A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 83

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

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JOHN HIRSIUS

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director and a member of the finance committee of the Broadway Savings & Trust Company, also of the Woodland Avenue Savings & Trust Company and of the German-American Savings Bank Company. Of the first two he was one of the original directors. He is likewise a director of the Cleveland Home Brewing Company and the Lake Erie Provision Company and is financially in- terested in the Cleveland Worsted Mills Company as well as in a number of other concerns. He was one of the founders of the Canfield Oil Company and has ever since been one of its directors. During the summer months he spends most of his leisure time on his farm, which is at East View and is a valuable tract of fifty acres.

On the 3d of October, 1866, Mr. Hirsius was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Muehl, who was born in Neunkirchen, province of Nassau, Germany, and was brought to Cleveland, Ohio, when but eight years of age. Mr. Hirsius was fortunate in his selection of a wife, for she has been of great help to him, her counsel and advice having been often sought and found valuable. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hirsius were born twelve children, seven of whom still survive, as follows: Caroline, the wife of Charles Eichler, of Cleveland; Elizabeth, at home; William; Edward; Otto, who is employed in the office of a railroad com- pany at New Orleans ; Olga, the wife of John Dippel, of Cleveland; and Amanda. For over a quarter of a century the family residence in Cleveland has been at what is now 3421 Scovill avenue.

Politically Mr. Hirsius is a stanch republican, giving loyal support to the men and measures of that party. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and the German Pioneers Society, while fraternally he is identified with Concordia Lodge, F. & A. M. His life record in its various phases has ever commanded the regard and trust of his fellowmen and he well deserves mention in this volume as one of Cleveland's respected and representative residents. He has for some years occupied a place among the financial men of Cleveland and few, if any, enjoy a higher reputation for integrity and foresight.

HERMAN KOPPEL.

Herman Koppel, who is engaged in the general insurance business has pros- pered since he came to Cleveland. He was born May 10, 1853, at Ludwigshofen. Bavaria, and on coming to the United States, came direct to Cleveland, at the close of the Franco-Prussian war, November 4, 1872. As he did not want to serve his term in the army, he came here to escape military duty. He acted as advertising manager for the Waechter am Erie, Cleveland's leading German paper, for twelve years. In 1885 he embarked in the general insurance business with D. Jankau, the firm being Jankau & Koppel, the partnership continuing for eighteen years, when in 1903, Mr. Koppel withdrew and engaged in business independently. He has had the agency for three fire insurance companies for over twenty years and is now writing more business for the London Globe Fire Insurance Company than any other sub-agency in Cleveland. Owing to his energy and foresight, he has succeeded in his endeavors and is now doing a gratifying business.

In 1880 Mr. Koppel was married to Miss Fanny Baer, of Milwaukee, and they have two living children: Maurice K. and Sophia. Unfortunately they were called upon to mourn the loss of a beautiful daughter, Selma, who passed away May 10, 1908. Mr. Koppel is training his son so that he may assume the management of the business he has established when he desires to retire. The young man is very promising and has inherited many of his father's sterling traits of character, making friends everywhere.

While Mr. Koppel has always taken an interest in public matters, he has never entered politics, being independent in his views. For the past thirty years

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he has been a member of the Excelsior Club, and for twelve years was its secre- tary. He is extremely fond of music, art and the theater. A patron of many charitable institutions, Mr. Koppel does not allow his generosity to stop with that, but gives freely and cheerfully to those in need, quietly and without any osten- tation. Cleveland has no firmer friend than this typical German-American, who never loses an opportunity to praise his city and to advance its interests. Suc- cessful in both business and social circles ; honored by his associates and beloved by his family and friends, Mr. Koppel is a citizen of whom any city might well be proud.

EDWARD WIEBENSON.

Edward Wiebenson, president of the United Banking & Savings Company, was born in the province of Holstein, Germany, August 19, 1859. The father, Jacob Wiebenson, a son of John and Margaret Wiebenson, came with his fam- ily to America in 1865, settling in Davenport, Iowa, where he engaged in the furniture manufacturing business until his death. He married Anna Reimers, a daughter of Detlef Reimers, and her death occurred in Gladbrook, Iowa, in January, 1907, when she was sixty-eight years of age. There were two chil- dren in the family, the younger being a daughter, Amanda, now the wife of Leopold Wieland.

Edward Wiebenson was educated in the public schools of Davenport and also studied in Germany between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years. Returning to America in 1876, he went Traer, Iowa, where he became drug clerk and after mastering the business, and a year's apprenticeship in a Chicago drug store and course in chemistry at the Rush Medical College, he went to Gladbrook, Iowa, where he established a drug store on his own account. Ill health, how- ever, compelled him to dispose of his store at that place, and subsequently he entered the field of financial affairs by purchasing an interest in the Bank of Gladbrook. After a brief period, on account of his health he disposed of same and went to Kansas to build up. While at Dodge City, he organized a bank. In 1888 he disposed of his interests there to accept a position as teller with the Savings & Trust Company in Cleveland, Ohio, now the Citizens Savings & Trust Company. Two years were thus passed, and on October 28, 1890, was elected secretary and treasurer of The West Side Banking Company, now The United Banking and Savings Company. In 1906 he was elected vice president, fol- lowed by election in January, 1907, to office of president. During his twenty years' connection with this institution he has been one of the potent forces in placing the bank among the soundest and most reliable of the state's financial concerns. Everything that is in harmony with conservative and reliable bank- ing is carried on in this bank, which has won a most creditable reputation for enterprise and efficiency. Mr. Wiebenson is also a director of the Beckman Company, the Cleveland National Bank, treasurer of the Stark Electric Rail- road Company, vice president of the Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Company, and trustee of the Riverside Cemetery Association.

On the 23d of May, 1891, occurred the marriage of Mr. Wiebenson and Miss Dora L. Tiedemann, who died in Frankfurt, Germany, December 4, 1906. She was a daughter of Hannes and Louise Tiedemann, the former one of Cleve- land's prominent business men and financiers, well known here in financial circles and a founder of the firm of The Weideman Company. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wiebenson were born five children: Edward R., Walter E., John Jacob, Howard C., and Albert A., a twin brother of Walter E., who died November 19, 1896. The family reside at No. 4304 Franklin Avenue.

When leisure permits Mr. Wiebenson indulges a little in golf and in the periods of more extensive vacation travels. He belongs to the Masonic fra-

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ternity, attaining the Knight Templar degree in Holyrood Commandery. He is also a member of the Union and Euclid Clubs. His political views accord with republican principles and he is doing public service as a member of the board of trustees of the library sinking fund. He is also one of the directors of the Chamber of Industry and a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He deserves classification with Cleveland's successful men and an analyzation of his life record shows that this is due to close application to business, combined with the faculty of correctly judging safe investments and the iron-clad rule of absolute honesty in all his dealings with the public. There has not been a single esoteric phase in his career, his course being such as will bear the strong light of public investigation. He will tolerate no business methods of procedure that fall short of the highest standard of financial and commercial ethics and as president of the United Banking & Savings Company occupies an honorable position among Cleveland's financiers.

RABBI MOSES J. GRIES.

Moses J. Gries, who since 1892 has been rabbi of The Temple of Cleveland, deserves honor and recognition for what he has accomplished not only for the people of his own religion but along humanitarian, benevolent and educational lines for the city at large. Jew and Gentile alike entertain the highest respect for Rabbi Gries, whose scholarship well qualifies him for his work of teaching and his ready sympathy for the labors which he is doing on behalf of his fellowmen.

He was born in Newark, New Jersey, January 25, 1868, a son of Jacob and Katie Gries, the former of Hungarian and the latter of Bohemian descent. At the age of eleven years he completed a grammar-school course, being the youngest grad- uate in the history of his native city. For two years thereafter he was at school in New York city and at the age of thirteen he matriculated in the Hebrew Union College, of Cincinnati, which he attended for eight years. At the same time, from 1881 until 1885, he pursued his studies in the Hughes high school and from 1885 until 1889 in the University of Cincinnati, then known as McMicken University. When twenty-one years of age he was graduated from the university with the Bachelor of Letters degree and from the Hebrew Union College as a rabbi. He had lost his father at the age of three years, his mother at the age of seven, and early developed a spirit of self-reliance and independence which awakened his latent powers. He began studying for the ministry when only eleven years of age. Following his graduation he became rabbi at Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he remained from 1889 until November, 1892, when he was called to Cleveland.

He has since been rabbi of The Temple here, which under his enthusiastic leadership has become the leading Jewish congregation of the city and in the course of ten years advanced to one of the leading congregations in the country. The Temple Sabbath school is the largest congregational school in all the world. The Temple ranks with the best in power and influence and in its helpful service to men and women and children.

On the 15th of June, 1898, Rabbi Gries was married in Cleveland to Miss Frances Hays, a daughter of Kaufman and Lizzie Hays and a granddaughter of Simson Thorman, who was the first Jewish settler in Cleveland. Their children are Robert Hays and Lincoln Hays Gries.

Under his guidance there have been started organizations for men, women and children. Thus he has established the institutional work in his congregation, but, too broad minded to center his efforts in this particular field, he has responded to the call which humanity has made and has done splendid work in connection with the Cleveland Associated Charities, the Hebrew Relief Association, the Council of Jewish Women, the Educational League, the Cleveland Council of Sociology, the Council Educational Alliance and the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce.

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Wherever man needs the aid of his fellowmen Rabbi Gries is quick to respond and his studies of great sociological and economic conditions, as well as of individ- ual cases, has made his service of a most practical character.

He has been associated with many state and national movements, particularly those interested in the betterment of human conditions. He has also been presi- dent of the alumni association of the Hebrew Union College and is now treasurer of the Central Conference of American Rabbis; also chairman of its committee on religious education. For more than a decade he has been president of the Ed- ucational League.

It has been during the ministry of Rabbi Gries that the present splendid Tem- ple at the corner of Willson and Central avenues has been erected, the building being dedicated for divine worship in September, 1894. One of the members of his congregation said of his work: "Others have planned and executed but the inspiring word and the personal work of our Rabbi during these ten years have been the mightiest force for good. He has rendered faithful service to The Temple and to Cleveland. He has influenced Jews and non-Jews, unselfishly he has given himself to Jewish and non-sectarian charities. Every movement for public good has known and welcomed his presence as a worker and leader. As Jew and citizen, his voice has been eagerly heard upon all important occasions. By his noble thought, by his useful work, but more especially by his life, he has brought honor to the Jew. We honor him as our Rabbi."

ALWIN C. ERNST.

There are few business enterprises that have passed on to success by such leaps and bounds as has Ernst & Ernst and few young business men who have won for themselves so creditable and enviable a position within a short space of time as the partners in this firm. Today the name of Alwin C. Ernst is widely known not only in Cleveland but as well in New York, Boston, Chicago and other cities to which he has extended his efforts and his enterprise, as the sphere of his activity is one of constantly broadening usefulness. He is a certified pub- lic accountant, member of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and member of the American Association of Public Accountants of New York city. He was born in Cleveland, and is a son of John C. and Mary (Hertle) Ernst, also of this city. At the usual age he entered the public schools and eventually became a student in the West high school. He entered business life in the em- ploy of F. Hohlfelder, Jr., a public accountant, with whom he continued and rose to the position of chief clerk and a large stockholder in the Audit Company of Cleveland, which was organized in 1902. The following year he resigned and formed a partnership with his brother T. C. Ernst, under the firm style of Ernst & Ernst, which name continues to the present time. Almost from the beginning the firm was accorded a liberal patronage and after becoming well established in business in Cleveland they branched out, opening offices in the First National Bank building of Chicago in May, 1908, and in the Hanoyer Bank building of New York on the Ist of March, 1909. The business is departmental, having banking, telephone, factory, cost and other departments. Although this is a young firm, they have become very well known and occupy a position of high repute, being employed in some of the most important banking and manufactur- ing interests of the east and central west. They have been employed in Cleve- land in municipal traction affairs and by the largest industrial concerns of the city. In February, 1910, the firm were appointed auditors for the newly ap- pointed street railway commissioner of Cleveland. The appointment is an ex- ceedingly important one, as a constant independent audit must be kept of all street railway transactions. Ernst & Ernst constitute the most important firm of in- dividual telephone auditors in the United States and have been employed by the

A. C. ERNST

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United States government for national bank examinations. Many banks and trust companies are among their patrons and the plain recital of the facts concerning their business indicates its rapid growth and the superiority of the service fur- nished. The young firm stands today among the most prominent auditing com- panies in the United States and its progressive methods should soon make it the leading firm of strictly American public accountants in this country.

In 1903 was celebrated the marriage of Alwin C. Ernst and Miss Charlotta Elizabeth Fawcett, a daughter of James Fawcett, of Cleveland, and they have one child, Ruth Charlotta, born November 28, 1906. The parents hold mem- bership in the Pilgrim Congregational church and are interested in many lines of church and charitable work. Mr. Ernst is one of the fiscal trustees of the Young Women's Christian Association and was one of the incorporators of the Hiram Home settlement. In his political allegiance he is a republican, interested in the growth and success of the party, giving to the vital questions of the day that interest which every true American citizen should do. His activity in muni- cipal affairs has largely been directed through the channels of the Chamber of Commerce. He is appreciative of the social amenities of life, as is manifested in his membership in the Union, Tippecanoe and Cleveland Athletic Clubs, in which latter club he is serving on the house committee; he is also a member of the Toledo Club of Toledo, Ohio. His salient characteristics summed up show him to be a man of force in the department of business which he has chosen as his life work, as a citizen of progressive and public spirit, as a man mindful of his duties and obligations to his fellowmen, and yet one whose life finds much of joy and pleasure, while his own genial and courteous nature is such as sheds around him much of life's sunshine.

JOHN HENRY LIBBY.

John Henry Libby, who for more than two decades has now been actively identified with the industrial interests of Cleveland as a cement contractor, has built up an extensive and profitable business in concrete and cement work. He was born in Germany in 1853, his parents being Frederick and Louisa (Tea- man) Libby, who were likewise natives of that country. The father, whose birth occurred in 1825, came to the United States in 1857 and took up his abode at Warrensville, now Randall, Ohio, where he conducted a sawmill. He was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for he was called to his final rest in September, 1861. The demise of his wife occurred when their son John was only about two years old.

John Henry Libby, who was but four years of age when he accompanied his father on the voyage to the new world, obtained his education in the schools of South Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland. After putting aside his text-books he entered the employ of Jacob Wansor, a stove dealer of Cleveland, with whom he remained for about five years. On the expiration of that period he secured a position with Bingham & Phelps, a stove and hardware concern on Ontario street, continuing in their employ until the Ist of April, 1888. On that date he entered upon the line of activity with which he has since been continuously iden- tified, becoming associated with his father-in-law, A. Mathews, under the firm style of Mathews & Libby. This relation was maintained with mutual pleasure and profit until 1900, since which time Mr. Libby has remained the sole pro- prietor of the business, having purchased his partner's interest when the latter retired. His services as a cement contractor are now demanded in all sections of Ohio, as well as surrounding states, and the gratifying measure of success which has attended his labors in this connection is the merited reward of his un- tiring energy and capable management. He is likewise the president of the American Concrete Stone Company.

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As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Libby chose Miss Mary Alberta Mathews, a native of Canada. Their children are five in number, namely : Mrs. Eleanor Alberta Chandler, Mrs. Carrie Louisa Hoffman, Mrs. Grace Lucille Frey, Ruth and Bertine.

Politically Mr. Libby is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the republi- can party. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Builders Ex- change and the Cleveland Athletic Club and Dunedin Yacht Club. He has a wide and favorable acquaintance throughout the county which has been his home for more than a half century, and the prosperity which he now enjoys is due to his ambition to push to the front and to the faithful execution of all contracts in which he enters.

FRANK D. STEVENSON.

Frank D. Stevenson, one of the successful young contractors of Cleveland, has been identified with the construction of some of the important buildings here and has proven himself worthy of the confidence reposed in his ability. He was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, April 7, 1870, being a son of John and Eliza (Du- mars) Stevenson. The father was a very remarkable man, being six feet, seven and one-half inches in height. During the Civil war when the Confederates en- tered Pennsylvania with the resulting battle at Gettysburg, he served until there was no more fear of an invasion. The family is one well known in history for George Stevenson, the inventor of the first steam engine, was a brother of Frank D. Stevenson's great-grandfather. John Stevenson was a farmer all his life. His death occurred in 1897 when he was seventy years of age. His wife died in the same year, aged sixty-seven years.

The education of our subject was obtained in the common schools of Mercer county and at Grove City College, Pennsylvania. Leaving school in 1890, when only twenty years of age, he began learning the carpenter's trade and worked at it in Pittsburg for five years. In 1897 he removed to Texas, where he engaged in contracting, but as the climate did not agree with him, he located in Cleveland in 1900. In addition to other work, he built the Knickerbocker apartments on Eu- clid avenue; a large addition to the Winton auto factory and the Cleveland Baking Company's plant. His work is characterised by thoroughness and careful atten- tion to detail.

In 1890 Mr. Stevenson was married to Vinnie Reed, of Greenville, Pennsyl- vania, and they have three children : Harold S., Francis S. and Gertrude S. Mr. Stevenson's social affiliations are with the Country Auto Club. He is a man who has steadily risen through persistent efforts and painstaking attention to his work. His progress has been steady and his work is his best recommendation.

CHARLES E. MAURER.

Charles E. Maurer has given proof of ability both in professional and com- mercial lines, but, turning from the practice of law, he is now devoting his ener- gies to the management of extensive business interests as the president of the Glens Run Coal Company, and president of the St. Clair & Standard Pocahontas Coal Companies. He was born in Austintown, Mahoning county, Ohio, in 1864, and supplemented his common-school education by an academic course pursued in Canfield, Ohio. He engaged in teaching in the district and high schools for several years but thinking to find other professional pursuits more profitable and more congenial, he took up the study of law with W. S. Anderson in Youngs- town, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1889 .. He then practiced in Youngs-

F. D. STEVENSON

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town for about eleven years, or until 1900, under the firm name of Maurer & Campbell. During that period Mr. Maurer was recognized as one of the local political leaders, although he did not court office nor did he ever hold a position of political preferment. At length he abandoned professional interests to en- gage in commercial activities and in 1900, removed to Cleveland, where he with others organized the Glens Run Coal Company, capitalized for five hundred thous- and dollars. Of this he has since been president and the chief executive head. He is also the president of the St. Clair and Standard Pocahontas Coal Companies. These coal properties are very important and the mines have an annual output of one and a half million tons. The business interests of the companies are thoroughly organized with a view to minimizing time and labor, and the pro- gressive business policy that has been instituted is the source of a legitimate and gratifying success.

In 1893 Mr. Maurer was married to Miss Mary Young, of Poland, Ohio, and they have two children : Edgar, fifteen years of age, a high-school student; and Isabelle, eight years of age. In 1905, thinking it better for his children's health, that they might enjoy the advantages of country life, Mr. Maurer re- moved with his family to Ravenna, Ohio, but his business interests still center in Cleveland. He is a member of the Cleveland Coal Club, the Cleveland Ath- letic Club and the Chamber of Commerce. In his business connections, he has gained more than local distinction, and is recognized as one who has worked un- selfishly toward the improvement and betterment of the coal industry in this state.

FRANK BILLMAN.

Frank Billman, an attorney, whose specialty is corporation and commercial law, although the extent and variety of his legal business would class him as a general practitioner, was born at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, March 31, 1868. His father, Alexander G. Billman, was a pioneer of Summit county, Ohio, and a man of large real-estate interests near Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 83

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