USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76
The late Thomas Folger had been identified with the Royal Arch body of Masons for more than forty years, and was also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and with the Grand Army of the Republic. On May 6, 1867, he married Miss Della M. Beswick, who was born and reared at Medina, daughter of Asahel and Emma A. (Richards) Bes- wick. Mrs. Folger is still living at Elyria. She was the mother of four daughters: Anna B., wife of Charles M. Braman, president of the Savings Deposit Bank and Trust Company of Elyria; Josephine D., wife of Dr. Charles H. Cushing of Elyria, further mentioned on other pages ; Ida A., who died at the age of eight years; and Jean P., wife of Arthur D. Pettibone of Cleveland.
HENRY F. SMITH. For a man who started in life absolutely depend- ent upon his own resources, even to the extent of paying his way through school, Henry F. Smith, who is now vice president of the Peoples Banking Company of Oberlin, has made a success that is stimu- lating and encouraging to younger men.
He was born in Elyria, Ohio, November 30, 1867, a son of Charles W. and Anna Mary (Loux) Smith. Both parents were natives of Wuert- emberg, Germany. His father was born in 1842 and is still living, having been brought to the United States when twelve years old. The mother
Digitized by
648
HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY
was born in 1845, came to this country with her parents at the age of three, and died in 1896. They were married in Cleveland. Charles W. Smith was a jeweler by trade, and followed the business all his active career. He established himself at Elyria in 1862, and was in active busi- ness there until he retired about fifteen years ago. At one time he served as chief of the fire department in Elyria. He is a democrat in politics, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of St. Paul's Evangelical Church. His wife was a Catholic. Of their six children, four are living: William C., a shoe merchant at Elyria; Henry F .; Julia Mary, wife of M. J. McGuire, manager of the Standard Foundry Company at Cleveland; and Frank W., who was formerly a jeweler but now lives retired at Elyria.
Henry F. Smith attended the public schools at Elyria for a time, and out of his own earnings he paid for a course in pharmacy in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he finished in 1891. From his earnings as a pharmacy clerk he set himself up in business as a druggist at Oberlin in 1893. He prospered and continued active in that line of business until 1906, when he sold out. Since then he has been the chief executive officer of the Peoples Banking Company, of which he is vice president, and he also owns stock in the State Bank of Oberlin. He has also invested in real estate, both in Oberlin and in Lorain City.
In 1894 Mr. Smith married Dorothy Schubert, who was born near Oberlin, a daughter of William Schubert, one of the early settlers of Lorain County. They have one daughter, Catherine Dorothy, now in school. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the First Congregational Church, and he has always taken much interest in Masonry, being junior warden of the Blue lodge, and a member of the Royal Arch Chapter and the Knights Templar Commandery. For a number of years he has been an enthusiastic republican and has given his influence without reserve to the benefit of his home community. He is still a member of the city council and has been connected with that body for the past six years. At one time he was a member of the water board and for a number of years was precinct committeeman.
LAFAYETTE BRUSH. On the 30th of August, 1905, was summoned to the life eternal the soul of a man whose sterling integrity and most ex- emplary christian character have left an indelible impress upon the hearts of his fellow men. At the time when he was called from the scene of his mortal endeavors he was in his sixty-eighth year and it may be said concerning him that "his strength was as the number of his days." The prestige which he gained as a fair and honorable man was the result of his own well-directed endeavors and his success was on a parity with his ability and well applied energy.
Mr. Brush was a farmer during the greater portion of his active career but during the latter years of his life he resided in Elyria. He was born at Butternut Ridge, Lorain County, Ohio, January 11, 1837, and he died August 30, 1905. He is buried in the Butternut Ridge Cemetery, near the old parental home. He was a son of Benjamin S. and Sarah (Miller) Brush, both natives of Connecticut, where they were married and whence they immigrated to Ohio in 1832. The parents located in Eaton Township, Lorain County. and there cleared and tilled a fine farm which is still owned by the family. There were twelve chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Brush and all grew to maturity except one who died at the age of fifteen years. Lafayette Brush was the youngest in the family, of whom Mrs. Hitchcock, widow of ex-Sheriff Hitchcock, is the only survivor, in 1915; she lives at Jackson, Michigan, and is in her eighty-fourth year.
Digitized by Google
649.
HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY
Lafayette Brush was reared to maturity on his father's farm and he was educated in the neighboring district schools. He early began to assist his father in the work and management of the farm and after the latter's demise he bought out the other heirs and became sole owner of the parental estate. His mother lived with him until her death at the ripe old age of eighty-two years. The above farm consists of forty-seven acres and it has long been known as one of the finest little farms in this section of the state. Mr. Brush, whose workaday motto was "What's worth doing at all is worth doing well," took splendid care of his little estate and it was one of the model farms in this vicinity. Since his death Mrs. Brush sold the place to a nephew, Charles B. Brush, and he is the same kind of a fine, intelligent farmer that his uncle used to be. Mrs. Brush visits the old place occasionally and is much delighted with the splendid care her old homestead receives. In the early days Mr. Brush's father erected a log house on this land and subsequently he had built one of those old fashioned, heavy frame houses and the same is still standing. It has been modernized throughout and makes a fine, comfort- able home for its present occupants.
In 1892 Lafayette Brush gave up farming and came to Elyria, lo- cating in the beautiful home at 234 Eighth Street, now owned and occu- pied by his widow. He was considered a man of excellent judgment and used to be called upon by his neighbors to appraise property. His word was as good as his bond and he commanded the love and esteem of his many loyal friends and acquaintances. He was a republican in politics and in religious faith was a devout member of the First Methodist Episco- pal Church.
May 27, 1860, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Brush to Miss Marie Beulah Hulin, a daughter of Edward and Olive (Palmer) Hulin. Mrs. Brush was born near Bucyrus, Ohio, and she lost her mother when she was a child of but two years of age. She was reared to maturity in the home of her maternal grandparents at Ridgeville, Ohio. Mrs. Brush is possessed of a sweet, kindly disposition and her life has been exemplary in all respects. She has a fine, generous heart and is always extending a helping hand to neighbors and friends in distress.
Mr. Brush was a man of fine mentality and broad human sympathy. He thoroughly enjoyed home life and took great pleasure in the society of his family and friends. He was always courteous, kindly and affable and those who knew him personally accorded him the highest esteem.
ALBERT A. PLATO. That he is not lacking in the mature judgment and resourcefulness implied in his classical family name, is shown by the position which Mr. Plato holds in connection with the more im- portant industrial activities of the City of Lorain, where he is the general manager of the Crystal Ice Company, engaged in the manufacturing of artificial ice on an extensive scale. This company was organized in 1907 and was incorporated with a capital stock of $65,000, which was increased in 1914 to $75,000. The personnel of the company official corps is as here noted: William Seher, president; John S. Dorn, vice president; August Kuebeler, secretary; Edward A. Brown, treasurer; and Albert A. Plato, general manager. The plant of the company occupies a substantial modern building 130 by 150 feet in dimensions, a portion of the same having a height of three stories and the remainder of two stories. The establishment has a capacity for the output of fifty tons of ice daily, and a storage capacity for 3,000 tons. Employment is given to an average force of thirty men and the enterprise virtually represents one of the most important public utilities of the thriving City of Lorain.
.
Digitized by
i
1
650
HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY
Albert Aloysius Plato has the distinction of claiming Lorain County as the place of his nativity, for he was born in the Village of Amherst, this county, on the 11th of September, 1870, a son of Henry A. and Elizabeth (Hildebrand) Plato. Henry A. Plato was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1857. He became eventually a prosper- ous merchant at Amherst, this county, where he is now living retired, a citizen of sterling character and one who has secure place in popular esteem. Both he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Catholic Church, in the faith of which their children were carefully reared.
Albert A. Plato gained his preliminary education in the parochial and public schools and supplemented this by an effective course in the celebrated Notre Dame University at South Bend, Indiana. Thereafter he continued to be associated with his father in the general merchandise business until 1899, when he established at Amherst an independent business enterprise, as a dealer in men's furnishing goods. To this enterprise he continued to devote his attention until 1904, in May of which year he assumed the position of collector for the Lorain & Elyria Ice & Coal Company. Upon the reorganization of the corporation in 1907, as the Crystal Ice Company of Lorain, Mr. Plato was made general manager, of which responsible office he has since continued the efficient and valued incumbent. He is also president of the Amherst Hardware Company, a leading mercantile concern in his native village, and he served from 1891 to 1893 as township clerk of Amherst Township. He is a democrat in politics, is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and his religious faith is that of the Catholic Church, of which his wife likewise is a communicant.
On the 26th of September, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Plato to Miss Rose A. Ludwig, daughter of John L. and Carrie E. Ludwig, of Amherst, Mr. Ludwig being a skilled machinist. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Plato are Paul Ludwig and Bernice Wil- helmina.
ELYRIA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. A tragedy in the City of Elyria, oc- curring on Memorial Day of 1907, in the shape of a street railroad disaster, in which lives were lost and injured, gave and formulated the definite impulse to the founding of the Elyria Memorial Hospital, which takes its name from that occasion, and which is dedicated to the high ideal of caring for and affording medical or surgical treatment to the sick, injured or disabled persons residing in Elyria or Lorain County. As an institution, it represents the liberal contributions and support of the people of the city and county, rich and poor, and of every station in life, and as such a project is to relieve suffering and save lives with- out distinction as to race, nationality, color, sex or religious convictions. Neither directly nor indirectly is its management under the control of any religious or sectarian bodies, nor of any particular school of medi- cine or treatment. Certainly one of the best of the many distinctions connected with this institution is the broad and liberal basis on which it was founded and has been maintained.
For several years prior to 1907 a private hospital had been main- tained in Elvria, assisted by limited contributions from individuals. In May, 1907, a short time before the tragic accident above mentioned, a movement had been started to organize a hospital association with the co-operation of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce. The plans were hastened in their fruition by the emergency created by the street rail- way disaster, and the entire community was aroused to the need for adequate hospital facilities.
The Elyria Chamber of Commerce took the general supervision of
Digitized by Google
651
HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY
the campaign which in three months netted over $80,000 in popular subscription, to which was added the sum of $25,000 donated by the city government in annual payments of $5,000, which was to be applied to the maintenance. In June, 1907, the Elyria Memorial Hospital Company was organized and incorporated under the laws of Ohio. This company owns and controls all funds and property and is directly responsible for the conduct and management of the institution. The company com- prises fifty persons, of whom forty must be residents of Lorain County. Twenty-five of these were originally chosen by the members of the hospital association, and these in turn selected fifteen others. The re- maining ten comprised the five members of the advisory board of physi- cians and elected by the physicians' committee of the association, and five who are members of the company by virtue of their official posi- tions, including the mayor of Elyria, the chairman of the commissioners of Lorain County, the senior judge of the Court of Common Pleas, the president of the hospital association and the president of the hospital auxiliary. The active management of the company is vested in a board of trustees, nine in number, three being elected each year by members of the corporation.
During 1907 the company had secured a tract of about three acres of ground on East River Street, and the first real work on the building was begun October 17th of that year, the cornerstone being laid in the following November. The doors of the institution were opened for the reception of patients on October 30, 1908. The main hospital building completed in that year is of modern design and equipment, of the colonial style of architecture, built of red pressed brick and sandstone, with the floors of re-enforced concrete and the entire structure fire- proof. Its westerly frontage is 175 feet and its depth is 55 feet. Dur- ing the first year 408 people were treated as patients of the hospital, and since then the growth and service of the institution have been steady and uniform. During the first year the average daily number of patients cared for was 18; an average number of 22 in the second year; 27 in the third year; 32 in the fourth year; 37 in the fifth year; 41 in the sixth year; and 46 in the seventh year, which closed in November, 1915. The first important addition to the hospital buildings was the erection of a nurses' home, which was begun in the fall of 1910 and was dedicated in the fall of 1911. The quarters formerly occupied by the nurses in the main hospital were then taken to enlarge the facilities of that institution.
The first important addition of land was the purchase of about two acres adjoining the old tract in the spring of 1914, while about a year later the company secured another strip of land, making a total of practically eight acres in the heart of the city, with an ideal location.
The most recent addition to the buildings and service of this mag- nificent institution was the opening of the W. N. Gates Hospital for sick, crippled and deformed children in the spring of 1915. After the death of her husband, William N. Gates, who had been one of the original trustees of the hospital company, Mrs. Gates donated as a me- morial to her husband the entire amount of money necessary for the erection of the building. The site and necessary improvements were furnished by the hospital company, and the cost of equipment was con- tributed by relatives and friends of Mr. Gates and by the school children of Elyria. This institution is under the management of the Elyria Memorial Hospital Company and is maintained especially for the care of the children of Lorain County. It has been found necessary to em- phasize the fact that the Gates Hospital is not an orphan asylum, and only those children are received who need such care and medical or surgical attention as the institution is designed to give.
Vol. II- 7
Digitized by
1
!
1
:
652
HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY
The future plans of the hospital company contemplate the erection of two more buildings, one of them power house and laundry, and the other a maternity home.
It is noteworthy that the first officers of the Elyria Memorial Hos- pital Company are still in active service and have been retained year after year in the executive management. The officers are: Judge W. W. Boynton, president; F. A. Smythe, vice president; E. F. Allen, treas- urer; and Charles E. Tucker, secretary. The original board of trustees under whom the hospital was opened in 1908 were: W. W. Boynton, W. N. Gates, E. F. Allen, A. L. Garford, F. A. Smythe, Albert Kistner, George D. Nicholas, Sr., T. T. Robinson and J. P. Sala. At the present time the trustees in addition to the president, vice president and treas- urer are: T. T. Robinson, George D. Nicholas, A. L. Garford, W. S. Miller, L. B. Fauver.
As the Memorial Hospital is in the best sense of the word a great philanthropy, it requires support from other sources than the receipts from pay patients and other income. One of the organizations which have been formed to aid and assist the company in maintaining the hospital and extending its charitable work has been the Elyria Memorial Hospital Association, this being a men's organization, while the Elyria Memorial Hospital Auxiliary is an organization of women formed for the same purpose. There is also an organization of young people known as the Elyria Memorial Hospital Junior Auxiliary.
This hospital is one of the few in the United States run on strictly business principles so far as its management is concerned, without con- flicting with the true spirit of philanthropy which governs its service to individual patients. One feature that illustrates this business system that pervades the entire management is the card catalog by which every patient ever received or treated in the hospital has been kept track of, containing a record of the ailments and treatment, when the patient was received and when discharged. For this businesslike efficiency in the management of the fiscal affairs of the institution much credit is given to the treasurer, E. F. Allen, who since the organization of the hospital company has given liberally of his time to its general welfare and par- ticularly to the accurate and systematic conduct of its business affairs. As the usefulness of any institution of this kind must, in the last analysis, depend upon the efficiency of its financial management, it will not be inappropriate to quote a portion of the report of the auditing committee covering the books of the company up to November 7, 1914. This report in part says: "At the request of the officers of the Hospital Company we are making further examination of the books and records of the company regarding their system of accounting for patients and the general plan in the office adopted by the hospital in reference to its records of patients received and discharged, and we wish to say for the benefit of the general public of Elyria and Lorain county that the sys- tem in handling accounts and records is complete and comprehensive, and when the company makes statements that during the past year they have handled nearly fifteen thousand hospital days of service, of which two-thirds, or over ten thousand days, are all or part charity work, that these statements are correct, and we also are glad to state that the figures given for cost of patient, somewhat under two dollars per day are considerably lower than reports given by other institutions of similar character. We feel that the public should know as we know that the accounting system in connection with the Elyria Memorial Hospital is more elaborate and complete than we had any idea of, and we recom- mend to the general public and other institutions of similar nature an examination of same." And the financial report covering the fiscal year ending November 1, 1915, is even more flattering than the above.
Digitized by Google
Digitized by
1
MR. AND MRS. CLAIR O. GOSS
Digitized by
653
HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY
CLAIR O. Goss is proprietor of one of the distinctive enterprises of Lorain County, namely : The Glendale Ferret Company of Wellington. This is an important department of his farm on Rural Route No. 1 out of Wellington, and he has had a great deal of success in raising ferrets for commercial purposes. He ships his animals to every state in the Union, and has a complete set of buildings and equipment necessary for the propagation and training of these very valuable animals. He has . shipped as high as 1,000 in a season.
Mr. Goss was born in Brighton Township, January 22, 1883, and is one of the live and progressive younger citizens of Lorain County. His parents were Otis F. and Mary (Sinclair) Goss. His father was born at Berea, Ohio, April 23, 1839, and died March 20, 1908. He was a son of David and Aurelia (Porter) Goss, the former a native of Montague, Massachusetts, and the latter of Vermont. David Goss came out to Ohio when a single man and after investigating the country went back East and returned with his bride. He was a very prosperous and enter- prising citizen, owned a large farm and operated two mills. Otis F. Goss was seven years old when he came with his parents to Brighton Township, received his education in this county, and became a farmer and also conducted a sawmill and followed his trade as a carpenter. He was a republican in politics, but later gave his support to the prohibition cause. He pursued his business as a farmer on eighty acres of land. Both he and his wife were active members of the Congregational Church. His wife, Mary Sinclair, was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, August 12, 1850, and is still living. They were married September 26, 1876. Her father was Alexander Sinclair and he brought his family to the United States in 1852 when Mrs. Goss was two years of age. The Sin- clairs settled near Ruggles, and afterwards went to Clarksfield, where Mr. Sinclair bought a farm and spent the rest of his days. In the Sin- clair family were eleven children, and the three now living are Mrs. A. E. Watt of Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Isabelle Ross, a widow, living at Wakeman, Ohio; Mrs. Goss. Alexander, deceased, was a farmer at Clarksfield.
Clair O. Goss is the only child of his parents. He received his edu- cation in the district schools and had much preliminary training on a farm before taking up agriculture as his regular vocation. His farm comprises eighty acres of land, and he gives his time to general farming, to the operation of the Glendale Ferret Company, and he also does some dairying. The farm is well improved, and he has one of the best silos in the entire county.
On September 8, 1910, Mr. Goss married Ona Niles, a daughter of Jerome and Carminetta A. (Gillett) Niles, and a granddaughter of Ichabod and Miranda (Lake) Niles. Her father was born in Canada in 1860 and died in 1890 and her mother was born in Lorain County in 1854 and is still living. Mrs. Goss has one brother, Edwin, who is a policeman at Kansas City. Mrs. Goss is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while Mr. Goss belongs to the Congregational Church. He is a member of the Maccabees and politically is a republican. In the fall of 1915 he was elected township trustee and had served two terms in that office prior to that election. He is a very popular and widely known citizen in Wellington Township.
HON. CLARENCE G. WASHBURN. It was in 1892 that Judge Washburn began the practice of law at Lorain and the honors of office and a profit- able patronage as a lawyer soon followed. For many years Judge Washburn has represented the qualities of the true leader in the life of Lorain County, and the worth of his career is attested by many im- portant relations with the institutions and affairs of his home city.
Digitized by
-
654
HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY
Clarence Griffin Washburn was born in Greenwich Township of Huron County, Ohio, February 19, 1867, a son of Henry C. and Char- lotte (Griffin) Washburn. His parents came to Ohio from the vicinity of Syracuse, New York, and in earlier generations the ancestors were Connecticut people. Judge Washburn was sixteen years old when his mother died and ten years later the father died.
His father was a farmer, but in later years lived in the Village of Greenwich, where Judge Washburn spent the first eighteen years of his life. With a common school education and with good natural endow- ments, he then went out to Kansas with an older brother, and after his return three years later spent one year in conducting a retail shoe busi- ness in Huron County. This was the sum of his experiences before he took up the study of law in the office of T. L. Strimple. From the private study of law about two years later he entered the law depart- ment of the University of Michigan, where he was graduated June 30, 1892. In the spring of 1892, having been admitted to practice law in Ohio, he obtained a leave of absence from the University and opened an office at Lorain, returning to Ann Arbor in June to take examinations which gave him the degree of Bachelor of Laws. His first important official position was village solicitor, to which he was appointed by the council of Lorain in 1894. About that time came a much more important event in his life, his marriage on July 25, 1894, to Miss Maude M. Marsh, of Greenwich, and an old schoolmate of Judge Washburn. Few wives have been more practical and helpful companions to their husbands than Mrs. Washburn. Prior to her marriage she had been deputy in the probate office of Huron County, and when Judge Washburn was elected clerk of courts of Lorain County in 1896 she assisted him in the office, and in all their relations, both in business and at home, their lives have been singularly felicitous and harmonious. Mrs. Washburn was admitted to practice law in Ohio in 1896, but has never exercised that privilege in a professional way.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.