USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II > Part 19
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JAMES M. WILLIAMS.
James M. Williams, for many years well known in the political and legal circles of Cleveland and the representative of his district in the state senate, where he served as president pro tem, departed this life May 22, 1909. A feeling of profound regret spread throughout the community when the news of his sudden demise was received, for his many substantial qualities had gained him warm friendship and kindly regard. He was born in Plainfield, Coshocton county, Ohio, July 22, 1850, and represented one of the old families of this state. The family had its origin in England, whence representatives of the name sailed for the western world, settling in Virginia. Richard Williams, the great-great-grand- father, and David Williams, the great-grandfather, were both soldiers in the American army during the war for independence and were with General Wash- ington's troops at the time of the surrender of Yorktown. His grandfather, Levi Williams, was a native of Staunton, Virginia, and came to Ohio with General Wayne's army at the time of the establishment of the Greenville treaty line. He was a captain in the service, and on their march west the army encamped on the site of the public square of Cleveland. The father of James M. Williams was Dr. Heslip Williams. a leading physician of Coshocton county, who was born in Ohio and spent his entire life in this state. He not only gained dis- tinction in his profession but was also a recognized leader in public circles and represented his state in the general assembly in 1845 and 1846 and in 1854 and
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1855 was elected from his district to the state senate. He married Charlotte Miskimen also a native of Ohio and a daughter of James Miskimen, who came to this state in 1803, from Washington county, Maryland.
James M. Williams was largely educated in the public schools of his native county and in the high school of New Comerstown, Ohio. Later he entered Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated with the class of 1873, and his law studies were pursued in the office of Judge J. C. Pom- erene, of Coshocton. Following his admission to the bar in September, 1875, he located for practice in Coshocton, where he continued until 1888, when he re- moved to Cleveland. He enlisted as a private soldier in Company C, Third United States Cavalry, during the Civil war, when but thirteen years of age, and took part in the campaigns in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas.
His public work was of a valuable nature. In 1883 Mr. Williams edited the Revised Statutes of Ohio, in three volumes, which were afterward adopted by the general assembly and furnished to the judiciary and all other state and county offi- cers. In 1885 he was elected a member of the house of representatives of this state, as a democrat, serving for two years. While in the legislature he was a mem- ber of the committees on judiciary, revision of the laws and public works, and was chairman of the special committee which prepared a code of parliamentary law for the Ohio house of representatives. He drafted the statute passed in 1885, providing for the organization and jurisdiction of the circuit courts of the state and the constitutional amendment adopted in the same year changing the time of holding the state elections from October to November; also the proposed con- stitutional amendments submitted in 1889, providing for biennial elections and for single legislative districts. He is the author of the laws, passed in 1887, de- fining the rights and liabilities of husband and wife; how a married person may sue and be sued in courts of record; and exempting every honorably discharged soldier from the two days' labor, then required, on the public highways.
Mr. Williams was well known as a practitioner before the supreme court of Ohio, having appeared frequently before that court in causes involving im- portant constitutional questions. His arguments were always characterized by clear and forcible statement, searching analysis and great argumentative power. In the notable case of Cope vs. Foraker, governor, the issue was the adoption or rejection of the biennial elections amendment to the constitution; and the plain- tiff applied for a writ of mandamus to compel the governor to declare by proc- lamation the amendment adopted, because it received a majority of the votes cast directly on the question though not a majority of all the votes cast at the election. The utmost interest was felt in the decision, and a few abler and more ingenious arguments were ever made before the supreme court of Ohio than that of Mr. Williams in behalf of the adoption of the amendment. Equal praise was elicited by his argument before that court in the application for a mandamus in State vs. Sawyer, sheriff of Cuyahoga county. The points made by Mr. Williams in a masterly argument were sustained, and the unanimous decision of the court was that proclamation must issue and four judges of the common pleas court be elected for Cuyahoga county with the other county officials in November, 1889, instead of 1890.
In 1888 and again in 1894 Mr. Williams was the candidate of his party for judge of the common pleas court. In November, 1905, he was elected to the state senate from the Cleveland district, and on the organization of the general assembly he was unanimously chosen president pro tempore of the senate. On the death of Governor Pattison and the succession of Lieutenant Governor Harris as the chief executive of the state Mr. Williams became lieutenant governor and president of the senate. Beside his duties as president he was chairman of the committees on commercial corporations and rules, and also a member of the committees on judiciary, taxation, county affairs and fees and salaries. He showed a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution, his keen analytical mind being brought to bear in the settlement of affairs of the state.
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In 1879 Mr. Williams was married to Miss Mary S. Brockway, the only daugh- ter of Hon. Charles B. Brockway of Ripley, Chautauqua county, New York. Mrs. Williams died in 1897, leaving a daughter, Lois B. Williams. The death of Mr. Williams came very suddenly, and thus he continued an active factor in life's work almost to the closing hour of his career. He has left the impress of his individuality upon the public and legal history of the state and of his per- sonality upon the friends with whom he came in contact, all of whom entertained for him the highest honor and regard.
WILLIAM H. EVERS.
William H. Evers, a civil engineer and president of The William H. Evers Engineering Company, has become well known in connection with landscape and structural engineering work, making a specialty of the planning and embellish- ment of private grounds, parks and cemeteries. He has also done much work on the construction of electric railways, bridges, buildings, roads, pavements, sewers and water systems, and thus his lines of life are cast in busy places. He was born in Cleveland November 18, 1871, and was educated in the local public schools and in the Lutheran parochial school, being graduated with honors and awarded a scholarship to the Case School of Applied Science. He continued his studies in higher mathematics and engineering and served for over five years as deputy county surveyor in Cuyahoga county.
On the 17th of October, 1895, Mr. Evers wedded Miss Ottilie H. Niemann, daughter of the Rev. J. H. Niemann, of the German Lutheran church.
In 1899 Mr. Evers was appointed county surveyor of Cuyahoga county by the judges of the common pleas court and in November of that year was elected to the office by a republican majority of over seventeen thousand. In June, 1902, he organized and incorporated The William H. Evers Engineering Company, and in November of the same year he was elected to the office of county engineer, being one of the few republican candidates elected in the face of the democratic landslide. In November, 1905, he was unanimously nominated the republican candidate for the board of public service in Cleveland, but the democratic ma- jority defeated the entire republican ticket.
Continuing in the private practice of his profession Mr. Evers has made steady advance. The growth of Cleveland naturally is an extension and develop- ment of its suburbs. Necessarily improvements are carried on under the plans and supervision of a civil engineer. The volume of work passing through the departments of a municipal engineering office, such as The William H. Evers Engineering Company, gives astonishing and convincing figures of the rapid growth of Greater Cleveland. During the last few years this company has sur- veyed and improved one hundred and forty different subdivisions, aggregating twelve thousand sub-lots, which afforded home sites for sixty thousand people. In the grading of allotments and highways, new streets, etc., the work under their supervision cost over three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and over five hundred thousand dollars was spent for the construction of new bridges. The total expenditure in the installation of sewer and water systems exceeded one million, six hundred thousand dollars. Moreover, some of the finest thoroughfares in Cuyahoga county have been planned and built by this company. The largest of such improvements are the Mayfield road, three and a half miles long, of Telford macadam; the Kinsman road, four miles long, using bitulithic ; Clifton boulevard, three and a half miles long, of asphalt; Euclid road, three miles long, of brick. The total expenditure for pavements under the control of this engineering com- pany is as follows: Asphalt pavements, four hundred thousand dollars ; bitulithic pavement, three hundred and forty thousand dollars; macadam pavement, five hundred and sixty thousand dollars; and brick pavement, one million, eight hun-
WILLIAM H. EVERS
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dred thousand dollars, making a total of three million, one hundred thousand dollars. The work of The William H. Evers Engineering Company is further- more seen in the character, design and appearance of the Lutheran cemetery, of South Brooklyn, the West Park cemetery, of Linndale, the Calvary cemetery, of Newburgh, the Mayfield cemetery of Cleveland Heights, and the Calvary ceme- tery of Lorain, Ohio. In addition to this local work the company has done exten- sive work for the Illinois Central Electric Railway Company, the Peninsular Railway Company and on the canal system of the Inland Transportation & Lum- ber Company of Florida.
Mr. Evers is a member of the Lutheran church, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, Builders' Exchange, Ohio Engineering Society and the Civil Engi- neers' Club of Cleveland. His family numbers three children, namely: Julie Elizabeth, aged twelve years; Esther Ottilie, aged seven years; and William H., Jr., aged five years.
SAMUEL LOUIS BERNSTEIN, M. D.
Among the citizens that Germany has furnished to professional ranks in Cleveland is Dr. Samuel Louis Bernstein, who was born in Vandsburg, Prussia, Germany, October 1, 1872. His father, Moritz Bernstein, came to America in 1880 and soon afterward took up his abode in Cleveland, first visiting the city to ascertain the proficiency of the schools, as the welfare of his children was al- ways uppermost in his thought and ambition. Establishing his home here he was identified with commercial and manufacturing pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1905 when he was fifty-six years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rosalia Arndt, was a native of the same town as her hus- band and is still living.
Dr. Bernstein was a youth of nine years at the time the family came to the new world, and in the public schools of this city he continued his education un- til he reached the age of fifteen years when he started out in the business world as an employe in the drug store of William F. Spieth, a prominent and long established druggist of Cleveland. His interest awakened concerning that busi- ness he entered the Cleveland College of Pharmacy, from which he was grad- uated in the class of 1891 and was registered as a pharmacist by examination in the state of Ohio. His interest in medicine followed as a logical sequence, and in 1891 he matriculated in the medical department of Wooster University, where he studied under the preceptorship of Dr. Marcus Rosenwasser. He was graduated in 1895 with the M. D. degree and afterward spent seventeen months as house physician in the Cleveland City Hospital, subsequent to which time he entered upon the practice of medicine, to which he has since devoted his time and energies. He has always kept abreast with the trend of modern professional thought and in 1905 went to Berlin where he pursued post-graduate work in the diseases of children, to which he has since given special attention in his daily practice. For about four years he was assistant in obstetrics in the Cleveland College of Physicians & Surgeons, but resigned to go to Europe. He is now paediastrist in chief to Mount Sinai Hospital and has been visiting physician to the Jewish Infant Orphans' Home. His membership relations in profes- sional lines extend to the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, the Cleveland Medical Library Association, the Ohio State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Anglo-American Medical Society of Berlin and the Mississippi Valley Medical Association.
In other than professional lines Dr. Bernstein is known as a Mason and is trustee of Scovil Avenue Temple. He is not married and resides at the family home at No. 11604 Euclid avenue. He is a member of the Business Men's Club, from which he derives his principal recreation in gymnastics. He is always a
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genial, courteous gentleman, generous in disposition, and has many friends throughout the city. His attention is chiefly concentrated upon his profession, and he is conscientious in the performance of all of his duties. He has con- tributed occasional articles to the current literature of the profession, has given much time to the study of the extinction of tuberculosis and has been a lecturer for the Anti Tuberculosis League, or which he is a member.
WILLIAM N. GUTHRIE.
One of the secrets of success of any large business is that the one who is most active in control has the ability of surrounding himself with an able corps of assistants who add to their capability and business enterprise unfaltering loyalty to the firm. Such a one was found by the William Taylor's Sons Company of Cleveland in William N. Guthrie, now manager of the linen and white-goods de- partment. He was born at Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland, on the 29th of June, 1849, and is a son of Robert and Mary (Nelson) Guthrie, of Letterkenny, Ireland. His education was acquired in the public and private schools in a land whose history has ever been one of thrilling interest, constituting one of the most picturesque and fascinating chapters in the annals of the world. He continued a resident of the Emerald isle until nineteen years of age, when he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for the United States, landing at New York. He at once sought employment in the metropolis and for ten years was in the service of Charles Scott, his long retention in Mr. Scott's employ being un- mistakable evidence of the value of his services and his trustworthiness. He af- terward spent some years with the E. S. Jaffray Company and for some years was linen buyer for them. This gave him experience with the trade that well qualified him for his present position, when in 1895 he came to Cleveland as man- ager of the linen and white-goods department for the William Taylor's Sons Company. At the same time he became a director in the firm, and now for four- teen years he has been closely associated with what is one of Cleveland's largest department stores and most important mercantile enterprises.
In 1872 Mr. Guthrie was united in marriage to Miss Eliza A. Long, a daugh- ter of John Long, of Brooklyn, New York, and they now have a son and daugh- ter : George, who is located in New York city, and Margaret E., the well known contralto singer in the Unity church of Cleveland. Mr. Guthrie belongs to Fort Greene Council, of the Royal Arcanum at Brooklyn, New York, and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the United States for in the western world he found the opportunities which he sought and by their improvement has steadily worked his way upward until his position today is a prominent and very lu- crative one. Throughout the period of his residence in this country he has been connected with the dry-goods trade in capacities which have made him well known as a power in the linen market.
WILFRID PHILIP DITTOE.
Wilfrid Philip Dittoe, purchasing agent for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of Per- ry county, Ohio, where he was born at Somerset, December 25, 1855. In February, 1864, he removed with his parents to Vineland, New Jersey, where his father engaged in farming. Three years later the family returned to the west, settling in Covington, Kentucky, and some years afterward removing to Newport, the same state.
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While living in New Jersey, W. P. Dittoe assisted his father on the farm, at- tending the district school in the winter months. While residing in Covington he was a pupil in the public and Catholic schools but gave up school when thirteen years old, entering the dry goods store of C. W. Deland in Cincinnati as a cash boy. His next position was messenger boy with the Western Union Telegraph Company, also in Cincinnati. Having a liking for drawing and mathematics, he decided to make civil engineering his profession, and on April 1, 1872, he entered the office of Joseph Earnshaw, civil engineer and surveyor, at Cincinnati. While with Mr. Earnshaw he applied himself diligently to the study of mathematics and attended night classes at the McMicken University and the Ohio Mechanics In- stitute to learn drawing. In the latter institution he studied mechanical drawing during the term of 1877-78 and free-hand drawing during the term of 1878-9. In both terms he was awarded the highest honors, receiving each term the first degree of merit in the first class and the highest prize, a silver medal.
When the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway was being constructed, Mr. Dittoe resigined his position with Mr. Earnshaw, and on April 1, 1881, he entered the employ of Brown, Howard & Company, contractors, who were build- ing the railway, as a draftsman in the office of J. A. Latcha, chief engineer at Cleveland, Ohio. When the contractors turned the railway over to the operating company in 1882 Mr. Dittoe was retained by the latter company in its engineering department under the various titles of draftsman, engineer and inspector, and while in this department he designed some of the company's original bridges and buildings. The maps and plans which he made in those days are models of ac- curacy and good workmanship. Upon the resignation of Mr. M. M. Rogers as purchasing agent for the railroad company, Mr. Dittoe was selected to fill that important position, receiving his appointment from Mr. W. H. Canniff, president, September 12, 1899.
At Buffalo, New York, September 9, 1880, Mr. Dittoe married Isabella Bry- ans, daughter of Thomas and Jane (Graham) Bryans. Mr. Bryans was born in Glasgow, Scotland, April 1, 1829, and died at Buffalo, November 8, 1886. Thomas Bryans' father's name was William, and his mother was Euphemia (Carr) Bryans. Thomas Bryans came to America with his parents in 1846, settling on a farm near Arthur Village, Wellington county, Canada West, where Mrs. Dit- toe was born August 30, 1859. Mrs. Dittoe's mother, Jane Graham, was the daughter of Archibald Graham and Jan (Fair) Graham, and was born in County Cavin, Ireland. Archibald Graham was a linen draper in Perth, Scotland, the place of his nativity.
Jacob Dittoe, the great-grandfather of Wilfrid P. Dittoe, was a prominent figure in the early history of the Catholic church in Ohio. He donated three hun- dred and twenty acres of land, near Somerset, Perry county, to Bishop Fenwick for the purpose of establishing a Dominican convent. His son Peter superin- tended the building of a church thereon, it being the first Catholic church in the state. Jacob Dittoe was the son of Joseph Dittoe, who came from Alsace when that province was a part of France and where the name was spelled De Toe.
Peter Dittoe, son of Jacob Dittoe, was born in Frederick, Maryland, July 18, 1793, and died at Somerset, Ohio, July 30, 1868. He came with his parents to Ohio in 1862, was a volunteer soldier in the war of 1812, serving under General Harrison. He was a recorder of the county and postmaster under John Quincy Adams, Jackson and Van Buren. He married Ann Spurk, daughter of Peter Spurk of Chillicothe, Ohio, July 4, 1817. There were born to them a family of eight children: Elizabeth, Cecelia, Francis R., Lewis H., George M., William T., Gertrude and Peter J. Peter Spurk learned the trade of watchmaker in Paris, France, and came to America in 1792.
George M. Dittoc, father of Wilfrid P., was born at Somerset, Ohio, May 21, 1830. He completed the literary course at St. Joseph's College, which was then in existence near Somerset, studied law and was admitted to the bar but never practiced. Taking up newspaper work he became editor and proprietor of
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the Democratic Union, published at Somerset and conducted that paper success- fully during the period of the Civil war, in which connection he gained a wide reputation by his fearless, able and stalwart advocacy of democratic principles. He devoted almost his entire life to journalism and for many years edited the Kentucky State Journal in Newport, Kentucky, a paper celebrated for its wit and humor. Mr. Dittoe retired from newspaper work in 1890 and now lives in retirement with his beloved wife at Winton place, Cincinnati, Ohio. On Novem- ber 28, 1854, he wedded Martha Victoria Elder, daughter of Charles and Eliza- beth (Lynch) Elder, of Somerset, Ohio. Seven children were born of this mar- riage : Wilfrid P., Herman A., one child that died in infancy, Augusta C., Ralph E., Eugene C. and Louis G. The mother of this family was born at Somerset, Ohio, July 26, 1834. Charles Elder, her father, was born in Emmitsburg, Mary- land, in January, 1793, and died at Lancaster, Ohio, December 8, 1870. His an- cestors were among the first Catholic families to settle on Maryland soil, having come over as members of Lord Baltimore's colony in 1634. Charles Elder re- moved to Ohio in 1814 but did not settle in Somerset until 1823, where he married Elizabeth Lynch, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ledwidge) Lynch, of Zanes- ville, Ohio. He was postmaster under Pierce and Buchanan. Charles Elder was a relative of Archbishop Elder. The maternal great-grandparents of our subject were James and Catherine (Hughes) Elder. Catherine Hughes was a relative of Archbishop Hughes of New York.
Wilfrid P. Dittoe and his wife Isabella are the parents of ten children: Ger- trude Agnes, Florence, deceased; Wilfrid Charles; George Howard, Isabel Con- stance; Gerald Clayton; Ralph Edward; Josephine Marie; Paul; and Virginia. The family residence is at No. 1918 East Eighty-first street. Mr. Dittoe and his family are communicants of St. Agnes Catholic church. Mr. Dittoe is extremely domestic in his tastes and belongs to no clubs. He is, however, a member of Gil- mour Council, Knights of Columbus, and of the Veteran Association of the Nickel Plate Railroad. In politics he is a democrat but has never taken an active part in the councils of his party.
G. FRED WILLIAMS.
G. Fred Williams, secretary and treasurer of the Cleveland Bakers & Con- fectioners Supply Company, was born at Hamilton, Canada, December 15, 1877. In the public schools there he pursued his education, while spending his youthful days in the home of his parents, John and Harriet (Mathews) Williams, who were natives of Cardiff, Wales, leaving that little rock-ribbed country to seek the broader opportunities of the great western world. The son continued his studies to the age of fourteen and in 1892 came with his parents to Cleveland. In this city he made his start in the business world as an employe of the Bruce & West Manufacturing Company. He entered their service as general utility boy and won promotion from time to time until he became traveling salesman. For four- teen years he remained with that house, a fact which stands as incontrovertible evidence of his loyalty and his rapidly developing business powers. At length he resigned his position and in 1906 in connection with Charles A. Frode, who up to that time had been the leading chemist with the firm of Bruce & West, began business for himself. They organized the present company under the name of the Cleveland Bakers & Confectioners Supply Company with office at No. 512 Huron road. There they remained until their establishment was destroyed by fire on the 6th of February, 1908, and new quarters were found at No. 403 Prospect avenue, northwest. They manufacture and handle various kinds of extracts and soda-fountain supplies, making a specialty of the latter, which they ship to all parts of the country. Although their business has been in existence for only about four years it has become an enterprise of considerable importance
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