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 47
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Mr. Karr remained with his parents until he was twenty years of age. He then spent three years away from home, engaged in farming and in the creamery business in Kinsman township, in Wayne county, Nebraska, and in various sections of Kansas. He then returned to Vernon township and resumed work in the home neighborhood for about one year, after which he spent some time on a ranch in Nebraska and pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres in Chevenne county, that state. His next western venture was in Wyoming, where he spent three years on the sheep ranch owned by the Warren Live Stock Company. Returning to Trumbull county, he has since been engaged in farming, either as renter or proprietor. He now owns seventy-seven acres of the home place, upon which he conduets general farming and dairy operations.
On February 3, 1896, Mr. Karr was united in marriage to Miss
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Gertrude Sargeant, born in Utica, Pennsylvania, daughter of Ensign and Sarah ( Russell) Sargeant, both natives of the Keystone state. The chil- dren born to them were Wallace, Howard and Altha Lucile. In politics, Mr. Karr is a Republican, and his fraternal connections are with Lodge No. 743 of Kinsman (I. O. O. F.) and K. O. T. M. and the Grange of Burghill.
FAYETTE M. HAYNES, representative of one of the oldest pioneer families of Vernon township, has been engaged in farming and carpentry for a period of over forty-two years. His useful career has also been brightened by his services in behalf of his country, his military experience, covering two years of his life. Mr. Haynes is a native of Vernon township, born May 16, 1845, son of Franeis and Mary (Davis) Haynes. The grand- parents migrated to the west and settled in the center of Vernon township, and in 1816 the tract of land which was to become their homestead was purchased of the Connecticut Land Company. The future wife of Francis located in this vicinity with her parents and they were married at Bloom- field in 1834. They afterward settled in Vernon township, and about 1840 he purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres, which he has himself improved in the way of land cultivation and the erection of buildings. He resided in Burghill from 1870 until the death of his wife, July 24, 1884, since which time he has lived on the home farm with Fayette M. Besides Fayette there were four children in the family : George F., a doctor residing in Chicago, Illinois; Orlando W., of Lenawee, Michigan ; Letticia M., who became Mrs. William Crowell, of Cleveland, Ohio, and is now deceased, and Amerett A., who died August 20, 1862, at the age of nineteen years.
Fayette M. Haynes made his home with his parents until June 11, 1862, when he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio Volunteers and served in Kentucky in connection with the forces against the famous raider Morgan. On June 11, 1864, he was taken prisoner at Cynthiana, Kentucky, where he was held for three days and then paroled. He was discharged from the service August 26, 1864, at Sandusky, Ohio, after which he returned home, and after two years re- moved to Cleveland, Ohio. There in association with his brother, George F., engaged in the manufacture of sewing machine cases, and after two years in this field sold his interest and returned to the home farm. Being a natural mechanic he also engaged in carpentry and erected many of the most substantial buildings in this vicinity. In the spring of 1870 he purchased the paternal farm and immediately entered into an era of im- provement. Of his valuable farm consisting of one hundred and sixty-five aeres, twenty-five are in timber, seventy-five in meadow and pasture and the balance under thorough cultivation.
On September 29, 1869, Mr. Haynes married Miss Ella Smith, born in Newton Falls, Ohio, a daughter of William and Mary (Frame) Smith.
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The father is a native of New York state and his wife a native of Penn- sylvania. Mrs. Ella ( Smith) Haynes died June 20, 1891. They had one child, Albert H., born July 1, 1879. Mr. Haynes' second marriage on No- vember 1, 1893, was to Miss Lottie M. Barr, a native of Vernon township and a daughter of Asa and Luvica (Mizner) Barr, both of Ohio. Mr. Haynes is a Republican, but has never held office.
ALLEN JEWELL, who conducts a farm of over a hundred acres in Ver- non township which has all the modern facilities for live stock and dairying operations, is also well known as a financier and manager of large local interests. He has been a director in the Kinsman National Bank since 1893 and was elected vice-president of that institution in January, 1908. He is also president of the Jefferson and Warren Telephone Company and outside of these local connections of prominence he is secretary of the Kinsman Cattle Company, whose ranch is located in Custer county, Nebraska. In connection with his son, Earl K. Jewell, he is further con- nected with the selling and general brokerage of real estate and industrial securities. Under the name Allen Jewell & Son they represent the local interests of the Inter-State Commercial Sales Company, said to be the largest in operation engaged in this line of business in the world. The headquarters of their business in this line are naturally at Kinsman.
Mr. Jewell is a native of Vernon township, born October 28, 1860, and was educated in the common schools of this locality and later at the Grand River Institute at Austinburg, Ashtabula county, Ohio, son of Thaddeus and Mary Ann ( Mossman) Jewell. His father was also a native of Vernon township, born May 17, 1828, and his mother was born at West Salem, Pennsylvania, February 14, of the same year. The grandparents of Allen Jewell were Moses and Keziah ( Rutledge) Jewell, the former born in North Chenango, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Maryland. The family ancestry is Irish. In 1818 Moses Jewell, the grandfather, migrated from Pennsylvania to Vernon township and secured land from the Granger family, who in turn had obtained their property from the Connectieut Land Company. He first secured fifty acres of timber land, to which he added from time to time until, at his death, in 1881, he owned four hundred and fifty acres. At the time of his decease he was eighty-two years of age and his wife, who followed him in 1882. was eighty-seven years of age. Thad- deus Jewell, the father, resided on the home farm in Vernon township all his life and at his death in 1892 was the owner of a valuable tract of three hundred acres. His wife had passed away twenty-two years previous. There were two children in their family, of which Allen is the eldest, the other, Walker C., now residing in Kinsman. Of the second marriage to Miss Emeline Sponsler were born two daughters: Blanche, now Mrs. War- ren R. Keck, of Greenville, Pennsylvania, and Myrtle, now Mrs. J. Winford Nelson, of the same place.
Allen Jewell resided with his parents until his marriage, February ?, 1883, to Miss Emily A. Karr, born at West Salem, Mereer county, Penn-
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sylvania, November 8, 1861. She is the daughter of George W. and Juliet (Simpkins) Karr, her parents being both natives of West Salem. The children of this union are: Earl K., mentioned as his father's business partner, and Vanton C., born November 29, 1895. Both of the sons reside at home. After his marriage Mr. Jewell removed to the farm of his grandfather, where he resided for five years prior to his location at Kins- man, Ohio. After clerking there in a general store for a year he purchased a half interest in a furniture establishment and was engaged in this line of business for the following two years. He then sold his interest and returned to Vernon township and rented a farm which he conducted until 1884. In this year he bought one hundred and one acres, upon which he has made all of the improvements with the exception of some of the build- ings. He erected a fine house of eight rooms, which has all of the modern comforts and conveniences. Among these may be mentioned hot and cold water throughout the house, a hot air furnace and acetylene gas for lighting purposes. In 1901 he also erected a large and up-to-date barn for the care of his live stock. He has established a large and complete dairy and has two silos for feeding purposes. He also engages in general farming to con- siderable extent. In politics Mr. Jewell has always been a Republican and in local public affairs is well known, having served for four years as justice of the peace and assessor of his township for one term. Fraternally he is identified with Lodge No. 433, K. O. T. M., of Burghill, Ohio.
JAMES T. WEIR, who for thirty-two years has been engaged in agri- culture, either as a general farmer and live stock raiser or as a dairyman, is of substantial Scotch ancestry and has all of the industrial and practical traits which bring success to so many of his countrymen. He was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, March 18, 1844, son of Thomas and Isabelle (Tude- hope) Weir. His grandparents were John and Mary ( Martin) Weir and John and Elizabeth (Crawford) Tudehope, but neither the parents or grandparents ever came to the United States. The son was graduated from the Lanark high school and in 1860 became a student at King Edward the Sixth grammar school in London for four years. Afterwards he entered the famous Trinity College, Cambridge, England, and had as fellow stu- dents such noblemen as the Earl of Minto, present viceroy of India, and many others noted in public life at present in England, Canada and India.
After being graduated from his collegiate course in 1872 Mr. Weir came to this country at once, locating in Vernon township, where he was employed on various neighboring farms in summer and engaged in teaching school during the winter months. His labors in the latter field covered district schools in Hartford, Vernon and Brookfield townships and were continued for many years, even after he had engaged in farming as a pro- prietor. In 1876 Mr. Weir purchased a farm of sixty-six acres in Vernon township, since which time he has engaged in raising sheep and other live stock and in general farming and dairying. Mr. Weir has also taken active part in local public affairs, having served as justice of the peace, assessor,
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road supervisor (three terms), and as constable for many years. In Masonry he is identified with Jerusalem lodge No. 19, Hartford.
On November 21, 1875, Mr. Weir was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Frances Merry, a native of Vernon township and a daughter of Samuel and Mary ( Crosman) Merry. Her father was a native of Vernon township, but her mother was born in Onondaga county, New York. The grandparents of Mrs. Weir, Charles and Martha ( Broekway) Merry, were both natives of Connecticut, who came to Orangeville, Ohio, in 1800. They afterward came to this locality and eventually owned six hundred acres of land in Vernon and Hartford townships. Harriett Merry, aunt of Mrs. James Weir, born in Hartford township in 1804, was the first native white child of that township. The children of Mr. and Mrs. James T. Weir are: Grace L., now Mrs. George S. Brainard, who resides with Mr. Weir and is employed in a local store ; Kenneth W. : Carl W. : Frances L. ; and James T., all residing at home. The family residence, erected in 1876, was built on a lot owned by Mrs. Weir in Burghill. Since that time the residence has been remodeled and greatly improved, but still embraces the original home.
CLARK M. RICE, one of the most prominent business men of Greene township, is a member of one of its honored pioneer families. Myrtle L. Rice, his father, was also born within the boundaries of this township, January 31, 1829, and attended the district schools here in the early pio- neer days. He is a son of David and Luey P. ( Martin) Rice, he born in Massachusetts and she in Vermont, and a grandson of Enoch and Polly (Bruce) Rice. David and Lucy Rice came after their marriage to Greene township, this being in the year of 1808, and at that time there were but two other families here. They located in the dense woods, on the farm which is now on the home of their son, Myrtle, and since those early days the homestead has never been out of the possession of the family. They cleared the timber from the land and placed the fields under cultivation.
Myrtle L. Rice was the youngest born of their three sons and three daughters, and the only one now living. He married on the 12th of Decem- ber, 1850, Catherine Clark, also from Greene township, a daughter of Waters and Roxy (Wakefield) Clark. After their marriage the young couple built a good residence on a portion of the old Rice homestead, of which he had secured thirty acres, and after his father's retirement from business Myrtle L. Rice bought the remainder of the place, and has since been largely interested in general farming, and during many years he also operated a grist, saw and carding mill and a cheese box factory, but finally disposed of all these interests with the exception of the flour mill, which he operated until 1893. The property was thereafter used for a feed mill until in 1905, sinee which time it has been lying idle. Mrs. Rice died on the 21st of April, 1891, after becoming the mother of two sons, Clark M. and Charlie B., both in Greene township. On the 17th of August, 1893, Mr. Riee married Cecelia A. Newman, the widow of Morris M. Dodge, and a daughter of Asa and Mary ( Baker) Newman, natives respectively of
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New York and of Connecticut, and a granddaughter of Simeon and Polly ( Ray) Baker, from Connecticut. By her marriage to Mr. Dodge, Mrs. Rice had one son, William A., of Geneva, Ohio. Myrtle L. Rice upholds the principles of Prohibition, and has served two terms as a township trustee. He is a member, and since 1893 has served as an elder of the Disciple church.
Clark M. Rice, the elder of the two sons born to Myrtle and Catherine Rice, was born in Greene township December 22, 1854, and he remained in his parents' home until he had attained the age of twenty years. He was thereafter engaged in sawmilling and farming until in 1890 he became interested in a flour and feed mill at Bloomfield Station. This station was in the early days called Huckleberry, and is now known as Lockwood. Mr. Rice remained in business there until 1896, and has since resided on his farm in Greene township. He has owned the property since 1878, and on the farm of sixty-three acres there is a grist mill owned by Mr. Rice and his father. This mill was erected many years ago on the site of the first mill built in Greene township, and at one time it contained a carding machine, a saw mill and a scale board machine or mill for making tops and bottoms for cheese boxes. This latter commodity was shipped to all parts of the country in which cream cheese was manufactured. Clark M. Rice is now engaged in general farming and dairying.
He married, October 31, 1876, Ella Irwin, also from Greene town- ship, a daughter of Wesley and Mary Jane (Boone) Irwin, from Penn- sylvania, and a granddaughter of Ambrose and Anna (Thompson) Irwin, he from Ireland and she from Pennsylvania. Her maternal grandfather was John Boone, also from Ireland. The children of this union are: Mable, wife of Dr. R. R. Root, of Youngstown, Ohio; Georgie Clare, wife of H. S. Smith, of Greene township: Mary Catherine, a bookkeeper in Youngstown, and Harold Clark, at home with his parents. Mr. Rice is a Republican politically, and he has served as a school trustee, and since 1900 as township trustee. He is a member of the Knights of the Macca- bees, Emerald Tent No. 427, of Kennelworth. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and since 1888 has served as its steward.
JOHN WILLIAM SIRRINE, who is farming in Greene township, is a native son of Trumbull county, born August 21, 1858, and he is a member of one of the township's earliest pioneer families. His maternal grand- parents, John and Polly (Higgans) Evans, were among the first to settle in the northeast corner of Greene township, locating there when the place was densely covered with timber. They were originally from Massachu- setts. The paternal grandfather, William Sirrine, was a native of Lima, New York.
Thomas Sirrine, his son and the father of John W., was also born in Lima, and he was sixteen years of age when he came in 1831 to Greene township, Trumbull county, Ohio. A number of years afterward, about 1848, he was married to Submit Evans, a native daughter of this township,
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born in 1830, and they purchased and located on a farm of eighty acres here in Greene township. The wife died there in 1886, and in 1898 he sold the farm and went to Ilomer county, Michigan, to live with his son James, his death occurring in February, 1904. In their family were two sons and three daughters, but two of the daughters died many years ago.
John W. Sirrine, the third born, made his home with his parents until his marriage, December 19, 1882, to Anna Johnson, born in Orwell, Ash- tabula county, Ohio, a daughter of John and Charlotte (Parks) Johnson, born respectively in Canada and Ireland. During the five years following his marriage Mr. Sirrine resided on his father's farm, and he then rented the Difford farm in Greene township for two years, spent a similar period in Vienna township, and in the meantime, in 1892, he had purchased one hundred acres in Greene township, densely covered with timber, and moving there he cleared and improved thirty acres of the tract. A few years after- ward, in 1898, he erected his present residence, which is built from timber taken from his land, and he has made his homestead one of the best in the township. In addition to his general farming he conducts quite a large dairy.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Sirrine are: Winona, Mildred and Glenn W., all at home. Mr. Sirrine is a Republican politically, has served as trustee of Greene township, is a charter member of Kelley Circle, and is a member of the Christian Disciple church.
CHARLES E. STOCKWELL, for many years one of the prominent and leading agriculturists of Greene township, Trumbull county, was born in Ravenna, Portage county, Ohio, February 8, 1838, a son of William and Clarissa (Whitimore) Stockwell, natives of Massachusetts, and a grandson of Louis Whitimore. William and Clarissa Stockwell were married in their native state of Massachusetts, and from there moved to Portage county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
Charles E. Stockwell, the eighth born of their six sons and five dangh- ters, remained at home with his parents until his marriage, but in the mean- time, in September of 1861, he enlisted for service in the Civil war in the First Ohio Light Artillery, Company I, and was assigned to the fields of Virginia and North Carolina with the Army of the Potomac. He was honorably discharged in the fall of 1862, but later, in 1864, re-enlisted in the Thirty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company F, and remained in service until the close of the conflict. Returning from the war he came to Greene township in Trumbull county and bought a farm of seventy- eight acres, covered with timber and brush, and has since placed his land under cultivation and at the same time has added to its boundaries until he now has one hundred and sixty-one acres in the home place and fifty-five aeres two miles south. He is engaged in general farming, and since 1880 has also operated a saw mill. He has a large dairy, and in former years manufactured cheese quite extensively and conducted a large sugar bush. His home is a pleasant and commodious two-story residence of ten rooms,
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surrounded by shade and ornamental trees, and the homestead is further enhanced by a fine old orchard of apple and pear trees and grapes.
Mr. Stockwell was married in June, 1866, to Sarah J. Liddle, from Trumbull county, and their two children are Ellis E. and Elsie J. The son is now operating his father's mill. The daughter is the widow of Thomas Bingham, by whom she has two children, John and Carlton, and she resides with her father. Mr. Stockwell is a Republican politically, and is a member of the Grange in Greene and of the Grand Army post in Mecca. He is a member and since 1904 has served as a steward of the Methodist Episcopal church.
CALEB FRENCH, during many years identified with the agricultural interests of Mesopotamia township, was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, April 26, 1830, and his education, which was begun in the schools of the mother country, was completed in the district schools of Bloomfield, Ohio. His parents, Edmond and Ann (Humphreys) French, established their home in Mesopotamia township in Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1844, but later they purchased and lived on a farm in Bloomfield township for a number of years, and from there went to a farm in Black- hawk county, Iowa.
Caleb French, the third born of their eight children, went to Warren, this state, at the time of the removal of his parents to Iowa, and there worked at his trade of shoemaking until his enlistment on the 14th of August, 1862, in the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, Company B, under Colonel E. Updike. The regiment was sent to Nashville, Tennessee, and took part in many of the memorable battles of the Civil war, including the engagement of Chattanooga, where they were confined by the Confederates for two months. Receiving his dis- charge from the service at Nashville in June of 1865, Mr. French came to Mesopotamia township to his father-in-law's farm, they working the land together until the latter's death. At that time Mr. French bought the interest of the other heirs in the property, an excellent tillable farm of one hundred and fifty acres, improved with a beautiful grove of one thousand maple trees, from which he formerly made large quantities of maple syrup, but since the year of 1900 he has lived practically retired from labor. The homestead is further improved by a pleasant and substantial residence erected in 1884, large and convenient barns and many valuable springs.
Mr. French was married, January 1, 1854, to Mary D. Arnold, who was born in Mesopotamia township, a daughter of George D. and Susanna (DeBell) Arnold, natives respectively of New York and of Rhode Island. They were among the first to locate in Mesopotamia township, driving through the wilderness to the west by team, and arriving here they bought the old Tracey farm, one of the first homesteads located in this township. The children of this union are: George E., an attorney in North Platte, Nebraska; Birney J., on the home farm; Myra, who died in 1871, aged fourteen ; and Harry, who died in 1862, when but three and a half years
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of age. The wife and mother is also deceased, dying in October of 1905. Mr. French held membership relations with the Bloomfield lodge of Masons from 1867 until they disbanded. In politics he votes with the Republican party.
LYNN W. LOOMIS is a member of two of the honored early pioneer families of Ohio. He is a grandson of Elizair and Arbama (Holcomb) Loomis, natives respectively of East Windsor, Massachusetts, and Windsor, Ohio, and of Sylvester and Elizabeth (Alvord) Russell, who were born in the New England states. They established their home in Geauga county, Ohio, in the early year of 1816, and with the Loomis family, equally early residents of the commonwealth, experienced all the hardships of a frontier life. The country was almost entirely covered with timber at that time.
Edward Loomis, the father of Lynn W., was born in Windsor, Ash- tabula county, Ohio, January 13, 1830, and after his marriage to Cordelia Russell, a native daughter of Geauga county, this state, he located on a farm of eighty acres in Mesopotamia township, of which he had previously become the owner. All of the commodious and substantial buildings which now adorn this homestead stand as monuments to his thrift and ability, and he was both a dairyman and farmer. His death occurred in June of 1905, but his wife still survives him and resides on the old home farm. In their family were but two children, and the daughter, Jennie, is also at home.
Lynn W. Loomis, their only son, has always resided on the Loomis homestead in Mesopotamia township. He owns the old place in con- junction with his sister, and during the past twelve years he has carried on its work. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, and he is a member of the fraternal order of Odd Fellows, Mesopotamia Lodge No. 789, and of Enterprise Grange.
LUCIUS V. STURDEVANT, for many years identified with the agricul- tural interests of Trumbull county, was born in Freedom, Portage county, Ohio, March 14, 1858. His father, O. C. Sturdevant, was born in Penn- sylvania, but came with his parents when a lad of eight years to Summit county, Ohio. From there he moved to Freedom, where he was married to Amanda Hollenbeck, a native of Geauga county, this state. He became the owner of a farm near Freedom, and there his wife died in September, 1898. and he survived until February of 1905.
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