USA > Ohio > History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II > Part 68
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JOHN AUSTIN .- After a career of signal activity and productiveness and one marked by sterling integrity of purpose, Mr. Austin is now living virtually retired in the village of Madison, and is one of the well-known and highly esteemed citizens of his native county, where he is now the only representative in his
generation of a pioneer family whose name has been identified with the annals of the Western Reserve for nearly an entire century. Mr. Austin was a valiant soldier in the Civil war, has served as sheriff of Lake county, and held other offices of public trust, and to-day is enjoying that dignified repose which is the just reward of years of active and earnest en- deavor as one of the world's workers. A man of "cheerful yesterdays and confident to-mor- rows," he finds that his lines are cast in pleas- ant places, as the shadows of life begin to lengthen from the golden west, being amidst friends tried and true, and having his home in the locality which has been familiar to him from his childhood days.
Mr. Austin was born on the old homestead farm of his father, on the shore of Lake Erie, in Madison township, Lake county, Ohio, and the date of his nativity was September 14, 1841. He is a son of Joseph and Susan (Mitchelson) Austin, the latter of whom was born in Hartford, Connecticut, whence her parents later removed to Charleston, South Carolina, from which place they came to Ohio and took up their residence in Ashtabula county when she was a young woman. There was solemnized her marriage to Joseph Aus- tin, who was born at Fishkill Landing, New York, a son of John and Peggy Austin, who came to Ohio in 1812, when he was a child of six years. In later years he recalled that his parents directed his attention to the sound of cannonading on Lake Erie, and that this was the report of the guns of the two fleets whose engagement led to the historic lake victory of Commodore Perry. The family settled in Ge- neva township, Ashtabula county, on the shore of the lake, where the father secured a tract of land and instituted the work of developing a farm from the wilderness. Both parents continued to reside in that county until their death, and there Joseph was reared to man- hood under the conditions of the pioneer epoch. He there continued to devote his at- tention to agricultural pursuits for several years after his marriage, and in 1837 hie re- moved with his family to Lake county and settled in Madison township, on the beautiful old homestead which was the birthplace of John Austin, of this sketch. He reclaimed a good farm and there continued to reside until his death, in 1876, at the age of seventy-two years. His devoted wife and helpmeet was summoned to the life eternal in 1867, and both were zealous members of the Baptist church. For nearly twenty years Joseph Austin oper-
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ated a lime kiln on his farm, securing the limestone from Kelly's Island, in Put-in-Bay, and he was the leading exponent of this line of industry in this section. Though never act- ive in public affairs, he was well known in Lake and Ashtabula counties, and for many years familiarly and affectionately designated by the title of "Uncle Joe." In politics he was originally a Whig and later a Republican, and he was not only a man of the utmost rectitude, but also one of strong mentality and well forti- fied opinions. Joseph and Susan Mitchelson Austin became the parents of eight children, concerning whom are the following brief data : Serena first married Frederick Skinner, after ' whose death she became the wife of Archibald Mckinstry, and she died at the age of seventy- six years; Harriet was twice married, the name of her first husband having been Claflin, and of her second Mills, and she was seventy- four years of age at the time of her demise ; Amos, who had lived in Ohio, Michigan and Kansas, finally returned to Madison township, where he died at the age of sixty-nine years : Mehitabel first married Matthew Atwater, after whose death she became the wife of Augustus Southwick, and she died at the age of sixty-six years ; Jane is the widow of Henry Pickerell and resides in Fresno, California ; John, the subject of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Horace and Nancy were twins, and the former, who married, removed to Michigan and thence to Illinois, where he died at the age of sixty-two years; Nancy was twenty-five years of age at the time of her death.
Jolin Austin was reared on the old home farm, and early began to contribute his quota to its work, while as a boy he enjoyed to the full the pleasures and attractions of Lake Erie, on whose shore the farm lies. He re- calls that as a lad the sturgeon would approach close to the shore, so that their backs would appear above the surface, and he caught many of the fish, as did other boys, a number of whom remain to verify the fact here stated. Mr. Austin was afforded the advantages of the district school and continued to be asso- ciated in the work of the farm until he was twenty years of age, when he abandoned the plowshare to respond to the call of higher duty, when the integrity of the nation was placed in jeopardy through armed rebellion.
In September, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Battery C, First Ohio Light Artillery, be- coming a member of the same at the time of its organization. This regiment was recruited
from the northeastern corner of Ohio and had several Madison men on its rolls. It was composed of twelve batteries. With this gal- lant command Mr. Austin continued in service until the close of the war, having re-enlisted at the expiration of his first term. The bat- tery to which he was attached had six guns, and he began his service as driver of a wheel team, and he thus served for twenty-eight months. After the battle of Chickamauga he was given charge of a gun, with eight men as gunners, besides a number of teamsters. He was promoted corporal of his company in 1862. He was slightly wounded on one occa- sion, but never sufficiently to necessitate his leaving the ranks. In the battle of Chicka- mauga thirteen men and thirty-six horses of his battery were killed, and he, alone and un- aided, took his gun off the field, with but a single span of horses. This gun weighed thirty-six hundred pounds, and with the one team he hauled the same a distance of two and one-half miles, over rough land. At the time of the dedication of the monument to his 'regiment on the field of Chickamauga, in 1896, he was present to aid in designating the point where his battery stood. The history of the gallant command to which he belonged constitutes the record of Mr. Austin's military career, and it is not necessary to enter into details in this article. In the Atlanta cam- paign, it may be noted, his command was under fire for ninety-six days. Of the twenty- four men from Madison township who were members of the First Ohio Artillery, there were but five left when the organization dis- banded. The command took part in the grand review in the city of Washington, and Mr. Austin was there mustered out, under general orders, on the 15th of June, 1865. He re- ceived his honorable discharge on the 15th of the same month, in the city of Cleveland.
After the close of his signally faithful and valiant service as a loyal soldier of the repub- lic, Mr. Austin assumed charge of the old homestead farm, to the supervision of which he continued to give his attention for nearly twenty years, and he severed this active asso- ciation in January, 1884, when he assumed the duties of the office of sheriff of Lake county, to which position he was elected in the pre- ceding November. He removed to Paines- ville, the county seat, and gave an admirable administration of the affairs of the office to which he had been chosen. The popular appre- ciation of this fact was shown in his being chosen as his own successor at the expiration
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of his first term, and he thus remained incum- bent of the office for four consecutive years.
After his retirement from office, Mr. Austin returned to the farm, where he remained four years, at the expiration of which he sold the property and returned to Painesville, where he served a few months as city marshal. He then located in the village of Madison, where, in 1892, he formed a partnership with C. W. Stocking, and purchased the local saw mill and lumber yard, in connection with which a feed store also was conducted. The enterprise was continued under the firm name of Austin & Stocking for five years, and C. W. Morley then purchased the interest of Mr. Stocking. The firm of Austin & Morley continued the business for six years, at the expiration of which they sold the plant and business to A. N. Benjamin. During this interval of more than ten years the saw mill had been kept in oper- ation, and it was supplied by the purchasing of standing timber by the firm, who thus made the enterprise successful. Since disposing of his interest in this business, Mr. Austin has lived retired, having an attractive residence in Madison, and being also the owner of other real estate in the village and township.
He is at the present time a member of the village council, and also holds the office of township trustee of his native township. He is a stanch advocate of the cause of the Re- publican party and has been a delegate to its county and congressional conventions. He is an officer for the juvenile court and also holds the position of humane officer for the eastern part of Lake county. Mr. Austin is a valued and appreciative member of Brennan Post, No. 358, Grand Army of the Republic, in Mad- ison, of which he is past commander, and is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are most zealous and devoted members of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon. No citizen of Madison enjoys more unalloyed popularity than this native son and veteran soldier, whose circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.
In 1867 Mr. Austin was united in marriage to Miss Octavia Quirk, daughter of John and Jane Quirk, of Madison township, where she was born and reared. Mr. Quirk was a na- tive of the Isle of Man and came to Ohio when a young man. Mrs. Austin was sum- moned to eternal rest in 1891, and is survived by one child, Susan, who is the wife of C. W. Morley, of Geneva, Ashtabula county. In 1893 Mr. Austin contracted a second mar-
riage, being then united to Mrs. Helen J. (Wade) Pettis, widow of Daniel Pettis, of Madison, and a daughter of Harmon C. Wade, who was a prosperous farmer of Madison township and also a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church. He came to Ohio from Chautauqua county, New York, where Mrs. Austin was born, and she was a child of two years at the time of the family removal to Ohio. Mrs. Austin had two daugh- ters by her first marriage: Ona Belle, who became the wife of William Coffin, and died at the age of twenty-six years; and Elva L., who is the wife of Irvin D. Ketcham, of Wil- loughby, Lake county.
CHARLES S. KENT, the well-known teacher at Mogadore, Portage county, is of an ancient family comprising large land owners in Eng- land and in America several governors and leaders in every profession and honorable walk of life. The original emigrant to this country was Thomas Kent, who, in 1643, settled with his wife at Gloucester, Massachusetts. In 1678, about twenty years after the death of his father, Samuel Kent moved to Suffield, Con- necticut, and thereafter for several generations the family history is connected with the patri- otic and useful members who resided in this locality. Elihu Kent was captain of a Suffield company of minute men in the Revolution, and left seven sons to commemorate his patriotism in that conflict, one of whom (by the same name) was a colonel. Another of his sons, Martin, was born at Suffield, Connecticut, April 1, 1761, and several years prior to 1807 migrated with his family to New Hampshire, near Hanover. This is the member of the family who became its pioneer in the Western Reserve.
In the spring of 1807 Martin Kent, Sr., left New Hampshire for town 1, range 9, Portage county, which is now the town of Suffield, Portage county, then Trumbull county. Their adventuresome journey thither, as well as other details connected with the family geneal- ogy, are elsewhere published (see biography of Horace H. Kent). Suffice it to say, that he became a large land owner and a leading citi- zen, and left six children to continue the fine family record in the Western Reserve.
Josiah, the third son, was born at Suffield, Ohio, May 16, 1811, and on December 1, 1835, married Miss Lucia Miller, who was born at Granby, Connecticut, February 14, 1816. After his father's death Josiah continued the pioneer
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home until his own decease September 27, 1894; his wife passed away April 22, 1900. In many ways Josiah (grandfather of Charles S.) resembled his father, being kind hearted and always ready to help a friend in trouble. He himself was the father of eight children- Dwight, Martin, Herbert, Norris, Duane M., Lorinda, Delia and Maria.
Duane M. Kent was born at Suffield, Ohio, February 21, 1851, and on September 15, 1880. was married to Miss Mary Stone, whose birth- place was Tallmadge, that state, and the day, May 21, 1859. Two children were born of their union-Charles Stone, October 25. 1881, and Florence V., August 25, 1886. The former is a graduate of Oberlin College and, as stated, is engaged in teaching.
TYLER WILKS is a member of one of the old pioneer families of Portage county, Ohio, and he was born in its township of Edinburg May 6, 1841, to John and Anna ( Benton) Wilks, the father born in 1800 in Pennsylvania and the mother in Connecticut. The paternal grandparents, Samuel and Sarah Wilks, were both of English parentage, while the maternal grandparents, William and Roxie (Bryant) Benton, were from Connecticut and came to the Western Reserve in 1812. Coming from Columbiana county to Portage county in 1831 John Wilks bought 200 acres of land in Edin- burg township, heavily covered with timber, and he at once started to clear his land. In 1885, he bought 123 acres in Rootstown town- ship, just opposite his first property, and there he died just one year later, in July, 1886. Seven children, five sons and two daughters, were born to John and Anna Wilks, namely: Anna, who became Mrs. Jeremiah Fifer and died in 1860, leaving two children, C. J. Fifer, of Ber- lin Center, Ohio, and Louisa, the wife of Michael Adolph, of Ravenna; Sarah, who has never married and resides on 129 acres of the old home place; John, who died at the age of twelve years ; Tyler, the subject of this review , Roxie, the wife of James A. Wilson, of Los Angeles, California, and they have two chil- dren, Frederick U. and Ethan W .; Mary J., who died at the age of twenty-eight years ; and Lucy E., whose home is in Ravenna. Sarah WVilks has owned the home place since 1886, and her brother Tyler and his son reside there with her.
Tyler Wilks remained at home with his par- ents until his marriage on June 6, 1865, to Emily J. Hannold, and of their five children,
only two are now living, Thomas J., with his father and aunt, and Susan M., the wife of Frank Sanford and a resident of Rootstown township. The wife and mother is also de- ceased, dying in May of 1874, and in Septem- ber, 1879, Mr. Wilks welded Amanda E. Hines, born in Atwater township, a daughter of John and Annie Hines. The two children of this union are Mary and Clara, who reside with Miss Lucy .E. Wilks in Ravenna. Mr. Wilks votes with the Republican party.
DWIGIIT, ROLLIN AND MARTIIA STILLSON are proprietors of a farm in Brimfield town- ship, Portage county. Dwight M. Stillson was born in Tallmadge, and Rollin S. Stillson was born in Brimfield township, on the farm he now owns, as was also his sister Martha. They are children of Alexander F. and Mary Anna (Stone) Stillson, the former born in Bethle- hem, Litchfield county, Connecticut, July 3, 1820. His father, Amos Stillson, spent the last portion of his life in Brimfield, where he died October 6, 1870, his wife having died ten years previously at the old home in Connecticut. Mary Ann Stone's parents settled in the north- ern part of Tallmadge township in 1819, com- ing from Connecticut in ox-carts with Mrs. Stone's father, Lyman Sperry, and his family, the trip being the wedding journey of Mr. and Mrs. Stone. The oldest brother, Amadeus Sperry, settled in Streetsboro township, upon the place now occupied by his great-grandsons, William McDowell and Robert and Gleason Sperry.
Alexander Stillson lived in his native state until 1857, and in that year came to Tallmadge, where he was married, and proceeded to Law- rence, Kansas. He had been a farmer and car- penter in Connecticut. He spent several years in Kansas, living near the home of the re- nowned John Brown, so prominent at the time of the Civil war. During the war Mr. Stillson suffered greatly from the depredations of Quantrell and his followers, and in the fall of 1863 Mrs. Stillson with two sons returned to Ohio, the father remaining until the following spring. In 1864 they settled in Brimfield township, on the farm now occupied by their two sons and daughter. Besides the three children already mentioned, they had three sons born in Kansas, namely : Mansfield Stone Stillson, who is married and lives at Galena, Kansas; Ira Fremont Stillson, who died in Tallmadge, Ohio, April 5, 1896, and Willie, who died in infancy.
JOHN WILKS
ANNA WILKS
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Dwight and Rollin Stillson purchased the farm of their father's estate, and do a general line of farming, besides making a specialty of dairy cows. They have a fine herd of Holstein cattle. The brothers and their sister are in- dustrious workers and good business man- agers, and have prospered well in the fifteen years they have carried on this enterprise.
ANDREW AND FRANK KURTZ, sons of Jacob G. and Mary (Zug) Kurtz, have lived in Brim- field township, Portage county, since the re- spective ages of eight and seven years. They have both followed agricultural pursuits, and the younger brother is quite well known in the educational and other public affairs of the township. Andrew was born February 7, 1865, and has remained single, now residing with his widowed mother.
Frank Kurtz was born March 20, 1866, and resided at home until his marriage in 1885 to Miss Mary Swartz, a native of Suffield town- ship, Portage county, who was born of Ger- man parents. They are the parents of three sons and four daughters, as follows: Pearl, who was born in 1888 and resides with her Grandmother Kurtz; Estelle, who was born in 1886 and in 1908 married a Mr. Grund; Dora, born in 1892, and Emmett, born in 1895, who live at home, and Howard and Harry (twins), born in October, 1900, who are also with their parents. Ruthie, born in 1897, died in 1899. The father of this family is a Democrat in poli- tics, and has served his township as constable, member of the school board and trustee. He now holds the offices of councilman and town- ship trustee. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.
The Kurtz family has been established among the thrifty and intelligent Germans of Switzerland for several generations, the great- grandfather of Andrew and Frank being a native of the rugged little republic. Their father, Jacob G., was born in Lebanon county. Pennsylvania, and in the early fifties located with his parents in Suffield township, this county. He lived at home until his marriage in 1864, and in 1873 moved with his family to Brimfield township, where he died on his farm, March 20, 1907. His widow (nee Mary Zug) is still residing on the old homestead with her son Andrew. Her father, who is nearly ninety years of age and is the first of five generations, is one of the most venerable residents of Suffield township, as well as among its oldest pioneers. He first located in
Springfield township in 1845, but soon after- ward became a really permanent resident of Suffield.
THOMAS M. MOORE, M. D .- An able repre- sentative of the medical profession in Lake county is Dr. Moore, who is engaged in active practice in the village of Willoughby, where he has a large and substantial clientage. He is a native son of the Western Reserve and both his father and his paternal grandfather were physicians and surgeons who practiced their profession in the historic old Reserve. As a physician and as a loyal and public-spir- ited citizen the doctor is well upholding the prestige of the honored name which he bears.
Dr. Thomas Marlett Moore was born at Gates Mills, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on the 15th of March, 1857, and is a son of Dr. Thomas M. and Eliza O. (Marlett) Moore. His father was a son of Dr. Thomas M. Moore, who was engaged in the practice of his profession in New York City until he came to Ohio and became one of the pioneer physicians and surgeons of Cleveland. As such his name appears in a directory of that city issued in the vear 1837, and his residence is given as 18 Prospect street, now in the very heart of the principal business district of the Ohio metrop- olis. He finally removed to Gates Mills, in the same county, where he continued in the practice of his profession until his death. He was twice married, and his son, Dr. Thomas M. (2d), was the only child of the first union. The two children of the second marriage are Dr. P. G. Moore, of Wabash, Indiana, and Mrs. Martha Morrill, of Cleveland.
Dr. Thomas M. Moore (2d) studied medi- cine under the able preceptorship of his father, later attended a medical college then located in Willoughby, Lake county, and finally was graduated in the Cleveland Medical College. He followed in practice his father at Gates Mills, and there he continued in the active work of his profession until his death, when about thirty-five years of age. His wife, Eliza O. (Marlett) Moore, was a daughter of Thomas and Fanny (Moore) Marlett, of Orange township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and of the three children the subject of this review was the second in order of birth; Florence, the eldest, became the wife of Dr. N. A. Dal- rymple, and they resided at Pasadena, Cali- fornia, at the time of her death ; and Helen, the wife of H. B. Maxwell, of Pasadena. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Moore
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became the wife of Dr. A. H. Davis, of Gates Mills, whence they removed to Willoughby, Lake county, and finally they took up their residence in Pasadena, California, where Dr. Davis died and where his widow still resides, being seventy-nine years of age at the time of this writing, in 1909. Dr. Davis had succeeded to the practice of Dr. Moore, at Gates Mills, and he removed to California about twenty years ago. His remains were brought back to Ohio and were laid to rest in the cemetery at Willoughby.
Dr. Thomas Marlett Moore, the immediate subject of this sketch, was five years of age at the time of his father's death, and he was' then taken into the home of his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Fanny (Moore) Smith, of Warrensville, Cuyahoga county, Ohio; her first husband was Thomas Marlett, and after his death she became the wife of Erastus Smith. Dr. Moore remained in the home of his grand- mother until he was fifteen years of age, and his early educational training was secured in. the public schools of Warrensville. His grand- mother died and he then returned to the home of his mother, in Willoughby, where he was reared to maturity and where he continued his studies in Willoughby College. He then began reading medicine under the preceptorship of his stepfather, Dr. Davis, and finally entered the medical department of Wooster University, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1878 and from which he received his well-earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. He at once entered into a professional partnership with his stepfather, Dr. Davis, with whom he was associated in practice in Willoughby for three years, and later succeeded to the prac- tice of Dr. Davis, who removed to California, and he has since continued in the active work . of his profession, having been a practitioner in Willoughby for more than thirty consecutive years. He took an effective post-graduate course in the celebrated Bellevue Medical Col- lege, New York City, in 1881, and keeps in close touch with the advances made in both branches of his profession, having a fine medi- cal library and also reading the best periodical literature pertaining to medicine and surgery. His success in his chosen vocation offers the best attestation to his ability, and his practice is of a thoroughly representative order. Hc holds membership in the American Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical Society and the Lake County Medical Society. Though giving a stanch allegiance to the Republican
party, Dr. Moore has ever found the exactions of his profession fully adequate to demand his undivided attention, and has never been active in political affairs. He served two terms as a member of the village council.
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