USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 33
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Mr. Harrison's only venture in politics was while a resident of Che- boygan, Michigan. He lived in a democratic ward and was put on the republican ticket to run against an old-time democrat for supervisor, his opponent never having been beaten in that ward. Mr. Harrison defeated him by three votes for the office, which he held for only one year, as he then left Cheboygan. Mr. Harrison is a life member of Elyria Lodge No. 465, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, and a member of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce and Elyria Lodge No. 431, Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is not only a capable salesman, but an enthusi- astic motorist and expert driver, and belongs to the Elyria Au- tomobile Club, being a member of its board of directors. As evi- dence of Mr. Harrison's skill as a driver may be cited his trip to the San Francisco Exposition in 1915. Starting from Elyria, he went to Blue Cass Springs, Indiana, then via the Lincoln Highway to Salt Lake City, Utah, from there on the Overland Trail via Ogden and north of Great Salt Lake into Reno, Nevada, then over the Sierra Ne- vada Mountains to Lake Tahoe, down to Sacramento, Fresno, Los Ange- les and San Diego, on to Tijuana, Mexico, and back up the coast route to
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Santa Barbara, and through Santa Cruz to San Francisco. This trip of 5,047 miles was accomplished without a puncture, the only mishap on the entire trip being a burned out magneto caused by fording a swollen creek. However thrilling experiences were not lacking, especially in the mountains, where on one occasion he avoided a serious accident only by driving his machine into a barrier of rocks on the edge of a deep gorge. He was accompanied on this trip by his wife and daughter.
Mr. Harrison was married December 24, 1896, to Miss Marion B. Weed, of Cleveland, who was born and reared there, and educated in the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison were married Christmas Eve, at North Olmsted, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She is a daughter of Westel J. and Mary Ann (Moore) Weed, the former an old ship-builder of Cleveland, where he resided during the active period of his career. He was well known by every captain on the great lakes, and was superin- tendent of the two shipyards of Quayle & Sons. Mr. Weed, at the time of his retirement, went to North Olmsted, Ohio, but when his health began to fail moved back to Cleveland, where his death occurred, and where Mrs. Weed still resides at the old home. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison have had three children : two sons who died in infancy, and Miss Thelma Fay, who was born at Cheboygan, Michigan. The family home is in the exclusive Colonial Apartments.
JOEL VINTON SAMPSELL, M. D. From the point of continuous service as a physician and surgeon Doctor Sampsell is now one of the oldest in Elyria. He came to this city a young man fresh from medical college nearly forty years ago, and so far as strength has permitted has ac- cepted the almost innumerable opportunities which are offered to the able and unselfish physician for service to humanity. Among other profes- sional distinctions Doctor Sampsell, whose offices are at 331 Second Street, is local medical examiner of Lorain County with the Industrial Commission of Ohio, and is also one of the pension examiners in this county.
It would have been contrary to an almost established family custom if Doctor Sampsell had chosen any other line of work than the medical profession. His father and a number of his uncles and many other relatives have at different times been engaged in this profession, and on his mother's side there were also an unusual number of doctors. Dr. J. V. Sampsell was born in Ashland, Ohio, May 19, 1850, a son of Dr. J. B. F. and Catherine (Luther) Sampsell. The Sampsell family in Ohio is descended from an old Maryland German family of that name. The Sampsells settled in Columbiana County, Ohio, in the very early days. Dr. J. B. F. Sampsell had four brothers and eight cousins, all of whom were physicians of repute, while his wife's father was also a pioneer physician, and the latter had four cousins who were identified with the same profession, while one of his female cousins married a doc- tor. Dr. J. B. F. Sampsell was born in Columbiana County, and his wife in Ashland, Ohio. Her father, Dr. Joel Luther, was the first physi- cian and surgeon to locate in Ashland, having moved to that pioneer local- ity from Jefferson County, New York. He brought with him five thou- sand dollars in gold, and though he died at the age of thirty-five he ac- cumulated a considerable fortune after locating in Ashland. Dr. J. B. F. Sampsell was engaged in the practice of medicine at Ashland for a num- ber of years until the outbreak of the Civil war, and then engaged in the hardware business. For a year or so, from 1871 to 1873, he prac- ticed medicine at Elyria, and moving to Delaware, Ohio, resumed prac- tice and continued it there until his death, which occurred in 1877. His wife died in Ashland in 1868. He had also served as mayor of Ashland
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and took a prominent part in local politics. Dr. J. V. Sampsell has one sister, younger than himself, Mrs. Frank Semple of Ashland.
Joel V. Sampsell received his early education in the public schools of Ashland, and for a time attended the noted old college founded by Alexander Campbell at Bethany, West Virginia. His medical studies were pursued in one of the oldest and best schools for medical training in America, the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, from which he was graduated M. D. with the class of 1877. He also took post-graduate work in the New York Polyclinic. .
Doctor Sampsell located for practice at Elyria in 1877, and in all the years subsequent to that date has continued as a general physician. He practiced here when Elyria was a comparatively small city, and had his share of pioneer experience as a doctor, attending his country calls over the roads that existed before the beginning of the good roads movement and long before such facilities were introduced as the telephone and the automobile. Doctor Sampsell is a member of the staff of the Elyria Memorial Hospital.
In politics he is a democrat. His interest in keeping up the party organization has caused him a number of times to allow his name to go on the ticket as candidate for mayor, though without expectation of suc- cess, since no candidate on the democratic ticket in Elyria ever expects to be elected. Though Doctor Sampsell never did any campaign work in connection with such elections, he at one time came within nine votes of being made mayor, and a little campaigning on his part would doubtless have swung the tide in his favor. His opponent at that time was Doctor Reefy on the republican ticket. Doctor Sampsell is affiliated with King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons.
On May 17, 1879, he married Miss Nettie Nichols of Elyria, who died in August, 1895. His present wife, before her marriage, which occurred April 26, 1898 was Miss Mary Groscup of Ashland, Ohio.
ERNEST PERRY CLEMENT, M. D. Among the men whose activities are devoted to the science of healing in Lorain County, none bring to bear upon their calling larger gifts of scholarship and resource than Dr. Ernest Perry Clement, of Elyria, a specialist in abdominal surgery, a field in which he has won more than local reputation. His entire pro- fessional career has been passed in Lorain County, at Grafton from 1898 until 1910 and since the latter year at Elyria, and his success in his vocation has been won in a locality not wanting in men of broad and thorough medical learning.
Doctor Clement was born at Brunswick, Medina County, Ohio, Decem- ber 22, 1874, and is a son of Charles R. and Sophia W. (Benjamin) Clement. His paternal grandparents, Edward Clement and wife, came to America from Devonshire, England, about the year 1832 and settled at Strongsville, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where they were pioneer set- tlers and early farmers. The maternal grandparents of Doctor Clement came from New York State to Ohio about 1845, settling at Brunswick, Medina County. Charles R. Clement was born at Strongsville, Ohio, and as a young man moved to Medina County, where he was married and for many years carried on agricultural pursuits, although he is now living retired at Medina. As a young man he enlisted for service in the Union Army during the Civil war, but the regiment of which he was a member was never asked to go to the front. He has always been known as a good and public-spirited citizen, taking a keen and helpful inter- est in the affairs of his community, and during his younger and more active years was the incumbent of a number of minor offices, such as township trustee, etc. Mrs. Clement, who was born at Brunswick, Medina County, Ohio, died in 1907. There are three sons and three daughters
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in the family, namely : Mrs. Lampoh, of Cleveland, Ohio, the wife of Capt. J. H. Lampoh, a captain on the Great Lakes and at this time master of the Thomas A. Andrews; George B., who is engaged in dealing in real estate and allottment property at Cleveland; Frank A., a car- penter contractor of Medina, Ohio; Elma E., who is the wife of Charles Barry, of Medina, Ohio; Dr. Ernest Perry, twin of Elma E .; and Willis, who is a painter contractor of Cleveland. All were born at Brunswick and received their early education there.
After graduating from the Brunswick High School, Ernest Perry Clement spent three years at the Ohio Northern University, pursuing a literary department course, and then engaged in the study of medicine at Starling Medical College, which is now the medical department of the Ohio State University. He was graduated in that institution in 1898, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and in the same year entered practice at Grafton, Lorain County, that continuing to be the scene of his professional labors until August 1, 1910, when he came to Elyria. Here he has offices in the Elyria Block, on Broad Street. Skillful in diagnosis and successful in treatment of long standing cases, he is prob- ably best known as a specialist in abdominal surgery, and the demand for his services in that line has opened up a career of exceptional breadth and usefulness. He has continued to be a close and careful student, having taken post-graduate work at the Post-Graduate Medical School, New York City, and is a member of the surgical staff of the Elyria Memorial Hospital. He belongs to the Lorain County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the Ohio State Clinical Association, an organization which includes in its membership the leading surgeons of the Buckeye State. Fraternally, the doctor is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias lodge at Grafton, and he holds membership also in the State Automobile Association, the Cleveland Automobile Club and the Elyria Chamber of Commerce.
Doctor Clement was married to Miss Grace M. Humphrey, who was born, reared and educated at Elyria, daughter of J. O. and Elizabeth (Worthington) Humphrey, both of whom are now deceased, old settlers of Eaton Township, Lorain County. To Doctor and Mrs. Clement there has been born one daughter: Clara Mae, born at Grafton.
HUBERT DAY. Successful merchandising finds many advantages in long established relations with the trading public. One of the oldest hardware houses in Lorain County is that conducted under the present firm name of Hubert Day & Sons, with a large store at 421 Broad Street, Elyria. This house has a reputation gained by many years of handling goods of recognized quality and with the individual guarantee of the firm behind every article sold. In earlier years the business was con- ducted by A. G. Carpenter, and was bought about twenty years ago by Hubert Day. Mr. Day is a man whose abilities have well fitted him for the service of a reliable merchant, and though his previous training had been that of a farmer he carried on the store without any interruption to its long established reputation, and in later years has taken into the firm his two sons, H. Kellogg and George M. Day. The firm now carries a large stock of general hardware, tools, factory supplies, paints, stoves, house furnishings, sporting goods, victrolas and records and other special stock. and many of the most widely advertised and best known goods of standard manufacture have a place in their store.
Hubert Day is a native of Ohio, and was born at Sheffield August 11, 1844. He is descended from Robert Day of Hartford, Connecticut, who came to America in 1634. A more definite account of the early history of the Day family will be found on other pages in connection
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with S. B. Day. Mr. Day's parents were John and Cornelia Ann (Sackett) Day. His father was born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, and his mother in New York State, and the former died in Sheffield of Lorain County in 1871 and the mother in 1881. They were substantial farming people, and Hubert Day grew up on the old homestead, with an educa- tion begun in the district schools and continued for several terms at Oberlin College. Until middle life his pursuits were those of agricul- ture and its related activities, but in 1896 he left the farm and came to Elyria, and in June of that year bought out the old established hard- ware house of A. G. Carpenter. For a number of years he conducted the business under his individual name, and when the two sons came in the title was changed to Hubert Day & Sons. In its endeavor to fur- nish the highest class of mercantile service the firm relies not only upon the best quality of goods but also upon those facilities which bring a store into prompt relation with its customers, and employ both auto- mobiles and horses in their delivery service.
Mr. Day is a republican, a member of the Elyria Chamber of Com- merce, and has long been actively identified with the Congregational Church. He has served as deacon for the past thirty-five years, having held that office in the church at Sheffield, and is now deacon in the First Congregational Church at Elyria.
On November 26, 1878, at Elyria Mr. Day married Annie Lou Cham- bers, daughter of Richard Chambers, who was born in Somersetshire, England, and came to this country in 1865. Mrs. Day was eleven years old when she came to the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Day in 1914, before the outbreak of the present European war, spent two months abroad, visiting among other places the scenes of her early childhood, and also traveled through Belgium and France, stopping at Paris and spending some time in Brussels and Antwerp, and from the former city visiting the Waterloo battlefield. Mr. and Mrs. Day's four children were all born in Sheffield, namely : Mildred Eleanor Day; Hubert Kel- logg Day, an active member of the firm, who married Ethel Hancock; George Myron Day who married Silver H. Geldmacher of Denmark, Iowa; and Dorothy Anne Day. All the children graduated from the Elyria High School except Hubert, who left school in his junior year. The daughter Dorothy was graduated in June, 1913, from Oberlin Col- lege, where she specialized in kindergarten work.
HENRY A. BECK. In the course of many years the business title "H. A. Beck, general contractor and builder and real estate" has come to signify a substantial service in that community. Mr. Beck's primary work has been as general contractor, and probably no man in Elyria has a better reputation nor a longer list of achievements in construction work. He became a carpenter during his youth and for the past fifteen years has been engaged in constant service as a general contractor. He is naturally proud of his work and aims to perform the highest type of building service.
At the same time his service has taken on a broader scope, and he has done much to develop vacant real estate in and about Elyria. A great many people are familiar with the Beck addition of the City of Elyria, located on High Street with interurban car service. This is Mr. Beck's individual allotment, and originally comprised more than four acres of ground, but it has been completely built up and practically all the lots and homes are now sold. Mr. Beck has developed a great deal of property and sold it on the installment plan, and has another allot- ment in the Second Ward out Lake Avenue.
A native of Medina, Ohio, Mr. Beck was born November 25, 1869,
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a son of Fred and Elizabeth (Freidt) Beck. His father was born near Stuttgart, Germany, and came to the United States when seventeen years of age, first located near Philadelphia, and later moving to Stark County, Ohio, and from there to Wadsworth in Medina County. For a number of years he was a blacksmith, but subsequently retired to a farm and became identified with political affairs in Medina County, serving as county recorder and in other positions. Fred Beck was married in Pennsylvania, his wife having been born near Allentown in that state.
It was on his father's farm in Guilford Township of Medina County that Henry A. Beck grew to manhood. He obtained his education in the common schools and at the age of eighteen started to learn the trade of carpenter. The trade came naturally to him, since from boy- hood he was handy with tools, and with experience as a practical work- man he has combined a good business judgment and the quality and reliability so essential to the performance of every contract in its utter- most detail. As a journeyman carpenter he worked in Cleveland, Akron and other cities, and in 1893 removed to Elyria. He did the general work of his trade for a number of years, but since 1901 has been in gen- eral contracting, and now maintains an office as general contractor in the Masonic Temple. Many of the substantial business houses and resi- dences in Lorain County have been constructed by Mr. Beck, and a long list might be drawn up to indicate the local monument to his industry and skill. His work includes the construction of a number of school buildings in this county, and besides a large number of residences at Elyria Mr. Beck also put up one of the factory plants in that city.
In the Builders Exchange of Elyria Mr. Beck has served as trustee, and is a citizen who identifies himself actively with every public move- ment. He is also a member of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce and is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Knights of Pythias, is a republican in politics and alderman of the Second Ward, and is a member of the Second Congregational Church. In Masonry his affilia- tions are with King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, and with Marshal Chapter No. 47, Royal Arch Masons. Mrs. Beck before her marriage was Pearl Kindy, daughter of Henry and Caroline Kindy. She was born in Medina County. The two children of their marriage are Nellie A. and Pauline A. Nellie is the wife of Walter C. Roe, who is an electrical contractor, with offices and display rooms for the handling of everything electrical in the Masonic Temple.
REV. JAMES AUGUSTINE MCFADDEN. The most recently organized Catholic Church in Lorain County is the St. Agnes Church on Lake Ave- nue in Elyria. The laying of the cornerstone for the new edifice on July 25, 1915, was, to quote the words of a newspaper account, "the occasion of one of the largest demonstrations of the kind ever held in this city. It is estimated that at least five thousand people stood for over two hours and witnessed the ceremony." A feature of the celebration was the large parade which marched from St. Mary's Church to the scene of the cornerstone laying. Composing this procession were 100 mem- bers of the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Columbus, .delegations from Catholic congregations all over Northern Ohio, and a number of visiting priests, the mayor, city and county officials and other citizens. The principal church official was Monsignor O'Reilly, who extended the congratulations of the bishop, to which response was made by the pastor of St. Agnes, Father McFadden, who told of the work he had before him, expressed gratitude for the splendid Christian fellowship that he had found both among Catholics and Protestants in Elyria, and asked for the co-operation of the public in carrying out the plans for a new church. The principal address of the day was delivered by Father Jen-
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nings of the St. Agnes Church at Cleveland. At the conclusion of his address Father Jennings spoke as follows:
"I have a word of praise, therefore, to give to your young pastor, who will come into this parish like a messenger of Israel, to cure the wounds of the afflicted and to bring God's message among men. I will say that the bishop has priests as good, but he has nobody better than your pastor. A word of commendation is due Father McFadden. He came to this city a stranger. By hard work and untiring zeal he has organized St. Agnes parish. He has shown remarkable executive ability, and has commanded the respect of all with whom he has come in con- tact. The future of St. Agnes church is in his hands, and there is no reason to believe that he will not make a good account of his steward- ship."
The young pastor of St. Agnes Church of Elyria, James Augustine McFadden, was born December 24, 1880, a son of Edward and Mary (Cavanaugh) McFadden. He obtained all his education in schools of Cleveland, attending the Holy Name Parochial School, St. Ignatius Col- lege, and St. Mary's Seminary. He was ordained a priest June 17, 1905, and his first appointment was as assistant to Rev. Gilbert P. Jennings, pastor of St. Agnes Church at Cleveland. The St. Agnes parish at Elyria was organized June 17, 1914, and in a year's time the young pastor had carried forward the responsibilities entrusted to him to the fortunate event chronicled above by which the beginning has been made on the building of a beautiful home for this parish. St. Agnes Church when completed will furnish a large audience room for worship and general church activities and with a school in connection.
RINALDO ROLLINS STETSON. Now living retired at Elyria, Mr. R. R. Stetson is one of the old time printers and newspaper men, having begun his apprenticeship in a printer's office before the Civil war, and for many years managing the Oberlin News.
A son of Thomas and Mary Little (Leigh) Stetson, he was born March 22, 1844, at Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts. His birth- place was the Pearson-Leigh house near Old Town Hill, Newbury, and he was a member of the seventh generation to be born in that house. It was built by Capt. John Pearson in 1728 and three generations of the Pearson family and three generations of the Leighs have been born in the same place. Mr. Stetson's father, Thomas Stetson, was born at Lis- bon, New London County, Connecticut, July 22, 1814, while his wife was born in Newbury, Essex County, November 24, 1814, and was in the sixth generation born in the Pearson-Leigh house already mentioned.
Mr. Stetson has an interesting ancestry, and it is traced back through many generations to Cornet Robert Stetson, from whom, according to the best information obtainable, R. R. Stetson is a descendant in the eighth generation. Cornet Robert Stetson was born in 1613, though whether in England or Scotland is a matter still to be settled by his descendants. The accepted tradition in the family to account for his removal to America is that he was led to make this move by the presence of a girl for whom he had formed an ardent affection in the Colony of Massachusetts. Anyhow, he came to this country in 1634, settling at Scituate, now called Norwell, Massachusetts. His first wife was named Hannah. She was still living in 1681 and was mother of his children. ITis second wife was Mary Bryant, who outlived him. The children of Cornet Robert of whom there is record were Joseph, Benjamin, Thomas, Samuel. John, Eunice, Lois, Robert and Timothy. The line of descent to the Elyria family of Stetsons was carried by the son Robert, after- wards known as Robert of Pembroke. He was born January 29, 1653.
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at Scituate, Massachusetts, in the old family home, and was baptised February 26, 1653. By the will of his father, Cornet Stetson, this son received his father's old clothes, which were considered a sufficient inher- itance in addition to what had already been given him. The date of the death of Cornet Robert Stetson was about February 1, 1703.
As a result of a movement started some ten years ago (1905) there is now an incorporated organization known as "The Stetson Kindred of America," and some account of this organization may properly be intro- duced into this sketch. In the month of August, 1905, four members of the Stetson family met and agreed upon a plan to assemble as many as possible of the descendants of the original Cornet Robert Stetson, and the executive details were left in the hands of George W. Stetson of Med- ford, Massachusetts. On October 14th of that year there were gathered in the Town of Norwell eighty-four persons, all of them lineal descend- ants of the Cornet Robert. They stood about the spot where once was the house of their ancestor, went through the house then standing on the site, which had been in existence nearly 180 years, being built probably about 1725, and they quaffed water from the spring which had been used by Cornet Robert and which had never been known to fail from the year 1634 to the present time. The company also visited Stetson Hall, ate their basket lunch, and then decided to organize an association to be known as the Stetson Kindred of America. They elected temporary officers, who were instructed to incorporate under the laws of Massachusetts, and the officers chosen at that time were: Hon. Francis Lynde Stetson of New York City, president; the late John B. Stetson, the famous hat maker of Philadelphia, vice president; and George W. Stetson of Med- ford, secretary and treasurer. The matter of incorporation was entrusted to Robert Stetson Gorham, who is now vice president of the organization. This organization bought the old homestead at Norwell where Cornet Robert Stetson settled in 1634.
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