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HON.
ISAAC N. HATHAWAY.—
Were this volume being compiled for the present generation only it
would be unnecessary to give place in it to the record of the life of
the worthy citizen whose name is presented above, for he is so well
and favorably known, not only to the people of northeastern Ohio, but
of the State, that little can be said of him but what is already
known. As general history is written for the future, so to a large
degree is biography, and to place in a substantial book form the
memoirs of one of Geauga county's most noble and distinguished
citizens is the object of this sketch.
Books are permanent chronicles which transmit to future
ages the memory of those whose lives are recorded within their sacred
pages; and when the subjects treated of are as worthy as the one whose
name heads this memoir they become an inspiration for good to the
present and future generations.
Isaac Newton Hathaway, of Chardon, Ohio, was
born June 8, 1827, and is the oldest attorney in practice in Geauga
county, of which he is a native. The first of his ancestors of whom
anything definite is known was William Hathaway, who was born at Fall
River, Massachusetts, of Welsh descent. He was a seafaring man and was
chiefly engaged in whaling, and would often make voyages of three
years' duration. He was an enterprising, thrifty man, and was
held in high respect. Heavy depredations were committed upon his
marine interests by privateers during the war of 1812, and in
recompense he received in liquidation from the State of Connecticut
6,000 acres of land on the Western Reserve in Ohio. He died at Fall
River, at an advanced age. His son, James Hathaway
(father of the subject of this biography), accompanied by a cousin,
came to Ohio, in 1816, making the journey on foot. He was born at Fall
River, Massachusetts, January 1, 1799. He settled on a grant of 400
acres of land made to him by his father in what is now Geauga county.
Upon this he subsequently made extensive improvements.' Having
established himself in his new home, he returned to Massachusetts for
the companion of his heart's choice, Miss Miranda
Ashley, of Springfield, born in 1806, to whom he was united in
marriage. With his bride he returned to the West, this time making the
journey with a primitive team. While East he had been appointed agent
for the Connecticut Land Company for some of the lands in Geauga
county. He immediately upon his first arrival set about the great work
of his life,—that of developing a new country and recovering it from a
wilderness. He became identified with the early pioneer interests of
the section of the country in which he located, taking a leading part
in agriculture, manufacture, commerce and all business enterprises of
the county, thereby contributing largely to its development and
progress. Money was scarce there, and through his enterprises and his
commercial transactions he was enabled to bring money in and
distribute it among the people. His operations were as varied as they
were extensive, and for many years he was the life of the community.
In 1844 all his manufacturing interests were destroyed by fire,
entailing not only a great financial loss to him, but a great set-back
to the country.
At an early day he was appointed by the State, Fund
Commissioner of Geauga county for the distribution of her portion of
the surplus revenue distributed to the several States, from the sales
of public lands and revenue. For many years he was Justice of the
Peace and County Commissioner. In 1848, he was elected Sheriff and
re-elected for the second term, on the Free Soil ticket. After the
expiration of his term as Sheriff he was extensively engaged in the
prosecution of pension and bounty land claims. Later he became
interested in Western enterprises and removed to northern Illinois in
1860, where he died in 1868, his widow following him in 1887.
In person, Mr. Hathaway was large
and well built. He early interested himself in the cause of the
Christian Church and contributed largely to its support and growth. In
disposition he was warm-hearted, genial and social, he was generous,
charitable and benevolent, ever ready to help the poor or his friends.
To his family he was much devoted, being an affectionate husband and
father.
Isaac N. Hathaway, the subject of this
biography, secured his education in the common schools and at the
"Western Reserve Academy at Kirtland, and a part of the time while
there was a student in the old Mormon Temple. During the time his
father, was Sheriff, he acted as deputy, gaining thereby valuable
experience for future work. While thus engaged he began the study of
law under the direction of Phelps & Riddle, then a
prominent law firm of Chardon. He made rapid progress in his studies
and was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1854. He immediately
began his practice, forming a partnership with W. O. Forrest.
He rose rapidly in the profession and soon became one of the leading
lawyers in northeastern Ohio. Later the firm became Durfey,
Forrest & Hathaway, and then Thresher, Durfey
& Hathaway. This association later gave place to the firm of
Canfield & Hathaway. When Mr. Canfield was
elected to the bench, Mr. Hathaway took in as a partner
Mr. C. W. Osborne, a young man whom he had taken into his office
and whom he had trained for the legal profession. This last
partnership was a prosperous one and the firm did a large business,
but Mr. Osborne saw a more inviting and a larger field
for his abilities at Painesville to which place he went, since which
time Mr. Hathaway has conducted his business alone.
Mr. Hathaway has been in continuous
practice and in the same town for nearly forty years, the longest time
covered by any attorney in Geauga county. During this long period he
has had the confidence of his brother attorneys, of the court and the
people, and has held the reputation as an honest, earnest and faithful
lawyer. His ambition was to be a good lawyer and this desideratum has
been eminently realized. While devoted to his profession he has
occasionally been drawn into the political arena. Though always
interested in politics and taking an active and prominent part in the
councils of his party and in the campaigns, he has never sought
political preferment. Mr. Hathaway has, adjacent to
Chardon, three line farms, the cultivation of which not only affords
him much pleasure, but offers him diversion from his professional
duties.
In 1872 Mr. Hathaway was elected to the
State Senate from the counties of Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula, and
while a member of that body served on the judiciary and other
committees of less importance. He declined a re-nomination, as the
position took too much time from his profession. Prior to this he was
Prosecuting Attorney, holding the position from 1858 to 1862. In 1880
he was solicited again to be a candidate for the Legislature; he
accepted the candidacy and was elected to the lower house to represent
the counties of Lake and Geauga. He was again placed on the judicial
committee, and served also on other committees. He was re-elected and
during the second term was chosen speaker pro tern., a position which
he filled with ability, dignity and impartiality.
At home Mr. Hathaway has served as Mayor
and has held various other positions in the municipality. In 1848 he
was a delegate to the Philadelphia convention which nominated
Zachary Taylor for President; and also to the Chicago
convention of 1868, which nominated General Grant, and to the Chicago
convention of 1888, when Benjamin Harrison was nominated.
Early in life he became connected with the Masonic
order, and has been actively and prominently identified with that body
ever since. He is a member of the Scottish Kites, having taken the
thirty-second degree, and also of the Mystic Shrine. He was one of the
first members of the latter order in Ohio. For many years he has been
an active member of the I. O. O. F. He was one of the organizers in
Ohio of the Order of the Eastern Star; was the first Worthy Grand
Patron of the Grand Chapter of the order, and aided largely in its
development.
Mr. Hathaway was united in marriage,
January 9, 1854, to Sarah J., the accomplished daughter of Moses
Hayden, one of the pioneers of Geauga county. Two children were born
of this union: Charles J., deceased, and Katie, who was
married to Charles McD. Kile, one child being
born to them, Edith, now a bright and most lovable young girl
of fifteen summers.
Mrs. Hathaway departed this life July 29,
1882, to the great bereavement of her family and deeply mourned by a
large circle of friends. She was a woman of great purity of character,
and was distinguished for her sweetness of disposition, her large
benevolence, and her charity to the poor. Mr. Hathaway
has never remarried.
Before closing the biography of one of Chardon's most
distinguished citizens, a few words voicing the sentiment of the
people may not be out of place. Mr. Hathaway is a man
above the medium size, well formed, of courteous manners and pleasing
address; he is social and genial by nature, of generous impulses and
steadfast in friendship; he is most charitable in his intercourse with
his fellow-men, and his hand is always open to the poor. He is
essentially a home man, and through life his first thought was for his
family, to whom he has ever been devoted. As a lawyer he has won the
reputation of being a close student, very careful in the preparation
of his causes and very successful in their trial. He always commands
the respect of the court, the confidence of the jury and the good-will
of the bar. He is above the petty tricks of the pettifogger, but goes
to trial with his causes in full faith that the law and the evidence
are all-sufficient for the demands of justice. Upon his long career as
a professional man and a citizen there is no blemish. He has lived to
see the place of his nativity grow to a beautiful city, in the van of
civilization and culture, and as his shadow falls toward the East he
can take a retrospective view of the past and contemplate with pride
the growth and development of the community to which he has been a
potential factor. He can also rest in the enjoyment of that
consciousness, blessed with the thought that he has dealt fairly and
squarely with his constituency and with the people, and that he has
not been entirely selfish; that while he has wrought for himself, he
has also wrought for the good of the people. He has been true to his
convictions of right, true in the discharge of every duty which has
devolved upon him, true to the community in which he has dwelt, and
true to the State.
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