Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 103

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1094

USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 103
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 103
USA > Ohio > Lake County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 103

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Mr. and Mrs. Risdon are attendants of the Presbyterian Church. He has long been identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery; has been Tyler in the four bodies for twenty years, and during all this time has never missed more than half a dozen

meetings. He has attended all the conclaves until the one at Denver last year, and has been in all the State conclaves. Mr. Risdon is also a member of the Knights of Honor, of which organization he is second officer and a Steward. Few men in Conneaut are better known or have more friends than Mr. Risdon.

M B. KEYES, agent for the American Express Company at Conneaut, Ohio, was born in Conneaut, November 4, 1831, son of General Henry and Vesta (Bates) Keyes, both natives of Massa- chusetts.

General Keyes came from Massachusetts to Conneaut with his parents, Elias and Phœbe (Gates) Keyes, in 1815. His father bought a large tract of land and engaged in farming, and also ran a sawmill and grist- mill. He died in March, 1822. The vener- able mother lived until 1853, when she died at the age of eighty-nine years. Henry Keyes was their only child, and inherited considerable property. He was a prosperous business man, giving his attention chiefly to the management of his large milling and farming interests. At one time he had an interest in a store, in partnership with Messrs. Woodbury and Bloss. He was first married to Miss Mary Cole, of New Marl- .borough, Massachusetts. They had three children, namely : Henry P. and Alvin C., both residents of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Mary Cole Grant, widow of Edward Grant. Mr. Grant was killed March 23, 1850, by the explosion of the steamboat Troy, near Buf- falo, and his body was not recovered until nine weeks afterward. He was twenty-eight years of age, and left one child, Julia E., who died in 1877, aged thirty-one years. General

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Keyes' first wife died in December, 1824, at the age of twenty-eight years. His second marriage was consummated July 9, 1829, with Miss Vesta Bates, and this union re- sulted in the birth of seven children, as fol- lows: Marcus, deceased, was twice married, first to Louisa Gordon, and after her death to Frances Beach, and by his last wife had two children, Henry (deceased) and Louisa; M. B, the subject of this sketch; Charles William, who died in 1854; Elias Asa, of Columbus, Ohio, has been twice married, first to Charlotte Fenton, who died in 1877, leaving one child, Marcus William, and afterward to Miss Alice Miller, of that city; Phoebe, wife of Dr. Merriam; Rev. Russell Melzo Keyes, a Congregational minister, married Mrs. Cath- erine Smith, and has had two children, Sarah and Vesta, the latter being deceased; and Milo, a railroad conductor, who resides in Jefferson City, Missouri. The parents of this large family of children have both passed away. The father was born November 16, 1793, and died July 21, 1873.

M. B. Keyes received his education in his native town. He was engaged in farming for a time, next was steward on a lake steam- boat, and afterward engaged in the general merchandise business with his brother, Mar- cus B., at Beloit, Wisconsin, under the firm name of Keyes, White & Co. This associa- tion continued for four years, and was closed out in 1858. Then, after a short time spent in Chicago, he went to Pike's Peak, pros- pecting for gold; but not meeting with any great success he returned to Conneaut a year later. At this time he engaged in the grocery business, and also became agent for the Amer- ican Express Company. The grocery he soon afterward disposed of, but he has been in the express business ever since, for a period of twenty-seven years. That he has performed

the duties of this important position for so long a time is sufficient proof of his integrity and business ability. He was appointed Post- master under President Grant, and held that position for fourteen years, retiring from the office in 1887.

Mr. Keyes was married in Chicago, in 1857, to Miss Anna E. Loyd, daughter of Alex. Loyd, of that city. They have had two children: Charles L., who is in the office with his father; and Grace, who died at the age of eleven months.

Politically, Mr. Keyes has long been a Re- publican. Socially, he affiliates with the blue lodge, chapter and council, F. & A. M., and is also a member of the Knights of Honor and the Royal Templars.

D R. FRED. W. UPSON, Conneaut, Ohio, is well known as a skillful phy- sician and surgeon, and as such is deserving of some personal mention in this work. Following is a résumé of his life:

Dr. F. W. Upson was born in Geneva, Ashtabula county, Ohio, December 11, 1858, son of Peter and Amelia (Tenney) Upson. His father was born in Botesdale, Suffolk county, England, and in 1836 came to the United States, settling near Painesville, Lake county, Ohio. By profession he was a vio- linist: indeed, he was the finest violinist in this section of the State. He died in 1873, aged forty-four years. The Doctor's mother is still living, at the old homestead in Geneva, having attained her sixty-seventh year. She is a devoted member of the Disciple Church. They had two children. Frank, the older, is in the employ of the Lake Shore Railroad Company.

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Dr. Upson received his literary education in the Geneva Normal Institute, and is a graduate of the Western Reserve Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio, with the class of 1882. Immediately after his graduation he established himself in practice at Conneaut, where his ability as a physician and surgeon was soon recognized and where he has since conducted an extensive practice.

In December, 1883, Dr. Upson married Miss Ruth Kelley, daughter of Dr. J. P. and Mary Kelley, of Geneva, Ohio. They have two children, Mabel E. and Grace C., the pride and joy of their home.

Both the Doctor and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He affiliates with the Masonic fraternity, having taken the degrees of the blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and is medi- cal examiner for the same. He is a member of the Ashtabula County Medical Society. Personally, the Doctor is of a genial and courteous nature. He is in thorough sym- pathy with the advancement of every worthy cause in this vicinity, and his many estimable qualities have endeared him to a large circle of friends here. His life furnishes a good ex- ample of what will power and perseverance can accomplish when coupled with honesty and strict integrity of character. Professionally, he stands well to the front in eastern Ohio.

B URT F. STEINS, proprietor of the Central Hotel, Conneaut, Ohio, is a young man of more than ordinary busi- ness enterprise and push. By nature and training he is especially adapted for the busi- ness in which he is engaged, and seems to be exactly the right man in the right place.

He was born in Pennsylvania, January 4, 1862, and is a son of George W. and Esther (Cross) Steins, both natives of Pennsylvania.

After his marriage, which event occurred November 24, 1859, George W. Steins settled in Girard, Pennsylvania, where he lived until 1867, when he moved with his family to Conneaut, having, however, done business here previous to that time. In 1882 he turned his attention to the hotel business, and soon after- ward to the livery business, carrying on both until 1889. From that date until April, 1892, he devoted his time exclusively to his livery, feed and sale stable, and then, selling out to B. F. Thayer, he retired from active life.

Burt F. Steins, the younger of the two sons of George W. Steins and the subject of this article, was employed as clerk in his father's hotel after leaving school, and soon proved himself to be especially fitted for the hotel business. In 1889, he became proprietor of the Central Hotel, which he has since suc- cessfully conducted. In 1892, he renovated it and embellished it with all the modern im- provements, such as steam heating apparatus, electric lights, etc., making it one of the most cozy hotels on the line between Buffalo and Cleveland. He also deals in horses, usually keeping about a half dozen. Socially, he is a member of the Elks of Conneant.

Mr. B. F. Steins' wife, a winsome and cul- tured lady, is the daughter of Roderick Frazier, of Meadville, Pennsylvania. They were married at her father's home in Mead- ville, November 6, 1884.

There is no improvement by which stran- gers judge of the character of a city or town as readily as by the character of its hotel ac- commodations, and at the present time the traveling public expect and demand a good ser- vice from the various hostelries to which they accord their patronage. Thus it is patent that

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he who would successfully conduct such a public enterprise must be naturally fitted for the business, must look to multitudinous de- tails, must be genial and gain the good will of patrons and cater to their wants in every reasonable way. Mr. Steins' success in the conduct of his model little hotel gives evi- dence that he fulfills all these requirements, and he numbers his friends among the travel- ing public by those who once stop at his house, as the expression goes with the com- inercial travelers; the house is a first-class place to put up, and the proprietor well merits the success and popularity which he has at- tained.

EORGE RUSSELL .- That self-made men are the most successful in life's uncertain race, is a fact almost too hackneyed to mention, but it is so ap- plicable in the present instance that forbear- ance is requested for again calling attention to it.

That energy, perseverance and judgment, so characteristic of his New England ances- tors, is inherited in a marked degree by their descendant, the subject of this sketch. His grandfather, Enoch Russell, was born in New Hampshire, and was a farmer and Revolu- tionary soldier, receiving a pension for his faithful service in that memorable struggle. He died in Petersburg, New Hampshire. at the venerable age of ninety six years. He possessed the sterling worth of those Revo- lutionary heroes, who fought for liberty and home. His children were: Ebenezer, Samuel, James, Jedediah, Liab Ephraim, and Hepsy, who married Samuel Chamberlain. Ephraim, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the Old Granite State, in 1773, where he was reared and educated, learning the | vate as a farm, on which the depot of the

trade of stone masonry. He also engaged in agriculture, and like his father, served patriotically in the war for independence. He married Olivia Ordaway, daughter of Daniel Ordaway, a farmer and Revolution- ary soldier, whose children in order of birth were: Daniel, Enoch, Fannie and Olivia. Ephraim Russell and wife were the parents of six children: Enoch, who died in Wiscon- sin in 1888; Jedediah, who died in Indiana in 1889; William, killed by a thresher in New York; Jane, deceased; the subject of this notice; and Jnlia, deceased, who married Frank Rounce.

George Russell, whose name heads this bi- ography, was born in Phelps, Ontario county, New York, December 29, 1823, and, his father being a man of limited means, yonng George early found it necessary to earn his living. His educational acquirements were limited by his circumstances, but have been amply supplemented by extensive reading and a varied experience, while his natural capabilities were a legacy from those men and women who founded a republic in this country. Mr. Russell learned his father's trade of stone masonry, at which he worked, thus gaining his start in life. He was also engaged in teaming for three years in New York State, by which means he accumulated a small capital. While thus engaged, he re- ceived a proposition to come West as agent and representative of Mr. Crane, who owned a tract of 390 acres near the village of Ash- tabula, Ohio, which is now platted and sold. This was accepted, and January 16, 1849, Mr. Russell found himself in this village, which was to be his home for so many years. With his small means, carefully accumulated in the East, Mr Russell secured some land of his own, which he began to clear and culti-

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Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad now stands. During the four years of Mr. Russell's service as agent for Mr. Crane, there were $13,000 worth of lots disposed of and much of the farm cleared. Mr. Russell then erected two houses on Prospect street, both of which he sold advantageously, hav- ing decided to move farther West for a per- manent location. He accordingly went to Indiana, where he remained but three months, however, as he received a favorable proposition from Mr. Harmon, of Ashtabula, to return and take charge of that gentleman's farm. He was in Mr. Harmon's employ for three years, at the end of which time he set- tled in the city and began contracting and building, his former experience in stone ma- sonry and later knowledge practically ac- quired well fitting him for this new under- taking, as the good buildings erected under his supervision amply testify. He built the Methodist and Congregational churches, besides dozens of other important struc- tures, including the Opera House. He built the wagon bridge which spans the river on Main street, and did the grading on the Pittsburg, Youngstown & Ashtabula Rail- road from the latter city to Rock Creek. He has, however, not confined himself to this alone, but has been quite extensively engaged for the past twenty-five years in the tile and brick business, and for the last fourteen years has also been successfully engaged in pack- ing and shipping ice. In all these years of activity, Mr. Russell has probably given em- ployment to more working men than any other person in the city, and materially ad- vanced the interests of the place in which he takes such a commendable pride. Ile has also been quite active in real-estate transac- tions in Ashtabula, having laid out and dis- posed of an addition on Parsons' street and

an addition on another street. He owns an excellent farm one mile east of the city and another near Plymouth. Altogether, few men are better situated financially, and his pros- perity is entirely due to his own untiring and honorable exertions.

June 15, 1844, Mr. Russell was married, by Elder Rennett, to Elsie Cobb, a well known and highly esteemed lady of this vi- cinity, daughter of Abner Cobb, a worthy pioneer of the State. They have six children: William, born in 1849, married Ellen Turner; Frederick, born in 1856, married Emma Proctor; Hattie, born in 1860, married W. D. Belknap; Ida, born in 1865, unmarried; Charles, born in 1867; and May, born in 1869.

Politically, Mr. Russell adheres to the principles of the Republican party; and fra- ternally is a Royal Arch Mason. As a citi- zen, he has proved himself worthy of the deepest regard of his fellowmen, which he so universally enjoys.

C HARLES D. BISHOP, of Ashtabula? Ohio, general foreman of the round- houses on the Jamestown and Franklin Division of the Lake Shore & Michigan South- ern Railroad, and one of the Railroad com- pany's oldest and most popular employes, was born in the Indian Territory, January 6, 1846. His earliest American ancestor and great-grandfather was Charles Bishop, who came from Germany to this country while the latter was still subject to Great Britain. He was a millwright and mechanic by trade and erected the first water-works plant in Phila- delphia, known as the Fairmount works, and also built those in Bethlehem. He is a man of ability and force of character, outspoken in

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his opinions, progressive and enterprising. He took a deep interest in the development of his adopted country and aided her advance- ment by every means in his power. He had no military record, and his public life was confined to occasionally serving as a town- ship officer. Rev. Gilbert Bishop, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Beth- lehem, Pennsylvania, in 1817; and received a common-school and academical education. He possessed superior natural abilities and made good use of his opportunities. He after- ward entered the ministry, and in 1843 was sent as a missionary to the Creek nation of Indians in Indian Territory, where he labored faithfully and effectively among the aborigi- nes until the civil conflict between the two opposing sections of our country rendered it unsafe for a man of strong Union sentiments to remain longer on the border. He then returned with his family to his native town of Bethlehem, where he was engaged in mill- ing until his retirement from active pur- suits, and is now enjoying a well-earned rest in his declining years. His wife, nee Mar- garet Louisa Morris, was a native of New Jersey, where her father was a prominent man. They had nine children: C. D., the subject of this sketch; Anna, wife of Rev. William L. Oerter, of Bethlehem; Edwin, also of that city; James; Eugene, deceased; Lunius, a missionary to the West Indies, who died in Louisiana; Rufus and Julius, in Beth- lehem; and Ira, employed in the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad shops.

The subject of this notice passed his earlier years in the Indian Territory. When he at- tained a suitable age, he attended a Moravian school at Nazareth Hall, in Pennsylvania, where he remained four years and a half, with the expectation of entering the ministry. At the age of seventeen, however, he left school

and learned telegraphy, afterward securing a position as operator at Bethlehem, Pennsyl- vania. He then concluded to learn the ma- chinist's trade, for which purpose he went to Troy, New York, where he served an appren- ticeship under Seth W. Paine. It was while thus engaged that the civil war broke out, and being fired by youthful patriotism he left his work and went to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he enlisted in theTwenty-sixth Pennsyl- vania Militia, Captain Carmohon's company, under Colonel Jennings. Three days after enlistment, the company was in actual service. They went from Harrisburg to Gettysburg direct, where thirty of the company were captured by the rebel army before the Fed- erals were aware of the presence of the enemy, and taken to Cashtown, Pennsylvania, where they were paroled and stripped of their shoes and compelled to walk barefooted to Harris- burg. Mr. Bishop, being of this number, at once returned to Troy, after an absence of seven weeks, where he resumed work at his trade, being required to make up his lost time. On the expiration of four years, he went to Corning, in the same State, where he entered the employ of Messrs. Payne & Pritchard for the purpose of gaining additional experience. He subsequently engaged in sawmilling. which he followed two years at Canton, Penn- sylvania, the following six months being passed in quiet at his old home. He then accompanied his uncle, Charles W. Rauch, to Oil City, where Mr. Bishop was engaged at repairing in the Cranberry coal mines, of which Mr. Rauch was manager. A short time afterward, Mr. Bishop entered the em- ploy of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Companny as a machinist, with headquarters at Oil City, in which position he remained until 1871, when he was ap- pointed foreman of round-houses, and eight

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years later removed with his family to Ash- tabula. At the time of his appointment in 1871, he had ten engines under his charge, but these have been increased to fifty-seven, while his assistants have been proportionately increased.

September 12, 1872, Mr. Bishop was mar- ried at Franklin, Pennsylvania, by the Rev. Mr. Davis, to Miss Kate Streiber, a worthy lady, daughter of Hilbert Streiber, a well- known machinist. She was one of three chil- dren: Kate; Frank, who married Annie Hunt, and is now general foreman at Oil City for the Western New York & Pennsylvania Rail- road Company; and Cora, wife of Charles Strance, bookkeeper for the Standard Oil Company. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have one child: Gilbert H., born April 18, 1874.

Religiously, the family are Baptists, in which church Mr. Bishop is organist, and to which all render valuable aid. Socially, they enjoy universal esteem, of which they are all eminently deserving.

R L. BREWSTER, one of the enter- prising and progressive farmers of Madison township, Lake county, Ohio, was born here October 4, 1843, a descendant of Deacon Jasper Brewster, one of the early settlers of the county.

Deacon Jasper Brewster, Sr., came to Madi- son, Geauga county (now Lake county), Ohio, in January, 1817, being accompanied by his wife, four sons and a daughter. The eventful journey was made with an ox team and a one- horse wagon, and was six weeks in duration. Arriving at their destination, Deacon Brew- ster bought a large tract of land. He died in 1825, at the age of sixty years, thus leav- ing his sons to clear the farm and finish paying

for it. The three sons, Jasper, Jr., Sidney and Wadsworth (as the father of our subject was familiarly known), worked together in reclaiming the farm. They also devoted considerable attention to the making of pearl- ash and potash, and they manufactured the brick with which they built their house. Marshall, the other brother, graduated at Williams College, Massachusetts, and after- ward settled on a farm of his own in southern Indiana. In 1870-'71 he and his four sons bought farms in southern Kansas and settled there, and there he died the next year. Jas- per Brewster, Jr., died in 1885, aged eighty- seven years, leaving his daughter, Mrs. Mary L. Stafford, in possession of the homestead, with her four daughters and two sons. Mrs. Safford is the only one of his children now living. Sidney Brewster died in Madison, in 1864, at the age of sixty-four years. He had come to Madison to visit his relatives and other friends, having owned and resided on a farm in Wood county, Ohio. His only living son, Samuel Dwight, is now a thriv- ing merchant in New York city, and his daughter lives on her farm in Nebraska. Of the little family band that came to Ohio in the early days not one is now living. The only sister, Mrs. Mary A. Raymond, died in Wood county, Ohio, in 1880, aged seventy- three years. Her daughter, Mary, and son, Sidney, are residents of Nebraska.

Emerson Wadsworth Brewster, father of the subject of this review, was born in Massa- chusetts, April 2, 1804, and was thirteen years old when he came to Ohio. He was a man of great energy and was an assiduous worker all his life. During the days of slavery, he was a strong Abolitionist; kept a station on the underground railroad, and many a poor colored man on his way to Canada and freedom received succor at the

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

hands of Mr. Brewster. He was an earnest Christian and a member of the Congrega- tional Church at Madison, having been a Deacon of the church for about forty years. What has been said of this brother, as a Christian, Abolitionist and politician, was equally applicable to each of the other broth-

ers. March 22, 1876, his life work was ended: Wadsworth Brewster passed from earth to his reward, leaving a widow and chil- dren to mourn their loss. Mrs. Brewster, whose maiden name was Harriet Keep, is still liv- ing, an honored resident of this township and a member of the same church to which her worthy husband belonged. She was born in Massachusetts, and when a girl came to this county, where, previous to her marriage, she was engaged in teaching school. She reared five children, as follows: Mrs. Julia Wilcox; Oliver, who was killed at Perryville, Kentucky, during the war; R. L., the sub- ject of this sketch; Joseph, deceased; and Mrs. Nettie Silsby.

R. L. Brewster attended the district schools and academy of his native township, and also went to school at Austinburg, Ashtabula county. He has been engaged in agricultu- ral pursuits all his life, having started out for himself when he was twenty-one. He is now the owner of 100 acres, all improved land and devoted to general farming and stock-raising.

Mr. Brewster was married August 24, 1881, to Sarah C. Williams, of Oberlin, Ohio. Their two children are John W. and Ethel M.

Mr. and Mrs. Brewster are members of the Congregational Church and are active work- ers in the same, he having served as Deacon for the last ten years, and she being a Sun- day-school teacher. Mr. Brewster is also an earnest temperance worker. Politically, he

is a Republican. He has served his district most efficiently as School Director. Broad and progressive in his views, active and earn- est in his efforts to promote the best interests of his community, he has the respect and es- teem of all who know him.

A STRAUSS .- One very important element of foreign population in the United States is the Hungarian, which forms a large percentage of the work- ingmen in shipping and mining districts, and contributes materially to the development of the country. A worthy representative of this class is found in the subject of this sketch.

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 103

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1094