History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 26

Author: Upton, Harriet Taylor; Cutler, Harry Gardner, 1856-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago ; New York : The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 886

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Mr. Elijah Woodworth was three times mar- ried. His first wife, a Miss Ferris, died in early womanhood, leaving no children. He married, second, Sarah Ferris, a sister of his first wife. Of their children, six grew to years of maturity, namely: Lothrop, who served in the Civil war, died at the age of three score years; Mary, wife of R. M. Palmer, lives on a portion of the old home- stead; Charles died at the age of forty years ; Fremont, of Conneaut ; Gilman A., the subject of this sketch; and William, of Ashtabula. Mr. Woodworth married for his third wife, when eighty-five years of age, Harriet Wood- worth, a native of Connecticut.

Until the family homestead was sold to the steel company, Gilman A. Woodworth actively assisted in its management. He subsequently bought, in 1900, his present farm, the old George Shepard estate, lying one mile from Geneva, on the South Ridge road. Here he has one hundred and eight acres of rich and fertile land, and is carrying on dairying and stock raising, keeping a fine herd of Holstein cattle. He is fond of outdoor sports, enjoy- ing both hunting and fishing, and was for- merly an enthusiastic ball player. Mr. Wood- worth has been twice married. He married, in 1884, Harriet Germond, who died in 1906, leaving three children : Harrison, Arthur and Lee. Mr. Woodworth married, second, No- vember 19, 1907, Mrs. Ida (Bedell) Winchell, daughter of Benjamin Bedell, of Leroy town- ship, and widow of Henry Winchell, of Rock Creek. Politically, Mr. Woodworth is identi- fied with the Republican party, and has served four years as township trustee. Socially, he

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is a member of the local Grange. Both he and his wife are members of the Congrega- tional church.

FRANK A. SEIBERLING .- An able exponent of the progressive spirit and strong initiative power that have caused the city of Akron to forge so rapidly forward as an industrial and commercial center, is Frank A. Seiberling, who is a native son of Summit county, of which Akron is the judicial center, and who has here attained prominence and influence as a business man and loyal public-spirited citi- zen. He is president and general manager of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and also has other local interests of importance, so that he stands as one of the representative "captains of industry" in his native county and the historic Western Reserve.

Mr. Seiberling was born on the parental farmstead, near Western Star, Summit county, Ohio, and the date of his nativity was October 6, 1859. He is a son of John F. and Cather- ine L. (Miller) Seiberling, the former of whom was born in Western Star township, Summit county, Ohio, of stanch German lineage, and the latter was a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania. In 1861 the family re- moved from the farm in Norton township to the village of Doylestown, whence removal was made to Akron in 1865. Here the father en- gaged in the manufacturing of mowers and reapers and here both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. Of their eleven children nine are living. John F. Seiberling was a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party and both he and his wife held membership in the Lutheran church.

Frank A. Seiberling gained his rudimentary education in the old building which stands adjacent to the Congregational church in Akron, at the south, and thereafter he was for one year a student in the high school. He then entered Heidelberg. College, at Tiffin, where he remained as a student until the com- pletion of the work of the junior year, when he withdrew in order to assist his father, who had shortly before initiated the manufacturing of the Empire harvester. His collegiate train- ing stood Frank A. Seiberling well in value in the executive duties which developed upon him in connection with this business, and when the enterprise was expanded in 1884, by the organization and incorporation of the Seiber- ling Company he became secretary and treas- urer of the new corporation.

Mr. Seiberling has been prominently identi- fied with the promotion and operation of other large and important industrial concerns, whose success has been signal through his able execu- tive services and capitalistic support. Notable among such corporations may be mentioned the Akron Twine & Cordage Company, the Werner Printing & Lithographing Company, the Superior Mining Company, the Canton Street Railway Company, the Zanesville Street Railway Company, the Akron Street Railway Company, the Manufacturers' Mutual Fire In- surance Association, the Thomas Phillips Com- pany, and the National City Bank of Akron. As an executive officer he now gives the major portion of his time and attention to the super- vision of the affairs of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, one of the most extensive corporations of its kind in the world. He is president and general manager of this com- pany, whose other officers are as here noted : Charles W. Seiberling, vice-president and treasurer; George M. Stadleman, secretary ; and Paul W. Litchfield, superintendent. The company was organized and incorporated in 1898 and in the same Mr. Seiberling has been an interested principal from the start. The products of the large and finely equipped plant include various kinds of rubber goods and special attention is given to the manufacturing of solid and pneumatic carriage and automo- bile tires, bicycle tires, rubber horse shoes, rub- ber · tiling, golf balls, moulded rubber and rubber specialties. The products of this great concern, which has in large degree added to the commercial precedence of Akron, now find sale in all parts of the civilized world and thus carry far and wide the fame of the city in which they are manufactured.

In the midst of the cares and exactions of an especially active and busy life Mr. Seiber- ling has had a full appreciation of his civic duties and is one of the loyal and public- spirited citizens of Akron, where he is held in unqualified confidence and esteem and where he wields much influence as a progressive business man of splendid qualifications. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he is identified with various frater- nal and social organizations.

On the 12th day of October, 1887, Mr. Seiberling was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude F. Penfield, daughter of the late James W. Penfield, of Willoughby, Lake county, Ohio, and they have five children. namely : John Frederick, Irene Henrietta,

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Willard Penfield, James Penfield, and Gertrude Virginia.

HON. CHARLES LAWYER .- It is not often in modern times that we find one whose surname so significantly indicates his vocation as does that of Mr. Lawyer, who is one of the repre- sentative members of the bar of Ashtabula county, with residence and professional head- quarters in Jefferson, the judicial center of the county, and who is at the present time a member of the state senate. He has gained marked precedence in the work of his profes- sion and is one of the leading attorneys and counselors of the fine old Western Reserve.

Charles Lawyer claims as the place of his nativity the old Keystone state of the Union, as he was born at Penn Line, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, on the 7th of December, 1857. He is a son of Dr. Charles and Caroline (Brown) Lawyer, the former of whom was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of that state and one tracing its lineage to staunch German origin; his wife was born in the state of New York and her genealogy is traced through a long line of sturdy French ances- tors. Dr. Lawyer received excellent prelimi- nary discipline in preparing for the work of his chosen profession, in whose practice he was engaged at Penn Line, Pennsylvania, until 1867, when he removed to Andover, Ashta- bula county, Ohio, and became one of the rep- resentative physicians and surgeons of that section of the state. His name is revered by the many to whom his able and kindly minis- trations were so long accorded. He contin- ued in the active work of his profession for more than forty years and his death occurred in Jefferson, in 1897, at which time he was sixty-nine years of age. His widow now re- sides in the home of her son Charles, of this sketch, where she receives the utmost filial solicitude, having the affectionate regard of all who have come within the lines of her gentle and gracious influence. She is a mem- ber of the Methodist church. Dr. Lawyer was an ardent and uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Republican party, though he never sought or held official preferment. They became the parents of three children, of whom Charles is the second in line of birth; Mary L. is the widow of Chauncy Marvin, a resi- dent of Jefferson ; and Frank is a retired mer- chant and department oil inspector of Ohio.

Senator Charles Lawyer is indebted to the

public schools of his native town for his rudi- mentary educational training and was a lad of ten years at the time of the family removal from Pennsylvania to Andover, Ohio, where he was reared to maturity, and where he duly availed himself of the facilities of the public schools. In the early 'Sos the senator removed to Jefferson, Ashtabula county, where he read law in Judge W. P. Howland's office. After due preliminary discipline Senator Lawyer was matriculated in the law department of the fa- mous University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he completed the prescribed technical course and was graduated as a member of the Class of 1883, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Immediately after his graduation he was admitted to the bar of Ohio and entered upon the practice of his profession in Jeffer- son, where his novitiate was of brief duration, as he soon proved his ability as an able advo- cate and well fortified counselor. Here he has since continued in the work of his pro- fession, in which he has retained a representa- tive clientage and been identified with much important litigation, in both the state and fed- eral courts.

No more radical and appreciative advocate of the cause of the Republican party is to be found in the Western Reserve than is Senator Lawyer, and he has done most effective serv- ice in behalf of his party, both through his in- fluence as a citizen of well fortified convic- tions and as an able campaign speaker. In 1889 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Ashtabula county, and was re-elected in 1892, so that he remained incumbent of this office for six consecutive years. He made an ad- mirable record as a public prosecutor, and dur- ing his term of service he appeared in many cases of important order, in both the criminal and civil departments of his profession. In 1905 further official honors were conferred upon him, for he was then elected to represent the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-sixth senato- rial districts in the upper house of the state legislature. His district comprises the coun- ties of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Summit, and this statement indicates how im- portant is the constituency he was thus called upon to represent. During his first term he served on many important senate committees and proved an active, independent and consci- entious worker both on the floor and in the committee room. The popular appreciation of his efforts was shown in his election as his own successor in the fall of 1908, and he has con-

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tinued his services as senator with such ability as to make him one of the recognized leaders of the deliberative body of the state govern- ment. He is loyal and public-spired as a citi- zen and gives his aid and influence in support of all measures tending to advance the welfare of his home city and county. He is affiliated with the local organizations of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. The senator is a man of genial per- sonality and wins and retains inviolable friend- ships. He is a close student of his profession and is known as a man of fine intellectual at- tainments, and as one who places true valua- tions on men and affairs.

May 28, 1884, Senator Lawyer was united in marriage to Miss Flora Lindsley, who was born and reared at Andover, Ohio, and who is a daughter of Flora A. Lindsley, a represen- tative citizen and business man of that place. The one child of this union is Leah C., who was born on the 26th of December, 1892.

ALBERT D. FERGUSON is a representative in the third generation of a family that was founded in Lake county more than eighty. years ago, and the name has been indissolubly identified with the development and civic and industrial progress of this favored section of the state. Mr. Ferguson is now living virtually retired in the attractive little village of Wil- loughby, after having devoted his entire active life to agricultural pursuits, and he is a worthy and honored member of one of the sterling pioneer families of the Western Reserve.

Albert Desbersy Ferguson was born on the old homestead farm, one mile west of the cen- ter of Willoughby township, Lake county, on the 27th of March, 1844, and is a son of Finley and Olive (Atkinson) Ferguson. His father was a native of Orange county, New York, where he was born in the year 1800, and he was a son of John and Mary (Campbell) Ferguson, both of whom were born in Scot- land, where they were reared and educated, being, members of stanch old families of the land of hills and heather. They reared their children in the state of New York, where they continued to maintain their home until the year 1822, when they came to the Western Reserve and numbered themselves among the pioneers of Lake county, which was then a part of Cuyahoga county. The trip from the old Empire state was made with ox teams, and John Ferguson was accompanied by his sons

and daughters and also by one son-in-law. They settled in what is now Willoughby town- ship, which was then known as Chagrin township, and John Ferguson passed the first few years about two and one-half miles east of Willoughby Center, where he owned and operated the Eagle mill, one of the first grist mills within the borders of Lake county. The same was located on the Chagrin river, from which the operating power was secured. He also secured a tract of wild land located at Willoughby Center and instituted the develop- ment of a farm from the virgin forest. He finally entrusted the operation of the mill to his son Finley and gave his personal attention to the development of his farm, upon which he continued to reside until his death, when about eighty-five years of age. His devoted wife was about the same age at the time of her death, which occurred ten years later. The names of their seven children were Hezekiah, Ann, John, Margaret, Finley, Jane, and Leg- gett. Hezekiah was long numbered among the representative farmers of Willoughby town- ship, and after his retirement from active labors resided in the village of Willoughby, where he died when nearly eighty years of age. His three daughters, all widows, are still liv- ing, namely: Mrs. Martha Smith, of Warren, Ohio; Mrs. Elsie Penfield, who makes her home at Akron, Ohio; and the youngest daughter, Mrs. Eliza Fuller, also lives at War- ren, Ohio. Mrs. Ann Moody, the eldest daughter of John Ferguson, returned to the state of New York, where she passed the remainder of her life. John, Jr., removed from Ohio to Indiana, later became a pioneer of the state of Iowa, and was a resident of California at the time of his death. Mrs. Margaret Cole, the second daughter, was a resident of New York state at the time of her demise. Finley, father of Albert D., is more specifically mentioned in following paragraphs. Jane became the wife of John Viall, and con- tinned to reside in Willoughby township until her death, at the age of more than three score years. Her son Warren is now a resident of the village of Wickliffe. Lake county. Leggett continued to reside on the old homestead farm at Willoughby Center until the time of his death, when seventy-five years of age. He is survived by two daughters,-Helen C., who is the widow of Dewitt Pierce and resides in Willoughby, and Cornelia, who also resides at Willoughby, being the wife of Joseph Ward. Finley Ferguson was twenty-two years of.

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age at the time of the family immigration from the old Empire state to the Western Reserve, and he soon assumed charge of the Eagle mill, as already stated in this context. While oper- ating the mill he married Miss Julia Judd, who died eight years later, leaving three children,- Sarah Jane, who died at the age of fourteen vears; Julia, who is the widow of George Glines and resides at Akron, Ohio; and Thomas J., who was a resident of Fulton county, Ohio, at the time of his death. With his three motherless little children left to his care, Finley Ferguson contracted a second marriage about one and one-half years after the death of his first wife. He wedded Miss Olive Atkinson, who was born in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and who had come to Ohio in company with her three brothers and one sister,-Thomas, Robert, William and Mary Atkinson, and who was about twenty-four years of age at the time of her marriage. In the meanwhile Finley Fer- guson had left the mill and located on the old home farm, from which he soon afterward removed to a tract of heavily timbered land which he secured in the same township. He erected a log house and barn on this place and reclaimed much of the land to cultivation. The homestead comprised ninety acres, and on the same he erected, in 1844, a good farm house, which is still used for residence purposes. From this farm he eventually removed to an- other, not far distant, and on the second farm also made substantial improvements of a per- manent nature. There he died in 1878. at the venerable age of seventy-eight years. He was a man of great industry and alert mentality, and his life was marked by the most impreg- nable integrity, so that he ever commanded the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow men. He was one of the organizers of the Willoughby Center church, of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and assisted materi- ally in the erection of the first church building. which was constructed of logs. He also was a liberal contributor to the erection of the present church edifice, which was built about 1840, and at the time of his demise he was one of the oldest members of this church. He took an intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the day and while never a seeker of office he wielded no little influence in his com- munity. He identified himself with the Repub- lican party at the time of its formation and ever afterward supported its cause. His course was guided by mature judgment and inflexible

honor, and his name merits a place on the roll of the sterling pioneers of the historic old Western Reserve. His wife, surviving him by about five years, was seventy-eight years of age when summoned to the life eternal. She likewise was a devout and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was a woman of gentle and attractive personality. Concerning the children of Finley and Olive (Atkinson) Ferguson the following brief data are entered : Elizabeth is the widow of E. M. Wing and resides at Fort Scott, Kansas; Ade- line became the wife of Isaac Schram and died at Galesburg, Michigan; Robert F. died in infancy ; John B. is a successful farmer of Madison township, Lake county ; Albert. D. is the immediate subject of this review; and Hezekiah C. owns and resides upon a portion of the old homestead farm, in Willoughby township.

Albert D. Ferguson is indebted to the com- mon schools of Willoughby township for his early educational training, and he was reared on the home farm, to whose work he began to contribute his quota when still a boy. He was associated in the work and management of the home farm until about 1869, when he removed to Galesburg, Michigan, where he remained two years and where he was engaged in farming for two years, at the expiration of which he returned to the home farm, in the operation of which he was associated with his youngest brother, Hezekiah C. They eventu- ally purchased the interests of the other heirs and maintained a partnership association for fifteen years, at the expiration of which they divided the property. Albert D. securing forty- six acres, on which was located the house which had been erected by his father. He con- tinued to give his time and attention to the farm, which was devoted to diversified agricul- ture and to the raising of fruit, which was made a specialty, and in 1896 he sold the prop- erty and removed to the village of Willoughby, where he has since lived a practically retired lite. Here he owns an attractive residence property. He has been called upon to serve as administrator of a number of estates and this indicates the implicit confidence and esteem in which he is held in his native county. He is a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party and has served a number of times as delegate to the county conventions of the same in Lake county. He was for seven years incumbent of the office of trustee of Willoughby township. For a number of years

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he was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Willoughby Center, and he long held the office of trustee of the same. He and his wife now hold membership in the Methodist church in the village of Willoughby and are active in the various departments of its work.

On the 24th of November, 1875, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Ferguson to Miss Josephine Waterbury, who was born in the state of New York, a daughter of Robert and Orinda Waterbury, who removed to Lake county, Ohio, when she was a child, first locat- ing in Madison township, where they remained for a number of years, after which they re- moved to Willoughby township, where the father was a successful farmer and tile manu- facturer and where both he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Fer- guson have two children,-Albert W. and Blanche. Albert W., who is manager of the Willoughby branch of the Cleveland Trust Company, married Miss Margaret Tryon, and they have three children,-Elizabeth, Margaret and Tryon. Blanche is the wife of Edward H. Bernhardt, of the village of Willoughby.

FLAVIUS ADELBERT SPRING .- A life-long resident of Ashtabula county, and one of its most energetic, thrifty and progressive agri- culturists, Flavius A. Spring is held in high respect as a man and a citizen. His small farm, located in Geneva, contains fifty-four acres of choice land, on which he has made all of the improvements, having a good residence, a substantial barn, and stock and machinery of first-class description, everything about the premises indicating the industry, prosperity and sound judgment of the owner. He was born in the old log house in which his parents first lived on coming to the Western Reserve, January 27, 1847. He is a son of the late Amos Spring, and a descendant in the ninth generation from one John Spring who emi- grated to Massachusetts in 1634, becoming one of the first settlers of Watertown, near Boston. A more extended sketch of his parents and ancestors may be found elsewhere in this work, in connection with the sketch of his brother, Amos Ashley Spring.

When ready to begin life on his own ac- count, F. A. Spring bought thirty-two acres of his present farm, and after the death of his father came into possession of twenty-two acres of the parental homestead. His original tract of land was pasture land when he bought

it, but with characteristic energy and industry he began its improvement, and has since spared neither time nor expense in his labors, having now a valuable and attractive estate. Here he is carrying on mixed husbandry in a thor- ough and systematic manner, and in his work is meeting with well deserved success.

Mr. Spring married, April 16, 1868, Hattie Davenport, a daughter of William and Harriet (De Lavergne) Davenport, who came from Crawford county, Pennsylvania, to Geneva township when their daughter was fourteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Davenport located on a farm, and here spent their remaining years, her death occurring, at the age of sixty- seven years, on May 29, 1891, and his January 18, 1899, at the age of eighty-three years. Mr. Davenport's sister, Sarah Davenport, married Jolın Day, of Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, who was a brother of the wife of John Brown, of Harpers Ferry fame. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Spring, namely: Cora Allene and Lynn Adelbert. Cora Allene mar- ried William Westlake, and died a few years later, leaving two children, Maurice James Westlake, and Paul Herbert Westlake, the lat- ter being then but four weeks old. These children have since lived with Mr. and Mrs. Spring, who are bringing thein up wisely and well, giving them every needed advantage. Lynn A. Spring is now employed as a book- keeper in Cleveland. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Spring are members of the Methodist Episco- pal church. Mr. Spring, is a Republican in politics.

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History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 26

Author: Upton, Harriet Taylor; Cutler, Harry Gardner, 1856- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago ; New York : The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 886

Author: Upton, Harriet Taylor; Cutler, Harry Gardner, 1856-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago ; New York : The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 886