History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 145

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 145

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

joined his regiment ; was again wounded at Winchester, but kept with his command rather than go into a hospital. His regiment was taken prisoners a few days before the surren- der, and were afterward paroled. They were in full view when the surrender took place. He was discharged at Harrisburg, and afterward came to Ohio, his father being on a circuit at the time in Twinsburg Township, Summit Co. T. G. (subject), lived in Twinsburg, and, about 1866, went to Cleveland and worked at his trade, serving as foreman of Parrish & Knight's shop for four years. He then engaged in busi- ness for himself at Atwater, Portage Co., and one year later came to Middlebury, where he engaged in business and has since lived. He was married, in 1878, to Miss Julia A. Koon, a native of Springfield Township. By this mar- riage they have three children, viz., Maud D., May and Archibald. His parents came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, and his father has preached in Ohio since, until recently. He and his wife now live at New Philadelphia, Ohio, retired.

S. C. WILLIAMSON, Probate Judge, Ak- ron ; was born in Randolph, Portage Co., Ohio, Aug. 18, 1837. and resided there until 1854, when he entered the preparatory school at Hudson, Ohio, and, in 1860, graduated from the Western Reserve College. In the spring of 1861. he enlisted in Co. G., 19th O. V. I., and served three months, when he re-enlisted (Octo- ber, 1861) in the 18th U. S. I. He was ap- pointed Sergeant, and served in this capacity until the battle of Stone River, where he was wounded and was confined to the hospital for three months. After a leave of absence of several months, having been promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant. he was assigned to duty at Detroit and Grand Rapids as muster- ing and disbursing officer, and subsequently was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant, and, in 1864, he was ordered before the Retir- ing Board at Wilmington, Del., and retired with the rank of First Lieutenant, and was next ordered to Missouri on duty in the Provost Marshal General's Department, serving as as- sistant until the closing of the office ; he was then assigned to duty as Post Adjutant and Inspecting Officer at Benton Barracks, and later, at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., as Assistant Commissioner of Musters, where he served until January, 1867, when he was commis-

798

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

sioned Captain of the 42d U. S. I., and was stationed with the regiment at Hart's Island and Madison Barracks, N. Y., until the consoli- dation of his regiment with the 6th at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, where he was placed on waiting orders. and resumed the reading of law with Tibbals & Mckinney, completing a course interrupted by the war, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1870, and began practice in company with F. S. Hanford, and after a year or two practiced alone. In the fall of 1875, he was elected Probate Judge on the Republican ticket. and was re-elected in 1878.

J. H. WISE, deceased, was a native of Green Township, Summit Co., Ohio. He was born March 24, 1821. His father, George H. Wise, was a merchant of Greentown. Our sub- ject was raised in his native township Dec. 14, 1853. He married Miss Catharine Middlekauff, a native of Hagerstown, Washington Co., Md. At the time of the marriage, and for five years thereafter, he was engaged in the mercantile business in Greentown, with his brother-in-law. In 1858, he sold out his interest in the busi- ness and came to Akron, superintending the farm he had bought just north of the city. In 1861, he engaged as agent for the United States Express Company at Akron, and con- tinued in that employ for four years, and next clerked in the Buckeye Works; he was in- terested in and became Secretary and Treas- urer of the Akron Straw Board Company, but sold his interest after one year, after which he served as assignee for a number of concerns. By the marriage, there were three children, all since deceased. Their son, W. W., was Quar- termaster of Co. L, 2d O. V. I., and died in the service of his country at Ft. Scott, Kan. Mr. Wise died March 30, 1877. Mrs. Wise has con- continued her residence in the old homestead in Akron.

ANDREW WILSON,* a descendant of a family of martyrs. The late Andrew Wilson, of Stow Corners, was a man of sterling worth and integrity, withal a just man in all his rela- tions. He was born Oct. 23, 1799, at Acworth, N. H., and as he was known to state, he lived during the life-time of Washington, Washington dying the 14th of December, 1799. Mr. Wil- son, with his father's family, moved from Ac- worth, N. H., to Guernsey Co., Ohio, in 1815, in an ox-wagon, driving their stock before them.

Their nearest neighbor was three miles distant, and they were obliged, on one occasion, to car- ry a fire-brand the three miles to start a fire. He left his father's home in the wilderness. bought his time until he became of age, and came to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1819, and was em- ployed with Judge Kingsbury in the grading of the streets around the public square, and in clearing the forests in the county roads, when Cleveland was but a hamlet with but a score of houses. On two occasions he returned to New Hampshire, walking all the way there and back again to Cleveland in mid-winter. He consid- ered the soil of no consequence, which he could have purchased at $3 per acre, in the heart of the town, but instead purchased a large farm a few miles east, in Warrensville, paying more for it-believing it to be the best investment- where he resided for forty-two years, cleared off the native forest, built buildings, and made a beautiful home. He held many offices of trust and honor. He married in 1829, Miss Lurancy Thomas, of Hudson, formerly from York State, and reared a family of eleven chil- dren, of whom eight survive him. In 1866, he sold his farm, and located at Stow Corners, Sum- mit Co., where he resided to the time of his death. His was a family of noble lineage. As far back as 1606, the family of John Wilson and many others in Scotland were Presbyterians and come-outers from the Church of England, and were subjected to many martyrdoms and persecutions for religion's sake. It is related of the family that there was a grandmother and granddaughter, both by the name of Margaret Wilson, who were bound to stakes at low water tide in the sea, and were permitted to perish at high tide with others who would not recant, and thus died in their faith. The name Margaret has been perpetuated, in commemoration, in each generation down to the present. The fam- ily subsequently emigrated to Londonderry, Ireland, and from there to this country, in 1718, and located with others in New Hampshire, and named the town Londonderry, after the city of their adoption in Ireland. In William Cullen Bryant's recent history of the United States, page 138, Vol. III, we quote the narrative of their history. He says :

"The emigration of some Scotch Presbyterians to New Hampshire, in 1718, while Shute was Gov- ernor, was of much importance. The people who undertook to better their condition in America, were

* Akron Beacon.

799

CITY OF AKRON.

descendants of the colonists who had been trans- ferred by James the First to the North of Ireland, where their condition, from penal laws against Prot- estants and from local taxation, had become intol- erable. Arrived first in Boston, they dispersed in various directions; but sixteen of the families hold- ing together, settled upon lands a few miles north- east of Haverhill, in New Hampshire. The disputed title of the land gave them some trouble, but under the Governor's protection they remained upon the spot of their choice, and, being joined from time to time by other families, they called their place Lon- donderry in 1722. Their minister, MacGregor, in- formed Gov. Shute how offensive it was to them to be confounded with the Irish, against whom they had fought always in the defense of Protestantism; but the New Hampshire people were jealous of the new-comers, who went into quiet possession of the soil at a time when their own lands were threatened with litigation. The Presbyterians did the province the good service of introducing the manufacture of linen by the spinning-wheel and the cultivation of the potato. The vegetable was first planted at And- over, whose inhabitants began by boiling the balls instead of the bulbs, wondering when the result was served up at their simple tables, that a potato was considered an esculent. The prosperity attending the new colonists led other people to petition for grants of land."

Andrew Wilson's grandfathers, for six gen- erations in direct descent, were named John Wilson. His own grandfather, John Wilson, was an original settler at Londonderry, N. H., and his own father was a triplet, and was so small that he was placed in a quart cup at birth, but subsequently grew to be a very large man, and was known as "Big John Wilson," to distinguish him from another family, who were known as "Little Wilsons." "Big John Wilson's " family consisted of twenty-one chil- dren, all living to grow up and meet together at one time. Andrew Wilson was one of the oldest sons. The family descendants are now numbered by the hundreds, and are scattered from New Hampshire to Oregon. He lived a serene and happy life, and died at the ripe old age of 81 years and 2 months, Dec. 23, 1880. He was a stanch Whig and Republican in pol- itics during life. In later years a member of the Disciples' Church where he resided. His wife passed on before him in 1856 to the re- ward of a faithful life. Some years later, Mr Wilson married for the second time, Mrs. Nan- cy Lindsey, a sister of his first wife, who sur- vives him." Andrew Wilson's children were : first, Harriet, who married Austin B. Burdick, and resides at Grand Rapids, Mich .; Nancy W., married Lansford W. Perry, of the lumber firm

of Woods, Perry & Co., Cleveland, Ohio ; the first son, Emery, died in infancy ; Julie E., married William H. Hower, junior partner of the firm of Hower & Son, dry goods, Cleveland, Ohio ; died Aug. 25, 1871, aged 37 years, leav- ing one child, a daughter, Birdie E. Hower ; Andrew J., farmer and blacksmith, a soldier for three years, on the Union side in the great rebellion ; married Miss Laurie Lindsay, and re- sides on his farm in Stow. Hiram V. resides in Cleveland, and is a member of the lumber firm of Fisher, Wilson & Co. ; married Miss Alma Fisher. Abbie A., married E. C. Simpson, Chief of the Akron Fire Department (see biography) ; also connected as foreman of the machine de- partment of the Buckeye Mower & Reaper Works, and resides in Akron. John W. was ac- cidentally killed by the fall of a tree at his home, then in Warrensville, Ohio, at the age of 15 years ; Solon N., lumber dealer at Akron, where he resides (see biography) ; Mary Z., married Daniel Tuttle, and resides at Grass Val- ley, Cal .; Mattie L., married Harpin A. Bots- ford, a brother of Solon N. Wilson's first wife ; resides at Cleveland, Ohio.

JOHN J. WAGONER, President Wadsworth, and Manager Franklin Coal Company, Akron ; was born in Franklin Township, Summit Co., Ohio, Dec. 17, 1832, and is the fifth child in a family of nine children, born to George and his second wife Rebecca (Sowers) Wagoner. They were natives of Cumberland and Lancaster Counties, Penn. George Wagoner was a farmer. He came to Ohio in 1812, and settled near Canal Fulton, in Stark Co., where he lived about four years, during which time he lost his first wife. Her maiden name was Sarah Rhodes. By the marriage, there were four children. In 1816, he came to Franklin Township, where he bought some wild land, which he improved, and lived upon until his death, on April 23, 1873. The deceased was a member of the Lutheran Church, in the affairs of which he took an active interest. He served his township as Treasurer for sixteen consecutive years ; was well known and re- spected by all. Mrs. Wagoner, his second wife, survives him. She is living on the old home- stead, and is now (1881) past 77. She is a daugh- ter of Henry Sowers, Sr., who settled in Frank lin Township about the year 1814. He was a blacksmith, and followed his trade in Man- chester. John J. Wagoner received a common- school course of study. At the age of 19, he

800

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

began teaching in East Liberty, and the follow- ing spring he came to Akron, where he engaged as a clerk with J. D. & J. M. Edson, with whom he remained until 1855, when he formed a part- nership with John Sisler, and conducted a gen- eral merchandise business at Manchester, this county, until 1862, when he sold his interest and returned to Akron, where, in the following October, he engaged in the mercantile business with Mr. Jacob Wise, and later became first a partner, and, upon the formation of a stock company, the Secretary and Treasurer of the J. F. Seiberling Company, of Akron, manufact- urers of the Excelsior Reapers and Mowers, which position he held until 1874, when he withdrew, and purchased an interest in the Wadsworth Coal Company, of which he became President. In February, 1880, his son, C. F. Wagoner, purchased the Franklin Coal Mine, of which his father is General Manager. Nov. 8, 1855, he married Miss Catharine Weaver, a native of Franklin Township. By the marriage, there are two children, viz., Charles F. and Carrie May.

S. N. WILSON, lumber dealer and contractor, Akron ; was born in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, Oct. 19, 1843, and is the sixth of eight children born to Andrew and Lurancy (Thomas) Wilson. Our subject was brought up on the farm. He re- ceived an academic course of study ; also at- tended one year at Oberlin, which place he left to enlist in the 150th O. V. I., in which com- mand he served about four months, and was at Washington, D. C., when attacked by the rebel Gen. Early. He returned home from the army, and took the management of the home farm, owning a place on becoming of age, when he went to Kent, and conducted the lumber busi- ness three years. Ile then came to Akron, where he has conducted the business since. Jan. 15, 1868, he married Miss Alice E. Bot- sord, a native of Middlebury, now Akron, Ohio. She died Jan. 14, 1870. June 20, 1872, he married Miss Nannie C. Albertson, a native of Millersburg, Ohio. They have three children, viz., Lena L., Ralph B. and Ross A.

B. F. WHEELER, grain buyer, Akron ; was born in Salem, Mass., June 9, 1808, and is a son of Oliver and Hannah (Ashby) Wheel- er, who were natives of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and were married in Salem. He removed to Rochester, N. Y., about the year 1817, and, some ten years later, to Cattaraugus

Co., where he engaged in cabinet manufacture, in connection with his trade of millwright, and lived there until his death, in about 1856. Mrs. Wheeler then removed to Akron, Ohio, and lived with her son, B. F. Wheeler, until her death, in 1865. Our subject lived at home eleven years ; he then went into a drug store for two years, after which he went to Rochester and clerked in a dry goods store for six years. He then returned to Cattarangus Co., and worked at the cabinet business for a time. He was married, July 11, 1829, to Miss Eliza Miles, a native of Vermont, and, in 1836, he moved with his family to Ohio, and settled at Franklin Mills, now Kent, Portage Co. In the spring of 1840, he moved to Akron, and worked at painting several years, and then en- gaged in the grocery business, being the second in that line in the place. He was located where the Empire House now stands, and followed the business some ten years. After clerking for his son-in-law a few years, he went into the grain trade. During the war, he bought and shipped grain, and, after its close, he engaged as buyer for Mr. F. Schumacher, and has con- tinned in that capacity ever since. Mr. Wheeler was formerly a Democrat, and. upon the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law, he became a Free-Soiler, then a Whig, and finally a Republican, upon the organization of that party. His wife died in 1844; she was the mother of five children, three of whom are now living-Sarah, Mrs. John Starr, of Akron ; Julia, Mrs. M. Simpson, of Michigan, and Henry F. Mr. W. was again married, October 30, 1845, to Miss Catharine F. Butts, a native of Columbiana Co., Ohio. Three children is the result of this marriage-Ollie L., now Mrs. W. H. Thompson, of Meadville, Penn .; Minnie E., now Mrs. M. R. Hayne, of Akron, and Harry E., of Akron. In 1851, Mr. W. joined Summit Lodge, No. 50, I. O. O. F., and has been an active member ever since ; has been Perma- nent Secretary of his Lodge for the past fif- teen years. He is a Past Grand and a Past Patriarch, and was Representative to Grand Encampment three times. He has been an active worker in the temperance cause for over half a century, and was the first man in " old Cattaraugus " to attempt to raise a house with- out the use of liquor.

JOHN WILLSON, livery, feed and sale sta- ble, Middlebury; is a native of Staffordshire, En-

801

CITY OF AKRON.

gland, and was born Nov. 15, 1834. He lived at home, engaged in different kinds of labor, until he was 23 years of age. His education was wholly original, never having attended school a day in his life, except Sabbath school. At 23, he began, in a small way, trading in green groceries at his house, and also using a wagon in same business, which he continued several years, when he went to work in a brick- yard, and, in 1862, he came to America, to ac- complish which he borrowed one-half of his passage money. He landed in Quebec, Can- ada, and soon located in Toronto, where, for a time, he worked as a hostler. He then went to Meadville, Penn .. and worked on the Broad Gauge Railroad, and, in the summer of 1863, came to Akron, where he has since lived. He first commenced work in the potteries by the day, and afterward began teaming ; next ran an omnibus for awhile, and finally engaged in his present business. In the summer of 1880, his stable was burned, and, the following fall, he erected his present brick stable, 1125 Market street, which is 35x100 feet, and two stories high. He keeps from nine to twelve horses in livery, and six at teaming and job- bing. In the summer of 1849, he was married to Miss Esther M. Cooper, a native of Stafford- shire, England. There have been nine chil- dren, six of whom are living-Henry, Eliza- beth (now Mrs. James White, of Akron.) George, Albert Edward and Francis. Mr. Wilson has always been Republican in poli- ties.

ALANSON WORK, Vice President of Ak- ron Rubber Works, Akron. Alanson Work, Sr., was a native of Connecticut, and moved to Illinois. He was one among the first of the Anti-slavery men. He was imprisoned, in 1841, for helping slaves to escape, the sentence being for twelve years, but he was pardoned out after three years, and with one George Thompson, went as a missionary to Africa. Alanson Work, Jr., was born at Quincy, Ill. on March 1, 1842, and when he was about 5 years old his par- ents moved to Middletown, Conn., thence to Hartford, where he attended public schools until he was 17, spending one year in Trinity College. When 19, he was employed in the Metropolitan Bank of New York, and continued seven years. In 1868, he moved to Cincin- nati, Ohio, and, as partner in the firm of Cham- berlain, Gibbs & Co., engaged in building rail-

road bridges and railroads, for two years, and when he went to Rhode Island and took a con- tract to rebuild the bridges on the Providence & Wooster Railroad, putting up fourteen double track bridges in about one year. Next he took charge of a fire engine manufactory, at Provi- dence. R. I. He was Superintendent of the Allen Fire Department Supply Co. for five years, and during that time took out several patents on fire engine supplies, one now adopted by the United States, being Work's Patent Coupling. January 1, 1879, he became Vice President and Superintendent of the Akron Rubber Works, where he has since been em- ployed. He was married, in 1865, to Miss Henrietta Lane, of Brooklyn, L. I. She bore him seven children.

JOHN WOLF, merchant, Akron. Christo- pher Wolf, physician, a native of Bavaria, was the father of John Wolf, and died three years after the birth of our subject, leaving him with no means other than such as his own ingenuity might invent. John was born in Town Selb, Bavaria, Jan. 25, 1837. He attended German schools until he was 14 years of age. In 1851, he came to the United States, reaching Aurora, Ind., in December ; at this place he clerked in a store until 1853, in September of which year he came to Akron, and here clerked nine years, two of them with G. T. McCurdy, and seven for M. W. Henry. In 1862, he became a partner in the firm of M. W. Henry & Co., which part- nership continued seven years ; he sold out in 1869. In the spring of 1870, he became a mem- ber of the firm of Wolf, Church & Beck, in the Academy of Music building, remaining there five years, when they moved to their present place, and have since done a large wholesale and retail dry goods and notion business. Oct. 25, 1864, he married Miss Anna Howe, of Ak- ron, daughter of Richard Howe, one of the pio- neers of Akron. He is a Director of the Sav- ings & Loan Association, and was one of the members of the firm of Taplin. Rice & Co., and a director and stock-holder in the same.

WILLIAM WATERS, foreman puddling department Akron rolling-mill, Akron ; son of John and Ann (William) Waters; was born in Monmouthshire, South Wales, Dec. 27, 1823. At 14, he entered a rolling-mill as helper in the British Iron Works of Monmouthshire, and worked at different places as puddler. In 1846, he came to the United States, and located

802

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

at Troy, N. Y., where he worked in a rolling- mill some three years, and then came to Pome- roy, Meigs Co., Ohio, and was employed in the same manner four years. He then moved to New Castle, Penn., remaining until 1860, and moved thence to Niles, Trumbull Co., Ohio, until 1864, returning to New Castle, remaining until 1867, in each of these places being em- ployed in rolling mills. In April, 1867, he came to Akron, and, at the opening of the mills here engaged as puddler, until December, 1869, when he was made foreman of that

department, a position he still retains, having now about ninety men in his department. Oct. 3, 1843, he married Miss Ann Rodrick, of Mon- mouthshire, South Wales. He has eight chil- dren living, viz., Eliza, Thomas, Lewis, Ann, Mary, Kate, John and James. He has been a member of the M. E. Church for twenty years.

LORENZO D. WATTERS, lawyer, Akron, son of Hiram and Elizabeth (Croninger) Wat- ters, was born Oct. 4, 1855, in Carroll, Fairfield Co., Ohio. When he was 14 years old, his par- ents came to Akron, where he attended public schools until 1872, when he entered Buchtel College, at its opening, remaining until 1875, when he spent one year with his father in the construction of a mill. In the spring of 1877, he entered the law office of J. J. Hall, for the purpose of studying the profession, and was admitted to the bar March 17, 1879, when he at once formed a partnership with Mr. Hall, and has since been in active practice under the firm name of Hall & Watters. He is one of Akron's best lawyers.

JAMES WILDES, Akron ; son of Patrick and Mary (Gough) Wildes was born in Kin- derhook, N. Y., Dec. 25, 1838. His parents were born near Dublin, Ireland ; when James was but a child they came to Portage Co., near Ravenna. Patrick was Superintendent of the Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal from Breakneck to the junction of the Ohio Canal at Lock 1, and for about four years James assisted him, after which he went to California by the Panama route, and remained about four years. He worked in the gold mines for some time, and afterward in the copper mines of Calaveras Co. He returned by water route in July, 1864, and located with his father on a fruit farm in Berrien Co., Mich., near St. Joseph, remaining a year, after which he came to Kent and entered the employ of the Atlantic & Great Western

Railroad Company as fireman and mechanic. In 1868, he left that position and came to Akron, where he laid the track of the Brewster Railroad, reaching from Main street to the mines of Coventry Township, a distance of some five miles. He remained in the employ of Brewster & Sons as manager and engineer for ten years. In 1878, he opened a coal office on Mill street, where he was located until 1879, when he became the agent for O. S. Jacobs, dealer in coal, and has since continued, doing a large business. November, 1864, he married Miss Lizzie Callahan, of Tallmadge, Ohio, and there are two sons and two daughters of their marriage. He was elected Street Commis- sioner of Akron in April, 1881, by a large majority.

GEORGE I. WRIGHT, lawyer, Akron, is a son of James Wright and was born Aug. 29, 1849 in Suffield Township, Portage Co. His father was a native of England, and in 1821, when 9 years old, came with his parents to the United States, and in 1832 they settled in Springfield Township ; he was a Justice of the Peace, and was successively farmer, saw-miller, etc., in Lucas Co., Ohio. He bought a place on North Hill in about 1865, where the family now reside, on Tallmadge avenue. He died in November, 1876 and was an enthusiastic Republican. In the winter of 1870, subject entered Alleghany College, at Meadville, Penn., from which he grad- uated in 1874, with the first honors of his class. He was three years Superintendent of Chagrin Falls schools, when he removed to Meadville, Penn., remaining there until the summer of 1880, when he returned and became the law student of N. Hodge. In August, 1875, he was mar- ried to Miss M. A. Williams, daughter of Prof. S. D. Williams, of Meadville, Penn. They have two sons.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 145

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