USA > Ohio > Genealogical and family history of eastern Ohio > Part 40
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JOHN T. WOOD.
Among the useful and acceptable contributions from the old world to the busy working forces of the East Liverpool potteries, none have proved more efficient than the Wood family. They are natives of England and come from the region of Staffordshire, which has sent forth so many of her sturdy sons to enrich the mines and factories of other countries. John, son of William Wood, was born in Staffordshire in 1844, there married Mary A. Holmes, and worked at his trade for a livelihood as his family grew up. Hoping to better his fortunes and find better opportunities for his children, he determined to cross the ocean, and carried out this resolve in 1882. Hearing of the industries in Columbiana county, he made his way to Ohio shortly after landing and in course of time found a satisfactory location at East Liverpool, where he secured work as a potter. His children were originally six in number, of whom one died, leaving the five following as survivors : John T .; William; Elizabeth, wife of George Hall; Ralph ; and Albert.
John T. Wood, the eldest of these children, was born at Oldham, in Lancashire, England, July 6, 1868, and was consequently fourteen years old when brought to the United States by his parents. Before leaving the old country he had received some primary education in the schools of his native place, but as soon as he reached East Liverpool he became an employe in one of the potteries. He proved an industrious boy and later an efficient
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workman, giving such satisfaction to his employers as to be made foreman of the kiln department of the George C. Murphy Pottery Company. He has taken much interest in trade unionism, especially as relating to his own particular craft, and has risen to a position of popularity and influence among his fellow workmen. When the National Brotherhood of Operative Potters held their annual meeting at Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1900, Mr. Wood was elected treasurer of the organization. This honor was con- ferred upon him not only in recognition of his zeal and work in behalf of the order, but on account of confidence in his integrity and good business judgment. As custodian of the funds of the association he has exhibited discretion and proved worthy of the trust confided to his care, there being no criticism by the membership of any of his official acts.
In 1892, Mr. Wood was united in marriage with Miss Nettie, daughter of Aaron Moore, of Beaver, Pennsylvania, and the six children resulting from this union are William R., Harry L., Elva C., Walter C., John A. and Arthur. Though not a member of any church, Mr. Wood may always be counted on the right side of every question affecting good morals and good citizenship. He usually votes the Republican ticket, but is not a violent partisan, nor has he either sought or desired political preferment of any kind. Sociable in temperament, friendly in disposition and just in his deal- ings with all, Mr. Wood is much liked by his fellow artisans and other acquaintances. His fraternal connections are confined to membership in the Sons of Saint George; in the social and business affairs of which order he takes a zealous interest.
ELIZABETH H. AND WASHINGTON S. RHODES.
One of Canfield's most prominent pioneer citizens was John Young, who was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1789. A great many of the early settlers of Mahoning county came front Connecticut, owing to the connection between that state and the Western Reserve, and one of those who came in 1810 was Mr. Young. He purchased of his friend, William Dean, land to the amount of fifty-eight acres, and as soon as he had com- pleted payments on this he went in debt for more, thus by gradual accre- tions accumulating five hundred acres. The residence which he erected on his first purchase is still in a good state of preservation, notwithstanding the fact that it is one of the oldest frame buildings in the county. John Young had the usual limitations of the pioneer, he was poor and uneducated at the beginning, but his lack of worldly means did not prevent him from acquiring a large amount of property during his life time, and his desire for knowledge led him to fill out his deficiencies so far that he could intelligently attend to
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business and all other matters. He was strictly honest in all his dealings, and while not a professing Christian he lived up to the highest moral ideals and practiced the religious principles in his life. He belonged to the De- mocracy of Jefferson and was one of its ardent supporters. He lived to the age of seventy-two and died in March, 1861. By his marriage to Jenett Porter, of Burlington township, this county, he had five children: Nancy E., William, Anna, John and Alvina C., the last named being the only survivor of that generation.
John, Jr., was born in Canfield township and was reared there and followed agricultural pursuits, as his father had done before him. This quiet life was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil war, and in 1862 his loyalty to the flag caused him to enlist in Company H, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He followed the standard of the regiment through the war, was in every engagement in which his regiment par- ticipated, while the ranks were being thinned by disease and bullets, and in the last three months he, too, succumbed to exposure and sickness, and died in April, 1865. His remains were brought home to his young widow and the two-year-old child, whom he had never seen. He had married only a short time before the war Harriet Glass, and the only child of the union was Elizabeth H., who was born December 24, 1862. This child grew up under the fostering care of her mother and in 1881 she was mar- ried to Washington S. Rhodes, a native of Jackson township.
Washington S. Rhodes was born in Jackson township, Mahoning county, Ohio, February 22, 1857, the son of Simon and Charolotta (Broods- word) Rhodes. These parents were also born and reared and married in Jackson township. Grandfather Joel Rhodes came from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and was one of the pioneers of Mahoning county, a farmer by occupation. Washington S. Rhodes was educated in the common schools and remained at home until he married, in 1881, and has been a general farmer in Canfield township since that time. He was interested in the sawmill business until 1903, when he sold out his interests and gave his full time to farming. He is a life-long Democrat and a member of the Knights of Pythias at North Jackson. Mrs. Rhodes and her daughters are members of Zion Reform church of Canfield. Her daughters are both at- tending the Northeastern Ohio Normal School. Four children were born to Mrs. Rhodes: John J., deceased; Elsa M., Orminda M., and Mary C. Mrs. Rhodes resides on the original purchase of her grandfather, John Young, and she enjoys the highest regard, not only for her own beautiful character and native intelligence, but as a descendant of one of the most worthy of Mahoning county's pioneers.
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JAMES E. DAVIS.
The subject of this sketch is one of the promising, as well as most ambitious, of the younger members of the East Liverpool bar. Though scarcely thirty years of age and hardly a year in practice, he has already taken hold like a veteran, and if success does not come it will not be because he has neglected any measure to deserve it. He seems well fitted, both by temperament and preliminary study, to rise in this the most exacting of all the professions, and his friends are not backward in predicting for him a successful and even brilliant career. It is certain that his affable manners, pleasant address and adaptable disposition readily secure him friends, and these of themselves are no mean factors in guaranteeing the results which every true man desires to achieve as the reward of his efforts. The Davis family is of Kentucky origin, and has long been favorably known in that state.
Alexander Davis, grandfather of our subject, was a native of the "Dark and Bloody Ground," and in his day a man noted both for the force and integrity of his character. Job L. Davis, worthy son of a noble sire, was born near Greenup, Kentucky, in 1841, and made a most creditable military record during the Civil war. He was a sergeant in the Twenty-second regi- ment, Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, and served with his command under Garfield, with Grant at Vicksburg and Sherman in Arkansas. After the termination of hostilities, he crossed the great river and settled on a farm in Columbiana county, where he closed his earthly career in 1900. His first marriage was with Isabella Calhoun, by whom he had three children, the two survivors being: Flora S., wife of C. A. Woollan; and Thomas A. He contracted a second marriage with Margaret McFarland, a native of Ohio, and the only child of this union is the subject of this sketch.
James E. Davis was born on his father's farm in St. Clair township, Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1873, and lived there until the latter's death in 1900. Meantime he attended the country schools, made diligent use of his time and later took a course at Mt. Hope Academy. A still more valu- able addition to his educational training was obtained by a term in North- eastern Ohio Normal College and a professional course at the Ada (Ohio) Law School. He completed his law studies in the office of Hon. L. T. Farr, of Rogers, Ohio. The six years from 1894 to 1899 were spent in teaching, that almost indispensable "clearing house" and preparatory school for young lawyers, and this period terminated with his election as justice of the peace for his native township. His manner of attending to the duties of this office convinced his constituents that this young man had a natural aptitude
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for business and that in the expressive slang of the day he would eventually "get there." Mr. Davis was admitted to the bar in 1902 and in March of the following year located in the eastern part of the city and opened up for business. In 1899 he was married at Calcutta, Ohio, to Miss Mary W., daughter of Homer Huston, of that place, and they have an only daughter; named Helen. Mr. Davis is not a member of any church or secret society, but in politics he has imbibed the beliefs and follows the example of his father by supporting zealously the principles of the Republican party.
BASIL C. SIMMS.
One of the principal industries of the thriving town of East Liver- pool, Ohio, is the pottery business. In commerce and art articles of clay have been used for centuries, and their use is becoming more general in the complexity of modern times. Of one of the prominent manufactories for such articles, Basil C. Simms, to whom we now purpose to give a place in this history, is the vice president.
In tracing the ancestry of this man, we find that his grandfather was Claiborne Simms and was born in Maryland. He came to Ohio county, Ohio, about the year 1824 and there followed farming, but later removed to East Liverpool, where at the time of his death he was operating a grist mill. Basil Bealle Simms, the father of our subject, was born in 1804 in the part of Virginia which later became the state of West Virginia, and for twenty years lived there and was educated. He came with his father to East Liverpool, and during the early part of his life was a miller, but later became a farmer. In 1835 he was married in Liverpool to Eleanor Martin, daughter of Nathaniel Martin, and they had a number of children, of whom six grew up, as follows : Claiborne C., died in 1899; Mary A., the wife of R. J. Boyce; Nathaniel M .; Basil C .; Anna C., widow of A. Merchant ; and Dorcas H., who is the wife of Joseph Marietta. Eleanor (Martin) Simms died in 1848, and Mr. Simms married again in 1857 Sarah Webber, and there are three surviving children of this union: Morgan S .: Sarah E., wife of John Seanor; Maria, wife of Charles Dougherty. Mr. Simms passed away in 1880.
Basil C., the third son of his father's first marriage, first saw the light of day in Liverpool, Ohio, in the year 1842, and in that place he attended school until he was fifteen years of age. After leaving school he worked in town for two years and at the age of seventeen began teaching school in his county, which he did for three terms. He then entered the employ of Josiah Thompson, dry-goods merchant; his services were terminated
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here by his enlisting in May, 1864, in Company I, One Hundred and Forty- third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and he served until September, 1864. On his return from the war he re-entered the employ of Mr. Thompson, four or five years later became his partner and in 1878 sold out his interests and devoted his attention exclusively to the pottery business, in which he had engaged in 1873. In 1890 the concern was incorporated under the name of C. C. Thompson Pottery Company, and Mr. Simms was elected vice president.
Mr. Simms' wife, whom he married in 1874, was Mary, daughter of Benjamin Harker, and three children were born: John H., Mary E. and Sarah M. Apart from the active business life of Mr. Simms, he has found time to serve on the board of school examiners and on the board of edu- cation. He is a Knight Templar, belongs to the Methodist church, and is an ardent Republican.
WILLIAM KENT.
The majority of men behold with astonishment the phenomenal progress of the world in commerce, the arts and industrial development, and all that goes to make up the wonderful twentieth century civilization, but few stop to consider to whom this state of things is most due. The present condition of mechanical and industrial enterprise is only the growth of a short half century at the best, and if we seek for the power behind all these colossal factories, it must be found in the man who has had the inventive genius to so combine the products of nature that forces hitherto latent may be directed and combined into the wonderful machines which have trans- formed the industries of the world. The blast furnace and the new processes of steel and iron manufacture have been at the bot- tom of much of the industrial development, and a man who will always be known as one of the foremost inventors in the improvement of these pro- cesses is William Kent, whose life and career it will be our object to briefly outline in the succeeding paragraphs.
The ancestry of his family goes back to the times of the English Com- monwealth and Oliver Cromwell, when a Kent ran away from home rather than submit to the family regime, and was disinherited, and in his old age he sold shoestrings on the Dudley market. He was connected with a noble family and was himself a friend of Lord Dudley. Grandfather Kent was named William, and his son Thomas was born at West Bromwich, in Stafford- shire, England, in 1787, and died there in 1859. He was an iron worker and a keeper of a blast furnace. He married Maria Cartwright, a native of the same locality, and she became the mother of eleven children, rearing
W- Hent o Wife
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seven of them; the three sons are: Thomas, who died in West Bromwich in 1892, leaving seven children; John lives in England, and his two daugh- ters are teachers.
The third son is William, who was born in Staffordshire, England, August 18, 1844. At the age of ten he ran away from home and began working in the rolling mill which his godfather Edward Holden had erected in West Bromwich. He had twenty years of experience in the iron business in England, and his genius had opportunities to expand and receive apprecia- tive recognition in that time. His mother died in 1877, and he shortly after- ward came to America. For about twenty years he lived in Cincinnati and in Covington, Kentucky, in which latter place he was one of the most influ- ential members of the city council. He has been for many years engaged in erecting and superintending iron mills, and the one he erected for the Youngs- town Iron Sheet and Tube Company is one of the best if not the best in the world. He has resigned only recently from its superintendency in order to devote his whole time to his patent interests. He has already had two pat- ents granted him and is an applicant for others. One of his most valuable inventions is a furnace which will save time and hitherto wasted heat energy in bringing the metal to a molten condition, and this will almost revolutionize the operation of puddling mills. A large house of New York financiers is behind the project of manufacture of these furnaces, and there is no doubt that the inventor and the world in general will reap great benefits from the enterprise. Two other of Mr. Kent's patents deserve mention, that known as the "Welded Cast Metal Process," and the "Hot System Sheet Rolling Mill." When Mr. Kent resigned his position with the Youngstown Iron Sheet and Tube Company, the men showed their appreciation of him by presenting him with a handsomely leather upholstered couch, which he prizes very highly.
When Mr. Kent came to America he brought with him a book with the leaves of fine sheet steel as proof of the skill of English steel workers. There were more sheets of steel in this given thickness of book than had ever been manufactured before, and he challenged the workmen here to do better. American workmanship was not to be outdone, and they surpassed it, but Mr. Kent has since excelled all previous efforts. He has a book with Morocco cover which contains leaves of such marvellous thinness that there are six thousand to the inch. The only regret which Mr. Kent has is that he did not remain in school long enough to acquire as thorough a scientific training as would have been useful to him in his after life, and with such a preparation he would doubtless have accomplished even more for the
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world and himself. He is still a hale and vigorous man, with a splendid physique and large mentality, and has some years of activity before him.
Mr. Kent was married in England in 1865 to Miss Mary Hill, and she died in Cincinnati in 1894, aged forty-nine years, having become the mother of seven children: Maria is the wife of Fred H. Harris, of Niles, Ohio, and has three children; Bessie is a designer in millinery at Bedford, Indiana ; Matilda is the wife of William Liddington in Youngstown and has two chil- dren; the son William was one of the victims in the Philippine war, and his death is still fresh in the minds of his sorrowing parent and relatives; he had been in the grocery business before enlisting for the Philippine ser- vice, and he was soon appointed provost marshal's clerk, and was killed in one of the engagements near Manila, when only twenty-seven years old; at the request of his father to President Mckinley his remains were sent home, and they now rest in the country for which he gave his life; the fifth child in the family is Noah, an expert worker and commanding high wages in the Youngstown Iron Sheet and Tube Company, and he has a wife and one daughter ; Thomas is an iron worker at Covington, Kentucky, and is married; John is a promising young man at home and is also in the iron industry. Three years after losing the mother of these children Mr. Kent was married to a widow, whose maiden name was Miss Nellie Nealens, of Newport, Ken- tucky, the daughter of William Nealens, now in Birmingham, Alabama. Mrs. Kent was a music teacher before her marriage, and the daughter by her first husband, May Kent, although only twelve years old, is a musical prodigy. Mr. Kent visited England during the year of the Paris Exposition, and was again united with his four sisters who are residing there.
SILAS M. FERGUSON.
The rich clay beds in this portion of Ohio have made the manufacture of pottery one of the most important industries and sources of revenue in the northeastern part of the state, and connected with the development of the business, with the improvement of the wares and the control of con- stantly growing enterprises of this nature are many men of marked business ability. Such a one is Silas M. Ferguson, the superintendent of the East Liverpool Potteries Company, in which capacity he is controlling extensive and important interests.
Mr. Ferguson was born on a farm in Washington county, Pennsyl- vania, in March, 1854, and is a representative of an old Scotch family that was founded in America in an early time by the grandfather of our sub- ject, who was born in the land of the hills and heather and was the first of
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the name to seek a home in the new world. Hugh Ferguson, the latter's son, was born on a farm near Columbus, Ohio, in 1812, and became a wagon-maker by trade. In 1862 he took up his abode in East Liverpool, where he made his home until 1889, when he went to live with his daughter in Trenton, New Jersey, there spending his remaining days, his death oc- curring in 1890. He was married in 1838 to Rebecca Scott, and her death occurred in 1868. In their family were eight children, of whom two died in infancy, while those who reached years of maturity were: William V. : James L., who was a private in the Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer In- fantry and died in 1861 ; Theodore, who died in 1880; Andrew P .; Silas M .; and Anna E., the wife of Stephen Dennis. The eldest, William, was a private in an Ohio regiment during the Civil war. Mr. Ferguson was again married in 1874 to Mrs. Hannah Pugh, who died the next year.
Silas M. Ferguson spent the first twelve years of his life on his father's farm in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and then accompanied his parents on their removal to East Liverpool, where he continued his education, going to school for six months each year through the succeeding three years. He began to earn his own living when quite young and may truly be called a self-made man, as his advancement in the business world is the result of his close application to his work, his laudable ambition and his unremitting energy. He was first employed as driver of a horse in a clay mill. He afterward won promotion to a position in the packing room and later entered the cooper shop of the firm of Knowles & Harvey. Subsequently he was apprenticed to a plasterer and followed that trade for five years through the summer months, while in the winter season he was employed in the potteries or in other work that would yield him an honest living. In 1877 he entered the employ of Brunt, Bloor, Martin & Company, owners of a pottery, and in 1880 he became the general superintendent, acting in that capacity until 1882, when the plant was sold to the Potters Co-Operative Company, Mr. Ferguson remaining as the general manager until 1889. In that year, in connection with others, he purchased the Standard Pottery, of which he assumed charge, and continued to control the operation of the plant for seven years, when he again sold out. Soon afterward, in con- nection with Robert Hall and John J. Purinton, he built the United States Pottery in Wellsville, Ohio, and was made the vice president and general manager of the new company. In July, 1901, this with five other plants was merged into a new enterprise, conducted under the name of the East Liverpool Potteries Company, Mr. Ferguson being chosen as the general manager, and he is now successfully controlling the extensive enterprise.
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The output is very large and the business is constantly increasing. The various plants owned by the company are well equipped for carrying on the work with the latest improved machinery and the sales of their wares have now reached a very large figure.
In 1874 Mr. Ferguson was united in marriage at Smith's Ferry, Penn- sylvania, to Rachel C. Hackathorn, a daughter of Benjamin Hackathorn, and they became the parents of seven children, one of whom died in in- fancy, while six are yet living, namely : Thomas P., Annie E., Silas M., Jr., Ethel M., Nellie S. and Edward W. The parents hold membership with the First Presbyterian church of East Liverpool and are well known in this city, where their many friends hold them in high regard. In business affairs Mr. Ferguson is energetic, prompt and notably reliable. Tireless energy and honesty of purpose, joined to everyday common sense-these are his chief characteristics and have won for him gratifying success in the business world.
JOHN HORWELL.
This gentleman's career illustrates forcibly what is possible to a young man of energy and talents if he has the determination to succeed. Starting at the very bottom of the ladder, without money or influence, and compelled to attend night school for years in order to obtain even the rudiments of an education, he has triumphed over all obstacles and is to-day part owner and manager of one of the prosperous potteries of East Liverpool. His achievements have been so typically American that one naturally expects to be told that he is a native of this country, but, in fact, old England claims the honor of his birth, and that "tight little isle" never sent forth a worthier son. His father, Thomas Horwell, was born in Staffordshire, England, in 1800, and passed his school life within the borders of his native country. He married Elizabeth Cartledge, and of their nine children eight grew to maturity, but only three survive, these being James; Ann, wife of Thomas Robinson; and John. The mother of this family died in 1854, but the father survived his wife many years, his death not occurring until 1873.
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