Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 113

Author: Doyle, William B., b. 1868
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1150

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Isaac MeCaman, the grandfather of Elmer I., was the founder of this family in Ohio. He was born in Ireland and came to America accompanied by two brothers, one of whom settled first in Maryland, while the other, with Isaac, settled in Virginia. In a short time, Isaac McCaman pushed north to Ohio and set- tled near what is now the town of Uniontown, where he died aged forty-five years. His widow survives him into old age and died at Akron. Of their large family there are two survivors, namely: Percilla, who is the widow of Adam Cormany, and Lucinda, who is the Widow Gruber, residing at Akron.

Elihu McCaman was reared on the farm on which his father had located and through youth assisted in clearing the same. In young manhood he bought the Mary Ellen, a tidy little canal boat, on which he and his mother lived for a number of years, during which time he followed a profitable business on the water. After his marriage he retired from the canal and disposed of his boat, fol- lowing agricultural pursuits in Coventry Township until his death, in December, 1899, when sixty-eight years of age. In middle life he married the widow of Michael Dixon, who was a daughter of George and Nellie Foust. One of the three children of her first marriage still survives, Delilah. who married Levi Gaugler. Two children were born to her marriage with Elihu McCaman: Elmer I., and Ella J., the latter of whom married

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Charles Rhodenburger and is deceased. By a second marriage, to Orange Cook, one child was born, George L. The mother of Mr. Mc- Caman resides at Barberton.

Elmer I. McCaman was nine years old when his parents moved to the farm in the southwest corner of Coventry Township, where he went to the old District No. 9 school, after which he worked in the shops at Barber- ton until his marriage. After this event, he went into a sawmill business with his half- brother, George Cook, and was a partner in the G. L. Cook Lumber Company, of Barber- ton, which engaged in business there for four years. Mr. McCaman then sold his interest to Mr. Cook, and in 1904, he bought his present excellent farm, from the Dickerhoof heirs. The property was improved to some degree, but Mr. McCaman has added to the value of the land very materially, by his care- ful cultivation and excellent agricultural methods.

Mr. McCaman was married February 13, 1895, to Clara N. Steffee ,who is a daughter of Amos and Alice (Fairbanks) Steffee. They have five children, namely: Carrie, Ellery, Edwin, Forest, Orwin, and Sadie B. Mrs. McCaman is the eldest of her parents' family of four children, the others being: Leon, Blanche, and Almira, the latter of whom died young. The mother of Mrs. McCaman died March 26, 1907, aged fifty-four years, but the father still survives. The maternal grandfather, Edwin Fairbanks, was a native of New York and was one of the earliest set- tlers in Copley Township.

Mr. and Mrs. McCaman are members of the United Brethren Church at Lockwood Corners, in which he is one of the stewards. He is a Democrat. Formally he was a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias, at Barberton.

HIRAM HANCHETT WALLACE, a

highly esteemed citizen of Northfield Town- ship, was engaged in farming for many years but is now retired from active management of his farms, though still residing in a com- modious residence which he built on one of

them several years ago. He is the second son of the late James W. and Adeline (Hanchett) Wallace and was born February 18, 1843, in Northfield Township, Summit County, Ohio.

This branch of the Wallace family became American through Robert Wallace, the great- great-grandfather of Hiram, who removed from Scotland early in the eighteenth cen- tury to Londonberry, Ireland, and thence to Londonderry, New Hampshire. To Robert was born James, and to James came two sons, George and Robert, not mentioning the nu- merous collateral branches. These brothers, George and Robert, having the spirit of ad- venture in them, and perhaps being restive under the strict New England discipline of those days, put good axes over their broad shoulders and fat bags of beans on their backs, and, leaving their native town of Ackworth, New Hampshire, directed their foot-steps west- ward. By aid of the axe they supplemented the provender in the bags and after traversing some six hundred miles of sparcely settled country they reached Youngstown, Ohio, where they were engaged by a Mr. Samuel Menough to chop wood at twelve and one-half cents per cord. The two brothers must have done more than chop well, for George cap- tured the hand of Mr. Menough's daughter Harriet, and her sister became Robert's wife.

In 1806 George Wallace removed to Cleveland and purchased twelve acres of land on what is now Superior Avenue N. W., run- ning from the site of the old Weddell House (the present Rockefeller Building) to the river, and built thereon a log hotel building. It is said that Mr. Wallace paid three hundred dollars for this land which, with improve- ments at the present time, is worth millions.

In the latter year Mr. Wallace removed with his family to the southern part of North- field Township to escape the malarious air of Cleveland and to develop a fine water-power on a beautiful stream to which Mrs. Wallace gave the name of Brandywinc.

Here George Wallace purchased a large tract of land and built and operated a grist- mill. saw-mill. woolen-mill and a distillery,

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making Brandywine the greatest business point between Cleveland and Pittsburg. He remained active in his many enterprises until his death in 1846, at the age of seventy-three. Though not a church member he was a liberal supporter of the Presbyterian Church, his day-book now in possession of his grand-son Hiram, showing among other items the entry of ten gallons of whiskey annually towards the minister's stipend; the good liquor of that day and locality being known as "Brandy- wine currency." He left four children : James Waugh, George Young, who was one of the early sheriffs of Portage County, Eme- line. and Perkins, a physician.

James W. Wallace, father of Hiram, be- came one of the most widely known and uni- versally respected of the older residents of Summit County. Born in Youngstown, No- vember 27, 1803. he was three years of age when the family removed to Cleveland and- began the limited school curriculum of the time. Early in life he was intrusted with business interests by his father, at the age of fifteen managing alone the general store at Brandywine with its large and varied stock of goods. About 1825, in company with his brother George Y., he took immediate charge of the different branches of the Brandywine business ineluding a twelve hundred acre farm on which were kept 2,000 to 2,500 sheep, seventy to seventy-five head of cattle and ten to fifteen horses. As an index to the time it is interesting to note that the total tax on this property was then but five dollars. Later, in association with his father, he built many miles of the Ohio Canal and the aqueduct at Roscoe. Large tracts of the Western Reserve were familiar to him, a- for years he was the representative of the Land Company which originally owned that section of Ohio. This together with his other diversified interests, brought him wide acquaintance in the ter- ritory between Cleveland and Pittsburg. His unfailing courtesy to all, combined with just but considerate business methods, made him the grand old man of the time and section.

On September 8, 1836, Mr. Wallace mar-

ried Adeline Ilanchett, daughter of Hiram and Mary IIanchett. Previous to 1841 Mr. Hanchett built the "Lady of the Lake," the first good vessel built on Lake Erie, which is said to have paid for herself in two trips to and from Buffalo. From this union there were seven children : George, deceased: Hiram Hanehett, the subject of this sketch; Mary, wife of Mr. Lorin Bliss, treasurer of Northfield Township; Warner W., a retired farmer of Lexington, Ky .; Leonard C., a re- tired farmer of Macedonia, Ohio; Joseph, who died in infancy; Margaret Stanhope, wife of Mr. II. R. P. Hamilton, architect, Cleveland. After residing for several years in the substantial homestead built by the head of the family and overlooking the Falls of the Brandywine, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace re- moved, in 1870, to Maple Mound on the road leading from Macedonia to Hudson where in comfortable retirement, with children and grandchildren about them, they enjoyed their later years, Mrs. Wallace living until March 15, 1885, and her husband until September 28, 1887, their lives fully rounded in all relations of the home, the world and the church.

Their second son, Hiram Hanchett Wal- lace, received his education in the Northfield publie schools and at Western Reserve Col- lege, and remained at the home in Brandy- wine until hi- marriage December 18, 1867, to Marianna Mearns, daughter of Mr. John Mearns of Cecil County, Maryland. To them were born : Adeline Rebecca. now deceased; Belle Mearns, who became the wife of Mr. Clark Dillow of Brecksville and is deceased. leaving two children, James Hiram and Elizabeth; Anna Waugh, married to the Rev. Mr. Wm. T. Hammond of Northeast, Maryland, both deceased, leaving a daughter, Rebecca; Margaret, deceased; George H., an intelligent farmer of Northfield who married Miss Emma Rudgers of Brecksville and has an infant daughter: Schuyler J., a promising young attorney of Cleveland; Harvey Bald- win, assistant manager of a large manufactur- ing concern in Detroit, who married Miss

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Olive Snyder, and also has an infant daugh- ter; Marianna Mearns, who since infancy has been as a daughter to her aunt, Mrs. Lorin Bliss, Mrs. Wallace dying February 18, 1887, shortly after childbirth.

In 1891 Mr. Wallace married (second) Mary Jane, daughter of the late Mr. James F'ayerweather of Boston Township.

Soon after his first marriage Mr. Wallace settled in Pocahontas County. Iowa, in the same neighborhood a- his brother George, where he farmed extensively until 1879, when he sold his holdings and, returning to North- field. bought the Proctor farm, Lot 64. In 1885 he increased his acreage by the purchase of the- Boyd farm, Lot 65, and on a sightly eminence well removed from the public high- ways, he erected his present handsome resi- dence, which was completed in 1891. Beau- tiful shade trees. fruitful orchards, well kept gardens, a large barn with the usual outbuild- ings, and an inexhaustible pure water supply. on an automatic system, make evident the thrift and comfort which prevail. His farms. through intelligent care and foresight. have been kept up to the high standard which might be expected and are now managed by his first son who resides in the substantial brick dwelling built sixty years ago by Mr. Daniel Proctor.

Mr. Wallace's religious training and be- liefs are Presbyterian, of which church he is a supporter; his politics are Republican and he has served several terms as township trus- tee in Iowa and for years he was a leading spirit in the Northfield Board of Education which has brought to a high standard the sehools that he attended as a child. Natu- rally Mr. Wallace is widely known and enjoys an enviable reputation in the esteem of hi- extended acquaintance.

WILLIAM JACOB FRYMAN, general farmer and stoekraiser, owns ninety-one acres of excellent farming land in Bath Town- ship, which has been his home for the past twenty years. He was born January 15, 1881. in Copley Township. Suunnit County. Ohio.

and is a son of Joel and Mary Jane (Simons) Fryman.

Daniel Fryman, the grandfather of Wil- liam J., was a native of Pennsylvania, who came from that State on foot, with his dog and gun, and continued his walk through Summit County to Medina County, Ohio, where he later spent many years on his farm south of Wadsworth. He subsequently re- turned to Summit County and settled in Cop- ley Township. where he died in October, 1874.

Joel Fryman was born and reared in Me- dina County, Ohio, and in early manhood came to Copley Township, Summit County, where he was married. In 1870, he went to Williams County, Ohio, but after three years returned to Summit County and purchased a farm in Portage Township. where he and his wife still live. He was married to Mary Jane Simons, who was born at Lockwood': Corners, in Coventry Township, and is a daughter of Henry Simons, a native of Eng- land, who secured the first marriage license taken out in Summit County, Ohio. He set- tled in Coventry Township at an early day, and there became the owner of a large tract of land. Mrs. Fryman's mother died when she was five years old, and she went to live with here unele, William Carpenter, and was known on this account as Mary Jane Carpen- ter. To Mr. and Mrs. Fryman there were born eight children: Sarah, who is the wife of Frank Swift; William J .; Arvella. who married Thomas Carter: Mary, who died when three years old; Ella, who married Ilenry Moeler; Homer; Frank. who died when thirteen years old; and Cora, who died aged about one year.

Until twenty-one years of age, William Jacob Fryman remained on the home farm in Portage Township, and he then started to work as a farm hand. In February, 1895. he bought two-third- of a farm of 116 acres. formerly the McMillan property, which is lo- cated one and one-half miles west of Montro-e. but as there was a dispute as to the title. he was obliged to repurchase it. He cultivates

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the whole 116 acres and in addition forty-six acres belonging to his father-in-law, Norton Hubbard, whose home is almost across the road from Mr. Fryman's, in Copley Town- ship. Mr. Fryman has engaged very exten- sively in raising draft horses, and a number of fine animals belonging to him are in the service of the Akron Fire Department, the Lyman Lumber Company and the Akron breweries.

On December 27, 1883, Mr. Fryman was married to Lena Hubbard, who was born in Copley Township, on a farm in sight of her present home, and is a daughter of Norton and Harriet (Miller) Hubbard. The mother of Mrs. Fryman died December 30, 1888, and her father November 4, 1907. Norton Hubbard was born at Batavia, New York, and on Christmas night, 1830, was brought by his uncle to Copley Township and they set- tled in a little log cabin. He lived in Sum- mit County for seventy-seven years and was one of its most highly esteemed citizens. To Mr. and Mrs. Fryman one child was born: Rex, who resides at home.

Mr. Fryman is a member of the National Protective Legion, to which all of the family belong. He is a deacon in the Church of Christ at Copley.

PHILANDER D. HALL, JR., capitalist and traveler, who owns a vast amount of valu- able realty in and about Akron and is identi- fied with a number of the city's prosperous enterprises, was born at Bridgeport, Connecti- cut, July 10, 1854, and is a son of Lorenzo and Mary J. (Hubbell) Hall.

The late Lorenzo Hall was one of the early merchants of Akron and for years was a mem- ber of the firm of Hall Brother, a name that for a long period stood for business acumen and commercial integrity. Lorenzo Hall ac- quired a large fortune and became one of Akron's most valuable citizens. He died January 9, 1892. He married Mary J. Hubbel, and they had two sons, Frank L. and Phi- lander D., Jr., The former is one of the lead- ing attorneys of the city of New York. He

was a student in the office of David Dudley Field, in New York, and is a graduate of Yale College and of the Law School of Columbia College.

Philander D. Hall, J., who bears the hon- ored name of his uncle, the late Philander D. Hall, was four years of age when his father came to Akron. He was reared in this city, attended first the primary and then the High School here, and then became a student in the Columbia preparatory school, of New York city. He continued there for two years and completed his education at Strasberg, Ger- many, where he took a special course. Upon his return to his native land, he engaged in a wholesale hardware business at San Francisco, for a period and then came to Akron and took charge of the Hall Brothers store, which he managed for five years, or until the death of his venerable uncle. After selling the store, Mr. Hall was engaged for a considerable time in looking after the large amount of real estate which had come into his possession. He is interested in the Colonna Tire and Rubber Company, and the Swinehardt Rubber Com- pany, and is a stockholder in a number of like concerns. He is one of the directors of the National City Bank of Akron and has in- terests in New York. During the past year, Mr. Hall has been a resident of London, Eng- land, where he has represented the Firestone Rubber Tire Company. He has spent much time in travel and is familiar with various parts of Europe, having but recently returned from visiting France and Italy.

On June 28, 1894, Mr. Hall was married to Eva M. Grant, of Cleveland, and they have one son, Frank Hurlburt. Mr. Hall was reared in the Episcopal Church and is a vestryman of the Church of Our Savior at Akron.

E. C. SHAW, general manager of works of the B. F. Goodrich Company, at Akron, has been a resident of this wide-awake city since 1893, and is numbered with her suc- cessful business men. Mr. Shaw was born in 1863, at Buffalo, New York.

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After receiving an excellent public school training in his native city, Mr. Shaw entered Yale College, where he was graduated in the class of 1886. Upon his return to Buffalo, he engaged in an electric light business until 1893, when he came to Akron to take charge of the Akron Electric Light Company, re- maining with that organization for that year and in 1894 coming to the B. F. Goodrich Company in the capacity of a mechanical and electrical engineer. Mr. Shaw soon became assistant superintendent of this great concern, later was made superintendent, and since January 1, 1907, has been general manager of works of a company whose products are of world-wide fame. In 1897, Mr. Shaw was married to Jennie L. Bond, of New York city. He is a Knight Templar Mason, and is a popular member of the Portage Country club.

ISAAC LEIBY, one of Copley Township's most respected citizens, owns a valuable farmi of 131 1-2 acres, which has been managed by his son since Mr. Leiby retired from active life. He was born on his father's farm in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1821, and is a son of Jacob and Mary Leiby.

Mr. Leiby comes of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, of people noted for their industry and honesty. His father was also born in Penn- sylvania and engaged in farming and dis- tilling. He servived his wife and lived to the unusual age of ninety years. They had a family of thirteen children, and all but one of these reached maturity and all have passed to their final reward except Isaac, and his sis- ter Emeline, who married Charles Krum.

Isaac Leiby worked with his father until he was about twenty years old and then learned the carpenter trade. He has worked at this more or less all his life and even at the age of eighty-six years can do a good piece of work in this line. He had very little chance to go to school in his boyhood and never learned the English language until he was grown, the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect

being used entirely in the neighborhood in which he lived. When he was twenty-five years old he was married to Mary Heimbaug, and about two year later, with his wife and two little ones, the youngest but a few weeks old, he started in a one-horse wagon, with the intention of acquiring land and settling in Norton Township, Summit County, Ohio, both of which he accomplished. When Mr. and Mrs. Leiby reached Akron they found a small village, which then had no railroad connection, and the houses then standing were not of the kind Mr. Leiby afterward built all through this section.

Mr. Leiby came to Summit County a poor but honest, temperate and industrious man, and it was not very long after he settled here that he bought his first tract of land, twenty acres, from a Mr. Myers, and then forty acres from S. J. Spake, and to this he soon added thirteen and one-eighth acres, bought of David Miller. From time to time, as a good piece of land came upon the mar- ket, he bought until he owned 141 1-2 acres. Recently he has sold ten acres. When he settled here he lived for a short time in the log house that was standing, but before long put up the nice residence which has stood for fifty years. Its construction was so substan- tial that no repairs have been necessary until recently, when Mr. Leiby put down a new porch floor, and it was well done.

The wife of Mr. Leiby died September 14. 1899. They had seven children, as follows: Leander, who married Amanda Houghlan ; Charles, who married Mary Miller; Henry, who married Jennie Jones; Aaron, who man- ages the home farm; Lovena C .; Mary Eliza- beth, who married L. Squires; and Samantha Jane, who married W. Stonebrook.

In politics Mr. Leiby and his son Aaron are both stanch Democrats. During the time he served as road supervisor, the township prof. ited by his good judgment and close attention to the work in hand. He is a leading mem- ber of the Reformed Church in his neigh- borhood. in which he has served as deacon for many years and elder for the past five years.

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W. A. SACKETT, M.D., a prominent medical practitioner at Akron, was born in Copley Township, Summit County, Ohio, in 1866, and is a son of the late William C. Sackett, a well-known citizen.

William C. Sackett was born at Warren, Connecticut, in October, 1827, and died in Summit County, in November, 1902. Ile was a son of Aaron and Huldah Camilla (Tanner) Sackett, and was ten year old when his parents emigrated to Tallmadge Town- ship, Summit County. He was a representa- tive man of his section, deeply interested in its development and evineed public spirit and enterprise. In 1851 he went to California, later to Oregon, and after four years in the far West, he returned to Ohio. Here he pur- chased a large farm from George Sackett, his brother, and carried on extensive agricul- tural pursuits until 1893, when he moved to a farm in Portage Township. Here he continued to reside until 1898, removing then to a farm he bought in Coventry Township. where his death occurred. For a period of five years he was president of the Summit County Agricultural Society. On March 18, 1857, he married Harriet L. Galbraith, who was a daughter of Henry H. and Ann (Lang- worthy) Galbraith.

Dr. W. A. Sackett graduated from the Akron High School in 1885, and from Ober- lin College. in 1890, with the degree of A. B. In 1893 he was graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsyl- vania, and the A. M. degree has since been conferred on him by Oberlin College. Dr. Sackett immediately located at Akron, where he has met with hearty recognition. He is a member of the Summit County, the Ohio State Sixth Councilor Distriet and the Ameri- ean Medical Association.

Until her lamented death in January, 1906, the venerable mother of Dr. Saekett resided upon the farm in Coventry Township. She was born at Mogadore, Summit County, Ohio, July 25, 1837, and was a daughter of Henry Galbraith, who was born near Belfast, Ireland. Tle came to Canada in boyhood and in 1836

to Summit County, where he became a well- known citizen. Hle survived until 1893. Fraternally, Dr. Saekett is a Mason. Re- ligiously, he is a member of the First Con- gregational Church.

S. A. KEPLER, dairyman, and owner of forty-three acres of excellent farming land, situated in Coventry Township, five miles south of Akron, was born December 9, 1864, on the home farm, in the old log house situ- ated on the hill, in Coventry Township, Summit County, Ohio. His parents are Samuel and Susanna (Swigart) Kepler.

Samuel Kepler was born in Green Town- -hip, Summit County. Ohio, and is a son of Jacob Kepler, who owned much land in Green Township and also worked as a mechanic. Samuel was the eldest son of Jacob, and on him fell many of the heavy duties of the farm. In early manhood he was married to Susanna Swigart, who was one of a family of fifteen children born to George Swigart, who lived in Franklin Township, Summit County. Samnel Kepler and wife had seven children, namely : Uriah, residing in Kansas; Anna, the widow of H. C. Preyer, residing at Cleve- land; Jacob, residing at Barberton; Sammuel Adam; Minnie, who married Dr. Roden- bangh, residing at Barberton; and Jefferson and Rahama. both of whom died young, of scarlet fever. Mr. and Mrs. Kepler reside in a fine large residence, at No. 56 South Broadway, Akron, moving there after selling a farm of 196 acres. He still owns 138 acres in Coventry Township.

Samuel Adam Kepler grew up on the old home place and attended District School No. 6, when home duties were not too pressing. Ile remained assisting his father until 1888, and when he married he bought his present farm from his father. At that time there were no buildings on the place and all the improvements, house, barns and other struc- tures he has put here. His barns, where his milk is handled, are model buildings, with cement floors and with every convenience and sanitary condition required in modern days.

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Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 113

Author: Doyle, William B., b. 1868 Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1150

Author: Doyle, William B., b. 1868
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1150