A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 97

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 97

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Father Houck is not unknown through his writings. In 1888 he prepared the life of Bishop Rappe, which was printed in pamphlet form and in 1889-90 he prepared and published a volume of about three hundred pages called The Church in Northern Ohio, four editions of which were published. He also wrote the History of the Diocese of Cleveland, (750 pp.) published in 1903. Another biographer has said of him: "A study of the strong, expressive countenance of Father Houck, so aptly portrayed in the accompanying engraving, will bear out what has just been said. The countenance evidences also the happy blending of strength and vigor of mind, with a mild but rigidly exacting manner. More- over, it indicates that he will not yield his convictions, except to authority and as an act of obedience, but that he will go more than halfway that generous justice be done. His many pronounced qualities, however, and the seeming intensity of his firmness and decision of character are so modified by the Christian graces as to apparently unite without distinction all his faculties in harmonious and lovable personality."

FLOYD D. SHOOK.

Floyd D. Shook, the secretary and treasurer of the Adams & Ford Company, of Cleveland, wholesale dealers in boots and shoes, was born in Portage county, Ohio, on the 5th of March, 1867, his parents being David and Linda ( Stambaugh) Shook. The father, whose birth occurred in Lockport, New York, on the 13th of March, 1833, was but two years of age when brought to Portage county, this state, where he spent the remainder of his life. Throughout his active career he was success- fully engaged in business as a carpenter, contractor and builder, but during the last fifteen years of his life he lived retired in the enjoyment of well earned rest. His demise occurred on the 17th of January, 1909. In 1861 he had wedded Miss Linda Stambaugh, who was born in Ohio in January, 1843, and died June 23, 1909, in Randolph, Portage county, Ohio.

Floyd D. Shook supplemented his preliminary education by a course of study in Hiram College, which institution he attended for two years, and then entered the Ohio Normal University (now the Ohio Northern University), from which he was graduated in 1887. He had secured the funds necessary for an advanced education by his work as a teacher. When his education was completed he became an appren- tice at the carpenter's and finisher's trade and subsequently went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was employed in an office for about a year. On the expira- tion of that period he came to Cleveland and entered the service of the Root &

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McBride Company, while a short time afterward he secured a position with the E. Schneider Company, remaining with the latter concern for about four years. He next entered the employ of the Adams & Ford Company, with which he has been continuously identified to the present time, working his way steadily upward from the position of assistant bookkeeper to that of secretary and treasurer of the concern. The Adams & Ford Company was incorporated in 1904 and formerly conducted business as manufacturers and wholesale dealers in boots and shoes but have now abandoned manufacturing and confine their operations exclusively to job- bing. They are agents for Candee and Federal rubber goods and Woonsocket boots ; are jobbers of a general line of footwear, and are also manufacturers of the "Everstick" rubbers and owners of the Everstick patents. These goods are sold throughout the United States and many parts of the world. They are represented by sixteen traveling salesmen, while twenty men are employed in the store at Cleve- land. In his official capacity Mr. Shook has contributed in large measure to the success of the enterprise, being a man of keen business sagacity and unfaltering energy.

On the 20th of November, 1889, Mr. Shook was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Trescott, a native of Ohio. Their city residence is at 1910 East Ninetieth street and their country home at Randolph, where he has a handsome estate. He enjoys the delights of travel and more limited vacations are largely spent in fish- ing. In his political views he is a republican, while fraternally he is identified with the Royal League, acting as state treasurer of that organization. He likewise be- longs to the Chamber of Commerce, the Cleveland Commercial Travelers, the Cleveland Advertising Club, the Cleveland Association of Credit Men, of which he is serving as vice president and the Colonial Club, and is a director in the two last named. His wife is also a member of the Colonial Club and takes an active and helpful interest in church work. In his business life Mr. Shook has been suc- cessful and he deserves his prosperity, for it has been gained through earnest, per- sistent labor. He is popular with his fellow townsmen because of his genial and kindly spirit and is generous in support of all worthy causes.

ANTON POELKING.

Nature seems to have intended that men shall enjoy in the evening of life a period of rest from labor. In youth one is full of ambition and energy but in later years these are directed by the sound judgment which comes from experi- ence. If opportunity is wisely utilized through the years of early and mature manhood, success eventually follows, bringing a competence that permits of re- tirement in later years. Such has been the record of Anton Poelking, who won his prosperity in the conduct of gardening interests and is now living retired. He was born in Steinfeldt, Germany, September 16, 1835, and is a son of H. Henry and Mary Catherine (Graber) Poelking, both of whom were also natives of the fatherland.

Anton Poelking was educated in the old country and came to the United States in 1866, for the tales which he heard concerning the opportunities of the new world proved most attractive and alluring. Believing that he might benefit his financial condition on this side of the water, he made his way to Cleveland, where he began gardening. For thirty years he continued in that business with great success and since he retired in 1896 he became interested in real-estate dealing and in building operations and in this was quite successful.

On the 22d of November, 1865, Mr. Poelking was united in marriage to Miss Mary Caroline Nieberding, who was born January 17, 1839. Eight children blessed this union, but three of the number, Bernard, Elizabeth and Joseph, died in infancy. The others of the family are: Carrie, who is the wife of Henry Harks and has two children, Henry Anthony and Mary Caroline; Anton, Jr.,

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ANTON POELKING

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who married Frances Rigenauer and has four children, Mary, Agnes, Frances and Catharine; Henry, who wedded Cecelia Baumann and has one son, Fred; Mary, who is the wife of John Schulte and has three children, Marie Catherine, John Anton and Joseph Clements; and Frank, who is now in the west. The others are all residents of Cleveland.

Mr. Poelking owns his own home at No. 1260 East Eighty-fourth street, and also an adjoining lot at the corner of Eighty-fourth and Superior streets. He is comfortably situated in life as the result of his former industry and toil, and that his record has been an honorable one is indicated in the high regard in which he is uniformly held. He and all of his family are communicants of the Catholic church and he is a member of St. Francis Benevolent Society, which is connected with the church which they attend.

EDWIN CONVERSE HIGBEE.

The annals of Cleveland record no life of greater nobility than that of Edwin Converse Higbee, of whom it was said "He wore to the very end the white flower of a blameless life." In a review of his life record one is also reminded of the words of Abraham Lincoln, "There is something better than making a living- making a life." He was rich in the legacy of honorable, upright manhood and principles which came from his ancestry. He was of English and early colonial stock, the line of descent on his father's side dating back to the year 1647, when Edward Higbee, then spelled Higbie, was granted a "house lot" in New London, Connecticut. His maternal line, well authenticated for nearly nine centuries, finds its earliest known origin among the Norman knights, who a half century before the conquest of England tilted lance upon the fields of sunny France. Mr. Hig- bee, however, made no boast of the fact that he could name his ancestors for twenty-five generations in an unbroken line. On the paternal side his ancestry is traced back to Edward Higbee, who was probably born in England and was at New London, Connecticut, in 1647. He was a resident in 1674 of Jamaica, Long Island, where he died, his will there recorded bearing date October 27, 1694. His son, John Higbee, born about 1658, married Rebecca Treadwell, of Fairfield, Connecticut, on the Ist of May, 1769, and they became residents of Middletown, that state. Their son, Edward Higbee born at Middletown in 1684, married Rebecca Wheeler, of Stratfield, now Bridgeport, November 29, 1706. He removed to Westfield, Connecticut, December 17, 1773, and died there No- vember 21, 1775, aged ninety-two years. John Higbee, son of Edward Higbee, was born at Middletown, July 16, 1707, was married March 9, 1731, to Sarah Candee and in 1773 removed to Westfield. His wife was born at Middletown, May 3, 1710. His will, dated October 8, 1790, mentions his wife, Sarah, and several children, and his estate inventoried at three hundred and six pounds and thirteen shill- ings. Zacheus Higbee, born at Middletown, January 5, 1735, was there married October 16, 1760, to Rebecca Wilcox, and their son Jeremiah was born at Middle- town, March 20, 1766. He was a Baptist minister, and died at Turin, New York, in 1842. His wife was Mrs. Lydia Higbee, and they had three children, includ- ing Jeremiah Higbee, father of Edwin C. Higbee. He was born at Middletown, Connecticut, in 1791-2, removed to Lodi, Ohio, where he followed merchandis- ing, and was married there June 12, 1835, to Sarah Converse. After her death he wedded Cornelia Brainard, while his third wife was Virginia Foote. His death occurred in Cleveland, January 22, 1878.

On the distaff side Edwin C. Higbee is descended from Deacon Edward Con- verse, who was born at Wakerly, England, January 30, 1590, and in 1630 ac- companied Governor Winthrop to Boston, settling first in Charlestown, and af- terward, as one of the seven men appointed by the church at Charlestown, founded the church and town of Woburn, Massachusetts. He became a selectman of

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the town and spent his remaining days there. Many of the descendants of Ed- ward Converse have filled conspicuous positions in the learned professions, the commercial world and in public life. Among the well known names are those of Theodore Norris, U. S. N., William Dean Howells, the author, Larken G. Mead, the sculptor, and John H. Converse, manufacturer and capitalist of Philadelphia. The records go back in direct line to Roger De Coigneries, of Coigneries, France, and Durham, England, born about 1010, and the line goes down through Roger De Coigneries, Durham, England; Roger De Coniers, Durham and Sockburn, England; Galfried Conyers, John Conyers, Sir Humphrey Conyers, Sir John Con- yers and Roger Conyers, all of Sockburn, England; Sir John Conyer, Sockburn, England, who died in 1395; Robert Conyers, of Sockburn, who was born in 1371, and died in 1433; John Conyers, Sir Christopher Conyers; Sir John Conyers and Sir John Conyers, II, all of Hornby, England; Reginald Conyers, Wakerly, England, who died in 1514; Richard Conyers, Wakerly, England; Christopher Conyers, of Wakerly, England, who was baptized in 1552; Edward Convers, Wakerly, England, born January 30, 1590, and died August 10, 1663, at Woburn, Massachusetts; Lieutenant James Converse, who was born in Wakerly, England, in 1620, married Anna Long, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, October 24, 1643, and died at Woburn, Massachusetts, May 10, 1715; Major James Con- verse, who was born at Woburn, Massachusetts, November 16, 1645, was married to Hannah Carter, January 1, 1668, and died July 8, 1706; John Converse, who was born at Woburn, Massachusetts, March 22, 1673, was married to Abigail Sawyer, May 22, 1699, and died at Woburn, January 6, 1708; Joshua Converse, who was born at Woburn, Massachusetts, January 3, 1704, was married to Rachel Blanchard, July 31, 1729, and was drowned in 1774; Sergeant Joseph Con- verse, who was born at Litchfield, New Hampshire, November 13, 1739, was married to Elizabeth Davis, May 27, 1762, and died February 16, 1828, at Ches- terfield, New Hampshire, (sergeant in Captain Moore's company, Colonel Bald- win's regiment, Massachusetts troops. Marched on Lexington alarm of April 19, 1775, from Bedford, Massachusetts. War of the American Revolution.) ; William Converse, who was born October 12, 1774, at Bedford, Massachusetts, married November 13, 1800, to Sarah Hunt, and died at Westmoreland, New Hampshire, December 31, 1831 ; and Sarah Converse, who was born at Weathers- field, Vermont, April 12, 1804. She became a resident of Ohio, and at Lodi, June 12, 1835, became the wife of Jeremiah Higbee, the leading merchant of the town. Unto them were born Edwin Converse Higbee, September 7, 1837, and Joseph Converse Higbee, September 6, 1842. Six days after the birth of the lat- ter the mother died, and in October the infant son was laid by her side.

Edwin C. Higbee was only five years of age when bereft of a mother's care but the father married again, and throughout his entire life Mr. Higbee ac- knowledged his indebtedness to the influence and care of his father's third wife, Virginia Foote. He was a thoughtful boy, yet with a merry heart; gentle in manner, of kindly disposition, but earnest and purposeful. His youth was passed in the manner of most village lads, who are surrounded by the influences of a cultured home. After acquiring his early education in the public schools he entered the Baptist College at Granville, Ohio, where he remained for two years. At the age of sixteen he united with the Congregational church at Lodi and his Christianity was ever the most influential factor in his after life. Because of an attractive business pending he did not complete his college course but joined J. G. Hower, a merchant of Burbank, under the firm style of Hower & Higbee. Removing to Cleveland, September 10, 1860, for a broader field of labor, their house became one of the leading retail stores of the city. With the growth of Cleveland the trade expanded, its conduct being characterized by the highest principles of commercial integrity and enterprise. Mr. Hower died in 1897 and in 1902 the business was incorporated as the Higbee Company, with E. C. Hig- bee as president, in which position he continued until his death, when he was succeeded by William T. Higbee. For forty-five years he was prominently iden-

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tified with the business interests of Cleveland, was universally respected in commercial circles, and by his employees was loved and revered. In addition to his mercantile interests he was for many years a trustee of the Society for Sav- ings in Cleveland and an active and honored member of the Chamber of Com- merce. From a memorial volume we quote: "Among the men who have helped in the making of the city of Cleveland in the last half century, Edwin C. Higbee stood as an example of successful, conscientious devotion to the best interests of the community in which for forty-five years he lived and labored. His was a successful business life in a larger and broader sense than is commonly expressed in the figured totals of accumulated wealth. He was rich in having made his name a synonym for unquestioned integrity among his compeers in the business life of Cleveland, and richer still in that wealth of confidence and loyal devotion which he had earned from his business associates and employes. There can be no higher tribute to his memory than the fact that among the sincerest mourn- ers at his death were those with whom he had been in his life in closest contact as an employer. No man long conceals his true character from his employes."

On the 23d of August, 1860, just prior to his removal to Cleveland, Mr. Higbee married Miss Mary Elizabeth Haines, a daughter of Austin David and Hannah (Tryon) Haines, of Lodi. They became parents of five children, four of whom, together with the mother, survive. Howard Haines, Ph. D., the eldest, prepared for college at Brooks Military Academy, and was graduated from Yale in 1884. He further pursued his studies at the Johns Hopkins University, where he took a special course in chemistry, and also studied chemistry in Germany. He is now a professor in chemistry and physics. He married Florence Johnson, of Wooster, Ohio. William Tryon, the second son, after attending the public schools and Brooks Military Academy, entered the employ of Hower & Higbee in 1885, became secretary of the Higbee Company in 1902, and upon the death of his father succeeded to the presidency. He occupied a prominent and valued position in business circles and in addition to his mercantile interests is a direc- tor in the Cleveland National Bank. He belongs to the Union, Hermit, Euclid, and Rowfant Clubs, the Chamber of Commerce, and to the Calvary Presbyterian church. His wife, Mrs. Ella Higbee, is a daughter of Eugene H. Purdue, of Cleveland, and they have two children, Edwin C. II, and Eugene P. Mary E. Higbee became the wife of William H. Cleminshaw, of Cleveland, and their four children are Russell, Holbrook, Clarence and Charles. Edith A. is the wife of William T. Pullman, of New York, and they have three children, John, Edwin and William.

Mr. Higbee was most devoted to the welfare of his family, not only provid- ing liberally for their material interests but also paved the way for their intel- lectual and moral progress. His interest in the higher things of life, his sym- pathy with every cause having for its object the relief of human suffering and the uplifting of humanity, broadened his horizon and made life in its best sense his business. As a citizen Mr. Higbee shirked no duty and sought no reward, save the consciousness of having thrown the weight of his influence where it counted most for civic righteousness and the moral and material benefit of the people. He was wisely conservative, prudent and safe in his estimate of men and of measures affecting the public weal; frankly tolerant of honest opinion, how- ever divergent from his own conviction; independent without self assertion; patriotic without boasting.

No history of Mr. Higbee would be complete without reference to his relig- ious life, for his Christian faith was ever a dominating force in his nature and his conduct. For thirty-five years he was a ruling elder and his service in the sessions of both the Old Stone and Calvary Presbyterian churches was character- ized by marked ability. His wise and prudent counsel and self sacrificing de- votion endeared him to his colaborers in the work of the Master whom he loved. Christianity was to him a reality; a philosophy of life, which solved all prob- lems, quieted all fear, banished every doubt. He did more than believe it-he

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lived it and his life exemplified his faith. He died January 18, 1906, after an illness of brief duration. His character was one of pure gold, without a particle of dross. He was characterized by Charles F. Thwing, of the Western Reserve University, who wrote of him as one of the gentlest of all gentlemen and one of the noblest of men.

SPENCER MARCUS DUTY.

Spencer Marcus Duty was born September 28, 1878, in Cleveland, Ohio, where he has since lived. His father, Daniel Duty, was a native of New York state, born in 1832, and in 1836 came to Cleveland, where he engaged in the brick and ice business until his death, which occurred January 7, 1902. His father and grandfather had both engaged in the same line of business, his father having been a pioneer brick manufacturer of Cleveland. Spencer M. Duty now has in his possession a patent given his grandfather on a brick machine, and signed March 8, 1833, by Andrew Jackson, president of the United States and Richard B. Taney, attorney general and afterward chief justice.

The mother of Spencer M. Duty bore the maiden name of Sarah L. Cozad, and is a daughter of Andrew Cozad and a representative of one of the oldest families of East Cleveland. They were of French Huguenot lineage, the original American ancestors coming to this country from Scotland in the latter part of the eighteenth century, having left France at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The farms which were at one time owned by the Cozad, Duty, and Ford families comprised practically all of what is now Wade Park and Euclid Heights and the land lying between.

Mrs. Duty is still living at the age of sixty-five, her birth having occurred July 22, 1844. In the family were four children, Spencer M. Duty being the elder of the two surviving members of the family, his sister, Alice Duty, being at home with her mother.

Mr. Duty received his education in the public schools of Cleveland, complet- ing his high school course in the class of 1897. He then entered the brick-manu- facturing business with his father, upon whose death, in 1902, he succeeded to the management of the plant at Collinwood. He continued the development and extension of the enterprise and, in 1906, in company with Chas. J. Deckman, of Cleveland, purchased a plant at Carrollton, Ohio. In 1908 these two plants, to- gether with the plant of The Malvern Clay Company, at Malvern, Ohio, which was one of the first to produce paving brick in the state, were combined under the name of The Deckman-Duty Brick Company, Mr. Duty being elected presi- dent of the company. It is one of the largest of its kind in the state, shipping about four thousand carloads of paving brick annually.

Upon the formation of the National Paving Brick Manufacturers' Associa- tion, Mr. Duty was elected its first secretary and has continued taking an active part in its work. He is also a member of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and The Cleveland Athletic Club. He is interested to some extent in Collinwood real estate, but resides at the old Cozad family home at No. 11307 Euclid avenue, which is the property of his mother and one of the oldest residences in the city, having been erected about 1838 by his grandfather, who cut the timber and made the brick used in its construction.

On the 12th of December, 1905, Mr. Duty was married in Cleveland to Miss Mabel F. Cummer, a daughter of F. D. Cummer, the founder of the F. D. Cummer & Son Company, drying machinery, of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Duty have one son, Spencer Cummer, who was born February 9, 1907.

By his ballot, Mr. Duty supports the republican party at national elections but is not strongly partisan in local affairs. He is also a member of the Euclid Avenue Congregational church, which originally numbered in its membership

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SPENCER M. DUTY

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the Cozad, Ford and Duty families, the old house of worship at Doan and Euclid having been erected entirely of brick given by his grandfather for the purpose. It will be seen that Mr. Duty is a representative of two of the old- est families of the city, who through the intervening years have been prominently connected with those interests which have figured most largely in the city's substantial development and progress in other lines. His own record is in keeping with the history of an honored ancestry, and he is today recognized as one of Cleveland's most respected young business men.

REUBEN FAIRBANKS SMITH.

When ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim accomplished satiety follows, effort languishes and industry becomes futile. It is the man who is not satisfied with present conditions who delights in the doing, who finds pleasure in exerting his powers and in solving intricate problems, that becomes a forceful factor in the world's development. From early youth Reuben Fairbanks Smith has been one of the world's workers and his success, so great as to seem almost magical, is at- tributable directly to his own labors. Entering the employ of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad Company as paymaster in 1855, he was gradually promoted to positions of greater and greater responsibility until in 1891 he became president of the road, in which official capacity he has since represented its interests.

Reuben Fairbanks Smith was born at Windham, Connecticut, on the 30th of June, 1830, his parents being Edwin and Amanda (Frink) Smith. At the age of ten years he came to Cleveland and in the acquirement of an education attended the public schools, completing his studies at the academy conducted by F. J. Hamilton of this city. On putting aside his text-books he secured employment as a clerk in a hardware store at Newark, Ohio, and afterward accepted the position of cashier and bookkeeper with Raymond, North & Company, dry goods merchants of Cleve- land, remaining in their service from 1851 until 1855. In March of the latter year he became identified with the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad Company, entering the service of that corporation in the capacity of paymaster. Six years later he organized the accounting department of the company and was placed in charge thereof as auditor, while from 1869 until 1871 inclusive, covering a period of three years, he filled the office of vice president. Under the lease of the property to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company on December 1, 1871, he was appointed assistant general manager of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Division of the Pennsylvania Lines west of Pittsburg. In 1889 he was commissioned to organize the voluntary relief department of the Pennsylvania Lines west of Pittsburg, and successfully con- ducted its affairs for eleven years. At the end of that time, he was retired from active service with the Pennsylvania Company as required in the case of all officers and employes by the regulations of its pension department. In 1891, following the demise of J. N. Mccullough, he succeeded to the presidency of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad Company and has continued in that position to the present time. The following is an extract from a record of his career published by the Writers Press Association of New York: "Strict attention to his duties and absolute faith- fulness to the interests of the company into the service of which he entered on one of the lowest rungs of the ladder, led to rapid and well earned promotion, un- til he reached the very important position he now holds. Yet he is among the most unassuming of men, steady, quiet, and of an unostentatious disposition and ac- complishes his duties with apparently no effort. His ability to master details and his thorough grasp of situations makes him equal to the most complex conditions, which is undoubtedly the secret of his great success."

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume II, Part 97

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