A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 1

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1106

USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 1

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977.102 C590 v.3 1214044

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GENEALOGY COLLECTION

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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02279 7838

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A HISTORY

CLEVELAND,

OHIO

BIOGRAPHICAL

ILLUSTRATED

VOLUME III

CHICAGO-CLEVELAND THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO. 1910

1214044

J. H. DEVEREUX

BIOGRAPHICAL

GENERAL JOHN HENERY DEVEREUX.

General John Henery Devereux, the scope of whose life work was vast and the results of most beneficial character to both state and nation, was one of Cleve- land's honored residents and a representative of a family that through successive generations has been noted no less for patriotism and devotion to high ideals than for splendid business and executive ability. He was of the twenty-sixth generation in England and of the seventh in America in direct lineal descent from Robert de Ebroicis, or Robert D'Evreux, known in history as one of the Norman conquerors of England in 1066. In the early colonization of Massachusetts rep- resentatives of the name aided in the reclamation of the wild western world and their descendants through successive generations continued to live in the old Bay state, his father, Captain John Devereux, being connected with the merchant marine service at Boston. In that city John H. Devereux was born April 5, 1832. His education was acquired in the academy at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and early in 1848 he left his Massachusetts home for Ohio, that he might engage in civil engineering in this state. He was then a youth of sixteen years, a "very independent, high spirited boy, possessed of undaunted courage and unbounded enterprise." Almost immediately after his arrival in Cleveland he became con- nected with the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad as a contracting en- gineer, and on the completion of that line he found similar employment on the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Railroad.

Between the years 1852 and 1861 General Devereux was in the south devoting his time to the construction of railroads in Tennessee in the capacity of civil engineer. He was prominently connected with the internal improvements of that state and section and was referee in several important cases as to location and construction. It was his intention to remain in the south, which seemed to open before him an advantageous field in the line of his profession, but the outbreak of the Civil war led to a change in his plans and he left Tennessee for the north. At that time he was city engineer of Nashville and resident engineer of what was then the Tennessee & Alabama Railroad. In the spring of 1862, after having made a reconnoissance for a military railroad in the Shenandoah valley, he re- ceived an appointment as superintendent of military railroads in Virginia and under it had charge of all railroads out of Alexandria and connected therewithi. His work in this connection was of a most important character and he rendered to his country signal service, the value of which can hardly be overestimated. An account of his work is given by a contemporary biographer as follows: "It was early in the spring of 1862 that the forward movements of the Federal armies in Virginia called for active operation, by the government of railroad lines cen- tering in Alexandria and connecting with Washington. These lines of railroads

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

were in the most deplorable condition, and in the midst of chaos, and for impera- tive demands for endless transportation to and from the advancing armies, Gen- eral McCallum was suddenly called to the head of the department of railroads, and in turn summoned Colonel Devereux to act as the controller and chief of the Virginia lines, with headquarters at Alexandria and Washington.

"The work was herculean, and its difficulties were well nigh insurmountable, the constant assaults of the enemy upon the roads being almost equal in injurious effect to the intolerance and ignorance of the Federal officers, whose ambition by turn extended to the special ownership and direction of every mile of track, and every car and locomotive. No definite line was drawn between the jurisdic- tion of the chiefs of the road management, of the war department and of the army, but the written law was none the less exacting as laid down by the quarter- master's and commissaries' departments, by ordinance and hospital departments, by the chiefs in command in the field. Through the whole ran the demands ne- cessitated by the movement of large bodies of troops, of batteries and pontoon trains, and the carriage of the sick and wounded.

"The roads were infested with suspicious characters and peddlers and the trains swarmed with these, to the injury of every interest in the service. There was no time for preparation. Colonel Devereux plunged into the chaotic mass and, meeting unmoved each obstacle, laid at once the foundation of discipline and brought the strictest order and obedience into almost instant action. He filled the reconstructed shops with tools and the roads with adequate equipments ; quietly and patiently but persistently developed the system of military railroad law and made it harmonize with the regulations of each department. He swept away with a single stroke every peddler and leech and spy and thief from trains which now became in reality 'through trains of government supplies' as the orders required, and were manned and officered with the most rigid discipline. He organized a corps of inspection and detection that swept away all that was bad or suspicious, and made his eye the chief sentinel of the army, before which every- thing and everybody had to pass for recognition and approval.

"With strong practical sense he avoided clashing between the departments by fitting the vast machine of transportation to their wants, and thus aided greatly all the plans of General Haupt, as of his predecessor, General McCallum. With unwearied energy he developed the resources of the same ponderous machine until Alexandria became the center of a great system, that worked with the pre- cision of a chronometer in the distribution, under his hand, of countless stores, munitions and troops. It mattered but little how many roadways or bridges were destroyed by the enemy, the railroad trains were never behind. Major General Meade particularly was supplied with rations and forage 'so magnificently' as he expressed it, under all circumstances, that his repeatedly expressed appreciation removed the last obstacle that might have remained to cause friction to the system.

"It was a gallant thing, with Pope's army driven back and scattered in con- fusion, to bring into Alexandria every car and engine in safety-in some cases working the cars up the grades by hand while the ground trembled with the shock of battle. Such work as this he repeatedly performed. It was a noble labor, that of caring for the sick and wounded, which was made a part of the military railroad work, and the United States Sanitary Commission gratefully acknowl- edged his constant and valuable aid in this direction. No officer stood better with the war secretary nor with the president, and, holding a position which could have been turned into a source of immense personal gain, his integrity was beyond doubt-no man dared even attempt to bribe him. He directed and moved men and machines by a thorough system, and the result was great smoothness in operation and precision in management ; hence the promptness of movement and immunity from serious accident which marked the working of these military railroads."

Having successfully accomplished his task in connection with military railroad work, in the spring of 1864 Colonel Devereux turned his attention to services of

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

equal importance in civil life. He made for himself a prominent name in rail- way circles, becoming widely known throughout the country in this connection. For five years after the war he was the vice president and general superintendent of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad, and his judicious management was at once evidenced in his capable control of this line, resulting in almost immediate success. His work in this connection brought to him the attention of others prominent in railway circles and in 1866 he was invited to become vice president of the Lake Shore Railroad Company and soon afterward was elected to the presidency. When the consolidation of the Lake Shore road with the connecting lines between Buffalo and Chicago was effected, under the name of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company, General Devereux was ap- pointed general manager and had executive control of this great system in all of its ramifying branches. His administrative direction, his carefully devised and executed plans and his ready solution of difficult problems in connection with railway management brought success to the new corporation. No detail bearing upon railway interests seemed too insignificant to receive his attention yet he never for an instant lost sight of the more essential points of railway manage- ment nor failed to give these points their due relative prominence. In June, 1876, he was approached by most attractive overtures by the Atlantic & Great Western and the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis railroad companies, and as president of both companies he capably controlled their affairs. He was also the chief executive officer of minor railroad corporations whose lines formed part of the system of the larger companies under his direction. The fortunes of the Atlantic & Great Western were at a low ebb when he assumed control, but he succeeded in putting the business on the best possible basis under the circum- stances. Financial interests, however, were a great detriment to the road, and at the close of the year 1874 it was deemed useless to continue the struggle until a change in its financial conditions had been effected. General Devereux was accordingly made receiver by appointment of the court and soon afterward re- signed his position as president and director. Clashing interests were regarded as in safe and honorable hands when in his control and his appointment to the position of receiver was satisfactory to all concerned. He continued in active connection with railway interests until his demise, which occurred March 17, 1886. His life was characterized by a splendid work both in behalf of the gov- ernment during the period of the Civil war and in a private connection after re- suming the pursuits of civil life.

On the 30th of April, 1851, General Devereux was married to Miss Antoinette C. Kelsey, a daughter of Hon. Lorenzo A. and Sophia (Smith) Kelsey. Her father came from Jefferson county, New York, to Cleveland, in 1837 and was one of the city's most prominent and best known pioneers. He took an active part in shaping its policy during its formative period and served as mayor in 1848 and 1849. For almost a half century he resided on Woodland avenue and was one of the most distinguished residents of that section. His father built the first stone house in Jefferson county, New York, hauling the stone with ox-teams. Unto General and Mrs. Devereux were born two daughters and two sons; Mrs. Mary Watson, now living in Cleveland; John, of Bay Shore, Long Island; Henry K., who is connected with the Railway Steel Spring & Car Roofing Company, of Cleveland; and Antoinette H., the wife of Horace E. Andrews, of this city. In 1873 the General erected the residence at 3226 Euclid avenue, where he spent his remaining days and where his widow now resides.

General Devereux always manifested an active interest in public affairs and would have been accorded high political success had he not declined to serve in public office. He was twice tendered the nomination for congress but he always preferred to do his public service as a private citizen, supporting a public measure by his influence and labors rather than by political activity. He attained high rank in the Masonic fraternity and in 1860 was elected thrice illustrious grand master of the Grand Council of Tennessee. He belonged to the Episcopal church

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

and was particularly interested in its missionary and Sunday-school departments. He was fond of business life and found genuine pleasure in carefully manipulat- ing railway interests but he was also equally fond of music and art and possessed a fine artistic sense. Moreover, he was a keen lover of books and the riches of literature were among his most valued possessions. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and was on the whole a man of splendid balance, whose life was not so busy in its commercial relations as to crowd out recreation and pleasure nor to withhold from him the delights of companionship. He held friendship inviolable and was devoted to his family, giving to them the best of his nature in his efforts to enhance their welfare and promote their happiness.

STEVENSON BURKE.

On the pages of Cleveland's history appears the name of no man whose fame was more worthily won or justly merited than that of Judge Stevenson Burke. who for years figured prominently as a conspicuous and gifted member of the Ohio bar, while in the circles of railway management and control he displayed an initiative spirit that placed him in a foremost position among the leading representative railway interests in the country. His life record covered the intervening years from the 26th of November, 1826, to the 24th of April, 1904. It was a life fraught with high purpose and characterized by successful accom- plishment. The place of his nativity was St. Lawrence county, New York, where he remained until about eight years of age, when in 1834 the family removed to North Ridgeville, Lorain county, Ohio. As a boy he was interested in games and pursuits which engaged the attention of the youths of the period but even at that age his fitness for leadership was manifested in that he often planned the projects and games in which he and his associates participated and he seemed to get results from every act. He was, moreover, a precocious youth intellectu- ally. At the age of six years he had mastered the old English reader and when less than eight years of age had read Pope's Essay On Man. Not only did he learn easily but thoroughly mastered every branch of study or line of thought which came to his attention, storing up wisdom and knowledge for later years. He diligently applied himself to the mastery of those branches of learning which constituted his educational opportunities and displayed such aptitude in his studies that at the age of seventeen years he was employed as teacher of a district school.

It has been demonstrated again and again that it is only under the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that the best and strongest in man is brought out and developed. The life record of Judge Burke is another veri- fication of this fact. The financial resources of the family did not permit of his continuing his education, but with a desire for intellectual progress he per- sonally furnished the means to carry on his studies and soon mastered the branches taught in a select school, after which he matriculated in the Ohio Wes- leyan University, at Delaware, Ohio. His natural trend was in professional lines, and determining upon the practice of law as a life work, his thorough preliminary reading was following by admission to the bar in 1848. He then opened a law office at Elyria, Lorain county, and entered at once upon a pro- fessional career. No dreary novitiate awaited him. He came to the starting point of his law practice well equipped with broad legal learning and laudable ambition. To an understanding of uncommon acuteness and vigor he added thorough and conscientious preparatory training while he exemplified in his practice all the higher elements of the truly great lawyer. He was constantly inspired by an innate, inflexible love of justice and a delicate sense of personal honor which controlled him in all of his personal relations. His fidelity to the interests of his clients was proverbial and yet he never forgot that he owed a

STEVENSON BURKE

3 1833 02279 7838

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

higher allegiance to the majesty of the law. His diligence and energy in the preparation of his cases as well as the earnestness, tenacity and courage with which he defended the right, as he understood it, challenged the highest admira- tion of his associates. He invariably sought to present his arguments in the strong, clear light of common reason and sound, logical principle. He made rapid advance and when only twenty-six years of age his law practice exceeded that of any other attorney of Lorain county. He was connected with every cause of consequence held in the county court and with many important litigated in- terests in adjoining counties. He acted as counsel in nearly all, if not every case, taken from his home county to the supreme court and he proved himself a foe worthy the steel of the ablest lawyers in the country. In 1862, as the re- sult of popular suffrage, he was called to the common pleas bench and after a service of five years was reelected and entered upon his second term, which he voluntarily completed by resigning in 1869. In that year he removed to Cleve- land and at once entered upon the active practice of law in Ohio's metropolis, his ability winning him national fame. For a time he was in partnership with F. T. Bachus and E. J. Estep, and later was associated with W. B. Sanders and J. E. Ingersoll. Judge Burke did not specialize in any particular branch of practice but was equally at home in all departments of the law and was called to various sections of the state in his professional capacity. He was the lead- ing lawyer in a number of cases that attracted national attention. He represented corporations in cases growing out of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway ma- nipulation ; a case involving the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railway with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway as the opponent; a case involving the constitutionality of the Scott liquor law; the great Hocking Valley Railroad arbitration case; and a large number of others of equal im- portance in which not only large financial interests but also important legal meas- ures were involved.

His association with railroad litigation soon led judge Burke into railroad ownership and he became recognized as one of the largest and ablest of the railway owners and capitalists in the west. For many years he was general counsel for the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad, was a member of its board of directors, was chairman of its financial and executive committees and also served as vice president and as president of the company. He likewise acted as the second officer and as the chief executive of the Indian- apolis & St. Louis Railway Company and for years was connected with the directorate of the Cincinnati & Springfield, the Dayton & Michigan, the Cin- cinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Indianapolis, the New York, Chicago & St. Louis and the Central Ontario Railroad Companies. It was Judge Burke who formulated and carried into effect the plan for the consoli- dation of certain weak roads with the Columbus, Hocking Valley & Toledo Railroad. After the task was successfully accomplished he took active part in the management of the company, holding the position of vice president and pres- ident and cooperating in all important movements of the corporation. He was the financial genius of the enterprise and also the promoter of its activities. It was Judge Burke who conducted for William H. Vanderbilt the negotiations which resulted in the purchase of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, known as the Nickel Plate. For many years he was the president of the Toledo & Ohio Central, the Cleveland & Mahoning Valley, the Kanawha & Michigan and the Central Ontario Railway Companies. Into other fields he extended his activities and his enterprise, becoming one of the leading stockholders and presi- dent of the Canadian Copper Company, a concern which owned the largest nickel mines in the world and furnished that used in the construction of the nickel steel armor for the United States government.

On the 28th of 'April, 1849, Judge Burke was married to Miss Parthenia Poppleton, a daughter of the Rev. Samuel Poppleton, of Richland county, Ohio. Her death occurred April 7, 1878, and on the 22d of June, 1882, Judge Burke

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

wedded Mrs. Ella M. Southworth, of Clinton, New York, the eldest daughter of Henry C. Beebe, formerly of Westfield, Massachusetts. Their congeniality of tastes and their well developed intellectual powers made theirs a particularly happy home life.

His life was that of a Christian gentleman and his allegiance to the Higher Power was also manifest. No man possessed a keener regard for right and he often remarked: "One of the greatest achievements of man is to do right." His opinions seemed to be formed with remarkable rapidity and yet they were the outcome of clear and earnest previous thought upon various questions, so that he was enabled to reach a right conclusion on almost any question of im- portance that arose among the directorates of the several companies with which . he was connected. His opinion on such occasions was invariably accepted as being the proper course to pursue. Those who knew him in other than business relations found him tender-hearted and sympathetic. His charities were large and his benefactions numerous. His gifts, however, were modestly and unos- tentatiously given, on many occasions being known only to the recipient. His was the spirit of genuine humanitarianism, however-a recognition of the uni- versal brotherhood of man. He sought to alleviate suffering and distress and sympathized with the sorrowing, his benefactions reaching out in generous aid to those who suffered from an untoward fate. He was always interested in questions of vital import and on a moment's notice would speak instructively and interestingly to his fellow citizens upon art, education, finance or matters of state. He was the controlling spirit in the Cleveland School of Art and sought in many tangible ways to further the progress of the city which he made his home. A contemporary biographer said of him: "He was one of the few men endowed with a capacity to mold surrounding circumstances to suit his purposes." His career was almost meteoric in its dazzling qualities and yet it possessed a con- tinuity that made him, throughout many years, one of the most distinguished representatives of the Ohio bar and one whose activity in railway circles left deep imprint upon the history of the nation.

On the occasion of Judge Burke's death the Cleveland Bar Association on April 26, 1904, passed the following resolutions. "For more than fifty years Judge Burke has been a conspicuous and commanding figure in the law. While his early training and later studies and labors made of him a broadly cul- tured gentleman with an active interest in literature and the arts, the characteris- tic which the thought of him brings at once and always to mind is the enormous energy of the man and the vigorous, rugged strength of his intellect. By nature he was aggressively earnest in everything he undertook. At the time of re- moving to Cleveland he almost at once entered upon a legal career that has had few parallels in the history of the bar of Ohio. He participated in many cases involving vast interests and conducted all with such striking ability that his repu- tation soon passed the bounds of his own city and state and gave him almost na- tional fame. While his later years were devoted more to his private interests, he nevertheless remained prominent in the community as a great lawyer as well as a man of affairs and a man in whom the bar of the county had continu- ing pride to the time of his death. While the weighty interests which he had in hand continuously during his long career prevented his participation to a great extent in social affairs, he was nevertheless a man whom those who knew him well found most cordial, friendly and entertaining. He entertained his intimate friends in a charming manner and left impressions of his social char- acter that always drew one nearer to him. He was a man to be admired, a man to be honored and a man whose example at the bar and on the bench as well as in private life ought to be followed. He always showed respect to the bench. He stood as an American citizen absolutely kingly in the deportment of his own life. He formed his opinions without fear or favor and there was some- thing so noble, so masterful in his utter independence that it made the deference he always showed the court the more noble and the more glorious."

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

Said one who knew him well: "I do not know any one who had a keener, more delightful sense of humor than Judge Stevenson Burke. No one ever enjoyed a good story more than Judge Burke, no one was a more delightful host or a more delightful conversationalist."

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 1

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1106

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1106