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 33

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 33

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).

"In the absence of the gentlemen who have promised their hearty co-operation, it seems to devolve on me, as the 'oldest

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inhabitant,' to present this subject to you. Will you have the kindness to give such a notice in the BEACON this week as will serve to call attention to this subject and èlicit a hearty response?"

BENEINE

Akron Rural Cemetery Superintendent's Lodge, 1891 .- From photo by George E. Hitchcock.

At first Mrs. Evans met with much discouraging opposition- let the sexton build or hire his own house as other people did- a burying ground was not a proper place in which to erect a resi- dence for the living-raising money by such worldly and amusement-seeking means for so sacred a purpose was out of character, any way, if not absolutely sacrilegious-let the Cemetery Association make their own improvements, etc. But her plans were heartily approved and ably seconded by her two sisters, Mrs. Grace T. Perkins and Mrs. Julia Ford, and such other public- spirited ladies as Mrs. Sarah Gale, Mrs. S. H. Coburn, Mrs. J. T. Balch, Mrs. David L. King, Mrs. Sarah T. Peck, Mrs. William H. Payne, Miss Anna Perkins, Miss Emma G. Townsend, Mrs. George Raynolds, Mrs. N. D. Tibbals, Mrs. G. T. MeCurdy, Mrs. George T. Perkins, Mrs. Henry H. Brown, Mrs. Henry Gale, Mrs. Charles Rawson, Mrs. Hiram G. Fuller, Mrs. Henry S. Abbey, Mrs. Dr. E. Angel, Mrs. L. K. Miles, Mrs. Alden Gage, Miss Grace Perkins, Miss Abby Sloat, Miss Laura Balch, Miss Abby Carpenter, Miss Nellie Smith, Mrs. James Christy, Mrs. John H. Christy, Mrs. D. E. Hill, Mrs. Frank Adams, Mrs. A. H. Commins, Mrs. Philip P. Bock, Mrs. F. Schumacher, Mrs. J. H. Chamberlin, Mrs. E. Steinbacher, Mrs. O. C. Barber, Mrs. Thomas Wills, Mrs. W. B. Raymond, Mrs. Edward Buckingham, Miss Elma C. Bowen and many others not now recalled, the earlier records of the associa- tion not now being accessible. The officers elected March 25, 1871, were: Mrs. Henry H. Brown, president; Mrs. George T. McCurdy, vice president: Mrs. Alden Gage, secretary and treasurer.

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So enthusiastically did the ladies enter into the good work that the movement soon became immensely popular and their entertainments triumphant successes. The concert, by volunteer home talent, above alluded to, yielded $159.35; a picnic excursion to Gaylord's Grove, a week later, $149. 76; concert, August 3, $247.81; repetition next night, $84.30; " Woodland Fete," on fair grounds, including promenade concert, (which the opposition designated as a dance), August 23, $312.40; tableaux, September 18 and 20, $126.50; dinners during fair, $357.23; amateur minstrel perform- ance, by Henry E. Abbey and other theatrically inclined young men, $200.19; total gross receipts, $1,631.54; expenses, $344.52; net proceeds, reported by Mrs. Evans, as president, and Emma G. Townsend, as secretary, October 25, 1866, during the first three months, being $1,287.02, which was duly turned over to Col. Simon Perkins, president of the Akron Rural Cemetery, to be used for the purpose designated.

HARLES R. HOWE, - son of

C Richard and Roxana. (Jones ) Howe, was born in Akron January 7, 1831; educated in Akron public schools; in 1856 engaged in shoe trade in partnership with Morrill T. Cutter, the latter retiring in 1872 and Mr. Howe in 1874. Mr. Howe was a liberal, enterprising and patriotic citizen ; was first lieutenant of Capt. Storer's company of " Squirrel Hunt- ers" in 1862 ; first lieutenant of Co. A, 54th Battalion, O. N. G., Co. F, 164th Regiment O. V. I., in the hundred days' service before Washington in 1864; foreman of Eagle Hose Con- pany; member of City Council 1869-71 ; Park Commissioner from organiza- zation of board until his death ; secretary of Cemetery Association from 1869 until his death, in his will bequeathing $5,000 to the Perpetual Care Fund of the association; mem- ber of Summit Lodge, No. 50, I. O. O. F .; its secretary 1855 ; presiding officer 1857 ; representative to Grand Lodge two years; District Deputy Grand Master two years; member of Encanipment and Chief Patriarch in 1861, and at tinie of his death repre- sentative to Grand Encampment. August 30, 1850, Mr. Howe was inar- ried to Miss Mary C. Webster,

SEVEDIES ESCOLHI

CHARLES R. HOWE.

daughter of the late Charles Web- ster, who died March 14, 1865, aged 30. years, 5 months and 5 days, Mr. Howe dying December 7, 1875, aged 44 years, 10 months and 11 days, leaving one child-Annabel, who died August 27,. 1876, aged 17 years, 1 month and 2 days.

By similar means the fund was gradually augmented, a Bazar, held in April, 1868, netting over $2,000, Aultman, Miller & Co. con- tributing a Buckeye Mower, J. F. Seiberling & Co. an Excelsior Reaper, to be sold on the ticket plan; and Herrick & Cannon a silver pitcher, to be presented to the handsomest man, on the voting plan-John R. Buchtel receiving 700 votes, Joy H. Pendleton 200. and the writer one!

The total fund at this time, April, 1868, was nearly $4,000, suf- ficient to warrant the Cemetery Association in proceeding with the work, resulting in the completion, in fall of 1869, of the hand- some stone cottage, near the entrance to the grounds, since known

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as the Cemetery Lodge, though two of its most earnest promoters did not live to witness the fruition of their unselfish labors-Mrs. Grace T. Perkins dying April 6, 1867, and-Mrs. Mary I. T. Evans, February 2, 1869.

To add to their resources, the ladies established, and for sev- eral years maintained, under the care of Superintendent Thomas Wills, an extensive greenhouse for the purpose of supplying plants and flowers to such as desired them for the decoration of the graves of their deceased friends or the ornamentation of their homes. We have not space for a detailed report of the operations of the Ladies' Cemetery Association, during the intervening 23 years, during all of which time it has maintained not only an active but a progressive existence, its truly gigantic labors being represented by the following figures: Original cost of Lodge $12,000; subsequent addition of kitchen, etc., $1,400; heating apparatus, $300; bridge near lodge, $500; gate posts, $150; Win- dow in Memorial Chapel, $500; furniture for Chapel, $210; improv- ing old portion of Cemetery grounds, $1,000; head-stone to grave of Mrs. Evans, $50; bell tower, $1,000; making a grand total of $17,150, besides many incidentals for repairs of the Lodge, etc., that would doubtless swell the amount to very near, if not quite, $20,000.

Present officers of the Association: Mrs. David E. Hill, president; Mrs. Dr. William C. Jacobs, vice president; Miss Hattie S. Phillips, secretary; Mrs. William B. Raymond, treasurer.

A LBERT H. SARGENT,-son of

George A. and Lydia (Blount) Sargent, born in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada, October 31, 1845; raised on farm; educated in common schools and at Montreal College, teaching two years before entering college; removed to Roches- ter, N. Y., in 1867; studied law four years with his uncle, Henry Sargent, Esq .; was then for ten years book- keeper for the celebrated seedsman, James Vick; then studied landscape engineering under Charles W. Seelye, of Rochester; and was en- gaged upon the parks of that city until called to the superintendeney of the Akron Rural Cemetery, Feb- ruary 1, 1880, which responsible posi- tion he is still ably filling; in 1882 was appointed by Council on com- mittee to organize the Akron Board of Health, officiating as clerk of that body three years; was elected mem- ber of Board of Education from the Third ward in spring of 1885, hold- ing the office six years, the last two years as president of the board; in 1886 was elected coroner of Summit county, and re-elected in 1888, serv-, ing four years. June . 26, 1873, Mr. Sargent was married to Miss Sue S.

Ca CHI

ALBERT H. SARGENT.

Sargent, daughter of John and Lucy (Seelye) Sargent, of Jefferson county, N. Y., two children having been born to them-Albert H., born March 4, 1877, dying in infancy, and Jeunie L., born March 3, 1878.

MEMORIAL CHAPEL.

But the crowning glory of Akron's beautiful Rural Cemetery, is Memorial Chapel, near the Glendale entrance, on the left, at the

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foot of "Ordnance hill," and overlooking Willow brook on the north.

Soon after the close of the war of the rebellion, the subject of erecting, upon the court house grounds, a suitable monument to the memory of such of Summit county's gallant sons as had laid down their lives in defense of the Union, during that fearful con- flict, began to be agitated, but with no definite result until several of the townships of the county had erected similar monuments in their respective local cemeteries and public parks.

BENEDICT 400 CHI.

View in Glendale Avenue, looking towards Akron Rural Cemetery Lodge. From photo by E. J. Howard.

Soon after the organization of Buckley Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in March, 1867, that patriotic body took hold of the project of erecting a suitable monument to the memory of the deceased soldiers of Portage township and the City of Akron. By a series of dramatic and other entertainments, considerable sums of money were realized, aggregating something over three thous- and dollars in the course of three or four years, which was placed on interest.

In the latter part of 1871, the Akron Rural Cemetery Associa- tion tendered to Buckley Post, a suitable site on which to erect the contemplated monument, which proposition was formally accepted by the Post December 7, 1871, and on Deceniber 11, 1871, a board of nine trustees, consisting of three members of the Post and six citizens, was appointed by the Post as follows: Col. Simon Perkins, Lewis Miller, John F. Seiberling, David L. King, George W. Crouse, George D. Bates, Alvin C. Voris, Arthur L. Conger and David W. Thomas.

The board by resolution of the Post, was to take charge of the funds already raised, receive donations, procure plans, and pro- ceed to erect a monument at a cost of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars. The board was organized December 30, 1871, as follows: Col. Simon Perkins, president; Arthur L. Conger, secretary; George W. Crouse, treasurer; finance committee, John F. Seiber-+ ling, George D. Bates, David W. Thomas, Thomas W. Cornell;

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committee on design, David L. King, Alvin C. Voris, Col. Simon Perkins; statistician, George W. Crouse.

Small additions to the fund were made from time to time, in various ways, but no active steps were taken for the erection of the monument until the beginning of 1874, when it was resolved, by the board, after consultation with other prominent citizens, and the cemetery authorities, to build, instead of a monument, a Memorial Chapel, with a receiving vault, and to raise for that purpose $25,000 by subscription, payable in six, twelve and eigh- teen months.

BENEDICT

Fin CHI.

View in Akron Rural Cemetery, looking out, 1874, before Memorial Chapel and Stone Arch over Willow Brook were constructed.

This plan proved to be immensly popular with all classes, and at a concert held at the Academy of Music, February 14, 1874, for the benefit of the Chapel Fund, in addition to the receipts for admission to the concert, after an explanation of the plans of the board, by Col. Perkins, and stirring speeches by David L. King, George W. Crouse, John R. Buchtel, Rev. Richard L. Ganter and others, subscriptions were promptly made aggregating over $10,000, and on the following fourth day of July the committee reported $20,000 in the fund and subscribed, with a good prospect for speedily securing the balance.

Pursuant to invitation several plans were submitted by well- known competent architects, that of Frank O. Weary being unani- mously adopted by the committee on designs, and duly approved by Buckley Post. Col. Simon Perkins, George W. Crouse, Lewis Miller and David W. Thomas, were constituted a building com- mittee and empowered to proceed at once to erect the building in accordance with the design adopted, and a contract was entered into with Messrs. George Wohlwend and Frank Lukesh for the erection of the entire structure, exclusive of windows, for the sum of $22,300, other necessary expenditures bringing the entire cost of the completed structure up to a little over $25,000.

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View in Akron Rural Cemetery from near Robinson and Howard Monuments, looking West .- From photo by George E. Hitchcock, 1891.

Saturday, May 29, 1875-being Memorial Day for that year- was thought to be a fitting occasion for the breaking of the ground for an edifice which was to be erected to the memory and valor of deceased soldiers, and arrangements to that end were made accordingly, the programme adopted being briefly as follows: " **. At 2:30 P. M. the procession formed on Howard street, under the direction of Major Thomas McEbright, assisted by Emanuel P. Holloway, Capt. William C. Jacobs, Henry Young, Hugo Schu- macher and George M. Wright, in the following order: Babcock's band, 15 men; Buckley Post, 50 men; Marble's band, 18 men; Akron Liedertafel, 40 men; St. Vincent de Paul's band, 18 men;

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soldiers of 1812, in carriages, 5; Mayor Levi S. Herrold and Acting Mayor Richard P. Marvin, Jr .; members of City Council; poet, orator, citizens, etc .; Col. Simon Perkins officiating as president of the day.

The exercises opened with a solemn dirge, by Marble's band, followed by an earnest and pathetic prayer by Rev. G. S. Weaver, of the Universalist Churchi, after which a male quartette, com- posed of Messrs. Byron S. Chase, Amasa F. Chandler, Harvey F. Miller and W. Milton Clarke, sang an appropriate song. Messrs. George H. Payne and Albert A. Bartlett, two one-armed veterans . of the late war, with pick and shovel, then formally broke ground for the foundation of the contemplated new structure.

Gen. Alvin C. Voris, of Akron, delivered the oration, written in his own terse but fervid style, and spoken in his own earnest and impressive manner, closing with this eloquent paragraph:

"May this monument be fruitful of instruction to those who come after us, as well as an honored memorial to our departed heroes, giving evidence that this generation possesses the spirit of our ancestors in sufficient degree to defend the institutions they transmitted to us. All praise to the liberality and good taste of the citizens of Akron who thus honor the memory of our heroes. May we go hence resolutely determined to make, préserve and transmit to the future the best human institutions that ever mankind devised, and blessed will be our memory."

After the rendition of an appropriate song, in German, by the Akron Liedertafel, Mr. Will. M. Carleton, of Hillsdale, Mich., recited an original poem, composed for the occasion, too lengthy to be reproduced here, but which, after portraying the patriotic upris- ing in defense of the Union, the sacrifices and sufferings of the soldiers on battle fields and in prison pens, the tearful and prayer- ful anxieties and sorrows of the dear ones at home, in allusion to the annual Decoration Day observances, and the memorial structure about to be erected, said:

" And so once more we gather here, to-day, To honor those who gave their lives away ; And so, with offering heart-felt and sincere, We speak the tender words and drop a tear. * * * * * * * * *

When the sweet air holds ont the touch of health, And silvery blossoms promise golden wealth, A fair and goodly portion here we save, To mark the memory of the fallen brave. * * * * *

* *

And when this structure rises through the air, And mingles with its memories words of prayer, So let our hearts ring out the prayerful strain, That those who sleep here shimber not in vain."

A patriotic selection by Babcock's band, and the benediction by Rev. Henry Baker, of the first M. E. Church, closed the exer- cises of the day, the strewing of flowers upon the graves of their fallen comrades having been performed earlier in the day by the members of Buckley Post.

The work was prosecuted with such vigor that the foundation was ready for the superstructure early in July, and on Sunday, July 11, 1875, under the auspices of Buckley Post, the pleasant but solemn ceremony of laying the corner-stone was performed at 5 o'clock P. M. Prayer was offered by Rev. Carlos Smith, of the Con- gregational Church. Gen. Alvin C. Voris deposited in the cavity of the stone resolutions of Buckley Post leading to erection of Chapel and of building committee in regard to design of structure; roster of Buckley Post; names of building committee; copies of

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DAILY BEACON, containing account of breaking ground and other matters pertaining to Chapel; a confederate bank-note; a Ten- nessee ten-cent bank-note; various coins and pieces of United States currency, and the Roll of Honor, containing the names of soldiers buried in the several cemeteries of the city.

BENEDICT

& COCH'

View in Akron Rural Cemetery, from head of Upper Duck Pond, looking East .- - From photo by George E. Hitchcock, 1891.

Appropriate addresses were made by Rev. G. S. Weaver, and Newell D. Tibbals, the latter, after alluding to the patriotic going forth to do battle for the Union, sadness of parting, the sacrifice of life and treasure, and the triumphant and glorious ending of the most gigantic struggle in the world's history, closing as follows:

"And what was the lesson taught? It was that this great nation was more precious than the lives of its citizens; that the rights of the people must be protected ; that the unity of our country be maintained, and that henceforth our glorious flag, the emblem of our national greatness, shall float at the masthead of our vessels, on every sea, in every harbor of every civilized nation.

. "Then, with feelings of gratitude to the noble dead, assembled here in the eventide of the first century of our glorious national life, in the harvest time of the year, in this beautiful home of the dead, and with the going down of the sun of this quiet, lovely Sabbath day, let us lay the corner-stone of this splendid structure, in memory of the loved ones who died for such a noble cause. Let us inscribe with their names, as the sentiment of the prin- ciple for which they fought and gave their lives-' Union and Liberty, now and forever, one and inseparable !" "

The chapel is built on the cruciform plan, the nave being 30x48 feet, the width of the transepts 42 feet, giving a ground area . of 1,800 square feet. The entrance is at the east end, by five stone steps at either end of the broad porch, the entrance to the receiving vault, in the basement, being at the west end and on a level with the surface of the ground in the rear of the chapel.

The entire structure is of fine sandstone, constructed in the most substantial manner, the roof covered with slate, floor of the chapel with tile, and roof of the receiving vault with stone and

AKRON RURAL CEMETERY. 251

cement, with iron joists, copper roof protections, etc .; the interior finish of chapel, from floor to ridge of roof, being both substantial and handsome.

Soldiers' Memorial Chapel in Akron Rural Cemetery, erected in 1875-6. From a photo by George E. Hitchcock, 1891.

The most interesting features of the chapel are its memorial windows, the glass for which was imported from Scotland. The large chancel window at the west end, 10x25 feet, contains a full length representation of Col. Lewis P. Buckley, contributed by the members of the 29th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with a brief history of that regiment during the war. The large three- panel transept window on the north side represents the labors of the Sanitary Commission and Soldiers' Aid Society-the heroic sacrifice and suffering of the loyal women of America, both at home, on the field of battle and in the hospital-contributed by the Ladies' Cemetery Association, as elsewhere stated.

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The three-panel transept window on the south side, placed by the Board of Memorial Trustees, on the Centennial Anniversary of American Independence, is a fitting conclusion of their unselfish and patriotic labors; the center panel contains a full length repre- sentation of Washington, with the legend: "Observe good faith and justice with all nations;" the easterly panel, the figure of the hero of Lake Erie in the war of 1812, Commodore Oliver Hazzard Perry, and his triumphant message to Gen. Harrison, September 10, 1813: " We have met the enemy and they are ours;" the west- erly panel, the martyred Lincoln, with his immortal utterance in closing his second brief inaugural address, March 4, 1865: "With malice toward none, and with charity for all."

Smaller windows, with appropriate designs and mottoes were contributed by individual citizens as follows: Gen. A. C. Voris, in memory of his three brothers who died in the service; Judge Samuel C. Williamson, in memory of his brother, William Palmer Williamson, the first soldier killed in battle from Summit county; Frank O. Weary, in memory of his two young friends, Henry H. and Eugene D. Smith; friends, to the memory of Capt. Walter B. Scott; Gen. Thomas F. Wildes to the memory of his brother, John C. Wildes; Theodore Robinson and other members of the family to the memory of Virgil J. Robinson and his brother-in-law, Benjamin F. Weary, the latter being the first to enlist in Akron, and the last from Summit county killed, in the battle Appomattox, after the surrender of Gen. Lee, April 9, 1865; the east window being placed by members of the "Sixth Battery in memory of our fallen com- rades"-the two Louvre windows, representing a piece of field artillery and a Sibley tent, and the large ornamental rose window in front being contributed by architect Frank O. Weary.

.There are fourteen marble slabs, eight feet in height by, three feet in width, upon which were inscribed, previous to dedication, the names of all of Akron and Portage township's soldiers killed in battle, or who had died, either during or after the close of the war, regardless of the place of their decease, or burial, and of all other known ex-soldiers from other localities who had died .in Akron, to which has since been, and will continue to be, added those who are constantly being transferred from the ranks of Life to the grand and ever augmenting Army of the Dead.

Two twelve-pound brass cannon, donated to Buckley Post by the War Department, for monumental purposes, properly mounted on carriages are stationed in close proximity to the chapel-one on "Ordnance Hill," upon the south, and the other on a slight mound upon the west.

DEDICATION OF CHAPEL.

The chapel, complete in all its appointments, was duly dedi- cated on Decoration Day, Tuesday, May 30, 1876, with imposing Ceremonies, briefly as follows:

Besides the usual decoration services earlier in the day, a large procession of soldiers, ex-soldiers, citizens, civic societies, bands of music, etc., forming on Howard street, reached the chapel at 2 o'clock p. m. After the usual preliminary exercises of prayer, music, etc., Mr. Lewis Miller, on behalf of the Building Committee, presented the structure to Buckley Post in a brief but exceedingly appropriate address, which was received on behalf of the Post, in

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eloquent and fitting words by Capt. Samuel C. Williamson, who, in turn, in behalf of the Post, transferred the building to the care and custody of the Trustees of the Akron Rural Cemetery Association, in closing addressing Col. Simon Perkins, president of the associa- tion, as follows: -

"To your hands, then, O, venerable patriarch of the past -- the representa- tive of the earlier, and perhaps better, days of the Republic-in the presence of these white-haired veterans of 1812, in whom, to-day, we span the chasm of a century, and shake hands with the heroes of the Revolution who fell at Lexington and Bunker Hill, and in their names, the founders of our govern- ment, and in the names of those who died to preserve it, we now confide to .you these keys, the symbol of possession, in token of the transfer which is hereby made."

COL. PERKINS' RESPONSE.

On receiving the keys of the chapel from Judge Williamson, Col. Perkins said:

"Sir: In behalf of the Akron Rural Cemetery, we accept the beautiful and sacred trust, through you confided to us by the members of Buckley Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of this fitting memorial erected to the memory of loved ones who were offered as a sacrifice on the altar of our country, that those who survive may transmit the legacy confided to us, by our patriotic fathers, in spotless purity for generations to come.

"The Cemetery Association will treasure the invaluable trust you now confide to us, and will preserve it as a sacred and loving tribute to our sons, whose sacrifice was made for us and for our children after us. Allow ine, in the name of the Akron Rural Cemetery Association to tender, through you .. to Buckley Post, our grateful thanks for the confidence and honor reposed in us, and give them our assurance that the trust shall be preserved and pro- tected in love and brotherly regard for our sons."

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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