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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
Commemorative Biographical Records
of the counties
of Huron and Lorain, Ohio
- Illustrated -
Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co.,
1894
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HON. TIMOTHY
BAKER - See
MRS. M. A. CORWIN
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of
Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co., 1894 - Page 481 |
Geo. Bargus |
LIEUTENANT GEORGE BARGUS
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of
the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago:
J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 338 |
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L. E. BARKER,
justice of the peace, dealer in real estate, and insurance agent, of
Greenwich, is widely known in Huron and adjoining counties.
He was born in 1848 in Huron county, Ohio, was educated
in this county, and at the age of seventeen years went to Michigan. He
remained three or four years in that State, returned to his native county in
1872, and located at Greenwich, where he was connected with the dry goods
business until 1881. In 1884 he engaged in the insurance business, and
now represents no less than seven leading companies. At the same time
he established as a real-estate agent, buying, selling and trading lands,
town lots and other property on commission. Mr. Barker served
the municipality of Greenwich as clerk for two terms; was elected mayor of
Greenwich in 1889, and in April, 1892, was elected justice of the peace.
He was united in marriage on Dec. 16, 1875, with Mary Sypher,
a native of Des Moines, Iowa, and daughter of Reuben and Jennie (Armour)
Sypher, the former a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of Indiana.
Her mother died sixteen years after marriage, and her father died at Des
Moines, Iowa, in1879. Their daughter, now Mrs. Barker, was sent
to Oxford, Ohio, when seventeen years old, to attend school, and remained
there for two years. To her marriage two children were born, namely:
Echo Armour and Ethel Adeline.
Nelson and Ethel Adeline, parents of
Justice Barker were born in New York State, the former in 1819, the
latter in 1822, and are now residents of Ripley township, Huron Co., Ohio.
Their parents came to Huron Co., Ohio. Their parents came to Huron
county about the year 1834, and here Mr. and Mrs. Barker were
married, and five children were born to them, three of whom are living,
Dr. I. N., H. W., and L. E.
Joseph Barker, the grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, who was of English descent, resided here from his coming in the
"thirties" until his death. The maternal grandparents, natives of
Connecticut, who settled in Huron county, resided here until death removed
them from the circle of old settlers. The Hinkleys are of
French descent, grandfather Hinkley being a cousin of Salmon P.
Chase; his wife, Laura, was Scotch-English. The father of
L. E. Barker, "Nelson Barker," died July 31, 1893, and L.
E. Barker's only sister, L. Delia was appointed Administratrix of
the estate of Nelson Barker, was taken sick on Oct. 4, 1893, and died
October 17 following at the age of thirty-seven years, five months,
twenty-five days.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of
Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co., 1894 - Page 110 |
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NATHAN BEERS is descended
from one of the early families of Connecticut, of which State his father,
Nathan Beers, was a native. Grandfather Beers was paymaster
under Gen. Washington during the Revolutionary war, and was
subsequently a steward of Yale College.
His son, Nathan Beers, was born Oct. 15, 1806,
in New Haven Conn., where he received his education. He completed the
freshman year in Yale, and then set out on a journey to Ohio, traveling by
canal and lake to Cleveland, and thence, on horseback, to Trumbull county,
where relatives resided. After a brief visit he pursued his journey,
coming to Huron county, where an uncle and a brother had previously
purchased land. On July 3, 1828, he married Louisa Ashley, who
was born Dec. 6, 1806, in Deerfield, Mass., whence in 1817 she accompanied
her parents, Luther and Eunice (Smith) Ashley, to Greenfield
township, Huron Co., Ohio, the journey, which occupied six weeks, being made
in a wagon. The children born to Nathan and Louisa Beers were
as follows: Mary, widow of Lucius Gibbs, who resides in
California; Augusta, widow of Isaac Darling, of Greenfield
township, and Nathan. The parents of these began married life
on the same where he died Mar. 6, 1891. His remains were interred in
the Steuben cemetery. His widow now resides with her son
Nathan on the homestead. Politically this pioneer differed from
the majority of the men of Huron county, who voted for Fremont in 1856.
He simply changed from being a Whig into a Republican, while the others who
changed politically ideas at the time were generally Democrats. He
filled many township offices in early years, such as clerk, trustee and
treasurer. He was a member of the Congregational Church, and was much
esteemed by his neighbors. He was tenderly beloved by his children and
grandchildren, and at all times he dealt justly, loved mercy, and reverenced
God.
Nathan Beers, son of the pioneer, was born Oct.
8, 1840, was educated in the district school, and reared to the life of a
farmer. He worked on the homestead until 1861, when he married
Ellen Conklin, who was born Mar. 14, 1844, at Plymouth, Ohio; her
parents, Charles and Rachel (Bevier) Conklin, came from Owasco,
Cayuga Co., N. Y., where Mr. Conklin was born July 14, 1807, and his
wife Nov. 24, 1807. Mr. Conklin was a tailor by trade, but
devoted much of his time to agriculture. To the marriage of Nathan
and Ellen Beers were born three children, namely: Fred P.,
a boot and shoe dealer of Plymouth, Ohio; Louise, Mrs. Delno P. Ryerson,
of Peru township, and Mary, at home. All were born on the home
farm, where the parents settled after marriage. Mrs. Beers is a
member of the Congregational Church, and Mr. Beers of Congregational
Society. Politically he is a Republican, and he is one of the advisers
of the party in his district. In August, 1862, he enlisted, at
Steuben, Ohio, in Company C, One Hundred and Twenty-third O. V. I., which
was attached to the Eighth Corps and army of the James, and served
with that command until the close of the war. He received an honorable
discharge, and was mustered out in June, 1865, at Columbus, Ohio. With
the exception of that radical departure from home life, Mr. Beers has
called the farm, which was located by his father, his home. He is a
systematic agriculturist and an experienced stock grower, and is in every
respect a useful, industrious citizen.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of
Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co., 1894 - Page 361 |
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DAVID S. BELL,
who is a grandson of Robert Bell, was born near St. Clairsville,
Belmont Co., Ohio, Apr. 25, 1816, at four o'clock in the afternoon.
In 1798 Robert Bell, accompanied by his wife and
children, migrated from New Jersey to Washington county, Penn., and 1800
came farther west, settling in Belmont county, Ohio. He was a farmer
and distiller in Belmont county until 1844, when he purchased lands in
Richland county, same State, and moved thither with his family.
Bellville, in that county, was named in honor of him, and there the remains
of his wife and himself were interred. The children of Robert Bell
are named as follows: John, referred to below; Zephaniah,
a pioneer Methodist preacher, who died in Whitley county, Ind.; Robert,
Jr., who died at Belleville, Richland county (he had suffered from fever
in youth, and was left a cripple by the disease); Betsey, who married
George Yaring, and died in Illinois; one daughter who married a
Baptist preacher named Dorsey Phillips, of western Pennsylvania;
Catherine, who married Thomas Piatt, and died in Richland county.
JOHN BELL, eldest son of
Robert Bell, was born in November, 1781, in New Jersey. In 1803 he
married Hannah Finch, who was born in Rhode Island in 1785, and same
to Belmont county with her parents. To her marriage with Mr. Bell
seven children were born in Belmont county, namely: Robert, who
moved to Steuben county, Ind., where he died; Jesse, who moved to
Missouri, and died near Hamilton; Anna who married John Knott,
and died at Angola, Steuben County, Ind.; John who died in Richland
county, but lived in Ripley, Huron county, where he was a tanner; Hannah,
widow of Thomas Knott, of Tipton, Iowa; Enoch, who died in
Morrow county, Ohio, where he was a preacher of the United Brethren Church,
and later a farmer; and David S., the subject of this sketch.
In the fall of 1817 John Bell and family moved to Bellville, Richland
Co., Ohio. In the spring of the following year he purchased 260 acres
of land at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, in Bloominggrove township,
and on that tract established his home. He was a great hunter, and
during his lifetime killed over400 dear, and large number of bears and
wolves, thus providing himself with fields sports, and his large family and
pioneer neighbors with sufficient animal food. In Bloominggrove
township three children were added to the family, namely: Nathaniel,
a Methodist preacher and farmer of Ripley township, Huron county, deceased;
Stephen, who died in the same township when twenty-five years old;
and Joseph, deceased in infancy. In 1839 the family moved into
Ripley township, Huron county, where Mrs. Bell died in 1856.
The father died May 2, 1867, in Greenwich township, at the house of his son,
David S., where he had resided the previous six years. Both
were buried in the old Salem cemetery in Richland county.
David S. Bell received a primary education
in the early schools of Richland county, going many miles through the woods
for even the little which was taught, and when seventeen years old began to
learn the tanner's trade at Fitchville, under his brother John.
Two years later he moved to New Haven, and worked thee and in other
settlements until the fall of 1835, when he moved to Steuben county, Ind.,
where he erected a sawmill. Early in 1836 he returned to Ohio, and on
September 8, that year, married Emeline Slocum, who was born Nov. 26,
1817, in Onondaga county, N. Y. To this marriage four children were
born, of whom Charles F. is a wagon maker of Wood county, Ohio;
Stephen, a farmer, and minister of the Christian Church in Logan county,
Ohio; Melvin, who enlisted in Company C, Sixty-Fifty O. V. I., and
died in 1862, at Lebanon, Ky., of disease alleged to have been caused by
poisoned maple sugar served to the troops, and John A., who died when
five years old. The mother of this family died in 1860. After
his marriage Mr. Bell moved to Steuben, Ind., establishing a tannery
there, when he carried on until the spring of 1838, when he returned to
Huron county and followed farming until the spring of 1863, at which time he
located on the farm in Greenwich township, where he yet resides. In
1860 he married, for his second wife, Clarissa Stewart, who was born
in Scott township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, Feb. 28, 1830, daughter of
Galbraith and Anna (Russell) Stewart. To this marriage two
children were born: Cora E., who was first married to John
Luxon, and is now Mrs. C. B. Benedict, of Ripley township, and
Edwin S., farmer of Greenwich township.
Mr. Bell retired from active farm work in 1871,
in order to give more attention to the manufacture of cheese, in which he is
now heavily interested. For thirty years no promissory note of his
arrived at maturity before payment was tendered, and all other obligations
have been met with equal promptness. The product of his cheese factory
commands the very highest prices, for its quality is recognized as the best,
and it holds the local market. In religious connection Mr. and Mrs.
Bell are members of the Society of Friends, and both are elders therein.
Mr. Bell cast his first vote on the Democratic ticket, but he
subsequently voted with the Whigs until the formation of the Republican
party, since when he has remained with that party.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 402-403 |
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JOHN BELL - See
DAVID S. BELL Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 402 |
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WALTER E. BELL, dealer in
coal, lime, cement, etc., Norwalk, is a son of James G. Bell, who was
born in New York State, of German ancestry, and who married Nancy C.
Bacon, a lady of Scotch descent. Our subject was born Jan. 25,
1845, in Henderson, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and coming west with his parents
in 1849 located near Berlin Heights, Erie county, Ohio. He farmed
there for a time, then moved to Norwalk, Huron county, and about the year
1882 established his present business. Although beginning life with no
financial aid, he has prospered, and is now recognized as one of the most
reliable business men at Norwalk. He was married Jan. 16, 1867, to
Fannie Henderson, then a teacher in the public schools, and three
children have blessed their union namely: Henry, Howard and
Charles. Mr. Bell is a Republican in politics, and in religion a
Baptist. He has one sister, Mrs. Eliza M. Gibson, now living in
Stryker, Ohio; one brother, Watson J., in Birmingham, Ohio, and the
younger brother, W. C., in Norwalk.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of
Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co., 1894 - Page 307 |
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WILLIAM BROOKE - See
IRVING J. BROOKS
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of
Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co., 1894 - Page 60-62 |
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IRVING J. BROOKS, editor
and proprietor of the Greenwich Enterprise, son of Franklin and
Ann Eliza (Kennedy) Brooks, natives of Huron county, was born Apr. 15,
1857, in Bronson township. His paternal grandfather was a native of
Vermont, his paternal grandmother of New York State. The maternal
grandfather was a native of Ireland, and maternal grandmother a native of
Scotland, belonging to the well-known McPherson family and a cousin
of Gen. McPherson. They were prisoners of Bronson Township,
where the first named resided for forty years, dying in 1872, and the last
named died in 1844.
The name was originally spelled Brooke, and the
family of that name in America are descended from English ancestry.
The historical Say-Brook fort, built at the mouth of the Connecticut river
in 1635, was named after Lords Say and Brooke, who were the proprietors,
and, in company with others, held the grant of the territory of Connecticut.
Lemuel Brooke, youngest son of William and
Esther Brooke, was born at Enfield, Conn., Feb. 20, 1748. His
father, WILLIAM BROOKE, who owned and controlled the
Enfield ferry, was a great-grandson of Lord Brooke, of England.
He (William) taught in different schools and colleges thirty-three
years; served four years in the war of the Revolution, acting in the
capacity of Quartermaster. He was employed by the United States
Government to survey, on the Western Reserve, a tract of land in
northeastern Ohio set apart by the Government for the people whose homes
were destroyed in the Revolutionary war. His surveys were made in
Lorain and Cuyahoga counties.
Returning to Vermont he emigrated with his family in
1817, traveling the whole distance with an ox-team, and settled in
Greenfield, Huron Co., Ohio. Owing to the scarcity of steel at that
time in this new country, his sword was made into butcher knives; his
regimentals, etc., together with most of the family records, including the
coat of arms of the Brooke family, a silver helmet, bucker, etc.,
were destroyed by fire at Greenfield, Ohio, in 1838. William Brooke
married Keziah Haskill Jan. 5, 1775, and seven children were born to
them, viz.: Lemuel, Melicinda, Kezia, Aurelia, Homer, Selma,
Virgil. Of these Lemuel, born Aug. 7, 1776, was twice
married, and by his second wife, Esther Sprague, whom he wedded Feb.
13, 1806, he had eight children, to wit: Lemuel Sprague,
Harriet Esther, William, Philo, Celia, Nehemiah, Irena and Jerusha.
The father of these died in Greenfield township, Huron Co., Ohio, in
1831.
Lemuel Sprague Brooke was born in Marlboro,
Windham Co., Vt., Oct. 29, 1806. When ten years of age he rescued his
brother Nehemiah from a well, and was all his grown life a man of
superior muscular power. In 1833 he married Almira Adams, of
North Fairfield, Ohio, and to them two children were born - Franklin
(father of the subject proper of this sketch) and Esther. He
died in June, 1838, from cancer in the face, and was preparing himself for
the ministry at the time of his illness.
Franklin Brooke was born Jan. 13, 1834, in
Greenfield township, Huron Co., Ohio; was married Nov. 1, 1855, to Ann
Eliza Kennedy, of Bronson township, Huron county, by whom there were
four children, named as follows: Irving J., Gardiner A., Frank
Alexander and Anna Elmira.
Irving J. Brooks passed his boyhood in New Haven
township, and received a primary education in the district school.
Subsequently he studied in the Normal schools at Lebanon and Ada, Ohio, and
after obtaining a practical literary training taught school several terms,
and entered the Chronicle office at Norwalk in 1881.
Subsequently he worked in the offices of the Daily News at Norwalk;
was assistant foreman of the Daily Journal, at Battle Creek, Mich.;
foreman of the Enterprise, at Cherokee, Iowa, and foreman of the
Journal, at Mankato, Minn. Returning to Huron county in November,
1888, he purchased a half interest in the Greenwich Enterprise, and
in February, 1891, became sole proprietor. This newspaper is an
independent journal presents a good typographical appearance, has a large
local circulation, and is a good advertising medium. To the editorial
and news columns of the Enterprise he gives close, personal
attention, and by his industry has made the office profitable and the paper
useful. On Apr. 15, 1886, Mr. Brooks was united in marriage, at
Cherokee, Iowa, with Miss Lydia R. Ruggles, who was born in Waverly,
Van Buren Co., Mich., Aug. 21, 1865, a daughter of Charles D. and
Henrietta C. (Hobart) Ruggles. Her father's people pride
themselves in their blood, they being an old family. Her mother is of
Puritan descent, tracing a direct line of ancestry to John Alden and
his wife Priscilla.
Mr. and Mrs. I. J. Brooks are members of the
Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Masonic Knights of Pythias and
National Union Lodges of Greenwich; a Royal arch Mason of New London
Chapter; a member of the Sons of Temperance of Norwalk, and also of the
International Typographical Union of Toledo.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of
Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co., 1894 - Page 60-62 |
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HENRY F. BROWN, dairy farmer
and milk dealer, is a son of Frank Brown, whose father was born in
Connecticut. The latter afterward, moved to New York, and pur
purchased 300 acres of land near Binghamton, where he died.
Frank Brown was born in Connecticut, afterward
moving with his parents to Broome county, N. Y., where he followed
agricultural pursuits. When a young man he was united in marriage with
Susan Rose, whose parents were of English descent. Frank Brown
in politics was a Henry Clay Whig, in religion a member of the
Presbyterian Church. He died at about the age of fifty-five years; his
widow is now living in Toledo, Ohio, in her seventy-first children, of whom
Henry F. is the eldest.
Henry F. Brown was born Aug. 24, 1836, in Broome
county, N. Y., and received his education at the schools of Binghamton.
About the year 1861 he came to and settled in Norwalk, Ohio, and was there
married, in February, 1865, to Ellen Brown, a native of Peru
township, Huron Co., Ohio, of which locality her parents were early
settlers. Three sons have blessed this union, as follows:
George, and engineer on the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad; Hiram,
living at home and Lewis, attending school. After locating in
Norwalk, Mr. Brown conducted a gristmill for some time; then devoted
his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he has followed in various
localities. For the past nineteen years he has resided on his pleasant
farm containing sixty-five acres, forty-three of which are included within
the limits of Norwalk. He has conducted a milk business about nine
years, now owning sixteen cows, and sells about one hundred and fifty
dollars' worth of milk per month, buying milk also at wholesale to furnish
customers. Politically he is an active member of the Republican party,
and in April, 1892, he was elected a member of the city council from the
Fourth Ward. He was erected a pleasant dwelling and commodious barn,
ample evidence in themselves of his prosperity.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated -
Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 147 |
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JACOB BROWN
was born Apr. 6, 1836, in Peru township, Huron Co., Ohio a son of Jacob
Brown, who was a pioneer of the family in the United States.
The father of our subject was a native of France whence
he emigrated when a young man, and found a home in the United States.
He worked on the Erie Canal, at Milan, Erie Co., Ohio, and there met and
married Mrs. Mary Ann Bentley, a widow. Soon after their
marriage this couple located in Peru township, on a tract of five acres and
Mr. Brown, together with improving that little farm, worked
for others, his industry enabling him to gradually extend the lines of the
original purchase. His property was destroyed by fire once, obliging
him to seek another location in the township. After a life of hard,
honest toil, he died on the farm, and three years later was followed to the
grave by his wife; both are buried in the Catholic cemetery. Mr.
Brown merely exercised his constitutional right to vote, giving his
closest attention to his farm and family interests. To his marriage
with Mrs. Bentley were born five children, namely: Henry,
who served during the Rebellion with the Fifty-fifth O. V. I., and died
shortly after the close of the war from injuries received in battle;
Coleman, a farmmer of Peru township; Jacob, subject of
this sketch; Lainie, married to Henry Brown, of Norwalk, Ohio;
and Mary Ann, who married William Brown, of Peru
township.
Jacob Brown received a common-school
education, and worked on the home farm until 1861, when he was married to
Mary Ann Addleman, a native of Peru township, daughter of
Joseph Addleman. To this union nine children were born,
namely: Evaline (now Mrs. John Greseamer, of
Sherman township), Charles (a farmer of Norwalk township), Alfred,
Arthur, Ida, Laura (Mrs. William
Hettel, of Peru township), Eleanor, Theodore and Otto,
residing at home. In 1861 Mr. Brown located on the home
farm, and remained thereon for five years, when he purchased a one hundred
acre tract. He owned several farms at different times prior to 1873,
when he settled on his present place. The residence and other
buildings erected here by Mr. Brown within the last two
decades speak of his progressive character, his taste and his industry;
while his farm is testimony to the methodical application of agricultural
knowledge. The members of the family belong to the Catholic Church.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 500 |
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WILLIAM BROWN.
This well-known wide-awake and affluent agriculturist of Norwich township
comes of sturdy Protestant-Irish stock, noted for their longevity.
Thomas Brown, his grandfather, came to America
in 1805, and settling in New York State there followed weaving and farming.
He was twice married, and had in all eighteen children, the eldest of whom,
by name Thomas H., learned the trade of weaver in his native land of
Erin, where he was born in 1787, and was eighteen years old when he came to
America. He made his first home in the New World in Maryland, near
Baltimore, where he followed the weaving trade six years. He there
married Miss Susan Sowers, of that locality, and they then proceeded
to New York State, locating in Cayuga county on a farm, on which they
resided till 1825, when they came to Ohio, where, in Ashland county, near
the town of Ashland, Mr. Brown bought 160 acres of totally
wild land which he cleared, and where he and his wife lived up to her death
in 1866. He then moved to Hancock county, same State, and made his
final home with his youngest son, James, dying there in 1884 at the
advanced age of ninety-seven years. He was a very successful farmer,
owning at the time of his death about 400 acres of land, which he divided
among his five sons. He was a stanch Republican, and a member of the
Lutheran Church. His family of children numbered ten, named as
follows: Hugh, Eve, Margaret, Martha, William,
Sarah, Thomas, Franklin, James and Susanna,
all now deceased except Thomas, William (subject), Franklin,
James and Sarah.
William Brown, of whom this sketch more
particularly relates, was born, in 1823, in Cayuga county, N. Y., and passed
his boyhood on a farm in Ashland county, Ohio, whither the family had come
in 1825, as above related. When he was twenty-three years old his
father gave him eighty acres of land, entirely covered with timber, but he
went to work with an axe and a will, clearing it and transforming it into a
fertile farm. To this from time to time he added until he had 166
acres, and he then sold and bought 200 acres in Norwich township, Huron
county, where he now lives. He has owned as much as 480 acres, and his
success has been due entirely
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 425 |
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GEORGE BURDUE,
a prominent successful farmer of Townsend township, was born February 19,
1811, in what is now Milan township, Erie county. He is second in a
family of eleven children (four of whom died in infancy) born to William
and Elizabeth (Vlazer) Burdue, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania,
the former of French and the latter of German extraction.
William Burdue, the father of the subject, was
born November 26, 1782, and received an ordinary common-school education in
the fall of the following year (1810) emigrated with his wife and child to
the then extreme limit of the western frontier, the almost unbroken and
pathless wilderness of northern Ohio. Settling in the northern part of
Lot No. 4, Townsend township, Huron county, he entered wild lands, and built
a log cabin in the primitive manner of those days, with clap-board or shake
roof, puncheon floor and wooden latches. During the first winter after
his arrival he left his family in the country near the Indian village of
Milan, while he busied himself in getting his cabin ready for their
reception in the spring. Here, in the dense forest, by which they were
surrounded for miles on every side, he commenced to carve out a home for
himself and family, subsequently clearing up and improving an excellent
farm. On this home the family experienced all the hardships and
privations incident to a frontier life, mitigated, however, by the various
pleasures common to backwoods life in those early days. The vast
forest around wild honey was abundant, and maple syrup and sugar easily
obtained. Though their white neighbors were few and far between, there
was a warm, hearty, neighborly feeling existing among them, and their social
intercourse at the frequent house raisings, log rollings and quilting bees
was of the most friendly character. Soon after their arrival the
family made the acquaintance of an old Indian in the vicinity, who
subsequently, by reason of the many favors shown him, especially by Mrs.
Burdue, a lady of most excellent character, became warmly attached to
the family, and rendered them many services. On one occasion Mr.
Burdue, having lost a span of horses and a colt, was asked by this
Indian to show him their tracks; this being done, the Indian carefully
measured them with his hands and went away, returning in a few days and
informing Mr. Burdue that he had found tracks answering to the
description. He also learned that the Indians would, in a few days, go
to Huron, their usual trading point, and Mr. Burdue requested
his father,
Nathaniel Burdue, who was able to speak the Indian language,
to go to Huron and demand the surrender of the animals. This he did,
but the Indians refused to give them up without compensation, the terms
being a small quantity of corn and whiskey, which were promptly furnished
and the horses returned.
This same old Indian gave frequent evidences of his
friendship for the family, the most important of which occurred during the
war of 1812-15, soon after the surrender of Gen. Hull, when, partly
by sings, he made the family understand that the savages were preparing to
massacre the settlers; that the expiration of a certain number of moons they
would all probably be scalped if they remained in the country; and at the
same time he enjoined upon them the strictest secrecy as to the source of
their information, assuring them that death to him would be the consequence
of this friendly warning if known to other members of his tribe. After
this he went away, and was never again seen in these parts. The family
immediately prepared for flight, first hiding some of their household and
cooking utensils under the puncheon floor of their cabin, and went back to
Pennsylvania, where they remained until after the close of the war,
returning to the frontier home in the spring of 1816; and they found the
articles hidden under the puncheon floor undisturbed, although the cabin had
been occupied by the savages.
Mr. Burdue brought with him, on his return from
Pennsylvania, two small buhrs or stones for a hand-mill, which he set up
near one side of the cabin, and which was used by the neighbors for several
miles around, and was for a time the only one in the vicinity. He
afterward sold the mill to a potter in Milan, who used it for grinding clay.
For many years the wolves, with which the woods were swarming, were among
their greatest pests, and would carry off or destroy calves and young stock
of all kinds, unless it was secured under the very eaves of the cabin; they
were frequently seen prowling about the spring near the house in daytime,
and on one occasion destroyed the children's playhouse near the cabin.
Wild cats and panthers were also quite numerous. Game of a less
dangerous and more useful character, such as deer, wild turkeys, wild hogs
and squirrels, abounded.
One of the greatest difficulties of the settlers in
that early day was to procure fabric for clothing and other necessary
household articles, everything of the kind being very scarce and very dear;
prints and domestics were worth from fifty to sixty cents per yard; hence
they were obliged to raise flax and manufacture linen, and to weave
linsey-woolsey and jeans for domestic use; and not unfrequently they
manufactured various articles of wearing apparel from the skins of deer and
other wild animals. Salt, too, was very scarce, and at one time Mr.
Burdue was obliged to pay ten dollars per barrel for a very inferior
quality. Soon after his second arrival he went back to Pennsylvania
and returned with several head of cattle, all of which died of
bloody-murrain one after another; their milch cows too died of the same
disease, until they had lost their last cow seven different times.
For some time after they came to the country there were
no schools in the neighborhood, and when a rude log house was finally
erected, the schools were of the crudest, most primitive character for
several years. As to churches, there were none in the section, and, as
usual in almost all new countries, the Methodist itinerant preachers, or
circuit riders, were the pioneers in the religious field, holding services
first at one, and then another, of the settlers' cabins. Both Mr.
Burdue and his wife were lifelong, earnest members of the M. E> Church.
His death occurred at his home in Townsend township, October 23, 1834, and
that of his wife March 29, 1868, when she was in her seventy-seventh year,
her birth having occurred September 26, 1791. They reared seven
children who grew to maturity, of whom George is the subject of this
sketch; Nathaniel resides in Norwalk; John and Benjamin
are in Linn County, Kans.; Jacob died August 5, 1874, in Michigan;
and William W. died July 22, 1886, at Collins, Ohio.
Nathaniel Burdue, grandfather of subject, emigrated
to northern Ohio in about 1808, settling in Berlin township, now in Erie
county, where he entered a large tract of land (including the present site
of Berlin Heights), erected a cabin, and the following year went back to
Pennsylvania for his wife and family. Here he subsequently cleared and
improved a farm, upon which he resided until his death, which occurred when
he was over ninety years old. He was born and educated in
Pennsylvania, where in early life he learned the shoemaker's trade.
Being left an orphan at a very early age, he was bound out till he attained
his majority, soon after which he married Miss Margaret Welch, also a
native of Pennsylvania. She also lived to be over ninety years of age,
and her death was occasioned by an accident, her clothes having caught fire,
whereby she was burned severely. She was a remarkably active, vigorous
and energetic woman all her life, and was a lifelong, devout member of the
Presbyterian Church.
George Burdue, whose name appears at the opening
of his sketch, received but a very limited English education in youth, such
as could be gleaned at the primitive schools, held in rude log buildings, of
the Ohio frontier in that early day. In after years, however, he
succeeded, by his own exertions, in acquiring an ordinary business
education. He is possessed of good judgment and a strong, active mind,
and is a close observer of everything around him, thus gaining in the great
school of experience a fund of useful knowledge and valuable information.
He has also been a constant reader, and is well informed. Mr.
Burdue owns, and has always lived upon, the old home farm where his
youth and early life were passed, and where he has been engaged in
agricultural pursuits with the most encouraging success. For several
years he was also engaged in manufacturing charcoal for the market, of which
he has burned and sold many kilns. He is classed among the pioneers
and belongs to the "Firelands Historical Society," a pioneer association,
being among the first white children born in the northern part of Huron (now
Erie) county, Ohio. In about 1844 he went to Green Springs, Seneca
county, thirty-three miles away, to mill, but there being many others ahead
of him, he was obliged to leave his grist and go back a second time, thus
traveling 132 miles for one grinding. When a young man our subject was
quite a successful hunter, and killed over a hundred deer, besides wild
turkeys and other game without number. In 1830 he killed a very large
well-known deer (but a short distance from the house), known as "Old
Golden," which other hunters had frequently tried but failed to secure; his
track was known by his having lost one hoof. The antlers of this deer,
still in his possession, he keeps as a relic of early days.
Mr. Burdue was married, November 20, 1838, to
Miss Susan Hill, a native of Delaware county, N. Y., born October 5,
1821, daughter of Moses and Sally (Brooks) Hill, both natives of New
York State and of English extraction. Two children - a son and a
daughter - have blessed this union: Moses W., born March 13,
1841, and Sarah E., now Mrs. Thomas E. Riggs, born June
25, 1846. Mrs. Susan Burdue's death occurred March 17, 1885,
when she was in her sixty-fourth year. Though a member of no church
she was nevertheless a firm believer in the Christian religion, and a
practical Christian. Mr. Burdue now makes his home with his son
Moses W. and family, on the old home place. He is and has been
an earnest, lifelong member of the M. E. Church. In politics he
was for many years a Democrat, but is now identified with the Prohibition
party, and is an earnest advocate of the temperance cause. He is one
of the old pioneers, prominent and representative farmers of the entire
county, as well as one of its most respected citizens.
Moses W. Burdue, with whom our subject now makes
his home, has always resided on the old home farm, where he has been engaged
in agricultural pursuits, the greater part of the time with good success,
trade, at which he has been employed to some extent and at various places.
He received a good English and scientific education in youth at the common
schools and at the Western Reserve Normal School. Miss
Betson, and two sons blessed this union. During the first years of
the present century Mr. Hislop emigrated to America, settling in
Lower Canada. He was a stone-cutter and carver by occupation, and was
universally conceded to be one of the finest workmen in the country.
Shortly before the war of 1812, he, with others, contracted with the English
Government for the construction of extensive barracks and fortifications
along the Canadian and American frontier, many of which works are still
standing, monuments of their skill and energy. Mr. Hislop
continued to follow his trade until his death. For many years before
coming to America he was a prominent and extensive contractor in the
stone-cutting business in Edinburgh, Scotland, during which time he had in
his employ a man named Dixon, who, years afterward, became inspector
of the reformatory prisons in Canada, one of which was built by Mr.
Hislop on the same island in the Richelieu before alluded to as the site
of the fort. Prior to his immigration he was a devout member of the
Presbyterian Church, but after his arrival in Canada he identified himself
with the Episcopal Church.
Thomas Hurst, the subject proper of this sketch,
was the ninth in the family of eleven children of John and Margaret Hurst,
and received a very fair English education at the common schools of Canada
in early life. After his father's death, which occurred when he was
only ten years old, he remained on the old homestead with his mother until
her death, which occurred in 1857, when our subject was but fourteen years
of age. Being thus left an orphan at an early age, he was thrown
entirely on his own resources, and compelled to begin the battle with the
stern realities of life alone. For several years he was employed by
the month - generally on a farm - but was neither afraid nor ashamed to turn
his hand to any honorable employment that offered an opportunity for making
an honest dollar. On September 1, 1860, he set out for the United
States, and on September 3 found himself at Kipton, Lorain Co., Ohio, with
two dollars and a half in his pocket. Here he went to work at anything
that offered, usually farm work, and in the spring of 1866 bought a partly
improved farm of sixty acres in Wakeman township, Huron county, having no
buildings and only five acres cleared; but during the following fall
he built a house, moved on to the place March 13, 1867, and commenced
farming on his own account. On this place he remained some fifteen years,
when he sold out and bought the farm of one hundred acres in Townsend
township, Huron county, known as the Manville farm (of which he is the third
owner from the original), upon which he now resides, and where he has since
been successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. Of Mr. Hurst it
may most truthfully be said he is the architect of his own fortune, having
commenced the battle of life with no friend save good health and an energy
that knew no such word as fail, and with no inheritance save a stout heart
and willing hands; nevertheless, by strict attention to business, industry,
economy, and honest integrity, he has succeeded in acquiring a very fair
share of this world's goods. He is a man of good judgment and quick
perceptions, is at present one of the trustees of Townsend township, and has
held various other township positions. Mr. Hurst took out his
naturalization papers and became a citizen of the United States June 20,
1868, casting his first Presidential vote for Gen. U. S. Grant in
November of that year.
On December 25, 1866, Mr. Hurst was married, in
Elyria, to Miss Alice M. Close, a native of Henrietta township,
Lorain Co., Ohio, daughter of Chauncey R. and Emeline (Ashenhurst) Close,
the former of whom was a native of Auburn, N. Y., and of English descent,
while the latter was a native of Florence township, Erie Co., Ohio, and of
English-German extraction. Four children have been blessed the union
of Mr. and Mrs. Hurst, viz.: Ernest C., Amy M., Perry T.
and Marion A. Mrs. Hurst is a consistent member of the Disciple
Church, and while Mr. Hurst belongs to no church, he is a believer in
practical Christianity. In politics he is a stanch and uncompromising
Republican, and is generally recognized as one of the leading spirits of his
party in this part of the county, and one of its best workers and
organizers. He ahs always taken a deep interest and an active part in
the political affairs of the country, local, State and National, and is one
of the prominent, representative citizens of this county.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of
Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers &
Co., 1894 - Page 241 |
NOTES: |
