In the books' own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. The later printing (1908) is folded below the first. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1854
From Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens (1908), History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio (1881)
FRANK F. LOOMIS, an engineer in fire department, Akron; is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Taylor) Loomis; was born in Akron April 2, 1854, where he attended public schools until his father died, when he lived with an uncle at Wadsworth for some time. In 1869, he went into a pottery, working in it for one year; then learned the blacksmith's trade, and, in 1870, he became a minute man in Steamer No. 1, and served as fireman and blacksmith in the city fire department. At the death of James
H. Stanford, he was made engineer of steamer in January, 1881. He was married, July 10, 1879, to Miss Barbara Grad, of Akron. His father was born in Medina Co., and lived there till he was 14, and then went to Lake Co. When grown, he came to Akron, and became captain of a canal-boat for the Navigation Co. He followed this business until the war broke out, when he enlisted in the 29th 0. V. I., and after a hard campaign with the Army of the Cumberland, he caught cold from fording a river, and died at Cumberland, Md., in January, 1862. Subject is the oldest son; one brother, Charles H., is a farmer, near Sears, Mich. Mother still lives in Akron.
As printed in History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio (1881). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
FRANK FOWLER LOOMIS, city electrician of Akron, and one of the most expert electrical engineers of Ohio, is a native of this city, where he was born in 1854, a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Taylor) Loomis.
Joseph Loomis located at Akron about 1845, and commanded one of the boats plying on the Akron Canal, which did a large business in those days. At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in Company H, Twenty-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving until his death, in 1862, from the effects of a cold contracted while crossing the Cumberland River in the line of duty. His widow survived until 1892.
Frank F. Loomis was eight years old when his father died, and he was taken to the home of his uncle, who operated a farm near AVadsworth, where he remained until 1868. He then came to Akron, where he worked for one year on the canal and one year for the Morrell Pottery Company. He then learned the blacksmith's trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years, and during that period became a member of the Akron Fire Department, an organization with which he has remained identified ever since. In the very early days of the general study of electricity he became interested and soon began to experiment with motors and dynamos, ability for this line of work seeming to belong to him naturally. He soon devoted all of his time to experimenting and inventing, and has been very successful, not only in bringing OTit new inventions, but also in materially improving many old ones. He has had five patents granted him on motors and dynamos, and four patents on alarm boxes, two on electric drills and two on electric railway signals. It may not be generally known, for Mr. Loomis is modest, notwithstanding his many successes, that he designed and built the first electrical motor police patrol in the world. Since 1880 he has been city electrician at Akron. He practically started the Akron Electrical Manufacturing Company, and he owns stock in a number of other city enterprises. He is considered exceptionally expert in the placing of underground wires. In 1878 Mr. Loomis was married to Barbara Grad. Fraternally, he is an Elk and an Odd Fellow.
As printed in Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens (1908). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
Named in this biography: James H. Stanford (b. 1843)
The printed record stops around 1908. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.