A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 2

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 860

USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III > Part 2

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J. H. Shoenberger, of Pittsburg, manufactur- ers of nails and boiler plate. In 1847 he be- came associated with Captain Thomas C. Coleman in the purchase of a rolling mill at the foot of Brook street, and here they be- came successful manufacturers of bar iron, building up a large and substantial enterprise, with which Mr. Belknap continued to be ac- tively identified for many years. This mill was long in operation and the structure re- mained on the original site until 1880, when it was razed.

In the meanwhile Mr. Belknap had estab- lished an individual enterprise as an extensive dealer in iron and heavy hardware, and this business he conducted under the title of W. B. Belknap & Company. His associate was his brother, the late Morris Locke Belknap. William B. Belknap eventually purchased his brother's interest and assumed full control of the business, from which has been developed the extensive and important concern known as the Belknap Hardware & Manufacturing Company-probably the largest of its kind in the entire South. The enterprise has been wholesale in its functions from the beginning, in connection with the manufacturing depart- ment, and in the development of the same Mr. Belknap made a magnificent contribution to the prestige and importance of Louisville as an industrial and commercial center. He be- came one of the most influential factors in local business circles and his civic ideals were as high as were his business talents exception- al. He gave his influence and tangible co- operation in the fostering and upbuilding of a number of other important industrial and business enterprises in his home city, and for some time he served as president of the Southern Bank of Louisville, subsequently the Citizens' Bank, and whose successor is the Citizens' National Bank.

Mr. Belknap was a man of broad mental ken and impregnable integrity in all the rela- tions of life. He honored Louisville and the state of Kentucky through his able and worthy services as a citizen and business man, and though he never sought publicity and was essentially unostentatious and democratic in his attitude, he wielded more influence of beneficent order than have many who have come more prominently before the public eye. He achieved large success and won it by worthy means, and he ever maintained a high sense of his stewardship. He was at all times ready to co-operate in the promotion of those undertakings that conserved the general welfare of the community, and upon the rec- ord of his long, active and useful career there rests no shadow of wrong or injustice.

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Though never permitting the use of his name in connection with candidacy for political of- fice, he gave a staunch allegiance to the cause of his convictions, and his religious faith was that of the Unitarian church, to the various departments of whose work he was a liberal contributor. His widow, who will celebrate her ninetieth birthday anni- versary on June II, 19II, is a char- ter member of the Chestnut Street Pres- byterian church, later known as the Warren Memorial Presbyterian church, and has been a prominent factor in church and benevolent activities in the city of her adoption, where she is well known and where she is held in reverent affection by all who have come within the sphere of her gracious influence. Mr. Belknap was summoned to the life eternal on the 24th day of February, 1889, and, now that he rests from his labors, it may well be said that "His works do follow him."

In the year 1843 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Belknap to Miss Mary Richard- son, who was born in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, on the IIth of June, 1821, and who is a daughter of William Richardson, who be- came one of the leading bankers and most in- fluential citizens of Louisville, where he held for a number of years prior to his demise the office of president of the Northern Bank of Kentucky.

WILLIAM R. BELKNAP .- In the matter of definite accomplishment and high personal in- tegrity the city of Louisville has every reason to be proud of those of her native sons who are lending their influence and co-operation in forwarding her industrial, commercial and civic advancement. As a member .of one of the old and honored families of the Kentucky metropolis, and as one of the essentially rep- resentative business men of his native city, William Richardson Belknap is eligible for a place in this history of Kentucky and Ken- tuckians. On preceding pages may be found a memoir of his father, the late William Burke Belknap, and as adequate data concern -. ing the family history is incorporated in that article it is not necessary to repeat the same details. Mr. Belknap after serving as presi- dent for twenty-eight years, is now chairman of the board of directors of the Belknap Hardware & Manufacturing Company, of which important industrial concern his hon- ored father was the founder, and he is other- wise closely and prominently identified with the business interests of Louisville.

William Richardson Belknap was born in Louisville on the 28th of March, 1849, and is a son of William B. and Mary (Richardson) Belknap. To the public and private schools

of his native city Mr. Belknap is indebted for his early educational discipline, which includ- ed, besides two years under Rev. Stuart Rob- inson, a full course in the Male High School, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1866. A few months afterward he was matriculated in Yale University, and in this celebrated institution he was graduated in 1869, with the degree of Bachelor of Sci- ence, bestowed by the Sheffield Scientific School. After his graduation he passed an- other year in his alma mater, in which he completed a well defined post-graduate course in natural science, including botany, zoology, history and economics. Upon his return to Louisville he became an active member of the firm of W. B. Belknap & Company, of which his father was the founder and executive head. This concern was engaged in the wholesale iron and hardware trade. Upon the incorpo- ration of the business, under the present title, the Belknap Hardware & Manufacturing Company, in 1880, he became vice-president and later president in 1882. He continued as such until May, 1910, when he resigned this administrative office and assumed that of chairman of its board.

For forty years has Mr. Belknap been ac- tively identified with the business interests of his native city, and he has in this field as well as in the domain of loyal citizenship well up- held the prestige of the honored name which he bears. He has been a resourceful and po- tent factor in giving solidity and progressive tendencies to the commercial and industrial activities of Louisville, and as a citizen has never denied his support to enterprises and measures which he thought contributed to the welfare of the community. He has taken part especially in the upbuilding of the Lou- isville Young Men's Christian Association, in whose work he still maintains a most lively interest.

He was one of the charter members of the Salmagundi Club and for twenty years its secretary. He is an independent in politics. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church, Mr. Belknap as ruling elder.

Among other connections and official posi- tions of Mr. Belknap's might be mentioned, vice president Associated Charities of Louis- ville, vice president Kentucky Humane Soci- ety, 1899-1900 president Commercial Club, honorary life member Commercial Club, trus- tee of Berea College.

Mr. Belknap has been twice married. In December, 1874, he was married to Miss Alice Trumbull Silliman, daughter of Professor Benjamin Silliman, of New Haven, Connecti-

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cut. She was summoned to the life eternal in 1890. Concerning the children of this union the following brief record is given : Eleanor is the wife of Lewis C. Humphrey, of Louisville; Alice S. is the wife of Dr. Forbes Hawkes, of New York; Mary is the wife of George H. Gray, of Louisville, an architect by profession; William B., who was graduated in Yale University as a member of the class of 1908, is now associated with the Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Com- pany ; and Christine, youngest of the children, remains at the paternal home. In 1894 Mr. Belknap was united in marriage to Miss Juliet Rathbone Davison, who was reared in Louis- ville, a daughter of Charles G. and the well known Mrs. Emily Andrews Davison, noted for her musical talents and social qualities.

MORRIS B. BELKNAP .- The life of Colonel Belknap was marked by valuable accomplish- ment along practical and productive lines, and his success as a man of affairs was large; but more to be prized than this were his loyalty to principle, a kindly human sympathy, a broad intellectual development and a gracious personality that characterized the man as he was. His career in the business world was such as to advance the welfare of others as well as his own, and though ever free from self-seeking and ostentation, his qualifications for leadership in thought and action brought him into prominence, the while he retained an enviable place in the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. He was an important fac- tor in the business life of his native city, where his interests were wide and important and where it was given him to add new laurels to a name that has been honorably linked with the annals of Louisville for more than seventy years. Concerning the family genealogy and the career of his father, the late William Burke Belknap, ample details are given in the memoir dedicated to the latter on preceding pages, and to that memoir the reader is referred for such information.

Colonel Morris Burke Belknap was born in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, on the 7th of June, 1856, and at his home 1322 South Fourth avenue, this city, his death occurred on the afternoon of the 13th of April, 1910. Colonel Belknap gained his early education in the private school of B. B. Huntoon, there continuing his studies until he was seventeen years of age, when he found himself well prepared for his collegiate course. However, he was favored in being able at this time 1873. to avail himself of the advantages of foreign travel, and in company with his elder brother, William R. Belknap, he passed a year in Europe. Upon his return he was matriculated

in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale Uni- versity, where he was in his freshman year a classmate of William H. Taft. He was graduated in the year 1877 and passed the ensuing year in the same institution, where he took a post-graduate course in chemistry. In 1879 Colonel Belknap began his independ- ent business career by becoming one of the in- terested principals in a company engaged in the manufacture of plows and other agricul- tural implements in Louisville. He continued with this concern for four years, at the expira- tion of which, in 1883, he became a member of the wholesale hardware firm of W. B. Belknap & Company. His father, the senior member of the firm, died in 1889, and after the incorpora- tion of the Belknap Hardware & Manufactur- ing Company, which succeeded the business of the original firm, Colonel Belknap became vice-president of the company, an office which he retained throughout his life. An appreciative estimate appeared in a Louis- ville daily paper at the time of his death, and in the reproduction only such minor changes are made as to bring the article in keeping with the features of this memoir.

For many years Colonel Belknap had stood in the forefront of the South's commercial world and had been closely identified with the great business interests of Louisville. He was recognized everywhere as an important factor in promoting the leading commercial interests of the city, and for .several years he was president of the Louisville Board of Trade, having had the distinction of being the youngest man ever elected to this office.

Although constantly absorbed in the intrica- cies of the large mercantile corporation of which he formed so important a part, he never lost his fondness for books and always found time to devote to literary and scientific pursuits. Colonel Belknap kept notably well informed along lines of commercial progress. In 1895 he read a carefully prepared paper before the National Hardware Association, at Pittsburg. The paper dealt with some points of the general business interests that challenged the attention and invoked the ap- proval of a critical and much interested body. He was a delegate to the international con- gress of Chambers of Commerce at Liege, in 1905, and in other conventions, at home or elsewhere, his voice was always heard with respect.

Colonel Belknap early manifested an inter- est in military affairs, in which connection he became prominent and influential in the Kentucky National Guard. In 1879 he en- listed as a private in Captain W. O. Harris' company of the Louisville Legion, and he

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took great pride in his association with this military body. In 1890 he was elected cap- tain of Company A, First Regiment of the Kentucky National Guard, and three years later he was chosen lieutenant colonel of the same regiment. Prior to this service, in 1887, he was honored by appointment as a member of the military staff of Governor Simon B. Buckner, with the rank of Colonel. Colonel Belknap called the first meeting of officers in his home upon receiving news of the declaration of war between the United States and Spain. He served as lieutenant colonel and later as colonel of the First Kentucky Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish-American war in 1898, and saw service around Ponce and Mayaguez, in Porto Rico. The first Ken- tucky Volunteer Infantry was duly mustered into the United States service on the 13th of May, 1898, and Colonel Belknap was forthwith commissioned its lieutenant colonel The regi- ment left Louisville on May 13th and after spending some weeks at Lexington, Ky., and at Chickamauga, arrived at Newport News, Virginia, on the 28th of July. On the Ist of August orders were received from General Frederick D. Grant, who instructed Colonel Belknap to take six companies and embark on the transport "Hudson" for Porto Rico. The command reached Ponce on the 11th of Au- gust, and upon reporting to General Nelson A. Miles was ordered to proceed on the transport to Mayaguez, where Colonel Belknap reported to General Schwan the 12th of August. This officer gave orders for Colonel Belknap to disembark his command and, as soon as transportation could be secured, to follow the Eleventh Infantry to Los Maria. The next day, however, was received news of the sign- ing of the protocol, a special messenger hav- ing been sent by General Miles, and this brought an end to hostilities. Colonel Bel- knap and his command remained at Maya- guez until the 26th of August, when he re- ceived orders to proceed to Ponce and join General Castleman and the other six com- panies of the regiment. This was accom- plished on the 29th and 30th of August. On December 12, 1898, the regiment returned to Louisville, where General Castleman, Colonel Belknap and their comrades received their hon- orable discharge. It is not unlikely that the death of Colonel Belknap was largely a result of his services in Porto Rico, as he never entirely regained his former vigor after his return.

Colonel Belknap was a man of firm convic- tions and his opinions concerning matters of public import were practical and steadfast. He was numbered among the leaders in the

ranks of the Republican party in his native state and that he was a prominent factor in its councils needs no further voucher than that afforded by the fact that in 1903 he was made the Republican candidate for governor of Kentucky. He made a spirited and effect- ive campaign, which won him over 203,000 votes. He twice served as chairman of the Board of Park Commissioners of Louisville, and ever showed a most loyal interest in all that touched the welfare of his native city.

Colonel Belknap was a professed Presby- terian, and his religious faith was shown forth in all the relations and associations of his life, though never with ostentation or intolerance. He was a deacon of the Warren Memorial church at the time of his death and was one of the most liberal supporters of the various departments of its work, as was he also of philanthropies and benevolences of a general order. He was for many years chairman of the board of trustees of his church, but resigned this office about a year prior to his death, as his want of strength made it in- possible for him to give to the organization the attention which he deemed necessary. He assisted most generously in the upbuilding of the local Young Men's Christian Association and was one of its directors. His genial per- sonality made him a favorite in both business and social circles, and he was identified with various civic organizations of representative order. He was a member of the. Pendennis and the Country Clubs of Louisville, and also of the Salmagundi (literary) Club, and for some years prior to his demise he was presi- dent of the Yale Alumni Association of Ken- tucky. Loyal in all the relations of life, kindly and tolerant in his judgment of his fellow men, a devoted husband and father, Colonel Belknap played well his part in life, and now that he has passed away his memory is held in lasting honor by all who came within the sphere of his influence.

On the 14th of June, 1883, were married Colonel Belknap and Miss Lily Buckner, only daughter of General Simon B. Buckner, gov- ernor of Kentucky and always one of the state's most distinguished citizens. Mrs. Bel- knap died in the year 1893, survived by four children, Gertrude, Walter Kingsbury (who was graduated in Yale University, 1908), Lily, and Morris B., Jr. To the memory of his wife, Colonel Belknap erected a massive and beauti- ful stone bridge in Cherokee Park, and this is known as the Belknap Bridge. On the 16th of July, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Colonel Belknap to Miss Marion S. Du- mont, of Plainfield. New Jersey, where she was born and reared. She is a daughter of

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John B. Dumont, a representative citizen of that city. Mrs. Belknap survives her hon- ored husband and resides with his children in the family home. In addition to the Louis- ville home the Colonel owned a summer resi- dence at "Black Hall," on Long Island Sound, in the state of Connecticut.

JOHN P. HARBICK .- Few, if any, residents of Covington enjoy a securer hold upon the esteem and affection of their fellow townsmen than John P. Harbick, a retired business man and one of the most active and prominent members of the great Masonic fraternity to be found in the state of Kentucky. He was born in Nassau, Germany, April 20, 1834. His parents were William H. and Eleonora (Har- bick) Harbick. The former was a native of Prussia and the latter of France, and although they bore the same name they were not related. The paternal grandfather, who was of German lineage, was extensively engaged in the iron furnace business in Lorraine when it was a part of France, and afterward pursued similar activities in Nassau. Mr. Harbick's father was employed by a German nobleman and lived in one of the ancient castles about which so much of history and romance cling like the ivy upon the turrets. It was within such walls that Mr. Harbick first saw the light of day. He was the second of a family of six children. Besides himself two sisters survive at the present time, one of them, Kate H. Piepho, residing in Chi- cago, and the other, Jeannette H. Temple, upon an Indiana farm. Mr. Harbick grew to boy- hood upon the estate of his father's patron and was to have been afforded a liberal college education through the generosity of the noble- man, but when he was thirteen years of age his father died at the comparatively early age of thirty-nine years and many plans were of necessity changed. Nevertheless he acquired a good common school education in the com- mon schools, which are one of Germany's points of pride. At the age of fourteen young John began to serve an apprenticeship in the shoemaking trade and for several years made his livelihood in this fashion.

When John P. Harvick was nineteen years of age he departed for the "Land of Promise." crossing the Atlantic in company with his aunt and sister. Soon after arriving in the United States they went to Cincinnati, Ohio, this being in the year 1853. Jolin secured em- ployment at his trade in Cincinnati and for the next four years worked hard, saved every penny not actually needed for existence, and by such means was able in 1857 to start in business for himself in the Queen City. Two years later he located in Covington, where he had previously married, and bought a lot upon

which he built his first simple home. He es- tablished himself in business here and for twenty-eight years operated a store. During these early days shoemaking consisted for the . most part of hand work and in this fashion Mr. Harbick made many fine patent leather boots for select trade, taking fourteen stitches to the inch. By the exercise of good management he gained a competence and in 1887, discontinued the shoe business to take up the undertaking business under the firm name of Harbick & Rose. This second commercial undertaking was likewise successful, Mr. Harbick possess- ing those qualities which bring any enterprise to full fruition. In 1904, finding himself the master of a fortune sufficient to keep him and his wife in comfort for the rest of their days, he retired. He has made a number of excel- lent investments and may be accounted a man of property.

During the Civil war Mr. Harbick mani- fested his loyalty to the Union canse by his membership in the Home Guards. He was among the first to be enlisted in Company A of the Forty-first Kentucky regiment, his rank becoming that of corporal. He was present in no engagements, the service of the Forty-first consisting chiefly of guard duty of bridges and supplies. Mr. Harbick is a stanch Republi- can and in 1881 was elected to the city council, in which he served for about six years. In 1904 he was appointed by Mayor Beach as a member of the fire and police board and served four years in that capacity.

Mr. Harbick's career as a Mason began in January, 1870, when he was initiated into the order which has claimed so much of his time and attention and which has rewarded him with much of pleasure and distinction. His membership has been long, active and useful. He has attained to the Thirty-second degree, his degrees including the York and the Scottish Rite. He has been actively identified with the subordinate lodges of Covington for forty years and no Mason is better known or more worthy in exemplification than he. For years his help has been in demand by hundreds whom he has graciously instructed in the rites of the order. He has doubtless made more Masons than any individual living in the state today, these including some of the most prom- inent not only in the order but in public life. Mr. Harbick has occupied chairs in all the different branches. In 1877, when he was serv- ing his third year as master of his lodge, he was also high priest of the chapter, thrice illustrious master of the council and eminent commander of the Knights Templars. During the same year he took the Thirty-second de- gree of Scottish Rite. Instantaneously when

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called upon he can deliver the lecture in any of the various branches, for he is the possessor of a truly remarkable memory. At various . times during his years of Masonic service he has been presented with many tokens of es- teem by the lodges with which he has been affiliated. Among these was a book containing the signatures of three hundred and thirty-five brothers, and an emblem bestowed by them commemorating the blue lodge, the chapter and the commandery, which took the form of a gold pendant and bore his name embossed in gold letters. Mr. Harbick holds membership with the Colonel Clay Lodge, No. 159; Cov- ington Lodge, No. 109; and Golden Rule Lodge, No. 345; being an honorary member of the two latter. He has also been since 1865 a member of Naomi Lodge, No. 129, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

In 1865 Mr. Harbick united with the Union Methodist church and for many years served upon the official board, being one of the trus- tees at the present time. He was a member of the choir for many years, serving as chor- ister and in fact is still chorister of the Sun- day-school. He possesses that true musical sense which seems to be innate with so many Germans.

Mr. Harbick was married on Christmas day, 1856, to Elizabeth Keen, a native of Newport and a daughter of Joseph A. and Mary (Storms) Keen, of New Jersey and Pennsyl- vania, respectively. Joseph A. Keen was an early settler in Kenton county and made the first brick house in Covington in the early days. He owned about six acres of land in what is now the heart of the city, this being bounded by Main, Philadelphia, Pike and Ninth streets. It was here that he lived and for many years operated a brick yard, the first enterprise of its kind within the limits of Cov- ington. . Joseph A. Keen's grandfather was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, belong- ing to a regiment known as the "Dirty Blues." Mary Storms, Mrs. Harbick's mother, was one year old when she was brought from the Key- stone state to Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1801. Mr. and Mrs. Harbick have no children, but have friends in plenty and enjoy the evening of life in peace and good fortune, possessing the respect of the community and the affection of all of those who know them best.

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A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 2

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 860

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 860