USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II > Part 79
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Daniel and Julia A. (Hurley) McGillicuddy, parents of T. D. McGillicuddy, removed from Louisville to Cleveland during his boyhood days and in the public schools of this city he pursued his education to his graduation from the Cen- tral high school in 1854. In 1856 he removed to Hannibal, Missouri, and was engaged in railroading and in other business pursuits until the outbreak of the Civil war. He watched with interest the progress of events in the south, noted the threatening attitude of the states that later formed the Confederacy and resolved that if a blow were struck to overthrow the Union he would stand loyally in its defense. The smoke of Fort Sumter's guns, therefore, had scarcely cleared away when, on the 17th of April, 1861, he enlisted at Hannibal in Company B, Marion Battalion of the United States Reserve Corps, and at the organization of the com- pany was unanimously chosen first lieutenant. The battalion's service was ten- dered the government through General W. S. Harney, then in command at St. Louis, but was rejected on account of the state's neutrality. Soon afterward Gen- eral Nat Lyon succeeded General Harney and at once accepted the proffered ser- vice, ordering the command to St. Louis to be mustered in, armed and drilled.
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Lieutenant McGillicuddy participated in all the engagements of this command from the capture of Camp Jackson and streets of St. Louis, May 10, 1861, to Wilson's Creek, August 10, and the surrender of Lexington, Missouri, September 19, 1861. There the command was robbed, paroled and turned loose. After reaching the Union lines Lieutenant McGillicuddy organized another company from the sur- vivors of the surrender and joined an Illinois command. On October 5, 1861, he was commissioned captain of Company K, Fiftieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which regiment was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee and took part in all the engagements of that army from the capture of Fort Henry to the fall of Sa- vannah. Captain McGillicuddy was ill with typhoid fever at Corinth from June to October, 1862, and on the 23d of March, 1864, at Moulton, Alabama, was se- verely wounded in an encounter with Roddy's Cavalry. He was in command of the regiment on the march to the sea and was mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, January 1, 1865. His military service was characterized by unfaltering per- formance of every duty whether on the firing line or the lonely picket line.
Returning to civil life, Captain McGillicuddy took up his abode in Akron, Ohio, and was there married November 13, 1867, to Miss Frances L., the only daughter of Dr. Israel E. and Mary (Williamson) Carter, both of whom are now deceased. Unto the marriage was born one daughter, Kate L. In 1884 he was compelled to relinquish active business pursuits by reason of continued ill health and to seek relief in the mountains of Colorado, during which time he succeeded in organizing the Association of Illinois' Ex-Soldiers in that state and became its first president. From the time of the organization of the Grand Army of the Republic he took an active part in its work, becoming a charter member of Buck- ley Post, No. 12, G. A. R., at Akron, Ohio. He served as post commander from 1873 until 1879; was assistant quartermaster general in 1875; junior vice depart- ment commander in 1876; judge advocate general in 1879; assistant adjutant gen- eral in 1880; district mustering officer in 1882; district inspector in 1884-85 ; dele- gate to the national encampments in 1870, 1875, 1883, 1885 and 1886. He. is widely known in the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic and he is esteemed and loved by all his old comrades. On the 15th of October, 1875, with others, he inaugurated a movement resulting in the establishment of the Ohio National Guard and served as adjutant for five years in the Eighth Regiment, "McKin- ley's Own." Following his first retirement from business and his return to Ohio after a long sojourn in Colorado, he was appointed in 1886 by Governor J. B. Foraker, superintendent of the State House and Grounds, at Columbus, Ohio. In March, 1897, he removed to Cleveland and in November, 1899, transferred his membership to Memorial Post, No. 141, G. A. R., and became its historian. He is recognized as one of the best military historians in the country and has com- piled and published many different works. He figured in connection with the pre- sentation of a flag which is now in General Grant's tomb at Riverside, New York. This flag was made in the spring of 1861 in Hannibal, Missouri, and was presented by George H. Shields, July 4, 1861, to Company B, Marion Battalion, Third Mis- souri Service or United States Reserve Corps. In this connection a contemporary publication has said: "At the close of the service Lieutenant T. D. McGillicuddy, with a number of others, became a part of Company K, Fiftieth Illinois Infan- try. December 26, 1861, the regiment then being at St. Joseph, Missouri, a dele- gation of loyal citizens of Hannibal, composed of Captain Robert Tufts, Josiah Young, Joseph E. Streeter and Spencer C. Tilbie, arrived in camp and on dress parade in behalf of old Company B and people interested, presented the same old flag to Company K. Strange, but true, the regiment upon leaving Quincy, Illi- nois, October 9, 1861, had not received its colors from the state, using the flag of the Quincy Cadets until January 21, 1862, returning it as the regiment passed through Quincy on its way south. At the request of Colonel Moses M. Bane, Captain T. D. McGillicuddy granted the use of this flag to the regiment, condi- tioned that he should select the color bearer. Selecting Sergeant St. Clair Watts, of Company K, it was borne through Fort Henry, Tennessee, and was the first
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flag on the works of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, at Shiloh, Tennessee, siege of Corinth, Mississippi, at Booneville, Mississippi, Town Creek and Tuscumbia, Alabama, and a short time before the second battle of Corinth, Mississippi, was replaced by its first stand from the state and returned to Captain T. D. McGilli- cuddy, who, after keeping it forty years, on July 18, 1901, brought it to Hannibal to return it to the donors, and finding that time had removed them, left it with ap- propriate ceremonies in the custody of William T. Sherman Post 43, G. A. R., Department of Missouri. October 14, 1903, W. T. Sherman Post proposed to re- turn this flag to the Reunion Association of the Fiftieth Illinois Infantry. On November 6, a committee from the association, Samuel E. Hewes, Quartermaster Lieutenant J. W. Anderson and Adjutant Charles F. Hubert, with a number of friends received it with due ceremony from the Post at Hannibal, Missouri. At the reunion of the association, October 5-6, 1904, General Greenville M. Dodge proffered a request for the association to place this flag in General Grant's tomb at Riverside, New York, as one of the flags allotted from Illinois. The request was cheerfully granted by the association and interested friends, believing it to be most appropriate as the flag under which General Grant won his first and most signal victory with the title "Unconditional Surrender Grant."
In addition to his active interest and work in the Grand Army of the Republic, Captain McGillicuddy has figured in other connections. In politics he is a stalwart republican and has preserved many relics of the early days of the party, having the first ticket which he ever voted, thereby supporting Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. On the 5th of September, 1867, he became a charter member of Cas- cade Division, No. 306, Sons of Temperance, and has taken an active part in this work, filling positions in the order from worthy patriarch to grand worthy pa- triarch of the state of Ohio. He has also been a charter member of Akron Lodge, No. 547, I. O. O. F., and still holds membership with the Odd Fellows and the Masons. He and Colonel O. J. Hodge are the only living members of the old Forest City Lyceum, a literary association, that went out of existence in 1853.
Such in brief is the history of one of the honored veterans of the Civil war- a man whose high character and personal worth have gained him a firm hold on the affection of those who were his comrades in arms.
ALEXANDER H. KIRKWOOD.
Alexander H. Kirkwood, treasurer and assistant secretary of the Cleveland Telephone Company, is one of the most reliable and solid business men of this city. He was born in Washington, District of Columbia, in 1858, but was brought to Cleveland in 1862 by his parents. In that year his father, A. W. Kirkwood, and his uncle, J. H. Kirkwood, opened the Weddell House, which at that time was the finest hotel in the city. This they operated many years, finally removing to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1873, where they opened the Kirkwood House on the corner of Market and Third streets. In 1876, A. W. Kirkwood went to Berkley Springs, Virginia, and opened the Berkley Springs Hotel, which he con- ducted for some time.
Alexander H. Kirkwood was educated in the Harrisburg Academy, which was a preparatory school for Yale and other famous universities, but in 1879 he returned to Cleveland and entered the employ of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cin- cinnati & Indianapolis Railroad, as clerk in the freight office, under A. B. Hough, who was freight agent. After a year he entered the employ of J. T. Wamelink & Company, piano dealers, as bookkeeper, continuing there a year. In June, 1882, Mr. Kirkwood became connected with the Cleveland Telephone Company as head bookkeeper, at which time the exchange had less than one thousand patrons. He grew with the company, being advanced to the position of assistant cashier, then was made cashier. Later he became treasurer and assistant secretary, and his
ALEXANDER II. KIRKWOOD
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association with the company, which has been so long, is a pleasant as well as important one.
In 1887 Mr. Kirkwood married Cora E. Papworth, of this city. She died in 1906, leaving a daughter, Miss Caroline M., who was graduated from the Shaw high school in June, 1909, and then entered Western Reserve University.
Mr. Kirkwood is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and of the Cleveland School of Art. He is a Mason, being connected with Halcyon Lodge, No. 498, A. F. & A. M., and Thatcher Chapter, No. 101, R. A. M. His religious affilia- tions are with the Episcopal church-St. Paul's of East Cleveland. Without doubt much of the success of his present company is due to the progressive ef- forts of Mr. Kirkwood. His efforts have not all been confined to his business, however, for he takes a broad-gauged interest in civic affairs, and, while never an office seeker, he has cheerfully supported all measures looking toward the ad- vancement of the general prosperity of his community, of which he is so proud. His contributions to church work and religious endeavor have been liberal, and he justly deserves the confidence his whole life inspires.
WILLIAM C. NORTH.
William C. North, one of Cleveland's native sons, who is now active in the management and control of an important business enterprise, is the secretary and treasurer of the Ferry Cap & Set Screw Company. He was born March 22, 1853, a son of William C. North and a grandson of Benjamin and Hannah (Mosher) North. The family is of English lineage and was founded in America at an early period in the colonization of Connecticut, the first of the name in the new world being three brothers, John, James and William North, who were the ancestors of nearly all of the American family of Norths. John North, the direct ancestor of our subject, came from England in 1635. The Norths were active in defense of the colonies in the Revolutionary war.
William C. North, the father of our subject, was born in New York state in 1817 and became a photographer by profession. In 1849 he arrived in Cleveland, where he established a photographic studio, conducting business here for many years. He was prominent in the Methodist church as a lay preacher and was also active in municipal affairs, serving as a member of the city council. He died in 1890. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Mahan, was born in 1829 and was a daughter of Asa'and Mary Hartwell (Dix) Mahan, of Oberlin, Ohio. Her father was the first president of Oberlin College, so continuing from 1835 until 1850. His daughter, Mrs. North, still survives and is now living in Cleve- land. She has been active in charitable and benevolent work of the city, has served for many years as secretary of the board of managers of the Lakeside Hos- pital and was deeply interested in the Infants Rest, acting also as a member of its board.
William C. North, whose name initiates this review, attended the Rock- well Street school and the Central high school and entered business life in a bank at Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he served as messenger and clerk for two years. Following his return to Cleveland, he was for seven years with the Ohio National Bank as correspondence clerk and afterward entered the employ of the Lamson & Sessions Company, as general office manager. Subsequently he traveled for six years and then became connected with the National Screw & Tack Company, and later organized the Cleveland Bolt & Manufacturing Company, its chief prod- uct being the North bolt, which was invented and patented by Mr. North He served as treasurer and general manager of the company until 1902, when he became associated with the Union Steel Screw Company and for two years acted as manager of its bolt department. In 1906 he joined George North. Isaac P. Lamson, C. H. Sessions and Thomas Ferry in organizing the Ferry Cap & Set
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Screw Company, of which he was chosen secretary and treasurer. His previous experience in business lines well equipped him for the duties which devolved upon him in this connection and, moreover, he has marked mechanical skill, which enables him to understand the practical workings of the factory, while in the office he gives his attention to constructive efforts and administrative direction.
On the 3d of November, 1879, Mr. North was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Clark Graham, a daughter of J. G. and Hannah (Clark) Graham, of Cleveland. Her maternal grandfather was Diodate Clark, in whose honor Clark avenue was named, for he was one of the pioneer residents of Cuyahoga county, arriving about 1817. Mrs. North pursued her education in Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio, and Wells College at Aurora, New York, and by her marriage be- came the mother of two children : Marienne Dix, who is a graduate of Hathaway- Brown School. of Cleveland, and Bradford Academy, of Bradford, Massa- chusetts; and Harold Diodate, who was graduated from the University School, Cleveland, and from Cornell University in 1907, while at the present time he is as- sociated with the Ferry Cap & Set Screw Company. The family residence is at No. 33 Roxbury Road, East Cleveland.
Mr. North is a charter member of the Colonial Club and his social qualities render him a favorite with his fellow members of that organization. He is a republican in politics but at local elections votes independently. When his busi- ness interests allow him leisure he enjoys hunting and fishing but his time is largely given to the development of an enterprise which is one of the growing concerns of the city and a substantial factor in the commercial and industrial status of Cleveland. His business probity stands as an unquestioned fact in his career and at all times his efforts have been intelligently directed.
U. S. GRANT STOKE.
U. S. Grant Stoke is the president of the Lindsay Fence Company, one of the flourishing industries of Cleveland. His birth occurred in Tyrone, Pennsyl- vania, on the 9th of May, 1865, his parents being William and Margaret Stoke. The paternal grandfather, Samuel Stoke, was a native of Hagerstown, Mary- land, and a farmer by occupation. His demise occurred in 1880.
William Stoke was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on the 7th of March, 1828. For some years he taught school in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, but in 1863 he enlisted in the Union Army and fought gallantly until his honorable dis- charge in 1865. After returning home he engaged in a planing mill and con- tracting business at Tyrone, there continuing until 1870, when he went to Al- toona, Pennsylvania, where he was actively identified with the same line of business until his death in 1905.
U. S. Grant Stoke, whose name introduces this review, attended the public schools until thirteen years of age and then became an apprentice in his father's mill, where he remained until 1883. In that year he went to Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, where he secured employment as a millwright in a planing mill, being thus engaged for three years. Coming to Cleveland in 1886, he entered the employ of Monroe Brothers and remained in their service until 1892. In that year he went to West Virginia and conducted a planing mill for nine months. After returning to Cleveland he served for three years as foreman of the W. T. Lindsay mill and during this period took up special courses of study at the Cen- tral Institute, thus securing the technical knowledge which he felt he needed. He next engaged with the Carleton Lumber Company as foreman, acting in that capacity until 1902, when he entered into partnership with Mrs. W. T. Lindsay. Later they organized and incorporated the Lindsay Fence Company, of which Mr. Stoke was elected vice president and secretary, while Mrs. Lindsay was made president. In 1906 Mr. Stoke bought out the other interests and himself
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became president and treasurer. The Lindsay Fence Company is the only con- cern manufacturing the Lindsay fence and they also conduct an extensive lumber business. Mr. Stoke is a man of keen discrimination and sound judg- ment, and his executive ability and excellent management have proven im- portant elements in the success which has attended his undertakings.
On the 29th of December, 1887, Mr. Stoke was united in marriage to Miss Rose M. Lange, and they reside at No. 11204 Ashbury avenue. Mrs. Stoke is a daughter of John H. and Mary (Hecht) Lange, both natives of Germany, com- ing to Cleveland in 1854. Mr. Stoke belongs to the National Union and the Builders Exchange, in both of which organizations he is prominent. He is also a member of the Republican Club. In religious faith he is a Protestant. Mr. Stoke is recognized as a power in his special lines of business and is con- stantly striving to extend his territory and to expand his trade. He is a man of wide experience and exceptional executive force and, since he has become its head, the Lindsay Fence Company has made rapid progress.
GEORGE I. VAIL.
The period of his residence in Cleveland firmly established George I. Vail in the regard and esteem of his fellowmen and, though twenty-one years have passed since he was called from this life, his memory is yet cherished in the hearts of many who knew him. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, he was born in 1833, and pursued his education in the schools of that city. When a young man he became a resident of Ohio, settling in Norwalk, where he entered into active relations with the oil business and with the development of the indus- try he became connected with the Standard Oil Company in the capacity of auditor, removing to Cleveland in 1872 to enter upon the duties of the position. For many years he was very active in the company, continuing a factor in its successful control and development until his health failed in 1884 and he put aside the arduous cares of business life. Subsequently he traveled for the bene- fit of his health and spent his winters in Florida, until his demise in 1888.
While residing in Norwalk, Mr. Vail was married to Miss Fanny Case, a daughter of William Case, of that place, and unto them were born a daughter and son, Mrs. William Knight and George I. Vail, both of Cleveland.
Mr. Vail was a very active and influential member of the Old Stone church, doing all in his power to further its interests and extend its influence. He was public spirited in a notable degree, withholding his cooperation from no move- ment which he deemed of value in promoting the city's progress. Moreover, he was most charitable, extending a helping hand wherever aid was needed, but while recognized as a forceful and progressive business man and a lead- ing citizen, his best traits of character were reserved for his own home and fireside, his relation there being largely of an ideal character.
WILLIAM S. BLAU.
Every big city affords countless opportunities for the establishment and devel- opment of large industries which control important financial interests and give employment to many employes. Such a concern is operated under the name of The Friedman-Blau-Farber Company, manufacturers of knit goods, with William S. Blau as treasurer. He was born in Austria, September 7, 1865, a son of Sam- uel and Katherine Blan. The father was also born in Austria and came direct to Cleveland upon leaving his native land in 1865, engaging in the manufacture of tinware until his demise in 1875.
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William S. Blau attended the public schools here until he was fifteen years of age and then engaged with Cohn, Sampliner & Company, dealers in wholesale notions, with whom he remained for three years. During this time he was learn- ing business methods and fitting himself for a better position, and in 1883 estab- lished himself in business with H. Friedman on Bank street, where the company was located until 1904, when a removal was made to the five-story modern brick building on East Thirty-seventh and Perkins avenue. In that same year the con- pany was incorporated with Mr. Blau as treasurer. They manufacture a gen- eral line of fancy knit goods and have built up an immense trade, extending over a wide territory because of the excellence of their product and manner of deal- ing with their jobbers. They give employment to over four hundred employes in their factory alone and ship their goods all over the United States.
On October 20, 1892, Mr. Blau was married in Cleveland to Miss Sloss, and they have four children as follows: Katherine, aged sixteen years, who attends high school, making a specialty of music; William S., Jr., fourteen years old, at- tending the public schools; Sol, twelve years old, and Alan, six years old, both at- tending the public schools. The family residence is at No. 2411 Fortieth street.
Mr. Blau belongs to the Excelsior and Oakwood Clubs. In politics he is a re- publican but not active in public matters. He and his family attend the Willson Avenue Temple. Mr. Blau is one of the live, progressive business men of the city, whose industry and ability have aided in the general upbuilding of Cleveland as a manufacturing center, and the prosperity of his house is largely due to his personal efforts.
VIRGIL G. MARANI.
Varied have been the experiences of Virgil G. Marani, in whose veins flows the blood of Italian and Scotch ancestors. A native of sunny Italy, his early youth was spent amid the heather-clad hills of Scotland and then for nine years he was upon the high seas. Through the period of his maturity he has been connected with civil and construction engineering, in which capacity he occupies a prominent position in professional circles in Cleveland. He was born in the province of Emilia, Italy, in 1868. His father, Caesar Marani, was a native of the same locality and a man of prominence there. He was a soldier under Garibaldi and a friend of the late Victor Emanuel. He acted as speaker in the parliament of Modena and exerted a widely felt influence in public affairs. His death occurred in 1881. Various representatives of the family participated in the Italian wars and their military history constitutes an inspiring lesson of valor and patriotism. Sophia Rutherford, the mother of Virgil G. Marani, was of Scotch descent and a daughter of Major Rutherford, of the English army. She formed the ac- quaintance of Caesar Marani when he was Italian consul to Dublin, and gave her consent when he sought her hand in marriage. Her death occurred in 1873.
Virgil G. Marani spent his youthful days with his mother's people in Scotland, pursuing his education in the public schools to the age of twelve years, when he ran away and went to sea. He was in the service until twenty-one years of age, during which period he sailed to all parts of the world, visiting almost every port. He twice circumnavigated the globe and was promoted through all the inter- mediat positions in the sailing service to that of second mate on one of the lead- ing sailing vessels. He made a model of this ship and exhibits it with justifiable pride, for it is a masterpiece of workmanship. At his mother's death he inherited a part of her estate and afterward crossed the Atlantic to Toronto, Canada, where he joined his brother and took up the study of civil engineering in the Toronto University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Civil Engineer in 1893. He then began practice in the United States, crossing over the border to
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