OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 800 Today's Topics: #1 Fw: Bio - 1885 - Portage co, OH, R ["Maggie Stewart" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <04b401bf386c$300635c0$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: Fw: Bio - 1885 - Portage co, OH, Ravenna #6 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit ----- Original Message ----- From: Betty Ralph To: Sent: Monday, November 22, 1999 8:16 PM Bios: Deming, De Wolf, Elkins, Ely, Flath - Portage County, Ohio, from "History of Portage County, Ohio" published by Warner, Beers & Co., Chicago, 1885 Copyright C 1999 by Betty Ralph. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. bralph@hiwaay.net ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net ************************************************************************ ENSIGN F. DEMING, merchant, Ravenna, was born September 25, 1823, in Rootstown Township, this county. His father, Donald Deming, a native of West Hartford, Conn., came to this county in 1821, and married Miss Roxana Fitch, April 11, 1822, a native of Tolland, Conn., and who came to this county in 1815, at eleven years of age. To this union were born the following children: Ensign F.; Alonzo H., who died in 1849 at Maysville, Ky.; Mrs. Charlotte E. Pinney; Mrs. Olive A. Monroe; Mrs. Adelaide R. Youngman; Henrietta (deceased); Mrs. Henrietta S. Whitney; and Mrs. Lorenza O. Thompson. Mrs. Deming died February 27, 1865. Donald Deming moved to Iowa, where he resided until his death, which occurred in Muscatine, August 14, 1870, in his seventy-fifth year. August 27, 1845, our subject married Miss Pluma Terry, who bore him two children: Mrs. Loretta A. Maris, and Charles A., in Salineville, Ohio. They resided on the home farm for several years. In 1861 Mr. Deming commenced business as a grocery and provision merchant in Rootstown Station, this county. In 1867 he removed to Ravenna, where he has carried on the same business ever since. Mrs. Deming is a pious member of the Congregational Church. Mr. Deming is a stanch Republican. He is a member of the I.O.O.F. DR. JOSEPH DE WOLF (deceased) was born in April, 1786, in Granby, Conn. He was the fifth in a family of thirteen children, of whom Samuel De Wolf (the youngest) is the only survivor, residing in Akron, Ohio. In the spring of 1800 Joseph De Wolf came out to Vernon, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and after making preparations sent for his family in the autumn of that year. Young Joseph pursued his medical studies under Dr. Seeley, of Howland, that county, and located after a short time in Rootstown, this county where he married Miss Eunice Goodrich, the only child of Deacon John Goodrich, and they soon after located permanently in Ravenna, this county. Dr. De Wolf early won a high position for himself in his chosen profession, having a practice that extended for many miles around to the towns of the surrounding counties. He retired on his farm just west of Ravenna in 1839, still keeping up a practice among his patients, who could not be induced to leave him. His worthy wife proved to be in every sense a helpmate to him in life. Her domestic virtues made her the center of the home life, and her modest merit and noble qualities endeared her to all who knew her. Their children were Dr. J.G. De Wolf, of Eureka Springs, Ark., Mrs. Mary G. Dewey, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa; Henry, who died at eleven years of age; and Mrs. Adeline L. Elkins. Dr. De Wolf afterward married Mrs. Betsey Wetmore, widow of Henry Wetmore. He died in 1869 at the advanced age of eighty-three years, retaining the strength and vigor of his faculties almost unimpaired up to the year of his death. He was a man of very strong mind and firm convictions. R.S. ELKINS, P.O. Ravenna, a native of Vermont, was born in Vermont, January 30, 1818. He learned the printers' trade and came to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1837, when twenty years of age. Here he worked two years in the Herald office. In 1839 he came to Ravenna and engaged in the publication of the Ohio Star until 1844, when he went to Akron, same State, where he engaged in the publication of the Summit County Beacon. In 1880 he returned to this county and located where he now resides on the old Dr. De Wolf homestead. Mr. Wlkins married Miss Adeline L. De Wolf, February 9, 1842. She was born in Ravenna, August 8, 1823. They have one daughter - Mrs. Adelaide E., wife of Rev. W.K. Ingersoll, a Presbyterian minister in Milford, Mich. CAPT. ASHLEY ELY was born November 4, 1793, in West Springfield, Hampden Co., Mass. He visited this county in 1818, in order to make arrangements for a permanent settlement, and returned to locate in Deerfield Township, the following year. He had been a soldier in the war of 1812 for a period of eighteen months, being stationed at Boston, Mass. His father, Capt. Darius Ely, a soldier of distinction in the Revolutionary war, married Margaret Ashley. They came out to this county and resided with their son until their death. She died in 1838, aged seventy-five, he in 1844, aged eighty-three. Capt. Eky married Miss Sarah Lazarus, a native of Monroe County, Penn., and a resident of Deerfield Township, this county, since early childhood. In 1826 they sold their farm in Deerfield, and located one mile and a half north of Ravenna. Here they cleared up their second farm, and spent the remainder of their lives. Their children are Linus (in Chicago), Mrs. Alma Carahan (died in 1847, aged twenty-one), Ralph (residing on the old homestead) and Mrs. Julia M. Jillson, in Worcester, Mass. Mr. Ely died September 2, 1868, in his seventy-fifth year. He was a man of iron constitution and had sustained a wonderful amount of toil and hardship as a pioneer. He was an earnest Presbyterian, and very firm in his principles. He was one of the early members of the Ravenna Congregational Church. He obtained a substantial education, mainly by private study, and taught in Deerfield Township and Ravenna, this county. His known integrity and excellent judgment earned his services to be frequently required in the public affairs of the township. Mrs. Ely died September 8, 1881, aged eighty-three, retaining active use of her faculties until the last. She was widely known and beloved because of her skill and devotion in attending the sick. PETER FLATH, merchant tailor and clothier, Ravenna, was born September 17, 1829, in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. He came to America in 1849 and here followed his trade for several years, living at different times in New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Galion, Ohio; Detroit; Fremont; Chicago, Ill.; Rochester, N.Y.; and other places, finally settling in Ravenna, this county, April 2, 1860. Here, after working as cutter for about five years and eight months for J.D. Green, he, in partnership with L.W. Reed, purchased Green's establishment. In the course of two years W.L. Poe purchased Mr. Reed's interest, and after carrying on the business seven years under the new firm name, Mr. Flath purchased his partner's interest and has since conducted the establishment alone. In addition to general merchant tailoring, Mr. Flath carries an extensive stock of clothing, hats, caps and gentlemen's furnishing goods, and by strict attention to business he has built up a large and flourishing trade. Our subject married in November, 1857, Miss Kate Heimes of Cleveland. She was a native of Rhenish Prussia, and has been a resident of Cleveland since she was six years of age. They have one daughter - Mary Charlotte. Mr. Flath in politics is a Democrat. ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 19:13:44 -0500 From: "Maggie Stewart" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <04bc01bf386c$44b68920$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: Fw: Bio - 1885 - Portage co, OH, Ravenna #7 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit ----- Original Message ----- From: Betty Ralph To: Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 1999 10:39 AM Bios: Frazer, Freeman French - Portage County, Ohio, from "History of Portage County, Ohio" published by Warner, Beers & Co., Chicago, 1885 Copyright C 1999 by Betty Ralph. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. bralph@hiwaay.net ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net ************************************************************************ COL. WILLIAM FRAZER, who at the time of his death was the oldest male resident of Ravenna, was born in Lansingburg, N.Y., in 1794. His father served seven years in the Revolution, and lost his life in the war of 1812. Our subject was a soldier in the war of 1812, in which he served with distinction. He came from Geneva, N.Y., to Ravenna in 1814, and there carried on a jewelry establishment, and a saddlery, in turn. In 1819 he married Miss Annie A. Campbell, daughter of Gen. John and Sarah Campbell. Of their ten children the following are now living: Homer C., in Ravenna, Ohio; Mrs Catherine M. Preston, in Cleveland, Ohio; Mrs. Martha E. Dodge, in Ravenna, Ohio; Mrs. Eliza Barnes, in Grinnell, Iowa, and William A., in San Francisco, Cal. Mrs. Harriet M. Taylor, wife of Hon. Ezra B. Taylor, died in Warren, Ohio; Mrs. Amoretta R. Campbell died in Chicago, Ill.; Mrs. Sarah Norton died at White Water, Wis.; and two others died in infancy. Col Frazer served for several years as Deputy Sheriff of this county, and also as United States Marshal of this district. In 1842 he was elected Sheriff of this county, serving with satisfaction to the people and credit to himself. For many years, commencing in 1852, he was one of the Directors of the Portage County branch of the State Bank of Ohio. Mrs. Frazer died in March, 1875. The Colonel followed her in April of the same year. They were honored and esteemed as upright pioneers. Our subject was one of the original Republicans of the county. He took the first newspapers published in the county from their commencement, and kept a complete file, which his son still continues. This is the only unbroken file of these papers in existence. HOMER C. FRAZER, hardware dealer, Ravenna, was born September 21, 1821, in Ravenna. He received his education in the schools of the town and at Bissel Institute, Twinsburg, Ohio. In September, 1848, he married Miss Susannah Dennis, of Cleveland, Ohio, but a native of Folkestone, England, and they have one son - Edward W. Our subject succeeded his father in the business he now carries on - a general hardware store. Being one of the earliest opponents of slavery, he is now an earnest advocate of the cause of temperance. Mr. and Mrs. Frazer are active workers in the Congregational Church. STEPHEN RICE FREEMAN, produce dealer, etc., Ravenna, was born July 26, 1839, in Palmyra, this county. His father, bearing the same name, a native of Rutland, Vt., moved to Ogdensburh, N.Y., while a young man, and there married Miss Lucretia A. Seaton, a native of that place. In 1832 he went on a prospecting trip on horseback to Chicago, looking for a desirable location, and not liking that place, he returned to Cleveland, Ohio, where his family joined him, and there they established a hotel. After following that business and running a boat on the canal some years, Mr. Freeman came to Palmyra, this county, in 1838, finally settling in Ravenna in 1846. In 1861 he established a business as a general dealer in produce in this city, and this he carried on until his death, which occurred August 29, 1872. In politics he was a strong Whig. Their children were Mrs. Lilias L., wife of J.S. Smith, Ravenna; Stephen R.; Mrs. Sarah W. Stein, wife of W.F. Stein, photographer, Cleveland, Ohio; Mrs. Ida F. Britton, wife of F.H. Britton, Superintendent Chicago Division Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; Garrett, and Ada L., who died in 1879 in Cleveland, Ohio. Our subject's grandfather, Capt. Nathan Freeman, a native of Massachusetts, was a soldier in the Revolution at sixteen years of age, a Captain in the Massachusetts militia, and a Captain in the war of 1812. He was a famous wrestler, and after rising to the position of champion of Massachusetts, met and vanquished the champion of New York. Our subject completed his education under James A. Garfield, Hiram Institute, Hiram, Ohio. He enlisted in April, 1861, in the Seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and in September of the same year re-enlisted in the Forty-second Regiment under Col. Garfield, serving until the close of the war, when he left the army with an honorable record as a brave and faithful soldier. Returning home he took a course in the Iron City Commercial College, Pittsburgh, Penn., and settled down in Ravenna. September 23, 1869, Mr. Freeman married Miss Lydia, daughter of William A. Holcomb, and to this union were born six children: Paul, Louis, Maud, Alexis, Edward and Ada. In 1866 he went into business with his father, and succeeded him at the death of the latter. In 1874 our subject took as partner, G.L. Horr. They make a specialty of dealing in cheese, grass seeds, maple products, etc. Mr. Freeman is a member of the I.O.O.F. and G.A.R. GEORGE W. FREEMAN, merchant, Ravenna, was born December 10, 1839, in Newark Valley, Tioga Co., N.Y. His father, Bicknell Freeman, was a native of Hartford, Conn., and a descendant of one of the Pilgrims of the early settlement of New England. The line of descent is as follows: January 2, 1637, Edmund Freeman was one of the ten who settled Sandwich, Conn., and was for six years assistant to Gov. Bradford. His son Edmund (second) married a daughter of Gov. William Prince. His son Edmund (third) had a son Edmund (fourth) who settled at Mansfield, Conn. His son, Edmund (fifth), had a son Stephen, who was the father of Bicknell Freeman, the father of George W. This family is well known for the distinguished ability and integrity of many of its members. Bicknell Freeman married Miss Nancy Taylor. They moved to Broome County, N.Y., and soon afterward to Tioga County, but shortly before their death removed to Broome County. Our subject, at the age of twenty-three, came to this county, and remained first at Shalersville, where he was engaged several years as clerk. He married, March 17, 1872, Miss Cornelia A., daughter of Apollos Reed, of Mantua, this county, and to this union have been born three children: Anna T. (deceased), Edmund Reed and Eva Henry. They came to Ravenna in March of the following year, and here Mr. Freeman engaged as a clerk for Smith Bros. For two years, for J.S. Smith one year, for N. Converse & Co. two years, and for Convers & Snyder two years. In 1880 he bought our the interest of Mr. Converse and engaged in partnership with P.W. Snyder. They carry a full line of dry goods, carpets, notions, etc. Mr. Freeman rode on horseback fifty miles to cast his first vote for Stephen A. Douglas, and has been an consistent Democrat ever since. While living at Shalersville he served the township as Treasurer seven terms. He is a F. & A. M. Mrs. French is a member of the Congregational Church. CHARLES L. FRENCH, photographer, Ravenna, was born April 3, 1853, in Middlefield, Geauga Co., Ohio, and is a son of A. M. and Margaret R. French, now residing at Garrettsville, this county. At the age of twenty our subject began learning the art of photography with his brother, at Youngstown, Ohio. He was united in marriage, April 28, 1880, with Miss Emma E. Wolf, of Windham Township, this county, born in St. Louis, Mo., February 21, 1860. They have one daughter - Rena. Mr. French resided at Garrettsville some time after his marriage. He located in Ravenna, this county, February 1, 1882. He is known as a skillful and scientific artist, and is building up an extensive custom. -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #800 *******************************************