A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 101

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: 1150

USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II > Part 101

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 (link on the Part 1 page).

Following this service Mr. Gardner entered the Union Theological Seminary in New York city, from which he was graduated in May, 1868. In the fall of the same year he went with eight of his classmates to Kansas, into which state settlers were making their way by trainloads. This missionary band hoped to take possession of the state for Christ, and the Presbyterian church and had a marked influence on the moral progress of the locality in which they lived. Mr. Gardner located at Fort Scott and bent every energy toward spreading the gospel and instilling into the minds of his fellowmen the firm purpose to live honorable and noble lives.

In September, 1869, he returned to Ohio where he married Miss Charlotte A. Gates, a daughter of the Hon. N. B. Gates, of Elyria, Ohio. In 1871 he was called to the Presbyterian church in Lawrence, Kansas. Two children, a son and a daughter were born in Kansas, the former in Fort Scott, the latter in Lawrence. In 1874, Mr. Gardner's health becoming impaired, he returned with his family to Ohio and accepted a call from the Presbyterian church of Streetsboro, near Hudson. While living there another little girl came into their home to add more of the sunshine of life to the household. In 1876 an urgent call was received by

1004

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

Mr. Gardner to the pastorate of the Congregational church in Hudson. This he accepted and continued to labor among liis people there until 1885 when he re- signed to become the district secretary of the American College and Educational Society. While they were living in Hudson a fourth and youngest child, also a daughter, was born unto Rev. and Mrs. Gardner. During the years from 1885 until 1895 Mr. Gardner was connected with the raising of funds for the Slavic department in the Oberlin Theological Seminary. He continued to act as secre- tary of the American College and Educational Society, residing in Elyria, Ohio, until 1895, when he again accepted a pastoral charge, going to the Presbyterian church at Glenville, Ohio. In 1897 he gave up pastoral work and removed to Cleveland, establishing his home at No. 46 Hough Place, after which he supplied pulpits whenever occasion presented. His deep and concentrated interest in the church was always the most potent force in his life and made him a power for good in every community in which he labored.

In his political views Rev. Mr. Gardner was first a republican but later voted independently, as his conscience dictated. He was not only thoroughly versed on theological subjects but was a man of wide reading and general information. He was also an artist of no mean ability, doing some notable work in his earlier years and at all times having the artist's appreciation for color and form and for all that is beautiful in nature. During the last months of his life he was able to resume the art work, which he so much loved and it was while he was deeply absorbed in this work that he contracted a severe cold which resulted in his death on the IIth of February, 1900. He was survived by his widow and four children: Gates Monteith, Mary Louise, Mrs. Helen Austin, and Mrs. Charlotte Waters, but the last named died September 18, 1909. His genial com- panionship, his tenacious regard for the simple truth, his appreciation for the good in others, his unostentatious generosity and large-hearted Christian benev- olence, were among the qualities that greatly endeared Mr. Gardner to all. His home life was beautiful and satisfying and in it he found great enjoyment. There the influences were gentle and refining and the intellectual and moral graces thoroughly cultivated.

JOHN EATON DARBY, M. D.

For nearly a half century Dr. John Eaton Darby has been a most worthy and distinguished representative of the medical fraternity of Cleveland. Time tests the merit of all things and it has proven the ability of Dr. Darby in his chosen field of labor. His birth occurred at South Williamstown, Massachu- setts, on the 20th of August, 1835. The family is of English origin and the first representative of the name in this country was the great-great-grandfather of our subject. The immediate ancestors of Dr. Darby settled in Boston, Mas- sachusetts, and later removed to Springfield, that state, while subsequently the grandfather took up his abode in North Adams, Massachusetts, where he passed away. William Darby, the father of Dr. Darby, was a farmer by occupation and spent his entire life in the old Bay state, his demise there occurring about 1872, when he had attained the age of seventy-nine years and three months. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Electa Edwards, came of old Rhode Island Quaker stock. She passed away in 1884 at the age of eighty-six years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. William Darby were born four sons and three daughters who reached years of maturity but only two are now living, namely: John Eaton, of this review; and Frank, who follows merchandising at North Adams, Massachusetts.

John Eaton Darby remained on the home farm until fifteen years of age and attended the district schools in the acquirement of his primary education, while subsequently he pursued his studies at Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts,

JOHN E. DARBY

1007

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

and later in Graylock Seminary at South Williamstown. In 1854, when a young man of nineteen years, he entered Williams College, from which in- stitution he was graduated in 1858, winning the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In September of that year he came to Cleveland, Ohio, taking up the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Proctor Thayer, under whose preceptorship he read for three years. The fact that he had but a dollar and a half on arriving in this city made immediate employment a necessity and he therefore secured a position as teacher of Latin and Greek at the Cleveland Institute, where he taught for three years in order to defray the expenses of his medical course.

In the meantime he attended lectures at the Cleveland Medical College and was graduated therefrom in February, 1861, as valedictorian of his class. He next opened an office on Cleveland Heights, on the south side, where he prac- ticed for a year and then enlisted in the Union army as acting assistant sur- geon of the Eighty-fifth Ohio, a three months' regiment, being later appointed assistant surgeon. After being mustered out he was made assistant surgeon of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for two years and was then appointed surgeon of the Eighty-fifth United States Colored Infantry. He was finally mustered out on the 30th of January, 1866, lacking but two weeks of completing a four years' term of military service.

After returning to Cleveland Dr. Darby resumed practice on St. Clair street, where he remained for a few years and then established an office on Superior street, near Alabama, there residing until 1888. In that year he took up his abode at No. 850 Doan street, and in 1907 removed to No. 1077 East One Hundred and Fifth street, where he has remained to the present time, enjoying a large and lucrative patronage as a practitioner of medicine and surgery. During the years 1861 and 1862 he acted as demonstrator of anatomy at the Cleveland Medical College. In 1867 he was appointed to the chair of materia medica, therapeutics and pharmacy in the medical depart- ment of the Western Reserve University, which he held until 1906 or for a period of thirty-nine years-the longest term of service in the history of Cleveland. He was connected with the Lakeside Hospital for twenty years after its inception, was surgeon for the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad for a period of twenty years and also acted in that capacity for the Otis Iron & Steel Company and the Cleveland Rolling Mills for several years. Dr. Darby has always taken a great interest in temperance work, has made a thorough study of the effects of alcohol upon the system and occasionally writes on the subject. He has always been a student of natural history, made a special study of ornithology concology and has nearly a complete collection of the birds of this state, numbering almost a thousand specimens. He likewise has an extensive collection of shells, including two hundred different species of fresh water clam shells. For many years he has been a member of the Amer- ican Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical Society and the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, and has frequently contributed books to the Cleveland Medical Library Association, though his name is not on its membership rolls.

Dr. Darby has been twice married. In the year 1862, in Cleveland he wedded Miss Julia Frances Wright, who was called to her final rest in 1867. Her father was William Wright, of Hudson, Ohio, She followed the profes- sion of teaching prior to her marriage and was very active in the sanitary commission during the Civil war. On the Ist of May, 1872, Dr. Darby was again married, his second union being with Miss Emma Mabel Cox, a daugh- ter of Charles A. and Julia Cox, of Cleveland, and she died June 2, 1888. The Doctor has two children, namely: John Charles, a practicing physician of Cleveland; and Maybelle Claire, a senior in the Women's College of Western Reserve University.

Dr. Darby is a Master Mason and also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and various other fraternal orders, including the Delta Psi, a

1008

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

literary college fraternity. He is a man of large, athletic build and though now past the seventy-fourth milestone on life's journey, is as strong and active as ever. A profound scholar, he is nevertheless plain and unassuming in man- ner and his kindly, sympathetic nature has made him the loved family physi- cian in many a household.

CALVIN J. ROBISON.

Calvin J. Robison, treasurer of the Lake Erie Nail & Supply Company, whose head offices are located in Boston, was born in Carroll county, Ohio, in 1880, and is a son of George M. and Adeline (Woodward) Robison. When twelve years of age he removed to Salem, Ohio, and after completing his common-school education there, took a course in the Salem Business College. His first ven- ture as a wage earner was as an employe of the J C. Pearson Company's nail works, located in Salem. This afterward became one of the plants of the Ameri- can Steel & Wire Company.

Mr. Robison's residence in Cleveland dates from 1899, his removal here hav- ing been for the purpose of accepting a position with the Lake Erie Nail & Supply Company. His ability received a high tribute in 1904, when he was elevated to the office of treasurer and manager of this company, in which capacity he still serves. His financial interests are not limited to this association for he is a director in the Western Reserve Audit Company.

Mr. Robison was united in marriage to Miss Pearl Irene Geise, a native of Cleveland. Their home is pleasantly situated at 10306 Somerset avenue, North- east.

Mr. Robison is a Mason, holding membership in Woodward Lodge, No. 508, and he is also a member of the Cleveland Athletic Club. He belongs to the Dunham Avenue Christian church and his wife is a member of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian church. Although one of the younger men in business, his career in the past few years has been of decided promise, and he has won and kept the confidence of all those with whom he has been associated, while the enterprise with which he is connected is one of those which adds materially to the strength and standing of commercial Cleveland.

GEORGE H. GARDNER.

George H. Gardner, the president of The Gardner Printing Company, is one of Cleveland's sons who has contributed largely to her commercial prosperity. He was born June 9, 1863. His father, George W. Gardner, who is still living at his son's home, 2039 East Seventy-first street, was born in Pittsfield, Massa- chusetts, 1834, and came to Cleveland in 1840. During his early manhood he was in the steamboat business upon the lakes and later when well repaid labor and a careful economy enabled him to embark upon other work, he engaged in bank- ing. Subsequently he operated a grain elevator and mill until he retired from active life. He was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1885 and is now one of the most honored pioneers of the city.

George H. Gardner received his fundamental education in the public schools of Cleveland and after completing the grammar grades went to Brooklyn Mili- tary Academy in this city, which he attended two years. Then he spent two years in the old Huron Street Academy under the instruction of Miss Guilford and finally attended Case School, from which he was graduated in 1886. When he put aside his text-books he became secretary and treasurer of the Walker Manufacturing Company, which is now included in the Westinghouse concern.

1009

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

Next he spent two years with his father in the mill and elevator and has since then been engaged in the printing and publishing business. First he was asso- ciated with the Cleveland Printing & Publishing Company and then he organized the Iron & Steel Press Company, which made a specialty of publishing technical and trade journals. This he sold in 1904 and organized The Gardner Printing Company. It now employs one hundred and fifty hands and has one of the larg- est establishments of its kind in the city, doing work that bears comparison in excellence with firms of greater age.

On the 25th of September, 1889, Mr. Gardner wedded Miss Alice L. Hunting- ton, of Cleveland, and they now have a son, Kenneth, who is fourteen years of age. Mr. Gardner is a man who is thoroughly interested in the commercial pros- perity of Cleveland as well as in his own advancement. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of this city and he is also a member of the Union, Row- fant and Lakewood Yacht Clubs, while politically he is in sympathy - with the republican party. He is a great reader and a connoisseur of books and his library shows a large number which are of value because of their rarity and antiquity, for like a true bibliophile he has made his selections with the utmost care and discrimination. For diversion he finds greatest pleasure in yachting and canoe- ing and in the course of years has spent many summers with his paddle on numerous bodies of water in this country. His genialty and cordiality have gained for him a large circle of friends, among whom as among his business associates he is highly respected and esteemed.

THOMAS W. McCUE.

When thirteen years of age Thomas W. McCue, now the owner of the McCue flats and the Beatrice apartments and general manager of the Cleveland Smoke Abating Company, was thrown upon his own resources and there devolved upon him the necessity, not only of providing for his own support but also of carrying on the work of the one hundred and sixty acre farm and thus meeting the ex- penses of the family. From that time to the present he has been known as a self-reliant and independent factor in the business world, seeking his success along the well defined lines of labor and winning the reward which comes as the logical sequence of persistent effort intelligently directed.

He was born in Stark county, Ohio, June 2, 1840, of the marriage of Philip and Mary (Carr) McCue, who were pioneer settlers of that county and were of Irish lineage. His birthplace was a log cabin and the school which he had the opportunity of attending for short periods in his early youth was held in a build- ing also constructed of logs. In the early days he has known his father to ride horseback sixty miles to Cleveland to get salt and other supplies. As soon as old enough to aid in the work of the farm various duties were assigned to him, and when he was thirteen years of age he had to assume the burden of operating the farm of one hundred and sixty acres owing to his father's death. He was compelled to leave school for the older sons had started out in the world for themselves. It was a heavy burden for young shoulders but he bravely under- took the task and remained upon the farm until twenty-one years of age, during which time he discharged an indebtedness of three thousand dollars against the place, aided his three sisters and cleared off the timber on the land. At the end of that time he had to his credit four hundred dollars in cash. He realized, however, the need of a better education than he had been enabled to acquire and entered the Lorretta Monastery conducted by the Franciscan Brothers in Cam- bria county, Pennsylvania. There he remained for eight months during which time he not only made good progress in his studies but also whipped the school bully to the secret delight of the staid monks who favored him thereafter. Sub- sequently he went to Iron City College in Pittsburg, where he pursued a course

1010

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

of bookkeeping, after which he returned to the farm and later he went to Mount Vernon, Ohio.

In April, 1864, Mr. McCue was united in marriage to Miss Jane Campbell, a daughter of Charles M. Campbell, of New York. About that time he entered business as a merchant in Mount Vernon and also operated a tanyard there, continuing in business until August, 1864, when he went to California and began staging from Sacramento to Virginia City with a six-horse stage-coach. In 1865 he sold out and turned his attention to silver mining at Hamilton, Nevada, where he remained for one season. The next year he established a livery and coach business at San Francisco, where he continued for a year and then sold. He bought the original Lincoln coach, which was purchased for President Lincoln and sold after his death for nine hundred dollars. Mr. McCue disposed of the coach for twenty-five hundred dollars and cleared altogether four thousand dol- lars from his livery business. He then started a wholesale liquor business at San Francisco and was successful in that venture. His labors on the whole brought him substantial profit during his residence in the occident, and in 1873 he turned to the old homestead in Stark county, Ohio, where he resided for ten years. On the expiration of that decade he purchased property in Akron, Ohio, took up his abode there and entered the coal business, in which he successfully continued from 1881 until 1893. He also operated a coal mine at Mineral City, Ohio, for two years and in 1893 purchased property in Cleveland, becoming the owner of the McCue flats and the Beatrice apartments. From the rental of these he secures a substantial annual income and he also manages the Cleveland Smoke Abating Company, a successful arrester used by over one hundred and sixty firms in Cleveland. Reading between the lines one may judge something of the close application and keen discrimination which have characterized his busi- ness record, bringing him to a position of affluence in business circles.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. McCue have been born the following named: Harry, Clifton and Edward who are residents of Akron, Ohio; Florence, now the wife of W. J. Wilds, a contractor of Akron; and Beatrice, a fine contralto singer, who is doing church and concert singing for charity.

Mr. McCue regards Akron as his real place of residence but business interests demand that he spend much of his time in Cleveland. He is interested in the growth and progress of the city and is a cooperant factor in the movements in- stituted by the Chamber of Commerce for municipal benefit. He belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Gentlemen's Driving Club, the Cleveland Driving Park Association and St. Patrick's church-associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the principles which gov- ern his actions. He is preeminently a self-made man, having been both the archi- tect and builder of his own fortunes.

FREDERICK L. TAFT.

Frederick L. Taft, recognized as one of the republican leaders of Cleveland as well as one of the representative members of the Ohio bar, practicing now as partner in the law firm of Smith, Taft & Arter, was born in Braceville, Trum- bull county, Ohio, December 1, 1870. His parents were from New England and his father, Newton A. Taft, comes from the same ancestry as President Taft. His mother bore the maiden name of Laura A. Humphrey. A great uncle of Frederick L. Taft was Mathew Birchard, one of the early judges of the supreme court of Ohio and a leading lawyer of the northern section of this state.

Pursuing a public-school education Frederick L. Taft completed the high- school course at Newton Falls, Ohio, in 1886, and was graduated from Mount Union College in 1889. He afterward engaged in teaching for a brief period and later attended the Cincinnati Law School in preparation for the bar. He

FREDERICK L. TAFT

1013

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

was admitted December 1, 1891, when twenty-one years of age and has since been closely associated with the practice of law, his thorough understanding of legal principles, his careful preparation of cases and his loyalty to the interests entrusted to him carrying him into important professional relations. In May, 1898, he was appointed assistant county solicitor and continued in this office until October 1, 1901, when he resigned to enter the general practice of law, being now a member of the well known firm of Smith, Taft & Arter. In 1906 Governor Harris appointed him to fill the vacancy on the bench of the common pleas court and he was afterward nominated by acclamation in the republican convention. He served with general satisfaction during the short time he was judge of that court but was defeated with the remainder of the ticket at the ensuing election although he ran several thousand votes ahead of the other judicial candidate. In 1896 he was chairman of the twenty-first congressional committee and of the republican city and county executive committees in 1897. In 1900 he was a member of the state central committee and on many occasions has been a delegate to city, county and state conventions, acting as chairman of the last two conventions of the republican party in Cleveland. In 1908 he was a delegate to the republican national convention in Chicago and assisted in nom- inating President Taft.

On the 28th of October, 1901, Judge Taft was married to Miss Mary Alice Arter, a daughter of Frank A. Arter of Cleveland and a sister of his present law partner. They have a family of three sons and a daughter: Kingsley Arter, born July 19, 1903; Charles Newton, December 14, 1904; Frederick L., Jr., August 15, 1906; and Laura Emily, July 2, 1909. Mr. Taft is a trustee of Mount Union College, his alma mater, and is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a college fraternity and the Phi Delta Phi law fraternity. He is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and is an active representative of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. He belongs to the Columbus Club of Columbus, Ohio, and to the Union Club of Cleveland, while in strictly fraternal lines he is known as a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is active as a member of the Knights of Pythias and is a member of the Sons of Veterans. He is thus associated with various organizations and movements which indicate the trend of the times in the effort of progressive citizens to promote the interests of humanitarianism and of general progress.

HENRI S. RIGO.

Henri S. Rigo, chef of the Hotel Hollenden, was born February 9, 1882, in Vienna, a son of Simon and Hedwig (Filler) Rigo. The father was a manufac- turer of Vienna and never came to America. The son acquired his education in the public schools of his native city, pursuing his studies to the age of fourteen years, when he went to Paris where he served a two years' apprenticeship in cook- ing, mastering the business which the French have made an art. He then went to Brussels where he remained for three years and again spent another year in Paris. On the expiration of that period he crossed the channel to England and proceeded to London. where he continued for four years, following his chosen vocation throughout that time. While in London he was chef at the Mount Ephraim Hotel and also acted as chef for Lord Lamington for about a year.

Believing that there was a still broader and more remunerative field in America, Mr. Rigo crossed the Atlantic and worked in Cafe Martin, in New York city, where he continued for a year. He next went to Florida where he worked in the Royal Poinciona Hotel, at Palm Beach, where he continued for one season. He was next in West Virginia for six months, returning then to Vienna, where he remained for a few months. He regarded America as his home, however, and coming again to

1014

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

the new world spent a short time in the eastern metropolis, after which he made his way to Cleveland where he acted as chef in the grill room of the Hotel Hollen- den for eight months. He was then appointed chef for the regular dining room of the hotel and has continued in this position for four years. Ninety-five people are employed under him, of whom thirty are cooks. He has general supervision of the cuisine and the Hollenden is noted throughout the country for this department of its service.

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.

A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 101

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: 1150

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: 1150