Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning, Part 50

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 50
USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 50
USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 50

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).

" The social and home side of our host's life, as well as that of our hostess, will be treated by one much better fitted than I. But I stop to add that no less in private life as in public, is Mr. Austin's character noteworthy. He has dealt justly, generously with his fel-

low-men, has aided the poor, has encouraged the faint-hearted and struggling. As a friend he has been steadfast and resolute, and as an opponent fair and honorable.

" In all this he has been most heartily aided by the exemplary woman, the devoted wife and mother, who has blessed his life with her love and their home with her gentle Christian spirit. Inspired by love for one another, by regard and friendliness, and a never-failing sense of duty toward all, this couple has walked harmoniously, hand in hand, through this half century.

" I but speak the voice of the entire com- munity when I extend to them heartiest con- gratulations upon the past and the present, and best wishes for the future."

C HARLES R. DODGE, assistant cashier and bookkeeper of the First National Bank of Cortland, Trumbull county, Ohio, has been connected with this institu- tion since June, 1892. The First National Bank of Cortland was organized April 12, 1892, with William H. Wartman as presi- dent, E. F. Bresco as cashier, and with a good board of directors. The building in which it is located is a brick structure, 22 x 45 feet, equipped with all the latest improvements and supplied with a burglar and fire proof . safe and vault. Aside from his connection with the bank Mr. Dodge also has business interests inNew Lyme, Ohio, being in part- nership at that place with his brother, War- ren L., in a mercantile establishment. They occupy a room 35 x 70 feet, carry a stock of goods valued at from $8,000 to $10,000, and are doing an extensive business.

Charles R. Dodge was born in New Lyme, Ashtabula county, Ohio, October 22, 1866.

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His father, H. L. Dodge, a highly esteemed citizen of New Lyme, was for many years a successful merchant of that place but is now living retired. His father, Jeremiah Dodge, deceased, was for many years an extensive and successful stock-dealer in this part of the country. H. L. Dodge married Mary A. Wescott. Their three children are, Warren L., Charles R. and Jay.

November 8, 1887, Charles R. married, at Cortland, Anna B. Oatley, danghter of Lewis Oatley of this place. They have one child, Virginia R.

Mr. Dodge is a stanch Democrat, an enter- prising and energetic business man and a popular citizen. Mrs. Dodge is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

D R. JULIAN HARMON .- Conspicu- ous among the representative names in American history is that of Har- mon, members of which family have figured prominently in the country's affairs since its earliest settlement. If this is true of the nation at large, it is peculiarly true of Ohio, where an important branch of this vigorous, energetic family has taken root, and has flourished with remarkable growth through- out the great commonwealth.

The founder of this family in America was John Harman, as the ancient records spell the name, who emigrated from En- gland prior to 1644, and settled in Spring- field, Massachusetts, where he died after a long and useful life, January 7, 1660.

His great-grandson, Reuben, and the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketcli, was born at Sunderland, Massachu- setts, or perhaps at Springfield, on February 18, 1714, and married Eunice Parsons, of

Suffield, Connecticut, August 25, 1739. In 1759, he sold his real estate in Suffield, and, in 1776, became a large land owner in Ru- pert, Vermont. In 1779, he bought 170 acres in Rutland, the latter State, to which town he soon afterward removed, and where he held the offices of Selectman and Justice of the Peace in 1780. In June of that year, the records show that he conveyed ninety acres of land in Rutland to each of his sons, Oliver and Reuben, Jr., the latter of whom was the grandfather of the subject of this notice. Reuben, Sr., died in Rutland, Ver- mont, in September, 1794, his widow snr- viving him until November 18, 1803, ex- piring at the age of eighty-six years, both greatly regretted.

Reuben Harmon, Jr., grandfather of Dr. Julian Harmon, of this biography, was all extensive land-owner and farmer in Ver- mont. He was a member of the Legislature of that State for a number of terms, and en- joyed the privilege of coining copper coins on his own responsibility, which, in those days, was no trifling distinction. He was married, in September, 1774, to Ruth Rising, also a member of an old and honored family, her parents being Aaron and Anna Rising, of Suffield, Connecticut. She was a woman of fine physique, resolute, persevering and patient, of rare sociability and cheerfulness. During the Revolutionary war, Reuben Har- mon, Jr., served in the patriot army, and his wife was either residing with his father, at Sunderland, Massachusetts, or was there on a visit, when that town was burned by the British and Indians. Mrs. Harmon caught an unbroken colt in the field and mounted it, bare-back, and, carrying in her arms a babe three weeks old, fled while the smoke of lier husband's early home rolled up behind her. Such a person was well fitted to be the first

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white woman on the frontier of Ohio, as she afterward became. Fearless amid semi-hos- tile Indians and strong in every hour of trial, she was a typical pioneer. The babe pre- viously mentioned, she afterward carried in her arms during the long journey to Ohio, where it was scalded to death in 1802!

In 1796, Reuben Harmon, Jr., purchased 500 acres of land, comprising the salt springs, in Weathersfield township, Trumbull county, Ohio, and in the fall of 1797 he went there and began the manufacture of salt, returning to his home the following spring. Each fall and winter, he continued this business and eventually erected a cabin there for the future home of his family. In the early spring of 1800, he returned to Vermont and prepared for the final removal to the new field, which seemed to promise so much to one of his vigor and activity. Having all things ready, the family started in June of that year for the far West.

In 1806, Reuben Harmon, Jr., returned to Vermont to finish settling his business, and when he went back to Ohio found that his agent, who had been left in charge of the salt works, had disappeared with $2,000, part of which amount had been collected from sales of salt, which were partly delivered. Thus stripped of his means, Mr. Harmon was obliged to work the harder for the sup- port of his family. In the midst of this, he was taken with fever and died, October 29, 1806, in the fifty-seventh year of his age. His loss was a sad blow to his family and to the newly started settlement in which he took such an active part. He was for many years a member of the Congregational Church of Rupert, Vermont, and, in 1803, mited by letter with the First Presbyterian Church, of Warren, and was noted for his piety, kind- ness of heart and rigid integrity. From a

condition of independence and prospective affluence, his family was left in comparative poverty. His widow, however, proved eqnal to the emergency, meeting all her trials with rare fortitnde and sagacity. She passed a life of usefulness, and spent her declining years in Warren, at the homes of her sons, Dr. John B., and Heman R. Harmon, dying at the latter's house, of congestion of the Inngs, April 10, 1836, in the seventy-eighth year of her age, leaving many friends to monrn her loss. Her life was characterized by cheerfulness and activity, and she en- joyed a large share of the pleasures of a ripe old age. She was for many years a member of the Methodist Church in Warren, and died in the hope of that faith. She was the mother of eleven children, of whom John B. was the father of the subject of this sketch. Anna, born in Rupert, Vermont, February 20, 1782, died in Bristol, Ohio, in March, 1841. She was for many years a school teacher in different townships of Trumbull county, and is still remembered by some of the older descendants of the pioneers as the woman who could teach them arithmetic. Clara, born April 12, 1785, married Will- iam Leavitt, son of John Leavitt, Esq., of Warren, from whom she was divorced be- cause of his intemperance. She afterward mar- ried Dr. John Brown, and moved to Lancas- ter, New York, where she died January 22, 1844. She was an exemplary and interesting woman. Betsey, born November 12, 1788, died November 7, 1853. She married Sam- uel Gilson, and had a son, Reuben H. Gilson, and two danghters: Mary, who married Henry McGlathery, of Bristol, Ohio; and Julia, who married Hugh Lackey, of Youngs- town, now deceased. She now lives in Hart's Grove, Ashtabula county. After Mr. Gilson's death, she married Albert Opdycke,

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and lived in Hubbard until 1836, when they moved to Pulaski, Williams connty, Ohio, where they were greatly prospered, and were one of the happiest families to be met with. Mr. and Mrs. Opdycke had six sons and one daughter, the last named having married O. H. Patch of Warren. He died in Denver, Colorado, in the spring of 1888. Lucretia Harmnon, born February 11, 1791, married William Draper of Weathersfield, who lived but a short time. She then married William Frazier, of Hubbard, and moved to Trenton, Ohio, later to Dearborn, Indiana, in which latter place her husband died in May, 1862. Mrs. Frazier died at Dillsboro, Indiana, in January, 1871, being the last survivor of the eleven children, four sons and seven daugh- ters, nine of whom were well known to the pioneers of Trumbull county. Hiram R. Harmon, the ninth child and second son, was born an Rupert, Vermont, December 18, 1793, and died at Ives Grove, Wisconsin, October 15, 1852. He was a blacksmith and resided for a few years in Liberty and Brookfield, later removing to Bristol, Ohio, where he bought the Potter farm, and kept a hotel for a long time, also working some at his trade and farming extensively. He after- ward sold his farm and moved to another a mile west of the village, but a few years later went West, where he died of apoplexy in the harvest field about three years afterward. He was an active, industrions, honest and capa- ble man, a zealous advocate of temperance and of anti-slavery. Heman R. Harmon was born in Bennington, Vermont, February 12, 1798, and died December 1, 1859. He was one of the first merchants of Warren, and also dealt extensively in cattle, large droves of which he took East, and conducted a large farm near the springs. He was at different times a member of the firms of

Harmon Brothers, Harmon & Stiles, E. E. Hoyt & Co., and Harmon & Johnson. He served two terms as Sheriff of the county, was an ardent politician and an indefatigable worker in all that he undertook. He aided in the manufacture of the Heath mowing machine, of which he started the first one in this county. Liberal-minded and generous, he did work enough to have amassed a fortune. His losses grew out of adverse circumstances and not from special failures of his own.

John B. Harmon, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Rupert, Vermont, October 19, 1780, and was named after John Brown, a friend of his father in the Ver- mont Assembly. John Harmon's early ex- perience fitted him for the part he was to play in life. He helped his father conduct a large farm in Vermont, and early became inured to exposure, often going through the winter storms on foot, with his dog and gun, from the home farm in the valley to one several miles up the mountains. He had a fair knowledge of the English branches, and of Latin, and, in 1796, when sixteen years of age, commenced the study of medicine under the tuition of Dr. Jonathan Blackmer, a relative by marriage, who resided in Dorset, Vermont. In 1800, on the removal of his parents to Ohio, John Harmon accompanied them, being then prepared to practice so far as the wants of the family and the few scat- tered settlers should require. From 1800 to 1806, he aided his father in the salt works, which were carried on extensively, furnishing that necessary commodity to distant settlers as well as to those in the vicinity. He en- joyed the common sport of the day, deer and bear hunting, and was considered an expert shot. One winter he had some twenty deer strung up on a hill a mile west of the springs, the law of hunters in that day rendering

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property more safe than bolts and bars can now make our hams and bacon. In lieu of lard, the fat of the bear was used in cooking, and the Doctor often said that with a short cake in his bosom, made with bear's oil, he could travel farther on a hunt or ride, than with any other food.

In 1803, Dr. Harmon bought of his father 250 acres of the Salt Spring tract for $2,500 in currency, which was resold in 1806. He afterward became the owner of 280 acres in Warren township, and carried on farming quite extensively, devoting special care to rais- ing thoroughbred liorses, choice cattle and Merino sheep, and investing largely in mules.

In 1804, Dr. Enoch Leavitt settled in Leavittsburg, and Dr. Harmon resorted to him at intervals for medical instruction. In 1806, Dr. Harmon accompanied his father to Vermont, and resumed, in Dorset, his med- ical studies, under Dr. Blackmer. In 1808, the Doctor returned to Ohio and settled in Warren, where his practice rapidly increased, and notwithstanding his low fees he easily met his large expenses. After his father's death, he, being the oldest son, naturally as- sumed the guidance of the family.

During his early practice in Warren, he boarded at the tavern on Market street, called at one time the Pavilion, and later the Van Gorder House, which was kept by Colo- nel William W. Cotgreave. That gentleman August 10-1813, commissioned Dr. Harmon surgeon of the Second regiment, Fifth brig- ade, Fourth division of the militia of the State of Ohio, whichi was repeated, on Feb- ruary 5, 1817, by Stephen Oviatt, with the rank of Colonel, and by Governor Worthing- ton, on July 17, 1818, with the rank of Captain. Dr. Harmon was present at the attack on Fort Mackinac, in 1813. When our forces first reached the fort, the Doctor

urged an immediate attack, but the General delayed some three days, during which the enemy reinforced the fort, and when the at- tack was made it was repulsed with great loss.

Near the close of tlie war, Dr. Harmon re- sumed practice in Warren, and from this time on his rides extended greatly, reaching to Cleveland, Painesville, Ashtabula on the lake, and a long distance in all directions, as, indeed, they had previously, but now more frequently. He was ever at the call of the sick, whether pay was to be had or not. He sometimes swain his liorse across the Maho- ning, swollen witli ice, to meet a professional engagement. During a large part of his life, regular sleep was unknown to him, and he has been known to have gone two weeks with- out undressing at liome, because of daily calls. He learned to sleep on his horse or in his sulky, and when he lay down instantly fell asleep. He would awaken at a call, put up medicine in his bed, give directions and be asleep before the waiter was out of the room.

In 1816, he bought the frame (which had been erected the year previous) ou lot forty in Warren, and in 1817 he finished the story- and-a-half dwelling where he afterward re- sided. His sisters, Mrs. Clara Leavitt and Mrs. Dunscomb, kept house for him several years, and afterward, the wife of Captain Thompson took charge of his domestic affairs, until the Doctor's marriage.

In 1830, Dr. Harmon was prostrated by a severe run of fever, which nearly proved fatal. In 1833, he was pulled from his saddle by a colt he was leading, and liis horse ran, drag- ging him by the heel until the breaking of the girth released him. His back was so hurt that he could not sit down or get up for a long time without help. Years afterward, in attempting to do so, he would suddenly

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fall helpless. But he kept at his work. In February, 1838, his horse ran away and broke the Doctor's ribs and one of his legs, and he lay in the snow for some time until found by John McConnell, whose son Will- iam the Doctor was visiting. The Doctor was helped into his sleigh and went on and prescribed for his patient, and was brought home before his own injuries were cared for. About 1840, a tumor formed on his left side, beneath the deep pectoral muscle. It was opened by Dr. Delamater, and again by Dr. Bronson and a seton inserted. The inflam- mation was severe, and was nearly fatal. In the summer of 1845, he was again severely sick, and again in 1854 he had a congestive chill, in which for four hours he seemed to be past recovery. All of these attacks were results of excessive work and special injuries, which his irou constitution enabled him to survive.

In 1852, he returned East with his wife, and visited his early home and also hers, passing six weeks of May and June in that pleasant manner. He found the remains of his father's old copper mill still at Rupert, and several boys, like himself, grown to be seventy and eighty years of age.

In 1854, he forswore practice, saying that " an old man without eyes, ears, teeth or fingers, had no business to be dabbling in medicine. " This was not true of him, but it indicated his belief that a man should quit before becoming incompetent. His counsel, however, continued to be sought, and he was ever of aid to his son, the subject of this sketch, who was taking his place in act- ive work. The last years of his life were spent in quiet ease. Young in face, hair but slightly gray, aud scarcely thinned, erect and straight as an arrow, he took his daily walls with a light step, read the news of

the day and the last medical journal, and mingled with his friends, cheerful and thoughtful himself, and greatly revered by all. He was taken with an acute pleuro- pneumonia in January, and died February 7, 1858.

His marriage occurred February 6, 1822, at Pembroke, New York, to Saralı Dana, a native of Enfield, Connecticut, born Septem- ber 24, 1796, the seventh danghter of Daniel and Dorothy (Kibbee) Dana. Her father was a graduate of Yale and a studious man of letters, the fifth in generation from Richard Dana, who emigrated from France and died at Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 2, 1690. Mrs. Harmon was a delicate woman, but accomplished in her quiet way more than many who were her superiors in bodily strength. She was a careful wife, an in -. dulgent mother, a good neighbor and faith- ful friend. She early became a member of the Presbyterian Church, and remained a devoted attendant until her death. After the demise of her husband, she gave up the cares of the house, and led an easy, cheerful life, nntil its close, November 6, 1868. Dr. and Mrs. John B. Harmon were the parents of six children and an adopted one. Of these John B. Harmon, Jr., born October 29, 1822, was graduated at Yale in 1842, and is a prominent lawyer of San Francisco. He was, in 1878-'79, Grand Master of the Odd Fellows, and he was tendered a recep- tion by them in Warren, on October 4, 1878, in which the citizens universally joined, making it by far the grandest celebration ever held in that city, if not in the State. Six hundred and seventy-two guests sat at the table at one time in the Methodist church, and the details of the entertainment have passed into local history. The next in order of birth is Dr. Julian Harmon, the subject of this

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sketch, who will be mentioned more at length further on. Mitty, an adopted daughter, was born at Hamburgh, New York, June 23, 1814, and married Jacob Gimperling, April 8, 1833, after which they resided several years in Hudson, Ohio, moving thence to Ravenna, where he died, December 25, 1848. She returned to Dr. Harmon's, and on November 4, 1863, married Rev. John McLean, then in Bristol, Ohio. She died in Canfield, the latter State, in 1878 or 1879; was a devoted Methodist from sixteen years of age, and was highly respected by many warm friends. The third in order of birth is Captain Charles R. Harmon, who was born November 4, 1826. He was engaged in the hardware business in Warren for a number of years, and for about a year edited a spicy - sheet in the interest of the Mecca oil busi- ness. On the outbreak of the Civil war, he enlisted as a private in Company F, of the Twenty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was in the Western Virginia campaign, in Colonel Ammon's brigade, serving as a valu- able scout, and enjoying the respect of his superior officer and his comrades. He was shot at the battle of Stone River, and the commission of Captain was mailed to his ad- dress the day he was killed, which commis- sion was afterward ratified by President Lin- coln, as Lieutenant Harmon had been acting Captain for some six months previous to his death. His son Ellis was adopted by Dr. Julian Harmon, the subject of this sketch, but that youth died of diphtheria when thirteen years of age. Edward D. Harmon, fourth child of Dr. John Harmon, was born May 1, 1831, and is now a prosperous farmer and real-estate dealer in Oakland, California. Sarah D. Harmon, the only daughter of this family, born April 3, 1833, died in Warren, July 6, 1880. She was highly educated and

a successful teacher for many years. Never robust, she wore herself out prematurely in her school duties, and died after a year and a half of intense suffering, which she bore with courage and resignation, firm in the hope of a Christian faith. Willie, the youngest, born June 30, 1835, died April 10, 1836.

Dr. Julian Harmon, of this notice, was born August 1, 1824, and was graduated at Western Reserve College in August, 1846, and at Cleveland Medical College, February 28, 1849. He practiced alone until June, 1860, when Dr. J. T. Smith formed a part- nership with him. At the beginning of the late war, in 1861, Dr. Smith became assist- ant surgeon of the Second Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and Dr. Julian Harmon continued his practice alone. The hardships of his practice were similar to those endured by his father in the same capacity, and, indeed, it is the common lot of physicians. In the winter of 1862-'63, Dr. Julian rode horse- back through snow and mud for ninety con- secutive days, the trips ranging from thirty- two to fifty-two miles, going on foot evenings and mornings around the town. One night he walked six miles between 8 and 11 o'clock, after a ride of fifty-one miles. Small and delicate, he seemed unfitted for such work, and was induced to enter the drug business in September, 1865, which he discontinued April 1, 1868, having lost $16,000. His wife had died six weeks previously, and he was thus deprived of the help he relied on, which made his pecuniary loss seem greater. He resumed his old office, with Dr. Metcalf, until April, 1875, since which time he has been alone. He was eminently successful in 1854 during an epidemic of vesicular bronchitis among children. During the great prevalence of scarlet fever and diphtheria, in

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1861-'62-'63 and 1864, he lost very few out of a large number of cases. In obstetric practice he has been skillful and successful. For many years he acted as surgeon for the Cleveland & Mahoning and Atlantic & Great Western Railroads, and has treated some des- perately bad cases with most gratifying re- sults. He has acted as examining surgeon for Trumbull county, for pensions, for some twenty years; is an active member of Trum- bull County, Northeastern Ohio, the State Medical and National Medical Societies, and has been a trustee of the Newburg Insane Asylumn, and of the Western Reserve Col- lege.

July 30, 1857, Dr. Julian Harmon was first married to J. Rebecca Swift, daughter of George and Olive (Kinsman) Swift, and they had two daughters and one son. Feb- ruary 13, 1868, the family were called upon to mourn the loss of the devoted wife and mother, in which they had the sympathy of numerous friends, who knew and appreciated her worth. June 6, 1871, Dr. Harmon was married again, liis second wife being Mary E. Bostwick, daughter of L. L. and Mar- garet (Wetmore) Bostwick, of Canfield, Ohio, and they have one son living, Edward L., an elder one having died October 26, 1881. One son, Charlie, died of diphtheria when nine years of age, which loss was a great dis- appointment to the Doctor's hopes. Dr. Harmon's other children are: Cornelia M., Olive R. and Dr. Julian Dana Harmon. Cornelia, residing at home, has had a thorough education, having graduated at the high schools of Warren and taken a two years' conrse at Oberlin (Ohio) Seminary, and spent one year at Vassar College. Olive R., the second daughter, graduated at the high schools of Warren, and at the Dana Musical Institute, of the same city, after

which she completed her studies in Europe, where she passed two years, and is now an assistant in the Dana Musical Institute. Dr. Julian Dana Harmon, a graduate of the literary department of the Michigan Univer- sity, and also of the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, entered into practice with his father in May, 1892, and is successfully pursuing his profession.

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning, Part 50

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