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Gc 977.102 C49gr v.2,pt.1 1963886
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02481 0662
EN
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/centennialhistor21grev
4496
CENTENNIAL
HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
AND
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
BY
CHARLES THEODORE GREVE, A. B., LL. B.
"History is Philosophy Teaching by Examples."
V. 2; Pt. 1
VOL. II.
PUBLISHED BY BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY. GEO. RICHMOND, PRES .; C. R. ARNOLD, SEC'Y AND TREAS. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. 1904
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D 20 TROTErH
PREFACE.
1963886
In presenting to their patrons Volume II of the CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS, the publishers desire to make a few remarks, necessarily brief, in regard to the value and importance of works of this nature, in which are preserved for future consideration the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise the region from its primitive state. The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age and the solemn duty which men owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to their posterity demand that a record of their lives and deeds should be made. With each succeeding year the haze of Obscurity removes more and more from our view the fast disappearing landmarks of the past. Oblivion ·; sprinkles her dust of forgetfulness on men and their deeds, effectually concealing " them from the public eye and, because of the many living objects that claim our attention, few of those who have been removed from the busy world remain long in our memory. Even the glorious achievements of the present age may not assure it from being lost in the glare of greater things to come, and so it is manifestly a duty to. posterity for men of the present time to preserve a record of their lives and the story of their progress from low and humble beginnings to great and noble deeds in order that future generations may. read the accounts of their successful struggles and profit thereby.
The reviews of resolute and strenuous lives, contained in Volume II, which con- stitute the biographical department of the CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, and whose authorship for the most part is independent of the history, are admirably adapted to foster local ties, to inculcate civic virtue, and to emphasize the rewards of industry, dominated by intelligent purpose. They constitute a most appropriate medium of perpetuating personal annals, and will be of incalculable value to the descendants of those therein commemorated. These sketches, replete with stirring incidents and intense experiences, have been carefully revised by friends or relatives; they will naturally prove to many of the readers of these volumes a most attractive feature, and will increase in value as the years pass by.
In the aggregate of personal memoirs, thus collated, will be found a vivid epitome of much of the late growth of the Queen City of the West, which will fitly supplement the historic statement contained in Volume I; for the development of the city is identified with that of the men and women to whom it is attributable. The publishers have endeavored in the preparation of the work to pass over no feature of it slightingly, but to give heed to the minutest details, and thus to invest it with a substantial accuracy which no other treatment would afford. They have given especial promi- nence to the portraits of representative citizens, which appear throughout this volume, and believe they will prove a most interesting feature of the work. To all who have kindly aided in the successful production of this volume, by voluntarily contributing most useful information and data, are tendered most grateful acknowledgments.
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CHICAGO, ILL., May, 1904.
THE PUBLISHERS.
NOTE.
All the biographical sketches published in this volume were submitted to their respective subjects or to the subscribers, from whom the facts were primarily obtained, for their approval or correction before going to press; and a reasonable time was allowed in each case for the return of the type-written copies. Most of them were returned to us within the time allotted, or before the work was printed, after being corrected or revised; and these may therefore be regarded as reasonably accurate.
A few, however, were not returned to us; and, as we have no means of knowing whether they contain errors or not, we cannot vouch for their accuracy. In justice to our readers, and to render this work more valuable for reference purposes, we have indicated these uncorrected sketches by a small asterisk (*), placed immediately after the name of the subject. They will all be found on the last pages of the book.
BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING CO.
Representative Citizens
HON. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, LL. D.
HON. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, LL. D., was born in Cincinnati, Septem- ber 15, 1857. He is a son of Hon. Alphonso Taft, the jurist, cabinet officer and diplomat, and Louise M. Torrey of Millbury, Massachusetts. He received his early education in the public schools of Cincinnati and fitted himself for college at Woodward High School. He entered Yale College in 1874, and four years later graduated second in his class of 120. He was salutatorian at commencement and also the class orator. He has always continued his associations with his alma mater, of which for some years he has been a trustee, and from which in the year 1893 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. After his graduation at Yale, he began the study of the law in the office of his father, Judge Alphonso Taft, and also attended the Law School of the Cincinnati College, from which in 1880 he graduated, standing at the head of his class. He was immediately admitted to the bar of Ohio, and secured his first employment as law reporter of the Cincinnati Commercial. That position he held until January of the following year, at . which time he was appointed by Hon. Miller Outcalt, assistant prosecuting attorney of Hamilton County, Ohio. He resigned that office in March, 1882. to accept the position of collector of the internal revenue for the First Dis- trict of Ohio, with his office at Cincinnati, to which he was appointed by President Arthur. He resigned this position, however, within the year to enter upon the practice of his profession, and in January, 1883, he formed a partnership with Maj. Harlan Page Lloyd under the firm name of Lloyd & Taft. He continued in private practice until March, 1887, at which time Governor Joseph B. Foraker nominated him to the position of judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
Hon. Judson Harmon. During the years preceding this, he had served for a time as assistant county solicitor under Hon. Rufus B. Smith. At the expiration of the term for which he had been appointed, he was in 1888 elected judge of the Superior Court for the full term of five years. His service upon the bench of that tribunal was terminated however, in January, 1890, by his appointment by President Harrison as Solicitor-General of the United States, the duties of which position he took up in February of that year. Although Judge Taft did not continue as a member of this court for many years, he established for himself the reputation of a great judge, fully qualified to sustain the high character which had ever marked this famous court, of which his distinguished father had been a member many years be- fore. His career in Washington as the ranking member of the Department of Justice was most successful and increased the high esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens of his native town, and also brought him prominently before the bar of the whole country. He was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take part in a number of very important cases, which he handled in behalf of the government in such a manner as to win for him the special commendation of the court. This is particularly true of the preparation of the so-called Behring Sea cases.
It was but in the natural course of events, therefore, that upon the crea- tion of the new court, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, which necessitated the appointment of nine new Circuit judges, that Solicitor- General Taft should be assigned to the bench of his own, the Sixth Circuit. He was sworn in as Circuit judge of the United States for the Sixth Circuit on March 17, 1892. Associated with him at that time was Circuit Judge Howell E. Jackson, whose appointment by President Harrison very shortly afterwards to the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States made Judge Taft the senior and presiding judge of the Circuit Court of Appeals for the circuit including the four great States of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The court which had been organized on July Ist of the preceding year was immediately flooded with business, and Judge Taft from the outset showed his tremendous capacity for work, and his eminent quali- fications for a judicial position. His administrative ability was also made apparent by the manner in which he discharged the duties of presiding judge and also in the administration of several great trusts which came into the hands of the court, notably the Cincinnati Southern Railway.
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
Judge Taft wrote many elaborate opinions, all of which were most exhaustive in their character, both in the handling of facts and of the law. His decisions, both in the Superior Court of Cincinnati and as a United States judge, form a considerable body of legal writing, which, in addition to its merit from a purely professional side, is noteworthy for its high literary quality.
Judge Taft interested himself also in the founding of a law library, for the use of the court and its counsellors, and as a result the members of the bar of the Sixth Circuit are fortunate enough to have, in immediate prox- imity to the court, a library probably not surpassed by that of any other circuit. His interest in the profession attracted his attention to the need of proper legal education, and in 1896 he joined a number of the most distin- guished members of the Cincinnati bar in the organization of the Law School of the Cincinnati University, which was modeled upon the plan of the Har- vard Law School. In the year following, the Law School of the old Cincin- 'nati College was incorporated with this. Judge Taft served as dean of this school from the date of its organization until 1900, in which year he re- signed his position upon the bench and also his position at the head of the Law School, to accept the presidency of the United States Philippine Com- mission, which was tendered to him by President Mckinley. He almost immediately departed for Manila, where he with his associates took charge of the administration of this new dependency of the United States. On June 5, 1901, he became the first Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands.
Governor Taft's administration in the East has simply borne out the promise of his life up to the date of his appointment and has made stronger, if possible, the confidence felt in his character and abilities by all who had known him. It is safe to say that no administrator placed in a situation so full of difficulties has won greater commendation from all parties, regardless of their sympathy with the recent developments of the foreign affairs of the United States. The many questions which confronted him were of the most vital importance both to the country of his birth and to the country of his charge, and in the solution of these questions he has succeeded in convincing all fair minded persons of his patriotic devotion to his own country and his sincere interest in and determination to preserve the rights of the people whom he was governing. His success in this trying field is shown by nothing more forcibly than the keen regret felt by the native inhabitants of the Phil-
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
ippine Islands at the time when he finally conceived it to be his duty to resign his position as Governor to accept that of Secretary of War in the cabinet of President Roosevelt.
It is a matter almost of general knowledge that on more than one occa- sion Judge Taft pushed aside opportunities of becoming a member of the highest judicial tribunal of this country and thereby gave up, for the time at least, the highest ambition of a lawyer because of his conviction that his work in the East still demanded his continuing at that post. The time came, however, in the summer of 1903 when he felt it possible to accept the tender made to him by President Roosevelt of the place in his cabinet, which after all kept him in touch with the work that he had been doing. He sailed from Manila on Christmas Eve, 1903, and immediately upon his arrival in Wash- ington, in January, 1904, he was sworn in as Secretary of War.
Secretary Taft was married in June, 1886, to Helen Herron, daughter of Hon. John W. Herron, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
COL. ROBERT M. MOORE.
The late Col. Robert M. Moore, ex-mayor of Cincinnati, was for many years one of the city's most public spirited, charitable and prominent citi- zens. A survivor of distinction of two great wars, he was equally notable in times of peace; a man of business ability possessing great administrative qualities and the highest sense of personal integrity. Colonel Moore was born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Ireland, although of Scotch extraction, Oc- tober 29, 1816, and was one in a family of four children born to Robert and Jane (Knox) Moore. He enjoyed fair educational advantages in his own country and was instructed there in the trade of cabinet-making.
In 1832 Colonel Moore came to America and after spending a short time in Canada located permanently at Cincinnati. Here he formed a part- nership with the late Robert Mitchell (whose sketch appears elsewhere), and this connection lasted until 1847, when he promoted, and helped to establish by the furnishing of the necessary funds, an omnibus line, with conveyances running between the old Buckeye House in Sedanville, to the Dennison, later the Arlington House, in Cincinnati. At a later period Colonel Moore aided in the successful furtherance of the project for replacing this transportation
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
line with the Sedanville Street Railroad. He was interested in these meas- ures as a man of public spirit, and not through any desire or hope of financial returns. His executive ability and thorough comprehension of business sit- uations, enabled him to bring all of his enterprises to a successful issue,
At the outbreak of the Mexican War, he became captain of Company A, First Ohio Volunteers, and accompanied this organization to Mexico where he remained in active service and returned with laurels at the close of the war. When the Civil War was thrust upon the country, his loyalty was again shown, his trusty sword was unsheathed, and as captain of Com- pany D, 10th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., he went with his command to Gilmer and Braxton counties, Virginia (now West Virginia), a section noted at that time for harboring guerillas and regarded as one of the most dan- gerous localities in the State. When he left that neighborhood he was pre- sented by the grateful, law-abiding citizens with a set of resolutions express- ing their high regard for him and thanks for the effective work he had accon- plished. In 1862 this faithful officer was promoted to the rank of major, and in the following year was made a lieutenant-colonel, a position he filled with efficiency and dignity. Colonel Moore was also promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, but declined to accept on account of the war being near its close, and because he felt that he had not won the high honors bestowed upon him. As an intelligent and patriotic citizen, he devoted much time to public matters and performed many important services, but found time to interest himself in various movements by which he was able to collect from the government fully a quarter of a million dollars for members of his regi- ment to whom it was due. This was a labor of pure brotherly love, no charge ever being made for his time and services.
Among the many enterprises which claimed much of Colonel Moore's attention, aside from political honors and military movements, was the Hor- ticultural & Wine-Growers' Association, and kindred societies. He was the "newsboys' friend," a title he loved, and was instrumental in the organiza- tion of the Newsboys' Union, which has accomplished so much permanent good for the class for which it is intended. There are prosperous men in Cincinnati to-day, who date their success from the kind words and substan- tial encouragement given them, in their early struggles, by the subject of this memoir. ·
At various times Colonel Moore held positions of trust and responsi-
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
bility, both in city and State. For a lengthy period he served on the City Council and was a prominent member of the staff of Governor Chase. In the spring of 1877 he was elected mayor of Cincinnati on the Republican - ticket and ran many thousand votes beyond other candidates. His adminis- tration was marked by those acts of charity and wise discrimination which made the period a notable one. The honor was grateful to him as showing the esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens, but it is a well known fact that every part of his salary was devoted to charitable purposes and that this munificence was by no means the limit of his benefactions in the same cause. In Cincinnati his name is still a synonym for official honor and splendid citizenship.
The death of Col. Robert M. Moore took place on February 23, 1880. His estate was one of the largest ever probated in this city, and had been so wisely invested, mainly in valuable real estate, that it still yields an im- mense income. He belonged to many societies of various kinds and to the leading fraternal orders, with the exception of the Masonic.
On May 1, 1843, Colonel Moore was united in marriage with Anna E. Price, who was born June 13, 1825, and still survives, at the age of 79 years, one of the most esteemed residents of Price Hill. Mrs. Moore was born on Price Hill, Cincinnati, and is a daughter of the late James A. and Mary A. (Horfon) Price, and a great-granddaughter of Mrs. Margaret P. Purdee, who entertained General Washington at her home at White Plains, New York, where the family was prominent. The family of children born to Colonel and Mrs. Moore are : James A .; Robert M .; Mary A. (Mrs. Thomas H. Woodworth) ; and Annie G., who is the wife of Lewis B. Hall and is a resident of Brooklyn, New York, where Mr. Hall is engaged with the Ameri- can Press Association. James A. Moore is one of the representative real estate men of Cincinnati and lives on Price Hill. Robert M. Moore, who bears his father's name, is the paymaster for the Cincinnati Water Works and is one of the city's prominent business and political citizens. Mrs. Woodworth is the wife of one of the extensive lumber merchants of the city, and resides at the beautiful home on Price Hill from which can be seen a grand panorama of city and country. Mrs. Woodworth is known and ap- preciated in social and artistic circles in Cincinnati, her original designs attracting much attention from distinguished artists while her exquisite life- size paintings delight the various art circles in this cultured city.
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GEN. BENJAMIN RUSH COWEN.
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
When the occasion came to take a parting view of our late subject, the Price Hill home could not contain the number who desired to pay a last tribute of affection and respect to one whose sturdy integrity, manly honor, love of his kind and devotion to his country had awakened in every breast a wish to do him honor. The obsequies were attended by the City Council, city officers, First Regiment, Ohio National Guard; George H. Thomas Post, No. 13, Grand Army of the Republic; Soldiers' & Sailors' Memorial Asso- ciation; Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Newsboys' Union. So great was the desire to attend the exercises that the Eighth street car line increased its service to Price Hill during the morning. Each face was saddened and the comment was general that few men, after fifty years .in a community, could have won so many friends in times when unrest and differing opinions make the life of a public man one so difficult to live.
Colonel Moore and Gen. John A. Logan were among the original organ- izers of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1863, before the close of the war.
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GEN. BENJAMIN RUSH COWEN.
GEN. BENJAMIN RUSH COWEN of Cincinnati, clerk of the United States District and Circuit courts for the Southern District of Ohio, whose portrait is herewith shown, is prominently known throughout Ohio. He was for many years a journalist and has filled many offices high in public trust. Gen- eral Cowen was born in Moorfield, Harrison County, Ohio, August 15, 1831, and is a son of Benjamin Sprague and Anne (Wood) Cowen. His father was for many years presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and was elected to Congress in 1840.
General Cowen spent his boyhood days in St. Clairsville, Ohio, there obtaining his education in the Classical Institute. He served an apprentice- ship to the printer's trade, and while working at that business pursued the study of medicine. From 1848 to 1857, he was editor and proprietor of the Belmont Chronicle, a weekly paper published in St. Clairsville. He then engaged in mercantile and real estate business at Bellaire, Ohio, and in 1860 was elected clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives. In 1860 and 1861, he was engineer-in-chief on the staff of Governor Dennison, with the rank of colonel. In October, 1861, he was elected Secretary of State of Ohio on the
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
ticket with Governor Tod, but resigned that office in May, 1862. In April, 1861, upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the 15th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., for the three months service, and in May of that year was commis-" sioned Ist lieutenant and assigned to duty as assistant commissary of sub- sistence. In June, 1861, he was appointed additional paymaster by President Lincoln, and served in that capacity in the Army of the Potomac, in the Shenandoah and Kanawha valleys and elsewhere in West Virginia, until January, 1864. He then received leave of absence without pay, and was appointed Adjutant-General of Ohio by Governor Brough, also serving dur- ing the terms of Governors Anderson and Cox until January, 1868. In the meantime, in 1865, he was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers by Presi- dent Johnson, in recognition of his services in sending out the " 100-days men " of Ohio.
General Cowen was originally an Anti-Slavery Whig, and cast his first vote for Gen. Winfield Scott for President. He voted for the first Repub- lican nominee for President, John C. Fremont, and has ever since supported the Republican ticket. He was a delegate to the National Republican con- ventions of 1856 and 1868, being secretary of the latter. He was chairman of the State Republican Executive Committee in 1865, 1866 and 1867, and has always been a power in his party. He was a member of the National Re- publican Executive Committee from 1866 to 1876. In 1867, he was a can- didate for the nomination of Governor for Ohio, but was defeated on the last ballot by General Hayes by only 10 votes. He was then tendered the nomi- nation for Lieutenant Governor by the convention, but declined it. In 1869, he was appointed supervisor of internal revenue for the District of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, and in 1870 was transferred to the Southern District of Ohio. From 1871 to 1877, General Cowen was Assistant Secre- tary of the Department of the Interior under General Grant's administration. In 1871, he was appointed commissioner to appraise the lands in Indian Ter- ritory, west of the 96th meridian, and in 1872 was a commissioner to Sitting Bull's Indians in Montana. In 1873, he was a commissioner to survey and appraise certain Indian reservations in California, and in September, 1874, was a commissioner with Admiral Rodgers to investigate and report on the race troubles in New Orleans, subsequently writing the report of that com- mission. In March and April, 1875, he was a commissioner to investigate the Mormon troubles in Utah.
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
In 1880, General Cowen returned to the field of journalism as editor of the Ohio State Journal at Columbus. He served as such until November, 1884, when he was appointed clerk of the United States District and Circuit courts for the Southern District of Ohio, an office he has since filled in a most creditable manner.
On September 19, 1854, General Cowen was married to Ellen Thoburn of Belmont County, Ohio, a daughter of Matthew and Jane (Lyle) Thoburn, both natives of County Antrim, Ireland. She is a sister of Bishop James M. Thoburn, Methodist Episcopal Bishop of India and Malaysia, and of Col. Joseph Thoburn, who was killed at the Battle of Cedar Creek while com- manding a division of the Union Army. Of the eight children born to this union, three are now living, namely: James Lyle, of Tokio, Japan; Ben- jamin Sprague, of New York City; and Sidney Joseph, at present a clerk in the clerk's office of the United States courts in Cincinnati. Our subject is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally, he is a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He is a member of Fred C. Jones Post, No. 401, G. A. R., and in 1866 declined an election as commander of the Department of Ohio, G. A. R. He is an ex-president of the Ohio Society of the Sons of the Revo- lution, and is a member of the Society of Colonial Wars. He also belongs to the Literary Club of Cincinnati.
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