Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 20

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 20
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 20
USA > Ohio > Lake County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 20

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Mr. Fredericks' life has been characterized

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by industry and the strictest integrity. His honest toil has been rewarded with success. To-day he is in confortable circumstances and owns valuable property in Conneaut. He has long been a Democrat, taking, however, little interest in politics now. He is a member of the blue lodge, chapter, council and com- mandery of Conneant, of the Alcoran Temple and of the Scottish Rite, having taken the thirty-second degree, at Cleveland. In all these organizations he has held official positions. He is one of the members of Cache Com- mandery.

H ENRY C. McKELVEY, engineer on the Nickel Plate Railroad, Conneaut, Ohio, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, fourteen miles from Johnstown, September 17, 1858, son of Ephraim W. and Sarah C. (Croft) McKelvey.

Ephraim W. MeKelvey was born in Ire- land, being of Scotch-Irish descent. He was a general contractor; took the contract for and built a part of the Pennsylvania Rail- road. A man of marked business ability, he succeeded in whatever he undertook. For many years he was engaged in the general merchandise business and at the same time was in the employ of the Adams Express Com- pany. His death was the result of an acci- dent. While riding on the express wagon a box fell off, causing him to fall at the same time. He sustained injuries to his head, from the effects of which he died about three hours afterward. This was August 9, 1865, he being fifty-two years of age. He was a Presbyterian, of which church his widow is also a member. She is now sixty-three years of age and resides at Pittsburg. Her parents were John and Barbara (Herr) Croft. John

Croft was an English soldier in the war of 1812, and after the war returned to England and remained there several years. Coming back to America, he settled near Herr's Island. He was a merchant, and while transporting goods with teams was hurt by an accident from which he died some time later. Herr's Island, between Allegheny and Pittsburgh, in the Allegheny river, is a part of the Herr estate, which amounted (before the division previous to the war) to 2,000 acres. This island has lost one-third its area by the action of the water. Here the Herr family were engaged in raising fruit and vegetables. John Croft and his wife had four sons and two daughters, only two of whom, Mrs. McKelvey and her brother David, both of Pittsburgh, are now living. Mrs. Croft died in 1874, aged seventy-eight years. Ephraim W. McKelvey and his wife had six children, namely: William, who married Kate Gettemy, is a resident of Wilk- insburg, and has been running a locomo- tive on the Pennsylvania Railroad for nearly thirty-five years; Lewis died July 30, 1871, aged twenty years; Martha, wife of James B. Anderson, of Wilkinsburg, has three chil- dren,-Florence, Lewis and Mary; Henry C., the subject of this sketch; Francis M., who married Ida McCormic, is an attorney of Pittsburg; Edward Wallace, Pittsburg, married Hattie Lindsey, and has three chil- dren, Mark, Blair and Marguerita.

Henry C. McKelvey started out to carve his fortune at the age of fourteen years, and for one year was employed in the sheet-iron department of the boiler works. Then for over a year he was messenger boy for the Western Union Telegraph Company. After that he served a two-years apprenticeship to the trade of making ladies' straw and felt hats. The close confinement incidental to

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that business did not agree with his health, so in 1876 he entered upon a railroad career, beginning as fireman on the Pennsylvania Railroad. He served as fireman from Septem- ber, 1876, until March, 1878, on the Pennsyl- vania Road; was fireman on the Pan Handle from December, 1878, until May, 1880, when he was promoted to a position as engin- eer; engineer on the Baltimore & Ohio four months; engineer on the Pittsburg & Lake Erie one year; engineer on the Pitts- burg & Western and the Pittsburg, C. & T. Railroad from 1883 until March, 1886. From March, 1886, until January, 1887, he was employed as assistant engineer in the Cartwright, McCurdy & Co. rolling mills, Youngstown, Ohio. Since February 9, 1887, he has been engineer on the Nickel Plate. He has never had an accident that cost the company anything as the result of his fault, nor an accident in which any per- son lost limb or life. His changes were all for increase of wages or improvement of condition.

Mr. McKelvey was married August 25, 1888, to Miss Ida Dill, daughter of Charles L. and Mary J. (Blake) Dill, of Youngstown, Ohio. Her mother is now a resident of Con- neaut. Mr. and Mrs. McKelvey have three children: Francis Marion, Raymond Dill and Olive Irene.

He is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and in politics is a Republican. Like many of the Brotherhood, he has a comfortable and happy home.

E T. C. ALDRICH, who is engaged in the insurance business at Mentor, Ohio, resides at his attractive coun- try home, "Eastside," which adjoins the

General Garfield homestead, "Lawn Field," on the east.

Mr. Aldrich comes of an old New Eng- land family, and of his life and ancestry we make record as follows:

E. T. C. Aldrich was born in Franklin, Tompkins county, New York, November 18, 1827, son of William S. Aldrich, who was born in Providence, Rhode Island, October 3, 1803, and grandson of Tilson Aldrich, a native of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and a son of a Revolutionary soldier who fought at Bunker Hill. Tilson Aldrich went to Tomp- kins county, New York, in 1816, where he was engaged in work at his trade, that of tanner and currier and cotton manufacturer. In the spring of 1835 he moved with his son William S. to Ellery, Chautauqua county, that State, where he followed farming the rest of his life. He died in February, 1858. He was a Quaker.

William S. Aldrich, a farmer by occupa- tion, moved from Chautauqua county, New York, to Mentor, Ohio, in the spring of 1866, and here he spent the remaining years of his life and died October 30, 1876. While a resident of Dryden, New York, he was captain of a battery for several years, receiv- ing his commission in 1828. He also served as Township Supervisor for a number of years, and was well known and highly re- spected. His wife, whose maiden name was Maria C. Cantine, was born in Tompkins county, New York, September 27, 1804, and died February 5, 1892. Her father was born in New York and her mother was a native of France. William S. Aldrich and his wife had a family of one son and two daughters, the subject of our sketch being the oldest.

E. T. C. Aldrich was born and reared on his father's farm, and in early manhood was engaged in teaching for seven years -- teach-

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ing one school five years. He remained on the home place with his father, assisting in the management of the farming operations until his father's death. He still owns the homestead, which comprises 147 acres, and which, as already stated, joins the Garfield place on the east. He has a general super- vision over the operations of the farm, and at the same time conducts an insurance busi- ness in Mentor, representing two companies, the Phoenix and the Dwelling House of Boston.

Mr. Aldrich was married May 29, 1851, to Emily Fisher, who was born in Chautau- qua county, New York, July 19, 1829. Her parents, Josiah and Caroline (Clark) Fisher, both natives of Vermont, emigrated to New York prior to their marriage. Her father was a carpenter. He was married a second time, and in 1853 went to Wisconsin, where he spent the closing years of his life and where he died. Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich's children are as follows: Frank W., born Feb- ruary 8, 1853, was married in 1881 to Lena G. Taft; William F., born September 29, 1857, is now a resident of North Dakota, engaged in the insurance business; and Mary C., who was married August 29, 1890, to E. D. Barber, who is engaged in the insurance business at Wahpeton, North Dakota. Each has received a good education, and Mrs. Bar- ber was a teacher in Mentor for five years previous to ber marriage.

Politically, Mr. Aldrich is a Republican. Hle has served as Trustee, member of the Town Council and Mayor of Mentor, and for seventeen years was a member of the school board. He was a member of the Republican Congressional Convention of the `old nine- teenth district for eight years, and during that time became well acquainted with Gen- eral Garfield. That was before Garfield

moved to Mentor, four year previous to his election as president, and after his removal here Mr. Aldrich became intimately associ- ated with the General, enjoying his confi- dence and friendship. During the memor- able campaign of 1880 Mr. Aldrich assisted in entertaining the thousands who came to see General Garfield, singly and in delega- tion, and had the pleasure of introducing many distinguished men to him. Mrs. Al- drich is a Methodist.

B ENJAMIN H. WOODMAN, senior member of the well-known lumber firm of Woodman & Son, Painesville, Ohio, a progressive business man and esti- mable citizen, was born in New London, New Hampshire, November 16, 1827. His parents, Captain Benjamin E. and Mary (Train) Woodman, were both natives of New Hampshire and descended from old and re- spected families of New England. The fa. ther followed various pursuits throughout his life, gaining by his uniform industry and uprightness the highest regard of his fellow men. He received his military title from having been commander of a company of militia in his native State. The mother was a typical New England woman, possessing all the thrift for which people of that vicinity are noted. This worthy couple, in company with their children, removed from New Hamp- shire to Painesville, Ohio, in 1830. They settled on new and unimproved land in the woods near the city, cultivated the land and improved it with good buildings, making of it a comfortable home and valuable piece of property. Here the parents resided in peace and plenty until their death, the father dying in 1854, at the age of sixty-three years, and

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the devoted mother in 1873. Three of their four children are now living, all of whom fill honorable positions in business and society.

The subject of this sketch was the young- est child and was but three years of age when his parents cast their fortunes in Ohio. He was reared on the home farm near Painesville and attended the district schools in those days held in log houses. He remained at home assisting in farm work until 1845, when he secured a position before the mast on a schooner plying the lakes, and for about five years followed this calling, experiencing all the perils and hardships of lake naviga- tion. He visited in this manner all the prin- cipal ports between Buffalo and Chicago, and has many reminiscences of these early days when Chicago had not yet dreamed of her present greatness. At the end of this time, Mr. Woodman returned to Painesville, where he accepted a position in a machine shop, and acquired, in the six years he stayed there, an excellent knowledge of practical engineering and mechanics. He then, in 1858, again re- turned to his first love, the lake, this time as assistant engineer on a steamer, and before the year had elapsed was promoted to the po- sition of head engineer, in which capacity he served about seven years. At the end of this time, in 1866, he and a brother-in-law pur- chased a stock of lumber and established a yard in Painesville. They successfully con- tinued the enterprise until 1884, when Mr. Woodman's only son became a member of the firm, the other gentleman retiring, from which time the firm has been known as B. H. Woodman & Son. They have a well- stocked yard near the Lake Shore Railroad tracks and enjoy a large and lucrative trade, their prosperity being entirely due to the en- ergetic and upright manner in which their business is conducted.

Mr. Woodman, of this notice, has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Mary Taft, an estimable lady, a native of Paines- ville and daughter of Amasa and Ilannah Taft, early pioneers of this city. By this marriage there was one son, who is now as- sociated with the father in business in Paines- ville. After the death of the worthy wife and devoted mother, Mr. Woodman was married, in 1880, to Mrs. Jennie M. Jewell, a highly respected lady and a native of New York.

In politics, Mr. Woodman is a Republican, and has served his fellow citizens as a mem- ber of the City Council, bringing to that position all the business energy and integrity for which he is famous. He has been an active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for forty years.

Few men are more thoroughly conversant with the early development of the country generally than the subject of this sketch, who has caught wild turkeys within the corporate limits of Painesville, and who has taken a prominent part in insuring the substantial growth of the city.

D WIGHT L. CROSBY. The subject of this sketch descended from a long line of hardy New England ancestors, inherits their best qualities of mind and heart.

His grandfather, Elijah Crosby, was one of those pathfinders who blazed a way into the Western wilds of Ohio, and started those arts of peace which have culminated in her present prosperity. He was the first of his family to arrive in Ashtabula county, the date of his coming being August 2, 1806, and was one of the earliest pioneer settlers of that county, taking up his abode on a claim of wild land in Rome township. He was born in Connecticut of early New England ances-

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tors who came from England to Massachusetts in 1635, their descendants being now very numerous and scattered all over the Union. Elijah Crosby married Phoebe Church, also a native of Connecticut, and they had seven sons and five daughters. (For mention of each of the children, see Williams' History of Ashtabula County, Ohio, published in 1878.)

Levi Crosby, a son of Elijah and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in East Haddam, Middlesex county, Connecticut, April 2, 1803. He was married in 1832 to Miss Sarah Leonard, a native of War- ren, Herkimer county, New York, and they had four children: Giles H., Dwight L., Maria J. and Jane E., all of whom are liv- ing in 1893. Levi Crosby was for many years successfully engaged in the mercan- tile and produce business, and at the same time cultivated a large farm in Rome town- ship, Ashtabula county, where he died in 1883, to the great sorrow of a large circle of friends.

His son, the subject of this sketch, was born on the home farm in Rome township, November 21, 1836. He remained on the farm until eighteen years of age, and received his education in the public schools of his vi- cinity and at the Grand River Institute, in Austinburg, Ohio. At the age of eighteen, he went to Rock Creek as a clerk in a mer- cantile business, owned by his father and a partner, where he remained about sixteen years. He was elected County Treasurer in October, 1873, serving in that capacity one term of two years, when, in 1875, he was re- elected for another term of the same length of time. On the expiration of his second term of office, he became Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank of Jefferson, which po- sition he still retains, to his own credit and the satisfaction of all concerned.

In 1864, Mr. Crosby was married to Miss Augusta M. Bond, a native of Morgan town- ship, Ohio, and daughter of Frederick M. Bond, a well known and worthy citizen. They have had two children: a son, deceased; and a daughter, Caspie F.

Fraternally, Mr. Crosby is a Knight Tem- plar Mason, and a member of the Knights of Pythias. In politics, he is a Republican.

In domestic, business and public life, Mr. Crosby has ever been the same honorable, energetic and capable gentleman, and richly deserves the prosperity which he enjoys.

E DWIN E. JONES, a prominent miller and one of the most enterprising, pro- gressive business men of Jefferson, Ohio, was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, June 14, 1841. His parents, Annias and Ruth (Palmn- er) Jones, were both natives of Charlotte, Ver- mont, in which place the mother was born in 1801, and where they were reared and mar- ried. Their ancestors were early settlers of New England States, with the affairs of which they were actively identified. The mother of the subject of this sketch witnessed the mem- orable battle of Lake Champlain, on which so much depended in the struggling history of the American colonies. About 1834, the parents removed from the Green Mountain State to Pennsylvania, when, in 1845, they removed to Ohio, settling near Conneaut, in Ashtabula county, where the father was en- gaged in farming for many years. He after- ward went West to prosecute business, and was there taken sick and died. The mother died in Ashtabula county, lamented by a large circle of friends. They were the parents of five children, of whom three, all sons, now survive.

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The subject of this sketch was reared in Conneaut, Ohio, where he received a common- school education. At about the age of twelve years he entered the employ of his brother, a successful liveryman and stage proprietor, with whom he remained until he was about twenty years of age. Mr. Jones, of this no- tice, then took charge of a hotel at Union Mills, Pennsylvania, which his brother had bought, and in which city his brother con- ducted a stage line. In 1865, the brothers went to Erie, Pennsylvania, where they pur- chased a flouring mill, which they success- fully operated six years. The subject of this sketch then went to Kansas, and there entered the stock business, which he profitably con- tinued five years. He then returned to Ash- tabula county and entered the employ of Bailey, Paine & Weatherston, successful mill- ers of Jefferson. Subsequently, Mr. Jones bought out the interest of Mr. Weatherston in the business, and afterward other changes took place in the firm, until, in 1878, Mr. Jones became sole proprietor of the plant, which he has since successfully operated. This mill has a capacity of seventy-five barrels a day, is supplied with all the latest improve- ments and turns out an excellent grade of flour, which finds a ready market at profit- able rates. This prosperity is due to the care- ful and efficient management of Mr. Jones, who adds to his thorough knowledge of the business, indomitable perseverance and indus- try, a combination capable of accomplishing wonders.

October 30, 1868, Mr. Jones was mar- ried to Emily Blinn, daughter of Rev. T. D. Blinn, who died leaving one son, Elmo B. In 1885, Mr. Jones married Helen Deveraux, and they have one child, Ruth.

Of thorough integrity, public-spirited, lib- eral-minded and progressive, Mr. Jones has

taken an active interest in the welfare of his city, and holds a high position in the regard of the community. Mr. Jones is a member of the Masonic order, Tuscan Lodge, No. 342, and the I. O. O. F., Ensign Lodge, No. 400. In politics, he is a Prohibitionist.

J IMOTHY C. STRONG, JR., a prosper- ous and influential farmer and dairy- man of Ashtabula township, Ashta- bula county, Ohio, is descended from one of the oldest and best known families in this county. His ancestors were hardy New Englanders, his grandfather, Nathan Strong, one of the earliest settlers of Ohio, having been born in Connecticut in the latter part of the eighteenth century. He was a man of unusual ability and energy, and was easily a leader in any community in which he resided. He was for many years Sheriff in his native county in New England and afterward in Trumbull county, Ohio, when it included Ashtabula county, and when Warren was the seat of government for that territory. Dur- ing the Revolutionary war, he was Quarter- master in the patriotic army, serving with efficiency and distinction. In 1808 he came West with a deed from the Connecticut Land Company for a large tract of school land, aggregating several hundred acres, situated on the town site of Ashtabula. He married Lucy Cornell, and they had nine children: Polly, Nathan, Lucy, Samuel, Jabez, Nathan- iel; Timothy, father of the subject of this sketch; Elihu and Sarah.

Timothy Strong, father of Mr. Strong of this notice, was born in Middletown, Connec- ticut, May 12, 1795, and accompanied his parents to Ohio in 1808, being then thirteen years of age. He attained his growth in

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Ashtabula county and became a successful farmer and dairyman, in which dual enter- prise he was engaged many years, when he substituted sheep culture for dairying, an occupation which he followed until the time of his death. He was an enthusiastic Demo- crat of the Jeffersonian type, and gave much thought and labor to the local organization of his party, he and a few others controlling the politics of Plymouth township. One great desire of his life was to live to see the election of a Democratic president after the war, but this he was not permitted to do. He thought he was entitled to a pension for service in the war of 1812, but when the papers were submitted to him for his signa- ture, placing him on the rolls, he could not conscientiously sign them, though many other individuals secured such recognition by sign- ing the documents without hesitation or con- scientious scruples. This is but one of many instances of his upright and honorable dis- position. He married Althea Cook, daughter of Erastus Cook, originally from New York State, and an early settler in Ohio. They had four children: Harriet P., who married A. Pattison, formerly an Indian trader, and later a wealthy merchant of Monmouth; Erastus C., deceased; Erastus, the second; and Timo- thy C., the subject of this sketch.

The last mentioned, whose name heads this notice, was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, November 20, 1837, and secured his educa- tion in the district schools. He was reared to farming, in which he has been engaged all his life, having lived on his present place for fifty-five years. In connection with general farming, he was for a number of years em- ployed in raising sheep, but later devoted his attention to the more profitable business of retailing milk. He owns 400 acres of as choice farming land as is to be found in the

county, all of which has been carefully cul- tivated and improved with buildings and all modern conveniences, until it is now one of the show places of the vicinity, and evinces plainly to all who see it that Mr. Strong is a practical and energetic farmer, with the in- dustry to do and the intelligence to guide his efforts to successful accomplishment.

January 5, 1859, Mr. Strong was married to Mary A. Willey, a lady of intelligence and refinement, daughter of Andrew Willey, whose biography immediately follows, and who was an early settler of Ashtabula county. They had five children: A. W., born October 12, 1859, married Hattie Umstead; Carrie A., born in 1863, died April 13, 1864; Lewis E., born January 15, 1866; Frank E, born De- cember 29, 1871, and Julia B., born October 13, 1874, died February 7, 1880.

In politics, Mr. Strong follows in the foot- steps of his father, although he is not quite as active a worker for Democracy as his im- mediate progenitor. Fraternally, he affiliates with the Royal Arch Masons and the Knights Templar. As a business man and citizen, he enjoys the confidence and respect of all who know him, and, with his family, is held in high social esteem.

Another old and prominent family of Ash- tabula county and closely connected with the Strong family, both by marriage and friend- ship, is that bearing the name of Willey, a family which is also from New England and of Puritan ancestry, the sterling qualities of which race they inherit in a strong degree. Charles Willey, their ancestor, was born in New Hampshire in 1742, and was an efficient soldier in the Revolutionary war, being a pensioner at the time of his death. He was a farmer, and when an hundred years old took active part in the work of the hay-field. After a useful life of remarkable longevity he died

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at the age of 107 years. He was the father of four children, of whom Andrew, previously referred to, was the youngest.

Andrew Willey, the founder of the family in Ashtabula county, was born in Notting- ham, New Hampshire, March 2, 1792, and grew to manhood in the State of his birth. At the age of twenty-four, he joined the west- ern tide of emigration and came to Ohio, set- tling in Ashtabula county. He and party came overland on horseback, and were several weeks on the way, many incidents of more than usual interest being connected with the journey. He was a blacksmith by trade, and he resumed this occupation on his arrival in Ashtabula county, in partnership with Holl Smith, Deacon Fisk and other early settlers. About 1820, Mr. Willey built, on his farm, a shop, where he followed his trade for a time, until he began teaming from Ashtabula to Pittsburg. He followed the latter occupation successfully until 1853, when the canal be- tween Cleveland and adjoining points was completed. This new channel of transporta- tion drew to itself most of the carrying trade, thus injuring his business, which he aban- doned. He then turned his attention to farm- ing, which he continued until his death. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, being held in reserve at Lundy's Lane, but was not called into active service. His colonel was ex- Senator Silley and his captain was Josiah Bartlett. In politics, he was a strong Demo- crat and participated prominently in the cause, being known throughout the county asa leader and antiring worker for the Jeffersonian party and as a Freemason. He was married January 22, 1820, to Almira Jones, who was born August 26, 1803, and was a daughter of William Jones, a well-known pioneer, whom we will mention more at length later on. They had eleven children: William J., born

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 20

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