USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II > Part 74
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M. D. LUEHRS.
M. D. Luehrs was born on the island of Helgoland in the year 1848. At the age of six, he came with his parents to America and settled in Cleveland. He at- tended the public schools until he was fourteen years old. He then entered the employ of the Globe Iron Works as a machinist apprentice. After learning his trade he was engaged by the firm of Bourne, Damon & Knowles, where his abil- ity and fidelity were recognized by his successive promotions until he became foreman. Later he was connected with the National Bolt Cutter Company as su- perintendent, and then with the Novelty Iron Works in the same capacity. While here, he conceived the ideas of a screw swaging machine and a bolt cutter.
In 1884 Mr. Luehrs, Mr. Greve and Mr. Bruch entered into the partnership known as the Acme Machinery Company, which manufactured his patents. His inventive genius as well as executive ability and administrative force were impor- tant elements in the prosperity of the concern, and he became recognized as one of the prominent representatives of industrial and mechanical interests in Cleve- land. Besides being an inventor Mr. Luehrs spent much of his leisure time with his microscope and camera, possessing an exceptionally fine collection of micro- scopical slides and photographs which he had himself prepared.
In 1870 Mr. Luehrs married Catherine H. H. Cassebohm, who together with four of their five children, Phoebe, Daniel, Nellie and Fannie, survived him at the time of his death, which occurred June 15, 1896.
Mr. Luehrs was prominent in Masonry, belonging to Forest City Lodge, F. & A. M .; Thatcher Chapter, R. A. M .; and to Oriental Commandery, K. T. He was in sympathy with the beneficent spirit of the craft, believing in the principle of charity, mutual helpfulness, forbearance and kindliness, upon which it is founded. As a citizen he was public spirited and his cooperation with many movements for the general good was the tangible proof of his interest in the welfare and upbuilding of Cleveland.
PAUL SYLLA.
Paul Sylla, who since 1896 has been the owner of the firm of Sylla Bottling Company, is one of America's adopted citizens who has succeeded by his own efforts in establishing himself desirably in the business world. He was born in East Prussia, Germany, in 1849 and was educated first in private schools and then in a German gymnasium from which he was graduated in 1869. Coming to this country soon after the completion of his education, he held clerical positions with various concerns for the next ten years. His connection in 1879 with the Bartholomay Brewery Company of Rochester, New York, proved to have im- portant bearing on his subsequent career. His employers, recognizing his ability, transferred him in 1890 to Cleveland to manage their branch office and bottling
M. D. LUEITRS
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works in that city, after the bottling department of the brewery in Rochester since its start had been under his direction. In 1896 he took entire surveillance of the Cleveland business which he named the Sylla Bottling Company. Mr. Sylla also manufactures mineral waters and carbonated beverages of various kinds, giving fifteen men employment and running five wagons.
In 1879 Mr. Sylla married Miss Antonia Renner, his faithful life companion now for more than thirty years. In evidence of his popularity among his fellow- men are his affiliations and the posts of honor which have been bestowed upon him. Among the latter may be mentioned his three years' presidency of the Cleveland Gesang Verein, the presidency of the Bottlers Association of the state of Ohio, and the secretaryship of the Cleveland Bottlers Company. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner, and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a loyal supporter of the democratic party, and belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran church. In his social and business rela- tions alike, Mr. Sylla plays a happy role, and he may well be counted among the city's representative men.
WILLIAM E. CUSHING.
William E. Cushing is the senior partner of the firm of Cushing, Siddall & Palmer, attorneys at law, of Cleveland. He was born in this city, September 23, 1853, a son of Dr. H. K. Cushing, one of the old-time physicians here, and a grandson of Dr. Erastus Cushing who also practiced medicine in this city at an early day, bringing his family to Cleveland during the early boyhood of Dr. H. K. Cushing.
William E. Cushing attended the Cleveland public schools, and the Western Reserve College, from which he was graduated B.A. in 1875. He is a Bachelor of Law graduate of Harvard of 1878. Admitted to the bar in that year he began practice as a member of the firm of Terrell, Beach & Cushing, afterward with the firm of Williamson, Cushing & Clarke, and is now senior partner of the firm of Cushing, Siddall & Palmer, devoting his attention to general law practice yet specializing to some extent in corporation law.
Mr. Cushing served for some years as a member of the Ohio state board of commissioners on uniform legislation; has been secretary of the board of trus- tees of University School since its organization; and is a trustee of Adelbert College of Western Reserve University. He belongs to the Cleveland, Ohio, and American Bar Associations, the Chamber of Commerce and the Union Club. On the 4th of June, 1884, he was married in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Miss Carolyn J., daughter of the Hon. Ensign H. Kellogg of that city.
M. E. RUSSELL.
M. E. Russell, treasurer of the Euclid Avenue Lumber Company of Cleve- land, is numbered among the men who have borne their part in the development of this city's interests and the advancement of its material prosperity. He was born in Brimfield, Portage county, Ohio, July 15, 1858, a son of Edward A. and Anna (Fury) Russell. The Russell family was established in Ohio in 1828 by members from New York state. During a useful life, the father followed farm- ing. He is still living at age of ninety-two but the mother died in 1884 at the age of sixty-three years.
After receiving a common-school education, M. E. Russell engaged with Day & Williams, glass manufacturers at Kent, Ohio, remaining with that firm five years as bookkeeper. In 1888 he came to Cleveland to take the position of book-
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keeper with the Sherwin-Williams Company, paint manufacturers, but in 1890 he left them to engage with the A. Teachout Sash & Door Company as salesman. Although this was his first experience in the lumber business, he succeeded and remained with the firm for five years. In 1895 Mr. Russell went to the northern part of Michigan to act as cashier for an iron mining company and continued in that place for seven years. Coming back to Cleveland in 1899, he bought an in- terest in the Euclid Lumber Company and the following year was elected treas- urer, which position he still holds. The business is in a most prosperous condi- tion, its sales for 1908 aggregating about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
In 1892 Mr. Russell married Carrie McConnell of Uniontown, Stark county, Ohio, a daughter of Dr. William and Sevilla (Royer) McConnell, whose fore- bears were from Lockport, Pennsylvania. One daughter has been born of this marriage, Dorothy Bell, aged eight years.
Mr. Russell is a Mason, belonging to Mckinley Chapter of this city. He and his wife are members of the Cleveland Heights Presbyterian church and are charitable, giving of their means as they deem most suitable. Mr. Russell is ex- tremely fond of fishing, and each year takes a short vacation in order to indulge in his favorite sport. The family are very comfortably located at No. 15 Hamp- shire Road, Cleveland Heights. No man could make the success of his life that Mr. Russell has without possessing in marked degree those qualities that are nec- essary to advancement. He has never hesitated because of difficulties but striven to do his full duty and to make each effort count for something. In this way, steadily but surely, he has risen, and his prosperity is certainly well merited.
DUDLEY C. TRUE.
It has been said that death loves a shining mark, which statement finds veri- fication in the fact that Dudley C. True was called to his final rest on the 13th of April, 1908, when a young man of but thirty-seven years. He had been very ac- tive in the affairs of the city and in the practice of law had gained recognition that placed him with the eminent representatives of the Cleveland bar. His birth occurred in Jackson, Michigan, in September, 1870, his parents being Alva G. and Helen (Nolton) True. The father was engaged for a long period in mer- cantile pursuits in Michigan and the mother is still living in Jackson, that state.
After completing his literary education Dudley C. True entered upon prepara- tion for the practice of law and was graduated from the law school of the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, on the completion of the regular course, with the class of 1895. In August of the same year he came to Cleveland, having made choice of this city as the scene of his future labors. Here he opened an of- fice and entered upon the practice of law, giving his attention to the general work of the profession. He was afterward appointed solicitor of Lakewood and de- voted much attention to municipal law. He always kept well versed on all branches of the science of jurisprudence, however, and his application of legal principles was correct and exact. He manifested strong power in the analysis of his cases and of the remodeling of the chief points in evidence, and never for a moment in the presentation of a cause did he lose sight of the principal point upon which the decision of every case finally turns. Mr. True also figured prominently in political circles and at one time was candidate for representative on the repub- lican ticket but in that year the entire ticket was defeated. He was elected a dele- gate to the national republican convention when Theodore Roosevelt was nomi- nated for the presidency and Mrs. True accompanied him to the convention.
It was in Columbus that Mr. True was united in marriage to Mrs. Luna E. (Whitney) Hall, the widow of Frederick Hall. The latter was a son of Curtis Hall, who belonged to one of the very early families on the west side of Cleveland. They owned a large tract of land in Lakewood and were farming people of this
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D. C. TRUTE
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locality for many years but with the growth of the city they later divided the land into building lots and laid out streets, one of which was called Hall avenue in their honor. Curtis Hall was one of the very active and influential men in the develop- ment of Lakewood, his enterprise contributing largely to the growth and progress of that portion of the city. By her former marriage Mrs. True had two children, Clifton A. and Lucy P. Hall. There were no children born of the second mar- riage but Mr. True manifested the utmost love and devotion to his wife's children and they regarded him as a father.
For about two years prior to his death, Mr. and Mrs. True spent most of their time in travel for the benefit of his health, but to no avail. He was well known in fraternal circles as a Royal Arch Mason and also as a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge. He was very active in the affairs of the city and also extremely charitable, giving freely of his means to the poor and needy and for the support of benevolent objects. He built a home on Detroit avenue, which his widow now occupies and they made it the abode of a generous and cordial hospitality. Mr. True was very popular with many friends, having those social qualities which everywhere command respect and admiration and win warm personal regard. Moreover, he was regarded as one of the brilliant and rising young lawyers of the city and his death brought a sense of personal bereavement to the great majority of those who knew him. He was public-spirited in his citizenship, faithful in all professional relations, loyal in friendship and most devoted to his family. His many sterling traits of character will cause his name to be honored and his mem- ory cherished for years to come.
WILLIAM JUDD MAY.
William Judd May, who was widely known at one time as an editorial writer but spent his last years in the service of the Isthmus State Road Company, his death occurring on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, was a native of Cherry Valley, New York. His father, Thomas Payne May, also came from Cherry Valley and established his home in Ohio at a very early day. Believing that Cleve- land offered good advantages and gave promise of rapid future growth, he set- tled here and bought out the mercantile enterprise of Elisha L. Taylor. The wis- dom of his judgment was soon manifest in the success which attended his efforts and he not only conducted this store along profitable lines but also became pro- prietor of branch stores in Akron and in Canton, Ohio. A man of marked bus- iness discernment, his plans were carefully formulated and with resolute spirit he carried them forward to completion. He continued a resident of Cleveland throughout his remaining days, attaining to a position of marked prominence in commercial and business circles. He was preeminently a man of affairs and one who wielded a wide and beneficial influence. Purchasing property at Erie and Superior streets, he built what in those days was considered one of the mansions of Cleveland and there he continued to reside until called to the home beyond. He was a very public-spirited man, cooperating in every movement for the general good and his activity was not only unceasing but was far-reaching and beneficial. After his death his wife and the family sold a portion of the old home property to Father Rappe and the cathedral now occupies that site. The site of the old homestead was bought by the city during William Case's administration.
Mrs. Thomas P. May bore the maiden name of Jeanette Judd and was a native of Connecticut but lived in Cleveland for many years after her husband's death. They were the parents of four children: William J., Mrs. Helen May Horton, George and Catherine. Of this family William J. May became well known by reason of the intellectual force and keen discernment which naturally made him a leader of public thought and action. Although born in the Empire state he was but a young lad when he accompanied his parents on their removal
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to Cleveland and after attaining his majority he was for several years associated with the editorial conduct of the Herald. He edited the Morning Herald for some time and in 1855 established the Daily Calendar. He was a writer of un- usual force, whose mind was acute while, his wit was ever genial and sparkling. He had a most entertaining way of presenting his thoughts and his reasoning was logical, his deductions clear cut.
In 1849 William I. May, was united in marriage in Cleveland to Miss Eva E. Ferrell, a daughter of Isaac Vrooman Ferrell, who came from Schenectady, New York, to Cuyahoga county and bought a tract of land. He retained possession of that place only for about eighteen months, however, when because of impaired eyesight he sold it. Later he purchased a fruit farm at Dover and thereon spent the remainder of his days. He greatly enjoyed outdoor life and was always happy when driving his team over the country and viewing the landscape. The tract of land which he purchased in this county he sold to thrifty German people who located here at an early day. It was in this locality that he reared his family which included Mrs. May, who by her marriage became the mother of three daughters: Nellie C .; Jeanette, who is the wife of F. S. Barnum ; and Eva Cath- erine.
William J. May was yet a young man when he entered the service of the Isthmus State Road Company and went to the isthmus of Tehuantepec. While there he was attacked by brain fever and died on the isthmus on the 9th of Feb- ruary, 1857, when but thirty-three years of age. There was no truer friend nor none more self-sacrificing than Mr. May. Those with whom he was associated could command him to the full extent of his ability and resources, for with him friendship was no mere idle word. It stood for that high regard and kindly spirit which finds manifestation in acts of helpfulness and accommodation and moreover his record proved the truth of the Emersonian philosophy that "the way to win a friend is to be one." A man of more than ordinary ability, endowed by nature with rich mental capacities, he left the impress of his individuality upon the lives of those with whom he came in contact and his memory is yet cherished among the earlier residents of Cleveland.
LOUIS E. ELWOOD.
Louis E. Elwood, who has risen through various grades of business expe- rience to his present responsible position of sales manager for the American Agri- cultural Chemical Company, is one of the successful men of Cleveland and well worthy a place in a record of this nature. He was born in Greens Farms, Fair- field county, Connecticut, February 17, 1863, a son of John B. and Mary Elwood, who were natives of the same place, where the father was born in 1821, and the mother in 1826. A farmer, vessel owner and sea captain, John B. Elwood spent a busy life, returning to his estate, where he spent his declining years.
After receiving a public-school education at Greens Farms and remaining there until 1879, Louis E. Elwood began farming for himself and was thus en- gaged until 1884. In that year he embarked in a grocery business at Bridgeport, Connecticut, but within two years he became interested in the subject of fertil- izers, his long experience in agricultural work making him cognizant of its im- portance, and he associated himself with the Bradley Fertilizer Company. The following year he came to Cleveland and made this city his headquarters while traveling for the company. Business so increased that at the end of five years Mr. Elwood opened a local office in the Society for Savings building in 1892. In 1900 the firm name was changed to the present one and he was placed in charge of the sales department. Since then he has justified the confidence reposed in him and proven an important factor in building up a very extensive trade, the largest of its kind in the country.
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On December 6, 1888, Mr. Elwood was married to Anne O. Olmstead, a daughter of William H. Olmstead, a shirt manufacturer of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Elwood have one son, Spencer, now fifteen years of age, who is attending the Froebel private school. The family residence is at 1614 Hazel Drive.
Mr. Elwood has been a member of the Euclid Avenue Congregational church ever since locating permanently in Cleveland. In politics he is a republican. He is a charter member of the Colonial Club and also belongs to the Cleveland Com- mercial Travelers Association. Motoring is his principal recreation. The survi- val of the fittest is one of the laws of business as well as nature. Those men who possess the brains and executive ability forge to the front and make a success of whatever they undertake. They understand how to manage their concerns so as to have their various details dovetail and to keep everything running swiftly and smoothly, and thus it is that they are accorded an honored place among the men who accomplish real results.
JAMES L. MAULDIN.
Of that class of citizens upon which Cleveland's security is founded is James L. Mauldin, for the past fourteen years president of the Cleveland Armature Works. Mr. Mauldin was born on a beautiful farm of four hundred acres over- looking the Chesapeake bay near Perryville, Cecil county, Maryland, May 9, 1865, and is the son of John and Emily Mauldin. He is a thorough American, of ex- cellent stock, his ancestors for many years playing an important part in the affairs of Maryland. His great-grandfather, Benjamin Mauldin, was born in Wales and, cognizant of the marvelous possibilities of the new nation, came across the seas. He settled at Turkey Point, Maryland, and came into possession of an enormous tract of land, some twelve thousand acres in extent. There he spent the rest of his life in clearing and tilling his land. Mr. Mauldin's grandfather and father, John Mauldin, were born on this estate. The latter, tiring of the labors of farm life, went to Baltimore, Maryland, where starting as a clerk in a wholesale dry- goods house he soon rose in position and confidence of his employers and when the gold fever broke out was entrusted with a cargo of merchandise which was loaded on a ship named Jane Parker and after a sail of months by the way of Cape Horn he landed his cargo at Venicia, California. He quickly sold his mer- chandise and returning he paid for the cargo of goods. With his share of the profits he purchased a beautiful farm of four hundred acres overlooking the Chesapeake bay. During his life he held several important offices, such as school commissioner and county commissioner, and it was during his incumbency that the first iron bridges were built in Cecil county, Maryland. He was the father of a family of fourteen children, six of whom are living.
Mr. Mauldin received his education up to his seventeenth year in various pub- lic and private schools and then, entering the Port Deposit high school, was grad- uated at the age of nineteen. His first tilt with the world of affairs was as chief clerk in a general mercantile store at Port Deposit, Maryland, which position he held for two years. Desiring a more metropolitan life he went to Baltimore, where for a year he acted as bookkeeper for J. W. Esler & Company, and fol- lowed this with another clerical experience of a year's duration with Rollson Brothers, wholesale grocers.
Mr. Mauldin was then engaged as bookkeeper by Parks & Company, fertil- izer manufacturers, and when they were incorporated as The Parks Guano Com- pany, his merit received recognition by his appointment as secretary and treas- urer of the concern. The Parks Guano Company was very successful for several years. They sold their products to farmers, taking their notes for twelve months, but after a succession of three bad seasons, the farmers being unable to meet their notes, the company was forced to suspend business. Mr. Mauldin then
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borrowed one hundred and fifty dollars from a friend to enable him to bring his wife and child to Cleveland. He arrived an entire stranger but was undaunted by past regret or future doubt. Soon after arriving he took a position with the Drake Coal Company, afterward becoming chief clerk of the Johnson Company under Albert L. Johnson. Not of the type to be long satisfied in a subordinate capacity, he organized the Eastern Electrical Equipment Company, which for three years he conducted as a brokerage electrical firm. This was subsequently changed to the Cleveland Armature Works, of which he has for fourteen years been president and treasurer. In addition to this he is treasurer of the Electric Meat Curing Company, being the originator of the idea of adapting electricity to the curing of meats.
Mr. Mauldin was married in Baltimore, in April, 1888, to Miss Mary J. Dodd, and they have a family of six children: Emily L., a graduate of the Glenville high school ; Katherine, also a student, who has decided musical tendencies ; Dodd, Ruth and Henriette, who are attending the Columbia public school; and James L., Jr., but four years of age. Their home at 690 Lakeview Road is one of the most beautiful in Cleveland. It is set in the midst of spacious grounds, and its lawns are a triumph of the landscape gardener's art.
Mr. Mauldin is a Mason, holding membership in Woodward Lodge. He is also connected with the Commercial Travelers Club and the National Union and is independent in politics. He and his family attend the Methodist church. A lover of outdoor life, he spends all available time hunting and fishing and is a tennis devotee. He is a self-made man in a sense and holds an enviable position in the city's commercial life, but better yet, his many gifts of mind and heart have gained him a host of friends, with whom he delights in sharing the unusual pleasures of his home.
JOHN A. FOERSTNER.
John A. Foerstner, secretary and treasurer of the J. H. Somers Company, was born in Cleveland, September 20, 1869. His father, Christian C. Foerstner, was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, born September 11, 1845. He came to America in 1868, when about twenty-three years of age, settling in Cleveland, where he engaged in the retail coal business. He was identified with the coal trade up to the time of his retirement and in his operations in that department of business activity met with substantial success. He wedded Antoinette Diesen, also a native of Wurtemberg. She survives her husband and is now residing in Cleveland.
Reared in this city, John A. Foerstner was educated in St. Stephen's parochial school and when his school days were over he, too, became connected with the coal trade in 1881 as office boy with the firm of Lindsley & Company. He applied himself diligently to the mastery of the tasks that were assigned him and passed through various promotions to the position of bookkeeper, office manager and later to that of secretary of the company. In 1890 he became connected with the Huntington Coal Company and the Cisco Mining Company, being elected secre- tary of both corporations. In 1894 he became connected with the J. H. Somers Company and was chosen its secretary and treasurer. He is connected both finan- cially and officially with various local corporations which are elements in the city's growth and its commercial progress. He is likewise the secretary, treasurer and director of the Roby Coal Company, is secretary and treasurer of the Somers Min- ing Company and secretary and treasurer of the Massillon Elm Run Coal Com- pany.
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