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A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z |
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OREN M. BARNES,
prominently identified with the commercial and agricultural interests of
Geauga county, was born here April 25, 1837, a son of Michael
Barnes, a native of Connecticut, and a grandson of Michael
Barnes, Sr., also born in Connecticut. There the
grandfather passed his life, but the father emigrated to Ohio in 1835 and
settled two miles south of the village of Huntsburg, where he developed a
large farm, and he and his brother Zenas established a flourishing
industry in the manufacture of cheese. He lived to be sixty-six
years old, and owned at the time of his death 400 acres of land. His
wife was Esther A. Cleveland, a native of Connecticut; she reared a
family of four children, and lived to the ripe old age of eighty-four; she
was a consistent member of the Congregational Church. In politics
the father adhered to the principles of the Whig party and afterward
supported the Republican party. Oren M. Barnes was the eldest-born of the family; he attended the early pioneer schools, Burton Academy and Hiram Institute under the principalship of James A. Garfield. After leaving the schoolroom as a pupil, he entered as an instructor, and taught for a period of three years. He was united in marriage Jan. 1, 1861, to Lucy A. Kile of Huntsburg, Ohio. They have had no children, but have been father and mother to three adopted daughters: Belle, who was married to George W. Pease; Anna, who was married to Herbert A. Barnes; and Lizzie. After his marriage Mr. Barnes located in the southeastern part of Huntsburg township, where he operated a steam sawmill for five years; at the end of that time he bought a farm of 133 acres, three quarters of a mile south of the village, which he cultivated until he removed to town in 1885. He then bought a sawmill which he has since managed with gratifying success. In 1890, he invested in another mill, and has the management of both; he has a large local trade, and ships a considerable amount of lumber to other sections. He rented his farm when he came to town, and in connection with his other interests owns a small store. He was appointed Postmaster in 1889, and has filled the office of County Commissioner for a period of six years, having been elected to the office by the Republican party. He is a man of sound judgment and unusual business ability, standing high in the estimation of those who known him. Mrs. Barnes is a member of the Congregational Church, and is possessed of those traits which go to make a fine type of womanhood. |
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EDWIN BETTS.—Among the successful farmers of Geauga county none is
more deserving of mention than Edwin Betts, and it is fitting
that his biography be recorded upon the pages of this history. He was
born in Niagara county, New York, October 19, 1835, a son of Samuel
Betts, a native of Vermont. The grandfather, Ebenezer
Betts, was a New Englander by birth, of German descent. He was a
soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving through that conflict. He
carried mail and messages, and was accompanied by an Indian scout. He
also participated in the war of 1812. He reared a family of four sons
and one daughter. Samuel Betts was the youngest son; was a
carpenter by trade, and followed this vocation through life. He
emigrated to the West and located in the State of Michigan, where he
died in 1846. His wife's maiden name was Mary Hall. She
was a native of Vermont, and emigrated with her family first to New York
and thence to Michigan; she died in 1846, five weeks before her husband
passed away. Of their five children Edwin and his twin brother,
Edgar, survive. They were young children when their parents died, and went back East to live with their grandparents. Edwin had very few opportunities to gain an education, as he was obliged to work for his board and could not always attend the short term regularly. At the tender age of eleven years he began to work out at $4 a month, and when fifteen he and his brother came to Ohio, and were employed in Summit county for a number of years in farm work. At the age of nineteen they entered Hiram College, where they were students two terms during the time that President Gar field was one of the faculty. It was in the spring of 1869 that Mr. Betts purchased his present farm in Hampden township, Geauga county. He was married in 1858 to Clarissa Clark, who was born in Summit county, Ohio, her parents being early settlers. Her father was three times married, and had a family of seven children. After his marriage Mr. Betts was engaged in farming in Summit county for four years. His only child, Wendell P., was given better educational advantages than those enjoyed by his father, having attended the college at Meadville, Pennsylvania. At the age of fifteen years he began teaching, and followed this vocation for some time. He is now a clerk in the treasury department, Washington, District of Columbia, and is a graduate of the law school of Washington, and a well-read lawyer. He was married to Libbie Harrison, who died in 1883. He afterward married her sister, who is also deceased. He had by his first wife one son, Howard G., who is living with his grandfather. Politically Mr. Betts affiliates with the Republican party, and has represented the people of his township as Trustee, discharging his duties with great fidelity. He is also a member of the Grange. He has a finely cultivated farm of 156 acres, which he has improved through his own efforts. Too much credit cannot be given those brave men and women who faced the dangers, trials and privations of life on the frontier that they might make way for the onward march of civilization and the general progress of mankind. Source: Biographical history of northeastern Ohio - Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1893 - page 1019 |
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CHESELTON
P. BRAINARD, an old settler of Munson township, Geauga county,
Ohio, was born at Chesterfield, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, October
20, 1814. His father, Leonard B. Brainard, was a native of Rhode
Island, and emigrated to Ohio in 1833, locating in Munson township,
Geauga county, when this country was an unbroken forest. He died in
September, 1849, aged fifty-nine years; his wife lived to be
eighty-seven years old. C. P. Brainard is the eldest of a
family of six children, all of whom are living. He was twenty years of
age when he came to Geauga county, and remained with his parents four
years, assisting in clearing the land and making improvements. In 1837
he went to Union county, Ohio, where he resided twelve years, being
variously employed. In 1850, he returned to Munson township,
buying out the heirs of the homestead property and living there two
years. He then sold that place and bought his present farm which
comprises 106 acres. He was united in marriage January 19, 1851, to Polly Justice, of Chardon, Ohio, a daughter of John R. Justice, one of the first settlers of Chardon village. He built there a tannery, which he operated for years. He died at the age of seventy-nine years, and his wife lived to be seventy-four. Mr. and Mrs. Brainard have one son, William L., who is married and lives in Cleveland, Ohio. An ardent supporter of Whig principles Mr. Brainard became a Republican upon the organization of the party. He has been a Trustee of the township for many terms, giving excellent satisfaction in this position. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is Trustee. He owns 107 acres of land in his home farm, and another small tract. He does a general farming business, and at one time had a dairy, keeping twenty cows. He owns and operates a cider-mill, which was built in 1861, and still does good service. Mr. Brainard has always taken an interest in military tactics, and has been both Second and First Lieutenant of the militia companies. He received his commission as First Lieutenant from Governor Corwin. In his younger days he was quite fond of hunting, and one was one of the best marksmen in the country. He has been industrious, frugal and persevering, and has accumulated a competence. Source: Biographical history of northeastern Ohio - Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1893 - pages 1014 |
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ELDRIDGE BURR,
a self-made man and prosperous farmer of Burton township, Geauga county,
was born at Smithfield, New York, February 10, 1818, a son of Moses and
Eunice (Austin) Burr, also natives of the Empire State. The father
was a farmer by occupation, and at an early day emigrated to Newbury
township, Geauga county, Ohio, where he passed the remainder of his life
engaged in agricultural pursuits. Eldridge Burr thus passed his
boyhood upon the frontier, and secured hsi education in the primitive log
school-house, cutting wood to pay his tuition. At the age of
eighteen years he went to work on the farm by the month, and since that
time he has made his own way. He located permanently in Burton township, where he cultivated land on the shares, but by economy and industry he saved sufficient means to buy land, and has occupied his farm for more than thirty-five years. At one time he lived in Troy township, where he owned a small farm, which he sold. Mr. Burr was united in marriage in 1838, to Louisa Minor, who died in 1865. They had born to them two children: Correll, who died at the age of eighteen years; and Eunice now the wife of Sidney Hall, of Huntsburg township. Mr. Burr was married a second time in 1866, being united to Mrs. Densly Warren. They have no children. The principles of the Republican party form the political faith of our subject. He has accumulated a competence for his declining years, and through all the struggles of life he has preserved a reputation for unswerving rectitude, and has made a host of friends who respect his many sterling traits of character. |
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EMERY BROWN, who was born
at Hiram, Ohio, February 6,1845, is the son of Thomas Brown, one of the
honored pioneers of Ohio, and grandson of Reuben Brown, a native of New
York, who emigrated to Ohio in very early times and settled in Geauga
county. The grandfather cleared and improved, in Auburn township, a
farm, which he sold before removing to Hillsdale county, Michigan. There
he cleared and improved another tract of land. His wife died in their
new home, and he returned to Geauga county, where he passed the
remainder of his life. Thomas Brown was the second of a large family,
and was a small boy when his father came to Ohio from New York, his
native State. When a youth of eighteen years his father gave him his
time, and he started-out to seek his own fortune. His first work was on
the farm of David Brown, which was being cleared and put under
cultivation. At the end of three years he had saved sufficient means to
make an investment, so he bought sixty acres adjoining David
Brown's tract in Hiram township, Portage county. His marriage to Esther St. John occurred soon after he had provided this little home, and they lived on this place ten years. At the end of this period he exchanged his sixty acres for 160 acres in Troy township, Geauga county. Seven years later he sold out and moved to Burton township, where he bought 225 acres, to which he added as his means increased until he finally owned 740 acres. He died in 1892, at the age of seventy years. He was Trustee of Burton township during the last twenty years of his life, and transacted the business of this office with the same fidelity and good judgment that had always characterized his dealing. He was purely a self-made man, starting without capital in early life to make a place for himself in the world. How well he fulfilled this purpose is attested by the handsome estate he left and the character he bore, as a man above reproach. Esther St. John, his wife, was a native of New York, and came with her parents to Ohio. They settled in Newbury township, where they were among the pioneers. She died in 1854. Mr. Brown was married a second time, being united to Martha Osmer. They had a family of five children, all of whom are living. After her death Mr. Brown was married to Jane Angeley, who survives him. Emery A. Brown is the only child of the first marriage. He attended the pioneer school until he was twelve years old, and then began to help his father, remaining at home until he was of age. He then spent a few years in the oil regions of Pennsylvania, but later returned to the vocation of his youth. He has a fine farm of 232 acres, and makes a specialty of the dairy business. In politics he follows the line pursued by his father and casts his vote for the candidates of the Democratic party. Mr. Brown was married in 1881 to Lizzie Homer, a native of Olean, New York. They had no children. Source: Biographical history of northeastern Ohio - Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1893 - pages 1018 |
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