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Biographies
Source:
Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio
embracing the Counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull and Mahoning
Containing Portraits of all the Presidents of the United States, with a
Biography of
each, together with Portraits and Biographies of Joshua R. Giddings,
Benjamin F. Wale,
and a large number of the Early Settlers and Representative
Families of to-day.
Published: Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
1893
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NELSON J. McCOMBES,
whose post office address is Niles, Ohio, is one of the prominent
men of Howland township, Trumbull county. He was born in this
township, June 24, 1842, son of Milo McCombes, a
native of Weathersfield township, this county. Grandfather
James McCombes was one of the first settlers in this county,
having come here from Pennsylvania when the woods abounded in bears
and wolves, and when the Indians outnumbered the whites. He
was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Grandmother
McCombes was, before her marriage, Miss Betsey Beard, and
she, too, was a native of Pennsylvania. Both the McCombes
and the Beards are descended from Scotch Irish ancestors who
were Presbyterians. James McCombes and his wife
passed the closing years of their lives in this county, and died and
are buried here. They reared two children, John and
Milo, both of whom are deceased. John was engaged
in banking and other business in Warren, Ohio. He and his wife
left one daughter, Charlotte, who is now the wife of
George Ross, of Cleveland, Ohio. Milo
McCombes was married at the age of twenty-one, to Harriet
Nelson, a native of Liberty township, this county, and a
daughter of John and Margaret (Steward) Nelson, both of her
parents having died in Liberty township. Mrs. McCombes
died in Weathersfield township in 1851, leaving three children:
N. J., the subject of this article; Alice E., who married
Tracy Lowry, and who died, leaving two children; and
James, of Columbus, Ohio. James McCombes has been
blind from his birth. He is a music teacher. Milo
McCombes married for his second wife Miss Rebecca Hake,
and in 1856 he settled on the farm on which his son, N. J.,
now lives. This property was then known as the Dr. Seeley
farm. He died at the age of sixty-two, and his widow still
survives him.
N. J. McCombes was reared on his father’s farm,
and has been engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life. He
owns 111 acres of land, one of the best farms in the township, which
is well improved with good buildings, etc. His residence is 41
x 41 feet, and at the time it was built was one of the finest
country houses in the county. The barn is 40 x 50 feet in
dimensions. Mr. McCombes has given special attention
to the dairy business.
He was married in October, 1870, to Charlotte
Sowers, of Howland township, daughter of William and
Mary (Hake) Sowers. They have two children, Harry C.
and May Belle, aged nineteen and fifteen years respectively.
Mr. McCombes is a Republican, as was his father before
him. He is a member of the Disciple Church, and is an officer
in the same.
Source: Biographical
History of Northeastern Ohio Embracing the Counties of Ashtabula,
Trumbull and Mahoning - Publ. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company,
1893 - Page 401 |
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THE
MILLER FAMILY - Carns A. Miller, a
prominent citizen of West Farmington, Trumbull county, Ohio, was
born at this place, Nov. 14, 1852.
Of his life and ancestry a compiler presents the
following: "Noah Miller, father of Carns A., was a son
of Samuel Miller, son of Noah Miller, and Noah
Miller was a son of Noah Miller. We have no record
of the birth-place of Noah Miller, Sr., but ascertain from
records at Farmington, Connecticut, that he deeded a certain tract
of land situated at Avon, Connecticut, to his son, Noah
Miller, and Noah Miller transferred the same to
his son Samuel. We also find that he was a member of
the Church of England, and was taxed at the rate of two farthings on
the pound for the support and maintenance of the society at
Worthington. Avon was formerly called Northington; from this
we infer that he must have lived, a part of his life, at Avon,
Connecticut. The oldest member of the Miller family,
now living, thinks he married a woman whose family name was Burt.
Noah Miller, son of Noah Miller, was born in
1734, at Avon, Connecticut, passed his life there, and died at that
place, May 22, 1812, aged seventy-eight. In looking over old
family papers, legal documents, etc., we find that he was a man of
some prominence, was appointed attorney, was an executor and settled
estates. Anneke Buell, his wife, was a daughter
of Samuel Buell, of Simsbury. She was born June
7, 1743, and married Noah Miller second, Apr. 9, 1760.
She was a woman of ability, great intellect, and remarkable memory.
She inherited from her father nearly the entire tract of land now
called New Hartford, Connecticut. She died at her son’s,
Samuel Miller, Nov. 10, 1822. Samuel
Buell was a son of Peter Buell and
Martha (Coggon) Buell, of Simsbury, Connecticut,
who was a daughter of Thomas Coggon, of Taunton. He was
born May 10, 1686, and was twice married. I do not know the
name of his first wife; but his second wife’s name was Anna,
or Anneke Orten. She was daughter of Thomas
Orten, of Farmington, Connecticut. There were two
children by this marriage: Anneke, who married Noah
Miller second, and a little boy who died in early life.
Samuel Buell was an active business man, filled offices
of trust, was a great landholder, and in colonial days owned nearly
all of the large tract then called Simsbury, Connecticut. He
died June 20, 1755. Anneke, his wife, died June 29,
1772. I think his father, Peter Buell, was also
twice married. From this fact we have, among the old family
records, a legal document made out to the widow, Mary
Bissell, relict of Jacob Bissell, the day before
his marriage to her, which dates back to June 28, 1698. This
was the second marriage. There are many deeds among the old
papers before mentioned, where he transfers certain ‘parcels of
land’ (as it was then called), to his sons. (The daughters are
also mentioned.) I conclude from this that Peter had a
large family. These ancestors lived when the colonies and
mother country were under the reign of ‘our sovereign lord, King
William.’
“The children of Noah and Anneke (Buell) Miller
were eleven in number and were as follows: Annie, born Jan.
31, 1761, must have died in infancy; Noah, born July 30,
1762, died suddenly at his brother’s, Samuel Miller, Sept.
14, 1821. He passed from one room into another, and his
brother’s wife entering soon after found him upon the floor, where
he had fallen. She assisted him to a chair. He revived a
little, looked quietly out of the window, off to the mountains, and
remarked, ‘It is growing dark on the mountains,’ and died instantly.
He was a large man, but Harriet (Cornish) Miller,
who was alone with her little ones, and the aged mother, held him in
the chair for over an hour, until some of the neighbors were passing
whom she called to her assistance; Hannah, born Nov. 26,
1764, died Dec. 18, 1783, aged seventeen years and twenty-two days;
Martha, sometimes called Patty, was a maiden lady.
She was born Sept. 28, 1766, and died at Avon, Connecticut, Sept.
26, 1839; Esther, born Dec. 21, 1770, married Cyrus Bruce,
and some of her descendants are now living at West Farmington;
Susannah, born Mar. 30, 1775, died Oct. 9, 1775; Samuel,
born Dec. 9, 1772, died Oct. 3, 1779; Susannah, born Aug. 22,
1776, married Alpheus Gains, and settled in
Barkhamstead, a part of blew Hartford, Connecticut; James,
born Dec. 4, 1780, went South when a young man: do not know whom he
married. We are told that he had a family of thirteen
children. In those early days, before the great system of
railways crossed and re-crossed the States in every direction,
communication was more difficult, and after his father and mother (Noah
Miller and Anneke (Buell) Miller) died,
he was lost sight of, and the relatives at the North have never met
any of his descendants; Sarah Miller, born Sept. 19, 1782,
was the youngest of eleven children. She married Burrage
Belden in the year 1804, at Avon, Connecticut. She was
very much respected, and at the age of eighty-three, was remarkably
active. She died at West Farmington, July 3, 1867.
Samuel, born May 1, 1779, was father to Noah Miller,
junior, and grandfather to C. A. Miller. He was
a man well liked, was even-tempered, of amiable disposition and
courteous in manner. He was a dealer in flour, feed, etc., and
every day for many years went with feed and flour over the old
mountain road to Hartford City and back again at night. He
died at his home in Avon, Connecticut, Dec. 25, 1844. He
married Harriet Cornish, who, after the death of her
husband, sold the old Miller homestead which had been the
home of the Millers for so many years, and came with her
family to Ohio; located at Middlefield, purchased a farm which she
soon disposed of, and came back to West Farmington, Ohio, where her
eldest son and daughter had previously located. She was born
Mar. 26, 1799, and was daughter of King and
Triphena Cornish, of Simsbury, Connecticut. Triphena
Cornish’s maiden name was Smith. Her people were
from Ashford, Connecticut, and were people well situated in life.
This great-grandfather, King Cornish, was very
unfortunate and met with a tragical death. While away from
home, in leaving the room, he took the wrong door, stepped out, fell
down cellar, was injured severely, and died that night. His
wife (Triphena Cornish) was left with a family of
seven children, and very little means; but she had force of
character and was energetic and industrious. Her daughters
possessed the same characteristics as their mother; were excellent
housekeepers, and were useful in the communities in which they
lived. Three of them were natural physicians, and with their
roots and herbs cured patients when the M. Ds. had given them
up. Harriet (Cornish) Miller was a good
wife and mother. She was also industrious, systematic and
orderly, and her family was always well cared for. She died in
West Farmington, Ohio, at the home of her son (Noah Miller,
junior), Dec. 19, 1880. They were members of the
Baptist Church. To Samuel and Harriet (Cornish) Miller
were born twelve children, six of whom are still living.
Maria Elenor, born Oct. 26, 1816, married Amos
Gillett, of Avon, Connecticut, Oct. 28, 1835, and lived there a
few years, and then came to West Farmington, Ohio, and has resided
in this vicinity ever since. The kindness and hospitality of
Aunt Ellen and Uncle Amos will long be
remembered; Daniel, born Dec. 8, 1820, died Mar. 6, 1822;
Samuel Buell Miller, born Dec. 8, 1822, was a member of
the Disciple Church, a blacksmith by trade, a good citizen and kind
father. He married Susan Frances Hart,
daughter of Luther Woodford Hart and Almyra
Gillett Hart. He married for his second wife Mrs.
Prudence Rood, of Braceville, Ohio. He died at
West Farmington, Ohio, Mar. 12, 1892. A little child was born
July 28, 1824, and died Sept. 27, 1824. Rodney M., a
respected citizen of West Farmington, married Mary A. Lord. He
was born Feb. 28, 1826. Horace, born Aug. 14, 1828,
died of consumption at West Farmington, Ohio, Aug. 17, 1847. Sarah
A., born Mar. 19, 1830, was married at Avon, Connecticut, to
Amos Gillett Hart, son of Luther W. and Almyra
G. Hart. Of her it may be said that she possesses the
characteristics of her father’s and mother’s people. James
Ely, born Feb. 28, 1832, is a single man, of even
disposition, and generous to a fault. Catching the gold fever,
he went to California as far back as 1852, and with the exception of
a visit to Ohio, has remained on the Pacific coast ever since.
Harvey, born Jan. 30, 1834, was naturally of a roving
disposition, and in the year 1858, took passage in the steamer
Central America, which was on a return voyage from California, and
was lost in a heavy gale at sea. He was never heard of again.
Erastus, born Mar. 11, 1835, at the age of fourteen
years left Farmington and went to Monroeville, Ohio, where he lived
with an aunt and uncle (Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart) nine years,
after which he went to Indiana, and at the age of twenty-six married
an estimable lady by the name of Albina Brant. They
settled in Elkhart, Indiana, and lived there many years. He is
a man that has many friends and few enemies. Flora
Triphena was born may 10, 1836, and married William
Brady, of Hamden, Ohio. Soon after their marriage they
left Ohio, settled on the Western prairies in the young growing
state of Iowa, where they preempted land, built a log cabin, and by
practical economy and good financiering soon had a home of their
own. They are now in very prosperous circumstances and are
very much respected in the community in which they live.
Noah Miller, junior, eldest son of Samuel and Harriet
(Cornish) Miller, was a man who was very hospitable, plain and
practical, and one who had many warm friends. He was a man of
good judgment and marked business ability, and was often consulted
on matters of business and his advice sought. Few men in
Trumbull county were better known than Noah Miller.
He was born Sept. 26, 1819, and the first fourteen years of his life
were spent on the farm. After this he went to live with an
uncle by the name of Jessey Frisby, under whom he
served an apprenticeship of two or three years to the blacksmith
trade. At the age of eighteen years he came out west to West
Farmington, Ohio, where he opened a shop and carried on
blacksmithing. Here he married Betsey Maria
Hart, daughter of Luther Woodford and Almyra
Gillett Hart. The family of Samuel and
Harriet C. Miller were all born in the little town of Avon,
where so many of their ancestors were buried, and we have also
reason to think that it was the birthplace of all of the children of
Noah and Anneke Buell Miller. Betsey M. Hart,
wife of Noah Miller, junior, was born at Avon,
Connecticut, Sept. 20, 1823. She has force of character, is
conscientious and reliable and although her health is much impaired,
is still very active. Her father, Luther Woodford
Hart, was born at the same place, Jan. 16, 1706, and died in
Minnesota at his son George’s, Dec. 17, 1879. He was a
son of Gideon Baldwin, and Milly Woodford
Hart, and Gideon Baldwin Hart was a
descendant of Deacon Stephen Hart, who came
with a settlement of whites to the Connecticut river valley when the
Indians were its only occupants. This ancestor discovered the
ford on the Connecticut river called Hartford, from which the city
derives its name. He also filled high official positions in
the colony and State, and was a very popular man. Almyra
Gillett, wife of Luther Woodford Hart, was born
at Avon, Connecticut, Sept. 7, 1800, and married Luther
Woodford Hart, June 15, 1818. She was daughter of Amos
and Esther Bishop Gillett, who were married at Avon, Oct. 20,
1799. Amos Gillett, senior, was born May
6, 1765, and died Nov. 18, 1807, in the forty-third year of his age.
His first wife, Almyra Hart, was born Sept. 4, 1769,
and died Feb. 8, 1799. Her son, Abisher Gillett,
was born Oct. 17, 1793, and died at West Farmington, Dec. 25, 1875.
There were two children by the second marriage: Amos, who was
born at Avon, Dec. 27, 1807, and who died at West Farmington, Ohio,
Mar. 17, 1884, and Almyra, the wife of Luther
Woodford Hart, who died at West Farmington, Ohio, Oct. 8,
1850, and who was loved and respected by every member of her family.
Their mother, Amos Gillett’s (senior) second
wife, was born Feb. 16, 1773, and died Aug. 23, 1848. She
married Lemon Brockway, her second husband, June 17,
1809. Esther Bishop (Gillett) Brockway’s
mother’s maiden name was Susannah Woodford. She
married a Bishop for her first husband. There were two
children by this marriage, Esther and a brother, who settled
on the bend of the Susquehanna.
“She married for her second husband a man by the name
of Dickison. She died Apr. 27, 1839, aged seventy-six.
Noah, junior, and Betsey M. Miller had three
children, two daughters and one son. Melvina, the
eldest daughter, was born May 3, 1844. She married Erwin J.
Tyler, who was born in Greene county, New York, Aug. 13, 1831,
son of Calvin and Emma (White) Tyler, both natives of New
York. Calvin Tyler was born Apr. 18, 1797, and
died at his son’s, Dr. Tyler’s, of Rounseville,
Pennsylvania, December, 1891. His wife, born June 19, 1805,
died in Rounseville in 1887. They had six children, five of
whom are now living, three sons and two daughters. The
Whites are of Scotch descent. Erwin J. Tyler was reared
on a farm, and was educated at Hiram College. Previous to his
marriage to Miss Miller, he married Maria A. Curtis,
whose death occurred in 1876. She left one daughter, Clara
M., who died June 27, 1877. His marriage to Miss Miller
took place June 26, 1877. Mr. Tyler is one of
the prominent men of the county, has tilled offices of trust, and
since 1885 has been connected with the Table Factory, and is partner
and vice-president of the new association. Formerly he was
engaged in farming. Diania Maria Miller,
second child of Noah Miller, was born Feb. 1, 1846, in
Nelson, Portage county, Ohio, but has lived at the home of her
father, with the exception of nearly five years, which she spent at
her uncle’s, Mr. S. W. Bishop’s, in Hartford, Connecticut.
Carus A. Miller remained under the parental roof until he was
nineteen years of age. He then served a short apprenticeship
in cabinet-making, after which he was associated with Mr. C. S.
Thompson in retail furniture and undertaking; but since the age
of twenty he has been one of the proprietors of the Miller
and Company’s Table Factory above referred to, and is now president
of the new incorporation. He was married Sept. 25, 1872, to
Miss DeEtte E. Foster, who was born in Bristol township,
this county, Jan. 21, 1855, daughter of Silas J. and Lucy Chapman
Foster, Mr. Silas J. Foster was born Apr. 28, 1830, in
Morgan township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, and his wife, Lucy
Chapman Foster, was born Oct. 20, in Genesee, New York.
“Mr. and Mrs. Carus A. Miller have two children:
Edith Lyle, born May 14, 1874; and Clyde
Foster, born Apr. 28, 1877. The family are members of the
Disciple Church.
“Of Noah Miller, junior, and
Carus A., we further state that they, with Cyrus S. Thompson,
were the first to establish the Miller and Company’s
table factory at West Farmington. They started this industry
during the panic of 1873, when business was fluctuating and
everything at low water mark, but by careful management they nursed
the little plant, and it grew and flourished until it became a
permanent industry. There was much about the buildings that
would easily ignite, and many had predicted its destruction by fire,
but it was destined to remain until Sunday morning, Jan. 8, 1893,
when the old factory and one dwelling-house was entirely consumed,
the employees thrown out of work, and much of the accumulation of
years reduced to ashes. The old firm consisted of Noah
Miller, Carus A. Miller, Erwin J. Tyler, Martin
Buell Gillett and Frank L. More, who were practical
business men, and had had years of experience in this line of
manufacturing; and their experience was needed, for they were again
to commence and rebuild at a time when the silver bill and tariff
questions were agitating the public mind to such an extent that it
caused a great depression in business; but they have succeeded thus
far in guiding the little plant away from the shoals and breakers,
and have just reason to predict its future prosperity.
Following the destruction of Miller and Company’s
works came the sudden death of Noah Miller, Jr.,
the oldest member of the firm. He died at his residence in
West Farmington, Trumbull county, Ohio, Apr. 19, 1893.
“To the family of Noah Miller the year
1893 was the saddest and most eventful of all the years that had
come and gone. According to the sworn statement of Salina
Batchelder (who is an honest, upright old lady, eighty-six years
old), daughter of Sarah Miller and granddaughter to Anneke
(Buell) Miller, the ancestral record of the Miller
family dates back to Anneke Jan Webber,
daughter of Wolford Webber, and granddaughter of
Queen Anne and also of King William Third.
The Webbers were formerly from Bavaria, Germany. The
romantic history of Anneke Jan Webber has been
handed down from our great-grandmother, Anneke Buell
Miller, to Salina (Belden) Batchelder, and through her it
has been transmitted to the present generation. This ancestor,
Anneke Jan Webber, being of royal descent, her
people very naturally expressed a preference for one of her suitors
and persisted in their desire for her acceptance, but she very
peremptorily declined his attentions by marrying a sea captain, and,
leaving the old country, came to America. She married for her
second husband the Rev. Everardus Bocrardus, who was first
minister to the Dutch Reformed Church of Amsterdam (New York); and
history tells us he was a very good man. A record of the names
of her children, and some of their descendants, will be kept in the
family for future reference.”
The Millers are also of English descent, are
Republicans in politics, and have been a patriotic family.
They were found in the ranks during the Revolutionary war, were
represented in the war of 1812, and some of them in the late Civil
war. As far back as their history can be traced they have been
honorable and upright in all the walks of life.
Source: Biographical
History of Northeastern Ohio Embracing the Counties of Ashtabula,
Trumbull and Mahoning - Publ. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company,
1893 - Page 725 |
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SIMON
MILLER, a respected and prosperous farmer of
Trumbull county, Ohio, was born in Newton township, same county,
Dec. 26, 1833, and is the son of Samuel and Nancy (Hudson) Miller.
Samuel was a native of Pennsylvania, having been born in
Little York, the son of Leonard Miller, who came to Ohio as
early as 1804, settling in Newton township, where he purchased a
tract of land consisting of 640 acres, which he improved. Of
this tract Samuel received 180 acres, which he cultivated to
the time of his death, in September, 1856. He and his wife,
Nancy, had eight children: Sarah Ann,
Lucretia, Horace, Nancy, Mary E., Simon
(whose name heads this sketch), Eliza, and Leonard D.
Of these the living are Lucretia, Mary E., Simon,
Eliza, and Leonard.
Simon’s early life was spent on his father’s
farm and at the country school, being an industrious and good son.
He received a certain partition of his father’s estate, and that, in
connection with what he afterward obtained from a brother and uncle,
makes his holdings in landed property now 200 acres, which he has
brought into a state of fine cultivation. He has added to the
value and attractiveness of this farm by the erection of a tine
dwelling-house, commodious barns and out-buildings, etc. He
carries on a general
farming, raising the cereals and giving considerable attention to
stock.
Mr. Miller was married, June 3, 1858, to
Lucina Wright, and their only child is Elmer,
who is now in Pueblo, Colorado. Mrs. Miller died
Jan. 28, 1867, and Mr. Miller, for his second wife,
wedded Seleta A. Coe, a daughter of E. P. and Julia A.
(Holcomb) Coe, the marriage occurring Oct. 13, 1867. By
this marriage there were three children: Ora, who was born
Sept. 9, 1872, and died Nov. 10, 1892; an infant who died unnamed;
and Grace.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the
Congregational Church, of which they are liberal supporters.
In politics Mr. Miller is a Democrat.
Source: Biographical
History of Northeastern Ohio Embracing the Counties of Ashtabula,
Trumbull and Mahoning - Publ. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company,
1893 - Page 584 |
NOTES:
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