JOHN GAFFNEY, proprietor of the Conneaut House, Conneaut, Ohio, was born in Ashtabula county, this State, July 11, 1866, son of John F. and Bridget Gaffney.
     His parents came from the old country to America previous to their marriage.  The father was a traveling man for many years - traveling until the Conneaut House was built, after which he was its proprietor until the time of his death, Feb. 28, 1892, at the age of sixty-six years.  He had been a resident of Conneaut since before the war.  Mr. Gaffney was a devout Catholic, as is also his wife.  The names of their children are as follows:  Janie, Margaret, Elizabeth, Delia, John, Frankie, Agnes and Thomas.  All are at home and unmarried except Janie, who is the wife of Thomas E. McGinnis, a railroad engineer and a resident of Conneaut.  Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis have two children:  Benita and Eugene.  Of John F. Gaffney's brothers and sisters we record that one brother, James, resides in Erie, Pennsylvania; that Elizabeth is the wife of Patrick Cozens, of Conneaut; that Patrick, another brother, is deceased; and that Mary is the wife of Peter McGordy, Chicago.  Mrs. Gaffney had a brother and sister who came to Conneaut, Terrence Quinn, who died here; and Mrs. Edward Tinney, still of this place.  She has two brothers, Thomas and John, farmers in Iowa. and one brother, Henry, in St. Louis.
     John Gaffney's first employment was that of yard clerk at the Nickel Plate, where he remained for two years.  After this he clerked in his uncle's store in Erie some time.  Then he went on the road as a traveling salesman, being in the employ of S. Peterson & Co., a wholesale grocery and flour house of Chicago, and continued on the road until after the death of his father, since which time he has conducted the hotel.
     The Conneaut House is situated on the west side of Mill street, south of the New York, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, being conveniently located for railroad men, who are its chief patrons.  Mr. Gaffney, having spent some years on the road, is acquainted with the wants of the traveling public, and he knows how to cater them in a courteous and pleasing manner.  Indeed, he is eminently fitted for the position he occupies.
     He affiliates with the Democratic party, and is a member of the Catholic Church.
(Transcribed from Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio embracing Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga Counties; published in Chicago: Lewis Publ. Co., 1893 - Page 874)

NATHAN A. GERMOND, contractor and builder, Conneaut, Ohio, was born in Dutchess county, New York, in 1843, son of Barton and Harriet (Davis) Germond, also natives of New York.
     Barton Germond was born April, 1817, and in 1843 came with his family to Ashtabula county, Ohio, settling in Pierpont township, where he still carries on agricultural pursuits.  He is a member of the Congregational Church.  His wife was a Methodist.  She died at Pierpont in 1848, aged thirty-two years.  Mrs. Germond's parents, Jonathan and Sallie (Herrington) Davis, natives of New York, came to Ohio in 1842, settling at Pierpont.  Grandfather Davis, a highly respected farmer, is still living, having reached his one-hundredth mile-post Mar. 12, 1893.  He enlisted as fifer in the war of 1812, but the war was over before he was called into service.  He has been twice married.  His first wife died about 1850, aged fifty-seven years.  She had three sons and three daughters, two of whom are deceased; two reside in the State, one in Idaho, and the other in Oregon.  His present wife was, before her marriage, Miss Sallie Turner.  They have two children, residents of Pierpont.
     Barton and Harriet Germond had four children, namely:  Oscar, a resident of this township; Nathan A., and George and Harley, who have charge of the home farm, both being unmarried.
     Nathan A. remained on his father's farm until the war came on.  In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Twenty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and participated in the battles of Winchester, Fort Republic, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Buzzard's Roost; was with Sherman on his famous march to the sea; and was one of the victorious soldiers in the grand review at Washington.  From Washington he went with his command to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was honorably discharged July 22, 1865.  He was once captured by a rebel, but made good his escape, and three times he was wounded, first in the finger, at Fort Republic, in the head at the battle of Chancellorsville, and in the foot at Buzzard's Roost. After receiving the second wound he was disabled about five months, remaining, however, with his regiment but not being able to carry a gun. After being wounded in the foot, he came home on a thirty days' furlough, at the end of that time rejoining his command at Atlanta.
     While at home from the war in 1864, Mr. Germond was married, January 14, to Miss Carrie Colson. They have had two children, Minnie and Charles. Minnie became the wife of B. M. Talbot, of Alliance, Ohio, and her young life closed when she was twenty-one years of age. For seven years she was a faithful member of the Congregational Church, I and her whole life was characterized by the sweetest of Christian graces. Mrs. Germond is a member of the Congregational Church.
Politically, Mr. Germond is a Republican.
(Transcribed from Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio embracing Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga Counties; published in Chicago: Lewis Publ. Co., 1893 - Page 281)

CHARLES R. GODDARD, one of the leading attorneys in northeastern Ohio and a prominent citizen of Conneaut, was born in Windsor, Ashtabula county, this State, February 7, 1835, a son of one of the early pioneers of the State.
     Ranney Goddard, (1) his father, was born in Connecticut, in October, 1800, and in 1820 came to this county.  It was not long after his arrival in Ohio that the family of Rawdons came out here from Connecticut and settled in Windsor township, and in 1826 he married Miss Lucy Rawdon.  In him were found those sterling qualities so characteristic of the true pioneer.  He knew what it was to endure hardship and privation, and heroically did he meet every emergency.  In the primeval forest he established his home and developed a fine farm, and there he and his good wife passed useful and happy lives.  Nobly did he do his pat in opening up the frontier and preparing the way for a higher civilization and progress which the present generation now enjoys.  Politically, he was a Democrat until the war broke out and from that time on he was a Republican.  He was a Captain in the militia and took a lively interest in training day.  In 1880 he passed away at the ripe old age of eighty years.  His wife died in 1881, aged seventy-four years.  She was for many years a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and her life was characterized by the sweetest of Christian graces.  For more than half a century she and her worthy husband lived happily together, their many amiable qualities endearing them to a large circle of neighbors and friends.  They had a family of four sons and three daughters, all of whom grew up to occupy honorable and useful positions in life, and of them we make the following record:  Lucy, the widow of a Mr. Tracy, is now in South Africa with her daughter, Mrs. Clara Hankins, wife of the Rev. Mr. Hankins, a missionary to that dark continent, in the interest of the Adventist Church.  Mrs. Tracy has a son, Ward Tracy, residing in this county.  Harriet Goddard became the wife of William Barnard.  They reside on a farm near Windsor in this county.  The next in order of birth is Charles R., whose name heads this article.  Erastus C. is a resident of Unionville Center, Ohio.  His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Cook, is deceased.  Roland married Mary Ware and lives in this county.  Will F., also married and living in this county, is engaged in farming.  Mariette, wife of Charles W. Babcock, died many years ago.
     Mr. Charles R. Goddard was educated at Orwell and Hiram College.  He entered Hiram about the time Garfield was promoted to a professorship in that institution, and Mr. Goddard recited mathematics to him.  He afterward attended law school in Cleveland, where he graduated with the class of 1859.  In 1861(2) he began the practice of his profession in Conneaut where he has since remained,  meeting with eminent success, and in point of time is now the oldest attorney in the place.  He has been a member of the City Council several terms and for a number of years has served on the School Board, taking an active interest in the educational affairs of the city.
     He was married, August 30, 1876, to Miss Sina Baldwin, a lady of domestic attainments and rare social graces.  She is a daughter of L. I. Baldwin of Conneaut.  Mr. & Mrs. Goddard have four children: Charles, Harry W. and Wilfred and Winfred, twins.  He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church, and he is also a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity.
     Mr. Goddard is a lawyer of marked ability.  He has been engaged in many of the principal litigations in this part of the country, and during his long and successful career here has gained an enviable reputation and made many warm friends.  He is still in the prime of active manhood, and much may be expected of him.
(Transcribed from Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio embracing Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga Counties; published in Chicago: Lewis Publ. Co., 1893 - Page 907)
NOTES:
(1) In 1830 Census there is a B. Goddard  in Windsor, Ashtabula Co., Ohio in Roll 126, Book 1, Page 180a. There was No Orwell twp. at that time in the county.   For R. or Ranney Goddard, see 1840 Census, Orwell, Ashtabula Co., Ohio - Census Roll 376, Book 1, Pg 249a.  ALSO: 1850 Census, Orwell, Ashtabula Co., Ohio - Census Roll 659, Book 1, Page 479b.  ALSO:  1860 Census Orwell, Ashtabula Co., Ohio - Census Roll 932, Book 1, Pages 145b & 146a.  ALSO:  1870 Census Township of Orwell, Ashtabula Co., Ohio - Census Roll 1170 Bk. 1, page 295b, Dwelling & Family #41.
(2) In 1860, Chas. R. Goddard was listed in the census listed in (1) herein as living with his parents.  He was aged 26 yrs and an Atty. at La

EDWARD C. GROSS, general yard master of the Nickel Plate Railroad, Conneaut, Ohio, is the right man in the right place.  His strict integrity and business qualifications have secured him promotion to his present position.  The following facts have been gleaned in regard to his life and ancestry.
     Edward C. Gross was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, Feb. 25, 1862, son of William and Carolina (Wherle) Gross, the father a native of Germany and the mother of Erie county, Pennsylvania, in which county they were married.  William Gross came with his parents from Germany to America when he was a boy, and settled in the city of Erie, where he and his wife still reside.  For twenty-eight years he was in the restaurant business, but is now retired.  During the late war he served a short time in the Union army.  Both he and his wife are members of the German Lutheran Church. Mrs. Gross, while a native of Pennsylvania, is a descendant of German ancestors, her parents, Michael and Carolina Wherle, having come from Germany to the United States in the early part of this century.  They settled on a farm twelve miles south of Erie, which was at that time a mere village, and there they passed the rest of their lives and there died.  They reared a family of three sons and three daughters, all of whom are living and in Pennsylvania, namely: John, Frank, Michael, Lizzie, wife of Colonel Kurtis; Carolina, and Mary, wife of Norten Newell.   William and Caroline Gross had five children, as follows: William, engaged in the lumber business in Brooklyn, New York, married Lilly Hughes, daughter of a wealthy contractor of that city; Edward C; Emil, a boiler-maker of Erie, Pennsylvania, married Kate Liebel; Nettie, wife of Robert Dunkin, of Erie; and Flora, the youngest, at home.
     Edward C. Gross started out in life as a traveling salesman, and for two years was in the employ of a wholesale boot and shoe house of Erie.  Then he spent three years working at the trade of boiler-maker in Brooklyn, after which he began railroading.  He was brakeman on the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad four years.  In 1885 he accepted a position as conductor on the Nickel Plate and came to Conneaut, where he has since resided.  He was changed from conductor to night yard master in 1889 and was promoted to his present position in June, 1891.  The position of general yard master is one of great importance.  He has under his charge between thirty or forty men, besides all crews entering Conneaut, hiring and discharging the men being a part of his duty.
     Mr. Gross was married Oct. 15, 1878, to Miss Maggie Sherman, daughter of Mott Sherman of Albion, Erie county, Pennsylvania.  Her parents are still living.  Their family is composed of three daughters, of whom Mrs. Gross is the oldest, Nellie and Rose being the others.  Miss Nellie is a fine pianist and is now in the Musical Conservatory of Allegheny College. Mr. and Mrs. Gross have four children: Willie Morrison, Lulu Belle, Eddie and Lillie. Both he and his wife are members of the Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a Democrat.
(Transcribed from Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio embracing Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga Counties; published in Chicago: Lewis Publ. Co., 1893 - Page 193)

ELIJAH GUN.  Although Gun, like Stiles, came to Ohio with the surveyors, and spent a large part of his life in the vicinity of Cleveland, his personal history has not been well preserved.  On the approach of old age, he left the pioneer homestead, in Newburg, and removed to the Maumee river, to the residence of his son, near Napoleon, Ohio.  Little has come down to us, of his occupations, and of his trials at Conneaut during the winter of 1796-'7.  Both himself and his wife, appear to have endured the hardships of those days better than many of their cotemporaries.  His cabin, at Conneaut, was about a mile above Stow Castle, on the creek.  He reached a very advanced age, nearly or quite, four score and ten, dying among his kindred, on the banks of the Maumee.
(Transcribed by Sharon Wick - being taken from Early History of Cleveland, Ohio. publ. 1867 - Page 333)