History of Columbiana County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 38

Author: D. W. Ensign & Co.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 541

USA > Ohio > Columbiana County > History of Columbiana County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 38

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).

Physicians .- As near as can be determined from the meagre accounts at hand, Moses Curry was the first settled physician in Columbiana. David G. Silvers was his con- temporary practitioner for a time. Gustavus Aller also practiced in the village, but lived on a farm two and a half miles south. John B. Preston died in the village while in practice. Others of the medical profession who resided long enough in the place to establish a practice, but who have removed, were Drs. Onler, John McCook, John C. Levis, Gideon Wansettler, Enoch Cloud, Eli Sturgeon, George Wieland, Nicholas Sampsell, A. C. Yengling, D. Beard, and Sylvanus Fisher.

John Metzger has resided at Columbiana more than twenty years, but has not been in active practice. Daniel Deemer has been a successful practitioner since 1850 ; George S. Metzger since 1836; Abraham Sampsell since 1863; A. L. King since 1873 ; J. B. Thompson, a bomœo- pathist, since 1875; Enos Greenamyer since 1874; and John B. Weaver and Charles Orr since 1878.

Attorneys and Justices .- John D. King was the first attorney to locate permanently in the practice of his profes- sion, although William McLaughlin and W. W. Orr may have been in the village for short periods before Mr. King's settlement, in 1856. King remained until 1860, when he was succeeded by George Duncan. Charles D. Dickinson opened an office for the practice of law in 1873, and John G. Beatty, E. S. Holloway, and F. A. Witt came later and at different periods.

Among the justices of the peuce who maintained offices at Columbiana have been John Young, Anthony Hard- man, John Voglesong, George Lamb, Jaines Stevenson, Josiah Rohrbaugh, and John D. Robertson. The last two have offices at the present time,-1879.

Village Government .- The village of Columbiana was vested with the privileges of a corporate body in 1837. Its territorial limits embraced one square mile of land, sit- uate chiefly on sections 4 and 9, only 80 acres each being on sections 3 and 10. Under the charter an election for village officers was held at the house of John Sturgeon, May 27, 1837, twenty-one votes being polled. Emanuel Brubaker and John Snyder acted as judges, and declared the follow- ing persous elected : Mayor, William Hickman ; Recorder, Samuel Nichols; Trustees, Peter W. Dehoff, David Neidig, Lot Holmes, William Nichols, Isaac Keister.

Prior to the surrender of the charter, in 1842, the fol- lowing were the mayors : Wm. Hickman, Samuel Seachrist, John G. Young, and John Voglesong. The recorders for the same period were Samuel Nichols and Lot Holmes.

For more than fourteen years the village was unincor- porated, but on the 9th of June, 1856, the county commis- sioners granted a new charter, whose powers extend to the

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RESIDENCE OF JOHN E. ICENHOUR , COLUMBIANA, COLUMBIANA CO., OHIO.

-RESIDENCE OF MRS. M.A. ALLEN , COLUMBIANA, COLUMBIANA CO., O.

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ALEXANDER CROZIER BELL.

Alexander Crozier Bell, Sr., father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was born May 29, 1804, at Stony Point, near the town of Demare, County Down, Ireland. He was the son of Thomas and Martha (Crozier) Bell, who were natives of that county.

His mother died at the age of about thirty. His father died in the city of Pittsburgh in 1856, in his one hundredth year.

In 1816, Alexander C. Bell, Sr., came to America and located in the city of Pittsburgh, Pa., where he resided for a period of forty-one years, being engaged for several years as superintendent of one floor in the cotton-mills of James Adams (his uncle), and later in the wholesale grocery trade on Liberty Street.

Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway Company, and Pennsylvania Company ever since he came to Ohio, either as telegraph operator, freight or passenger agent.

He has been a prominent member of both the Masonic and Odd-Fellow orders, having for three successive years represented Allen Lodge, F. and A. M., No. 276, in the sessions of the Grand Lodge of the State. He was one of the charter-members of Panora Lodge, No. 410, I. O. O. F .; has held the various offices in the lodge, and served one year as District Deputy Grand Master of Columbiana County.

Although comparatively a young man, he has been an active worker in the Democratic party, and has been a delegate to several State and county con-

Alex, leQuel,

In 1842 he married Miss Mary Frazer, daugh- ter of John and Martha (McClucken) Frazer, who was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1816.

Alexander Crozier Bell, Jr., was born July 13, 1844, in the city of Pittsburgh, Pa. His education was obtained in the Fourth Ward schools of that city, which he attended until he arrived at the age of twelve and a half years.

In January, 1857, he moved with his parents to Columbiana, Ohio. At the age of thirteen he went to Mansfield, Ohio, and learned telegraphing, and was the first to open a telegraph key in Colum- biana.

He has been in the employ of the Pittsburgh,

ventions. In 1878 he was nominated for the office of clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, and although his party was very largely in the minority, both in his township and county, his majority in his own township was seventy-one.

In 1876 he was elected mayor of the village of Columbiana, and re-elected in 1878, and in the dis- charge of the responsible duties of the office has been a faithful and efficient officer, guarding with care the best interests of the place, both morally and financially.

He possesses rare business qualities, an impulsive. nature, and positive will, to which much of his suc- cess in life may be attributed.

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HIRAM BELL.

Hiram Bell, the subject of this sketch, was the great-grandson, on his maternal side, of Thomas Buzby, who was born in England ; moved to Amer- ica, and settled in Rancocas, Burlington County, N. J. Married and raised a family of six children, viz .: Joseph, Thomas, Amos, Isaac, Daniel, and Mary.

Isaac married Miss Martha Lippincott, of the vicinity of Philadelphia, Pa. She died at an early age, leaving two children,-Nathaniel and Martha. He afterwards married Naomi Owen, daughter of Rolan and Prudence Owen, formerly Prudence Powell. She died leaving seven children, viz. : Rachel, Prudence, Mary, Isaac, Martha, Joseph, and Rebecca. He afterwards married Sarah Al- berson, by whom he had one child, Sarah.

His daughter Martha, by second wife, married Smith Bell, son of Thomas and Thamer (Smith) Bell, of Delaware. They moved to Columbiana County in 1805, and located in Elk Run township,

two and one-half miles southwest of East Fair- field, where they resided until their death. There were born to them twelve children, six of whom are still living, viz. : Sarah, Hiram, Smith, Mary, Robert, and Martha, all owning homes within seven miles of where they were born.

Hiram married Martha Freed, only daughter of George Freed, and granddaughter of Jacob Freed and Samuel Kemble, of Columbiana County, May 30, 1849. They have had born to them nine children, viz .: Sydney, Lewis, Naomi, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Mulford, Anna, Clifton, and Norman, seven of whom are still living, the two latter having died in infancy.

In 1877 Hiram Bell was elected commissioner of the county for a term of three years, which office he now holds. He has been successful in his business enterprises, and holds to a large degree the esteem and confidence of his neighbors and acquaintances.

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145

TOWNSHIP OF FAIRFIELD.

same limits as the first charter. No borough election was held until April 14, 1857, when forty-four votes were cast, and George Lamb elected mayor and Jonathan Esterly recorder.

From that time until the present the mayors and record- ers have been the following :

MAYORS.

1858, George Lamb; 1859, E. C. Cloud; 1860, William W. Orr; 1861, T. C. Allen ; 1862, George Lamb; 1863, Samuel Kyle; 1864, T. C. Allen; 1865, J. D. King; 1866, G. O. Frasier; 1867, J. T. Barclay; 1868-69, Thomas C. Allen ; 1870-71, George Duncan ; 1872-73, A. C. Yengling; 1874, Josiah Rohrbaugh; 1875, Frank P. Farrand; 1876-78, A. C. Bell, Jr.

RECORDERS.

1858-61, A. Sturgeon ; 1862, J. E. Voglesong; 1863-65, J. E. Allen ; 1866, J. T. Barclay ; 1867, John F. Sturgeon; 1868-69, W. H. Stewart; 1870-71, J. Rohrbaugh; 1872-75, C. D. Dickinson; 1876- 77, J. W. Detweiler ; 1878, T. S. Arnold.

The village officers in 1879 are as follows: Mayor, A. C. Bell, Jr .; Clerk, T. S. Arnold; Treasurer, Daniel Stouffer; Councilmen, John Harrold, Solomon Haas, Adin Greenamyer, Isadore Bishop, David Crawford, David Beard; Solicitor, F. A. Witt; Street Commissioner, George Ron- inger; Marshal, Rufus L. Ney.

Under this charter the streets have been reduced to an easy grade and curbed, to secure surface drainage. The principal streets are lighted with oil lamps. In 1860 the borough purchased the old Methodist church, which was used as a village-hall many years. At present there is a small council-house and lock-up near the centre of the village.

Fire- Apparatus .- The treasurer's report made in 1878 shows that the receipts of the corporation from all sources for the year previous were $4363.40, and the disbursements $2130.77. It was proposed that the remainder in the treasury be expended in purchasing a fire-engine and other necessary apparatus to protect the village against fire. As early as 1840 the village had an organization called the " Columbiana Fire Company," the apparatus consisting of hooks, ladders, and buckets. At later periods fire compa- nies were formed, which, not properly encouraged, soon dis- banded. An old hand-engine was made to do service for the village for a number of years, but since 1867 it has been unfit for use. The place has been comparatively free from fires, the only one of note being that which destroyed the Wallace machine-shops, in the summer of 1877.

Cemetery .- The corporation established a cemetery on the hill, in the eastern part of the village, in 1868. It contained originally five acres, but now has eight. The grounds have been improved and tastefully embellished. The present trustees of the cemetery are J. E. Icenhour, L. Stuckman, and William Flickinger.

Hotels .- As early as 1808, Michael Coxen had a public- house in the village, on the southwest corner of the square, which was afterwards kept by Caleb Roller. On the corner opposite, north, George Welch was a pioneer innkeeper, and opposite his hotel, east, was another, kept by Isaac Wil- liamson. John Sturgeon engaged as a tavern-keeper on the site of Stouffer's store, but subsequently took Roller's place, and for many years kept a house which was widely

and favorably known. In 1865, Jacob Greenamyer pur- chased the property, and in 1870 erected there his present " Park House."

Joseph Scott erected opposite the railroad station a large brick building for a hotel, which was used for that purpose but a short time. The Park House and the Patterson House (opened in 1878 on Main Street by J. P. Patterson) are the only hotels now in the village,-1879.

Bank .- The first bank in Columbiana was opened in the Jesse Allen building, January, 1871, by J. H. Hollis and William Kemble. They were succeeded, June 1, 1875, by Jonathan Esterly, Abraham Esterly, and Augustine Win- dle, under the firm-name of J. Esterly & Co., who have since conducted a general banking business at the same place, dealing in foreign and domestic exchange, and receiving deposits on which interest is paid.

Post-office .- The post-office, of which John Dizson was the first postmaster, was established about 1809. The mail was supplied from the East Fairfield office, on the stage-line from Pittsburgh to Western points. Jesse Allen was the next to hold the office, and was succeeded by Wm. Moody, John Young, Wm. Sturgeon, Anthony Hardman, Peter Dehoff, John Heiner, James H. Bell, and, since 1873, David Esterly. Since August, 1871, it has been a " postal money-order" office. There are four out and four in mails per day, and it is the separating office for route 21,494, to points in Mahoning County, daily, and for route 21,382, Columbiana to Youngstown, daily. The office distributes about 135 letters per day.

Manufactures at Columbiana .- In the early history of Columbiana a number of hatters plied their trade in the village. Among them were W. Underwood, Wm. Patter- son, Samuel Fitzpatrick, Elisha Leslie, Israel Beans, Wm. Stacy, George Probst, and Jacob Hum. Mr. Hum carried on the trade from 1831 till 1861.

About 1835, Sheets & Holms had a stove-foundry on the east side of Main Street, which was afterwards carried on by a man named Kingsley. The building used was sub- sequently converted into a blacksmith-shop.

No other factory of note was in the village until 1858, when the Strickler Brothers began the manufacture of a bor- ing-machine (invented by Reuben Strickler) and agricultural implements. In a few years the shops were enlarged to admit of the manufacture of large quantities of hay-rakes, grain- drills, and other farm-machinery. In 1865 the business was sold to W. W. Wallace, of Pittsburgh, who named the factory " Enterprise Agricultural Works." Mr. Wallace made a specialty of the manufacture of the self-discharging hay- rake " Welcome." In 1868, E. S. Holloway became the superintendent of the works, and the following year the shops were enlarged to four times their original size. A further change was made in 1870, when a large building was erected on the north side of the street and connected with the main factory by a passage-way. At this time 35 men were employed, and the motive power was furnished by two engines, one being of sixty-horse power. In 1873, Alexander Wallace became the superintendent of the works, which were successfully carried on in the manufacture of farm-machinery, stoves, and ranges, until their destruction by fire, Aug. 2, 1877. Thirteen buildings were burned,

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HISTORY OF COLUMBIANA COUNTY, OHIO.

almost totally destroying the property of the Enterprise Works, which have not been rebuilt.

East of this site, a large building was put up a few years ago for foundry purposes, but has never been occupied.

Valley Forge Machine-Shops .- These works are south of the railroad, and were built in 1877 by A. Harrold & Bros. for general repair-work. They were enlarged in 1879 by J. Harrold & Sons, the present proprietors, to give capacity for the manufacture of stationary engines. Eight men will be employed.

Eureka Flouring-Mills .- In the castern part of the vil- lage a flouring-mill was erected in 1853 by William A. Smith, and was long known as the " City Mills." The building is a two-story brick, supplied with three runs of stone, operated by an eighty-horse-power engine. The present proprietors are C. Theiss & Sons.

Carriage-Factories .- The manufacture of carriages and light wagons constitutes the present principal industry of Columbiana, and gives employment to more than one hun- dred men. The number of carriages manufactured varies yearly, but approximates one thousand.

One of the oldest shops was erected by a company in 1868, and is now the property of William B. Slutter. It is occupied by C. Trall and Benjamin Schoeneman.

David Havil & Son's factory dates its establishment from about 1869, although general work has been carried on since 1851.

S. Myer's factory was erected in 1871, and is at present occupied by several firms.

George Beard began carriage-making in 1868, and con- tinued until his death, in February, 1879. The business is now carried on by David Beard.

Keller & Harrold's factory dates from 1878, and consists of several buildings.

Among the other leading firms in the village may be named Zimmer & Doty, Henry Wisner, J. B. Mellinger, James Fetzer, L. J. Deemer, Simon Roninger, and John Sponsellor.

Other Industries .- A small pottery is carried on at the village by I. Keister & Son, the product being plain earthen- ware. North of the village a tannery was successfully car- ried on many years by J. J. Shauweher, but has been discontinued. East of the village, Christopher Hively formerly had a carding-machine and a saw-mill.

Works for the manufacture of plain furniture were erected in the fall of 1877 by William Flickinger and Solomon Culp. The building occupied is 30 by 45 feet in size, and two stories high. Steam is used as a motive power. The works give employment to six men.

A planing-mill and sash-and-blind factory was started in the fall of 1878 by Mellinger, Harrold & Groove, in which four men are employed.

F. Baird built a shop, also in 1878, for the manufacture of bent work for carriages and sleighs, and uses therein an engine of sixteen-horse power.

Miscellaneous .- West of the village of Columbiana, on the brook, in section 8, William Nichols put up a grist-mill about 1840, which in the course of time was converted into a woolen-factory. This was operated many years by J. Earley, and is continued by his family. At the same place

is a saw-mill operated by steam, which was first a water- power mill, and was erected by Stacy Nichols.

On the same brook, in section 7, John Beeson started the first grist-mill in the township about 1804. It stood above the present mill in that locality, and was a simple affair, the stones revolving no faster than the water-wheel. The present is the fourth mill on this power, and was erected in 1829 by Jacob Nold. For many years it was operated by the Nold family, but is at present the property of Switzer, Miller & Keagle.

South of the village, on section 16, a water-power saw- mill was operated many years by Benjamin Bushong, and a little north of the village Jacob Harrold had in operation a steam saw-mill from 1850 to 1870.

A little northeast of the village of East Fairfield the James family had a water-power saw-mill in early times, which was abandoned before 1850; and farther up the brook, on section 35, a steam saw-mill was built in the fall of 1856 by J. E. Allman, Joel Wickersham, David Wick- ersham, and Joel Ritchie, which became the property, in January, 1877, of W. L. English, and has since been oper- ated by him. It has an eighteen-horse-power engine, and is supplied with circular saws and saws for making lath.

On the headwaters of Elk Run, on section 32, George Freed at an early day started saw- and grist-mills, which in subsequent years were carried on by B. Dilworth, but have lately become the property of others.

Columbiana Union School .- In June, 1858, District No. 2 was organized, under the act of March 14, 1853, as a special district, with Jacob Greenamyer, David Woods, and Michael Henry as a board of education. In the fall of 1864 the schools were transferred to what is now known as the " east building," and placed under the principalship of Prof. George J. Luckey. The subsequent principals have been : 1866-68, J. P. Cameron; 1868-70, Mrs. C. A. Haas; 1871, I. J. Glover; 1872-73, F. A. Atterholt ; 1874-76, W. P. Cope ; 1877-78, J. P. Todd; 1878-79, W. J. McGinnis.

The principal is assisted by six teachers. The school is divided into primary, secondary, intermediate, grammar, and high-school departments. Each department is well graded, and candidates for promotion are passed only upon evidence of good scholarship. The number of scholars enrolled is 340, and the average attendance is about 300. The schools are maintained at a cost of about $3000 per year.

The east school-building was completed in 1864, and contains three study- and two recitation-rooms. It has spacious grounds, ornamented with fine trees and shrub- bery. The west building was erected in 1873, at a cost of $12,000. The lower story is divided into school-rooms, and the upper story forms a spacious hall for public meet- ings.

In 1870 the board of education was increased to six members, and was organized by electing Leonard Holloway president, J. B. Powell secretary, and Isaac Groff treasurer.

The board is at present composed of H. H. Crouse, President; Josiah Rohrbaugh, Secretary ; William Lamb, Treasurer; and Henry Smith, J. D. Jones, and J. W. Beeson.

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RESIDENCE OF HIRAM BELL, COLUMBIANA. COLUMBIANA C.º O.

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147

TOWNSHIP OF FAIRFIELD.

THE SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP.

No satisfactory account of the condition of the public schools is afforded by the records prior to 1853. For that year the children of school age were as follows :

District.

Males. Females.

No. 1

116

120

" 10.

Totals

438

469

There are twelve teachers employed, whose average monthly salary is, for males, $19.65 ; for females, $12.66.

The text-books used were McGuffey's Readers; Ray's Arithmetic ; Morse's, Mitchell's, and Pelton's Geographies ; and Clark's, Smith's, Green's, and Kirkham's Grammars. The township school library was composed of two hundred volumes, and the school-houses were rated at values rang- ing from $40 to $500.

Twenty-five years later, in 1878, the condition was as follows :

District.

Males. Females.

No. 1

2 (Columbiana)

176

179

10.

Totals

514

466

The districts were provided with houses rated at from $1900 to $12,000. The appropriation for tuition amounted to $3918.56, and for contingent expenses to $1638.74.

THE BAR.+

The following members of the bar of Columbiana County have resided and practiced in Columbiana village :

William W. Orr practiced in Columbiana for a few months during the year 1860. He is now living in Salineville, but is not in practice.

John D. King came to Columbiana from Warren, Trum- bull County, in 1862; remained until 1867, practicing in Columbiana and Mahoning Counties. In June, 1867, he moved to Kenton, Hardin County, where he still resides and holds considerable prominence in his profession.

George G. Duncan came to Columbiana in 1865; was admitted to the bar in 1866, and commenced practice early in 1867. He remained until 1874, when he moved to Monroeville, Huron Co., Ohio.

Charles D. Dickinson was admitted to the bar, Aug. 28, 1872, in New Lisbon, at a session of the District Court. He commenced practice March 20, 1873, in Columbiana, where he still follows his profession.

Frederick Augustus Witt is a native of Fairfield town- ship; was admitted to the bar, Aug. 31, 1874, at Akron,

Ohio, and commenced practice in Columbiana, where he now resides, April 1, 1875.

John G. Beatty was born in Charlestown, Mass., Sept. 9, 1826 ; emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1833, and to Ohio in 1873. He was admitted to the bar, Sept. 1, 1874, at Ak- ron, Ohio, and commenced practice in Columbiana a few days later.

Ephraim S. Holloway was born in Fairfield township, Columbiana County, July 27, 1833 ; was admitted to the bar, April 11, 1877, in Columbus, Ohio, and commenced practice in Columbiana, Nov. 1, 1877.

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.

FRIENDS' MIDDLETON MEETING.

The Friends, who were among the first settlers of the township, formed a religious society, which was the first in the township, and probably the first in the county, and was the second Monthly Meeting of the Friends in the State of Ohio.

In the summer of 1803 a delegation was appointed by the Red Stone Quarterly Meeting of Pennsylvania to visit the new settlement and organize what is now known as " The Middleton Monthly Meeting of the Society of Or- thodox Friends." One of the delegates who came on this mission was Jonas Cattell, at that time more than seventy years of age. Ten years later he again made the meeting a visit, to counsel its members and inspire them by his venerable presence.

The persons originally composing the meeting belonged to the Heald, James, Woods, Cope, Boulton, Allman, Cro- zer, Hawley, Oliphant, Shaw, Davis, Test, Moreland, Schooley, Beeson, and other families in Fairfield and the surrounding township. Probably in the same year, or soon after, a log meeting-house was built near the centre of sec- tion 26, which was used as a place of worship until 1810, when a brick house was built at the village of Middleton. The latter was demolished by a storm in 1858. The present house-a small frame-was then erected, a little south of the site of the brick church.

The Friends have had as regular ministers of this meeting John Heald, Nathan Heald, Isaac James, James Armstrong, and others. [For a number of years Abi Heald, the wife of James Heald, of Middleton township, has been a public minister.] William Heald and John Allman were the first elders. The latter died on the 16th day of the 9th month, in 1811, at the age of fifty-one years, and was one of the first interred in the Friends' grave-yard, on section 26. Joseph Cope, John Lipsey, James Boulton, William Black- burn, and Samuel Shaw have served as elders. Mr. Shaw now fills that position (1879). Mifflin Cadwallader is the clerk of the meeting.

The Particular Meetings of the Friends are now attended by about 40 persons ; but the attendance on the Monthly Meetings, in which Friends from Mount Carmel join, is much greater.

A school for instruction in the common branches of a secular education has been maintained by the Friends at Middleton since the formation of the society. A plain school-building has been provided, in which as many as 60

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History of Columbiana County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 38

Author: D. W. Ensign & Co. Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages: 541

Author: D. W. Ensign & Co.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 541