Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning, Part 72

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 72
USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 72
USA > Ohio > Ashtabula County > Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning > Part 72

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IIenry E. Hall lived on the farmn with his parents until he was fifteen years old. At that early age he went to Akron, Ohio, to learn the trade of butcher under the instruc- tions of his brother, and was there about two years in company with his brother John; he then opened up a butcher shop in Massillon. When Henry E. was eighteen years old he had $23.50, and in three months he cleared $300, aud in less than three years lie was worth $3,000. In 1856 he went to Cincinnati and in company with his brother-in-law, Thomas J. White, he opened a grocery aud

provision store, which, however, they only operated for a few months. As Mr. Hall saw he was losing money there he sold ont, returned to Massillon, and again we find him running a meat market at the latter place. He remained in Massillon until 1860. That year he came to Youngstown, and here he has since made his home. Upon coming here he purchased the lot now occupied by Peter Dreible's sons, paying $25 per foot for it, its location being on West Federal street, and ' here he started the first daily meat market that was ever run in Youngstown. He con- tinued to operate it for seven years, was very successful all the time, and at the end of the seven years sold his lot for $350 per foot. As showing the rate of increase in property here, we state that this lot is now valued at $1,000 per foot. At present Mr. Hall lives on his little farin of twenty-seven acres, a part of which is inside the city limits. Among the improvements in this place we note four greenhouses, about 800 peach trees, two apple orchards and a nice vineyard, be- sides the comfortable residence and good barn. Mr. Hall also owns 600 acres of highly- improved farming land in Maryland, located sixteen miles from Baltimore and twenty-four from Washington, D. C. On this place are 6,000 peach trees, 500 pear trees and a large vineyard. Iu addition to the enterprises mentioned, Mr. Hall has been interested with others in prospecting by drilling for coal and oil on more than fifty faruis in Ohio and Pennsylvania; he has superintended the opening of two coal banks in which he was a partner, one a shaft and the other a slope of 450 feet.

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Hall mar- ried Elizabeth Eleanor White, a native. of Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph W. White. They had eight children, viz .: Charles;

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Joseph E., who married Ada Hollingsworth, and lives in Baltimore, Maryland, their chil- dren being Eddie and Eleanor; Frank, who assists his father on the farm, married Julia C. Spaw, and has two children, Henry and Estella; Harry H., who lives with his father and has charge of the greenhouses; and George A., Eliner E., Mary B. and Arthur W., deceased. The mother of these children died in 1873. She was a devoted Christian woman, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was loved by all who knew her. To her aid and sympathy Mr. Hall attributes much of his success in the accumulation of property. His second marriage was to Margaret Catherine Peters, a native of Penn- sylvania. She died March 9, 1884, leaving three children,-Nellie N., Fred W. and Bessie B. She, too, was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and her life was characterized by many sweet Chris- tian graces.

M YRON C. WICK .- That the history of a nation is the history of its peo- ple has been amply demonstrated in the lives of many of the prosperous and influential citizens of all ages. Especial- ly is this true of Youngstown, Ohio, which has been most marvelously built up by the exertions of a few of its leading citizens, among whom Myron C. Wick occupies a prominent and leading position. Mr. Wick, the President of the Union Iron and Steel Company, director in the First National Bank of Youngstown, director in the Ohio Iron and Steel Company, of the Ohio Steel Company, and of the Stambaugh-Thompson Company, is interested in the Wick Brothers Bank of Youngstown, and in the gas and electric-light companies of the city. He is

also interested in a large hardware store at Wallace, Idaho, and in several silver mines at the same place, in all of his transactions there being displayed the same energetic and progressive methods which have character- ized his business operations from the outset.

Mr. Wick is a native of the city, having been born here May 9, 1848, a son of Paul and Susan A. Wick, of whom an extended notice is given elsewhere in these pages. The primary education of our subject was received in his native town. Later he at- tended and completed the preparatory course of the Western Reserve College at Hudson, Ohio, but did not remain to enter the Fresh- man year. He then clerked for several years for Wick Brothers & Co., when he became a member of the banking firm of Wick, Bent- ley & Co. at Niles, remaining in this con- nection from 1869 to 1871. At the latter date he became teller in the Wick Brothers bank, where he remained for six years, but, his wife's health failing, he removed with his family to Florida, where he spent a year. The next removal was made to Kansas, where he engaged in handling cattle, but returned to Youngstown in 1879, since which time he has been engaged in the iron trade at Girard, first buying stock in Corn's Iron Company, which he later sold and became one of the creditors commissioned to take charge of the business of Cartwright, McCurdee & Co., who had become insolvent and were working under an extension. He was made president and general manager of the company, with the privilege of taking a quantity of the stock, provided he straightened out the financial difficulties of the corporation. . Possessing unusual business ability, he accepted the position and remained the president of the company until July, 1892, when the Cart- wright & McCurdee Company consolidated

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with the Youngstown Iron and Steel Coin- pany, under the corporate name of the Union Iron and Steel Company, of which he was made president. He has since remained in that capacity, giving the most entire and uniform satisfaction to all parties concerned.

Mr. Wick was married to Miss Susie T. Winchell, of Cincinnati, a daugliter of George D. and Susan Winchell, by whom he had one child, Laura, now a pupil at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mrs. Wick died in Florida, Jannary 7, 1880, having been a faithful and devout member of the Presbyterian Church. The second marriage of Mr. Wiek occurred November 30, 1882, to Miss Elizabeth G. Bonnell, a daughter of William Bonnell, of whom an extended notice is given elsewhere in this volume. The children of this mar- riage are: Helen, born April 11, 1884, died October 24, 1888; Philip, Paul and Myron C., Jr. So deeply did the parents and friends mourn the loss of little Helen that Mr. Wick erected a Sunday-school building on the corner of Wood and Champion streets, which was dedicated to her memory. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wick are steadfast and earnest mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church, in which organization they are faithful and enterpris- ing workers.

Since attaining his majority Mr. Wick has been prominently identified with the Repub- lican party, and is a supporter of its candi- dates npon all occasions. Progressive in all his ideas, he favors the most advanced meth- ods in all educational matters, while his re- ligious beliefs are liberal in all things. Genial and hospitable by nature, Mr. Wick has attached to him a wide circle of warın friends who fully recognize the sterling in- tegrity of character which marks the man. In his pursuit of wealth Mr. Wick has not allowed the golden glitter to blind his eyes

to the wants of his fellow-travelers, but has liberally and generously given of his store not only to further public enterprises that would redound to his honor, but also to pri- vate individuals whose path through life. he has made much smoother and easier. The success which now crowns his efforts has been most honestly and justly attained, and with it has come the esteem and confidence of the entire community.

AMES P. WILSON .- Although still in the prime of life, the subject of this sketch, James P. Wilson, has already attained a most enviable position as a jurist, his logical arguments before the court win- ning him a distinction in his profession that is seldom gained as early in life. Mr. Wilson was born in Lyons, Iowa, February 6, 1857, a son of James T. and Harriet P. (Hawes) Wilson, both natives of Ohio. Mr. Wilson, Sr., the father, was admitted to the bar of Cuyahoga county in 1850, and practiced law at Cleve- land, Ohio, for five years, after which he en- gaged in mercantile and manufacturing pursuits at Lyons, Iowa, until the outbreak of the war. After that great struggle was over he returned to Cleveland, where he re- mained until his death in 1887, at the age of fifty-eight years. While in Lyons he held the office of Mayor of the city, in addition to several other elective positions under this municipal government of Cleveland, and in all his connections he proved himself a most efficient and capable official. While practic- ing his profession in Cleveland, he formed a partnership with Jarvis McAdams, the firm being regarded as one of the strongest in the city. Mr. Wilson was regarded as a man of sound judgment and excellent business abil-

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ity, and was very prominent in the develop- ment of the building-stone industry at Amherst and Berea, being considered an authority on all inatters relating to this branch of activity. Three children were born to himself and wife, namely: James P., our subject; David H. and William R .; David H. now resides in New York city, being en- gaged as the manager of a large theatrical company, and is also an actor of high ability, being well known in Youngstown where he has produced a number of successful plays. He was a graduate of the Central high school of Cleveland, and married Miss Helen Windsor. The youngest son, Mr. William R. Wilson, graduated at the Central high school of Cleveland, and later married Miss Adalaide Moores, of Ashland, Ohio. He is now living in New York city, being engaged in journalistic work in connection with the the New York Sun as a special writer, and for the last two years has been connected with the New York Herald as telegraphic editor. All his leisure time, however, is devoted to composing dramas, and he has written a num- ber of successful ones that have been intro- duced in New York city, and are now being presented on the stage throughout the conntry. Among those which have been most successful are "Among the Pines," "The Inspector," "Great Gotham," "The Lion and the Lamb," "The Signal Man" and "The Man about Town." Mrs. Wilson, the mother of our subject, is still alive, residing in Cleve- land, Ohio. She was born in 1833, a daugh- ter of Isaiah and Polly (Ramney) Hawes, natives of England, who upon coming to this country settled in Connecticut, thence coming to Geanga county, being among the early pioneers of that section. Mrs. Wilson is a most estimable lady and has been promi- nently connected with many of the charitable

institutions of Cleveland. She is independ- ent in her religious belief, and very outspoken in the advocacy of her views, having faith based upon clear evidence of the life beyond. Noted for her social qualities, Mrs. Wilson is beloved by all who know her. The Christian example she sets is one worthy of emulation. Onr subject, James P. Wilson, was educated in the public schools of Cleveland, gradnating from the Central high school, in 1875, after which he studied law with Judge Rufus P. Ramney, for one year, in Cleveland. He then took a special course at Columbia and a two-years course at the Law School of Colum- bia College, at New York city, and was ad- mitted to practice at the bar in New York State in 1878, and to the bar of Ohio in the same year, since which time he has been en- gaged in the pursuit of his profession in Youngstown. Upon locating in this city he formed a partnership with his uncle, D. M. Wilson, which continued until the latter's deatlı, since which time he has been associ- ated with the ex-mayor W. J. Lawthers, the firm making a specialty of railroad law. Mr. Wilson has represented the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railway Company for Ohio dur. ing the past eight years and has rendered imn- portant service in the legal department of that company. His thorough knowledge of the law, gained by studious application to his specialty, combined with his exceptional in- tellectual abilities, have won success for him more especially in the higher courts.

The marriage of Mr. Wilson occurred in 1887, to Francis E. Patton, daughter of Thomas Patton, of Newark, Ohio, the former editor and proprietor of the Youngstown Vindicator, a most worthy, able and estimable gentleman. Three children have been born by this marriage, namely: Richard Bartley, named for his maternal great-grandfather, ex-

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governor and ex-senator, who afterward be- came Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio; James Taylor, and Harold Leslie. Mr. Wil- son is a Democrat in politics. In addition to his other labors, Mr. Wilson has been dramat- ic correspondent of the New York Mirror for a number of years and has made a special study of dramatic literature of the better sort. Social by nature, he is a member of the order of Elks. Throughout his entire life he has shown a spirit of fairness and independ- ence in both thought and action; and to a full and exact knowledge of law, and a singular , mental aptitude for its practice, he has joined a generous scholarship and wide literary cul- ture, and his style at the bar is marked by accuracy of statement, fluency and keen an- alysis, as well as by precision and vigor. Mr. Wilson has the student habit and is a wide and discriminating reader. His relations with the members of his profession have been for the most part pleasant and agreeable.

A SAHEL W. JONES, one of the ablest lawyers and distinguished citizens of Ohio, was born in Johnsonville, Trum- bull county, Ohio, September 18, 1838, and is descended from one of the first fami- lies that settled in Trumbull county. His parents were William P. and Mary J. (Bond) Jones. The mother was born at Avon Springs, New York, February 26, 1816, and emigrated to Hartford, Ohio, in 1833. She died in Youngstown, Ohio, in March, 1882. Two Bond families, one from England and one from Ireland, were among the early emigrants to America, and it is uncertain to which of these families Mrs. Jones owes lier descent. The father of our subject was born at Hart- ford, Trumbull county, July 11, 1814, a son

of William C. Jones, who emigrated from Barkhamstead, Connecticut, in 1802, to Hart- ford, Trumbull county, Ohio, and there erected the second cabin in Hartford township. He was a veteran of the Revolutionary war, and took part in the battles of Bunker Hill and Saratoga. His death occurred in 1841. Mr. Jones' children were: William P., Selden C., Dr. Asahel, Amelia, Sally and Allen. The father of William C. Jones, Captain Israel Jones, was a grandson of Benjamin Jones, of Welsh origin, and who was probably the parent tree of the family in America. He first resided at Enfield, Connecticut, but in 1706 became the first settler of Somers, that State. Captain Israel Jones removed from Enfield to Barkhamstead, Connecticut, and became the second settler in the township in which that city is located. He established his home on East mountain, and the farm still remains in the possession of his de- scendants.

Asahel W. Jones, the subject of this mem- oir, was reared to farm life, and received a fair education. He read law in the office of Curtis & Smith, at Warren, Ohio, and was there admitted to the bar, September 27, 1859, when just past twenty-one years of age. Since 1864 he has followed the practice of law in Youngstown. In 1868 he was ap- pointed to fill an nnexpired term as Prose- cuting Attorney for Mahoning county, and later was elected to that office. In 1874 Mr. Jones took an active part in the organization of the Second National Bank of Youngstown, since which time he has been one of its Di- rectors. He also has been more or less in- terested in iron and other industries, but for the greater part has devoted his time and energies to the practice of law, in which he has enjoyed a large and lucrative patronage, his practice now being in the main confined

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to railroads and other corporations. He is a member of the law firm of Jones & Ander- son, which is one of the strongest firms in the State.

September 24, 1861, Mr. Jones was mar- ried, at Hampton, Geauga connty, Ohio, to Miss Annette J. Palmer, who was born at Kingsville, Ashtabula connty, this State, June 23, 1840. In political matters our subject is a stanch Republican, and, although not an office-seeker, has been active as a worker for his party. In 1889 his friends urged his name as one worthy of the nomination ou the Republican ticket for Governor, and he re- ceived a strong support. Mr. Jones is a Knight Templar Mason, and sustains high social relations.

EONARD HOLLOWAY, a prominent furniture merchant and the popular Township Clerk of Niles, Ohio, was born on a farm in Columbiana county, this State, February 27, 1844, in the old log cabin erected in the early part of the nine- teenth century by his grandfather, whose residence it was for many years and where the father of the subject of this sketch was born abont 1821. Ephraim Holloway, grand. father of Mr. Holloway of this notice, was the first of the family to come to Ohio. He came from near Norristown, Pennsylvania, and was an old-fashioned English Quaker of the style of William Penn, whose whole nature was predominated by the character- istics of industry, honesty and piety. He came to Ohio about 1803, settling in the woods of Columbiana county, where he built the little log cabin previously referred to. He was the father of eight children. His death occurred in 1856 on the old homestead,

his loss being universally lamented. Jacob Holloway, father of the subject of this sketch, was reared on the homestead and received the educational advantages afforded by the pio- neer schools of Ohio. He married Elizabeth Willard, daughter of Dewalt Willard, who emigrated with his family from Frederick, Maryland, to Ohio in an early day, and they had two children: Leonard, whose name leads this sketch; and William, engineer in a Salem nail factory. Jacob Holloway fol- lowed farming nntil quite well advanced in life, wlien he entered the agricultural ma- chinery business in Salem, in which he was engaged until his death, abont 1886, sincere- ly regretted by all who knew him. He was a man of natural ability and sound judg- ment, industrions, persevering and econom- ical, and accumulated a comfortable income for his family. He was a Democrat nntil the commencement of the war, when his sympathies were enlisted by the Free Soil party and the cause of suffering humanity.

The subject of this sketch attended the district schools and was reared on a farmn. At the age of fourteen he entered the office of the Ohio Patriot, a paper founded in New Lisbon as early as 1808 by a Mr. Morgan. After working two years in this office yonng Holloway enlisted in the Civil war at New Lisbon, April 24, 1861, joining Company E of the Nineteenth Ohio Regiment, under Colonel Sam Beatty of Canton and Captain Irwin Bean, being mustered in at Columbus. He participated in the battle at Rich Monn- tain, West Virginia, after which he was transferred to the Seventy-sixth Ohio In- fantry, under command of Colonel C. R. Woods, and served in the Army of the Ten- nessee until the close of hostilities, being ad- vanced to the position of Adjutant of his regiment. Ile took part in the siege of

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Vicksburg, Atlanta Campaign, and the inarch to the sea, and was through the Carolinas. In the summer of 1865 his regiment was ordered to the Rio Grande river, Texas, where it remained until fall and then returned to Louisville, Kentucky, where it was honorably discharged, Mr. Holloway never having re- ceived a gunshot wound.

On his return from the war Mr. Holloway entered the employ of the railroad company, and later became fireman, in which capacity he was serving when he first came to Trum- bull county. He later ran an engine a few years for the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad Company, when he quit the the road and followed no regular business for some time. About 1883 he engaged in the furniture business in partnership with Mr. Newhard, in which they have been greatly prospered, owing to their correct business methods and the uniform courtesy with which their patrons are treated. Mr. Hollo- way is also a stockholder and director in the Niles Spouting and Roofing Company, a promising and flourishing industry.

December 31, 1870, Mr. Holloway was married in New Lisbon to Miss Ada B. Dun- lap, a worthy lady of that city. Her grand- father, Jolın Dunlap, was a native of Ireland, who emigrated to America about the time of the Revolutionary war. He married Sarah Mall, a German lady. Four boys were born to thein: Albert, the eldest, married May Norman, having one child, Ada B. Dunlap, now Mrs. Holloway. After Mr. Dunlap's deatlı, his widow married a Mr. Lamborn, and they had two children. Mr. and Mrs. Ilolloway have seven children: Bert, aged twenty; John, aged sixteen; James, aged thirteen; Raymond, trine years of age; Helen, aged six; Leonard, four; and Charles, one year old.

Politically, Mr. Holloway is a Republican and a local leader in public affairs. He has served his constituents efficiently and faith- fully as a Councilman two terms, and in his present position of Township Clerk is emu . lating his former efforts. Fraternally, Mr. Holloway is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Lieutenant-Colonel of the Eighth Regiment of the Knights of Pythias, as well as an active member of the G. A. R. As a busi- ness man, citizen and public official, his actions have been characterized by a high sense of honor and a deep interest in the welfare of his community, and he justly en- joys the esteem of all who know him.

HARLES HILKER .- Among the prominent and influential citizens con- tributed by Germany to this country, Charles Hilker is a leading repesentative not only by reason of the financial success he lias attained in his adopted country, but also, and more especially, for his many noble attri- butes, which have endeared him to all with whom he has come in contact.

Mr. Hilker was born in Germany, Febru- ary 12, 1828, and is a son of Frederick and Elizabeth Hilker, also natives of that country. In 1842, his parents emigrated with their family from Germany, and after a tiresome voyage of nine weeks reached Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and the same winter our sub- ject come to Youngstown, Ohio. Of their six children, five are now living. The oldest of these, Frederick, died in Allegheny, Pennsyl- vania, in 1892, at the age of sixty-six years, leaving a widow and five children to mourn his loss. He was a man of upright charac- ter, charitable impulses and genial tempera- ment, and enjoyed the esteem of all who

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knew him. Mr. Hilker, of this notice, is the second in order of birth; Minnie married George Hager, who died in April, 1893, and she now resides in Harrison county, Indiana; Lizzie, widow of Thomas Kinzy, lives in Newport, Kentucky. Her husband was for. merly a pilot on the Ohio river, but later re- moved to the vicinity of Moscow, on the same river, settling on a farm, where he died. Their only son and child, Jesse Kinzy, now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In the winter of the same year in which his parents settled in Pittsburg, in 1842, Charles Hilker, the subject of this sketch, then fourteen years of age, came to Youngs- town, Ohio, and for the past fifty years has made that place his home, becoming thor- oughly identified with the best interests of the city. The habits of industry and econ- omy, learned from his parents, have stood him in good stead and contributed to his present prosperity. He has dealt largely in real estate, and by handling choice inside property, has accumulated ample means, and now lives retired from active business pur- suits. Eleven handsome houses, owned by him, add to his already large income. Unlike most men, however, he has fully realized the duties accompanying prosperity, and has con- tributed by his means and ability to the ad- vancement and welfare of his favorite city and county, and incidentally to that of the State at large.

A man of energy and progressiveness, he early impressed himself on his community as one who would discharge responsibilities with the utmost uprightness and efficiency. Accordingly, it is not surprising that John R. Davis, when he was Sheriff of Mahoning county, should have selected Mr. Hilker as a suitable assistant and appointed that gentle- man Deputy Sheriff, their term of service in-

cluding at the time the county seat was moved from Canfield. In addition to this position of trust and responsibility, Mr. Hilker was a member of the Board of Health one term and served in the City Council for six years, and his record during this entire time is one of which any public officer might reasonably be proud : certain it is that no one more fully earned the confidence and esteem of the people.

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Biographical history of northeastern Ohio : embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning, Part 72

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