General George Stidger

George became a General in the Army. His family moved to Ohio from Maryland. His picture is in a museum in Masselon, Ohio.

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GENERAL GEORGE STIDGER, was among the first of the pioneers to take up his abode in the wilds of Stark county, having located in what is now the city of Canton, when it was a mere straggling hamlet in the midst of the virgin forest. Here he played an important part in civic and business and public affairs, wielding a wide and beneficent influence and leaving to posterity that most priceless of all heritages, a good name. Of the parents of General Stidger the only facts of a definite nature now known are that his father was a native of Germany and his mother of Holland and that they were married in Europe, whence they emigrated to America prior to the war of the Revolution, sooner or later taking up their residence in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, where it is supposed both passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this memoir was the youngest. He was born in the city of Baltimore, in the year 1781, and received good educational advantages in his youth, becoming a man of fine intellectuality and distinctive force of character. In Lewistown, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, General Stidger was united in marriage to Miss Mary Riley, concerning whose ancestry it is ascertained that her mother was born on the island of Jersey and that after the death of her first husband, Mr. O'Reiley, as the name was then spelled, she married a man named Moore. Her son Edward settled in the state of Virginia in an early day.

In the year 1807 General Stidger came with his wife from Pennsylvania to Stark county, Ohio, the journey being made overland with teams and wagons, while the progress was slow and harassing, as a matter of course, as few roads had been established and the way led principally through the virgin forests after crossing the mountains. General Stidger built the first hotel in Canton, the same having been located on the site of the present Hurford hotel. The original caravansary was a small frame house of four rooms, and a story and a half in height, and yet in this little pioneer dwelling was found a place to afford accommodations to the wayfaring man who needed the same, while we can well understand that the hospitality of the little tavern was gracious and cordial, thus compensating for the lack in temporal and structural conveniences. The General became the owner of all the land on the east side of the public square lying between Tuscarawas and Fifth streets, but eventually disposed of all except the central portion. The corner on East Tuscarawas street was sold to a merchant named Sterling, while a saddler named Reed purchased the Fifth street corner. General Stidger, soon after establishing his home in Canton, became prominently identified with its business and civic affairs, and here he eventually opened a general merchandise store, handling all classes of goods demanded in the pioneer community, while he also conducted a tin and cooper shop next to his home in the center of the block mentioned. On the portion of this block which he retained he erected a large brick house, one of the most pretentious buildings in the town at that time, while a portion of the building was utilized for his store. Back of the place of business was the spacious dining room, and across the hall were two large parlors. His energy and progressive ideas were manifested in divers directions, and it may be noted that in addition to the enterprise mentioned the General also conducted a tan yard, which was located to the east of what is now Piedmont street. He extended the field of his operations, establishing stores in Mansfield and several other points and becoming the owner of several farms, while he gave employment to a large number of men, considering the place and period and the conditions that existed. To each of his five children who attained maturity he presented a farm, while his kindness and generosity were not confined to his own family but reached out and permeated the entire community in whose welfare he ever took so deep an interest. He was given many evidences of popular confidence and esteem, and among other positions of trust to which he was called was that of judge of the court of common pleas, in which capacity he rendered that faithful and efficient service which alone adds dignity to the bench. He served under Gen. William Henry Harrison in the war of 1812, and was colonel of his regiment. He also took a lively interest in the state militia of the olden times, being a conspicuous figure in the same and holding the rank of general. Here the "training days" were occasions of importance and marked popular interest, the same plan being followed as that adopted in the east prior to and after the war of the Revolution. Both the cavalry and infantry companies would assemble in Canton for parade and tactical drill, and a special honor was paid to General Stidger at such times by the firing of a salute over his house. He was a man of sturdy physique and pleasing facial lineaments, while his urbanity, cordiality and unvarying kindness won him a high place in the affectionate regard of all with whom he came in contact. He was a noble, loyal and God-fearing man, ever demanding the approval of conscience for every thought and action and never being known to compromise for the sake of personal ends or self-aggrandizement. The General gave an unfaltering allegiance to the Whig party, being an able exponent of its principles and a leader in its local councils.

General Stidger was summoned into eternal rest in the year 1826, his death occurring in the city of Baltimore, where his remains were interred, in the Kirk churchyard. His wife's health had become impaired and they had gone to the east and after making a tour of the eastern cities in a barouche they arrived in Baltimore, and there he was attacked with the illness which terminated in his death, his life having thus begun and ended in the same city. His widow survived him by many years, her demise taking place in Canton, in 1840, while she was laid to rest in Westlawn cemetery, having been fifty-four years of age at the time of her death. Of the children of this worthy couple we are able to enter the following brief record: Judith became the wife of James Allen, who served as a captain in the Mexican war and who was a printer and editor, having followed this line of work in Canton, Cincinnati and Columbus. His wife died in California. Louis died in infancy. Eliza died in the state of Florida, at an advanced age. Oliver Perry, who married twice, died in California, whither he went as one of the Argonauts of 1849. Mary Abigall, who became the wife of Jonathan Green Lester, died in Canton, at the age of seventy-eight years. Harriet K., who is the widow of Julius Whiting, Sr., still maintains her home in Canton, where she has passed her entire life, and of her husband more specific mention is made in the sketch of their son, Julius, Jr., appearing on other pages of this work. John went to California in 1850, making the overland trip and enduring many hardships and encountering many dangers while en route, and he died in that state. He married Mary Kiefer, of Stark county, and she too is deceased. George and Mary, twins, died in infancy. Margaret Beale died at the age of twenty years, in Canton.

Harriet K. (Stidger) Whiting, who is now one of the revered pioneer women of Canton, was born in the old homestead mentioned, on the 8th of January, 1818, and thus she has witnessed the various stages which have marked the advancement and up building of the beautiful city in which she is passing the golden evening of her days. She secured her early educational training in a little school-house which stood on the site of the present county jail, and her fondness for the discipline involved was not so great but that she would manage to take "French leave" of the school room and escape across the way, where she would join her brothers and sister, while the teacher used frequently to take her home in her arms. She later attended the academy where the high school building now stands, and by this time she succeeded in curbing her turbulent spirits, so that she made good use of the advantages afforded, though she finished her school days when fifteen years of age, her last training in the line having been in the boarding school conducted by Dr. Beatty in Steubenville, this state. Her religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, and her life has been one filled tot eh full with kindly thoughts and kindly deeds, so that it is her portion to retain the inviolate love of "hosts of friends" as she begins to see the opening of the sunset gates of her life so far out in the crimson west.