Colonel Simon Perkins

Two years later, he and his wife and baby daughter, Anna, moved to Akron, Ohio, in order to oversee his father's business affairs.

Their first home was a small wooden frame house located along the Portage Path of Summit County, Ohio.

He imported the best breeds of sheep to his farm and eventually hired John Brown (abolitionist) to oversee them.

He also backed the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, but his net losses from the project kept him in significant debt for many years.

He also donated property for the founding of two Akron city parks, Union and Grace (which was named for his wife.)

A statue of Colonel Perkins stands near the corner of South Broadway St. and University Ave. in downtown Akron.