USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 43
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On the expiration of that period Mr. Hunt built a factory on Hickox alley, where he successfully conducted his business for fifteen years and then sold out to the American Can Company. Afterward he formed a partnership with Edwin H. Dorman, the firm engaging in sheet metal stamping. After three years their plant was destroyed by fire and they resumed business on Bright street, remain- ing there for three years. At the end of that time they erected a five-story brick building, fifty by one hundred and seventy-five feet, at the corner of Twenty-first street and Superior avenue, where the business has since been conducted. Mr. Hunt purchased his partner's interest and is now sole proprietor of the Hunt & Dorman Manufacturing Company-the first manufacturers in this locality. He employs a force of seventy men in the conduct of his business, which includes sheet metal work, light metal stamping, die making and machine work and auto- mobile stamping. Mr. Hunt possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close appli- cation to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is today his.
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In November, 1872, in Brimfield, Massachusetts, Mr. Hunt was united in marriage to Miss Carrie E. Newell, a daughter of Albigence and Sarah (Homer) Newell, natives of Brimfield and descendants of early New England families. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt have one son, James, who is now thirty-six years of age and acts as superintendent of the Hunt & Dorman Manufacturing Company. The family residence is at No. 5901 Whittier avenue.
Politically Mr. Hunt is a republican, stanchly supporting the men and meas- ures of that party. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and belongs to Forest City Lodge, No. 388, F. & A. M .; Webb Chapter, No. 14, R. A. M .; Oriental Commandery, No. 12, K. T .; Lake Erie Consistory, S. P. R. S .; the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and the Masonic Club. He spends most of his leisure time in driving and motoring. In business and social relations he holds to high standards and enjoys in large measure the confidence and trust of those with whom he is brought in contact in every relation of life. Mrs. Hunt is active in the Dorcas Society, serving as first vice president and chairman of committee on admission, and she is a liberal supporter of the charitable work.
JAMES FREDERICK HUNT.
James Frederick Hunt, who as the superintendent of The Hunt & Dorman Manufacturing Company, holds a respected position in the business world of Cleveland, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, February 15, 1871. His parents, James T. and Caroline Elizabeth Hunt, are residents of this city and are accorded a more extensive mention in another part of this work.
James Frederick Hunt qualified for the responsibilities of life in the public schools of this city. After completing the course of the grammar grades he became a pupil successively in the Rockwell and Central high schools, graduating from the former in 1885. When his education was completed he entered upon his business career as assistant bookkeeper with the Alexander Wilcox Coal Com- pany of Cleveland, and then was associated with Benton Hall & Company on Water street. In 1887 he became connected with the H. B. Hunt Stamping Company, with whom he has since remained, the name of the firm having been changed to its present title-The Hunt & Dorman Manufacturing Company- about six years ago. The concern has a plant at 2102-10 Superior street, North- east, and does a general business in metal stamping. For the past five years Mr. Hunt has been the superintendent, in this capacity having given evidence of the business sagacity and of the power to control men so necessary if a man is to make a success in the world of affairs. In 1893 Mr. Hunt wedded Miss Isabelle Smith, a daughter of Peter and Isabelle Smith, of Cleveland, and unto them has been born one son, James Frederick, who is now an infant of one year. Mr. Hunt is a member of Bigelow Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and is deeply interested in all measures advocated by this organization for the benefit of humanity in gen- eral. Both in his private life and in his business operations he holds to those high principles which look toward substantial success and esteem. As a recrea- tion he enjoys shooting, fishing, yachting, and automobiling.
REV. GUISEPPE MILITELLO.
The Rev. Guiseppe Militello, pastor of the Holy Rosary church of Cleve- land, was born at Palermo, Sicily, Italy, June 24, 1878, being a son of Frank and Isabella Salemi (Pace) Militello. The father, who was a soldier and legislator but is now living retired, was born October 18, 1833, a son of Vincent Militello, who was born in 1803 and died in 1890. The great-grandfather of Fatlier Mili-
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tello was Frank Militello, who was born in 1708 and died in 1827, and he, like his son and grandson, was very prominent. The mother was a daughter of John Pace, who was born in 1774 and died in 1845. The Pace family is a noble and rich one, connected with the production of sulphur. The family born to Frank Militello and wife was as follows : Dr. Emilio, born in 1869, is a captain and phy- sician in the regular Italian army and is called a capitano medico; John, born in 1872, is an architect for the state railroad in Palermo; Vincent, born in 1876, is an attorney ; Father Guiseppe is the fourth; and Alfred, born in 1880, lives with his brother Guiseppe and is a ladies' tailor.
Father Militello was educated at the Pontificto Seminary at Rome and after being there for fourteen years was ordained in Rome by Cardinal Cassetta as deacon, and priest by Bishop Alessandro in Cefalu, Palermo. After saying his first mass at his old home, he returned to Rome and continued his studies for two years, securing a degree in philosophy and theology, and then taught for three years in Italy. In 1905 he came to the United States and after being sta- tioned at different places for some months was appointed to his present parish. This was organized in 1892, being composed of Italians and comprising sixteen hundred families and twelve thousand souls. Father Militello is building a fine new brick church at a cost of sixty thousand dollars and a new parish house of stone. There are no school buildings but he has classes three times a week and teaches about seven hundred children. The church property is valued at one hun- dred and ten thousand dollars but is incumbered with a debt of sixty thousand dollars, but as the Father is very energetic and a good organizer things are pro- gressing rapidly. He is connected with the Knights of Columbus and other church societies and does all he can to interest his people and help them advance.
A. L. VERNER.
A. L. Verner, sales manager of the Lorain Steel Company with offices located in the Rockefeller building, is a native of the southland, his birth having occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, February 2, 1880. He comes of an excellent family and one which always figured prominently in the affairs of his native city. His parents were James J. and Mary W. (Wyly) Verner, of Atlanta, Georgia. Both the Wyly and Verner families have for many generations been prominent in South Carolina and Georgia. The Verner family is of German lineage and the first American ancestor came to this country about 1800. James J. Verner was for many years engaged in the real-estate business but is now living retired. His wife passed away April 17, 1909.
A. L. Verner's education was acquired in the public schools and soon after his graduation from the high school he began his business career as a clerk in the offices of the street railway company. He was then quite young but his ability was such that he was amply recommended to the approval of his employers. Mr. Verner's first step far afield was in 1900 when he came to Lorain, Ohio, to accept the position of private secretary to Daniel Coolidge, president of the Lorain Steel Company, and for four years he continued in that capacity.
Mr. Verner's connection with the Lorain Steel Company did not terminate with his removal to Cleveland in 1905, for he is now sales manager. In 1907 he was promoted to the post of managing salesman for the company's entire output of rails and specialties for Ohio and Kentucky. Few men of his years have attained to a position in which so much responsibility is vested and it has only been by the exercise of superior gifts in the way of intelligent industry, business acumen and entire trustworthiness that he has been able to achieve this desirable end.
A. L. VERNER
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Mr. Verner was married in 1906 to Miss Bertha Remmlinger, a native of Norwalk, Ohio. She is a daughter of Pierre and Christine Edwards Remmlinger, the former passing away May 8, 1897, and the latter February 25, 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Verner reside at No. 1581 Crawford road and their home is brightened by the presence of a little daughter, Christine Edwards, two and a half years of age. Mr. Verner is a member of the Cleveland Athletic Club, the Engineer Club of Cin- cinnati and the Central Electric Railway Association. He enjoys boxing, bowling, tennis and outdoor athletics. He is independent politically nor does he seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon business affairs, in which he has made steady progress.
FREDERICK M. BAUER.
Frederick M. Bauer, who has been the manager of the Cleveland Hardwood Floor Company since the Ist of October, 1901, was born in this city on the 2d of May, 1870, his parents being Nicholas and Emma Bauer. He began his education in the Catholic parochial schools and later entered the West high school, which he attended until seventeen years of age. Subsequently he was employed for two years as purchasing agent for The Variety Iron Works Com- pany and then entered the service of A. J. Wenham's Sons, wholesale grocers, as city credit man, acting in that capacity for nine years. He then became city salesman for the Ross-Sprague Company, wholesale grocers, being thus en- gaged for three years. On the Ist of October, 1901, he became manager of the Cleveland Hardwood Floor Company at No. 39 Taylor Arcade, in which ca- pacity he has since ably controlled and directed its affairs. They deal in plain and ornamental parquet floors, fretwork, etc., and have built up an extensive and remunerative business in this connection.
On the 18th of September, 1892, in Cleveland, Mr. Bauer was united in marriage to Miss Clara Dolwick and they now have seven children, as follows: Helen M., who is seventeen years of age and is employed in the office of the Cleveland Hardwood Floor Company ; Loyola G., who is fifteen years old; Lu- cille, Ralph J. and Alfred G., who are aged thirteen, eleven and nine years re- spectively; Frederick K. a little lad of five years; and Loretta, who is three years old. Loyola G., Lucille, Ralph J. and Alfred G., are all students in the Catholic parochial schools. The home of the family is at No. 11103 Detroit avenue.
Where national questions and issues are involved Mr. Bauer supports the democratic party, but at local elections casts an independent ballot. He is a communicant of the Catholic church and also belongs to the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, the Knights of Columbus and the Cleveland Commercial Travelers. He is one of the prosperous business men of his native city, well meriting the regard in which he is held and the financial success to which he has attained.
J. H. SOMERS.
It is doubtful if any name in Ohio is better known in connection with the bituminous coal trade than that of Somers. For more than forty years it has been closely interwoven with the history of the development of the coal resources of this part of the country, during which time three generations of the family have contributed to the progress that has been made in this field of enterprise, J. H. Somers succeeding his father in the business and in turn being succeeded by his son Charles W.
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A native of Ohio, J. H. Somers was born in Marietta, Ohio, in 1842, and in that section of the state his early life was spent. When a young man he be- canie identified with his father, Jonathan F. Somers, in the coal business and eventually succeeded him, continuing in active connection with the coal trade throughout his remaining days. He resided for some time in Newark, Ohio, and later in Columbus, while in 1883 he took up his residence in Cleveland, this city remaining his home until his death, which occurred on the 19th of November, 1908. Mr. Somers was a pioneer coal operator along the lines of the modern methods that are employed in the development of the coal resources and trade of the country. He knew the business in its earliest days and witnessed every for- ward step, keeping always fully abreast with the times. His interests became large and his field of operations extensive as he built up a business that em- ployed hundreds of men and dispensed hundreds of thousands of dollars annu- ally. He was associated with the movement for the pioneer development of the coal fields of Saginaw county, Michigan, as well as those of Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He was long known as the vice president of the J. H. Somers Coal Company and one of the heaviest stockholders of the Roby Coal Company. He aided in organizing both firms, conducting most extensive mining and shipping interests in Cleveland in the field in which he operated. It was about 1890 when he organized the firm of J. H. Somers & Company and to the coal trade he largely confined his activities, becoming one of the best known representatives of the coal trade in his time. He was a man of great energy, a splendid organizer and almost unerring in his judgment of men.
Those who knew Mr. Somers personally found him at times brusque and yet his sympathies were easily aroused. He was strong in his likes and dislikes and stood firm for what he believed to be his right. On the other hand, he was extremely just and fair, according to others what was their due. He cared noth- ing for public office, yet was a stanch republican and manifested in public affairs the interest of a business man who wisely recognizes that he is a part of the com- munity, to which he owes an obligation while at the same time he receives the benefit of all that constitutes the public life. His word was as good as any bond solemnized by signature or seal and he was widely known for his unfaltering probity as well as for his notable success. On the day prior to his death he was in his office and thus continued an active factor in the business world to the last. His life work was not only crowned with proseprity but also a high com- mercial standing that has been perpetuated by his son Charles W. Somers, who is his successor in business and of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume.
F. K. GATCH.
F. K. Gatch has risen to his present responsible position as cashier of the Grasselli Chemical Company through various grades of promotion by earnest and persistent endeavor. He was born in Milford, Clermont county, Ohio, in 1865, a son of Henry C. Gatch, and was graduated from the high school of his native place.
Upon coming to Cleveland in 1884, Mr. Gatch entered the employ of E. G. Grasselli & Sons as an office boy. Soon his ability and alertness were rewarded by promotion to the positions of shipping clerk, bookkeeper and finally cashier, and he is also a heavy stockholder in the business he has served for nearly a quarter of a century.
Mr. Gatch is unmarried, making his home with his widowed mother and sis- ter Emeline, who is a graduate of Milford high school. Another sister, Maria G., is the widow of K. B. Bailey, who was treasurer for many years of Grasselli Chemical Company. Mrs. Bailey has a daughter Lucretia, a young lady who is
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being carefully educated in a private school. The mother came to Cleveland in 1892 to join her son and make a home for him.
A member of the Young Men's Christian Association, the Business Men's Club and of the Cleveland Athletic Club, Mr. Gatch is pleasantly associated with congenial companions. He is extremely fond of baseball and is the best catcher on any local team. He is a live, progressive young man, devoted to his family and liked by business and social acquaintance alike. Few men starting in merely as an office boy are able to rise as high as he without making a single change, and if he had not possessed more than average ability, this confidence would not have been reposed in him.
J. JACOB BUEL, M. D.
Dr. J. Jacob Buel, meeting all the requirements of a successful physician in comprehensive knowledge of the profession and in marked ability in applying its principles, is now accorded a liberal and gratifying practice as an oculist, for while he was formerly identified with all lines of professional service, he now concentrates his energies upon the treatment of the diseases of the eye. He was born in Stein am Rhein, Switzerland, March 16, 1860, a son of Johanes and Maria Magdelina (Wueger) Buel. The father was a flour miller and farmer, who died when his son Jacob was but four years of age, while the mother long sur- vived and passed away in 1894.
Dr. Buel spent his boyhood in his native town and there acquired his early education in the public schools, which he attended to the age of fifteen years, when he went to Schaffhausen, where he entered the gymnasium, an institution of learning equivalent to the high school in America and the first two years of college work. Dr. Buel there continued his studies for four years and was grad- uated at the age of nineteen. He then went to Neuchatel, Switzerland, where he matriculated in the academy, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1880. He then took up the study of medicine in Geneva, Switzerland, at the University of Geneva, where he spent two and a half years, winning his first degree in medicine there in 1882. He afterward went to Leipsic, Germany, where he pursued his clinical studies and returning to Berne, Switzerland, to finish his course, was graduated from the University of Berne in 1885, with the M. D. degree. Previous to his graduation he became second assistant to the eye clinic of the University of Berne under Professor Pflueger. and after his graduation he was promoted to first assistant, which position he held until 1888, at which time he resigned to accept the position of Chef de Clinic to Dr. Landolt of Paris, where he continued until the fall of 1890. At that time he retired from active practice for a year because of an operation which he had had performed. In November, 1891, he came to America and located in St. Louis. There he remained for a year and a half and in the spring of 1893 arrived in Cleveland, since which time he has been in active practice here. He has always confined his practice to the eye and his ability in this direction has made him recognized as an authority on all matters pertaining to ophthalmology. He was for ten or twelve years on the staff of St. John's Hospital and has been ophthalmologist to the Lutheran Hospital since its establishment. The medical fraternity is making rapid strides, its scientific investigation bringing to light many valuable truths, and with the onward march of progress Dr. Buel keeps in close touch through his membership in the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, the Cleveland Medical Library Association, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
On the 13th of August, 1895. Dr. Buel was married to Miss Estelle S. Wuil- lenmier. a native of Switzerland, and they have one daughter. Estelle Marie, now in her sixth year. The family residence is at No. 1774 West Twenty-eighth
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street. Dr. Buel finds recreation and pleasure in walking. He is devoted to his home, where he spends his leisure hours with his family, and all who know him find him a man of continued good nature, whose geniality, cordiality and deference for the opinions of others, as well as his professional knowledge have been elements in his success and popularity.
EDWARD V. MAGUIRE.
Edward V. Maguire, a member of the tailoring firm of Moss & Maguire, which is located on the seventh floor of the Hippodrome building in Cleveland, was born at Painesville, Ohio, on the 12th of July, 1878, his parents being Joseph and Martha (Traenkle) Maguire. The father, whose birth occurred in Pennsyl- vania, in 1842, removed to Painesville, Ohio, in 1865 and was there engaged as a railroad engineer up to the time of his death, which occurred as the result of an accident in 1883. The mother of our subject was born in Germany in 1848, but when six years of age accompanied her parents on their emigration to the United States, the family home being established in Buffalo, New York.
Following the death of Joseph Maguire his widow and children came to Cleveland in July, 1884, and it was in the public schools of this city that Edward V. Maguire obtained his education. After putting aside his text-books he en- tered the employ of The Wieber Company in the capacity of errand boy, but as time passed and he demonstrated his capability and faithfulness in the dis- charge of the duties entrusted to him, he was gradually promoted to positions of greater and greater responsibility until he eventually became manager of the concern. On the Ist of August, 1909, he severed his connectionn therewith in order to form a partnership with G. C. Moss, who had for several years suc- cessfully conducted the business which was organized by his father at Akron more than fifty years ago. Mr. Maguire's seventeen years' experience in the service of The Wieber Company-a very successful high class tailoring estab- lishment-well fitted him for his present prominent position as a partner in the firm of Moss & Maguire, who now rank among the largest houses catering to exclusive fine trade in the middle west.
In January, 1902, Mr. Maguire was united in marriage to Miss Dorothy Anne Diedrich, of Tonawanda, New York, a daughter of Henry and Emma Diedrich. They now have one child, Ruth. Mr. Maguire gives his political allegiance to the men and measures of the republican party but has no desire for the honors and emoluments of office, for his business interests demand his en- tire time and attention. A young man of kindly, genial nature, he enjoys in large measure the good will and friendship of those with whom he is asso- ciated. In his life he has displayed marked force of character and strong de- termination and, well disciplined, his commendable ambition has led him from small undertakings to a place of considerable prominence in commercial cir- cles.
ERASMUS DARWIN BURTON, M. D.
Dr. Erasmus Darwin Burton, who was named for the father of Charles Dar- win, has been prominently and honorably identified with the professional interests of Cleveland as a practictioner of medicine for the past sixty-three years. He was born in Euclid township, just across the street from his present residence, on the 28th of January, 1825, and has here made his home to the present time, covering a period of eighty-four years.
His father, Dr. Elijah Burton, who was a native of Vermont, came to this city in 1820 and was successfully engaged in the practice of medicine here until
EDWARD V. MAGUIRE
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the time of his retirement in 1846. He was the pioneer physician of this sec- tion of the state and a contemporary of Dr. Long. He took a deep and helpful interest in all matters pertaining to the public welfare and the weight of his influence was ever given on the side of right, truth, justice and progress. His demise occurred in 1854, when he had attained the age of sixty-one years. His first wife, the mother of our subject, bore the maiden name of Mary Hollister and was a native of Bennington county, Vermont. Six months after the arrival of her husband in this city she also came here, bringing their little child, Lucy A., who afterward became the wife of George C. Dodge, one of the most prominent citizens of Cleveland at one time. The other two children of Dr. Elijah and Mary (Hollister) Burton, who were born in this city, were as follows: Frances, the deceased wife of Seth Doan; and Erasmus Darwin, of this review. The mother was called to her final rest in 1827, when but thirty-two years of age. By his second wife Dr. Elijah Burton had one child, Mary S., who gave her hand in marriage to James Watson.
Erasmus Darwin Burton, now the only surviving member of his father's family, obtained his preliminary education in the district schools and later entered Shaw Academy of Cleveland, which he attended until eighteen years of age. In 1843 he began reading medicine in the office of Dr. John Delamater, where he remained until 1846, in the meantime attending the first three courses of lectures at the medical department of Hudson College-now the medical department of Western Reserve University. He won his degree of M. D. in February, 1846, being a member of the first medical class that ever graduated in Cleveland.
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