A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 20

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 20

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Mr. Manix was well known in Cleveland as a prominent representative of political activity, being an earnest republican. He held membership with the Tippe- canoe and Western Reserve Clubs and was interested in many progressive pub- lic measures which his judgment endorsed as beneficial to the city at large. He belonged to St. Edward's church and was very active in all of the affairs per- taining to the interest of the parish in which he lived. That he was a generous man of benevolent spirit was frequently indicated in the aid which he gave to the poor and also by reason of his membership in the Associated Charities, with which he became connected soon after its organization. He measured fully up to the standard of honorable manhood, displayed discriminating judgment con- cerning life's contacts and its experiences and so utilized his time and his talents that Cleveland accorded him recognition as one of her most honored and esteemed gentlemen.

ROBERT ERASTUS McKISSON.

Robert Erastus McKisson, whose name is written large on the pages of Cleveland's history through the practical reforms and needed improvements which he instituted while serving as mayor, is now giving his time and attention strictly to the practice of the law and is regarded as one of the eminent repre- sentatives of the bar of this city. His birth occurred January 30, 1863, in Northfield, Summit county, Ohio, his parents being Martin Van Buren and Finette Adeline (Eldridge) McKisson. The father was a farmer in early life and was afterward identified with the commission business in Cleveland, in which place his death occurred October 8, 1891.

Robert Erastus McKisson acquired his early education in the public schools of Cleveland and later removed with the family to Lagrange, Ohio, where he attended the high school. He afterward became a student in Oberlin College, and all of the expenses connected with his collegiate course were paid by him- self, as during his boyhood and youth he continuously provided for his own sup- port in various lines of labor, meeting with success in everything he undertook. His first occupation was that of messenger boy in Cleveland and later he became assistant in the law office of Webster & Angell, where he received originally a salary of but five dollars per week, which sum was increased, however, as he demonstrated the value of his services. At the age of nineteen years he en- gaged in teaching, following that profession in several places in Ohio through

R. E. MeKISSON

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the winter seasons, while in the summer months he was employed in various capacities.

On the Ist of April, 1887, when he was twenty-four years of age, he re- turned to Cleveland and, practically unknown, entered the business circles of this city, securing employment in the office of Theodore E. Burton, now senator. It was after this that he was assistant in the law office of Webster & Angell. While thus engaged he devoted every leisure moment to the study of the law and in 1889 was admitted to practice in the state and in 1891 to the federal courts. He practiced alone for a brief period but in October of that year was admitted to partnership relations by his former preceptors, the firm of Webster, Angell & McKisson being then organized. This was unmistakable proof of the recog- nition of his ability on the part of those who had previously directed his reading. The partnership continued until May 1, 1895.

In the meantime Mr. McKisson has been called to public office. On the 3d of April, 1894, he was elected a member of the city council and-on the 5th of April, 1895, he was chosen mayor of Cleveland, his administration of the affairs of the office being of such a practical and progressive nature that he was recalled for a second term. His reelection was of a most complimentary charac- ter inasmuch as he is the only republican mayor who has served for two consecu- tive terms. Thus it will be seen that although he came to Cleveland practically penniless and unknown in 1887 eight years served to bring him into the most prominent position within the gift of his fellow citizens. He had come to be recognized as a leader and one worthy of a large following. His views in the policy which he enunciated were clearly defined and that he held to his election promises during his first term is proven in the fact that he was again chosen for the mayoralty. He sought for retrenchment in needless expenditure, yet did not favor a conservative policy that would hamper progressiveness. Dur- ing his administration he was instrumental in securing the adoption of various measures for the good of the city and in preventing the issuance of franchises of doubtful value, like those which the street railway companies attempted to secure. He also established and constructed the new water tunnel system and the greater part of the intercepting sewer system. He increased the park area from one hundred and twenty-three acres to fourteen hundred acres and also appointed the present commission for the building of the new city hall, for which he left in gas funds over six hundred thousand dollars. He was the first mayor in the United States to flush the city streets and in many other ways promoted the city's benefit, improvement and adornment. Of the many tangible evidences given of his devotion to the public welfare none are more worthy of comment than the fact that it was Mr. McKisson who made all the river and harbor im- provements at Cleveland and also made all the contracts for the making of the new land which the railroad company claimed but which now belongs to the city and is valued at three millions. He was also instrumental in having the first five miles of the river straightened and deepened so as to improve the steamer traffic and thereby augmenting the trade of the city. He was the most progressive mayor Cleveland has ever had and made more improvements in every way than any other executive officer before him.

Mr. McKisson was at one time active in the Tippecanoe Club, drew up its charter and served as its vice president. He has now, however, resigned from all clubs and political organizations and devotes his entire time to his law prac- tice and other private interests. After his return to the private practice of law he was for a time associated with J. P. Dowley and W. H. Boyd, but was after- ward again alone. In January, 1905, he entered into his present partnership relations as a member of the firm of McKisson & Minshall. They have a large law practice, connecting them with much important litigation, and Mr. McKisson is widely regarded as a learned and able lawyer.

On the 16th of January, 1901, Mr. McKisson was married to Miss Mamie Marie Langenau, a daughter of William C. Langenau, a prominent business man

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of Cleveland. He is a Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty-second degree and also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Knight Templar fraternity and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Vitally alive to the interests and questions of the day, he feels that he has given to this city that service which is his duty as a public-spirited citizen but now is confining his attention to private interests along professional lines for which natural talents and acquired ability have so well fitted him.

RUDOLPH HEGE LEICK.

Rudolph Hege Leick, a man of modest tastes and habits yet of genuine per- sonal worth, whose relation to the public life of Cleveland was that of a success- ful druggist, was born in Rockport, Ohio, August 8, 1853, and died on the 16th of July, 1885. His parents were Fred and Elizabeth Leick, nee Hege. The father was a real estate appraiser and both were natives of Germany.

Rudolph H. Leick pursued his more specifically literary course in the public schools of Cleveland and afterward attended the Cleveland School of Pharmacy. He likewise devoted some time to the study of medicine under the supervision and direction of Drs. Joseph E. and Henry W. Lammersman, uncles of Mrs. Leick and both leading physicians of their day. The study of medicine was al- ways to him a pleasure and his knowledge thereof proved of valuable worth in the conduct of his commercial interests. He was also particularly fond of na- ture from his early boyhood throughout the period of his entire life. The growth and peculiarities of plants was a subject of never ending delight to him and later he was keenly interested in all those which especially related to his studies. His early years were spent in the service of Mr. Lohman, a druggist of this city, but, ambitious to engage in business on his own account, in the fall of 1881 he opened a store at the corner of Lorain avenue and Sixty-fifth street, in what was then known as Beggar Woman's block. After remaining there for about two years he removed to the present site of the Leick drug store. He had conducted the business there for two and a half years when he was called to his final rest, and the work of carrying on the store devolved upon Mrs. Leick, who bravely took up the task and in the conduct of the enterprise has displayed notable business ability and keen insight. She continued in the business for twenty-two years, after which she sold out in 1907 to Joseph Miller, who still conducts the busi- ness on Lorain avenue under the name of the Leick Pharmacy.

It was on the 20th of January, 1881, in Cleveland, that Mr. Leick was married to Miss Sophia Langezaal, a daughter of Henry J. and Josephine (Lammersman) Langezaal, who came from Holland to Cleveland in 1856. Her father was a contractor both in his native country and in America. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leick were born three daughters: Sylvia, now the wife of Joseph Hauck, a salesman of this city, by whom she has two children, Ruth and Lloyd; Ruth, second daughter of our subject, formerly a teacher in the Cleveland public schools and now the wife of Edward Ebel, a business man of Cleveland; and Elsie, deceased.

Mr. Leick was well known in local political circles. He served as councilman from the thirty-second ward nothwithstanding the fact that it was always re- garded as a republican stronghold and he was a democrat. He was elected by a very large majority and during his term in office he stood for progress and im- provement, many needed reforms being introduced, while during his incumbency gas was substituted for the old kerosene lamps used in this section of the city. He was liberal in religious belief, holding to no creed or formal doctrine but living an upright life, characterized by thoughful regard at all times for the rights of others. He held membership in the German Turn Verein and was popular with a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Following the death

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of her husband Mrs. Leick, with only the assistance of her sister, conducted the drug store and in the face of many hardships and difficulties successfully car- ried on the business. Without any preparation for commercial life she took up the tasks which her husband laid down and her intuition, sound judgment, keen discernment and ready adaptability enabled her to know and to do that which was the right thing in the conduct of every phase of the business. As the years passed on splendid success rewarded her efforts and at length she disposed of the drug store at a handsome profit. From its earnings and its sale she was able to purchase each of her daughters a home and is herself the owner of other valu- able and desirable real estate. She certainly deserves much credit for what she has accomplished. She has the spirit of heroism that prompts a woman to take up such tasks to which she is unaccustomed and with brave and loyal spirit meet the difficulties that are to be continuously confronted in business life. Mrs. Leick accomplished all this and as the result of her labors is now in comfortable financial circumstances.

JACOB STRIEBINGER.

Upon Cleveland's roll of honor in connection with the German-American citizens appears the name of Jacob Striebinger, who was born December 20, 1845, and died October II, 1909. He was a native of Rheingosheim, Germany, and a son of Jacob Phillip and Christina (Bauman) Striebinger, who came to America in 1849. Their family numbered five children, Michael, Martin, Phil- lip, Jacob and Caroline, the last named now the wife of John Ferbert. The mother died when the son Jacob was but six years of age. The father engaged in business in Cleveland and became a prominent real-estate operator and was, moreover, recognized as a leader in German social circles. He lived to see all of his sons well established in business, attaining a measure of success which reflected credit upon the training which they had received.

Jacob Striebinger attended the public schools until seventeen years of age, when he joined his brothers in the wholsale grocery business under the firm name of Striebinger Brothers. He remained active in the conduct of that enterprise until 1872, when the Striebinger Hotel was erected and he became its manager, remaining as such for seven years, during which time he entertained many of the eminent men of the time, particularly men prominent in the political and financial world. He was for a number of years a member of the firm of Sherwood, Striebinger & Company, contractors, and during this period he constructed the Cleveland breakwater system for the United States government. He was for a number of years a member of the Sturtevant Lumber Company but several years prior to his death he retired from active business, devoting his time to the man- agement of his many private interests, which represented large financial invest- ments.

Mr. Striebinger served with distinction on the city council from 1874 until 1876, and on account of his energy and integrity in furthering the best interests of this city he retired with the fullest confidence of his constituents. He was a lifelong republican, finding in the platform of that party the best expression of his views concerning the best form of government.

On the 7th of June, 1877, Mr. Striebinger was married to Miss Catherine Weckerling, a daughter of George Robert and Catherine Weckerling, the former one of Cleveland's most prominent German pioneer settlers and business men. Mrs. Striebinger still survives and resides at No. 1451 East boulevard. By her marriage she became the mother of two sons. George Robert, educated in the public and University schools and in Purdue University of Indiana, served for a time as superintendent of the Wuest-Bauman-Hunt Company, while in 1902 he took the management of the Philip Trottner Company. He is a republican

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in his political views and an Elk in his fraternal relations. He was married December 27, 1906, to Helen Rowland, of Lenawee, Michigan, and they reside at No. 4806 Euclid avenue. The second son, Walter J., was for a number of years associated with the Cleveland Trust Company but was compelled by ill health to retire from active business. He married Tillie Wilker.

Mr. Striebinger was widely known as a high degree Mason, belonging to Holyrood Commandery, K. T., and to the Cleveland Consistory. He was also identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He belonged to the German Presbyterian church and was liberal in his contributions to church and charitable work, finding in the former the expression for that larger life of the spirit and in the latter expression of his sincere and kindly interest in his fellowmen, especially those to whom fate seemed to vouchsafe few of the privi- leges and blessings of life.

JUDGE FREDERICK AUGUSTUS HENRY.

Judge Frederick Augustus Henry, circuit judge of the eighth judicial cir- cuit, which comprises Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina and Summit counties, was born in Bainbridge, Geaugu county, Ohio, June 16, 1867. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to William Henry, of Stow, Massachusetts. Later he resided in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. He was no doubt one of the Scotch- Irish immigrants to Massachusetts in 1718. The family had been represented in Ireland for about a century, members thereof removing from Scotland to the Emerald isle in 1620. He was a farmer by occupation and on crossing the At- lantic took up his abode at Stow, Massachusetts.

His son, Robert Henry, was born in Ireland and died in Shirley, Massachu- setts, in 1759, leaving a widow and seven children, some of whom subsequently removed to Lebanon, New London county, Connecticut. Their mother, Eleanor Henry, was still residing with her eldest son John at the time of her death in Enfield, Hartford county, Connecticut, November 23, 1807, when she was eighty-four years of age.

John Henry, son of Robert and Eleanor Henry, was born in Stow, Middle- sex county, Massachusetts, January 8, 1742-3. From that place the family removed to the neighboring town of Groton. On the petition of Robert Henry and others the southwest corner of Groton was organized January 5, 1753, as the town of Shirley and a hill there, through which the Fitchburg Railroad makes a deep cut, is still called Mount Henry. John Henry wedded Mary Gager, daughter of the Rev. William and Mary (Allen) Gager. Her father was a graduate of Yale College, pastor of the second church at Lebanon and a great- grandson of William Gager, a surgeon who came to America with Governor Winthrop in 1630. John Henry had a brief record of service from the town of Lebanon in the Revolutionary war. He resided successively in Lebanon, Lebanon Crank, Bolton and Enfield, Connecticut, and finally died in Enfield, January 9, 1819, aged seventy-six years. He was a mason by trade and is said to have built many a stack of chimneys in the factory and mill towns of the Connecticut valley. Mary, his wife, died in Enfield, May 31, 1812, aged sixty- seven years. Their children were: Simon; Gager; William; Samuel; Lois, who became the wife of Daniel Pease; Eleanor, the wife of Augustus Prior; Mary, the wife of Elijah Holkins; Cynthia, the wife of Simon Bush; and Sarah. or Sally, the wife of Abel Merrill. Samuel Henry at one time bought land in Bainbridge but never lived there. Some of the Bush family, however, afterward removed to Bainbridge.

Simon Henry, son of John and Mary Henry, was born in Lebanon Crank, now Columbia, Toland county, Connecticut, November 27, 1766, being the eldest of the nine children. In 1792 at Enfield, Connecticut, he married Rhoda Parsons,

FREDERICK A. HENRY

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a daughter of John Parsons, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, who was the great-great-grandson of Benjamin Parsons, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and a representative of a family of high repute. Soon after the birth of their eldest son, Mr. and Mrs. Simon Henry removed to Middlefield, Hampshire county, Massachusetts. where their second son was born, and then a year or two later they crossed the county line into Berkshire county, where eight more children were added to the family. The western part of Massachusetts was then, as now, a region of wild and beautiful woods and mountain scenery but of thin and unfruitful soil. Here, however, they remained for about twenty-five years, cultivating land which they had purchased. Among the substantial citizens of Washington none was more respected and honored than Simon Henry, for the town records show that he was repeatedly chosen moderator of their annual town meeting and chairman of the board of selectmen, besides discharging many other public functions down to the very date of his removal to Ohio. In 1812-13 he represented the town in the general court at Boston, and about the same time one or more of his sons served their country in the second war with Great Britain, the number including John Henry, the grandfather of our subject.

Notwithstanding this apparent prosperity among the Berkshire hills, New Con- necticut, as the Western Reserve was then called, offered many attractions, es- pecially to a farmer with a large family of sons. Fully one quarter of the people of Washington emigrated to the west between 1815 and 1820, and Simon Henry, anxious to give each of his sons a farm, sold his land in Massachusetts and bought a large tract in Bainbridge, Ohio, from Simon Perkins, of Warren. To Ohio, therefore, with wife and eight children, two older ones, Orrin and John, having gone ahead the year before, he removed in 1817. The diary of his journey, still preserved by N. C. Henry, is terse and almost void of inci- dent but there is pathetic interest in the brief chronicle which begins: "We started from home September 18, on Thursday in the afternoon," and on Novem- ber I, after forty-five days of weary travel, the last entry is "Saturday night, home." Truly home is where the heart is.

The children of Simon and Rhoda Henry were as follows: Orrin, the eld- est, born at Enfield, Connecticutt, October 17, 1792, was married March 16, 1827 to Dencey Thompson, had a large family and removed to Illinois. William, born in Middlefield, Massachusetts, November 3, 1794, married Rachel Mc- Conoughey and had seven children. John was the grandfather of Judge Henry. Rhoda, born in Washington, June 30, 1798, became the wife of Robert Root and had five children. Anne Osborn, born March 26, 1800, married Jasper Lacey and had ten children. Mary, born January 9, 1802, became the wife of Elijah French. Simon Nelson was born in Washington, Massachusetts, July 27, 1803. Calvin Parsons, born March 24, 1807, was married September 4, 1832, to Lorette Jackson and had four children. Milo, born March 9, 1810, was married February 24, 1833, to Chloe Ann B. Osborn and had two chil- dren. Newton, born March 27, 1813, served in the Seminole war, was after- ward mate of a whaling vessel and died at sea. The death of Simon Henry, the father of this family, occurred June 26, 1854, in Bainbridge, Ohio, at the age of eighty-seven years. He was for many years a justice of the peace of that place and a prominent and influential citizen there. His wife, who was born in Enfield, Connecticut, March 13, 1774, died in Bainbridge, June 15, 1847, at the age of seventy-three years. Both were laid to rest in the old southeast burying ground in Bainbridge.

John Henry, the grandfather of Judge Henry, was born in Washington, Massachusetts, September 29, 1796. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812 and soon afterward came to Ohio, arriving in this state before his parents and others of the family. He was a farmer and surveyor and was prominent in the public affairs of the community. He served as postmaster and also as justice of the peace at Bainbridge and was a very prominent and honored citi-

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zen of the locality. He wedded Polly Jaqua, and unto them were born nine chil- dren. His death occurred January 10, 1869, when he had reached the age of seventy-two years.

Captain Charles Eugene Henry, the second of the nine children of John and Polly (Jaqua) Henry, was born in' Bainbridge, Geauga county, Ohio, November 29, 1835, on the farm where he spent his entire life save for brief intervals. His parents were both teachers and were lovers of books and the father not only filled various public offices but was also a Methodist class- leader. The log house in which Captain Henry spent his youthful days was far from being one of ignorance or squalor, and its atmosphere was one of intellectual culture and refinement. He pursued his studies in the old red schoolhouse, where he mastered the various branches of learning therein taught. In his youthful days he worked for neighboring farmers and before he was twenty-one had joined his brother-in-law, Henry Brewster, in the establishment and conduct of a sawmill and cheese box factory in that part of the neighboring town of Auburn locally known as Bridge Creek. In the meantime he taught several terms of district school, interspersed with periods of study at the old Eclectic Institute in Hiram. There he came into intimate fellowship with that immortal coterie of kindred Hiram spirits, which included among others, those familiarly known as Harry Rhodes, Augustus Williams, Burke Hins- dale, Henry White, Charley Dudley, Hiram Chamberlain and, last and chiefest, him in whose inspiring leadership they all exulted, James A. Garfield. Young Henry had met him years before at the Boynton's in Orange, just returned from the canal, and again when, on Garfield's first trip to Hiram to enter school there, he stayed over night in the Henry household that he might the next morning go to see and hear the piano for which that neighborhood was then distinguished. 'At Hiram when the war broke out, Henry, man-grown and with the home ties readjusted to his independence, was free to follow the bent of his hero worship and the spirit of patriotic sacrifice rife in the Eclectic, and therefore at Gar- field's invitation and his country's call he enlisted September 20, 1861, as a private of Company A, Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a Hiram com- pany of young men nearly all of whom were by education fitted to command but who were all content to follow when Garfield led. He was promoted to sergeant on the day of his enlistment and on the 25th of July, 1862, became sec- ond lieutenant. He served three years through Middle Greek, Pound Gap, Cumberland Gap, Big Spring, Chickasaw Bayou and Bluffs, Port Hindman, Milliken's Bend, Thompson's Hill (Port Gibson), where he was wounded May 1, 1863, Champion Hills, Big Black River and the assault on Vicksburg, wherein he was again wounded, severely, May 22, 1863. On the former date, May I, 1863, he was commissioned first lieutenant. When partially recovered from his wound, he was assigned, October 17, 1863, to the provost marshal's de- partment under Colonel (now United States circuit judge) Don A. Pardee, and served as provost judge at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, until October, 1864, in the meantime having been promoted to the office of regimental adjutant August 22, 1864. Some three months later he was honorably discharged at the ex- piration of his term of service, and November 10, 1864, he married at Ravenna, a Hiram schoolmate, Sophia Williams, sister to his friend and comrade, Major Augustus Williams and daughter of Frederick Williams, a pioneer of the Dis- ciples, one of the first and succeeding boards of trustees of the Eclectic Insti- tute, and a descendant in the seventh generation of Robert Williams, of Rox- bury, Massachusetts. They lived for a short time at Baton Rouge, where Cap- tain Henry practiced law under the miltary régime and then returned to Ohio, to his ancestral farm, which, with the acres added in the course of years, re- mained his real home and chief delight throughout his life. From that refuge, however, he emerged from time to time into public and semi-public service, first in the postoffice department as postmaster, succeeding his father, at Pond, now Geauga Lake, from October 29, 1867; as route agent from October, 1869;

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 20

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