History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 38

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 38

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David H. Kelley was born in 1810, in New Hampshire, and in the invigorating climate of his native state grew to be a sturdy and cour- ageous youth. In 1826 he bravely made his way through an almost unbroken pathway to the Western Reserve, and for three years worked in the tannery and shoe shop belong- ing to his uncle, which he afterwards bought out. Selling out his shop and tannery in 1845, he bought land near by, in Saybrook town- ship, and was there engaged in tilling the soil until his death, January 3, 1897. He was twice married. He married first, in 1832, Lucy Webster, a daughter of Norman Webster, a pioneer of this county. She died in 1847, at a comparatively early age. Seven children were born of their union, three of whom died in infancy, the others being as follows: Am-

SAINT JOSEPH'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ASHTABULA DEDICATED NOVEMBER 11, 1906

MATTHEW O'BRIEN

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brose E., who settled in Geneva; Jesse P., a dentist, who died in 1908; Ruth, widow of O. R. Higley, lives at Battle Creek, Michigan ; and Ellen, wife of George H. Olmstead, of Cleveland.

David H. Kelley married second, in 1849, Ellen M. Simonds, by whom he also had seven children, namely : Lucy A., deceased ; Mary P .; D. Edward, a dentist; Henry S., the subject of this sketch; Cynthia M., of Geneva; Hattie L., of Cleveland ; and Eveline P., of Cleveland.

Henry S. Kelley owns a fine farm of 172 acres, and is carrying on his chosen occupation in an intelligent and skillful manner, his labors being crowned with success. He pays much attention to stock-raising, breeding. Red Polled cattle, pure bred, which thrive well under his care. He is quite prominent throughout the town and county, and for three years lectured before Farmers' Institutes for the State Board of Agriculture. Mr. Kelley married, Septem- ber II, 1879, Ruth Walker, a daughter of Charles Walker, whose sketch appears else- where in this work.

LEVI HALL, formerly of Willoughby, now deceased, came to Ohio in 1813, and there pur- chased 1,000 acres of land for his father, Hezekiah Hall, most of it being bog, lying along Euclid avenue, one and a half miles from the village then called Chagrin. Hezekiah Hall was born in 1756, served in the Revolution, and died in 1832, being buried on the Hall homestead. By his wife Susannah he had six sons and four daughters, and divided his prop- erty among his children. The eldest son, John Hall, was a dairyman and cheesemaker, in which he was expert. He died in Toledo. Hezekiah Hall, the second son, owned the pres- ent Houliston farm, and in later life removed to Berrien Springs, Michigan, where he died in old age. His son Chauncey died in early manhood as the result of an accident. Simeon Hall, the third son, lived to be over seventy years of age. Kezia, the third daughter, mar- ried Benjamin Woolsey, and lived where J. A. Beidler now lives. Later in life they removed to Willoughby, where Mr. Woolsey was pro- moter of the institute, to which he donated $10,000, and which was to have been called Woolsey Institute. He died at the age of sev- enty-five years, and his widow survived him several years. They had no children, and he was ever fond of young people, and happy in doing something to assist them, and left his

money for the education of the young. He de- lighted in being fatherly, and did a great deal of good with his money. He was an enthusi- astic Methodist, with a good voice and convinc- ing manner.

Levi Hall lived in the house now occupied by his daughter Almira. He was born April II, 1791, and died April 18, 1835, in his forty- fifth year, as had been foretold by a fortune teller. He married Nancy Card, daughter of William and Hannah Card; she was the elev- enth of twelve children, born September Io, 1798, and died September 9, 1875. The Card home was in Willoughby, near the Lake Shore Railroad crossing, and both her parents spent their last days with Nancy. One son, Thomas Card, came to Ohio also about 1813, from Dutchess county, New York, buying 3,000 acres, mainly river bottoms, west and north of Willoughby, for his father. The old home- stead of Thomas Card is the present old Dr. St. John home, in the center of Willoughby village. Thomas Card married Lydia Dewey, of Erie, Pennsylvania. A daughter, Louisa, married Dr. St. John, and lived and died in the old home. Mary married Judge Potter, of Toledo, where she died a few years later. Nancy was married at seventeen, and died Sep- tember 9, 1875; she was left with three chil- dren, the eldest a son of fourteen. She re- mained on the farm and kept it intact, built the present residence and kept up the business, being an excellent manager. Her three chil- dren were, namely: William C., Mary C. and Almira C. William, born June 18, 1821, died November 19, 1887 ; he spent his life at home with his mother, and was very domestic in his tastes and was wholly devoted to his mother. Mary C. married Samuel W. Phelps, of Paines- ville, and lived mainly in Painesville. She spent her last years back at the old home, and died in 1903, aged seventy-four years.

Almira C. Hall was never in very robust health, and has spent her life in the house where she was born, and was always a com- panion to her mother. She graduated from the Female Seminary at Willoughby, being one of the first class of fourteen girls to start the school, and Miss Anna Clark, of Grand Rapids, being another. The Hall home has always been noted for its great hospitality, and always considered the headquarters of the en- tire family, both the Halls and the Cards. Four of the Card family lived at Willoughby, namely : Dr. George Card, Thomas Card, Platt Card and Varnum Card; the last named was

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an attorney in Cleveland. Lois Hall, related to the Hall family, married Morris Holmes and had two sons, George and Charles.

AMOS ASHLEY SPRING .- An industrious and well-to-do agriculturist of Geneva, Amos A. Spring is carrying on general farming with satisfactory results, year by year adding to his wealth, his farm in regard to its appointments comparing, well with any in the neighborhood. A native of New York, he was born February 21, 1842, in Leroy, Genesee county, being a descendant in the ninth generation from John Spring, the emigrant ancestor, who settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1634. His line- age is clearly recorded, being as follows : John,1 Henry,2 Thomas,3 Henry,4 Amos," Amos," Amos," Amos,8 and Amos Ashley.º

Amos Spring,8 father of Amos Ashley, was born November 2. 1808. Before the middle of the nineteenth century, probably in 1844. he came with his family from Genesee county, New York, to Ashtabula county, which was first settled by New England people. Buying sixty acres of land in Geneva township, he became identified with the agricultural inter- ests of his community, and here resided until his. death, November 28, 1862. He married, September 24, 1827, Clarinda Webb, at Leroy, New York ; she was born March 25, 1810, and died in Geneva, Ohio, July 11, 1877.

A small child when brought by his parents to Geneva township, Amos Ashley Spring ac- quired his elementary education in the district schools, after which he attended Jericho Semi- nary, continuing his studies under Platt R. Spencer, a noted teacher, and the founder of the Spencerian system of penmanship. He af- terwards spent a year or two away from home, remaining however, in the county, and then assisted his father in the care of the home farm until attaining his majority. The death of his father occurring about that time, Mr. Spring subsequently cared for his widowed mother, and on the division of the parental estate came into possession of thirty-eight acres of land, on which the old buildings were located. The house, which replaced the original log cabin. had been built but a few years, and the barns and granaries were in good repair. Mr. Spring afterwards traded that farm for one in Austin- burg. Instead of moving to that place, though, he exchanged his Austinburg property for his present farm, which formerly belonged to John Andrus, one of the original settlers of Geneva, and has here resided since assuming its posses- sion, in 1878. Mr. Spring has since rebuilt

and enlarged house and barns, which are now models of convenience and comfort, and has put at least twenty-five acres of his land under culture. The neatness and fine appearance of his estate bespeak the thrift and good judgment of the owner, and show that he has an excel- lent understanding of general farming in all of its branches. During the Civil war Mr. Spring enlisted, but was rejected on account of physical disability.

On December 25, 1862, Mr. Spring married Ellen Perry, who was born in Austinburg, Ohio, a daughter of Samuel B. and Laura Perry, who were born and married in that place, Mr. Spring having been just twenty- one years old at the time of his marriage, and Ellen Perry eighteen. Four children have been porn to Mr. and Mrs. Spring, namely : Bel- lonia, the only daughter, died in childhood : Laroy and Larue, twins ; and Benoni. Laroy, of Painesville, is a ticket agent and telegraph operator on the Lake Shore Railroad. Larue. of Ashtabula, is also a telegraph operator on the same road. Benoni, on the farm with his father, married Cora Callaway, and they have one son, Walter Spring. Mr. Spring is a faith- ful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, which he has served for many years as class leader and as trustee. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

ROSWELL C. CURTISS .- Not a life of exalta- tion was that of the late Roswell Chapman Curtiss, but it was one that was pure, constant and noble,-true to itself and to the highest of ideals. He was an able member of the bar of Medina county, where he continued in the practice of his profession until impaired hear- ing made it impracticable to continue his labors therein, and thereafter he was engaged in the real estate and insurance business in the village of Medina. He was a man of fine in- tellectuality and his character was one of the loftiest integrity, which fact, as coupled with his winning and gracious personality, gained and retained to him the affectionate regard of all with whom he came much in contact. He was summoned to the life eternal on Novem- ber 13, 1904, and in his death Medina county lost one of its most honored pioneer citizens and native sons.

Roswell Chapman Curtiss was born in La- fayette township, Medina county, Ohio, on April 19, 1837, and thus was sixty-four years of age at the time of his demise. He was a son of Samuel Brooks Curtiss and Sarah M.

ROSWELL C CURTISS

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Curtiss, being the eldest in a family of eight children and being survived by three brothers and three sisters. Samuel Brooks Curtiss was born in Durham, Connecticut, July 13, 1813, and his wife was a native of New Hampshire. He was numbered among the early settlers of Medina county, Ohio, coming at the age of fifteen with his parents, Samuel and Lecretia (Brooks) Curtiss, who settled in Montville township in 1828. There the father purchased a tract of heavily timbered land, from which he developed a productive farm, and he was one of the honored and influential citizens of his section of the township. Samuel, Jr., and his wife moved to Lafayette township, where they continued to reside for a time. Later they moved to Medina, where they passed away, the mother dying in May, 1889, and the father October, 1890. The Curtiss family is of stanch English lineage, and was founded in America about 1622, when the original progenitors in the new world took up their abode in Massa- chusetts Bay colony. With the annals of New England, that cradle of much of our national history, the name has been prominently identi- fied, and direct and collateral representatives of the family are now to be found in the most diverse sections of the Union.

Roswell C. Curtiss was reared under the in- vigorating discipline of the pioneer farm and as a boy he found ample demands upon his time in connection with its work, though he was not denied his due measure of recreation and opportunity for mental development. After attending the schools in Medina, which was then a small village, he was enabled to attend Hillsdale College, at Hillsdale, Michigan, for one year, and there made good use of his op- portunities for studying the higher academic branches. After leaving college he read law under the able preceptorship of J. B. Young, a prominent member of the Medina county bar. and in due course of time, thoroughly fortified in the minutiæ of the science of jurisprudence, he was admitted to the bar of his native county. He forthwith engaged in the active practice of his profession in the vil- lage of Medina, and soon proved his powers as an able trial lawyer and well equipped coun- selor. He built up an excellent practice and continued in the active work of his profession, when the affliction of impaired hearing made his presentation of cases before the courts ar- dnous and, at least subjectively, unsatisfactory. Under these conditions he deemed it expedient to withdraw from the work of his profession

as an attorney, which he did in the eighties, thoughi his services as counsel were much in requisition thereafter, as his technical knowl- edge of the law and his mature judgment gained to him a high reputation in this branch of his profession. Thereafter he devoted liis attention to the real estate and insurance busi- ness until his death, and his personal popularity enabled him to build up a very prosperous en- terprise in these lines. He continued an hon- ored member of the bar of his native county until his death, and his entire life was passed in Medina county with the exception of the year during which he was a student in Hills- dale College and one year passed as a clerk in a store conducted by his uncle in Union coun- ty. For a number of years he was incumbent of the office of justice of the peace, and it is needless to say that few come to this office with so admirable an equipment as did he.

Loyal and public-spirited as a citizen, Mr. Curtiss found pleasure and satisfaction in doing all in his power to further the best in- terests of the community, both social and ma- terial. Well fortified in his opinions as to mat- ters of public polity and also in his political convictions, he was an uncompromising ad- vocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, in whose cause he rendered effective service, though never a seeker of of- ficial preferment. He was affiliated with Me- dina Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and was a devout communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, active in the work and sup- port of his parish, of which he was a valued member. Mrs. Curtiss also is a devoted churchwoman.

Mr. Curtiss was a man of quick sympathies and was instinct with human kindliness and tolerance. He was ever ready to extend a help- ing hand to "all those in any ways afflicted in mind, body or estate," and "all sorts and con- ditions of men" were his friends, as he was theirs. Not upon him rested the "weary and the heavy weight of all this unintelligible world," for he was sustained and comforted by a deep and abiding Christian faith and dis- cerned the element of good in all men and all things. Five years prior to his death he suf- fered a stroke of apoplexy, which caused him thereafter to walk with more or less difficulty, but under bodily afflictions that would have been a matter of torment and unrest to the average man he continued calm and imper- turbed, grateful for the benefices that were vouchsafed to him and secure in the affection -.

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ate regard of all who knew him. Of one at- tribute of his character the following words, published in a Medina paper at the time of his death, voice appreciation and bear their own significance, so that they are well worthy of reproduction in this memoir : "Mr. Curtiss was passionately fond of music, and since the or- ganization of the Knights of Pythias band he manifested a deep interest in its progress, al- ways attending the practice meetings as an interested listener. The band boys appreciated his interest and they attended his funeral in a body. Six of them, F. F. Ferguson, Paul Dillman, Walter Thorndyke, George West, J. White and Nelson Waltz, acted as pallbearers. At the grave the band played the favorite se- lection of Mr. Curtiss, and the scene was one of the most pathetic ever witnessed in Spring Grove cemetery."

On October 26, 1865, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Curtiss to Miss Frances E. Ticknor, who was born at Salisbury, Connec- ticut, on March 21, 1837, and who was an adopted daughter of Dr. Benajah Ticknor ; her uncle was a surgeon in the United States navy and he and his wife passed the closing years of their lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Curtiss became the parents of one daughter, Carrie, who died on December 3, 1891, at the age of nineteen years. Her father, wno idolized her, found in her death the supreme loss and bereavement of his life, "and he never ceased to mourn for her, though bowing to the will of Providence in this as in all other conditions of life. Mrs. Curtiss still resides in the pleasant old homestead, on East Washington street, where she has spent many years of her life.

COLONEL GEORGE MITCHELL WRIGHT, the only son of Clement Wright and Lucy Ayer Whitney, his wife, was born August 8, 1847, in Tallmadge township, Summit county, Ohio, on the farm, one mile south from Tallmadge Center, on which his great-grandfather, Cap- tain John Wright, and his grandfather, Alpha Wright, settled in 1809, and where his father, Clement Wright, was born. Of this branch of the Wright family four generations have lived on this farm, and, including Colonel Wright's children, five generations have lived in Tall- madge. The home of Colonel Wright, how- ever, was on the farm only during his infancy, his father having moved from the farm to Tall- madge Center and there engaged in the mer- cantile business when Colonel Wright was less than two years old.

The father and mother of Colonel Wright were both from well known New England families of high standing, which had been transplanted from England to America prior to 1640. His father was a direct descendant of the eleventh generation, in the male line, from John Wright, Esq., of Kelvedon Manor, Kelvedon Hatch, County Essex, England, who acquired Kelvedon Manor by purchase in 1538, the emigrant ancestor to this country being Thomas Wright, who settled at Wethersfield, Connecticut, before 1640, probably in 1639. The mother of Colonel Wright was from one of the most ancient and honorable families of Herefordshire, England, the earliest ancestor in England, in the direct male line, having been one of the invaders who came with Will- iam I in 1066. Of this branch of the Whitney family the emigrant ancestor to America was John Whitney, who, with his wife Elinor and five children, came from England in 1635 and settled at Watertown, Massachusetts. Colonel Wright's mother was of the seventh genera- tion from this emigrant ancestor to America; and before such emigrant ancestor this branch of the family is traced in England for eighteen generations in the direct male line. Although for many generations after the Norman con- quest this family was one of the most distin- guished in Herefordshire, it began gradually to die out in England about the time the Ameri- can branch was transplanted and established in this country.

Colonel Wright was educated in the public schools, Tallmadge Academy and Western Re- serve College, but left college early in the course. After studying law at Akron, Ohio, with his uncle, Hon. Sidney Edgerton, and Hon. Jacob A. Kohler (who were then in part- nership), he was admitted to the bar in Ohio, June 16, 1873, and began practice at Akron as a partner of Hon. Henry Mckinney, who had then recently moved from Akron to Cleve- land, Ohio, and desired a partner for his Sum- mit county business. The law partnership of "Mckinney & Wright" existed for several years, and Colonel Wright afterwards contin- ued in the active and successful practice of the law until 1882. But his interest in scien- tific researches in the domain of geology was so great that for several years he devoted much time and attention to scientific studies. Finally, in 1882, having received an appointment as assistant geologist in the United States Geo- logical Survey (without the aid of any political influence whatever, but on the recommenda- tions and indorsements of scientific experts

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only), he left the practice of the law and dur- ceeded by rail to Charleston, South Carolina- ing the next four years devoted himself wholly . the third regiment of the brigade being trans- to geological field-work and investigations for the government. Assigned at first to the staff of the Division of the Great Basin, his field- work was in Nevada, California and Utah. Subsequently transferred to the staff of the division having charge of the geological sur- vey of the Yellowstone National Park, that interesting region was his special field of work for three years, with field-work also in Mon- tana, Idaho and Wyoming. While his work and investigations were in structural and dy- namical geology in general, his specialty was the study of volcanic and crystalline rocks and the problems of volcanic action and phenomena (which throw so much light on mineral de- posits), and he also did some special work in glacial geology. During the winters he was stationed in Salt Lake City, Utah, New York City, New York, and Washington, D. C., en- gaged in scientific study and research, work- ing out the problems presented by field obser- vations and collections, and writing reports. Having had the valuable experience and edu- cation of these four years of scientific study and field investigation, under the most favor- able circumstances and in some of the most instructive and interesting regions known, he resigned in 1886, although requested and de- sired to continue in this scientific work for the government, and resumed the practice of the law at Akron, Ohio, where he continued in active practice until the breaking out of the war with Spain in April, 1898.

Colonel Wright has always taken great in- terest in military affairs, and prior to the war with Spain he had been an officer of the Ohio National Guard, having held a commission for more than five years in the First Regiment of Light Artillery-then one of the finest mili- tary organizations in the United States. At the beginning of the war he was commissioned in the military service of the United States, May 13, 1898 (having been enrolled April 26, 1898), as second lieutenant and battalion adju- tant in the Eighth Regiment of Ohio Volun- teer Infantry ; was detailed as acting ordnance omcer of the regiment, May 14, 1898, and ac- companied the regiment from Camp Bushnell, Columbus, Ohio, to Camp Alger, Virginia ; was appointed aide-de-camp and brigade ord- nance officer on the staff of Brigadier General George A. Garretson, June 13, 1898, and served as such until after the close of the war ; left Camp Alger, Virginia, July 5, with brigade headquarters and two regiments, and pro-

ported by rail to New York, there to embark for Cuba; sailed, July 8, from Charleston, South Carolina, for Cuba, on the U. S. S. "Yale," carrying. Major General Nelson A. Miles, commanding the United States army, and staff, and arrived off Santiago harbor July II, while the fleet was bombarding the city, six days before the surrender ; and took part in the demonstrations against the Spanish works at the entrance to Santiago Harbor be- fore the surrender of Santiago, being on duty with the troops under command of Generals Henry and Garretson held in readiness for three days under orders to be landed at a given signal, under protection of the fire of the fleet, west of Sacopa Battery-the first plan being to try to connect with the right of General Shafter's line, which plan was changed to one involving an attempt to carry Sacopa by as- sault. After the surrender of Santiago the troops held on shipboard, being no longer needed at Santiago, were available for the ex- pedition to Porto Rico, the final plans for which were arranged in a conference between General Miles and Admiral Sampson on board the flag-ship "New York," lying off Agua- dores, July 16. Colonel (then Lieutenant) Wright was so fortunate as to be one of the staff officers present at this conference. Lieu- tenant Wright continued on board the "Yale," which the next day (July 17) steamed east- ward for Guantanamo Bay, still carrying Gen- eral Miles and staff, and also General Garret- son and staff. The troops for the first expe- dition to Porto Rico having been concentrated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the transport squadron, with its naval convoy, sailed for Porto Rico, July 21, carrying an effective force of only about 3.300 troops to invade the island of Porto Rico, where the enemy then had 8,233 Spanish regulars and 9,107 armed vol- unteers-more than 17,000 troops in all. But, General Miles having outwitted the Spanish commanders by causing the course of the fleet to be changed at the last moment, a landing was effected at Guanica, on the southwestern coast of Porto Rico, July 25, without loss of life. Lieutenant Wright was with the first troops landed here, and was present when General Miles formally planted the flag and took possession of the island for the United States; and he also took part in the decisive action of the next day (July 26), under Gen- eral Garretson, in front of Yauco, Porto Rico, which gave the American troops possession of

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History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 38

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