Agricultural Greats:

                       

Charles M. Russell

          
Charles and his two brothers Nahum and Clement moved to Massillon in 1838. For three years they worked as building contractors, and in 1841 organized the Charles M. Russell Company. Appropriating a design for the "knock out" threshers from Auburn, New York, and for the Separator from Buffalo New York, the introduced the "Combine" or combination of threshing, separating and cleaning grain in one machine. In 1845 their machine won the Premium Award at the Ohio State Fair. Charles M. was responsible for the extending of operations in buildings and production . His great contribution was the organization of area businessmen to procure a charter for the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad. A main subscriber and negotiator he was able to bring train service from Pittsburgh through Canton to Massillon by 1852, and by 1856 to Chicago. Upon his death the partnership was dissolved and his brothers, Joseph, Thomas and George became partners in the new corporation, Russell and Company. In spite of two major fires in 1878 and in 1899, the firm would by 1880 attain annual sales of $1,500,000 and employ over 400 people.
           
 
Cornelius Aultman

Born in Greentown, Ohio, Cornelius and Ephraim Ball had organized a business for the manufacturing of the Hussey Reaper. With the arrival of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads at Canton in 1852, they moved their operation to three lots purchased along the tracks at South Market Street. In new buildings they manufactured 25 Hussey Reapers, and 25 combines. In 1855 a fire destroyed their plant and trey were able in one building to produce 5 mowers and 12 Hussey reapers. When the factory was rebuilt they were able to produce 500 Ball Mowers, 50 Hussey Reapers, and 50 Pitts threshers. Cornelius and Lewis Miller created the Buckeye Mower receiving a patent in 1856. The Mower won the Gold Medal from the U.S. Agricultural Society in 1857 when it was entered in the field trial at Syracuse, New York. By 1871 their two factories in Canton and Akron were producing 11,000 reapers a year grossing over $2,000,000 in sales. Cornelius with his directors organized the First National Bank of Canon and Cornelius was a founder of the Aultman Taylor Company of Mansfield, Ohio. From his fortune his daughter and wife founded Aultman Hospital now one of the largest Hospital and health providers in Northeast Ohio.

   
   
 
 
Joshua Gibbs
 
Joshua was born in Trenton, New Jersey, where he learned the blacksmith, cooper and woodworking trades. He came to Ohio in 1822 when he was nineteen years old to search for opportunity to use his skills. He came again in 1824, this time permanently and sought work in Cleveland, Massillon and finally in Canton. He worked temporarily in William Fogle's cooperage, and began developing plows first of wood and then of metal. In 1830 he built a blacksmith shop on 4th N.E. a site now east of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Tracks. He brought out that year a greatly improved metal plow. In 1836 he received a patent for the bar share plow. He had the metal portion made by the Laird Company. He then developed a process for manufacturing the metal part in house and in 1854 he received a patent for the new plow. His plant after his commercial success extended 100 ft. on 4th St. and was 40 ft. wide and two stories high. At his retirement at fifty three years, his sons continued the business at times merging with other manufacturers. The company Bucher and Gibbs in 1880 had 70 employees and sold $120,000 worth of plows.
 
 
 

Lewis Miller

Born in Greentown, Ohio on July 24, 1829, Lewis Miller was to have a profound effect on both industry and education. Moving with his half-brother, Cornelius Aultman to Canton he invented the "cash cow" for the Aultman Company. The "Buckeye Mower" would lead to expansion of the Aultman Company to Mansfield and Akron. Lewis organized and built the factory in Akron and assumed its Presidency. Aultman would become Akron's leading manufacturer employing over 700 people, and his Buckeye Mower won two national awards. Leading the Akron Company he would develop a Sunday school model used throughout the country. He was cofounder of Mt. Union College and of the Chataqua Society. While his step brother, Cornelius cofounded the Canton Electric and Power Company in 1883, Lewis's daughter Mina married Thomas Edison in 1884. His son John worked with Edison in New Jersey and the family vacationed together in Florida. Lewis died in 1909 and in 1901, G.E., Edison's company purchased the Canton Electric Heat and Power Company.Years later, Edison would write the introduction to the biography of Lewis Miller. Lewis was named to the Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2006.