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

< CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO 1894 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO LIST OF BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES >
 

Henry Lais	HENRY LAIS Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 308
J. F. Laning	JAY F. LANING Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 268
	ALEXANDER W. LATHAM - See HIRAM LATHAM Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 462
	HIRAM LATHAM, a prosperous grocer of Lyme, and agent for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway, is a native of Lake Erie Railway, is a native of Huron county, born June 9, 1835, a son of Alexander W. and Anna (Wood) Latham.      ALEXANDER W. LATHAM was born in 1806 in Connecticut, where he passed his childhood and youth, attending the district schools of his neighborhood, and working on his father's farm.  Feeling desirous of making a new home for himself, where he could have better opportunities for accumulating money, he journeyed west and located in Sherman township, Huron Co., Ohio, where for sixty years he was prominently identified with its interests and progress.  Nature endowed him with a great amount of tact and energy, characteristics that enabled him to win the respect of his new neighbors and to succeed in business.  The country at that time was in an undeveloped condition, and he shared the hardships incident to pioneer life.  It was his aim to deal fairly with every man, and at his death, which occurred in 1889, he was sincerely mourned by all who knew him.  He devoted his attention exclusively to agricultural pursuits, and worked diligently in cultivating his farm.  He married Miss Anna Wood, a native of Pennsylvania, and their union was blessed with four children: Thomas (deceased), Lyman (deceased), Hiram and Riley.  His wife passed away in 1879, after having passed many useful and happy years with her husband and children.      The subject of this biographical memoir received his education in Huron county, attending the rude log schools in his district.  Until a year ago he engaged in farming, since which time has been agent for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway.  His wife is postmistress at Lyme, and assists in conducting their grocery business.  Mr. Latham was married, Apr. 19, 1860, to Miss Mary A. Evans, who was born in London, England, and came to America with her parents in 1849, and of their union have been born five children, viz.:  Wilbur H., Thomas W., Fred E., Arthur W. and Stella M.  The family are members of the Episcopal Church, of which they are liberal supporters.  Mr. Latham is a member of Raby Lodge, Monroeville, A. F. & A. M., and of the I. O. O. F., Subordinate Lodge No. 122.  He was at one time elected justice of the peace, but did not serve, and has been assessor for four terms.  He is a wide-awake, active business man, and popular in the commercial and social circles of Lyme township. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 464
	THOMAS W. LATHAM.  Among the wealthy young citizens and energetic real-estate men of Monroeville, this gentleman occupies the position of a popular leader.  He is a son of Hiram Latham, and a grandson of Wolcott Latham, the latter of whom was a pioneer settler of Huron county, Ohio.      Hiram Latham was born in Huron county, where he followed farming, and is now a resident of Lyme.  He was married to Mary Evans, a native of England, who has borne him four sons and one daughter, Thomas W. being second in order of birth.      Our subject was born Oct. 17, 1864, in Huron county, Ohio, and was there reared to manhood, being educated at the Ada Normal School, after which he took a business course at Poughkeepsie, N. Y.  After leaving school he passed two years in Corwith, Iowa, being there connected with his cousin, Frank Latham, in the milling and grain business; and upon returning to Ohio, entered a hardware establishment with R. G. Martin, selling out in 1887.  Soon after this he opened a real estate and insurance business, meeting with signal success in this enterprise.  On June 25, 1889, he was united in marriage with Mary E., daughter of John S. Davis, at one time president of the First National Bank of Monroeville, and to this union has been born one son, Davis Wolcott.  Mr. Latham owns several hundred acres of fine farming land near Monroeville, and deals extensively in all departments of real estate.  In politics he is prominently identified with the Republican party, being at present a member of the county central committee, treasurer of the corporation, and a member of the school board.  Socially he is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and also a member of the Norwalk Commandery Knights Templar, Norwalk, Ohio.  He is secretary of the Board of Industry, an organization established for the improvement of Monroeville, and takes an active interest in all matters of public improvements.      In religious faith Mr. Latham is a member of Zion Episcopal Church, of which he is, at present, vestryman and treasurer.  He possesses an unusually energetic nature, and well merits his reputation as an enterprising prosperous business man. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 229
	GEORGE LAWRENCE - See JOSIAH LAWRENCE Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 514
	JOSIAH LAWRENCE.  The Lawrence family are represented among the oldest pioneers of Huron county, having been for many years prominently identified with the history of its development.      Samuel and Hannah (Dibble) Lawrence were natives of Connecticut, where they were reared and married.  In June, 1804, they removed to Cayuga county, N. Y., and there passed their remaining days on a farm, where nine children - six sons and three daughters - were born.  Samuel Lawrence was a zealous member of the Presbyterian Church, and was known as a man of sterling worth.  He died when about eighty-three years of age.  Of his children, Timothy, George and a sister are mentioned, the latter of whom is now residing on the old home farm in New York.      GEORGE LAWRENCE, son of Samuel and Hannah (Dibble) Lawrence, was born, in 1805, in Cayuga county, N. Y., and was the first member of the family to settle in Huron county, Ohio.  In the spring of 1831 he was married, in his native State, to Rhodema Smith, and the succeeding autumn came via Lake Erie to Sandusky, thence proceeding to Huron county, Ohio.  He bought the home farm in Bronson township, and was obliged to cut a road through the woods before he could get to the place, which was cleared with the assistance of his son, Miner.  The father gave his principal attention to carpentry, until obliged to retire from active life as old age approached.  He is now living on the home farm in Bronson township at the age of eighty seven years.  He reared the following children: Miner, born in 1833, was married in 1865 to Julia Smith, and is now living on the home farm (they have had six children, five sons and one daughter); Alonzo E., born in 1838, was married to Jane Herrick (who has borne him one son), and is a prominent farmer of Bronson township; Addison, living in California, and Alice, widow of Hubbard Lawrence, living in Bronson township.      TIMOTHY LAWRENCE, son of Samuel and Hannah (Dibble) Lawrence, was born in 1800, in Connecticut, and was a small boy when his parents moved to Cayuga county, N. Y.  After attaining his majority he worked at the carpenter trade about twelve years.  In 1831 he was married in New York to Calista Todd, a native of Tompkins county, N. Y., born Mar. 6, 1812.  In 1833 he came to Huron county, Ohio, and bought his present farm of 112 acres, in Lot 18, Section 4, Bronson township, the place at that time being a wild piece of heavily wooded land.  Here he resided the remainder of his life with the exception of the eight yeas, between 1868 and 1876, when he lived in Norwalk township.  In personal appearance Timothy Lawrence was of medium size, somewhat below the average height.  Politically he was originally a Whig and Abolitionist, afterward becoming a Republican, and in religious belief he was a Presbyterian.  He died Jan. 30, 1882, leaving a widow and two children - Josiah, and Mrs. Delia L. Curtis, of Calumet, Mich.  The mother is yet living on the home farm.       Josiah Lawrence, son of Timothy and Calista (Todd) Lawrence, was born Nov. 9, 1834, on the home farm in Bronson township, Huron Co., Ohio.  He attended the common schools, and from early boyhood has followed agricultural pursuits.  In 1867 he was united in marriage with Alice Newman, a native of Indiana, who was residing in Ohio at the time of her marriage.  She died in 1870, leaving two children, Eben and Mary, and in 1871 Josiah Lawrence was married to Maggie Baird, born in Monroe county, N. Y., of Scotch parents.  She died in 1878, leaving one child, Vina, and for his third wife Mr. Lawrence married, in December, 1879, Nancy Rowland, of Clarksfield, Huron county.  Since 1868 he has had full charge of the old place, upon which he carries on a successful business, and has added thirty-eight acres to the original tract.  Politically, he is a Republican, and has served in various local offices; in religion he is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 514
	TIMOTHY LAWRENCE - See JOSIAH LAWRENCE Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 514
Lewis C. Laylin	HON. LEWIS C. LAYLIN   Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 74
	JOHN P. LEE, contractor and builder, of Clarksfield township, was born Feb. 5, 1830, in Oswego county, New York.      Thomas Lee, his father, was born Jan. 17, 1799, in Franklin township, Herkimer Co., N. Y.; was brought up their in the manner common to farmers' boys, and, when a young man, obtained the position of a "boss" on the Erie Canal.  Subsequently he engaged in hauling wood to Utica, N. Y., and still later worked on a canal near Richmond, Va.  In 1827 he was married, in Oswego county, to Lucinda Waugh, who was born there July 10, 1811, a daughter of Squire Norman Waugh.  To this marriage the following named children were born in Oswego county:  Truman T., a farmer of Rock county, Wis.; John P., the subject of this sketch; and Margaret, who married Elanson Rose, of Camden township, Lorain Co., Ohio, and died in Norwalk in 1890.  After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lee located on a farm in Oswego county, and he was engaged in agriculture there until 1833, when with their three children they migrated to Camden township, Lorain Co., Ohio, where the father had purchased, in 1832, 150 acres, at three dollars per acre.  On the journey to Ohio, the Waughs and Douglasses accompanied them, and the three families occupied one log cabin until Thomas Lee built a rude shelter on his farm, which he occupied until 1848, when he built a commodious dwelling house.  During the first spring the family passed in Ohio, the father suffered from erysipelas, the disease causing him the los of his left hand.  He died in 1878, and was buried in Camden township.  He left his widow and children a valuable property, including the old homestead, on which she resided since coming to Ohio.  The children born to her in Camden township were as follows:  George F., a farmer of Rock county, Wis.; Philip L., who died at Trinidad, Col., where he had resided for many years; Norman a farmer of Camden township, Lorain county; and Andrew, who is also a farmer of Camden township.      John P. Lee was a lad of three years when he settled in Ohio, but he well remembers the cooking of the first breakfast in Lorain county.  Forked sticks, bearing a pole, from which a kettle suspended over the fire, tell more clearly than words could of his primitive surroundings.  He received a primary education in Camden township, his first school teacher being Experience Gifford, who presided over a few pupils in a log cabin not far from the Lee homestead.  At the age of nineteen years he was apprenticed to Edward Gager, with whom he learned the carpenter's trade, his progress in acquiring a knowledge of same being very rapid.  On Jan. 23, 1856, he was married to Sarah J. Rood, who was born Mar. 1, 1838, in Washington county, N. Y.  Her parents, Lewis and Hulda (Mosier) Rood, came to Stark county, Ohio, in 1841, and located near Masillon, whence in 1847 they removed to Camden township, Lorain county, where the daughter met her husband.  The children born to John P. and Sarah J. Lee are named as follows:  Eva C. (Mrs. E. E. Rowland), of Clarksfield; John A., a farmer of Clarksfield, married to Sarah E. Barnes; Elma (Mrs. Almar McChaflin), of Eaton county, Mich.; Nuland W., a mason by trade, married to Rose M. Twaddle; and Lillie R. (Mrs. Lewis Johnson), of Clarksfield.      For three years after marriage Mr. Lee worked at his trade in Camden.  In 1859 he purchased a farm in that township, and carried on agriculture in connection with his trade until 1861, when he lost his left hand.  He had just signed a contract for the erection of a dwelling house, and was planing lumber for the window frames, when he discovered that the adjusting screw of the planer had to be set.  While setting it his thumb was drawn into the machine, the hand receiving such injuries that amputation became necessary.  In the spring of 1863 he located in Clarksfield township, Huron county, on his present farm, and gave closer attention than formerly to agriculture, but later resumed carpentry, leaving the care of the farm to his family.  Mr. Lee has been quite successful as a builder and contractor; one of the largest lime-kilns at Lakeside, Ohio, is the result of his work, and several residences and barns, as well as the leading cheese factory buildings in Huron and Lorain counties, were built by him.  He is known as a conscientious contractor, who will carry out his contracts to the letter.  A Republican in politics, Mr. Lee has held the office of assessor for quite a number of years.  In religious connection he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 166
	ETHAN C. LOVELL, a large landowner of Greenfield township, was born here June 17, 1819, where his parents, David and Mary Chilcott Lovell, were early pioneers.      David Lovell was born in 1763, in Baltimore county, Md., which, according to Bancroft, was "the only place in the wide world where religious liberty found a home."  His ancestors came from England, but whether with the Maryland or Virginia colonists is not recorded.  He was reared on the home farm in his native county, received an education in the school of his district, and when yet a young man removed to Huntingdon county, Penn.  There he married Mary Chilcott, also a native of Baltimore county, Md., and they resided in Trough Creek Valley until the fall of 1815, when he sold his farm and journeyed across the mountains with his wife and four children.  He made a short stay at the home of a relative in Knox county, Ohio, but the reputation of the "Firelands" had penetrated to the wilderness of Knox county, and soon the family started on the journey to Huron county.  Arriving here Mr. Lovell entered a large tract of land in Greenfield township, but did not build a new cabin immediately, preferring the shelter which the cabin of an earlier settler afforded until he could select a favorable site for a home.  His land purchases were not confined to Greenfield township, so that he carried all he could handle.  At this critical time the buyer of the farm in Huntingdon county, Penn., failed to pay for it, and ownership had to be resumed by Mr. Lovell.  This circumstance compelled him to sell, not only the old farm at a sacrifice, but also some of his lands in Ohio.  After this troublesome deal was concluded, he located on the farm where Ethan C. Lovell now resides, and gave all his attention to agriculture until his death, which occurred Nov. 16, 1830.  His widow died July 14, 1848, and both are interred in Greenfield township.  Politically he was a Democrat, and religiously a member of the Close Communion Baptist Church.  The record of their children is as follows:  Ruth, born Mar. 8, 1804, died Feb. 17, 1818, while her parents were visiting in Pennsylvania, and was the first person interred in Greenfield cemetery, Martha, born Nov. 2, 1806, is the deceased wife of Edward H. Lawther, of Greenfield township; Rachel, born Aug. 6, 1809, is the deceased wife of Phineas K. Guthrie; Mary, born Sept. 10, 1811, died Nov. 6, 1820; Eleanor, born Aug. 29, 1815, is the deceased wife of Nehemiah Brooks; Ethan C. is the subject of this sketch.       Ethan C. Lovell was born and reared on the farm where he now resides, and his education was such as the primitive schools of that period afforded; geography was the boy's favorite study.  After the death of his father his mother assumed charge of the farm, and the son worked thereon.  When seventeen or eighteen years old he took charge of the home farm of fifty acres, and also of a farm of sixty acres in Peru township, and carried both on the marked success.  He was married Dec. 30, 1854, to Martha McKelvey, who was born Mar. 31, 1831, at Plymouth, Ohio.  Her grandfather, William McKelvey, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.  In 1811 he came to the "Firelands" of Ohio, and settled in Greenfield township, Huron county; but some time afterward, when the news of Hull's treachery and the capitulation of Detroit was heralded through the settlements, William McKelvey removed his family to Trumbull county, and he and his son William joined the army.  When peace was declared they returned to Greenfield, Huron County.  Matthew McKelvey, father of Mrs. Lovell, was born Jan. 30, 1794, in Westmoreland county, Penn.  He married Nancy Adams, who was born July 30, 1798, at Marlboro, Vt., a daughter of Bildad Adams an early settler of Huron county, Ohio.  Matthew McKelvey opened a general store near Greenfield Center; the first dry-goods store at Plymouth, Ohio, was established by him, and for a long time he was the leading merchant in a wide district, where to-day thousands are engaged in trade.      Mr. and Mrs. Lovell located on the present farm immediately after marriage, and to-day possess one of the finest residences in the township.  Having no children of their own, they adopted two, who bear the name of their foster-parents.  In political life Mr. Lovell, prior to 1856, was a Democrat, of the Jacksonian school, but since then he has been a thorough Republican; he is a strong and logical advocate for protective tariffs.  The valuable property which he now owns is the direct result of his own and his wife's industry and perseverance.  He gives to agriculture and stock growing the care which generally warrants success, and to-day he ranks with the leading farmers of this section to Ohio. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 292

NOTES: