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Biographies
Source:
History of Trumbull
& Mahoning Counties
with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches
Vols. I & 2 -
Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro.
1882
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THE
BEARDSLEY FAMILY. Curtis Beardsley was the
fourth son of Captain Philo Beardsley, a Connecticut soldier
in the Revolutionary war. He was born in Kent, now New
Preston, Litchfield county, Connecticut, Mar. 1, 1797. Mar.
10, 1816, being then but nineteen years of age, he was united in
marriage to Miss Sophia Hanford, who was one year younger
than himself. The tenth day of the following April this
youthful couple left their native State for their future home in the
new West. In company with Mr. Beardsley's brother
Philo, in a wagon drawn by two horses and a yoke of oxen they
journeyed from Connecticut to the Western Reserve, arriving in
Boardman May 4, 1816. The following day, which was Sunday,
they spent with Josiah Beardsley, a brother, at his home in
that township. On Monday they reached Canfield, and took up
their abode in a little log cabin with puncheon floor and without a
pane of glass. The land taken up by Mr. Beardsley was
uncleared, but he at once set to work, and during the first season
cleared ten acres and sowed it to wheat. For his seed wheat he
was obliged to pay the enormous price of $2 per bushel, but when
harvest time came he found that he could not get three shillings per
bushel in cash for his grain.
Hard and untiring labor, strict economy, and wise
management were practiced by both husband and wife, and in due
course of time they found themselves in the possession of a pleasant
home and a fine farm. Children came to bless and encourage
them in their work, and kind Providence smiled upon their efforts.
Mr. Beardsley became a prominent and honored citizen of
Canfield, enjoying during his long life the highest respect and
esteem of friends and neighbors. Dec. 6, 1876, he passed
peacefully from this life to the life above.
Mr. Beardsley was remarkable for firmness of
purpose, and integrity and uprightness of principle; yet, more than
this, he was an exemplary, unobtrusive Christian. He was ever
animated and sustained in his true and useful life by the partner of
his toils and fortunes, who having previously become interested in
the Episcopal church, united herself after coming here, with that
little band afterwards known as the St. James' church, Boardman,
though including Poland and Canfield, which they found already
organized; and in 1822 he himself became a member and was soon after
chosen a vestryman of the same.
In 1829 Mr. Beardsley organized a Sunday-school
in Canfield and continued as its superintendent thirty years.
In 1834 he became the leader of a movement which resulted in the
building of a church edifice in Canfield; and it was to his efforts
more than to those of any other man that St. Stephen's church owed
its origin. He was elected junior warden of this church,
became its senior warden, and for more than thirteen years previous
to his death, as its only male communicant, the whole burden of the
temporal affairs of this church rested upon this aged and declining
servant of God. Residing at a distance of three miles from
town, and more infirm in health than he was willing to acknowledge,
he was seldom absent from services when held in Canfield, and when
there were none here often rode eight miles to attend those of the
church in Boardman.
Mr. Beardsley was a man of deep convictions, and
although never obtrusive, was inflexible in maintaining them.
He united great strength of character with the most scrupulous
integrity, and during all his years sustained a high standing in the
community.
Mrs. Sophia Beardsley, one of the few surviving
old residents of Canfield, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, May 12,
1798. She was the only child of Joseph Whitman Hanford
and Elizabeth (Smith) Hanford. She is descended from an
old New England family, her great-great-grandfather having emigrated
from England to Connecticut in the early years of its settlement.
His name was Rev. Thomas Hanford. In 1648 he began
preaching in Norwalk and was the first Congregational minister in
that town, where he continued to preach forty-one years.
Left an orphan by the death of her mother when less
than two years of age, Sophia Hanford was brought up by her
grandmother. Her father was a merchant and a seafaring man and
died in 1824, aged sixty-two years. Though married young and
surrendering the pleasures of cultivated society for a home in the
wilds of Ohio, Mrs. Beardsley never repined at her lot and
nobly co-operated with her husband in his efforts to gain a home.
Faithful in her outward life as well as in her deep religious life,
she has always acted up to her convictions of duty, and numerous
friends testify to her worth. She has borne eight children,
only three of whom are now living. Mrs. Beardsley is
now spending the evening of her days with her daughter in the
village of Canfield, with which she has been familiar almost from
its infancy. She is now in her eighty-fourth year and seems as
cheerful and bright as a youth. For sixty-four yeas she has
been a communicant of the Episcopal church and ever one of its most
active female members.
We append a record of the Beardsley family:
Philo Beardsley, born 1755, died 1826; married
Esther Curtis, born 17643 died 1856. Children: Birdsey
Beardsley, born 1785, married Sarah Mecuen. Anna
Beardsley, born 1787, married John Taylor. Josiah
Beardsley, born 1789, married Mary Merwin. Sarah
Beardsley, born 1791, married Milo Stone. Philo
Beardsley, born 1797, married Sophia Hanford. Almus
Beardsley, born 1799, married Amanda Cogswell. Agur
Beardsley, born 1801, married Eliza Bennett.
All are dead, Curtis Beardsley being the
last. Four of the brothers settled in Mahoning county,
Josiah in Boardman, Philo and Curtis in Canfield,
and Almus in Ellsworth.
Descendants of Curtis Beardsley and Sophia Hanford.
Children: Henry H. born May 1, 1818, died May 4, 1818.
William Hanford, born Dec. 13, 1819, married Mary Edsall
Jun. 10, 1846; children, Nelson S., Edwin H., Charles R., Henry
E., and Hattie M., all living, two married.
William H. Beardsley resides at East Claridon, Geauga County;
Nelson S., professor of penmanship Delaware Normal school, Ohio,
married Dale O. Hulin, two children, Willis Reed and
Emmett Hulin. Edwin H. married Carrie Dana, two
children, Nelson Vernon and Minnie. Mary L. born
Nov. 13, 1821, married Augustus L. Van Gorder May 12, 1847,
died at Warren, Ohio, July 18, 1859, husband also dead; children,
Anna S., Henry L., William C., George Dubois, Charles M., Frank B.;
Anna, George and Frank are deceased; William C. Van
Gorder married Ella Crane, two children, Edgar C.,
and an infant daughter. Anna S., born Aug. 26, 1824,
died May 4, 1844. Eliza M., born Mar. 19, 1827, died
Jan. 7, 1879. Sarah M., born July 22, 1832, married
Pratt Allen Spicer, Apr. 26, 1854, died Dec. 25, 1857; one
child, Ella I., resides in Marshall, Michigan. Lucy
E., born Nov. 5, 1834, resides at Canfield. Henry C.,
born Mar. 12, 1838, married Mary J. Hine, July 4, 1863; two
children, Rhoda Hanford, and Edward Henry, residence
old Beardsley homestead, Canfield.
Concerning the deceased members of this family we make
the following extract from obituary notices published in local
papers:
Died, Warren, Ohio, July 18, 1859,
Mrs. Mary L. Van Gorder. She was the oldest daughter of
Curtis and Sophia Beardsley, of Canfield. For twenty years
a communicant of the Episcopal church, during that time she adorned
her profession by a consistent walk and conversation. In her
last illness she exhibited a meek and patient disposition, and under
all suffering appeared resigned to the will of her Heavenly Master.
She calmly awaited death without fear of the dread messenger, and
fell asleep in Jesus repeating the words of the beautiful hymn:
"There sweet by my rest till He bid me arise
To hail Him
in triumph descending the skies."
Anna S. was a lovely and sweet
dispositioned daughter, who had a large circle of friends, both
young and old. Speaking of her death the local paper says:
Seldom has the hand of
death made a more painful breach in the hopes and enjoyments of a
family, or given a more affecting warning to an extensive circle of
relatives and acquaintances, and to all in the joyous period of
youth, that "we now not what shall be the morrow."
Eliza M. possessed a quick and
scholarly mind, and at a youthful age began teaching school, in
which occupation she continued more than thirty years. She was
a remarkably efficient and successful teacher, possessing the rare
talent of imparting knowledge in a manner that at once enlisted the
attention and commanded the respect of the pupil. From the age
of eighteen until her death she was a communicant of the Episcopal
church and a devoted Christian.
Mrs. Spicer was, from a child, of a serious and
contemplative mind. She early united with the church, became a
zealous member, and found in Christ the sweet peace which passeth
all understanding. Though compelled to part from earth in the
morning of her married life, she accepted her fate with resignation
and died with calmness of spirit, leaving her sweet babe in the care
of Him who hath promised to protect the orphan.
Source:
History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties
with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches -
Vols. I & 2 -
Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro.
1882 - Page 34 |
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DR. R. M. BEEBE. Source: History of
Trumbull & Mahoning Counties with Illustrations and Biographical
Sketches Vol. II - Mahoning Co., Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams &
Bro. 1882 - Page 285 |
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EPHRAIM BROWN.
It is impossible within the limits of a short sketch to give an
adequate idea of the character, or to detail particular events in
the life of Ephraim Brown. His father, whose
name was also Ephraim, resided at Westmoreland, New
Hampshire, and was much esteemed for his many excellent qualities.
His mother was Hannah Howe, a woman of deep religious
feeling. The family consisted of ten children, of whom
Ephraim, born Oct. 27, 1775, was the oldest. Mr.
Brown owned a small farm and by adding to its productions the
fruits of occasional labor in some mechanical pursuit, his large
family was comfortably supported until he lost all his property by
going security for a friend, a loss from which he never recovered.
It thus happened that the eldest son, at an early age, became the
main support of a large family. This misfortune of his father
offered him a field for the exercise of that indomitable
perseverance which was so conspicuous an element of his character.
At this formative period of his life the engrossing labor which
circumstances threw upon him was not allowed to interfere with his
intellectual culture. He read the best books obtainable, and
sought the society of the best people in his neighborhood and
wherever business called him. It is inferred from letters
still in existence that he soon became a young man of some mark, for
his advice was sought by elders, and his judgment received with much
deference. Considerable of his correspondence at this early period
related to moral, religious, and political subjects. He shows
in these letters habits of earnest and honest thought, always ready
to listen to argument, and when convinced of error always ready to
renounce it. For example, when a young man he joined the
Masonic fraternity, but years afterwards, when a young man sought
his advice on the subject of joining he expressed the opinion that
with advanced civilization the need of such societies was past.
Being a man of broad and tender sympathies Mr.
Brown very early in life conceived a bitter hatred of the
system of slavery, then fast growing into a political power, which
sixty years it required the whole energy of the nation to suppress.
In a letter written in 1807 to a Southern relative, who had located
in the South and was endeavoring to persuade him to follow by
arguing the superior facilities for making money in that section,
Mr. Brown questioned the method by which wealth might be
acquired so rapidly by “commerce in human flesh,” and added, “I have
been taught from my cradle to despise slavery, and will never forget
to teach my children, if any I should have, the same lesson.”
The same letter contains sentiments thirty years afterwards given
public utterance by William Lloyd Garrison and other
distinguished abolitionists.
Mr Brown inherited from his mother deep
religious feeling, which was strengthened by analytic habits of
thought and extensive reading. But he distinguished between
real piety and the mere semblance of religion, and his whole life
was characterized by a high moral tone. His denunciation of
evil was always vigorous and sometimes alarming to the more
conservative and temporizing souls about him. His love of
freedom and habits of thought prevented him from being closely
associated with societies of any kind, though as an individual he
was always industrious and kind.
As early as 1803 Mr. Brown became engaged
in mercantile pursuits in connection with Thomas K. Green, of
Putney, Vermont, who had charge of the business at that place, and
Mr. Brown managed the branch at Westmoreland, and
continued in business until his removal to Ohio in 1815. In
the meantime he had represented his town in the Legislature several
times. He was married on Nov. 9, 1806, to Mary
Buchanan, eldest daughter of Gordon and Temperance
(Huntington) Buchanan. She was born at Windham,
Connecticut, Aug. 29, 1787; while yet a child her father and mother
removed to Walpole, New Hampshire. She was a woman of talent,
which she cultivated during her whole life. She taught school
before her marriage; her attainments were therefore of a solid
character.
In the year 1814 Mr. Brown formed a
partner ship with his uncle, Thomas Howe, and
purchased of Peter C. Brooks, of Boston, township seven,
range four, of the Western Reserve, since known as Bloomfield, to
which place he removed his family in the summer of 1815. The
journey was accomplished in six weeks and the family reached its
future home July 16, some preparations having been previously made
for its comfort and support. The two partners, Messrs.
Brown & Howe, were in business temperament and character
the antipodes of each other. The former was energetic, pushing, and
fearless; the latter slow, hesitating and doubting. It is not
strange that two such men should soon dissolve business relations.
Mr. Howe after a short time retired from the
partnership, and Mr. Brown as sumed the burden of the
debt, which in a few years, by the most scrupulous economy,
unresting industry, and fortunate thriftiness was fully discharged.
A few years after Mr. Brown's settlement
in Bloomfield (in 1819) the Ashtabula & Trumbull Turnpike company
was formed and chartered under the laws of Ohio. Mr.
Brown took an active part in pushing this enterprise, which at
that time looked like an enormous undertaking, to a successful
completion. For many years he maintained a ceaseless care for
the interests of the company and the preservation of the road.
The post-office at Bloomfield was secured through his influence.
Within seven years after the first settlement of Bloomfield daily
four-horse mail coaches passed through the place on their route
between the lake and the Ohio river. Land rapidly advanced in
value, and the more thrifty settlers were soon able to improve their
homes.
Mr. Brown was several times a member of
the General Assembly, and always gave his potent influence to
measures looking toward material improvement and educational
advancement. His love of freedom was active, and influenced
his whole conduct. The effort of a prominent religious sect in
1822 to dominate in politics, was condemned and resisted as strongly
as the effort of the slave power to rule the country in after years.
In his younger years. he was a Jeffersonian Republican, and an
avowed abolitionist always. He always offered assistance and
protection to fugitive slaves, as is shown by instances elsewhere
narrated.
The title of colonel was conferred upon Mr.
Brown in New Hampshire, not, however, on account of any military
service. He was captain of a company of militia, and promoted
Governor's aid with the rank of colonel.
It has been said of Mr. Brown that he
never sought or desired fame, but in a certain sense he won what was
better than fame—the perfect respect and confidence of all who were
capable of appreciating such a character. An intimate friend
at the time of his death said in a letter, “In his social relations
he was distinguished for his kindness, benevolence, and hospitality;
in his business transactions for prudence, promptness, and
integrity. Throughout a long and active life he eminently
sustained the character of a patriot, philanthropist, and an honest
man.” He died of paralysis after a short illness, Apr. 17, 1845,
being in the seventieth year of his age.
Mrs. Brown was a woman of great
excellence as wife, mother, neighbor, and friend. A life of
well directed study gave her broad culture; a knowledge of the world
widened her sympathies, and tenderness of feeling made her
charitable. In her family she was gentle, loving, and
interesting. In the social circle her influence was elevating
and refining. Her death occurred Jan. 26, 1862.
The family consisted of nine children: Alexander,
born in 1807, lives in Bloomfield; George
W., born in 1810, engaged in business in Pittsburg and died
in Bloomfield in 1841; Mary, born in 1812, married to
Joseph K. Wing and resides in Bloomfield; Charles, born
in 1814, died in South Carolina in 1880; Elizabeth, born in
1816, resides in Bloomfield; James Monroe, born in
1818, died 1867 in Massillon; Marvin Hunting ton, born
in 1820, resides in Painesville, Ohio; Fayette, born in 1823,
resides in Cleveland, Ohio; Anne Frances, born in
1826, resides in Bloomfield
Source: History of Trumbull &
Mahoning Counties with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches -
Vol. 2 - Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro.
1882 - Page 398
- 400 |
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JAMES
S. BROWN. William Brown, the father of the
subject of this sketch, was born in Pennsylvania, Sept. 28, 1788;
came to Trumbull county (now Mahoning) in an early day and located
on the farm now occupied by his son,
JAMES S. He married Miss Ann
Porter, Apr. 15, 1813. Their children were James S.,
born Jan. 4, 1814; David, born June 30, 1816, and died Mar.
7, 1824;
Martha, born June 24, 1822, married Wyoming, N. Fry, and
resides in Suffield township, Portage county. William Brown
served in the War of 1812. He died Apr. 20, 1833.
James S. Brown was married to Mary Ann Printz,
who was born in Canton, Ohio. Her parents were Joseph and
Susan (Blosser) Printz, who were united in marriage Sept. 23,
1830. They had the following children: Henry, born June
21, 1831; Mary Ann (now Mrs. Brown), Aug.
20, 1832; Barbara, Jan. 29, 1834; Isabel, Sept. 22,
1835; Jacob, Mar. 17, 1837; Samuel, Nov. 27, 1838;
Ambrose, Feb. 3, 1843. Mr. Brown is a Democrat in
politics, yet he reorganizes a higher duty in the use of the ballot
than mere attachment to party, and endeavors to vote for the best
candidates. He has resided all his life on the old homestead,
having been born there. From actual experience he knows what
pioneer life is, and his memory carries him back to the days when
the present beautiful and thrifty neighborhood where he lives was
covered with the original forest, interspersed here and there by
small clearings and rude log cabins. He has always been a
hard-working, and industrious man, and is now, in his old age,
blessed with a comfortable home. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are
Presbyterians in their religious faith.
Source:
History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties
with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches -
Vols. I & 2 -
Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro.
1882 - Page 72 |
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THE BORDEN FAMILY Source: History of
Trumbull & Mahoning Counties with Illustrations and Biographical
Sketches Vol. II - Mahoning Co., Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams &
Bro. 1882 - Page 279 |
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EDWARD BROCKWAY Source: History of
Trumbull & Mahoning Counties with Illustrations and Biographical
Sketches Vol. II - Mahoning Co., Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams &
Bro. 1882 - Page274 |
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BUSHNELL FAMILY
Source: History of
Trumbull & Mahoning Counties with Illustrations and Biographical
Sketches Vol. II - Mahoning Co., Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams &
Bro. 1882 - Page 276
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R. A. Button |
ROSWELL A. BUTTON.
We can give in this volume but a brief outline of the career
and experiences of Captain Button. His life has
been written, and few more fascinating volumes have ever been
published. It is the record of ten years of seafaring life in
its most interesting phase. From the unpublished manuscript we
derive our information for this sketch.
Captain Button is a
descendant of Thomas Button, a mariner whose name is found in
the record of North American discoveries and explorations in the
seventeenth century. Among the descendants were several
sailors, and of his father's family, consisting of ten children,
there were three—James, Erasmus, and Roswell A.
James was lost at sea near Kamtschatka. Erasmus
became a partner of Roswell in the management of the merchant
bark Clara Windsor.
Captain Button was born at Preston, New
London county, Connecticut, June 28, 1822, and was the son of
Allen and Anne A. (Witer) Button, both natives of Connecticut.
He was quite young when his father died, and left with out the means
of acquiring an education. He attended the common schools, and
early formed a taste for reading. He was especially interested
in works of travel and adventure, which aroused his imagination and
produced an ardent longing for the sea.
In 1843, having just passed his twenty-first year and
ambitious for adventure, he enlisted as a common sailor before the
mast on board the whaling vessel Lowell of New London, about to
embark for the northwest coast of North America. Her course
was by way of Cape of Good Hope, Indian ocean, and across the
Pacific. After eight months voyaging the Isles of the Azores
were reached, where the sea abounds in its “mightiest of monsters.”
Here the first prize of the seamen was spied, and after an exciting
chase captured. This voyage occupied three years, during which
time the vessel coasted among the Azores, around Australia, touched
Van Dieman's Land, and coasted the Sandwich Islands. We quote
a glimpse or two from the manuscript volume of which we have spoken:
One of the most interesting
peculiarities of the whale is its immense loss of blood in death.
It is presumed to have
a large supply arteriorized in a reservoir, which is brought into
use when that in general circulation becomes vitiated during a
prolonged submergence. This reservoir is what whalemen term
the life of the whale, and it is the spot sought by the harpoon and
lance. When touched the bloody torrent surcharges the lungs
and is expelled through the spout hole, suffocation and death
following, but when the wound is slight the agonies of the dying
beast are prolonged. The poor creature will lie on the surface
feebly propelling itself onward, and with quick repeated sobs will
pour out its life by slow degrees, coloring the surface of the ocean
a deep crimson. From this stupor it is aroused to its last struggle.
The head rises and falls, and the flukes, which are fifty feet long,
thrash the water rapidly. With great speed it swims in a large
circle two or three times, and then falls on its side dead.
The narrative of the first voyage concludes:
Now let us follow our
old friend, the Lowell, on her way home. When we left her she
was near New Zealand in about 35° south latitude; here two sperm
whales were caught and then on she went into the southern sea, and
then doubling the horn and stormy cape in latitude 57° south.
After this her course lay through the north Atlantic, continuing her
voyage until port New London was reached, where sails were furled,
the anchor dropped, and to express their joy for safe return and
good success in achieving the object of their expedition—a full
cargo of oil and bone-they fired fifty-eight guns. Two weeks
after their arrival their cargo was discharged and each man was paid
off according to his share. Then the sailors visited their
friends; the first voyage was ended.
After six weeks spent in rest at
home the “Lowell of New London " again raised anchor and set sail
for another voyage. After sailing six months Kamtschatka was
reached, northeast of Asia, and the Yellow sea was traversed.
At the end of this voyage four thousand barrels of oil, worth $50
per barrel, besides a large amount of bone, was brought home.
This second voyage occupied the same period as the first with almost
equal results, but Mr. Button, who was one of the
experienced men, experienced more perils. He had two boats
stove and was once thrown twenty feet into the water. He
acquired the reputation (an enviable one among sailors) of being the
strongest man in the whaling service. We again quote from
Jones' manuscript biography of him:
The secret of
Captain Button's wonderful strength lay in the possession
of a naturally strong constitution, increasing instead of
diminishing its energies by constant exercise and the regular
observance of temperance habits.
After returning from the second
voyage on the “Lowell” six more weeks were spent at home. The
“Lowell” was sold and the Montezuma purchased for a third journey.
On the second voyage he had been boat steerer and was now advanced
to second mate. While at the Sandwich islands Mr.
Button left his own ship and engaged as first mate on the
Clematis and after returning to this country abandoned the whaling
service. His last seafaring was as captain of the “Clara
Windsor,” a merchant vessel which made
regular trips between New York and St. Domingo.
In 1853 Mr. Button quit the sea for more
quiet pursuits. He came to Ohio and settled on the farm he now
owns, west of Mesopotamia center, and the following year married
Miss Caroline S. Reynolds, whose acquaintance he had made in
Connecticut. She was his perfect counterpart, and their
married life was a season of unbroken happiness till the dread
disease, consumption, began to show signs of its presence.
Mr. Button traveled extensively in Cuba, Florida, and
California, in company with his wife, in the hope of arresting the
progress of the fatal disease, but without effecting the desired
result. She died at Sacramento, California, Dec. 28, 1873.
From this time until his second marriage, Oct. 6, 1881, Mr.
Button lived entirely alone at Mesopotamia. The maiden
name of his present wife was Louie* Humphries,
daughter of Richard and Ann H. Humphries, of Ashtabula
county.
Source:
History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties - Vol. II - Trumbull Co., Publ. Cleveland: H. Z. Williams & Bro. 1882
- Page 498
---------------
NOTE:
In 1850 Census he was living with Joseph and Frances E. Button,
along with brothers Frederick & Henry Button.
In 1860 Census he is listed with wife
It also lists him in 1860 Census of Mesopotamia, Trumbull Co., Ohio
with wife Samantha Button and children named Altha Lewis and Aaron
Jenkins ages 19 and 16 respectively. On same page is listed
Frederick and Hariette Button with children named Poldiana, Female
aged 9 yrs. and Roswell, Male aged 5yrs. Frederick is 34 yrs
old and Roswell is 38 yrs. old and they were both born in
Connecticut.
In 1870 Census, same place, Roswell's wife was still Samantha.
In 1880 Census, Roswell Button was living alone at Mesopotamia,
Trumbull Co., Ohio.
* In 1881 Louie's name was Louise Humphries per 1881 Trumbull
County, Ohio marriage record at Ancestry.com |
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