USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 4
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in the county. His law business soon taxed all his powers and he called to his aid his former associate, Judge John C. Hale, who resigned from the Common Pleas Bench to accept a partnership in Cleveland. The law firm of Boynton & Hale had few peers during its existence at Cleve- land. In 1888 Norton T. Horr was admitted to the firm, which then became Boynton, Hale & Horr. In 1892 Judge Hale retired to accept a place as judge of the Circuit Court. The firm of Boynton & Horr handled the extensive business of the firm until January 1, 1897. Since then Judge Boynton has given his services as a special counsel and trial attorney in a number of the most important law cases settled before the Ohio and Federal courts. However, he no longer considers himself an active lawyer and he may be well satisfied to enjoy that "otium cum cignitate" which the old Romans regarded as one of the best ends of a - useful life.
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Judge Boynton, in spite of his many years of public service, has been essentially a lawyer. But he has been even more, a great and a good man. He has exercised splendid power as a speaker and pleader, and knows not only the law but also the sciences and general literature. At all times and under all circumstances he has been an honest and fearless advocate of the right. His general reading has been very extensive, and his knowledge of the affairs of the world and of the human heart has enabled him to meet with calm efficiency all the exigencies of a long career.
From the time it was founded Judge Boynton has been a loyal sup- porter of the republican party. During 1865-67 he represented Lorain County in the State Legslature. While in that body he offered the resolu- tion providing for the elimination of the word "white" from the fran- chise qualification of the state constitution. This resolution was defeated in the House on the first vote, but a similar resolution was subsequently passed by the Senate. The similar resolution was adopted after a bitter contest by the Lower House, and was presented to the people for final action in the ensuing state election. It was on this issue essentially that the democratic party in Ohio was victorious over the republicans by more than 40,000 majority, and incidentally Allen G. Thurman went to the United States Senate from Ohio.
Of Judge Boynton's services as a local historian it is hardly necessary to speak here, since his direct and indirect contribution to this field have been acknowledged on other pages of this publication. In the publica- tions of the Western Reserve Historical Society Tract No. 83 contains the historical address prepared and delivered by Judge Boynton on July 4, 1876, the American centennial anniversary. Much of. his address per- tains to local history in Lorain County. Judge Boynton has for over forty years been a director in the Savings Deposit Bank of Elyria and for five years served as vice president. He is well known all over the state, was for years a familiar figure in the City of Cleveland, and is still a member of the Union Club of that city.
He was married December 20, 1859, at Ridgeville, Ohio, to Miss Betsey A. Terrell. She was born at North Ridgeville, Lorain County, a daughter of Ichabod and Sally Terrell. At the birthplace and home of Mrs. Boynton Judge Boynton some years ago erected an attractive coun- try home, and he lived there until 1906, when he removed to Elyria and he and his good wife have since occupied their home on Washington Avenue in that city.
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REV. BENJAMIN TOMPSETT NOAKES, D. D. A thoroughly trained and capable English lawyer, practicing both in England and in America, the late Doctor Noakes was chiefly distinguished and is remembered in Lorain County for his prominence as a religious leader and as former
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pastor of St. Andrew's parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Elyria. His daughter, Mrs. Henry J. Eady, is still living at Elyria.
A son of William and Mary Noakes, Benjamin Tompsett Noakes was born at Ticehurst, Sussex, England, March 25, 1828. After leaving school at the age of fifteen he was articled to Thomas Baker, Esq., in the City of London for the study of law. He received a certificate as an attorney in the courts of Queens Bench, Common Pleas and Exchequer, January 24, 1849, and on January 30, 1849, was made solicitor in the High Court of Chancery. He began the practice of law at Aylesbury in the County of Bucks, England, but in the early part of 1850 came to the United States and located in Rochester, New York.
After getting established in Rochester he returned to England and in St. Peter's Church, Walworth, London, on September 28, 1850, mar- ried Miss Sarah Piper. They returned to the United States and lived at Rochester until 1855. From childhood Doctor Noakes had been under the influence of strong religious convictions. He was a man who combined practicality and enthusiasm in everything he did. While at Rochester he helped to organize the first Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation in America, became one of its charter members, and was thus a pioneer in the movement which has now spread to almost every city and town in the United States. On account of his religious convictions he finally gave up the practice of law altogether and entered the Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Gambier, Ohio. He was ordained at Massillon, Ohio, by Bishop McIlvaine, April 25, 1857. In the same year he was called to his first pastorate at Elyria, becoming rector of what is now St. Andrew's Parish. Several years later in May, 1860, he was called to the Church of the Covenant at Philadelphia, but in 1870 again returned to St. Andrew's at Elyria. During his second pastorate he was largely instrumental in causing to be erected the stone church now occupied by St. Andrew's Parish.
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In 1876 Doctor Noakes was called to a church in Cleveland, in which city he had his home until his death, which occurred on All Saints Day, November 1, 1904. His remains are interred in Lake View Cemetery at Cleveland.
Mrs. Noakes still lives in Cleveland. There were eight children born to their union, seven daughters and one son, and the four now living are: Mrs. T. L. Berry of Baltimore, Maryland; Mrs. J. S. Van Eps of Cleveland; Miss Grace Noakes of Cleveland; and Mrs. Henry J. Eady of Elyria.
HENRY J. EADY. For more than half a century Mr. Eady has been a resident of Elyria. Though now retired from active business, he still manifests a keen and intelligent interest in all that affects the welfare of his home city and county, and is widely and favorably known as a man of progress and public spirit. There is much that is stimulating and instructive in such a career as that of Henry J. Eady, who came to the United States without fame or fortune and through his own efforts lifted himself to the plane of prosperity and influence.
A native of England, born at Cottesbrooke, Northamptonshire, April 28, 1846, he comes of an old and substantial family of that country. His parents were Thomas and Susan (Holt) Eady. His grandfather, Samuel Eady, kept an inn at Brixworth during that interesting period before the construction of railways and when the stage coaches rolled along the highways over England.
In his native environment Henry J. Eady spent the first eighteen years of his life, and secured such education as the schools of his native county could bestow. In 1864 he set out for the United States, and his home has been in Elyria since the third day of December in that year.
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The Civil war was almost at its close, and he began life in this country at the rising tide of industry and prosperity which started about that time. His first employment was in farm work, subsequently he was in the factory of Topliff, Sampsell & Ely, but in 1868 began his real career as clerk in the drug store of W. H. Park. As a young man he was ever alert for opportunity, was a hard and faithful worker, and in a few years was able to realize his ambition of becoming an independent busi- ness man. In 1873 he opened a drug store on Cheapside, and in that locality he made his business a landmark and the central point for a large and flourishing business. It is said that for thirty-two years, from 1873 to 1905, Mr. Eady's store was never closed for a full day and there was no time when it was not under his direct supervision. A merchant who steadily pursues such a policy of industry and fair deal- ing as Mr. Eady necessarily prospers, and his prosperity has taken form in the construction of several prominent building improvements in Elyria. In 1885 he built a large three-story brick business block on the site of his first drug store at 106 Cheapside, and in 1892 put up a hand- some brick block at 122 Cheapside, the latter being a combination store and apartment building and bearing the name Northampton, by which name he honored his native shire in England. Mr. Eady retired and sold his drug business in 1905, and has since been looking after his private investments.
In the past half century no citizen has manifested a finer public spirit and a more wholesome influence for the upbuilding and improve- ment of Elyria. Especially in later years, when he was able to relax somewhat his close attention to business, he has given much service to the public in official positions. From 1899 to 1903 he was a member of the Elyria city council, and in January, 1908, became president of the board of public service and continued in that office two years. He is a life member of The Elyria Memorial Hospital Company, an institution which is one of the finest of its kind in Ohio, and has been a member of its board of managers since its organization. For many years he has been identified with the Elyria Chamber of Commerce, has beer prom- inent in fraternal circles, is a republican in politics, and for years has filled the office of warden in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Fra- ternally his relations are with the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Honor, and in the latter organization he was for more than a quarter of a century its treasurer.
On February 16, 1876, about eleven years after he came to Elyria, and when he was already known as a rising young business man, Mr. Eady married Miss Charlotte Ellen Noakes. Mrs. Eady is a daughter of Rev. B. T. Noakes, well remembered as an Episcopal clergyman of Elyria and of whom separate mention is made in this work. Mr. Eady lives in a modern residence on Sixth Street, which he built in 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Eady have lived over fifty-one years in almost one locality in Elyria.
Mr. Eady has crossed the Atlantic thirteen times. He returned the last time in November, 1914, leaving London Thanksgiving Day, 1914. He was in London when the present war broke out.
SAMUEL DAVIDSON. The distinction of having been the most pros- perous farmer of Lorain County might be properly claimed by Samuel Davidson of Camden Township. Something more than forty years ago, after a varied experience in some of the remote colonies of England, he came to Lorain County and started business as a farmer with a capital of $3,000. Since then his enterprise has rapidly grown and expanded, and he probably has as large a landed estate as any other farmer in Lorain County. For a great many years he carried on general farming
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and dairying in connection with the raising of hogs, cattle and other live stock. His home farm lies about five miles southwest of Oberlin, and the house and other buildings and grounds constitute one of the most beautiful estates in the county. Mr. Davidson has erected most of the buildings on his land, including a large barn, and a comfortable and commodious frame house.
Samuel Davidson was born in County Down, Ireland, February 1, 1845, a son of John and Mary Ann (Brown) Davidson. His grand- father was Andrew Davidson, who spent his life as a farmer in the old country. The maternal grandfather was Robert Brown, who for twenty- one years was a regular soldier in the British army and who died in 1849. John Davidson, father of Samuel, was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1819 and died in July, 1895. His wife was born at Drogheda, Ireland, in 1825 and died in 1899. They were married in Ireland and some years later in 1869 came to Lorain County, where they bought a farm and spent the rest of their days. About a year after John Davidson had come to this country he was followed by his family in 1870. There were nine children, six daughters and three sons, and those now living are: Samuel Davidson; Andrew, who lives in Missouri; Eliza, whose home is in New Zealand; Emily, Jennie and Mattie, all of whom reside in Toledo; Joseph, who is a resident of Los Angeles, California; and Alice, also a resident of Toledo. The parents were active members of the Presby- terian Church. John Davidson learned the blacksmith's trade in Ire- land, but after coming to Lorain County followed farming. He affiliated with the democratic party.
Samuel Davidson received his early education in Irish schools. When about seventeen years of age he left Ireland on February 19, 1862, and went to Melbourne, Australia, and a year later to New Zealand, where he lived for about nine years. In those uttermost parts of the earth he followed gold mining chiefly, and acquired a modest capital which served as the foundation of his prosperity and enterprise after he came to Camden Township of Lorain County in 1872. Here his first purchase was ninety-five acres of partly cleared land. He set himself steadily to work to clear up the balance and improve it and he soon started a small dairy farm. Many of his friends say that everything Samuel Davidson undertakes turns out successfully and it is a fact that from the nucleus of land which he first acquired he has extended his invest- ments until he now owns about 760 acres, all cultivated and managed directly by him.
On June 21, 1875, Mr. Davidson married Margaret Stranaghan, a daughter of Andrew and Agnes (Cantley) Stranaghan, both of whom were born in County Down, Ireland, and died in the old country. Mrs. Davidson came to this country with a young woman friend, stopped at Pittsburgh a time, but came to Camden Township in 1875. To their marriage have been born seven children: Agnes, wife of Otto Huene, a Lorain County farmer; William D., who lives on one of his father's farms; Andrew S., who assists his father in the farm management; Anna Eliza, wife of Lloyd Hudson, a Camden Township farmer; Emma G., wife of Willard A. Brumby of Camden Township : John F. of Cam- den Township; and Robert J., a farmer of the same township.
Mrs. Davidson was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Davidson while independent in political affiliation has been a very active citizen, and served Camden Township as trustee for three years and was a member of the school board for twelve years.
PATRICK HENRY BOYNTON. Many of the distinctions and services associated with the name Boynton in Lorain County were the product of the career of the late Patrick Henry Boynton, who as a member of
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the Elyria bar for over forty years was one of the most accomplished and successful attorneys of the county. He continued active in his pro- fession to the last day of his life, and died suddenly while reading in his library on April 28, 1911.
The Boynton family came from the State of Maine and established its home in the wilderness of Russia Township, Lorain County, as early as 1826. Patrick Henry Boynton was born in Russia Township, August 10, 1848, a son of John H. and Hulda (Heath) Boynton. His father, John Hancock Boynton, was long a familiar figure in business affairs of Elyria and died in that city in July, 1899.
It was in the City of Elyria that Patrick H. Boynton spent nearly all his life, since when he was a child his parents established their home there. As a boy he attended the public schools, was also a student in Oberlin College and gained part of his legal education in the University of Michigan. For some time he read law in the office of John C. Hale, and in 1869 stood the test of examination and was admitted to the bar. From that time forward until his death he enjoyed a large and growing practice. He possessed a broad and thorough knowledge of the law, and had more than a local reputation for accuracy and painstaking industry. He was frequently called one of the best read lawyers in this part of Ohio. He was devoted to his profession but his mind ranged among many other fields and interests, and probably to a degree equal to any of his contemporaries he was truly cultured both in mind and character. He had a broad knowledge of general literature, and the occupation of the last hours of his life was reading.
His life should also be remembered for his public services. In 1888 he was elected mayor of Elyria, and was three times re-elected, and gave the city an administration notable for its efficiency and vigor. On retir- ing from the office of mayor he was made a waterworks trustee, became president of the board of trustees, and worked in that capacity until the waterworks system was placed under the control of the board of public service in 1903. Up to his death he served as referee in bank- ruptcy in the United States Court in Lorain County. He was active in Masonry, a member of King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, and his funeral was conducted under the auspices of the order.
An excellent estimate of what he was and what he stood for is con- tained in an editorial which appeared in the Elyria Democrat at the time of his death : "The death of P. H. Boynton takes from the activi- ties of this city's life a man who has stood high in everybody's estimation for many years. While he was a conservative man in many ways un- ยท demonstrative, yet he won the respect of all who knew him by his innate sense of fairness and honesty. His ability in his profession was acknowl- edged and he was referee in many a legal tangle. He was deliberate in his opinions and stood uncompromisingly by his judgment. As a man who took delight in the fine and noble things in literature he set a high standard for the community, and to his friends he was a constant source of inspiration to the acquirement of those things which bring happiness and content in this busy world."
On December 30, 1875, Mr. Boynton married Miss Mary Townshend. Mrs. Boynton died at Elyria, March 7, 1915, and there are three sons and an adopted daughter who survive. A. J. Boynton of Elyria; H. Percy Boynton, of Cleveland; Sidney H., of Elyria; and Olga, now a student in Oberlin College.
Mrs. Boynton was born in Elyria, December 21, 1849, a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Norton S. Townshend. The father was prominent in the affairs of the state, at various times was a member of the Legislature, was also a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1851-52, and filled a position in the faculty of the Ohio State University. He served during the Civil war as a medical inspector, and was professor of
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agriculture and was a pioneer in this field of technical education. Mrs. Boynton for many years stood for the highest things in the cultural activities of Elyria. She attended the public schools of Elyria as a girl, continued her education in the Lake Erie Seminary at Painesville, and it is said that her ambition to continue her education in the State University led that institution to adopt plans for coeducation. For the last several years of her life Mrs. Boynton suffered bereavement and much personal illness through which she set an example of rare Chris- tian fortitude and bravery. She was always devoted to her home, and made it not only a place of material comfort but gave it the atmosphere most stimulating to real culture. Through all her years she continued to store her mind with the results of the best thought and information and was accomplished and learned in a number of different fields. She was a charter member of the Fortnightly Club, the oldest woman's club in Ohio and the first purely literary club in the state. She belonged to that club until her death and several times filled the chair of presi- dent. She was also one of the directors of the Lorain County Historical Society and filled a similar position with the Young Women's Christian Association, was a member of the Kozy Klub, and for many years at- tended and subsequently became an active member of the First Congre- gational Church. At the time of her death she was serving as cor- responding secretary of the Historical Society, and had been identified with the Young Women's Christian Association from its inception.
ARTHUR L. GARFORD. In that big world of people outside of Lorain County the name Garford during the last twenty years has had many familiar associations with a very high grade of manufactured products and business service. During the decade of the '90s when nearly every- body in the United States were riding bicycles, something like two or three million people knew the name because it was associated with the most popular and best saddle used on that popular vehicle. In later years the name has had a growing significance not only in the higher circles of manufacturing and general commerce but also in politics. The State of Ohio has no more capable personality in giving vitality to the modern ideals of social democracy and the progressive political move- ment than Arthur L. Garford of Elyria.
His influential relations with business affairs are well illustrated by a brief list of the large concerns with which he is officially identified. He is president of The Garford Manufacturing Company, president of The Cleveland Automatic Machine Company of Cleveland, president of the Republican Printing Company of Elyria, president of The Worth- ington Company of Elyria, treasurer of The Garford Engineering Com- pany, chairman of the executive committee of The Elyria Lace Manu- facturing Company, a director of The Savings Deposit Bank & Trust Company of Elyria, and a director of The Perry-Fay Manufacturing Company of Elyria. From the limits of Lorain County, in which he was born and which has been his home throughout his life, the influence of his work and varied activities have spread far and wide.
The farm on which he was born August 4, 1858, is now included within the city limits of Elyria. Arthur Lovett Garford is a son of Georgia and Hannah (Lovett) Garford, the former a native of North- amptonshire and the latter of Leicestershire, England. The paternal grandfather, William Garford, was for many years custodian and manager of a large English estate, upon which his ancestors had lived for generations. The maternal grandfather, Edward Lovett, was a silk and lace manufacturer in England, one of his sons was manager of the large factory and another son served many years in the British navy. George Garford, who was born in 1829, and was married in 1850 to Miss Hannah Lovett, in 1852 came to the United States and to Elyria.
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In 1853 he sent for his young wife and their first child. The parents resided in Lorain County for more than sixty years and until the time of their death. George Garford was a famed landscape gardener when he came to Lorain County, but subsequently gained a national reputa- tion as a breeder and raiser of live stock, exhibiting his sheep and cattle at state and county fairs throughout the Central West, and from 1863 until 1882 was proprietor of the Elywood Stock Farm in Elyria, Lorain County.
Arthur L. Garford grew up on his father's farm, and in 1875 grad- uated from the Elyria High School. Two years later, at the age of nineteen, he became cashier in the china importing house of Rice & Burnett at Cleveland, the following year was promoted to head book- keeper, but in 1880 resigned to accept a position as bookkeeper in the Savings Deposit Bank of Elyria. He was promoted to teller in 1882 and in 1884 to assistant cashier, and in 1891 to cashier, from which office he resigned in 1892, having in the meantime organized the Garford Manufacturing Company.
Several years ago a special correspondent of the Cleveland Leader wrote an interesting article whose language will be used to describe Mr. Garford's entrance into the manufacturing field: "The sedentary life told on him, however, and to get fresh air and exercise he took to the bicycle. High wheels were then the rage, and Mr. Garford had several falls, some of them rather serious. He wondered if something could not be done to prevent falling from the bicycle. He studied the matter, and the invention of the famous Garford bicycle saddle was the result. He patented the invention and offered to sell the patent to a Chicago manufacturer for a hundred dollars. The tender was refused and Mr. Garford made a contract with an Elyria factory for a large number of saddles. Before these could be marketed the low or safety wheels supplanted the high wheels in public favor. He had several thousand saddles on his hands and failure seemed to be staring him in the face. He didn't lose courage, but devised a plan by which his saddles could be remodeled for the low wheel. For three years the sales continued to increase, and then occurred the burning of the factory in which the saddles were made, destroying the entire stock. The success of his invention had been assured, however, and in 1892 Mr. Garford built a mill of his own for the manufacture of the saddles. The Garford saddle became the most popular in the country, and the inventor's concern, as it developed, picked up rival companies, until it controlled the bicycle-saddle industry of the United States. A million saddles a year were made. The companies were consolidated, and Mr. Garford formed the American Saddle Company, a great success. The saddle company was in turn absorbed by the American Bicycle Company, of which Mr. Garford became treasurer. He subsequently withdrew from the concern and organized the Automobile & Cycle Parts Company, whose title was later changed to the Federal Manufacturing Company, which had nine mills, located in Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and other cities. The controlling interest was owned by the Pope Manufacturing Company, successor to the American Bicycle Company. Mr. Garford resigned as president of The Federal Manufac- turing Company and purchased its automobile-parts plant in Cleveland and Elyria, forming the Garford Company in 1905. The Federal Com- pany was organized in 1901 and was capitalized for five million dollars. In 1907 Mr. Garford built the large automobile factory in Elyria and the same is operated under the title of The Garford Company. The great Studebaker Company. manufacturers of vehicles, became inter- ested. but Mr. Garford retained control of the concern of which he is the executive head, and the plant constitutes one of the largest auto-
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