A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 4

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 4

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Mr. Mather was always held in the highest personal regard and esteem by the large iron manufacturing firms that bought Lake Superior ores, and to a great extent the prosperity and high reputation of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company was due to his personal influence and popularity. Upon his sound

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

judgment and business acumen the directors and stockholders were always con- tent to rely, feeling that their interests were safeguarded and fostered in his hands. He had a longer and more active identification with Lake Superior iron ore interests than any man of his time and his large-minded and conservative influence on the general policy of the ore companies was marked and beneficial throughout the entire period of his connection with the industry. Beside his identification with the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, one of the most sub- stantial and important commercial institutions of the city, he was the secretary and manager of the Marquette Iron Company, a director of the Bancroft Iron Company, president of the Cleveland Boiler Plate Company, president of the American Iron Mining Company and president of the McComber Iron Company. He was at various times a director in numerous other companies engaged in the mining of ore and the manufacture of iron. In 1878 he became a director of what was then the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railway Company and re- mained a member of that board for more than ten years. He was one of the original board of directors of the old Merchants National Bank and continued a member until it was succeeded by the Mercantile National Bank, in which insti- tution he was also a director. His interests were large and varied. In the direc- torates of several insurance companies and numerous industrial enterprises he had a prominent part and he gave his genius and wealth to the advancement and upbuilding of Cleveland. As a business man he was one of the very foremost of his time in this city. While cautious, conservative and careful, he yet possessed a will to decide and the courage to venture where favoring opportunity led the way. Until his last illness he was actively engaged with business duties, his opinions constituting a forceful factor in the successful management of many important concerns. His reputation for honesty and fair-mindedness was of the highest and his life record is without a stain. While he won notable success, his path was never strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes, nor did his own prosperity cause others to lose in the game of life.

Personally Mr. Mather was a man of medium height, erect and portly. He was moreover a gentleman of education and refinement, who had a keen sense of humor and displayed a never failing cheerfulness and mirth, rendering his society a constant pleasure to his friends and associates. In his friendships he was warm, generous and stanch. If his confidence was once gained those who won it could always rely upon his loyalty. He was for almost forty years a prominent member of the vestry of Trinity church and for fifteen years preced- ing his death was its senior warden. He had long been known as one of the most liberal contributors to its religious and benevolent work. On a number of occa- sions he was elected to represent the diocese of Ohio as one of its lay delegates to the general triennial conventions of the Protestant Episcopal church and for many years represented Trinity church in the annual conventions of the same diocese. He was always a generous contributor to the various charity organiza- tions of the city.

While never actively connected with politics, Samuel L. Mather manifested a deep interest in the various vital questions of his time and had clear and well. defined convictions concerning public men and measures. As a citizen he com- manded the profound respect of his fellowmen and while shrinking from public notoriety, he was an outspoken advocate of all measures looking to the preserva- tion of public morals, the diffusion of general intelligence and the maintenance of law. His character for integrity was of the highest type and wherever known his name was synonymous with all the qualities which mark the Christian gen- tlemen.

Samuel L. Mather was twice married. His first wife, whom he wedded Sep- tember 24, 1850, was Georgiana Pomeroy Woolson, a daughter of Jarvis Wool- son, of Cleveland, and to them were born two children: Samuel, a sketch of whom follows; and Katherine Livingston, a resident of Cleveland. Mrs. Mather died November 2, 1853. The second wife of Samuel L. Mather was Elizabeth,

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

daughter of William R. Gwinn, of Buffalo, New York, to whom he was married on the IIth of June, 1856. One son, William Gwinn, born of this marriage Sep- tember 22, 1857, is now a resident of Cleveland. Samuel L. Mather passed away October 8, 1890, and is buried in Lakeview cemetery. The Leader of October 9, 1890, said in part, regarding his death: "The chimes of Trinity Cathedral did not play at the usual hour of service last evening, but a single bell tolled out the requiem for a departed soul. Samuel L. Mather, senior warden of the parish, died at three P. M. yesterday after a brief illness. The quiet manliness with which he met all the issues of life did not forsake him when he entered the valley of the shadow of death. Of him it may be written as another has said: 'I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.' The Episcopal church in the diocese of Ohio was the interest that, outside of ties of affection, lay nearest his heart. Among his last commissions were his pledges to the sup- port of the Episcopate and the care of the missionaries. Within the parish he was a liberal giver and a faithful attendant upon divine service. For thirty-eight years he had served as vestryman and warden and was alike the loyal friend of the clergy and faithful representative of the people. The world will never know the extent of his private and personal charities but many there are who will rise up and call him blessed. To unassuming modesty were added those sterling qualities which go to make a 'man known and revered of all men' and as thoroughly re- spected as he was widely known."

(IX) Samuel Mather, son of Samuel Livingston and Georgiana Pomeroy (Woolson) Mather, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, July 13, 1851. After at- tending the public schools of this city he continued his education in St. Mark's school at Southboro, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of a man whose ex- tensive connections and interests caused the son at once to take up a business career when his education was completed. It was much the case of giving a good man a good chance. His nature forbade him living in idleness and retirement, although his means would have permitted. his energy and ambition prompting him to an active life. Gradually he won his way to a place in the ranks of the prominent men of his time and at his father's death, when Samuel Mather was less than forty years of age, he had become a worthy successor of his parent who was one of the foremost men of his time, not only figuring thus prominently in Cleveland but in the northwest as well. He had become recognized as a leader in financial and industrial circles before his father's demise and the latter's death threw upon him the care of great interests, making him the head of Pickands, Mather & Company, as well as bringing him into important relations with many other mammoth concerns. His prominence in banking circles is indicated by the list of banks of which he is a director or trustee. In industrial and commer- cial circles he is perhaps even more widely known. He is the president of the Huron Barge Company, the Hemlock River Mining Company and the Verona Mining Company, is vice president of the Hobart Iron Company, the Corsica Iron Company, the Minnesota Dock Company of Illinois, the Toledo Furnace Com- pany of Toledo, Ohio, and the Bank of Commerce National Association. His name is included in the list of directors of the U. S. Steel Corporation, the Cleve- land Cliffs Iron Company of West Virginia, the Cleveland Iron Mining Company of Michigan, the Pioneer Iron Company of Michigan, the Iron Cliffs Company of Michigan, the Cleveland Storage Company, the Malta Iron Company, the Citizens Savings & Trust Company, the Cleveland Trust Company, the Superior Savings & Trust Company, the Interlake Company, the Ashtabula Steamship Company, the Messaba Steamship Company, the New York, P. & O. Dock Com- pany, the Cleveland Electric Company, the Ohio Iron & Steel Company, the Odanah Tron Company, the Provident Coal Company and the Mahoning Coal Railroad Company. Prominently connected with the iron and steel trade of the country, Samuel Mather now ranks among the distinguished capitalists of Cleve- land. His business interests have ever been of an extensive and important char-

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

acter, demanding keen discrimination in management and marked sagacity in investment. The variety of his interests at once indicate him to be a man of nota- ble business enterprise and keen perception, manifesting marked ability in dis- criminating between the essential and non-essential. He regards no position as final, believing that there is still opportunity for advancement and this qualifies his counsel whenever he expresses opinions concerning the management and control of important business affairs.

Mr. Mather's extensive connection with educational and charitable institu- tions also suggests much of his character and of his interests. His value as a citi- zen cannot be over-estimated, as his holdings are almost all in lines that have been factors in Cleveland's growth. He is one of the foremost men in the coun- try in iron mining circles, thus sustaining the reputation of his father. Aside from business, however, his labors have been far-reaching in effect and in ben- efit. While he has attractive club relations outside of his business interests, he prefers to concentrate his energies upon affairs which are of vital importance to the individual or to municipal, state and national progress. He is now a member of the executive committee of the National Civic Federation and a member of the central committee of the American National Red Cross Society. He takes a great interest in Lakeside Hospital. He is the president of the Children's Aid Society ; president and treasurer of the Home for Aged Women; vice president of the University School; a director of the Floating Bethel and City Mission; a director of the Cleveland Museum of Art; chairman of the Hanna Monument Association; and a trustee of the Western Reserve University, of Adelbert Col- lege, the Hiram House, Goodrich House, Kenyon College and the Case Library Association. He is also senior warden in Trinity (church) parish. Notwith- standing all of his connections and the fact that he is looked to for leadership in lines relative to the city's progress and welfare and to many enterprises for the public good in other lines, he is nevertheless a man of most modest and demo- cratic manner. He is known as a philanthropist because his benefactions have been many and most substantial and yet the public knows nothing of the full extent of his contributions to and his personal activities in charitable causes. Close friends, however, say that his activities in these directions are larger than those of any other permanent resident of Cleveland. Few men have so fully realized the responsibilities of wealth or met their obligations unchecked by the spirit of self-interest. He has desired no public preferments or honors but he has extensive connections with institutions that pay no salaries. Without invid- ious distinction he may justly be termed one of the foremost men of Cleveland and many would accord him the place of greatest prominence.

Mr. Mather was married October 19, 1881, to Miss Flora Stone, the youngest daughter of Amasa Stone, one of the most prominent citizens that Cleveland has ever had. Mrs. Mather died January 19, 1909, in this city, on which occasion the local press published the following: " 'There has never been such another woman in Cleveland and there never will be,' said Mrs. M. E. Rawson, president of the Day Nursery and Free Kindergarten Society, speaking of Mrs. Mather. 'There is not a philanthropic organization in the city that will not feel her loss deeply.' 'Mrs. Mather was continually doing something for the Home for Aged Women, given years ago by her father, Amasa Stone,' said Mrs. Charles W. Chase of the Young Women's Christian Association. 'Her strong, sweet character and wide charities made her womanhood ideal.' Miss Mary E. Ingersoll, for many years president of the Nonpartisan Women's Christian Temperance Union, was overcome by emotion at the news of Mrs. Mather's death. 'I first knew her when she was a little girl and later when she was one of the pupils of Miss Guil- ford's school, where she graduated,' said Miss Ingersoll. 'Always the same quiet, retiring, unselfish disposition,-she was one of the finest types of Christian womanhood I have ever known.' Guilford House and Haydn Hall, the buildings which were Mrs. Mather's gifts to the College for Women, were saddened by the news of her death. 'Mrs. Mather's wisdom was as great as her generosity,' said

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

President Charles F. Thwing of Western Reserve University. `With every gift she gave herself.' Goodrich House, a monument to Mrs. Mather's interest in settlement work, will be closed all day tomorrow in honor of her memory. Fun- eral services will be held at 2 P. M. at the Old Stone church, of which she was an active member. Bishop William A. Leonard, rector of Trinity cathedral, will officiate with the pastor, Rev. A. B. Meldrum."

Mrs. Mather left at her death the following children: Samuel Livingston, Amasa Stone, Phillip Richard, Constance.

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HARRISON C. DEMING.

On the roll of Cleveland's financiers appeared the name of Harrison C. Dem- ing, who conducted a stock and bond brokerage business. His thorough under- standing of everything appertaining thereto made him well qualified for the con- duct of interests of this character, and his name was an honored one in financial circles. He represented one of the old colonial families, for the Demings had figured prominently in various localities in which they have lived since an early period in the colonization of the new world. Solomon Deming, the grandfather of Harrison C. Deming, served with distinction in the Revolutionary war and was wounded in battle, sustaining the loss of a leg. He was the father of Correl Deming, a native of Connecticut, whence he removed to the Western Reserve, establishing his home near Brunswick, Ohio, where he purchased land and fol- lowed the occupation of farming. His wife bore the maiden name of Roxanna Dean.

The birth of Harrison C. Deming occurred in Brunswick, March 4, 1836, and his early education was acquired in the public schools of that city, while later he attended Baldwin Institute in Berea, Ohio, giving his attention largely to the study of languages, in which he was much interested. At the age of fifteen he left school and was employed by his uncle, who was then recorder of Medina county, Ohio. He spent a year in that office and in 1852 came to Cleveland, where he secured employment as bookkeeper for the Alcott & Harton Dry-Goods Company, with which he continued for several years. He next went to New York, where he entered the commission business as a senior partner of the firm of Deming & Tiffany. In this he continued until 1862, when he returned to Cleveland and entered into the commission business here. He was so engaged for about eleven years, when in 1873 he removed to Chicago. There he con- tinued in the commission business for some time. He suffered losses in the dis- astrous fire there but reestablished his quarters and continued as a commission merchant of that city until 1879, when he returned to Cleveland and accepted the cashiership in the Second National Bank, so continuing for three years. He af- terward entered the stock and bond brokerage business and met with gratify- ing success in that undertaking, in which he continued until his death. Intricate business problems were of comparatively easy solution to him, for he was not afraid of close application or that laborious attention to detail which is always an important element in success. His ability was recognized and he enjoyed the good will and confidence of his associates and colleagues in the business world.

On the 30th of January, 1862, in Philadelphia, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Deming and Miss Elizabeth Dyott, a daughter of John B. and Mary (Way) Dyott. Her father was a prominent physician and wholesale druggist of Phila- delphia. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Deming were born a son and two daughters: J. Harry, Mrs. H. D. Stevens and Mrs. H. H. Gage. To his family Mr. Deming was devoted, finding his greatest pleasure in ministering to their happiness. His political allegiance was given to the democracy, and while he never sought the rewards of office for party fealty, he was unwavering in his adherence to the principles in which he believed. In his early life he held membership in the

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

Methodist church, while later he became a member of the Episcopal church. His genial companionship, his tenacious regard for the simple truth, his unos- tentatious generosity and his high moral standing were among the qualities which endeared him to all. His home life was beautiful and satisfying, and in it he found his chief enjoyment.

JACOB DOLSON COX.

Jacob Dolson Cox is now living retired but was formerly manager of the Cleveland Twist Drill Company and is still financially interested in the enter- prise, his official connection therewith being that of director and vice president. He comes of a prominent and well known family of this part of the state but it has been his individual merit that has gained for him the enviable regard in which he is uniformly held. He was born in Warren, Ohio, May 15, 1852, and is a son of the Hon. Jacob D. Cox, a native of New York city. Coming to Ohio in early life, Hon. J. D. Cox pursued his education in Oberlin College and later settled in Warren, where he engaged in the practice of law. He soon became recognized as one of the most learned lawyers before the Ohio bar, and his in- tellectual force and ability carried him into important relations outside the strict path of his profession. At the time of the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union and served in the army with the rank of major general. He became an influencing factor in the political circles of Ohio, first representing his district in the state senate, while later he was honored by election to the governorship of this commonwealth. National honors later came to him in his appointment as sec- retary of the interior in President Grant's cabinet. The latter portion of his life was spent as dean in the Cincinnati Law School. He married Helen Finney, whose father, Charles G. Finney, was the dominating spirit of Oberlin College until his death. The demise of Hon. J. D. Cox occurred August 4, 1900, at Magnolia, Massachusetts, but his widow is still living at the age of seventy-eight years.

Jacob Dolson Cox of this review pursued his early education in the public schools of Warren, Ohio, and at the age of seventeen years came to Cleveland. Here he entered the employ of the Cleveland Iron Company to learn the rolling mill business. He worked in every capacity, including that of machinist, roll turner, roller, puddler, etc., and was thus employed until the fall of 1875. He also spent some time as a machinist with the old Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Com- Dany on marine engine work and was employed on the twin screw steamer Amazon, which was the first of the kind on the lakes. He returned home in 1875 and took up the study of mechanical drawing and kindred branches. In June, 1876, he embarked in business on his own account, purchasing a half in- terest in the business of C. C. Newton of Dunkirk, New York, who was making twist drills and tools. The firm then became Newton & Cox and a removal was made to Cleveland in September, 1876. In June, 1880, Mr. Cox purchased his partner's interest. The success of this venture was immediate from the start. At the time of removal to Cleveland the firm had but one man and one boy in their employ and something of the rapidity and wonderful growth of the busi- ness is indicated in the fact that in September, 1907, the company's employes numbered eleven hundred men. The drill manufactured is used in machine shops throughout the world, being one of the most successful implements of this char- acter ever placed upon the market. Its sale, therefore, has covered every civi- lized country and the volume of business makes this one of the most important industries of Cleveland and the middle west. While Mr. Cox is now retired from the active management to which he formerly devoted many years, he is still one of the directors and the vice president of the company and his connec- tion therewith insures him a most gratifying and substantial annual income.

J. D. COX

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

He is also a director of the Cleveland Trust Company and a member of its ex- ecutive committee. He retired from active business on the Ist of January, 1904. In the fall of 1880 F. F. Prentiss had been admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Cox & Prentiss and when Mr. Cox retired from active manage- ment in January, 1904, the business was incorporated under the name of the Cleveland Twist Drill Company.

In 1878 occurred the marriage of J. D. Cox and Miss Ellen Prentiss, daugh- ter of Judge S. B. Prentiss. Their children were: Samuel Houghton, who was born in 1879 and is now with the Cleveland Twist Drill Company; Jacob D., born in 1881; and Jeanette Prentiss.

Mr. Cox is very fond of golf, boating and motoring and has also spent con- siderable time in travel. He likewise finds keen interest in photography and microscopic studies. His interests, however, have been by no means confined to those things which relate only to his own success, pleasure or welfare .. He has been a cooperant factor in various plans for the city's good, has always been ac- tive in the Chamber of Commerce, becoming one of its original members, and was at one time its first vice president. In 1892 he was a member of the Com- mittee on the Promotion of Industry, which committee in 1893 was merged with the old Board of Trade, forming the present Chamber of Commerce. In all public as well as private connections Mr. Cox has looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities of the future and has labored for continuous as well as temporary progress and advancement. He is a trustee of the Case School and is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He like- wise belongs to the Engineers Club of Cleveland and the Engineers Club of New York city, is a member of the Loyal Legion and of the Society of May -. flower Descendants of Ohio and New York, while his appreciation of social amenities is indicated in his connection with the Union, Euclid and Country Clubs. His labors throughout his entire life have been of far-reaching effect, the entire community feeling the stimulus of his efforts, for his nature has ever been too broad to exclude that service which every individual owes to his city and that interest which he should feel in every movement or plan promulgated for the public good.

WILLIAM JOHN FARREN.

William John Farren, who for a decade has been engaged in the real-estate business in Cleveland, is a native of New Jersey, born in 1858. His father, John Farren, was a native of Ireland, and on coming to the United States in 1840 took up his abode in New Jersey, where he devoted his time principally to farming. He died in 1902. His wife, who was born in England in 1829, came to the United States in 1840, was married in 1856, and still resides at the old home- stead in New Jersey, with two sons and two daughters She is a woman of re- markable physical vigor, being splendidly preserved at the age of eighty years.

William J. Farren in the acquirement of his education attended the Lancas- tarian private school in Brunswick, New Jersey, and in connection with other studies pursued a special course in bookkeeping. He afterward entered Rutger's College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1876. He continued a resident of the east for six years thereafter and in 1882 became a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was employed as city salesman for builders' hard- ware supplies. He left Cincinnati for Cleveland in 1886 and has since made his home here, first engaging with the Reliance Gage plant, of which he had charge for about four years. He then resigned to accept a more lucrative position with the Forest City Brass Manufacturing Company. In the meantime, as his finan- cial resources permitted, he made investment in property until his real-estate interests became of such importance that he resigned his position with the Brass

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 4

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