History of Portage County, Ohio, Part 78

Author: Warner, Beer & co., pub. [from old catalog]; Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Norris, J. E. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago, Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 958

USA > Ohio > Portage County > History of Portage County, Ohio > Part 78

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MARIUS HEIGHTON, farmer, P. O. Kent, was born in Edinburg Town- ship, this county, June 14, 1849, and is a son of Joseph and Olive C. (Case) Heighton (see sketch of Joseph Heighton). Our subject was reared on the farm and as an occupation has always followed agricultural pursuits. He came to Franklin Township, this county, with his parents in 1863 and has since resided here. He was united in marriage January 1, 1879, with Ida, daughter of John H. and Rebecca (Bergin) Hubbard, of Kent, this county, by whom he has one child-Marius Hubert. In politics Mr. Heighton is a Republican.

IRA L. HERRIFF, furniture dealer, Kent, was born in Rootstown, November 19, 1846, son of Samuel and Lydia (Hartlerhode) Herriff. His paternal grandfather was John Herriff, a native of Pennsylvania and among the early settlers of Rootstown. His maternal grandmother was Elizabeth Hartlerhode, who with seven children-Lawrence, John, Samuel, Christian, Kate, Mary and Ludia-settled in Rootstown in an early day. She afterward married Samuel Hartle, of Rootstown. Samuel Herriff, the father of our sub- ject, is a farmer and resident of Rootstown. His children were six in num- ber: Ira L., Ezra, Everett, Cecelia (deceased), Emma (deceased) and John (deceased). The subject of this sketch was reared on his father's farm and educated in the common schools, When twenty-one years of age he located in Kent and embarked in the manufacture of brick, in which he was engaged

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for seven years. In 1881 he entered the furniture business with L. C. Reed, which partnership is existing at present. He was married December 1, 1869, to Belle E., daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Ward) Caris, of Roots- town, by whom he has one child-Amy I. Mr. Herriff enlisted in 1865 in Company H, One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He is an active member of the I. O. O. F. and G. A. R. In politics he is a Democrat.

GEORGE HILDERHOF, retail liquor dealer, Kent, was born in Baden, Germany, April 23, 1839, son of George and Mary (Hardle) Hilderhof, who came to America in 1854 and located in Randolph Township, this county, where they lived until 1860, then removed to Ravenna. George Hilderhof, Sr., was a gardener, an occupation he followed until his death. They had seven children: Margaret, deceased; Lena; Henry (first), deceased; George; Henry (second); Susan, and Katy, deceased. Our subject when fifteen years of age learned the tanner's trade, which he followed up to 1874, when he embarked in the liquor business in Ravenna, and in 1879 located in Kent, where he has been similarly engaged up to the present time. He was married June 3, 1862, to Mary Dawson, of Ravenna, by whom he has eight children: George, Henry, Nelly, Walter, Mary, Alexander B., Augusta and Minnie. Mr. Hilderhof is a member of the German Reformed Church; is a member of the I. O. O. F. In politics he is a stanch Democrat.

ALONZO JOHNSON, farmer and butcher, Kent, was born in Shalersville Township, this county, May 25, 1835, son of Ebenezer and Annis (Stoddard) Johnson, natives of Vermont and New Hampshire respectively, the latter born April 8, 1811. His paternal grandfather, Sylvester Johnson, was a farmer of Rut- land, Vt., and his maternal grandfather, Stoddard, a native of New Hampshire, settled in Freedom Township in 1834, afterward removed to Iowa and died there. The parents of our subject settled in Stowe Township in 1834, and in 1835 located in Shalersville Township, this county, where they purchased an eighty . acre tract of heavily timbered land which they cleared and improved, and where they lived until the death of the father in 1850, in his forty-second year. They had seven children: Alonzo, Lucinda (deceased), Emeline (Mrs. Will- ard Seward), Sylvester, Leander, Silas (died in the army during the late war) and Eben. The mother next married Rufus Newton, of Franklin Township, this county, in 1857. He died in 1862 and she moved to Daviess County, Mo., in 1869, and subsequently married William Hughes, who died in 1879, and his widow returned to Ohio in 1880, and is now residing in Kent. Our subject was reared in Shalersville Township, this county, and was educated in the common schools. He resided in Shalersville Township until 1863, when he removed to Kent, Ohio, and embarked in the grocery business, in which he was engaged two years. Hethen built the hotel known as the " Collins House," which he conducted for three years, and during that time opened a meat market, which he carried on from 1866 to March 30, 1885, when he retired from that business. He is also engaged in farming, now owning three farms in Franklin Township, this county, in company with his two eldest sons, liv- ing on the farm formerly occupied by Warren Burt. Mr. Johnson was mar- ried in November, 1855, to Mary J .; daughter of William and Lavina Cook, of Franklin Township, this county, by whom he had twelve children, nine now living: Willard, Perry, Emma (Mrs. Henry Barker), Albert, Ora, Nella, Clayton, Cora and Selah. Mr. Johnson is a representative citizen of the township. In politics he is a Democrat.

HARLEY JUDSON, farmer, P. O. Kent, was born in Mantua Township, this county, February 28, 1815; son of Samuel and Lucy (Moss) Judson. His

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father, with two brothers, Gersham and Enoch, came to Mantua from Hart- ford, Conn., about 1800, and here cleared and improved a farm. In a few years Gersham and Enoch sold out and went West, while Samuel remained. The latter was twice married, his first wife being a Miss Atwater, sister of Judge Atwater, early settlers of Mantua Township, by whom he had five chil- dren: Alma (Mrs. Enos Ford), Alvin (deceased), Elly (deceased), Elijah (deceased) and Cyrus (deceased). His second wife was Lucy Moss, of Hart- ford, Conn., by whom he had four children: Harley, Sally (Mrs. T. Vaugbn), Lucy (Mrs. James McElroy) and Mary (deceased). Samuel Judson resided in Mantua Township until 1821, then removed to Hiram Township, where he lived until his death. The subject of this sketch was reared in Mantua and Hiram Townships, his education being received in the district schools. After he became of age he worked on a farm by the month for two years, then on his father's farm for seven years, after which he purchased a farm of sixty acres, which he kept only one year. In 1848 he purchased the farm in Frank- lin Township where he now resides. Mr. Judson's first wife was Chloe, daughter of Horace Loomis, of Charlestown Township, by whom he had three children: Julia (Mrs. Darwin Furry), Hannah (Mrs. Byron Ferry) and Henry D. His present wife is Almira, daughter of Noah and Hannah (Shaw) Lemoin, of Stowe, Summit Co., Ohio, by whom he has two children: Samuel E. and Barton H. Mr. Judson is a representative farmer of Franklin Town- ship. In politics he is a Democrat.

ZENAS KENT was born in Middletown, Conn., July 12, 1786. He came of good old Puritan stock, a nobility of descent which rests its claim upon a robust manhood and hardy virtue. His father was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and carried a musket in the war for American independence.

When Zenas Kent was a boy, even New England had made but a begin- ning in the development of the common school system, and though he made the best of his opportunities-exhausting the facilities of the country school of that time and place-his early advantages were very limited, as compared to the common-school privileges enjoyed by the youth of to-day. Mr. Kent has left at least one monument of the methodical perseverance with which he addressed himself to every task. A copy of Adam's Arithmetic, published in 1802, which Mr. Kent used at school, is now in possession of his son Marvin. It is a well-thumbed book, now yellow with age, and a plodding student has left his impress on every page; indeed, he has left considerable additions to the original text. The publisher had had the forethought to bind numerous blank pages with his letter press, to stand the pupil instead of the slate, and to remain a record of his industry. On these leaves young Kent carefully worked out and proved every example in the book. Here was a combination of excellent traits-application, method, thoroughness-in which the boy well foreshadowed the man. He entered his work on the leaves of the book of his life, and he left not a blank page in it all. In selecting a pursuit in life Zenas Kent chose the trade of his father and to make himself master of it.

By the time he reached his twenty- fifth year young Zenas Kent was united in marriage with Pamelia Lewis, a native of Farmington, Conn., a young woman of most excellent traits, and withal a fitting helpmeet for him. Her father, like the elder Kent, was a veteran of 1776, and a carpenter and joiner by vocation. The two young people joined their honest hands and humble for- tunes for the battle with the world. In 1812 Zenas accompanied his father's family to the far West. The family located in Mantua, Ohio, where the elder Kent died at an advanced age. Zenas had left his young wife in Connecticut while he went prospecting in the Western wilds, and as soon as he had chosen

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a place for his home he returned for his wife. Together they set out for the tedious journey to the West, and arriving in Ohio, settled in Hudson. then a township of Portage County. This was a fortunate selection for Mr. Kent. Here he met Capt. Heman Oviatt, to whose friendship it was his pleasure to acknowledge himself indebted for many kind offices. Here he built a tannery for Owen Brown, father of John Brown, of Ossawatomie fame. Mr. Kent taught school in the winter while he remained in Hudson. His friend, Capt. Oviatt, impressed by Mr. Kent's upright walk and industrious habits, was dis- posed to do him a good turn, and help him to start fairly in the world. Con- ferences led to conclusions, and in the summer of 1815 the firm of Oviatt & Kent was formed, to conduct a typical pioneer store, in Ravenna. Thither Mr. Kent went to erect a building before the firm would begin business. The site chosen was that upon which the Second National Bank now stands. With his saw and plane and hammer Mr. Kent helped to put up the wooden build- ing which was to serve for store and dwelling. This building was subsequently moved to the south side of Main Street, in Little's Block. After the firm of Oviatt & Kent had been in successful operation for several years Mr. Kent was able to refund the money advanced by Mr. Oviatt, and the firm dissolved, leav- ing the junior partner in sole control of the business.

In 1826, while managing his growing business, Mr. Kent entered into a contract to erect the court house, which still stands in Ravenna, one of the most substantial buildings of its kind in the State. In its early days it was looked upon as a wonder in architectural art. From 1831 to 1850 Mr. Kent was senior partner in the firm of Kent & Brewster, which did a profitable trade in Hudson. In the meantime Mr. Kent was accumulating a store of the world's goods, and making investments where there was fair prospect of good returns. In 1832 he joined David Ladd in the purchase of a tract of land, embracing between 500 and 600 acres, in the township of Franklin, now the village of Kent. This tract embraced the water power of the Cuyahoga River at that place. The connection of Mr. Ladd with this property was short, Mr. Kent soon becoming sole proprietor. In the year of the purchase he erected Kent's Flouring Mill, the product of which has been held in high repute for more than the third of a century. The mill produced the first flour shipped from northern Ohio to Cleveland, going by way of the Ohio Canal.

Having dissolved business connections with Mr. Ladd, Mr. Kent made arrangements with John Brown to carry on the tanning business in an estab- lishment already under way. In 1836 he sold his large tract to the Franklin Land Company, which afterward became the Franklin Silk Company. In 1849 the Franklin Bank, of Portage County, was established, and Mr. Kent was chosen its President. This important post he held until 1864, when the Franklin Bank gave place to the Kent National Bank, of which he was also made President, holding the position at the time of his death.

In 1850 he began the erection of a cotton factory and a private residence in Franklin, where his interests had centered. Thither he removed, on the completion of his dwelling-house, in 1851. In the spring of 1853 he was elected Treasurer of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Company, filling the position efficiently for one year. In April, 1860, he moved into an elegant mansion which he had built on Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. While on a visit to Kent on the 21st of October, 1864, death took from him the partner of his early toils and of his years of ease. Thus bereft. he longed for quiet and repose, and in the following month he returned to Franklin (the name of which had been changed to Kent) to pass the remainder of his days.

Mr. Kent's business career was that of an industrious plodder, who gained

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success by deserving it. He was possessed of a great fund of solid common sense, to which it had pleased God to add an indomitable will, native business tact, energy that never flagged, and, above all, an unyielding integrity, which gained him the confidence of all with whom he had relations. He was a cau- tious, methodical business man, not given to speculation, watchful of little things, and thrifty. An instance will show how dearly he held his integrity and the good opinion of his fellows. While President of the banking depart- ment of the Franklin Silk Company he required to be placed in his hands the means to redeem the company's issues, remarking that he would put his name upon no paper without the power to protect it from dishonor. The arrange- ment was effected. Notwithstanding the disastrous termination of the silk company, thanks to Mr. Kent's honor and forethought, its paper was all redeemed at face value.

His life-record was made up of deeds that reflect luster on his memory, and mark him as one of the pioneer noblemen of the West. In personal appearance Zenas Kent was tall of stature, erect and graceful of carriage, dig- nified of mien. Little given to society, he was, nevertheless, affable and agreeable in all of his relations. Though fair and equitable dealing made him popular as a tradesman, his retiring nature forbade many intimate friend- ships. While malice did not enter into his heart, the very firmness of his character made him quick to resent an abuse of his confidence. Beneath a dignified exterior, bordering at times upon austerity, he wore a warm and sym- pathetic heart. He held a kind act in tender remembrance, and the few friendships he formed remained unbroken to the end of his days. His tastes were simple and his habits the most correct. He never used tobacco or stimu- lants of any kind, and for thirty years did not have an hour's sickness.

Mr. Kent was blessed with a family of thirteen children, nine of whom survive him. These he lived to see arrive at maturity, all occupying positions of prominence and influence in their respective homes. The surviving chil- dren are Mrs. Harriet Clapp, of New York City; Henry A., Edward and George L., of Brooklyn, N. Y .; Marvin, Charles H. and Mrs. Amelia L. Shively, of Kent, Ohio; Mrs. Frances E. Wells, of Brownsville, Penn., and Mrs. Emily K., wife of R. B. Dennis, Esq., of Cleveland, Ohio. Of the four children deceased, Mrs. Eliza A. Poag died in Brooklyn July 4, 1864; three --- Louisa, Amelia and an unnamed infant-lie in Ravenna Cemetery. Zenas Kent died suddenly, at his residence in Kent, October 4, 1865, in the eightieth year of his age. His remains were interred in Woodland Cemetery, Cleveland's beautiful city of the dead. In a lovely spot, removed from the hurly-burly of a busy world, under the shade of the cypress and willow, by the side of the wife of his bosom, sleeps all that is left to earth of a man who fought the battle of life bravely, and left a good name-the best of all heir- looms.

MARVIN KENT, projector and ex-President of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad (now New York, Pennsylvania, & Ohio Railroad), was born at Ravenna, Portage Co., Ohio, September 21, 1816. His father, Zenas Kent, was a joiner and carpenter by trade, who, when a young man, made the acquaintance of Capt. Heman Oviatt. He discovered in Mr. Kent business qualifications of a very high order, and in 1815 he induced him to engage in mercantile business at Ravenna. The executive and financial ability which Mr. Kent displayed, coupled with enterprise and methodical management of his affairs, soon placed him in the front rank among the reputable and success- ful business men of northern Ohio.

It was in his father's store that young Marvin Kent received his first and

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most valuable instruction in correct business methods and habits. Up to the age of nineteen his time was divided between his father's store and the schoolroom wherein he combined, in the acquirement of a knowledge of books, a practical knowledge of business and dealings with men. He received such education as was afforded at Tallmadge Academy, under the instruction of E. T. Sturtevant, A. M., Principal, and Claridon Academy, under the instruction of Rev. Sherman B. Can- field. In his nineteenth year his father entrusted him with the purchase of his spring stock of goods, and for this purpose he visited Philadelphia and New York, with special instructions to buy on his own judgment, and to disregard the advice tendered by others, relative to the investments had in contemplation. His father was pleased with his purchases and the business sagacity displayed by his son. The year following his becoming of age, Marvin became associ- ated with his father in mercantile business, at Franklin Mills, Ohio (now Kent), but he soon relinquished this, by reason of the precarious condition of his health, and assumed the management of a tannery, in a building erected by his father and Capt. John Brown (of Harper's Ferry notoriety). While thus engaged he was married to Maria, daughter of the late Col. William Stewart. He conducted the tannery for some time, with success, and in 1844 returned to mercantile pursuits, becoming, at the same time, largely interested in the manu- facture of flour. In the latter business he continued without interruption, for about twenty years.

In 1850 in company with others he engaged in the manufacture of window- glass, at Franklin Mills, and erected and placed in successful operation extensive works. It was during the same year that he entered upon the most imporant enterprise of his life, and which secured to him a business reputation coextensive with the inauguration and completion of a great public transpor- tation route between the East and the West. He devised, planned and pro- jected, in 1850, the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, designed to connect the Erie with the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, thus forming a grand trunk line, with uniform gauge throughout, from New York to St. Louis. In 1851 the necessary legislation was procured, but in order to secure the charter he was obliged to subscribe for the full amount of stock required by law for the organization of the company, as well as to indemnify some of the first Board of Directors for the payment of one share subscribed by each torender them eligible for election, which fact furnishes a significant illustration of the want of faith in the success of an undertaking of that magnitude at that time. The organization of the new company was completed, and Mr. Kent made its first President. The position he filled with a success characteristic of his great business tact, energy, and ability, until the final completion of the road in 1864, save an interval of three years. On the 21st of June, of that year, he had the proud satisfaction of looking back over many years of unremitting labor and anxiety at last crowned with success, and also of driving home the last spike in the last rail. In his maiden speech on that occasion, he referred to the fact that on the fourth day of July, A. D. 1853, he broke ground for the new road, by removing the first shovelful of earth with his own hands. There were none then to withhold from Mr. Kent a most generous compliment for the completion of this road, which, uniting the Erie and Ohio & Mississippi Railways, formed a grand continental line from New York to St. Louis. The construc- tion of this road encountered, perhaps, more obstacles and greater opposition than any other in the country. Yet Mr. Kent showed himself equal to any and every emergency, and with heroic faith and one purpose, he made success possible and victory a verity. The Portage County Democrat, of June 3, 1863, contained this truthful tribute:

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"The location of the shops at Franklin Mills is doubtless due to the position and influence of Marvin Kent, Esq., the President of the road, who resides at that point. If any man ought to be gratified and benefitted by the location of the shops it is President Kent. He was not only the early friend of the road, but if we are correctly informed, he originated the idea of its construction. In carrying forward this great improvement to its completion, he has toiled and struggled for over twelve years amid doubt and discouragement, amid jeers and sneers and obloquy. While others hesitated, he stood fast; when the faint-hearted turned aside, he persevered with unfaltering nerve and courage; when timid friends forsook, he succeeded in raising up other friends, and in attracting capital to this great work; and thus, with a patience, a courage, an assiduity, and unswerving fidelity to a single aim that reaches the point of real heroism, has he held on his way through twelve laborious years of fluctuations, vicissitudes, and uncertainties, neglecting or abandoning his private business, pledging or imperiling, or at least casting into the hazard of success, his large private for- tune, for the benefit of his cherished enterprise. And yet he has labored all this time without general appreciation, the select few more intimately associated in official relations with him only knowing and appreciating his trials and his toils. But it is time the man to whom more than to any other the country is indebted for its great and leading road should be understood and appreciated, for every man and every community benefited by the construction of this road, owes to Marvin Kent a debt of gratitude. He is to be congratulated on the success which the intelligence, the ability, and the fixed and resolute purpose which he has brought to bear on the enterprise, have accomplished. Who, under these circumstances, can grudge to Mr. Kent the location of the exten- sive machine-shops in the place of his residence? Who more than he, and what community than the one favored by his residence among them can be more entitled to the benefit ?"

Upon the successful completion of this road, Mr. Kent substantially retired from active business, to the enjoyment of private life. Upon the death of his father in 1865, he became his successor as President of the Kent National Bank, which position he has held ever since. In October, 1875, he was elected State Senator from the Twenty-sixth District of Ohio, and he served his con- stituents with credit and ability. Mr. Kent is a gentleman of varied experience and of varied business qualifications-equally capable as an engineer or as financial manager to conduct a great public work. He has remarkable tenacity of purpose, and once resolved as to the value of an enterprise, no ordinary obstacle can prevent him from carrying it out. He is a man of liberal views and generous impulses, and has in a great variety of ways aided in advancing the material welfare of those among whom he lives. He has been a generous promoter of every business enterprise in the city of Kent, which bears his name. There are enduring monuments of his public spirit on every hand in the community in which he lives, such as public and private edifices, business blocks, mills and factories, and about them all there is an evidence of per- manency and durability, of exactness in details, and adaptability to the uses designed.

As an evidence that Mr. Kent has been disposed to serve himself last, he has just completed one of the most elegant and palatial private residences in northern Ohio. Within and without there are evidences of a cultured taste in art and adornment, but never at the expense of utility and the every-day uses of domestic life. Mr. Kent has in every respect been a successful man, and prominent among the secrets of that success are untiring energy, methodical methods of work, and strict integrity.

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CHARLES H. KENT, merchant, Kent, was born in Ravenna, this county, August 12, 1818, son of Zenas and Pamelia (Lewis) Kent. He was reared in Ravenna until eighteen years of age, when he received a common school edu- cation, after which he attended the Canandaigua Academy, at Canandaigua, N. Y., for two years. In 1839 he embarked in mercantile business at Franklin Mills (now Kent), with Clapp & Spellman, under firm name of Clapp, Spell- man & Kent. In 1841 the firm divided up their stock, and our subject suc- ceeded to the business. In 1845 Mr. Kent and his brother Marvin were asso- ciated in business in Franklin, at the same time they purchased the goods of their father, Zenas Kent, at Ravenna, and continued the business there. In 1850 Mr. Kent, in connection with two others, built a factory for the manu- facture of window glass, with which he was identified for several years. Pre- vious to 1860 he was connected in business with Kent, Wells & Co., and Kent, Grinnell & Co. In 1860 he embarked in dry goods business, in which he has been engaged to the present time. Mr. Kent was married, January 14, 1841, to Mary E., daughter of Rev. Stephen W. Burrett, of Franklin, by whom he has one child-Charles B. Mr. Kent is the oldest established merchant in Kent, and one of its representative business men. In politics he is a Repub- lican. He has served as Mayor of Kent for four years.

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History of Portage County, Ohio, Part 78

Author: Warner, Beer & co., pub. [from old catalog]; Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Norris, J. E. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Chicago, Warner, Beers & co. Number of Pages: 958

Author: Warner, Beer & co., pub. [from old catalog]; Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Norris, J. E. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago, Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 958