A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 105

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: 1106

USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 105

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In 1861 Mr. Smithnight placed his business in the charge of a friend and enlisted for service as a private in the Cleveland Light Artillery but became the corporal. He participated in many engagements of the war and captured the first rebel cannon taken during the conflict. He was honorably mentioned in the report for the silencing and capturing of this first gun taken in the Civil war, the piece of artillery being now seen in the Cleveland public square. After three months' service Mr. Smithnight returned to Cleveland and was soon afterward appointed a captain of the Twentieth Ohio Battery of Light Artillery and again went to the front in January, 1862, with the Army of the Cumberland, under General Rosecrans. He paricipated in the battle of Stone River and in many skirmishes, during one of which he was seriously disabled by being thrown from his horse. He did not wish to resign, however, while the country still needed the aid of her loyal sons and was appointed chief of the artillery at Fort Rosecrans, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he had charge of seventy-two cannon. Because of disability, however, he resigned in 1863 and returned home, after which he resumed the management of his drug store. His interest in military affairs has never abated and in 1873 he organized the Cleveland Light Artillery and was made commander of this organization, which was later called Battery A. He served in that organization for fifteen years and subsequently organized all

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the artillery in Ohio into one battery and was elected its colonel, holding'that rank for five years. He was then reelected but declined to serve longer on ac- count of his age. He was long one of the most prominent representatives of military interests in the state and had the respect and admiration of all who served under him as well as of the public in general.

Colonel Smithnight was likewise the organizer of the Ottawa Shooting Club, which was formed in 1871 and incorporated in 1873. He was elected its presi- dent and has so continued since. The club has a membership of fifty and owns over ten thousand acres of land near Sandusky, Ohio. Colonel Smithnight also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, to Concordia Lodge, F. & A. M., in which he was tyler, and to the Grand Army of the Republic. He was revenue in- spector of the United States for two years with jurisdiction in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, and for three years acted as United States inspector of oil. He was appointed state inspector of oil by Governors Foster and Foraker, serving for five years, and has discharged every political duty with the same fidelity and loyalty, care and precision which marked his military service. In politics a stalwart republican from the organization of the party, he has acted as a mem- ber of the republican county central committee for forty years, was nine times its chairman and also chairman of the executive committee. He has also been a member. of the state central committee and chairman of the congressional com- mittee of the twenty-first district. His opinions have carried weight in the councils of his party, for he has ever kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day, has desired the best interests of the country at large and in the management of political affairs has shown the same keen sagacity and exe- cutive ability which have made him a successful business man and a prominent military officer.

In Cleveland, in 1866, Mr. Smithnight was married to Miss Nettie Kingsley, who died in May, 1906. His daughter, Julia, married Alexander Caine, chief disbursing officer of the United States at Washington, D. C., who died in June, 1909, and she now makes her home with her father. His son, Louis M. Smith- night, is deceased.

CHARLES THAYER PRATT.

Charles Thayer Pratt, whose intense and well directed energy has gained him a place of distinction among the successful and enterprising business men of Cleveland, has since 1891 represented the Brown Steamship Company in the capacity of secretary and treasurer. His birth occurred in this city on the 16th of November, 1863, and in both the paternal and maternal lines he comes from old New England stock.

His father, David Upham Pratt, who was a native of Reading, Massachu- setts, came to Cleveland in the early '50s and first engaged in the furniture busi- ness as a member of the firm of Pratt, Brown & Company. Several years later he embarked in the tanning business and subsequently became a dealer in as- bestos covering, being thus engaged until the time of his demise, which oc- curred in 1875 when he had attained the age of fifty-seven years. He was widely recognized as a highly respected, substantial and. enterprising citizen and his loss was deeply mourned by all who knew him. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna W. Thayer, was a native of Portland, Maine, and a daughter of Charles G. Thayer, a vessel owner and ship chandler of Boston, where he re- sided until his death. Mrs. 'Anna W. Pratt was called to her final rest in Janu- ary, 1909, when seventy-seven years of age.

Edward Upham Pratt, an older brother of our subject, died in Cleveland, July 21, 1905. He was for twenty-five years with the William Bingham Com- pany and was one of the best known men in the hardware trade in Cleveland.

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He married' Arline Webb, of Massillon, Ohio, who survives him, with two children, Anna Catharine and Edwina Thayer.

Charles Thayer Pratt attended the public schools of this city until seven- teen years of age and then entered the office of Harvey H. Brown & Company, dealers in iron ore and pig iron. As the years passed by and he demonstrated his capability and faithfulness in the discharge of the duties entrusted to his care, he received promotions from time to time until in 1891 he became secretary and treasurer of the Brown Steamship Company, as the concern was then known. In 1906 he was made assistant treasurer of the Brown Hoisting Machinery Com- pany, and during practically his entire connection with this concern has acted as private secretary to Harvey H. Brown. He is a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment, and his excellent executive ability has brought to the en- terprise with which he is connected a large degree of success.

On the 19th of April, 1888, in Cleveland, Mr. Pratt was united in marriage to Miss Kate A. Gleason, a daughter of E. W. Gleason, an old resident of this city. They are now the parents of three children, as follows: Katharine, twenty years of age: Margaret, a young lady of seventeen; and Harold Gleason, who is thirteen years old. The family residence is at No. 1878 East Ninetieth street.

Mr. Pratt manifests a public-spirited interest in political affairs and gives his allegiance to the republican party. He belongs to the Union Club and is the president of the Glen Valley Country Club at Brecksville, Ohio, where he resides during the summer months. He is a member of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and was one of the charter members of the Singers Club, in which he has always taken an active interest and to which he still belongs. He has been a member of several church choirs at different times and is now a trustee of the Church of the Unity and the chairman of its music committee. He was likewise a member of the Cleveland Vocal Society during its existence and has ever been a lover of music, finding therein his chief source of recreation. In the city where his entire life has been spent he enjoys a most wide and favorable acquaintance and has long been numbered among its prominent business men and representative residents.

FRANK F. GENTSCH.

One of the more successful among the younger representatives of the legal fraternity in Ohio is Frank F. Gentsch. He was born in New Philadelphia, Ohio, July 22, 1874. His paternal grandfather, John Conrad Gentsch, was born in Thurgau, Switzerland, and coming to the United States cast his lot with the pioneer residents of Cleveland, where he engaged in shoemaking. Later he became proprietor of a hotel in New Philadelphia, Ohio, where he maintained his residence until called to his final rest. He attained considerable prominence among the early Swiss and German settlers of Ohio and his name appears in the first directory issued in Cleveland in 1837. In that year he was a warden of the German church and in the same year his was the first name that appears on the standing committee of the German Society, of which he was chairman. His son, Dr. Daniel C. Gentsch, was born in New Philadelphia, November 18, 1844, and is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He won his M. D. degree from Georgetown University and in his practice has specialized in the treatment of diseases of the eye, nose and throat. He formerly took a very active part in the medical associations of the state and was chief of the special examination division of the pension department at Washington, D. C., from 1885 until 1889 and was its assistant medical referee from 1893 until 1898. He married Elizabeth Holly Powleson, a daughter of Richard and Celinda (Neighbor) Powleson, who was born in New Philadelphia, Ohio, December 25, 1847. Her father was a native of New York and her mother was born in

C. B

FRANK F. GENTSCH

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German Valley, New Jersey. The maternal family name was Anglicized from the German Nachbar. At the time of the Civil war Dr. Gentsch responded to the country's call, enlisting in the Eighty-eighth Ohio Infantry, but after three or four months became ill. Thus unfitted for active duty he afterward served as a civilian in the commissary department.

Frank F. Gentsch was educated in the public and high schools of New Philadelphia and Washington, D. C., being graduated with the class of 1892 at New Philadelphia. He had previously spent three years as a pupil in the public schools of Washington, D. C., and after graduation he did three years' special work in Georgetown University preparatory to his law course. He at- tended the Columbian University Law School, from which he was graduated in 1895 with the LL. B. degree, while the following year that institution con- ferred upon him the degree of Master of Law. Entering the government serv- ice he was employed in the law division of the United States pension bureau, having charge of the disbarment of attorneys and criminal prosecutions for violations of the pension laws. In 1896 he was transferred into the field as special examiner for the pension bureau at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and also at Columbus, Indiana. There he remained until July 1, 1898, after which he located in Cleveland and entered upon the practice of law in the office of L. A. Russell, with whom he remained until the first of April, 1901. On that date he joined L. Q. Rawson in organizing the firm of Rawson & Gentsch, and they have since engaged in general practice gradually drifting into corporation work. Mr. Gentsch has thoroughly qualified for his labors in this connection by com- prehensive study and is regarded as an able advocate and safe counselor. Aside from his profession he is a director of a large number of corporations and is interested in real estate, owning considerable property in Cleveland.

On the IIth of June, 1902, Mr. Gentsch was married to Miss Jane F. Mc- Clean, a daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Fribley) McClean of New Phila- delphia, and their children are Elizabeth M. and Frank F., Jr. Mr. Gentsch belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the National Union and the Wood- men of the World. He is also a member of the Automobile Club of Cleveland and was president of the County Cabinet of the National Union in the year 1906. He finds rest and recreation in motoring and in pleasant association with the members of the different fraternities with which he is asociated.

Mr. Gentsch has become somewhat favorably known as an amateur rose grower and gardener, the greater part of his spare time during the spring and summer being devoted to his roses and garden and it is his boast that his roses come as early and bloom as profusely as any and that only the rigors of cold winter make them cease. This taste for flowers and the beautiful, he in- herits, especially, from his maternal grandfather, who was of old Holland Dutch stock, whose old house at New Philadelphia was the pride not only of his heart but of New Philadelphia as well, it being truly said that from the time the crocus shot its head through the snow in the early spring, all through the long summer and fall until the snow fell again, his large garden was never without its profusion of bloom, and it is this example that Mr. Gentsch is naturally following. His home is always filled with flowers and he is rarely, if ever, seen without a choice rose on his lapel.

Recognizing the fact that close study must be the basis of legal knowledge and the latter the foundation upon which is built professional success, he has carried his investigation far and wide into the realms of jurisprudence and is well versed on principle and precedent. He is well known in connection with the work of the democratic party in ohio, has been a leader and delegate in various state conventions for many years and was a member of the state central committee from 1900 until 1902. He was an ardent follower of W. J. Bryan in 1896 and 1900 and during the latter campaign especially, in both the state and national conventions exerted all of the powers of his indomitable will and energy to secure the renomination of Mr. Bryan. He served on the board of

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elections from 1904 until 1908, and during the first two years of that time was president of the board. In Cuyahoga county during the days of the supremacy of the so called "Kid Democracy" he was one of its leaders and earned a reputa- tion of being bold and fearless in a fight, a good counselor, and prizing above all an undeviating loyalty for his friends. His opinions carry weight in the councils of his party, for he is thoroughly informed concerning political prin- ciples and is continually studying out new methods for the ultimate advancement of the principles in which he believes. Since his retirement from the board of elections, he has given his time almost exclusively to the practice of law, partici- pating in politics only so far as the demands of good citizenship required.

BARNEY J. SCHWARZER.

Barney J. Schwarzer, a member of the insurance firm of Scherer & Schwarzer, was born in Cleveland, March 6, 1871. His father, Hugo Schwarzer, was a native of Breslau, Germany, born April 1, 1836, and in 1868 came to America. He was the first watchmaker and jeweler on the west side of Cleveland, the place of his business being for many years on Lorain avenue. He was a promi- nent and influential member of leading German societies and was one of the foremost representatives of his countrymen in the section of the city in which he lived. He died July 16, 1905, and is still survived by his widow, who bore the maiden name of Caroline Beetcher and was born May 6, 1846. She is a member and active worker in the German Reformed church.

Barney J. Schwarzer pursued his education in the Orchard school and the West high school. He served an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade with the Cleveland Twist Drill Company and remained at machinist's work through the succeeding ten years. He is now a member of the insurance firm of Scherer & Schwarzer, in which connection he has become well known, the firm having developed an extensive insurance business in Cleveland.

At an early day Mr. Schwarzer took an active interest in local political af- fairs and in September, 1904, received the nomination for councilman, to which position he was elected from the fourth ward. While serving in the city coun- cil he was chairman of the committees on streets, on charities and corrections and on appropriations and was also largely interested in the Warrensville farm, being largely responsible for many wise retrenchments in handling the city appropriations. He opposes everything like a useless exenditure of the public funds and at the same time stands for progress and improvement along any beneficial public line. He is an advocate of the theory that the city streets belong to the people and believes in the vehicle tax, thinking that those who use the streets should bear the burden of repairs. He is a firm believer in Cleveland's future, feeling that it is sure to be one of the largest cities in America and at all times laboring for this end. He was the prime mover in the establishment of the new west side market and cooperates in any measure which he deems beneficial to the city at large. He was greatly responsible for the abolition of railway grade crossings and the promotion of the new viaduct and bridge projects. His public services received strong endorsement, for in 1908 he was reelected by the largest majority ever given a candidate from the fourth ward. He has been instrumental in securing the property at Thirty-eighth street, Bailey avenue and Chatham avenue, which will be used as a municipal play- ground and will be one of the finest in the city. His ideas of public affairs are of a most practical nature and his labors have been of direct benefit to the city in many ways.

On the 5th of October, 1897, Mr. Schwarzer was married to Miss Minnie Gassner, a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Stemmyer) Gassner. They have

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two children, Vida and Richard, who are with their parents at No. 2221 West Thirty-second street. In his leisure hours Mr. Schwarzer enjoys hunting and fishing. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and Eagles, while his religious belief is that of the German Evangelical Protes- tant church. Over the record of his public service there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil and the fact of his election by the largest majority ever given in his ward is an indication that he has the confidence and trust of many who usually vote with the opposition party. He has given many tangible evidences of his public spirit and with such men in office the subject of graft, of useless expenditures of public moneys, of neglect of municipal duties could never be raised.

SIMON PERKINS.

Simon Perkins, an Ohio pioneer who aided in planting the seeds of civiliza- tion in the Western Reserve, was born in Lisbon, Connecticut, September 17, 1771. He was a representative of one of the oldest Puritan families of New England, tracing his ancestry back to John Perkins, who came to the new world with Roger Williams in 1631. His father was a captain in the Revolutionary war and died in camp in 1778. His mother, Olve (Douglas) Perkins, was a descendant of William Douglas, a member of the colony from Boston that founded New London, Connecticut. Two of her brothers were officers in the American army in the war for independence.

Owing to the death of his father the estate, consisting of a mill and farm, came under the charge of Simon Perkins when he was yet very young. The farm was a part of the land purchased by his ancestors when they settled in Connecticut in 1695. In 1795 he removed to the "far west," locating at Owego, New York, where he remained for three years, occupied with large land agencies and matters incident to opening a new country. In 1795 the state of Connec- ticut sold to the Connecticut Land Company the Western Reserve except "the Firelands," and in 1797 the proprietors of that company residing in Windham and New London counties united the stock which they held in the original company and formed the Erie Land Company. Through their trustees they pro- posed that Mr. Perkins should go to New Connecticut, explore the country and report a plan for the sale and settlement of the lands. He accepted the proposi- tion, closed his business at Owego and in the spring of 1798 proceeded through the wilderness of western New York and by way of the lakes of Cayuga, On- tario and Erie entered Ohio on the 4th of July, accompanied by James Pum- pelly. Mr. Perkins established a camp near the mouth of the Grand river, explored the lands and examined into the character and prospects of the coun- try, returning to Connecticut in October. The next spring he assumed entire control, or agency of the lands of the Erie Land Company and for several years spent the summers in the Western Reserve. To him were committed the man- agement and sale of more lands by non-resident proprietors than to any other man in Ohio. In 1815 the state tax paid by him as agent and owner was a seventh of the entire amount collected in the state. Warren was then' the county seat of Trumbull county, which embraced the whole Reserve, and when he and his wife came to make it their home on the 24th of July, 1804, it contained sixteen log houses.

It was on the 18th of March previous that Simon Perkins was married to Miss Nancy Bishop, of Lisbon, Connecticut, and unto them were born four sons, Simon, Joseph, Jacob and H. B. Perkins, all surviving the father.

In 1801 the first mail route northwest of the Ohio river was established from Pittsburg to Warren and Mr. Perkins was made postmaster October 24, 1801, holding the office until October, 1829. He rendered great aid to the post-

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master general in establishing country postoffices and in December, 1807, was sent to Detroit by Postmaster General Granger and there brought about be- tween the Indians and Governor Hull at Detroit the treaty which was signed at Brownsville in November, 1808, by which the Indians ceded lands for a road from the Western Reserve to the Miami of the Lake.

Mr. Perkins also figured prominently in military ranks in the early days. He was elected brigadier general of the First Brigade, Fourth Division of the Ohio Militia, being commissioned May 31, 1808. On the 22d of August, 1812, he issued his brigade order to the colonels under his command. His campaign during that war is a matter of history. When the term of service for the mili- tia had expired and General Harrison had been reinforced by sufficient troops, he retired from service. In his official communication to Mr. Perkins dated Fort Meigs, February 26, 1813, General Harrison said: "In this my last offi- cial communication to you, I cannot avoid expressing my high sense of the zeal and ability with which you have performed your duty since you have been under my orders, and I beg you to believe that upon all occasions and in every situa- tion I shall be, with great truth, your friend, William H. Harrison." Mr. Per- kins was solicited by General Harrison and others to accept a commission as colonel in the regular army but his duty to his family, with increasing private business and extensive trusts for others, obliged him to decline, although he found military life very congenial.

Mr. Perkins organized the Western Reserve Bank and was its president from its organization November 24, 1813, until he resigned on account of ill health April 5, 1836. The standing of the institution is indicated by the fact that "as good as a Western Reserve bank bill" became a common saying of the time. He was one of the men to whose care was committed that extensive system of canals adopted and entered upon by the state of Ohio, and the state credit was intrusted to the "canal fund commission" almost without restraint. During seven years they issued and sold state bonds to the sum of four million, five hundred thousand dollars and at an average premium of nearly six per cent. This com- mission was largely instrumental in establishing the canal waterways system which proved the great highway for travel and commerce ere the introduction of the railroad. Mr. Perkins was appointed a member of the board February 7, 1826, by legislature and was reappointed from time to time, regardless of party, until the legislature passed an act to loan credit to railroads, turnpikes and other corporations. He then resigned his office February 13, 1838.

Mr. Perkins was a regular attendant at church services and with his sister, Mrs. Kinsman, endowed a professorship in the Western Reserve College at Hudson. His work was of a most important character as a factor in the early development of the state, he being numbered among those who laid broad and deep the foundation for the present progress and prosperity of this great com- monwealth.

WILLIAM ALVAH PHILLIPS.

Public opinion accords Professor William Alvah Phillips recognition as one of the most eminent medical educators and scientists of Cleveland. The story of his life if left to himself would be most modestly told, but the public and the profession recognize the fact that he has done much for mankind. He was born in Ohio, July 28, 1840, and his parents were of Knickerbocker stock. His early education was acquired in the public schools of Elyria and later he attended the Baldwin University of Berea, Ohio. Broad literary training served as an ex- cellent foundation for preparation for a professional career and with the deter- mination to make the practice of medicine his life work, he entered the Missouri Homeopathic Medical College, at which he was graduated in due course of

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 105

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: 1106

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: 1106