Twentieth Century History of Youngstown and Mahoning County Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 114

Author: Sanderson, Thomas W
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 993

USA > Ohio > Mahoning County > Youngstown > Twentieth Century History of Youngstown and Mahoning County Ohio and Representative Citizens > Part 114

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

On March 13. 1870, Mr. Kroeck was mar- ried to Susanna Smith, who was born De- cemler 1. 1849. Her father died in Germany as the result of an accident in a coal mine, and her mother subsequently married Henry Young, with whom she came to America: later they both died in Austintown township. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had two children. Philip and Susana. Oi Mrs. Smith's subsequent marriage to Mr. Young there were seven chil- dren. as follows: Angust, Lewis, Elizabeth, Inlia. Lena and Rose (deceased), and Wil- liam i deceased).

Mr. and Mrs. Kroeck have five children. namely : Catherine, who married Orvil llar- roff, residing at Alliance: William, who as- sists his father in the carriage shop and also conducts the hotel, married Daisy Diamond, and they have one son, Randall; Andrew, re- siding at Lowellville, married Jennie Foot;

Charles and Lewis, both of whom work in the shop, all of the sons being practical men and good citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Kroeck be- long to the Reformed Church.

OHN S. ORR, one of the old business men of Youngstown, a funeral direc- tor and embalmer for the last thirty- six years, with business location at Nos. 25-26 Phelps street, was born in 1842. at Mt. Jackson, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Orr was reared in his native place and at New Brighton until he was 17 years of age. In 1859 he came to Youngstown and began work as a carpenter, having previously learned this trade. He continued thus employed until 1862. when he enlisted for service in the Civil War, becoming a member of Company A, 142nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which became a part of the Army of the Potomac. Mr. Orr was seriously wounded at the first battle of Fredericksburg, after which he was made division foragemaster and served in that capacity until the close of the war. Upon his return to Youngstown he resumed work at his trade and so continued until 1869. when he embarked in a furniture business and also began that of undertaking. About three years later his furniture store was burned and since then he has given his exclusive attention to undertaking and embalming.

In 1803 Mr. Orr was married to Sarah Montgomery, a daughter of Joseph and Nancy Momgomery. They have four children : Faith Maud, who is the wife of C. H. Ken- medly, cashier of the Commercial National Bank : Sarah Bessie, who is residing at home; Nettie A., who is the wife of Dr. James C. Orwig, of Glenville, Ohio; and Fred Mont- gomery. The latter is his father's associate in business. He is a graduate of several embalin- ing institutions, including the Massachusetts College of Embalming.

Mr. Orr is identified prominently with the Masonic fraternity. Ile is a 32nd degree Mason and has passed through all the offices in the Conunandery. Ile belongs to the fol-

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lowing representative bodies: Western Star Lodge, No. 21, A. F. & A. M .; Youngstown Chapter No. 93. R. A. M .; St. John's Com- mandery, No. 20, K. T .; Lake Erie Consist- ory, A. A. S. R .; Royal Order of Scotland; and Al Koran Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Mr. Orr belongs also to the order of Odd Fel- lows, to the United Workmen and to Tod Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church at Youngstown.

A J. GILLESPIE, attorney-at-law, at Youngstown, practicing in the U'nited States District, Circuit and Supreme courts, and a member of the Mercer County, the Allegheny, and the Philadelphia Bar Associations, was horn March 9. 1861, at Greenville, Mercer County. Pennsylvania, and is a son of the late A. D. Gillespie.

A. D. Gillespie was born in Mercer Coun- ty. Pennsylvania, and was reared on the pa- ternal farm. His educational opportunities were only those afforded by the district school, but he prepared himself for the law and was admitted to the har in young manhood. For a number of years he practiced his profession. subsequently taking his two sous into part- nership under the firm name of A. D. Gilles- pie & Sons. He was more or less of a politi- cal factor in Mercer County, though he did not aspire to political honors. In 1885 his friends urged his candidacy for judge. For ten years he served as one of the burgesses at Greenville. His death occurred there in 1902, at the age of 80 years.

Eugene P. Gillespie, brother of A. J., and for a number of years, up to the time of his death, a member of the Mercer County bar. was educated in the University of Toronto. Canada, and at Allegheny College at Mead- ville, Pennsylvania, then studied law in his father's office. In 1890 he was elected to congress from the Greenville district, which was composed of Mercer, Beaver. Butler and Lawrence counties, and served with distinc-

tion. His death was caused by an accident on the Bessemer Railroad in 1899.

A. J. Gillespie was reared in his native place and was educated in the University of Toronto, Canada, and the University of Penn- sylvania, graduating from the latter institu- tion in 1886. For two years he practiced law in Philadelphia and then returned to Green- ville and entered into partnership with his father and brother, in the firm mentioned. He continued practicing law at Greenville until November, 1905, when he located at Youngs- town and formed a partnership with Mr. Guthman, under the style of Gillespie & Guth- man, which still continues.

Mr. Gillespie is the kind of citizen who is deeply interested in public affairs and local interests. For seven years he served as city solicitor of the borough of Greenville, and in 1904 his friends insisted on his accepting the nomination for judge in the 35th judicial dis- trict of Pennsylvania. After due considera- tion, however, Mr. Gillespie declined the honor.

In 1888 Mr. Gillespie was married to Ida M. Murray, who is a daughter of the late Henry Q. Murray, of Hartstown, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Fraternally he be- longs to the Masons and has passed all the chairs in the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery.

Although Mr. Gillespie has removed from Greenville to a wider field of business at Youngstown, he is still largely interested in real estate in the former city. is a stockholder in the People's Electric Light, Heat & Power Company, and owns a magnificent farm of 200 acres in Mercer County. His present resi- dence is at No. 154 Warren avenue, Youngs- town.

S AMUEL. A. McNEILLY, a prominent citizen of Ellsworth township, resid- ing on his valuable farm of 225 acres, was born in the northern part of Ellsworth township, two miles north of his present home, in Mahoning County, Ohio, November 15. 1839, and is a son of

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James and Elizabeth ( Trimble) McNeilly.

The parents of Mr. McNeilly were born in County Down, Ireland, about 1800, and both died in Ellsworth township. the father in 1848 and the mother in the fall of 1868. They were married in Ireland and when they came to this section they were among the earliest set- tlers. The timber on the land was so dense that James McNeilly could not build his log cabin until he had felled some trees. During the early days on the farm, wolves howled around the cabin at night so that the inmates could scarcely sleep. Later Mr. McNeilly built a frame house, and with the assistance of his sons. cleared up a farm. Eight children were born to James McNeilly and wife, four sous and four daughters, namely: Robert, who died in 1800; Margaret, deceased, who married E. P. Miller, residing in Ellsworth township; William, residing in Wayne town- ship. Ashtabula County, who married Lois Beardsley, now deceased; Eliza, deceased, who married Ward Dean, residing in Ellsworth township; Samuel A .; and three others, who are deceased.

Sammel A. McNeilly was reared on the home farm and attended the district schools. In 1861 he was married (first) to Mary Smith, daughter of Walter and Mary Ann Smith, the latter being of Scotch extrac- tion. Walter Smith was born in Connecticut and came to Ellsworth township in 1806. where he purchased 15 acres of land and start- ed the first tannery in Mahoning County. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had four daughters and three sons, namely : Eliza, Laura, Martha and Mary, Fitch, Samnel and Walter. Fitch died while studying for the ministry. Samuel Smith, deceased, was sheriff of Mahoning County in 1861. Walter Smith was either the second or third - volunteer to enter the Federal army from Ellsworth township and was the first to he brought home dead in the following fall.

Mr. and Mrs. McNeilly had children as follows: . Walter, who has been a railroad mail. clerk at Chicago since the election of President Harrison, married Eva Price, of Youngstown, and has three children, Ruth,

Donald and Lenora; Helen, who married John Schaffer, residing in Ellsworth township, has one child, Pauline; Mary E., who married Frank Ressler, residing in Ellsworth, has one daughter, Elizabeth; and Charles, whose busi- ness is that of a steel blower, resides at Youngstown, and married Gertrude Wehr.

During the Civil War Mr. McNeilly was a member of the military organization known as the llome Guards. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and since 1862 has resided on his present farm. He owns two farms, and both are valuable on account of their productiveness and also because on one of them both oil and gas have been found. At present he is mostly interested in raising horses, cattle and sheep. He is regarded as offe of the township's most substantial men.

Mr. McNeilly's first wife died in 1897, and he was married (second), in 1905, to Mrs. Susan Gretsinger, who is a daughter of the well-known and beloved evangelist, Rev. Excell, who still survives, aged 85 years .. Both Mr. and Mrs. McNeilly are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a trustee for twenty-seven years. Politically a Republican, he cast his first vote for Presi- dent Lincoln.

GILLIAM 7 BONNELL McELE- VEY, dealer in real estate, stocks and bonds and insurance, with quarters in the Dollar Bank build- ing, at Youngstown, is one of the city's representative business men. He was born in 1866, at New Castle, Pennsylvania, and was 15 years of age when he came to Youngstown.

Mr. McElevey was educated at the publie schools and was a student in the Rayen School. During the early years of his business life he was in the iron trade for a time and for five years was assistant superintendent of the Ma- honing Valley Iron Company. He then went to Chicago as secretary and treasurer of the lake Side Nail Company, at Hammond, Indi- ana, and later was a broker in coal, coke and

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pig iron. He spent ten busy business years in Chicago and then leit that great metropolis and returned to Youngstown. Here he em- barked in a general insurance and real estate business. He deals also in stocks and bonds and handles safe investments. In his insur- ance risks he represents these companies : North British and Mercantile, of New York; the Girard, of Philadelphia; the New Bruns- wick, of New Brunswick, New Jersey; the Providence Life and Trust Company, of Phil- adelphia ; the Employers' Liability Assurance Corporation, of London; the American Sure- ty Company, of New York; and the Etna In- demnity Company. Mr. McElevey is also interested in other business enterprises of this locality.

For a number of years Mr. McElevey has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of this city. He belongs to the Youngstown Club and to the Mahoning Golf Club.

m ORDECAI L. PETTIT, a promi- nent citizen and well-known and successful agricuhurist, who has served Goshen township for three consecutive years as assessor, re- sides on his excellent farm of about 50 acres, which is situated in section 30. Mr. Pettit was born January 29, 1860, at Damascus, Ohio, and he is a son of Daniel R. and Rebecca W. (Garretson) Pettit.

Daniel R. Pettit was born in Ohio and was a son of Daniel Pettit, who came to Mahoning County from Pennsylvania. The former was a merchant and kept a general store at Salem and Damascus, removing late in life to his farm near Garfield. Ohio, where he died in 1876. He married Rebecca W. Garretson, who was born in Pennsylvania, and they had eight children, the survivors being: Annie E., who married George B. Kinsey, residing in Goshen township; William H., residing in Goshen township: Joseph E., residing at Sa- lem; Adella B., widow of Otto Bechtold, re- siding at Cleveland; and Mordecai L. and Laura, residing in Goshen township ..

Mordecai L. Pettit was about seven years of age when the family moved from Damascus to the farm near Garfield, which is now the property of H. W. Spear. He continued to reside there until the death of his parents, about ten years later, attending the Garfield schools, and, for three years, the Damascus Academy. He then began to teach school, a useful field of activity he worked in for the next twenty-two years, during a part of the time teaching only in the winter seasons. Since his marriage he has resided on his well- kept farm and has taken much interest in its development.

On March 28, 1895, Mr. Pettit was mar- ried to Mrs. Anna W. Malmsberry, who was the widow of the late Charles B. Malnisberry, of Goshen township. She is a daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Morgan) Pidcock, for- merly of this township. Mr. and Mrs. Pettit have one daughter, Rebecca. Religiously they belong to the Society of Friends. Their circle of social connection is very wide and their hospitable home is the scene of many pleasant gatherings. Mr. Pettit is one of the town- ship's progressive but also thoughtful citi- zens. He is always ready to assist in further- ing enterprises which he is assured will be of permanent value to the community at large, but looks with little favor on schemes of a speculative character. In political sentiment he is a Republican.

R F. THOMPSON, architect, with of- fices at No. 225 East Federal street, Youngstown, has been a resident of this city for over a quarter of a cen- tury and has been interested in the material development of a large part of its most attractive portion. He was born in 1844, at Cleveland, Ohio.

Mr. Thompson learned the carpenter's trade, in early manhood, with his brother, Wil- liam G. Thompson, in Illinois, where he re- mained three years, in the meantime acquaint- ing himself with the rudiments of his present : profession. During the Civil War, he served

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three years, mainly in the South and South West.

Upon his return to Cleveland, Mr. Thomp- son was made superintendent of construction for R. R. Herrick & Horace Fuller, and re- mained with them for five years, during which time he continued his study of architecture. Hle then entered upon architectural work, with Joseph Ireland, of Cleveland, and three years later, came to Youngstown to superintend the construction of the Commercial National Bank and also the magnificent residence of the late C. 11. Andrews. He decided to locate here permanently and opened an office in which he remained alone until 1892, when he admitted his son, E. R. Thompson, to partnership. The work of this firm extends all over this portion of Ohio and the larger number of the ornate. beautiful residences and substantial business blocks at Youngstown, have been erected from their designs.

In 1866, Mr. Thompson was married in Louisiana, to Mary DeAntagnan, who was born in France, and they have three children, namely : John J., of Buffalo, New York; Anna M., wife of M. Jewett Megown, of Youngs- town: and E. R., who is associated with his father.

As an enterprising citizen, Mr. Thompson has always taken an active interest in city af- fairs. He has served for four years on the board of eity commissioners. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason. He is a member of the Episcopal Church.

HAARLES B. WELLS. executor and trustee of the estate of Thomas H. Wells. a large capitalist who was a pioneer developer of the great coal industry of the Mahoning Valley, has been identified with several great compan- ies during his residence in Ohio. He was born on January 1, 1862, at Brooklyn, New York. and is a son of the late Lindsey J. Wells, who was an architect and engineer at Brook- lyn, where he died in 1897.

Charles B. Wells was reared and educated

at Brooklyn. In young manhood he came to the mines at Mineral Ridge, Mahoning County, where he was an employ of the Tod- Wells Company, until 1889, when he removedl to Niles and then was employed for one year. with Henry Wiek. Thence he went to the Ohio Steel Company as cashier and chief clerk. In October, 1905, he resigned his position in order to accept his present responsibilities and to better look after a number of other enter- prises in which he is interested, both at Youngstown and at Niles. He is a member and an elder in the Presbyterian Church in the latter city. He has established his business quarters at No. 213 Federal Building. Youngs- town.

Mr. Wells was married October 26, 1887. to Miss Ella I. Jones of Mineral Ridge, a daughter of David P. Jones, grandfather of Isaac Halford. Her mother was Sophia ( Hal- ford) Jones. The father was a native of Wales and the mother of England.

R OBERT A. MANCHESTER, a lead- ing business man at Canfield, deal- ing in hardware, stoves, farm imple- ments, paint and furniture, belongs to one of the old pioneer families of this section. Mr. Manchester was born Au- gust 13. 1838, in a hewn log house in Dublin, two miles southwest of Canfield. Canfield township, Mahoning County, Ohio, and is a son of Isaac and Eleanor (Wilson) Man- chester.

Benjamin Manchester, the grandfather of Robert A., was born in Pennsylvania and was a son of Isaac Manchester, and was the first of the family to come to Ohio. He settled in the deep woods in Canfield township, which was then in Trumbull County, and there reared children by two marriages, those of the first being: Mary Ann. Philip, James and Isaac. His second marriage was to Margaret McGowen, and the children born to that mar- riage were: Eliza, Phebe, Martha and Rob- ert, all of whom are deceased. Benjamin Man- chester died in 1857. For many years he had

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MRS. HETTIE J. CLARK

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been a man of consequence in his neighbor- hood and served as township trustee.

Isaac Manchester was young when his father settled in Canfield township, and he grew to manhood on the home farm and was educated in the best schools the neighborhood afforded. He was twice married, and after the death of his first wife he went to Indiana, where he was married a second time and sub- sequently returned to Ohio and died in Can- field township in 1886. His six children were all born to his first marriage, as follows: Hugh A., who is serving as mayor of Can- field; Robert Asa; Margaret, deceased, who was the wife of Isaac Fory ; John; Elizabeth. who is the wife of Frank Smaltz; and Benja- min O.

Robert Asa Manchester remained at home until his marriage, assisting on the farm and going to school as occasion offered, and when he was 19 years old he taught a term in Green township before joining his uncle, George Rank, in Indiana. The latter owned a farm of 1.200 acres, all in one tract, and Mr. Man- chester remained working there for one year, when he returned to the home farm in Can- field township and also assisted his uncle. Rob- ert Manchester, in sawing shingles. After his marriage he worked for his father-in-law for a number of years on the farm and then in- vested in partnership with his brother-in-law, Edward Burgett, in a sawmill, which they operated until it was accidentally burned down. The owners did not rebuild and Mr. Manches- ter returned to agricultural pursuits, renting land until 1895. In this year be moved to Canfield and went into partnership with his two sons, who had established the present business two years previously. The firm is known as the Manchester Company and it is located on West Broad street, where a large room is utilized to show their goods of which they carry a large stock. A specialty is made of roofing and plumbing.

On November 14, 1861, Mr. Manchester was married to Anna E. Bowman, who was horn March 10, 1844. in Goshen township, Mahoning County, Ohio, and who is a daugh- ter of the late Col. Josiah and Sarah (Strong)

Bowman. Colonel Bowman secured his title as a member of the State militia. He was an early settler iu Goshen township and there both he and his wife died. Their children were: Allen: Elizabeth, who married Joseph Cessna ; Anna E .: Amelia, who married Ed- ward Burgett : and Jefferson D.

Mr. and Mrs. Manchester have had the following children : Seymour O. (residing at Niles, Ohio, where he is in the hardware busi- ness), who married Mary Bloxom and has two children, Carl and Sarah; Clement, resid- ing in Ellsworth township, engaged in farm- ing, married Mary Lower and has four chil- dren, Warren, John, Fern and an infant ; Sarah Ella, who married Clement Tate, and has six children, Robert, Thela, Clara, Elizabeth, Bryan and Orrin; Josiah Isaac, residing in an elegant residence on West Main street, Can- field, in partnership with his father, married Gertrude Stitle and has three children, Harry S., Robert Asa and Anna; and Allen, also associated with his father, who marriel Lulu Spaulding and has two children, Charlotte and Pearl.

Politically, Mr. Manchester is a Democrat and on numerous occasions his fellow-citizens have called him to office. He served as town- ship clerk of Ellsworth township and has also been assessor and township trustee. With his family, Mr. Manchester belongs to the Pres- byterian Church, of which he has served as trustee.

m RS. HETTIE J. CLARK. In Mrs. Hettie J. Clark, of Youngstown, is found a lady who has been closely connected with the works of charity and philanthropy during the larger part of her life, and who is no- where more thoroughly admired, respected and beloved than in thiscity. Mrs. Clark was born April 10, 1839. at Red Stone, Fayette Coun- ty. Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of the late Rev. John Tune Smith, who formerly was one of the most prominent ministers of the Christian Church in Ohio.

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The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Clark were natives of England. Their two children. a son and daughter, were early left orphans and were adopted by good families in Mary- land. John Tune. the son, was reared at Baltimore. In 1842, at which time he was minister in the Disciples. or Christian Church, he brought his family to Ohio and from that time on, until the close of a saintly life, was a faithful minister and expounder of the teach- ings of Christ as expounded by Alexander Campbell. Dr. Smith died in the spring of 1861, at Hiram, Ohio, aged 57 yeats. At this point cemered many of the interests of this church in the state and here its largest educa- tional institution flourished. In later years it came into the lime-light of the world as the former home of James A. Garfield, President of the United States. It was Eller Garfield who preached the funeral sermon over the re- mains of his friend and former co-worker. Dr. Smith. The mother of Mrs. Clark survived until the summer of 1874.

Of the seven children born to Rev. John T. Smith and wife, these survive: Mrs. Edith Robbins, who has survived her husband and three children, Joseph Trimble, physician and surgeon, who served four years in the Civil War; Frances, who conducted a large business of her own, at Akron, Ohio, and now resides in Long Beach, California : Clayton Cheyney. a distinguished clergyman of the Christian Church: and Mrs. Hettie J. Clark, the especial subject of this biography. William Hayes was fientenant of the 14th Ohio Battery, and died shortly after his resignation. in 1863. trom disabilities received in the service, John Henry was a corporal of the 6th U. S. In- fantry and was honorably discharged after three years' service, having fought in thirty- five battles ; his death took place just one month after his discharge.

Hettie J. Smith was mainly educated at Hliram College, and while there came under the direct instruction of James A. Garfield, at that period president of the college, for whom she always entertained feelings of esteem and ven- eration. She was a young woman of misual prinmise, and was but 16 years of age when

she began to teach schonl, subsequently becom- ing a successful and popular educator. Her career in the school room was terminated by her marriage. but she has never entirely re- tired to the privacy of domestic life, her tal- ents, inclinations and ambitions having led her along more conspicuous paths.

On May 9. 1867. Hettie J. Smith was united in marriage with Dr. M. S. Clark, who has long been an eminent medical practitioner in Mahoning County. The three children of this marriage were : Clayton A., born Septem- ber 25. 1874. who died February 10. 1887: James A., born June 10, 1878, who died Sep- tember 23. 1870: and Lonis P., who was born July 9. 1880.

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Twentieth Century History of Youngstown and Mahoning County Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 114

Author: Sanderson, Thomas W Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 993

Author: Sanderson, Thomas W
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 993