USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 38
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his death he had been connected with the Gray Canyon Quarry No. 6 at Amherst and had charge of the entire west end as assistant superin- tendent. At an earlier day he had opened the quarry in Elyria in Cascade Park, went from here to Amherst about 1886, and his home was in that town with the exception of about four years, during which time he was located in Cedar Valley, Iowa, as superintendent of the Buhler Stone Quarry there from 1892 until the year 1895. He returned from Iowa to Amherst and had his home there until his death. He is a very active church worker, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at South Amherst, and is also known in the Masonic order and the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters, belonging to Amherst Lodge of the former. His wife was born in Yorkshire, England, was brought to this country when less than a year old by her parents, who settled in Amherst, subsequently lived for a time in Canada, and then returned to Amherst. She was liberally educated, attending the public schools of Amherst and Elyria, where her parents lived for a time, and completed her education in the Oberlin High School at Oberlin. She died at Elyria, November 8, 1912. She was very devout as a Christian and a worker in the churches at Amherst and Elyria. Of the two sons, William is the older, and his brother, Elmer E., is now proprietor of the Amherst Bakery at Amherst.
Growing up in Amherst, William E. Roe attended the public schools there, the high school one year, and was graduated from the Elyria High School with the class of 1909. From there he entered the law department of Western Reserve University, and remained until gradu- ating in June, 1913, with the degree Bachelor of Laws. In the same year he was admitted to the bar by examination and in October opened his office in the Century Building at Elyria. In two years he has made his mark in the profession, and has earned a reputation for solid ability and proficient handling of all business entrusted to him, which assures him a fine future.
He is a member of the Lorain County Bar Association and has recently entered actively into politics, having become a candidate for city solicitor of Elyria. He is a republican, a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Elyria, affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees at Elyria, and is one of the young men who comprise the active membership of the Olympic Club. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Elyria and to the Young Men's Christian Association.
EARL GARFIELD JENKINS. Every occupation of mankind demands certain special qualities which are applicable to no other in the same degree. That of funeral director in particular calls for a kind and sympathizing heart, refined manners and ready tact in embarrassing situations; for the undertaker touches humanity at its most sensitive point, when the personal feelings are least under control and the individual most in need of outside aid and guidance. One of the prominent representatives of this honorable profession in Lorain County is Earl Garfield Jenkins, of Elyria, whose funeral parlors are situated at No. 335 Second Street.
Mr. Jenkins was born at Morristown, St. Lawrence County. New York, June 30, 1881, three days before the assassination of President Garfield. an event which accounts for his middle name. His parents were Rev. Owen and Delora Ione (Doty) Jenkins, his father a native of South Wales and his mother of Troy. Ashland County, Ohio. Rev. Owen Jenkins came to the United States when twenty years of age in company with a man name Evans, both settling in Oberlin, Ohio.
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in 1865. At that time he was unacquainted with the English language, except for a few words which he had picked up from his fellow Welsh- man on the boat during the passage. But it was not long after his arrival in America before Owen Jenkins had acquired a practical knowl- edge of the English tongue. He was entered and was graduated from Oberlin College and Seminary, and was ordained to the Congregational ministry December 24, 1876. Previous to his ordination and while attending college he had preached at Grafton in Lorain County, and since that time he followed his calling chiefly in the State of Ohio, though about eight years were spent in other localities, including the State of New York. Reverend Jenkins passed away February 9, 1916, in Cleveland. At one time he lived at Collinwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and while there served one term as mayor.
Rev. Owen Jenkins married Delora Ione Doty, who completed her education at Oberlin College. They became the parents of three chil- dren : Parry D., also a graduate of Oberlin and now employed by the National Casket Company in the Cleveland branch; Earl Garfield; and Royal J., deceased; the last mentioned died March 2, 1911, in Cleveland. He was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, while his two brothers, Parry and Earl G., were both natives of the State of New York.
Earl Garfield Jenkins acquired his education in public schools at Dover, Collinwood, Chardon and other places where his father was a pastor. He began earning his own way in the paint factory of the Sherwin & Williams Company at Cleveland, in whose employ he remained one year, and then became bookkeeper for J. H. Libby, a cement con- tractor of Cleveland, in whose service he was for a year. Having determined upon the undertaking business as his profession, he began an apprenticeship with the firm of J. P. Hogan & Company at Cleveland on January 2, 1901, remained with them about three months, spent a season working at Euclid Beach, and then entered another undertaking firm of Cleveland, Black & Wright, with whom he remained two years. After continuing his apprenticeship with Saxton & Son of Cleveland he entered the Huron Road Hospital in Cleveland and studied anatomy. On October 25, 1904, he took the examination before the Ohio State Board of Embalming Examiners and was granted a license to practice his profession. He then became embalmer for J. L. Cross of Warren, Ohio, with whom he remained for a year and a half, subsequently remov- ing to Garretsville, Ohio, to take charge of the undertaking department of H. A. Wadsworth. A little later he moved to Akron, remained there nearly three years in the employ of C. T. Parks as an embalmer. On August 1. 1909, Mr. Jenkins came to Elyria and in the following October became a stockholder in The Wilkins-Hurst Company, with whom he was associated until April 18, 1914. In the following month he engaged in business for himself at his present location, No. 335 Second Street, and has developed an establishment thoroughly modern in every respect, including tasteful and commodious parlors, a complete line of funeral supplies, and he has one of the handsomest auto funeral cars in North- ern Ohio.
Mr. Jenkins is a member of the Masonic order, being affiliated with the lodge in Akron, Marshall Chapter of Elyria and Elyria Council; also Elyria Commandery, Knights Templars. Since 1905 he has been a member of the Knights of Pythias of Warren. In politics he is inde- pendent. voting for the man rather than for the party. A member of the First Congregational Church of Elyria, he has served one term as deacon, and belongs to the Men's Club of that church. He is a well known member of the Ohio Funeral Directors' Association.
On January 14, 1908, Mr. Jenkins married Miss Mary Alice Cratsley
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of Warren, Ohio, daughter of Albert B. and Lottie (Herst) Cratsley. Her father is a retired farmer. Mrs. Jenkins was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, but was educated in Warren, being a graduate of the Warren High School. Her parents removed to Warren when she was a girl of twelve years, and are still residing there. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are the parents of one child, Albert Owen, who was born in Elyria September 22, 1911.
JOHN T. HENDERSON. Modern business requires practical and thor- ough training in the same degree as the professions and sciences. In the entire State of Ohio there is no institution which affords a better cur- riculum and practical business education than the Oberlin Business Col- lege. This school, since its founding, has trained and graduated hundreds of young men and women, giving them a thorough preparation for entrance into business life. Throughout the United States can be found substantial business men who acknowledge the influence of the Oberlin Business College as an important factor in their early developing career.
The success of this important Lorain County institution can be attributed chiefly to John T. Henderson, now president of the college and an educator of long and varied experience. Mr. Henderson is also one of Oberlin's foremost citizen's and business men and is president of the People's Banking Company. He was born near MeConnelsville in Morgan County, Ohio, May 18, 1862, a son of John and Cecelia (Richard- son) Henderson. His father was born in Virginia in 1822, a son of William Henderson, also a native of that state, whence he came to Ohio in the early days and located on a farm. Cecelia Richardson was born in Ohio in 1831, a daughter of Thomas Richardson, who was born in that portion of Virginia now West Virginia. John Henderson and wife were married at McConnellsville, Ohio, and they afterwards bought a farm near that town and spent the rest of their days there. He died in 1884, while his widow is still living. Of their nine children eight are living, and Professor Henderson was the fourth in order of age. The parents were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the father was an Odd Fellow and in politics a republican. As a farmer he was successful beyond the average and at the time of his death left an estate of 240 acres.
The boyhood of John T. Henderson was spent on the old farm in Mor- gan County. He attended the district schools in the winter time, and when quite young his aspirations and ambitions went beyond the horizon of his immediate surroundings. One step in his career was attending Normal School for several summers, and he was also a student in the Baldwin University at Berea, Ohio. For four years he was a teacher in the common schools and then for one year had charge of the commercial branches at Baldwin University. He was also a practical bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Berea.
It was as a student in the old Oberlin Business College that he first became identified with this community in 1884. After doing some special work in penmanship he was employed in September, 1884, as a teacher of general business subjects. Later he increased his associations with the college by buying a half interest, and in 1895 he incorporated the institution under the name of The Oberlin Business College. At that time about half the stock was distributed among other owners, but he has since bought back the greater part and is now practically sole proprietor.
The Oberlin Business College has an enrollment of about three hun- dred students each year, and on the whole they come to the school mature in years and early training, and for that reason the graduates go out with a superior fitness and equipment for the positions to which they aspire.
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C. a. Horn
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The college has two large buildings and in equipment stands in the front rank. One distinction of the school that should be noted is that it was the first business college in Ohio to be placed on the Accredited List by the State Department of Public Instruction for the training of commer- cial teachers. The normal department for training commercial teachers is now an important feature of the institution. All these improvements have been brought about during the progressive and enlightened adminis- tration of Mr. Henderson. Its growth has been such that in enrollment and in point of instruction and facilities the school is now four times as large as when he took charge. He has under him a staff of seven teachers and the curriculum includes, in addition to the normal depart- ment, all practical business courses, and special courses in penmanship. The officers and board of directors at the present time are : J. T. Hender- son, president ; J. D. Yocom, vice president ; C. A. Barnett, J. E. Camp- bell, Dr. Lyman B. Sperry, G. L. Close, secretary, and Hon. A. R. Webber.
On June 1, 1885, Mr. Henderson married Ada V. Lawrence, who was also born near McConnelsville, Ohio. Of the five children born to them, four are still living: Elmer C., who was graduated from Oberlin College in 1912, spent one year as a teacher in the Chamberlain Military Academy, located at Randolph, New York, and is now employed as a teacher and athletic coach in the Broadway High School at Seattle, Washington. Harold, who was graduated from Oberlin College in 1914, having specialized in political science, and is now connected with the New York Bureau of Municipal Research; Alice E., graduated from Oberlin College in 1915, and is now teaching commercial studies in the Oberlin Business College; Herbert R., who is a junior in the high school and a member of the high school football team.
Mr. Henderson and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics he is an independent republican. He has been active in local affairs for a number of years, having served on the school board, as a member of the Board of Health for more than twenty-five years and for a long time was president of the local board of charities.
CONRAD A. HORN. For ten years Mr. Horn has been connected with the office of county auditor of Lorain County either as deputy or auditor. His qualifications for the important duties of that position are so definite and well known that he is everywhere recognized as the man for the handling of these responsibilities in the county government. Mr. Horn has a self-made career, and has done well not only for himself but for others, and is one of the most popular men in Lorain County.
Conrad A. Horn was born at Lorain, Lorain County, December 3, 1873, a son of Martin J. and Catherine (Krantz) Horn. His father was born in Huron County, Ohio, and died at Lorain, February 22, 1895. In early life he was a farmer and subsequently was mill foreman for the Lorain Lumber and Manufacturing Company and also identified with the general lumber business. He was a practical mill man, and by trade a sash and door maker. His widow, still living at Lorain, was born in Schenectady, New York, and was brought to Lorain County in infancy. Her father, Conrad Krantz, who died in May, 1915, at the age of eighty- six, was the last survivor of a group of ship builders who a generation ago laid the foundation of Lorain's ship building interests. He was one of the wealthy and prominent men of Lorain County. Martin J. Horn and wife had one son and two daughters: (1) Elnora, a widow living with her mother has two children, Norris and Katherine; (2) Conrad A., subject of this article and (3) Cora, who died in infancy.
Conrad A. Horn had a limited education in the Lorain public schools.
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His tastes were early indicated for practical action, and he probably did not attend school up to the full measure of his opportunities. He has been working for his own support since early boyhood and has had a great variety of experiences. For a time he was a Great Lakes sailor, and for two years was a brass molder in the old Brass Works at Lorain. When his father died he became an employe of the lumber company in which the elder Horn had a position, and continued in the office of that firm for eight years. Having realized the need of a better education, he then gave up his business career temporarily in order to complete a course in the Oberlin Business College. Returning to Lorain, he was for a time employed by the Lorain City Waterworks Department, and while in that position was married August 5, 1905, to Miss Jessie E. Stuff of Fredericksburg, Ohio. Mrs. Horn is a daughter of John and Mary Stuff, both now deceased.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Horn entered the county auditor's office as a deputy on December 1, 1905. He rapidly familiarized himself with the details of the office, and continued deputy five years and seven months. He then became a candidate for the office of auditor, and was unopposed for the republican nomination. He was elected in 1912 and re-elected for his second term in 1914.
Mr. Horn and family reside in a beautiful residence at 651 Hamilton Avenue in Lorain, which he built in 1908. This home is on part of the original farm owned by his grandfather Krantz. Mr. and Mrs. Horn have one son, Robert L., who was born in the family residence at Lorain just mentioned.
Mr. Horn takes much interest in fraternal affairs. He is affiliated with the Masonic bodies at Lorain and with Al Koran Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Cleveland. He is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Lorain, the Knights of Pythias, and other fraternal bodies. Other connections are with the Lorain Chamber of Commerce and with Emanuel's Evangelical Church of Lorain. Mr. Horn is well known in musical circles in Lorain County, has much natural ability in that art, and for the past nineteen years until very recently has been identified with either the Elyria or Lorain bands and is (1916) a member of Al Koran Band of Cleveland, Ohio, in connection with the Mystic Shrine. He is also a lover of outdoor sports, and is usually to be found among the spectators at baseball, football, or basketball games.
REV. JAMES B. MOONEY. Among the Catholic clergy in Lorain County, Rev. James B. Mooney has distinguished himself for the earnest- ness of his labors, for his effective pastorate of St. Mary's Church at Elyria, and for his active support of everything that is wholesome in the life of the community.
A native of Cleveland, Father Mooney was born July 22, 1870, a son of John and Catherine Mooney, both of whom were born in Ireland, came to this country as children, and were married in Cleveland where they are still residents.
As a boy Father Mooney began his education in the Holy Family School (now St. Edward's) at Cleveland, at the age of fourteen entered St. Vincent's College at Beatty, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and three years later became a student in St. Charles College at Ellicott City, Maryland. At the age of nineteen he entered St. Mary's Theo- logical Seminary at Cleveland, and on October 18, 1894, was ordained to the priesthood by Right Reverend Bishop Horstmann at St. Mary's Seminary.
A few days later, on October 31, 1894, he was stationed as assistant to Rev. R. A. Sidley, pastor of St. Peter and Paul's Church, at San-
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dusky, Ohio. Two years later he became assistant to the Rev. A. E. Manning, pastor of St. Rose Church at Lima, Ohio, and remained there six years. Then came his first regular pastorate at St. Patrick's Church in Kent, Portage County, Ohio, and two years later he became pastor of St. Mary's at Conneaut, Ohio. On September 20, 1911, the Rt. Rev. John P. Farrelly, Bishop of Cleveland, assigned to the pastorate of St. Mary's Church in Elyria, and he has now been identified with this com- munity as one of its leading churchmen for more than four years.
WILLIAM H. KLINECT. A native son of Lorain County, William H. Klinect at the beginning of his independent career had less than two hundred dollars in cash. He now has a fine farm of 110 acres all paid for, and besides has provided liberally for his growing family which numbers some seven or eight sturdy young men and women. He is the type of man who generally makes a success of anything he undertakes, and his capability in managing his private interests has brought him at different times prominently into the public life of his home township and of the county.
He operates a fine farm and dairy three and a half miles southeast of Grafton on rural route No. 3. William H. Klinect was born in the house where he now lives October 28, 1868, a son of Jacob and Frederica (Wise) Klinect. His father was born in Liverpool Township of Medina County about five miles southeast of the present Klinect farm in Lorain County, and was a son of Michael and Catherine Klinect, both of whom were natives of Germany. Reared on a farm in Medina County, the father afterwards bought considerable land in Grafton Township and in the spring of 1868 he bought the eighty acres included in the present estate of his son William. There he spent his last days and passed away July 5, 1900. He was twice married. By the first union there were two children : Mrs. Elizabeth Cousins, who lives in Eaton Township and is the mother of eight children; and John, who lives in Orange County, Florida, and is married and has eight children. On January 17, 1865, Jacob Klinect married Miss Frederica Wise, who was born in Southern Germany near the French border and when thirteen years of age came to America with her parents Peter and Louise (Mueller) Wise, who settled in Medina County. By this second marriage there were three children : William H., the oldest; Anna, wife of Charles Marsh, living in Elyria, and she has two sons named Orlo and Clarence; and Frederic, who lives in Grafton Township and is married to Bertha Marsh and has three children.
William H. Klinect spent his early youth on the old homestead, and profited by attendance at the local schools. He was well trained for his present vocation under the direction of his father and he not only worked in the fields but also bought stock and learned the butchering business.
On December 12, 1894, he married Miss Lottie Marsh. She was born and reared in Liverpool Township, of Medina County, a daughter of Irvin and Edith (Taylor) Marsh. Her father was also a native of Medina County while her mother was born in Lorain County. Irvin Marsh was a farmer. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Klinect were born ten children, two of whom died in infancy. The others are: Irvin, who was born September 19, 1895, and completed his education in the little white schoolhouse near the old home; Rosa, born November 21, 1896; Mabel, born August 2, 1898; Lewis, born January 29, 1900; Howard, born January 8. 1902; Lee, born June 7, 1903; Maurice, born December 8, 1907; and Hazel, born March 15, 1910.
After his marriage Mr. Klinect pursued a course of steady indus-
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try, thrift and economy, in which he was loyally aided by his wife, and in 1900 he was able to buy the old homestead from his mother. Since then he has created many improvements which have increased the value of his property. In 1907 he bought thirty acres of adjoining land. He erected a fine new barn in 1913 and has also remodeled the old house. With all this fine property to his credit and with his happy family, he can well be said to have accomplished all that an ambitious man can desire.
In politics he is a democrat, and is now a member of the County Executive Committee. He served several terms as township assessor and in 1910 was both assessor and land appraiser. In 1914 Governor Cox appointed him member of the board of complaints and he served as president of the board. In 1910 Mr. Klinect was nominated for the office of county commissioner. His district is normally about 3,500 majority republican, but he lost the election by only 490 votes. He was reared in the Lutheran Church, but his family attend the Methodist Episcopal and he helps to support that denomination.
THOMAS A. CONWAY. The active career of Thomas A. Conway has been spent in Henry and Lorain counties, and in both of these localities he has gained a gratifying number of official honors, and his ability as a lawyer and public leader are now generally recognized throughout this section of the state. He gained his education and every successive degree of advancement by hard work, and some twenty-five years ago was a country school teacher in Henry County, using that as a stepping stone to his position in the bar and has now been in active practice for twenty-two years.
Mr. Conway's parents, Patrick and Jane (Callahan) Conway, were born in Ireland, came to this country when young, were married at Cleveland in 1862 and soon afterwards purchased a small farm near Olmsted Falls in Cuyahoga County. While living on that farm and in a humble home, Thomas A. Conway was born on June 19, 1864. In the following spring his parents removed to Wood County, and after living in that county until 1883 they moved to Henry County, where the father died in 1913, aged eighty-seven years, and where the mother now resides.
The healthy environment of the country was Mr. Conway's early source of strength, and he attended the district schools and the Grand Rapids High School in Wood County, and beginning in 1885 was for eight winter terms a teacher. The summer seasons for four of these years, 1886-87-88-89, were spent as a student in the Northern Ohio University at Ada, and thus he perfected his literary education. In the fall of 1890 he began reading law with Judge John V. Cuff of Napoleon, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in October, 1893. His pre- ceptor having been elected probate judge of Henry County, Mr. Con- way bought Mr. Cuff's practice and during the next ten years was a lawyer of growing prestige and influence in that county. In 1903 he was elected prosecuting attorney, and held that office from 1904 to 1907.
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