USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 39
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His home has been in Elyria since September, 1907. In the spring of 1898 he formed a partnership with Harry A. Pounds under the firm name of Conway & Pounds, which continued until Mr. Conway's appoint- ment to the office of probate judge.
Judge Conway has been a prominent factor in democratic politics since coming to Lorain County, and in 1908 his vigorous campaign for election as prosecuting attorney of Lorain County attracted wide atten- tion since he ran more than a thousand votes ahead of his ticket. This
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Thomas A. Conway.
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demonstration of popular esteem led to his name being placed on the democratic ticket as nominee for mayor of Elyria after the death of Thomas Folger, who had been the first democrat to be elected to that office since the Civil war, and who was again nominated for the office in 1909, but died several weeks before the election. About ten days before the election Mr. Conway entered the race, and to the happy sur- prise of his friends was elected by a margin of twenty votes, though at the same election the republican candidate for city treasurer was elected by 1,400 majority. Mr. Conway gave Elyria a very efficient administration as mayor, beginning January 1, 1910, and serv- ing a term of two years. Since then still further official honors have been given him. Governor Harmon in 1912 appointed him judge of probate of Lorain County to fill the unexpired term caused by the death of Judge E. H. Hinman, and he filled that office for eight months from June, 1912 to February, 1913. He was also a member of the charter commission of Elyria, which formulated a new charter for the city but this instrument was rejected by popular vote in 1913. On May 5, 1915, Mr. Conway was appointed referee in bankruptcy, an office he still fills.
Fraternally he has served as grand knight of the Elyria Knights of Columbus, and is now a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church. He also belongs to the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, and is always found supporting every movement for a better and greater city. His offices are in the Reddington Building. June 8, 1897, Mr. Conway was married at Ada, Ohio, to Miss Stella J. Owens. She was born at Bluffton, Ohio, daughter of Henry P. and Elizabeth ( Alerding) Owens. Mr. and Mrs. Conway have five children, all of whom were born in Napoleon, Ohio, except the youngest, a native of Elyria. Their names are Owen Thomas, Charles Bernard, Esther Elizabeth, Dorothy Estella and Eugene H.
HON. WILLIAM G. SHARP. Lorain County has been well honored by the services of its public men in numerous high stations. The most recent distinction of the county in this respect was the appointment by President Wilson in June, 1914, of Hon. William G. Sharp as ambas- sador to France. Mr. Sharp has spent most of his life in Lorain County, though his activities as a lawyer and business man has led him far afield, so that he is a cosmopolitan in experience and has a wide and thorough knowledge of world politics. Mr. Sharp resigned his place in Congress, where for the third successive term he was representing the Fourteenth Ohio District, in order to accept his present post, which is one of the most important in the diplomatic circles of the world.
Without respect to party the appointment of Mr. Sharp was re- garded not only as a high compliment to an Ohio man, but as one com- pletely justified on every consideration because of Mr. Sharp's experi- ence as a lawyer, business man and congressman. The Cleveland Plain Dealer said: "William G. Sharp, nominated to succeed Mr. Herrick, will fill the office in a manner no less acceptable to both nations. Friends of the present member of Congress from the Elyria District will be pleased at the honor which has come to him. Three times in succes- sion the republican fourteenth district has returned Mr. Sharp to the House. In republican as well as democratic weather, the voters have signified their confidence in his character and ability, ignoring party lines and increasing his plurality at each election. Under the last re- districting act Mr. Sharp's home county of Lorain was thrown into a new group and the representative had already announced his disinclina- tion to seek another nomination." Likewise the Toledo Blade referred to the appointment in these words: "It is unlikely that the president
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could have filled the place more acceptably, even though he had cared to look elsewhere than in the ranks of those made eligible by the party expediency. Mr. Sharp in addition to being a citizen of soundest char- acter, is a gentleman of those social and financial attainments which particularly fit him for the delicate and yet somewhat rigorous duties of representing the United States in Paris."
At the time of his appointment Mr. Sharp was ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House, and had become a power in the movement for international peace through his zealous efforts to accomplish this much desired condition. It is noteworthy that the Foreign Relations Committee paid him a compliment by agreeing to a report for his confirmation without referring the appointment to a com- mittee for investigation, as is usual. That was the first appointment to the diplomatic service which had thus been treated during the Wilson administration.
Few men in Ohio have displayed a greater versatility and thorough- ness of attainment than the present ambassador to France. He has been known as a lawyer, writer, astronomer and also a power in the industrial world.
Born at Mount Gilead, Morrow County, Ohio, March 14, 1859, he is a son of George and Mahala (Graves) Sharp. His mother is still liv- ing at Elyria. His paternal ancestors took a prominent part in public affairs of Maryland in the early days, his grandfather, George Sharp, serving as state senator and afterwards holding for many years a con- spicuous position in politics and journalism. Ambassador Sharp's father was well educated, came to Ohio about 1830, and was a pioneer news- paper man. The ancestors of Mahala Graves were Connecticut people, some of whom served in the Revolutionary war, and there were men of distinction on both sides.
William Graves Sharp was reared in Elyria, graduated from the high school in 1877 and in 1881 took his degree in law from the Univer- sity of Michigan. On leaving college he spent some months in the North- west, in the Dakotas and Minnesota, and was principally employed in newspaper work. In 1882 he began active practice as a lawyer at Elyria, but while successful in the ordinary channels of legal work, he has given most of his attention to industrial development and organization. In 1887 he became the legal adviser to a southern manufacturing cor- poration, and this indirectly opened the field in which he attained his greatest business success. He effected the organization of a number of large companies manufacturing pig iron and chemicals in Michigan, Wisconsin and Canada. In 1907 he was chiefly instrumental in con- solidating the various companies in which he was interested into the Lake Superior Iron & Chemical Company, which soon became the largest concern for the manufacturing of charcoal pig iron in the world, owning numerous furnaces, mines, timber lands and chemical plants in Michi- gan and Wisconsin. The headquarters of the corporation are now in Detroit. Mr. Sharp's interests also include valuable holdings in real estate in Elyria and Lorain.
In public life Mr. Sharp's advancement has always been against the serious obstacles presented by a normal republican majority. In 1884 he accepted the democratic nomination for prosecuting attorney of Lorain County, and in his election overcame a normal republican ma- jority of 2,500. He declined renomination at the end of three years, and in 1887 was nominated for state senator and though leading his ticket was defeated. In 1892 he was a democratic presidential elector when Mr. Cleveland was elected for his second term. He was also democratic nominee for Congress in 1900, and a delegate to the Demo-
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cratic National Convention in 1904. In his election to represent the Ohio Fourteenth District in Congress in 1908 Mr. Sharp, as has been well said, succeeded in making the impossible possible. It was against his individual protest that he was nominated by the democrats in that year though in every respect he was one of the best qualified men in Ohio to represent the state in the halls of the national Legislature. He was elected by a large plurality, and this plurality was increased at each election, both in 1910 and 1912, and in the last year reached the impressive figures of 11,384. Almost from the first he occupied a posi- tion of unusual prestige and influence in the House of Representatives, and he was by no means unknown in diplomatic circles and over the country at large when his appointment as French ambassador brought him so prominently into the public eye.
Mr. Sharp was married at Elyria in 1895 to Miss Hallie M. Clough, daughter of Henry H. and Margaret (Barney) Clough. Their five children are Margaret, George, William, Effee Graves and Baxter Sharp. Mr. Sharp is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, Elk, Woodman, and has mem- bership in many clubs both in Ohio and in the East. For several years he served as a member of the Elyria School Board. Among a more limited circle Mr. Sharp is known for his scientific attainments, particu- larly in the field of astronomy. That science attracted him when a boy, and as means and success came to him he has never relaxed his enthusi- asm and is an amateur whose knowledge is unusually thorough and exact. He enjoys the friendship and association of many of the best known astronomers in the world.
AUGUST STRAUS. The commercial history of Oberlin could not be written without frequent reference to the Straus family. The first head of this family in Oberlin is August Straus, who is one of the oldest active merchants.
His cousin was the late Marks Straus, whose enterprise was one of the cornerstones of Oberlin's prosperity. Marks Straus was born in Germany and first came to Oberlin in 1848 as a traveling peddler. He possessed a splendid commercial genius, and when he died he was worth half a million dollars. His wealth and his influence went to the upbuilding of Oberlin in many ways. He founded a dry goods business which for years he conducted under his name and it was the chief trad- ing center of a large surrounding territory. He also owned a large hotel, but subsequently willed the building to Oberlin College. He was generous, broad minded, and was never selfish in his success. He married Miss Bartholomew of Oberlin and had one son, Clayton Straus. Marks Straus died in 1912 and his wife passed away in 1904.
August Straus, who on first coming to Oberlin more than half a century ago, was associated with his cousin Marks in business for some years, was born in Germany in April, 1843, a son of Abraham and Rose (Summerfelt) Straus, who were natives of the same district in the old country. His father was born in 1798 and died in 1870, and the mother was born in 1811 and died about 1868. Abraham Straus was a dealer in horses and cattle in Germany and the parents spent their lives in that country. Of their eight children five are living. August and two of his brothers came to the United States, but August is now the only one living in this country.
He was about seventeen years of age when he came to America and in 1860 entered the employ of his cousin Marks Straus at Oberlin. He remained with him for eight or ten years, and then bought the clothing department, Marks Straus keeping the dry goods store. Since then for a period of more than forty-five years August Straus has conducted
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the leading clothing business at Oberlin and has displayed much of the commercial ability which so distinguished the late Marks Straus.
In 1873 he married Sarah Wood of Birmingham, Erie County, Ohio. Their two children are: Bertha E., who married E. M. Cook of Oberlin, who is associated with Mr. Straus in the clothing business, and they have a son named Elton Straus Cook. Claudia S. is the wife of W. P. Carruthers, and they have a son Arthur S. Mrs. Straus died in Novem- ber, 1912.
Fraternally Mr. Straus is a Royal Arch Mason, and in politics is a democrat. At one time he served as vice president of the Oberlin Bank and was a charter member of the Oberlin Banking Company.
W. P. Carruthers, who is now actively associated with his father-in- law Mr. August Straus in the clothing business at Oberlin, was born in Elyria, Ohio, April 14, 1870, a son of George N. and Mary Elizabeth (Chapin) Carruthers. His father was born in Virginia in 1831 and died in 1911. His mother, also deceased, was born in Amherst, Lorain County, in 1832. Both parents were early students of Oberlin College, and soon after George N. Carruthers graduated in 1858 he married, and then took up his active profession as an educator. He taught for a time in Oberlin College and also in the business college after the war. During the war he served as chaplain of the Fifty-first United States Infantry. Many hundreds of people have grateful memory of the late George N. Carruthers for his splendid work as an educator. He was superintend- ent of public schools for forty years, part of the time at Elyria and also at Chillicothe and Salem, Ohio. , When he retired from actual school management, he bought a farm east of Oberlin, and lived there until his death. The Carruthers farm under his direction became a place of beauty as well as illustrating a profitable and progressive management. He introduced the first silo in this part of Ohio and took a very active part in farmers associations and in other progressive movements. He was an active member of the Second Congregational Church and in politics a republican.
George N. Carruthers and wife were the parents of seven children : Alice, deceased, was the wife of Dr. W. C. Bunce, and at her death left three children. Wilda, Catherine and Marjorie; Mrs. Bunce was a very prominent woman and a leading spirit in the Sorosis Club, the first woman's club in Oberlin. Arthur, deceased, married Bertha Wilcox and left one daughter, Zilpha. Mrs. I. H. Taylor, widow of the former busi- ness manager for the Frederick Stearns Company of Detroit. F. I. Car- ruthers who is a successful newspaper man, for ten years business man- ager of the Denver Republican and is now with the Denver Post. W. P. Carruthers was the fifth in order of birth. Carleton F. died at the age of eighteen years. Harold G. is connected with the transmission depart- ment of the Willys-Overland Automobile Company.
W. P. Carruthers after getting his education was clerk in a jewelry store at Oberlin for eleven years and then for fourteen years conducted a business in that line in Oberlin. Selling out in 1913, he has since been active in Mr. A. Straus' clothing store. In 1900 he married Miss Claudia Straus. They have a son Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Caruthers are mem- bers of the Second Congregational Church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic Order and in politics is a republican.
HENRY STOLZENBURG. Aside from his responsibility and standing as a successful business man at Elyria, the chief characteristics of Henry Stolzenburg are his bigness of heart and breadth of sympathy which have brought him friends from every rank and station of life, and few local citizens have given a better and kindlier service to their fellow humans than this genial and popular resident.
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A native of Germany, he was born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Octo- ber 13, 1867, a son of Christian and Mary (Ebel) Stolzenburg. His father, who was a carpenter all his active years, brought his family to the United States in 1887 and in the same year located in Elyria. Between him and his son Henry existed more than the usual ties of affection between a father and son, and the latter was especially devoted to his parents, and the father lived in his home until his death on May 8, 1915, having passed his eightieth birthday on June 22, 1914. The mother died at Elyria, April 15, 1893. There were four sons in the family : William, a brief sketch of whose career is found on following pages; Henry ; Fred, a resident of Cleveland; and Herman, the young- est, who died in 1908.
Henry Stolzenburg received his early education in the public schools of Germany, and was about eighteen years of age when brought to the United States in company with his parents. After coming to Elyria he showed his readiness to accept every opportunity offered by fortune, and worked in various employments up to 1899, since which year he has been in business for himself. For about three years he was located at Lorain, was in Cleveland for a year, and since then has been in Elyria. Mr. Stolzenburg owns a large amount of valuable city real estate. In 1914 he put up the strictly fireproof three-story building on Broad Street at the corner of Chapel, the first floor of which is occupied by the People's Theater, a moving picture house, while the second and third floors are the club and lodge headquarters of the Loyal Order of Moose. This building is one of the handsome and modern fireproof structures on the main business thoroughfare of Elyria and is distinctly a credit to the city. Mr. Stolzenburg owns other business property on Broad Street, and has constructed several residences which he rents.
Though long identified with the republican party he has never sought any official position for himself. He is a member of the Elyria Auto- mobile Club, is affiliated with the Loyal Order of Moose, with Huron Tribe No. 200 of the Improved Order of Red Men, and with Elyria Aerie No. 431 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He also is a member of three local German societies, and was reared in the faith of the Ger- man Lutheran Church.
On May 25, 1888, Mr. Stolzenburg married Miss Hulda Hyman of Lorain, daughter of Peter and Anna Hyman of that city. Mrs. Hyman is now living in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Stolzenburg. Mr. Hyman died at New Philadelphia, Ohio, in 1900. Mrs. Stolzenburg is a native of Switzerland, was about two years of age when she came to the United States with her parents, and grew up and received her education at Lorain. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Stolzenburg were born six children, and three sons and one daughter are living: Anna, now Mrs. R. P. Meyers of Elyria : Louis A .; Edward W. and Henry Jr. Herman died aged two and one-half years, and Minnie died at the age of four and one-half years. The daughter Anna was born in Lorain but the rest claim Elyria as their birthplace, and besides their education in the local schools they attended the Oberlin Business College. Mr. Stolzen- burg among other business interests is a stockholder in the Lorain County Banking Company at Elyria. He finds his chief recreation in auto- mobiling.
GEORGE H. HADAWAY. In the business history of Elyria, an enter- prise that is notable in that it furnishes an example of the energy and progressiveness that have built up this thriving community is the firm of Hadaway Brothers. Founded in 1902 in a modest way, this venture has grown and developed steadily until today it is the largest livery Vol. II-17
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and storage business in Lorain County, handling a volume of patronage that is not exceeded by a firm in any city in the state of the size of Elyria. George H. Hadaway, the senior member of this company, had his earliest experience as a business man in the livery business. When he returned to this line after ten years in a different field, he began the development of the large livery, feed and sale stable which the con- cern now owns, and soon added automobiles to his equipment, a depart- ment which is now a very important part of the business.
Mr. Hadaway was born at Elyria, December 12, 1869, and is a son of Charles and Margaret (Mayers) Hadaway. His father, born near London, England, came to the United States when about nineteen years of age, locating at Elyria, where he was married, his wife being a native of Ireland. Charles Hadaway was forty-eight years of age at the time of his death, having been a resident of Elyria for more than twenty-eight years, during seventeen years of which time he worked for the late T. W. London on that gentleman's stock farm near Elyria. Mrs. Hada- way still survives her husband. There were eight children in the family : one who died in infancy; Mrs. Kate Bath, deceased, who left two sons, now grown,-Alfred and Charles; George H .; Eliza, who is the wife of Alfred Myers, of Cleveland; Charles, of Elyria; Louis, who is engaged in business with his brother, George H., and whose sketch appears else- where in this work; Fred, of Elyria; and a daughter who is the wife of Walter Johns, of Cleveland. All the children were born at Elyria and here educated in the public schools.
When still a lad, George H. Hadaway received his introduction to the livery business with H. M. Andress, who conducted an establish- ment here for some years, but later became identified with railroading as a conductor on the C. L. & W. Railway, now a branch of the Balti- more & Ohio. Mr. Hadaway continued to be thus engaged for ten years, in which time he accumulated some small capital, with which he engaged in business with his brother Louis, under the firm style of Hadaway Brothers. They bought out George Bivins, locating in the livery which was located on the present site of the American Theatre, on Broad Street, but after three years found their business grown to such proportions that larger quarters were needed, and accordingly, in 1905, erected the present large storage building and livery, at No. 607 West Broad Street, the largest structure of its kind in Lorain County. Here they keep seventy head of horses, operate a hack and transfer line, do all kinds of heavy teaming and maintain an up-to-date and efficient moving service. They have also ten automobiles and auto- mobile trucks, while a taxicab service, operated under the name of the Hadaway Taxi Company, makes a specialty of weddings, touring par- ties, etc.
Mr. Hadaway is a republican and has taken some active part in politics, although not as a seeker for preferment at the hands of his party. He is a director in the Elyria Chamber of Commerce and has shown a keen interest in agricultural development, being at this time vice president of the Lorain County Agricultural Society. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Lodge No. 465, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Elyria Lodge No. 431, Fraternal Order of Eagles.
Mr. Hadaway was married April 13, 1900, at Beach City, Ohio, to Miss Beulah E. Raff, who was born at Beach City and is a graduate of the Beach City High School. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Raff are old settlers of that place, where Mr. Raff is engaged in the cloth- ing business. Mr. and Mrs. Hadaway are the parents of two children : Vivian and Ruth, both born at Elyria.
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ZAVALAH R. PARSONS. It is consistent with the eminent fitness of things that a member of the Parsons family should now be holding the office of county commissioner of Lorain County. Zavalah R. Parsons is one of the most esteemed citizens of this county, represents one of its older families, and has made his own career conform to the best ideals of citizenship and private character.
Born on his father's farm in LaGrange Township of this county, May 19, 1853, Zavalah R. Parsons is a son of Ralzaman and Esther Biantha (Nobles) Parsons. His parents were among the early settlers of LaGrange Township. There were four children in the family, one son and three daughters, the son being the oldest : Justitia A. is now Mrs. A. E. McCaskey of Chicago, Illinois; Velette is Mrs. H. C. Schultz of Des Moines, Iowa; and Nettie C., who married Benjamin E. Eston, died in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 1907 and is buried in LaGrange Township. All the children were born in LaGrange Township, attended schools there and at Oberlin, and the oldest daughter graduated from Oberlin College, while the second attended the Conservatory of Music in Oberlin College and later taught music for several years. The daughter Nettie attended the Union School of Oberlin.
Zavalah R. Parsons grew up in a rural environment and belonged to a family which well appreciated the 'necessity for education as well as moral training. He attended the district schools in LaGrange Town- ship, also a select school, and was a student in the preparatory depart- ment of Oberlin College when his scholastic career was unfortunately terminated. At the age of nineteen he suffered a severe attack of the measles, and the permanent effects of the disease weakened his eyesight so that he was unable to continue at his books and his eyesight has never since been normal. The measles was quite an epidemic at Oberlin about that time, and there were about 2,000 cases in the town.
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