USA > Ohio > Erie County > A standard history of Erie County, Ohio: an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, civic, and social development. A chronicle of the people, with family lineage and memoirs > Part 88
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The broad scope to which Hudson Tuttle aspired even in childhood shows why his books are now in greater demand than ever before by educators, psychic students and even theologians. When he was a little lad a traveling preacher went through the woods on horseback and stopped with his parents over night, when the conversation was mostly on religion and beliefs, to which Hudson listened eagerly, noticing his alertness, said : "I guess you'll make a preacher, my boy, when you are a man." "If I do," said the lad, "I shall preach what you dont!" and he did. Ile wrote over a wide range of subjects, the best idea of which can be obtained by a brief quotation of the titles and some of the com- ments made on the standard works on Spiritualism published by the Tuttles. This list is as follows :
The Arcana of Nature, by Ilndson Tuttle, with an introduction by Emmett Densmore, M. D. This book, first published nearly fifty years ago, and a long time out of print, has been republished in London. That it has been translated into several languages, and a new edition demanded, indicates its value.
A Golden Sheaf, by Hudson and Emma Rood Tuttle. Made of what the writers regard as among the most valuable of their inspirations in prose and poetry. A souvenir of their golden wedding.
Mediumship and Its Laws. Answering the question: How can I become a Medium? By IJudson Tuttle.
Religion of Man and Ethies of Science. By IIudson Tuttle.
The Arcana of Spiritualism; a Manual of Spiritual Science and Philosophy. By Hudson Tuttle.
Origin and Antiquity of Man.
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Evolution of the God and Christ Ideas. By Hudson Tuttle.
From Soul to Soul. By Emma Rood Tuttle. This volume contains the best poems of the author and her most popular songs, with the music by eminent composers.
Asphodel Blooms and Other Offerings. By Emma Rood Tuttle. This volume is dedicated "To those whose thoughts and longings reach into the Unseen Land of Souls this handful of Asphodels, mixed with common flowers, is offered, hoping to give rest and pleasure while waiting at the way station on the journey thither."
Angell-Prize Contest Reeitations. By Emma Rood Tuttle.
The Lyceum Guide. By Emma Rood Tuttle.
Stories from Beyond the Borderland. By Hudson and Emma Rood Tuttle.
Mr. Tuttle has left for publication much valuable matter the world may yet see. Ilis "Log Book of the Lney Ann," a marine novel, is complete, and will some time appear.
He longed to stay and complete his work, and to establish mental freedom. He said: "When the sun of knowledge shines from the zenith of the cloudless heavens, and there remains no dark shadow of ignorance behind which superstition may linger, then man will find restful peace in the certainty of law and order. Then will have perished the Religion of Pain, which has through past ages held mankind on its rack of torture, and will have dawned in the millennial day, which is not divine, but essentially human, the Religion of Joy."
CHARLES O. MERRY. Here and there in Erie County ean be found a family whose permanent residence can be traced back continuously for more than a century to the earliest pioneer times in this section of Northern Ohio. Sueh is true of the Merry family, represented by Charles O. Merry, one of the prominent farmer citizens of Milan Town- ship. Milan Township was the original seat of the Merrys in this county, and where the name was established prior to the War of 1812.
Mr. Merry is a son of the late Ebenezer Merry and his grandfather was also named Ebenezer, and the same name was given to his great- grandfather. This family was founded in America early in the eighteenth century by Cornelius Merry, who with his wife left England and founded a home in Connecticut. A son of this emigrant was also named Cornelius, and spent his life in Connecticut. Ebenezer, the first of the name, was born about 1750 and in 1772 married Sarah Whiting. They both died in the New England states.
Ebenezer Merry, the grandfather of Charles O., was born at West Hartford, Connectieut, July 21, 1773, and after growing up moved to Avon, New York. He was married there May 5, 1800, to Charlotte Adams. The marriage certificate is written plainly in pen and ink by the justice of the peace Isaiah Fish. Charlotte Adams was born in Vermont, August 17. 1789, and was a daughter of Avon Adams, who belonged to the same Adams family which produced those eminent patriots and statesmen, John Adams and others of that name. who gained familiar places in American history during the Revolution.
Soon after their marriage Ebenezer and Charlotte Merry set out for the new country of Northern Ohio, journeying the entire distance on horsebaek and much of the way through dense woods inhabited by Indians, whose trails they followed, and they passed by cabins of early settlers and Indian wigwams in almost equal number. They arrived in the wilds of what is now Erie County and made their location near Milan Village. They were among the first occupants of the "fire lands" in Erie County, and in that publieation known as "The Fire Lands
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Pioneers" published in June, 1882, in Volume 1 on page 135, extensive mention is made of the life and character of Ebenezer Merry and his wife. Ebenezer Merry built the first grist and sawmill at Milan. This was an institution possibly surpassing that of any other in its value to the early development of the community. Largely as a result of his enterprise Milan became one of the most thriving of the new towns in the northern part of the state. All the early settlers living in a radius of many miles eame to Milan in those days to get their grist ground and also to obtain their supplies of building material. Outside of his prom- inence as an industrial leader and business man Ebenezer and his good wife were chiefly noted for the hospitality which characterized their home. It is said that no traveler ever passed their way who was not invited within their doors and given the privilege freely of eating and remaining as long as he desired. In consequence of this open handed liberality their home came to be known as "The Free Inn." Ebenezer Merry helped to lay out the young Town of Milan, and he also owned a farm on the Huron River north of that village. During the War of 1812 the early settlers put up a blockhouse, to which all resorted in time of threatened danger. The repeated election of Ebenezer Merry to the early State Legislature and his service for two terms as associate judge plainly indicate his prominence in public affairs. About 1816 he built a large and substantial house, the wooden frame and siding being reen- forced and plastered on the outside thus making it one of the most com- fortable and elaborate of the early homes in Milan Township. On the site of this old home stood the large house subsequently owned by his son Ebenezer and still later by his grandson, Charles O. Merry. Grand- father Ebenezer died at Milan, January 6, 1846. His widow passed away at the old homestead, where Charles O. Merry now lives, and which stands on the bluff overlooking the Huron River and also commands a view of the birthplace of Thomas Edison. She died there February 8, 1879. Both were active members of the Presbyterian Church and in politics he was a whig.
Among the children of Ebenezer and Charlotte Merry was Ebenezer, Jr., who was born in or near Milan, January 15, 1820. He spent much of his life at the old home built on the brow of the hill north of Milan in 1837. Ile gained a very substantial education according to the standards of that time, and was engaged as a teacher at the old Merry schoolhouse which stood on the prairie three miles out from Milan. When only eleven years of age he lost a leg. but in spite of that handicap led a very active career. Ile was one of the first republicans to join the new party and filled a number of offices with signal ability. From 1844 to 1850 he was a county recorder, from 1850 to 1867 was engaged in business, part of the time as miller and part of the time as a ship builder. In 1867 lie was elected county auditor, and held that office continuously by popular election for fourteen years. While a county official his home was iu Sandusky, but on retiring from office he returned to Milan and resumed his occupation as a miller. lle died at the old home built by his father in 1837 and was about sixty-eight years of age when called away on April 11, 1888. He was a man of sterling worth, of trusted and tried character, and fitly merits a place in any history of Erie County. He was married in Milan in 1848 to Attie C. Moore. She was born in Avon, New York, August 15, 1824, and was only a girl when she came to Erie County with her parents, Milton and Ruth (Merry) Moore, who settled on a farm near Hawleys Corners. Her father was born at Farmington, Connecticut, in 1779, and died in Milan in 1847, while her mother was born at Avon, New York, in 1792, and died Jan- uary 31, 1850. The children of Ebenezer and Attie Merry were five sons and three daughters. Ruth died December 21, 1871, unmarried.
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Ebenezer who continued that name into this generation, died at Atchison, Kansas, at the age of twenty-eight, unmarried. Ella C., born in 1852, died in 1864. Charles O. is next in age. Allen II., born in April, 1858, died in the following September. Willis P., born in 1859, is a house painter and decorater at Milan, and by his marriage to Catherine Halpin has children named Catherine, Mary A., James H., Clara B. and John P .; George S. is a farmer in Milan Township and married Caroline Becekley, who died in 1897, leaving children named Maud A., Earl G. and Helen L. Fannie L., born in 1866, died in 1871.
Charles O. Merry, who was born in Erie County, June 4, 1855, grew up in Milan Township, gained his education from the schools of his day and generation, and is now the owner of that splendid old homestead near Milan which has so many interesting associations for the Merry family. IIe has it improved with a set of substantial farm buildings, and the large house of eighteen rooms is the one built by his grandfather nearly eighty years ago. Mr. Merry was married at Sandusky, April 3, 1879, to Miss Elsie Capitola Rockwell. She was born in Lucas County, Ohio, January 6, 1859, but spent most of her early life in Oxford Town- ship of this county. Her parents were John and Sarah ( Wilcox) Rock- well. Her father was born at Catawba Hill in New York in 1816 and was married January 3, 1837, in Northeastern New York to Miss Wilcox who was born in Connecticut about 1820. In 1843 they moved from New York to Ohio, living for two years at Elyria, then coming to Milan Township, following which they were residents of Lucas County and spent the rest of their lives on a large farm in Oxford Township. Mrs. Merry's mother died there in 1892, while her father passed away at the Merry home in 1903. Her mother was a member of the Baptist Church and her father a Methodist and in politics he was a republican.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Merry are the following: Sarah A., born June 26, 1881, after graduating from the Milan High School was for five years a teacher, and is now the wife of Prescott Milliman, a farmer in Milan Township, and their children are Doris E., John L., Jr., and Marjorie L. Ebenezer J., born August 13, 1882. is a young bachelor still at home. . Fronia Esther, born May 22, 1884, graduated from high school in 1902, and as a trained nurse from the Berea Hospital in Kentucky in 1911, and was for eighteen months in service in the Manila Hospital in the Philippines but now makes her headquarters at Berea, Kentucky. Charles H. born April 13, 1886, lives in Seattle, Washington, and by his marriage to Alice Sherwood of Ohio has a son Ralph E. Ruth R., born September 25, 1887, graduated from the high school at Milan in 1905, and is now a successful teacher in the local schools. All the children received good advantages in the way of schools as well as home training in industry and the virtues of honorable living, and their careers so far have well justified the promise of carlier youth. Mr. Merry is affiliated with Milan Tent No. 46, of the Maccabees, and in politics is a republican. Mr. Merry and family belong to the Presby- terian Church.
CHARLES LOSEY. The business of general farming and fruit grow- ing, under the favorable conditions offered in Florence Township. has an enthusiastic and altogether successful follower in the person of Charles Losey, the owner of an excellent estate of 100 acres on Rural Route No. I out of Birmingham. Mr. Losey is a native of Erie County, though for a number of years he lived in the State of Michigan, and only quite recently returned to the county and rejoined the agricultural community of Florence Township.
His family is one that was identified for several generations or more with the State of New Jersey. His grandfather, Ichabod Losey, was
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born in that state about 1790, was a solid and substantial farmer there, and died near Newark when past eighty-five. He married a Miss Con- dent, who was a native of the same state, and she also lived to advaneed years. They were consistent members of the Baptist Church, and in polities he was a whig, and later joined the republican party and lived to see the triumph of its principles in the results of the Civil war, which had elosed several years before his death.
In the next generation is John Losey, father of Charles. IIe was born near Newark, New Jersey, in 1818, grew up as a farmer boy, and when about thirty years of age came out to Ohio and while living in Huron County met Miss Sallie Ann Cole at Monroeville. They were married soon afterward in New York State. She was born at Buffalo about 1820, a daughter of John and Catherine (Francisco) Cole. Her mother was a daughter of Henry Francisco, who was born in Franee and came to America, probably as one of the followers of Lafayette, and served not only in the War of the Revolution but also the War of 1812. This soldier and American patriot died at Whitehall, New York, at the most remarkable age of more than a century. Mrs. John Losey had come with her mother from New York State to Ohio, her father having died and her mother having married a Mr. Hill. The latter and his wife both died in Huron County. John Losey after his marriage bought a farm near Monroeville, and he lived there until his death in 1900. Ilis widow passed away in 1905, at the age of seventy-eight. Both were members of the Methodist Church and in polities he was a republican. and as a family they enjoyed the full respect of the community in which they lived for so many years. They were the parents of five sons and four daughters, and all of these are living except the eldest child, lehabod, who died unmarried when about forty years of age. Kate is the widow of Gardner and lives in Norwalk, Ohio. Thomas is a farmer near Monroeville and by his marriage to Mary Parsons has five daughters. Augustus is a farmer near Monroeville, living with his brother Thomas, and has a son by his deceased wife. Mary is the wife of Patriek MeDonald, and they live at Louisville, Kentucky, and have a large family of thirteen children. The next in point of age is Charles Losey. Emma is the wife of Charles Cook, a farmer at Cheboygan, Michigan, and they have two sons and four daughters. Oscar lives in Townsend Township of Huron County, and has one danghter. Eugenia is the wife of Louis Bailey, a stationary engineer living at Norwalk, and they have two sons and one daughter.
It was at Monroeville in Erie County that Charles Losey was born April 26, 1858. He grew up in that community, received his education there, and lived on his father's farm until the age of twenty-four, when he was married in Wood County. Ohio, to Miss Rose Bratton. She was born in Huron County, January 8, 1862, and died in Michigan January 8. 1900. She was reared in Wood County by her foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. JJoseph MeConnell, having been orphaned when a child by the death of her own parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Bratton. Samuel Bratton was a soldier in the Civil war, was captured during one of the battles. and while kept in the notorious stockade prison at Anderson- ville, Georgia, died of exposure and starvation. A few years later his widow died leaving three children: Mrs. Losey; Almond, of Norwalk; and Della, wife of Seth Fickenger, of Conneaut, Ohio.
After his marriage Mr. Losey took his wife to Cheboygan County, Michigan, and there bought and improved a farm. This section of Michigan was at that time largely undeveloped and he was one of the helpful factors in the agricultural and civie community. After his wife died there he married Mrs. Fannie (Beasley) Douglass. By her former marriage she has three children : Floyd Douglass, who died at the age
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of eighteen; and Abner and Herbert, both of whom are married and live in Michigan.
In the fall of 1907 Mr. Losey returned to Ohio, and at that time bought 100 acres of well improved land, with excellent farm buildings, near the Village of Florence in Florence Township. This has been the scene of his productive endeavors as a farmer for the past eight years. Ilis early experience in Michigan and elsewhere has been valuable in the management of a farm in such an old settled country as Erie County. Besides general farming he does considerable fruit growing, and has an excellent apple orchard and nine acres of young peach trees, about 1,000 in number.
Mr. Losey by his first wife had nine children: Condent is a bachelor living at Des Moines, Iowa; Fred lives at Missoula, Montana, and is married and has one daughter; Frank is a farmer with his father and still unmarried : Lena is the wife of Duwayne Burrows, a farmer in Florence Township and they have a son named Charles; Flossie lives at home; Lillie is the wife of Lloyd Davidson of Elyria, Ohio, and their children are Rosa, Belda and Wade; Margaret is the wife of Frank Parker, living east of Wellington, Ohio, and they have a son Charles J .; Belle lives at home ; and Ada, the youngest, is now the adopted daughter of her aunt, Mrs. Cook of Cheboygan County, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Losey and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In polities he is a republican and while living in Michigan served as elerk of his township.
GEORGE P. BENTLEY. After years of successful endeavor as one of the representative agriculturists of Erie County, Mr. Bentley removed from the old homestead farm which had been his place of abode from the time of his birth and established his residence in the Village of Birmingham, in 1912, and here he has since lived in the well earned retirement that consistently rewards him for the former years of earnest and productive application. He is a seion of the third generation of the Bentley family in Erie County and the name which he bears has been prominently and worthily identified with the industrial and civic develop- ment and upbuilding of this now opulent section of the Bnekeye State, where his paternal grandfather established a home in the midst of the forest wilds nearly a century ago.
On the homestead farm of which he himself became the owner and which is now owned and ocenpied by his only daughter and her husband, in Florence Township, George P. Bentley was born on the 4th of August, 1850, and he is a son of Parker and Amanda (Crawford) Bentley, both of whom were natives of the State of New York and representatives of sterling families that were founded in New England in the colonial era of our national history.
Parker Bentley was born about the year 1820, and was a son of John and Anna (Parker) Bentley, both natives of the State of New York. where the former was born April 20, 1782, and the latter on the Ist of September, 1792, their marriage having there been solemnized in Decem- ber, 1818. In the old Empire State they continned their residence until after the birth of three of their children, and in the early '30s they came with their family to Ohio, the journey having been made with wagons and ox teams. John Bentley acquired a tract of timbered land in the wilds of Florence Township, Erie County, where Indians and wild game were still much in evidence, and his primitive log house was one of the early pioneer dwellings established in the township mentioned. This sturdy pioneer, with the assistance of his sons, reelaimed his land to enltivation, and the old homestead, which comprises 150 acres and which is situated to the east of the Vermilion River, on what is known as the
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East Vermilion Road, is now owned by his grandson, Ira Bentley, of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work. The members of the family did not escape the ravages of the all prevailing ague, or "chills and fever," and to avoid the same John Bentley and other members of the family went back to the State of New York seven different times, in as many seasons, before improvements and individual immunity made it possible for them to remain consecutively on the pioneer homestead. On this pioneer farmstead John continued to reside until his death, which occurred March 29, 1859, and there his widow was summoned to eternal rest on the 28th of April, 1862. Concerning their children the following brief record is entered: Sheba Ann became the wife of James Wood and died without issne; Andomeda married Silas Dunham and she was a resident of Michigan at the time of her death, one of her children still surviving her; Parker is the father of him whose name introdnecs this article; the next child. a son, died in infancy ; Margaret became the wife of Dr. Moses Trumbull and both were residents of Ohio at the time of their death, all of their children being now deceased; Anna, the wife of Ebenezer Hopkins, died in Florence Township, and two of her children are yet living; John, Jr., was the father of Ira Bentley and further reference to him is made elsewhere in this volume, in the sketch of the career of the son.
Parker Bentley was a lad of about ten years at the time of the family immigration to Erie County, where he was reared to manhood on the pioneer farm, to the reclamation and development of which he con- tributed his aid. After his marriage he established his home on a tract of land that was mostly covered with timber and without any definite improvement. This place is situated on the Butler Road, about half a mile distant from the old homestead of his father. There he reclaimed a productive farm of 140 aeres, and there he continued to reside until his death, which occurred abont a quarter of a century ago. As a young man he wedded Miss Amanda Crawford, who was born in the same neighborhood as was he, in the State of New York, and who was a daughter of Alexander and Martha (Wood) Crawford, likewise pioneer settlers in Erie County. Mrs. Bentley survived her husband by nine years and both were consistent members of the Christian Church,- carnest and upright folk who ever commanded unqualified popular esteem. Mr. Bentley was a staunch supporter of the cause of the demo- cratie party and was influential in public affairs of a local order, as shown by his having served as a member of the board of trustees of Florence Township. Of the two surviving children George P. of this review is the elder. and his sister, Sarah, now a resident of the Village of Birmingham, this county, is the widow of John Brogran, whose death occurred at Medina, this state. Mrs. Brogran's first husband was Sidney A. Smith, and their daughter ('lara is the only child of Mrs. Brogran, Mr. Smith having been a resident of Erie County at the time of his death. Clara. the only child, first wedded Jay Heath, and they became the parents of one daughter, Dorothy, who remains with her mother. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Heath became the wife of Herman Behrens and they reside in the City of Elyria, Lorain County.
Reared to manhood on the old home farm which was the place of his nativity, George P. Bentley made good use of the advantages afforded in the common schools of the locality, and thereafter was for six terms a student of higher branehes, under the preceptorship of Job Fish, an able and popular instructor. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until the death of his father, shortly after which he became the owner of the property. There he continued his active and successful operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower until his retirement and removal to Birmingham, in 1912. The farm is
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specially well improved, having a substantial house of twelve rooms and two large barns, besides which its equipment includes the best type of silo and a modern windmill. The farm is now owned by Mr. Bentley's son-in-law, Clinton E. Ennis, who is one of the progressive and repre- sentative young farmers of Erie County. Upon his removal to Birming- ham Mr. Bentley purchased his present attractive residence of eight rooms, and the supreme loss and bereavement in his life came with the death of his noble and devoted wife, who here passed to the life eternal on the 24th of March, 1914. at the age of fifty-nine years.
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