USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 30
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There were four children in the family, namely: W. B., who is a practicing attorney at Elyria; Mrs. Helena M. Rawson, who died at LaGrange in September, 1914; Capt. Charles E., of Washington, D. C .; and Paul M. Jr., of Elyria, of whom special mention is made in following sketch. The children were all educated in the schools of Lorain County, and Capt. Charles E. is a graduate of Elyria High School and the mili- tary academy at Annapolis; while Helena was a graduate of the Grafton High School; and Paul M. completed his studies at the LaGrange High School.
PAUL MILTON JOHNSTON, JR. One of the beneficent institutions of Lorain County, the founding of which was regarded with general satis- faction by members of the bar, as well as by people interested in the welfare of children, and the importance and value of which has become more and more recognized as the years have passed, is the Lorain County Juvenile Court, which under the administration of its officers has proved a triumphant success, vindicating the faith of its projectors and realizing the hopes of the humane men and women who had called it into being. Since April, 1913, one of the leading contributors to the success of this court has been Paul Milton Johnston, Jr., who bears the title of Chief Probation Officer, and who has labored energetically and disinterestedly in behalf of the welfare of the youthful charges placed in his care.
Mr. Johnston was born at Grafton, Lorain County, Ohio, June 9, 1875, and is a son of Paul M. and Maria Hicks (Obitts) Johnston, whose histories furnish subject matter for another sketch to be found elsewhere in this work. Mr. Johnston's mother died when he was about two months old and at that time he was taken into the family of his aunt, Mrs. Julius Beeman Gott, of LaGrange, Ohio. He grew up at that place and attended the public schools, and was graduated in 1890, following which he took a commercial course at Caton's Business College, Cleveland. On his return to LaGrange, he secured employment in a general merchandise Val. IT-18
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store, where he earned the reputation of being faithful, industrious and energetic. An odd coincidence is found in the fact that this store was located on the identical site of the one in which Mr. Johnston's father had commenced business many years before. In 1908, with associates, Mr. Johnston incorporated the LaGrange Elevator Company, with which. he was identified until April, 1913. While at LaGrange he had served in the capacity of councilman, corporation clerk and township clerk, having been first elected to the last named office when he was but twenty- one years of age and continuing to hold it as long as he remained at LaGrange. He came to Elyria in April, 1913, when he received the appointment of chief probation officer from Judge H. C. Wilcox of the Juvenile Court, a position in which he has won the universal regard of the community because of the work he has accomplished for the youth of the county.
Mr. Johnston is a member of LaGrange Lodge No. 399, Free and Accepted Masons, as well as the Chapter and Council at Elyria; and the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 7729, of LaGrange. With his family, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Johnston was married June 15, 1898, to Miss Hattie Electa Underhill, daughter of Hon. A. R. and Sophronia (Sweet) Underhill. Mrs. Johnston was born at LaGrange, a member of that city's old and honored family of Underhill, her father now being mayor of the city. She received good educational advantages, being a graduate of the La- Grange High School. Mrs. Johnston is not a clubwoman, preferring her home to outside connections, but is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and is active in religious work of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, in which she belongs to several societies. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnston : Wilma, born at LaGrange; and Paul M. III, born at Elyria.
ANGELO DELIA. As Italy has been the source of some of the world's greatest art and literature for centuries, it is a distinction to the City of Elyria that it possesses among its citizens one of the most finished sculptors from the shores of that artistic nation. Angelo Delia had a passion for art as a boy, went against the wishes of his parents and friends, who had planned a career for him in the church, and passed years of study and hard apprenticeship in learning all the details of sculpture. Mr. Delia is now one of Elyria's successful business men and head of the firm of Delia & Galli, manufacturers and dealers in cemetery memorials of granite, marble and bronze, and contractors in building and carving. The home of the company is at 244 East Broad Street.
The birthplace of Angelo Delia was the Town of Besano, Italy, where he first saw the light of day July 15, 1884. His parents are Giovanni and Angela (Galli) Delia, the former also a native of Besano and the latter of Guasso, Italy. His father is a mason by trade and a railroad contractor and still lives at Besano and in the course of his active career has been steadily pursuing his trade and the contracting business and is one of the influential citizens of his community. He saw active service for the required time in the standing army of Italy, but being now past the military age will probably not be called upon for active service in the present war, except in case of extreme need. Angelo is the youngest of a family of two sons and two daughters. The oldest is Mrs. Marta Bottinelli of Besano, Italy; Lazzaro Delia is married and is residing in Algeria, Northern Africa, where he is a mason contractor in railroad building; Maria Bottinelli who married a cousin to her older sister's husband, died at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1912.
A short time before the birth of Angelo Delia a new priest came to the parish including Besano, and his was the first birth under the
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pastorate of that venerable father, who was greatly beloved in that locality and in many ways befriended the members of the Delia family. As already stated it was the wish of his father that Angelo Delia should enter the priesthood, and the devout priest used all his influence to the same end. The boy might have received the best advantages of the Italian schools and seminaries, but from an early age his desire was all for an artistic career. After attending the schools of Besano until he was ten years of age, he found opportunities to study the art of sculpture at Vigiu. Vigiu is a town noted for its fine opportunities to students of this art, and he remained there working and studying for five years. He received no pay during this apprenticeship, and as Vigiu was five miles from his home he walked back and forth the entire distance both ways night and morning, and through rain or shine. While at. Vigiu he was employed two or three hours of each day with the hammer, and then went with the other students to study and practice drawing and designing, and also in clay modeling and figure moulding. Then after the day's study and work was completed he attended what is called the Corporation College during the night classes. This college is conducted for the benefit of young men learning the technical trades, and classes are held for instruction in practically all of the technical and industrial arts. At the end of his five years at Vigiu he won a first premium for his skill in carving. The next step in his profession was to locate at Milan, Italy, where he attended the Brera Milano, one of the largest colleges in Italy for the teaching of drawing, sculpture and architecture. He remained in that college two years.
In 1901 Mr. Delia came to the United States, landing at Castle Garden in New York, and first locating at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was employed for two months in a monument shop. The persistent smoky atmosphere of Pittsburg caused him to leave and go to Cleveland, where for a year and a half he was employed in monument work by Joseph Carabelli, and then in similar employment with the firm of Broggini Brothers for six months at Cleveland. In 1905 Mr. Delia came to Elyria, and was in the employ of S. L. Sands until he and his partner, Mr. Galli, bought out the business in 1912. The firm of Delia & Galli are now the principal center in Lorain County for artistic products in sculptured material.
Fraternally Mr. Delia is affiliated with Elyria Aerie No. 431 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He married Miss Amelia Malnati in Cleve- land, a daughter of Angelo Malnati and wife, both of whom died at Cleveland.
CAESAR A. GALLI. Junior member of the firm of Delia & Galli, manu- facturers and dealers in cemetery memorials, of granite, marble and bronze, and contractors in building and carving of all kinds, Caesar A. Galli is a competent associate with Mr. Delia in one of the most important concerns of its kind in Northern Ohio. Both proprietors of this firm are experienced stone carvers, sculptors, and have both the practical and artistic side of their profession thoroughly mastered.
A native of Italy, Caesar A. Galli was born in Saltrio, July 20, 1886, a son of Fedele and Lucia (Sartorelli) Galli. His parents were born in the same locality, and his father is still living there and for years has carried on the same business as that in which his son is engaged at Elyria. He had a large business as a manufacturer until the European war brought the industry practically to a standstill. Formerly he took many contracts for the construction of buildings out of solid granite, but that durable and expensive process has practically become obsolete since the introduction of tile, cement and other materials in building construction. The father saw active service with the Italian army in the war against
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Austria both in 1859 and again in 1866, and is now a pensioner for his service. The mother died in Italy about 1895. They had a large house- hold of children. Nine of the sons are now in the United States. One of them, James Galli, is manager of the Presbrey-Cuykendall Company, at Barre, Vermont, one of the largest concerns of its kind in the East for contracting in granite work and in the building of mausoleums. Some of the other sons are employed under James Galli at Barre, and there are two sisters living in that city, besides one at home in Italy. Four of the family are deceased, and altogether there was a large number of children who grew up in the Galli household back in Italy.
Until he was twelve years of age Caesar A. Galli attended the local schools. He then was placed in the Brera Milano at Milan, Italy, and learned both the technic of the practical trade and the art of sculpture. His training was unusually thorough. While in the school he worked in clay modeling each day for two hours, then spent a similar time in designing, and then performed practical work with the chisel for two hours. In this way he went along for seven years, and at the age of nineteen years had finished his apprenticeship as a sculptor.
On coming to the United States and landing in New York City on May 2, 1904, he went at once to Barre, Vermont, where some of his older brothers had located ten years previously. He found work in that great center of the granite industry for two years, and at the age of twenty went to Boston and for three months was employed on the Cambridge Bridge. His next location as a journeyman was in New York City, and also in Newark, New Jersey, where he was employed in several different contracts of carving and sculpture work. From there he went to the Southwest, at Llano, Texas, and for about six months was engaged in stone carving for a church at Houston, Texas. Returning East, he worked on the Metropolitan Building at Twenty-third Street and Sixth Avenue in New York City as a carver, subsequently on the courthouse at Jersey City, New Jersey, and for six months was one of the carvers at Washington, District of Columbia, on the National Museum Building. Then followed a period of travel over the New England states ending with his arrival at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1909. He spent about a year in Cleveland, most of the time engaged in carving for the Cuyahoga County Courthouse.
On March 29, . 1909, Mr. Galli married in Cleveland Miss Pearl Malnati. She was also born in Italy. After their marriage Mr. Galli returned to Barre, Vermont, and for a time was employed by the Presbrey-Cuykendall Company as a traveling inspector for their mauso- leums and other granite construction contracts. After six months his employment in this firm was terminated by the big strike in the granite quarries by the granite cutters. This interval he filled up by work on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the public square in Syracuse, New York, and then returned to Barre and took a well earned vacation. His next location was at Boston, where he took for himself a contract to perform part of the carving for the Municipal Building in New York City. The carving was all done in Boston, and the finished material shipped from that city to New York.
Having finished this contract, Mr. Galli came from Boston direct to Elyria in 1912, and here joined his brother-in-law, Angelo Delia, who had also married a Miss Malnati, and together they bought the monument business of S. L. Sands. In the past three years they have built up their business second to none of its kind in Lorain County and among the first in Northern Ohio.
Mr. Galli is affiliated with Elyria Lodge No. 431 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, is a member of the Granite Cutters International Union Association, of the Ohio Retail Monument Dealers Association, and the
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National Retail Monument Dealers Association. He and his wife have one daughter, Alma C., who was born in Barre, Vermont, and is now five years of age.
FRANCIS O. RICHEY. The only member of the Lorain County bar making a specialty of patent law, and the only one thoroughly qualified in this county for its practice is F. O. Richey, who since locating here has developed a large business mostly in corporation and patent work. For a number of years Mr. Richey lived in Washington, District of Columbia, and while there was connected with the patent office, an experience which has proved invaluable to him in his practice as a patent lawyer.
A Virginian by birth, Francis O. Richey was born in Clarke County of that state August 15, 1878, a son of John S. and Ella M. (Locke) Richey, who were also natives of Virginia and since 1913 have lived in Elyria. John S. Richey as secretary of the Retail Merchants Association of Elyria has offices in the Chamber of Commerce. In earlier years he was a merchant at Fort Defiance, Virginia, and in the same line of busi- ness at St. Joseph, Missouri, until moving to Elyria in 1915. F. O. Richey is the oldest in a family of nine children, eight of whom are living, three of them in New York State, one in Boston, one in Tennessee, and one in Montana. He and his brother Herbert are the only ones living in Lorain County. Herbert has his home in the Y. M. C. A. Building at Elyria.
Mr. Richey was liberally educated, took his preparatory work in the Augusta Military Academy in Augusta County, Virginia, and then entered the University of Virginia, from which he received a degree in electrical engineering. He is thus a man of thorough technical training, and in the branch of law to which he gives his chief attention that is almost as essential as his knowledge of the fundamental principles of jurisprudence. While living in the City of Washington Mr. Richey studied law in the National University, and his degree of LL. B. was given by that institution. For three years he was assistant examiner in the patent office at Washington, then in March, 1909, came to Elyria as special counsel for the Dean Electric Company, having charge of their law and patent work. Since 1914 Mr. Richey has been in practice as attorney and counselor at law, with special attention to patent and trade mark causes, and with offices in the Masonic Temple.
Owing to the fact that his home after reaching majority was in the City of Washington until coming to Elyria, Mr. Richey cast his first vote in this city. This is due to the fact that all residents of the District of Columbia are without the right of franchise. Mr. Richey is affiliated with Elyria Lodge No. 456 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a member of the Y. M. C. A., the Elyria Country Club, the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, and his hard work at his profession is varied by his recreative pursuits of golf in the summer and hand ball in the winter.
On May 21, 1914, he married Miss Helen D. Betteridge of Elyria, a sister of Dr. Edward Betteridge of that city. Mrs. Richey was born in Kentucky but received her education in the public schools at Elyria, being a graduate of the high school in 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Richey have a little daughter, Bettie Jane, born June 29, 1915.
FRANK MARION STEVENS. Since establishing himself in active prac- ยท tice of the law at Elyria nineteen years ago, Mr. Stevens has enjoyed many of the most substantial successes of the able lawyer, has interested himself in politics with disinterested motives and has several times been honored with office and his professional, business and social connections
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indicate that he has won a most enviable position in the community. A native of Chicago, Frank M. Stevens was born February 27, 1873, a son of George W. and Mellissa (Fullington) Stevens. His parents are both living in Elyria, and have had their home there since 1887. His father, who was born in the vicinity of Concord, New Hampshire, spent his active career as a railroad man, and for many years was with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. While living in Chicago he was superintendent of the shops of the West End, later was stationed at Elkhart, Indiana, as master mechanic, and was superintendent of motive power at Cleveland until he retired from the service. His wife was born at Ypsilanti, Michigan. Their children, all living, are three boys and two girls, mentioned in order of age as follows: Mrs. T. S. Faxon, of Elyria; Frank M .; George, a resident of New York City; H. C., of Chicago; and Mrs. Robert Ely of Elyria. All were born in Elkhart, Indiana, except Frank Marion.
Mr. Stevens was liberally educated, having graduated from the Elyria High School with the class of 1891, and subsequently was a student in Adelbert College, Western Reserve University and Ohio State University. He attended the academy of Western Reserve University one year, then entered Adelbert College, and during two years, 1893 to 1895, spent at home after leaving college, he read law in the office of Johnston & Leonard at Elyria. He then continued his studies in the University of Ohio, where he was graduated LL. B. in 1897. During 1898 he gained his initial experience as a lawyer at Elyria in the office of the late E. G. Johnson, who was in his time one of the most prominent members of the Lorain County bar. Since 1899 Mr. Stevens has con- ducted an independent practice, and has looked after a broad range of legal business, having been connected with some of the most important cases tried in the local courts during that time. Most of his public service has been within the line of his profession. In politics he is an active republican, and served four years from 1899 to 1904 as city solicitor of Elyria, and for seven successive years was prosecuting attorney of Lorain County, from 1906 to 1912. Mr. Stevens is also a director of the National Bank of Elyria, a director of the Hecock Floral Company of Elyria, a director of the Lorain Building Company, of the Lorain County Electric Company.
He is a member of all the Masonic bodies of Elyria and is also a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason. He is also affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees at Elyria, the Woodmen of the World, and Elyria Lodge No. 465, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His name is found on the membership rolls of such organizations as the Lorain County Bar Association, the Elyria Country Club, the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, and his fondness for outdoor life leads him into such recreations as baseball, golf and tennis. In a political way he rendered some valuable service as secretary of the Lorain County Republican Executive Committee during Mckinley's two campaigns in 1896 and 1900, and from 1900 to 1904 was the clerk of the board of elections. He is a member of the Elyria Board of Education.
On October 4, 1901, Mr. Stevens married Miss Helen M. Moriarty, daughter of Mrs. Ellen Moriarty of Elyria. She was born and educated at Elyria, and is the mother of two children: Frank E., born at Elyria, March 27, 1904; and Richard F., born at Elyria, November 3, 1907.
DR. H. LYNN KNAPP, D. O. At Elyria one of the physicians who can claim a patronage of exceptional numerical strength and value is Doctor Knapp, osteopath, who during nearly ten years of residence in Lorain County has enjoyed a success and standing that are creditable not only to him personally but to his profession. It is largely through the able
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and conscientious work of such men as Doctor Knapp that osteopathy, which originated only about twenty years ago, has won its place with the older schools of medicine. Doctor Knapp is one of the ablest exponents of this science in Northern Ohio.
A New Yorker by birth, Doctor Knapp was born in North Collins, Erie County, twenty miles from the City of Buffalo, on July 19, 1883. His parents are Anthony Wayne, who was named for the famous Indian fighter, and Florence (Wood) Knapp. His father was born in Perrys- burg, New York, and his mother at North Collins, and they were married and spent many years in the latter locality. They now reside retired at East Aurora, New York. Anthony W. Knapp spent twenty-six years as a teacher in country schools in New York State. He received his educa- tion from the public schools of Erie County. He is affiliated with the Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at North Collins. Of the three children in the family the first two are twin daughters, Clara and Carrie, the former now Mrs. H. H. Graham of Buffalo, New York, and the latter Mrs. A. Ross Gray, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. All the children were born at the home of their parents in North Collins in Erie County, and received their education in the public schools of Buffalo.
Doctor Knapp is a graduate of Masten Park High School of Buffalo with the class of 1901, and having determined upon a professional career he soon afterwards entered the S. S. Still College of Osteopathy at Des Moines, Iowa, from which he received his degree D. O. in 1905. His practice began in Galveston, Texas, in 1905, but after nine months he returned north and since July, 1906, has had his home and office at Elyria. Doctor Knapp has his offices in the Masonic Temple, and is a member of the American Osteopathic Association. Fraternally he is identified with King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, with the Royal Arch Chapter, and takes an active interest in local affairs, largely through the Elyria Chamber of Commerce. His religious faith is that of the Unitarian Church. His principal recreation is found in automobiling, and he is a member of the Elyria Automobile Association.
September 30, 1907, Doctor Knapp married Miss Esther M. Kamper, a woman of broad culture and a member of one of the fine old families of Buffalo, New York, her parents being W. R. and Lulu Lenice (Wilgus) Kamper, both of whom are now living at Buffalo, where her father is in the wholesale business. Mrs. Knapp was born in Buffalo, attended the public schools and is also a graduate of the Masten Park High School. Dr. and Mrs. Knapp have two children, Lenice Florence, who was born March 2, 1909, in Elyria and her names are in honor of her two grand- mothers, and Lester Ben, born September 3, 1915. The residence of Doctor Knapp and family is at 206 Harvard Avenue.
HARRY A. POUNDS, who has been a lawyer in this city for more than fifteen years, is a member of the firm of Pounds & Redington, with offices in the Elyria Block. This firm has a high reputation for the successful results of many important cases which have gone through their hands.
Harry A. Pounds was born in Eaton Township of Lorain County, Ohio, July 25, 1874, a son of Thomas M. and Mary Frances (Zehring) Pounds. His father was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and was brought when a child to Wayne County, Ohio, where he married Miss Zehring, a native of that county. They were married about 1865, and in 1868 they settled in Eaton Township of Lorain County. Thomas Pounds spent most of his life as a farmer, but during his youth had served an apprenticeship to a tanner, and while living in Wayne County worked at his trade and also had a tannery at West Lebanon. He was connected with the tanning business after locating in Lorain County. He gave up farming in 1883 and moved to Elyria, where he lived retired,
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