History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 28

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

USA > Ohio > History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II > Part 28

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).

852

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE

Warren Platt, Cullen Mark, Persis Jeruslia, Marcia Naomi, and Arthur Wayne.

Cullen Mark Spencer, the fifth child in suc- cession of birth of his parents, assisted his father as soon as old enough in the care of the farm, and in course of time succeeded to its ownership. Here he lived and died. He married, about 1849, Mary Wilder. These children blessed their union, namely: Warren E., who owns and occupies that portion of the original homestead on which his grand- father erected his primitive log cabin; Lewis C .: and Susan P., wife of R. M. Hoskins, residing also on a portion of the parental farm.

Lewis C. Spencer, born February 4, 1859, has succeeded to the ownership of the sum- mer resort and picnic grounds which his father, Cullen M. Spencer, and Edwin Pratt established at Sturgeon Point in 1869, having conceived the idea the summer before, while out on the lake in a boat called the "Crab." They erected an ice house, and conducted the grounds successfully for fifteen years, Lewis C. Spencer and his brother Warren assisting their father. After the father's death, Lewis C. secured possession of the grounds, which they later sold, and part of the old homestead. It is well equipped for pleasure parties. He has a dance hall accommodating two hundred couples, a large bowling alley, with good boarding-houses, a hotel, and cottages, there being ample accommodations for many people. The bathing and boating facilities are unsur- passed, and as a summer resort it is exceed- ingly popular. On October 14, 1886, Lewis C. Spencer married Theda E. Spring, a daugh- ter of W. R. Spring, and they have three children, namely: Robert C., Mildred Alice, and Cullen Lewis.

AUGUSTUS B. CHURCH, D. D., LL. D .- A distinguished figure in the educational circles of the Western Reserve is Dr. Church, the honored president of fine old Buchtel Col- lege, in the city of Akron, Summit county, and he is also one of the representative mem- bers of the clergy of the Universalist church, to whose ministry he devoted himself with zeal and consecration until assuming his pres- ent office at the head of one of the leading edu- cational institutions maintained under the aus- pices of this denomination.

Dr. Church finds a due measure of pride and satisfaction in reverting to the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity. There the family home was established in the

pioneer days and the name is one which has been identified with the animals of Amer- ican history since the colonial epoch. The doc- tor was born in the town of North Norwich, Chenango county, New York, on the 11th of January, 1858, and is the youngest of the four sons of William A. and Catherine (Conk- lin) Church, both likewise natives of the state of New York, and the latter a distant rela- tive of Hon. Roscoe Conkling, who served with distinction as a member of Congress from New York, and also in the United States sen- ate. The parents of Dr. Church passed their entire lives in New York, where his father was a prosperous farmer, in connection with which basic avocation he found much pleas- ure in his devotion to the profession of music, 111 which he had distinctive talent.

Augustus B. Church passed his boyhood days on the old homestead farm, in connec- tion with which he gained his initial experi- ence as one of the world's workers, and under the sturdy discipline involved he waxed strong in mind and body. His rudimentary educa- tion was secured in the district school near his home, and here his attendance was largely confined to the winter months, as his services were in requisition in connection with the work of the home farm during the summer seasons. After completing the limited curriculum of the district school, he continued his studies in the high school at Sherburne, New York, and later was a student in Clinton Liberal Insti- tute, at Fort Plain, that state, located in the beautiful and historic Mohawk valley. From this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1882, and the same year was matriculated in St. Lawrence University, at Canton, New York, from which he was gradu- ated in 1886, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1892 his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and in 1894 the degree of Doctor of Laws was con- ferred upon him by Tufts College, Massachu- setts. In 1888 Dr. Church was graduated from the theological seminary at Canton, New York, and was ordained to the ministry of the Uni- versalist church. His first pastoral charge was at South Berwick, Maine, and while a resident of that place he was also incumbent of the office of superintendent of the schools of the town. In 1890 he assumed the pastor- ate of the Universalist church at North Adams, Massachusetts, where he remained for some time, and where he was a member of the board of education. In 1897 lie accepted

853

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE

the pastorate of the First Universalist church at Akron, Ohio, an incumbency which he re- tained for a period of four years, a part of which time he taught mental and moral phi- losophy in Buchtel College. In 1901 he was made acting president of this institution, and in 1902 was chosen its president. His admin- istration of the affairs of the college has been most admirable, and through his efforts its interests and general prestige have been nota- bly advanced. He is a man of profound eru- dition, but has naught of intellectual intoler- ance or arrogance. His enthusiasm in his work is of the most insistent type and is potent in creating the same spirit in his coadju- tors, and also the students of the college. He is a member of the National Educational Asso- ciation, the National Religious Educational Association, and the Ohio State Association of College Presidents and Deans. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Republican party, and he takes a deep interest in the questions and issues of the day, as a man of broad and practical views and wide mental ken.

On the 5th of September, 1899, Dr. Church was united in marriage to Miss Anne Atwood, daughter of Rev. I. M. Atwood, D. D., presi- dent of the St. Lawrence Theological Semi- nary, at Canton, New York. Dr. and Mrs. Church have four children : Evelyn, John A., Harold A. and Dorothy T.

CALVIN J. RICHARDSON, of Willoughby township, was born October 12, 1840, in May- field, and is a son of Truman Richardson, and grandson of Captain Joseph Richardson. Cap- tain Joseph Richardson served in the war of 1812, when a young man, and about 1820 came with his family to Ohio, and about twenty years later was found dead, having been killed accidentally. As a young man, when he was working on a church in Utica, New York, a man came along selling car- penters' squares, then unknown; after look- ing at them, Captain Richardson went to work by himself and made a square by candlelight for his own use. This is still in the hands of his grandson. Captain Richardson first came to Cleveland, Ohio, but later settled in Wil- loughby, near the lake shore, where he put up a saw mill and a turning lathe, making a dam in a small stream. He built the house now occupied by his grandson, M. O. Rich- ardson, about 1833-34, and they have a chair made by him over one hundred years ago. Captain Richardson had children as follows:

Truman, who remained on his father's farm; Samuel, who was a real estate agent, died at Cleveland, at the age of seventy years; Salem left the state when a young man; Lithanel married Nathaniel Stockwell, and is now dead ; and Phebe married James Cunningham.

Truman Richardson lived at home with his parents, and at the age of twenty-five mar- ried Maria Gray, sister of Martin E. and daughter of Andrew Gray. Mr. Richardson's farm consisted of one hundred acres, and he added thirty-five acres. He conducted the mill as long as it was open. He was a great man to break horses, and was a good horse- man, having some high-spirited teams. He died when past eighty, and his wife died about 1877. They had four children, namely : Calvin J., Morillos, on the old homestead ; Ella married William Graves, and lives at Painesville ; and Nettie, widow of Mr. Willey, of Chicago.

Calvin J. Richardson was about four years of age when his father returned to the old homestead, and lived at home until about twenty-two years of age; he received a high- school education and attended college until he enlisted in Company C, Eighty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving in the ranks. He was detailed for various work, having charge of forty horses sometimes, and at times serv- ing as mounted orderly. He was one of those to stand guard over the remains of Lincoln at the state house in Columbus. He was mus- tered out at Columbus, Ohio, and was detailed as clerk in the disbursing office, being chosen to make out discharges, on account of his fine handwriting.

Mr. Richardson is a man of sterling quali- ties, and has the confidence and esteem of a large circle of friends. He is a useful and patriotic citizen, and interested in public af- fairs. He is a member of James A. Garfield Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Mentor, is a Granger, and served sixteen years as deputy master. He was married, September 6, 1865, to Flora, daughter of Silas and Phebe (Brown) Green. Phebe Brown's father was a cousin of John Brown, living at . Conneaut, a carpenter by trade. Silas Green's father, Joab Green, was born November 14, 1792, was married to Rebecca Johnson, and built the first frame building in Conneaut; they had eleven children, namely: Elvira, Almeda, Harlow, Sophronia, William, Silas, Lovinia, Edwin, Alonzo, Joab and Jared. Silas Green died in January, 1908, and was buried in Con-

854

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE

neaut, within one hundred yards of where he was born, beside his wife, Phebe Brown Green. Silas Green's father worked with Cap- tain Joseph Richardson when they were young, Flora Green's mother once visiting C. J. Richardson's mother. C. J. Richardson lives on the farm that formerly belonged to his grandfather, Andrew Gray; his mother inherited a small part of it, and he inherited a part, purchasing the remainder, and paying for it with potatoes. He has a truck garden, selling the product to private customers; he has fifty acres, bordering Mentor township. The house was built in 1833-34, at Richmond, later taken apart and shipped to the mouth of the Chagrin river and set up in Mentor town- ship; about sixty years ago it was removed to its present location, and still serves as a resi- dence. Mr. Richardson has a great deal of fruit, that being the leading product of the farm, which is but a half mile from Lake Erie. He belongs to the Agricultural Society and also to Lake County Horticultural Society. For sixteen years he has been reporting weather conditions to the United States gov- ernment, and for fifty years has kept a diary. Mr. Richardson had three children, two of whom survive, namely: S. Clyde, a rural route mail carrier, and Irma, a graduate in the class of 1909 from the Women's College of Western Reserve University. His son Ray was attending business college, and lacked but a few months of graduation, when he died suddenly, at the age of twenty years. Mr. Richardson has been a member of the Baptist church for about fifty years. His wife is also a member of the same church, having been a member for about forty years.

HENRY MEANS .- Equipped for his legal du- ties as well by natural gifts and temperament as by learning and habits of industry, Henry Means has acquired distinction in his profes- sional career, and is numbered among the foremost attorneys of Geneva. He has been quite prominent in local affairs, ever alive to the needs of the hour, and has served effi- ciently and well in different capacities, his ex- cellent judgment and sound common sense win- ning him a place of importance in the com- munity. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born, in 1849, in Mercer county, where he spent his boyhood days. Coming with his parents to Ohio, he was graduated in 1874 from the Grand River Institute, where he laid

a substantial foundation for his future educa- tion.

Turning his attention then to the study of law, Mr. Means was admitted to the bar in 1878, and has since been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession at Geneva. A stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, he has always worked for the promotion of those measures that will prove of lasting good to town and county. As mayor of Geneva for two terms, Mr. Means was instrumental in advancing the interests of the city, and during the many years that he has been a member of the village board of edu- cation he has done much towards improving and elevating the status of the schools.

Mr. Means married, July 2, 1874, Hattie M. Bond, of Rock Creek, and they became the parents of four children, namely : William H., born in 1875; Laura, born in 1880; Ralph P., born in 1889: and Robert L., born in 1892. Mrs. Hattie M. (Bond) Means died in Janu- ary 1903, and Mr. Means subsequently mar- ried, for his second wife, Hattie A. Clark. Fraternally, Mr. Means is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

ARTHUR L. GARFORD .- In the career of Arthur L. Garford, president of the Garford Company, of Elyria, Lorain county, is shown that definite persistence and ambition that are the mind's inspiration in the surmounting of obstacles, the vitalizing ideal that transforms dreams into deeds. In connection with indus- trial and commercial affairs he has made a record of admirable achievement, and he is recognized as one of the foremost business men of the Western Reserve. He is also known as a citizen of unequivocal loyalty and integrity and as one whose public spirit has led him aside from the line of direct personal ad- vancement to do well his part in the promotion of the general welfare. He is a dominating fac- tor in connection with political affairs in his native state, and his prominence in the coun- cils of the Republican party is indicated in the fact that his name has been brought conspicu- ously forward in connection with the party nomination for governor of Ohio. The differ- ence between the generations of any country with a history is commonly not one of prin- ciple but of emphasis. The great American republic owes its magnificent upbuilding to the fact that it has developed men of distinctive

Astanford

855

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE

initiative power. There has been room for such men in every progressive business, how- ever crowded it might be. The strength of the man with initiative is one both of ideas and of ability to shape those ideas into definite accom-1 plishment. He knows how to make begin- nings and how to expand his practical ideas according to demands or utilitarian possibili- ties. Such a man in the industrial life of the Western Reserve is Mr. Garford, whose name represents a power in the industrial and finan- cial circles of this favored section of the Union and whose advancement has come through his own abilities and his own mastering of ex- pedients. As a representative business man and honored and influential citizen he is well entitled to consideration in this historical pub- lication, which has to do with the section in which his entire life thus far has been passed.

Arthur Lovett Garford was born on a farm that is now within the city limits of Elyria, Lorain county, Ohio, on August 4, 1858, and is a son of George and Hannah (Lovett) Gar- ford, the former of whom was born in Nortlı- amptonshire, England, and the latter in Leices- tershire, of the same "right little, tight little isle." His paternal grandfather, William Gar- ford, was for many years custodian and man- ager of a large English estate upon which his ancestors had lived for generations. The ma- ternal grandfather, Edward Lovett, was an extensive silk and lace manufacturer, and one of his sons was manager of a large manu- factory in England while another son served for many years in the English navy. Thus the subject of this review may revert with satisfac- tion to a sterling ancestry and feel apprecia- tion of those who have wrought well in the past, leaving a heritage of worthy lives and worthy deeds.

George Garford, father of Arthur L., was born in the year 1829 and was reared and edu- cated in his native land, where, in 1851, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Hannah Lovett. In the following year he came to the United States and soon after his arrival in the port of New York City he came to Ohio and took up his abode in Elyria, Lorain county, which was then a small village. In 1853 his young wife and their first child, a son, joined him in the new home, and they still reside in Lorain county, being now numbered among the venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Elyria.

Upon coming to Elyria George Garford en- gaged in landscape gardening, in which he

had received excellent training in his native land, and later he turned his attention to the breeding and raising of live stock, in which lat- ter field of industry he gained a national repu- tation. He was for many years a successful exhibitor of sheep and cattle at state and county fairs, and as a stock-grower he attained to a high degree of financial success and prestige. From 1863 until 1882 he occupied the Elywood stock farm, in Lorain county, and, as already intimated, he and his wife now maintain their home in Elyria. They are mem- bers of the Episcopal church and in politics he has ever been a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party.

Arthur L. Garford was reared on the farm and was afforded the advantages of the excel- lent public schools of Elyria, from whose high school he was graduated as a member of the class of 1875. In 1877, when nineteen years of age, he became cashier in the extensive china importing. house of Rice & Burnett, in the city of Cleveland, and a year later he was promoted to the position of head bookkeeper, which office he resigned in 1880, as the confinement and onerous duties had caused his health to become much impaired. He returned to his home in Lorain county and after a short period of physical recuperation became bookkeeper in the Savings Deposit Bank of Elyria, a newly organized institution. In 1882 he was pro- moted to the position of teller, and in 1884 was made assistant cashier, which incumbency he retained until 1891, when he assumed the re- sponsible office of cashier. Concerning the in- fluences which led him to make a radical change in his vocation the following record is given in a sketch of his career written by John T. Bourke and published in the Cleveland Leader and in this connection it should be noted that he resigned his position of cashier in 1892, after having organized the Garford Manufacturing Company in the preceding year. To make the quoted statements more in har- mony with the sketch at hand slight paraphrase and elimination are used :

"The sedentary life told on him, however, and to get fresh air and exercise he took to the bicycle. High wheels were then the rage, and Mr. Garford had several falls, some of them rather serious. He wondered if something could not be done to prevent frequent falling from the bicycle. He studied the matter, and the invention of the famous Garford bicycle saddle was the result. He patented the inven- tion and offered to sell the patent to a Chicago

Vol. II-10

856

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE

manufacturer for $100. The tender was re- fused and Mr. Garford made a contract with an Elyria factory for a large number of sad- dles. Before these could be marketed the low or safety wheels supplanted the high wheels in public favor. He had several thousand sad- dles on his hands and failure seemed to be star- ing him in the face. He didn't lose courage, but devised a plan by which his saddle could be remodeled for the low wheel. For three years the sales continued to increase, and then occurred the burning of the factory in which the saddles were made, destroying the entire stock. The success of his invention had been assured, however, and in 1893 Mr. Garford built a mill of his own for the manufacture of saddles. The Garford saddle became the most popular in the country, and the inventor's con- cern, as it developed, picked up rival com- panies until it controlled the bicycle-saddle in- dustry of the United States. A million saddles a year were made. The companies were con- solidated, and Mr. Garford formed the Amer- ican Saddle Company, a great success. The saddle company was in turn absorbed by the American Bicycle Company, of which Mr. Gar- ford became treasurer. He subsequently with- drew from the concern and organized the Auto- mobile & Cycle Parts Company, whose title was later changed to the Federal Manufactur- ing Company, which had nine mills, located in Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and other cities. The controlling interest was owned by the Pope Manufacturing Company, successor to the American Bicycle Company. Mr. Garford resigned as president of the Fed- eral Manufacturing Company and purchased its automobile-parts plants in Cleveland and Elyria, forming the Garford Company, in 1905. The Federal Company was organized in 1901 and was capitalized for $5,000,000. In 1907 Mr. Garford built the large automobile factory in Elyria, and the same is operated under the title of the Garford Company. The great Studebaker Company, manufacturers of ve- hicles, became interested, but Mr. Garford has control of the concern of which he is the execu- tive head, and the plant constitutes one of the

largest automobile factories in the land.

contains 120,000 square feet of floor space and is of concrete and steel construction, absolutely

fireproof. In 1902 Mr. Garford went

France and reorganized with a commission for the owners, the Cleveland Machine Screw Company, under the name of the Cleveland Automatic Machine Company. This corpora-

tion has an extensive plant in Cleveland and controls a large business throughout the United States and the European continent and Eng- land."

The productive energy of Mr. Garford seems to have "grown by what it fed on," and there has been no apparent limit to his powers as an organizer and a veritable "captain of industry." In 1903 he organized the Columbia Steel Works, of Elyria, where he built its fine plant, and here he also built the plant of the Worth- ington Company. He is a large stockholder in each of these corporations and also in the Perry-Fay Company, of Elyria, of which he was an organizer. He is also president of the previously mentioned Cleveland Automatic Machine Company, which is incorporated with a capital of $1,000,000, and owns the controll- ing interest and stock. In 1898 he purchased a majority interest in the Republican Printing Company, of Elyria, of which he is president. This company publishes the Evening Telegram, one of the leading Republican dailies of the Western Reserve. In 1895 he effected the or- ganization of the Fay Manufacturing Com- pany, of which he became president, as did he also of its successor the Worthington Manu- facturing Company. In 1905 he was the prime factor in the organization of the Perry-Fay Manufacturing Company, previously men- tioned, and of the directorate of the same he is a member at the present time. In 1907 he as- sisted in the organization of the American Lace Manufacturing Company, of Elyria, and he has since been its president. Of these various Elyria industrial corporations with which he has identified himself all have been distinctively successful and they operate under effective capitalistic and executive control.

As a business man of varied and important interests, Mr. Garford has practically had no trouble in connection with the labor problem. He is liberal in his policy of administration and accords to employes not only their just deserts but shows a lively appreciation and sympathy, so that he retains their confidence and good will. He has voluntarily made sacrifices in or- der to keep his men employed in times past. and the spirit of candor, honesty and fairness which has characterized fiis every thought and action as a citizen and business man has not failed of appreciation on the part of those who owe to his energy and ability their employ- ment in various capacities. From the sketch to which recourse has been made for a previous quotation, is taken the following estimate :

857

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE

"Mr. Garford is of the best type of the success- ful business man. He finds time not only to build up his material fortunes but also to build up his city and to do his duty as a citizen. The story of his career is an object lesson for am- bitious, courageous young. men. It shows what may be accomplished by the man of energy in a comparatively few years by means of push and vigor and withont deserting the hearth- stone about which he played as a boy. The home in which he was born is within the city limits of Elyria. In his early youth his parents removed to a farm, now also a part of Elyria. It was on this farm that young Garford was reared. The frame house in which he lived when first married stands upon it today, and on the same farm is the commodious and ar- tistic modern stone residence which is now his home. Mr. Garford believes the secret of ac- complishment is the economy of time and energy. He always finds time to do what he has in mind. He methodically divides his time, and thus manages to give necessary attention not only to his varied business enterprises, but also to politics, to church and to the various interests of the community. Mr. Garford is a long-distance thinker. He has a creative mind. When he looks into a proposition he analyzes it thoroughly and draws a logical deduction of what there is in the future for it. When he makes up his mind to go ahead with a venture, be it business or political, he puts common sense and industry behind it."

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 the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 28

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