400 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD biography, was reared on his father's farm, but in his early days opportunities for a scholastic education were quite limited, so that he did not fare very well in this particular, but he learned the practical details of pioneer farm life completely and thoroughly. On attaining his majority he hired out to the farmers of his neighborhood and soon accumulated sufficient means to purchase a small place for himself, and when he found himself to be the possessor of $700, he purchased his present farm, on which he has since erected a large and handsome residence and a substantial barn, with all necessary outbuildings, and has now one of the best farms in the township, consisting of 112 acres. The marriage of Mr. Miller was solemnized, in 1844, with Miss Barbara Memmer, daughter of David and Margaret (Earhart) Memmer, and this marriage has been blessed with one daughter, who is still unmarried and makes her home with her parents. Mrs. Barbara Miller is a native of Bayern, Germany, and was quite young when brought to America by her parents, who were early settlers of Suffield township, where the father became one of its most substantial farmers. Of the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Memmer, five are still living, viz: Margaret, wife of Frank Culp; Mary Ann, widow of Matthew Shultz; Barbara, now Mrs. Nicholas Miller; Maria, wife of George Miller, and John. Of the deceased, George died at the age of thirty years; Joseph died when about twenty-three years old, and Lawrence died in 1896, when sixty-six years old. David Memmer, the father, passed away November 28, 1871, at the age of seventy-seven years, and his wife died aged seventy-nine years—both faithful members of the Catholic church. In politics, Nicholas Miller is a stanch silver democrat and has served his fellow-citizens as school director for many years, and also as township trustee. In religion he is a true Catholic, and has been a very liberal contributor to the support of his church. He has always been an industrious, temperate and useful citizen, is highly respected, and well deserves the esteem .in which he is universally held. CHARLES MERTS, president of the First National bank, Ravenna, Ohio, and a very prominent citizen of Portage county, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., October 1, 1833, a son of Frederick and Elizabeth Merts, who were the parents of six children, of whom three still survive, viz: Philip, of North Benton, Ohio; Frederick, of Illinois, and Charles, the subject of this biography. The father of this family was a shoemaker by trade, and both he and wife died in Pittsburg, when Charles, the subject, was but three years of age. Charles Merts, having been thus early bereft of his parents, was placed in charge of a kind Irish farmer, who reared him until seventeen years of age, inculcating the thrifty and industrious habits of farm life and giving him the advantage of a district-school education. At the age mentioned, young Merts began an apprenticeship of five years at carriage-body making--a trade he followed, all told, for over forty years. In 1855 he came to Ohio, worked first in Warren, and in the fall of the same year came to Ravenna, where he continued to work as a journeyman until the breaking out of the late Civil war, when he and his brother-in-law, H. W. Riddle, formed a partnership and leased the carriage manufactory of N. D. Clark for five years, at the end of which time they purchased the factory and for some years confined their output to buggies, but gradually merged into heavy work and turned out coaches, hearses, etc., employed eighty to OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 403 100 hands, and produced so superior a class of vehicles that they came into demand throughout most of the states and territories. In 1892 Mr. Merts sold his interest in the concern to H. W. Riddle, who still carries it on. In the year 1892, also, an eastern firm came to Ravenna and started a shoe manufactory, employing 250 hands, but failed at the end of six months. Mr. Merts, being a stockholder, assumed charge of the concern, and he and F. M. Rumbaugh conducted it jointly for some time, and then organized a joint-stock company, which is now doing an excellent trade, Mr. Merts having extricated the concern from the slough of disaster and placed it upon a sound foundation of profit and prosperity. The company at first manufactured about 15o pairs of shoes per day, but now turns out 500 pairs and gives employment to about ninety hands all the year round, holidays excepted. Mr. Merts has also been a stockholder in the First National bank of Ravenna for twenty years, has been a director for fifteen years, and has been its president about five years. Mr. Merts was one of the organizers of the Ravenna Gas, Light & Coke company, and is now the president of that corporation. Prior to his coming to Ravenna, Mr. Merts was united in marriage, in Pittsburg, Pa., in the fall of 1855, with Miss Mary A. Riddle, daughter of Hughey and Elizabeth Riddle, and this union was blessed with two children —Lida H. and Catherine M. Lida H. is married to C. W. Franzheim, president and manager of the Wheeling Pottery company, and a director of the German Bank of Wheeling, W. Va., and his wife is now the mother of five children—Charles M., George, Mary, Catherine and Kenneth; Catherine M. is the wife of J. Holcomb, of Ravenna, and has borne her husband two children—Lida and Mary Catherine. Mrs. Mary A. Merts, a member of the Congregational church, died in - 13 - April, 1887. Fraternally Mr. Merts is a master Mason. In politics he is a republican, and for seven or eight years was a city councilman. Mr. Merts has been a resident of Ravenna for forty-two years, and has had much to do with the building up of the city and in advancing its prosperity. He is regarded as one of the foremost citizens, a reputation he well deserves as the result of his free expenditure of his means and his activity in promoting his own line of business, thus giving employment to large bodies of men, and his generosity in advancing the means to promote works of a more comprehensive and public character—being, in truth, a factor in the development of one of the prettiest little cities in the state of Ohio. He is highly esteemed by the people at large for the good work he has done, and for his genial disposition, manly sense of justice and gentlemanly deportment: He is a blessing to the community, being tender hearted and kind, and holding a just, regard for the rights and feelings of his fellow-men. While the present generation will honor and esteem him, generations to come will cherish his memory long after he shall have been called away from the cares and vicissitudes of life. HIRAM M. MILLER, a well-known blacksmith, was born in Greensburg, Summit county, Ohio, July 29, 1866, and Greensburg has always been his home. John Miller, grandfather of Hiram M., came from Maryland to Ohio and settled on a farm in Franklin township, Summit county, near Manchester, to which town he retired in advanced years and there passed the declining days of his long and useful life. His son, Isaac, father of subject, was born in Maryland January 18, 1832, was reared a farmer, and 404 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD also learned the blacksmith's trade. He came to Ohio with his father, took part in the Union service during the Civil war, then engaged in blacksmithing at Manchester, and later at East Liberty, for one year, and he has followed his trade thirty years in the village of Greensburg. He married Leah Dissinger, daughter of John and Mary (Waggoner) Dissinger, of Franklin township, and to this marriage have been born two children, viz: Alma, wife of Augustin Steby, and Hiram M., the subject. Mr. Miller continued in the blacksmith shop until his son, Hiram M., was old enough to take charge, and then retired to his farm, where he is leading a quiet life in the enjoyment of the respect of all his neighbors. In politics he is a strong republican, but prefers his genial farm life to the precarious pursuit of public office. Hiram M. Miller received a good common-school education and was thoroughly trained to blacksmithing in his father's shop, becoming an excellent mechanic. October 14, 1893, he married Miss Annie Thursby, who was born August 5, 1873, a daughter of G. I. and Laura (Buchtel) Thursby. Her father, however, is now deceased, and her mother is married to Aaron Swarz. Mr. Miller is acknowledged to be one of the best blacksmiths in Summit county, and has prospered in his business, to which he adds the sale of buggies in the proper season. Beside his shop, he owns a nice two-story brick dwelling, and is in quite comfortable circumstances. He is a stanch republican in politics, is very popular, and is now township treasurer of Green township, having been elected by a majority of seventy votes out of a total of 500. Fraternally, he is a member of Hadassa lodge, I. O. O. F., and also of lodge No. 313, Jr. O. U. A. M., in which he has passed all the chairs. He is progressive and public spirited, and enjoys the respect of the entire community. NAPOLEON J. A. MINICH, proprietor and editor of the Saturday Bulletin, of Kent, Portage county, Ohio, was born in Columbia, Lancaster county, Pa., October 7, 1849, and is a son of Henry G. and Ann Catherine (Albright) Minich, natives of the same county. Jacob Minich, great-grandfather of subject, came from Germany to America prior to the Revolutionary war and settled at Landisville, Lancaster county, Pa., where he followed farming until his death, at the age of sixty-three. His eldest son, also named Jacob, was the grandfather of subject. He was born in Landisville, Pa., was a farmer, distiller and proprietor of the Minich hotel, on the stage route from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. This hostlery was noted for its excellent accommodations generally, and especially for its extensive stables adapted to the requirements of the six-horse teams then in use. He reared a family of fourteen children, and died in 1841, at the age of fifty-eight years. Henry G. Minich, youngest child of Jacob last mentioned and father of subject, was born May 25, 1817, and lived in Lancaster county, Pa., all his life. He was a dealer in live stock, was an extensive contractor in meats during the Civil war, and also kept a meat market. He was very successful financially, owned much valuable real estate, and was a very public-spirited citizen, being largely instrumental in establishing the Columbia Classical institute and in promoting many other important public enterprises. In politics he was in early life a democrat, but at the outbreak of the Civil war became a republican. Although he never sought public office, he yet did his duty as a good citizen and filled several local official positions. To his marriage with Miss Albright were born eight children, viz: Jabob A., proprietor of a meat market in Columbia, Pa. ; Thomas J., a OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 405 real estate dealer in Chicago, Ill.; Charles W., also meat market proprietor in Columbia, Pa. ; N. J. A., subject of this biography; Benjamin F., a veterinary surgeon of the same city; Henry J., proprietor of a meat market in Tampa, Fla., and two children that died in early life. The father of this family died May 19, 1895, an honored and respected gentleman; the mother, who was born in Lancaster city, Pa., in 1819, still survives and resides in Columbia. The maternal ancestors of Napoleon J. A. Minich also came from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania in the colonial days. John Albright, the great-grandfather of subject, was born in Philadelphia, whence he moved to Lancaster, Pa., where he founded the first newspaper issued in that city. It was printed in the German language and bore the title Volks Freund. At his death, the publication of this journal was continued by his son, Anthony Albright, grandfather of subject, and after he had passed away his son continued the publication. Napoleon J. A. Minich graduated from the Columbia Classical institute in 1868 and then entered the office of the Columbia Spy and served an apprenticeship at the printing business until 1871, when he went to Chicago, Ill., but the great fire which swept that city in October of the same year caused a change in his plans and he returned to Pennsylvania, and worked at his trade in Lancaster until May, 1872, when he went to New York; September 17 of the same year hp came to Ohio and worked at case for a short time on the Akron Beacon, when he was promoted to the editorial staff. He left his establishment to aid in founding the Akron Daily Argus, on which he did editorial work, but in 1875 sold his interest in this journal and returned to the Beacon. Mr. Minich had now lost all his property and was not worth a dollar; nevertheless, two weeks after his return to the Beacon office he married, August 3, 1875, Miss Lottie E. Mc-Masters, who was born in Akron, a daughter of Henry and Emily McMasters. This happy marriage has resulted in the birth of one son, Harry S., born October 11, 1877, and now a student in the Akron Commercial college. He continued on the Beacon until May, 1876, when, having accumulated $400, he came to Kent and purchased the Saturday Bulletin, then a very small affair. The Saturday Bulletin was established in 1866 by Marshall Dewey, and its publication had been suspended about five weeks when the plant was purchased by Mr. Minich in 1876. The paper had been a four-page six columns to the page journal, but is now an eight-page paper, with seven columns to the page, a fact which clearly indicates that Mr. Minich thoroughly understands his business. He has never solicited anyone to subscribe to nor to advertise in the Bulletin, yet it has a subscription list containing 1,500 names, and its columns devoted to advertising are filled. It is independent in politics and is devoted to the material interests of Kent, as well as to that city's moral and intellectual improvement, and is recognized as one of the best local newspapers in northeastern Ohio. In 188o Mr. Minich built the Bulletin block, in which the office of the journal is located, and which also contains three large stores or salesrooms for retail mercantile purposes. In politics Mr. Minich is a republican. Fraternally he is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., the Royal Arcanum and the Protected Home Circle. As a citizen he has always been an advocate of improvements for the public good, and has used the Bulletin in successful efforts to secure good sidewalks, electric light and water works for the city of Kent. Beside the Bulletin building, he owns several residence properties in the city, and is a stockholder in 406 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD several manufacturing concerns. He is full of energy and enterprise, and has ever been active in promoting the best interests of his adopted city, both as an individual and as an editor. H. A. MILLER, senior proprietor of the Actual Business college at Akron, was born near the town of Hudson, Summit county, Ohio, January 21, 1871, a son of Charles A. and Celinda (Werntz) Miller, but, on account of the early death of both their parents, little can be traced of the family history further than to the great-grandfather on either side. Perry Miller, great-grandfather of subject, was a native of Massachusetts, of Puritan stock, and was one of the original settlers of Hudson township, Summit county, Ohio, and it is thought that his calling was that of a blacksmith. His father, also named Perry, and likewise a settler of Hudson township, was either a blacksmith or tavern-keeper—probably both. Mrs. Celinda (Werntz) Miller was one of a large family of children born to Charles and Elizabeth Werntz, the former of whom died in Clinton, Ohio, November 28, 1850, at the age of forty-four years, and the latter in Canal Fulton, July 6, 1847; aged thirty-six years. Charles Werntz was a tailor and his father a blacksmith, and Charles and his wife both came from Lancaster county, Pa., being of what is known as Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. H. A. Miller received his early edcuation in the public schools of Akron, but did not quite finish the full course. At the age of thirteen years he was employed in the shipping department of the Enterprise Manufacturing company of Akron, but a little later he returned to the public schools to spend another year in study; then became associated with George C. Himmelman, the druggist. At the end of a year thus employed, he went to Oswego, N. Y., in March, 1889, to attend the Chaffee Phonographic institution. In September, 1889, he returned to Ohio, and secured employment with the Otis Steel company, limited, of Cleveland. The following January he removed to Warren, Ohio, for more lucrative employment in the office of the Paige Tube company, then under the management of A. T. Paige, of Akron. In June, 1892, he removed to Toledo to accept a position with the Gendron Wheel company, and afterward became the manager of one of the departments of that factory. This work was given up the following January for the purpose of establishing a commercial college in Akron. It was formally opened under the name of the Akron School of Standard Phonography, February 15, 1893, bearing the firm name of Miller & Booth—Booth retiring before active operations were begun. From that time until the first of April, 1895, phonography was the only branch taught. On that date the school name was changed to the Akron Commercial college, and bookkeeping and pen art under the direction of A. F. Regal were added. In March, 1896, the school quarters in the Arcade building on South Howard street, being too small, were abandoned and removal made to the I. 0. 0. F. Temple on South Main street, and the name changed to the Actual Business college. A new corps of teachers was added, making the faculty as follows: Miss Lulu E. Parker, physical and voice culture, elocution and reading; Miss Eva A. Taylor, vocal culture; Miss Clara B. Smith, piano; W. A. Will-mot, commercial and English branches and pen art; H. A. Miller, shorthand and typewriting; and in September of the same year W. A. Willmot was admitted as a partner. Mr. Miller has made a grand success of his enterprise and now stands at the head of one OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 407 the finest educational institutions in northeastern Ohio, it being more especially notable for its thorough system of business instruction. SAMSON MOORE, one of the oldest and most substantial farmers of Coventry township, Summit county, Ohio, was born in county Antrim, Ireland, February 22, 1819, of English ancestry, and has been a resident of America, since three years of age. Samson Moore (first), grandfather of subject, a native of England, was appointed by Esquire Harrad superintendent of the latter's large estates in Ireland, and there Samson (second) was born, in Ballymena, county Antrim. He married Jane Kerr, and to this union were born the following-named children : Robert, Mary (wife of Elisha Veirs), James, Margaret, William and Samson (the subject). In 1822 the parents of subject sailed from Belfast, Ireland, for America, in the good ship Atlas, and after a passage of nine weeks' duration, safely landed in New York city, with their family. They immediately came to Ohio, and at Fairport the father started out to buy land, got wet, and died nine days later. His widow married, in Fairport, Lake county, Ohio, 'Squire James Hall, and in March, 1826, the family came to Summit county and here subject has since made his home. The farm on which the family settled was in the primitive wilderness of Coventry township, and there was not a house between it and New Portage. To Squire Hall and wife was born one child—Nathaniel—and here the squire died the year following their arrival (in 1827), and his widow on the 5th day of September, 1855. Samson Moore, the subject proper of this memoir, was educated in the old pioneer school-house in district No. 2 of Coventry township, and here learned his letters seventy years ago. He was reared to all the hard work of a frontier farm, and January 1o, 1864, married Miss Mary E. Shutt, who was born June 5, 1846, a daughter of Abraham and Catherine (Gregg) Shutt. Her father, Abraham Shutt, was a native of Washington county, Md., and her mother, Mary E. Shutt, was a native of Jackson township, Stark county, Ohio, and a daughter of James and Catherine (Crum) Gregg, who were early pioneers of Jackson township. The father died in 1855, and the mother married John Sorrick and still lives on the old farm in Jackson township. By her first marriage she became the mother of the following children : Mary E., Simon J., James T., William H., Adam M. and George W. ; to her second union were born Thomas J., Clara, Manias H., Minnie, John and Robert. To Samson and Mary E. (Shutt) Moore have been born Jennie C., Emma T., Louisa M., James S. and Scott C. Samson Moore, since his earliest manhood, has been identified with the progress of Coventry township, but he has never aspired to public office. In politics he was first a whig and voted for Henry Clay, for president, in 1844; for Salmon P. Chase for governor in 1855, and for Abraham Lincoln for president, in 186o and 1864—and is still a stanch republican. He has been a high steward in the Church of Christ since 1849, and liberally contributed to the erection of the church edifice in that year. He has lived on his present farm of eighty-five acres for seventy-one years, and has done as much as any man in the township toward its development, and is now one of its most highly esteemed pioneers. Mr. Moore has in his possession many heirlooms that have come from as far back as the days of his grandfather, such as silver knee-buckles, shoe-buckles, a clock, etc., that today are veritable curiosities, and silver wed- 408 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ding-spoons, with other articles of antiquity seldom guarded so carefully by families of America, even when they had them, and of these venerable relics of the past he is justly proud. JULIUS A. MORRIS, M. D., a native of Portage county, Ohio, was born at Kent February 13, 1848, and is a son of Henry and Susannah (Jackson) Morris, natives of Lincolnshire, England, where they were married, and in the earlier part of 1835 came to the United States, stopped for a short time in Utica, N. Y., and in the fall came to Ohio and located, first, in Akron, and then, in 1837, settled in Franklin Mills, now Kent. Henry Morris, father of the doctor, was born June 8, 18o1, and by trade was a slater and plasterer. He was twice married, and had born to him by his first wife (who died in England) two children, one of whom, Eliza, came to the United States with her father, was married to William Musson, of Akron, and is now deceased. By the second marriage of Mr. Morris, to Susannah Jackson, there were born nine children, viz: Ann, who was first married to George Reed and next to Lewis Bryson, and died in Benton county, Iowa; John, who was for many years attorney for the Union National bank of Chicago, Ill., and later succeeded Culver, Page, Hoyne & Co., in the printing and publishing business, and conducted the establishment under the style of the John Morris company from about 1882 until 1895; James, who died in Vinton, Iowa; Josephine, who is married to M. L. Robinson, of Kent, Ohio; one child that died in infancy; Henry, who was an assistant surgeon in the Forty-fifth regiment, United States regular army, and was drowned in the gulf of Mexico, in 1865, while in the service; Dr. Julius A., the subject of this memoir; Adeline E., married to George Bivin, of Indiana, and Lois, who died in infancy. When Henry Morris first located in Portage county the population of Akron numbered about 700; and that of Franklin Mills less. He plastered the first county jail at Ravenna, and also did a great deal of work for Zenas Kent. He was a good manager, observed due economy and accumulated considerable property, including a number of residences in Kent and two farms, one of which adjoined the city. He was a man of positive views, never contracted a debt, and never was a member of a secret society or religious body. He had no fear as to the future life, being inclined to Universalism, and was of a uniformly cheerful disposition, enjoying a good joke up to his last days. He was a devoted student of astronomy even after seventy-five years of age, and his religious impressions were derived directly from Nature herself. In politics he was a democrat, and at times held various local offices. His wife died in 1881, in the faith of the Episcopal church, of which she had been a member over fifty years, and his own death took place at his residence in Kent March 17, 1885. Dr. Julius A. Morris passed his boyhood days in Kent and received his elementary education in its public schools. He commenced the study of medicine under Dr. P. H. Sawyer, and, when fully prepared, attended one course of medical lectures at the university of Michigan, and also a special course in chemistry. He then entered Rush Medical college, at Chicago, from which he was graduated in 187o, and then went to Duluth, Minn., also to Iowa and Illinois, without decidedly determining on a place for locating as a practitioner, and in 1876 wisely concluded to settle in Kent, where he has met with abundant success. His practice is extensive and exacting, but, notwithstanding his arduous professional OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 409 duties, he has found time to be of service to his fellow-citizens. He affiliates with the democratic party, and is now serving his second term as president of the United States pension examining board for Portage county. He was elected three times to the city council, but at the last term resigned at the close of a year, his professional calls demanding all his attention. While in the city, council, Dr. Morris was untiring in his endeavors to improve the condition of the city permanently, and was the originator of its present system of stone sidewalks, now covering over twelve lineal miles; also originated the waterworks system and the introduction of electric lights—all of which he succeeded in making realities, notwithstanding the opposition of many prominent citizens. The fact is, the doctor has filled office for the good he might accomplish, rather than from a desire to enjoy the flimsy honors that many people suppose are attracted thereto. His name stands accordingly high, not only as a physician, but as a public benefactor. CHARLES MOTZ, one of the younger members of the bar of Summit county, Ohio, was born on a farm in Northampton township, this county, September 1o, 1865, a son of Jacob and Eva (Schank) Motz, natives of Bavaria. Jacob Motz and wife were married in their native country of Rhine, Bavaria, and came to the United States in 1851. They lived for some time in Germantown, Pa., then came to Ohio, and lived in Hartville, Stark county, until 1864, and then came to Summit county and settled on a farm in Northampton township, and Mr. Motz became one of its substantial citizens, although he was a quiet, unassuming gentleman and a lover of law and order. He followed his vocation of farmer until his death, September 4, 1896, at the age of seventy-five years, leaving his wife, who still survives, to mourn his loss. They were the parents of eight children, viz: Daniel, a farmer of Northampton township; Katie, deceased wife of Robert Quinn; Jacob and Henry, both deceased; William, also a farmer of Northampton township; Lizzie, deceased; Charles, the subject, and Carrie, a teacher in Summit county. All the children, with the exception of the eldest two, were college graduates, and all, with the same exceptions, were school teachers. Mention may especially be made of Jacob and Henry, of whom the former was a graduate of Buchtel college and one of its trustees; he read law with Judge Greene, and practiced at the Summit county bar about five years, was active in the Young Men's Christian association work, of which association he had served as president, was a Knight of Pythias, a stanch republican and a rising young attorney when overtaken by death. Charles Motz, the subject, was primarily educated in the district schools and later attended Buchtel college; he read law in the office of Judge N. D. Tibballs, was admitted to the bar in March, 1893, located at No. 102 South Howard street, Akron, and has already made his mark as a general practitioner. He is a member of the State Bar association, and in politics is an active democrat. HARVEY MUSSER, the head of the law firm of Musser & Kohler, in the Arcade building, Akron, is a native of Millheim, Centre county, Pa., was born August 30, 1858, and is a son of P. T. and Mary J. (Mumbauer) Musser, of old Pennsylvania-German stock. P. T. Musser, M. D., father of subject, was a graduate of Jefferson Medical college, 410 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Philadelphia, and was in active practice for many years. He was one of the early abolitionists of Centre county, Pa., and was ardent in his advocacy of the liberation of the slaves of the south. His death took place December 31, 1891, but his venerable widow still has her home in the Keystone state. Their children are three in number and are Ella, wife of Rev. A. J. Irey, in charge of the Baptist church at Warren, Pa. ; Dr. Charles Summer Musser, a graduate of Jefferson Medical college of Philadelphia, and of the Wills eye and ear hospital of the same city, a post-graduate of medical colleges in Berlin and Vienna, and since 1890 a practicing physician at Aaronsburg, Pa. ; and Harvey Musser, the subject of this memoir. Harvey Musser, the youngest of the above family, was primarily educated in the public schools of Millheim, and this education was supplemented by attendance at Aaronsburg academy and at Missionary institute, Selin's Grove, Pa. ; he then entered Franklin & Marshall college, at Lancaster, from which he graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1879; he then read law with Hon. A. 0. Furst, of Bellefonte, Centre county, Pa., after which he entered the law department of the university of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated in 1882 with the degree of LL. B., and was admitted to the bars of Michigan and Ohio in May of the same year. He then came to Akron and practiced alone until July, 1886, when (having established an enviable reputation) he formed a partnership with R. W. Saddler, which was continued for about eighteen months. January 7, 1888, he became associated with Judge J. A. Kohler, under the firm style of Kohler & Musser, which obtained until December, 1895, when it was dissolved because of Judge Kohler's assuming his duties on the bench. The present firm of Musser & Kohler was then formed, a son of Judge Kohler becoming the associate of Mr. Musser, and this is now recognized as one of the ablest law firms in the city. In politics Mr. Musser is an active republican and has served on the county republican executive committee for several years. Fraternally he is a member of the Ohio State Bar association, of Summit lodge, No. 50, I. O. O. F., and of his college society, Phi Kappa Psi. In promoting the interests of Akron in a business way, he was one of the incorporators and is now a director of the Citizens' National bank, and also an incorporator of the People's Savings bank. The marriage of Mr. Musser occurred October 4, 1888, with Miss Elizabeth Hammond Huston, daughter of James and Mary J. Huston, of Nittany, Pa., the union being blessed with three children, viz: Harvey Huston, James Coburn and Philip Sumner. Mr. Musser is a member of Grace Reformed church, while his wife is a Presbyterian, and they have their home at No. 140 Ash street. Mr. Musser has been very successful professionally, and has achieved a fine reputation both as a general and as a criminal lawyer. He was retained by the defense in the celebrated Cotell murder trial and also in the equally famous Carrier libel suit; he is now retained as attorney for the Citizens' National bank, by Robinson Bros. & Co., by the Crown Fire Clay company, and by the Whitmore & Robinson company, while the miscellaneous business of the firm is sufficient to occupy the attention of both partners from morn until night. HON. CHARLES B. NEWTON, attorney-at-law of Kent, Ohio, and one of the foremost in professional standing, was born in Portage county, April I I, 1850, a son of Justin B. and Eugenie (Bab- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 411 cock) Newton, natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and Ohio. Rufus P. Newton, grandfather of subject, was the first of the Newton family to come from New England to Ohio, and to settle in Franklin township, Portage county, about 1823, bringing his wife and six children, the latter named Justin B., Lamira, Alanson, Emily, Burtley and William. He prospered here and dealt largely in live stock in association with Bert King, and, under the firm name of Newton & King, shipped extensively to the eastern markets, the result being that he became the owner of a large amount of real estate in Portage county, where he passed his declining years in peace and comfort, respected by all who knew him. Justin B. Newton was a boy when he came to Ohio with his parents, and here the major portion of his life was passed in farming, he being the owner of a tract of sixty acres of good arable land. To his marriage with Miss Babcock there were born seven children, in the following order: Emily, who died in childhood; Perry, who died at the age of fifteen years; Charles B., the subject of this notice; Frances, married to Root Baker, of Medina county; John, a resident of Kent; Henrietta, the wife of E. C. Allen, of Kent, and Burtley, also of Kent. The father of this family died in 1884, at the age of sixty-three years; the mother makes her home in Kent. Charles B. Newton, the gentleman whose name opens this biographical notice, was reared on his father's farm through his boyhood years, and at the age of fifteen years entered the Union school in Kent, and later was two years under instruction in the private school of Prof. Suliot; he first read law in the office of Hon. S. P. Wolcott, of Kent, and later studied under W. B. Thomas, of Ravenna. He was admitted to the bar at Warren, Ohio, in 1874, and has always practiced on his sole account. For ten years he did a successful general business at Newton Falls, Trumbull county, establishing an excellent reputation, and since 1885 has been a member of the Portage county bar, with his office in Kent. The marriage of Mr. Newton took place in 1875 with Miss Emma L. Hartle, daughter of A. B. Hartle, a farmer of Portage county. Mrs. Newton was born in Ravenna, and has borne her busband one daughter, Lulu, who graduated from the Kent high school, with second honors, in a class of twenty-eight, of which she was the salutatorian. In politics Mr. Newton is a stanch democrat and has always taken an active part in the promotion of his party's success, advocating its principles in eloquent speeches through several campaigns and representing it in numerous conventions. While at Newton Falls he was for six years a member of the school board, having been elected without opposition, although the town was indubitably republican, and for six years, also, he was a member of the school board of Kent, and notwithstanding the fact that he was its youngest member, he was its president. Mr. Newton also served two terms as mayor of Kent, and during his administration of this office many valuable improvements were made in the city, chiefly at his suggestion or on his recommendation, and he still takes a deep interest in its progress. He is at present a member of the board of charities of Portage county, but is not connected with any church or secret society. Mr. Newton devotes his time exclusively to his professional duties, which are extensive as well as multifarious, and holds an indisputable position among the foremost members of the bar of Portage county. He is a gentleman of unflinching integrity, and has the implicit confidence of the entire community. He has led an industrious life, and has earned his fortune through his personal exertions, being pos- 412 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD sessed of an indomitable determination, which was manifested even in his early manhood, when, unaided, he earned the means to defray the expenses of his education. He has built for himself a fine residence, in which the hours not devoted to business are passed in unalloyed domestic felicity. WILLIAM H. MYERS, a thriving farmer of Norton township, Summit county, was born in Wadsworth township, Medina county, Ohio, March 21, 1846, and is descended from a Pennsylvania family of German origin. Alpheus Myers, father of subject, was born in Bucks county, Pa., and at the age of four years was brought to Ohio by his parents, who settled in Wayne county, where he was reared to manhood and taught the millwright's trade. He married-Salome .Myers, by whom he became the father of the following children: Mary M., wife of Isaac Tinsman; William H., subject of this biography; Lavina C., wife of S. K. Kraver; Harvey A. ; Joseva A., who was first married to Septimus Siberling and is now the widow of J. J. Slanker, the youngest child being Owen F. Mrs. Salome Myers was born in Bucks county, Pa., December 24, 1819; Alpheus Myers, who became a farmer of Norton township in 1843, died here March 1, 1878. William H. Myers, the subject of this biographical mention, passed his early life on his father's farm, then worked seven years in a flouring-mill in Wadsworth, then for two years lived in Akron. He bought his present farm in Norton township seventeen years ago, which consists of fifty-eight acres, is well improved, and affords, through his industry, a comfortable and happy home. Mr. Myers was united in marriage, in December, 1866, with Miss Emeline Johnson, who was born April 15, 1845, in Summit county, Ohio, a daughter of Joseph and Mary A. (Hartzell) Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson came from Northampton county, Pa., two years after marriage, and settled in Summit county, Ohio, where the death of Mr. Johnson occurred October 31, 1894, leaving two children—Emeline and Fayette E., the former the wife of Milton Siberling. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Myers has been blessed with the following-named children: Nellie V., Ira E. (married to Ida Everhart), Laura M., Corman A., and Nellie V., who is the wife of 0. E. Loomis. Mr. Myers is a republican in politics, as was his father before him, and he and wife are members of the Christian church, in the faith of which they are leading consistent lives. CAPT. SUMNER NASH, secretary and treasurer of the Akron Belting company, is a native of Bath township, Summit county, Ohio, was born May 10, 1836, and is a son of Hophni and Lovisa (King) Nash, both natives of Hampshire county, Mass., where their marriage took place. The Nash family is of Scotch-Irish origin, but for many years several of its members resided in England, whence, early in the history of the United States, two brothers came to this country, one of whom settled in Massachusetts and the other, it is supposed, found a home in the sunny south. From the Bay state immigrant the subject of this biographical review descends, and many other of his descendants attained eminent positions in the learned professions and in the legislative halls of Massachusetts. The King family was also among the early settlers of Massachusetts and was of Scotch-Irish extraction. Hophni Nash, shortly after his marriage at Chesterfield, Mass., April 28, 1825, to Miss Lovisa, daughter of Eleazer and Mercy King, came from their native state OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 413 to Ohio and located on a farm in Bath township, Summit county. Mr. Nash taught school during the winter of 1827-28, at or near Ghent, served as clerk of Bath township for many years—this office being afterward held by each of his three sons—and followed farming until his death, at Akron, April 17, 1882, at the age of eighty-five years, his wife surviving until January 6, 1892, when she died at Montrose at the age of ninety years. Their children numbered five, as follows: Harriet, who was first married to Curtis D. Barber and then to a Mr. Williams, and now, a widow the second time, is residing with a daughter in Pipe Stone, Minn.; E. King Nash, M. D., of Montrose, Ohio; Nancy Ellen, widow of R. D. Pierson, of Lincoln, Neb. ; Thomas W., a bookkeeper for A. M. Barber, of Akron, and Sumner, the subject of this biography. Sumner Nash was reared on the home farm and was educated in the district schools and in the academy at Richfield. When about nineteen years of age he went to Wisconsin and drove stage between Oshkosh and New London, while the country was still wild and occupied to a great extent by Indians. He next took a contract at Plymouth, Wis., for clearing the timber from the surveyed line of the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railroad company, then being built from Plymouth west, by making the suitable timber into ties and by cutting the refuse into cord-wood. In the fall by 1856, at Oshkosh, he took charge of a hardware store during the absence of the proprietor at the south. In the fall of 1857 he returned to his old home, attended the Richfield academy for a time, taught school several winters, and in the summer seasons worked his father's farm, and other leased land until August 6, 1862, when he enlisted in company G, One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until July 7, 1865, when he was mustered out as first lieu- tenant, although for months he had held the captaincy of a company. After his return from the war, in July, 1865, he purchased a farm in Livingston county, Ill. ; March 8, 1866, he married Miss Rebecca M. Means, of Northfield, working the Illinois farm until 1868, when he returned to Summit county, Mrs. Nash dying July 18, 1869, leaving one child—Maud M. Spending two years on his father-in-law's farm in Northfield, and one season in Illinois, as agent for a lightning rod company, in the winter of 1872-73 he was appointed deputy county clerk by Clerk John A. Means, serving the balance of the term, and also through two terms for Clerk George W. Meeks, being himself elected clerk in 1878, and holding the office two full terms of three years each. Mr. Nash is now secretary and treasurer of the Akron Belting company, fully written of elsewhere. June 23, 1874, Mr. Nash was again married—this time to Miss Linnie A. Cross, of Columbus, Ohio. MILTON J. NICOLA, of the popular " Pearl Steam " laundry firm of Nicola & White, Ravenna, Ohio, was born in Allentown, Pa. , November 24, 1866, a son of John and Susannah (Geise) Nicola, the former of whom was a native of France and the latter of Germany. After quitting the common schools, where he had been quite well educated, Mr. Nicola learned carriagemaking in Allentown, at which he worked three and a half years, and then went to Philadelphia and for three years there continued at his trade. He next came to Ohio, eventually secured a position in the carriage and hearse factory of Merts & Riddle in Ravenna, where he remained seven years, then returned east, and for a year was engaged, in partnership with his brother, in the laundry business at Bethlehem, Pa. Returning to Ra- 414 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD venna he formed a partnership with his now father-in-law, Charles White, and in March, 1895, purchased the laundry then owned by F. D. Pitkin and located in the Riddle block. In November, 1896, the plant was removed to its present location, at the corner of Spruce and Prospect streets, the building being known as the New Laundry block. It is completely equipped with the most improved modern machinery, and is patronized, not only by the best people of Ravenna, but by residents of the surrounding country, even, indeed, as far as Cleveland, and ten agencies are necessary to attend to the outside patronage. March 18, 1890, at Kent, Ohio, Mr. Nicola was united in marriage to Miss Ida Minerva White, who was born in Franklin, Pa., December 4, 1866, and in 1867 was brought to Kent, Ohio, by her parents, Charles and Mary White. One child, George M., came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Nicola May 2o, 1892. Charles White, the father of Mrs. Nicola and the business partner of her husband, was born in Beaver county, Pa., January 15, 1842, a son of David and Mary Jane White, the former of whom was a native of Scotland and the latter of Maryland. Charles was educated in the public schools of Beaver and Venango counties, Pa., and after leaving school worked in the oil fields of the vicinity' several years. In 1865 he married Miss Mary C. Schaffer, who was born in Butler county, Pa. , May II, 1843, a daughter of Henry and Catherine Schaffer, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Germany. In 1867, as already mentioned, Mr. White came to Portage county, Ohio, bought a farm about a mile and a half from Kent, and followed agriculture until March, 1895, when he came to Ravenna and joined Mr. Nicola in the laundry. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. White have been born eight children, viz: Ida Minerva, Lizzie Jane, David, John, Alfred, Flora, Mabel and Bertha; of these, David, John and Alfred are deceased. The family are members of the Congregational church, and in politics Mr. White is a republican. For thirty-one years Mr. White has been a member of Rockton lodge, No. 316, A. F. & A. M., of Kent, while his son-in-law, Mr. Nicola, is a member of Crescent lodge, No. 225, K. of P., and of the Royal Arcanum of Ravenna. OTIS & OTIS, a prominent law firm of Akron, Ohio, with its office in the Arcade building, is composed of the two brothers, Edward P. Otis and Ellsworth E. Otis, natives of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and sons of Rezin P. and Catherine (Bair) Otis, both natives of the Buckeye state, and respectively descended from New England and Pennsylvania ancestry. James Otis, the most remote of the American ancestors of these brothers, was one of the early patriots who first protested against the tyranny in New England of George III, of Great Britain, about 1764, and afterward became a soldier in the Revolution, losing his life through his patriotism. His descendants have in many instances achieved celebrity in the legal profession, in the ministry, and in the arena of politics—in the halls of congress, and in the government of the state. The name is prominent all through the history of Massachusetts and New England generally. The Bair family was also very prominent in the local affairs of Pennsylvania. Edward P. Otis received his elementary education in the district schools of his native county, then attended Oberlin college, next taught school awhile, and in 1877 entered Wittenberg college, from which he graduated in 1882, and at once began reading law with a legal firm of Mansfield, Ohio; next, studied under Nealy & Patrick, lawyers of New Phila- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 415 delphia, and in the winter of 1884-85 attended the Cincinnati Law school. In June, 1885, he was admitted to the bar, and in August of that year came to Akron, where for two years he was associated in practice with W. E. Slaybaugh, a former classmate. In 1887, upon the graduation of his brother, Ellsworth E., from the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Law school, the firm of Otis & Otis was formed—Ellsworth E. having been admitted to the bar prior to graduation. The preparatory and literary education of the younger brother had been acquired at Wittenberg college and the Wooster university, after which he had entered the law department of the Michigan university, and was graduated as above mentioned. The firm has secured a lucrative general practice, and to some extent makes a specialty of commercial cases, its patronage in these coming largely from abroad. They are young men of decided talent and ability, and are fully deserving of the growing prosperity which attends them. In politics both the brothers are republicans; fraternally, Edward P. is a Freemason, and Ellsworth E. is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias, while both are active members of their college society, Beta Theta Pi, Edward P. being president of the local chapter, and Ellsworth E. its secretary. Both brothers are members of the English Lutheran church, of which for several years past Edward P. has been superintendent of the Sunday-school, and for the past eleven years he has been a member of the board of directors of Wittenberg college. The marriage of Edward P. Otis took place September 21, 1887, with Miss Jessie L. Wolfe, a college acquaintance, a resident of Springfield, Ohio, and a daughter Of Henry H. Wolfe. This union has been blessed with one child—Catherine Louise. Mrs. Otis is a highly accomplished lady and is one of the brightest ornaments to the society of Akron; she is widely known for her proficiency as a vocalist, and is frequently called upon to lend her musical talents to secure success to public entertainments. She is an active member of the social musical society known as the Tuesday Afternoon club of Akron, and is to a great extent the essence of its success. The pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Otis is at No. 121 Adolph avenue. Ellsworth E. Otis was married June 27, 1894, to Miss Mary Louise Guth, of Akron, the accomplished daughter of Jacob R. Guth, and they have their cheerful home at No. 986 East Market street. EDWARD OVIATT, one of the oldest and most experienced of the attorneys at law of Akron and the head of the firm of Oviatt, Allen & Cobbs, No. 102 North Howard street, has been a resident of the city since 1842. He was born in Hudson, Summit county, Ohio, May 19, 1822, a son of Marvin and Mary (Foote) Oviatt. Capt. Heman Oviatt, grandfather of subject, was a native of Connecticut, of French descent, and came from Goshen, that state, to Ohio, in 1800, and settled at Hudson with his wife and two children. Although reared to mercantile pursuits, he at once imbibed the spirit of progress exhaled by the pioneers and entered about 200 acres of land in the township, and, with another gentleman, purchased a large tract of land in Richfield township. He opened a store in Hudson and had a large trade with the Indians, but suffered many of the hardships of frontier life, among others that of being compelled to go, by means of an ox-cart, all the way to Pittsburg, Pa., for his merchandise. But he was a man of great progressiveness, and a man of and for his day. 416 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD He was a friend of religion and education and one of the founders of Hudson college, to which he made several munificent donations—one being for $3,000, a second for $10,000, and also several others of less amounts; he promoted the cause of foreign missionary work whenever practicable, and was ever prompt in aiding the public weal. In politics he was an active whig. Capt. Oviatt first married. Miss Eunice Newton, who bore him four children, viz: Marvin, father of subject; Orson M., who for some time was a merchant in Richfield, Summit county, but later was for a long time a beef-packer of Cleveland, became quite wealthy and was widely known; Harriet, who was first married to a Mr. Bronson, and later to Rev. D. A. Randall, and died in Columbus, Ohio; Louisa, the youngest child, married Ephraim Sturtevant, and died in Tallmadge,. Ohio. The second marriage of Capt. Oviatt was with Miss Kilburn, of Hudson, who bore two children—a son, Heman, who for thirty years was a farmer in Summit county, but spent the latter part of his life in Cleveland, in the produce business; and a daughter, Elizabeth. Marvin Oviatt, father of subject, was born in Connecticut in 1797, and came to Summit county, Ohio, with his parents in 1800. For some years he was here engaged in farming, but later went to Cleveland and embarked in mercantile trade; in 1825 he built a large block at the corner of Superior and Water streets, and other buildings in various parts of the city; in 1828 he went to Indiana, but in 1833 returned to Summit county, Ohio, and located on a farm in Richfield township; in 185o he went to California, and was on his way homeward in 1853 when he met with an accident that resulted in his death. He had led a very active life, was a man of great public spirit, and in politics was a whig. His wife died in May, 1876, at the age of eighty-one years. The family of these parents consisted of six children, viz: Schuyler, who was a farmer of Richfield township for years, served as county surveyor and then as county treasurer four years each, and then removed to Cleveland, where his son held a position in the city engineer's office, and where he now has his home at No. 765 Genesee avenue; Tracy M., who was a graduate of Hudson college, was a teacher in Elyria academy, where he prepared Gen. Gilmore for West Point and Judge Burke for his legal career, and is now a retired minister of the Congregational church and is residing in Gilroy, Cal.; Edward is the subject of this memoir; Celia M., who died in 1894, was the wife of Baxter Wood, formerly a merchant of Richfield, but now in the lumber trade in Medina and Lorain counties, Ohio; Virgil L. graduated from Hudson college, but lived one year only thereafter, and Don Carlos, the youngest, died in Oil City, Pa., in 1865. Edward Oviatt, the subject proper of this biography, was educated at the Richfield academy, also at Granville, and at the Western Reserve college, and at the age of twenty years, in May, 1842, came to Akron and entered the law office of Carter & Bliss, under whose instructions he studied assiduously four years, and in 1846 was admitted to the bar. He was fully equipped for the practice of his chosen profession, and for a number of years conducted it alone, or until its increasing volume called for help. He was retained in some of the most noted trials that ever took place in the county, and was the counsel for Akron a number of years before its incorporation as a city. In May, 1864, he answered his country's call for volunteers and enlisted in the 100-day service; he was appointed color-bearer and stationed on Arlington Heights (in Virginia, across the Potomac river from Wash- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 417 ington, D. C.), and served until late in the following September. In politics he was a whig until the disintegration of that party, when he united with the republicans. He was a member of the board of education for many years, and in 1864 was elected prosecuting attorney, in which office he served four years, his name becoming a terror to criminals of all degrees, and during his long service in this capacity failed in two instances only in convicting the culprits whom he prosecuted. He is to-day recognized as one of the ablest members of the bar in the state. Mr. Oviatt is a member of the G. A. R., and of the American and State Bar associations; he is a stockholder in several national banks and is vice-president of the First National bank of Akron; he is also a stockholder in the Canadian Copper company, which supplies the government with nickel for coining, etc., and has many investments in other industrial enterprises. The first matrimonial alliance of Mr. Oviatt was celebrated in 1847, with Miss Anna, daughter of Frederick Wadsworth. This lady died in August, 1854, leaving one child, Emma, now the wife of Calvin Edgerton, of Los Angeles, Cal. His second marriage was consummated in December, 1855, with Frances A. Lansing, who died in August, 1881, the mother of two children—Edward A., manager of and stockholder in the Linoleum company of Akron, and Olivia, wife of George Allen, attorney, and member of the firm of Oviatt, Allen & Cobbs. Mr. Oviatt has been one of the most progressive and enterprising of the citizens of Akron, and,the firm of which he is the senior member are attorneys for many of the leading corporations and business firms of the city and surrounding country, and certainly stand at the head of the profession. H. A. PALMER, a prominent business man of Akron, was born July 16, 1851, and is a son of William and Sophia (Brock) Palmer, the former of whom settled in Tallmadge, this county, in 1851, and here followed agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1876, leaving a widow whose death occurred in March, 1897—both dying in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. Ten children were born to them, all of whom survive, viz: William, Nellie, Clara, Fannie, Annie, Alfred, John, Harry A., Sadie and Charlie—ranging in ages from sixty to thirty-five years respectively. The eighth child in order of birth in the above-named family, H. A. Palmer, was married, in 1873, in Onargo, Ill., to Miss Mary C. Risser, formerly of Ashland, Ohio, and this union has been blessed with five children, viz: Lottie S., Theron R., Willie (deceased), Nellie May and Harry Guy. Of these the eldest two are graduates of the high school of Akron, in the classes of 1895 and 1896, and Theron R. is now foreman of the soft rubber department of the B. F. Goodrich Rubber company, of Akron. H. A. Palmer came from Ashland, Ohio, to Akron in 1878, and established himself in the artificial stone business, which he conducted two years; he then became associated with the J. F. Seiberling Mower & Reaper company, and for seven years was superintendent of the harvester and binder department, and for two additional years was general agent of the company for territory covering three different states. In 1891 he became a member of the Akron Electrical Manufacturing company as business manager, and in 1895 was elected secretary and general manager—a position he resigned in 1897. A republican in politics, he was elected, in 1894, a member of the city council of Akron . from the Second ward, was elected its vice-president, and on the death of its president, in the 418 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD fall of 1894, became its president. The following spring he was again elected president of the council, which office he filled with dignity and impartiality until the close of his term. Fraternally, Mr. Palmer has been an Odd Fellow since 188o and is at present a member of Akron lodge, No. 547, of which he is a past grand, and is also a member of Akron encampment No. 18, as well as of Colfax Rebekah lodge, No. 8, and grand canton Akron No. 2, patriarchs militant, and is a past representative to the grand lodge of Ohio. In 1895 he was appointed major on the staff of J. C. Whitaker, commander of the patriarchs militant of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are members of the Trinity English Lutheran church, in which Mr. Palmer has been teacher of a bible class for the past twelve years. Mr. Palmer is an upright and energetic citizen, progressive in his views and public spirited in an eminent degree, and is honored and esteemed by the entire community. JOHN F. MOORE, county commissioner, and one of Summit county's most prominent agriculturists, was born in Springfield township, this county, November 22, 1837. His great-grandfather, Joseph Moore, of Scotch-Irish extraction, was a pioneer of Lake township, Stark county, Ohio, who moved with his family from Pennsylvania, and whose son John assisted in improving the farm on which they settled in Ohio. John Moore, grandfather of the subject, continued to reside on this farm until the year 1832, when he moved to Springfield township, Summit county, and established the home which was for so many years the homestead of the Moores. His wife was Nancy Graff, who bore him three children: Joseph, Betsey (Mrs. Wm. Johnson) and Sarah J. (Mrs. Wolcott Hitchcock). Joseph Moore was born December 6, 1815. He was reared as a farmer and remained on the old homestead until about 1872, when he rested from the active duties of life and moved to Akron, where he is living at present in a green old age a happy and retired life. His wife was a daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Snyder ) Fulkerson, natives of Germany and pioneers of Springfield township. She bore him four children: John F., James G., Victoria (Mrs. Samuel Steese) and Watson M. John F. Moore was reared on the old homestead in Springfield township. He received all the common-school advantages of the neighborhood, to which was added a supplemental course at the Greensburg academy. He remained on the old farm until 1862, when he purchased a farm in Copley township, upon which he has ever since resided, and which he has greatly improved and beautified, making of it a very pleasant and comfortable home place. On February 25, 1862, he married Mary L., daughter of James and Elizabeth (Sawyer) Chamberlain,, of Springfield township. To this union have been born five children: Arthur A., Jennie (Mrs. Jay Hawkins), Edwin D., Harry and Nellie. Mr. Moore is a very active and public-spirited citizen. He has given largely of his time to public affairs and the good of his community, and his devotion to the interests of the commonwealth has commanded the attention and recognition of the people of Summit county to the extent that he was, in 1895, called to serve in the responsible and important capacity of county commissioner. His interest in local educational affairs is such that for twenty years he was a member of the school board, much of the time being the presiding officer thereof, and upon several occasions he was called to serve as township trustee. For thirty years he has been a member OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 421 and director of the county Agricultural society, of which he was president for some time and also vice-president. In politics he is an ardent republican and is a respected and valued counselor in the deliberations of his party, his sagacity and judgment in political matters being given the heed that his advice on other public matters of a local nature commands, and by reason of which he wields so large an influence in the community interests of Copley township. WILLIAM HAMILTON CLARKE PARKHILL, cashier of the Kent National bank, of Portage county, Ohio, was born in Brownsville, Pa., September 24, 1852, a son of William and Mary (McSherry) Parkhill. The father has been a bank cashier all his life and is still in the banking business in Brownsville; the mother died when the subject of this memoir was a small boy, and of her three children one died in infancy, and a daughter, Margaret, and the subject still survive. The father remarried, but to his second union there has been no issue. David Parkhill, great-grandfather of subject, came from Ireland to America when about sixteen years of age, but soon went' back to his native country; two years later he returned to America and was preparing for the ministry, but his health failed and he resumed his original trade—that of weaver. He married Martha Morrow, and his first child was born in 1769. William Parkhill, grandfather of subject, was born in 1782, and William, father of subject, was born near Brownsville, Pa., in 1825. W. H. C. Parkhill resided in his native town until he reached his majority, meantime attending the common schools and later taking a two-years' course in the Washington & - 14 - Jefferson college at Washington, Pa., and. also a business course at Eastman's Commercial college in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. His first employment was as clerk on a steamboat on the Monongahela river, and he next came to Kent, where he has ever since been identified with the Kent National bank—first, in 1881, then as cashier, then as stockholder, and for two years as a director—but his position as cashier has never changed since he first assumed the duties of that office. The Kent National bank was organized late in 1864, its charter number being 652, with a capital stock of $100,000, and began business January 2, 1865, with Zenas Kent as its president and E. L. Day as cashier. Zenas Kent died October 4, 1865, and was succeeded by his son, Marvin, who still retains the position; Cashier Day was succeeded in January, 1866, by James S. Cooke, and he by Charles K. Clapp, and he by W. H. C. Parkhill, in May, 1891. The bank is now officered as follows: Marvin Kent, president; W. S. Kent, vice-president; W. H. C. Parkhill, cashier. The capital stock has been reduced to $6o,000, the surplus is $12,000, and its deposits reach, nearly $100,000, and it is to-day one of the strongest financial institutions of northeastern. Ohio. Mr. Parkhill was united in marriage, in. October, 1876, in Brownsville, Pa., with Miss Helen A. Wells, daughter of George W. and Frances E. (Kent) Wells, and granddaughter of Zenas Kent, through her mother. Mrs. Parkhill was born in Kent, but at the age of twelve years was taken to Brownsville, Pa., by her parents. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Parkhill has been blessed by the birth of one child—Frances Kent. The family reside in a handsome frame dwelling, erected by Mr. Parkhill to suit his own taste. In politics Mr. Parkhill is a republican, and while he always performs his duty at the polls as a citizen, 422 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD never permits politics to distract his mind from business, but spares sufficient time to act as treasurer of three building and loan associa tions. He is not a member of any church or secret society, but he and family are highly esteemed in social circles. CHARLES TUTTLE PARKS, the well-known funeral director, of No. 342 South Main street, Akron, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the Civil war, is a native of Summit county, Ohio, and was born October 27, 1844; a son of George and Ruth (Tuttle) Parks, the latter of whom was called to her resting place in the bosom of the earth about the year 1873. The father is still a resident of Summit county. Charles T. Parks, the subject, received a very good education in the common schools of his township, which he attended until near about the time of his enlistment, April 27, L861, in company C, Sixteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served four months, and then veteranized by enlisting in company H, Sixteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served three years and three months, making a total service of three years and seven months, during which time his only serious injury was sustained at the siege of Vicksburg, 'Miss., where he lost the index finger of his right hand. After his return from this service he was for about seven years engaged in the lumber business at Wooster, Ohio, and in 1874 entered into the •undertaking business at the same place. In 188o he relinquished undertaking, and came from Wooster to Akron, and was here employed in the Buckeye works until 1888, when he resumed undertaking, having in the meantime taken a full course of instruction in embalming at Clark's school—the embalming department of the Western Reserve univ.ersity at Cleveland. His present place of business is one of the best equipped for the purpose in the city of Akron, and, as a consequence, he commands a large share of the patronage of those who, in the course of nature, are bereaved of their relatives. In 1865 Mr. Sparks was united in wedlock with Miss Margaret Curry, of Wooster, Ohio, who died' in 1891. August 2, 1893, Mr. Parks was again married, choosing for his bride Miss Leora Allyn, of Akron. This lady is also a graduate from Clark's school for embalming, and is the only lady in Akron, or in Summit county, skilled in this art. In politics Mr. Parks is a republican, and fraternally he is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. He has been very successful as a business man, maintains an excellent name as a citizen, and socially he and Mrs. Parks are recognized in the best circles of Akron. EDWARD A. PARSONS, treasurer of the Railway Speed Recorder company, Kent, Ohio, was born in Northampton, Mass., January 25, 1829, and is a son of Edward and Clementine (Janes) Parsons, who settled in Brimfield, Portage county, Ohio, in 1831. Edward Parsons, father of subject, was born in Northampton, Mass., March 14, 1797, a son of Moses and Esther (Kingsley) Parsons, also natives of the Bay state and of English extraction. He learned the trade of carpenter, and when about twenty-nine years old married Miss Clementine (or Clementina) Janes, a school-teacher of Northampton, a daughter of Peleg Cheney and Martha (Coy) Janes, the former of English and the latter of Irish extraction—the marriage taking place January 1, 1828. Two and a half years later Mr. Parsons, with his wife and son, Edward A., came to Ohio and first located in Brecksville, Cuyahoga county, but one year later OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 423 went to Cleveland, and six months still later settled in Brimfield township, Portage county. He there owned over 200 acres of land, on which he passed his life until 1868, when he retired to Kent, and here ended his days, April 6, 1874, a member of the Episcopalian church, and the father of six children, viz: Edward A., the subject; Timothy G., whose memoir appears below; Harriet J., born in Brimfield township June 24, 1835—died October 2, 1876; Martha Kingsley, born April 1, 1838; William Cheney, born February 19, 1841, and Clementina, born September 20, 1843. Edward A. Parsons; with whose name this biographical notice opens, was an infant in arms when brought to. Ohio by his parents. He was reared on his father's farm, was well educated in the common schools, and so well availed himself of his advantage that, on quitting his studies, he was competent to teach, and for three terms conducted schools in Portage county. He continued to reside on the farm until 1853, when he married, September 25, of that year, Miss Mary J. Underwood, daughter of Freeman and Mercy Amelia (Lincoln) Underwood, who came from Massachusetts and settled in Brimfield township, Portage county, Ohio, in 1818. Mrs. Parsons Was born in Brimfield township in December, 1832, and was there reared to womanhood. After marriage, Edward A. Parsons, with his wife, settled on a farm which he had previously purchased, and which had been partly improved, and which he continued to improve until he owned one of the best in the township. In 186o he removed to Kent (then Franklin Mills), and for some time was a produce merchant. In the latter part of 1863 he embarked in. the lumber trade, and in 1864 formed a partnership with Porter B. Hall, under the firm name of Parsons & Hall, built the first planing mill in town, continued the business a year or so, then formed a partnership with his brother, Timothy G., and carried it on under the style of E. A. Parsons & Bro. until 1869, when he withdrew, the brother succeeding him. Mr. Parsons then associated with George O. Rice, under the firm name of Parsons & Rice, in the produce trade; but the year after Mr. Parsons sold out his interest iii this concern. In 1875 he re-engaged in the produce business as a member of the firm of Parsons & Foote, but a change was again made, and Mr. Parsons was for a time alone in the same line. In 1875, also, Mr. Parsons became interested in .the patent covering the railroad speed recorder, and the first Machines in this interest were constructed at his residence under the supervision of his son-in-law, J. B. Miller. In January, 1877, the Railway. Speed Recorder company Was formed as a joint-stock concern and a factory built. Of this company Mr. Parsons was elected secretary, and in 1878 was also elected treasurer, and filled the double office until 1887, when he was released, to some extent, of his overweighing duties and elected to the single office of treasurer, to which he has since given his entire attention, with the exception, perhaps, of three years. The company has a capital stock of $250,900, gives employment to about fifty men, and is one of the most prosperous industries of the city of Kent. In politics Mr. Parsons was in his early manhood a democrat, but at the outbreak of the Civil war became a republican. His first public office was that of clerk of Brimfield township; he then became assessor, and later a justice of the peace, and still later was elected township treasurer after his removal to Kent. In 1.874 he was elected county commissioner to fill an unexpired term, and in 1875 was elected for a full term, having proved himself to be efficient in the performance of the duties of this office as well as of 424 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD those he had previously filled, and in this position was the projector of the fine arch bridge which spans the Cuyahoga river at Kent, his service ending in 1878. He has since served as a member of the city council five terms, and in this body was one of the strong advocates of the legislation which gave to Kent her electric lights, waterworks and permanent sidewalks. He has also served five terms as a member of the school board, and in that capacity was always forward in promoting the efficiency of the public schools. Mr. Parsons is a member of Rockton lodge, No. 316, F. & A. M., and attends the Universalist church, with which his wife is united. They occupy a fine residence which Mr. Parsons built in 1868, and here have reared, beside their own children, Effie, the wife of J. B. Miller, a farmer near Kent. Mrs. Parsons, for a long time a school-teacher prior to her marriage, and a most estimable lady, has been a faithful helpmate in aiding her husband to reach his present exalted position in the community of Kent. TIMOTHY GRAVES PARSONS, planing mill proprietor and lumber dealer at Kent, Ohio, was born in Brimfield, Portage county, September 17, 1832, a son of Edward and Clementine (Janes) Parsons, natives, respectively, of Northampton and Brimfield, Mass., were there married in 1828 and in 183o came to Ohio, stopped in Cleveland a year and then came to Brimfield township, where they cleared up a farm, on which they resided until 1863, when they came to Kent, where the father died at the age of seventy-six, April 4, 1874, and the mother in 1892, at ninety years. To their union were born six children, viz: Edward A., of Kent; Timothy G., subject; Harriet J., who was married to Sherman M. Blake, and died in Richwood, Union county, Ohio; Martha K., wife of Hon. George W. Crouse, of Akron; William C., of the same city; and Clementine, married to Charles H. Barber, of Kent. Edward Parsons, father of subject, beside being a farmer, had in early life learned the carpenter's trade, and while in Cleveland assisted in the erection of the American House, now an old landmark in that city, but after coming to Portage seldom worked at his trade, but, in connection with his farming, kept a store and was for a number of years postmaster of Brimfield. In politics he was a whig, and in religion an Episcopalian. Moses Parsons, father of Edward, could trace his ancestry back to Cornet Joseph Parsons, who came over from England in 1635 and settled in Massachusetts, in which state he passed his entire life. Timothy G. Parsons, until eighteen years of age, passed his time on the home farm and in his father's store, and received his education in the common schools with the exception of one term in the academy in Franklin Mills and one term in Bissell's academy at Twinsburg, and then engaged as a clerk in a store in Akron. At the age of twenty years he went to California via New York and the isthmus of Panama, and for about seven years was engaged in mining most of the time, and the remainder of the time in agriculture, and then returned, via the isthmus and New Orleans, to Brimfield, Ohio, purchased a farm, and for about a year employed himself in its tillage. In September, 1861, Mr. Parsons enlisted in company A, Forty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years, took part in the campaign under Garfield up the Big Sandy in eastern Kentucky; afterward under Gen. George W. Morgan in the Cumberland Gap campaign; afterward, in the Thirteenth army corps, took part in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Champion Hills, Black OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 425 River Bridge, and siege of Vicksburg. In November, 1863, he was honorably discharged at Vicksburg on account of disability caused by sickness. As soon as he had recuperated, however, he re-entered the service as clerk in the quartermaster's department and served until July, 1865. Returning home, he thence made a trip to Kansas with a view to locating, but, dissatisfied with the country, returned to Ohio and engaged, in partnership with his brother, Edward A., in the lumber business at Kent, in September, 1865; a little more than four years later, in January, 1870, he purchased his brother's interest, and since that date has been doing a most prosperous trade on his own sole account. The marriage of Mr. Parsons took place December 12, 1866, to Miss Eleanor M. Sawyer, daughter of Henry and Susan (Hall) Sawyer, of Brimfield, and to this union have been born five children, of whom one died in infancy, and one, Susie O., died at the age of seven years. The surviving three are named Edward S., John T. and Dwight L. The family worship at the Congregational church, have a fine home, and their domestic relations are very pleasant. In politics Mr. Parsons affiliates with the republican party, and has held several offices, but has never aspired to political honors. Fraternally he is a Freemason, and is a member of A. H. Day post, G. A. R. He is public spirited and liberal as a citizen, and ever ready to lend his aid, financially and otherwise, to the promotion of the interests of Kent, and as a business man he bears a pure and untarnished name. ALBERT E. PECKHAM, superintendent of the Ravenna Shoe Manufacturing company, is a native of Petersham, Mass., was born December 4, 1860, and is a son of Benjamin and Sarah (Sprague) Peckham, the former of whom was born in Phillipston, Mass., and the latter in Petersham. Benjamin Peckham, a stonemason and contractor, died in March, 1881; his widow now resides with her son, the subject, in Ravenna. Mr. and Mrs. Peckham had a family of ten children, of whom four only are now living, viz: Louis, Edwin, Albert E. and Ella, the last named being the wife of Arthur King, of Cleveland, Ohio. Some of the best stone work in Massachusetts stands to-day as an evidence of the skill and integrity of Benjamin Peckham, especially the bridge work between Athol and Springfield, on the Boston & Albany railroad, all of which he constructed and finished. Albert E. Peckham, after quitting school, was employed for six years by the New Home Sewing Machine company, at Orange, Mass., which position he resigned, at the urgent request of a brother, in order to learn blacksmithing under the latter, with whom he remained four years when he sustained a spinal injury by the kick of a vicious horse, and this injury kept him idle for nearly two years. He then entered the employ of the W. H. Burt Shoe company, at Brookfield, Mass., and, at the close of a year, had become master of the trade. He was then offered and accepted a situation, at an advanced salary, with the E. M. Dickinson Shoe company in Fitchburg, Mass., where he remained five years, when, hearing that a shoe factory had been started in Ravenna, Ohio, and being desirous of seeing the west, he wrote to the new firm, known as the Jordan & Goodrich Shoe company, which company, finding by correspondence that Mr. Peckham was an expert, appointed him its foreman. The new company, however, remained in business one year only, when it disposed of its building and machinery to Merts & Rumbaugh, who at once founded the Ra- 426 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD venna Shoe company, of which Mr. Peckham was made superintendent in 1892. Since his appointment to this responsible position, Mr. Peckham, through his energy and ability, has been largely instrumental in placing the factory on a substantial basis. During the recent stagnation in business it was not closed a single day, and it now gives employment to ninety-three hands, turns out 500 pairs of shoes per day, and for the past fifteen months has been in operation day and night. Seven traveling salesmen are kept busy, and their sales are made chiefly in the western states. In October, 1886, Mr. Peckham was united in marriage with Miss Emma L. Snow in Athol, Mass. Her parents are y Daniel and Madora Snow, both natives of the Bay state, where they still reside, and in Grafton, in the same state, Mrs. Peckham was born in November, 1868. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Peckham has been blessed with two children—Ralph Edgar, born June 15, 1888, and Ruth Gladys, born November 23, 1896. Mr. Peckham is a member of the Senior Order of United American Mechanics, and also of the Ancient Order of Foresters, of Ravenna, and in politics is a stanch republican. Socially he has attained a very high position and enjoys the respect of a wide circle of personal friends as well as the esteem of the general public. WALTER W. PATTON, a prominent citizen of Kent, Portage county, and eminent as an educator, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, November 10, 1834, a son of John and Mary M. (McKain) Patton, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and of the Buckeye state—the paternal great-great-grandfather of subject having come to America from Scotland. John Patton, father of subject, passed his early life in the Keystone state, was there mar ried, and had born to him one daughter, and there his wife died. He then came to Ohio and located in Trumbull county, where he married Miss McKain, the result of this union being five children, of whom Walter W. is the eldest. Some time after his second marriage Mr. Patton removed to Mahoning county, then newly erected (1846) from Trumbull and Columbiana counties, where he passed the remainder of his days, having been an honest and industrious farmer all his life. Walter W. Patton was reared on his father's farm until sixteen years of age, when, in 1850, he entered what is now Hiram college, studied assiduously, and at the age of seventeen taught his first school—in Millin township, Mahoning county. For several years he attended school in the fall, taught school in the winter, and in the summer worked at anything he could find to do—chiefly f arm work, at $14 per month—his clothing being all homespun in those early days. But he possessed an indomitable determination to become an educator or to enter one of the learned professions as his life work, and completed his studies at Mount Union college, having earned with his own hands the means of defraying his expenses. After graduating he resumed his vocation and taught district schools in Ma-honing, Trumbull and Ashland counties, and in 1859 came to Portage county, was placed in charge of the graded school of Rootstown, and taught with most flattering success four terms—this being a select school part of the year. In 1861, he went to Ravenna and taught one year, at the same time read law in the office of Hart & Reed, and was admitted to the bar the same year. He then came to Kent and had charge of the schools one year, but declining health compelled him to relinquish the confinement of the school-room, and he engaged in mercantile trade for a short period. He then again assumed charge of the schools OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 427 of Kent and continued in charge seven years, or until 1878. He then engaged in the practice of law for some time, when he embarked in fruit growing, although he yet keeps up a desultory practice of the legal profession. Since 1861 Mr. Patton has been an ardent republican in politics and an eloquent advocate of the principles of that party, having "stumped" through several campaigns in its behalf and having been a delegate to county, district and state conventions of the party. He has served as a member of the county board of elections; has been a member of the school board for six years and has served as cemetery trustee and was postmaster of Kent during Harrison's administration. Mr. Patton was united in marriage, in 1863, with Mrs. Harriet Daly, née Beech, whose two children by her former husband have assumed the name of Patton, in honor of their step-father. These children are named Emma B., who is a music teacher, and John B., who for twelve years has been a commercial traveler for the firm of Mills & Gibbs, of New York city. In his societary relations, Mr. Patton is a knight templar Mason, and is also past worshipful master of Rockton lodge, No. 316. Mr. Patton is a gentleman who has known how to make his way through the world, and having been born with innately strong sense, has not permitted his opportunities to idly slip by. He has hosts of friends who admire him for his true integrity and manly worth, and his prosperity through life has been of his own making. H. S. PELL, superintendent of the Sterling company's boiler works at Barberton, Summit county, Ohio, is a native of Pennsylvania and was born in Lykens, Dauphin county, July 23, 1846, and is a son of William M. and Ambia (Shouff) Pell. The grandfather of subject, James Pell, was born in Wilmington, Del., was a hero of the Revolutionary war, and served in the United States army ten years. He was a millwright by trade, married a Miss Hatch, and died in Delaware county, Pa., where he had resided a number of years, an honored and highly respected citizen. William M. Pell, father of subject, was born in Harrisburg, Pa., was a civil engineer by profession, and for many years was employed as such by various coal mining companies, but later became a mining contractor and handled and delivered immense quantities of coal, accumulating a handsome competence. H. S. Pell, at the early age of ten years, began to work for his living, and from sixteen to twenty years served an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade. Between the ages of twenty and twenty-six years he was employed in superintending and erecting rolling-mills and blast-furnaces, and erected and put in operation at LaGrange, Tenn., the first mill constructed after the close of the Civil war, and also a mill at Waynesboro, Tenn. ; he also erected a mill at Carondelet, Mo., from which was turned out the first T rail west of the Mississippi river. From twenty-six to thirty-three years of age he was foreman of the Totten company machine shops, a large plant at Saint Louis, and from thirty-three to thirty-five had charge of the Carondelet plant alluded to above. The next three years were passed by Mr. Pell in Minnesota, where he employed his time in hunting, fishing and other out-door exercises and amusements for the recuperation of his health, and then, from thirty-eight to forty-three years of age, was superintendent of the Witherow works at New Castle, Pa.; which works have built eighty-three per cent of the modern blast-furnaces and steel plants in the United States. Since 1891 Mr. Pell 428 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD has held his present position as superintendent of the Sterling works at Barberton, which employ 115 men at the plant and keep eighteen .men on the road, constantly erecting boilers all over the country. The output of the concern likewise reaches Africa and all the South American republics, and, indeed, nearly all parts of the world, and Mr. Pell is entitled to much credit for the excellence of the product. Mr. Pell was united in marriage December 24, 1872, with Miss Sarah M. Wallaker, a native of Pittsburg, Pa., born June 23, 1854. To this union have been born four children, viz: Daniel W., who is an assistant to his father as a mechanical engineer; James B., a student in the Michigan university at Ann Arbor; Irene M. and Harry S., attending a private school. In religion the family affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Pell is a republican, but the engrossing cares of his responsible position precludes his taking any particularly active part in local politics. COL. SIMON PERKINS (deceased) was born in Warren, Ohio, February 6, 1805, a son of Gen. Simon and Nancy (Bishop) Perkins, who were natives of Norwich, Conn. , of Puritan descent, and who settled in Warren, Ohio, in 1803. Gen. Simon Perkins, during the war of 1812, was in command of the troops of northern Ohio, and at Warren was the agent of the Connecticut Western Reserve Land company. He was himself a very extensive landowner, and, as will be readily inferred, a personage of much prominence and influence.. Col. Simon Perkins was reared in Warren, was educated in its public schools, and began his business life as clerk for his father, with whom he later became associated in real estate transactions. In 1835 he came to Akron, where his business relationship with the general still continued, and, being himself also the owner of large tracts of land, was greatly interested in everything that pertained to the growth and development of Akron and the surrounding country. He was also extensively engaged in farming and live stock breeding, and in the latter capacity was instrumental in introducing some of the best breeds in the country and in creating a commendable competition in this line of industry. In 1839-40 Col. Perkins was a member of the state senate, and it was largely through his influence that the new county of Summit was erected in 1840. In 1841-42 he was representative from Summit county, during which term he secured the passage of the bill which submitted to the popular vote the question of locating the county seat. For ten years, between 1839 and 1877, he was a trustee of Portage township. He was a charter member of the Akron Rural Cemetery association and one of its most active promoters from 1839 until his voluntary resignation in April, 1880, a period of forty-one years. Col. Perkins was also one of the pioneer railroad promoters of Summit county, and was president of the Cleveland, Zanesville & Cincinnati (now the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus) company from March 11, 1851, to November 3, 1864, and then general superintendent until November 4, 1869, and sacrificed nearly all of his private fortune in upholding the credit and advancing the interests of the road; he was likewise a liberal contributor of land and money for parks and other public grounds, as well as to all the industrial, educational and benevolent enterprises, and most of these contributions were made voluntarily. The marriage of Col. Perkins took place in September, 1832, to Miss Grace I. Tod, daughter of Judge George and Sally (Ingersoll) Tod and sister of the late governor of Ohio, OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 429 David Tod. This marriage was blessed with eleven children, ten of whom reached the years of maturity, viz: Anna, George I., Simon, Alfred, Henry, Maria A. (Mrs. Charles Rawson), Grace T. (Mrs. Albert Lohmann), Thomas, Charles and David T. Of these children seven still survive. The lamented death of this philanthropist and patriot occurred July 21, 1887, at the age of eighty-two years, five months and fifteen days, while that of his wife took place April 6, 1867, when fifty-six years and six days old. July 4, 1895, the city of Akron, in grateful remembrance of the deceased, erected a granite monument in Grace park, Akron, not as enduring, however, as the cherished names of Simon Perkins and Grace I. Tod, his wife. J. W. PERRY, a well-known citizen of Barberton, Summit county, Ohio, was born in Scioto county, February 14, 1843, but passed away June 2, 1897. He bore a name made glorious in American history by his grandfather's uncle, Corn. Oliver Hazard Perry, who won the signal naval victory over the British, near Sandusky, on lak Erie, September 13, 1813, in what . is known as the second war for American independence. Samuel Perry, grandfather of subject, was a farmer of Scioto county, and there was born his son, Nelson Perry, the father of subject, who received a good academic education, and for the major portion of his life was foreman of what was familiarly known as the Scioto iron furnace, and was also a contractor and shipper of pig iron. After receiving a good common-school education J. W. Perry enlisted, July 16, 1861, in company A, Thirty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and fought in the western army through Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and North Carolina, chief among his battles being those of Corinth, Miss., and Park Cross Roads, and all those included in the Atlanta campaign. He was also with Sherman on his march to the sea, and at Sharon, N. C., twice sustained gun-shot wounds while attempting to cross the river at that point, and thus manfully maintained the reputation of his family for warlike deeds until honorably disharged July 26, 1865, shortly after the close of the war. August 30, 1865, Mr. Perry was united in wedlock with Miss Mahalia Dunlop, daughter of David and Sophia (Graves) Dunlop, and this happy union was blessed with the following children: Lorin, Congress, James E., Irene, Charles and Alhlining. For twenty-five years after his marriage Mr. Perry was engaged in canal-boat life, and in the fall of 1891 settled in Barberton, whither his good name and the fame of his brave deeds had preceded him, and where, as a republican, he was soon appointed deputy town marshal, and later night watchman of the Diamond Match factory, in which his sons are still employed in various capacities. Mr. Perry was a member of Lincoln commandery, U. V. U., and of the G. A. R., and although his family are comparatively but recent additions to the social circles of Barberton, they stand very high in the esteem of its members. THOMAS G. PHILLIPS, general state agent for the Equitable Life Assurance society of the United States at Ravenna, Ohio, was born September 3, 1822, in Plaseyrhendy, Pembrokeshire, Wales, a son of Caleb and Sarah (Evans) Phillips, who were the parents of five sons and four daughters, of which family four are still 430 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD living, viz: Thomas G., William, Evan and Mary, the wife of Evan Jenkins. Of the deceased, John was a soldier in the Civil war. Caleb Phillips, who was a farmer by vocation, brought his family to America in 1837, and first located in Milton, Trumbull county, Ohio, where he lived until about 1857, when they removed to Paris township, Portage county, where the father died March 23, 1869, at the age of seventy-seven years, having lost his wife January 7, 1866, at the age of seventy, members of the Congregational church, although the father had formerly been a deacon in the Baptist church. Thomas G. Phillips was fourteen years of age when his father located in Trumbull county and was sixteen years old when he began learning the cabinetmaker's trade in Ravenna. His marriage took place in Freedom, Ohio, May 1, 1844, to Miss Delia Marion Hill, daughter of Rev. John and Laura (Bushnell) Hill, which union has been blessed with five children, of whom George M. is cashier of the First National bank of Northfield, Minn., which position he has held for twenty-five years; Morton H. married for his first wife Bertha Bethel, to which union was born one child, Clara Mabel, the mother dying when the child was still an infant; the second marriage of Morton H. was with Victoria Burleigh, who died December 30, 1896. To this union were born two daughters—Laura and Alice—now attending school at St. Catherine's, Canada, and the father is now a resident of Philadelphia; Laura M. is the wife of D. B. Beers, cashier of the First National bank of Bowling Green, Ohio, and is the mother of two children—Morris and Ella May; Lucy is the widow of Watson Smith, and has one son—Arthur Bushnell; Lizzie, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. T. G. Phillips are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and politically he is a republican. He has been a successful business man, and carried on the furniture trade from 1846 to 1872, with the exception of three years-1859 to 1862—and has also dealt extensively in real estate, purchasing lots, improving them and then selling. In 1872 he was appointed agent for the Equitable Life Assurance society of the United States for Portage and Trumbull counties, and July I, 1874, was appointed general agent for the state of Ohio. In speaking of his work Mr. Phillips remarks: " In 1872, at the age of fifty years, I entered the service of the Equitable Life Assurance society as a local agent in Ravenna, Ohio, and now, in 1897, report that during that time I have written 2, 500 policies, of which I have settled 380—fifty-two being death claims, the others being matured tontines, and settled with the persons assured." That equity has been the leading purpose of its managers from its inception, thirty-seven years ago, to its colossal proportions at the present time, is evidenced by its history being without a parallel in the history of the world; and, being conducted on principles indicated by its name, the Equitable is destined to bless the world for ages to come. Mr. Phillips has been strictly honorable in all his dealings, and bears a reputation that is a credit to himself and family, as well as to the company he so ably represents. SCOTT PIERCE, district agent for the New England Life Insurance company, of Boston, with headquarters at rooms Nos. 18 and 19 Doyle block, Akron, Ohio, has been located in this city since April, 1894. He was born in Sharpsville, Mercer county, Pa., January 18, 1866, a son of James J. and Kate (Pritzel) Pierce, of English and German descent, respectively. OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 431 Scott Pierce is of the eighth generation of his family in America, and descends directly from Thomas Pierce, who founded the family in New Hampshire prior to the Revolutionary war. Most of the family have been engaged in the development of iron industries, from mining to manufacture. James J. Pierce, father of subject, is a manufacturer in the iron trade, and has a family of five children, born in the following order: Scott, the subject; James A., an attorney of Pittsburg, Pa. ; Chloe H., wife of Dr. H. A. Zimmerman, of Youngstown, Ohio; Jonas J., Jr., a chemist, and Frederick P., still at home with his parents. Scott Pierce was educated in the public schools of Sharpsville, Pa., and also passed through two terms — freshman and sophomore—in Buchtel college, Akron, Ohio. On leaving college he passed five years in traveling for the Pig Iron Manufacturing company of Sharpsville, Pa., of which his father was and still is the senior member, and which stands at the head of this industry in the Keystone state, under the firm name of Dougla Furnace company; he next acted in the same capacity for Forsythe, Hyde & Co., of Chicago, Ill., and a year later, at the date already specified, assumed the duties pertaining to the very responsible position he now holds, and has succeeded in setting the New England Life Insurance company on a solid basis within his prescribed district. He is a member of the Akron club, an ardent republican, and a member of the board of education. Mr. Pierce was most happily united in marriage, in Harrison, Ohio, in November, 1891, with Mabel Marvin, the union being blessed with two children--Marvin and Charlotte. The parents are members of the Universalist church, but Mr. Pierce is retained as first tenor in the choir of the Episcopal church. The pleasant residence of Mr. Pierce is at No. 208 South Forge street. HENRY PLUM, one of the venerable and highly respected citizens of Cuyahoga Falls, and for a half a century a merchant of this town, was born in Middletown, Conn., November 13, 1813, and is a son of Benoni and Deborah (Tryon) Plum. The family name has been variously called Plumb, Plume, Plummer, Plumm and Plum, can be traced in Normandy to the year 1188, and in England to 1272, and was endowed with a coat of arms. The founder of the family in America, John Plum, came from England in 1635, probably landed at Boston, and settled at Watertown, Mass. He was a Puritan, and left Watertown with his minister and a congregation, who were the first settlers of Weathersfield, Conn. The party consisted of from thirty to forty men, most of them probably having their families with them. John Plum was a man of importance and a member of the general court from February 9, 1637, until 1642. While a member of this court, on March 8, 1637, Mr. Plum was appointed at Hartford, for Weathersfield, to buy corn of the Indians, as the inhabitants were in a starving condition, agreeing to pay from four to six shillings per bushel. He served in various offices, such as marking the boundaries of towns, laying out roads, etc. He was one of the men in Capt. Mason's little army during the Pequot war in 1637 and received a grant of land for his services. In the spring of 1644 he was appointed to attend to the clearance of vessels at Weathersfield and the same fall he sold all his land and houses in Weathers-field and removed to Branford. He died in July, 1648, aged about fifty-five years. His children were named John, Samuel, Robert, Dorcas and Timothy. The paternal grandfather of our subject was born in April, 1746, and married June II, 1767, Mary Doud. He was a farmer and lived in Middletown, Conn., where he was 432 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD born. He and wife were the parents of Archibald, Benoni, Seth, Lucy, Rebecca, Esther and David. He was the son of Benoni, Jr., and Rebecca (Alkins) Plum. Benoni was born at Middletown, Conn., and died there November 27, 1747, aged about twenty-seven years. His children were Daniel and Benoni. He was the son of Benoni first, who was the first Plum on the records of the town of Middletown, Conn., and was allotted property from vacant lands of the town. It is not known where he was born or who his father was, but that he was a man of means is certain, from the fact that his name is found first on the records. He married, the first time, Dorothy Call; the second time, Abigail Guilbert, and his children were Samuel, Daniel, Daniel second, and Benoni. Benoni Plum first, died at Middletown, Conn., October 6, 1754. Benoni Plum, father of subject, was born at Middletown, Conn., July I, 1782. He was a shoe merchant and married, September 24, 1808, Deborah Tryon, and their children are Mary A., Henry, Lucy and Elizabeth. Mr. Plum came to Ohio in 1837, settled at Monroe Falls and engaged in the shoe business; after retiring he came to Cuyahoga Falls, where he passed the last fourteen years of his life with our subject, after the death of his wife, and here he died November 1, 1871. Politically, he was first a whig and later a republican. Henry Plum, the subject, received a common-school education and learned, when young, the shoe business. He married, October II, 1835, at Middletown, Conn., Nancy North, who was born in 1814, a daughter of Selah and Anna (Newell) North. The North family were of Sterling English Puritan stock, John North, founder of the family in America, coming from England, at the age of twenty years. in 1635. In 1656 he settled in Farmington, Conn., purchased a farm and died in 1690, leaving nine children—John, Samuel, Mary, James, Thomas, Sarah, Nathaniel, Lydia and Joseph. Thomas North, son of above, was born in 1649, and died in 1712. He settled in the town of Avon. Conn., was a soldier in the Indian wars and received a grant of land for his services. He was the father of ten children, viz: John, Thomas, Hannah, Nathaniel, Mary, Joseph, Rebecca, Lydia, Ebenezer, and one whose name is lost. His son Thomas was a citizen of Kensington, Conn., where he was one of the founders of the church—a man of wealth and influence. He had eight children named Martha, Isaac, Thomas, Jane, Sarah, Samuel, Joseph and Hannah. His son Isaac was born in 1703, died in 1788, was a deacon of a church in Kensington, and was the father of eight children: Isaac, Mary, Jedediah, Lydia, Samuel, Seth, Ruth and Lethe. Jedediah North, his son, was born in 1734, and died in 1816. He lived in Northington, near Berlin, Conn., married Sarah Wilcox, and became the father of eleven children: Asa, Levi, David, Simeon, Stephen, Sarah, Olive, Patient, Noah, Lydia and Hannah. His son Simeon was the maternal grandfather of our subject, called by courtesy Col. North, was born July 13, 1765, and died August 25, 1852. He lived first in Berlin and afterwards in Middletown, Conn., and was a manufacturer of arms for the United States government. He first married Lydia Lucy Savage, who was born in 1786 and died in 1811. He next married Lydia Huntington. His first wife bore nine children, viz: Reuben, James, Alvin, Selah, Elizabeth, Lucetta, Simeon, Nancy, and Lydia. Several of the sons were graduated from Yale college. Col. North made 20,000 pistols for the United States government during the war of 1812 He was the first to make pistols with OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 433 interchangeable parts, and this was considered to be a very valuable invention. In the Navy department at Washington, D. C., can be seen a pair of revolvers made by him at his factory, Middletown, Conn. These revolvers are gold mounted and he received $1,000 for for them. Selah North, father of Mrs. Plum, was born at Berlin in 1791, and was killed by lightning in his own house at Stowe, Ohio. He was the father of thirteen children: Nancy, Egbert, Julius, George, John, Philip, Charles, Sarah, Newell, Charlotte, Betsey, Ellen and Selah. Mr. North was a gunsmith in Connecticut and came to Ohio in 1835 and settled in Stowe township, Summit county, on land mostly in the woods, which he cleared up and converted into a good farm. He was a member of the Methodist church, a democrat in politics, and a captain in the old militia. The Norths, as well as the Plums, were soldiers in the Revolutionary war, and it is said that forty of the latter family were Revolutionary soldiers. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Henry Plum settled in Monroe Falls, where he engaged in the shoe business and resided seven years. He then, in 1847, moved to Cuyahoga Falls and engaged in the shoe business. To Mr. and Mrs. Plum were born Mary E., Henry W., Charles M. (who died aged six months), Lucy A., William R., Julia A., Sarah E., Ella L., Rose N. and Carrie A. Both Mr. and Mrs. Plum are life-long members of the Methodist church, in which he has held all the lay offices, and was class leader, steward and treasurer twenty-one years; he has been very active and prominent in his church, and has assisted to build churches and support them liberally. In politics he was a whig, and later became a republican, and voted for A. Lincoln for his first term. Fraternally, he is a member of Starr lodge, F. & A. M., and is now a non-affiliating Odd Fellow. Of his children, two sons served in the great Civil war—William R. and Henry W.—in the telegraph department. William R., after the war, graduated from Yale law school with high honors. In 1882 he published the Military Telegraph in the Civil War, in two volumes, at Chicago. He has been a prominent lawyer in Chicago for years. The entire family is one of the most respected in Summit county, and Mr. Plum, throughout his long life, has always been noted for his industry and high integrity of character. JAMES L. PORTER, a prominent citizen, ex-justice of the peace, and ex-soldier, of Coventry township, Summit county, Ohio, was born in Mahoning county, October 3, 1843, and is a son of Aaron and Rachel (DeLong) Porter. Shorts Porter, paternal great-grandfather of subject, and his sun David, both natives of the north of Ireland, came to America while the latter was still a young man and settled in Butler county, Pa., where David, grandfather of subject, married Sarah Hughes, the union resulting in the birth of Aaron, Robert, Sarah and William. The grandparents, soon after marriage, removed to Venango county, Pa., where David Porter realized considerable wealth as a lumberman and through his interest in the iron furnaces of that region. He served in the war of 1812 and endured great hardships in the memorable march to lake Erie, but survived the contest, and died in peace at his home, a substantial and respected,. citizen. Aaron Porter, father of James L., was born in Butler county, Pa., March 25, 18o1, and passed his earlier years in lumbering and in working in the iron furnaces. He first married Mary Jacobs, a daughter of Jacob Jacobs, 434 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD who bore two children—George and Mary—the latter the wife of Levi Gibbons. From Pennsylvania, Mr. Porter came to Ohio and located in what is now Mahoning county, where, having lost his first wife, he married Rachel DeLong, a native of the county, and to this marriage were born the following children: Snowden, Jesse, Hannah (Mrs Henry Hughes), Sarah, and James L. (subject). Of these, Jesse died March 8, 1844, at the age of eight years, by falling on a butcher-knife, and Sarah died at the age of thirteen years. The mother of this family died September 9, 1845, aged thirty-two years, five months and eleven days, and a devout member of the Disciples' church. In 1847 Mr. Porter moved from Mahoning county to Summit county. He married for his third wife, Catherine Porter, daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Creze) Porter, and this union was favored with six children, viz: Clarinda (deceased), John S., Elias, Margaret (deceased), Susan A. and Jason. The father passed away in 1877, a member of the Reformed church, and a highly respected and influential citizen. James L. Porter, the subject, was but four years of age when the family came to Summit county, and here received his education. At the age of eighteen years he went to Venango county, Pa., and soon afterward, September 13, 1862, enlisted in company E, Sixteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, and was assigned to the army of the Potomac. He took part in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, as orderly under Gen. W. S. Hancock and other generals. Rejoining his regiment, he was engaged in many raids and skirmishes, fighting every day until he lost a leg at Deep Bottom, August 16, 1864. He was then sent to hospital in Philadelphia, and while under treatment improved his time by attending school, and finally received an honorable discharge, April 23, 1865. He then taught school for a time in Venango county, working in the oil fields a while, and then went to Buffalo, N. Y., where he was employed in the patent-medicine business for ten and a half years by D. Ransom, Son & Co. In 1879 he returned to Summit county, Ohio, which has since been his home. Mr. Porter is a stanch democrat, and has been honored by his party by election to many positions of trust. In 188o he was elected justice of the peace and continuously held the office, by re-election, until April, 1886. The first marriage of Mr. Porter took place October 19, 1870, to Amelia Ream, who died in December, 1893, a devout member of the Reformed church and the mother of the following children: Grace, wife of William E. Heimbaugh; Arthur C. , James W., Herbert S., Winfield S., Olive B., Raymond E. and Martin L. The second marriage of Mr. Porter was solemnized January 15, 1894, with Miss Eva Spencer, a daughter of Nathaniel and Mary J. Spencer, and this union has been blessed with one child—Edith. Mr. Porter was a brave soldier, and has been an active and public-spirited citizen, constantly alive to to the interests of his township and county, and well deserves the high esteem in which he is universally held. WILLIAM PRESSLER, a native-born farmer and a most respected citizen of Springfield township, Summit county, Ohio, was born July 4, 1844, in the house in which he still lives, a son of William and Barbara (Swinehart) Pressler, natives of Snyder county, Pa., born in 1800 and October 11, 1805, respectively. William Pressler, the elder, was both a stonemason and cooper, and on coming to Ohio bought 'the farm on which his son, Will- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 435 iam, now lives. To his marriage with Miss Barbara Swinehart, daughter of George and Barbara ( Alspauch) Swinehart, were born seven children, of whom five are still living, viz: John, in Indiana ; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Heckman; Catherine, married to Elias Funk; William, our subject; Levi, now living with William; the deceased were Benjamin, who died an infant, and Daniel, who died in November, 1871, at the age of forty-three years. The father died July 3, 1857, at fifty-seven years of age, a member of the Reformed church, and the mother December 16, 1869, aged sixty-three, a member of the Lutheran church. William Pressler, the subject, was educated in the district school of Springfield township, and was but thirteen years of age when he lost his father; he then worked for his mother until he was twenty-two years old, after which he cultivated the farm for three years on shares, and about this time his mother passed away. May 16, 1869, he had married Miss Lucinda Garl, daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Weyrick) Garl, and to this union were born five children, viz: Benjamin A., who is married to Clara Smith, daughter of William and Mary ( Shollenberg ) Smith; Minerva Alice, wife of McClelland Kreighbaum; Harvey C., married to Sarah Phillips, daughter of Franklin and Christine Phillips; Robert Henry and Titus Franklin. Samuel Garl, father of Mrs. Pressler, was born in Springfield township, Summit county, Ohio, July 22, 1818, and his wife, a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Walters) Weyrick, was born in Pennsylvania, August 27, 1817. To their marriage were born the extraordinary number of fifteen children, of whom nine are still living, viz: Sarah, wife of Isaac Shick; Emeline, wife of Levi Myers; Daniel, married to Lydia Spade; Levi is the husband of Margaret Behmer; Joseph is married; Lucinda is the wife of Mr. Pressler; Henry is married to Rebecca Fritch; Mary is married to Newton Cook, and Martha is the wife of William Christleib. Of the deceased six, one died in infancy, unnamed; Caroline died January 6, 1864, at the age of ten years; Amanda E., born September 26, 186o, died January 10, 1864; Leah, born May 15, 1842, died December 12, 1871, and had been married to John Kepler and Andrew Bickel, both deceased; George, born October 7, 1852, died in July, 1875, and John, born May 23, 1839, died May 27, 1886. The father of this family died March 31, 1872, aged fifty-five years, and the mother July 6, 1887, at the age of sixty-eight years, both in the faith of the Reformed church. Reuben Garl, grandfather of Mrs. Pressler, was a native of Pennsylvania, and early settled in Ohio, purchasing a farm in the south part of Springfield township, Summit county. He was twice married, and there were born to his first union seven children, all now deceased; they were named Jacob, Benjamin, Catherine (Mrs. Benjamin Swinehart), Mary (wife of Joseph Mishler), Samuel, Mrs. Pontius and Mrs. Brumbaugh. To his second marriage, with Mrs. Shick, was born one son, who is also deceased, as are the parents, who died in the faith of the Methodist church. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Pressler was also a native of Pennsylvania, as was his wife, Elizabeth Walters. He early settled in Springfield township, was a farmer all his life, and was the father of eleven children, viz: Elizabeth, widow of John Rowe; Mary, widow of Benjamin Weaver; Rebecca, wife of Peter Holm; Sarah, widow of Samuel Swinehart; Susan, wife of John Thornton; Caroline, wife of Jacob Myers; George, who was married five times; Leah, deceased, wife of Daniel Pressler, and again of Elias Paulus; Amelia, wife of George Heimbaugh; Catherine, deceased; and John, who died July 4, 1891. The par- 436 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ents both died in the faith of the Reformed church. William Pressler, our subject, has his farm in an excellent state of cultivation, and is recognized as one of the first agriculturists of the township. He and wife are greatly respected for their upright and charitable instincts, and have for years been prominent members of the Reformed church at Millheim. Mr. Pressler has always been useful as a citizen, and has served his fellow-townsmen as supervisor and school director for many years, and for seventeen years has been a deacon in his church, has also been trustee, treasurer and elder, and is now superintendent of the Sunday-school. Mr. and Mrs. Pressler have 135 acres of fine land lying within seven miles of the city of Akron, Ohio, and the improvements are first class. Their comfortable home is always open to their friends, among whom may be numbered every resident of the township. HUBERT R. LOW, an enterprising young merchant of Copley Center, Summit county, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state and was born in Granger, Medina county, January 3, 1874, a son of Marion Clayton and Phebe (Parker) Low, also natives of Ohio. Isaac R. Low, father of Marion C. Low, was born in New York state January 8, 1808, was brought to Ohio when ten years of age, or in 1818, and was reared on a farm in Medina county. He later bought and cleared up a tract of 140 acres, but lost his title to this property through the chicanery of a so-called land company. Mr. Low, nevertheless, was not discouraged, but went manfully to work and earned the money with which to pay for his farm over again, and to thoroughly improve it. February 4, 1830, he married Mary Fuller, who was born in Massachusetts No vember 27, 1814, and to this union were born the following children: Louise L„ January 29, 1834—died in infancy; Isaac M., July 1836—died in 1884; Almeda T., March 29, 1838—died in 1842; Marshall H., February 17, 1843—died January 9, 1849; Marion Clayton, father of subject, born February 16, 1845, and died September 18, 1893. M. Clayton Low was born and reared on the Low farm, and September 25, 1866, married Miss Parker, who was born October 15, 1848, a daughter of Richard E. and Martha N. (Woodard) Parker. Richard E. was the first white child born in Northampton township, Summit county, and was a son of David Parker, who came from New Hartford, Conn., to Ohio in 1809, and settled in Old Portage, where Richard E. was born in 1811. His wife was born in New Hampshire July 20, 1815, and was a daughter of L. Richardson, who was one of the pioneers of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Richard E. and Martha Parker were married in Bath, Ohio, April 18, 1833, where they resided thirty-eight years. They reared a family of nine children and lived to celebrate the golden anniversary of their wedding. To the marriage of Marion C. and Phebe Low were born two children—Hart M., July 12, 1867, who now occupies the old homestead in Medina county, and Hubert R., the subject of this memoir. Mr. Low was a man of excellent education and of sterling qualities. In politics he was a strong republican, and, with his wife, was a member of the Church of Christ. He passed all his life on his birthplace and died at the date already mentioned, an honored man and estimable citizen. Hubert R. Low, whose name opens this biography, aided his father on the home farm until eighteen years of age, but in the meantime acquired a good education, having attended the district schools until seventeen, when he entered the normal school at Ada, OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 439 which he attended one year, and then passed a year at Baldwin university, from the commercial department of which he graduated at the age of nineteen years. He then entered a grocery at Copley Center for the purpose of learning the business, and in 1894 bought out the stock, and the following year purchased the lot and building, and has since been successfully engaged in conducting the business on his own account, having the best general store in Copley at the present hour. March 2, 1897, Mr. Low married Miss Lizzie McFarlin, who was born October 18, 1874, a daughter of John A. and Marion (Black) McFarlin, residents of Medina county. Mr. and Mrs. Low are members of the r Disciples' church and of the Copley grange, and Mr. Low belongs to Copley tent, No. 204, K. O. T. M. In politics he is a stalwart republican, and is respected socially, wherever known, as an honorable, upright gentleman. JARED BARKER is a native of Bath township, Summit county, Ohio, was born March 4, 1861, and is one of the most prosperous and best-known lumber manufacturers, farmers and stock-raisers in the county, having his post-office at, Ghant. Lanson Barker, grandfather of subject, was born in Connecticut November 17, 1791, and was a son of Jared Barker, a native of England. Lanson Barker early removed to the state of New York, in which state he married, in 1809, in Pittsford, Monroe county, Miss Betsey Phelps, a native of Connecticut, born August 15, 1791. Some years after marriage he came to Ohio and purchased a tract of land in Holmes county, and the year following moved to Massillon, where he remained a few weeks only, then removed to Granger township, Medina county, where he resided some years, and then purchased a place in Roy- - 15 - alton, Cuyahoga county, where his wife died in 1847, and he in 1855, parents of the following children: Roxie A., William, Jared, John, Lyman, Mary, Frances, and Nelson, who died. in infancy. William Barker, father of Jared, the subject, was born in New York state July 30, 1817, came to Ohio with his parents and remained with them until 1849, when he went to California, but soon returned on account of sickness and purchased the farm on which our subject now lives, in 1853—then mostly in timber—cleared it up and erected the necessary buildings for a comfortable home. In 1856 he married Miss Eliza Hutchison, who was born April 3, 1826, a daughter of Warren and Martha (McLaughen) Hutchison, and to this marriage were born four children, viz: Alonzo, who was born in 1857, now lives in Bath; Jared (the subject) and a twin brother, the latter of whom died in infancy, and Bettie, who was born in 1867, and also died in infancy. The mother of these children was called from earth October 2, 1876, and the father February 10, 1896. The latter was a farmer and manufacturer all through life, was a strong republican, held many offices of trust, and was a gentleman of the highest standing among his fellow-citizens. Jared Barker, the subject of this memoir, has been a resident of Bath township all his life. His magnificent farm comprises 267 acres of excellent land, located in the Yellow creek bottom, and in addition to farming and stock raising he is largely interested in the manufacture of lumber, owning a large sawmill and a first-class planing-mill, while his premises are well improved with new buildings, all of modern architecture. On the I 3th day of September, 1883, he married Miss Almira Myers, of Rome City, Ind., where she was born February 24, 1862, a daughter of William and Sarah (Weikle) Myers, who re- 440 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD moved from Ohio to Indiana in 1856, where the father has ever since been engaged in farming and is now one of the most prominent agriculturists of the state. To Mr. and Mrs. Myers have been born four children, viz: Samuel, born March 27, 1857, and now residing in Rome City, Ind. ; Ellen, born June 22, 1858, and married to R. Shroyer, of Indiana; Almira, now Mrs. Barker, and Charles, born April 7, 1868, at home with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Myers are consistent members of the German Lutheran church and are among the most respected residents of Noble county, Ind. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Barker has been blessed with four children, born in the following order: Pearl, January 7, 1886; Bessie, October 25, 1890; Mary, October 21, 1892, and Sarah, August 31, 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Barker worship at the Disciples' church, of which she is a devout member. In politics Mr. Barker is a republican, and cast his first presidential vote for James G. Blaine, and has served as township trustee several terms. As a bnsiness man his name stands without a blemish; he is charitable and public spirited, and socially he and his wife are representatives of the best circles of Bath township. ORSON HARRY BUCK is a native of Summit county, Ohio, was born in Richfield township January 15, 1868, and is the fourth child of James E. and Josephine (Watkins) Buck, the former born in Richfield township in June 27, 183o, and the latter October 20, 1839, in the state of New York. Heman Buck, grandfather of subject, was born in Massachusetts December 16, 1792, and came to Ohio m 1811, with his father, Denton, who Settled in Richfield township, Summit county. Heman Buck married the widow Worden, whose maiden name was Polly Mace. She was born in Schoharie county, N. Y., April 14, 1795, and died in Richfield, Ohio, April 16, 1874, having lost her husband October 11, 1852. They reared the following children: Arvilla, Mary, Martha, Julia, James E. and Orson H. The last named was a member of the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry and died, from illness contracted while in the service, at Goldsboro, N. C., in 1865. James E. Buck, father of subject, has lived on the Richfield township farm since his birth, and has here followed the peaceful pursuit of farming from boyhood, now owing 160 acres of excellent arable land, improved with all modern appliances, and equally excellent buildings. Mrs. Josephine Cynthia (Watkins) was the fourth daughter of a family of eight children by Lemon Watkins and Fanny A. (Kent) Watkins, viz: Sarah L. Becker, of Daytona, Fla. ; Mary A. Ashley, who died in Joliet, Ill. ; Elvira F. Oviatt, of Lansing, Mich. ; Josephine C. Buck, of Richfield, Ohio; Lucy Brown, who died in Plainfield, Ill. ; Cordelia D. Catchpole and Charles Lemon Watkins, who both died in the same place, and Alice E. Jump, also of Plainfield, Ill. To his marriage with Miss Josephine Watkins, which took place March 31, 1859, have been born five children, viz: Charles E., Martha G., Fanny Luella, Orson H. and Lois E. Orson Harry Buck, the subject proper of this memoir, passed through the common school of his district, and at the age of thirteen years entered the high school of Richfield Center, where he passed the better part of five years, passing his examination for a schoolteacher in 1884, but, on account of his youth, was not granted a certificate until March, 1885, when he at once began the practice of the vocation at Osborn's Corners, and at the termination of his second term re-entered the high school for the winter term; the following fall and OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 441 winter he taught in Northampton, then took a course in the Normal university at Ada, and then taught in Springfield township during the winter terms of 1888 and 1890, but declined further service in this capacity, and returned home. March 26, 1890, he married Miss Cora LaQuincy Randall, a former schoolmate of the high school in Richfield Center, born in Bath township February 21, 1868, and a daughter of Dr. Rufus and Eliza M. (Roberts, née Hull) Randall. Dr. Randall, a very popular physician of Bath township, was born in Medina county, Ohio, July 7, 1834, and was united in marriage with Mrs. Eliza Roberts in May, 1863. Miss Hull was born in Copley township, Summit county, Ohio, December 3, 1841, and now resides in Cleveland, the doctor having died February 18, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Buck began housekeeping in Cleveland, he having entered the employ of the Brush Electric company of that city, where he learned armature winding, and where he remained until the summer of 1891, when he returned, with his wife, to Bath township and taught school in the Bath Center district until 1892, when he entered Baldwin university, but, without remaining to graduate, he re-entered the employ of the Brush Electric company. His health giving way somewhat, he renewed his vocation of teacher and taught in Ghent in 1894-95, and is now again teaching in the Bath Center school. While in Cleveland, Mr. and Mrs. Buck became members of the Epworth Memorial church, and Mr. Buck also joined Oak lodge, No. 77, K. of P. They now affiliate with the Congregational church at Bath, and in politics Mr. Buck is a stanch republican. Their union has been blessed with two children, viz: Josephine Eliza, born August 13, 1891, and Randall Orson, February 24, 1895, and they now reside on the old Randall homestead at Hammond's Corners, highly respected by all who know them. ADDISON L. BOUGHTON, a highly respected and retired farmer of Bath township, Summit county, Ohio, was born on the farm he still occupies September 3, 1836, a son of Holley W. and Elmina (Miller) Boughton. H. W. Boughton was a native of Victor, Ontario county, N. Y., was born November 4, 1806, and married Miss Elmina Miller, November 13, 1832. This lady was born in Massachusetts, March 17, 1811., and bore her husband two children-Romazo, November 12, 1834, and Addison L., the subject-born in the state of Ohio, as the parents came to this state immediately after marriage, arriving in Bath, May 31, 1833. On arrival Mr. Boughton bought and settled on the farm in Bath township now owned by Addison L., part of which he cleared and improved with the necessary buildings, and, although he began life a poor man, succeeded in realizing a competency, and died October 26, 1877, a republican in politics; his widow survived until October 3o, 1892, when she passed away in the faith of the Baptist church, of which society she was a member from her earliest girlhood days. Addison L. Boughton has never lived elsewhere than on the farm on which he was born and reared to manhood. December 22, 1861, he married Miss Melissa Thorp, who was born on January 5, 1840, a daughter of Manville B. and Fanny W. (Clark) Thorp, the former of whom was a native of the state of New York, was born February 7, 1808, and the latter, a native of Massachusetts, was born May 7, 1811. Mr. and Mrs. Thorp were married in the state of New York, November 1, 1832, and two years later came to Bath township, Summit county, Ohio. Both the Boughton and the Thorp families are of patriotic stock, the paternal grandfather of our subject, John Boughton, having served in the American army in the 442 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD war of 1812, and the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Boughton, Jeremiah Thorp, having served in the same war, and her great-grandfather, Nathan Thorp, in the war of the Revolution. Manville Thorp died. March 9, 1891, and his wife on March 16, 1886, after having reared in respectability five children, viz: Junius M., born November 25, 1833; Lucien G., born August 6, 1835; Francis M., born January 2, 1837, and Oliver N. and Melissa L. (twins), born on January 5, 1840. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Addison L. Boughton has been blessed with one child, Arthur E., who was born August 29, 1877, and is now being educated in the high school at Bath Center. In politics Mr. Boughton is a stanch republican and cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln; he and his wife are members of Osborn Corners grange, No. 1079, of which they were among the first. Mr. Boughton has always been very industrious and attentive to his business, and in consequence has been very successful in all his undertakings. During his active days on the farm he made a specialty of sheep-raising and was always fond of a good horse. He has now retired from very active work and is living in quite enjoyment of the competency earned in the days of his activity, enjoying the unfeigned esteem of all his fellow-citizens, which esteem is equally shared by his wife and child. Officially, he has never aspired to office, but has served as member of the school board for years. Mr. and Mrs. Boughton are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of Mura's chapel, West Bath, in which he has occupied several offices and has been a class leader for years. Mr. and Mrs. Boughton reside on the old homestead one mile west of Hammond's Corners, five and one-half miles from the city of Akron. They are comfortably located amid friends and expect to spend their remaining days in peace. SHAFER CARR, a well-known and highly respected citizen of Bath township, Summit county, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state, and was born in Lawrence township, Stark county, March 11, 1817, a son of Samuel and Catherine (Shafer) Carr. Samuel Carr was thrice married, Catherine Shafer being his first wife, who bore him eight children—William, Philip, Maria, John, Joseph, Samuel, Shafer and Mary. By his second wife, who bore the maiden name of Betsey Brown, he became the father of three children—Catherine, Jacob and Lucinda. His third marriage was with Mrs. Catherine Waltenberger, who bore him two children—Benjamin and Abraham. Shafer Carr was but two years of age when his mother died, and he was thereafter taken care of by his grandmother Evans who was to him a true and kind second mother until her death. At the age of fifteen years, Shafer Carr began learning the cabinetmaker's trade under Thomas Cunningham, a contractor, served an apprenticeship of two years, and then learned carpentry under a brother, and alternated the winters and summers in the two trades until his coming to Bath township, Summit county, in the last week of November, 1839. Here he married, February 27, 1840, Miss Electa King, who was born April 3, 1816, in Chesterfield, Hampshire county, Mass., and is a daughter of Eleazer and Mercy (Kingsley) King, both natives of Massachusetts, born, respectively, February 2, 1776, and August 23, 1774, and settlers in Bath township, Summit county, Ohio, in 1833. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Carr has been blessed with three children, viz: Mercy, born December 2, 1841, and married to Samuel Tilton, a farmer of Lincoln, Neb.; Lucy, born November 27, 1842, now the wife of James W. Ellsworth, a business man of Cleveland, Ohio, and Ozro B., OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 443 born June 18, 1845, and now residing on the homestead with his parents. Just after marriage Mr. Carr bought thirty acres of wild land, hewed from it the logs with which he erected his cabin and other necessary buildings, but in 1854 sold the place and bought his present home. He has made all he possesses by his own hard labor, beginning carpentry work at fifty cents per day and walking from four to ten miles daily to and from his work; later he began contracting, and is now one of the wealthiest men in the township. Mr. and Mrs. Carr are Baptists in religion, and Mr. Carr in politics is strongly republican, and his first presidential vote was cast for "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." Ozro B. Carr, youngest child of Shafer and Electa Carr, was reared on the home farm, was educated in the district and high schools of Richfield and at Berea college, and later took a business course at Cleveland. He remained at home until 1863, when he enlisted in the Pioneer " brigade, but at the end of five months was honorably discharged at Murfreesboro, Tenn., on account of sickness. In May, 1864, he re-enlisted, was assigned to company A, One Hundred and Sixty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, was mustered in at Camp Chase, Ohio, and served until the close of the war. In 1865 he began learning the jeweler's trade at Massillon, Ohio, and then started in business in Richfield. October 17, 1872, he married Miss Mary A. Viall, who was born July 2o, 1849, a daughter of Burrill and Jane (White) Viall, the former of whom was born October 2, 1821, and died April 12, 1895, and the latter born February 7, 1823, and died July 15, 1894—the parents of seven children, viz: Sarah J., Mattie J., Mary A., Julia F., Lucy E., Kittie E. and Jennie M. The marriage of Ozro B. Carr has resulted in the birth of two children, viz: Burrill V., who was born November 3, 1873, and died October 8, 1881, and Lucy E., born November 1o, 1879—now at home and studying voice culture and being, indeed, already an accomplished vocalist. In 1877 Mr. Carr removed his stock from Richfield, where he had done business for six years, and opened a jewelry story in Cuyahoga Falls, where he did the leading business in his line for thirteen years, and in 1890 removed to Kokomo, Ind., where he had the misfortune of losing his left eye by the breaking of the main spring of a motor he was handling. He then sold out his stock, in 1893, and returned to the homestead in Bath township, Summit county, Ohio, and this he has since made his home, being engaged in the roofing business. Mrs. Carr is a member of the Congregational church of Cuyahoga Falls, and in politics Mr. Carr takes an active part in supporting the republican party, and cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Grant. Fraternally he is a member of Goldwood post, No. 104, G. A. R., at Richfield, Ohio. The male members of the Carr family are noted for their magnificent physical proportions and for their longevity, and socially the entire family stand with the most select of the inhabitants of Bath township, being universally held in the highest esteem. MARK HEATH DAVIS, one of the most active and prominent businessmen of Kent, is a native of Portage county, Ohio, and was born in Freedom township May 24, 1858, a son of Joseph C. and Augusta M. (Gray) Davis, natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The great-grandfather of subject was a gallant soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was captain of a company of patriots in the continental army who served throughout 444 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD that victorious struggle for American independence. Isaac C. Davis, the grandfather of subject, married Marie Heath in New England, and in 1828 came to Ohio and settled in Freedom township, Portage county, where he became the owner, in course of time, of 3,000 acres of land. He was a mighty hunter and an expert rifle-shot, and in one winter killed thirty-seven deer, near his dooryard, so plentiful were the animals at that early day in Portage county. He was a democrat in politics and a leader of the ranks of his party in Freedom township. Joseph C. Davis, father of subject, was reared a farmer, but in early manhood became a manufacturer and also a traveling salesman. He finally settled down to the noble calling to which he was reared, and is now a prosperous agriculturist of Hiram township, where he and wife are passing their declining years. Beside Mark Heath, the subject, they have two other children, viz: Addie, married to George Kent, of Freedom township, and Plymmon, agent for the Erie Railway company. Mark Heath Davis was reared on the home farm until about thirteen years of age, when he started out in life on his own responsibility, and for ten years made a livelihood as salesman. During this period he supplemented his common-school education by an attendance at Hiram college. In February, 1882, he came to Kent and purchased a small clothing store, and from this germ has grown his present colossal trade, on North Water street, where, about 1888, he permanently located. The spacious block in which his stores are located he bought some four years ago. This block is two stories high, and on the first floor there are two finely appointed storerooms, one occupied by a stove firm and the other by himself. The one he occupies is 116 feet long and twenty-two wide; it is heavily stocked with a finer collection of men's garments and ladies' and gentlemen's leather footwear than is ordinarily found outside of the metropolitan emporiums. Only the finer makes of shoes, including Edwin C. Burt for ladies and Burt & Packard for men, are handled; and in the immense stock of clothing carried nothing shoddy is to be found, all the garments being of durable quality and stylish pattern; and there is not a mercantile mart of any kind in this section of greater magnitude or presenting truer signs of a wide-awake and intelligent management. It is artistically finished in quartered oak, is finely lighted at night by electricity, and in the cold weather is heated throughout by steam. In fact, this was the first store in Portage county in which steam-heating apparatus was adopted. November 9, 1881, Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Miss Ella Tilden, a native of Hiram township and daughter of DeWitt Clinton and Catherine (Vrooman) Tilden, natives of Herkimer county, N. Y. The great-grandfather of this lady, when a member of the Massachusetts legislature, was the author of the free-school laws which now prevail over the United States. Her parents early came to Ohio and settled in Hiram township, Portage county, He was a hotel-keeper and also a tanner, and in the latter pursuit realized a fortune, and retired, in 1885, to his extensive farm, on which he died in 1895. He was prominent as a democrat; and in 1876 was elected a presidential elector. Naturally, he cast his ballot in the college for his kinsman, Samuel J. Tilden. His widow now lives in Troy township, Geauga county, Ohio. To the marriage of Mark H. Davis and wife have been born two children—Jessie and Grover. Fraternally, Mr. Davis is a member of the I. O. O. F., holding a degree in the encampment and the patriarchs militant, and also is a member of lodge No. 18, Benevolent & Pro- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 445 tective Order of Elks. Politically he is a natural-born democrat, but has never sought office for the glory of the thing, yet has served as a member of the board of improvements. As a business man he has been one of the most energetic and successful in Kent. He is a director in the City bank, was one of the originators of and is a fourth owner of the Kent opera house, which was built in 1889 at a cost of $23,000, and has a seating capacity of 1,000, of which he is also manager. The Odd Fellow lodge and Cycle club rooms are also in this building. He is vice-president of the Shattuck Chair company, a stockholder in the Miller Keyless Lock company, secretary of the Odd Fellows' Building association, a member of the local board of health, a director of the Portage county Agricultural association, and has always been a leader in public improvements and a thorough representative of our later civilization, and enjoys the respect and good will of the entire community, and because of his genial nature wins hosts of friends and patrons. DeWitt Clinton Tilden, the father of Mrs. Davis, came to Ohio in 1853, and purchased property in Geauga county, once owned by his grandfather, Col. Daniel Tilden, who was a renowned leader in the Revolutionary war, and who also surveyed the western reserve of northeast Ohio for the Connecticut Land company, and was likewise the member of the Massachusetts legislature who introduced the free-school bill alluded to in a preceding paragraph. In 1865 DeWitt C. Tilden retired to Troy, Geauga county, and still later came to Portage county, and here his earthly career came to a close December 31, 1894. He was a man of sound judgment, business tact, industry and integrity, and void of all hypocrisy. In politics he was a democrat and stood firm on all subjects that came within the range of his reasoning faculties. He discarded all church creeds, choosing rather to find salvation through good deeds and a well-spent life, than through pinning his faith to church dogmas. He was prompt to commend the right and to censure the wrong.; was a reliable friend, a loving husband and kind father, and reared his four children to correct habits and in respectability. These all reached maturity and three still survive, viz: Rose, wife of Prof. W. P. Cope, of Hamilton, Ohio; Ella, wife of Mark H. Davis, and George, a resident of Hiram, Ohio. WILLIAM DAVIS, the well-known justice of the peace of Bath township, is a native of England, a Lincolnshire man, born October 27, 1839, son of William and Ann (Sewell) Davis, information concerning whom is contained in the biographical sketch of George S. Davis. There are few better known or more personally popular men in the county than " Squire " Davis, and his life has contained some very interesting incidents. He came to this country ,with his parents, about 1844 or '45, when he was but five years of age, and remained with them until he was of age. In 1861 William Davis began to learn the carpenter's trade, but was almost immediately diverted from this intention by the call of his adopted country, and he enlisted, on October 3, 1861, at Akron, Ohio, in company H, Twenty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry. This regiment went into camp at Giddings, Ashtabula county, Ohio, and first saw the actual conflict of war at Winchester, Va. Its next engagement was at Fort Republic, Tenn. While on guard duty over the railroad at Lavergne,Tenn., Mr. Davis was captured by the rebels and taken to Meridian, Miss., being transferred thence to Cahaba, Ala., where he was compelled to remain until April, 1865, at which time he was paroled and 446 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD taken to Vicksburg. Being taken on board the side-wheel steamer, " Sultana," Mr. Davis made his escape from the crowded boat at the time its boilers exploded by leaping from the -top of the wheel-house into the river below. Being a tireless swimmer and a person of great physical endurance, the daring man eluded detection by remaining in the water a remarkable length of time, quietly floating down stream. He finally landed safe and free from detection at Memphis, having floated down the stream nine miles. Mr. Davis' soldier's record was almost four years' actual service, during which time he spent about four months in the rebel prison pens. He received his honorable discharge May 23, 1865, at Columbus, Ohio. After his army experience Mr. Davis returned home and resumed his work at the carpenter's bench, taking up the trade with his old comrade, Perry Alexander. On Christmas day, 1866, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Mildred L. Martin, who was born in Bath township, March 2, 1847, the daughter of Alexander and Sarah (Neely) Martin, the former of whom was a carpenter and who was born in Washington county, Pa., in 1801, the son of Robert Martin, who came from Ireland when a lad of fifteen and settled in Pennsylvania; the latter was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1808, and they were married in Pennsylvania in 1834. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the parents of the following children: Ruby S., born August 29, 1871, wife of Wilbur Burgan, and resides at Ghent; Carl L., born February 20, 1874; Neale M., born May 16, 1881, died November 11, 1882; Walter Ray, born April 25, 1884, and one child who died in infancy. Both are active members of the Disciples' church at East Granger and charter members of Bath grange, lodge No. 1331. Mr. Davis is a member of Buckley post, No. 12, G. A. R., of Akron, Ohio. He is a strong republican, and cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln. Beside his present office of justice of the peace he served as township treasurer for nine years and has been a member of the school board for about eighteen years. His fine farm of sixty acres is a model one, and with its recent improvements in the way of new buildings and modern appliances affords him and his excellent family an admirable and very pleasant home, ten miles from the city of Akron. Mrs. Davis received her education in the common schools. There were only two daughters in her father's family: Belinda was the wife of Henry Duryee, wedded in Bath. She died in 1857, leaving one daughter, Nettie, wife of G. B. Shaw. They are residents of Bath township. Alex. Martin, her father, was a native of Washington county, Pa., born September 12, 1801, and- died July 5, 1855. He was educated in the common schools, and was a self-made man. He was a carpenter by trade and a farmer by occupation. He came to Ohio May 12, 1839, and located in Bath township. Politically he was a whig. He was, as well as his wife, a charter member of the Disciples' church of East Granger. GEORGE S. DAVIS, the largest farmer and stock dealer in Bath township, and one of the most influential and widely respected citizens of Summit county, was born in New York state, November 21, 1845. His father, William Davis, was born in Burns, Lincolnshire, England, April 14, 1809, and on May 16, 1833, married Ann Sewell, who was born at the same place about 1814. They came to this country in July, 1845, locating in New York state. The following children were born to them in England: Jane, April 10, 1843, wife of I. S. King; Mary, February 16, 1836, wife of S. E. Taylor; John, OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 447 January 21, 1838; William, October 27, 1839; Thomas, December 2, 1841; Ann, November 15, 1843, widow of I. H. Miller, and now widow of L. V. Wyckoff. Following are the American-born children: George S., the subject of this sketch; Sarah D., December 13, 1847, wife of George Bisbee; Elizabeth, December 25, 1849, wife of Abraham Spencer; Emma E., September 6, 1852, wife of Sylvester Vallen; Alpha, December 3, 1854, wife of Frank Pierson; Clara B., January 6, 1857, wife of Charles Deitz. This large family of children are all living except Thomas, who was killed in the service of his country at the battle of Pine Knob, Ga., June 15, 1864, after having done valuable service with Sherman in all his battles from beginning to end. A year after their arrival in this country the family came to Summit county and purchased a farm in Bath township, which was partly cleared. On this Mr. Davis erected a new house and barn and made a very pleasant, comfortable home for his family. He was a strong republican, and a member of the Odd Fellows both in England and America, and they were both earnest members of the Disciples' church. They were excellent people, active in advancing the social and moral welfare of the community, and their memories will live long after them. He died August 14, 1888, his wife having preceded him to the grave nearly twenty years, dying March 12, 1867. George S. Davis was reared on the farm and received a good common-school education. As a young man he worked at the carpenter's trade, continuing in that occupation for six years. On February 12, 1873, he married Miss Mary Barker, who was born September 1 o, 1848, daughter of Jared and Eleanor (Munson) Barker. Facts relating to the genealogy of Mrs. Davis are contained in the biographical sketch of Jared Barker. To Mr. and Mrs. Davis have been born the following children: Eleanor Belle, born January, 3o, 1874, died October 3o, 1883; Jay, December 31, 1879; Jeddie, April 21, 1882; Mary, February 27, 1884; George, September 15, 1885; Anna, August 1o, 1887; Paul, May 2, 1889. Upon his marriage Mr. Davis abandoned the carpenter's trade and began farming. He now owns one of the very best farms in the county, comprising 300 acres, improved in a strictly up-to-date manner. He gives a large degree of attention to the breeding of fine cattle, the excellence of his sheep and cattle strains being widely recognized. To facilitate this important industry he has on his farm five large barns, arranged with every convenience for the care and proper raising of stock. He has lately turned his attention to raising fine horses, and now has some very fine Morgan and English coach horses. He probably owns more fine stock than any man in Bath township. His farm buildings are models of their character, and his home is not only delightfully situated, but is extremely pleasant, and is much sought in the community. Mr. Davis is a strong republican, and cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Grant, but is of a retiring disposition and mingles little in politics. He and wife are both members of the Congregational church at Bath, and he is a member of the board of education. WALTER J. DICKINSON, a retired merchant and a prominent citizen of Rootstown, was born in Randolph, Portage county, Ohio, January 27, 1832, and was educated in the common schools. His parents were Alpheus and Mary (Johnson) Dickinson, the former of whom was born in East Granville, Mass., in 1794, and was brought by his parents to Randolph township, Portage county, Ohio, July 17, 1805, where his father, Oliver Dickinson, bought 600 acres 448 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of wild land. This land Oliver farmed, in conjunction with his three brothers, until his death, May 12, 1887, when the property descended to his four sons and three daughters, and representatives of the family still occupy the original homestead. Walter J. Dickinson was reared in the family of an uncle, who was a merchant, and grew to manhood in an atmosphere of trade, alternately attending school and acting as clerk. At the age of twenty-one years he engaged in merchandizing on his own account in his native town, and there continued until his retirement in 1888, having, however, removed to Rootstown in the fall of 1887, and here since occupied his present commodious home. Mr. Dickinson first married, January 28, 1853, Miss Almina H. Chatfield, who was born in Killingworth, Conn., May It, 1834, a daughter of Lewis and Rachael Chatfield. Mrs. Dickinson died July 17, 1882, the mother of six children, two of whom died in infancy. The eldest of those living is Mary Elmina, who was born July 1, 1856, and was married in October, 1892, to James H. Chatfield, a real estate agent, police justice and notary public, of Littleton, Colo.; Alpheus Lyman was born November 17, 1859, married Ida Cavender December 1, 1880, and is bookkeeper in the Seiberling Empire works, at Akron, Ohio; Selden Curtis was born June 5, 1864, was educated in Oberlin college, taking a thorough philosophical and theological course, was ordained minister of the Congregational church and was stationed at Rico, Colo., in 1890-92; in the fall of the latter year he returned to Ohio, and since May, 1893, has been preaching for the Presbyterian church in Willoughby; he married, in October, 1892, Miss Kittie Sharp, of Montrose, Colo. Maria Rachel, the youngest of the family, was born August 20, 1869, and is still at home with her father. The second marriage of Walter J. Dickinson took place August 31, 1887, to Miss Dotha C. Seymour, a native of Rootstown, Ohio, and a daughter of James W. and Charlotte N. Seymour. Mr. Dickinson has always taken an active interest in the affairs of Portage county, and to him is largely due the excellent article on Randolph township, published in the history of the county in 1885, which he is now preparing for re-publication. He has been an ardent republican and has labored hard for republican success. He served about twenty-five years as township trustee of Randolph township; he also served as justice of the peace in that township and is now serving in same office in Rootstown township, and was also postmaster of Randolph eight years under Lincoln. Mr. Dickinson and his family are members of the Congregational church, of which he became a communicant in Randolph in 1852, and he and wife are now united with the congregation of that denomination in Rootstown, Mr. Dickinson being a trustee and also clerk of the same, and treasurer of the society. He was formerly a member of the know-nothing society, the Temple of Honor and the Sons of Temperance. He has been an active worker in the temperance cause, and is a gentleman of the strictest integrity and uprightness of character, and no man in Portage county bears a better reputation than he, and no one better merits it. It may be added, to the credit of subject, that his ancestry is traceable to England, and that the first American, by adoption, landed in Massachusetts about 1632, and bore the name of Nathaniel Dickinson. The great-grandfather of subject, Richard Dickinson, was a direct descendant of Nathaniel, and died in East Granville, Mass., in 1815, at the age of eighty years. The family has been characterized, physically, of medium height and of fair complexion, and mentally with that peculiar fixedness of pur- OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES - 449 pose which, although not combined with obstinacy, is determined, and never wavers in either politics or religion. S. H. GRAHAM, M. D., of West Richfield, Summit county, Ohio, is a native of Iowa, was born December 7, 1860, and is of English descent. The family were Quakers, or members of the Society of Friends, and their genealogy is traced in England back to 1694, the record being as follows: Robert Graham, born first month, twenty-fifth day, 1694; married 1728; date of death unknown. John Graham, son of above, born 1735; married to a Miss Hodgson, and lived in Highburn Thwaite, parish St. Cuthbert, near Carlisle, Cumberland county, died at an unknown date, leaving ten children. Thomas Graham, son of the above John, was born eleventh month, sixteenth day, 1788, came to Halifax, N. S., in 1816, moved to Welland county, Ont., in 1817; married Hannah, daughter of Jesse and Anna Willson, twelfth month, eighth day, 1819, lived in the town of Thorold, in the same county, until 1838, when he moved to the township of Boyham, now in the ,county of Elgin, Ont., whence he moved to Yarmouth, Elgin, in March, 1847, lived near the city of St. Thomas on the farm now owned by Robert Graham, where he died March 16, 1873, leaving a family of five sons and two daughters. Jesse Graham, son of Thomas, was born in the town of Thorold, Welland county, Ont., April 13, 1829, was married, in 1850, to Eleanor, daughter of Samuel and Martha Hathaway, and about 1855 came to the United States and settled in Dyersville, Dubuque county, Iowa, where he died April 20, 1864, leaving five sons, viz: Eugene, born August 18,1851; Alfred W., March 14, 1855; Edward B., March 4, 1857; Dr. Samuel H., subject, and Jesse, born November 21, 1862. Dr. S. H. Graham was primarily educated in the district schools of Dubuque county, Iowa, and at Coe college at Cedar Rapids, entered the university of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1887, and graduated from the medical department in 1890. He immediately began practice in West Richfield, Summit county, Ohio, where he has won a host of friends and is recognized as one of the ablest physicians and surgeons of the county. He married Miss Emma E. Palmer, daughter of Frederick and Mary (Harris) Palmer. This lady was born in Richfield, August 3, 1867, was educated in the district school and at Baldwin university, of which she is a graduate, and is now the happy mother of one bright little daughter—Mary Ellen, born September 22, 1892. HIRAM HART, a prosperous farmer of Richfield township, Summit county, Ohio, is a native of Windham county, Vt., and was born November 4, 1833, a son of Hiram and Mary (Hyde) Hart, both natives of Vermont and the parents of five children, viz: Hubbard L.; Jennette L., who was first married to James Murphy, and next to Frank Adams, a fruit grower of Florida; Mary L., wife of Charles Crosby, of Boston, Mass., an attorney at law, now deceased; Hiram, the subject of this notice, and Amos, employed in the patent office at Washington, D. C. Hiram Hart, father of subject, was born in 1803, and was a son of Amos Hart, a native of England and a blacksmith by trade. Hiram Hart was a well-educated gentleman, was a strong republican, and was sheriff of Windham