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Source:
Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and
Cleveland, Ohio
ILLUSTRATED
Publ. Chicago:
The Lewis Publishing Company
1894
 

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Leverett Tarbell
pg. 475		 LEVERETT TARBELL

Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 475
  DANIEL R. TAYLOR, son of that honored pioneer, Colonel Royal Taylor, concerning whose life a slight memorial is offered in the paragraphs immediately preceding, occupies a position of no little prominence in the business circles of Cleveland, conducting an extensive and representative real-estate agency, with headquarters at No. 9, Public Square.  For many years he assisted his father, whose conspicuous connection with the realty interests of the State has been noted, and this association enabled our subject to gain a most discriminating knowledge in regard to valuations and all other feathers of the business in which he is now actively engaged.
     Mr. Taylor is a native of the Buckeye States, having been born in Summit county.  During the late civil war be served for two years as military agent for the State of Ohio, at Louisville and Nashville, holding such preferment as an aid to his father.  He secured an excellent education, and was afforded those exceptional advantages granted by a home in which culture and refinement found abiding place.
     For the past quarter of a century our subject has been actively engaged as a real-estate broker and dealer, and has retained a clientage of most representative order, faithful and conscientious in serving the interests of his principals, and recognized as being reliable and honorable in all of his business operations.  Upon his books are represented at all times the most desirable investments for those wishing to buy or exchange, while into no more trustworthy keeping can any principal place his interests in this line.
 Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 137

J. L. Taylor		 J. LIVINGSTONE TAYLOR, deceased, son of the late William and Margaret (Duncan) Taylor, was one of Cleveland's most prominent young business men and citizens, having succeeded his father as the head of the large dry-goods house of William Taylor, Son & Company.
     Mr. Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on Nov. 12, 1861, and came with his parents to Cleveland when nine years of age.  He received his education, however, having been received from his mother.  He was an ambitious student and graduated at an early age, with honors, from the Cleveland Central High School, being a member of the first graduating class at that institution.  Upon leaving school he entered the dry-goods house of Taylor, Kilpatrick & Company, taking a subordinate position as a clerk, it being the desire of both himself and father that he work his way up from the lowest consistent position to a place in the firm, receiving promotion as he earned it, and thus becoming a practical merchant.  He was energetic, painstaking and attentive to his duty in all the details, and his advancement was rapid from a place behind the counter to one of responsibility in the wholesale department, and thence to a membership in the firm, which became William Taylor, Son and Company, in 1886.  Upon the death of his father in 1889 he succeeded him as the head of the firm.
     He was married on Apr. 30, 1890, to Miss Sophia Strong, one of the well known pioneer citizens of Cleveland.  Mr. Taylor's death occurred on Nov. 7, 1892.  His business interests upon his death were taken up by Mrs. Taylor, worthy of emulation by the rising generation, and it is the object of this brief sketch to preserve for the future the salient points in his character.  Though but thirty-one years of age, his success in business was far beyond that of the average man of his years, and his reputation in commercial circles, both at home and abroad, was most enviable.  The establishment of which he was the head was one of the largest and most substantial in the State of Ohio, and it was due to a great extent to his efforts and methods that it reached the proud position it then and now occupies.  He was a member of the Board of Trade of Cleveland, and was interested in public matters to the extent of lending his aid to all movements having for their aim the building up, beautifying and edifying of the city.  But it was aside from the busy marts of commerce and business that the character of Mr. Taylor was most beautiful, his worth as a Christian man and worker overshadowing somewhat the brilliant man of business.  He was a member of the Case Avenue Presbyterian Church, and was one of the most active and persistent workers in the church.  His pastor paid the following tribute to the life of Mr. Taylor:
     "His godliness was a particularly prominent trait in his character.  There are two conditions in which it is hard to live a truly religious life — in poverty, and in prosperity.  I can easily understand how heavy business responsibilities and cares may tend to draw a man's attention away from religious matters, but such was not the case with Mr. Taylor.  He was present at the regular meetings of his church, the morning preaching, the evening service, the prayer meeting.  I ever knew just where to cast my eyes to find him.  He was always faithful in attendance so long as his health remained.  When, one by one, the activities of his life were given up, I knew that his devotion to God was as great as ever.  There were three things that characterized his life and made it round and complete.  They were his godliness, his truthfulness and his manner of taking God into his affairs of life."
     Another minister, and a warm personal friend, zscompared the life of Mr. Taylor as a whole with that of John the Baptist, whose allotted work was finished before his death, and said: "As one to whom the departed brother was as a son, I feel that I can answer the question, 'Why was his life so brief?'  It was because his work was finished, his allotted task ended, his course fulfilled.  His life was not a failure, not an uncompleted fragment, but a full, round existence."
     The following tribute is from a co-laborer in Y. M. C. A. work:
     " He was first a clerk in his father's store, soon a partner, and a little later on he suddenly had the responsibilities of an enormous wholesale and retail business thrust upon him, at the age of twenty-six, by the death of his father.  Then rapidly increasing cares, a steadily enlarging business, trebling in five years, expanding wealth, a widely known business man, the head of one of the largest establishments in Ohio, and all this before he was thirty.  This was the world's view of the rising young man.  But from the standpoint of personal friendships he was most of all and foremost of all a devoted, humble, earnest Christian.  He was a rare and beautiful example of sterling manhood.  Following in the footsteps of his remarkable mother, he was a devoted Bible student, of unusual attainments.  He was an able personal worker, an earnest, vigorous speaker, in association business affairs one of the wisest and shrewdest counselors, and an untiring officer.  He made money rapidly, but ever and only for his Master's glory; the larger the profits, the greater the proportion given back to the Lord.  In an absolutely literal sense Jesus of Nazareth was a partner in the business, and Mr. Taylor was always on the lookout for places to wisely invest the proportion of profits belonging to the Lord.  He had a right view of the purposes of life, and he had a right idea of the proper relations between employer and employed.  The moral responsibility of an employer and the purpose of business in life were both well understood by him.  He held a right view of the stewardship of money.  I have heard him say that he would never allow himself to become a millionaire, and he gave himself wholly to his convictions.  His views upon the subject of the observance of the Sabbath were very strict, and he was most careful in following them.  He would allow no work to be done about the store on Sunday under any consideration, and all those connected with him were fully aware of his convictions upon this point."
     Mr. Taylor was twice president of the Y. M. C. A. of Cleveland, and the following resolutions were adopted by that organization upon his death:
     "Whereas, It has pleased our Divine Master to remove from our association ranks, by death, our beloved brother John Livingstone Taylor, from May 1, 1889, to his death a director, and for two years, ending May 1, 1892, its president; and
     "Whereas, His sudden departure has stricken our hearts with an overwhelming sense of the irreparable loss we have sustained, we, the board of directors of this association, desire to give expression in some fitting manner to his beloved companion, his business associates, and the community at large, of our appreciation of his warm-hearted loyalty and his wise counsels in aid of the work for young men in this city.
Therefore, be it
     "Resolved, That in the death of John Livingstone Taylor this association has lost a true friend, one whose noble example of sterling Christian manhood, business integrity, and true benevolence must leave its impress for good, upon the minds and hearts of all who knew him; one who was a kind and faithful employer, with a deep and earnest responsibility for the highest interests of those whom he employed; and one who was ever ready, by his influence, and his means, as God had prospered him, to push forward the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, and advance the cause of Christ's kingdom in our midst.
     "Resolved, That we extend our fraternal sympathy to the church in whose communion our brother worshiped; to the several benevolent organizations in this city, who ever found in him a warm, generous, constant friend, and to the missionaries of the cross in remote parts of the world, who have had cause to know, by reason of his unsparing gifts to them, how far his aid has gone in relieving the burdens of the suffering and bringing souls to the foot of the cross.
     "Resolved, That we bow in humble submission to the will of him whose 'ways are past finding out,' and may ' the God of peace, that peace which passeth all understanding,' bless us and cause his face to shine upon us, that we may be guided in this life to a closer emulation of the example of our departed brother; and may his memory speak to us, though his voice he silent; and may his life be a benediction to us, and at last may we meet and commune with him in the upper and better kingdom.
     "Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented to his bereaved companion, and that they be engrossed upon the records of the association."
     Mr. Taylor was also an active member and official of the "Floating Bethel," which society adopted the following resolution on his death:
     "Whereas, John Livingstone Taylor, one of the board of directors, who, on Nov. 7, 1892, was called to a glorious future by the Savior he so much loved, honored and served, we feel our loss is very great; he was one of our most cheerful counselors and contributors; no worthy missionary cause did he ever pass by; like the disciples of old, who gave the loaves and fishes to the Master to be blessed beforevthey gave to the multitude, so he sought God's blessing upon his gifts; the fragments of his gifts when gathered up will be very great, for he cast his bread upon the water, believing that he should find it after many days; therefore
     "Resolved, That we extend to his widow our sympathy in her great bereavement.  Her loss is felt by all who knew him.  May God help her to bear her sorrow!"
     The charity of Mr. Taylor to all worthy objects was unfailing and formed one of the chief characteristics of his life, yet it was given in a most humble and unostentatious way, and the good he did in this line will serve to long keep green his memory to those who were the recipients of his generosity, both in money and in kind, sympathetic words of cheer and comfort.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 91
  JOHN WARREN TAYLOR, manager of real-estate investments and estate counselor, 5 Euclid avenue, Cleveland, is a native of Mecca, Trumbull county, Ohio, a son of William D. and Mary (Moran) Taylor.  His uncle, Rev. Dr. Moran, was one of the most prominent and able men in the Methodist Church South during the war.  Mr. Taylor's parents were natives of the north of Ireland, but of English and Scotch descent.  Shortly after their marriage in 1849 they came to America, settling in Mecca, Ohio.  Mrs. Taylor died in 1853, and Mr. Taylor now seventy-four years of age, is living at Cortland, Ohio.  Of the three sons our subject is the only survivor, his brothers, Edward and Robert, having died some years since.
     Mr. Taylor was raised on a farm in Trumbull county, Ohio, received his literary education in Western Reserve University, taught school for three winters, was salesman in the furnishing store of C. S. Fields in Warren, Ohio, four years; at the age of nineteen he commenced the study of law with Taylor & Jones at Warren, and was admitted to the bar of Ohio in 1876; afterward, taking the law course in Ann Arbor University of Michigan, he graduated there in 1878, at which time he was admitted to the Michigan bar.  Returning to his native county in 1878, he opened a law office at Warren, where he enjoyed a good practice till 1884, in the meantime serving a term of three years as Justice of the Peace.
     While never seeking an office Mr. Taylor has always taken a lively interest in politics; was one of the managing Republican Central Committee men at Warren during the memorable Garfield campaign when the mammoth Grant and Conkling meeting was held there.
     In July, 1884, Mr. Taylor moved to Cleveland, since which time he has been engaged in the handling of estates and real estate investments of his own, in 1893 purchasing, improving and platting Douglas Park, consisting of thirty acres of choice territory in the East End, upon which he has erected a large number of houses.  While largely engaged in real-estate matters, his legal talents are constantly employed in the care and management of numerous estates entrusted to his care as well as in real estate matters and the law of real estate and titles generally, in which he is especially proficient.
     While busily engaged in other affairs he still clings to his first occupation, that of farmer, as a recreation.  He owns and manages a farm of 128 acres a few miles out of Cleveland, where he is engaged in rearing some fine horses.  He also has seventy six acres of garden land in the city of Toledo and interests in timber lands in Michigan.
     He is a self-made man in every sense of the word, having started at the bottom of the ladder.  Intolerant of trickery and duplicity, he has achieved his success in life by upright, straight-forward methods, a keen business judgment and diligent application to the affairs in his charge.  He is a member of Holyrood Commandery and resides at 1253 Euclid avenue.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 344
  J. W. TAYLOR, a retired banker of Cleveland, was born in this city, June 2, 1824, a son of Elisha and Ann (Dunlap) Taylor.  The father was a native of Otsego, New York, and was married in that vicinity.  He came to Cleveland in 1816, where he was engaged as a general merchant until 1826, and for the following seven years resided on a farm in Cherry valley, New York.  He next removed to New York.  Mr. Taylor was an ardent temperance worker, and did great good in that line, having organized temperance societies and edited the Temperance Recorder, then the only strictly temperance paper in the State.  He returned to Cleveland in 1843, where he followed merchandising four years, and then, in partnership with J. M. Hoyt, embarked in the real-estate business.  They purchased out-land tracts, which they converted into lots to suit the purchaser.  Mr. Taylor remained in this city until his death, in April, 1861, at the age of seventy-five years.  He was a charter member of officer in the Presbyterian Church, and was a member of the building committee of the Euclid Avenue Presbyterian Church.  Mrs. Taylor died in this city in 1824, at about thirty years of age.  She was also a life-long member of the Presbyterian Church.
     J. W. Taylor, the youngest and only survivor of nine children, five of whom died in early life, graduated at Union College in 1843.  He afterward clerked in his father's store for seven years, was then employed as bookkeeper in what is now the National City Bank, next removed to the southern part of the State, and for the following fifteen years was engaged in different positions in the bank.  During the late war he spent four years in Louisville.  Returning to Cleveland in 1866, Mr. Taylor was engaged in the settlement of his father's estate, completing the same in 1893.
     In 1847 he was united in marriage with Miss Anna Sexton, and they had one child, Anna, now the wife of George W. Lutton, of Florida.  The wife and mother died in October, 1849, at the age of twenty-two years.  Mr. Taylor was again married in 1871, to Belle, a daughter of William Cresling, an attorney of Springfield, Ohio.  One child has been added to this union, Edith, attending college at Northampton, Massachusetts.  Mr. Taylor is a member of the First Baptist Church.  In political matters he is a stanch Republican.  Is a thorough scholar, a true gentleman, and enjoys the abiding confidence and respect of his acquaintances for his manly character and unimpeachable integrity.
 Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 914

N. W. Taylor
pg. 547		 NEWTON WILLIAM TAYLOR, a native of Madison county, New York, was born July 12, 1823, the son of George T. and Mary (Hubbard) Taylor, and was the eldest of a family of four children.  Of English descent, he traces his paternal ancestry back through many generation of sturdy English yeomanry.  For more than 300 years successively some of his ancestors have occupied "little Baddow Hall" in Essex county, England.  His paternal grandmother was a direct descendant of the Earl of Mar, a Scotch nobleman.  His grandfather, Thomas Taylor, emigrated from England in 1795, landing on the 6th of July at Marbleland, Massachusetts, whence he soon afterward went to Windsor, Connecticut, and in 1812 settled at Madison, New York.
     Our subject's father, George T. Taylor, was born at Windsor, Connecticut.  He was a farmer in early life, but in after years became a prosperous wool merchant.  He was a man of considerable local prominence in his community, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.  He was for several terms a member of the New York General Assembly, and also held the office of Town Supervisor.  He was a Presbyterian in his religious faith, and was prominent in religious and benevolent work, and was widely and familiarly known as "Deacon Taylor.''  He became a resident of Cleveland in 1855, and died there in 1870, at the age of seventy-two years.  Our subject's mother was a native of Massachusetts, and died about 1828.  Of his brothers, Albert H. Taylor, who went to California during the "gold fever" of 1849, died there, at the age of twenty-seven: Horace Taylor died at Cleveland, aged about thirty years.  His only sister is Mrs. Henry W. Whittlesey, of Cleveland.
     Newton passed his boyhood on the old homestead in Madison county, attending the district school and assisting in the farm work.  At the age of fourteen he became a clerk in the village store, and after five years of service in that capacity he was made a partner in the business. He was a young man of clear foresight in business affairs, of sound judgment and trustworthy, and when but eighteen years old was sent to New York city to purchase goods for the firm.  That copartnership continued some three years, and then young Taylor removed to Buffalo and for a short time engaged in the produce business on his own account, after which he was associated with his father a few months in Ohio, in the purchase of wool for eastern manufacturers.
     During this last employment his business called him to (Meveland.  The favorable business outlook there so impressed him that he at once resolved to make it his future home.  That was in 1849.  He first engaged as a dry-goods clerk for A. D. Cutter, and at the expiration of  six-months became a partner in the business, a relation which he sustained until the decease of Mr. Cutter, in 1851. The business was afterward continued under the name of Taylor, Griswold & Company till 1855, when Mr. Taylor withdrew from the firm as an active partner, though still retaining an interest in its affairs.  His careful management had enabled him to amass capital sufficient for larger enterprises, and, in connection with other Eastern capitalists, he purchased a large tract of timberland in Ionia county, Michigan, and there erected sawmills, flouring-mills and other buildings necessary for the conduct of the lumber trade.  That was the beginning of the now prosperous town of Hubbardston.  With a view to furnishing a market place for the products of these mills, Mr. Taylor, during the same year, opened a lumber yard at Chicago, and remained there in charge of it for one year, until the enterprise was firmly established, and then, retaining his interest in the business, relinquished its active management to his partners.
     Returning to Cleveland in the fall of 1856, he organized The Lake Erie Paper Company, which built and equipped a large plant at Chagrin Falls, that was successfully operated until it was burned in 1857.  The company then transferred its operations to Cleveland, erecting the paper-mill on Forest street, and conducted it until in 1859, when the business of Messrs. Younglove & Hoyt was purchased, and the company reorganized under the name of The Cleveland Paper Company.  Four years later, in 1863, the company bought the Monroe Falls Paper-Mill, in Summit county.  In all these vast enterprises Mr. Taylor was the guiding spirit, and he at the same time was a stockholder in and president of the Massillon Paper Company, and owned a large interest in the paper-mill at Canton; also, he was the principal stockholder in the New Philadelphia (Ohio) Paper Company.  The Cleveland Paper Company have had extensive warehouses in both Cleveland and Chicago since 1866.  He was also president of the Forest City Insurance Company from its organization, for fifteen years, when its business was transferred to the Factory Mutual of New England.  In 1880 Mr. Taylor built the only wood-pulp mill in Ohio, and also erected a third mill for the manufacture of paper.  At the present time (1894) he is the principal stockholder in the Eastern Paper-Bag Manufacturing Company of Boston, controlling numerous and valuable patents for making paper bags and flour sacks, and also owns large interests in the Indiana Paper Company of Indianapolis, with mills at South Bend and Mishawaka.  He was also a director of the paper mills at New Castle, Pennsylvania, and president of the Cleveland Window-Shade Company.
     As a business man Mr. Taylor is prompt, farsighted, energetic and reliable.  Comprehensive in his plans, he has executive and financial ability of a high order, and seldom, if ever, fails in the realization of the highest and best results.  He is public-spirited, decidedly a man of affairs, and from his abundant means liberally supports all worthy enterprises.  He has traveled extensively, visiting the principal places of interest in foreign lands, and from his constant reading and study of men and affairs keeps himself in
touch with current events.  He is a Republican in political sentiment, and during the Civil war made large donations to the support of the Union cause.  Though often solicited to accept public office, he has uniformly declined, owing to the demands of his extensive business affairs.  His broad sympathies prompt him to many benefactions and bring him into the most friendly relations with all who come in range of his influence.  This is especially true of his numerous employes, for whom he has a deep solicitude and almost paternal care.
     In December, 1849, Mr. Taylor married Miss Mary Thompson, of New York city, and by her has one son and one daughter.  With his family he attends the services of the Episcopal Church.  Mrs. Taylor's grandfather, Nehemiah Thompson, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and had six sons and three daughters.  He was one of the first settlers of Madison county, New York, was a pious man and one of the founders of the Congregational Church in Madison.  His second son, Charles, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was the father of Mrs. Taylor.  He was born in Stratford, Connecticut, emigrated to New York when twenty-one years of age, and died there in 1842.
 Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 547
  ROYAL TAYLOR, one of the prominent and highly respected citizens of Solon, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, was born in Aurora, Portage county, this State, Oct. 5, 1820.
     His father, Worthy Taylor, was a native of Blandford, Massachusetts, and was a soldier in the war of 1812, while Samuel Taylor, our subject's grandfather, was a Revolutionary soldier.  The latter was of English and Scotch extraction.  It was in 186 that the Taylors came to Ohio and settled in Aurora, they being among the pioneers of that part of the Western Reserve and occupying a leading place among the early settlers.  Colonel Royal Taylor, an uncle of our subject, was an officer in the late Civil war.  Samuel Taylor was a drover and cheese dealer, and for many years did an extensive business in this line.  His son Worthy was also engaged in the cheese business for many years, shipping by flatboat to the Ohio river and Southern market.  The mother of Royal Taylor was before her marriage Miss Harriet Kent.  She was a native of Massachusetts but for many years a resident of Geauga Lake  Worthy Taylor and his wife had eight children, two sons and six daughters, namely: Harriet, wife of L. S. Bull, of Solon; Royal; Emerett Burroughs, deceased; Wealthy Eggleston, of Aurora; Arabelle, wife of Charles Burroughs, of Aurora; Eliza Parker, of Ravenna; Homer, of Aurora; and two, a son and daughter, who died in childhood.  The mother of this family died at the age of fifty-two years, while the father lived to be ninety, his death occurring in1887.  He was a Republican in politics, was for thirty years a Justice of the Peace, and was a devoted member of the Disciple Church for forty years.
     Royal Taylor was reared and educated in his native town.  In 1843 he came to Solon, settled on a tract of wooded land, and as the years rolled by cleared and improved a fine farm of 233 acres.  For thirty years he was engaged in the dairy and stock business.  Since then, for the past twenty years, he has devoted some time and attention to the real-estate business, in which he has been very successful.  He has a comfortable home in Solon, and is surrounded by all that goes to make life happy.
     Mr. Taylor has been thrice married - first, in 1845, at Aurora, Ohio, to Miss Sarah Smith  Some time after her death he wedded Lucy Wallis, a native of New York and a daughter of John Wallis.  They had two sons, J. E. and of John Wallis.  They had two sons, J. E. and G. W.  The former is manager for the Harbough Oil Co., of Cleveland, and the latter is chief clerk of the Richmond & Danville Railroad Co., at Washington, District of Columbia.  The mother of these children died in 1890.  Feb. 14, 1893, Mr. Taylor married Mrs. E. G. Morse, of North Solon.  She was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania, daughter of John W. and Lavina (Carroll) Hickman and, like Mr. Taylor, had been married twice before.  By her first husband, Lemuel S. Clark she had two children, Edith L .Clark and O. S. Clark
     Mr. Taylor is a Republican, has served as Township Trustee, has been delegate to various conventions, and has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs.  He has been a member of the Disciple Church for over forty years, and held various offices in the same, and liberal in contributing to the same.
 Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 267
  COLONEL ROYAL TAYLOR -- To have attained to the extreme fullness of years, represented by four-score and twelve, and to have had one's ken broadened to a comprehension of all that has been accomplished within the flight of so many days, is of itself sufficient to render consonant a detailed consideration of such a life in a work of this order, but in the case at hand, there are more pertinent, more distinguishing elements, - those of usefulness, of high honor, of marked intellectuality, of broad charity, - which lift high in reverence the subjective personality of one who stood as one of nature's nobleman, "four square to every wind that blows."
     It must ever be held as a matter of regret when an aged historical veteran is gathered to his fathers, that to later generations had not been given a more intimate knowledge of his personality, a more lively comprehension of the events and circumstances which formed a component part of his life, that the lips should be silenced whose power it was to have told of incidents that had marked bearing on the thought and action of these days long passed, that there be denied a familiarity with the ambitions and struggles of his youth and with the subsequent trials of the more crucial days,—those of his maturer years.
     While no shadows darken any period of the long, honorable and eventful life of the subject of this memoir, the incidents of general public interest, which he was wont to relate in social intercourse are mainly cherished in the memory of his family and later associates, his early contemporaries having long since departed, his modest reserve having disinclined him to commit to writing matter relevant to his personal history, though he was often importuned for such contributions.  For more than half a century Royal Taylor was one of the most enterprising and best known business men of Ohio, but to the younger men of the present generation, his early history and experiences were but dimly known, while his personality was recognized as that of a venerable gentleman of genial spirit, and one of the last of the famous pioneers of the Western Reserve, with whose development he had been most intimately and
conspicuously identified.
     The family name of Taylor has long been familiar in English history, but from which branch or locality sprang the first American ancestor, there is no definite means of ascertainment at the present time.  It is sufficient in this connection to state that it is known with absolute certainty, from historical data, that the great-grandfather of our subject, Samuel Taylor, in the reign of Charles II, and the year of the burning of London, 1666, came to America and settled in Hadley, Massachusetts.  There is, however, fair presumptive evidence that this branch of the family is in direct line of descent from the martyr, Rowland Taylor, an English clergyman who was chaplain to Archbishop Cranmer, and who was burned at the stake in Hadleigh, county Suffolk, England, in 1555.
     Samuel Taylor, son of the above named Samuel Taylor, was born at Hadley, in 1713, and there lived until 1752, when he removed into the mountain forest of Pontoosuck, now the beautiful city of Pittsfield.  That this person, the grandfather of our subject, was a man of prominence and an eminent factor in the pioneer enterprises of that day is evident from a reference to the records of the Great and General Court of 1753, which shows that he was at the head of a syndicate of seven citizens, who, by a special act, secured an incorporation under the title of the "Proprietors of the Settling Lots in the Township of Pontoosuck."  This was the Indian name of the place, and the same was retained until 1761, when the town was incorporated by the name of Pittstield, in honor of the celebrated statesman, William Pitt.
     Samuel Taylor, the third of the name, and father of our subject, was born in Pittsfield in 1764, and with his father's family removed to Middlefield in 1770, and there Royal Taylor was born, Sept. 1, 1800.  Here also, in 1804, his venerable grandfather, the pioneer of Pontoosuck, died at the age of ninety-one years.  Three years later the father, Samuel Taylor (third), departed from Middlefield, of which he had been an early pioneer, and came with his family, including his little six-year-old son, Royal, and set up a new pioneer altar in the maple forests of Aurora, Portage county, Ohio, where he lived six years, and where he died in March, 1813.  Ohio at that time was a vast wilderness, and the Western Reserve had more Indians than white men.
     Thus bereft of his father at the early age of twelve years.  Royal Taylor, rightly named as the inheritor of the pioneer spirit and enterprise of a truly royal line of ancestors,—the American royalty of manhood and citizenship,—the fourth of his line, takes up his axe, the emblem and insignia of the pioneer, and valiantly carries on the struggle of life in the forests of the Reserve, bearing without protest the heavy burden imposed upon his youthful shoulders, and looking fate manfully in the face.  Under such circumstances and necessities began the pioneer life of the boy, Royal Taylor, whose first labor was in the sugar camp of a friendly neighbor, and whose sweet reward was his weight (seventy pounds) of the palatable maple sugar.  He worked in the first brick-yard of the town, the brick of which were used in the construction of the old Presbyterian church of Aurora.  For his services in this connection, he received $15 a month, which money he invested in the purchase of sixty acres of land in Solon, in 1816, for $300.  Lands having depreciated in the market during the ensuing three years, he sold his place in 1820 for $200.  He chopped wood and cleared land, and for several years, in many like ways, earned money for the support of his mother and her family.  Yet all this hardy, out-door life not only evidenced a placid and cheerful mind, but was a healthful, physical discipline, for he grew up a tall and handsome young man, with great powers of endurance, -  a splendid specimen of pioneer manhood, - equal to any emergency, and fit for any place in civic or public life.  Fortunately for him, as for many other pioneer youth, good schoolteachers followed the emigrating families to the Western Reserve, graduates of the colleges and academies of New England.  Thus he secured a good common-school education by attendance during winters; and as he never undertook anything in a half-hearted or careless manner, he  ultimately qualified himself for a teacher, and pursued that calling for a number of years with eminent popularity and success.  In the meantime he learned the printer's trade, and was engaged in type-setting for a time, at New Lisbon, Ohio.  He continued his studies as opportunity afforded, under the direction of private tutors, and finally determined to adopt the legal profession.  With this end in view he devoted two years to technical study, first in the office of Jonathan Sloane, and later in that of Van R. Humphrey.  Subsequent business enterprises, however, dissuaded him from completing his course of legal studies and coming to the bar.
     In 1822 he went to Kentucky as a school teacher, and while there pursued the study of the higher branches of mathematics and the Latin language, likewise finding time to meet the advances of the wee elf who is supposed to regulate affairs of the heart, he became engaged to a young lady.  Miss Rebecca Saunders, to whom he was married in 1824.  The following year they came to Ohio and lived at different intervals in Aurora, Russell and Twinsburg.  At this last place, in 1836, his wife died, leaving him with five young children.  In 1837 he married, at Twinsburg, Miss Sarah A. Richardson, daughter of Captain Daniel Richardson, of Connecticut, her birthplace having been the romantic and historical town of Barkhamstead, as it was also that of her cousin, John Brown, of Ossawotamie fame.  She bore to him four sons and three daughters, was a devoted wife and mother, and his true companion during nearly thirty years of the most eventful period of his life.  Her death occurred in 1865.  The following year he married Mrs. Annetta Hatch, of Ravenna, formerly of Vermont, who has but recently passed away.
     The decade subsequent to 1825 was a period of great commercial enterprise, in the early prime of the life and spirit of Mr. Taylor, being no less than, in connection with his brother Samuel, and with Harvey Baldwin, of Aurora, that of opening up the export trade in the extensive cheese product of Northern Ohio with the Southern States, through the medium of boats and barges on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.  This enterprise, while successful by reason of their intelligent and discriminating management, he resigned after the financial disturbances of 1837, and assumed charge of several bankrupt mercantile establishments.  His legal training here stood him in good stead, and so marked was his success in settling and adjusting such matters that his services were in constant demand, and eventually carried him to Chagrin Falls, at the instance of his life-long friend, Albon C. Gardner, one of the best known and most successful of the early merchants of northern Ohio.  He became engaged as factor for the sale of lands held by the heirs of General Henry Champion, one of the original purchasers of the 3,000,000 acres of land in Ohio known as the Connecticut Western Reserve.  In 1858 he acted as agent for Yale College in adjusting an important litigation with the heirs of Henry L. Ellsworth, in which capacity he secured to the college land of great value, which he subsequently sold for the institution.  These agencies, together with others for private capitalists in the East, placed in his care upward of half a million acres of the best land in Ohio and other States, and necessitated much travel; in the prosecution of the business he visited every western State east of the Rocky mountains.  In fact, it was the principal business, aside from public duties, of his long, active and honorable career, he having but a short time before his death, in 1892, sent his last letter concerning the business, in reply to which he received a kindly note of commendation for his faithful work.
     Among the numerous civil duties from time to time exacted of Mr. Taylor by his townsmen, he served as commissioner for Portage county, and also as State Commissioner of the Blind Asylum.  From 1842 to 1868 he resided in Cuyahoga county, the better to accommodate his business as land agent, and also to act as agent for the Cleveland & Mahoning Railway, of which he had been an early and efficient promoter.  In the early divisions of political parties, he was a Whig.  In 1848 he aided in the organization of the Free Soil party, attending, as a delegate, the first county convention in Cleveland, and being also a delegate to the first State convention of the party in Ohio (the first held in any State) at Columbus, in June, 1848.  This earnest and sturdy organization being, in 1856, merged into the Republican party, he was arrayed in support of the latter through peace and war to the end of his days.
     In 1861, over the disintegrated Union was spread the pall of a fratricidal war, and this ever memorable conflict was to our subject a strongly marked dividing line between his active business life and his patriotic devotion and military services rendered his State and country during, and long subsequent to, that period of ordeal and gloom.  During the autumn of 1862 large numbers of sick and wounded Ohio soldiers were discharged from the army, then in Kentucky.  In their helpless condition they proved easy prey to the hordes of self-styled claim agents of Louisville, who bought their pay vouchers for a mere pittance.  These facts becoming known to Governor David Tod, he deputized Mr. Taylor to go to the scene and investigate the matter.  His subsequent report gave unmistakable evidence that great injustice was being done, and the Governor then appointed Mr. Taylor military agent, with rank of Colonel, on his staff, and instructed him to take such vigorous action as he deemed best calculated to remedy the evil.  Colonel Taylor went immediately to Louisville, and with the aid of officers of the department secured such order as to render the efforts of the nefarious gang abortional.  Thereafter the interests of Ohio soldiers were carefully guarded by Colonel Taylor, who had opened an office in Louisville, and who effectually warded off all unjust and careless treatment.  The next year he was ordered to Nashville, Tennessee, where performed a like service until the spring of 1864, when, on orders from Governor Brough, he removed his headquarters to Chattanooga, where he remained rendering noble service during the eventful Atlanta campaign, culminating in Sherman's triumphant march to the sea.
     Early in 1865 he was appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Claims in Ohio, and went to Columbus, where he remained in the discharge of the incidental duties for two years and ten months, after which, at his suggestion, the office was discontinued by an act of the Legislature, the unsettled business being given into the hands of the Adjutant-General of the State.  At the close of this last public service incident to the war, he made Cleveland his residence.  During the time he held this office he collected and distributed to the widows and orphans of soldiers over $2,000,000, and how well and nobly he performed this service, is attested by the records of the department, the books showing his accounts to have been kept to the accuracy of a cent, thus ever to stand as a memorial and witness, not only of his personal integrity, but also of his marked business and executive ability.
     In 1868 Colonel Taylor removed to Ravenna, in which familiar place the remainder of his days was passed.  Here for twenty-four years, and until his last illness, he was devoted to his books and business.  In 1875, being then in his seventy-fifth year, he traveled through upper and lower Canada, and subsequently went on a business trip to England, making a tour of that country and Ireland.  He was a thorough temperance man, and a regular attendant of the Presbyterian Church, though not maintaining a membership in the same.  The personal accomplishments of Colonel Taylor were far superior to those of the average business man of his day.  He was a constant and careful reader, and that intellectual resource and consolation abided with him even unto extreme age, his mental faculties remaining practically unimpaired until the last.  He had traveled extensively, and his faculty of observation was phenomenal and never-failing; he never lost his lively interest in the affairs of the world, and, a true patriarch, his mind held a vast fund of knowledge, derived from the study and varied experiences of a long and eventful career.  Attractive in person, courteous and gentle in his bearing, he stood as one of the most noble specimens of the true gentleman of the old regime, honored and beloved by all who came within the sphere of his individuality.  His manuscript, even down to the end of his life, was as plain, free and legible as that of the most expert accountant, and his style of correspondence evinces literary taste and a most retentive memory.
     To this honored pioneer, whose name must ever be held in veneration, death came after an illness which had confined him to his bed for seven months.  During that time he suffered much physical pain, but his mind did not release its grasp upon time and place until was drawn the last fleeting breath, bringing rest to the tired spirit which had calmly waited for the hour of dissolution.  He died Nov. 20, 1892, having then but recently completed his ninety-second year.  The beauty and grandeur, the lesson and incentive of such a life can never fade, and the page which does no more than bear the impress of his name should be touched with reverent hand, and with a feeling of gratitude that such a life has been lived.
     The children of Colonel Taylor by his first wife were: Squire and Annetta, who died in infancy; Samuel S., who died in Illinois; Worthy S., a member of an Illinois regiment in the late war, was killed in the service; Mary M., a resident of Cleveland.  The children by his second wife were: James Royal, Sarah E. (Riniff), Charles Arthur, all deceased; Daniel R. and William G., of Cleveland; Annetta S. (Harrington) of Chicago; and Ellen E., of Ravenna.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 133

Vincent  A. Taylor
pg. 583		 HON. VINCENT A. TAYLOR, of Cuyahoga county, descended from a long line of ancestors, the history of whose brilliant careers is but a prophecy of his own.
     He was born at Bedford, Ohio, Dec. 6, 1845, the son of William O. and Harriet M. (Fitch) Taylor.  William O. was born at Buckland, Franklin county, Massachusetts, in 1814, and was a lineal descendant of the Tayor family well known in the history of the New England States in Colonial days.  Harriet M. Fitch was born at Bedford, Ohio, the daughter of Benjamin Fitch, a native of Connecticut.  The Rev. James Fitch, one of the maternal ancestors, was prominently identified with the founding and early history of Norwich, Connecticut, and was the first minister of the gospel in that town.  Thomas Fitch, one of the descendants of the Rev. James Fitch, was Governor of Connecticut from 1754 to 1766; and Major James Fitch, son of the Rev. James Fitch, was one of the founders of Yale College; he made liberal contributions of money and building material to that institution, and finally endowed the college with 637 acres of land.  A great granddaughter of the Rev. James Fitch married President Styles of Yale College.  Benjamin Fitch emigrated to Ohio in 1801, and in 1813 came to Bedford, where he followed the trade of chair-making. William O. Taylor removed to the West in 1831, and two years later began to learn the trade of chair-making from Mr. Fitch.  When he had mastered the business he began working on his own account, and met with much more than ordinary success.  This was the foundation of the trade which called for the larger works and increased facilities which were provided in 1863, by the erection of a large plant at Bedford.  In 1873 the firm of William O. Taylor & Sons was established, and this in time was organized as the Taylor Chair Company, which is the present style of the concern.
     Vincent A. Taylor, like many another lad, was foiled in his youthful ambitions for want of means to complete his education.  In 1864, when eighteen years of age, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Fiftieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and later joined the One Hundred and Seventy-Seventh Regiment, of which he was a member when he was mustered out of the service.  He was in the Twenty-third Army Corps during the Hood-Thomas campaign in Tennessee, when the bloody battles of Nashville, Franklin, Spring Hill and Stone River were fought; he was also in the attack upon Fort Fisher, and participated in the campaign in North Carolina.  He was honorably discharged in June, 1865, one of the youngest soldiers of the Union army.  After returning from the war he abandoned his long-cherished hope of entering the legal profession.  He embarked in the lumber trade, which he conducted with very satisfactory results, until he decided to connect himself with his father and brothers in the manufacturing business.
     He has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his town, county, State and nation, and has served the public in various capacities, discharging his duties with a fidelity and zeal which commanded the respect and inspired the confidence of his constituents and opponents alike.  In 1878-79 he filled the office of Mayor of Bedford, and in October, 1888, he was elected State Senator from Cuyahoga county on the Republican ticket.  From the first he took a prominent position in the Senate, and was an active participant in the deliberations of that body.  Among the most important measures introduced by him was the bill known as the "Depository Law," which, in brief, required city treasurers and boards of education to deposit the funds received by them in the bank which offered the highest rate of interest for the money, the rate being determined by proposals or bids from the banks.  This bill became a law, and, besides securing large additional revenues to cities, effectually places the public funds beyond the roach of embezzlement or defalcation.  In 1890 Mr. Taylor was nominated by the Republican party for Congress to represent the Twentieth Congressional District of Ohio, and was elected at the following election.  The nominating convention convened in Cleveland August 7th of that year, and five candidates were brought forward: V. A. Taylor, of Cuyahoga county; C. P. Wickham, of Huron county J. B. Burrows, of Lake county; N. D. Tibbals, of Summit county, and E. G. Johnson and G. W. Shurtleff, of Lorain.  All were men of prominence and influence, and were supported by intelligent and devoted friends.  The balloting continued until the 16th of August without intermission excepting Sunday, and 281 ballots were taken before a choice was made.  On the 281st ballot Mr. Taylor received 141 votes, or twenty-two more than were required for a decision.
    Mr. Taylor was united in marriage on the 30th of November, 1867, to Miss Clara R. Flick of Bedford, a daughter of Jacob Flick, whose history is given in this volume.  Four children have been born of this union: Albert V., who is a student in the Columbian Law School, Washington, District of Columbia; Hattie M., Joseph and Bruce.  Mr. Taylor is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Summit Chapter, R. A. M., and to Holyrood Commandry, K. T., of Cleveland; he is a member of Memorial Post, G. A. R., and belongs to the Church of Christ at Bedford.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 683

William Taylor		 WILLIAM TAYLOR.  The late William Taylor, who was the head of the large wholesale and retail dry-goods house of William Taylor, Son & Company, was one of Cleveland's most successful merchants and honored citizens.  He was a native of Scotland, born at Torphichen, Linlithgowshire, on July 13, 1832, came to America when a young man and took a position in the dry-goods house of Hogg, Brown & Taylor, in Boston, his brother, John Taylor, being the junior member of that firm, which in its time was one of the largest in the country.  From Boston Mr. Taylor removed to Nashua, New Hampshire, and engaged in the dry-goods business at that place until 1870, when he came to Cleveland, accompanied by Thomas Kilpatrick, with whom he established the dry-goods house of Taylor, Kilpatrick & Company, opening their store in the Cushing Block on Euclid avenue and the Public Square, the present location of the business.  In January, 1885, Mr. J. Livingstone Taylor became a member of the firm, and this partnership was dissolved in 1886, Mr. Kilpatrick retiring.  The firm then became William Taylor, Son & Company.  During the latter part of the year 1887 Mr. Taylor's health began failing, and his death occurred on the 20th day of December of that year.
     Mr. Tayor was a man of sterling worth and character.  As a business man he was very successful and was widely known in commercial circles, particularly in the East.  As a citizen he was all that could be desired, being enterprising, public spirited and patriotic.  He was an active church member and worker, having been an Elder, Trustee and Sabbath-school teacher in the Woodland Avenue Presbyterian Church.  In all the local charities he was most liberal in his contribution, and his direct donations to the deserving poor were large and timely.  His desire to assist worthy young men in life resulted in the establishment in business of many who might otherwise have been forced to occupy subordinate positions in life, instead of becoming proprietors of establishments of their own.  In all that pertained to Scotland Mr. Taylor was an enthusiast.  He was a life member of the Boston Scotts' Charitable Society, and of the Cleveland St. Andrew's Society, taking an active and generous interest in the work of the latter organization.  The St. Andrew's Society passed the following resolutions upon his death, which are a just tribute to the man and member:
     "Resolved, That in the death of Mr. William Taylor, our society and the community has sustained an irreparable loss.  By the urbanity of his manner, the integrity of his life, the sincerity of his friendship, and the genial, generous sunshine of his noble, manly nature, he endeared himself to all who had the pleasure of making his acquaintance.  The death of such a man is a public calamity, and while we bow in tearful sorrow to the inscrutable providence that removed him from our midst, we nevertheless are cheered by the recollection that he illustrated in his death, as in his life, the true nobility of a Christian character.
     "Resolved, That we will sacredly cherish his memory in our hearts because of his many private virtues, his great moral worth and excellent business qualities, his great executive ability and unflagging industry.  Generous hearted and sincere, his good right hand was ever ready to aid a friend.  He never spoke ill of his fellow men or gave countenance to evil report, but on every occasion stood ready and willing to become the champion and defender of the oppressed.  Many, very many, of his countrymen and other nationalities owe lasting debts of gratitude to him for repeated acts of disinterested kindness and unselfish efforts in their behalf.
     Resolved, That, as a testimonial of our affectionate memory of his noble deeds, we attend his funeral, as many as can conveniently, as a further expression of our sadness and sorrow, and extend to the bereaved family our heartfelt condolence, and that we be reminded in our business that in the midst of life we are in death.
     "Resolved, That a copy of these minutes be presented to the family of the deceased brother, and that the same be spread on the records of the society."
     In Boston, in 1870, Mr. Boston was united in married with Margaret Duncan, who was born in Ballachulish, Scotland, in 1835, and came to America in 1847.  Mr. Taylor survived her husband about two and a half years, and died on June 18 1889.  Four children were born in their family, one of whom, the late J. Livingstone Taylor, survived childhood.  Mr. Taylor was one of the noble women of Cleveland.  She was a devout Christian and church worker.  By her good works was she known, by her efforts in behalf of the poor, by her devotion to the cause of charity.  Never was an appeal made to her in vain.  She sought out the poor in their homes and gave freely in her ample means.  Her soul lay in the work, and her many deeds of charity and kindness were performed in secret and an unostentatious manner, by the bedside of the sick and stricken, and among these who had need of her gentle voice and helping hand.  Following the death of her husband Mrs. Taylor and son united with the Case Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 83

A. Teachout		 ABRAHAM TEACHOUT, Jr., was born in the township of Manchester, Ontario county, New York, Aug. 17, 1817.  His father, Abraham Teachout, Sr., with three brothers, John, James, and William, one sister, Lovina, and their parents, Jacob Teachout and wife, - removed from Herkimer county, that State, to Ontario county, same State, about the seventh year of the present century.  The family is of Dutch ancestry.  Early in the sixteenth century two brothers, John and Jacob Teachout, emigrated from Holland to America, and settled in the Mohawk valley, and from them have descended all the people bearing their name in this country.
     Western New York, at the beginning of the century, was a vast wilderness, broken here and there by a small settlement.  The opportunities for acquiring an education were so meager that one was regarded fairly prepared for active life if he could read, write, cipher and spell creditably; and such were the acquirements of this pioneer family.  They all became devoted members of the Baptist Church, and James entered the ministry in middle life.  The father died when the children were young, and the widow and orphans were obliged to provide for themselves without much of this world's goods to start with.  They cleared their farm, reclaiming eight or ten acres each year, and gathered the ashes, of which they made black salts, about the only thing that could be sold for money.
     In the fall of 1811, Abraham Teachout, Sr., married Clarissa Throop, a daughter of Benjamin Throop, Sr., who was a farmer and keeper of a country tavern; the family came from Connecticut and settled in New York about the same time the Teachout family arrived; they were all large of stature, robust and vigorous.  The father lived to the age of eighty-nine years, while his wife, who was a well educated and exceedingly intelligent woman, lived to be ninety-four years old.  Her maiden name was Rachel Brown, and her family founded Brown University, in Rhode Island.  Mr. Throop was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and during his absence his wife performed the necessary labor on the farm.  They had four sons and four daughters: Benjamin, Jr., Samuel, Jesse, and Azel, Eunice, Martha, Clarissa and Lydia.  Benjamin went to sea, circumnavigated the globe several times, and then retired to Palmyra, New York, where he died.  Samuel sailed the lakes, and in early manhood was swept overboard in a storm.  He had two sons, Horatio and Washington, both of whom were sailors on the lakes.  Captain Horatio Throop was one of the oldest and best known captains that navigated Lake Ontario, and for years was superintendent of the Ontario & St. Lawrence Steamboat Company, which position he was holding at the time of his death, in 1885.  The family are held in the highest esteem in Ontario and surrounding counties.
     Soon after his marriage, Abraham Teachout enlisted in the war of 1812, and served until the close of that contest.  In the autumn of 1822 the family removed to Niagara county, New York, making the journey with an ox team; on the way they passed the hillside where the "prophet" Joseph Smith claimed to have dug out the plates of the Mormon Bible.  At that time the family consisted of four sons and two daughters: Albert, Charles, Joseph, Abraham, Jr., Susan and Eunice.  The mother died in 1824, leaving an infant that died soon afterward.  Few can realize the struggle of the father to provide for his family in the wild, new country, but the children were too young to recognize any occasion for anxiety.  Mr. Teachout was firm in his convictions, expressed his sentiments fearlessly, and vehemently denounced deception and dishonesty; he was held in high respect by all his neighbors.  In regard to politics, he was a Whig from 1826 to 1830.  During the excitement caused by the disappearance of Morgan, he was anti-Mason, that issue being the principal one in public estimation.  He was once held a witness for several weeks in the celebrated Morgan trial in Orleans county.  Possessing a fair education, he took an active part in local politics, was an orator of some merit, and was generally employed as a pettifogger in the lawsuits of his neighborhood; his regular fee was fifty cents for a half day, or seventy-five cents for the entire day.  He was never a member of any secret society. In  the fall of 1837, the family removed to Ohio, and settled at North Royalton, Cuyahoga county.  Mr. Teachout finally died at Liverpool, Medina county, Ohio, at the age of sixty-eight years; his remains were interred at Royalton.
     Abraham Teachout, Jr., became of age Aug. 17, 1838.  He soon afterward went to Cleveland to seek employment, and traveled up and down the docks where nearly all the business was done.  The sun was sinking low in the west, and his courage had begun to fail him, when he met a man named Eggleston whose wife was his cousin.  Mr. Eggleston was captain of a boat on the canal, and offered young Teachout a position, which was quickly accepted.  He began as bowsman, arose to the position of steersman, then captain, and finally became the owner of a boat.  At the end of three years he sold his boat, and secured a situation
in the first elevator erected in Cleveland, which was owned and managed by William Mittelberger.
     Forming the acquaintance of Robert Brayton, foreman of the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company, Mr. Teachout entered into partnership with him to build a steam sawmill at Royalton.  At the "raising" the usual whiskey was expected.  Mr. Teachout's father, a stanch temperance advocate, had always taught his sons the virtue of abstinence as a title to the highest respect.  After the neighbors had placed the sills in position, they called for the "bottle."  They were informed that this was to be a temperance raising, when good men, even church members, offered to buy the whiskey, fearing that the frame could not be raised without it.  Then came the struggle between conscience and custom.  The elder Teachout mounted a saw-log and delivered an eloquent temperance address, which he concluded by informing the men that if they were not willing to do the work without liquor they could retire to their homes.  They decided after a consultation to try it, but fears were expressed that some one might be hurt, as whiskey was supposed in those days to make men strong, "to keep off the heat in the summer, and the cold out in the winter."  The frame went up and no one was "hurt."  Then came an abundance of provisions, which were devoured with a relish, and cheers were given for the ''cold-water" raising.  After several games of ball the men went to their homes happy and sober, to tell their wives and children how strange a thing had happened at the raising of the steam sawmill.
     The structure was completed, and put in operation Nov. 10, 1845.  Mr. Teachout embarked in mercantile trade at Madison, Lake county, which he conducted in connection with his milling interests.  In 1857 he sold out and purchased the mill privilege at Painesville, Ohio, where he built the flouring mill now owned and operated by Mr. Bigler.  In 1862 he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he followed extensively until the close of the Rebellion.  In 1869 he went South and engaged in the lumber trade and the sale of doors, sash and blinds, at Chattanooga, Tennessee; there the foundation of his present business in Cleveland was laid, although it was not in active operation until 1873.  In partnership with his son, Albert R., then twenty-one years of age, the firm of A. Teachout & Company was organized; their patronage extends over several States, and their trade amounts to half a million dollars annually.  Albert R. Teachout is the manager of the business here.
     Mrs. Teachout died Oct. 16, 1880; her maiden name was Julia Ann Towsley, and her marriage to Mr. Teachout occurred Feb. 22, 1842.  Mr. Teachout's second marriage was
to Mrs. Laura E. Hathaway of Painesville, the Rev. A. B. Green, who officiated at his first marriage, performing the ceremony.  He is now in his seventy-seventh year, is still vigorous and
strong, and goes every day to and from business.
     Mr. Teachout was converted to Christianity through the preaching of Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, A. B. Green and the Haydens.  He was baptized at Royalton in June, 1851, by Elder William Hayden, at the annual Disciples' meeting, and united with the church at that place.  In 1859 he removed to Lake county and transferred his membership to Painesville, where he served as an Elder until 1873, when he and his wife and son obtained letters to unite with the Franklin Circle Church, in Cleveland.  He was elected a member of the board of elders soon afterward, and still holds that office.
     He has always taken an active interest in educational affairs.  In Madison, he served on the Board of Education four years, and tilled the same office in Painesville for nine years.  He had been one of the trustees of Hiram College for thirty years, and for six years was president of the board; he was chairman of the building committee for the new building, and superintended the construction of the boys' ball.  He was intimately acquainted with James A. Garfield, whom beheld in the highest esteem.  He cast his first presidential vote for William Henry Harrison, and was a Republican until 1882, when he transferred his allegiance to the Prohibition party.  He has twice been the candidate of this party for mayor, once for the State Legislature, and once for Congress.  He has been elected to numerous local offices of trust, and has had the settlement of several important estates.  He has prepared several addresses which have been sought for publication, and has "dabbled" in poetry, as he himself expresses it.  His first production in verse was entitled "Your Father's Growing Old," and was addressed to his son; in this he pays a beautiful tribute to the devoted wife and mother.
"This Beautiful World," bringing to mind the strange mixture of good and evil in the world,
"Fast Falls the Eventide," and one poem upon the death of President Garfield are among his
best efforts.
     We append a copy of Mr. Teachout's poem entitled

THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD

Oh this world, what a beautiful world,
     In spite of its sadness, its sorrows and cares,
Its trials and pains, its shames and its stains,
     Its cruel deceits and its snares!

With all its faults it's a glorious world;
     It's the only one given to man;
So let us accept it with thanks as it is,
     And enjoy it as long as we can.

We'll say to the one who is complaining of life,
     And wishes his days at an end.
Never yield to despair, but patiently hear
     Such mishaps as man cannot mend.

For while we are traveling the journey of life,
     We should be humble, contented, resigned,
Never worry nor fret, take the best we can get,
     And leave the worst behind.

We're here to struggle; it's Heaven's decree;
     Each man has a mission to fill;
Misfortunes may fret us, temptation beset us.
     But we are God's children still.

When sad afflictions meet us, and enmity greets us,
     We should then on ourselves most rely;
Be brave, for it takes, when the storm on us breaks,
     More courage to live than to die.

This is a glorious world if we look at it right,
     And we should be thankful we're in it;
There are blossoms in the grove, there are those we love,
     And success if we struggle to win it.

So let us determine that happen what may
     We'll stay with the weeds and the flowers,
The friend and the foes, the joys and the woes,
     Which make up this great world of ours.

What folly to look on the dark side of life,
     While the world is refulgent with light!
Come out of the shade, stand up undismayed,
     In the raiment of reason and right.

There is room for us all on this wide spreading ball;
     So, with charity's banner unfurled,
Let us join in one cry while old Time passes by,
     Three cheers for this grand and glorious world!

Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 107

SHARON WICK'S NOTE:   See Book entitled "Family History - Coates, Wilcox and Teachout Families, By Jane Elliot Snow - Author of "Women of Tennyson" Publ. Cleveland, Ohio: The W. M. Bayne Printing House 1901 < CLICK HERE >
  ALBERT R. TEACHOUT, the junior member of the firm of A. Teachout & Company, was born at Royalton, Ohio, July 12, 1852, the son of Abraham Teachout, Jr., whose history is given in this volume.  He received his education at Hiram College, and in 1873 entered into partnership with his father.  They have a large and flourishing business of which he is general manager, and in connection with the establishment at Cleveland they have a branch at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, also another Columbus, Ohio, where they transact a large business annually.
     Mr. Teachout was united in marriage in 1873 to Miss Sarah A. Parmley, a daughter of David Parmley, a resident of Lake county, Ohio.  Three children have been born to them, two sons and a daughter: Katherine, Albert R., and David W.  Mr. and Mrs. Teachout are active members of the Christian Church, and contribute liberally of their time and means to its support.  Mr. Teachout is one of the directors of the Y. M. C. A., and is a Trustee of Franklin Avenue Church.  His wife has been prominently identified with the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.  They are both earnest, progressive and conscientious, and are highly esteemed by a wide circle of acquaintance.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 115
  HON. E. N. THOMPSON, ex-Mayor of West Cleveland village, was born in 1839, in this city, a son of Nelson and Emeline (Ameden) Thompson, being one of two children born of these parents, the other being Calista A.  For years the father was in the shingle business as a manufacturer and dealer.  When the subject of this sketch was a child of eight months his father passed away in death, and when twelve years of age he lost also his mother.
     He gained a common-school education, but being thrown upon his own resources very early in life he was not permitted the best of educational advantages.  When the Civil war came on he enlisted, in October, 1861, in Company G, Second Ohio Cavalry, and was honorably discharged at Columbus, in 1863.  It fell to his lot to be in that division of the army whose work was that of contending with the "bushwhackers," and by reason of such service his hardships were exceedingly great.  From 1864 to 1871, Mr. Thompson was engaged in the produce and commission business in the city of Cleveland.  In 1871 he became engaged in the manufacture of corrugated iron and steel roofing, in which he has since been interested.
     In politics, Mr. Thompson has always been a staunch Republican.  He served as a member of the West Cleveland Village Council for three terms, from April, 1883, to April, 1887, and from April, 1891, to April, 1893, and then was elected Mayor, which office he held until Apr. 1, 1894, when by annexation the village of West Cleveland became a part of the City of Cleveland.
     Mr. Thompson is also president of the Thompson Manufacturing Company, an institution of considerable importance, affording employment to a number of skilled workmen and laborers.
     Mr. Thompson was married in 1864, to Miss Eliza J. Camp, a daughter of Charles L. and Clarissa Camp, and the marriage has been blessed by the birth of six children: Mary E., Charles N., Clarissa E., Frank Thatcher, David P., and Harold E., three of whom are living.  Clarissa E., died in 1870, aged six mouths; Harold E. died in 1884, aged six months; Frank Thatcher was scalded by the steam-chest cover blowing off on the steamer Choctaw, on Lake St. Clair, Apr. 19, 1893, and died at Marine Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, the following day, aged twenty-two years.
     Mrs. Thompson is from one of the oldest and best known families, her father being one of the most prominent men of the city of Cleveland.  He was vice-president of the old City Bank, now the National City Bank.  He died in the year 1864.  Mrs. Thompson is a member of the Episcopal Church.  She received a liberal education in the public schools of Cleveland and is an accomplished lady.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 781
  JAMES THOMPSON is one of the early settlers of Solon township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and is one of its most respected citizens.  Mr. Thompson has been a resident of this place since November, 1848.  Of his life we make record as follows:
     James Thompson was born in county Derry, Ireland, Mar. 22, 1822, son of John and Margaret (Gray) Thompson, both natives of that county.  His mother died when James was eighteen months old, leaving him and one other child, William, who became a prominent and successful physician of Solon, Ohio, and who is now deceased.  For his second wife John Thompson married Catharine Linton, also a native of county Derry, and by her he had four children, namely: Thomas, of Madison, Ohio; John, of Solon, Ohio; Eliza Cray, of Tuscola, Michigan; and May, who died in Michigan.  Mr. Thompson was a soldier in the British army for three years, and for twenty-one years he was employed as a linen bleacher in his native isle.  It was in 1831 that he came with his family to America.  He spent two years in Clinton county, New York, three months in Buffalo, that State, one year in Portage county, Ohio, a number of years in Bainbridge, Ohio, and finally came from there to Solon.  Here he died at the age of eighty-six years.  He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and his life was an exemplary one.
     The subject of our sketch was about eleven years old when his father settled in Bainbridge.  He attended the district school for some time, but the chief portion of his education was that received in the practical school of experience.  On the ninth of November, 1848, he settled on the land on which he now lives.  At that time two acres of the land near the road had been cleared and a little log house, 18 x 26 feet, had been built.  Here Mr. Thompson made his start.  As a result of his earnest and persistent efforts, his farm, 130 acres, is now ranked with the best and most desirable in the neighborhood.  The primitive log house was long ago replaced by a modern commodious two-story residence, located on a natural building site, and a large barn, 36x50 feet, was built. Summit Avenue Station is within thirty rods of his home.  In connection with his farming, Mr. Thompson has also given considerable attention to the stock business.  He now keeps a dairy of twenty-five cows.
     Mr. Thompson was married, Oct. 4, 1848, at Bainbridge, Ohio, to Arvilla M. Kingsley, daughter of Enos D. and Mary (Mann) Kingsley, natives of Becket, Massachusetts.  Her father was the fifth settler of Bainbridge, and her parents had a family of five children: Faber E., Sally, Arvilla, Jane and Nathan.  Mr. and Mrs. Thompson became the parents of two children, one of whom, Katie M., is the wife of William Arthur, and has three children: Jesse, Gracie and Harlan.  Mr. and Mrs. Arthur reside at the homo place with her father. Mrs. Thompson departed this life June 29, 1888, after forty years of happy married life.  She was a devoted Christian woman, a member of the Presbyterian Church, and her life was such that it won many friends.  Mr. Thompson's career has been characterized by industry, honesty and sobriety, and all who know him esteem him for his many estimable traits of character.
 Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 334
  ROBERT THOMPSON is a well-known citizen of Solon, Ohio, where he was born June 17,1844, a son of Christopher and Elizabeth (Forest) Thompson.  The father was a native of Yorkshire, England, and the mother of Durham, England.  They left England about 1839 and came to the United States, spending one year in New York; then coming to Solon they settled in the woods in a log cabin.  Here the parents made their home and reared their children, having a family of five, namely: John, on the home farm: Robert, our subject; Elizabeth Whitlock, of Orange, Ohio; Rebecca Birdsall, of Summit county, Ohio; and William of Solon.  The mother died at sixty-four and the father at seventy years of age.  In politics he was a Democrat.
     Robert was reared on the farm at hard work, receiving but a limited education, but he was taught honesty and industry.  He enlisted in the late war, in 1864, as one of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company H, served 100 days near Washington, and was honorably discharged.
     He lived in Solon township until 1874, then went to Streetsboro, Portage county, Ohio, for five years; thence he removed to Geauga county, where he remained four years, coming to Solon in 1882, and buying his present home.  He has 102 acres, well improved, and furnished with all that is needful for thrifty, successful farming.  He is also largely interested in dairying.
     Mr. Thompson was married in 1871 to Clarissa Hall, and they had one daughter, Artie now the wife of George Pike, of Newburg.  Mrs. Thompson died Apr. 11, 1882, and Mr. Thompson married for his present wife, in 1884, Miss Ida Britton, of Solon, daughter of William Britton.  There are two daughters by the second marriage, Eda and Helen.  One son, Forest, died at the age of twenty months.
     Mr. Thompson is a Democrat, a home worker in the party.  He has served as Township Trustee for five or six years.   He is an intelligent,
public-spirited citizen, taking an interest in education and the public welfare.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 274
  W. F. THOMPSON - But little more than a score of years ago "Billy Thompson," as his hosts of Friends familiarly refer to him, came to Cleveland and entered the employ of the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company as superintendent of the rod department of their institution.  He was then a young man of nineteen, with rather unusual natural endowments, re-enforced by a fair English education.  His life, as far as his business relations are concerned, is simply one long-continued story of duty well and faithfully performed and does not bristle with new events of frequent occurrence.
     Mr. Thompson was born in Boston, Massachusetts, Dec. 14, 1855.  He entered the Boston Rolling Mills at thirteen learned his trade and remained with them till coming to Cleveland.  His identity with the Cleveland Mills covers a period of nineteen years.  Mr. Thompson is probably best known in the political field.  His training in his youth was such as to warrant his alliance with Democracy on reaching the age of political responsibility.  He became early a party enthusiast, and being by nature impetuous, ambitious and invincible, he has inspired hope and confidence in his party, and gained a great personal popularity and following.  In 1889 he was elected Police Commissioner of Cleveland and was legislated out of office by unprincipled opponents.  Mr. Thompson has been frequently and prominently mentioned in connection with the mayoralty of Cleveland, and should such honors come to him by the suffrage of the people they would be most worthily bestowed.  In April, 1893, Mr. Thompson was chosen by Director Farley as his
deputy, and any man who knows Mr. Farley will be convinced that this appointment would be made solely on the basis of merit.
     Mr. Thompson's father, John Thompson, came from Ireland to Boston more than fifty years ago.  He was a mill man during his active life, but is now a resident of Cleveland and retired. He married in Boston, Mrs. ___ McGuire, who bore him ten children, eight of whom were sons.
     W. F. Thompson married in Cleveland, Feb. 14, 1880, Anna, a daughter of John Duff, an early settler and the man who built the asylum.  To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson seven children have been born; Mary, Raymond, Anna, Edwin and Edith (twins), William and John.
     Billy Thompson's personal popularity is due to the effect that he is approachable, genial and kindly alike to all.  He makes an exemplary city official and is loyal to his city, his party and his friends.
 Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 764
  WALTER I. THOMPSON, Councilman from the Fifth District of Cleveland, and a prominent contractor and builder, was born in this city, Aug. 15, 1853.  He secured a liberal education and at seventeen years of age began learning his trade as an apprentice to S. C. Brooks & Co.  From 1874 to 1881 he was a day workman; he then decided to risk his own judgment and his limited capital in a few contracts.  He succeeded, and the next year he ventured farther, and each succeeding year extended his business until all his own time was devoted to supervision of work, execution of plans and submitting bids for new contracts.
     Mr. Thompson's ancestry is English.  His father, Charles Thompson, was born in Lincolnshire, England, and in 1835 took up his residence in this city.  He was a cooper by trade, and for many years has been superintendent of the barrel department of Standard Oil Company of this city.  He came to Cleveland with two other young men and learned his trade here.  HE is a gentleman of exemplary habits, good business judgment and a modest, quiet citizen.  His father was a sea captain, conducting vessels between New York and Liverpool.
     Our subject's mother, whose name before marriage was Avarina Jenkins, was a native of Wales; and her father, Isaac Jenkins, came to Cuyahoga county before 1840 and became a farmer near Warrensville, this State.  The children by this union are: Louisa wife of William Kyle, of Cleveland; Walter I.; C. E., in the employ of Mercantile National Bank of Cleveland; and E. E., in the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad offices.
     Oct. 30, 1878, Mr. Walter I. Thompson was united in marriage, in Cleveland, to Miss Olive N. Quayle, daughter of Robert Quayle a Manxman and a blacksmith.  Mr. Thompson's children are John William and Avrina Olive.
     In politics our subject has always been a Republican, and has been more or less active in his party's interests ever since he became of age; but not until the spring of 1892 did he submit to the use of his name as a candidate for any elective office.  He was then elected to his present position as Councilman from the Fifth District of Cleveland, to succeed J. I. Nunn, a Democrat, in the organization of the Council of 1892 he was appointed chairman of the committee on printing and member of the committees on appropriations and city property.  In 1893 he was chosen chairman of the latter, and also served on the committees on appropriations and fire.
     In respect to the fraternal orders he is a member of the Cleveland City Lodge and of Webb Chapter, of the Masonic order, also of Banner Lodge, I. O. O. F., of the Masonic Club, Builders' Exchange and Employing Carpenters' Association.  In Odd Fellowship he has passed all the chairs, and is Junior Warden in the Masonic lodge.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 25

Amos Townsend
pg. 163		 HON. AMOS TOWNSEND

 

Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 163


Joel W. Tyler
pg. 218		 JOEL WALTER TYLER

Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894 - Page 218

 

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