USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 34
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Rinaldo Rollins Stetson gained his early education in the public schools of Massachusetts and New York. In choosing a career he fol- lowed his inclinations for the mysteries of the "art preservative of all arts," and began a regular apprenticeship as a printer in the Rochester Evening Express office at Rochester, New York, in September, 1859. For a number of years he followed his trade in Boston, Massachusetts, and Chicago, Illinois, but in 1876 came to Oberlin, Ohio, to take charge of the News in that city. Since 1906 Mr. Stetson has had his home in Elyria.
In his political associations he has been always a republican since casting his first vote. In 1869 he was made a Mason in Valley Lodge No. 109 at Rochester, New York, and also took his degrees in Odd Fellow- ship in Rochester City Lodge No. 66. During 1892-95 he served as master of Oberlin Lodge No. 380, Free and Accepted Masons, and is now affiliated with King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, and with Marshall Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, at Elyria. He also belongs to the Masonic Club and the Volunteer Veteran Fire Association . of Lorain County. His church home is the Methodist.
At Rochester, New York. August 18. 1868, Mr. Stetson married Mary Elizabeth Read, daughter of E. H. and Lucinda Read. Her father was a native of Bennington, Vermont, and of old New England ancestry. Her mother, whose maiden name was Lucinda Felt, was born in Fabius, New York, the first Felt having lived at Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1633. Mr. Stetson is the father of four children, three of whom are living, and has four grandsons and two granddaughters. The children are: Mary Alice, wife of Rev. S. L. Bristor, born at Windridge, Penn-
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sylvania; Rinaldo Rollins, Jr., who died at Oberlin March 31, 1888; Frank Arthur, an Elyria lawyer, referred to in following paragraphs; and Florence Edith, of Elyria.
FRANK ARTHUR STETSON. In the Lorain County bar Frank A. Stet- son has been one of the steadiest and most industrious workers during the past thirteen years, and his position is now one of assured success and prominence. Mr. Stetson has the distinction of being the first lawyer in the history of Lorain County to hold the office of assistant prosecuting attorney, an office which was only recently created and which he has held since January 1, 1915.
A native of Lorain County, Frank Arthur Stetson was born at Oberlin, April 27, 1877, a son of Rinaldo Rollins and Mary Elizabeth (Read) Stetson, who are now living at Elyria. Mr. Stetson's interesting family record will be found in the sketch of his father. His early years were spent at Oberlin, where he attended the public schools and the academy, and in 1900 graduated A. B. from Oberlin College. As a means of furthering his higher education he taught school for some time, part of the time in the country and part of the time in graded and high schools, having been an instructor in the high school at Vermilion.
In 1901-02 Mr. Stetson was a student in the Western Reserve Uni- versity Law School at Cleveland, and defrayed some of his expenses in that institution by teaching in the city night schools. Admitted to the bar in 1903, he soon afterward formed a partnership with H. W. Ingersoll, under the firm name of Ingersoll & Stetson. This firm was in existence until 1910, since which time Mr. Stetson has practiced alone, and now gives most of his attention to his duties as assistant prosecuting attorney.
For the past fourteen years Mr. Stetson has been active in local politics as a republican. He has served at different times as secretary and treasurer of the county executive committee and was secretary and had charge of the local campaign during the fall of 1914 along with F. R. Fauver, who was chairman of the county central committee. Mr. Stetson is a member of the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, of the Lorain County Bar Association, and has fraternal affiliations with King Solo- mon's Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, of which lodge he is worshipful master; with Marshall Chapter, No. 47, Royal Arch Masons; Elyria Council, No. 86, Royal and Select Masons, and is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America. His church home is the Methodist Episcopal.
On October 6, 1910, at Cleveland, he married Miss Ethel M. Bart- lett, daughter of Willis P. and Nettie Bartlett. Her mother died May 19, 1915, in Cleveland, and her father is still living in that city. Mrs. Stetson's family ancestry is traced back to Colonial times. She is also a graduate of Oberlin College. To their marriage have been born three children : Neva Claire, Carol Elizabeth and Frank Arthur, Jr.
JOHN KAISER. It is not always easy to measure and appraise defi- nitely the accomplishments of the individual in business or professional affairs. However, the case is comparatively simple in consideration of the building contractor, whose work stands out conspicuously and its value and importance are at once recognized. There is one company in Lorain County which during the past fifteen or twenty years has prob- ably been identified with the construction and handling of more impor-
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tant contracts in the building field than any other concern. This is the John Kaiser Building Company of Elyria, of which John Kaiser is president, and his brother L. P. Kaiser, is secretary and treasurer. In the sketch of the secretary of the company, L. P. Kaiser, will be found an enumeration of the more important structures and contracts which this company has handled and that list will serve to indicate the prominence of the Kaiser Brothers as business men in this county.
The career of John Kaiser as a building contractor has been a product of long continued practical experience and efficient business management. He was born in Dover Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, April 2, 1862. His parents, both now deceased, were Antone and Catherine (Werch) Kaiser, the former a native of Canada and the latter of Germany. The family established their home in Dover Town- ship of Cuyahoga County in 1872, and afterwards lived in Wood County, at the City of Dayton, and at Cleveland and Cincinnati. In these various localities John Kaiser spent that period of life usually assigned to boyhood and youth, though he had entered upon the practical stage of man's activities before his youth was spent.
At different places and under different contractors he learned thor- oughly the trade of carpenter and builder, and is a man whose later business success is based upon the foundation of a thorough technical knowledge of the chief trade at the foundation of his business. For nearly ten years he was with John Rouser & Company of Dayton, three years of that time as foreman, and while there was a factor in the build- ing of the Barney & Smith Car Works at Dayton, in the construction of several buildings of Springfield College, and of courthouses at Tiffin, Sidney and Columbus. For several years while living at Cincinnati Mr. Kaiser paid particular attention to the intricate and difficult art of stair building. He engaged in contracting on his own account in Cincinnati in 1889. During the next eight or nine years he completed a large addition to the University of Ohio, put up a large block on Walnut Hills in Cin- cinnati, and a large number of other houses in that city and vicinity.
Mr. Kaiser has been a resident of Elyria since April, 1898. The con- tracting business was first carried on under the name John Kaiser & Brother, but in 1905 the John Kaiser Company was organized and in- corporated, and for the past ten years that company name has been one of familiar association in connection with most of the larger building con- tracts in the city and vicinity. At the present time the company is erect- ing the new St. Agnes Catholic Church at Elyria. The John Kaiser & Brother Co. has built two schoolhouses in Lorain, and these are buildings of which any firm of contractors might well be proud. They opened up what is known as Kaiser Court in Elyria, where they have built and im- proved by the most modern methods and where both the brothers own and reside in fine residences which they built. Mr. Kaiser is one of the most prominent members of the Elyria Builders Exchange and served as its president in 1908. He and his family are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church, and he belongs to the Knights of Columbus.
. On June 17, 1889, he was married to Miss Mary O'Connor of Sidney, Ohio. They have a happy family, for whom Mr. Kaiser has provided liberally, and the eight children are named as follows: Bessie, wife of Norman Terrill ; Margaret, wife of Frank Rockwood; Charles; Andrew, now deceased ; Mary ; Harry ; Ernestine; and George.
LOUIS PHILIP KAISER. No man within the City of Elyria has contrib- uted in greater degree to the making of his surroundings than has Louis Philip Kaiser, secretary and treasurer of The John Kaiser & Brother Company, general contractors and builders and real estate agents. Turn
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where you will, large buildings and small, beautiful residences and mod- ern homes, banks and industrial structures, places of worship and edu- cational institutions, edifices for the housing of public utilities-these, and more which contribute to the architectural ensemble of a flourishing community, have been erected under the direction of Mr. Kaiser and the firm which he represents, and no greater tribute could be paid to his skill, business sagacity and reliability.
Mr. Kaiser was born at Custar, Wood County, Ohio, August 8, 1875, and is a son of Antone and Catherine (Wersch) Kaiser, the former a native of Canada and the latter in Germany. They came to the United States about 1856, settling at Dover, Ohio, where for a few years the father was engaged in blacksmithing. They then noved to Wood County, Ohio, and settled at Custar, but soon moved back to Dover Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and subsequently lived for various periods in Wood County and at Cleveland, Ohio. When Louis P. Kaiser was about seven years of age the family returned to Dover, and there resided until about 1895 when the family came to Elyria, and here the parents both passed away. Antone Kaiser was a blacksmith by trade, a vocation which he followed during the greater part of his life, although he was also largely interested in farming. There were five sons and seven daughters in the family, of whom all lived to maturity except one child who died when about twelve years of age. The oldest child, Mrs. Mary Schuster, died in 1912 at her home at Custar, Wood County, Ohio, as the wife of Nick Schuster and the mother of twelve children; four of the Kaiser sons and three of the daughters reside at Elyria, these being John, who is president of The John Kaiser & Brother Company ; Louis Philip, of this review ; Antone; Frank J .; Mrs. C. R. Engles; Mrs. Clinton Wadsworth, and Mrs. Frank Squires.
Louis Philip Kaiser was given his literary training in the public schools of Dover Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and in correspond- ence schools, but is largely self educated, having learned more in the schools of hard work and experience than in any other kind. As a youth he learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed from his eighteenth year until he went into business on his own account in 1900, in company with his brother, John, in general contracting and real estate. The firm was known as John Kaiser & Brother until January 8, 1906, when the company was incorporated, and since then has been known as The John Kaiser & Brother Company, with John Kaiser as president of the con- cern, and L. P., as secretary and treasurer. In addition to doing the major part of the best work accomplished at Elyria since the inception of the company, this concern has erected three large churches at Lorain and has handled many other outside contracts. Notable among the structures erected at Elyria may be mentioned the Elyria Memorial Hos- pital, the Nurses' Home, the Elyria Savings and Banking Company, the Young Men's Christian Association Building, Washington Terrace, the American Lace Manufacturing Company's plant and Saint Agnes' Cath- olic Church. For the last named, the contract figure was approximately $30,000, and work was commenced in May, 1915, Bishop Farrelly, of Cleveland, having authorized Father McFadden, the local priest, to pro- ceed with the work. This is a brick edifice on Lake Avenue, 56x114 ft., with a seating capacity of 500 persons. The floor of the edifice is con- structed of reinforced concrete, and at some future date it is planned to erect an addition to the building, in which the altar and sanctuary will be located, thus increasing the seating capacity by 100.
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The John Kaiser & Brother Company have evolved new methods for use in particular cases, and in the conduct of their business all the way through have demonstrated the possession of progressive ideas and
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energetic spirit. In their own particular magazine, "Homes of Char- acter," they state: "The one big thought-the building-which must continue to satisfy, delight, rest and relax, is the construction of the home itself-herein we specialize. We are not satisfied merely to assist you in securing a home. We wish to render you a still larger service in aiding you in the selection of the style of home which your taste and your family position may require. To this end we are presenting you with a year's subscription to our publication, Homes of Character Magazine. Each issue will contain a wide range of building designs, as in this number. They will be actual homes designed by the John Henry Newson Company, probably the best known firm of designers of home architecture in the country. If you have a special design construction in mind, we shall be glad to give you the benefit of our services, as the exclusive representa- tives of the John Henry Newson Company, having your home designed according to your own ideas or in combination with some of these plans, securing this work for you from 10% to 20% cheaper than if you were to secure the same high grade of service direct. It is to our advan- tage to have every home in which we are interested as well as yourselves, built of the very highest and most artistic style obtainable." In the fore- going there are incorporated ideas which distinctively evidence the progressive and energetic methods by which this concern is actuated and operated, as well as a conception of the dignity and importance of the business that has contributed so materially to its success. The concern, as a dealer in real estate, land and homes, sells its properties at popular prices and according to easy payments which make it possible for even the man most modestly situated financially to secure a home of his own, and at the office of the company are to be found approximately 200 dif- ferent designs of homes, ranging from $2,500 to $15,000.
In the building up of this large enterprise, Louis P. Kaiser has borne no small part. He is a well informed and broad-minded man, lending to the business a progressive spirit and to his community an extent of prac- tical usefulness the extent of which is difficult to adequately estimate. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Elks and Eagles lodges of Elyria, and also holds membership in the Elyria Automobile Club and the Elyria Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Kaiser was married in March, 1912, to Miss Elsie M. Hauhn, who was born and educated at Vermilion, Ohio, and also attended the Elyria Business College, daughter of Mrs. Mary Hauhn, who still resides at Vermilion. One son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kaiser : Robert Louis, born at Elyria, Ohio, April 2, 1914.
CHARLES C. LORD. It is as a veteran newspaper man that Charles C. Lord is best known in Lorain County, though his other activities have also brought him those quiet distinctions associated with the popular and capable citizen.
At the present time Mr. Lord is city editor of the Elyria Daily Chron- icle. He has been in the newspaper business for a number of years, and is a printer by trade, having learned that business under the late George G. Washburn. Mr. Lord was born in Darlington, Wisconsin, and came to Elyria when a boy in 1870. Thus for forty-five years he has known Elyria in its changes and growth. Four years ago he became editor of the Chronicle. For some time he was in the fire insurance business, and in the way of public service he held the office of justice of the peace in Elyria Township many years.
On June 10, 1885, at Elyria, he married Miss Alta Penfield. Their children, all graduates of the Elyria High School, are : Ralph Lord, now clerk in the United States district clerk's office in Cleveland ; Clara, who
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owns a ladies' shoe store in Fremont; and Walter C. Lord, who is a member of the class of 1917 in the Elyria High School.
HENRY MILLER is engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Elyria, Ohio. For many years he has been connected with the upbuild- ing of Lorain County and he has just reason to be proud of the fact that to his efforts can be traced many a substantial enterprise or advancement contributing greatly to the growth and prosperity of this section of the state. In every sense of the word he is a representative citizen and a business man of marked capacity.
A native of Lorain County, Henry Miller was born at Brownhelm Station, Ohio, May 28, 1865, and he is a son of Adodate and Regina (Smith) Miller, both of whom are now deceased. The father was born in Mecklenburg Schwerin, Germany, and his parents passed their entire lives in the Fatherland. He was a substitute for Henry Lutz when men were being drafted for service in the Civil war, but that struggle was terminated before he was called. During the greater part of his active career he was a stone quarryman but for a number of years he conducted a butcher and saloon business. Mrs. Miller was born at Brownhelm Station, Ohio, and her father, Henry Smith, was a native of Hessen, Germany, whence he immigrated to the United States in an early day. Henry Smith drove an ox team from Brownhelm Station to Cleveland to the first grist mill established in the latter city. En route he forded the Rocky River, and it took him three weeks to make the round trip. He built a log house in the vicinity of Brownhelm Station and subse- quently erected a frame house, which is still standing and which is now used as a store house on the old Smith homestead. It is roofed with hand split and shaved shingles and has been in continuous use for over forty-six years. This farm is owned by Mrs. Henry Brown, an aunt of the subject of this review. Mrs. Miller was summoned to the life eternal October 8, 1912, and Mr. Miller died in 1889; both are interred in the Brownhelm Station Cemetery.
Concerning the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller the fol- lowing brief data are here incorporated : Jacob lives at Amherst, Ohio; Henry is the subject of this sketch; Lizzie is the wife of C. W. Sales, of Huron, Ohio; Mary is the wife of Edward Wittmer, of Vermillion, Ohio; Charles A. lives on the old Miller homestead near Brownhelm Station and is unmarried ; William is a resident of Amherst, Ohio; Freda is the wife of Fred Strehle, of Brownhelm Station : and Peter is deceased. Peter, the last mentioned, was killed in front of the old home, at the age of twenty-one years, by accidentally falling off a train and striking on an iron bridge girder. He lived only three days. The Miller children were educated in the little frame schoolhouse just east of Brownhelm Station and two miles distant from their home.
Henry Miller attended school until he had reached his eleventh year, at which tender age he began to work on a farm for Charles Cooley. Subsequently he worked for Joshua Phelps for several years and then he pound-fished on the lake for a time, and November 29, 1886. he entered the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company as a brakeman, continuing as such until 1894, when he was promoted to the position of conductor on a freight and construction train. He served in the latter capacity until April 26, 1907, on which date, while standing on the running board of the tender, he was brushed off by accident and both legs were cut off below the knee. This accident happened at West Park, a suburb of Cleveland, and of course put an end to his railroad career. Six months later Mr. Miller, plucky and energetic still, began to solicit fire, life and accident insurance on his stumps. He received
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no help whatsoever from the railroad company. He has continued in this business to the present time and in addition now handles real estate and is agent for the Winkley Artificial Limb Company, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the largest manufacturers of artificial limbs in the world. Needless to say Mr. Miller is equipped with a pair of the Winkley artificial limbs and is an ardent advocate of their patent adjustable double slip socket artificial leg, which is warranted not to chafe the stump. He has represented the above company for the past five years, during two of which he traveled for that concern. He has made a splendid success of business in recent years and owns a fine, big automobile which he drives as well as if he had never been crippled.
In politics Mr. Miller is an ardent republican. He was elected infirmary director of Lorain County in the fall of 1909 and took up the reins of office, with two other directors, January 1, 1910. He served in the above capacity with the utmost satisfaction to his constituents for two years. This office is now under the supervision of the county com- missioners and is no longer elective. In the fall of 1912 Mr. Miller ran for the office of county recorder but owing to political exigencies met with defeat at the polls. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias at Elyria and is still affiliated with the Brotherhood of Railway Conductors.
March 18, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss Ella Buswell, a daughter of Otis and Thankful (Fisk) Buswell, old settlers in LaGrange, Ohio, where they lived on the same farm for nearly sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Buswell are now deceased. Mrs. Miller was reared and educated in Lorain County. She and her husband have one daughter, Dorothy E., born in 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are popular with their fellow citizens at Elyria and command the high esteem of all with whom they come in contact. It is to the inherent force of character and commendable ambition and the unremitting diligence of Mr. Miller himself that he steadily advanced in the business world until he now occupies a leading place among the active and representative men of Elyria.
JOSEPH BINEHOWER. For more than twenty-five years a resident of Wellington, Joseph Binehower though now in his seventy-fifth year is still active, looking after his business every day, and has had a most eventful and unusual experience. He is one of the surviving veterans of that grand army that fought for the preservation of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war. He has met every difficulty, has solved every problem, with the same unflinching courage and fidelity which characterized his service as a soldier.
Some idea of his career is reflected in a short paragraph which was published in 1915 under the title Fifty Years in Business. It reads as follows: "On July 10, 1865, Joseph Binehower took his first applica- tion for insurance, it being on the property of Jane S. Brown of Savan- nah, Ohio, and on Saturday, July 10, 1915, he celebrated his fiftieth anniversary in the business. He has had over 500 losses, all of which were settled without contesting a claim. This is certainly a great record. He is enjoying a good business at this time, and his many friends con- gratulate him upon his long and successful career as an insurance agent and wish him many more years in the business. He is still a live wire at the age of seventy-four, and represents some twenty-five companies."
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Joseph Binehower was born in Wayne County, Ohio, June 17, 1841, a son of John and Fannie ( Ault) Binehower, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The paternal grandparents were John and Susan (Stober) Binehower, who moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio, where they spent the rest of their days. John Binehower served as a teamster in the War of 1812. The maternal grandfather, Valentine Ault, who mar- Vol. II-15
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ried a Miss Lauer, was also a native of Pennsylvania and was an early settler in Wayne County, Ohio. John Binehower, father of Joseph, was born May 12, 1810, and died December 20, 1893. His first wife, mother of Joseph, died April 29, 1844. They were married in Wayne County, Ohio, and the father followed the trade of plasterer for some years and afterwards became a farmer. He died in Ashland County. By his first wife there were two children: Susan, now deceased, was the wife of Richard Palmer, and Joseph. For his second wife John Binehower married Sarah Klotz, and of the two children of that marriage one is now living, Mrs. Maria C. Karth of Ashland, Ohio. Mr. Binehower's parents were members of the Lutheran Church, and his father was first a whig and later a republican. John Binehower by close application to business became quite well to do, but before his death lost nearly all his property.
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