History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 34

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 34

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Britton S. Johnson gained his early edu- cational discipline in the public schools of

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Kent, in whose high school he was graduated as a member of the class of 1897, after which he was matriculated in the Western Reserve Academy, at Hudson, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1900. After leav- ing this institution Mr. Johnson began read- ing law in the office of an able preceptor in Kent and in 1904-5 he was a student in the law department of the Ohio State University. in the city of Columbus, in which he was graduated in the latter year. He was admit- ted to the bar of his native state in June, 1905, and since that time has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Kent, where he has made an excellent record and gained a representative clientage. He is a close and appreciative student and is especially well grounded in the science of jurisprudence, so that he is well fortified for the practical work in both departments of his profession.

In politics Mr. Johnson is a stanch advo- cate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and he has rendered effective service in the party cause. He was elected justice of the peace when but twenty-two years of age and held this office for one term. He is affiliated with Rockton Lodge No. 316, Free and Accepted Masons, in Kent, and also with the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He enjoys marked popularity in his native county and is one of the representative younger members of its splendid bar.

On July 3, 1907. Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Garrison, dangh- ter of Dr. Edward F. and Addie ( Moody ) Garrison, of Kent. Dr. Garrison died when Mrs. Johnson was a child and his widow has been for a number of years a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of Kent. Her daughter also taught in the Kent schools for three years. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have one daughter .- Martha Irene.

FRANKLIN PIERCE CHAPMAN is the pro- prietor of the oldest established shoe store in Ravenna and perhaps in Portage county. He became a resident of this city in the year of 1881, and in the same year he bought a half interest in the shoe store of Rumbangh & Sturdevant, and the business was then es- tablished under the name of Rumbaugh & Chapman, his partner being F. M. Rumbaugh. But in 1891 Mr. Chapman bonght his part- ner's interest in the business, and has since been the sole proprietor of the store. The

business has been carried on at the same place since 1886, and it is not only one of the oldest established houses of the city, but it is one of its largest shoe stores and leading business establishments as well. Mr. Chapman is also a director of the J. F. Byers Machine Com- pany, a director in the Buckeye Chair Com- pany and the vice president of the Cecil Coal and Coke Company of Grafton, West Vir- ginia. He owns a business block and other real estate in Ravenna.

He represents one of the oldest families of Portage county on the maternal side, for Ah- raham Reed and his wife established their home within its borders sometime in the year of 1790, and his name is enrolled among its founders and benefactors. The country at that time was a dense wilderness, unsettled and unimproved, and their son Horace was the first white child born in Rootstown town- ship. He married Lois Baldwin, from Con- necticut, and in their family was Melissa Reed, the mother of Franklin P. Chapman. She in her maidenhood gave her hand in marriage to Edward E. Chapman. They were both born in Rootstown township, and after their marriage the husband traveled through the country with a peddling wagon for about twelve years, and later moving to a small farm in Rootstown township he continued as an agriculturist there until coming to Ravenna on December 17, 1908, and they are now liv- ing with their son Franklin. The father was born in the year of 1823 and the mother in 1826, and theirs has been a happy union blessed by the birth of five children, namely : Rosalia R., the wife of A. M. Loveland, of Ravenna ; Charles, who died in Tennessee in 1877; W. B., whose home is in Mansfield, Ohio; Frank- lin P., whose name introduces this review: and Carrie, the wife of Charles Bogne, of Riverside, California.

Franklin P. Chapman was born in Roots- town township August 1, 1852, and remaining at home with his parents until fourteen years of age, he then went to Cleveland, Ohio, and served as a bell boy in the Weddle House. After four months there he returned home to resume his studies in school, walking four and a half miles to and from the school house. He continued his studies for one year and then entered upon a three years' apprentice- ship at the shoemaker's trade, being thus em- ployed from the age of sixteen to nineteen. and soon after its completion he embarked in the shoe business at Rootstown with a bor-

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rowed capital of $25. He was successful in this first business endeavor, but after a few years he went from Rootstown to Freedom Station, where he rented a building and stocked it with a line of general merchandise. and he also became the postmaster of the town and conducted a hack line. In time he moved into a new building which he had pur- chased, but later that store burned and he built another building and also a residence. But in 1881 he sold his interests at Freedom Station and came to Ravenna, where he has since been prominently identified with its business life as a shoe merchant.

Mr. Chapman married on June 19, 1872, Elizabeth J. Powers, who was born in Ma- honing county, Ohio, a daughter of Captain James and a Miss Windell Powers, who were from Eastern Pennsylvania, but they were married in Rootstown. One daughter has been born of this union, Maud I., who grad- nated with honors at the Boston Massachu- setts School of Oratory, and for several years taught in the public schools of Ravenna. Mr. Chapman is a Mason of high standing, be- longing to Unity Lodge No. 12 and Trinity Chapter No. 91, both of Ravenna, to Ra- venna Council No. 376 and to the Knights Templars, No. 25, at Akron. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Ravenna Lodge No. 1076. His politics are Republican, and he is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, he having served his church fifteen years as a treasurer and since 1881 he has been its steward.

JOIIN DAVEY .- The name of John Davey is prominently known throughout the country as, "The Father of Tree Surgery." He was born on a farm and raised at agriculture. Winkley House, Stawley, near Wellington. Somerset, England, was the place of his na- tivity. At the age of twenty, he entered the Morgan Nursery at Torquay, Devonshire, where he spent six months, and he then se- cured a position with the Rev. Barnes, at St. Mary church. He was next a gardener for Mr. John Partridge, at Crewkerne, in Somer- setshire, and later began the raising of roses for himself, in his native parish of Stawley. On April 14. 1873, he arrived in New York City, and coming on to Warren, Ohio, he worked one year for Harmon Austin. He was then for five years with General Robert Ratliff, and during that time he bought out

the Porter greenhouse and conducted it for four years while making his home with the General. In August of 1881, Mr. Davey came to Kent, to take charge of the Standing Rock cemetery, as a landscape gardener. In 1901 he published his first book, The Tree Doctor, illustrating it with 176 photographs. He next published his Primer on Trees and Birds, a book for children. Then came his New Era in Trec Growing, for the benefit of city growers, using eighty-six photographs to illustrate the subject. Next came the re- vision of the old Tree Doctor, also enlarged, using-this time-213 photographs. His books are the best to be found on tree and plant culture. In company with his sons, he has established a scientific school in Kent, Ohio, the only school of its kind in the world, where botany, entomology and "Tree Surgery" are exclusively taught.

Mr. Davey was born on June 6, 1846, and his parents were Sammel and Ann ( Shopland) Davey : the father born in Ashbeittle Parish and the mother in Stawley. His grandparents were William and Mary Davey, and William and Mary Shopland. Samuel Davey died in his native land about the year of 1888, long surviving his wife, who passed away in 1864. Their children, five in number, were: Walter, a superintendent at St. Stephens, St. Albans, near London, England; Elizabeth, whose home is in London, England; John, who is mentioned above; Anna M., who be- came the wife of Henry Davey, and died in England in 1889; and William J., of the state of Washington. John Davey, when but thir- teen years of age, was employed as a shepherd, and after he had attained his twentieth year he attended private school and he is now an excellent scholar in both Latin and Greek. He married on September 21, 1879, Bertha Alta Reeves, who was born on the old Reeves homestead north of Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, May 10, 1859. She was a daughter of John Harmon and Isabell (Swager) Reeves, natives respectively of Warren township, in Trumbull county, Ohio, and of Youngstown, Ohio. Her paternal grandparents, were John and Hannah (Dailey) Reeves. John Reeves was from Brighton, New Jersey, born March II, 1796, and his wife, born January 9. 1796, was from Pennsylvania. John Harmon Reeves (Mrs. Davey's father) was one of the best known men of his community, a minister in the Disciple church, and he was loved and revered by all who knew him. The following

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children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davey: Belle R., who became the wife of Harmon L. Carson, of Kent, and they have two children, Ruth C., born July II, 1903, and Glenn H., born September 2, 1906; Welling- ton E., a resident of Kent, married Miss Agnes Atkins, and they have one child, Keith, born March 9, 1907; Martin L., whose home is also in Kent, married Miss Bernice Chrisman ; James A. is also a resident of Kent; Ira R., born November 6, 1892, died May 15, 1902 ; Paul Harmon is at home with his parents ; and Rosella M., born August 13, 1899, died February 17, 1900. Mr. Davey and family are members of the Disciples church, and in politics he is a Republican.

His steriopticon lecture, "The Salvation of Our Trees," (at the present writing) is stir- ring the country. This lecture is illustrated with 150 photographs. It has been given twice at the Chautauqua Assembly, New York, and before the boards of trade and chambers of commerce of the principle cities of America.

GEORGE T. DAY, of Orwell, was born Sep- tember 18, 1858, in Orwell township, and is a son of Thomas and Jane (Longman) Day. both from Somersetshire, England, where they were married. They settled in Orwell soon after coming to the United States, about 1840, on a farm, where their son George T. was born. They lived on a farm of three hundred acres one-half mile south of Orwell, where both died, she at the age of eighty and he seventy-five. He was a manufacturer of cheese, and also bought and sold cheese, poultry, etc. He served several years as trustee of the town. and was an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of Orwell, where he served as trustee.

George Day is the youngest of eight children of whom four others are living, namely : Mary. widow of E. J. Cook, of Warner ; Amy, widow of W. F. Bidell, of Geneva; John, went to England as a lad of sixteen or eighteen, and lived with an uncle John; Jennie, married George Pierce, of Cleveland: Libbie, died when a young lady ; James, who spent his life at Orwell and died at the age of fifty-five; · Sarah, married Burdette Eddy, lived in Youngstown, and died in middle life; and George T. John Day married in England and is a prosperous farmer ; he is heir to his uncle's estate, being his namesake, and the oldest son living of the family. He has re- visited the United States but once.

George T. Day's parents came in their old age to the farm he now occupies, the father having completed the house but a short time before his death. George bought out the other heirs; the farm contains one hundred and twenty-four acres, and is the first farm south of Orwell Village. Mr. Day is chiefly inter- ested in dairying, and has about fifteen or six- teen cows. He keeps pure blood shorthorn cattle, and is a breeder of coach horses. He has his horses well reared and trained, and sells at the highest prices. He is a Republican in politics, and has served as trustee. Both he and his wife belongs to the Methodist Epis- copal church and he is a member of the Grange. Mr. Day is a man of ambition and enterprise, and has acquired success through his own efforts. He is a prominent member of the community.

Mr. Day married, September 1, 1897, Laura, daughter of George and Minerva ( Ives) Cook, ot New Lyme. George Cook was of Solon, Ohio, son of Ephraim and Eliza (Curtis) Cook, of Connecticut. He died in 1909, at the age of seventy-five years, and his wife still resides at New Lyme. Laura Cook was born in Berrien county, Michigan, January 22, 1865, and was four years of age when her parents removed to New Lyme, where she lived until her marriage. George T. Day and his wife have two daughters, Flora and Hazel.

RICHARD P. MARVIN .- If success be predi- cated from definite accomplishments in the utilization of one's powers and talents, then the late Richard P. Marvin, of Akron, cer- tainly achieved success. Looking into the clear perspective of his career there may be seen the strong lines of courage, persistence, determination and self-confidence,-qualities which work to sovereign power. He was one of the distinguished members of the bar of the Western Reserve and as financier and practical man of affairs attained prominence. His life represented large and beneficent accomplishment and was ordered upon a lofty plane of integrity and honor. so that to him were never denied the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow men.

Richard Pratt Marvin, who died at his beau- tiful home in Akron on June 23, 1906, was born at Jamestown, New York May 30, 1848. and there also were born his parents, Hon. Richard Platt Marvin and Isabel (Newlen) Marvin, who were representatives of old and honored families of that section of the state.

JAG Williard

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The father was a lawyer by vocation and was one of the influential men of his section. He was called upon to serve in various public offices, including that of member of the state legislature, and both he and his wife continued to reside in their native state until their death.

Richard P. Marvin Jr., the subject of this memoir, gained his preliminary educational discipline in the common schools and then entered Rochester University, New York, in which institution he was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1870 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In his native city he then took up the study of law under effective preceptorship, and his naturally receptive and appreciative mind en- abled him to make rapid and secure progress in the assimilation of the science of juris- prudence. In 1872 he was admitted to the bar at Jamestown and there was compassed his initial work in his profession. He was there engaged in successful practice until 1881, when he came to Ohio and took up his residence in Akron, where he became a stock-holder in the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Company, of which he was soon afterward elected vice-president, an office which he continued to occupy until his death. For a time he also served as secre- tary of this corporation, which is one of the largest of its kind in the United States. In 1874 he was elected mayor of the city of Akron, and so able and acceptable was his administration that he was again chosen in 1878. He thus served a second term of two years and at the expiration of the same he resumed the active practice of his profession, in which he gained distinctive prestige and success, being known as an able trial lawyer and as a counselor well fortified in knowledge of law and one of marked discrimination and wisdom in the matter of its varied appli- cations. He was a man of broad intellectual attainments of gracious personality and of great business ability, so that he was naturally equipped for leadership in thought and action. To Akron he gave freely of his services and co-operation in the promotion of all enterprises and measures advanced for the general good of the community, and his public spirit and progressive ideas made him specially success- ful in his administration while mayor of the city. Through his well directed efforts he ac- cumulated a fine estate, and upon his private, professional and business career there rests no shadow of wrong, or suspicion.

In politics Mr. Marvin was a stalwart advo-

cate of the principles of the Republican party, and he gave effective service in behalf of the party cause, though never ambitious for pub- lic office. He was identified with various fraternal and social organizations, in each of which his popularity was of the most prom- inent type, and was a consistent member of the Episcopal church, of which his widow also is a devoted member.

Mr. Marvin was twice married. In 1892 he wedded Miss Jane Miller, daughter of the late Henry and Mary Miller, of Akron, and she was summoned to the life eternal in 1898, leaving no children. On October 16, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Marvin to Mrs. Grace (Perkins) Lohmann, widow of Albert C. Lohmann who was a representative business man and honored citizen of Akron. Mrs. Marvin is a daughter of the late Grace Tod and Simon B. Perkins, of Akron, where she was born and reared, and is a member of one of the old and distinguished pioneer fami- lies of Summit county. She is a sister of Col- onel George T. Perkins, one of the best known and most prominent citizens of Akron. Mrs. Marvin has two sons, by her first marriage, Al- bert Perkins Lohmann, who is connected with the engineering department of the B. F. Good- rich Rubber Company, and Carl Albert, who is a student in Yale University. The family resi- dence is located on what is known as Perkins hill, which is a part of the old Perkins home- stead and which was for many years traversed as an Indian trail,-a veritable landmark re- calling the early pioneer epoch in this favored section of the Western Reserve. The home of Mrs. Marvin is one of great beauty, as the . spacious grounds are ornamented with many fine old trees, including oak, maple, and other varieties, besides attractive and well disposed shrubbery. The site is one which commands a fine view of the surrounding country, and the beautiful old place is one that has been long notable for its gracious hospitality, especially under the regime of the present cultured mistress, who holds a secure place in the best social life of the community in which she has lived from the time of her nativity and in which her circle of friends is limited only by that of her acquaintances.

JOHN HENRY WILLIARD, who is owner of one of the model country places of Portage county, situated about one mile west of Ra- venna, is one of the oldest and most honored residents of this part of the state and one in

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most comfortable circumstances. A native of Ravenna township, he was born September 7. 1835, and is a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth ( Eatinger ) Williard, both natives of Maryland and descended from old German stock. The father was born March 12, 1805, and the mother September 22, 1809, both being chil- dren when they came with their parents from their native state to Portage county. The grandfather was a Pittsburg weaver and about 1770 came to the present site of Cleveland, Ohio, and there took up a generous claim, but on his return by way of Muddy Lake he found game so plentiful in that locality that he al- lowed his claim at Cleveland to go by default and instead fixed upon a tract of land at Muddy Lake in Rootstown township. In this locality he built a log cabin, cleared the land, placed it under cultivation and spent the re- mainder of his life in this work and in the care and rearing of his family. The Williards and Eatingers were neighbors near Ravenna and were thus thrown into constant intercourse, the result being the marriage of the parents of John H. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Williard settled near the old family homestead, where the father became a prosper- ous farmer and influential citizen. The father died April 6, 1868, and his widow passed away January 12, 1878, their five children being as follows: Julia, now Mrs. Michael Caris and a resident of Ravenna, Ohio; Andrew; Phy- lena and Charles W., all deceased ; and John H., of this sketch.

Mr. Williard resided with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age, having ob- tained a good common school education and becoming an active member of the German Lutheran church. Upon attaining his majority he removed to Marshall county, Illinois. where he was employed as a farm laborer for two years and then returned to his home on ac- count of the illness of his father. One year later, without capital but with a firm deter- mination to succeed, he purchased a small piece of land on time and gradually stocked his farm with live stock. The venture proved so profit- able that he was not only enabled to make a good livelihood but to purchase other tracts of land and more live stock. By shrewd invest- ments and sales of land he was also enabled to collect handsome profits, so that before many years he had attained a substantial position hoth as a property owner and a live stock man. Mr. Williard has resided at his present place since 1882, and in 1885 he erected a fine brick

residence one mile west of Ravenna. Of his outside positions and interest may be men- tioned his presidency of the City bank of Kent, which he assumed in 1904: his interest as a stockholder in Williams and Brothers grist mill at that place, as well as his interest in the Sen- eca Chain Company of Kent, and in various lands near Los Angeles, California.

In April, 1865, Mr. Williard wedded Miss Phebe Waldron, born in Franklin township. Erie county, Ohio, February 22, 1841, daugh- ter of Cornelius and Elizabeth ( Pratt ) Wal- dron. Her father was a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and her mother of El- mira, Chemung. county, New York. The Waldron family has been established in New Jersey for many generations, the great-grand- parents, Cornelius and Sarah (Fontain) Wal- dron, and the grandparents, Lafford and Han- nah (Webb) Waldron, being all natives of that state, the last named being born at Flemington. The maternal grandparents, Darius and Phebe (Baker) Pratt, were both natives of the Em- pire state. Mrs. Williard's father was born in 1807, and in 1828, with his brother John, lo- cated at Cleveland, Ohio, afterward returning to Pennsylvania, but finally locating in Sum- mit county. In Cleveland he was widely known as a canal contractor, his work covering the route from Cleveland to Pittsburg, embracing nine locks at Akron, Ohio, and a set of locks between Franklin and Ravenna. Mr. Waldron married in Franklin township, later purchased a farm in that township and died there in 1847, his wife passing away in 1884. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. John H. Williard are as follows: Effie E., an instructor in domestic science and arts ; Burton J., of Ravenna town- ship; Mildred B., now Mrs. Harry Goodman, of Los Angeles, California; and Scott, whose death occurred at home on July 25, 1908.

ZERAH PERKINS RIDER .- The ancestry of the Rider family is distinctly traced for only a few generations, Joseph and Hiram Rider (brothers), were passengers on the May- flower ( 1620). Joseph married and had sons -Joseph and Hiram-and the same order of names have continued to the present with little exception-the transmission of the fam- ily name depending upon the Josephs, for the Hirams never married. Joseph, grandfather of Zerah P. Rider, came from Tolland county, Connecticut, in 1802, afoot, carrying an ax on his shoulder and a knapsack on his back. Arriving on the banks of Grand river

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about a mile from its mouth, he bargained for several hundred acres of land and built a log cabin on the right bank nearly opposite "Skin- ner's Landing." The following fall or winter he returned to his Connecticut home and in the spring (1803) brought his family, con- sisting of wife and three little girls as far as Erie, Pennsylvania, with a horse team. Here he exchanged his horses for a yoke of oxen. West of Erie there were no roads and like many others, he followed the beach of the lake to his new home. He found no difficulty in fording the many streams that flow into the lake until he reached Ashtabula creek which was too high to cross safely. While search- ing for a safe fording place, an open boat was seen coming up the lake and he engaged it to transfer his wagon and its load across. The boat was too small to take the cattle also, and grasping the near (left) ox by the bow, he swam the stream, resuming his travels and reaching his destination without further inci- dent. The family dog, which had followed the fortunes of the journey, disappeared soon after the unloading of household effects. Some time afterward a letter from the former home announced the dog's return. He had made the return trip in four days, with little or no food or rest.

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History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 34

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