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 6
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Orwell, Youngstown and Warren, his career in this line at Warren covering a period of twelve years. Mr. Campbell's long business experience and his natural sociability made him an ideal landlord, added greatly to his popu- larity, and caused his appointment to the postmastership, April 1, 1900, to be an act most gratifying to his old friends and fellow citizens. His kinsman, President MeKinley, appointed him to his first term, and his marked resemblance to the honored and beloved chief executive materially increased the warmth with which the citizens of Warren always looked upon McKinley and his administration. It seemed like a strong and inti- mate bond of union stretching from Warren to Washington, and no part of the country was plunged into more profound grief over the tragedy which so shocked the world.
WILLIAM HENRY DANA, R. A. M., F. C. M .- Professor William H. Dana, Fellow of the American College of Musicians of the University of New York and president of Dana's Musical Institute at Warren, has earned wide fame in both the fields of music and literature. His family is of fine New England stock, the New Hampshire branch including Professor James S. Dana, of Yale College, and Charles A. Dana, who for so many years made the New York Sun one of the greatest journalistic powers in the country. On his mother's side he is related to the Potter family, whose members have been prominent as jurists, theologians, educators and literati.
William H. Dana was born at Warren, Ohio, on the 10th of June, 1846, son of Junius and Martha ( Potter) Dana. Was a student at the local high school, when he left school and entered the army ; he was also a student at the Williston Seminary, near East Hampton, Massachusetts. In his six- teenth year left his studies and entered the ranks of the One Hundred and Seventy-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving in the Western department under General Burbridge until the expiration of his term of enlistment, when he joined the One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry, regular army, which was attached to Gen- eral Hancock's command and operated in the valley of the Shenandoah. Young Dana served on the staffs of Generals Hancock, Brooks and Shoepf, being with the latter commander at the close of the war.
At the conclusion of his military service Mr. Dana enthusiastically assumed the study of music under leading masters in the East, and after spending several years both in study and teaching went abroad, where he completed his training under Professor August Haupt, of Berlin, of the Hoch Schule and at the Kullak Conservatory of the same city, and is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, London, England. On October 9, 1871, he returned to his native town of Warren and, with a small room as his headquarters and one piano as his musical equipment, he established what has come to be recognized as one of the leading musical institutes in the country. While he has been president of the institute since its found- ing and provided the musical instruction, his father, Junius Dana, has supported it financially and been its treasurer. Plans are now afoot to
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erect a fine five-story building to accommodate its large patronage and pro- vide the elegant studios and other accessories of the modern school of music. Although its accommodations are now strictly up to date, they fall far short of the requirements in point of space. A notable feature of Dana's Musical Institute is its military band department, which is the largest in the United States and numbers numerous noted leaders and soloists among its graduates. The curriculum includes instruction in voice and instru- mental music of every description, and the school is patronized by students from all sections of this and foreign countries.
Professor Dana has also a wide reputation as a lecturer and author on musical topics. In 1880 he began a series of tours covering Scandinavia, Russia and other portions of Europe, as well as a considerable portion of the Arctic regions, collecting much material which he has used to advan- tage in Chautauqua and other lecture work. He is a member of the National Educational Association of the United States, before which he presented a paper in 1889, but it is in his special field as a scholarly and masterful musician that he is best known on the platform and in literature. His list of books includes the following: "Dana's Practical Thorough Bass," 1874; "Dana's Practical Harmony," 1880; "Dana's Practical Coun- terpoint," 1885; "Guide in Orchestration," 1879; "Guide in Military Band Arranging," 1880; "The National School for Cornet," 1890. Professor Dana was also the American editor of the "Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians," published in Glasgow, Scotland ; has assisted in the preparation of other works, and is a valued contributor to magazine literature. In 1888 the Universal Exposition of Music, held at Bologna, Italy, awarded him a diploma in recognition of the clearness and practical value of his text-books. He is distinguished as one of the three founders of the Music Teachers' National Association, of which he has been treasurer for a number of years ; is a graduate of the American College of Musicians and one of its examiners; and is a fellow of that institution, as well as a member of the Royal Academy of Music, London, England, to which he was elected in 1906.
Mr. Dana is also deeply concerned in public questions. He is an ardent Republican, and has for a number of years been a member of the city council. Mr. Dana was married in Olean, New York, to Miss Emma J. Tuttle, daughter of Rev. William S. and Jane (Pratt) Tuttle, and the three children of their union were: Junius L., now a geologist at Golden, Colorado ; Lynn B. and Martha L. Dana. Bess Dana is a daughter adopted into the household.
DELOS K. MOSER, chief of the Warren fire department, is not only a native of the city, but has been connected with the department ever since he was a youth. He is therefore a thorough fireman and is especially con- versant with every detail, past and present, connected with the local de- partment; as he is, moreover, a good executive and popular both with his
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men and with the public of Warren, it is evident that the city government has made no mistake in keeping Mr. Moser in office for nearly a decade.
Chief Moser was born in Warren on the 22nd of October, 1862, and is a brother of the well known C. W. Moser, whose sketch may also be found in this history. Delos K. is the fifth child and the fourth son in a family of nine, and received his education in the home schools. When nineteen years of age he joined the Warren Packard Company and for the succeed- ing twelve years made himself master of the lumber and planing mill business. He then formed a partnership with C. B. Loveless, under the name of Loveless and Moser, but about two years thereafter the firm sold the business to the Warren Packard Company. Mr. Moser's next venture was in the grocery line, as senior member of Moser and Garghill, this enter- prise being successfully conducted until 1899, when he was appointed first chief of the paid fire department. At this time Mr. Moser has been identi- fied with the department for twenty-six years, his first connection being with the volunteer brigade when he was in his twentieth year. He was also a member of the fire board for some four years and continued active in the affairs of the department until it became a paid branch of the city service, and he was elected as chief.
He has been for years a stanch Republican. His wide acquaintance and popularity have also been extended by his activity in the fraternities, his membership embracing the Elks, Eagles, Modern Woodmen and Knights of Columbus. His marriage to Miss Rose A. Garghill occurred in 1883, Mrs. Moser dying in 1890, the mother of Philip and Isabel Moser.
BENJAMIN J. TAYLOR .- Identified with the Western Reserve Chronicle for a period of forty-two years as a printer, editor and publisher, Benjamin J. Taylor is one of the widely known successful newspaper men in this section of Ohio, having made journalism his life work. He has otherwise been prominently identified with the civic progress of Warren, where he has resided since 1863. In late years he has been zealously devoted to the expansion of the educational facilities of the city, among the foremost of which is placed the Public Library. Mr. Taylor was one of the founders of that institution, and has served on its Board of Trustees from its organiza- tion, twenty years ago. He was elected to the presidency of the board in 1895, and has been honored with a re-election to this office annually for the past thirteen years. It was through his personal solicitation that the generous gift from Mr. Carnegie was secured for the erection of the present elegant library building. During the construction of the edifice, to which he gave careful supervision, in conversation with a friend, he made the significant observation : "An enduring monument in the busy industrial mart is more to be desired than a marble shaft in the cemetery."
From his youth a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, for more than thirty years Mr. Taylor has been a member of the official board of the local organization, and has long been a trustee and steward. In 1907 he was elected a delegate to the General Conference of the Metho-
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dist Episcopal Church of America, a body composed of delegates from world-wide Methodism, and which held its twenty-fourth quadrennial ses- sion in Baltimore, Maryland, in May, 1908. This is the supreme and only law-making body of this denomination, and the "Court of Last Resort" in the administration of church law. At this session of the General Conference Mr. Taylor was elected a member of the Board of Publication of the Pittsburg Christian Advocate.
Mr. Taylor is also an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, having filled, hy election, the presiding officer's station in all the local Masonic bodies. He is Past Eminent Commander of Warren Commandery No. 39, Knights Templar. Politically he is a life-long Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.
Mr. Taylor was born in Smith's Falls, an inland town on the Cana- dian side of the St. Lawrence river, April 27, 1848, a son of Thomas and Margaret Foster Taylor, his ancestors being of Irish-English nationality. His parents commenced their long and happy married life in Canada, but in 1852 migrated to the United States, and settled at North Bloomfield, Trumbull County, where Benjamin J. of this sketch passed his boyhood days. Mr. Taylor is a fine type of the "self-made man," his principal educational advantages being such as the earlier day village school afforded. At the age of fifteen he went to Warren, the county seat, to learn the printer's trade in the office of the Western Reserve Chronicle, and served an apprenticeship of three years. In this connection it is of interest to note, by way of comparison between the times then (forty-five years ago) and now, that Mr. Taylor, as apprentice boy, received for his first full year's services the sum of $30 "and board." Such were the conditions prevailing in those days in the employment of apprentices, and was the sum total of Mr. Taylor's financial start in the struggle for ascendeney in publie life. He relates, with a feeling of pardonable pride, that, as a Chronicle carrier boy, in his weekly rounds, he delivered the paper to the hands of its first editor. Hon. Thos. D. Webb, who founded the paper in 1812.
In 1868, when Hon. William Ritezel, the then sole editor and pro- prietor, was elected to the State Legislature, Mr. Taylor, who was then employed on a Cleveland paper, was called to assume the general manage- ment of the Chronicle during Mr. Ritezel's attendance upon the session of the Legislature. He continued his connection with the paper, and in 1877 bought an interest in the husiness, and thus became one of its editors and proprietors. At the time of the death of Mr. Ritezel, in 1900, he formed an equal partnership with Mr. Frank M. Ritezel, a former business partner with his father, and who is now the controlling editor of the paper. In 1905 Mr. Taylor sold his interest in the business to Mr. F. S. Van Gorder, and thus severed his long and successful career with the Chronicle, twenty- eight years of which he had well served its interests as associate editor and proprietor.
In 1877 Mr. Taylor was united in marriage with Miss Gertrude Tayler, daughter of the late Matthew B. Tayler, one of the earlier day leading
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bankers of Warren. Mrs. Taylor is a native of the city where she has always resided. They have two sons, Dean and Alfred Wheeler Taylor, who are now the editors and publishers of the Fairfield, Iowa, Daily Journal.
ROBERT T. IZANT, secretary and attorney of the Trumbull Savings and Loan Company, has been a resident of Warren for the past thirty-six years, and, fully appreciating the benefits of being a fixture in such a pro- gressive community, himself has done as much as any one citizen to add to the attractiveness and desirability of the city as a place of residence. While a fixture in Warren, he has been one of the most active of its resi- dents, and as his activities have been guided by a sound judgment and a thorough legal training they have been directed into practical channels and have redonnded to the public good and to the encouragement of private exertions and enterprise.
Mr. Izant is an Englishman, born March 18, 1855, son of Walter and Martha (Rossiter) }zant, and in 1822 accompanied his parents from the mother country, locating at Warren. There the father died at the age of seventy-four years and the mother is still living, aged ninety years. Robert T. is the sixth child and the youngest son of the family and had already received a fair education when, at the age of seventeen, he became a resident of Warren. He soon entered the law office of the late Hon. John M. Stull. and in 1878 was admitted to practice before the district court, continuing in active and profitable professional work for twenty years. He had already assisted in the organization of the Trumbull Savings and Loan Company and in 1898 became its secretary and attorney, since which time he has virtually devoted his entire time to the upbuilding of its interests, which have become so large and beneficial as to constitute a notable city institution. In 1899 the business was incorporated under Ohio state laws and, chiefly through Mr. Izant's exertions and under his direct supervision, the fine block on the corner of Park avenue and High street was ereeted which is still the home of the Trumbull Savings and Loan Company. The concern was first organized as a building and loan association, but in 1891 it assumed its present style and scope, and under its present system persons of moderate means can secure homes by making small monthly payments at a low rate of interest. The company has now an authorized capital of $500,000, a paid-up capital of $130,000 and a profit fund of over $12,000, its officers being as follows: President, John W. Masters; vice president, W. H. Kirkpatrick ; secretary and attorney, Robert T. Izant, and treasurer, Dr. HI. M. Page. Mr. Izant is also secretary and treasurer of the People's Ice and Cold Storage Company. He is prominent in the Masonic order, being grand patron of the Eastern Star of Ohio, and is a leader in the work of the Methodist church, being one of the trustees of the local body and seeretary of its board. In 1888 he was united in marriage with Miss Sadee King, daughter of James M. King, a farmer of Kinsman, Trumbull county, and he has become the father of one child, James R. Izant.
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JOHN W. MASTERS, of Warren, pioneer grocer of Trumbull county, is president of the Masters Brothers Company, and is also at the head of the Trumbull Loan Company. More, he is a brave old soldier, carrying two wounds in his body as a tribute to his patriotism and his fidelity to the Union cause. Whether in the field of business, or the field of battle, he has always been well to the front, and has cheerfully carried his full share of all the burdens of life, either private or those pertaining to his com- munity.
Mr. Masters is a native of Somersetshire, England, born on the 3rd of November, 1841, and in 1856 he accompanied the family to the United States, the homestead being at once fixed in the woods along the River road, Warren township. In a little log house built in that locality the youth of fifteen continued his education begun in England by attending the nearest district school, assisting also in all the work attaching to the founding of a pioneer's home. In 1861, before he had reached the age of twenty, he enlisted in Company C, Nineteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served for three years in the terrible battles and campaigns of the southwest. At the battle of Shiloh he received a gunshot wound in the right leg, was sent to the Louisville hospital and thence to his Ohio home, but after a furlough of two weeks he returned to the ranks of his company. At Chickamauga a bullet from a Confederate gun penetrated his right hip, and the injury sent him to the military hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, but he returned to the field and finished his three years' term of enlistment.
Returning to Warren the young soldier resumed the activities of civil life with characteristic industry and fidelity, and in 1868 formed a partner- ship with Mr. Nettlefield in the grocery business. After about six months this association was concluded by Mr. Masters' purchase of his partner's interest and the formation of business relations with his brother, E. H. Masters, under the name of Masters Brothers. The enterprise was con- ducted and steadily developed under that style until 1902, when the busi- ness was incorporated under its present name, with Jolm W. Masters as president. He was also one of the organizers of the Trumbull Loan Com- pany, of which he has been president since its founding, and he is one of the directors of the Union National Bank of Warren. Mr. Masters joined the Grand Army of the Republic at an early period of its history and was one of the charter members of the Bell-Harmon Post No. 36, of Warren. He served as its treasurer for a long time, was its quartermaster and, in fact, has filled most of its offices. Mr. Masters has also been connected with the I. O. O. F. since 1869. He is a life-long Republican and was treasurer of Warren township for a quarter of a century. As an active and faithful Methodist, he has long been officially identified with the local church, and his religion is carried into all the practical affairs of his life.
In 1868 Mr. Masters wedded Miss Laura T. Wilson, daughter of James and Nancy Wilson, of Warren township, and five of the six children born to them are still living, viz. : Welty J., now secretary and treasurer of the Warren Hardware Company : Fred ; Charles C., who is in business with his father, and Mary E. and Jessie Masters, who are living at home. Paul died
8. Brown
FROM A MINIATURE PAINTED IN 18
FROM A MINIATURE PAINTED IN 18 -E
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when two years of age. The family is considered one of the most substan- tial and honorable in Trumbull county and John W. has the credit of being its most prominent representative. His property includes his resi- dence and two business blocks on Main street, Warren; he is a stockholder in other institutions than those mentioned, and, although his worldly station is one of decided prosperity he has reached his position by many years of industry, unrelaxing effort and honorable methods, ably conceived and perseveringly executed.
EPHRAIM BROWN was one of the real pioneers of Trumbull county and at one time was the principal owner of the township of Bloomfield. He was the son of Ephraim and Hannah (Howe) Brown and a descendant of Thomas Brown and John Howe, his pioneer ancestors, who coming from England settled at Sudbury, Massachusetts, about 1637-8. He was born October 2:, 1115, at Westmoreland, New Hampshire, and received an aca- demic education in his native state, and his habit through life of reading much from well chosen books added greatly to the culture which he at- tained, and which made him at an early age one whose judgment and ad- vice was frequently sought, even by his elders. Evidence of this is found in the many letters addressed to him on various subjects by men of promi- nence and ability. He married November 9, 1806, Mary Buckingham Huntington, a native of Windham, Connecticut. She was a daughter of Gurdon and Temperance (Williams) Huntington, and was born on the 29th of August, 1787.
In the summer of 1814, Mr. Brown, with his uncle, Thomas Howe, made a journey in a chaise to Ohio for the purpose of buying land. After stopping at the then small village of Cleveland for a few days they decided to look farther before locating and finally settled upon a township then known as "No. 7, 4th Range"-afterward called North Bloomfield-then an unbroken wilderness. On their return to New England they made the purchase of the township of Peter C. Brooks, of Boston. In the following summer, 1815, Mr. Brown moved his family to the new home, the first family to arrive except one which came a few months earlier. Mr. Howe himself came in March, 1815, accompanied by several young men, who cleared a space in the wilderness and erected comfortable cabins for the reception of Mr. Brown's family in July. Soon other families followed Mr. Howe's in 1817. Later Mr. Howe retired from the partnership, re- taining, however, some twelve hundred acres of the purchase and Mr. Brown assumed the debt, which in a few years he succeeded in discharg- ing. He sold a large portion of his land to settlers who came mostly from New England, but retained during his life two or three thousand acres. His first residence was of course a log cabin, but within the first year a frame structure was added and which is still a part of the present dwell- ing. More additions have been made from time to time and it is still a very attractive home.
By Mr. Brown's efforts a postoffice was early secured, and he was Vol. II-4
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active in the construction of the Trumbull and Ashtabula turnpike, which for years, or until railroads were built, was a part of the favorite route. between Lake Erie and the Ohio river. Fine coaches daily passed to and fro, filled with passengers. A saw mill was soon built, also a grist mill, and his small store of goods sufficed for the needs of the people for a long time. His activities did not end here, for he served several terms in both houses of the legislature of Ohio, as he had previously served in his native state. The title of Colonel, by which he was sometimes addressed, was given him when he was on the governor's staff in New Hampshire, not on account of any military service. Originally a Jeffersonian Democrat, he was always an uncompromising opponent of slavery, and after he came to Ohio his farm was one of the stations of the Underground Railway to Canada. He never united with any church, but his moral and religious principles were very strong. As his rectitude and ability were unques- tioned he retained to the last the confidence and leadership of his com- munity. His death occurred on March 7, 1845, and his faithful wife passed away January 26, 1862.
Mrs. Brown should be named as one of the "real pioneers," for she shared with her husband the privations incident to the life of a pioneer, and these she felt most keenly, her tastes leading her to enjoy a more de- veloped and refined civilization. But she found, among other pioneer women, much to prize in their sisterly and kindly ways and formed some lasting friendships among them. She suffered much from homesickness during the first two years, when it was decided that she should go east for a visit when her husband went for goods for his store. They accordingly rode to Painesville or Fairport on horseback, expecting to take a boat (a schooner) there for Buffalo, but on their arrival they found the boat had passed. Mr. Brown then gave his wife the choice between returning to her home or going on to Utica on horseback. She chose the latter alternative and they proceeded to Utica, whence they went on by stages. The visit proved very satisfactory and she found on her return to the hopeful, active life of the pioneer, a pleasant contrast to the inactive life of the older set- tlement.
It is due to the memory of such a woman to insert in this history some appreciative words written at the time of her death by a friend who knew her well. He said of her: "She was a woman possessed of the highest and purest qualities of head and heart, and was beloved and respected during all the years of her long and well spent life by all who knew her. Possess- ing a well balanced and vigorous mind, she united thereto a kindliness of feeling and comprehensive benevolence, wide as humanity itself; and never during her life came up to her the cry of the needy and oppressed unheard or unheeded. To these distinguished natural gifts she added the charm of a high and refined cultivation, in so much that few indeed could rival her in the acquirements of knowledge and taste. The remarkable powers of her mind continued up to the time of her death unimpaired and never did the high sentiments of the philanthropist and true patriot cease to animate her
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