Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 97

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 97
USA > Ohio > Geauga County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 97
USA > Ohio > Lake County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake > Part 97

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).

His companion through life bore the maiden name of Harriet E. Cook, a daughter of John Cook: she was born August 20, 1807; they were united in marriage September 10, 1828, and reared a family of five children. Mrs. Ford was a fine representative of the best type of American womanhood; having a loyal admiration for her husband, she rejoiced in his successes and encouraged and aided his efforts for the uplifting of humanity.

C M. SANBORN, a prominent fruit- grower and influential citizen of Say- brook township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1844. His parents, William and Parmelia (Black) Sanborn, were natives of the Eastern States, the former having been born in Delaware county, New York, June 26, 1807. He began life as an agriculturist in the new country of Pennsylvania. His resources were at first limited and he toiled early and late for many years to support in comfort a loving family. He was frugal and wisely economical in his personal expenses and wholly free from all personal vices which impoverish so many. In business, he was scrupulously honest, careful and successful. In society, he was affable and gentlemanly; took a deep interest in the prominent ques- tions of the day, and was both fluent and en- tertaining in conversation and oratory. He

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afterward became extensively interested in the lumber business, his name becoming familiar in that connection throughout the lake country. It was at this time that he yielded to the solicitations of his friends and the wishes of his party, and was elected a member of the State Legislature of Pennsyl- vania. He was not in the ordinary sense a politician, and certainly not an aspirant for office, which sought him rather than he it. He was a true philanthropist, with well de- fined and positive sentiments on the subject of human rights, and being chosen by the freemen of his district he sought to serve the best interests of the State and of his constitu- ents. Industrious, conscientious and self- reliant, his office was no sinecure, and he at once took first rank among the working mem- bers of that body. The State of Pennsylva- nia was at that time fostering, not without considerable opposition, her colleges and seminaries, which without State aid seemed scarcely able to sustain themselves. As the member from Erie, much reliance was placed upon him by the educators in the western part of the State who counted upon him to assist them in their worthy efforts, and he did not fail them in their hour of need. At the time of the Civil war, Mr. Sanborn re- moved with his family to Ashtabula, Ohio, where he continued the lumber business, handling millions of feet annually and ship- ping large quantities to points in New York, to Richmond, Virginia and various other sur- rounding places; he was rightly termed the lumber king of the great lake region. He passed forty-three years of happily married life with his wife, the companion of his youth, and they had ten children: Adaline, widow of S. W. Haskins; Caroline, now deceased, was the wife of W. S. Drew; George W., of Fargo, Dakota; Mary M., widow of Dr. E. L.

King; Susan H., wife of E. H. Gilkey; W. E., deceased; Laura, deceased; C. M., subject of this sketch; J. W., deceased; and Florence, deceased, was the wife of Henry Perry. Sep- tember 8, 1871, the family were called upon to mourn the loss of the devoted father, whose life had been as admirable in private as in public, and whose death caused wide-spread sorrow wherever he was known.

His son, C. M. Sanborn, whose name heads this sketch, was reared in his native county, and attended the district and boarding schools and academy of his county. When eighteen years of age, he responded to the call of his country for volunteers to put down the Re- bellion and teach the South lessons of patriot- ism. He first served three months in the Sixteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, rendezvous- ing at Harrisburg, that State. He was thence transferred to the Fifteenth Infantry of regu- lar troops, under Colonels Sanderson and Shepard. A brief history of the service partici- pated in by this regiment may be summed up in the battles of Buzzard Roost, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Neal Dow Sta- tion, Peach-tree Creek, Utah Creek, Atlanta, and Jonesboro, September 1, 1864. The regi- ment was then ordered back to Lookout Mountain, where it remained in winter quar- ters until the spring of 1865, when it was transferred to Mobile, Alabama, and there discharged in November of the same year. Mr. Sanborn was offered a commission in the army as an officer, but preferred to remain i. the ranks among the boys in blue, and re- sponsible for no one but himself. He was wounded twice in the Atlanta campaign, once severely in his left hand. On the close of the war, Mr. Sanborn rejoined his parents and the rest of the family in Ashtabula, whither they had removed during his absence, and at once engaged with his father in the lum-

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ber trade, which he followed successfully for a number of years. He then retired from that business and began fruit farming, which he has since followed, his industry and intel- ligent management being justly rewarded with abundance of the best fruit. He now has an orchard of forty acres, comprising every variety of fruit known to the temper- ate zone, and a visit to his fine place is both instructive and pleasing.

April 29, 1869, Mr. Sanborn was married to Miss J. W. Belknap, a lady of many ster- ling qualities. ,She was one of five children of Seth and Laura (Dudley) Belknap, the former an early settler and farmer of Ashta- bula county, coming from New York, near Batavia. Their children were: Cornelia, who was twice married, first to William Watrous and next to Calvin Waterbury; Frank; George; J. W., born in 1850; and William. Mr. and Mrs. Sanborn have but one child, George W., born August 30, 1873, who is with his parents. The characteristics of his honorable father are repeated in Mr. Sanborn, and he justly enjoys the high es- teem of all who know him.

A F. HARRINGTON, an enterprising and successful business man of Con- neaut, Ohio, who has various interests in this city, is deserving of some per- sonal mention on the pages of this work. A brief sketch of his life is as follows:

A. F. Harrington was born in Pennsyl- vania, August 16, 1851, son of Reuben and Permelia (Campfield) Harrington. His father and mother were natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively, and were married in Pennsylvania. About 1857 they settled in Conneaut, Ohio, where they spent the rest

of their lives. The senior Mr. Harrington was a cooper and bridge carpenter, and after coming to Conneaut was chiefly engaged in work at the former trade. He was twice married, and his second wife is still living, aged about sixty years. He died in 1887, at the age of seventy. He was the father of nine children, four by the first union and five by the second. In the last family were three sons and two daughters, of whom A. F., the subject of this sketch, is the oldest.

Mr. A. F. Harrington made his own start in life, and the success he has attained is due solely so his own well directed efforts. He first worked with his father, then he spent one year in a marble shop, and after that clerked for Captain Capron in the ship yard three years. He subsequently spent one year in Wisconsin, working in a stave factory. He is a man of marked energy and business abil- ity, which has been amply demonstrated by the successful manner in which he has handled the various interests to which his at- tention has been called. At this writing he runs a fishery in the lake, is engaged in the oil business, has a grocery and meat market, deals in hides, etc., and also has a large real- estate interests. With an eye ever open to business opportunities, he has made a num- ber of judicious investments and is now the owner of valuable property interests in Con- neaut. While he looks well to his own pri- vate business affairs, he is public-spirited and generous and takes a lively interest in what- ever pertains to the welfare of the commu- nity in which he lives.

Mr. Harrington was married February 22, 1876, to Miss Hattie L. Keep, adopted daughter of Luther and Fanny Keep, of Mon- roe township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Harrington have two children, Arthur A. and Minnie V., both attending school. IIe

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and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Conneaut, of which he is serving as a Steward. Mr. Harrington is also a member of the Protected Home Circle, Junior Order of American Mechanics, Knights of the Golden Eagle, and of the State Police Force. Politically, he is an ardent Repub- lican.

C J. CRONIN, a conductor on the Nickel Plate Railroad, residing at Conneaut, Ohio, is a native of Chautauqua coun- ty, New York, born March 14, 1853. His parents, Jolin and Margaret (Haley) Cronin, were born, reared and married in Ireland, and came to America some time in the '40s, settling at Dunkirk, New York. His father was a tanner by trade. Both parents have passed away, the father dying at Cherry Creek, New York, at about the age of fifty years, and che mother living to be about sixty-five. They had a family of nine chil- dren, C. J. being among the youngest.

At about the age of fourteen years the sub- ject of our sketch entered upon a seafaring life, beginning as deck boy, being promoted to ordinary seaman and three years later to seaman. For more than a dozen years he sailed on the briny deep, and during that time visited nearly all the principal ports of the world. From 1870 until 1882 his home was in Erie, and during the warm weather he sailed on the lakes. The only serious ship- wreck he was in in all these years was on Lake Huron. He was on the Francis Berry- man, Captain William Norris, and about eleven o'clock on a moonlight night this ves- sel was run down by the steam barge Coffin- bury and struck forward of the fore rigging. Two men were killed or drowned and were never seen afterward. The trouble was

caused by a misunderstanding between the officers, the steam barge being responsible for the damages.

Mr. Cronin began railroading in 1880, as brakeman on the Lake Shore Railroad, and continued as such for two years. In 1882 he began service on the Nickel Plate, with which company he has since remained, hav- ing served three years as brakeman and the past eight years as freight conductor. In all his railroad experience he has never had an accident that cost the company a dol- lar. His career has been one marked by the closest attention to business and the interest of his employers.

Mr. Cronin was married December 28, 1881, to Miss Margaret Griffin, daughter of Tarrence and Margaret Griffin, natives of Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Cronin have four bright children, Anna May, Frank, Charles and Margaret, of whom they are justly proud. After having spent much of his life on the sca and in foreign climes, Mr. Cronin knows how to appreciate his comfortable and happy home. He and his wife are members of the Catholic Church, and in politics he affiiliates with the Democratic party. He is is a man of pleasing address, is an entertain- ing converser, and is popular with the Brotherhood, of which he is Assistant Chief.

E DWARD REID, a loyal citizen of the United States of America, was born in the south of Ireland, January 29, 1839, a son of Rassland and Eliza (Vickers) Reid, who were also natives of the Emerald Isle. The father began life as a cattle dro- ver, buying and shipping to England; he was an excellent judge of fine horses, and continued in the live-stock business until he

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

emigrated to Canada during the Turko-Rus- sian war; he located in Toronto and began the trade of brick-making, which he followed until his death; he met his death by accident, falling from a wagon which passed over his body. He reared a family of eight chil- dren: George; John died on the Mississippi river; Mary Ann; Samuel, now living in Melbourne, Australia, is married and has had three children, two of whom are living; Mar- garet married Thomas Hamilton, lives in Toronto and they have had nine children, four of whom are living: James, Nellie, Thomas and Tillie; Edward, the sixth-born is the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth died at the age of seventeen years; Ross died in Michigan at the age of forty-five years.

Edward was left in Ireland by his parents at the age of seven years; he lived with a great aunt until her death, and then remained with her husband until he was fourteen years old; at this early age he went to sea and for seven years was upon the deep. Locating in Toronto, Canada, he lived there ten years, engaged in brick-making; thence he went to Cleveland, and afterward to Geneva; here he has established a large brick and tile- making business, and has met with gratifying success. He also owns a fine farm, which he manages with the same sagacity which characterizes his commercial transactions.

Mr. Reid was united in marriage, in To- ronto, Canada, December 23, 1861, to Jane Thompson, widow of John Thompson, and daughter of William and Mary (Rumsey) Jones: they are the parents of seven chil- dren: George Arthur, born October 11, 1863, married Miss Pauline Newton, of Bas- trop, Louisiana, November 22, 1891; they have one child, Jannett, born November 14, 1892; Lilah was born February 9, 1865; Vickers, born in August, 1867, died in the

same month; Anna Gertrude was born De- cember 25, 1869; Edward Vickers, born December 29, 1871, was married to Mrs. Zada Hyde, January 18, 1893; William Jones was born July 4, 1874; and Maud Alice, November 11, 1876. By her first marriage Mrs. Reid had three children : Hugh Thompson, born May 8, 1855, died Septem- ber 21, 1889; Mary Jane, born March 3, 1857, married Robert Gilmore July 9, 1873; Elizabeth was born June 11, 1859, and died in January, 1862.

Mr. Reid was reared in the faith of the Episcopal Church. He is a most worthy member of Geneva Lodge, No. 334, F. and A. M. In politics he adheres to the prin- ciples of the Democratic party.

OHN GUDMUNDSON, a well-known, prosperous and highly esteemed citizen of Harbor, Ohio, was born on a farm C near Guttenburg, Sweden, March 20, 1849. His parents were Gudmund and Johanna (Anderson) Anderson, who reared ten chil- dren. The devoted wife and mother died in 1863, and ten years later the father also passed away. They were industrious, worthy people, and enjoyed the respect of all who knew them.

The subject of this sketch was reared on the home farm, and received his education in the adjacent schools. He labored faithfully on the farm until his departure for the United States, to which country he was induced to come by the greater opportunities afforded to young men. He arrived at Castle Garden, New York city, June 6, 1871, and two days later reached Jamestown, New York, whence he went to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he secured his first employment on the streets

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of that city, next engaging in farm work. He next came to Ohio and was for a time employed on the Jefferson & Painesville Railroad, between Jefferson and Ashtabula, under the superintendence of Mr. Mckenzie as contractor. Concluding that the far north- west afforded better inducements for a labor- ing man, Mr. Gudmundson went to Minne- sota, 100 miles from St. Paul, where he did railroad work for six weeks. At the end of this time he decided to return to Ohio, and accordingly came to Cleveland and worked two months on a gravel train on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. He then came to the Harbor, where, after work- ing a short time on the Pennsylvania Rail- road, he secured employment two months on Mr. Fargo's farm. He next worked eight months for Captain Brown, after which he worked five years for Albert Field, and con- cluded his services in other people's employ, with six months on the Nickel Plate Rail- road. He then started in life for himself by renting Captain Brown's farm, which he continued to manage successfully fourteen months. After this he engaged in teaming at the Harbor with his own team, which business he has ever since followed, meeting with deserved success, and by economy and persistent industry has accumulated a com- fortable income. He owns 1232 feet of val- uable property on Bridge street, at the Har- bor, besides other desirable real estate, and is numbered among the substantial men of the community.

May 30, 1878, Mr. Gudmundson was mar- ried, at the Harbor, to Miss Breta Larson, an estimable lady, who is a native of his own country, whence she came to the United States in 1873. Rev. Dr. H. N. McGiffert performed the marriage ceremony, a gentle- man well known and highly esteemed in this

vicinity. Mr. and Mrs. Gudmundson have one child, Carl Oscar, born January, 1879, who is a bright and promising boy, and whom his father intends shall enjoy the highest kind of privileges for an exceptional education.

Thus is it a pleasure to note the reward of merit and industry which in Mr. Gudmund- son's case have secured financial prosperity and the universal regard of his fellow-men.

W ILLIAM C. CHAMBERLAIN is a native of the State of Pennsylvania, having been born in Farmington, Tioga county, December 12, 1845. His father was Nelson H. Chamberlain, also a native of Tioga county. The grandfather, Chandler W. Chamberlain, was born in the Keystone State in 1802, of English ancestry. The paternal grandmother's maiden name was Jane Phoenix. Nelson H. Chamberlain was a farmer by occupation, and owned a well- improved tract of eighty acres of land in Tioga county. He married Dimis Rowley, a native of Steuben county, New York, and they reared a family of four children: Orlando; William C., the subject of this notice; Roswell I., deceased; and Alonzo B. The mother is living, at the age of sixty-six years; the father lived to attain three-score years and ten, departing this life November 30, 1891. William C. was reared in Pennsyl- vania until his twelfth year; he then went with his parents to Steuben county, New York, and later, in 1863, they removed to the township of Alma, Allegany county, New York.

When only a lad of fifteen years his heart became fired with patriotism, which found expression in his service to his country.

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

August 14, 1861, he enlisted from Steuben county in Company B, Eighty-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry, known in the army as the "Steuben Rangers," and was sent directly to Washington, joining the Army of the Potomac, in Smith's division, Hancock's brigade. He was detailed to provost duty, but served afterward in Pope's campaign and participated in the second battle of Bull Run. Soon after this engage- ment he was taken ill, and was confined in Harwood Hospital, Washington, from Sep- tember 1, 1862, until the latter part of November of the same year, when he was transferred to the hospital at Portsmouth Grove, Rhode Island, where he was discharged on account of disability, January 3, 1863. He returned to his home, and the next autumnn he settled in Allegany county, New York; here he purchased a tract of wild, undeveloped land, which he improved, and when it was discovered to be in the oil district he sold it for a large advance upon the price paid. In 1884 he came to Geauga county, Ohio, and bought his present farm, a tract of fifty-eight acres, located in Hampden township, on North Hampden street.

Mr. Chamberlain was married May 4, 1870, two miles east of Chardon, to Miss Cornelia L. White, who was born in Tioga county, New York. They are the parents of two children, Cora M. and Mildred M., bright young ladies, who were educated at Char- don.

Aaron and Mary S. (Garrison) White, the parents of Mrs. Chamberlain, were born in Tioga county, New York, and Bradford county, Pennsylvania, respectively. They reared a family of five children: Cornelia, Albert G., George H., Spencer E. and Ezra E. Mr. White removed from New York State to Geauga county, Ohio, in 1884,

and purchased a farm which joins on the north of that of his son-in-law. Mr. Cham- berlain has a well cultivated and highly im- proved farm, with neat and substantial build- ings which he has erected since his pur- chase. He raises live-stock and grain, and is numbered among the most thrifty and sub- stantial farmers of the community. He and his wife adhere to the Free Baptist faith in their religion. In politics, he supports the Republican party, and is now serving his third term as Trustee of the township. He has been very faithful and efficient in the discharge of his official duty, and has promoted the best interests of the town- ship. He is a member of the Reed Post, No. 387, G. A. R., at Chardon, and belongs to the Hampden Grange.

C ORRELL MERRELL, for seventy-five years a resident of Concord township, Lake county, Ohio, a prosperous farmer and worthy citizen, was born in Winsted, Connecticut, June 9, 1811. He comes of a prominent New England family, his paternal grandfather having also been a native of Connecticut, where many of his an- cestors were born, and where the grandfather lived to be more than a hundred years old. His son, Phineas Merrell, father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was also a native of Con- necticut, and was reared to farming, which cecupation he followed in the State of his birth until March, 1818, when he emigrated to Ohio. He and an uncle, with their fami- lies, came overland in wagons to Concord township, Lake county, where they settled on new lind, which was heavily wooded. On the 100 acres he purchased, Mr. Merrell built

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

a double log house, in which the two fami- lies lived. They subsisted largely on wild game and fish, with which the woods and streams abounded and which was not a bad diet by any means. Mr. Merrell cleared and industriously improved his land, on which he died in 1827, in his forty-seventh year, greatly lamented by all who knew him. His wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Markham, was also a native of Connecticut. She afterward remarried and lived to be more than ninety years of age. She was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church and prominent in all good works. She had five children, all of whom lived to have families of their own, but of whom the subject of this sketch is the sole survivor.

Mr. Merrell, whose name heads this notice, was about seven years of age when his par- ents removed to Ohio, where he received his education in the log schoolhouses of the day, which were provided with slab benches and all the crude appliances of pioneer times. The instruction received, however, was much the same as that enjoyed in the present schools of numerous conveniences, the sub- ject of this sketch generally attending about three months a year during the winter sea- son, the rest of his time being employed in light duties on the farm. He was the eldest son, and after the death of his father, being then seventeen years of age, he with the help of his brother, Lucian, three years younger, took the management of the farm, and prac- tically became the head of the family. He continued to work at home until he was twenty-two years of age, and then went to Canada, where he worked as a muddler in a furnace for six weeks. He then secured a position in the Geauga iron furnace, near Painesville, where he worked several years. At the end of this time, in partnership with

others, he built a furnace in Concord town- ship near where he now resides, in which he continued to be a managing stockholder for nine years. He then sold his interest and purchased the old homestead, which his father had reclaimed from the wilderness, on which he has since continued to reside and on which he has made many additional im- provements until it is now one of the most valuable farms in the county. He now has in Concord township 340 acres of land, most of which is cultivated to general farming, although for several years he raised quite a herd of shorthorn cattle. He has been a hard worker all his life and justly deserves the prosperity which he now enjoys. He has not been out of Lake county two months at one time since 1818, a space of seventy-five years, and is contented to live and die where he has passed so many happy years.

September 14, 1841, Mr. Merrell was mar- ried to Lury Baker, an intelligent lady, a native of Lake county, Ohio, and daughter of Hosea Baker, an early settler of that county, who came from the East. They had four children: Phineas, married, is a pros- perous farmer; Arthur, married, is a promin- ent farmer of Concord township; Antoinette, wife of G. S. Hodges, resides on the old homestead; and Correll B., married, resides in Cleveland, where he is a general insurance agent. February 27, 1884, the family were called upon to mourn the loss of the devoted wife and mother, who had for so many years subordinated her interests to those of her dear ones. She was a woman of rare ability and force of character, and left many friends to mourn her loss.

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake, Part 97

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