USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > A twentieth century history of Trumbull County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Vol. II > Part 3
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and treasurer for twenty-five years and with which he is still associated as a director, vice-president and leading stockholder. He is also vice- president and director of The Western Reserve Furniture Company, presi- dent and director of The Enterprise Electric Company and vice-president of The Union National Bank. Outside of his large and expanding in- dustrial and financial interests, Mr. Cobb is prominent in the field of Re- publican politics, for several years past having greatly extended his in- fluence in public affairs. His nomination for representative to the state legislature from Trumbull county in 1908 is evidence positive of the above statement. In strictly local matters he is also active in fraternal and charitable circles; in Masonry he has reached the Knight Templar degree, and is secretary and treasurer of the Warren City Hospital Association, of which he is also a trustee.
In 1879 Mr. Cobb was united in marriage to Miss Lucy P. Stiles, daughter of William R. Stiles, of Warren, to whom have been born William S., Norval H. and Elizabeth A. Cobb.
ORRIS R. GRIMMESEY, one of the founders of the Winfield Manufac- turing Company, was born in Salem, Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1856. The Grimmesey family originally came from England, though some gen- erations ago it moved to Ireland. John W. Grimmesey, the father of Orris, who was born in Ireland, came to America when he was two years old, while Lucinda Painter, the mother, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio. Mrs. Grimmesey's grandparents, who were of the Society of Friends and of English descent, removed from Virginia to Columbiana county in 1802.
John W. and Lucinda Painter Grimmesey had six children, three of whom reached adult age and now live in Warren. They are Amanda C., wife of W. C. Winfield; Hiram F., assistant superintendent of the Win- field Manufacturing Company, and Orris R., who is the youngest of the three. The parents of Orris R. Grimmesey went to live in Cass county, Michigan, when he was about seven years old, remaining there nearly two years, when they returned to Salem. They later moved to Alliance. He was educated at the schools in Salem, Ohio, Dowagiac, Michigan, Alliance, Ohio, and attended Mount Union College. When his studies were com- pleted he learned the sheet metal trade. In 1880 he engaged in business at Findlay, Ohio, manufacturing architectural sheet metal work. The firm name was Porch & Grimmesey. In a year's time he sold his interest and went to Kansas City, Missouri, where he stayed but six months. Coming east he settled in Warren, engaging in the manufacturing of sheet metal specialties, in company with his brother-in-law, W. C. Winfield. Under this partnership the business grew and an incorporated company was or- ganized, of which he was made vice-president. He was superintendent of this, the Winfield Manufacturing Company, for abont ten years, and acted as sales agent twelve years, his territory being between Colorado and Maine.
Mr. Grimmesey retired from active participation in the workings of this company in 1904, but is still a stockholder and one of the directors.
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He is interested in other lines of manufacturing and a large owner of real estate in Warren and elsewhere. His best known property is the Park Hotel building. He is a member of the Masonic order, a member of Com- mandery degree, a member of the I. O. O. F., the Elks and the United Commercial Travelers. In politics he is a Republican.
For twenty-seven years Mr. Grimmesey has been identified with the interests of the city, and has made for himself a place among men, and although he has been successful in the generally accepted sense, his real character showed itself in his devotion to his mother during her last years and in the interest he has taken in his nieces. To them he has been an older brother and friend.
TIMOTHY W. CASE .- Worthy of especial mention in a work of this character is Timothy W. Case, a venerable and highly esteemed citizen of Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, distinguished not only for his own life work, but from the honored ancestry from which he traces his descent. He is of English origin, the descendant of one of the early settlers of New England, and comes of Revolutionary stock, the blood of some of the noblest families of Connecticut and Massachusetts flowing through his veins. A son of Salmon Case, he was born March 1, 18 ?? , in Ashtabula village, Ashtabula county, Ohio. He is a descendant in the sixth genera- tion of John Case, the immigrant ancestor, the line of descent being as follows: John (1), Richard (?), Sergeant Richard (3), Timothy (4), Salmon (5), and Timothy Wells (6).
John Case (1) with his father and two brothers, Thomas and William, fled from England to Holland, thence to America, the father dying at sea. John married, first, Sarah, daughter of William Spencer, of Hartford, Connecticut, about 1657, and about 1667 removed from Windsor to Mas- sacoe, now Simsbury, Connecticut. His first wife died November 3, 1691, aged fifty-five years, and he married, second, Elizabeth, widow of Nathaniel Loomis, of Windsor, Conn., and daughter of John Moore. On October 14, 1669, John Case was appointed eonstable for Massacoe, being the first to hold the office in that place, and served for some time. He died Feb- ruary 21, 1704, and his wife died at Windsor July 23, 1728, aged ninety years. His nine children were all by his first wife.
Richard Case (2), born August 27, 1669, married Amy Reed. Ser- geant Richard Case (3), born in 1710, died in 1769. He married Mercy Holcomb, who was born in 1712, and died in 1780. About 1737 he moved with his family to West Simsbury, being among the original householders of that place.
Timothy Case (4), the youngest child in a family of eleven children, was born in 1759, and died in 1850. He served as a private in the Revo- lutionary war, after which he resided in Simsbury, Connecticut, for many years. Subsequently removing to Massachusetts, he lived in Otis, Berkshire county, until 1823. Coming then to Ohio, he spent the remaining years of his long life in Andover, Ashtabula county, passing away at the venerable
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HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
age of ninety-two years. lle was a man of fine physique, six feet six inches tall, and well proportioned. When last seen by his Pennsylvania grandchildren, about two years before his death, he wore his hair braided in a long queue and dressed in old colonial style, his long silk stockings and silver knee buckles being especially admired by them. He was very proud of the fact that he could read without glasses. He taught school in colonial days, alternating between Simsbury and Hartford for a number of terms. keeping his accounts in pounds, shillings and pence.
Timothy Case (4) married Esther Brown, who was born in 1:62 and died in 1838. She was a Mayflower descendant, being a direct descendant of Peter Brown, who came from Holland in the Mayflower and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1635, the line of descent being thus traced : Peter (1) : Peter (?), born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1632, died in Windsor, Connectient, March 9, 1692, married Mary Gillette; John (3), born January 8, 1668, married Elizabeth Loomis ; John (4), born in Wind- sor in 1700, died in 1790, married Mary Eggleston: Capt. John (3), born November 4, 1728, married Hannah Owen and died in New York Septem- ber 2, 1776, while serving in the Revolutionary war as a member of the Eighteenth Regiment of Connecticut Militia : and Esther (6), who married Timothy Case. Capt. John Brown, "Oassawatomie," of Harper's Ferry fame, was her brother.
Salmon Case (5) was born in Otis, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, April 2, 1797, and came with the family to Ashtabula county, Ohio, in 1823. The following year, on September 16, 1824, he married Mary Cad- well, who was born in Hartford, Connecticut, May 22, 1807, a daughter of Roger and Caroline (Wells) Cadwell, and died December 14. 1887, in Andover, Ashtabula county, Ohio. Nine children were born of their union, namely: Bolivar, born July 11, 1825, died October 11. 1894: Timothy Wells, of this sketch; Julia, born February 10, 1829, died September 18, 1832 ; Mary, born April 21, 1831, died October 6, 1874; Salmon, born April 2, 1833, died April 13, 1833: Angeline, born April 25. 1834, died January 1, 1835; Edward, born January 2, 1836, resides in Andover, Ohio: Martha, born November 8, 1838, died February 23, 1839; and Lucia, born February 17, 1840, lives in Andover, Ohio.
Attending first the common schools of Ashtabula, Timothy W. Case received his academical education in Conneaut and Kingsville, Ashtabula county, and subsequently began his business career as clerk in a store. In 1848 he came to Trumbull county, locating in Brookfield, where, in 1852, he started in business on his own account, in partnership with his brother- in-law, A. L. Byers, opening a general store. Building up a trade that amounted to $100,000 annually, he continued in mercantile pursuits in Brookfield until 1862, when the partnership was dissolved. Moving to Girard in 1868, Mr. Case, in company with others, organized the Girard Rolling Mill Company, with which he was connected as secretary and treas- urer until 1873. Since coming to Warren Mr. Case has been practically retired from business pursuits, devoting his time and attention to his personal interests, and is now enjoying all the comforts of modern life at
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HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
his home, No. 229 East Market street. He has been active in publie mat- ters, in 1877 having been elected treasurer of Trumbull county, on the Republican ticket, and re-elected in 1879, serving in that capacity four years. He also served four years as deputy auditor under Captain Wallace, and as deputy treasurer for four years, running the office of A. Rogers, the treasurer, making twelve years in all that he spent in the Trumbull county court house.
On October 9, 1851, Mr. Case married Ada Byers, who was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Ebenezer Byers, an early settler of Brookfield, Trumbull county. She died April 13, 1908, at Eureka, Arkan- sas, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Warren, Ohio. For sixty years Mr. Case has been a resident of Trumbull county, and has been conspicuously identified with its best interests, generously using his influence to promote the public welfare. He is an earnest supporter of the Republican party, and in religious matters is a valued and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN H. ADGATE, florist, with office at No. 34 Main street, Warren, Ohio, with residence and greenhouses on South Pine street, is a native of Trumbull county, born in what is now the Detention Hospital on the old Adgate homestead, October 12, 1851, a son of Hoover M. Adgate, a native of Howland township, Trumbull county, who was reared, educated and married in this county and lived there all of his life, being engaged exten- sively in the manufacture of brick and tile. Among other buildings which he furnished the brick for was the old Austin House and Detention Hospital, at one time the old Gaskill Hotel. In his political views he was always a loyal Republican. He died at the age of seventy years. He was the son of John Adgate, a native of Connecticut, who went to Trumbull county, Ohio, at an early day, when so many went west from New England and planted a colony there.
The mother of John H. Adgate, of this notice, was Matilda Baldwin, daughter of Jacob Baldwin, a prominent politieian and office holder in the early days in Trumbull county's history, serving as judge of probate at one time. Mrs. Adgate was born in Trumbull county, and reached the age of seventy-two years. She was the mother of six children, of whom three still survive: Flora, wife of George Vanwye, of Denver, Colorado; Charles L., residing in Niles, Ohio, and John H., who is the second son and second child in the family. He was reared in sight of Warren, and saw the town grow from a village to its present goodly proportions. He received his education at the grammar school of Warren, remaining at home until he reached his majority, when he went forth into the world to do battle and win success, if possible, for himself. After his marriage in 1874, to Ella F. Mann, he engaged in the trucking business and culti- vated about fifteen acres of land, doing a good market gardening business. He built a house in Warren, on the old Samuel Freeman estate, locating on the same in 1888, at which time he engaged in the business of a florist,
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continuing alone until about 1901, when his son became a partner, and the business was then known as Adgate & Son.
The family of John H. Adgate consists of three children: Frank, Cora and Ida. With the exception of a year spent in Texas, Mr. Adgate has resided in Trumbull county all his life, living ten years at Niles. He is widely known and esteemed throughout the communities wherein he has resided.
The son and partner in the business, Frank Adgate, was born in the city of Warren, July 21, 1875, and obtained his education in the most excellent public schools of that eity, after which he became head clerk in the grocery store of John A. Fuller, with whom he remained seven years. He continued to manage the affairs of this business until he formed the partnership which now exists between his father and himself. He is active in public affairs, and, at present, is the committeeman from the Fourth ward in the city. Politically, he is an avowed Republican, in which party he sees the greatest good for the greatest number. He belongs to the Masonic order. the Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the U. C. T., of Warren, being quite active in each of these fraternities. He married Maggie Johnson, daughter of Samuel Johnson and wife, of Ashtabula county, Ohio, where she was born.
GEN. EMERSON OPDYKE was the youngest son of Albert and Eliza- beth ( Harmon) Gilson Opdyke, and was born on his father's farm in Hubbard township, Trumbull county, January 7, 1830. His father had served in the war of 1812, while his grandfather (also Albert) was a captain of New Jersey militia in the Revolutionary war, being a great- grandson of Johannes Louwren-en Opdyek, who removed from Long Island to West Jersey in 1697. On his mother's side he was descended from John Harman, who was settled at Springfield, Massachusetts, as early as 1644.
In the boy's seventh year his family removed from Hubbard to the new country of Williams county, Ohio, where he remained with his father until he reached the age of seventeen. Ile then returned to Trumbull county, engaging in business and living with his married sister at Warren. During the gold fever he twice visited the Pacific coast. In 1857 he married Lucy Wells, the youngest daughter of Benjamin Stevens, of War- ren, and settled in that place, a town of much intellectual activity. Gar- rison and Emerson occasionally lectured there, and book clubs and debating societies were zealonsly maintained. Under these favoring conditions the period of the young man's life that immediately preceded the Civil war was one of important growth. On the news of Bull Run, he at onee enlisted as a private with enthusiasm, and served throughout the struggle. His intimate letters give proof that the canse was to him a holy one, and even in the dull routine, the weariness, the privations and the excitement of war, he remained mindful of the great principles that were fought for, and glad at being able to aid in their establishment.
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After a month spent in recruiting work, he was mustered into the service in August, 1861, as first lieutenant of the company that he had been largely instrumental in raising, and passed the next four months in various camps of instruction. His colonel, Hazen, had been a teacher at West Point, and formed the regimental officers into a class, in which Lieu- tenant Opdyke held first rank. Such was his success in military studies that he was soon detailed to drill the officers of the brigade to which he belonged, and in January, 1862, he received commission as captain of his company in the Forty-first Ohio. At Shiloh, in the following April, Cap- tain Opdyke acted as major of the Forty-first, and led an important charge of the regiment, carrying its colors in person, and receiving two slight wounds. In this action the regiment lost more than one-third of its number, and its charge was publicly complimented by the commander of the army.
Upon orders from the governor of Ohio, Captain Opdyke recruited a new regiment, the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio, and was mus- tered in as its colonel January 1, 1863. At Chickamauga a charge of his regiment, and later in the day its maintenance of an exposed position, were of vital importance. At Missionary Ridge his demi-brigade was among the first commands to reach the crest. He rendered special service at Rockyface Ridge and Resaca, where he was dangerously wounded, and commanded a brigade from August, 1864, to the end of the war. At Franklin, when the National line had been disastrously broken by Hood's assault, Colonel Opdyke voluntarily charged his brigade from reserve into the gap and saved the day. He took part also in the battle of Nashville and in the subsequent pursuit to the Tennessee river commanded a division in Texas, resigned from the service in January, 1866, and received commis- sion as major-general of volunteers by brevet, to date from the battle of Franklin.
Always setting before himself a high standard of duty, he was not lax in his requirements of others; but he was exceptionally popular with those who fought under him, and soldiers who had complained of his severity as a disciplinarian gladly acknowledged after their first battle that they were able to keep together under fire only by force of the habits resulting from his drill. He was ever watchful for the comfort and welfare of his men.
After the war he removed to New York City and became a member of a large wholesale dry goods firm; but the last years of his life were chiefly devoted to the study of the Civil war, upon which subject he pub- lished several monographs. He died April 25, 1884, being survived by his widow and by an only son, Leonard Eckstein Opdyke, who has since married and become the father of two children: Leonard and Mary Ellis.
General Opdyke was of an unusually happy disposition. He easily made friends and seldom lost them. In person he was tall, handsome, of ercet carriage, and quick in movement. A brighter smile and a heartier laugh than his are rarely met. He had a rich bass voice, and as a young man was very fond of singing. At the time of his death his hair was hardly
SWHarshman
Mro & J. Harshman
S. J. Harshman
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HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
touched with gray, and he preserved to an unusual degree his youthful elasticity of mind and body. His remains are buried at Warren.
SAMUEL J. HARSHIMAN, farmer of Weathersfield township, Trumbull county, was born in Southington township, April 20, 1842. His father, George W. Harshman, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he lived until March 1, 1836. when he accompanied his parents to Trumbull county, Ohio, at which date he was twelve years of age.
George W. Harshman was born February 2, 1824, the son of Jacob and Elizabeth Harshman, who were of German descent. He spent forty- four years of his life in Lordstown township. He received his education at the public schools of Trumbull county and like many another pioneer of Ohio, was a graduate from the school of "hard knocks." When a young man he hired out to chop wood for a man who had taken the contract to cut off a hundred aeres of timber and Mr. Harshman received his wages in store goods. Ile worked twenty-four days and received a pair of pants, a vest and a hat ribbon. He was also a grain cradler and eut four acres of heavy wheat in one day, receiving one dollar for his services. In those early times mowing was all accomplished by means of a scythe and raking by hand. Mr. Harshman did his full share of such laborious work. He united with the Methodist Episcopal church in 1847 and served in dif- ferent church offices, including steward, trustee, recording steward and class-leader. He was for sixty-one years a follower of the Master. In his eightieth year he visited the Pacific coast, going to his son at Seattle, Washington. He was a pronounced Democrat in his polities, having voted for old Zachary Taylor in 1848. Mr. Harshman was elected assessor for six years and was land appraiser for two years. In the offices of clerk and treasurer, he served for a quarter of a century. . He died June 28, 1908.
He was married to Susanna Jones, daughter of Samuel Jones and wife, of Mount Union, Ohio. Eleven children were the result of this union : Levi A., who now resides in Monroe county, Michigan; Samuel J., of this biography; Lucius J., living in Warren, Ohio; George E., near Sharon. Pennsylvania ; Miranda, who married John Callahan, living in Lordstown; Sarah Eveline, who died in infancy; Ida M., who died at the age of two years; Charles W., now of Carlton, Ohio, is a Methodist minis- ter : Elwood F., now of Seattle, Washington : Ulysses S .; living at Warren, Ohio : and Almond G., of Angola, Indiana. Of the eight boys of this fam- ily seven were unnsnally successful school teachers.
Samuel J. Harshman, son of George W., just referred to as the father of this interesting family, was educated in the public schools of Lordstown township, where he was graduated. He has been successfully engaged in farming throughout his entire life, but taught school in the winter months, in Weathersfield, Lordstown, Warren, Champion and Bristol townships; also three terms in Monroe county, Michigan. He was a successful teacher in all of the schools just enumerated. Since the period of his school teach- ing he has given his undivided attention to the work and general interests
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HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
of his farm, which consists of one hundred and thirty-three acres. In his political views he is a stanch defender of the general principles of the Democratic party. He was elected assessor of Warren township and at one time was a member of the school board in Weathersfield. When the Good Templars order was flourishing he was a member of that society. He be- longs to the Christian church, having served for a number of years as an elder.
Mr. Harshman was married March 30, 1870, to Alice Park, a step- daughter of John B. Park. She was of English descent. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Harshman are: Cora M., who married A. C. Earnest and now resides at home; Clyde, married Maude Segar, and lives in Weathers- field township; Harry, at home.
FRANKLIN MOORE RITEZEL, editor and proprietor of the Western Re- serve Chronicle and the Warren Daily Chronicle, the only son of William and Annie E. Ritezel, was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1853. His early education was obtained in the public schools of War- ren, supplemented by a course at Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsyl- vania, from which he was graduated in 1875. His first editorial experience was obtained on the Akron Daily Beacon, from the staff of which he re- tired in 1877 to enter the firm of William Ritezel and Company, of War- ren. Instrumental in establishing the Warren Daily Chronicle, he imbued it with his spirit of progressiveness and at once demonstrated an ability to overcome obstacles, great or small. That both the daily and weekly edi- tions of the Chronicle have achieved such success and are alive to the de- mands of the times, is due, in a large measure, to his indefatigable enter- prise and executive ability.
In the organization of the Republican party in Trumbull county, Mr. Ritezel has served continuously since attaining his majority, occupying the positions of chairman, secretary and committeeman. He virtually was at the head of the campaign in this county in 1896, when Major Mckinley was the presidential candidate, and his untiring efforts resulted in this county polling the largest Republican vote in the state. Mr. Ritezel was postmaster at Warren from 1892 to 1896, having been appointed by Presi- dent Harrison. There were nine applicants for the position and it was agreed among themselves that the candidate receiving a majority should be the one for recommendation. It was a two days' contest. The first day Mr. Ritezel lacked but a few necessary votes; and the second day he was overwhelmingly successful. His administration of affairs during his four years' charge of the office was very satisfactory, and he succeeded in in- fluencing the government to make several needed changes, which were much appreciated by the patrons.
In fraternal society circles Mr. Ritezel, of this sketch, is especially prominent. He is a representative of the Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias, has been affiliated with Independence Lodge, of Warren, for thirty consecutive years, five years as grand trustee and one year as special
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