Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc., Part 123

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department
Number of Pages: 1228

USA > Ohio > Summit County > Akron > Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc. > Part 123

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Speaking of whisky, long before the temperance question began to be agitated in Ohio, on the occasion of raising the frame of a distillery, at Mogadore, in which considerable difficulty had occurred, by reason of improper framing, Mr. Lee Moore, who had mounted to the plate for the purpose of throwing the bottle, after its contents had been absorbed by the crowd, as was the custom of the time, prefaced his exploit by the following poetic, but extremely appropriate, sentiment:

" This is a very bad frame, And deserves a very bad name, So we'll call it the 'Curse of the Nation ! "

EDUCATIONAL MATTERS .- Springfield is well supplied with first-class district school houses, and has ever been fully abreast of the times in her educational facilities, the village of Mogadore, especially, being provided with graded schools, the township hav- ing furnished two members of the Board of School Exam- iners of Summit county, Messrs. David Ellett and Professor Fred- erick Schnee, the latter being the present able superintendent of schools at Cuyahoga Falls.

RAILROAD FACILITIES .- Until within a few years, Springfield has been entirely beyond the pale of railroad accommodations, nearer than Akron, except a short line of private road from Mid- dlebury to one of the coal mines of the township. Now, however, the Valley Railway traverses its entire length, through the west- ern portion, with Krumroy station and postoffice about midway, while its eastern portion is skirted by the Cleveland & Canton, with a station at Mogadore, thus giving the people better facilities for travel and shipment of their wares and agricultural products, than ever before enjoyed.

SPRINGFIELD IN WAR .- There were undoubtedly a number of Revolutionary heroes among Springfield's early inhabitants, but unfortunately no correct roster is now available. Ariel Bradley, elsewhere named as the first settler in the township, though then a mere lad of 11 years, is said to have rendered General Washing- ton valuable service, on the eve of the battle of White Plains, in October, 1776. The story goes that, mounted upon an old horse, with a small grist of corn or grain, he boldly entered the British lines, as if going to mill. Being arrested, as it was supposed he

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SPRINGFIELD'S MILITARY PROWESS.

would be, and taken to headquarters, young Bradley, on being questioned played the green country bumpkin so effectually, that he was finally permitted to depart, carrying with him, under his brimless hat and tangled hair, such valuable information as to the number and disposition of the British troops, às to secure to the patriot army the splendid victory which they won in that engage- ment. Mr. John Weston, grandfather of Mr. Solomon N. Weston, and Mr. Samuel Ellet, grandfather of Ex-County Commissioner King J. Ellet, are also remembered as Revolutionary soldiers.

In the War of 1812, Springfield, though not as yet very exten- sively settled, took quite an active part, a number of her volunteer soldiers being among the brave and patriotic troops so ignomin- iously surrendered by General Hull, at Detroit, August 16, 1812, the name of Aaron Weston now only being remembered. In the draft following that surrender, however, Springfield furnished ten men, as follows: Joseph D. Baird (afterwards for many years a justice of the peace), John Hall (son of Robert), Timothy Holcomb, James Baird, Alexander Hall, Lee Moore, Nathaniel D. Hoover, James Martin, James L. Bradley and Martin Willis, the latter going as a substi- tute, but for whom is not now ascertainable, the widow of Mr. Bradley, a sister of Mr. J. S. Monroe, of Mogadore, in 1887 living in Missouri, in the 80th year of her age, and then drawing a pension from the government on account of her husband's services.

Though it is not known that any of these men participated in any severe battles, they all rendered good service on the frontier, one-half only living to return home: John Hall dying in Huron county, Alexander Hall at Camp Huron, James Baird at La Grange, Indiana, and Martin Willis on the way home, at Tinker's Creek. James G. Smith, buried in Greenwood Cemetery at Moga- dore, was also a soldier in the war, but whether a resident of Springfield at the time, the writer is not advised.

It is also related that a portion of Hull's surrendered army, under Colonels Cass and McArthur, en route to Pittsburg, encamped near the present site of Gilcrest's mill, on the little Cuyahoga, the old Revolutioner, Mr. Samuel Ellet, permitting the worn and tired soldiers to luxuriate on the roasting ears of a fine field of corn which he had growing near by.

Afterwards, in the Summer of 1813, the battalion of the youth- ful but gallant Major Croghan, which, numbering but 150 men, won such a splendid victory over the veteran General Proctor, with 500 British regulars and about the same number of Indians, at Fort Stephenson, Lower Sandusky, camped upon the same grounds, while en route from Pittsburg to Sandusky.

In the Mexican War, 1846-48, Springfield was represented, but to what extent cannot now be ascertained, but the writer is informned by Mr. King J. Ellett that Isaac Krytzer paid a bounty of $100 to his own son (given name not now remembered) to enlist under that call for troops, young Krytzer dying from disease at New Orleans while en route to Mexico, while Mr. George Dresher, who died at nearly 75, February 6, 1890, though not then a resident of Springfield, was a soldier in that war.

SPRINGFIELD'S ROLL OF HONOR.

In the War of the Rebellion, the fact that many of the earlier volunteers enlisted in other towns than those in which they

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

resided, and the absence of authentic local records, makes it impossible to do justice to many of the most loyal and patriotic localities of the county. From the recollection of several of her citizens, and from the returns of the assessors for the years 1863, '64, '65, the following list has been compiled, which it is believed presents a substantially accurate roster of Springfield's volunteer soldiery during that bloody struggle.

A. P. Atchison, Charles F. Atchison, Henry Anderson (died in service), Thomas Alexander (died in service), Newton J. Atwood, O. E. Andrews, J. S. Alexander, William Alexander, John B. Acker, F. J. Baird, Solomon Babb, Jacob Boone (died in service), Daniel Bitterman (killed in battle), William Bowers, Sylvanus Batty, J. .G. Brittain, Elias Bickel, George Bowers, John Braggenton, C. S. Breckenridge, William Bender, Daniel W. Corl, W. A. Chamberlin, W. F. Chamberlin, Thomas Chamberlin, John W. Chamberlin, R. S. Chamberlin, Dudley C. Carr, Urias Cramer, Samuel F. Colvin, Benjamin Clay, W. H. Clement, James Clark, Ora Clapp, Robert Cochran, Almer Colvin, W. W. Coale, Byron Derthick, John W. Douglas, Joseph C. Ewart, John W. Ewart, R. L. Ewart, John Ewell (died in service), G. Ellis, G. W. Eatinger, G. Emmerling, W. C. Finney, William Finkle, Robert Fisher, John Fries, D. French, Andrew J. Fulkerson, Adam Gross, Solomon Gross, Benjamin Goss, Levi Gidmeyer (died in service), Thomas Green, Abraham Glick, James Gordon, George Himebaugh, William N. Himebaugh, Amos Horner, John H. Hill (killed in battle), Hiram C. Hill (killed in battle), R. W. Hall, E. B. Hubbard, Ezra Harris, Milton B. Henderson, Frank Henderson, H. A. Henderson, George W. Hile, J. S. Hall, L. E. Hall, Warren R. Hall (died in the service), Albert Hall, Luther Hall, George W. Hart, Matthias Hawk, Morris R. Hughes, Cyrus W. Harris, J. Hoffman, Moses Immel, Ira F. Krytser, Frederick Lutz, Robert Lutz (died in service), Samuel Lutz (died in service), Andrew Longnecker, Allen Limber, James E. Leach, Zachariah Lee, William Leach, John Mumaw (died in service), Tallis C. McCain (died in service), J. McCormick, G. J. McCormick, Cowan McCormick, Isaac Madlem, John Madlem, J. McCormick, Michael Myers, Henry Mellinger, William Mellinger, Charles Mellinger, Samuel Mantel, William Mapins, George Markle, John McChesney, John McNeal, William Moore, William D. Myers, Samuel C. Marsh, John J. Marsh, William Miller, Horace Norman, Samuel Neeper, Robert Posten (drowned) Franklin Putt, John Putt, Franklin Powell, Hubert Peck, Daniel Palmer, J. C. Price, David R. Rothrick, W. H. Rothrick, Hiram Raber (killed in battle), C. H. Russell, Charles Rolph, Charles Rhodenbaugh, Jacob Replogle, John Randall, Milton Ritter, Bert Rolph, George Spitler, John Shaffer, Jacob Sausaman, G. W. Solomon, H. F. Solomon, Jacob Sax, Charles A. Smith, J. G. Stinhour, Solomon Strecker, John Stevens (died in service), Daniel Stetler (died in service), 'W. A. Sypher, Cyrus W. Spade, B. Strohecker, Charles Steese, Edward E. Skinner, Royal S. Stout, Philander H. Stout, Weston Salmon, Jr., J. H. Spade, Nathan Spade, William J. Schrop, J. M. Schrop, William Steese, John Smith, Joseph C. Tousley, Joel F. Tousley, Andrew Tousley (killed in battle), Albert M. Tousley, James A. Thompson, Thomas L. Thompson, Duncan Thompson, Robert Thompson, Martin Tod, J. A. Tritt, Philip Ulm, Ozro Vanorman, Henry Winkleman, Jolın

991

SPRINGFIELD'S CRIMINAL RECORD.

Winkleman, Hugh M. White (killed in battle), Joseph Wagner, William Wooley, Harrison Wise, Wilson S. Roof, J. W. Wise, Watson Wise, Thomas Wright, Jr., Solomon S. Weston, George J. Young, Philip Young, B. F. Yerick, G. W. Zelinger.

CRIMINAL STATUS.

Springfield has not been very prolific of startling crimes though one or two of a homicidal nature, in which her citizens have been involved will have to be herein recorded. It is not the · design of this work to reproduce all the petty offenses and pecca- · dilloes, of which the people of the several townships, either through excessive passion, excessive drink or excessive depravity, have been guilty, but, in addition to certain salient historical points, group together; in a concise and permanent form, the more . startling events of the half century written of, that may have · occurred in any given locality.

THE MURDER OF JOHN RHODENBAUGH. - Though not at the time a citizen of Summit County, the murder of Mr. John Rhodenbaugh, in Portage County, in 1865, and its attendant cir- · cumstances, is entitled to a place in this work, from the fact of his long residence in this county, and of the large number of his rela- tives still living among us. Mr. Rhodenbaugh was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1809, and removed with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rhodenbaugh, to Springfield township, now in Summit county, in 1816. He was reared to the · occupation of a farmer, but in later life largely followed the busi- ness of auctioneer, mostly at country sales of farm stock, etc. He was married in 1832, to Laura Purdy, daughter of the late . Solomon Purdy, of Springfield, and sister of ex-Mayor Henry Purdy, of Akron. In 1853 Mr. Rhodenbaugh removed to Portage county, locating upon a farm in the eastern portion of the town- : ship of Franklin, between Kent and Ravenna.

CAUSES LEADING TO THE MURDER .- Mr. Rhodenbaugh, though " six feet or more in height, broad shouldered and extremely mus- cular, was very active in his bodily movements, and in his younger manhood, and during his residence in Springfield, was · considered the champion athlete of Summit county. He was of a . lively turn of mind, and of extremely convivial habits, sometimes drinking to excess, on which occasions he was boastful of his wealth, lavish in his expenditures and reckless in the display of whatever sums of money he might happen to have about him. On the afternoon of October 24, 1865, Mr. Rhodenbaugh visited 'Kent, where he spent most of the afternoon in the various ·drinking places of the village, drinking and playing cards, bil- iliards, etc. . Among his associates, during the afternoon, were Joel Beery, a resident of Portage county, and a transient bummer and 'bruiser, calling himself Jack Cooper, but whose real name was "afterwards found to be Samuel Wittum, a native of Erie county, 'Pennsylvania.

GOING TO HIS DEATH .- Leaving Kelso's billiard and drinking saloon, after taking a parting drink with Beery and Cooper, he :soon afterwards, about 7 o'clock in the evening, started for his home, in an open one-horse wagon. On reaching a point between ILakes Brady and Pippin, where the wagon road runs parallel with

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

the Cleveland & Pittsburg railroad, within about a mile of his own home, and within sight of the farm house of Mr. Joseph Heighton, Mr. Rhodenbaugh was intercepted and assaulted, being dealt two heavy blows upon the head with a club, which was afterward found to have been cut near the spot where the deadly assault was made. The death of Mr. Rhodenbaugh is supposed to have been instantaneous, as no evidences of a struggle were apparent when his body was found, as it was soon afterwards by Mr. George Dewey, a resident of the neighborhood. The person of the mur- dered man had been robbed of his watch and all the money he had with him, supposed to have been about $200.00.

ARREST OF THE MURDERERS .- Suspicion was at once directed to Cooper and Beery as the probable murderers, from the fact that. they had been almost, if not quite, the last persons seen with him the night before, and the further fact that they had not been seen in their accustomed haunts about the village after Rhodenbaugh left. Accordingly a vigorous search after the suspected men was at once instituted, resulting in their arrest, near Ravenna, by offi- cers R. W. Buck and S. L. Jennings, about 9 o'clock the next morning. A coroner's inquest was held by Justice Rockwell, and verdict rendered in accordance with the facts, implicating the two men in question, who, on being examined before Justice Coolman, October 28, were committed to jail to answer to the crime of murder.

INDICTMENTS, TRIALS, ETC .- At the January term, 1866, of the Court of Common Pleas for Portage county, the Grand Jury found indictments against both of the accused, charging them with the crime of willful and premeditated murder. They were arraigned on the 1st day of February and both entered a plea of not guilty, and being without means to employ counsel, E. B. Taylor, J. D. Horton and P. B. Conant, Esqs., were appointed by the Court to defend the prisoners, Alphonso Hart, Esq., also being assigned by the Court to assist Prosecuting Attorney H. H. Willard, to conduct the case on the part of the State.'

Separate trials having been granted the prisoners, the trial of Jack Cooper commenced on the 5th day of February, 1866, before Judge Charles E. Glidden. The jury being duly sworn, Prose- · cutor Willard made an elaborate statement of the circumstances attending the murder, and of the facts which he expected to prove, while Mr. E. B. Taylor, on behalf of the defendant, made a general denial of the alleged crime, meeting all the charges con- tained in the indictment with the simple plea of "not guilty." Thirty-six witnesses were examined and.for three days the trial continued with unflagging interest, the court room being densely crowded throughout by citizens of both Portage and Summit counties. The pleas were all earnest and eloquent, and the charge of Judge Glidden, clear, forcible and remarkably fair and impar- tial. The case was given to the jury in the evening of February 7, 1866, who, at about midnight, returned into court with their verdict, finding Cooper guilty of murder in the first degree.

On the next day, February 8, 1866, Joel Beery was put upon his trial for aiding and abetting Cooper in the murder of Rhodenbaugh, before the same Judge, but a newly selected jury.

The case, on behalf of the State, was opened by Alphonso Hart, Esq., and the theory of the defense was ably and fully presented

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A SURPRISE VERDICT-SENTENCES, ETC.

by Ezra B. Taylor, Esq. This trial also lasted three days, attract- ing a large attendance and the most intense interest, between forty and fifty witnesses, in all, being sworn and examined, the prisoner, during the trial, being attended by his aged mother, and his brother, Mr. H. L. Beery. The case was given to the jury at half past 12 o'clock, on Saturday afternoon, February 10, 1866. For more than twelve hours the jury worked faithfully upon the case, a few minutes past 1 o'clock on Sunday morning, announcing their verdict, finding Beery guilty of murder in the second degree.

To say that this verdict was received with great surprise, by the great majority of the people of both Portage and Summit counties, would be stating it far too mildly; for it was followed with almost universal denunciation and indignation; the public belief being that Beery was equally guilty with Cooper, and that the extreme penalty of the law should be meted out to both alike.

PRONOUNCING THE SENTENCES .- On Monday morning, February 12, 1866, the prisoners were brought before Judge Glidden, for sen- tence, Beery appearing first. On being asked the usual question as to whether he had anything to say why the sentence of the law should not be pronounced against him, for the crime of which he had been convicted, he replied that he had not, and thereupon Judge Glidden sentenced him to hard labor in the penitentiary for life.

On Cooper's appearance in Court, his counsel made a motion for a new trial which was promptly overruled by the Court .. Judge Glidden then commanded Cooper to stand up, and after a. brief reference to the charge, and the finding of the jury, asked him if he had anything to say why the sentence of the law should not be pronounced against him forthe crime of murder, whereupon Cooper in substance, said, that while he had little to say in regard to his innocence, he hardly felt that he had been fairly dealt with, or he would not have been convicted of murder in the first degree. He said he had not much education, and could not speak very well, but he did not think, that on the evidence against him he ought to be hung, while on substantially the same evidence his companion was let off with a lighter penalty. At the conclusion of Cooper's. remarks, Judge Glidden reviewed the history of the case and the testimony, in a masterly and exhaustive manner, expressing the conviction that, from the nature of the evidence, and all the attend- ant circumstances, so far as the prisoner, then before him, was concerned, the verdict of the jury was just and proper, and closing in the usual form, by sentencing the prisoner to be hanged by the neck until dead, on the 6th day of April, 1866.

DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE FROM JAIL .- After his convic- tion, Cooper stated his true name to be Samuel Wittum, a native of Pennsylvania, though his parents had previously lived in both Ohio and Indiana. Left an orphan at the age of six years, he lived for a time with a farmer, by whom he was so harshly treated that he soon left him, and began life on his own account, as a driver upon the Beaver and Erie canal, and from that time forward leading a wandering and dissolute life, as gambler, coun- terfeiter, horse thief, murderer, etc., having, as it was alleged, served a considerable term in the Missouri penitentiary, before committing the fatal crime that was to end his career. He stated that he had been twice married and that he had a sister still living

63 ·

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

in the East, and as the day of execution drew near he was respited by Governor Jacob D. Cox, from April 6th till April 27th, to give this sister an opportunity to visit him. Though pretending to be thoroughly penitent and reconciled to his doom, the prisoner made several attempts to break jail, the last, a short time before the day fixed for his execution, by the Governor's respite, being of the most desperate and brutal character in this wise: Having wrenched a small bar of iron from one of the cell doors, he fiercely assaulted Sheriff Jennings, on his entering the jail. Though Cooper called upon the other prisoners confined in the jail at the time, to aid him in his desperate undertaking, to their credit they refused to do so, and the Sheriff hung to him until an alarm had been sounded. upon the outside, and sufficient assistance secured to prevent the accomplishment of his bold and desperate design. But even then his insubordination continued, for when Sheriff Jennings sought to place him in irons, to prevent a repetition of his savage effort, he retreated to his cell, cursing and swearing like a pirate, and brandishing a knife, which he had in some man- ner possessed himself of, swore he would kill the first man that attempted to enter the cell door. One of the physicians of the vil- lage was called in, who, by means of a small syringe, reduced him to insensibility with chloroform, and while thus unconscious he was securely ironed, both hand and foot, and kept in that condition until the day of the execution.

COOPER FINALLY EXECUTED .- On April 27, 1866, the day to which he had been respited by Governor Cox, Jack Cooper, alias Samuel Wittum, was successfully executed by Sheriff Jennings and his assistants, on the Summit county gallows, upon which Parks and Dr. Hughes, at Cleveland, had previously been hanged, and on which Hunter was subsequently hung by Sheriff Curtiss in this county, the prisoner making a long, rambling speech from the gallows, which cannot be repeated here.

In accordance with the sentence Beery was taken to the peni- tentiary on the 15th day of February, 1866, where he served the State faithfully for 13 years, 4 months and 19 days, dying in prison July 4, 1870.

THE ROOF-MUSSON HOMICIDE .- In the pleasant village of Mog- adore, there lived, in 1866, upon the Suffield side of the line, a short distance south of the center, the family of Mr. William A. Musson, a wagon maker by trade, whose shop stands a few rods north of the center, upon the Springfield side of the line. Mrs. Harriet Musson, the wife of William A. Musson, was a sister of Hon. John R. and Mr. William Buchtel, of Akron, Mr. and Mrs. Musson being held in the very highest regard by all their neighbors and ac- quaintances.

In the same village, but upon the Springfield side of the line, lived a family by the name of Roof-consisting of the mother, Mrs. Henry Roof, her son, Wilson Shannon Roof, aged about 20 years, Hannah Roof, aged 22 years (a helpless cripple), Hattie Roof, aged 17 years, and Charlotte Roof, aged about 15 years; the husband and father, Henry Roof, at the time living apart from the family in Medina county. Near the Roof family, as above constituted, lived, at the time, Mr. Milton Moore, a large landholder in Portage county, and then, also, a stockholder in, and president of, the City Bank of Akron, Mrs. Moore being a cousin of Mrs. Musson.

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THE ROOF-MUSSON HOMICIDE.

CAUSES LEADING TO THE TRAGEDY .- Mr. and Mrs. Moore had been married twelve or thirteen years, but not having lived hap- pily together had several times parted, but after brief separations had as often become reconciled, until, in May, 1866, they made what was understood to be a final separation, Mrs. Moore going to Iowa, as was given out, to remain away a sufficient length of time to enable her husband to procure a bill of divorce on the ground of "three years willful absence." Being thus left to himself, Moore arranged with Mrs. Roof to do his washing, and with Hattie Roof to tidy up his room, make his bed, etc. Hattie had previously, when Mrs. Moore was at home, assisted in the family work, but now that Mrs. Moore was away permanently, as Mr. Moore sup- posed, his relations with the young lady became more intimate, .and early in July he proposed to marry her, on securing his con- templated divorce, which proposition was accepted by the young lady, and approved of by her mother. From this time on, they had frequent interviews, both in his own and the mother's house, and on one occasion visited Cleveland together, Moore having also presented her with a ring, provided her with clothing and arrang- ed for her to attend school at Hudson.

THE NEIGHBORS BEGIN TO TALK .- Of course, however innocent, such attentions from a married man of 43, to a young girl of less than 18, could not well pass unobserved, and the neighbors soon began to talk, which talk not only put the most unfavorable con- struction upon the intimacy in question, but was also, in due time, communicated to the absent Mrs. Moore, as it was alleged, by her cousin, Mrs. Musson, in consequence of which information, as is supposed, the former lady returned unexpectedly to Mogadore early in November. She did not, however, immediately return to her own home, or the home of her husband, but for a week or two visited around among her friends in the neighborhood, Mr. Musson among the rest. The sudden return of Mrs. Moore, and the con- tinued absence from the "bed and board" of her husband, as a matter of course, materially increased the talk of the neighbor- hood, reflecting not only upon Moore, himself, but also, as usual in such cases, with especial virulence upon the young lady upon whom his attentions and favors were being so lavishly bestowed, as well as her mother for encouraging the same.

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Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905 Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department Number of Pages: 1228

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department
Number of Pages: 1228