BIOGRAPHIES
COMMEMORATIVE
BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
OF THE COUNTIES OF
HURON AND LORAIN, OHIO
CONTAINING
Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens
and of Many of the Early Settled Families
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO
J. H. BEERS & CO.
1894
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C. H. JACKSON.
Among the prosperous and most respected of the
representative, native-born agriculturists of Eaton
township, is to be found this gentleman. He is
a son of Barnabus and Martha (Farnham) Jackson,
and first saw the light of day in 1851.
Barnabus Jackson, father of subject, was born in
Maine, whence when young he came to Liverpool,
Medina Co., Ohio, with his parents, Abel and
Sarah Jackson, who were also natives of Maine.
He married in Portage county, Ohio, Miss Martha
Farnham, who was born in that county, near
Ravenna, and for some time thereafter they lived in
Medina county, where he conducted a sawmill.
Later he followed building and contracting in
Grafton township, Lorain county, and among the
buildings he put up may be mentioned the roundhouse
and two hotels. In 1853 he moved to Eaton
township, same county, and bought an improved farm
from Ira B. Morgan, where he passed the rest
of his days in agricultural pursuits, dying Aug. 8,
1889. He was a Republican, originally a Whig,
and served his township as trustee; during the dark
days of the war of the Rebellion he gave all the
assistance in his power to preserve the Union.
His own parents died, the father in Iowa, the mother
in Eaton township, Lorain county, aged eighty-nine
years. To Mr. and Mrs. Barnabas Jackson
were born seven children, all of whom are yet
living, viz.: Ellen wife of Albert
Bingham, of Eaton township; C. H., our
subject; Sarah, wife of Charles Kettner,
of Cleveland; Frederick Henry married to
Celia Nichols, and residing in Cleveland;
Andrew, married, and living in Eaton township;
Byron W., married to Blanche Nichols
and living in Cleveland; and James E.,
married to Sarah Aubrey, also in Cleveland.
The mother of this family is yet living on the old
homestead.
C. H. Jackson, whose name opens this sketch,
received his elementary education at the schools of
Eaton township, which was supplemented with a two
years' attendance at Oberlin College. He was
reared to agricultural pursuits, but in early life
turned his attention to the manufacture of cheese,
which industry he carried on in Ridgeville township,
Lorain county, some thirteen years; he was also
interested in a cheese factory in Eaton township.
In 1881 he purchased an improved farm of 125 acres
in Eaton township, where he has since resided,
carrying on general farming.
In 1877 Mr. Jackson was united in marriage, in
Berea, Ohio, with Miss Eva E. Emmons, a
native of Columbia township, Lorain county, daughter
of Francis and Cordelia (Smith) Emmons, of
Connecticut, and pioneers of Columbia township,
Lorain county; the mother is deceased, the father
yet living. To this union has been born one
child - Grace G. In his political
associations Mr. Jackson is a Republican,
and for five years served as township trustee; in
1888 he was elected a justice of the peace.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 1193 |
| |
DANIEL JACKSON - SEE
JAMES JACKSON
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 796 |
| |
ELISHA JACKSON,
one of the earliest and best-known pioneer citizens
of Penfield township, was born Oct. 8, 1818, in
Champion, Jefferson Co., New York.
Our subject received his education in the common
schools of the period, attending whenever possible,
as he took more pleasure in study than in play, and
was a very apt scholar. when but a young man
he entered the employ of a man named Poole,
who made fanning mills, while engaged in this
displaying considerable liking and natural ability
for carpentry, and later working at the business in
Philadelphia, Jefferson county, N. Y. He
remained in his native county until 1841, when he
started for the then Far West, proceeding first to
Sacket's Harbor, where he took the boat for
Lewiston, thence traveling by stage-coach to Niagara
Falls. From the latter place he came to
Buffalo on the first railroad he had ever seen, and
there took the lake boat for Cleveland, his
destination being Penfield, Lorain Co., Ohio, where
his eldest brother, Pliny resided.
Having missed the stage coach to Elyria, and having
but a few dollars with him, not sufficient to hire a
private conveyance, he walked from Cleveland to
Penfield, arriving there June 3. Here he
worked at his old occupation, the manufacture of
fanning mills, meantime making his home with his
brother until July 4, 1843, when he married Miss
Eleanor A. Rowland. she was born Nov. 22,
1820, in Oneida county, N. Y., daughter of Joel
and Lucy (Wood) Rowland, farming people, and was
in Penfield township on a visit to her sister.
For a short time after his marriage Mr. Jackson
lived in Penfield township, then removed to
Pittsfield township, where he bought land, and later
took up his residence in Monroe, Mich., where he was
employed as patternmaker in a foundry, his knowledge
of carpentry being sufficient to enable him to
perform such work. After four years he
returned to Penfield township, Lorain Co., Ohio,
locating on his present farm, for which he had
previously negotiated. At that time a dense
forest covered the land, on which no improvements
whatever had been made, and all the clearing on the
tract. 137 acres in extent, has been done
either by him and under his direction.
To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have been born children
as follows: Joel R., a farmer of
Penfield township, who was first married to Mary
Bradstock, by whom he had two sons - Harley
(now deceased) and Judson C. (the
mother of these died and he was married, for his
second wife, to her sister Lydia); Charles
E., farmer of Penfield; Charille H.,
deceased wife of John Bradstock; Lucy,
wife of Horace Palmer, now of Penfield;
Milo T., a farmer of Penfield, who has four
children - Oa Eveline, Altha Leona, Margaret
Irene and Carl; and Sally E.,
residing with her parents. With the exception
of the time spent in working at his trade, Mr.
Jackson has given his attention to farming.
He and his wife have seen great changes in this
section of the country; panthers, bears, deer,
wolves, turkeys, and other wild animals which once
abounded have now disappeared from the region; the
dense forest has given place to smiling farms; and
the rude hut which first sheltered the family is now
supplanted by a substantial brick residence.
Mr. Jackson has performed much arduous labor
in his day, and by his untiring energy and industry
has amassed a very comfortable competency. On
July 4 1893, he and his wife celebrated their
"golden wedding," an occasion which will ever been
remembered by those present. In his political
preferences our subject has been a Republican since
1856, prior to which time he was an ardent Whig,
casting his first Presidential vote for William
H. Harrison. He takes a lively interest in
the success of his party and while not an
office-seeker, has served several terms as township
trustee, with credit to himself and satisfaction to
his constituents.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 1196 |
| |
ERNEST S. JACKSON,
county surveyor for Lorain county,
having his residence Elyria, was born July 24, 1861,
in Avon township, Lorain Co., Ohio.
His father, Ezra S. Jackson, born in 1816, in
New York State, came to Ohio in 1834, settling in
Avon township, where he has since remained, with the
exception of a three-years’ residence in Oberlin,
where he was educating; his children, he married
Miss Cordelia Moon, who was born in Avon
township, Lorain county, in 1826, and children as
follows were born to them: Lillie, wife of
H. A. Kinney, of Milwaukee, Wis.; Jennie,
wife of R. E. Loveland, of Freeport, Ill.;
Lena, at home; and Ernest S. The
parents are yet living, hale and hearty, in Avon
township; they are members of the Methodist Church,
and in politics Mr. Jackson is a Republican.
Ernest S. Jackson, whose name opens this sketch,
received a liberal education at the common schools
of the vicinity of his place of birth, and he
developed a natural talent for mathematics. He
was reared on his father's farm, but in youth turned
his attention to civil engineering, making a study
of the practical part of the profession at Akron,
Ohio, and he did his first surveying work in Lorain
county. In November, 1892, he was elected, on
the Republican ticket, county surveyor of Lorain
county, a position he tills with eminent ability and
the utmost satisfaction. Mr. Jackson
was married to Miss Sylvia Moon (in no
way related to his mother’s family), and they have
three children, to wit: Roy, Leon and
Herbert. The family are adherents of
the M. E. Church, and socially Mr. Jackson
is a member of the F. & A. M. and the Chapter.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 1080 |
| |
EZRA S. JACKSON,
for nearly three-score years a resident of Avon
township, whither he had come in 1837, is a native
of New York state, born in Herkimer county in 1816.
He is a son of John and Patience (Payne) Jackson,
also a New York State, where the father, who was a
farmer, died in 1863; he had served in the war of
1812. His widow came to Avon township, Lorain
county, and spent the remainder of her life at the
home of her son Ezra S. Jackson, dying in
1876. She had another son, R. P., who
came here in 1837, but removed to Michigan in 1863,
and died there in 1864.
The subject of these lines received a liberal education
at the schools of Herkimer and Cattaraugus counties,
N. Y., and in the latter county learned carpentry,
which he followed several years. In 1837, he
came to Avon township, and erected many buildings in
both Lorain and Huron counties, after which he
engaged in the business of millwright. In
December, 1844, Mr. Jackson was married to
Miss Cordelia Q. Moon, a native of Avon
township, daughter of Abraham and Theresa
(Durand) Moon, early settlers of Avon township,
Lorain county, where they died. Four children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, the
following being a brief record of same; Theresa,
wife of H. A. Kenney, lives in Wisconsin;
Jennie is the wife of R. E. Loveland,
superintendent of schools at Lodi, Wis.; Ernest
S., married, is county surveyor and resides in
Elyria; and Lena is living at home. In
1845 our subject settled on his present farm of 117
acres prime land in Avon township, which he improved
from the primeval forest. In his political
sympathies he was originally a Whig, later, on the
organization of the party, a stanch Republican; he
served his township as trustee, and has been a
justice of the peace. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson
are members of the M. E. Church, in which he is
steward.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 767 |
George Jackson |
GEORGE
JACKSON. This gentleman, who enjoys the
distinction of being the most extensive and
prosperous agriculturist of Penfield township, is
deserving of more than a passing notice in the pages
of this work.
He is a great-grandson of Reuben Jackson, and a
grandson of Daniel, who was born in 1775 in
Pittsfield, Mass., where he learned the blacksmith's
trade under his father. Daniel was
married in his native State to Patty Kellogg,
who was born in Pittsfield in 1785, and while
residing in Massachusetts three children were born
to them, as follows: Jane, who married
Harvey Birdseye, and died at the age of
eight-four years in Trenton, Oneida Co., N. Y.;
Pliny, father of our subject; and Sally,
who married William Gillett, and died in
Penfield, Ohio, when aged thirty-six years.
Between 1823 and 1815 the family removed west to
Jefferson county, N. Y., and bought the farm whereon
the parents passed the remaining years of their
lives, the father engaging chiefly in agriculture,
although he also followed his trade to some extent.
In New York State were born the following named
children: Susan, the wife of William
Chapman, who died in Chicago at an advanced age;
Maria who married Ferdinand Turnicliff,
and died in Pittsfield, Ohio; Elisha, a
farmer of Penfield township, Lorain county; Jason
a farmer, who died in Champion, Jefferson Co., N.
Y.; Daniel who also died in Champion, N. Y.;
James, a farmer of Penfield township, Lorain
Co., Ohio; Charille who married Hiram
Hopkins, and died in Wellington, Ohio; Jesse
late a farmer of Humboldt county, Iowa, where he
died Nov. 29, 1893; and Belah, who died after
reaching adult age, in Champion, Jefferson Co., N.
Y. Mr. Jackson was a very successful
farmer. He was a man of wonderful vitality,
active and capable of performing a hard day's work
to the very end of his life; he died suddenly, while
chopping wood, in his eighty-fourth year. He
frequently remarked that he did not know what it was
to feel tired. In politics he was an Old-line
Whig, a stanch member of the party. His wife
died at the age of ninety-three years, and now lies
buried by his side in Champion cemetery; they were
devout members of the Old-school Presbyterian
Church, and he was a man so highly respected,
esteemed and loved everywhere, that it could almost
be said he had not an enemy in the world.
PLINY JACKSON, father of subject,
was born, in 1806, in Jefferson county, N. Y., near
Carthage, was educated at the common schools and
reared to farming pursuits. When a young man
he was married, near Ogensburg, N. Y., to Miss
Sarah Rowlin who born him two children in New
York State, viz.: Jane, now Mrs. Henry
Reynolds of LaGrange, Ohio, and Martha,
wife of Eli Griffith, also of LaGrange.
In the early spring of 1835 the family set out for
Ohio with a sled, drawn by oxen, which the snow
having in the meantime melted, stuck in a deep mud
hole, and they had to hire another yoke of oxen to
drag out the sled. Pliny Jackson had
previously visited Ohio, prospecting for land, but
made no definite purchase. They landed in
Penfield township, Lorain county, after a long and
tedious journey, and here the father traded his
oxen, sled and the entire outfit for 120 acres of
wild land, the same our subject now owns and lives
on. Here they made a clearing, built a log
house, and set to work to make further improvements
on their new home. The nearest neighbor was on
the opposite side of the road from the Jacksons,
while the next nearest was three miles distant.
Game was plentiful, and the family larder was always
well provided with venison, wild turkey, pheasants,
quail, rabbits, etc. By and by Mr. Jackson
added to this property 121 acres adjoining.
Here were born to Pliny Jackson and his wife
children as follows: George, our
subject; Alonzo, who died at the age of
twenty-five; Malissa, now Mrs. William
Snow of Oakland, Cal.; Harriet, Mrs. Ed.
Rockwood; and Eliza, who died of smallpox
when young. he father in after years moved
into Wellington village, thence to LaGrange, where
he died; for several years he had been a sufferer
from rheumatism. His wife survived him a few
years, dying at the home of her daughter, Mrs.
Griffith. They were buried in Pittsfield
township cemetery, near the farm whereon they had
first settled. Mr. Jackson was a
hard-working, industrious man, and a leading farmer
of his day, in his political proclivities a stanch
Democrat.
George Jackson, the subject proper of this
sketch, was born July 6, 1835, on the farm he now
owns and lives on in Pittsfield township, Lorain
county. He received a liberal education at the
schools of the neighborhood, which in those early
days of the county were most primitive in their
furnishings and educational facilities. On his
father's farm he was thoroughly trained to the
arduous duties of farm life, and agricultural
pursuits in all phases have been his life work.
In August, 1861, he married Miss Mercy Hoxley,
of Summit county, Ohio, where she was born in 1840,
and children as follows were the result of this
union: Arthur, of LaGrange; Alonzo, of
Penfield; Eliza, Mrs. Ford Gott, of
LaGrange; William of Penfield township;
Frances, who is married to Frank Bradstock,
of Penfield, and Bernice, who died young.
The mother of these died Oct. 21, 1873, and
lies buried in Pittsfield cemetery. In Sept.
1874, Mr. Jackson married, for his second
wife, Miss Frances E. Hull, who was born in
Penfield township, Lorain county, a daughter of
Joel and Polly (Huxley) Hull, and four children
have come to this marriage, all yet living and named
respectively: Mabel, Jay,, Ernest and
Sylvester.
Mr. Jackson may truly be said to be a
representative self-made man, as from small
beginnings, by dint of indefatigable energy, coupled
with sound judgment, good management and unsurpassed
financiering, he has attained a comfortable
competence. He now owns 431 acres of prime
farm land, well equipped with commodious buildings,
is a thoroughly practical as well as theoretical
agriculturist, and is an excellent judge of stock.
Democratic in politics, he has held various township
offices in a strongly republican community, and he
has proven himself as capable as he is popular.
For a few years the family lived in the town of
Wellington, in order that the children might there
be educated.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 1082 |
| |
JAMES JACKSON,
who for the past half century has been actively
identified with the agricultural interests of Lorain
county, Ohio, was born Oct. 5, 1816, in Champion,
Jefferson county, New York.
He is a grandson of Reuben Jackson, and son of
DANIEL, who was
born in 1775 in Pittsfield, Mass., where he learned
the blacksmith’s trade under his father. He
was married in his native State to Patty
Kellogg, who was born in Pittsfield in 1785, and
while residing in Massachusetts three children were
born to them, as follows: Jane, who married
Harvy Birdseye, died in Trenton,
Oneida Co., N. Y., when aged eighty-four years;
Pliny, born in 1806; and Sally, who
married William Gillett, and died at
the age of thirty-six in Penfield, Ohio.
Between 1812 and 1815 the family removed west to
Jefferson county, N. Y., and bought the farm whereon
the parents passed the remaining years of their
lives, the father engaging chiefly in agriculture,
although he also followed his trade to some extent.
In New York State were born the following named
children: Susan, who married William
Chapman, and died in Chicago at an advanced
age; Maria, who married Ferdinand
Turnicliff, and died in Pittsfield, Ohio;
Jason, a farmer, who died in Champion, Jefferson
Co., N. Y.; Daniel, also deceased in
Champion, N. Y.; James, the subject of this
sketch; Charille, who married Hiram
Hopkins, and died in Wellington, Ohio; Jesse,
a farmer of Humboldt county, Iowa; and Belah,
who died after reaching adult age in Champion,
Jefferson Co., N. Y. Mr. Jackson was a
very successful farmer. He was a man of
wonderful vitality, active and capable of performing
a hard day’s work to the very end of his life; he
died suddenly, while chopping wood, in his
eighty-fourth year. He frequently remarked
that he did not know what it was to feel tired.
In politics he was an Old-line Whig, a stanch member
of the party. His wife died at the age of
ninety-three years, and lies buried by his side in
Champion cemetery; they were devout members of the
Old-school Presbyterian Church, and he was a man so
highly respected, esteemed and loved everywhere,
that it could almost be said he had not an enemy in
the world.
James Jackson attended the common
schools, but in his youth cared so little for study
that he preferred to stay at home and assist with
the duties on the farm. His first knowledge of
agriculture was obtained under his father on the
home place, where he remained until he was
twenty-five years of age. In June, 1843, he
set out for Ohio, traveling, on the first railroad
he ever saw, to Buffalo, where he took passage on a
lake boat for Black River (now Lorain), Lorain
county, his destination being Pittsfield, Lorain
county, where he had a brother-in-law, named
Turnicliff, with whom he resided for some time.
Then, in company with his brother Daniel, he
purchased an interest in a tract of fifteen acres in
Pittsfield township, which, after many days of hard
labor, clearing and preparing the land, which was
all in the woods, they sowed to wheat; but just a
few weeks before harvest time a heavy frost
destroyed the crops, and eighteen months of labor
were lost. On Feb. 10, 1848, our subject was
united in marriage with Miss Jael K. Coats,
who was born Jan. 22, 1819, in the town of Amherst,
Erie Co., N. Y., daughter of Josiah and Dianthe
(Harmon) Coats, who came to Ohio in 1836,
locating first in Clarksfield, Huron county, and
later removing to New London township, same county,
where the parents died and were buried. After
marriage Mr. Jackson took up his home
in a small frame house, 18x22, which he had erected,
and there resided until 1859, when he came to
Penfield township, and purchased, from David
Curtice, 114 acres of land, which then
contained no improvements but a log house and barn.
Here he has since resided, and he has cultivated and
improved the land, and put up all the farm buildings
thereon, as well as a comfortable residence, which
was erected in 1873. Having had but little
assistance in life, his present prosperity is all
the direct result of his own efforts. In his
political preferences he was originally an Old-line
Whig, casting his first vote for William H.
Harrison, and is now a stanch member of the
Republican party, never missing an election, though
he is not an active politician. In religious
matters he is a member of the U. B. Church, his wife
of the M. E. Church, with which she united in 1838.
Mr. and Mrs. Jackson are the parents of
children as follows: Albert K., a resident of
Curtice, Ottawa Co., Ohio; Sally, who died
young; Antoinette, who died at the age of
twenty-one years; Charles E., of Farnam,
Dawson Co., Neb., a carpenter by trade; and Emma
L. (at home) and Amy E. (Mrs.
August Griffis, of Farnam, Neb.), twins.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 796 |
| |
WILLIAM JAMESON,
a native born farmer citizen of Avon township, is a
son of Joseph B. and Avis (Smith) Jameson,
the father a native of New Hampshire, the mother of
Massachusetts, where they were married. In
1824 they came to Lorain county, Ohio, settling in
the woods of Avon township, where they opened up a
farm and made a permanent home. Mr. Jameson
died in 1834, and Mr. Jameson subsequently
married Miss Mary Horr, who died in Avon
township in 1893; to that union were born four
children, of whom M. B., the only survivor,
resides in Avon township.
William Jameson, whose name opens this memoir,
was born in 1824, in Avon township, where he was
reared, and received his elementary education in the
common schools, supplemented by one term at Norwalk.
He taught school for seven winters in Lorain and
Cuyahoga counties, since when he has chiefly engaged
in farming. In 1849 he located on a farm in
Sheffield township, which is now known as Randall's
Grove, and first built a log cabin thereon, which
was afterward supplanted by a frame house. On
that place he resided for sixteen years, improving
the land, and then, in 1865, bought an improved farm
of 102½ acres in Avon
township, to which he himself has made many new
improvements, and where he has since been
successfully engaged in general farming; at one time
he worked on this farm for twelve dollars per month.
In 1852 Mr. Jameson was married, in
Birmingham, Erie county, to Miss Laura Lamore
who was a native of LaGrange township, Lorain
county, and the adopted daughter of Dr. Beaman,
an early settler of French Creek. Mrs.
Laura Jameson died in 1859, leaving one child,
Clyde Burton who is married and has two
children: Everett E. and Norris
Morey; he resides in Buffalo, N. Y. In
1859 our subject wedded, for his second wife,
Miss Delia F. Stephens, who was born in
Berkshire county, Mass., daughter of
Benjamin and Lovicia (Foote) Stephens, both
natives of Massachusetts and early settlers of Avon
township, where they died. To this union was
also born one child, George Chauncey, who
graduated from the Philadelphia Medical University,
class of 1893, and is now located at Oberlin, Ohio.
His mother died in 1887. In politics Mr.
Jameson is a Republican, and has served as
assessor of Sheffield township. In religious
faith he is a member of the Baptist Church at French
Creek.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the
counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 1136 |
| |
ADELBERT C. JOHNSON -
See
JOHN H. JOHNSON Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 581 |
| |
DAVID D. JOHNSON
(deceased), who in his lifetime was one of the
prominent and well-known citizens of Elyria
township, was a native of England, born Dec. 2,
1829.
When an infant of nine months his parents set sail for
the New World, but on the voyage the father died,
and found a grave in the broad Atlantic, there to
lie ‘‘till the sea shall give up its dead.”
The widowed mother continued on with her little
family to Lorain county, Ohio, making a settlement
in Avon township, where our subject was reared and
educated, he followed farming pursuits all his life,
and was prosperous. On Jan. 11, 1887, he
passed from earth in his fifty- eighth year.
On Nov. 15, 1860, Mr. Johnson married
Mary E. Fowls, who was born, reared and educated
in Amherst township, Lorain Co., Ohio. After
marriage they resided in Elyria township,. same
county, several years, and then came to Elyria,
where they owned a good farm of seventy-five acres,
highly cultivated land. Mr. Johnson
spent seven years in the West. He was an
ardent Republican. Upright in character and of
sound integrity, he was honored and respected by
all. He had one son, M. B. Johnson, who
was educated in Elyria and at Oberlin College, Ohio,
from which latter he returned to Elyria, at the high
school of which city he graduated. He then
read law under Metcalf & Webber, and
in 1884 was admitted to the bar, after which he
located in Cleveland, where he has since enjoyed a
lucrative practice. He married Miss Mary E.
Laundon, of Elyria, Ohio, and two children -
David Laundon and Arthur Earnest -
have been born to them.
After leaving Oberlin Female Seminary, where she had
finished her education, Mrs. Mary E.
Johnson taught school in Lorain county (Black
River township), afterward in Angola, Steuben Co.,
Ind., and in Mendon, St. Joseph Co., Mich., both in
private and public schools. She is a daughter
of Godfrey and Sarah (Gardiner) Fowls, who
were natives of Germany, where they were married.
In 1828 they came to the United States and to Ohio,
locating in what is now the very center of the city
of Cleveland, and afterward coming to Amherst
township, Lorain county, where they passed the
remainder of their busy lives on their farm, the
father dying at the age of eighty-eight years, eight
years, the mother at the age of sixty-nine.
They were the parents of ten children, all of whom
grew to maturity.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 879 |
 |
HON. E. G. JOHNSON
was born in LaGrange, Lorain Co.,
Ohio, Nov. 24, 1836. His father, Hon.
Nathan P. Johnson, removed from Jefferson
county, N. Y., to LaGrange in 1833. The
township was then sparsely settled with pioneers,
mostly from the same State, living in rudely
constructed log cabins, and diligently engaged in
clearing away the primeval forest that surrounded
their hospitable dwellings. Here he labored
with ceaseless energy to transform the wild woods
into fruitful fields, and with undaunted courage met
the many vicissitudes incident to a pioneer’s life.
His intelligence, high sense of honor, and zeal in
all good works won the highest regard of all who
knew him, and called him to occupy places of trust
and honor in after years. He was three times
elected to represent his county and district, in the
General Assembly, serving two years in the House of
Representatives and two in the Senate. He died
in 1874, and the memory of his noble character will
long be cherished.
It was surrounded by such influences and under such
salutary home instruction that the son E. G.
grew up to manhood before leaving the parental roof.
In early boyhood he began to display the diligence
and application that have characterized his
subsequent life, and all his leisure moments were
spent in willing efforts to aid his honored parents
in bearing the burden of founding a home for the
family, with no means except their strong arms.
These efforts were not relaxed as years added to his
strength and the desire for study trenched upon his
hours for labor. In those pioneer days schools
were not what they now are, and boys of sufficient
age to perform farm labor were often deprived of the
poor facilities afforded for instruction. Not
so with the children of pioneer Johnson.
He not only labored extra hours to enable his two
sons to attend the winter school, hut taught them at
his own log cabin fireside the rudiments of the
common branches and the sterling virtues that form
the basis of a well-ordered life. Although
hampered by the want of better opportunities, the
young lad early manifested a desire to acquire more
of the hidden treasures found in the books, and was
granted the privilege of attending the winter school
at Oberlin, a few terms, which he improved with
willing ardor. Thus, between hard labor upon
the farm and diligent use of leisure hours in study,
he acquired sufficient knowledge to become a teacher
before he attained his majority.
When of legal age he did not lose his love for this
employment of his youth, nor his affection for his
parents whose welfare was ever his earnest desire,
but spent some time alternately engaged in farm
labor, study and teaching. During this time he
commenced the study of law under the tutelage of
L. A. Sheldon, Esq., who was his townsman, and
who subsequently distinguished himself as a General
in the Union Array, Member of Congress from
Louisiana, and Governor of New Mexico. In due
time he received a certificate of admission to the
bar, in Columbus, and opened an office in his native
town.
At the age of twenty-one years he was elected justice
of the peace, and held that office with entire
approbation of the people for ten consecutive years.
Devoting all his leisure time to mental rather than
pecuniary gain, he had but little opportunity in the
quiet township of LaGrange to lay by a store for the
increasing wants of his family, and in 1868, on the
petition of nearly all the voters in the township,
regardless of party affiliation, he consented to
stand for the office of county auditor. He was
nominated at the convention that soon followed,
receiving twenty-eight majority on the first ballot,
against a strong opponent. He was elected with
great unanimity for four successive terms, but in
1876 he resigned, and has since devoted his energies
to his professional duties with ever-increasing
success and popularity. During his successive
terms as auditor he was brought into official
relations with nearly every adult person in the
county, and by his courtesy, ability, unquestioned
character and integrity, he gained the confidence of
the people, which confidence, so well merited, he
has ever since retained.
Mr. Johnson has found time during the busy years
of his professional life to ably serve other
interests besides that of the law. Wedded in
youth to the pursuit of agriculture, he has never
lost his desire for the welfare of those who
cultivate the soil. He has been an active
member of the Lorain Lorain County Agricultural
Society for more than thirty years, and for thirteen
years was its. popular and efficient secretary.
For twelve years he also served as chairman of the
Republican Executive Committee, during which period
he displayed great energy in promoting the
Republican cause. He was a delegate to the
Republican Rational Convention at Chicago in 1884,
and was the Republican candidate for Congress from
the Fourteenth District of Ohio in 1892, but was
defeated. His patriotic ardor was early
enlisted in the Union cause. He was among the
first citizens of LaGrange who answered the call of
President Lincoln in 1861, and
enlisted in Company A, afterward Company I, Eighth
O. V. I., for three months. He went out as
first lieutenant, but was promoted to the rank of
captain. He re-enlisted with the major part of
his company for three years, while in Camp Dennison,
but, was rejected by the surgeon who declared him to
he physically unable to perform military duty. He
received an honorable discharge from the service,
and it was several years after his return before he
fully recovered his health.
Mr. Johnson’s career at the bar has been
one of unsullied honor and rapid advancement.
He at once took a position at the head of the bar in
Lorain county, and now ranks among the foremost in
the list of able attorneys in Northern Ohio.
He has been engaged in many important capital
criminal cases, notably his defense of John
Coughlin at Ravenna, who, with the notorious
"Blinkey” Morgan (who was convicted
and executed), was charged with the murder of
detective Hulligan. Samuel Eddy,
at that time one of the ablest lawyers of Ohio, was
associated with Mr. Johnson.
Coughlin, though at first convicted, secured a
new trial, and was finally acquitted. In more
than a dozen, other capital cases Mr.
Johnson has won a wide reputation as a
successful criminal, lawyer. He is a man of
strong convictions, forming his opinions only after
thorough investigation, and is fearless in
expressing them when once formed. In combating
the illogical theories and “isms” of those who defy
reason and the law of nature in their attempt to
correct political and social evils, he has incurred
the displeasure of a few self-constituted modern
reformers, as all men do who have the courage of
their convictions. He has loner been an active
leader in social and political reforms, and now
stands in the front ranks of the great army of true
progress. His whole life has been
characterized by an open-hearted honesty in dealing
with his fellow men, and a supreme hatred of
hypocrisy and double dealing.
Mr. Johnson has always retained his love for his
early home life and the friends and acquaintances of
his boyhood. In 1886, in company with Hon.
E. H. Hinman, he made a trip to Europe, visiting
many of the places of interest both in Great Britain
and upon the continent. Among others he
visited the famous Leaning Tower at Pisa, from which
point he wrote Hon. George G. Washburn, late
editor of the Elyria Republican, a letter in which
he recalls the memory of his boyhood home, as
follows:
After breakfast we took our guide book and
started for the leaning tower. It was hut a short
walk, and yet it seemed a mile, so greatly had our
expectations been excited. It seemed
impossible that we were to set our eyes upon that
famous column. I remember of hearing my mother
describe it, as we sat around the fire of a long
winter evening in the old log house, which, with
her, long ago crumbled into dust. Oh how times
and circumstances do change. Then as she told me the
story, thought life would be a failure unless my
eyes should behold it, and I resolved that, some day
would go and see it and come back and tell her of my
journey. Here I am at the tower, but where is
she? and where is that happy circle then complete,
and those happy days which then seemed eternal?
Memory holds them - all else is gone.
In 1887
Mr. Johnson made a trip through the West,
visiting among other places the National Park, which
lie reached by stage from Beaver Canon on the Utah
Central Railroad. It is just one hundred miles
from that point to the Park, through a wilderness.
From his stopping place on Snake river he wrote to
Mr. Washburn a letter from which is
made the following extract:
I
am stopping to-night on the banks of Snake river,
and now sitting by a stove in a log house which, if
it had a big fireplace across one end, would be
almost a copy of the one where fifty years ago I
first saw the sun-light, and where, though brief
were the years passed beneath its roof, that
sun-light began to fade. Out of the door I can
see the same waving forests, only that was of beech
and maple and whitewood and oak, while this is of
spruce and pine. This house is but just
erected, and will long years defy the ravages of
rain and frost, while that house is only one of
memory’s treasures. The voices of the good
people who have opened the doors to give us welcome
greet my ears, while along the tender chords of
memory come the sweet voices that when the days were
young made that old house the home of mirth and
happiness. As I sit here alone, fancy brings
that old log structure back out of the dust, peoples
it with the same happy throng that gathered at the
family altar and at the same table; but it is only
for a moment, for faithful memory will not let me
forget that half of those who gathered there lie in
graves which
“Are severed far and wide, by mount and stream and
sea."
Mr. Johnson's unselfish
generosity and kindness of heart are proverbial
wherever he is known, and none appeal to him for aid
in a worthy cause without receiving his mite
according to his means, regardless of color, sect or
nationality. He has always been a liberal
contributor to the support of the M. E. Church: and
on one occasion not long ago its worthy pastor, by
his invitation. accompanied him on a vacation
trip to the Rocky Mountain region, at his expense.
Many instances might be cited of like acts of
kindness, showing his characteristic regard for the
happiness of others with whom he only sustains the
relation of neighbor and friend. His great industry,
unquestioned integrity and unimpeachable moral
character have won the regard of his host of
friends, who stand high in social and religious
circles.
On Jan. 1, 1859, Mr. Johnson was married to
Lydia D. Gott, also a native of LaGrange, Ohio.
Mrs. Johnson is a woman highly
respected and esteemed wherever sire is known for
her many womanly virtues. Mr. Johnson
is yet in the prime of his usefulness, and few men
have more devoted friends to wish him success in all
his undertakings. [This sketch for the most part is
from the able pen of Hon. George G. Washburn,
late editor of the Elyria Republican. - Ed.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 574 |
| |
FRANK D. JOHNSON,
foremost in the ranks of the leading engineers in
the employ of the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad
Company, is a native of Huron county, Ohio, born
Mar. 30, 1852, a son of John H. and Elizabeth P.
(Snyder) Johnson.
Our subject received a liberal education at the
common schools of his native place, and was reared
to agricultural pursuits, working on his father's
farm until he was twenty years old. At that
time, being dissatisfied with the life of a
husbandman, he left the paternal roof and proceeding
to Cleveland entered the employ of the Atlantic &
Great Western Railroad Company, remaining ten years.
At first he fired an engine, and then was promoted
to engineer, in which capacity he has since served
with characteristic carefulness and fidelity.
Removing to Norwalk, Huron county, he at once
commenced as engineer for the Wheeling & Lake Erie
Railroad Company, his present position.
On June 17, 1876, Mr. Johnson married Miss
Sarah E. Miller, born Sept. 20, 1852, in Chester
county, Penn., and three children have come to
brighten their home, as follows: Flora V.,
Oliver E. and Edessa M. Politically
our subject is a Republican, a hearty worker in his
party, and he and his wife are members of the
Baptist Church. He is a man of magnificent
physique, standing six feet in his stockings, and
weighing 220 pounds. He is one of the oldest
and most trustworthy engineers on the road, none
more popular, and his agreeable and jovial
disposition makes him friends wherever he goes.
Socially he is a member of Norwalk Lodge K. of P.
His residence is No. 82 Prospect street, Norwalk,
Ohio.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 1009 |
| |
JOHN H. JOHNSON
(deceased), a typical self-made man, one who has
left behind a record worthy of emulation, was born
Aug. 11, 1815, in Canal township, Venango Co.,
Penn., a son of James Johnson a native of
Ireland, born May 6, 1785.
When yet a lad James Johnson came to the United
States, presumably to seek his fortune in the New
World. After landing he made his way westward
to Venango county, Penn., where in Canal township he
settled down to agricultural pursuits on a farm of
200 acres, on which in later years, long after his
death, oil was discovered. He died in
Pennsylvania, a Democrat in politics, and in
Church relationship and Old-school Presbyterian.
On Sept. 22, 1814, he married, in Venango county.
Mrs. Elizabeth Cousins (a widow), nee
Sutley, born Apr. 5, 1791, in that county, who
bore him children as follows: John H.;
Sarah A., born Mar. 24, 1821, who married
John Singleton; Robert H., born Dec. 18,
1823, died in Fulton county, Ohio; Harrison R.,
born May 18, 1825, died in Nashville, Tenn., where
he was principal of schools (he was a graduate of
Ashtabula College, Ashtabula, Ohio); and Hugh,
born June 23, 1828, a blacksmith by trade, who died
of smallpox while on a visit at his mother's house.
The mother of these, after the death of the father,
married Sylvester Knowlton, and in
course of time moved to Huron county, where she
passed from earth; she was interred in Ripley
Methodist cemetery.
John H. Johnson received such education as the
early schools of his boyhood days afforded. He
was reared on a farm up to the age of eighteen
years, and then learned the trade of blacksmith.
After completing his apprenticeship he went to
Buffalo, N. Y., working there as a journeyman until
1841, and then locating in Warren, Penn., where in
partnership with a half brother, William
Cousins, he successfully followed his trade.
Here he married Miss Elizabeth P. Snyder,
born June 1, 1823, in Penn Tan, Yates Co., N. Y., a
daughter of John and Eliza (Pierce) Snyder,
natives of Columbia and Onondaga counties, N. Y.,
respectively, and who after marriage settled in Elk
township, Warren Co., Penn. In June, 1845,
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson came to Ohio, to
Richland county, leaving their only child,
Theodosia, then two years old, in care of its
grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John Snyder (a
son, Alston, had died at the age of three
months). Their trip to Ohio was made in order to
"spy out the land," and being satisfied with it they
returned to Pennsylvania for their household effects
and his blacksmithing tools. The journeys were
made entirely by wagon, the trips occupying six days
each way. In Bloominggrove township, Richland
county, Mr. Johnson bought three town
lots, on which he built a shop and residence.
Here for a time business with him was very poor, and
to add to other causes the memorable frost of June
1, that year, damaged the wheat crop to such an
extent that the price of it ran up to three dollars
per bushel. Later, however, business improved,
and money became more plentiful. For six years
they resided at Rome, Ashtabula county, and from
Rome moved to Ripley township, Huron county, where
Mr. Johnson purchased a fifty-acre
farm, erecting thereon a “smithy,” in connection
with his dwelling, and, hiring a hand to work his
farm, personally conducted his shop, at which time
he was kept quite busy; at that time horse shoes
were split from wagon tires, and nails were made
from lighter material, all of which combined to make
work for the blacksmith much more onerous than at
the present day. Heat all times, however, had
one or more apprentices working for him, which
materially lessened his labor. Selling out his
business in Ripley, he moved with his family to
Greenwich township, having purchased seventy-four
acres of land, and moving his shop to this farm here
continued his trade until the spring of 1860, when
he came to Brighton township and located on the farm
now occupied by his son A. C. On this
he erected another shop, and continued working at
his trade till within ten days of his death, which
occurred Feb. 25, 1864, after a ten-days’ illness
from typhoid-pneumonia; his remains were interred in
Brighton cemetery. He was a stanch Democrat,
but during the later years of his life did not vote,
averring that he was of the opinion his party had
changed their principles; in matters of religion he
was a strict Presbyterian. Since his death,
his widow has continued to live at the old homestead
in Brighton township, a highly respected lady, and a
devout member of the Congregational Church.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. John H. Johnson
were as follows - born in Rome, Richland county:
Madora, now the wife of A. S. Gilson,
a photographer of Norwalk, Ohio; Orestes, of
Norwalk, in the employ of the A. B. Chase
Co.; and Adelbert C., sketch of whom follows.
Born in Ripley township; Frank D.. and
Emma O., wife of Charles A. Finley, of
Kipton, Ohio. Born in Greenwich township;
Aravilla, widow of George Harris,
and Albert, fireman on the Lake Erie &
Wheeling Railway, at Norwalk, Ohio. Born in
Brighton township: Ada, who died at the age
of seven years; Charley S., in the sawmilling
business at Rochester, Lorain county; and Eva,
deceased at the age of three months. The
eldest daughter, Theodosia, married
William Callin, and lives in Brighton
township.
ADELBERT C.
JOHNSON, a member of the firm
of Laundon, Windecker & Co.,
manufacturers of cheese, is a native of Rome, Ohio,
born Mar. 27, 1850, the fifth child and third son of
John H. and Elizabeth P. (Snyder) Johnson.
When his parents
removed to Greenwich township, Huron county, our
subject was but an infant, and he was there reared
on the home farm. With the exception of one
year during which he was fireman on the Atlantic &
Great Western Railway, he was never absent from the
parental home till his marriage, after which he
moved to Wood county, Ohio, and commenced farming on
a piece of land belonging to his father-in-law.
There he resided four years, and then returned to
Brighton township, and for four years carried on
agriculture; then went to Clarksfield, Huron county,
and worked in a cheese factory for John
Emmons, where his first ideal of the cheese
business was obtained. After about a year he
came to Brighton and embarked in the manufacturing
of cheese, at which he has ever since been engaged
as a member of the firm of Laundon,
Windecker & Co., and he is superintendent and
manager of the “Goss Factory.” On May
30. 1874. Mr. Johnson was married to
Julia A. Emmons, who was born in Brighton
township, Lorain Co., Ohio, a daughter of John
and Julia Emmons, and two children, Pearlie
and Lillie, have been born to them. Our
subject is an ardent Republican, has held township
offices in Brighton ever since his return from Wood
county, Ohio, and has served three terms as trustee;
he is now superintendent of the Lorain County
Infirmary, which position he has occupied since Nov.
1, 1893. He has an extensive acquaintance and
considerable political influence. Socially lie
is a member of the F. & A. M., at Wellington, Lorain
county.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 579 |
| |
MRS. MARY E. JOHNSON -
See
JOHN H. JOHNSON
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 579 |
| |
NATHAN P. JOHNSON - See
WILLIAM H. JOHNSON
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 962 |
| |
WILLIAM H. JOHNSON,
an enterprising agriculturist, and representative
citizen of LaGrange township, is the oldest male
representative of his father's family, which is one
of the most prominent in Lorain county. He was
born May 30, 1834, in LaGrange township, a son of
Hon. Nathan Porter and Laura (Waite) Johnson.
HON. NATHAN P. JOHNSON
was of New England stock, his parents, Stephen
and Phebe Johnson, having been born in Old
Haddam, Conn., whence in 1785 they removed to
Hartford, Washington Co., N. Y., finally in April,
1801, migrating to Champion, Jefferson Co., same
State. Nathan P. was born in Hartford,
N. Y., Jan. 30, 1801, and was, as will be seen, an
infant when his parents removed to Jefferson county.
He received but a limited education, the schools of
those early days being very primitive in their
character, but being an apt scholar, and of a bright
and studious disposition, he made wonderful
progress. In Jefferson county he was married
Oct. 20, 1822, to Miss Laura Waite, who was
born in February, 1801, in Champion, N. Y., a
daughter of Dorastus and Sally (McNitt)
Waite. While residing in New York State
the following children were born to them, their
names, dates of birth, etc., being given: Sarah
L., Sept. 14 1823, now living in LaGrange, the
widow of William F. Hubbard; William H.,
Sept. 19, 1825, died Oct. 11, 1829; Cynthia A.,
Sept. 25, 1827, wife of Charles A. Wilcox, of
LaGrange; Mary L., June 29, 1830, now the
widow of Spencer Lincoln of LaGrange; and
Phoebe M., Apr. 24, 1832, married Henry
Sterrot, and died Apr. 4, 1866. In Ohio
were born as follows: William H.
(subject of sketch); Elizur G., Nov. 24,
1836, living in Elyria; Ellen M., Jan. 25,
1840, married Henry Noble, and died in
LaGrange; and Ann Eliza, Feb. 11, 1842, twice
married, first time to Andrew J. Lemore,
second time to Harry Nichols, and died in New
York State Dec. 4, 1869.
In 1833 Nathan P. Johnson traded land in New
York State of a tract in Lorain county, Ohio; in
November, same year, came here with his family, a
two horse wagon conveying them, while their
household effects were transported by water as far
as Cleveland. The journey occupied twenty-one
days, and on their arrival in Lorain county they
made their temporary home at the house of
Sylvester Merriams, a brother-in-law of
Nathan Johnson. In the meantime
a log house was erected on the farm south of the
center of LaGrange township, into which, when
completed, the family removed. Mr. Johnson
was originally an ardent Whig of the old school,
later a Republican, and was elected to the
Legislature in 1844, reelected in 1845; was a member
of the Ohio Senate, 1847-48, from the Districts
composed of Lorain and Medina counties; was, after
his removal in 1862 to the village of LaGrange,
appointed postmaster there by Abraham
Lincoln; in fact he was a thoroughly
representative man, a useful citizen, honored and
respected. He died Dec. 22, 1874, and was
interred in LaGrange cemetery. At the time of
his death he was a member of the Methodist Church,
but was in the earlier days of his life a
Congregationalist. Mr. Johnson’s first
wife died in 1846, and he afterward married Miss
Mary Hart, of Elyria, by whom there was no
issue.
William H. Johnson, whose name opens this
sketch, received his primary education at the common
schools of his township, his sister Sarah L.
being his first teacher, and, later, he attended the
higher schools of Oberlin and Elyria. He was
reared to farming pursuits, and lived on his
father’s farm until his marriage, at which time he
moved to his tine property situated south of
LaGrange, and there remained till 1891, in which
year he came to his farm, lying in the center of
LaGrange township, and which comprises 141 acres
prime land, highly cultivated. On Sept. 15,
1856, Mr. Johnson married Miss Mary
A. Parsons, born in Windham, Portage county,
Ohio, and two children were born to them:
Laura V., now wife of M. W. Ingalls, and
Mary A., at home. The mother of these
was called from earth in 1860, and in 1862 our
subject married Mrs. Lucy H. Bruce (née
Bradley), widow of O. Bruce. By
this union there were three children, viz.:
William H. (1) (deceased in infancy), William
H. (2) (also died in infancy), and Anita S.,
now Mrs. C. H. Curtis, of Berea, Ohio.
In politics Mr. Johnson is a leader in the
ranks of the Republican party, and has held various
township offices with credit and ability, such as
assessor, trustee, etc. Formerly he was a
Congregationalist, but of late years he has been a
member of the M. E. Church, in which he is a
class-leader. He is remarkably temperate in
his habits, never having used tobacco in any form,
and alcoholic liquor only occasionally for its
medicinal properties.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 962 |
| |
CHARLES W. JOHNSTON.
This gentleman is a lineal descendant of one of the
oldest and most powerful of the clans of Scotland,
that for centuries kept the borders of that country
in a constant ferment of bloody strife. Sir
Walter Scott, in his "Tales of a Grandfather,"
says: "There had long existed a deadly feud on the
western borders, between the two great families of
the Maxwells and Johnstons. The
former house was the most wealthy and powerful
family in Dumfriesshire and its vicinity, and had
great influence among the families inhabiting the
more level part of that country. The
Johnstons on the other hand were neither equal
to the Maxwells in number nor in power, but
were a race of uncommon hardihood, much attached to
their chieftain and to each other, and who resided
in the strong and mountainous district of Annandale.
It was between the houses of Johnston and
Maxwell that the last great clan battle took
place. It is known as the battle of Dryfe
Sands, and was fought on the river Dryfe
near Lochmaben. The Maxwells had
besieged the castle of Lockerby (or Lucherby), the
fortress of a Johnston who was in arms with
his chief. His wife defended the residence
until the approach of the Johnston forces.
From the superior skill of the Johnston chief
the Maxwells were defeated, and on their
retreat many of them were slain or mutilated on the
streets of Lockerby. The chief Maxwell
had been wounded by the Johnstons, and left
upon the field of battle with one hand cut off.
He had offered 'ten pound ten' for the hand or head
of the Laird of Johnston, and Johnston
in return offered to bestow five-merk land upon any
one who would bring him the hand or head of
Maxwell. As a result Maxwell's hand
was cut off; and when the Lady of Johnston
came out of her castle to see how the battle had
gone, she found Lord Maxwell on the field of
battle, and knocked out his brains with her castle
keys. So badly were the Maxwells cut up
that a peculiar mark on the face was afterward known
as 'Lockerby Lick.'"
It was from this same Lockerby that Peter Johnston,
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
descended. He was born in Scotland, in the
town of Lockerby. Dumfriesshire, and
came to America in 1773. Before leaving his
Scottish home he received from the magistrates of
the town of Lochmaben, in the same county, a
credential paper, of which the following is a copy:
“ By the magistrates of the Burgh of Lochmaben. -
The bearer hereof. Peter Johnston,
in Lockerby in this neighborhood, having applied to
us and represented that, from the inducements given
for going to America, he intended there, and desired
a certificate of his character, therefor we hereby
attest that the said Peter Johnston
and his family have Maintained a blameless
character, and that he has honestly supported his
family with out being a trouble, to any one, all of
which is attested by ns upon proper information.
Given at Lochmaben, the Thirtieth day of May, One
Thousand Seven Hundred and seventy-three years.
[Signed] Will Haggan (Provost),
W. M. Law (Baillie), John
Dickson (Baillie).” In 1775
Peter Johnston was a lieutenant in the
Continental army, and participated during the
Revolution in the battle of Saratoga (or
“Stillwater”); also was present at Burgoyne’s
surrender.
Steven Cleveland, maternal grandfather of
Charles W. Johnston, was a captain in the
Continental army during the war of the Revolution,
and in that rank participated in the battle of
Saratoga under Gen. Gates; he also was
present at the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne.
He died at Bennington, Vt., aged 101 years.
Thomas Johnston, father of the subject of
these lines, was born in Saratoga, N. Y., Aug. 30,
1777. He was a volunteer in the war of
1812, and fought at the battle of Plattsburg.
In 1832 he came with his family to Ohio, making his
first western home in Medina county, whence he moved
to Lorain county, dying there July 22, 1858.
He was a lifelong farmer, for many years a deacon in
the Baptist Church, and prominent in public and
social life. He married Susannah
Cleveland, a native of Bennington, Vt., born
Oct. 2, 1781, and died in Lorain county, Ohio,
July 19, 1873. They had twelve children,
eleven of whom grew to maturity, our subject being
the youngest but one.
Charles W. Johnston was born in Lee township,
Oneida Co., N. Y., June 29, 1823, and received a
liberal education at the public schools and in an
academy. As above related the family came to
Ohio in 1832, and here young Charles
commenced the study of both medicine and law, in
medicine he graduated from the Western Reserve
College, and practiced the profession six years in
Ashland and Lorain counties, but abandoned the field
of Galen for that of Blackstone. In law
he studied in the office of Sheldon &
Vincent, Elyria (the former of whom - L. A.
Sheldon - was afterward governor of New Mexico),
and in 1859 was admitted to the bar at the Columbus,
Ohio, supreme court. In April, same year, he
commenced the practice of law in Elyria in
copartnership with Hon. P. Bliss, which
continued till 1861, in which year Mr. Bliss
removed to Nebraska, having been appointed judge of
that Territory. Mr. Johnston
then entered into a partnership with lion. Albert
A. Bliss, brother of the judge just mentioned,
but at the end of a year Mr. Bliss
retired from the firm and left for Michigan.
Our subject then continued in the exclusive practice
of law, alone, enjoying a wide and lucrative
clientage. In 1869 he was elected prosecuting
attorney for Lorain county, and he then received
Hon. George P. Metcalf as partner in his
business. In 1871 he was again elected
prosecuting attorney, positively declining to allow
his name to be again brought before the convention,
and his partner, Mr. Metcalf, was
nominated in his stead. From that time on
Mr. Johnston continued practice alone
until in 1881 he formed the present copartnership
with his son-in-law, James H. Leonard.
The business of the firm is general, but chiefly in
civil practice, and they make aspecialty of the
investigation of land titles. Mr. Johnston’s
law business has not been confined to Lorain county
alone, for he has practiced more or less in Erie and
Huron counties, and at Cleveland before the United
States court, and occasionally in the United States
circuit and district courts.
In 1849 Charles W. Johnston and Mary E.
Fisher were united in marriage, and three
children were born to them, viz.: Mary C.,
wife of J. H. Leonard; Martha L., wife
of W. C. Barnhart, secretary and treasurer of
the Elevated Railroad Company, Kansas City, Kans.,
and Carleton F., in the U. S. mail service
from St. Louis to Omaha. In politics Mr.
Johnston is a Republican, and a strong Union
man, liberal of his means both during the Civil war,
in assisting the cause, and ever since those dark
days, in relieving the needy old soldiers, widows of
soldiers, and their orphans. A great reader,
keeping well abreast of the times, he is the
possessor of a good library.
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 638 |
| |
JOHNSTON FAMILY - See
CHARLES W. JOHNSTON
Source: Commemorative
Biographical Record of the counties of Huron and
Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H.
Beers & Co. - 1894 - Page 638 |
Julia Chapin Jump |
R
E. JUMP has been a resident of
Oberlin for the past thirty-five years, having
established himself in the town in 1858, for the
purpose of study in Oberlin College. Mr.
Jump was born in Westchester county, N. Y., in
1832, a son of
Ira and Sarah (Dan) Jump, natives of New
York, who in 1835 moved to Norwalk, Huron Co., Ohio,
and from there, about 1843, to Vermillion, Erie Co.,
Ohio, where both died at a ripe old age.
Ira Jump was a basket maker, and his son, R.
E., was brought up to that trade which he
followed for some time in Oberlin. Mr. Jump
received his education at the common schools in Erie
county, and in the Preparatory Department of Oberlin
College. Failing health prevented him from
continuing his studies. He taught several
terms in the schools of Erie county, Ohio, and in
Indiana. In 1863 he enlisted in Company F, One
Hundred and Twenty-eighth O. V. I., for three years
or during the war, severing under Gen. Hooker, on
Johnson's Island and Cedar Point, guarding and
exchanging prisoners at Fortress Monroe and other
points, and on detached duty at Toledo, on service
as provost-guard, and in recruiting service.
Mr. Jump was honorably discharged from the
service at Camp Chase, in July, 1865.
In 1852 Mr. Jump was married to Miss Julia
Chapin, a native of New York, but reared and
educated in North Amherst, Ohio, and to this union
one son was born, C. Ellis Jump.
Mr. Jump in politics is a Republican, having cast
his first vote for Fremont in 1856, and voted with
that party since. He is a member of Henry
Lincoln Post, No. 364, G. A. R., in which he has
held the rank of surgeon and junior vice-commander.
During the past fifteen years, in his leisure time,
he has done considerable taxidermist work, and has
now a very fine collection of stuffed animals and
birds. He is practically interested in
agriculture, being the owner of thirty acres of
well-improved land, half of which lies within the
corporate limits of Oberlin. He also takes a
lively interest in bee and small fruit culture.
He was engaged in the Oberlin and Wellington Rescue
case.
MRS. JULIA CHAPIN JUMP, M. D.,
was born in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1832, the
second child of John and Eliza (Clark) Chapin,
natives of New England, who removed to Brownhelm,
Ohio, in 1836, and from there to North Amherst,
Ohio, in 1839. See the following sketch of
John Chapin.
Dr. Jump received her early education in the common
schools of North Amherst, Ohio. At the age of
seventeen she began to teach. This profession
she followed thirty years. For the first two
or three terms she taught for one dollar a week and
"boarded round." In 1852 she married R. E.
Jump, of Erie county, Ohio. They had one
son, C. Ellis Jump. In 1858 they
removed to Oberlin, for the purpose of securing a
liberal education. During the last three years
of her course of study, Dr. Jump taught in
the Academy. After six years of study, she
graduated fro Oberlin College, Lit. in 1865.
She then taught seventeen consecutive years, nearly
five in the Grammar School of Oberlin, and over
twelve years in the Public Schools of Cleveland.
She then began the study of medicine in The
Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College, from which
she graduated in 1884, since which time she has been
practicing medicine in Oberlin.
The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred on her by
Oberlin College, in 1891, and that of F. H. S. by
the Medical College from which she received her
diploma. She is a member of the board of
Censors of the Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital
College; a member of the American Institute of
Homeopathy, The Ohio State Homeopathic Society, and
the Lorain County Homeopathic Society. Dr.
Jump is a member of the First Congregational
Church, and of the W. R. C. of Oberlin, Ohio.
Source: Commemorative Biographical
Record of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio -
Illustrated_ Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1894
- Page 900 |
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