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BIOGRAPHIES
 Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio -
Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Co.,
1893
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ADAM and FRANK CALLENDER,
father and son, proprietor and manager, respectively, of the extensive
Callander estates, situated in Morgan, Orwell and Rome, and who
have been for many years among the most extensive raisers, buyers and
shippers of stock in the United States, are the subjects of this sketch.
Adam Callender is a native of bonny Scotland,
the home of Bruce and Burns, and inherits many of the
sterling qualities of that hardy race. In 1850, he cross the ocean
in the employ of his uncle, George . Callander, of Painesville,
Ohio, with whom young Adam remained six months, after which he
removed to Chardon, where he was variously engaged for a year. He
then went to the northwestern part of Orwell township, where he
purchased a farm of 187 acres which he still owns and upon which he then
moved and made it his home for six months. At the end of that
time, doubtless becoming homesick from the contrast between the old and
new world, he returned once more to his native land, which he visited
for six months, renewing acquaintance with former happy scenes and
reviving old friendships. At the end of that time, in 1853, he
once more turned his face westward, returning to Rome township,
accompanied by his parents, John and Willie (McLoud) Callander,
his brother, John, and two sisters, Jessie and Mary.
On Mr. Adam Callander's return, he purchased the fine farm of
seventy acres, situated a mile form New Lyme, on which he now resides.
He erected on this a magnificent new residence, beautifying and
improving the grounds, and making other valuable and modern
improvements, until he now has one of the handsomest places in Ashtabula
county.
He then began those stock speculations which have since
become so extensive as to give him the reputation of being one of the
heaviest dealers in the country. Before the completion of the
Ashtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburg Railroad, Mr. Callander drove
his stock to Waterford, Pennsylvania, for shipment, driving to this
point every week large herds of cattle, sheep and other stock.
Since the completion of that road, however, Mr.
Callander has made New Lyme his principal shipping point and greatly
increased his business. During the year following the finishing of
that road, he shipped from that point, horses, cattle, veal calves,
sheep and hogs, amounting in value to more than $300,000.
He finally turned over this immense business to his
son, Frank Callander, and began buying sheep and lambs at the
Pittsburg market for shipment to Eastern cities. Here he was
recognized as one of the most extensive shippers in the country, his
shipments from that point exceeding in value $400,000 a year.
During one month, he shipped thirty-eight car-loads, and proceeds of
which was nearly $50,000. While in Pittsburg, he also established
a wholesale meat market in Youngstown, to supply the retain markets of
the former city; and about twenty head of cattle, fifty head of sheep,
together with large quantities of hogs and other stock, were sold in
Youngstown every week.
Since leaving Pittsburg in 1887, Mr. Adam Callander
has devoted himself to rearing, buying and shipping fine carriage and
coach horses for the best eastern markets. He handles nothing but
the best horses and realizes the best market prices. He raises on
his home farm every year, four or five excellent carriage and coach
horses, for which he receives the average price of $450 a head, his
annual sales of horses along averaging about $10,000. Few men have
been more uniformly successful than Mr. Adam Callander, the
secret of which may be found in excellent financial ability, untiring
energy and strict integrity, the power to conceive great enterprises and
the will to execute them.
Mrs. Adam Callander was before marriage Miss
Nettie Hopkins, a native of Chardon, Ohio. Her father,
James Hopkins, a widely and favorably known pioneer of the Western
Reserve, died in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1840, greatly regretted by
all who knew him. Mrs. Callander is devoted to her early
home and is an exemplary wife and mother, her taste and refinement being
manifest in both the interior and exterior of her beautiful home.
Frank Callander, as well known in commercial
circles as his father, was born in Orwell township, Ashtabula County,
Ohio, June 7, 1864, where he was reared and educated and has ever since
resided. He early took part in his father's business, evincing an
aptitude and ability which would have been commendable in an older
person. He now superintends the entire Callander estate of
more than 700 acres, situated in Morgan, Rome and Orwell townships.
He also does a heavy business in stock shipments, being one of the
largest dealers in veal calves in the market. He has, during some
seasons, about thirty buyers in various parts of the country, and in ten
weeks has shipped from New Lyme, Austinburg and Espyville, about 4,500
calves, at the same time doing a large business in other stock. He
evinces the same indefatigable energy, which is such a marked
characteristic of his father, and inherits much of that financial
insight and executive ability which have contributed to the father's
phenomenal prosperity.
Sept. 3, 1890, Mr. Frank Callander was married
to Miss Minta A. Laird, a lady of culture and refinement,
daughter of J. H. Laird, a prominent citizen of Mesopotamia,
Ohio. Mr. Frank Callander and wife have an attractive home
a few rods north of the residence of his parents, where, surrounded by
all the comforts and luxuries of life they are prepared to enjoy life to
its fullest extent.
Politically, both father and son are supporters of
Republicanism, but their personal affairs necessarily absorb most of
their attention, although deeply interested in the public welfare.
They have done much to develop the resources and add to the prosperity
of their community, and are justly regarded with the highest esteem by
their fellow citizens.
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis
Publishing Co., 1893 - Page 905 |
LORENZO
D. CARVER, was born in Chardon Twp., Geauga county, Ohio,
Apr. 18, 1824, a son of Solomon Carver, of Hartford
Connecticut. The latter emigrated to Ohio with his family and
settled in Chardon township when there were only eight families
living within its borders; he became one of the most prominent men
of the community, and assisted in cutting out the road from
Painesville to Chardon. His wife died soon after locating
here, and he was married to Laura Clough, a member of one of
the pioneer families. HE was a skillful hunter, and killed
much wild game which abounded in this section. Three of his
brothers were graduates of Oberlin College, and became well-known in
their respective callings. He died at the age of eighty-four
years, and the second wife at the age of sixty-eight years.
They reared a family of ten children to maturity, and not one of the
six sons ever used tobacco or strong drink. Lorenzo D.
received his education in the common schools and in the select
academy, which he attended two terms. When he became of age of
father gave him sufficient cloth for a new coat, and with this gift
he started out to make his way in the world. He worked by the
month until he accumulated some money, and also hunted and trapped
with marked success. When he had means sufficient he bought a
farm of 160 acres in McKean county, Pennsylvania. Some time
afterward he sold this tract at a small profit, and it was
subsequently discovered that it contained a rich bed of anthracite
coal.
In 1852, he joined a small party of acquaintances and
went to California in search of gold; he made the trip via
the Isthmus from New York, and spent two years in the mines in the
Fremont tract in Mariposa county. He entered into no
speculations, but was content with steady earnings. Upon his
return to the East he engaged in farming, and later went to Canada,
where he went into the lumber business, but the changes in the
tariff laws rendered his business unprofitable there, so he came
back to Geauga county. He has owned in Chardon township
several farms, which he has improved and sold. He has always
been an untiring worker, a good manager, and enthusiastic in the
general advancement of the community. He spent several months
in 1884, prospecting to Colorado. Mr. Carver was
married in 1848, to Amanda, daughter of Holmes Mahew
of Trumbull county, Ohio. They have a family of five children:
Marion, Elgin, Alice, Lillian and Belle. Arnold
is not living. The daughters are all married and well settled
in life. Mr. Carver has a fine farm of 140 acres, which
is in a high state of cultivation and well improved with substantial
buildings. He ahs inherited his father's fondness for sports,
and his skill as a marksman. He belongs to Willoughby Hunting
Club, and has in the past six years hunted in five different States
of the Union, and killed twenty deer.
In politics he is a Democrat.
Source: Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio -
Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Co.,
1893 - Page 801 |
STEPHEN CASE
is one of the substantial farmers of Montville township, and bears
that character which gives solidity to any community. He was
born at Simsbury, Hartford county, Connecticut, July 20, 1825, a son
of Asa L. Case, a native of the same place. The
great-grandfather, Captain John Case, emigrated from England
in colonial times and participated in the Revolutionary war.
The grandfather of Stephen Case was Asa Case, a native
of Connecticut, who served in the war of 1812. Asa L. Case
removed to Ohio in the fall of 1833, and located at Windsor,
Ashtabula county, being one of the early settlers. He cleared
up a farm before his death, which occurred Nov. 25, 1854, at which
time he was in his sixty-fourth year. He married Rosana
Buell, a native of Connecticut, who died June 26, 1858, in her
sixty-seventh year. Stephen Case is the youngest of a
family of four, and is the only surviving child. He was reared
to the life of a frontier farmer, and attended school in the rude
log-house furnished with slab seats, the mental equipment of the
teachers being often as meager. He was needed at home as soon
as he was old enough to work, and so his opportunities were cut
short by the more pressing demands of farm labor. He remained
at home a few years after he was of age, assisting his parents.
In 1854 he removed to Montville township and located on 100 acres of
land, which was densely covered with timber. Here, in the
heart of the forest, he cleared a farm.
He was united in marriage, Sept. 23, 1849, to Maria
B. Piney, a daughter of Captain Levi and Betty (Hill) Piney,
Connecticut. Captain Piney emigrated to Ohio when a
young man, and bore the burden that was imposed upon all pioneers.
He was fond of hunting, and often supplied his neighbors with meat,
while they performed less exciting labor for him. He brought
the nails for his house on horseback from Pittsburg, and burned the
first brick-kiln in Trumbull county, Ohio. He died in Kirtland
township, Lake county, Ohio, in his sixty-fourth year. His
wife, Betty Hill, was a native of Connecticut, and emigrated
to Ohio with her parents at the age of sixteen years; she survived
to her eightieth year.
Mr. and Mrs. Case have two children: Malinda
and Hiram P. Hiram is married and lives on the
farm. He has held various township offices and has served with
credit to himself and the satisfaction of the public; he is
drum-major of the Montville brass band, in which he takes a lively
interest. Mr. Hiram Case is a member of the Grange, and
is one of the Lecturers of this organization, and also Deputy
Master. In politics he supports the principles of
Republicanism, and has been Trustee of his township. The
family are members of the Christian Church, and our subject has been
Deacon since the organization of the society in this place; his son
Hiram is one of the overseers of the church. Mr. Case
is one of the overseers of the church. Mr. Case is now
the owner of 190 acres of choice farming land, well improved.
He has been a good manager, had has cultivated thrift as one of the
chief virtues, the result being that he has amassed a competence for
his declining years.
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The
Lewis Publishing Co., 1893 - Page 930 |
WILLIAM C. CHAMBERLAIN
is a native of the State of Pennsylvania, having been born in
Farmington, Tioga county, Dec. 12, 1845. His father was
Nelson H. Chamberlain, also a native of Tioga county. The
grandfather, Chandler W. Chamberlain, was born in The
Keystone State in 1802, of English ancestry. The paternal
grandmother's maiden name was Jane Phoenix. Nelson H.
Chamberlain was a farmer by occupation, and owned a
well-improved tract of eighty acres of land in Tioga county.
He married Dimis Rowley, a native of Steuben county, New
York, and they reared a family of four children: Orlando; William
C., the subject of this notice; Roswell I., deceased; and
Alonzo B. The mother is living, at the age of sixty-six
years; the father lived to attain three-score years and ten,
departing this life Nov 30, 1891. William C. was reared
in Pennsylvania until his twelfth year; he then went with his
parents to Steuben county, New York, and later, in 1863, they
removed to the township of Alma, Allegany county, New York.
When only a lad of fifteen years his heart became fired
with patriotism, which found expression in his service to his
country. Aug. 14, 1861, he enlisted from Steuben county in
Company B, Eighty-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry, known in the
army as the "Steuben Rangers," and was sent directly to Washington,
joining the Army of the Potomac, in Smith's division, Hancock's
brigade. He was detailed to provost duty, but served afterward
in Pope's campaign and participated in the second battle of Bull
Run. Soon after this engagement he was taken ill, and was
confined in Harwood Hospital, Washington, from Sept. 1, 1862, until
the latter part of November of the same year, when he was
transferred to the hospital at Portsmouth Grove, Rhode Island, where
he was discharged on account of disability, Jan. 3, 1863.
He returned to his home, and the next autumn he settled in Allegany
county, New York; here he purchased a tract of wild, undeveloped
land, which he improved, and when it was discovered to be in the oil
district he sold it for a large advance upon the price paid.
In 1884 he came to Geauga county, Ohio, and bought his present farm,
a tract of fifty-eight acres, located in Hampden township, on North
Hampden street.
Mr. Chamberlain was married May 4, 1870, two
miles east of Chardon, to Miss Cornelia L. White, who was
born in Tioga county, New York. They are the parents of two
children, Cora M. and Mildred M., bright young ladies,
who were educated at Chardon.
Aaron and Mary S. (Garrison) White, the parents
of Mrs. Chamberlain, were born in Tioga county, New York, and
Bradford county, Pennsylvania, respectively. They reared a
family of five children: Cornelia, Albert G., George H.,
Spencer E. and Ezra E. Mr. White removed from New
York State to Geauga county, Ohio, in 1884, and purchased a farm
which joins on the north of that of his son-in-law. Mr.
Chamberlain has a well cultivated and highly improved farm, with
neat and substantial buildings which he has erected since his
purchase. He raises live-stock and grain, and is numbered
among the most thrifty and substantial farmers of the community.
He and his wife adhere to the Free Baptist faith in their religion.
In politics, he supports the Republican party, and is now serving
his third term as Trustee of the township. He has been very
faithful and efficient in the discharge of his official duty, and
has promoted the best interests of the township. He is a
member of the Reed Post, No. 387, G. A. R., at Chardon, and belongs
to the Hampden Grange.
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The
Lewis Publishing Co., 1893 - Page 772 |
LOWELL E. COMAN,
a highly respected citizen of Geauga county, is one of the typical
pioneers of Ohio, is one of the typical pioneers of Ohio, and has
braved the dangers, trials and privations of life on the frontier to
the end that the frontier might still farther recede toward the
setting sun, and the generation of pioneers might be known to the
future only in history. He was born in Windham county,
Connecticut, November 25, 1825, a son of Uriah Coman, who was
born in the same county in 1798. The grandfather, Stephen
Coman, was also a native of Connecticut, and his father was a
passenger on the Mayflower. Stephen Coman was a farmer
by occupation, and died at the age of eighty-eight years.
Uriah Coman, in his youth, was employed in the cotton mills of
Killingly, Connecticut, but in 1837 came to Ohio with his wife and
six children. They located in Chardon township, Geauga county,
where they bought a piece of land, which was improved to the extent
of a log cabin. Settlers were few and far between, and deer,
bears and wild turkeys abounded. Mr. Conan died at the
age of eighty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name was
Roxana Chase, was a native of Connecticut; she died in1891, at
the age of eighty-eight years. They had a family of six
children, three of whom survive.
Lowell E. is the eldest, and only son living.
He was reared amid the wild surroundings of a pioneer settlement,
and secured his education in the little log schoolhouse that was
furnished with slab benches and heated with an open fire-place,
having a stick-and-mud chimney. He was also a pupil at the
Kirtland Academy when Professor Lord was an instructor there.
He lived at home until he was twenty years of age, and
in 1845 he went back to Connecticut and found employment in the
cotton mills of Killingly. He soon became foreman and had
charge of the looms in two rooms. He was married in
Connecticut in 1847, to Miss Caroline Brown, of Worcester
county, Massachusetts, and in the spring of 1848 he and his wife
came to Ohio, settling in Chardon township, Geauga county.
Mr. Coman purchased 112 acres of land, which he cleared and
improved. At the end of five years he sold this tract and
purchased his present farm in Chardon township. He has done a
great deal of hard work, and has placed under cultivation 100 acres
of as fine land as lies within the borders of Geauga county.
Mr. and Mrs. Coman are the parents of four
children: Frank, Malissa and Annette are deceased,
while Clara survives. She was married to Alva Welch.
They have one child, Katie Emma. Mr. Coman has
adopted Albert W., son of James Ferry, deceased.
Mr. Coman is a Republican in politics, and has held several
local offices. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., of which he is a
most worthy member.
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The
Lewis Publishing Co., 1893 - Page 798 |
ALPHEUS COOK,
the pioneer merchant of Geauga county, is well known in commercial
circles and has the respect and confidence of a large patronage.
He was born at Danby, Rutland county, Vermont, May 24, 1820, a son
of Benjamin Cook, Jr., a native of Massachusetts, and
grandson of Benjamin Cook, Sr., who was also born in
Massachusetts, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.
Benjamin Cook, Jr., emigrated to Ashtabula county, Ohio,
in 1834, locating at Windsor. In April, 1835, he removed to
Chardon, Geauga county, taking up fifty acres of land, which he
cleared and sold in 1840. Later he opened a drygoods store,
and soon after was associated with his son, Alpheus, in the
drug business. His wife, whose maiden name was Ruby Kelley,
was born in Rutland county, Vermont. She was the mother of
four children: Pardon O., deceased; Alpheus; Mary A.,
who was married to D. Barnes; and Martin B. She
died at the age of seventy-six years, the father living to be
ninety-four years old. They were members of the Baptist
Church. Mr. Cook was chairman of the building committee
that erected the present structure occupied by his society, and was
largely instrumental in its completion. Politically he was
first a Whig and afterward a Republican.
Alpheus is the second of the family of four
children, and was a lad of fourteen years when his parents came to
this State, making the journey overland in a covered wagon. He
had attended school in Vermont, and, after coming here, he entered
the Western Reserve Academy, at Kirtland Lake county. At the
age of twenty-one years he was employed as clerk in a drugstore
belonging to John King, and filled the position four years.
In 1840 he engaged in the dry goods business with his father, which
association continued four years, when D. Barnes was taken in
as a partner, this partnership continuing for two years, when he
retired and the firm became B. & A. Cook. They bought
out the drug stock of Mr. King and conducted that business
also. In 1854, H. H. Kelly was taken in as a
partner for one year, the firm being A. Cook & Co. In the
spring of 1855 Mr. Cook bought out his father's and Mr.
Kelly's interests and carried on the business under the name of
A. Cook until April, 1857, when he took in as a partner
Dr. L. N. Hamilton. This partnership continued for two
years, when Dr. Hamilton retired, and Mr. cook
conducted the business alone until January, 1864, when he admitted
A. McGowen as a partner. This partnership continued
until 1867, when McGowan retired, since which time Mr.
Cook has continued his business alone. For many years he
was the only druggist in the city of Geauga county. Aug. 25,
1868, a fire broke out which destroyed nearly all of Chardon,
including Mr. Cook's stock. His losses were heavy, as
he had only $450 in insurance. He rebuilt, however, put in a
new stock and went on with his business, undaunted by his calamity.
His strict and honorable business methods secured to him the
confidence of the people and a large and constantly increasing
patronage, which has brought him financial success.
Mr. Cook was united in marriage, Sept. 23, 1851,
to Laura A. Sanderson, a native of Mesopotamia, Trumbull
county, Ohio. Her father, Elisha Sanderson, was born in
Woodstock, Vermont, June 17, 1790. Her mother was Sally
Grosvenor, who was born in Mansfield, Connecticut, Feb. 17,
1796. They were married in Bridgewater, Vermont, Feb. 8, 1816.
In March of that year Mr. Sanderson came with a pack and on
foot, to Ohio and selected a home in the woods of Mesopotamia, where
he made a clearing and erected for himself and bride a log cabin.
In the fall he returned to Vermont to make preparations to move to
his new home in the far West. The following spring the long
journey was commenced, with ox teams, and was completed at the end
of six weeks, when they arrived at their new home in the forests of
Ohio, where they began their new life. The children of this
union were: Sarah M., now Mrs. McGowan, of
Sedalia, Missouri, who was born Apr. 15, 1818; Laura A., who
was born May 23, 1823, and was married to Alpheus Cook; Charles
R., born May 19, 1826, and now a physician in practice in St.
Louis, Missouri; Emory M., born May 20, 1830, now of
Garrettsville, Ohio.
Soon after coming to Ohio, the Sandersons, with
six others, organized a class, and their home was ever after the
headquarters and the home of itinerant Methodist preachers, and the
Church always had in them intelligent and able defenders of its
faith and willing and cheerful supporters. Their spirits have
passed to the home above and their remains lie buried in
Mesopotamia. The father died near Buffalo, New York and the
mother at Chardon, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Cook are the parents of three
children: Albert B. is a prosperous druggist in Ashtabula,
Ohio, and married Mary, daughter of John Wagstaff;
Emory A. is a clerk in his father's store; he was united
in marriage to Lillian E. Warner, daughter of Andrew and
Cynthia R. (Bartlett) Warner, and two children bless this union
- Warner D. and an infant; Arthur P. is in the
real-estate business at Duluth, Minnesota; he married Ella A.,
daughter of George F. and Harriet (Bosworth) Senter, by whom
he has one child, George A.
Mr. Cook is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows
societies. In politics he is a Republican. He has served
as Coroner for the county and made an efficient officer. He
has retired from active business, and, with his life's partner, in
his elegant home is quietly enjoying that repose and comfort that
come of a well-spent life. He is a man of large construction,
physically and mentally, and his heart is in keeping with his form.
He is essentially a domestic man and has been a kind and devoted
husband and father. He has not been unmindful of others
duties, but has been a charitable and generous neighbor and a
patriotic citizen. During his habitation among the people with
whom he now dwells, he has ever held their esteem and confidence,
which have not lessened but increased as the years have rolled
along.
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The
Lewis Publishing Co., 1893 - Page 790 |
JOHN
H. CONVERSE, deceased, was born in Stafford Springs,
Connecticut, Jan. 17, 1817. He was a lad off eighteen years
when his widowed mother came with her three children to the western
frontier in June, 1825. They settled on land in Chardon
township, just west of the village, and for one term he attended the
common schools. He worked on the farm until after his
marriage, when he went into the tanning business, an industry of
much importance in a pioneer settlement. At the end of a
period of five or six years he opened a shoe store, which he managed
successfully four years. Selling out this business he again
turned his attention to agriculture, purchasing in Hampden township
a farm of eighty-seven acres which was cultivated under his
supervision.
Mr. Converse was married in 1842 to Angeline
Gilbert, a native of Onondaga county, New York, who emigrated
with her parents to Ohio in 1833. Freeman and
Asenath (Smith) Gilbert, were natives of New York and
Connecticut respectively, and reared a family of six children, five
dying in early life. The father died at the age of sixty-two
years, and the mother passed away at the age of forty-two; they
owned 200 acres of land in Munson township, and with other sturdy
souls encountered all the privations and hardships of pioneer life.
Mr. and Mrs. Converse had no children born to them, but have
reared an adopted son and a daughter: Charles Gilbert and
Sarah. George Rhodes was also brought up by them.
The death of this worthy man occurred July 24, 1885.
In his religious faith he adopted the doctrines of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in early life, but in after years associated
himself with the Congregational Church, to which he contributed
freely of his means. Politically, he was a stanch supporter of
the principles of the Republican party. Possessed of superior
business ability he accumulated a handsome estate during his life,
but not by injustice to his fellow-men, as his distinguishing trait
were honesty and integrity. Mrs. Converse is a woman of
rare endowments. She has continued the work begun by her good
husband, giving liberally to the church and contributing to those
enterprises having for their object the uplifting of humanity.
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The
Lewis Publishing Co., 1893 - Page 568 |
EDWARD
CRAFTS, a prominent farmer of Auburn township, Geauga county,
Ohio, was born in Auburn, Aug. 22, 1822. William Crafts,
his father, an early settler in Auburn, was born in Boston,
Massachusetts. Edward Crafts, his grandfather, was a
resident of Boston and occupied the position of Major at the
commencement of the Revolutionary War, and with his brother,
Colonel Thomas Crafts, was prominent in the defense of Boston
from the attacks of the English during the Revolution.
Major Edward Crafts disposed of his valuable property in Boston,
receiving payment in continental money which, it is well-known,
subsequently became worthless. The loss attending this
transaction necessitated an effort on his part to provide for his
large family. He, therefor, removed to New York and settled in
what is now Yates county, which was then an unsubdued wilderness and
with the assistance of his sons, cleared and became owners of
valuable farms.
William Crafts, his youngest son, married in New York,
and in the fall of 1815 came on foot to Ohio. Here he bought
about 1,200 acres of land, at that time all an unbroken wilderness.
There were then only two other families in this vicinity. He
returned to New York and that winter brought his family to his
pioneer home, making the journey this time with an ox team. In
the midst of the forest, half a mile south of Auburn Corners, he
erected a log cabin, and, as the yeas rolled by, his well-directed
efforts resulted in the clearing of a fine farm. He died in
Auburn in the eighty-seventh year of his age. He was twice
married, the subject of our sketch being the child of his second
wife, nee Drucilla Moore, a native of New York State.
She reared five children. Her death occurred when she was
seventy-five. Mr. Crafts occupied a prominent place
among the pioneers. Indeed, few men throughout the county were
better known than he. In politics he was first a Whig and
afterward a Republican, and he served his township in various
offices of trust and responsibility. Of his original purchase
he selected 400 acres, the farm now owned by and occupied by his son
Edward, the subject of this sketch, named after the
Revolutionary grandfather. Born and reared in a frontier home,
Edward Crafts is familiar with the difficulties and
privations incidental to pioneer life. He well remembers when
there were plenty of deer in the forest near his father's cabin.
He went to school in the old log school house near by and, sitting
on the rude slab benches with pin legs, he conned his lessons before
the open fireplace. At the age of eighteen he attended a
select school for one term in Chagrin Falls, after which, in the
winter of 1840 and '41, he taught school, thus paying his own way
with the money he earned. He afterward taught several yeas.
Since then he returned to the select school, thus paying his own way
with the money he earned He afterward taught several years.
Since then he has given his attention to farming and dairying.
Mr. Crafts has been quite prominent as a Democratic
politician, having been twice a delegate to Democratic National
conventions; also to Democratic State conventions and many times
holding offices of trust in the township.
In 1845 he married Miss Helen B. Johnson, a
native of Newbury township, Geauga county, who departed this life in
July, 1883. Mrs. Crafts excelled in all those
attributes which tend to develop a superior mind and character which
she imparted to their three sons, all of whom are occupying
prominent and useful positions in life. Clayton Edward,
the oldest, is a lawyer of Chicago. He has been several times
elected a member of the House of Representatives of the State of
Illinois, and twice elected Speaker which position he occupies at
the present time. Pitt Maurice is engaged in farming in
Geauga county, and Stanley Curtis is a lawyer and real-estate
dealer in Chicago.
The Crafts are of English descent. The
first representative of the family, Lieutenant Griffin Crafts,
came to America with Governor Winthrop in 1630.
Source: Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio -
Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Co.,
1893 - Page 705 |
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