USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Strongsville > History of Strongsville, Cuyahoga County, Ohio ; with illustrations > Part 7
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In the winter of 1840-1, caught in the tide of westward emigration he set forth for Ohio, halting in Cuyahoga County, locating at first in Albion, but finally fixing himself in Strongsville Center. Little by little he built up an extensive medical practice destined to continue a full third of a century. It is not too much to say that Dr. Leonard was held in high esteem by all, both for professional skill and faithfulness and also as a man and citizen. For years he held the office of postmaster, and so acceptably to his neighbors that, though a staunch Democrat in those days, when the Republicans came into power it was found to be impossi- ble to remove him. During the years of the Rebellion he stood heart and soul for the Union.
Mrs. Leonard died August 29th, 1856, having been preceeded by an infant daughter, and leaving behind two sons, Charles, who saw several years of military service in the South, and Lewis, aged but a few months. The Doctor lived alone thenceforward until his death which occurred January 4th, 1872, at the age of 58 years, to be followed by Charles, March 12th, 1874, aged 29 years, and later still by the younger son. Among the older half of the community few names can be mentioned which are better known or which are held in more affectionate regard than that of Dr. H. L. W. Leonard.
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LUCIUS LILLEY clerked for Mr. Warner Strong in Strongsville in 1841 and 1842, and was made Deputy Post Master. He then went to Cleveland, where he was employed as clerk by P. M. Weddell, until the death of the latter, when he moved to Tecumseh, Mich. Here he was one of the organizers of the Lilley State Bank, and since 1855 has been president of the Bank.
ELIJAH LYMAN, SR., was the son of Gershom Lyman, a scion of a family that dates back to the Norman Conquest, and claims connec- tion with the Malcolms, Kings of Scotland. Elijah Lyman was born June 12, 1781, at Brattleboro, Vt. He came to Strongsville in the spring of 1816, in company with Esq. Strong and Deacon G. Whitney and select- ed two farms, one on the river near the site of the East Mills, the other the farm now owned by Mr. Shurmer. After erecting a log house on the last mentioned farm, he went to Vermont and with his family return- ed in the spring of 1817 to Strongsville. The oxteams accomplished the journey in ten weeks. Mr. Lyman was noted even among the hardy active pioneers for his great strength. He erected an ashery and start- ed a store the dimensions of which were 8 feet by 10 feet.
Mr. Lyman's first wife was Irene Whitney, who was the mother of nine children-Harriet, (Mrs. W. Cole), Hollis B., Julia Ann, (Mrs. T. Avery), Elijah, Esther, Irene, (Mrs. T. Hale), Lucy, (Mrs. B, Bartlett, Tamar, (Mrs. J. Reed), and Sophia. Mr. Lyman's second wife was Mar- garet Pope, who was the mother of Ardelia, (Mrs. Curtis), and Hollis, who died at the age of four years. Margaret Pope Lyman died in 1867. aged 72 years. Mr. Lyman died in 1828, after an active life, during which he served the town in many ways, and helped to promote the best interests of church and citizens.
ELIJAH LYMAN, JR. At the death of Esq. Lyman, Elijah Ly- man, Jr. was a boy of eighteen. He agreed with his mother and sisters to pay them for their shares in the farm if given time. He succeeded in doing this by selling the river farm and by faithfully cultivating the remaining farm, the ashery and store being auxilaries. Mr. Lyman al-
W. A WING
MRS. W. A. WING
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ways said that he did not care for horseback riding, as he had all that he wished, when he rode the old horse through from Vermont, and drove two cows. Mr. Lyman married Miss Lucy Stephens of Brunswick. Ohio, May 26, 1831. The children born to them were: Newel, who died in in- fancy; Amelia, (Mrs. Nash), born in 1835; George Whitney, born in 1838, now a resident of Strongsville, and Mary who died August 5, 1865, aged twenty-six years. After the death of his wife in 1845, Mr. Lyman mar- ried Mrs. Achsah C. Bancroft, who had one daughter Evelina, now Mrs. C Stender, of Chicago, with whom Mrs. Lyman now lives. Mr. Ly- man was a man of few words, but his counsels, when given, were of great value; faithfulness to duty and steadfastness of purpose charac- terized his manhood. During his life he was a leading member of the Cong. church, serving as chorister and deacon for many years. After a long life, Mr. Lyman passed to the Beyond, almost the last of a genera- tion to whom we owe so much.
REV. HERVEY LYON, SR., was born in Massachusetts, in 1800. He was a graduate of Andover College, and spent his life in do- ing good as pastor and teacher, wielding a great influence, especially over the young. He was an excellent teacher, seeming to have an orig- inal way of explaining things, so that even the dullest could understand, and in those days he was considered a noted mathematician. He first preached at Brownhelm for nine years; later at Richfield, Hinckley, Me- dina and Strongsville. He was married to Jane Babbett of Euclid; they had four children, none of whom are living. Rev. Mr. Lyon died in Brunswick in March, 1862, and was buried in Strongsville.
ELIAKIM LYON was born at Woodstock, Conn., November 3, 1781, and later lived twelve years in Stafford, Ct., where he was engag- ed in farming. May 3, 1804, he married Miss Mary Strong, who was a daughter of Capt. David Strong and a half-sister of John S. Strong, Sr. In January, 1818, with a pack on his back, he started for Ohio, and reach- ed Strongsville [in March of the same year, having walked the entire dis- tance. His family arrived later in the year, in company with the family
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of John S, Strong. The year before, Mr. Strong had built a log house a few rods north of the frame tavern. It was really two log houses eight or ten feet apart, connected at the roof. In one of these houses Mr. Lyon and family dwelt a short time, when they moved to what was known as the Jehiel Cross clearing in the south part of town. Later he bought a farm one half mile below the stone hill. Mr. Lyon helped in all the pi- oneer work of the town. He held office in the township for many years, being first elected in 1819. His death occurred in 1856. Mary Strong Ly- on was born in 1787 at Stafford, Ct., and was a pioneer woman of great worth. She died in Strongsville in 1829.
Mr. and Mrs Lyon had a family of ten children: Danforth S ; Jane Grove; Martha; Mary; Samuel 3 .; Eliakim L., Jr., who was a business man in Cleveland, where he became quite wealthy, and where he died November 17, 1866 aged 47 years; Charles Carlos, who became foreman of a large foundry in Buffalo, and was also a steam boat engineer on the lakes. He died at Fon Du Lac, Wis., sometime in the sixties; Clark Ed- ward, born in 1825, who learned the harness trade in Cleveland, where he died June 20, 1852; and Renda, Mrs. Burgess, of Cleveland.
HENRY H. LYON was born in Strongsville, June 10th, 1838, and has been a life-long resident of his native township. He has held a number of responsible offices. Having identified himself with the Dem- ocratic party he has been honored several times by his party in the County with the nomination to the office of Representative and always ran ahead of his ticket among his fellow townsmen.
SAMUEL LYON, son of Eliakim Lyon and Mary Strong Lyon, was born at Marlboro, Vermont, May 5th, 1817. When less than a year old, he was brought to Strongsville, and here learned the lessons of pio- neer life, which as he says, were so useful to him in after years.
Mr. Lyon, after learning the trade of harness maker, became a mem- ber of the firms, Goodman & Lyon, and Whitelaw & Lyon, of Cleveland, Ohio, and for many years was an enterprising citizen of that city, active in the educational department, while the voluntary fire department and military organizations were special favorites for his willing hands. Dur-
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ing 1848-'49, Mr. Lyon was chief of the Cleveland Fire Department.
Mr. Lyon married Miss Celia Martin, of Cleveland, and of three children, two are living; F. M. Lyon of the Brush Electric Light Co., and Mrs. Smith of Brookline, Mass., with whom Mr, Lyon now lives.
DANFORTH STRONG LYON was born in Stafford, Conn., in 1806 and came to Strongsville in 1818. He helped his father, Elia- kim Lyon, Sr., to clear the farm, and also helped cut the timber from the Wooster pike. In 1836 Mr. Lyon married Caroline, a daughter of Major Lewis of Shoreham, Vermont, and a cousin of Wm. Cullen Bryant, the poet. Mrs. Lyon was a member of the Congregational church for many years before her death in 1870. Of the eight children only two are now living: Henry H. and Edwin E., who reside in the south part of Strongsville.
Mr. D. F. Lyon always took a great interest in the affairs of the town, and held a number of township offices. During the administration of Pres. Polk, he was Postmaster. Mr. Lyon died in 1878.
DR. J. B. McCONNELL was born of Scotch parentage, at Otta- wa, Canada, July 27, 1838. At an early age he was sent to various schools in New York to obtain an education, and in due time entered the office of Dr. Hiram H. Hoyt, of Syracuse, N. Y., then a noted physician, to study Medicine and Surgery. In March, 1860, he graduated from the Nation- al Medical College of Washington, D. C., and in the same year began the practice of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, and remained there until 1876, with the exception of about one year, when he was serving on the staffs of Drs. Williams and Blake, at the Massachusetts General Hospi- tal, in Boston. Since 1876, he has passed a busy life practising in Strongsville and the surrounding townships.
Dr. McConnell is a past Regent of "Berea Council," Royal Arcanum, and Dep. Grand of State. He has been married three times and has four children living: Dr. J. T. McConnell, of Meadville, Pa .; Mrs. Ruth Davison of Wellington, Ohio; and the Misses Agnes and Edith, Strongs- ville.
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STEPHEN MEACHAM came to Strongsville in June, 1835 from Northampton, Mass. He bought a farm of 100 acres from Will- iam C. White, of which about 25 acres was cleared. In the year 1840, he married Sylvia C. Kelley, daughter of Stephen Kelley. He lived on this farm until his death, which occurred October 20, 1851.
EDGAR M. MERRICK, who was born at Sand Lake, N. Y., in 1806, spent his early life in that state, and was located for five or six years, in Mississippi, where he followed his trade as a carpenter. In 1840, however, he came to Strongsville, where his father, Justus Myr- ick, had settled a few years previously, coming from Herkimer county, N. Y. Here he purchased a farm in the southeastern part of the town- ship, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits, at the same time con- tinuing in his trade. The Episcopal Church, identified with Albion's early history, was built by Mr. Merrick. He was the first of the family to spell his name Merrick.
Mr. Merrick's wife, nee Miss Lucianna G. Whitman, was a daughter of Henry and Harriet Whitman, and was born October 19, 1817, at East Haddam, Conn. Mrs. Merrick is still living on the old homestead. Their two children, Joseph, who served three years in the Civil War, and Hen- ry W., who for twenty years has been Justice of the Peace, have al- ways resided in Strongsville. The Merricks, as a family, have always shown an interest in public affairs and also in political matters, having taken a zealous interest in the cause of the Democratic party.
NATHANIEL MERRIMAN, a native of Connecticut, came from Portage Co. to Strongsville between '35 and '40. The family will be well remembered by the older residents. Mary became Mrs. Kelin; Belinda married Mr. Danforth Ainsworth of Medina; Lucy married Mr. Elijah Briggs and moved to Akron; Nathaniel, Jr., who died in '56, married Miss Fanny Caswell, of Berea, who afterward became Mrs. Zimri Cook of York; and Artemesia, who died recently in Akron, was Mrs. Byron Ter- rell.
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EDWARD B. STRONG
WARNER HENRY STRONG
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MARCUS MOE came to Strongsville from New York state in 1827 and settled in the south part of town. He attended services in the little log Methodist church, which stood near the present site of the Brick Church at the Center. When the M. E. Church was built in 1846, he was one of the building committee.
Mr. Moe's six children were born in Strongsville; their names are: Frank A., Seth B., Horatio A., Sidney M., Fred and Ellen L, Seth, Frank and Ellen taught school in this town. Seth was a general in the War of the Rebellion, and now lives in Chattanooga, Tenn. Ellen Moe Wallace is now living in Detroit, Mich. Marcus Moe died September 11th, 1844.
WALTER OGILVY was born in Montrose, Forfarshire, Scotland, December 5, 1821, and came to America in 1843, within a few years after the arrival of his brothers Straton and John. After purchasing his home in Strongsville, he returned to Scotland, where he was married to Miss Katherine Gray Henderson, a daughter of George Henderson, sergeant of the Royal Navy, March 11th, 1844. In the same year, Mr. Ogilvy returned with his bride to Strongsville, remaining a resident un- til his death, January 2, 1879. Mrs. Ogilvy survived her husband only eleven days, dying at the age of 56 years. Three sons were born to them: James Walton in 1846; George Henderson in 1848; and Charles Arbuthnot in 1853, all of whom live in Strongsville.
MRS. REBECCA HOBBS PIERCE-William and Rebecca Garner Hobbs came from Hook, Cambridgeshire, England, and after a stormy voyage of eleven weeks, landed in New York, and finally located in Strongsville. Mr. Hobbs was a great reader and student. After a few years of pioneer life. he died, and amid all the hardships incident to the times, Mrs. Hobbs provided for the family, consisting of Abraham, who lives at Homestead, Mich .; Elizabeth, who married M. S. Haynes; Susan, (Mrs. Harmon Goodrich), who died in 1878, at Elsie, Michigan; Mary A., (Mrs. Thomas Blake), now living at Midland, Mich.
When quite advanced in life, Mrs. Hobbs married William Pierce, a Waterloo soldier, with whom she lived until his death in 1875, at the age of 81 years. Mrs. Pierce died in 1877, aged 78 years.
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EBENEZER POMEROY and wife, Violaty Thayer, of North- ampton, Mass., moved their family of eight children to Onondaga Co., N. Y., in 1817, and from there to Strongsville in 1822. Mr. Pomeroy located his home one-half mile northwest of the center of the township. He was accidentally killed by being thrown from a wagon in 1835.
The children, moved by the restless pioneer spirit of early days, lo- cated in remote states. Walter, the eldest, established a home in Illinois before its admission as a state, and moved west with the tide of emigra- tion and died in Oregon. Ebenezer, Jr., a successful merchant in Albion during its active period, moved to Kenosha, Wis., to engage in the lum- ber trade. He made two overland trips to California during the fifties, returning at last to Ottawa, O., where he died. Morris, in company with Ebenezer, built many of the first frame houses in Strongsville. He moved to Kenosha, Wis., then back to Ohio, then to Colorado and later to California. Calvin Thayer, a physician, located at Ottawa, Ohio, and practised throughout Putnam, Hancock and Defiance counties. He of- ten rode thirty miles on horseback to make a call, his only guide the blazed trees. During his life, which was ended by drowning in Lake Huron, at the burning of the steamer, Marine City, August 20, 1880, he saw the Black Swamp become the "Garden of Ohio." The remaining children: Alanson, Violaty (Mrs. Gallup), Lorency (Mrs. E. Coltrin), and Lucy (Mrs P. Pope), resided in Strongsville. Lorency died soon after her marriage, leaving one son, Sylvester.
ALANSON POMEROY, who, for many years, was closely iden- tified with the history of Strongsville, was the son of Ebenezer and Vio- laty Thayer Pomeroy. He was born at Northampton, Mass., February 20th, 1805, and moved with his parents to Strongsville, in 1822. Begin- ning with nothing but his own industry, skill and integrity, he gradually acquired a considerable property, through good management and perse- verance. In local affairs, Mr. Pomeroy took an active and prominent part. He was an organizer of the Berea Bank; a leading member of the Congregational Church, and a liberal contributor to missionary and edu- cational institutions. Being a strong believer in the duty and dignity of labor, he sympathized with the industrious poor, who received his
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hearty support. Mr. Pomeroy was married January 9th, 1831, to Miss Kezia Pope of Strongsville. They had nine children, of whom "six are living: Alson H. and Orlando D., of Berea; Elizabeth, wife of H. K. Day, E.yria, Ohio; Vienna, wife of C. W. D. Miller, Santa Barbara, California; Perlina, wife of W. W. Smith, Litchfield, Ohio; and Dr. Harlan Pomeroy, Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Pomeroy died at his home in Strongsville, Jan- uary 4, 1877.
Mrs. Kezia Pomeroy, daughter of Jonathan and Kezia Pope, was born September 15th, 1809, and moved to Strongsville from New Bed- ford, Mass., in 1819. Her death occurred March 25th, 1893.
ALSON H. POMEROY was born in Strongsville in 1836, and in 1859 married Miss Ellen Tillinghast of Berlin Heights. In 1874 they moved to Berea where they now reside. Mr. Pomeroy has for many years been a prominent member of the Berea Congregational Church, and an influential citizen. He was twice elected Mayor of the Village, and filled the office with fidelity and honor. He was connected with the First National Bank of Berea, and is now president of the Bank of Be-
rea Company. Mr. Pomeroy was one of the original suburban street railway promoters. In company with Messrs. C. W. D. Miller and A. W. Bishop, of Berea, he was largely interested in the construc- tion of the Cleveland & Berea electric road, which was the first subur- ban street railway in the state. He is connected with the Pomeroy- Mandelbaum Syndicate, which is one of the largest in the country. He is at present president of the Cleveland, Elyria & Western Electric Railroad.
Their three children are Fred T., who is General Manager of the C. E. & W. Electric Road; Mary, the wife of J. O. Wilson; and Jesse B., all of Cleveland.
ORLANDO D. POMEROY, the fourth child of Alanson Pom- eroy, was born in Strongsville, January 7th, 1839. At the age of 18 he was sent to Oberlin, although he never entered for a course of study. He was engaged in mercantile business and farming for many years, and was township trustee for eight successive years. In 1887 he gave up the mercantile business and moved with his family to Berea, where he took
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up the banking business. At the present date he is secretary and treas- urer of the Bank of Berea Company, and is a Director of the Cleveland, Elyria & Western Electric Road.
In 1864 Mr. Pomeroy married Miss Zelia Gardner, daughter of Mr. John Gardner, and their three children are Josephine, wife of J. M. Weaver of Berea; Carl and Guy. Mr. Gardner was a resident of Strongs- ville about two years, his death occurring in 1853. He was a ship-build- er by trade, and had a force of men under his orders in the Cleveland Ship Building Yards. Mrs. Gardner, who was Miss Jane Stone, continu- ed to reside in Strongsville for many years, an active worker in church and society, then moved to Berea to be with her daughter, Mrs. O. D. Pomeroy, where she died May 5th, 1901. The other children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gardner were Hubert, who died in infancy; Edgar, of Lansing, Mich., and Eugene of Detroit, Mich.
HARLAN POMEROY, the youngest son of Alanson and Kezia Pomeroy, was born in Strongsville, June 27th, 1853. He was a student at Oberlin from 1870 to 1875, and subsequently attended the Homeo- pathic Hospital College, from which institution he graduated in 1879. After completing a post-graduate medical course in New York, he re- turned to Cleveland in 1880, and has since resided there, having become one of the leading physicians of the city. December 21st, 1880 he was married to Frances L. Pomroy of Elyria, O. He now owns the Old Homestead at Strongsville, and occupies it as a summer residence.
JOHN POOTS was born in Ballinaris, County Down, Ireland, Feb- ruary 25, 1827. In the year 1852, he came with his father's family to . Strongsville and settled in the western part of the township, on the farm which his father, Robert Poots, purchased of Hiram Welch, He married Mary Jane Gracey, of Portsmouth, N. H., November 9th, 1854, residing in that place six months. Until 1893, with the exception of one year spent in Columbia, he resided in Strongsville, having purchased his father's farm. At that time, he moved to Berea and retired from ac- tive farming on account of failing health. After suffering for years, he
FREDERICK STRONG
SIDNEY STRONG
WALTER OGILVY
MRS WALTER OGILVY
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died in Berea, February 7, 1901, aged 74 years. Mr. and Mrs. Poots had twelve children: S. R. and W. J. Poots, of Strongsville; Maggie J., who married James F. Bolton, of Columbia; Thomas H. and Joseph A., of Sha- lersville, Portage county, Ohio; John E. and Charles F., of Strongsville; a son and a daughter, who died in infancy; Anna and Gracey, who are living with their mother in Berea; George L., who lives on the old farm in Strongsville.
THE POPE FAMILY trace their lineage back to Thomas Pope, who landed at Plymouth in 1631, and settled at New Bedford, Mass. Through all the succeeding generations we find its members quiet, home loving, industrious and reliable people. Jonathan Pope, the head of the Strongsville branch of the family, had for a number of years, been a Justice of the Peace at New Bedford, and had also served one or two terms in the Massachusetts State Legislature before coming west in 1819, In that year he and his wife, Kezia Jenne, with seven of their children, Margaret, Thomas Worth, Jonathan, Philander, Kezia, Mercy and Narcissa, settled in Strongsville, one son, Ansel, having preceeded them one year. A daughter, Thankful, remained in her native town. The family came by the usual mode of conveyance, ox-team, to Buffalo, thence boat to Cleveland, and then another three days hard pull with team through an almost unbroken forest to Strongsville. Thomas, al- ways at the front of civilization, moved on to Iowa at an early period of its settlement. Mercy married Leonard Jenne. They also moved west at intervals until they reached Northfield, Minn. Margaret married Eli- jah Lyman, Sr., and after his decease became the wife of P. D. Wellman, one of the early boot and shoe makers of the township. Kezia married Alanson Pomeroy, and Narcissa died at the age of sixteen. Three sons, Ansel J., Jonathan and Philander, remained in Strongsville.
Ansel was the pioneer blacksmith, also merchant and artist. He was in every respect a self-made man-coming to an unbroken wilder- ness, finding his way by marked trees, and bringing all his worldly posses- sions in a pack upon his back. He married, in 1819, Miss Lucinda Brit- tan of Marlboro, Vt., who died in 1838, leaving a family of four child-
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ren, namely : Julia, Talitha, Wesley and Irene. In 1839, Mr. Pope was again married to Miss Adaline Wood. They had one adopted daughter, now Mrs. Anna Freeman, who still lives in Strongsville. Mr. Pope died De- cember 16, 1882, at the advanced age of 85 years, his wife following him December 17, 1893, at the age of 74 years.
Jonathan married Lydia Jenne. Their children were Narcissa, Ly- dia Ann, Thomas Harlan, Frederick, Orpha Elmina, Margaret and Ada- line There are those now in Strongsville who remember Dr. Jonathan Pope as a unique character; as a man of keen observation and decided opinions, with a forcible and sometimes emphatic way of expression. He was a good shot with a rifle-the only one of the family who cared for a gun. He studied medicine at home, attended a course of lectures at Cleveland and became a successful self-made physician.
Philander married first Lucy Pomeroy, and afterwards Orpha Clark. He had three children-Perlina Lucy, Charles H, and G. Stanley. He was a sturdy woodsman, a natural mechanic and an expert in the use of any tool or piece of machinery that came to his hand. Unaided, he cleared and fenced and otherwise improved his farm of 160 acres. He was greatly interested in the early improvement of the public schools, and had a large influence in securing the first three months district school at the Center. He was also especially earnest in his Anti-Slav- ery sentiments, and thus became prominently identified with the Under- ground Railroad movement, and later on was equally zealous in all tem- perance and other reforms. As a family, they all endured heroically the hardships incident to pioneer life, and carved for themselves and their children comfortable homes from the unbroken forest. They were prom- inent in religious, educational and social affairs; were pillars in the Meth- odist Church. They kept up a lively interest in affairs until the very close of life.
Of the next generation of Popes, many of the daughters were school teachers, and three married preachers. Julia, daughter of Ansel, married Rev. W. B. Disbro, a talented and distinguished divine of the M. E. Church. Her sister, Irene, became the wife of Rev. Wm. Hitch-
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