Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 91

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

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AARON MORRISS

MRS. SARAII J. MORRISS

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Samuel Lucius Moore worked in youth on his father's farm and subsequently acquired property of his own, which included a one- half interest in a pottery, in Suffield Town- ship, where he worked for some years as a turner. fle became a man of local promi- nence in Suffield Township and served as a trustee. In April, 1869, he came to Stow Township and purchased the farm on which his son, Orison M., resides, which was the old Wetmore homestead, and at that time con- tained about 120 acres. The railroad has taken some eight acres of the original farm. On this property Mr. Moore raised many sheep, having been previously engaged in this industry in Suffield Township, and also ear- ried on general farming and dairying. He died on the present farm May 19, 1886, leav- ing his property to his heirs, Orison M. hav- ing the use of the present farm as long as he lives. Of his seven ehildren, but two grew to maturity: James S., residing also in Stow Township, and Orison M.

Orison M. Moore enjoyed educational ad- vantages, completing his education in the Suffield High School. at Randolph. He as- sisted his father on the homestead, and has resided in Stow Township ever since his mar- riage. For nine years following his father's death he rented the present farm, but since 1898 has had the sole eontrol. During this time he also cultivated a farm which Mrs. Moore inherited from her father. and which is still her personal possession. Mr. Moore raises wheat, oats. corn and potatoes, and keeps twelve head of eattle through the winter and sells his milk to the Co-operative Cream- ery at Stow. He is also interested in raising poultry and supplies a large demand from Silver Lake.

Mr. Moore was married to Clara Wetmore. who belongs to an old and distinguished family of this section. She is a daughter of Edwin and Polly (Wetmore) Wetmore. The Wetmore family eame originally from Wales. in the persons of three brothers, Seth, Chauney. and one whose name has been lost. Seth settled in Conneetient and the Wetmores of Stow Township descended from him. His

son William was the first justice of the peace in Stow Township. He was known as Judge Wetmore and was the grandfather of Mrs. Moore. His children, Edwin, William, Henry, Ogden and Clarissa, were his heirs, and Edwin owned some 200 acres. He built the house which belongs to the heirs of Mr. and Mrs. Moore. He was a justice of the peace and a man of consequence in this part of Summit County. He was born in 1798 and died De- cember 25, 1872.

Mr. and Mrs. Moore have had seven chil- dren. the three survivors being one daughter and two sons: Grace Claribel, Henry W. and Arthur Garfield. Mrs. Moore is a valued member of the Disciples Church at Stow Cor- ners.

In politics, Mr. Moore votes with the Re- publican party in national matters, but pre- fers to be independent in local affairs. He is identified with several fraternal organizations, and is past commander of the Maccabees, is past president and a trustee of the Pathfind- ers. at Cuyahoga Falls, is past chief ranger and a trustee of the Foresters at Cuyahoga Falls. Ile takes an active interest in the pub- lic affairs of his neighborhood when benevo- lent movements are organized. Mr. Moore and family are people who enjoy the highest measure of public esteem.

AARON MORRISS, a native of Winstead. Connecticut, who died on his farm in the southeast part of Tallmadge Township, Sum- mit County, Ohio, in 1871, aged seventy-one years, was one of the leading men of this sec- tion, and a type of that striet uneompromis- ing integrity which makes men honored whether rieh or poor.

The name of Morriss is attached to that im- mortal doeument, The Declaration of Inde- pendence, and the lady who is the sole repre- sentative of the family, in Tallmadge Town- ship, Miss America Morriss, is a lineal descend- ant of the signer. Her paternal grandparents died when her father. the late Aaron Morris -. was a child. He had two brothers and two sisters. One brother. Andrew Morriss. owned a home at Bridgeport. Connectieut. adjoining

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that of the late P. T. Barnum, while the other brother lived at New Haven. One sis- ter married Mr. Hill, who was superintendent of the Marine Hospital at New Haven, and the other sister became the wife of Rev. Lewis Fisk, who was the first person to be interred in what was then called the New Evergreen Cemetery, at New Haven.

Aaron Morriss spent his first twenty-one years mainly at New Haven and Winstead, where he learned the carpenter's and cabinet- maker's trades. In pursuit of business, he then accompanied Peter Hepburn to Savan- nah, Georgia, where he lived for thirteen years, engaged in building and contracting. He became a man of consequence there, took an active interest in the public life of the city and, on account of his sterling qualities as well as his personal appearance and digui- fied bearing, he was selected as one of the committee of Savannah citizens to receive and welcome General Lafayette, when he visited that city in 1824. Mr. Morriss was known as a very liberal man and is said to have con- tributed fifty dollars to every church built in the community in which he lived. He made many and warm friends in the southern city, even when a cordial feeling was not the normal attitude between New England and Georgia.

After he returned to New Haven, Mr. Mor- riss was married to Sarah Isbell, who was a daughter of Israel and Sallie (Pardee) Isbell. Her maternal grandmother was Rebecca Beecher, who was a sister of the late Dr. Lyman Beecher. Israel Isbell and wife died at Milford, Connecticut. They had the fol- lowing children exclusive of Mrs. Morriss: David, who subsequently came to Tallmadge, who married Charlotta Beach, a very aristo- cratie lady of Milford. After his death in Tallmadge, she married the Reverend Mr. Platt, and died at Oberlin, Ohio. Israel, a cabinet-maker by trade, also came to Tall- madge. He married Huldah Wooding, of New Ilaven. Connecticut. Josiah Pardee married Mary Andrew, of Connecticut, and they re- mained in that state. Polly married Bene- diet Merwin and went to reside on Long Is-

land. Irene, the youngest, married Bela Clark and they remained at Milford, Connec- ticut.

At the time of her marriage to Aaron Mor- riss, Sarah Isbell was the widow of Captain Freegift Coggeshall. Mr. and Mrs. Morriss had two children-America, who was born in Tallmadge Township, Summit County, in 1835: and Corinne, born in 1836, who died December 25, 1894. Few young ladies of their day enjoyed better educational advan- tages than were given the Misses Morriss. They attended the Ravenna select school conducted by Miss Curtis, a graduate of Mt. Holyoke, Massachusetts ; later, the Hudson Female Sem- inary, in charge of Miss Lee, and still later the Ontario Female Seminary, at Canandai- gua, New York, where they remained until they completed their education. They re- turned to Tallmadge where they exerted a wholesome influence of culture and refine- ment. The father took great pride in his daughters, and the family relations were marked by the most perfect congeniality. The beloved mother, who was born at Mil- ford, Connecticut, in 1801, survived to the age of seventy-eight years, passing away in 1879, having survived her husband for eight years.

Aaron Morriss made an early visit to Sum- mit County, but was not so impressed with the country at that time as to invest in land, but after his marriage he returned and set- tled on the farm which remained his home until the close of his life. The confinement incidental to his trade acted unfavorably on his health, and he was obliged to give it up and seek an out-door life, but his talent as a worker in wood, never permitted him to entirely lay aside his tools. Before leaving his native state he had fashioned furniture that probably still is in use in Yale College, and had also done a large amount of build- ing.

The land that Mr. Morriss purchased in Tallmadge Township was a traet of 155 acres, and of it he made a model farm. No unsight- ly stumps were left to mar the even beauty of his fields and meadows, while all his build-

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ings were kept in the best of repair and were suited to their needs and adequately equipped. He was a natural architect and when building or making repairs, first laid out a plan and followed it. As his daughter views her com- fortable home she can recall how her father carefully fitted each bit of material as he was partially rebuilding, and the great pillars of the porch, of solid black walnut, were chiseled out by his skilled hands with the truest ac- euracy. All he did was in the same careful way. He took delight in growing fruits and vegetables, and in improving his surround- ings, and enjoyed comfort in the quiet, re- fined peace of his home, where at last he passed peacefully away.

Miss America Morriss now owns the old homestead farm which her father bought in the year preceding her birth, and she also owns city property in Akron. For many years she has admirably administered her own affairs and is known as an excellent business woman as well as a lady of great charity and of warm, true hospitality. She attends the Congregational Church at Tallmadge.

DAVID R. FERGUSSON, the efficient city marshal at Barberton, is serving in his fifth successive term in his present capacity. He was born at Lockland, Ohio, August 14, 1875, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Campbell) Fergusson.

The parents of Mr. Fergusson moved to Akron in 1879, and to Barberton, in 1883, his father in that year entering the employ of the American Straw Board Company at this place. He built the first house in the new part of Barberton, west of the Erie Rail- road. William Fergusson still survives, but his wife died in March, 1905.

David R. Fergusson was educated in the sehools of Akron and of New Portage, up to the age of fourteen years, when he started to work for the American Straw Board Com- pany, then known as the Portage Straw Board, remaining about seven years. From that company he went to the American Sewer Pipe Works, first as kiln setter and later as fireman, remaining until 1900, when he was

first elected town marshal. Prior to this, from 1899 to 1900, he had served as chief of the fire department and so efficiently as to gain the confidence of his fellow-citizens. He has subsequently been re-elected marshal and his last eleetion was by a majority of 300 votes.

In June, 1904, Mr. Fergusson was mar- ried to Mary Willems, who is a daughter of Frederick Willems, and they have one son, David, Jr.

Mr. Fergusson belongs to the Masons, the Elks and the Knights of Pythias, being a cap- tain of the Uniform Rank in the latter or- ganization.

PERRY R. MILLER, who came to Bar- berton in 1892, one of its first home-makers, resides at No. 926 Wooster Avenue, where his beautiful dwelling is surrounded by two acres of improved land. For many years prior to that date he was a large farmer and successful dairyman in Norton Township. He was born in Norton Township, Summit County, Ohio, August 29, 1855, and is a son of Cyrus and Hannah (Reese) Miller.

Cyrus Miller was also born in Norton Town- ship, but the grandfather of Perry R. Miller was born in Ireland. He emigrated to Amer- iea and lived for a time in Summit County, but later moved to Illinois, and both he and wife died there before the birth of their grandson. Cyrus Miller worked as a tailor during some of his earlier years, on account of an accident, which resulted in the loss of a leg, which for a time prevented agricultural work, but he subsequently became a farmer in Norton Township. He died at Akron, aged eighty years, his wife dying when seven- ty-eight years old. They had six children, namely: Wellington, residing at Barberton ; Wealthy, who died in girlhood from being accidentally burned; Perry R .; Wilbur and Willis, twins, the latter of whom is deceased, the former residing at Barberton; and Ar- thur, residing at Akron.

Perry R. Miller was reared on the home farm in Norton Township, in which, with the exception of one year, 1865, when the family resided at Wadsworth, he has spent his life.

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He at one time owned 240 acres of land, in two farms, and for many years resided on one of 190 acres, which belonged to his wife and her mother. During the winter of 1906-7 he sold that farm but retains one of fifty acres, which, with his property at Barberton, still leaves him the owner of some very valuable realty. He was educated in the district schools of Norton Township, after which he taught school for about three years, but later turned his entire attention to farming and dairying, in which he met with much suc- cess.

Mr. Miller married Addie L. Dickerman, who is a daughter of Simeon and Mary Ann Dickerman, who came early to Norton Town- ship. Mr. Dickerman is deceased, but Mrs. Dickerman resides with Mr. and Mrs. Miller. The latter have two sons, Vernon and Le- land.

Mr. Miller has always taken an active and intelligent interest in township affairs, and on numerous occasions has been called on by his fellow citizens to accept office, and has served most acceptably as township clerk and trus- tee. Ile is one of the leading members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Barberton, in which he is steward, trustee and treasurer, and also serves as assistant superintendent of the Sunday-school. Ile occupies himself mainly in looking after his real estate inter- ests, which he has lately increased. He is a man of public spirit and the improvements he puts on his properties add to their value and also to the general appearance of the town.

GEORGE A. BOTZUM, proprietor of one of the leading mercantile establishments at AAkron, the George A. Botzum Company. dealers in dry goods and ready-to-wear gar- ments, was born in Northampton Township. Summit County, Ohio, May 31. 1858. and is a son of Adam Botzum.

The Botzum family is of German extrac- tion and it was the grandfather. John George Botzum, who brought his family from Ger- many and settled in Northampton Township. Summit County. Ohio. in 1836. securing Gov-

ernment land, on which he lived for the re- mainder of his life. The village of Botzum, in that section, is named for this respected family. The late Adam Botzum was six years old when he accompanied his father to Amer- ica. He was born at Strasburg, Germany, October 25, 1830, and died in Northampton Township, where his long, useful and hon- ored life was passed, October 16, 1907. He was an old-school, Jeffersonian Democrat and an important factor in the political life of his community. He served as township trustee and on the School Board and both in public and private life was an ideal citizen.

George 1. Botzum was reared on the old homestead, and from the local schools entered Buchtel College, where he was graduated in the normal course, in 1879, in the meantime teaching school, alternating as a teacher and a pupil. In 1880 he came to Akron and en- tered the dry goods store of Hall Brothers. For nine years he served as manager and went from there to the Boston store, where he re- mained seven years, going then to A. Polsky, with whom he continued for eight years. With all this mercantile experience, Mr. Bot- zum felt qualified to embark in the business for himself, and September 23. 1904, he opened up his present business, under the firm name of the George A. Botzum Com- pany. The firm is established at Nos. 9-11 South Howard Street, occupying three floors, two of which are devoted to the exhibition of cloaks and ready-to-wear garments. Fourteen people are required to show goods and the volume of trade is on the increase. Good taste in the selection of stock, honest methods and courteous treatment are all contributing canses to the success of this enterprise.

On September 4. 1883, Mr. Botzum was married to Maud Fayerweather, who is a daughter of James B. Fayerweather, who was a pioneer in Boston Township. Mr. and Mrs. Botzum have three children: Floyd A .. who is a graduate of the Akron High School, and assists his father in the store; Jennie B .. who is a student at Mt. Union College ; and Lydia E .. who is a student at Buchtel College. Mr. Botzum and family belong to West Hill Con-

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gregational Church. Ile is a member of the beneficiary order of Protected Home Circle.

JOHN FREDERICK ILANKEY, a gen- eral farmer residing on his well-cultivated farm of eighty acres, situated in Copley Town- ship, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, May 24, 1855, and is a son of Samuel and Mary ( Witmer) Hankey.

Samuel llankey came to Ohio in young manhood and shortly afterward was married to Mary Witmer, who, like himself, had been born in an eastern State. They lived at Akron for a short period and then moved to a farm of 163 acres. in Copley Township, where they continued to live for forty years, removing then to a farm near White Ele- phant, on which both died. Samuel Hankey lived to be seventy-four years old, but his wife died at the age of sixty-one. The venerable father of Samuel Hankey, Lewis Hankey, accompanied his son to Copley Township. He was a man well-known, being a shoemaker by trade and a preacher by profession. He died aged eighty-eight years. Samuel Hankey and wife had five children, as follows: David; Ellen, who married P. G. Prentice: Cath- erine, deceased, who married Charles Traver ; John Frederick, and Elizabeth, who married J. D. Arnold.

Shortly after his birth, the father of John Frederick Hankey, bought land where South Akron now stands. When he was eight years old, Mr. Hankey remembers walking almost the whole way to the farm which his father had purchased in Copley Township, the same which he now owns. Here he was reared and the little schooling he was able to get was obtained in the distriet schools. On January 1, 1878, he was married, and then bought the home farm, which he has sinee continued to operate. He has done a great deal of im- proving, putting up the present substantial buildings, and has a comfortable home and valuable property. He set out the orehard and all the other trees.

Mr. John F. Hankey married Emma E. Cary, who is a daughter of Amos and Sarah (Heistand) Cary, the former of whom was

born in Wayne County, and the latter in Copley Township, Summit County. Mrs. Hankey's maternal grandparents were Abra- ham and Sarah (Arnold) Heistand. Her parents both died in Copley Township, in 1906, the father aged seventy-five years and the mother sixty-nine years. They had four children: Albert; Emma; Della M .. who married Frank Lyon; and Lettie.

Mr. and Mrs. Hankey have one son, Harry Wilbur, who was born September 6, 1883, and lives at home with his parents. The fam- ily belongs to the United Brethren Church, Mr. Ilankey being one of the stewards. They are well-known and highly esteemed people in Copley Township.

GEORGE A. PFLUEGER, president of the Enterprise Manufacturing Company, of Akron, Ohio, one of Akron's oldest and most substantial manufacturing enterprises, and the largest of its kind in this country, was born in Akron in 1871, and is the son of the late E. F. Pflueger, the founder of the com- pany.

George A. Pflueger was reared and educated in Akron, and from the public schools of this city he entered his father's factory, where he received the technical training neces- sary for a business of this character. In 1889 Mr. Pflueger took charge of a braneli factory at North St. Paul, Minnesota, returning to Akron in 1895. and has since been actively engaged in the various departments of the business. He was elected to the position of vice-president in May, 1901, and filled that office until November, 1903, when he was elected to his present position as president of the company. His years of training in the harness ornament and fishing tackle business, together with his natural business abilities, well fit him for the position of chief of a large industrial enterprise.

In 1896 Mr. Pflueger was married to Miss Sarah J. Earhuff, of St. Paul, Minnesota. They have five children resulting from such union, namely: Marjorie. Virginia, Harriet, George and Sarah. Mr. Pflueger is a Mason

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and belongs to various branches of the fra- ternity of Akron.

The late Mr. E. F. Pflueger, father of the subject of this sketch, was born at Baden, Germany, in February, 1843, and died No- vember IS, 1901. He was brought to Amer- ica in early childhood. He was soon or- phaned by the premature death of his parents, and through difficulties and privations, by force of natural ability and sterling charac- ter, developed himself into a man of promi- nence and fortune. At his death he left as a fitting monument to his efforts and years of industry the great manufacturing concern which his sons now operate. The Enterprise Manufacturing Company was founded by E. F. Pflueger in 1880, incorporated in 1886, and from its inception has been a leader in its line.

H. H. TAYLOR, president of the Long- Taylor Company, at Akron, has been a resi- dent of this city for twenty years and has done his part in advancing her interests. He was born at Talhnadge, Ohio, in 1872, and is a son of the late Samuel C. Taylor. The Taylor family is one of the oldest in Summit County. Samuel C. Taylor was born in Tallmadge Township in 1837, and became one of the leading men of his day in this lo- cality. His death took place March 19, 1905.

11. IT. Taylor was reared and educated in Tallınadge until he prepared for college, and then spent two years at Buchtel College. When he entered into business at Akron it was as shoe salesman for C. A. Barnes and Company, proprietors of the Black Bear Hat Store, where he remained three years. He then con- tinned two years with A. L. Bowman and Company, who purchased the shoe depart- ment of the other firm. During the next two years he was connected with S. E. Phinney & Company, and then became a member of the firm of M. S. Long & Company. This firm was succeeded by that of Long & Tay- lor, which was later incorporated as The Long & Taylor Company. which is recognized as one of Akron's leading business firms.

On September 21, 1905, Mr. Taylor was married to Mary 1. Stoley, of Akron, and they have one daughter, Mary Alta. Mr. Taylor is a 32nd degree Mason and belongs to the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and Com- mandery at Akron, and to Alkoran Shrine and Lake Erie Consistory, at Cleveland.

HON. THOMAS WRIGHT, a prominent citizen of Springfield Township, who served in the Ohio State Legislature from 1890 un- til 1891, declining renomination, is a repre- sentative of a leading pioneer family of this section. Mr. Wright was born in Tompkins County, New York, February 22, 1830, and is a son of Thomas Wright, Sr., and his wife, Lucy (Kirkman) Wright. Thomas Wright, Sr., and his wife celebrated their golden wed- ding in 1867. They were born and married in England. Four of their children were born in England and two after they came to Amer- ica. They were: George, James, Jemima, Josiah, Thomas and Lucy. The eldest son, George Wright, died some years since at the home of his sister, in Michigan. In his earlier years he taught school and then engaged for a time in farming, later becoming a merchant. He married twice, his wives being sisters by the name of Williams. James Wright, now deceased, farmed during his earlier years, and then became a bookkeeper, residing in Akron. Ile married Mary Bucchtel, who was a sister of John Buechtel. Jemima, the eklest daugh- ter, residing on her farm in Michigan, is the widow of William Harris, who died on his farm in the neighborhood of Hudson, Michi- gan. Josiah Wright (deceased) was educated at Meadville, Pennsylvania, and then went to Virginia as a teacher. Ile married there, and after the death of his first wife, married again, and subsequently moved to Missouri, where he engaged in a lumber business. Lucy A., the youngest member of the family, died in the winter of 1906. Prior to her marriage with Andrew Jackson, she was a school teach- er, a profession her husband also followed. Later Mr. and Mrs. Jackson moved to Akron. where he and his sons went into the lumber business. One son. Dr. Thomas Jackson, went

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to the Philippine Islands in the service of the government.

Thomas Wright was gifted by nature with a quick intelligence, and, although his school- ing was limited to attendance at the public or district schools, by home study he became quite well informed. He prepared himself for teaching school, and taught for two terms in Coventry Township so satisfactorily that he was besought by his patrons to continue in the educational field after his marriage. He thought it best, however, to turn his attention to farming, and began on rented land in Springfield Township, but later he purchased the old Wright homestead, on which his fath- er had settled in 1837. This property was partly cleared but the country round about was but thinly settled. The aged parents lived in this home until death. They were typical pioneers and are remembered with the respect- ful affection by their children.

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Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 91

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