Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 50

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 50
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 50
USA > Ohio > Lake County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 50

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June 20, 1871, Mr. Loftus was married to Miss Susan Hall, a lady of estimable char- acter, daughter of Benjamin Cook Hall, an old and honored resident of the county. She was born in Ashtabula, December 16, 1855,

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and there attained womanhood, enjoying such educational advantages as the common and high schools afforded. She was married at the age of seventeen, and has had eight chil- dren : Mary E., unmarried and at home, grad- uated as valedictorian of her class at the Jefferson Educational Institute, and began teaching at the age of seventeen, which occu- pation she still pursues; Sarah L. is now in the preparatory class of the same institution; Thomas, Bessie L., William J. and Herman M. are all at home; Katie M. and Eunice B. are deceased. All the surviving children are enjoying the best educational advantages, and give fair promise of benefiting by their opportunities. Mrs. Loftus has materially aided her husband in his struggles to pros- perity, assisting him by her unerring judg- ment, wise economy and skillful management of domestic affairs. They have together reached success, and together enjoy the frui- tion of their labors. She is a useful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which she united since coming to Jefferson.

Politically, Mr. Loftus is a Democrat, and takes a commendable interest in the issues of the day. He is not a member of any relig- ious denomination, but is a man of the high- est integrity of character and moral worth, and foremost in aiding all objects tending to advance the welfare of his community.

H ORACE SHEPARD, a highly respect- ed citizen and representative farmer

of Sheffield township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, is deserving of more than cursory mention in the history of his county.

William M. Shepard, his father, was born in Connecticut in 1803, and from there

moved to Ashtabula county, Ohio, in 1835, locating where his son, Horace, now lives. He was a self-educated man, and was by occupation a farmer and shoemaker. Politic- ally, he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. He served as Township Treas- urer and as a Justice of the Peace for a num- ber of years. A consistent member of the Baptist Church, he for many years rendered efficient service as a local minister in that denomination. William M. Shepard was a son of William Shepard, the latter having married a Miss Sanford, and both being natives of Connecticut, where they spent their lives and died. William was a son of Moses; Moses, son of Timothy; Timothy, son of John; John, son of John; and John, son of Edward. Horace Shepard's mother was before her marriage Miss Lucy Stilson. She was a native of Connecticut and a daughter of Lazarus and Bessie Stilson, also natives of that State.

William M. Shepard was twice married. In 1824 he wedded Anna Griffin, by whom he had five children, viz .: William, a resi- dent of Kingsville, Ohio; Andrew, deceased; Mary, who was the wife of Lyman Boynton, is deceased, as also is her husband; Susan, wife of a Mr. Cunningham, resides in Colum- bus, Ohio; and one child that died in infancy. In 1833 he married Miss Stilson, and they had four children, as follows: John, who died at the age of twenty-two years; Horace; George, a resident of Erie, Pennsylvania; and James, a machinist of Ashtabula, Ohio. Horace, George and James all served in the Union ranks during the Civil war.

Horace Shepard was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, in 1836. He remained with his parents while they lived, and has con- tinued to reside at the old home place ever since, with the exception of the time he

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spent in the war. He enlisted in 1862, in Company G, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Infantry, and after a service of three months was discharged on account of disability, said disability being the result of a sunstroke. He is now the recipient of a pension. Mr. Shep- ard affiliates with the Republican party. For twenty-seven years he has been Township Clerk of his native township, and served two years as Trustee. He has also served as Assistant Postmaster of North Sheffield, and as a member of the School Board. Fratern- ally, he is a Master Mason.

C HRISTOPHER C. MARCH, a pro- gressive farmer and stock-raiser of Jef- ferson township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, residing two and a half miles northeast of the attractive town of Jefferson, is a de- scendant of one of the oldest and most worthy pioneer families of his township. He was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, January 28, 1825, and is a son of James and Susan (Potter) March, the former born in Portland, Maine, in 1792, and the latter a native of New York State. The father grew to maturity in the State of his birth and enlisted at the age of twenty in the war of 1812, serving his country faithfully and well. On the close of hostilities, he learned the cooper's trade, at which he worked, in connection with farming and stock-raising. He afterward removed to Delaware township, Mercer county, Pennsyl- vania, where he worked, mostly at his trade, until 1837, when he came by wagon to Ohio. He settled on land in Jefferson township, Ashtabula county, and soon afterward bought a farm near the town of Jefferson, to which he moved and there passed the remainder of his life. His farm was in the woods and cov-

ered with timber, which he cleared away, and effected on his place good and substantial im- provements. This farm is now one of the best and most valuable in the township, and is owned by his descendants. He was politically an old-line Whig and later a Republican with strong anti-slavery opinions. A man of strictly upright principles, straight-forward and honest, he had many friends, and his death, which occurred in 1864, in his seventy- second year, was a signal for universal mourn- ing. To him and his worthy wife is due much credit for their efforts in reclaiming land from the wilderness and converting it into productive and valuable fields, thus pav- ing the way for other improvements to follow, and contributing to the general advancement of the community. The mother of the sub- ject of this sketch was a typical pioneer woman, versed in all the duties of a house- hold, brave and self-reliant. She grew to womanhood in New York, the State of her birth, and was married at the age of twenty. Of ten children, eight reached maturity, of whom six now survive. The devoted mother died at the age of eighty-six, leaving her fam- ily and many friends to mourn her loss. She was a devout member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, with which she united in girl- hood.

The subject of this sketch was the fourth child in order of birth, and was reared on the home farm in Jefferson township, attending the district schools of the vicinity. He was early inured to hard work, and by industry and economy accumulated sufficient means by the time he was twenty-six years of age, to purchase eighty acres of timbered land, which he at once began to clear. He built a house on this place and cut road-ways and made other improvements, such as the erection of ample barns and other outbuildings. His

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

home is beautifully situated with picturesque surroundings, and in every way a desirable place in which to live. He has resided here uninterruptedly ever since his settlement, and has contributed by his labor and energy to the growth and prosperity of the community.

He was married in the twenty-eighth year of his age to Miss Eliza A. Knapp, a lady of education and ability, daughter of Alexander and Lucinda (Hillman) Knapp, early settlers of Ohio. Her father was a blacksmith by trade and for many years a resident of South- ington township, Trumbull county, whence he later removed to Bloomfield township, Morrow county, and from there to Jefferson, dying in his eighty-third year, greatly la- mented by all who knew him. Mrs. March was born in Southington township, Trumbull county, in 1833, and grew to womanhood in Bloomfield. She received good educational advantages and taught school for a number of years previous to her marriage, which oc- curred when she was twenty-two. Of her seven children, five survive: Lois, wife of D. W. Griggs, a railroad man, resides at Ashta- bula Harbor; James H., a blind boy, died in his twentieth year at Columbus College, on the eve of his graduation in music, in which he was most proficient; Orphia A., wife of Alfred Coon, resides in Jefferson; Mabel O., wife of J. D. Hitchcock, resides in Jefferson ; Jesse W. married Miss Hattie Lane and lives at Ashtabula Harbor; Fred C. married Helen Martin and resides in Warren; and Hattie E. is deceased. All of the children received good educational advantages by which they have profited, and were given a fair start in life, and those surviving have comfortable homes of their own. All are useful mem- bers of business and society and reflect credit on their parents and the State of their birth.

Mr. March has taken a deep interest in

educational matters, and was one of the prime movers in securing a schoolhouse for his dis- trict. In this school may be found a com- plete set of charts, maps and globes and all other necessary furnishings of a first-class institution. He has served as School Director in his district for eighteen years, and was re- cently re-elected for a further term of two years. This endorsement is most flattering and plainly indicates the estimation in which he is held.

In politics Mr. March is a Prohibitionist and does efficient work for the cause he advo- cates. Both he and wife are useful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. March is always ready to aid any project hav - ing the advancement of his community as its object, and much of the present prosperity of his vicinity is traceable to his public- spirited efforts, for which he is entitled to great credit.

EORGE BOUEY, engineer on the Nickel Plate Railroad, Conneaut, Ohio, was born in Canada East, May 16, 1865.

His parents, John and Sarah (Scott) Bouey, were natives of Canada, of the cities of Montreal and Niagara respectively. John Bouey has been engaged in the fish business for years. He is a stonecutter by trade, at which he worked some time. He had the contract for getting out the stone for a num- ber of locks on the Black River canal, which work he carried to completion. He came to the United States in 1868, and is now a ven- erable citizen of La Salle, New York, having reached his eightieth year. While in Canada he held minor offices, and during our Civil war he enlisted in the Union cause, but it

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was about the time the war closed, and he never saw active service. He is a Roman Catholic, and his wife is a member of the Baptist Church. The subject of our sketch was the sixth born in their family of seven children, six of whom are living.

George Bouey worked on his father's farm until he was seventeen years old. Then he learned the carpenter's trade and worked at it until he was twenty-two. Next he drifted into railroad employ, and has been on the road ever since. He began in 1888 as fire- man, served as such four years, was then promoted to engineer, and is still employed in the latter position. He has made Con- neaut his home since the winter of 1887.

Mr. Bouey was married in Conneaut, June 3, 1890, to Miss Minnie Annette Loomis, the younger of the two daughters of F. A. and Jennie Loomis.

F. A. Loomis was born July 8, 1840, and for many years was an honored resident of Conneaut. His death occurred March 10, 1884. During the late war he rendered efficient service in the Union army. He enlisted August 28, 1861, in the Second Ohio Battery, as Corporal; was discharged on account of disability July 5, 1862; re-entered the army October 10, 1864, and commanded a two-gun battery until the war closed; was honorably discharged in May, 1865. At Erie, Pennsylvania, his skill at caricature gained him quite a reputation as a genius. His rare social qualities made him compan- ionable and drew around him a circle of friends wherever he went. He was a mem- ber of the G. A. R., the Knights of Labor, the Royal Templars, and the Methodist Episcopal Church. In temperance work he took an active interest. He was an entertaining and impressive speaker, and for several years traveled through Ohio, Pennsylvania and

Canada, working in the interest of the Murphy movement and the W. C. T. U., and being the means of accomplishing much good. He was married, June 28, 1862, to Miss Sarah J. Blakely, who survives him and is still a resident of Conneaut.

Mr. Boney has during his residence in Con- neaut won the respect of a large circle of acquaintances as well as of his fellow-work- men. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, belonging to the blue lodge at Niagara Falls, and the chapter, council and commandery at Conneaut. He takes little interest in politics, but votes the Republican ticket.

Mrs. Bouey is a member of the Congrega- tional Church.

C APTAIN JOHN S. ELLEN, a resi- dent of Willoughby, Lake county Ohio, was born in Devizes, England August 28, 1835, son of Henry and Hephzi- bah Ellen, both natives of England. Henry Ellen was a farmer by occupation. He was twice married and had two children by first wife and eleven by the second, John S. being the younger of the first wife's children.

The subject of our sketch had limited edu- cational advantages in his youth. However, a quick perception and retentive memory have served him well, and in the school of experience he has gained a broader range of useful information than many a man whose advantages for schooling were far superior to his.

In 1848, at the age of thirteen years, he came, in company with an older brother, to America, sailing from London and landing at New York city, after a voyage of six weeks. There he took steamer to Albany,

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thence by canal boat to Buffalo, and from there to Cleveland on a lake steamer. Reach- ing Willoughby, he made his home with an uncle for a few years. He worked at the harness trade here for five years, four years of that time being an apprentice. After that he clerked in a store for some time. In the spring of 1860 he entered a law office at Painesville, where he read law one year.

At the opening of the Civil war in the spring of 1861 he enlisted in the service of the Union, being the first man to enroll his name in Willoughby township. He was a member of General Hayes' regiment, the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and when Company I was organized he was chosen its Sergeant. Afterward he was suc- cessively promoted to Sergeant- Major, Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant and Captain. His first experience in battle was at Canifax Ferry, Virginia. In the fall of 1861 he had a severe illness which lasted six weeks. The following year he was with the forces that operated in southern Virginia and at South Mountain and Antietam. He was in west- ern Virginia in 1863, and also over in Ohio in pursuit of Morgan. In 1864 he was with Hunter on his raid on Lynchburg; was sub- sequently at Charlestown and Washington, arriving at the latter place in time to see the Federal army retreating after the second battle at Bull Run. He was then transferred to the Shenandoah valley, where he received his commission as Captain of Company E, Twenty third regiment. He participated in all the engagments of the Shenandoah valley. At the expiration of his three years' service he went home on a short furlough, and then he re-enlisted, remaining in the service until November 30, 1864, when he was honorably discharged, having made a creditable record as a soldier and an officer. During the war

he was intimately acquainted with General Hayes, and when the latter was President Cap- tain Ellen had courtesies shown him at the White House. They differed politically, but remained stanch friends until the ex-Presi- dent died.

After the war Captain Ellen engaged in mercantile business in Willoughby, continu- ing the same until 1888. He served sixteen years as Mayor of Willoughby, fourteen years as a Township Trustee, and a number of years as a member of the School Board. Under President Cleveland's administration he re- ceived the appointment as Postmaster of Willoughby, serving as such most efficiently for four years. In 1892 he was the Demo- cratic candidate for Congress from the Twenty-first district; and, although the nom- inal Republican majority was about 2,000, his opponent received only 900 majority.

Captain Ellen was married, in 1863, to Emma H. Carrel, daughter of James Car- rel, one of the pioneer settlers of Willough- by. They have four daughters, Emma, Bertha, Blanche and Florence. The Captain is a prominent member of the Masonic order, Knights of Pythias, and G. A. R. Mrs. Ellen is a l'resbyterian.

ULIUS ORRIN CONVERSE, who has edited the Geauga Republican for nearly thirty-five years, is a native of the State of Ohio, born at Chardon, May 1, 1834. His father, Jude Converse, was born at Randolph, Orange county, Vermont, July 21, 1806, and the grandfather, Joseph Converse, was born in the same place, a descendant of the de Coignieres, of Navarre, France. Two bro- thers, Robert and Roger, went to Durham, England, in the latter part of the reign of

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William the Conqueror, and in process of time the name followed English pronuncia .. tion until it became Conyers, and has since been so called in England.

In 1630, Edward Conyers, with Sarah, his wife, and two sons, Josiah and James, emi- grated to America. A third son, Samuel, was born on the voyage. They sailed with Winthrop's fleet, and settled at Charles- town, Massachusetts. During the passage, the name suffered still another change, dropping the "y" and becoming Convers; just at what time the "e" was added to the name does not appear. The family has had many noted members in New England, and some of them were officers in the Revolution- ary war. The paternal grandfather of Julius O. Converse was a native of Orange county, Vermont, and a farmer by occupation. His wife, Mary, was the mother of twelve chil- dren, of whom Jude Converse was the young- est. An older son, Julius Converse, was an eminent lawyer and statesman, having filled the office of Governor of Vermont, beside many other public positions in that State.

Jude Converse was reared in his native State, but came to Chardon, Ohio, in 1828, and, with the exception of two years spent in Cleveland, lived there the remainder of his life. Soon after coming to the West, he en- gaged in mercantile enterprises with vary- ing success. An ultimate failure, which came in spite of his best efforts, involved no loss of reputation, and caused no diminution of the general esteem and confidence in which he had been held as a man of strict integrity and uprightness of character. For a long period during the administration of Lincoln and Johnson, he had practical charge of the post- office at Chardon, but was compelled to re- linquish the position on account of ill health.

lle was jolned in marriage November 8,

1832, to Mrs. Sidney Denton, widow of the late Dr. Evert Denton, of Chardon. Her maiden name was Metcalf, and she was born at Enfield, Connecticut, March 16, 1804, a daughter of Thomas and Sybil Metcalf. The Metcalfs were a strong-fibered people, and numbered among their members Governor Metcalf, of New Hampshire; Governor Met- calf, of Kentucky, was probably of the same line of descent. Mrs. Converse was a child of thirteen years when she came with the Smith family to Chardon, Ohio, in 1817. At the age of twenty she married Dr. Denton, one of the most noted physicians of early times. After a happy union, covering a pe- riod of six years, she was left a widow. She was a woman of many remarkable traits, possessing great strength of mind and char- acter, and was idolized by her children and grandchildren. Upon the first anniversary of the death of Mr. Converse, she was smitten with a fatal illness, and February 9, 1875, passed from this life. His death occurred February 4, 1874.

Julius Orrin Converse is the only surviv- ing child of this union. He has united in his nature many of the mental characteristics of both his parents, and possesses a kindly amiability and rare judgment. His earliest training was received in the common schools of Chardon, and at the age of sixteen he en- tered the printing office, where he began the more serious discipline of life. He began doing press work and composition on the Geauga Republic, a Whig paper, in 1850. Later, he entered the office of the Free Dem - ocrat, a Free Soil paper. The name of this publication was afterward changed to Jeffer- sonian Democrat. He remained with this journal in a subordinate position most of the time until he became its editor and proprie- tor, assuming full control January 1, 1859.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Meanwhile, he studied law in the office of Riddle & Thrasher, and was admitted to the bar in the autumn of 1858. He was still a young man of twenty-five years, and the spirit of progress was soon manifest in the claims for justice which sounded with no un- certain note from the editorial column. During the war this newspaper was stanch and steadfast in its support of the North, and aggressive and bold in its denunciation of the curse of slavery. The Jeffersonian Dem- ocrat was finally changed to the more signifi- cant Republican. Under the management of Mr. Converse, the paper has become the ex- ponent of liberal thought and moral reform, keeping fully abreast of the times, and it is considered one of the best edited papers in Northeastern Ohio.

Early in President Lincoln's administra- tion, Mr. Converse was appointed Postmaster, the only public office he has ever held. For many years he was chairman of the Republi- can Central Committee of his county, and has served on various district committees and in judicial, senatorial and Congressional con- ventions, giving a ripened experience and sound judgment to the counsels of his party. For four years, beginning in 1880, he was a member of the Republican State Central Committee, the last year being its Chairman. In 1880 he was chosen as one of the alter- nates from the Nineteenth District to the Republican National Convention, and, in 1884, was one of the delegates from the same District to the Convention which nominated Mr. Blaine. At the last Congressional con- vention, he received every vote from his county, on eight successive ballots, for the nomination for Congress, his name being then withdrawn. He was appointed Post- master by President Harrison, taking charge of the office April 1, 1890. Being an orator

of no mean ability, Mr. Converse has made many speeches in the county and State during political campaigns, and has also spoken in public upon other topics. After the death of President Garfield, he delivered an address, "Garfield, the Ideal Man," which was pub- lished in pamphlet form, and elicited much favorable comment by the press, and many valued private tokens of appreciation from eminent sources.

Mr. Converse was married December 24, 1862, to Julia P. Wright, a daughter of Daniel H. and Susan P. Wright, then of Freedom, Portage county, now of Chardon. They have one child, Mary E., born May 16, 1864. The family are members of the Con- gregational Church, in which Mr. Converse now holds the office of Deacon.

He is a man of tall and commanding pres- ence, pleasing in address and possessed of marked intellectuality. He is a facile and forceful writer, endowed with a mind of keen analytical and logical power, resulting in part from native capacity and in part from experience and close study. He has had, during his long and honorable editorial career, a potent influence in shaping the poli- tics of the county, and had he been ambitions for preferment in that line, could have had any position in the gift of the people. His habits are thoroughly democratic; his char- acter pure and above reproach, and to a marked degree does he hold the confidence and esteem of the people.

D D. BURNETT, a prominent merchant and progressive citizen of Ashtabula, Ohio, was born in Ashtabula county, August 9, 1839. His grandfather, the first of the family to settle in this county, was

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David Burnett, a native of New Jersey. He was married in that State to Mary White, and in 1805 they joined the westward tide of emigration. They came to Hubbard, Ohio, where their first child was born, and whence they removed, the following year, to a farm in Plymouth township, where they resided until death, the grandfather dying in 1863, at the age of eighty years. His only experi- ence in military service was at the time of the war of 1812, when he was a minute-man and was stationed at the Harbor with a few others to repel the British, who were just outside ready to capture the stores and supplies gath- ered at this point. He was a man of the highest integrity and greatest energy and public spirit and did much toward the early development of the country in his vicinity. The nine children of this worthy couple were: Samuel, father of the subject of this sketch; Edmund; Sarah, who married Bela Blakesley; Fannie, wife of Timothy Smith; Josiah; White; Janc, who died unmarried; Betsy, who married Frederick Smith; and Stephen. Of these, Samuel Burnett became a farmer and active business man and served Plym- outh township for many years in the capa- cities of Postmaster and Justice of the Peace. He was a man of unusual ability and force of character and was greatly esteemed by all who knew him. He was thrice married, his second wife being Louisa Seymour, a lady of many sterling qualities, daughter of Merrick Seymour, a well known pioneer of Ashtabula county. They had two sons: Merrick, who died 1838, and D. D., the subject of this sketch. In 1840, the devoted wife and mo- ther died. Mr. Burnett was later married to Jane Gleason, a lady of domestic and social accomplishments, and they had five children: George; Freddie, the wife of Lewis Van Slyke; Louisa, who married J. D. Klumph;

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 50

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