USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 26
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has had charge of the medical dispensary of the college for five years. The results of his researches and broad experiences have been given to the world through his frequent contributions to current medical literature, treating mainly of internal medicine. He is a member of the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, the Cleveland Medical Library Association, the Ohio Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and thus keeps in touch with the work that is being done by the chief representatives of the medical fraternity.
On the 10th of October, 1908, Dr. Updegraff was united in marriage in Canada to Miss Emily Humphrey, a daughter of Robert Humphrey, of Chatham, Ontario, and they have one son, Ralph K., Jr., born June 30, 1909. They re- side at No. 7511 Franklin avenue and with Dr. Updegraff, the interests of his home are paramount to all else. His recreations are boating, fishing and shooting and when opportunity offers he indulges in these in his leisure hours.
GEORGE ALLEN GRIEBLE.
There are picturesque elements in the life record of George Allen Grieble, notwithstanding the fact that he is now known as an architect and engineer and gives almost undivided attention to the duties and interests of his pro- fession. He was formerly, however, connected with the military interests of Ohio and at the time of the Spanish-American war, saw four months' service in Porto Rico. One of Ohio's native sons, he was born near Delaware, in Delaware county, in September, 1874. His father, Henry Grieble, was born in Germany and in 1867 arrived in Delaware county, Ohio, where he established business as a merchant, conducting a prosperous enterprise. One of the interest- ing chapters in his life record covers six years' service in the cavalry, covering the period of the Civil war, in which he was connected with the Union forces. He enlisted as a private and left the army with the rank of first lieutenant. He is still living but has retired from active business. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Laura Long, is a native of Delaware county, Ohio, her people having been pioneers of that part of the state.
At the usual age George A. Grieble entered the public schools of Delaware, therein pursuing his studies until he completed the high school course. He afterward pursued two years' work in Wesleyan University and then became connected with the state service as superintendent of construction, overseeing the building of public institutions. In this connection he erected cottages at Xenia, also the chapel of the Girls Industrial Home at Delaware. He was also connected with the completion of the Mansfield Reformatory and with the trades' school at the same place. He built the Lancaster cottages on the Boys Farm and also the chapel building and has done much general institution work. He en- tered the employ of the state in 1897 and so continued until 1902. In the mean- time he had perfected a course in architecture in the International School of Correspondence. In 1902 he took charge of the Case schools, superintending the construction of the mining and physics buildings and in the summer of 1903 opened his present office as architect and engineer, enjoying immediate success. He designed and erected the Doan and Drehr blocks on Euclid avenue, the Nickolls apartments, the Baltimore & Ohio shops at Lorain, Ohio, the Jones business block at Ashtabula, the Cleveland Bottling Works, the Butler engineering plant, the Kinsman ice cream factory, the plant of the Retort Coke Oven Company, in Cleveland, the Penfield Avenue Bank, in Lorain, Ohio, and many residences and apartment houses in Cleveland. His work has been of varied character and all has been of the most satisfactory nature, for from boyhood he has displayed a mechanical turn of mind that has been developed through study, investigation and experience until he stands today as a most successful and capable architect and engineer.
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Twenty years ago, Mr. Grieble, interested in military affairs, enlisted as a private of the Ohio National Guard, won successive promotions and left the service as captain. As a member of Company K, of the Fourth Ohio Infantry, he did active duty through the Spanish-American war, being for four months with the American army that occupied Porto Rico. His fraternal associations are with the Masonic bodies and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His home life had its beginning, December, 1906, when he wedded Miss Teresa Hankinson, of Newton, New Jersey. Mr. Grieble is still a young man and what he has already done in his profession argues well for a successful future and ever broadening interests.
HON. JOSEPH HUNT BRECK.
The Breck family of Cuyahoga county is descended from ancestors whose his- tory constitutes an interesting chapter in the early annals of New England. Ed- ward Breck, the first of the name in America, sailing from England to the new world, became a member of the Massachusetts bay colony five years after the landing of the Puritans at Dorchester in 1630. All of the descendants of the Breck family have honorable and worthy records, while some have gained dis- tinction as scholars, soldiers, clergymen and in other professions as well as in various other walks of life.
Robert Breck, the great-grandfather of him whose name introduces this re- view, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1737. He married Rachael Hunt, a sister of Ebenezer Hunt, and became a trader and importer in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he conducted a store from 1766 until his death in Decem- ber, 1799. He was clerk of the court for the counties of Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden from 1781 to 1798. He possessed some property which included the acquisition in April, 1799, of a considerable acreage in the Western Reserve. His holdings in Brecksville, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, amounted at first to five thousand, seven hundred and eleven acres, while his son John held two thousand and fifty-four acres more. At this time Robert's holdings outside of Brecksville were about twice as large as they were in it. Later, the holdings in Brecksville of "the heirs of Robert Breck" were nearly doubled. He had seven sons, all dying without issue excepting Joseph Hunt and John, who became prominent citizens of Northampton. From the records there appears no doubt but that the township and village of Brecksville was so called in his honor, due in part to his prominence in Northampton and in part to his real-estate holdings; although the prominence of his sons, especially John, doubtless added to the sentiment which made the name seem appropriate.
Rev. Joseph Hunt Breck, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1798, was graduated from Yale college in 1818, and from Andover seminary in 1823, was ordained in December of that year, and was at once sent to Portage county as a home missionary to Ohio. He was first installed in the Presbyterian church in Andover, Ashtabula county. In 1828, he first located in Brecksville (being the first of the Brecks in that town), where he preached until 1833, when he took up his residence in Cleveland and opened a school for boys. In 1843, he removed from Cleveland and settled in the town of Newburg, Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life in honored retire- ment. He married Miss Alice Angeline Snow, of Northampton, Massachusetts, who died in 1838. Three children were born to them, namely: Joseph Hunt; Angeline Maria, born in 1834, who died when eighteen months old; and Ange- line Snow, who married C. B. Denio, of Galena, Illinois, later going to Vallejo, California. In 1844, he married Miss Diantha Chamberlain, of Monkton, Ver- mont, there being no issue. He died in Newburg in 1880.
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JOSEPH H. BRECK
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Hon. Joseph Hunt Breck was born in Brecksville, Ohio, June 23, 1831, and two years later removed from that village to Cleveland, where he remained with his parents until 1843, when he accompanied his father (his mother having died when he was seven) on his settling in Newburg. He continued his education in the schools of that place, and later finished his instruction by two years at Shaw Academy. Then he returned to the farm, where, young though he was, a large part of the responsibility in its operation rested upon him. At this time it became his desire to enter a commercial life and, after receiving his father's. consent, he secured a position as bookkeeper for E. I. Baldwin (a dry-goods merchant on Superior street), which he held for about a year, or, in fact, untif his father, after much endeavor, induced him to return to the farm, where affairs were in need of his attention. Previous to this and almost entirely alone, he had chopped and delivered a distance of three miles over the most primitive roads, sufficient cord-wood at two dollars and a half per cord to pay for every brick in the old homestead of thirteen rooms and attic. There he remained until 1906, when he sold his land to the railroad company and again took up his residence in Cleveland, only to pass away a year later.
On the 18th of January, 1859, Mr. Breck was married to Miss Harriet Maria Brooks, a daughter of Hezekiah and Hannah (Johnson) Brooks, who came to this state from Middletown, Connecticut, in 1819, and settled in Carlisle, Lorain county, Ohio. Her father was a tradesman in Connecticut but gave his atten- tion to general farming in Ohio. James Brooks, her grandfather, was a sea captain until after the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, when he enlisted in defense of the colonies. He was a private in the commander-in-chief's guards and was taken prisoner a number of times but on each occasion succeeded in making his escape. Four children delighted the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Breck, namely : George Dwight, Theodore Brooks, William Merriam and Mary Louise.
In his political views Mr. Breck was at first a progressive whig and hence was a first recruit in the formation of the republican party, of which he remained a stalwart member to the end. His interest in public improvements and progres- sive legislation was ever active and zealous and was inspired by motives worthy of his Puritan ancestors. He was recognized in Cleveland for his sterling quali- ties and was honored among those who were prominent in the councils of his party. He was elected to the Ohio legislature from his county for twelve years, and over the record of his public career there falls no shadow of wrong or sus- picion of evil. His course was characterized by fidelity to duty and by earnest and determined advocacy of what he believed to be right and for the best inter- ests of the commonwealth. He was the author of the salary bill, which put all city and county officials upon a salary basis, thereby saving to the public many thousands of dollars. He died June 27, 1907. His mistakes were few, his noble actions many, and even his political opponents did not question the honesty of his opinions.
JOSEPH B. MERIAM.
Joseph B. Meriam, one of the most prominent philanthropists and busi- ness men of Cleveland in his day, was born at Randolph, Ohio, on the 21st of January, 1827. His father, the Rev. Joseph Meriam, filled the pulpit of the Congregational church at Randolph for sixty years. In early manhood he had wedded Miss Emiline A. Bidwell, a native of Massachusetts.
Joseph B. Meriam supplemented his preliminary education by a course in the Western Reserve College, which was then located at Hudson, Ohio, com- pleting the course in that institution in 1848. After his graduation he took charge of Shaw Academy in Collamer, where he remained for three years. Many of Cleveland's well known citizens were pupils there during his principalship. In
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1851 he came to this city and was made cashier of what is now the National City Bank. Later, he turned his attention to life insurance. He remained in this line until he formed the Meriam & Morgan Paraffine Company, to which company he gave the best years of his business life, being treasurer and general manager for more than thirty years. For a few years prior to his death he was president of the Paragon Insulating Company, but his impaired health pre- vented his giving much attention to business. His business career, while prom- inent and useful, was not the side of his life in which he was best known and for which he will be longest remembered. He was preeminently a worker along church and religious lines. He was one of the organizers of the Young Men's Christian Association in 1857 and continued one of its most efficient and finan- cial stays until his death. For forty-five years he was prominently identified with the Presbyterian church in Cleveland, and in general philanthropic movements and in Young Men's Christian Association work. He was president of the local Young Men's Christian Association for six terms, from 1861 to 1863 and from 1879 to 1883, and at other times was treasurer, director and trustee. The last office he had held continuously since 1883. In 1881, when he was president, the Euclid Avenue Young Men's Christian Association building was purchased, to which he contributed ten thousand dollars. It was while on his way to a con- ference of secretaries, trustees and directors of the Young Men's Christian Association, at Toledo, that he was stricken down.
Mr. Meriam was first a member of the Second Presbyterian church, then helped to organize the Euclid Avenue Presbyterian church and for sixteen years preceding his death attended the East Cleveland Presbyterian church. He was a member of the board of elders in each of the churches and frequently served on the board of trustees. He generally acted as clerk of these boards, and his well kept records attest the careful and neat way in which he did his work. He was very fond of his church work, finding in this a zest which was unusual. Only severe bodily ailment could keep him from a meeting. He al- ways tried to contribute to the interest of the meeting and his contributions were enjoyable, partly from what he said, but very largely from the knowledge by others that there was a sincere, large-hearted man back of his utterances. He was religious without being austere. His pleasant, often playful, ways made him loved by all. It was hard for him to say a sharp or unkind word. As the head of a company employing large numbers of men, he was never known to discharge one in anger. There was as much of the milk of human kindness in J. B. Meriam as in any man who ever resided in Cleveland. His demise oc- curred on the 20th of February, 1901. He was suddenly taken ill while walking down the steps of the Union passenger station with Secretary S. L. Thomas of the Railroad Young Men's Christian Association, and was about to take the eleven o'clock train on the Lake Shore Railroad to Toledo, when he complained of a difficulty in breathing and sank to the ground. Bystanders aided in carry- ing him into the station. Dr. W. H. Kinnicutt, physical director of the Young Men's Christian Association, who was present, attended Mr. Meriam, but little could be done under the circumstances and he was taken to the Cleveland General Hospital, where he died soon afterward.
In 1857, in Cleveland, Mr. Meriam was united in marriage to Miss Helen Morgan, daughter of Edmund P. and Laura (Nash) Morgan. She is a repre- sentative of one of the leading families of this city and a sketch of her father is given on another page of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Meriam became the parents of five children, the record of whom is as follows. Laura is now the wife of J. W. Stewart, a well known attorney of Cleveland, and has the fol- lowing children: Vance, Paul M., Virda, Gertrude, Orr, Nash and Josephine. Edmund B. first wedded Miss Cornelia Day Younglove, by whom he had two children, Marie and Albert. For his second wife he chose Miss Elizabeth King and their union has been blessed with one child, Catharine. Helen L. Meriam is the next in order of birth. Alice is now the wife of Clay Herrick,
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of Cleveland, by whom she has two sons, Wendell and Meriam Clay. Joseph W. Meriam, who is connected with the Garfield Savings Bank of Cleveland, wedded Miss Florence Wyley, of Sioux City, Iowa. They have one child, Elizabeth Wyley.
EDGAR W. COLLINS.
Cleveland is the home of some of the brightest men in the country, attracted to it by the opportunities it offers, or by their business interests. Among those who have made their influence felt in both the business world and literary circles is Edgar W. Collins, at present superintendent of No. 2 district, western division, of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company. He was born December 25, 1852, at Long Island, Ontario, Canada. His father, Walter Collins, also a native of Long Island, was born in October, 1820, and died in Cleveland in- 1895, aged seventy-five years. He married Helen Blythe, who was born in Long Island, Ontario, in 1820, and there died in 1856. Of their children, William, the eldest, is deceased. Mary E. became the wife of Charles R. Stuart, of Cleveland, and their children were: Dr. Charles C. Stuart; Jennie, deceased; Jessie; and Ralph Stuart, deceased. Daniel Rufus Collins, the next of the family, has passed away. John F. Collins, living in Cleveland, is married and has two children, Maude E. and Trenton C. Edgar is the next of the family. Margaret J. became the wife of Edson Colsten and both are now deceased, but their four children, Helen, John, Mary and Walter, are all living. Anna M. is the wife of W. H. Shurmer, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, and their children are Maude and Carl. Charles H. Collins was adopted by a family of the name of Currier and is now living in Whitman, Nebraska.
Edgar W. Collins came to Cleveland in 1869 and was graduated from the Kentucky street school here. He became an operator of the Standard Oil United Pipes Lines and was with this concern from 1871 to 1876, while in the latter year he entered the employ of the Western Union and remained with this company as an operator until 1883. He then engaged with the American Rapid Telegraph Company as chief operator. This company was later merged into the Bankers & Merchants, and then all the united lines were taken over by the Postal Telegraph Company in September, 1885. Mr. Collins continued to be chief operator of the Postal Telegraph Company until 1897, when he was ap- pointed local manager, holding this position until April, 1901, when he was appointed superintendent of the district comprising Ohio, Indiana and Ken- tucky, with headquarters at Cincinnati. There he continued until January I, 1902, when he was transferred to Cleveland, to become superintendent of No. 2 district, western division, and thus still continues.
Mr. Collins was married in New York, June 17, 1886, to Anna G. Conway, a native of New York city, and a daughter of James and Mary Conway. Both were born in 1829 and the father died in 1869, while the mother's death oc- curred in 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have two daughters : Blythe, who grad- uated from the Bolton and Hathaway-Brown school, is living at home with her parents; and Edith G., after being graduated from the Hathaway-Brown school, was a student for a year at Vassar, but on account of her father's seri- ous illness, in 1907 and 1908, was forced to return home and is now a pupil in the college for women of Western Reserve University.
For many years Mr. Collins has been a member of Red Cross Lodge. No. 89, K. P., in which he has passed all the chairs and is now past chancellor of the lodge. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce ; has been a member of the Colonial Club for a number of years; and also belongs to the Old Time Tele- graphers and Historical Association, and the Society of United States Mili- tary Telegraph Corps.
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Mr. Collins has become prominent in literary work. Some years ago, when the late Joseph Christie, of New York, launched upon the fraternity a telegraph journal, he induced Mr. Collins to write what was called The Cleveland Chron- icles, which were widely read and Mr. Christie proudly referred to them in his valedictory. Mr. Collins' character sketches, Pop Stovy, Tom Wheeler's Christ- mas Gift, Grandpa, Pard Podunk (a poem), and others appearing in telegraphic journals, have been widely copied and commented upon in flattering terms. He has also contributed freely to publications in his own city and is regarded as a writer of ability and strength. He has also published two songs of a pathetic type, which are favorites in many family circles. His literary work has never interfered with his business affairs, but rather stimulated him to further effort by relieving him of many worries and refreshing a mind burdened with cares and responsibilities. The name of Edgar W. Collins is widely known among men of his profession, for telegraphers feel that he knows and comprehends their needs, both as a fellow worker and transcriber of their views in attractive prose and poetry.
JACOB LANDESMAN.
Jacob Landesman, one of the foremost business men and manufacturers of his time in Cleveland, took a most prominent part in the development of an in- dustry in which Cleveland has become a center-that of cloak manufacturing. Mr. Landesman was the founder and for years the head of probably the best known house in that line in this country-operating under the style of Landes -. man, Hirscheimer & Company.
He was a native of Vienna, Austria, and when but a child of four years lost both his father and mother. Thrown upon his own resources, he began life's struggle alone and to have achieved the success he did surely entitles him to classi- fication with the self-made men. Mr. Landesman came to America in 1876 and after attending the centennial exposition in Philadelphia made his way to Cleve- land, where the following year he began the manufacture of cloaks, laying the foundation of an enterprise that brought him both fame and fortune. Like many of our largest business concerns, the firm of Landesman, Hirscheimer & Com- pany had a modest beginning. It was the pioneer in a new field of industry and was not without its drawbacks, while various difficulties tested the courage and business acumen of the founder. Employing only the most honorable business methods and endeavoring to make a product that was the best, the success of the enterprise was soon assured. The business expanded and with the same keen insight displayed in its management Mr. Landesman surrounded himself with a capable corps of lieutenants, thus becoming relieved somewhat of the respon- sibility attending the management of detail. He was, however, remarkably fa- miliar with every detail of the business and it was largely his watchfulness over minor points that contributed to the splendid success of the major projects which he instituted. The business was later incorporated as Landesman, Hirscheimer & Company, with Mr. Landesman as president-a relation he continued to bear until 1900, when failing health necessitated his giving up active business cares. However, his advice and counsel continued important factors in the success of the business.
Mr. Landesman was twice married. His second wife was Miss Ida Rosen- zweig, of Denver, Colorado, and unto them were born five children: Gazella, Geoffrey, Helen, Dorothy and Elsa, all of whom, with the mother, survive the husband and father.
The latter years of Mr. Landesman's life were largely spent in recreation and pleasure as his health would permit. He traveled extensively both in this country and abroad but an undermined constitution finally had to give away and his
JACOB LANDESMAN
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death occurred September 10, 1905, when he was sixty-three years of age. In business circles few men of his day were held in such high esteem and the many expressions of sorrow and condolence that came from individuals and firms of long business relations at the time of his death were evidences of his high in- tegrity and business honor. One who had known him and dealt with him many years said: "He was the personification of all that was fair and honorable in business dealings."
Few men are as mindful of the comforts and welfare of others as was Mr. Landesman. His kindness of heart and his genuine sympathy always caused him to think of others before himself. The city at large mourned his departure and especially is he missed in Jewish charitable circles, for he gave generously and freely in response to the needs of the hour. He was the president of the Mount Sinai Hospital, was one of the organizers of the Infants Orphan Asylum on East Fortieth street in Cleveland and was also one of the incorporators of the Federation of Jewish Charities. He was a valued member of the Chamber of Commerce and thus cooperated in substantial measure in the movements for the city's welfare and upbuilding. He was appreciative of good music and possessed a correct ear that enabled him to understand all the harmony that can be pro- duced by voice or musical instrument. Fond of his home, a most kind husband and indulgent father, he put forth every effort in his power to promote the happi- ness of his wife and children and his greatest pleasure was obtained in their companionship. He rejoiced in his success because of what it enabled him to do for the members of his own household, as their welfare was ever his first consideration. While he displayed commendable characteristics in business circles of public life and in connection with his charitable activities, his best traits of character were ever reserved for his own home and fireside.
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