(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 450 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY a strong factor in the ultimate development of Barberton's business activities, as well as greatly increased prosperity along all lines. WILLISTON ALLING, president of the Dime Savings Bank at Akron, and formerly county recorder of Summit County, was born October 26, 1842, in Vienna Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, and is a son of Jonathan and Maria (Clark) Ailing. The parents of Mr. Alling came to Trumbull County from Connecticut, in which state he resided until he was twelve years old. He then became a member of his uncle's family, in Northampton Township, Summit, County. After remaining with his uncle for three years, he secured farm work in Tallmadge Township In August, 1862, he enlisted from that township for service in the Civil War and for three and a half years thereafter was a member of Company I, One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was honorably discharged in December, 1865. Mr. Ailing then returned to Tallmadge Township and engaged in contracting and building, in which business he continued until 1897. Mr. Alling became president on its organization of the Dime Savings Bank, at Akron, which is now one of the leading financial institutions of the city. The other officers of this bank are: Clint W. Kline and Charles Switzer, vice-presidents, and William H. Evans, secretary and treasurer. The capital stock of this bank is $50,000, with a surplus of $2,250. The hank is situated in the Masonic Building on the corner of Mill and Howard Streets. Mr. Ailing was married in 1867 to Emilie A. Carter, who was born in Brimfield, Portage County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Horatio L. and Julia A. (Lyon) Carter, natives of Massachusetts. He and his wife have b-en the parents of six children : Julia M., Walter C., Ruth W., Fannie M., Mary E. and Edwin L., of whom the last mentioned died in December, 1904. The family has a high social standing in Akron. Politically, Mr. Ailing is a staunch Republican, and at various times he has served in important offices.. For twenty-one years he was a justice of the peace, for several years county recorder, and for a long period an active and useful member of the Board of Education of Tallmadge. Mr. Ailing and family reside at No. 39 South Balch Street. The Ailing family are members of the West Congregational Church. JOSEPH COOK, an old and honored citi zen of Akron, now retired from active busi- ness life, was born in England in 1847. His parents came 'to America when he was an infant, settling first at Danville, later at Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and still later at East Liverpool, Ohio. He was reared up to the age of sixteen years in East Liverpool, obtaining his education in the public schools. He was still a schoolboy when he first enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Company F. Fourth Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry, in which he served, nevertheless, with the courage and efficiency of a man through the eight months for which he had contracted. After his discharge he re-enlisted, entering Company A, One Hundred and Forty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served four months, and being honorably discharged, came to Akron. Here he enlisted for the thin' time, in Company A, One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for one year, but as this was an old regiment, it was soon mustered out, and Mr. Cook was transferred to Company E, One Hundred and Eighty-eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he remained until the close of the war, being finally mustered out in the fall of 1865. He had served under General Butler in the Eastern army and under General Kelley in West Virginia, his last field service being with the Army of the Cumberland. Mr. Cook then returned to Ohio, his parents in the meanwhile having settled on a farm in Summit County, where he remained until he had recuperated from his long period. of fatigues and exposure incidental to army AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 451 life. Settling in Akron, he became interested in a pottery business with John Richardson and David Butler, under the firm name of Richardson, Cook & Butler. This firm was afterward incorporated as the Akron Stoneware Company, of which Mr. Cook was president and general manager for three years. Failing health caused him to dispose of his interests in the company, and he took a season of rest. He subsequently returned to the pottery business, however, under the firm name of Weeks, Cook & Weeks, building a pottery plant and managing the business for four years. He then sold out to F. H. Weeks, and turned his attention to improving his education, which his early enlistment had interrupted, to that end taking a complete course in Hammel's Business College, at Akron. Mr. Cook then accepted a position as manager with the Wood Type and Novelty Company, and so continued until the business was closed out. For some four subsequent years he was associated with the Drop Hammer Forge Company, filling the office of president, and later went into business with Charles S. Hart, under the firm name of Hart & Cook, which connection lasted for fifteen years. At the same time Mr. Cook was president and general manager of the Akron China Company, but he sold his interests therein and later became connected with the Cleveland China Company in the decoration of china and white ware. After four years Mr. Cook practically retired, in 1905, from active business life, although he owns a large amount of land, to which he gives attention, and he is also financially interested in the Aluminum Flake Company. He was for so long an active factor in the city's business life that his name is a familiar and an honored one in the local marts of trade. He has also been active in political life to the extent of working for civic reform and good government, but has consented to service in no office, except on the school board, where he continued for four years. On October 9, 1873, Mr. Cook was married to Mary P. Norton, who is a daughter of Thomas Norton, and who was born in the pleasant old home at No. 1320 East Market Street, in which Mr. Cook and his family now reside. Six children have been born into their household, namely : Eva, who married Carl Trulson, residing at Cleveland; Thomas M., residing in Nevada; Mary P., who lives at home with her parents; Martha, who married John Lemmon, and resides in Oakland, California; George W., residing in Oakland, but in business at San Francisco; and Celia, who resides with her parents. Mr. Cook is a member of Akron Lodge, F. & A. M.; Buckley Post, No. 2, Grand Army of the Republic; the Odd Fellows, and of some purely social organizations. RICHARD L. MOORE, postmaster at Cuyahoga Falls, and one of the representative citizens of the place, was born at Blacklick, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1880, and is a son of McConnell and Elizabeth (Mildren) Moore. The Moore family is of Scotch-Irish extraction. William Moore, the great-grandfather of Richard L., was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where his life was spent, engaged in agricultural pursuits. His son, Hugh Moore, was born in Westmoreland County in 1806, and died in Sugar Creek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, in 1900. He followed the trade of blacksmith. His wife was Fannie, daughter of John Shryock, of Butler County, Pennsylvania, and they reared the following children : John and William, both deceased; James, residing at Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Lavinia, deceased; Thomas H., residing at Loa Angeles, California; McConnell, residing at Cuyahoga Falls; Sarah Jane, who is the wife of Captain Samuel J. Nickerson, of Indiana, Pennsylvania; Margaret Ann, widow of John Adams, of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania; and George H., of Rimersburg, Pennsylvania. The mother of the above family died at the age of eighty-three years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Moore were devout Presbyterians, Mr. Moore being an elder in the church. McConnell Moore, father of Richard L., 452 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY was reared in Armstrong County and educated in the district schools. He was employed as clerk in a general store at Brady's Bend for several years, and then went to Oil Creek, where he had charge of some oil interests for about a year. Then he went to Pittsburg, where he worked at heating in a rolling mill for two and one-half years. He then returned to Brady's Bend as an inspector 'of ore for the Brady's Bend Iron Company, in which capacity he worked for seven years, after which he was in the oil business for himself for one year. In 1872 Mr. Moore went to Blacklick Station, in Indiana County, where he managed a firebrick business for his brother-in-law, E. J. Mildren, and he continued there until 1885, when he came to Cuya hoga Falls. For a time he was engaged with different firms in this city in more or less responsible positions, until he entered the employ of the Rivet and Machine Works as timekeeper, remaining with that great industry until April 15, 1907, when he retired from business activity. • In 1861 Mr. Connell Moore was married to Elizabeth Mildren, who •was born in Penzance, Cornwall, England, in 1842, and is a daughter of Jacob L. Mildren, formerly of Brady's Bend. Of the thirteen children of this marriage twelve grew to maturity, namely : Fannie Jane, who is the widow of B. B. McConnaughey, of Homer City, Pennsylvania; A. Kate J., deceased; Edward J., who is a resi- dent a Cleveland ; Melda, who was a victim of the great flood at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, May 31, 1889; Lavina, who married F. J. Creque, and resides at Cuyahoga Falls; Charles M., residing at home; Alice, who married John Young, of Muskegon, Michigan ; Leroy M., a resident of Newark, New Jersey ; Frank R., residing at Cuyahoga Falls; Ralph R., who is engaged in the jewelry business and resides at Cuyahoga Falls; Richard L.; and Dora, who married Rev. C. A. Coakwell, a minister of the Disciples Church, located at Lennox, Iowa. Richard L. Moore was reared and educated at Cuyahoga Falls, attending both the common and High School. Prior to his appoint ment as postmaster, which was made June 15, 1906, he worked in different factories in this vicinity, being a skilled mechanic, but since he assumed his present duties, on July 1, 1906, he has given the postoffice his main attention. His success as a public official has been generally recognized, and he is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens. Mr. Moore married Bessie Belle Schnee, who is a daughter of Joseph and Jennie Schnee, of Cuyahoga Falls. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Moore has always been interested in public matters and has been an active worker in the Republican party. Fraternally he belongs to Howard Lodge, No. 62, Odd Fellows, and to the Foresters. JAMES M. LAFFER, vice-president of the Security Savings Bank, and vice-president of the People's Savings Bank, at Akron, is one of the city's leading financiers and business men. He is a dealer in drugs, paints and oils, and is largely interested in real estate. He was born in 1848, in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, but Akron has been his home for over a half century. He is a son of John Laffer, formerly a farmer and miller, whose father was Henry Laffer, an early settler in Tuscarawas County. James M. Laffer was reared and educated in his native county, where he remained until 1861, when he moved to Millersburg, Ohio. In 1865 he established himself in Akron. During his youth he served for four years as a clerk in a drug store, and then went to Chicago, where he was engaged in a drug business for about nine 'months, afterwards returning to Akron. In October, 1869, the W. C. Byride & Company drug house was established, Mr. Laffer being interested, which continued until 1873, when he bought the interest of Mr. Byride and has continued alone ever since, having an excellent business location on the corner of Main and Exchange Streets. Mr. Laffer is one of the city's old and experienced business men—one who has witnessed and assisted in the wonderful develop- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 453 ment of her commerce and the growth of her institutions. In 1872 Mr. Laffer was married to Minnie Collins, who is a daughter of J. H. Collins, of Akron. He and his wife have one daughter, Josephine, who is the wife of Francis Seiberling, a well known attorney of Akron. Mr. Laffer has taken a prominent part in public affairs, and in 1884 consented to serve on the City Council, in which he proved himself a careful guardian of municipal interests. His fraternal connections include the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows, of Akron. W. W. McINTOSH, president of the McIntosh-Baum Company, at Akron, has been a resident of this city for the past decade, but is a native of New York, having been born in Schoharie County, that state, in 1863. Mr. McIntosh was educated in the schools of Sloansville, and, after attending Claverack College, Claverack, New York, was prepared to enter into business, and went to Jackson, Michigan, where he learned the jewelry trade, remaining in that location for five years. He was then engaged in the jewelry business at Clinton, Illinois, for about ten years. His health failing him, he was compelled to change his business, and, accordingly, he became interested in the manufacture of furniture, in which industry he was engaged for five years, at Constantine, Michigan. Mr. McIntosh then came to Akron, and for a short time was engaged in the wholesale manufacture of undertaking goods. After selling his interest in that business he became vice-president of the Hall & Harter Insurance Company, continuing as such for a period of two years, after which he organized the McIntosh-Baum Company, which is now incorporated. Mr. McIntosh is connected with a number of other Akron enterprises, being a director in the McNeil Boiler Company, vice-president of the S. & O. Engraving Company, director of the Beacon-Journal Company, and other successful concerns. In 1889 Mr. McIntosh was married to Grace Bishop, of Clinton, Illinois, and they have two children, Bishop and Margaret. A sister of Mrs. McIntosh is the wife of Hon. Vespasian Warner, United States Commissioner of Pensions. Fraternally, Mr. McIntosh is prominent in Masonry, having attained the thirty-second degree. He is a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council, Commandery, Consistory and Shrine at Cleveland. He has taken an active interest in locating a number of industries at Akron since he has made this city his home, and is a valued public-spirited citizen. ISAAC SHELDON COWEN, one of the representative agriculturists of Northfield Township, was born on his farm in this township September 18, 1863, and is a son of John and Eliza (McNiece) Cowen. John Cowen was born in November, 1794, on the Isle of Man, whence he came to America in 1827, and for eight years worked on the Ohio Canal. Subsequently he settled on a farm of forty acres in Northfield Township, where he engaged in sheep and cattle raising, and built the home now occupied by Isaac S. He died at the age of eighty-three years. Mr. Cowen married Eliza McNiece, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and was a daughter of Isaac McNiece. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cowen, of whom six grew to maturity, namely: Rebecca Jane, born October 20, 1850, who married William Henry Price, of Cleveland, and who, with her husband, is now deceased; Isaac Sheldon, subject of this sketch ;,William Henry, who was born March 18, 1856; Minnie Eliza, who married John B. Ward, of Solon, Ohio; Elsie Ann, who lives on the home farm; and Bertha Adele. who married Ernest E. Leslie, of Northfield Township. The mother of these children was, like her father, an adherent of the Quaker faith, but after coming to Northfield Township, there being no meeting-houses here of that denomination, she attended the Presbyterian Church. Isaac Sheldon Cowen was educated in the common schools, and has resided all of his life on his present farm, which was purchased 454 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY by his father from the Connecticut Land Company. He has three barns, 26x30, with 14-foot posts; 26x42, with 14-foot posts, and 36x 46, with 18-foot posts, respectively, and all of his buildings are kept in the best condition. He keeps about twelve head of cattle, his milk being shipped to Cleveland, and his principal crops are potatoes, grain and hay. Since procuring his farm Mr. Cowen has added thereto by purchase, and he now owns 131 acres, about thirty-five of which are under cultivation. An up-to-date farmer, he uses the most modern methods and machinery, and is conceded to be one of the township's prosperous agriculturists. Mr. Cowen is a Democrat in his political views, but he has never cared for public office. REV. IRA A. PRIEST, D. D., who served as president of Buchtel College, at Akron, from 1897 until 1901, is one of the prominent men of this city. Dr. Priest was born at Mt. Holly, Rutland County, Vermont, and belongs to an old colonial family of that section. After attending the public schools of his native place, Ira A. Priest entered a seminary at Barre, Vermont, where he prepared for Tufts College, at Medford, Massachusetts, where he was entered in 1880, and was graduated four years later with his degree of Ph. B. In 1884 he continued his studies, in the theological department, and in 1887 he was graduated with the degree of A. M. In 1898. his alma mater conferred on him the degree of D. D. Dr. Priest was connected exclusively with church work for many years and served numerous pastorates prior to coming to Akron. For two years he had charge of the Universalist Church at Monson, Massachusetts, for three years he was at Adams, Massachusetts, and for five years at Newtonville, Massachusetts. In the fall of 1896 he took charge of the Akron church, and in the following year became president of Buchtel College. Although he still continues his pastoral work, since the close of his official connection with Buchtel College, he has been more or less interested also in business and political life. In 1901 he embarked in a real estate, loan and general insurance business, which he conducted alone until September, 1906, when the firm of Patton & Priest was organized. This has since become one of the leading firms in its line at Akron and has offices in the Everett building. Dr. Priest is a stockholder in a number of the business enterprises of the city, and has attained rank among her men of capital and commercial capacity. On June 23, 1887, he was married to Eva Hall, who was born at Lacon, Illinois They have one child, Ruth Hall. Dr. Priest has always taken an active and intelligent interest in politics, and has done his part in promoting good local government. On numerous occasions he has been elected to city offices, in 1903 becoming president of the Oity Council, to which office he was reelected in 1905, and which he still holds. A stanch Republican, he has been treasurer for the past year of the Summit County Central Committee, and he is his party's choice for membership on the Board of Public Service. Fraternally, Dr. Priest is a Knight Templar Mason, and he belongs also to the Odd Fellows. WILLIS E. PETTITT, secretary and treasurer of the Pettitt Brothers Hardware Company, of Akron, was born in Portage Township, Summit County, Ohio, in November, 1868, and is a son of the late William Pettitt. His father was a prominent farmer and stockraiser in Portage Township, where he settled in 1830, coming from Pennsylvania. The death of William Pettitt took place in 1882. He married Lucy Cook, who died in 1892. Of their eight children seven survive, namely: Orilla (married D. N. Spellman, of Akron) ; Clara, Ida, George, Miles, Lewis M., and Willis E., all residents of Akron. Willis E. Pettitt was reared and educated in Summit County until the age of seventeen years, when he came to Akron and secured a position as bookkeeper with the firm of May & Fiebeger, which he filled for sixteen years. Then, in 1903, in partnership with his AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 457 brother, Lewis M. Pettitt, he established a hardware business under the name of Pettitt Brothers & McDowell, which continued until the fall of 1906. Mr. McDowell then retired and the firm name became The Pettitt Brothers Hardware Company. The company was incorporated with a capital stock of $50,000, with L. M. Pettitt as president ; Willis E. Pettitt, secretary and treasurer; Alfred Winkler, vice-president, and W. F. Ringler, general manager. The company does a wholesale and retail hardware and paint business, carrying a full and up-to-date stock, and having a wide trade territory. Willis E. Pettitt was married in 1899 to Abbie A. Mead, who is a daughter of the late William H. Mead, of Illinois. They have one child, Grace Virginia. Politically, Mr. Pettitt is a Republican. He is a member of the West Akron Congregational Church and is on its official board. THOMAS JEFFERSON SNYDER, owner of. the East Side Dairy Farm, which comprises 150 acres of valuable land situated in Coventry Township, belongs to an old pioneer family which settled in this section of Summit County eighty-eight years ago. Mr. Snyder was born in his father's log cabin, not far distant from his present farm, in Coventry Township, Summit County, Ohio, August 16, 1857, and is a son of George M. and Mary (Rex) Snyder. George M. Snyder was born in 1814, in Pennsylvania, and was five years old when his father, Yost Snyder, brought his family and possessions to Coventry Township, making the long journey through the wilderness with an ox-team. When he built his log cabin in the woods, Akron was a hamlet of a half dozen rude shanties, and it would have required a vivid imagination to depict in its place the present busy; beautiful city. The digging of the Canal was a great event and George M. Snyder told his children how the whole family walked to Akron to see the first canal boat on its waters. Yost Snyder and wife lived to old age on this farm and reared a large family of children, George M. being among the older ones. The latter assisted in the clearing of the farm and later learned the mason trade, at which he worked for twenty-two years, during the summers, and during the long, cold and stormy winters he would use the old loom and weave cloth. He acquired land of his own, and possessed the farm in the Snyder allotment, through which Snyder Avenue, Barberton, now extends. He lived to the age of eighty years, and in many ways was a remarkable man. He had enjoyed but few advantages of any kind in his youth and had never learned to either read or write the English language until the Civil War, when, on account of the deep interest he felt in public affairs, he set himself the task of learning to read, his children being his teachers, and became thoroughly informed in this way, although, at his age, it doubtless required great perseverance. He was a stanch Democrat, of the old type. George M. Snyder was married (first) to Catherine Harter, who bore him two children: Henry, now residing at Barberton, and George, who is deceased. He married (second) Mary Rex, whom he also survived, and they had, fourteen children, namely: Jacob, Daniel, Lewis, Thomas J., William F., Mary (Mrs. Anderson), Sarah, who married H. Deisen, residing in North Dakota; Inez, who. married J. H. Horner; Elvina, who married H. Pontius; Emma, who married William Stott; and four children now deceased. George M. Snyder was married (third) to Lucinda Bachman, but they had no family. Thomas J. Snyder remained with his father on the farm on which he was born until 1859, when the family moved to what is now the Snyder allotment. Land then could be bought for $2.50 an acre which later has been valued at $300. During his boyhood the family endured many hardships, their home having few of the comforts or conveniences of the present day. Mr. Snyder remembers when his mother used to come with her broom and sweep away the heavy snow that had-sifted through the wide cracks onto the floor; so that her many children could get out of bed without having a chill. He attended the 458 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY old district school whenever farm work permitted. In 1887 he bought his present farm in Coventry Township, purchasing it from George Fouser, and settled on it in 1891. It was cleared land at the time, but he has spent s large amount of money in making the excellent improvements, which are to be seen on every side. He practically rebuilt the house, making it both attractive and comfortable, and erected commodious barns and other buildings made necessary on account of his farming operations and dairying. He is assisted in the work of the farm by his sons, and superintends the dairy himself, keeping twenty-four head of cattle, and running a milk wagon to Barberton. He has spent almost his whole life in Coventry Township, and is interested in everything concerning its welfare. With peace and plenty on every side, congenial work, many .friends, and the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, Mr. Snyder perhaps enjoys life to a greater degree than many of those who spend their time and substance moving in a larger circle. On October 5, 1877, Mr. Snyder was married to Mary E. Deiter, who was a daughter of Samuel and Lorinda Deiter. They have had ten children, namely: George, who married Cora Croser, and has three children—Love, Celia and Blanche; Lucy, who married 0. Nicodemus, and has three children—Hazel, Park A. and Ethel; Carrie, who is the wife of M. Hissem, and the mother of four children—Guy, Helen, Pauline and Clifford; Lillian, who married W. Nicodemus, and has three children—Chester, Roy and Elnora; Thomas R., who married Mary First; William, Nora Belle, Halley Maude, Howard, who died aged fifteen months; and Edna Fern. Mr. Snyder and family belong to the Reformed Church. Politically he is a Democrat. ADAM HUDDILSTON, whose death on December 28, 1905, removed from Northfield Township, one of her leading citizens, was a native of Ireland, born near the city of Belfast, October 31, 1840. He was a son of Gilbert and Sarah Elizabeth (Whigham) Huddilston. The father of Mr. Huddilston was born near Belfast, in 1796. In Ireland he had charge of large estates belonging to his uncle, Adam Patterson, whose heir he became. The estate is still in the Chancery Court., and forty years must yet elapse before the heirs can come into possession. With his wife and three children, Gilbert Huddilston left Belfast for America., on the ship Wales, June, 10, 1841, and landed at the port of New York, August 12, 1841. He settled first at Glenville, Ohio, and in 1842 bought a farm near Solon, where he died in 1878. His wife survived him until 1900. Adam Huddilston was reared on the farm at Solon, which when, he grew to manhood, he conducted, also carrying on a flour and feed store and dealing in agricultural implements. For seventeen years prior to his marriage, he traveled over the country selling farm machinery for Warder, Bushnell, Glasser & Company. In 1886 he came to Northfield and settled on Mrs. Huddilston's homestead farm, and two years later he bought the Z. P. Sorter place of 100 acres, adjoining the other farm. Of his land Mr. Huddilston made a dairy and grain farm, raising over 900 bushels of oats annually and other grain in proportion, cultivating 100 acres. He kept thirty head of cattle. Since his death, which was caused accidentally, his horses becoming unmanageable when struck by a car. Mrs. Huddilston has kept up the farm and dairy. In 1884 Mr. Huddilston married Anna McNeice, of Northfield Township, and they had five children, namely: Leigh, born March 4, 1886; Hessie Marian, born March 26, 1888; Mercedes (deceased), born June 24, 1890; Gilbert Leonard, born June 11, 1892; and Warren Paul, born May 12, 1895. Leonard McNeice, father of Mrs. Huddilston, was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and was twenty-eight years of age when he came to America, accompanied by his wife. For a time he worked as a molder at Cleveland, and then came to Northfield Township, where he bought the farm which Mrs. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 459 Huddilston owns, and where she was born December 29, 1859. Mr. McNeice married Anna Bell, also of County Antrim, and they had six children, the two who survived to maturity being: Jonathan B., residing at Solon, and Mrs. Huddilston. Prior to her marriage she built her comfortable residence, a commodius and attractive one, with seventeen rooms. The bank barn, 36 by 60 feet in dimensions, was built in 1898. The Lake Erie and Pennsylvania Railroad purchased ninety acres of her land when they built their cross line. This farm is one of considerable value and has always been well kept up. Mrs. Huddilston has a magnificent apple, . plum and small fruit orchard. She was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian Church, and during his residence at. Solon, the late Mr. Huddilston was an elder in the same. His untimely death was a terrible blow to his family, and a shock to the community in which he was so highly esteemed. P. H. SCHNEIDER, president of the Schneider Building Company, of Akron, belongs to that class of able, far-seeing business men, whose energy and enterprise have added greatly to the reputation of this city as an important commercial and manufacturing center. He was born December 1, 1866, in Wayne County, New York, 'but was reared on a farm in Kent County, Michigan. Being a farmer's boy, he attended the country schools, and was nineteen years old before he found an opportunity to attend the High School, at. Lowell, Michigan, where he spent one year. He then became employed in a grocery and dry goods store, first as a clerk, and later.as manager of the dry goods departments of the different stores conducted by the J. L. Hudson Company, of Detroit, Michigan, remaining in their employ for ten. years. In 1897 he came to Akron in the capacity of manager for the dry goods store of William Taylor, Son & Company, at 155 and 157 South Howard Street; a position he filled for eighteen .months. He organized the P: H. Schneider Company, purchasing the Taylor store. Of this company Mr. Schneider w .9 president, treasurer and general manager, and he continued to operate the store for seven years, in the meantime doing an extensive dry goods business. Disposing in August, 1905, of his mercantile interests to the. M. O'Neil Company, he decided to enjoy a period of rest from the demands of business life. In March, 1903, the Schneider Building Company was organized, of which Mr. Schneider is president. and treasurer. Subsequently, Mr. Schneider bought the buildings between the Central Savings and Trust Co-pany and the Odd Fellows' Temple, on South Main Street, one of them being a six-story, and the other a five-story building, both valuable and paying properties. Mr. Schneider is a director, and member of the executive commuittee of the Central Savings and Trust Company, and took a prominent part in the consolidation of the Central Savings Bank and the Akron Trust Company, at which time ho was director of the Akron Trust Company. He is interested in other successful enterprises in this vicinity. In 1880 Mr. Schneider was married to Jennie Winegar, who was born in Michigan. He and his wife reside in a beautiful home at. 120 Adolph Avenue. Fraternally. Mr. Schneider is a Thirty-second Degree Mason, and belongs to the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery at Akron and to Lake Erie Consistory at. Cleveland. GEORGE T. RANKIN, JR.. M. D., one of the leading practitioners of medicine and surgery at Akron, was born in this city, September 6, 1875, and is a son of George T. and Mary C. (Shumaker) Rankin. The father of Dr. Rankin was born at Hudson, New York, where he learned building and contracting. In 1872 he came to Summit. County, Ohio; he followed contracting at Akron and became superintendent of time improvements made in the public school buildings. George T. Rankin was reared at Akron, and, after completing the public school course, attended Buchtel College. He then began to 460 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY read medicine. His medical education was completed in the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, where he was graduated in June, 1899, following which he served six months as an interne in the Allegheny Hospital, and two years in the Kings County Hospital at Brooklyn, New York. In 1901 Dr. Rankin returned to his native city and opened an office. He is surgeon of the Akron City Hospital, and also of the Mary Day Hospital. He occupies well-appointed offices in the Hamilton Block, being well equipped to handle any case of Modern surgery involving the most complicated treatment. Dr. Rankin is a member of the American Medical Association and of the Ohio State, and Summit County Medical Societies. Politically, he is identified with the Republican party. Fraternally, he is a Thirty-second Degree Mason, and belongs also to the Elks. MILTON A. VAN HORN, clerk of Northfield Township, which position he has ably filled since the spring of 1904, was born in Summit County, Ohio, March 27, 1843, and is a son of Robert and Catherine (Kuhn) Van Horn, and a grandson of Edward Van Horn. Edward Van Horn, the grandfather, was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, in 1778, and died in Ohio in 1854. He came to Harrison County,Ohio, in all probability, immediately after his marriage to Margaret Hamilton, who was a woman of rare gifts and noble character. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, being stationed near Toledo, where either wounds or sickness prostrated him, and word was sent to his wife far away in her little log cabin, that her husband was dying. The courageous woman stopped only long enough to wrap her infant son warmly, and, with him in her arms, in the dead of winter, She rode alone through the deep virgin forests until she reached the military camp. There she found preparations were being made to bury one whom his comrades believed to be past help, but the sight of his brave wife and babe created a reaction, and he recovered and lived many years afterward to show his devotion to so faithful a wife. He was one of the first men to banish liquor from the harvest field, going against a popular custom of the day. Robert Van Horn was born at New Athens, Harrison County, Ohio, January 10, 1812, and died in November 24, 1905. He was a man of excellent parts, well educated for his day, having spent a year at Franklin College. In 1837 he came to Northfield and taught school, and he subsequently purchased a farm of eighty-six acres northwest of Northfield Center, on which he raised cattle and sheep. He was an out-spoken Free-Soil man and attended many of the early conventions as a delegate and subsequently became a zealous Republican. He served in many local offices and was a truly representative citizen. He married a daughter of Archibald Kuhn, a prominent man in his day, who represented Allegheny County in the Pennsylvania State Legislature. To this marriage three children were born: Archibald, who died in 1889, aged fifty-eight years; Jennie A., who married Joseph Boyd, residing at Northfield; and Milton A. The mother of this family was born in Pennsylvania in 1809 and died in Northfield in March, 1889. Milton Van Horn attended school in Northfield Township and continued to assist on the home farm until his marriage. He owns a farm of fifty acres on which he resided until 1903, conducting it mainly as a dairy farm, making a choice grade of butter and cheese. He erected a comfortable and attractive home residence at Northfield Center, where he has resided since retiring from the farm in 1903. For nearly thirty years he served as a member of the school board, being elected by the Republican party in 1878. He is a progressive, public-spirited citizen and has continually shown a commendable interest in public affairs. Mr. Van Horn was married (first) in 1864 to Harriet Thompson, who died in 1872, aged twenty-nine years. She left two children, namely: Rev. Francis J., D. D. who is a minister of the Congregational Church, stationed at Seattle, Washington; and Jen- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 461 nie, who married Bird Waite, a farmer in Northfield Township. Mr. Van Horn was married (second) to Mary Rinear, who died in 1889, leaving no issue. Mr. Van Horn was married (third) in 1890 to Cynthia Honey, who died October 16, 1906. Mr. Van Horn is an active member of the United Presbyterian Church, of which he is clerk. For a period of forty years he was choir master of this church and is now Sunday-school superintendent. JOSEPH COURTNEY, a general farmer and extensive dairyman, owns 190 acres of valuable land in Summit County, 159 acres lying in Portage Township, and 31 acres in Northampton Township, the township line passing through his land. Mr. Courtney was horn in Boston Township, Summit County, Ohio, July 13, 1862, and is a son of James and Julia (Bergin) Courtney. His parents were born in Ireland. James Courtney came to America in early manhood, settling in Boston Township. His second wife, Julia, mother of Joseph Courtney, was married first in Ireland to John Hogan, and with him came to America. Mr. Hogan died in New York and his widow, with her children, came to Summit County. Three of the latter still survive, namely: Stephen ; Nora, who married Francis Courtney, a son of James Courtney by his first marriage ; and Mary, who married James McGuire, of Peninsula. By his first marriage James Courtney had three children—Francis, who married Nora Hogan; James, who was killed in the Civil War; and Ellen (Mrs. Tosier), who is now deceased. Two children were born of the second marriage of James and Julia Courtney—Joseph and Julia, the latter of whom married Charles Martin, of Akron. James Courtney acquired a farm of eighty acres, in Boston Township, which he sold in 1864, at which time he bought ninety-six acres of the present home farm, later adding ninety-one acres, his son Joseph also adding five acres. When James Courtney came to America he was a poor boy, entirely dependent upon his own efforts, but he was industrious and pru dent and when he died in February, 1878, he possessed what was for him an ample fortune. He was survived by his widow until December, 1906. At her death she was almost eighty-three years old. Both were earnest Christian people. Joseph Courtney was reared on the farm he now owns, and with the exception of a few years, when he lived at Akron, he has been continuously engaged in farming. In 1893 he entered into the dairy business, and now keeps from twenty to twenty-five head of cows. In April, 1894, Mr. Courtney was married to Maud Cassidy, who is a daughter of William Cassidy, and they have seven children : James, William, Julia, Joseph, George. Mary and Margaret. Mr. Courtney, with his family, belongs to the Catholic Church at Akron. He is one of the leading agriculturist men of this section and is held in esteem by all who know him WILLIAM H. STONER, secretary and general manager of the Baker-McMillen Company, at Akron, was born in this city, in September, 1870, and is a son of Samuel D. and Lucinda E. (Shirk) Stoner, the former of whom is deceased. William H. Stoner completed his education in his native city, and when sixteen years of age, entered the employ of the Baker-McMillen Company, with which he is still identified, having risen step by step from the humblest position to that of general manager, which he has ably filled for the past four and one-half years. In 1895 Mr. Stoner was married to Julia A. Pardee, who is a sister of Judge Pardee, of the Summit County Probate Court, and a daughter of the late George K. Pardee, who was for many years one of Akron's prominent attorneys. Mr. Stoner has long been considered a representative citizen of Akron, and has taken nart in public movements of various kinds. For four years he served on the Board of Jury Commissioners, of which he was secretary. He is a member of the First Disciples Church of Akron. 462 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY ANDREW HALE, who bore the distinction of being the first white child born in Bath Township, died in the same township, July 29, 1884, aged seventy-three years. He was a son of Jonathan and Mercy S. (Piper) Hale. The father of Mr. Hale was the first permanent settler in Bath Township, Summit County, to which he had come from Glastonbury, Connecticut, in 1810. Andrew attended the subscription schools and spent his life engaged in clearing and improving the lands belonging to himself and father. He was a man of sterling character, and is mentioned as a faithful friend and good neighbor. Like his father, he possessed the qualities which marked the representative settlers of those times—men to whom we like to point as our ancestors of unpretentious honesty, dauntless courage and untiring perseverance. Mr. Hale was married April 12, 1838, to Jane Mather. Of this union there were six children : Pamela L. Oviatt, Sophronia J. Ritchie, Clara Ashmun, Charles 0. Hale, Alida Humphrey and John P. Hale. Mr. Hale, with his family, belonged to the Congregational Church. GEORGE A. McCONNELL, dairy farmer of Northfield Township, was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, April 8, 1856, and is a son of John and Jane L. (Shannon) McConnell. John McConnell was born in County Donegal, Ireland, and was brought to America by his parents when he was eight years of age. He died March 6, 1905, aged within a few days of his eightieth birthday. He lived on the home farm in Coshocton County, where his parents had settled, until 1864. Prior to his marriage, with his brother Alexander, he operated the home farm of 480 acres. After coming to Northfield Township he bought one tract of land after another until he owned 367 acres, on which he wintered from sixty to seventy head of cattle, and raised many horses and hogs and some 200 sheep. Later he turned his attention to raising wheat, at which he was very successful, and he also engaged in dairying. He took an intelligent in terest in public matters, but he was never a politician. In Coshocton County he married a daughter of Isaac Shannon. She died March 30, 1896, aged sixty-five years. They had nine children, namely: John, who is deceased; Isaac, of Northfield Township; George A., subject of this sketch; Hervey A., justice of the peace in Northfield Township; LaGrande, a physician, now deceased; James and Albert, deceased; Sarah, who married H. R. Boyden, of Northfield; and Charles, of Magnolia, Colorado. George A. McConnell attended school in Northfield Township until he was sixteen years of age, in the meanwhile assisting on the home farm, as did also his brothers, all working for the common benefit. He then learned cheese-making, an industry that he followed for six years, and with the exception of that period, has ever since been a farmer. He keeps from thirty to thirty-five head of cattle and ships milk to Cleveland. He raises nearly all his own cows and is making plans to keep only the Ayreshire stock, having purchased a thorough-bred Ayreshire bull. He has had a valuable silo constructed with dimensions of 16 by 18 feet, 27 feet high. In 1892 he built his present comfortable residence. Mr. McConnell married Jane A. Willey, of Northfield Township, and they have a family of five promising children: Albert A., Carl W., Ella L., Clark and Lucy. Mrs. McConnell is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. McConnell is affiliated with the Republican party. He has never served in any office except one connected with educational af fairs, including a number of terms on the school board, and for a few years as township trustee. He is giving his children every educational and social advantage in his power. FRANK S. PRIOR, secretary and treasurer of the Akron Plumbing and Heating Company, at Akron, was born in 1880, in Summit County, Ohio, and belongs to a family which was numbered among the first settlers in the county. His grandfather, Samuel S. Prior, was a native of Massachusetts, and his AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 463 father, Frederick S. Prior, was born in Summit County, in January, 1848. He resides at Akron, where he follows the profession of stationary engineer. He is active in Republican political circles. Before becoming identified with the Akron Plumbing and Heating Company Frank S. Prior was mainly engaged in securing a good education, attending the schools of Cuyahoga Falls and Hammel's Business College. He was connected with his present business house before it was incorporated in March, 1907, at which time he became its secretary and treasurer. He is one of the younger set of business men at Akron, who are injecting much vigor into the city's commercial and industrial life. In 1905 Mr. Prior was married to Leota J. Zink, who was born at Akron and who is a daughter of Z. E. Zink, foreman at the plant of the American Cereal Company. Mr. Prior is a member of the Disciples Church at Cuyahoga Falls. He belongs to the beneficiary order of the Protected Home Circle. JOHN P. HALE, one of Akron's prominent business men, proprietor of a large jewelry establishment, belongs to one of the earliest pioneer families in Summit County, his father having been the first white child born in Bath Township. He was born in Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio, in 1862, son of Andrew and Jane (Mather) Hale. He was reared on the home farm and was mainly educated in the schools of Tallmadge, spending one year in the Ohio State University at Columbus. After completing his college course, he spent three years on the farm, and then, in 1887, came to Akron and embarked in a jewelry business with a Mr. George Jackson, with whom he remained associated for two years. Since then he has been established alone, doing a large retail business at his convenient location, No. 54 South Main Street. He has made an extensive study of optics and lens-fitting, and, like his forefathers, is used to hard work. He is engaged in both the manufacturing and repairing of jewelry, and carries a large and well-assorted stock. He is interested also in other enterprises. In 1891 Mr. Hale was married to Zedella Frank, who was born and reared in Copley Township, and is a daughter of the late David Frank. Mr. and Mrs. Hale have one son, Andrew. They are members of the West Congregational Church, of Akron, Mr. Hale being a member of its present board of trustees. CHARLES H. JAITE, president of the Jaite Company, manufacturers of paper and paper bags, with a plant in Northfield Township. The parents of Mr. Jaite settled at Cleveland in 1860, where he attended the public schools until he was thirteen years of age. He then went to work in a paper mill. Being suited with this employment, he set out to master every detail of the business, and in time became a thorough expert. He later became president of the Standard Bag and Paper Company and vice-president of the Cleveland Paper Company. In 1902, when the two companies were consolidated with the Akron Paper Company, the new style of The Cleveland-Akron Paper Company was assumed. Mr. Jaite had charge of the manufacturing part of the business, and located the plant in Boston Township, Summit County. He continued to be thus occupied until July, 1905, when he resigned as director and manager, at the same time disposing of his stock. He had, however, 'no idea of going out of the paper business, but merely desired an establishment organized according to his own plans, and on September 18, 1905, he founded the Jaite Company. The officers of this new company are: Charles H. Jaite, president; Robert H. Jaite, vice-president; Emil W. Jaite, secretary; and Julius Kreckel, treasurer. The business was incorporated September 18, 1905, and was followed immediately afterward by the erection of their plant in Northfield. Township, which they placed on the Cuyahoga River. They now own one of the most substantial manufacturing buildings in Summit County. The machine room of the 464 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY plant is 50 by 200 feet in dimensions and over this, in the second story, is located the bag factory. The boiler room for heating is 60 by 157 feet in dimensions; the boiler room for the 580 horse-power steam engine and engine room is 61 by 74 feet; the bleach room is 37 by 60 feet, and the office is 16 by 20 feet. The building is two stories in height, with a warehouse 60 by 164 feet. The plant is equipped with a capacity of eight tons of manufactured paper a day, which is made into paper bags, the product being sold direct to manufacturers of flour and cement. The company has drilled five productive gas wells, each 900 feet deep, and thus they get abundant heat, their power being obtained by a gas and a steam engine. The quality and purity of the water used is a factor of importance in the manufacture of paper and this company has an artesian well, 390 feet in depth, which flows 400,000 gallons of water a day. It is of such purity that the paper manufactured with its use is many points stronger than paper made heretofore by the same formula, with ordinary water. The company has built five two-flat buildings just across the line, in Brecksville Township, for the housing of their employes. This is one of the most important business enterprises of this section, and its success must be attributed to the quiet, resourceful man who has studied the manufacture of paper in a practical way from boyhood. Mr. Jaite married a daughter of R. L. Peebles, of Cuyahoga Falls, and they have had six children, namely: Grace May, Roy W., Giles, Edna E., Nettie and Fern J. Giles died at the age of three years. Mr. Jaite built a beautiful home in Boston Township in 1904, in which he has resided since the spring of 1905. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce at Cleveland, the Royal Arcanum in Cleveland, and of Criterion Lodge, K. of P. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. JOSEPH C. HILL, formerly county commissioner of Summit County, and a leading citizen of Akron, carries on a large contract ing business here, and has been a resident of the city since 1882. He is a prominent member of Buckley Post, Grand Army of th Republic, having served as a soldier in the Union army during the entire period of the Civil War. He was born in Pennsylvania, March 9, 1844. When a youth of but seventeen years, in June, 1861, he voluntarily assumed the dangers and hardships that fell to the lot of those who took active part as soldiers in the great Civil War, which he faced with courage and endurance that would hay been creditable in one much older and more seasoned. As a member of Company E, Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Colonel F. H. Stambaugh, and under command of General Negley, he left Pittsburg on October 26, 1861, going directly to Kentucky. He served under some of the great commanders of the war—Generals Grant, Sherman, Rosecrans and Buell—and participated in some of the most memorable engagements, including those of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Perryville, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, the campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, Jonesboro, Sherman's March to the Sea, through the Carolinas, and in the last struggle at Bentonville. He was honorably discharged and was mustered out of the service at Louisville, Kentucky, in September, 1865. During all this period of almost constant exposure to danger, Mr. Hill was wounded but once, and then slightly. H was captured once, at Chickamauga, but fortunately made his escape on the same day. After the close of his very creditable military serve, Mr. Hill returned to Pennsylvania, and in 1867 went West. There he soon found profitable employment in building, and his work was so approved that he became concerned in the building of all the bridges for the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad, from Chetopa, Kansas, to Fort Gibson. He subsequently built the Plaza hotel at Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Palace hotel at Las Vegas, New Mexico; the Adelia Silver Mill, for the Adelia Mining Company, at Silver Cliff, Colorado. After completing the last AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 465 mentioned contract, in January, 1882, he returned east to Ohio and located permanently at Akron. Here Mr. Hill has had a good share of the general building and contracting work of the city, and has erected some of the finest residences here, including those of M. H. Crumrine, Charles Berry, on Portage Path; H. H. Bender, on Balch Street, and that of Dr. Rose, on Rhodes Avenue. He is a stockholder in the Dos-De-Atril Mining Company, of Chico, New Mexico. In 1870 Mr. Hill was married at Clinton, Summit County, Ohio, to Belle Whittlesey, of that place. He and his wife have four sons and two daughters, namely: Clarence M., who is a conductor on the A. B. & C. Railroad; Charles R., who is connected with the firm of Yeager Company, as window dresser; William W., residing at home with his parents; Kathryn, who married Charles Ellet, residing at Akron; and Mabel, who is a graduate nurse, connected with the Akron City Hospital; and Frank, who is a stenographer in the offices of the Goodrich Rubber Company. Formerly Mr. Hill was quite active in politics, and served very efficiently as a commissioner of Summit County, but latterly has given the larger part of his attention to business affairs. A. POLSKY, one of Akron's enterprising men and successful merchants, dealing in dry goods, cloaks, and millinery, and carrying the largest and most exclusive stock of its kind in this city, occupies a three-story and basement building, at Nos. 51-53 South Howard Street, where he has a floor space of 40 by 90 feet. Mr. Polsky was born in 1848 in Polish Russia, where he remained until twenty years of age, when he emigrated to America. After landing in the United States he remained for six months in New York and then went on a tour through Iowa, Minnesota and other states in search of a desirable location, finally, in 1877, coming to Ohio and engaging in a general mercantile business at Orwell, Ashtabula County. He entered into partnership with Samuel Myers, under the firm name of Myers & Polsky, and they continued there for eight years. In 1885 they came to Akron and continued the business until 1893, when Mr. Polsky became sole proprietor, and has since continued the business alone. Mr. Polsky has demonstrated his fine business qualities, and in the face of much competition, has attained a place in the front rank of local merchant,. Good judgment in buying, honest methods in selling and courteous treatment to all have been the leading factors in his success. In his native land Mr. Polsky was married to Molly Bloch, who died in 1893, leaving children as follows: Anna, who married C. R. Finn, a wholesale grocer of Cleveland; Eva., who married I. Sands, who is in the confectionery business at Cleveland; Rose, wife of Dr. Morgenrath, of Akron; Harry, who is manager of the cloak department of A. Polsky; and Bertram, 'who is also an assistant in his father's business. Mr. Polsky is a member of the Akron Hebrew Congregation. Fraternally, he is connected with Adoniram Masonic Lodge and Akron Lodge of Odd Fellows. JAMES B. SENTER, one of the prominent citizens of Northfield Township, who is serving his second term as township trustee, was born November 14, 1850, in Northfield. Township, Summit County, Ohio, and is a son of John and Jane (Boyle) Senter. John Senter, who was a native of Ireland, came to America as a young man, and settled at Cleveland, Ohio, where he was offered two acres of land, on which 'the Case Block now stands, for one year's work. After a short time in Cleveland, Mr. Senter came to Northfield Township, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, to 'which he later added from time to time. Here he spent the rest of his life in dairy farming, his death occurring in his seventy-sixth year. He was married in Stow Township, Summit County. Ohio, to Jane Boyle, who was also a native of Ireland, They had ten children, of whom seven grew to maturity, namely: Sarah Jane, who married Simpson Hibbard: William, 466 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY who resides in Bedford Township; Edward, James B., Ellen, Robert, Della, who married Frank Southwick, of Twinsburg Township; Caroline, who married Charles Delong, and resides on the home farm; and three others, who died in infancy. The family are members of the Baptist Church. James B. Senter was educated in Northfield Township, where for two years he carried on agricultural pursuits with his brother, Edward. In 1880, however, he sold his interests to his brother, and purchased his present farm of 100 acres on the road between Center and Macedonia, where he has been engaged in dairy and general farming to the present time. He raises hay, corn, wheat and oats, using everything for feed, except wheat, and keeps about forty head of thoroughbred Holstein cattle. He has shipped milk to Cleveland for thirty years. Mr. Senter was a member of the Northfield Grange until the disbandment of that organization, and he is now connected with Bedford Lodge, Knights of Pythias. In politics Mr. Senter is an independent Democrat, and he is now serving his second term as township trustee. For about eight years he has been a member of the board of directors of the Children's Home. Mr. Senter was married to Adda L. Sheppard, who is a daughter of Simeon Sheppard, of Solon, Ohio, and five children have been born to this union, of whom three survive, namely: May, who is the wife of Clarence Jones, of Macedonia; Clyde, who resides in Bedford, and who married Dortha Barns in September, 1907; and Opal. FRED S. VIALL, president of the Akron Plumbing & Heating Company, of Akron, has been a resident of this city for the past seventeen years. He was born in Summit County, Ohio, in 1873, and is a son of Sylvester Viall. The father of Mr. Viall was also born in Summit County, in 1844, and is a son of Sullivan Viall, who settled early in Summit County. Sylvester Viall resides on his farm in Boston Township and is one of the prominent citizens of the county. Fred S. Viall was reared on his father's farm and obtained his education in the country schools. He came to Akron when he was seventeen years old, and, deciding to learn the plumbing business, entered the employ of Kraus & Oberlin, with which firm he remained three years. For one year afterward he traveled through Vermont and Massachusetts, working at his trade, and then returning to Akron, and was connected with the firm of Kraus & Kim for four years. About this time, in association with other practical men, he formed the Akron Plumbing & Heating Company, which was incorporated in the spring of 1907, with a capital stock of $15.000. The officers are: Fred S. Viall, president; R. H. Viall, vice-president and manager; and F. S. Pryor, secretary and treasurer. The business of the company is general contracting and plumbing of the most. approved style. In 1897 Mr. Viall was married to Kate M. Watson, a daughter of Frank Watson, who came originally from Scotland. They have four children: Irene, Blanche, Mary Frances and Carl Sylvester. Mr. Viall has a fine business record and is numbered with the progressive business men of this city. C. P. FRAIN, of the firm of Frain & Manbeck, leading dealers at Akron in fine groceries, fruit and meats, with extensive quarters at Nos. 422-424 East Market Street, is a prominent man in the city's commercial life and a citizen of most reliable character. He was born at. Middleburg, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, in 1853, and was reared and educated in his native place, where he lived to the age of twenty-one years. He then went to Lewistown, Pennsylvania, where for five years he was engaged in a clerical capacity in a dry goods store. In 1879 he came to Akron, and for the five following years was with the firm of O'Neil & Dyes. Then, in partnership with Frank J. Mell, he established his present business at the same location. The firm name of Mell & Frain was continued until the spring of 1885. Mr. Mell then sold his interest to Harry J. Shreffler, and the business was conducted for two AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 469 years under the name of Shreffler & Frain, when Mr. Shreffler sold out his interest to C. D. Manbeck. The business has been conducted under the present style since 1887. Mr. Frain has remained continuously a member of the firm and the business is one of the oldest in the city in its line. In 1878 Mr. Frain was married to Margaret C. Brenneman. In 1892 Mr. Frain erected his handsome residence at 92 Forge Street, on which street he has resided since coining to Akron. WILLIAM COOPER, for many years connected with the industrial interests of Akron ;is a manufacturer of brick, but now retired, was born in Staffordshire, England, March 19, 1845. His knowledge of brick-making was acquired in his native land, where he served all early and thorough apprenticeship to the trade. Coming to this country in 1865, at the age of twenty, Mr. Cooper found employment in Akron in Brewster's coal mines, in which he worked for six years, gaining the reputation of being one of the most skillful coal miners in this section. He then returned to England, where for the next seven years he was employed in the mines. At the end of that period he came again to the United States and took up his permanent residence in Akron, where he was employed by Dr. Jewett, on contract, to manufacture brick. In this line of industry he proved himself an expert, and probably no better brick was ever made here than that turned out by him. About the same time two of Mr. Cooper's brothers, Samuel and Joseph, both practical brick-makers, were working at Akron, and the three brothers decided to embark in the manufacturing business for themselves. Though posessing but a small amount of capital, the most of which was absorbed in leasing their plant and buying a horse, they all had the requisite knowledge, industry and perseverance to make the business a success, and they were rewarded by early and long continued prosperity. Under the style of the Cooper Brick Company they carried on the business for sixteen or seventeen years, at the end of which time Mr. William Cooper bought out his brothers' interests, afterwards conducting the business alone until 1905. He then sold the plant to George W. Crouse, Jr., and retired. He is now living in the enjoyment of the ease earned by his long years of honest labor, which is sanctified by the blessings which accrue to those who lead a sincere Christian life. Mr. Cooper was married in 1864, near Portsmouth, England, to Elizabeth A. Baggott. e and his wife have been the parents of eleven children, of whom seven still survive, namely: Hattie, Emily .T., Rose, Edwin T., Amanda, Charles Ford, and Eva Grace. Hattie, who is the wife of William Leoder, of Akron, has one child by a former marriage—Grace Mattocks. Emily J., wife of Charles Tewksbury, of Akron, by her first marriage to Charles Spellman, had four children—Clarissa, William, Eva, and Pearl—of whom Clarissa and William are deceased. Ro=e, who married Jesse Schofield, of Akron, has had five children, namely: Edith, Ellen, Ethel, Mabel, and Park, of whom Edith and Ethel are now deceased. Amanda, who is the wife of Eugene Spellman, of Altoona, Pennsylvania, has two children—Ruth and William. Edwin T., who is an engineer at the Weeks Pottery, Akron, is married and has one child—William. Charles Ford, an engineer, residing in Akron, has two children—Viola and Edwin. Eva Grace is the wife of Thomas Johnson, of Akron, and has one child —Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. William Cooper, whose portraits appear in this connection, are members of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Cooper has been a member of the order of Sons of St. George fora number of years. He is a strong advocate of the temperance cause, and casts his vote in support. of the Prohibition party. GEORGE STARR, one of Copley Township's most highly respected residents, who owns 245 acres of well-improved land at Cop- 470 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY ley Center, was born on the farm and in the house which continues to be his home, November 1, 1846. His parents were Simon and Parnell (Orcutt) Starr. Simon Starr was born in Connecticut, in August, 1800, and was twenty-six years of age when he came to Ohio. He remained for two years in Medina County and then pushed on into Summit County, where he bought Mr. Starr's present farm from the Perkins family. It was mainly covered with a timber growth at that time, and only a portion of the present residence had been built. Shortly after coming to this section Simon was married to Parnell Orcutt, who was born in New York, and had accompanied her father, Chester Orcutt, to Ohio. This remained the family home and here the father died in 1860 and the mother in February, 1880. They hid eight children, namely: Mary, who married Samuel Moore; Lucius, who is deceased; Sarah, who is the widow of Henry Ingham; Simon, deceased; George, subject of this sketch; Martha, deceased, who married 0. B. Hardy ; Eddie, who died at the age of two years; and Charles. George Starr obtained his education in the district schools. His home has ever been in Copley Township, and he has been mainly interested in farming, but as a matter of recreation, he has visited many parts of the country, including the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and California. While interested in the products and resources of those sections, he remains satisfied with Ohio and his own fine farm in Copley Township. He can recall how this land looked before it was improved by his father and himself, and knows the fertility of its soil. He is an enterprising agriculturist, as was his father, the latter having purchased the first reaper ever used in Copley Township. It was but the forerunner of other improved machinery. Mr. Starr was married to Martha Searles, and they have two children, namely : Clark, engaged in farming near his father, who married Fannie Bender, and has one son, George Eber ; and Maude, who married Guy Weeks, has one son, George Harrison, and also lives in Copley Township. Mr. Starr is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, he is a Republican and has served on the Township School Board. A. C. ROHRBACHER, senior member of the leading hardware firm of Rohrbacher & Allen, has been identified with this line of trade for a quarter of a century, making him one of the oldest hardware men at Akron, in point of years of service. He was born in 1856, in Mississippi, but was reared at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. Rohrbacher was educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania, and prior to coming to Akron, had been engaged in the drug business in Pittsburg. In 1882 he bought a one-third interest in the hardware business at Akron, of Williams & Rohrbacher, he being the junior partner, and this firm continued for fourteen years, at its termination, Mr. Rohrbacher purchased Mr. William:: interest. Subsequently, Mr. Rohrbacher took in I. F. Allen and the present firm style has since continued. The firm deals both by wholesale and retail. Their building at No. 66 South Howard Street is five stories high, with dimensions of 22 by 108 feet, and with a warehouse in the rear of 75 by 27 feet, and two stories high. The business is a leading one of the city and keeps two salesmen on the road, who cover a large amount of territory. Mr. Rohrbacher has other business interests and is concerned in the Jahant Heating Company. He is an enterprising citizen and ever ready to further public-spirited movements, but he cares little for political preferment. After serving one term in the City Council he declined to serve longer. In 1877 Mr. Rohrbacher was married to Mary E. Lyon, of Courtland, Ohio, who died July 28, 1905. She left one son, Paul F., who creditably completed the Akron High School course and then entered Buchtel College. Mr. Rohrbacher is one of Akron's most prominent Masons. He belongs to the Blue Lodge, of which he was treasurer for a number of years, Chapter, Council and Command- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 471 ery at Akron, Lake Erie Consistory and Alkoran Shrine, at Cleveland, and to the Masonic club. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and the Odd Fellows, and is treasurer of the organization known as the Builders' Exchange ASHER F. SIPPY, M. D., physician and surgeon at Akron, who is a valued member of the Sixth Councilor District, the Summit County, the Ohio State and the American Medical Associations, came to this city in May, 1894, a graduate of the Rush Medical College of Chicago. Dr. Sippy was born in Richland County, Wisconsin, in 1861, where he secured his literary training and grew to sturdy manhood on the homestead farm. His inclinations, however, were in another direction and from farming and dairying he turned to professional work, and at the age of twenty-seven years entered the medical institution above named. There he was graduated in 1892, receiving the Benjamin Rush gold medal for the highest standing in examinations for the three years' course in his class of 163 members. For nineteen months following he had the advantage of serving as an interne in the Cook County Hospital, at Chicago, where probably every disease that afflicts the human body, and many of the most serious accidental injuries, came under his care and were objects of study. From there Dr. Sippy came to Akron, where he has built up a large and satisfying practice. In 1884 Dr. Sippy was married to Nona Jaquish, who was born in Wisconsin, and they have two sons: Burne 0. and H. Ivan. Dr.. Sippy retains membership in his college society, the Alpha-Omega-Alpha fraternity. He belongs also to the Odd Fellows and the Maccabees, the Summit County Medical club and the Celsus club. C. D. LEVY, junior member of the wholesale and retail clothing house of Federman & Levy, at Akron, is one of the city's represent- ative business men. He was born in 1868, in the city of London, England, and was thirteen years of age when he came to America. Mr. Levy's first year in the United States was passed in Philadelphia, removal then being made to New York City, where he was practically educated. During his eighteen years' residence there he served a two-year apprenticeship to the jeweler's trade, and then traveled for three years for a New York confectionery company. He was afterward in the wholesale stationery and confectionery line for himself for eight years. He then located at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and opened a branch store at Youngstown, and later at Akron and at Lorain, in 1899 establishing the firm of Federman & Levy, The firm has disposed of its stores at Youngstown and McKeesport, but still retains the Lorain trade. Mr. Levy has made his home at Akron for the past seven years. The firm here has a very large store and does a wholesale and retail furnishings business, a retail clothing business, and make a specialty of hosiery and underwear, wholesale. During his period of residence in New York, Mr. Levy took considerable interest in public affairs, but since coming to Ohio has not been active in politics. He is recognized as a fine business man and stands very high commercially. In 1884, in the city of. New York, Mr. Levy was married to Sadie Federman, and they have a family consisting of seven children, namely: Bertha, who married Morris Grossman, a prominent business man of Akron ; Rebecca; Sadie, who married Arthur Brownstein, of Newburg, New Jersey; Harry, who is associated with his father; Hannah, Hilda and Edgar. Mr. Levy is a member of the Akron Hebrew Congregation. SYLVESTER G. VIALL, who is cultivating a finely improved farm of forty-three acres in Boston Township, was born March 13, 1844, in Northampton Township, Summit County, Ohio, and is a son of Sullivan and Mary Ann (Freeby) Viall. He attended his first term of school in the old log schoolhouse with split log floors and seats, and after his father's death removed with his mother to Richfield Township, where Mrs. Viall pur- 472 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY chased a small farm. In 1864 Mrs. Viall sold this place and Sylvester G. started out in life for himself, his mother marrying Stephen Dales of Copley Township, where she died. In 1864 Mr. Viall worked in Bath Township, but soon thereafter married, and started housekeeping at Peninsula, where he was engaged in teaming for two years. He then removed to Copley Township and began farming a rented property, but in 1883 located on his present tract, which he had purchased some time previously. In this year he built his house, and in the following spring his barn. He now has growing fruits of all staple varieties and in addition raises wheat, corn and potatoes. He makes a specialty of breeding thoroughbred Poland China hogs. Mr. Viall was married October 15, 1864, to Mary E. Ozmun, who is a daughter of Hector Ozmun of Boston Township. He and his wife have been the parents of seven children, namely: Florence, wife of F. C. Lee, a resident of Brunswick Township, Medina County, Ohio; Theda, who is the wife of David C. Harpham, of East Akron, Ohio; Ward, who died when twenty-two years of age; Fred, of The Akron Plumbing & Heating Company of Akron ; Rutherford H., also a member of the same firm; Maud, the wife of James Crum, of Brunswick Township, Medina County, Ohio ; and Mabel, a stenographer, who lives at home with her parents. s Mr. and Mrs. Viall are identified with the Congregational Church, of which the former has been a deacon for the past sixteen or seventeen years. They are also members of the Richfield Grange, No. 1260, of which Mr. Viall has been master, and he has also been overseer of Summit County Pomona Grange for six consecutive years. In political matters he is a Republican, and he was personal property appraiser for three years and real estate appraiser during the last appraisement, which occurred in 1900. Nathaniel Viall, grandfather of Sylvester G., was born March 28, 1762. After his death his widow Betsey, who was born December 14, 1768, in Vermont, came to Northampton Township with her son Sullivan, with whom she made her home until her death. Sullivan Viall was born in Vermont March 3, 1811, and received his education in the common schools. He came to Middlebury, Ohio, which is now a part of Akron, and thence he went by team to Pittsburg, hauling flour there and returning with dry goods. In this business he was engaged for many years and accumulated in it about $4,000, which he lost through the failure of a private bank. He then decided to engage in agricultural pursuits, and accordingly purchased a farm, on which the remainder of his life was spent. He met with a sudden and accidental death, being gored to death by a savage bull in 1851. He was one of the first Whigs in this county, and served as township trustee, and for nearly the full period of his residence in Northampton Township was a member of the School Board. Sullivan Viall was married August 28, 1836, to Mary Ann Freeby, who was born in Pennsylvania, August 28, 1813. Her father, George Freeby, was a shoemaker and farmer who came to America from Germany and died in Indiana about 1855. Mrs Viall died March 21, 1890, having been the mother of three children, namely : Henrietta, who is the widow of Isaac Smith, of Portage Township; Sylvester G., whose name stands at the head of this article ; and Damaris, who is the wife of Dr. F. N. Chamberlin, of Stow Township. Mr. and Mrs. Viall were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. FRANK J. CONVERSE, whose valuable farm of eighty acres is situated in one of the best portions of Copley Township, was born on the old Converse homestead in Portage County, Ohio, November 23, 1863, and is the youngest child born to Chauncey and Elizabeth (Stewart) Converse. Chauncey Converse, the father, was born in New York and was brought to Ohio by his parents when he was a child five years old. The Converse family settled in Franklin Township, Portage County, the Franklin mills there giving the name to the place, which was later called Kent. Chauncey Con- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 473 verse assisted his father to clear and cultivate the farm, and grew to manhood in the log cabin first erected on it. In early manhood he married Elizabeth Stewart, who was born in Portage County and spent the whole of her life there. Chauncey Converse owned a farm of 144 acres at the time of his death, which took place in 1878, when he was seventy-three years of age. His widow survived him some years. They had five children, namely: William J., residing in Sharon Township, Medina County; Emma A., deceased; Tillinghast, residing on the old home place; Edward S., deceased; and Frank Jefferson, residing in Copley Township. It was upon the above mentioned farm that Frank J. Converse spent his boyhood and early manhood, attending the schools of Kent and assisting on the farm. After his marriage he lived for a year and a half longer in Portage County. In 1885 he moved to Summit County, renting a farm near Mont Rose, in which vicinity he remained for seven years. In 1892 he came to his present farm, which he purchased a few months later from the Joseph Decovy estate. Here Mr. Converse carries on general farming and dairying, and for eight years he ran a wagon to Akron. He is interested also in the Logan Clay Product Company, located at Logan, Ohio, where all kinds of clay products are manufactured. Mr. Converse married Ella Moore, who is a daughter of 0. C. and Marium Moore, who came to this section as pioneers. Mr. and Mrs. Converse have had five children, namely: Vera, who married F. C. Thompson, a resident of Cuyahoga Falls, Ruth, Bina, Pauline and Marcia. Mr. Converse is a member of the Church of Christ. He takes an interest in the public affairs of the township, and has served as a member of the Board of Education. CHARLES R. MORGAN, president of the Pouchot-Hunsicker Company, prominent wholesale and retail general hardware house of long standing in this city, was born at London, England, in 1853. He was reared 'n England, and was in France at the time Napoleon III. became a prisoner of war. He accompanied his parents to America when seventeen years of age. He had been well educated in schools on the other side of the Atlantic, and after his parents located at Ashland, Ohio, he attended an American school for one term and was then apprenticed to the Ashland Machine Company. He learned the pattern-maker's trade very thoroughly and remained with that firm for ten years. In 1880 he came to Akron and for ten years was connected with the Buckeye Mower and Reaper Company, working in the winters, and through the summers working with the Webster, Camp and Lane Company. Later he became connected with the firm of Jahant and Weber, which was the oldest stove house of Akron. On March 24, 1893, Mr. Morgan embarked in his present business on South Howard Street, under the style of Morgan & Pouchot, the partnership lasting three years, when Mr. Morgan sold his interest and went to Chicago as representative of Kernan Furnace Company, of Utica, New York, where he remained for two years, when he returned to Akron, buying back his interest in the firm, which then became Pouchot-Hunsicker & Company. In 1903 they bought the brick building at Nos. 200-202 South Main, its dimensions being 44 by 90, five stories high in the rear and three in front, where they are stiH situated. The company is an incorporated one, its capital stock being $30,000, and the present officers are: Charles R. Morgan, president; H. D. Holland, vice-president; Horace Hunsicker, treasurer, and Irvin Barth, secretary. AH are active members of the firm and are practical business men in this line. They occupy five floors of their building, do both wholesaling and retailing in stoves and general hardware, and also operate a tin shop, making a specialty of factory repair work. Mr. Morgan is interested also in Akron real estate. In 1879, Mr. Morgan was married to Kate Stahlheber, of Ashland, Ohio. He is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and belongs to the church council. Fraternally Mr. Morgan is a Master Mason, a Knight of Pythias, 474 - HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY and an Odd Fellow, belonging to the Encampment. He is connected also with the beneficiary order of Protected Home Circle. E. S. UNDERWOOD, M. D., a representative member of his profession, who has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Akron, for the past sixteen years, was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1868, and is a son of Dr. Warren J. Underwood, formerly a well known physician of Summit County. After completing the public school course at Akron, Edward S. Underwood, subject of this notice, entered Buchtel College, going thence to the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, and afterwards to Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, where he was graduated in 1891. He immediately located in his native city, where he has been in active and successful practice since. He has served as health officer of Akron for four years, his intelligent inauguration and supervision of various sanitary reforms in this connection resulting in a greatly lessened death rate. Dr. Underwood is a man of public spirit, and during two terms when he served in the city council, he advocated many public improvements. He is visiting physician to the Akron City Hospital and is a member of the Summit County, the Ohio State, and the Northeastern Ohio Medical Societies. He is also surgeon for the Akron fire department. In 1899, Dr. Underwood was married to Sarah J. Kile, who is a daughter of Salem Kile. The doctor belongs to the Elks and also to the Elks Club. WILLIAM H. BOWER, farmer and dairyman, residing on his valuable farm of ninety-four acres, which is situated in Green Township, was born on his father's farm in Stark County, Ohio, October 12, 1840, and is a son of David and Mary (Bullinger) Bower. The grandparents of Mr. Bower came to Ohio when their son David was not more than eighteen months old and settled on a farm in Stark County, where they were pioneers. There David was reared and assisted his father to clear the land. The litter had secured it from the Government, and it was still in its wild state when the Bowers located in Nimishillen Township. David Bowers was a man of an adventurous spirit and was so fond of traveling that he frequently made long journeys. He was a good tanner and had a business which kept a number of men employed, but when he felt the desire to travel he left everything and started out. lie was a man of pleasant, genial manner and could always interest people telling them of his experiences. He spent nineteen years in California, in early days, during which period he was his own housekeeper. When lie was about fifty-four years of age, he moved with his wife and family to Kansas, where his wife died. She was a native of Pennsylvania and had accompanied her parents to Stark County when about fourteen years old. David Bower died while traveling in Oregon. Of their fourteen children, but four survive, these being: William Henry, subject of this article; James, residing in Michigan; Adeline, now Mrs. Studebaker; and David, who is a resident of Kansas. While living in Stark County, David Bower owned and open ated a farm together with his tannery. William Henry Bower remained on his father's farm in Stark County until 1801, when he enlisted as a private to serve three months, in Company A, 19th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which regiment formed a part of the force that drove the Confederates out of their strongholds in West Virginia and saved that State to the Union. After the close of his first service, he returned to his home, thinking, like many others, that the war was practically over, but when President Lincoln issued his call for 600,000 men, he re-enlisted, entering Company H, 107th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with the rank of third sergeant, and during his faithful subsequent service of thirty-five months, he rose step by step until the close of the war found him wearing a lieutenant's uniform. He participated in many of the most teHing battles of the war, notably those of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Chancellorville, May 1-4, 1863, and Gettysburg,