G. A. Sayles, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of G. A. Sayles
G. A. SAYLES, of the hardware firm of Sayles & Conover, was born in Warren, Warren Co., Penn., January 3, 1830, one of a family of seven children, five of whom are yet living, born to Scott W. and Rhoda (Ballard) Sayles, who were natives respectively of New York and Vermont. Scott W. Sayles was a manufacturer and dealer in hats, caps, furs, etc., in Warren, and after his removal to Cleveland, in 1836, continued the same until he was burned out. He was then elected County Treasurer of Cuyahoga County, serving in that capacity eight years. After this he engaged in ship-building for three years, after which he established steam saw-mills at Cambridge and Erie, Penn. From the latter place, he removed to Cleveland, and from there to Bay City, Mich., where he died February, 1865. His widow survived him until July 5, 1881, when she, too, died. They were members of the Congregational Church, and Mr. Sayles was a Republican, but formerly a Whig, tinctured with Free-Soilism. He served two terms as County Clerk of Bay County, Mich. G. A. Sayles lived with his parents until about the age of twenty-four, during which time he received a fair education from the common schools. He learned the tinner's trade at and near Cleveland, and worked for one year at the same in Anamosa, Iowa. In August, 1855, he came to Valparaiso; at that time he was only worth about $400, all of which he had earned by his own labor. He in company with Isaac Marshall engaged in a stove and tin store, but after Mr. M's death, a few months later, William Wilson was admitted, and this firm added hardware to their stock. Mr. Sayles has remained in the hardware trade ever since, and has been very successful. He formed his present partnership with George Conover in August, 1881, and this firm now carries a full line of hardware, stoves and tinware. Mr. Sayles is a Republican, and he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. They were married in Cleveland, Ohio, the winter of 1854, Mrs. Sayles at that time being Miss Sarah Foote, daughter of Caleb Foot. They are the parents of five children - Anna, Henry, Kate (now Mrs. George Conover), Emma and Gilbert.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 270-271
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook