USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II > Part 2
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In the spring of 1882 Mr. Clarke sold his interest in the Vindicator, since which time he has devoted his attention exclusively to the practice of law. In 1883 he formed a partnership with M. W. Johnson, which relation was main- tained until 1886, when he became a partner of C. D. Hine. That association was maintained until 1897, when Mr. Clarke removed to Cleveland. During the years of his partnership with Mr. Hine the firm had charge of the business of the chief manufacturing concerns and banks of the city of Youngstown and of the Erie Railroad Company and also enjoyed a large general practice.
In April, 1897, Mr. Clarke removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and entered the firm of Williamson & Cushing, the firm name becoming Williamson, Cushing & Clarke. They specialized in railroad and corporation law, Mr. Clarke becoming the trial lawyer of the firm. He has, since his arrival in Cleveland, been con- nected with much of the most important local litigation of this period, repre- senting the Lake Shore and Big Four railway companies in their contest with the city, involving the lake front property of very great value, and also conduct- ing the defense for the heirs of Leonard Case against the attack made upon their title to a large portion of the business district of the city, in both of which cases Mr. Clarke's clients prevailed. In the fall of 1898 Judge Samuel E. Williamson, the senior partner of the firm, was appointed general counsel for the New York Central Railroad and removed to New York, at which time Mr. Clarke was ap- pointed general counsel for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Com- pany, and he has since had charge of all of its legal affairs. In the spring of 1907 he dissolved partnership with Mr. Cushing and has since devoted his entire attention to the legal interests of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis and other railroad companies and the Pullman Company, which he represents.
Mr. Clark's political service has been of an important character, as he has taken an advanced position on many public questions of vital importance. In 1896 he declined to accept the position of the democratic party, with which he had always acted, on the silver question and was chairman in that year of the Ohio state democratic sound money convention and also served as delegate at large to the Indianapolis sound money convention, which nominated Palmer and Buckner for the presidency and vice presidency. Mr. Clarke took an active part in the campaign of that year, speaking throughout the state for sound money. In 1892 he was chairman of the congressional convention of the eighteenth dis- trict then assembled at Alliance and was tendered the nomination by acclama- tion but declined, as his professional engagements prevented his accepting. The nominee of the convention was elected, as it seemed certain he would be at the time the convention was held, and had Mr. Clarke not chosen otherwise he would very certainly have taken a seat in congress at the ensuing session. In 1893 he was second on the balloting for governor of Ohio at Cincinnati, although he had publicly declined to become a candidate. In 1903 he was nominated by the democratic state convention for United States senator
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and made an active canvass of the entire state against M. A. Hanna on a plat- form advocating chiefly reform of taxation and of the laws governing munici- palities, salaries for county officers and a two-cent fare on all railroads-all of which have since been accomplished, largely as a result of the agitation of the campaign of that year. Mr. Clarke has always been a distinct advocate of the merit system for the civil service. He has steadily opposed ship subsidies in any form, has favored a low tariff and has been a pronounced anti-imperialist, fa- voring the neutralization of the Philippine Islands under treaty with the great powers of the world. In 1904 he did much campaign work, speaking many times in Ohio and New York in support of the democratic national ticket.
In all of his local relations Mr. Clarke has been active and influential in sup- port of measures looking to the progress and improvement of the communities in which he has lived. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Youngs- town public library for ten years and served as president of the board for seven years of that time. For three years he has been a member of the board of trus- tees of the Cleveland library and during the last year of his term was president. He is a large stockholder in, and a frequent contributor to, the editorial columns of the Youngstown Vindicator, one of the most influential and most largely cir- culated newspapers published in Ohio outside the largest cities. He is a mem- ber of the American and local bar associations, of the Union, University and Country Clubs of Cleveland and of the University Club of New York. Mr. Clarke is of studious habits and modest manner but aggressive in his profession and in his political service, and though long a recognized leader in local and state democratic politics, there is no resident of Cleveland who is held in more uniform respect without regard to political affiliation, while his pronounced ability has fairly won for him the distinction in his profession which the im- portant legal positions held by him show that he has attained.
HENRY CLEVELAND GAYLORD.
Henry Cleveland Gaylord, a man of scholarly attainments and of good busi- ness ability, who in no relation of life was neglectful of the duties that devolved upon him, was born October 21, 1826. His parents were Erastus F. and Lucetta (Cleveland) Gaylord, who came from Connecticut at an early period in the col- onization of this state. They settled in Cleveland and as the years passed by Erastus Gaylord became a leading factor in the business development of the city, being widely known as a prominent wholesale druggist here.
Henry C. Gaylord attended the early schools of Cleveland and later had the benefit of a college course at Hudson, Ohio, the institution being now called the Western Reserve College. He studied for a professorship for three years, thinking to give his attention to educational work, but was induced by his father to abandon that idea and return to Cleveland. Here he became connected with commercial pursuits, entering the drug business with his father and becoming the successor after his father's death. It is true that he entered upon a business already established but in expanding and developing this many a man of less resolute spirit would have failed. He, however, readily adapted himself to the constantly changing conditions of modern business life and utilized his oppor- tunities to such good advantage that the trade of the house grew instead of diminished, and the business continued as one of the leading wholesale enterprises of the city. There was not a single esoteric phase in his business career. He sought success along lines that did not require disguise but, on the contrary, would bear the closest scrutiny, and the success of his business demonstrated the truth of the old adage that "honesty is the best policy."
On the 25th of May, 1855, Mr. Gaylord was married in Cleveland to Miss Catharine Hilliard. The wedding was celebrated in Trinity church, and the
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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND
chimes which had just been installed rang during their wedding for the first time. Mrs. Gaylord was a daughter of Richard and Catherine (Hayes) Hilliard ,of Cleveland. Her father was a leading merchant of the city in early days and was also active in other lines that were directly beneficial to the community. With the assistance of Senator Payne he succeeded in having the first railroad built through Cleveland and gave liberally toward the work. He was also one of the prime movers in the erection of city water works and he gave the ground on which to erect St. Mary's church, the first Catholic church in Cleveland. There were only thirty-six houses in the city when he came here, making the trip across the country from the east. He became an active and influential factor in the life of the village, and as the years passed on his labors were a feature in the growth of the developing city.
In his political views Mr. Gaylord was a republican, but the honors and emoluments of office had no attraction for him, as he preferred to give his un- divided attention to his business affairs. He was not remiss in the duties of citi- zenship, however, but gave his aid and influence wherever it was needed to further Cleveland's welfare.
WILLIAM FINLEY CARR.
Among the prominent residents of Cleveland who in 1909 answered to the last summons was William Finley Carr, a distinguished representative of the bar and almost equally well known through his connections with commercial and financial enterprises of this city. He had practiced for a number of years as a mem- ber of the firm of Carr, Stearns, Chamberlain & Royon and was recognized as a man of earnest purpose, devoted to the interests of his clients and at the same time holding to the highest standards of professional ethics. His birth occurred in Stark county, Ohio, March 13, 1848. His grandfather, Samuel Carr, was born in New Jersey in 1771 and in early life engaged in freighting with wagons across the Allegheny Mountains before the building of railroads. Coming to Ohio he settled in Stark county and devoted the latter part of his life to general agricul- tural pursuits, his death occurring in 1863. The battle of Monmouth in the Revo- lutionary war was fought upon the farm which he owned in his native state. His son Jacob Carr was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1825 and followed farming throughout his entire life. He wedded Jane Mary Finley, who was born in 1829 and was a daughter of William and Rhoda (Harris) Finley. Her father was born in 1797, made his home in Wayne county, Ohio, for many years and died in 1862. His wife, who was born in 1799, passed away in 1866. She was a daughter of John Harris, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The death of Jacob Carr occurred in Wadsworth, Medina county, Ohio, in 1897, while his wife passed away in 1894.
In his boyhood days William F. Carr accompanied his parents to Illinois, where he was reared upon a farm. At the age of twenty-two years he left home to study law with his uncle, General E. B. Finley, of Bucyrus Ohio, and after passing the required examination was admitted to the bar in 1875. He entered upon practice in Cleveland in connection with Thomas Emery, the firm of Emery & Carr existing from 1876 until 1879. Mr. Carr was afterward alone until 1883, when he joined F. H. Goff, now president of the Cleveland Trust Company, in the firm of Carr & Goff, which relation was maintained until 1890. There were then joined by E. J. Estep and M. R. Dickey under the style of Estep, Dickey, Carr & Goff, which remained without change until 1896, when the firm became Kline, Carr, Tolles & Goff. In 1904 Mr. Carr became senior partner of the firm of Carr, Stearns & Chamberlain, and on the Ist of July, 1908, the name of Royon was added by the admission of a fourth partner. The firm engaged in gen- eral practice, and Mr. Carr's knowledge of the various branches of jurisprudence
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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND
was comprehensive and exact. He was very thorough and painstaking in the preparation of his cases, and in presenting his cause his pleas and arguments were lucid and clear and his deductions logical and convincing. The study of corpora- tion law was his chief pleasure, and to that branch of the profession he largely devoted his energies. His standing among the members of the legal fraternity is indicated in the fact that shortly after his admission to the Ohio Bar Association he was elected its president.
On the 8th of November, 1883, Mr. Carr was married to Miss Alice T. Cod- ding, a daughter of Robert Codding, and they had two children: Marian C., who is a graduate of Smith College of 1907, and Marjorie Leigh, who was graduated from Smith College in June, 1909. The death of the husband and father occurred on the Ist of September, 1909, and was the occasion of deep and widespread re- gret in professional circles, in the club life of the city and among many friends who knew him in his own home as a genial and entertaining host. His political allegiance was given to the republican party, although he was not active as a worker in its ranks. He belonged to the Union and Euclid Clubs of Cleveland and attended the Presbyterian church. This city is notable in the number of fine private libraries which are here to be found, and one of these was in the pos- session of Mr. Carr, who spent many of his most pleasant hours in association with the master minds of all ages and was regarded as a man of broad scholarly attainments as well as of comprehensive knowledge concerning the principles of jurisprudence.
HENRY C. RANNEY.
Henry C. Ranney, for more than half a century a member of the Ohio bar, comes of a family noted for the prominent position to which many of its members have attained in connection with the judicial history of Ohio. While he has reached the eightieth mile-stone on life's journey, he still continues an active and influential factor in the life of Cleveland. His law practice was always of an extensive and important character and he was remarkable among lawyers for the wide research and provident care with which he prepared his cases. He has ever been recognized as a man of finely balanced mind and of splendid intellectual attainments, and he continues alive to the vital interests and questions of the day, while his sound judgment is manifest in his clear and logical opinions concerning points of law, questions of business expediency or matters which touch the gen- eral interests of society.
A native of Ohio, his birth occurred in Freedom, Portage county, June I, 1829. His father, Elijah W. Ranney, was a merchant and the eldest brother of Judge R. P. Ranney, for many years a distinguished member of the legal profes- sion in Cleveland, and of the late John L. Ranney, who was not unknown to many as a representative of the bar at Ravenna, Ohio. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Levana Larcomb, was one of the twelve children of Paul and Polly Larcomb, six of whom settled within a radius of six miles of the pioneer home of their parents. They were a strong family, mentally as well as physically, and were conspicuous throughout the community for their good sense, geniality, kindliness and for integrity and uprightness of character. Henry C. Ranney was but six years of age at the time of his father's death in 1836, and was adopted into the family of Hon. R. P. Ranney, who at that time had but recently entered upon his professional career but was already making a name for himself in con- nection with the legal profession.
Henry C. Ranney was at once placed in school and liberal educational ad- vantages were afforded him. He supplemented his literary course by study in the law office of his uncle and after thorough and careful preparation was admitted to the bar in 1852. He then entered into practice in Warren, Ohio, in the office
HENRY C. RANNEY
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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND
of Judge Birchard, and subsequently entered into partnership with his uncle, John L. Ranney, at Ravenna, this association being maintained until the death of the senior partner.
At the time of the Civil war Mr. Ranney was appointed, in 1862, by the sec- retary of war, assistant adjutant general of volunteers and was assigned to duty on the staff of General E. B. Tyler, commanding the First Brigade, Third Divi- sion, Fifth Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He was ordered south and was with his command at the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, in both of which he won honorable mention in General Tyler's reports. He also took part in numerous minor engagements and after two years of active military service resigned and resumed his practice, since which time he has devoted him- self assiduously to the interests of his clients. After the death of his uncle, John L. Ranney, he continued in practice at Ravenna until 1872, when he came to Cleveland and formed a partnership with his uncle, Rufus P. Ranney, and the latter's son, John R. Ranney. Some years later Henry C. and John R. Ranney became associated with Henry Mckinney under the firm anme of Ranneys & Mckinney. John R. Ranney and Judge Mckinney withdrew in 1890 and Judge R. P. Ranney died in 1894. For some time Henry C. Ranney practiced alone but later became associated with C. W. Fuller. A contemporary biographer has said of him: "From the day he began practice until 1880 Mr. Ranney was one of the most constant, laborious and industrious lawyers in northern Ohio. His hands were always full of great interests which were never neglected nor slighted but received his personal, constant and unremitting care. His powerful constitution and cheerful temper enabled him to work more hours than the majority of at- torneys and made it impossible for him to turn any person away who sought his aid and counsel at any time. The consequence was he became over-worked and from sheer lack of rest became prostrated with nervous difficulties. For nearly a year, therefore, under the advice of his physician-the famous Dr. Hammond of New York-he suspended all mental exertion and made a trip to Europe, trav- eling extensively on the continent. He returned home thoroughly restored to health. In 1884 he again crossed the ocean with his family and visited all places of interest in the British Isles, Germany, Switzerland and France." The zeal with which he has devoted his energies to his profession, the careful regard evinced for the interests of his clients and the assiduous and unrelaxing attention to all the details of his cases brought him a large business and made him very successful in its conduct. While an active member of the bar he was recognized as a very able writer; his briefs always showed wide research, careful thought and the best and strongest reasons which could be urged for his contention, pre- sented in cogent and logical form and illustrated by a style unusually lucid and clear. It was said of him while he was still in active practice: "He possesses the native abilities which mark the lawyer. He has in remarkable degree that equanimity of temper, calmness of insight and judgment and steady mental poise which enabled him naturally and with great ease to carry the lawyer's burden of complicated law and fact along the lines of right, reason and level-headed sense and reach rational conclusions with remarkable force and clearness. He never seeks success at the bar by the arts and affectations of the mere advocate. He. is more solid than brilliant and yet so exact and painstaking has been his prepara- tion and so honorable, pure and high-minded has he been in all his life and mo- tives, that he is enabled to put into the cause in hand the most potential factors in all advocacy-a masterful grasp of his case and the weight of an unsullied char- acter. He excels especially in the practice of railroad and corporation law. He works no less efficiently in the office where through systematic and careful study the pleadings are prepared and prompt business methods are applied, than in the conduct of the cause in court. The uninitiated do not understand how great triumphs at the bar are wrought out in the unseen, quiet laboratory of the office. He is an excellent pleader-the crucial test of a good lawyer." While Mr. Ranney has retired from the active practice of law he is yet closely associated financially
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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND
and officially with various important business interests and corporations, being a director of the Guardian Trust Company, the Cleveland Stone Company, the Continental Sugar Company, the Cleveland & Mahoning Valley Railroad Com- pany, The Citizens Savings & Trust Company, the Cleveland & Pittsburg Rail- way Company, and a trustee of The Society for Savings.
Mr. Ranney's home life has been one of unusual happiness, comfort and good cheer. He was married September 19, 1853, to Miss Helen A. Burgess of Ra- venna, Ohio, a granddaughter of the Hon. William Coolman of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Ranney became parents of six daughters and a son. The last named Henry Percival Ranney, who was a young man of brilliant promise and strong intellectual attainments, died in January, 1880, in his twenty-first year.
Throughout his life in this city Mr. Ranney has been a consistent member of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church, is a member of its vestry and a trustee of the northern diocese of Ohio. His religious life finds expression in the uniform practice of the sterling virtues of honesty, justice and truth, and he ever carries into all the relations of life the graces of a charitable and kindly spirit. In Ma- sonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and has al- ways been loyal to the sublime precepts and moral teachings of the fraternity. He belongs to the Army and Navy Post, No. 187, G. A. R., and is a companion of the Loyal Legion, in which he was senior vice commander in 1903-4. He belongs to the American, Ohio State. and Cleveland Bar Associations, while in more strictly social lines he is connected with the Union, the University, Country, Rowfant and Euclid Clubs. He is emphatically a lover of the true, the beautiful and the good in nature, art and society and his influence and efforts have always been on the side of progress and improvement. After his return from abroad he was elected the president of the Western Reserve School of Design in Cleveland. He was also appointed a trustee of the Hurlbut and Kelly estates, both of which made large bequests for the erection of an art gallery in Cleveland. Mr. Ranney is the president of the Cleveland Museum of Art under whose name the gallery will be erected. He is also a trustee of the John Huntington Benevolent Trust, and the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust. He has likewise been a member of the state board of charities and has done excellent work for the Case Library, of which he is one of the trustees. He is a life member of the Chamber of Com- merce and cooperates in every movement for municipal progress. He has ever regarded the pursuits of private life as being in themselves worthy of his best efforts and while his influence has always been on the side of progress, reform and improvement and in support of those movements which are matters of civic virtue and civic pride, he has preferred that his public service should be done as a private citizen. His is a conspicuously successful career. Endowed by nature with high intellectual qualities to which are added the discipline and embellish- ments of culture, his is a most attractive personality. He is undoubtedly the old- est active member of the Cleveland bar and from the entire legal profession he receives the honor and respect which is accorded only in recognition of superior personal and professional merit.
WILLIAM STANLEY KIRKER.
William Stanley Kirker, a real-estate broker, handling stocks, bonds and loans, with offices at No. 707 Williamson building, was born in Ironton, Ohio, January 23, 1851. He came of Scotch-Irish descent and is a grandson of Thomas Kir- ker, who was governor of Ohio in the early part of the nineteenth century. In the public schools of his native town, William Stanley Kirker began his edu- cation and, passing through consecutive grades, became a pupil in the high school. When his school days were over he acted as clerk for his father in the banking and merchandise brokerage business, gaining thereby the broad and varied ex-
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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND
periences which well qualified him to engage in business on his own account, when in 1899 he came to Cleveland and opened his present offices. For ten years he has been located at No. 707 Williamson Building and has established himself as one of the foremost representatives of the line of activity in which he now engages. He has always made it his purpose to keep thoroughly informed concerning the real-estate and money markets, and his broad knowledge has enabled him to as- sist his clients in making judicious investments. His success has been won at the cost of earnest, self-denying effort and close application, and he has as his clients many residents of this and other cities, whose wealth enables them to make extensive investment in the lines in which he deals.
In 1874 in Ironton, Ohio, Mr. Kirker was married to Miss A. Seeley Willard, a descendant of James Orville Willard, of Painesville, Ohio, who was one of the founders of Ironton and its first banker. That Mrs. Kirker has back of her an ancestry connected with the war for independence is indicated in her mem- bership with the Daughters of the American Revolution. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children: Mrs. Howard Bixby, of St. Catherines, Ontario; Stanle; Mrs. Charles W. Blair, Toledo, Ohio; and Orville. The last named is engaged in business with his father. Mr. Kirker and family attend the Second Presbyterian church. He is most loyal to the interests of Cleveland and is interested in all measures for the promotion or betterment of municipal inter- ests.
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