A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 8

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 8

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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

pany, of Illinois ; the Rockford, Beloit & Zanesville Railway Company, of Wis- consin ; the Richmond & Petersburg Railway Company, of Virginia; the New York & Long Island Traction Company, of New York; the Kokomo, Marion & Western Traction Company, of Indiana; the Western Ohio Railway Company ; the Youngstown & Ohio River Railroad Company; the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend Railway Company ; and a number of others. The extent of their operation indicates the high position which they occupy in business circles and in their work they stand for all that is most progressive in railway construction and equipment. In addition to his other interests Mr. Thrasher is general man- ager of the Youngstown & Ohio River Railroad Company, is a director of the New York & North Shore Traction Company and also a director of the Cleve- land Construction Company.

In 1905 occurred the marriage of Mr. Thrasher and Miss Lillian R. Finn, a native of Hempstead, Long Island. Politically he is a republican and fraternally is connected with the Masons, having attained the Knight Templar degree of the York Rite while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has also crossed the sands of the desert. There has been no retrograde movement in all of his bus- iness career, his course being marked by a steady progress that has resulted from his ability to differentiate between the essential and the non-essential, utilizing the former and discarding the latter until in his present connection, in as far as his official duties are influential factors in management, he seems to have realized at any one point of his business career the possibilities for successful accomplish- ment at that point.

GEORGE C. HASCALL.

George C. Hascall, who is the president of the Tropical Oil Company and also president of The Hascall Paint Company, located at 1252 West Seventieth street, Northwest, and is otherwise closely identified with important commercial and financial interests of Cleveland, was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, January 17, 1852. His parents, Philander and Mary A. Hascall, both died in Ypsilanti. In the public schools of that city George C. Hascall received his fundamental education. Upon putting aside his text-books he was employed in a jewelry store first in Ypsilanti and then in Detroit. After one year's experience on the road as a traveling salesman in the oil business for a firm located in Cleveland, he took up his permanent residence in this city in April, 1884. Later as a broker he engaged in operations in the oil business upon his own responsibilities and in 1889 embarked upon the manufacture of oil. He established the present works of the Tropical Oil Company in December, 1903, having bought the plant he now operates. In the last six years he has greatly increased his business as may be indicated from a rough comparison of the past with the present. At first there were but two office employes and now there are twenty-six engaged upon clerical work; there were only two employed in the works and now there are over twenty ; at the beginning there were no traveling salesmen, now there are between thirty-five and forty, who cover the territory from Maine to California and north into Canada.

As this growth has been entirely dependent upon Mr. Hascall's own efforts it tells its own story of his enterprise, vigorous methods and his far-reaching sagacity in business matters. But, although so remarkably successful in this un- dertaking, he has not been blind to other opportunities in which he might add to his income and at the same time promote the financial welfare of the city, with which he has been connected for so long. Accordingly, as he saw opportunity, he bought stock in the First National Bank, the Bankers Surety Company and the Hough Avenue Savings & Banking Company. all important institutions of Cleve- land. He is president of the Texas Manufacturing Company at Fort Worth,

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

Texas, and controls the largest interest in the Prairie City Oil Company, which is also true of the Atlantic Paint Company, of New York city, and the Hascall- Smith Furniture Company, of New York.

In Alden, New York, in 1889, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hascall and Miss Hattie M. Fuller, of that town. They have one son, Robert G., born March 14, 1893. A man of strong principles, he is closely identified with Masonic interests-an association devoted to the betterment of humanity. He has risen to the thirty-second degree in this organization and has been admitted into the order of the Mystic Shrine.

JAMES H. COGSWELL.

James H. Cogswell, of 805 Euclid avenue, is one of the progressive business men of Cleveland, connected with some of the most important commercial, man- ufacturing and financial enterprises of the city. In all of his associations with the business world he gives the same quality of service and devotion to duty that characterize his conduct of his private affairs, and his cooperation and judgment are sought along many lines. Through the steps of an orderly progression he has steadily advanced until his name is one of the most honored on commercial paper in Cleveland, while his record excites the admiration and respect of col- leagues and associates.

Mr. Cogswell was born at Parma, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, March 19, 1849, a son of James H. and Mary H. Cogswell, both of whom were natives of Con- necticut, where the father was born September 1, 1800, and his wife January 12, 1814. Coming to Ohio in 1833, they settled in the wilderness on the present site of Parma and both died there in the year 1895. There were seven children in their family and they gave them what advantages lay in their power.

James H. Cogswell was educated in the district schools, which he attended until 1863, when he came to Cleveland to work for his uncle J. H. DeWitt, Sr., member of the firm of J. H. DeWitt & Company, dealers in ladies' cloaks and furnishings, with a store on the public square. A men's clothing department was added after Mr. Cogswell entered the business. For thirty years he remained with the firm. After his uncle died in 1869, the business was carried on under the name of the James W. Carson Company, but the firm failed in 1883. In that year Mr. Cogswell bought the merchant tailoring department, continuing in the old place until 1893, when removal was made to his present quarters in the Hickox building. He is also treasurer of the W. B. Davis Company, dealers in men's furnishing goods; secretary and director of the Bruce & West Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of confectionery and bakery goods; a director in the D. T. Owen Company, manufacturers of folding beds, couches, etc .; stockholder in the Central National bank, the Citizens Savings & Trust Company, the Cleve- land Trust Company, Home Savings Company, the Bank of Commerce, National Association and the National Refining Company.

On January 12, 1904, Mr. Cogswell married Elizabeth Scofield, daughter of William C. Scofield, president of the Lake Erie Iron Company. Mr. Cogswell is a member of the Union Club. For forty years he has belonged to the Old Stone church and is one of its liberal supporters. The closeness with which he keeps in touch with his varied interests has insured his success. While forging ahead in the business world, Mr. Cogswell has not been content with securing his own success but has aided many others to gain a foothold and has been of signal aid to his associates in the many enterprises with which he is connected.

Mr. Cogswell has now been a resident of the city for forty-seven years and his constantly broadening interests have brought him to a prominent position in business circles. He has watched with interest the progress of events which have brought the city to its present proud commercial and financial standing.

JAMES H. COGSWELL

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

He has in his possession a directory of Cleveland that was published in 1837. Only two of the citizens whose names are therein recorded live here today. As the years have passed by he has improved his opportunities to the betterment not only of his own financial condition but also of the city's welfare and his name figures conspicuously on the pages of its business development.

WILLIAM ARTHUR SCHLESINGER, M. D.

Notable progress has been made by the young men who are representatives of the medical profession in Cleveland and keeping abreast with the onward march is Dr. William Arthur Schlesinger, one of Cleveland's native sons, born April 5,, 1880. His parents were Joseph Frederick and Elizabeth (Dorn) Schlesinger, the former a native of Austria and the latter of Kenton, Ohio. In the year 1869 the father heard and heeded the call of the western world and established his home in Cleveland, where he is now engaged in the tobacco manufacturing business. The mother is also living.

Following his graduation from the South high school with the class of 1897, Dr. Schlesinger attended Adelbert College of the Western Reserve University, from which he was graduated, cum laude, in 1901. He also completed a course in the medical department of the same university in 1904 and is now a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha and the Nu Sigma Nu, two medical college fraterni- ties. His first practical experience in his profession came to him in connection . with Charity Hospital, where he served from September, 1904, until January I, 1906, as house physician and surgeon. In May of the latter year he entered upon the private practice of his profession at his present location at No. 5409 Broad- way, Southeast. He was on the staff of Charity Hospital Dispensary for one year, beginning in 1907, and he is accident surgeon for the Empire Plow Com- pany and for the Interstate, Superior and Acme Foundry Companies. Other than this his practice is general and he is now the valued family physician in various households of the district in which he makes his home. He is serving as secretary of the Charity Hospital Medical Society and holds membership with the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

On the 23d of June, 1909, Dr. Schlesinger wedded Miss Nell E. Mix, a daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Mix, residents of Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania.

COLONEL W. S. ROGERS.

It would be difficult to find a resident of Cleveland who has more warm per- sonal friends than Colonel W. S. Rogers, a fact which is due not alone to the ability which he has displayed in business life and the prominence to which he has attained in official circles, but rather to those kindly, generous traits of char- acter which recognize and appreciate the good in another. He is entirely free from ostentation or display and the simplicity of life and nobility of his character are well balanced forces with his business activity and enterprise. He is today filling the office of fire marshal of Ohio, an honor which came to him entirely unsolicited as a recognition on the part of Governor Harris of the ability and trustworthiness of Colonel Rogers.

A native of Noblesville, Indiana, Colonel Rogers was born November 28, 1848, and was one of a family of eight sons whose father, Rev. William H. Rogers, devoted his life to the ministry as a member of the Presbyterian church. After the outbreak of the Civil war he joined the army as did his elder son. Colonel Rogers was but a boy in years at the time. He had completed his pre-

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

liminary education and had just entered Oberlin College in 1863 when, at the age of fifteen. he put aside his text-books and offered his services to the govern- ment. He also influenced several members of his class to accompany him and going to Cleveland he enlisted as a member of the Sixtieth Ohio Infantry, which was enrolled for three years' service. Proceeding to the front he soon became familiar with all of the horrors and hardships of war, participating in the battles of Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and Deep Bottom. He was for seven- teen months in almost continuous conflict in the region of Richmond, participat- ing in the battle of Appomattox. Other notable engagements in which he took part were the long siege of Petersburg, the valiant assault upon the outpost of Richmond and the engagement of Jerusalem Plank Road, Ream's Station, Wel- don Railroad and Hatches Run. He displayed valor and loyalty equal to that of many a veteran of twice or thrice his years and with a most creditable mili- tary record returned to the north.

Like most ministers' sons Colonel Rogers found it necessary to depend upon his own resources for a start in business life and learned the machinist's trade, working at the bench for some time in the early '8os, his ability, however, winning him promotion to the position of manager. He then entered the serv- ices of the federal government in the improvement of the Mississippi river, employing constantly from two to three thousand men. He did splendid work in that connection and was highly commended by the administration of Presi- dent Arthur. In the meantime he had become recognized as one of the leading representatives of the republican party in the district of Illinois in which he was residing and was elected on the party ticket to the state legislature, where he distinguished himself by solidifying the faltering adherents of General John A. Logan, his intimate friend. As a result of this exertion in behalf of his comrade, the faithful "103" finally secured his election as United States senator.

After leaving the federal service, Colonel Rogers became connected with the Brush Electrical Company, with which he was connected for sixteen years, and during the last five years served as general manager with headquarters in Cleveland, having supervision over thousands of men. While thus associated he became widely known throughout the United States and Canada as one of the most thoroughly competent electrical experts of America. Under his sup- ervision hundreds of electrical plants, municipal and private, were installed all over the country, many of the first plants in the larger cities having been sold and installed by him. From early youth Colonel Rogers has displayed marked mechanical skill and ingenuity and his study and experiments along mechanical lines have resulted in the invention of several needed improvements in mechani- cal construction, upon which he secured patents and which are now in use all over the world. These inventions now return to him munificent royalties. His business enterprise and ability have led him into various business connections and he is the president and director of several successful companies in Cleve- land and elsewhere.

Colonel Rogers, aside from his business associations, has been called to various positions of honor and trust. He became identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, the Sons of Veterans and the United Veterans League upon their organization and for many years has stood very high in their ranks. He was twice elected commander of Memorial Post, in Cleveland, one of the largest, most wealthy and prominent posts in America. He has almost the un- precedented honor of being chosen commander for two successive terms and on the close of his second term Colonel Rogers refused to allow his name to be considered thereafter. Entirely without his solicitation or knowledge he was elected department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic of Ohio and with the modesty which has characterized his course through life he refused to again stand as a candidate for that position. He is today one of the most prominent, popular and honored members of the Grand Army of the Republic in America and he has done splendid service in behalf of that and other mili-

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

tary organizations. Enjoying a wide acquaintance throughout Ohio and several other states in the middle west and the Atlantic coast states in the north, Colonel Rogers has again and again been called to deliver public addresses and is an eloquent, earnest speaker, appealing to the sympathies and tender memories of the old guard, while his wit, his pathos and his humor are effective forces in swaying his audiences.

In the fall of 1897 there was organized in Cleveland what was called the Rogers Association, and this body afterward visited Colonel Rogers in his home for the purpose of pleading with him to become the republican nominee for mayor against Mayor Tom L. Johnson, recognizing that his personal popularity and the unbounded confidence reposed in him by all who knew him would make him a most strong and forceful candidate. Assurances of support from every section of the city came to him and it seemed that the trend of sentiment had been turned as if by magic, when Colonel Rogers personally went to Congressman Theodore E. Burton, whom he considered to be the man of the hour, and gracefully withdrew in Burton's favor. This act won for Colonel Rogers thousands of voters who had not even learned that he was being urged to make the race. His appointment as state fire marshal also came as a recognition of his ability and without his previous knowledge. In 1908 there was a bitter contest between rival factions, both contestants being previously in the office, and Governor Harris selected Colonel Rogers for the position, knowing that he was well qualified and that his patriotism was above question. He entered loyally upon his new duties and has instituted many needed reforms and improvements in connection with the administration of the office. He has surrounded himself with a corps of able and competent assistants and as state fire marshal he has won for himself new honors in a state which regards him as one of its most eminent and faithful sons. Throughout Ohio and indeed wherever he is known he is spoken of in terms of admiration and respect. His life has been so varied in its activity, so honorable in its purpose and so far-reaching in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of the state. Not a man in public life in the sense in which the term is generally understood, he has nevertheless exerted an immeasurable influence in business as a financier and promoter of commercial and industrial interests; in social and fraternal association by rea- son of a charming personality and unfeigning cordiality ; and in politics by reason of his public spirit and devotion to the general good as well as by his com- prehensive understanding of questions affecting state and national welfare.

LAWRENCE W. SINNOTT.

Lawrence W. Sinnott is now giving his time merely to the supervision of his private interests, which cover large investments in real estate. He was formerly actively engaged in the real-estate business but retired in 1900 and is now numbered among Cleveland's capitalists. He was born in Ireland, March 27, 1849, and is a son of William and Margaret (McCabe) Sinnott. He ac- quired his education in the public schools of the Emerald isle and remained a resident of that land until seventeen years of age, when he crossed the Atlantic to America and for a time continued his studies in the Franklin school of New York city. When he had permanently put aside his text-books he engaged in the hardware business as a clerk for about a year and was afterward connected with the glassware business for several years in New York. Coming to Cleve- land in 1873, he soon recognized the possibilities for successful operation in the real-estate field and for twenty-seven years figured as one of the leading real- estate dealers of the city, negotiating many important property transfers and keeping at all times conversant with the condition of the real-estate market and possible rise in values. His investments were so judiciously made that with a

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

handsome little fortune he retired in 1900 to devote his remaining days to the management of his numerous private interests. .

On the 10th of May, 1882, Mr. Sinnott was married to Miss Margaret H. Timbers, a daughter of Patrick and Mary (Murphy) Timbers, who were among Cleveland's pioneer residents, coming to this city in 1847. Five children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Sinnot: Mary Louise, a graduate of the Cleveland high school; William L., also a high-school graduate, who for some time was connected with the Cleveland Electric Company and is now associated with the Union Electric Company of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Alice, a graduate of the Cleveland high school; Lawrence J., who was also graduated from the high school, where he distinguished himself as a member of the football team and is now associated with the Electric Supply Company; and Margaret, who is now attending the academy of Our Lady of Lourdes. The family residence has been at No. 1911 East Seventy-ninth street since 1896.

Mr. Sinnott has found time during a life of unusual activity and close appli- cation to business to indulge his love for horses and finds his greatest recrea- tion in driving. Politically he has always been independent, deeming the char- acter and efficiency of the candidate more important than partisan politics. His religious belief is indicated in his membership in St. Agnes Catholic church, to which he has always been a liberal contributor. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Benevolent League. During his thirty- seven years' residence in Cleveland he has gained a large circle of friends, who have come to admire his strong characteristics of industry and honesty, which have commended him to the trust and friendship of his fellowmen. Coming to America when a mere boy, with no capital except a rugged constitution and a determination to succeed, he has climbed the ladder step by step and stands as a sterling example of the self-made man, his energy and opportunity making possible his success.

M. LYMAN LAWRENCE.

M. Lyman Lawrence is vice president of the Lawrence Publishing Company, publishers of the Ohio Farmer, recognized today as one of the leading agricultural papers in the entire country, with a circulation that makes the plant one of the lead- ing enterprises of the city. Trained for the work in his youth, he has displayed an initiative spirit in the further development and extension of the business connected with the publication and circulation of the paper and today occupies a prominent place among Cleveland's representative and resourceful business men.

Mr. Lawrence was born in this city December 23, 1868, and in the acquirement of his education passed through the public and high school, while in 1885, when a youth of sixteen years, he went to Colorado for his health. Advised that outdoor life would be beneficial, he became cowboy and cowpuncher on the western plains and there remained until the outdoor exercise effected his restoration. In 1889 he abandoned the life of the plains, however, for in that year his father went to Colorado and organized two banks, the Peoples National and the Peoples Savings Bank, both of Denver. M. Lyman Lawrence then entered the bank and held all of the important positions from messenger to cashier. When he assumed the du- ties of the latter position he was the youngest bank official of Colorado. He al- lows no difficulty nor obstacle to thwart him in the work which he undertakes, and he soon proved himself capable of discharging duties that devolved upon him in the cashiership. The banks suspended in 1893 and Mr. Lawrence afterward re- turned to Cleveland. where he took an active part in the management of the Ohio Farmer, which his father had purchased during the youthful days of the son. From that time forward he has been actively connected with the publication of this leading agricultural journal and is now vice president of the Lawrence Publish-

M. LYMAN LAWRENCE

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

ing Company, which is an extensive plant and is conducting one of the important business enterprises of this character in the city. He is also the vice president of the Lawrence-Williams Company. In 1881 his father went to France, where he arranged for the sale of Gombault's Caustic Balsam, a veterinary remedy. The Lawrence-Williams Company was then formed and the business is now capi- talized for fifty thousand dollars. The remedy has had a ready sale and the busi- ness is now one of very large and profitable proportions. The company are sole agents in the United States and Canada and they employ a large force of assist- ants in introducing the drug on the market. The present officers of the com- pany are: Mortimer J. Lawrence, president; M. Lyman Lawrence, vice presi- dent; L. L. Pope, secretary and Paul T. Lawrence, treasurer. The last named is also secretary and treasurer of the Lawrence Publishing Company.

On the 3d of August, 1891, Mr. Lawrence was married to Miss Olive M. Harp, of Denver, a daughter of W. R. Harp, president of the Union Coal & Coke Company. Their home is on Magnolia drive, at the corner of Juniper drive, and is the scene of many attractive social functions. Mr. Lawrence has been a Mason since 1892 and is a charter member of Brenton N. Babcock Lodge. He also be- longs to Cleveland Lodge, No. 84, B. P. O. E., and holds membership in the Cleveland Auto Club, the Lakewood Yacht Club, the Hermit Club, the Cleveland Athletic Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He is prominent in social as well as business circles and is one of the popular and esteemed residents of Cleveland, where with the exception of his western experience his entire life has been passed.

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 8

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