AARON LYNN BACON.     The untimely passing of Aaron Lynn Bacon on Sept. 3, 1912, as the result of an accident, cut short a career of promising usefulness, and one which had already brought him to a station of honor and prosperity in Lorain County.  He represented one of the older families of Lorain County, and his death was a grievous blow not only to his immediate family but to many friends scattered far and near.
     He was born in Wellington Township Oct. 4, 1881, and was not quite thirty-one years of age when he died.  His parents of Wellington Township.  George D. Bacon, after the death of his wife moved to Michigan and is now living at Adrian in that state.  Aaron L. Bacon grew up in the home of his grandparents after his mother's death.  They were Sereno Dwight and Mary (Bailey) bacon.  His grandfather was born in Grafton, Vermont, in 1825, and came to Carlisle Township in Lorain County in 1842.  In May, 1851, he bought a farm in Wellington Township, but h and his wife moved to the village of Wellington in 1881.
     The late A. L. Bacon acquired an education in the common schools and also pursued a business course at Oberlin.  In 1903 he married for his first wife Amanda Friend, who died in 1907.  The one child of that union, Helen, now lives with Mrs. Bacon and is a student in school.  In 1910 Mr. Bacon married Miss Lida Miller, a daughter of Nathan B. and Elizabeth (Dute) Miller, a well known family of Wellington Township, reference to whom is made on other pages.  Mrs. Bacon has one daughter, Elizabeth, now four years of age.  She is an active member of the Baptist Church, and since the death of her husband has made her home in Wellington.  Mr. Bacon was a republican in politics and was a member of the Tribe of Ben Hur.
     After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bacon moved to his farm of 200 acres in Wellington Township, and for a number of years he had been a successful raiser of Holstein cattle.  He had just completed a fine modern country home by remodeling the old two-story brick house that had stood on his farm since 1861, and it may be said that he and Mrs. Bacon were just equipped to live happily and prosperously when the accident occurred by which he lost his life.  Mr. Bacon's grandfather died in 1901 and his grandmother in 1909.
Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 899

T. B. Bennington


A. A. Bennington

Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 940

L. S. BOISE.  For nearly a century members of the Boise family have materially influenced the progress and development of various localities in Northern Ohio.  The chief center of the family activities has been in Penfield township and there L. S. Boise had constructed out of his individual labors, persistent work and ambition a fine farm home and is enjoying a well deserved success and rendering an adequate service to the community both in a business way and by his public spirited citizenship.
     He was born at Litchfield in Medina County, Ohio, Dec. 2, 1847, a son of William and Lydia (Severcool) Boise.  His paternal grandfather, Chester Boise, was born in one of the New England sates and settled in Huron county, Ohio, about 1821, and as a pioneer helped to influence early development.  William Boise was born in New York State in 1814, came to Oxford in Huron County when seven years of age, and from there moved ot Medina County and in 1882 went to Wellington, where he died in 1902.  He was a whig and afterwards a republican in politics and held several local offices.  He and his wife were members of the Methodist Church.  He was married to Medina County, and his wife was born in New York State in 1820 and died in 1901.  Of their eight children seven are living:  George, an ex-soldier of the Civil war and a retired lumberman in Northern Michigan; James, who served a little more than a year in the Civil war, afterwards was a druggist *
Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio Vol.  II - Publ. 1916 - Page 966

PATRICK HENRY BOYNTON.  Many of the distinctions and services associated with the name Boynton in Lorain County were the product of the career of the late Patrick Henry Boynton, who was a member of the Elyria bar for over forty years was one of the most accomplished and successful attorneys of the county.  He continued active in his profession to the last day of his life, and died suddenly while reading in his library on Apr. 28, 1911.
     The Boynton family came from the State of Maine and established its home in the wilderness of Russia Township, Lorain County, as early as 1826.  Patrick Henry Boynton was born in Rusisa township, Aug. 10, 1848, a son of John H. and Hulda (Heath) Boynton.  His father, John Hancock Boynton, was long a familiar figure in business affairs of Elyria and died in that city in July, 1899.
     The Boynton family came from the State of Maine and established its home in the wilderness of Russia Township, Lorain County, as early as 1826.  Patrick Henry Boynton was born in Russia Township, Aug. 10, 1848, a son of John H. and Hulda (Heath) Boynton.  His father, John Hancock Boynton, was long a familiar figure in business affairs  of Elyria and died in that city in July, 1899.
     It was in the City of Elyria that Patrick H. Boynton spent nearly all his life, since when he was a child his parents established their home there.  As a boy he attended the public schools, was also a student in Oberlin College and gained part of his legal education in the University of Michigan.  For some time he read law in the office of John C. Hale and in 1869 stood the test of examination and was admitted to the bar.  From that time forward until his death he enjoyed a large and growing practice.  He possessed a broad and thorough knowledge of the law, and had more than a local reputation for accuracy and painstaking industry.  He was frequently called one of the best read lawyers in this part of Ohio.  He was devoted to his profession but his mind ranged among many other fields and interests and probably to a degree equal to any of his contemporaries he was truly cultured both in mind and character.  He had a broad knowledge of general literature, and the occupation of the last hours of his life was reading.
     His life should also be remembered for his public services.  In 1888 he was elected mayor of Elyria, and was three times re-elected, and gave the city an administration notable for its efficiency and vigor.  On retiring from the office of mayor he was made a waterworks trustee, became president of the board of trustees, and worked in that capacity until the waterworks system was placed under the control of the board of public service in 1903.  Up to his death he served as referee in bankruptcy in the United States Court in Lorain County.  He was active in Masonry, a member of King Solomon Lodge No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, and his funeral was conducted under the auspices of the order.
     An excellent estimate of what he was and what he stood for is contained in an editorial which appeared in the Elyria Democrat at the time of his death: "The death of P. H. Boynton takes from the actvities of this city's life a man who has stood high in everybody's estimation for many years.  While he was a conservative man in many ways undemonstrative, yet he won the respect of all who knew him by his innate sense of fairness and honesty.  His ability in his profession was acknowledged and he was referee in many a legal tangle.  He was deliberate in his opinions and stood uncompromisingly by his judgment.  As a man who took delight in the fine and noble things in literature he set a high standard for the community, and to his friends he was a constant source of inspiration to the acquirement of those things which bring happiness and content in this busy world."
     On Dec. 30, 1875, Mr. Boynton married Miss Mary Townshend.  Mrs. Boynton died at Elyria, Mar. 7, 1915, and there are three sons and an adopted daughter who survive.  a. J. Boynton of Elyria; H. Percy Boynton, of Cleveland; Sidney H., of Elyria; and Olba, now a student in Oberlin College.
     Mrs. Boynton was born in Elyria, Dec. 21, 1849, a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Norton S. Townshend.  The father was prominent in the affairs of the state, at various times was a member of the Legislature, was also a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1851-52, and filled a position in the faculty of the Ohio State University.  He served during the Civil war as a medical inspector, and was professor of agriculture and was a pioneer in this field of technical education.  Mrs. Boynton for many yeas stood for the highest things in the cultural activities of Elyria.  She attended the public schools of Elyria as a girl, continued her education in the Lake Erie Seminary at Painesville, and it is said that her ambition to continue her education in the State University led that institution to adopt plans for coeducation.  For the last several years of her life Mrs. Boynton suffered bereavement and much personal illness through which she set an example of rare Christian fortitude and bravery.  She was always devoted to her home, and made it not only a place of material comfort but gave it the atmosphere most stimulating to real culture.  Through all her years she continued to store her mind with the results of the best thought and information and was accomplished and learned in a number of different fields.  She was a charter member of the Fortnightly Club, the oldest woman's club in Ohio and the first purely literary club in the state.  She belonged to that club until her death and several times filled the chair of president.  She was also one of the directors of the Lorain County Historical Society and filled a similar position with the Young Women's Christian Association, was a member of the Kozy Club, and for many years attended and subsequently became an active member of the First Congregational Church.  At the time of her death she was serving as corresponding secretary of the Historical Society, and had been identified with the Young Women's Christian Association from its inception.
Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 577

JUDGE WASHINGTON W. BOYNTON.  For a period longer than the average lifetime Judge Boynton has been a member of the Ohio bar.  To the present generation his distinguished services are sufficiently familiar.  To those who read these pages in the future it will suffice to indicate his prominence by saying that for years he stood second to none as a member of the Cleveland bar, and that for five years he read his clear, logical and forceful opinions into the decisions of the Ohio Supreme Court.  Lorain County will always regard him as one of its foremost citizens and one of its most distinguished native sons.
     Born in Russia Township, Lorain County, Jan. 27, 1833, Washington Wallace Boynton is the son of General Lewis D. and Ruth (Wellman) Boynton, both of whom were born and spent many years of their lives in Belgrade, Maine, but in 1826 they removed to Ohio and established themselves as pioneers in Lorain County.  Judge Boynton is directly descended from Sir Matthew Boynton, who was created a baronet May 25, 1618, and was a member of the English parliament during the reign of Charles I.  His sympathies became enlisted on the side of the republican cause during the civil wars of England.  His second son, named Matthew, married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Stapleton, and about 1632 emigrated to America and became identified with the New England Colony of Boyntons.
     Gen. Lewis D. Boynton was born in Maine Aug. 5, 1802, and his wife was born Feb. 22, 1806.  On coming Lorain County General Boynton acquired a large tract of wild land in Russia Township.  It is said that much of the land now included in that township was cleared under his superintendence and by men employed directly by him.  He was a leader in thought and action in the early days, and at one time served as brigadier general of the State Militia.  For the most part his years were spent in farming, and he died in September, 1871.  His wife passed away on the old homestead in Russia Township Jan. 27, 1840.
     Judge Boynton is a product of pioneer circumstances of the old fashioned common schools and into his character were instilled much of the fine spirit that went with the building of homes and the clearing up of the wilderness district.  While the hard work of a farm was his portion as a boy he was naturally studious, and he bought a superior judgment to every task.  He attended the common schools and select schools, stimulus save his own ambition.  When he was only a boy the people of the community frequently remarked that "he was cut out for a lawyer."  At the age of sixteen he taught his first term in a district school.  From 1855 to 1857 he conducted a select in Amherst Township.  From 1857 to 1864 he served as county examiner of school teachers.  In the meantime he had been industriously reading law.  His director in those studies was his uncle, Elbridge Gerry Boynton, then a leading lawyer at Elyria.
     It was in 1856, fifty-nine years ago, that Judge Boynton was admitted to the Ohio bar.  However, his work as an educator continued for a year or so longer, and he did not begin active practice until 1858.  His first partner was L. A. Sheldon, and they were together in practice at Elyria until 1861, when General Sheldon went out as lieutenant colonel of the Forty-second Ohio Regiment and subsequently gained distinction in the Union army.  Judge Boynton was soon marked for official honor.  He served as prosecuting attorney of Lorain County from 1859 to 1864, and in the meantime formed a partnership with John C. Hale.  Owing to ill health Judge Boynton gave up his practice for one winter and lived in Minneapolis during that time, until he had sufficiently recuperated to resume his work in Lorain County.
     His next partnership was with Laertes B. Smith, and their relationship continued for several years.  It was interrupted when Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, afterwards President, appointed Mr. Boynton judge of the Common Pleas Court for the second subdivision for the Fourth Judicial District.  His appointment came Feb. 9, 1869, and he retired from the firm of Boynton & Smith and held his position on the Common Pleas Bench from 1869 to 1877.  His district comprised the counties of Lorain, Medina and Summit.  It was his splendid work as a common pleas judge that brought his qualifications to wider renown when on Feb. 9, 1877, he took his seat on the Supreme Bench of Ohio.  He had been elected to that office in October, 1876.  For nearly five years he was one of the able members of that tribunal, and every well read lawyer in the state is familiar with some of his clear, crisp opinions delivered from that bench.
     It was ill health that compelled Judge Boynton to retire from the Supreme Court in November, 1883, and small compensation for his work, and he soon afterwards located in the City of Cleveland.  There he at once took rank with the ablest attorneys of a bar second to none in the county.  His law business soon taxed all his powers and he called to his aid his former associate, Judge John C. Hale, who resigned from the Common Pleas Bench to accept a partnership in Cleveland.  The law firm of Boynton & Hale had few peers during its existence at Cleveland.  In 1888 Norton T. Horr was admitted to the firm, which then became Boynton, Hale & Horr.  In 1892 Judge Hale retired to accept a place as judge of the Circuit Court.  The firm of Boynton & Horr handled the extensive business of the firm until Jan. 1, 1897.  Since then Judge Boynton has given his services as a special counsel and trial attorney in a number of the most important law cases settled before the Ohio and Federal courts.  However, he no longer considers himself an active lawyer and he may be well satisfied to enjoy that "otiom cum cignitate" which the old Romans regarded as one of the best ends of a useful life.
     Judge Boynton, in spite of his many yeas of public service, has been essentially a lawyer.  But he has been even more, a great and a good man.  He has exercised splendid power as a speaker and pleader, and knows not only the law but also the sciences and general literature.  At all times and under all circumstances he has been an honest and fearless advocate of the right.  His general reading has been very extensive, and his knowledge of the affairs of the world and of the human heart has enabled him to meet with calm efficiency all the exigencies of a long career.
     From the time it was founded Judge Boynton has been a loyal supporter of the republican party.  During 1865-67 he represented Lorain County in the State Legislature.  While in that body he offered the resolution providing for the elimination of the word "white" from the franchise qualification of the state constitution.  This resolution was defeated in the House on the first vote, but a similar resolution was subsequently passed by the Senate.  The similar resolution was adopted after a bitter contest by the Lower House, and was presented to the people for final action in the ensuing state election.  It was on this issue essentially that the democratic party in Ohio was victorious over the republicans by more than 40,000 majority, and incidentally Allen G. Thurman went to the United States Senate from Ohio.
     Of Judge Boynton's services as a local historian it is hardly necessary to speak here, since his direct and indirect contribution to this field have been acknowledged on other pages of this publication.  In the publications of the Western Reserve Historical Society Tract No. 83 contains the historical address prepared and delivered by Judge Boynton on July 4, 1876, the American centennial anniversary.  Much of his address pertains to local history in Lorain County.  Judge Boynton has for over forty years been a director in the Savings Deposit Bank of Elyria and for five years served as vice president.  He is well known all over the state, was for years a familiar figure in the City of Cleveland, and is still a member of the Union Club of that city.
     He was married Dec. 20, 1859, at Ridgeville, Ohio, to Miss Betsey A. Terrell.  She was born at North Ridgeville, Lorain County, a daughter of Ichabod and Sally Terrell.  At the birthplace and home of Mrs. Boynton Judge Boynton some years ago erected an attractive country home, and he lived there until 1906, when he removed to Elyria and he and his good wife have since occupied their home on Washington Avenue in that city.
Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 572

Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 994

Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 1017

M. G. BROWN represents a very old family in Ohio, one which has been identified with this state for upwards of a century.  Mr. Brown's home has been on a fine farm in Henrietta Township for the past twenty year, and he is well known in Lorain County.
     He was born in freedom, Portage County, Ohio, Oct.  19, 1842, a son of D. A. and Minerva (Sherman) Brown.  His paternal grandfather, Daniel Brown, was born in Massachusetts and came to Portage County, Ohio, in 1820, and spent the rest of his days there.  The maternal grandfather was Pardon Sherman, a native of Connecticut and was also a  pioneer farmer in Portage County.  D. A. Brown was born in Massachusetts in 1812, came to Ohio at the age of eight, finished his education in this state and after many years spent in practical farming moved with his wife to Oberlin, where he died in 1886.  His wife was born in Connecticut in 1815 and she also died at Oberlin in 1887.  They were married in Portage County.  She was a member of the Baptist Church, while D. A. Brown, though a member of no denomination was a god moral Christian, a worthy citizen, was affiliated with the whigs and afterwards with the republicans, and for a number of years served as justice of the peace.  He was also a Knight Templar Mason.  Of six children the two now living are M. G. Brown and D. R. Brown.  The latter resides in Portage County and has been quite successful in conducting a plant for the manufacture of horseradish.
     M. G. Brown was brought to Lorain County at the age of four years by his parents and grew up and received his education in Camden Township.  He lived there until he was thirty years of age, then spent fifteen years in Huron County, and in 1896 returned to Henrietta Township.
     In 1864 Mr. Brown married Addie Kingsberry, a native of Lorain County.  She died in 1875, and her one son, Fred Brown, is now in the ice business at Newark New Jersey.  In 1882 Mr. Brown married Hannah Cook, daughter of C. M. Cook, who was an early settler in Henrietta Township and after clearing up a farm from the wilderness spent the rest of his life there.
     M. G. Brown is a member of the Masonic Order at Wakeman in Huron County, and in politics is a democrat.  For a number of years he has devoted his  time and attention to the improvement and cultivation of his eighty-five acre farm in Henrietta Township, and he also owns another place of fifty acres.
Source: A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio - Vol. II by G. Frederick Wright - Publ. 1916 - Page 1034