History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 148

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 148

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Pettibone-they have two children, Jennie Adams and Susie Hyde ; Mary, the youngest daughter, married James C. McNeal, of Akron ; they have two children, Grant and Sarah. Mr. Gale served for several years as a Justice of the Peace in Vermont. His wife is now a member of the Episcopal Church of Akron.

ENOS HAWKINS, farmer; P. O. Akron. Among the early settlers of Portage Township were the Hawkins family, who were natives of New England. Enos was the son of John Em- erson and Jemima (Pratt) Hawkins ; the former was the son of John and Sarah Hawkins, and was born Aug. 18, 1780, in Woodstock, Wind- sor Co., Vt .; Jemima, who was the daughter of Asa and Betsy Pratt, was born Oct. 20, 1785. They were married in 1803, and nine children were the result of their union : Enos, subject of this sketch ; Ira, who died many years since, while a resident of Portage Township ; Lucy, married Ansil Miller, and died at Akron ; Mary, married Luman Mills, and died while a resident of Wadsworth Township; John Wesley died at the age of 16 ; Asenath married Wm. Ellis, a resident of Boston Towhship, and died about 1843 ; Horace, and Nelson, the youngest child, are now residents of Portage Township ; Al- mira, the youngest daughter, married Zachariah Prentice, of Portage Township, and died many years since. Six of the above children moved from Vermont with their parents, in 1816. They reached Portage Township, October 28 of that year, and shortly afterward Mr. Hawkins purchased 100 acres of land. At that time no other families were residing in the southwestern portion of Portage Township, but Josh King lived near where Simon Perkins does now. Enos Hawkins, subject of this sketch, was born near the Green Mountains, Bridgewater Town- ship, Windsor Co., Vt., Dec. 5, 1803, and was nearly 13 years of age when his parents moved to Ohio. He received a knowledge of the com- mon branches in the schools of Vermont and Ohio. In 1825, he was a member of the locating party employed to survey the route of the Ohio Canal, and continued at this business for two years. When the canal was opened, he was ap- pointed Superintendent of Repairs, and had charge of the section from Cleveland to Short Pinery Level ; this division was some eighteen miles in length, and he continued at this for many years, until removed by the Democratie Administration at Columbus, Mr. Hawkins be-

ing too much of a Whig to suit the ruling party. He then farmed in Independence Town- ship Cuyahoga County, until about the year 1872, when he removed to his present farm. In 1830, he purchased nearly 100 acres of land in Portage Township ; since then he has sold a portion of this, and now has 49 aeres. He was married in 1836 to Miss Mary Parker, daughter of Cardy and Mary Ann (Lee) Parker. They were the parents of four children : Emily, died in infancy ; Emma, died aged 16 ; Minerva, now Mrs. A. W. Gillett, of Portage Township ; Ella, now Mrs. Charles Green, of Independence, Cuyahoga Co. Mrs. Enos Hawkins died Jan. 11, 1854.

JOSEPH HILL, farmer, Akron ; was born Nov. 30, 1825, in Guilford, Windham Co., Vt. His parents were Tyler and Sallie (Fish) Hill. Tyler was born in New Hampshire in 1793, son of Fisher Hill, whose wife's maiden name was Chase. Tyler Hill emigrated West with his family in 1836, coming by canal from Troy to Buffalo, thence by water to Cleveland. At Brooklyn, he secured an ox team, conveying his family to this county, making his settle- ment in the northeast part of Twinsburg, where he purchased 144 acres of land. Having at the time of his arrival $1,300 in money, which was expended for land and such neces- saries as circumstances required ; here he re- mained until his death ; he was a good citizen and a Christian, who adhered to the tenets of of the Baptist Church. Six children were born them, whose names were Delight, Han- nah, Ambrose, Jane, Joseph and Sarah. Joseph was married March 14, 1854, to Mehita- ble Drake, born Feb. 29, 1836, in Boston Town- ship, daughter of Nathan and Lizzie (Bowker) Drake. He was born in New Hampshire, Dec. 1, 1786 ; she, in same State, May 30, 1792. To this couple were born the numerous family of fifteen, whose names were, David, Silas, Mary, Amy, A- Jasper B., James N., Emily, John D., Elizabeth, Joseph, Benjamin, Nathan, Mehitable and Mariamne. After Mr. Hill was married he moved to Solon Township, where he lived five years, then moved to Twins- burg and stayed two years, returning to Solon and lived three years. Located on the farm he now owns, in 1864 ; since remained. Has now over 300 acres of land situated in the extreme north part of the township. Of eleven chil- dren born him, Charles G., Jessie, Ira M., Joit-

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ajuba, Aquilla, Schuyler J. and George M. are living; Lillie L. died at 7, Leander at 5, Lizzie and Viva when young. Farming is the business in which he has been engaged. Not a member of any orthodox church. Father was Democratic ; Joseph, Republican. The parents of Mr. Hill were Baptists. Her father died in 1852, mother about seven years later. Were early settlers.

CHAUNCEY HART, deceased. This pio- neer was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., Sept. 10, 1797 ; son of Renben Hart, who was a native of Connecticut. Chauncey moved to Tallmadge in 1816. Oct. 10, 1819, he married Rosella Hard, who was born in 1798. in Berkshire, in North Vermont. She was a daughter of Abram and Rebecca (Flagg) Hard, whose children 1 were Cyrus, Abram, Nelson, Moses K., Orilla, Sophia, Rosella, Laura and Julia A. In 1821, Mr. Hart moved to Wadsworth, Medina Co., where he purchased some unimproved land, which he improved. In 1853, he located in Akron, where he lived several years ; then he located on his farm, where he died, March 20, ! 1877. Ilis wife died the year following, March 26. To them were born four children ; but two are now living, Mrs. Cunningham and Mrs. Beardsley. For more than one-half a century, he was a member of the M. E. Church. From that time forward he never wavered from his course, but attested the genuineness of his pro- fession by an upright and blameless life. For the last seven years, he was an invalid, and suffered greatly, yet through all his affliction he waited with Christian resignation for his Mas- ter's call, and was ready to pass over to the shining shore. His remains now rest in the cemetery, near by his last home. Amanda, his youngest daughter, was born in October, 1840, in Wadsworth. Oct. 17, 1861, she married Avery S. Beardsley, who was born in Coventry, this county, Oct. 26, 1838, son of T. and Tem- perance (Spicer) Beardsley. Mr. and Mrs. Beardsley have one son, Chauncey Hart ; they reside on the homestead farm.

WILLIAM H. JONES, farmer ; P. O. Ak- ron ; was born July 17, 1833, in Oneida Co., N. Y. Son of John H. and Sarah (Simpson) Jones. The former was born August, 1806, in Albany, N. Y., son of Samuel and Betsey (Ham- ilton) Jones. Samuel was born at Schenec- tady, N. Y., in the " Mohawk Dutch " settlement. Betsey Hamilton was born in Dublin, Ireland,

where she lived until 11 years of age. Sarah Simpson was a daughter of John. John H. Jones came west in 1834 to Ohio, remained some time, and then moved to Indiana. They had six children who grew up to maturity- Louisa, William, James, Mary E., Charlotte and Sebra. William H., was raised to farming. On Aug. 25, 1862, he enlisted in Battery B, and served one year, when he was discharged on account of disability. He returned home, remaining until February, 1864, when he re-en- listed in Co. B, 188th O. V. I., and remained until the close of the war. March 14, 1855, he married Susannah Best, a daughter of John Best, who was born in Mercer Co., Penn., in 1796 ; son of John Best, who came from Ger- many and settled in Mercer Co., when the coun- try was new. John Best married Rebecca Watson, a daughter of Gabriel Watson, who had fourteen children born to him. John Best came to Northampton in 1832, where he pur- chased unimproved land at the center of the township, which he cleared up, and lived on the same as long as he lived. His death oc- curred March 18, 1861 ; his wife is yet living. They were members of the Methodist Episco- pal Church. They had ten children, Mrs. Jones being the eldest of the family. To Mr. and Mrs. Jones have been born ten children, eight of whom are living. They have 100 acres of land. Mr. Jones' father was killed in August, 1868. His wife died Jan. 14, 1877.

GEORGE MILLER, retired farmer, Akron, whose portrait will be found in this work, has been a resident of the State since 1810 ; was born Dec. 14, 1807, in Perry Co., Penn., eldest child of Ja- cob and Sarah (Lutman) Miller. The Millers are of German stock, and were among the better class of that nationality who left the " Fader- land " to cast their lots with America and its varied interests. At the age of 3, our subject " came West " with his parents, who made their first settlement in Canfield Township, Trum- bull Co. He was a carpenter by trade, but his worldly possessions were very limited indeed. His first purchase of land was 60 acres, which he partially cleared. The country at this time was a dreary wilderness, the inhabitants were very few and much scattered. He immediately began the arduous task of clearing a spot for cultivation, and soon had a cabin erected in which he resided until 1816, when he moved to what is now Wadsworth Township, Medina Co.

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(then Portage), where he purchased 120 acres of Gen. Wadsworth at $3 per acre. Here he found as uninhabitable a place of settlement as in Trumbull Co. The nearest settlement on the east was that of Joseph Harris, of Harris- ville Township, sixteen miles distant. Upon this place he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1859 ; his wife preceded him nearly a score of years. Of the family born to this couple were George and his twin, who died young ; Samuel, who died aged 1 year, Petsey, who died at 14; David was killed at Akron while in the discharge of his duties as fireman at a fire ; John ; Aaron died while on his way to California in 1851 ; Catharine married Reuben Baughman ; Mary now Mrs. Alexander Beck ; Harriet, now Mrs. Shaffer ; and Susan married Henry Parmelee. George was raised to hard labor ; what schooling he obtained was the plain- est rudiments of the cabin schools, but was in- creased by careful study at his father's fireside. His father being a carpenter and cabinet-maker, George soon learned the use of tools and as- sisted his father in his labors as a house-builder, and manufacturing such articles as were re- quired by the early settlers who came to their western homes without tables, chairs, or scarce- ly any furniture. Coffins were manufactured for the unfortunate ones, which were split out of logs, then hewn out to encase the mortal remains of the lone pioneer. Mr. Miller left home at the age of 23, made his first purchase of land in Sharon of 60 acres of unimproved land, which cost him $4 per acre ; he afterward added 15 acres, and then 27. After a residence of three years, he returned to Wadsworth, where he purchased 100 acres, which he cleared up, remaining on the same until 1853, when he moved to his present place on Tract 4, which has ever since been his place of living. In

1831, he married Rebecca Baughman, daugh- ter of Paul Baughman. Upon Mr. Miller's ar- rival here he purchased of Gov. Tod 240 acres at $25 per acre. He has now 231 here, and 120 in Wadsworth. His faithful wife was taken from him in the year 1868, leaving him four children-Paul, now in California ; Sarah, who married S. Coplin, and has five children- Charles, George, Rollin, Homer and Oscar ;

Martha married Frank Springer, now of Medina, having one child, Fred, by her first husband ; John F., at home, he married Charity Brouse, daughter of William Brouse, of Wadsworth ;

John F. has one child, Elton. Paul married Matilda Horn, and by her has two sons. Mr. Miller has already passed the limit allotted to mankind and is now spending the eve of his life in the sweet quiet of his home. He is held in high esteem by all who know him. Polit- ically he has been Democratic, and always true to the principles embraced by his party. Re- ligiously, he was reared a Lutheran, but later in life he has become impressed with the doctrine of universal salvation. He has been a man of industrious habits, and been prospered in all of his business undertakings ; he has taken an active part in whatever was calculated to ad- vance the interests of the people at large ; has been a substantial member of the community, and liberal in his contributions to charitable and educational purposes. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, never seeking the publicity of office, yet, at the solicitations of friends, has filled several offices of trust in the community. While in Medina Co., he served as Justice of the Peace, Township Trustee, Treas- urer and Assessor. Acting independently of sect or denomination, yet has favored every- thing known to be right and opposed to wrong ; honestly and openly laboring to promote good morals and advance the common interests of all good citizens. By his frugality and in- dustry he has acquired a handsome property, and is one of the self-made men of the connty.

JOHN MCCAUSLAND, farmer and brick manufacturer ; P. O. Akron ; was born June 26, 1824, in County Antrim, Ireland, and is a son of James and Jane (Drain) McCausland. James was born in February, 1799, the only son of James, his father, who bore the same name. Jane was a daughter of Hugh Drain. John emigrated to Ohio in 1849, hav- ing served his father several years after his majority, and came here poor. He began work in this county as a common laborer, receiving at first $8.50 per month ; afterward, by the year, receiving $120, then $150 annually. In 1853, he married Mary McQuillan, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in April, 1827; daughter of Charles and Mary (Mulheren) Mc- Quillan. After Mr. McCausland acquired suffi- cient means, he bought a team and the neces- sary implements, and engaged in farming, rent- ing land about six years on the Phelps farm. In 1859, he purchased where he now lives, first buying 76 acres, for which he paid $28 per

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acre. He has since added to the same, having now 1123 acres. In 1871, he engaged in the manufacture of brick, and has been every year increasing his facilities until he has now pro- ductive capacity of 2,000,000 per year, there having been such a demand that he has not been able to fill the orders that have been given him. He has four children living-James, John, Margaret and Mary. Mr. McCausland is one of the substantial men of the township. Coming here a poor man, he has, by diligence and economy, acquired for himself a home and a sufficient competence, and built up a manu- facturing establishment in his line which is the largest in the township ; a man of intelligence and a liberal patron of the public journals.

AARON OVIATT, retired farmer; P. O. Akron ; a member of a numerous, important and influential family of Summit County. He is a grandson of Benjamin Oviatt, who was born Feb. 27, 1755 ; Benjamin was a soldier during the Revolutionary war; was married Dec. 8, 1774, and died Sept. 24, 1832 ; Eliz- abeth, his wife, was born Aug. 29, 1754, and died Dec. 5, 1832 ; they had eleven children- Heman, Luman, Benjamin, Olive, Salmon, Betsy, Clarissa, Nathaniel, Huldah, Mary and Anna. Many of these settled in what is now Summit County, at an early day, and became active and energetic citi- zens in their respective communities. Ben- jamin, and his sons Luman and Heman, bought the northwest quarter of the township of Richfield, paying $4,000 for 4,000 acres. Luman never lived in Summit County, but Heman settled at Hudson and was one of the founders of Hudson College ; Benjamin, his brother, also settled in Hudson ; Salmon and Nathaniel settled in Richfield ; Betsy married Elisha Ellsworth, of Hudson ; Clarissa married Elijah Ellsworth, of Richfield ; Huldah mar- ried a Mrs. Thompson, of Hudson ; Mary mar- ried the gentleman after whom Hudson Village was named, and when he died, Darius Lyman, of Ravenna. Luman Oviatt, father of Aaron, was born Sept. 6, 1777 ; married May 10, 1796, to Rhoda Norton, born Oct. 9, 1777. They re- sided in Goshen Township, Litchfield Co., Conn .; were the parents of ten children, many of whom moved to Summit County, as follows : Birdsey, at Hudson ; Nelson, at Richfield ; Ke- siah died at Goshen ; Rhoda, formerly Mrs. Julia Humphrey, of Richfield ; Heman, at

Richfield ; Marcus died in Connecticut ; Aaron, subject of this sketch ; Moses, of Cuyahoga County ; Harriet, formerly Mrs. Washington B. Bigelow, of Richfield ; Lanra, formerly Mrs. Jonathan Spafford, of Copley. These are all dead except Aaron and Moses ; their mother died Jan. 10, 1821 ; Luman married a second time and had three children-Sarah Lucretia, Lyman B. and Samuel-but they never re- moved to Summit County ; their father died Dee. 7, 1838. Aaron was born August 4, 1810, in Goshen Township, Conn., where he was raised and educated. He was married Jan. 9, 1833, to Electa, daughter of Reuben Brown, of Norfolk, Conn .; they had three children- Orestus died aged 9, Heman died in California, Huldah married More Briggs and removed to Iowa. Aaron's wife died and he came to Sum- mit County, where he was married Oct. 11, 1846, to Miss Marion B., daughter of Salmon and Mary B. (Hawkins) Hoisington. He then returned to Connecticut, resided there two years, and removed to Copley and purchased 123 acres, which land he farmed until about seven years since, when he removed to Akron City. Mr. and Mrs. Oviatt are the parents of eight children, as follows : Orestus Aaron, de- ceased ; Quincy G., deceased ; Ella, now Mrs. Hugh Mussleman ; Truman, deceased ; Clara E., now living in Cuyahoga County ; Jennie M., now Mrs. Fred. Tarble, of' Akron ; Phila D. and Edward.

FRIEDRICH PFEIFFER, farmer; P. O. Akron ; was born Jan. 17, 1829, in Hagenstein Kirchenfeld, Oldenburg, in Northwest Bavaria ; son of George and Catherina (Bank) Pfeiffer. George was the only son of his father, who was a manufacturer of woolen cloth, and who was accidentally killed in his mill. Catherina was a daughter of John Bank, whose wife was Caroline Haas. John Bank had eight children born him, of whom John, Charles. Catherina, Derothe and Caroline grew to maturity. John Bank was a man of wealth and influence ; was largely interested in the manufacturing inter- ests of the place, ran a distillery, an oil mill, a blacksmith-shop, and owned several farms be- sides. He had sons whose names were John, Charles and John, two of whom are prominent ministers-Charles, in New York. John in Buf- falo. To George and Catherina were born Frederick, George (who died in California after a residence of twenty-two years), Catherina

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(married Rev. George Rettig, of Iowa), Jacob (now in Wadsworth), Louisa (now Mrs. Mono Smith), Charles (in Akron). Frederick came to Ohio in 1848 ; he came to Akron poor, but was not afraid to labor ; worked at farming, ran an engine two years, and worked in a store and mill. March 19, 1854, he married Catherina Grohe, who was born April 23, 1829, in Baden ; eldest daughter of Adam and Catherina (Ret- tig) Grohe. Adam Grohe was a son of John and Eva (Shaeffer) Grohe, whose children were Adam, Michael, Eva, Jacob, John, Phillip and George. Mrs. Pfeiffer came to this State in 1852. After Mr. Pfeiffer was married he lived six months in Defiance Co., then one year in Madison Co., Ind., and then came to Akron, where he worked a farm on shares. He worked three years in Wadsworth on George Miller's farm, rented a farm in Clinton one year, then bought a farm in Sharon Township, Medina Co., which he sold eight years afterward. After making several changes, purchased where he now owns, having eighty-five acres at a cost of $7,000. Has one child-George Frederick, born Nov. 3, 1860.

WEBSTER B. STORER, horticulturist ; P. O. Akron. The subject of this sketch was for thirty years an enterprising and energetic business man of Akron ; born in Portland, Me., Jan. 24, 1809 ; son of Joseph and Charlotte (Knight) Storer. Joseph was a ship-carpenter and joiner in Maine until 1818, when he moved to Zanes- ville, Ohio, with his family ; assisted by John Wilson, his partner, he built the first forked bridge over the Muskingum River at Zanes- ville ; in 1828, he removed to Cleveland, where he was engaged for many years building ves- sels, steamboats, canal boats, and other water craft. Joseph died in the spring of 1868 at the advanced age of 92; he was the father of six children ; all are living, the youngest being 70, the eldest 80, and the aggregate of their ages is 450 years ; they are Eliza (now Mrs. Joel Chapman, of Eric Co.), George K. and Joseph (of Brooklyn, Cuyahoga Co.), Samuel (of Clyde, Ohio), Webster B., and Hester (now Mrs. Harris Brainard, of Parma, Cuyahoga Co.). Webster was educated in the schools of Portland and Zanesville. He served an appren- ticeship with his father, and at the age of 21 commenced business for himself in Cleveland ; for four years he was employed at ship-joiner- ing ; he then farmed in Cuyahoga Co. for one

year ; in 1836, he removed to Akron, and, for three years, was engaged building houses ; dur- ing this time he erected the first house ever built on Mill street, upon the lot now occupied by the Universalist Church ; during the next quarter of a century he followed canal-boat building for some eighteen years, employing at times over twenty hands to assist him, con- structing one year twelve boats ; he built the first boat which had a capacity of 2,600 bushels of wheat ; he was in partnership at this busi- ness for two years with Jacob Barnhart, and for ten years with Ansel Miller. About the year 1856, he was engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery trade, continuing at this some two years. In 1863, he sold his interest at canal-boat building to William H. Payne, and then ran an iron store for five years in partner- ship with his son-in-law, J. L. Noble. In 1868, having traded his city property for 208 acres of land, he removed to this tract, where he has resided ever since with his son-in-law. For some twelve years he has been raising small fruit, and is a member of the State Horticult- ural Society, and an honorary member in a similar association of Franklin Co. He served as Trustee of Portage Township several terms ; was Infirmary Director of Summit Co. for three years ; was a member of the Board of Educa tion in 1850, when the Central High School building was erected. Mr. Storer was originally a Democrat casting his first Presidential vote for Gen. Jackson. He supported Van Buren in 1836 and 1840 ; then being an ardent sym- pathizer of the anti-slavery movement, he united with the old "Liberty " party ; since the formation of the Republican party he has voted that ticket ; was connected with the underground railroad and the men who con- ducted its passengers through Summit Co .; was chosen President of the meeting at Akron called to express the indignation of the citizens when John Brown was hung. July 24, 1832, he was married to Miss Mary A. Bangs, daugh- ter of James and Martha (Nash) Bangs. Mr. and Mrs. Storer are members of the Disciples' Church of Akron ; they were among those who organized the congregation in 1840; he has served as Deacon and Overseer in the church for many years. They are the parents of five children, one died in infancy ; the others are Daniel W. (now of Shelby) ; Hatty 1. (now Mrs. J. L. Noble; she was married

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Dec. 3, 1855, and is the mother of two daugh- ters-Mary and Lucy M. Noble), James B. (now Postmaster of Akron), George S. (now of New York City).

JACOB SHAKE, farmer ; P. O. Akron ; was born Jan. 19, 1827, in Wurtemberg, Ger- many. His parents were John and Kate (Rip- ley) Shake ; he was a son of Jacob. Our sub- ject was the youngest of a family of eight chil- dren. In March, 1854. he married Frederica Richards, who was born Aug. 27, 1832, in Wur- temberg; daughter of Davis and Catharine (Kutz) Richards. Davis Richards' father was John Richards; Catharine Richards was a dangh- ter of George Kutz. In the same year in which he was married, Mr. Shake came to this country ; coming west to Ohio, he stopped in Liverpool Township, Medina Co., where he worked by the month. After saving some money, went to Northampton, where he bought 25 acres of land unimproved, costing $2 per acre. This place he cleared up ; he then moved to this township, where he purchased and has since resided. He has now 100 acres of land, which he has cleared up, and erected suitable buildings thereon. He has been a hard-working man, a careful man- ager, and has been successful and secured a good home. He has ten children-Christian, who resides on her father's farm ; Catharina, now the wife of Henry Schumacher ; Mary, the wife of Martin Dice ; Helen, Rosa, Charles, Eliza, Willie, John and Ida. Mr. and Mrs. Shake are members of the German Reformed Church.

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History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 148

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