USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Strongsville > History of Strongsville, Cuyahoga County, Ohio ; with illustrations > Part 9
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JUDGE CARLOS M. STONE was born in Strongsville, Cuya- hoga County, March 27, 1846. When the Civil War was at its height, in the spring of 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company H of the 150th O. V. I. and served during the period of the regiment's service, which was located in and about the fortifications at Washington. Upon his return, he entered Oberlin College, where he remained until 1867, then entering the Ohio State and Union Law College, of Cleveland, from which he was graduated in 1869. He immediately entered upon and continued in the practice of the law until he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the county at the October election in 1879, taking the of- fice on January 1, 1880. He was re-elected for a second term in 1882, retiring from office in 1885. He then resumed the practice of law, un- der the firm name of Stone, Hessenmueller & Gallup; but in the fall of the same year he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County, taking his seat on the Bench in November, 1885, which position he has since held. As a man and a Judge he possesses a high sense of honor, an exceptional character, always faithful in the discharge of a trust. Judge Stone is a man of wide reading in general literature and is well posted on both historical and sociological ques- tions. He has always been a Republican, taking as active an interest as he could, consistent with his position as judge. In 1884, he was the chairman of the county central committee that conducted the Blaine campaign in the county. He was a member of the Peace Congress which met in Washington in 1895. He is a member of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce; and on the 17th of March, 1896, delivered an address be-
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fore that body upon "A Permanent International Court of Arbitration." This address has been most highly spoken of. In 1872 Judge Stone married Jeanette Follett, of Oberlin, and by this union has two children, Ruth and Katherine Stone.
Judge Stone has been connected with various banking and bu- siness enterprises, serving for some years as the vice-president of the Wick Banking & Trust Company, and is a director of the Toledo & West- ern Railway Company.
REV. GEO. M. STONE, D. D., was born December 10, 1834, at Strongsville, O. At the age of 15 he began life for himself in the nearby city of Cleveland. His first occupation was that of selling pa- pers At 16 years of age he was at work in the office of the Democrat, now The Cleveland Leader, and when only 18 years old, became its local editor. While engaged in newspaper life he joined the Second Baptist Church in Cleveland, and soon after decided to devote his life to the ministry. Dr. Stone studied at Williston Seminary at Easthampton, Mass., and later entered Madison (now Colgate) University at Hamilton, N Y., where he graduated in 1858. After taking a course at the Ham- ilton Theological Seminary, he was called to Danbury, Conn., where he preached seven years, but ill health compelled him to resign, and he moved to Minn., becoming pastor of the First Baptist Church at Wino- na, where he remained two years. After a pastorate of three and one half years at Milwaukee he returned to the East, and was settled in Tar- rytown-on-the-Hudson, N. Y., in September 1873. In 1872 he receiv- ed the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Chicago University, the predecessor of the present institution.
In June, 1879, he accepted a call to the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church of Hartford, Conn., where he has remained ever since. Dr. Stone's ministry has been a very success- ful one, but it is not alone as pastor and clergyman that he is known, for he has gained prominence as a writer, both in prose and poetry. He has traveled extensively both in this country and abroad, and has utili- zed the results of his observations in lectures, and in letters to the press.
In 1861 Dr. Stone married Miss Abbie B. Seeley, daughter of Deacon Nathan Seeley, of the Danbury Church.
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HENRY STONE was born at Pillar Point, Jefferson County, New York, February 22, 1823; came to Ohio in 1843 and was married two years later to Miss Phebe J. Cady. They moved to Strongsville in 1850. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stone: Henry J .; Hat- tie L. (Mrs. Mastick); Mary Libby; Ella E. (Mrs. Clifford Burnham, Be- rea); Emma A, (Mrs Garland Shepard, Collinwood); Jennie; and Frank L. of Strongsville. Mr. Stone died January 25, 1889, leaving a wife and five children, two daughters, Mary L and Jennie having died in child- hood. Mrs. Stone now resides in Strongsville.
JOHN STOUGHTON STRONG, SR., son of Capt David and Sa- rah Warner Strong, Stafford, Conn., was born in Stafford, July 19, 1771. He was a descendant in the fifth generation of Elder John Strong who came from Plymouth, England, in 1630. His great-great-grandmother was a daughter of Rev. John Wareham of Windsor, Conn., a noted and prominent man in the colonies, and his father and two uncles were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. Little is known of his early life.
His education was limited. In 1793 he moved to Marlboro, Vt., where he lived until 1816, and was engaged in farming, operating a distillery and other businesses. In June, 1795, he married Tamar Whitney, who bore him a large family of children. January 30, 1816, he took a cer- tificate of christian character and membership in the Congregational Church of Marlboro, signed by his pastor, Rev. E H. Newton. In that year he moved to Township No. 5, Range 14 of the Connecticut West- ern Reserve, Ohio, which afterwards received his name and was called Strongsville. He took with him his eldest son Emory, then twenty years old, who led a brief but useful life which terminated in 1834. The rest of his family remained in Marlboro until 1818 when they moved to Ohio. This western township was mostly owned by Henry L. and William W. Ellsworth of Windsor and Hartford, Connecticut; it contained 16002 acres of land. In 1815-16 they sold Mr. Strong one half or more of the township, mostly at two and a half dollars per acre with a credit ex- tending to ten years. In 1816-17 they gave him powers of attorney to sell the remaining lands on a commission, at a uniform price of two and a half dollars per acre; and later, one authorizing him to fix the
HON. M. E. GALLUP
MRS. M. E. GALLUP
MILTON GALLUP
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price according to his own judgment. So by purchase and agency he had control of most of the township. He also bought lands in adjoining counties of eastern parties, in some cases agreeing to deliver horses and "neat cattle" at Hartford, Conn., at appraised price in payment. He was agent for the Hartford Bank to manage and care for numerous tracts of their lands on the Reserve. By contract with the Ellsworths he laid out and cut "a good and sufficient road through the township," and they, on their part, had the town surveyed at their expense. The original bill for the latter is still preserved and foots up to $138, being at the rate of $2.50 per day for surveyor, $1 for axe and chain- men, and 372 cents per man per day "for board and whisky". He took a leading part in bringing forward the settlement of the township, build- ing and establishing roads, schools, churches, mills, etc., building the tavern at the Center, giving land for a Common, an academy, a cemete- ry; and other public purposes. He was a promoter and director of the Wayne, Medina and Cuyahoga Turnpike Road Company. He was not an office seeker and was too busy a man to give much time to such things, yet he did not altogether escape the responsibility but held some offices in church and town, one of which was Justice of the Peace. All these activities did not seem sufficient to satisfy his great energy, and he en- gaged in cattle dealing on a large scale, which he followed for twelve years or more, buying large droves in Ohio and Kentucky and driving them through to Boston and New York markets. The last two years of his active business life were engaged in buying sheep and driving them into Michigan and Illinois, where he sold most of them and let out the balance of them to farmers on shares.
He was a man of great activity, of remarkable energy and enthusi- astic buoyancy of spirits, sufficient to carry him through difficulties that would appali the ordinary man. His quick wit, aptness at repartee and unique and pronounced personality made all his doings interesting and were the foundation of many stories concerning his acts and sayings. His idea of the civilization to be established in the new state was after the Puritan model, somewhat liberalized; he regarded the institutions of religion and learning as the foundation while laboring earnestly for all material welfare. Mr. Strong died in 1863.
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Tamar Whitney, daughter of Deacon Jonas and Tamar Houghton Whitney, was born in Marlboro, Vermont, July 9th, 1779. She was a descendant in the sixth generation of John Whitney of an influential family in England, dating back to the XII. Century who came over in 1635 and settled in Watertown, Mass. In 1795, when nearly [sixteen years old, she was married to John Stoughton Strong. She was of fine presence and good features. She reared her large family of child- ren, gave them Christian training and proper discipline, and taught them a strict observance of Sabbath Day. Her principal intellectual and moral culture was a thorough reading of the Bible, and of the New York Observer. Probably her most prominent characteristic was a love for the cause of Christ, the Church, and the songs of Zion The mid-week prayer-meeting was often held in her large living-room. She was a sweet singer, and most, or all, of her children inherited the gift. The choir for many years, was under the leadership of some of them. Mrs. Strong was fitted, in every way, to be a helpmeet for such a pioneer as her hus- band. Her sound judgment and calm poise of character complemented and balanced his most pronounced characteristics, and she met well the great responsibility connected with the numerous business interests of Mr. Strong, during his frequent absences from home. She was full of resources in managing house. tavern, or farm. Her strong Christian character was invaluable to the community as well as to her family. Blessed is the memory of the Christian pioneer mothers!
EMORY STRONG, the eldest son of John S. Strong, Sr., was twenty years of age when he came to Strongsville with his father, and assisted in the sale of land. In March, 1818, he married Miss Mary Olds, the daughter of Col. Benjamin Olds, of Westfield, Mass. She died in 1829, leaving four children: Mary, Almira, Benjamin O., and Eliza. In 1830, Mr. Strong married Miss Irena Johnson, of Laporte, Ohio. Their two children's names are George W. and Delia L.
Mr. Strong first lived in a log house at Stone hill; later moved to Albion on what is known as the Harding farm, and upon selling this farm to Mr. David Harvey, he moved to the Center and built the first
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frame store. He was a merchant for a number of years and died May 25th, 1834.
His son, Benjamin Olds Strong, was born in 1824 and graduated at Western Reserve College in 1853. He was a farmer and merchant in Strongsville, in Seville, and later in Kankakee, Ill. In 1849 he married Miss Fanny Taylor. They had two children: Ellen Sophia who died young; and Mary J., who was born in Strongsville in 1850, and who is the wife of A. B. Taylor, a banker at Lodi, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor recently presented to Oberlin College a hotel valued at $50,000.
LYMAN STRONG and wife came from Stafford, Conn. in 1818 His wife died soon after their arrival. In the month of October 1818, while firing the morning salute, Mr. Strong then captain, was accidentally shot by a private. After much suffering his leg was am- putated. Judge Strong, as he was called, lived at the center of Strongs- ville for many years a respected citizen of the town.
RETIRE GROVE STRONG was born in Stafford, Conn, June 25, 1797 He came to Strongsville, October 1816, with the family of Guilford Whitney. He was employed by his uncle, John S. Strong, and for two years of service was to have his choice of a farm. He accord- ingly selected one in the north part of the township, then cov- ered with a dense forest. After clearing a space for a home, he built a log cabin and in June, 1819 was married to Miss Vina Whitney, daughter of Guiltord Whitney. In this primitive home they lived, en- during many privations. The water they drank had to be brought from a spring nearly a mile distant, through the woods. Towards evening they would often hear the wolves howling, and the common black bear troubled them frequently. The cabin was built without the use of a nail, had a shake roof, consisting of boards split about 3 feet in length, and a stick chimney which was so large that the children remember standing. in front of the fire place, and counting the star in the heavens ahove them. The doors had wooden hinges, and latches. The latch- string always hung out ready to welcome their friends and neighbors. This was a Christian home, both having united with the Cong. church at
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the center soon after their marriage. Mrs. Strong died June 2, 1842, and Mr. Strong married for his second wife Miss Orra Merrill May 1844, with whom he lived until his death which occurred May 3 1859. She survived him several years.
Retire Grove Strong and his first wife, Vina Whitney, were the par- ents of thirteen children, seven of whom reached adult age; namely: Marcia Ann, born April, 1823, who married Robert M. Ashley, Jan. 1847, and died at Cuyahoga Falls, O., in March, 1853; Mary Delight, born July, 1825, who married Wm. H. Ashley in April, 1849, and died in Strongsville, Sept. 1854; Samuel Sanford, born May, 1827. At the age of 21 he went to Somers, Wis., where he married Miss Louisa Carey in 1854. He died Feb. 11, 1901. He was for many years an elder in the Presbyterian church, an active Christian worker, loved and respected by all. Of his family of five children, three daughters and a son passed over the river before him. Mrs. Strong and one daughter, Alice E. sur- vive him, and still live in Somers, Wis. Vina W .- born July 1834, was married to Leland Spencer of Dover, Ohio. They removed to Edgerton, Wis., where she died in 1888, leaving a daughter and a son, Mrs. Alta Barnson, and Nathan G. Spencer; Newton G. was born Dec. 31, 1838. He served three years in the Civil War, enlisting in Battery G, First Ohio Light Artillery. He participated in many hard fought battles. After his return from the war, he was married Feb. 1866, to Miss Au- relia Parsons of Brunswick, O. Of their five children, three died in in- fancy; those surviving being a daughter, Mrs. Nellie Aldrich of Hudson, Mich., and one son, Fred, who lives with his parents on their stock farm near Hudson, Mich .; D. Merrick was born August 22, 1829, and has al- ways resided in Strongsville; Harriet E., married first J. Chipman Strong and later became the wife of E. H. Reed.
D. MERRICK STRONG, second son of Retire Grove Strong, was born August 22d, 1829. He was married October 25th, 1853, to Miss Almira Bryant, who was born in Nelson, N. H, August 20th, 1833, a daughter of Francis S. and Betsey E. (Sprague) Bryant, natives of Massachusetts and New Hampshire respectively. They emigrated from the latter state to Ohio in 1833, settled first in Coshocton county, and
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EDWARD CLEMENT
MRS. EDWARD CLEMENT
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eleven years later moved to Strongsville, where they lived the remain- der of their lives. Mr. Bryant died July 6, 1856, and Mrs. Bryant fol- lowed October 1, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Strong have had five children, namely: Frances G. and Charles [M, who died in infancy; Hattie E., widow of Dr. Frank M. Clark, who resides with her parents; Mary A., who died in 1875. when ten years of age; and Arthur B., pastor of the Presbyterian Church at North Springfield, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Strong still live on the farm, a portion of which is the one first settled by his father. Mr. Strong has been closely identified with the history of the township in its progress and advancement; and was prominent among those who helped to secure the brick road. He has held several offices of trust, has been a deacon of the Congregational Church for many years, and for twenty years, was superintendent of the Sabbath school.
WARNER STRONG, born June 30th, 1804, in Marlboro, Vt., moved with the family to that part of the Western Reserve of Ohio af- terward named Strongsville. His education was continued at Tallmadge Academy. He married, June 23, 1825, Lydia Buell, who died June 2d, 1826, and in 1829, he married Saloma Burrell, of Sheffield, Ohio. He entered the mercantile business soon after his second marriage, which he carried on to the time of his death in August, 1856. He also opera- ted a large farm and dealt considerably in stock. He held the office of Justice of the Peace and postmaster, and was successively commissioned by the Governor of Ohio as Lieutenant, Captain, and Major in the State Militia. He was an active and influential member of the Congregation- al Church; was a man of good ability and judgment, and possessed the confidence and esteem of all who knew him.
Saloma Burrell, daughter of Jabez and Mary Robbins Burrell, of Shef- field, Mass , was born Jan. 27, 1804. About the year 1816, she moved with her parents to Sheffield, Ohio. Her education was completed at the Tallmadge Academy. She was a successful teacher in Sheffield and in Windham, Ohio. She was of a sprightly, fun-loving disposition, which manifested itself in many comical pranks. She was of true pioneer
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grit and had the nerve to kill a rattler and cut off his head with her scissors, and to touch off a gun that held fire, with a live coal, while her brother held it and shot a wild turkey. She married Warner Strong, January 1st, 1829, and came to Strongsvile, Ohio, where she lived until her death in 1856. She united with the Church in 1834. Her life was characterized by great faithfulness and devotion to the best interests of her family, the community, and the Church in all its institutions. She was an excellent house and home keeper and in her domestic affairs manifested a refinement and culture in advance of the times in which she lived. She was very hospitable and loved to entertain her friends, while the traveling minister or home missionary always found a welcome in her home. Her great affection for her children was not manifested solely in caresses, but in an even, wholesome discipline as well. Her love of flowers led her to spend much time and effort in their cultiva- tion.
WARNER HENRY STRONG, son of Warner Strong, was born in Strongsville, May 19, 1826. He attended the High School at Richfield, and received, also, a most excellent musical education from his uncle, Stoughton Strong, so that he was able to read music at sight, and sing any part, though his voice was best adapted to bass. He early became a member of the First Congregational Church, and led the choir for many years. He was a clerk in his father's store until his marriage, at 24 years of age, to Miss Hannah White, whose early life was spent in a pioneer home in Michigan. Mr. Strong conducted a store for him- self at the Center, and afterward one at Albion At the beginning of the War, in 1861, being unable to pass an examination, requisite to be- come a soldier, and being threatened with consumption, he gave up the store, and engaged in farming until his death, which occurred Jan. 17, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Strong had three children: Lewis, of Strongsville, Nellie, wife of Mr. Aylard, and Will, both of Brunswick, O.
EDWARD B. STRONG, son of Warner Strong, was born in Strongsville, May 4th, 1832. He attended school in Strongsville, Brans- wick and Cleveland. At the age of 19 he engaged in business in Cleve- land, remaining there until 1855, when he went to Chicago, Ill., and was
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employed as bookkeeper in a manufacturing establishment. In 1857, with a younger brother, he engaged in the saw-mill business in Minneso- ta. The year 1864 he spent as a traveling salesman, and the following year he was again employed as bookkeeper, being in Winona, Minn. In 1867, he went into the grain business, and in 1878, he joined the Board of Trade, and went into the grain commission business in Chicago, Ill , where he now resides.
FREDERICK STRONG, son of Warner Strong, was born in Strongsville, July 5, 1835, where he lived until nearly 21 years of age. His education was received there, supplemented by two winters' attend- ance at Windham, Ohio, Academy. He united with the Congregational Church when 18 years old, and, during the winter of 185-56, taught school at Albion. In the spring of 1856 he joined a pioneer colony from New York, which settled in Blue Earth county, Minn., where he took up and pre-empted land. Afterwards he, in connection with his brother, operated a steam saw-mill in LaSeuer county, Minnesota, until 1860, when he moved to Windham, Ohio. He then married Miss Mary E. An- gel, daughter of Joseph and Cornelia Angel, and was engaged in farm- ing until 1871, when he moved to St. Peter, Minn., and became, for about four years, a wheat buyer. He lived next at Mitchell, Iowa, where he was instrumental in organizing the Union Congregational Church, which has become a prosperous organization. From 1879 to 1895, he was engaged in the lumber trade in Winterset, Iowa. For the last sev- en years he has been engaged in some real estate and building opera- tions, in making loans and publishing a weekly newspaper. He was one of the founders and first trustees of the Winterset Public Library, and is an elder of the Presbyterian Church.
SIDNEY STRONG was born in Strongsville June 12, 1839, and was the son of Warner and Salome Burrell Strong. In early boyhood, he was left without father or mother, and with a frail constitution, and a small inheritance, with which to face the world. He was determined to obtain a good education and the small amount of money left him by his father, was used to this end. In 1863 he graduated at Western Re- serve College, the first in scholarship in his class. The next year he be-
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gan the study of law in the office of Judge Worcester, a brother of the lexicographer, at Norwalk, Ohio; but shortly afterward he returned to his college, having been elected tutor there. After two years he again i took up the study of law with Hon. Chauncey Olds of Columbus, Ohio. A course of lectures at the Harvard Law School completed his studies, and in 1867 he began the practice of law in Youngstown, O. In 1872, he was married to Miss Addie Garlick. Shortly after the death of his son, which blow fell so heavily on the father that he never recovered from it, the beginning of consumption, which had probably only been warded off so long by the best of care, made it necessary for him to leave home in search of health. In the spring of 1883, he went with his wife and daughter to Southern California, but returned in the fall very little benefitted. Shortly afterward he left home again, this time for North Carolina. Here he found temporary relief, but no hope of recovery, and here he remained until his death, June 30. 1885.
FRANKLIN STRONG, son of John S Strong, Sr., was born at Marlboro, Vermont, February 23, 1807, and came to Strongsville, with his parents, in 1818. His school life began in Marlboro, and after at- tending the Academy at Strongsville, he went to school at the Western Reserve College, Hudson, O. Mr. Strong taught school at Bennetts Cor- ners in 1831; his certificate for teaching read like this:
"Being satisfied from acquaintance and examination, with the bearer hereof, Mr. Franklin Strong, as to his literary attain- ments and moral character, we do hereby cheerfully recom- mend him as a suitable person to teach a term of school, being examined in Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, also Grammar and Geography.
Simeon Woodruff, Henry Hudson, Examiners. Strongsville, Ohio, December 13, 1831."
Mr. Strong was commissioned Captain of the State Militia. The Militia assembled twice a year, for training, once at their own town; again at a central point in the county, for a general training. In 1832
MRS. FRANKLIN STRONG
GEO. B. STRONG
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he bought 255 acres of land from his father for $6 per acre. In 1833 Mr. Strong married Betsey Ann Brainard. They had four children :- George B .; Jonas W .; Lorenzo and Mary. Mr. Strong died in the Brat- tleboro Insane Asylum, February 5th, 1853.
Betsey Ann Brainard Strong was born at East Haddam, Conn., Aug- 12th, 1810, and came with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Asa Brainard, to Brooklyn, Ohio, in December, 1814. Four families accompanied them and the journey was made in six weeks, with ox-teams. The taverns on the route were filled by returning soldiers, so the emigrants were ob- liged to sleep in their wagons. Buffalo, partially burned by the British, was still smoking; here they put a part of their goods on a sloop, and on their arrival at Cleveland were warned out of town by the constable. When the emigrants counted the silver brought with them, they found that they were able to buy out the greater part of Cleveland.
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