A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 69

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1106

USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III > Part 69

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Mr. Stocker was married at Collinwood, Ohio, October 6, 1900, to Miss Emma B. Parks, a graduate of Western Reserve University. They have four sons : Edgar Parks, Carl Joseph, Norman Arthur and Charles Lincoln, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Stocker hold membership in the First Presbyterian church of East Cleveland, and Mr. Stocker is a member of the Cleveland Chamber of Com- merce. His interest in community affairs is that of a public-spirited citizen who realizes the opportunity for reform, progress and improvement, and labors to achieve what may be obtained in this direction.

JOSEPH CARABELLI.

Joseph Carabelli is a representative of the industrial interests of Cleveland as proprietor of the Lakeview Granite Works. He was born in sunny Italy, his birth occurring at Porto Ceresio, in April, 1850. His father, Charles Cara- belli, was a stone-mason, who died in Italy in 1870 at the age of sixty-one years. The son pursued his education in the schools of that country and at the age of twelve years was apprenticed to the sculptor's trade, after which he attended school in the forenoon but devoted the afternoons to sculpture, while in the evenings he was instructed in drawing.

Learning of the advantages offered in America Mr. Carabelli took up the study of the English language with the hope of some day coming to the new world. His leisure hours were devoted to the mastery of this tongue and on attaining his majority he crossed the ocean, landing in New York in 1870. There he secured work at his trade, at which he was an expert and, after one year in Harlem, he secured a position with the contractors who were building the New York postoffice. He was then sent to the quarries at Dix island, where he was assigned the task of carving the statue, Industry, one of the six figures which decorate the exterior of the Federal building. He also carved one of the eagles for the entrance and was employed on the ornamental work of the postoffice for eight years.

During that time Mr. Carabelli accumulated some means and decided to in- vest in business on his own account. He spent several weeks in looking for a favorable location and finally decided upon Cleveland, in 1880 establishing here the Lakeview Granite & Monumental Works, now the largest of their kind and producing the highest grade of work in northern Ohio and west of the quarries. During the twenty-ninth year of his connection with industrial interests in this city his business has had steady and substantial growth, his patronage being of an important character and bringing gratifying financial return. Mr. Carabelli is a man of marked influence but while he maintains a deep love for the land of his birth he is equally loyal to the land of his adop- tion, where found the opportunities he sought. Here unhampered by caste or class the workman may continually advance until he reaches a position of leadership in the line in which he begins as a young tradesman. This Mr.

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Carabelli has done, being today numbered among the prominent and success- ful business men of his adopted city. He is a member of the Chamber of Com- merce and the Builders Exchange. The republican party has always found in him a stanch supporter and in November, 1908, he was elected to the Ohio house of representatives, where he became author of the bill making October 12th a legal holiday in commemoration of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, which bill passed both houses of the Ohio legislature and was signed by Governor Harmon on the 17th of March, 1910.

MICHAEL J. ULINE.

The conditions of life are much the same and opportunity lies before every individual. It is the inherent and developed qualities of the man that differen- tiates him from his fellows, winning him success where others meet with failure. Earnest purpose and indefatigable effort are everywhere recognized as indis- pensable elements of progress and, endowed with those attributes, which he has cultivated in the course of his business career, Michael J. Uline has eventually become the head of a large and splendidly conducted enterprise operating under the name of the Colonial Ice Company, of which he has been president and gen- eral manager for eight years.

Mr. Uline comes of Holland ancestry. He was born in North Brabant, Holland, November 28, 1874, a son of John and Johanna (Van Kessel) Uline. The father's birth occurred in the same place on the 10th of August, 1842, and ere leaving his native country he engaged in general merchandising. Crossing the Atlantic to 'America, where he arrived on the 15th of October, 1891, he made his way direct to Cleveland and engaged with the Reader Stone Com- pany. In 1903 he became connected with the Colonial Ice Company as yardman.

In the public schools of Holland, Michael J. Uline pursued his studies to the age of fifteen years and then came to America with his father, at which time he sought employment in order to further the financial interests of the family and provide for his own support. For two years he was employed as driver by the East End Ice Company, after which he engaged with the Columbia Ice Company as foreman and driver for a year. Ambitious, however, to engage in business on his own account, he began dealing in ice, having a single horse and wagon. His close application and unfaltering energy enabled him to extend his trade as the years passed by until he is now the president and general manager of the second largest ice company in Cleveland, having been elected to the office in May, 1902. The main office of the Colonial Ice Company is at No. 2229 Woodhill Road and to facilitate the more rapid delivery of the product branches have been established at the corner of Woodhill Road and the Nickel Plate railroad tracks, at East Fifty-Second street and the Wheeling & Lake Erie rail- road tracks, where is situated the ice plant, and on Marquette Road at the cross- ing of the Pennsylvania railroad tracks. In addition to ice which they manu- facture, they handle the product from lakes in Portage county, Ohio, supply- ing about twelve thousand tons annually. Their daily output is two hundred and fifty tons, which is used principally in supplying private trade in the eastern section of Cleveland. The company handles coal as well as ice and utilizes forty-two wagons in the delivery of ice and sixteen for coal, while sixty-five horses are used in teaming. These are fine draft horses, unexcelled in the city, and all are gray in color. One hundred men are employed and the busi- ness is thoroughly systematized. They have at once the simplest as well as one of the most accurate accounting systems in the country and business men from all parts of the United States come to Cleveland to investigate the same.

On the 18th of June, 1895, Mr. Uline was married in Cleveland to Miss Car- oline Eiermann, and they have two children, Myrtle and Hazel, who are attend-

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ing Catholic schools. The family reside at No. 2183 East One Hundred and Sixth street. They attend the Catholic church and Mr. Uline is a member of the Knights of Columbus. While his success has been truly remarkable, it has been the natural sequence of sound and judicious methods and has won for him recognition as a man of affairs-active, enterprising and resourceful.

HERMAN A. HARRIS.

Herman A. Harris, who has attained considerable distinction as a building contractor of Cleveland, having by perseverance and patience together with careful management, worked his way up to the prominent position he holds in the industrial and financial circles of the city, was born in New Hampshire, February 12, 1863. His father, Wilson Harris, was born in the same state, April 15, 1825, where he followed general contracting for many years, and upon coming to Cleveland in 1873 followed the same business until he retired. He now resides here in the enjoyment of the fruits of former labor. Our sub- ject's mother, Sarah B. (Adams) Harris, was also a native of New Hampshire, born in September, 1829, and was married there in 1852, her family having been among the early settlers of that state. She still survives and lives in Cleve- land.

The public schools of his native state afforded Herman A. Harris his early educational advantages and in 1873, removing with his parents to Cleveland, he continued his studies here, being graduated from the Central high school with the class of 1882. He made his first step in the business world as a clerk in the First National Bank, in which capacity he served for six years, when he became associated with his father in the general contracting business. Since 1889 he has had full control and, being a man of exceptional vivacity and also enterprising and industrious, his undivided attention to business has enabled him to attain wide popularity. He has done some of the most important work here, among the buildings which he has erected being the Lakeside Hospital, the Rose building, Unity church, East End Baptist church, together with a number of residences throughout the various portions of the municipality, and while he has executed contracts throughout various states his business is mostly con- fined to this city.

On September 6, 1899, Mr. Harris wedded Mrs. Edmund N. Snyder, a native of this city, by whom he has had two children: Adele S. and Marion S. Prominent in fraternal organizations, Mr. Harris belongs to the Masonic order, the Hermit and Euclid Clubs and is also a member of the local Builders Ex- change. Being a man whose business transactions have always been conducted on the basis of honesty, he entertains the respect and confidence of all with whom he associates and is numbered among the substantial citizens of the com- munity.

WILLIAM HANNA.

William Hanna, connected with the Brown Hoisting Company of Cleveland, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1837. His parents were Wil- liam and Ellen (Glass) Hanna, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state and the father engaged in business as an iron worker.

William Hanna was reared and educated in Pennsylvania and in 1869 came to Cleveland, where he began business in connection with heating and heavy iron work. In that field of labor he made steady progress as the result of his industry, perseverance and energy, and when he retired from that field after twenty-four years' connection therewith, he was superintendent of the rolling

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mills in Anderson, Indiana. He then returned to Cleveland but soon afterward went south for the benefit of his health, for he was suffering greatly from rheu- matism. When that was accomplished he returned to Cleveland and began the manufacture of the medicine that had cured him. In that line of business he continued for seven years, after which he was appointed steward of the city hospital in Cleveland, in which capacity he continued for four years. At that time he was taken with heart failure and was given up to die by the most emi- nent physicians of the city. Upon the solicitation of his wife and as a last resort he tried Christian Science and after four treatments was again robust and strong. He then accepted a position with the Brown Hoisting Company, receiving all callers and still retains this place. He was only twelve years of age when he started in the business world for himself and since that time has been entirely dependent upon his own efforts.

Mr. Hanna is entitled to wear the Grand Army button for he entered the United States service in June, 1861, in defense of the Union and was honorably discharged in 1865. He was first on active duty with the Sixth Corps and after- ward in General Murphy's Fifth Army Corps and at the time he received his honorable discharge was holding the rank of sergeant.

In April, 1861, Mr. Hanna was united in marriage to Miss Fannie M. Cook, of Kentucky, who died in 1867. Three children were born of that union: Ida Frances, who married Thomas Pinnington and resides at Lakewood with her little daughter; Harry, of Pittsburg, who was married and has five children; and Walter, deceased. For his second wife Mr. Hanna chose Ella M. Morgan, whom he wedded on the 22d of February, 1870. They reside at No. 8511 Wade Park avenue in a dwelling which Mr. Hanna owns. He is a member of the Christian Science church, while his wife holds membership in the Methodist church. His fraternal relations are with the Grand 'Army of the Republic and he takes delight in the camp fires of his Post. He is also a Mason of Halcyon Lodge. In politics he is an inflexible republican, stanchly supporting the party which was the defense of the Union in the dark days of the Civil war and has always been the party of reform and progress.

JOHN WILSON.

In the life of John Wilson has been demonstrated the ability of an individ- ual to develop a business to large proportions and to carry it on profitably and honorably, patiently but surely advancing towards the goal of success. He is firmly established in a brick manufacturing business on Independence and Camp- bell streets, Cleveland, with residence at No. 3031 Stillson avenue, Southeast.

Mr. Wilson was born in the north of Ireland, February 12, 1848, a son of Samuel S. and Jennie (Gamble) Stuart. After a boyhood spent in attending school until he was twelve years of age and assisting his father on the farm, he came to the United States, after attaining his majority, Cleveland being his destination. Arriving here he engaged with his uncle James Gamble in the brick manufacturing business for five years. At the expiration of that time he entered into partnership with a Mr. Reid, but after two years dissolved this association and embarked in business on his own account on Independence road and the Ohio canal. He has since continued the business, manufacturing common building brick, and has a market for the full capacity of his plant.

On August 24, 1873, Mr. Wilson married Eleanor Harrison, and they have five children: William J., thirty-six years old, is an attorney located in the Williamson building; Margaret Jane, is now Mrs. Sykora; Sarah J., is Mrs. John McFarland; James S., twenty-six years old, is manager of his father's brickyard; and Margaret Knox is now Mrs. H. W. Conway.

JOHN WILSON

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Mr. Wilson belongs to Ellsworth Lodge, No. 505, A. F. & A. M., and to the Orange Order. He is a republican in politics and a United Presbyterian in religious faith. In addition to his other interests he is a stockholder in the Broadway Savings & Trust Company. He is one of the wide-awake, enterpris- ing men of the city, and his success has certainly been deserved.

WILLIAM P. SOUTHWORTH.

William P. Southworth, deceased, was the founder of the wholesale and re- tail grocery establishment that bears his name and was one of the pioneer mer- chants of Cleveland. He was a thoroughly self-made man in all that the term implies, finding in limited financial circumstances in his youth the incentive for earnest, persistent effort, which led him to an important position in the commer- cial circles of the city.

He was born in East Haddam, Middlesex county, Connecticut, in 1819, and was a descendant of one of the oldest Puritan families, tracing the line directly back to Mrs. Alice Carpenter Southworth, who became the second wife of Gov- ernor William Bradford. She arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1623, sailing from England in the historic ship Ann. In 1628 she was followed by her two sons, Constant and Thomas Southworth, both of whom became prominent. in the government of the Plymouth colony. Representatives of the family in a later generation settled in Connecticut, where the name has since been found.

William P. Southworth came west with his mother and two sisters in 1835 and spent one year in Twinsburg, Ohio, where he attended school. In 1836 he came to Cleveland, where his brother, Harrison Grey Otis Southworth, was living, and here he engaged in the contracting business and also operated a stoneyard as a member of the firm of Southworth & Williams. In 1858 a small grocery store came into his possession, which was situated on Ontario street opposite the site of the present business. For some years Mr. Southworth con- ducted this under the name of The People's Store. One price for everybody and cash payment were the principles of the business.

Mr. Southworth's business methods and his keen appreciation of the oppor- tunities presented soon made themselves felt and he was successful from the first. Finding the first store too small for his increasing trade, he moved across the street and opened a wholesale and retail grocery house, which was conducted under his personal management until about 1889, when the W. P. Southworth Company was incorporated. He was elected president and his son, the late W. J. Southworth, was chosen vice president. The business was developed along modern, progressive lines, Mr. Southworth continually formulating new plans for its expansion and maintaining through all the same irreproachable reputation for commercial integrity. During the course of his business career he passed unscathed through several financial panics in which other firms met disaster, and he was often able to save a friend from financial embarrassment by his timely and wise assistance. The firm was the victim of a disastrous fire in 1882, razing the building to the ground. Undaunted by these circumstances, which would have seemed unsurmountable obstacles to others of less resolute purpose, he set to work to retrieve his lost possessions and wrought along lines that led to prosperity, while the public was as well an indirect beneficiary in that his business interests were a factor in the commercial activity and consequent up- building of the city. In addition to his commercial interests, Mr. Southworth at the time of his death was a director in the National City Bank and at one time, from January, 1873, to January, 1889, served as president of that insti- tution.

Mr. Southworth was in many respects a very remarkable man. He pos- sessed a forceful character that enabled him to accomplish what he undertook

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and when one avenue of effort seemed closed would seek out another path that would enable him to accomplish the result desired. Above all things he admired independence and that quality, rare in individuals, of an ability to mind one's own business. Perhaps no man was more generous and public-spirited who had so deep rooted an aversion to making this known. No benevolent or public- spirited act of his life ever came to the public notice if he could avoid it. About a year before his death he determined to give fifty thousand dollars to the Lake- side Hospital. When he had debated and decided the matter in his own mind he quietly sent for the Hon. George H. Ely, the president of the hospital trustees, and engineered the transfer so that had not a hospital trustee told the fact to an acquaintance in the presence of a friend of a daily newspaper the gift might ever have remained a secret. He always evinced a readiness to relieve genu- inely needy people, many of whom benefited largely by his friendship and gen- erous spirit. As a business man he was keen and discerning. He believed in giving the public the best service possible and by such a course built up the large business which today stands as a monument to his enterprise.

Mr. Southworth was married in 1855 to Miss Louisa Stark, who with four children survived him, but she died May 19, 1905, and William J. died in 1908. Mary L. is the wife of Dr. Henry S. Upron; Frances is the wife of F. H. Goff, an attorney and banker; and Otis S. Southworth completes the family.

For a number of years before his death Mr. Southworth was an invalid but he retained his mental faculties unimpaired until his demise, which occurred August 13, 1891, his remains being interred in the Lakeview cemetery. At a large meeting of the Board of Trade on the day of his death the president, the late William Edwards, announced the death of Mr. Southworth and made ex- tended and appropriate remarks, after which he appointed Solon Burgess, C. S. Smith and Charles Babcock as a committee to draft suitable resolutions. The report which was adopted read as follows:

WHEREAS, this board has just been informed by the president of the death of W. P. Southworth, an old and esteemed citizen and business man of this city, therefore :

Resolved, that by the death of our friend and fellow member, W. P. South- worth, this board loses a respected and useful member, and the business com- munity one of its most active and successful business men. His long and event- ful business career has been an entire success and conducted without a blot on his fair name, and we sincerely mourn his loss. His charities were free and open-handed, a worthy example to our citizens. We cannot forget his late mag- nificent gift to the Lakeside Hospital.

Resolved, that the secretary be directed to forward a copy of these resolutions to his afflicted family.

Otis S. Southworth, the only surviving son and the present head of the establishment, was born June 14, 1871, in Cleveland, and attended the public schools. He afterward entered his father's establishment and his entire busi- ness career has been spent there. He has been president of the corporation since the death of his brother. His wife was formerly Georgiana D. Lee, of Cleve- land.

FRANK S. KITTINGER.

Frank S. Kittinger, a contractor, the extent and importance of whose busi- ness interests have closely connected him with the building operations of this city, was born at Canal Fulton, Ohio, July 25, 1864. His parents were Lewis and Susanna (Eckroad) Kittinger. His ancestors fought in the Revolutionary war and the family was also represented in the war of 1812 and in the Mexican war. One of the family was killed in the battle of Brandywine while aiding

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to establish American independence, and another was frozen to death when serving with Washington's army. The first of the family in America came from Switzerland in 1728 and settled in Reading, Pennsylvania. The military record of the family is certainly one of which they have every reason to be proud. Lewis Kittinger was a soldier of the Civil war and two of the uncles of our sub- ject also wore the blue. One was a drummer boy with Sheridan, while the other was a captain in a regiment of colored troops.

Frank S. Kittinger acquired his early education in the public schools, his course embracing the usual branches of knowledge, but at the age of eighteen he put aside his text-books and began working with his father in the contracting business. They were associated for four years, after which Frank Kittinger went to Dayton, Ohio, where he engaged in business on his own account as a contractor for two years. He then came to Cleveland and was. manager for the C. A. Case Company for seven years. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the jobbing business, which claimed his attention for two years, after which he joined his brother in a contracting business, the partner- ship continuing through the ensuing year. He then started upon an independent venture as a contractor, carrying on the business alone for five years. He next went to California, where he was identified with building operations in a most successful manner, erecting some of the largest buildings in the state. He then came to Cleveland and is engaged with John Grant & Company. Other busi- ness concerns claim his attention, for he is interested in the Cleveland Asbestos Plaster Company and is also one of the owners of a tract of two thousand acres of land in Mexico.

Mr. Kittinger has been married twice. On the 25th of July, 1888, he wedded Margaret Edwards, a daughter of M. Edwards, a miner. He has two sons: Paul, twenty years of age; and Edward, eighteen years of age. The former is a graduate of the North high school and is now employed in the office of the Cleveland Hardware Company. The younger, Edward, is now a student in the North high school. The wife and mother passed away in 1892 and in 1898 Mr. Kittinger was again married, his second union being with Edith Gould, a daughter of Isaac Gould, a mason contractor. There are two children of this marriage, Willis and Josephine, aged respectively ten and eight years.

Mr. Kittinger is a republican in his political views and has firm faith in the principles of the party. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and has taken the degrees in Thatcher Chapter, R. A. M., and in the commandery. His life has been one of unfaltering diligence and perseverance, in which success has been won along honorable methods, while his business probity has ever stood as an unquestioned fact in his career.

REV. WILLIAM STEPHENS KRESS.

Rev. William Stephens Kress, superior of the Ohio Apostolate, was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, February 15, 1863, a son of Nicholas and Mary (Stephens) Kress. The father was born in Fulda, Germany, in 1821, and died at Canton, Ohio, in 1894, having been retired for a number of years, although he had formerly lived at Pittsburg and Liverpool. His wife was born in Hesse-Darm- stadt, Germany, September 14, 1823, but was brought to the United States at the age of three years. Her demise took place March 24, 1895. She was a daughter of Mathias Stephens, who was born in the grand duchy of Herren Grossbreitenbach, Germany, in April, 1786. He served in the war of 1812 and remained in the army for eight years and seven months, receiving an honorable discharge at the end of that time. Mathias Stephens was a son of Christian and Eva Elsabeth (Schmitz) Stephens.

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 69

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1106

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1106