With neither water power nor steam power very little can be done in the
way of manufacturing. Cleveland, until the construction of the Ohio canal,
was without either of those two requisites for a manufacturing point. The
Cuyahoga river, though giving abundant water power along a considerable
portion of its course, enters Cleveland as a slow moving stream, winding
its sluggish way in so tortuous a course that it seems reluctant to lose
its identity in the waters of the lake. Water power, under such
circumstances, is out of the question, and, as with no coal, and a rapidly
decreasing supply of wood, steam cannot be economically used for
manufacturing purposes, the people of Cleveland turned their attention
wholly to buying and selling instead of producing.
The construction of the Ohio canal to the coal fields of Summit county
opened the eyes of the more enterprising citizens to the possibilities of
a great future for Cleveland as a manufacturing city. No sooner had the
canal reached Akron, and an experimental shipment of coal been made to the
future city--with but poor success, as already narrated--than attention
was called to the importance of the new field thus opened to Cleveland
enterprise. On the 7th of March, 1828; a letter appeared in the Cleveland
Herald, from which the following is an extract:
"We possess, beyond a doubt, decided advantages over Buffalo, or any other
town on Lake Erie, in our contiguity to inexhaustible beds of pit-coal and
iron ore, very justly considered the basis of all manufacturing. On the
one hand, at the distance of about thirty miles, we can obtain any
quantity of crude iron of an excellent quality, while, on the other, at
about the same distance, we have access by canal to exhaustless mines of
coal of good quality. This last most invaluable, and all important article
in manufacturing, can not be obtained anywhere else on the Lakes without
the extra expense of shifting from canal-boats to other craft.
"When these mines shall have become extensively worked, coal will be
delivered in this place very little, if any, above that paid in
Pittsburgh, say from four to six cents; and good pig-iron can and is now
delivered at a less price here than in Pittsburgh. Doctor Cooper further
says: 'The very basis of all profitable manufacturing is, plenty of fuel,
easily, cheaply and permanently procurable;--the next desirable object is
plenty of iron ore; iron being the article upon which every other
manufacture depends. It is to the plentiful distribution of these two
commodities that Great Britain is chiefly indebted for the pre-eminence
of her manufactures and her commerce.' Surely it need not be thought
strange that Cleveland must one day become a great manufacturing place,
if we consider,
"_First_, That the canal will give us access to one of the finest portions
of country in the United States, sufficient for vending, to almost any
extent, articles such as might be manufactured here;--and, _Secondly_,
That power and materials in great abundance are 'easily, cheaply and
permanently procurable.' There is probably not a town in the Western
country, Pittsburgh only excepted, that unites these two objects so
happily as this place does.
"Every steam-engine wanted for boats on the Lake, for mills and factories
near the Lake, and on and near the canal should be made at this point.
"Not a pound of nails, a wagon-tire, an anchor, a cable, a cast-iron
stove, pot, kettle, ploughshare, or any article made of cast-iron--a yard
of coarse cotton, a gallon of beer, an ax, a shovel, nor a spade, should
be sent east for. There ought to be in full operation before the
completion of our canal, at least one steam engine manufactory, one
establishment for puddling iron, one rolling and slitting mill, and nail
factory, two or three iron foundries, in addition to the one now going
into operation under very favorable auspices, a cotton factory, a woolen
factory, a steam grist and saw mill, a brewery, &c."
On the succeeding week appeared some editorial comments in support of the
suggestions in the letter, and for some time frequent references, by
correspondents and editorially, were made to the matter. On the 25th of
April, 1828, appeared in the Herald a notice of a new iron foundry; the
first that had been built, and reference to which had been made in the
letter quoted. This was built by John Ballard & Co., and an editorial
announcing its opening says it "supplies this place and the surrounding
country on short notice and on reasonable terms, with the various articles
of cast iron work, for which, before this foundry was established, our
citizens were forced to send to a distance, and at the cost of much
trouble and expense."
But with all this urging of newspapers, and talking of far-sighted
citizens, the cause of manufacturing progressed slowly. To establish
manufactories was a costly experiment, requiring capital, patience, and a
faith, which, though some might profess, few actually possessed. As is
frequently the case in regard to public improvements, those who pressed
them most had no funds to invest in them, and those who had the funds were
little inclined to heed the suggestions of moneyless advisers.
MacCabe's Directory of Cleveland and Ohio City for 1837-8, says that at
that time there were on the east side of the river, in the corporation of
Cleveland, "four very extensive iron foundries and steam engine
manufactories; also, three soap and candle manufactories, two breweries,
one sash factory, two rope walks, one stoneware pottery, two carriage
manufactories, and two French run millstone manufactories, all of which
are in full operation." A flouring mill was in course of erection by Mr.
Ford which, it was predicted, would be, when finished, "the largest and
most complete establishment of the kind in the State of Ohio." At the same
time Ohio City was described as possessing "among the principal
manufactories of the place, the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace, the Saleratus
manufactory, and the Glue manufactory." The Cuyahoga Steam Furnace had
turned off in the previous year five hundred tons of castings, besides a
great quantity of wrought iron work, and gave employment to seventy men.
In noticing the description of the iron furnaces and steam engine
manufactories on the East side of the river as "very extensive", it must
be borne in mind that the standard of size and importance for such
establishments in Cleveland was much smaller then than now.
In spite of all the attempts made to stir up an interest in manufactories,
slow progress was made until a comparatively late period. One great
obstacle in the way was the opposition or indifference of the
land-holders, who directly rebuffed the proposals of intending
manufacturers, or placed a value on their land so high as to require an
amount of capital sunk in the soil that rendered the chances of profit
very hazardous. There was also a strong prejudice against factories on the
part of very many persons because they were "so dirty," and would tend to
make the neat and trim residences and door-yards of Cleveland as smutty as
those of Pittsburgh.
It was not until the breaking out of the war for the Union called into
existence manufactories all over the land to supply the needs born of the
war, that manufactories found a home and cordial welcome in Cleveland. The
exigencies of the time, and the intense feeling excited, scattered to the
wind all the prejudices against the dirt and smoke of iron manufactories,
and establishments of this kind sprang up on all sides, calling into
existence a host of other manufactories dependent on and contributing to
the successful conduct of iron foundries and iron mills. The war found
Cleveland a commercial city, whose trade, if not languishing, threatened
to soon reach its turning point; it left Cleveland a busy, bustling
manufacturing city, over a great part of which hung a perpetual cloud of
dense smoke, and with a population nearly doubled in numbers and greatly
changed in character owing to its change from a commercial to a
manufacturing city. The petroleum discovery in North Western Pennsylvania
and the coincident opening of direct railroad communication between
Cleveland and the oil regions, contributed greatly to the rapid increase
of the population and wealth of the city. Oil refineries grew up rapidly
like mushrooms in the valleys and ravines around, and lined the railroad
tracks, but, unlike mushrooms, did not disappear with equal rapidity. A
great number of people found employment in this new industry, and wealth
poured in with greater volume from this source than had ever been known to
flow from any species of trade or manufacture hitherto established. From
this time the future of Cleveland was assured. Year by year it has grown
with astonishing increase and new manufactories of every description are
springing up on every side. The flats that had lain deserted and of but
little value were brought into requisition for iron furnaces and iron
mills, and wherever lands could be had at reasonable rates in convenient
neighborhood to transportation lines, factories of some kind were
established.
The four or five small iron manufactories in and about Cleveland in 1837,
have grown to fourteen rolling mills, having two hundred puddling furnaces
and a daily capacity of four hundred tons of finished iron, not including
the nails spikes, nuts, bolts, horseshoes, &c. Several of these mills own
their own blast furnaces, and nearly all have coal mines of their own.
There are also five stove foundries; one malleable iron works; one axe and
tool company; half a dozen boiler plate and sheet iron works of large
capacity; nearly as many factories of steam engines of all descriptions,
and other machinery; three foundries for making car wheels and castings
for buildings; one large manufactory of cross cut, circular and other
saws, and several saw and file works of smaller dimensions.
Although the operations of domestic iron works were seriously affected by
the large increase of importations from Europe, the following amount of
iron was produced from the mills of Cleveland in 1868:
Pig Iron 11,037 Tons.
Rail Road Iron 22,344 "
Merchant Iron 11,396 "
Boiler, Tank and Sheet Iron 2,676 "
Forgings 4,125 "
Nuts, Washers, Rests, Nails and Spikes 5,607 "
Machinery Castings 18,250 "
Wire 865 "
Making a total of 76,300 tons. To produce this it is estimated that
225,000 tons of coal and coke were consumed. The stove foundries produced
nearly 35,000 stoves, with the attendant hardware and stove furniture;
requiring nearly 10,000 tons of metal, and 4,000 tons of coal and coke,
and giving employment to about five hundred persons.
The planing mills and wooden ware manufactures give direct employment to
six hundred and fifty persons, and the year's business exceeded a
million dollars.
The growth and magnitude of the petroleum business of Cleveland can be
seen by the reports of receipts and shipments during the past four years:
Date. Crude Received Refined Forwarded
1865 220,000 bbls. 145,000 bbls.
1866 613,247 " 402,430 "
1867 693,100 " 496,600 "
1868 956,479 " 776,356 "
Between three and four millions of dollars of capital are invested in this
business in Cleveland, and the annual product will not fall short of ten
or twelve millions of dollars. The rapid increase of the business created
an urgent demand for barrels. The receipts of staves in 1868, mainly to
supply this demand, were nearly three times in excess of the previous
year. Some 3,000 tons of hoop iron were required for barrels.
It is impossible to give, in the absence of any recent exact census, full
and correct statistics of the number and classification of the
manufactories of Cleveland, the capital invested, and the value of the
product. It has, however, been estimated from the best data that could be
procured, that the grand total value of all the manufactories of the city
in 1868, was not less than sixty millions of dollars, and it is daily
increasing.
William B. Castle.
William B. Castle was born in Essex, Crittenden county, Vermont, November
30, 1814. Immediately on the conclusion of the war, his father removed to
Toronto, where he had been engaged, as an architect, to superintend the
construction of the first Parliament buildings there. In 1827, he removed
with his family to Cleveland, William B. Castle being then thirteen years
old. His father had taken a farm about thirteen miles from the city, and
there the lad spent most of his time until 1832, when, in company with his
father and Mr. Charles M. Giddings, he established the first lumber-yard
in Cleveland. The business was carried on for a couple of years, when Mr.
Castle, Sen., died, and the son removed to Canada, engaging in
merchandizing and in manufacturing lumber for the yard in Cleveland. In
1839, he abandoned the Canada branch of the business, and in the following
year the partnership with Mr. Giddings was dissolved.
A new partnership was formed with a brother-in-law, under the name of
Castle & Field, for carrying on the hardware, in connection with jewelry
and watch making, business, on the west side of the river, then known as
Ohio City. In 1843, he left the business and entered the Cuyahoga Steam
Furnace Company, with which he has ever since been connected. So
thoroughly identified has Mr. Castle been with the history of that
establishment during the past quarter of a century, that this is a fitting
place for a brief sketch of the nature and history of the pioneer iron
company of Cleveland.
In 1830, Mr. Charles Hoyt projected the works which were erected and put
in operation under the firm name of Hoyt, Railey & Co. In 1834, the firm
was changed to an incorporated company under the name of the Cuyahoga
Steam Furnace Company, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, of
which three-fourths were paid in. The principal stockholders at the time
of the incorporation were Josiah Barber, Richard Lord, John W. Allen, and
Charles Hoyt. The managing officer was Charles Hoyt. Soon after the
incorporation the works were burned to the ground, but the company were
energetic, and soon a substantial brick structure, two hundred and
thirty-five feet front, with a wing of ninety feet deep, was erected on
the site of the destroyed building. The pig metal for the use of the works
was obtained at the company's blast furnace at Dover, twelve miles west,
and was considered equal in quality to the best Scotch pig. In 1840, Mr.
Hoyt was succeeded in the management by D. Cushing, who had been secretary
of the company. In 1843, Mr. Cushing gave place to Elisha T. Sterling, who
remained the head of the concern until his untimely death, in 1859.
[Illustration: Yours Truly, W. B. Castle]
From the advent of Mr. Sterling and the consequent re-organization of the
staff of officers of the works, dates the connection of Mr. Castle with
the establishment. Mr. Castle took the position of secretary, and held
that post until the death of Mr. Sterling, when he was appointed to fill
the position of manager. At the time when the sole charge of the works
devolved upon him the company was in a deplorable financial condition. The
prospect was sufficient to daunt a less resolute and hopeful spirit, but
Mr. Castle at once set about the Herculean task of bringing the concern
through its difficulties and establishing it on a firm financial basis.
The struggle was long continued, and more than once the advance gained
seemed suddenly to be again lost, but eventually it was pulled through
without having compromised a single debt, and without having but a single
case of litigation under his management. This case was not properly
chargable to the administration of the works, as it arose from the
supplying of a defective beam strap, which, there being then no forges in
Cleveland, had been ordered from Pittsburgh. This unusual exemption from
litigation was, doubtless, owing to the invariable rule adopted by Mr.
Castle, to reduce all contracts to careful writing and to live strictly up
to the letter as well as spirit of the contract.
The heavy work of the establishment in its early years was the supplying
of most of the mills in Ohio and the new States of the West with mill
gearing, and the manufacture of agricultural implements. In 1840, was
commenced the manufacture of stationary and land steam engines. In 1843,
the manufacture of marine engines was commenced by building the engine for
the first propeller on Lake Erie, the "Emigrant." About the same time work
was commenced on engines for the large side-wheel steamers, the largest of
their day being fitted out with machinery from these works. Among the
steamers thus equipped, and which were in their successive days the
wonders of the lakes, was the Europe, Saratoga, Hendrick Hudson, Pacific,
Avon, and Ohio. Among the propellers receiving their engines from the
Cuyahoga Works were the Winslow, Idaho, Dean Richmond, Ironsides, S. D.
Caldwell, Meteor, and a very large number of others, besides a great many
first-class steam tugs plying on Detroit river.
In 1853, the introduction of the manufacture of locomotives added a new
feature to the manufacturing industry of Cleveland. The Cleveland,
Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad was supplied from these works, and
locomotives were also made for the Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Lake Shore,
Cleveland and Toledo, and Bellefontaine and Indianapolis Railroads,
besides several other railroads in the west. In 1857, this branch of the
business was sold out to the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad
Company, who now use the locomotive works for the manufacture and repair
of their own engines.
In addition to the marine engines, for which the establishment has become
famous, the company have lately entered upon the manufacture of first
class engines and blowing machines for blast furnaces. These have been
supplied to the furnaces in the Mahoning Valley and Wisconsin, and to
furnaces elsewhere, even supplying Pittsburgh, the home of the iron
manufacture. A very large engine has been constructed for the Atlantic
Docks, in Brooklyn, New York. Rolling mill engines and machinery have been
made for mills at Alliance, in the Tuscarawas Valley, at Harmony, Indiana,
and at Escanaba, in the Lake Superior iron district. Various engines have
been supplied to the Newburgh works, including the blowing engines and
hydraulic cranes for the Bessemer steel works, among the most perfect of
their kind in America. Railway tools manufactured by the company's works
have been ordered from so far east as New Jersey.
The Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company have employed at times two hundred and
fifty men, and will probably average one hundred and fifty. Year after
year the company have been compelled to enlarge their facilities, until
now their property occupies the two corners of Detroit and Centre streets,
and one corner of Centre and West River streets. The buildings extend
three hundred and fifty feet on the river, and to a greater length on
Detroit street. The capital employed amounts to about a quarter of a
million dollars. The importance of these works in attracting attention and
capital to Cleveland, in giving employment to the people, and in assisting
to build up the business of the city, can hardly be overestimated. Taking
its nature, extent and history together it may probably be said with
safety that nothing in the city has had a more important influence in
shaping the future of Cleveland and contributing to its present
prosperity, and much of this influence is due to the labor and wisdom of
Mr. Castle. At present the works are organized under the presidency of Mr.
Castle, with Josephus Holloway as superintendant and designing engineer;
S. J. Lewis, secretary; W. W. Castle, book-keeper. From 1843 to 1857, the
superintendent and designing engineer, was Mr. Ethan Rogers, who by his
knowledge and skill added very much to the celebrity of the works.
In 1853, Mr. Castle was elected mayor of Ohio City, and during his term
of office the consolidation of the two cities was effected. To bring
about this desirable end he labored diligently, and was one of the
commissioners for settling the terms of annexation. In 1855, he was
elected mayor of the Consolidated city, and his rule was marked by vigor,
justice, and a strict regard for the rights and interests of the
citizens. For six years subsequent to his mayoralty he held the office of
commissioner of water works.
Mr. Castle was married in December, 1836, to Miss Mary Derby, who died in
Canada in the following year. In 1840, he was married to Miss Mary H.
Newell, of Vermont, by whom he has had one son and three daughters. The
son, W. W. Castle, now twenty-six, is book-keeper of the Cuyahoga Steam
Furnace Company. The oldest daughter is wife of Mr. Robert R. Rhodes, of
Cleveland. The youngest daughters are still at school.
The success of Mr. Castle has been achieved by a persistent struggle
against adverse circumstances and with but little to aid him but a
resolute will and good constitution. At an early age he was left with the
care of his father's family on his hands, and has had to fight, not only
his own battles, but to struggle with the difficulties into which
circumstances had thrown the company with which he became connected. Out
of the struggle he has come with a spotless reputation, the esteem of his
friends and the respect of his fellow-citizens, financial prosperity, and
the blessing of good health and undiminished vigor.
Charles Jarvis Woolson.
On the sixth of August, 1869, the citizens of Cleveland were surprised and
pained at the announcement of the death, on the morning of that day, of
Charles Jarvis Woolson, one of the most active and respected business men
of the city. Few were aware of his illness, and even by those acquainted
with the facts his death, up to within a very short time of the event, was
wholly unexpected.
Mr. Woolson was born in Chester, Vermont, and received careful educational
training, the family being in good circumstances. His father was engaged
in various manufacturing enterprises, including cotton and wool fabrics,
and the making of machine and hand cards. He was one of the very earliest
manufacturers of cooking stoves in the country.
At the age of nineteen, Mr. Woolson went into business on his own account,
choosing the newspaper profession instead of manufactures for his _debut._
His first venture was as editor and publisher of a newspaper in Grafton
county, New Hampshire. Two years later, he sold out and removed to
Virginia, where he assumed charge of the Charlotteville Advocate. But the
political and social atmosphere of the South was uncongenial to one born
and bred in the free air of Vermont. He could neither feel nor affect to
feel anything but abhorrence of the "institution," and so he soon
terminated his connection with the press of Virginia, and returned to the
land of churches, free schools and free speech. In 1830, he married Miss
Pomeroy, of Cooperstown, New York, and removing to Keene, New Hampshire,
engaged in mercantile business; but he who has once dabbled in journalism
imbibes a taste which it is difficult afterwards to eradicate. Mr. Woolson
was not at home in a mercantile store, and before long he purchased the
New England Palladium, a Boston daily newspaper, and conducted it for two
years, when he bade a final adieu to journalism as a profession, disposing
of his property in the Palladium and removing to Claremont, New Hampshire,
where he engaged with his father in the manufacture of stoves. Here he
remained until 1840, when he removed to Cleveland, taking with him the
patterns and materials connected with the stove business, and commenced
on his own account in a small way, his capital having been seriously
crippled by the financial convulsion of 1837.
Mr. Woolson had, in 1845, succeeded in getting his business into a
flourishing condition, when, through the defalcation of a trusted partner,
he was very nearly ruined. But he did not stop his works one day on
account of this disaster. Collecting together his scattered resources, he
set to work all the harder, and as the Fall of the year approached, had
succeeded in accumulating a fine stock of wares for the Fall trade, which
he had stored in a warehouse at the rear of his factory, but which he
neglected to insure. A fire broke out, and the building, with its
contents, was completely destroyed, resolving the valuable stoves into a
heap of old iron. Even this did not stop the works. With his
characteristic energy, Mr. Woolson had the ground cleared and set to work
with redoubled zeal, making new stoves out of the old iron, and succeeded
in doing a tolerable business that winter, in spite of his accumulation of
disasters.
When Mr. Woolson commenced business in Cleveland, it was but a lively
village. His stove foundry, the first of importance in northern Ohio, when
running to its full capacity, employed but ten hands, and its trade was
limited to the immediate vicinity, and a few towns on the canal. But few
of the farmers then used cooking stoves, the fire on the hearth serving
for all purposes of cooking and warming. The works now employ about one
hundred hands when running full, and the customers are found in Chicago,
St. Louis, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa. The firm was changed
several years since to Woolson & Hitchcock, and subsequently to Woolson,
Hitchcock & Carter. Death removed the senior and junior partners of the
firm within a few months of each other.
Mr. Woolson's death was caused by erysipelas, brought on by debility;
after an illness of two weeks the disease yielded to medical treatment,
and he seemed to gain strength rapidly. On Saturday, the 31st of July,
he joined a party of friends and drove in his buggy twenty miles into
the country, believing that the fresh air would invigorate him as it had
done many times before when his health gave way. But the old remedy
failed, and, leaving his horse behind, Mr. Woolson took the cars and
reached home in the evening very much exhausted. After lingering five
days, typhoid symptoms appeared, and at eight o'clock Friday morning he
died, unconscious, and without suffering, after a life of 63 years and
one month.
Mr. Woolson possessed a very genial and sociable disposition, was highly
intelligent and well informed, and in spite of an infirmity of deafness
was a charming companion. His business qualifications are proven by the
success of the establishment he founded, in spite of the succession of
unforeseen and unavoidable disasters with which it had to contend. He was
a man of very domestic habits, and these habits were mellowed and refined
by many family losses that might have crushed one less hopeful, and less
patient and uncomplaining. To his family he was entirely devoted, and all
the affection of a loving household clustered around him with an intensity
that made the blow of his sudden loss one peculiarly hard to be borne.
Mr. Woolson had long been connected with Grace Church (Episcopal), of
which he was senior warden, and very tender domestic ties, sundered by
death some years since, made that church peculiarly dear to him.
William Hart.
William Hart, son of Judah Hart, of English descent, was born in Norwich,
Connecticut, in the year 1811. About the year 1821, Judah Hart removed to
the West with his family, settling in Brownhelm, Lorain county, where he
died two years after, and one year from this time, William changed his
residence to Cleveland. Soon after the arrival of the Harts in Cleveland,
Governor Clinton, of New York, came to Ohio to formally commence the work
of constructing the Ohio Canal, which was begun on the fourth of July,
1825. Governor Clinton landed in Cleveland in June, and one of the
principal incidents of Mr. Hart's recollection of his early days in
Cleveland, was the general turning out of the people to receive and
welcome the father of internal improvements. Cleveland was then but an
insignificant village, a place "six miles from Newburg, where steamboats
stopped to wood and water," but great, and well-founded hopes were
entertained of the benefits to flow from the opening of the canal, and the
people were therefore much elated at the arrival of Governor Clinton, who
was to commence the important work, and whose influence had done so much
to aid the enterprise.
[Illustration: Yours Truly, Wm. Hart]
About this time young Hart went to live with Asabel Abel, to whom he was
apprenticed for the purpose of learning the business of cabinet making.
When the term of his apprenticeship had expired, he set up in business on
his own account, at first opening his modest store and workshop on the
site of the present Birch House, and subsequently, after five or six years
of business, removing his location to the opposite side of the street, on
the spot now occupied by his present warehouse.
In 1852, a fire swept away his entire establishment, destroying
ware-rooms, factory, and all the appurtenances, and throwing out of
employment the twenty hands of which his force of workmen then consisted.
In the succeeding year, he rebuilt the warehouse and factory on a greatly
enlarged scale, and has since still further enlarged and improved the
buildings, until, in size and commodiousness, they are not excelled in
the city. At present, seventy-five hands are employed in the
establishment, aided by the most improved descriptions of labor-saving
machinery adapted to the business, and the annual sales reach nearly two
hundred thousand dollars.
Mr. Hart believed in always putting his shoulder to the wheel, though on
one occasion a too literal adherence to this principle came near costing
him his life. In attempting to give some aid in the factory, he came in
contact with a circular saw, and his right arm was nearly severed from the
shoulder. This was in the year 1850. On his partial recovery, the
citizens, to show their sympathy with him in his misfortune, elected him
City Treasurer, an office then of but little value, requiring only a small
portion of his time and paying him two hundred dollars a year. For
nineteen years he held this office uninterruptedly, being elected by both
parties term after term, and witnessing the growth of the city, under his
financial administration, from an annual revenue of forty-eight thousand
dollars to nearly two millions. The emoluments of the office have risen
from a salary of two hundred dollars to a salary of fifteen hundred
dollars, and a percentage on special taxes collected. During his nineteen
years of service, Mr. Hart has negotiated all the loans, sold the school
bonds, and collected the special taxes, occupying nearly the whole of his
time, and employing the services of a clerk in transacting the business of
his office.
When William Hart became City Treasurer, the credit of the city stood
rather low, city warrants being hawked about at seventy-five cents on the
dollar. This unsatisfactory state of things was put an end to, mainly
through the exertions of the Hon. H. B. Payne, then in the City Council,
who procured the funding of the outstanding debt, and brought the credit
of the city up to the high standard at which it now stands.
When Judah Hart reached Cleveland, the then far West, a part of the family
slept in the Mansion House, occupying the site on which now stands
Cooper's hardware store, but young William and some other members of the
family slept in the covered traveling wagon, under a shed standing on the
site of the present Atwater Block. With the revolution of years the then
poor boy has now become part owner of the splendid block standing where a
part of the Harts slept, homeless wayfarers, forty-five years ago.
In 1834, Mr. Hart was married in Cleveland, to Miss Elizabeth Kirk,
daughter of John Kirk, who had left England about a dozen years
previously. No children were born of this marriage, but the pair have
adopted four, giving them all the advantages and rights of children born
to themselves, and three of these are now married.
Still in vigorous life, Mr. Hart has, to a great extent, retired from
active business, his establishment being carried on mainly by his sons
through adoption or marriage. This partial rest he has earned by a life of
labor and enterprise, in which he has watched narrowly his opportunities,
and availed himself of every chance of improving his facilities for
manufacture, and enlarging his field of business, has faithfully performed
his official duties, and has secured the respect alike of his business
acquaintances, his political constituents, and the public at large.
John Bousfield.
The wooden ware manufacture of Cleveland is an important part of its
industry, the manufacturing establishments being the largest within the
United States and doing a business that covers the entire west. Large as
the industry now is, it is of but very recent growth, and Cleveland is
chiefly indebted for its permanent establishment, in spite of a series of
discouraging disasters, to the enterprise and determination of John
Bousfield.
[Illustration: Yours Truly, John Bousfield]
Mr. Bousfield was born at Stockport, in the county of Cheshire, England,
July 22, 1819. After serving an apprenticeship to the saddle and harness
business for seven years, he engaged in that business on his own
account, adding to it the manufacture of whips. Four years were thus
spent, when he decided on removing to America, leaving his native land
in December, 1843. Having brought two of his workmen with him, he
established himself in the same business in a small way in the city of
New York, but his health failing after a few months, he determined on
leaving for the west, hoping that a change of atmosphere, and possibly
of business, would be of benefit.
His first stay was at Kirtland, Lake county, Ohio, where he purchased a
farm and at the same time carried on the harness business. At this he
continued until about the year 1850, when he purchased a factory and water
power, put in a pail-making machine, and commenced, in a small way, the
manufacture of pails. In 1854, he removed to Fairport, in the same county,
where he purchased a larger building and carried on pail manufacturing
upon a larger scale. In March, 1855, he sold out the establishment, taking
in pay for it a note which he still holds.
In May of that year he came to Cleveland and organized the Cleveland
Wooden Ware Manufacturing Company, built a factory on the ground now
occupied by the present firm of Bousfield & Poole, and commenced
manufacturing in the following September. The first operations of the
company were on a small scale, making tubs, pails, washboards, and similar
articles in a limited way, but gradually increasing the business until it
reached what was then considered respectable proportions. In July, 1857,
the company sold out to Greenman & Co., of Massachusetts, and Mr.
Bousfield was retained by the new owners as superintendent of the works,
until January 12, 1859, when the factory was destroyed by fire.
In March of that year, Mr. Bousfield rented a building on the West Side
and commenced manufacturing again on his own account. Five months
afterwards he was burned out. Nothing daunted, he immediately purchased
the ruins of the Greenman & Co. factory, rebuilt it, and in January, 1860,
associated with him Mr. J. B. Hervey, of Cleveland, and in the following
month resumed work.
The new partnership was very successful. The business increased rapidly,
the area of their trade enlarged until it comprised all the principal
cities and towns in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. A
planing mill was added to the factory, and this, too, was highly
profitable. In 1864, the works were greatly enlarged to meet the rapidly
increasing demand for their wares. In 1865, Mr. John Poole, of Harmer,
Ohio, was admitted to the partnership, thus bringing in additional
capital and experience gained in the management of a similar factory at
Harmer. Mr. Poole has devoted himself principally to the financial and
sales departments of the business, and has proved himself a man of more
than ordinary business ability.
Thus far everything had been going on prosperously, but the old enemy,
fire, was as relentless as ever. On the 23d of March, 1866, the whole of
the extensive establishment was reduced to ashes, and the unfortunate
proprietors sorrowfully contemplated the ruins of years of labor and
enterprise, whilst a host of workmen stood still more sorrowfully by, and
saw their daily bread swept from them by the pitiless flames.
Seventy-five thousand dollars of capital were converted into valueless
ashes in a few hours.
The owners of the factory wasted no time in fruitless sorrow. An old
wooden building had partially escaped the flames. This was hastily patched
up, and within thirty days they were making pails and tubs as earnestly as
if they had never known a fire. Mr. Hervey sold out his interest to the
other partners, Messrs. Bousfield & Poole, who went to work with almost
unparalleled enterprise and energy, built one of the largest and most
substantial factories in the country, and entered upon the work of
manufacturing wooden ware upon a larger scale than had ever before been
attempted. The factory has two hundred feet front on Leonard and Voltaire
streets, with a depth of sixty feet, and five stories high; attached to
the main building are the engine and boiler rooms. The cost of the
building was forty-five thousand dollars. The present capacity of the
works is twenty-five hundred pails per day, six hundred tubs, a hundred
and twenty-five churns and other small ware, and a hundred dozen zinc
washboards.
In May, 1867, the firm commenced the erection of a match factory which
was ready for operation in September of that year. A superintendent was
engaged who, unfortunately, was unqualified for his position and did much
harm to the enterprise, but on his removal, Mr. Bousfield took personal
charge of the match factory, and has succeeded in building up an
extensive trade. The daily capacity of the factory is two hundred and
ninety gross, which, if run to the full capacity throughout the year,
would yield to the United States government a revenue of over a hundred
and twenty thousand dollars.
The trade of Messrs. Bousfield & Poole extends from Buffalo through the
principal cities of the central, southern and western States, to New
Orleans on the south, and Salt Lake City on the west, two bills having
been sold to the son-in-law of Brigham Young in that city. A branch
warehouse has been established in Chicago as an entrepot for the supply of
the vast territory of which Chicago is the source of supply.
The manufactory of Messrs. Bousfield & Poole is the largest in the
country, and for the past three years has turned out about fifty per cent.
more work than any other in the United States. It consumes ten millions of
feet of lumber and logs annually, besides other material, and gives
employment to from three hundred to three hundred and fifty persons, men
women and children. Its influence on the population and prosperity of the
city can therefore be judged. The money for the support of these people,
and for the purchase of the materials employed, is almost wholly brought
from abroad, the amount of the wares used in Cleveland being, of course, a
very small fraction of the amount produced and sold. The same is true to a
greater or less extent, of all the manufactories of Cleveland, and serves
to account for the rapid growth of the city in population and wealth
within the few years past, in which Cleveland has entered in good earnest
on its career as a manufacturing centre.
Mr. Bousfield was married January 1, 1855, to Miss Sarah Featherstone, of
Kirtland, by whom he has had ten children, six of whom are yet living.
The oldest son, Edward Franklin Bousfield, is engaged with his father in
the factory.
The secret of Mr. Bousfield's successful career can be found in his
indomitable perseverance. He has been wholly burned out three times, and
had, in all, about twenty fires, more or less disastrous, to contend with,
but each time he seemed to have gained new strength and vigor in business
as his works rose phoenix like from the ashes. Coupled with his
perseverance is a remarkable mechanical ingenuity which has served him to
good purpose in the construction and management of his factories. Whilst
in England, he invented a machine for braiding whips that would do the
work of fifteen women working by hand, as was the usual practice.
J. G. Hussey.
Among the elements that have contributed to the prosperity of Cleveland,
copper and oil hold no inconsiderable place. Not only has the cupriferous
wealth of Lake Superior directly enriched many Cleveland citizens who
interested themselves in its production, but it has led to the
establishment of a large and steadily increasing commerce between
Cleveland and Lake Superior. In the other direction, the enterprise of
Clevelanders in the petroleum region of Western Pennsylvania has built up
large fortunes for themselves and has established in Cleveland one of the
most extensive and remunerative of its industries. One of the earliest to
be identified, first with the copper and afterwards with the oil interest,
was J. G. Hussey.
Christopher Hussey, the father of the subject of the present sketch,
emigrated from Baltimore and settled in Cincinnati, in 1804, subsequently
removing to Jefferson county, Ohio, where J. G. Hussey was born in 1819.
Young Hussey received such an education as the facilities of a rural
neighborhood at that early day afforded, and added to his school knowledge
the practical details of business by becoming clerk in a village store.
Here he acquired those correct business habits that stood him in good
service in after life. In 1840, he opened a store on his own account in
Hanover, Ohio, and was very successful. From Hanover he removed to
Pittsburgh, where he operated in provisions until 1845. In that year there
was much excitement over the mineral discoveries on the south shore of
Lake Superior. The Indian titles to the mineral lands on that lake had
been but a short time before completely extinguished, and the surveys of
Dr. Houghton were bringing the cupriferous riches of the region into
notice. Mining permits were issued under the authority of Congress, those
permits giving the applicant a lease for three years, with a conditional
re-issue for three years more. The lessees were to work the mines with due
diligence and skill, and to pay a royalty to the United States of six per
cent, of all the ores raised. Early in the Spring of 1845, Mr. Hussey
formed a company of miners and explorers, with whom he went to Lake
Superior and opened several copper veins, some of which proved highly
productive and are still successfully worked. In some of these he has
retained an interest to the present time.
[Illustration: Yours Truly, J. G. Hussey]
In the Spring of 1847, he became a member of the private banking firm
of Hussey, Hanna & Co., in Pittsburgh, which did a successful business
for several years. At the same time he became interested in a banking
establishment in Milwaukee under the firm name of Marshall, Hussey &
Ilsley. In 1850, he removed to Milwaukee, to attend to the interest of
that firm, but the climate proving injurions to his health, he sold out
and removed to Cleveland, where he took up his residence in 1851. From
that time he became thoroughly identified with the business interests
of the city.
His first act was to establish the Forest City Bank, under the regulations
of the Free Banking Law of Ohio, and during his connection with the
institution it was eminently successful. During the same summer, he built
and put in operation a copper smelting and refining works, under the firm
name of J. G. Hussey & Co., engaging at the same time in the produce
commission business, under the firm name of Hussey & Sinclair, which
afterwards changed to Hussey & McBride. It is a matter of fact, on which
Mr. Hussey justly prides himself, and to which in great measure he
attributes his success, that he confined himself strictly to the
legitimate conduct of his business as a commission dealer, never
speculating in produce when selling it for others.
In 1859, Mr. Hussey became interested in the discoveries of petroleum in
the creeks and valleys of Venango county, Pennsylvania. With his
characteristic energy he went to the scene of the excitement just breaking
out over the discoveries, and becoming satisfied of their importance, he
immediately commenced the work of exploration, in company with others, who
purchased the McElhenny Farm, on which was struck the noted Empire well,
one of the most famous wells on Oil Creek, that by its extraordinary yield
first added to the petroleum excitement, and then broke down the market by
a supply far in excess of the then demand. The tools were no sooner
extracted than the oil rushed up in a torrent, equal to three thousand
barrels daily. The good fortune of the adventurers was disastrous. It was
more than they had bargained for, and was altogether too much of a good
thing. The demand at that time was very limited, the uses to which
petroleum had been applied being few, and science had not yet enabled it
to be converted into the cheap and useful illuminator it has now become.
One day's flow of the Empire would supply all the demands of the United
States for a week. Barrels, too, were scarce, and when those at hand were
filled tanks were hastily improvised, but were speedily overflowed. Pits
were dug and rapidly filled, until at length the well owners, cursed with
too much good luck, were compelled to turn the oil into the river. Then it
rapidly fell in price, owing to the superabundant supply. It fell, in the
autumn of 1861, to ten cents a barrel, and the oil interest was, for the
time, ruined.
At this juncture Mr. Hussey was induced to erect works for refining the
oil and preparing it as an illuminator. The first establishment was a
small one, but as the demand increased and the oil interest revived, the
capacity was increased until it reached its present limit of from three
hundred and fifty to four hundred barrels per day.
When the second oil excitement broke out in 1864, Mr. Hussey was again one
of the leading explorers and adventurers in the oil regions of
Pennsylvania. Successful wells were put down in Oil Creek and on the
Allegheny river, and a large proportion of the product was brought to
Cleveland to be refined. His interest in this department of industry
became so great and important, that after fifteen years of active
connection with the produce and copper smelting business of Cleveland, he
sold out his interest in both the commission house and smelting works and
devoted his entire attention to oil.
Mr. Hussey is a good example of the success attending faithful,
intelligent and conscientious attention to business. A self-made man, he
never lost sight of the fact that the same scrupulous honesty which gave
him success was necessary to retain it. Debt he looked upon as the road to
ruin, and he scrupulously shunned it. He never bought an article for
himself or his family on credit. His business paper was always good and
never was protested. His engagements were ever punctually kept. His two
cardinal principles were "Time is money," and "Honesty is the best
policy," and these rules of action he carefully impressed on the young men
whom he brought up in business life. The value of his teachings and
example is shown in the fact that those brought up under his business care
during the past twenty years have come to hold a place in the front rank
of business men, and have, by their energy and integrity, accumulated
competence, and even affluence.
[Illustration: Yours Truly, A. B. Stone]