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N. LEACH, clothing and gents' furnishing goods, Medina; was
born in Sullivan, Ashland Co., Ohio, in 1841. In 1858, he
entered the Preparatory Department of Oberlin College, and remained
there until 1860. He then engaged as clerk in the general
merchandising business of Baldwin, Laundon & Co.; in
1868, he formed the partnership of Fitch & Leach, they doing a
clothing and gents' furnishing goods business. July 16, 1866, he
married Miss Electa Fitch, a native of Cuyahoga Co., Ohio.
They had four children, of whom two are living- Frank H. and
Florence A. In 1872, Mr. Leach came to Medina, and
opened business in the Empire Block, and later moved to the Dental
Block, but, not having sufficient space to accommodate his trade, in
the fall of 1878, built his present brick store, thus securing an
elegant room, 24½x80 feet, in which he
has placed a mammoth stock. Prominent among the many advantages
he offers the trade, is his one-price cash system, which unites
satisfaction and cheapness for the buyer. Mr. Leach
has also an admirably managed custom department that cannot fail to be
appreciated by all who love a snug fit. |
MILTON H. LEATHERMAN. One of the
leading figures in the business life of Medina County is M. H.
Leatherman, who is president and treasurer of the Wadsworth Lumber
Company. He was born in Wadsworth Township, Aug. 14, 1860, the son of
Jacob and Mary (Baker) Leatherman.
Jacob Leatherman, a native of Wadsworth
Township, was born April 12, 1834. He was the son of John
Leatherman, who was born in eastern Pennsylvania in 1800. He was
among the first settlers of Wadsworth Township and became the owner of
a farm of 110 acres in the southwestern part of the township. He was
also a school teacher. His son, Jacob Leatherman, was reared
and educated in Wadsworth Township and engaged in general farming
until 1876 at which time he established a grain and feed business in
Wadsworth, later known as the Wadsworth Milling Company. He later
became identified with the lumber business, and was associated in this
with his sons. Mr. Leatherman died in 1904. He was a prominent
member of the Mennonite Church of Wadsworth and one of the founders
and trustees of Mennonite College at Bluffton, Ind. He was ever
interested and active in the civic interests of the city. He served as
township trustee, justice of the peace, and as a member of the board
of education. His wife was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1828. She
was the daughter of Benjamin Baker, one of the first settlers
of Wadsworth. To Mr. and Mrs. Leatherman were born three sons:
Milton H., the subject of this sketch; Benjamin F., and John
N., who are identified with the Wadsworth Lumber Company.
M. H. Leatherman has always lived in Wadsworth.
He was educated in the district schools and for a number of years was
engaged in the hardware business. He has been connected with the
Wadsworth Lumber Company since 1897 and at the time of his father's
death in 1904 became associated with his brothers, J. N. and B. F.
Leatherman. The company was incorporated in 1906 with the
following officers: M. H. Leatherman, president; H. M.
Simcox, vice president; and John N. Leatherman, secretary
and treasurer. The capital stock was increased in 1918 from §40,000 to
$100,000. The company also operates lumber yards at Seville, Medina
County, and Creston, Wayne County. They are also retail dealers in
builders supplies and coal. In 1918 Mr. Leatherman with his
brothers, John N. and B. F., bought the Wadsworth
Milling Company, and after operating same in connection with the
lumber business for 18 months, they sold it in June, 1919, to the
Wadsworth's Farmers Equity Exchange Company.
In 1883 Mr. Leatherman married Miss Laura
Warner, daughter of Samuel and Eliza Warner,
of Wadsworth, Ohio, who died in 1922. They were the parents of five
children: William, who died in 1918; Mrs. Carrie
Jones, who lives at Greenville, S. C.; Irene, died in
infancy; Mary, married Lloyd J. Abrams, lives at
Wadsworth; and Frank W., who is secretary of the Wadsworth
Lumber Company. He married Miss Helen Reed, a native of
Kentucky.
In 1924 Mr. M. H. Leatherman married Mrs. Carrie
(Reid) Selby.
Mr. Leatherman is a Republican and has served as a member of
the city council and as township clerk. He is a trustee and member of
the official board of the Methodist Church of Wadsworth.
(SOURCE: History of north central Ohio : embracing Richland, Ashland,
Wayne, Medina, Lorain, Huron and Knox Counties) |
CHARLES B. LEWIS,
won fame as an American humorist under the name of "M. Quad." It is
said he owes his celebrity originally to the fact that he was once
mixed up in a boiler explosion on the Ohio river, and the impressions
he received from the event he set up from his case when he was in the
composing room of an obscure Michigan paper. His style possesses a
peculiar quaintness, and there runs through it a vein of philosophy.
Mr. Lewis was born in 1844, near a town called Liverpool, Ohio. He
was, however, raised in Lansing, Michigan, where he spent a year in an
agricultural college, going from there to the composing room of the
"Lansing Democrat." At the outbreak of the war he enlisted in the
service, remained during the entire war, and then returned to Lansing.
The explosion of the boiler that '' blew him into fame," took place
two years later, while he was on his way south. When he recovered
physically, he brought suit for damages against the steamboat company,
which he gained, and was awarded a verdict of twelve thousand dollars
for injuries received. It was while he was employed by the "
Jacksonian" of Pontiac, Mich.,that he set up his account of how he
felt while being blown up. He says that he signed it "M Quad," because
"a bourgeoise em quad is useless except in its own line it won't
justify with any other type." Soon after, because of the celebrity he
attained by this screed, Mr. Lewis secured a place on the staff of the
"Detroit Free Press," and made for that paper a wide reputation. His
sketches of the "Lime Kiln Club" and "Brudder Gardner" are perhaps the
best known of his humorous writings.
(Source: A Biographical Record of Boone
County, Iowa, 1902, Pages 193 & 194) |
Liverpool
Twp. -
ROBERT LOOMIS, farmer; P. O. Liverpool; was
born in Berkshire Co., Mass., in 1797; the son of Loren Loomis.
He attended the common school, and, when sixteen years of age,
enlisted in the army, and was a participant in the war of 1812.
He served under Gen. Brown and enlisted under Captain
Ingersoll. After the war closed, he returned to
Massachusetts and remained there several years, coming to Medina
Co., in 1825, when the land was yet unsettled. He located on
the banks of a creek and has lived there ever since. He was
married in 1817, to Ruth Davis, a native of Massachusetts.
Their children are - Melvin, Truman, Robert and Phebe.
His wife died in 1870. He is one of the few old settlers who
can relate of the times when deer, bears and wolves reigned in the
thick forests of the county. He is a member of the Free-Will
Baptist Church, and has served as Township Trustee several terms.
He is a sturdy old veteran Democrat, having always voted that
ticket.
(Source: History of Medina Co., Ohio - Publ 1881 - Page 750) |
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