BIOGRAPHIES
COMMEMORATIVE
BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
OF THE COUNTIES OF
HURON AND LORAIN, OHIO
CONTAINING
Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens
and of Many of the Early Settled Families
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO
J. H. BEERS & CO.
1894
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EDWIN H.
BACON, than whom probably no
one in Lorain county is better known, is a native of
Brownhelm township, born Nov. 19, 1838, only son of
John C. and Mary (Peck) Bacon.
The father of subject was born in Massachusetts, June
10, 1811, and died in Brownhelm township, Lorain
county, whither he had come in the spring of 1818,
being brought by his parents. His father,
George Bacon, bought land from the State of
Connecticut, and carried on farming up to the time
of his death, which occurred when he was eighty yeas
old. He was a soldier in the war of 1812.
His father, also named George
(great-grandfather of E. H. Bacon), received
a life pension for services rendered in the
Revolutionary war, part of which was, being
disguised as an Indian, the throwing of the tea
overboard the English ships in Boston harbor.
John C. Bacon was a well-known business man
in Brownhelm township, and built up the place known
as Bacon's Corners. He married Mary
Peck, by which union there was but one child -
Edwin H. John C. Bacon, in his
political predilections, was a Republican, ever
active in the interests of his party.
Edwin H. Bacon received a liberal education in
the schools of the vicinity of his place of birth.
In September, 1861, he was united in marriage with
Celia S. Hawley*,
who is also a native of Brownhelm township, Lorain
county, born Feb. 19, 1862. She is a
daughter of J. K. and Margaret (Wells) Hawley,
the former of whom was born Feb. 19, 1807, in
Jefferson, Ashtabula County., Ohio, the latter on
July 11, 1808, in Hartford, Conn. to Mr.
and Mrs. Bacon have come eight children, as
follows: Alice M., wife of John
Shotton; Edith M.; Elizabeth F.;
Edna C., wife of L. A. Busche;
Bertha M., wife of W. E. Fisher; Minerva S.,
George A. and Edwin K. After
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bacon made their home
on a farm in Brownhelm township for three yeas, and
then moved to Wood county, Ohio, where they resided
a few years, returning to Brownhelm township, and
resuming farming there. After about fifteen
years they proceeded to Vermillion, Ohio, but at the
end of four years returned to Lorain county
and took charge of the "Farrell House" in the
town of Lorain, for two and half years. In
1891 they moved into Elyria (where they yet reside),
and for one year kept the old-established "Beebe
House" in that town. Politically Mr.
Bacon is a Republican.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 1050
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*
SHARON WICK'S NOTE:
RECORD NO. 85882
MRS. MINERVA BACON HILL.
Born in Lorain County, Ohio, Wife of Jasper V. Hill
Descendant of George Bacon as follows:
1. Edwin H. Bacon (b. 1838), m. 1860, Celia
Hawley (1842-1900)
2. John C. Bacon (1811-80_, m. 1837, Mary
Peck (1812-71)
3. George Bacon, Jr. (1787-1876_, m. Harriet
C. Bacon (1787-1826).
4. George Bacon, m. 1784, Hepzibah Bacon
(1762-1829).
George Bacon (1757-1834) served as mariner on
the privateer "Warren" commanded by Captain
Dudley Saltonstall. In 1832 he received a
pension. He was born in Newton, Mass.; died in
Huron County, Ohio.
Also No. 38678 |
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F. H. BACON.
This gentleman, who for many years has been
recognized as a leader among the leading business
men of Lorain county, is a native of same, born in
Brownhelm township, Mar. 13, 1840.
Benjamin Bacon, father of subject, was a native
of Massachusetts, born in Old Stockbridge, whence in
1818 he came to Ohio, locating in Brownhelm
township, Lorain county. He made the entire
journey with a one-horse wagon, and had but four
dollars in money when he arrived in Brownhelm.
He made his settlement where William Bacon
now lives, having bought wild land from one
William Brown. In 1820 he erected a mill
at what is known as "Mill Hollow," on the Vermillion
river, and about 1835 enlarged from a one-burr to a
four burr capacity. Ten yeas later he equipped
it with modern improvements. He was twice
married, his second wife (mother of the subject of
this sketch) being Miss Anna W. Wells, a
native of West Hartford, Connecticut.
F. H. Bacon, whose name opens this sketch,
received his education in the district schools of
Brownhelm township, and at Norwalk High School,
after which he commenced the milling business with
his father. In this he continued until 1860,
when he engaged in shipping grain to various points.
On May 13, 1861, he joined, as first lieutenant,
Company K, Twenty-third O. V. I., which was assigned
to the army of the West, and he participated in
the battles of Bull Run, South Mountain and
Antietam, after which the regiment returned to West
Virginia. In January, 1864, he resigned his
commission, and returned to Lorain county, once more
engaging in the milling and shipping business.
In 1873 he sold the mill; in 1879 rebought it; in
1882 rebuilt it, putting in rollers and making it a
150-barrel mill; in 1892 again sold, but now (1893)
once more owns it. This is the same mill, in
Brownhelm Township, which his father had built and
enlarged. For some years he had had large
interests in southern Indiana - 800 acres of the
best coal and grain land.
In 1860 F. H. Bacon and Miss Abbie S. Wells were
united in marriage. She was a daughter of
George and Maria B. (Butler) Wells, who came
from Connecticut to Brownhelm township, Loraine
county, about the year 1821, and here passed the
rest of their lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Bacon
were born eight children, as follows: Sarah,
assisting her father in the office, as amanuensis,
etc., and who is considered one of the best
all-round business women in Ohio; Anna, who
died in 1883 at the age of sixteen; De Wight,
Martha W., Melvin S., Lewis C., Charles and
Julia W. The mother was called to her
long home in 1882. Mr. Bacon is a
member of Rice Post, G. A. R., at North Amherst, and
is a Republican. In thoughts and acts he is
thoroughly metropolitan, perfectly familiar with
Boards of Trade and other business interests, in all
parts of the country. He is now managing two
mills of 150-barrels capacity each, and is largely
engaged in farming and shipping stock.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 1069 |
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WILLIAM
BACON is one of the earliest born citizens of
Lorain county, having first seen the light in 1819,
in Brownhelm township, on the farm whereon he now
lives, located between Brownhelm postoffice and
Bacon's mills, on the Vermillion river.
He is a son of Benjamin Bacon, a native of
Massachusetts, born in Old Stockbridge, whence in
1818 he came to Ohio, locating in Brownhelm
township, Lorain county, and making a settlement
where the subject of this sketch now lives, having
bought wild land from one Henry Brown.
In 1820 he erected a mill t what is known as "Mill
Hollow," on the Vermillion river, and about
1835 increased its capacity from one set of burrs to
two sets. Ten years later he equipped it with
modern improvements. He was three times
married, first time to Ruth Gifford, who was born in
Lee, Mass., in 1797, and died in 1819. By this
union there were two children: William,
and Mary C., wife of J. A. Perry.
For his second wife Benjamin Bacon married
Lydia Atwater, and two children - Lydia
and Samuel - were born to them. For
this third wife he wedded Miss Anna W. Graham,
a native of West Hartford, Conn., and they had three
children: T. H., Julia and Sarah.
The father passed away in 1868 at the age of
seventy-nine years.
William Bacon, the subject proper of this
memoir, received such education as was obtainable at
the subscription schools of the primitive days of
his boyhood. In 1841 he was married to Miss
Mary Cooper, and four children were the result
of their union, as follows: (1)
William S., married and has three children -
Leonard, Ella and Gertrude; (2) Lemuel,
now living in Dover, Ohio; (3) Mary R.,
wife of W. H. Moulten, has one child -
Ruth; and (4) Benjamin A., has two
children - Lottie E. and Edna L. Mr.
Bacon in his political predilections was in his
early days of Old-line Henry Clay Whig, and
of late years has been a stanch Republican.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 885 |
Gordon W. Baker |
GORDON W. BAKER
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 746 |
Richard Baker |
RICHARD BAKER
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 564 |
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JOSEPH
BALDAUF, one of the foremost among the
German residentsof Russia township, was born Dec.
23, 1843, in Bavaria, Germany. His father,
also named Joseph, died when our subject was
three years of age, and the mother afterward married
Joseph Haller. In 1852 the family,
consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Haller, two sons
and five daughters immigrated to America, sailing
from Bremen and landing in New York after an ocean
voyage of four weeks. From New York they
came westward, by canal and lake to Cleveland, Ohio,
thence to Avon township, Lorain county, where Mr.
Haller bought twenty-five acres of land.
Joseph Baldauf had attended school in his native
country, but after their emigration to the United
States received no educational advantages whatever,
though at that time he was but eight years of age.
He was put to work, giving such assistance on the
farm as he was able, and when fifteen years old
started out in life for his own account. For
two years he was employed by George Bryant,
of Amherst township, then going to Oberlin hired out
as a farm hand in Russia township, receiving twenty
dollars a month for three yeas. On Nov. 22,
1864, he married Theresa Schmidt, a native of
Grafton township, Lorain county, daughter of
Jacob Schmidt, and after his marriage bought
a farm of fifty acres, the "Schmidt Homestead,"
where he has since resided. In 1878 he erected
his pleasant residence, and has made many other
improvements on the place, increasing the area of
the farm until he now has 180 acres of choice arable
land.
Mr. and Mrs. Baldauf are the parents of the
following named children: Margaret (wife of
Joseph Klinkshirn, a farmer of Avon township),
Anna (wife of Anton Klinkshirn, of
Avon township), John ( a farmer),
Catherine, Frank, Willie, Mary, Charley, Elizabeth
and Theresa, all living. Mr. Baldauf
has been an energetic, industrious farmer,
economical from boyhood, and, though starting in
life with nothing, he has amassed a comfortable
competence. Though having few opportunities
for an education, he has, by observation and study,
acquired a very fair store of practical knowledge,
and is possessed of sound judgment and good common
sense. Politically he is a lifelong Democrat,
and in religion he is a member of the Catholic
Church at Elyria. During the summer of 1893
Mr. Baldauf paid a visit to the World's
Fair, Chicago.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 881 |
S. W. Baldwin |
SEYMOUR WESLEY BALDWIN
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 554 |
H. A. Barnes |
HENRY A. BARNES Source:
Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of
Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 1024
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J. C. BIGGS.
England has given to the United States many stalwart
and loyal citizens, plodding and industrious in time
of peace, and courageous and resolute in the fight
for liberty and right. Such an one is the
subject of this sketch, who is recognized as a
"typical fighting common soldier." He is of
medium height, very hardy and muscular, the dogged
determination peculiar to the Briton, being,
perhaps, his strongest characteristic.
Mr. Biggs was born in Northamptonshire, England,
in 1839, a son of Thomas and Frances (Paxton)
Biggs, the former of whom carried on farming in
Pittsfield township, this county, south of Elyria.
Here the parents passed the remainder of their days,
the father dying in 1876 at the age of fifty-nine
years, the mother in 1889, aged sixty-eight years.
They had a family of six sons and one daughter, our
subject being the eldest, and the only one born in
England; the youngest son now owns the old
homestead.
J. C. Biggs, the subject proper of this memoir,
was but a boy when his parents brought him to
America, and to Pittsfield township, Lorain county,
at the common schools of which he received a liberal
education. He also attended for a time the
high school, and while a student there the war of
the Rebellion broke out, which turned his attention
from the schoolroom to the field of Mars. On
Apr. 18, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Eighth O.
V. I., Capt. E. G. Johnson, which was the
first company to go out from the county. He
served four years, ten months, fifteen days in the
army of the Potomac, Hancock's corps, and
participated in the following battles:
Winchester, Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, besides numerous
minor engagements. At Gettysburg (his last
battle) he was severely wounded in the arm, which
necessitated his confinement to hospital for six
months. He then reentered the service,
enlisting this time in Company K, Ninth Regiment
Hancock's Veteran Corps, in which he served till
Mar. 3, 1866, at which date he was mustered out at
Washington, D. C., having served a much longer
period in the army than most of his comrades.
Returning home to the pursuits of peace, he followed
farming for a few years; then embarked in the
newspaper agency business in Elyria, and has had the
sale of the leading newspapers for over fifteen
years. He now disposes of about 400 papers per
day, and is agent for twenty-three dailies.
Mr. Biggs was married Mar. 3, 1869, to Emma
Clark, also a native of England, and five
children have come to bless their home: Clark,
Elsworth, Norris, Harry and Edith.
Our subject is a Republican and an Episcopalian.
He is a vice-commander in the G. A. R., and is a
member of the Union Veteran Legion, No. 44, Elyria,
Ohio, of which he is colonel and presiding officer,
and in which he has served as officer of the day,
past commander and in other prominent positions.
He is also a member of the Society of the Army of
the Potomac, and was the only member of it from the
State of Ohio to attend the reunion held in
Scranton, Penn., in June, 1892.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 1069 |
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GEORGE
H. BRADNER, prominent in the farming
community of Huntington township, was born in 1833
in Chester, Mass., a son of S. D. Bradner,
who was born in 1800 in the State of New York.
In 1833 S. D. Bradner came to Ohio having
secured by trade some 500 acres of wild land in
Huntington township, Lorain county. In
Massachusetts he had married, a year or two before,
Miss Louisa Holland, a native of that State,
and four children were born to them, viz.:
Margaret, married to S. S. Warner, of
Wellington, Lorain county; George H., subject
proper of sketch; Frank, who died at about
the age of forty years; and John H., in the
coal business in Cleveland. The parents died
in Wellington township, the father in 1875, the
mother in 1870.
George H. Bradner was, as will be seen, but an
infant when the family came from the East to Lorain
county, the common schools of which he attended,
also Oberlin College two terms. He was reared
to agricultural pursuits, and is now the owner of a
large, highly improved farm in Huntington township,
on which he erected a comfortable brick residence.
Up to 1888 he lived continuously there, with the
exception of two years he spent in Michigan, and he
was a resident of Wellington some four years.
In 1861 our subject married Miss Anna M.
Benallack, a native of Cornwall, England, and
six children have been born to them, as follows:
Samuel Denton, residing in Wellington, who is
married and has two children - Vera and
Susie; Mary, wife of B. Royce, has
one child; Margaret and Orrie, at
home; and two that died in infancy.
Politically Mr. Bradner is a Republican; his
wife is a member of the Baptist Church.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 1148 |
Wm. A. Braman |
WM. A. BRAMAN
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 594 |
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LIVA
BROWN, a highly respected
citizen of Brownhelm township, is a native of New
York State, born in 1830, a son of Daniel and
Adaline (Peck) Brown.
The father of our subject was born in New York State,
and about 1836 came to Erie county, Ohio, locating
in the town of Florence for a time, but later
moving to Vermillion, same county, thence to
Brownhelm township, Lorain county. In
1851 he moved to Marshall, Mich., where he died in
1886 at the age of seventy-seven years. He was
an active politician, voting the straight Democratic
ticket. His wife died when thirty-three years
old. Five children were born to them, viz.:
Mary, widow of James Raney;
Liva; Jane, who married A. Thompson,
and afterward married Nuten Case (she lives
in Marshall, Mich.); Jerry, in Wisconsin; and
Sallie, wife of Charles Bodtish,
of Vermillion, Ohio. Both the paternal and
maternal grandparents of our subject died in New
York State.
Liva Brown, whose name appears at the opening of
this sketch, was about six years old when his
parents brought him to Ohio. He received a
fair education at the public schools, and was
trained to farming pursuits, but for about
thirty-one years devoted his time chiefly to the
buying and selling of wool, live stock, etc.; for
the past few years, however, he has withdrawn from
that work and confined himself to farming, as better
suited to his health. In 1851 Mr. Brown
married Miss Clarissa Harris, who was born at
Berlin, Erie Co., Ohio, Feb. 13, 1832, and four
children - one son and three daughters - have been
born to them, as follows: (1) Jerry, born
Dec. 6, 1851, married Oct. 11, 1882, to Lillie L.
Penson (they have four children: Manda S.,
Liva, Orrin D. and Blanche); (2)
Ara, married Jan. 1, 1872, to Wilber Wood,
of Brownhelm, Lorain Co., Ohio (two children were
born to this union, a daughter, Bertha, born
Feb. 20, 1873, and a son, Liva, born in 1875,
and died in 1879; Ara Wood died at Cheboygan,
Mich., Jan. 25, 1885); (3) Bertha, born May
16, 1859, married May 23, 1880, to John Hull,
of Brownhelm, Lorain Co., Ohio, and died June 23,
1880; and (4) Clara, born Oct. 13, 1869.
In his political affiliations Mr. Brown is a
Democrat.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 886 |
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E. L. BURGE,
an enterprising progressive citizen of Oberlin, was
born in September, 1837, in Orange township, Ashland
Co., Ohio, where he passed his early life.
His father, John Y. Burge, was a native of
Pennsylvania, and in an early day came to Richland
(now Ashland) county, Ohio, where he passed the
remainder of his days. He was a cooper by
trade. He married Mary Lowry, a
native of Virginia, and they became the parents of
twelve children, six of whom are still living,
namely: Benjamin, a farmer of Greenwich,
Huron Co., Ohio; John Y., a farmer of
Brighton township, Lorain county; E. C., also
farming in Brighton township; Rachel, a
resident of Ashland, Ohio; Sarah, wife of
John Goldsmith, of Richland county, Ohio; and
E. L. The father of this family died in
1841, the mother in 1878.
E. L. Burge received his education in the
district schools of his native country, and in 1859
came to Lorain county, which has since been his
home. He followed farming for a few years in
Brighton township, and in August, 1861, enlisted, at
Wellington, Ohio, in Company H, Second Ohio Cavalry,
for three years. He was mustered in at
Cleveland, and served for a while on the frontier,
in January, 1862, being stationed at Ft.
Leavenworth, Kans., and later at Ft. Scott. He
participated in the battles of Pea Ridge and Diamond
Grove, was next in Kentucky, and afterward took part
in the Morgan raid at Knoxville, Tenn. In 1864
he veteranized, at Mossy Creek, Tenn., in the same
company and regiment, and was subsequently in the
engagements of the Wilderness and cedar Creek, also
serving under General Sheridan in the Shenandoah
Valley. Mr. Burge took part in the
Grand Review at Washington, thence going to
Springfield, Mo., and on Sept. 20, 1865, he was
honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio. He
returned to Brighton township, Lorain county, where
he remained until 1882, since which time he has been
a resident of Oberlin.
On Mar. 8, 1864, Mr. Burge was married to
Miss Harriet J. Tucker, a native of Camden
township, Lorain county, daughter of Matthew and
Rosanna (Martin) Tucker, early pioneers of the
county; the father died in 1878; his widow is now
residing in Pittsfield, Lorain county. To
Mr. and Mrs. Burge was born one daughter, May
B., who graduated from Oberlin College in the
class of 1891; she is now principal of a school at
Delta, Ohio. Mr. Burge is actively
interested in politics, and supports the principles
of the Republican party; he has been delegate to
various conventions, served one term as deputy
sheriff of Lorain county, and in 1889 was elected
city marshal of Oberlin, a position he still
occupies. Socially he is a member of Henry
Lincoln Post No. 564, G. A. R., and in religion he
and his wife are members of hte second
Congregational Church of Oberlin.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page
898 |
David Burke |
DAVID BURKE
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 932 |
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