USA > Ohio > History of the Western Reserve, Vol. II > Part 98
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Ne. It Riddle
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Francis Buell October 3, 1908, and has one son, Ralph G., born July 10, 1909. Cornelia May, born May 28, 1876, married on October 8, 1894, Harry Mortimer Ford, and their three children are: Hattie Cornelia, born May I, 1895; Mortimer Sheldon, April 26, 1897, and Floyd Harry, December 12, 1899; Albert Gershon, Jr., born August 15, 1880, married, March 8, 1905, Elizabeth Velack, and their two children are Irene Ruth, born January 26, 1908, and Dorothy Cornelia, April 28, 1909. Mr. Sheldon in politics votes with the Democratic party.
HENRY W. RIDDLE .- In the career of Henry Warner Riddle, whose name has been most prominently identified with the upbuilding of the industrial interests of the city of Ravenna, is shown that definite ambition and persistence which are the mind's inspiration in the sur- mounting of obstacles- the vitalizing ideal that transforms dreams into deeds. He was the founder of what is now known as the Riddle Coach & Hearse Company, one of the impor- tant industrial concerns of the Western Re- serve, and as a citizen and business man he has ever manifested the utmost loyalty and public spirit, the while he has attained to dis- tinctive success through his well ordered en- deavors in connection with normal and benefi- cent lines of enterprise.
Henry Warner Riddle was born in the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of Feb- ruary, 1838, and is a son of Hugh and Eliza- beth (Thornburg) Riddle. Hugh Riddle was born in the north of Ireland, and was a son of John H. and Mary (Thornburg) Riddle, both of whom were natives of Scotland and representatives of stanch old families of the land of "brown hills and shaggy wood." When he was five years of age his parents' immi- grated to the United States, in 1805, and the family home was established in Pittsburg soon after the arrival in America. There Hugh Riddle was reared to manhood, receiving a common-school education and in his youth serving a thorough apprenticeship at the trade of stone mason. His father was likewise a stone mason and eventually became a success- ful contractor and builder, and in the work of his trade he assisted in the construction of many buildings and other structures in Pitts- burg including the stone work of the Sixth street bridge. He also did some of the stone work on the old state penitentiary in Alle- gheny, now a part of the city of Pittsburg.
Like his father, Hugh Riddle became a suc- cessful contractor in the work of his trade, and in course of time he built up a large and profit- able business in Pittsburg, where he continued to maintain his home until his death, as did also his wife. He attained to the age of sev- enty years and was a man of sterling charac- ter, so that he ever commanded uniform confi- dence and esteem. He was a Democrat in politics and he and his wife held membership in the First Presbyterian church. Elizabeth (Thornburg) Riddle, mother of Henry W. of this review, was born in the village of Clin- ton, about nineteen miles distant from the city of Pittsburg, and was a daughter of James Thornburg, who likewise was a native of Pennsylvania ; he was of Irish descent and was a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of the old Keystone state. Hugh and Eliza- beth (Thornburg) Riddle became the parents of four sons and four daughters, and six of the number attained to years of maturity.
Henry W. Riddle, whose name initiates this review, was reared to maturity in his native city, to whose common schools he is indebted for his early educational training. When thir- teen years of age he entered upon an appren- ticeship to the trade of coach-making, and he served four years, within which he became a specially skillful artisan in this line of work. For five years after the completion of his ap- prenticeship he was employed as a journey- man at his trade, and within this interval he held positions in the cities of New Orleans, Nashville, St. Louis and Cincinnati.
In the year 1861 Mr. Riddle took up his resi- dence in Ravenna, with whose industrial and civic affairs he has continued to be intimately identified during all the long intervening years. Soon after his arrival he engaged in the manu- facturing of coaches and hearses, beginning. operations on a modest scale and directing his energies with such ability and according to such correct business methods that the enter- prise was soon established upon a substantial basis. He effected the organization of the Merts & Riddle Company, and under this titie the business was successfully continued for a period of about thirty-two years, at the ex- piration of which a reorganization took place. under the present title of the Riddle Coach & Hearse Company. He is president of this company and maintains a general supervision of its executive affairs, as well as the practical operations of the plant, which is large and finely equipped, having the best of modern
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machinery and accessories for the facile prose- cution of the manufacturing in all departments. The finest grade of work is turned out and the products of the concern are sold in all sec- tions of the Union, thus contributing materi- ally to the commercial prestige of Ravenna, in whose progress and prosperity Mr. Riddle has ever maintained a lively and helpful in- terest. He is a stockholder in the Ravenna National Bank, and is a member of its directo- rate. He has contributed in liberal measure to the material upbuilding of his home city, in which he has erected a number of substan- tial business blocks and dwelling houses of the better order.
From the time of attaining to his legal ma- jority to the present Mr. Riddle has been aligned as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and while he has never sought or desired public office he has given his sup- port to all enterprises and measures tending to advance the civic and material welfare of the city which has so long represented his home and been the center of his interests. He is known and honored as one of the progressive and thoroughly representative business men of the fine old Western Reserve, and maintains a secure hold upon the confidence and esteen of the community with whose interests he has been identified for nearly a half century. He and his wife hold membership in the Congre- gational church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the degree of master Mason, besides which he holds membership in the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In 1865 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Riddle to Miss Emily H. Robinson, daughter of the late George Robinson, who was a promi- nent banker and influential citizen of Ravenna. Mr. and Mrs. Riddle have four children : Bes- sie is the wife of Frederick Pallsgraff, of Ra- venna; Forman is now a resident of Mexico, where he is identified with the development of the rubber industry ; Amy H. is the wife of Hon. Carl Merrell, of Glens Falls, New York; and Henry Warner, Jr., is associated with his father's business interests.
EDITH M. (HOOVER) TURNER .- The cit- izenship of Portage county, Ohio, includes the name of Edith M. Turner, whose home is in Edinburg township. She was born on
October 30, 1883, a daughter of Hoseah and Mary (Cope) Hoover, she being one of their twelve children. They were native born son and daughter of the Buckeye state, and were married in August of 1859. Their daughter, Edith, remained with them until her marriage on August 17, 1901, to Harry Turner, and the one child of this union is a daughter, Ida. She is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society.
CHARLES H. WILLYARD is a descendant of one of the first settlers to seek a home in Por- tage county, and from the period of its earliest development down to the present time the name has been prominently associated with the agri- cultural interests of the county. In the early part of the year of 1800 Benjamin and Eliza- beth (Eatinger) Willyard, natives of Pennsyl- vania, sought a home in the then new com- munity of Portage county, and they were among the very first to locate in Rootstown township. They were the paternal grand- parents of Charles H., and just a few years later his maternal grandparents, the Welks, came to Ohio and located in Springfield town- ship of Mahoning county. These families were later united by the marriage of Andrew Will- yard and Susan Welk, who became the parents of Charles H. Willyard, and they were born respectively in Ravenna township, Portage county, Ohio, and in Pennsylvania, she having come with her parents to this state. After their marriage they located on a farm two and a half miles southwest of Ravenna, the land being then almost entirely covered with tim- ber, but in time the large tracts of timber gave place to fertile and well tilled fields, and in time Mr. Willyard enlarged the boundaries of the farm until it contained about 167 acres, all well adapted to farming purposes with the ex- ception of twenty acres of swamp land. A splendid residence was erected on the farm in 1869, and there Mrs. Willyard passed away in death in 1897, and her husband just one year later, in 1898. Of their children three sons and two daughters lived to years of maturity and are: Charles H., mentioned below ; Judson, whose home is in Jamestown, North Dakota ; Clara, the wife of Richard Deizman, of Bel- lingham, Washington: Calvin, of the same place ; and Catherine, the wife of Perry Clark, of Ravenna township.
Charles H. Willyard, who was born in Ra- venna township, Portage county. September II, 1859, has always resided on the old Will-
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yard homestead in the township of his birth, and he now owns sixty-one acres of the home place and fifty-six acres of the old farm which belonged to his grandfather's estate, and he follows a general line of farming and stock- raising, raising Norman and Percheron horses. He has a fine large barn, forty by seventy-six feet, with an L twenty by forty-two feet and eighteen foot posts, and he has also greatiy re- modeled the farm home.
Mr. Willyard married on December 26, 1887, Ida Ihmsen, born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Augustus and Dorcas ( Bennett ) Johnson, also from that state. The children of this union are: Earl Raymond, born September 8, 1888; Juanita and Zeta, twins, born August 5, 1890, and the latter died at the age of two years ; and Dorcas, born February 16, 1907. Mr. Willyard votes with the Democracy, and he has served his township as a member of the school board.
JAMES FAIRCHILD SMITH .- The emigration from New England to Ohio was quite general in the earlier part of the nineteenth century, Connecticut, especially, sending forth many of her most enterprising citizens to found homes for themselves and families in this new and unbroken country. Noteworthy among the number coming here during that period was James Fairchild Smith, who was born, Jan- uary 19, 1801, in Waterbury, Connecticut, and there lived until eighteen years old. In March, 1819, in company with Mr. and Mrs. Levi Smith, David Holbrook, and John Pierson, he came to Ohio, traveling with horses and wagon to Albany, crossing the Hudson river on ice, then journeying with sled to Erie, from there coming to Painesville, Lake county, with a wagon, being twenty-four days in making the trip.
The ensuing seven years James F. Smith lived in Kirtland with Elijah Smith, receiving scant wages for his labor. He subsequently worked five years in Grandison Newell's chair factory, after which he served an apprentice- ship at the cooper's trade with Rev. Elijah Ward, who lived near Willoughby. On marry- ing, he bought a farm in Concord township, assuming a mortgage, which he and his young wife, who was a thrifty little housekeeper. versed in the domestic arts, and not at all afraid of work, soon paid off. Energetic and enterprising, he built a cooper's shop near his house, and at night, after the day's work in the field was well accomplished, or in the early morning, before the rising of the sun, the
blows of his hammer could be heard as he fashioned barrels.
Mr. Smith took great pride in constantly adding to the improvements on his place, and a fence, "ten rails high, staked and capped," was one of the notable objects on his farm. He was successful as a stock raiser, his flock of 300 sheep proving a good source of revenue when the Civil war broke out.
Mr. Smith married, in 1832, Caroline White, a daughter of John White, who, in 1822, emi- grated from Granville, New York, to Kirtland, Ohio, with his family. Three children blessed their union, namely: James Hanford; Flora Ann ; and Mary Z., who died at the early age of nineteen years. Mrs. Smith died on the home farm, in Concord township, in 1873, but Mr. Smith lived until 1894, being tenderly cared for at the home of his son, James Han- ford Smith.
James Hanford Smith was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits during his active life, living either on the parental homestead or in Char- don township. He was a man of many virtues and few vices, much respected for his kindly nature and genial disposition, and was ever ready to lighten life's troubles with a cheering story, or a tune on his loved violin. He died in 1896, and his widow, whose maiden name was Nancy J. Burr, still occupies the home farm, in Chardon township.
Flora Ann Smith was educated in the public schools of Concord, living contentedly and happy at home until sixteen years old. Going then to Derby, Connecticut, to visit her grand- mother, and her Aunt Mary Smith, she made the acquaintance of a most estimable young man, Frederick E. Colburn, of Ansonia, Con- necticut, who wooed and won her, persuading her that Connecticut was a most pleasant place to live. She never lost her love, however, for ner old home in Concord, making frequent visits here to her friends and relatives. She died in 1904, leaving four children, namely : Ruby, wife of W. W. Baldwin, of Florence, Italy ; Elizabeth, wife of Rev. E. T. Mathison ; Sylvester Colburn, of New Haven, Connecti- cut ; and Fairchild Smith Colburn, now living on his grandfather's old home farm, in Con- cord, Ohio.
Fairchild S. Colburn was married in March, 1003, to Josephine Doncaster, daughter of John W. Doncaster, of Leroy township. He is a thrifty farmer of this township and a de- scendant of English ancestors. Josephine Don- caster first married Furman Dunkle, who was
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accidentally killed on the railroad. Two chil- dren were born to them: Meldred and Emily, both at home with their mother.
THOMAS KOHLER CASSIDY, M. D .- During many years the name of Cassidy has been asso- ciated with the medical profession of Medina county, for here the father, Dr. James H. Cas- sidy, was a skilled practitioner of the com- munity for many years, and the son is uphold- ing. the prestige of the name in the profession. Dr. James H. Cassidy received his medical course at the old University of Wooster in 1869, and coming to Sharon Center he prac- ticed here for thirty-five years and died in 1905, one of the most valued of the early mem- bers of the medical profession in Medina coun- ty. He was also an honored veteran of the Civil war, having served with the One Hun- dred and Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry for three years in General Thomas' army. He was also with Sherman in the Tennessee campaign, and he was wounded in an engagement in North Carolina in 1865. His wife bore the maiden name of Arrathuca Case, and she was born in the old Case homestead, the most sub- stantial landmark of Sharon Center.
This old homestead also served as the birth- place of Thomas K. Cassidy on October 20, 1873, and adopting the profession of his father he has become his able successor in Medina county and the incumbent of his considerable and important practice. He was educated in the schools of Sharon Center, and at Buchtel College, Akron, and prepared for his profes- sional life in the Western Reserve University at Cleveland, where he graduated with the class of 1897 and with the degree of M. D. Since the period of his graduation he practiced at Sharon Center, and gained distinction in the line of his chosen calling.
He married Miss Florence Beach, from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, a daughter of C. H. Beach, and they have a son, Blake B. Dr. Cassidy is a member of the Masonic order, and is also associated with the Medina ' County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical So- ciety and the American Medical Association.
HON. THADDEUS W. FANCHER .- Distin- guished not only for his personal worth and integrity. but for his able administration of public affairs in various official capacities, Hon. Thaddeus W. Fancher, ex-postmaster and ex- mayor of the city of Lorain, holds an assured position among the most esteemed and valned
citizens of Lorain county. A son of William Fancher, he was born February 25, 1839, at Greenwich, Huron county, Ohio, coming from honored New England ancestry.
His grandfather, Thaddeus Fancher, a na- tive of Stamford, Connecticut, married Sally Mead, daughter of General Mead, of Revo- lutionary fame, and a descendant of a noted Connecticut family, and in the early part of the nineteenth century moved to New York state. In 1817 he came to Ohio on a prospecting tour, located land in Huron county, after which he went back to his New York home. In1 1819,' accompanied by his wife and seven children, he returned to Huron county, making the trip through the almost pathless woods with a wagon hauled by a yoke of oxen and a horse hitched to a buggy. In the pioneer labor of redeeming a farm from the wilderness he was very successful, in the course of time becoming an extensive landholder and giving, to each of his children a farm.
William Fancher was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1811, and at eight years of age came with the family to Huron county, Ohio, where he assisted in clearing the land as soon as able to wield an axe. He married Mary Vanscoy, a native of Geauga county, Ohio. In 1868 he moved with his family to Hillsdale county, Michigan, and there both he and his wife spent their remaining years, at death being buried in the Camden cemetery in that state.
Brought up and educated in Huron county, Thaddeus W. Fancher settled in Michigan in 1862, and was there a resident for ten years. Returning to his native state in 1872, he located in Lorain, then a village known as Black River. During the next few years, while this enter- prising place was rapidly growing in size and importance, he was actively engaged in con- tracting and building, subsequently carrying on a substantial hardware business. His ability becoming recognized, he was soon called upon to fill public offices, and has since held many responsible positions. He has always been a stanch Republican. Twenty years ago Mr. Fancher did all of the assessing for the city and township, and ten years later was one of six members of the Decennial Board of Assessors, while at the present time, in 1910, he is a mem- ber and the president of the Board of Review of the city of Lorain. He has served as treas- urer of both the city and the township, and for ten years he was a member of the Board of Education, serving as its president six years
Mary Mr. artisan.
Lotman
11
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of the time. Mr. Fancher has rendered the city excellent service as councilman, and in 1878 was elected mayor of Lorain. In 1880 he was appointed, by President Garfield, postmaster at Lorain, and served faithfully until the first Cleveland administration. He was again made postmaster by President Harrison, and again went out of office as the second Cleveland ad- ministration came in. Again, for the third time, Mr. Fancher was made postmaster at Lorain, receiving his commission from Presi- dent Mckinley ; thus to him belongs the unique distinction of having been appointed to the same office by three different presidents of the United States.
Mr. Fancher was one of the directorate of the Citizens' Savings and Banking Company of Lorain, and to him was delegated the task of settling up the affairs of that defunct insti- tution. He has been a director of the Penfield Avenue Savings Bank since its organization. He was raised to the degree of Master Mason soon after the age of twenty-one years in Floral Lodge, No. 62, at Fitchville, Ohio, the lodge later being moved to New London. After removing to Michigan he became a member of the lodge at Palo, that state, and was a char- ter member of the lodge at Carson City, Mich- igan. After removing to Ohio he became a member of King Solomon's Lodge at Elyria, and then became a charter member of Lorain Lodge, F. & A. M., at Lorain, of which he be- came the third master of the lodge. He took the Royal Arch degrees in Marshall Chapter at Elyria and subsequently became a charter member of Mystic Chapter at Lorain, becom- ing the second high priest. He is a member of Cleveland Council, R. & S. M., Holyrood Com- mandery, Knights Templar, Lake Consistory and Al Koran Temple, Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Fancher married Ermina G., daughter of Riley and Philena (Washburn) Griffin, the former of whom was born, in 1812, in Greene county, New York, and the latter in Ulster county, New York, in 1817. Mr. and Mrs. Fancher are the parents of two children, name- ly : Elvadore R., vice president of the Union National Bank of Cleveland ; and Millicent A., wife of Charles J. Tiffany, postmaster at Clyde, Ohio.
WILLIAM EDWIN ARTMAN, of Wadsworth, Medina county, Ohio, was born April 14, 1852, in Turbot township, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, near what is known as the Foll- mer Evangelical Lutheran church. His father,
Charles Artman, and mother, Anna Maria Mc- Knight, were natives of the same township, whose parents originally emigrated to the United States from Germany and Scotland respectively during the latter part of the eight- eenth century. Charles Artman's occupation was farming, supplemented in his younger days by teaching in the common schools of the township during the winter months, and his entire life was spent upon the land on which he located shortly after his marriage. A Democrat in politics, he was an uncompro- mising unionist and foe to slavery; a stanch member of the Lutheran church and efficient officer, and left his imprint upon the commu- nity as a man of integrity and honor, a good citizen, a kind neighbor, and one who helped elevate his associates to a higher plane of liv- ing.
At the age of twelve years William Edwin Artman, the subject of this sketch, left home and started out in the world for himself, by engaging with a farmer of the neighborhood to work for his board and clothes, and with whom he remained about three years, acquir- ing such education as could be obtained in the schools of the vicinity during the winter months, and following various occupations until the age of twenty-one, when he came to Ohio, locating in Akron. At this place he secured employment, and after a short time commenced attending a school of telegraphy in the evening, and upon completion of the course secured employment on what was then known as the Atlantic & Great Western Rail- way, continuing with the company through its many changes (until finally merged into the Erie Railway) for a period of fifteen years, as station agent and telegrapher at various points on the line, and acquiring in this time a prac- tical and valuable training in the business vir- tues of promptness, reliability and integrity.
During the year 1889 he severed his con- nection with the Erie Railway and identified himself with the Garfield Injector Company by purchasing an interest therein, was elected to the board of directors and made secretary and treasurer of the company. By untiring indus- try, ably assisted by the board of directors, he helped place the company upon a sound finan- cial basis, and in a short time it became the leading industry of the village. It is now known as the Ohio Injector Company and en- joys the distinction of being the largest manu- facturer of locomotive and steam engine appli- ances in the state. Out of this establishment
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as a nucleus three large manufacturing plants have grown : the Ohio Match, Salt and Box- Board Company, with factories in Wadsworth, Rittman and Cleveland. In these companies he assisted in their organization, was a liberal contributor of time and money to each, and served on the board of directors and in an official capacity. They now have combined assets of over three million dollars.
In finance he is connected with the Wads- worth National and the Rittman Savings banks, both of which are growing institutions and enjoy the complete confidence of the public.
For the betterment of conditions in the vil- lage and to assist the people in securing the benefits of modern improvements, and with rates as low as consistent with good and effi- cient service, he assisted in the organization of the Wadsworth Light and Water and Tele- phone companies, serving each of these at vari- ous times in an official capacity. In civic life the interests of the village at all times received his attention, continually contending for im- provement of the streets, beautifying of the parks, elevation of the public schools and un- compromising hostility to the liquor traffic.
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