A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 89

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 89

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Mr. Wade was born in Seneca county, New York, August 11, 1811. His father was a surveyor and civil engineer but the son chose a business of less mathematical exactness, early developing a taste for art. In 1835, his health forbidding robust pursuits, he turned his attention to portrait painting, in which he was quite successful. He drifted westward and while located in Adrian, Michigan, the newly invented camera came to his notice, and sending for one, aided by the printed directions, he took the first daguerreotype ever made west of New York. He mastered the workings of the camera and with that and his brush kept busy for several years until Samuel Morse had perfected his tele- graph. In 1847 Mr. Wade turned his attention in that direction and took a con- tract to build a telegraph line from Detroit to Jackson, Michigan, which he com- pleted the same year. When it was finished he opened an office in Jackson, had an instrument shipped him and then entered upon the task of sending telegraphic messages-a work which was startling at that period of the world's progress in electrical lines. The following year a telegraph line was built from Detroit to Milwaukee and another from Detroit to Buffalo by way of Cleveland. In 1849 Mr. Wade began the erection of a line of his own from Cleveland to St. Louis by way of Cincinnati, which he completed in 1850. The building of lines in- creased rapidly throughout the country, competition became very strong and for two years there was a continuous struggle for patronage between the different companies, Messrs. Wade, O'Reilley, Speed and Cornell being the principal contestants. The result was that no one made any money and in 1854 Mr. Wade led a movement which brought about the consolidation of the lines con-

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trolled by Rochester parties, which combination gave them control of the routes from Buffalo, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Milwaukee and intermediate points. Mr. Wade remained as general agent of the consol- idated lines and from this point his career was a most successful one. The Western Union Company was the outcome of this original consolidation. In this enterprise Mr. Wade was the moving spirit and not only gave the genius of management to the task but also aided in working out many details. He invented an insulator which is still in use and was the first to show that a sub- marine cable in iron armor was possible and practicable. In his mind the idea of consolidation also originated and with the development of the great system of telegraphic communication he was most actively and helpfully connected. He was one of the originators of the Pacific telegraph and on the formation of the Pacific Company was made its first president. The line was begun from St. Louis and extended to San Francisco, being finished on the 24th of August, 1861, the construction being carried on under his direction. A writer has said: "He is undoubtedly entitled to more credit than any other one man for the successful construction of the transcontinental railway, as it was his energy, foresight, judg- ment and determination which conceived and carried into operation the Pacific telegraph and attracted the attention of capitalists to the feasibility and necessity of a railway. The railway was built following substantially the route of his telegraph." On the consolidation of the Pacific Company with the Western Union, Mr. Wade was made president, which position he filled until 1867, when ill health caused him to decline reelection, although he remained as a director for several years thereafter.

Not only was Mr. Wade one of the most prominent factors in promoting telegraphic communication in America but was also actively connected with rail- road building and operation for a long period, especially being concerned with the lines of the middle west. He was a director of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad for several years, director of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis for three years, a director and vice president of the Atlantic & Great West- ern, director of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad and a member of the board of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railway. He was likewise president of the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan and also of the Kalamazoo, Allegan & Grand Rapids Railway Company, while at one time he was vice presi- dent and director of the Grand Haven Railroad and a director of the Saginaw Valley & St. Louis line and of the Hocking Valley & Toledo road. As president of the Valley Railroad Company he rendered great service to Cleveland and to northern Ohio, as he was responsible for the successful completion of that road. In financial circles Mr. Wade also figured prominently. He aided in the organiza- tion of the Citizens Savings & Loan Association in 1867 and was its president from the beginning. On the death of Joseph Perkins he was elected president of the National Bank of Commerce and was one of the chief originators and the first president of the Lakeview Cemetery Association. He was likewise a director of the Second National Bank during its entire existence, for many years was vice president of the National Bank of Commerce and a director of the Cleve- land Rolling Mill Company, the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, the Union Steel Screw Company and president of the American Sheet & Boiler Plate Company and the Chicago & Atchison Bridge Company. He had many commercial and manufacturing interests in Ohio and the west, for as his financial resources in- creased he became a most busy factor in the life and material development of this great section of the country, his judgment at all times being recognized as sound and reliable. He may well be termed one of the captains of industry of his age, his well formulated and carefully executed plans bringing him not only into local but also into national prominence in connection with the country's material progress and advancement.

Cleveland, the city of his residence, received many substantial tokens of Mr. Wade's interest. He was prominent in many public and charitable insti-

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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

tutions, contributing generously of his means in aid of the unfortunate. He was likewise interested in everything which was a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. He acted as a sinking fund commissioner, was a member of the public park commission, a director of the Cleveland workhouse board and gave much time and labor to advance the public interests. He was also a member of the executive committee of the National Garfield Monument Association, for several years was vice president of the Homeopathic Hospital, to which he made generous contributions and was president of the Homeopathic College of Medicine. One of the trustees of the Protestant Orphan Asylum, he built the magnificent stone building on St. Clair street at his own expense and presented it to the asylum association, it being today known as the Protestant Orphan Asylum and standing a monument to his generosity and humanitarian spirit. He also laid out and adorned the magnificent Wade park and gave it to the city. He attended and was one of the chief supporters of the Church of the Unity. His private bene- factions were innumerable and were made without any show of ostentation or display, being in fact rather the embodiment of the scriptural injunction that the left hand is not to know what the right hand doeth. He was indeed ex- tremely modest in manner, was approachable at all times and treated every in- dividual with that natural courtesy of the man who is by nature a gentleman. High-minded and honorable in all business, his life in its various phases is an example which may well serve to encourage and to inspire. It would be diffi- cult to point out any one characteristic as his most pronounced trait, for his was a most evenly balanced character, in which superior business capacity and power was matched by a recognition of life's purposes and the obligations of man to his fellowmen. He died August 9, 1890.

EDWARD A. MERKEL.

Among the men who are connected with property transfers in Cleveland is numbered Edward A. Merkel, who was born in this city April 10, 1845, and has continuously remained within its borders, watching with keen interest the pro- gress of events that have marked its history and promoted its upbuilding. His father, Mathias Merkel, was born in Germany in 1818 and on coming to the United States in 1836 made his way direct to Cleveland. There he sought em- ployment, and his diligence and determination constituted the foundation stones upon which he built his success in later years. In 1843 he married Christina Lerch, who was born in Germany in 1823 and came to Cleveland in 1832. They had eight sons and three daughters, of whom two daughters and four sons died in infancy. The others are: Henry C. and Frank B., both of whom are living in Dover, Ohio, where they are retired business men; Ben F., who is retired and makes his home in Collinwood; Ella A., a resident of this city; and Edward A., of this review. The father died in 1893 and the mother passed away in 1887, their remains being interred in the Erie Street cemetery. The father was a hotel man in the early days and in his hotel on River street he established the first ma- rine hospital of Cleveland, reserving three rooms for that purpose. In 1869 he retired from busines and made his home on his farm on what was then St. Clair road. Through his activity and determination in former years he had acquired a handsome competence that enabled him to put aside active business cares.

An uncle of Edward A. Merkel was Joe Dister, of Dayton, who became colo- nel of the Fifty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in the Civil war and was killed at the battle of Pittsburg Landing. Two cousins, Mathias Merkel and Augustus Ziemer, were also soldiers of the Union army. The latter served in Company A, Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and the former was a member of Company K, of the same regiment, and for a time was held as a prisoner of war in Ander- sonville and Richmond. Both were honorably discharged.

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Edward A. Merkel passed through the consecutive grades of the primary and grammar schools and received his business training in Felton Commercial Col- lege, which was the first institution of this character in Cleveland. After leaving school he engaged in the wholesale meat business for about ten years and met with substantial success in that undertaking, after which he turned his attention to the real-estate business, in which he is at present engaged. He is thoroughly conversant with property values, knows when, where and how to make invest- ments and has made judicious purchases and profitable sales for himself and also for his clients. He is a man of resolute purpose and what he undertakes he ac- complishes, fearing not that laborious attention to business which is so necessary to success.

On the 5th of February, 1885, in Racine, Wisconsin, Mr. Merkel married Miss Marcia Paulson, who was born in Nykjöbing-on-Falster, Denmark, a daugh- ter of Mads and Dorothea Paulson of that country. The father died in May, 1864, while serving in the Danish-German war. Mrs. Merkel afterward came to America with her mother, being at that time nine years of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Merkel were born three children, two sons and a daughter. Frank P., the eldest, after passing through the public schools was graduated from the Modern Business College and was afterward with the White Automobile Company for a number of years as expert mechanic. Edward L., after passing through the gram- mar schools, became connected with V. A. Graves with whom he has been asso- ciated for several years as electrician. Mildred M. is now attending the East high school. Mr. Merkel and his wife are members of the Baptist church and he be- longs to the Twenty-sixth Ward Republican Club. He has been personally ac- quainted with all the old-time citizens and their business and has witnessed the growth of Cleveland as it has extended east beyond Wood street. He remembers the celebration over the building of the first railroad here and has been an in- terested witness of many other events which have marked the progress of the city, his sympathy and cooperation being at all times on the side of improvement and advancement of a practical character.

JOHN A. BENJAMIN.

John A. Benjamin, who after a long and active life has retired to enjoy the comforts he has earned, was brought up to hard work and strict discipline which resulted in habits of industry and the development of business abilities of more than average quality. He was born April 3, 1830, in Massachusetts, being a son of Arba Benjamin, born in Massachusetts in 1790. Early in life the father farmed in his native state, but in 1836 he left New England to come to the Western Reserve, where he continued his agricultural pursuits, locating in Madi- son, Lake county, Ohio, which remained his home until his death in 1865. Be- ing one of the earliest settlers of Lake county, he endured all of the privations incident to such a life, but never regretted that he was a pioneer of the great commonwealth he was permitted to see develop so gloriously. Arba Benjamin was one of the first men to resort to what were called "underground railroads" to assist fugitive slaves, and his was almost the only "station" of this kind in Lake county. For many years he was a prominent figure in politics, and was one of the first of the "freesoil" men to cast his vote for republican candidates.

In 1810 he married Paulie Stone, who was born in Massachusetts in 1791. They reared a family of four sons and four daughters. When they came to the new home, they brought all but two of the children with them. The eldest son had formed business connections which forbade his leaving, and the eldest daughter was married. The excellent mother survived her husband until 1881,. when she too passed away.

J. A. BENJAMIN

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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

John A. Benjamin went with his parents to Lake county, Ohio, and was educated there. Until he was twenty-one years of age, he remained with his father, rendering very valuable assistance upon the farm. After attaining his majority, Mr. Benjamin drove a large herd of cattle to Connecticut for his father, walking all the distance. He spent a year with his eldest brother who had remained in Massachusetts, but returned to Ohio just as the work on the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Railroad was being commenced. This rail- road is now known as the Lake Shore. He secured employment on the con- struction work and remained with the company until 1882. He became one of the first engineers of the road and had the distinction of being chosen to operate the engine that drew the Lincoln funeral train.

After leaving the railroad service, Mr. Benjamin was engaged in different kinds of work until his retirement in 1889. He always took a very active part in politics, cordially supporting the republican ticket upon all occasions. In 1863 Mr. Benjamin joined the Masons, and on July 20, 1879, he was made a life member of Iris Lodge, No. 229, A. F. & A. M. He was one of the first Masons in the city, still attends the meetings of the lodge and is much interested in its work. He belongs to the Old Settlers Association and is also a member of Gen- eral Barrett's Cleveland Light Artillery Association.

During the war Mr. Benjamin was not found lacking in patriotism, no son of his father could fail to respond to the call of his country. He enlisted in the Cleveland Light Artillery and served until he was honorably discharged. He was a brave soldier, and enjoys the reunions of his comrades.

In December, 1869, Mr. Benjamin married Ann Elizabeth Bailey, who was born February 5, 1841, and died in Cleveland in 1903. She was a devoted wife and mother and deeply beloved by all who knew her. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin had one son, Walter B. Benjamin, born in Cleveland in 1871. After being edu- cated in his native city, he established himself with the Brush Electrical Com- pany, and continued with it for about three years. Then for three years he was in Elyria, New York. Following this he carried out a contract in the New York state reformatory. Returning to Cleveland he worked for the city for three years on the electrical construction of a bridge, when in 1899 he was ap- pointed a mail carrier. He is a strong republican. In 1904 he married Cather- ine Geltz, born in Wooster, Ohio. The young man is well liked here and has many friends.

Although he is nearing his eightieth milestone Mr. Benjamin takes an inter- est in civic affairs, and is pleased to greet old friends at his lodge or at reunions. During his long life he has served faithfully and well and deserves whatever success has crowned his efforts.

JOHN A. COCHRANE.

John A. Cochrane, who is employing a large force of workmen and turning out an excellent product in the manufacture of brass goods at 1403 East Fortieth street, came to Cleveland with his parents in 1869, when a youth of seven years. He is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, born on the 31st of April, 1862. His father and mother, Archibald and Margaret (Cunningham) Cochrane, were natives of Edinburgh, Scotland, and on crossing the Atlantic to the United States established their home in Cleveland, where the father spent his remaining days. The mother still survives and now resides at No. 2435 East Eighty-third street, Southeast.

John A. Cochrane, arriving in Cleveland with his parents when a youth of seven years, here entered the public schools and continued his education until he had completed two years of the high school course. He started in business life as an employe of the Cleveland Rubber Works, where he remained for a short time, and then began in the plating business and the manufacture of sad irons and hard-

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ware specialties, while later he established an independent foundry. He afterward added brass specialties and has since continued in this line, concentrating his at- tention and efforts more and more largely in later years on the manufacture of brass goods. He today carries on a large business, having a well equipped brass foundry, supplied with all modern conveniences and machinery, while employ- ment is furnished to a large number of workmen. He has been very successful in this undertaking, learning from experience how to economize time, labor and material without sacrificing results. This is the secret of all successful business management, and the spirit of enterprise, determination and progressiveness which Mr. Cochrane has always displayed has brought him to a creditable position in manufacturing circles in Cleveland.

At the age of twenty-three years Mr. Cochrane was married in this city to Miss Gertrude Gates. Following her demise he wedded Miss Annie Medlin, and they now reside at No. 2182 East Seventy-ninth street, Southeast, where they own a nice home. They have two sons, Archibald and John, aged respectively seven and two years. Mr. Cochrane is a member of the Unitarian church and also belongs to the Masonic fraternity, having taken the degrees of both lodge and chapter. In politics he is allied with that independent movement which is one of the hope- ful signs of the times, showing that business men are giving earnest thought to existing conditions and seeking to right the wrongs, not by a blind following of party leadership, but by an independent course that endorses righteous measures and business-like administration of municipal affairs. His business record is com- mendable and his success is the logical proof of close application and unfaltering enterprise.

ELDRIDGE W. HOTCHKISS.

Cleveland offers so many desirable features to those desiring to live some- what retired from an active business career that it is the home of hundreds no longer interested in daily labor, but free to enjoy the pleasures of urban im- provements. Such a man is Eldridge W. Hotchkiss, who has been associated with some important ventures in the business world here in Cleveland. He was born in Prospect, New Haven county, Connecticut, in 1844, and was there educated in the common schools and in the private schools of West Haven and Farmington.

In 1867 Mr. Hotchkiss wedded Mary L. Warner and came to Cleveland with his father-in-law, Stephen C. Warner, who originated the Cleveland Mal- leable Iron Company, now the National Malleable Casting Company, he being then its general manager. Later Mr. Warner retired from this connection to engage in the same line of business at Springfield, Ohio, being associated with the Whitleys at that place. Mr. Hotchkiss was associated with his father-in-law, and after the latter's retirement was superintendent of the corporation in Cleve- land up to 1904, when he himself gave up business life. He is, however, a di- rector of the State Bank & Trust Company, also the Eberhard Manufacturing Company.

Mr. and Mrs. Hotchkiss have had two children, a son and a daughter, Charles W. and Elizabeth. The former attended the common schools of Greenbrier, Ohio, and then entered the iron works under his father, as paymaster, continuing thus until he succeeded the latter as superintendent, and now holds that re- sponsible position with the National Casting Company. The daughter has been well educated, for after attending the Lake Erie College of Painesville, Ohio, she was sent to school in Bradford, Massachusetts, and to the Walnut Lane School of Germantown, Pennsylvania. She married J. W. Aull of Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania, and they now reside in that city. They have two children, Elizabeth L., born in 1899, and John A., born in 1901.

E. W. HOTCHKISS

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The venerable mother of Mr. Hotchkiss, who is now eighty-three years of age, resides with him in his beautiful home, his father having passed away several years ago. Mr. Hotchkiss is a man of strong convictions, firm in support of what he believes to be right, and one whose principles have never been ques- tioned. He was faithful to his duty and was honored by his business associates and the many men he had under his supervision.

CHARLES W. TAYLOR.

Charles W. Taylor was a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of Cleveland. The family name is perpetuated in Taylor Road of East Cleveland, which was named in honor of his father from the fact that it bordered the old homestead farm and he was instrumental in having it laid out. The birth of Charles W. Taylor occurred in Northfield, Summit county, Ohio, May 20, 1837. His parents were Henry and Polly ( Wilder) Taylor, who came to this state from Franklin county, Massachusetts, making the overland journey to Summit county in 1830. They were among the early residents of that locality and Henry Taylor became identified with industrial interests there as a cooper and carpenter. In 1846 he removed with his family to Cleveland and purchased a farm in the village of Euclid, now East Cleveland, devoting his remaining days to general agricultural pursuits. It was this farm which was bordered by Taylor Road, a name that will always be an indication of the early residence of the family in this city.

Charles W. Taylor was only nine years of age at the time of his parents' re- moval to the old homestead in the village of Euclid. He had previously attended the district schools of Northfield, Ohio, and after coming to Cleveland he became a pupil in Shaw Academy, which was located in Euclid, only a short distance from his father's farm. This academy was afterward replaced by a beautiful new building now known as Shaw high school. One of his old schoolmates, Mary S. Adams, 'became his wife and their children and grandchildren have attended the Shaw high school on the site of the academy where Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were educated.

At the age of eighteen years Charles W. Taylor left school and devoted his time to assisting his father on the farm. Later the father erected a residence on Logan street, to which he removed, turning the farm over to his son, who continued to there engage in general agricultural pursuits until sixty-two years of age. He then also retired and built a beautiful home on Allandale avenue, in which he spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of well earned rest and amid the com- forts which his former labor had secured. The farm is still in possession of the family and is now being tilled by S. H. Taylor, a son of our subject.

It was on the 14th of August, 1859, that Charles W. Taylor was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary S. Adams, a daughter of Darius Adams, who was born in the village of Euclid in 1810. His father, John Q. Adams, came overland from New York to Euclid in 1808 and soon afterward purchased a tract of land which he devoted to farming. Darius Adams was one of Cleveland's pioneer contractors and erected many beautiful and substantial homes in early days. He wedded Mary Doan, a daughter of Timothy Doan, who came from Connecticut in com- pany with his father, Timothy Doan, Sr., and settled in the village of Euclid about 1812. A short time afterward, however, he removed to Medina county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming. This family were relatives of Nathaniel Doan, who was one of the first surveyors that did work in Cleveland, being engaged on sur- veys under the direction of Moses Cleveland, the founder of the city in whose honor it was named. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born five sons and one daughter : Henry A., who was born in 1864 and is connected with the Bingham Hardware Company ; Seth H., who was born in 1866 and is a farmer by occupa-

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 89

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