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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Richland Co., Ohio -
from 1808 to 1908
Vol. I & II
by A. J. Baughman -
Chicago: The J. S. Clarke Publishing Co.
1908
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JOHN EASLY
Source: History of Richland Co., Ohio - from 1808 to 1908 by
A. J. Baughman - Chicago: The J. S. Clarke Publishing Co. 1908 -
Vol. II - Pg. 561 |
WILLIAM H. ELSTON,
who is engaged in the tailoring business, having thus been an
active factor in the commercial circles of Bellville for many
years, was born in Litchfield, England, Aug. 11, 1829. His
father, William Elston, was a native of Noblesville,
England, and later resided in Birmingham, where he followed
shoemaking until after his wife's death. He married Ann
Osborn, a native of Litchfield, England, who died in
Birmingham, when about thirty-five years of age. She was a
consistent member of the Congregational church and an earnest
Christian woman. In 1836 the father came with his family
to America, locating in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he engaged
in the manufacture of shoes and also conducted a shoe store
until 1854, when he came to Bellville, where he followed the
same business until his death, which occurred in 1877. He
was an active member of the Presbyterian church and for
many years served as its chorister. He had three children,
but Anna, the first born, died in infancy. Mary,
who passed away four years ago at Shirley, Massachusetts, was a
preacher and elder in the Shaker church at that place for sixty
years.
William H. Eaton, the other member of the
family, went to live with an uncle in England at the time of his
mother's death, but when ten years of age he crossed the
Atlantic to the new world, joining his father in Lowell,
Massachusetts. He made the voyage on the ship Concordia,
which arrived in Boston in July, 1838. For a few months he
resided with his father and then went to Providencetown,
Massachusetts, where he lived with a merchant tailor, under
whose direction he learned the trade, making his home there
until his marriage, with the exception of the time spent on the
sea. He made two voyages as ship keeper on whaling vessels
and was afterward in the navy as seaman and commodore's
cockswain for three years and ten months. His experiences
on the sea covered a period of about eleven years. When
only eighteen years of age he was made the second mate and when
on a trip to the West Indies the entire crew, with the exception
of Mr. Elston and one seaman, died of yellow fever.
Our subject then secured a crew of colored men and brought the
ship safely back to Boston. He twice experienced shipwreck
on the coast near Boston. He twice experienced shipwreck
on the coast near Boston.
At length he abandoned life on the ocean wave and
accepted a position as cutter in a large tailoring establishment
in Boston, where he remained until July, 1856, when he arrived
at Bellville to visit his father. Being greatly pleased
with the country and its prospects Mr. Elston determined
to locate here and began working at the trade in the employ of a
Mr. Moore. About a year later he entered into
partnership with his employer, conducting a clothing store and
merchant tailoring establishment. Two or three years later
he purchased his partner's interest in the store and carried on
the business for many years, having the leading establishment of
the kind in the town until about twenty-two years ago, when he
sold out. He has since carried on a tailoring business and
his excellent workmanship and honorable business methods have
secured him a liberal patronage and brought him a richly merited
measure of prosperity.
On the 7th of April, 1852, Mr. Elston was united
in marriage to Miss Elizabeth L. Alexander, of
Providencetown, Massachusetts. She died Nov. 28, 1898,
respected by all who knew her and greatly beloved by her family
and many friends. She left three children: Lizzie,
the widow of Benton Garber, of Bellville; Nellie
G., the wife of Dr. J. B. Lewis, of Bucyrus, Ohio;
and William Blake, a merchant tailor, of Peoria,
Illinois.
Mr. Elston has always given his political
allegiance to the republican party. He is now serving as
noble grand of Bellville Lodge, No. 303, I. O. O. F., and was a
member of the Encampment for fifty-two years. He was made
a Mason at Mansfield in 1857 and belongs to Bellville Lodge, No.
376, F. & A. M., and since 1858 has been a member of Clinton
Commandery, K. T., at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. He has been
identified with the Methodist Episcopal church for fifty-two
years and has served as recording steward for twenty-eight
years, doing everything in his power to extend the growth and
influence of the denomination. His career as a sailor was
in many respects a most remarkable one and his business record,
now covering more than a half century's connection with the
tailoring industry at Bellville, is one of which he has every
reason to be proud. Although he has passed the psalmist's
allotted span of three score years and ten, he is still to some
extent an active factor in business and enjoys the warm regard
and esteem of all with whom he has been associated throughout
his long and eventful career.
Source: History of Richland Co., Ohio - from 1808 to 1908 by
A. J. Baughman - Chicago: The J. S. Clarke Publishing Co. 1908 -
Vol. II - Pg. 1120 |
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H. A. ENSOR
Source: History of Richland Co., Ohio - from 1808 to 1908 by
A. J. Baughman - Chicago: The J. S. Clarke Publishing Co. 1908 -
Vol. II - Pg. 1171 |
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GUSTAV ETZ
Source: History of Richland Co., Ohio - from 1808 to 1908 by
A. J. Baughman - Chicago: The J. S. Clarke Publishing Co. 1908 -
Vol. II - Pg. 1145 |
NOTES:
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