A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 56

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

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PERCY J. MORGAN.

It may well be a matter of justifiable pride when one stands at the head of a business that has advanced in volume, importance and the excellence of its out- put beyond all others of similar class. Such is the position of Percy J. Morgan, now president of the Morgan Lithograph Company. It is true that he entered upon a business already established but in enlarging and controlling this many a man of less resolute purpose or of inferior business ability would have failed. Mr. Morgan, on the contrary, is increasing the scope of the activities of the house and is not only keeping abreast with all that is best in lithographic production but is setting the standard in work of this character.

Cleveland, justly proud of her successful men, numbers him among her na- tive citizens, his birth having occurred October 18, 1878. His parents were George and Julia Morgan. The father, born in Wales, February 14, 1841, came to Cleveland in 1861 and was one of the organizers of the W. J. Morgan Litho- graph Company. In 1880, when the business was organized as a stock company, he was elected vice president and in 1900 was chosen to the presidency. Two years later he retired and died November 14, 1905. He was also the president of the Morgan, Moore & Baine Coal Company.

Percy J. Morgan attended the public schools until he reached the age of thir- teen years, after which he attended the University School to the age of sixteen. He then went to Andover, Massachusetts, where he entered the Phillips Acad- emy and was graduated in 1897. He was a student in Cornell University the following year, after which he entered Amherst College at Amherst, Massachu- setts. On leaving that institution in 1899 he came to Cleveland and has since been actively associated with the Morgan Lithograph Company, being first elected to the vice presidency, while in 1906 he was chosen president and is now chief executive head of this extensive establishment devoted to theatrical and circus poster work.

The business was founded in 1864 by Captain W. J. Morgan and his younger brother, George W. Morgan, who did their work with a hand press, while all paper was cut by hand. The growth of the business justified the purchase of a steam press and the removal from their first location on Superior street to the Bratenahl building, where the first of their renowned theatrical lithographs were made. In that day printing was usually done in one color-black-but occasionally a tint was added. Many of the veterans of the stage can look back to the days when the Morgan Company made their lithographs, Charlotte Cush- man, Lawrence Barrett, John McCullough, Albert Aiken, Tomaso Salvini, Tony Denier, Adeline Neilson, Edwin Booth, Barry Sullivan, Lotta, John T. Raymond, Denman Thompson, Maggie Mitchell and a host of others being among the firm's stanch friends and customers. The first colored one-sheet-probably the first ever made in this country-that of John T. Raymond in "Millions In It," origin- ated in this house. The continued growth of the business necessitated removal to larger quarters in 1874 and here again the plant became too small, so that in 1898 land was purchased at the corner of Wood and St. Clair streets, where was

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erected the finest and most complete plant of the kind in the world. The com- pany has been the recipient of high honors at various world's expositions. In the Exposition Universelle, Paris, they were awarded the gold medal for artistic poster display in competition with the world, and received the medal and di- ploma at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Today the output of the house is seen in every civilized country on the face of the globe, in fact in almost every part of the continents, including Iceland and India. Warehouses and offices have been established in England, France, Germany, South Africa and Australia, as well as in all parts of the United States and Canada. In 1904 Captain Morgan. one of the original partners, died and George W. Morgan, who had temporarily retired, again took command. In 1906 Percy J. Morgan was elected to the presidency and is now in control of a business employing four hun- dred operators in the Cleveland branch. Every new feature is constantly being added to improve the quality of the output and America and Europe have alike been searched for artists, so that the company today employs the finest corps of lithographers in the world. There has been recently established a Morgan art school, where talented youths are given free instruction in drawing by masters in their line. The cordial relations existing between the company and their em- ployes is indicated in the fact that many of the heads of the departments have been in their service for more than a quarter of a century, and whenever oppor- tunity offers promotion follows as the recognition of capable and efficient service.

Percy J. Morgan was married in Cleveland, November 8, 1899, to Miss Mary Butts, and to them have been born four children : George W., who at the age of eight years is attending Lorell Institute; Jackson, four years of age; Mary W., three years of age; and Dorothy, who is in her first year. The family residence is at No. 8302 Euclid avenue. Mr. Morgan belongs to the Delta Kappa Epsilon of Cornell University, the Gamma Nu Epsilon of Amherst Academy, and is a prominent club man, being connected with the Union, Country, Euclid, Hermit and Roadside Clubs. He is also a member of the Presbyterian church, while his in- terest in municipal affairs is manifested in the hearty cooperation which he gives to the progressive movements instituted by the Chamber of Commerce, to which he belongs. He added to liberal intellectual training a thorough schooling in the work which he has chosen as his life vocation and his comprehensive knowl- edge thereof enables him to speak with intelligent decision regarding not only the financial but also the operative interests of a plant which is without parallel in the history of the world.

HIRAM H. LITTLE, M. D.

Among the men who in the last half of the nineteenth century utilized the opportunities offered in Cleveland for business progress and attained thereby not- able success was Dr. Hiram H. Little. For many years he was one of the most extensive and successful operators in real estate in the Forest city and his activity contributed to general progress and improvement as well as to individual pros- perity.

He was born near Morristown, Vermont, in 1816 and in both paternal and ma- ternal lines represented old New England families, his parents, David and Lucy Little, being natives of Litchfield, Connecticut. The father, who made agriculture his life work but put aside personal and business considerations to aid his country by active service in the war of 1812, died in Vermont at the age of sixty-two years. He was a member of the Universalist church and high and honorable man- hood won him the unqualified respect of all who knew him. Following his demise his widow removed to Cleveland, where her death occurred in 1875 when she was eighty-eight years of age. She, too, was an earnest Christian, holding membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.

IL. H. LITTLE

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Dr. Little, the sixth in a family of eleven children and the last surviving mem- ber of the father's household, was educated in the academy at Johnstown, Ver- mont, and prepared for a professional career in the Ohio Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1844. He then located for practice in McConnels- ville, Ohio, and after following his profession there for twelve years with marked success came to Cleveland in 1856. Here he withdrew from his profession to concentrate his attention upon real-estate operations, recognizing the opportunity for profitable investment in that line. For years he continued as one of the most prominent and extensive real-estate dealers of the city and his word was regarded as authority concerning property interests or values here. His operations were of the most important character, bringing him into close connection with the de- velopment of Cleveland. In 1877 he became a director of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company and remained as such during the remainder of his life. .

Dr. Little was married in Ohio, to Miss H. M. Keyes, a daughter of Judge E. N. Keyes, of Vermont. Mrs. Little passed away in 1875. She was a member of the Episcopal church and a lady whose many traits of heart and mind endeared her to all who knew her. Harriet L., the only daughter of this marriage, died at the age of ten years. In 1876 Dr. Little was joined in wedlock to Miss Laura Bascom, of Canton, Ohio, and a daughter of W. T. and Emily (Murray) Bascom. There were two sons of this marriage, Hiram M., who died in May, 1900, just before his graduation from Cornell University in the class of 1900; and T. Bas- com, who is represented elsewhere in this volume.

Dr. and Mrs. Little held membership in the Unitarian church, in which he served as a trustee, also contributing generously to its support. He was a broad thinker, logical reasoner and his reading and study were wide and comprehensive. He voted for the candidates of the republican party and was interested in the questions which are to the statesman and the man of affairs of vital import but he had no aspiration for office or sympathy with those who seek political pre- ferment for personal gain without manifesting any regard for the duties and obligations of citizenship. In the days prior to the Civil war his hatred of op- pression led him to conduct one of the+stations of the famous underground rail- ways. Well educated and well bred, he stood as a high type of American man- hood and chivalry, being courteous, refined and popular. The Doctor built at what is now number 7615 Euclid avenue the residence which the family have since occupied but previous to that his home was at the Euclid avenue entrance to The

HENRY BECKENBACH.

Henry Beckenbach, whose reputation was that of a very honest and upright man, loved and honored by all, was closely connected for many years with the business interests of Cleveland, and in the enterprise which he founded and con- trolled left a substantial monument to his diligence, his persistency of purpose and his aptitude for successful management. A native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger- many, he was born in 1830 and was a son of Henry Beckenbach, Sr., who fol- lowed the occupation of farming in Germany. The subject of this review re- mained a resident of the fatherland until seventeen years of age, when he crossed the Atlantic and became a resident of Cleveland. He apprenticed himself to the shoemaker's trade when he came here and followed that pursuit until twenty-four years of age, after which he engaged in business with his brother William, who had for some time been a resident in Cleveland and was an expert cabinetmaker. They began the manufacture of furniture under the firm style of Beckenbach Brothers, purchasing all of their lumber of people in this locality, for much of the territory now embraced within the corporation limits of Cleveland was then covered with a native forest growth. The brothers seasoned the timber and then manufactured furniture by hand. As the years passed they built up a large whole-

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sale and retail furniture business, also made coffins and conducted an undertak- ing establishment. After some years Henry Beckenbach purchased his brother's interest and subsequently admitted his sons to a partnership in the concern, and later they discontinued the manufacturing branch of the business, concentrating their energies upon the development of a large retail furniture enterprise con- ducted under the name of H. Beckenbach & Sons. This is still the property of the family, constituting in itself a desirable estate. Mr. Beckenbach was ever watchful of opportunities pointing to success and seemed to realize the value of every situation that arose in connection with his manufacturing and mercantile interests.

In 1854 Mr. Beckenbach was married to Miss Catherine Becker, who was brought to Cleveland when three years of age by her father, Jacob Becker, who purchased a farm on Madison avenue covering an important part of what is now the business and residence section of the town. He cleared the timber from his land, placed it under the plow and continued there to engage in general agricultural pursuits until the borders of the city extended to his place. He divided his prop- erty before his death and the children laid off his farm in streets, subdivided it into town lots and sold much of it for building purposes. Mrs. Beckenbach, how- ever, still has her share of the property where the old home was situated and yet maintains her residence there. From the time of his arrival in the county until his death Mr. Becker resided continuously on the old home farm.

Unto Mrs. and Mrs. Beckenbach were born nine children, of whom seven sur- vive, namely : John, Henry, Charles, Albert, Edward, Kate and William O. All of the sons are living here in this city, some of them being engaged in the whole- sale and retail drug business, while others continue the furniture business estab- lished by their father.

In addition to his other interests Mr. Beckenbach was one of the directors and the prime movers in the building of the Superior street car line. He was a man of marked business enterprise, carrying forward to successful completion what- ever he undertook, and over the record of his commercial career there fell no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. He was always active and much interested in the welfare and upbuilding of Cleveland and withheld his cooperation from no movement which he deemed would prove of public benefit. He was an active and devoted member of the Christian church and died in that faith at the age of sixty years.

Not the good that comes to us but the good that comes to the world through us is the measure of our success, and judged by this standard Mr. Beckenbach was a most successful man. His salient characteristics were sterling qualities of man- hood and he received the respect and confidence which the world instinctively gives to those who attain prominence and affluence through honorable effort.

OSCAR V. CRAMER.

Oscar V. Cramer, cashier of the William Bingham Company, was born at La Pointe, Wisconsin, in 1860, a son of Andrew and Mary E. (Bigler) Cramer. His father was a pioneer of the northwest and enjoyed no little prominence in his locality, being three times elected treasurer of Ashland county, Wisconsin, and serving as sheriff of the same. After removing to Cleveland in 1867. he lived a retired life. His death occurred in 1907 in Burbank, California, where his widow still lives, and with her a widowed daughter, Mrs. Alina L. White.

Oscar V. Cramer, who came to Cleveland when very young, received his edu- cation in the common schools and was then enrolled among the students of the East Cleveland high school. His first business experience was gained while in the employ of the Union Steel Screw Company, with which he remained for eight years in the capacities of order clerk and bookkeeper. His connection with

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the William Bingham Company has been of twenty years' duration for it was in 1889 that he was first employed as bookkeeper, and in 1895 he was promoted to the office of cashier, which he still holds. Mr. Cramer has additional interests, one of these being his connection with the- Cedar Mining & Milling Company, of Montana, as treasurer and director. This company, by-the-way, is composed of Cleveland men. He is also interested in the C. N. Cramer & Company, a wholesale grocery house of Ashland, Wisconsin, one of the largest concerns of its kind in the northwest, the head of the company being his brother, Charles N.

Mr. Cramer was married in 1885 to Miss Julia N. Clifford, their union being celebrated in Galion, Ohio. Mrs. Cramer's parents are Charles J. and Ma- rietta (Huntsman) Clifford, who now reside at Elizabeth, New Jersey. Her father was for some years stationed at Albany, New York, as master mechanic of the New York Central Railway. Mr. and Mrs. Cramer have two children. The elder, Etta Mae, is a graduate of Shaw high school and studied art at the Ursaline Academy and is at present a member of the junior class at Wellesley College. Clifford A., who is fourteen years of age, attends the grammar school.

Mr. Cramer is widely known in the Masonic world and has attained high rank in this great order. He holds membership in Cleveland Lodge, No. 115, A. F. & A. M., Cleveland Chapter, R. A. M .; Holyrood Commandery, K. T .; Al Koran Temple of the Mystic Shrine; and is also identified with the Grotto. The Chamber of Commerce is another organization which claims his membership, and he is a director and treasurer of the retail merchants board of that or- ganization. He is a progressive and public-spirited citizen, favoring all measures which he believes will prove of general benefit to the city in which he has so long made his home. His chief recreation is hunting and fishing. His family has another representative here-his brother S. H. Cramer, who for twenty-six years has been associated with the Sterling & Welch Company as buying as- sistant and manager of the entire retail department.

CHRISTIAN MOLT.

Christian Molt, who through his active business career was connected with mercantile interests in Cleveland, was numbered among the worthy representa- tives of the Teutonic race that Cleveland numbers in her citizenship. Born in Germany, he came to America in 1879 and at once took up his abode here. His financial resources at that period were quite limited, but, desiring to enter upon independent business connections, he established a knitting mill on Central ave- nue, where he conducted business for a few years. He then turned his at- tention to the dry-goods trade and opened a store at Nos. 7400-7410 Woodland avenue, which he conducted under the name of the C. Molt Dry Goods & Mil- linery Company. Thereafter he devoted his entire time and attention to build- ing up a good and successful business for himself and thus making liberal pro- vision for his family. At the time of his death, Mr. Molt had two stores in addition to the one at 7400-7410 Woodland avenue, one on Kinsman avenue and another on Woodland avenue. He concentrated his energies upon the development and control of the trade and sought through careful management and indefatigable industry to build up a business of large and profitable proportions. In this he succeeded and was, moreover, acknowledged to be a most careful, honest and reliable business man. The enterprise which he established is still being carried on under the same name and is one of the leading mercantile concerns of that part of the city. He had just completed the building of the Molt block on Wood- land avenue before his death, and it is a fine monument to his ability and indicates the confidence which he had in the future of the city. He was a self-made man, owing his success entirely to his persistency of purpose, his well directed energy and his firm determination. He was thoroughly American in spirit and interests

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and had no patience with any of his countrymen who, after accumulating a com- petence here, wished to return to Germany to spend their money in that land.

Mr. Molt was married in Germany to Miss Fredericka Whitlinger and to- gether they came to the new world. Mrs. Molt always remaining by his side to assist him in every possible way in his business affairs and in carrying out his projects. They became the parents of one daughter, Katherine, who is now Mrs. Joseph Gerson and has one son, Erwin S. She lives with her mother in a fine home on the bank of the Rock river on Riverside road.

Mr. Molt was a man of domestic tastes, devoted to his family, finding his greatest happiness at his own fireside in the companionship of his wife and daughter. He was a member of the Order of Foresters and a very charitable man, who made ready response to any tale of sorrow, want or distress. He died in 1891 at the comparatively early age of forty-six years. It seemed that there should have been many more years allotted to him and yet in his life he ac- complished much in the way of building up an important business enterprise and did even more in his advocacy of all interests relative to progressive citizenship, to loyalty in friendship and to the devotion of home ties. These qualities con- stitute an example that may well be followed by those who desire to make the purpose of their lives of a most worthy character.

ERNEST W. REAUGH.

Ernest W. Reaugh, the general manager of the Reaugh Construction Com- pany, has since 1890 been associated with his father in the conduct of an extensive contracting and building business. His birth occurred in Pennsylvania on the 7th of January, 1870, his parents being Jacob A. and Susan (French) Reaugh, likewise natives of the Keystone state, who were born in the years 1845 and 1853 respectively. The first representatives of the family in this country came from Ireland about four generations ago. Jacob A. Reaugh, the father of our subject, spent the first fifteen years of his life on a farm and then went to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he learned the carpenter's trade. In 1870 he embarked in business as a contractor of Jamestown, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1880, when he came to Cleveland and has since continued an active and prominent factor in industrial circles of this city. For the past nineteen years he has been associated with his son, Ernest W., conducting his business under the name of the Reaugh Construction Company.

Ernest W. Reaugh, who was a lad of ten years when he came to this city with his parents, pursued his education in the public schools and afterward took a course in the Spencerian Business College. On putting aside his text-books he entered the employ of the well known architect, George F. Hammond, and later was in the employ of his father and in 1890 was admitted to a partnership in the business. The company has its own planing mill and lumberyard, which are under the supervision of Jacob A. Reaugh, while Ernest W. Reaugh has charge of the contracting end of the business. They built a part of the main intercepting sewer and tunnel on Lakeside avenue and also a section of the tunnel at Gordon park, while among the many fine structures which stand as substantial monuments to their skill and enterprise are the following: the Hip- podrome theatre and office building; the Chamber of Commerce, Garfield, Scho- field, Caxton, Reserve Trust, Bradley and Bailey buildings ; W. M. Brown build- ing, Higbee building, the foundations of the Rockefeller building ; the May Com- pany building; the factories of the White Company and the Cleveland Motor Car Company ; the Kuhlman car shops; the plants of the Cleveland Automatic Machine Company and Dangler Stove Company ; the offices of the Glidden Var- nish Company, the Mayflower school ; the St. Regis apartments ; and the Empire and Keith theatres. The business has constantly grown in volume and importance

...

E. W. REAUGH

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and Mr. Reaugh of this review has gained enviable recognition among the suc- cessful and leading representatives of building interests in Cleveland. He is the first vice president of The Cleveland Builders Supply Company, the vice president of the Pelton Apartment House Company and is financially interested in several other concerns of the city.

On the Ist of December, 1898, Mr. Reaugh was united in marriage to Miss Fanny Putman, of Michigan. He is a member of the Cleveland Athletic Club and the Builders' Exchange, was the president of the Cleveland Building Code Commission and the chairman of the builders' code committee of the Builders' Exchange. Throughout his business career he has always faithfully executed the terms of a contract and met the obligations devolving upon him. He has thus established a reputation for undoubted integrity and his name is an honored one wherever he is known.

THOMAS A. McCASLIN.

Thomas A. McCaslin, engaged in the general practice of law as a member of the firm of White, Johnson, McCaslin & Cannon, was born September 30, 1863, in McVille, Pennsylvania. The family name was originally McCausland and was changed to the present orthography by Andrew McCaslin, the father of Thomas A. McCaslin. The grandfather, Robert McCausland, was born at Glade Mills, Butler county, Pennsylvania, in 1780, and belonged to one of the old families of the Keystone state. Andrew McCaslin was born in Pennsylvania, September 4, 1815, and died at the old family homestead January 20, 1894. He had been one of the most enterprising business men of his community, well known as the owner of a farm, sawmills and flour mills. He married Dorothea Gray Rinehart, who was born January 12, 1822, in Pittsburg. She is now living in Cleveland.

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 56

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