History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 121

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Ohio > Summit County > History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio > Part 121

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of superior furnace coal. The rich veins of iron there are worked with great facility on account of contiguous quarries of limestone which produce lime suitable for fluxing.

CAPT. GEORGE BILLOW, undertaker, Akron, the representative of his line of busi- ness, has an eventful history. He was born April 2, 1833, in Hesse.Darinstadt, Germany, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Milljus) Billow, both natives of Hesse-Darmstadt. His parents, with five sons and two daughters, emi- grated to the United States about the year 1844, and settled on a farm near Sandusky, Ohio. George remained with his parents till he was 17 years old, and then went to Fremont, Ohio, to learn the trade of a wagon-maker ; he spent three years there at learning his trade, and then he went to Cleveland, where he fin- ished in fine workmanship ; he then came to Akron, and for a time was employed by E. A. Collins. About this time he was married to Miss Mary, daughter of Conrad and Charlotte (Graff) Fink; their marriage took place on Sept. 19, 1854. His wife, as well as her father and mother, were natives of Germany. After his marriage he returned to Cleveland for a time, and then again came to Akron, when he engaged in the manufacture of spokes for Mr. Collins, and for Oviatt & Sperry, of Tallmadge. About the time he was engaged in this busi- ness, the war of the rebellion had grown to a point when President Lincoln issued a call for 300,000 men. Mr. Billow sold out and closed up his interests as best he could, and then entered the army ; he enlisted in Co. I, 107th O. V. I., as a private ; this was a German regiment, and was enlisted specially for Sigel's command ; he entered the army in July, and in the following November he was promoted to Second Lieu- tenant ; shortly after this he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant, and then was made Captain of his company. Much of his term of enlist- ment was spent in detail service, though he saw some hard fighting ; he was in the Fredericks- burg campaign, and was at the battle of Chan- cellorsville from July 1 to 4 ; in the first bayonet charge at this battle, the Captain and thirty men of his company were lost. Hagerstown and Boonsboro will also be remembered by him as places of battle in which he participated. From Warrenton Junetion they embarked for South Carolina ; their command had been so cut up that the 1st Division of the 11th Corps

was united with Gordon's Division, and the com- mand known thereafter as Gordon's Division. They went to Folly Island, under command of Gen. Q. A. Gilmore. Capt. Billow was at the capture of Fort Wagner, and about Christmas, 1863, he was at the battle of James' Island ; he was subsequently ordered to the assistance of the troops at Jacksonville, Fla. ; there he was stricken with typhoid fever, and, after re- covering, he was detailed Brigade Commissary of Subsistence, which position he held for three months, and had the honor of having been complimented by Commissary General Kil- bourn on his success. Again he was detailed, and this time on the staff of Gen. Foster, as Post Commissary at Fernandina ; he remained there about nine months, and was then sent to Jacksonville as local Provost Marshal, and was there for three months, and then he was re- turned to Fernandina, where he remained till the close of the war. When he returned from the army he engaged in the grocery business in Akron, with Mr. C. Kolb ; they were in busi- ness for about two years, when he took charge of the co-operative grocery ; he then, for about one and a half years, was traveling and selling stoneware. Having seen much of the South during the war, he removed to Huntsville, Ala., where, for four years, he was on a cotton plan- tation ; finding this speculation unprofitable. he returned to Akron, where he arrived the 1st of April, 1875. He has now been Notary for five years, and is doing an extensive business as agent for different ocean steamship lines and in foreign exchange ; this, in connection with his business as undertaker, makes an extensive trade. He is a member of Akron Commandery, No. 25; and while he was in Alabama, he was a member of Huntsville Commandery, No. 7, and held the office of Grand Captain of the Guard of the order in that State. Politically, he is a Republican. His family consists of the following children : Anna, George W., Charles Fernando (named after the Major), Ida, Albert C., Jacob L., Edwin M., and the baby, Claire.

WILLIAM BUCHTEL, lumber, etc., Akron; a son of John and Catharine (Richards) Buch- tel, was born Dec. 23, 1822, in Green Township of this county. His father had but little means, except his land (106 acres) and his children only went to school when they could be spared from the farm in winter. He (subject) and his brother, Jolm R., cleared a large portion of his

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father's farm. At 22, he commenced for him- self, and in one year bought the homestead, and engaged largely in wheat-raising. He followed farming until 1856, when he bought an interest (having rented out his farm) in the Chamberlin Mills, which he operated for some time with good success. He served in the 164th O. N. G. during the late war, and was honorably dis- charged in the fall of 1864. After leaving the army, he removed to Akron, and in the follow- ing year he made one of the firm of Jackson, Buchtel & Co., and engaged in the lumber business for five years-subject being most of the time in the pineries near Saginaw, Mich., superintending the manufacture of lumber. He is at present in the lumber business. Since 1865, he has located and handled over 20,000 acres of Government and State lands, in Clare, Isabella and Missaukee Counties, Mich., and still owns some 3,000 acres there. He was married March 7, 1842, to Miss Martha Hen- derson, of Springfield Township. By this mar- riage there are four children, viz. : James H., John D., Wm. M. and C. J.

JOHN D. BUCHTEL, Akron, second son of Wm. and Martha (Henderson) Buchtel was born May 20, 1849, in Coventry Township, this county. In 1864, when his father went into the army, he came to Akron, and worked in the mill until his return, when he went to school for two years. He then engaged in a flour and feed store ; attended commercial school in Pough- keepsie in 1868, and spent two summers at Saginaw, Mich. He was in the employ of Thomas & Son one year (1871), and teller in the Citizens' Savings and Loan Association, from May, 1872, to March, 1877, when his health failed and he lay sick for some time. In 1878, he was a member of Germania Printing Co. for a short time and then went to Chautauqua Lake where he clerked in a hotel for three months. He then came back to Akron, and in November, 1878, opened a feed store on Mill street, which he kept until the spring of 1881, when he be- came a member of the firm of Wm. Buchtel & Sons, lumber dealers.

CHARLES W. BROWN, barber, Akron, a son of John and Margaret (Groves) Brown, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, May 7, 1843, where he lived until 15 years of age, attending the public schools of that city. At the age of 14 he en- tered his father's barber shop as an apprentice ; he, being a leading barber on Superior street

for some fifty years. Subject worked in the shop until the war broke out. He had drilled with a company of colored men under Capt. Paddock of the "Cleveland Grays." This company, through John Brown (subject's father) tendered their services to Gov. Tod, who tele- graphed in response : " When we want niggers we'll let you know." Subject then recruited fif- teen men, and upon offering themselves to Rhode Island were accepted. He then returned and raised twenty men more, but Ohio had, in the meantime, discovered that "niggers " would stop bullets as well as whites, and got out an injunction against their leaving the State. Gov. Sprague of Rhode Island was notified, and sent two of his ablest attorneys to manage the case. In the trial of the case, Gov. Tod's tele- gram was offered in testimony, and after a full discussion of the pros and cons, the " niggers " were allowed to follow their own bent, and at once reported to Rhode Island, where they were mustered into the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery. They entered the service in October, 1862, and were discharged at New Orleans in the spring of 1865. Subject served in the Gulf Department, and was in the battles of Red River, Mobile, Plaquemine, La., and was 1st Sergeant of Co. K. He came to Akron in the fall of 1865, and has done a good business as barber ever since. His shop is located under the Academy of Music, and runs from three to five chairs with competent artists, and has a bath room attached. IIe has always been a stanch Republican and is the first colored man elected to office in Summit County, by a popular vote, being elected Trustee of Portage Township in 1880, an office he has faithfully filled. He was married, July 29, 1867, to Miss Laura V. Lewis, of Cleveland ; they have two daughters and one son. His parents were free-born and came to Cleveland about 1820, where the mother still lives, aged 85 ; father died in 1868. They had two sons and two daughters. Sub- ject is a fine musician, and was leader of the first colored band ever raised in Akron.

DAVID BUNN, policeman. Akron, Ohio ; a son of Jacob and Sarah A. (Whaler) Bunn ; was born in Wells Co., Ind., May 23, 1842, his father having moved to that locality in an early day. Subject worked on a farm, and helped to clear 200 acres of woodland. Ile went to school, two miles distant, and, at 19, came to Ohio, where he worked for David Gailhouse, of

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Wayne County, on farm and in coal bank. Ile enlisted, Aug. 22, 1862, in Co. G, of the 120th O. V. I., and participated in the Trans-Missis- sippi and Vicksburg campaign, and the Red River expedition. He was captured at Snagg Point, Red River, and imprisoned at Camp Ford for thirteen months ; was at one time sentenced to be shot by the rebels, and taken out for that purpose, but was not executed for some cause. After being inhumanly treated, rendering him an invalid for five years, he was, in 1865, pa- roled at Camp Ford, and returned to Doyles- town. Ohio, and clerked for one year for his old employer, on farm and in coal bank. He was married, October 11, 1866, to Miss Ahnira Springer, of Doylestown, where he lived until 1875. They have three children, two sons and one daughter. Mr. B., in 1866, engaged in the grocery business, and afterward dealt in dry goods. In 1875, he came to Akron, and opened a boot and shoe store on Howard street, for about three years, when he closed out and en- tered the employ of Teeples & Maxim for about one and one-half years. In 1878, he was ap- pointed, by Mayor Scott, policeman for the Fourth Ward, and has been on the force ever since, a faithful and vigilant officer. He has always been a stanch Republican in politics.

J. MARTIN BECK, Akron Varnish Works, Akron, Ohio, is a son of Adam and Christina (Hoefer) Beck, and was born in the town of Selb, Bavaria, Germany, Oct. 14, 1843. At 14, he entered as an apprentice in a wholesale gro- cery and drug house, and served four years without compensation, and paid over $300 to learn the business. He passed a regular ex- amination, and came to the United States in 1862, and to Akron in August of the same year. Here he first entered the employ of M. W. Henry & Co., Mr. Wolf, his half-brother, being a partner. He remained six years, when his health failed, and he changed his location to Cleveland, where he was employed by E. I. Baldwin & Co. as a salesman for one year. In the spring of 1869, he went to Europe and re- mained till fall, and returned to the United States in improved health. He entered into partnership with John Wolf and H. J. Church, in the dry goods business, until 1878, when he sold out, and shortly after formed a partner- ship with E. G. Kubler, and established the Akron Varnish Works, the first and only fac- tory of the kind in the county. The business

has largely increased since its establishment. Jan. 12, 1871, he married Miss Kate J. Buch- tel, daughter of William Buchtel, Esq. They have two sons and one daughter.

SOL J. BUCHER, Constable, Akron ; son of David and Catherine (Baird) Bucher, was born in Franklin Township, this county, April 10, 1846. Ile lived there until the war broke out. At 16, he entered the army, enlisting August 5, 1862, in Co. H, 104th O. V. I. He served in the Kentucky and East Tennessee invasion, and the Atlanta campaign. At Co- lumbia. Tenn., he was wounded on the 28th of November, 1864, while on skirmish line; he was shot by a sharpshooter, and the ball en- tered under his left nostril, crashing through the hard palate, grazing the base of the skull, and lodged between his ear and bones of the neck. The wound was probed by surgeons, and they removed a half ounce ball. His hear- ing and eyesight were affected for some time. HIe joined his regiment at Greensboro, N. C., in May, 1865, and was mustered out at Cleve- land with his regiment. On his return, he en- gaged in farming in Coventry Township, until 1869, when he removed to Akron, and was there in the employ of Thomas & Sons, in the planing business, for about a year ; then, for some time, engaged in the grocery business. Next, he worked in the different departments of the " Excelsior Works," on reapers and mow- ers, and subsequently in the Akron Rubber Works. In 1875, he was elected Constable for Portage Township, which position he has filled by annual elections ever since. He has been a member of the Republican County Committee for two years. September 28, 1866, he mar- ried, at Millersburg, Ohio, Mrs. Harriet L. Bucher, widow of the late David Bucher, Jr., and daughter of David Flickinger, formerly of Summit Co. His father was born in Maryland in 1808, and came to Canton with his parents in 1810, the present city having then but four cabins. He grew up there, and moved near Clinton, this county, in 1838. He married Miss Catharine Baird, of Canton, a lady of Scotch descent, born in 1813. He farmed in Franklin Township until his death, in 1858. Ile was one of the " Minute Men" during the Mexican war. He was the father of fourteen children, eleven of whom are deceased ; but six grew up, viz., David, Jr., John, Joseph, Solo- mon J., Lavina and Amelia, Henry (deceased).

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John was a member of the 1st Battalion of the 18th U. S. A., and died at Park Barrack, Louis- ville, Ky., Dec. 9, 1862. Mrs. David Bucher, Sr., is still living. Theobald Bucher, grand- father of subject, was a French soldier, and re- moved from Alsatia, France, to America, just after the American Revolution, settling at Bal- timore, Md .; then removed to Bellefonte, Center Co., Penn., and, in 1810, to Canton, Ohio, with his family.

JAMES BUCHANAN, foreman in paper mills, Akron ; is a son of James and Elizabeth (Patterson) Buchanan ; she a daughter of Frank Patterson. All were natives of County Donne- gal, Ireland ; but emigrated to America, and settled at Quebec, Canada, in 1853, the same year coming to Cuyahoga Falls. James and Elizabeth Buchanan had four children, two of whom are living-our subject, born in 1846, and Helen, now a Mrs. Fred Langs ; he a molder at Webster, Camp & Lanes. The young- est and the oldest children died in infancy. James received a limited education, and, at 9 years of age, began working in the paper mill at Cuyahoga Falls, where he worked a number of years, and learned the different departments of the work. In Aug. 2, 1862, he enlisted in Co. G, 115th O. V. I., and was afterward trans- ferred to the Second U. S. Calvary, in which he served two and a half years. He was mustered out of service in August, 1865 ; returned home, and learned the harness-maker's trade, at which he worked three years. In 1868, he re-engaged in the paper mill at the falls, working with the engines and machines, until, in the year 1874, from which time until, in 1876, he was em- ployed at the Monroe Falls Paper Mills. In 1876, he came to the Akron Paper Company, and, in 1879, accepted the position of foreman of the works. He was married to Mary Ann Nesbitt, by whom he had four children, three of whom are now living, viz., Ellen, Emma and Frank. He is a member of Summit Lodge, No. 50, I. O. O. F. He is also connected with the Episcopal Church.

FREDERICK BISHOP, Superintendent Ak- ron Iron Company, Akron ; son of Thomas and Ann (Warner) Bishop ; was born in the county of Warwickshire, England, October 30, 1843. When a child, his parents removed to the iron region of South Staffordshire, England. When 12 years old, he entered a rolling mill at Wednes- bury, Eng., in the heart of the iron coun-

try. He worked in almost every department of the business there, and came to the United States in 1868, stopping at Pittsburgh, Pen., from August to November, when he came to Akron, and entered the employ of this company, as puddler's helper for some six months, when he was assigned the management of the finish- ing mills, a position he held some six years, after which he was employed in the mills of the Mahoning Valley as superintendent of mills (at different points) for four years. He then entered the employ of the Akron Iron Company, in September, 1878, as superintendent, which position he has held ever since. He has been in the iron business for twenty-six years, and is thoroughly acquainted with all the processes known as to its manufacture. May 31, 1869, he married Miss Ann Baldwin, of Wednesbury, England. He has two children living, and three dead. His father was a farmer, and is living with his wife in England. They were once in the United States.

JOHN BROWN, deceased. The champion of universal liberty, the zealous friend of the colored race, and the hero of Harper's Ferry, was born at Torrington, Conn., on the 9th of May, in the year 1800, and was the son of Owen and Ruth (Mills) Brown. His ancestry is traced back in an unbroken line to Peter Brown, one of the fugitive pilgrims, who landed from the Mayflower on Plymouth Rock in De- cember, 1620. Without tracing the family back to this renowned ancestor, suffice it to say that Capt. John Brown (the grandfather of subject), was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and died of disease during his term of service. He was of the fourth generation from Peter Brown in regular descent. Capt. John Brown's youngest son was named Owen, and was the father of our subject. He came to Ohio in 1805, when the latter was but five years old, and settled in Hudson Township (now in Summit County), where he became one of the principal pioneer settlers of that section. He was commonly called Squire Brown, and was one of the Board of Trustees of Oberlin College; was spoken of as being endowed with energy and enterprise, and of going down to his grave honored and respected, about 1852, at the age of 87 years. Subject's mother died when he was but 8 years old, a loss he mourned long and sincerely. When the war broke out with England (1812), his father engaged in fur-

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nishing the troops with beef cattle. During this war he had some chance to form his own boyish judgment of men and measures, and to become somewhat familiarly acquainted with many who figured before the country in after years. A circumstance occurred during this war that made him a most determined Aboli- tionist, and led him to declare eternal war on slavery. He was staying for a short time with a man who owned a slave boy about his own age. This man made a great pet of him (sub- jeet), brought him to table with his first com- pany and friends, and called their attention to every little smart thing he said and did, while the negro boy was badly clothed, poorly fed and lodged in cold weather, and beaten before his eyes with anything that came first to hand. At the age of 10 an old friend induced him to read a little history, by which he acquired some taste for reading ; formed the principal part of his early education and diverted him, in a great manner, from bad company. By reading the lives of great and good men, and their writings, he grew to dislike vain and frivolous conversa- tion and persons. In early life he became an- bitious to excel in anything he undertook to perform, and especially in the full labor of a man in any hard work. At an carly age he became, to some extent, a convert to Chris- tianity, and was ever after a firm believer in the divine authenticity of the Bible. With this book he became very familiar, and possessed an unusual memory of its entire contents. He was married June 21, 1820, at Hudson, to Miss Dianthe Lusk, an industrious and economical girl of excellent character, carnest piety, and of good practical common sense. By this marriage he had seven children, viz., John, Jason, Owen, Frederick, Ruth, Frederick (2d), and an infant son, buried with its mother, Aug. 10, 1832. three days after its birth. By his second wife, Mary A. Day, to whom he was married at Meadville, Penn., he had thirteen children, viz., Sarah, Watson, Salmon, Charles, Oliver, Peter, Austin, Anne, Amelia, Sarah (2d), Ellen, infant son, Ellen (2d). From his 21st to his 26th year, he was engaged in the tanning business and as a farmer in Ohio. At 26, he went to Crawford Co., Penn., where he carried on his old business until 1835, characterized as a thoroughly honest man. In 1835, he moved to Franklin Mills, Portage Co., Ohio, where he remained until 1840, when he went to Hudson

and engaged in the wool business with Mr. Oviatt, of Richfield. In 1844, he moved to Akron, and in 1846, to Springfield, Mass., where he lived until 1849, and then removed to Essex Co., N. Y. In 1851, he returned, with his family to Akron, Ohio, where he managed Mr. Perkins' farm and carried on the wool business. It was in 1839 that he first conceived the idea of liberating the Southern slaves. He had seen the blasting and blighting manhood of the nation, and had listened to the "voice of the poor that cried." This sentiment was cherished by him, and his efforts in that direction pushed forward, until he expiated with his life the zeal he felt for the down-trodden African. In 1855, on starting for Kansas, he again moved his household to Essex Co., N. Y., where now his "body lies moldering in the dust." But from the period of his going to Kansas, until an ignominious death closed his eventful career, his acts and his deeds are a part of the nation's history, and require no repetition in this sketch.

JAMES N. BALDWIN, merchant miller, Akron. Benson C. Baldwin was born in 1797. in Granville, Mass., and his wife, Louisa A. Neal, in Tallmadge, Ohio, in 1812. He was a minister in the Presbyterian Church, and preached up to the time of his death, which occurred at Medina in 1844. He was the father of three sons, and James, the second child, was born Feb. 22, 1839, in Medina, Ohio. He lived in Middlebury from 1844 to 1851, when his mother moved to Hudson. Here he attended school until he was 19, when he came to Akron and clerked for the Hall Bros. until 1862, when he was employed as book-keeper and Secretary of the Chamberlain Company, continuing until 1878, in which year he formed a partnership with George W. McNeil, and leased the Ætna Mills, which they have con- ducted with fair success since. In March, 1864, he was married to Miss Augusta Eldred, of Akron, who bore him two children; she died in January, 1875. In July, 1879, he mar- ried Miss Harriet L. Andrus, of Akron.

DENNISON BABCOCK, butcher, Akron, is a son of George, he of Samuel Babcock, who were natives of Groton, Conn. George, with two brothers and one sister, came to Ohio at an early date, he settling in Middlebury, and engaging in mercantile pursuits, which he aft- erward pursued in Akron City proper. He

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was married, June 14, 1829, to Clarissa Will- iams as a second marriage, by whom he had five children-Martha Calista, born July 1, 1830 ; Sarah Susannah, May 18, 1833; Will- iams Pierpont, Oct. 27, 1835 ; Clarissa E., July 31, 1840 (now deceased), and the subject of this sketch, born Feb. 12, 1844. Paul Williams, born in 1767, and Sarah Williams, born in 1763, the grandparents of our subject, came to Akron and erected the first log-house in the city proper, the location of which was on Broad street, near the knife works. The family nearly all died during the building of the canal, none being left except the grand- mother and the mother of the subject of this sketch, who lived until 1868. The grand- mother died in 1832, from the effects of sick- ness in 1827. Dennison attended school in Akron until 17 years of age, when he learned butchering, and worked for a time at the ear -.

penter's trade. At 18 years of age, he enlist- ed in Co. H, 104th O. V. I., in which he served until July, 1865, receiving in the meantime a wound at the battle of Knoxville which sent him to the hospital for a considerable time, which he occupied in filling the position of Hospital Steward. In the spring of 1867, he engaged with his brother in the feed-store bus- iness, but disposed of the same the following fall. Then engaged in butchering for about two years, after which time he traveled four years for Alfred Pitkin & Co., steam-heating apparatus, subsequently engaging in the bus- iness of carpentering and pattern-making for D. W. Thomas, continuing for about three years. In March, 1879, he began the butcher- ing business with a meat market at No. 322 East Mill street, where he is now engaged with E. W. Russell, doing an average business. He was married. Nov. 12, 1873, to Lucy Maria Upson, daughter of Julius Upson, a resident of Cuyahoga Falls. He is prominently identi- fied with the Republican party.

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History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 121

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104