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 36
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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
In his political belief, he stands for Republicanism. He has been school director and takes much interest in all educational matters. He is a member of Vienna Grange, No. 1537, at Vienna Center. In religious faith, Mr. Underwood is in accord with the tenets of the United Evan- gelical denomination, to which he belongs. at Lloyd's Corner, Ohio. He is serving as one of the trustees of the parsonage.
Mr. Underwood was married March 5, 1881, to Olive M. Tidd, born to Martin and Lucy (Still) Tidd, of Williamsfield, Ohio, but who came from Connecticut ancestry.
Mr. and Mrs. Underwood are the parents of four children : Elroy E.,
Vol. II-19
288
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
married and lives in Liberty township; L. C., who lives at home; Albert C., died in infancy ; Iva Irene, at home.
MRS. RUBIE CANFIELD, widow of the late Whitney L. Canfield, of Hartford township, for many years assisted her husband in the conduct of their farms. Mr. Canfield was a native of this township, born Decem- ber 22, 1833. His father, Levi Canfield, came from the state of Connec- ticut and settled in Trumbull county in the pioneer period of its history. Whitney L. was reared and educated in Hartford township, and March 14, 1868, was united in marriage to Miss Rubie Bates, a daughter of Samuel and Emily (Mason) Bates. Mrs. Canfield's mother was born in New York state and her father was a native of Connecticut. Her parents came to Hartford township in 1824 and here Mrs. Canfield was born and passed her entire life. There were three brothers in her family: Samuel, John and Linus.
Whitney L. Canfield was a Republican and served for some time as trustee of the township. He was a Mason and was identified with Jeru- salem Lodge No. 19, of Hartford, and both he and his wife were active members of the Disciple church, in which for many years he served as deacon. Mr. and Mrs. Canfield had no children, but received a girl into their household and reared her as their own daughter, and she married Augustus Hyde. Their adopted daughter and her husband now live with Mrs. Canfield, who superintend the farm which she and her husband im- proved and developed together.
GEORGE B. PERRINE has long been a familiar and substantial citizen of Hartford township, having been engaged in farming and in carpentry, and for a period of twenty-two years held the office of township clerk. Had he not himself resigned the latter office he would have been continued in it indefinitely, so efficient and entirely satisfactory were his services. Mr. Perrine is a native of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, born in Lake township, that county, March 23, 1860. His grandfather, Daniel Perrine, was one of the early pioneers of Mercer county. He was a witness to the great naval battle fought by Perry on Lake Erie and the sight made such an impression on his mind that at the birth of his son, Oliver Perry, he named the child in honor of the hero of that engagement. Oliver P. Perrine, the father of George B., was also a native of Mercer county and married Miss Sophia Bierce, who was born in that county, her parents being among its honored pioneers. The nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Oliver P. Per- rine were: Jason, George B., Hudson, Carrie, Lottie, Mattie, Mary, Emma and Maude. The father followed farming during his entire life, removing to Trumbull county in 1866 and dying here in 1891. The wife passed away eight years previously.
George B. Perrine reached manhood in Hartford township and has always followed the ancestrial vocation of farming, dealing extensively in
289
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
live stock. IIis present farm consists of one hundred and nine acres. His specialty is raising fine horses and he is considered an excellent judge of them, both as to their substantial and faney qualities. In early manhood he also learned the trade of a carpenter and followed that in connection with his farming. He is an active Republican and a persistent worker for the betterment of the township and county schools. As township clerk for twenty-two years he fully proved his popularity, but on account of the growth of his private interests he was obliged to resign the office. Ile is a member of Jerusalem Lodge, No. 19, F. & A. M., having been its secretary three years.
Mr. F'errine's wife was formerly Miss Ella Clark, a daughter of Lewis Clark, and was born in Brookfield township. The seven children born to them have been: Leah, who married Frank Baxter, a clergyman of the Christian church ; Bierce ; Mont ; Oliver N. ; Frank ; Andrew ; and Geneva M. The family are members of the Disciples church.
GILES OLIVER GRISWOLD, president and founder of the Griswold Lin- seed Oil Company, was born on the family homestead at Meriden, Con- nectient, December 1, 1810, and died at his home, 40 South street, Warren, Ohio, April 27, 1902, aged ninety-one years, five months and twenty-seven days. Mr. Griswold resided in Warren fifty-three years and in Ohio over sixty years, during which time he was actively engaged in manufacturing, chiefly in the production of linseed oil. He began his business career at Meriden, but was driven away by the hard times following the panic of 1837. He built mills at New Castle, Pennsylvania, and Warren and Cleve- land, greatly stimulating the raising of flaxseed among the farmers of the section and giving substantial returns to labor for many years. He was interested also in other lines of business, principally as a shareholder in a number of banks and an investor in real estate to a limited extent. Mr. Griswold sold his mills a few years before his death and, retiring from active affairs, he devoted his last days to the preparation of his estate.
G. O. Griswold was born and raised at the home of his father, Jesse Griswold, who lived on a small Connecticut farm on the Old Colony road, which runs from New Haven to Hartford, now in the heart of Meriden. There was a large family, and he was the eldest son. His mother died when he was ten years old, and at the age of twelve years he went out to meet the world, bound out by indenture papers to a neighbor for the benefit of his father. He worked in a comb factory at Meriden during the day and at evening did chores for his keep. For the first year his wages were $ per month. Soon he got a better place in another factory, and his wages began to go up steadily by the year until they reached $20 a month. At eighteen years of age he was foreman of the factory. and had managed to save enough money to buy the rest of his time until he should be of age, for which he paid his father $167. Then he went into business for himself, making sheet-iron ware; later he began making tools. At twenty
290
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
he was well enough off to many. He took for his bride Eliza Ann Bailey, daughter of Simon and Prue (Deming) Bailey, the father being a farmer of Lebanon, Connectieut. Mr. and Mrs. Griswold were married at South- ington, May 4, 1831, by the Rev. Irenus Atkins, pastor of the First Baptist Society. Mr. Griswold continued working at Meriden, drawing wages as foreman in one factory after another, and keeping up his own business ventures in a modest way. He was engaged at different times in making small, useful articles of ivory, tin, wood, glass and iron. He handled labor well, and managed with machinery and material to good advantage. Always he was industrious, energetic and saving, and his affairs steadily improved. He cared for his father and step-mother, and for his younger brother and sisters, and they all lived together at the family home in Meriden. Thus they were in a fair way to prosperity when the panic of 1837 struck New England and put a stop to manufacturing. Mr. Griswold at the time decided to move west. The Western Reserve, "Haven of Rest, to the true son of Connecticut," invited him, and, gathering up his possessions, he set out overland for Ohio.
Meanwhile his wife had died, leaving an infant daughter, Angeline Eliza Griswold, three years old. The mother's grave in the old society burial ground on the hill east of Meriden still bears the marks, "Died Aug- ust 24, 1836, aged 28." Mr. Griswold took with him a second wife, Mary Maria Merriman. eldest daughter of Anson and Jerusha (Bacon) Merri- man. Mr. Merriman was a well-to-do farmer at Southington, and the families had been intimate for many years. Mrs. Griswold was the teacher of the village school. She was also a member of the First Baptist church, and the marriage was solemnized on October 23, 1837, by the same Irenus Atkins, who performed Mr. Griswold's first marriage ceremony. The next spring they were all on the way west: Mr. Griswold and his wife and the child Angie, his brother, Edward Collins Griswold, and his sister Fanny. It was a long and tedious journey, three weeks by stage and carriage to Pittsburg, and then still farther onward into the Reserve. They found a home in the village of Aurora and began business there in the year 1838.
The two brothers, G. O. and E. C. Griswold, put up a frame shop building at Aurora on land purchased by G. O. Griswold for making tin and sheet iron ware. It was a two-story building and well put together, for it stood for seventy years on the plot now forming the lawn of the Disciple church. The family lived in the upper floor of the building, which for lack of money had to be left unfinished. Mrs. Griswold made up for the deficiency of partitions by drawing upon her Connecticut chests, and provided the necessary "quarters" by hanging up quilts from the rafters. Thus she had kitchen, dining room, parlor and bed rooms. each in its proper corner. This was their home during the years of their stay in Aurora. The brothers were busy in the shop. Mrs. Griswold took care of the household. Fanny Griswold attended Oberlin College and became a teacher. She died at Aurora unmarried at the age of twenty-six, and was buried there.
291
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
The Griswolds continued in business at Aurora for a time, and then decided to broaden their field. They selected New Castle, Pennsylvania, where water power had just been made available, and in 1841 they put up the first linseed oil mill in the western country. It was a small mill, but it was run successfully for a number of years, and there the Griswold repu- tation for a fine quality of linseed oil had its foundation. The canal sys- tem was being extended through Ohio about this time, and they planned to put up another mill at Warren. They bought land in 1848 on the canal and began building a brick and stone mill with a steam plant and a larger capacity. The younger brother died in the midst of these prepara- tions, and G. O. Griswold sold the mill at New Castle and moved up to Warren to complete the plant. He finished the mill in 1849 and started it running soon after.
When the family removed to Warren from New Castle they went to live in the new mill. There was no time or money for a dwelling house, but at the front of the new mill was a space about six feet wide running across from wall to wall, which was not required for the workmen. This was partitioned off into rooms, and in this narrow space Mrs. Griswold kept house for a number of years, managing with wonderful patience and cheer, while her husband contrived by ceaseless toil and tireless energy to build up the business. It was not a very comfortable home, but the mill kept running night and day, and Mr. Griswold was always at hand to see that the quantity and quality of oil did not fail.
Soon, however, Mr. Griswold provided a suitable home for his loved ones. lle purchased the old tannery in the original village of Warren, at the northwest corner of South street and Liberty street, now called Park avenue, and here he built his home. South street was then a favorite thoroughfare, and the Griswold home was a great change from the cramped rooms of the mill. By a lucky purchase Mr. Griswold got the lumber, the choicest of white pine, where it had been seasoning for several years on a siding in the Ashtabula woods. He designed the house himself, after the plans of the best houses at Southington and Meriden, and he attended to the building also. It was well built, for it still stands, after fifty years' service, sound as ever.
In the new house, and with prosperity upon them, the habits of the family changed but little, the same careful management and prudent thrift prevailed at home and at mill. The mill was first. business was of the utmost importance. Matters at the house could wait, but nothing was permitted to interfere with the running of the mill. So the business suc- ceeded, some years with large profits. The canal afforded easy shipping for oil and meal, and soon the railroads were in. Farmers were encour- aged by advances of seedings and by loans on harvests. They brought in their crops early under insurance contracts of a bonus to cover any rise in market price. Thus there was a steady supply of seed for the crushers and very little chance of success for the frequent attempts of rivals to start operations in that vicinity. The Warren mill continued practically without interrup-
292
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
tion for over fifty years. producing oil of the highest grade. The quality of the Griswold make was so well appreciated on the market that empty barrels bearing their marks were in demand at a premium among certain shippers. Thus the market widened and the daily capacity had to be in- creased. Mr. Griswold had to go abroad for seed, and he began shipping his product over the sea. Larger capital was required, and different ar- rangements developed in the conduct of business. Still Mr. Griswold changed very little himself. He clung to the end of his life to the strict habits of industry and economy established in his youth. He kept up his good name for the quality of the oil he manufactured and for the strictest integrity in dealings with business men. He never speculated in oil or seed. It was always a matter of pride with Mr. Griswold that he bought only the seed which he could crush in his own mill and sold only the oil from his own presses.
Meantime many important events affected the family. Three children were born of the second marriage, but none of them survived the perils of infancy. The only daughter, Angie, had grown to womanhood. She attended the public school in Warren and the old Willoughby Seminary, where there were a number of young women from Warren. Later she went to school among relatives at Reading, Massachusetts. She made frequent visits with her stepmother back and forth to Connecticut to the old Merri- man farm. Next farm to the Merriman's on Shuttle Meadow mountain was the Dunham family homestead, which had come down through four generations from the ancestor, Gideon Dunham, of Farmington. Harvey Dunham, Jr., kept an inn on the wayside half way from Southington to New Britain. There were sons and daughters, and they were intimate with the Merriman young folks. The youngest son was a widower, his wife having died at Charleston, South Carolina, and he himself having been driven out of the south, where he was engaged in the dry goods busi- ness, by the outbreak of the Civil war. It was natural that there should be a match between these two, Truman Dunham and Angie Griswold. The wedding took place at the father's home, 40 South street, Warren, on December 4, 1862.
It happened about this time that a venture of Mr. Griswold's in petroleum, or carbon oil, as it was then called, had fared badly, and Mr. Dunham was placed in charge of the interests at Cleveland under the firm name of Benton & Dunhanı. This concern did a leading wholesale busi- ness in drugs, paints, oils, etc., being located in the old Perry block, 116 and 118 Superior street, next west of the American House. Mr. Dunham arranged a separation of the business in 1864. The storeroom was divided; the drug trade was taken over by Horace Benton, under the name of Benton, Myers & Canfield, at present one of the largest establishments in that line in America. Truman Dunham & Co., with Mr. Griswold as the company, took charge of the paints, oils and glass trade. The next year they admitted Henry A. Sherwin as a member of the firm, in charge of the
293
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
bookkeeping. In a few years there was another division, and Mr. Sherwin took as his share the paint and varnish lines, thus beginning the Sherwin- Williams Company, now known all over the world. A new firm, Griswold & Dunham, confined attention entirely to linseed oil in connection with the Warren plant. In 1869 they put up a mill in Cleveland at Merwin street and Columbus avenne, which was operated as the Cleveland Linseed Oil Works, in charge of Mr. Dunham.
Mr. Dunham lived in Cleveland, first at No. 40 and 44 Cheshire street. and here his two children were born-Ella Maria Dunham, January 21, 1864, and Tryon Griswold Dunham, July 4, 1865. Later he built a home at 71 Seneca street, in what was then the popular section of the city. This house still stands on the west side of the street, a little to the north of St. Clair avenue, in the rear of the building of the Lake Shore Railway Company. Here he was living on July 12, 1867, when Mrs. Dunham suddenly expired from the effects of an abscess on the brain, leaving the two infant children. Just about this time Mr. Sherwin had been married to Miss Fanny Smith, and they were boarding near by. At Mr. Dunham's earnest request, Mr. and Mrs. Sherwin moved into the Seneca street home and took charge of the Dunham household. On October 7, 1868, Mr. Dunham took as his third wife Helen F. Sutliff, of Warren, Ohio. In 1880 he removed his family to 1290 Euclid avenue. He was preparing to build a home here when he was killed by machinery in his mill at Cleveland, March 30, 1882.
Following Mr. Dunham's death, the business went on for a while with the administrator, Judge C. C. Baldwin, in the organization, Later the Cleveland mill was sold to the Cleveland Linseed Oil Company, but the Warren mill was represented in Cleveland for many years by branch offices. In 1884 the business was incorporated under the laws of Ohio as The Griswold Linseed Oil Company. Mr. Griswold was the president, and remained in personal charge until the end.
When the linseed oil trust was formed, the Warren mill could have entered with great personal profit to Mr. Griswold, but he declined to join the trust, preferring to continue the business as an independent. In 1890 he found it necessary to increase greatly the capacity of the old mill at Warren, and a larger brick mill was erected on the Perkins farm, north of the city. Arrangements were made here for shipping and storage of seed and oil in large quantities, so that contracts could be made ahead for heavy deliveries. In this way he could manage to protect himself in the markets in competition with the trust. This mill was but fairly started running when it was totally destroyed by fire, resulting in a great loss to Mr. Griswold. It was rebuilt, however, at once, with larger capacity and improved machinery, and it continued in commission, producing one hun- dred barrels of oil a day, and using two thousand bushels of seed daily. As Mr. Griswold drew near his ninetieth year he felt constrained to simplify his business affairs before he died. His wife had passed away several years before, and he had drawn his grandchildren back to the Warren home. He sold his mills in 1899 and began the settlement of his estate.
294
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
The Griswold family in Connecticut had always been members of the Congregational church, as the records of the Wallingford and Meriden societies show, but Giles O. Griswold, in his early years, transferred his faith to the Baptist church. From that time until the day of his death he was a stanch Baptist. He had his membership in the Warren church at first, but in 1883, when differences arose, he took his letter to Garrettsville, and for a number of years attended church there, although his wife con- tinned to the end a supporter of the Warren Baptist church. After her death Mr. Griswold took hold of a struggling Baptist society at Niles, Ohio. He joined this church, and was its main support for many years. He built the church building at Niles and established a fund for its support after his death. Mrs. Griswold died at Warren November 7, 1890, after an illness of several years. They are buried side by side in the Griswold family plot at Oakwood cemetery, Warren.
The Griswold ancestors are of the earliest New England stock. In every line, including the Bailey and Dunham lines, it runs back to the Yeomen of England who joined in the movement of 1630-1635 to establish free constitutional government in Massachusetts and Connectient. Their names are in the lists of original proprietors, first settlers, patentees, of the ancient towns of these colonies. For the most part they were descendants of a race of farmers, but among them were men of highest learning who fled from England to escape direct persecution on account of their opinions, and in the new country they assumed the most intimate relations with the political and religious life of the communities. Many of them were quiet, un- assuming farmers, some were leaders in the affairs of state. Several were founders of churches and one was the great Charles Chauncey, second president of Harvard College. All are names recognized by genealogists as among the most important in New England life.
Mr. Griswold was a descendant in the seventh generation from Edward Gris- wohl, who, with his brother Matthew, came from Kenilworth, England, in 1640 and founded the Griswold family in Connecticut. Edward Griswold fonnded the town of Killingworth, now Chester, Connecticut, and this line (Edward, John, Joseph, Giles, Giles 2d, Jesse, Giles Oliver ) traces back throngh intermarriage to the founders of many towns in Connecticut, including:
Andrew Benton, George Stocking, Thomas and Dorothy Lord, Thomas Stanton and James Ensign, original proprietors of Hartford.
David Atwater, John Anstin and John and Jean (Woolley) Hall of New Haven.
Capt. George Denison, one of Cromwell's soldiers, hero of the Indian wars and founder of the town of Stonington.
Robert Lay, of Lyme and Saybrook. William Hough, of Gloucester.
Robert Royce, Hugh Canlkins and Josiah Churchill, of Norwich; James Bate, of Dorchester, Mass.
Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Deming) Foote, first comers at Ancient Windsor.
Capt. Nathaniel Merriman, of Wallingford; John Catlin, of Deerfield, Massa- chusetts, and Joseph Baldwin, of Milford, Connecticut.
Mr. Griswold's wife, Eliza Ann Bailey, is of the famous Bayley-Bailey line, founded by John Bayley, of Newbury, Massachusetts, 1635. The marriages in this line bring in families of the first importance in Massachusetts and Connectient genealogy, including John Emery, of Newbury; George Carr, of Salisbury; Capt. Joseph and Hannah (Denison) Saxton, of Lebanon; John Ingram and Chileab Smith, of Hadley, Massachusetts; Luke Hitchcock, of Wethersfield, Connecticut; John and Hannah (Birchard) Baldwin, of Guilford, Connecticut, and John Deming and Richard Treat, patentees named in the famous Charter of Connectient.
On the Dunham side are families of equal distinction. The ancestor Deacon
-
295
HISTORY OF TRUMBULL COUNTY
John Dunham was in Plymouth in 1630, where he was deacon of the colonial church until his death. His son, Jonathan, married the daughter of Eller Henry Cobb, founder of the colony of Barnstable. Gideon Dunham, his grandson, removed to Norwich, Connecticut, in 1735, and thence to Southington, where he died in 1762. leaving a large estate in lands, some of which have never left the family. Gideon's wife, Maty Dunham, was a descendant in the fourth generation of Rev. John Loth ropp, the martyr-minister of the Congregational church, London, and first minister at Scituate and at Barnstable, Massachusetts. Gideon and Mary Dunham had five sons, James, Gideon, Cornelius, Barnabas and Sylvanus, who were the progenitors of the Dunham family in Connecticut. Truman Dunham's father, Harvey, was grandson of Sylvanus. In the line from Sylvanus many well known names are brought in by intermarriage: Matthew Woodruff. John Clark, Deaeon Stephen Hart. Gov. Thomas Welles, Anthony Hawkins, John Steele, Ensign William Goodrich, Matthew Marvin, Jonathan Gilbert, John Cowles, Thomas Porter, William Wads- worth and the three brothers, Timothy, Thomas and John Stanley, are all included in the list of original proprietors of Hartford. Mr. Dunham's' grandmother Tryon was a descendant of Sarah Goodrich of Middletown, whose ancestry has been traced to President Charles Chauncey, of Harvard College, and Rev. Peter Bulkeley, hrst minister of the church at Concord.
The only child of G. O. Griswold to reach the age of maturity was the daughter by his first wife, Angeline Eliza, born at Meriden, October 21, 1834. She removed to Ohio with her father in 1839. She married at Warren, December 4, 1862, Truman Dunham. He was the son of Harvey and Julia Anu (Cornwall) Dunham, Jr., and was born at the Dunham homestead, Shuttle Meadow, town of Southington, Connecticut. June 30, 1831. Both were members of the old First Baptist church, at the corner of Euclid avenue and Erie street, Cleveland. Mrs. Dunham died at Cleveland, July 12, 1867, and Mr. Dunham was killed in his mill in Merwin street, Cleveland, March 30, 1882. Both are buried in Woodland cemetery, Cleveland.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.