A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 31

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 31

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The history of the Poe family in America begins with the arrival of John Poe in Baltimore in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was of the old Norman family of Le Poer, a name conspicuous in Irish annals. The Le Poers, like the other Anglo Norman settlers in Ireland, passed from Italy into the north of France and from France to England and Wales into Ireland, where from their isolated position and other causes they retained for a long period their hereditary traits with far less modifications from intermarriage and con- association with other races than did their English compeers. The name under- went various changes in accent and orthography, becoming De la Poe and finally Poe.

The children of John Poe were George, an officer in the Maryland line dur- ing the war of the Revolution; Andrew; Adam and Catherine. Adam and Andrew went west and settled upon the Ohio river, became famous Indian fighters and books telling of the border war of that period are filled with their exploits and adventures. Theodore Roosevelt in his Winning of the West re- counts at length the history of Adam Poe's famous fight with Bigfoot, on the banks of Yellow creek. He lived to be nearly one hundred years of age, and when William Henry Harrison, then candidate for president, visited Wayne county, he asked that Adam Poe be brought to the barbecue, which was in progress. He was carried on the shoulders of the crowd and as a result of the excitement of the occasion and exposure died a day or two thereafter.

Andrew Poe passed a comparatively quiet life but his son, Daniel, who became the father of Jane Ingram Poe, who was married to Henry Thompson, as heretofore related, passed a strenuous life as a circuit rider in various con- ferences of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was graduated from Center College of Kentucky, entered the ministry and was married to Jane Ingram, whose life had been devoted to missionary work and whom Daniel Poe had found teaching among the Indians a hundred miles from civilization on the banks of the Green bay. He was appointed by the Cincinnati conference to find a location for a Methodist college, which he did by selecting Delaware, Ohio, and locating there the Ohio Wesleyan University. He was the first preacher in the old Willows Street church, and later was sent to Texas, where he founded a college and became its professor of mathematics, in the meantime continuing his services in the pulpit. He and his wife were stricken with fever and died forty minutes apart and are buried under the pulpit of the Methodist church in

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San Augustine, Texas. In answer to an inquiry concerning them, the subject of this sketch has the following communication from the pastor of that church:

San Augustine, Texas, June 12, 1905.

Dear Sir :-

Replying to your inquiry in regard to the death of Rev. Daniel Poe and wife, will say that according to information gathered from living witnesses, they died at this place in the year 1837. They died within forty minutes of each other and were interred in the same grave, just to the rear of the Methodist church in which he preached. In later years the church was rebuilt and enlarged and the graves are now just under the pulpit stand. There is no monument save the church, for which they gave their all. There is hardly a child in the town and community but knows the story of their sacrifice and labors for the Master's cause. There has been talk of removing their ashes, with those of other pioneers, to some suitable place and erecting a monument to their memory, but as yet there has been nothing done towards it. If I can serve you further, will be pleased to do so. Your respectfully,

C. T. CUMMINGS, Pastor, M. E. Church, San Augustine, Texas.

There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Poe three children, Andrew, Maria and Jane Ingram Poe. Upon the death of the parents these three children were left with friends of their parents and were finally brought north to Columbiana county by their uncle, George Poe. By him and his brother Adam, manager of the Methodist Book Concern at Philadelphia, they were educated. Andrew had nearly completed his course of study at Baldwin University, when the Civil war broke out. He enlisted with a Cleveland battery and was killed at the battle of Seven Pines. Maria was educated at Albion, Michigan. She became preceptress of the seminary at Farmington and later of Oakland Female Sem- inary in California. Jane Ingram Poe was educated at West Farmington and graduated from Adrian, Michigan, taught for a period, was married to Henry Thompson as above mentioned, and died in December, 1887.

JUDGE SENECA O. GRISWOLD.

Judge Seneca O. Griswold, who for forty years was an honored member of the Cleveland bar, while his name is also linked with many events and move- ments which have left their impress upon the history of the city, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, December 20, 1823. He was descended in the sixth gen- eration from Edward Griswold, who settled in Windsor in 1635, thus founding on American soil a family that has numbeerd many men who have won dis- tinction in literature, science and professional life.

In his youth Mr. Griswold was a pupil in the Suffield (Conn.) Literary In- stitute, where he pursued his studies until he reached his seventeenth year. He came to Ohio in 1841 and the following year matriculated as a freshman in Oberlin College, completing his four years' course in that institution by gradua- tion with the class of 1845. Immediately afterward he returned to Connecticut and for one year was engaged in teaching in the academy of his native town. He then again came to Ohio and began preparation for what was to be his real life work as a student in the law office of the firm of Bolton & Kelly, of Cleve- land, who directed his reading until his admission to the bar in 1847. In the spring of the following year he entered into partnership with the Hon. John C. Grannis and at once began the practice of his profession. Three years later that partnership was dissolved and he joined his former preceptors, under the firm

SENECA O. GRISWOLD

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style of Bolton, Kelly & Griswold, the firm name being changed to Kelly & Griswold upon the election of the senior partner to the bench in 1856. The firm of Kelly & Griswold then maintained a leading position at the Cleveland bar until the death of Mr. Kelly in 1870. The succeeding year Judge Griswold was joined in a partnership relation by a former student, Isaac Buckingham, with whom he was associated for two years.

In the meantime Mr. Griswold had become a recognized leader in political circles and in 1861 was elected a member of the general assembly, in which he served for one term. While in the legislature he rendered valuable aid in organ- izing the railroad sinking fund commission and also in procuring for the city of Cleveland a paid fire department. He was next called to office when, in 1873, he was elected one of the superior court judges of Cleveland and during the same year was elected, as the candidate of both democrats and republicans, a member of the state constitutional convention. He left the impress of his indi- viduality upon the organic law of Ohio, taking active part in the deliberations of the convention and serving with marked ability as chairman of the committee on corporations and as a member of the apportionment committee, and his course on the bench was characterized by all that marks the able jurist. Upon the expiration of his judicial term, Judge Griswold assumed the active practice of his profession and again became associated with Mr. Grannis. Later he was joined in a partnership relation by B. C. Starr, which continued until his retire- ment after forty years of active connection with the profession.

A contemporary biographer said of him: "As a judge, Mr. Griswold com- manded the respect of all by his learning and impartiality, and as a lawyer he stood in the front rank of the profession, his extensive reading, well balanced judgment and logical reasoning making him a most reliable counselor and suc- cessful practitioner." He was chiefly instrumental in establishing the Cleveland Law Library Association and for many years was continued in the office of president by the vote of his fellow members. He also served his fellow towns- men as a member of the city council.

In 1858 Judge Griswold was married to Miss Helen Lucy Robinson, of West- field, New York, who died in 1871. About 1888 Judge Griswold retired from practice and soon afterward took up his residence in Windsor, Connecticut, on the old family homestead, where he engaged in tobacco growing and became an authority on the cultivation of that plant. His death occurred there February 17, 1895, when he was in his seventy-second year. During the years of his active connection with the legal profession he won considerable reputation as a public speaker and delivered an oration at the Centennial celebration in Cleve- land on the 4th of July, 1876, which was acknowledged by all to be an eloquent and able address, well worthy the occasion which called it forth. He also wrote much upon legal and kindred themes and his writings remain as a monument to his comprehensive legal knowledge.

Through the cooperation of Mrs. Stevenson Burke, for years an intimate friend of the family, we are able to present the excellent likeness of Mr. Gris- wold accompanying this sketch.

HARRY M. ABERNETHY.

While success as reckoned by vast accumulations often excites wonder and admiration, calmer judgment regards the successful man not only by what he has obtained but by the benefit of his work to mankind. Judged by this standard, Harry M. Abernethy deserves classification with those men whose lives have been crowned with splendid success. He is known in commercial circles as the general

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manager of the American Railway Signal Company of Cleveland, a most impor- tant productive industry in a city which numbers some of the largest manufactur- ing and industrial concerns of the country. He has given substantial proof of his business ability and strength and investigation into his record shows how valuable has been his service to humanity at large.

Mr. Abernethy was born at Mount Gilead, Ohio, in December, 1855, and his residence in Cleveland dates only from 1903. He is a son of Dr. Alexander Aber- nethy, who belonged to and old Pennsylvania family that was founded in the Key- stone state in 1780 by ancestors who located in Cumberland county. In 1820 Dr. Abernethy removed to Ohio, where he became a prominent and influential factor not only in professional circles but also in his relations to public interests of deep import. He served in the Ohio assembly from 1846 until 1850 and left the im- press of his individuality upon the legislation enacted during that formative pe- riod in the state's history. For forty years he was one of the beloved physicians of Richland county, Ohio, and there died in 1887.

Harry M. Abernethy acquired a good classical education in the high school and in Dr. Gailey's private school. Subsequently he took up the study of telegra- phy and, having mastered the business, accepted a position as telegraph operator with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. During the early years of his service as operator he read law with the firm of Geddes, Fink & Geddes and was admitted to the bar before the supreme court of Ohio in 1877. He never entered upon active practice but has found his knowledge of law of inestimable value to him in the conduct and management of business affairs of large mag- nitude. In 1874 he was appointed telegraph operator for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and also filled the positions of freight and ticket agent and train dis- patcher, remaining a resident of Newark for fourteen years. In the meantime he had been a close observer of many phases of railroading, had carefully ponder- ed needs in connection with the equipment of railway lines and in 1894 removed to Elmira, New York, where the result of his research and consideration was manifest in his organization of the Eclipse Switch & Signal Company. After coming to Cleveland in 1903 he organized the American Railway Signal Com- pany. He designed and patented several inventions and devices that are manu- factured by this company which are of the utmost worth. Believing that loss of life through railroad disaster might be reduced to the minimum if the equip- ment of the roads was improved, he began studying along that line with the result that his recognition of the needs, his mechanical skill and originality led to the production of various new and valuable devices. The importance of these ap- pliances cannot be overestimated and are not fully appreciated by the layman, yet they form a great part of the modern block system and electrical interlocking devices whereby the safety of the traveler is greatly increased, accidents being al- most entirely averted by misplaced switches or by failure to give the proper sig- nal. These inventions of Mr. Abernethy, which he is now manufacturing, are used by a large number of railroads through the United States. Since the es- tablishment of the business in 1903 it has grown to mammoth proportions until it is one of the leading manufacturing enterprises of Cleveland, furnishing em- ployment to many people. While there are others connected with the American Railway Signal Company, Mr. Abernethy is recognized as the man of power and whose astute brain directs affairs. The business is a splendid example of re- markable development in industrial institutions.

In 1885 Mr. Abernethy was married to Miss Jennie Stough, a daughter of David Stough, of Richland county, Ohio, and they have two children, Harry and Clyde. The former is now an electrical engineer in the employ of the American Railway Signal Company and. although only twenty-four years of age, has al- ready displayed the same traits of character which have resulted in his father's remarkable success.

There is nothing that Mr. Abernethy enjoys more than a good game of base- ball and he is a well known fan. He is also fond of automobiling and an ardent

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fisherman. There is not a doubt but that he owes his youthful appearance and robust health to his love of outdoor sports. Although he has had a very busy life, with each hour filled with its duties or pleasures, he is full of energy and there is no trace of the business strain. The responsibilties of his position, so carefully and conscientiously discharged, do not weigh him down because he knows himself and his powers of concentration, his keen foresight and capacity for grasping each opportunity as it arises, that combined have made him the actual head of a mighty establishment.

BENJAMIN GUY CHENOWETH.

Benjamin Guy Chenoweth, justice of the peace, whose record is characterized by the utmost fairness and impartiality in the discharge of his duties, allows of no temporizing or misconstruction of the law or the use of technicalities to thwart "an even-handed justice." His course has awakened high commendation on the part of those who wish to see the strict maintenance of the law without favoritism.

Mr. Chenoweth was born in Baltimore, Maryland, December 21, 1861. His father, a native of the same place, was born January 3, 1811, and there died in 1897. He was a pattern maker by trade and at one time engaged in the manu- facture of agricultural implements, but at length sold that business and devoted himself to pattern making and invention. He was the inventor of the first plow- share, the first street car register and numerous other valuable devices on which he secured patents. He wedded Mary Wood, who was born in Baltimore in 1823 and died in June, 1906. The ancestry of both the Chenoweth and Wood families can be traced back through many generations. Henry Washington, a maternal uncle of our subject, was the nephew of George Washington.

In the public schools of his native city Benjamin Guy Chenoweth mastered the elementary branches of learning but left school after completing the grammar grades, and in broadening his knowledge since that time has utilized every opportunity available for study and research. Early in his business life he was connected with the manufacture of furniture, being for five years associated with George Chipman & Sons. He afterward engaged in the dyeing and cleaning business in Washington, District of Columbia, conducting an enterprise of that character on his own account for fifteen years, or until July, 1894, when he came to Cleveland. Here he was associated with House & Herrimann, retail furniture dealers, for five years, and in 1899 he became shipping clerk and salesman with Aldrich, Howey & Company, with whom he remained for seven years, or until July, 1906. He was then with the Bings Furniture Company until November, 1907, when he was elected justice of the peace from Newburg. The work of his court is extensive and in the discharge of his duties he has made a notable record. He curtails the efforts of attorneys when they would unduly press debtors in collection, making them follow the statutes in giving notice and thus carefully protecting the debtor in his rights. He is so strict in this that he loses much collection business from collection agencies, but, notwithstanding, he is extremely just and sustains his oath to do his duty. In the majority of cases the debtors are very poor and have been imposed upon through technicalities, nor do they understand the law, and it is Judge Chenoweth's purpose to see that the statutes are followed in every particular.

Judge Chenoweth was married to Mrs. Annie L. Chipley, a daughter of John and Annie Thorn, of Washington, District of Columbia, and they now have one child, Hattie Margaret. By her first husband, William R. Chipley, Mrs. Cheno- weth had three children, Annie G., William R. and Eugene B., who regard Judge Chenoweth as a father and receive from him every indication of parental care and affection. Judge Chenoweth is connected with the Loyal Order of

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Moose. He attends the Baptist church and is active in the local ranks of the republican party. His home is on Treadwell avenue and Kinsman road, in New- burg, one of the attractive suburbs of Cleveland.

HON. WILLIS VICKERY.

Willis Vickery, judge of the court of common pleas, for the fourth subdivi- sion of the third judicial district of Ohio, was born at Bellevue, Huron county, Ohio, November 26, 1857. His parents were William Vickery and Sarah Per- kins Vickery, who emigrated from the county of Devon, England, in May, 1857, coming directly to Bellevue, where a few months afterward the subject of this sketch was born. Shortly afterward the family, which at that time comprised the parents and three children, moved to the country on a farm, first in Erie county, Ohio, and then to Sandusky county, Ohio, where young Vickery was brought up and where he resided with his parents until he reached manhood. In 1869 the mother died, and the father never afterward remarried, but kept his family together on the home farm between Clyde and Bellevue in Sandusky county. Hard work from early until late on the farm was the lot of all. No school except three months in the winter, and until young Vickery had reached the age of nineteen years he saw nothing but hard work and deprivations. But while he worked with his hands his mind was growing strong and vigorous with his body, so that in the fall of 1877, when he entered Clyde high school in the second year, he was soon able to lead his class, and in 1880, when he graduated, it was as valedictorian of the class.

Not having means to go to college and being nearly twenty-two years of age, he determined to study law, and in the fall of 1880 he entered the law office of Messrs. Everett and Fowler, at Fremont, Ohio, where he remained for six months, but in January, 1881, being asked to accept the position of prin- cipal of the grammar school at Clyde, Ohio, he took the position and taught the balance of the year. In the fall of 1881 he secured a position as teacher of the high school at Castalia, Ohio, where he taught for one year with success. In the meantime he continued his studies in the law, and in the fall of 1882 he entered the middle year of the law department of Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, and remained there until he was graduated in 1884, having won a scholarship the first year.

Returning to Ohio, Judge Vickery was admitted to the Ohio bar in June, 1885, when, with his brother Jesse, who had graduated from the law department of Michigan University, he formed a law partnership and opened a law office at Bellevue, Ohio, under the firm name of Vickery Brothers. They continued the practice of law with marked success, taking part in much of the important liti- gations of Erie, Sandusky and Huron counties until in 1896, when the firm was dissolved and Judge Vickery removed to Cleveland, Ohio. For a number of years he practiced alone and then became associated with the Hon. Charles S. Bentley, ex-judge of the circuit court of Ohio, under the firm name of Bentley & Vickery, which firm lasted for three years. It was then dissolved, and Judge Vickery again practiced alone until just before his election to the bench, when he was associated in the firm of Vickery, Fleharty & Corlett, the latter firm being dissolved January 1, 1909, when Judge Vickery assumed his duties on the bench. His election to the bench came to him as an honor after having achieved an honorable position at the bar of Cuyahoga county. Coming to the city an entire stranger with no friends or acquaintances in the city, he compelled recog- nition by sheer force of ability and indefatigable work, so that when he ran for the office of judge of the court of common pleas it was generally conceded that he was well fitted for the high duties, and he was endorsed by all the news-

WILLIS VICKERY

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papers and civic societies of the city without regard to politics and was elected by an unusually large majority.

In 1897 Judge Vickery was one of the moving spirits with Judge Arthur E. Rowley, of the probate court of Huron county, Ohio, and Ex-Judge Charles S. Bentley, in organizing the Baldwin University Law School, of which school he became the secretary and managing officer. Later when this school was con- solidated with the Cleveland Law School, Judge Vickery became the secretary and managing officer of the consolidated school and the real head of the school, which position and duties he has not allowed the more honorable duties of his judicial position to interfere with. He has been the means of making it pos- sible for scores of young men to gain a law education, and many of them to achieve an honorable position at the bar of this and other states. He now lec- tures in the school on contracts, partnership and constitutional law. As a teacher he as few superiors, as he has a comprehensive grasp of his subjects and the faculty of imparting knowledge in a rare degree.

Judge Vickery was elected to the bench in the fall of 1908, and at once be- came known as a fearless, able and impartial judge. Some of the most impor- tant cases fell to his lot to try, notably the lake front litigation and the state of Ohio versus Hayes. The lake front litigation had been in the courts for sixteen years and had been twice decided in favor of the railroad company, de- fendants, by the United States courts and was sent back to the state courts to be tried there. Judge Vickery took up this case almost as his first work on the bench and spent his nights in studying the case to keep abreast with the many able lawyers who presented it in court. After three weeks' trial and a further week's deliberation, he delivered an opinion sustaining the city in its contention, deciding contrary to the decisions of the two United States courts, he taking a bold and strong stand for the rights of the public as against the encroachments on the public's rights. His position was sustained in a learned opinion by Judge Henry, of the circuit court. By Judge Vickery's decision the city of Cleveland is likely to recover land on the lake front worth thirty million dollars.

The state of Ohio, or Hayes case, was the most technical criminal case tried in Cuyahoga county courts for years. It involved the embezzlement of one hundred and ninety-eight bonds of one thousand dollars each and covered a commercial transaction of a long period of time. The trial took three weeks and there were numerous able lawyers on each side. Judge Vickery's position was upheld by the circuit court, and he was complimented by a member of the circuit court for the able manner in which he presided over the trial.

Judge Vickery has a well stored mind, and that, together with his long train- ing at the bar, has enabled him to dispatch business in such a manner that it has brought forth much praise. The Cleveland Leader editorial says: "Judge Vickery, of the common pleas court, is undoubtedly right in his contention that with the present legal machinery in Ohio and other states, it is possible to turn the wheels much faster and keep the business of the courts more nearly down to date. He has proven his case by his own work. It has been demonstrated that a judge with ability and determination, and plenty of industry to boot, can wade through a mass of hampering technicalities with surpassing ease. Judge Vickery has simply refused to be bound and clogged by common usage in Ameri- can courts where nothing essential was involved."

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 31

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