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 18

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 18

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).

TUDGE JAMES R. FORD,-born in Herkimer Co., N. Y., January 28, 1797. His earlier years were spent in Pittsfield, Mass., coming to Paines- ville, Ohio, about the year 1817. Here he resided about 17 years, filling many positions of trust and honor, when he removed to Huron County, and from thence, about 1837 to Akron, when, with others under the firm name of The Akron Manufacturing Company, a large foundry and stove business was carried on, on what is known as the old Atna Furnace site, opposite Lock Eleven, Ohio Canal. In June, 1845, Mr. Ford was appointed by Gov. Bartley, Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas Court, for Summit County, which office he acceptably filled until failing health compelled his resignation in 1849. April 27, 1826, Judge Ford was mar- ried to Miss Julia A. Tod, daughter of Judge George Tod, of Youngstown, who bore him seven children-Sarah T. (now Mrs. Peck, of Youngstown), James H., deceased; Mary M. died in infancy ; Hobart, deceased ; Julia A., wife of Judge William H. Upson, of

CO. CH

JUDGE JAMES R. FORD.

Akron; George Tod Ford, of Akron ; and Elizabeth A., now Mrs. John F. Earl, of New York. Judge Ford died, January 2, 1851, aged 53 years 11 months and 4 days, Mrs. Ford dying January 19, 1885, aged 77 years, 11 months and 13 days. .

The growth of the public school system was slow for the next six or eight years, because of the disproportion of Akron's quota of the State school fund, to the number of children to be educated, though, in about 1839, a fair sized school house had been erected in North Akron, on High street, immediately south of the present Congregational Church (still standing there), with a room in the basement in which the younger scholars were taught; a small additional building, afterwards known as the "Bell" school house, on South High street, being used for a second school in South Akron. But owing to the fact that each parent was required to pay his pro rata proportion of the teacher's salary, over and above the amount received from the State, very many of the youths of the village were not kept in school, the average attendance, in 1845, being scarcely more than 350 out of a total enumeration of 690.

Yet, besides those mentioned in the "High School" advertise- ment, above quoted, many other citizens, of both villages; were deeply interested in the cause of education, among whom were Constant Bryan, Esq., Capt. Richard Howe, Gen. Lucius V. Bierce, Webster B. Storer, Ansel Miller, Horace K. Smith, William H.

115

THE "AKRON INSTITUTE."

Dewey, William M. Dodge, Harvey B. Spelman, Allen Hibbard, Henry W. King, Sidney Edgerton, Hon. James R. Ford, James Matthews, James S. Carpenter, Dr. Edwin Angel, Dr. Elias W. Howard, etc.

UDGE CONSTANT BRYAN,-8011 of Elijah Bryan (a soldier of the Revolution for six years) and Content Baldwin Fowler; born in Delaware Co., N. Y., September 6, 1809; raised on farm; common school education ; 16 to 19 taught school; read law in Bainbridge, N. Y., graduating from Law Department of Yale College 'in 1830; came to Akron in 1833; admit- ted to bar in Columbus, in 1834, opening an office in Akron, later for two or three years having Hon. George Bliss for partner ; originally a Democrat, in 1836-37, published and edited the Akron Journal, a Demo- cratic paper; was Akron's first vil- lage Recorder, in 1836; was active in formulating the Akron school law, 1846, and an efficient member of School Board thereunder; early es- pousing the cause of Freesoilism, in 1852 was elected Probate Judge by a Democratic and Free-soil coalition, serving two years. May 15, 1839, he was married to Miss Sophia Den- nison, of Hartland, Vt., who bore him three children, one of whom, only, is living-Henry E., for many years past Clerk of the City of Columbus. Mrs. Bryan dying, March 27, 1847, at the age of 29 years, 10 months and 8 days, Judge Bryan was again married

JUDGE CONSTANT BRYAN.

in September, 1854, to Miss Susan L. Barnum, of Florence, Huron Co., O., who bore him two sons-Fred C., now practicing law in Akron, and Isaac Jennings, now engaged in newspaper work in Chicago. Judge Bryan died July 27, 1886, aged 76 years, 10 months and 21 days.

Early in 1844, Mr. Thomas Parnell Beach, a graduate of Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Maine, established a high school in the small stone building on the side-hill, north of the Dr. D. A. Scott residence, on North High street, originally used for church purposes by the German Lutheran Society, the school being removed later in the season to an upper room in the new Trussell building, corner East Market street and Maiden Lane alley, which was carried on with a fair degree of success, until the death of Mr. Beach, September 30, 1846, his successor for a term or two being Benjamin Franklin Dennison, A. M., commencing in November, 1846.

December 3, 1844, notice of the establishment of a "Select High School," in the "Stone Block," is given by Mr. Samuel S. Greele, the success or duration of which is not now remembered by the writer. In the meantime, a number of citizens had inaugurated a movement for the establishment of a permanent high school on the stock plan, and on the 10th day of February, 1845, a charter was granted by the Legislature for "The Akron Institute," with power to confer degrees, with Simon Perkins, Eliakim Crosby, Edwin Angel, Henry W. King, James R. Ford, Lucius V. Bierce and Samuel A. Wlieeler as corporators. Though the stockholders organized, nothing definite seems to have been done towards accomplishing the object sought, the last mention of the project

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

found in the papers of the day, being the announcement of a meeting of the stockholders, held October 9, 1846, at which direc- tors were elected as follows: Simon Perkins, Richard Howe, Samuel A. Wheeler, Henry W. King, Edwin Angel, Lucius V. Bierce and William Harrison Dewey, with Simon Perkins as Pres- ident, Henry W. King, Secretary and Richard Howe, Treasurer.

WEBSTER B. STORER,-born in Portland, Me., January 24, 1809; moved with parents to Zanesville, Ohio, in 1818, the family removing to Cleveland in 1828; was educated in common schools of Portland and Zanesville; learned ship-carpenter and joiners' trade with his father, at the age of 21 engaging in that busi- ness on his own account, in Cleve- land, continuing four years; in 1836 came to Akron, following house building for three years; then boat building for 18 years, two years in partnership with Jacob Barnhart, and ten years with Ansel Miller, meantime from 1856 to 1858, conduct- ing a wholesale and retail grocery store at corner of East Market and High streets. In 1863, sold boat building interests to William H. Payne, and with his son-in-law, John L. Noble, under the firm name of Storer & Noble, ran an iron store corner Main and East Market streets until its destruction by fire on the morning of March 11, 1869; in 1868 bought 208 acres of land, one inile West of city limits, which, with his son-in-law, he has since successfully conducted, making small fruits a speciality. Mr. Storer is a prominent member of the Disciple Church, and an ardent Republican, having served as member of Town Council in 1841; Portage Township Trustee 1848 and 1851, member of Akron Board of Edu-

WEBSTER B. STORER.

cation several years, and from 1871 to 1874-Director of County Infirni- ary, the last two years as President of Board. Mr. Storer was married July 24, 1832, to Miss Mary A. Bangs, who has borne him five children four of whom are now living-Daniel W., now of Anderson, Ind .; Hattie I., now Mrs. John L. Noble; James B., of Akron; and George S., of New York City.

THE GRADED SCHOOL SYSTEM.

Though not a liberally educated man, himself, the late Ansel Miller was an earnest friend of education, in those early days, being for many years a trustee of the South Akron school district, as well as a member of the Board of Education later on.

Mr. Miller, realizing the many defects in the old school system, as early as 1840 began to advocate the plan of educating all of the children of the people at the public expense, and the classification of schools into distinct grades according to proficiency. In this view Mr. Miller was warmly seconded by Dr. Joseph Cole, Webster B. Storer, William M. Dodge, Richard Howe, and others in the South Village, and by Horace K. Smith, Nahum Fay, Jamies Mathews, Henry W. King, Allen Hibbard, Hiram Bowen, Constant Bryan, James M. Hale, Dr. E. W. Howard, and others in the North Village.

This doctrine, however, did not find favor among the childless property owners, and some of the larger tax-payers, they contending

117

THE GRADED SCHOOL SYSTEM.

that aside from the amount annually drawn from the State School Fund, every parent was bound to provide for the education of his own children. Thus, for several years, the discussion went on, both in private and in public, culminating in a large and enthusi- astic public meeting, at Mechanics' Hall, in the old stone block, on the night of May 14, 1846, at which a committee was appointed "to take into consideration our present educational provisions, and the improvement, if any, which may be made therein."

CAPT. RICHARD HOWE,-born in St. Marys Co., Md., March 8,; 1709; father dying April 16, 1810, in 1812 came with mother to Frank- linton, opposite Columbus, Ohio; here he was adopted by Lucas Sullivant, a wealthy resident of Franklinton, who, besides giving him a good education for those times also taught him the art of survey- ing; at 21, surveyed and located a road from Columbus to Cincinnati ; in 1824, was selected as a member of the Board of Engineers to survey and locate the Ohio Canal, removing to Akron in 1829, where, as president of of the board and resident engineer of the Northern division, he was in the continuous employ of the State until his resignation, in 1850, to go to California, where, in 1851, he was appointed Dept. U. S. Surveyor to run the meridian line from Mount Diablo to the Bay of Monterey; from 1863 to 1865, was employed by the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis R. R. to superintend the building of a bridge across the Ohio River at Steubenville, at which time the por- trait accompanying this sketch was taken. Capt. Howe was an early and earnest friend of education in Akron, liberally aided all of her early churcli enterprises, was one of the trustees for the erection of the court house and jail in 1840; village councilman in 1854, 1853 and 1860. September 25, 1827, Capt. Howe was married to Miss

CAPT. RICHARD HOWE.

Roxana Jones who bore him eight children, five of whom survived him -Henry W. Howe. Esq., now of Ira, Northampton township; Charles R., who died December 7, 1875; Nathan J., now of Chicago; Emily B. now Mrs. J. A. Ingersoll, of Chicago; Mary Anna now Mrs. John Wolf, of Akron. Capt. Howe died March 19, 1872, aged 73 years and 11 days. Mrs. Howe dying February 14, 1875, aged 70 years, 1 month and 10 days.

Rev. Isaac Jennings, Pastor of the Second Congregational Church, was made chairman, (the names of the others not remem- bered), and the committee at once vigorously entered upon the task of thoroughly informing themselves upon the question under con- sideration, and to the formulation of a report upon the subject. At an adjourned meeting, held November 21, 1846, Mr. Jennings, in behalf of the committee, submitted an exhaustive report, occu- pying three columns and a half in the BEACON.

After setting forth the defects of the existing system, and the advantages of the proposed change-greater uniformity, enlarged scope of studies, greater efficiency, etc .- the plan submitted by the committee, after full discussion, at a numerously attended meeting at Mechanics' Hall, on the night of November 21, 1846, was unani- mously adopted, and a committee, consisting of Rufus P. Spalding, Henry W. King, Lucius V. Bierce and Harvey B. Spelman, was

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

appointed to carry the report into effect, and secure the necessary legislation in the premises.

A NSEL MILLER,-born in Bridge- water, Windsor County, Vt., May 20, 1798; education limited-raised a farmer; at 23 learned carpenter's trade; 1826 to 1828 worked at trade in Boston, Mass .; visited Akron in 1828 and located permanently in 1829; here, with his brother Lewis, he engaged in contracting and building and being the first to raise a building in Akron-a large two-story frame, still standing opposite Lock One- without the use of whisky; in 1839, engaged in boat-building with Mr. Webster B. Storer, under the firm name of Storer & Miller, continuing 18 years; November 7, 1860, after voting for Abraham Lincoln, moved on to a farm in Copley township, with his son, Charles C. Miller, where he died December 16, 1879, aged 81 years, 6 months and 26 days. Mr. Miller was married to Miss Lucy Auldin Hawk- ins, November 22, 1831, who died December 17, 1837, having borne him two children-Charles C., now a pros- perous farmer in Copley, born Decem- ber 11, 1832, and James Nelson, born August 25, 1836 and died August 15, 1837. Mr. Miller was a warm friend of education, often serving as school trustee under the old system, and, as elsewhere stated, among the very first to advocate the union, or graded school system, originating in Akron,

ANSEL MILLER.

and now general in Ohio; was an early member of the Board of Edu- cation under the new system, and a member of the Council of the incor- porated village of Akron for the years 1838, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1852 and 1855. Mr. Miller was an original Anti-Slavery man, and from its organ- ization, a zealous member of the Republican party.

Mr. Spalding, as the chairman, and Mr. King, as secretary of the committee, carefully embodied the substance of the report in a bill, which, being duly presented and advocated by our Repre- sentative, Hon. Alexander Johnston, of Green, and our Senator, Hon. Asahel H. Lewis, of Ravenna, was duly enacted into a law on the 8th day of February, 1847. The act is as follows:

An Act for the support and better regulation of the Com- mon Schools of the Town of Akron.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, that the electors of the Town of Akron, in the County of Summit, qualified to vote for members of the town council, shall, at the time and place of holding the annual election for said mem- bers of the town council, for the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, meet and elect six directors [Mr. Jennings' report styled them superintendents and recommended their appointment by the council], of common schools for said town of Akron, two of whom shall serve for one year, two for two years and two for three years, the order of the seniority to be determined by lot, by such directors after their election; annually thereafter, at the time and place above specified, there shall, in like manner, be two directors elected and qualified. All vacancies which may occur shall be filled by the town council.

119

THE AKRON SCHOOL LAW.

HON. HENRY W. KING, - eldest son of Judge Leicester King, was born in Westfield, Mass., Septem- ber 24, 1815; removed with parents to Warren, Ohio, in 1817; graduated from Washington (now Trinity) College, at Hartford, Conn., August 4, 1836; after thorough course of study at Cincin- nati Law School in 1839 opened law office in Akron in connection with Judge Milton Sutliff, of Warren, and later with James D. Taylor, Esq., and in 1849, with his brother, David L. King, under the firm name of King & King; was married October 20, 1842, to Mary, third daughter of Dr. Eliakim Crosby, who still survives, two children having been born to them-Harry Crosby King, dying in Arlington Heights hospital August 11, 1864, while in the hundred days service in defense of Washington as a member of the 164th Regt. O. N. G .; the daughter, Julia Huntington, being married to Homer Fisher (son of Akron's former well-known physi- cian, Dr. Alexander Fisher), now living in Chicago. Mr. King was one of the most active promoters of Akron's Union School System, as elsewhere stated; in 1850 was elected Secretary of State, whose duties, with those of Commissioner of Public Schools, he performed with singular

HON. HENRY W. KING.

intelligence and fidelity. Ever active in the promotion of the business. educational and moral interests of the town and county, his early death, November 20, 1857, at the age of 42 years and one month, was univer- sally regretted.

SEC. II. The said directors, within ten days after their first appointment, as aforesaid, shall meet and organize by choosing, from their members, a president, secretary, and treasurer; and such treasurer, before he enters upon the duties of said office, shall give bond and security, to be approved by the council, and filed in the office of the Mayor of said town, conditioned for the faithful disbursement of all moneys that shall come into his hands as such treasurer, which bond shall be made payable to the State of Ohio; and when such bond shall be forfeited, it shall be the duty of the town council to sue and collect the same for the use of the con- mon schools in said town; and the said directors, so organized and qualified, and their successors in office, shall be a body politic and corporate in law, by the name of "The Board of Education of the Town of Akron," and as such, and by such name, shall be author- ized to receive all moneys accruing to said town, or any part thereof, for the use and benefit of the common schools in said town; and the said board shall be capable of contracting and being contracted with; suing and being sued ; pleading and being impleaded, in any court of law or equity in this State ; and shall also be capable of receiving any gift, grant, donation or devise, made for the use of common schools in said town; and said board, by resolution, shall direct the payment of all moneys that shall come into the hands of said treasurer; and no money shall be paid out of the treasury except in pursuance of said resolution, and on the written order of the president, countersigned by the secretary.

Without following the exact phraseology of the balance of the law, we summarize the remaining sections as follows:

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

EV. ISAAC JENNINGS, D. D., -- R born in Trumbull, Conn., July 24, 1822, in boyhood removing to Derby, Conn .; graduate of Yale Col- lege, in class of 1837, with Senator William M. Evarts, Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, Hon. Edwards Pierpont and Samuel J. Tilden; taught school from 1837 to 1840; grad- uated from Andover Theological Seminary in 1842; June 14, 1843, ordained pastor of the then Second (now First) Congregational Church in Akron-its first pastor and his first charge; took an active part in inaug- urating the graded or union school system, and formulating the "Akron School Laws" now general in Ohio and other states, the old High or Jennings school being so named in his honor. February 17, 1847, Mr. Jen- nings was married to Miss Sophia Day, of Mansfield. O., immediately removing to Stamford, Conn., offi- ciating as pastor of First Congrega- tional Church there six years, when he removed to Bennington, Vt., where, as pastor of the old First Church, he faithfully and successfully labored over a third of a century, his death occurring there August 25, 1887, at the age of 65 years, one month and one day. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings were the parents of nine children, six of whom, with their mother, survive-one son, Isaac, Jr., being a minister ; one, Fred-

BENEDICT

REV. ISAAC JENNINGS, D. D.

erick Beach, a lawyer, and one, Charles Green, a physician. The memory of Mr. Jennings, whose por- trait is given herewith, though his sojourn here was comparatively brief, will long be cherished by all the good people of Akron, in whose behalf he so zealously labored nearly half a century ago.

SEC. III relates to regular and special meetings of the board, quorum, etc.

SEC. IV gives the board entire control of all the schools and school property; that after the then ensuing first Tuesday of June, Akron should constitute but one school district and that all moneys accruing to said district from the State, or otherwise, for school purposes, should be paid over to the treasurer of the board.

SEC. V relates to number and grade of schools; the establisli- ment of a central grammar school, studies to be pursued, what pupils entitled to admission, etc.

SEC. VI confers upon the board power to make and enforce rules, employ teachers, fix salaries, purchase apparatus, buy lands, build houses, buy furniture, etc.

SEC. VII requires the town council to levy such annual tax upon the property of the district, as, with the amount received from the State school fund, and other sources, would meet the expense of maintaining said schools; which provision, owing to the clamor of certain inimical tax-payers, was modified by an amended act, passed January 28, 1848, limiting the levy to four inills on the dollar in any one year.

SEC. VIII places the title of all lands, houses and other school property, with power to purchase, sell, etc., in the control of the town council.

SEC. IX provides for the appointment of three school examiners, by the council, for the examination of all applicants as teachers,

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THE LAW MADE GENERAL.

granting certificates, etc., and also for quarterly visits to schools, reporting progress to council, etc.

SEC. X provides for public examinations of schools, annually, under the direction of the mayor, council, board of education and examiners.

HARVEY B. SPELMAN,-born in Rootstown, Portage County, O., September 15, 1811 ; educated in Tall- madge Academy and Twinsburg Institute; after teaching awhile entered employ of Mr. Roswell Kent, of Middlebury, as clerk, afterwards becoming his partner and opening a branch store in Wadsworth; in 1839 removed to Franklin Mills (now Kent), in 1841, formed a partnership with Mr. Charles Clapp, and removed to Akron, the firm occupying the cor- ner store in the old stone block, cor- ner Howard and Market streets. An ardent Congregationalist, he was one of the organizers of the Second Con- gregational Church, in 1842, and one of its first deacons; strongly anti- slavery, lie early allied himself with the Third Party movement, and by the aid of Free-soil Democrats was elected Representative to the State Legislature, in 1849; enthusiastic in the cause of education, was a zealous promofer of the Akron Union School system, and a member of the first board of education thereunder in 1847; in 1851 removed to Cleveland, where he at once actively identified himself with the religious, educational and reform movements of the day; in 1856 removed to Burlington, Iowa; in 1864, under Gen. John Eaton, took charge of cotton raised by "contra- bands" on lands brought under. gov-

HARVEY B. SPELMAN.

1835, Mr. Spelman was married to Miss Lucy Henry, of Blanford, Mass. (sister of the late Milton W. Henry), who bore him three children-Lucy M., born March 4, 1838; Laura C., Sep- tember 9, 1839, (now Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, of New York), and Henry Jennings, born December 1, 1842, and died March 15, 1857, Mr. S. himself dying October 10, 1881, his remains ernment control; in 1866, removed to , being interred in Lake View Ceme- New York, there and in Brooklyn tery, Cleveland. Mrs. S. still survives, residing with her daughter, Mrs. Rockefeller, in New York. actively engaging in business and philanthropic work. November 16,

February 14, 1848, an amendment was adopted by the Legis- lature, providing: "That every incorporated town or city in this State shall have the provisions of the act entitled 'an act for the support and better regulation of the common schools in the town of Akron' and the amendatory acts thereto, passed by the Forty- sixth General Assembly of this State, extended to all or any of said incorporated towns or cities, whenever two-thirds of the qualified voters thereof shall petition the town or city council in favor of having the provisions of said act so extended," thus establishing a precedent for the "local option" laws, on the temperance ques- tion, now in vogue in Ohio, and other states.

Changes and amendments have from time to time been made. extending the provisions, under certain regulations, to unincorpo- " rated villages, townships and school districts, so that now a large proportion of the State is working under the Akron School Law, a fact of which our citizens may justly feel proud.

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

It will be noted that the plan of the original report was so modified in the act as passed, as to make the superindents, or as the act specifies, the directors, elective by the people, instead of appointive by the town council. At the first election under the law, June 1, 1847, Lucius V. Bierce, Harvey B. Spelman, Willianı H. Dewey, James Mathews, William M. Dodge and Dr. Joseph Cole were duly elected as members of the board. The board organized by electing L. V. Bierce, president; H. B. Spelman, secretary, and W. H. Dewey, treasurer; James S. Carpenter, Esq., Abel B. Berry, Esq., and Mr. Horace K. Smith, being appointed school examiners by the council.

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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