History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 93

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 93

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On the 30th of May, 1867, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rockwell to Miss Mary E. Metlin, who was born in Akron, Summit county, Ohio, which was then a part of Port- age county, and who is a daughter of Samuel D. and Eliza (Jennison) Metlin, the former of whom was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Saratoga county, New York, whence her father, Elias Jennison, removed to Ohio in the pioneer days. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Rockwell, who still retains her home in Ravenna, were Thomas and Margaret (Foster) Metlin, na- tives of Pennsylvania, from which state they removed to Summit county, Ohio, in the pio- neer epoch. There the grandfather purchased a large tract of land and reclaimed much of the same to cultivation. On this old home- stead l'e and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, honored pioneers of the Western Rescive. Mr. and Mrs. Rockwell became the parents of three children-Mary E., who is the wife of Henry D. Hinman, of Ravenna ; Dorena, who is the wife of Lardner V. Mor- ris, of Garden City, Long Island, New York; and Judge David L., of whom specific mention is made in a sketch appearing on other pages of this publication.

CAPTAIN EDWARD C. MAYTHAM, a wealthy vesselman, who until recently had large and profitable interests in the lake marine, has been retired from active work in that line for a number of years, and now chiefly devotes him- self to the superintendence and development of a splendid farm in Lafayette township. He has one of the finest country places in the Western Reserve. It comprises 275 acres of land, not an acre of which is allowed to go to waste. When he took possession of the property, known as the old Daniel Foote farm, in 1904. it was a tract of 165 acres. To this he has not only added an adjoining II0 acres, but completely remodeled the homestead resi- dence and farm buildings, raising everything to the most modern standard of convenience, comfort and good taste. He employs an abun- dance of skilled help, and the stock used both in the general operations of the farm and in the support of his employes and household is an indication of his abundant means and good judgment. The horses seen on his place are especially of high grade. In a word, Cap- tain Maytham is showing his numerous friends in his native township of Lafayette and county of Medina, how to be a true, open-handed and

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successful country gentleman of the year 1910. And he has fully earned every detail of the substantial standing and enjoyment of the pres- ent, and all who know of his record congratu- late him that he has found so fair a haven for his later years.

Captain Maytham was born in Lafayette township, on the 13th of October, 1850, and is a son of John and Catherine (Guckin) May- tham. His father was born in the county of Kent, England, April 25, 1813, and was the youngest son born to Edward and Elizabeth (Hopkins) Maytham. The great-grandfather, George Maytham, had six sons, viz-George, Thomas, Daniel, Edward, James and John. The George Mavtham mentioned served in the war between England and Spain, and met his death while on a transport which was convey- ing prisoners to the mother country. Suppos- ing it to be an enemy's ship, a British man- of-war fired upon it, and with such true aim that the shell struck the craft full, exploded on deck, and among the resulting casualties was the death of George Maytham. At the age of nineteen John Maytham, the future father of Edward C., emigrated from Eng- land, and, after an ocean voyage of eight weeks, landed at New York during the height of the cholera epidemic. Not long afterward he located in Essex county, Massachusetts, where he resided for five years prior to his removal to Cleveland. Euclid avenue was then just commencing to blossom into a beautiful thoroughfare, and as Mr. Maytham was a landscape gardener he assisted in planting some of the first trees which graced it. In January, 1837, John Maytham married Miss Catherine Guckin, who was born in Ireland in November, 1820, daughter of Charles and Nancy (McDonald) Guckin. As the McDon- alds are Scotch, the captain has the blood of united Britain in his constitution. In 1840 his parents moved from Cleveland to a farm which the father had purchased in Lafayette town- ship, at five dollars an acre. At that time it was far from the well settled district of the Reserve, and there was no road near the place. But the land was finally improved into a good farm and became a comfortable homestead for the fifteen children which the years brought to this sturdy English-Irish-Scotch couple. Ten of them reached maturity and four, be- sides Edward C., are still alive. One of the daughters was Mrs. Frances Rolo, now Mrs. A. Q. Arnold, resident of the state of Wash- ington ; Thomas, Edward and Charles are resi-

dents of Buffalo, the first named having large vessel interests ; and Mary, who married John House, and William are residents of Lafayette township. George Maytham died in Kansas and was buried with the impressive ceremonies due to his Knight Templarhood.

Edward C., special subject of this sketch, received his summer trainings on the farm, and his education, until his seventeenth year, in the district school of Lafayette township, and at a select school in Chatham township. He then commenced his career as a lake mari- ner by becoming a hand on a tug boat, plying between Buffalo and Chicago, and eventually was promoted to be captain. For some time thereafter he was manager of the Maytham's tug line, and had an owner's interest in the steamers "Maytham" and "Brazil," being part owner of the latter with his brother Thomas, who died in 1883. The business was incor- porated in about 1880 or 1882, with the cap- tain as president and the owner of the greater portion of the capital stock of $100,000. He continued in the vessel business until 1904, when he disposed of most of his interests and purchased the Foote farm in Lafayette town- ship, as already noted.

In 1875 Captain Maytham married Miss Mary Mass, a Canadian lady, who died April 4, 1909, mother of four children-John A., who assists his father in the management of . the home farm; Roy G., agent of the New York Life Insurance Company at Buffalo, New York, who married Miss Elnor Brown; Lillian, who married Dr. R. G. Strong. a lead- ing physician of that city, and Nellie A., who married William Chedien, of Buffalo, New York.

JOHN HUMBOLT DUSSEL .- It has been given Mr. Dussel to attain to marked prestige as one of the representative members of the bar of his native county and he is established in the active practice of his profession in the city of Ravenna, where he has long retained a large and representative clientage and where he is known as a loyal and progressive citizen.

John Humbolt Dussel was born in Randolph township, Portage county, Ohio, on the 7th of May, 1847, and is a son of John C. and Bar- bara (Reisenbach) Dussel, the former of whom was born in Kirchwei, Rheinpfalz, Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, and the latter at Bierstadt, Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. In the fatherland both were reared to maturity and it was their good fortune to form an ac-

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quaintanceship before sailing, as both em- barked on a sailing vessel in immigrating from the fatherland to America. Both made Port- age county, Ohio, their destination, and here the marriage of the young couple was solem- nized within a short interval after their ar- rival. John C. Dussel was a worthy repre- sentative of that sturdy German element which has contributed so materially to the develop- ment and progress of the various American commonwealths, and after his marriage he lo- cated in Randolph township, Portage county, where he eventually accumulated a good landed estate and became a farmer, having been a surgeon by profession. He was a man of in- flexible integrity, industrious and loyal, and ever animated by that generous spirit and kindliness which promotes strong and endur- ing friendships. He held the high esteem of the community in which he lived for many years and in which he achieved independence and definite prosperity, through his own well directed efforts. He was about sixty-six years of age at the time of his death, and his de- voted wife, who survived him, likewise at- tained to the age of nearly three score years and ten. She held membership in the Catholic church, and Mr. Dussel was a Democrat in his political proclivities. This honored cou- ple became the parents of two sons and two daughters, all of whom are living, and of whom the subject of this review was the sec- ond in order of birth.

John H. Dussel was reared on the old home- stead farm in Portage county, and after com- pleting the curriculum of the district schools he continued his studies in the public schools of Akron. In pursuance of a higher academic education he was finally matriculated in Mount Union College, in which he was graduated as a member of the Class of 1875, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the meanwhile he had taken up the study of law, under the pre- ceptorship of Judge George F. Robinson, of Akron, and he carried on his college work and technical reading simultaneously. In 1879 he was admitted to the bar of his native state. prior to which time he. had accomplished a very successful work as a teacher in the public schools of Portage county. After his admis- sion to the bar he continued to be identified with the pedagogic profession until 1881, when he opened an office in Ravenna and began the active practice of law, in which he has here continued during the intervening period of more than a quarter of a century,

within which he has built up a large and sub- stantial legal business and been concerned in much important litigation. He has shown him- self admirably fortified as a trial lawyer, and as a counselor his services are ever given with a comprehensive knowledge of the law and with a wise conservatism. As a stanch ad- herent of the Democratic party Mr. Dussel has been active in promoting its cause in his home county, but the only office of which he has ever consented to become incumbent was that of justice of the peace. He and his family are devout communicants of the Catholic church and take a deep interest in all departments of parish and diocesan work. He has so or- dered his course as to maintain at all times the inviolable confidence and esteem of the peo- ple of his native county, and the high regard of his professional confreres.

In the year 1889 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Dussel to Miss Caroline Doer- flinger, daughter of Frank and Mary Doer- flinger, well known residents of Portage county. Mr. and Mrs. Dussel have three chil- dren-Carl M., Martha M. and Joseph Sarto. The mother died April 30, 1909.

FRANCIS M. HOWARD, a life-long resident of Ashtabula county, and during many years one of the leading business men and agriculturists of Plymouth township, is a son of Jeremiah Howard, one of the early residents of the county. The father of Jeremiah Howard (also Jeremiah) was the first Howard to settle in the Western Reserve, coming here from New York state. Jeremiah Howard, born on the 23d of July, 1815, followed lumbering and farming, first in Monroe township and later in Plymouth township, and he died on the 28th of April, 1879. while his wife passed away on the 29th of March, 1889, and both lie buried at Kelloggsville in Monroe township, Ashta- bula county. She bore the maiden name of Fanny Ross, and was born on the 22d of Au- gust, 1825. In their family were the follow- ing children : George, who was born January II, 1845, and died when but seven years of age; Julian, born August 3. 1846; Jeremiah, born March 3, 1848; Francis, mentioned be- low ; Elsie, born August 31, 1851 : Mary, now Mrs. Jesse Austin, of Kansas; Lincoln, who also died when about seven years old; and Fanny, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Howard were Universalists in their religious beliefs.

Francis M. Howard, born in the southern

Jimena L Howard

Francis In Howard

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part of Monroe township on the 30th of Sep- tember, 1849, is a representative business man of Plymouth township, prominently identified with its farming, and saw milling interests. He located in Plymouth township in 1889, moving then to the old Howard homestead south of Ashtabula, and he also at that time moved his saw mill from Monroe to Plymouth township. On the 17th of June, 1874, Mr. Howard was married to Ximena Shipman, who was born September 10, 1853, in Craw- ford county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of F. D. and Wealthy (Wakefield) Shipman, and the children of this union are: Ora W., born April 3. 1875, married Thomas Warwick, liv- ing in Saybrook, and their three children are Mary, Howard and Edith; Carroll S., born December 5, 1879, is engaged in dressmaking in Ashtabula ; and Arie, born April 27, 1885, married Royal Morse, and has two children, Dorothy and Donald. Mr. Howard in poli- tics is allied with the Democracy, and he is both a Mason and an Odd Fellow.

F. D. Shipman, the father of Mrs. Howard, is a native of Gustavus, Trumbull county, Ohio. He spent all of his life in this part of the country, living in Trumbull county, Ohio, and for a time in Crawford county, Pennsyl- vania. He died in 1909, but his wife passed away many years previous, dying in 1868. His father, David Shipman, was the first of the family to settle in the Western Reserve.

SAMUEL VINCENT PRYCE .- The proprietor of a well equipped farm in Carlisle township, Samuel V. Pryce is actively identified with the agricultural growth and prosperity of Lo- rain county, and occupies a secure position in the consideration and respect of his fellow citizens. A native of England, he was born, December 9, 1856, at Camborne, County Corn- wall, the birthplace of his parents, Samuel V., Sr., and Mary (Trevenen) Pryce. His father migrated to Australia a few years after his marriage, leaving his wife with four children to care for, as follows: Elizabeth, deceased ; Mrs. Mary T. Pascoe, of Truro, England ; Georgianna, widow of Joseph Trenerry, of Camborne, England; and Samuel V., the sub- ject of this sketch, then a babe of fifteen months. The mother kept her little family to- gether, training them to habits of honesty and industry, and lived to a good old age, passing away in 1901.

Brought up in his home town, Samuel V. Pryce remained with his widowed mother until

ready to establish himself in business. De- sirous of trying life in a newer country, he started for America, long known as the poor man's paradise. Among his fellow passen- gers on shipboard was a fair young lady from Illogan, County Cornwall, with whom he fell in love, and they were subsequently married at Vulcan, Menominee county, Michigan. The following two years Mr. Pryce worked in an iron mine in that place, after which he went to Keweenaw county, Michigan, where he was employed for a year in a copper mine. While here he went on a hunting trip, and while taking his gun from the wagon was wounded in the right arm by the accidental discharge of the weapon. His right arm was thus rendered useless for over a year, and he sought other employment. Coming to Ohio, he located in Oberlin, and soon after began studying telegraphy with the operator of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Company. On May 8, 1887, Mr. Pryce entered the employ of the Cleveland Stone Company, and in addition to managing the Cleveland Stone Company's store, was given charge of the telegraph office, a position that he is amply able to fill, as he is an expert telegraph operator. He still holds the position.

Mr. Pryce subsequently bought sixty-five acres of land in Carlisle township, and this farm is well and skilfully managed by his wife and their only son, Samuel Vincent Pryce, Jr. It is well improved, and the buildings are of modern construction, the house con- taining all the conveniences necessary in this day, including hot and cold water, bath-room, telephone, etc., and is heated and lighted from gas obtained from an extraordinarily good well on the estate. Black river runs through the farm just back of the house. In 1898 Mr. Pryce put up a steel cable, attached to two large trees, one on each side of the river, and has a trolley car on which two persons can cross at one time. The car is propelled by an endless rope, used by one of the parties on the car, and crossing is thus made possible when the river overflows the banks. This was the first arrangement of this kind for cross- ing Black river, and any one is allowed to use it, and it is well patronized. Mr. Pryce also owns a small water-power flour mill and fif- teen acres of land at Mawnan, near Fal- mouth, England, which came into his posses- sion in 1895. Because of its being entailed property, his father could not dispose of it only during his life. Fraternally, Mr. Pryce

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is a member of Calumet Lodge (Michigan), A. O. F.

JOHN D. THOMPSON. - One of the best known and most highly esteemed 'agricultur- ists of Perry township is John D. Thomp- son, the son of a pioneer settler, who has been intimately associated with the develop- ment and advancement of the highest interests of this part of Lake county from his earliest days. He was born on the homestead he now owns and occupies, in the log cabin which stood near the site of the present house, De- cember 27, 1834. His father, Moses Thomp- son, bought this property in December, 1831, and lived here until his death, November I, 1891, being then an aged man of ninety-one years, his birth having occurred March 15, 1800. Moses Thompson married first in Ver- mont, his wife dying in July, 1861. He sub- sequently married for his second wife a widow, Mrs. Amelia Johnson, who died in 1870.

After leaving Kirtland Seminary, John D. Thompson continued his studies in the Paines- ville high school, and in 1851 attended the Kirtland Seminary. Going then to Iowa, he spent a year in that state, when, at the re- quest of his father, he returned home to take charge of the farm and care for his parents. On August 7, 1862, he enlisted in Battery C, or Kinney's Battery, First Ohio Light Artil- lery, of which one squad of men from Geneva responded to the very first call for troops, in April, 1861, and at Philippi, West Virginia, fired the first shot of the war. Mr. Thomp- son joined the battery at Louisville, Kentucky, and served in the Army of the Cumberland, under General Buell. After the engagement at Missionary Ridge his company was sent back to Nashville, where the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps were consolidated, becoming the Twentieth Corps, and he and his comrades subsequently marched with Sherman to the sea, thence on to Washington, D. C., where the corps took part in the grand review. On June 16, 1865, Mr. Thompson was honorably discharged, having been in the service a little less than three years. Returning home, he immediately resumed the management of the farm, on which he has since lived. It con- tains one hundred and seventy-four acres of land, which he has placed under excellent till- age, and on which he has made substantial im- provements. When Mr. Thompson was ready to establish a household of his own, a sepa- rate house was built for him, in 1867, and in 1874 a large barn was erected in place of

one that was burned by lightning. Mr. Thompson carries on dairying on his place, keeping from twelve to twenty-four cows in his stable, and was one of the first in his neighborhood to put in a silo.

On September 26, 1865, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage with Mary J. Tyler, who was born in Mayfield township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, September 2, 1835, à daughter of Ralph and Maria (Gorden) Tyler, and a sister of J. H. Tyler. Mr. and Mrs. Thomp- son have no children of their own, but have reared and educated two children, namely : Lizzie Brinkerhoff and Lawrence Keller. Liz- zie Brinkerhoff's mother, a cousin of Mrs. Thompson, died in Kansas, leaving five small children, and a short time later, in 1883, Mr. Brinkerhoff was killed, being shot while watching, as a bystander, a quarrel between two men. In 1884 Mr. and Mrs. Thompson took Lizzie, then a girl of six years. She was educated at the Geneva Normal School, and at Lake Erie College, and is now the wife of Charles A. Bartlett, of Madison, Ohio. Lawrence Keller was left fatherless when nine years old, and Mr. and Mrs. Thompson opened their home to him, and gave him excellent educational advantages, after his graduation from the Perry high school sending him to Oberlin College. At the age of twenty years he entered the employ of the Michigan South- ern & Lake Shore Railroad Company. He subsequently married Mabel Hurlburt, and spent two years on her father's farm. In the spring of 1908 Mr. Thompson placed him in charge of his farm. In November Mr. Keller was called to Cleveland on business, and on his return trip came on the latest car of the interurban, which at that time of the night ran to Painesville only. He set out on foot from there for his home, and his body was found the next morning on the tracks of the Lake Shore Railroad, two miles east of Paines- ville. He left no children. Mr. Thompson is not especially active in public affairs, but has served for three years as township trus- tee. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and takes great interest in the organization.

CHARLES MANNING IRISH, secretary and treasurer of the Lorain Banking Company, ex-treasurer of Lorain county and a prominent citizen of the city of Lorain, was born in Pittsfield, Lorain county, Ohio, September 14, 1862. He is a son of Charles and Jane (Ware) Irish, the father a native of New York state

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and the mother of Vermont. The Irish fam- ily is an old one in the state of New York, and the Wares are an old family in New Eng- land. Charles Irish removed to Pittsfield just before the Civil war, and began work for Manning Ware, a blacksmith, who later be- came his father-in-law. After his marriage he made his home in the adjoining township of Camden until the death of his wife, in 1895. For two years Mr. Irish lived at Rock Creek, at Ashtabula county, Ohio, and in 1898 came to the city of Lorain, where he died in 1899.

Charles M. Irish received his education in the public country school at Pittsfield, and began an independent career when fourteen years of age, from which time until twenty- three years of age he worked on farms. He then entered the employ of B. F. Brecken- ridge, a general merchant of Kipton, in Cam- den township, where he remained three years; at the end of that time he and another young man were sent by Mr. Breckenridge to run a branch store at Lorain, and Mr. Irish re- mained in that city six years in this position. After the steel plant was established at Lo- rain, Mr. Irish and Raymond W. Austin pur- chased the store and changed it to a grocery ; a year later they also established a branch store at South Lorain, which has developed into one of the largest grocery stores in the county. The firm, known as Irish & Austin, was dissolved in 1905, Mr. Irish retaining the store in Lorain, which he still owns, and it is one of the leading business houses in the city.

For many years Mr. Irish has been promi- nent in municipal affairs; he served in the city council, has been for nine years a member of the city school board, and is president of the board at the present time. In 1905 he received the nomination, on the Republican ticket, for county treasurer, and received the majority of votes, taking office in that year ; he was re-elected, and finished his second term on September 7, 1909. He then, on Septem- ber 8, 1909, became secretary and treasurer of the Lorain Banking Company. Mr. Irish is greatly interested in the welfare and growth of business interests in the city. He has been a director and a member of the finance com- mittee of the National Bank of Commerce, of Lorain, ever since the organization of the in- stitution in 1899, and is also interested in other enterprises besides his store. He belongs to the Lorain Board of Commerce, and is a mem- ber of the Industrial Committee. Fraternally, he is a Knight Templar Mason, affiliating with

Elyria Commandery, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Lorain.

In 1887 Mr. Irish married Florence, daugh- ter of Horace and Mary (Groot) Baker, of Kipton, the father deceased. Their children are: Blanche Irene, born August 26, 1890; Ruth Marie, June 21, 1892; Glenn Marion, February 6, 1894; and Warren Baker, August 26, 1898.

LUKE COOK .- The son of a pioneer of Ash- tabula county, Luke Cook grew to manhood in primitive "times, when the dense forests hereabout were inhabited by bears, deer, wolves and smaller animals, while yet the early settlers subsisted on the productions of the soil and the wild game so easily obtained. During his long and active life he has pur- sued the even tenor of his way as an honest and good citizen, advancing the interests of his community as he had opportunity.

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History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II, Part 93

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