Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 49

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

USA > Ohio > Summit County > Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens > Part 49

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).

and developed it into a good farm, on which he and his wife spent the rest of their days. He died in September, 1864, and was followed to the grave by his wife a year later. They reared a worthy family of six sons and one daughter. Three of the sons, including the subject of this sketch, fought for the preserva- tion of the Union in the Civil War, one of them-Isaac-losing his life in the cause, be- ing killed on the skirmish line in the battle of Champion Ifill, in the rear of Vicksburg, May 16, 1863. George Teeple, the other brother, who was a member of the Fifty- Eighth Illinois Regiment, died near Spring- field, Missouri, after the war. The daugh- ter, Catharine, became the wife of Henry Brunkhart, who died in Missouri. She now resides in Akron. Her daughter Mary grad- uated from the State Normal School at War- rensburg, Missouri, and is now a teacher in the Akron Public Schools. John Teeple, the father, took a pride in giving his children a good education. All of them, except David, taught in the public schools.

Aaron Teeple, with whose history we are more directly concerned, passed his boyhood and youth amid the healthful surroundings of the farm. He was educated in Franklin Township and at the Western Reserve Eclec- tic College, at Hiram, Ohio, the principal of which was at that time James A. Garfield, afterwards president of the United States. On the breaking out of the Civil War, he, with a number of students, enlisted, in September, 1861, in Company A, Forty-Second Regi- ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which Principal Garfield was Colonel. His military record includes the winter campaign of 1861 and 1862 in the Big Sandy Valley, in East- ern Kentucky, in which the rebels under General Humphrey Marshall were driven from the valley; the taking of Cumberland Gap in the summer of 1862, with the frequent skirmishing and fighting, and its evacuation in the fall of the same year, followed by a march of eighteen days among the moun- tains of Eastern Kentucky without rations, harrassed by the enemy under General Kirby Smith and John Morgan until they

398

HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY

reached the Ohio River at Greenupsburg; the campaign up the Kanawha Valley in West- esn Virginia and return to Point Pleasant; the embarkation on fleet of transports to Memphis and Vicksburg; the first attack on Vicksburg by way of the Yazoo at Chickasaw Bluffs; the assault on Fort Hindman or Ar- kansas Post, January 10, 1863, in which his regiment was in the advance line of the charge, resulting in the capture of the entire garrison; the campaign against Vicksburg, including all the engagements in the rear of the city, the siege and the surrender of Gen- eral Pemberton's entire army; the campaign after General Joe Johnston at Jackson, Mis- sissippi, and engagements incident thereto; the return to Vicksburg and transfer to the Department of the Gulf; an expedition by land against Galveston, Texas, going as far as Opelousas and returning to the Mississippi River at Plaquemine, where a large fort was built; the patrolling of the Mississippi River by transports and gunboat fleet, and finally by aiding and covering the retreat of General Banks in his Red River campaign, in May, 1864. His service covered a period of over three years, during which his regiment trav- eled more than 5,000 miles. He took part with the regiment in all of its engagements. excepting that at Black River, Mississippi. He remained behind on that occasion to bury his brother, who had been killed on the bat- the field on the day previous. About three weeks before his term of service expired he was taken sick, and was sent to the United States Barracks Hospital at New Orleans, where he was lying at the expiration of his term of service. By his comrades he was brought to the hospital at Columbus, Ohio, where he was met by his mother and younger brother, who brought him home. For two years after his return he remained an invalid. After his army service he attended school for a time at Baldwin University. Berea, Cuya- hoga County, Ohio. Then it became neces- sary for him to be earning something, and he bought a farm of 140 acres, well timbered, near Akron, and engaged in the manufacture of lumber, clearing in this way about fifty

aeres, and paying for the farm from the sales. The land thus cleared he turned into farming land. He lived on this farm for about six- teen years, at the end of which time he bought a few acres of land near the corporation line of Akron, and built for himself and family a home. The extension of the city limits now includes his place.

A man of refined and intellectual tastes, Mr. Teeple has for many years taken a great interest in the fascinating science of horti- culture, on which subject he is a well recog- nized authority. An article on horticulture from his pen may be found in this work. ILe has also furnished many similar contribu- tions at different times to agricultural and horticultural journals, his communications being eagerly sought and welcomed by all lovers of fruits and those interested in floral culture. In polities he is a Republican. He has held various offices in Portage Township. For thirty years he has been a member of Buckley Post, G. A. R., of Akron, being a past commander of the same. Religiously he is affiliated with the Christian or Disciple Church.

Mr. Teeple was married in the fall of 1865 to Miss Rachel Heiser. This union has been blessed with two children : J. Frank, a former student of Buehtel College and now a busi- ness man of Akron : and Nellie, a graduate of the public schools of Akron, who resides at home with her parents.

HON. WILLIAM BUCHTEL, the founder and formerly president of the Akron Savings Bank, and largely interested in many of Ak- ron's most important business enterprises, for years has also been prominent in affairs of publie import in county and State. Mr. Buchtel was born in Green township, Sum- mit County, Ohio, December 23, 1822, and is a son of John and Catherine (Richards) Buchtel, and a grandson of that hardy old pioneer, Peter Buchtel.

Wiliam Buchtel obtained his education in the district schools and has led a busy, useful life since reaching the years of discretion. He was twenty-two years of age when he pur-

399

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

chased his father's farm of 106 acres which he continued to operate for twelve years, being mainly engaged in the cultivation of wheat. Ile then became interested in milling, and after renting his farm removed to Springfield Township, where he operated both grist and saw mills. He was so engaged when troops were called for to strengthen the defences around Washington, and he quickly re- sponded, enlisting in the 164th Regiment Ohio National Guard, and remaining until honorably discharged from the service, in 1866.

Upon his return to Summit County, Mr. Buchtel became interested in the lumber busi- ness, first as a member of the firm of Jackson, Buchtel and Company, which later became William Buchtel and Sons. He estimates that during his many years of activity in this line, his firms had the handling of more than 20,000 aeres of Government and State pine lands. Mr. Buchtel also turned his attention to banking interests at Akron, organizing, in company with W. B. Raymond, the Citizens' Savings Bank, of which E. Steinbacher was president, William Buchtel, vice-president, and W. B. Raymond, cashier. This later be- came the Citizens' National Bank. NIr. Buchtel then became vice-president of the City National Bank of Akron, a position he re- signed in 1888, when he organized the Akron Savings Bank, of which he remained the head for a number of years. He served also as president of the Thomas Lumber and Build- ing Company, and as treasurer of the Akron Building and Loan Association. Mr. Buehtel was interested for some years in building op- erations. Many of the stately residences at Akron are testimonials to his enterprise and ability, as also are some of the city's finest business structures, among them the Akron Savings Bank and the Buchtel Hotel, the lat- ter being still his property.

Mr. Buchtel was married March 7, 1842, to Martha Henderson, of Springfield Town- ship, Summit County. She died December 17, 1884, having been the mother of four children, namely: Catherine Jane, James H.

(deceased), John D. and William M. Mr. Buchtel married for his second wife, Decem- ber 3, 1885, Mrs. Nora Saekett Wileox.

- As a citizen, devoted to publie duty, Mr. Buchtel has always shown his interest in eivic affairs, and frequently even when the holding of office, interfered considerably with his pri- vate business, he consented to serve when con- vinced that it was for the publie welfare. Thus he served on the board of city commis- sioners, several terms as its chairman; was a member of the Decennial Board of Equaliza- tion in 1890, and held other important posi- tions in which he safe-guarded the interests of the publie. In November, 1901, he was elected a member of the Seventy-fifth Gen- eral Assembly and during his first term at Columbus, served on the standing committees on Geology, Mines and Mining, Municipal AAffairs and Prisons and Prison Reforms. In 1903 Mr. Buchtel was returned to the Legis- lature and during his term in the Seventy- sixth General Assembly, he served as chair- man of the committee on Prisons and Prison Reforms and was a member of the standing committees on Banks and Banking, Villages and Taxation.

Mr. Buchtel is a member of the Elks and of the Hoo-hoos, a very extensive organization composed wholly of men connected with the lumber industry. He belongs to Buekley Post, Grand Army of the Republic. For two years after his return from military service in the Civil War, he remained connected with the same batallion of National Guards.

MAX HOLUB, vice president of the American Scrap Iron Company, was born in Russia, in September, 1857, and came to this country in 1882. Settling immediately in AAkron, he began working for the Wilkoff Brothers Scrap Iron Company, at $1.00 per day. From this humble beginning he has by industry and intelligence risen to the posi- tion of vice-president of one of the largest scrap-iron firms in the State. He was mar- ried in October, 1889, to Mary Rosenfeld, and has two children-Harry and Dave-both of whom are attending the Akron Publie Schools.

400

IIISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY

Mr. Holub has attained a gratifying success in the business world, but has sustained a severely felt loss in the death of his wife, which occurred in July, 1904.

PETER BIENZ, farmer and cheese manu- facturer of Stow township, where he owns a good farm of fifty-four acres, was born in Switzerland, in the Canton of Berne, Decem- ber 31, 1851, and is a son of Frederick and Barbara (Schweetzer) Bienz.

The making of Swiss cheese has been an industry which the Bienz family has followed for generations. Johannes Bienz, the grand- father, kept a dairy in the Alps, it being situated at the little mountain hamlet of Ammenthal, where no other industry could be carried on with profit, the seasons being too short for farming. Even the feed for the cows had to be brought from the valleys and the wood used for the curing of the cheese had to be carried several miles up the moun- tains on the baeks of the dwellers on these heights. Frederick Bienz, father of Peter, also manufactured Swiss cheese, and as he set- tled in the village of Kirchdorf, near Berne, he was able to engage also in farming. He became a man of prominence there and was elected a member of the Gemeindenath. He married a daughter of Johannes Schweetzer and they had twelve children. Frederick Bienz and all of his family except two sons, remained in Switzerland, where he died in 1882, age sixty-four years.

The first member of the Bienz family to come to America, was Christian Bienz, who arrived in 1866 and settled in Nebraska. He was followed by the younger brother, Peter, in the spring of 1875. In his own land, Peter Bienz went to school and assisted his father in the farming and cheese-making. Later, in order to be thoroughly qualified as a cheese- maker, he worked in a cheese factory for two years. After coming to Ohio he worked in Tusearawas County and spent one season in a cheese factory at New Berlin, and in the fall of 1878, he came to Stow Township. Here he entered the employ of Hiram Reed, with whom he remained until 1888. when he pur-

chased Mr. Reed's factory and a part of his farm. He carries on general farming on thirty acres of his property, raising hay and grain, and keeps nine head of cattle. His dairy has proved a great success. He makes 350 pounds of American cheese a day, using 4,000 pounds of milk, and this choice product he sells in New York and Philadelphia. He also makes fine butter, averaging from fifteen to twenty tons annually. His dairy is modern and first-class in every way, being equipped with all kinds of machinery used in butter and cheese-making. Mr. Bienz hires a man to operate the farm, while he, with the as- sistance of his sons, carries on the dairy.

Mr. Bienz married Ellen H. Reed of Stow Township, and they have two sons: Frank C., who was born December 11, 1881; and Frederick Hiram, who was born October 6, 1893. Mrs. Bienz is a member of the Episco- pal Church at Hudson.

Hiram Reed, father of Mrs. Bienz, was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, January 13, 1825, and died September 21, 1894. He was one of twelve children born to John and Rebecca Reed. John Reed was a weaver by trade but when Hiram was about six years old he moved to Portage County and engaged in farming. Hiram Reed learned the carpen- ter's trade and followed it for a number of years, for several years after his marriage liv- ing with his father-in-law. His wife sub- sequently received twenty acres of land from her father, which Mr. Reed increased to eighty-three acres, in the meanwhile continu- ing to work at carpentering. In 1866 he sold this property and purchased the old Wolcott farm of 127 acres, near Munroe Falls, to which he subsequently added, selling it in 1871, when he moved to Hudson. IIe bought a farm there and resided on it for two years, and then sold and bought 300 acres, one-half of which was situated in Stow Township and the other half in Hudson Township. In 1877 Mr. Reed erected a factory for the man- ufacture of American cheese, which he car- ried on until 1878, when he turned his atten- tion to manufacturing Swiss cheese, in which he met with great success. He subsequently

401

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

sold his interest to his son-in-law, Peter Bienz. In 1851 Hiram Reed married Phoebe Sad- dler and they had the following children : Angeline, Elizabeth H., Ellen, Harriet, Ar- thur and one that died in infancy. The mother died February 7, 1871. Mr. Reed was married (second) March 20, 1873, to Mrs. Sophia Galloway, who was the widow of Henry Galloway and a daughter of Broady MeKenzie.

Mr. Bienz conducts his business under the trade name of the Darrowville Creamery, man- ufacturers of American full cream cheese, cottage cheese and fancy creamery butter. In 1891 he erected his present comfortable eight- room house on Payne Road. In politics, Mr. Bienz has always remained an independent voter. He is a Mason, belonging to Hudson Lodge, No. 510, F. & A. M.

JOHN A. MOORE, a prominent business man of Akron, conducting a men's outfitting establishment at No. 326 South Main street, was born in 1865, at Akron, Ohio, and is a son of J. B. Moore, one of Akron's honored retired citizens. Born in Pennsylvania he came to Summit County in his boyhood. He was reared in Springfield township and worked on his father's farm until he came to Akron. where he assisted in building the plant of the Buckeye Mower and Reaper. He was associated industrially with the Buckeye Mower and Reaper Works for twenty-seven years, severing his connection with the same in 1892. He has now reached the age of seventy-one years and has been a witness of the city's wonderful development.

J. A. Moore was reared and educated jn Akron, completing a business course in Ham- Inel's College, where he was a bright student. He entered business life and was one of the first to take stalls in the old Market House on South Main street, where he held stalls Nos. 6 and 7, for two years and a half. After selling out his interest he traveled through the West, including the States of Michigan and Indiana. In the winter of 1888-9 he returned to Akron and in 1890 he established his present business. Like other successful

enterprises of this city, it was started in a small way and built up into a large business through the energy and capacity of its owner. Mr. Moore started with but $70 in cash and put in a stock worth $800. In nine months time he was out of debt, and he has steadily advanced until now his business is one of the leading ones of its kind in the city. He carries a complete line of gent's furnishing goods, including hats, and as a side line he keeps on hand a stock of cigars and high grade tobaccos. He has other business inter- ests also, and is a member of the finance com- mittee of the Depositor's Savings Bank.

In 1891 Mr. Moore was married to Ora Johnson, who was born at Kent, Ohio, and who died February 11, 1906. She is sur- vived by three children-Raymond C., Bessie L. and Eva L. Mr. Moore is an active mem- ber of Grace Reformed Church. His frater- nal connections include membership in the Protected Home Circle and the Pathfinders.

Since 1901 Mr. Moore has done a consider- able amount of building. In the spring of that year he purchased a desirable lot, where his business is now located, with a twenty-two foot front and a depth of 165 feet, on which he erected the fine two-story brick building, which is one of the finest store buildings in the city. He also erected his beautiful mod- ern residence at No. 316 West Cedar street.

NELSON B. STONE, who passed from this life at his home in Akron, November 9, 1893. after a well spent life of seventy-seven years, was born September 18, 1816, as his parents, Milo and Sarah (Beardsley) Stone, were rest- ing at the hamlet of Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio, on their way from Connecti- cut, by ox-team, to Tallmadge Township, Summit County.

When the mother and babe could travel, the father of Mr. Stone continued on his way with his family to Tallmadge Township, set- tling in the woods and subsequently clearing up a good farm there. On this farm, Nelson B. Stone was reared, attending the district school through boyhood and later the Tall- madge Academy, and still later Allegheny

402

HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY

College, at Meadville, Pennsylvania. He be- gan industrial life as a clerk, filling positions successively at West Bloomfield, New York, and at Ravenna and Chardon, Ohio. In December, 1840, he came to Akron, which place was to be his future home. Shortly after locating here he was offered and ac- cepted a position in the county clerk's office, under Clerk Lucius S. Peck, and served until the fall of 1851, when he was elected clerk of Summit County, being the first incumbent of the office under the new constitution. For a short time he served also as deputy clerk in Cuyahoga County, but still maintained his residence at Akron. He was subsequently connected, for a short time, with the firm of Aultman, Miller and Company, but in 1865 he became secretary and treasurer of the Weary, Snyder and Wilcox Manufacturing Company, a position he filled during the re- mainder of his active life.

Mr. Stone was married (first) to Mary H. Clarke, of Akron, who died April 6, 1853, leaving one son, Nelson C., who is now presi- dent of the National City Bank, and one of Akron's most prominent business men. Mr. Stone married for his second wife, Elizabeth H. Beardsley, of Akron, and they had two sons, of whom the one survivor, Dwight M., resides in Akron.

In political sentiment, Mr. Stone was a stanch Republican, and was sent as a dele- gate to the first Republican State convention held in Ohio, at which time the late IIon. Salmon P. Chase was nominated for gov- ernor.

During the whole extent of his long and useful life, Mr. Stone was actively interested in the First Methodist Episcopal Church. For fifty-two consecutive years he served as secre- tary of the Sunday-school of that church, and he preserved his interest in the work until the peaceful close of his life. He was a practical Christian, one who believed thoroughly in supplementing thoughts and words with ac- tion, hence his mourners did not come entirely from the higher walks of life. The poor, the lowly, the needy and afflicted had so often

partaken of his kindness and practical sym- pathy, that they crowded to the bier, at his funeral, to pay the only token of affection they could give. In religious, political, so- cial, benevolent and business circles, the esti- mate of his character was the same, and as his remains were borne away to be laid in the quietude of Glendale cemetery, cach recog- nized that a good man had passed from their inidst.

G. F. BURKHARDT, treasurer and mana- ger of the Burkhardt Brewery Company, at Akron, was born in this city, in 1874, and is a son of William and Margaret Burkhardt, the latter of whom is president of the above company. William Burkhardt died in 1882.

The business of the Burkhardt Brewery Company was established at Akron in 1870, and after the old brewery burned in 1879, the family bought the land and erected the fine plant which is located at Nos. 513-523 Grant street. It is finely equipped with the most modern appliances pertaining to the busi- ness, and its output, which finds ready sale, is about 40,000 barrels. On November 24, 1902, the Burkhardt Brewery Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $50,000, and with the following officers: Margaret Burkhardt, president; William F. Burkhardt, vice-president and superintendent: G. F. Burkhardt, treasurer and manager; and E. C. Dietz, secretary.

G. F. Burkhardt was reared and educated at Akron and when seventeen years of age started to learn the brewing business, eon- mencing at the bottom. In order to perfect himself he entered the American Brewing Academy of Chicago, where he was graduated in 1899. The benefit of his thorough knowl- edge has been given to the business, and its results are apparent. He has also other busi- ness interests.

Mr. Burkhardt is connected with a number of fraternal orders and social organizations, among them, the Elks and the Odd Fellows, the German, the Akron and the Turkeyfoot Lake clubs, and several German societies.

COL. JOHN C. BLOOMFIELD

405

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

COL. JOHN C. BLOOMFIELD, one of Akron's leading citizens, has been identified with many prominent local interests during his fifteen years' residence in the city, and has taken an active and useful part in their promotion. He was born March 4, 1842, in New York city, coming from an old New Jersey family which could boast of its Revo- lutionary patriots.

In the great metropolis in which he was born, Colonel Bloomfield was reared and edu- cated, and early in life displayed many of the qualities which later contributed to his successful military career. In 1859, when but seventeen years of age, he joined the Seventh New York Regiment, which was the first regiment of State troops to be sworn into the service of the United States in 1861. Shortly afterward, Mr. Bloomfield was made captain of Company F, Sixth New York Regi- ment of Volunteer Infantry, and for the next two years served under Generals Ilunter and Butler, in the Department of the Gulf. He was then transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department, and was assigned to the haz- ardous special duty of looking after and breaking up the numerous guerrilla bands that infested that section, work that could only be performed by men of the highest courage and daring. In the conflicts incident to this dangerous service. Colonel Bloomfield was wounded several times, and even now, after an interval of over forty years, feels the ef- fects of a wound received at Escambia, Flori- da.

After the close of the war, Colonel Bloom- field located at St. Louis, Missouri, where he was engaged for some time in the wholesale hardware business under the firm name of Menzie-Rashcoe and Company. In 1871 he became interested in the insurance business. He had not long been a resident of St. Louis before he became connected with military affairs. Associating himself with the Mis- souri National Guards, he was made lieuten- ant colonel of the Seventh Missouri Regiment, and was in command of that organization when it took part in the ceremonies at the inauguration of General Grant, in 1873. Colo-

nel Bloomfield's knowledge and experience of military matters, as well as his soldierly bearing, have made him a useful and almost indispensable man at many public functions. He is a Knight Templar and Past Grand Com- mander, and organized the military parade of the first conclave of Knight Templars of America held in St. Louis, in 1868, and served as chief of staff of the grand com- mander. He has held all the commanding offices in all the bodies of the Masonic order up to the Knights Templar degree. He was also commander of the Missouri National Guards.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 49

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