USA > Ohio > Genealogical and family history of eastern Ohio > Part 56
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ABRAHAM BRENNARD.
Abraham Brennard is a well known farmer now located in Poland town- ship. His father, Christopher, was born in Germany about 1814 and after coming to this country he wedded Sophia Shellenberger, a native of either Ohio or Pennsylvania. Abraham was her only child, born in Springfield coun- ty, Ohio, November 10, 1853, and as his mother died in 1860, when he was still a mere child, he was left to be reared by strangers. We can better appreciate his present success when we remember this fact, and that he had the advantage of only meager schooling. He was bound out to work for his board, clothing and schooling, but, as he remembers it, there was very little of all three, although the hard work of the farm was never lacking to fill his cup of boyish troubles to overflowing many times; instead of sitting over his books in the schoolroom he was usually following the threshing machine. At the age of twelve he decided he could better his condition by engaging to work independently, so he worked on farms and at public enterprises for six or eight dollars a month up to the time he was married, at the age of twenty-seven. For a year and a half after this event he lived in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, but then came to Struthers, Mahoning county, where for twelve years he was engaged in carrying pig-iron in the blast furnace. He then re- turned to Pennsylvania and was a tenant farmer on three different farms, but in the spring of 1902 came to the John Arral farm, consisting of one hundred and two acres of good land, where he remained until the spring of 1903, when he located on the farm where he now lives.
On May 13, 1880, Mr. Brennard was united in marriage to Miss Pru- dence of Elizabeth Mayberry, who was born in Newcastle, Lawrence county,
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Pennsylvania, November 20, 1852. Grandfather Thomas Mayberry settled in that county over a hundred years ago, and his death occurred before 1852, when over sixty years of age, and his wife died in 1854 or 1855. They reared three sons and six daughters, one of whom was Jennison Mayberry, who was born on the same farm on which Mrs. Brennard was born and reared, his birth taking place on June 14, 1818, and his wife was Mary Jane Smith, who was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1821. They were married in the spring of 1842, and after nearly fifty years of married life she passed away July 10, 1891, but he is still living on the old farm, strong and active at the age of eighty-four. Eight sons and four daughters were born of this marriage, but only five grew up, and their names are as follows: William Douglass Mayberry, a farmer in Mahoning county, has two living children; Mary Ann died at the age of seventeen : Mrs. Brennard; Hadessah, the wife of J. B. Elliott, a prominent physician of Cleveland, the parents of one son and one daughter ; the remaining son, C. W. T., is farming the old place and has one son. The first child of Mr. and Mrs. Brennard, Jennison Lee, was born February II, 1881, and resides at home; Mary Jane, born November 8, 1882, is the wife of Robert D. Stoner, in Rose Point, Pennsylvania, married May 8, 1902; Hadessah Idelle, born August 18, 1884, remains at home; Ida Belle, born June 7, 1887, is still attending school. Mr. Brennard is a follower of Republican principles, is a member of the Modern Woodmen, while his wife is an earnest Presbyterian. They are most es- timable people, robust and healthy, and are proud that they can still continue the labor which brought them so much happiness.
MRS. SALLY ANN LANTERMAN.
Mrs. Sally Ann Lanterman, the subject of this sketch, was born July 12, 1822, in the township of Youngstown, Trumbull county, Ohio, and has been a resident of said township during her entire life. Mrs. Lanterman is the daughter of John and Elizabeth Berry Woods, who settled here in 1816. They came here from Washington county, Pennsylvania, and were married June 13, 1815, and the following children were born to them: Daniel B. Woods, born November 11, 1816, and died July 7, 1894; Elhanna W. Woods, born November 10, 1818, and died July 19, 1873; William Harrison Woods, born July 2, 1821, and died in infancy ; Sally Ann Woods, born July 12, 1822; John R. Woods, born July 30, 1824, and died January 3, 1887: Clark Woods, born February 14, 1827. John Woods, father of the above named children, died March 25, 1864, aged seventy-five years, and his widow, Eliza- beth B. Woods, died July 7, 1880, aged eighty-six years.
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Sally Ann Woods, subject of this sketch, was married to German Lan- terman February 3, 1842. They together accumulated a vast amount of property, which was rich in coal ; several mines were opened on their different farms, namely Leadville coal bank, and the Manning Coal Company's bank ; Lanterman's Falls and a greater part of Mill Creek Park were originally part of the homestead. Mr. Lanterman was an extensive stock-dealer. His parents, Peter Lanterman and Elizabeth Logan Lanterman, were among the early settlers of Trumbull county, who also were engaged largely in the cattle busi- ness.
Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. German Lanterman: Flor- ence Elizabeth, born February 12, 1843, married Colonel L. T. Foster, March II, 1869, and died June 19, 1873; two children were born to them, Una L. Foster and Ina W. Foster. Ai John was born February 15, 1844, and died December 2, 1899; he was one of Youngstown's most prominent phy- sicians and was also a surgeon of note; he was graduated from Ann Arbor, Michigan, also from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city and from the Physicians' College at Vienna, Austria. After practicing medicine in Youngstown for several years, he went to Colorado and in- vested in gold and silver mines, which proved to be very valuable. His death was not only a sore bereavement to his mother, but also a loss to the pro- fession and to the world. Dr. Lanterman never married.
Although Mrs. Lanterman is in her eighty-first year, she still retains every faculty. She is the center of affection of two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her husband, Mr. German Lanterman, died January 12, 1889, aged seventy-five years.
ELLEN EWING BLAINE BOTSFORD.
This esteemed lady is one of the social leaders of Youngstown, Ohio, and is thus prominent not only for her own good qualities and character but as being the widow of one who for many years was a familiar figure in mili- tary and business circles at Youngstown. Mrs. Botsford is an active worker in the Episcopal church, is regent of the chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution at Youngstown, and besides the numerous social duties devolving upon her, she also devotes herself to literary work. Her maiden name was Ellen E. Blaine, and she is a native of Maysville, Kentucky, the daughter of Samuel L. and Anna (Coons) Blaine; she is also a first cousin of the late statesman and jurist James G. Blaine. She received her education in her native state, and in 1864 she was married to Major Botsford. Their two living children are Ella, the wife of F. H. Wick, of Youngstown, by
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whom she has one child, Alma; and James L., Jr., who, like his sister, re- ceived an excellent education, spending his last year in Yale.
James Lawrence Botsford was one of six children born to Archibald Grant and Eliza (Lynn) Botsford, natives of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, respectively : the former was for a number of years a comb manufacturer in Poland, Ohio. It was in this latter place that the son James was born, April 16, 1834. He was educated in the common schools of Poland, Poland Sem- inary, and in 1858 went to California, where he worked in the mines until 1861. He landed in New York, April 13, 1861, the day after the firing on Fort Sumter. As soon as he reached Poland he enlisted in. a company that was forming there, and in the latter part of May the company was ordered to Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, where he became a second lieutenant in the famous Twenty-third Regiment, the first three years' regiment to enlist from the state. His first service was in West Virginia, where he was detailed as acting aide de camp to Colonel Scammon, commanding the Third Brigade, Kanawha Division, Army of West Virginia ; was promoted to first lieutenant, January 17, 1862, and returned to his regiment and participated in the spring campaign. On August 6th, he was again assigned as aide to General Scammon, and on August 20th the division was ordered to Washington. Part of the division took part in the second battle of Bull Run under General Scammon, after which the Kanawha Division was made a part of the Army of the Potomac. The division led the advance at South Mountain, Septem- ber 14, 1862, and was successful in gaining the crest of the mountain. Three days later it participated in the battle of Antietam, after which the division was ordered back to West Virginia. On October 27, 1862, Lieutenant Bots- ford was promoted by President Lincoln to captain and assistant adjutant general of United States Volunteers. He served in West Virginia with General Scammon until January, 1864, and then was with Major General George Crook in a number of engagements, thence joined General Hunter's command in the Shenandoah valley, where he was later assigned to General Sheridan's department. In November, 1864, he was stationed at Cumberland and detailed as assistant inspector general of the department of West Vir- ginia. After the war he was commissioned brevet major, to date from March 13, 1865, for meritorious and distinguished conduct.
After the war Major Botsford, with his brother Thomas G., was in the produce business in Louisville, Kentucky, until 1872, when he came to Youngs- town and began the manufacture of iron. When the Mahoning Valley Iron Company was formed in 1879, he was elected treasurer and held that position till his death. He was one of the leading business men of the county, and
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met with remarkable success in all his undertakings. At one time he was a member of the city council, but soon resigned, which was the only civil office he would ever accept. On January 14, 1892, he was appointed quartermaster general of Ohio by Governor Mckinley; they had both been comrades in arms in the Twenty-third, and had enlisted from the same town. At the reunion of the Twenty-third Ohio Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry Asso- ciation, General Botsford was unanimously chosen president, to succeed Gen- eral Rutherford B. Hayes. During the Spanish war President Mckinley again honored General Botsford's known ability and experience as a warrior by tendering him the appointment of brigadier general, but the latter declined.
After sixty-four years of such honorable and diligent activity, General Botsford's life came to a close on October 6, 1898, and the sincere grief dis- played on every hand showed how he had endeared himself to his fellows and made his taking off a public calamity. He was one of the few individuals who had strength and the will to carry others over the rough places in life as well as himself; he was unselfish and untiring in his efforts, in whatever line they were put forth ; and he had the faculty of making and retaining friends, so that his life was always cheery, and filled with all that was good and in- spiring. At his death President Mckinley sent the following message from the White House to Mrs. Botsford: "I am deeply grieved at your bereave- ment, and extend the heartfelt sympathy of Mrs. McKinley and myself to you and your family. The loss of such a dear and old comrade in arms comes home to me keenly, and his memory will always remain with me in tender recollection." Mr. and Mrs. Botsford were foremost in the work of the Episcopal church at Youngstown, in which he was vestryman and treasurer for twenty-one years. General Botsford was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Loyal Legion, and was thoroughly Republican in his political sympathies.
JOHN H. SHAFER.
John H. Shafer, the leading merchant in Struthers, was born in Penn- sylvania, December 8, 1869, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Saylor) Shafer, the latter of whom died in 1891, the mother of four children, namely : Anna C., the widow of Frank Green Shepard, has three living children ; Mary C. is married and lives at Conway, Pennsylvania; John H., of this sketch ; and Frederick, who died at the age of eight years.
Henry Shafer, the father of John H., was born in 1841, in Hanover, Germany, and is a son of Henry Shafer. In 1853, at the age of twelve years, he came to America, making the journey in a sailing vessel. His second
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marriage was to Mrs. Baer, and they now reside at Wheatland, Pennsylvania, where for many years he was engaged in business. He owns some fine prop- erty, and is very highly esteemed in his neighborhood.
Our subject was reared to a mercantile life, beginning in his father's store in childhood. He married Mrs. Mary M. Bray, widow of John W. Bray, and a daughter of William and Mary ( Robertson) Black. Mrs. Black died June 6, 1884, at the age of thirty-six years, leaving five children. Mr. Black married, second, Mrs. Margaret Davidson, a lady of most estimable character and fine education. For four years before her first marriage Mrs. Shafer taught school in Youngstown. The children of the first marriage of Mrs. Shafer were: Alfred R. and Clifford, twins, the former of whom died at the age of three months and the latter soon after; Charles W., born January 27, 1891 ; John H., born September 30, 1892; and Kate, born November I, 1893.
The business which Mr. Shafer has so successfully conducted ever since December, 1892, when he succeeded his father, was established by the latter July 20, 1882. Mr. Shafer's whole life has been devoted to mercantile pur- suits ever since the age of sixteen years. He is the leading merchant and carries the largest stock, has the oldest store, and does the largest business of any one in his line in Struthers. He is ably assisted by his very capable wife and her industrious and energetic sons. Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Shafer had become accustomed to the business as one of Mr. Shafer's salesladies, and is one of the best assistants that Mr. Shafer could have selected, her taste and good management contributing largely to the success of the busi- ness. Residing in the apartments over the store, she is always at hand to wait on customers, although she is also noted for her capacities as a housekeeper. On account of the prosperous conditions of the business Mr. Shafer is pro- posing to make some changes, which will enable him to carry a still larger stock and add to the attractiveness of his displays.
Mrs. Shafer was born June 8, 1869, in Scotland, and has crossed the ocean three times. Her father was one of eight sons, six of whom follow the profession of stationary engineers. Mr. Shafer is prominent in the order of Knights of Pythias, has passed all the chairs and for two years has represented the Grand Lodge, and will very probably continue to do so. He belongs to the order of Maccabees, and Mrs. Shafer to the Ladies' Maccabees. In politics he has always been a Democrat and was elected a member of the first city council of Struthers. Both he and Mrs. Shafer are prominent in social as well as business circles, and are among the highly esteemed resi- dents of Struthers.
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ALBERT R. SILVER.
Among the early pioneers who came to Columbiana county during the first decade of the nineteenth century was a family named Silver. It con- sisted of father, mother and several children from Havre de Grace, Maryland, who made the long and tedious trip over mountains, down rivers and through forests, over the rude trails until finally they landed at Steubenville, Ohio, and there they sojourned long enough to enable the father to get from the land office at that point a warrant for the land he had bought from the govern- ment, after which they pursued their journey over the traces, by way of Lisbon and Franklin Square, on to the locality two miles south of the present city of Salem, where their purchase was located. It was in the year 1804 that the weary travelers finally pulled rein and unloaded their goods on the farm adjacent to the Lisbon road, which was to prove the permanent home of themselves and descendants for many years to come. At the time of arrival William, eldest son of these Maryland emigrants, was about twelve years old, and as he grew up assisted his parents in clearing, fencing and cultivating until the wild land eventually assumed a more comfortable and prosperous appearance. About the same time that the Marylanders reached their desti- nation, a family of Spencers had moved in from the east and located imme- diately west of Salem. When William Silver reached manhood he married one of the daughters of this Spencer family and shortly afterward left the farm to take up his residence in the nearby village. Later, he purchased a farm on the Deerfield and Lisbon road, three miles west of Salem, where he built a blacksmith shop and carried on business successfully for many years. His descendants still preserve, as interesting heirlooms, specimens of his bookkeeping, which indicate that he was a methodical and careful man of business, attentive to the smallest details and watchful of every expenditure.
Albert R. Silver, son of William, was born at Salem, Ohio, in 1823, during his father's brief residence in that town, and was reared on the farm to which his parents subsequently moved. He also had the advantage of an early training in his father's blacksmith shop, which proved of great value in after life, as it gave him the trend that ultimately led to fortune. When about nineteen years old, he left the farm for Salem with a view to learning carriage blacksmithing with a Mr. Sheets, who at that time was manufactur- ing vehicles on a small scale, being the pioneer carriage-maker of the vil- lage. Subsequently, in partnership with Robert Campbell, he opened a black- smith shop, but a year later was made foreman of the Sheets Carriage Manu- factory. It was in 1854, while holding this position, that an event occurred which influenced all of Mr. Silver's subsequent life, and led to the eventual
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establishment of the great industry with which his name is so honorably con- nected. One day Levi A. Dole, who was a kind of universal genius and always busy trying to discover some new device, came to Mr. Silver and said bluntly : "Bert, I have a patent." The truth is that he had a valuable invention, the same being a machine for boring out buggy and wagon hubs to receive the boxes, work which at that time had been done slowly and labor- iously by use of the hand chisel. Mr. Silver, having been economical, had saved some money, and, with this as a capital and Dole's inventive genius as backing, the two formed a partnership which proved of value to both. They rented a shop and bought one lathe, with which they went to work with Mr. Dole as the machinist and Mr. Silver in charge of the blacksmith shop. They were soon turning out the newly invented machines, and it was not long until they began to attract attention in the industrial world. About that time a representative of a carriage journal published at Columbus happened along looking for advertisements, and the new firm were wise enough to avail them- selves of his columns to place their goods before the public. Soon a cut of their machine with a brief description of its uses appeared in the Columbus paper, and the results were apparent in a short time, as the attention of the trade was attracted. The new hub-boring device was the very thing needed, became popular rapidly, and the machines were sold as fast as the makers could turn them out. Every few days Mr. Silver might be seen trundling a wheelbarrow load of his product to the railway station for shipment to all points of the compass. One of the earliest purchasers was William Bingham, founder of the firm of Bingham and Company, at Cleveland, and with his first order he gave as reference Joseph Brooks, a well known attorney in Salem and father of the late J. T. Brooks, second vice president of the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company.
As the business developed Mr. Silver attended to clerical and correspond- ing work while Mr. Dole looked after the mechanical department. The fertile genius of the latter soon added other ingenious and valuable inventions to the firm's stock, the first being a hollow auger for cutting the tenon on the end of a spoke, in connection with which he designed the spoke-tenon ma- chine and other hub-boring devices. Other inventions patented by Mr. Dole were the water tuyere iron and the press saw-gummer, which tools were made and sold extensively and are still carried in the catalogue of the Silver Manufacturing Company. The saw-gummer, however, once popular, was later superseded by the advent of the circular saw, to replace the old fashioned "muley." About 1866 Mr. Dole invented a meat-chopper, and later a meat stuffer and lard presses were added to the firm's line of manufactures, which
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are still extensively sold. In 1868 Mr. John Deming was admitted into the partnership; shortly afterward the firm suffered an irreparable loss by the death of Mr. Dole. In 1873 the firm was incorporated as the Silver & Deming Manufacturing Company, and moved into new and larger quarters, shortly after which the manufacture of feed cutters was added to the output. In 1876 the company displayed a complete line of their goods at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, where they were awarded medals and premiums on their feed cutters and other machines. In 1882 the manufacture of pumps was begun, and John Humphrey admitted into the company as general super- intendent. But at length the hitherto uninterrupted career of prosperity was checked by a disastrous fire, which occurred on the night of July 3, 1883, and completely destroyed the machine shop and all its contents. Not at all discouraged, however, the company immediately rebuilt and on a larger scale. In 1890 the Silver interest in the establishment was purchased by W. L. and W. F. Deming, who have since carried on the manufacture of pumps under the firm name of the Deming Company.
Shortly after this change the Silver Manufacturing Company was or- ganized, and their present handsome and commodious factory erected with all the modern improvements. They retained all the original patents and the entire line of goods previously carried except that of pumps, which was dis- posed of to the Deming Company. The officers of the new organization were as follows : Albert R. Silver, president; H. M. Silver, vice president ; William Silver, treasurer; A. O. Silver, secretary; and E. W. Silver, superintendent. The last four mentioned are the sons of the original founder of the enterprise, to whose genius and indomitable will this great industry is so largely in- debted for its success. The business of the company is in a flourishing con- dition at the present time and increasing from year to year. The sales in 1901 amounted to half a million dollars, and were sent to every part of the United States, as well as to every other civilized country of the world, about fifteen per cent of the business being export.
In early life, when still struggling with poverty, Mr. Silver was mar- ried to Mary A., daughter of Robert and Helen (Chaters) Dun, of Salem, with whom he lived in mutual happiness and esteem for more than half a century. The parents of Mrs. Silver were from Yorkshire, England, and came to America when she was only four years old. In 1898 Mr. and Mrs. Albert R. Silver celebrated their golden wedding in the presence of a large at- tendance of congratulating friends and loving descendants. But the venerable head of this numerous and interesting connection did not long survive the jubilee celebration of his happy marriage, as his long and useful life was
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terminated in 1900, after he had reached the seventy-seventh year of his age. He is succeeded, however, by able sons who are carrying on success- fully the great business founded by their father.
Emmor W. Silver, the eldest son, married Miss Anna Bishop, of Salem, and is at present superintendent of the Silver Manufacturing Company. Charles R. Silver, the second son, married Jessie F. Steele, of Salem, who died leaving two children. Esther, the eldest daughter, married Frank Brain- ard, of New York city, and has two sons, Frank, and William W., who is attending Yale College. William Silver, the fourth son and treasurer of his father's old company, married Helen, daughter of Simeon Sharp, and has one child, Helen Louise. Homer M. Silver, vice president of the Manufac- turing Company, married Miss Josie King, of Salem, and has one child, Albert R. Albert Otis Silver, the youngest child and secretary of the Manu- facturing Company, married Miss Lizzie Walton, of Salem, and has three children : Rebecca, Esther and Mary. Mrs. Albert R. Silver, the venerable and revered mother, is still in the enjoyment of good health and the center of a loving social circle at the old home in Salem.
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