USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 103
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HARRY S. LE BARON.
Harry S. LeBaron, a well known and successful architect of Cleveland, was born in this city on the 24th of September, 1872. He is a representative of an old titled family of France that at the time of the Revolution came to America, settling in Vermont. His father, Samuel T. LeBaron, whose birth occurred in Vermont on the 28th of January, 1835, made his way from the Green Mountain state to Cleveland and here give his attention to the real-estate business until called to his final rest in November, 1908. He resided in the state of Indiana during the period of the Civil war and was in the railway service as an employe of the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Company. In Cleveland he wedded Miss Jennie McVean, who was born in Ohio on the 20th of September, 1843. Her demise occurred in 1892.
Harry S. LeBaron attended the public schools in the acquirement of an educa- tion and putting aside his text-books he became associated with his father in the real-estate business, being thus actively engaged until 1897. At that time he went south and for about three years was employed as draftsman by architectural firms in Atlanta, Georgia, and in North Carolina. On returning to Cleveland he secured a position with C. W. Hopkinson and after a short time entered the service of the machinery concern known as the Dyer Company, remaining with the firm for about three years. On the expiration of that period he embarked in business for him- self as a partner of E. W. Gebhardt, organizing the firm of LeBaron & Gebhardt, architects and general contractors. This relation was maintained for four years, at the end of which time, in July, 1908, Mr. LeBaron severed his connection with the concern and has since been in business alone. Most of his work has been done in Cleveland and he has erected a large number of factories and apartment houses and also a few residences. His business is continually increasing in volume and importance, for in all of his affairs he has been found thoroughly reliable and upright, never being known to take advantage of the necessities of another in a trade transaction in even the slightest degree.
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In his political views Mr. LeBaron is a republican and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but has never sought nor desired office, prefer- ring to concentrate his energies upon his private interests. He is widely and favor- ably known in the city where nearly his entire life has been spent, the circle of his friends being almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances.
HON. AUGUSTUS J. RICKS, LL. D.
Hon. Augustus J. Ricks, who passed away on the 23d of December, 1906, was well known and highly respected not only in Cleveland but also throughout the entire state of Ohio. His birth occurred in Massillon, Ohio, on the 10th of Feb- ruary, 1843, his parents being Charles F. and Regina Marguerite (La Pierre) Ricks. The father was of a good and esteemed Prussian family, while the mother was the daughter of a French officer. The paternal grandfather was a man of large means and engaged in the forwarding and commission business. He was the owner of a large number of horses and wagons for the transportation of goods from city to city, all of which Napoleon seized for the use of the Fernch army in its German campaign of 1813. This seizure of his property came to him as a sudden and sweeping misfortune and, depriving him of his business and property, left his sons dependent upon their own exertions for the future. His eldest son remained in Prussia and, entering the army, served in the staff corps throughout the brilliant campaign against Austria in 1866, and during the last Franco-Prussian war he was a general of the staff of the late Emperor Frederick. He now resides in Wiesbaden and is on the retired army list as "Wirklicher Geheimer Kriegsrath a D," being retired after an active service of over fifty years.
Charles F. Ricks, the father of Augustus J. Ricks, followed the tide of immi- gration to America and, coming to Ohio, settled at Massillon-at that time one of the most important towns in the state. Of this town he became a leading business man and served as its postmaster for two terms.
Augustus J. Ricks obtained his early scholastic training in the public schools and, having completed the prescribed course at the Massillon high school, entered Ken- yon College in June, 1861, then the foremost college in the west. While an under- graduate he joined the Philomathesian Literary Society, a secret organization founded in 1827, and also the Iota Chapter of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, which had but a few years before granted its Iota Chapter-the first chapter granted by it in any other than eastern states. He did not graduate at Kenyon College but left the institution in order to enter the Union army. Kenyon afterward conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. In the spring of 1862 Mr. Ricks was found with a commission from Governor Todd for the purpose of recruiting a company in Mas- sillon for the One Hundred and Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was com- missioned by Governor Tod as first lieutenant, and the captaincy of the company recruited was refused by him because of his youth and inexperience. He served throughout the war with honor and credit, being with General Burnside in east Tennessee at the capture of Cumberland Gap, at the siege of Knoxville and the operations of the army during the winter of 1863-4. In January. 1864, he was detailed as aid-de-camp on the staff of Brigadier General M. S. Hascall, command- ing the Second Division of the Twenty-third Army Corps, and in this position he served throughout the Atlanta campaign. In June, 1865, he served as aid-de-camp with rank of captain on the staff of Major General J. D. Cox in North Carolina, and thus at the close of the war he was serving with the rank of captain.
When hostilities had ceased Mr. Ricks returned to his home in Massillon and there began reading law. During the war he had become acquainted with East Tennessee and, having been favorably impressed with the city of Knoxville, took up his abode there in September, 1865. He entered the law office of the late Judge John Baxter, of the United States circuit court, and in the spring of 1866 became a
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member of the firm of Baxter, Champion & Ricks, which for years was one of the leading law firms in the state of Tennessee. In 1870 he was drawn into editorial work, rather against his inclinations, but to meet a supposed temporary emergency, without intending to interrupt his practice as a lawyer. He became the editor and one of the founders of the Knoxville Daily Chronicle, the only republican daily paper then published in the entire southern states outside of the city of Louisville. In September, 1875, Mr. Ricks disposed of his interest in the Chronicle to the well known "Parson" Brownlow and then returned to Massillon, Ohio, by reason of family and business considerations. At that place he entered into a partnership with Judge Anson Pease in the practice of their profession. In March, 1878, he was made clerk of the United States circuit court for the northern district of Ohio, receiving his appointment from Judge Baxter, his former partner, and in 1886 he was appointed clerk of the district court by Judge Martin Welker. From 1878 to 1889 Mr. Ricks acted as standing master in chancery for the northern district of Ohio, and during that time he decided many important cases arising out of the foreclosure of what was then known as the "Narrow-Gauge System" of railroads, connecting Cincinnati, Toledo and St. Louis, the Wabash and other railroads, in- volving large interests and new questions in marshaling, mortgage and other liens. and claims against railroads, and relating to the powers and authority of the United States courts in the operation of railroads through receivers. Many of his reports as master were reviewed in the supreme court and all were sustained. Upon the retirement of Judge Welker from the United States district court for the northern Ohio district, in June of 1889, Captain Ricks was appointed judge of this district by President Harrison. In this office he displayed great ability, his decisions being noted for their breadth and accuracy. His decision in March, 1893, in what is commonly known as the Ann Arbor case, involving the rights of railroad employes to leave the service of their employers without reference to conditions or circum- stances under which they attempt to leave such employment, attracted very general attention and has been followed and approved in several later and equally impor- tant cases. He long held a very high rank in his noble profession and as a jurist and judge he was profound and learned. As a politician Judge Ricks was ever a firm and stanch republican, but after accepting his last office the dignity, etiquette and usefulness of the same never permitted him to take that interest and active part in politics which he would have been inclined to take under other circum- stanes. He always maintained an enthusiastic interest in Kenyon College, his alma mater, and delivered lectures in common law and code of pleading. His de- mise, which occurred on the 23d of December, 1906, was deeply mourned by all with whom he had come in contact throughout his active, honorable and useful life.
ABRAHAM B. KATZ.
Abraham B. Katz is numbered among the representative and successful busi- ness men of Cleveland, being the proprietor of the Acme Brass Works from Seventy-fifth to Seventy-sixth street-a concern engaged in the manufacture of plumbers' supplies and brass fittings. He was born in Russia on the 17th of August, 1869, a son of Isidor and Anna Katz. He obtained his education in the public schools and when eighteen years of age put aside his text-books and began providing for his own support through the sale of fish nets. Subsequently he was engaged in the fish business for a period of seven years. In April, 1893. having determined to establish his home in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and after landing on the shores of this country at once made his way to Cleveland, Ohio. For six years following his arrival here he peddled iron, brass and junk, and in 1899 established the Acme Brass Works for the man- ufacture of brass castings and plumbers' supplies. Mr. Katz furnishes the sup-
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plies for the city water works and was the first man to make first class supplies for that institution. He has won a gratifying measure of prosperity in the con- duct of his business interests and the success which he now enjoys is all the more creditable by reason of the fact that it has come as the direct result of his untiring energy, sound judgment and capable management.
In August, 1894, in Cleveland, Mr. Katz was united in marriage to Miss Rosa Katz and they now have four children, as follows : Blanche, thirteen years of age ; Willie, ten years old; Solomon, who is seven years old; and Harry, a little lad of six. All are attending the public schools. The family residence is at No. 2733 East Fifty-first street.
Politically Mr. Katz is a stanch republican and in religious faith an orthodox Jew. He is a trustee of the National Union. He has no occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in the new world. In fact he has always regarded it as one of the wisest steps he ever made, for in this country, where labor and ambition are not hampered by caste or class, he has worked his way steadily upward, winning success and at the same time gaining the good will of many friends in the city where he makes his home.
ROBERT A. HAWLEY.
Within recent years the farm department of the fire insurance companies all over the United States has shown a steady and remarkable growth. As the agriculturists have increased their investments in substantial buildings and valu- able machinery they have been loath to leave them unprotected against incen- diarism or accidental fires. Then too, they have awakened to the wisdom of insuring crops and cattle and consequently the handling of their risks forms a very heavy portion of the insurance business. Cleveland is the home of some very important agencies of representative insurance companies whose officials and connections make them reliable beyond any question. One of the best known state companies is the Ohio Farmers Insurance Company, whose able representative in this city, Robert A. Hawley, is the subject of this brief re- view. Mr. Hawley was born in Leroy, Ohio, August 16, 1877, being a son of Amos H. and Sarah E. (Philips) Hawley.
Amos H. Hawley was born in 1849 and died in 1890. The Ohio Farmers Insurance Company was born the year before him and all of his business life he was connected with it. When but twenty-four years old he was made its secretary. His other son, Frank H. is now treasurer of the company. At the time of his death, Amos H. Hawley was secretary and treasurer. His wife was born in 1848 in Leroy, Ohio, and died in 1908. Both the Hawley and Philips families were among the early settlers of Leroy.
Robert A. Hawley was educated in Leroy and at the University school of Cleveland, Oberlin Preparatory School and Williams College of Williamstown, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated in 1900. Owing to trouble with his eyes from study, Mr. Hawley was forced to remain inactive for a year, but recovering was sent to Elyria as the representative there of the company with which he is now connected, and for three years ably attended to its business at that point. In 1903 he came to Cleveland, buying the interests of M. A. King, since which time he has been the representative of the company here. In addi- tion to Cleveland, the company operates throughout Ohio and has some risks on the farmers and merchants of Lincoln, Nebraska, as well as some minor agencies. Until recently the company handled only farm risks, but now accepts those on city property. All profits of the company go back into the surplus thus making the policy holders doubly safe. Mr. Hawley has a partner, his firm being Hawley & Reed.
R. A. HAWLEY
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In 1904 Mr. Hawley married Edith Hay, born at Seville, Ohio. One daugh- ter was born to them on April 5, 1906, Sarah Elizabeth. Mr. Hawley belongs to the Del Kappa Epsilon, a Greek letter fraternity, while his political affilia- tions are with the republican party. He is thoroughly abreast of his business and understands insurance in very branch. His business has shown a steady and healthy growth since the establishment and he is proud of his connection with it. Mr. Hawley is one of the energetic young business men of Cleveland who is reaching out for new territory although insisting upon the protection of his policy holders by adherence to the conservative methods which have resulted in the acquiring of the present position occupied by his house.
PROFESSOR FREDERICK L. ODENBACH, S. J.
Professor Frederick L. Odenbach, a teacher of religon and science in St. Igna- tius College, was born in Rochester, New York, October 21, 1857, and is a son of John Odenbach, a native of Rein-Pflaz, Germany, who was a baby in arms when brought to the new world. He settled at Rochester, New York, where he later engaged in business as a fur and hat merchant. He married Elizabeth Minges, who was born in Rochester, New York, and both the father and mother have now passed away. The two daughters of the family, also deceased, were Emma and Lucy. The former was a professed nun of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, known by the name of Aloisianna. Lucy was about to enter a convent when taken ill, her death resulting soon afterward in 1883.
Professor Frederick L. Odenbach was educated in the parish schools of Roches- ter, New York, and in the Collegiate Institute of that city, in which he spent two years. He was afterward a student for seven years in Canisius College at Buffalo, New York, where he remained for seven years, pursuing a classical and commercial course. He afterward studied for five years at Limburg, Holland, attending the Exaten, Wynandsrade and Blyenbec Universities. Four years more were devoted to study in England, three at Ditten Hall and one at Portico in Lancashire. His studies thus covered a wide range, making him a man of broad scholarly attain- ments.
In 1893 the Rev. F. L. Odenbach returned to the United States and came to St. Ignatius College, where he has since remained. In that year he was made prefect general for the college and for ten years has taught physics and chemistry, having served as prefect general for only one year. From 1903 until 1908 he also taught Shakespeare in the college and in 1908-9 has been teaching religion and science. His father was a great student of Shakespeare and the Rev. Odenbach had to read those plays to him in his youthful days. The father was an excellent scholar and in his library were four picture volumes on chemistry, physics and zoology. These drew the attention of his son in his boyhood days and he began reading and study- ing the books and they made an impress upon his mind that lasted through his life and has largely influenced his trend of thought and teaching. He is a man of com- prehensive scientific knowledge and during his connection with St. Ignatius Col- lege has built up the meteorological observatory, doing work here that has attracted world-wide attention. Here on the 6th of December, 1901, he made observations of the Hevelian Halo, a rare phenomenon. The halo of ninety degrees, called the Hevelian Halo after Hevelius, its first discoverer, is very rare. It seems that only three or four observations of this phenomenon were on record before the director of the St. Ignatius observatory obtained probably the first glimpse of it in the twen- tieth century. Only three or four known observations of this halo have been made. Rev. Odenbach has also done notable work with the Secchi Meteorograph, built by the great astronomer and meteorologist about 1860. It is the property of the Smithsonian Institution and has been in use in the St. Ignatius observatory since 1897. It records wind direction and velocity, time and amount of rain, the moist-
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ure of the atmosphere and the pressure. He has also done notable work with the Ceraunograph, the more notable from the fact that reports from different parts of Europe concerning the forms of instrument used there are anything but satisfac- tory. With this instrument the observatory director at St. Ignatius is able to cut out the effects of trolley sparks, house bells or any other effects of that nature and still get the effects of thunderstorms from great distances. Sheet lightning on the horizon is also faithfully registered. Rev. Odenbach has done much original work in this connection and his labors have been a contribution to science. The latest and most important achievement is the organization of a seismological service throughout the United States, including sixteen Jesuit colleges each with a Wiechert seismograph. This, so far, is the only set of instruments which is able to furnish a set of earthquake grams which are comparable.
FRANK SERVIS MASTEN.
As a member of the law firm of Goulder, Holding & Masten, Frank Servis Masten needs no introduction to Cleveland for, as such, he is numbered with the distinguished lawyers of the city, the firm ranking among the foremost in ability and in the extent of its clientage. A native of Mahoning county, Ohio, he was born in Smith township, October 16, 1865. The family history can be traced back for three or four hundred years and a complete genealogy has been compiled. The grandfather was born in Mahoning county, near Salem, Ohio, where the family was among the first established there. He devoted his life to farming. His wife came from New Jersey to Ohio in 1802 and it was about the same time that the Masten family was established in this state, both families being here represented for more than a century.
His father, Landon Masten, born in Mahoning county, Ohio, in 1830, died May 22. 1882. He was a farmer in early life, but later studied law, was admitted to the bar and practiced in Canfield, Ohio, for about ten years. He was associated with Judge Giles H. Van Hyning and Francis Servis in a partnership relation and gained an eminent position as a representative of the Ohio bar. In politics he was a republican until the Tilden campaign but was not active except in local politics, exerting his influence when possible among his neighbors and fellow townsmen. He married Harriet Santee, who was born in Smith township, Mahoning county, Ohio, October 13. 1831, and is still living in Cleveland. She is a daughter of Wil- liam Santee, also a native of that county and a farmer by occupation. He was active in local political circles and a man of considerable influence in his commun- ity. He married a daughter of General William Blackburn, who was a soldier in the war of 1812. while his father served as a soldier of the Revolutionary war from Pennsylvania.
In the public schools of Canfield, Ohio, Frank Servis Masten pursued his early education and was graduated from the Northeastern Ohio Normal College in 1885 with the Bachelor of Science degree, his alma mater conferring upon him the Mas- ter of Arts degree in 1906. He studied law in the legal department of the Big Four Railroad Company under the direction of H. H. Poppleton and S. H. Hold- ing, the latter being one of his present partners. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1893 and remained in the office of the Big Four Railroad until the fall of 1893, when he entered the office of his present partners as law clerk, later being admitted to partnership with them, with offices in the Rockefeller building. There is per- haps no law firm in the state that has a larger or more important clientage. Their practice is largely confined to corporation, maritime and insurance law. Mr. Masten was admitted to practice in the supreme court of the United States in 1896 and has practiced in the first, second, sixth, seventh and eighth United States circuit courts of appeal. Much of his work has been before departments in Washington in connection with matters affecting shipping interests. requiring fre-
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quent trips to the capital city. An extraordinary fact in his professional career is that the first case which he ever argued was before the United States supreme court.
In politics Mr. Masten has always been a republican, voting for the men and measures of the party, yet is not an active worker in the ranks. He was born in the Quaker faith, was reared as a Presbyterian and, marrying the daughter of a Methodist Episcopal minister, is now holding membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church of this city. He is connected with a number of prominent social organizations of Cleveland, including the Colonial and Rowfant Clubs, being one of the organizers of the latter, which is a leading literary club of the city. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and has crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
On the 16th of October, 1889, Mr. Masten was married to Miss Blanche Cope- land, a daughter of Anson and Minerva (Dutchen) Copeland, her father being a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. She is a representative of one of the old New England families, the ancestry being traced back to John and Priscilla Alden. Their two children are: Van Wilber, born July 9, 1893; and Nellie Blanche, born June 21, 1896.
HERMAN E. RACKLE.
Herman E. Rackle, who is prominent among the sculptural, concrete and cement workers of Cleveland and is president and manager of The George Rackle & Sons Company, devoted to general building construction, was born here in 1876, his family being of German extraction, well known and influential in the fatherland. His maternal grandfather at one time was mayor of the city of Baden, while his father's side of the house contained many wealthy members, the family for many centuries having owned valuable stone quarries there.
His father, George Rackle, was born in 1837 and came from his native land to the new world some time between the years 1855 and 1860. He was an artist, who acquired quite a reputation in sculptural work, being a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts at Munich, Germany, and he continued to follow his profession until about ten years ago, when he organized the company with which his son is affiliated. He later withdrew from active business and lived retired until his death in February, 1909. Prior to coming to this city, he resided for three years in Columbus, Ohio. He was united in marriage at Bucyrus, Ohio, to Mary Frey, a native of the fatherland, who was born in 1845 and came to America about the year 1850. They reared a family of eight children.
The public schools of Cleveland afforded Herman E. Rackle his preliminary education and, after taking a special course of study in a private school of draft- ing and architecture, he became associated with his father in business and re- mained with him for about eight years, when the present company was formed with which he has since been identified. The business is gradually growing and they execute contracts for concrete and cement structural work throughout this and other states, paying particular attention to the art of embellishing and decorat- ing. Some of the work which bears evidence of the artistic skill of Mr. Rackle is the Wade Park fountain, the dancing academy in St. Louis, which is consid- ered one of the finest in the country, a large power plant in Gary, Indiana, and the building on the O. C. Barber estate at Barberton, Ohio, and aside from these he has been engaged on many important church edifices throughout the city and country. A fine example of their work recently finished is the Monolithic water tower at Gary, Indiana, which attracted national attention.
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