Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 71

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 71
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 71
USA > Ohio > Lake County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 71

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).

In 1870 Mr. Smith purchased in Windsor a farm of 158 acres, which he has since cul- tivated and upon which he has made many valuable improvements. This is now in charge of his son-in-law, Mr. Rawdon.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

May 10, 1851, Mr. Smith was married to Helen Merrill, Chardon, Ohio, a lady of superior attainments and rare worth of char- acter. They had twochildren: Hetty, who died at the age of six years, and Carrie A., the wife of Freeland Rawdon. Mr. and Mrs. Rawdon have two sons: Howard L., aged fourteen, and Walter F., aged ten. Mr. Smith is justly proud of his grandchildren, both of whom are bright and promising boys. Both are spe- cially gifted in mathematics and rare scholars for their years. Mr. Rawdon, his son-in-law, is a man of sterling worth of character, of shrewd business ability and influence in his commun- ity, and the father has never ceased to admire the noble choice of his daughter.

In politics Mr. Smith has been more or less active during the past thirty years. He has frequently been a delegate to State and county conventions of the Republican party, for which he has done good work at the hust- ings. In the presidential campaign of 1856 he made a speech at Orwell the night before election, and he has ever since continued to do so on the anniversary of that occasion. He is an interesting, clear, and forceful speaker, and never fails to convince the minds of his hearers. He is especially strong in the discussion of the tariff issues, few people be- ing so thoroughly acquainted with this com- plicated question.

Fraternally, Mr. Smith belongs to the Masonic order, and has taken Knights Tem- plar degrees.

Few lawyers in northeastern Ohio stand higher in their profession than Mr. Smith. Although his earlier years were not devoted to regular practice, he has been singularly successful from the time he began to give serious attention to it. This is largely due to an analytical and logical intellect, assisted by a careful, painstaking and thorough study

of his cases, which enables him to master those points which contribute to success. He is clear, concise and eloquent in pleading, always commanding the respect of the court and the confidence of the jury. During his long prac- tice he has never been known to resort to petty trickery or take any undue advantage of a brother attorney or of a client. He is a man of large construction, physically and mentally, his genial, dignified presence al- ways inspiring confidence and respect. His tastes are domestic, and he is much attached to his family, to whom he has been a devoted husband and an affectionate, sympathetic father. As a citizen, he is ever ready to lend his laid to the advancement of public interests and the development of the com- munity. He is liberal and broad-minded in thought, benevolent in action and genial in social contact. In him the family has a stable, affectionate head, the bar a bright orna- ment, and the people a citizen to whom they can always point with pride.

J. QUIGGLE, a citizen of Hampden township, belongs to one of the early pioneer families of Geauga county who aided in laying low the forest and caus- ing the earth to yield her most bountiful har- vests. He was born in Hampden township, Geauga county, Ohio, July 27, 1828, a son of John Quiggle, a native of the State of Pennsylvania, born in 1799. The paternal grandfather, John Quiggle, Sr., was also a Pennsylvanian by birth and emigrated to Geauga county in 1808, making the journey in a wagon with three horses, adding the third horse on the way. He settled near the present site of Pomeroy Spring, in Hampden township, built a log cabin under the forest

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trees, and a log stable. Indians were numer- ous in this section, and deer, bear and wolf still roamed through the wild woods. In his younger days Mr. Quiggle followed boating on the Susquehanna river, but after coming to Ohio gave his attention to farming. He died here at the age of ninety-four years. John Quiggle, son of the above, was a child of eight years when he came to Ohio with his parents. He was reared to the life of a farmer, and when a young man operated a still. He married Abigail Young, of Mid- dlefield township, Geauga county, a daughter of Silas Young, a Pennsylvanian. Mr. Young was also a pioneer of this section, and was proprietor of one of the first hotels; he, too, owned a still. Mr. Quiggle died at the age of seventy years, and his wife at the age of sixty-three. They were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in early life, but he changed his membership to the Pres- byterian Church before his death.

T. J. Quiggle is the eldest of a family of eleven children, ten of whom grew to mature years. He passed his childhood amid the wilds of the far West, as Ohio was then on the frontier, and often accompanied his father on hunting expeditions. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years old, and then started out to make his own fortue.

He was married in 1851, in the month of May, to Ann Roper, a native of England, whose parents emigrated to America when she was an infant. Mr. and Mrs. Quiggle have had born to them ten children: John, Charles, Lizzie, Annie, Christ, Josie, Kittie, Grant, Nellie, and Frank, who died at the age of seven years.

After his marriage our subject settled in Hampden township, where he has a fine farm of 154 acres, nearly all of which is well im- proved; he has an excellent sugar grove of

600 trees, and does a general farming busi- ness. His improvements are first-class, and the place has an air of thrift and prosperity. In 1878, Mr. Quiggle went to California, and lived in Sacramento from Angust until De- cember, 1879. In politics he is a Republi- can, and has served as Trustee of the town- ship several terms, and has been School Director for many years.

G EORGE C. SMITH, President of the Citizens' Bank of Chardon, has been long prominently identified with the business interests of Geauga county, winning through his ability and fidelity the right to be recorded as one of the most ex- emplary and successful men. He was born in Geauga county, Ohio, August 11, 1838, and is a son of George Smith, a native of Connecticut. His grandfather, Comfort Smith, was born at Groton, Massachusetts, of English descent. He was a miller by trade and dealt extensively in real estate, owning at one time 1,000 acres near Cleveland, Ohio. He died in 1812, aged about sixty-five years. He was a man of fine physique and labored with unfaltering energy to accomplish a de- sired end. George Smith came to Ohio as early as 1823, but did not settle permanently until 1835. In his younger days he followed surveying, but in later life turned his atten- tion to agricultural pursuits. He cleared and placed under cultivation 300 acres of land, and at one time owned 1,000 acres in differ- ent tracts. For many years he was County Surveyor, and also did an extensive private business in his profession. He married Catherine Crawford, a native of the State of New York, and they reared a family of ten children. The first death in the family of

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the sons and daughters was in March, 1893, the stricken one being fifty-three years of age. At a recent re-union, the youngest child present was thirty-three years old. The father died in his eighty-sixth year, and the mother lived to her seventy-fourth year. She was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which her husband gave a liberal support. George C. Smith is the second of the family of ten. He was reared and educated in the county of his birth, and at the age of twenty-two years left the pro- tecting shelter of the parental roof to make his own way in life. For seven years he taught school during the winter terms, and in the summers was engaged in farm work. One season was spent in the oil region of Pennsylvania, during which time he was em- ployed in drilling wells.

Mr. Smith was united in marriage Septem- ber 12, 1865, to Susan A. Strong, a native of Geauga county, Ohio, and a daughter of Louis Strong. Mr. Strong was born in Mas- sachusetts, and was one of the early settlers of Chester township, Geauga county. He is still living, at an advanced age. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of two children: Jennie C., wife of Sanford S. Surl of Oak, Nuckolls county, Nebraska; and Crawford L., who is cashier of the Citizens' Bank in Chardon. Crawford is a graduate of Oberlin College, class of 1892. He married Alice Hawks, of Buffalo, New York. After his marriage Mr. Smith settled on land which he cultivated four years. He then came to Chardon and established a grocery and hard- ware store, which he conducted with unvary- ing success for twenty-three years, closing out the business at the end of that period. He owns a tract of 152 acres in Munson town- ship, which is cultivated under his direction. He has 180 acres in Chardon township, and

forty-four acres in another tract. He has disposed of two farms in the past two years, and still owns a considerable amount of town property.

He assisted in the organization of the Citizens' Bank, of which he was elected president. He is also president of the State Bank of Oak, Nebraska, of which his son- in-law is cashier and owns a controlling interest there. Politically, he is a stanch Republican. He has been a member of the Town Council, and there have been few en- terprises tending to the advance of public interests which have not felt the strong im- pulse of his vigorous and energetic methods. He is a member of the Masonic order, be- longing to the blue lodge, chapter and com- mandery.

G EORGE L. FELCH, who has been iden- tified with the business interests of Ash- tabula county, for many years, is one of her leading citizens, and as such it is im- perative that some personal mention be made of him in this work. The following data in regard to his life and ancestry have been se- cured:

George L. Felch was born in New Hamp- shire, in 1837, son of Ezekiel Felch, who was born in that same State in 1799. The latter moved to Ohio in 1842 and located in Mon- roe township, Ashtabula county, where he passed the rest of his life and where his death occurred in 1870. Previous to his coming to Ohio he was a seaman, but after locating in Monroe township he turned his attention to farming, in which occupation he was very successful. His father, Nicholas Felch, was a farmer in New Hampshire. The Felch family are of Welsh descent, dating their ar-

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

rival on American soil back to the Colonial period. Judith S. Swain was the maiden name of our subject's mother. She too was a native of New Hampshire, as also were her parents. Ezekiel Felch and his wife departed this life some years ago. They are buried at Kelloggsville. Of their family we make record as follows: Sarah J., the oldest, now deceased, was twice married, first to Robert Craft, and after his death to Alsop Sage; John, deceased; Emeline E., wife of Daniel W. Cram; Irad P., who died in his twenty-fourth year; Dudley S., a resident of Bushnell, Ash- tabula county; Samuel V., who resides in Kansas; George L., with whose name we begin this sketch; Harrison F., a member of Company G, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was killed at the battle of Missionary Ridge in 1863.

George L. Felch came with his parents to Ohio in 1842, and remained with them until he reached his majority. Previous to that time he had received only a common-school education, but after he struck out for himself he determined to pursue his studies further. He accordingly attended the academies at Kingsville and Conneaut for two or three years. Then he began teaching school, which occupation he continued until 1862, and had completed arrangements to teach in the acad- emy at Conneaut the very day he enlisted in the Union army. It was in August, 1862, that he enlisted, and as a member of Com- pany G, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry, he went to the front. After thirteen months' service, the exposure and hardships of army life unfitted him for duty, and he was taken to the hospital. Being in- timately acquainted with A. W. Tourgee, First Lieutenant of Company G, Mr. Felch was given special privileges, being allowed to board at the same place with his friend

Tourgee at Danville, Kentucky. In 1863, on account of continued ill-health, he was dis- charged from the service.

Upon bis return home Mr. Felch again en- gaged in teaching. He had at this time com- pletely lost the use of his right arm. In 1864 he taught one term in the East Springfield Academy, Pennsylvania; and after that was employed at Hiram College two years, James A. Garfield being at this time connected with the school as Advising Principal. From Hiram Mr. Felch came to Monroe township, Ashtabula county, where for two years he taught a select school. In 1868 he turned his attention to the mercantile business, in partnership with H. F. Hitchcock, in which occupation he has since continued, also being interested in the lumber business and in farm- ing.

He was married in 1880 to Kate S. Ingalls, a native of Ohio. She was educated in Vine- land, New Jersey, and for five years was a teacher in the graded schools of that place. Her parents, H. R. and Adalin (Randall) In- galls, were born in New York, lived in Ohio for some time, and are now residents of Vineland, New Jersey. They have three children, namely: Kate; Laura, wife of I. P. Felch, of of Bushnell, Ashtabula county; and Fitch H., a resident of Vineland. Mr. and Mrs. Felch have one child of their own and one adopted child, viz .: Lloyd Ingalls, born June 1, 1882, and Ella K., August 9, 1886.

Mr. Felch began life a poor young man and mainly by his own energy and pluck worked his own way to success. He is now the owner of 260 acres of land, ninety acres of which are under cultivation. His mer- chandise stock is valued at from $3,000 to $5,000, and he has lumber interests to the amount of several million. Politically, he is a Republican. For fifteen years he has

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

served as Township Treasurer, and is also Postmaster and a Notary Public. In the way of settling estates he has done a large amount of business. Mr. Felch is very a hospitable man, temperate in his habits and gracious in his manner. Few men in this vicinity have more friends than he.

E LBERT L. LAMPSON, of Jefferson, Ohio, was born and grew to manhood on a farm in Windsor township, Ash- tabula county, Ohio. The date of his birth was July 30, 1852. His father. Chester Lampson, was born upon the same farm March 14, 1825, and his grandfather, Eben- ezer K. Lampson, located thereon as early as 1809. The last named was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and came to Ohio from Connecticut. He had purchased 160 acres of land in Windsor, had paid all but $9 of the purchase price and then lost all except thirty- five acres, through a defect in the title. He served on the first grand jury drawn in Ash- tabnla county. He married for his second wife Mrs. Martha Holbrook, whose maiden name was Martha Griggs and who also came from Connecticut. Ebenezer K. Lampson died March 14, 1835. Chester Lampson was then twelve years of age and he remained upon the old homestead and cared for his widowed mother, who, by the aid of a pension, managed to secure a comfortable living, al- though they were very poor. In 1851 Ches- ter Lampson married Emerette A. Griswold, daughter of Wells Griswold who had come to Windsor, Ohio, from New Hampshire. The result of this marriage was seven children, all of whom are still living and of whom Elbert L. is the oldest. Emerette A. Lamp- son died June 25, 1893, age sixty-three

years, eleven months and twenty-five days. By the time young Lampson had reached his 'teens his father had become a well-to-do farmer, whose broad acres offered a splendid opportunity for teaching " the boys " to work, and the senior Lampson was fully impressed with the value of habits and industry; so, when the subject of this sketch was not in school he could usually be found at work upon the farm, where nearly all kinds of farm work were done. He became an expert in shearing sheep and could take the fleeces from forty to fifty sheep in a single day. At the age of eighteen years he pitched the hay " both ways" from eighty-five acres of meadow land. At the age of seventeen he began attending school, one term a year, at Grand River Institute, Austinburgh, Ohio, and in the winter of the same year taught a term of district school in Hart's Grove, at $1.25 per day. After he had reached the age of nineteen he continued, with the excep- tion of a single term at Orwell Academy, to attend school at the Grand River Institute during the autumn and spring of each year and to teach school during each successive winter until 1875, when he graduated, with the degree of B. S.

He was married August 5, 1875, to Mary L. Hurlburt, of Hart's Grove, Ohio, with whom he had become acquainted at school. Miss Hurlburt was the daughter of E. G. Hurlburt, a farmer and for twelve years a member of the Board of County Commission- ers of his county. In the autumn of 1875 they began housekeeping in Bristolville, Ohio, where Mr. Lampson conducted a select school. In December, 1875, he went to Jefferson, Ohio, and began reading law in the office of Hon. S. A. Northway, then a leading lawyer at the bar and now a member of Con- gress from the nineteenth district of Ohio.

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

The following year he entered the law de- partment of Michigan University, where he graduated in 1878. He then returned to Jefferson and opened a law office. In 1877 he had been appointed to the office of County School Examiner, which he held for a period of eight years, and during which time he was active in the work of county institutes. He also held the office of Township Trustee for five successive years; was President of the Board of Education and Justice of the Peace for one term. He was Treasurer of the Ashtabula County Agricultural Society and a director of the Conneaut Mutual Loan Association for many years. In 1873 he made a short trip to Dakota Territory, and while in Lodi, a place on the frontier, found himself entire- ly out of money. He walked to Elk Point, where he took a contract for lathing a new church, in order to get money with which to pay his board bill, and hence he enjoys the honor of having helped to build one of the pioneer churches of the new State of South Dakota.

In May, 1883, he purchased and has since continued to own the Jefferson Gazette, a leading county paper, published at Jefferson.

In 1884 he was chosen a delegate from the nineteenth (Garfield) district of Ohio to the Republican National Convention at Chicago. He was Secretary of the Ohio delegation and a member of the Blaine Conference Com- mittee. His colleague was Hon. J. O. Con- verse, of Chardon, Ohio, and both were snp- porters of Mr. Blaine. In 1885 he was nominated and elected Representative from Ashtabula county in the General Assembly of Ohio. He served upon the celebrated elec- tion committee that investigated the Hamil- ton county election frauds, and was author of the " Dan Dalton Resolution." In 1887 he was renominated, by acclamation, was elected,

and upon the organization of the House was chosen Speaker of that body. He made a record of presiding during two sessions with- out an appeal being taken from any decision, with a single exception, in which he was unanimously sustained, the member appeal- ing voting to sustain the Chair. He was nominated in 1889, without opposition, for a third term, but withdrew from the ticket to accept a nomination for Lieutenant Governor, which was tendered him by a Republican convention held in Columbus, June 26, 1889. He was a candidate for Governor, but was accorded second place on the ticket with Governor Foraker. He was elected by a plurality of twenty-three votes, took the oath of office and held the office eighteen days, when he was unseated by a Democratic Senate, and his seat given to William V. Marquis, his opponent. While Mr. Lampson was Lieutenant Governor, as president of the joint convention of the two houses he de- clared the election of Calvin S. Brice for United States Senator. Mr. Lampson was permanent chairman of the Republican State Convention held at Dayton in 1888. In 1891 he was nominated over James R. Gar- field for the State Senate, and was elected to represent the twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth senatorial districts. Upon the organization of the Senate, he was chosen President pro tem. of that body. He has voted twice for Hon. John Sherman for United States Sena - tor. He is the author of the Ohio law, requir- ing railway companies to equip their cars with automatic couplers and air brakes. In the campaign of 1892 he delivered over thirty speeches in New York and Connecti- cut, under the auspices of the Republican National Committee, and has taken part in every campaign on the stump since 1883. In 1893 he was defeated for renomination for

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the Senate by a vote of 105, against 106 cast for his opponent, Hon. Friend Whittlesey. Of the sixty-four delegates in his own county Mr. Lampson received the support of sixty- three.

Mr. Lampson is a member of the Congre- gational Church and is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight of Pythias. He was one of the organizers of the Ohio Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and was present at the first meeting, held in Columbus.

His family consists of a wife and four children, whose names are: Chester Edward, Lillian D., Lawrence V., and Clara M.

A prominent citizen of Ashtabula county, who has known Mr. Lampson for a great number of years, speaks of him in the fol- lowing eulogistic manner: "In appearance he is about five feet and eleven and a half inches in height, and gives the impression of a powerful organization, suggesting reserved power and quiet, thoughtful mien, always self-possessed under trying circumstances. You would expect from his appearance that he would be master of his surroundings, never losing his self-poise. The stimulus of great events quickens and strengthens his mental grasp, and the discharge of duties at such times seems to have been pre-arranged and determined with an exhaustive knowledge of the possibilities that enables him to select the best and wisest course possible under the circumstances. His character and standing in the community where he is best known is all that his most ardent friends could desire. Born and reared in our county, his life as a youth and man has been open to the scrutiny of all, and no suspicion of evil has ever been attached to his reputation. His personal habits are those of a pure Christian gentle- man, and his manner throughout indicates a moral and upright citizen. He is strictly

temperate and a sincere worker in the tem- perance cause, ever laboring in all practical ways to lessen the evils of this the greatest sin and curse of all nominally Christian na- tions. "

H ARLAY N. BUSHNELL, one of the substantial farmers and highly re- spected citizens of Ashtabula county, Ohio, is the subject of this article.

His father, Sedgewick Bushnell, was born in Connecticut, October 15, 1787. When he was seven years old he went to Vermont, and from there subsequently came to Ohio, set- tling in Ashtabula county, where he died in 1880, on his birthday. He had limited edu- cational advantages in his youth, but was a close observer, made the best of his opportu- nities, and during his lifetime secured a store of useful information. He led the life of a successful farmer. In politics, he was successively a Whig, Free Soiler and . Repub- lican. At various times he held local offices. For a number of years he was a member of the Congregational Church, and was a man whose life accorded with his profession. During the latter part of his life he was grieviously afflicted, but bore his suffering with fortitude and Christian heroism, never murmuring. He was blind for nine years, and for five years of that time was a paralytic. At the time he came here this township was called Salem, and it was afterward changed to Monroe, in honor of President Monroe. Sedgewick Bushnell was a soldier during the war of 1812, and afterward was a pensioner of that war. He was the son of Abram and Mary Bushnell, the latter's maiden name being Ensign. They were natives of Con- necticut, and for a number of years were residents of Vermont. Both died on their

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farm in the latter State. The Bushnells are of English descent. Three brothers of this name came to America from England during Colonial times, and their posterity has spread out over the various States of the nation.

Rhoda (Swain) Bushnell, the mother of our subject, was born in New Hampshire, being the daughter of Phineas and Jane Swain. April 2, 1809, she was married to Mr. Bushnell, with whom she went from New Hampshire to Vermont. As time passed by sons and daughters grew up around her, the names of her children being as follows: Sidney S., deceased; Lucia, wife of S. A. Boughton, is deceased; Marcia, wife of B. B. Gifford, is deceased; Mary J., wife of D. S. Gifford, is deceased; John W., deceased; Harlay N .: Charlotte P., wife of S. A. Bough- ton, deceased; Corydon L., deceased; and Hollice, who died at the age of two years.

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 71

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