History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 131

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1060

USA > Ohio > Stark County > History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio > Part 131

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SAMUEL SHIMP, freight and ticket agent of P., Ft. W. & C. R. R .; Alliance; was born in Franklin Co., Penn., Nov. 21, 1828; the see- ond child and oldest son born to Samuel and Catharine (Stouffer) Shimp, who were also na- tives of Pennsylvania. His father was a car- 'attended a course of lectures in the Ohio penter by trade, but subsequently turned his attention to farming, to which life our subject -

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in partnership with Dr. James A. Leasia. Ile enlisted in the late civil war in August, 1861, in Co. K, 9th Mich. V. I. At the organiza- tion of the regiment, he was chosen sergeant and arose steadily to distinction in the service. His regiment was ordered to Ken- tucky, and as soon as they arrived he was de- tailed as hospital steward at West Point, Ky., where he remained about two months. when he was removed to Elizabethtown and occupied the same position at the post hos- pital. Immediately after the battle of Pitts- burgh Landing, he was ordered to Nashville, and assigned to duty in Hospital No. 5. While there he attended a course of lectures at the medical department of the University of Tennessee, and graduated in the winter of 1862-63. In April, 1863, he was appointed assistant surgeon of his old regiment. In July of 1864 he was again detailed from his regiment, this time as surgeon of the 19th 1. S. I., throughout the Atlantic campaign, and the following October, he received his commission as surgeon of his old regiment, to which he returned in December, 1864, to the mutual satisfaction of himself and his old associates, as his congeniality during his term as assistant surgeon, had made him a favorite, and many warm friends. When mustered out of the service in 1865, he returned to Ohio, opened an office in Newtown Falls, Trumbull Co., and resumed the practice of his profession, and remained three years. He attended a course of lectures in the Cleveland Medical College in the winter of 1867 and 1868, and graduated in the spring of the latter year, receiving the ad random degree. In October of the same year he came to Al- liance, where he has practiced ever since, and enjoys an ever increasing patronage. Ile married Kate G. Colestock, daughter of Daniel Colestock, of Columbiana Co. They had two children, both deccased. is a member of the Stark County Medical Society, and a member of the Masonic Fra- ternity. He was appointed U. S. Examining Surgeon for this county.

GEORGE W. SOURBECK, restaurant ke per; Alliance; was born in Bridgeport, Cumberland Co., Ponn., Feb. 26, 1837. lle is the oldest son of John Sourbeck, by his sec- ond wife (Sarah A. Collier). The subject of these notes was only 7 years old at the time

his father was drowned (which event is noted in the sketch of Daniel Sourbeck), therefore he was early in life necessitated to do for himself, and began his career as driver on the canal from Harrisburg to Nanticoke and Wilkesbarre. This he followed one season, when he went to Mechanicsburg and appren- ticed himself to the boot and shoe trade, and remained there six years. In 1855 he came to Alliance, and was engaged in his brother's dining hall at the railroad depot, for about one and a half years. He went to Youngstown and engaged at his trade for a short time, when he accepted a clerkship in Union Hotel, where he remained two years. He purchased the passenger dining-rooms on Liberty street, Pittsburg, which he conducted about a year, sold out and returned to Youngstown, Ohio, and Jan. 3, 1861, he married Mary A. Wilson. They moved to Allegheny City, Penn., where he began to " run " on the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R., and was soon promoted to a conductor- ship on the road, which position he retained seven years, when he was appointed Night- train Dispatcher at the outer depot for one year, and then returned to his position as conductor, and "ran " one year when he re- signed to engage in the hotel business in Alli- ance, having been running the Exchange Ho- tel about ten months, when, on May 22, 1871, it burned. He then opened the restaurant close to the depot, which he has conducted ever since with much success. They have five children, viz .- Alva 1 .. , Emma S., Harry P., George W., Jr., and Lillie C.

DANIEL SOURBECK, hotel-keeper; Al- liance; was born in Cumberland Co., Pen., May 10, 1812. His parents were John and Lydia (Hemphill) Sourbeck, both natives of Pennsylvania. His father was a hotel-keeper for five years at Harrisburg, and twenty years at Bridgeport, Penn. He was drowned while fishing in the Susquehanna near Dauphin, in 1839. Of eight children our subject is the oldest son. He received his education at the common schools, and in his youth was vari- ously employed; learning the carpenter's trade and in his father's hotel, and followed the former occupation several years. In the fall of 1834 he came to New Brighton, Penn., with William Laborn, a well-known bridge- builder, and was in hus employ about a year, assisting him to build the bridge across the

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Big Beaver River at New Brighton. During the two succeeding years he was completing work on the Erie Canal, which was contracted by himself and two others under the firm name of Phillips, Foreman & Sourbeck. Ile then returned to New Brighton, and was pro- prietor of the Sourbeck House of that town from 1837 to 1852. In May of the latter year he removed to Alliance, Ohio, where he has since remained engaged in the hotel business. He is still proprietor of the Sourbeck House at New Brighton, which is run by his step- grandson, Daniel Robertson. In December, 1835, he married the widow of Edward Dow- ney, nré Eliza Jack. He was connected with the Ohio militia, having been a lieutenant in the Alliance Light Guard, and while in Penn- sylvania he was Captain of a cavalry company known as Beaver Co. Light Horse. Ile is a member of the Masonic fraternity and I. O. O. F. for many years. On the evening of Dec. 8, 1856, a collision occurred in which a train on the Cleveland & Pittsburg R. R., ran into a train on the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R., at the crossing close to his house, one of the cars being thrown into the rotunda of his hotel. Nine persons were killed outright, and several severely wounded. On Aug. 29, 1860, he had a narrow escape from death, in an accident which occurred on the Camden & Amboy (New Jersey) R. R., in which thirty-two per- sons lost their lives. In the car which Mr. Sourbeck was in twenty-two were killed. The train was running backward at a rapid rate of speed, and was thrown from the track by a team and carriage which was crossing the road. Being between high embankments the cars were smashed into kindling-wood, and the passengers bruised beyond recogni- tion. He had the scalp torn from the top of his head and his skull fractured, which dis- abled him for four months. He has been in the hotel business for forty-four years, and is widely and favorably known thorughout the United States, and part of the old country as one of the old " land-marks, " and proprietor of one of the best railroad hotels in this coun- try, in which many dignitaries of the United States, Indian Chiefs, Prince of Wales, and other potentates have been guests. It is doubtful if any other railroad hotel proprietor in the United States has so long held his posi- tion amid the various changes of railroad cor-

porations. He truly is a self-made man, of fine personal appearance, good business qual- ifications, independent and outspoken in everything, affable, courteous and possessing a high sense of honor.

AMOS C. SILVER, boot and shoe mer- chant; Alliance; was born in Salem Tp., Col- umbiana Co., Ohio, Sept. 3, 1838. He is the eldest of a family of three children born to James and Nancy (Tharp) Silver. Amos C. received a liberal education at New Lisbon Union School and Damascus Academy. When about 20 years of age he taught school several winters, and was employed on the farm the rest of the year. In 1861 he entered the United States' Service, building and re- pairing telegraph lines during the war. He continued in this business until September, 1863, when he accidently cut his foot with an ax, while at work at Culpepper Court House. The wound so far disabled him as to confine him to the hospital, three months, at Wash- ington, D. C. He obtained his discharge, and returned home; and in 1864 he was employed on the telegraph lines along the P., Ft. W. & C., and the C. & P. R. R.s, of which he has had the care until 1878. At the latter date, he engaged in the boot and shoe trade in Alliance. Jan. 11, 1866, he married Sarah A. Kelty. They have one child-Charles. Mrs. Silver was born in Columbiana Co., Ohio, but when quite young her parents re- moved to Bedford, Mahoning Co. A brother of Mr. Silver, William II., was also in the service in the late war; he enlisted in the 103d O. V. I. in 1862, and served until at the battle of Resaca, Ga., May 14, 1864, he re- ceived a gun-shot wound in the hip. He was taken to the hospital at Chattanooga, where he died on June 3, following.

JOHN M. STILLWELL, hoot and shoe merchant; Alliance; was born in Troy, Geauga Co., Ohio, Oet. 15, 1845. His parents were Kortenus and Wait B. (Stafford) Stillwell. His father was formerly of New Jersey and his mother of New York. They came to Ohio about 183%, and located in Geauga Co. John M. is the youngest of their six children, and until he was 18 years old, his time was spent on the farm. At that age he began to learn the machinist's trade at Chagrin Falls, and worked at that business there and at Alliance about eight years. About four years he sold

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CITY OF ALLIANCE.

sewing machines, and the subsequent four years, be farmed in Geauga Co. In the spring of 1880, ho established himself in the boot and shoe trade in Alliance, which he now conducts. Oct. 12. 1861, he married Madora Niece. She is daughter of J. B. Niece, of Chagrin Falls. They have one child -Mark. Mr. Stillwell is now serving as a member of Alliance Town Council, and is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and the I. O. O. F. JOHN H. TRESSEL, physician and sur- geon ; Alliance ; was born near Malvern, Carroll Co., Ohio, March 12, 1833. He is the third son of a family of ten children born to Matthias and Catharine (Harsh) Tressel, both natives of Washington Co., Pa., and moved to C'arroll Co., Ohio, about 1823. Ilis father was a farmer and a man of fine culture, a warm friend to the cause of education, and for many years held influential positions on boards of ed- ucation in his community. When he settled in Ohio he was in moderate circumstances, but by industry he accumulated a competency, and became the owner of 400 acres of im- proved land. He was a member of the Re- formed Presbyterian Church, in which faith he died in 1848, at the age of 54 years. Doc- tor 'Tressel's early manhood was spent in at- tending school and working on the farm. In 1852 he began to read medicine with Dr. S. F. Rukenbrod, of Malvern. During the yel- low fever and cholera epidemic in 1856, he visited the plague-infected districts of the South and Cuba. With a view to advancing his knowledge in the seience of medicine, he visited Paris, France, with the intention of taking a course in the best Medical Colleges in Europe ; but before his design in that di- rection was fully consummated he was sum- moned home by cablegram, in consequence of what was believed to be a fatal illness of his mother. While abroad he visited Africa, where he remained a short time. Previous to his emigration to Franeo he had almost com- pleted the regular course of study at Mt. 1In- ion College; on his return he graduated therefrom in June, 1860: and the two suc- ceeding years he was Principal of the Acade- my in Malvern. In the summer of 1861 his leg was broken in five places by a horse fall- ing upon him. In the winter of 1861-62 he attended lectures in the Cleveland Medical College, and the following summer began the

practice of medicine in Malvern. The sue- voeding winter he attended lectures in the same institution, graduated in the spring of 1863, and resumed his practice at Mal- vern, where he was engaged for ten years. During the late war he did good service as surgeon, being employed in times of special emergency in deta hed service, not being able, on account of ill-health, to be on contin- nous duty. In 1823 he sold out, with the in- tention of removing to the South. Through the advice of friends he changed his purpose, and came to Alliance, where he has a steadily increasing practice. In the spring of 1826 he was appointed surgeon for the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago and the Cleveland & Pittsburgh R. R.s, which position he still holds. When residing in Malvern he was Secretary and one of the Censors of Carroll Co. Medi- cal Society, an l is now one of the Censors of Stark Co. Medical Society, and a member of Northeastern Ohio Medical Association, also of the American Medical Association. He has contributed to various medical journals, and has prepared a series of articles on the causes and variations of diseases and on ther- apeuties. In November. 1876, he lost almost all his effects by fire, including his instru- ments, medical and general library. He has acquired a fine reputation as a surgeon, and has performed a number of very delicate ope- rations, among which may be mentioned. the resection of the shoulder-joint and of the lower limbs, the removal of a tumor from the brain of an insane patient by trephining ; the patient had been insane for a period of ton years, and, on removal of the tumor, immedi- i'ely gave evidence of remembering facts which were identical in time with the first symptoms of his insanity; he became of sound mind and is now a well-to-do farmer, and from the throat of another he extracted a tumor, which was pronounced by some lead- ing surgeons impossible without sacrificing life. June 19, 1862, he married Susannah T., daughter of Thomas Hawkins, of Berlin, Ma- honing Co. They have three children-Lora II., Gertrude II. and John K. Mrs. Tressel's pencil, crayon and oil work would do credit to the professional artist. The doctor is a member of the fraternity of Freemasons, In- dependent Order of odd Fellows, K. of l'., and other secret societies.

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JOHN T. WEYBRECHT, lumber dealer and contractor; Alliance; was born in France Jan. 22, 1829. His parents' names were John and Ilannah Weybrecht, also natives of France. In youth Mr. Weybrecht learned the carpenter's trade, and in 1854 emigrated to the United States, and after a short resi- dence in Pennsylvania he removed to Stark Co., Ohio, and continued at his trade. lle soon began to take building contracts, which proved a success; and in 1856 opened a lum- ber yard on a small scale, and was in this direction greeted with success; and in 1865 he established a planing-mill, thereby be- ing able to furnish the material for his ever increasing builling-trade in any necessary form or quantity. In 1828 he built his present brick planing-mill, and continues to do an annual business of about $30,000 in value, many of the best buildings in Alliance being the result of his architectural ability. Among the heaviest contracts secured and carried out by him, were the Union School building, at a cost of $22,- 000, and the Alliance College, at a cost of $80,000, both of which are imposing struet- ures. He married Margaret Honacker in Jan- uary, 1856; she was the daughter of Christo- pher Honaeker, of Alliance, formerly of Wur- temburg, Germany, who emigrated to this country in 1832. They have six children- Mary (now Mrs. Leroy L. Lamborn), B. F., Anna, Jonnie, Charlie and Andrew. He isa member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- ows, and of the Knights of Honor, but has re- peatedly refused to accept any publie office. Mr. Weybrecht came to this place in limited financial circumstances, but through striet at- tention to business, and economy, he has estab- lished himself in a desirable and luerative position.

WILLIAM H. WHITACRE, merchant and railroad conductor; Alliance; was born in New Lisbon, Columbiana Co., Ohio, June 8, 1839; son of James and Julia (Frazier) Whit- acre. He was a native of Ohio, and she of Pennsylvania, but came to this State when quite young. Mr. Whitaere is the third of a family of ten children. His early manhood was spent on the farm, but when 20 years of age he obtained a position on the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad, in the capacity of brakesman, and in 1863, about one year later,

he was promoted to the position of conduc- tor of the "local," which he retained until 1862, when he was transferred to the passen- ger department as conductor, where he has continued ever since. In 1861 he entered into a partnership with Isaac Miller in the boot and shoe business, and has been engaged in that line of trade ever since. While his posi- tion on the railroad renders it impossible to devote all his time to the store, he keeps a general supervision of the business, and has always at his leisure hours in the evening kept the books of the concern, and is aecred- ited with being one of the most active busi- ness men of Alliance. He married Jennie Wilson, of Uniontown, Penn., March 20, 1860. Of their six children only one sur- vives, viz :- Edward J. Mr. Whitacre is prominently connected with the M. E. Church, a member of the I. O. O. F., and also of the Masonic fraternity. Since Mr. Miller severed his business relations with Mr. Whitacre, Price W. Beardsley has purchased an interest in the establishment, and commcts the business, the firm name having been Whitacre & Beards- ley since 1879. Mr. Beardsley was born in Geauga Co., Ohio, April 13, 1839. His father, Lyman Beardsley, came from Bon- nington, Vt., about 1830. His mother, whose maiden name was Fannie Presley, was a native of Ohio. They reared three children, of whom our subject is the eld- est. When about 18 years of age he came to Alliance, and began to learn the boot and shoe trade. In 1864 he enlisted in the 162d O. N. G. for three months' service. He mar- ried Mary A. Stanley, and they have three children-T. G., Alvah P., and Carrie S. He is a member of 1. O. O. F.

ALFRED WRIGHT, hardware merchant, of the firm of Wright & Pennock; Alliance; was born in Burlington Co., New Jersey, July 28, 1819; the son of John Elizabeth (Bul- loek) Wright, both of whom were natives of New Jersey, and of English descent. One Joshua Wright, a Quaker, of whom our sub- jeet is a lienal descendant, emigrated from England in 1669, and settled in what is now Burlington Co., N. J .; there he made a pur- chase of a large tract of land, for which he paid King Charles 11, and then he re-pur- chised his claim from the Indians. The de- scendants of this pioneer became numerous

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LEXINGTON TOWNSHIP.

in Burlington Co., and principally devoted themselves to stock-raising and agricultural pursuits. John Wright was a prominent far- mer and influential citizen in his community; he reared a family of four children, viz :- Ab- ner, Charles, Samuel B., and Alfred; they re- ceived as liberal an education as the schools of that day afforded. Alfred got his educa- tion principally in private schools and private study, until about 17 years of age, when he attended school in Philadelphia. When 18 years old he began teaching in Philadelphia, where he continued two years; at the expira- tion of that time he engaged in the hardware business, and in 1842 came to Salem, Ohio, where he opened the first hardware store in that town, and soon afterwards added to his hardware business a stock of drugs, which was the most extensive establishment of the kind in northeastern Ohio. Mr. Wright's wonderful success is principally due to his practical business ideas, amounting almost to a science. Through the medium of the journals of northeastern Ohio, he presented his busi- ness properly to the publie, and was the first merchant in Salem to think of advertising in newspapers, other than those of his own town. With the public demand he was familiar, and was ever in readiness to meet it. In 1862 was formed the partnership of Wright & Pen- nock to do business in Alliance; but Mr.

Wright conducted his extensive hardware and drug trade at Salem until 1865, when in consequence of ill health he sold out that establishment, also his interest in a fruit farm, in southern Illinois, and an interest in a farm, steam saw-mill and lumber trade in Indiana. In polities he has always affiliated with the Republican party, but even when political prejudice was at its zenith during the late war, he never failed of receiving the patronage of the most radical opponents; for, while firm in his views on political questions, he avoided un- necessary parade of conflicting sentiments. In January, 1866, when he had retired from bus- iness, the Salom Republican and Buckeye State, in appropriate terms, deplored the loss, or withdrawal from active life of one of their most public-spirited and enterprising citizens. A partnership was formed between himself and Samuel Chessman, which continued four- teen years. July 3, 1845, Mr. Wright mar- ried Amelia R. Middleton, of Philadelphia. She died in 1865, leaving four children, viz .: Edgar A., of Davenport, lowa; Ella V., Ida M. and Arthur. He removed from Salem to Alliance in 1874, and was elected president of the Alliance and Lake Erie R. R. four years ago, which office he has now resigned, but still remains a member of the board of directors.

LEXINGTON TOWNSHIP.

THEODORE ARMSTRONG, A. M .. pro- fessor of penmanship, and assistant superinten- dent of the commercial department of Mt. Union college; Mt. Union; was born June 12, 1848, in North Benton, Ohio. He is the oldest of a family of ten children born to Dr. Robert and Amy B. (Woodruff ) Armstrong. His grandfather Armstrong, came to Ohio, and was one of the first pioneers of Mahoning Co., as were the Woodruffs also, who entered their land of the government. When moving from New Jersey to Ohio, their team being heavily loaded with their effects, the grandmother Mrs. Woodruff, walked on foot the entire dis-

tance. Dr. Robert Armstrong was a promi- nent physician, and had a very extensive and Iuerative practice in Mahoning Co., and vicin- ity. The subject of this sketch received a liberal common school course, and in the fall of 1865, he entered Mt. Union College, and was appointed tutor of a class in 1868, in the meantime pursning his own studies; but he- ing of frail constitution, he was compelled to give up his college work for a short time. Ipon finding his health recruited by out. door exercise, he returned and graduated in the scientific course in Mt. Union in 1820, and in 1861 graduated in the classics. He

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was then appointed professor of penmanship and assistant superintendent of the commer- cial department of the college. May 1, 1873, he married Emma M., daughter of Zachariah and Mary Bertolett, of North Benton, Ohio. They have two children living-Mary I., and Bertolett. Prof. Armstrong has a very com- modious home, which he has taken great delight in beautifying, doing all the work himself as recreation in his leisure hours.

WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, Mus. B., pro- fessor of instrumental music, special vocal cul- ture and musical composition; Mt. Union; was born in Cheshire, England. In youth he was a private pupil of Henry C. Cooper, of the Cobden Philharmonic Society, of London. He was a teacher of music in London for sev- eral years, but emigrated to the United States in 1870, and after a short residence in New York, he was associated with Dr. Henry Sut- ter of Painesville, Ohio, who was formerly " Hofkapell-Meister" , to the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt-and with him established the Sutter College of Music; and with Dr. Sutter 'he was joint author of the "Grand German Piano Forte Method " and " Classi- cal Method of Voice-Culture." Mt. Union College ratified the degree of Mus. B., in 1872, since which time he has been a member of the Faculty.

JAMES A. BRUSH, A. M., professor of mathematics and didactics in Mt. Union Col- lege; Mt. Union; was born in Washington Tp., Stark Co., Sept. 26, 1838. His par- ents were Charles and Fannie (Fitch) Brush, the former a native of Long Island, and the latter of Norwalk, Conn. They were married in New York city, where Mr. Brush was engaged in the boot and shoe business ; several years later, they removed to Lima, in western New York, and in that place continued his business for several years. He, however, disposed of his business there, and they removed to Ohio and located in Washington Tp., Stark Co., in 1835 ; here Mr. Brush purchased a farm, and devoted his time chiefly to that vocation until 1870, when he sold out and retired from business, and died in Mt. Union in 1876, in the 24th year of his age. His widow still survives at the advanced age of 72 years. They reared eight children, viz .- Amanda M. (now Mrs. O. N. IIartshorn) ; Mary C. (now Mrs. Amasa Gar-

wood, near Etna Green, Ind.); Jane A. (Mrs. Daniel Johnson, of Etna Green, Ind.); James A., Charles H. (of East Norwich, Long Island); Fannie A. (Mrs. Leroy Bentley, of Salem); Theresa (Mrs. Chas. Johnson, Beloit, Ohio); and Beckie S., who resides with her aged mother in Mt. Union. James A. was the fourth child and eldest son of the family ; his boyhood was spent on his father's farin and attending the common school in the winter, until he was about 16 years of age, when he entered Mt. Union College, and graduated in classical course from that institution in 1863. In the spring of 1862 he enlisted in Co. G, 86th O. V. I., in the "three months " service, but served considerably over that length of time. He early chose teaching as a profes- sion, and bent all his energy and time in pre- paring himself for that calling. He frequent- ly taught in the public schools, and was Prin- cipal of the public school of Minerva, this county, one year, and accepted a similar posi- tion in the Ravenna schools for two years. In 1855 he was appointed Assistant Professor of Mathematics and English Classies in Mt. Union College, until 1829, when he was ap- pointed Professor of Mathematics. June 23, 1863, he married Amelia A. McCall. She is daughter of Joseph MeCall, of Nelson, Port- age Co., of which he was a pioneer settler, formerly of Middlebury, Conn. Mrs. Brush also chose teaching as a profession, and pre- pared herself thoroughly for the work. Be- fore she was married Mrs. Brush had taught several terms in public schools, and was Prin- cipal of the Nelson Academy for several years, and was also her husband's assistant teacher in Minerva. In 1880 she began teach- ing in Mt. Union College, having previously graduated from that institution with the de- gree of Ph. B., and was elected as Preceptress in the Ladies' Department, and Professor of English Literature and Rhetoric. To Mr. and Mrs. Brush have been born four children, viz .- Ilarlie W., Walter S., Louis H. and Anna.

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History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 131

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1060

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1060