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 69

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 69

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555

AKRON LAWYERS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.

GEN. RUSSELL A. ALGER,-born in Lafayette, Medina county, O., February 27, 1836; raised to farm life; educated in district schools and Richfield Academy, working for his board, teaching school the last two winters of his course; 1857-59 read law in office of Wolcott & Upson, in Akron, and admitted to the bar by Supreme Court at Columbus, prac- ticing a short time in Cleveland ; in 1860 engaged in lumber business at Grand Rapids, Mich .; in August, 1861, enlisted as private in Second Michigan Cavalry, being mustered in September 2, as captain ; promoted to major April 25, 1862; wounded and taken prisoner at Booneville, Miss., July 1, 1862 ; promoted to lieutenant colonel February 28, 1863; wounded at Boonesboro, Md., July 8, 1863; resigned and honorably discharged September 20, 1864, after having par- ticipated in 66 battles and skir- mishes ; brevetted brigadier-general for gallantry at Trevillian Station, Va., June 11, 1864, and major-general June 11, 1865, for gallant and merit- orious services during the war. On retiring from the army Gen. Alger engaged in the lumber and shipping trade at Detroit, in which he has accumulated a fine fortune, which he is dispensing with a liberal hand, in the promotion of private and public enterprises and the various religious,

GEN. RUSSELL A. ALGER.

benevolent and patriotic schemes of the day. In 1884 Gen. Alger was elected governor of Michigan, ably serving two years, and declining a re-election ; in 1888 received 142 elec- toral votes for president in the Chi- cago Convention. Gen. Alger in 1890, '91 was national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and one of the most popular and successful leaders that patriotic order has ever had.

BENEDICT FCO. CHI.

ROLIN W. SADLER.

ROLIN W. SADLER,-born in Cen- terville, St. Joseph county, Mich., July 7, 1856; at the age of eleven re- moving to Bryan, Ohio, and two

years later to . Wauseon; in 1871 entered Baldwin University and a year later Mt. Union College, from which he graduated in 1874. After teaching two years, as principal of schools at Reading, Mich., and Bed- ford, Ohio, in 1876 he entered the law office of Edgerton & Kohler, as student, being admitted to the bar in 1878, since which time he has been in a continuous and phenomenally successful practice in Akron, for several years in partnership with Hon. Jacob A. Kohler, but since January, 1887, upon his own ac- count. September 15, 1880, Mr. Sadler was married to Miss Carrie M. Comstock, of Bedford, who has borne him two children-Edna Dean, born December 4, 1882 and Alden Howard, born March 20, 1886. In addition to his law business, Mr. Sadler is a stockholder in the Akron Savings Bank, The F. Schumacher Milling Company, the Akron Tool Company, the Enterprise Manufacturing Com- pany, with other material interests in Akron and elsewhere.

556

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

NEWTON CHALKER,-son of James and Eliza (Hyde) Chalk- er, born at Southington, Ohio, Sep- tember 12, 1842; educated in district schools and at Western Reserve Semi- nary, Farmington, Ohio, teaching school winters from 16 to 20 years of age; June, 1862, enlisted in Company B, 87th Regiment O. V. I., serving till the following October; in 1863, entered Allegheny College, at Meadville, graduating in June, 1866; same Fall elected principal of Dixon (Il1.) Semi- nary, serving one year; the next year filling the position of superin- tendent of the Darlington (Wis.) Union Schools; August 1868, entered Law Department of Albany (N. Y.) University, graduating in June 1869. Soon after graduation, Mr. Chalker opened a law office in Cameron, Mo., where he remained five years, on August 14, 1874, establishing an office in Akron, enjoying a reasonably suc- cessful and lucrative practice to the present time. Mr. Chalker's parents, James and Elizabeth (Hyde) Chalker are among the most highly respected

NEWTON CHALKER.

citizens of Trumbull county, Mr. Chalker, himself, still remaining un- married.

DAVID LESLIE MARVIN.

DAVID LESLIE MARVIN,-son of Judge Ulysses L. and Mrs. Dorena (Rockwell) Marvin, was born at Kent, Ohio, November 17, 1862, removing with parents to Akron in 1867 ; educated in Akron public schools and at Kenyon College, at Gambier; in November, 1882, was appointed an examiner in the U. S. Pension office, at Washington, by

faithful service, earning a promotion to second grade ; resigned in June, 1884, to engage in newspaper work during centennial cotton exposition at New Orleans; spending the year 1885 in Chicago, February 9, 1886, was elected assistant engineer of the board of public works of Ohio, and re-elected in 1888 and 1890; while fill- ing this position spent his evenings and other spare moments in read- ing law, being admitted to the bar in December, 1889. February 15, 1891, resigning his position as assist- ant engineer, began practice in Akron as junior member of the law firin of Marvin, Atterholt, Slabaugh & Marvin, the public works superin- tendents, on his resignation, adopting a resolution, expressing their regret "to part with him, both as a friend and as an official," and that "he has discharged his duties with marked ability and fidelity, and manifested uniform kindness and courtesy in all his relations with us." Mr. Marvin was married May 16, 1888, at Shelby, Olio, to Frances Saxe Fish. Mr. and Mrs. M. are members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Mr. M. being in politics a stanch Republican; is a member of Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion ; Cleveland Lodge, B. P. O. E .; Columbus Lodge, K. of H., and Iola Chapter, P. S. I. Upsilon Fraternity.

557

AN APPROPRIATE CONCLUSION.

AKRON'S ORIGINAL 'PROPRIETORS.

J IDGE LEICESTER KING, - born in Suffield, Conn., May 1, 1789; married to Julia Anne Huntington, October 12, 1814 ; after short residence, as merchant, in Westfield, Mass., went to Natchez, Miss., but declining bright prospects of business there, because of abhorrent impression in regard to human slavery, in 1817, settled, as merchant, in Warren, Ohio ; in 1831, with Gen. Simon Perkins and Dr. Eliakim Crosby, laid out North Akron, and constructed the Cascade Mill race, giving to Akron its start as a manufacturing center; Associate Judge of Trumbull County one term of seven years; State Senator, two terms, 1835-39; large promoter of Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal; in 1842 Liberty candidate for Governor and renominated in 1844; Liberty nominee for Vice President in 1848, but resigned in favor of Charles Francis Adams, Free-Soil candidate ; ever promotive of Akron's growth and prosperity, in 1836 erected a barn with the intention of establish- ing his home on the grounds now occupied by Hon. Lewis Miller. Mrs. King dying in 1849, June 10, 1852, Judge King was again married, to

JUDGE LEICESTER KING.

Mrs. Calista M. Howard, eldest dauglı- ter of Dr. Crosby, who still survives ; the Judge himself dying at Bloom- field, Trumbull County, September 19, 1856, aged 67 years, 4 months, 18 days; five of his seven children sur- viving him.

As a fitting close to the foregoing chapters, delineating Akron's comparatively brief, but remarkably prosperous career, the accom- panying portrait and biography of Judge Leicester King, may very properly be here given. In addition to his hearty co-operation with General Simon Perkins and Doctor Eliakim Crosby, hereto- fore alluded to, in the founding of what, in an early day, was known as North Akron, the building of the Cascade mill race, and the construction of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal-freely appropriating his own private funds in their promotion-Judge King at the same time gave substantial aid to many private enter- prises-notably the building of the Cascade Mill, by Mr. William B. Mitchell, in 1840, and the Empire Hotel, by Mr. William H. Burroughs, in 1844, '45. Like his co-partners, also, Judge King was extremely liberal in regard to deferred payments on lands pur- chased from him, on which the purchasers had made substantial improvements, thereby enabling many persons, during the several early panics written of, to retain their humble homes, which, under a less lenient creditor, would have been ruthlessly sacrificed. Judge King, and his early associates, Messrs. Perkins and Crosby, should ever be held in kindly remembrance by those who now enjoy, or may hereafter enjoy, the fruits of their wise labors in what, in the beginning, was a very forbidding locality.

CHAPTER XIX.

SUMMIT COUNTY'S TORNADOES-THE STOW DISASTER OF OCTOBER 20, 1837- DWELLING HOUSE DEMOLISHED AND FOUR PERSONS KILLED-OTHER DAM- AGES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD-PREVIOUS AND SUBSEQUENT STORMS-THE SHARON, COPLEY AND SPRINGFIELD BLOW OF APRIL 8, 1890, LEAVING DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN ITS TRACK-AKRON'S FRIGHTFUL'BUT FORTU- NATE VISITATION, MAY 10, 1890, ETC .- BARBERTON'S FATAL CALL, DECEMBER 23, 1890.

AKRON'S FAVORABLE LOCATION.

KRON and Summit county seem to have been phenomenally A exempt from the terrible storms, devastating floods and destructive whirlwinds so largely prevalent in the west and south, and of not infrequent occurrence in the State of Ohio. Located as it is, upon a summit, Akron cannot suffer greatly from floods, except from cloud-bursts, or the giving away of the banks of Summit Lake, or the State reservoirs immediately to the south of us, the danger from which is very remote indeed.

Numerous gaps in the primeval forests, strewn with broken- off or uprooted trees of large growth, however, indicated to the early settlers that in the creation of these extensive "windfalls," as they were called, very furious tornadoes must have previously, from time to time prevailed, while wide-apart localities have occasionally been thus visited since the settlement of the country began-the course of such storms being generally from west to east with occasional divergence from both southwesterly to north- easterly and from northwesterly to southeasterly.

THE GREAT STOW CALAMITY OF 1837.

Though both orchards as well as forests had been prostrated, fences, roofs and chimneys blown away, with occasional loss of poultry and other farm stock, by these severe wind-storms, the first tornado in what is now Summit county, involving the loss of human life, occurred in the township of Stow, on the night of October 20, 1837, just north of what is now known as Silver Lake, a full description of which is given in the chapter devoted to Stow township in this volume, and need not be given in detail here.

It may be said generally, however, that the storm in question occurred in the darkness of the early morning (about 4 o'clock), with no eye-witnesses to testify of its apearance when approaching or or departing. Striking the ground near Gilbert's Corners, on the west, or diagonal road from Cuyahoga Falls to Hudson, pursuing a northeasterly course, and evidently scooping up a considerable portion of the water, sand, weeds, etc., of the intervening pond (now known as Crystal Lake), it entirely demolished the substan- tial story and a-half frame house of Mr. Frederick Sanford, on the present site of Mr. William L. Hanford's residence, on the East and West Center road, killing four out of six of its inmates-Mr. Sanford, his two sons, Charles and Norman, and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Mary Collins, some of their lighter household effects being

559

SUMMIT COUNTY'S TORNADOES.

found some five miles from the scene of the fatal disaster, consid- erable other damage also being done to other property in the immediate neighborhood.

THE SHARON, COPLEY AND SPRINGFIELD TORNADO.

Between six and seven o'clock, on the evening of Tuesday, April 8, 1890, a fearful and fatal storm, assuming the proportions of a destructive tornado, passed over the townships of Sharon, in Medina county, and Copley, Coventry and Springfield, in Sum- mit county, its course unlike most of the other similar storms occurring in this vicinity, being from northwesterly to south- easterly.

The storm struck the ground in the west portion of Sharon township. It was seen approaching, and many people sought safety in cellars, thus escaping serious personal injury, but all were not so fortunate. The first building destroyed was the large barn of Mr. James Hartman, next the house and barn of Uriah Werstler, of Wadsworth, occupied by his son-in-law, Jacob Durr, were razed to the ground; next the fine barn of Washington Crane was completely destroyed, together with the roof of his horse shed; next the large barn of R. M. Brown, was demolished. Here, near the center of Sharon, the tornado seemed to rise, doing but slight damage in and about the village itself-unroofing the Methodist church, blowing down chimneys, etc.

Rising and falling, playing sad havoc with forest trees, sugar groves and fruit orchards, a mile southeast of the Center, the new bank barn and wagon house of Mr. Christian Wall were completely demolished, a fine lot of timber, shrubbery, etc., in front of the house of Mr. James T. Hammond, torn up; the house of Mr. Reason Wall twisted from its foundation; the barn of Mr. Frank Bramley being carried away, and Mr. Bramley deposited among the falling timbers several rods away, with serious internal injuries, eight horses remaining standing in their stalls unhurt. The house of Mr. Bramley was also whirled into the air, falling a mass of ruins a short distance from the foundation, caught fire from the kitchen stove and was entirely consumed.

Plowing its way through a dense piece of timber, the tornado next struck the house and barn of Mr. Hughes Frank, on the east line of Sharon township. Hearing the storm coming, Mr. and Mrs. Frank started for the cellar, but before reaching it, the build- ing was lifted from its foundation, and, amid breaking and falling timbers, both of them were hurled several rods away, the wreck of the two buildings being scattered along the track of the tornado fully 300 yards. Mr. Frank was killed outright, and Mrs. Frank was so badly injured that her life was for several months despaired of, and she is even now but the wreck of her former self. A favorite dog of Mr. Frank's was also. instantly killed.

Mr. Henry Wall's new 40x80 barn, a short distance southeast of Mr. Frank's, was completely demolished, a yearling heifer being killed and Mr. N. L. Fulmer, who was milking a cow in the yard, was carried 150 feet away and deposited in a wheat field, seriously injured.

SPRINGFIELD NEXT VISITED.

While the heavy rain, hail, thunder, lightning and furious wind accompanying the storm, continued to rage, doing considerable

560

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

damage in Akron and other points, along its track, the tornado proper, after leaving Mr. Wall, lifted itself into the upper air, and passing over the eastern portion of Copley and the northern por- tion of Coventry, again struck the earth in the township of Spring- field, about a mile and a half south of the White Grocery. Leveling fences, trees, etc., on the premises of Mr. William H. Jones, on the Massillon road, the two-story residence of Mr. Scott Sweitzer, a short distance to the southeast, was entirely demolished. Mr. and Mrs. Sweitzer, with their two children, were on the cellar stairs, seeking a place of safety, and though suddenly dropping to the bottom of the cellar, as the stairs were wrenched from under them, they escaped with serious, but not fatal, injuries. They also lost their barn, hog pen, chicken coop, carriages, chickens, pigs, etc. A quarter of a mile further on the log house occupied by Mr. Henry Robinson was unroofed, and about the same distance beyond, the Washington Rhodanbaugh house was unroofed and the barn blown down. Passing over or around Springfield Lake, the storm again took a southeasterly course, destroying Elias Kurtz's orchard, racking his house and partially unroofing his barn; next racking the house, unroofing the barn, uprooting the fruit trees, and prostrating the fences upon the farm of Eli Funk; then mowing down a large tract of heavy timber for Mr. George Wise; next totally demolishing the barn of Mr. Abraham Heimbaugh, killing several cattle; blowing away the log house of a Mr. Callahan; twisting from its foundation the house of Mr. Elias Lilly, unroofing the house and barn of Milton Pontious; blowing away the barn and sheep shed of Mr. Andrew Falor, and pursuing its course of devastation some distance into Stark county.

AKRON'S GREAT VISITATION, MAY 10, 1890.

During the afternoon of Saturday, May 10, 1890, Akron was. visited with a succession of very heavy showers, with quite a stiff southwesterly breeze. After a short respite, and a partial clearing up, about 5 o'clock, a half hour later, two dense black clouds from the southwest and northwest, respectively, were observed rapidly approaching each other, with angry roars near the southwesterly corner of the city. On coming in contact, like two mighty giants wrestling, they seemed to engage in a nearly stationary, but fear- ful struggle for a moment, when, having assumed the shape of an immense rapidly rotating inverted cone, with a madly terrific roar, it rushed city-ward, first striking the ground a little east of the Ohio Canal, just south of West Thornton street, and pursuing its course of devastation diagonally through the entire city, made its exit at the northeast corner in the vicinity of the "Old Forge."

The first building struck was the small frame house of Mr. Wilson Kiplinger, south of Thornton street. The house was entirely demolished and the inmates, furniture, stove, etc., pro- miscuously piled together, a fire soon starting from the burning coals, but fortunately the family, though some what bruised and burned, escaped without serious bodily injury.

Slightly lifting, but still uncomfortably near the surface, the storm crossed Thornton street; besides other slight damage to trees and fences, uprooting ten large apple trees on the lot of W. S. Youtz, about the same number on the lot of William Fink, sev- eral large trees and the grape arbor of Thomas B. Moore, corner of

561

SUMMIT COUNTY'S TORNADOES.

Coburn and Thornton . streets, badly damaging the houses and trees of E. Colloredo and J. L. Serfass, west side of Coburn, and the premises of Felix Sell, Charles H. Jennings, John Stutz, S. B. Foster and Louis B. Stahl, east side Coburn; John H. Campbell, George Pellinger, Oliver P. Falor, Samuel Steffe, Mrs. Mary Winkleman, Fire Station No. 4 and other property on South Main, north of Thornton; of F. G. Stipe, Charles Criss, Frank Miller and others on South High, Broadway and Fair streets.

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS AGAIN.

Leaving a large amount of valuable property, between Main street and the railroads comparatively uninjured, the tornado began to get down to earnest work again on the east side, leveling huge trees and seriously· damaging buildings near the intersection of Washington and Cross streets, and for half a mile along Wolf Ledge, and another half mile northeasterly its ravages were almost unintermitted as the following list of casualties will show:

One-story house of Dominick Gritter, 404 Cross street, partly unroofed, windows blown in and Mrs. Gritter slightly injured; barn of M. F. Kearns blown down and contents scattered; two houses of John Van Alt, Washington and Cross, badly damaged; house of John Bruegger, 207 Washington street, twisted from its foundation and badly wrecked; house of Peter Austgen, 406 Cross street, turned half around and badly shattered; August Schaffer's shoe shop, 178 Grant street, turned upside down; house belonging to Julius Loepke, occupied by Mr. Schaffer's family, and by Frank Wagner, as a barber shop, lifted from its foundation, turned partly around and thrown against Turner Halle, adjoining on the north, which was also badly wrecked, roof partly torn off, windows crushed in, siding broken by flying timbers and interior deluged with water; here also a horse hitched to a wagon was instantly killed by a displaced electric wire falling across its neck; on the east side of Grant street, the house of Anthony Mennel was turned over and other damage done, as shown in the accompanying cut ..

Overturned House of Anthony Mennel, 175 Grant Street.

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

View of Havoc on East side of Grant Street, looking towards Turner Halle.

The kitchen of Jacob Neubauer, Grant and Cross streets, was blown away; house of Gebhard Hermann, 505 Cross street, badly wrecked, the kitchen in which nine persons were eating supper, torn from the main building and rolled over and over, 50 yards, the clothes of a 12 year old girl taking fire and quite seriously burning her, before Mr. Hermann could extricate himself from the wreck to extinguish the flames; Mrs. Hermann and one or two other children also being slightly injured, the entire family, how- ever, miraculously escaping with their lives. The house of Louis Leffler, 507 Cross street, and other contiguous property, was also seriously damaged, the above cut illustrating the condition of things in this vicinity as shown by the camera the following day.

Rear of Mrs. Margaretha Burkhardt's Brewery, looking towards Turner Halle.

563

SUMMIT COUNTY'S TORNADOES.

The tornado now leaped diagonally across Wolf Ledge, and dip- ping into the gorge, struck the brewery of Mrs. Margaretha Burkhardt, 154, 156 Sherman street, totally demolishing the barn, wrecking the dormitory, ice house, etc., and partially unroofing the brewery as shown in part by the preceding and following cuts.

PHOTO ENG Clevido

Wreck of Dormitory and other damage at Mrs Margaretha Burkhardt's Brewery, Sherman Street.

From the brewery, driving across several acres of unoccupied territory, prostrating a number of immense forest trees in its course, its next point of attack was upon the east side of Sumner street, badly shattering the house of Harry R. Sanford, at 517, and that of Charles Walter, adjoining upon the north, blowing off part of the roof, crushing in windows, etc., and completely demolishing the barns and outhouses in the rear of both. The houses of John Miller and Mrs. Odell, on this street, were also seriously damaged. On Sterling Court, the house of Edward Esker was twisted on foundation, and a house belonging to Mr. John Memmer seriously damaged.

Residences of Otto Miller and Frank Kuntz, 306 and 302 Allyn Street.

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

On Allyn street, south of Wheeler, sad havoc was accom- plished. The house of Frank Kuntz, facing east, was lifted forward from its foundation several feet and canted over toward the south, while the house of Otto Miller, adjoining on the south, had the kitchen entirely demolished and the main building thrown from its foundation and canted over towards the north, as shown by the foregoing view; Charles S. Wilhelm's house on the south, also being considerably damaged.

Directly opposite, on Allyn street, a new unoccupied house, belonging to August C. Miller, was entirely destroyed, as was also the somewhat smaller structure of F. Allen Coup, the ruins of both of which are shown in the following cut:

Residences of August C. Miller and Allen Coup, on Allyn Street, as left by the stormi.

Passing on from here, besides toppling over many chimneys, and leveling innumerable fences, trees, outbuildings, etc., on and near Brown street, the residences of Charles G. Angne, 206, Dr. Elwyn Humphrey, 208, Hiram N. Henninger, 210, and John Klinger 314, were more or less seriously damaged, the barn of Dr. Humphrey being entirely destroyed. On Wheeler street, the house of George Roussert, was moved several feet on its founda- tion and badly wrenched; the house occupied by A. J. Christinan, 117 Kling street; the houses owned by Frank Howe, occupied by D. Bart Curran, 115, George A. Rost, 113 and Thomas Gilligan, 211 Kling street were quite badly damaged, every window of the latter being blown in, and a large hole made in the roof.

Remorselessly rushing on, the large two-story frame building of Mr. Orin C. Baker, northeast corner Brown and Exchange streets, the first floor occupied as a grocery store, and the second story as a family residence, was instantly leveled to its foundation, as graph- ically told by the engraving on the opposite page.

Hearing and seeing the terrible storm approaching, the inmates of the building rushed frantically to the cellar, the crash coming almost the instant they reached the foot of the stairs, one wall, 20 feet square, being blown 50 feet away, many of the timbers of the building being carried at least 100 feet, and large adjacent trees ruthlessly laid low. The house of Charles Ingham, south- west corner Brown and Exchange streets, was also badly damaged. The house of Wilhelmina Bolte and Albert Funk, 703 East Exchange, badly damaged in roof, and barn in rear, with a fine buggy, were entirely destroyed, and a horse so badly injured

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SUMMIT COUNTY'S TORNADOES.

that it had to be killed. The house occupied by Edwin S. Har- rington, 707 East Exchange, was moved from its foundation and the rear crushed in, but the inmates took refuge in the cellar and escaped unharmed. The houses of Howard A. Falor, Mrs. Susan Bowers, James K. Chapman and Arthur E. Myers, were seriously injured, the latter, in process of erection, being blown flat down.

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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