Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning, Part 32

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 786

USA > Ohio > Mahoning County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 32
USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 32
USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 32

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).

Mr. Miller is now serving his second term as Postmaster of Mecca. He affiliates witlı the Republican party.

HOMAS A. WINFIELD, Justice of the Peace and a real-estate dealer of Niles, was born at Canfield, Mahoning county, Ohio, September 27, 1848, a son of John Winfield, a native of Leicester- shire, England. He came to the United States at the age of nineteen years, was an ex- pert mechanic, and was employed as a

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

finisher of fine edged tools. He was a Re- publican in political matters, and was one of five men to organize the Disciple Church at Philadelphia. Mr. Winfield was married in the latter city to Mary Champion, who was born in the same neighborhood as her hus- band and who came to the United States when a child. They had six children: John, at Youngstown, Ohio; Mary Mehara, of Northville, South Dakota; Sarah Clark, a resident of Neodesha, Kansas; Sophia, of Warren, Ohio; William C., a member of the Winfield Manufacturing Company, of War- ren; and Thomas A., our subject. The father died in 1877, at the age of sixty-eight years.

T. A. Winfield, our subject, was reared and educated at Canfield, Mahoning county, Ohio, and afterward was engaged in the hard- ware trade at Hubbard for twenty years. For the past eight years he has been a resident of Niles, Trumbull county, where he is engaged in the real-estate business, and also holds the office of Justice of the Peace, in which he is now serving his third term.

Mr. Winfield was united in marriage with Mary Bassit, a native of Michigan, and a daughter of Edwin Basset, of Austin, Min- nesota. Her mother was formerly a Miss Bruce, a daughter of Joseph Bruce, a native of Canfield, Ohio. To this union were born four children: Anna F., a graduate of the Niles high school, in the class of 1893; Frank Bruce, and Edwin Clark, and Charles. The wife and mother died in 1882, having been a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. June 10, 1884, Mr. Winfield mar- ried Carrie Mason, a daughter of H. T. Ma- son, one of the early pioneers of Niles, and for many years County Commissioner from this city. Mr. and Mrs. Winfield have four children : Mary, Mason, Harry and John.

Our subject affiliates with the Republican party. Socially, he is a member of the F. & A. M. Mrs. Winfield is a member of the Disciple Church.

ON. WILLIAM DAVIS, for nearly twenty years Mayor of Niles, Ohio, H . and in whose praise as a business man, citizen and public official, too much cannot be said, was born in Bilston, Stafford- shire, England, May 8, 1817. His father, John Davis, was born in the same county, in 1769, and died there in 1824. He was a surveyor and civil engineer, a man of sterling worth of character and of wide popularity. He married Susana Moody and they had four children: John, who died in Niles; Will- iam, whose name heads this sketch; James; and Ann, who married John Whitmore, now deceased.

The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in his native city, where he resided until after his marriage. Induced by the enlarged opportunities of the New World, he, in 1842, in company with his brother James, came to the United States, whence they were followed in the course of a few years by their brother John and sister Ann. William and Johnat first settled in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, whence they removed some years later to Franklin, the same State, work- ing in each place as rollers in a mill. In 1851, William came to Niles, Ohio, where he was employed for a time as a heater in a mill, from which position he was promoted to superintendent. Following this, he ac- cepted a position in Youngstown as superin- tendent of the Brown, Bonnil & Company's mills. Having by this time accumulated some means of his own, with commendable

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ambition, he entered into partnership with others in the erection of a mill in Niles, and the firm subsequently became known under the name of Harris, Davis & Company, Mr. Davis acting as manager of the business. This mill was successfully conducted until its sale in 1869, when Mr. Davis engaged in the boot and shoe business in Niles, which he also sold some years later, subsequently re- tiring from active pursuits, to enjoy in the comfort of his home and the society of his family the accumulations of many years of lionest industry. While thus free from all care, an admiring constituency sought to utilize the waste force and energy of his men- tal and physical abilities by harnessing him into their service as the chief executive of their municipality, and, in 1876, he was elected Mayor of Niles, which position he has filled by successive re-election ever since. The city has materially developed under his efficient management, receiving a new water- works system, an electric light plant, a new engine house for the fire department, and a plan for extensive sewerage development. Mr. Davis was a member of the Board of Education when the central school building was erected, the same being one of the most perfectly appointed of similar institutions in the State. Few cities are so fortunate in se- curing the undivided services of a man who confines long years of business experience with the highest honor and integrity and a sincere devotion to the public's interests. When found, such an acquisition is indeed to be prized, as the good people of Niles evi- dently fully realize.

In 1839, in his native country, Mr. Davis was married to Mary Ann, daughter of Joseph Jones, a lady of superior ability and acquirements. Her mother's maiden name was Aston. Our subject and his wife have

had the following children: Susie, now Mrs. Enoch Wood, of Youngstown; John M., a mill man of New Castle, Pennsylvania; and William, a moulder in Niles (both of these sons were in the Civil war, members of the Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry); James R., a confectioner of Niles; Joseph, deceased; Sadie, now Mrs. Thomas Spencer, of Youngstown; Jefferson C., murdered at East Liverpool, Ohio; Alexander B., de- ceased; Joseph M., the second, residing in Niles; Thomas R., George M., and Lydia W., also in Niles.

In politics, Hon. Mr. Davis is a Repub- lican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic order and is a member of the blue lodge. In religion, he is a Presbyterian. As a citizen and public man, he is upright, energetic, progressive and public spirited, and has won the universal regard of his fellow-men.

S. COLE, a substantial and reliable merchant of Niles, Ohio, was born at Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, June 22, 1846. His father emigrated from his native State, New York, to Ashtabula county, Ohio, about the year 1836, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits there four years; he thien made a change in his residence and was not permanently located until he came to Warren county, where he remained until his death, in 1863. He married Mary Fish, daughter of Elijah Fish, a pioneer of Ashta- bula county and a native of Connecticut, and to them were born six children : Moses ; James ; Jane, deceased; Elmira, wife of Nathau Hea- ton; Mary, who married Mr. Strong; and Le- ander S., the subject of this biographical sketch. At the tender age of seven years this child was thrown upon his own resources;

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he found a shelter under the roof of H. R. Harmon, of Warren, a prominent dealer in live-stock and ex-Sheriff of the county, and there he lived as one of the family until 1868.

Responding to the call for men to go out in defense of the " stars and stripes," he en- listed in 1861 in the Fifteenth Ohio Volun- teer Light Artillery, under Captain Edward Spear, Third Brigade, Second Division, and Seventeenth Army Corps. The first engage- ment was at Shiloh, then Corinth, Matamoras, Vicksburg and Cold water, Atlanta campaign, then the march with Sherman to the sea, the return through the Carolinas and Virginia, and the grand review at Washington in 1865. In all this Mr. Cole participated with the zeal of a true patriot, receiving an honorable discharge at Columbus, Ohio, in June, 1865. He had not been wounded in all the long and bloody conflict.

The war being ended, he entered the em- ploy of Harmon Brothers, merchants of War- ren, Ohio, and for ten years was in their service; he then came to Niles, and was em- ployed in the store belonging to the Ward Iron Company for another decade. He then removed to Butler county, Pennsylvania, where he took charge of a store owned by the Mahoning Iron Company. In 1889 he re- turned to Niles, establishing himself in his present business. He carries a large stock of groceries, both staple and fancy, and has a large and profitable patronage. In politics he does not become deeply interested, but is loyal to his principles as a member of the Republican party. He belongs to the Ma- sonic order, is a member of the G. A. R., and is a pensioner.

son named Cephus, who is in the store with his father. In 1877 the mother died, and seven years later Mr. Cole was married to Mary Holzbach, who was born in Germany in 1856; the children of this union are Clara G. and Ida May.

URTIS HALL, a well-to-do farmer of Fowler township, Trumbull county, Ohio, is a representative of one of the prominent families of this part of the county.

He was born in Fowler township, March 2, 1820, son of Amasa Hall and grandson of Amasa Hall, Sr., natives of Massachusetts. The Hall family came to Ohio as early as 1814, making the journey hither in wagons drawn by ox teams. Grandfather Hall died while they were on their way to this promised land. The younger Amasa Hall married Sarah Remington, a native of Connecticut, and they passed the rest of their lives and died in Fowler township, this county. She died at the age of thirty-five and he lived to be sixty-two. Of her five children we record that Curtis is the oldest; Frederick died in this township, leaving a widow and three chil- dren; Isabell Fox died at Bangor, Wisconsin ; Warren is a resident of Warren, Ohio; and William, who died in Fowler township, left one son, Fred A. The father of this family was married a second time, being united to Mrs. Polly (Nichols) Brown, who bore him one son, Oliver B. Amasa Hall was a black- smith by trade and was also engaged in farm- ing. Politically, he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was honored and respected by all who knew him.

Mr. Cole was married in 1872, to Minerva A. J. Park, a daughter of John H. Park, who is mentioned at length elsewhere in this his- Curtis Hall was reared to farm life, and tory. Mr. and Mrs. Cole had one child, a was educated in the public schools of the

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township, and ever since he was twenty-one he has resided upon the farm where he now lives, having spent more than half a century here. He has one of the best farms in the township. It comprises 200 acres, is nicely improved and is located in a good neighbor- hood. He keeps a dairy and has given con- siderable attention to the raising of thorough- bred cattle.

Mr. Hall was married when he was nine- teen to Almira Sigler, daughter of George Sigler, of Ohio. Slie died in December, 1875, and her only child, Mary, died July 10, 1874, having been the wife of Allen Cad- walder and the mother of one child, Elmo. In 1877 Mr. Hall married Millie Barber, daughter of R. Barber, of Fowler. Her inother was a Miss Foot before her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have one son, Warren Curtis Hall.

For many years Mr. Hall has been an ac- tive worker in the Republican party in Fow- ler township. He has served for thirty-three successive years as a Justice of the Peace, and for two ternis he rendered efficient ser- vice as an Infirmary Director. He is a mem- ber of the United Brethern Church and is a man whose life is in every respect in har- mony with his religious profession.

丁 H. ROSE, the most extensive cheese and butter mannfacturer in northeast- ern Ohio, is the subject of this sketch. Mr. Rose is operating twelve cheese and butter factories, all of which are under his personal supervision, and the output of these factories is not excelled by that of any in the State. His factories are improved and equipped with all the latest modern machin- ery, are operated by expert men, and his

product commands the highest market price in Pittsburg, Philadelphia, Boston and Cin- cinnati. At this writing the average amount" of money expended per day for milk alone is $900. These factories are located as follows: one in Bazetta township, two in Mecca town- ship, one in Farmington township, one in Gustavus township and two in Bloomfield township, Trumbull county; one in Cole- brook township, two in Williamsfield town- ship and one in Dorset township, Ashtabula county; and one in Crawford county, Penn- sylvania, near the Ohio State line. Mr. Rose has had many years of experience in this line of business, and it would be hard indeed to find a man who is better posted on the sub- ject than he.

Having referred briefly to Mr. Rose's busi- ness, we now pass to some personal mention of hin. T. H. Rose was born in Mecca town- ship, Ohio, August 2, 1841, son of Jonathan Rose, who was born in Maryland in 1798. Jonathan Rose was twice married. By his first wife, nee Betsey McColghlin, he had two children, and by his second wife, whose maiden name was Anna Craft, and who was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, he had six children, three of whom are living. Of these three that are living we record that John is in business in Cleveland, Ohio; T. H. figures as the subject of this sketch; and Emily is now Mrs. Meeks, a resident of Cort- land, Ohio. The three who are deceased are Emma, Albert and Mary. The father of this family died at the age of sixty years, and his wife passed away at fifty-eight. She was a member of the Metliodist Episcopal Church, and both were highly respected people in the community in which they lived.

T. H. Rose spent his boyhood days on the farm, and received his education in his native township. In 1863 he went to the Pacific

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coast, where he spent three years and a half in mining and prospecting, traveling over all the points of interest in the West. He then returned to Ohio, and has since made his home in this favored locality. His beautiful rural home, Rose Farm, is located in Trum- bull county, a mile and a half from Cortland. This farm comprises 106 acres. The resi- dence, a large, roomy house, is located on a natural elevation, and is surrounded with a most attractive lawn, ornamented with ever- greens and shrubs.

Mr. Rose, was married in Mecca, Ohio, at the age of twenty-six, to Miss Josephine Gridley, who was born in Johnston township, Trumbull county, Ohio, daughter of Albert and Maria (Palmer) Gridley, natives of Mas- sachusetts, both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Gridley had a family of nine children. He and two of his sons, Henry and Homer, were in service all through the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Rose have five children, Frank E., Jennie M., Mamie, Lucy and Charlie. Miss Jennie is an accomplished musician, and is engaged in teaching music. Miss Lucy, also a musician, is organist for the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she and her mother and sisters are members.

Mr. Rose was made a Mason in Erie Lodge, No. 3, but is now a member of Cortland Lodge No. 529, A. F. & A. M. Politically, he is a Republican.

H OMER W. VAN WYE, proprietor of a livery, feed and boarding stable, No. 15 Franklin street, Warren, Ohio, has recently identified himself with the business interests of this place. He took possession of the aforesaid livery stable No-

vember 1, 1892, and has since been doing a thriving business. His stable will accom- modate twenty-four head of horses.

Mr. Van Wye was born in Howland town- ship, Trumbull county, Ohio, May 24, 1859, son of John and Adaline (Corlton) Van Wye, natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and Girard, Ohio, respectively. They are now living retired on a farm in Howland township. Homer W. was reared on the farm and was engaged in agricultural pur- suits until 1892, the date of his coming to Warren. He still owns fifty-eight acres of land in Howland township.

April 25, 1883, the subject of this sketch married Miss Lina Lemley, of Warren, daughter of Jacob Lemley. They have two children: Adaline and Margarite. They re- side on Franklin street.

Mr. Van Wye is a stanch Republican. He is an enterprising business man, and brings to his new occupation the same vim and energy which characterized his labor on the farm. Mrs. Van Wye is a member of the Lutheran Church.

WEN A. PALMER, M. D., a leading physician and esteemed citizen of War- ren, Ohio, is a native son of the Buck- eye State, having been born in Bristol town- ship, Trumbull county, April 26, 1847. His parents, Ezra and Esther L. (Bates) Palmer, were natives of Langdon, New Hampshire, and Geneva, Ohio, respectively, the former of English parentage and the latter a daughter of Ohio pioneers. The father of Dr. Palmer was a man of good education, natural ability and energy, and took an active part in the early affairs of his vicinity. They had three children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the oldest.

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

Dr. Palmer was reared on a farm in Trum- bull county until he reached the age of six- teen years, gaining a fair common-school education, and then began teaching at Hart's Grove, Ohio, where he taught for three years. At the age of eighteen he began the study of medicine, which profession he had selected as his life work, and which study he prose- cuted so successfully at the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, this State, that on February 9, 1869, he graduated, at the age of twenty-one, the youngest in a class of forty-six pupils. In the spring of the same year he began the practice of medicine in Farmington, where he successfully continued for twelve years. He then sold out his prac- tice at that place and removed to Geneva, where he remained three years. At the end of that time he became lecturer on the dis- eases of the eye and ear, and clinical profes- sor of those diseases in the .St. Louis City Hospital, where he remained one year. May 5, 1885, he came to Warren, Ohio, where he immediately entered on the active practice of his profession, making a specialty of sur- gery and of the diseases of the eye and ear. He soon gained the front rank in his prac- tice, for which he was so ably fitted, both by experience and education, and has continued uninterruptedly in its prosecution at Warren until the present time, with the exception of a short period spent at the Hahnemann Col- lege and hospital, in Chicago, Illinois, where he took a post-graduate course. He is es- sentially a student and deeply enamoured of his profession, which accounts for his success.

He is prominently connected with all the important medical societies of his State, to which he renders much practical assistance by his able counsel. He was elected Presi. dent of the Northeastern Homeopathic Medi- cal Society on April 19, 1893, and appointed

delegate of that association to the World's Medical Congress, which met in Chicago in May, 1893. He is also a member of the Ohio State Homeopathic Medical Society, and of the American Institute of Homeopathy, be- sides contributing to the surgical department of the Homeopathic News, of St. Louis, and occasionally to other medical journals of note. Few men are as usefully and busily occupied with all that tends to advance the welfare of the human race, or more thoroughly deserve the commendation of all right minded people.

August 18, 1868, Dr. Palner was married to Miss Frances M. Pinney, of Hart's Grove, Ohio, a lady of many estimable qualities, and they have three children: Georgiana, now the wife of John A. Pew; Grace P. and Roy A. The family are members of the Disciple Church, to which they render much assist- ance.

Fraternally, the Doctor is a Knight of Pythias. Socially, he stands high in his com- munity, and as a professional man and citi- zen, is unsurpassed for ability and loyalty to home interests, to which he has materially contributed by his energy and public spirit.

P ROF. BYRON D. HIRST, superin- tendent of the public schools at North Bloomfield, Trumbull county, Ohio, is now filling his second year in that in- portant and exacting capacity. He was born at Coitsville, Mahoning county, Ohio, Feb- ruary 17, 1863, being the son of Warren and Mary Jane (Burrows) Hirst, the former of whom was born at Sharon, Pennsylvania, in August, 1841, and the latter a native of New Bedford, Pennsylvania, where her birth oc- cnrred in May, 1841. Both parents now re- side at Youngstown, Ohio. To them there

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were born four children, of whom our subject is the eldest. The second, Burt, was born in October, 1868, is a tinner and resides in Youngstown. He married Mary Griffin, of South Charleston, Ohio. The third child, Anna, born January 11, 1871, resides in Youngstown, as does also the fourth, Joseph A., who was born in September, 1873.

After a thorough preliminary and prepara- tory training in the public schools, the sub- ject of this review entered the Lebanon Uni- versity, at Lebanou, Ohio, where he followed out the required curriculum in the scientific course, graduating in 1886 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He had simultan- eously prosecuted the studies of the commer- cial department of the university and at the same time received a diploma from this de- partment.

Mr. Hirst immediately put his education to practical use and engaged in teaching at Burg Hill, Ohio, for one year, which incum- bency was followed by a similar one, of equal duration, at Brookfield, in both of which places he served as principal of the schools. He then accepted the principalship of the high school at Church Hill, where he re- mained for a term of four years, his methods meeting with general approval and his work proving efficient in practical results.

In 1892 Prof. Hirst removed to North Bloomfield, and has since served as principal of the special district high school, bringing to the work personal enthusiasm, discerning judgment and thorough experience. This school is divided into three grades and em- ploys three teachers, the enrollment each year reaching an average of about 120 stu- dents. The course of study includes two years of Latin and algebra, geometry, trig- onometry, history, natural philosophy, bot- any, astronomy and rhetoric. The school is

well equipped with apparatus for the facili- tating of the teaching of the natural sciences. The junior class at the present time has eleven members. One of the best of the features which give distinction and practical efficiency to the work of the Bloomfield school, and one that can be claimed by few, if any, other institutions of similar province, is that a license to teach is required of all graduates. That this provision insures thoroughness in study is certain, and it also precludes the indiscriminate extending of diplomas. The school has an alumni asso- ciation of thirty-two members, several of whom have proved the practical value of their training, and liave attained notable suc- cess in professional and business circles. Bloomfield is beautifully sitnated, and, with a new schoolhouse, would make an excellent center for educational work.

Prof. Hirst is Republican in his political proclivities, but is not actively partisan. June 2, 1887, he was united in marriage to Adelia Glenny, daughter of James and Amanda Glenny, of Lebanon, she being the fifth of eight children. Both the Professor and Mrs. Hirst are members of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, the latter being a most zealous worker in the cause, and being also prominently identified with the W. C. T. U.

A LBERT H. GORDON, a farmer of Lordstown township, Trumbull county, Ohio, was born on the farm on which he now lives January 19, 1851. He is a son of Irwin P. and Sarah (Reed) Gor- don, both natives of Ohio, the former of Ashtabula county and the latter of Trumbull. Irwin Gordon's parents were Thomas and Isabell (Irwin) Gordon, he a native of Scot-

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land and she of Ireland. Thomas Gordon died in Warren, Ohio, at the age of seventy- six years, and his wife passed away in Lords- town, aged eighty-eight years. They had a family of eight children, some of whom were farmers and others mechanics. All are now deceased. Irwin P. Gordon settled in Lords- town township in 1839. Here he bought fifty acres of wild land, built a cabin upon it, and began life in true pioneer style. In this cabin Albert H. was born, and that same year Mr. Gordon built the residence which has since served as the family home. He died here at the age of fifty years. Politi- cally, lie was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. He served as Justice of the Peace for several years, and also filled vari- ous other local offices. His wife died here at the age of fifty-six years. She was a danghter of James and Letitia (Porter) Reed, natives of Pennsylvania. Her father was a farmer and carpenter. He died in Girard, Ohio, at the age of seventy years, and her mother passed away in Ashtabula county, this State, at the age of seventy-five. Mr. and Mrs. Reed had three children, only one of whom is now living.

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning, Part 32

Author: Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 786

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 786