A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 66

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 66

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In Cleveland, on the 3d of March, 1888, Mr. Komraus was united in mar- riage to Miss Anna Gruettner, and three children have been born to the couple : Otto, aged nineteen, who is clerking in an office; Elmer, aged fifteen, who is at-

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tending the East high school; and Marguerite, nine years old, who goes to the public school. The family resides at 1400 East Eighty-eighth street.

Mr. Komraus is in regular attendance at the meetings of the local lodge of the Foresters of America, of which he is a member. At election times he gives his vote and support to the republican candidates, as the choice of the party in whose platform he thoroughly believes. He is a Christian in word and deed, a Protestant in his profession of faith. In the world of labor he has ever been a conscientious, skilled workman ; and now that his duties and work have enlarged his business horizon he is found equally competent to manage the problems that present themselves, and under his guidance the Machinery Forge Company should have a long and prosperous existence.

COLONEL JOHN FRENCH HERRICK.

Colonel John French Herrick, whose death occurred July 5, 1909, was entitled to three-fold prominence by reason of his military service in the Civil war, as an attorney at law and as a state senator whose legislative service included the authorship of a number of important bills. Throughout his entire life he was actuated by a devotion to the public good that none ever questioned. A native of Ohio, he was born in Wellington, Lorain county, on the 23d of February, 1836, and, reared as a farm lad, his time was divided between the work of the fields and the acquirement of an education. His district-school training was supple- mented by study in the Wellington Academy in preparation for a collegiate course, and in 1856 he entered Oberlin College from which he was graduated in the spring of 1862. Immediately upon the conclusion of his course he raised a com- pany for the Eighty-seventh Ohio Infantry, in Oberlin and Wellington, and was elected captain, thus serving in command of the organization until captured by the Confederates at Harpers Ferry. Soon afterward he was paroled and during his parole came to Cleveland and studied law in his brother's office, also pursuing a course in the Union and Ohio State Law Colleges. He had previously read to some extent and was graduated in 1863. He was, also graduated at Oberlin Col- lege by the faculty during his absence at the front and found his diploma awaiting him on his return. In 1863 he received a recruiting commission from Governor Tod and raised a company in Cleveland for the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, at which time he was commissioned as major of his regiment while in camp in this city. In the meantime he had been notified of the exchange of prisoners which left him free to again take up arms in defense of the Union cause. He served with the Twelfth Cavalry as a part of the Sixth Division of the Twenty-seventh Army Corps during the remainder of the war, and was honorably discharged on the 24th of November, 1865, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, having been promoted in August of that year. He was in command of the regiment during the last year of his service and was not only a thorough tactician but also by his own valor and loyalty inspired his men to deeds of bravery. He was with his regiment in nu- merous engagements of importance and at Marion, Virginia, led a cavalry charge which was considered a most gallant action and won for him the commendation of his superiors.

When the war was over Colonel Herrick returned to Cleveland and entered into partnership with his brother, G. E. Herrick, for the practice of law, the re- lation being maintained until 1892, the firm occupying a prominent position in legal circles. Later he became senior member of the law firm of Herrick, Athey & Bliss, but after several years withdrew. From that time Colonel Herrick prac- ticed alone and was widely recognized as one of the eminent representatives of the profession in this city. He was a very successful lawyer and was retained in many important cases involving not only important points in law but also vital ques- tions of rights and privileges as well as large wealth. His practice was confined

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to civil law and while well informed on various branches of the profession he was largely regarded as an authority on corporation law and specially good as a trial lawyer. He remained at all times a thorough and discriminating student, while his keen analytical mind was evidenced in his correct deductions and his argu- ments followed in logical sequence. Up to a few years previous to his death he was one of the attorneys for the East Cleveland Street Railroad Company, was manager and attorney for the Cowell Platform & Coupler Company and was in- terested in several other business enterprises. He was survived by a widow and seven children, to whom he was greatly devoted.

Colonel Herrick always maintained the deepest interest in military affairs, held membership in Brough Post, No. 359, G. A. R., of which he had been com- mander for many years prior to death, and was an active worker in the Loyal Legion. He was also connected with the Royal Arch Masons and was a- member of the Presbyterian church, though very liberal in his theological views. He was a stalwart advocate of those political principles which he deemed right, and ac- tive in public affairs, but independent in his party allegiance. In the fall of 1901 he was elected state senator by a large majority. He served the people in a very creditable manner and was the author of a number of important bills which were passed during that session. Among those of especial importance was the bill which he prepared establishing the juvenile court. He ever regarded a public office, whether civil or military as a public trust-and it is well known that no trust reposed in Colonel Herrick was ever betrayed. His life abounded in good deeds quietly performed. His manner was most quiet and modest and his natural re- finement and innate courtesy, combined with the ability which he displayed, gained him prominence, and by the consensus of public opinion he was ranked with the representative and honored residents of Cleveland.

BURTIS M. HALLOCK.

The boyhood and youth of Burtis M. Hallock was passed in New England, his birth having occurred August 2, 1858, at Templeton, Worcester county, Mas- sachusetts. His father, Russell H. Hallock, was a brick contractor and entitled to honor as a veteran of the Civil war. Mr. Hallock, who is now a member of the important firm of Hallock & Bingham, plumbing and sewer building contract- ors, received his education in the schools of Templeton. However, at the early age of sixteen, he bade farewell to the schoolroom and enlisted in the vast army of wage earners. It is quite unusual that his first position should have been in the very line in which his ultimate success was to lie. This work, which was naturally of a somewhat lowly kind, was in the plumbing and tinsmithing busi- ness in Westboro, Massachusetts, his employers being Fitz & Preston. He remained in their employ for two years, becoming thoroughly grounded in the A B C's of the plumbing business, and then removed to Cleveland, which was to be the scene of his subsequent career. In 1876, the year of his arrival in the Forest city, he entered the employ of the Clark Brothers, who were engaged in the oil business. After two years with them he accepted a position with the Cleveland Refining Company and remained in their service for six years. When this connection was severed it was to become an independent business man, to exchange the role of employe for that of employer and to bring into play those executive talents which he possesses in no small measure. On June 15, 1891, the present business as plumbing and sewer building contractors was inaugurated and located where it still remains at 1707 East Fifty-fifth street.

Mr. Hallock was married March 22, 1883, to Miss Kate Parton, a daughter of William Parton. Their attractive home at 6400 Whittier avenue, Northeast, is brightened by the presence of three children : Viola, Glenner and Adeline.

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Mr. Hallock gives his allegiance to what its adherents are pleased to call "the grand old party." As to his particular penchant he has a strong affection for outdoor life, that most potent restorer of good nature, sound and wholesome judgment and general accordance with the infinite, the sports which receive most of his attention being fishing and hunting. Mr. Hallock modestly attributes his success in life to those agents which lie within the grasp of each and all, hard work and close application, believing with the philosopher that "genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains."

FREDERICK C. TAYLOR, M. D.

One of the well known surgeons of Cleveland is Dr. Frederick C. Taylor, who has achieved distinction in his chosen work. He was born in this city, November 25, 1869, a son of De Witt Clinton and Affa Lowell (Standart) Taylor. The pa- ternal grandfather, Charles Taylor, came to Cleveland in 1818, buying a farm of one hundred acres on the west side, which embraced a portion of what is now the business and residence district of the city. He followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1838. His son, De Witt Clinton Taylor, was born in this city in 1822, here grew to manhood, was married and engaged in business. He was well known as a successful dealer in real estate. His death occurred in 1895, but his wife, who was a native of New York state, lived until 1898.

Dr. Frederick C. Taylor has spent the greater part of his life in Cleveland, the city of his birth. After completing the curriculum of its common schools, he en- tered the high school, from which he was graduated in 1888. He was then enrolled as a student of the medical college at Wooster, Ohio, receiving his medical degree from that institution in 1891. The next year and a half he spent as house surgeon in the City Hospital here, at the end of his service opening the office in which he is now located-1694 West Twenty-fifth street. At first he was engaged in general practice, but he found surgery much more to his liking, so that he gradually special- ized in that branch of his profession, giving up general practice in 1907. He had made special preparation in surgery for he spent fourteen months in study at Vienna, Berlin and London. In Cleveland he has secured a large and lucrative prac- tice, being one of the most successful men in his profession in this city. He became a member of the surgical staff of St. John's Hospital in 1902, resigning that position in 1905 to assume similar duties at the Lutheran Hospital. He is a member of the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, of the Ohio State Medical Society and of the American Medical Association, organizations whose aim is to promote the develop- ment and advance the interest of the profession. Fraternally he is a Mason and has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a member of the Athletic and Clifton Clubs and is a director of the Peoples Savings Bank and of the Consumers Rubber Company.

C. EDWARD KENDEL.

C. Edward Kendel is a partner in the oldest seed house in Cleveland, con- ducted under the name of A. C. Kendel. His birth occurred in this city, his father being Adolphus Charles Kendel, for many years a well known and prominent merchant here. A. C. Kendel was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1839, and on coming to America became a resident of Cleveland. In 1856, when seven- teen years of age, he was employed by the house of which he was eventually the head. The seed business of which he became proprietor was established in 1839 by John Stair, a schoolmaster, who opened his store on Superior street and there continued until 1852, when he formed a partnership with his son for the

DR. FREDERICK C. TAYLOR

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further conduct of his business under the firm style of J. Stair & Son. After the death of John Stair the business was conducted under that name and the lo- cation was changed to No. 2010 Ontario street. After J. Stair had passed away his son, Benjamin H. continued as a dealer in seeds and kindred supplies and his widow continued to own an interest in the business. As previously stated, A. C. Kendel entered the employ of the firm in 1856 and served them in various capacities until 1868, when he became the partner of Benjamin H. Stair under the firm style of B. H. Stair & Company. This association was maintained until 1875, when the senior partner died, after which Mr. Kendel and Mrs. Martha Stair, the widow of J. Stair continued the business until her demise in 1879. Hav- ing purchased Mrs. Stair's interest the firm name was changed to A. C. Kendel and the father of our subject remained at the head of the enterprise until his death in 1887. For four years thereafter Benjamin Wood carried on the busi- ness as executor and in 1893 William F. A. and C. Edward Kendel, sons of A. C. Kendel, took charge and conducted it under the old name of A. C. Kendel. The firm has issued a seed catalogue each year since 1874, at which time it introduced its trade to the public with only a leaflet to describe the goods handled. Now the catalogue is a large and complete compendium of the seed business. The firm today has a number of employes and is widely known. They conduct a fruit busi- ness during part of the year and were the first Cleveland firm to receive California fruit.

In 1901 Mr. Kendel was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Robson, a daugh- ter of W. O. Robson, and they have two sons, Charles Robson and William Fred. Mr. Kendel belongs to the Royal Arcanum and to the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. He is likewise connected with the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion and holds membership in the Plymouth Congregational church. His political support is given to the republican party but office holding has had no attraction for him. He prefers to concentrate his energies upon the business, which, under his direction, has developed along substantial lines, a tangible evidence of its growth being indicated in the fact that a new building is being erected for the conduct of the business, the plant to fill the entire building. From the beginning, in 1839, this house has sustained an unassailable reputation for the integrity of its methods and the spirit of enterprise which has characterized its management.

JOHN DRUMM.

John Drumm, one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of his day in Cleveland, was a native of Prussia and came to the new world from that country in 1834. He was one of the first and best known carriage makers of this city and was always admired and respected for his good, honest work. He never misrepresented a thing and the durability as well as the attractive finish of his man- ufactured products secured for him a ready sale of his carriages upon the market. His work was considered the standard of excellence. He lived here for about forty years and built up a large business. As he prospered he also invested in property, erecting many buildings and owning a large amount of real estate. He died in 1875-a wealthy man and one who was honored and respected by all who knew him. His wife bore the maiden name of Louisa Spellman and they had four children : Charles, who served in the Civil war; Adam; George W., who was killed at the battle of Stone River; and Mary A., now Mrs. Deweese, who is the only one now living. She was the mother of one son, George W., who died six years ago, leaving a widow and one daughter, Mary Ruth.

Mrs. Deweese still remains a resident of Cleveland and has been very active in connection with many benevolent, charitable and philanthropic enterprises of the city, a number of them owing their existence today to her generosity in their time of need. She is the president of the Women's Republican League, vice

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president and trustee of the Volunteer Firemen's Association and president of the Blind Relief Commission of Cuyahoga county, being the only woman in Ohio holding such a position and having been complimented by the governor and state officials for her valuable work in connection therewith. She likewise belongs to the Ladies Relief Corps and has been a member of the Altenheim since its or- ganization in Cleveland. She is a member of the Council of Women and served on the legislative committee. She is interested in every movement to relieve suf- fering, to counteract the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate or to bring sunshine into the homes where sorrow, want or trouble is found.

HARVEY BURKE.

Among the early merchants of Cuyahoga county was Harvey Burke, a man respected and honored wherever known and most of all where best known. He was born in Newburg, Ohio, May 1, 1820, and died June 2, 1861. His parents were Gaius and Sophia (Taylor) Burke, who came from Massachusetts in 1816 and located in Newburg, where the father purchased a farm. He was a son of Sylvanus Burke, who served with distinction in the Revolutionary war. After coming to Ohio Gaius Burke gave his entire attention to general agricultural pur- suits and aided materially in the development of the farming interests of the community.

Harvey Burke was indebted to the public-school system of Newburg for the educational advantages which he received and which qualified him for life's prac- tical and responsible duties. He worked for his father on the farm for several years, gaining practical experience in the best methods of tilling the soil and car- ing for the crops. However, he believed that commercial pursuits would prove more congenial and profitable and in 1847 he established a general store in New- burg which he carried on for about twelve years or until two years prior to his death, when he sold out. During that period he had carefully managed and con- trolled his business interests and his able direction had brought an increase in trade and made him one of the profitable merchants of the community.

In affairs relating to the public good Mr. Burke was keenly interested and his labors were efficacious in promoting general improvement. He served as justice of the peace in Newburg for twelve years and his decisions were strictly fair and impartial, so that he won golden opinions from all those who held themselves accountable to law. He was also school director for several years and the cause of education found in him a stalwart champion. He also held the office of county treasurer for three years but owing to illness he could not go to the office. His brother, however, attended to the business for him, all affairs being transacted in his own name. His political allegiance was given to the republican party after its organization, for he was in hearty sympathy with the principles which gave rise to the new political power. Fraternally he was connected with the Odd Fel- lows and his life exemplified the ennobling principles which underlie that order.

On the 29th of October, 1845, Mr Burke was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Cochran Hamilton, a daughter of Enos and Salinda (Brainard) Cochran, who came to Cleveland from Kendall, New York, in February, 1820, when this city was but a small and inconsequential village with little or no indication of its present development and progress. Mrs. Burke's father died when she was three years of age and a few years later her mother married Justus Hamilton, of Cleveland, who came to this city on horseback when eight years of age, making

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the journey from New York. He was a father to the little girl, who has ever revered his memory. His birth occurred in western Massachusetts on a farm nine miles from Mount Tom, March 17, 1792, and with his father, Samuel Hamilton, he made the journey to Ohio on horseback in the spring of 1801, arriving in Newburg in March of that year. They followed an Indian trail along the lake shore from Buffalo, New York, camping out at night. Samuel Hamilton set- tled on a claim on what is now Woodland Hills and there built a log cabin. In the fall of 1802, after he had cleared enough ground to get in a small crop, he returned to Massachusetts for his family, while his little son Justus remained with his uncle, James Hamilton, who had come to Cuyahoga county in 1796 with Moses Cleveland as one of the party. Samuel Hamilton was drowned near Buffalo, New York, in what was then called Buffalo creek, in the spring of 1804, while returning from his home in Massachusetts, where he had been -to settle up some business and to get some stock for the farm. The old home of the Hamilton family was for some years on Harvard street in Cleveland, and Samuel Hamilton was one of the officers in the organization of the township of Cleve- land. Mrs. Burke was reared in Newburg, where she resided until 1894, when she removed to Cleveland, though Newburg now forms a part of the city. By her marriage she became the mother of five children, all of whom are now de- ceased and she is survived only by a granddaughter, Edith J. Kingman. Mrs. Burke is a member of the Old Settlers Association and is one of Cleveland's . oldest and most highly esteemed pioneer women. Her memory goes back to the early days when Cleveland was a frontier town with little promise of future development and through the intervening years she has witnessed many events which have left their impress upon the growth and progress of the city.

JAMES JOSEPH HOGAN.

James Joseph Hogan, one of the most prominent attorneys in Cleveland, Ohio, whose signal ability has won him high standing in the courts of the state, was born in Ontario, May 1, 1859, and is a son of James and Mary (Harrigan) Ho- gan, both deceased, who emigrated with their parents from Ireland between the years 1830 and 1840. Both families settled in Middlesex county, Ontario, where they purchased farms, which they afterward cleared and improved in what was then a pathless woods. They were among the first settlers of that county. Here his parents married and lived for a few years on a farm and then removed to Syracuse, New York, where they lived for a number of years. Later they re- moved to the Saginaw valley, Michigan, where they lived until the father died, leaving a family consisting of a widow and seven children. The family was soon broken up and the children scattered.

. James, who was then in his tenth year, being taken by an uncle, with whom he lived on a farm for about eight years. Here he acquired habits of industry and study, and was forced to reflect and consider and plan for his own future. He also learned to realize the necessity and value of an education, or rather the importance of an adequate and suitable moral and mental training and equipment for any poor youngster who aspires to worthily follow an intellectual pursuit or to make himself felt in the world. Here he acquired, under disadvantages, enough of an education to secure a certificate to teach a district school. Leaving his uncle's home, he began teaching and finding this unprofitable he entered the lum- ber woods of Michigan, where he fitted himself for, and in time secured from one of the big and splendidly managed operating companies, a responsible and profitable position as a bookkeeper and scaler of logs and long timber.

Being removed from the pleasurable pastimes of youth and society and hav- ing plenty of leisure time on his hands and having resolved to become a lawyer, Mr. Hogan pursued his studies, a part of the time, fortunately under the inspiring

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and intelligent guidance and direction of an interested and highly educated friend. In 1884, he came to Cleveland from Michigan with this friend and began the study of law, being admitted to the Ohio bar in February, 1886, since which time he has been engaged here in the general practice of his profession.

At present his offices are in the Williamson Building at the corner of Euclid avenue and the Public Square. In the actual work of the courts Mr. Hogan has had a large and varied experience, has been engaged in many important cases, and has met with uncommon success in the trial of cases, in all of which he has displayed that measure of ability and success which have exalted him in the minds of the fraternity and placed him among the foremost handlers of litigation in this part of the country. By those best able to pass judgment he is considered one of the best trial lawyers at the Cleveland bar. He is an excellent counselor, well versed in the various departments of the legal profession, being upon the whole a painstaking and conscientious advocate, at the same time being widely recognized as a profound student and a deep thinker along many lines outside of his pro- fession.

Mr. Hogan has been married since 1885 and resides at the present time at No. 5809 Quinby avenue, with his wife and son Homer and his stepson Charles. He loves his home life, enjoys its comforts and appreciates its privacy and its advan- tages, and at the present time belongs to no social clubs or societies that can be called such.

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 66

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