A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume I, Part 61

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: 1262

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Since Cleveland has become a metropolis and the leading city on the direct route between New York and Chicago, the visits of the nation's great men have become so numerous that they cease to be of special historic interest. President Cleveland visited the city of his namesake but once and then he made only a brief stop on his way from the funeral of President Hayes of Fremont. Presi- dent Hayes frequently came to Cleveland for a quiet visit with his friends, as did McKinley, who spent his summers at Canton, and made at least one visit a year to his Warwick, at the beautiful home on Lake avenue. Harrison came here on several occasions, notably in 1890 at the dedication of the Garfield monument. Latterly the annual banquets of the chamber of commerce have brought many distinguished men in public and private life to our door.

CHAPTER LII.

NOTABLE PUBLIC EVENTS.

PUBLIC FUNERALS.

The death of President Harrison, April 4, 1841, was announced in the "Daily Herald" of April 9th, with black bands of mourning. The citizens met in the courthouse on the afternoon of April 9th, to hold suitable memorial exercises, with Mayor John W. Allen, presiding, and adopted suitable resolutions, as did also the city council.

On the 12th of July, 1850, memorial services for President Taylor were held in Cleveland. All business places closed at noon, flags in the town and on the shipping were at half mast, and at '4 o'clock p. m., a meeting was held in the Square. Mayor Case presided and orations were delivered by Reuben Wood and William Johnson, then visiting in the city. By a strange coincidence, these gentle- men were both candidates for the governorship, Wood on the democratic and Johnson on the whig ticket. Suitable resolutions were offered by John C. Vaughn. A military parade was also held. The Cleveland Battalion under Colonel Meek, marched through the streets, the band playing a funeral dirge. A banner on which were inscribed the names of General Taylor's victories, was borne with

From original in Western Reserve Historical Society

FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN

Note the unkempt appearance of the square. The grass around Perry's monument is un- trimmed. In the distance, at the head of Superior street. is seen the May residence.

THE FUNERAL CAR USED AT THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN

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the procession. A hearse, upon which rested a plumed chapeau and sheathed sword, was drawn by white horses and followed by a riderless battle steed.

Henry Clay, the idol of the west, died on June 29, 1852. Word reached Cleveland in the forenoon by "magnetic telegraph" and the "Herald" announced the solemn news with heavy black borders. The court of Common Pleas promptly adjourned, after recording a journal entry that set forth the death of Henry Clay, "the honored and venerated statesman *

* the court being deeply impressed with the nation's loss," ordered an adjournment. In the afternoon of the 29th, a public meeting was held in the courthouse, presided over by Mayor Brownell. He made formal announcement: "I am charged with the painful duty of announcing to you the death of our great statesman, Henry Clay, of whom it may truly be said that no man has filled a larger space in the American mind for the last half century." A committee was appointed to draft resolutions and to report in the evening at a meeting in the Melodeon. The evening meeting was addressed by Bushnell White and the resolutions were read by Sherlock J. Andrews.

The remains of Henry Clay were borne from Washington to his Lexing- ton, Kentucky, home, through the principal cities of the land. Everywhere they were accorded the deepest veneration. The silent throngs gathering around the funeral train were in solemn contrast to the enthusiastic multitudes that had everywhere greeted the orator, while he was yet the brilliant spokesman of peace and compromise. Word reached Cleveland that the remains would be brought here from Buffalo on the steamer "Buckeye State." The city council made careful preparations and appointed a committee with Governor Wood as chairman, to receive the funeral committees. Every store and shop in the city was closed and the buildings on the principal streets were draped in black. The flags in the harbor and the city were draped at half mast and when the three guns on the Public Square announced the arrival of the steamer, all the bells were tolled. Then the minute guns fired seventy-five rounds, numbering the years of the distinguished dead. Nearly the whole populace gathered at the dock, where the steamer arrived at noon. The boat was appropriately draped in mourning and in her bows she carried a flag with the name of "Henry Clay" in black letters. On board the boat was the committee of sena- tors and other officials from Washington. Committees of distinguished citi- zens from Columbus, Cincinnati and Kentucky, met here to receive the Wash- ington delegation. The remains were carried from the boat to a funeral car and were drawn to the depot between a double line of citizens. At the depot, Governor Wood delivered them to the care of the Columbus committee. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the train left for the south.

The death of Daniel Webster, who with Clay occupied the public stage for so many years, occurred October 24, 1852. The papers announced the news with the customary black lines and the Bar Association met and formal resolu- tions were passed.

LINCOLN'S ASSASSINATION AND FUNERAL.

On Friday, April 14, 1865, about II o'clock at night, a rumor reached Cleveland that President Lincoln had been shot while attending the theater in Washington.

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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

No one believed it, but the rumor persisted and was finally confirmed. On Saturday morning the papers had the details. A great gloom spread over the community. All business places were closed, flags were placed at half mast, emblems of mourning appeared everywhere, the workmen in the Cleveland & Pittsburg railroad shops stopped work and marched in a body to other shops in the neighborhood, and all assembled in Clinton Park to pay their sincere tribute to their dead president.

The mayor issued the following proclamation : "An overpowering calamity hav- ing befallen the nation in the assassination of its President and Secretary of State, it is hereby requested that all places of business be immediately closed for the day; that appropriate symbols of mourning be displayed from all the buildings and that all citizens meet in the Public Square this afternoon at 3 o'clock to express in some proper public way their affliction in the loss of the head of the nation and its premier, Secretary Seward."

The throng that met in the Square in obedience to this proclamation was addressed by Governor Tod, Governor Brough and Rufus P. Spalding. The Sunday following, all the churches held special services and on Tuesday the mayor issued the following proclamation : "A nation mourns the loss of one of its greatest and best chiefs and tomorrow the 19th inst., his mortal remains will pass from human sight. It becomes us all, then, to express solemnly and impressively our great sorrow. To this end attention is called to the follow- ing order of the Acting Secretary of State :

'Washington, April 16th.

'The Acting Secretary of State has issued the following order to the people of the United States :

'The undersigned is directed to announce that the funeral ceremonies of the lamented chief magistrate will take place at the Executive Mansion in this city, at 12 o'clock m. on Wednesday, the 19th inst. The various religious denomina- tions throughout the country are invited to meet in their respective places of worship at that hour for the purpose of solemnizing the occasion with appro- priate ceremonies.

(Signed) W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State.'

"Also the following resolution adopted by our citizens at their meeting on Saturday. 'Resolved, That it be recommended to the citizens of Cleveland, on the day that shall be selected for the funeral obsequies of President Lincoln, to close their places of business and drape them and their dwellings in suitable emblems of mourning.'

"My earnest wish and request is that the suggestions in both be adopted, that religious services be held in the various houses of worship and that the buildings in the city, both public and private, bear the symbols of mourning. It is also requested that the public schools, all places of business, of labor and of public resort be closed. It is expected that no saloons will be opened and that perfect order and quiet will reign throughout the city the entire day."

GEORGE B. SENTER, Mayor."

Mayor's Office, City of Cleveland, April 18th.

REMAINS OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN LYING IN STATE IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE, CLEVELAND

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The day of the funeral was thus solemnized. Over the Sabbath quiet hovered the deep sense of personal loss that oppressed the heart of every loyal citizen. When it was learned that the body of President Lincoln would pass through Cleveland on April 28th on its last journey to Springfield, Amos Townsend in- troduced appropriate resolutions in the city council, providing a general commit- tee of arrangements with the mayor as chairman. The committee divided itself into sub-committees and arranged all details. By proclamation of the mayor the day was made a holiday, all places of business were closed and the sale of liquor prohibited. A salute of artillery announced the dawn of the 28th. By 6 o'clock the streets were crowded, thousands coming from out of town. The people wore black badges, the buildings were draped in black and flags were placed at half mast. It was a solemn throng. At 7 o'clock the funeral train of nine cars entered the Union station, and a Cleveland & Pittsburg engine took the train to the Euclid avenue station. The car containing the coffin spanned the avenue where the military and civic committees and Governor Brough were in waiting. The pallbearers were ex-Governor David Tod, Rufus P. Spalding, J. C. Diven, General R. P. Buckland, H. B. Payne, Judge H. V. Willson, John A. Foot, W. B. Castle, A. Everett, Amasa Stone, Jr., Stillman Witt and L. A. Pierce. The band from Camp Chase played a solemn dirge, as the plain coffin with a single wreath and cross of white flowers was carried on the shoulders of the military Guard of Honor to the hearse.

Slowly the funeral pageant moved down the avenue. There were six thou- sand men in line representing the state, the city and the nation. It was a silent, solemn pageant, accompanied only by the doleful music of tolling bells and the wail of the funeral dirge. The stately trees of the avenue were just bursting into bud, symbolic of the new nation that the Martyr-President had wrought, and the low hanging clouds lent their gloom to the sadness of the multitudes that thronged the street and all places of vantage.

In the Public Square a pavilion was prepared to receive the coffin. The Square was enclosed by a fence and the Twenty-Ninth Ohio National Guard guarded the entrances. The canopy stood in the middle of the Square just east of Perry's monument. It was draped in the national colors and each entrance was guarded by a large golden eagle and the national shield draped with six silken regimental flags. On the roof a streamer bore these words from Horace-"Extinctus Amabitur Idem" Though dead, he will be loved the same. The interior of the canopy was lined with black and white crepe, festooned with evergreen and flow- ers. Upon the low catafalque the coffin was placed. It was completely covered with white flowers, the tributes of the ladies of the city. The Right Rev. Bishop Charles P. McIlvaine of the Diocese of Ohio read the burial services of the Episco- pal church and offered prayer. Thereafter the gateway was opened and the pro- cession that had marched with the funeral car passed through the pavilion. The soldiers were next admitted and finally the public. The papers relate many pa- thetic scenes of the grief of soldiers, to whom the President had shown charac- teristic acts of kindness. At sunset a salute was fired and visiting bands played solemn airs from the balconies of the hotels. At 10 o'clock p. m. the gates to the pavilion were closed. One hundred thousand people had passed through them and yet other thousands were in line. An hour later the march down Superior

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street to the union station was begun. It was a weird midnight spectacle. The draped hearse drawn by six white horses, the faithful Guard from Washing- ton, the companies of soldiery, the escort of citizens, the silent multitudes, all en- shrouded in the mysterious half-light of hundreds of torches borne by torch bear- ers chosen from every ward in the city. The train left for Columbus at midnight.

ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD.

In the summer of 1881 these scenes were reenacted. On the 2d of July, word was received that President Garfield had been assassinated. The news caused consternation everywhere. The streets were thronged with people. On Sunday the 3d, the churches held special services and on the 4th a public mass meeting was held in the Square. A speakers' stand was erected in the northeast section, decorated with flowers. On the trees and on the wooden pallisades around the postoffice building were large mottoes printed on cardboard, containing quotations from Garfield's speeches. The meeting was addressed by R. C. Parsons, General Ed. S. Meyer, Bishop R. Gilmour, Rev. Charles Terry Collins, George H. Ely, Colonel J. H. Devereux and C. B. Lockwood. Nowhere in the land was there more suspense than in Cleveland during that long sum- mer of suffering. As the end drew near, the bulletins at the newspaper offices attracted large crowds. And when finally on the night of September 19th the end came, the news spread over the city and the streets were filled with a silent throng until after midnight. Cannon were fired once an hour and the bells of the churches tolled until morning. The schools closed, courts adjourned, the city council met in special session to adopt suitable resolutions, business houses closed at noon, meetings were held in churches and fraternity halls, spontaneously em- blems of mourning appeared everywhere. The entire city was a house of mourn- ing, for Garfield was Cleveland's President. On the afternoon of the 20th a public meeting was held in the old Tabernacle on the corner of Ontario and St. Clair streets, where public committees were appointed to arrange the details for the public funeral. Meanwhile, the trustees of Lake View cemetery offered Mrs. Garfield any site in the cemetery she might select. The sombre veiling of the city continued in preparation for the funeral.

On Saturday, the 24th of September, the funeral train arrived at the Euclid avenue station. There the Guard of soldiers and citizens removed the remains and bore them to the Public Square, where a stately catafalque had been erected to receive them. The distinguished men of the land were the city's guests over Sun- day, ex-President Grant and ex-President Hayes, General William T. Sherman, General Sheridan, General Hancock, Chief Justice Waite and Associate Justices Mathew, Strong and Harlan, the cabinet, many senators and representatives. All day on Sunday, the 25th, the crowds passed through the pavilion. On Monday public services were held on the Square. The funeral address was delivered by Rev. Isaac Errett, a friend of Garfield. After the services the funeral pageantry marched slowly up the Avenue to Lake View, where the remains were placed in a private vault, awaiting the stately mausoleum that was later erected to re- ceive them. 1

Catafalque and committee on arrangements

Courtesy "Waechter und Anzeiger"

Catafalque and speakers' stand on the square

People passing through the catafalque

FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD

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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT MCKINLEY.

The assassination of President Mckinley on the afternoon of September 6, 1901, while he was a guest at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, by a Cleve- land anarchist, Leon Czolgocz, caused horror and rage in Cleveland, where the President was well known and had multitudes of personal friends. The crowds that gathered in front of the bulletins commingled freely threats of revenge against the brutal slayer with their expressions of sincere sympathy for the nation, and the family of the President. The National Encampment of the G. A. R. was being held in the city at this time and the presence of thousands of old soldiers, comrades of the President, made more vivid the realism of his martyrdom. News was anxiously received from the sick room and when physicians held out strong hope for his recovery, a meeting of public thanksgiving was held in Cen- tral Armory on September 12th. But the mandates of the physicians and the prayers of the people seemed futile. The President died at 2:15 a. m., September 14, 1901. His remains were taken to Washington and thence to Canton, where on September 18th funeral services were held. Cleveland was represented by a large committee.

Senator Hanna died in Washington on February 15, 1904. After impressive ceremonies in the Senate Chamber, attended by the great of our nation and the ambassadors of every country, the remains of the Senator were brought to Cleve- land. They were received at the depot by a military and civic guard and con- veyed to the hall of the Chamber of Commerce, where they lay in state eight hours, during which time 35,000 people passed the bier.

The funeral was held on the 19th in St. Paul's church. By proclamation of the mayor, all business of the city closed from 12 to 2 p. m.

A distinguished group of men attended the funeral at St. Paul's, among them President Roosevelt, Secretary of War Taft, Secretary of Agriculture Wilson, Secretary of Commerce and Labor Cortelyou, a committee fom the senate headed by Senator Foraker and a delegation from the house of representatives headed by General Grosvenor, representatives of the National Civic Federation, the Red Cross and other great national bodies, of which Senator Hanna was an active member, and as a token of deep personal esteem and symbolic of the Senator's place in our national business life, J. Pierpont Morgan and a group of the na- tion's master financiers.

In July, 1905, Cleveland again was the scene of a funeral of national and in- ternational significance. John Hay died July 1, 1905, at Newbury, New Hamp- shire. His body was brought to Cleveland July 3d and lay in state in the Chamber of Commerce hall until July 5th. There was no public demonstration. Simple funeral services were held at the Euclid avenue home of the great diplomat, at- tended by President Roosevelt, Vice President Fairbanks, members of the cabinet and diplomatic corps and distinguished men from every calling.

NOTABLE PUBLIC FESTIVALS.

1871. April 8 to 10. The Peace Jubilee of the German citizens, commem- orating the peace of the Franco-Prussian war, opened on the evening of April 8th

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with a concert in Case Hall. On April 10th a gorgeous pageant over two miles long, representing historical events, paraded through the lavishly decorated streets. On the Square a chaste triumphal arch was erected.

1876. January 1, 1876, ushered in the National Centennial Jubilee. It was begun by a great carnival and celebration on New Year's night. At a quarter of twelve the factory whistles began to blow ; at two minutes of twelve a vast caul- dron of oil in the Square was lighted ; promptly at midnight the chimes in old Trin- ity on Superior street began to play, followed by all the church and fire bells in the city. One hundred rounds were fired from cannon and for an hour a pande- monium of all kinds of noises reigned. The city was illumined and the new city hall and other public buildings properly decorated.

1890. Dedication of Garfield Monument. The Garfield Monument was dedi- cated on Decoration Day in the presence of a distinguished company, including President Harrison, Vice President Morton, the cabinet, ex-President Hayes, Governor Campbell and his staff, ex-Governor J. D. Cox, General William Te- cumseh Sherman, Major Mckinley and many noted senators, representatives, private citizens and diplomats. The city was beautifully decorated with flags and bunting, and one of the largest parades ever seen in the city under command of General James Barnett marched from the Square down the stately avenue to Lake View. It was estimated that one hundred thousand visitors were here from out of town. The oration was delivered by Governor J. D. Cox. President Harrison was the guest of Dan P. Eells at his Euclid avenue home. On the evening of the 29th a reception was tendered the President at the Stillman.

1892. Columbus Celebration. On October 18, 1892, all the schools held appropriate exercises and numerous public meetings were held. On April 27th, the cherished Liberty Bell passed through the city on its way to the World's Fair in Chicago. A committee of Clevelanders went to Pittsburg to meet the Bell and the Pennsylvania delegation that accompanied it, and a special committee met the train at Newburg. The car with the Bell was placed on a sidetrack near Lake View Park, where it was viewed by all the school children.

1896. The Centennary of the founding of the city was celebrated July 19th to September 10th by a series of elaborate pageants, conferences, meetings and banquets.1

1900. The week of October 8, 1900, was celebrated with carnivals, illumina- tions, parades and profuse decorations as "Home Week."

1901. The new century was ushered in by a bedlam of noises from whistles, cannon, bells and all other conceivable forms of noise making. The streets were crowded and the buildings downtown illuminated. Many churches held special services and the Chamber of Commerce gave an elaborate banquet.

NOTABLE PUBLIC CALAMITIES AND DISASTERS.

On October 8, 1871, the news reached Cleveland that Chicago was burning. Mayor Pelton at once telegraphed the mayor of Chicago, asking what was most needed. And at a public meeting on the 9th a committee of ten, headed by James Barnett, was appointed to receive contributions at the Union depot. The work of gathering contributions was at once systematized and ward committees were

1 "See Official Reports" for full account.

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From a photograph. Courtesy Waechter und Anzeiger

TRIUMPHAL ARCH, PUBLIC SQUARE, GERMAN PEACE JUBILEE, 1871 Looking east on Superior street. Shows Hoffman block where the Cuyahoga building now stands. Also trees on the square and on Superior street.

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appointed. Within two days thirteen carloads of clothing and provisions were forwarded to the stricken city, followed by other contributions, including many thousands of dollars in cash.

On December 29, 1876, the news of the Ashtabula bridge disaster, one of the most terrible railroad catastrophes on record, brought consternation to Cleveland. While the wreck did not occur in Cleveland, this city felt the full horror of the calamity, for that portion of the Lake Shore railway was a Cleveland enterprise. The night of December 29th a hard snow storm was raging, and two engines were required to pull the heavy passenger train, consisting of two express cars, two bag- gage cars, two day passenger coaches, a smoking car, a dining car and three sleep- ers. The train was filled with a Christmas holiday crowd. Just as it was crossing the bridge over the Ashtabula river, the arch gave way and the train was dashed into the ravine. Over a hundred passengers were killed instantly and scores were injured. The wreck was soon a mass of fire and it was never known how many met their death.2

On May 31, 1889, occurred the Johnstown flood. At a meeting called by Mayor Gardner, a general committee was appointed with General James Barnett as chairman and Horace Andrews as secretary. Later a committee on finance, Samuel Andrews, chairman, and a committee on supplies, W. J. Akers, chair- man, were appointed. At noon June 3d, a carload of clothing and provisions were sent to the stricken city, followed by many more carloads on succeeding days. When forty-four thousand, four hundred and twenty-two dollars and thir- ty-seven cents were raised, collections were stopped.

June 21, 1905, the Lake Shore Limited train was wrecked at Mentor and nine- teen dead and injured paid the toll of speed. Among the dead were a number of Cleveland's leading business men.

The San Francisco earthquake, April 19, 1906, again called upon the gen- erosity of the citizens. The Chamber of Commerce undertook the collection of funds and within three days thirty-four thousand dollars was raised. This was later increased to nearly forty-nine thousand dollars.

Collinnwood School Disaster. On March 4, 1908, occurred one of the most appalling disasters that ever shocked the American public. The Lake View school in Collinnwood took fire, and before the pupils were aware, the building was filled with smoke. In their frantic efforts to reach the door the little ones clogged the exit, and the flames wrought horrible havoc with them. One hundred and sixty- two pupils and two teachers lost their lives in the awful holocaust.

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume I, Part 61

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: 1262

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: 1262