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BIOGRAPHIES
HISTORY
OF
LORAIN COUNTY
OHIO
With
Illustrations & Biographical Sketches
of
Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers.
Publ. Philadelphia:
by Williams Brothers
1879
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SERENO D. BACON.
Joseph Bacon was born Gardner, Worcestor
county, Massachusetts, Mar. 2, 1787, was educated in
the common school; learned the carpenter trade, and
was esteemed a most excellent young man. He
married Miss Lucy Wood, Aug. 26, 1813.
Miss Lucy Wood, wife of Joseph Bacon, was
born Sept. 30, 1782, in Gardner, Massachusetts.
After marriage this couple settled at housekeeping
in Grafton, Windham county, Vermont; Mr. Bacon
carrying on the business of farming, as well as
keeping up the practice of his trade as the
opportunity presented.
During their residence in said locality, five children
were born to bless their union, viz:
Francis S., born Mar. 28, 1817. Aaron
Wood, born Dec. 28, 1818. Sereno D.,
third son, - see biographical sketch. Lucy
Almira, born Apr. 16, 1827. Mary,
born June 25, 1835. Francis S. married
Miss Jane Ann Lee, of Burlington, Vermont, Dec.
20, 1840, now resides in the city of Brooklyn, New
York, and is the father of two daughters, Ellen
and Marion.
Aaron Wood married Miss Mariah P. Prindle,
of Carlisle, Lorain county, Feb. 16, 1848, who now
lives in Oberlin, and who left no heirs.
Lucy Elmira was
married Nov. 22, 1847, to Elijah Rose;
settled in Carlisle, and has three sons, viz:
Dr. F. A. Rose, who settled at Olmstead
Falls, Ohio; George E. and Charlie E.,
who are both single. Mary M. was
married July 9, 1864, to Howard Fisher, and
settled in Adrian, Michigan; died Nov. 22, 1876,
leaving three little boys; Carl, aged twelve
years; Robbie, aged ten years; and Elwin
C., aged two years.
Joseph Bacon died in Carlisle, Aug. 29, 1865.
Lucy (Wood) Bacon died in the same
place, Sept. 20, 1871. Their record through
life was brightened by good deeds, and "their works
do follow them."
S. D. BACON, third son of Joseph and Lucy
(Wood) Bacon, was born in Grafton, Windham
county, Vermont, June 23, 1825. Seventeen
years of his boyhood were spent in this home among
the hills, receiving in the mean time a good common
school education, as well as acquiring a knowledge
of farming.
In the year 1842 the family removed to Carlisle, Lorain
county, Ohio; founding a new home in the then most
settled portion of the township, and as before
following the business of farming.
Mr. Bacon was married to Mary Ann Bailey of
Carlisle, Feb. 26, 1846. she was born Apr. 19,
1827, in Gowanda, Cattaraugus county, New York.
She was the youngest child of Asa and Mary (Cox)
Bailey. Her mother dying soon after her
birth she was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Aaron
Morehouse, residing in Hanover, Chautauqua
county, New York. At the age of twelve years
she came with her adopted parents to Medina, Medina
county, Ohio. In 1843 the family removed from
Medina to Carlisle, where they made a personal home.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bacon rented a
farm in Carlisle and went to house keeping, making
dairying their principal business. In 1851
they removed to Pittsfield, Lorain county, stopping
for a few months on a rented farm. In December
1851 they again moved, this time to Wellington,
buying a farm on which they now reside. The
fruit of this union was one son and two daughters.
The date of births were as follows: George
Bacon, born June 13, 1851. Euphame
Bacon, born Aug. 22, 1853. Ada Bacon,
born Nov. 12, 1863. George Bacon
married Miss Ida Peck of Pittsfield, Lorain
county. Euphame Bacon was married to
Charles Finley, Jan. 13, 1874; both living at
home till her death, Jan. 19, 1875. She left
an infant son five days old. The child lived a few
moths only, dying Mar. 17, 1875. The to were
buried in one grave, and slept in the silent city of
the dead. Miss Ada Bacon, now in her
teens, resides at home, the light and joy of the
household. At school she has ever stood at the
head of her classes, and bids fair for a bright
record in the future.
By industry, economy and perseverance Mr. and Mrs.
Bacon have accumulated a nice property, and
their residence (see engraving) is fair to look
upon.
In politics Mr. Bacon is a stanch republican;
standing by his party with firmness and fidelity.
He was elected to the office of town trustee in
1870, and has retained the same office ever since.
He was also elected infirmary director, in Order,
1875. This office also, is still in his
keeping. In reputation, he stands a representative
man.
 Source:
History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia:
William Brothers - 1879 - page 360 |
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CURTIS
BAILEY was born in Potton
Township, Canada East, Feb. 17, 1830. He was
the fifth child in a family of ten children; his
father was Jonathan B. Bailey, who was born
at Peacham, Vermont, Oct. 31, 1794, and died Oct. 6,
1875.
He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his father
before him, Abijah Bailey, had been a soldier
in the revolutionary war, and died at the age of
eighty-four years.
Johnathan B. Bailey spent the earlier part of
his life, and up to 1844, in Orleans county,
Vermont. His occupation was farming, at which
he was engaged nearly all his life. In the
fall of 1844 he removed to Lorain county, first
stopping at Brownhelm, where he remained four years.
The next four or five years of his life were passed
in Henrietta township, from whence he removed to
Ransom, Hillsdale county, Michigan, where he spent
the remainder of his life. He always lived an
honest and industrious life, and at the same time an
humble and unostentatious one. His friends and
acquaintances will bear us out in the assertion that
he was a man of irreproachable personal integrity
and general worth. He married Hannah Dufur,
who was born in New Hampshire, May 15, 1797, and
died in Ransom, Michigan, Jan. 3, 1879. They
were both exemplary and consistent members of the
Congregational church. They had a large
family, to the bringing up of whom, in a proper
accumulate. He was never very successful in
the acquisition of wealth, but was always generous,
according to his means.
Curtis Bailey's early life was confined to
agricultural pursuits, which he followed until he
attained his twenty-fifth year. In the spring
of 1855 he removed, with his family, to Amherst
township, and entered the employ of Baxter Clough,
to work in his stone quarries. At the end of
the first year he became a foreman, and has
continued in his and the employ of the Clough
Stone Company, as superintendent of their stone
quarries, ever since, with the exception of one and
one-half years, in 1864-65, at which time they lived
in Hillsdale county, Michigan, one year, and at
Wellington, six months. At the age of
twenty-two years, and on the 30th of March, 1852, he
was married to Lovina, daughter of Arvy
Whitney, and Lucinda Remington, of Camden
township, who was born in Sherbourne, Chenango
county, New York, Mar. 10, 1802. She was born
in Clarendon, Monroe county, New York, Apr. 1, 1832.
They have four children, namely: Ida J., born
Jan. 10, 1853, married Horace Seeley, of
Amherst township, Mar. 30, 1872; Edna C.,
born Dec. 11, 1857, married F. M. Lewis,
editor of the Amherst Free Press, May 9,
1878; Florence H., born Jan. 27, 1869;
Warren C., born Aug. 7, 1872.
Mr. and Mrs. Bailey are both members of the Free
Will Baptist church, having joined that denomination
in Henrietta, in the year 1854.
The ancestors of both Mr. and Mrs. Bailey were
of New England origin. The paternal
grandfather of Mrs. Bailey was Elisha
Whitney, who was born in Vermont, Aug. 25, 1767,
and died Aug. 27, 1822. His wife was born in
Connecticut. Her maiden name was Mariam
Eaton. She was twice married, first to
Ezra Taylor, Jan. 16, 1786; second, to Elisha
Whitney, Mar. 24, 1791. Mr. Bailey's
maternal grandfather was William Remington,
who was born in Stephentown, New York, Jan. 25,
1775; died in Sweden, New York, Sept. 13, 1827.
He married Lovina Hill, who was born in
Stephenson, New York, Feb. 20, 1781; died in Sweden,
New York, Oct. 2, 1828.
Mr. Bailey is quite extensively known in the
community in which he resides, and his general good
character, faithfulness and industrious habits have
gained for him an enviable reputation. He
obtained the respect of his employers and others by
close attention to duty, and has retained the same
by his continued faithful discharge of teh same.
He possesses ability and applies it; he is honest
and practices that quality always; hence his success
in life.
Source:
History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia:
William Brothers - 1879 - page 343-344 |
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CHARLES
BASSETT. Among the families whose
general worth has made them conspicuous in the
history, not only of the community in which some
members of them now reside, but also in the eastern
States where for more than two centuries their
ancestors have resided, that the Bassetts
hold an exalted and prominent position. The
progenitors of him whose name heads this sketch,
settled in Massachusetts contemporary with the
pilgrim fathers, while those of his mother actually
came to America on the "Mayflower" in 1620,
she being a lineal descendant of Miles Standish,
the warrior pilgrim. Each successive
generation from this historic stock have by
industrious and straightforward lives done honor to
their exalted ancestry.
Charles Bassett was born in the town of Chili,
Monroe County, New York, Mar. 10, 1820, and we
wright this sketch of him on the fifty-ninth
anniversary of his birth-day. He was the
youngest child and second son of Nathan Bassett
and Sarah Standish, the former of whom was born
Aug. 12, 1763, the latter, Dec. 10, 1775, both at
Bridgewater, Massachusetts. They were married
Apr. 4, 1793, and lived together sixty years, the
husband and father dying in 1853, the wife and
mother in 1854. Their children numbered nine,
and were born in the order named: Thomas, Phebe,
Sarah, Naomi, Betsey, Freelove, Amanda, Emily
and Charles. In 1812 they removed to
Chili, Monroe County, New York, and to Russia
township in 1834. They settled on the farm now
occupied by their son, Charles, and for two
years lived in a log cabin, 14 by 16 feet, an
illustration of which appears in the sky margin of
the view of the homestead on another page of hits
volume. In 1836 he erected a frame house,
which is still standing to the rear of the present
residence. Nathan Bassett was a man of
extraordinary vitality, and possessed mental
capabilities above the average. He was of a
sunny temperament, of a jocular disposition, and had
an extended knowledge of human nature. In his
younger days he had been a great traveler, having
spent seven years on the ocean, in the service of
the West India Company. As a sample of his
indomitable will and courage we mention the fact
that he had reached his "three score years and ten"
when he penetrated the wilderness, purchasing
sixty-seven acres of land, and made a home for
himself and wife in Russia township.
Towards the close of the revolutionary war, he
volunteered, and went with his regiment to Rhode
Island, where the British were expected to land.
He also served in the war of 1812, at Buffalo, New
York, where he was wounded. He lived to the
age of ninety years, and to within a few months of
his death was as active as most men at sixty.
On the Christmas day preceding his decease he was
prostrated by a paralytic shock, the effects of
which, four months later, ended his remarkable life.
He enjoyed the respect and esteem of all by whom he
was known, and his memory to-day is green in the
hearts of those who knew him best. In politics
he was an old line whig. He held several
offices in the township government, notably that of
school examiner. His last days were rendered
as comfortable as possible, and the filial affection
of his children, and the long-tried love of his
devoted wife did much toward the alleviation of his
sufferings and in smoothing the entry into "that
bourne from whence no traveler returns."
Charles Bassett, son of the above, follows in
his father's footsteps, and like him enjoys a
deserved respectability and prominence in the
community of which for forty-five years he has been
an honored citizen. The people of the
township, reposing confidence in his integrity,
elected him a number of times township trustee, and
two terms a justice of the peace, besides to other
minor offices especially to that of school director,
which office he has held nearly every year since he
attained his majority.
On the 7th of September, 1846, he married Emma,
daughter of John and Ann Parsons, and sister
of
Lott
Parsons of Russia Township. She was
born at Noil, England, July 28, 1819. They
have five children, namely: Emma, born
Apr. 26, 1847, married Frederick E. Grifin of
Amherst; Charles Henry, born Apr. 26, 1850;
Miles Standish, born Dec. 1, 1851; Helen,
born Jan. 20, 1857; Harvey Lewi, born Jul. 3,
1859. All except Emma reside at home
with their parents, the sons conducting the business
of the farm under the direction of their father.
Mr. Bassett has been a farmer all his life,
and now has two hundred and thirty-five acres of
well improved land, including the original
sixty-seven acres purchased by his father in 1834.
He is a good practical farmer; a man of domestic
tastes; economical and independent in the management
of his affairs; a good husband and father, and an
honest trustworthy citizen.
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page 196 ok |
David Bennett
Jane Bennett
Residence of
David Bennet,
Carlisle, Lorain Tp., O |
Carlisle -
DAVID BENNETT was born in
Westmoreland, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, May
26, 1788. He was the second son of David
and Abigail Bennett, and third in a family of
fifteen children. When about fifteen years
old, he was apprenticed to a man named Dutton,
living in Dummerston, Windham county, Vermont.
Becoming dissatisfied with the treatment he
received, he ran away soon after he was sixteen, and
went to Homer, Cortland county, New York.
On the 6th of December, 1810, he married Miss Polly
Wheeler, and lived in Londonderry, Vermont, on a
farm on the east slope of the Green mountains.
He came west, to look for a farm, in 1827, and moved
from Londonderry, Apr. 21, 1828, with his family,
consisting of himself and wife, his wife's
step-father, and his neice, Miss Malvina F.
Bennett. They came by wagon to Troy, New
York, in two days, thence by canal boat to Buffalo,
by schooner to Cleveland, which took three days,
then by wagon to Carlisle, - in all, a journey of
three weeks.
On the 23rd day of August, 1828, he purchased of
Joseph and Mary Perkins the south one-half of
the southwest quarter of section twelve, town five,
range seventeen, where he spent the remainder of his
life.
His wife died Aug. 10, 1829, without children. He
married, the second time, Feb. 6, 1830, Miss Jane
Galpin of Elyria, daughter of Neri and Betsey
Galpin. They had six children, four of
whom are living. He held various township
offices from 1830 to 1860, being three times elected
justice of the peace. He was a man of strict
integrity, and his word was as good as his bond.
He died July 16, 1863, of paralysis.
JANE GALPIN was born in Woodbury, Litchfield
county, Connecticut, Aug. 11, 1810. She was
the daughter of Neri and Betsey Galpin, and
the eldest in a family of nine children. Her
parents moved to New Milford, Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, when she was about nine months old.
In May, 1818 they moved to Center township, Indiana
county, Pennsylvania. In November, 1822, they
left Center for Carlisle, Ohio, then called
Murraysville, Huron county. They moved in a
covered wagon drawn by a yoke of steers and a span
of old horses. They were three weeks on the
road and had but two pleasant days in the whole
time. In some places the wagon hub would roll
on the mud. They moved in with Abner Murray's
family until Mr. Galpin built his house,
which stood just over the line in Elyria township.
Feb. 6, 1830, she married David Bennett and
moved on to the farm in Carlisle, where she still
lives.
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page betw.
146 - 147 |
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JONATHAN C. BENNETT
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page |
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Brownhelm -
REV. ALFRED H. BETTS.
Rev. Alfred H. Betts took up his residence in
Brownhelm in January, 1821. He was born in
Norwalk, Connecticut, Sept. 2, 1786. Nov. 2,
1809, he was united in marriage to Sally Harris,
daughter of Captain Luther Harris of
Bridgeport, Connecticut. In early life, he
adopted the profession of medicine, and practiced
for ten years in Danbury. In the fall of 1816,
he and his father -in-law came to Ohio, and selected
a place for settlement in Florence, Erie county.
After the erection of a cabin, Captain Harris
returned east for their families, with whom he
arrived the next season. Dr. Betts
spent the first two or three Sabbaths with Deacon
Beardslee and family, who, a short time
before, settled in Vermillion. They had a few
religious exercises, such as singing, prayer, and a
sermon, read by Dr. Betts. He was soon
invited by others in their neighborhood to come to
their dwellings, and hold similar meetings, at which
a few families would be invited to attend. And
thus began his "reading meetings."
In a short time, Dr. Betts had a regular
appointments at Birmingham, Florence, Vermillion,
and other places. In consequence of the
detention of his freight at Buffalo, until the next
spring after his arrival, Dr. Betts had but
one suit of clothes, which, having to wear in the
woods through the week, was hardly suitable for the
pulpit on the Sabbath. Long before the arrival
of his goods, his old coat needed repairing, and
Deacon Beardslee's wife would mend it as best
she could, with the means she had. Some rents
were drawn up, and some covered with patches of such
cloth as she had, which was not always of the same
color. In the spring his boots were gone, and
a neighbor made him a pair of moccasins. The
condition of his apparel greatly disturbed him, and
he began to question whether he had better continue
in his old clothes, or suspend the meetings until
the arrival of his goods. He consulted a few
of his friends in regard to the matter, who told him
that, as he had gone on so long, it was hardly worth
while at this stage to be proud.
After his stock of printed sermons was exhausted he
prepared discourses of his own; yet he did not call
them sermons, and he was always careful to assure
his auditors that he was not actually a minister.
A missionary hearing of Dr. Betts' labors
called upon him for the purpose of satisfying
himself as to the denomination to which he belonged.
"I came to Vermillion," he said, 'no' 'Have
you any meetings?' 'Yes, a man comes from the
Ridge and holds meetings on the Sabbath.'
'What is he?' 'Don't know; guessed you was a
Baptist. Another still, thought you was a
Universalist. "And now," said he, "I want to
know from you, yourself, what you are?" Dr.
Betts was able to satisfy him and he departed.
In the summer of 1819, Dr. Betts went to Hudson,
Portage county, to prepare himself for the ministry.
He remained until April, 1820, when he was licensed
by the Presbytery. He returned to Florence,
where his family had remained, and continued the
meetings formerly held by him. In the winter
of 1820-'21, he received a call from the
Congregational church in Brownhelm, which he
accepted and was ordained and installed Apr. 5,
1821. He continued pastor of the church twelve
years, when he was dismissed at his own request.
Dr. Betts was one of the busiest and best
known men in the country. For years he
traveled all over this region, having visited every
township on the fire lands, assisting in organizing
churches and performing the duties of colporteur and
Bible distributor. On the occasion of a
donation visit at a late period in this life, by his
friends from many of the towns comprising the field
of his early labors, it was remarked by one of the
visitors that a great many people had assembled.
"Yes," said Dr. Betts, after a moment's
reflection, "and there is not a family represented
that I have not lodged with.
His busy and useful life came to a close September 8,
1860. Of his thirteen children ten lived to
mature years. Six are now living; two of them
in Brownhelm.
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page 235 |
 |
RICHARD
BLAIN. Wilson Blain was born
Apr. 24, 1789, and married to Hannah Van Natten,
in May, 1810. They moved to Ridgeville, this
county, in September, 1818, where he bought a farm
on the Butternut ridge, and lived there until his
death. He had four children. RICHARD,
the eldest son of Wilson, and subject of this
sketch, was born Oct. 13, 1812, and married Fanny
M. Fuller, Nov. 20, 1836, who was born Oct. 18,
1820; she was the daughter of Warren and Vesta
Fuller. Warren Fuller was born May 8,
1790, and died July 1, 1870. Vesta Fuller
was born Jan. 7, 1795, and died July 11, 1870.
To Richard Blain and his wife have been born
four children: Warren W., born Nov. 6, 1837;
James M., born Dec. 30, 1839; Vesta H.,
born Feb. 11, 1841; and Harlan I.,
born Mar. 14, 1843, and died Apr. 5, 1856.
Warren W. married Elizabeth Watson, Feb.
17, 1861. They have seven children: Martin
W., born Dec. 15, 1865; Arreain F., born
Mar. 28, 1867; Elfa E., born Nov. 30, 1869;
Harlan W., born Jan. 14, 1871; Jane L.,
born May 23, 1872; Fanny B. born June 25,
1875; and Marcia C. born Mar. 25, 1877.
James M. married Lydia Percival, Dec. 29,
1861; she died Jan. 1, 1866, and he married, second,
Emma Peets, Dec. 25, 1866, who was born June 29,
1850. To them have been born: Gracie M.,
born May 17, 1868; Lucien A., July 26,
1870; William W., born Aug. 8, 1871;
Jessie M., born Oct. 8, 1872, and died July 27,
1873; Richard, Jan. 30, 1875; and Baby,
born July 12, and died Feb. 18, 1876.
Vesta H. married Noah H. Peck, Feb. 19,
1860. They have Edith F., born Jan. 11,
1861; Ella C., born Jan. 13 1864; Lydia C.
born Apr. 29, 1866; Eddie R., born Dec. 16,
1868; and Lora C., born Nov. 18, 1870.
Richard Blain united with the Methodist
Episcopal Church in 1829, when he was seventeen
years old, and remained a faithful, devoted member
until the close of his life. In all these
years, after he became of age, he was either class
leader or steward, and usually both. He was
always at his post, and filled his place with honor
to himself, and great benefit and credit to the
church. He was a man of decided and unblemished
character, one who lived to do his neighbors good;
and was truly devoted to his wife, his children and
the church of his adoption.
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page 168 ok |
 |
LEONARD BRADLEY, was born in
the town of Ellington, Tolland Co., Conn., Nov. 4,
1792. He immigrated to Brownhelm, Ohio, in the
year 1817, located lands, and remained two years,
after which he returned to Connecticut and married
Roxanna, daughter of William Thraw, of
Tolland county, and immediately returned to Ohio,
where he was identified as a pioneer farmer.
By this union were born four children, viz.:
Captain Alva Bradley, now a resident of
Cleveland, and a large vessel owner; William
Bradley a resident of Brownhelm; Betsey
(deceased); and Julia. Mrs. Leonard Bradley
died Feb. 25, 1858.
Mr. Bradley married for his second wife Emily,
widow of William Nye, of Onondaga Co., N. Y.,
and daughter of John Thompson, who was of
Scotch birth and ancestry. Our subject was an
ardent advocate of Republicanism during his latter
days, being formerly a member of the old Whig party;
served his township as trustee and other offices
from time to time. When a young man he carried
a lady (who wished to visit friends, not having seen
any white ladies in several months) over the
Vermillion River on an ox, he riding one and the
lady on the other, the oxen having to swim on
account of the depth of the stream.
Mr. Bradley remained on the old homestead until
the date of his death, which occurred May 3,
1875. His wife survives him, still remaining
on the old homestead, surrounded by many friends and
tenderly cared for in her declining years by her
children.
Source:
History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia:
William Brothers - 1879 - page (facing
228) |
W. A. Braman
R. E. Braman |
W. A.
BRAMAN. In 1822, from Genesee Co., N. Y., came to Avon Lorain
Co., Ohio, the parents of Anson Braman who
was born in said county in 1811. In the year
1832, A. Braman removed from Avon to
Carlisle, where he followed the vocation of farmer
and nurseryman. In 1855 he removed to Elyria,
Lorain Co., Ohio, where he started the nurseries now
owed by J. C. Hill.
Remaining in Elyria until 1872, he went to Northport,
Mich., where he now resides with the faithful wife
who shared the struggles of his early Carlisle life.
She - of maiden name Miss Emeline Vincent -
was born at Mount Washington, Berkshire Co., Mass.,
Oct. 10, 1818; commencing the duties of a wife at
Carlisle in 1835. Their oldest child,
William A. was born at Carlisle, Oct. 4, 1836.
Twenty-one years were spent on the home farm.
When desirous of better education, he worked
by the month on other farms. Teaching school
during the winter gave to him the necessary
funds with which to gratify his desires. Thus
passed seven years.
In 1864 he commenced the business of life-stock
dealing. This he followed until 1870, J. E.
Boynton and J. C. Hill being partners.
The following three years found him in partnership with
J. E. Boynton, engaged in the purchase and
sale of cheese. During the spring of 1874 the
firm of Braman, Horr & Warner was founded,
for the manufacture and general dealing in cheese
and butter, with which firm he still remains
connected.
This firm has become one of the largest in Northern
Ohio, its business averaging during the last four
years two hundred thousand dollars per year.
Whilst buying to a certain extent of others, the
great bulk of the butter and cheese handled by them
has been and is of their own manufacture through
their control of the many factories of Northern
Lorain County and adjacent territory, controlling
the past year the products of over four hundred
dairymen, and four thousand cows.
Mr. Braman was married, Apr. 18, 1865, to
Miss Sophia E. Patterson daughter of Hiram
Patterson, then of Eaton, Lorain Co., Ohio.
Two sons and one daughter make cheerful his pleasant
home at Elyria, to which place he came, as a
permanent resident, from Carlisle in 1869.
Mr. Braman is distinguished for his untiring
energy and clear perceptions. These
qualifications have made him a leading business man
of Lorain County, and one eminently fitted for
official position. Various are the places of
trust he has filled: township trustee for four
years; president of the Lorain County Agricultural
Society six years, a full record of which is given
in the history of said society in this history;
commissioner of Lorain County. All were filled
with such fidelity that the reputation thus formed
makes him one of the present members of the Union
School Board, a place held by him since 1873.
He was one of the directors of the Savings Deposit
Bank of Elyria from its foundation. This
faithfulness to trusts imposed also gave to him the
treasurership of Lorain Co., Ohio, in 1876, and
again in 1878 by acclamation, no competitor even
appearing in the conventions that honored him so
highly.
Mr. Braman, in the prime of life, with every
surrounding pleasant, both private and public, may
well take pride for the high rank he takes among
Lorain County's "leading men."
R. E. BRAMAN was born at
Carlisle, Loraine Co., Ohio, Oct. 20, 1838.
Until the age of twenty-three his life was spent on
the father's farm. Hard work filled up his
time, with the exception of the educational
advantages of the common school.
A brief notice of the parents of Ransom E. Braman
is given in the biography of his brother, William
A.
Aug. 9, 1861, he
enlisted as private in Company I, 8th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry; served the first year in West Virginia,
and afterwards in the Army of the Potomac.
Advanced to the position of sergeant, he was, at
the consolidation of the 4th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
and 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry into the 4th
Battalion, made a first lieutenant. He was
wounded at the battle of North Anna River, May 24,
1864. A return to the comrades of three years'
noble work for the Republic gave him honorable
discharge after full term of enlistment.
Returning to Elyria, August, 1864, he soon engaged in
whatever his hand might find. For eight years
he was elected to various offices in the township of
Elyria, for four years being deputy marshal of the
Northern District of Ohio. Mr. Braman
was elected sheriff in 1872, and again in 1874.
He was married, Sept. 5, 1865, to Miss Helen M.
Nickerson who gave to him five children, three
now living and two dead. Now in active
business as coal merchant, even with a limb
partially paralyzed by a "rebel bullet;" in easy
circumstances, he forgets the early toil and
struggles of a "pioneer's" son.
Source:
History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia:
William Brothers - 1879 - page betw. 140 - 141 |
 |
RANSOM BRONSON.
Mr. Bronson is a worthy descendant of an old
and honored family. He was born in Waterbury,
Conn., Sept. 11, 1805. He traces his lineage
back to John Bronson, who emigrated from
England to the United States in the year 1636.
He settled in Hartford, Conn., but afterwards
removed to Farmington, where he died in the year
1680.
His son Isaac was one of the earliest settlers
in Waterbury, Conn., whence came the first settlers
of the township of Columbia.
The successive descendants, in the line of ancestry,
were as follows: John Bronson,
Joseph Bronson, Seba Bronson, and Azor
Bronson, the father of the subject of this
sketch. He was one of a family of fourteen
children, nearly all of whom emigrated to the West,
as did also their parents.
He was one of the five trustees of the Waterbury Land
Company, and was therefore one of the original
owners of the soil of Columbia. He emigrated
to the township with his family, consisting of his
wife and four children, in the summer of 1811,
arriving at the place of destination on the 4th day
of July. He located on sub-lot 11, but before
the completion of his house he was stricken down by
a malignant disease, which was so fatally prevalent
in the infant settlement at that time.
The family was left at his death in peculiarly
unfortunate circumstances. The mother had four
young boys - the oldest only thirteen - to care for
in the uncleared forest, with no available means to
clear the land of the debt resting against it, or
even to put the uncompleted house in a condition for
occupancy. She moved into a house belonging to
Nathaniel Doane, which she occupied until her
marriage to Reuben Lewis, some three years
after the death of her first husband.
Instead of ameliorating her condition by this marriage,
as she evidently expected to do, it was rendered
infinitely worse by the unkindness of her husband,
both to herself and children. After an
unharmonious union of four years a separation
ensued, Mr. Lewis moving from the township.
During this time the boys worked out at whatever they
could find to do, and thus supported themselves, and
for a time were kept together with their mother.
Ransom, at the age of eleven, took up his abode,
under contract, with Marshall Culver.
One day he thoughtlessly cut down some of the trees
in his employer's growing sugar-bush.
Culver was greatly offended, and refused to keep
the boy longer. The lad regarded this as a
great misfortune, but it really proved a blessing in
disguise, for he was immediately after placed under
the care of Samuel Hitchcock, to whose
teaching and influence he attributes much of his
subsequent success in life. He was trained by
him in habits of industry and economy.
Dec. 4, 1833, Mr. Bronson was united in marriage
to Mrs. S. H. Frink. His mother
subsequently made her home with them, and died at
their residence in Columbia, in the year 1851, aged
seventy-seven.
Mr. Bronson's occupation has been that of a
farmer, and by good management, untiring industry,
and frugal habits he has accumulated a fine
property.
He has held various township offices, such as trustee,
justice of the peace, etc. He was elected to
the former office when twenty-two years of age.
He was formerly a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, but at the organization of the Wesleyan
Methodist Church of West View, which was the result
of a division of the former church on the question
of slavery, became one of the charter members.
His first wife died in 1877,and Dec. 25 of the same
year he married the widow of Aaron J. Chapin,
with whom he is now living at West View, Cuyahoga
Co., Ohio.
Mr. Bronson is the daughter of Moses and
Almira (Smith) Adams, who were born in Schoharie
Co., N. Y., in the year 1805; the father, Aug. 7,
and the mother, April 26.
About the year 1849, Mr. Adams removed with his
family to Riceville, Pa., where he has continued to
reside up to the present time.
They had a family of six children, - two boys and four
girls. The oldest daughter died in Joliet,
Ill., in 1878, and a son, John Q. A. M.,
died when young.
Mary L. (Mrs. Bronson) was born in Stockton,
Chautauqua Co., N. Y., Aug. 6, 1832. July 6,
1853, she was married to Aaron J. Chapin of
Riceville, Pa., and became the mother of four
children, as follows: Ida E. born Apr.
20, 1854; John Q. A. M., born July 6, 1856;
Olive M., born Sept. 9, 1857; Elmer D.,
born Apr. 15, 1861.
Ida married, in the year 1870, Lindsey
Anderson, and is now residing at Harvard, Ill.
The two sons, unmarried, also reside there.
Olive died Mar. 19, 1859.
Mr. and Mrs. Chapin first settled in Canada,
where they remained about a year, thence removing to
Iowa. After a residence there of three years
they moved to Minnesota, and two years subsequently,
back to their former home in Riceville, Pa.
He was a cabinet-maker, and was a skillful workman.
Mr. Chapin served four years in the war of
the Rebellion, being a member of Company D, Twelfth
Pennsylvania Cavalry. He died in Canada, in
the year 1871.
During her widowhood, Mrs. Bronson resided
mostly at Titusville, Pa., but retained her home in
Riceville. Though encountering many
difficulties, by industry and frugality she
maintained herself and children, whom she gave also
a good education. She looks back to that
period as one of great usefulness.
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page (betw.
156-157) ok |
| |
HENRY BROWN.
Judge Brown was born in Stockbridge,
Massachusetts, June 3, 1773. In his youth he
commenced a course in liberal education and entered
Harvard college, but by reason of the failure of his
health when in his sophomore year he was compelled
to discontinue his studies. After partially
restoring his health by travel, he engaged in
merchandise in his native town and continued in the
business until his western interests required its
abandonment. In the fall of 1816, he visited the
tract of country, then simply known as number six in
the nineteenth range (now Brownhelm) and on his
return east he entered into contract with the
Connecticut Land Company for the purchase of
three-fourths of the township, and with the
Messrs. Rockwells, of Colebrook, Connecticut,
for the rest. Under his lead many of his old
neighbors in Stockbridge removed to his western
purchase and settled. Col. Brown, as he
was formerly called, selected for himself a tract of
about a mile square, in the northeast corner of the
town, and sent out, in the winter of 1816-17,
several young men to erect him a house and to
commence the improvement of his land. He
removed with his family in the summer of 1818, and
took up his abode on the lake shore in the house
previously built.
Upon the organization of the county of Lorain, Col.
Brown was appointed one of the three associate
judges of the county, a position which, both by
reason of his business experience and the natural
bent of his mind, he was well qualified to fill.
Not unfrequently, in the absence of the presiding
judge, he was obliged to proceed with the business,
even to charging the jury. He was always equal
to these emergencies. Judge Brown's
record on the bench was an exceedingly creditable
one.
He was a man of enterprise and public spirit, liberally
supporting with his means and time every object
tending to the improvement of society. Long
before his conversion, which occurred at a
comparatively late period in his life, no one was
more earnest in the support of the gospel, and few
members of the church more regular in their
attendance upon its appointed services. When
the people in Brownhelm began to think for inviting
a minister to settle among them, he proposed to pay
one-eighth of the expense. After a few years
he united with the church, his wife and some of the
children having previously joined. His habit
of punctuality in everything, especially in his
attendance at every meeting, directly or indirectly
affecting the church, was remarkable. It is
said by one who knew him well "that during a whole
winter, two evenings in a week, when nearly seventy
years of age, he came through mud and rain, snow and
frost, to attend a singing school; and up to his
last attendance on public worship he was always to
be found in his place in the choir."
He was frequently a delegate from the presbytery to the
general assembly of the Presbyterian church, and in
one year spent not less than five months, including
his attendance at a church trial in Philadelphia,
and the convention at Auburn.
Judge Brown also took an active part in the
establishment of a college in the Western Reserve,
attending the meeting at Hudson, called for the
purpose. "Indeed," says a writer on this
subject, "but for him and another friend of the
college, no such charter would have been obtained as
friends of the institution would have accepted.
There was deadly hostility to it in the Legislature;
and the charter which they asked was so altered in
its provisions as to prevent the possibility of
securing religious instruction, and as such was
passed through the house. Intelligence of this
was communicated to the friends of the institution.
Judge Brown and the other (Rev. Caleb
Titkin) went with haste to Columbus, and arrived
just as the bill was about to be read for the third
time. They succeeded, by the aid of a friend,
in arresting this; and after days and evenings of
patient waiting upon the opponents of the
contemplated institution, they succeeded in
obtaining the charter as they had asked, with the
exception of two trustees, against whom there was
such personal hostility as no arguments could
overcome."
Judge Brown was afterwards a member of the board
of trustees of this college, and continued in the
office until the infirmities of age compelled him to
relinquish it.
He was a man of many social qualities, and of much
intelligence. His hospitality was unbounded.
His log house on the late shore was the general
rendezvous of he early emigrants and in many other
ways they were the recipients of his practical
benevolence.
He died Dec. 10, 1843, in the seventy-first year of his
age, and the family is now extinct in the township.
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page 234 ok |
 |
HON. STEVENSON BURKE
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page 144 ok |
 |
ISAAC BURRELL
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page |
NOTES: |
