USA > Ohio > Portage County > A portrait and biographical record of Portage and Summit counties, Ohio > Part 6
USA > Ohio > Summit County > A portrait and biographical record of Portage and Summit counties, Ohio > Part 6
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
maternal grandparents of Mrs. Sprenkel were natives of Pennsylvania, where the grandfather was a school-teacher for many years, and later, for a long time, postmaster in Summit county, Ohio. To his marriage with Miss Catherine Dagne were born six children, of whom but one survives-Elizabeth, wife of Simon Keifer; the deceased were George Henry (who died in the army), Simon, Susan (wife of William Beaty), Mary (wife of Jonas Braucher) and Rebecca (wife of John Stein). The parents of these children died within nine days each of the other, in June, 1869.
John Stein, father of Mrs. Sprenkel, was born in Baden, Germany, July 16, 1820, and his wife, Rebecca, was born in Dauphin county, Pa., January 24, 1840. John Stein was first a shoemaker and then a farmer, in Springfield township. He first married Cath- erine Kreighbanm, who bore him two sons, Jacob and Andrew, the former of whom died in infancy and the latter at twenty-two years of age. The second marriage of John Stein took place February 5, 1859, to Miss Rebecca Peters, daughther of John and Catherine (Dague) Peters, and to this union were born eleven children, of whom ten are still living, viz: Catherine (Mrs. Sprenkel); Mary, born April 23, 1862, and now the wife of Charles Miller; Henry E., born December 14, 1866, married to Ellen Pontius and residing in Akron; John W., born March 8, 1869; Charles F., born March 20, 1871, and married to Nettie Metz; Ida E., born May 1, 1873; George Oliver, born June 10, 1875-now a resident of Akron: Simeon P., born August 3, 1877; Lavina May, born May 24, 1880, and Fred- erick, born July 30, 1883, and who makes his home with Mr. Sprenkel; Etta was born Sep- tember 2, 1864, was married to William Mitchell, and died March 13, 1893. The mother of this family died March 31, 1896, at the age of fifty-six years and two months,
and the father December 18, 1896, aged sev- enty-six years, five months and three days, both being members of the Reformed church
It was while Mr. Sprenkel was engaged in the jewelry business in Akron that the parents of Mrs. Sprenkel were called from earth, and this event led to his taking charge of the old Stein homestead in Springfield township, which is now his home, and which he has shown himself to be fully capable of managing. In politics he is a democrat, and in 1897 was elected supervisor of Springfield township, of which office he is still the incumbent. He is a member of Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 598, of Akron, and is highly respected as one of the most upright and useful citizens of Springfield township.
ILLIAM H. STAMM, an experienced and skilled blacksmith of Manches- ter, Summit county, Ohio, is a na- tive of this village and was born May 21, 1856, a son of William and Louisa (Grubb) Stamm.
John Stamm, grandfather of subject, was born near Philadelphia, Pa., of German par- entage, but married in Stark county, Ohio, Mary Braucher, a daughter of Jacob Braucher, and for a few years lived on a farm in Jackson township, Stark county, and then came to Summit county, where he died in the fall of 1840, when the widow returned to her former home. Both were members of the Lutheran church, and in politics the husband was a democrat. The grandmother is still living at Canal Fulton, is eighty-eight years of age. is still hale and of unimpaired intellect. It is related of her that in the early pioneer days, during the absence of her husband, she kille ! a deer with a hatchet -- the crust of ice on the snow at the time being strong enough to sus- tain the weight of the household dogs, but
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OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES.
through which the sharp hoofs of the deer pene- trated, thus rendering it a prisoner to the hounds until dispatched by Mrs. Stamm.
William Stamm, father of subject, was born in Stark county, Ohio, December 19, 1828, on his father's farm, and was educated in the pioneer log school-house. He was the eldest of the five children born to his parents, and his father's early death threw him upon his own resources, and he began life for him- self by working for the pioneer fariners for four dollars per month-at that time consid- vred to be very good wages. He first married Louisa Grubb, who was born in Summit coun- ty, Ohio, in 1830, a daughter of John and Margaret (Kintz) Grubb, pioneers from Lan- caster county, Pa. This lady bore her hus- band four children-Almon (deceased); Will- iam, our subject: Frances died at three years, and Alice, wife of James Proctor. Mrs. Stamin died December 3, 1863, a member of the Disciples' church- and Mr. Stamm then mar- ried Margaret E. Grubb, a sister of his de- ceased wife. Mr. Stamm first engaged in :
blacksmithing in Manchester in 1848, worked here eleven years, and then moved to Canal Fulton, where he worked eight years, and thence went to Montville township, Geauga county, where he bought a farm and built a blacksmith shop, and there he still resides. In politics he is a republican, and he and wife are adherents of the Disciples' church.
William H. Stamm, the subject of this memoir, was educated in the schools of Canal Fulton and Kent, and at nineteen years of age entered his father's shop and became a thorough blacksmith. October to, 1880. he married Miss Savila Singer, a native of Green town- ship, Summit county, born January 22, 1857, and a daughter of Gephart and Annie ( Epler) Singer, who came from Germany to Summit county in 1855; here the mother died October 9, 1889, and the father June 11, 1892, both
in the faith of the Evangelical church. In politics Mr. Singer was a republican. With the exception of sixteen years spent in Canal Fulton and Kent, William H. Stamm has al- ways lived in Manchester, where he now owns a modern dwelling. In politics he is a strong republican, but has never held an office. He and wife are consistent members of the Dis- ciples' church, in which he is a trustee and teacher in the Sunday-school, and in support of which both are liberal with their means. They are much respected in the social circles of the village, and it is an acknowledged fact that Mr. Stamm has no superior as a black- smith in Summit county.
OE JAMES STANFORD, the well- known funeral director and scientific embalmer of Ravenna, Ohio, was born in Randolph township, Portage coun- ty, September 7, 1841, and is a descendant, maternally, of one of the oldest families of America, being a son of Orrin and Eliza O. (Coe) Stanford.
The Coe family came to this country from Suffolkshire, England, where they had resided for many generations. The earliest notice of ; them which can be found is in " Fox's Book of Martyrs, " which states that Roger Coe, of Mi !- ford, Suffolkshire, was burned at the stake by Queen Mary in September, 1555. Little else is known of the family until the removal of Robert Coe from Suffolkshire to America, and who, in a genealogy of nine generations, rep- resents the first. He was born in 1596, and with his wife Anna, born in 1591, and their three sons, landed in Boston in June, 1634. - Thus by a direct line of descent the family can be traced, almost from the landing of the Pil- grim fathers.
Deacon James P. Coe was the maternal grandfather of the subject, and the father of
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- PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
Eliza O. Coe, who married Orrin Stanford. Deacon Coe was born in Granville, Mass., March 19, 1769, and married Nancy Pratt, by whom he had six children. In 1811 he re- moved to Randolph township in this county and resided there for a period of thirty-four years, or until his death. His numerous fan- ily married and settled in various lines of busi- ness in Portage county, and their representa- tives are numbered among the prominent fam- ilies to-day.
The Coes were exemplary people-the of- fice of deacon in the Congregational church being held for sixty-two years by Jaines, Al- mon B. and James P., respectively, represent- ing three consecutive generations.
Little is known of the ancestral history of the Stanford family. Orrin Stanford, father of our subject, was born in New York state, and when a child of two years, accompanied his parents to Portage county, Ohio. Here his life was spent, the township of Randolph being the location of the family home. Mr. Stanford, though possessed of a good farm, spent most of his life in mechanical pursuits. He was a carpenter by trade, a profession which our subject followed for several years.
Orrin and Eliza Stanford had a family of eight children born to them, our subject, the second in order of birth, and his sister, Stella O., being the only survivors. The eldest of this family was Celestine, who died in young womanhood. Stella resides at Randolph Cen- ter, in this county, unmarried. Hiram died at twenty years of age a young man of bright promise; Rolla died in infancy. Rosa died of atrophy of the heart-a young lady of eight- een. Flora and Cora-twins-died at the age of four years of diphtheria.
Coe J. Stanford, the subject, passed his early years on the farm and also learned the use of tools in his father's carpenter shop. He acquired a fair common-school education
and had spent something over a year as a stu- dent in Hiram college when the war cloud called him from his studies to bear arms in de- fense of the Union. Mr. Stanford is one of the few survivors who had the honor to serve his country under command of the distin- guished and lamented Gen. Garfield. He en- listed September 25, 1861, as a member of company A, Forty-second Ohio volunteer in- fantry, his company being made up almost of students from Hiram college. Owing to his educational abilities, Mr. Stanford was ap- pointed to several positions on detached duty, but persistently refused all offers of promotion, and at the end of his three years' service came out of the army as he had entered it-a pri- vate. On his return from the army in 1864 he found that his father had died in the fall of that year at the age of fifty-two years; the mother died in 1888.
Mr. Stanford now found it necessary to assume charge of his deceased father's busi- ness, which he conducted until 1877, when he engaged in the manufacture of coffins at Edin- burg, subsequently purchasing a stock of undertakers' supplies. In 1880 he removed to Atwater, sold out in 1886 and went to Quincy, Ill., whence, fifteen months later, he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked eighteen months as an employee, and then came to Ravenna, where he passed a few months in unprofitable business, after which he went to New Philadelphia, where he passed a year and a half in the undertaking business as an employee. He then returned to Ra- venna and established his present line of busi- ness, having in the meantime graduated from the Cincinnati school of embalming, and being the first to introduce the arterial em- balming process in Portage county.
March 15, 1883, Mr. Stanford was united in marriage with Miss Nina Mendenhall, a na- tive of Randolph township and daughter of
535
OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES.
William and Asenath Mendenhall, of Atwater, Ohio, where the father is engaged in the fur- niture and undertaking business. To Mr. and Mrs. Stanford have been born two children, the elder of whom, Willie, was born Decem- ber 2, 1883, and died October 29, 1891; the younger, Helen, was born in August, 1886. In religion Mr. Stanford was reared a Meth- odist, and his wife is a Congregationalist. In politics Mr. Stanford is an uncompromising republican, but has never been a seeker of office. Fraternally he is a member of the I. O. O. F., of the G. A. R., and of the A. O. F. A. Socially, he and wife stand among the élite of Ravenna.
S T. CLAIR STEELE, an old soldier of the Civil war, springs from sterling Scotch-Irish ancestry, his remote an- cestry having been old colonial set- tlers of Pennsylvania. He was born in Stowe township, Summit county, Ohio, September 13, 1842, a son of Isaac and Margaret C. (Steele) Steele. He attended the common schools and high school until he enlisted, in April, 1861, at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, under Capt. A. J. Konkle, in company K, Nineteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months. He was taken sick with measles and was in hospital six weeks in Cleveland, and thus saw no service under this enlistment. He re- turned to Stowe township and on recovering enlisted, September 10, 1861, in company D, First Ohio light artillery, at Cuyahoga Falls, under Capt. A. J. Konkle, to serve three years, or during the war. He served out his termn and one month over, and was honorably dis- charged at Columbus, Ohio, October 30, 1864. His first campaign was with Gen. Nelson, at West Liberty and Piketon, and was then with Gen. Buell on the advance from Green River, Ky., to Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., and was in
the engagement at this place, where he vol- unteered, with others, to carry the wounded. He was later in the battles at Corinth, Mun- fordville, Green River, Ky., and was taken prisoner by Gen. Bragg, and paroled on con- ditions, but violated the parole, and a number of the party escaped to the Union lines. Aft- erward he was exchanged and took part in Burnside's siege of Knoxville, Tenn., Rock- ford, Tenn., and at Cumberland Gap, and assisted in the capture of 5,000 rebel prisoners. He was in Sherman's famous Atlanta cam- paign, and in battles at Dallas, Dalton, Buz- zard's Roost, Resaca, Pumpkinvine Creek, Kenesaw, Mountain, and the battles in front of Atlanta, and in many skirmishes. He was sick in hospital No. 3, at Louisville, about three weeks in January, 1863. He was transferred, in January, 1864, to the Nineteenth inde- pendent battery, and served with this battery about five weeks, and then returned to his own battery, and served as a non-commissioned officer and as chief of caissons throughout the Atlanta campaign. Mr. Steele was always prompt in the discharge of his duty and served his country faithfully. After the war Mr. Steele engaged in the saw-mill business at Peninsula, Summit county.
Mr. Steele married, December 13, 1870, in Cuyahoga Falls, Sarah J. McCauley, who was born October 20, 1850, at Hudson, Summit county, Ohio, a daughter of Peter and Mary (O'Brien) McCauley. Peter McCauley was born in the north of Ireland September 5, 1812, was a shoemaker and farmer, and came to America when a young man and settled at Hudson, Ohio, where he married. He bought land and cleared up a farm of about 300 acres and became a substantial farmer and a well- to-do man. Mr. and Mrs. McCauley were members of the Episcopal church. and their children were Edward, William and Saralı J. Mr. McCauley died April 8, 1863, an honored
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
citizen, and was an industrious, hard-working man. Mr. and Mrs. Steele first settled at Stowe, where he bought a farm of 120 acres and ran a saw-mill. He came to his present home about 1884, and is doing a successful business. To Mr. and Mrs. Steele have been born Harry C. and Mabel M. Mr. Steele was guard at the penitentiary at Columbus over two years, being in politics a stanch repub- lican, and has taken an active interest in politics and has served as township trustee of Stowe township two terms and as member of the town council of Cuyahoga Falls one term. Mr. and Mrs. Steele are members of the Episcopal church. Mr. Steele stands high as a man of business integrity of character.
Isaac Steele, father of our subject, was a son of Isaac, who was a son of Adam, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and a farmer of Fayette county, Pa., where he was a pioneer, descended from a well-known co- Ionial family. Col. Crawford, who was burned at the stake by Indians, was a relative of his family. Adam Steele mnoved with his family to Ohio, where he was a pioneer of Stowe township. He died in July, 1811, about sixty- seven years of age, and is buried in the Hud- son cemetery.
Isaac Steele, grandfather of St. Clair Steele, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and a farmer of Stowe township, Summit county, Ohio. He married, in Pennsylvania, Betsy Galloway, and their children were Isaac, Mary, Eliza, Anna and Margaret. Isaac Steele came to Stowe township about 1804, but returned to Pennsylvania and again came out and settled in the township in 1820, where he died in 1845. When a boy he carried mail in the Revolution- ary war. He engaged in the mercantile busi- ness and lost a vessel-load of flour between Spain and her American colonies. On the vessel were fifty-two men and one woman, and the flour had been bought at $3 per barrel.
The vessel attempted to enter the blockaded Spanish and American ports, and they would have obtained $52 per barrel for the merchan- dise. They were captured and confined in prison three years. All died in prison except three of the men and the woman, and they lived to be released-among them was Isaac Steele. He was the son of his father's first wife.
Isaac Steele, father of subject, was born in Fayette county, Pa., in 1812, wasa farmer, hav- ing come here with his father when a boy eight years old, and in 1841 he married Margaret C. Steele, a distant relative and a daughter of Alexander and Nancy (Galloway) Steele. To them were born St. Clair, Nancy, Henderson, Ellen E. and Thomas A. Mr. Steele was a pioneer farmer, owning 100 acres of land, was a respected citizen and lived to be about seventy-two years old, and died in 1884. In politics he was a democrat.
St. Clair Steele is a member of the G. . A. R. post at Cuyahoga Falls, and Lincoln com- mand, Veteran Union, Akron. Harry O'Brian. the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Steele, was born in the north of Ireland September 9. 1781, and on coming to America was one of the first pioneers of Hudson township, Summit county, Ohio. He cleared a farm from the wilderness, owned a large estate, was a wealthy man and a well-known and prominent citizen. His chil- dren were Moses, Martin, Daniel, William, Michael, Mary, Harriet, Fannie and Sarah Ann. Harry O'Brian was a very public-spir- ited man, and assisted many of the early set- tlers from the north of Ireland in obtaining land. He was a very strong churchman and assisted to found the Episcopal churches at Cuyahoga Falls and Hudson. He married Sarah Ann Walker June 7, 1804. His house in early times was a home for the people look- ing for lands, especially the north of Ireland people.
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OF PORTAGE AND SUMMIT COUNTIES.
Adam Steele, son of Alexander, is the old- est member of this family now living. He was a lumberman and mill-man and now retired. He married Julia Hart, and their children are Cora and Mary. In politics he is a democrat, a respected citizen, and a man of unblemished character.
ENDERSON STEELE, one of the prominent citizens of Summit county, Ohio, and trustee of Stowe township, is living on the old Steele homestead and has been engaged with his brother, T. A. Steele, in the lumber business for more than twenty years. He is a son of Isaac and Margaret C. (Steele) Steele. Henderson was born in 1845, November 15, on the Steele homestead, re- ceived a good common education for his day and was brought up a farmer. He married Emily J. Carr (née Malone), born January 17, IS46, at Fulton, Ohio, a daughter of Thomas and Lucy (Rice) Malonc, of Irish and English ancestry. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Steele settled in Cuyahoga Falls and there lived one year and then moved to the home farm, bought out the heirs and have since lived there. It is a good farin of eighty acres and he owns one- half interest in sixty acres more. They have improved this farm and made a pleasant home. Mr. and Mrs. Steele have one son-Lester H., born February 21, 1888. Mr. Steele is polit- ically a democrat, served as township trustee three years and has been re-elected for three years more. He is a member of the I. O.O.F., Howard lodge, No. 62, Cuyahoga Falls. Mr. Steele has been very successful as a business man, being sagacious and prudent, and has won the respect of all with whom he has ever had any transactions, his name standing be- yond the reach of reproach. Mrs. Steele is the mother of two children by her first mar- riage. named Frank B. and Claude L., who
have been reared in respectability, and the social relations of the family are of the most pleasant character, as they enjoy the respect and esteem of all who know them, and, as may well be imagined, the name is well and fav- orably known throughout the county.
Isaac Steele, grandfather of Henderson A. Steele, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and a farmer in Stowe township, Summit county, Ohio. He married, in Pennsylvania, Betsey Galloway, and their children were Isaac, Mary, Eliza, Anna and Margaret. Isaac Steele came to Stowe township about 1804, but returned to Pennsylvania and again came out and settled in the township in 1820, where he died in 1845. When a boy he carried mail in the Revolutionary war. He engaged in the mercantile business and lost a vessel-load of flour between Spain and her American colo- nies. On the vessel were fifty-two men and one woman, and the flour had been bought at $3 per barrel. The vessel attempted to enter the blockaded Spanish and American ports, and they would have obtained $52 per barrel for the merchandise. They were captured and confined in prison three years. All died in prison except three of the men and the woman, and they lived to be released-among them was Isaac Steele. He was the son of his father's first wife.
Isaac Steele, father of subject, was born in Fayette county, Pa., in 1812, was a farmer, having come here with his father when a boy eight years old, and in 1841 he married Mar- garet C. Steele, a distant relative and a daughter of Alexander and Nancy (Galloway) Steele. To them were born St. Clair, Nancy, Henderson, Ellen E. and Thomas A. Mr. Steele was a pioneer farmer, owning 100 acres of land, was a respected citizen and lived to be about seventy-two years old, and died in 1884. In politics he was a democrat, stanch and true.
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
HOMAS A. STEELE, one of the prominent men of Summit county, Ohio, and for many years a lumber- man, was born October 10, 1853, in Stowe township and is a son of Isaac and Mar- garet C. (Steele) Steele. He received a good, common-school education and learned the trade of carpenter, at which he worked seven years. In 1877 he engaged in the lumber business under the firm name of the Steele Brothers (St. Clair, Henderson and Thomas A., but later St. Clair withdrew from the firm), and has operated in various parts of the county, and done a successful business. In politics he is a strict democrat and was elected county commissioner in 1892 and served three years. Fraternally he is a member of Starr lodge, No. 187, F. & A. M., Cuyahoga Falls; also of Pavonia lodge, No. 301, K. of P., of the same city.
Mr. Steele was married, December 25, 1878, in Stowe township, to Lilly J. Reed, who was born February 12, 1856, in the town- ship named, daughter of Hiram and Phebe (Sadler) Reed. Hiram Reed was born in Pennsylvania and came with his father, John, to Kent, Portage county, Ohio, about 1856; he settled in Stowe township, where he bought a farm; there he died in 1894, an aged man. His children were Angie, Arthur, Hattie, Ellen, Lilly J. and Phebe. Mr. Reed was of New England ancestry and was a substantial farmer and respected citizen.
Mr. Steele, the subject, settled, after mar- riage, on the old Steele homestead, where he lived eight years, and then bought the Reed farm at Metz, lived there six years, and then, in 1893, moved to Cuyahoga Falls and built a pleasant residence. Mrs. Steele is a member of the Episcopal church, and Mr. Steele has always taken an active part in politics, and stands high for his integrity of character, and socially he is a highly respected gentleman.
Isaac Steele, grandfather of Thomas A. Steele, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and a farmer of Stowe township, Summit county, Ohio. He married, in Pennsylvania, Betsey Galloway, and their children were Isaac, Mary, Eliza, Anna and Margaret. Isaac Stecle came to Stowe township about IS04, but returned to Pennsylvania and again came out and set- tled in the township in 1820, where he died in 1845. When a boy he carried mail in the Revolutionary war. He engaged in the mer- cantile business and lost a vessel load of flour between Spain and her American colonies. On the vessel were fifty-two men and one woman, and the flour had been bought at $3 per barrel. The vessel attempted to enter the blockaded Spanish and American ports, and they would have obtained $52 per barrel for the merchandise. They were captured and confined in prison three years. All died in prison except three of the men and the woman, and they lived to be released-among them was Isaac Steele. He was the son of his father's first wife.
Isaac Steele, father of subject, was born in Fayette county, Pa., in 1812, was a farmer, having come here with his father when a boy eight years old, and in 1841 he married Mar- garet C. Steele, a distant relative, and a daughter of Alexander and Nancy (Galloway) Steele. To them were born St. Clair, Nancy, Henderson, Ellen E. and Thomas A. Mr. Steele was a pioneer farmer, owning 100 acres of land, was a respected citizen and lived to be about seventy-two years old, and died in 1884. In politics he was a democrat.
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