Summit County, Ohio - Chapter 20: Statistics, 1908 (part 10 of 27)

Madi.son Waltz began to attend school at Sharon, where his father was there operating an old-fa.<hioned "up and down" sawmill, and from that place went to his grandfather Kintz's farm, in Wayne County. After his father's death he accompanied his mother to Hametown, where she soon died, leaving him an orphan when ten years of age. He was bound out to Ben Richel, north of Johnson's Corner, with whom he remained a short time, and for six and one-half years was with C. F. Meese. During this time he had little or no school advantages. For five years thereafter he worked as a hired man on different farms in that section, and after his marriage he conducted the David Pow farm for a short time. In 1881 he located at Akron, where he followed teaming and was in the employ of the owners of the stone mill for five years. The following four years were spent in carpenter work, with his brothers, Sylvester and Luvander. Mr. Waltz then engaged in contracting on his own account, which he followed imtil 190.S, in which year he removed to his present place, the property of his wife's mother and the heirs of Jeremiah Dice. Although Mr. Waltz spent a number of years in the city, he by no means forgot how to farm, and was credited in the Akron papers of 1907 with having the finest wheat field in Suinmit County.

On December 25, 1878, Mr. Waltz was united in marriage with Mary A. Dice, who is a daughter of Jeremiah and Caroline E. Dice. One child has been born to this union, Delbert Ellsworth, who resides at home and a.ssist>s his father. Mr. Waltz is a Democrat in politics. He and his wife and son attend the Reformed Church, of which they are liberal supporters.

LOUIS LOEB, president of the J. Koch Company, which is the largest clothing house at Akron, has been a resident of this city for almost forty years and is a man of prominence in its commercial life. Mr. Loeb was born in Germany, in 1853, and remained in his own land until he was seveteen years of age. securing there a good education.

Mr. Loeb located at Akron after reaching the United States, entering the employ of the reliable old firm of Koch & Levi, from which Mr. Levi retired in 1878, Mr. Loeb purchasing his interest, and he remained a.ssociated with Mr. Koch, until January 1, 1907, when the latter retired. After the retirement of Mr. Koch, the business was incorporated as the J. Koch Company, with a capital stock of $50,000. the officers being; Lnuis Loeb, president: Philip Huber, vice president, and Solomon Goldsmith, secretary and treasurer. This is not only one of the oldest but one of the largest and most substantial houses in its line in this section of Ohio.

In 1882 Mr. Loeb was married to Alice M6.SS, who is a daughter of H. W. Mass, of Akron, and they have three children, namely: Edna, who is the wife of Arthur L. Abt, one of the leading business men of Canton'; Joy T., who is in charge of the o'ffice of the J. Koch Company, and Irene, Residing at home. Mr. Loeb and family belong to the Akron Hebrew Congregation, and he has served in various church offices. Mr. Loeb is a member of the Masonic lodge, of the Royal Arcanum, the National Union and the Elks club.

I. F. ALLEN, vice president and treasurer of the R. & A. Supply Company, wholesale and retail dealers in hardware, located at No. 66 South Howard Street, is also vice president and secretary of another large basiness enterprise of Akron, the Jahant Heating Company. He was born in 1868, in Summit County, Ohio, and is a son of John Allen, a retired resident of Akron. Mr. Allen's father was born in 1829, on the same farm in Summit County on which his son was burn thirty -nine years later. He is a son of Jonah Allen, who came to this section of Ohio from Connecticut in 1811. The family is one of the most respected and substantial ones of the county.

After completing his education, which included a full commercial course at Hammel's Business College, I. F. Allen went to Cleveland, and for seven years was connected with the George Worthington Llardware Company, of that city. In 1891 he came back to Akron and bought the interest of Mr. Williams in the hardware firm of Williams & Rohrbacher, the firm of Rohrbacher & Allen being then established. In October, 1907, the business was incorporated as the R. & A. Supplv Companv with a capital stock of $50,000. The officers are: A. C. Rohrbacher, president; T. F. Allen, vice president and treasurer, and Mr. . Hawkins, .secretarv. The members of the finn are all practical hardware men and the business is one which extend? over a wide extent and does a large amount of annual trading.

In 1891 Mr. Allen was married to Eva May Geddes, of Cleveland, and they have one child, Clifford I., who is a bright student in the Akron public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are members of the First Church of Christ, Akron. Fraternally, Mr. Allen is a Knight Templar Mason, affiliated with the Masonic cliib, al-^o an Odd Fellow.

ALFRED WOOD, a leading citizen of Northfield Township, Summit County, Ohio, who owns a farm of fifty-six acres, about thirty of which are under cultivation, was born October 23, 1842, at Independence, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and is a son of Benjamin and Charlotte (Belden) Wood.

Benjamin Wood Avas born in 1816 on the Strand, London, England, where he attended boarding school until fourteen years of age, and at the age of twenty-one years came to America. He had learned the tailor's trade in his native land, but did not follow it to any extent, after a short residence at Cleveland settling on a farm in Independence. From 1862 until 1900 he was connected with the firm of Benjamin Stair and Son, at Cleveland, and became a man of some means, making three trips to his native country. Mr. Wood was possessed of scholarly attainments, and was elected to a number of township offices, including that of trustee. His death occurred in August., 1905. Mr. Wood was married to Charlotte Belden, -who-se ancestry dates Vjack to colonial days, and they had three children : Norman, who died November 18, 1907; Alfred, subject of this sketch, and Martha, who is the widow of John R. Richardson, of Cleveland. Benjamin Wood was reared in the faith of the Episcopal Church, Init there being no churches in Independence when he located there, he became a Presbyterian, and paid nearly half of the co.st of erecting there the church of that denomination.

Alfred Wood received a common school education in Independence, and in youth secured employment with the firm of Benjamin Stair & Son, at Cleveland, for whom he worked for a year and a half. At the end of this time he rented a farm at St. Mary's, Canada, where he remained for five years, and then located at Akron, being employed in the Buckeye shops for sixteen years. Subsequently he became foreman of the Lamson and Session shops at Cleveland, but in 1893 purchased the Charles Vders -farm, a tract of fifty-six acres in lot 65, about thirtv acres of which Mr. Wood ha?

under cultivation. He keeps about eight head of cattle, is largely interested in bee culture, and raises blooded. horses. His principal crops are oats, wheat, hay and corn, and he has a fine orchard of apple, peach, pear and plum trees.

Mr. Wood has given much attention to horticulture and was one of the charter members of the Summit County Horticultural Society. He has been very active in scientific work, being associated with Prof. Claypole of Buchtel College, his studies embracing all the natural sciences. On one occasion he read a paper before the Scientific Society of Buchtel College, setting forth the theory that the Cuyahoga River has always flowed north as at present, the accepted theory at that time (Newberry's), being that in prehistoric times the river flowed south. Mr. Wood's paper aroused wide discussion, but his theory was finally accepted, and was incorporated in the reports of the State Department of Geology. Fraternally, Mr. Wood is connected with Hesperion Lodge No. 281, Knights of Pythias, of Cleveland, and he was a charter member of Etolia Lodge No. 24, Knights of Pythias, of Akron, of which he was secretary and treasurer.

Mr. AVood was married to Sarah J. Johns, who is the daughter of James Johns, and to this union there were born six children : Mary, who is the wife of F. H. Fanning, of Cleveland: Charlotte, who is a well-known artist of Cleveland; Norman B., who lives at Pititsburg, Pennsylvania; Robert J., William H. and Amelia B., who reside in Cleveland. The family is connected with the Episcopal Church.

The Johns family, which is an old one of Hatherly, Devonshire, England, was founded in America by the parents of Mrs. Woods, who came to Canada when she was a child of three years, in 1843. James Johns, Mrs. Wood's father, was a machinist by trade, an occupation w-hich he followed at Darlington. Ontario, until 1860. and then for a few years at Cleveland, Ohio. Later he removed to Independence, where he carried on farming for two years, but he sub- sequently sold his fai^m and returned to his trade at Cleveland. Thence he went to Stratford, Ontario, in which place he established a machine shop. His death occurred in 1893, -when he was in his eighty-ninth year; his wife, Mary (Bourne) James, died in 1891, when eighty-two years old. Mrs. Wood was the seventh of a family of sixteen children.

ARTHUR A. MOORE, president of the People's Savings and Banking Compaaiy, at Barberton, and also interested in a real estate and insnrajice business, was bom in Ashtabula County, Ohio, September 15, 1857, and is a son of Reuben and Lavantia (Adams) Moore.

For a number of years Reuben Moore, father of Arthur . A., conducted a general mercantile business at Leon, Ohio, and was concerned to a considerable extent in the lumber industry of Ashtabula County, where he owned mills. He al.so owned and operated mills in Florida. Both he and wife are re.?idents of Barberton.

Arthur A. Moore in boyhood attended the countn- schools near his home, and later the Grand River Tn.stitute at Austinburg. When eighteen year.s of age he started into business w'ith his father with whom he remained two years. On attaining his majority, he decided to go into business for himself, having his own ideas concerning its development. Lacking, capital to purchase a horse and wagon, he hired them, bought a stock of seasonable goods, and started out through the country to .sell them. He met with excellent .success, and soon established a store of his own at Leon, Ohio, keeping a man on the road, and was thus engaged for about thirteen years. When he came to Barljerton he immediately .showed hL< enter]')rise by the erection of the fii-st brick block in the place, a substantial building, in which he established a general .store. He was appointed the first postmaster of the village, serving in this office for two years. Closing out his mercantile interests, Mr. Moore, in 1901, entered into the insurance and real estate busine.«, in which he is now the leader in this place. AA'lien the People's Savings and Banking Company was organized, Mr. Moore was elected presddent of this financial institution, which enjoys the confidence of the public. In many ways he has shown his public .spirit and demonstrated his progressive ideas, and he ranks among the most prominent citizens of Barljcrton.

In 1879 Mr. Moore was married to Dora N. Bailey, and they have three children, namely: Nellie, Lena and Hattie. For five years Mr. Moore served as a member of the Barberton Board of Education, all his influence being given to encouraging good schools and other uplifting agencies. Mr. Moore is a member of the U. B. Church, of Barberton, and one of its mo.«t liberal supporters. Fraternally, he is a Mason.

NOAH ERASE, a prominent citizen of Franklin Township, Avho is engaged in agricultural operations on a well-cultivated tract of 100 acres, was born December 23, 1850, at the family home in Wayne County, Ohio, known as the Frase Settlement, and is a son of .lohn A. and Mary (Ettling) Frase.

.lolin A. Erase, the grandfather of Noah, wa-^ a native of Pennsylvania, and a tailor by trade. From Pennsjdvania the trip to Obid was made in wagons by Noah Frase, with Ills wife and five children. When John A., was about two years old. They at once on a lOO-acre tract of land, which was sulisequently mainly cleared and operated by the children, Mr. Frase continuing with his tailoring until his death.

John A. Enise, Jr., father of Noah, was reared upon the home farm, and there resided until about five years after his marriage, when he p^irchased a tract of eighty acres in the northeastern corner of Wayne County, and al?o acquired land in Summit County so that he was considered a man of .some wealth. He married Mary Ettling, who survived him twelve years. To them were born eight children : Noah, William, who resides at Ashtabula; Catherine, who married William Deckerhoof; Peter M., who is an employe in a bank at Clinton; John W., who resides on the old home place in Wayne County; Mary, who married Charles Opplinger; Emma, who married Henry Slee, and Ida, who married Christopher Albrecht. The father died in Wayne County in 1888.

Noah Erase was reared on the home farm and attended the district schools until he reached his twenty-first year, when he went to work in the coal banks, where he continued for about ten years. He then worked for John Grill, at farming, and also in a sawmill for three years, at the end of which time he came to his present property, which he purchased from the old estate. Mr. Erase has been engaged in general farming here since 1887. and has proven himself a good, practical agriculturist. For the past seven years he has been a director in the Norton Mutual Insurance Company, of which he served two terms as treasurer. In jx>litical matters he is a Democrat.

On October 28, 1880, Mr. Erase wa* married to iVmanda Grill, who is a daughter of John and Maiy (Snyder) Grill, and to this union there have been born six children : Elmer, who married Elizabeth Oar, has one child. May; Oscar, Ida, who died at the age of nineteen years; Clayton, Doyle and Elizabeth. Mr. Erase, wiih his family, belongs to the Reformed Church, in which he serves as deacon.

ROBERT S. PAUL, third son of Ho.sea and Ellen Gamble Paul, was born at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, October 3, 1842, and died at Akron, Ohio, May 23, 1905. Pie received his a.cadeariical e-ducation at home, it being extended by attendance at the Lebanon, Ohio, Institute and at Oberlin, and later by an engineering course at the Pennsylvania Polytechnic at Philadelphia. He l>ecame practically familiar with surveying operations and computations at an early age by reason of a«si.sting his father, who was county surveyor and town engineer of Akron ; his youthful activities, wnth the exception of a couple of terms teaching school, being thus quite exclusivelv in the line of service in later vears.

During the Civil ^^'a^, he spent about three years (1862-1865) with the Engineer Department, Army of the Cumberland, a part of which time was devoted to laying out the earthwork defenses for the city of Cincinnati.

He spent the years 1865 and 1866 surveying on Oil and Pithole Creeks, in Venango County, Pennsylvania. He was then over two years in Cleveland with the engineering firm of Sargent & Hartnell, and returned to Akron in 1869 to reside permanently.

Upon the death of his father in 1870, he became county surveyor, and held the office three terms. From 1874 to 1877 he Ava.« engaged in surveying and was the chief engineer of the 6. & T. R. R. He was the chief engineer of the Valley Railway in 1887 and 1888. He was president for two terms of the Ohio County Surveyors' Association, and was secretary and treasurer of the Ohio In- .stitute of Mining Engineers, and was a member of the I. 0. 0. F., K. of P., F. of A. and I. O. R. M.

He was a member of the firm of Paul Brothers, civil and mining engineers and surveyors, one of the oldest and best known firms in the state. His written records, generally full and definite, were supplemented and illuminated by a marvelous memory, which could recall every tradition, fact or circumsitance. His knowledge of titles and land law was extensive and accurate. He had a wide acquaintance, and his advice and counsel were sought not only by his professional brethren but in many other directions. He was well equipped in mathematics, and a wide reader of the best literature, and gave much serious thought to deep problems.

Mr. Paul married Sarah M. Romig. July 25, 1872, and of this union there were seven children, four of whom are now living - Ellen Paul Nice, Ada Paul Bordner, Mary Paul and Edward W. Paul.

Robert S. Paul had five brothers: Harrison D. (deceased), George (deceased), Hosea, Jr., T. D wight and Edward J., all of whom were or are now engaged in surwying and civil engineering. He had one sia-

EDWARD W. PAUL, of the firm of Paul Brothers, civil and mining engineers and surveyors, at Akron, has been identified with this kind of work ever since he entered into business life. He was born at Akron, Ohio, August 23, 1880, and is a son of Robert S. and Sarah M. (Romig) Paul. His father was one of the county's most prominent men for many years and was a son of Hosea Paul, one of the first surveyors of Summit County.

Edward W. Paul was reared and educated in Akron, graduating from the Akron High School in 1898, and received his knoAvledge of surveying and civil engineering from his father, having assisted him for many yeare. He has had considerable experience in the line of railroad engineering, having served in the engineering department of the Erie Railroad in New York State in 1897: with the N. 0. T. & L. Co. in 1898 and 1901 ; with the Chootaw, Oklahoma & Gulf R. R. Co., in Indian Territory and Texas in 1902, and has charge of several railroad surveys in this section. He does a considerable amo\int of coal mine surveying and engineering and is considered an expert in thi.-; line. He was married December 31, 1903, to Agnos M. Burman, and they have one child, Winifred Mary.

HARRY D. TODD, M. D.. a well-known physician and surgeon of Akron, belonging to Uie Eclectic School of Medicine, was born and reared at Springfield, Ohio, and in 1895 was graduated from Wittenberg College. He then entered the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was graduated in 1898. Dr. Todd immediately located at Akron, where he has been singularly successful in his practice. He is an enthusiast in his profession and keeps thoroughly posted on all matters pertaining to the scientific discoveries of the day; is a thoughtful student and a frequent contributor to medical literature. He is a member of the most prominent organizations of his school, including the Summit County and the Ohio State Associations, and is visiting physician of the Akron City Hospital staff. In 1900 Dr. Todd was married to Margery B. Pottenger, of Liberty, Indiana, and they have one child, James W. Fraternally, Dr. Todd is associated with the Elks and he belongs also to the Elks' club.

W^ILLIAM W. ROETHIG, a well known and respected citizen of Cuyahoga Falls, now retired from active business life, was born February 22, 1858, in this place, son of Ferdinand Julius and Sarah J. (Faze) Roethig. He is of Iliuigarian ancestry, his father having been born at Krakow, Austro-Hungary, February 24, 1825. When Ferdinand J. Roethig was five years old his father died and he was taken by his mother - a woman of some means - -to Germany. He was educated in the schools of Leipsig, in which city he learned the trade of tinner and copper- .smith. His heart remained true, however, to his native land, and he was one of the young men who fought nobly for Hungarian freedom under Louis Kossuth, whose fortunes he followed for three years. On the defeat of the great leader, at Temesvar, August 9, 1849, most of the men in the regiment to which Mr. Roethig belonged escaped to the United States, he among them. Here he fell back on his trade a? a means of support. After working at it in New Orleans for a year, he ascended the Mississippi River to St. Paul, thence going to Chicago, where he remained a year. He then came to Cuyahoga Falls, where he worked at his trade for many years, a part of the time for himself and for the reniiiinder in the shops of L. W. Loomis and Parks and Gillette. After coming to Ohio he enlisted for service in the Civil War, but was stricken with illness at Massillon. which occasioned his dii'charge. He died April 17, 1886. He married August 30, 1852, Sarah J. Faze, who survived him and is now a resident of Cuyahoga Falls. She was born at Manchester, Carroll County, Maryland, February 24, 1832, and accom- paiiied hor parents to Cuyahoga Falls when she was but five years old, the family taking three weeks to make the trip with wagons. Her father, Peter Faze, a native of Germany, came to this country with his parents at the age of five years. He was a paper-maker by trade and was accidentally killed in a papermill in April, 1852, being then fifty-nine years old. Of Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand J. Roethig's nine children, the following arrived at matui'ity: Ferdinand J., deceased; Julia Sarah, afterwards Mrs. C. W. Moon, who, W'ith her husband, is deceased ; Charles B., a resident of Cortland, New^ York; William Washington, w'hose name appears at the head of this sketch; Edward Loon, Lillian, Alfred Herman and Harrison T., all of whom reside in Cuyahoga Falls. All the members of this family Avere reared in the German Lutheran faith.

William W. Roethig, after attending the common and high schools until he had acquired a sound practical education, began industrial life as an employe of Isaac Lewis in the grocery business, in which occupation he continued from 1867 until 1888. On January Ifith of the year last mentioned he went into business for himself wath his brotlier, Edward, they opening a meat market under the firm name of Roethig Bros. This partnership lasted for ninetteen years, being discontinued January Ifi, 1907, when they sold out to their brother Fred. In 1899 Mr. William Roethig built the Roethig block on Front Street, which is now occupied by a meat market and the Post Office, with bu-siness ofhces on the second floor. Mr. Roethig is a member of Howard Lodge, No. 162, I. 0. 0. F., of Cuyahoga Falls'. He is well knoTvn as a substantial citizen and successful busin&ss man, and his aid and influence can usually be counted upon in behalf of any worthy cause.

HOWARD W. HAUPT, superintendent of the Klages Coal & Ice Company at Akron, has been connected with this concern since he was twenty years of age. He was born in 1870, at Loyal Oak, Summit Comity, Ohio.

His father, William F. Haupt, has long been one of the leading citizens of Loyal Oak, where he lives retired after a successful agricultural life. He has served as trustee of Norton Township and in other local offices. He came to that Township in early manhood, and has had much to do with its subsequent progress and development.

Howard W. Haupt went from the local schools to the Normal Schools at Wadsworth and his course there was supplemented by one at the Spencerian Commercial College at Cleveland. In 1890 he entered the employ of the Klages Company as assistant bookkeeper, later became bookkeeper, and .still later was admitted to partnership. For the last six years he has been superintendent of the company. He is interested also in other prospering concerns.

In 1897 Mr. Haupt was married to Nellie Murphy, who was born at Mt. Gilead, Ohio. He is a member of the Lutheran Church at Loyal Oak. He is prominent in the brotherhood of Odd Fellows, being a trustee of Lodge No. 50 of Summit County and a member of the Board of Directors of the Odd Fellows' Temple at Akron. He belongs also to the order of Modern Woodmen and the Knights of Pythias.

FRANK E. AVERILL, one of Summit County's representative agriculturists, whose farm of 100 acres is situated in the southwest corner of Bath Township, adjoining Copley on the south and Granger Township, Medina Coimty on the west, was born November 17, 1861, in Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio, and is a son of Benjamin and Louisa (Harvey) Averill.

Benjamin Averill and his wife were both born and reared in New York State, where they married, and soon thereafter came to Ohio and settled on a farm in Bath Township, about four miles east of Frank E. Averill's present home. In 1867 they removed to the present property, which then consisted of 105 acres, five acres having been sold. Mr. and Mrs. Averill both died on this farm. They were> the parents of ten chil- dren, tlie survivors being: Ellen, who married ]). L. Parker, of Copley Township; Ohaxles, who is a stock dealer of Granger Township, Medina County, Ohio; Perry, wlio also resides in Granger Township; Frank E. Those dec-eased were: Mary E., Welthia A., Alice A., Clara A., Henry W. and Minnie L.

Frank E. Averill has resided on his present farm since his sixth year, and has always engaged in general farming, stock-raising and dairying. His property is finely cultivated, his buildings of the most substantial kind, and his farming machinery the best to be secured. He is known as a good, practical farmer, and his reputation as a citizen is beyond reproach.

In 1881 Mr. Averill was married to Anna A. McMillen, who is a daughter of James and Amanda (Peckham) McMillen, and to them there have been born three children, namely: William, who is an engineer and machinist, married Iva Hammond; Mary, w^ho is the wife of Paul C. Crosier, lives in Granger Township, Medina County, and Earl, who resides at home.

Mr. Averill is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and the National Protective Legion. In political matters he i? a Republican, and has 9er\'ed as chairman of the Bath Township Board of Election, and has been a school director for the pa.st ten years. With his family he attends the East Granger Disciple Church.

JOEL MYERS, residing on his 100 acres of valualjle land which is situated on the old Smith road, in Bath Township, was born in Springfield Township, Summit County, Ohio, April 15. 1848, and is a son of Sarnuel and Mary (Paulus) Myers.

Samuel Myers accompanied his father, Jacob Myers, from Snyder County. Pennsylvania. The family settled near Uniontown, Springfield Township, in 1805, in fact the greater part of that village is built on the old Myers farm. Sanniel was at that time a strong lad of twelve years and he learned the stone-^mason trade, at which he worked on the construction of the old canal. He died on the farm in Springfield Township in 1883. He married Mary Paulus, who was born in Jackson Township, Stark County, Ohio, and died in 1868, the mother of ten children. Samuel Myers married a second time and had two more children.

Joel Myers was reared in Springfield Township and attended the district schools. His main business in life has been farming, stock-raising and manufacturing brooms. He was married May 30, 1869, to Elizabeth Schnee, who is a daughter of John and Hannah (Young) Schnee. They were natives of Snyder County, Pennsylvania, and were of German extraction, Great-grandfather Schnee having come from Germany to America on the good .ship Phoenix, in 1746. Mrs. Myers was born within a half-mile of the old Myers homestead in Pennsylvania, in 1852, and accompanied her parents to Springfield Township in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Myers have had eight children : Lydia, John, William F., Frederick, Ira, Robert, J. Park and an infant, the babe and John being deceased. Lydia married Charles Boltz and they live in Bath Town.ship and have three children: Edith, aged sixteen years; Harley, aged twelve years, and Irma, aged eight years. William F. married Dottie Martin, who died Augu.st 23, 1907, her infant son dying on the previous day. She is survived by her bereaved hu.sband and little Eva, three years old, who will find a home with her grandparents. Frederick married Amanda Snyder and they have a bright little three-yearold son, Floyd, and reside at Akron. Ira, wiho was born in 1881, operates the home farm. Robert, who is a graduate of the Bath High School, is successfully teaching the Maple Valley, the largesTt country school in Summit County, where he has fifty-two pupils. J. Park resides at Cleveland, where he is employed as a bookkeeper.

After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Myers lived on the Myers home place until 1875, where Mr. Myers carried on farming in the summer and engaged in making brooms in the winter. In the fall of 1874 Mr. Myers purchased the present place, in which they settled in the following year. He has made many improvements here, including the building of a substantial barn in 1881. The commodious frame residence in which the Myers family reside, was built by a Mr. Meridith and was the first frame one erected in Bath Township. The Meridiths were great entertainers and were somew^hat given to frivolity, and on many occasions countrj^ dances were held in the big rooms of the upper portions of the house. Prior to coming to tliis farm, Mr. Myers bought one of eighty acres in Indiana, but sold it before moving to it. This is one of the old. substantial and representative families of this section.

COL. THOMAS E. MAJOR, who is now engaged in general farming and dairying, in Boston Township, was born in Paint Township, Highland County, Ohio, September 19, 1849, and is a son of Rev. Thomas and Sarah (Righter) Major.

Thomas Major, the colonel's great-greatgrandfather, was born in Ireland, County Londonderry-, and in early manhood emigrated to America, settling four miles northwest of Xorristown, Pennsylvania. He was accompanied by a son, John. John Major learned the tailor's trade and later became proprietor of the Blue Ball tavern, near A^'alley Forge, in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He married Jane Adams, who was born near Norristown, and who died June 14, 1813, aged fifty-four years. He died June 17. 1819. aged over sixty-one years.

Thomas Major, son of John and grandson of Thomas, the original settler, was born in Pennsylvania, and pa.ssed the larger part of his life in Noriton Township. Montgomery County, where he died December 5, 1823, aged forty years, two months and twenty-one days. He followed the trade of shoemaker. He married Catherine Curry, who died Febmary 27, 1863, aged eighty-one years. Her whole life was .spent in Pennsylvania. Her father, James Currv*. was born September 25. 1755, in Montgomery- County. His services in the Revolutionary- War may be briefly summed as follows : "Volunteered in Captain

Archibald Thompson's rifle company in 1775; was a member of Captain John Hamilton's company. Major John Berry's battalion, in 1776; member of Captain Stephen Porter's rifle company, in 1776 ; adjutant to Generals Potter and Heiston, 1776-1777; served as express rider for General "Washington, in 1777, and in 1778, while encamped at Valley Forge; member of Captain Pitts' company. Colonel Thomp.son's regiment, in 1777 ; adjutant to General Potter and Colonel Moore, 1777-1779. He w^as pensioned as captain."

The father of Captain James Curry was also James Curry, -who came to America from County Londonderry, Ireland, and became an officer also in the Patriot army in tlie Revolutionary War. He settled one mile west of Norristown, where he engaged in farming. He died April 8, 1788, and was buried at Norton Church cemetery, where many of the ancestors of Colonel Thomas E. Major lie. AVhen the Pennsylvania Legislature met at Pliiladelphia, Colonel Currv^ serv^ed as clerk of that body. Like other members of his own and the Major family, he lived and died in the faith of the Presbyterian Church. Revolutionary records give much space to the loyalty and bravery of both Colonel and Captain Curr}^

Rev. Thomas Major, father of Colonel Thomas E. Major, was one of six children, and wa« born September 19, 1811. He was ed\icated in the common schools and learned the carpenter's trade in Philadelphia, which he followed there until he came to Ohio. He married in that city, Sarah Righter, who was born August 29, 1808, and died September 18, 1884. She was a daughter of John Righter. She wa« converted to the faith of the German Baptist Church when she was nineteen years of age. under the preaching of the famous Harriet Livermore, who was the only woman for whom the President of the United State* ever requested adjournment of Congress, which he did in order that she might be given an opportunity to addre.«s that body. For fifty years thereafter Mrs. Major was a preacher in the German Bap- tist faith, and, in 1840, both her husband and father took up the same work. They had three children, namely: Samuel, who was born February 23, 1847, graduated from Delaware College, and at the time of his death in 1894 was superintendent of schools at HilLsborough, Ohio; Thomas E. and Annie M., the latter of whom was born December 13, 1852, married Aaron Johns, and resides at Washington, D. C, with her husband.

After marriage, Rev. Thomas Major and his wife came to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he bought a farm, subsisting by its cultivation, as neither he nor his wife accepted any remuneration for their ministerial work. Sometime between 1847 and 1849 they removed to Highland County, where they lived until their retirement from active life. For a number of years before his death Rev. Major resided at Greenfield, Ohio, but after the death of his wife he made his home with his daughter in ^^'a.shington city, where he passed away April 17, 1888. During his residence in Highland County he carried on his agricultural work on his 135 acres. The ministerial labors of Thomas Major and wife were a heavy drain upon their time, resources and sympathy. Each Sunday they held from one to three services, often traveling a distance of from ten to fifteen miles over poor roads to meet thase who eagerly gathered to listen to them. Their joint efforts resulted ultimately in the building of a church at what was then called New Lexington, in Highland County. They have long since gone to their final reward, but the influences of their worthy, virtuous, unselfish lives go on and on.

Thomas E. Major attended the public schools of Paint Township and the Southwest Norma] School at Lebanon, Ohio. AVhile he was living on the farm his parents received some literature sent by Harriet Livermore, and among the books there chanced to be an old Pitman manual of phonography. What a find this was to the eager, ambitious farmer boy, and to mastering its contents he applied himself every moment that he could secure from the farm duties, which were heavy on account of the frequent absences of his father. On January 7, 1870, he received an appointment as clerk in the office of the Comptroller of Currency in the Treasury Depiixtment at Washington, a position he could never have aspired to without a knowledge of the art of stenography. He satisfactorily filled positions of this nature in different departments of government work for a number of years and became recognized as one of the best stenographers in the service, .so much so, that on the reconunendation of Assistant Secretary of the Treasurer, C. E. Conant, he was invited to become the private secretary of General B. F. Butler. Pie entered upon the duties of this position in April, 1875, and remained in the intimate and confidential relations with this soldier-statesman \intil the lafter's death in 1893. During the period that General Butler -was governor of Mas!5achusetts Mr. Major served as the governor's private secretarv and also A^ith the rank of colonel on his staff.

While thus closely associated with General Butler, Colonel Major became acquainted, and on terms of friendship with many of the leading men in public life, men of large affairs and weighty deeds. He studied law during this time, and not only overlooked the stenographic work, but also a.«sisted General Butler in his professional labors. In 1895 he was admitted to the bar of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and practiced his profession in the city of Boston until 1901. Failing health warned him to give up office work and hence his removal to the healthful air and simple life of the farm. He purchased 208 acres in Boston Township, and here, far removed from the complex problems of politics and law, he oversees his agricultural operations, and has recovered an excellent state of health. He makes a specialty of dairying, sending his milk to the cheese factory at Richfield.

On April 16, 1873, Colonel Major married Virginia P. Berkley, of Washington, D. C, and they have three children : Sarah Avanelle, who married Dr. Joseph W. Proctor, residing at Maiden, Mass; Syhna Pearl, residing at Maiden, and holding an important pon- tion in the office of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Corporations, at Boston; and Selwj-n Berkley, who resides at home mth her parents. Mrs. Major and her daughters axe artists of acknowledged ability.

Colonel Major resided at Baston until 1884 and taught shorthand in the Boston evening classes in the High School for several years, having the reputation of being one of the most expert stenographers of the day. In 1884 he established his home in Maiden, one of Boston's most agreeable suburbs, and while living there served on the School Board as its chairman ; also as a member of the Board of Park Commissioners, and in other public capacities. While living there he also took an active interest in the order of Knights of Pythias, was pa-st chancellor of the IMalden lodge and served on the judiciary committee of the Grand Lodge. He is a member of Ri.?- ing Sun Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Richfield, and has taken the Royal Arch and Knight Templar degrees. Politically, he is an ardent Republican ; personally, a cultivated gentle-

LYNN WORDEN, a prominent citizen of Bath Township, proprietor of the well-knowTi place of business, which, in a large measure, supplies the needs of households for miles around, known as the Worden Grocery Store, has been established here since 1897. It is located about two and one-fourth miles north of the Smith road, on the county line highway which divides Medina from Summit. Mr. Worden wa« born in Hinklev Township. Medina County, Ohio, April 23, 1860, and is a son of Hiram and Melissa (Bissell) Worden,

The father of Mr. Worden was bom at Broome, Schoharie County, New York, and his parents to Richfield Township, Summit County, in boyhood, and later removed to Hinkley Township, Medina County, where both he and wife died.

then went to Medina village, where he worked three years. For several years he was telegraph operator for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, working in various places. He married Anna Speneer, who is a daughter of Abijah and Mary Spencer, old residents of Bath Township, who formerly owned the farm which belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Worden. Two children have been born to Mr. Worden and wife, namely: Ethel M. and Esther. The family belong to Moore's Chapel, IMethodist Episcopal Church.

In 1897, when Mr. Worden established his store at its present location, he had it made a postoffice, which, on account of the introduction of the riiral mail delivery service, was discontinued July 31, 1903. Mr. Worden takes a great deal of interest in all matters pertaiiung to his end of Bath Town.?hip and since 1898 he has served on the School Board.

JOSEPH DANGEL, superintendent of the American Hard Rubber Company, at Akron. is a thoroughly experienced man in the rubber industiy, and a leading business citizen. Mr. Dangel was born in Germany, December 19, 1860, and remained in his own coimtry until he was twenty years of age.

Equipped with an excellent education, Mr. Dangel came to America to enter into business, locating first at Butler, New Jersey, where he entered the plant of the Butler Hard Rubber Company, beginning at the bottom, in order to learn the business in all its details. From Butler one year later he went to Hoboken wnth the LTniversal Rubber Company, and in the following year he was in the employ of the Keystone Rubber Company, at Morrisville, Pennsvlvania. where he remained from 1883 until 1887. In the latter year he came to Akron, being connected with the Goodrich Hard Rubber Company, which had just been organized. In 1898 the Goodrich Hard- Rubber Company became the Akron factory of the American Hard Rubber Company, and Mr. Dangel was made superintendent of the plant, having its whole operation under his charge.

rubber business from the beginning of his business life, and he has advanced from one position to another with the sureness that marks hds abiHty. He is also a stockholder in several other enterprises which are prospering. In addition to his absorbing business resjionsibilities, Mr. Dangel has somehow found time to show an active interest in civic affairs, being elected councilman-at-large in 1903. In this capacity he has served as chairman of the Finance Committee of the City Council, proving a competent and valuable official.

In 1887 Mr. Dangel was married to Amelia Schafer, residing in New York, but a native of Germany. They have five children: Emily, an accomplished young lady, who has just graduated from the Sacred Heart Academy ; Lena D., who is a graduate of St. Mary's school ; Marie D., who is a student at the Sacred Heart; and Rosa and Joseph, Jr., who a.re students at St. Mary's. Mr. Dangel is a prominent Catholic, one of the leading memhe.Ts, and a trustee of St.. Mary's Catholic Church since its organization in 1887. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus and to other Catholic organizations of a benevolent character.

WILLIAM A. SEARL, M. D., one of the founders and medical director of Fair Oaks Villa, a sanitai'iimi for the treatment of nervous disorders at. Cuyahoga Falls, is a gentleman of broad experience in this line of medical practice, and as such is well known to the profession all over the state. Dr. Searl was born at Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County, New York, March 25, 1864, and is a son of Alonzo and Jessie (Vaughn) Searl. His father is still a resident of Cattaraugus. County, New York, where he was engaged in farming and lumbering for many years prior to his retirement. Arza Searl, the doctor's grandfather, was a pioneer settler of Western New York, coming from New England. The family, including the doctor's one living si.«ter, are identified with the Methodist Episcojial Church.

high schools in his native town, and prepared for college with Dr. Stephen Spencer, from whose tutorship he entered the medical department of Buffalo University. After one year's study there he entered the Alexis Hospital, where his duties were such as now fall to an interne, although at that time there was no organization of the hospital work that exactly corresponded- to the present system. With the added experience thus gained he entered the medical department of Wooster University, where he was graduated in 1890. For three years subsequently he was engaged in general practice in Cleveland, later becoming assistant physician at the Cleveland State Hospital, and then going to Yankton, South Dakota, where he was superintendent of the Yankton State Hospital.

In July, 1894, Dr. Searl came to Cuyahoga Falls, and in association with Dr. A. B. Howard, established Fair Oaks Villa, for the treatment of nervous and mental diseases. For the first four years Dr. Howard was in charge of the sanitarium, and then Dr. Searl had the management until 1904, when Dr. H. I. Cozad becanie associated with him. The building, which is a large, elegant brown stone structure, steam heated and illuminated by electricit^^ was originally erected and occupied by the wealthy Newbury family, who were among the notable pioneer settlers of Cuyahoga Falls. It is particularly well adapted to the purpose to which it is now applied, the surroundings, atmosphere and internal economy of the institution having a domestic and home-like flavor very favorable to the class of patients herein treated, and which is doubtless responsible in part for the very successful rasults which have been attained. Dr. Searl is a member of the Summit County and Ohio State Medical Societies, the Academy of Medicine, the Medical Library Association of Cleveland, and the American IMedical Psychological Association. In politics he is a Republican. He is a Free Mason, belonging to Star Lodge, No. 187, P. & A. M., of Cuyahoga Falls and to Lake Erie Consistory.

Iikxdersox Steele

wife are the parents of three sons: Howard A., Miller V., and William A. With his family the doctor belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, which he is serving oificially as a meml>er of the Board of Stewards.

HENDERSON STEELE, whose recent death, at the age of sixty-two years, removed one of the best knowm and most highly respected citizens of Cuyahoga Falls, was born in Stmv Township, Summit County, Ohio, November 15, 1845, son of Isaac and Margaret C. Steele.

His paternal grandfather was Isaac Steele, was a son of Adam Steele. Adam w-as a pioneer farmer of Fayette County. Pennsylvania, and also fought for American independence in the Revolutionarj' War. After the war he moved with his family to Stow Township, Summit County, Ohio, where he died in July, 1811, aged about sixty-seven yeairs. He was buried in Hud.son Cemetery.

His son, Lmac. grandfather of the direct subject of thi- sketch, upheld the military traditions of the family, participating in the War of 1812. He had first come to Stow Town- ."^hip in 1804, but had returned to Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1820, except during the period of his military .service. Returning to Stow Township in the year last mentioned, he located here permanently, his death occurring here in 1845. He was one of the .sturdy agriculturist of the county, and a man well respected. He married, in Pennsylvania, Bet,?ey Galloway, and they had six children - .John, Isaac, Mars', Eliza, Anna and Margaret.

Henderson Steele was reared on the home farm in Stow Township, of which he subsequently became the owner, and to which he added seventy-four acres. In his latter years he ceased to operate this property him.self. renting it on sliares to two men, one of whom carries on general farming and the other conducts the celery garden, con.=isting of fourteen acres. Dairying is also carried on largely on the farm, fourteen cows being kept for this purpose, and the milk being shipped to

Akron. On the fiurm is .some excellent stock. In the .spring of 1906 Mr. Steele retired from active work and purchased a home in Cuyahoga Falls, where he died.

In 1877 Mr. Steel, in partnership with his brothei-s, Thomas and St. Clair, started in the lumbering business under the firm name of Steele Broithers. Purchasing a portable sawmill, they operated it all through this section of the State, Mr. Henderson Steele having charge of the business for many years. For a quarter of a century the firm also did an exten.sive thre-shing bu.siness. In 1906 the firm was incorporated as The Steele Brothers Hardwood Lumber Company. The company buys the standing timber and sells the rough lumber locally. Mr. Steele's death occurred suddenly at his home, on Sunday evening, September 29, 1907, and was due to heart failure. His end was peaceful, and on the morrow the connmunity of Cuyahoga Falls knew that a good man and sterling citizen had passed from among them.

In 1885 Mr. Steele was married to Mrs. Emily J. (Malone) Carr, wJio w'as the widow of William L. Carr, of Northampton Town- ^-hip, and a daughter of Thomas JL and Lucy A. (Rice) Malone.

Thomas H. Malone was born in Stow Town.ship. November 20, 1815, and died February 4, 1852. In hi.s younger days he taught school, and at the time of his death he was overseer of the Ohio Canal, having succeeded his father in that position. The greater part, of his life was spent at Akron. He w^ a son of Patrick Malone, who came to America from Ireland with his parents when about five years old. They settled in Stow Township.

Mrs. Steele's maternal grandfather was Lewis Rice, a Revolutionary soldier, whose gun, u.sed in the cau.se of American freedom, is .still preserved in the family. He owned a farm in Northampton Township, and w\as also a physician of prominence in his dav. Mrs. Steele's mother was born Mav 15, 1817, and died September 15, 1898. Mrs. Steele had two brothers who ser\'ed in the Civil War - .James M., born Deceml>er 18,

Mrs. Steele was born at Akron, January 17, 1846, and was educated in the schools of that oitj'. By her marriage with Mr. Carr she had two sons - Frank B., a resident of Cleveland, and Claude L. of Reading, Pennsylvania. Of her marriage with Mr. Steele there is one son, Lester H., who was bom February 21, 1887. He is now a bright student in Buchtel College, having previously graduated from the Cuyahoga Falls High Scliool and Hammel's Business College. Mrs. St-eele is a member of the Episcopal Churcli, while her husband was reared in the Presbyterian faith.

In politics Mr. Steele was a Democrat, voting for the candidates of that party in National elections, but in local politics sometimes placing the man before the party when in his opinion there was sufficient reason. Though he never sought public office, he took a warm interest in the caaise of education, and had served as school director. He was also for six years a township trustee. His fellow citizens knew that whatever matters were entrusted to his hands would be well taken care of. He was a prominent member of the I. 0. 0. F., holding membership in Howard Lodge, Cuyahoga Falls, and he was laid to rest by that body.

ISAAC SHANNON McCONNELL, who cultivates a valuable farm in Northfield Township, was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, December 14, 1854, son of John and Jane L. (Shannon) McConnell.

The grandparents of Mr. McConnell came to America from Coiinty Donegal, Ireland, when thedr son John was a child of eight years, settling in Coshocton County, Ohio. There John McConnell remained until 1864, when he came to Northfield Township, Summit County, and here, in the course of time, through his industry and good management, he acquired B67 acres of land, which he and his sons farmed in common. He was a highly respected man and lived a long and useful life, dying March 6, 1905, when almost eighty years of age. He married Jane Ij. Shannon, who died March 30, 1896. They had the following children : John, deceased ; Isaac, whose name begins this sketch; George A., residing in Northfield Township; Hervey A., a present justice of the peace in Northfield Townsliip-; Dr. LaGrande, deceased; James and Albert, deceased; Sarah, who married H. R. Royden, of Northfield; and Charles, of Magnolia, Colorado.

Isaac S. McConnell was ten years old when his parents moved to Northfield. AVith the exception of nine summers, during which period Mr. McConnell worked at cheese-making, he has followed farming ever since old enough to handle farm implements. In the spring of 1894 he came to his present farm, of which he became the owner at the time of his father's death. It contained originally 156 acres, but sixteen acras have been taken by the Lake Erie and Penn- .'^ylvania Railroad. Thirty-nine acres and a fraction of the original farm belongs to Charles E. Mr. McConnell has seventy-five acres of his land under cultivation, his crops being hay, com, wheat and oats. He keeps on an average fourteen head of cattle and forty head of sheep.

Mr. McConnell is one of the most modern farmers of this section. He makes use of the best machinery, keeps a man all the year around and makes his business a thorough success.

Mr. McConnell married Ella H. Ne.-ibit, who was a daughter of James Nesbit, of Northfield, and they had two children: Myrtle Louis and Rebecca. Mrs. McConnell died December 19, 1904, at the age of. thirty-seven years. This was a heavy affliction from which her family have not yet recovered. She was a lovely Christian woman, a devoted member of the United Presbyterian Church, to which religious body Mr. McConnell also belongs.

throughout the whole period of his business Hfe. He wa.? born in 1863 at AUentown, Pennsylvania, where he remained until twenty of age, enjoying in the meanwhile the advantage.-; offered by the public schools.

From AUentown Mr. Paul came to Akron, where he was employed for one year in the county recorder's office, during the administration of Recorder A. A. Bartlett, following which he was in the office of Auditor Aaron Wagoner, working on the tax duplicate for a year. He then entered the employ of the C. A. & C. Railroad, and remained with that corporation for fourteen years, as agent and telegraph operator. For three years more he was connected with the American Cereal Company, for one year he was with the Whitman- Barnes Companj', and then he worked for a year for the Diamond Rubber Company. For the pa.st three years has been secretary of the Akron Selle Company. Mr. Paul has thus been associated with a number of Akron's leading business houses, and the knowledge and experience he has gained have broadened his commercial views and increased his capacity for work. He is interested in the Selle Company as a member of its Board of Directors, in addition to being its secretary.

In 1889 Mr. Paul was married to Mary A. Wolf, who was born in AUentown, Pennsylvania. He and his wife have two children: Ruth V. and Earl R. With hi? family, Mr. Paul belongs to Grace Reformed Church. In political sentiment Mr. Paul is a Republican. He is pre-eminently public-spirited and enterprising, and all that pertains to advancing the public welfare, receives his hearty endorsement. He is a leading member of the Masonic fraternity at Akron, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and Command-

RAMUEL S. CARPER, a leading citizen of Springfield Township, residing on his wellimproved farm of ninety-seven acres, was bom in Springfield Township. Summit Oountv, Ohio. October 27. 1873, and is a son of Oeorge and Elizabeth (Young") Carper.

Penn.-^yhania, Samuel Carper, the grandfather, being the first one of the name to settle in Stark County, where he and wife both died. They had four sons and four daughters, namely: John, Andrew, Samuel, George, Catherine, Elizabeth, Susan and Sarah.

George Carper, father of Samuel S., was born in Stark County, Ohio, April 15, 1838, and grew to manhood on his father's farm, which was situated two and one-half miles south of Hartville, and was educated in the district, schools. In the fall of 1860 he was married in Springfield Township to Elizabeth Young, who was born in 1843, and was the only child of Henry and Margaret (Mishler) Young. Henry Young was born in Pennsylvania and lived to the age of eightyfive years. His widow still survives, aged sixty-nine years. There were five children born to George Carper and wife, as follows: Henr>', who died, aged nine years; Amanda, who married Alvin Holl, resides with her husband and two daughters, Lorena and Elvina, one-half mile south of Mogadore; Margaret., decea.sed, who married Frank Cordier, left two daughters, Lizzie and Amanda: and Samuel S. and Reuben F. The latter was born in 1877 and resides on and farms the homestead for his mother. He owns .sixty acres of fine land. He married Flora Hall, who is a daughter of Alonzo Hall, of Stark County, and they had one child that died in infancy.

After his marriage, George S. Carper, then a poor young man, settled first in his wife's old home and a.ssLsted his father-in-law. but later bought a farm of 142 acres. While he operated his farm he was also in partnership with his father-in-law for about eighteen years in the stoneware clay industry', a business which was ver\^ remunerative at that period. Subsequently he acquired different tracts of land which made him one of the most substantial men of the township. He purchased 172 acres north of Mogadore and later the farm on which his .son. Samuel S., resides, which was known as the John B. Mishler farm, the latter having built the old house and barn. This residence was the first frame house ever erected in Springfield Township, and is still in an excellent state of preservation. George Carper later bought the John Rover farm of sixty acres, and at the time of the death of Henry Young he acquired the old Young homestead of eighty acres, together with eig'hty more acres in SufReld Township. At the time of his death, October 27, 1905, George Carper was the largest landowner in Summit County, being possessed of more than 732 acres. He was a man of great business capacity. He was widely known also for his sterling traits of character and enjoyed the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. For twenty-eight years he was a minister in the German Bapti.«it Church and for a long period was pastor of the church of this body in Springfield Township.

Samuel S. Carper wa.« roared in his native township and attended the district schools. He was taught habiits of industry and frugality in his youth and had the advantages resulting from the religious teaching of Christian parents. He has devoted his attention through mature life to farming and stock-raising and some eight years since purchased his present farm of ninety-seven acres from his late father. The remainder of his father's large estate has not been divided. Mr. Carper has a very valuable property, which, under his careful management, is probably one of the most produobive in Springfield Township.

On October 2, 1894, Mr. Carper was married to Lillie E. Kurtz, who is the youngest daughter of Eli and Catherine (Koones) Kurtz, and they have had three children : Geo'rge, who was born January 7, 1896, died March 11, 1896; Eunice, who was born May 31, 1898; and Clarice, who was born July 22. 1903. These littk daughters are particularly attractive children and give promise of amiable and beautiful womanhood.

In politics, like his father, Mr. Carper is a stanch Democrat. He is a good citizen, but he has no desire to hold public office. He and wife are members of the German Bapti.st Church and he is a liberal supporter of the same.

JOHN W. CLAPPER, whose magnificent fiU'm of 175 acres, all in one body, lies three and one-half miles north of the Smith road, on the line road separating Medina and Summit Counties, is one of Bath Township's leading citizens, and is also a veteran of the Civil War. Mr. Clapper was born in Baughman Township, Wayne County, Ohio, February 12, 1845, and is a son of John and Lydia Ann (Beers) Clapper.

Jacob Clapper, the grandfather, was the first of the family to come from Pennsylvania and settle in Baughman Township, where he secured several hundred acres of land. There his son, John Clapper, the father of John W., was born and he died three months previous to John W.'s birth. Mrs. Clapper subsequently married Abraliam Zimmerman and had four more children. The two born to her first marriage were: Sarah Ann, who is the widow of R. Y. Robinson, residing in Bath Township; and John W. Those of her second marriage were: Mahala, who married Adam Cook, of Baughman Township; Wesley, who died in boyhood; Jesse B., who lives in Bath Township; and Laura Elizabeth, deceased, who married Thomas Welsh.

During his boyhood, the mother and stepfather of John "\A'. Clapper, moved to Chippewa Township, and took up land in the woods, and there the boy grew to nineteen yemrs, when he enlisted for ser\'ice in the Civil War. He entered Company I, Fifth Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, in the winter of 1864. He remained in the army until the close of the war, performing the duties and bearing the hard.ships of a soldier all through Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Vir- .ginia and Kentucky.

When his army service was over, Mr. Clapper returned to his home in Chippewa Township and worked by the month for different farmers mitil the fall of 1867, when he was married to Mary Martha Huston, who is a daughter of William Hu.ston, of Baughman Township. Mr. Huston formerly owned the farm which is now the property of Mr. Clapper. The latter bought first a one-third interest in 102 acres and in 1906, bought sev- enty-two acres of land adjoining on tlio .^ontli, and on this purchase he has built a very fine barn. He is nialiing plans to build a nice residence here also, which will be for rental. On the older part of his farm he has put up all the buildings, except the house, which has been completely remodeled. Formerly, Mr. Clapper wa< a \"ery large raiser of stock and still keeps many sheep, hogs, cattle and hoi-ses, but not to the extent that he once did.

Mr. and Mrs. Clapper have four children : Emma, who married John Wilson, has one child, Georgia; William, who married Edith Swigart, a paper-hanger and painter, at Barberton, has three children, Earl, Ellen and Lucille; and Sadie and Ross, residing at home.

MILAN TRE:\IAN, whose well-cultivated farm of 118 acres lies in Bath Township, one mile west of Montrose, on the Smith road, hns owned his property and carried on general farming and stockraising here since the fall of 1880. Mr. Treman was born in De- Kalb County, Indiana, October 8. 1844. and is a son of Edgar and Laura (Spencer) Treman.

Edgar Treman, father of Milan, was born in Granger Town.ship, Medina County, Ohio, and is a son of John Treman, who came to Medina County, from New York, in pioneer days. Later, John Treman moved to Indiana, accompanied by his three sons, and settled on the farm in DeKalb County, on which Milan Treman was subsequently born. .'\t. the age of nineteen years, Edgar Treman was married to Laura Spencer, who was reared in Granger Town.ship, Medina County, Ohio, and died in Indiana. Her father, Nathaniel Spencer, came to Ohio from the same section as did John Treman, the latter of whom died in Indiana.

Milan Treman was reared in DeKalb County and attended school until about eighteen years of age. when he came to Ohio to visit relatives in Medina County and was .=o pleased with the country and people that when he was twenty-one and at liberty, he left home and returned to Ohio. For several years he worked on various farms, and on October 7, 1869, was married to Sarah Arnold, wlio was born in Copley Township, Summit County, Ohio, September 8, 1843. She is a daughter of Daniel and Sophia (Porter) Arnold, the former of whom was born in Wayne County, Ohio, and was a son of Daniel Arnold who came to Summit County from Maryland. His wife came also from a Maryland family that settled in Medina County.

After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Treman went to live on the old Seth Dye farm, in Granger Township, where he had worked for thre3 years previously, and he spent foTirteen years in all on that farm. In 1879 he bought his present farm in Bath Township, settling on it in the following year. He has made many fine improvements here and among thase is his substantial barn, 40 by 80 feet in dimen- .sions. which he erected in 1886.

CLARENCE D. CRUMB, of the sales department of the Falls Rivet and Machine Company, of Cuyahoga Falls, has been an active citizen of this place for a number of years, during which period he has ser\'ed as mayor and in other public offices. He was born at Canastota, Madison County, New York, December 7, 1855, and ls a son of .Joseph D. and Nancy H. (Hale) Crumb.

The father of Mr. Crumb was born in Chemung County, New York, and followed carpenter work all his life. He died in 1899, aged .seventy-four years. He was connected fraternally both with the Masons and the Odd Fellows. In politics he was a Republican. HLs wife, Nancy, died in 1864, aged thirtythree years. They had four children, of whom there now are two sun-ivors: Clarence D. and Nettie, the latter of whom married W. H. Stanley and resides at Cuyahoga Falls.

Clarence D. Crumb attended school in th:' old Cuyahoga Falls High School, having come first to this section when thirteen years of age. and his finst industrial employment was as a clerk in the general store of Samuel

Conistock, where he remained for three years, and during the next three years he carried on a hardware business for himself. For five years subsequently he was with the firm of Snyder and Blood, who were succeeded by Harvey Snyder, and in turn by the Phoenix Hardware Company, and diiring this period Mr. Crumb served as bookkeeper and a part of the time as secretary. In 1885 he was appointed deputy revenue collector and served as such until 1889, following which he was engaged for four years in the in.suranoe business. In 1885 Mr. Crumb located at Akron, where he resided until 1890, moving then to Cleveland, and from there in 1894 back to Akron, his business demanding these change*. Until 1898, Mr. Cnimb was engaged as bookkeeper with the Akron Iron and Steel Company, and when that organization retired from business, he -was in the accounting department of the Whitman-Barnes Company for ahout two years. The Falls "Wire Works tiien secured him in their auditing departr mont. where he continued for three years, coming back to Cuyalioga Falls in 1902. In 1905 he accepted his present responsible po- .sition in tlie sales department.

Mr. Crumb married Ella ITaynes, who is a daughter of John N. and Martha Haynes, of Cuyahoga Falls, and they have two children, namely: Mabel M., who married Ray C. TToilis. and resides at Alliance, and Metta. who is residing at home with her parents. The family belong to the Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Cramb is a vestryman.

In politics, Mr. Crumb has always been a stanch Democrat, but, notwithstanding, in 1895, he was elected mayor of the town, which is distinctively Republican. He made an admirable magistrate, but resigned hi-i honors when he was a'ljiointed a member of the revenue serWce. Since 190.S he has served a* village clerk. Fraternally, he is a Masort, belonging to Star Lodge, No. 187, and to Washington Chapter, R. A. M.. at Akron.

piist twenty-one years and during this time has been identified almost exclusively with the building trades. He was born June 21, 1858, in Wayne County, Ohio, and Ls a son of Henry and Elizabeth Felger Herman. The parents of Mr. Herman were old residents of Chester Township, Wayne County, where they engaged in farming. Of their family of nine children eight survive.

In 1880 Jacob Herman came to Akron tmd for about ten years he worked as a journeyman bricklayer and mason, having learned his trade in Wayne County. He has carried on a general contracting business in Akron f(ir many years and has built a number of the most' substantial structures in this city. He gives employment to about ten men, increasing the number when the business demand.s it. He is a stockholder in the Odd Fellows' Temple and in other enterprises. In 1886 Mr. Herman married Enmia M. Hoff, who was born at Sterling, Ohio, and they have five children - Verna, Ada, Leroy, Freda and Marguerite. Mr. Herman is identified fraternally with the Odd Fellows. He is one of Akron'> substantial and valued citizens.

LANSON BARKER, a representative citizen of Bath Township, re.siding on his valuable farm of 155 acres, which is favorably situated within three-quarters of a mile of Ghent, was born on this farm, in Summit County, Ohio, February 6, 1857, and is a son of William and Anna Eliza (Hutchinson) Barker.

Mr. Barker is a member of a pioneer family of Ohio, of New England ancestry. The grandfather, Lanson Barker, whose honored name has descended to the grandson, was born in Connecticut, in 1791, and his father, Jared Barker, wa.s born in England. Lanson Barker moved to New York and subsequently to Ohio, settling first in Holmes County, later in Medina County, and still later in Cuyahoga County, where he died in 1855. His children were: Roxie A., William, .Jared, Jolm. Lyman, Mary, Frances and Nelson.

family, was born in New York, July 30, 1817, and accompanied the family to Ohio. After a prospecting visit to California, in 1849, he returned to the E;ist, and in 1853 he purchased a farm in Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio. To the clearing and developing of this farm he devoted practically the rest of his life, making of it some of the most valuable land of this section. He died February 10, 1896. He was a man of sterling character, honest and up'right in his dealings with his fellow-men and was entitled to the respect and esteem in which he was held. He was a .stanch Republican and at various times held public office. He married Anna Eliza Hutchinson, who was born April 3, 1826, and died October 2, 1876. They had four children, the two survivors being: Lanson and Jared, the latter of whom was formerly sheriff of Summit County.

Lanson Barker has always lived on his present farm, with the exception of three years of Vx)yhood spent at Ghent. His education was secured in the schools near his home. His occupation ha? been farming ever since he reached mature years and he is numbered with the progressive and succe-ssful a.griculturists of Bath Township. He cultivates 155 acres, having recently sold sixty acres.

Mr. Barker married Alice Behmer, who is a daughter of Moses and Mary Ann (Myers') Behmer. She was born in Springfield Township, Summit County, but was reared in Richfield Town.ship. They have three children : Anna, Frederick and Alba. The son is a ."tudent in a bu.siness college at Akron. The family residence is a commodious and comfortable frame building which Mr. Barker erected in 1895. He is a member of the Disciples Church at Ghent and one of the trustees. He takes a deep interest in educational affairs and for several years was a member of the town.ohip School Board, and a director of District No. 4, one in which Bath Township takes particular pride on account of the excellence of its schools.

substantial citizens, resides on his valuable, well-improved farm of eighty acres, and owns an additional twenty-five acres, which is situated in Northampton Township. Mr. Vallen was born in Northampton Township, Summit County, Ohio, December 16, 1840, and is a .son of William and Catherine (Chrisman) VaHen.

Abel Vallen, the grandfather, came to Ohio with his family among the pioneers of Medina County, bringing his household goods from New York in huge ox-drawn wagons. The Vallens lived long enough in Medina County to prove that they were people of merit, but the grandfaither decided to move farther east, and later invested in a farm in Northampton Township, Summit County, where he lived until his death. His widowspent her last years with a daughter at Norwalk, Ohio.

William Vallen was a boy when the family left New York and settled in Ohio. He remained at home assisting his father, and when he reached man's estate, the farm was divided, William taking the western portion, on the line separating Northampton and Bath Townships. He proved to be a good business man and from time to time kept adding to his land until he acquired 217 acres, which he owned at the time of his death, in 1878. He was a man who was highly respected by all who knew him and in every sense was a good citizen.

William Vallen married Catherine Chrisman, who is a daughter of George Chrisman, who was a native of Pennsylvania. They had children, namely: Enos. re.«iding in Williams County, Ohio; Durastus: Sylvester, residing on the old homestead in Northampton Township: Lavina, who married Perry Moore, residing in Bath Township : Adeline, who is the -n-idow of Charles Boies; and two deceased, O.scar, the eldest of the family, and Miranda, the voungest. The mother died in 1858.

Durastus Vallen remained at home working for his father and attending the di.strict schools, until he was twentv-one years of age, at which time he owned his own team and went to farming by the month. After his marriage, when twenty-four years old, he settled for one year on a farm in Copley Township, axid spent two years on a farm in the wet^tern part of Bath Township, in 1871, moving to his present farm, one that his father had previously bought of J. Park and Joseph II. Alexander. It was not much improved and Mr. Vallen built a barn the same year that he came to the place, which he later rebuilt, a.nd in 1882, he erected his fine residence.

In 1864 Mr. Vallen was married to Wealthy Averill, who died December 22, 1905, on the forty-first anniversary of her wedding. She was a daughter of Benjamin Averill, a native of New York, and she was born in Copley Township, but was living in Bath Township at the time of her marriage. She was a kind and faithful wife and a devoted mother and her death left a sad vacancy. Mr. and Mrs. Vallen had four children, the only survivor being the youngest, Frank D., who operates the home farm. He married Eva Heller and they have one daughter, Fra.nc&s. Mr. Vallen's other children were daughters and all died in childhood : Jennie, aged four years, Ruby, aged sixteen months, and Nellie, aged two and one-half years.

Mr. Vallen has carried on general farming and has raised cattle, horses and hog? very profitably. Politically, he is a Republican, and in 1900 he was elected township trustee and has been continued in office. He has also sen-ed on the School Board.

JEREMIAH HARTER, residing in the pleasant village of Western Star, owns an excellent farm of eighty acres, situated on the county line road, about one mile south of the town. He belongs to a pioneer family of Stark County, which was established there in the days of hi.? grandfather. Mr. Harter was born in Stark County, Ohio, on a farm one mile east of New Berlin, August 14, 1838, and is a son of Je.sse and Deborah (Essig) Harter.

Jesse Harter was born al<o in Stark County on the farm on which his father, Jacob Harter, had settled wlien he came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, in 1812. Jacob Harter owned about 480 acres. Jesse Harter married De- 1)0 rah Es.sdg, who was reared near Canton, in Stark County. They became the parents of twelve children, seven of whom still survive.

Jeremiah Harter was the eldest born of the family and on him fell the responsibilities attending thait position. He gave his father all the a.ssistance possible and remained on the homestead until he was almost forty years (if age, and during this time had acquired a part of the property. After selling this land he purchased a farm, in 1877, in Norton Township, Summit County, on which he moved in the spring of 1878, and there continued to carry on general farming until 1905, when he removed to Western Star, placing the Norton Township property under rental.

Mr. Harter was married (first) to Harriet Schaar, who died July 23, 1889. She was a daughter of Daniel Schaar, who was a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. There were ten children born to this marriage, as follows: Laura, who mamed L. -0. Benner, resides at Akron, and they have seven children: Henry, married, resides at Akron; Nathan, married, resides at Akron; Mary Frances, who married Aaron Teeple, resides at Akron: Ede Rosanna, who married J. M. Swain; Clara, who married Fore-t Swain; Pearl May, who married Wallace San tee, resides at Wadsworth ; and three who are deceased, Harvey D., Alice D. and a child that died in infancy. Mr. Harter was married (second) to Lorinda R. Lautzenheiser, who is a daughter of John Lautzenheiser.

Mr. Harter has always taken a good citizen's interest in public matters and political movements and he has frequently been called upon to officiate, in office. For three years he served as tn;stee of Plaine Township, Stark County, later .served two years as treas- WTcr of Norton Township, for ten years he was a member of the Western Star School Board, during the latter part of this period being its treasurer, and is now serving in the

CURTIS FENTON, vice president, superintendent and general manager of the Akron Smoking Pipe Companj-, with main factory at Mogadore and branch factories at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, and Hampton, Virginia, is one of the leading men in the clay industry, in this section, his experience covering many years. Curtis Fenton was born at Mogadore, Summit County, Ohio, January 22, 1S53, and he is a son of Almus and Susannah (Lee) Fenton.

Almus Fenton was born at Ogdcusburg, New York, May 27, 1825, and he accompanied his father, Alonzo Fenton, to Cleveland, Ohio, where, prior to 1840, he was engaged in the red clay manufacturing business. Later he settled at ilogadore, and at the time of his death, in October, 1892, he was the oldest clay potter in the place. He married Susannah Lee, who died in July, 1906, and wa? buried on her eighty-fourth birthday. She 'was born in 1823 and was one of fourteen children. Her father was William and her grandfather was Alexander Lee and they came from Pennsylvania and settled at Greensburg, Ohio. The old Fenton farm on which Almus Fenton was bom, by the erosion of the water has all slipped into the St. Lawrence River. Almus Fenton and wife had four sons, namely: William and Thomas, twins, John Curtis, and Curtis. William Fenton is a resident of Mogadore. John Curtis died when two years old.

Curtis Fenton attended the common schools at Mogadore and later took a course in the Spencerian Business College at Cleveland. After leaving school he was employed in a pottery and he has continued from that time to be connected with the clay industry. For eight years he was engaged in the manufacture of stoneware at Tallmadge. He was a member of the firm of Baker and McMillan, which acquired the small pipe factory, which became the nucleus of the .-Vkron Smokinc; Pipe Company. Later it consolidated with another small firm and for the past eighteen years the Akron Smoking Pipe Company has been a very important factor in the industrial world in this section, and is the only tirni in the United States devoted exclusively to the manufacture of clay smoking pipes.

The Akron Smoking Pipe Company was organized in 1889, with F. W. Butler as president, Curtis Fenton as vice president, and C. H. Palmer as treasurer. The board of directors was made up of these leading citizens: C. H. Palmer, F. W. Butler, William H. Palmer, W. H. Merrill and Curtis Fenton. The capital stock was $70,000, which was later increased to $100,000. The branch factory at Hampton, Virginia, employs twenty-five workmen and is devoted exclusively to the manufacture of clay pipes, as is also the factory at Point Pleasant. At the main factory the industry is now confined exclusively to the manufacture of insulators. More than 100 men are given employment in the various plants and the value of the output is more than $100,000 per annum.

Mr. Fenton manufactured the first third rail insulators ever v^sed for the equipping of the third rail system for the New York Central Railroad, in 1906, and manufactured also all of the insulators for the West Shore road of the same system. From Mr. Fenton's factory 10,000 insulators for the General Electric Company, for export, have been shipped, and recently the fir.«t insulators for the California third rail system have been dispatched, making four carloads of finished products. This company's trade relations cover Canada, the T'nited States. Europe and other parts of the world, there being a demand for their goods at everv point where modern methods of transportation have been adopted. The company keeps abrea.st of the times and considers every new appliance in its line of manufacture, adopting it wherever it has proved to be of obvious utility.

Mr. Fenton married Kate Louise Ferguson, who is a daughter of Dr. J. C. and Mary (Ward) Ferguson, and a granddaughter of Calvin and Lydia Ward, who were natives of Connecticut and were the first settlers in Ran- dolpli Township, Portage County, Ohio, where they died. Dr. Ferguson was a well-known physician of Mogadore for many years. He was a graduate of the medical department of the University of Michigan, and of the Cleveland Medical College and was a man who was largely self-educated. Prior to coming to Mogadore, he practiced at North Baltimore, Ohio, and after he located at this place he entered into partnership with Dr. Jewett. Dr. Ferguson died in 188(3, aged sixty-six years. He married Mary Ward, who died at the age of forty years. Their sun'iving children are : Mrs. Fenton, George W., residing at Mogadore, who married Georgia Speora, and has five children ; and Mrs. Weimer, who is the wife of George C. Weimer, and for thirty-one years was a resident of Cincinnati. She now resides with her only daughter, Mrs. Wilson Cross, in London, England. Dr. Ferguson was identified with (he Masonic fraternity.

Mr. and Mrs. Fenton have had four children, the eldest of whom, James T., was born October 12, 1875, and died January 7, 1877. The three survivors are: Mary Ferguson, who was born in November, 1879, was married January 25, 1905, and resides at Mogadore; Marjorio Ruth, who was born July 20, 1889 ; Harry AVeimer, who was born December 12, 1880, all three children having enjoyed superior educational advantages. The family residence was built in 1899 and is one of the handsomest in Mogadore.

Mr. Fenton does not consider him.-elf a politician but has ever taken an active interest in public affairs looking to good government. In political sentiment he is a Republican. His only fraternal connection is with the order of Maccabees. Mr. Fenton has been a resident of Mogadore for the past twenty

GEORGE W. BABB, one of Summit County's most substantial citizens, is proprietor and owner of the Cold Spring Farm, containing 155 acres, situated in Portage Township, and also of a tract of 100 acres, situated in Stow Township, known a^^ the Springdale Celery Garden. Mr. Babb was born in Springfield Township, Sununit County, Ohio, November 5, 1850, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Wise) Babb.

The pioneer of the Babb family in Springfield Township was the grandfather, George Babb, who came from Berks County, Pennsylvania, settling among the early home-seekers of this section. His days were ended in Springfield Township. Joseph Babb was born in Berks County and he was a boy when he accompanied his father to Ohio. In early manhood he was married, at Greentown, Stark County, Ohio, to Elizabeth Wise, who was a daughter of George Wise, who was an early settler and became a large landholder in Portage Township. Joseph Babb and wife had the following children: Jacob, George W., Mrs. Amelia Camp, William J., Frank and Edwin, all surviving, and Charles, who died in infancy.

George W. Babb was nine years old when his parents moved to the farm in Portage Township, on which he lives. Joseph Babb bought 350 acres of land, which became valuable in every part, Mr. Babb's home farm being particularly so as it is located on the northeast corner of Portage Township, lying just outside the limits of Cuyahoga Falls and adjoining Northampton Township. In 1870, Joseph Babb built the large brick residence which Mr. Babb occupies. Joseph Babb and wife subsequently moved to North Hill, Akron, where both died. They were people who were held in high esteem.

This pleasant old farm has been the home of George W. Babb ever since he was nine years old with the exception of four years, three of which he spent on his farm in Stow Township; and one in Tallmadge Township, where he formerly owned a farm of seventy-five acres. He carries on farming and dairying on his Portage Township land and devotes twenty acres of his Stow Township land to the growing of celery.

On July 28, 1880, Mr. Babb was married to Anna Kingsbury, w-ho is a daughter of Lester Wayne and Elizabeth (Fosdick) Kingsbury. Lester Wayne Kingsbury was a sewerpipe maker by trade, and worked at this busi- iiess first in Illinois, where Mrs. Babb wti3 born. She was nine years old when he moved to Cuyahoga Falls. He entered the employ of H. B. Camp, where he remained for many years. During the Civil War he enlisted iu the army from Illinois and served three years, when he was discharged on account of sickness. His death occurred in August, 1884. His widow still survives, at the age of eightyfive years, and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Edwin Babb, of Akron. Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury liad four children, namely: Elsie, Anna, Albert and Abbie. The three daughters all married Babbs, three brothers. Elsie, deceased, was the wife of William J. Babb. Abbie is the wife of Edwin Babb. Albert Kingsbury is a graduate of Cornell University and is a mechanical engineer for the great Westinghouse Company. His home is at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. For some years he taught school at Durham, New Ilampshire, and later was connected with a, college at Worcester, Massachusetts.

Mr. and Mrs. Babb have five children, namely: Bessie, who married Harry Albers, resides at Cuyahoga Falls and they have two children, Wayne and Bertha; Lester, who married Bessie McDonald, has one child. Donna, and they reside on the Springdale farm: and Joseph, Hugo and Karl, all at home.

HENRY VOGT, the capable superinTendent of the great park system of Akron, and one of the city's prominent and substantial citizens, was born in Bavaria, Germany, June 7, 1838, and when young accompanied his father, John Vogt, to America, the family locating in Springfield Township, Summit County, Ohio. He was reared on his father's farm in Springfield Township, and in his boyhood attended the district schools. In early youth he came to Akron and for five years was in the employ of Rus.-;ell Kent. H" then became connected with the Middlebury Coal Company and continued with that firm for eighteen years. Mr. Vogt was subsequently appointed a member of the police force of Akron, serving one year, and was then appointed by the park commissioners to the office of superintendent of parks. At that time the position did not carry with it a large amount of responsibility, but during the twenty-five years that have since elapsed a very dift'erent condition of things has been brought about, chiefly through Mr. Vogt's own efforts. Probably Akron is now tis well equipped with public parks as any city in Ohio, and much of their beauty and general utility must be attributed to the efforts of Mr. Vogt. His conscientious performance of every duty in connection with this work, together with his natural love of beauty, and fine executive ability, have contributed to make him a most useful public officer, and have resulted in benefitting every resident of Akron.

In 1861, Mr. Vogt was married to Lovina Walter, who was born in Summit County, Ohio. He has three childi"en - Frank, residing in Akron ; Ella, who married William Wheeler, residing in Akron ; and Abbie, whc married Bert Taggart, and also a resident o1 Akron.

GEORGE ZELLER, one of Portage Township's representative citizens and successful agriculturists, resides on his valuable farm of ninety-five acres, which he has placed under an excellent .state of cultivation George Zeller was born in Stark County, Ohio, March 19, 1852. and is a son of William Zeller.

The Zeller family originated on the farther side of the Atlantic ocean, its first members in America having come here from Germany. William Zeller came to Ohio and settled in Stark Connty, and in 1860 he came to Summit County. He was a saddler by trade but turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, acquiring large tracts of valuable land and when he died, March 2, 1907, at the age of eighty-two years, he was a man of ample fortune.

Up to the age of twenty-four years George Zeller remained at home and assisted on the homestead farm, and then went to Akron for a few years and worked in the Buckeye shops; and then he worked as a steamfitter. Eventually he returned to the country, purchas- iiig at that lime bis present farm, on wliicli he has since continuously resided. Formerly he raised many head of hogs, but now eontents himself with keeping about twelve head of cattle, shipping his milk to Akron, and to raising abundant crops of wheat, corn and oats. Mr. Zeller's farm is somewhat noted for the magnificent barn he put up in 1897, replacing one that had been destroyed by fire in the previous year. Its dimensions are 70 by 40 feet and the supports are 18-foot posts. The interior of this structure is well finished, and his cattle have clean and sanitary quarters.

George Zeller's family is made up of wife and two children. He married Lenora Sharp, a lady who was born at Akron. Their son, Fred G., is a prominent farmer and stockraiser, who owns 186 acres of land in Northampton Township, Summit County. Their daughter, Clara, lives with her parents. Politically, Mr. Zeller is a Republican, but he is not an active politician. He is a good, reliable, straight-forward man, one whose neighbors know just where to find him on any question involving right and wrong.

JOHN SMITH, a representative citizen and substantial resident of Tallmadge Township, owns two farms of sixty-five acres each, one of which is situated within the city limits of Akron. Mr. Smith was born about seventytwo years ago, in County Antrim, Ireland, and was fifteen years of age when his parents came to America. They were named Robert and Mary (McCracken) Smith, children resspectively of Robert Smith and Patrick Mc- Cracken.

In England, prior to his losses, which were caused by the murrain in his cattle, the father of John Smith was a successful raiser and dealer in stock. He was born in the north of Ireland, where he owned three farms at one time. After his losses he decided to come to America. He embarked on one of the frail old sailing ships, which required six weeks and three days to make the voyage which the latest ocean marvel has accomplished in about four days, but it landed the family safely on

American soil and they came immediately to *Vkron. They lived first on Broad Street, removing later to Rubber Street. John and his brother went to work in the woolen mills of Rouse & Goodrich, where they remained for a number of years. In the meanwhile the father bought a farm of 160 acres from Roswell Kent, a part of which he sold for city lots.

The large family of Robert and Mary Smith included nine sons and three daughters. Joseph died in 1861. Robert died in the same year. Hugh married and moved to Missouri, where he died. William also died in Missouri. Samuel lived to within ten years ago. James, who lived on the homestead, died in the fall of 1906. Patrick married and is pro.spering in Arizona. John, as noted above, lives in Tallmadge. Eliza married John N. Hankey and died at Cleveland. Mary is the widow of John Honodle, who died in 1891. Margaret never married.

John Smith has spent a large part of his active life at work in woolen mills, his last labor in this line having been in mills at Cleveland. He resides with his two sisters on the farm which the family has owned for the past fift}' years. Every acre of it is valuable. The Smith family belong to the Presbyterian Church, in which they were reared by their Christian parents. Politically, Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican and he cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln.

CHRISTOPHER SCHECK, who operates a well-improved tract of farming land, consisting of fifty-five acres, in Portage Township, Summit County, Ohio, was born March 10, 1851, in Germany, and is a son of Jacob and Frederica (Reichard) Scheck.

When but one and one-half years of age Mr. Scheck was brought to America by his parents, who settled first at Liverpool, Medina County, Ohio, but after five years removed to Northampton Township, Summit County, where the father purchased twentyfive acres of land. Here he carried on farming until about 1864 or 1865, when he bought the property now owned by Christopher

Scheck, on which was situated a log house. This house originally stood near the river, but it was moved by the family to the location of the present home, which was erected by Christopher Scheck after his marriage. The farm wa^ cleared and gardening commenced, and later the parents purchased forty-five acres of land, about one-quarter of a mile away, which land is now occupied by William and John Scheck, brothers of Christopher. Here Jacob and Frederiea Scheck spent the remainder of their lives.

Christopher Sheck was married (first) to Louise Eberhart, who was born in New York, and was a daughter of George Eberhart. Four children were born to this union, namely : Fred, who died aged about seven years; Kate, who married Gus Schmeidel, of Akron, has two children, Gertrude and Margaret; and Clarence and George. Mrs. Scheck died in 1887, and Mr. Scheck was married (second) to Mrs. Lena (Gestner) Rebaux. One child, Lillian, has been born to this union. Mrs. Scheck has a son by her first marriage, Curtiss A. Rebaux, who lives in New York City, where he is a mail carrier. He was in the Spanish-American War, in Company H, Eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the whole period of war.