|
1878
History
of
Ashtabula Co., Ohio
with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches
of its'
Pioneers and Most
Prominent Men.
Philadelphia
Williams Brothers
1878
256 pgs.
ALSO NOTE: I will transcribe biographies upon request. Please
state the County and State in the Subject line of the email. ~ SW
BIOGRAPHIES
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1878 BIOGRAPHICA INDEX >
Elisha Farnham |
Conneaut
Twp. -
ELISHA FARNHAM.
This gentleman was of Puritan origin. His father and grandfather
participated in the Revolutionary struggle, and he inherited the same
spirit of loyalty. He contributed liberally in aid of the flag during
the Rebellion. Mr. Farnham was
born in Hampton, Connecticut, June 8, 1806, and was the sixth of a
family of ten children. His parents, Thomas
and Abigail Farnham,
were by no means wealthy, and his advantages for schooling were limited,
yet he acquired a good common-school education. Being the eldest son,
he was, at an early age, obliged to rely on his own resources; beside, a
portion of his wages were contributed to the support of his father’s
family. He learned the machinist trade, and it is said was a skillful
workman. In the fall of 1830 he packed his worldly effects in a
knapsack and came to Conneaut, Ohio, locating on land still occupied by
his heirs. He erected in 1841 the grist-mill on the south ridge, still
in operation,—at present owned by his son. Mr. Farnham,
with good health, a strict adherence to business, and a Connecticut
birthright combined, accumulated a competence. His death occurred on
Oct. 4, 1875. Mr. Farnham was
twice married: first to Mary
A. Ring,
of Conneaut, Ohio, Nov. 14, 1833. This lady died Aug. 11, 1849, and on
Jan. 30, 1850, he was again married; this time to Mrs.
Harriet A. Sanborn,
who is still living. The children, who were all born from the first
marriage, are as follows: D.
Alphonso,
born June 5, 1835, married Sophia Brooks;
he was a soldier of the Union army during the Rebellion, and died in the
service. Flora,
the next child, was born
June 12, 1837; she is now the wife of our popular sheriff, T.
S. Young. P.
Henry,
born Nov. 14, 1838, married Mary Mallory,
and lives in Conneaut. Mary,
born Feb. 27, 1841, married Martin Reals. Lydia
E.,
born Mar. 30, 1843, married C.
L. Fuller,
who was drowned in Lake Erie. Emily,
the last child, was born Sept. 21, 1847; married Wm.
G. Buss. Mr.
Farnham held
many positions of trust, and was for many years a township officer. He
was not only a worthy citizen, but an obliging neighbor and an indulgent
husband and father.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 167 |
Dr. Stephen H. Farrington |
STEPHEN
H. FARRINGTON, M. D. Dr. Farrington was
born in Winchester, New Hampshire, Jan. 10, 1800, and died in Ashtabula.
Mar. 8, 1875. He studied medicine and graduated at
Castleton, Vermont, in 1823. Leaving his native State, he located in
Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1824. and continued the practice of his chosen
profession until a few weeks before his death. I am informed by Dr. Hubbard,
to whom I am indebted for this sketch, that Dr. Farrington was
a thorough scholar, very painstaking and careful, and. as a natural
result, enjoyed the confidence of the people to a remarkable degree. In
his work he was self-sacrificing, sympathetic, and conscientious.
Considering the backward state of the country at the time Dr. Farrington settled
in Ashtabula, it will be conceded that few medical men were ever called
upon to perform more arduous service for any community than devolved
upon this resolute and good man. He was truly the friend and good
adviser of the poor. He was an honest, independent, and bold thinker on
all subjects likely to engage the attention of a thoughtful mind.
In 1848 he was elected a representative to the legislature of Ohio.
In the life of Dr. Farrington we
have an example of honesty, faithfulness, and capacity, both in the
practice of his profession and the councils of the country.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 120 |
Henry Fassett |
HON. HENRY FASSETT was
born in Beverley, Canada, Sept. 14, 1817. His great-grandfather, John Fassett,
removed from Hardwick, Massachusetts, to Bennington, Vermont, in 1761,
and was one of the earliest settlers of that town; was a member of the
first legislature held in that State, and clerk of the first
Congregational church of Bennington, the first church organized in the
State. Jonathan,
the grandfather, was a youth when he arrived in Bennington, and
subsequently became active in public matters; was an officer in the
Revolutionary war. Samuel
Montague Fassett,
the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Bennington,
Vermont, Oct. 5, 1785; was married Oct. 18, 1807, to Dorcas,
daughter of Captain
John Smith,
one of the first settlers of West Rutland. About 1810 he removed to
western New York, and a few years later to Canada. He was a school- and
music-teacher. He died at Southwold, Canada, Nov. 3, 1834, leaving seven
children, Silas
S., Harriet
M., William, Henry, Mariette (now Mrs.
George Hall,
of Cleveland), John
S.,
and Samuel
M.,
all of whom moved to Ashtabula in October, 1835, with their mother,
except Silas,
who had settled there the year previous. The mother died Nov. 15, 1862,
aged seventy-six years; the others are all still living.
Henry Fassett,
at the age of fourteen years, left St. Thomas academy to learn the
printing business. On arriving at Ashtabula he was eighteen years of
age, and worked at his business in that and other towns until Jan. 1,
1837, when, in company with a practical printer, he purchased the office
of the Ashtabula Sentinel, and commenced its publication with the first
number of the sixth volume. The next spring he sold out to his partner
and went to Newark, Ohio, where he remained until October following,
when he returned and became the sole editor and proprietor of the
Sentinel, and continued its publication for most of the time until it
was removed to Jefferson, Jan. 1, 1853. From the first issue of his
paper he took strong grounds in favor of the anti-slavery movement just
then beginning to agitate the country, and the Sentinel bore no small
part in the formation of that public sentiment which has so
distinguished this county during the last forty years. He was fully
identified, politically, with the Whig party until the year 1848, but at
that time abandoned it on account of its subserviency to the slave
power, and gave his support to the Free-Soil organization, until it was
superseded by the Republican party, with which he has since acted.
In September, 1859, he was appointed probate judge of this county,
by the governor, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge
Plumb, and in October he was elected to that office, which he filled
with acceptance to the public for about one year, when, not wishing to
remove his family, he resigned, and returned to his home in Ashtabula.
In September, 1862, on the organization of the internal revenue
department, President Lincoln appointed him as collector of
internal revenue for the nineteenth district of Ohio, embracing the
counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning, Portage, and Geauga, with his
office at Ashtabula. He held that position until Jan. 1, 1876, when,
owing to the great reduction in taxes, his district was consolidated
with others in northern Ohio, and the business transferred to
Cleveland. He was highly complimented by the commissioner of internal
revenue for the marked ability and integrity with which he had
discharged the duties of his office.
On the 23d day of March, 1842, he was married to Mary, the
youngest daughter of John I. D. Nellis. She was born in Lenox,
Madison county, New York, Feb. 13, 1822, and died Jan. 5, 1859, leaving
five children: Hattie E. (who became the wife of David W.
Haskell), born Mar. 26, 1843, and died Sept. 7, 1862: George H., born
June 28, 1845: John N., born Nov. 28, 1847, and died Oct. 18,
1871: Samuel M., born June 17, 1850; and Henry, born Sept.
20, 1855. He married his second wife, Maria, daughter of Colonel
Lynds Jones, of Jefferson, Oct. 3, 1860. She was born in
Jefferson, Aug. 20, 1836, and died Dec. 20, 1865, leaving one child, Willie
J., who was born Oct. 7, 1863, and died Sept. 23, 1872. He married
his present wife, Lucia A., widow of Dr. Nathan Williams, of
Ionia, Michigan, June 12, 1867. She is the daughter of the late Peter
Tyler, of New Haven, Oswego county, New York, where she was born
Mar. 11, 1822.
In religion he is true to the faith of his New England ancestors.
May 12, 1838, he united with the Presbyterian church of Ashtabula (which
was then Congregational in its government), and was for some time one of
its elders. In 1852 he was elected by Grand River presbytery as a
delegate to the general assembly, which met that year in the city of
Washington.
At the organization of the First Congregational church of
Ashtabula, on the 9th day of May, 1860, he united with that body by
letter from the Presbyterian church, and was chosen as one of its
deacons. He was also elected as president of its board of trustees,
which positions he still holds. In 1871 he was elected by Grand River
conference to the National meeting of Congregational churches, at
Oberlin, where the National council was organized; he was also elected
as a delegate to the National council, which was held in New Haven,
Connecticut, in 1874.
He labored earnestly in the contest which resulted in establishing
the union school system, now the pride of Ashtabula; was a member of the
board of education, and most of the time its president, for the first
ten years.
He has been president of the Ashtabula National bank since it was
established in 1872.
His influence and means have never been wanting in any of the
enterprises of his town or county which he believed would best promote
their true interests and welfare.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 104 |
Dr. A. K. Fifield |
AMOS K. FIFIELD, M. D.,
son of Doctor
Greenleaf and Laura Fifield,
was born Feb. 14, 1833, in Conneaut, Ohio. Graduated at College of
Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in March, 1855.
Was married May 30, 1860, to Maria
S. Kellogg,
daughter of Hon.
Abner Kellogg,
Jefferson, Ohio. Has two children: Walter
K. Fifield,
born Feb. 6, 1866; Catherine
L. Fifield,
born June 30, 1868.
The subject of this sketch commenced the practice of his profession
immediately after graduation, in Conneaut, and continued to reside there
until the commencement of the American civil war. He entered the army
as surgeon of the Twenty-ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteers, and was
commissioned as such, and mustered into the United States service, Aug.
25, 1861. He continued with the regiment during its organization at
Camps Giddings and Chase, in this State. Left the State for the seat of
war with the regiment. Was present and participated in the first battle
of Winchester, when Stonewall Jackson was
defeated and General Shields badly
wounded. After the battle he was placed in charge of Court House
hospital. This hospital was filled mostly by wounded Confederate
prisoners, and while amputating the thigh of one of them, which had
already become gangrenous, the doctor received a slight scratch from the
point of his knife. Erysipelatous inflammation of a very malignant type
speedily followed, and he was in great danger of losing an arm, if not
his life. After partial convalescence, he was obliged to return home to
recruit his health. At the expiration of thirty days, and while yet
carrying his arm in a sling, he rejoined the army in the Shenandoah
valley in time to participate in the march of General
Shields to
join General
McDowell at
Fredericksburg, on his route to Richmond. He, however, immediately
returned with General
Shields to
intercept General
Jackson on
his return from his raid up the valley after General
Banks. General
Shields succeeded
in intercepting General
Jackson, and
was himself disastrously defeated at Fort Republic, Virginia, June 9,
1862, one division of his army being nearly annihilated. After the
wounded from this battle were cared for, and the field hospitals broken
up, the doctor joined the army at Alexandria, Virginia, and proceeded
with it to take part in the campaign of the valley of Virginia, the army
being under the command of General
John Pope
The disastrous results of this campaign are well known, and the army
soon returned broken and shattered to the defenses of Washington, where
they were again taken in charge by General
McClellan
The duties of the medical officers during this march, and the series of
battles which culminated as the second battle of Bull Run, were
extremely arduous. The almost entire lack of proper supplies, and the
constant moving of the wounded to the rear by railroad and wagon trains,
made the position of the surgical staff one of unusual responsibility.
While with the army on its march to the field of Antietam, he was
detached by general order from army headquarters, and sent to
Washington, on special duty, which being performed, he joined his
command at Frederick City, Maryland. He remained there on duty but a
short time, and spent the winter of 1862-63' in performing various
duties at Harper's Ferry, Dumfries, and Aquia Creek. While at the
latter place, as surgeon-in-chief of the Second Division, Twelfth Army
Corps, he organized a large field hospital, which, after the battle of
Chancellorsville, grew to mammoth proportions. The doctor was present
and on duty during the campaign and battle of Chancellorsville, under General
Hooker,
after which he again returned to Aquia Creek, and remained there until
the inauguration of the campaign which terminated in the battle of
Gettysburg. He was one of the chief operators during and after that
battle, being at the operating-table two days and two nights
continually, the operators of the surgical staff having after this
battle an unusual number of severe or capital operations to perform.
Soon after the battle of Gettysburg, the doctor proceeded with the
detachment order to New York to quell the draft riots of 1863 in that
city. After returning from New York, the detachment again joined the
Army of the Potomac in Virginia. Soon after the doctor proceeded with
the Eleventh and Twelfth Army Corps, under General
Hooker,
to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland, which they reached soon after
the defeat of that battle of Chickamauga. He passed the winter of
1863-64 in charge of the hospital at Bridgeport, Alabama, serving at
that time with Second Division, Twelfth Army Corps. In the spring of
1864, previous to starting on the Atlanta campaign, the medical
department of the army was entirely reorganized. Each division had now
a complete hospital of its own making reports to the medical director of
the army corps, but otherwise acting independently. Each division
hospital was composed of surgeon-in-charge and three corps of operators,
consisting of three for each table, one of each of these to be chief of
the table to which he was ordered. Besides these there were innumerable
assistant surgeons, as many as the surgeon-in-charge might think
necessary. These officers were all detailed and assigned by special
orders from headquarters, and no surgeon was expected or allowed to
perform an important operation except those detailed for that purpose.
To this organization there was attached the regular equipment of a field
hospital, consisting of ambulances, baggage- and supply wagons, hospital
tents, cooking apparatus, medical supplies, etc. It was expected that
this hospital could care for many hundred wounded at a moment's
warning. When we consider that the surgeon-in-charge was responsible
for all this property, that the wounded were properly cared for, and
that all operations were promptly performed while it might be necessary
to move the hospital with the wounded nearly every day, and as early as
daylight it will be readily seen that the position was one of great
mental and physical labor.
At the commencement of the Atlanta campaign, Dr.
Fifield was
detailed as surgeon-in-charge of the field hospital of the Second
Division, Twentieth Army Corps, it being one of the organizations
heretofore described. The labors of the surgical staff during this
campaign were probably the most severe, unremitting, and long continued
of any campaign of the war. The doctor remained in charge of this
hospital during the remainder of his term of service, and was mustered
out by expiration of commission, Aug. 25, 1864. After leaving the
army, Doctor Fifield resumed
the practice of his profession at Conneaut, Ohio, where he continues to
practice at this time.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 121 |
Greenleaf Fifield |
GREENLEAF FIFIELD, M. D.
The doctor was a son of the late Colonel
Edward Fifield.
He was born in Vermont, Oct. 27, 1801. Migrated to Ohio, with his
parents, in 1814. Arriving at a suitable age, he returned to New
England to study medicine, and graduated at Castleton, Vermont, in
August, 1822. Settled first in Monroe, in this county, where he
practiced about one year. Then he went to Conneaut,
and pursued, unremittingly, his calling until his death, which occurred
June 27, 1851.
He married Miss
Laura Kellogg,
daughter of the late Amos
Kellogg,
of Kelloggsville,
Feb. 28, 1830. The issue of the marriage was three daughters — Sarah,
who married G.
A. Cozens; Elvira
M.,
married Thomas
B. Rice; Catherine
L.,
married Rev.
R. M. Keyes—and
one son, Dr.
Amos K. Fifield,
of Conneaut. The subject of this sketch was quite remarkable. He
possessed a good mind, clear and solid, with a well-balanced judgment.
Add to these prime qualities his extraordinary physique, and you are
presented with a man whose like it is somewhat difficult to find in the
ordinary walks of life. His head was large, his features prominent and
clearly cut, and his countenance was expressive of intelligence,
pleasantness, and mental force. His form was erect, shoulders square
and broad,—he stood six feet, or more,—and in all his movements was as
graceful as a knight. Mankind instinctively admire those who are
favored with an imposing person, and especially if they also possess a
pleasing address. These marked characteristics no doubt in part explain
the great influence which the doctor exercised as a physician in Conneaut and
the surrounding country. The work of the physician is silent and
unimposing, and it takes many years to build up an enduring reputation
for skill, and fortunate it is for the young practitioner whom nature
has endowed with an agreeable personal appearance and address. Not so
with the lawyer and the parson; their works are more patent and showy,
and they may rise rapidly to the summit of their importance, if they are
gifted with eloquence and forced though they be as ugly as Thersites. Dr. Fifield was
ambitious and resolute, and his great physical force enabled him to do
an immense amount of riding by night, as well as by day. It is said
that he never refused to respond to the calls of his patients. Storms
and mud never delayed his movements. It is difficult to rightly
estimate the resolution exercised and the fatigue endured by this strong
and generous nature during the twenty-nine years of unremitting toil.
His practice, medical and surgical, in the surrounding counties was
extensive, and, while he was ever ready to obey the summons for his
services from the sick, he rarely presented his bills for his pay. This
exhibition of disinterestedness was not uncommon among the pioneer
doctors. Old
Dr. Johnson,
of Harpersfield, never kept accounts. He lived along from month to
month upon the produce which his more thoughtful patrons brought to
him. And when occasion came for money he would go to some of his
customers who were able to furnish the sum required, and between them
they guessed out the amount due. After his death a considerable sum was
realized in this way for the relief of his family.
This negligent habit of many of the medical pioneers was partly
owing to the temporary poverty of the early settlers and the hopeless
irresponsibility of the genus “squatter.” Still, behind this
superficial explanation there was in the hearts of these men the spirit
of charity and kindness characteristic of the true physician. There is
a silent current of sentiment in the mind of the earnest and intelligent
physician, of the presence of which he takes no formal heed: he scarcely
knows the power which impels him daily to deeds of charity and love
towards his suffering fellow-creatures. With him charity becomes a
habit. Except toil, it is the commonest event of his life. His profits
and his charities march hand in hand. But let us not glorify ourselves
above other good men in other walks of life, who, in answer to special
appeals for help, open their purses and hearts, now and then, as
occasion requires. They do their duty, and we only do ours, and no
more. Charity is the essence and the color of our profession; it is
scarcely our virtue. We only reflect it as an inevitable function, even
as a shimmering surface brightens with light from some nobler source.
The medical man of to-day, or of any future period, who ignores the
self-sacrificing examples of these pioneers, and resolves that he will
do the minimum amount of gratuitous and onerous work, will be more
bitterly disappointed than anybody else, except those who employ him.
Dr. Fifield enjoyed
jokes, humor, and fun. As an instance to illustrate his merry
tendencies we will present a little story, told to the writer of this
sketch by one of the principal parties in the scene. Captain
Alanson Tubbs,
of Conneaut,
was a stalwart sailor. One day he consulted the doctor, in an informal
way on the street, about a slight ailment accompanied by trifling
soreness in the chest. The doctor told him to put on a big hemlock-gum
plaster. This Alanson did.
He covered the whole front of his breast, carelessly forgetting to shave
off the hair. He felt relieved for a while, no doubt, and thought it a
capital thing. Pretty soon, however, the skin under the plaster began
to itch intolerably,—that is a way hemlock-gum plasters always have.
The man who puts on that kind of a plaster to please himself will be
pleased twice,—when he gets it off, especially if he forgets the
preliminary shave. The poor captain could not muster courage to pull
out so much hair, and went about itching and grumbling for several days,
seeking for some painless device to free himself of the gum. At last he
confronted the doctor, in his gig, in front of one of the hotels on Main
street, where a crowd had gathered to listen to the captain's
exaggerated sufferings and his quarter-deck expletives. The doctor saw
at once the necessity of its removal, and concluded to take the most
funny, as well as humane, way of getting it off; for his method would
give the patient great muscular action and mental diversion, which makes
us all more or less oblivious to minor injuries. He called the captain
around behind the gig, when, after he had well exposed the plaster, he
quietly got a good grip on the top of it, and tapped old White)’ with
the whip. Away sprang the horse, the captain following, of course, as
soon as he felt the pull. Away they flew, faster and faster, the
captain's long legs making him second in the race. But four legs are
better than two for speed, and off came the plaster. The captain used
to tell of it, years afterwards, and laugh till the tears ran down his
cheeks, always saying that the big stone which he hurled after the
doctor had no sooner left his hand than he began to pray that it would
not hit him, for it would have gone through him if it had. He was glad
the plaster was off, he was too mad to feel it; and the only drawback to
the transaction was having so heavy a joke resting on him for months
afterwards. If he ventured into town the hangers-on about the taverns
would inquire about the plaster. He thought he paid for about five
gallons of whisky—by the glass—before the subject became stale.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 127 |
E. H. Fitch |
HON. EDWARD H. FITCH.
This gentleman was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, May 27, 1837, the only son
of Oramel
H. and Catharine M. Fitch.
At the age of fourteen years he was sent to the St. Catharine's grammar
school, at St. Catharines, Canada, where he remained three years, and
where he was a member of the family of his uncle, William
F. Hubbard,
then the principal of the grammar school. There he fitted for college,
and in the fall of 1854 entered Williams college, at Williamstown,
Massachusetts in the class of 1858. He remained there four years and
graduated with his class in the summer of 1858, receiving a degree of A.
B., and in 1861 that of A. M. In college Mr.
Fitch devoted
himself more particularly to those branches of study which would have a
tendency to aid him in the practical everyday duties of life.\
Hew was a member in college of the Delta Kappa Epsilon society, the
Philologian Literary society, and the Lyceum of Natural History. He was
president of Lyceum, and was orator at the Adelphic Union exhibition in
1858, and had an appointment at commencement.
On the 1st day of August, 1858, he began the study of law in the
office of his father, and on the 18th day of September, A.D. 1860 at the
September term of the district court of Cuyahoga county, at Cleveland,
was admitted to the bar. He commenced the practice of law at Ashtabula
in the office of his father, and on the 1st day of January, 1862, was
taken in as a partner, and did business as one of the firm of O.
H. & E. H. Fitch until
Jan. 1, 1863, when O.
H. Fitch retired
from the practice of law and was succeeded by Judge
Horace Wilder when
the firm became Wilder
& Fitch.
This arrangement continued until December, 1863, when Judge
Wilder became
a partner of Hon.
L. S. Sherman,
taking the place of John
Q. Farmer,
who then removed to Minnesota, and with Mr.
Sherman under
the firm-name of Sherman
& Fitch,
continued the practice of law until July 1, 1867, when that firm was
dissolved since which time Mr.
Fitch has
continued the practice alone.
In 1857, at Montreal, Mr.
Fitch was
elected and became a member of the America Association for the
Advancement of Science, and is now one of the fellows of this
association. On the 24th day of May, 1867, Mr.
Fitch was
admitted to practice in the circuit court of the United States in and
for the northern district of Ohio, and on the 22d day of April, A.D.
1870, was admitted to practice in the supreme court of the United
States. Was elected justice of the peace in 1863, and 1868 and 1871,
and in 1865 was elected prosecuting attorney of Ashtabula County for two
years from Jan. 1, 1866. Was elected a member of the house of
representatives in the Fifty-ninth general assembly of the State of Ohio
in 1869, and in the sessions of that assembly served on the judiciary
committee and on foreign relations, and on public buildings; was also on
the special committee on the bill to establish the Ohio soldiers' and
sailor's orphans home, and the original fourth section of that act was
drawn by him, and was adopted as a compromise to secure the Xenia home.
On the 17th day of October, 1870, Mr.
Fitch was
appointed by Governor
R. B. Hayes delegate
to the National Capitol convention at Cincinnati, Ohio, from the
Nineteenth congressional district.
Mr. Fitch was
also for nine years recorder and member of the council of the village of
Ashtabula.
On the 27th day of October, 1863, Mr.
Fitch married Alta
D. Winchester,
daughter of Philander
and Elizabeth G. Winchester.
Mr.
Fitch has
attentively and zealously pursued the practice of his profession, and
since 1873 has taken no active part in politics, believing that the
rewards of an active, earnest, and faithful attention to his profession
are more sure and of a more permanent nature, and afford more pleasure
both to him and those dependent upon him than can be reached by an
aspirant for office, however, successful he may be.
During all the years of his residence in Ashtabula, Mr.
Fitch has
been prominent and active worker in all matters tending to promote the
interests and welfare of the village, and deeply interested in its
prosperity. He has spent much time, and never withheld his pecuniary
aid, in laboring for the securing of its railroad facilities and
manufacturing enterprises.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 92 |
Hon. Orramel H. Fitch |
HON.
ORRAMEL H. FITCH the
subject of this sketch, was the only child of Azel
and Fanny Fitch.
His father was a farmer and merchant, and for many years engaged in the
southern trade. During the War of 1812 he invested largely in woolen
manufacturing. The peace of 1815 threw open our markets to foreign
goods, and the English manufacturers flooded the country with their
woolens at low prices, for the purpose of destroying the American
manufactories, then in their infancy. In the crash which followed he
lost nearly all of his property.
The subject of this sketch was born on the 12th of January, 1803,
on Goshen Hill, a beautiful spot, surrounded by a farming community, in
the town of Lebanon, New London county, Connecticut. He was of English
descent, and of Puritan stock, being a lineal descendant of the Rev. James Fitch,
the first minister and one of the first company of settlers in Norwich,
Connecticut, that township having been granted to him and his
father-in-law, Major John Mason,
and thirty-three associates, by Uncas,
the noted Mohegan chief, for their assistance against their bitter
enemies the Pequods. At a subsequent period Owaneco,
the son and successor of Uncas,
in acknowledgment of favors received from Mr. Fitch,
granted to him a tract of land five miles in length and one mile in
breadth, within the present limits of Lebanon, a portion of which,
comprising the old homestead, was occupied by the family for several
generations.
The subject of this sketch, from his childhood until his
twenty-fourth year, with the exception of four summers, when he worked
upon his father's farm, was either a student or a teacher,—teaching to
raise money to meet in part his expenses. Among other schools taught by
him, he was for some months an assistant teacher in Masonic Hall
seminary, in Richmond, Virginia; was for a short time engaged as teacher
of languages in Westfield academy, Massachusetts, and during one winter
as principal of Union academy, in Windsor, Connecticut.
In the spring of 1824 he commenced the study of law, in the office
of Augustus
Collins. Esq.,
in Westfield. Massachusetts, where he remained two years. He then went
to Norwich, Connecticut, and entered the law-office of the Hon.
Calvin Goddard,
who was at that time one of the most distinguished lawyers in the State,
and continued under his instruction until Mar. 16, 1827, when, having
passed a satisfactory examination, he was admitted to the bar and
licensed to practice in the courts of that State. He had decided not to
settle in New England, but to seek his fortune in the west; and in May
following he bid adieu to his friends and commenced his journey in
search of a future home in Ohio. He reached Cleveland on the 13th day
of May; from there he went to Canton, Stark county, where, and in its
vicinity, he spent nearly a year. His parents had made arrangements to
come west and live with him, and wished him to settle in the northern
part of the State, where the manners and customs of the people, who were
principally from New England, were similar to their own. In accordance
with their wishes he sought a location near Lake Erie, and having
received some favorable information respecting Ashtabula (which,
however, proved partially incorrect) he selected it as his future
residence. He came to Ashtabula on the 29th of March, 1828, a stranger,
without a single friend or acquaintance, and took up his abode here,
where he has continued to reside for the last half-century.
His parents came in the fall of 1829, and resided with him during
the remainder of their lives. His mother, who was a woman of true piety
and exalted worth, died Oct. 19, 1831. His father survived her for
several years, and closed an active, industrious, and virtuous life
Sept. 10, 1842.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 90 |
|
|
Wayne Twp. -
FERDINAND FOBES - See Simon
Fobes Family.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 249
|
Sanford L. &
Flora H. Fobes
Henry C. &
Electa Fobes
David A. &
Fannie C. Fish |
Geneva
Twp. -
HENRY C. FOBES was
born in Wayne township, Ashtabula County, Ohio, on June 14, 1816, and is
the third of a family of thirteen, the children of Levi
and Eunice Fobes,
originally from Somers, Connecticut, but who removed to the township of
Wayne (this county) and located at the centre of said township. When at
the age of seven years, the gentleman took up his abode with a
grandfather in Kinsman, Trumbull county. Remained in that township
until he was twenty-three years of age, at which time he returned to
Wayne township, and secured a situation as clerk in the store of C.
C. Wick,
which occupation he pursued altogether for a period of eight years,
during one of which, however, he was a partner.
The education of Mr. Fobes was
acquired at common district school, he attending winters only, until he
was sixteen years of age. The winter he was of age he was in attendance
at the Academy in Hartford, Trumbull county. In the year 1849, Mr. Fobes associated
himself with Lyman Bentley,
and began the manufacture of cheese, making the English variety; worked
the milk of twelve hundred cows, employing seven teams to transport the
curd. In 1851 he rented a dairy-farm of four hundred and seventy acres
in Kelloggsville (this county) and removed there to prosecute the
business of dairying from fifty cows. For three years he continued the
business as lessee, then purchased the farm and stock (this was in
1854), paying therefor eleven thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars.
Remained until 1856, when he sold out; removed to Kinsman, Trumbull
county; rented another farm and occupied it for six years, then returned
to Wayne for one
year, and, January, 1864, purchased the farm in Geneva upon which he now
resides. This lies on the line of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
railway, consists of one hundred and five acres, and is valued at
thirteen thousand dollars. A fine view of his residence and grounds
appears in another portion of this volume.
June 16, 1841, Mr. Fobes was
married to Electa,
daughter of Benjamin
and Betsy Ward.
From this marriage two children were born to them: these are Sanford
L.,
who married Flora,
daughter of Dr. Holbrook,
of Kelloggsville, and is now proprietor of the drug-store in Geneva
bearing his name; Fannie
C.,
the second child, married David
Fish, Esq.,
and resides, at present, beneath the paternal roof.
Politically, Mr. Fobes’
views are in keeping with the teachings of the Republican party.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 180 |
|
See Picture below |
O. P. FOBES - See Simon
Fobes Family
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 249
|
Simon & Ferdinand
Fobes
O. P. Fobes
Residence,
Wayne Tp.,
Ashtabula Co., OH
|
Wayne
Twp. -
SIMON FOBES FAMILY.
Members of six generations from this family are buried side by side in
the cemetery at the centre of Wayne. The first death among the early
settlers of Wayne was that of Mrs.
Thankful Fobes,
who died Jan. 8, 1808; and three days later the funeral of her husband, Simon
Fobes,
took place. These aged people were married Mar. 24, 1748. The husband
was a native of England, and was a captain in the service of the English
government. Their family consisted of eight children, - four sons and
four daughters, named Thankful, Joshua, Bethia, Simon, Nathan, Ellis, Eunice,
and one
who died in infancy. Simon
Fobes (2d)
was born Apr. 5, 1756. He was a soldier in the army of the Revolution,
and fought in the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, and afterwards
joined the expedition under General
Benedict Arnold against
Canada, and was engaged in the assault upon the city of Quebec, where he
was taken prisoner of war. After suffering almost incredible hardships,
he escaped from the British on the 18th of August, and reached his home
on the 30th of September, 1776. He afterwards served as ensign in Colonel Levi
Wells' regiment,
and in April, 1780, accepted a lieutenant's commission in the matross
company, and was stationed at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut. Continental
money having so far depreciated in value that a lieutenant's pay would
not provide his clothing, he resigned his commission and returned to his
father's farm. But for his resignation he would, in all probability,
have been in Fort Griswold, where Colonel
Ledyard and
sixty of his men were massacred by the British, under Benedict
Arnold,
after they had surrendered. Simon
Fobes married Miss
Elizabeth Jones,
of Somers, Connecticut, an only daughter of Benjamin
and Eliza Jones,
descendants of some of the earliest settlers of that place. Their
children were: Joshua, born
in Somers, Connecticut, an only daughter of Benjamin
and Eliza Jones,
descendants of some of the earliest settlers of that place. Their
children were: Joshua, born
in Somers, Connecticut, Jan. 20, 1781, who was a captain in Colonel
Hayes' regiment
during the War of 1812; was the first settler in the township of Wayne,
and died in that town Sept. 16, 1860. Simon,
born in Somers, Connecticut, Aug. 16, 1783; was an ensign in Captain
Joshua Fobes'
company in 1812; married Miss
Sylvia Huntley of
Pierpont, Ashtabula County, who died in Wayne in December, 1842. An old
acquaintance of Simon
Fobes (3d)
says of him, "He was one of the most respected citizens of the
township. He served many years as a justice of the peace, with credit
to himself and satisfaction to his fellow-citizens, being esteemed as
judicious and reliable. He stood as one of the pillars of sound
morality and virtue, a much respected and honored member of the
Congregational church, serving for many years in the capacity of deacon,
and was regarded by all as one of the most perfect examples of
consistency, which gave him an influence in his community surpassed by
but few." He died in Wayne Feb. 8, 1861. Levi,
third son of Simon
Fobes (2d),
was born June 24, 1786; died Sept. 11, 1787. Levi (2d),
born June 30, 1788; died in Wayne, Nov. 5, 1869. Betsey born
Jul. 3, 1790; married Rev.
Nathan Darrow; died
in Vienna, Trumbull county, Ohio, Dec. 31, 1822. Elias,
born in Somers, Connecticut, Feb. 5, 1792, who was a soldier in Captain Joshua Fobes'
company, in the War of 1812, and was in the skirmish with the Indians on
the Sandusky Peninsula. Aaron,
born Feb. 2, 1797; died in Kinsman, Ohio, Mar. 16, 1877. Benjamin,
born June 14, 1799; died Dec. 28, 1802. Chloe,
born May 19, 1802.
All of the children of Simon
Fobes (3d)
were born in Wayne. The oldest, Simon
P.,
born Jan. 2, 1815, married, Oct. 10, 1837, Miss
Catharine A.,
daughter of William
and Amanda Fitch of
Wayne. Their children were ORLANDO
PERKINS,
born in Wayne, June 17, 1838; married Miss
Nancy L. Bingham,
of Ellsworth, Mahoning county, Ohio, Nov. 24, 1861. Their children
were Hettie born
Jun. 18, 1863, died in Wayne, Feb. 20, 1867; Bertie
Bingham,
born Dec. 21, 1865, died in Wayne, Mar. 16, 1872; Bessie
Sylvia, b.
Mar. 22, 1869; Emily
B.,
b. Oct. 13, 1874.
Eliphalet
L.,
second son of S.
P. and C. A. Fobes,
was born in Wayne, Dec. 31, 1840; d. Mar. 6, 1841.
FERDINAND
FRANCIS,
born in Wayne, Jul. 10, 1842; enlisted Aug. 12, 1862, in Company I, One
Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; died of disease at
Murfreesboro', Tennessee, Sept. 4, 1863. Lucius
Lee,
born Oct. 9, 1844, married, Oct. 15, 1868, Miss
Margaret Ann McGranahan,
of Wayne, who died Sept. 27, 1877. Sylvia
A. born
Dec. 29,1846, married Albert
C. Crosby,
of Rome, Ohio. Their children are Lucy
Amelia, born
in Wayne, Oct. 27, 1871; Katie
E. born
in Rome, Sept. 16, 1873; Willie
Fitch,
born in Rome, Nov. 26, 1874. Charles
Fitch,
fifth son of S.
P. and C. A. Fobes,
born in Wayne, July 6, 1852; married, Mar. 2, 1878, Miss
Rebecca F. Calahan at
Sacramento City, California. Their residence is now at Walnut Grove,
California.
Lucy
M.,
born in Wayne, Sept. 5, 1854, married Orlandus
Woodworth,
of Wayne, Nov. 2, 1876.
Amos
H.,
second son of Simon
Fobes (3d),
was born Jan. 15, 1816, and now resides in Mecca, Ohio.
Dr.
Abial J.,
born Jan. 29, 1818, married Miss
Louisa Alford,
of Windham, Portage county, Ohio. Dr.
Fobes died
at Kingsville, Ohio, Apr. 1, 1851, and his wife died Apr. 8, of the same
year, and at the same place. William,
born July 14, 1822, was a surgeon in the army during the late civil war,
and is now a resident of Flint, Michigan. In 1849 he married Miss
Romina Jennings, of
Pierpont, Ohio. Lucy
A.,
born Feb. 12, 1825, married Frederick
B. Fitch,
of Brighton, California, May 1, 1856. She died at her home in
California, Dec. 1, 1877. Francis,
born Feb. 26, 1827, married Miss
Cordelia Hopkins of
Pierpont, Ohio. Lois
Lamira,
born Dec. 15, 1829, married Dwight
Coe of
Hartford, Ohio. She died Jan. 1, 1869. Maria
Sylvia,
born Oct. 28, 1834, married Edmund
Snow,
of Ashtabula, Ohio, Jan. 2, 1858.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 249 |
|
|
Pierpont
Twp. -
NATHANIEL FOLLETT,
Infirmary Director, was born in Auburn, Cayuga county, New York, on Jan.
14, 1823, and is
the third child of Grettis
and Mary Follett,
of the former point, but who removed to Ohio in the year 1839, and
located in Pierpont township, on the farm now occupied by the subject of
the present sketch. The father still resides in this township, at the
age of eighty-five years. The mother died May 19, 1872. The education
of Mr.
Nathaniel Follett was
acquired by the aid of the common or district school, and from the
completion of which until the present time has followed the occupation
of farming. On Jan. 7, 1849, he was united in marriage to Emily
M.,
daughter of Linus
and Harriet Burhuell,
originally from Hartland, Connecticut, but who were residing in the
township of Monroe at the time of this marriage. From this union three
children have been born. These are Della
A.,
Feb. 17, 1853; Hattie
L.,
Nov. 20, 1856; and Frank
W.,
whose birth occurred on the 8th day of September, 1859. These children
are still inmates of the parental home. Politically a warm
Republican, Mr. Follett has
been elected to many of the offices within the gift of his fellow
townsmen. In the fall of 1874 he was chosen to the office of infirmary
director, and was re-elected in the fall of 1876. He is spoken of as
being an efficient officer, and faithful in the discharge of his
duties. Has ever been an ardent supporter of the educational interests
of his township.
----- Source:
1798 History of Ashtabula County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men by Publ.
Philadelphia - Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 235 |
NOTES:
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