History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 65

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 65

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In June, 1898, Mr. Tuttle withdrew from his official connection with the township schools and has since given the bulk of his attention to the practice of his profession, although at one time he had quite an interest in a local business embracing insurance, abstract and real estate matters. Previous to 1896 he had been independent in politics, but in that year became an ardent supporter of William J. Bryan, and has since acted with the Demo- cratic party in national political issues. Al- though his county and legislative district is overwhelmingly Republican, he has frequently consented to become a candidate for various offices on the party ticket, and in the case of the city solicitorship of Painesville his earnest- ness, ability and strong personal popularity have carried him into office and maintained him there, despite the general status of poli- tics. In 1903, after a very heated campaign, he was elected to that office on a non-partisan ticket, and has since been twice returned with- out opposition, although Painesville is nor- mally Republican by a majority of two to one. In 1908 Mr. Tuttle demonstrated his moral bravery and sturdiness by taking a most active part in the advocacy of local option in Lake county, in this being an able assistant of Judge Tuttle, his independent and respected father.

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On September 3, 1902, Mr. Tuttle married, at Painesville, Miss Florence Abigail Allen, a graduate of the city high school and later a student at Lake Erie College. She is a daugh- ter of Horace W. and Tamzin M. (Church- ward) Allen, of Painesville, her father dying in 1891 and her mother being still a resident of that city. The Allen family came to Ohio from Rutland, Vermont, and has among its historic ancestors General Ethan Allen. The maternal family of Churchwards is of English origin and was transplanted from Devonshire to the Western Reserve about 1830. Mrs. Tuttle's great - grandfather, Harvey Wood- worth, was twice treasurer of the Lake county, being well known at Painesville as an early- day contractor and builder of the old court house, the jail, National Bank building and several of the old-time business blocks. Mr. Woodworth was also widely known through- out the county for his liberality and public spirit, being remembered with special grati- tude for his part in the erection of the sol- diers' monument at Painesville, to which he contributed a large portion of the funds. Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Tuttle have become the parents of the following children: Margaret Acenath, born November 21. 1903: Charlotte Irene, born May II, 1905; and Allen Grandi- son Tuttle, born June 14, 1907, all natives of Painesville.

ADAM C. WILLIAMS .- Among the large and successful industrial enterprises of the city of Ravenna, the judicial center of Portage county, is that conducted under the title of the A. C. Williams Company, and of this manufactur- ing corporation, which contributes its quota to the commercial prestige of the Western Re- serve, Adam C. Williams is president and manager. To his initiative talent, well di- rected efforts and progressive policy has been essentially due the upbuilding of the fine enter- prise, and he merits consideration in this pub- lication as one of the representative business men of that favored section known as the Western Reserve.

Adam Clark Williams was born at Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on the 22d of January, 1848, and is a son of John W. and Fanny (Tenny) Williams, both natives of Monroe county, New York, where they were reared and educated, and where their mar- riage was solemnized. John Wesley Williams was a son of Rev. Benajah and Jerusha (Smith) Williams, both of whom were na- tives of Connecticut and representatives of

families founded in America in the colonial era of our national history. Rev. Benajah Williams was a devoted worker as a clergy- man of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he served as presiding elder of his dis- trict in Monroe county New York, for a num- ber of years. In 1841 he removed to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where he lived retired during his declining years, and where both he and his wife continued to reside until their death, se- cure in the veneration and affection of all who came within the sphere of their kindly influ- ence. John W. Williams and his wife came to Ohio in the same year as did his honored father, and in 1844 he established himself in the foundry business in Chagrin Falls. The enterprise to which he thus gave inception figures as the foundation of the successful in- dustrial concern of which Adam C. Williams of this sketch is now the head. The father continued to be identified with this line of manufacturing in Chagrin Falls until his death, which occurred in July, 1886. and his wife died in Cleveland in the following Janu- ary. They became the parents of five chil- dren, concerning whom are the following brief data: Frances S., who became the wife of Edward Whipple, died in 1860; Mary D., who became the wife of Francis A. Smith, died about 1863; John W., Jr., died in 1866; Adam C., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth ; and Helen E. is the wife of Harry L. Cole, of Ravenna. The parents were both de- voted members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics the father gave his alle- giance to the Republican party, and as a citi- zen and business man he was loyal and public- spirited, while he so ordered his course as to ever command the unqualified esteem of all who knew him.

Adam C. Williams gained his early educa- tion in the common schools of his native place, but while still a boy he identified himself with the practical affairs of business, in which he made good use of his experience and advan- tages, and his education has been broadened and matured through association with men and affairs during the course of a long and signally active business career. When but fourteen years of age he found employment in the office of his father's manufacturing es- tablishment, with whose operation he con- tinned to be identified as an employe until 1872, when, at the age of twenty-four years, he was admitted by his father to a copartner- ship in the business, which at that time was devoted principally to the manufacturing of

Minnie & Hill.

Sidney G. Hill

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wagon skeins. After the death of his honored father, Mr. Williams became sole owner of the business, which he continued along the original lines until the factory was destroyed by fire, in 1889. The plant was promptly re- built, its equipment was greatly improved and its functions amplified, but in 1892 disaster, through the same element of fire, again over- took the enterprise, with virtually the total de- struction of the factory. In the following year, appreciative of the advantages offered in the city of Ravenna, Mr. Williams removed from Chagrin Falls to this place and here erected a large and modern plant, whose facili- ties are of the best type in all departments. The enterprise has been practically revolu- tionized and is now one of wide scope and im- portance. The plant is given over largely to the manufacturing of specialties in the line of house furnishings, hardware specialties and iron toys, and each season has seen a dis- tinctive advance in the variety and extent of the output. The products of the establishment now found sale in the most diverse sections of the civilized world, and thus the name and fame of Ravenna are signally promoted. In 1905, to meet the requirements of the rap- idly expanding business, the enterprise was changed from one of individual control, by the organization and incorporation of a stock company, with a capital of $200,000. Mr. Williams has since been president and general manager of the company; his only son, John W., is vice-president and secretary; his son- in-law, James H. Bigelow, is assistant man- ager and treasurer; and his brother-in-law, Harry L. Cole, is superintendent of the fac- tory. The stock of the concern is practically all held in possession of the family.

In his native city of Chagrin Falls it was given Mr. Williams to gain marked precedence as a loyal citizen and leading business man, and he was called upon to serve in the office of mayor, of which he was incumbent for two terms, in addition to which he was a valued member of the city council for nine years. He has ever been arrayed as a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party. In the Masonic fraternity he is affiliated with the lodge and chapter in Ravenna, the command- ery of Knights Templar in the city of Cleve- land, and the Lake Erie Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in the city of Cleve- land, in which latter branch of the fraternity he has attained to the thirty-second degree. He is also identified with the auxiliary organ- ization, the Ancient Arabic Order of the No-

bles of the Mystic Shrine, in which his affil- iation is with Al Koran Temple, of Cleveland.

On the Ist of December, 1866, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Williams to Miss Jennie F. Willey, who likewise was a native of Chagrin Falls, and who was a daughter of Benjamin and Polly (Smith) Willey. She was summoned to the life eternal in October, 1906, and is survived by two children : Mary Helen, who is the wife of James H. Bigelow, of Ra- venna; and John W., who is vice-president and secretary of the A. C. Williams Company, as has already been noted. He is also a di- rector and vice-president of the Second Na- tional Bank. In June, 1907, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Mrs. Daisy R. (Reed) Blair, widow of Frederick Blair, and a daugh- ter of Gustavus and Caroline L. (Buck) Reed, natives of Portage county, Ohio, and repre- sentatives of sterling pioneer families of the Western Reserve. Mrs. Williams has two children by her first marriage: Lawrence R. and Reed C. Blair, both of Ravenna.

SIDNEY GEORGE HILL .- A systematic and thorough-going agriculturist of Monroe town- ship, Sidney G. Hill is carrying on general farming after the most approved modern methods, everything about his premises indi- cating the existence of cultivated tastes and ample means. A son of Chauncey Hill, he was born, August 18, 1864, in Monroe township, Ashtabula county, in the house where he now resides, coming from pioneer ancestry. His grandfather, John E. Hill, was a son of Al- meron C. Hill, who was born August 12, 1782, and migrated to Ohio in early life, becoming a pioneer of Ashtabula county, where he was known among the first settlers of the county as "Hunter" Hill. A further account of him may be found on another page of this work, in connection with the sketch of William W. Hill.

John E. Hill was born September 18, 1805, in Ashtabula county, Ohio. Reared to agri- cultural pursuits, he was employed as a farm laborer until becoming of age, when he began learning the blacksmith's trade in Kelloggs- ville, Ashtabula county. In 1852 he made two trips to Pike's Peak, but was afterwards en- gaged in farming in Monroe township, where his death occurred in 1882. His wife, whose maiden name was Emma Deyoe, was born in 1807, and died April 9, 1889. They reared six children, as follows: Chauncey, father of Sid- ney G .; Lucius, who married Mrs. Watrous Cartright, was born March 14, 1834, in Ash-

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tabula county, and died, November 18, 1892, in Monroe township; Hamilton, born August 29, 1837, died January 21, 1870, at sea, and was buried at Charleston, South Carolina ; Lucia, born May 6, 1840, is the wife of Chester Felch, of Rhode Island; Sidney, born Decem- ber 23. 1843, died November, 1861, and is buried in Monroe township; and Leslie, of Monroe township, born January 26, 1850, is employed on the Great Lakes as a marine engi- neer.

Chauncey Hill, born December 26, 1829, was educated in the Kelloggsville schools, and as a lad assisted his father in the pioneer labor of redeeming a homestead from the primeval forest. He subsequently purchased land, and was successfully engaged in general farming and dairying until his retirement from active business. He is a Republican in politics, and served as school director four years. He was formerly a Granger, and for a number of years belonged to the State Police. He is an in- fluential and worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church, which he served as steward thirty-seven years, and of which he has been a trustee for a long time. In 1907 he was a dele- gate from his church to the General Confer- ence, which met in Cleveland. On September II, 1853, he married Mary Torrey, who was born January II, 1834, and died September 7, 1906, leaving three children, namely : Harmon J., born October 3, 1854, lives in the west ; Sid- ney, the special subject of this sketch; and Dora L., born December 5, 1868, is the wife of I. B. Clark, of East Conneaut, Ashtabula county.

Having completed his early education, Sid- ney G. Hill was well trained in the various branches of agriculture while working with his father. Finding the occupation pleasant and profitable, he has continued thus occupied during his entire career. He has a well im- proved farm of 115 acres, on which he is carry- ing on general farming with satisfactory re- sults. For a number of years he paid a good deal of attention to dairying, keeping Jersey stock.

Mr. Hill married June 26, 1895, Minnie Dean, a daughter of Chauncy and Calista ( Miles) Dean, of whom a brief account may be found elsewhere in this volume. She was born October 24, 1862, and received a practical com- mon education in her native town. Three chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hill, namely : Florence, born October 4. 1896; Wal- ter, born July 7, 1901 ; and Edna, born October

26, 1903. Fraternally Mr. Hill is a Master Mason, and a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hill are members of the Grange, and Mrs. Hill be- longs to the Methodist Episcopal church.

WYNNE S. SMITH, a successful photog- rapher of Painesville, was born at Kirkwood, Warren county, Illinois, and is the son of Asa- hel Grattan and Alma Jane (Huntoon) Smith, the former a teacher of vocal music and a singer of considerable prominence in local cir- cles. W. S. Smith came to Painesville with his parents when five years of age, and there attended the public schools; he started at the age of nineteen years to learn photography, and has since followed this occupation, having been independently established in business in Painesville for twenty-six years. He takes a great interest in the welfare of the city, and gives his time and efforts toward advance- ment and improvement. He is now a mem- ber of the city council, at large; some time ago he served one term, and after a lapse served another term, since which he has been re-elected. He is chairman of the finance con- mittee. In political views he is a Republican, and enjoys the confidence of all parties.

Mr. Smith is one of the well-known Smith Quartette, who for several years sang in the Episcopal church, and for the past eleven years in the Congregational church, of Painesville ; they have sung at over seven hundred funerals. The present members of the quartette are: F. P. Pratt : his wife, who was formerly Es- tella Smith ; her sister, Anna Gertrude ( Smith) Barto, wife of the county clerk, and Wynne S. Smith. When first organized, the quartette were: Asahel G. Smith, his wife and children, all fine singers. The father was a bass singer of considerable ability, and well known.

W. S. Smith married, in 1892, Jessie Bun- nell, and they are the parents of three sons, namely : Harold, Sterling and Julian.

EDGAR L. WILLIAMS, engineer at the city electric light plant of Painesville, was born in that city, May 10, 1869; he is the son of D. E. and Helen (Larned) Williams. D. E. Williams was born in Leroy township, Lake county, in 1835, his parents having removed to that location from Massachusetts, about 1820. He carried on a farm at his native place until 1892. when he removed to Painesville, where he died in 1908.

After spending his boyhood on his father's farm, Edgar L. Williams became an engineer,

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and in 1893 became employed by the Commer- cial Light & Power Company, where he was given charge of the engine and the dynamos ; after spending fourteen years with that com- pany, he entered the employ of the city, where he has since remained. He is well informed along the line of his chosen work, and well fitted for his position. Mr. Williams is an active member of the Ancient Free & Ac- cepted Masons, belonging to the blue lodge, commandery and Lake Erie Consistory of the Valley of Cleveland.

Mr. Williams married, December 8, 1904, Maud, daughter of Wright S. and Sarah (Bosworth) Stacy, of Painesville. Mr. Stacy was born in Ontario county, New York, August 21, 1831, and came to Painesville in 1865; he became a clerk in the mercantile house of Tisdale & Martin, and later spent fifteen years in the same business on his own account, retiring in 1904. His family lived since 1870 in the old homestead on Mentor avenue, where Mrs. Williams was born, and which has always been her home, as she and her husband now reside in it. She is an only child. Her mother died eight years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have no children.

ANTHONY NIEDING, a prominent attorney of Elyria, was born on a farm in Elyria town- ship, August 2, 1875, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Neufer) Nieding, the former now sixty-one years of age and the latter fifty-four. Henry Nieding has followed farm- ing all his life and now owns a farm of one hundred acres in Ridgeville township. He is a member of the Disciples church. He came to America with his parents, who settled near Oak Point, Black River township, Lorain county, where his father died in 1889, and his mother within a week. Elizabeth Neufer was born in Michigan, and is a daughter of George Neufer, born in Germany, who came to Amer- ica and served in the Civil war.

Anthony Nieding received his early educa- tion in the district school and later attended Baldwin College, and spent two years in the Cleveland Law School. He was admitted to the bar June 12, 1903, and then engaged in active practice of his profession in Elyria, since which he has continued with flattering success. He is an able lawyer, and has the respect and confidence of his clients. Mr. Nieding is well informed on all the leading topics of the day, has taken advantage of his opportunities for education and culture. In his political views he is a Republican, and a

member of the county central committee. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Modern Wood- men of America, Knights of Pythias and the Order of Eagles. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce of Elyria, and takes an interest in the business progress of the city. He is also a member of the Lorain County Bar As- sociation. Mr. Nieding became identified with the Lorain County Agricultural Society in 1901, when he was elected secretary of the organization, in which post he has since served continually. During this time they have paid off over nine thousand dollars indebtedness.

Mr. Nieding married Grace B., daughter of George P. and Lois A. (Mathison) Bab- cock, of Lorain county. Her parents removed to New Jersey, where Mr. Babcock was in the employ of the United States government, and there he died in 1891, at the age of thirty- nine years. He was originally from New Lon- don, Connecticut. To Mr. and Mrs. Nieding one daughter was born, Lois E., June 14, 1905.

JOHN KAISER, of Elyria, Ohio, has made a name for himself as a general contractor and builder in this locality. Mr. Kaiser is a native of Ohio. He was born in Dover township, Cuyahoga county, April 2, 1862, son of An- tone and Catherine (Werch) Kaiser, the for- mer a native of Canada, the latter of Germany -both now deceased. Moving from Dover township in 1872, the Kaiser family lived suc- cessively in Wood county, Dayton, Cleveland and Cincinnati, and in these places John's boyhood and youth were passed. At an early age he began to learn his trade; he worked at different places, under different contractors, and thus had greater opportunity for better insight into the business than had he remained at one place. At Dayton he was with John Ranor & Co. for nearly ten years, three years of which time he was foreman, and he was connected with the work of building the Barry & Smith Car Works of that city, the Spring- field College, and the court houses at Tiffin, Sidney and Columbus. After going to Cin- cinnati, he worked as a stair builder, and there, in 1889, he engaged in a contracting business for himself. He completed a large addition to the University of Ohio; he put up a big block on Walnut Hills, and he built about forty other houses in Cincinnati and vicinity. In April, 1898, he came to Elyria. Here, until 1905, he was engaged in business under the firm name of John Kaiser & Bro. Then the John Kaiser Company was organized and in- corporated, with John Kaiser president and

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L. P. Kaiser secretary and treasurer, with ca- pacity for handling large contracts. During his residence in Elyria, Mr. Kaiser has been identified with the building of nearly all of the best work in the town, including numer- ous residences and other buildings, and the contracts of his firm in other towns have been no small feature of the business, among them being three churches in Lorain.

June 17, 1889, Mr. Kaiser married Miss Mary O'Connor, of Sidney, Ohio, and to them have been given eight children: Bes- sie, wife of Norman Terrill; Margaret, wife of Frank Rockwood; Charles; Andrew, deceased ; Mary, Harry, Ernestine, and George -- all of Elyria. The family are identified with St. Mary's parish, and Mr. Kaiser is a mem- ber of the Knights of Columbus. He has for years had membership in the Builders' Ex- change, of which, in 1908, he was elected president. As a substantial business man and a representative citizen, John Kaiser occupies a place among the front ranks.

DAVID L. BAILEY, the sterling pioneer citizen and widely known livestock raiser of Madison township, Lake county, is a most honored rep- resentative of a family which assisted in laying the foundation of the agricultural and indus- trial prosperity of the Western Reserve in the early years of the nineteenth century. Quite naturally, its members had migrated from Con- necticut, virtually the mother of that section of the northwest territory. Mr. Bailey is a native of Madison township; was born 'April 3. 1828, and occupies the same house in which he first saw the light of this busy world. He has passed his entire life in his native county, and is a venerable citizen who has so guided his day's work as to retain at all times the un- qualified esteem of his fellows.

The parents, David and Maria (Latham) Bailey, were born at Groton, New London county, Connecticut, where their marriage was solemnized and where the respective families were founded in the colonial days. The father was reared to maturity in his native place and when twenty years of age journeyed to the West Indies to assume the position of overseer of a large plantation there owned by a Connec- ticut man. In this work, as well as in the build- ing, of river boats, he was engaged for thirteen years, when he returned to Connecticut and soon afterward, at the age of thirty-three, took unto himself a wife. Not long after that event, in 1818, he brought his bride to Geauga county,

Ohio, (afterward when the county was divided he lived in Lake county)-whither his brothers, Gurdon and Frank, had preceded him. The Western Reserve was the scene of their subsequent activities, and as pioneer farmers and manufacturers they materially as- sisted in the development of both Ashtabula and Lake counties, the record of David Bailey being a vital part of the history of Lake county during the struggling times of its pioneers.

Shortly after his arrival in the Western Re- serve, the latter purchased about 360 acres of land, the major portion of which was in Madi- son township, Lake county. Although his land was covered with heavy timber, during the forty years of his life, which remained to him, he cleared much of it and placed it under effec- tive cultivation. Several times, during the first years of his residence, he made the round trip between the Western Reserve and Connecticut, and finally sold his good team of horses for use on one of the first stage lines established in this section of Ohio. In addition to reclaiming his farm and making excellent improvements thereon, including the erection of the house now occupied by his son, as early as 1834 he owned and operated a grist and saw mill at what is known as Upper Hollow, less than half a mile distant from his homestead. He also manifested his progressive spirit by installing the first carding machine in this section of the Reserve, as well as looms and dressing ma- chines. The house mentioned as the residence of both father and son was built according to the honest standards and with the sound ma- terials of those times by the brothers of David Bailey who had preceded him to the Reserve. They were such competent carpenters that, with ordinary repairs, the house is still com- fortable and comely and its framework as sound as ever. This landmark of the region stands near Grand river and commands an at- tractive view of the valley. Here died the energetic and beloved father in 1858, at the age of seventy-four years, and also his wife who survived him nearly half a century, being sum- moned to the Beyond in 1892, at the venerable age of ninety-two years. At her decease she had lived on the old homestead for a period of seventy-four years. Both parents were faithful members of the Episcopal church.

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History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 65

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