BIOGRAPHIES
†
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio
embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake
Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. -
1893
< CLICK HERE to
RETURN to 1893 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE to RETURN to
LIST of BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES >
|
|
JAMES McVITTY Source: Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio
- embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake Chicago: The
Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page 342 |
|
|
HEMAN J. MANCHESTER Source: Biographical History of
Northeastern Ohio - embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and
Lake Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page 309 |
|
|
CORRELL MERRELL, for
seventy-five years a resident of Concord township, Lake county, Ohio, a
prosperous farmer and worthy citizen, was born in Winsted, Connecticut,
June 9, 1811. He comes of a prominent New England family, his
paternal grandfather having also been a native of Connecticut, where
many of his ancestors were born, and where the grandfather lived to be
more than a hundred years old. His son, Phineas Merrell,
father of the subject of this sketch, was also a native of Connecticut,
and was reared to farming, which occupation he followed in the State of
his birth until March, 1818, when he emigrated to Ohio. He and an
uncle, with their families, came overland in wagons to concord township,
Lake county, where they settled on new land, which was heavily wooded.
On the 100 acres he purchased, Mr. Merrell built a double log
house, in which the two families lived. They subsisted largely on
wild game and fish, with which the woods and steams abounded and which
was not a bad diet by any means. Mr. Merrell cleared and
industriously improved his land, on which he died in 1827, in hi
forty-seventh year, greatly lamented by all who knew him. His
wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Markham, was also a native of
Connecticut. She afterward remarried and lived to be more than
ninety years of age. She was devoted member of the Presbyterian
Church and prominent in all good works. She had five children, all
of whom lived to have families of their own, but of whom the subject of
this sketch is the sole survivor.
Mr. Merrell, whose name heads this notice, was
about seven yeas of age when his parents removed to Ohio, where he
received his education in the log schoolhouses of the day, which were
provided with slab benches and all the crude appliances of pioneer
times. The instruction received, however, was much the same as
that enjoyed in the present schools of numerous conveniences, the
subject of this sketch generally attending about three months a year
during the winter season, the rest of his time being employed in light
duties on the farm. He as the eldest son, and after the death of
his father, being then seventeen years of age, he with the help of his
brother, Lucian, three years younger, took the management of the
farm, and practically became the head of the family. He continued
to work at home until he was twenty-two years of age, and then went to
Canada, where he worked as a muddler in a furnace for six weeks.
He then secured a position in the Geauga iron furnace, near Painesville,
where he worked several years. At the end of this time, in
partnership with others, he built a furnace in Concord township near
where he now resides, in which he continued to be a managing stockholder
for nine years. He then sold his interest and purchased the old
homestead, which his father had reclaimed from the wilderness, on which
he has since continued to reside and on which he has made many
additional improvements until it is now one of the most valuable farms
in the county. He now has in Concord township 340 acre of land,
most of which is cultivated to general farming, although for several
years he raised quite a herd of shorthorn cattle. He has been a
hard worker all his life and justly deserves the prosperity which he now
enjoys. He has not been out of Lake county two months at one time
since 1818, a space of seventy-five years, and is contented to live and
die where he has passed so many happy years.
Sept. 14, 1841, Mr. Merrell was married to
Lury Baker, an intelligent lady, a native of Lake county, Ohio, and
daughter of Hosea Baker, an early settler of that county, who
came from the East. They had four children: Phineas,
married, is a prosperous farmer; Arthur married, is a prominent
farmer of Concord township; Antoinette, wife of G. S. Hodges,
resides on the old homestead; and Correll B., married, resides in
Cleveland, where he is a general insurance agent." Feb. 27, 1884,
the family were called upon to mourn the loss of the devoted wife and
mother, who had for so many years subordinated her interests to those of
her dear ones. She was a woman of rare ability and force of
character, and left many friends to mourn her loss.
Politically, Mr. Merrell was a Republican until
1864, since which time he has been independent. He joined an
artillery company when eighteen, and trained for several years in
military service. No one has contributed more to the general
advancement of his community, and he is justly numbered among its
representative citizens.
†Source: Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio
embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake - Chicago: The
Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page 773 |
|
|
GEORGE H. MORSE, a
member of the firm of Morse Brothers, stock farmers, manufacturers of
hard-wood lumber and shingles, and dealers in agricultural implements and
fertilizers, South Kirtland, Ohio, is one of the prominent and
enterprising men of this vicinity. Following is a resume of his life:
George H. Morse was born in Kirtland township, Lake county, Ohio,
March 24,1848, son of Harvey H. Morse, who was born in Pittsfield,
Washington county, Massachusetts, in 1805; and grandson of John
Morse, also a native of Massachusetts. At an early period in the
history of this country two families by the name of Morse came here
from England one being composed of three members and the other of four,
and from these two families all the Morses in America are
descended. John Morse, the grandfather of our subject, was a
farmer by occupation and was a soldier in the French and Indian war, and
also in the Revolution. During the latter war, however, he was sent
home on account of old age. The gun he carried is now in the possession of
George H. Morse.
Harvey H. Morse was one of a family of four
children, two sons and two daughters. His older brother, Colonel John
F. Morse, located in Ohio in 1814, and became a prominent man in this
State. He was Colonel of a company of militia. He and a Mr.
Townsend were the first two men to be elected to the House of
Representatives on the Free Soil ticket. They held the balance of power
and decided the election of Salmon P. Chase. Harvey H.
came to Ohio the year following his brother's arrival here, being at that
time ten years of age, and in Kirtland he remained continuously with the
exception of two or three years spent in Indiana. He was a carpenter by
trade, and assisted in the erection of many of the buildings in this
locality. He and his brother worked together in early life, contracting,
etc., and frequently indulged in the sport of hunting. They were among the
earliest settlers of this vicinity, and at that time the forest abounded
in wild game of all kinds. He was Captain of a company of militia, and in
politics was successively a Whig, Free Soiler and Republican. He was
appointed administrator or executor of many estates. He held various
township offices, and was a man of prominence in the community where he
lived, his opinion often being sought and always valued. Both he and his
wife were devoted members of the Congregational Church, of which for many
years he was Treasurer. His wife's maiden name was Ann Holbrook.
She was born in Derby, Connecticut, and died in Ohio in 1879. His death
occurred here in 1886. They had four children, Belle G., John H., Fred
H. and George H., all still living at the old homestead at
Kirtland. John H. married Elizabeth Nichols, who died
in 1879, leaving three children: Georgia B., Laura E. and Fannie
E. Fred H. married Janie Daggett, and they have four
children: Frank, Mary E., Benjamin F. and Genette.
John H. and Fred H. both rendered
efficient service for the Union cause during the Civil war. They enlisted
at the same time, in 1862, in Company F, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, and went with their command to the front. John
was discharged in July, 1863, on account of physical disability, and upon
his recovery re-entered the service. It was in March, 1864, that he
re-enlisted, this time becoming a member of Company C, First Regiment of
Light Artillery. He continued in the army until the war closed, being with
Sherman and his forces in the South, and after the conflict was over
participating in the grand review at Washington.
The three brothers, J. H., F. H. and G. H.,
are in partnership in their various business operations. They have 265
acres of land which they utilize for general farming and stock purposes.
They make a specialty of boarding and caring for horses during the winter,
having horses sent to them from Cleveland for that purpose. Here they also
have a mill and manufacture hardwood lumber and shingles. The past year
they put into their yard about 300,000 feet of logs. They also handle
fertilizers and agricultural implements. All three are enterprising
business I men, and are doing a rushing, rousing business.
Aside from his business affairs, George H. has
found time to devote to political matters, in which he has taken an active
interest for a number of years. He affiliates with the Republican party.
He has served as delegate to various conventions, both county and State,
and has filled a number of local offices, such as Assessor, Trustee and
Justice of the Peace. In the fall of 1890 he was elected County
Commissioner, in which capacity he is still serving. During his term of
office many substantial improvements have been made in the county, a
county jail being now under process of construction. Mr. Morse is a
member of the Knights of Pythias.
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio -
embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake -
Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page 250 |
.
|
