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Summit County, Ohio

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

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THE BAUM FAMILY.  The immigrant ancestor of this family was George Baum, Sr., who was born in Germany, Nov. 17, 1754, and who, when seventeen years of age, sailed for America with a brother.  The latter died on ship-board and was buried at sea.  The ship must have met with tempestuous weather, or have been a very slow sailor, as it is recorded that the voyage lasted six months.  He landed at Philadelphia in the year 1772, when public affairs were in more or less of a ferment owing to the troubles with England which were in a few years to bring on the Revolutionary war.  In accordance with a not unfrequent custom in those days, his services had been sold to a man for three years to pay his passage.  In 1783 he was married to Mary Higgin, a native of Pennsylvania.  In 1801 he moved to Ohio, settling in Columbiana County, where he purchased 160 acres of land of the government, at $1.25 per acre, which land is now the site of the city of Salem.  The nearest grist-mill was then at Marietta, about sixty-five miles away, the route being through the woods, and it used to take him from three to four days to make the trip, leading his horse, which carried the grist.  On each occasion he was obliged to camp at least two nights in the woods.
     THOMAS BAUM, son of George and Mary Baum (and maternal grandfather of William J. Powell, of Northfield Township, Summit County, Ohio), was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1798.  In 1801 he accompanied his parents to Salem, Columbiana Co., Ohio.  Here he subsequently married Mary Perkey.  In 1821 he became a resident of Northfield Township, Summit County, where he purchased a farm for three dollars per acre.  This farm was located about eighteen miles from Cleveland, and is now known as the G. T. Bishop farm.  Here his death occurred, Dec. 24, 1862.  His wife had preceded him to the grave, dying on her fifty-eighth birthday, June 28, 1855.  They reared a family of six children – John, Sarah, Mary, Martha, Elizabeth, and James M.  The record of these children is, in brief, as follows:
     John enlisted in the 111th Regiment Ohio, Volunteer Infantry, in Williams County, Ohio, and served nearly three years.  He died in that county Nov. 16, 1865.  Sarah became the wife of William Powell, of Northfield Township, where she now resides.  Mary married a Mr. White, of Jennings Co., Indiana.  Martha, who is the widow of Mr. Horner, resides in Akron, Ohio.  Elizabeth  is the wife of David Silver, of Jennings County, Indiana.
     JAMES M. BAUM, the remaining member of the above-mentioned family, was born on Christmas Day, 1833.  He was educated in the district schools, and assisted his father in clearing and developing his land.  In 1872 he located in Section 33, Ross Township, Wood Co., Ohio, where he is now engaged in general farming and gardening, having a well improved farm of some forty acres.  He also devotes a part of his attention to fruit raising.  Being located but a short distance from Toledo, he finds a ready market for his produce, and has been quite successful.  He is numbered among the prosperous and representative citizens of his locality.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 1067

 

O. W. BAUM, of the firm of McIntosh & Baum, leaders in the insurance line at Akron, dealing extensively also in loans, investments and real estate, occupies a prominent position in the business circles of this city and is identified with numerous important concerns.  He was born at New Berlin, Stark Co., Ohio, in 1862, and has been a resident of Akron for fifteen years.
     Mr. Baum completed his education in the High School at Canal Fulton, and then taught school for about three years in Stark County.  He then became connected with the retail department of the George Washington Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, with which he remained associated for three years.  For the following three years Mr. Baum was interested in a hardware business at Greenstown, Ohio, and later became traveling salesman for the Standard Hardware Company, of Akron, representing it for four or five years.  He then turned his attention to fire insurance, and with a Mr. Graham, bought out the insurance business of App & Carr, later purchasing Mr. Graham’s interest.  In 1900 he was elected secretary of the Summit County Building & Savings Company, which, in 1903, was consolidated with the German-American Building & Loan Association, assuming the name of the latter, of which Mr. Baum has been secretary ever since.  In 1905 Mr. McIntosh purchased an interest in the business and the firm of McIntosh and Baum was established.  This firm does an immense business and stands deservedly high among similar concerns in Summit County.  Mr. Baum is also secretary of the Summit Real Estate Company, and is a stockholder and director in the Dollar Savings Bank Company.
     In 1887, Mr. Baum is married to Jennie C. Spangler, of Manchester, Summit County, Ohio.  Their only child, Lucile, is now deceased.  Mr. Baum is identified with a number of fraternal organizations.  He is a member of Nemo Lodge, of Odd Fellows; Akron Tent, No. 126, Maccabees, and of the Uniform Rank of that order; the Protected Home Circle; the Independent Order of Heptasophs; and the Junior Order of American United Mechanics.  He takes a deep interest in and is a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association.  He belongs to Grace Reformed Church.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 501

  J. MARTIN BECK, president a director of the Home Building and Loan Company of Akron Building and Loan Company of Akron, and one of the founders and vice-president and treasurer of the Akron Varnish Company, is identified with numerous other successful enterprises of this section, and is a very important factor in the city's commercial life.  He was born Oct. 14, 1843, at Selb, Bavaria, Germany, and came to America in 1862.  He is a son of Adam and Christina (Hoefer) Beck, the former of whom died in 1890.
      Mr. Beck was trained to business in a wholesale grocery and drug house, in his native land, and after an apprenticeship of four years, satisfactorily passed a difficult examination.  As his half-brother, John Wolf, was a partner in the firm of M. W. Henry and Company at Akron, Mr. Beck came to this city and entered the employ of that firm, with which he remained for six years, and then was with the house of E. I. Baldwin, of Cleveland, for one year.  In the spring of 1869 he visited Europe, returning to Akron in the fall, much improved in health.  Soon after he entered into partnership with John Wolf and H. J. Church, under the firm name of Wolf, Church and Beck.  In 1878 Mr. Beck sold his interest in the firm and formed a partnership with E. G. Kubler, in the Establishment of the Akron Varnish Works, a concern which is the oldest of its kind in Summit County and one of the largest in the country.  The business of the Akron Varnish Company is the making of varnishes and japans, and its plants are located in 254 South Main and Canal Streets, Akron.  The industry is a leading one in this city and products of this concern have a world-wide sale.  The officers of the company are:  E. G. Kubler, president ; J. M. Beck, vice-president and treasurer; E. M. Beck, secretary; F. M. Whitner, assistant treasurer; and F. A. Fauver, superintendent.
     Mr. Beck was married Jan. 12, 1871, to Kate J. Buchtel, who is a daughter of William Buchtel, of Akron.  They have four children, namely: William B., Edward M., who is secretary of the Akron Varnish Company, Martha Louise, and Carl F. Fraternally Mr. Beck is an Odd Fellow and an Elk.  The family residence is at No. 640 West Market Street.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 407
  A. W. BENNAGE, a leading business citizen of Akron, and a member of the firm of George A. Botzum Company, dealers in dry goods and ready-to-wear garments, has been a resident of this city for a quarter of a century and belongs to an old pioneer family of the county.  He was born in Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio, in 1861, and is a son of John and Mary (Whitted) Bennage.
    
The late John Bennage was a son of Jacob Bennage, who settled near Mogadore, about 1828.  During the early business life of John Bennage, he was engaged in the manufacturing of stoneware, but after settling in Bath Township, he engaged in farming.  He had ten children, and eight of these still survive.
     A. W. Bennage was reared and educated in Bath Township and remained on the home farm until he was twenty years of age, when he went into the lumber business, and bought and cut timber through Ohio and Michigan, and manufactured lumber for twenty-three years.  He was in partnership with W. F. Averill, under the firm name of Bennage & Averill for seventeen years.  In 1904 Mr. Bennage became associated with George A. Botzum, in the establishing of the firm of the George A. Botzum Company, which occupies a prominent place in the commercial activities of Akron.
     In 1880 Mr. Bennage was married to Sarah Averill, who was born in Copley Township, Summit County, Ohio, and is a daughter of William Averill.
     Mr. Bennage is one of Akron's representative citizens and has been identified with many of the movements which have encouraged her growth and increased her prestige.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 822
  CHARLES C. BENNER, attorney, of Akron, Ohio, was born in Manchester, Franklin Township, Summit County, Ohio, Mar. 27, 1870, son of Simon and Caroline (Slaybaugh) Benner.  His parents, both of whom are now deceased, were natives of Franklin Township, this county.
     Simon Benner was a farmer and dealt in stock.  Born Jan. 17, 1846, he died Aug. 22, 1884.  His wife was born July 21, 1844 and died Jan. 7, 1890.  They had nine children, as follows:  Elda F., wife of Frank Warner of Barberton; Clinton A., attorney at Cleveland; Melvin L., who owns and conducts a ranch at Sidney, Montana; Charles C., subject of this sketch; Otto M., who died in 1877, aged five years; Irwin R. a dentist of Barberton; Gertrude M., single, a resident of Akron; Wallace J., a physician of Cleveland, Ohio; and Howard C., auditor for the Etna Insurance Company, who resides in Cleveland.  The parents were members of the M. E. Church.  Simon Benner was a Democrat and though not in any sense a politician, he held the office of justice of the peace in Norton township.
     Charles C. Benner was reared on the farm and acquired his literary education in the district and High Schools of Copley and Norton Townships.  He attended the law school of the Northern Ohio University, at Ada, Ohio, and finishing his law course in the office of Baird and Voris of Akron, Ohio, was admitted to the bar June 8, 1893, at Columbus.  He immediately opened an office at No. 12, East Market Street, where he has since remained, having met with a most gratifying degree of success.  He was police prosecutor  from 1897 to 1901.
     On September 29, 1897, Mr. Benner was married to Gertrude F. Foster, a native of Akron, and a daughter of Martin B. and Sarah (Clark) Foster.  In politics Mr. Benner is an Independent Democrat.
     Fraternally he belongs to the Elks, being Past Exalted Ruler, a charter member of the local lodge, and a life member of the Grand Lodge of the United States.  He is also a charter member of the Akron Lodge 603, K. of P., a member of Adoniram Lodge 517, F. & A. M.; Washington Chapter, R. A. M., No. 25; Akron Council, R. & S. M., No. 80; Akron Commandery, K. T., NO. 25, and Lake Erie Consistory, Ancient Accepted & Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, of Cleveland.  He was captain of Company B, Eighth Regiment, Ohio National Guard, for four years, 1894-1897.  He is a member of the Portage Country Club and a trustee of the City Hospital of Akron.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 275
  JOSEPH S. BENNER, a well known capitalist and business man of Akron, who is identified with a number of the city's most substantial financial institutions, was born at Akron, Jan. 3, 1872.  He is a son of John W. Benner, who came here in 1868, and who still continues in business in this city.
     Graduated from the public schools of Akron at the age of sixteen years, the subject of this sketch found his first regular employment in the office of J. E. Seiberling & Company, where he remained until 1890.  He then became bookkeeper and assistant casher for the newly organized People's Savings Bank Company, which position he held until 1897.  Then with J. R. Nutt and Will Christy, he organized the Central Savings Bank Company, taking the position of cashier in this concern, which he held until 1904, when the Central Savings Bank Company, mainly through Mr. Benner's efforts, effected a consolidation with the Akron Trust Company, after having first taken over the guardian Savings Bank.  The result of this merger was the Central Savings and Trust Company of which institution Mr. Benner has been secretary ever since.  Other successful business concerns with which Mr. Benner  is identified are:  The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company; The Akron People's Telephone Company, of which he is secretary; the Akron Coal Company, of which he is treasurer; the Globe Sign and Poster Company, of which also he is treasurer; and the Hower Building Company, of which he is secretary.  He is also a director in the Permanent Savings and Loan Company, and the Bannock Coal Company, and is treasurer of the Young Men's Christian Association.  His large business interests are held with a firm hand, and his affairs are directed with the sound judgment and wise conservatism which ensure success.
     Mr. Benner was married in 1894 to Nillie E. Stuver, a daughter of Jonas F. Stuver, of Akron.  Of this union there is one child, Mary Joyce.  Mr. Benner takes considerable interest in civic matters and is a member of the Portage County Club.  With his wife he belongs to the Lutheran Church.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 406
  GEORGE V. BILLOW, * president of the Akron Paving and Plastering Company of Akron, was born in 1854 at Kendallville, Indiana, but he was reared and educated in Williams County, Ohio.
     In young manhood, Mr. Billow learned the plastering trade and after removing to Mansfield, Ohio, he was engaged in contracting in plastering, for twenty years, and then he came to Akron, where he did the plaster work on the Post Office, and also work of this kind on many buildings in Cleveland.  He did the plaster work on the Hamilton Building and at this time, in 1900, he moved his family to Akron, where he took contracts for plastering the First National Bank, the Library Building, the new Summit County Court House and other large buildings.
     In 1901, Mr. Billow, in partnership with George W. Carmichael and George J. Shaffer, organized the Akron Paving and Plastering Company, locating at No. 262 South Broadway, and this enterprise is already numbered with the important industries of the city.
     In 1875, Mr. Billow was married to Alice Bell, of Mansfield, Ohio, who died in 1883, leaving three children, namely: Paul, who is a student in the medical department of the University of Wisconsin, at Madison; George B., residing at Evansville, Indiana; and Grace, who married C. K. Reamer, residing at Akron.  Mr. Billow was married (second) July 22, 1885 to Mary McGray, of Holmes County, Ohio, and they have the following children.  Herbert, Alice, Fern, May M., John, Kathryn and Dollie M.  Mr. Billow and family are connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

†
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 1114
  WILLIAM H. BLILER, who operates a fine farm of eighty-one acres in Franklin Township, is one of the prominent citizens of this section, and a representative of an old pioneer family.  He was born in Franklin Township, Summit County, Ohio, April 3, 1849, and is a son of Joel and Mary (Hower) Bliler.
    
DANIEL BLILER, the grandfather of William H., came by wagon from Pennsylvania to Ohio and settled on the farm which is now the property of the Stumps, clearing the land and building two log houses.  His life was spent in hard and useful work, and his death occurred at the age of seventy-seven years.  Mr. Bliler had been twice married, Joel being one of the children of the second union.
     Joel Bliler grew up in the woods of Summit County, and spent his younger days on the home farm.  Here he was married to Mary Hower, who was a daughter of Jesse Hower, whose father, Adam Hower, had come from New Berlin, Ohio, and entered a section north of Clinton.  He died at New Berlin, Ohio, at the age of ninety-three years, having given one quarter of his section of land to Jesse, the other three-quarters having been sold.  Here Jesse Hower erected a sawmill, where was furnished most of the timber used in the locks of the canal.  Jesse Hower died on this property three years after locating on it, and forty years prior to the death of his father, his daughter Mary being then a child of four years.
     After their marriage, Joel and Mary (Hower) Bliler lived at the home of his father in Franklin Township, near Manchester, but subsequently removed to the property on which William H. Bliler was born, the home of Nathaniel Stump, where the Brewster coal bank is now situated, renting this place for five years.  At the end of this time he purchased the present Bliler farm from a Mr. Miller, of Canton, Ohio, and here Joel Bliler died in October, 1880, aged fifty-eight years.  His widow, who still survives makes her home with her son, William H. Bliler.
     William H. Bliler received but a scanty education in his boyhood, most of which was spent in hard work on the home farm.  He was also employed for six months in laying the tracks of the branch of the C. A. & C. Railroad, when he removed to Norton Township, and three operated two farms on shares for six years.  He then returned to Franklin Township, where he conducted a farm near his own on shares for six years, and also the Cox farm for seven years.  In 1896 he bought out most of the heirs to his present property, on which he has since continued.  Mr. Bliler's success tells its own lesson of the value of perseverance and industry.  He is a man who commands the respect of his neighbors, and has a wide circle of personal friends.  In the best sense of the word, Mr. Bliler is a self-made man, having fought his way, almost unaided, from the bottom of the ladder.
     In August, 1870, Mr. Bliler was married to Amanda Wilson, who is a daughter of Isaac Wilson.  Of this union there have been born twelve children, namely: Charles,  who died in 1902; Elsie, who married M. High and died in 1892; Ellie, who married John Summerman; Della, became the wife of George Keplinger; Milton, who married Lucy McCarty; Edward, who lost his life in the Spanish-American War; William, who married Flora Steinbaugh; Newton, Gertrude, Lloyd and Irene, the last mentioned of whom died at the age of seven years; and Dora, who died when one year old.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 990
  GEORGE BLISS was a native of Vermont.  He was educated at Granville College and came to Akron in 1832 and studied law with Hon. D. K. Carter.  He practiced law in Summit County and was appointed in 1851 president Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in this county, succeeding Benjamin F. Wade.  He held this position which he filled with distinguished ability, until the taking effect of the new Constitution in 1852.  He was elected a member of Congress, from this district in 1854, and subsequently he removed to Wooster, in Wayne County, where he practiced law in partnership with the Hon. John McSwaney.  It is safe to say that Judge Bliss had few equals and no superiors as a lawyer.  He was learned in the law and his logic was most profound.  His command of language was such that his extempore arguments to the court or jury would read like a page of Junius.  His eloquence was of the Websterian type, profound and convincing, while in the art of examining and cross-examining witnesses he has never been excelled.  He married late in life, and at his death a wife and five children survived him.  He was a most companionable man, very witty and interesting.  He never lost his temper, but exercised complete self control.  He took an active part in politics, and achieved a national reputation as one of the leading statesmen of the country.  He was one of the leading counsel in the case of Ohio against James Parks, which was the first and perhaps the most important murder trial ever tried in Summit County.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 262
Carl Wilhelm Bonstedt
Carl Wilhelm Bonstedt

CARL WILHELM BONSTEDT, son of Carl Frederic and Augusta Wilhelmina (Peschau) Boustedt, was born at Clausthal, on the Hartz, Kingdom of Hanover, Germany, Jan. 11, 1825; common school education; at 14 apprenticed to grocery trade, serving four years; then superintendent of the large cigar factory of Landsmith & Co., at Engter, near Osnabruck, for several years, when he came to America, having charge of a large tobacco business in Baltimore, Md., until 1855, when  he came to Akron, as clerk in the grocery store of Ferdinand Schumacher, later being promoted to book-keeper; in 1863 bought out Mr. S., continuing the business till 1875, when he sold out to his book-keeper, Mr. John Terrass.  After a short engagement in the limestone business, near Sandusky, again embarked in the grocery trade in Akron, with Mr. John Krender, at 210 East Market Street, the partnership continuing six years, on the withdrawal of Mr. K., Mr. B. continuing on his own account, until his death, Oct. 19, 1890, the business being  still carried on by his sons.  Mr. Bonstedt was one of the organizers and most active members of the Akron Liedertafel; was first president of Retail Grocers' Association, member of Akron Mercantile Association, Board of Trade, and of City Council 1864-65.  Mar. 15, 1857, Mr. Bonstedt was married, in Akron, to Miss Augusta F. Beyer, a native of Germany, who bore him eight sons and one daughter Charles W., of Greentown; Adolph; Victor E.; Ferdinand, of Lincoln, Neb.; Herman; William H.; Frank; Louis, and Augusta F.  Mrs. Bonstedt still survives.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 183

  DANIEL R. BRAUCHER, the efficient superintendent of the Children's Home, Akron, was born in Stark County, Ohio, Mar. 4, 1849, and is a son of Samuel and Mary (Lichtenwalter) Braucher.  The Braucher family is probably of German extraction.  The father of Superintendent Braucher was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, but the maternal grandfather was a resident of Stark County.  Samuel Braucher was a substantial farmer and reared his son to agricultural pursuits.  He and his wife had seven children.
     Prior to 1881, Daniel R. Braucher resided in his native county, where he was educated in the district schools.  He then moved to Portage County, where he purchased a large farm.  He continued operating that property until 1892, when he became assistant superintendent of the Portage County Infirmary, where he remained five years and nine months.  He then traveled two years in the interest of the Trumbull County Mutual Insurance Company.  All that time he again accepted his old position at the Portage County Infirmary.  Subsequently appointed to his present position, he assumed its duties Jan. 1, 1904.  The Children's Home is a pet charity of Akron and its needs have been responded to by many of the capitalists of this section.  For this very reason it was the part of wisdom to select as superintendent a man of reliable character, broad mind and executive ability, qualities which are possessed in high degree by Mr. Braucher.  With the cheerful and hearty assistance of his admirable wife, who is the matron of the home, the twelve employes of the institution are kept faithfully performing their duties and the safety, well-being and happiness of the sixty-nine dependent children are assured.
     Mr. Braucher was married (first) to Louisa Humbert, who died Mar. 13, 1893, leaving four children.  He married (second) Geneva Folk, who is first cousin to Governor Folk, Missouri's distinguished chief magistrate.  There were no children by the second marriage.  Mr. Braucher and family belong to the Reformed Church.  His children, all of the first marriage, survive.  Mr. E. Bunts lost her husband, who died Feb. 18, 1907.  The other are: Mrs. William Metzger, of Akron; Mrs. Arthur Gillett, of South Omaha; Clark L., of Toledo, who is division manager there of the U. S. Telephone Company; and Harry H., who died, aged four years.
     Politically, Mr. Braucher is a Democrat.  Fraternally, he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, and Mrs. Braucher with the order of Maccabees.

†
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 753
  ANDREW T. BROOKS, general merchant at Macedonia and manager of the Brooks Creamery at this point, was born at Cleveland, Ohio, July 2, 1859, and is a son of John H. and Catherine (Plunkett) Brooks.
    
The father of Mr. Brooks was born in Holland, in 1831, and was brought to America when he was fourteen years of age.  He learned the trade of shoemaking at Cleveland, where he followed it for a number of years, and in 1866 moved to Brecksville, where he was engaged in business for himself until 1894, when he retired.  He served during the last three months of the Civil War.  He is a member of the lodge of Odd Fellows at Brecksville.
     Andrew T. Brooks attended school at Brecksville through boyhood up to the age of fifteen years.  He learned cheese-making and followed this industry until 1890, during the last seven years being in partnership with J. E. Wyatt, under the firm name of Wyatt & Brooks.  After selling his interests in the cheese business to his partner, Mr. Brooks became associated with Jesse J. Barnes, under the firm name of Barnes & Brooks, and together they purchased the general mercantile
business of T. T. Richie & Co., at Macedonia.  Mr. Brooks continued to increase his business interests and in 1900, when the Macedonia Implement Company was organized, he became its president, with J. L. Ranney as manager.  The company handles agricultural implements and make a specialty of manufacturing a can washer, for the use of dairymen.  In 1896 the Brooks Creamery Company was in incorporated, Mr. Brooks being manager and main stockholder, and he is also president of the Northern Ohio Dairy Company of Cleveland.
     By marriage, Mr. Brooks is connected with a well-known family of Macedonia, his wife being a daughter of Abram C. Munn.  They have two children—Norma L. and Neva L. Politically Mr. Brooks is strongly Republican in his sentiments.  He was appointed postmaster by the late President McKinley.  He served as a justice of the peace for six months, resigning the office, and is a member of the Macedonia village council.  His fraternal relations are with Summit Lodge, No. 213, F. & A. M., of Twinsburg; the Odd Fellows of Brecksville, and the Maccabees, of Macedonia.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 501
  JAMES W. BROUN, secretary of the I. S. Myers Company, at Akron, leaders in the clothing line, is one of the city's active business men and has been identified with this concern for many years, both before and since its incorporation.  He was born at Morris Run, Pennsylvania, in 1871, and is a son of the late William R. Brown.
     James W. Brown was eight years old when his father brought the family to Akron, and he was reared and educated in this city, and as the whole of his business life has been connected with her enterprises, he may be regarded almost in the light of a native son.  After leaving school he was employed for a short time by the Diamond Match Company, and following this for eight years was with the New York Clothing House.  Afterwards he entered the employ of Myers.  Ganyard & Stump, which firm was succeeded by Ganyard & Myers, and this, in turn, was succeeded by I. S. Myers & Company.  In 1899 he became a member of the firm and when the business was incorporated, Feb. 17, 1904, he became secretary.  The other officers are: I. S. Myers, president and manager; T. J. Stebick, vice-president; and M. F. Rhodes, treasurer.
     In 1896 Mr. Brown was married to Margaret A. Frangen, of Doylestown, Ohio, and they have one child, Gertrude M.  Mr. Brown is identified with a number of the leading fraternities.  He is a Knight Templar Mason and also belongs to the Maccabees and the A. I. U.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 757
  JOSIAH BROWN, funeral director and furniture dealer at Cuyahoga Falls, was born in Summit County, Ohio, Apr. 28, 1838, and is a son of Simon and Elizabeth (Pontius) Brown.
     Jacob Brown
was in Pennsylvania, but died in Stark County, Ohio, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits.  He had a family of thirteen children and of these Simon was the eldest.  The latter was born in Pennsylvania and came to Summit County about 1835.  He died in 1895, aged eighty-four years.  After reaching Cuyahoga Falls he learned the cabinet-making trade, with J. T. Holloway, and then went into partnership with Addison McConkey & Brown.  About 1848 he purchased his partner's interest and continued alone, also carrying on undertaking and being the only undertaker in the place for many years.  He supported the candidates of the Republican party.  His wife, who was a daughter of Solomon Pointius, was born at Uniontown, Stark County, Ohio, and died December, 1901, aged eighty-four years.  The three children of Simon Brown and his wife were: Josiah, subject of this sketch; Mrs. Harriet Goble, residing at Cuyahoga Falls; and Ezra, who is now deceased.  The family belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
     After completing his education in the High School at Cuyahoga Falls, Josiah Brown learned his father's trade, and continued to be associated with him until 1873, when he went to Akron, where he worked through the summer and fall as a carpenter, and then entered the employ of Turner, Vaughn & Taylor.  For twenty years he remained with that firm as a carpenter and then returned to his father.  After the latter's death, he managed the business for his mother until her death, when he took entire charge.  It is one of the oldest business houses at the Falls.
     Mr. Brown is a veteran of the Civil War.  On Sept. 10, 1861, he enlisted in Battery D, First Ohio Light Artillery, and re-enlisted in the same battery, in January, 1864, and was commissioned second lieutenant at that time.  He took an active part in all the engagements in which his battery was concerned and he was honorably discharged in June, 1865.  Mr. Brown is a member of the Eddy Post, No. 27, Grand Army of the Republic, at Cuyahoga Falls, and enjoys meeting with his old comrades and living over again the dangers and triumphs of army days.
     Mr. Brown married Lucy E. Warner, a daughter of John Warner, of Cuyahoga Falls, and they have had three children, namely:  Ida, deceased, who married William Graham, of Akron; Charles Arthur, residing at Toledo, a mechanical engineer in the employ of the Toledo Railway and Light Company; and Birdie B., who is the widow of John Wilson, residing at New York City.  Mr. Brown and family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church.  He is affiliated with Howard Loge, No. 62, Odd Fellows.  Politically he is a Republican.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 737
  JOHN BUCHTEL, was one of the early residents of Summit County, accompanying his parents to the neighborhood of Coventry as early as 1830.  He was born in Myers Township, Center County, Pennsylvania, Nov. 6, 1797, and was a son of Peter Buchtel.
     His parents located first in Stark County, Ohio, later in Green Township, and still later in Coventry Township, Summit County, this being about 818.  The country was then a wild region, with only here and there a cabin erected by some courageous settler near the banks of a stream.  Peter Buchtel was a pionee
r farm. He was married in Green township, January 18, 1821, to Catherine Richards, and they had five children, three daughters and two sons. The family was partly reared in the log cabin in which .John Buchtel and wife commenced housekeeping. After thirteen years of residence in Green township.  Mr. Buchtel sold his farm there and bought another, in Coventry Township, on which he resided for forty-one years.  In 1875, Mr. Buchtel gave up all active pursuits and with his wife removed to a .small farm just north of Akron, where Mrs. Buchtel died in 1882, aged seventy-eight years. Mr. Buchtel then retired to the home of his son, Hon. William Buchtel, where he died at the remarkable age of ninety-seven years and two months. For more than a half century he was a consistent member of the Evangelical Church. From the period of the Civil War, he had been an earnest supporter of the Republican party.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 996
  HON. WILLIAM BUCHTEL, the founder and formerly president of the Akron Savings Bank, and largely interested in many of Akron's most important business enterprises, for years has also been prominent in affairs of public import in county and State. Mr. Buchtel was born in Green township, Summit County, Ohio, December 23, 1822, and is a son of John and Catherine (Richards) Buchtel, and a grandson of that hardy old pioneer, Peter Buchtel.
     Wiliam Buchtel obtained his education in the district schools and has led a busy, useful life since reaching the years of discretion. He was twenty-two years of age when he purchased his father's farm of 106 acres which he continued to operate for twelve years, being mainly engaged in the cultivation of wheat. He then became interested in milling, and after renting his farm removed to Springfield Township, where he operated both grist and saw mills.  He was so engaged when troops were called for to strengthen the defences around Washington, and he quickly responded, enlisting in the 164th Regiment Ohio National Guard, and remaining until honorably discharged from the service, in 1866. 
     Upon his return to Summit County, Mr. Buchtel became interested in the lumber business, first as a member of the firm of Jackson, Buchtel and Company, which later became William Buchtel and Sons. He estimates that during his many years of activity in this line, his firms had the handling of more than 20,000 acres of Government and State pine lands.  Mr. Buchtel also turned his attention  to banking interests at Akron, organizing, in company with W. B. Raymond, the Citizens' Savings Bank, of which E. Steinbacher was president,  William Buchtel, vice-president, and W. B. Raymond, cashier. This later became the Citizens' National Bank. Mr. Buchtel then became vice-president of the City National Bank of Akron, a position he resigned in 1888, when he organized the Akron Savings Bank, of which he remained the head for a number of years. He served also as president of the Thomas Lumber and Building Company, and as treasurer of the Akron Building and Loan Association.  Mr. Buchtel was interested for some years in building operations. Many of the stately residences at Akron are testimonials to his enterprise and ability, as also are some of the city's finest business structures, among them the Akron Savings Bank and the Buchtel Hotel, the latter being still his property.
    Mr. Buchtel was married March 7, 1842, to Martha Henderson, of Springfield Township, Summit County.  She died December 17, 1884, having been the mother of four children, namely : Catherine Jane, James H. (deceased), John D. and William M.  Mr. Buchtel married for his second wife, December 3, 1885, Mrs. Nora Sackett Wilcox. 
    
As a citizen, devoted to public duty, Mr. Buchtel has always shown his interest in civic affairs, and frequently even when the holding of office, interfered considerably with his private business, he consented to serve when convinced that it was for the public welfare.  Thus he served on the board of city commissioners, several terms as its chairman; was a member of the Decennial Board of Equalization in 1890, and held other important positions in which he safe-guarded the interests of the public.  In November, 1901, he was elected a member of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly and during his first term a Columbus, served on the standing committees on Geology, Mines and Mining, Municipal Affairs and Prisons and Prison Reforms.  In 1903 Mr. Buchtel was returned to the Legislature and during his term in the Seventy-sixth General Assembly, he served as chairman of the committee on Prisons and Prison Reforms and was a member of the standing committees on Banks and Banking, Villages and Taxation.
     Mr. Buchtel is a member of the Elks and of the Hoo-hoos, a very extensive organization composed wholly of men connected with the lumber industry. He belongs to Buckley Post, Grand Army of the Republic. For two years after his return from military service in the Civil War, he remained connected with the same battalion of National Guards.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 398
  F. W. BUTLER, manager of the stoneware department of the Robinson Clay Product Company, and also president of the Akron Smoking Pipe Company, is one of Akron's leading business men and has been a resident of this city since boyhood.  He was born at Worcester, Massachusetts.
     Mr. Butler came to Akron in 1866 and completed his education in the High School of this city, after which he entered the employ of the old mercantile firm of Hall Brothers, with which he continued for four years.  Subsequently, Mr. Butler became bookkeeper in the First National Bank, still later teller, remaining with this financial institution for nine years, during which time ho acquired an interest in the E. H. Merrill Pottery Company, and this connection became of sufficient importance to cause his resignation as teller and to become secretary and manager of the latter business.  He continued to perform the duties of these positions until the E. H. Merrill Pottery Company was absorbed by the Robinson Merrill Pottery Company, when he became manager of the stoneware department of the new firm.  Mr. Butler remained with the concern after it became the Robinson Clay Product Company, and since 1900, has been manager of the stoneware department of this large industry.  He is interested in other Akron enterprises and commands the consideration of his fellow-citizens as a man of ability and business honor.
     In 1879, Mr. Butler was married to Grace A. Merrill, who was a daughter of E. H. MerrillMrs. Butler died in 1888, leaving three children: H. Karl, Merrill W., and Fred W.  The two older sons of Mr. Butler are interested in real estate in Cuba, owning a plantation in that island.  The youngest son is employed in the shipping department of the Robinson Clay Product Company.  Mr. Butler is a member of the Portage Country club.

†
Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 1006
  FRANK BUTLER, who, in partnership with his brother, John Butler, has been cultivating their excellent farm of 150 acres, in Boston Township, since 1870, is one of the leading agriculturists of this section, and is a son of Thomas and Catherine (Brennan) Butler.
     Thomas Butler
was born in County Wexford, Ireland, where he learned the trade of mason.  After his marriage, he came to America and with his wife eight months later settled near Botzum, Northampton Township, Summit County.  He worked at first on the old Clinton Air Line Railroad, but later purchased a farm of sixty acres in Northampton Township.  He was very capable and industrious workman and built nearly all of the brick houses in his neighborhood, plastered hundreds of structures and built over 150 cellars in Peninsula alone.  He married Catherine Brennan and they had eight children, namely:  Frank, John, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Martha, Catherine and Christopher.
     Frank Butler
 was educated in the common schools of Boston Township, and in his youth did much work in the woods at lumbering, this being a heavily timbered region at that time.  In the spring of 1864, he enlisted in Company B, 188th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and his services continued until the close of the war.  His brother John Butler served in Company E, 124h Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and participated in the battles of Chicamauga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge.  While on the march from Missionary Ridge to Knoxville, he was taken prisoner by the Confederates and was sent to Richmond, from whence he was removed to the prison at Belle Island, where he was kept for four months.  It is stating the truth to say that while there, John Butler was nearly starved to death.  He owes his life to a comrade, whose loyal friendship and persistent entreaty secured recognition fro some Confederate officers of Mr. Butler's pitiable condition.  Both Frank and John Butler were brave and gallant soldiers, the cheerful, faithful, hard-fighting kind of men that made the Northern forces invincible.  Their war records are such as any man might well be proud to acknowledge.
     In 1870, the Butler brothers purchased their present farm, of which seventy-five acres are under cultivation, being devoted to hay, wheat, corn and oats, in addition to which is an apple orchard of 100 trees.  In 1877, a fine residence was built by Frank Butler, a substantial structure having ten rooms.  Mr. Butler is a Republican in politics.
† Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill. - 1908 - Page 834

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