USA > Ohio > Mahoning County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 41
USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 41
USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 41
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Mr. Benton has been a Republican since the birth of that party. He has served for eighteen years as a Justice of the Peace, has filled the office of Township Clerk, and on various occasions has served as delegate to county conventions. He and his wife are
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members of the Congregational Church. Our subject is a Justice of the Peace, which office he has held for eighteen years.
He has been teacher of one Bible-class in the Sunday-school for twenty years.
E DWARD WAGSTAFF, a member of the City Council of Niles, was born in Wales, January 21, 1847, a son of John and Margaret (James) Wagstaff. The father was born in Wales in 1820. He and his wife emigrated to the United States in 1854, landing in Baltimore, Maryland, and two years later came to Niles, Trumbull county, Ohio. He is a Republican in his political views. The mother departed this life September 10, 1881. She was a worthy member of the Presbyterian Church. They had nine children: Edward, Thomas, Anna, Margaret, David, William, James, Reece and Mary. The father is living in Niles.
Edward Wagstaff, the subject of this sketch, was a lad of five years when he came to the United States. He learned the trade of bricklayer with his father, and has fcl- lowed that occupation for twenty-seven years. He is also an expert mechanic, and for the past eight years has served as superintendent of all the buildings for the Falcon Iron & Nail Company, filling that position with honor and credit. Mr. Wagstaff owns a fine residence on Church street, also has several other dwellings, and has a fine farm of 135 acres in Vienna township, Trumbull county.
In 1868 he was united in marriage with Mary Jane Bean, a native of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of C. and Mary Bean, the former deceased, and the latter a resident of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Wag- staff have five sons: William J., a brick-
layer by trade; Edward Allen, who graduated at the State University of Ohio, in 1893; Joseph G., also engaged at the brickmakers' trade; Frank C., and Harry G. In political matters, our subject affiliates with the Repub- lican party, and for the past six years has been a member of the City Council of Niles, and was a delegate to the Congressional con- vention. He was made a Mason at the age of twenty-one years, is now a member of Ma- honing Lodge, No. 29, and of Warren Com- mandery, No. 39, and has served as Master of his lodge. He has also filled all the official chairs in the I. O. O. F. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church.
A LVA A. DRAKE, one of the prominent farmers of Trumbull county, Ohio, was born on the old Drake homestead, in Howland township, February 25, 1829.
Jacob Drake, his father, was born in Es- sex county, New York, in September, 1796, son of Abraham Drake, a native of New Jer- sey. The Drakes trace their ancestry back to the historic character, Sir Francis Drake. Abraham Drake married Miss Sarah Bell, a native of New Jersey, and in 1804 he and his wife moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio, set- tling in Howland township, Trumbull county. He and his wife had nine children: Eliza- beth, Sarah, Meriam, Jacob, Simeon, Aaron, George, Abraham and Amos. The father of this family died in 1818, on his pioneer farm in Howland township, and the mother passed away at the same place in 1812.
Jacob Drake, the fourth born in the above named family, was eight years old at the time that he came with his parents to Ohio, and here he grew up amid pioneer scenes, receiv-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
ing his education in this county. He was twice married. April 11, 1826, he wedded Agnes Anderson, daughter of William and Anna Belle (Kennedy) Anderson, she being of Scotch-Irish descent. They had three chil- dren: Amos, Alva A. and Agnes, the last named being deceased. Mrs. Agnes Drake died September 19, 1831, and February 12, 1833, Mr. Drake married Artlissa Lane, daughter of John and Mary (Lowe) Lane. Two children were born to them, namely: George W., a resident of Denver, Colorado; and Emily, who is deceased. Jacob Drake died on the old farm in 1842, and his wife departed this life in 1846. He was a mem- ber of the Disciple Church.
A. A. Drake was reared on the farm on which his grandfather had settled. He re- ceived his education in the common and se- lect schools, and for some time was engaged in teaching. He has been engaged in agri- cultural pursuits on his present farm since 1865. This place was formerly known as the Jacob Grove farm. It contains 250 acres, and is without exception one of the best farms in Trumbull county. It is devoted to gen- eral farming and stock-raising. It is well supplied with pure spring water, is fenced into twenty different fields, with lanes ar- ranged so that nearly every field on the farm can be reached without crossing the fields, and all of the buildings are of the best. The residence, built at a cost of $5,000, is beauti- fully located and surrounded with an attract- ive lawn, dotted over with ornamental trees and shrubs. There are four barns, one 38 x 82 feet, another 33 x 35 feet. Formerly Mr. Drake was largely interested in the sheep business, his flock of full-blooded Merinos numbering about 500. He soon, however, expects to dispose of his farin and retire from the business.
Mr. Drake was married in September, 1860, to Miss Lide Grove, a native of Aus- tintown, Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob and Rachel Grove. The great loss of his life was the deatlı of his beloved companion.
Mrs. Lide (Grove) Drake,daughter of Jacob and Rachel Grove, was born in Austintown, Ohio, November 13, 1836, was married to Alva A. Drake in September, 1860, and fell asleep at her home in Howland July 9, 1890.
Not often has a life been lived that better met in modest grace all the duties of right life. In happy companionship with her hus- band she had built and adorned a home that held an unusual charm. She loved nature, and was skilled in art; and, what was better, she loved her fellow mortals, and numbered on her list of friends all good and earnest sonls who crossed her pathway. For thirty- five years she had lived as a member of the Disciple Church, a faithful and consistent Christian life.
Mr. Drake is also a member of the Disciple Church. In politics, lie is a Republican. For thirty-five years he has been a member of Old Erie Lodge, No. 3, A. F. &. A. M. He was active in the organization of the Second National Bank of Warren and has been one of the directors of the bank since its organization.
C C. KENNEDY, whose post office ad- dress is Cortland, Trumbull county, Ohio, is one of the leading citizens and substantial farmers of Bazetta town- ship.
He was born in this township, September 12, 1845, son of W. B. Kennedy whose birth occurred in Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, September 21, 1812, son of Samuel
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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.
and Jane Kennedy. The Kennedys are of Scotch-Irish descent. W. B. Kennedy was two years old when he came with his parents to Trumbull county, Ohio, settling in How- land township. Here Samuel and Jane Ken- nedy passed the residue of their lives and died. W. B. Kennedy was reared on his father's farm, was educated in schools of this county, and for some time was engaged in teaching, being ranked with the pioneer teachers of the county. He was married in 1837, in Howland township, by Esquire Samuel King, a well-known Justice of that day, to Eliza Davis, who was born, reared and educated in Bazetta township, daughter of William Davis, Sr., and Ann Luce, his wife. Her parents were among the first settlers of the township. After his marriage, W. B. Kennedy settled in Bazetta township, where he improved a valuable farm, reared lis children, and lived for many years. Subse- quently he resided in Cortland. He and his wife had five children. Three reached adult years: Prof. A. W. Kennedy, Superintendent of the Girard high school, Trumbull county; Ann, wife of Kennedy Andrews, Warren, Ohio; and C. C., whose name heads this article. Those deceased are Judd and Ella, the former at the age of ten years, and the latter at four. The mother of this family died at the age of sixty seven years and the father lived to be seventy-five. W. B. Kennedy was a man of some prominence in the county. He was a Republican, and had filled the offices of Clerk, Assessor and Trustee.
C. C. Kennedy grew up on his father's farm, and after he had completed his studies in the district school and the school at Cort- land he became a student at Oberlin, Ohio, Then for some time he was successfully en- gaged in teaching. In 1882, he located on his present farm of 143 acres, located two
miles from Cortland. This place was for- merly known as the Jackson farin. It is well improved with good buildings, fences, etc., and is devoted to general farming and stock-raising. Everything about the prem- ises indicates the proprietor to be a man of enterprise and his family to be people of cul- ture and refinement.
He was married February 25, 1869, to Alice Kellogg, a native of Fowler, Ohio, and a daughter of E. V. and Lncy (Loomis) Kellogg, both deceased. Our subject and wife have three children: Lloyd B., who graduated at the Girard high school at the age of seventeen, was then engaged in teach- ing at Girard for a short time, and is now engaged in teaching in La Salle county, Illi- nois; Carl W., at home; and Bessie Lucille, also at home.
Mr. Kennedy is a Republican and is one of the active workers in the ranks of his party. Hle has served as Clerk and Trustee of his township and as delegate to various conven- tions. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Cortland, and also of the Disciple Church, occupying an official position in the latter.
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H ENRY C. WILSON, who resides on a farm in Champion township, Trum- bull county, Ohio, is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Wilson, and was born in Warren township, this county, June 30, 1832. He was reared on his father's farm and his education was received in the district schools and at Farmington. November 10, 1858, he married Miss Elizabeth V. King, a native of Ireland and a daughter of Henry A. King. She died December 1, 1859, leav- ing one daughter, Elizabeth E., who is now at home with her father. In 1860 Mr. Wil-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
son was again married, this time to Miss Rosanna King, daughter of James and Ann King. They were also natives of Ireland, tlie family coming to America when Mrs. Wilson was a little child. She was reared in Virgin- ia and Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have a family of six children: George T., who is married and lives in Warren township, this connty; James W .; Anna L .; Rebecca, wife of Woodward Templeton, of Warren; Harry T .; and Glenn A.
Mr. Wilson owns fifty acres of good farm- ing land in Champion township, where he has made his home since 1889. He has lived in Trumbull county all his life, with the ex- ception of one year spent in Linn county, Iowa, and his whole life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. In connection with his farming he is now acting as agent for the Trumbull County Patrons' Mutual Insurance Company. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while his wife is a Pres- byterian. He is a stanch Republican, and has held various local offices.
A USTIN TIBBITS, one of the esteemed citizens of Trumbull county, Ohio, re- sides in Weathersfield township.
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He was born near the place where he now lives, April 16, 1838, son of John Tibbits, a native of Austintown township, Mahoning county, this State, who was a son of Jerry Tibbits, a native of Maryland, and one of the first settlers of Mahoning county. John Tibbits settled in Trumbull county, in 1825. He married Miss Catherine Barn- liizel, a native of Liberty township, this county, and a daughter of David Barnhizel, who came here from Pennsylvania. The Barnhizels are of German descent. John and
Catherine Tibbits became the parents of seven children, three of whom are living, Charles, Ann and Austin. The names of the de- ceased are Henry, Sarah, Jerry and William. Both parents are dead, the mother passing away at the age of eighty-two years, the father at seventy-seven years. John Tilbits was a man of many excellent qualities. By occu- pation he was a farmer, in politics a Repub- lican, and both he and his wife were inem bers of the Disciple Church.
Austin Tibbits has the honor of being a veteran of the late war. At Lincoln's call for 300,000 more mien, he enlisted, August 12, 1862, in Company C, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Infantry, Ambrose Mason commanding company. He participated in numerous en- gagements, prominent among which we mention those of Perryville, Chickamagua, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Rocky- face Ridge, Buzzards' Roost, Resaca, Kene- saw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, the battles around Atlanta, Jonesboro, etc. July 20, 1864, he was with his regiment stationed be- tween two batteries, one Union and the other Rebel, and the heavy cannonading on that day so injured his hearing that he has ever since been very deaf. He was with Sherman in his "march to the sea," and through the Carolinas, and took part in the grand review at Washington. On one occasion he had the sole of his shoe shot off. He was honorably discharged June 3, 1865, and at once returned to his liome in Trumbull county.
Mr. Tibbits was married March 8, 1866, to Miss Laura Jane Leach, daughter of Ben- jamin Leach, a prominent citizen of this connty. After his marriage he settled down to farming, and has since been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He owus seventy-six acres of nice farming land, well improved with good buildings, fences, etc. His resi-
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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.
dence is a modern and model home, and was built in 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbits have two children, James and Mary; Cora died June 2, 1891, at the age of six years.
Mr. Tibbits is a member of McPherson Post, No. 16, G. A. R. His political views are in harmony with the principles of the Republican party. He and his wife attend the Disciple Church.
EORGE W. BATTLES, proprietor of Summit farm, was born on the banks of Mahoning river, January 31, 1833, a son of Edward Battles, a native of Mercer county, Pennsylvania. The latter's father, Berialı Battles, was one of the first settlers of Niles, having owned what is now known as the Ward farm. Edward Battles inarricd Catherine, a danghter of George Owrey, a Revolutionary soldier, who lived to be over 100 years old. He was one of the pioneer settlers of Trumbull county. When George Owrey, father of Mr. Battles' mother, returned home from the war of 1812, he found the family in very destitute circum- stances, as was the condition of many at that time. He started out for food and rode four days to procure a bushel of corn. When this was consumed, the rye that had been sown the fall previous had got in the dough state. Enough was cut to meet the wants of the family, dried in the sun, threshed and ground into flour by hand process, when it was made into bread, and this with corn sustained the family until other articles of food were pro- cured. Mr. Battles was a farmer by occupa. tion, and a Democrat in political matters. His death occurred at the age of seventy-six years, and his widow now resides at Ravenna, Ohio, aged eighty-two years. She is a wor-
thy member of the Disciple Church. They had Line children, viz .: Lucy Jane, George W., Mary Ann (deceased), Ben T., Elizabeth, Almira (deceased), Charlotte, Catherine Per- cilla, and Emery. Ben T. was a gallant sol- dier during the late war, and wounded in the hand. He now resides in Cortland, Ohio.
George W. Battles, the subject of this sketch, purchased a farm in Allen county, Ohio, in 1868, but eighteen months later sold that place and returned to this county. In 1870 he bought the Summit farm, consisting of seventy acres of high land, where he has fifteen acres in orchard, and a vineyard of two acres. In 1893 he raised five tons of grapes and 800 bushels of peaches. Mr. Battles has a fine residence, two large barns, and all other necessary farm conveniences. He. also owns a fine driving team of Kentucky high-grade roadsters.
Our subject was married in Trumbull county, at the age of twenty-three years, January 31, 1856, to Maria Scoville, a daugh- ter of Leonard and Emily (Bradley) Scoville. To this union have been born three sons: Frank Hamilton, general manager of the Thomas W. Bowman nursery, of Rochester, New York; Charles E., engaged in the stove and furnace business in Duluth, Minnesota; and B. B., of Niles. Mr. Battles affiliates with the Republican party. He and the fam- ily are members of the Disciple Church, in which he has held the office of Deacon since 1877.
C ARROLL F. CLAPP, of the real- estate, insurance and brokerage firm of Clapp & Barnes, No. 10 Main street, Warren, Ohio, is one of the well-known business men of the city. This firm was es- tablished in 1881 by C. F. Clapp and H. J.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Barnes. They first began in the real-estate business and later embodied insurance in their operations. Still later, both parties being connected with the banks of Warren, they began a brokerage business. At first they did an extensive business in the West, running excursions to Texas, Kansas and other points, but recently they have confined themselves principally to this section of .the country. They have handled many hundred thousand acres of land. They are the heavi- est insurers in the city, on city property, and represent most of the leading Enropean and American companies, such as the Aetna, Hartford, Liverpool & London, Globe, and Guardian. All together they represent about twenty different companies, the above named being among the most prominent. They do a heavy brokerage business, which, however, is confined to Trumbull county. They also do an abstract business. Both gentlemen have more than ordinary business ability and seem to be especially adapted for the busi- ness in which they are engaged.
C. F. Clapp, the head of the above firm, has been located in Warren since the spring of 1875. He is a native of Ashtabula coun- ty, this State, born in 1847, son of Ichabod and Hannah (McIntosh) Clapp, natives of Connecticut and Massachusetts respectively. They are descended from some of the old families of the New England States, their ancestors having originated in England and Scotland. Ichabod Clapp and his wife are both deceased. He was born in 1810, and when a lad of abont ten years came to the Western Reserve with his father, Jonathan Clapp, who settled in Windsor, Ashtabula county. There Jonathan Clapp died the fol- lowing year. He was a farmer. He left 100 acres of timber land, which Ichabod, his only son, inherited and which he developed
into a fine farm. Ichabod Clapp not only improved this land, but he also bought and improved other tracts, finally becoming the owner of about 1,000 acres. He and his wife - had five children, as follows: Milos S.,superin- tendent of the Warren Paint Company ; Jane M., wife of M. C. Skinner, Windsor, Ohio; Elverton J., a resident of Thompson, Ohio, and Representative to the State Legislature, having been elected in 1890, and re-elected in 1892; Carroll F., whose name heads this article; and DeEtte, wife of George K. Welch, Newcastle, Pennsylvania. The father of this family was one of the leading Republicans of this county, and he and his wife were prominent members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church.
C. F. Clapp spent his boyhood days on the farm, and received a common-school educa- tion. For a number of years he taught dis- trict school in Ashtabula county, his sum- mers during this period being spent on the farm. He was thus occupied until 1875, when he came to Warren. The first two years of his residence in Warren he was en- gaged in a general collecting business, after which lie turned his attention to dealing in real estate, and his operations were finally merged into his present business. In 1885 he became connected with the Second Na- tional Bank of Warren, since which time he has been one of its directors, and since 1890 he has been vice-president of the institution. He is a stockholder in the Warren Paint Company and also in the Packard Electric Company, having been elected president of the latter company at its organization. He is also a stockholder in the Warren Savings Bank, which he helped to organize. He is a member of the F. & A. M., Old Erie Lodge, No. 3, of which he is Past Master; is a mem- ber of Mahoning Chapter; is Eminent
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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.
Commander of the Warren Commandery, No. 39, K. T .; and is Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. He is also a member of the Lake Erie Consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Politically, he is a Republican, and is one of the most act- ive workers in the ranks of his party.
Mr. Clapp was married in 1891, to Miss Agusta J. Morgan, a native of Aslıtabula county, Ohio, and a daughter of Dr. Hiram Morgan. They are among the leading so- ciety people of Warren,
OHN C. JONES, Mayor of Mineral Ridge, was born at Gillsfield, England, March 23, 1861, a son of John and Mary W. (Thomas) Jones, natives of Mont- gomeryshire, that country, the father boril December 5, 1829, and the mother in Octo- ber, 1839. In 1871, the family came to the United States, locating on a farm at Mineral Ridge, Trumbull county, Ohio, where the father was one of the leading farmers. He was a Deacon of the Congregational Church. His death occurred December 10, 1883, leav- ing a widow and nine children, seven now living: John C., our subject; Mary J., a graduate of the high school of this city; Charles W., an electrician at Niles; Saralı and Martha M., school-teachers by occupation ; David E. and Nellie M. The deceased chil- dren were: Elizabeth, who was the wife of J. B. Whitman, and left one daughter, Sarah; and Richard T., who died at the age of twenty- one years.
John C. Jones, the subject of this sketcli, was reared to farm life, and received his edu- cation at the Mineral Ridge high school and the Clifton Academy. At his father's death lie was appointed administrator of a large un-
settled business, but he preformed his part nobly in looking after the interests of his mother and younger brothers and sisters. He has made much valuable machinery, and has received a patent for a separating threshing- machine with a spikeless cylinder, and a barred concave, manufactured by W. A. Woods, which has proved a great success. He also has a patent harrow. In 1893, Mr. Jones was a candidate before the Republican con- vention for State Representative, and received a good support. He has served as a delegate to different conventions, is a good speaker on the platform, and is one of the leading men of his party in Trumbull county. He is an active member of the Agricultural Society and is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
W ILLIAM F. THOMAS, a contractor and builder of Niles, and a member of the City Council, was born at Penclawdel near Sercea, Glamorganshire, Wales, April 14, 1844, a son of William and Anne (Williams) Thomas, natives also of that place, and members of old and honored fami- lies of that locality. The father was acci- dentally killed at the age of forty -nine years, and the mother died at the age of thirty-five. He was a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and his wife a member of the Episcopalian Church. The father was a son of Griffith Thomas, of Calreithin farm. He was a prominent farmer and butcher, and was not known to miss a day at the market for fifty years. He had thirteen children, ten sons and three daughters. At one time fifty of the Thomas family met at dinner on the old farm. Mr. and Mrs. William Thomas had five children.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
William F. Thomas, the only one of the above family in the United States, came to Niles, Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1870, hav- ing learned the carpenter's trade in Wales. Afterward he spent four months with rela- tives in Kansas, and then returned to this city. He has erected many of the large resi- dences and business blocks here, among them being the Reeves block, the public-school buildings, at East and West Niles, the Bouden, Leitch and Reeves blocks, and in 1890 he built the City Hall and the Presbyterian church. Mr. Thomas employs from ten to twelve men, and is considered the mnost re- liable contractor in the city. He was one of the active inen in getting the electric light and water works for the city. He owns three good residences and other property.
He was married at the age of twenty-four years, January 10, 1868, to Frances Hooper Adams, a daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Hooper) Adams, To this union has been born four children: Anne E., Helena, Willie R. and Frank H. The eldest is a gradnate in innsic, and is now the wife of T. H. Davis, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In political mat- ters, Mr. Thomas is a staunch Republican, and is serving as a member of the City Coun- cil for his fifth term. Socially, he is a mem- ber of the Masonic order, blue lodge No. 385, and of the I. O. O. F., No. 436. Mrs. Thomas is a member of the Episcopal Church.
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