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Summit County, Ohio

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Biographies


Source:
Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio
and Representative Citizens
Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co.
Chicago, Ill -
1908

A B C D E F G H I J K L M
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  JOHN ABELE who owns 104 acres of fine farming land in Portage Township, was born Feb. 15, 1850, in Wurtemburg, Germany, and is a son of John and Victoria Abele, both of whom died in Germany.
     John Abele learned the trade of a puddler and followed it in his own country until his twenty-first year, when he came to America.  He worked one year in the rolling mills at Allentown, Pennsylvania, and was employed for two years by the Cambria Iron and Steel Company at Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  In 1873 M. Abele located at Akron, Ohio, and the next twenty-three years  were spent with the Akron Iron Company, where he rendered faithful service in the capacity of puddler.  Mr. Abele left the employ of this company in 1896, and for six years thereafter cultivated a 20 acres tract of land in Portage Township, Summit County, Ohio, but at the end of this time purchased his present property, which was the old Edward Roepke farm, from John Rice, and here he has carried on agricultural pursuits to the present time.  Mr. Abele's farm, which is one of the largest in this section of Portage Township, has been brought to a high state of cultivation.  He also conducts the Akron Garbage Route.
     In 1875, in Akron, Mr. Abele was married to Agatha Treitingar, who was born at Akron, Ohio, and is a daughter of Caspar Treitingar.  Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Abele, namely: John, Joseph, Frank, William, Clara, Albert and Annie.
     Mr. Abele with his family, attends the German Catholic Church.
Source:  Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 970
  F. H. ADAMS,* cashier of the First National Bank of Akron, has been identified with this financial institution for a long period and for the past eleven years has filled the responsible office of cashier.  Mr. Adams was born at Akron, Summit County, Ohio, in 1866, and is a son  of Frank Adams, who came to Akron as early as 1838 and who still survives, being a representative pioneer citizen.
     F. H. Adams was reared in this city, where his father was one of the early manufacturers, and his education was secured in the excellent schools for which Akron has an established reputation.  After leaving school, the young man went to Mexico, where he remained for one year interested in mining.  He returned to Akron for a short time and then became connected with a large manufacturing concern at Fort Wayne, where he remained for two years.  He then returned to Akron in order to become bookkeeper in the First National Bank, with which he has been associated ever since.  He is interested  also in other prospering enterprises at Akron and is recognized as one of the city's able business men.  In 1891, Mr. Adams was married to Frances Robinson, who is a daughter of William Robinson, who was the pioneer manufacturer of sewer pipe at Akron.  Mr. and Mrs. Adams are members of the First Presbyterian Church of this city.  His social corrections include membership in the Portage Country club.

Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 1112
  ALBERT ALLEN was long one of the leading and successful business men of Akron.  He was born Mar. 12, 1827, in Coventry Township, Summit County, Ohio, and was a son of Levi and Phebe (Spicer) Allen.      The parents of Mr. Allen had settled in Coventry Township in 1811 and he gre up amid pioneer surroundings.  Instead of turning his attention to agricultural pursuits when he reached his majority, he learned the millwright's trade and worked at the same for nine years.  In 1856 he was given the contract for converting the old Perkins woolen mill into a flouring mill and when it was completed he was retained in the employ of the firm of Perkins & Company.  Later, in partnership with Alexander H. Commins, he bought the Stone mill, and under the firm name of Commins & Allen a large amount of business was done.  Mr. Commins died in 1880, leaving his entire estate in the hands of Albert Allen, his will being such that Mr. Allen had the disposition of till the property without bonds.  The firm name of Commins & Allen was continued until the business was merged into the F. Schumacher Milling Company, in 1886.  Mr. Allen became vice-president of this company and one of its directors and continued his interest until his death, which occurred Sept. 25, 1888, when he was over sixty-one years of age.
     Mr. Allen never married.  His only sister, Cynthia Allen, cared for his home, and young life was introduced in the person of his niece, Minnie E. Allen, who subsequently became the wife of Henry M. Stone, now a resident of Denver, Colorado. At the time of his death, Mr. Allen's large estate was shown and its wise provisions made public.  To his devoted sister was given a large portion, while educational institutions and religious bodies were remembered with the justice of a conscientious man.  Like all other members of his family, he was devoted to the interests of the Disciples Church.
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 764
  ARTHUR HARPER ALLEN, a well-known resident of Cuyahoga Falls, now living retired in his pleasant home on Sackett Street, was born at Pond Creek, Bureau county, Illinois, Aug. 18, 1856, and is a son of Robert Henry and Mary Phylura (Cochran) Allen.
     The Allen family in Summit County, came from Scotch and Irish ancestors.  John Allen, the great-grandfather of Andrew H., was born in County Antrim, Ireland, where he died, leaving a family of six children.  George Allen, his third son, born in County Antrim, in 1799, married Elizabeth Harper, and they came to America in 1832, settling first at Lee, Massachusetts, and in 1836, coming to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.  He followed paper making almost all his active life.  He was a man of great industry and prudence and invested in land in Summit County, which became very valuable, a part of his eighty-acres farm being now included in the city of Cuyahoga Falls.  He had ten children, namely: Jane, Andrew H., John M., Robert H., William A., George L., Julia, Mary Alexander and the first Mary, who died in infancy while the family was crossing the Atlantic ocean.
     Robert Henry Allen, father of Andrew H., was born Dec. 25, 1832, at Lee, Massachusetts, and came to Cuyahoga Falls with his father, in 1836.  For twenty years after reaching maturity he was engaged in the carriage-making trade at Cuyahoga Falls, but in 1874 he moved to a farm which was situated in Stow Township, on which he lived until 1882.  He then moved to Akron, where he resumed work at his trade of carriage manufacture, but one year later he discontinued it, and bought a farm of 170 acres in Stow Township, to which he moved.  He now turned his attention to acquiring land and continued to add one parcel to another until his possessions aggregate 600 acres.  He was a man of exceptional business faculty, but he gained his ample fortune without dishonesty, mainly through his steady perseverance and frugality.
     On Oct. 5, 1855, Mr. Allen married Mary Phylura Cochran, who was born at Cuyahoga Fals, July 18, 1837, a daughter of John M. and Jane (Semple) Cochran.  Both the Cochran and the Semples were old colonial families of Scotch-Irish lineage that had generations of honest ancestors behind them.  John M. Cochran was born in 1775, at Calcutta, Ohio, and in 1814 was married to Jane Semple, who was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, but who had been reared in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, where her father, James Semple had settled, being an early teacher in that locality.  The children of Robert Henry and Mary P. Allen were: Andrew H., Maria, William A. and Arthur M.  Mrs. Allen is a consistent member of the Episcopal Church,  Mr. Allen was identified with the Republican party, and was one of its founders in Summit County.  He died May 5, 1902, aged sixty-nine years.
     Andrew Harper Allen's parents resided only one year at Pond Creek, moving then to Cuyahoga Falls, where he was reared and educated.  After completing the High School course, he learned the trade of wagon-maker with his father and uncle.  After finishing his apprenticeship with the firm of W. A. Allen & Company, he was married and moved to Lafayette, Indiana, where he worked for about a year.  He was then in partnership with John Spafford, at Akron, for a year, and for anothe year with John Agne, under the firm name of Allen & Agne, doing business enough to encourage him to organize the Allen Wagon Company.  This enterprise was entirely successful and Mr. Allen carried it on for some yeas, giving employment to thirty people in his works.  After disposing of his interests in this concern, in partnership with his father he purchased the old Galloway farm, and on it was engaged in general farming and dairying for five years.  After retiring from the farm Mr. Allen went to the Goodrich Rubber Company as a millwright and pattern-maker, where he continued for five years.  He then started a pattern shop of his own, at Cuyahoga Falls, which he continued to operate, with two assistants, until the spring of 1907.  Mr. Allen then retired from active business life, being able to look back over a useful life, being able to look back over a useful and prosperous career of many years.
     Mr. Allen
was married, first, to Ora Warner, who was a daughter of William Warner, of Mogadore.  She died in 1897, aged thirty-seven years.  Her three surviving children are:  Walter M., residing at Akron; Edna Grace, who married E. O. Hale, residing at Akron, and S. Blanche, who married F. F. Bingham, and resides at Bedford, Indiana.  Mr. Allen was married, second, to Emma F. Willgohs, of Doylestown.  Mr. and Mrs. Allen are members of the Episcopal Church.  In political sentiment, Mr. Allen is a Democrat.  He has been identified with much of the development of Cuyahoga Falls, at all times performing his full duty to the community as becomes a worthy citizen. 
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 408
  ARTHUR M. ALLEN, residing on his fine farm of 235 acres, situated in Stow Township, where he carries on general farming and dairying, is one of the substantial and leading citizens of this section.  He was born at Cuyahoga Falls, Oct. 18, 1875, and is a son of Robert H. and Mary R. (Cochrane) Allen.
     George Allen
, the grandfather of Arthur M., was born in County Antrim, Ireland.  He married Elizabeth Harper, and with his wife and three children, came to America and settled at Lee, Massachusetts, removing later to Cuyahoga Falls.  He He followed the trade of paper-making to within a few years of his death, when he moved on a farm near the Falls, which is now largely built over.  Both he and his wife were members of the Episcopal Church.
     Robert H. Allen was born at Lee, Massachusetts, Dec. 25, 1832, and was still an infant when his parents came to Cuyahoga Falls, where he was reared.  During boyhood he worked in the paper mills.  He subsequently learned the trade of wagon-maker, and in partnership with his brother, W. A. A. Allen, was engaged for many years in the manufacturing business under the firm name of R. H. Allen & Company.  About 1887, he bought 640 acres of land in Stow Township, and settled on a part of it, where he engaged in extensive farming, cattle-raising and dairying.  He had large business dealings with his fellow-citizens, and enjoyed their confidence and esteem.  Though he was no politician, he took an intelligent interest in good local government.  For a number of years he was a member of Star Lodge, No. 187, F. & A. M., Cuyahoga Falls.
     In early manhood Robert H. Allen married Mary B. Cochrane, who is a daughter of John M. Cochrane, of Cuyahoga Falls.  She was born July 18, 1837, and still survives, residing with her son, Arthur M.  Her parents were John M. and Jane (Sample) Cochrane, the former of whom came to Cuyahoga Falls from Calcutta, Columbiana County, Ohio, and conducted a blacksmith business.  Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Allen had four children, three of whom survive, namely:  Andrew Harper, residing at Cuyahoga Falls; William A., residing in Stow Township; and Arthur M.  Robert H. Allen died May 14, 1902.
     Arthur M. Allen was reared on the home farm and was educated in the public schools of Cuyahoga Falls and at Hudson Academy.  At the time of his father's death, he received 235 acres, 150 of which he has under cultivation.  He continues the dairying interests in which his father was engaged, keeping about forty head of cattle, and ships his milk to Cleveland.  He raises his own hay and feed, and he is also interested in threshing and baling hay, doing a large amount of work of this kind throughout the county, keeping three men constantly employed.  He is a member of the board of directors of the Springdale Horse Company, the syndicate that owns the $3,000 Belgian stallion, Toto.  Mr. Allen is intimately concerned with all agricultural interests in his locality and is looked on as a man of business enterprise and sound judgment.  Mr. Allen was married to Mertie Best, who was born in Northampton Township, Summit County, and is a daughter of Henry Best.  They have one daughter, Mildred E.  Potentially Mr. Allen is a Republican.
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 805
  GEORGE G. ALLEN, attorney, of Akron, member of the law firm of Allen, Waters, Young and Andress, was born in Granger, Medina County, Ohio, Aug. 26, 1855.  He was graduated from the Akron High school in 1873, and began the study of law in the offices of John J. Hall and Edward Oviatt.  He then took six months' course in the law department of Michigan University, at Ann Arbor, and was admitted to the bar at Akron in August, 1876.  He began practice in association with Edward Oviatt under the firm name of Oviatt and Allen, and has since built up a very successful practice.  He has taken an active part also in business and public affairs, and in 1883 was for a short time acting mayor of Akron.
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 318
  I. F. ALLEN vice president and treasurer of the R. & A. Supply Company, wholesale and retail dealers in hardware, located at No. 66 South Howard Street, is also vice president and secretary of another large business enterprise of Akron, the Jahant Heating Company.  He was born in 1868, in Summit County, Ohio, and is a son of John Allen, a retired resident of Akron.  Mr. Allen's father was born in 1829, on the same farm in Summit County on which his son was burn thirty-nine years later.  He is a son of Jonah Allen, who came to this section of Ohio from Connecticut in 1811.  The family is one of the most respected and substantial ones of the county.
     After completing his education, which included a full commercial course at Hammel's Business College, I. F. Allen went to Cleveland, and for seven years was connected with the George Worthington Hardware Company, of that city.  In 1891 he came back to Akron and bought the interest of Mr. Williams in the hardware firm of Williams & Rohrbacher, the firm of Rohrbacher & Allen being then established. In October, 1907, the business was incorporated as the R. & A. Supply Company with a capital stock of $50,000.  The officers are: A. C. Rohrbacher, president; I. F. Allen, vice president and treasurer, and Mr. Hawkins, secretary. The members of the firm are all practical hardware men and the business is one which extends over a wide extent and does a large amount of annual trading.
     In 1891 Mr. Allen was married to Eva May Geddes, of Cleveland, and they have one child, Clifford I., who is a bright student in the Akron public schools.  Mr. and Mrs. Allen are members of the First Church of Christ, Akron.  Fraternally, Mr. Allen is a Knight Templar Mason, affiliated with the Masonic club, also an Odd Fellow.
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 598
  LEVI ALLEN - See Miner Jesse Allen
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 391
  LEVI ALLEN, formerly for many years a well-known and highly respected citizen of Akron, and a worthy representative of several of the old and honored families, not only of this section of Ohio, but also of New England, was born Feb. 10, 1799, in Tompkins County, New York, and was a son of Jesse and Catherine (Fiethrick) Allen.
    
Jesse Allen, father of Levi, was born at Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, in 1770.  He was still in young manhood when he went to Tompkins County, New York, where he was married, in 1897, to Catherine Fiethrick, who was born at Trenton, New Jersey, in 1776, of Holland ancestry.  Jesse Allen followed farming and shoemaking until July, 1811, when he came to Ohio, traveling in a covered wagon and bringing along cattle and sheep with which to stock the new farm in the wilderness.  He bought land in Coventry Township, Summit County, and here developed a valuable farm on which he died Sept. 12, 1837.  He served in the War of 1812 under Maj. Miner Spicer.  He was a consistent member of the Baptist church, and in the early days, when the visits of the pioneer preachers were necessarily few and far between, he opened his log house to his neighbors and kept religious feeling alive.  His ten children were: Jonah, deceased, whose wife was Cynthia Spicer; Levi; David, who married Beulah Jones; Jacob, who married Catherine Van Sickle; John; Jesse; Catherine, who married Mills Thompson; Sarah, who married James M. Hale; Hiram; and Christiana, who married Charles Caldwell.
     Levi Allen
was just twelve years old when his parents and other relatives came to Summit county, Ohio, and in the exodus from the Eastern home it fell to his lot to drive cattle and sheep over the long route.  Until his majority he remained assisting his father, but when his own marriage too place or was in contemplation, he purchased land of his own in Coventry Township, on which he resided until 1868, when he retired to Akron, where the rest of his life was passed, his death occurring May 11, 1887.
     On Dec. 10, 1823, Levi Allen was married to Phebe Spicer, who was a daughter of Major Miner and Cynthia (Allyn) Spicer, and who died Jan. 10, 1879.  Major Miner Spicer was born May 29, 1776, and in 1798 married Cynthia Allyn, who died Sept. 10, 1828.  In the following year he was married (second) to Mrs. Hannah (Allyn) Williams, a sister of his first wife and the widow of Barnabas Williams.  Major Spicer served as a commander of militia during the War of 1812.  He came to Summit County prospecting, in 1812.  He came to Summit County prospecting in 1810, bought 260 acres of land in Portage Township and established his family on it in 1811.  He was a prominent man in all the affairs of Portage Township, and died Sept. 11, 1855.
     The mother of Mrs. Levi Allen was a daughter of Ephraim and Temperance (Morgan) Allyn, the latter of whom was a daughter of Captain Williams and Temperance (Avery) Morgan.  These are old New England families of Welsh extraction.  Captain William Morgan was a son of William and Mary (Avery) Morgan, the former of whom was a son of John and Elizabeth (Jones) Morgan, the latter of whom was a daughter of Lieutenant Governor Jones, who was governor of the New Haven Colony.  The Morgans, also of Wales, were Puritans and from this same family came Edward D. Morgan, who became governor of the State of New York.  Temperance Avery, wife of Captain William Morgan, was a daughter of Colonel Christopher and Prudence (Payson) Avery, and a granddaughter of James and Deborah (Stellyon) Avery.  Captain William Morgan served under Colonel Parsons during several years of the Revolutionary War.
     Levi Allen and wife had six children, as follows:  Levi, Miner S., Albert,  Miner J., Walter S. and Cynthia.
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 678
  JESSE ALLEN - See Miner Jesse Allen
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 391

Miner Jesse Allen
MINER JESSE ALLEN, prominently identified with the American Cereal Company, is one of Akron's substantial citizens whose large interests make him a notable factor in its business life.  Mr. Allen was born Nov. 11, 1829, in Coventry Township, Summit County, Ohio, and is a son of Levi and Phebe (Spicer) Allen.
    
JESSE ALLEN, the paternal grandfather of Miner J., was born in 1770, in Litchfield County, Connecticut, and came to Ohio in 1811, purchasing a large tract of wild land in Coventry Township, Summit County.  He reared a family of ten children.  The material grandfather, Major Miner Spicer, was also a native of Litchfield County, Connecticut, and came on horseback to Summit County, Ohio, in 1810, buying 260 acres of land in what is now Portage Township.  He settled here with his family in 1811.  During the War of 1812 he served as major of militia.  Major Spicer married Cynthia Allyn, who traced her ancestry back to Lieutenant Governor Jones, who was the first governor of the New Haven Colony.
    
LEVI ALLEN was born Feb. 10, 1799, in Tompkins County, New York, and was the second child of his parents.  He was twelve years of age when he walked from there to Coventry Township, Summit County, Ohio, driving the cattle and sheep with which his father proposed to stock the new farm.  He assisted in clearing and developing the land until his majority, when he purchased land for himself on which he resided until 1868.  He then retired to Akron, where he died May 11, 1887.  On Dec. 10, 1823, he was married to Phebe Spicer, who was a daughter of Major Miner and Cynthia (Allyn) Spicer, and they had the following children:  Levi, Miner S., Albert, Miner J., Walter S. and Cynthia.  Mrs. Levi Allen died Jan. 10, 1879.
     Miner J. Allen, the direct subject of this sketch, was engaged in farming in Coventry Township, where he was reared and educated, until 1867, when he came to Akron to assume the duties of local, and also traveling, grain buyer for the firm of Commins & Allen.  In 1884 he invested in a one-fifth interest in the Akron Milling Company, which was merged two years later into the F. Schumacher Milling Company.  Later this organization was merged into the American Cereal Company, and Mr. Allen is still connected with this great corporation, being one of its directors.
     Mr. Allen was married June 1, 1876, to Frances C. De Wolf, a daughter of Samuel and Margaret (King) De Wolf, of Trumbull County, Ohio.  Mrs. Allen's grandparents were Joseph and Sarah (Gibbons) De Wolf, the former of whom was a Revolutionary soldier.  Mrs. Allen can trace a clear ancestral line to early colonial days, members of her family residing at Wethersfield, Connecticut, as early as 1664.  Mr. and Mrs. Allen have five children, namely: Albert Mark, Miner W., Margaret P., Christine C., and Frances De Wolf.  The family home is at No. 30 Bowery Street.  Mr. and Mrs. Allen are members of the First Disciples' Church at Akron.  They have always evinced a deep interest in educational matters, and Mrs. Allen was one of the first two ladies to be elected a member of the Akron Board of Education.  In earlier years Mr. Allen was interested in politics, but since taking up his residence at Akron he has been too closely engaged in business to give much time to political affairs.  His public spirit, however, has often been proved and he stands high in the estimation of his fellow citizens.
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 391
  ROBERT H. ALLEN - See ARTHUR M. ALLEN
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 408
  W. G. ALLEN general manager of the Niagara Fire Extinguisher Company, with offices in the Hamilton Building, Akron, is one of the city's capable business men, and has been a resident here since 1900.  He was born at Dundee, Michigan, in 1872, and was reared and educated in his native state.  During almost the whole of his business life, he has been in his present line of business.  For fourteen years he was connected with the Automatic Sprinkler Company, of Chicago, as department manager, leaving there in 1900, in order to become general manager of the Niagara Fire Extinguisher Company, at Akron, where the company has a factory for the manufacture of automatic sprinkling appliances.  The output of this factory is of standard excellence and the sale of the company's goods, under Mr. Allen's progressive business methods, is constantly increasing.
     In 1897 Mr. Allen was married to Jessie D. Bryden, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and they have one child, Jeanette M.  Mr. Allen is a man of social tastes and belongs to all of Akron's exclusive clubs.

Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 632

NOTES:

 



 

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