USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 50
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On July 21, 1891, Mr. Hughes was married to Miss Leonora Dicker- son, of Harrison County, Ohio, a member of a family which was founded there in 1805 by her great-grandfather, Thomas Dickerson. This family has been for years one of the best known and most highly esteemed in that county, and some of its members built the first Methodist Episcopal church in Southeastern Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are the parents of four children, two dying in infancy and Izetta Lucile, who is studying music at Oberlin College, and Inez Leone, who is attending the public schools.
AMOS E. LAWRENCE. During nearly fifteen years of active practice at Elyria Mr. Lawrence has distinguished himself for solid ability as a lawyer, is one of the leaders of the Lorain County bar, and at the same time the community have often looked to his interest and support for many enterprises and movements that would advance the city and sur- rounding country.
His birth occurred on a farm in Florence Township of Erie County, Ohio, February 9, 1862, and he belongs to the sturdy and excellent stock of New England and the Ohio Western Reserve. His parents were Charles D. and Hannah E. (Green) Lawrence, both of whom are still living (1915) at Birmingham in Erie County, the father at the age of seventy-seven and the mother at seventy-six. In the direct line of ancestry Mr. Lawrence is separated by three generations from a patriot soldier of the Revolutionary war. Amos Lawrence, a son of this Revolu- tionary soldier, was a soldier in the War of 1812. His son also named Amos Lawrence was born in New Hampshire. February 27, 1812, and was the grandfather of the Elyria attorney. He was an early settler in Northern Ohio, having first located in Cuyahoga County, but soon after- wards moved into Erie County and spent the rest of his life as a farmer in Florence Township. Charles D. Lawrence was born October 12, 1838, on the banks of Cuyahoga River, but has spent practically all his life in Erie County, where a few years ago he retired from the active cares of farming and has since enjoyed the pleasures of a good home at Birming- ham. Charles D. Lawrence was reared in the Presbyterian Church but
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he and his wife have long been members of the Methodist Episcopal de- nomination. Mrs. Charles D. Lawrence was born in Michigan, a daugh- ter of Silas Green. All their four children are still living. Amos E. being the oldest ; Lillian is now Mrs. W. P. Almroth of Big Rapids, Mich- igan ; C. A. is a successful merchant at Owosso, Michigan ; and Mrs. L. R. Heinzerling lives at Elyria
The first eighteen years of his life Amos E. Lawrence spent on his father's farm in Erie County and the family then removing to LaGrange in Lorain County, he attended high school there and soon qualified him- self for teaching. For eleven years Mr. Lawrence was one of the effi- cient and popular teachers in the district and village schools, spending the winter in that work while the summer seasons were usually devoted to farming. He was married at the age of twenty-two to Miss Josie Humphrey, who was born at LaGrange, a daughter of Sylvester G. and Laura (Ensign) Humphrey. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Law- rence lived on their farm in LaGrange Township, and he looked after its management in addition to his school duties.
At the age of thirty-six in 1897 Mr. Lawrence began the study of law in the office of William B. Johnston of Elyria, and has been in active practice since his admission to the bar in June, 1901. For the first six years he carried on an individual practice and then in May, 1907, formed a partnership with Lorenzo D. Hamlin under the firm name of Lawrence & Hamlin, but since the dissolution of this partnership in September, 1909, Mr. Lawrence has again practiced alone. He is now a lawyer in two states, having been admitted to the bar of Florida, in February, 1915. Mr. Lawrence has considerable property interests in that state, and spent three months of the winter of 1914-15 there. He has established a home in DeSoto County near Sebring, Florida, not so much as a resort for pleasure, but from a business standpoint. He has developed a grape fruit and orange grove of twenty acres, and has thirty acres in his farm. Mr. Lawrence has his offices in the Masonic Temple at Elyria, and has a large and valuable law library, and in the past fifteen years has handled a large volume of general practice in all the courts of Lorain County. While he was carrying on his law studies he was twice elected and served two terms as justice of the peace. In 1907 he was 'elected secretary of The Lorain County Bar Association and held that office until January, 1915.
In politics Mr. Lawrence is a republican and has taken much part in the local work of the party. Fraternally he is affiliated with LaGrange Lodge No. 399, Free and Accepted Masons at LaGrange, and with the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have two daugh- ters, Mrs. W. P. Babcock and Mrs. J. M. Dougherty, both of Elyria, and both were born in Lorain County and received their education in the local schools Mr. Lawrence also has five grandchildren, all boys, one being the son of his daughter, Eva J., who married Mr. W. P. Babcock, and four being children of his daughter, Sylvia O., the wife of James M. Dougherty.
G. ADOLPHUS RESEK. The increasing tendency of men learned in the science of law to embark in enterprises outside of their professional field of endeavor has resulted in numerous advantages. This is one of the benefits of a profession which equips its followers for success in more lines of business than any other, and the natural result is an elevating of commercial standards, and a general simplifying of conditions through a knowledge of fundamental principles and limitations. An illustration of this modern type of attorney is found in the person of G. Adolphus Resek, of Lorain, who is one of the leaders of the Lorain County bar, a prominent factor in the commercial and industrial life of this part of
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Northern Ohio. Mr. Resek is a refutation of the old adage that "the shoemaker should stick to his last," for from the start of his career each successive change which he has made has brought him added prosperity and prestige.
Mr. Resek was born at Cleveland, Ohio, March 10, 1872, and is a son of Joachim and Charlotte (Singer) Resek. His father, a native of Prague, Bohemia, came to the United States in 1867, and passed seventeen years in business at Cleveland,,in 1884 coming to Lorain, where he established himself as the proprietor of a merchandise store. Here he continued to engage in business until his death, which occurred in 1904. He was a man in whose life the qualities of industry and integrity were well blended, winning him honorable success and the esteem and respect of those with whom he was in any way associated. Mrs. Resek passed away in 1876, when her son was only four years of age.
G. A. Resek received his early education in the graded schools of Cleveland, and was twelve years of age when he accompanied his father to Lorain. Here he completed his education in the Lorain High School, from which he was duly graduated, and at once entered upon his busi- ness career, receiving his introduction to business methods as clerk in a dry goods store in Michigan. After one year, the serious illness of his father caused him to return to Lorain, where he took charge of his father's business, and managed it well until the elder man's recovery and return to active participation in commercial affairs. Mr. Resek's entrance into the law came about as a result of his election to the office of city auditor, in 1896, when he became the first auditor under the first city charter. In that capacity he served capably for four years, and during this time found it necessary to familiarize himself with various branches of the law. In this way he became interested in its study, and eventually decided to engage in the profession, and after several years of devoted study was admitted to practice, in 1900. He immediately opened an office at Lorain, and here has since continued in general practice, his clientele having grown to large and important proportions. Mr. Resek's practice has covered a wide range. He has a brilliant record as a trial lawyer, but his constructive ability, as shown by the various organizations and reorganizations with which he has been connected, has won for him a still higher place in the esteem and confidence of his clients. He was the reorganizer of the City Bank Company, of Lorain, of which he is attorney and a director, and is also attorney for the Lorain Banking Company, the Lake Shore Electric Company, the Lorain Street Railway Company, and other large corporations. He is also president of the Standard Hardware Company and secretary of the Lorain Sand and Gravel Company. Mr. Resek holds membership in the Lorain County Bar Association and for fifteen years has been a member of the Ohio State Bar Association. He has kept in touch with his old schoolmates, and in 1915 was elected president of the Lorain High School Alumni Association. Fraternally, he is widely connected, being a member of the Blue Lodge and Chapter of the Masonic fraternity the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias, and in the last named is past chancellor. He is a republican, but of recent years has not been active politically, for the reason that his law practice and business relations have practically absorbed his entire time and strength to the exclusion of everything else.
On September 12, 1904, Mr. Resek was married to Miss Clara Norton, of Wooster, daughter of Albert James and Marjory (Piper) Norton, residents of Wayne County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Resek are the parents of one daughter : Rhea Charlotte.
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JOSEPH WESBECHER. About forty-five years ago Joseph Wesbecher arrived at Amherst a young journeyman tinsmith. He had been in this country only about three years, and had hardly mastered the language and become familiar with American customs and institutions. Industry, the ability to adapt himself to circumstances, good business judgment and enterprise have since made Joseph Wesbecher a wealthy and influ- ential citizen, and he has well earned his position at Amherst.
The business with which his name has been longest associated is known as the Wesbecher Hardware Company, which is incorporated with a capital of forty thousand dollars and of which he is president and general manager. His son Henry Wesbecher is secretary. Mr. Wes- becher is also one of the directors of the Amherst German Bank Company, is interested in the U. S. Automatic Company and the Cold Storage Plant, and is one of the leaders in that group of men whose influence and enterprise carry the heaviest burdens of business responsibility in Lorain County.
Joseph Wesbecher was born in Mugensturm Baden, Germany, Feb- ruary 25, 1852, a son of Aloise and Martha (Melcher) Wesbecher. His father spent his life as a farmer in Baden and the family were all reared in the Catholic faith. There were eight children, and the three still living are: John, a farmer in Ohio; George, an upholsterer at Greensburg, Pennsylvania; and Joseph.
Leaving home at an early age after getting the ordinary education in the German schools, Joseph Wesbecher came to America and in 1869 at the age of seventeen found himself at Youngstown, Ohio. He spent a summer working on a farm, and then went to Crestline, Ohio, and learned the tinner's trade. That trade has been the foundation of his business success, and he still qualifies as an expert in that mechanical occupation. In 1872 he came to Amherst and worked at his trade for others for four years, and then bought the establishment of Mr. Jacob Stahl. Since then he has been in the tin and hardware business and has one of the largest stores in the county.
In 1879 Mr. Wesbecher married Matilda Plato, a daughter of John Plato, who for many years was in the grocery business at Amherst. Mr. and Mrs. Wesbecher have six children Henry A., who is associated with his father in business at Amherst; Carl A., in the real estate business in California; Edith, wife of Emmett Lahiff, who is a steam shovel engineer at Berea, Ohio; Leo, connected with a construction company in New York; Lucile, at home; and Frank, also at home. The family are members of the Catholic Church and the sons, C. A. and Frank, belong to the Knights of Columbus. Mr. Wesbecher in politics is a democrat.
CHARLES C. SCHWARZ. Progressive farming at its best is well illus- trated on Rose Lawn Farm, whose proprietor is Charles C. Schwarz. Rose Lawn is located in Grafton Township, on Center Road, a mile and a quarter from Belden postoffice, and on rural route No. 3.
The proprietor of this farm has usually been the first to introduce improved machinery and methods for the handling of his crops and the preparation of his soil for cultivation. He has the distinction of having been the first agriculturist in that township to buy a manure spreader. That was back in 1897. In 1898 he built the first silo in that community and constructed one on more modern plans in 1913. He bought a hay loader in 1902, a corn harvester in 1901, and in his dairy introduced the use of a cream separator. He also brought in power to run the ma- chinery of his barn and workhouses, and bought his first gasoline engine in 1900. All his feed is ground by machinery on the place. Another
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fact that should be noted is that Mr. Schwarz has had a hired assistant on his farm who has been continuously in his employ for the past ten years.
Charles C. Schwarz is a native of Cleveland, where he was born August 23, 1858, a son of Christian Jacob and Christine ( Bleil) Schwarz. When he was ten years of age his father removed from Cleveland to Liverpool, Ohio, where his father carried on a meat market for several years. Later he bought forty-three acres of the land where his son Charles now resides in Grafton Township, and gradually added to his ownership until he was proprietor of one hundred sixty-one acres. He spent the rest of his days there and died in 1897, being survived by his widow for ten years. Christian Schwarz was a democrat in politics, a member of the Lutheran Church, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was a man of high standing in any community where he made his home. Charles G. Schwarz is the oldest of a family of six. His brother Fred J. lives west of Elyria. Albert William died in 1910 leaving a family of ten children. Ida Louise is the wife of Edwin R. Mennell. Rose K. is the wife of L. O. Longwell and lives in Grafton. Bertha is the wife of J. L. Bessing and also lives in Grafton.
Charles C. Schwarz grew to manhood on the old homestead in Lorain County, acquired his education partly in Cleveland and partly in Liverpool and has made farming his regular vocation since youth. After his father's death he bought out the interests of the other heirs, and Rose Lawn now comprises 131 well tilled and valuable acres.
Besides the improvements already mentioned Mr. Schwarz in 1914 built a fine basement barn on a foundation 80x36 feet, with an "L" 34x50 feet and with 24-foot posts. The barn is 48 feet from the founda- tion to the peak. It is solidly built and in equipment is hardly excelled by any other in the county. It has a cement floor, and there is room for the stabling of 38 head of livestock besides four or five box stalls. Mr. Schwarz maintains a dairy of 24 cows, and uses the product in the making of butter.
After he reached his majority he started as a republican voter, but is now aligned with the progressives. He has never been a politician, though his fellow citizens have shown much confidence in his judgment and he is now serving his second term as township trustee. He is a member and has filled all the chairs in the Tent of the Knights of the Maccabees at Grafton. Mr. Schwarz is well read and well informed on all the leading issues of the day and in his work as a farmer has not only benefited by his own experience but has made use of the experiences of others.
JAMES F. STRENICK. Since 1903 Mr. Strenick has been engaged in the practice of his profession in the City of Lorain, where his sterling character, his ability and his distinctive success in his chosen sphere of endeavor have given him secure standing as one of the representative members of the bar of Lorain County, besides which he is known as a citizen whose loyalty and public spirit are of the staunchest order.
James Franklin Strenick was born at West Salem, Wayne County, Ohio, on the 5th of July, 1874, and is a son of James and Amanda Jane (Royer) Strenick, who still maintain their home there, the father having been for many years associated with railroad operations. In the public schools of his native town Mr. Strenick continued his studies until he had completed the curriculum of the high school, in which he was gradu- ated as a member of the class of 1894. From that time forward he was identified with the mercantile business, and he then followed the course of his ambitious purpose and entered the law department of the Uni-
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versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1903 and from which he received his well-earned degree of Bachelor of Laws. In July of the same year he established his home at Lorain, and here he has since continued in the successful general practice of his profession, with well-established reputation as a versatile advocate and well fortified and judicious counselor. He is an appreci- ative and popular member of the Lorain County Bar Association, served as assistant city solicitor from 1908 to 1911, and on May 2d of the latter year he became the incumbent of the office of justice of the peace. In January, 1908, he assumed the office of treasurer of Black River Town- ship, in which fiduciary position he served two terms. In his home city Mr. Strenick is affiliated with the lodge, chapter and council bodies of the York Rite of the Masonic fraternity, and he holds membership also in the local organizations of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Foresters, and other organizations. His political allegiance is given to the republican party.
August 28, 1896, recorded the marriage of Mr. Strenick to Miss Arline Mellen, of Burbank, Wayne County, Ohio, and their only child is Helen, who was born October 1, 1902.
MENNELL FAMILY. Fully ninety years have passed since the Mennell family was first established in the then wilderness of Lorain County. During all that time the principal seat and home has been in Grafton Township, and one of the grandsons of the pioneer still occupies a farm included in the original possessions of the family in this county.
The founder of the name in this county was Crispin Mennell who married Elizabeth Welburn. Their only son was Duke Mennell, who was born in Yorkshire, England, May 8, 1810. When Crispin Mennell emigrated to America in 1817 his son Duke remained with his maternal grandfather until 1823, and then came to America with his two uncles, Jesse and William Welburn, joining his parents in Massachusetts.
Crispin Mennell on first coming to America lived in Albany, New York, and was there during the great conflagration which almost de- stroyed that city. He then moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and while living there his son Duke joined him in 1823.
It was in the year 1826 that the Mennell family pioneered westward and located in Lorain County. After securing a tract of land in the wilderness of Grafton Township Crispin Mennell began the improve- ments which have made that one of the oldest cultivated farms in the townships and he subsequently built a substantial house about three- quarters of a mile from where his grandson Jay D. now lives. Crispin Mennell died May 22, 1857, on J. D. Mennell's present farm.
Duke Mennell, who was thirteen years of age when he came to America, acquired a fair common school education and was a vigorous youth and able to assist materially in the development of the first farm owned by the family in Grafton Township.
On June 23, 1835, he was married in Lorain County to Rachel Curtis, a daughter of Theodore Curtis. Their married companionship was broken by the death of the wife on September 29, 1858. In the meantime eight children had been born to them. On October 10, 1861, Duke Mennell married for his second wife Mrs. Mary A. (Hardy) Johnson. By this union there were four children, three sons and one daughter, namely : Perry D., Jay D., Allen E. and Elizabeth M. The last named is now the wife of John Lafferty of Sharon, Pennsylvania.
Duke Mennell was an active democrat until the Civil war and then became equally ardent as a republican. He was honored by such offices as township trustee and was a man valuable to his community in
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many ways. His death occurred September 17, 1889, while his second wife passed away November 2, 1907. By his first marriage the eight children were born: Elizabeth, deceased; Andrew Jackson, deceased ; Meadore; Mary; Anna, deceased; Charles, deceased; Flora; and Elmer.
JAY D. MENNELL. The old homestead of the Mennell family in Grafton Township has as its proprietor Jay D. Mennell, who has attained to considerable note in Lorain County as a general farmer and stock raiser and dairyman. He has been especially successful in the breeding of Holstein cattle. His farm is about two and a half miles from Grafton, located on rural route No. 2 out of that city.
He was born in the house he now occupies and which was built by his grandfather. His birth occurred June 7, 1867, and he is a son of Duke and Mary (Hardy) Mennell. He was reared with all the advantages of a typical Lorain County home of thirty or forty years ago, and acquired a common school education. On December 31, 1889, at Litch- field, Ohio, Mr. Mennell married Miss Vienna G. Crow. She was born at Ontario, Vernon County, Wisconsin, a daughter of Leander and Emma . (Fuller) Crow. Her father was born in Medina County, Ohio, while her mother was an Englishwoman and came to America with her parents, who first located in New York and afterwards moved out to Vernon County, Wisconsin. Mrs. Mennell's father moved from Ohio to Wis- consin, where he met and married his wife, and some years later they returned to Litchfield, Ohio, where Mrs. Mennell received most of her education. For five years before her marriage she was a successful teacher.
Mr. and Mrs. Mennell have two children: Leander D. attended the country schools and in 1909 was graduated from the Elyria High School. After three years as a teacher in Grafton Township he entered the Ohio State University in the agricultural and scientific departments, and will graduate in 1916.
The daughter Irma who graduated from the Elyria High School in 1911, taught four years in Grafton Township and is now the wife of Arthur L. Wise and lives in Grafton Township. Mr. Jay D. Mennell is independent in politics, is a stanch supporter of the prohibition move- ment and has always steadfastly refused any official honors. He is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees.
ALLEN E. MENNELL. Another representative of the Mennell family whose activities have gained him a worthy place in the sturdy agricul- tural class of Grafton Township is Allen E. Mennell, whose home is on Center Road between LaGrange and Belden.
He is a son of Duke and Mary A. (Hardy) Mennell, and was born at the old homestead January 15, 1870, in the house now owned by his brother, Jay D. Mennell. His early boyhood and youth were spent on the old farm until he was about twenty years of age. He had a fair common school education, and at his father's death inherited eighty acres of land. This land had not a single improvement, not even a well, and consequently it provided a severe test of his enterprise and industry. That land has been the scene of his effective endeavors for the past quarter of a century and with it as a foundation he has conducted a business as a farmer and stockman which is deserving of special attention.
In the meantime on September 28, 1889, in York Township of Medina County he married Miss Louise G. Erhart. She was born and reared in York Township, a daughter of Joseph and Geneva (Musser) Erhart. The parents were born and were married at what is now Valley City, Ohio, then known as Liverpool. Her father was a farmer.
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Soon after his marriage Mr. Mennell began making a home and farm out of his eighty acres. In order to provide a habitation he secured a little building which had formerly been the shop of a dental practitioner and moved it onto his land and by some simple changes made it a fairly comfortable home, in which he and his family lived for ten years. He also erected a small barn, and that is still in use serving as a storage place for tools and for a garage. Year after year he made other changes, put the land under cultivation and the culmination of his prosperity came in 1900 when he erected his present fine home. It is modern in every respect, has nine rooms and basement, and natural gas supplies the fuel for kitchen and furnace heat.
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