobacco pipes, also by machinery. In 1847 he moved to Middlebury, Summit county, where, in conjunction with his brother, Calvin J. Merrill, he engaged in the manufacture of waterpipe and beer bottles, to which industry the manufacture of stone pumps was added and continued from 1851 to 1856—he being then interested in the respective firms of Hill, Merrill & Co., and Merrill, Powers & Co. He then engaged in the manufacture of vitrified sewerpipe—the initiation of the present immense sewer-pipe industry of Akron and vicinity, and the first of the kind west of the Alleghany mountains. In 1860, Mr. Merrill removed his bottle, pipe and stoneware works to the corner of South Main and Center streets, Akron, where, in 1887, it was incorporated as the E. H. Merrill company, which is now one of the leading establishments of its kind in Summit county. Mr. Merrill was married, in 1838, to Miss Emily Gleason, of Bedford, Ohio, the union resulting in the birth of seven children, of whom two only are still living—Henry E., president of the above-named company, and William G. , in the pottery business in Pampton City, Va. Two of his seven children were daughters, of whom Emma died at the age of thirty years, and Grace A. became the wife of F. W. Butler, and is now also deceased. The death of Mr. Merrill took place January 25, 1888, at the age of seventy-nine years, eleven months and sixteen days; his widow, who was born in 1817, survived until February 22, 1893. In politics Mr. Merrill was first a whig, but later OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 397 became a republican and served as a member of the city council for a number of years. As illustrative of the enterprise and pertinacity of Mr. Merrill, it may be stated that when he located in Springfield township there was but one pottery there, owned by Mr. Fisk; but, soon afterward, a Mr. Purdy started another factory, which discouraged Mr. Fisk, and at the end of about eighteen months became very anxious to sell. Mr. Merrill seized the opportunity, and thus became proprietor of the first pottery establishment in this part of the country. It was while operating this plant that he invented his machinery for the manufacture of beer bottles and water-pipe. He and his brother, Calvin J., built the first screw press for making sewer-pipe, and later went to New York city, and secured plans for a steam press—the first to be introduced in this part of the country for manufacturing pipe by the aid of steam. In 1857 the financial crisis prostrated him, and he was compelled to start anew, on a very small scale, but he overcame all difficulties, and the present plant on Main and Center streets is the result of his indomitable perseverance. This plant has a frontage of 217 feet and a .depth of 30o feet. Its output consists chiefly of meat tubs from fifty gallons down, beer and ink bottles, corroding pots for white lead-makers, white, glazed and other kind of stoneware. The company employs some sixty hands and its officers are Henry E. Merrill, president and superintendent, Frederick W. Butler, secretary and treasurer, and the capital stock is $50,000. Henry E. Merrill, the president of this company, was born July 1, 1839, and was educated in the public schools of Middlebury, Ohio. He learned the pottery business from his father, and in 186o became a member of the firm. In 1875 he became a partner of the firm of Merrill & Ewart, in the manufacture of roof tiling, and in 1882 sold his interest. He was a soldier in the late Civil war, having enlisted May 2, 1864, in company F, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, for the roo-day service, and is a member of Buckley post, No. 12, G. A. R., and of the Red Cross. In politics he is a stanch republican. He was married in May, 1877, to Miss Bell Bartges, daughter of Dr. S. W. Bartges (deceased), of Akron. This union has been blessed with two children—George B., a student in the university school at Cleveland, and Catherine E., at home. Mrs. Merrill is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the family residence is at No. 106 Fir street, Akron. Frederick W. Butler, secretary and treasurer of the E. H. Merrill company, of Akron, Ohio, was born in Worcester, Mass., June 25, 1851, a son of Horace W. and Sarah J. (Newell) Butler, both families being of English origin, and early settlers of Massachusetts, several of the earlier members having been soldiers in the Revolutionary war. Horace W. Butler owned and operated a sash and blind factory in Worcester, Mass., and was twice burned out. In 1864 he came to Akron, Ohio, and entered the employ of W. B. Doyle, as foreman of his sash and blind factory, and later was employed in the pattern department of the Webster, Lane & Camp establishment. He and wife were parents of three children—Frederick W., Albert B., deceased, and Charles J. , of whom the last is secretary of the Peoria Rubber Manufacturing company. Mrs. Sarah J. Butler was called away from earth August 13, 1891. Mr. Butler is now living retired at the age of seventy-six years. Frederick W. Butler was educated in the public schools of Akron, and at the age of sixteen became a clerk for Hall & Bros., with whom he remained four years, and then ac- 398 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD cepted a position in the First National bank, where he remained nine years as bookkeeper, teller and correspondent, consecutively, and then for eighteen months was cashier of the City National bank, when he resigned to accept his present position with the E. H. Merrill company. He has been identified with this concern since 1880, when it was conducted as a co-partnership, and in 1887 became one of the incorporators, since when he has been the means of greatly advancing its prosperity. Mr. Butler is also president and secretary of the Akron Smoking Pipe company, which has plants at Mogadore and at Pamplin City, Va., and of which he was one of the organizers; he is also vice-president and director of the Akron Pottery company. In politics he is a stalwart republican. Mr. Butler was united in marriage, March 6, 1879, with Miss Grace A. Merrill, daughter of Edwin H. Merrill, but had the sad misfortune to lose his wife, May 18, 1888, when she died at the age of thirty-one years, leaving three children—Henry Karl, Merrill W. and Frederick W., Jr. Mr. Butler and his children reside at No. 503 West Market street. CHRISTIAN MEYER, of Tallmadge township, Summit county, Ohio, was born in Allegheny City, Pa., September 27, 1845, and is a son of Christian and Eva Maria (Breitenstein) Meyer, who settled in Portage county, Ohio, in 1856, where Christian, the son, was reared to farm work and general labor. Christian Meyer, Sr., father of subject, was born in Alsace, France, March 12, 1808, and was the son of Christian, a merchant, but was himself taught the tailor's trade. He served five years in the French army, and later married, in Alsace, Miss Breitenstein, to which union were born the following-named children: Philip, John, Magdalen, Eve M., Mary Elizabeth and Joseph. Mr. Meyer came to America in May, 1845, having embarked at Havre, France, in a sailing vessel, and was thirty-six days crossing the ocean. He located in Allegheny City, Pa., where he followed his trade until April, 1856, when he came to Ohio and lived in Randolph, Portage county, until 1859, when he moved to Ravenna, but in 1861 returned to Randolph, where his death occurred in 1877; his wife survived until she reached the age of thirty-nine years, and both died in the Catholic faith. Christian Meyer, our subject, enlisted at Ravenna, and August 30, 1864, was mustered in at Warren, Ohio, as a private of company F, Fifth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. Stephen Coddington, and served until mustered out at Bladensburg, Md., receiving an honorable discharge at Columbus, Ohio, June 18, 1865, the war having been brought to a close. He was with Sherman on his famous march from Atlanta to the sea, and was in the battle at Savannah, Ga. On this campaign he was taken ill with malarial fever, was confined in camp one month and in hospital three months, rejoining his regiment May 19, 1865—although he still suffers from the effects of malaria. After the war he came to Tallmadge, where he engaged in farm labor. Mr. Meyer was united in marriage, at Alliance, Ohio, July 9, 1867, with Miss Mary Sawer, who was born in Carrollton, Ohio, October 7, 1845, a daughter of John and Frances (Linn) Sawer. John Sawer was of Alsatian parentage, and is now a retired farmer of Michigan. His children, besides Mrs. Meyer, are George W., Annie, Sarah, Frances and Eve M., of whom George W. served in the Civil war in an Illinois regiment. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Meyer lived for a short time in Alliance, but in 1868 came to Tallmadge, where, with the exception of OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 399 eight months spent in Akron, they have since resided. To their marriage have been born nine children, in the following order: Philip J., Mary A., Helen, Elizabeth, Christian J., Fannie, George W., Lena and Alice. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer are consistent members of the Congregational church, and in politics Mr. Meyer is a democrat and a free silverite. Mr. Meyer is greatly respected as an upright and industrious man, possessed of an excellent mentality and well posted in the current events of his country. He has had his children well educated, Christian J. and Fannie being graduates of the Tallmadge high school, and in every way is a good and useful citizen. LUCIUS C. MILES, treasurer of Summit county and of the city of Akron, Ohio, is a native of Brookline, Mass., was born February 3, 1859, and is a son of Lucius K. and Frances P. (Plimpton) Miles, who came to Akron about the year 1870. Lucius C., the subject of this memoir, was educated chiefly in the public schools of Akron, and at the age of eighteen years entered the employ of Aultman, Miller & Co., with whom he remained about five years, and then was employed for two years by J. F. Seiberling & Co., after which he was engaged in the cement, flour and feed business, in partnership with Maj. Charles Dick, which partnership lasted five years, after which he entered the employ of the Seiberling Milling company. Always an ardent republican, Mr. Miles was elected, in 1894, treasurer of Summit county by the sweeping majority of nearly 700 votes, and in 1896 was re-elected by a majority of 801—running far ahead of his ticket—an evidence that he was fully competent to fill the responsible position and that the general public keenly appreciated the value of his services. He is now, also, a member of the Summit county republican executive committee and is a prime factor in the management of republican politics in the county. He has been a member of the board of education a number of years, and fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In 1888 Mr. Miles was united in marriage with Miss Harriet M. Seiberling, and their social relations are most select and genial. NICHOLAS MILLER, a retired farmer of Suffield township, Portage county, Ohio, was born in Elsass (Alsace), Germany, in 1828, a son of Anthony and Delia Miller, and has lived in Suffield township since he was about five years of age. Anthony Miller had been a hotel-keeper in Germany, also had been a soldier under Napoleon Bonaparte seven years, and in one of his campaigns against Russia was twice wounded within a half-hour. In 1833 he brought his wife and eight of his ten children to the United States and was one of the first settlers in Portage county, where he engaged in farming and where there were two additional children born to him. Of the ten, three only are now living, viz: Nicholas, our subject, who is the eldest; Clara, widow of Dr. Shuck, and John. Those who have been called away were Anthony; Catherine, who was married to L. Rhoads, also deceased; Meldi, who was the wife of D. Weldy; Andrew, who died of yellow fever on the Mississippi river; Joseph, George, and one who died in Germany. The father of this family died at the age of eighty-three years on his Suffield township farm, which was close to that on which Nicholas, his son, the subject, now resides, and the mother passed away at the age of eighty-two, both in the faith of the Roman Catholic church. Nicholas Miller, the subject proper of this