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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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L. E. PARKS
 Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page |
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LOTT
PARSONS. Among the self-made and
self-educated men of Lorain county, whose personal
exertions have led to a successful issue, none
deserve more general credit than he of whom we
write. Leaving his native land when a child,
and soon after settling in the then wilds of Lorain
county, presently losing his father, his early
career was a peculiarly difficult one. At his
father's death, a large share of the support of his
widowed mother fell upon him; and though but a lad
in his teens, he accepted the duty with a fortitude
worthy of riper years, and with a commendable
determination, fulfilled the same faithfully and
well. Such conduct, and the early development
of similar good qualities, laid the foundation to
his subsequent success in life, as will be set forth
in the subjoined brief narrative of the most salient
features of his life and character.
Lott Parsons was born in Wilkshire, England, on
the 9th of January, 1821. He is the son of
John and Ann (Yetman) Parsons, who were also
natives of the same shire. In March, 1832, the
family embarked at Bristol for New York, arriving at
the latter place in the following May. They
proceeded thence to Mentor, Lake county, Ohio, where
they remained during the ensuing summer. In
the following fall, John Parsons came on to
Russia township, and in conjunction with a cousin,
purchased, by contract, a quarter of section of
land, but the land agent afterward ignored the
stipulated agreement, and the bargain fell through.
During the next year (1833), Mr. Parsons
and his family settled permanently in Russia
township, upon a part of the farm now occupied by
Lott Parsons died the same fall, his untimely
death casting a gloom over his family, which it took
many subsequent years to efface. But his widow
and her children possessed the sterling qualities
that have made their native land famous in the ages
of the past, - fortitude and a hardihood that defy
reverses. The brought the requisite amount of
industry and stern practical economy to bear upon
their unfortunate situation, and succeeded in
establishing a comfortable home, where the head of
the family had cast their lot.
On the 18th of October, 1844, Mrs. Parsons died,
but not before she had seen the fruits of her own
and her children's battle with adversity, with the
apparent assurance of victory.
On the 25th of December, 1851, Lott Parsons and
Catharine E. Kendeigh were united in
marriage. She was born in Amherst, Jan. 5,
1826. They had six children, namely: Frank
S., born Nov. 1, 1852, married Cornelia
Sherman, of Henrietta, now resides in
North Amherst; Mary A., born Jul. 4, 1854,
(deceased); Willie E., born Jan. 19, 1858;
Viola E., born May 1, 1860; John G., born
Jan. 4, 1863; Henry C., born Apr. 17, 1870.
It can be truly said of Mr. Parsons, that he has
done as much toward the material devolopment
of Russia township as any man now residing therein.
He has cleared as much of its wild land as any, and
in the way of scientific investigation and
utilization of its resources, stands pre-eminently
ahead of all. About ten years ago, he put to
practical uses the gas that exists in large
quantities on his farm, particularly showing itself
in a well that he sunk years ago. He now has
gas all over his house, and in the summer, his good
wife uses it for cooking and other household
purposes. His sitting room is heated by it,
through the medium of an ingeniously contrived
stove, of his own invention.
A remarkable feature about Mr. Parsons, when we
consider the fact that he never received even the
rudiments of an education, is his general and varied
knowledge, especially of the science of geology.
In this particular branch of learning, he excels
almost any man, not of classical and scientific
education. While a youth, toiling for his
daily bread, and for the maintenance of his widowed
mother, at ten dollars per month, he would borrow
books, and in the quiet of the night, while others
slumbered, he would study.
His farm buildings, - of which an illustration,
together with portraits of himself and wife, appears
on another page of this volume, - show how, little
by little, he has added thereto. He now owns,
in all, one hundred and fifty acres of land, and is
considered one of the substantial practical farmers
of his township. His perseverance and
industry, coupled with an unflinching personal
honesty, are chief characteristics, and the main
factors to his success.
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page 197 |
 |
WM PATTERSON
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page |
|
Brownhelm -
COLONEL ELISHA FRANKLIN PECK.
Col. Elisha Franklin Peck, the fifth
child of Elisha Peck and Milicent Byington,
was born at Old Stockbridge, Mass., May 25, 1806.
Elisha Peck, a
descendant of Deacon Paul Peck, of
Hartford, Conn., was born at Berlin, Conn., Mar. 7,
1773.
In the year 1817, Elisha Peck came to this
country and made a selection of lands, and erected a
log cabin in the town of Brownhelm, Lorain Co.,
Ohio, which at that time was an unbroken wilderness,
after which he returned for his family, consisting
of a wife and ten children; and the year following
made a permanent settlement, arriving No. 12, 1818.
No furniture was in possession of the family, and a
bedstead was improvised for the older members of
the family the first night of their stay in the then
far West, the children sleeping on the floor.
Mr. Peck's purchase amounted to four hundred and
fifty acres.
Col. E. F. Peck
remained with his father until he was twenty-one
years of age, and in the month of August following
started out in life for himself, with forty acres of
land as a gift from his father; and the same year
started for Old Stockbridge, Mass., the old home, to
attend school, but was taken sick at Buffalo, N. Y.,
while working on the harbor. He went to an
uncle's in Orleans Co., N. Y., and remained four
months. He then returned to Brownhelm, having
abandoned the idea of attending school in
Massachusetts, and purchased the interests of
several members of the family in the estate of his
father, and has since added materially to his
possessions.
He was married, July 3, 1833, to Sally Ann,
daughter of Abishua Morse. This
union resulted in the birth of four children, whose
names are as follows: Ann Milicent, Lydia
Marianne, Henry Franklin, and William Elisha,
all of whom are living except Henry F., who
died Feb. 4, 1864, at his father's house.
Col. Peck, now
seventy-three years of age, is still vigorous and
active, and only last fall (1878) plowed and
prepared the soil for ten acres of wheat. He
has cleared over two hundred acres of heavy timbered
land. His physique even now proves the
advantage of a life of sobriety, industry, and
uprightness. His only education was obtained
by giving one day of labor for one day of
instruction in the elementary branches. Its
practical benefits to himself and family are evinced
by his success in life, financially and morally.
In politics, Col. Peck has always been a
Democrat, with which party he is prominently
identified, and a working member. He is
earnest, even zealous in the advocacy of his
convictions, and no matter what others may think as
to the facts at issue, HE IS SINCERE.
From 1857 until 1861 he was postmaster at Brownhelm,
the proceeds of the office going to his poor
neighbors.
Prior to the late civil
war, and during the old militia days, Mr. Peck
joined an Ohio regiment, in which he became popular,
both as a genial comrade and an able military
commander, and passed through the several
grades, from private in the ranks to that of
colonel, being regimental commander when mustered
out of service.
Ann M. Peck, eldest daughter of Col. E. F.
Peck married H. IO. Allen, Jan. 1, 1865.
He died Nov. 17, 1869. Lydia M., second
daughter, married Geo. P. Deyo, Sept. 13,
1871. William E. married Lena S.
Smith, Dec. 28, 1871.
Source: History of Lorain
County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia: William Brothers
- 1879 - Page 220a |
Wm. W. Penfield
Residence
and
Mr. & Mrs. Truman Penfield.
Penfield Tp.,
Lorain Co., Ohio |
TRUMAN
PENFIELD. Prominently identified with
the material progress and development of Penfield
township, and among its most respectable citizens,
was Truman Penfield. Removing to
Penfield nearly sixty years ago, he was one of the
pioneers of the township, and became one of its most
substantial business men, as well as among its best
practical farmers. He not only witnessed the
transition of a sparsely settled region into a
prosperous and flourishing locality, from an
uncultivated wilderness to a highly fertile and
productive agricultural township, but by his
industry, energy and thrift, did much toward to
consummation of these various and beneficial
improvements.
Truman Penfield was born at Fairfield,
Connecticut, Oct. 4, 1789, and died at Penfield,
Ohio, Apr. 20, 1868. He was the son of
Lewis Penfield who was born Mar. 26, 1765.
He married Adah Beardslee, Jan. 22, 1789.
In 1802 they removed to Harpersfield, Delaware
county, New York, where they became respectable
citizens.
Truman Penfield was married to Ruth Ann
Scoville, May 10, 1814. The fruits of this
union were: Samuel S., born July 13,
1818, in Harpersfield, New York; married Permelia
Dayton, Sept. 23, 1839; resides in Penfield.
Jane A., born Aug. 27, 1839; resides in
Penfield, Ohio; was graduated from the Oberlin
Collegiate Institute (ladies' course of 1847); in
the following year, Aug. 15, 1848, was married to
Judge A. W. Hendry of Sandusky, Ohio, where they
have since resided.
Mrs. Ruth A. Penfield died Dec. 5, 1824.
For his second wife, Mr. Penfield married
Maria Dayton, of Harpersfield, New York, in
September, 1825. The children of this second
marriage were: Maria, born Aug. 22,
1828; married Hiram Smith, Sept. 18, 1851;
they reside at Flint, Michigan.
William Wirt Penfield was born June 29, 1831;
and Nov. 22d, 1854, was married to Martha,
daughter of Jedidiah Gaylord, of Penfield.
He (William W.) has always lived upon the
homestead farm at Penfield center, where he was
born. In 1872, he removed the old farm house
and built a new one, in modern style, an
illustration of which, with portraits, adorns
another page of our work. He is extensively
engaged in raising improved breeds of cattle, with
which the old farm is well stocked. In
addition to his agricultural pursuits, he is quite
largely interested in the manufacture of lumber, he
being the owner of a capacious and well
furnished steam saw mill located at the center.
He occupies a leading position in his township, and
in his life and character has admirably typified
what well directed energy, perseverance and industry
will accomplish.
Truman Penfield, third and last child of
Truman and Maria (Dayton) Penfield, was born
Aug. 3, 1833; married Sarah, daughter of
Levi Gaylord, Mar. 20, 1857. He now
occupies the position of general ticket and
passenger agent for the Hannibal & St. Joseph
Railroad Company, and resides at Hannibal, Missouri.
The character for personal integrity and high moral
worth which the Penfield family have
always maintained, is so well known to the residents
of Lorain county that anything of a laudatory nature
from us, in this respect, would be superfluous.
The desire to improve the locality where he cast his
lot nearly sixty years ago, was one of the strongly
marked traits of Truman Penfield. His
son has done much toward beautifying the homestead,
and in adding many improvements, which his father
would have done had he lived a few years longer.
They have certainly, between them, made Penfield
center a delightful as well as a beautiful hamlet,
which, in future years, shall remain a monument to
their enterprise.
Source:
History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia:
William Brothers - 1879 - page 305 |
William H. Phillips, Esq. |
WILLIAM
H. PHILLIPS, ESQ. Among the few
surviving pioneers of Eaton township, none ante-date
the arrival of 'Squire Phillips.
It is nearly fifty-three years since he settled in
Eaton, and with the exception of a few years'
absence, has continued to reside where he now lives
during that period. William H. Phillips
was born in Greene county, New York, Sept. 17, 1809.
He is the son of Henry and Abigail (Finch)
Phillips, the former of whom was born in
Connecticut, on the 9th of June, 1786, the latter in
the same State, Oct. 12, 1784. The family is
of Anglo-German descent, and combines the sturdiness
of the former with the frugality of the latter, in
their character. On the 26h of October, 1826,
William H. Phillips removed to Ohio and
settled in Eaton township, Lorain county, upon the
place he now lives and has almost ever since
occupied. He married Maria Slater, Nov.
10, 1839. She died Jan. 16, 1868. They
had six children, namely: William A., Letitia
(deceased), Edgar A., who was shot July 9,
1864, near Martinsburg, Virginia, while serving his
country as a soldier, Corda C., and Lena
M. Phillips. Mr. Phillips is a
republican, and has been honored with nearly every
township office, notably those of assessor, which he
held over twenty years, and justice of the peace for
fifteen years at the completion of his present
term. He honestly performs the duties of his
office, and gives genera satisfaction in the same.
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page 206 |
Hutson N. Poppleton |
HUSTON N. POPPLETON [Elyria]
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page 147 |
Chauncey Prindle |
CHAUNCEY PRINDLE
Source: History of Lorain County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia: William Brothers - 1879 - page |
NOTES: |
