(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) AUTOBIOGRAPHY - 25 AGAIN BURNED OUT—A SHERIFF. GAIN A full history of the BEACON is given elsewhere in this volume, by which it will be seen that on the 27th day of April, 1872, the entire establishment, then running on a fully paid up capital of $25,000, of which I was the one-third owner, was totally destroyed by fire. Though immediately rebuilt and established on a much larger scale, it became so greatly embarrassed by the calamity, and the subsequent commercial and financial panic of 1873-4, that in the Fall of 1875, after nearly fifteen years of the very hardest work of my life, I had to consent to transfer the concern to other parties, for the assumption of its liabilities, and retire therefrom without a dollar, and with quite a large personal indebtedness resting upon my shoulders, besides. Thus once more hors de combat in the battle of life, in 1876, just twenty years after my first election to that office then 61 years of age I again appealed to the good people of Summit County to give me my old position of Sheriff, to which they generously responded, also re-electing me in 1878, making my entire term of official service eight years and two months, an honor accorded to no other incumbent of that office in the history of the county. The office of Sheriff, of a county like Summit, while not remarkably remunerative, involves very great pecuniary responsibilities and hazards, and bristles with perplexities and dangers, but fortunately, though declared by my political opponents and competitors to be too old to properly perform its functions—in my "dotage," in fact—I got safely through, and am under a positive pledge to my constituents not to ask for the office again until 1896 —just 40 years from the commencement of my first and 20 years from the commencement of my last incumbency, at which time, should I survive till then, I shall be only 81 years of age. EXCITING JAIL INCIDENTS. Space will not permit a recital, even in the briefest terms, of the many exciting episodes of the eight years of my Sheriffalty-efforts to break jail mutinies and insubordinations—attempts to commit suicide—one by cutting his throat, at the moment of starting him to the penitentiary, and another (a girl) by drowning herself in the bath-tub, though I am happy to say that—no thanks to our noisome and rickety old jail—I never lost a prisoner, either by sickness, self-murder or escape. One incident, however, is worthy of pretty full mention, as illustrative of the strategetic ingenuity of the average prisoner, and of the pluck and nerve of some women. Among my most efficient aids in the management of the jail, and safe-keeping of the prisoners, was my present kind-hearted wife, who, while most 26 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. sympathetic to any of the numerous cases of illness or distress with which we had to deal, was also extremely vigilant in detecting mischief among the inmates and preventing escapes. In the Summer of 1878, a couple of tramps giving their names as James Thompson and James Pierce, were convicted of burglarizing the store of Mr. George S. Dales, Corner Howard and Mill streets. Pierce was a stout, burly young man, with close kinky hair, from which his jail-mates nicked-named him "Curly," and Thompson was a short, spare, and rather sickly looking youth, whom his companions nick-named "Shorty." At this time the late John S. Rowan was temporarily acting as my turnkey, who, after locking the prisoners safely in their cells, in the evening, spent the night with his own family on Forge street. After conviction, and before sentence, " Shorty's" "sickly" symptoms rapidly increased, elicting the sympathy not only of turnkey Rowan, but also of our kind-hearted women, especially our most excellent cook at that time, Mrs. Amelia Randall, of Richfield, who fixed him up sundry delicacies to eat, instead of confining him to the regular, though wholesome and abundant, rations served to the other prisoners. One night, between ten and eleven o'clock, just as I was retiring, there was a commotion in the jail, and on going to the door I was informed that " Shorty" was very sick with a terrible pain in his stomach, which statement seemed to be confirmed by fearful groans apparently emanating from his cell. Thinking that perhaps a dose of strong peppermint sling might afford him relief, I warmed some water in a tin cup over the gas burner in the guard-room and compounded a good strong potion. In the meantime Mrs. Lane and Mrs. Randall had both put in, an appearance, and supposing all the prisoners to be safely locked in their cells, I threw open the inner jail door, without taking the precaution to close the guard-room door, and with my cup of "medicine" in one hand and a candle in the other, I started down the steps and along the corridor, " Shorty's" cell being upon the north side upper tier, reached by stairs, at the east end of the jail. Just as I was about to turn the corner, I heard a sort of suppressed scream, and instantly comprehending the situation, I turned and retraced my steps, on what the prisoners in the lower cells, who were on the watch, called "the best time on record," to find the "sick" prisoner in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle with the two women, Mrs. Randall, as he suddenly popped up from the darkness of the narrow corridor, on the west end of the jail, instinctively seizing him around the waist and hanging on for dear life, on the supposition that he had suddenly gone crazy, while Mrs. Lane was doing her utmost to keep him from getting through the open door of the guard-room. AUTOBIOGRAPHY - 27 On arriving upon the scene of conflict I seized the young desperado by the collar, whereupon he turned and clutching me by the throat, endeavored to thrust me back into the jail. Wrenching his hands from my throat with my right, hand and holding on to his collar with my left, with my right foot I managed to close the outer guard-room door, which being at once securely fastened by Mrs. Lane, the prisoner incontinently wilted, and was soon safely locked in his cell again, by Deputy S. D. Blocker, who, awakened by the rumpus, had by this time appeared upon the scene; the feat of closing •the guard-room door being all the more difficult from the fact that when both wide open the inner, with its stationary lock-bar, laps a foot or more over the outer door. Investigation showed, that out of some of their extra garments and the contents of their husk mattresses, the boys had constructed a "dummy," which had been skillfully tucked away in " Shorty's" bed. When Rowan was locking them up for the night, not seeing the "sick" boy about, he sympathetically inquired how he was, and was told by "Curly" that he guessed he was feeling better as he had been sleeping quietly for some time. On reaching his cell, and finding its inmate already snug in bed (as he supposed) he locked the door and after locking all the cells, properly secured the outer door and returned home. The manner in which he escaped detection, while Rowan was thus making his rounds, was as follows : In the Winter time the jail is heated by a huge cylinder stove, fully two feet in diameter, and four feet in height, with about a 10x15 inch door. This stove had been lined with newspapers, and "Shorty," being small of stature, found no difficulty in secreting himself therein, until all was quiet for the night, when he made his exit therefrom with the result stated—the desperado afterwards being heard to lament that he didn't carry out his original intention of beating me senseless with the heavy iron stove-poker, or a chair, before • rushing up the steps and unexpectedly encountering the women, in his unceremonious flight for liberty. HOW "CURLY" FOOLED THEM ALL. The two burglars in question were sentenced to the penitentiary by Judge Newell D. Tibbals, for three years and a half each, whither I took them on the 8th day of July, 1878. Nothing further was heard from either until early in Sheriff William McKinney's term, in 1881, when Probate Judge Samuel C. Williamson received a notice from the prison authorities, at Columbus, that the Summit County prisoner, James Pierce, was violently insane, and must be forthwith removed from the institution. Sheriff McKinney was therefore sent for him, returning him to his old quarters here, 28 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. only lodging him in the "crazy room" in the second story instead of a cell in the lower jail, as before. In the penitentiary he had violently assaulted his keeper and the surgeon, putting them all in deadly fear for their lives, and undertook to practice the same tactics upon Mac. while awaiting the determination of the county and insane authorities as to what should be done with him. Finally mistrusting that he was shamming, Mac. told him one day, that if he did not stop his fooling he would "pulverize" him, whereupon the fellow simmered down and became as quiet as a lamb, and finally confessed to Mac. that his insanity had been wholly feigned, and there being some question as to whether he could be legally returned to the penitentiary, and the term for which he had been sentenced being so nearly out, Judge Williamson ordered his discharge, and he has never troubled the community since. MAYOR OF THE "TIP-TOP" CITY. In April, 1881, without solicitation on my part, though violently opposed, not only because of my radical Republicanism, but also of my radical anti-saloonism, as the Republican nominee, I was elected as Mayor of Akron by a small majority (60) over the then Democratic incumbent, one of the most popular members of his party in the city, John M. Fraze, Esq., in which capacity I served the people faithfully, if not brilliantly, for a single term of two years. FAMILY AND DOMESTIC MATTERS. My good and faithful wife, Paulina Potter Lane, after bearing me eight children, four of whom died in early childhood, after a lingering and distressing illness from cancer, died July 2, 1871. Of our four surviving children, the eldest son, Julius Sherman Lane, born November 19, 1841, well-known in the business circles of Akron for many years as the Superintendent of the Webster, Camp & Lane Machine Company, is now the general Superintendent of the M. C. Bullock Manufacturing Company, of Chicago, Ill., with his family residence in the beautiful suburban village of Oak Park, eight miles west of the city. My second son, Frederick Alanson Lane, born October 31, 1849, has for many years served as foreman of the Beacon press rooms, and superintendent of its machinery. My youngest son, Arthur Malcolm Lane, born November 6, 1855, is head draftsman of the Schenectady (N. Y.), Locomotive Works, of which my son-in-law, Albert J. Pitkin (the husband of my' only living daughter, Carrie Maria, born March 26, 1858,) is the general Superintendent, the works being the second largest of the kind in the United States, employing from 1600 to 2000 men, with a capacity for turning out one complete locomotive, of the largest class, every day in the year. AUTOBIOGRAPHY - 29 Among the four, with one still unmarried, there are, at the present writing, eleven grandchildren, five boys and six girls, ranging from six months to twenty-three years, so that there is no immediate danger of the tribe becoming extinct, while bringing to their progenitor the proud satisfaction of knowing that whatever his own personal short-comings and errors, in business or social life, the world is decidedly the better for his having lived in it. THE SECOND MARRIAGE. On the eleventh day of November, 1872, I married for my second wife, Emeline (Potter) Manning, widow of the late Levi Manning and only sister of the first Mrs. Lane, and who for the past nineteen years has been to me a most pleasant and affectionate companion and faithful help-mate, my chief regret being that the heavy strain put upon her in the care of the jail, during my last four years' incumbency of the Sheriff's office, and the excitements incident thereto, has so seriously affected her health, as to very greatly lessen the physical and social enjoyment that in her declining years, her long and faithful service, as wife, mother and neighbor, she is so justly entitled to. CONCLUDING REMARKS. I have thus, at some length, though omitting many (to me) interesting incidents and experiences of the nearly four score years that I have lived, given to the reader the principal events of my life-history, confirming, in a large degree, the old adage that "Man is the creature of circumstance," and possibly the truth of the familiar quotation: "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough hew them how we may." Since retiring from the Mayoralty, in 1883, being too far advanced in life to undertake to re-establish myself in active business, and yet not wishing to be entirely idle, I have devoted a large portion of my time to gathering the data and preparing for the press, the local historical matters contained in the following pages, which, though heretofore mainly given to the public, through the columns of the BEACON, it has seemed to me and the many friends with whom I have consulted, should be put into a more enduring and convenient form. Though very many pioneer incidents and personal experiences, that would have been extremely interesting to the participants therein, and their surviving friends, necessarily had to be omitted, I feel that I have amassed a great amount of matter that has interested those who have perused the several chapters as they have appeared, and that will be still more interesting to the 30 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. rising and coming generations, who are, for the succeeding "Fifty Years and over of Akron and Summit County," to take the places of those who have so gallantly fought and won the physical, political, intellectual, moral and spiritual battles of the city and county for "Fifty Years and Over" in the past. In the way of illustration, I have reproduced such of the early views of Akron, as could be gathered up, supplemented by many modern views of the same localities, showing the changes that have taken place and the improvements that have been made in the intervening half-century. I have also given the portraits of such of the early settlers and prominent citizens as were available, together with those of a large number of the present live business and public men, old and young, accompanied by brief biographical sketches. This is a very valuable as well as a somewhat expensive feature of the work, made possible only through the generosity of our people, many of whom, in addition to liberally subscribing for the book itself, have voluntarily assumed the cost of engraving such portraits of themselves and deceased friends as it was deemed advisable to include therein. As showing the changes of a life-time I have also had prepared, as a frontispiece to this work, seven portraits of myself, averaging about ten years apart, from 16 to 76, which may possibly elicit the curiosity, if not the interest of my readers. The silhouette at 16, was left with my mother on first leaving home in 1831; that at 26 is from one of the very first sun-pictures ever made in Akron, by a travelling daguerreotypist, in 1841 ; that at 36, is from a daguerreotype taken in San Francisco, Cal., in 1851; that at 48 is from a photo. taken in 1863, by Akron's pioneer photographer, Samuel J. Miller, in the gallery of Gurney & Son, New York, where he was then employed as poser ; that at 59 was executed by Akron's present well-known photographer, Benjamin F. Battels, in 1874 ; that at 72 is from the camera of Walter B. Manning, a native Akron boy, at Georgetown, Brown Co., O., taken in 1887 ; that at 76 by Battels, in 1891. Trusting that its sale may be sufficiently large to defray the heavy cost of its publication, and slightly compensate the writer for his many years of downright hard work devoted to its compilation, this volume is respectfully dedicated to my contemporaries —living and dead—for "Fifty Years and Over of Akron and Summit County," and their descendants and successors, by its grateful author. SAMUEL ALANSON LANE. PRELIMINARY. WITH a view of rescuing from oblivion sundry interesting events --historical, biographical, criminal, tragical, comical, etc.,—that have transpired in Akron and Summit County during the past fifty years and over, and in the hope of imparting information, admonition, and possible amusement to the younger, and reminiscent gratification to the older readers thereof, this work has been compiled. Of matters and things transpiring prior to my becoming a resident of the town and county, June 10, 1835, I have had to rely largely upon tradition and such written evidence as was available, aided somewhat by the recollections of such pioneer residents of the vicinity as still survive. But as to incidents and events that have taken place since I came here, I have relied largely upon my own memory, supplemented by the official, civil and criminal records of this and the original counties out of which Summit was carved, and the newspaper files in my possession, or otherwise readily accessible, covering almost the entire period written of. While my own recollections may, and doubtless do, differ somewhat from those of other gentlemen now living who have participated in, or been personally cognizant of, the scenes and events herein recorded, I think I can guarantee substantial accuracy, both as to data and detail. At all events, unlike some local " historians" who have preceded me, I have not, for the sake of telling a good story, perpetrating a flippant joke, or swelling the importance of my subjects on the one hand, or disparaging them upon the other, in any instance drawn entirely upon my imagination, or given vent to any personal animosities that may have existed between myself and such persons as a narrative of this character must of necessity mention. And, in this connection, I desire to say that in detailing individual transactions or personal conduct prejudicial to morality, or the public welfare, I have endeavored to be as considerate of the feeling of the parties themselves, if living, or their surviving friends, if dead, as a reasonable conformity to the truth of history would justify. Permit me, also, right here, to remark that if in these chapters the personal pronoun " I " should appear to be a rather prominent factor, I wish to have it distinctly understood that it is not by any means because the writer wishes to exalt himself above those of his neighbors who have participated in, or witnessed, the events narrated, nor through any spirit of egotism or "top-loftiness," but because the force of circumstances, and the "logic of events," have conspired to bring him to the front in many of the skirmishes with immorality and crime herein described, as well as in advocating and advancing many of the laudable enterprises which have, from time to time, contributed to the industrial, commercial, financial, educational and moral well-being of the city and county. That its merits may be properly appreciated, and its faults indulgently overlooked, by a discriminating public, on the completion of his long and arduous labors upon it, more than any hope for large pecuniary gain, is the sincere desire of THE AUTHOR. 32 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. CHAPTER - I. AKRON'S BEGINNING-ANCIENT MIDDLEBURY-A VISIT FROM DEWITT CLINTON -COMMENCEMENT AND COMPLETION OF THE OHIO CANAL-FIRST BOAT TO CLEVELAND-DR. CROSBY AND HIS "DITCH"-" THUNDER FROM A CLOUDLESS SKY "-THE DOCTOR'S "GOOSE PASTURE" PROPHECY-THE NEW VILLAGE OF "CASCADE "-BITTER TRIANGULAR RIVALRY--SPIRITED GUIDE BOARD WAR -EARLY MANUFACTURES--PIONEER HOTELS, MERCHANTS, ETC., ETC. THE BEGINNING OF AKRON. PREVIOUS to the commencement of work upon the Ohio Canal, in 1825, the territory now covered by the thriving and populous city of Akron was an almost unbroken wilderness, excepting a small portion of the Sixth Ward (the original village of Middlebury) and the partially cultivated farms of Miner and Amos Spicer and Paul Williams, these gentlemen being the first settlers in Portage township, Mr. Miner Spicer having, in 1810, visited and located the lands in the southeast portion of the township on which the three families settled in 1811—Portage township being so named from the fact that its entire length, north and south, is traversed by the path over which the Indians used to "port" their canoes, and other portable belongings, between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers, that name also extending to the county of which the township was originally a part. MAJOR MINER SPICER,— born in Groton, Conn., May 29, 1776; married to Miss Cynthia Allen, of Groton, in 1798; in 1810 came, on horseback, to Ohio and bought 260 acres of land in the southeastern part of Portage township; in June, 1811, with his family, accompanied by his cousin, Capt. Amos Spicer, and Mr. Paul Williams, again started, by oxteam, to Ohio, arriving at their destination in September, being the first actual settlers in Portage township; built small log cabin about 40 rods southeast of the present corner of Spicer and Carroll streets. On organization of township Mr. Spicer was made a trustee, and also for many years was justice of the peace. In the war of 1812, served as Major of Militia, and through life was active and energetic in all business matters, both public and private. Mrs. Spicer dying, at the age of 50 years, 2 months and 14 days, Sept. 10, 1828, Mr. S. was again married in March, 1829, to Mrs. Hannah (Allen) Williams, widow of Barnabas Williams, and sister of the first Mrs. S. Major Spicer died Sept. 11, 1855, aged 78 years, 3 months and 12 days, and the latter Mrs. S., March 7, 1856, aged 63 years, 5 months and 21 days. The first Mrs. S. bore him nine children---Avery, born Oct. 26, 1799; Lucinda (afterward Mrs. Stephen Ayres) Feb. 8, 1801 ; Cynthia, (Mrs Jonah Allen) May 21, 1803 ; Phoebe, (Mrs. Levi Allen) Dec. 4, 1804 ; Temperance, (Mrs. Talmon Beardsley) Oct. 15, 1807 ; Emily, (Mrs. Ithiel Mills) Aug. 8, 1809 ; Lydia, (Mrs. Warren H. Smith) Feb. 16, 1811; Miner A., March 20, 1813 and Hiram J., Oct. 24, 1816. THE ANCIENT VILLAGE OF MIDDLEBURY - 33 Down to 1825, the village of Middlebury, founded by Capt. Joseph Hart and Judge Aaron Norton, in 1807, embracing a corner each of Tallmadge, Springfield, Coventry and Portage townships, was the market town and commercial center for this entire section of Ohio, having a population of from 300 to 400 inhabitants, with several mills, a blast furnace, a nail factory, three or four hotels and some 10 or 12 stores, besides the usual complement of mechanics and artisans in demand at that early day, together with sundry civic and military organizations which need not be enumerated here, one of the most prominent and best-remembered hotels of the ancient emporium being that of Mr. Samuel Newton, whose portrait and biography is here given. SAMUEL NEWTON,—born at New- port, N. H., September 13, 1782, when young moving to Groton, Conn., and from thence to Ohio, settling in Middlebury, October 14, 1815. Mr. Newton was for many years one of the leading hotel-keepers of Northern Ohio, his house standing at what is now the intersection of East Market, North Arlington and Kent streets, Akron, Sixth Ward. In March, 1849, Mr. Newton, though then 67 years of age, went with the Middlebury Mining Company overland to California, returning via the Isthmus of Panama in January, 1850. His wife dying in September, 1855, Mr. Newton was again married, to Mrs. Laura Remington, in November, 1856. Mr. Newton died August 5, 1871, at the age of 88 years, 10 months and 22 days, leaving three children--Isaac S. (since deceased), William G., now residing in the City of Washington, and Elizabeth R., married to the late Hon. John Johnston, and now residing with her daughter, Mrs. Robert Watt, East Market street. In that year, 1825, Gen. Simon Perkins, of Warren, owner of a large tract of land in Portage township, foreseeing that the construction of the canal, with the large number of locks necessary to its successful completion and operation, located here, would make it something of a business point for the shipment of produce, and the receipt and distribution of merchandise, as well as, through its lockage water-power, be likely to attract manufacturing and commercial enterprise, induced Mr. Paul Williams, owner of the adjoining lands upon the east, to join with him in laying out into village lots, with the usual complement of streets, alleys, parks, etc., the territory embraced within the limits of Summit street on the east, Center street on the north, and Chestnut street on the south, on the east side of the canal,, and Center street on the north, Pine street on the west, and an alley next south of Catharine street on the south, on the west side of the canal, embracing in all some 300 lots. The plat of the new village was duly recorded in the Records of Portage County on the Gth day of December, 1825. 3 34 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. GEN. SIMON PERKINS,—born in Lisbon, Conn., September 17, 1771 ; located in Oswego, N. Y.,1795 ; in 1798, employed by the Erie Land Company to explore the " Connecticut Western Reserve;" as agent of the company, spent his summers in Ohio and his winters in Connecticut, until his marriage, March 18. 1804, with Miss Nancy Anna Bishop, of Lisbon, born January 24,1780, when he permanently settled in Warren; postmaster of Warren from 1801 till 1829, also special agent of Government in establishing local offices, treating with Indians, etc.; as Brigadier General of militia. August, 1812, took command of troops in defense of northwestern frontier ; at close of campaign, Feb., 1813, warmly commended by Gen. Harrison, for energetic and faithful performance of duty; tender of Colonel's commission in regular army by President Madison declined by reason of pressing private and fiduciary duties ; in 1813 organized Western Reserve Bank, and its President until 1836 ; Ohio Canal Fund Commissioner from 1826 to 1838 ; in connection with Paul Williams, in 1825, founded the village of Akron, and in 1831, in connection with Judge Leicester King and Dr. Eliakim Crosby, that portion since known as North Akron, liberally donating grounds for public buildings, parks, churches, etc. General Perkins died at Warren, November 6, 1844, aged 73 years, 1 month and 19 days, Mrs. Perkins dying April 24, 1862, aged 82 years and 3 months. Previous to this, our late well-remembered fellow citizen, Mr. Charles W. Brown, of 966 East Market street, then living in Middlebury, where he located in 1817, was the owner of 58 acres of uneven and rather swampy land, running from near the present southwest corner of South Main and Exchange streets, southwardly and westwardly, covering what is now known as the Lower Basin, and that portion of the canal at and immediately above and below Lock One. Gen. Perkins requested Mr. frown to donate to the State the right of way through this land for the canal. This, Mr. Brown, being a mechanic with but limited means, could not afford to do, but would sell it to Gen. Perkins and let him do the donating. The General then made him an offer, giving him the option of four different tracts of land for his 58 acres ; 45 acres in the eastern part of Portage township, 30 rods wide on Middlebury street, and running north to the middle of the Little Cuyahoga River ; 100 acres a little west of the homestead of the late Col. Simon Perkins ; 150 acres further west or 300 acres in an adjoining county ; and, to the General's great surprise, Mr. Brown took him on the 45 acres, it being a portion of the same farm on which he ever afterwards resided, and as the sequel proved, it was a good trade for both of them. "AKRON," HOW AND WHY SO NAMED. There already existed a tortuous public highway from the northeast to the southwest portions of the State, running from Warren via Ravenna, Franklin Mills (now Kent), Stow Corners, Cuyahoga Falls, Old Forge, Middlebury, New Portage and John- "AKRON," HOW AND WHY SO NAMED - 35 son's Corners to Wooster, Mount Vernon, etc. This road ran substantially where Middlebury street, since changed to Buchtel avenue, now is, as far west as Broadway, thence striking diagonally towards, but a little north of what is now Exchange street, and, after crossing the valley and circling somewhat around to the south, again striking the present Exchange street line near its junction with Maple ; thence rising the hill near the Perkins residence, and continuing on south westerly towards New Portage. CHARLES W. BROWN,—born Oct. 2, 1796, in North Stonington, Conn.; district school education ; learning- carpenter's trade, in 1817 came on foot to Ohio, reaching Middlebury, 700 miles, February 28, Mrs. Brown, nee Miss Henrietta Halsey, to whom he was married June 9, 1816, arriving in the following August, by ox-team ; lived in Middlebury 15 years, working at his trade, meantime purchasing the 115 acre farm upon which he resided from 1832 until his death, at the present junction of East Market street and Buchtel avenue, dividing his time between farming and jobbing at his trade, opening streets, building bridges, etc., among others opening Market and Main streets, building the Stone (late Baptist) Church, the High (Jennings) School building, etc. Though a man of peace, he took an active part in early local military matters, holding a lieutenant's commission for five years. Mr. Brown was the father of five daughters and one son —Mary, wife of Edward F. Pulsifer, of Chicago ; Prudence, wife of John W. Sabin, of Akron, (both deceased), Antoinette, wife of Benjamin McNaughton, of Akron ; Lucy, wife of Robert P. Henry, of Akron,who died in 1850 ; Alice, now Mrs. William H. Mills, of Akron, and Capt. Henry H. Brown, of Akron. Mrs. Brown dying September 23, 1859, Mr. B. was again married on May 14, 1864, to Mrs. Lydia Williams, of Connecticut, who died September 6, 1865, Mr. Brown himself dying June 1, 1888, at the age of 91 years, 7 months and 29 days The new village was named "Akron" at the suggestion of Charles Olcott, Esq., of Medina, from a Greek word signifying “high," this being the highest point of land on the line of the canal between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. It is not, however, as is popularly supposed, the highest land in the State, though no other point in Ohio, probably, can boast of a location that, through the fresh and living waters gushing from its summit, daily replenishes the Atlantic ocean at two separate points more than o thousand miles apart, the northern outflow from our own autiful Summit Lake reaching the ocean through the Cuyahoga river, Lake Erie, the Niagara river, Lake Ontario and the river and Gulf of St. Lawrence; while from its southern outlet its waters find their way to the ocean through the Tuscarawas, the Muskingum, the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. Apropos of the name of "Akron," Gen. Perkins was greatly haffed, by his Warren neighbors, while he was engaged in laying t his new town in what they regarded a very forbidding locality, 36 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. and many ludicrous names were suggested, one of his most persistent teasers being Judge Calvin Pease, grandfather of our well known citizen, Calvin Pease Humphrey, Esq., and after whom the latter was named. Judge Pease was a fine scholar, and had suggested a number of classical names, with the most ridiculous definitions, and in consulting with Mr. Olcott, also a fine classical scholar, Gen. Perkins told him that he wanted a name that would not only represent the topographical position of the town, but one, also, that Judge Pease could not perpetrate a pun upon. After having adopted the name selected by Mr. Olcott, on his return to Warren he was accosted by Judge Pease with: "Well, General, have you named your new village yet ?" "Yes," said the General, "we've named it Akron." "Ach-e-ron! Ach-eron!" said the Judge thoughtfully. "Ah, yes, I see! Ach-e-ron-river in hell, hey.? A very appropriate name indeed !" Classical scholars, as well as those familiar with the original "lay o' the land" hereabouts, will at once see the aptness of this retort. In this connection, also, it may properly be mentioned that Akron's christener, Charles Olcott, more than 65 years ago, invented and built the model of an iron ship, which he in vain urged upon the public authorities to adopt; a style of ship now in common use without the bestowal of a thought upon the original inventor. HON. CHARLES SUMNER,—born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, June 6, 1794 ; common school education ; came to Middlebury, (now Akron, Sixth Ward),.in spring of 1817, and was married the following June to Miss Clarissa Hart, daughter of Rufus Hart, who settled in Middlebury in 1815 ; in early life worked at the clothier's trade, and officiated as minister of the gospel of the Baptist faith, his quite extensive congregation being greatly decimated and altogether broken up by sickness and death during the building of the Ohio Canal. Enterprising and successful, he purchased a large tract of land in Springfield township, raising and dealing in stock, and taking large droves of horses, cattle mules, etc., over the mountains. In 1834 he moved upon the farm and built the fine stone mansion, where the daughter, Miss A. Louise Sumner, now resides. He was Associate Judge for Portage county nine years, and on the organization of Summit County, 1840, was made one of its first Associate Judges, which position he held until his death, June 22, 1845, at the age of 51 years and 16 days, Mrs. Sumner dying March 3, 1872, aged 75 years, 10 months 25 days. The daughter, Miss Lou has never married, and is mamma the fine estate left by her par with admirable judgment, libera and beneficence. SOME ANCIENT LANDMARKS. At that time the only hotels, or taverns as they were t called, west of Middlebury, within the territory now embraced Summit County, on the Warren and Wooster road, were those SOME EARLY LANDMARKS - 37 Joshua King, a log structure, on the present site of County Surveyor Charles E. Perkins' residence, in the west part of the city; a story and a-half frame building nearly opposite, on the east, kept by Pliny Wilcox; the two story frame house of Henry Clark, at New Portage ; and one or two wayside inns at or near Johnson's Corners; for houses of "entertainment for man and beast," of rather a primitive character, were to be found at most of the township centers, and at frequent intervals along all the public thoroughfares, in those early days. On the Smith road also, leading from Old Portage to Medina, on the line between Copley and Bath, besides two or three others further west, was the notable and somewhat notorious "Latta's Tavern," kept by one William Latta, at what was then called "Latta's Corners," afterwards for many years known as "Ellis' Corners," but which is now known as the village of. Montrose. The original building, substantially as first constructed; is still doing duty as a hotel. But of this hotel and others, and their early proprietors, more anon. ROSWELL AND ELIZA KENT. ROSWELL KENT,- --born in Leyden, Massachusetts, May 18, 1798; removing with his parents to Hudson, Ohio, about the year 1812; educational advantages quite limited ; at majority entered store of his brother Zenas (father of Hon. Marvin Kent, of Kent), at Ravenna. About 1820, he established a store in Middlebury, (now Akron, Sixth Ward), for his brother and Capt. Heman Oviatt, of Hudson, buying out the concern about 1826, and continuing the business on his own account for several years. He then engaged in the manufacture of woolen machinery, as a Member of the firm to Kent & McMillan, afterwards of Irish, Kent & Baldwin, later changed ent, Baldwin & Co., which he followed until his death, July 19, 1871. Mr. Kent was married to Miss Eliza Hart, daughter of Joseph and Annie (Hotchkiss) Hart, the first settlers in Middlebury (1807), who was born August 6, 1808, being the first white child born within the present limits of Akron and the third born in Tallmadge township. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kent, three of whom, only, are living--Ella K., now Mrs. Finley McNaughton, of Youngstown; Russell H., Secretary and Treasurer of the Akron Stoneware Company; and Flora K., now Mrs. T. S. Page, of Toledo. Mrs Kent is still living in the enjoyment of reasonably good health, at the ripe age of over 83 years. 38 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. The farm house of Paul Williams, a one story frame building, on the laying out of the new village, was found to stand in about the center of South Broadway, a little south of Middlebury street, and was accordingly moved a few rods to the eastward, where, as the well known Babcock house, it still stands, in a remarkably fair state of preservation. The first building erected in the ne village, however, was the tavern of Henry Clark, on the northeas corner of South Main and Exchange streets, the main portion o which building still stands upon the same site. Up to th occupation of this house, in the latter part of the Summer of 1825 the largely augmented hotel business of the vicinage, pertainin to canal operations, was transacted in Middlebury, the letting o the contracts from Cleveland to Summit Lake, having been mad at Chittenden's hotel, early in June of that year; sections further south being let at other convenient points along the line of the canal during the same month. THOMAS NORTON,—born in Oneida Co., N. Y., April 6, 1806 ; same year parents moved to Ohio, first to Smithfield, Trumbull County, and in 1809, to Tallmadge, the father, Peter Norton, in 1813, purchasing 200 acres of land, in Springfield township adjacent to the village of Middlebury, on a portion of which Mr. Norton still lives, though somewhat physically infirm, in full possession of his mental faculties, at the age of nearly 86 years. Mr. Norton was married January 10, 1847, to Miss Hannah M. Coney, born in Stark County, April 13, 1812. Of their two daughters, Martha M. was married, June 2, 1873, to Mr. Theodore Johns, a former Middlebury boy, now a prosperous shoe merchant in Des Moines, Iowa, and Mary P. is now the wife of Mr. Joseph Cook, a prominent manufaclisturer of Akron, whose portrait and biography will be found elsewhere, Mr. and Mrs. Cook now occupying the old homestead, and kindly minlis istering to the care and comfort of Father 'Norton, in his declining years, Mrs. Norton having died at the horn of her daughter in Des Moines, Iowa August 7, 1886 in the 75th year of he age. A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR. Though some work had previously been done by the con tractors in this vicinity, the formal breaking of ground took plac at Licking Summit, near Newark, on the 4th of July, 1825, DeWit Clinton, the projector and "Patron Saint" of the Erie Cana] performing the ceremony, aided by the then Governor of Ohio Hon. Jeremiah Morrow, amid great rejoicing by the assemble thousands, with booming of cannon, beating of drums, and othe characteristic oratorical and gustatorical festivities of those earl times. The distinguished New Yorker, and his retinue of travelin companions and servants, came to Buffalo by the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Cleveland via Lake Erie, and from Cleveland t Middlebury in stage coaches. Remaining over night at Chitten- RAPID GROWTH OF THE NEW VILLAGE - 39 den's hotel, early on the morning of July 2nd, in the private carriages of Mr. Chittenden and Mr. John McMillen, they started for Newark, our lately deceased 91-year-old fellow citizen, Talmon Beardsley, Esq., officiating as the driver of Mr. Chittenden's team. TALMON BEARDSLEY,—born in Delaware Co., N.Y., Delis Dcember 15, 1799; in 1810 moved with parents to Licking Co., Ohio, settling on wild land which Talmon helped to clear and cultivate, attending school about three months per year ; in Summer of 1818, walked to Middlebury (now Akron, Sixth Ward) finding employment in the old Cuyahoga Furlisnace of Laird & Norton, going to school part of the time ; in 1819, entered the employ of Henry Chittenden, hotel keeper, farmer, canal contractor, etc., with whom he continued 14 years; October 27, 1831, was married to Miss Temperance Spicer, fourth daughter of Major Miner Spicer, settling upon a 75 acre farm near Middlebury, selling that in 1833 and purchasing 100 acres in Coventry, now largely embraced within the city limits of Akron, which he brought up to a high degree of cultivation, and upon which they lived until 1864, when they removed to Akron. Their five children are Ann, wife of Mr. George W. Hart, of Cuyahoga Falls ; Mills. H., hotel keeper at Green River, Utah; Avery S., now residing at Adrian, Mich.; Harriet, wife of Gates A. Babcock, now living in Fremont, Ohio; Louisa D., wife of Mr. Geo. Stover, of Canal Fulton, Ohio. In 1889 Mr. and Mrs. Beardsley went to reside with Mr. .and Mrs. Stover, where Mrs. B. died April 20, 1891, aged 83 years, 6 months and 5 days, Mr. Beardsley dying July 18, 1891, aged 91 years, 7 months and 3 days. THE SECOND BUILDING. Soon after the commencement of work upon the canal and locks at this point, and following closely upon the erection of the hotel of Henry Clark, a man named Benedict built a two-story frame store, on the southwest corner of Main and Exchange streets, which was for many years, under successive proprietors, known as the " Mammoth Store." From this time on, lots in the new village sold quite rapidly, and a considerable number of residences and shops were erected for the accommodation of the large number of contractors and operatives required to build the canal, and construct the locks and bridges in this vicinity. The lower lands of what is now called North Akron, being thickly dotted over with log and slab shanties, inhabited mostly by Irish laborers upon the canal, was christened, and for many years retained, the historic name of "Dublin." Thus, by the time the canal was finished, in 1827, the village had, including its Dublin suburb, a population of perhaps two hundred souls, embracing merchants, lawyers, doctors, mechanics, laborers, and "gentlemen of leisure," of which latter class, more anon. The more substantial improvements were on the east side of the canal, on Main and Exchange streets, several of the original structures still standing where they were then erected, though one or two grocery stores 40 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. and two freight warehouses were soon afterwards located upon the west side of the canal, one of the latter at the head, of Lock One, still standing, and the other on the north side of the bridge, a warehouse also being located on the east side of the lower basin, about where the Brewster coal chutes are now. INCREASE SUMNER,--son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Holland) Sumner, was born in Townshend, Vt., February 25, 1800; at 16, came to Pittsburg, where he worked for a time at nail-making, when he came to Middlebury, where his brother Charles was then living, where he early became prominent in business affairs, engaging in milling, merchandising, contracting, etc., buildlising many of the bridges and dams in Akron, besides doing considerable stone work on the Ohio Canal. In 1849, as Captain and Treasurer of the "Middlebury Mining Company," he went, by ox-team, overland to California, where, mining and merchandising, he remained nearly three years. On his return to Middlebury, he engaged in farming, but later sold his farm and opened a stone-quarry and engaged in contracting stone work until his death, November 18, 1868, at the age of 68 years, 8 months and 23 days. March 19, 1837, Mr. Sumner was married to Mrs. Elizabeth (Hammel) Miller, a native of Ithaca, N. Y., born September 21, 1812, her first husband, Arthur Miller, to whom she was married January 29, 1827, having died of consumption, at Pautuxet, R. I., whither he had gone in hopes of recovering his health, July 16, 1830, leaving two children, since deceased. Mrs. Sumner, in comfortable health and circumstances, still survives. The first regular boat to navigate the waters of the Ohio Canal was called the "Ohio." It was built upon the east side of the lower basin, about where Jackson & Lyman's planing mill now stands, according to the recollection of the late George Dailey, of Cuyahoga Falls, by Alexander and Edward Wheeler, the hulk of the ancient craft now lying in the mud in a small cove in the berme bank of the canal near the residence of the late James Robinson, of Coventry. It was launched on the 27th day of June, 1827, and, after receiving a few finishing touches, and its furniture, commissary stores, etc., on the third day of July, under command of Captain Henry Richards, an experienced navigator from the Erie Canal, started, with a full load of .passengers, amid the huzzas of the multitude, the firing of cannon, etc., for Cleveland, to participate the next day in the dual celebration of the Nation's birthday—the glorious Fourth and the arrival of the first boat from the "port" of Akron, via the new canal. The late John C. Stearns, of Copley, claims to have been steersman of the "Ohio," on its, initial excursion trip, while Northampton claims for the late Job Harrington, of that township, the honor of having propelled said craft from Akron to Cleveland and back, with his own team of substantial farm horses. DR. CROSBY AND HIS "DITCH." - 41 DOCTOR ELIAKIM CROSBY, to whom Akron is more largely indebted for its manufacturing existence than to any other one man, was born in Litchfield, Conn., March 2, 1779. He was educated and for some time engaged in teaching in and about Litchfield. In 1806, he went to Buffalo, where he read medicine with a Dr. Chapin, allopathic, though in the early forties he embraced, and for a while practiced, the horn eopathic system of medicine. About 1808 or 1809 he went to Simcoe, Canada, where he was married to Miss Marcia Beemer in 1810. In the war of 1812, Dr. Crosby entered the service of the United States as a surgeon in the army, in consequence of which his property in Canada was confiscated by that government. In 1820 he removed with his family to Ohio, locating in the then enterprising village of Middlebury. Though giving some attention to the practice of medicine, he soon became interested in the various enterprises of the time, in connection with Mr. Henry Chittenden taking a contract upon the canal, between Bethlehem and "boar, and for furnishing 16,000 bushels of water-lime for the construction of locks in 1826-7. Previous to the completion of these contracts, Dr. Crosby purchased of Mr. Ralph Plum the Cuyahoga Furnace property, originally erected by Aaron Norton and Wm. Laird in 1817, on the present site of the Seiberling flouring mill. This purchase included the property on the opposite side of the Canton road, for many years past known as the "Aunt Betsy- Stewart homestead," the doctor removing his family into the small frame house erected by Mr. Plum, and now doing service as a horse barn and carriage house. This furnace, originally devoted to the smelting of such iron ores as were found in the vicinity, was, by Dr. Crosby, largely devoted to the manufacture of plows and sundry other agricultural and household articles in demand at that time. The furnace was at this time, run by water power from a dam across the Little Cuyahoga river, near the present woolen and felt works. A year or two later Dr. Crosby sold the furnace property, including his dwelling house, to the Stewart brothers, Arnold, Isaac and Daniel B. The Doctor then bought the sawmill property, near the dam, and by securing the control of the river above, built a dam three-fourths of a mile further up, and by race and flume, secured a better head of water, both for the furnace property, his saw mill and the large two-story grist mill which he erected where the, felt works now stand; building for himself, in the meantime, a new dwelling house on or near the present site of the Kent school house. After running these mills a year or two Dr. Crosby sold his mill property to the late Increase Sumner, who also opened a store in the business portion of the village, both of which, finding himself financially embarrassed, Mr. Sumner transferred to his two brothers, Edward and Charles, in 1832. 42 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. The Doctor now got his practical eye upon " bigger game," and by his mysterious maneuvers led certain property owners to believe that he was endeavoring to divert the business of the town to a point further down the stream, towards or below the Old Forge, and a combination was entered into by which it was sought to dam the river at, or near, what is now known as the "White, Grocery," and from thence conduct the water through Blue Pond to a point near where the Akron Sewer Pipe works now stand, thus creating a water power that would overshadow anything that the Doctor could command lower down the stream. That eminent hydraulic engineer, Col. Sebried Dodge, (afterwards owning and living upon, until his death, what is known as the "Dodge farm," three miles southwest of Akron) was employed by the syndicate to make the surveys, and both loud and frequent were the boasts made to the Doctor that they would head him off, to all of which the Doctor would pleasantly, but significantly reply: " Gentlemen, your scheme won't work, but mine will; and what's more, it will cause the grass to grow in your streets, and make a goose pasture of your town." Thus time passed on. Engineer Dodge found that very little, if any, additional power could be obtained by the plan proposed than by following the natural course of the stream to the point designated, and that scheme was abandoned. In the meantime the Doctor pursued the even tenor of his way, quietly obtaining control of the river bed and all the lands upon either side, as far west as the lands of Gen. Perkins, through which the Ohio Canal had been constructed, when, suddenly, like a peal of thunder from a clear sky, it burst upon the astonished intellects of the Middleburghers, that an arrangement had been made between the Doctor and Gen, Perkins to conduct the entire waters of the river, by means of a race, to be immediately constructed, from the north part of that village to a point near Lock Five on the Ohio Canal, from whence they could be used over and over again, as far as Lock Seventeen, for milling and manufacturing purposes. This was in 1831. The surveys being completed, a large force of men was at once set to work constructing the race, a considerlisable portion of which, from about opposite the present Fair Grounds to Summit street, had to be quarried from the solid rock. The next year, 1832, the building then, and ever since known as the " Stone Mill," at Lock Five was begun; both the race and the thin being completed and running early in 1833. The lands purchased by Dr. Crosby were consolidated with the 300 acre tract, so-called, belonging to Gen. Perkins, and by those gentlemen, and Judge. Leicester King, of Warren, who had in the meantime purchased a one-third interest in the enterprise, had been platted into streets, lots, etc., and quite a good many lots sold and improved, though the plat was not put to record until the 10th day of August, 1833; the new plat covering the territory between North street, on the north, and the " gore," so called, (Quarry, Bowery and West Center streets) on the south, and Summit street upon the east, and Oak and Walnut streets upon the west. It was said, with how much truth the writer cannot say, though with a strong shade of probability, that to prevent observation and the miscarlisriage of his designs, the Doctor did much of his surveying and the running of his levels for his contemplated race, by moonlight, THE NEW VILLAGE OF "CASCADE." - 43 as all of .his movements had to be made on the sly, until after the control of the river bed had been secured by the purchase of contiguous lands on either side. As a sample of some of the difficulties encountered and overcome, some 15 acres off from the north end of the 45 acre tract deeded by Gen. Perkins to Mr. Charles W. Brown, as before stated, being needed for the race, and the control of the waters of the river, and suspecting that the Doctor's designs were deeper than was apparent upon their surface, Mr. Brown drove so sharp a bargain with him that 57 acres of much better land, immediately adjoining him upon the east, was obtained from the Doctor for the smaller parcel needed. Also upon the north side/ of the Little Cuyahoga river was a 300 acre farm belonging. to Mr. William Phelps, a small corner of which ran down into the bed of the stream, and which had to be secured before the waters could be diverted from their natural channel. This acre or two Mr. Phelps would not sell at any price, unless they would take the entire farm at the exorbitant price, for those days, of $14,000 in gold. An option for a certain number of days having been obtained by Judge King, late in the afternoon of the last day of the option the Judge appeared at the Phelps mansion with the coin. On inquiring for Mr. Phelps, the Judge was informed that he was away from home, but could get no information as to where he had gone nor how soon he would be back. "Very well," said the Judge, "I'll wait for him," and wait he did until near midnight, when he took the bag of gold from his pocket and began counting it out and piling it upon the table, and then and there made a tender of the sum agreed upon to Mrs. Phelps, as the representative of her husband. After the midnight hour had passed Phelps came forth from his hiding, but refused to receive the money, claiming that the time of the option was up; thinking perhaps, that by holding off he could extort from them still higher figures. Finally a day or two later, on the advice of Mr. Brown, he executed a deed to Judge King, and took his money, a portion of which he invested in farming lands in Wadsworth, Medina County. THE NEW VILLAGE OF " CASCADE." As indicated by the name given to Dr. Crosby's "ditch "--the "Cascade Mill Race,"—the embryo rival to the ancient village of Middlebury and the original town of Akron, was at first called " Cascade," though it was finally platted under the name of Akron. Hence the first store on the site now occupied by Hall's block, corner of Market and Howard streets, erected by Mr. Seth Iredell (father of our present fellow citizen, Robert S. Iredell) in 1832, was called the "Cascade Store," while the first hotel, erected the same year, by James Baldwin (father of Capt. Aaron P. Baldwin) and Lewis Kilbourn (father of William W. Kilbourn, of 212 East Exchange street), was called the "Cascade House;" and for several years, both at home and abroad, the snappy and prosperous new village was known as "Cascade," rather than by its platted and ultimately well-established cognomen of Akron. About simultaneously with the building of the race and the Stone Mill, two blast furnaces had been erected at the North End —the " /Etna," near Lock Twelve, by Parsons, DuBois & Co., (L. M. 44 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. Parsons, Robert K. DuBois and William Slater) succeeded early, in 1833 by Hart, DuBois & Co., (William J. Hart, Robert K. DuBois and David J. Garrett) and the "Portage," on the present site of Dr. J. H. Peterson's Assembly Hall, by. Fenn & Howard, (Jonathan F. Fenn and Charles W. Howard), the blast of the former run by the waters of the Cascade Mill race, and that of the latter by the waters of Wilcox run (the cemetery brook) brought in a race and wooden flume from a little above the cemetery lodge and crossing West Market street, at its present junction with Cherry street. About the same time, also, Messrs. David and Jesse Allen and Col. Reuben McMillan, under the firm name of Aliens & McMillan erected a three-story frame building, a little southwest of what is now known as the Allen Mills, where they entered largely into the manufacture of carding and spinning machines, for which there was quite a demand in those early days. This factory was, a few years later, converted into a flouring mill by Messrs. Joseph A. Beebe (our late City Librarian) and William E. Wright, (late of Rome, N. Y.,) and was called the "Center Mill," and though it long years ago gave place to the Allen Mills, the most excellent brand of flour, called "Center Mills," is still a favorite with many of our citizens. JESSE ALLEN, —sixth son of Jesse Allen, senior, one of the pioneers of Coventry, was born in Tompkins Co., N. Y., May 1, 1807, removing with family to Ohio in 1811. Though his education was limited he was remarklisably intelligent, and early acquired prominence in business, social and political circles. In boyhood worked on farm, later learning the trade of a stone cutter, at which he became quite expert, especially in carving, lettering, etc. About 1833, with his brother, David, and the late Reuben McMillan, he erected a large three-story building, west of the present barrel-house of the Allen Mills, and engaged in the manufacture of wool-carding and spinning machinery. On the retirement of Mr. McMillan, three years later, D. and J. Allen erected the shop on the west side of Lock 7, now embraced in the Akron Building and Cabinet Company's plant. Mr. David Allen dying, December 6, 1842, at the age of 42 years and 4 days, the original shop having meantime been converted into the well-remembered Center Mill, Mr. Allen, in connection with other members of the family, engaged in milling, later, with his brothers Jacob and Hiram, and the late Jedediah D. Commins, engaging in the manufacture of satinets, in the building now known as the Allen Mills, the change from cloth to flour being made in 1856, in which business he continued until his death, Sept. 24, 1863, at the age of 56 years, 4 months 23. days. Mr. Allen served three years as member of the Village Council-1837-38-44. He never married. PIONEER MERCHANTS, HOTEL KEEPERS, ETC. In 1832, Jonathan F. Fenn and Charles W. Howard, (son-in-law of Dr. Crosby), placed a stock of general merchandise in the store which had been erected by Mr. Seth Iredell as above stated, BANK CHARTER APPLIED FOR - 45 but that firm having failed, in the Spring of 1835 the building was leased to Mr. P. D. Hall, and, as lessee and owner, the stand has been continuously occupied by that gentleman to the present time. The "Cascade" House was opened by Mr. Willard W. Stevens, (now living at Tontogany, Wood County, Ohio), and kept by that gentleman until the Fall of 1834, when the lease was transferred to our present venerable fellow citizen, and model landlord, Mr. Charles B. Cobb, who changed its name to the "Pavilion House." These pioneer hotel, mercantile and manufacturing establishments, were rapidly followed by others', so that, when the writer arrived in Akron, June 10, 1835, though the South End still held the ascendency, in point of imports and sales of merchandise, shipments of produce, etc., the North End was rapidly developing its manufacturing and commercial resources, and in population, also, rapidly approached the former. COL. REUBEN McMILLAN,—born in Galway, Saratoga Co., N. Y., May 25, 1799, when young moving with parents to Lima, Livingston Co.; soon after coming of age was commissioned Colonel of artillery ; Oct. 24, 1824, was married to Miss Orpha Partridge, of Thetford, Vt., who bore him six children—Geo. Willis, died in infancy; Harriet Louisa, now Mrs. D. E. Hill, of Akron; Lucinda Avis, late Mrs. Robert Foster, of Minneapolis; Caroline Eliza, deceased; George R. died young; and Frances A., now Mrs. O. W. Keller, of Montana. In 1832, came to Middlebury and a year or two later to Akron, engaging with. Messrs. David and Jesse Allen in the manufacture of carding machines; in 1836 went to Massillon and started the same business there. The works being destroyed by fire, in 1840 he returned to Middlebury and organized the firm of Kent, Irish & McMillan, successful manufacturers of carding and spinning machinery for many years. Col. McMillan was an early advocate of the cause of temlisperance, and an earnest abolitionist, both by his tongue and pen advocating the doctrines of the "Wilmot Proviso," and using his personal influence, in Washington, to secure its passage; was also an able and intellilisgent advocate of labor reform and protection to American manufactures. Mr. McMillan died Nov. 9, 1851, aged 52 years, 5 months, 14 days,. Mrs. McMillan dying March 31, 1887, aged 83 years, 1 month, 5 days. The joint population of the two villages at this time was probably from 600 to 900, though in the copy of a petition to the Legislature, now in possession of the writer, dated December 18, 1835, for a bank charter for Akron, the committee composed of James W. Phillips, Richard Howe, Erastus Torrey, S. A. Wheeler, Justus Gale, Simon Perkins, Jr., J. D. Commins, R. McMillan and Seth Iredell, state the population of the town to be between 1,200 and 1,300. It is quite probable, however, that it was intended to include, in this estimate, the inhabitants of Middlebury and other adjacent territory, who would be patrons of, and benefited by, the establishment of a bank in Akron, the entire population of Portage township, five years later, including Akron, the "Chuckery," and a portion of Middlebury, being, by the census of 1840, but 2,381. 46 - AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. PHILANDER D. HALL,—born at I Bridgeport, Conn., Oct. 10, 1806 ; educated at Weston Academy; at 20 engaged in teaching at Saugatuck, Conn., where he also clerked in dry goods store a year and a half; returning to Bridgeport, engaged in the grocery shipping trade and importing West India products; in Summer of 1834 first visited Akron, and in May 1835, established himself in the general merchandise trade, corner of Howard and Market streets, then called the " Cascade Store." The original. store, a two-story frame, being destroyed by fire, February 17, 1851, the present three-story brick block was erected and occupied the same season. In 1842 Mr. Hall was joined in business by his brother Orlando, who was married to Miss Sophia R. Towne, December 12, 1854, and died March 10, 1855, Mr. Hall soon afterwards associating with himself his brother Lorenzo, under the firm name of "Hall Brothers," which arrangement still continues. Mr. Hall was married December 30, 1811, to Miss Martha McElhinney, of Allegheny City, Pa., who died in New York, February 20, 1889, Mr. Hall in 1857 having established his family residence in that city, dividing his time between travel and purchasing supplies for his firm, though at frequent intervals giving his personal attention to business and property interests here. INTENSE AND BITTER RIVALRY. The completion of the Cascade Mill race, the starting of the Stone Mill, and other business enterprises resulting therefrom, soon culminated in a very bitter triangular rivalry between Middlebury and the two Akrons, and especially between the North and South Akronites. The ancient emporium had struggled bravely to prevent the diminution of its business by the establishment of a rival village at the Summit, and for the reason that the former, through its water power, possessed superior manufacturing advantages, was for a time fairly successful in holding its own, if not, in fact, slowly advancing. But this new rivalCascade—was an impending calamity to be fought to the bitter end by both the Middleburghers and Southenders; for the Doctor's "goose pasture" prediction, in regard to the former, was not only likely to be speedily and literally fulfilled, but South Akron, also, was in imminent danger of sharing the same fate. Hence, when the denizens df the former could no longer retain all the trade from the south and east, they would use their best endeavors to turn it towards the south end, representing the inhabitants of "Cascade" as being a set of cut-throats, and the village itself as reeking with pestilential miasms that it would be dangerous to encounter, even for an hour. These representations were also persistently promulgated by the Southenders, and every possible device adopted to keep the people of the country from visiting the lower village. At the forks of the road, at the intersection of East Market and Middlebury streets, the Southenders erected, upon the south side of the road, a guide board, pointing towards that village, bearing the inscription "Akron, 1 mile." This was imitated by he Northenders, the board pointing towards that village also CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES - 47 reading "Akron, 1 mile." This was speedily demolished by the Southenders, followed almost as speedily, by the destruction of their own board by the irate Northenders. Both of these hoards were several times replaced with like results, and several personal collisions took place between the parties detailed to guard the boards in question. At length a compromise was effected, said boards being inscribed "South Akron" and "North Akron" respectively ; after which, so far as the guide board contest was concerned, there was a cessation of hostilities ; but, as will be seen further on, the "cruel war" was by no means over. COL. JUSTUS GALE, -- born in Guilford, Vt., January 14, 1798; June 23, 1823, was married to Miss Sarah Hyde, who was born in Guilford, April 26,1802; in July, 1833 removed to Akron, as a member of the firm of Pulsifer, Gale & Austin, establishing a store on the east side of South Main street, near Exchange, and a year later the pioneer tinshop in North Akron, and erecting a dwelling house on the southeast corner of Howard and Mill streets, later erecting a cupola furnace and engaging extensively in stoves, hollowware, plows, etc. Col. Gale was active in all public enterprises, an earnest promoter of the cause of education; was one of the trustees of Akron's first high school project in 1837; was several times member of the Village Council, and one of the most influential promoters of the New County project-1835 to 1843. Col. Gale died June 28, 1847, aged 49 years, 5 months, 14 days. Mr. and Mrs. Gale were the parents of six children—Lucy Jane, afterwards married to the late John H. Chamberlain, now Mrs. Alexander Brewster; Sarah Hyde, the first- Mrs. Frank Adams, died in 1863, aged 35; Frances Harriet, died May 10, 1845, aged 16; Ann Elizabeth, now Mrs. Theodoric Balch, Henry Clay, farmer on West Exchange street; and Mary Gertrude, widow of the late James C. McNeil, whose portrait and biography appear elsewhere. Mrs. Gale, in full possession of all her faculties, now in her 90th year, still. survives. SOME OTHER EARLY HOTELS. On my arrival in Akron, June 10, 1835, besides the "Clark Hotel," then kept by Mr. Lewis Humiston, who was also at that time Akron's postmaster, there was a two-story frame tavern, directly east, on Exchange street, kept by Dr. Rufus Pierce, and a new two-story and a half frame, the Summit House, on West Exchange street, kept by "Col." Lyman Green, afterwards from about 1839 to 1845 by Samuel Edgerly, father of Mr. Charles H. Edgerly and Mrs. Sarah M. E. Battels, Mr. Edgerly being a charter member of Akron Lodge, No. 83, F. & A. M., and dying in this city in 1852, while at the North end, besides the Pavilion House, kept by Mr. Charles B. Cobb, a threestory brick hotel, called the "Ohio Exchange," on the present site of Woods' Block, corner Market and Main streets, was completed and occupied by Gen. Duthan Northrop, of Medina, the same year. While it is not my design to name all the buildings, public and private, that then 48 - AKRON AND SUM MIT COUNTY. composed the two rival, and in fact, bitterly hostile, villages, since, with the pioneer village of Middlebury, now bravely over its "goose pasture" stage of existence, consolidated into one compact, harmonious and enterprising city, I have been thus particular in regard to those early hotels, because of the prominent part they, and their proprietors, and some of their patrons, will play as "dramatis person" in the scenes and events to be recorded in these chapters. JULIUS A. SUMNER,—born in Townshend, Vt., January 2, 1802; educated in common school ; at 14 started out for himself, going first to Boston, then on foot to Huntington, Pa., and soon to Pittsburg, working in nail factory ; at 16 taught school one year ; in 1818 engaged with father and brother in the manufacture of bar and strap iron and nails in Middlebury; also making frequent trips east, over the mountains with horses and. cattle ; later carrying on a large farm, pottery and distillery, near Mogadore, and in the middle forties, erecting a large distillery at Lock Seventeen, andkeeping Akron's principal hotel, the Ohio Exchange, on the present site of Woods' block, and quite an extensive store on the opposite side of the street ; later building Empire block, adjoining the Empire Hotel on the west, and the large hotel and opera house building, corner of Howard and Tallmadge streets. Though from time to time meeting with heavy losses by fire, Mr. Sumner was phenomenally prosperous during a long business career, dying- June 20, 1882, at the age of 80 years, 5 months and 18 days. In 1824 Mr. Sumner was married to Miss Margaret Newcomb, of Wadsworth, who bore him six children —Charles A. (now of Detroit), Mary (now Mrs. C. Ferguson, of Akron, Sixth Ward), Nellie (Mrs. J. B. Houghton, now deceased), Eliza (Mrs. E. S. Stillwell, of Coventry), Albert A. (deceased) and Victoria (Mrs. George S. Clark, Akron). Mrs. Sumner dying in 1849, in 1853 Mr. Sumner was again married to the widow of Heman A. Bradley, who died October 18, 1880. AKRON INCORPORATED- 49 CHAPTER II. AKRON INCORPORATED-FIRST CHARTER ELECTION-EARLY MAYORS-THE FIRST A VENERABLE AND WEALTHY, BUT WORLDLYMINDED QUAKER-THE SECOND AN IMPECUNIOUS, BUT TALENTED FARMER-LAWYER "KID"- UNSUCCESSFUL SPECULATIONS-FORCED INTO BANKRUPTCY-PECULIAR LAW PRACTICE- PROSECUTED FOR ASSAULT-CHIEF JUSTICE DAVID K. CARTTER, ATTORNEY FOR THE STATE-" MOVING" DEFENSE-INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE-ELECTED BY THE " KIDS "-SUCCESSFUL ADMINISTRATIONRE-ELECTED-PROSPEROUS FARMER SUBSEQUENT MAYORS, ETC. ACT OF INCORPORATION. THE two villages, North and South Akron, having for the time I being placed their antagonisms in abeyance, in the Winter of 1835-36, jointly petitioned the General Assembly of the State of Ohio for a town charter, which was duly granted on the 12th day of March, 1836. The territory described in the charter, comprised of portions of both Portage and Coventry townships, embraced the territory within the recent north, west and south corporation lines, and a line upon the east starting a short distance east of the south end of Spicer street, and running northerly, diagonally crossing Spicer street a short distance south of the old Spicer homestead, through Fir street to the north corporation line, a little east of Lock Sixteen, and containing about three and one-fourth square miles of land. By the terms of the charter it was provided that the first election for the new corporation should be held on the second Tuesday of June, 1836, at the usual place of holding elections in the township of Portage, commencing between 9 and 10 o'clock in the forenoon and closing at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, " white male inhabitants" having resided in said town for the period of six months, and having the qualifications of electors for members of the General Assembly, only, being allowed to vote. This initial election was held at the tavern of Asa Larned (the old Clark stand on the northeast corner of Main and Exchange streets), Harvey H. Johnson (lawyer), Rufus Pierce (hotel-keeper), and Zebulon Jones (shoemaker), acting as judges, and Franklin C. May (merchant), acting as the clerk of election, being elected wive voce by the electors in attendance, as provided by the charter. As the time for the election approached, there was, of course, a good deal of figuring as to candidates, the officers to be elected being Mayor, Recorder and five Trustees. Not only politics, but sectional interests and predilections, were invoked, both in the choice of candidates and at the polls. Whigs and Democrats were the only political parties then in vogue, and the lines, in both general and local elections, were usually drawn pretty taut, and the contests were often very warm, and sometimes extremely bitter. By this time the voting population of the North End was rather the stronger, and in the caucuses secured both of the candidates for Mayor—Seth Iredell (Whig), and Dr. Eliakim Crosby (Democrat) as well as both of the candidates for Recorder—Charles W, Howard (Whig), and Constant Bryan (Democrat). Politically, the new corporation was pretty evenly balanced, but an analysis of the vote, for Mayor and Recorder, will show that sectional, rather 4