USA > Ohio > Mahoning County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 49
USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 49
USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 49
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fell to the ground, and struck on his head, cansing instant death. His untimely death was deeply mourned by his family and all who knew him.
At the age of sixteen, Burke Oatley went to the Pacific coast and spent one year in Los Angeles, California, at the expiration of which time he returned to Ohio. Then for four years he was engaged in farming in Mecca township. After that he conducted a meat market in Cortland two years. In 1893 he took charge of the hotel and livery stable above referred to, the property of which has been in the possesion of the family many years. Mr. Oatley was married in Ba- zetta, January 1, 1885, and has one danghter, Clare. His wife, Minnie, nee Shaffer, is a daughter of John W. Shaffer, of Trumbull county.
Mr. Oatley is a member of Cortland Lodge, No. 318, K. of P., and in polities is a Repnb- lican.
OB J. HOLLIDAY, one of the repre- sentative citizens of Vienna, Trumbull connty, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, December 10, 1827, a son of Harry and Re- becca (Doan) Holliday. When our subject was about eight years of age he came to Vi- enna and made his home with Eppenetns Rodgers. Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers were na- tives respectively of Long Island and Con- necticut, but were early settlers of this conn- ty. The former came to Trumbull county on foot from his native place, carrying his knap- sack, and the latter came with a family in an ox wagon, paying her passage according to her weight. Mr. Rodgers secured his first 100 acres of land from Mr. Holmes, for which he worked six months at surveying. He lo- cated on that land in 1804, and his wife after-
ward purchased an adjoining 100 acres. Mr. Rodgers opened a farm of 300 acres in Vienna, was one of the leading men of his township, a stanch member of the Presby- terian Church, and in political matters was a Whig. Wlien a young man he met his wife in Cleveland, where they were married, and afterward went on horseback to Connecticut. After spending the winter there they returned to this township. They were successful peo- ple financially, and were good, honest and industrious citizens.
J. J. Holliday, onr subject, was reared to farm life, attended school during the winter months and worked on the farm in summers. He remained on the Rodgers farm a number of years during the life of Mr. Rodgers, and after his death remained with the widow, whom he took care of until her death. Mr. Holliday inherited one-half of their estate, and remained ou his place until 1870. In that year he came to Vienna Center, where he has a fine residence and thirty acres of land. For the past fifteen years he has been engaged in the wool business, handling large amounts of that product annually. For a number of years Mr. Holliday has been one of the leaders in the Republican party in this county, has held the office of Trustee for many years, has served as Township Treas- urer, etc.
November 23, 1849, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary Woodford, who was born in Vienna, February 12, 1828, a daugh- ter of Amon and Nancy (Nelson) Woodford. The father was also born in this township, in 1802, a son of Isaac and Statira (Coles) Woodford, natives of Connecticut, but located here in 1801. They were among the early and substantial families to settle in the woods of Trumbull county, where they reared a large family of children. The father was a
28
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Deacon in the Presbyterian Church. Amon, the fourth child in order of birth, was reared on the old home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Wood- ford had seven children, viz .: Mary, wife of our subject; Sidney, who was a member of an Iowa company during the late war, is now a resident of that State; Nelson A., also of Iowa; Newton I., a resident of Nebraska; Albert, who served in the Second Iowa Cav- alry during the late war, died while in the army, at LaGrange, Tennessee; Libbie C., of Vienna; Henry L., who died at home in 1866.
Mr. and Mrs. Holliday have had two chil- dren: Eppenetus R., who died at the age of three years and eight months; and Della, who died January 5, 1891, at the age of twenty-five years, was the wife of George Houser, of Girard, Ohio. Mrs. Holliday is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject affiliates with the A. F. & A. M., Mahoning Lodge, No. 394, and in politics is a Republican.
A LDIS S. GILBERT is one of the prominent men of Cortland, Ohio. He was born at Canandaigua, Ontario county, New York, July 1, 1822, son of Enos Gilbert, and grandson of Elisha Gil- bert, the former a native of Vermont, and the latter of one of the New England States, it is not known which. Enos Gilbert married Isabelle Stevens, a native of Vermont and a daughter of Simon Stevens, also a native of the Green Mountain State, a descendant of a Scotch family. Three brothers by the name of Stevens, members of Cromwell's staff, fled from their native land and sought a refnge in the United States. From one of them Mrs. Gilbert was descended. Simon Stevens set-
tled near the center of Ilowland township, Trumbull county, Ohio, at an early day, and five years after his settlement here Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert came from New York to this place. Here Mrs. Gilbert died in 1849, leaving five sons and one daughter, namely : Hascall, who is engaged in milling at Hem- lock Lake, New York; Aldis, whose name heads this article; George, deceased, was a soldier in the late war; Edwin, a graduate of Amherst College, and a college professor for some years, was colonel of a New York regi- ment during the war, and is now deceased; Ora, deceased, was also a soldier in the late war; and Prudence, deceased. Enos Gillbert was born in 1796, and died in New York in 1870. He was a miller by trade, and was a successful business man. Politically, he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican.
Aldis S. Gilbert was reared and educated in Howland township, Trumbull county, Ohio, and was a resident of that place until 1868. From 1868 to 1880, he was engaged in the hotel business in Cortland. He went to Kansas in 1880 and settled on a farm in Solomon valley in Ottawa county, where he carried on farming operations and also suc- cessfully conducted a real-estate business. In 1885, he disposed of his interests there and returned to Ohio. He has since lived retired in a comfortable home in Cortland.
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Mr. Gilbert was married February 15, 1849, to Jane Root, a native of Johnson township, Trumbull county, danghter of George and Mary (Johnson) Root, both de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert have five children, namely: Mary, wife of Albert Brown, of Howland township, this county; Viola, wife of James Brown, of Howland township; Edith, wife of Samuel McCorkle, also of Howland township; Mona, at home; and Frank, an attorney of Cleveland, Ohio,
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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.
in company with Herbert & Bacon. Mary and Viola were engaged in teaching previous to their marriage.
Politically, Mr. Gilbert is a Republican. During the war he was one of twenty-two who advanced sufficient money to prevent a draft in Howland township. He is a man of frank and genial nature and is as popular as he is well known in Cortland.
OHN B. LEWIS, a merchant of Min- eral Ridge, was born in Monmouth- shire, Wales, June 9, 1837, a son of Rev. Benjamin and Margaret (Alexander) Lewis. The father was a minister in the Welsh Congregational Church. In 1851 the family came to the United States, locating at Tallmage, Summit county, Ohio, where Mr. Lewis was engaged in the ministry three years. He then went to Edinburgh, Portage county, this State, and later to Palmyra, where he met a sudden death in 1855. His wife departed this life in 1885, at the age of seventy-nine years. They had six children: Margaret, Winifred, Morgan, John B., Ben- jamin and Janey. Benjamin was a soldier in the late war, a member of the One Hun- dred and Fifth Ohio Infantry, and died at Murfreesborough from disease contracted in the army. Only two of the children are now living, J. B. and Winifred.
J. B. Lewis came to Ohio at the age of fourteen years, where he was employed as a coal miner for a number of years. In Sep- tember, 1861, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining the Nineteenth Ohio In- fantry, Company C, and participated in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamanga, Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, siege of Atlanta, and Lovejoy Station. Following
Hood in his march on Nashville, he took part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. At Lovejoy Station Colonel C. F. Mandison, now of Sumpter, Nebraska, was wounded. Mr. Lewis was wounded by a minie ball at Stone river, remained in the hospital at Nasli'- ville three months, and on the road North was severely injured by the train turning over an embankment, for which he was again confined in the hospital at Nashville. He wintered at Columbia, Tennessee, then went to New Orleans. He next went with his regiment to Texas, and was honorably dis- charged at San Antonio, in September, 1865, as Sergeant.
Mr. Lewis was married at Warren, Ohio, February 15, 1867, to Anna Evans, a native of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Evan and Mary Evans, both now deceased. They had three children, two now living: William and Mrs. Lewis. Our subject and wife have six children : John, of Niles; Mary ; Ben, who graduated at the high school in the class of 1893; Edd Morgan; Jessie B. and Harrold R. Mr. Lewis is one of the leading members of the Republican party at Mineral Ridge, and has served as a member of the City Council. He has passed all the chairs in Everleigh Lodge, I. O. O. F.
J WIEODORE THOMAS, a member of the Mineral Ridge Manufacturing Company, was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, June 28, 1849, a son of William and Ellen (Owens) Thomas, the former a native of Wales, but reared and educated in Schuylkill county, and the latter also a native of Pennsylvania. The father died in in Schuylkill county and the mother in Connellsville, same State. They had ten
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
children, five sons and five daughters. One son, Hiram A., was a gallant soldier in the late war, a member of the Fifty-fifth Penn- sylvania Infantry, was taken prisoner at Salisbury, North Carolina, held seven montlis, was paroled in 1865, was taken home and a few days later died, his death occurring the day that President Lincoln was assassinated.
Theodore Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was reared and educated in Pennsyl- vania. He served an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade, and later worked as a journeyman, and has had twenty-three years' experience as a thorough and practical me- chanic. He came to this city July 12. 1889, and now has charge of the mechanical work in the Mineral Ridge Manufactory.
Mr. Thomas was married at Mckeesport, Pennsylvania, September 1, 1876, to Alice Louise McGaffick, a native of Allegheny county, that State, and a daughter of Hese- kiah and Sarah McGaflick. Our subject and wife have had ten children: S. Ellen, Will- iam R., Edna B., Mary J., Clara, Howard M., Ralph and Alice. Theodore and Rufus, twins, died in infancy, one dying the same day of its birth, and the other at the age of eight months. Mr. Thomas affiliates with the Republican party, and his wife is a mem- ber of the Disciple Church.
H ARMON AUSTIN .- July 27, 1817, stands as the date of the birth of Harmon Austin, the place of his na- tivity being the old Austin homestead, just two miles west of the city of Warren, Ohio. The subject of this review is descended from one of the most prominent and highly honored of New England families. The
parent tree of the Austin family in America was Richard Austin, who came from England to the Connecticut colony about 1638. His son, Anthony Austin, of Suffield, Connecti- cut, was a participant in the war of the Rev- olution as a Colonial soldier, and figured as a conspicuous character in the history of his city. He had a son by the name of Benajah Austin, whose first son received the same name, and this son in turn had a son who bore the same name, and it was the last-named Benajah Austin who was the father of him whose well-known name initiates this bio- graphical memoir. He was born in Suffield, Connecticut, in the year 1779, and, in 1803, wedded Olive Harmon, a native of Rupert, Vermont, born in 1783. Within the same year of this marriage, Benajah Austin came to Trumbull county, Ohio, and settled on a farm two miles west of the present city of Warren. He devoted the major portion of his life to farming operations. He was re- spected and esteemed for his splendid order of intellect, for his integrity, purity of char- acter and usefulness as a progressive citizen. He was an old-line Whig, an anti-slavery man, and served several years as County Conimissioner. He was also the incumn- bent as Sheriff of the county for two or three terms. He was for years a zealous member of the Christian, or Disciple, Churchi, and his life was ever that of a devont Christian. He died leaving to his family a considerable es- tate, but also left that which is above and beyond such mere material endowment, the richer heritage of honor and nobleness of char- acter. His summons to join the "innumera- ble caravan" that marches to the silent halls of death canie not until he had attained his seventiethi year, and his wife, a true and lovely character, soon followed him, entering into eternal rest two years later.
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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.
These courageous and honored pioneers had born unto them five sons and one daugh- ter. Of these children the subject of this sketeh was the youngest, and is the only sur- vivor.
Having been reared on a farm, it was bnt natural that his tastes should incline him to the following of agricultural pursuits, and after acquiring a fair academical education, he continued on the farm with his father until 1839. In that year his father resigned the active work of the farm, placing the same in the hands of his son, our subject, who as- sumed full control. Ten years later the father died intestate, and subsequently, by the purchase of the undivided interests of his brothers and sister in the parental estate, Mr. Austin became owner of the old homestead. He has since added to his possessions by the acquisition of other landed interests, and now controls 600 acres of farming land in the county.
January 11, 1843, Mr. Austin wedded Mi- nerva Sackett, and they took up their residence on the old home farm, where they continued to abide until 1870, when they removed to Warren, in which city they have since main- tained their home, enjoying the well-earned repose which is their just desert, after their life of active labor.
Of the four children born. to Mr. and Mrs. Austin, three are living: Mrs. W. C. Pendle- ton, Harmon Austin, Jr., of Warren, and Mrs. T. W. Ross, of Cleveland.
A particularly notable event was that which took place January 11, 1893, and a reference to the same will be apropos at this juncture. On the date mentioned, Mr. and Mrs. Austin celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding. There were present to do them honor on the occasion a large number of home friends and many from abroad. From divers
sections of the Western Reserve came many persons of prominence to pay a fitting tribute to the venerable couple, who had been identi- tied with the progress of that portion of the prosperous commonwealth for the period of an average life-time-identified, not alone as residents of the locality, but as prominent personages in church work and as active co- adjutors in all that had conserved the welfare of the community .. Hon. W. T. Spear, of Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, had expected to be present and de- liver an address on the occasion, but was de- tained by reason of ill-health. His address, however, was read by Hon. T. I. Gillmer, and as the same touches upon many points of in- terest in the history of this section, it is but consistent that extracts from the context be em- bodied in this volume and in connection with the biography of him to whom it gave honor The address was substantially as follows:
" The occasion which we are assembled to commemorate, is, in many respects, a remark- able one. This is the fiftieth anniversary of the wedding of our good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Harmon Anstin. 1843-1893. A half a century. A résumé of the momentous events and wonderful changes witnessed in that time might be fitting here, and possibly interesting, but time will not permit.
" The committee has requested me to call attention to some of Mr. Austin's business and political relations with the public, and his connection with some of the institutions of this community. This phase of the sub- ject being chiefly matter of fact, calls for plain words. To those who may treat of the social and home life of this couple, you will look for whatever graces of oratory and flowers of rhetorie may befit the occasion.
" Naturally, one is first reminded to-day of Mr. Austin's association with the Church of
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Disciples, of Warren. He has been for many years prominent in its councils and work. With its efforts toward the advancement of liberal religious ideas, and its enterprise in first making of the plain brick building, standing on this spot in 1843, an attractive and convenient house of worship, and later replacing that with the beautiful structure within whose walls we are met to celebrate this auspicious occasion, he has been an active participant.
" Mr. Austin was an advocate of higher education. As an aid to the advancement of this cause, he favored the first Disciple school established in this part of Ohio. I refer to the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, or- ganized in 1850, now Hiram College. His particular part in its management will be told by those who labored with him.
" In politics, Mr. Austin was ever at home. Early an anti-slavery man, though not fanat- ical in his views, he sided with the organiza- tion which sought to curtail the influence of slavery, and prevent its spread until such time as its complete extinction might be practic- able. This brought him in contact and in hearty sympathy with many of the leading minds of the times, among them that distin- guished Ohioan who was eventually to reach the highest place within the gift of the American people.
" Mr. Garfield was professor of ancient languages at Hiram. By the urgent solicita- tion of those who had faith in him and in his future, after many refusals, the young pro- fessor consented to accept the presidency of that college. His objection was that he was too young, and lacked experience. None were more urgent than Mr. Austin -- then a trustee -in overcoming this reluctance. An extended correspondence ensued between the two, and to Mr. Austin's persistent advocacy, it is be-
lieved, more than to any other cause, is to be attributed the final withdrawal of the objec- tion. It is said that so unwilling was the professor to yield that he wrote Mr. Austin twenty-three letters urging him to abandon the project. The wisdom of the selection the future abundantly demonstrated; for, though other duties in a wider field called the young president some five years later from active direction of the destinies of the college, yet the impetus given the work by his most valuable service in that capacity, supplemented by like intelligent and able direction given the college by his successors, placed the insti- tution upon a high plane, and gave to it a repu- tation extending far beyond the boundaries of the State.
" As theretofore, Mr. Austin continued Garfield's warm, devoted, unswerving friend. Under all circumstances, at all proper times and in all proper ways, he was ready to give of time, counsel, money when needed, to promote the interests of his friend. And it is simple justice to add that General Garfield appreciated this devotion, put a true value upon its efficacy, and reciprocated, in the fullest sense, the friendship.
" Without detracting from the prominent part taken by Judge Kinsman, General Mc- Lain, Morgan and others, it is not too much to say that no one person contributed more to the first nomination of General Garfield to Congress than did Mr. Austin. The oppos- ing candidate was an experienced politician, an able inan, and surrounded by many active and zealous friends. To succeed against such odds was possible only with the best of man- agement and the most untiring effort. So, too, in after years, when differences arose in the party, and factional opposition developed here and there in the district, the same ser- vice, effective though quiet, was rendered.
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OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO.
In time, it is true, as we all know, when the people apprehended what manner of man he was, the General by his own masterly work, rather than by the aid of any and all friends, became the idol of his constituents and the standard-bearer of his party. And yet the devotion of his wise friend continued to the end. It was manifested especially in the promotion of General Garfield to the United States Senate, and was not wanting in his election to the Presidency.
" It would be a mistake, I think, to assume that the fealty thus shown was attributable to personal friendship alone. There was all of that, it is true, that is practicable between man and man, but there was in it, after all, more than that. His conduct and expressions of purpose indicated that his devotion to Garfield had its origin in the principle that all citizens owe their first duty to the State; and it was because Mr. Austin estimated at its true value the great usefulness of so good a man to the country, that lie devoted so much effort to secure, for the good of the whole people, the services, in publlc life, of this college president.
" He saw earlier than the rest of us the possibilities of the future of General Garfield, because he comprehended soouer the charac- ter of the man. He, much in advance of the general public, even in this locality, under- stood the spirit of that man's life. If I may express it in my own way, it was this: His aim was, first, to use the great talents with which he had been endowed, and the rare op- portunities which came to him, for the mak- ing of the very best specimen of a man; and secondly, the devotion of the best energies of that man to the up-building of the Republic, and the good of his fellow men.
" To have been instrumental in securing for the people the services of such a man in
public life, is to have discharged an impor- tant duty. For scarcely second to any other is the duty of the private citizen to see that the country has the benefit of the labors of its most worthy and gifted sons, to the end that good government be preserved.
" Governed by this same principle, Mr. Austin took an active part in the selection of good men to fill other public positions. He generally had a choice and was not afraid to express it. In the nomination of a State Sen- ator from his district to the Legislature which was to choose a successor to Senator Thurman, Mr. Austin was influential in a high degree.
" But while interested in the elevation to office of other men, Mr. Austin desired no office of profit for himself. When the matter was spoken of in his presence, le briefly dis- missed the subject, saying he was too busy. And he was. This self-abnegation, however, did not prevent his selection for many places of trust. In 1878 Mr. Austin was appointed trustee of the Ohio Institution for the Blind, in which capacity he served, by continued appointment, six years. His services, though rendered under unusual difficulties, were em- inently satisfactory to the executives who appointed him, and were of great value to the State. At the formation of the Trumbull Na- tional Bank, in 1865, Mr. Austin was chosen a director, serving in that capacity many years, and in 1882 was made its president. Being interested in agricultural pursuits, Mr. Austin naturally gave of his time to the Trumbull Agricultural Society. During the greater part of its existence lie has been an active member, and for many years was its president. For over twenty years he has been the president of the Austin Flag Stone Company, and its manager. To him, more than to any other, is due its success; and to
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
the company itself is due much of the prog- ress of Warren, in the pavement of its road- ways and sidewalks. In 1881 Mr. Austin was made president of the Oakwood Cemetery Association, and I have personal knowledge of his energetic services and zeal in the dis- charge of the thankless duties of that modest, though important, trust. His uniform good judgment and efficiency have been highly benficial in the management of that charity, and though this may not be understood by the public at large, it is well known to those who have labored with him. Many other positions of trust, public, quasi public and private, have been worthily filled by Mr. Austin, of which time forbids further men- tion here.
" The reason for the selection of our friend for such places is found in the fact that the public has learned that, if I may express it in a homely phrase, when Mr. Austin is presi- dent he presides, when manager he manages, when director he directs, aud when trustee he performs the trust. In short, his neighbors know him as a public-spirited citizen, firm of will and steady of purpose as to essentials, while conciliatory and yielding as to non-es- sentials, having unusual capacity for details, combined with liberal and comprehensive views of larger subjects, possessed of a willing disposition, and what is termed a 'long head.' They know him as peculiarly a man of his time, abreast with its life and purpose, and in sympathy with that wise spirit of progress which seeks for the best that is here attain- able.
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