USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 14
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THOMAS H. BROOKS.
Thomas H. Brooks is a member of one of the old colonial families of America that has been represented in the Western Reserve from pioneer times. His father, the late Dr. Martin L. Brooks, was one of Cleveland's beloved physicians for nearly a half century. Hezekiah Brooks, the pioncer of the family in the Western Reserve, came from Berlin, Hartford county, Connecticut, in 1818, bringing with him his wife and children, then three in number, and several relatives. They made a seven weeks' journey through the almost unbroken wilderness with teams and settled near LaPorte in Carlisle township, Lorain county, Ohio, where He- zekiah Brooks followed farming through the remainder of his life.
Dr. Martin L. Brooks was born December 7, 1812, in Berlin, Connecticut, and was six years of age when the family came to Ohio. He was the eldest of thir- teen children. Soon after the arrival of the Brooks family in the new country other pioneer residents came and the parents, ambitious to educate their chil-
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dren, soon opened a school, which Martin L. Brooks attended to the age of sixteen years, when an accident occurred which probably had much to do with shaping his future life. While hauling logs he in some manner sustained a fracture of the leg. When he had partially recovered but was not yet fitted for manual labor, his father, not wishing the son to remain idle, placed him as a student in the academy of the Rev. Henry Lyon, at Brownhelm-the first classical school in the entire section. His ambitions once aroused, there was no return to the farm for him and after spending two years at the academy he continued his education in Elyria, Ohio, and afterward went to Oberlin, remaining a student there for two years, during which time Charles G. Finney also entered that institution. While at- tending school at Oberlin it was Mr. Brooks' good fortune to hear William Lloyd Garrison and as the result of the interest in the slavery question which the latter awakened, Dr. Brooks early became imbued with the anti-slavery spirit of that great champion of human liberty, and on the 4th of July, 1833, he made the first speech on abolition ever delivered at Oberlin, coming out firm and square against slavery. This caused much excitement and talk in the little town, which was destined afterward to become one of the greatest abolition centers of the north. It is popularly supposed that Oberlin College was founded on anti-slavery prin- ciples from the first, but this is erroneous, as the trustees did not adopt the prin- ciples of anti-slavery until some time after Dr. Brooks made his maiden speech in its defense.
After leaving Oberlin Dr. Brooks went to Cincinnati, where he engaged in teaching school, and subsequently taught a large school for negroes at Gallipolis, Ohio, numbering among his pupils many freed slaves. This school, of which he had charge for two years, was under the patronage of the presbytery of Chilli- cothe. While there he aroused the antipathy of the townsfolk by his outspoken defense of the colored race. At one time a number of his friends had to guard his house from ruffians who threatened his life, and on another occasion he was attacked on a lonely road but, being mounted on a good horse, made his escape. Contrary to the advice of his friends, he boldly came forth and had his assailants arrested and placed in jail. During his sojourn there he was also a member of the famous underground railway system and many fugitive slaves had occasion to thank him for his aid in assisting them to freedom in Canada. In this connec- tion Dr. Brooks related how one night, just as he was starting from a friendly farm house with a load of hay, under which there was a small colony of little darkies, the good hostess came out to him and raising both hands to Heaven she brought them down on his strong young shoulders with a fervent "God bless you, my boy."
On the conclusion of his labors in Gallipolis Dr. Brooks attended a course of lectures at the Medical College of Ohio, in Cincinnati, but as his funds be- came exhausted he went to Kaskaskia, Illinois, where he remained in business for three years. During that period he was at one time brought into close contact with Abraham Lincoln, who even at that early day impressed Dr. Brooks as being a remarkable man. In 1842 he returned to Cincinnati and completed his medical studies, being graduated in 1844. After spending some time in a hospital in that city he located at Patriot, Indiana, a small town on the Ohio river, where he re- mained until the spring of 1848, when, feeling that his labors were circumscribed by the narrow borders of the place, he removed to Cleveland, which city remained his home throughout the rest of his days. His practice steadily grew, as did his medical reputation and as steadily he advanced in the respect and affection of the community. His practice in Cleveland covered a period of more than forty- five years, during which time he enjoyed well earned distinction as a successful and capable family physician.
During the Civil war Dr. Brooks had charge of the United States Marine Hospital as surgeon and he was for years a censor in the medical department of the University of Wooster, while later he was censor of the medical department of the Western Reserve University. He was also honored with the first presi- dency of the Cuyahoga County Medical Society.
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For a number of years after the close of the Civil war Dr. Brooks was asso- ciated in practice with Dr. H. J. Herrick, his son-in-law, but during the last quar- ter of a century his active connection with the profession was alone. He practiced in all departments, never confining his attention to a specialty, but engaged in family practice, office consultation being of secondary consideration. His life was ever an extremely busy one. Aside from his profession he took great interest in politics and public questions, though he never sought political preferment. Originally he was connected with the whig party but on the formation of the republican party to prevent the further extension of slavery he identified himself with that organization. He was also deeply interested in religious matters and was an elder in the Second Presbyterian church of Cleveland for forty years.
At Kaskaskia, Illinois, on the 8th of December, 1839, Dr. Brooks was married to Miss Rebecca F. Hope, a daughter of Captain Thomas Hope, of Hampton, Virginia, the Hope family being one of the oldest and most pronounced pro-slavery families of that state. Mrs. Brooks passed away about twelve years prior to the death of her husband, who about seven years before his demise retired from active practice because of advancing age. He died after a few weeks' illness June 10, 1899, sincerely mourned and beloved by all who knew him. Under the caption of "A Beloved Physician," a Cleveland paper said editorially of Dr. Brooks: "Full of years and rich in the garnered friendships of a half-century's busy life, Dr. Martin L. Brooks has passed from an earth that he did much to make pleasant for poor humanity. He was an honor and an ornament to the noblest of professions, and in that branch of the service which he made peculiarly his own, that of family physician, he endeared himself to grateful thousands. His smile was a light in the sickroom and his cheering words have brought hope to countless despairing souls. He had schooled himself to conceal his natural fears and anxieties-perhaps it was a heaven-sent faculty-and to the ailing ones he seemed more the tender, sympathetic friend than the watchful and heavy bur -. dened physician. For many years he was known as 'Old Dr. Brooks' but it was ever a term of affectionate regard. He early aged in appearance and many of our older citizens well remember that he bore a venerable air for a quarter of a cen- tury or more. But though time left its impress freely on the outer crust of the man it never touched his heart. There was sadness in many homes when the news of his death was read, for no man beyond the border of the hearthstone is quite so dear as he who has lightened the pain or, mayhap, shared the sorrows of the family circle, and it is as such a friend and comforter that the dear old doctor's memory will be best revered and longest cherished."
Unto Dr. and Mrs. Brooks were born a daughter and two sons: Mary, who became the wife of Dr. H. J. Herrick, of Cleveland; Martin L., who was a phy- sician engaged in practice at Newburg, where he died; and Thomas H.
The last named was born in Patriot, Indiana, October 10, 1846, and was but one year of age when his parents established their home in Cleveland. His early education was acquired in the public schools. and afterward he entered Williams College, from which he was graduated in 1870. In 1875 he established the T. H. Brooks foundry and structural iron business. In 1890 the firm name was changed to T. H. Brooks & Company, which stands today as one of the foremost repre- sentatives of this line of business in the middle west, being exclusively engaged in the manufacture of structural iron and ornamental steel work. The plant is one of the most important productive industries of the city and the modern busi- ness methods which are employed and the high commercial principles which are followed in its conduct constitute this one of the leading business concerns of Cleveland. Mr. Brooks has also figured prominently in connection with financial interests, being one of the organizers of the East End Banking & Trust Company in 1890, while for several years he served as president of the organization until the same was merged with the Cleveland Trust Company. He is interested in a number of banks and manufacturing concerns of Cleveland.
Mr. Brooks married Miss Anna M. Curtiss. He is a member of the Second Presbyterian church and for a number of years has served on its board of trus-
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tees. In politics he is a republican and is a well known club man, belonging to the University Club of New York and the Union, Country and Euclid Clubs of Cleveland. In this city, where his residence has been maintained from early child- hood days, he has a wide acquaintance and such has been his course in life that young and old, rich and poor, speak of him in terms of highest respect.
ANDREW SQUIRE.
Andrew Squire, one of the eminent members of the Ohio bar, has in his prac- tice made a specialty of corporation law, a department of the legal science which is growing more and more complex as the result of the rapid growth and develop- ment of business and the establishment of new lines of commercial and industrial activity. Specialization in practice is largely the outgrowth of conditions of the last century, and the eminent lawyers are they who, well grounded in the funda- mental principles, have concentrated their energies upon the mastery of a par- ticular line, gaining therein a degree of proficiency that could not be attained if time and effort were given to various branches of practice. Mr. Squire is well known in his professional relations as the senior partner of the firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, of Cleveland, and finds in the work of the courts of Ohio's metropolis scope for his energy and his ability in the field of labor which he has chosen as his life work, having an extensive clientage of a most im- portant character.
A native of Mantua, Portage county, Ohio, Andrew Squire was born Octo- ber 21, 1850, and comes in both the paternal and maternal lines of New Eng- land ancestry. His parents were Dr. Andrew Jackson and Martha (Wilmot) Squire, the former a physician who was born in Ohio in 1815. As a pupil in the public schools of his native town Andrew Squire continued his studies to the age of eleven years, after which he entered the Western Reserve Eclectic Insti- tute at Hiram, Ohio. His parents removing to that place in 1863, he continued in school there until the winter of 1866-7, when he entered upon a course of medi- cal lectures in Cleveland. However, while pursuing his studies in that direction his interest became awakened in the law and he determined to prepare for that branch of professional service, giving his leisure hours to the mastery of Black- stone's Commentaries and Bouvier's Institutes. Following his graduation from Hiram in June, 1872, he came to Cleveland and entered regularly upon the study of law in October of that year in the office of Cadwell & Marvin. His thorough reading and the capabilitiy which he displayed in the mastery of legal principles secured his admission to the bar on the 3d of December, 1873, after passing the required examination before the supreme court at Columbus.
Mr. Squire at once located for practice in Cleveland and upon the election of his former preceptor, Mr. Cadwell, to the common pleas bench he was admit- ted to a partnership by Mr. Marvin, the relation between them being maintained until January 1, 1878. In the meantime Lieutenant Governor Alphonso Hart came to Cleveland and was admitted to the firm in 1875 under the style of Marvin, Hart & Squire, which relation was continued until Mr. Squire withdrew three years later to form a partnership with Mr. Estep. In the spring of 1882 the firm was further strengthened by the addition of Judge Dickey under the firm name of Estep, Dickey & Squire. On the Ist of January, 1890, however, Mr. Squire severed his connection with that firm and joined Judge William B. Sanders and James H. Dempsey in the existing firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. His position at the bar almost from the beginning of his practice has been a promi- nent one, for his work as an advocate and counsel has been characterized by all the salient qualities of the successful practitioner who prepares his cases with thoroughness and care and is well fortified by knowledge of law and precedent for the presentation of his causes before court and jury. Mr. Squire is a clear
ANDREW SQUIRE
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thinker, a logical reasoner and strong in argument and is well versed in those branches of the law to which he has given special attention. In recent years he has more and more largely concentrated his energies upon corporation law and is now the legal representative for some of the most prominent business con- cerns of the city, to whom his sage counsel, based upon comprehensive understand- ing of legal principles, proves a valuable asset in the conduct of their business. It is proverbial that law partnerships are of comparatively brief duration, but on the Ist of January, 1910, that of Mr. Squire as senior partner had existed for twenty years. He has become financially interested and also has voice in the management of the Bank of Commerce National Association ; is likewise a direc- tor of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company, the Cleveland Stone Company and other corporations; a trustee of the Garfield Memorial Association and va- rious other associations.
Unlike many men the importance of whose business or professional interests place them above the majority of their fellows, Mr. Squire takes deep interest in the political situation of the country, recognizing his duty of citizenship in this regard and standing stanchly in support of the principles which he regards as vital elements in good government. He is a stalwart republican and in 1896 was a delegate to the St. Louis convention which nominated William McKinley for the presidency. He received the highest honors of Masonry when the thirty-third degree was conferred upon him, and he is prominent in club circles of the city, belonging to the University and Union Clubs of Cleveland and the University and New York Clubs of New York city. He is also a member of the Country Club of Cleveland and was elected to its presidency in 1909. In strictly professional relations he is connected with the American Bar Association and the International Bar Association. His activities are varied, touching the general interests of so- ciety, and his example and efforts are forceful factors toward the betterment of all conditions which bear upon the social, professional and intellectual life of the city.
THOMAS J. GREEN.
Thomas J. Green, numbered among the early residents of the Western Re- serve, was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1824, and died March 8, 1891. He was a son of George and Mary (Mckinney) Green. The Green family had its origin in England but was founded in Virginia when that state was still numbered among the colonial possessions of Great Britain. Later a removal was made to Pennsylvania where two of the Greens held the position of high sheriff of that state. Thomas Green, the grandfather, and other members of the family served loyally in the Revolutionary war and thus aided in estab- lishing American independence. It was in the year 1826 that George Green came with his family to Ohio, settling at Claridon, where he carried on farming and milling. His cousin, John P. Bosely, had come to this state in 1820 and served as a member of the Ohio legislature in early days.
Thomas J. Green was but two years old when the family home was established at Claridon and with the two elder members of the family he attended school there, acquiring a common English education. When not occupied with the tasks of the schoolroom he assisted his father on the farm and later gave his entire atten- tion to the work of the fields, to dairying and to the operation of the sawmill, which his father owned. George Green lived for over fifty years upon the same farm and Thomas J. Green there remained for a short time after his father's death, when he removed to Hebron, Nebraska, where his last days were passed.
On the 4th of December, 1847, Mr. Green was married to Miss Hannah J. Metzgar. a daughter of John F. Metzgar, who came from Wurtemberg, Ger- many, with his family in 1805 and settled in Philadelphia. He afterward re-
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moved to Mercer county, Pennsylvania, in 1836. He wedded Elizabeth Kettler, of Philadelphia, and their children included Hannah J., who became Mrs. Green. She was born in Philadelphia, December 4, 1826, and came to the Western Re- serve when a young lady of twenty years. There were still many evidences of Indian occupancy here and the city of Cleveland contained only a few hundred population, while many districts of the state were still undeveloped. By reason of her long residence here Mrs. Green is entitled to membership in the Old Set- tlers' Association, with which she is now connected. By her marriage she had two sons : Charles H. and John H. Green. The former, a farmer of Thompson, Geauga county, Ohio, married a Miss Malin, of a pioneer family there. They have two children, Elwyn and Edith, both graduates of the Thompson school. John H. Green, who has served the Chamber of Commerce for seventeen years as abstracter, married Eva Viets, of Lake county, Ohio, and they have six children living.
In his political views Mr. Green was originally a democrat but in his later years became a republican and continued a stalwart supporter of the party until his demise. His religious faith was that of the Methodist church and his in- fluence was always given on the side of right and truth and all projects for the moral uplift and betterment of the community. He was a member of one of the first societies that opposed the use of intoxicants, called the Washingtonian Tem- perance Society, of which Mrs. Green was the first member. Through her entire life she has upheld its basic principles. The honesty of his purpose, his clean record, his devotion to all that is upright in life made for Thomas J. Green many friends during the years of his residence in this city.
ROBERT M. KLEMM.
Robert M. Klemm has for three years been superintendent of the Empire Brass Manufacturing Company, his business life being characterized by steady progress since he started out on his own account at the age of fourteen years. He was born in Cleveland, August 28, 1867, and is a son of John A. and Louisa Klemm. He pursued his education to the age of fourteen years while spending his youthful days in his parents' home, and began providing for his own support as an employe in the grocery store of E. A. Palmer, with whom he remained for three years. He afterward accepted a position as brass finisher in the brass foun- dry of Schneider & Trenkamp, with whom he continued for ten years and later spent a year and a half as finisher with the Forest City Brass Company. He was likewise employed in a similar capacity and for a similar period by the Farnan Brass Manufacturing Company, after which he spent six months as foreman with the Columbia Manufacturing Company. He next went to Collomsville, Pennsyl- vania, where he engaged with the Crescent Manufacturing Company, spending three years in that service. On returning to Cleveland he became superintendent of the American Brass Manufacturing Company, thus serving for three years, after which he was made superintendent of the Empire Brass Manufacturing Company. Each change that he has made has indicated a forward step, his progress resulting from the capability that he has developed through experience, close application and indefatigable energy.
Mr. Klemm is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and a republican in his political views. He was married on the 21st of April, 1890, in Cleveland, to Miss Elizabeth Lippman, and they have three children : Robert, sixteen years of age, a pupil in the Technical high school; Ruth L., ten years of age ; and Ray, a lad of seven years. The last two are still in the grades of the public schools. The family residence is at No. 7507 Goodwalt avenue. Mr. Klemm holds a warm place in the affection of his friends and is regarded as a man of sound business sense. In all of his work and in the various connections of life he is practical and,
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recognizing the fact that advancement is secured through demonstrating the worth of one's labors, he has made his service of value to those whom he has rep- resented and promotion has followed as a logical sequence until he is today holding a position of large responsibility as the superintendent of the Empire Brass Manufacturing Company.
WARREN H. COFFEE.
Without special advantages at the outset of his career, seeking for no favored circumstances or fortunate environment, Warren H. Coffee has made for himself the prominent position which he now occupies as proprietor of one of the leading merchant tailoring establishments not only of Cleveland but of the state. In its conduct he has instituted new methods, which have led to successful results.
He was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, February 18, 1859. The family has long been represented in this state. His grandparents were John and Mary Cof- fee, the former coming to Ohio from Pennsylvania and taking up his abode in Salem. He was of the Quaker faith and became a member of the early Quaker colony of Columbiana county. His son, Isaac Coffee, born in Columbiana county in 1831, prepared for and followed the profession of law until his death, which occurred in 1859 at the comparatively early age of twenty-seven years. He had wedded Kate Hine, a daughter of Warren and Rhoda T. (Ticknor) Hine. Her father was one of the early settlers of the Western Reserve, establishing his home at Canfield, Mahoning county. He was one of six brothers who came across the country from Warren county with ox-teams. They settled first in the vicinity of Cleveland but, like many of the early pioneers, thought the locality unfavorable for farming and so removed to Mahoning county, where they secured tracts of land and carried on general agricultural pursuits.
Warren H. Coffee, educated in the public schools of Canfield, Ohio, continued his studies through successive grades until graduated from the high school in 1876, after which he entered the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York. Being thus qualified for a commercial career, he then went to Niles, Ohio, where he conducted a general store under the firm name of Church & Coffee and there did a prosperous business until 1882, when he came to Cleveland and en- gaged as traveling salesman for E. Rheinheimer. Nineteen years were spent upon the road and in 1901 he established an independent business venture in opening the tailoring house of W. H. Coffee & Company. From its inception the new enterprise was a radical departure from old methods. The store was fitted up with a view to the artistic, with unusual facilities for catering to high class trade and with a policy of producing none but the highest grades of men's apparel. The business met with instantaneous success and has enjoyed a remark- able growth, being today one of the largest concerns in the city and state. It is largely accepted as the standard in this line and the name of Coffee upon any garment of men's apparel is a guarantee of the quality of workmanship and of style.
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