Source:
Commemorative Biographical Records
of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio
- Illustrated -
Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co.,
1894

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J. S. Davis	JOHN S. DAVIS was born Mar. 28, 1806, in Baltimore county, Md.  His parents were Jesse and Mary Ann (Sowers) Davis.  His mother died while he was still an infant, and he was brought up by his maternal grandparents, John and Mary Ann Sowers.  After his mother's death his father was twice married - first to a Miss Hunt, by whom he had two children, Mary and Jackson - and again to a Miss Sewell, who bore him one child, Ann Eliza.  Not long after his mother's death, his father removed to the State of Pennsylvania, where (in the village of Shrewsbury, York county) he died about the year 1833.      In 1811, when he was but five years old, Mr. Davis came, with his grandparents above named, to Fairfield, Lancaster Co., Ohio.  Not long after, they settled in Ridgefield township, on what is now known as the Cone farm - a part of which is included in the corporation of Monroeville.  Here his grandfather died July 23, 1820, aged sixty-three, and his grandmother twenty-eight years after, May 21, 1848, aged ninety-three.  These grandparents had four sons, John, Moses, Daniel and James, with the older of whom Mr. Davis lived till after his majority.  It i well worthy of record, as a remarkable physiological fact, that James, the youngest of these four uncles (who is still living in Whitley county, Ind.), was born when his mother was fifty-three yeas old, his next older brother, Daniel, being then in his fourteenth year.      Mr. Davis lived in this township till 1835, when he removed to Lexington, Richland county.  Three yeas later he moved again to Galion, Crawford county, where he lived twenty-eight years - returning to Monroeville in 1866.      While living at Galion, on the 17th of May, 1843, he married Catharine Nave, who was born in Path Valley, Franklin Co., Penn.  They had four children, of whom two daughters are still living.  The elder of these daughters, Amanda J., born Feb. 17, 1844, married Capt. A. S. Skilton in Galion, Dec. 20, 1865.  They had two children, John Davis Skilton and Elizabeth Roby.  Mr. Davis' youngest daughter Mary Elizabeth, was born Jan. 15, 1869.      Mr. Davis followed the honorable profession of farmer, on a small place in Ridgefield township, till he was thirty years old, when he went into the drygoods business with Mr. Bloomer as partner.  About the year 1850 he embarked in the business of banking, first in the Exchange Bank of Galion, managed under the firm name of Atwood, Davis & Bloomer; afterward in the First National Bank at the same place.  He was also interested in the Farmers' National Bank of Plymouth, and (more especially) the Exchange Bank of Monroeville, of which the managing firm was Davis, Crim & Stentz.  Mr. Davis was also president of the First National Bank, Monroeville, acting in that capacity up to the time of his death.  In all his business enterprises Mr. Davis was singularly successful, and if he did not "make money" quite as fast as Midas, he was more fortunate than that fatally avaricious king, in that he was permitted to choose what should, and what should not, turn to gold under his touch.      On the 28th of March, 1876, a very numerous company of his relatives, friends and neighbors assembled at his spacious mansion to celebrate his seventieth birthday.  The affair was managed by his good wife, together with his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Skilton, as a "surprise," and most complete was their success, Mr. Davis having not the least suspicion of what was going on, till the guests began to arrive.  But his surprise reached its culmination when, after the company had all assembled, an elegant gold-headed cane, and a beautiful, life-sized crayon portrait of Mrs. Davis (a present from the above-mentioned parties), were produced and presented to him in an appropriate address.  Touched to the heart by these manifestations of kindly regard, it would have been strange, indeed, if he had found any other than the simplest words of thanks, in which to express his grateful emotions.  The Huron County Teachers' Institute, being then in session at Monroeville were present in a body, and with them the distinguished grammarian, Professor Harvey, of Painesville.      In the fall of the same year he enjoyed the distinguished, but unsought, honor of being chosen elector of president and vice-president of the United States; and afterward, in the college of electors, of casting his vote for Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler, as president and vice-president of the union.      Mr. Davis enjoyed perfect health up to his last illness, which resulted in death, July 1, 1888, being over eighty-two years of age.  He was looked up to by young and old as a kind friend and prudent counsellor.  No object, looking toward the moral and religious improvement of the community, failed of his cordial support. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 513
	ISAAC DEWITT, a prominent and much respected agriculturist of Ridgefield Township, is descended from Dutch ancestry, the pioneers of his family having emigrated from Holland to New Jersey many years ago.      Isaac DeWitt, the grandfather of our subject, was an extensive landowner along the Delaware River, and in Warren County, New Jersey. He reared a family of eight children, among whom is mentioned a son named: Jacob.      Jacob DeWitt was born in Warren County, New Jersey, went to school in his boyhood, assisting also in the farm duties, and then learned the trade of blacksmith. While yet a young man he married Elizabeth Winters, a native of New Jersey, who bore him six children, vis: James, a farmer of Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio, where he died in 1888; John, at one time a boot and shoe dealer, of Sandusky, Ohio, who died in 1866; Catherine, who was married in New Jersey to Barnett Matthews, and died in Ohio in 1888; Elizabeth, deceased in 1890, in Huron County, Ohio, wife of William Miller; Margaretta, deceased wife of James Person, of Belvidere, New Jersey; and Isaac, whose sketch follows. In 1837 the father of this family, accompanied by his son Isaac and some of the other children started west. They crossed the Alleghany mountains, then, proceeding to Pittsburgh, crossed the Ohio River and pushed westward to Ohio. After a long, tiresome journey they arrived at Milan, Erie County, Ohio, and there made a temporary location. But his rude home in the wilderness offered little attraction for Mr. DeWitt, who had always been accustomed to the luxuries of civilization. He resolved to return to his native State, and would have done so had it not been for the persuasions of his son Isaac, who used all his persuasive powers to induce his father to remain. The latter finally concluded to do so, purchased land, and followed his trade at Cook's Corners (now North Monroeville). In politics he was actively identified with the Democratic party, and in religion he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian Church. She died in 1863, he in 1866, and both are buried in Perkins Cemetery, in Erie County.      Isaac DeWitt was born Sept. 17, 1816, in Warren County, New Jersey, where he attended school. He was an eager student, and after leaving school fitted himself for the profession of civil engineer, which he followed for some time. After coming to Ohio he devoted his attention to agriculture, and on Dec. 18, 1840, was united in marriage to Martha Young, who was born Aug. 18, 1823, in Rochester, Windsor County, Vermont. She is a daughter of Josiah and Mary (Barden) Young, natives of New Hampshire and early settlers of Huron County, Ohio. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt moved from Ridgefield Township to Groton Township, Erie County, Ohio, and in 1843 purchased a farm in Ridgefield Township, to which they removed. In 1857 he bought the place which is now their home, and has since been engaged in farming, with the exception of a few years when he carried on the grape industry on Catawba Island. He has been an energetic and successful business man, and though now far advanced in life is yet able to do a great deal of work. He possesses remarkable vitality, and knows nothing of sickness from personal experience. In politics Mr. DeWitt has been a Republican since the organization of that party, at the same time sympathized with the Prohibition movement, and is now a strong Prohibitionist. In religion he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which he has been connected fifty six years. In 1890 this couple celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding day, on which occasion they were the recipients of many beautiful presents. They have had three children: Mary Ellen (deceased in 1867), wife of James G. Fish; Isaac E., a successful prospector and miner of Colorado; and Burton L., formerly in business at North Monroeville, now a traveling salesman for several large wholesale houses of Cleveland. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 206
	HIRAM D. DRAKE, a prosperous young farmer of Ridgefield township, is a grandson of Hiram and Sarah (Ruggles) Drake, both of whom were residents of Connecticut, descended from English ancestry.      Salmon Drake, father of our subject, was born Apr. 9, 1827, in Plymouth, Luzerne Co., Penn., and came to Ridgefield township, Huron Co., Ohio, in 1848.  On June 17, 1850, he was united in marriage with Cynthia DIckey, and the following autumn they located on the Dickey homestead in Ridgefield township.  He was a superior farmer, and devoted the greater part of his life to that vocation; he also had a practical knowledge of carpentry, which he followed during the earlier years of his life.  In July, 1867, Mr. and Mrs. Drake and their eldest daughter united at Fairfield, Huron county, with the congregation of the Christian people known as Disciples.  In January, 1868, their membership was transferred to a sister church in Norwalk, where Mr. Drake was at once chosen elder, and continued to serve in that office the remainder of his life.  He was a zealous Christian man, taking an active part in every good work tending to the advancement of the moral or religious growth of the community.      While one day training a young horse he was injured in the left side, and having contracted a cold in a storm soon afterward, it resulted in a fatal attack of typhoid pneumonia.  He died Apr. 3, 1877, and was followed to the grave by a large number of sympathizing friends.  Since the death of her husband Mrs. Drake has continued to reside on the home place, where her children were born as follows:  Eliza Jane, July 5, 1852; Hiram D., July 7, 1854; Charles W., May 9, 1856; Imogene, Apr. 29, 1858; J. Omer, Mar. 6, 1861; Georgiana, Nov. 3, 1862; Sterry A., Mar. 19, 1864; and Ira, born Oct. 4, 1865, died Jan. 18, 1872.      Hiram D. Drake received his early education at the "Webb settlement" school, afterward attending a normal school at Milan, in Erie county.  After the death of his father he began to cultivate a tract of land for himself, meanwhile boarding at the home of a neighbor.  On Mar. 23, 1887, he was married to Blanche I. Killey, a native of Marblehead, Ottawa county, Ohio, and a daughter of Robert and Mary Killey.  Since their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Drake have resided on the home place, in Ridgefield township, Huron county, on which he has made many improvements.  He is a progressive farmer, and for a past few years has been extensively engaged in small fruit culture.  He votes with the Republican party, but is not an active politician, as he gives his whole time to conducting his private business.  Mrs. and Mrs. Drake have two little sons, vix.: Lewis Earl, born Dec. 29, 1888, and Robert Eric, born Nov. 27, 1892. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 240
	JOHN DRURY.  Prominent among the successful agriculturists of Huron county who till the soil and enjoy the fruits of their labor, ranks the subject of this biographical sketch, who devotes his time and attention to farming, and realizes that judgment and executive ability are needed to successfully carry on his chosen occupation.      His father, JONATHAN M. DRURY, was born Feb. 24, 1809, in Worthington, Mass., and inherited all of the energy and ambition characteristic of that section of the United States.  His childhood and early manhood were passed in his native State, and he there learned habits of thrift that served him well through after life.  In 1837 he visited Ohio, and in the following year located in this State, and in 1844 he took possession of the farm upon he and his son now reside.  He has devoted his whole life to agricultural pursuits, and owns one hundred acres of valuable land, situated a mile from Bellevue.  Dr. Drury was married in March, 1836, to Miss Abigail M. Knowlton, of Vermont, and three children blessed their union, viz.:  John (our subject), and Ellen and Carrie (both of whom died at an early age).  This wife died May 8, 1847.  He afterward married Mrs. Clarissa B. Wrisley of Massachusetts, who died Dec. 20, 1887.  By his second marriage he has one child, Myron M. (now located in Chicago).  Mr. Drury has been a member of the Lyme Congregational Church for over fifty years, and a deacon in the same for a great length of time.      John Drury was born Mar. 7, 1847, in Lyme township.  He has always resided at the place of his birth, and has taken a great interest in the religions, social and educational progress of the community.  In 1871 he was united in marriage with Miss Ida M. Cowle, of Bellevue, daughter of John Cowle, who settled in Huron county as early as 1835.  Of this marriage one child was born, a daughter, who died in infancy.  Mrs. Drury died in 1887.  In May, 1889, Mr. Drury married Mrs. Josephine W. Nims, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Wright.  Mrs. Drury’s mother was a daughter of Rev. James Ford, who settled on the Ridge in 1833.  Mr. Drury makes his home on the farm once owned by his father, and every year makes improvements both in the way of building and in carrying out modern ideas in his farming operations.  Mr. and Mrs. Drury are members of the Lyme Congregational Church, of which, they are liberal supporters.  He has been superintendent of the Lyme Sabbath-school since 1882. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 227
	JONATHAN M. DRURY - See JOHN DRURY Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 227
	THOMAS DUNMORE, a well-known inventor, and prominent citizen of Norwalk, was born in Birmingham, England, in 1841, a son of Joseph and Mary (Mason) Dunmore emigrated to this country in 1861, and immediately after landing entered the Navy, in New York, remaining in the service four years and three months.  He was in New Orleans just after its capture, and spent some time at Key West.  Mr. Dunmore has traveled considerably, having crossed the ocean nine times.  In his native land he learned the plumber's trade, and after the war settled in East Boston, whence in 1866 he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, remaining there until 1881, when he came to Huron county for the purpose of following his trade of plumber and steam-fitter.  He is the inventor of an improved system of heating and ventilating houses.  He is one of the largest stockholders in the Norwalk Incandescent Light and Power Company, of which he was one of the chief organizers and builders, and is one of the most enterprising citizens of his adopted town.  His system of heating and ventilating is covered by patents, and the testimony of experts from all parts of the country is to the effect that it is of the highest merit - as often reiterated: "the best in the world."  He is master of his business, and all the important contracts in Norwalk have been under his successful management.      In social life Mr. is a member of the I. O. O. F. and K. T., and in politics he is a Republican.  At Birmingham, England, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Wright, and to them has been born one son, Walter T.  Our subject's grandfather Dunmore was one of the most extensive farmers in Lincolnshire, England. Mrs. Dunsmore's father (Philip Wright) was a soldier under Wellington, and was in the front ranks at the battle of Waterloo; one of his  sons was in the English army in India, and died in hospital.  He had been discharged, and intended upon his return to England to come to America, but he died a short time after reaching his native country. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 256

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