USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 62
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JUDGE ROBERT WALKER TAYLER.
Judge Robert Walker Tayler was born at Youngstown, Ohio, November 26th, 1852. His father, Robert Walker Tayler, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by profession a lawyer and banker, was auditor of Ohio from 1860 to 1863, when he was appointed by President Lincoln first comptroller of the United States treasury, a position which he held until he died, in 1878. The mother, Louisa Maria Woodbridge, was a great-granddaughter of Jonathan Edwards. Judge Tayler received his education in the public schools of his native place and Wash- ington, D. C., where he spent three years in Georgetown College. At the begin- ning of the sophomore year he entered the class of 1872 in the Western Reserve College at Hudson, Ohio. In college he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Following his graduation Judge Tayler served a year as teacher in the Lis- bon high school and was for two years superintendent of schools. During 1875 and 1876 he edited the "Buckeye State," and while engaged in teaching and journalistic work, he studied law. Judge Tayler was married to Helen Vance on May 18th, 1876, and was admitted to the bar in 1877. An office was opened at East Liverpool, where he practiced until elected prosecuting attorney of Colum- biana county in 1880.
In 1894 Judge Tayler was elected to congress. He was thrice reelected, and was nominated the fifth time, when he retired to become a member of the firm of Arrel, McVey & Tayler, at Youngstown, Ohio. He was also professionally engaged, in 1904 and 1905, in the prosecution of the Reed Smoot case at Wash- ington, for which eminent service he had become admirably prepared by reason of his chairmanship in congress of the special committee on case of Brigham H. Roberts, representative-elect from Utah.
In January, 1905, President Roosevelt appointed Judge Tayler to the federal judgeship of northern Ohio, with courts at Cleveland and Toledo. In this posi- tion he has added to his wide professional reputation, particularly in the settlement of street-railway difficulties, culminating in the passage of the Tayler ordinance, under which franchise the traction system in Cleveland now operates.
A college classmate, himself a judge, says of Judge Tayler: "I think he may at the end of all fairly lay claim to what William Wirt, England's great advocate
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of law reform, hoped his prince might say-'that he found law dear, and left it cheap ; found it a sealed book, left it a living letter ; found it the patrimony of the rich, left it the inheritance of the poor ; found it a two-edged sword of craft and oppression, left it the staff of honesty and the shield of innocence.' Judge Tay- ler has the confidence of the people, and hence an opportunity, as few men have, to share in this exceeding precious reward."
ROBERT L. IRELAND.
Robert L. Ireland, member of the firm of M. A. Hanna & Company, of Cleve- land, Ohio, was born August 20, 1867, at Stratford, Connecticut, the summer residence of his parents, residents of New York city. His father, John B. Ireland, is a distinguished member of the legal profession, and his mother is Adelia (Duane) Ireland. On both sides his parents are of Revolutionary stock.
R. L. Ireland obtained his early education at Stamford, Connecticut, and New- burgh, New York, and completed at Yale, from which university he graduated with the class of 1890. Shortly after he came to Cleveland and entered the em- ploy of The Cleveland Hardware Company. In 1892 he organized The Hackney Bicycle Company and became its secretary and treasurer. In 1894 he became asso- ciated with The Globe Iron Works Company as assistant secretary and treasurer and in 1898 was made vice president of that company. He was also vice president and general manager of The Ship Owners' Dry Dock Company, having combined The Cleveland Dry Dock Company and The Ship Owners' Dry Dock Company. In 1899 he was, with others, instrumental in bringing about the consolidation of the ship building interests of the Great Lakes, the organization becoming known as The American Ship Building Company and Mr. Ireland was chosen vice presi- dent, which position he held until October 10, 1903. The corporation has a capital of thirty million dollars and controls nearly all of the large ship-building plants on the Great Lakes.
On January I, 1904, Mr. Ireland entered the firm of M. A. Hanna & Company, as a partner, which position he now holds. Mr. Ireland is actively identified with many corporations and is officially connected with the following: vice president and director of The Nokay Iron Company, The Richmond Iron Company, The Virginia Ore Mining Company, The M. A. Hanna Coal Company, The M. A. Hanna Dock Company, United Iron & Steel Company, Pittsburg Iron Ore Com- pany, Nassau Mining Company, La Rue Mining Company, Croxton Mining Com- pany, Ohio & Western Pennsylvania Dock Company, Union Coke Company, Ham- den Mining Company, The Buffalo Union Terminal Railway Company, director of Buffalo Furnace Company, and Penn Iron & Coal Company, director of the American Shipbuilding Company, Bay City Shipbuilding Company, Buffalo Dry Dock Company, Chicago Shipbuilding Company, Detroit Shipbuilding Company, Milwaukee Dry Dock Company, Superior Shipbuilding Company, Detroit Iron & Steel Company, Euclid Avenue Opera House Company and Metallic Packing & Manufacturing Company. He is also vice president and director of The Boomer Coal & Coke Company, Massillon Coal Mining Company, Pittsburg and Eastern Coal Company, Wheeling & Lake Erie Coal Mining Company, Newfield Coke Company, West Lebanon Coal Company, Calumet Transit Company, Cambria Steamship Company, Franklin Transportation Company, Labelle Steamship Com- pany, Mahoning Steamship Company, Eastern Steamship Company, American- Boston Mining Company, Consumers' Ore Company, Hollister Mining Company, Richmond Iron Company and The Virginia Steamship Company.
Mr. Ireland is also one of the advisory board of The Citizens Savings & Trust Company and The Cleveland Trust Company, two of the strongest financial in- stitutions in the United States. He is president and director of The Tavern Club and a member of the Union, Country, Cleveland Athletic, Hunt, Roadside, Gen-
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tlemen's Driving Clubs and the Mayfield Country Club, all of Cleveland, and of the University Club and Yale Club of New York city.
Mr. Ireland was married May 2, 1894, to Kate Benedict (Hanna) Ireland, daughter of H. M. Hanna of Cleveland, and is the father of two children, Robert Livingston Ireland, Jr., born February 2, 1895, and Elizabeth Ireland, born Oc- tober 30, 1898.
CHARLES H. MILLER.
Charles H. Miller contributed in substantial measure to Cleveland's business activity in his organization of the Champion Steel Range Company, which he . started in 1893 and which was incorporated in 1904 with Mr. Miller as the first president. He as since bent his energies to the development of a business which is now ... of Cleveland's most extensive stove manufacturing concerns. He entered the field in competition with old established houses but brought into play modern methods and unremitting energy in the attainment of a result which is as creditable ; it is desirable.
Mr. Miller was born in Cleveland, January 23, 1860, and is a son of John and Catherine (Abel) Miller. The father came from Germany to America, settling on a farm near Amherst, Ohio. He afterward removed to Cleveland and thence to Independence, Ohio, where he died when his son Charles was but six years of a. .. The mother still survives.
In the public schools of Independence, Ohio, Charles H. Miller was edu- cated and on putting aside his text-books became an employe of a stone quarry company. After a brief period, however, he left that business to engage in farming and the next step in his orderly progression was taken when in 1889 he engaged as traveling salesman for the Cleveland Chaplet Company, in which connection he remained for four years. In 1893, seeing opportunity to extend the scope of his business interests in other lines, he started and later, in 1904, incorporated the Champion Steel Range Company, of which he became first president. From a small undertaking the business has grown to one of large proportions and in this city, where the iron and steel trade constitutes one of the most important factors, his labors have resulted in the development of a business that is now of an extensive character. The leading product is the Champion interchangeable gas, coal and wood ranges, constituting a remarkable departure in range construction which promises to revolutionize the business of range m nu icture. This range he invented and now holds several United States and Canada patent rights. The company received the highest award, a gold medal, at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition at Seattle and the additional honor of having one of the ranges installed in the governor's mansion. Al- though one of hundreds, it was selected as a model by the imperial commissioner of Japan a‹ the most perfect example of steel range construction. 'All this is significant ៛ the high standard to which the company has attained in its manu- facture. ' ne business had its inception in a small room, sixteen by twenty-four feet, on Lorain avenue, but was shortly removed to more ample quarters in the Viaduct Power building on the Superior viaduct, and in 1906 the present large modern plant was built at 4000 West Twenty-fifth street, this being one of the most exte: sive of the kind in the city and a model plant in every way, including its equipment, its output and the just and equitable policy that is maintained toward e. hoyes. The enterprise stands today as the visible evidence of Mr. Miller's inventive genius, with the remarkable faculty of enlisting the enthusias- tic cooperation of every man in his employ. He regards no detail as too unim- portant to claim his attention and at the same time gives to the more salient features . "the business their due relative position. Becoming recognized as a
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successful business man, his cooperation has been sought in the conduct of other interests and he is now well known in financial circles as the vice president and director of the Home Savings Bank and vice president and director of the Forest City Street Railway Company.
Mr. Miller's aid has also been secured for the conduct of public interests and he is now serving as a member of the Cleveland sinking fund board and was a member of the South Brooklyn council. He is a republican in politics but aside from political connection has done effective and earnest work for the city in which most of his life has been passed. He was the organizer and the first president of the South Brooklyn Improvement Association, was a charter mem- ber of the Cleveland Chamber of Industry and served as its vice president for one term, and also belongs to the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. He is well known as a prominent Odd Fellow and has been honored with all the various offices in the local lodge. He also organized and is a charter member of Glen- dalia Rebekah Lodge, I. O. O. F. He is likewise a member of Brooklyn Ma- sonic Lodge, No. 454, A. F. & A. M., and of Hillman Chapter, No. 166, R. A. M., while his religious faith is indicated in his membership in the German Pro- testant church.
On the 26th 'of September, 1880, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Margaret Lingler, a daughter of John and Barbara Lingler, of Parma township, her father being one of the prominent agriculturists of that locality. Mrs. Miller is prom- inent in the Eastern Star of the Masonic order and Glendalia Rebekah Lodge, I. O. O. F., and is interested in various charities of the German Protestant church, in which she, too, holds membership. Moreover, she has been a devoted wife and mother, carefully managing the interests of her family, which numbers two daughters and two sons: Barbara, Carl, Clara and Harold. The first named is now the wife of Frank S. Alber, the second vice president of the Champion- Steel Range Company. Carl, who wedded Clara Kohler, is the vice president and manager of the Champion Steel Range Company. The family residence is at No. 3317 Broadview Road.
Mr. Miller is a self-made man of considerable prominence in his section of the city, and his life record is one which merits praise and commendation, for without any special advantages at the outset of his career he has worked his way upward, his determination and energy carrying him into business relations of much more than ordinary importance.
* MORRIS SHERMAN TOWSON.
Morris Sherman Towson, vice president and general manager for the Elwell- Parker Electric Company of America, with headquarters at Cleveland, is one of the representatives of sound business interests here. He was born in this city, June 4, 1865, a son of Ephraim H. and Anna A. (Morris) Towson. The father was a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1837, and came to Cleveland in 1860, where he embarked in a slate roofing business, as T. J. Towson & Company, his brother being the senior member. This continued until 1894, when E. H. Towson bought out his partner, and the name was changed to E. H. Towson & Company and thus continued until his retirement in 1904.
Morris Sherman Towson was given a public-school education until he was seventeen years old, when he entered the Case School of Applied Science, from which he was graduated in 1886. He then went to Kansas City, Missouri, and engaged in civil engineering for four years. In 1890 he removed to Denver, Col- orado, still following his profession, and in 1894 he went to Washington, D. C. For the following four years he was engaged in civil engineering in that city, Boston and New York city, eventually coming to Cleveland to enter the service of The Brown Hoisting Machinery Company as a mechanical engineer. He re-
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mained with that company until 1906, when he became superintendent for the Elwell-Parker Electric Company of America, which position he held until 1906, when he was made vice president and general manager and he has met with a remarkable degree of success.
Mr. Towson was married in Cleveland, in September, 1896, to Miss Maud Kerruish. They have three children: Sheldon, seven years old, attending a pri- vate school ; Mona, five years old, and Ruth, two years old. Their city residence is at No. 1762 East Eighty-seventh street, while their country home is at Gates Mills.
During his professional career, Mr. Towson has joined a number of clubs, now belonging to the Engineers' and the Cleveland Athletic Clubs, and also to the 'American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute of Electrical En- gineers and the Cleveland Civil Engineers' Society. In politics he is a republi- can, and his religious views are Protestant in character. He is a broad-gauged man, thoroughly posted in every detail of his work, who understands the demands of the big trade of his house.
J. C. RADDATZ.
J. C. Raddatz, secretary and treasurer of the Brookside Sausage Company, both by birth and fealty a Cleveland man, was born in this city, December 13, 1877, his parents being Herman and Mary Raddatz. His early education was received in the parochial schools, and later he became enrolled among the stu- dents of St. Ignatius College, where he remained until 1895. His first experience as a wage earner was obtained with the M. Diederich Dry Goods Company, where until 1900 he held the position of cashier and bookkeeper. He was next engaged as bookkepeer by the Pearl Street Savings & Trust Company, where he continued for the following seven years. The Brookside Sausage Company, with which he is now engaged, is a thriving business which turns out at least twenty tons of sausage per week, employing twenty-eight men and four wagons.
Mr. Raddatz was married September 18, 1902, to Miss Clara Edam, a young woman of Cleveland. They have an interesting family, consisting of Mary, Georgette and Hermine. Their home is at 2303 Althen avenue. Mr. Raddatz is independent in politics, and a member of the Catholic church.
WARNER D. HUNT.
Various important business enterprises and corporations feel the stimulus and profit by the activity of Warner D. Hunt, who came to this city in 1897 and has since been closely associated with its commercial and industrial progress. He was born December 3, 1866, in Rockport, Plymouth, New York, and after pursuing his studies in a preparatory school and the Brockport Normal School, entered Amherst College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1893 For three years he engaged in teaching mathematics in H. M. King's preparatory school at Stamford, Connecticut.
Mr. Hunt came to Cleveland in 1897 with the Cleveland Mechanical Rubber Company and for a year and a half acted as manager of their specialty depart- ment. He then became connected with the Ohio Rubber Company, of which he was vice president from 1899 until 1903, since which time he has been treasurer of the company. He is the vice president and treasurer of the Wuest-Bauman- Hunt Company, manufacturers of confectionery. This business was established by John Wuest in 1860 and was conducted under his name until 1895, when the firm of Wuest & Mackenzie was organized and had charge of the business until
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1903, when a reorganization was effected and the present style of the Wuest- Bauman-Hunt Company was assumed. In 1906 they erected a modern factory, five stories in height, with forty thousand square feet of floor space and fully equipped for their business. This is one of the finest factories of the kind in the state and employment is now furnished to two hundred in the confectionery manufacturing department and to twenty-two salesmen. Mr. Hunt is also pres- ident and secretary of the Western Reserve Condensed Milk Company of Cleve- land, which has four plants situated in different parts of the state. He is also the president of the Automatic Stamping Machine Company of Cleveland and of the Cleveland Chocolate & Cocoa Company. The latter is the only factory of the kind between New York and Chicago that manufactures from the raw bean -a factory with thirty thousand feet of floor space. This is a growing industry and passing years chronicle a substantial increase in the business.
In 1901 Mr. Hunt was married to Miss Florence Wuest, a daughter of John Wuest, and they have two children, John W. Hunt and Warren D. Hunt. aged respectively six and three years. Mr. Hunt is a member of the University Club and also of the Chamber of Commerce. He is preeminently a man of affairs and one who is wielding a wide influence. In all of his business interests he has been quick to discriminate between the essential and unessential and has been effective in his efforts to coordinate forces so as to secure best possible results through the harmonious working of the entire corps of assistants. His plans are carefully formed ; he is prompt in their execution and is seldom if ever at fault in the matter of business judgment.
HARRY A. BLISS.
Harry 'A'. Bliss of the Bliss Supply Company, dealers in steam specialties, is one of the heavy jobbers of Cleveland and has brought his business to its present enviable state through unremitting effort, close application and strict conformity to commercial ethics. He was born in Columbia, Tennessee, August 3, 1870, a son of William S. and Anna M. (Johnston) Bliss. He comes of an old and honored American family, tracing his ancestry back to Reuben and Elizabeth (Hitchcock) Bliss, of Springfield, Massachusetts, whose son, Stoughton Bliss, was born in that place September 5, 1758. He occupied to the time of his death an estate previously owned by his grandfather, Pelatiah Bliss. On the 7th of De- cember, 1780, Stoughton Bliss was married to Zerviah White, a daughter of Preserved and Rachel (Kilbourn) White, also of Springfield, Massachusetts. She was born March 19, 1758, and died April 26, 1832, while the death of Stough- ton Bliss occurred at East Windsor, Connecticut, May 7, 1836. One of their sons, William Bliss, the grandfather of Harry A. Bliss, was born in East Wind- sor, January 3, 1790, and married Miss Cynthia Wolcott, a daughter of a lineal descendant of Governor Wolcott, the first governor of Connecticut. The death of William Bliss occurred in Cleveland, September 8, 1828, while his widow, long surviving him, passed away in this city in 1848. They had become residents of Cleveland during a very early epoch in its history and the family has since been represented here.
Their son, William S. Bliss, father of Harry A. Bliss, was born in Cleve- land, May 5, 1827, and attended the public schools of those early days. On en- tering business circles he decided to give his attention to newspaper publication and served his apprenticeship on the early newspapers of Cleveland, while later he became editor of a paper. At the outbreak of the Civil war, however, he en- listed in Battery E, First Illinois Light Artillery, and served until 1865, when he was mustered out at Nashville, Tennessee. He had served on the staff of General Thomas, rendering efficient aid to that commander in the prosecution of the war which preserved the Union intact. When hostilities had ended he continued
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in Nashville, Tennessee, where for a time he published a newspaper called the Dixie Farmer and also was connected for a period with the Nashville Banner. Eventually, however, he returned to Cleveland, where he died July 11, 1881.
Harry A. Bliss attended the schools of Cleveland until fourteen years of age, when he secured a position as clerk in the hardware store of George Worthing- ton. His close application, unquestioned fidelity and ready adaptability enabled him within six years to rise to the position of credit man of the house. Feeling that his experience as well as his capital now qualified him to engage in business on his own account, he secured quarters at No. 465 The Arcade, and established a manufacturers' agency of hardware specialties, which he conducted for ten years. He then determined to concentrate his efforts upon the building up of a business in steam specialties and removed to No. 815 Long avenue, Northwest where he has won a substantial patronage as a jobber in steam specialties, valves and fittings. He handles goods which are the embodiment of the latest develop- ments in his special line and his trade covers a wide territory.
Mr. Bliss resides at the Wyandot Hotel. He is very fond of all outdoor sports and is an enthusiastic yachtsman, belonging to the Lakewood Yacht Club. He is also a member of the Hermit Club and is popular with a large circle of friends. He holds membership in the Episcopal church and in politics is independent, sup- porting men and measures rather than party. Through the innate force of his character and the wise use he has made of his opportunities he has worked his way steadily upward from the position of clerk to that of extensive jobber, and life's experiences have not only developed his business ability but have brought him into close and helpful touch with many interests bearing upon social and municipal progress.
SYLVESTER T. EVERETT.
The name of Sylvester T. Everett is an honored one in Cleveland, where as an organizer, promoter and financier he has been connected with some of the most important business interests of the city. In other sections of the country he has also made business investments and the extent and character of his inter- ests well entitle him to the leadership which is accorded him as one of the repre- sentative men of Cleveland. He was born in Liberty township, Trumbull county, Ohio, November 27, 1838. His father, Henry Everett, was a native of Lynn- town, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, the grandparents being among the very early settlers of that section of the Keystone state. Henry Everett was among the pioneers of Trumbull county, having come to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1797. He first engaged in farming and later in the manufacture of linseed oil and other commodities, constructing and operating the first steam mill west of the Alle- ghany mountains. The variety of his interests and activities made him one of the leading citizens of his locality. He married Sarah von Pheil, a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Henry von Pheil, who came to America from Prussia about 1798.
Sylvester T. Everett acquired his early education in the district school and in his youth assisted in the work of the farm, performing every task that falls to the lot of a farmer's son. In 1850 he came to Cleveland to reside with his brother, Dr. Henry Everett. Here he attended the public schools for a year and at the age of thirteen became general utility boy in the dry-goods house of S. Ray- mond & Company, there remaining for a year. He afterward entered the bank- ing house of Brockway, Wason, Everett & Company, of which firm his elder brother was a member. He made his initial step in the financial world as a mes- senger boy and collection clerk, but was advanced rapidly until at the termination of three years he was occupying a position of considerable responsibility. In 1858 he went to Philadelphia to assist his uncle, Charles Everett, in closing up
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