History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 45

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 45

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Their Children .- Julia Ann married Will- iam Wright, of Parkman, and after a short married life died, leaving a young babe, which was adopted by her grandparents Brown.

Elisha B. learned the carpenter's trade, mar- ried Asenath Watrous, of Charlestown, and spent his life in that town. He died at the age of seventy-three years. He was a quiet, in- dustrious citizen, and justice of the peace for many years.

L. Clark studied medicine and located in West Farmington, afterwards removing to Painesville. He had a wide reputation as a skillful physician, and was at one time a mem- ber of the state legislature. He died at the age of seventy-one years, five months and six- teen days.

John Millimon was a farmer and died at the. home while yet quite a young man.

L. Dudley was a farmer and cattle dealer, living on the old homestead after the death of the mother. He died at the age of seventy- two years.

George Franklin was educated at Meadville, Pennsylvania, studied law and located at War- ren, Ohio. He was the first probate judge in Trumbull county. He moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he was made circuit judge.

Caroline A. married John Mowbray and moved to Tennessee, where they endured pio- neer life on the mountains.

Late in life Benjamin Brown married Miss Maria King, of Charlestown, and lived in Edinboro until her death in 1863, when he re- turned to the old homestead and was cared for

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by his son, L. Dudley Brown. He died in 1864, at the age of eighty-three years and six months.

Mary Wright, the adopted granddaughter, married Austin Follett, of Granville, Ohio. They moved to New York, where Mr. Follett was in business for many years, their residence being in Brooklyn.

There were thirty grandchildren in the Brown family, not one being left in Nelson. They are scattered from ocean to ocean. The farm has passed into the hands of strangers, who have no thought or association with the scenes of its past history, but till its fertile acres, without sentiment, for what they will give in return and because it is now their home.

LUTHER L. BROWN, eldest son of Benjamin and Mary M. Brown, was born August 7, 1804, in Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and was fourteen years of age when his par- ents came to Nelson, Ohio. He had received a thorough education in the common branches of study. He was very proficient in penman- ship and an adept in making quill pens, used in those days. During the summer he worked on the farm and winters taught school, hav- ing sixty or seventy scholars between the ages of four and twenty-one. These were packed as closely together as they could sit on the rough benches. Teachers were expected to take at least part barter for pay-cattle, home- made cheese, sugar, etc. The family owning property on the lake shore, Luther was sent to investigate its value and if possible ex- change for something nearer home. He found a tract of swampy, undesirable land, with a few cabins near the lake, and thought him- self fortunate in trading it off for a horse and perhaps some other barter. The ground is now occupied by a main part of the city of Cleveland.

Minerva E. Hall was born in Tolland, Mas- sachusetts, June 4, 1809, and came with her parents, Joel and Elizabeth Hall, to Charles- town, Ohio, in 1815. In 1828 both parents died, the mother in April and the father in August, leaving a family of twelve children, the youngest four years old. The three eldest were married. After the father's death the younger children were scattered, the oldest son living at the home place. Minerva, a maiden of nineteen years, went to Nelson to stay with her sister, Mrs. Harvey Sperry, and attend school. It was here that she became acquainted with Luther L. Brown. After her return home for a short stay, Mr. Brown took a trip to

Charlestown to visit Miss Minerva. He found her very ill with typhoid fever and no one to give her the needed care. He at once assumed the responsibility of care-taker, and remained with the family until she was convalescent. October 25, 1829, a pretty bride, gowned in lavender silk crepe and lace, stood by this young man's side before the Reverend Lyman Coe in Charlestown, and exchanged marriage vows, and it was recorded that Luther L. Brown and Minerva E. Hall were married. They took up their abode in Nelson, on a farm he had purchased, adjoining the home farm on the east. In 1832 they came to Charlestown, locating one-half mile south of the Center. In the home they established free-handed hospi- tality reigned. They were Methodists and in those early days the "Circuit Rider" found at their house a home. When the minister came on his rounds, Mr. Brown would take his ox team and cart, spread straw in the cart and take a load of people to meeting, at some other appointment a good distance away. Then came the lumber wagon which was consid- ered quite a stylish equipage. During the "forties" buggies and carriages began to be in use. Now palatial coaches occupied by trav- elers from the East, to what was the unknown West, or vice versa, and heavily loaded freight trains drawn by their noisy, powerful, fiery steed, pass almost hourly through what was the door-yard of Mr. and Mrs. Brown.

In 1840 they moved to the southwest corner of the Center and built the house where they spent the remainder of their days. He was a hard working, active business man. He was justice of the peace for many years, county associate judge, and when the probate office was created was its first incumbent. He was a leading politician of the county, of the Den- ocratic faith, ever ready to lash his opponent, and just as ready to befriend him if in need. He was often appealed to for assistance by the poor or wronged or in any trouble, and never in vain. Mrs. Brown was a notable house wife, a true Christian woman and one in whom "the heart of her husband could safely trust," and all other friends.

Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown-Julia Ann, July 8, 1831. She mar- ried J. A. Holden. February 27, 1855. and their home was in Charlestown. She suffered much from ill health and died April 8. 1876. Sophia M., born May 29. 1836, was married to Spencer B. Morris, April 29, 1860. Arthur A., born October 8. 1848, died December 29, 1848. Mrs. Minerva E. Brown died Novem-

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ber 14, 1867, and in 1868 Mr. Brown married Mrs. Lucy Carter, of Edinboro. Luther L. Brown died June 8. 1876. Since his death Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Morris have occupied the home place at Charlestown Center, Mrs. Mor- ris and her descendants being their only living. descendants. They are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church and have been workers in its various departments for nearly fifty years. They have also been much interested in temperance work, being connected with the W. C. T. U., Prohibition party and Anti-Sa- loon work. They were both teachers in the public schools in their youthful days. Mrs. Morris was a student at the "Old Eclectic" at Hiram when James A. Garfield was its presi- dent, and esteemed him very highly as teacher and friend. One of the cherished memories of these school days is of a perfect day in May, 1859, when Garfield led his geology class through the fissures and caves of Nelson Ledges, discoursing of the causes of their for- mation. While partaking of the picnic dinner spread on the ground on top of the ledge, in- spiring music came up over the rocks and through the groves, blending most pleasingly with joyousness of the students. Another memory is of a student six o'clock social meet- ing, held in the chapel and led by President Garfield. Near its close a young lady ex- pressed a desire to become a Christian. The company went to "Buckingham Pond," a little spring lake, and, while the students gathered on its smooth, grassy banks and sang songs of consecration, Garfield performed the rite of baptism in a most impressive manner, just as the bright May day sun was setting.

Mr. and Mrs. Morris have two daughters ---- May E. married Charles M. Peck, of Kings- ville, Ohio, and they have five children, all graduates of the Kingsville high school, except the youngest son, Raymond, who is still in school. The eldest daughter, Miss Nora E .. has taken a course in Bliss Business College, Columbus, Ohio, and is at present employed as stenographer in one of the departments of the Ohio State University. The eldest son, Carl M., married Miss Jessie Sheldon, of Kingsville, and is in the rural delivery mail service. Miss Lucile is president of the Chris- tian Endeavor Society in their church and Miss Zaida is organist. The whole family are imembers of the Presbyterian church, most of them occupying positions of responsibility.

Miss Althea Rose Morris is a graduate of the N. W. O. University, of Ada. Ohio, and of the Cumnock School of Oratory at Evans-

ton, Illinois. She gave several years to teach- ing in Ohio and Illinois, making a specialty of oratory and public reading. She married Rowland H. Ritchie, of Evanston, Illinois, a graduate of the Chicago University, October 12, 1898. They are now in Emporia, Kansas, Mr. Ritchie being the professor of oratory in the Kansas State Normal at that place. They are members of the Baptist church and very active workers in church and society. They have two children, Rowland Morris, aged nine years, and Evanella Rose, aged four years.

A. A. PATTON .- Numbered among the pop- ular representatives of railroad interests in the city of Painesville is A. A. Patton, who is in- cumbent of the responsible position of general foreman of the car shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In February, 1902, the Balti- more & Ohio Company assumed control of the Pittsburg & Western Railroad, and at once instituted the increasing of the capacity of the shops established by the latter in Painesville. The shops up to that time had been conducted upon a comparatively small scale, and the plant as at present constituted covers about thirty acres. Here employment is given to more than 100 men, and during busy seasons from 250 to 300 employes are here in service. These are the only general car and engine shops on the Lake branch of the Newcastle division of the Baltimore & Ohio system, and a large amount of work is handled each year. The institu- tion is thoroughly systematized, and each of the several necessary departments is amply equipped to meet the demands placed upon it. The shops have facilities for the repairing of engines and freight cars and for the complete building of caboose cars. The mechanical appli- ances and machinery are of the most approved modern type, and special encouragement is given to employes to suggest labor-saving de- vices that will facilitate operations. The plant has its own electric-light system and also has an admirable system of water supply, with adequate fire-fighting apparatus. In the use of the latter the employes are regularly drilled. so that the danger of loss from fire is reduced to the minimum. The car shops represent one of Painesville's most important industrial en- terprises, and the incidental value of the same to the city may be understood when it is stated that the monthly pay roll has reached an aver- age of fully $10,000. As general foreman Mr. Patton has shown marked executive and tech- nical ability. and while he is a strict disci- plinarian the employes understand fully that he

Jours any Truly I. M. Oakes

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asks only legitimate service and he gains their ready co-operation, the while commanding their confidence and esteem.

Mr. Patton justly takes pride in referring to bonnie old Scotland as the place of his nativity, and he fully exemplifies the canny traits of the stanch race from which he is sprung. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, on January 29, 1862, and is a son of Alexander and Helen (Scott) Patton, both of whom passed their en- tire lives in historic and picturesque old Ayr- shire. Mr. Patton was reared to manhood in his native land, where he received good edu- cational advantages in his youth and where he learned the trade of stationary engineer, to which he there devoted his attention until 1881, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he sev- ered the home ties and came to America. He took up his residence in the state of Maryland, where he worked at the carpenter's trade, to which his natural mechanical skill readily en- abled him to adapt himself, and he was thus engaged until 1889, when he secured employ- ment in the car shops of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad at Connellsville, Pennsylvania, where he remained three years, in the meanwhile gaining thorough experience in the various de- tails of the work. At the expiration of the period noted, in 1891, he was sent to Paines- ville, Ohio, as assistant to the foreman in the shops of the old Pittsburg & Western railroad, and he won his way through the various grades of promotion until he was appointed to his present responsible position, in which his service has been so efficient as to gain to him unqualified approval. He has held this incum- bency since March, 1908.

In politics Mr. Patton gives his support to the cause of the Republican party, and he is affiliated with the Painesville lodges of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in each of which he enjoys marked popularity.

In the state of Maryland, in 1884, Mr. Pat- ton was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Cook, who died in Painesville in 1892, leaving no children. In 1893 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Patton to Miss Elizabeth R. Law- less, of Painesville, and they became the par- ents of three children, of whom two are living. -Helen Mary and Robert Joseph: Andrew died at the age of two years.

THE OAKES FAMILY, of which Dr. I. N. Oakes, of Ridgeville, is a member, has been established in America since an early date. Calvin Oakes, the paternal great-grandfather

of the doctor, was a native of Worcester Mas- sachusetts, where his parents resided until their death. When Calvin Oakes was a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old he took his father's place, the latter being a cripple, when volunteers were called for for General Gates' army during his campaign against General Burgoyne, and the lad served with General Gates until after Burgoyne's surrender. He married a member of the noted Cary family, and in 1816, with four of his five sons, he came to the Western Reserve, stopping first at Brecksville, near Cleveland, and from there, with two of his sons, David and Jonathan, he came to Dover in Cuyahoga county, buying land on Center Ridge, near the Lorain county line. Both he and his wife lie buried at Dover. The two remaining, sons, Cary and William, remained at Brecksville.

Cary Oakes was born at Hawley, in Frank- lin county, Massachusetts, and he married there Tamar Easton, of a prominent family of that section, several members of which took part in the Revolutionary struggle. Two children were born to Cary Oakes and wife before com- ing to Ohio. He and his wife lived at Brecks- ville, in Cuyahoga county, during the remain- der of their lives, the former dying in June, 1871, and the latter on January 1. 1881. Their children were: Mary, Francis, Isaac, Henry, Tamar, Cary, Martha and Caleb. Caleb is the only member of this family living, and he re- sides at Brecksville, having reached the age of eighty-seven years.

Isaac Oakes, born at Brecksville, December 6, 1818, was a lifelong farmer, a successful business man, and a good citizen, taking his full share of obligations incumbent upon all good citizens, but he was in no sense a poli- tician and never sought public honors. He was a determined man, strong, in his honest convictions, but his path was ever upward and his friends were many. He married Clarinda Edgerton, who was born at Hawley, in Frank- lin county, Massachusetts, January 28, 1815, a daughter of Ezekiel Edgerton, also from that commonwealth. Mrs. Oakes came to the Western Reserve in 1837 to teach school, and she taught in Cuyahoga county until her mar- riage, her first school having been at Royal- ton. Isaac Oakes died on the 15th of Decem- ber. 1893, and his wife survived until the 5th of October. 1900. Their children were: Jo- sephine, born September 15. 1843, attended Oberlin College, married George A. Wood. of Carlisle township, and died on the 23d of

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March, 1873; Celia, born September 15, 1845, attended college at Berea, Ohio, married P. P. Smith, and resides at Richfield, in Summit county ; Florence, born November 7, 1848, re- sides in Brecksville, having never married; and I. N.

Dr. I. N. Oakes was born at Brecksville, November 30, 1850, and his early education was received at Brecksville Academy and in the Brooklyn High School in Cuyahoga county, He began reading medicine in Ober- lin under the preceptorship of Dr. William Bunce in 1872, and during the time also stud- ied chemistry under Dr. Dascomb, professor of chemistry at Oberlin College, but Dr. Oakes was his private pupil. He received his first course of medical lectures in the medical de- partment of the University of Wooster in Cleveland in the fall of 1873. and in 1876 he graduated from the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati. In the fall of 1876 he began practice with Dr. M. L. Brooks, Jr., in South Cleveland, and he also served as a city physi- cian there. In October of 1878 he came to Ridgeville Center and succeeded Dr. D. C. Bryant, a classmate at college, who was com- pelled to give up his practice here on account of the ill health of his wife. Dr. Oakes has prospered in Ridgeville, and his large practice is indicative of his skill and ability. In 1882 he pursued a post-graduate course in the New York Polyclinic, and he spent the summer of 1883 in the hospitals of London, England, re- turning to New York City for further study and then to his practice at Ridgeville. He is a member of the Lorain County and of the Ohio State Medical Societies and of the Cleve- land Academy of Medicine. He is a member of King Solomon's Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M .. at Elyria, and also a member of the Royal Arcanum.

Dr. Oakes married Luie M. Hurst, who was born in Avon township, Lorain county, in 1845, a daughter of William and Lucina ( Moon) Hurst, pioneers of both Avon and Sheffield townships, Lorain county, Ohio.

JOEL MILLER .- The late Joel Miller, of Wil- loughby, had been a resident of that village or its vicinity for more than forty years, and was able to recall events as far back as the visit of Lafayette to America. The Miller family came to Ohio in 1825. soon after the completion of the Erie canal. Joel Miller was born in Peeks- kill. New York, December 26, 1814. and died Tune 3. 1908. His parents were Melancthon

and Hannah Miller ; the parents of the former were from New Jersey and the family of the latter from Sing Sing, New York.

In 1825 Melancthon and Hannah Miller came to Ohio, settling in the wild woods in the . southern part of Willoughby township. Her brother, Lewis Miller, late of Painesville, an old justice of the peace, had already settled in the neighborhood. At this time there was no harbor at Cleveland, and the boat drifted from the harbor at Fairport, and had to be landed. Melancthon Miller soon afterward settled in Willoughby Village, where he worked at his trade of shoemaker, his home being the present site of the new public library. He died in middle life, in 1839, and is buried in the ceme- tery at Willoughby; his wife survived him more than forty-five years, and died in 1885 at an advanced age. Of their ten children, but five reached maturity, namely : Elizabeth, died unmarried, when past seventy ; Daniel, went to Illinois in middle life and died there ; Joel ; De- Witt, lived in Willoughby, became a merchant tailor, and died when past sixty; and Lewis was a partner with his brother Daniel in hard- ware trade at Kirkwood, Illinois, where both died.

Joel was the last of the children of Melanc- thon and Hannah Miller. He recalled the trip to Ohio in 1825, and clearly recalled many events of his boyhood, which included many interesting experiences. He took up farming, and lived fifteen years on a farm in Mayfield, Cuyahoga county, which he cleared up and improved. He was married, in 1839, to Polly Van Gorder, daughter of Peter and Martha (Allen) Van Gorder. Martha Allen's father, Benjamin Allen, was a charter member of the Presbyterian church at Willoughby. Peter Van Gorder came from Genessee county, New York, and lived in Euclid tonwship. Polly was born in New York, and her father died in the latter state while returning from a visit there. After living fifteen years in the Mayfield farm, Joel Miller and his wife removed to a farm in Chester, Geauga county, and in 1864 the family settled in the village of Willoughby, Mrs. Mil- ler having died in Chester.

Joel Miller was a good mechanic and worked some years at the trade of mason. He retired from active life many years before his death, and retained his faculties to the last. He was a Republican, and was always willing to dis- cuss the issues of political affairs and enjoyed such debate. He was a lover of history, and familiar with the chief events of the country's settlement and development. He was able to

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relate many incidents of the early history of the region around his home, and had a clear recollection of the chief events of his own life and the happenings of the community. He never cared for public office, preferring the quiet of private life. Mr. Miller lived in a simple, primitive manner, having, few of the luxuries of modern life. He was greatly esteemed and respected by his townsmen, and his sterling worth was widely appreciated.

Joel Miller and his wife had five children, namely : Delia, married M. Higgins, and died on her fifty-first birthday; Quincy, formerly superintendent of the boiler department of the American Shipbuilding Company, now a me- chanical engineer at Cleveland; Caroline, a dressmaker, lived with her father ; Mary, mar- ried Albert King, an accountant and book- keeper at Willoughby ; and Frank, an engineer living in Cleveland.

HON. THOMAS WADLEIGH HARVEY, edu- cator and author, who died at his old home in Painesville, January 20, 1892, was one of the most eminent among Ohio's prominent school men. As a teacher he came into close sym- pathy with thousands of individual pupils, and later as school administrator was instrumental in advancing the general educational system of the state. By the text books of which he was author and editor the practical efficiency of in- struction was increased in thousands of schools, and these books are still regarded among the valuable assets of the educational system of the country.

At Painesville the work of Dr. Harvey as teacher and superintendent of the public schools is regarded as the foundation and the main structure of the present excellent school system of that city. The schools, which he found lacking system and definite form, and which are now among the finest of the state, are a monument to his zeal and labor.

The late Dr. Harvey was born in New Lon- don, New Hampshire, December 18, 1821. At the age of twelve he came to Lake county in the Western Reserve with the family of his father, Judge Moses C. Harvey, locating on a farm in Concord. He attended the common schools until he was fifteen, and then learned the printer's trade in the office of the Paines- ville Republican, published by Horace Steele, Sr. Ever a lover of books, he was during these years a diligent student, and had the as- sistance of a private tutor. After six years as a printer he secured a teacher's certificate and

was employed by the directors of a sub-district in Leroy, the original contract for which, bear- ing the date of 1841 and signed by Edward Clague, is still preserved. In 1845 he was a student in the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary, where, under the instruction of Dr. A. D. Lord, he laid the foundation of a broad and liberal education. From there he went to Chardon and organized the Geauga county high school. In 1848 he became a teacher in the schools of Republic, Seneca county, and in 1851 was called to the superintendency of the Massillon Union schools. He was identified with the latter schools many years and became recognized as a leader in his profession. He was at Massillon during the war, and as his duties permitted he threw himself into that struggle with all the force of an ardent nature, speaking in schoolhouses, rallying recruits, and keeping alive a spirit of patriotism and loyalty at home. Impaired eyesight alone kept him from going into active service at the front.

Dr. Harvey became superintendent of the Painesville public schools in 1865 and con- tinued to hold that office from September of that year until October, 1871, and from Sep- tember, 1877, to January, 1881. During the six years' interval he held the office of state commissioner of common schools. Governor Hayes appointed him to a vacancy in this office, and he was afterwards elected. As com- missioner he exercised a wide influence upon the common school system of the state, and rendered opinions of the law which are still quoted. He was an earnest worker in the in- stitutes of Ohio and adjoining states and was much sought as a lecturer. He was one of the founders of the Northeastern Ohio Teachers' Association, its first and for several successive years its president, and his earnest member- ship ceased only with his life. The relations existing between Mr. Harvey and the school men of Ohio were very close and intimate. He belonged to that stalwart group of Ohio educators who gave power and dignity to the profession during the last century. He was probably the most beloved of them all. "The good gray head that all men knew" was every- where revered. His genial, affable nature won all hearts, while his true manhood and intelli- gence commanded their respect.

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History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 45

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