USA > Ohio > Portage County > History of Portage County, Ohio > Part 79
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112
WILLIAM A. LEE, proprietor of restaurant, and dealer in wines, liquors, etc., Kent, was born in Ithaca, N. Y., March 29, 1829; a son of Daniel and Mary (Davenport) Lee, who settled in Peru, Huron Co., Ohio, in 1834; former a wagon maker by trade, at which he worked in Peru until his death. Our subject was reared in Huron County from five years of age. He was married, April 6, 1855, to Martha, daughter of William Moore, of Plymouth, Richland Co., Ohio, by whom he has four children: Ida, wife of Henry Struckrad; Flora, wife of J. Otis Smith; Hattie, and Bertie, wife of F. M. Townsend. Mr. Lee learned the machinist's trade in New Haven, where he remained until 1861, and was then employed in the railroad shops at Norwalk until 1865. He then came to Kent, this county, and worked in the railroad shops for two years, when he opened a billiard room, which he conducted for one year, after which he moved to Warren, and engaged in the same business for four years. He subsequently returned to Kent and embarked in the restaurant and saloon business, which he has continued in to the present time. On November 1, 1884, he supplied a long-felt want by opening a first-class restaurant in the Carver Block, which is conducted in the metropolitan style. He is a pushing, ener- getic man, and his experience in the business, taken in connection with his natural fitness for this pursuit, will no doubt prove his new venture a success. In politics he is a Democrat.
BYRON A. LONGCOY, farmer, P. O. Kent, was born in Franklin Town- ship, this county, June 5, 1854, son of David and Abby (Woodard) Longcoy. His father, a native of New York, born May 30, 1808, son of Anthony and Ann (Thompson) Longcoy, settled in Franklin Township, this county, in 1830, and worked in David L. Ladd's linseed oil-mills for several years. He after- ward manufactured brick, and furnished this material for the construction of the Earl Block, and a large portion of those used in what is now known as the Carver Block. He was married, May 4, 1834, to Abby, daughter of Joshua and Rebecca (Woodin) Woodard, early settlers of Ravenna Township, this county, and later of Kent, by whom he had nine children: Anna (deceased), Victoria (deceased), Nettie (wife of Samuel Putnam), Maretta, Francis and Frank (twins), Miraett, Ralph (deceased) and Byron A. In 1853 David Long- coy located on the farm now occupied by our subject, where he resided until his death, August 5, 1873. During the last eight years of his life he was
C. H. Ray
693
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
engaged in butchering and had a market in Kent. Our subject was married, April 15, 1875, to Dolly A., daughter of Dr. J. S. and Delia (Rockwell) Sweeny, of Kent, this county, by whom he has two children: Bertha and David. Mr. Longcoy is a member of the Congregational Church, Mrs. Long- coy of the Episcopal denomination. In politics he is a Prohibitionist.
CORNELIUS C. MEACHAM, farmer, P. O. Kent, was born in Litchfield, Litchfield Co., Conn., January 29, 1814, son of Seth and Sally (Weston) Meacham, who settled in Tallmadge (now Summit County) in 1816, where they lived for many years. Mrs. Seth Meacham died in 1872 in her eightieth year, and in the spring of 1874 Seth Meacham removed to Franklin Township, this county, where he died in 1876, at the age of eighty-four. They had ten chil- dren: Fanny (deceased), Cornelius C., Esther (deceased), Cordelia (deceased), Esther second (Mrs. James McCormick), Samuel, Flora (deceased), Sally (deceased), Lois (deceased) and Seth. Our subject was reared in Tallmadge, where he lived until twenty-five years of age. He was married, February 1, 1839, to Rebecca D., daughter of James McCormick, of Armstrong County, Penn., by whom he had two children: Clara and Sarah, both deceased. In 1841 Mr. Meacham settled in Brimfield Township, this county, where he lived seven years, then removed to Suffield Township, and resided there seven years. In 1855 he located in Franklin Township, and for the past fifteen years has been a resident of Kent. In politics Mr. Meacham is a Republican.
HIRAM MERRELL, retired, Kent, was born in what is now Wyoming County, N. Y., May 29, 1818, son of Noah and Clara (Pearsons) Merrell, who settled in Franklin Township, this county, in 1837, renting a house of Joseph Stratton, on which they lived two years, then buying a farm of ten acres in the north part of the township, where they lived and died. Noah Merrell was a native of Connecticut, his wife of Holland. They reared a family of ten children: Althea (deceased), Norman, Oral (deceased), Hiram, Louisa (Mrs. Darius Davis), Freedom, Roxy, Noah, Cass and Jane (deceased). The subject of this sketch when twenty years of age worked on a farm by the month one summer, and the following year he engaged in the manufacture of brooms, which business he followed for eight years, acquiring a farm of eighty acres, now owned by A. O. Haymaker, a part of which he cleared and improved, and
where he resided ten years. In 1853 he purchased a large farm in Rootstown Township, where he resided one year, when he returned to Franklin, and since then he has owned several farms, having speculated considerably in farm prop- erty, and has accumulated a competency. Mr. Merrell was married, February 24, 1842, to Sarah, daughter of Frederick Williard, an early settler of Franklin Township, this county, by whom he has had seven children, four of whom are now living: Angeline (Mrs. Byron Fessenden), Wallace, Earl and Frederick. Our subject moved to Kent in 1868, where he has since resided, one of its rep- resentative citizens. In politics he is a Republican.
N. J. A. MINICH, editor and proprietor of Kent Saturday Bulletin, was born in Columbia, Lancaster Co., Penn., October 2, 1849; son of Henry G. and Ann C. (Albright) Minich. His father was a stock-dealer and son of Jacob Minich, a distiller of Landisville, Penn., of German descent. His maternal grandfather was Anthony Albright, a native of Philadelphia, and the publisher of the Lancasterian at Lancaster, Penn., son of John Albright, who published the first paper in the city of Lancaster. Our subject was reared in Columbia up to twenty-three years of age, and is a graduate of the Columbia Classical Institute. In 1868 he entered the office of the Columbia Spy. where he served an apprenticeship of three years at the case. In 1872 he went to Akron, Ohio, and worked in the job department of the Akron Daily Beacon as
36
.
694
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:
a journeyman, and was for some time connected with the editorial department of the same paper. In 1874 he with others organized the Argus Printing Company, of which he was President, and founded the Akron Daily Argus, with which he was connected up to May, 1876, when he removed to Kent and purchased the Kent Bulletin, which at the time of his purchase had sus- pended publication for five weeks. At that time it was a six-column folio, but has since been enlarged to a six-column quarto. By the management of Mr. Minich it has been made a grand success, and with one exception has the largest circulation in this county. Since locating in Kent, Mr. Minich has been identified with nearly every enterprise of a public nature that tended toward the improvement of the city, many of which originated in the columns of the Bulletin. He was married August 3, 1875, to Lottie E., daughter of Henry and Emily (Hodges) McMasters, of Akron, Ohio, by whom he has one child-Henry S. In politics Mr. Minich is a Republican. His paper is inde- pendent in all things.
VALORUS NEEDHAM, retired farmer, Kent, was born in what is now Wales, Hampden Co., Mass., March 29, 1806; son of Alvin and Abigail (Wal- bridge) Needham, who were the parents of five children: Alfred, Erasmus (deceased), Valorus, Minerva (deceased) and Rebecca (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Needham settled in Brimfield Township, this county, in 1837; located on the farm, a part of which they improved, now owned and occupied by I. G. Wise, and there lived and died. Our subject settled in Brimfield in the fall of 1837. He was a carpenter by trade, at which he worked up to 1844, when he settled on the farm (now occupied by his son-in-law, S. B. Cuthbert, ) which he improved and lived on until 1865, when he moved to Kent, where he still resides. He has been twice married; on first occasion, in 1843, to Mary L., daughter of Henry and Chloe (Chapman) Smith, of Chenango County. N. Y. The issue of this union was six children: Henry (deceased), Hamar (deceased), Minerva (wife of S. B. Cuthbert), Ellen (deceased), Ann (wife of L. M. Tracy) and Chloe (deceased). October 19, 1862, Mr. Needham married Mrs. Lucia M. Earle, daughter of Abel and Prudence (Lyon) Burt, who came from Brimfield, Mass, to Brimfield, this county, in March, 1823. Mr. Needham is a representative citizen of Kent. In politics he is a Republican.
HARVEY C. NEWBERRY (deceased) was born in Rootstown Township, this county, January 21, 1812; son of Chauncey and Fanny (Coe) Newberry. His father was a native of East Windsor, Conn., and his mother of Granville, Mass. They settled in Rootstown Township, this county, about 1810, where they lived until 1823, when they removed to Franklin Township and there died. They had nine children: Harvey C. (deceased), Cynthia (deceased), Frederick (deceased), Oliver H., Stoddard (deceased), Lura, Mary, Oscar (died in the late war of the Rebellion) and George (deceased). The subject of this sketch was reared in Rootstown Township, this county, until ten years of age, when his parents removed to Franklin Township, and here he afterward resided. He was first married November 24, 1838, to Sarah Slaughter, of Franklin Township, this county, and had two children: William and Thomas. April 10, 1846, Mr. Newberry married Flora Raver, also of Frank- lin Township, a native of Germany, and by her he had four children: Fanny (deceased), Jane (Mrs. A. D. Clark), Byron C. and Frederick. Our subject died very suddenly while in conversation with some friends, in Kent, Ohio, March 19, 1885. He was elected to the office of County Treasurer in 1859, serving one terin, and was, previous to his death, Treasurer of the corporation of Kent. In politics he was independent.
FREDERICK NIGHMAN, farmer, P. O. Kent, was born in York County, Penn., September 5, 1809; son of Adam and Betsey Nighman, who settled in
.
695
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
Franklin Township, this county, about 1806, locating on the farm now owned by Mr. Kindice, which they cleared and improved. They had twelve children: George (deceased), Clarissa (deceased), Catherine (deceased). John (deceased), Margaret (deceased), Henry, Polly (deceased), William (deceased), Emily, Frederick, Eliza and David (deceased). Our subject remained with his par- ents until twenty-one years of age, and then bought a farm of fifty acres in Streetsboro, this county, where he lived four years. He then bought a farm of 100 acres in the same township, which he lived on till .1863, then removed to the north part of Franklin Township, in 1878 locating on the farm where he now resides. He has been twice married. By his first wife, Parmelia Van, of Franklin Township, he had seven children: Perry, George (deceased), Orrin, Alvin (deceased), Almond, Electa (Mrs. Jesse Nelson) and Laura. Alvin died in the service of his country during the late war of the Rebellion. Mr. Nighman's present wife (nee Sally Stewart) was born in Stowe Township, Portage (now Summit) Co., Ohio. Mr. Nighman has been a resident of this county seventy-eight years, and is one of its representative citizens. In pol- itics he is a Democrat, always having voted the Democratic ticket.
McKENDREE D. NORTON, farmer, P. O. Earlville, was born in Wads- worth, Medina Co., Ohio, November 6, 1836; son of Joseph and Jeannette (Graham) Norton, who were the parents of six children, of whom four are now living: McK. D .; Charles S .; Angeline, wife of A. J. Powell, and Maxwell G. Joseph Norton, a native of Milford, Conn., came to this county in 1834, and located in Brimfield Township, where he worked at shoe-making for several years. He afterward went to Edinburg and from there to Frank- lin, where he now resides. The subject of this sketch was in the late war of the Rebellion, enlisting in the Ninth Ohio Independent Battery. He served as a private, Corporal and Sergeant, and participated in all the engage- ments of the battery. January 19, 1862, they had their first engagement, at Fishing Creek, Ky., and March 22, 1862, they were under fire seven hours, and threw 200 shells; August, 1862, they were shut in the Cumberland Gap by the enemy for one month, without communication and short of rations. The battery participated in many engagements, in which they were always victorious. Since the war Mr. Norton has been engaged in farming and has resided on his present farm since 1874. He was married, August 20, 1868, te Rachel D., daughter of James D. and Mary R. (Olin) Haymaker, of Franklin, by whom he had one child-Nettie (deceased). Mrs. Norton is a member of the Universalist Church. Mr. Norton is a Democrat in politics; a member of the G. A. R.
PARMELEE FAMILY. The annals of this family heretofore published trace their lineage back to the year 1447, to an ancient and noble Belgian fam- ily. This noble house flourished for several centuries in a parish of the same name located three leagues south of the city of Liege when Belgium was under the dominion of Spain. They were reformers in religious matters and to escape persecution fled to Holland and afterward settled in England. Ir this volume space will only permit of a record dating back to one, John Par- melee, a native of Guildford, England, who with his family and twenty-four other men, presumably also with families, set sail for America in 1639. While on shipboard, a few days' sail from Boston, the company entered into the fol - lowing covenant or agreement. "We, whose names are hereunder written, intending by God's gracious permission to plant ourselves in New England, and if it may be in the southern part about Quinnipisack (or New Haven) we do faithfully promise each to each for ourselves and families and those that belong to us, that we will, the Lord assisting us, set down and join ourselves
.
696
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :
together in one entire plantation, and be helpful each to the other in any com- mon work, according to every man's ability and as need shall require, and we promise not to desert or leave each other on the plantation but with the con- sent of the rest of the greater part of the company who have entered into this engagement, as for our gathering together in a church way, and the choice of officers and members to be joined together in that way we do refer ourselves until such time as it please God to settle us in our plantation, in witness whereof we do subscribe our hands this 1st day of June, A. D. 1639 .- Robert Rickell, John Bishop, Francis Bushnell, William Crittenden, William Leete, Thomas Joans, John Jurden, Wm. Stone, John Hoadley, John Stone, Will- iam Plam, Richd. Suttridge, John Housinger, William Dudley, John Parme- lee, John Mepham, Thomas Norton, Abraham Crittenden, Francis Chatfield, William Noble, Thomas Naish, Henry Kingston, Henry Doude, Thomas Cook, Henry Whitfield." They were Presbyterians and the last-named was their Minister. This company located at Guilford, Conn. The generations of the Parmelee family may be named shortly as follows: Luther H., now a resident of Kent, Portage Co., Ohio, was the son of Elisha, the son of Theodore, the son of Abram, the son of Abraham, the son of Isaac, the son of John, Jr., the son of John Parmelee, who settled at Guilford, Conn., in 1639. John and John, Jr., were born in Guildford, England; Isaac was born at Guilford, Conn., November 21, 1665; Abraham was born at Guilford, Conn., May 18, 1692; Abram was born at Guilford, Conn., April 28, 1717, and was a warm and earnest patriot during the Revolutionary war; Theodore was born April 3, 1751, and served in the same war for about four years as Captain of a com- pany of horse on the patriot side, and though he took part in many desperate engagements was never wounded. He was a man of extraordinary resolution and courage, and once in a hand-to-hand encounter, when completely sur- rounded by the enemy, and ordered to surrender, he cut his way through and escaped. This same Theodore Parmelee, in company with his brother-in-law, David Hudson, Birdseye, Norton and two others, bought the entire township of Hudson in Summit County, Ohio, in 1797 or 1798. Elisha Parmelee was born at Goshen, Conn., February 16, 1785. In 1807 he made his first trip to Ohio to look after a one-half section of land in Hudson Township, which his father had given him. He soon afterward returned to Connecticut, where he was married, November 9, 1809, to Roxa Stanley, a daughter of Deacon Jesse and Eunice (Bailey) Stanley. The following year he moved to Mt. Morris, N. Y. At this place his wife died, January 31, 1813, leaving two children: Myron N., born at Goshen, Conn., September 19, 1810 (since deceased) and Luther H., born at Mt. Morris, N. Y., August 31, 1812. He was married a second
time at Mt. Morris, N. Y., October 20, 1813, to Elizabeth M. Satterlee, and to this union were born Elisha H., July 21, 1814, died in infancy (August 23, 1815); Roxa S., born May 27, 1816; Emily E., born July 26, 1819; John F., born June, 1821; Mary H., born May 1, 1824. About 1817 he moved to Warsaw, N. Y., where he was a merchant, and in 1824 moved to Batavia, N. Y., and kept a hotel. In 1832 he came to Ohio and bought a farm in Hudson Town- ship, Summit County, where he remained for twelve years, and in 1844 went to Louisville, Ky., but returned the following year to this county and located at Franklin Mills (now Kent), where he was a successful merchant for many years. He sold out in 1858 and retired from active business. He died Sep- tember 4, 1865, at Kinsman, Trumbull Co., Ohio, at the home of his son- in-law, Rev. Thomas Corlett, and was buried in the Kent Cemetery. His widow died March 25, 1867, and was interred by his side. Elisha Parmelee was a man of marked ability, thoroughly enterprising, and universally
697
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
respected. During the war of 1812 he served as Paymaster in the United States Army.
LUTHER H. PARMELEE, retired merchant, Kent, was born in Mt. Mor- ris, Livingston Co., N. Y., August 31, 1812, son of Elisha and Roxa (Stanley) Parmelee, natives of Goshen, Litchfield Co., Conn. He was educated in Batavia, N. Y., and came to Hudson, Summit Co., Ohio, with his parents in February, 1832. He worked on his father's farm two years and taught school winters, after which he was employed three years as clerk in a store at Copley, Ohio. In 1838 he embarked in mercantile trade in Copley, which he con- tinued there up to 1845, when he removed to Akron, Ohio, and there resided ten years. In 1855 he came to Franklin Mills (now Kent), this county, and has since been chiefly engaged in farming. He owns a fine farm of 170 acres in Franklin Township. Mr. Parmelee was married, May 14, 183S, to Tamma, daughter of Noah and Mary (Stickles) Ingersoll, of Copley, Ohio. By this union there were seven children: Helen E., wife of George O. Rice; Walter M .; Caroline G., wife of A. L. Ewell; Luther H., deceased; Mary H., wife of Henry A. Rea; Frank H., and Roxa S., wife of W. I. Caris. Mr. Parmelee is one of the representative citizens of Kent. He has satisfactorily discharged the offices of Coroner and Commissioner of Portage County; has been Jus- tice of the Peace, and has filled minor official positions in Franklin Township. He was Cashier of the Kent Savings and Loan Association from 1874 to 1879. In politics our subject is a stanch Republican.
EDWARD A. PARSONS, Kent, Secretary and Treasurer Railway Speed Recorder Company, was born in Northampton, Mass., January 25, 1829, son of Edward and Clementine (Janes) Parsons, who settled in Brimfield Township, this county, in 1831, where they lived until 1868, when they removed to Kent, and here the father died, April 4, 1874, aged seventy-seven years. The mother, now eighty-two years old, resides with her son-in-law, C. H. Barber. (Her father's name was Peleg C. Janes). Their children were six in number: Edward A., Timothy G., Harriet J. (deceased), Martha K. (Mrs. George W. Crouse, in Akron), William C., in Akron, and Clementine (Mrs. C. H. Bar- ber). Edward Parsons (the father) was a native of Northampton, Mass., son of Moses Parsons, and Clementine, his wife, was a native of Brimfield, Mass. Our subject was reared on his father's farm in Brimfield Township, this county, and educated in the common schools. He farmed up to 1863, when he removed to Kent and embarked in the lumber business. In 1871 he sold his business to his brother and engaged in the produce and shipping interest. In 1876 the Railway Speed Recorder Company was formed, of which he has since been Secretary and Treasurer. He was married September 25, 1853, to Mary J., daughter of Freeman and Mercy A. (Lincoln) Underwood, formerly of Massachusetts, who settled in Brimfield Township in 1818. They have no children, but an adopted daughter -- Effie S. P. (Mrs. J. B. Miller.) Mr. Par- sons has held several offices in Franklin Township, this county. He served as County Commissioner from 1874 to 1878, and was the main projector in building the fine arch stone bridge over the Cuyahoga River at Kent. In politics Mr. Parsons is a Republican. He is a representative business man and worthy citizen.
TIMOTHY G. PARSONS, lumberman, Kent, was born in Brimfield Town- ship, this county. September 17, 1832, son of Edward and Clementine (Janes) Parsons, who settled in Brimfield Township in 1831 (see sketch of E. A. Par- sens). Our subject was reared on his father's farm, educated in the common schools and Twinsbury Academy. In January, 1853, he went to California, where he was engaged in mining and farming up to November, 1859, when he
698.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :
returned to Brimfield. He served in the late war of the Rebellion, enlisting in September, 1861, in Company A, Forty-second Ohio Vounteer Infantry, Garfield's regiment; served twenty-six months, and received an honorable dis- charge. He was then employed as a clerk in the Quartermaster's Department, holding that position till the war closed. In September, 1865, he located in Kent, and engaged in the lumber business with his brother E. A. Parsons up to 1870, when he purchased his brother's interest, and carries on the business himself. In addition to this, he runs a large planing-mill, the only establish- ment of the kind in the place. Mr. Parsons was married, December 12, 1866, to Eleanor M., daughter of Henry and Susan (Hall) Sawyer, of Brimfield, by whom he has three children living: Edward S., John T. and Dwight L. Mr. Parsons is a F. & A. M. In politics he is a Republican. He is known in Kent as an active, honest and successful business man, one who takes a lively interest in all affairs promotive of the town's welfare.
FREDERICK E. POISTER, photographer, Kent, was born in Wetzlar, Rhenish Prussia, May 9. 1857, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Shaeffer) Poister. His father, after serving his time in the German Army in the Twen- ty-ninth Regiment Infantry at Koblenz, settled in the city of Wetzlar, where he held a position in the Provincial Court. On the 3d of June, 1861, our sub- ject's mother died in that city, and the following year his father resigned his position and immigrated to America, where he arrived in December, IS62, and located in Galion, Ohio, where he still resides, and where Frederick E. was reared and educated. In the spring of 1874 our subject entered the photo- graph gallery of L. M. Reck, of that place, where he served an apprenticeship of five years. He then went to Norwalk, Ohio, where he acted as operator in the galleries of George Butt and G. W. Edmundson for two years. In Febru- ary, 1882, he located in Kent and embarked in business for himself. He is a photographer and artist not only in name, but in education, one who under- stands the art principles of lighting and posing his subjects, wherein lie the true merits of a photographic portrait.
ABRAHAM PRATT, farmer, P. O. Earlville, was born in Marion, Wayne Co., N. Y., June 28, 1823, son of Darius and Phebe (Baker) Pratt, the former of whom was born June 25, 1780, and the latter February 5, 1784. They were the parents of twelve children: Asahel, Zina, Harriet, Lorinda, Presson, James, Sidney, Elizabeth, Phebe, Darius, Abraham and Mary (twins). All are now deceased but Abraham, who is the only member of the family now living. In 1834 Darius Pratt settled on the farm now owned by Marius Heighton, in Franklin Township, this county, but in 1842 removed to the farm where he died in 1842, aged sixty-two years. His widow died February 25, 1858, aged seventy-four years. Abraham Pratt, paternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of New England, and his maternal grandfather, James Baker, a native of Marion, N. Y. Our subject was reared in Franklin Township, this county, from eleven years of age, and assisted his father to clear the farm. He was married, June 9, 1837, to Marilla, daughter of Arvin and Betsey (Bennett) Olin, who settled in Franklin Township in 1834. By this union there were the following children: Francis B. (deceased), Mary E. (wife of Perry Will- iard), James A., Diantha M. (deceased wife of Emmet Barber), Emma (wife of Almon Cackler), Almira R., Ransom O., Wilson and Willis (twins), the latter deceased, and Charles M. (deceased). Mr. Pratt in 1845 went to Michigan, where he lived one year, then removed to Indiana, where he resided eight years, and finally returned to Franklin Township, this county, purchasing his present farm, on which he has since resided. He is one of Franklin Town- ship's representative men. In politics he is a Democrat.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.