BIOGRAPHIES
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Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio
embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake
Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. -
1893
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VERNON C. SAWYER Source: Biographical History of Northeastern
Ohio - embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake Chicago:
The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page 322 |
William H. Sherwood |
WILLIAM H. SHERWOOD, M. D.
Source: Biographical History of Northeastern
Ohio - embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake Chicago:
The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page 477 |
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DR. SAMUEL MILLS SMEAD Source: Biographical History of
Northeastern Ohio - embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and
Lake Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page 311 |
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ASA K. SMITH, deceased, was
nearly all his life identified with the agricultural and horticultural
interests of Lake county, Ohio, and as one of the prominent citizens of
the county for many years it is appropriate that some personal mention
be made of him in this work. Briefly given, a sketch of his life
is as follows:
Asa K. Smith was born in the State of New York
May 12, 1821, son of Sylvester and Lucretia (Lyons) Smith, both
natives of eastern New York. His grandfather, Asa Smith,
was a native of Connecticut, and his great-grandfather Smith, an
Englishman by birth, was one of the early settlers of that State, having
located on the Connecticut river. Asa Smith was a
bricklayer by trade, but was engaged in farming during the latter part
of his life. He emigrated to Indiana, where he passed the closing
years of his life, and died at Evansville at the age of eighty-six
years. He was a teamster in the Government service during the
Revolutionary war. Sylvester Smith emigrated to Ohio and
settled in Willoughby township, Lake county, about 1827. This part
of the country was then sparsely settled, and for several years the
Smith family lived in a log house. Asa K., the subject
of our sketch, was the youngest of three sons. He was reared on
his father's frontier farm, and during his boyhood days rendered valued
assistance in helping to clear and cultivate the farm, attending the
district schools as opportunity offered, Jan. 1, 1863, he married
Miss Louise M. Smith, who survives him. His death occurred
Apr. 12, 1887. Few men in this vicinity were better known or more
highly esteemed than he, and when his remains was borne from his late
home to their last resting place they were followed by a large concourse
of neighbors and friends. Mr. Smith was a self-made man.
He was a great reader, a man of general information and broad views, and
was a good converser and genial companion. Especially was he well
posted on agricultural and horticultural matters. When the Grange
was organized in Willoughby township he became one of its charger
members, and was identified with it as an officer all the rest of his
life. His farm of eighty acres on Waite hill he brought up to a
high state of development, devoting much of it to the production of
various kinds of fruits. He was not only an industrious and
energetic man, but was also an excellent manager, always looking to the
best interest of his farm and providing well for his family. While
his death was sudden and unexpected, being the result of heart failure,
he left his family without a dollar of indebtedness. His widow and
children still reside at the old homestead on Waite hill, which is
beautifully located, commanding, as it does, a magnificient view of the
country stretching away to the south and east.
Mrs. Smith was born in Chautauqua county, New
York, in 1833, daughter of Joel and Charlotte (Buckland) Smith,
both natives of Poultney, Vermont. Her parents emigrated to New
York and settled on a farm in Chautauqua county, from whence they
emigrated to Mentor, Lake county, Ohio, in 1837. Her father died
May 21, 1879, at the age of eighty-three years, and her mother Feb. 5,
1883, aged eighty. Both were members of the Disciple Church.
Five of their seven children are still living, Mrs. Smith being
the youngest. She received her education in the district schools,
the Painesville high school and the college at Willoughby, and for
several years prior to her marriage was engaged in teaching. Her
four children are Edwin, Charlotte, Gilbert and
Herbert - all living except Edwin. All have had good
educational advantages. The two sons have charge of the farm and
Miss Charlotte is a teacher.
†Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio
embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake -
Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page 685 |
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DANFORD
SMITH, another one of the well-known and highly respected farmers
of Willoughby township, Lake county, Ohio, was born in Spafford, New
York, Mar. 8, 1819, a son of Sylvester Smith and a grandson of
Asa Smith, the former a native of New York and the latter of
Connecticut. His great-grandfather Smith, a native of
England, came to America at an early period in the history of this
country and settled in Connecticut, on the Connecticut river.
Asa Smith, a brick mason by trade, turned his attention to farming
in the latter part of life. During the Revolutionary war he was a
teamster in the employ of the Government. His death occurred at
the age of eighty-six years at Evanston, Indiana, where he had resided
for some time. Sylvester Smith emigrated from New York to
Ohio in 1827, and was among the first settlers of Willoughby township,
Lake county, Here he purchased a piece of land, built a log cabin and at
once went to work to clear and improve a farm. He died at the age
of sixty-eight years. He was a member of the Reformed Methodist
Church and a man of many sterling qualities of mind and heart. His
wife, whose maiden name was Lucretia Lyons, was a daughter of
Luther Lyons, was a daughter of Luther Lyons, a resident of
New York, who died at the age of one hundred years. She was
seventy-three at the time of her death. The subject of our sketch
was the fourth born in a family of seven children, three of whom are
living, and in the pioneer schools of Willoughby township he received
his education.
Mr. Smith was married in 1842, to Miss
Prudence Whelpley, a native of Warrensville, Cuyahoga county, Ohio.
Her father moved to Ashtabula county, Ohio, at an early day, and while
clearing land was killed by a falling tree. His wife died of a
cancer. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have six children: Sarah,
George H., Cyrus S., Harriet, Amelia and Willie.
After his marriage Mr. Smith located on his
present farm. For fourteen years he carried on boot and shoe
making, and since that time he devoted his attention exclusively to his
farming interests, having cleared and drained the whole place. He
has seventy-five acres of choice land, all under a high state of
cultivation, and is engaged in general farming and stock raising.
Politically, he is a Republican; was formerly allied
with the old-line Whigs.
Such is a brief sketch of the life of one of the
successful farmers of Willoughby township.
†Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio
embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake -
Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 - Page
† 881 |
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WILBUR F. SMITH,
a wholesale druggist and grocer of Painesville, Ohio, also secretary
and Treasurer of the Dollar Savings Bank of the same city, was born
in Boonville, Indiana, in 1846. He comes of hardy, New England
ancestry, who were early and prominent settlers of Ohio. His
grandfather, Levi Smith, was born in Connecticut and
in early life followed mercantile pursuits, but, in 1814, joined the
westward movement of emigration, making his way overland, with his
family, by wagon, and driving a flock of sheep. In this
patriarchal way he arrived in Lake county, Ohio, and settled on land
in the woods near Little Mountain, where he developed a farm which
continued to be his home until death, at the acre of forty-five, and
which is now owned by Reuben Harmon. George
Smith, his son, and father of the subject of this sketch, was
also born in Connecticut, in 1805. When nine years of age, be
came with his parents to Ohio, where ids earlier years were passed,
after which he spent some years in Connecticut. He was a
well-read man and taught school some time near the old homestead,
later engaging in farming in that vicinity. He was married in
Kirtland, Ohio, to Mary Kendall, born in Deerfield,
Massachusetts, in 1804. Her father, Luke Kendall,
was a native of Massachusetts, where he passed his earlier life in
farming. In old age he came to Ohio and lived with his children,
dying at an advanced age. In 1838, the father of the subject
of this sketch went to Boonville, Indiana, and there bought new
land, which he cultivated for ten years and then sold. He went
thence to Marine, Illinois, where he bought more new land, which he
industriously cultivated until his death at the age of forty-five.
The worthy wife and mother still (1893) survives, at the age of
eighty-nine years, re-residing with her son, whose name heads this
sketch.
The subject of this biography was the fifth child and
passed his earlier years in Boonville, Indiana, and at Marine,
Illinois. After the death of his father, he came, when nine
years of age, with his mother to Kirtland, Ohio, where he lived
until thirteen years of age, attending the district school of that
vicinity. He then entered a store at Unionville, Ohio, where
he remained three years, winning the confidence and esteem of his
employers by his careful industry and obliging disposition. At
this early age, his unusual mental activity was evinced by his
discovering and patenting a concentrated writing compound, which he
sold throughout the West, reaching Michigan with but one dollar in
money, but in the course of two and a half years had accumulated
sufficient to return to Ohio and engage in business. He
started in the drug and grocery business in 1867, and in 1869 took
possession of his present quarters, where he has been ever since,
and has successfully conducted a wholesale and retail business.
On the organization of the Dollar Savings Bank, he was elected
Secretary and Treasurer of that institution. He is also one of
the organizers of the Metallic Binding Company, of Painesville,
there being but five similar manufacturing plants in the world.
In October, 1873, Mr. Smith was married
to Miss Frances Miller, an estimable lady, a
native of Austinburg, Ohio, and they have two children: Percy K.,
and May Chester.
In politics, Mr. Smith advocates the
principles of the Republican party. He is fraternally a member
of the Masonic Order, to which he has belonged for twenty years.
In religion both he and wife are active members of the
Congregational Church. Beginning life with nothing, Mr.
Smith has, by industry and shrewd business management,
accumulated a comfortable income, and in his handsome home on Mentor
avenue, surrounded by an interesting family and a large circle of
friends, lie may truly be said to have attained the acme of success
in life.
†Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio embracing the Counties of
Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake - Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. -
1893 - Page 406 |
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JAMES
E. STEPHENSON, one of the oldest members of the bar in Geauga
county, Ohio, was born in Staten Island, Aug. 17, 1819, a son of
Thomas B. Stephenson, a native of New York city. The paternal
grandfather, Ebenezer Stephenson, was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, the youngest of six brothers, whose father assisted in
celebrating the Boston Tea Party. In early youth he went to New
York city and opened a tannery for preparing morocco goods exclusively,
having mastered the trade in Boston; this business he followed all his
life, which ended July 4, 1852, at the age of seventy-five years.
Thomas B. Stephenson passed his boyhood and youth in New York
city cared for by an aunt, his mother having died when eh was four years
old. He was educated in the schools of the city, and at the age of
twenty-one years was ordained a Baptist minister. He preached five
years on Staten Island, and was then sent as a missionary to the Western
Reserve in the spring of 1823, by the societies of Dr. Cone's and
Bethel churches of New York city. He remained one year, and then
brought his family, who arrived August 8, 1824. He was largely
instrumental in the establishing of the Baptist Church in this section.
He married Hannah Demott, of New York city. They
reared a family of five children: J. E., the subject of this
notice; George B.; William; Mary and Eliza. The
mother died at the age of sixty-three years; she was very active in
assisting her husband and was ever faithful to the cause they had
espoused. The father's death occurred Nov. 4, 1861. J. E.
Stephenson is the eldest of the family; he was five years old when
he came to the West, and so received his education in the common
schools, which were of the primitive pioneer type; he was also a student
at Chester Academy several terms, and at the age of twenty-one years
began the study of law, having determined to make this profession his
vocation in life. He went to Columbus, Indiana, and read under the
supervision of Samuel Smith, then county Prosecuting Attorney.
Returning home at the end of one year he engaged in mercantile pursuits
for many years at Chester, Geauga county, during all of which time he
was Justice of the Peace of his township. He completed his law
studies in the office of Thrasher, Durfee & Hathaway,
and was admitted to the bar. In 1878, he was admitted to practice
before the United States Court. Possessed of many noble traits of
character he has brought to his profession a fine sense of justice,
tempered with that broad charity which recognizes the universal
brotherhood of man. He is widely known from his many kindly,
generous deeds, and is held in the highest esteem by the bar throughout
the State.
Mr. Stephenson was married July 6, 1843, to
Lavelia Norton, a native of Geauga county, Ohio, whose father
emigrated from Litchfield, Massachusetts, to Aurora, Portage county,
Ohio, in 1812. Four children were born of this union:
James P., professor of Greek in Des Moines (Iowa) College;
Herbert N., who has chare of the mortgage department of the Farmers'
and Mechanics' Savings Bank, Minneapolis, Minnesota; George R., a
lawyer by profession residing in Woodson county, Kansas; and Charles
F., of Chardon, a tinner by trade. Mrs. Stephenson died
May 27, 1891; both father and mother are consistent members of the
Baptist Church.
In his legal practice Mr. Stephenson was
associated with Lucius E. Durfee, now deceased, for twenty-five
years. Politically, he has supported the Whig party, and assisted
in the organization of the Republican party in Ohio. He was a
member of the first convention which organized the Republican party in
the State. In 1862 he was appointed by Governor Ted Draft
Commissioner for Geauga county. He has served the people of his
county as Prosecuting Attorney, discharging his duties with that rare
fidelity characteristic of his every endeavor.
To the above sketch is added a few thoughts by a
life-long friend of the subject of this biography. Mr.
Stephenson, in many respects, is a remarkable man, and deserves from
history more than a passing notice. To him, more than usual
to the lot of men, came the endowment of a wealth of physical, mental
and moral qualities which developed into the highest conception of
perfect manhood and an illustration of an upright, pure and successful
life; a man of decisive character, open, frank and fearless in the
expressions of the right, on the side of which he has always been frank,
cautious and deliberating, he possesses to a high degree the powers of
self-content and severity of mind amid exciting surroundings.
Unambitious, he has without malice or envy ever exhibited a broad and
liberal respect for an consideration of the rights of those with whom he
has come in contact. Thoroughly honest and just, he has always
been relied upon to be the same to others. True in his friendships
and eminently just in his judgments of others; true as steel to friends
and to those in adversity, a willing helper. Whether as a public
man or in the fireside circle, there are few men more sincerely
respected and esteemed. His mental characteristics are strength
and depth rather than brilliancy. He has fine professional
abilities, is an able advocate and a good, sound lawyer, and occupies an
honorable position at the bar. His genial and generous disposition
and urbane manners have made him universally popular, but his natural
modest temperament, shrinking from publicity, has undoubtedly prevented
him from receiving that political preferment his merits deserve.
However the universal judgment of all who know him is that in his life
he exemplifies the characteristics of an ideal man whose life is worthy
of emulation.
†Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio embracing the Counties of
Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake - Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1893 -
Page 776 |
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