USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Memorial record of the county of Cuyahoga and city of Cleveland, Ohio, Pt.1 > Part 63
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September 14, 1861, he was united in mar- riage with Jerusha C. Kinsley, a daughter of Prentice Kinsley, who was born September 5, 1801, and who came from Middlebury, Ver- mont, to Vienna, Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1832. Hle traveled over the Western Reserve as a Methodist minister. In 1863 he embarked
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in the grocery business in Cleveland, but in 1869 engaged in the same ocenpation at Inde- pendence. Ile afterward sold his store to Mr. Bushnell, with whom he made his home until his death, November 20, 1887. Ile was married January 12, 1821, to Ruby M. Aiken, who was born at Barnard, Vermont, February 28, 1803, and died at Independence, Ohio, Anno 1, 1855. Mr. and Mrs. Kinsley had three children: Ruby A., Alma S. and Jernsha C. Mr. and Mrs. Bushnell had two children: Mary L., who was married December 1, 1886, to Fred W. Merkle, and Jennie E., who was married September 30, 1891, to Leonard Merkle, who now owns the store, representing the third generation. Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Merkle also have two chil- dren: Florence Bushmell and Charles Henry.
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Mr. Bushnell was a Republican in political matters. The family are members of the Pres- byterian Church.
L EWIS FORD, formerly a farmer and later a gardener, and residing at 51 May- field street, Cleveland, was born in Cum- mingtou, Hampshire county, Massachusetts, February 20, 1806. His parents, Hezekiah and IInldah (Cobb) Ford, were both natives of the Bay State: the father, a farmer, died at the age of eighty-nine years, and his father, also named Ilezekiah, lived to be ninety-one years old. Mr. Ford's mother died September 11, 1835, at the age of seventy-one years. Mr. Ford is the youngest of nine children, five of whom died in early life. Ansel, who was born in 1788, died December 21, 1858; Darins and Cyrus, twins, born May 16, 1790; Darius died April 6, 1859, and Cyrus, the father of Horace and Francis Ford, died April 13, 1864. These sons all emigrated to Ohio previous to 1853.
Mr. Lewis Ford, the only one of the family now living, was a farmer in Massachusetts, a Selectman (Trustee), tanght school some five terms, -- in which calling he succeeded well, as one of his pupils (his wife) can testify! Ile
was married September 11, 1832, to Miss Christia B. Lyman, daughter of John C. and Susan (Burgess) Lyman, of Massachusetts. She was born in May, 1805. Their children were: The first-born died unnamed.
John, who died at the age of sixteen months.
John (second), born November 19, 1835, is the only one still living. He married Naney Phillips, of East Cleveland.
Lewis, born July 1, 1837, died June 7, 1854, from an injury received on the railway.
Frank James, born August 2, 1839, died Jnne 26, 1876. Ile married Letitia Smith and had one child, Ida, now the wife of Alfred Plant.
Orville D., born October 2, 1840, died Octo- ber 6, 1879, in Colorado, on his way home from Utah, where he had mining interests. He mar- ried Elizabeth Maxwell, and their three children are Lyman A., and Florence E. and Flora A., twins, who died at ten years of age.
Ellery C., born April 27, 1842, died January 31, 1888. He married Miss Julia Prentice, and Clara, wife of Charles Nesbit, is their only child. Whilea student at Oberlin College, in 1861, Ellery C. enlisted as a private and served during the war, in the infantry, and returned from the field a Colonel, having been promoted because of conspienons acts of gallantry on the field of battle. After leaving the army he was ap- pointed to a clerkship in the General Land Office at Washington, District of Columbia, ultimately becoming Chief of the Mineral Division, some years ago resigned and entered on the practice of law, in connection with land cases, and had great success, being an expert in land matters, and finally died in Le Droit Park, in Washington, from disease having its origin in army life. He was a prominent Mason, attaining to the highest honors in the gift of his brethren: he was an exceedingly popular man. Frank James also enlisted for the war at the same time, also as a private, being previously a member of the Cleveland Grays, and was promoted from rank to rank until he became Major. He served during the war and died from disease contracted in the army. Ida Plant has one
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child, Frankie, who is now (1893) four years of age; she is the great-grandchild of the subject of this sketch, and the only one.
The mother of these children died July 29, 1864, and Mr. Ford, for his second wife, mai- ried, April 7, 1871, Mrs. Florintha Bates, widow of the late Isaac Bates, of Massachu- setts, and daughter of Jacob and Olive Whit- marsh, of the same State. She had two chil- dren by Mr. Bates, who died September 22, 1862, at the age of fifty-two years; these chil- dren are Theodore M., who married Olive Cozad and has four children, -Clifford W., Rosamond, Stanlee T., and Russell C .; and Newton W., who married Gertrude Cassell. ' Mrs. Ford's first husband was Veren Dawes, and by her first marriage she had two children,-Martha L. and Charles W .: the former died in 1888, aged fifty years, and the latter is a resident of Cum- mington, Massachushusetts. Mr. Dawes died November 28, 1813.
Mr. Ford, our subject, and his wife are both members of the Congregational Church. He is an ardent Republican, and one of the best of men. Being nearly eighty-eight years of age, he is becoming blind, but his mind is clear and is as jovial as most men are at forty.
H ERMAN L. MORGAN, a farmer and stock dealer, was born in the house where he still resides, No. 221 Union street, November 4, 1832, a son of Youngs L. and Caroline (Thomas) Morgan, natives of Connecticut.
The founder of the family in America, James Morgan, came from Wales in 1640, and located in Connectient. Our subject's grandfather, Youngs L. Morgan, and lus wife's grandfather, Major Minor Spicer, were from the same local- ity in Connecticut. The two families, also the Fish family, came in covered wagons to Ohio in 1811, and were thirty-six days on the road. Youngs Morgan and his sons purchased three
farms from General Perkins, the agent of the Connecticut Land Company, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Youngs L. Mor- gan, Jr., the father of our subject, was born in Connectient, October 3, 1797. In September, 1811, he came to Ohio, locating on the farm where our subject still resides. Occasionally, from 1814 to 1818, he ent and sold wood where Long, Champlain and Michigan streets are now located, which he exchanged for boots, shoes and clothing. Ile assisted in clearing Broad- way, and was foreman of 200 men during the construction of the Ohio canal. In 1822 Mr. Morgan engaged in the fur trade with John Jacob Astor, went to the Lake of the Woods, where their sleds were drawn by dogs, also trav- eled 500 miles on snow shoes withont seeing a white man! They were obliged to kill their dogs for food, and afterward gave $50 for a bushel of corn!
Mr. Morgan was a consin of Senator Edwin Morgan, who will be remembered as having come to the rescue of Senator Charles Sumner when brutally attacked by Senator Brooks, of South Carolina. Mr. Morgan was a warm friend of Garfield, and the latter partook of his hospitality while preaching or speaking in cam- paigns in Ohio. Youngs Morgan was married September 25, 1828, to Caroline Thomas, a daughter of Anthony and Mary Thomas. The father died in New York, and the mother in Cleveland. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan had live children, three of whom died young. One son, C. C. Morgan, is engaged in the real-estate business in Cleveland. Youngs Morgan died June 22, 1888, aged ninety-one years. llis widow still resides in this city, aged eighty-five years.
Herman L., the subject of this sketeb, was reared on a farm, and received his education at Hiram College. After leaving the college he returned to the old homestead, remaining there until it became a part of the city of Cleveland, and has since been engaged in the real-estate business. For the past six years he has been Trustee of Hiram College, and is also a mem-
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ber of the Cleveland Disciple Union, which as- sists in the establishing and care of churches not self-supporting.
Mr. Morgan was married September 30, 1887, to Miss Sarah HI. Smith, who was born in Akron, Ohio, November 28, 1835, a daughter of" Warren HI. and Lydia Smith, members of old Connectient families. The father was born in that State, and came to Ohio with his parents, Moses and Sarah Smith, in 1826. The mother came to this State in 1811, and is still living, aged eighty-three years. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had two children. Their son, Harrison D., is a well-known wholesale confectionery manfac- titrer of Cincinnati. He married Kate Bevis, a member of an old family of that city, and they have two daughters, -Eleanor and Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have had five children, three now living: Cora M., wife of Noyes P. Gallup, who was born and raised in the same locality in Connectient as the Morgans, and is now an insurance agent of Cleveland; Alice M., wife of W. Gnenther, an attorney of this city, and they have one son, P. Morgan; and Julia Katherine, at home. Two sons died in infaney. The family are members of the Chris- tian Church, in which both Mr. Morgan and his father have held the office of Elder. In political matters, Mr. Morgan votes with the Republican party.
M M. SPANGLER, a malt manufacturer, Nos. 28, 30 and 32, Michigan street, Cleveland, Ohio, was born in Stark connty, this State, October 6, 1813, son of Michael and Elizabeth (Miller) Spangler. Ilis father, a native of Pennsylvania, came by wagon from York county, that State, to Ohio in 1800, and was among the early pioneers of the Western Reserve. He followed farming until 1819, when he came to Cleveland, at that time a town of abont 200 inhabitants; and became proprietor of the tavern known as The Com- mercial, on Superior street, where the Miller
block now stands. This tavern he conducted until he retired from active labor, when he pur- chased a farm in East Cleveland, where he spent the closing years of his life, and died in 1838, at the age of fifty-six. His wife was born in the State of Maryland, and lived to the advanced age of ninety-one years. She died in Cleveland in 1880. They were the parents of six children, namely: Margaret, who married Joseph K. Miller; Catharine, wife of William Lemon; M. M., our subject; Captain Bazil L .; Mary, wife of Thomas Lemon; and Harriet, ummarried. . M. M. is the only one of this fam- ily who is now living. Bazil L., a merchant by ocenpation, was a Quartermaster during the late war. His death ocenrred in 1885, at the age of sixty-nine years.
M. M. Spangler followed the hatter's trade for a number of years. In 1837 he engaged in merchandising at Monroe, Michigan, and sub- segmently returned to Cleveland and entered the coal trade. During the years 1841 '12 he served as Treasurer of Cleveland township. He was City Treasurer two years, Chief Engineer of the Fire Department three years, and a member of the Council from the Third ward. Although a stanch Republican, he was elected from a strong Democratic community. Nor are these all the public positions he filled. In 1854 he was made Sheriff of Cuyahoga county, which office he held two terms. It was during his ineum- beney that Parks was hung for the murder of a man in Summit county. Since retiring from that office, Mr. Spangler has been engaged in the mamifacture of malt.
Mr. Spangler was married, November 29, 1839, to Miss Debora Ann Potts, who was born at Niagara, Canada, in 1820, daughter of Richard Potts. She is a member of the Epiph- any Church, of Cleveland. Fraternally, Mr. Spangler is identified with the F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F.
George M., the only son of M. M. and Deb- ora Ann Spangler, was born in 1812. Hle at- tended the public schools of his native city, Cleveland, and afterward the Inmiston In-
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stitute on the Heights. After completing his edneation he was employed as clerk in a whole- sale shoe store. He was just merging into manhood when the war broke out, and May 26, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Company E, Eighty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Ile served on picket and garrison duty at Harper's Ferry for three months. In May, 1864, he re. enlisted in Company E', One Hundred and Fif- tieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was ap- pointed Third Sergeant of his company. He was in the fortifications at Washington when the Rebels attempted to take the city, and was with his regiment on guard from the Potomae to Georgetown. After his 100-day service expired, Mr. Spangler returned to Cleveland. He con- timmed to clerk until 1869. That year he re- ceived an appointment in the Assessor's office, and subsequently was in the Internal Revenue office of this city. Four years later he resnmed the position of elerk in Captain Paddock's store. In 1878 the firm of Holly & Spangler was formed. and for two years did a snecessful busi- ness, dealing in hats, caps and furs. At the end of that time Mr. Spangler disposed of his interest in the store, and has since been engaged with his father in the manufacture of malt, under the firm name of M. M. & George M. Spangler.
George M. Spangler was married in 1868 to Miss Ella A. Kinney, a native of Rensselaer county, New York. They have two sons: Kinney M., who married Clara Belle DeForest, of Rensselaer county, New York; and George M., Jr., a student in the Spencerian Business College.
W ILLIAM AIKEN, deceased, was for many years a prominent farmer and highly repected citizen of Cuyahoga connty, Ohio. He was born in Middlesex county, Connectient, May 6, 1808, and when four years of age was brought by his parents, George and Tamson (Higgins) Aiken, to the county in which he spent the rest of his life and
died. It was in 1812 that they came here, and their settlement was at what is now Brooklyn. George Aiken was born Angust 4, 1766, and departed this life February 18, 1844; and his wife, born November 7, 1768, lacked one day of being ninety-one years old at the time of her death. Their children, all now deceased, were as Follows: Serel, Jorad, Irad, Julia, Lury, Caro- line and William.
William Aiken and his brother bought 114 acres of land in the vicinity of the Infirmary, the ground occupied by that institution also being included in the traet, the purchase price of this tract being ten shillings per aere. Sixty acres of this land were sold in 1891 for $60,000. Indeed the whole tract bas been sold and is now ocenpied by beautiful homes, forming one of the most delightful portions of the city. Here the subject of our sketch spent nearly the whole of his life. His death ocenrred April 16, 1875, aged sixty-seven years. Ile was well known thronghont the county, and all who knew him respected him for his many sterling qualities of mind and heart. In politics he took little in- terest, and never sought or accepted office, but his vote was always cast with the Republican party.
Mr. Aiken was married March 6, 1832, to Miss Betsey Clark, who was born May 17, 1812, daughter of Joseph and Hamah (Cole) Clark, natives of Connectient. Her father died in that State in June, 1831, aged sixty-four years; and her mother passed away in 1833, also at the age of sixty-four. Mr. and Mrs. Clark were the parents of ten children, viz .: Joseph, who married Clarissa Dickinson; Corey, who married Mary Skinner; Diodate, who mar- ried Caroline Aiken, a sister of William Aiken; Mary, wife of Joseph Brainard; Phebe, wife of Warren Ely; Lydia, wife of Sylvanns Brooks; Hannah, second wife of Sylvanns Brooks; Ruth, wile of Isaac Robinson; Maria, wife of Erastns Smith; and Betsey. Mrs. Betsey Aiken is the only one of this family who survives. She is the mother of seven children, as follows: An- drew, further mention of whom is found in an-
Robert Saw.
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other sketch; Harrison, who married Hattie Bets and has two children, is engaged in farm- ing in Portage county, Ohio; Hannah, wife of Hubbard Hill, Wisconsin, has nine children; Caroline, wife of Harrison James, Cleveland, has three children; George, who has been twice married -- first to a Miss James and after her death to Jane Cowen-has seven children, his home being in Cleveland; Engene, who is mar- ried and living in the West; and Nellie. One son, Irad, died at the age of two years.
Mrs. Betsey Aiken represents the old Clark family in honor of whom Clark avenne, in Cleveland, is named. She is growing old gracefully, and although she has now reached her eightieth mile-post she is still young in feeling and sympathy. Her circle of friends is as large as her circle of acquaintances, and as one of the most worthy of pioneer women of Cleveland she is held in the highest esteem.
H ENRY P. FOOTE, a farmer of Dover township, is a son of the late Ransom Foote, who was born iu Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, February 15, 1803, and was brought by his father, David Foote, in 1515, to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, who settled in the northwestern part of Dover town- ship and lived there until his death. On arriving at the estate of manhood Mr. Ransom Foote married, March 28, 1824, Miss Catherine Porter, who was born in Waterbury, Con- nectieut, November 16, 1806, and whose father, Asahel Porter, emigrated to this State in 1810, settling also in Dover township. Mr. Ransom Foote continued to reside on the old homestead of his father until his death, which occurred October 11, 1846. His wife died April 6, 1886. They had twelve children, namely: Lavias 11., deceased; Betsey, deceased; Ran- som; Angeline, deceased; Laura, the widow of Alfred G. Bright; Emeline, the wife of Thomas Liggett, of Cleveland; Asahel; Catharino;
Maryette, widow of David Miller; Statira, de- ceased; Henry P., our subject; Abigail, the widow of Thomas Niles.
Mr. Foote, whose name heads this sketch, was born in Dover township April 21, 1844; was reared on his father's farm, and has all his life resided in his native township excepting the seven years he lived in Berca. He attended Baldwin University at Berea three years. Farming is his occupatiou, and he owns eighty- eight acres of the old homestead. He has been active in local offices, as well as in official rela- tions in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
R OBERT LAW, one of the prominent and well to-do farmers of Mayfield township, Cuyahoga county, is ranked with the self made men of the county. Mr. Law was born in Belfast, Ireland, July 4, 1821, son of David Law, also a native of that place. David Law was a miller by trade, which he followed on the Emerald Isle for several years. About 1835 he emigrated to America, and located on a frontier farm in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and here in the midst of the forest he built a log cabin aud settled down to agricultural pursuits. His wife, uce Alice Willis, was also a native of Ireland. Both died a few years after coming to this country, he at the age of fifty-four years, and she at forty-five. They were the parents of nine chil- dren, five sons and four daughters, all of whom reached adult years, Robert being the sixth child and youngest son.
As above stated, Mr. Law is a self-made man. When he was fourteen years old he started ont to make his way in the world as a sailor, and ere long was promoted to the position of chief mate on a sailing vessel, running between New York and China. He also ran between other ports, and followed the sea for a mumber of years, up to 1851, when he came back to Cuya- hoga county, Ohio, and located in Mayfield township. Here he bought the farm upon
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which he now resides, it being but little im- proved at that time. Here his earnest efforts have been attended with success, and while he has been successful he has also met with mis- fortunes. In 1879 he was burned out and sus- tained a loss of about $10,000. Previous to this time he had for twenty-two years run a large cheese factory, making as high as a thon- sand cheese one month and no less than 9,000 pounds of butter. His farm comprises 233 acres of choice land, and its improvements are among the best in the township. He built his commodious and elegant residence in 1889, at a cost of $4,000.
Mr. Law was married in 1852 to Henrietta Clark, a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, who came to Ohio when she was quite young. They had nine children, seven daugh- ters and two sons: Ida, wife of A. A. Jerome, of Mayfield township. this county; Florence, at. home; Endora, wife of Fred Silsby, of East Cleveland; Carrie, wife of George Tinker, of Maxville, Ohio; Hattie, at home; Arthur, de- ceased; Willis, deceased; Fannie, deceased; and Nettie, wife of John Thompson, of Green Oak, Michigan. All were born on the farm on which Mr. Law now lives. Mrs. Law departed this life August 10, 1890. She was a woman of many sterling qualities, was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was loved by all who knew her. Mr. Law and his family are also members of the Methodist Church.
Politically, Mr. Law was a Democrat before the war, but since then has been identified with the Republican party.
S AMUEL GYNN, a representative farmer of Brecksville township, was born Sep- tember 20, 1835 in Huntingtonshire, England, in the town of St. Ives. His father, James Gynn, was a brickmaker by trade, and married Mary A. Hard, who also was a native of the same shire.
Mr. Gynn, our subject, received a common- school education and learned the trade of his father. At the age of nineteen, in the spring of 1854, he emigrated to the United States, sail- ing from Liverpool, England, on the ship De Witt Clinton, and landing at New York, and being seven weeks on the ocean. His brother had previously come to this country, locating in Cleveland, and, accompanied by another brother, Henry, he came on to this city. Samuel seenred work in the brickyard of William Mail, which was in Irwin's Gull, and continued there two years. Then he and two brothers, Henry and John, struck ont in the brick-mannfacturing business for themselves, near the site of the old paper-mill, where they continued for three years. Samuel next started in business for him- self, at the corner of Clark and Burton avenues, on the West Side, in Cleveland, and continned there for thirteen years, enjoying good success. From being a poor boy he has reached a com- petence.
His long cherished desire to become a farmer at length prompted him to purchase a farm, and in 1873 he came to Brecksville and purchased 211 acres of John Bramley, at a cost of $7,500, moved upon the place and has ever since occu- pied it, enjoying success in his favorite calling, the most honorable of all. His pleasant resi- dence is situated on a considerable elevation above other dwellings in the neighborhood, and from his beantiful place an inspiring view of magnificent distances can be had. Ile has made all his property by his own efforts, as when he first came to Cleveland he had not a cent. In his views of national issues he sides with the Republican party, taking great interest in the nation's welfare, although he is no seeker oľ office for himself. Hle and his estimable lady are members of the Congregational Church.
May 6, 1850, in Cleveland, he married Mar- tha Bramley, who was born May 7, 1839, in Nottinghamshire, England, a daughter of Matthew and Sarah (Aldershaw) Bramley, who emigrated to this country in 1844, being four- teen weeks on the ocean: the vessel was report.
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ed as lost with all on board. Mr. Gynn's children are: Sarah, now Mrs. William Palmer, of Cleveland; Mattie, who married William Kennedy, now also of Cleveland; Samuel, Jr., Julia. Arthur, Asa and Nellie. Samuel married Wimmiefred Star. of Brecksville. All the nn- married children still make their home with their parents.
A RTHUR ADAMS .- Few if any of Brecksville's old citizens are better known than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. His long residence in the township, with his many dealings with the public, has given him a wide and favorable acquaintance. He was born April 18, 1831, in Richliekl township, Summit county, Ohio, which joins Brecksville township, this county.
His father, Augustus Adams, was born in Litchfield conaty, Connecticut, where he re- ceived a meager education and was partly reared on a farm. In his youth he began to learn the blacksmith's trade, at Torrington, Connectient, and nearly completed his apprenticeship. In 1814, he bought the remainder of his time as apprentice for $50, giving his note, went to New Haven and worked a while in a Govern- inent factory there, where they manufactured cannon carriages; next he went to Goshen and " set up shop " awhile, and then started for the " far distant West," arriving in Richfield town- ship, Summit county, Ohio, to seek broader fields of opportunity for his fortune. He traveled with a wagon and one small horse, bringing his tools. His journey was a tedious one, beset with many obstacles and disappointments, which disciplined his wit and patience. Just before reaching his destination he found it necessary to ent down trees that stood defiantly in the way of his little horse and wagon. Arriving at his destination in Ohio, he " set np shop " and prospered in his work.
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