Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 70

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 70
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 70
USA > Ohio > Lake County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 70

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frontier in June, 1825. They settled on land in Chardon township, just west of the village, and for one term he attended the common schools. He worked on the farm until after his marriage, when he went into the tanning business, an industry of much importance in a pioneer settlement. At the end of a period of five or six years he opened a shoe store, which he managed successfully four years. Selling out this business he again turned his attention to agriculture, purchasing in Hampden township a farm of eighty-seven acres which was cultivated un- der his supervision.

Mr. Converse was married in 1842 to An- geline Gilbert, a native of Onondaga county, New York, who emigrated with her parents to Ohio in 1833. Freeman and Asenath (Smith) Gilbert, were natives of New York and Connecticut respectively, and reared a family of six children, five dying in early life. The father died at the age of sixty-two years, and the mother passed away at the age of forty-two; they owned 200 acres of land in Munson town- ship, and with other sturdy souls encoun- tered all the privations and hardships of pioneer life. Mr. and Mrs. Converse had no children born to them, but have reared an adopted son and a daughter: Charles Gil- bert and Sarah. George Rhodes was also brought up by them.

The death of this worthy man occurred July 24, 1885. In his religions faith he adopted the doctrines of the Methodist Epis- copal Church in early life, but in after years associated himself with the Congregational Church, to which he contributed freely of his means. Politically, he was a stanch sup- porter of the principles of the Republican party. Possessed of superior business ability he accumulated a handsome estate during his

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

life, but not by injustice to his fellow-men, as his distinguishing traits were honesty and integrity. Mrs. Converse is a woman of rare endowments. She has continued the work begun by her good husband, giving lib- erally to the church and contributing to those enterprises having for their object the uplifting of humanity.

G EORGE R. COWLES, deceased, was one of the most prominent and pro- gressive business men of Painesville, Ohio, who did much by his energy and ability to advance the interests of the city. He was born in New Hartford, Connecticut, June 5, 1816. His father and grandfather were also natives of that State, both being farmers. The maiden name of the mother of the subject of this sketch was Nancy Moore. She reared four children, two sons and two daughters, and died at the age of seventy-eight years, while the husband and father survived to the age of eighty.

The subject of this sketch was the oldest child, and was reared in New Hartford, Con- necticut, and educated in the village schools. He joined the general Western movement some time in the '30s, when about fifteen years of age. starting out with but 50 cents in money, but rich in youthful hopes and determination. He came to Huntsville, Ohio, and engaged in peddling " Yankee notions" throughout the new country, driving a wagon, containing his merchandise, around among the early settlers, and thus made his first money and laid the foundation of his future fortune. In 1840 he married, in Portage county, Ohio, and returned to Hartford, Con- nectient, where he remained until 1844, when he once more turned his face toward the set-

ting sun. In the fall of that year he settled permanently in Painesville, where he opened a dry-goods store, in which business he suc- cessfully continued until about 1872, when he sold it. About 1856 he erected the present Cowles Hotel, at that time and still the leading hotel in the city. He leased the house until 1872, and then sold it. After selling his business interests, he lived in retirement until his death, devoting his time and attention to the care of his property. He was considered an excellent buyer of dry goods, and was offered a large salary by Cleveland and New York firms to enter their employ, but, like few men, he was content with what he had and preferred his home comforts and the society of his family to the feverish race for wealth. He was an exem- plary man, of strict integrity and honor, and was universally respected and beloved. He was public-spirited and enterprising and con- tributed much toward advancing the interests of Painesville, which was his favorite city, and which was his home for nearly fifty years.

In 1840 Mr. Cowles married Mary A. Booth, a native of Edinburg, Portage county, Ohio, a lady of many estimable qualities. Her father, Eli Booth, was born in New Mil- ford. Connecticut, and settled in Edinburg, Ohio, in an early day, when there were only six families in the place. He settled on a tract of land in the woods and developed a farm by hard labor and perseverance. His wife, nee Elizabeth Cowell, was also a native of Connecticut, and was a woman of rare ability and energy. This worthy couple reared seven children to useful manhood and womanhood. Both were earnest and active members of the Methodist Church, and were the first to or- ganize a society of that denomination in the western wilds of Portage county. Religious

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

meetings were held at their house until a schoolhouse could be built, and thus afford a more eligible assembly room. In such a practical way did they testify their interest in holy matters. The father died aged seventy- five years, while the devoted wife and mother survived to the age of about ninety, dying full in years, in good works, and in the esteem of all who knew her. Mr. and Mrs. Cowles had one child, Mary Georgiana, who died in 1854, aged seven years and eight months.

Politically, Mr. Cowles was a Republican. He was a member of the Congregational Church, and contributed freely to all chari- table and worthy objects.

April 9, 1890, he died, leaving his family and many friends to mourn his loss and the city to mourn a benefactor. Mrs. Cowles still survives and resides in the old home place, a large brick residence on State street, which in its solidity and unpretentious but comfortable appearance is typical of the mind which planned and the will which exe- ented it.

B IRNEY M. ANDREWS, of North Sheffield, Ohio, is classed with the representative business men of his vi- cinity. Of his life and ancestry we present the following brief review:

Birney M. Andrews was born in Cherry Valley township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, in 1863, son of Philo and Melvina (Giddings) Andrews. Philo Andrews, also a native of Cherry Valley township, was born in 1831, and continued to reside there until the time of his death, March 15, 1888. By occupa- tion he was a farmer; politically, a Republi- can. The esteem in which he was held was evinced by his election to fill various official

positions. For a number of years he was Justice of the Peace and Township Trustee. He was a man of strict integrity and was ex- emplary in his habits. It was not only af- ter his mortal remains were consigned to the elements from which they came that his praises were sounded, but also while he was living were his many virtues recognized. His parents were Benoni and Betsey An- drews, natives of New York, who came to Wayne township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, about 1803. They settled an a large tract of timber land, being among the earliest pio- neers of the township, and experienced all the labor incident to the developing of a farm in the wilderness. They subsequently re- moved to Conneaut, where they lived the re- mainder of their lives. The mother of Bir- ney M., nee Melvina Giddings, was born in Wayne township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, in 1833, daughter of Marvin and Clara (Clark) Giddings. Her father was a son of Joshua R. Giddings' half brother. Mrs. Andrews was a devoted Christian woman, exemplify- ing her profession by her daily walk and con- versation. Her family were called to mourn her death October 14, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews had four children, namely: Lenora M., who resides in Andover, Ohio; Birney M .; Jessie F., who resides with her sister; and J. C., who is in business with his brother.

The subject of our sketch remained a mem- ber of the home circle until he was twenty- four years of age, He received a good English education, and at the age of seven- teen began teaching, which occupation he con- tinned until 1892. In 1887, with the proceeds of his work in the school room, he bought a farm and from that time until 1892 spent his summer in working on it. That year he en- gaged in the mercantile business, in which [ he has since continued. He is a conserva-

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tive business man. Having by his own honest toil accumulated what he has, he looks well to the expenditure of the same.

Mr. Andrews married, in 1886, Miss Alta Peebles, daughter of E. R. and Char- lotte (Brockett) Peebles, natives of Ashtabula county. She received her education at Grand River Institute and was for several years en- gaged in teaching. They have one child, Ruth Pauline.

S HELLITO BROS .- The Western Re- serve is noted for its business activity and has within its borders many im- portant manufacturing industries. Among these may be mentioned the manufacturing of keg and pail staves, which enterprise is carried on quite extensively in this region. After investigation, we are satisfied that there are few, if any, more important plants employed in this branch of manufacture than that of the subject of this sketch.

Shellito Bros. have conducted their exten- sive business in New Lyme since 1890, in which year they erected the large and well- equipped mill they now occupy. Previously they had conducted a similar business in Cherry Valley, where they remained nearly three years. They had about fourteen men in their employ. Before that time the Messrs. Shellito had been associated in various pur- suits, having dealt extensively in the block- ing business at Leon, Dorset and other places, shipping about 1,600 cords of blocks per year.

At New Lyme the Shellito Bros. now manufacture nothing but candy-pail and to- bacco-pail staves and heads. Without doubt they do the largest business in this line of all firms in northern Ohio. Some idea of

the extent of their business may be gath- ered from the following facts: About eigh- teen men are constantly employed to mani- pulate the seven saws of the mill. Nearly thirty cords of staves are made per day. During the fonr months immediately pre- ceding this writing about 800 cords of forty- inch stuff and 100,000 feet of elm timber were consumed. At present there are about 500,000 heads in the mill yard. The weekly expenses of running the mill is about $350. The chief kinds of timber used by them are elm, basswood, cucumber and white wood. As these varieties are limited in quantity it is occasionally necessary to seek new fields. During the coming autumn it is the purpose of the Shellitos to remove to Middlefield, Geauga county, and there erect a similar mill, which will probably be run on a more exten- sive scale than this.

These gentlemen, Howard and Walter Shel- lito, are natives of Evansburgh, Pennsylva- nia. Howard, the older, is married and has three children. Walter married Lizzie Fer- guson, daughter of K. Ferguson, of Espy- ville, Pennsylvania. Both are young men of more than ordinary enterprise and push, and both are Democrats although not active pol- iticians.

P. SPINEWEBER, a farmer and stock- raiser of Lenox township, Ashtabula county, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, August 29, 1857, a son of John and Margaret (Smith) Spineweber. The father was born in Prussia, in 1826, and in 1848 came to America. After landing in New York he went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, was employed in the mines a number of years, and in 1858 became a member of the firm of

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Keeling & Co., coal dealers. He was then given the position as superintendent of the mines, which office he held for twenty-one years, and then purchased forty-eight acres of land in Butler county, Pennsylvania. In 1887 he moved his family to that place, where he now leads a retired life. He was an old- time Democrat, having cast his first presi- dential vote for James Buchanan, but now affiliates with the Republican party. Religi- ously, he is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The mother of our subject was also born in Prussia, but came with her parents to America at the age of ten years, and grew to womanhood in Pittsburg. She was mar- ried at the age of twenty years, and her death occurred in June, 1882, at the age of forty- two years. She was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. and Mrs. Spineweber had ten children, seven of whom grew to years of maturity, and the surviving children now reside in Pittsburg, with the exception of our subject and one brother.

J. P. Spineweber, the subject of this sketch, attended the public schools of Pittsburg, and afterward spent three years in the St. Vin- cent's College, near Laporte, Pennsylvania. He was then employed as bookkeeper by the firm with which his father was connected, and subsequently became an engineer of both stationary and locomotive engines. In 1886 he embarked in the butcher's business in Pittsburg, and conducted the enterprise suc- cessfully until 1890. From that time until 1892 he was engaged in miscellaneous occu- pations. In November of the latter year, he purchased his present fine farm, consisting of 158 acres, located two miles east of Lenox, and five miles southeast of Jefferson. The farm is under a fine state of cultivation, and his residence is one of the most sightly places in the community.

September 7, 1879, Mr. Spineweber was united in marriage to Miss Martha Ensell, a daughter of Edward and Mary Jane (Draper) Ensell. The father was born in Pennsyl- vania, August 14, 1814, learned the trade of a glass-blower while a youth, and followed that occupation through life. His father, Edward Ensell, built the first glass factory west of the Alleghany mountains. The for- mer accumulated a large fortune, and now lives a life of retirement. He was a soldier in the late war, first enlisting in the three months' service, and was discharged on the general order to release all men over forty- eight years of age. Mr. Ensell immediately entered the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and took part in the battles of the Wilder- ness, Malvern Hill, Lookout Mountain, Get- tysburg, and many others. He was wounded at the first named engagement. Mr. Ensell was discharged from service at Washington, in June, 1865. Socially, he is a member of the Pittsburg Post, G. A. R., No. 151, and religiously is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The mother of Mrs. Spineweber was born in 1820, at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, where she was married at the age of sixteen years. She is a member and an active worker in the Methodist Church, is Chaplain of the Ladies' Relief Corps, and takes an active interest in all charitable work. Mr. and Mrs. Ensell had eleven children, nine of whom survive, and are, with the ex- ception of two, all residents of Pittsburg. Mrs. Spineweber, wife of our subject, was born in Pittsburg, October 18, 1855. She is a mem- ber of the Ladies' Relief Corps, of the Daugh- ters of Liberty, and has taken the Rebekah degree in the I. O. O. F. Mr. and Mrs. Spineweber have one child, John E., born December 7, 1880, is now attending school. In political matters, Mr. Spinweber affili-

Yours In Love W.W.West

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

ates with the Republican party. Socially, he is a member of Zeno Lodge, I. O. O. F., of the Knights of the Golden Eagle and the Commandery, No. 17, and of the Senior Order of the American Mechanics, No. 260, Birm- ingham Council.

W ILLIAM W. WEST was born at Winsted, Litchfield county, Connec- ticut, February 27, 1820, a son of Edgar West, also a native of Connecticut. The father removed to Ohio in 1829, and first settled in Concord township, Lake coun- ty, remaining there one year. At the end of twelve months he came to Geauga county, and there passed the balance of his days, de- parting this life in 1887, at the age of eighty- three years, honored and respected by all who knew him. He married Margaret Wil- son, a daughter of Captain Wilson, of Con- necticut, an old Revolutionary soldier. They reared a family of nine children, seven of whom are living. William W. was a lad of nine years when the family pushed their way to the very border of the frontier, seeking a home. He attended the school taught in the primitive log house, but the labor of clearing a farm in the heart of the forest was heavy and required the assistance of small hands as soon as they could be of use; so the children could not be permitted many school days.

Mr. West remained under the parental roof until a man of twenty-two years, when he engaged in farming in Chardon township, on his own account. He devoted himself to agriculture for a year, and then turned his attention to buying and selling cattle, gather- ing herds from Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Wisconsin, fattening them in the West, and then shipping to Eastern

markets. He carried on this industry for twenty-five years, with marked success. In I866 he located on his present farm in Char- don township, and has given his attention to agriculture. He is an excellent judge of cattle, and became so expert in guessing weights that it was said he carried a pair of scales in his head. He now has 200 acres well improved, with good, substantial farm buildings, his residence being a home of com- fort and elegance. He is numbered one of the most progressive farmers in the com- munity. He takes quite an interest in breed- ing poultry, and has a novel method of trans- ferring the spurs from the legs of young roosters to the tops of their heads, grafting them so well that they grow there; he has several queer specimens of the horned fowls, and at one time sold a fine specimen to the late P. T. Barnum for $50, as a natural curiosity.

Mr. West was united in marriage, Feb- ruary 2, 1864, to Mary A., the accomplished daughter of Charles and Mary (Gooding) Smith, and a native of Cortland county, New York, She is a lady of culture, and before her marriage taught in some of the best schools of Wisconsin and Ohio. They have no children.

Mr. West is a member of the Masonic Order. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a man of generous nature, benevolent and charitable, and holds the esteem and confi- dence of those who know him.

P HILO PEASE, one of the oldest and most popular citizens of Chardon, was born in Geanga county, Ohio, in Hamp- den township, September 18, 1814, a son of Merrick Pease, a native of Enfield,

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Connecticut, born January 17, 1789. Isaac Pease, father of Merrick, was a native of Enfield, and descended from Robert Pease, who emigrated from Hull, Essex coun- ty, England, to America in 1634. He was a ship carpenter by trade, but in later life followed agriculture. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and served to the end of the conflict. He removed to Geanga county in 1810, having traded his property in Enfield for 1,500 acres of land on the frontier. There were then only a few settlers, and the forest was inhabited by many wild animals and the Red man still had his abode in the shadow of the giant trees. Mr. Pease owned a grist and saw mill in Claridon, and did the milling for the settlers for miles around. He died at the age of eighty-nine years. Merrick Pease was a grown man when his father came to the West. He op- erated a still and assisted him in the mill; he also dealt extensively in cattle, and was successful in all business transactions. In 1828, he sold his other interests and bought 200 acres of land which adjoins the corporation of Chardon; he cleared fifty acres before his death, which occurred when he was thirty-nine years old. His wife, nee Sally Allen, was born in Saratoga county, New York : they reared a family of four sons and two daughters. The sons are all living, the youngest being sixty-five years old. The mother died September 28, 1892, lacking a few weeks of completing her ninety-fifth year. Philo Pease is the eldest of the family ; he was educated in the primitive pioneer schools when the teacher " boarded round." He began life for himself at the age of four- teen years, learning the tanner's trade of Sam- t:el Squires; he bought an interest in the business, and finally owned the entire estab- lishment. When his means permitted he

bought the old home place, and discontinued his trade. He turned his attention to im- proving the farm, and developed one of the most desirable places in the county.

He was married July 7, 1836, to Lucy Adams, a native of Canton, Massachusetts; she was brought to the West when an infant of six months by her parents, Paltrie and Lucy (Upham) Adams, also natives of Mass- achusetts; they first settled in Newbury, Geauga county, where the father practiced medicine many years; he died at the age of sixty-five years, and she survived at the age of seventy-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Pease are the parents of six children: Amanda, Ben- jamin F., Henry P., Angeline, George W. and Isaac M. They removed to Chardon in 1885, and built their present home in 1887. They are members of the Universalist Church, and Mr. Pease belongs to the I. O. O. F. In politics he adheres to Republican principles; he has always taken an active interest in edu- cational. affairs, and has been a member of the school board for more than twenty years. He was a member of the building committee when the handsome schoolhouse was erected in 1869. He has always given his support to worthy enterprises, and is regarded as one of the most progressive citizens of the town- ship.

REEMAN R. SMITH, one of the lead- ing and highly respected members of the bar of Ashtabula county, Ohio, is a native of Ohio, born in Aurora, Portage county, April 13, 1827. His parents were natives of New York and Connecticut, and were of English ancestry. Whitney Smith, the father, accompanied his parents to Trum- bull county, Ohio, about 1805, when he was twelve years of age. They settled in Meso_

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

potamia, being among the earliest pioneers of that section. On the outbreak of the war of 1812, young Whitney, then a youth of nine- teen but with the heroism and enthusiasm of a man, shouldered his musket and partici- pated in the struggle with Great Britain. He knew Cleveland, Ohio, when it was an unpretentious hamlet of six log cabins, re- vealing no signs of its present greatness and marvelous beauty. He was an active member of the Disciple Church, and often entertained Campbell, the distinguished founder of that church. His generous nature and liberal hospitality was by no means confined to the followers of Campbell, but his latchstring always hung out to the pioneer clergyman and all other wayfarers. He departed this life at Aurora, Ohio, in February, 1872, re- gretted by all who knew him. His good and amiable wife, Sophrona Rawdon, who sym- pathized and co-operated with him in his hospitality and good works, preceded him to the other world by about a month, leaving numerous friends to mourn her loss.

Freeman R. Smith, the subject of this memoir, was reared on a farm, receiving a good common-school education. At the age of twenty he began teaching, which occupa- tion he followed for many years, during which time he also prosecuted the study of law, completing his course with Chaffee & Wood- bury, in Jefferson, Ohio. He was admitted to the bar in Cleveland in 1857, and soon afterward settled in Windsor, Ohio. He did not enter at once into the active practice of his profession, but tried cases in the different magistrate courts. He was for several years interested in the Cleveland Lightning Rod Company, with headquarters in Boston, from which point he operated chiefly in the New England States. He had a large force with him and did an extensive business. He

would go East the first of April and return in October to his home in Ohio, where he gave part of his attention during the winter months to the practice of his profession. While prosecuting the lightning-rod busi- ness, he became acquainted with many dis- tinguished men of the nation and gained much valuable knowledge. He continued to be thus occupied until 1870, when he began actively the practice of his profession, which he has continued since. In 1880 he removed from Windsor to Geneva, where he now re- sides. He has been engaged in many noted cases, among which was that of Webster, who was indicted and tried for the murder of Perry Harrington. This was one of the most pro- tracted and vigorously contested criminal trials before the courts of Ohio. Mr. Smith has associated with him J. B. Burrows, an able lawyer. Mr. Smith declined to take the case until he was fully satisfied that the pris .- oner was innocent, and when assigned by the Court to defend the prisoner, he threw into, the trial his whole soul. On the first trial the prisoner was found guilty of murder in the first degree. A new trial was granted with a change of venue, with the same result. A third trial was then held and the prisoner was acquitted, the jury on the first poll standing eleven for acquittal and one for con- viction, the juror casting the latter vote re- serving the right to change it. Each trial was before the Conrt four weeks, and it was two years from the opening of the cause to its completion. The verdict of the jury was endorsed by the people, and the action of the attorneys approved.

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 70

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