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Biographies
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio
embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning
Containing Portraits of all the Presidents of the United States, with a
Biography of
each, together with Portraits and Biographies of Joshua R. Giddings,
Benjamin F. Wale,
and a large number of the Early Settlers and Representative
Families of to-day.
Published: Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
1893
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WILLIAM HENRY DANA, F C. M.,
President of Dana's Musical Institute of Warren, Ohio, whose fame as
a musical and literary author is international, was born in the city
in which he resides, on June 10, 1846. He comes of New England
stock, among whom are the New Hampshire Danas, so many of whom have
been distinguished in jurisprudence and journalism; literature and
science, including Professor James S. Dana of the New York
Sun. Professor Dana of this notice, is related on his
mother's side to the Potter family, so well known as
educators, jurists, theologians and literati. With these
stimulating examples and ancestors it is less surprising that the
subject of this sketch should have distinguished himself in paths of
learning and usefulness to mankind.
Mr. Dana was reared in his native city of Warren
and obtained his English education at Williston Seminary, East
Hampton, Massachusetts. He was but a mere boy when the war
cloud broke over the great Republic, and, impelled by youthful
enthusiasm and heroism, he entered the army, serving first in the
One Hundred and Seventy-first in the One Hundred and Seventy-first
Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of the Western Department, under
General Burbridge. On the expiration of his term of
service he immediately re-enlisted in the One Hundred and
Ninety-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under the command of
General Hancock, whose field of operations were in the
valley of the Shenandoah, and young Dana was a familiar figure at
the general's headquarters. The young soldier was thence
transferred to the staff of General Shoepf, where he remained
until the close of the war.
He took up the study of music under competent masters
in the East, and after some years of close application to study and
teaching, went to Berlin, Germany, where he studied under
Professor August Haupt, and at the Kullak Conservatory,
subsequently spending a year in the Royal Academy of Music, at
London, England.
He established, in 1869, a musical institute at Warren,
which he has built up by his fostering care, and by his ardor and
competency rendered it one of the best schools in the land.
Among the characteristics of the institute is its Military
Band Department, prominent in which is a fine military band,
composed of students from all parts of the Union. This is the
largest military band school in the United States, and numbers among
its graduates band leaders and soloists of reputation, who are
scattered all over the country. Instruction is also given in
voice and piano, as well as on all other musical instruments, and
the institution is largely patronized from all sections of North
America.
Aside from Mr. Dana's
high standing as a teacher, he also has an extensive reputation as
an author, gained chiefly through his text-books, which are standard
works on the various topics treated. He is the author of
Dana's Practical Composition, Practical Harmony, Practical Thorough
Bass, Orchestration, Military Band Instrumentation, National School
for Cornet, etc. He was the American editor of the Encyclopædia
of Music and Musicians, published in Glasgow, Scotland, and has
assisted in the preparation of other works. He has also done
much magazine writing, which was proved acceptable to the public.
His writings have had a large sale and have secured him a standing
among his professional brethren corresponding to that of his
illustrious relatives in law, science, theology and other
departments of culture. He was awarded a diploma at the
Universal Exposition of Music, held at Bologna, Italy, in 1888, for
text-books, recognized for their clearness of expression and
practical usefulness.
Mr. Dana was one of the three who founded the M.
T. N. A., an institution which has been of incalculable benefit to
the music teachers of this country. He is a graduate of the
American College of Musicians and one of its examiners. He ahs
been the treasurer of the M. T. N. A. for a number of years and also
the custodian of its orchestral fund.
Nor are his talents and culture limited to music.
His general literary tastes and acquirements are excellent. He
ahs frequently been invited to address the association, and his
essays before its several reunions have been most highly appreciated
for their originality of thought and forceful expression. He
is a good and ready speaker and one of the most entertaining
platform lecturers in the field, and his lectures and descriptions
of travel are as delightful as they are instructive. He was
traveled over much of Europe and quite extensively in the Arctic
regions, and has gained by his own observation the valuable material
which he uses in his lectures. In Chautauqua platform work he
has made a national reputation as a lecturer. He is a member
of the National Education Association of the United States, before
which body he presented a paper at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1889.
With his enlightened mind, thoughtful disposition and
devotion to his country, it is natural that Mr. Dana should
take a deep interest in national affairs and that he should be found
enrolled under the banner of Prohibition. He was that party's
candidate for Congress from the nineteenth district in 1890 and
polled a large vote for the cause which he espoused.
Mr. Dana was married in Olean, New York, to
Emma J. Tuttle, daughter of Rev. William S. and Jane (Pratt)
Tuttle, and they have three children: Junius L., a
geologist at Golden, Colorado; Lynn B.; Martha L.; and
Bess, an adopted daughter. Surrounded by an interesting
family and in the enjoyment of prosperity and universal esteem, he
may justly be said to have gained success in life, which is not
measured by sordid acquirements alone, but is gauged by those
thousand amenities which go to satisfy man's Kaleidoscopic nature.
Source: Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio Embracing the
Counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning - Publ. Chicago: The
Lewis Publishing Company, 1893 - Page 554 |
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GABRIEL C. DAVIS, who has mercantile
interests both at Mineral Ridge and at Cornersburg, Ohio, was born
at the former place, Apr. 12,1 864, son of William Edward and
Maria E. (Evans) Davis. William E. Davis was born
in Wales in 1821, came to the United States in 1856, and in this
country spent the rest of his life, and died in 1878. He was a
coal miner and farmer by occupation, and his religious affiliations
were with the Saturday Saints. The mother of our subject, also
a native of Wales, landed in America a few months after her husband
came here. She is still living, and is now a resident of
Girard, Ohio. Gabriel C. Davis is one of a family of
twelve children, the others being as follows: Annie E.,
single, lives with her mother at Girard, Ohio; John W., who
married Annie E. Davis, lives in Salem, Oregon; David
S., married Rosa Belle Beal, and lives in Long Valley,
Boise county, Idaho; Mary, wife of C. S. Moggs*,
residing at Paris, Clarke county, Ohio; William E., who
married Gwennie Morgan, resides in Crawford county,
Kansas; Jennie, deceased; Benjamin E., who married
Ida E. Thrasher, lives in Cornersburg, where he has charge of
our subject’s store; Henry and Edward, deceased;
Henry (2) who conducts a hardware business at Girard, and is a
resident there; and Sarah, deceased.
Gabriel C. Davis attended the schools of his
native town until he was nearly fifteen years of age, and at that
time began clerking in a general store there for C. F. Whitney,
remaining in his employ three years and three months. At the
end of that time, in partnership with his brother, Benjamin E.,
he opened a general merchandise store at Mineral Ridge, and this
store they had conducted only four months, when both the building
and stock went up in flame. They had purchased some goods
which had not yet been received at the time of the fire, and upon
their arrival they rented a vacant house and in it opened up this
stock. Soon after this Gabriel C. accepted a situation
as traveling salesman for B. Danne, Miller & Co., of
Canton, Ohio, handling coffee and spices, and remaining with them
ten months. Then he opened up a stock of groceries at Mineral
Ridge, and conducted a grocery business for two years and a half.
In the summer of 1887 he disposed of this establishment, and in the
spring of the following year opened a grocery queen’s-ware, flour
and feed store in Girard, in partnership with his brother-in-law,
Edmund Morgan, under the firm name of Morgan &
Davis. This firm continued for six months, when Mr.
Davis bought his partner’s interest and for about a year ran
the store alone. He then sold out and removed to the Pacific
coast, and in Whatcom county, Washington, took up a pre-emption
claim of 160 acres, eight miles from the British America line.
After spending six months on this claim, he went by vessel to
Seattle, where he secured a clerkship in the commission store of
H. R. Hammond & Co., and where he remained about seven months.
After that we find him back at Mineral Ridge, Ohio. Here, Mar.
15, 1890, he purchased J. D. Strouse’s stock of general
merchandise at Cornersburg, and April 1, of the same year, was
appointed Postmaster of this place, being the present incumbent of
the office. In May, 1893, he bought property at Mineral Ridge,
and in September opened up a stock of general merchandise. He
himself conducts the store at Mineral Ridge, while his brother has
charge of the one at Cornersburg.
Mr. Davis was married, on the night of his
twenty-third birthday at the bride’s home at Mineral Ridge, Ohio, to
Miss Rhoda M. Morgan, who was born in Minersville, Schuylkill
county, Pennsylvania. Feb. 20, 1863, daughter of Daniel and Rhoda
(Morris) Morgan. Daniel Morgan was born in
Wales in 1820, came to the United States when a young man, and has
been a coal minerall his life. His wife, also a native of
Wales, was born in 1825. They had a family of six
children, of whom we record that their son, Edmund, who
married Sarah A. Davis, lives in Youngstown, Ohio, where he
is a member of the firm of Baldwin, Morgan & Co.; and
and that four of their children: Leah, Mary J., and
two infants, are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have two
children: Roy, born Jan. 30, 1888, in Mineral Ridge, Ohio;
and William Edward, born in Cornersburg, Ohio, Apr. 3,
1892.
Source: Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio Embracing the
Counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning - Publ. Chicago: The
Lewis Publishing Company, 1893 - Page 663
* Possibly C. S. Maggs. |
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