USA > Ohio > Women of Ohio; a record of their achievements in the history of the state, Volume III > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36
中科产量管
Gc 977.1 N293w v. 3 1386759
M.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
GEN
L
7 ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02398 9459
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/womenofohiorecor03neel
Moment of
Ohin
Women of Chin
A RECORD OF THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE
Ruth Neely EDITOR IN CHIEF
SPONSORED BY THE
Ohio Newspaper Women's ssnriafinn
SEAL OF THE
STATE
GREAT
OF
THE
OIHO
OHIO
VOLUME III
THREE ROYAL OCTAVO VOLUMES PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED
S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1386759
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Women in Music, Art and Drama
NEW HOME OF CLEVELAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA obtained largely through the efforts of Adella Prentiss Hughes
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WOMEN IN MUSIC, ART AND DRAMA WOMEN IN MUSIC
By VIRGINIA D. STURM Dayton Daily News
That Ohio has been a recognized leader in progress of the fine arts throughout the country is due largely to outstanding women of the state. Mere mention of only a few of their achievements confirms this statement.
Mrs. Edgar Stillman-Kelley closed her home at Oxford during the winters of 1938 and 1939 in order to direct from Washington, D. C., the movement to establish a portfolio of arts in the cabinet of the country. Her deep interest in music generally and in the projects sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs specifically have brought her to a place of national leadership.
Mrs. Harry Talbott, whose death in 1935 ended a life dedicated to human service, was especially devoted to the betterment of music in churches of all denominations. She was the patron of the West- minster Choir, which without her aid, encouragement and financial support could never have attained the distinction of its present posi- tion. With Mrs. William Taylor of Cleveland, Mrs. Talbott gave the land and buildings at Princeton, N. J., where the Westminster Choir School has become permanently established. Mrs. Charles P. Taft, of Cincinnati, gave unstinted energy and millions in money to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Mrs. Ralph Herbruck, president for several terms of the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs, is a staunch worker for deeper appreciation of fine music. Her insistant demand that all young people of the state be given opportunity of participating in some manner in some musical activity has made her widely known. She serves on the board of the National Federation of Music Clubs and is chairman of a com- mittee for promotion of music in the home.
837
838
WOMEN OF OHIO
The theater has been equally benefitted by important contribution of Ohio women to the bettered entertainment of the world.
Ohio was represented with distinction on the dramatic stage by Mrs. Leslie Carter, who as Carrie Dudley was a belle of Dayton in days gone by. The gifted Henrietta Crossman, whose early success as stage actress was repeated in later years in motion pictures, came from Cincinnati.
The theater of the lighter mood was definitely brightened by the art of Elsie Janis, of Columbus, whose service during the World War will never be forgotten by a buddy for whom she banished, tempor- arily, realizations of danger and of hardship. Trixie Friganza, musical comedy star, disclosed her native wit while still Delia O' Callahan, a little Cincinnati school girl.
Rae Samuels, vaudeville star, came from Youngstown. Evelyn Venable, of Cincinnati, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, of Youngstown, were stars of the silver screen. So, in its day of flickering, faltering silence, was Marguerite Clark, who came from Cincinnati. Today Eleanor Whitney, of Cleveland, dances her way through the movies.
The cultural development of the United States has, without ques- tion, been definitely advanced by women of Ohio. The state may well be noted not only for the presidents it has contributed but also for its women of culture who have been leaders in this field of human advancement.
Pauline Harrison, pianist of Massilon, was the first president of the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs. Marjorie Squires, of Franklin, was one of the country's most noted contraltos. Carol Deis, of Dayton, was winner of an Atwater-Kent radio contest. Margaret Speaks, of Columbus, won wide recognition in radio and on the concert stage.
Ohio women are equally notable as patrons of the graphic arts. Mrs. Charles P. Taft of Cincinnati, Mrs. Carnell of Dayton and Mrs. Libby of Cleveland, made wonderful contribution to the public museums of the state, making it possible for the public to see and enjoy some of the finest art treasures of the world.
It would be impossible to name each woman of Ohio who has helped to widen and deepen appreciation of the fine arts. Those whose life work is outlined in this chapter constitute, however, a represen- tation of which any state and all the states can well be proud.
839
WOMEN OF OHIO
CLARA AND BERTHA BAUR
CLARA BAUR, founder and director of the Cincinnati Conservatory, from its beginning, in 1867, to her death, in 1912, was born in Stuttgart, 1835, of an old and aristocratic German family, descended from one of the first clergymen to ally himself with Luther at the time of the Reformation. It was strong, hardy stock, accounting, probably, for the amazing energy and vitality shown in her own career.
Studying pianoforte from earliest childhood with some of the best masters in Europe, including Dr. Sigmund Lebert and Madame Winter Weber, she gave promise of unusual talent. When a girl of about fifteen years of age, she came to the United States with her family, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio, already a musical center. Immediately she began to dream of founding a school of music which would fill the lives of the students who attended it with durable satisfaction.
She found an ally in Miss Nourse, aunt of Elizabeth Nourse, the artist, who conducted a select school for young ladies in Cincinnati, and who, inter- ested in the young German girl, allowed her to use a room in the school where private pupils could come to receive instruction in voice and piano. This was a novel idea, as at that time it was customary for the "music teacher" to go to the homes of her students. The little conservatory flourished; the room became too small; more teachers were needed ; so presently Clara Baur moved to a place of her own, first on Broadway, then on Fourth and Lawrence St., and finally to the present spacious quarters at Oak and Highland aves., which, at that time, was not only the first music school of its kind in the city, but the first Conservatory of Music west of Boston.
Clara Baur remained in supreme command of her school for over fifty years. During that time, she saw the Conservatory, started with no capital and no endowment, become, through her strong will, her hard work and her beautiful dreams, one of the greatest institutions of its kind in the world.
She died in 1912, at the age of 77, after an illness of a single day, active to the last.
Her reign was brilliant, courageous and successful, but she knew it must end. Like a good queen, she provided for the succession, so that her work should not suffer too great a loss, in losing her.
The Conservatory of Music passed at her death into the hands of her niece, BERTHA BAUR, born in Cleveland, Ohio, daughter of Emil Baur, a clergy- man, and his wife Bertha. Educated at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she was studying when the death of her aunt called her to Cincinnati, Bertha Baur became, in 1912, the sole owner of the Conservatory, and remained in complete charge, until 1931, when she resigned active management by making an out- right gift of the institution to the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts.
840
WOMEN OF OHIO
Under her regime the prestige and reputation of the Conservatory con- stantly developed. In 1925, Bertha Baur was awarded the medal of the Sesqui- centennial Exposition as having made the greatest contribution to music of any Ohio woman. In the same year the University of Cincinnati conferred on her an honorary degree, in recognition of her contribution to the cultural life of the city.
The names of Clara and Bertha Baur are synonymous with the musical tradition of Cincinnati. These two great women have sent out thousands of students from the Conservatory to the four corners of the earth. In advancing the standards of musical education in the United States over the past 75 years, they have been a potent factor in enabling this country to preserve and to carry on satisfactorily the work of the world famous European musical cen- ters, which at this time, because of political and economic conditions, are weakened and shattered.
MARY ELIZABETH BEER
The late MARY ELIZABETH BEER, a sister of Dorcas and Kathryn Beer, sang in Rome, Italy for several seasons. In addition to her musical career, she was interested in the sociological movement and the betterment of women and children.
MRS. ALBERT JAMES BELL
MRS. ALBERT JAMES BELL (Ruth Meacham Bell) is one of Cincin- nati's outstanding women, whose interest in civic affairs and in the city's cultural advancement has placed her at the helm of many movements. Appointed to many posts of responsibility and honor, she has served her city unselfishly and successfully.
During the World War, Mrs. Bell, then a young matron, gave her aid to community wide sales, the funds from which went to soldier's needs. She worked for the liberty loans, on committees providing entertainments for soldiers and in numerous other capacities.
A signal recognition of Mrs. Bell's interest in music was her appointment as chairman of the Woman's Auxiliary of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. She succeeded the late MRS. JOHN COLLINS GALLAGHER, who died during her first year at the head of the Auxiliary.
Mrs. Bell held the Auxiliary post from 1925 to 1932. She was leader of a number of enterprises sponsored by the Auxiliary to raise funds for the orchestra's activities, among them a series of fine educational concerts, present- ing the various choirs of the orchestra, the funds from which went to under- write a noted interpreter for the children's concerts of the orchestra. Another notable project was an opera, proceeds of which were used in connection with the children's concerts.
BERTHA BAUR
President Emeritus, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
3 1833 02398 9459
843
WOMEN OF OHIO
Mrs. Bell led to success a drive that completed the Clara Baur scholar- ship fund for the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, this fund honoring its founder. Under this scholarship especially gifted young people without financial means secure free tuition at the Conservatory.
Mrs. Bell took the lead of the Zoo Opera ticket sale at a crisis in the history of the internationally noted Cincinnati Zoological Gardens and carried this to a triumphant termination.
She served the Cincinnati Woman's Club as president in 1924 and has been a leader of various departments and circles. She is now serving as chair- man of its Music Department.
Her work in clubs received state recognition when she became chairman of the Art Department of the Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs.
Besides all this, Ruth Meacham Bell, was chairman of the Stuart Walker Theatre drive for funds to promote the plans of that producer and director for a distinctive theatre for Cincinnati; has served as secretary of the Young Women's Christian Association and was active in the drive which resulted in the present handsome home of the association.
The elder of the two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. D. B. Meacham, Mrs. Bell follows in their footsteps in her interest in her city's welfare. She is the wife of Dr. Albert James Bell, a leading Cincinnati physician. Their only child, Mrs. Clarence Sumner Lunt, is a resident of Rochester, N. Y.
FLORENCE BENHAM
In two years-from 1936 to 1938-the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra increased season subscriptions from 2800 to 5200-a world's record.
Who did it ?
Members of the Woman's Committee of the Cincinnati Symphony Orches- tra, virtually every one of the 1500, if asked, would point in the general direction of MRS. MILES BENHAM, director of woman's activities of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for the past three years, and say "she did."
Florence Benham's public service really began when her children, now grown, were pupils of the Hartwell (Cincinnati system) Public School and she was made president of the Hartwell Parent-Teacher Association.
Thus early in her career of civic, cultural, educational and social service to Cincinnati-of which community she has been called an "Indispensable Citizen," Mrs. Benham discovered a working principle as underlying any and all voluntary-or paid-service. It was that if you have said you will work you must really work-and give a proper accounting of and for said work. Service is not really service, in other words, unless you really do something worth doing.
As the result of this conviction-which she had probably not yet formu- lated but which was certainly a motivating force-Mrs. Benham did wonders
844
WOMEN OF OHIO
with her school mothers. They published-entirely on a volunteer basis-an eight page newspaper "The Hartwell Echo," they got the Cincinnati Board of Education to build Hartwell a new school, they ran two fall festivals which netted their own school community-only about 4500 persons-a total of $7,000 and they organized with Florence Benham as conductor, a school band.
It might be mentioned here that Florence Benham's music career really started at the age of three, and continued-as contralto soloist-in choral groups and church choirs.
The next big job came when Mrs. Benham was made president of Cin- cinnati Council, P. T. A., during which she started a P. T. A. magazine that still continues, conducted a survey of school neighborhood conditions, informa- tion from which was used by the Juvenile Court of Hamilton County.
Miscellaneous services-as head of a woman's committee that collected money to save the Cincinnati Zoo, as chairman of the recreation committee of the Woman's City Club out of which grew Cincinnati's present Woman's Public Recreation Committee-occupied the next few years.
Then came the period of really big time service-as campaign manager of an independent citizens school committee, campaign manager of the Cin- cinnati Bar Association for election of municipal judges, campaign manager for a reform group working for better government in Hamilton County and organizer of a woman's committee for passage of a $8,000,000 bond issue for building of five Cincinnati public schools.
Other jobs were interspersed between these-nobody has ever called Florence Benham a slow worker-or a timid one. The bigger the job, the better, seems to have been-and to be-her idea. So for several months of the winter of 1938-1939 she obtained leave of absence from her Cincinnati position in order to go to Pittsburgh, Pa., and help the Symphony Orchestra of that city make some fine subscription records also.
MARY EDWARDS BRANDON
MARY EDWARDS BRANDON is well known in musical, club and civic circles in Youngstown, cooperating in the work of various organizations which have advanced the welfare of the city and working for further progress and improvement. She is the wife of Roy F. Brandon and was born in Youngstown January 9, 1887, her parents being Edward David and Ann (Thomas) Edwards, both of whom came from South Wales. They arrived in Youngstown about 1884 and the father here engaged in the steel business. Here Mrs. Brandon was reared and educated, attending the public schools until she had completed the high school course. In 1914 she became the wife of William John McClain of Youngstown and for about ten years they resided in Buffalo, New York. Mr. McClain died on the 25th day of May, 1923, leaving a daughter, Lois Margaret, who was born in Buffalo. On the 11th of November, 1927, Mrs.
MRS. MILES BENHAM
Director of Women's Activities, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
847
WOMEN OF OHIO
McClain was married to Roy Frew Brandon of Youngstown and since that time has resided continuously in her native city. Here she is well known as a soloist, who has done a great deal of church singing and who has figured actively and prominently in musical circles. She is now a member of the Mon- day Musical organization and has taken a helpful interest in advancing the musical standards of the community. Along other lines too her influence has been felt with results that have been most beneficial to the community. She is a past matron of the Order of the Eastern Star and she has worked efficiently in the Youngstown Federation of Woman's Clubs, of which she is still a member. She has been much interested in and is very active in the Parent-Teachers Association for several years, is a leading member of the League of Women Voters, has worked on the Community Chest drives and has recently completed a three years term as president of the Woman's City Club, a civic and social organization. She belongs to the Westminster Pres- byterian church and she is a supporter of the Republican party. Her loyalty to any cause with which she becomes identified is one of her marked char- acteristics and her efficiency is attested by her co-workers.
KATHRYN BUCK
The Eurydice Club has always been an important feature in the musical circles of Toledo and of this club KATHRYN BUCK was one of the original members. From her early girlhood her voice of natural beauty, appealed to music lovers and from that time forward she has figured in concert work and in teaching and has been largely instrumental in bringing to the city some of the finest musical talent ever presented here.
Ohio has reason to be proud of her as a native daughter, for she was born in Erie County, being one of the three children of Albert D. and Marganetta (Gustin) Buck. The ancestry of the family is traced back to England and comprehensive research into the Buck family history discloses that one of the most remote of the ancestors was probably Lydoric upon whom King Dago- bory of Aistrasia in 621 A. D. bestowed the government and fief of Flanders. His descendants were prominent in government and military affairs and in 1215 King John of England received help from the Earl of Flanders, while in the reign of Edward the First of England the family name, under various spellings, ofttimes le Buc, frequently appears. They were largely of the landed gentry of Great Britain.
History also records that the Bucks were among the early colonizers of the new world. Branches of the family were prominent in New England, particularly in Massachusetts and one of the first of the family to leave England for this country was the Rev. Richard Buck, who went to Virginia in 1609 to aid the suffering colony at Jamestown. Members of the family have since remained in that state and the old family homestead at Georgetown,
848
WOMEN OF OHIO
Virginia, is still in possession of the descendants there. Just when the family was established in Ohio is not definitely known but both parents of Kathryn Buck were born in this state and the father was a contractor, with head- quarters in Toledo. He was numbered among the "boys in blue" of the Civil War, serving as a member of Company G., One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio Infantry, with which he remained until the close of hostilities, although at one time he was found in the "dead house" by his father. He was suffering from typhoid fever and he was being held as a prisoner of war in Libby Prison at Richmond, Virginia, when the war ended. To him and his wife were born a daughter, Kathryn, and two sons, William C. and Nelson A., the latter now deceased. The entire family were singers, Nelson having been a baritone, while William C. is a tenor. Her father too was a baritone, while her mother possessed an excellent mezzo-soprano voice.
Miss Buck, who attended the Toledo public schools and was graduated from Central high school, early gave evidence of having inherited the musical talent of her parents and when a child was regarded as an excellent singer with a voice of unusual range. She studied voice in Toledo under Mrs. Hollister and later went to Chicago where her instructor was Mrs. Clarence Eddy, the wife of the famous organist of that city, for a period of four years. She afterward studied with Noyes Miner of Chicago for a year and with Wil- liam Nelson Burritt for a year. She then returned home and took up the work of concert management, in which she engaged until the World war, when she went into Red Cross work, which occupied her attention until after the armis- tice was signed. She remains an honorary member of the Eurydice Club and while she was bringing concerts to Toledo, many of the musical organizations of the city were planned in her office and with her encouragement and assist- ance.
Miss Buck has also figured in other club organizations. She belongs to the Toledo Woman's Club, of which she was press chairman for four years and for two years was first vice president. She is a member of the Congre- gational church and she has been an earnest worker in the Republican party, acting as one of the trustees in her ward. She comes of a family that had various representatives in the war for independence and she is an active mem- ber of the Daughters of the American Revolution. During the late European conflict she was a "war mother" to a Seneca Indian, who became chief of the tribe shortly after his return, his parents both dying of influenza. She also received a medal for her activities in connection with Toledo's centennial celebration. Her hobby is baseball and she is an ardent fan of the national sport. The various interests of her life are well balanced, making hers a well rounded character, although the outstanding one has been music, nature hav- ing richly endowed her in that particular.
849
WOMEN OF OHIO
RHEA WATSON CABLE
RHEA WATSON CABLE is not only widely known in musical circles of Lima but also throughout the state, where she has done much concert work, while in Lima, Ohio, she has taught for many years and is the efficient con- ductor of the Bach Choir. A lifelong resident of Lima, she is a daughter of Albert Cherrington and Alice May (Mankoff) Watson. The father, a native of Logan County, Ohio, long engaged in the grocery and coal business. His wife was born on a farm near Athens, Ohio, and both have passed away.
Mrs. Cable, after acquiring a public school education in her native city, became a student in Lima College and at the age of eighteen entered the Chicago Musical College under the direction of Dr. Ziegfeld. While in Chi- cago she won the diamond medal, playing with the Theodore Thomas orches- tra. Later she and her two sisters and a brother played together, giving concerts in Ohio and other states, doing concert work for some years and winning merited renown in their field of art. Mrs. Cable has long been a teacher of piano and she also coaches violinists and singers. She formerly conducted the Presbyterian church choir and she is the well known conductor of the famous Bach Choir of Lima. She also was the composer of the Edward Johnson song and another of her compositions is "Dogwood," the lyrics for these having been written by Alice Stier Byrnes, of Washington, D. C., where she is president of the Friday Morning Club, the outstanding musical club of the city. Mrs. Cable has also been the conductor of many musical perform- ances and her concertizing has made her known throughout this and other states. Her activities have also extended beyond musical circles for she has been one of the presidents of the National Children of the American Revolu- tion and is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, connected with the Lima chapter.
In 1909 Rhea Watson became the wife of John L. Cable, an attorney of Lima and a former member of congress from this district. He has attained prominent place in his profession and is the author of a book on Ohio Traction and The Corrupt Practice Law, the 1922 Act. He has also written for Harpers Bazaar and the Atlantic Monthly. Mr. and Mrs. Cable have two children. Alice Mary, who was educated in the Columbus School for Girls and in Pea- body Institute at Baltimore, Maryland, also studied in London and Berlin and then entered Yale Music School, of which she is a graduate. She is now the wife of Samuel Perking Hayes, Jr., of South Hadley, Massachusetts, who was professor of psychology at Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts and is now teaching in the Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Mrs. Hayes is an accomplished violinist. Davis Watson Cable, the son, is a graduate of Kenyon College and is now studying law at Western Reserve University at Cleveland.
850
WOMEN OF OHIO
SARAH YANCEY CLINE
SARAH YANCEY CLINE, director of music education of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and of the College of Music, has won recognition throughout the country for her ability as teacher and director in this educa- tional field.
She was born at Louisville, Ky., took her B. S. at the University of Cin- einnati and was for a time supervisor of music at Little Rock, Ark. While there Miss Cline directed the Little Rock Festival Chorus. She is now con- ductor of the Cincinnati College of Music Chorus.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.