Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 125

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 125
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 125
USA > Ohio > Lake County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 125

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).

At the time of the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, he was elected Captain of a com- pany of young men organized to assist slaves to escape to Canada, and he can narrate many interesting and thrilling experiences of those days of the "underground railway," and re- joices in the equal rights accorded all men irrespective of color. Much more might be written of his good and generous deeds; his doors are always open to the weary wayfarer and a generous hospitality is dispensed to all under the roof. May prosperity continue to attend him and the peace of God abide in his heart.

AMES M. FIFIELD, a retired farmer and stock dealer, was born in Conneaut, Ohio, March 23, 1823, a son of Colonel Edward and Sallie (Bean) Fifield, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of Lower Canada. The former moved to Wheelock, Vermont, when a boy, where he was engaged in trading in lands and valnables. He after- ward removed to Pennsylvania, remaining one year at Cold Station, and in 1815 came to Ohio. Mr. Fifield first settled at Salem Corners, now Conneaut (the latter appella- tion being an Indian name meaning many fish), where he was employed as a trader.

Colonel and Mrs. Fifield had eleven chil- dren, of whom our subject is the tenth in the order of birth, and the only one now living, viz .: Greenleif, born October 27, 1800, was one of the noted physicians in this part of Ohio, and his death occurred June 27, 1859. He married Laura Kellogg, and they had one son and three daughters. The son, Amos K., also a physician, died in April, 1893. Ruth, the next in order of birth, was first married to Hollis Abbott, who died three years later, and she then became the wife of George Morton. They had seven children. Han- nah, born December 26, 1806, married Aaron Whitney, and died March 5, 1845. Her hus- band and four children are also now deceased. Benjamin F., born July 7, 1809, married Harriet Cole, and they had three children. He died May 26, 1866. Mary, born Decem- ber 21, 1811, married George Morton, and died October 17, 1831. William H. H., born February 15, 1814, died December 9, 1849. He married Abbie Jane Niles, and they had two children. Sarah, born Janu- ary 12, 1815, married Samuel Slemmer, of Fort Sumter notoriety, and died July 19, 1871. Emily, born November 16, 1817, died in November, 1891. She was the wife of James Oliver, and they had three sons and two daughters. Harriet Eliza, born October 22, 1820, married Brewster Randal, and died May 25, 1877. They had four sons and two daughters: James M., our subject; Almira, born July 25, 1832, died March 25, 1852. The father, born December 21, 1775, died died October 17, 1836, and his wife, born August 22, 1782, died April 23, 1863. The former was a Colonel in the war of 1812.

Jatues M. Fifield, the subject of this sketch, was born, reared and educated in Conneaut, and is now the oldest resident citizen in Con- neaut township. He has held many minor

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offices, but has never been a seeker of public honor. January 31, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Mavia E. Gibson, a native of Conneaut, and a daughter of Thomas and Lucretia (Farnham) Gibson, who were born, raised and married in Connecticut. The father was born January 6, 1800, a son of James and Elizabeth Gibson. Thomas Gib- son came to Ohio in 1830, where, in company with his brother-in-law, he owned a gristmill in Conneaut. The mill is still known as the Farnham Mills. He was elected to the posi- tion of Trustee in 1842, and held that office fourteen years. The mother of Mrs. Fifield was a daughter of Abigail Hampton Farn- ham. Mr. and Mrs. Gibson had six children, namely: Charles, a farmer of Conneaut town- ship, married Loanda Moon, and at his death left a widow and seven children; Mary, de- ceased, was the wife of Dr. Raymond, and the latter had two children by a former marriage; Mavia E., wife of our subject: Julia, wife of George Brown, of Kansas, and they have one child, Alice; John, deceased in 1893, mar- ried Roxie Burrington, and they had two children, Raymond and Catherine; and Thomas, a farmer of Conneaut, married Mary Clark, and they have five children living, Mr. and Mrs. Fifield have had six children, as fol . lows: Henry H., born November 25, 1849, was a civil engineer by occupation. He was married April 19, 1877, to Mattie Hammond, of Berlin Heights, Erie county, Ohio, who died in 1885, at the age of thirty-six years; Clara Agnes, who was married November 7, 1871, to Charles L. Cheney, and the latter died in 1886; Lillian J., who was married April 1, 1881, to Frederick E. Garey, of Lud- ington, Michigan, and they have two child- ren, Agnes C. and Margueritta; Benjamin F. married Ida K. Kennon, and they reside at East Conneant. They have one child, Isa-

bel; Catherine H. married N. P. Phister, a graduate of West Point, and a Lieutenant in regular army; they have two danghters, Bell Duke and Catherine H .; James M., the youngest in order of birth, resides in Mich- igan.

AMES E. CHAMBERS, editor of the Daily and Weekly Journals of Paines- ville, Ohio, a well-known and highly respected citizen, was born in this city, October 24, 1848. He comes of sturdy Scotch ancestry, his grandfather, James Chambers, having emigrated to this country in the early part of the nineteenth century. The latter was a brother of William C. Cham- bers, of Edinburgh, Scotland, the publisher of Chambers' Encyclopedia, a man widely and favorably known for his erudition and energy of character. James Chambers set- tled on a farm in western New York, near Buffalo, and, there passed his life, dying at an advanced age. His son, William C. Cham- bers, Jr., father of the subject of this sketch, was rearel on the home farm and attended the schools of the vicinity. He later studied law and was admitted to the bar in Buffalo. About 1845, he emigrated to Painesville, Ohio, where he resided at intervals until his death here in 1979. Ile speculated largely in various commodities and dealt consider- ably in real-estate, and was a man of much ability and enterprise. He was married in Ohio to Ann Beard, a native of Black Rock, New York, and a descendant of a distin- guished New England family. She now resides with the subject of this sketch in Painesville. Her parents removed from Buffalo, New York, to Painesville, Ohio, at a very early day, settling amidst the woods of that new and undeveloped country. The

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Beard family is especially notable in art cir- cles, Joseph H. and William H. Beard hav- ing been famous painters. The former, born in Buffalo, was a son of Joseph Beard, a ship master who commanded the first brig that plied Lake Erie. His wife was the first white woman to visit the present site of Chicago. Joseph H. grew to manhood in Painesville, and, of adventurous disposition, left home at eighteen and experienced many hardships. He is now a resident of Flush- ing, Long Island, which has been his home for several years. He has a studio in New York city and among some of his celebrated paintings is the streets of New York, which he sold for $3,000. William H. Beard was born in Painesville, April 13, 1825, and is now a resident of New York city and is famous for his caricatures of the vanities and foibles of men through the portraits of their prototypes in an illustrated periodical.

Mr. Chambers of this notice was the only child and was about three years of age when his parents removed from Painesville to New York city, where he resided several years. He received his preliminary education in the common schools, after which he entered Michigan University, at the age of fifteen, where he remained two years. He subse- quently spent a short time at Harvard Uni- versity, after which he returned to Paines- ville and studied law, ultimately being admitted to the bar in that city and also to that of the Supreme Court. He practiced law but a short time when it became dis- tasteful to him and he abandoned it. He was then elected Deputy Clerk of Lake county, in which capacity he served efficiently two years, and was subsequently associated in business with his father at East Saginaw, Michigan. Having always experienced a fondness for journalism, he later secured a

position as reporter on the New York Sun and afterward on the Herald of the same city, also doing literary work on other East- ern papers. He later did special work on the Toledo Blade and was afterward on the edit- orial staff of the Times and Chronicle in Cincinnati. He also traveled throughout the South and West, doing special newspaper work. In 1871, he came to Painesville and established the Northern Ohio Journal, which he has since successfully and profit- ably conducted. In 1892, he began to issue a daily paper in connection with his weekly sheet, which has also proved a success under his able management.

In 1881, Mr. Chambers was married to Miss Kate Leclair, of New York city, an educated and accomplished lady. Her father, Thomas Leclair, was born in Oswego, New York, March 11, 1818, and developed an instinct for portrait-painting at the age of nine years. He afterward opened a studio in New York city, which he conducted for a number of years, developing into a famous painter. He originated and developed the Free Art Academy in Buffalo, New York, which has been of untold benefit in dissemi- nating artistic knowledge among the people. Portrait painting was Mr. Leclair's specialty, in which he attained a high degree of per- fection and secured an enviable reputation. Many men of national repute have sat before him for their portraits, and his handiwork is now perpetuated on many walls. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers have one child, Zaida.

In politics, Mr. Chambers has always advo- cated the principles of the Democratic party, for which he has done yeoman service in his newspaper writings and publications. He is amply fitted for a political leader, or indeed for prominence in any honorable capacity, combining with quick intuitions an ener-

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

getic disposition and forcible will, a wide knowledge of the literature of all the coun- tries. He speaks French, German and Span- ish fluently, has a library of 3,000 volumes of choice publications, not for ornament but for careful research and daily use, and is amply qualified by intellectual and moral worth to fill an honorable position in any community or society.

H ENRY HULBERT has been closely connected with the progress and de- velopment of Thompson township since early times, and is entitled to the space accorded him in this history of Geauga county. He was born here September 10, 1814, a son of Seth Hulbert of Connecticut. His grandfather, Seth Hulbert, Sr., emigrated to Ohio in 1808, and died near Painesville soon after coming to the State. The father of Henry Hulbert located in Thompson town- ship, Geauga county, selecting a home in the dense forest where the hand of man had not been laid to interrupt the course of nature. Indians were numerous, and wild game abounded. Being a good marksman he brought home much game, and often found wild honey, which was one of the luxuries of the table. In the war of 1812, he went as a minute-man to Fairport. He was Justice of the Peace for many years and filled other local offices. He died at the age of fifty-three years. His wife's maiden name was Theo- dosia Bartlett, and she lived to the age of eighty-one years. They reared a family of eight children, Henry being the second-born. He first saw the light of day overshadowed by the forest primeval, and during his babyhood the howling of wolves was often his lullaby. He gained an education in the little schools that were taught in the neighborhood at the

homes of the settlers, and also later ou in the log schoolhouses. At the age of fifteen he laid aside his books and took the implements of agriculture; as early as the age of twelve he swung a scythe in clover by the side of grown men. He worked at the carpenter's trade, too, during his youth, and assisted in building the bridge over the river at Paines- ville. He followed this vocation in Williams county, Ohio, and cleared fifty acres of land while there.

He was married November 8, 1836, to Martha Warren, who was born in Champaign county, Ohio. Soon after this event he moved into a log house on his present farm, which he cleared and improved. He was prosperous and eight years later was able to build a more modern structure, which he still occupies. He set out fruit as soon as he could get the land in proper condition, plant- ing the first tame grapes in the township. He has been one of the most extensive fruit- growers in the county for many years, and has done much to promote this most important branch of agriculture. Mr. and Mrs. Hulbert are the parents of seven children: George, David, Charles, Jane, Rufus, James and Janette, all living but David, who died when about a year old.

Having always the courage of his convic- tions Mr. Hulbert has been independent in his political views, and has cast his vote rather for the man than for the party. He was Trustee of the township four years, serving with credit to himself and the satis- faction of the public. He has never sought official position, but prefers the management of his private business. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company of Thompson, and was treasurer four years. He now owns seventy acres of fine land, having given land to his sons to aid

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them in making a start in life. Mr. and Mrs. Hulbert have traveled life's pathway together fifty-seven years, meeting and over- coming obstacles by the support of each other's affection and bearing the burdens and trials with bravery and fortitude.

Mr. Hulbert's mother when a young wo- man had an adventure in Lake county quite thrilling enough to be recorded: She was going home on horseback from Painesville, when she became bewildered and lost her way in the forest; unable to find the path she passed the night in the woods near a large tree; the wolves howled near her and she ex- pected to be torn in pieces and devoured be- fore the dawn of another day. Desiring to leave some trace of the way she had taken and to give a clue to her end, she hung her bonnet in the tree; fortunately, however, she escaped with her life. Mr. Hulbert belongs to the Spiritual Church and has contributed liberally to its progress.

A GRANDE COLE, a prosperous farmer and influential citizen of Say- brook township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, residing just outside of the corpor- ation limits of the city of Ashtabula, is a descendant of probably the third family to settle in Trumbull township, this county. He is of English descent, his grandfather, Reuben Cole, having been born in the mother country, whence he emigrated to America at an early day. He settled on land in Orange county, New York, where he passed the remainder of his days and whence his family emigrated to the frontier of Ohio. He married Eliza King, also a native of the " tight little isle," a woman of superior intelligence and worth of character, and they

had five children: Herman, father of Ina Cole, a large stock drover and a circus man; John; a daughter who married a Mr. Knox; also one who married Leisure Baldwin, a banker; and Charles, father of the subject of this sketch. Charles Cole found his way into Ohio in the first quarter of the present century. His first stop in Ashtabula county was for three weeks in Harpersfield town- ship, at Skellinger's mill, where he had some acquaintances. It was while here that some one suggested that, since winged game was so plentiful, he ought to take a duck hunt before returning to New York, as he then fully intended to do. Acting on this suggestion, he procured a boat, which was the favorite method of hunting ducks, and launched his little craft, being previously warned not to venture too near the dam in the river. In floating down for his game, however, he became so interested in his sport that the imminence of his danger completely escaped him and before he noticed his pre- dicament, he had very near come to grief. In attempting to change his course, he be- came entangled in some drift wood and his boat became unmanageable and moved to- ward the dam with the increasing current. Realizing the uselessness of remaining in his boat, his eye sought a place to leap and discovered an old tree lodged on the brink of the stream. He made one desperate effort to throw his arms about it and succeeded in his attempt and climbed up above the torrent, from which place he was soon rescued by his friends. Thus initiated, Mr. Cole's stay was lengthened beyond his original intention, and finally terminated only with his life. He eventually engaged in farming, later em- barked in stock dealing, buying and driving stock, East being the first person to drive a herd from Ashtabula county into New York

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

city. He also conducted an extensive dairy business, marketing his product with Clark & Bingham of Boston. His energy was re- warded with success and on his death, about 1881, he left a large and valuable estate to his family. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Hannah Merwin, from Peeks- kill, New York, who had six children; La Grande, whose name heads this sketch; Eliza, who married Lawson Andrews and later died; Pruilla, who married Porter Dibble; Granville, a prominent attorney of Kansas City, Kansas; Charles, a farmer; and Maria, wife of Myron McIntosh.

The subject of this sketch was born in Trumbull township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, June 28, 1826, where he was reared and edu- cated, receiving excellent practical business training under the direction of his father. He early engaged in farming and when about twenty-two years of age traded his Trumbull township farm for a tract of eighty-four acres, where he now resides. He lived under the parental roof until twenty-eight years of age, when he was married and removed to his present place. His wife owns 116 acres adjoining this farm, which together makes a large and valuable tract, particularly valuable because it adjoins the city limits. This prop- erty has been greatly improved under the careful supervision of Mr. Cole, until it is now one of the show places of the county, being admirably fitted for the purposes for which it is used. For the last fifteen years, Mr. Cole has been in the milk business, his wagon being one of the most familiar land- marks in the place. His energy and industry have been rewarded with prosperity, and he is numbered among the most substantial men of his county.

In 1854, Mr. Cole was married to Miss Rebecca Fremont, a worthy lady, daughter

of Austin Fremont, a prominent and re- spected citizen of Ashtabula county. She was one of seven children: James, Amos, Rebecca, Henry, Delia, Fayette and Sarah. Mr. and Mrs. Cole have had five children : Earnest, deceased; Ray; Fred; Georgia, wife of Thomas Hall; and Flora.

Aside from his connection with one of the most distinguished families in the county, Mr. Cole. has qualities which would have gained for him success and esteem in any part of the country, and justly deserves the good wishes of all right-minded men.

R UFUS L. RHODES, one of the repre- sentative pioneers of Montville town- ship, Geauga county, Ohio, was born at Westhampton, Massachusetts, Au- gust 20, 1810, a son of Samuel Rhodes, a na- tive of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and a de- scendant of an old New England family. The father emigrated to Ohio in 1833, and passed · the remainder of his days in Montville town- ship, at the home of his son Rufus; he died at the age of ninety years: his wife whose maiden name was Lyman, was a native of Massachu- setts; she died at the age of sixty-two years, the mother of four sons and two daughters, Rufus L, and Sidney being the only surviv- ing ones. Rufus L. Rhodes attended school during the winter season, and in the summer worked on his father's farm. He was at one time employed in a woolen factory, receiving $120 a year as a salary. He determined to come West, and in 1832 he set out on the journey, walking to Albany, New York, and thence by canal to Buffalo, and on by boat to Fairport. He bought fifty acres of land on which he still resides; it was an unbroken wilderness, and wild game was plentiful. He

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

went to work with a will, and as his means increased he invested in additional land until he had acquired 1,000 acres.

He was united in marriage in 1836, to Eliza- beth Clark of Vermont, who had been brought to the West by her parents when a child of four years. Mrs. Rhodes died in 1886, leaving a family of five children: Eliza- beth, wife of Rev. S. L. Wilkins, has one son ; Leander is married and has five children; Sarah and Charles died in infancy; Chauncy G. is married and has one child; Ida is the wife of Wayland Clark, and they have four children; Clark A. is married and lives on a farm adjoining his father: he has three chil- dren.

Mr. Rhodes was married a second time, in 1886, espousing Margaret J. (McGill) Hurry, whose parents emigrated to Ohio in pioneer days; she was first married to An- drew J. Hurry, a native of Pennsylvania who died in 1882. Mr. Rhodes votes with the Republican party, and has been Trustee of his township, serving with excellent satisfac- tion. He has divided his land among his children, retaining only about 200 acres. He has lived in Montville sixty years, and has witnessed the changes that have come with the onward flow of emigration. Although he started at the bottom of the ladder he has at- tained a position of financial independence.

W ILLIAM W. FORSHEY, one of Geauga county's most respected citi- zens, is a native of Indiana, born Oc- tober 3, 1840, a son of John and Susan (Abby) Forshey, natives of Ohio and New York respectively. The paternal grandfather of our subject emigrated from France to

America. John Forshey was a pioneer of Indiana, but removed in 1846 to Kalamazoo county, Michigan, where he has since resided. He and his wife have reared a family of eleven children, eight of whom survive. William W. is the sixth born. At the age of twenty years he left the protection of the parental roof, and went out in the world to seek his fortune. He was employed in Bureau county, Illinois, when the great Civil war broke out between the North and South. He was not slow to respond to the call for men in the nation's peril, and in October, 1861, en- listed at Princeton, in Company K, Ninth Illinois Cavalry, under Colonel A. G. Bracket, in Wilson's Cavalry Corps. He served three years and two months, and during that period witnessed all the horrors of warfare. He was through Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and participated in some of the most noted engagements of the war: among them, Pea Ridge, two battles at Gun- town, Helena, those at Aberdeen, Corinth, Holly Springs, Grand Junction, La Grange, and Franklin, Tennessee (the last being the bardest-fought battle for the number engaged that occurred during the war), and last, Nash- ville, Tennessee. He was never captured, or wounded except by accident when preparing for battle; he had tive bullet holes through his hat in one day, and several times had holes shot through his clothing. In 1862, while at Helena, Arkansas, he was taken sick and was sent to the hospital at Keokuk, Iowa, where he remained about two months. He received an orderly's commission and while carrying dispatches had two horses shot from under him. He carried a large amount of mail through a hostile country and had hounds set upon him, but always escaped injury. He was mustered out at Nashville, December 15, 1864.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

After the war was ended he engaged in the more peaceful pursuit of farming, and tilled the soil in Michigan for a year. In the fall of 1865, he came to Geauga county, and settled in Newbury township, where he lived five years; he then removed to Montville township where he purchased a partly im- proved farm and where he has since made his home.

Mr. Forshey was united in marriage Decem- ber 21, 1865, to Urilla, daughter of George and Mary (St. John) Morton, a native of Indiana. They are the parents of two children: Mary and Belle, both are well educated and accom- plished young ladies and have been success- ful teachers. Mary was married to William H. Radcliffe and is the mother of one child, Neva. Mr. Forshey is a Republican in poli- tics, has represented the people of the town- ship as Trustee, and has been an efficient member of the Board of Education for twelve years. He is a member of the I. N. Leggett Post, No. 336, G. A. R., is a pensioner, and belongs to the Grange. He has 117 acres of land in a high state of cultivation, has estab- lished a good dairy, and takes rank with the leading agriculturists of the county. He has an attractive, comfortable home, enjoying the society of his interesting family, and the es- teem of the community.

M L. DAVIS, news reporter on the Ashtabula Daily Standard, was born in Cortland county, New York, April 14, 1842, a son of Julius and Matilda (Van Denschoten) Davis, who were born, reared and married in that State. The father was engaged in farming until 1860, and in that year began operating in oil, having been one of the first men to engage in that busi-

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 125

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