USA > Ohio > Lorain County > A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the. > Part 74
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On September 7, 1846, Charles Bassett married Emma Parsons, who was born in England July 28, 1819, a daughter of John and Ann (Yet- man) Parsons. The Parsons family has likewise been prominent in Lorain County, and John Parsons and wife brought their children to America in 1832. After a short stay at Mentor in Lake County, Ohio,
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he came to Russia Township, the permanent settlement being made there in 1833. Charles and Emma Bassett became the parents of five children : Emma, born April 26, 1847, and who married Frederick E. Griffin of Amherst ; Charles Henry, born April 26, 1850; Miles Standish, born December 1, 1851; Helen, born January 20, 1857; and Harvey Lewis, born July 3, 1859. Charles Bassett died September 29, 1912, at the age of ninety-two years, his wife having preceded him by eleven years.
Miles Standish Bassett was born on the old homestead in Russia Township, December 1, 1851. He acquired his early education in the country schools and learned farming from his father and has followed that vocation without interruption to the present time.
On April 21, 1881, he married Lois Orlissa Eggelston. She was born at Auburn, Geauga County, Ohio, a daughter of Alanson and Harriet (Bentley ) Eggelston. Her parents were both natives of New York State and came to Ohio in early days, settling on a farm, where they lived a number of years. They afterwards moved to Hiram Rapids in Portage County, where Alanson Eggelston engaged in. the grocery business. Mrs. Bassett was the youngest of five children.
Mr. and Mrs. Bassett have two daughters: Marian Jessie, who grad- uated from the Oberlin High School in 1902, spent two years in the Conservatory of Music; and Cora Eloise, who is now a student of voice at Oberlin.
Mr. Bassett and family are members of the Congregational Church at Amherst. He is affiliated with the Royal Arcanum and also with the local Grange. As a republican, like his father and grandfather before him, he has filled various offices, having served as township trustee four years and as school director. It was in 1878 that he bought the farm upon which he still lives. He owns 116 acres and while operating the land for general farming purposes, he conducts an extensive dairy, keeping from twenty to twenty-five milch cows. About 1890 he erected his beautiful home, a two-story house with all the comforts and con- veniences, and surrounded by excellent barns and other buildings.
EDGAR DAY MILLS. In the Village of North Eaton a man of enter- prise in a commercial sense is Edgar Day Mills, proprietor of a general mercantile store, which has been conducted by the Mills family in that locality for the past thirty-five years. This store more than any other one thing has given distinction to that point in Lorain County as a place of trade.
It was in the little Village of North Eaton that Edgar Day Mills was born, February 16, 1882, a son of Byron T. and Mary A. (Day) Mills. His father, who was the founder of the present business, was born on Butternut Ridge in Eaton Township, grew up on a farm, had a common school education, and for a number of years conducted farming. In 1881 he opened a stock of general merchandise on the south side of the street at North Eaton, but later put up the building where his son is now located. He was a well liked and popular business man, and though a republican, never sought office. He died June 22, 1915. He was the father of three children: Charles, a farmer in Columbia Township; Edgar D .; and Frank, who is now a resident of Cleveland and is married and has one child.
Edgar Day Mills acquired a common school education and practically grew up in the business of which he is now proprietor. When quite a boy he began clerking there and is thoroughly familiar with the routine of merchandising.
In June, 1902, in Eaton Township, he married Miss Catherine Tiltjies, who was born in Olmsted, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, a daughter of John
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Tiltjies. The year he was married Mr. Mills moved to Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania, where he spent about twelve years. In that time he learned and followed the machinist's trade. Then in 1912 he returned to North Eaton and bought out his father's business and has since made that a source of satisfying prosperity.
He and his wife have three children: Calista, who was born in Pittsburgh; Russell, born in North Eaton; and Thelma, born at North Eaton, January 20, 1916. Mr. Mills is a republican, and he and his wife are active members of the Disciples Church.
SIMEON NASH has for a number of years been recognized as one of the men who has supplied the requisite energy and enterprise to the agricultural life of Lorain County. At one time he was only a renter and started life with little capital, though he had inherited from his ancestors sterling characteristics which stood him in good stead in all the problems of existence. He has succeeded above the ordinary, has a splendid estate in the vicinity of Oberlin, and is a highly esteemed citizen.
He was born in Lorain County, September 21, 1870. His grand- father, Jerrid Nash, died in New York State, where he was a farmer. The maternal grandparents were Orin and Anna Elizabeth (Freeman) Gibson. Orin Gibson was one of the prominent early settlers of Lorain County. He was born in New York State in 1807 and died in May, 1883. Coming to Lorain County in an early day, he made settlement here four years after his father, Timothy Gibson, had located. Both these names are deserving of much honor and respect on account of their important relations with the early agricultural activities and development in this county. Orin Gibson died at the age of eighty-five.
The parents of Simeon Nash were Nathan B. and Louisa (Gibson) Nash. His father was born in New York State, September 7, 1830, and died December 26, 1910. He was four years of age when brought to Lorain County by his mother, who acquired a farm, and he grew up and received his education in Russia Township and in Oberlin graded schools. As soon as old enough he started farming on his own account and though he too had to begin with practically nothing he succeeded very admirably and left a good estate. In politics he was first a whig and afterwards a republican. Nathan Nash was married January 3, 1860, to Miss Gibson, who was born in Russia Township of Lorain County, March 28, 1837. She is still living, now in her eightieth year. Of the seven children born to them six are still living. Winfield S., a farmer in Eaton Township of Lorain County; Anna A. Bemis, wife of an Eaton Township farmer; Orin T., who died at the age of seven years; Eliza- beth B., who lives with her mother; Simeon; Charles B., a farmer in Eaton Township; and Walter, who resides at the old homestead with his mother.
Simeon Nash spent his early life in Russia Township, attended school there, and was still young when he assumed some of the heavier respon- sibilities of his father's farm. He continued to live with his parents until twenty-four and for the next six or seven years operated as a renter. His thrift and industry enabled him to make his first purchase of fifty acres, and from that he has steadily climbed upwards to a larger prosperity until he is now the owner of 310 acres. While classed as a general farmer, he makes cattle raising his principal source of profit, and he keeps a herd of about seventy head, many of them registered Herefords. He also does some dairy business.
On March 19, 1895, he married Miss Augusta L. Schramm, daughter of Daniel Schramm, who was a well known early settler in Russia Town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Nash have one son, Chester, born March 2, 1896.
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Mr. and Mrs. Nash are active members of the Grange and in politics he is a republican.
ED H. BRAUN. If success consists of making the best of one's oppor- tunities in life, Ed H. Braun is properly considered among Lorain County's successful men. He has a fine farm in the vicinity of Kipton, has a good home and a growing family, and is regarded as one of the leaders in his industry and also in the county Grange movement.
A native of Lorain County, he was born in Henrietta Township May 11, 1883, a son of Henry and Christina (Dute) Braun. Both parents were natives of Germany, and the paternal grandparents came to the United States and died in Lorain County. Henry Braun was born in Germany in March, 1845, and his wife in 1842. They were married in Lorain County in 1866. Henry Braun came to the United States in 1861, being a poor boy at the time, and has acquired success by hard work and persistent application. He had learned something of the stonecutter's trade, and his first employment here was in a quarry at Amherst. Later he bought a farm in Amherst Township and lived there fourteen years and then moved to Henrietta, living there thirty-four years. His pros- perity now includes the ownership of 145 acres of land and it is sufficient for all the needs of his declining years. He is a democrat in politics, and he and his wife are members of St. Peter's Church. To their mar- riage were born seven children, and the five now living are: Anna, wife of Louis Kothe, a Lorain County farmer; Martha, wife of Andrew Shubert, a farmer in Lorain County; Rosa, wife of Henry Manns of Russia Township; Ed H .; and Will M., of Henrietta Township.
Ed H. Braun grew up on the farm in Henrietta Township, attended school until completing the eighth grade, and was still a boy when he started his vocation as a farmer. He gradually accumulated a little capital by thrift and industry, and in 1909 was enabled to purchase his present farm of 100 acres. In the last seven years he has effected many improvements, has remodeled the building, and has a substantial brick house and all the necessary outbuildings.
In 1909 Mr. Braun married Hattie Sedelke, a daughter of Frank Sedelke, a prosperous farmer of Russia Township. Mr. and Mrs. Braun have two children: Grace Edna, born January 10, 1912; and Earl William, born August 15, 1915.
The family are members of St. Peter's Church and in politics Mr. Braun is a democrat. He is still giving all his energy and time to his work as general farmer, and besides the staple crops he grazes a number of high grade cattle and milks some cows. He is one of the leading men in the Grange organization of his part of Lorain County.
HON. SEWARD HENRY WILLIAMS. In none of the professions is the importance of comprehensive training more evident than in the domain of the law. A university education is a vital necessity if the devotee is ambitious to reach a plane beyond the practice of the small courts and the mediocre level of pettifogging. Prior to entering upon the practice of his chosen calling, Hon. Seward Henry Williams, of Lorain, prepared himself with patience and thoroughness, with the result that he was able to immediately take his place among the leaders of the bar, and since his entrance into professional life has not only gained a position of standing among the legists of Ohio, but has become a public figure of national reputation, being a representative from Ohio in the Sixty-fourth United States Congress.
Congressman Williams was born at Amsterdam, New York, November 7, 1870, and is a son of John J. and Maria Louise (Montonye) Williams. His father, a weaver by trade, enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and
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Fifteenth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and was captured by the forces of "Stonewall" Jackson, at Har- per's Ferry, Virginia. On May 7, 1865, at Chesterfield Heights, Virginia, he was wounded, this being one of the many battles of the Wilderness, but recovered and finally received his honorable discharge at the close of hostilities.
After attending the public schools of his native place, Seward H. Williams enrolled as a student at Amsterdam Academy, and when his course there was completed entered Williams College. This was followed by attendance at Princeton College, where he took the law preparatory course, the head of the law preparatory department of the institution at that time being Woodrow Wilson, now President of the United States. His regular law course was pursued at Washington and Lee University, at Lexington, Virginia, from which he was graduated in 1895, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and immediately came to Lorain, where he entered active practice. He has since continued in the enjoyment of a constantly-increasing business, which includes all branches of the pro- fession. Mr. Williams served four years as city solicitor of Lorain, as well as a member of the Lorain Board of Education, and was then sent to the Seventy-ninth Ohio Legislature, succeeding himself in the eightieth session of that body. While thus serving he was a member of the com- mittee on Judiciary during both sessions, and took part in much active legislation, being the father of the so-called "gun-toting" bill, which made the carrying of concealed weapons a penitentiary offense. The quality of his public service brought him most favorably before the public and in 1914 he was made the candidate of the republican party for election of the national House of Representatives, from the Four- teenth Congressional District of Ohio. Elected in November, 1914, he took his seat in that body in 1915, and has worked most faithfully in the interests of his constituents. He was appointed to membership on the following committees: Election of President, Vice President, and Rep- resentatives in Congress and Railways and Canals. The congressman is connected fraternally with the Masons, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree; the Knights of Pythias; the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and the Loyal Order of Moose, of which he is first dictator, and also holds membership in the Sons of Veterans. With his family, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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On September 29, 1897, Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Miss Jeannette Reynolds, of Lorain, daughter of John T. Reynolds. To this union there have been born a son and a daughter: Seward Reynolds and Margaret Louise.
JAMES H. SHELLEY. One of the most prominent millers in Ohio was the late James H. Shelley of Wellington, where for many years he owned and operated a mill, though the milling interests at present are in Shelby, Ohio.
He was born in Union County, Ohio, July 12, 1860, a son of John and Helen (Manion) Shelley. Both parents were natives of Ireland, where the father was born in 1822 and the mother in 1829, and the former died in 1887 and the latter in 1874. After their marriage the parents came to America and in 1861 settled in Union County, Ohio. John Shelley was also a miller, and finally moved out to the State of Washington, where he died. He was a member of the Catholic Church and was a republican voter until the election of R. B. Hayes, after which he was a stanch democrat. Of the four children, the oldest was John, who was born in Ireland and who died in 1904; James, of this review; Mrs. Helen Ramer, a widow, lives at Elyria; Mary is the wife of John Fern, a railway man living at Elyria.
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James H. Shelley acquired his early education in the public schools of Amherst, Ohio, and when only a boy gained his practical experience in milling and has made it his lifelong pursuit. For seventeen years he worked in a mill in New York City, and it was by careful economy and by learning the business in all its details that he was able to buy his first mill at Wellington, to which point he came in 1897. Here he owned and operated a mill with a capacity of 150 barrels until 1914, when he sold out. He then bought a 200-barrel flour mill at Shelby, Ohio, the noted Heath Mill, and with the assistance of some others of the family made this one of the best known mills for its products in Ohio. The flour manufactured at Shelby is shipped to all parts of the state.
In 1880 Mr. Shelley married Jane McKernan, who was born at Sandusky, Ohio, a daughter of Thomas McKernan, who was a native of Ireland and spent many years following the trade of plasterer in San- dusky. Mr. and Mrs. Shelley have four children. Nellie is the wife of G. A. Gott, a farmer in Wellington Township. Anna is the wife of F. W. Evans, who is associated in the flour milling business at Shelby with Mr. Shelley. Jennie, wife of Henry Brandt, who is also interested in the Shelby Mill. Olive is a reader and vocalist and makes her home in Wellington. The family are members of the Catholic Church. Mr. Shelley was a democrat, and at Wellington has served as a member of the town council and on the water board. Fraternally he was affiliated with the Elks of Elyria, Royal Arch Masons and also with the Knights of Pythias and Knights of the Maccabees. Though he started out a poor boy, he made a success of his career, and besides his various business interests he enjoyed the comforts of a fine brick home in Wellington. Mr. Shelley died May 22, 1916, and was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Sandusky, Ohio.
LEON H. WADSWORTH. For more than eighty years the Wadsworth family has had its seat in Lorain County and members of three successive generations have wrought their influence and ability into the life and affairs of several communities. The late David L. Wadsworth is well remembered throughout the county for his prominence in local affairs and also in state politics. Leon H. Wadsworth has for many years been in business at Wellington and more recently at Elyria. He has also recently closed a successful administration of the postoffice at Wellington.
The late David L. Wadsworth was his father. David L. was born at Becket, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, June 1, 1825, the youngest and seventh son of Lawton and Nancy R. Wadsworth. When David L. Wadsworth was eight years of age he accompanied the family on its emigration to the wilderness of Lorain County. A team of horses drew their wagon by the overland route, and on the 9th of May, twenty-four days after starting, they had completed their 600-mile journey to Wellington, Ohio. As a young boy, David thenceforward spent his youth in a typical frontier community. However, he acquired a good common school education, and for several terms attended Oberlin Col- lege. He was a man of versatile intellect, of great energy, and did well whatever he undertook. For seven years he taught in district schools. In 1840 he began the study of medicine, but that profession was not to his liking and he gave it up. In 1868 he turned his attention from other matters to the lumber business, purchasing a planing mill, and then became an extensive dealer and manufacturer of lumber, shingles, lath and other materials. He also added a cheese and butter box factory. Later he established a lumber yard and planing mill at Greenwich, Ohio.
Successful in business, David L. Wadsworth was equally well known in politics. He was a loyal democrat, but during the war was what was known as a war democrat, and no citizen of any party surpassed him in
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loyalty and devotion to the Union. He called the first meeting at Well- ington for raising volunteer troops. He lived in a republican district, and yet again and again he was paid political honor. April 1, 1878, Governor Bishop appointed him a trustee of the Cleveland Insane Asylum. Governor Hoadley appointed him a trustee of the Blind Asylum, and he served during that administration and also under Governor Foraker. In 1875 he was nominated by his party for the office of state treasurer, and was defeated by just two votes. He was also nominated for Congress, and succeeded in reducing the republican majority by more than 400. While not a church member, he was a thorough Christian and worked for the extension of church and moral influences of every kind. He also attained thirty-two degrees in Scottish Rite Masonry. David L. Wadsworth died at his home in Wellington, October 7, 1892, his death resulting from heart failure. Funeral services were preached by the pastor of the Congregational Church, and were also under the auspices of the Knight Templar Oriental Commandery at Cleveland, to which he had belonged for twenty years.
On October 22, 1850, David L. Wadsworth married Rosenia C. Wads- worth of Rochester, Lorain County, a daughter of Hiram and Caroline L. (Wells) Wadsworth. Mrs. Wadsworth was born in Bristol, New York, and came with her parents to Lorain County in 1832. She became the mother of three children: Kitty May, who was born May 20, 1856, and died April 6, 1858; George M., born September 25, 1861; and Leon H.
Leon H. Wadsworth, who for more than thirty-five years has been furnishing enterprise and enthusiasm to the business and public life of his section of Lorain County, was born at Rochester, Ohio, October 13, 1864. Reared in Wellington, he attended primary schools there, later became a student in the University of Michigan, and was graduated in law in 1882. However he did not take up the law as his regular profes- sion and instead became associated with his father in the lumber business at Wellington. In 1885 he removed to Greenwich and established a lumber yard and planing mill and was active as a contractor and builder. At the death of his father in 1892 he returned to Wellington and managed the estate for one year. He then bought the lumber plant at Wellington and continued this line actively until 1907. He then established himself in the undertaking business at Wellington, and on April 15, 1913, extended his enterprise to Elyria where he now has headquarters and a complete equipment including automobile service.
Everything connected with the public welfare of his home town has always made a strong appeal to Mr. Wadsworth, and he has worked conscientiously to better and improve his home community. In 1903 he was appointed postmaster at Wellington and served continuously until March 1, 1916, when he was succeeded by the present incumbent of the office.
On October 14, 1885, Mr. Wadsworth married Mary E. Trinter, only daughter of Capt. William and Sophia Trinter of Vermillion, Ohio. Mrs. Wadsworth died February 4, 1914. There is one son, Luther W .. who took a course of embalming at Boston, graduating from the Dodge School in 1907, and has since supplied the professional and technical skill to the undertaking business conducted by him and his father. The son also served as assistant postmaster under his father and still con- tinues under the present incumbent. Mr. Wadsworth is a Knight Templar and Scottish Rite Mason.
MILO CORNELIUS KENDEIGH, widely known in Lorain County as a stock man and public spirited citizen, represents a family that became identified with this portion of the wilderness of Northern Ohio more than ninety years ago, and its various members have contributed their labors
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and the influence of their characters to the upbuilding of this country. By his enterprise combined with a long experience Mr. Kendeigh was successful in making the Kendeigh stock farm for many years a notable center for the raising of high grade horses and other stock. He is now practically retired from business, and owns only seventy-three acres of land. He is also president of the Lorain County Board of Education.
He is of German origin, and in the earlier generations back in Pennsylvania his family name was spelled Kentisch and Kintich. The Kendeigh family was established in Lorain County in the spring of 1824, when his grandparents, John and Nancy Kendeigh, moved to North Amherst. They were among the early settlers there, and finding the country a wilderness they left the impress of their activities in a well improved farm.
Samuel Kendeigh, father of Milo C., was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, July 17, 1823. As a young man he learned the trade of mechanic and carpenter, and was reared and educated in Lorain County. After his marriage he spent seven years in clearing and improv- ing his farm in Henrietta Township, but then gave up farming for mill- ing, conducting his mill at North Amherst eighteen months. The mill was then exchanged for a farm in Elyria Township on what is now Lake Avenue. A year and a half later, having sold that property, he returned to North Amherst, and bought the old 'Peter Rice farm, which later became the property of the Cleveland Stone Company. After living there some years Samuel Kendeigh removed to the farm which his son Milo subsequently developed as the Kendeigh Stock Farm, a place of 120 acres in Amherst Township. He also owned more than 100 acres in Russia Township. Samuel Kendeigh was one of the highly honored citizens of Lorain County, and his death on February 15, 1905, con- cluded a life which for eighty years had been identified with this county. The maiden name of his wife was Jane Strickler, who was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and who died December 24, 1900. There were six children in the family : Esther A., who died at South Amherst, the wife of Bruce Gibson ; Charles D .; Milo C .; Jennie L., who married Rev. Marston S. Freeman, a Congregational minister; Lottie, who mar- ried H. G. Wilford; and Lula, a twin of her sister Lottie.
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