MARTIN NEFF, whose fine residence farm of 210 acres is situated in Canfield township, a mile and three-quarters east of Canfield, on the Boardman and Canfield road, owns also a farm of 75 acres on the other side of the highway and 86 acres south and east of the agricultural fair grounds.  Martin Neff was born Mar. 25, 1827, on his present farm, in Mahoning County, Ohio, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Kline) Neff.
     Conrad Neff, the grandfather of Martin, was the pioneer of the Neff family in the Western Reserve, to which he came, from Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1802.  The Pennsylvanians who accompanied him numbered I6 souls and they made the journey in the strong old Conestoga wagons, which were built to traverse forests and cross unbridged streams, as was necessary in traveling through this section of Ohio in those early days.  The travelers found a little settlement of 16 log houses where now stands the flourishing town of Canfield.  Conrad Neff purchased 140 acres of land in the adjacent wilderness and erected a small log cabin near the site of the present comfortable home of his grandson.  It took hard work and considerable time before any crops could be raised and in the meantime, the family subsisted on wild game, which was very plentiful, deer and wild turkey being easily secured.  Conrad Neff was a mason by trade and he did a large part of the mason work for his neighbors in those days, his sons doing the larger amount of clearing and land cultivating.  Both Conrad Neff and wife died on this place, having reached the age of 70 years.
     The children of Conrad Neff and wife were: Conrad; John; Henry; Mary, who married Henry Crum; Margaret, who married Henry Peatry; and Mrs. Henry Brunstetter.
     John Neff, father of Martin, was born in 1795, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and thus was seven years of age when he came to Mahoning County.  His early educational opportunities were meager but he was reared with the practical ideas which resulted in his be coming a man of ample fortune and a highly respected citizen of his community.  His first land was purchased for $2.50 an acre and he accumulated a large amount, at one time possessing 600 acres.  He sold a portion of this to advantage and utilized the rest in general farming and stock-raising.  He was a man of sound judgment and on a number of occasions was selected to hold township offices.  Politically, he was a strong Democrat, but he did not approve of the War of the Rebellion.  He died one week after the first gun was fired at Fort Sumter, aged 64 years, nine months and seven days.
     John Neff married Elizabeth Kline, who was born in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and died in Mahoning County, aged 79 years, surviving her husband for 16 years.  She was a daughter of Abraham Kline,  who settled at an early day in Youngstown township, Mahoning County.  They had five children, two of whom died in infancy during an epidemic of scarlet fever, the others being: Eli, residing in Kansas, having reached his 86th year; Mary, deceased, who married Russell F. Starr, also deceased; and Martin, the youngest of the family.
     Although his family had been settled many years in Canfield township, when Martin Neff came on the scene of life, many pioneer conditions still prevailed and his educational opportunities were limited to a short period of school attendance in the old log school-house near his home.  His father was greatly interested in raising and dealing in cattle at this time and a large part of the hard work of the farm fell on young Martin and his brother.  As his father drove his own cattle over the mountains and disposed of them in the eastern markets, he was away from home a great part of the time.  The sons, especially Martin, developed good judgment in cattle, and he also became a dealer and on his own account drove stock as far as Pittsburg.  The business was very profitable as long as no lines for cattle transportation had been built and no great cattle ranches had yet been established in the West.  Mr. Neff has lived on this farm all his life, but has traveled on horseback all over the country and on one occasion was in the saddle for 31 days.  He started out with a farm of 73 acres and when he went into the stock business was obliged to rent pasture land. but gradually acquired field after field until, at one time, he owned more than 600 acres. He has been very generous to his children, but still retains 335 acres.  With the assistance of Thomas G. Stradford, whom he reared from childhood, Mr. Neff still carries on farming and stock-raising.
     Mr. Neff was married Apr. 5, 1848, to Catherine Wilson, who is one of the first children born at what is now the town of Dublin, Mahoning County, Ohio.  Her parents were John and Jane (Trimble) Wilson, who were natives of Ireland and were early settlers at Dublin, this county.  Mrs. Neff was reared and educated in that village.
     Mr. and Mrs. Neff have had five children, as follows: John, Caroline, Mary, Lois and Elizabeth, the last named dying at the age of seven years.  John Neff, residing at Canfield, is engaged in a dry-goods business.  He married Hattie Sanzenbacher and they have six children, namely: Sadie; Ensign, who married Mary Porter; Martin, who married Ann Fithian, has two children; Calvin; Silas, who married Miss Waters, has one child; and Roy.  Caroline, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Neff, married G. S. Beard, and they reside in Beaver township and they have two children Bert, who is married and has three children; and Alexander, who is engaged in the milk business at Youngstown.   Mary  Neff, the second daughter, who married Floyd Blackburn, died in 1900. Lois Neff, the third daughter, married Charles Edsall and they reside near the parental home and have two children, Julia and Bertha.
     Politically Mr. Neff has always been in sympathy with the Democratic party.  He has been elected to almost all the township offices at various times and has served with the greatest efficiency on the township board of trustees, on the board of education and as supervisor, and his advice and counsel is considered valuable by his fellow-citizens whenever any important township matter is under consideration.
     Mr. Neff and family have enjoyed the benefits and pleasure of travel and are most entertaining in recalling what they have seen with their own eyes.  Mr. Neff, himself, has seen a large portion of his native land west of Ohio, and in 1902 he was accompanied by his wife and some of his children on a delightful trip which extended through a large part of the most enjoyable regions of a number of States.  The party started from Canfield and went west to Chicago, remaining one night in the famous Windy City, going on from there to Denver, Colorado, and then through the great mountain ranges to
Sacramento and viewing the beautiful city of San Francisco before the great calamity of 1906.  From there they went to Los Angeles, then covered 750 miles to Junction City, Oregon, going from there to Salem and Portland and thence to Seattle and through the great pine timber country to Spokane, Washington.  On their return they visited St. Paul and other interesting cities.  The enjoyment and advantages of such an extended trip can scarcely be over-estimated.
Source: 20th Century History of Youngstown & Mahoning Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. Biographical Publ. Co. - Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 963

JAMES NEILSON.     In the varied industries which have served to make Youngstown the great business center of this part of the state, no one man had more to do with their firm founding than had the late James Neilson.  He was born December, 1842, at Glasgow, Scotland.
     The mother of James Neilson died when he was an infant and this possibly weakened home times and he grew to young manhood cherishing the desire to come to America.  When 24 years old he joined his uncle in the vicinity of Columbus, Ohio, and his subsequent life was passed in this state, to which he became as closely allied as if he had been native born.  The first position held by him in the state of his adoption was that of bookkeeper at the Powers coal mine.  Later he secured a position in one of the furnaces operated in connection with the coal mines and in 1866, he entered the employ of Andrews Brothers, remaining with them as bookkeeper and manager of the blast furnace at Haselton, for some ten years.  His faithful services were recognized in 1880 when he was taken in as a member of this important firm.  Seven years later, upon the incorporation of the Andrews Brothers Company, he was elected vice-president and general manager of their mines and great iron plant, a position he continued to fill until his death in 1893.
     Mr. Neilson from the beginning of his career had displayed those rare business qualities which could not fail to inspire confidence and possessed the foresight which made his opinions and plans of the greatest value.  In 1889 he organized the Youngstown Bridge Company and became its president; he was also president of the Mahoning ore Company, which operated mines in Minnesota; he was a stockholder and director in the Youngstown Car Manufacturing Company; a stockholder in the Morris Hardware Company, the G. M. McKelvey Company, the Dollar Savings & Trust Company, the Commercial National Bank and the Ohio Steel Company.
     In 1892, when the Mahoning Ore Company was organized, it was the expressed wish of the late H. O. Bonnell that its vast interests sshould be entrusted to the capable hands of Mr. Neilson.  Probably the faithful performance of this wish, considered almost sacred by Mr. Neilson, was the real cause of his death, as it was while visiting the various ore properties that he was prostrated by an attack of influenza from which he never really recovered, and his death occurred on May 24, 1893, of heart failure.  His loss was deeply deplored not only at Youngstown, where as man and citizen he was honored and esteemed, but all over the country where the firm, sure control of his hand had been felt in so many industries and whose upright character lent value to them.  A vital factor in Mr. Neilson's many enterprises was the employment of labor, and that so little friction occurred among the hundreds in his employ was mainly because of his attitude toward them.  Although a strict employer, expecting every man to perform his full duty, he was a just one and readily recognized superior value or talent and rewarded it.  He was universally beloved by those in his employ and no more sincere expressions of sorrow were heard on the occasion of his death than from those who worked in his mills and mines and foundries.  It was no question with them of capital and labor, simply one of man and man, and it was so because Mr. Neilson had made it so.
     Mr. Neilson was married in 1866 to Eliza E. Gibson, a daughter of P. D. Gibson, who was an early pioneer of Mahoning County, coming here with his parents at the age of 14 years.  His wife became a resident of the county at nine years of age.  After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Gibson settled near Gibson Springs, where they had a farm of about 200 acres.  Mrs. Neilson by a former marriage had two children, namely: L. Lola, deceased and R. d., who is a specialist in medical practice at Youngstown.
     For many years Mr. Neilson was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church and during his long enjoyment of its spiritual assistance he was a ready and willing contributor to its needs.  He was charitable to a large degree and was particularly interested in work of the Young Men's Christian Association.  His fraternall connections included all the higher branches of Masonry.  Hillman Lodge, No. 481, F. & A. M., of which he was past master; Youngstown Chapter, No. 93; St. John's Commandery, K. T., No. 20; Alcoran Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Cleveland, Ohio and of Lake Erie Consistory of Scottish Rite Masons.
     Mr. Neilson left a large estate which is capably managed by his heirs.  The beautiful family home is at No. 318 Wick avenue, that delightful, spacious thoroughfare of Youngstown on which the city's finest mansions stand.
     The publishers take pleasure in presenting a portrait of Mr. Neilson in connection with this biographical outline.
Source: 20th Century History of Youngstown & Mahoning Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. Biographical Publ. Co. - Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 671

JOHN W. NESBITT, postmaster, and one of the leading citizens of the village of Poland, was born Jan. 31, 1840, on a farm in Poland township, Mahoning County, hio, and is a son of Nathaniel and Jane (Wishard) Nesbitt.
     The Nesbitt family came originally from Scotland.  James Nesbitt, the great-grandfather of John W., was born in that country and at a very early period came to America and located in Pennsylvania where James Nesbitt, the grandfather was born.  In 1855 he came to Ohio and settled in Poland, where he died at the advanced age of 94 years.
     Nathaniel Nesbitt, father of John W., was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and was 15 years old when he accompanied his father to Poland township, where he lived all his life, his death occurring in 1868.  He was a contractor and builder by trade.  Nathaniel Nesbitt married Jane Wishard, who was born in Poland township, in 1806, and died in 1868.  She was a daughter of John Wishard, who came from Washington County, Pennsylvania, and setted on a farm just west of the Ohio State line.  Six children were born to Nathaniel and Jane Nesbitt; James, who died in 1883; Mary J., who resides with her brother, John W., is the widow of Isaac Robb, who died from sunstroke while serving in the Civil War; John W.; Sarah, who died in 1868; Myrancy, deceased, who married Adam Frankforth, of Iowa; William H., who died at the age of four years.  John W. Nesbitt was reared in Poland township and learned the carpenter trade, which he followed for about 35 years.  On Aug. 9, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, 105th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Army of the Cumberland until the closed of the Civil War.  He was with Sherman on his march to the sea, and participated in all of the battles and engagements, and was not absent from duty for even 24 hours, during the whole war.  He was slightly injured in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, but not seriously enough to in capacitate him from duty.  During his first nine months of service he acted as commissary of his company, and was then made sergeant, serving in that capacity until the close of the war, and was mustered out at Cleveland, Ohio, June 9, 1865.
     After the close of his military service, he returned to Poland and resumed carpenter work, and in 1869 he was married to Rosa A. Logan, a daughter of D. C. Logan, of North Bloomfield.  Mr. and Mrs. Nesbitt have three children: Carrie L., Frances (Mrs. Warren Simon), and Jane.  Miss Jane Nesbitt is an instructor at the Orphans' Home at Xenia, Ohio.
     Mr. Nesbitt first assumed the duties of postmaster of Poland, April 1, 1891, and served for four years, and after a lapse of three years again took charge of the office, on Jan. 1, 1898, and has since been serving in that capacity.  For the past 20 years he has been trustee of Poland township, and has served on the village school board for the past 25 years.  He is a member of the American Order United Workmen.
Source: 20th Century History of Youngstown & Mahoning Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. Biographical Publ. Co. - Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 596

JAMES E. NEVIN, a leading member of the bar of Mahoning County, and a substantial citizen of Youngstown, was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, May 28, 1858.
     Mr. Nevin was educated in the public schools of Columbiana County, at Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio, the National School of Elocution and Oratory, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington University, of St. Louis, Missouri.  For three years Mr. Nevin was a successful educator in Columbiana County, principal of several schools, and prior to coming to Youngstown, in 1899, he practiced law at Omaha, Nebraska.  He is a man of capital and is interested in a number of mining and producing combines, operating in coal, oil and other minerals.
     On September 3, 1890, Mr. Nevin was married to Elizabeth Bettie, of St. Louis, and they have three sons, Kirkwood Scott, Robert Beattie, and James Edmondson, Jr.  They are members of the First Presbyterian Church.
     Politically Mr. Nevin is a conservative republican.  He retains membership in his college Greek letter society. the Phi Delta Phi.
Source: 20th Century History of Youngstown & Mahoning Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. Biographical Publ. Co. - Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 823

HENRY NIEDERMEIER, of the firm of Niedermeier & Restle, general contractors, of Youngstown, Ohio, in which city he has lived since the spring of 1872, was born in Germany, in 1848, and when 18 yes old came to America and located in Gasconade County, Missouri.  Here he learned the mason and bricklaying trades, and worked five years at these trades in that section.  He then made a visit of three months in Germany, after which he returned to America and located at Youngstown, Ohio.  In 1877 he accepted a position on the city police force, on which he served until 1880, after which he engaged in contracting, but it was not until 1897 that the firm of Niedermeier & Restle was formed.  The company does a general contracting business, working on an extensive scale, throughout this section of the state.  Mr. Niedermeier also has other business interests and is director of the Heller Brothers Company.  He was married, in 1879, to Martha Heller, and has five children, namely: Henry J., engaged in a contracting business at Youngstown; Louis M., residing at Allegheny, Pennsylvania; and Clara, Dora and William.  The family all belong to be German Reformed Church.  Mr. Niedermeier is a member of the Western Star Lodge, F. & A. M., and the Knights of Pythias.  He is also a member of the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce, and of the Builders' Exchange.
Source: 20th Century History of Youngstown & Mahoning Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. Biographical Publ. Co. - Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 782

WILLIAM C. NIXON, a general farmer and large fruit-grower of Poland township residing on his farm of 61 acres, was born at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Feb. 18, 1851, and is a son of Robert and Mary (Obey) Nixon.  Robert Nixon was engaged in operating coal mines during his early life, but later retired to farm life in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, remaining there until 1870, when he returned to Pittsburg, where he died in 1891.
     William C. Nixon grew to manhood in the city of Pittsburg and learned the trade of heater in the Eagle Iron Works, at Saw Mill Run.  In 1862, before he was 12 years old, he began working in the Singer-Nimmick Steel Works, remaining there for a number of rears, when he went to Pipetown and worked at roll turning.  When his father moved to the farm he gave tip work in the mill and remained with his father until 1876, when he married Kate W. Green, a daughter of James Green.  She was born and reared on a farm in Armstrong County Pennsylvania, and came from a very prominent family of Armstrong County.  Three years after his marriage he removed to Allegheny and worked for 14 years as a heater for the Oliver Iron and Steel Company of that city.  In 1892 he traded property which he owned in Allegheny, for his present farm, which originally consisted of 122 acres.  It is situated in lot 75 and lies in the Lowellville Special School district, about half a mile north of Lowellville.  He subsequently sold one-half of this land to George H. Nixon, a resident of Youngstown.  Mr. Nixon has devoted ten acres of this land to apple, peach, pear, plum and other fruit-growing, the remainder to general farming.  There is a fine supply of water on this place, there being two reservoirs, each containing 200 barrels of natural spring water, one of which he uses to irrigate the farm, and the other supplies water to the Lowellville cemetery.
     Mr. and Mrs. Nixon have reared five children:  Annie M.; James G., who graduated from the Lowellville High School, also took a course at the State Normal School at Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, and is now clerking for the Oliver Iron and Steel Company at Pittsburg; Horace, who graduated at the Lowellville High School, also attended the Rayen High School of Youngstown, Ohio, and the Ohio State University at Columbus, is now connected with the civil engineer corps of the Pennsylvania Railroad; Hugh Hamilton, who is a graduate in the class of 1907, of the State Normal Scholl School, at Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania; and Ralph Clair, who attends the Lowellville High School.
     Mr. Nixon is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Lowellville.
Source: 20th Century History of Youngstown & Mahoning Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. Biographical Publ. Co. - Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 718

N. L. NORRIS, secretary and general manager of the Banner Electric Company, at Youngstown, has been identified with the business interests of this city for the past twelve years.  He was born Nov. 25, 1863, at Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio.
     When Mr. Norris was about six years old, his parents moved to Gustavus, Trumbull County, Ohio, and there he was reared and educated.  For six years after completing his education, he taught school and then spent three years clerking in a country store, subsequently becoming bookkeeper for The Warren Manufacturing Company.  He remained four years in this capacity, with this firm, and then embarked in the lamp business and became connected with The Orient Electric Company.  Following the sale of that plant, he was connected for two years with the auditing department of the Ohio Steel Works.  Mr. Norris was the main organizer of The Banner Electric Company, which was incorporated on June 1, 1901, with a capital of $100,000.  the officers of the company are: Thomas Carr, of Youngstown, president; C. S. Crook, of Youngstown, Ohio, vice-president; E. N. Beach, Youngstown, Ohio, treasurer, and N. L. Norris, secretary and general manager, and F. C. Kirchner, superintendent.
     The Banner Electric Company have a finely equipped plant, an immense brick building running from No. 646 to 652 Market street.  It is four stories high, is 40 by 200 feet in dimensions and gives 32,000 feet of floor space.  The business is the manufacturing of incandescent electric lamps and they give employment to 225 workmen.  In 1885, Mr. Norris was married to Josephine M. Swager, of Gustavus, Trumbull County, Ohio, and they have three children, namely: Alta Mae, George Elton and Norman L.  Mr. Norris is a member of the Youngstown Club.
Source: 20th Century History of Youngstown & Mahoning Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. Biographical Publ. Co. - Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 941

JAMES H. NUTT, secretary of the Western Bar Iron Association, and one of the prominent citizens of Youngstown, who has been closely identified with iron interests for over a half century, was born Nov. 19, 1848, in Worcestershire, England, and is a son of Thomas and Ann (Pultney) Nutt.  The parents of Mr. Nutt lived out their lives in England.  They had nine children, three of whom grew to maturity and two of whom came to America: James H., and Thomas, of Cleveland, Ohio.
     James H. Nutt came to this country in 1868, an intellligent, well-educated, young iron worker, whose skill brought him immediate employment in the busy city of Pittsburg, where he remained until January, 1876.  He then came to Youngstown and entered the Brown-Bonnell iron works.  Here he followed the trade of a heater for some sixteen years, and it was during this time that he became associated with the great movement which crystalized in the Amalgamated Association, of which he was one of the organizers.  In 1877 he was elected vice-president of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers of the United States for this district, and to this position of importance he was elected three separate terms.  Subsequently he was elected one of the national trustees, an office he held for a number of years.  On June 1, 1892, he became manager of the labor department of the Mahoning & Shenango Valley Manufacturing Association, and in July, 1893, was appointed its secretary.
     As one of the chief officials of the great Amalgamated Association, Mr. Nutt naturally assumed a very prominent place in the public life of Youngstown.  He served for six years as a member of the city council and was mentioned for postmaster.  His greatest work, however, has always been in the interests of labor and he has served in a score of important positions in its various bodies, and has accomplished much in its behalf.  He was chosen to represent the iron workers before the Ways and Means committee of Congress, on the question of tariff, for the Amalgamated Association and the Manufacturer's Association, since 1878, having been identified with different committees that were permitted to appear before Congress in the interest of a protective tariff.  Mr. Nutt's uprightness of  character, genial manner and frankness of intercourse with men of all degree, have attracted to him many friends and have won many helpful adherents to the cause of labor.
     On Nov. 26, 1871 Mr. Nutt was married to Sarah Ward, a daughter of Henry and Susan Ward, of Rome, New York, and they have had eight children, viz: Flora, Harry, Helena, Albert, May, Edith, Ada and George.  The family home is one of great hospitality and much domestic comfort and is located at No. 238 Spring street.  The family belong to the St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church at Youngstown.
     Politically Mr. Nutt is a zealous Republican, and he has been one of the leading men of his party in this section for many years.  He is a man of powerful personality and he commands the respect of all who meet him, whether they are in accord with his theories of life and government or not, by his gentle manly bearing, his dignity of character and his evident honesty of purpose.  Mr. Nutt's office is situated in the Dollar Bank building at Youngstown.
Source: 20th Century History of Youngstown & Mahoning Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens - Publ. Biographical Publ. Co. - Chicago, Illinois - 1907 - Page 742