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BIOGRAPHIES
 Source:
A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio
- Vol. II -
by G. Frederick Wright
1916
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HENRY MILLER
is engaged in the real estate and insurance business
at Elyria, Ohio. For many years he has been
connected with the upbuilding of Lorain County and
he has just reason to be proud of the fact that his
efforts can be traced many a substantial enterprise
or advancement contributing greatly to the growth
and prosperity of this section of the state.
In every sense of the word he is a representative
citizen and a business man of marked capacity.
A native of Lorain County, Henry Miller was born
at Brownhelm Station, Ohio, May 28, 1865, and he is
a son of Adodate and Regina (Smith) Miller,
both of whom are now deceased. The father was
born in Mecklenburg Schwerin, Germany, and his
parents passed their entire lives in the Fatherland.
He was a substitute for Henry Lutz when men
were being drafted for service in the Civil war, but
that struggle was terminated before he was called.
During the greater part of his active career he was
a stone quarryman but for a number of years he
conducted a butcher and saloon business.
Mrs. Miller was born at Brownhelm Station, Ohio,
and her father, Henry Smith, was a native of
Hessen, Germany, whence he immigrated to the United
States in an early day. Henry Smith
drove an ox team from Brownhelm Station to Cleveland
to the first grist mill established in the latter
city. En rout he forded the Rocky River, and
it took him three weeks to make the round trip.
He built a log house in the vicinity of Brownhelm
Station and subsequently erected a frame house,
which is still standing and which is now used as a
store house on the old Smith homestead.
It is roofed and hand split and shaved shingles and
has been in continuous use for over forty-six years.
This farm is owned by Mrs. Henry Brown, an
aunt of the subject of this review. Mrs.
Miller was summoned to the life eternal Oct. 8,
1912, and Mr. Miller died in 1889; both are
interred in the Brownhelm Station Cemetery.
Concerning the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Miller the following brief data are here
incorporated: Jacob lives at Amherst,
Ohio; Henry is the subject of this sketch;
Lizzie is the wife of C. W. Sales, of
Huron, Ohio; Mary is the wife of Edward
Wittmer, of Vermillion, Ohio; Charles A.
lives on the old Miller homestead near
Brownhelm Station and is unmarried; William
is a resident of Amherst, Ohio; Freda is the
wife of Fred Strehle, of Brownhelm Station;
and Peter is deceased. Peter the
last mentioned, was killed in front of the old home,
at the age of twenty-one years, by accidentally
failing off a train and striking on an iron bridge
girder. He lived only three days. The
Miller children were educated in the little
frame school house just east of Brownhelm Station
and two miles distant from their home.
Henry Miller attended school until he had
reached his eleventh year, at which tender age he
began to work on a farm for Charles Cooley.
Subsequently he worked for Joshua Phelps for
several years and then he pound-fished on the lake
for a time, and Nov. 29, 1886, he entered the employ
of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad
Company as a brakeman, continuing as such until
1894, when he was promoted to the position of
conductor on a freight and construction train.
He served in the latter capacity until Apr. 26,
1907, on which date, while standing on the running
board of the tender, he was brushed off by accident
and both legs were cut off below the knee.
This accident happened at West Park, a suburb of
Cleveland, and of course put an end to his railroad
career. Six months later Mr. Miller,
plucky and energetic still, began to solicit fire,
life and accident insurance on his stumps. He
received no help whatsoever from the railroad
company. He has continued in this business to
the present time and in addition now handles real
estate and is agent for the Winkley
Artificial limbs and is an ardent advocate of their
patent adjustable double slip socket artificial leg,
which is warranted not to chafe the stump. He
has represented the above company for the past five
years, during two of which he traveled for that
concern. He has made a splendid success of
business in recent years and owns a fine, big
automobile which he drives as well as if he had
never been crippled.
In politics Mr. Miller is an ardent republican.
He was elected infirmary director of Lorain County
in the fall of 1909 and took up the reins of office,
with two other directors, Jan. 1, 1910. He
served in the above capacity with the utmost
satisfaction to his constituents for two years.
This office is now under the supervision of the
county commissioners and is no longer elective.
In the fall of 1912 Mr. Miller ran for the
office of county recorder but owing to political
exigencies met with defeat at the polls. He is
a member of Knights of Pythias at Elyria and is
still affiliated with the Brotherhood of Railway
Conductors.
Mar. 18, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Miller ran with defeat at the polls. He is
a member of the Knights of Pythias at Elyria and is
still affiliated with the Brotherhood of Railway
Conductors.
Mar. 18, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Miller to Miss Ella Buswell, a daughter
of Otis and Thankful (Fisk) Buswell, old
sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Buswell are
now deceased. Mrs. Miller was reared
and educated in Lorain County, She and her
husband have one daughter, Dorothy E., born
in 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are
popular with their fellow citizens at Elyria and
command the high esteem of all with whom they come
in contact. It is to the inherent force of
character and commendable ambition and the
unremitting diligence of Mr. Miller himself
that he steadily advanced in the business world
until he now occupies a leading place among the
active and representative men of Elyria.
Source: A Standard History
of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick
Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 778 |
Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Miller |
NATHAN MILLER.
Of those farm homes in Wellington Township which
represent the last word in improvement, cultivation,
fertility and skillful management, the Nathan
Miller farm is one of especial interest, not
only because it represents those various qualities
enumerated, but also because it is the home of one
of the sterling citizens of Lorain County.
Born in Medina County, Ohio, June 29, 1849, Nathan
Miller is a son of Silas and Lydia (Branch)
Miller. The family are of New England
stock. His grandfather, Ephraim Miller,
was born in Massachusetts, and came out to Ohio at
the advanced age of eighty-six, and lived to be
ninety-three. The maternal grandfather,
Nathan Branch, was a native of New York State,
lived for a number of years in Ohio, but finally
moved to Michigan, where he died. Nathan
Branch was both a farmer and physician.
Silas Miller was born in Massachusetts, Apr. 2,
1802, and died June 1, 1883. He came from
Medina County, Ohio, in 1839, took up a farm,
afterwards sold it and moved to Russia Township in
Lorain County in 1851, where he acquired land at $10
an acre. After two yeas he sold his farm for
$25 an acre and his net home was on a farm in
Amherst, and in 1864 he moved to Wellington
Township, where he established his permanent home on
a farm of 174 acres and lived there until his death.
Silas Miller married for his first wife,
Cynthia Holcomb, and they were the parents of
three children, one of whom is still living.
He was married in Medina County to Lydia Branch,
who was born in 1809 and died in April, 1886.
By that union there were five children, and the two
now living are Lucinda Whitehead, wife of a
gardener in Penfield Township of Lorain County; and
Mr. Nathan Miller. Both parents were
members of the Congregational Church, and Silas
Miller was a republican in politics.
Nathan Miller acquired his early education in
the district schools at Amherst and at Wellington.
He grew up on a farm, took to that vocation
naturally, and though he started out on a modest
scale he has acquired a prosperity that speaks well
of his persistent industry and his good judgment.
He now owns 475 acres of land, including his
father's old homestead. He bought out the
other heirs to this place for $8,150 and for many
years has conducted his farming operations on a
broad and extensive scale. While engaged in
general farming he also conducts a dairy of about
forty cows, and has altogether some eighty-five head
of cattle. He specializes in the thoroughbred
Holstein. In the course of his many years of
residence in Wellington Township Mr. Miller
has effected numerous improvements, and he and his
family now reside in a very fine country home.
In 1883 he married Miss Elizabeth Dute, a
daughter of Casper Dute, who was born
in Germany, but spent his active career as a farmer
in Amherst Township. Mr. and Mrs. Miller
had nine children: Herbert C., who lives on
his father's farm, married Blanche Myers, and
they have three children, Grace, Harold and
Harriet E.; Laura, wife of Don
Barber, who is employed in the postoffice at
Wellington, and they have one child, Robert;
Minerva, who is a typist and makes her home
with her father; Rollin, at home; Lida,
widow of A. L. Bacon, reference to whom is
made on other pages; Clara, who married
William Warren, has one child, Ralph, and
lives on a farm in Russia Township; Archie,
at home; Wesley, at home; and L. G.,
who is still attending school. The family are
members of the Baptist Church and in politics
Mr. Miller is a republican.
Source: A Standard History
of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick
Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 1025 |
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EDGAR DAY MILLS
Source: A Standard History
of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick
Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 1041
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A. W. MITCHELL.
One of the thrifty, honorable and highly esteemed
citizens of Rochester Township, A. W. Mitchell
several years ago reached that fortunate point in
life where he was able to retire from the heavier
responsibilities of business, and is now enjoying
the comforts supplied by his many years of capable
work as a farmer. Mr. Mitchell is one
of the surviving veteran of the great Civil war, and
besides his military service rendered in the
critical days of the '60s, he has made his influence
count for value in various local offices in his home
county.
He was born in Rochester Township of Lorain County,
Dec. 10, 1846, and is now approaching the seventieth
milestone on life's journey. His parents were
Peter and Catherine (Conklin) Mitchell.
His father was born in the North of Ireland in 1790,
came to the United States when young, and was
married in New York State to Miss Conklin,
who was born near Kenyon, New York, in 1815, and
died in 1904. They came to Lorain County and
settled in Rochester Township in 1844, where
Peter Mitchell died in 1853. When he came
to Ohio he brought with him twenty oxen and one
horse and wagon, and was a rather successful man for
his time. He cleared up a tract of land in
Lorain County, and owned 165 acres at the time of
his death. He was a whig in politics, and
adhered to the abolitionist cause and afterwards was
a loyal republican. His wife was a member of
the Baptist Church. They had a large family of
sixteen children, three of whom are still living:
Sidney, a farmer in South Dakota; Frank,
a farmer in Rochester Township; and A. W.
Mitchell, who is the youngest of the family.
Several of the sons served as soldiers in the Civil
war. George was a soldier, and was
murdered shortly after his return home.
Sidney was in the army from 1861 until his
honorable discharge in 1865, and was in all the
engagements in which the Third Ohio Cavalry
participated.
A. W. Mitchell was not yet fifteen years old
when the war broke out and after restraining his
patriotism several years he enlisted Aug. 13, 1864,
in Company F of the Third Ohio Cavalry and was with
that regiment until the close of hostilities.
He took part in practically all the campaigns from
Chattanooga to Atlanta and thus participated in one
of the severest campaigns of the entire war.
At Peachtree Creek he was wounded and he still
carries the bullet in his body.
Prior to entering the army he had attended the district
schools and afterwards he learned the blacksmith's
trade and followed it steadily at Rochester for
twenty-six years. He then bought on credit his
father's old homestead, paid for it after a number
of years of hard work and good management and
finally sold out and retired. Mr. Mitchell
still owns a nice place of fifteen acres in
Rochester, and his means are such that he is under
no necessity to perform hard labor any longer.
He first married Dora Vosburg, who died in 1885,
leaving one daughter, Rena, now the wife of
Charles Call, a worker in the foundry at New
London. In 1887 Mr. Mitchell married
Rachel Curry, who was born at Troy, Ohio, but
came to Lorain County with her parents when a small
girl. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell attend the
Baptist Church, he is a member of the Grand Army
Post, and in politics is a republican. For
seven years he acted as marshal of Rochester and was
a member of the village council seventeen years.
Source: A Standard History
of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick
Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 1027 |
T. W. Morgan |
THOMAS W.
MORGAN. A resident of the City of
Lorain since 1895, Mr. Morgan has entered
fully and worthily into the community life and has
been identified with industrial activities, public
affairs of a local order and official service in
positions of distinctive trust. He is now
engaged in the general insurance business, is the
incumbent of the office of justice of the peace and
is serving also as deputy sealer of weights and
measures for Lorain County.
Thomas William Morgan was born in the City of
Braddock, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on teh 23d
of December, 1884, and is a son of Isaac and Mary
Jane (Gould) Morgan, his father having been a
locomotive engineer by vocation and having died when
the subject of this review was but ten months old.
In his native state Mr. Morgan was reared in
the home of his maternal grandmother, Mrs. John
Gould, soon after the death of his father.
He was afforded the advantages of the public schools
and as a youth instituted his active services as
one of the world's productive workers. Mr.
Morgan was a lad of about eleven years when he
came to Lorain, Ohio, in October, 1895, and here as
a youth he found employment at office work.
Later he was for a time in the employ of the
National Tube Company, and finally he became an
employe in one of the steel mills of Lorain, where
he won advancement to the position of heater.
In November, 1911, Mr. Morgan was elected to the
office of constable, his name having been given
place on the republican ticket. In 1913 he was
elected a member of the city council, but after
serving several weeks he decided that his duties as
constable placed such demands upon him that he was
not justified in retaining the municipal office,
with the result that he resigned his position as
councilman. For a time Mr. Morgan also
held membership on the municipal board having
supervision of the poor and on the 25th day of May
1914, he received, at the hands of Governor James
M. Cox, his commission as justice of the peace,
an office in which he is giving a most effective and
acceptable administration. He is affiliated
with the Masonic fraternity, is past grand of a
local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and holds membership also in the Modern Woodmen of
America. He and his wife are zealous members
of the Congregational Church, in which he held the
office of superintendent of the Sunday school.
On the 12th of September, 1906, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Morgan to Miss Florence
Williams, of Lorain, and of their three children
the second, Mildred Margaret, died in
infancy. The two surviving children are:
Raymond Edward, who was born June 14, 1907, and
Elva Margaret, who was born Jan. 4, 1910.
Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio
- Vol. II
by G. Frederick Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 894 |
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WILLIAM EUGENE MOSHER
for the past ten years has filled the chair of
German Language and Literature at Oberlin College.
Professor Mosher is an American born, and is a son
of George A. Mosher, one of the best known citizens
of Lorain County, where for a number of years he has
been superintendent of the Children's Home.
Born in Syracuse, New York, Nov. 26, 1877, William
Eugene Mosher was graduated from the high school of
that city in 1893. He took one year of
preparatory training at Oberlin and was graduated
from Oberlin College in 1899. For three years
he was an instructor in the academy, and followed
that with two years of study abroad in the
universities at Berlin and Halle. He was given
the degree Ph. D at Halle in 1904. Returning
to the United States, he became Associate Professor
of German Language in Oberlin College, but after a
year again went abroad and continued his studies in
Berlin.
On his return to
Oberlin he was given the chair of German Language
and Literature in the college and has since devoted
his entire time to his professional duties.
Besides the time spent abroad in study he has
traveled extensively during the vacations of his
college work. Mr. Mosher is author of three
books. One of these is a German text book,
which has been adopted and which has had an
extensive sale, known as "Lern-und Lesebuch."
"Wilkommen in Deutschland" is a second year text
book. He is also author of "The Promise of the
Christ Age in Recent Literature."
In June, 1905, Professor Mosher married Laura M.
Camp of Akron, Ohio. Their four children are:
Horace Camp, aged eight; William E., Jr., aged six;
Richard Thayer, aged four; and Frederick, aged two.
The family reside in a beautiful home on Forest
Street, one of the most attractive places in Oberlin
Village. This house was built under the direct
supervision of Mr. Mosher. He is a member of
the First Congregational Church and in politics is
independent.
Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio
- Vol. II
by G. Frederick Wright
- Publ. 1916 - Page 595 |
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CHARLES D. MURRAY.
In the person of Charles D. Murray is
found a sample of that material which has brought
Lorain County to the forefront in the field of
agricultural enterprise. Endowed with more
than average ability, backed with true business
judgment, he has prospered in the affairs of life,
and is now enjoying the comforts of one of the
attractive farm homes of Brighton Township.
Born in Lorain County Feb. 28, 1877, he is a son of
James and Isabelle (Monroe) Murray, both of whom
were natives of Scotland. His grandfather
James Murray was born in Scotland and came to
the United States but afterwards returned to his
native land before he died. The maternal
grandfather, James Monroe, spent all his life
on a farm in Scotland. James Murray was
born in 1822 and did in 1900, and his wife was born
in 1846 and died in 1910. They were married in
Scotland, and some years later, in 1871, came to
Lorain County, buying a farm in Rochester Township,
where they were renting, and then bought the farm on
which they spent the rest of their years. Both
were members of the Baptist Church, and James
Murray was a republican and a man of
considerable influence in his locality. There
were eight children:
James, a
farmer in Rochester Township; Mary, wife of
Ernest Butson of Brighton Township;
William, a farmer in Rochester Township;
Isabelle, wife of Walter Jewett, a farmer
in Rochester Township; Jessie, twin sister of
Isabelle and wife of Bert Rawson, a
retired farmer in Elyria; Charles D.; John,
a farmer in Rochester Township; and Nellie,
wife of Dow Miller, a carpenter at Elyria.
Charles D. Murray acquired his early training in
district schools of Lorain County and has been a
farmer all his active life. His operations are
distributed over a fine place of 250 acres, and in
addition to general farming he has a small dairy of
from ten to fifteen cows, and is also making a
success in the raising of full blood Percheron
horses. Mr. Murray has for the past ten
years served in the office of trustee of his home
township, and has always given his aid to movements
for progress and development. Politically he
is a republican, is a member of the Maccabees, and
he and his family attend the Congregational Church.
In May, 1903, he married Abbie Stocking.
Their one child is Mildred, now attending
school. Mrs. Murray is a daughter of
the late C. D. Stocking, who was born in
Brighton Township, Nov. 17, 1840, a son of
Jonathan S. Stocking, who was one of the first
born in Massachusetts in 1810 and was brought to
Ohio by his parents when a child. His father
had visited Northern Ohio in what is now Cuyahoga
County during the years 1811-12. He came west
with his family with ox teams and wagons and after
six weeks arrived in Cuyahoga County in 1815.
At that time there was only one frame building on
the present site of Cleveland. His father was
a man of prominence in his part of Ohio and it is an
interesting fact of his political record that he
cast his first vote for Thomas Jefferson and
voted for every presidential candidate for
seventy-six years, having voted for R. B. Hayes
a short time before his death, on Feb. 23, 1877.
Jonathan Stocking married Sabrina Lilly
and they had six children, among whom was Conant
D., father of Mr. C. D. Murray. In
1836 the Stocking family moved to Brighton
Township. C. D. Stocking, father of
Mrs. Murray, spent nearly all his active career
on the old homestead, and acquired one of the
largest farms in Brighton Township. On Jan. 7,
1874, he married Ann Eliza Fish, who was born
in Ashland County, Ohio, in 1838, a daughter of
Daniel Fish. Mrs. Murray was one of their
two daughters, the other being Jennie, who is
the wife of Walter C. Day, and they have one
child, Donald. Mrs. Stocking
resides with her daughter, Mrs. Murray, in
Brighton Township.
Source: A Standard History of
Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright
- Publ. 1916 - Page 988 |
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JAMES A. MURRAY
has reason to be especially satisfied with his
position and accomplishment, since his prosperity is
the direct result of his individual work and
carefully laid plans. He has one of the fine
farm homes of Rochester Township and is one of the
substantial citizens of that locality.
He has all their qualities of the Scotch people and was
born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Sept. 25, 1867, a
son of James and Isabelle (Monroe) Murray.
His father was born in Scotland in 1827 and died in
1899. This is a well known family in Lorain
County, and James A. Murray is a brother of
Charles D. Murray,
whose career is sketched on other pages.
Brought to this country when a boy, James Murray
received most of his education in the local schools
of Rochester Township. He then started out to
make his own way in the world, and for three years
worked on the farm of C. F. Emery. He
then went to Cleveland, and from 1896 to 1907 was an
employee of the street railway system of that city.
His next location was in Russia Township, and he was
employed most of the time while there driving horses
on the truck. After 3½
years he came to Rochester Township, and settled
down to an independent career as a farmer.
Mrs. Murray now owns a fine place of 148 acres,
and carries on general farming together with some
dairying.
On Jan. 7, 1902, he married Nellie Currey, who
was born in Rochester Township Sept. 23, 1871, a
daughter of John Currey, who for many years
was a leading merchant at Rochester. Mr.
and Mrs. Murray have four children: John
Murray, born Dec. 29, 1902; Russell, born
Aug. 4, 1904; Corrine, born Mar. 8, 1906; and
Donald, born Apr. 22, 1911. Mr.
Murray is an active member of the Baptist Church
and politically is an independent republican.
He has held some of the township offices and has
also served on the village council at Rochester.
Source: A Standard History of
Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright
- Publ. 1916 - Page 990 |
NOTES: |
