USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 44
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Dr. Burton at once took up the practice of his father, who retired about that time, and has been successfully identified with the medical fraternity during the intervening sixty-three years, maintaining his office at No. 14110 Euclid avenue, East Cleveland, throughout the entire period. For about fifty years he enjoyed a very large country practice, going from place to place on horseback until the dis- trict became a part of the city. During the past ten years, however, he has largely lived retired, turning his practice over to his son, Frederick D., who completed his professional education in the medical department of the Western Reserve University in 1879. Dr. Erasmus D. Burton entered the ranks of the medical fraternity at one of the most important periods in its history from a scientific point of view, for various important methods of practice had just been intro- duced, including physical diagnosis, oscultation, percussion and anesthesia. He witnessed several very severe epidemics of cholera, dysentery, etc. He was ap- pointed pension examiner by President Cleveland and thus served for a few years, while for several years he acted as one of the trustees of the Northern Ohio Asylum for the Insane under Governor Hoadley. For some time he like- wise acted as examiner for the old New Jersey Mutual Life Insurance Company. He was for many years a member of the local medical societies, as well as of the old National Medical Association, and served as president of the Cuyahoga Med- ical Society. Since retiring from active practice in 1894, he has been a member of the finance committee of the Society for Savings and has always been more or less active in real-estate and commercial transactions.
On the 4th of October, 1854, in Portage county, Ohio, Dr. Burton was united in marriage to Miss Emeline Antoinette Meriam, a daughter of the Rev. Joseph Meriam, of Randolph, Portage county. They reared a family of seven children, namely : Dr. Frederick D., born August 20, 1855, who is a practicing physician of Cleveland; Elizabeth Antoinette, born December 25, 1856, who has been a teacher in Painesville College for twenty years; Martha W., born February 22, 1859, who is at home; Jessie A., whose birth occurred October 20, 1861, and who is also under the parental roof ; William Meriam, born in November, 1865, who is the superintendent of the plant of the Standard Oil Company at Whiting ; Bertha Bidwell, who was born in June, 1869, resides on Staten Island and is the wife of Alexander S. Lyman, attorney of the New York Central Railroad Com- pany; and Mary, born in March, 1872, who is the widow of William Evans
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Barnes and makes her home in Chicago. The mother of these children took a very active part in church and benevolent work and was a kindly, noble woman whose many good traits of heart and mind endeared her to all with whom she came in contact.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Dr. Burton has given his political allegiance to the democracy, but in 1853-4 was elected to the state legislature on the anti-slavery ticket and served as chairman of the committee on benevolent institutions. Public-spirited to a marked degree, he has always taken a most active part in matters relating to the general welfare and was the first mayor of the village of East Cleveland, serving for two terms or from 1894 to 1898 inclusive. It was during this time that Euclid avenue was widened and his administration was characterized by reform and improvement along various lines. He is a trustee of the Old Settlers Association. Though now past the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey, he is wonderfully well preserved, being strong and active both physically and mentally. A native son of Cleveland, he has always made his home in this city and is widely recognized as one of its most prominent, influential and respected citizens.
THOMAS H. WILSON.
Thomas H. Wilson, vice president of the First National Bank of Cleveland, was born in Liberty, Trumbull county, Ohio, October 9, 1841. In 1860 he went to Youngstown, Ohio, where he entered upon his career in connection with bank- ing interests as a clerk in the private bank of Wick Brothers & Company. There he remained until 1888, in which year he came to Cleveland as cashier of the First National Bank, filling that position continuously until 1903, when he was elected to the vice presidency.
Mr. Wilson was married at Youngstown, Ohio, November 10, 1863, to Miss Louise Fellows of that place. They have two sons: Willard, now with the Ten- nessee Coal & Iron Company of Birmingham, Alabama; and Henry Bliss, also of Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Wilson is a member of Calvary Presbyterian church, in which he is serving as trustee and he belongs to the Chamber of Com- merce of Cleveland. Extremely modest he not only disclaims all credit for what he has accomplished but usually refuses to discuss his life work, fearing that he may put himself too prominently forward, but the banking fraternity of Cleve- land speak of him only in terms of praise and regard him as one of the most profound students of banking in northern Ohio. They accredit to his conserva- tive methods and sound judgment the successful conduct of his bank through several financial panics and the substantial upbuilding of the institution which now has deposits of twenty-seven million dollars. Moreover, his contempora- ries and colleagues speak of him as a man, who without the advantages of colle- giate training has, through his own efforts, become a scholar and man of unusual individuality, possessing, moreover, considerable literary ability.
GEORGE W. CADY.
With the growth and development of Cleveland it has become an important wholesale center, its advantageous situation enabling it by rail and navigation routes to supply a large territory with trade commodities. It is in this field of labor that George W. Cady is operating as president of the Cady-Ivison Shoe Company, conducting a wholesale business, his ramifying trade interests covering an extended district. Mr. Cady comes from a state which for many years was the center of the shoe trade. He was born in Dudley, Massachusetts, February
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2, 1840, his parents being H. C. and Sarah (Perry) Cady, also natives of the Old Bay state. The father in early life learned the carpenter's trade and be- came a well known contractor, continuing in that field of activity until his death, about twenty years ago. His wife had passed away in 1846.
George W. Cady, only six years of age at the time of his mother's death, was educated in Nichols Academy at Dudley, Massachusetts, and at the age of eighteen and a half years came alone to Cleveland, arriving in this city in 1858. Here he entered the employ of Burgert, Adams & Company, wholesale shoe dealers, as clerk, and remained with the house for ten years. After three years he became traveling salesman and in 1868 started upon an independent business venture, opening his house under the name of George W. Cady, Manufacturers' Agent. Prospering in this undertaking, after ten years he became a factor in the wholesale trade under the name of George W. Cady & Company, and on the Ist of Janu- ary, 1895, the business was incorporated as the Cady-Ivison Shoe Company. From a small beginning the business has steadily grown until the trade now reaches a million dollars annually. The officers of the company are: George W. Cady, president; W. C. Ivison, first vice president; Sanda Debold, second vice president ; and W. F. Lyon, secretary and treasurer. For over a half century Mr. Cady has carried on business on Water street and with one exception is the oldest merchant on this thoroughfare. His name has long been a most honored one in the trade circles of this city and he has confined his attention almost exclusively to his business, his close application and unremitting energy constituting the sa- lient features in his success.
On the 2d of July, 1863, Mr. Cady was married to Miss Amanda L. Feusier of Cleveland and they have two daughters, Mrs. F. C. Spinney of Boston, Mas- sachusetts, and Mrs. W. C. Ivison of New York city. The family residence is at Clifton Park. Mr, Cady votes with the republican party and his social relations are with the Union, Roadside and Clifton Park Clubs. Extremely modest and retiring in disposition, his genuine personal worth, however, has gained him unqualified regard as one of the representative men and citizens of Cleveland who for a half century has made his home here.
CHARLES A. MORRIS.
Charles A. Morris, an attorney engaged in general practice as a member of the firm of Wilcox & Morris, was born in Cleveland, April 28, 1880. The mingled blood of Irish and German ancestry flows in his veins. His grandfather, James C. Morris, was born in Ireland and was a member of a well known family of that country. Having some disagreement with his brother, his father gave him ten thousand dollars in gold and with this sum he came to America in 1850. He passed through Cleveland and located at North Royalton, Ohio, where he pur- chased a large tract of farming land. He carried on general agricultural pursuits there throughout his remaining days and after becoming a naturalized American citizen gave stalwart and unfaltering allegiance to the democratic party. His son, John P. Morris, was born at North Royalton, July 27, 1852, and came to Cleveland in 1870 when a young man of eighteen years. Here for a long period he was associated with the Ohio Baking Company. He married Addie Wentz, who was born March 28, 1859, at Winesburg, Ohio, and is still living in Cleve- land. Her father, Martin Wentz, was a native of Germany and on coming to the United States settled at Winesburg but afterward removed to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the hotel business. Mr. and Mrs. John P. Morris had one daughter, Mabel A., who is now teaching in the public schools of Cleveland.
The only son, Charles A. Morris, acquired his early education in the public schools and following his graduation from the high school with the class of
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1898 he entered Adelbert College, now the Western Reserve University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1902. He com- pleted a course in the Western Reserve law school in 1905, when the LL. B. degree was conferred upon him and in the same year he was admitted to the bar. He began practicing and as a member of the firm of Wilcox & Morris has done a creditable business as a representative of the legal fraternity, giving his attention to all departments of law practice rather than specializing in any particular line. In addition to his professional work he is vice president of the Gates Legal Publishing Company, publishers of briefs, records and cases for other lawyers for use before the supreme court.
On the 24th of December, 1907, Mr. Morris was married to Miss Ethel M. Peck, a daughter of James H. and Phoebe (Johnstone) Peck, of Cleveland. Mr. Morris is a member of two college organizations, the Delta Tau Delta and the legal fraternity, the Phi Delta Phi. He likewise belongs to the Odd Fellows society and is a member of the Rough Riders Club of the first ward. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has given inflexible support to the republican party, is recognized as one of the active workers in its ranks and is frequently a delegate to its county conventions. There have been no spec- tacular chapters in his career but since entering upon his chosen life work his course has been marked by steady and substantial progress.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HAMBLETON, M. D.
Dr. Benjamin Franklin Hambleton has been numbered among the success- ful practitioners of medicine and surgery at Cleveland since the Ist of January, 1901. His birth occurred at Beloit, Ohio, on the 7th of November, 1872, his parents being I. H. and Catharine H. (Myers) Hambleton, likewise natives of the Buckeye state. He can trace his ancestry back to 1716, at which time several representatives of the name-Quakers --- were living in Bucks county, Pennsyl- vania. I. H. Hambleton, the father of our subject, followed farming as a life work and passed away on the 29th of March, 1886, when fifty-two years of age. His widow, who has now attained the age of seventy, still survives and makes her home at Beloit.
Benjamin F. Hambleton obtained his early education in the country schools and when a lad of twelve years began assisting his father in the work of the home farm during the summer seasons, while the winter months were devoted to study. When seventeen years of age he entered Damascus (Ohio) Academy and at the end of four years was graduated from that institution in 1894, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. In 1895 he was a student at Mt. Union College, which his father also atttended during the early years of its ex- istence. He subsequently taught a country school until 1896, when he took up the study of medicine at the University of Michigan, there remaining for two years. He then entered the Cleveland College of Physicians and Surgeons and when he had completed the prescribed course, that institution conferred upon him the degree of M. D. in 1900. He served as interne in the Cleveland Gen- eral Hospital from the Ist of January, 1900, until the Ist of January, 1901, and since the latter date has given his attention to the private practice of medicine and surgery, in which he has been very successful, securing a constantly growing patronage. In September, 1901, he was made lecturer in physiology at the Cleve- land College of Physicians and Surgeons, in 1903, acted as associate professor and in 1904 became professor, which chair he still holds. He was elected registrar of the faculty in 1908 and reelected in 1909.
On the 26th of November, 1902, in Cleveland, Dr. Hambleton was united in marriage to Miss Phyllis Gertrude O'Neill, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. O'Neill, who is a contractor of this city. Both parents are living. Mrs.
DR. B. F. HAMBLETON
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Hambleton is a graduate of the Central high school and also the City Normal School. The Doctor and his wife now have two children: Helen Catharine, born January 23, 1904; and Howard Francis, born January 12, 1906.
Fraternally the Doctor is identified with the Royal Arcanum, of which he is past regent. He is also medical examiner for that organization, and in the line of his profession is connected with the Cleveland Academy of Medicine and the Ohio State Medical Association. He has gained recognition as one of the able and successful physicians of Cleveland and by his labors, his high pro- fessional attainments and his sterling characteristics has justified the respect and confidence in which he is held by the medical fraternity and the local public. His office is located at No. 5607 Euclid avenue and his home at No. 1925 East Fifty-ninth street.
FAYETTE BROWN.
A life from which nothing but good can follow, a character that may well serve as an example for all that is highest and best in manhood and in citizen- ship, such was the record which was closed in the passing of Fayette Brown, one of the oldest of Cleveland's business men. While he attained a high degree of prosperity it was never gained at the cost of other men's success. His were always constructive methods, characterized by the legitimate utilization of time, talents and material resources. He was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, December 17, 1823, and was the eighth in order of birth of a family of nine children. His father, Ephraim Brown, became a resident of Ohio in pioneer times and figured con- spicuously in its history, being an influential factor in many events which left their impress upon the development and progress of the state. He was born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire, October 27, 1775, and was the eldest of a large family. In 1806 he wedded Mary Huntington, whose ancestors came from Eng- land in 1639 and settled in Connecticut. Of this family Governor Huntington was also a member. In the year 1814, in Connecticut, Ephraim Brown in connec- tion with Thomas Howe purchased township 7, rang 4, in the Western Reserve from the Connecticut Land Company. The tract was then a part of an unde- veloped wilderness but is now the site of the town of North Bloomfield. In 1815 he removed with his family to his new home and there resided until his death in 1845. He befriended many a fugitive slave in antebellum days and took an active part in furthering the cause of liberty.
Realizing the value of education Ephraim Brown gave to his son Fayette excellent opportunities in that direction and he pursued his studies in the schools of Jefferson and Gambier, Ohio, to the age of eighteen years when, making choice of a commercial career, he started in business life as a clerk in the whole- sale dry-goods establishment of his elder brother in Pittsburg. He remained as an employe in the establishment until 1845 when upon the retirement of the senior partner he was admitted to the firm and for six years was one of the proprietors of that enterprise.
In 1851 Fayette Brown became a resident of Cleveland. Some months before he had formed a partnership here with the Hon. George Mygatt in the banking business under the firm style of Mygatt & Brown. The senior partner retired in 1857, after which Mr. Brown carried on banking in his own name until the out- break of hostilities between the north and the south, when he closed the bank and soon afterward accepted an appointment from the president as paymaster in the United States army. He served in the position until the following year, when sickness and the imperative demands of his private affairs compelled his resig- nation. After his return home he became general agent and manager for the Jackson Iron Company, with which he continued until December, 1887, winning for himself in that time a reputation as one of the most capable iron masters of
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the day. He made it his purpose to gain thorough knowledge of the business in principle and detail, to familiarize himself with every feature of the trade and no one did more to make Cleveland a great iron center than did Fayette Brown. His pluck, energy, strength of character and business ability were displayed in many ways. He looked into the affairs of the company of which he was general manager with the trained eye of a business man, and by much personal and physical labor acquainted himself with all its possessions, surroundings and pos- sibilities. He made it one of the leading and most successful enterprises of its day and region and its great financial returns were largely due to his labor and ability. He soon came to be looked upon in all quarters as one of the leading iron men of the west and his name developed into a power of strength to any enterprise with which it was associated. He extended his efforts into various fields, be- came connected with the Union Steel Screw Company as its president, was chairman of the Stewart Iron Company, Limited, president of the Brown Hoist- in Machinery Company, the National Chemical Company, the G. C. Kuhlanan Car Company and a member of the firm of H. H. Brown & Company, one of the large iron ore firms of the country, representing the Lake Superior Iron Com- pany and the Champion Iron Company, two of the largest mines of the Lake Superior region.
On the 15th of July, 1847, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Cornelia C. Curtiss, of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, and unto them were born three sons and two daughters. Two of his sons, Harvey H. and Alexander E. Brown, like their father have become prominent representatives of the iron trade of Cleve- land. The former is a partner of the firm of Harvey H. Brown & Company The latter, connected with the Brown Hoisting Machinery Company has by his inventions revolutionized the lake transportation business.
Mr. Brown possessed a most social nature which found manifestation in his membership in the Union Club and the Golf and Country Clubs of Cleveland. the Castalia Club, the Winous Point Shooting Club, the Point Moullie Shoot- ing Club, the West Huron Shooting Club, the Huron Mountain Shooting and Fishing Club and the Munising Trout Club. He passed from this life on the 20th of January, 1910. One of the local papers said editorially: "In the death of Mr. Fayette Brown, Sr., Cleveland loses one of the oldest and best of its citizens. a man who came to Cleveland in early years with such sterling qualities, integ- rity, backed by a physical power, that made him successful in all of his under- takings in business and civic life.
"Mr. Brown was always interested in everything for the good of the city and for the welfare of its people; an advocate and practicer of healthy outdoor life ; a keen sportsman, taking his vacations and recreation in shooting and fish- ing. He was an expert in all things pertaining to sportsmanship. Up to the age of eighty-five Mr. Brown spent many days in the duck marsh belonging to the clubs of which he was a member with as keen an interest and unerring an aim as he had always been noted for.
"In the life of Mr. Brown an example has been shown of the best kind of a life for a man to lead, working indefatigably when he worked, enjoying the pur- suits of recreation as keenly as he worked, untiring in mind and body, health for work promoted by his love and following of outdoor life and enjoying every- thing connected therewith, living honored and beloved by all who knew him and leaving this earth at a ripe age with scarcely a faculty diminished up to the time of his final illness.
"There are few of the men of Mr. Brown's generation left with us. It is sad when they go, but their examples live long after them. Such a life and char- acter as Mr. Brown's has been is one from which nothing but good can follow. Living, as he did, to the letter of the law of the land in his business and civic life and to the letter of the law of God in his care of himself and his treatment of others, his death leaves an honored memory." The Cleveland Leader wrote un- der the heading of "Fayette Brown's Monuments," as follows: "The funeral
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of one of the oldest, strongest and best citizens of Cleveland yesterday drew together a notable gathering of men who have played very important parts in making the metropolis of Ohio what it is. They came as fellow workers with Fayette Brown, fellow builders of the city he believed in and enriched and ex- panded by his many enterprises carried on with great skill, judgment and energy. They did honor to his memory as a man of wide affairs, a leader in civic life and progress, a type of the best in the earlier periods of Cleveland's growth and expansion from the small town to the great city.
"In thinking and speaking of the life and work of Fayette Brown it is nat- ural to place first among his achievements the great industrial concern which bears his family name and is still in the hands of his sons and his old associates. It has carried his name to the ends of the earth and advertised Cleveland far and wide. Few men ever built up a greater industrial success, taking account of the talents and character represented in its founding and development. Fayette Brown reared his monument high and massive while he lived.
"But yesterday the old friends and associates and neighbors of the strong man whose career ran through two full generations loved best to recall and dwell upon his absolute integrity, his spotless honor, his unblemished character. They found the man much nearer and dearer than his business achievements. Personal memories dimmed the fame of his great enterprises.
"Cleveland will never lose the impress such lives made upon its youth. The formative period of the city's existence was rich in the character of the leaders brought to the front to meet the needs and seize the opportunities of the city at a time when individual wisdom, like individual errors, counted more than they could in a more advanced stage of growth. It was then that Fayette Brown earned the lasting honor of this community -- a tribute which he never forfeited or proved unworthy of to the day of his death."
JOHN T. WAMELINK, JR.
The name of Wamelink has figured in connection with business and industrial interests in Cleveland through a period that covers the Psalmist's allotted span of life-three score years and ten-and through the decades which have since been added to the cycle of the centuries the. Wamelinks have taken active part in commercial and industrial progress here. In Holland there is still to be seen the old ancestral home of the family which is one of the landmarks of that country. There Lambert H. Wamelink was reared and educated, preparing for the ministry although he did not enter the profession. He turned his attention ·instead to the manufacture of textiles and at length resolved to seek a home in America. After making the necessary preparations he not only crossed the At- lantic but also brought with him a number of other Holland families. The col- ony made their way direct to Cleveland and settled in a district which is now within the southern limits of the city-a region which borders Woodland Hills avenue. Lambert Wamelink was the financial man of the little company. Soon after his arrival in connection with Francis Nolze he engaged in the manufacture and sale of pianos under the firm name of Wamelink & Nolze. It was a difficult undertaking in these early days and not very profitable. The different parts of the instruments, including ivory, fine woods, varnish, etc., were all imported from Europe. Most of the work was done by hand, thus constituting a tedious and expensive process, and moreover pianos were then considered a luxury which few could afford, for in those early days Cleveland was just emerging from vil- lagehood and the settlers were meeting the hardships and privations of pioneer life rather than attempt to furnish their homes with the evidences of musical taste and culture. The output of the firm amounted to only about a half dozen instruments and then the business was abandoned.
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