Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 93

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 93
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 93
USA > Ohio > Lake County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 93

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B ENJAMIN K. BAKER, one of the proprietors of the planing and saw mill in Orwell, Ohio, and a man of superior worth of character, was born in that city, Oc- tober 8, 1851. His father, Josiah W. Baker, was a pioneer of Ohio, and well and favorably known for his many estimable qualities.

The subject of this sketch was reared until the age of fifteen on the home farm, and at- tended the Orwell graded and public schools. His occupation after completing his educa- tion was varied. He spent three seasons on the road in the lightning-rod business, one season with a circus and menagerie, owned by his brother-in-law, M. M. Hilliard, and was in J. W. Baker's hotel at Orwell for three years. In 1881 Mr. Baker, in com- pany with Mr. Paine, purchased the planing- mill in Orwell. After conducting it a year Mr. Baker bought his partner's interest, and subsequently admitted to an equal partner- ship Mr. Kile. Mr. Kile afterward sold his interest to his brother, who, with Mr. Baker, then built a sawmill, which they equipped with all the modern and improved machin- ery, where they do every kind of planing work, and manufacture everything in the line except sash and doors. They also operate a lumberyard, where they supply builders and contractors with every kind of building ma- terial. Besides this, they have a large trade for pump tubes, which are used in oil wells

throughout the Eastern oil fields. Independ- ently of his business Mr. Baker is a large land owner, having fifty acres in Windsor township, and owns a substantial residence in Orwell, on which he carries $500 insurance. This prosperity has followed Mr. Baker's in- dustrious and persevering efforts, and he justly deserves his good fortune.

May 25, 1876, Mr. Baker was married to Miss Alice M. Childs, a lady of engaging personality, a resident of Rome, Ohio. Her parents, Horace and Ruby (Cooley) Childs, were both natives of New York State, the former born in Rensselaer county, June 25, 1817, and the latter in Orange county, De- cember 19, 1820. Mrs. Baker's father was a farmer and mechanic and settled in Rome, Ohio, at an early day. He died there March 7, 1874, leaving many friends to mourn his loss. His worthy wife survived him many years, expiring in Orwell, February 12, 1889, likewise deeply regretted. They had nine children: William R., born September 12, 1840; Cynthia J., born October 11, 1842, married Myron Dutton, a prominent citizen of Thompson, Ohio, and her death occurred in that place, November 22, 1870; Maretta L., born in Sheffield, Ohio, January 29, 1846, died May 6, 1888; Orrin H., also born in Sheffield, April 23, 1848; Alice M., wife of the subject of this sketch, born in Rome, Ohio, October 30, 1850; Melvin A. and Mary A., twins, born in Rome, Ohio, February 6, 1854; the former died November 23, 1874, and the latter married Ernest Blanchard, of Orwell, Ohio; Nelson P., born May 20, 1856; Frank E., born March 30, 1859, resides in Merrill, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have one child, Cora May, who was born December 27, 1876, and who al- ready enjoys a reputation for ability beyond her years. In the spring of 1893, when but

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sixteen years of age, she graduated at the Or- well Normal Institute, and, although the youngest in her class, held her audience spell-bound by the strong and earnest deliv- ery, comprehensive breadth of thought, and rhetorical execution of her essay. Her edu- cation completed, Miss Cora is not content to lapse into a life of ease, but is preparing herself for the duties of a stenographer and typewriter. She is an elocutionist of note and has assisted at numerous public enter- tainments. Mr. and Mrs. Baker and daugh- are members of the Methodist Episcopal . Church of Orwell.

In politics, Mr. Baker is a Democrat, and has held several offices of public trust. He is now a member of the Board of Trustees and Board of Education of the special dis- trict, in both of which he has done able serv- ice. He is trustworthy and public-spirited, and of a kind and generous disposition, deservedly enjoying the high regard of all worthy men.

C C. RAND, another one of the repre- sentative farmers of Madison township, Lake county, Ohio, is a native of this place, born in 1842, son of Martin and Lucy (Cummings) Rand, who were among the pi- oneer settlers of the county.

Mr. Rand received his education in the district schools and the Madison Seminary. In December, 1863, he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into the service at Cleveland. At once joining Sherman's army in the South, he participated in numerous engagements and remained on active duty until the war closed, when he was mustered ont, in June, 1865, at Camp Cleveland.

Among the battles in which he took part were those of Lookout Mountain, Resaca, Buzzards' Roost, and the engagements along the line on that famous march to the sea.

After the war Mr. Rand settled on the North Ridge in Madison township, this county, from whence he subsequently moved to McMinnville, Tennessee, where he was en- gaged in farming five years. Returning to Ohio, he settled at Cleveland, and for four- teen years was on the police force in that city, the last four years being Sergeant. In 1883 he bought his present farm, 130 acres, upon which he has since been engaged in ag- ricultural pursuits. He devotes his land to diversified farming, giving special attention to the raising of short-horn cattle and Shrop- shire sheep, and also raising a large number of hogs.

Mr. Rand was married December 14, 1866, to Anna Gillett, a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio. They have four children: Fred, Ar- . thur, Bertha and Nellie.

He and his wife are members of the Bap- tist Church. Politically, he is a Republican, and fraternally an Odd Fellow. He is also a member of Burnam Post, No. 378, G. A. R., at Madison. Mr. Rand has stock in the Madison Creamery and is vice-president of the company.

0 RLANDO F. BUNNELL, a prominent farmer residing near Willoughby, Lake county, Ohio, is another one of those representative men of the county of whom personal mention should be made in this work. Of his life and parentage we present the following resume:

Orlando F. Bunnell was born in Kirtland township, Lake county, Ohio, November 17,

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

1844. His father, Eli Granger Bunnell, was born in Blanford, Massachusetts, November 25, 1807. Grandfather Bunnell, a resident of Blanford for several years, emigrated from there to New York, where he was killed while assisting to raise a mill. At the time this sad accident occurred, Eli, the oldest child and only son in the family, and then only a mere boy, was thrown upon his own resources. At the age of seventeen he left Blanford, Massachusetts, en route for Ohio, walking the whole distance, and peddling Yankee no- tions to pay his way. He reached his desti- nation, Kirtland, in 1825. There he had a cousin living, and there he was variously em- ployed for some time. He cut cord-wood, four feet long, at 16 cents a cord. Subse- quently he learned the carpenter's trade. He built the first wooden warehouse in the city of Cleveland. For a time he did an exten- sive business, having several men in his em- ploy. Soon after coming West he purchased fifty acres of timber land, on which he built a log cabin and where he lived for some time, engaged in clearing and improving the land. In the spring of 1865 he moved to Oberlin in order to educate his children, and made that place his home seven years. His next move was to Willoughby, where he spent the closing years of his life, and died March 8, 1891. He was indeed a self-made man. Starting out when only a boy, and without means, he attained success in the various walks of life. He was married November 25, 1832, to Miss Anna S. Covert, who was born in Ovid, Seneca county, New York, May 18, 1814, and for sixty years their lives were blended together in the sharing of each other's joys and sorrows, both being promi- nent members of the Congregational Church. Mrs. Bunnell is still living and now makes her home with the subject of this sketch.

She received her education in a log school- house, and at the age of thirteen became a teacher. She is a daughter of Luke and Di- nah (Tilliar) Covert, both natives of New York. Her grandfather Covert was from New Jersey. The Covert family emigrated to Ohio in 1817, driving to Buffalo, and from there coming by boat to Lake county. They settled in Willoughby township, five miles south of Willoughby, being among the very first pioneers of the township. Her father built a split-log house in the forest and there developed a farm. He died at the age of sixty-six, and his wife at seventy-five. Both were members of the Congregational Church. They had a family of two sons and three daughters. The daughters are still living. Eli Bunnell and his wife had six children, two sons and four daughters, of whom four are still living, the subject of this article be- ing the fourth born and the oldest son.

Orlando F. Bunnell was reared to farm life at Kirtland. He received his education in the district schools and at Willoughby and Oberlin. After his marriage, which event occurred in 1866, he located at Wakeman, Huron county, Ohio, where he was engaged in farming four years. From there he re- moved to Linn county, Missouri, and about four years later came back to Ohio, settling on his present farm at Willoughby in 1875. Here he has 183 acres of land, on which is a fine pear orchard of six acres. He also owns eighty acres in Chester township, Geauga county, Ohio. He has made all the substan- tial improvements on his home place, and here he is engaged in general farming.

Mr. Bunnell was married February 11, 1866, to Mary A. Tennant, of Camden, Ohio. She is the daughter of David F. and Lydia Tennant, both natives of Orleans county, New York, who emigrated from that State to

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

Ohio, coming in wagons and locating at Cam- den. Here her mother died July 22, 1892. Her father passed away in the fall of 1867. She is one of a family of five children, four of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell have two children, viz .: Eli Granger Bun- nell, Jr., born August 17, 1867; and Charles Orlando, December 21, 1878. Both have had good educational advantages. The older son married Minnie E. Earnest, and they have had two children: Leah May, born August 5, 1889, died December 13, 1890; and Orlando A., born November 17, 1891.

Mr. Bunnell affiliates with the Republican party, and both he and his wife are members of the Congregational Church.

H IRAM REED, who resides on a farm two miles northwest of Rowenton, in Lenox township, Ashtabula coun- ty, Ohio, was born in Wayne county, this State, August 12, 1842. He spent his early life on the farm and received his edu- cation in the district schools. Arriving at man- hood he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for a livelihood a number of years. In 1862 he joined the Union ranks and was mustered into the service at Mans- field, Ohio, as a private in Company A, One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, under Colonel Dan French. He accompanied his command to the South, and soon afterward was taken ill at Young's Point, Louisiana. Then ensued a long spell of sickness, and in the fall of 1863 he was discharged on account of disability. Return- ing home, he recuperated his shattered health, and as soon as he was able went to work at his trade. Later he moved with his family to Wisconsin, settling in Grant coun-

ty, where he remained five years. At the end of that time he returned to Wayne county, continuing work at the carpenter's trade until 1874. That year he bought an improved farm of ninety-three acres in Wayne county, and in connection with his work of contractor and builder also carried on farming, soon afterward giving his atten- tion exclusively to the latter. After living on that farm eight years he sold out. In 1881 he bought his present place, known as . the Nolton farm, comprising 163 acres, and the following year located upon it. Since taking up his abode here he has made many improvements, greatly enhancing the beauty and value of the place.

Mr. Reed was married in 1867 to Miss Sarah Zimmerman, daughter of Ezekiel Zimmerman, an early settler of Wayne county, who came to Ohio from Pennsyl- vania. Her father was one of the prominent and wealthy farmers of the county. He died in 1878, aged sixty-eight years. Mrs. Reed was born in Wayne county, July 28, 1846; was married in her twenty first year, and in time became the mother of nine children, four of whom are now living. Following is a record of her children: Anna E., born in 1868, died in her nineteenth year; Alice R. died at the age of eighteen; Elma J., born in 1873, is the wife of J. G. Fowler, a farmer of Lenox; John M., who died in infancy; James A., born in 1877; Mary G., in 1880; Ethel I., in 1882; and Earnest, deceased. Mrs. Reed is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Of Mr. Reed we further record that he is a son of David and Mary (Ewing) Reed. - His father was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1817, where he grew up and learned the trade of stone cutter. Later in life he turned his attention to farming. He was a man

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of the strictest integrity, was well known and was highly respected. His death oc- curred in 1873. The mother of our sub- ject was also born in Wayne county. She was married to Mr. Reed when she was nineteen. Seven of their nine children reached maturity and four of that number are still living. She was reared a Presby- terian and still remains in living communion with that church.

Mr. Reed is a straight Democrat and a friend to the temperance cause. He has officiated as judge of elections for the past five years, and for a number of years has served as Township Assessor and School Director. His church membership is with the United Brethren.

P ROFESSOR JOHN E. MCKEAN. Jefferson, Ohio, has reason to be proud of her educational institutions, which rank with the best in the coun- try. Among those who have helped to raise them to their present high standard of excel- lence, the subject of this sketch stands pre- eminent.

Professor Mckean, the efficient and pop- ular superintendent of the high school in Jefferson, an able educator and cultured gentleman, was born in Mount Hope, Holmes county, Ohio, August 27, 1862. His parents, William and Rachel (Slutz) Mckean, were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively, the father being of Scotch- Irish descent. The earliest members of the family to settle in America were three broth- ers, one of whom settled in Ohio and the other two in Pennsylvania. Thomas Mc- Kean, one of these brothers, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

The father of the subject of this sketch was reared in Pennsylvania and Ohio, his parents having removed from the former State to Wayne county, when he was quite young. He received a fair academical education, after which he graduated at the Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, and is now a suc- cessful physician of Dundee, Ohio.

Of six children, Professor Mckean of this notice, is the oldest. He has one brother, who is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and is serving the nation as Assistant Engineer in the navy.

The subject of this sketch was reared in his native county and attended the public and select schools of his vicinity, afterward going to Mount Union College and the Ohio Wesleyan University, finally graduating at the Ohio Normal University, in Ada, in 1886, having taken a classical course while there. He entered college at the age of sixteen years, from which time he defrayed the expense of his education by teaching. After graduating, he became superintendent of the public schools in Navarre, this State, where he remained three years. The two following years he had charge of the schools of Port Clinton, Ottawa county, this State, and, in 1891, he was chosen by the Board of Education, superintendent of the public schools of Jefferson and principal of the Jefferson Institute; and was re-elected in 1892 for two years. Professor Mckean has been a successful teacher in village and town schools for thirteen years, and is thorough and practical in his methods, and is a good organizer. He holds a life certificate from the State Board of Education of Ohio, which is a sufficient testimonial of his scholarly attainments.

July 7, 1891, Professor Mckean was married to Miss Emma, daughter of George

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

and Mary (McGregor) Elliott. She was at the time of her marriage a teacher in the high school at Port Clinton. She is a native of Co lumbiana county, this State, and a graduate of the Wellsville high school and the National Normal University at Lebanon, having taken a classical course. She taught two years with manifest ability, having been a teacher in the high school at Port Clinton when the Professor had charge of that school.

Religiously, Professor and Mrs. McKean are earnest and useful members of the Con- gregational Church.

Professor McKean holds as high position in his community as a citizen and man as he enjoys as an educator and scholar, being justly classed with those rare spirits whose efforts are always exerted in the direction of the material and moral advancement of the human race.

Professor Mckean is a member of the Masonic order, Tuscan Lodge, No. 342; of the I. O. O. F., Ensign Lodge No. 400; and of Navarre Lodge, No. 240, Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a Republican.

C H. FITTS, of West Andover, Ohio, a manufacturer and dealer in woolen goods, blankets, flannels, yarns, etc., was born in Orange township, New Haven county, Connecticut, March 28, 1825. His parents, Harvey and Polly (Gilbert) Fitts, were natives of the same State and descend- ants of old New England families. The father learned the details of the manufactur- ing of woolen goods, to which occupation he devoted much of his life, and also followed farming. This worthy couple followed the western tide of emigration to Ohio in an early day, settling first in Gustavus, where

they lived five or six years. They then re- moved to Kingsville, Ohio, in which place the father engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods. He died in Andover, in 1881, at the age of eighty-one, while the devoted wife and mother still survives, at the age of ninety-two, and resides with her danghter, Mrs. F. S. Noyes, in Kingsville. The father was a Republican in politics, a man of supe- rior business ability and sterling probity of character. Of their seven children, four sur- vive: Curtis H .; C. H., whose name heads this sketch; Lucy, wife of John Stanton; and Ellen, wife of F. S. Noyes.

The subject of this sketch was reared to the manufacture of woolen goods, which busi- ness he has followed since he was twelve years of age, having learned his trade of his father. He worked for his father until he attained his majority, after which they were partners two years, when the subject of this sketch removed to Gustavus, Trumbull county, where he fitted up a factory, which he operat- ed successfully for one year, when it was burned. He then went to Plymouth, Ashta- bula county, Ohio, where for two or three years he was in company with his father. They then traded their factory for a farm which the subject of this sketch operated for three years. At the end of this time he went to Kingsville, where he bought machinery and fitted up in Kinsman, Trumbull county, a factory which he operated about twelve years, part of this time alone and part in company with Charles Farrand. In 1866, Mr. Fitts came to West Andover and purchased the Clifford mill. This was originally built in 1824, by Case & Slater, who operated it as a carding and cloth-dressing mill until they sold it in 1848 to A D. Clifford, who put in spinning and weaving machinery. It was burned in 1862 but rebuilt by Mr. Clifford,

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

who sold it to the subject of this sketch in 1866. Mr. Fitts has since refitted it, with the exception of the carding rooms, until it is now one of the most modernly appointed mill in this part of the country. In the processes of manufacture many thousand pounds of wool are consumed annually in this factory, where part of the time six to eight men are employed. Mr. Fitts owns, besides his milling interests, an excellent farm of 141 acres and another of thirty acres, on the latter of which he has erected a handsome residence, in which he resides, surrounded with all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

May 3, 1864, Mr. Fitts was married to Miss Maryett Bliss, a lady of many excellent qualities, a native of Sheffield, Ohio. Her parents, Beriah and Mary (Llewellyn) Bliss, were natives of Vermont and New York State, respectively, the former a farmer by occupation and a prominent member of the Congregational Church. They had ten chil- dren, three of whom reside in Ashtabula county, Ohio, and all but two surviving. Lewis O. is a prosperous resident of Iowa Falls, Iowa; Temperance, wife of Jacob Sawyer, resides in Michigan; Elizabeth is the wife of E. L. Dibble, of White county, Indiana; Beriah, deceased; Maryett, wife of the subject of this sketch; Moses H. is a well-to-do resident of Omaha, Nebraska; Hannah, a teacher in the Ashtabula high school; Sarah, wife of P. G. Rogers, of Michigan; Levina, wife of H. W. Carter, of Sheffield, Ohio; and Byron B., who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Fitts have four chil- dren: Sophia, wife of J. T. Yates, of West Andover, has one child, Genevive; Bliss, a teacher in the public schools; Hubert H., at home and a teacher in the public schools; and Temperance, teaching in Pierpont, Ohio.

In politics, Mr. Fitts is a Republican, and he is a member of the A. F. & A. M., An- dover Lodge No. 506. An energetic and up- right business man and liberal minded citizen, he deservedly holds a high position in his community, to the interests of which he has materially contributed.

ASON C. WELLS, an old and honored citizen of Geauga county, is known as the "Claridon poet," having written many verses recounting the incidents of life on the frontier. Possessing more than ordinary lit- erary ability, he has prepared many articles for publication in the Geauga Republican, and upon the sixtieth anniversary of the or- ganization of the Congregational Church in Claridon he read a paper which received much favorable comment. He is one of the oldest settlers in the county, and a biographical sketch of his family is here appended.

He was born in Claridon township, Geauga county, Ohio, January 24, 1818, a son of Ebenezer Wells, a native of West Hartford, Connecticut, born in 1784, and grandson of Timothy Wells, who was born in West Hart- ford, Connecticut, in 1750. The family is of Scotch origin.

During the early part of the sixteenth century there lived in Scotland, by the side of some noted wells of water, a family by the name of Thomas; to distinguish the father from others bearing the same name he was called "Thomas by the wells." The family afterward went to England to live and the name was finally changed to Wells. About the year 1630 it is said three brothers came to America and settled in Massachusetts: the oldest brother, disliking the rigors of the New England climate, prospected toward the

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

South and settled in Virginia; the youngest joined a party of colonists in 1636 and settled in Connecticut, near the present site of Hartford. In 1745 appears Thomas Wells, great-grandfather of our subject, residing at the foot of Tolcott mountain. His son Tim- othy was a farmer, and served in the Revolu- tionary war. He was engaged to be married to Miss Esther Clark before going to the war, but delayed the marriage that he might serve his country. He was with the army during the terrible winter it Valley Forge, and was in several noted battles. On one occasion he witnessed a meeting of Washington and Lee, when the anger of the father of his country was amazing and he swore in vigorous terms. After three years' service Timothy Wells was stricken with smallpox, and his eyes became so affecten that he was discharged; he then re- turned to his home and was married. He traded his rough and stony land in Connec- ticut for land in Ohio, and sent his son, Timothy, Jr., on horseback to look after the investment. The war of 1812 delayed the settlement until 1815, when he came with his family, fourteen in number, making the jour- ney with wagons and oxen in thirty-seven days. He built a log cabin, and owned 430 acres of land. He died in 1820, at the age of three-score years and ten. Ebenezer Wells, father of Jason C., was married in Connecti- cut to Diantha Coe, and had two children when he came to his western home. With hard and unremitting toil he cleared up a farm before his death, which occurred at the age of forty-eight years; his wife survived to the age of eighty-seven. Money was very scarce in those days, and it was with difficulty that Mr. Wells raised his annual tax of $4. Hle hauled twenty-four bushels of wheat to Fairport, taking three days for the journey, and received in exchange only a barrel of

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 93

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