Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning, Part 35

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 35
USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 35
USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 35

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H ON. JOHN N. ENSIGN, Mayor of Newton Falls, and one of the popular and self- made men of Trumbull county, Ohio, was born in Simsbury, Hartford county, Connecticut, April 2, 1819. Erie Ensign, his father, was a native of Connec- ticut and passed his life and died in that State. He was a tinner by trade and was also en- gaged in agricultural pursuits for some years. His wife, nee Lucretia Humphrey, also a na- tive of Connecticut, died at the home of her son John N. at the advanced age of eighty- three years. Jolin N. was the third born in a family of five children. He has one sister and one brother living. The Ensigns are of English ancestry. Our subject's great-grand- father, Lieutenant Nathaniel Humphrey, was an officer in the Revolutionary war.

John N. Ensign spent the first sixteen years of his life on the farm. He then en-

tered upon a five years' apprenticeship to the tinner trade. In the meantime he had spent his leisure hours in study, and at the end of five years he went to New Jersey and taught a winter school. Returning home, he spent the following year and a half as clerk in a general merchandise store. About this time he was married, and after his marriage he taught another term of school. He then rented a farm for one year, after which le came to Newton Falls, Ohio, and opened a tin shop and started peddlers on the road. This was in 1844. He conducted business here for nearly half a century, finally selling out about 1890. Mr. Ensign's whole busi- ness career has been characterized by earnest activity and strict integrity. Few men in this part of Trumbull county are better known than he.

In 1870 he was elected a Justice of the Peace, and has served ever since as such witlı the exception of one term. He has always been a Democrat and has been elected to office on that ticket in a township that is strongly Republican. He has served as Mayor of Newton Falls for three years. He has also filled the position of Township Clerk and other local offices, and in educational affairs he has taken a deep interest and been an active worker. Mr. Ensign is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, affiliating with Lodge No. 255 of Newton Falls, in which he has filled every chair.

Mr. Ensign married Miss Sarah P. Russell, a native of Hartford county, Connecticut. She is one of a family of ten children, her parents being David and Harriet Russell, who passed their lives and died in Hartford county. Mr. Ensign has three children: Ellis, Harriet and Charles A., all married and settled in life, Harriet and Charles A. each having two chil-

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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.

dren. Ellis and Charles A. are druggists of Youngstown, Ohio, and are among the prom- inent business men of that place.

. Mr. Ensign is truly a self-made man. When he arrived in Ohio he was without means and borrowed money to start in busi- ness. His success in life is due solely to his energy and good management.

W ILLIAM C. ALLISON, a prominent Inmber dealer and manufacturer of Niles, is a native of the State of Ohio, and was born in the town in which he now resides, December 25, 1855. His father, Amos Allison, was born in Pennsylvania in 1807, and fifty years ago emigrated to Ohio and established himself in Columbiana coun- ty; he was a moulder by trade, and followed this vocation several years after his removal to this State; he was employed at the old Heaton furnace, at Niles, but during the last years of his life was in the employ of the N. Y. P. & O. R. R. Co., at this point as agent. In the discharge of his duties here he met with a terrible accident, which necessi- tated the amputation of his leg and finally cansed his death, which occurred in 1862. While residing at Weathersfield he served the public as Justice of the Peace, and was a ca- pable and efficient officer. Amos Allison was one of a family of five children: Nancy was the wife of William Mckinley, Sr., father of Ohio's illustrious Governor; Obediah; Ab- bie, wife of Abner Osborn; and Sarah, de- ceased; Amos married Hannah Van Houten, a pioneer of Trumbull county, to whom were born four children: Mary, wife of B. L. Sat- terfield, a partner of W. C. Allison; Abner C., of Cleveland; Olive, wife of George Har- ris, a sheet-iron roller, and William C., the

subject of this biographical sketch. In his youth Mr. Allison was employed in the roller, mills, and mastered his trade of sheet-iron roller, which he followed without interruption for twelve years; two years of this time he was with the Philadelphia Iron & Steel Com- pany, and the remainder was spent with the Ward Iron Mill Company, of Niles.

In 1885 he left the mill and embarked ip the lumber business, under the firm name of Allison & Company. He is one of the larg- est dealers in the county, and does an immense amount of manufacturing, the products of his mill being sash, doors and blinds. Possessed of sound judgment and superior ability, he has rapidly made his way to the front, and is recognized as a most valuable member of commercial circles. In politics he is a Re- publican.

Mr. Allison was married at Niles, Ohio, April 27, 1883, to Miss Kate Erwin, a danghter of David Erwin, a lumber and coal dealer of this place; one child has been born to them, a son named Erwin. Mrs. Amos Allison, mother of W. C., died May 7, 1893; she was followed to her last resting-place by a large concourse of sorrowing friends and relatives; she was a woman of much force of character, and was held in high esteem.

SAAC GRANGER, a farmer and stock raiser of Liberty township, Trumbull county, was born in Hubbard township, this county, January 1, 1842, a son of Jared Granger, a native of Connectient. The lat- ter's father, Benjamin Granger, was a soldier in the war of 1812. He came to Howland township, Trumbull county, Ohio, when Jared was quite young. Mr. and Mrs. Ben- jamin Granger had five children, viz .: Jared,

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Harold, George, James and Mary. Jared married Elizabeth Swager, a daughter of Henry Swager. They had two sons, Lemuel and Isaac, both of Liberty township. The father died in 1858. He was a Democrat in his political views, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Isaac ranger, our subject, worked at the carpenter's trade for a time in early life. September 12, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, Nineteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the regiment being attached to the Fourth Army Corps. He was wounded at Stone river, De- cember 31, 1862; was appointed Corporal July 20, 1863, and was honorably discharged June 9, 1865. He participated in the battles of Chicamanga, Missionary Ridge and Rocky Face Ridge, Pickett's Mills, Kenesaw Moun- tain, the siege of Atlanta, Lovejoy and Jones- boro; he then took part in the campaign against Hood and fought in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. As before stated he was wounded at Stone river; was taken prisoner on the hospital transport, was robbed, and with others, allowed to go. After the close of the struggle, Mr. Granger returned to Trumbull county, and for the following seven years was engaged in the mercantile business at Sodom. He then purchased seventy acres of land three miles northeast of Church Hill, where he is engaged in general farming and stock raising. He has one of the best improved farms, and is one of the most successful business men in Trumbull county.

September 7, 1865, at Church Hill, Mr. Granger was united in marriage with Eliza- beth, a daughter of George and Catherine (Loy) Hood. The parents had four children, Timothy, Lemuel, Zenas and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Granger have three children, George L., a resident of Briar Hill; Frank L. and

Edna B., at home. Mrs. Granger is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject affiliates with the Republican party, has served two years as Township Assessor, and in 1891 was elected to the position of Township Trustee. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post, No. 29, of Youngstown.

S F. SMITH, was born on the farm on which he now lives, in Mecca town- ship, Trumbull county, Ohio, on Christmas day, 1854. Joseph N. Smith, his father, born in New London, Connec- ticut, November 22, 1814, was a son of William Smithi, a native of Preston, Connec- ticut. The latter was a soldier in the war of 1812. The maiden name of grandmother Smith was Betsey Wilber, and she, too, was a native of Connecticut. It was in July, 1833, that the Smith family emigrated from Connecticut to Ohio and established their home in Mecca township, Trumbull county. Here Joseph N. Smith was subsequently married to Belinda Walker, daughter of Jon- athan Walker, a veteran of the war of 1812, and a prominent pioneer of Bristol, Ohio. They in time became the parents of three children, of whom we record that Zelinda is now the wife of Henry Williams, a resident of Mecca township; Simareus L. Smith died in 1871; and S. F. Smith is the subject of this sketeli. The father died August 10, 1872, having been killed by lightning, and his widow still resides on the old home place. He was a Republican and a Methodist, was honorable and upright in all the walks of life, and was one of the highly respected citizens of the community in which he lived.

S. F. Smith grew up on the farm, has been engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life,

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and since his father's death has had charge of the old home farm. This place comprises 143 acres, is well improved and kept in the best of order. His education was limited to the common schools, but by reading and home study he has acquired a store of useful infor- mation, and keeps well posted on current topics. He is one of the leading Republicans of this place, and is now serving as Justice of the Peace.

D R. C. S. WARD, an eminent physician of Warren, Ohio, was born at Geneva, Ohio, March 28, 1854.

Columbus Ward, his father, now a resident of Pasadena, California, was for many years a representative citizen of Warren. He was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, May 29, 1834, son of William and Mary (Williams) Ward, both natives of New York State, and both having died in Geneva, Ashtabula county, Ohio. William Ward was a farmer and miller. It was early in the twenties that he located in Ashtabula county. There he and his wife reared a family of seven chil- dren. Columbus Ward's early life was spent on his father's farm, and when he grew np he was engaged as traveling salesman for a Cleve- land house, continuing thus occupied until 1865. That year he located in Warren and for some time afterward was engaged in book- keeping. For eight years he was Mayor of the city. Since 1888, he has resided in Cal- ifornia. The doctor's mother, nee Hannah Jaquays, was born in New York State, daugh- ter of William and Lncy (Shepherd) Jaqnays. She died in 1888, at the age of fifty-four years, leaving four children, Clarence S., Augustus J., William C. and Almond G.

Dr. Ward began studying medicine in the office of Dr. McQuistin, of Warren, and after- ward studied under the instructions of Dr. D. B. Woods, also of Warren. He then en- tered the medical department of the Univer- sity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he completed his course and graduated in 1874. He is also a gradnate of the Bellevue Hos- pital Medical College of New York city. He began the practice of his profession at War- ren, and after he had been there about a year was offered and accepted a hospital practice in New York. A year later he returned to Warren, and lias since been conducting a snc- cessful practice here, now being associated with Dr. D. B. Woods. He is a member of the State and County Medical Societies, and also of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, No. 90. For a number of years he served as pension examiner. Dr. Ward has built up a successful practice here, and is regarded as not only a skillful physician but also as a most worthy citizen, having the confidence and re- spect of all who know him.

He was married January 4, 1883, to Miss Lucy Wilcox, of Cleveland, Ohio, danghter of Darwin and Rosanah Wilcox. Their only child, Edith, is now nine years of age. Both the Doctor and his wife are popular in the social circles of Warren.

J N. ROBBINS las long been connected with many of the leading interests of Niles, Ohio, and is fully entitled to re- presentation in this volume. The first member of the family to settle in Ohio was Josiah Robbins who located in Mahoning connty in 1800. Hle and his father were en- gaged in ship-building on the eastern shore of Chesapeake bay, but he abandoned this oc-

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

cupation and went to Philadelphia where he was married; then he went to Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and was there engaged in building flat-bottom boats for emigrants to Ohio and Kentucky; he removed to Youngs- town township, Mahoning county, where he died at the age of eiglity-six years. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and did gallant service. His wife, Saralı Newport, was of Quaker stock; they had a family of six chil- · dren: Benjamin, Noble, Josialı, Matilda, wife of Mr. Cleveland, Mary Ann, wife of Ray Noble, and one daughter who married John Baldwin. The father of our subject, Noble Robbins, was born in Brownsville, Pennsyl- vania, in 1799, on February 8; he was reared to manhood upon a farm in Youngstown township, Mahoning county, Ohio, and fol- lowed agricultural pursuits through life. He secured a fair English education, became a prominent man in his community, and served as Trustee of liis township a number of years. He was a consistent member of the Disci- ple Church, and a man highly esteemed by all who knew him. He died in May, 1868, and his remains lie buried in the Union cemetery in Niles. His wife Adaline De Wolf, was a daughter of Joseph De Wolf, a farmer of this county, an early settler here, having emigrated from Connecticut.

T. N. Robbins was born in Youngstown, Ohio, August 23, 1832, and was early inured to the hard labor of the farm. He attended the common and select schools of Niles, and when he began an independent career purchased a farm near Niles; he still owns ninety-eight acres which he has placed in a highi state of cultivation. Politically he adheres to the principles of the Democratic party; he has served as Trustee of his township eleven years, and in 1889 was appointed Postmaster of Niles by President Cleveland, and served

in this capacity four years, going out Feb- ruary 15, 1893. He is now acting Post- master for the sureties of the late incumbent, deceased. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity four years.

Mr. Robbins was married at Niles, Ohio, in 1859, to Olive, daughter of Thomas Pew, a pioneer settler of Trumbull county. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins are the parents of three children: Addie M., wife of Thomas E. Thomas; Thomas P .; and Horace S .; the two sons are engaged in business in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Robbins is a man of excellent business qualifications, is progressive in his views, and worthy of the confidence reposed in him by the entire community.

G EORGE H. QUINBY, one of the re- presentatives of the Quinby family of Warren, Ohio, is a inan who is prom- inently identified with the various in- terests of this place.

He was born in Warren, April 13, 1852, son of Samnel and Emma B. (Bennett) Quinby, and in his native town he grew to manhood, receiving a high-school education here, and also attending the Dennison Uni- versity at Granville, and taking a business course at Pittsburgh. When he was twenty- six years old he was elected a member of the Warren Board of Alderman of which, by re- election, he remained a member twelve years three successive years of that time being President of the Board. Immediately after his retiring from the office of Alderman, he was elected City Clerk, which position he filled three years. He is a stanch Republi- can, always found allied with the best ele- ments of his party, and is an active worker in local politics. With various business en-

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terprises of Warren he is also prominently connected. He is Superintendent of the Warren Water Company, and also of the Warren Electric Power Company. In short, there are few more active and energetic busi- ness men in the town than George H. Quinby.

He was married March 4, 1876, to Miss Sophia S. Moore, of Geauga county, Ohio. Their residence is located at No. 201 West Market street.

R EV. WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS, Justice of the Peace and Notary Public of Girard, was born in North Wales, August 24, 1844, a son of William and Elizabeth (Griffith) Williams, both of whom died in that country. They were the parents of six children, three now living, two daughters and one son.

William J. Williams was reared in his na- tive country, and was employed in the slate quarries and in a wholesale dry goods store. He came to America in 1869, and entered the Colgate Academy, at Hamilton, Madi- son county, New York, graduating six years later, in 1877. In the fall of the latter year Mr. Williams located in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was ordained a Baptist minister, and filled the pulpit in the Wiere Street Bap- tist Church in that city for two years. He next returned to Wales, traveled through Europe for a time, but in 1880, returned to America, locating at Church Hill, Trumbull county, Ohio. He was pastor of the Baptist Church in that village until 1883, and in that year came to Girard. Ir. Williams filled the pulpit in the church there until 1892, when he was obliged to resign his posi- tion on account of his wife's health, but still

fills appointments at other places. He has filled the position of Justice of the Peace of Girard since April 1888, and has also dealt extensively in real estate, in a collection busi- ness, and is fire insurance agent for the Boston Dwelling House and London Com- panies.

Mr. Williams was married in Wales, March 14, 1880, to Jane Owens, a native of that country. They have two sons: William (). and Hugh G. Mr. Williams is a member of the A. O. F. of A., in which he now holds the position of Trustee. In politics he is a Republican. He has been a hard and faith- ful worker in the church; is a public-spirited citizen, has given much attention to the growth and development of the town and stands high in the esteem of its citizens.

R EV. JAMES J. STEWART .- The St. Rose Catholic Church of Girard, Ohio, was erected in 1891-'92, under the supervision of Father J. P. Barry, of Briar Hill, at a cost of $6,600. The build- ing is 80 x60 feet, with a seating capacity of 700, and the church contains a membership of seventy-five families. The first mass ad- ministered was by the present pastor, Father James J. Stewart, May 1, 1892, when he took charge of the work at this place. . The church was dedicated May 15, 1892, by Bishop Hartsınann, of Cleveland, Ohio. July 14, 1892 of that year, under the present pastor, an organization of the Brotherhood of Knights was completed, comprising most of the young men of the parish, with a membership of forty. June 11, 1893 the St. Rose Institute was organized, with a membership of fifty young men and thirty ladies. The parson- age was erected by Father Stewart in the

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winter of 1892, was completed in January, is a frame structure and comprises ten rooms. In addition to the work in Girard, Father Stewart attends a church of twenty families at Mineral Ridge, and one at Canfield, Ohio.

Rev. Father J. J. Stewart was born in Cleveland, October 6, 1864, a son of James and Elizabeth (McCormick) Stewart, natives of Ireland, who still reside in that city. Our subject, the eldest of a family of six children, attended the St. Columbia Academy, Cleve- land, and next attended the St. Charles Col- lege at Ellicott City, Maryland, graduating at that institution in 1886, and then spent about six years in St. Mary's Seminary, at Cleveland. Father Stewart was ordained April 8, 1892, by Bishop Hartsmann, and said his first mass April 10, 1892, at the Church of the Holy Name, Cleveland. He was immediately called to his present charge at Girard, Trumbull county. Father Stewart is a young man of more than ordinary ability, and is an indefatigable worker in his chosen labors. He has accomplished much for one so young for the Church, and it will not be long before he will take front rank among its successful servants.

W ILLIAM BRONSON, one of the representative fariners of Trumbull county, Ohio, was born in Newton township, this county, June 23, 1832. His father, Dr. Tracy Bronson, was born in Mid- dlebury, Connecticut, and came to this county as early as 1814, settling near where the subject of this sketch now lives. A year later he bought 128 acres of land, which has been increased to 170 acres. At the time of purchase the place had been slightly im- proved, having a log house upon it and in

that house he made his home until 1828, when he erected the residence in which his son William now lives. He was a graduate of Yale College and was for many years en- gaged in the practice of medicine, retiring from active duties of his profession about ten years before he died. His death occurred October 27, 1859, at the home of his son William. He was a prominent man through- out this part of Ohio, was an honored muem- ber of all the medical societies here, and had an honorary degree bestowed upon him by the Jefferson College of Philadelphia. Dr. Bronson was also prominent in political af- fairs, being first a Whig and afterward a Re- publican .. He filled various township and county offices and also served four years in the State Legislature of Ohio, 1837-'38-'39-'40. He was married, November 16, 1817, to Mary Freeman, a native of Dutchess county, New York, who came to Ohio with her par- ents when a babe. Her father and mother, Robert and Betsey Freeman, were among the earliest settlers of Braceville township, this county, and each died here at an advanced age. Dr. Bronson's wife died on the home farm May 11, 1833. They had four children, three sons and one daughter. Two of the sons, William and Henry, survive. The other brother, James, studied medicine under the tutorage of his father, graduating at the Cin- cinnati College of Medicine. He practiced at Newton Falls, where he gained consider- able prominence as a skilled physician, and where he died at the age of fifty-six years.

The Bronsons are of Scotch descent. Tra- ditional history says that four brothers of that name came over to this country from Scotland and took claim to a large tract of land in the Northeastern States. Their des- cendants have spread out over the various States of the Union. Asal Bronson, the

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grandfather of our subject was a Revolution- ary soldier, and for services rendered in that war received a land warrant. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Upson, were both natives of Connecticut, where they died at the advanced ages of ninety-four and ninety-three years respectively.

William Bronson attended the district schools until he was sixteen years old, after which he went to a select school for four or five terms. He then spent a short time in Ellsworth, Salem and Cincinnati. At the age of twenty-one he entered the civil engi- meer service, in which he was engaged for three years, being with the party that sur- veyed the Mahoning railroad. After his mar- riage he rented the home farm and settled down on it. His step-mother died February 18, 1866, and after her death he bought out the other heirs, and has since continued to operate this farm. His father accumulated quite a fortune in his lifetime, and in addi- tion to what lie inherited from his parents, William Bronson has by good management and careful investment made considerable money.

He was married December 5, 1854, to Miss Emeline E. Blair, who was born in Aurora, Portage county, Ohio, July 8, 1834, dangh- ter of Isaac and Rebecca (Taylor) Blair. Her parents, natives of Massachusetts, came to Ohio, in 1804, and settled on wild land in Portage county, where they passed the residue of their lives and died. Her father died in 1858 at the age of seventy-five. Three of their children are still living. All were farmers. Mr. and Mrs. Bronson have had five children, of whom record is made as fol- lows: Mary E., born September 14, 1855, was married, and died in 1880, leaving two children, Hattie R., born August 18, 1858, married George Pallerson, and has one child;

Freeman T., died at the age of twenty-two months; Elizabeth F., born November 9, 1868, married M. Force, and has one daugh- ter, Elizabeth F .; and Tracy .T., born May 5, 1873.

Mr. Bronson has filled nearly every office of local importance, and for eighteen years served as Justice of the Peace. He has been a Republican ever since the party was organ- ized, and has frequently served as delegate to conventions. He was at one time presi- dent and a director of the Trumbull County Fair Association. In 1857 he was made an Odd Fellow, and has since been a member of Newton Falls Lodge, No. 255, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled every chair. He is also a member of the Koyal Arcanum and of sev- eral other organizations.

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning, Part 35

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