USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 46
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In March, 1899, Mr. Lohiser resigned his office and became interested in the gold fields. He traveled all over Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Wash- ington, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California and finally located his claim in Idaho, south of the great Coeur d' Alene country. In 1902 he went prospecting in Gold Mountain with Frank Smith Dunlap and Grant Robins, all of Idaho. Mr. Lohiser was fortunate enough to see great wealth in both gold and copper, the Mountain Gulch, the Sampson and the Gold Mountain Mining Companies hauling away large and rich deposits of ore that was in sight and on the dump.
J. C. Northrup owned a placer mine on the Palouse river and was mining it with pick and shovel. The ground being mostly stone of all sizes, cemented with clay and gravel, mining was very difficult. One day while his friends were prospecting, Mr. Lohiser watched Mr. Northrup and sons doing their placer min- ing. To his surprise he saw large yellow nuggets slide down behind the gravel in the sluice, and sink out of sight in the holes bored in the planks, to the double bottom which was made to catch the gold. At five o'clock they made a cleanup for the day's work, and found they had about forty-two dollars.
After some discussion, Mr. Lohiser concluded a deal with Mr. Northrup for eight thousand dollars, in which the latter deeded to Mr. Lohiser the placer ground which ran three miles up the river, consisting of rich quartz mines; six claims of quartz comprising one hundred and twenty acres covered with beautiful timber and steep and lofty mountains and abundant water at the foot hills. This prop- erty goes up to the summit and down the other side, also twenty acres a mile south. adjoining Gold mountain. In addition to the cash paid, Mr. Lohiser also paid ten hundred thousand shares of stock in the company he organized three years later, called The Gold Nugget Mining Company. Since then he has added materially to his holdings, now having nine claims in one body, comprising one hundred and eighty acres of rich gold ore. The company also owns the Silver- kins mine, which is one mile south and which is a lead and silver property. Two miles to the west the company owns the Black Diamond Placer mine. They have a tunnel into the mountain seven hundred feet and having a depth of six hun-
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dred feet and assaying over one thousand, four hundred dollars per ton on some of the ore.
Mr. Gunn, of Collinwood, Ohio, is vice president of the company of which Mr. Lohiser is the efficient head, and the business is conducted upon a strictly honest basis. Mr. Lohiser feels that he would be dishonoring his parents and their teachings if he allowed anything to be done that was not in perfect ac- cord with their lives.
It is his pride that he was a poor boy and forced to work hard. He claims that every cent he made prior to his going into the army was handed over to his parents. He lost his father when he was seventy-three, but his mother lived to be eighty-nine years and eight months. All of his education was secured through his own efforts, he not having attended school more than three months. He learned to read and write English and German from a book given him by a com- rade during the war. It is remarkable what this poor lad accomplished. Ever struggling against poverty, ignorant of the language of the country, handicapped by lack of opportunity, and yet he is proud of his bringing up, for he feels that the lessons taught by his good father and mother have borne good fruit, and that they are such as he can never forget. Mr. Lohiser does not use strong drink or tobacco in any form and attributes to this in part his excellent health at sixty-eight years. It is his ambition to do something substanial for the poor and needy, and yet perhaps he has accomplished more than he realizes in the ex- ample he has set, and that material aid will not produce such a product as the hardships of his life have brought out in him.
CHARLES R. DIEBOLD.
Charles R. Diebold has for the past three years been the president and treasurer of the Diebold-Peters Company of Cleveland, the leading designers and manufacturers of high grade machinery and interchangeable parts in the middle west. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 17th of September, 1871, a son of Elias and Caroline Diebold. The father, whose birth occurred in Baden Baden, Germany, in 1840, crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1861, locating in Cincinnati, Ohio. There he successfully followed his trade as a de- signer and wood worker until the time of his demise in 1902.
Charles R. Diebold, who acquired his education in the public schools, put aside his text-books at the age of sixteen years and entered the employ of the Lane & Bodley Company as an apprentice pattern-maker and machinist. He re- mained in the service of that company for six years and during that time also at- tended the Ohio Mechanics Institute. Subsequently he traveled all over the United States and constantly augmented his knowledge along mechanical lines by attending schools of this character from 1891 until 1896. In that year he came to Cleveland and entered the service of the Globe Iron Works Company as mechani- cal draftsman, being thus engaged for a year and a half. He next accepted a position as mechanical draftsman with the Long Arm System Company, af- terward served as mechanical engineer for two years, and then was made su- perintendent of the plant, acting in that capacity for one year. At the end of that time he was elected secretary of the concern and for five years remained & stockholder and director therein, his connection with the company covering altogether a period of nine years. After resigning his position with the Long Arm System Company he organized the Diebold-Peters Company and has since served as its president and treasurer. A broad experience, the best designing and engineering ability procurable, together with a thorough trained force of mechanics and a rigid system of inspection of every finished product, have com- bined to establish and will maintain the enviable reputation of his concern as the leading designers and manufacturers of high grade machinery and inter-
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changeable parts in the middle west. Owing to the phenomenal growth and success of the automobile industry, they have in the past three years developed a special department in the manufacture of unit parts such as front and rear axles, transmissions, universal connections and clutches. These parts are made in accordance with thorough knowledge and practical experience with plans and specifications of some of the leading motor car manufacturers of the country. The present enlarged and improved facilities of the Diebold-Peters Company particularly equip them to give their best attention and efforts to other lines of manufacture that are now seeking to embody the high standard of material and workmanship in their product which have been recognized by the foremost de- signers and engineers of the United States. A force of one hundred and twenty- five men is employed in the conduct of the business. Mr. Diebold is likewise a stockholder in the "Long-Arm" System Company and is widely recognized as one of the prominent and prosperous citizens of Cleveland.
On the Ist of March, 1898, in Cleveland, Mr. Diebold wedded Miss Sarah Ann Robertson, by whom he has two children: Charles E., eleven years of age, who is a public school student; and Elwood, who is three years old. The family residence is at No. 8806 Carnegie avenue.
In politics Mr. Diebold is a stalwart republican and, as every true American citizen should do, keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He is a devoted and consistent member of the Congregational church and fra- ternally is identified with the Knights of Pythias. He is fond of all manly outdoor sports and finds much pleasure and recreation in hunting, fishing and pedestrianism. Liberal educational advantages brought him a broad and compre- hensive knowledge of the great scientific principles which underlie his present business interests. Prompted by laudable ambition, he has made gradual ad- vancement and each forward step has brought him a wider outlook and enlarged opportunities until he stands today as one of the most distinguished representatives of his department of manufacturing enterprise.
EDWARD G. ERNST.
It is through his own ability that Edward G. Ernst has risen to the respon- sible position of purchasing agent for the National Carbon Company, one of the larger manufacturing concerns of Cleveland. He was born in Tavistock, Ontario, Canada, December 14, 1877, a son of Charles F. and Mary Ann (Lasch- inger) Ernst. His paternal grandfather, John Ernst, was born in Upper Alsace, Germany, December 4, 1806. He served in the German army and afterward crossed the Atlantic and settled in New York. Later he and a party of his compatriots left that city for Ontario by ox team, and when they settled in that province, named the town they established Petersburgh. There Mr. Ernst erected a building which was used as inn, general store and postoffice, fulfilling the duties of host, proprietor and postmaster until his death. He served as a cap- tain in the Canadian army and was one of the few who received an invitation from the governor general to be present at the opening of the first railroad between Toronto and Montreal. His wife was born in Bern, Germany. The maternal grandfather of our subject was born in Baden, Germany, and came to the new world when he was a young man. He settled in Hamburg, Ontario, where he engaged in the nursery business until his death. His wife was, like himself, a native of Baden.
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Charles F. Ernst, at the time of the birth of his son Edward, was conduct- ing a general store at Tavistock, Ontario. Later he became a traveling sales- man, representing the largest Canadian firms dealing in hats, caps and furs. Later he associated himself with the National Carbon Company, having charge of their interests in Ontario first and then in Illinois and Indiana as well. He
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E. G. ERNST
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was still in the employ of that company at the time of his death, November, 1896. He was a man of a mechanical turn of mind, who was continually work- ing during his spare time upon some invention, being responsible for several which have facilitated manufacturing and business methods. His wife was born in Hamburg, Ontario.
As his father was a traveling man, Edward G. Ernst removed from one place to another frequently during his youth, but the years he was of an age to attend school were passed in Hamburg, Ontario, where he was admitted to the high school, after having completed the course of the grammar school. Even as a boy he was anxious to progress and was impatient if every moment was not spent in work of some value; accordingly during one summer vacation he worked for a farmer, the next found employment with an undertaker, another in a furniture factory, in a general store, and in other places, wherever there was an opportunity for an ambitious boy to find work. His real business career, however, began when he was fifteen years of age. At that time his father owned the electric light plant at Hamburg, Ontario, and when the electrician resigned his position upon short notice, he applied for and received the office. For the next eighteen months Mr. Ernst acquitted himself creditably, taking care of the boiler, engine and dynamo until 12 o'clock at night, and on Satur- days collecting from the consumers of the current.
As a result of this trial it was decided that Mr. Ernst should have a better education, and after much persuasion he took a course in the business college at Stratford, Ontario, situated fourteen miles from Hamburg. At the expiration of eighteen months he received his diploma in the general business course and also in shorthand and typewriting, and forthwith set out to make his own way in the world. He went to Detroit, Michigan, where he made many applications to business firms, desiring to secure a position as bookkeeper or in a clerical ca- pacity which would give him a start. It was three months, in spite of his per- sistent efforts, before he was able to obtain work, at that time entering the employ of the National Carbon Company, with whom his father was then con- nected. He represented them in Ontario for a short period and then, having covered the territory assigned to him, returned to Detroit, where he found work in the assembling and shipping department of the Free Press Printing Company. He was there only a short time, however, when the manager of the Peninsular Engraving Company asked him to assume charge of the commercial photograph department which the firm was then opening. He had already had considerable experience in amateur photography, so that the character of the work was greatly to his liking and the fact that a larger salary was connected with the position made it a decided advance. For about a year and a half he remained with that concern, in that time becoming well informed in the engraving busi- ness, and then his father died and he himself was taken ill. Upon his recovery he was offered a position by the National Carbon Company, on the condition that he would come to Cleveland. He reached this city December 31, 1896, and on the first of the new year he started to work for his new firm. At first he addressed envelopes from a prepared list, then was given a minor position in the order department, being advanced from time to time as he became familiar with the work. But he was a man of great ambition, and after having been in that department for about two years and realizing that he could not advance farther, he applied to those in authority and was accorded a position with the treasurer to assist in the purchasing. He entered upon his new duties January I, 1899, and a few months later was made assistant purchasing agent. About two years later he was appointed purchasing agent, holding that position to the present. The record of his life is but another example of the achievements which may be made through the persistent exercise of such qualities as are fore- most in the characters of the men who have been factors in the commercial life of any city.
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Like his father, Mr. Ernst is of a mechanical turn of mind, finding a great deal of pleasure in working out the many ideas that come to him. At present he has three inventions in the patent office, which he believes will greatly facili- tate the method of addressing letters and envelopes. He finds especial delight in photography and in such outdoor sports as golf, fishing and hunting. He be- longs to the Hermit Club, the Clifton Club, the Singers' Club, and is secretary- treasurer of the Westwood Golf Club. He has recently formed the Ernst- Heiser Company, for the purpose of conducting a high class commercial photo- graphic business in Cleveland, he being the executive head of the company.
LLOYD F. CHARLESWORTH.
Lloyd F. Charlesworth, of the firm of D. Charlesworth & Son, florists, was born in Newburg, a suburb of Cleveland, his natal day being Christmas, 1872. He is of English origin, his parents being David and Elizabeth (Faucett) Charlesworth, the former born in Sherwood Forest, England, and educated in historic old Canterbury, renowned in song and story. The mother is the daughter of an English contractor. A sketch of David Charlesworth appears elsewhere in this volume.
Lloyd F. Charlesworth received his public-school education in Sterling school and supplemented this with courses of study in both the Spencerian Business College and the Caton College, in the latter becoming expert in bookkeeping. Upon leaving school he assisted his father for a time in the florist business and in 1895 he went to New York, where he came in touch with the latest and most exquisite ideas in floriculture. After remaining in Gotham for some little time, he returned to Cleveland and has ever since been associated with his father under the firm name of D. Charlesworth & Son. Their place which is one of the leading establishments of its kind in the city is located at 1883 Ansel Road. They have also a branch store on Euclid avenue, of which Lloyd F. Charles- worth is in charge. Father and son have experienced great success and their patronage is daily increasing.
On the 28th of December, 1898, Mr. Charlesworth laid the foundation of a happy home life by his marriage to Miss Corinne Lehman, of Cleveland. They have a family of three children : Hugo, ten years of age; Elizabeth, aged seven ; and David, aged three.
Mr. Charlesworth, like his father, supports the men and measures of the republican party. He is a good churchman, being Episcopalian in religious be- lief. Both he and his father are representative of the honorable and progressive commercial life of the city, their particular branch of it being unusually æs- thetic.
VACLAW J. MINARICK.
It is remarkable what progress is made by those who come here from for- eign shores and knowing little or nothing of the language or customs, become successful business men. Vaclaw J. Minarick, president of the Citizens Coal & Feed Company, is an excellent example of what many of the best citizens of Cleveland have accomplished, especially those from his own land. He was born in the western part of Bohemia, October 12, 1851, being a son of Peter and Babara Minarick.
Until fourteen years of age he attended school and then worked in a coal mine for three years. Being ambitious, he resolved to come to the United States, feeling sure he would have better opportunities here. Arriving in this country, he came to Cleveland, where he found employment in a blast furnace for five
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years. During this time he was learning the language and perfecting himself in business methods, so that when he organized the Citizens Coal & Feed Company he did so intelligently and conducted it profitably, incorporating the business in 1907, with himself as the president. The business has grown to large propor- tions and controls an immense trade that is steady.
In September, 1874, Mr. Minarick married Mary Kadera, and they have three children : Mary and Almira at home; and Frank, twenty-three years old, who is bookkeeper for the Columbia Savings & Loan Company. He attended public school until fifteen and then, entering St. Ignatius College, was graduated from it after a two years' course. He then attended St. Mary's University at Bal- timore and was graduated there after two years.
Mr. Minarick is independent in politics, voting for the man he deems best fitted for office. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church. It would be difficult to find a better type of citizen than he, and he is at once an honor to Bohemia, to which he is proud to belong, and to his adopted country. At all times he has stood for good government and honesty in business and politics.
M. ZEMAN.
M. Zeman is at the head of a new concern, the M. Zeman Iron Works, es- tablished in April, 1909, but his record here and elsewhere is such as to gain the confidence of the public in its stability and reliability, for he has succeeded in everything he has undertaken. He was born in Probulov, Bohemia, February 15, 1860, being a son of John and Anna Zeman. From the time he was sixteen years old he has earned his own living, but prior to that attended school in his native place.
In order to learn the iron manufacturing trade Mr. Zeman went to Prague, Bohemia, where he remained two years, and following this entered the Austrian army to serve his military term. Owing to his knowledge he was sent to Turkey as a mechanic and was kept busy erecting hospitals and other buildings for the Austrian government for three years. Following his discharge, he continued in Turkey as a building contractor of steel structures for four years more, and then came to Cleveland to engage with the Excelsior Iron Works Company, as foreman of the first steel constructure-the Perry-Payne building. For ten years, Mr. Zeman remained with this company and then in 1895 established an iron manufacturing plant of his own at No. 1315 Broadway. In 1901 he erected a building at No. 5400 Broadway. That same year he formed a stock company and in 1905 erected a new factory at No. 6824 Union avenue to accommodate his large increase in business. In 1908 Mr. Zeman sold his interests here and re- turned to Europe, traveling all over France, Germany, Bohemia and various coun- tries. After an enjoyable journey he returned to Cleveland and established the M. Zeman Iron Works with office at East Fifty-fifth street and the Erie Railroad. The company manufactures all kinds of architectural and ornamental iron spe- cialties, including grills, stairs, railings, lawn seats, vases, settees, iron fences and similar articles.
On July 20, 1889, Mr. Zeman was married in Cleveland to Miss M. Svoboda, and they have three children: Miroslav, a graduate of the public schools and the Central Institute, who for two years has been studying in a technical school in Prague, Bohemia; Ladimir, who was the first graduate of the Cleveland tech- nical high school and is now attending the Case School of Applied Science ; and Otakar, who is attending the public schools. The family residence is at 5416 Mumford avenue.
Mr. Zeman belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the C. S. P. S. and the Bohemian Turners. He is a man of exceptionally wide experience in his work and possesses more than average business ability. When a man has been associated with so
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many concerns as he and in different countries and has never failed in any of them but carried them to success, he has done something of which he and his family have every reason to be proud.
CHARLES B. SMITH.
Charles B. Smith, for six years resident manager of the Cincinnati Railway Supply Company with headquarters at IIII Superior avenue viaduct, was born in New York city, March II, 1851, his parents being Harvey W. and Cornelia. His grandfather, Walter Smith, was of that sturdy New England stock of which America is justly proud. He was born in Connecticut and entered the Congre- gational ministry. He finally removed to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, bringing his family with him. Our subject's father was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, and was a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city. Having removed to Mt. Vernon, he practiced his profession there from 1871 to 1874, when his death occurred.
Mr. Smith attended the New York public schools until his tenth year and finished his education in the Mt. Vernon schools at the age of seventeen. He evidently cherished a latent fondness for the city of his birth, for soon after the completion of his schooling, he returned and spent the next six years as errand boy and later as salesman for the Thomas J. Pope & Brother, a metal concern. Becoming thus familiar with the metal trade, Mr. Smith came to Cleveland and embarked in that business independently. At the end of three years he gave this up to become salesman for Tuttle, Masters & Company, dealers in pig iron, iron ore and metals, remaining with them two years. We find him during the next twenty years in various similar capacities, spending seven years with Masters & Company, eight years with the E. C. Pope and four years with The Gibson & Price Company. That he is thoroughly fitted by long experience to hold his present responsible position is easily apparent.
Mr. Smith's wife was before her marriage Miss Mary Ritezel, of Warren, Ohio, their wedding being celebrated June 28, 1877. They have two daughters, both married: Mrs. A. G. Cole and Mrs. Frank H. Dodge, both living in Cleve- land. Mr. and Mrs. Smith live at 1969 East Seventieth street. He is an ad- herent of the republican party and a member of the Episcopal church. He en- joys the esteem of all those with whom he comes in contact, both in business and social circles.
HAROLD EDWARD PARSONS.
The Parsons family had its origin in England but representatives of the name removed thence to the Emerald Isle, and Robert Parsons, the great-grandfather, was born and died in Ireland. His son, Richard Parsons, whose birth occurred in Ireland in 1810, came to the United States in 1848. He was the father of Richard Parsons, who was born in Parsonstown, in the county of West Meath, Ireland, June 25, 1847, and was only a year old when brought by his parents to the western world. Liberally educated, he became professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, and has continuously filled that position since 1871. The degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Divinity have been con- ferred upon him. He devoted one year to post-graduate work in Munich, but took no degree there. He is the author of several Greek text-books and has writ- ten numerous articles on archaeological subjects, which have been published in various magazines. He is a member of the Archaeological Society of America and has attended the Archaeological School at Athens, Greece. His wide re-
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