Amos Townsend

Amos Townsend was born near Pittsburgh in 1831, and received a good common

English education. At fifteen years old, he left school and entered a

store at Pittsburgh, in which he remained three years, and then removed to

Mansfield, Ohio, where, young as he was, he set up in business for

himself, retailing goods, and remaining a citizen of that town during the

greater part of nine years.

During his residence in Mansfield, the Kansas troubles broke out and

arrived at such a pitch that a Congressional committee, comprised of

Messrs. John Sherman of Ohio, W. A. Howard of Michigan, and W. A. Oliver

of Missouri, was appointed to proceed to Kansas and investigate the facts

in regard to General Stringfellow's opposition to Governor Reeder's

administration. Mr. Sherman procured the appointment of Mr. Townsend as

United States Marshal, and he accompanied the commission to the scene of

disturbance. He was on a hill near Lawrence when he saw the _passe

comitatus_ of the United States Marshal of the Territory batter down the

Free State Hotel, it having been indicted as a nuisance by the Grand Jury.

Shortly afterwards, Mr. Townsend was taken prisoner by General

Stringfellow, but on ascertaining his position he was released.

In 1858, he came to Cleveland, having been engaged by Gordon, McMillan &

Co. In that establishment, he remained nearly five years, and then became

partner in the firm of Edwards, Iddings & Co., which, on the death of Mr.

Iddings, became Edwards, Townsend & Co. The operations of that firm have

already been spoken of.

Mr. Townsend has served a full apprenticeship to the business in which he

is now engaged, and is familiar with all its details from the cellar to

the counting-room. As a skillful financier, he has few superiors, and the

large operations of the firm bear evidence to this in the regularity and

safety with which they are conducted.

In 1866, the Republicans of the Third Ward chose him as their candidate

for member of the City Council, of which he was afterwards chosen

president. He not only polled the full vote of the party, but drew a large

number of Democratic votes, and was elected by a good majority, although

the ward has generally been considered Democratic, and has retained his

seat to the present time, his personal popularity among all classes,

combined with the unexceptionable record he made in the Council,

overcoming all opposition. At the organization of the new Council for

1869, he was unanimously re-elected president, a fact as complimentary as

it is rare, it being the almost invariable custom for each party to vote

for its own candidate, even where the result of the election is a foregone

conclusion. He was in the same year suggested as the Republican candidate

for Mayor, and would undoubtedly have been chosen to that office had he

not considered it incompatible with proper attention to the large and

rapidly increasing business of his firm.

[Illustration: Your Friend, D. A. Dangler]

David A. Dangler.

David A. Dangler, like scores of other successful men in Cleveland, is a

conqueror of adverse circumstances. In taking a cursory glance at the

early history of representative Clevelanders, noticed in this volume, it

will be readily seen that our business firms are largely composed of men

who, in early life, were compelled to divide their time between work on

the farm and attendance at the district school. Much of the debilitating

dissipation common in cities has been escaped by them; and hence, they

have both sound minds to project, and vigorous bodies to execute.

Mr. Dangler found it necessary, at the early age of seven years, to do

something towards carrying on his father's farm in Stark county, Ohio.

During the Winter months, he had the benefit of a district school until

1838, when, at the age of fourteen, he was employed in a dry goods store

at Canton, as boy of all work. Here, he won the confidence of his

employers, and by closely saving his limited wages, was able to attend

school six months more, which completed his education. With this

exception, he continued to serve in the same store until 1845, when, with

a very limited capital, the savings from his wages, he commenced on his

own account, in the same business.

In 1850, he left the trade in dry goods and took up that in hardware. The

late Mr. John Tennis, who was also a Stark county man, and Mr. Dangler, in

1853, formed a partnership for jobbing in this line at Cleveland. The

success of the concern was all that reasonable men could expect. Their

connection continued until 1867, when it expired by limitation. They were

among the first wholesale firms on Water Street, and this enlarged field

of commercial operations gave full exercise to the talent and energy of

Mr. Dangler. Trade was pushed in all directions, and in a remarkably short

time they succeeded in building up a lucrative business.

Success did not make a miser of Mr. Dangler. On the breaking out of the

rebellion, he entered with all his native enthusiasm into the home duties

of the war. In August, 1862, he took a prominent part in the organization

of ward committees for raising recruits and providing for the familles of

soldiers. A large part of his time during the war was devoted to this

work, and will ever be remembered with gratitude by scores of families for

timely assistance rendered during that trying ordeal. In the Fourth ward,

where he lives, there never was a man drafted to fill its quota.

In 1864, he was elected a member of the City Council, and in 1865, a

member of the House of Representatives for Cuyahoga County, by the

Republican party. These public trusts were so well filled that in 1867, he

was returned to the Senate, representing the most important commercial

district of the State except one, and at all times being watchful and

active in the interests of his constituents. Among the important measures

originated by him in the Legislature, are the Metropolitan Police, State

Charities, State Gas Inspection, and the Building and Loan Association

Acts. The last mentioned act has been very extensively taken advantage of

among his immediate constituents. No less than ten societies have been

organized in this city, under it, and have already been productive of much

good among the laboring class, by enabling them to obtain homesteads on

easy terms. The capital stock of these societies amounts to over three

million dollars, and if the act is as highly appreciated throughout the

State as it is here, the benefit accruing therefrom will be almost

incalculable, inasmuch as the monthly payments would, in many cases, be

squandered; whereas, now, they are not only saved, but secure a share of

the profits of the association in proportion to the stock held. The

successful working of these institutions must be exceedingly gratifying to

Mr. Dangler. He is an active, energetic and impulsive member, though not

without considerable tact, and generally successful in putting his

measures through. As a speaker he is clear-headed, terse and forcible, and

on subjects appealing to patriotism, really eloquent.

Mr. Dangler is liberal with his means, with broad plans, not for himself

alone, but for the public; indeed, we have few men among us more public

spirited than he. To this new element of self-made and successful men, the

city owes much of the unparalleled development of the few past years.

Their energy and commercial intelligence have inaugurated a new order of

things here, placing Cleveland in the front rank of western cities.

Mr. Dangler has recently formed a new partnership, and is again engaged in

the hardware business, having established the new firm of Dangler &

Bowman, on Superior Street. He is still young and vigorous, and has it yet

in his power to accomplish much.

T. S. Beckwith.

In speaking of the mercantile interests of Cleveland as developed by her

prominent operators, it is with pleasure we produce a brief notice of Mr.

T. S. Beckwith, one of our well known and most successful merchants. He

was born in Lyme, CT, Jan. 11, 1821. Until he was fourteen, he remained

on the farm with his father, at which time he commenced clerking in a

store in Brownville, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and remained four years. He

then came to Cleveland and at once engaged as a clerk with Alexander

Sacket, who was then carrying on business on Superior Street, precisely

where Mr. Beckwith's carpet store now stands. After two years with Mr.

Sacket, he went as clerk with P. M. Weddell & Co., in which capacity he

served four years, when he was taken into partnership with P. M. Weddell,

Dudley Baldwin and W. E. Beckwith, his brother, and in this firm did

business in the dry goods line for about four years, when he and his

brother, alone, carried on business several years, and finally Mr. Henry

Wick became associated with them and another store was started. Both

stores were continued about four years, when the firm dissolved, and

another formed under the name of Beckwith, Sterling & Co., composed of T.

S. Beckwith, F. A. Sterling and G. Clayes. This firm was dissolved after

two or three years and the subject of this sketch left the dry goods

business and opened the first store for the exclusive sale of carpets in

Cleveland. After five or six years, his former partner, F. A. Sterling,

again became associated with him. The firm of Beckwith & Sterling existed

three years when they admitted two young men in their employ, O. Baker

and W. R. Havens.

Mr. Beckwith is a thorough business man, quick to form judgment and quick

to act upon it. He is among our best financiers, nearly always makes an

investment pay. When he was regularly employed as a salesman, he was hard

to match, and one great secret of his success as such was his courteous

demeanor to all, whether rich or poor, and an industrious effort to

please. We recommend those of our young men who desire to succeed in

business to study one of the principal keys to T. S. Beckwith's success--a

polite attention to all. It will pay.

Mr. Beckwith's business has grown with the city, and the profits with it,

and although he has only attained to the meridian of life, and in the full

enjoyment of mental and physical energy, he has acquired a handsome

competency.

Besides his mercantile interest, Mr. B. has aided in giving to Cleveland

the character of a manufacturing city, having invested largely in the

white lead factory of this city, which is under the management of Mr. J.

H. Morley, an account of which will be seen in the Manufacturing

Department of this work.

Business has not, however, engrossed the whole of Mr. Beckwith's time and

talents. He is as thorough a worker in the cause of religion, morality and

benevolence as in trade. For a number of years, he has been an active

member of the Second Presbyterian church of this city, always taking a

lively interest in the Sunday school connected with the church. He was

also as indefatigable in the interests of the Bethel Church and Sunday

school of this city, and which is now doing a noble work in the city.

Mr. B. was married in 1849, to Miss Sarah Oliphant of Grandville,

Washington Co., N. Y. Two children of this marriage are living and a

third dead.

[Illustration: Yours Truly, Elias Sims]

Elias Sims.

Although Mr. Sims has not been strictly a man of commerce among us, his

life labor has been one wholly devoted to enterprises that are strictly

conducive to that foundation of a commonwealth. Properly placed, he would

be with general contractors, but as we have not material sufficient for a

department under that head, he must take rank among the men whose trade

has been facilitated by his enterprise.

Elias Sims was born at Onondaga, New York, August 4. 1818, and is another

striking instance of the value of early dependence on one's own

resources. Until he was fifteen years of age, Elias worked on a farm,

when he concluded to leave it, and strike out for himself on another

line. He worked as a laborer on the New York canal for some time, and

being a lad of great force of character with a keen eye to business, he

was very soon selected as an overseer. He held this situation for about

two years when he became deputy superintendent of the works, being at the

time only in his eighteenth year. After considerable experience in this

business, he concluded there was an opportunity to make more money by

contracting than by working on a salary, and consequently resigned his

office and commenced on a work for which he was eminently adapted by

nature, and one in which he subsequently became remarkably successful,

as, indeed, was his first contract, for it resulted in a profit of

several thousand dollars. Men did not become millionaires in such short

order then as now, and so much money so easily obtained almost unbalanced

the young contractor. It made him less careful in his estimates, and, as

may be easily judged, his next job swallowed the whole of his capital,

and compelled him to become overseer again.

The next speculation he engaged in was the building of a tug, in

connection with two others, and which proved a success. After some time,

he obtained a dredging contract at Port Stanley, Canada, and being very

successful in this he entered into it as a permanent business, and

appeared among the live men of Cleveland in 1856, as a contractor for

dredging the "old river bed". From year to year, this contract for

dredging at Cleveland has been continued, and in addition to this, he has

executed some immense jobs at Grand Haven, Mich., Erie, Pa., and

Milwaukee, Wis., in which he has been uniformly successful. He also

contracted largely in the construction of the Great Western Rail Road, in

Canada, and canal locks in Iowa. He is interested in propellers on the

lakes, and has two tugs and three dredges in this harbor.

Mr. Sims may well be styled a pioneer in the system of dredging, by means

of which all the lake harbors have been able to receive vessels of double

the old tonnage. Although of a quiet, he is not by any means of an

indolent temperament, and has exhibited business energy in a way that did

not make much noise, but which led to sure results. Mr. Sims was one of

the contractors and one of the proprietors of the Rocky River Rail Road

and Hotel. He is also interested in the People's Gas Company of the West

Side, and we are driven to the conclusion that such a long series of

successes in such undertakings cannot be due to accident; there must be

for foundation, a clear, calculating mind, and the ability to execute well

what is well planned. Projects in which others had failed became

profitable under his management. He is still in the vigor of life going on

as usual with his contracts.

In 1838, Mr. Sims married Miss Fosburgh, of Onondaga Co., N. Y.; of the

marriage three children were born, Mrs. Sloane of Buffalo, Mrs. Evatt of

Cleveland, deceased, and Mrs. Wm. Starkweather of Cleveland.

Joseph Perkins.

One of the most noticeable mansions on the north side of Euclid Avenue is

the tasteful and substantial stone building a little west of Sterling

Avenue, which, from its general style of architecture and its handsome

surroundings of lawn and shrubberies, resembles the comfortable country

home of a family of wealth and taste in England. This is the residence of

Joseph Perkins, and in its neat, home-like beauty, gives at once a good

idea of the character of its owner, and a perpetual invitation to repose.

Mr. Perkins was born July 5, 1819, in Warren, Ohio, his father being Simon

Perkins of that place. His educational advantages were food, and after

leaving school he entered his father's office. Born to comfortable

circumstances he never had occasion to struggle for an existence as have

so many of the now wealthy citizens of Cleveland, but, on the other hand,

the acquisition of riches without hard labor for it did not, as in so many

other cases, prove his ruin, nor did he spend his days in idleness. On his

father's death, he was one of his executors and gave his whole attention

to the task of closing up the estate. That duty performed, he came to

Cleveland and found abundant occupation in managing his own estate and in

executing the duties devolving upon him through his appointments to places

of trust in banks, railroads, and other organizations. For several years,

he was a director of the Cleveland and Mahoning Railroad Company and took

an active part in its affairs. On the death of Governor Tod, he was chosen

president of the company, a position he still retains and the duties of

which he performs with scrupulous fidelity. He is also president of the

Second National Bank. During the building of the Euclid Street

Presbyterian Church, he was a member of the building committee, and has

taken an active interest in the affairs of that church for many years. He

was also a member of the building committee of the Savings Bank Society

and of the building committee of the National Bank Building.

In 1837, Mr. Perkins united with the Presbyterian Church, of which he has

since remained an active and influential member, the scene of his

profession being in Marietta, where he listened to the teachings of the

Rev. Mr. Bingham.

In October, 1840, he married Miss Martha E. Steele, of Marietta, by whom

he has had six children, four of whom still survive.

Mr. Perkins is a man of no ordinary character, and it is unfortunate for

the world that there are so few of his mould in comparison with the whole

number of people. The governing principle of his life is religion, his

actions are directed by his conscience. Although rich and controlling large

means, he is utterly free from the sin of avarice, and, though fully

appreciating the value of money, he respects it mainly for the power of

doing good it gives the possessor. His liberality is great, but is guided

by a wise caution instead of being squandered indiscriminately. He

dislikes being imposed upon by unworthy petitioners, and therefore

narrowly investigates alleged cases of distress before relieving them.

When satisfied that the object is worthy, his aid is generous and

ungrudging. His ear is ever open to the tale of distress, his hand ever

open when the distress is found to be real instead of simulated to impose

upon the charitable. He has been known to leave his mails untouched all

day that he might trace out and relieve cases of genuine affliction or

suffering. His time and best judgment are given to the widow and

fatherless, nor is his counsel empty-handed. In business matters, the rule

of his life is not to claim the lion's share, although furnishing the

means for an enterprise, but to deal with others as he would have done by

him under similar circumstances. He believes that by pursuing this policy,

he has reaped greater material advantages than if he had pursued a

grasping policy, whilst his conscience is the easier for his forbearance.

His firm determination to do right in every transaction and under all

circumstances has in his case given fresh proof of the truth of the adage

that "honesty is the best policy."

Nor, though among the wealthy of the city, is he an aristocrat in feeling.

To him, the poor soldier's widow, the laborer's wife, and the wife of the

millionaire are equal in their claims upon his courtesy and his attention.

He is in feeling one of the people, yet utterly innocent of the arts of

the demagogue, and repudiating with firmness any attempt to bring him

forward into political life, against the heats and confusion of which his

modest and quiet character revolts.

Although not of robust health, he is enabled to get through a large amount

of work by methodical habits and by a strict avoidance of injurious haste

and worry. His leisure is spent in the enjoyments of his beautiful home

and in the cultivation of a fine artistic taste which has been developed

and gratified by a tour among the principal art centers of Europe.

Hinman B. Hurlbut.

Himnan B. Hurlbut, a lineal descendant of Governor Hinman, of Connecticut,

was born in St. Lawrence County, New York, July 29, 1818. In his boyhood,

he received such education as the common schools provided, and the time

not spent in the school room was employed on his father's farm, he being

the youngest of a large family and required to help along with the others.

At the age of fifteen, he left the farm and engaged as clerk in the

mercantile business in Washington, St. Lawrence County, where he remained

about three years.

In 1836, he removed to Cleveland and commenced the study of law with his

brother, H. A. Hurlbut, then practicing law here. On August 7th, 1839, he

was admitted to practice, and at once went to Massillon, Stark county,

where he opened an office for the practice of his profession. His cash

capital when he started for his prospective field of labor, consisted of

three dollars and twenty-five cents. The disbursement of this sum was as

follows: three dollars for his packet fare to Massillon; twenty-five cents

for three sheets of paper and two packets of tobacco. His worldly goods

were all contained in a hair trunk; the most valuable item of which was

his law library, comprising two volumes, Blackstone and Kent's

Commentaries. Our readers may well be assured that Mr. Hurlbut was

dreadfully in earnest about that time to commence business. He soon

succeeded in making a commencement; his talent and industry were rewarded

by one of the largest and most lucrative practices in that section,

extending through Wayne, Holmes, Tuscarawas, Carroll, Columbiana, and

Summit counties. As a lawyer he was very successful. He continued the

practice of his profession until 1850, four years of which time he was the

law partner of Hon. D. K. Cartter.

Some three years before retiring from his law practice, he became

interested in banking at Massillon, and in 1850, organized the Merchants

Bank, of Massillon, with a capital of $100,000. This was in connection

with Dr. I. Steese, who is still president of the bank, with the capital

increased to $200,000. It was and is a very successful enterprise.

In 1852, still retaining most of his interest in the bank at Massillon, he

came to Cleveland, and commenced a private banking business, under the

firm name of Hurlbut & Go., under the American House, and continuing about

one year, when he purchased from the directors of the Merchants Bank the

charter of the Bank of Commerce, and at once commenced business under it,

with Mr. Parker Handy as president, and himself as cashier. About a year

afterwards Mr. Handy resigned, and Mr. Joseph Berkins became president.

The stock was increased from time to time till it reached $250,000, and

then reorganized under the name of the Second National Bank of Cleveland,

with the same officers, and nearly the same board, with a capital stock of

$600,000, and its success may be judged when we say that it has a reserve

fund of over $400,000, and it may well be characterized as one of the

strongest, if not the strongest bank in Ohio.

Mr. Hurlbut was cashier from the commencement, and labored assiduously in

its interests, so that the Second National Bank of Cleveland is eminently

the fruit of his labor and skill. Mr. Hurlbut was obliged to resign his

position January 1, 1866, on account of failing health, induced by

excessive mental application, and was succeeded by the assistant cashier,

J. O. Buell, who still retains the office. On resigning, he was made vice

president, which position he still retains. He took a trip to Europe,

where he remained two years, returning much improved.

Besides his official duties here, in 1864, in connection with Messrs. J.

Perkins, A. Stone and S. Witt, he purchased of the Board of Control, the

charter of the Toledo Branch of the State Bank of Ohio, which also proved

a great success, paying in the neighborhood of twenty-five percent per

annum. It was reorganized under the National Bank Law. Mr. Hurlbut held no

official position in this bank, but assisted in its management.

For some years, he has been a director of the Bellefontaine Railroad

Company, and on the consolidation of that company with the Cleveland,

Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad Company, was made a director of the

consolidated line. He has added to his interests in banks and railroads

some important investments in the iron interests of the city, and through

his shrewd observation and extensive business knowledge, has managed to

make his investments profitable. For fifteen years, he was a member of the

State Board of Control of the State Bank of Ohio. From the organization of

the Protestant General Hospital of Cleveland, he has been its president.

Mr. Hurlbut's sole official connection with politics was his serving as a

delegate from the Seventeenth Ohio District in the Philadelphia Convention

that nominated General Taylor. He is in no degree a politician, but always

takes an active interest as a private citizen and voter, in the discussion

of political questions. His tastes are elegant and refined, and since his

virtual retirement from the pressing duties of business, he has found

enjoyment in the cultivation of those tastes. His manners are affable and

genial, his disposition frank and generous. In business matters, he has

always been prompt, and has never allowed his engagements to lie

unfulfilled or be postponed.

[Illustration: "Yours truly, E. I. Baldwin"]

Elbert Irving Baldwin.

The dry goods establishment of E. I. Baldwin & Co. is one of the best

known business houses of Cleveland. Its reputation extends widely beyond

the limits of the city, and throughout a large portion of the State it is

known as one of the places to be visited whenever a shopping excursion is

made to Cleveland.

Elbert Irving Baldwin, the founder and head of the firm, was born in New

Haven, Connecticut, May 13, 1829. He received excellent early educational

advantages, in preparation for a literary life, but as his health was not

equal to this, he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, when about

eighteen years of age, by engaging as clerk in the dry goods house of

Sandford & Allen, in his native town. With the firm he remained several

years, and then engaged for about two years with a dry goods firm in New

York city.

In October, 1853, Mr. Baldwin came to Cleveland, and on the completion of

Northrup & Spangler's Block, commenced the retail branch of the dry goods

business, his father, S. I. Baldwin, being a partner in the business for

the first three years. Mr. Baldwin opened out with a stock of goods

costing sixteen thousand dollars, and at the close of the first year had

made sales to the amount of forty-three thousand dollars. This was an

encouraging result for those times, and he correctly judged that it was

but the foundation of a large and lucrative business. Each succeeding

year, without any exception, has brought an increase of business, till the

annual sales of the firm are in the vicinity of a million dollars, which,

in a retail business, in a city of Cleveland's size, is very large; and

fairly entitles him to be regarded as the most successful dry goods

merchant Cleveland has ever had. Having from the first conducted business

in a strictly honorable manner, selling only good articles at reasonable

profits, and allowing no misrepresentations, the result is, that many of

the customers of the house are of fifteen years' continuance. This, in

conjunction with the natural growth of the trade growing out of an

increase in the population, now gives his house the appearance of a

central dry goods market.

Besides endeavoring to deal faithfully with customers, he inaugurated the

one price and cash system of trade, so as to be faithful to himself and

his creditors, and the result of all is--immense success.

To meet the demands of trade, in 1868, his firm purchased a piece of land

whereon stood part of the well known City Buildings, on Superior street,

and erected the elegant store now occupied by them, at an expense of over

one hundred thousand dollars. It has been selected by us as a symbolic

title page, representing Cleveland present, and is at once an ornament to

the city, and a monument to untiring industry and integrity. The building

has a frontage of forty-two and a half feet, a depth of one hundred and

fifty feet, and a height of eighty feet, overtopping all the blocks in the

city. The front is of Amherst sandstone. The building is divided into five

stories, with a basement; the ground floor, occupied by the store, having

five hundred feet of counter-room. Without, the architectural taste

displayed was unexceptionably good, the building having an appearance of

lightness and elegance, whilst at the same time conveying an idea of

strength and solidity. The store is fitted up in the most sumptuous

manner, and is of itself an attraction to visitors, to say nothing of the

rich wares always there displayed.

On the retirement of his father, Mr. Baldwin associated with himself his

brother-in-law, H. R. Hatch, and in 1863, Mr. W. S. Tyler, an employee, was

admitted to an interest in the business, and in 1866, Mr. G. C. F. Hayne,

another employee, became a partner. This is an excellent custom, and we

are glad to see so many of our heavy merchants acknowledging the integrity

and ability of their clerks in the same way.

Mr. Baldwin has now the general superintendence of the whole business;

and, although he is not, nor ever has been, physically strong, is very

active, and there is little that escapes his observation.

He was married, August, 1855, to Miss Mary Janette Sterling, of Lima,

Livingston county, New York. The fruits of the marriage were three

children now living, and one daughter who died.

Mr. Baldwin has been connected with the Second Presbyterian church about

thirteen years, and has taken an active interest in the Sunday school. He

was trustee of the church for several years, and has always been found

ready to aid in the furtherance of every good work.

[Illustration: Yours Truly, G. N. Abbey]

Grove N. Abbey.

The trade in stoneware is a very important branch of the business of

Cleveland, and this lies in the hands of one firm, of which Grove N. Abbey

is the leading member. As the West generally is supplied from the parent

house of the Abbeys, or from one or other of the branch establishments

through the West, in which Mr. Abbey holds an interest, it would be

manifestly out of place to omit, in a work of this character, a reference

to him and his operations.

Mr. Abbey was born in Portland, Connecticut, August 19th, 1818. He was the

eleventh of a family of thirteen, of whom seven yet live. The father,

Asaph, died at the age of fifty-five. The mother, Ruth Hollister, survived

her husband thirty years, the last twenty-two of which were spent in the

family of her son Grove N., and died February 20th, 1868, at the advanced

age of eighty-six. As before said, she had thirteen children, twelve of

whom married, and thus enabled her to remark, as she repeatedly did, that

she had had twenty-four children. Before her death she had seventy-one

grandchildren added to the list of her descendants, besides fifty-seven

great-grandchildren, and one of the fourth generation, making in all one

hundred and forty-two descendants.

At the age of sixteen, G. N. Abbey bade adieu to his New England home and

set out for the West. A good portion of his first year after leaving home

was spent in Pittsburgh, which he then left for Ohio, where he has since

resided; twenty-one years in Akron, and the remainder of the time in

Cleveland. His first experience in Akron was as a clerk, from which he

rose to the position of merchant on his own account, carrying on business

until 1856. In the Spring of the preceding year he commenced business on

River street, Cleveland, in the sale of Akron stoneware, in which he had

become interested, and in 1856, removed his family to Cleveland, where he

has since that time resided, retaining his mercantile interests in Akron

until 1858.

When Mr. Abbey was carrying on a mercantile business in Akron, his

attention was called to the growing importance of the manufacture and

trade in stoneware, made from the clay of the Springfield clay-bed, which

has since become famous for the superior quality of stoneware made from

it. The pioneer in the business was David Abbey, a brother of Grove, who

died in Chicago, in 1856. The extension of railways to Akron rapidly

developed the trade in stoneware, and the Abbey family turned their

exclusive attention to it. The trade grew to importance wherever the

articles found their way. To obtain greater facilities for sale and

distribution, Mr. Grove N. Abbey came to Cleveland and obtained storage

privileges in a warehouse on River street, at the foot of St. Clair hill.

Soon the increase of business justified the engagement of the whole

building, and from that time the growth of the trade has been rapid and

permanent. Brandi houses were established in Chicago, Indianapolis, and

St. Louis, and the parent houses in Akron and Cleveland have been kept

busy in supplying the needs of these branches as well as of their own. The

character of the article dealt in became known throughout the West, and

wherever introduced the trade soon increased in importance. The result has

been a gratifying success to the Abbeys, and the addition of a large

revenue to the county of Summit.

In all their various ramifications of business, Mr. Abbey has occupied an

important position. In addition to providing for the home trade, he has

exercised constant personal supervision over the supplying of the western

branches. The negotiations between dealers and manufacturers have mostly

been managed by him, and the importance of these negotiations may be

judged from the fact that the requirements of the customers of Abbey & Co.

regulate the amount of stoneware manufactured in Summit county, and thus

affect the business and revenues of the county.

The business of the Cleveland house of G. N. Abbey & Co. has gradually

been increased by the introduction of other articles of a kindred nature,

such as the brown and yellow ware, manufactured at East Liverpool, Ohio,

glassware from Pittsburgh and New York, and fire-brick and fire-clay. The

position of Cleveland renders it the natural distributing point for those

wares, and the extensive facilities possessed by Mr. Abbey, and his long

experience in the business, place the monopoly of the trade in his hands.

That nothing but good has grown out of this virtual monopoly, is seen in

the fact that the business is steadily increasing, that no dissatisfaction

is expressed by the customers, and that no litigations have taken place

during the long business career of the house, extending over a hundred

years in Cleveland.

During the last six years the firm has had some interest in vessels on the

lakes, and these interests have been carefully watched by Mr. Abbey, who

has entire control.

It will be rightly inferred from what has already been said, that Mr.

Abbey has achieved success in business. That success is due to no lucky

accident or extraneous circumstances, but is the natural result of devoted

attachment to business, keen insight, and a determination to follow, as

far as practicable, the golden rule of doing as you would be done by, and

of a desire to avoid all misunderstandings.

If there be one business faculty more than another, prominent in Mr.

Abbey, it is that of ability to do a large business, on a small capital;

having, like nearly all of our merchants, commenced business with nothing

that his own hands had not earned, and passing through all the trials

incident to mercantile life in a young country, he has become an excellent

financier. Naturally of a genial temperament, and inclined to look on the

bright side of things, he glides over reverses and difficulties easier

than some people, yet he has always keenly felt, and often deplored, the

want of such early advantages as children of the present day possess.

Being early interested in the cause of temperance, he has persistently

endeavored to spread its beneficial effects by means of temperance

organizations, and in April, 1869, he was nominated as temperance

candidate for Mayor on the first strictly temperance municipal ticket ever

put in nomination in Cleveland. The result was the polling of a temperance

vote of about ten per cent, of the whole vote cast.

Twenty-seven years since, whilst in business at Akron, he was induced to

make a profession of faith and be received into the Congregational church.

The faith then professed has never been renounced, and he is now an active

member of Plymouth Congregational church in Cleveland.

On November 4th, 1844, Mr. Abbey married Miss Sarah Goodale, of Kent,

Ohio, but who came originally from Massachusetts. Of this marriage there

were four children, three of whom are still living; the oldest being

married to Charles H. White, of Chicago, Illinois. The other daughter and

a son remain with the family at home.

B. W. Jenness.

Mr. Jenness was born in Deerfield, New Hampshire, July 14, 1806, received

a good academical education and in 1823 removed from Deerfield to

Strafford, in the same State, where he engaged in merchandizing,

continuing in that occupation for thirty years, and finding it reasonably

remunerative. In addition to keeping his store he filled the position of

postmaster of the town for fifteen years, being appointed under several

successive administrations. He represented the town in the lower branch

of the State Legislature, and held the office of High Sheriff for over

five years, the county which he officiated in having since been carved

out into several counties. On leaving that office he became Probate

Judge, which position he retained five years and then resigned, although

the terms of office were such that he could have retained his position

until he was seventy years of age. He was nominated by the Breckenridge

party for Governor of the State, but declined. In 1845-6, he was

appointed to the Senate of the United States, to fill out the unexpired

term of the Hon. Levi Woodbury, who was appointed to the Supreme Court of

the United States. In 1850, he was a member of the Constitutional

Convention to revise the constitution of New Hampshire, after which he

retired to private life, and has allowed politics to take their own

course without his aid.

Mr. Jenness came to Cleveland seven years ago, but immediately after his

arrival started into the lumber business here with vigor, and has followed

it up in the same way, until now he has become so intimately connected

with Cleveland commerce that he seems like an old settler who has grown up

with the city. He superintended the whole business here from the first,

whilst his partners attended to the manufacturing department at their

mills in Michigan, until May 1st, 1869, when Mr. Jenness bought out their

entire interests. He has succeeded in building up a business equal to the

best in that line in the short space of seven years, which speaks well for

the energy and business ability displayed.

In addition to his lumber business Mr. Jenness, in connection with three

others, built the propeller B. W. Jenness, for carrying lumber and trading

from Buffalo to Chicago and intermediate ports. She carries about 330,000

feet of lumber, and cost $50,000. He has also been part owner of several

other vessels since he has resided here.

[Illustration: Very Truly Yours B. W. Jenness?]

Mr. Jenness is a man of the most active temperament, he no sooner decides

that a thing has to be done than he does it with all his might. One may

form an idea of him by seeing him write his name; as quick as the pen

touches the paper it is off like a flash of lightning, with the signature

complete. He is broad and powerfully built, and to all appearance can

endure as much as most men, although sixty-three years of age. Like other

successful men, he attributes his success to strict attention to business

in person. In politics he has always been a Democrat. In religion he is

very liberal, favoring Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and

Unitarians when occasion serves. He is held in esteem by all who know him,

and we trust he may have many years of usefulness before him.

Mr. Jenness was married in 1827 to Miss Nancy Shackford, of Strafford,

New Hampshire, whom it was his misfortune to lose in May, 1868, leaving

two daughters the sole survivors of a family of five, the three sons

being dead.

John Fletcher Warner.

The late J. F. Warner was a native of Burlington, Vermont, on the border of

Lake Champlain. His parents were poor, and his early advantages were

limited. At an early age he became a sort of cabin boy on one of the Lake

Champlain steamers. Mr. Warner came to Cleveland in 1833 or 1834, and went

into the employ of Wellman, Winch & Co., who then kept a warehouse near

the present site of the Erie elevator. Mr. Warner often related to his

friends with much glee, a little incident that occurred in connection with

his engagement to labor for this firm. It appears that it was represented

to him that he was desired to travel for the house; and he, with visions

of a span of white horses, elegant outfit, and an easy time, readily

accepted the proposition to travel for them. But his bright expectations

were soon clouded; his horse was shown him and his course of travel was

the circle around a horse power used for elevating grain from vessels,

prior to the erection of any steam grain elevators in the city. He saw he

had been the victim of a practical joke, and commenced his travel with as

good a grace as possible, under the circumstances.

Mr. Warner remained with this firm for about two years, and then became

warehouseman for Ransom, Baldwin & Co., which was composed of John G.

Ransom, now residing in Hamilton, Canada, Stephen A. Baldwin, deceased,

Charles M. Giddings, deceased, and William H. Bruce, then residing at

Green Bay, and, we believe, now deceased. In 1838 or 1839, this firm was

dissolved, and merged into Ransom, McNair & Co. Mathew McNair, Jr., the

junior partner of this firm, whom the older residents will recollect, is

now residing in California. Mr. Warner continued with this firm until

they retired from business, and then he formed a business connection with

Augustus Handy and Ralph H. Harmon. We do not know whether it was prior

or subsequent to this partnership that he lived for a year or two at

Tonawanda, but are under the impression that it was prior; but at the

time of the Tonawanda speculation, gotten up by Clevelanders, he was

induced to go there.

After about two or three years, the firm with which Mr. Warner was

connected, moved to Chicago, but being all Clevelanders, and Chicago not

being congenial to them, the firm soon dissolved, and the members of it

moved back to Cleveland, since which time Mr. Warner was employed in no

active business. At intervals he had made investments that proved

profitable, and not being in very robust health, had but little

ambition, and lived in comparative retirement. He was one of those who

loved to talk over old times, and never forgot old faces. He was as

charitable as his means would permit towards worthy objects, and

preserved through all his business relations a character for strict

integrity. He was a man of strong friendships, frank in his avowals, and

left a circle of business and social friends who will remember him as an

upright, warm-hearted, and public spirited man, who lived in good

report, and died sincerely lamented.

For many years Mr. Warner had been more or less an invalid, though not

often confined to his house, with Bright's disease of the kidneys. In

November, 1868, it assumed a more serious phase, and on December 19th,

1868, terminated his life. About eight months previously, he suffered the

loss of his beloved wife, while spending the colder months in Florida,

which had a very depressing effect upon him, and took from him a very

necessary incentive to life.

A. V. Cannon.

On the 10th of July, 1867, died, after a very short illness, A. V. Cannon,

one of the most promising of the young business men of Cleveland, beloved

by his intimate associates, and esteemed by the whole business community

brought in contact with him, and thus able to learn his worth.

Mr. Cannon was a native of the Western Reserve, having been born in

Streetsboro', Portage county, in 1834. On leaving school he entered the

store of Babcock & Hurd, in Aurora, in that county, and when those

gentleman removed to Cleveland he accompanied them and remained in their

establishment some time, making a twelve years' stay with them altogether.

He then went into the produce and commission business, and one year later

formed a partnership with Mr. J. F. Freeman, which existed until dissolved

by death. For two years before his death his health had been impaired, and

he had been confined to his house for about eighteen months with an

affection of the leg, but had recovered sufficiently to attend to

business, and was in a fair way of perfect recovery. As a relaxation from

business, he visited some friends in the West. On his return he was seized

with inflammation of the bowels and died after a very brief illness.

Mr. Cannon was one of the kindest of men, universally respected in

business circles for his integrity and probity, and in the social circle

for his mild and gentle manners and Christian spirit. He died at the early

age of thirty-three, without an enemy, and with the confidence, the esteem

and the love of all who knew him. On the announcement of his death the

Board of Trade passed resolutions of respect and sorrow, paying high

tributes to his business, social, and Christian qualities. He was buried

with full Masonic honors, being a valued member of that order.

Mr. Cannon was married June 8th, 1863, to Mary, daughter of the late David

Morris, and left one child, a daughter, now five years of age, very bright

and promising.

At the meeting of the Board of Trade, the announcement of Mr. Cannon's

death was made by Mr. H. S. Davis, in the following terms:

It is with feelings of profound sorrow that I announce the decease of

A. V. Cannon, Esq., a much respected member of this Board. He has been

stricken down suddenly, in the hour of his manhood, and in the midst of

his usefulness. I have known Mr. Cannon from his early manhood, and can

bear testimony to his untiring industry, strict integrity, and the

purity of his character in all the relations of life. He was earnest in

business, pleasant and affable in his demeanor, beloved by all who knew

him, and it is not too much to say that in his death the Board has met

with an irreparable loss.

We cannot lose such men without feeling that it comes very close to

ourselves, and let us pause in the midst of our daily avocations to pay

our parting respects to the memory of one who, were he living, would be

first to recognize it as being due to others, and I would therefore

suggest to the meinbers of this Board, that so far as possible they

attend his funeral.

Mr. R. T. Lyon offered the following resolutions, which were

unanimously adopted:

_Resolved_, That we learn with much regret and sorrow the death of our

esteemed friend and member of this Board of Trade, Mr. A. V. Cannon,

noted for his modesty, honesty, business qualifications, strict

integrity and moral principles, and worthy of the imitation of us all;

and in these manifestations of our respect and regard we sympathise with

the family and friends of the deceased in their sorrow and affliction.

_Resolved_, That we will make it our duty to attend the funeral of the

deceased at the appointed time.

_Resolved_, That the daily session of this Board be suspended on the day

of the funeral of the deceased.

_Resolved_, That a copy of the above resolutions be transmitted to the

family of the deceased, by the Secretary.

H. F. Brayton.

If there be a business man in Cleveland without an enemy, we think it must

be H. F. Brayton. He has been connected with various branches of business

in this city for thirty-three years, and enjoyed to an unusual degree the

confidence of his fellow citizens.

H. F. Brayton was born in Jefferson county, New York, November 22, 1812.

He obtained a good academical education, and at the age of eighteen went

to New York city and engaged as a clerk in a dry goods store, where he

remained six years. During that time he became secretary of the first

total abstinence society ever organized in that city. He was also

treasurer of the Young Men's Anti-Slavery Society in that city, so far

back as 1834, when Abolition doctrines were very unpopular. He it was that

engaged the noted Theodore D. Weld and sent him out to the Western Reserve

to lecture on the subject, and who succeeded in a very marked degree in

bringing the masses over on to Abolition ground, and from which, in this

section, they never receded until every bondman's fetter was broken. John

Jay, our present minister to Austria, was, at the same time, one of the

directors of the Society. He also connected himself with the Liberty

party, being associated with Salmon P. Chase, in its early history. He

next glided into the Free Soil party, and from that to the Republican.

In 1836, Mr. Brayton left New York and came to Cleveland, and very soon

became book-keeper of the old Bank of Cleveland, and remained in the same

position three years. He then went to Columbus and became cashier of a

bank. After one year he resigned and came back to Cleveland, where he

engaged in private banking, and continued the same for about ten years.

In 1850, Mr. Brayton became the first agent of the Continental Insurance

Company, in this city, and still retains the office. This has been one of

the most successful companies in the country. He is also the agent of the

Washington Insurance Company, and the peculiarity of the two companies is,

that the assured participate in the profits.

In January, 1869, his son, H. G. Brayton, became interested in his

father's business, under the firm name of H. F. Brayton & Son. H. F.

Brayton is also a partner in another insurance agency in the city. About

six years since he went to New York and took charge of the agency

department of the Columbia Insurance Company, and continued in the

discharge of the duties of the office for one year, when the agency

business was discontinued in that company, and Mr. Brayton accepted a like

situation in the Resolute Insurance Company, where he remained about two

years, and then returned to Cleveland, where his business had been carried

on as usual during the three years of his absence.

Mr. Brayton has not devoted his entire attention to banking and insurance

since his residence in Cleveland. From 1854 to 1857, he was connected with

the firm of I. C. Pendleton & Co. in the coal trade, and previous to this

he was the secretary of the Ohio Coal Company, which dealt principally in

Pittsburgh coal for gas purposes. He is also at present engaged in the

foreign passenger and real estate business.

Mr. Brayton was for a number of years president of the Cleveland Board

of Underwriters, but resigned on leaving the city for New York, as

already narrated.

On coming to Cleveland Mr. Brayton united with the First Presbyterian

church, and has continued his connection with that denomination in the

various societies in the city until the present time, and has been a

worthy and consistent member.

The first impression a stranger receives of H. F. Brayton is, that he is a

high toned gentleman, and every subsequent interview is certain to confirm

it. He is a man of strict business habits, and expects his dues, and yet

his large benevolence and goodness of heart not only prevents the

slightest approach to meanness, but often causes him to suffer wrong

rather than be thought to be doing wrong himself. Were it otherwise, he

would have been one of the richest men in Cleveland to-day, for he

posseses both the ability and energy.

O. A. Childs.

Among our most energetic firms is that of O. A. Childs & Co., manufacturers

and wholesale dealers in boots and shoes, Water street. It was commenced

by Messrs. Seymour & Crowell near twenty years since. It became Crowell &

Childs in 1856, and so continued until 1864, when, by the death of Mr.

Crowell, it became O. A. Childs & Co. The business of this firm has

steadily increased from the first and their yearly sales now amount to

about $700,000.

In 1857, they commenced manufacturing a portion of their own goods, and

since 1860 have manufactured all their leading lines, i.e., those they

depend upon for service. Their trade extends through Ohio, Michigan,

Indiana, Pennsylvania, a large amount being annually transacted in the

Lake Superior region.

Although born in Massachusetts, Mr. Childs has lived in this city from

boyhood and may with propriety be called a Clevelander. He is still a

young and active merchant and one who has made himself a thorough,

competent business man in all its details, from the cellar to the counting

room. This, with unlimited energy, has brought him success.

James McDermott.

Among the mercantile interests, having their headquarters at Cleveland,

which during a comparatively few years have grown into prominent sources

of wealth and are yearly expanding in value and adding to the material

prosperity of the city, the Building Stone and Grindstone interest is

worthy of especial mention. Only a very few years since this trade was in

its infancy, and as late as 1863 had not come to be recognized as worthy

of special efforts for its development. That it then became so is in great

measure owing to the sagacity and enterprise of the firm of James

McDermott & Co.

James McDermott was born in the village of Whitby, county of Ontario,

Canada West, on the 19th of September, 1836. His father, who is still

living, is by birth an Irishman and a native of the city of Dublin. His

mother, who is also living, was born in the county of Ontario, Canada

West. The father of Mr. McDermott is a man of considerable culture, and in

all the relations of life has been distinguished for great energy and the

strictest probity. His mother is no less distinguished for her uprightness

and her clear perception of moral duty, and especially for the energy and

determination of her character.

James McDermott is the oldest of a family of eleven children, and as not

unfrequently happens to an oldest son, where the parents are in moderate

circumstances, James found himself at an early period of his life clothed

with important duties connected with the care of the family. When in his

twelfth year the family moved from the village of Whitby to a farm in the

same township, and here came a change in the relations of the young lad,

in the new duties he was required to assume, which laid the foundation of

those correct business habits which have given him his present honorable

position in the business community. His father occupied the post of United

States Consul and Harbor Master (the latter embracing all the functions of

a Collectorship) at the port of Whitby, together with several local

offices which required his whole attention on every day of the week except

Sunday. During the week, therefore, much of the business connected with

the working and care of the farm was devolved upon James. The farm, being

a new one, required to be cleared, and in this labor the young lad did his

full share, manifesting always the most indefatigable industry. The family

remained on the farm some seven or eight years, during which time James

became an adept in all kinds of farm work.

Young McDermott's opportunities for obtaining an education, at best

limited, were still further restricted by his farm life, and during the

years thus spent his progress in mental attainments was very moderate,

embracing only what he could gather during a few weeks of winter from a

country school in the elementary branches.

A change at last came when the family quit the farm and removed to Whitby,

in the year 1856. James was now twenty years of age, and being thrown into

intimate contact with a larger number of his fellow men than ever before,

the ambitions and impulses of his young manhood were more keenly stirred.

He entered the office of his father, who still occupied the position of

Harbor Master, and, though entirely ignorant of the duties, he quickly

acquired a knowledge of the entire business and fulfilled all its

requirements with entire satisfaction. He here realized, however, more

fully, his defective education, which he determined to improve with the

least possible delay. Only a few months were spent in his new position

when he decided to set out in the world to seek his own fortune.

Accordingly on the 10th of June, 1856, having packed all his personal

property in a diminutive trunk, he bade adieu to his old home. Two days

after his departure from home young McDermott arrived in Cleveland and

went thence to Berea, where, as the sequel shows, was to be the scene of

his future enterprise. He had acquired some knowledge of carpenter work,

and so obtained a situation on the Methodist Episcopal church, then in

course of erection. Here he worked until harvest time, when he went into

the harvest field, working for one dollar per day. He worked through

harvest and upon its conclusion took the first step in fulfillment of his

design to improve his education, and entered school at Baldwin University.

He had no money to pay for tuition, but this he provided for by sweeping

the chapel, laboratory and halls of the college, earning sufficient money

to meet his other wants, which were of course kept down to a very modest

scale (as he boarded himself), by working in the stone quarries and

cutting wood for the students. He studied hard and earnestly, and made

good progress, finishing his first term with very satisfactory results.

Among his acquirements during this period was a knowledge of the art of

Oriental pearl painting, and during the Fall vacation he turned this

accomplishment to advantage by teaching the art in Cleveland, going from

house to house for this purpose, and obtaining fifty cents per lesson. In

this way he earned sufficient to pay his tuition at the University during

the next term, provide himself with necessary books, and furnish his means

of living. Having concluded another term at the University, in the Fall of

1857, young McDermott came to Cleveland and took a course of writing

lessons at a Commercial College. He attained considerable proficiency in

penmanship, and in the winter of 1857-8 taught writing classes at

Loweville and Youngstown, Mahoning county, and at the Female College at

Poland, Ohio, meeting with good success and giving entire satisfaction. In

February, 1858, Mr. McDermott got his first introduction to the grindstone

business, having received an appointment from a firm at Berea to travel in

Canada and solicit orders on commission. He visited Canada and worked

hard, often walking twenty miles a day, from station to station, to save

time, carrying his satchel on his back, and paying his expenses by

teaching the process of pearl painting. The trip was entirely successful,

and Mr. McDermott returned to Berea in the Summer with a handsome sum in

pocket. Still anxious regarding his education, he again entered Baldwin

University, attending through the Fall term. In November of this year he

came to Cleveland, passed an examination and received a certificate to

teach school, and upon this opened a school in Middleburgh township,

Cuyahoga county, making his evenings available by teaching writing and

spelling classes. At the conclusion of the first term, in February, 1859,

he started upon a second trip to Canada, to solicit orders for stone, this

time on his own account. The venture was prosecuted with his usual

industry, and was highly successful. He returned to Berea in the Summer

considerably better off financially than when he left it, and having,

meanwhile, placed a brother and two sisters at school in the University at

his own expense, he once again entered upon a course of study. He

remained, however, but two months, in consequence of the illness of his

father calling him to Whitby to assume the duties of his father's office.

Here he remained some two months, when his father's recovery enabled him

to return to Berea. He commenced a commercial course, but was permitted to

pursue it barely a month when he was prostrated by a severe attack of

typhoid fever from which he did not recover for nearly four months, his

life being several times despaired of. As soon as his health was

sufficiently restored, Mr. McDermott again identified himself with the

grindstone trade and made two trips to Canada, both very successful,

between May and September, 1860, and then finished his commercial course.

On the 19th of September, his twenty-fourth birthday, Mr. McDermott was

married at East Townsend, Huron county, Ohio, to Miss Henrietta Scott, who

had been a teacher in the Baldwin University, and a lady of superior

accomplishments.

In this year he met with the most serious misfortune of his business life.

He shipped a cargo of stone for Canada, and the vessel encountering a

storm which disabled her, a large portion of the cargo was thrown

overboard. The cargo was insured in the Quaker City Insurance Company of

Philadelphia, but before the claim could be adjusted the Company failed,

and Mr. McDermott was rendered a considerable sum worse off than nothing.

This misfortune, however, only served to stimulate his energy, and having

established a good credit by the promptitude with which he had always met

his business engagements, and at the same time created a high impression

of his business qualifications, those with whom he had traded, and in

whose debt he had been brought, encouraged him to continue business by

allowing him all the time he should require to repair his losses and make

himself whole. He soon made another trip to Canada with the most

gratifying result, taking orders for upwards of three hundred tons of

stone, the returns from which paid off all his indebtedness and left him

something more than even with the world.

From January to August, 1862, was spent by Mr. McDermott in Lower Canada,

chiefly among the French population, and was one of the most successful

periods of his business experience thus far. Returning to Berea, we next

find him on his way to Cincinnati as one of a company of "Squirrel

Hunters" in response to a well-remembered call of Gov. Tod for a force to

resist the threatened invasion of the State by the Confederate forces

under Kirby Smith. Arriving at Cincinnati it was found that the patriotic

citizens of Ohio had so freely answered the demand upon them that more

than enough to protect the State against several times the menacing army

were already on the ground, and the Berea company was permitted to return

home. The remaining months of the year were passed by Mr. McDermott in

making preparations and perfecting plans for the ensuing year's business.

[Illustration: Yours Respectfully, James McDermott]

On the 30th of January, 1863, Mr. McDermott formed a copartnership with

John Worthington, who was engaged in the building stone trade at

Brownhelm, Lorain county, Ohio, the firm taking the title of Worthington &

McDermott. The firm immediately erected works for turning large

grindstones for manufactories, and distinguished their first Spring's

business by sending to New York city the first cargo of building stone

ever shipped there from Ohio. During this year they furnished the stone

for all the trimmings and carved work on the Government buildings at

Ottawa, the capital of the Dominion of Canada, and also for a number of

buildings in Montreal and other cities and towns of Canada. The year's

business was heavy, and the result was largely due to the energy and

enterprise of Mr. McDermott. In the latter part of the year Mr. McDermott

took up his residence in Cleveland, where he had purchased a house, and in

the spring of 1864 the office of the firm was removed to Cleveland.

The business of the firm was now growing vigorously, the result of the

year 1864 being in the highest degree satisfactory, not alone in the

pecuniary returns, but in the wider extension of the trade and the

introduction of the Ohio stone to markets where it had previously been

unknown, and where it has since been in steady and large demand. Near the

close of the year the firm of Worthington & McDermott was dissolved, and

Mr. McDermott purchased of the Wallaces the old quarry at Berea originally

opened by John Baldwin over forty years ago. He took into partnership his

brother William and established the firm of J. McDermott & Co. The new firm

went actively to work in developing its quarry, mining and manufacturing

block and grindstones, and succeeded rapidly in establishing valuable

business connections and enlarging the stone trade of this section. Among

the first improvements introduced was the building of a railroad track

Connecting the quarry with the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati track,

and other facilities for the expeditions handling and getting out stone

were added as promptly as practicable. In the spring of 1865 the firm

filled a contract with the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad Company for stone

with which to replace the wooden bridges along the line of the road.

During the year the firm made extensive progress in developing its quarry,

trenching to a greater depth than had yet been reached in any of the

quarries, and obtaining a quality of building stone superior to any

produced up to this time in Ohio, which very soon became, and is still, in

large demand. In the spring of 1866, the firm sold the first five hundred

tons of Berea rock block stone that ever went to New York city, and

succeeded in so far interesting several of the largest builders of the

metropolis in this stone as to induce them to visit the Berea quarries.

During the year 1867, the firm sent to New York all the clear rock block

stone they could get out, and also filled several large contracts for

block stone with the Cleveland and Toledo and Lake Shore Railroad

Companies, doing this year a very large business. On the 1st of January,

1867, the firm was increased by taking in another brother, Mr. Michael

McDermott, the firm name remaining unchanged.

The house of J. McDermott & Co. occupies at this time a leading position

in the stone trade of Ohio, and indeed of the West, not alone in the

amount of its annual business, but in credit, character and influence, and

in these latter respects it is hardly surpassed by any mercantile house in

Northern Ohio. The trade of the house not only extends to nearly every

State of the Union and the Dominion of Canada, but the product of its

quarries finds a market in Mexico, South America and other parts of the

world. During 1867, this house furnished the stone for fourteen blocks and

fronts in New York city, and a number of buildings in Boston, New Haven

and other cities, and in 1868, the business was largely increased. A

single firm of builders in New York city erected during that year fifteen

buildings and fronts for which J. McDermott & Co. furnished the stone.

The quarries owned by this firm embrace twenty-five acres of land of which

less than an acre has been worked out. In 1867, they turned out 106,200

cubic feet of block stone, 46,000 feet of flagging, 119 car loads of rough

block stone, and 1,510 tons of small grindstones. These quarries are

valued at $200,000, and the excellent quality of the stone produced is

amply attested by the large and increasing demand for it.

The business of the house of J. McDermott & Co. is under the immediate

personal supervision of Mr. James McDermott, to whose experience,

enterprise and business capacity its marked success is due. Mr. McDermott

has taken an active interest in all that relates to the stone business,

and also to whatever tends to build up the prosperity of Cleveland. In

1866 and 1867, he visited Washington to procure the modification of the

internal tax and import duty on stone, and was successful in his

endeavors. He also brought about the organization of the "Association of

the Grindstone and Block Stone Manufactures of Northern Ohio," a work

which was not accomplished without much difficulty, in spite of the fact

that it was for the mutual benefit of all engaged in the trade. It should

be mentioned in this connection that the firm issued a valuable series of

tables of weights of grindstones, and rules for computing the same, now in

general use by manufacturers, and which was chiefly compiled by Mrs.

McDermott. The most recent public work of Mr. McDermott was his active

labor in organizing the Cleveland, Wooster and Zanesville Railroad

Company, to which he has devoted time, money and labor.

Mr. McDermott is still young, being but thirty-two years old, of fine

physical proportions, a robust constitution, and clear, comprehensive

mind. His healthfulness, and also his success in business, he attributes

in large measure to his habit of strict temperance. In business matters he

is prompt, scrupulously conscientious, and holding a verbal engagement to

be as binding as the most carefully drawn contract. In private and social

circles he is warm-hearted, cheerful, and every way a pleasant companion.

J. A. Redington.

J. A. Redington is son of Captain John Redington, formerly of Saratoga

county, New York, who, when nineteen years of age, ran away from his

stepfather, who abused him, and volunteered into the Revolutionary army,

where he served seven years, and was taken prisoner by the British, and

incarcerated in the Sugar House, New York. There the privation that fell

to his lot in the great struggle for freedom, nearly killed him. Had Capt.

Redington lived till the present time he would have been one hundred and

twelve years old. J. A. Redington, the subject of this sketch, was born

June 4, 1818, when his father was sixty-one years old, and there were five

children born to the old soldier afterwards. At the birth of the last, he

was seventy-two years of age.

Ten years of the boyhood of J. A. was spent with an uncle in Vermont, where

he received a good common school education. While living at that place his

father died, and at the age of sixteen he had a keen realization of the

situation. He had nothing, and could not mend matters where he was, so he

determined to go home to his mother and see if he could be of service

there. After remaining with his mother a year, he engaged with a

ship-chandler at Oswego, for twenty-five dollars per year and board. After

a few months his employer closed up, leaving him out of employment. About

a year from this time, his former employer, who had gone to Cleveland,

wrote him that if he would come to Cleveland he would employ him again. He

worked his passage on a canal boat from his home to Oswego, where he took

passage on board a vessel just leaving for Cleveland.

The late Chester Deming was the gentleman who had engaged his services. He

received two hundred dollars the first year, three hundred the second

year, and four hundred the third, on which handsome salary, for those

times, he concluded to marry.

Mr. Deming closed up his business here in 1841, and Mr. Redington

commenced on his own account, dealing in oats, wheat and other grains.

This continued about a year when he formed a partnership for the purpose

of opening a general furnishing house for vessels. He did a successful

business, but as it was only during the summer months, he established a

dry goods store in connection with it on the West Side. This enterprise

was only partially successful, and so he closed it up, and for several

years was employed as clerk on board a steam boat.

In 1856, he, in connection with Mr. Bacon, commenced the shipping and

forwarding business, built the vessel E. C. Roberts, which was a

profitable investment, and also ran the propeller Manhattan. This

partnership was dissolved after two years, Mr. Redington retaining his

vessel interests. He is now engaged in mercantile pursuits on the river,

dealing principally in pig metal.

By dint of hard work and a determination to succeed in spite of adverse

circumstances, and by strict integrity, he has accomplished his purpose

and acquired a comfortable competency.

Samuel Sage Coe.

S. S. Coe has been favorably known in the business circles of Cleveland

for over thirty years, and, although he has not succeeded in amassing as

much wealth as some of his competitors, yet his fortitude has enabled him

to glide over reverses easily, and enjoy somewhat of life as it came.

Mr. Coe was born in Oswego, New York, October 6th, 1819. He obtained all

the education a widowed mother could give him before he was twelve years

of age, when he entered a country store and remained five years. The only

recreation he had during that time was a trip to Niagara, on the schooner

Saratoga, with Capt. Dolph. Howe, with whom some of our citizens are well

acquainted. In 1836, he went to New York and clerked in the hardware store

of Wolf, Bishop & Co., and returned to Oswego in June, 1837. Not being

able to find employment there, he concluded to try his fortune in the

West, and at once took the schooner Charles Crooks, bound for Cleveland.

Mr. Coe landed in this city July 19th, 1837, his cash capital being at the

time one dollar and twenty-five cents. After a few days a situation was

obtained in the office of Ransom, McNair & Co., with a salary of thirty

dollars per month, out of which he had to board himself. He remained with

this firm until about 1841, when he went into the employ of B. F. Smith &

Co., composed of B. F. Smith, now residing at Buffalo, as superintendent of

the Buffalo and Erie Railroad, and George Woodward, now residing at

Milwaukee, with whom he remained until 1845, when he engaged in business

for himself, in the firm of Doddridge & Coe, in the forwarding and

commission line. In about one year this firm dissolved, and Mr. Coe went

into the same business with his brother, Chas. W., under the style of S. S.

Coe & Co. This firm was unfortunate, and existed only one year.

In 1848, while doing a small commission business alone, he was offered,

and accepted, the agency of the Merchants' Insurance Company, of

Milwaukee, and labored faithfully for them one year, and, at its close,

his premiums amounted to less than two hundred dollars. This was the first

insurance company with which he was ever connected.

In 1851, Mr. Coe organized and got into operation the Commercial Mutual

Insurance Company, of this city, acting as its Secretary for about one

year and a half, when he resigned, and went into the insurance agency

business, with which he has ever since been identified.

In 1865, Mr. Henry F. Clark desired him to reorganize the Cleveland

Insurance Company, the charter of which was granted by the State of Ohio

in 1830, and which was successfully managed by his father, Mr. Edmund

Clark, until his death. Mr. Coe undertook and completed the task, and

operations re-commenced April 1st, of the same year, on a paid up cash

capital of one hundred thousand dollars, increased in 1866, to one hundred

and fifty thousand; and in 1867, to two hundred thousand dollars, and now

increased to its limit, five hundred thousand dollars, making it the

largest cash capital company in the State of Ohio, a credit to the city

and to the State at large.

Mr. Coe is the right man in the right place, as the successful workings of

this company fully demonstrate. He, as secretary, devotes his whole

attention to the interest of the company. H. B. Payne is the president,

and S. D. McMillan, vice-president.

In looking over a correspondence of about twenty years ago, in search of

some data connected with Mr. Coe's history, we came on the following

letters, which will be read with amusement by old Clevelanders, as

reminiscences of the ante-railroad period, and for the allusions to public

and political events of that day, as well as for the contrast between the

irascible tone of one letter, and the cool humor of the other:

Messrs. S. S. Coe & Co., Cleveland, Ohio:

Gentlemen,--No one dislikes, more than we do, to grumble or find fault,

but we hate just as bad to have our boats detained beyond a reasonable

time, at your place; and when our boats leave here for your place, we

look for them back at a certain time; and if they do not get here soon

after that time, it disarranges all our calculations and proves a great

loss to us. All our boats were detained a week on account of a break in

our canal, and then to be detained beyond a reasonable time in port,

makes it worse. Mr. Wheeler, at Akron, is the only man on the Ohio

canal, that we know of, that has been in the business longer than we

have on our canal, and we defy you to find a boatman on our canal or

river that will say we ever detained them beyond a reasonable time; and

there is no need of it if men do as they would be done by, and the

situation our river has been in this geason has been vexatious enough

for any one. Time is money, and eight or ten boats being detained a day

or two counts up. The J. Larkin left for your place to-day.

Tours truly,

S. Adams & Co.

Cleveland, July 29th, 1848. Messrs. Sam'l Adams & Co., Dresden, O.:

Gentlemen,--Your esteemed favor of the 25th inst. is at hand.

It has been a matter of some considerable interest to us to ascertain,

if possible, as to which city takes precedence in age, Zanesville or

Cleveland.

As, which incident is first in date, the cutting of the bridle path from

Wheeling to the Muskingum by Old Zane, or the coasting of our lake to

the Cuyahoga of the exploring party under Old Stow. Your Mr. Adams, we

are quite sure, can give us the much desired information.

We see it stated that our good Democratic candidate for President once

resided at or near your beautiful village. You may be familiar with

his early history--we wish to know, if such a thing is possible,

whether he commenced his political career as a Federalist or a

Democrat, and whether he did or did not break his sword at the

disgraceful surrender of that old coward Hull; but more than all, as

we think it most important of all, is, did he, or did he not, when at

the age of nineteen, wear that emblem of Federalism, the black

cockade. To this last question we beg you will give us an answer if

such a thing be possible.

While troubling you in this manner, for which we beg your kind

indulgence, may we also ask you as to the condition, moral and physical

of your returned volunteers? Report says they have been badly treated;

we are anxious to know as to this, for if so, and commanded by Whig'

officers, we can make political capital out of it against the Whig

party; if not, we can make capital against the administration; we do not

care which, as our object is to do justice to both parties. Can you tell

us which candidate they will support. They are important in numbers, and

from their high character, will carry a great, moral force with them;

and on this last account we have supposed they would oppose General

Taylor, as it has been said he used profane language at the battle of

Buena Vista.

We are erecting here a new and beautiful theater, it opens Aug. 21. We

hope we may see you here at that time.

Your ob't serv'ts,

S. S. Coe & Co.

P.S. You are right as to the _unnecessary_ detention at this place of

canal boats; it is an evil of great turpitude. _We never do so_. Aside

from the great loss to owner, it affects the morals of the crews, and

in this we know the oldest forwarder on the canal, Mr. Wheeler, will

agree with us.

John Long Severance.

Conspicuous among those former residents of Cleveland who have passed away

and left only a pleasant memory behind them, is John Long Severance, who

died about ten years ago, mourned by a wide circle of friends, whom his

many lovable qualities had brought around him.

Mr. Severance was born in 1822, his father being Dr. Robert Severance, of

Shelburne, Massachusetts. His parents dying within a few months of each

other, when he was but nine years old, young Severance was adopted by the

late Dr. Long, of Cleveland, who gave him every advantage in the way of

education that could be procured in the city. A college course was

intended but his delicate health forbade this, and in his sixteenth year

he was taken into the old Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, and then into the

reorganized institution, remaining there twenty years.

His health, never good, broke down entirely under the fatiguing duties of

the bank, and he was compelled to resign his connection with that

institution and seek a restoration of his wasted vigor by a voyage to

Europe. At Southampton, England, he died on the 30th August, 1859, at the

age of thirty-seven, surrounded by every attention which kind friends and

sympathizing strangers could bestow upon him.

Mr. Severance was a man of many rare and sterling attractions. His social

qualities, passion for music, and love for little children, as well as

sincere attachment to a large circle of friends, caused general mourning

for his death. He was one of the founders of the Second Presbyterian

church, and by the members of that body his loss was keenly felt. He had

always felt a deep interest in the prosperity of the church, contributing

largely through his rare ability as a musician, both in the choir and in

the Sunday schools, to the welfare of the congregation, until he was

obliged to abandon those services on account of advancing disease. With

rare energy and many reasons for desiring to live, he was slow to believe

that he must fall in early manhood before the destroyer. And while he was

not afraid to die, and expressed a firm confidence in God in whatever

event, he felt it to be his duty to struggle for a longer life, and no

doubt prolonged his days in this manner. He was consistent, uniform,

earnest, stable, both in faith and practice; always punctual in the

discharge of his business and Christian duties, his attendance in the

church, and his labors in the mission and Sunday schools. His last letter

before death, written to an intimate personal and business friend, said:

"I feel quite sure the disease is making rapid progress, but this gives me

no uneasiness or alarm, nor have I experienced any feeling but that I am

hastening home. The prospect would be dark indeed with no hope in Christ,

no deep and abiding trust in God's pardoning love. This trust in him has

sustained me through every trial, and this hope in Christ and his

all-atoning blood grows brighter every day, taking away the fear of death,

and lighting up the pathway through the dark valley, through which so many

of my loved ones have already passed."

[Illustration: D. Sanford]

Daniel Sanford.

The late Daniel Sanford, whose name is held in esteem by old Clevelanders,

was born in Milford, Connecticut, in 1803. At a very early age he left his

home and went to New York where he learned the trade of a ship joiner, one

of his first jobs being upon the cabins of the Fairfield, the first

steamer on the East River.

In 1834, he came to Cleveland and worked for some time at his trade as a

journeyman ship joiner. In coming time he aspired to build ships on his

own account, and for this purpose formed a partnership with Luther Moses.

The first work done by the firm was on the steamer New York, and

subsequently the steamers Ohio and Saratoga were built by them. In

addition to these a very large number of propellers and sailing vessels

were built, and canal boats almost without number. The mere list of crafts

of one description and another, built by this firm, would take

considerable space in our pages.

In 1849, the firm, which had done so much important work in the ship

yards, was dissolved and Mr. Sanford changed his business from

ship-building to dealing in lumber, which he entered upon on a large scale

and continued under the title of D. Sanford, and subsequently Sanford &

Son, until his death, which occurred on Sunday morning, September 22,

1864, after an illness of about four weeks, the disease being inflammation

of the bowels.

Mr. Sanford came to Cleveland with but five hundred dollars in his pocket,

but he worked his way with prudence and economy till he had acquired a

handsome property. His business on his death descended to his third son,

Nelson Sanford, who has conducted it prudently and with success.

He was earnestly patriotic, and on the outbreak of the war for the

Union he took a lively interest in everything pertaining to it.

Becoming satisfied that the rebels never intended submission to the

lawful authorities until they were flogged into submission, he strongly

urged their severe punishment, and contributed liberally to send men

into the field.

Mr. Sanford was a strong advocate of the consolidation of Ohio City and

Cleveland, and in his position of member of the Ohio City Council aided

materially in bringing about the result. He was no politician, but was not

one of those who make that fact an excuse for taking no interest in public

affairs. He had decided views on public matters, and never avoided his

duties as a citizen.

In whatever concerned the welfare of the city he took strong interest, and

was one of the first stockholders of the Cleveland, Columbus and

Cincinnati Railroad Company, as he was also of the Cleveland and Mahoning

Railroad Company.

Every dollar of Mr. Sanford's money was honestly earned; not a hard,

mean, or wrongful action tarnished a single penny passing into his

hands. Had he been avaricious he might have died worth half a million

dollars, but he was infinitely richer in the blessings of hundreds of

poor people who were the secret recipients of his bounty. He had "a hand

open as day for melting charity." Yet in his good deeds he never let his

left hand know what his right hand did. His last words on earth were of

a character in keeping with his whole life. Calling his youngest son to

his bedside he said, "Benjamin, be honest in all your transactions." On

the tomb of David Sanford can with truth be written: "An honest man--the

noblest work of God."

Charles W. Coe.

Charles W. Coe, so long and favorably known in our business circles, was

born in Oswego, New York, March 19th, 1822. His grandfather, Col. Eli

Parsons, was a soldier in the Revolution, and prominent in the Shay's

Rebellion, in Massachusetts. His father was a physician of much note in

Oswego, and died about 1828, leaving two children; Charles, the younger,

is the subject of this sketch. Like a great many other physicians, he left

a number of old accounts of no value, and not a great deal besides, so

that Charles and his brother had to strike out early in life to do

something towards getting a living, and hence educational matters did not

receive all the desired attention.

Charles came to Cleveland in 1840, and at once engaged as clerk with N. E.

Crittenden, jeweler. He remained in that situation about a year, when he

returned to Oswego, and after the lapse of two years, came back to

Cleveland, and entered into the employ of Pease & Allen, produce and

commission merchants, with whom he remained until 1849. At that time, he

went into the employ of Mr. Charles Hickox, and continued with him until

1855, when he took an interest with Mr. Hickox in the milling business,

already referred to in this work, and in which he still continues.

Mr. Coe has won his present prominent position among the business men of

Cleveland by shrewd foresight and close attention to business. He is a

hard worker and a keen observer of the fluctuations of business, mingling

prudence with enterprise to such a degree that, whilst he has driven a

profitable business, it has always been a safe one. He is frank,

unselfish, and free hearted. Whilst having had reason to appreciate the

value of money, he esteems it not so much on its own account as on account

of the domestic comforts and enjoyments its judicious expenditure brings.