A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 93

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 93

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

J. ARTHUR HOUSE.

J. Arthur House, a man of prominence, well known in financial circles, needs no introduction to the readers of this volume, for as secretary of the Guardian Savings & Trust Company he is recognized as a leading factor in financial cir- cles. Moreover, he has always maintained his home in this locality, his birth having occurred in East Cleveland, October 20, 1871. He comes of one of the worthy pioneer families of the Western Reserve, his ancestors removing from Connecticut to this state at an epoch when the seeds of civilization were just being planted in Ohio. His father, James W. House, was born at Euclid Creek, now old Euclid, and after attaining his majority carried on a large and extensive gardening business at East Cleveland until 1880, since which time he has fig- ured in industrial circles in Cleveland as a successful contractor. In the opening year of the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union and served as a mem- ber of the First Ohio Artillery until the close of hostilities, when he was mus- tered out with the rank of sergeant. He wedded Clara M. Neal, whose people came from Vermont to Ohio in pioneer times. Her death occurred here about five years ago-on the 10th of January, 1905. J. Arthur House was the third in order of birth in a family of eight children, of whom six are yet living, one child having died in infancy, while a sister, Myrtle Plum, passed away in 1903. Those who still survive are: Wesley J., a contractor of Cleveland; Ruel R., of Kansas; J. Arthur, of this review; George G., of this city; Clara, the wife of Harry Randall, of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company, and Hazel M., at home.

J. Arthur House spent his boyhood in his parents' home and at the usual age was sent to the public schools, wherein he continued his studies until he left the high school at the age of sixteen years to become a factor in business life, en- tering the employ of the Nickel Plate Railroad Company as office boy in the office of the commercial freight agent. Later he was transferred to the general office, where he remained for four years. In 1890 he secured a situation with

940

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

the firm of Pickands, Mather & Company, with which he continued for one year, while subsequently he served for about three years as bookkeeper with the Republic Iron Company. Upon its organization he entered the employ of the Guardian Savings & Trust Company, December 10, 1894, and has occupied various intermediate positions until he reached his present place of responsi- bility. In 1900 he was elected assistant treasurer, serving as such for two years, when he was elected assistant secretary and thus continued for four years or until February, 1906, when he was elected secretary and has so continued to the present time. His connection with the institution covers sixteen years and, with the exception of Charles L. Mosher, he is the only representative that has remained with the company throughout its entire existence. His promotions have come to him in recognition of his capability, trustworthiness and unfalter- ing industry, qualities which will always win advancement and success. He is also interested in various other enterprises in Cleveland and to some extent has invested in real estate in this city, his property holdings including his own home at No. 11409 Glenwood avenue, which he erected in 1904.

On the 14th of June, 1899, in Cleveland, Mr. House was married to Miss Maud M. Mills, a daughter of Francis C. Mills, of Cleveland. They now have two children : Helen Elizabeth, seven years of age; and James Arthur, a little lad of two and a half years. Mr. House is a lover of outdoor sports, particu- larly enjoying baseball and tennis and these constitute his chief source of recrea- tion. He is the treasurer of the board of trustees of the Deaconess Home of the Methodist church and is chairman of the finance committee of the Euclid Avenue Methodist Episcopal church. His interest in church work is manifest in his cooperation therein, his labors constituting an element in that steady growth which has characterized the church work here for many years. Many movements relative to municipal progress also elicit his attention and coopera- tion. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, to Woodward Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and to the Union Club and his associates find him a most courteous. genial gentleman, whose friendship they prize because he stands for all that is commendable and progressive in public life and in individual interests.

HENRY H. CAMPBELL.

Henry H. Campbell, who in the line of invention has given to the world sev- eral valuable devices and in the conduct of business affairs has displayed an aptitude for successful management, is now well known as a prosperous repre- sentative of industrial interests in Cleveland. He was born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1850, and after attending the common schools began at the age of seventeen years to serve a three years' apprenticeship to the machinist's trade, which he completed in 1870. Having thus qualified for busi- ness life, he went to Nashville, Tennessee, and secured work at his trade, remain- ing in that city for two years. Believing that Cleveland offered better oppor- tunities for a young man in his line of business, he came to this city in 1872 and has here remained continuously since, making his mark, as the years have gone by, on the industrial development of the city. His first work here was with the old Cuyahoga Furnace in their machine shops and while thus employed he installed the engine on the Amazon, at that time the largest boat as well as the first twin screw propeller on the lakes. He severed his connection with the Cuyahoga Furnace in the spring of 1873 and became associated with the Cleve- land Paper Company, his ability and enterprise there winning him recognition in various promotions until he eventually became president. His first work, however, was the development of machinery for the manufacture of paper boxes. He perfected machines for that purpose that are used in several factories at the present time. The company was also engaged extensively in the manufacture

941

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

of paper, having four mills in Cleveland and vicinity, of which Mr. Campbell was master machinist and had in charge their construction. One of the mills was a water power plant. To economize on the development of steam power Mr. Campbell and J. W. Brightman began experiments resutling in the con- struction of a stoaker, which they patented, known as the Brightman stoaker. It was brought out about 1884 and they were pioneers in that business. In the meantime Mr. Campbell had become a stockholder in the company and in 1886 was elected a director, so that from that time forward he had active voice in the management and control of the enterprise. In 1898 he became its president and so continued until its consolidation with the Cleveland-Akron Bag Company. After the consolidation Mr. Campbell remained with the enterprise as a director but gave his attention actively to the stoaker business, which is now owned and controlled by him and his two sons, Henry and Thomas. Their product is used in all countries where steam is generated, meeting a long felt want in the mechanical world and the value of the device is proven by the fact of its uni- versal adoption. In April, 1908, Mr. Campbell became actively identified again with the Cleveland-Akron Bag Company as its treasurer and still continues in that capacity. He is also a director in the Cleveland & Akron Paper Company and since 1901 has been president of the Julier Baking Company. The field of his activities and usefulness has been a constantly broadening one and, long since leaving the ranks of the many who are in the employ of others, he stands today among the more successful few, his abilities having enabled him to become an employer with large and important interests in his control.

Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Anna M. Krause, of Cleveland, and they have two sons, Henry Harrison and Thomas M., both of whom are graduates of the Central high school and are associated with their father in the stoaker busi- ness, which they now manage and operate. Mr. Campbell is prominent in Masonry, belonging to Iris Lodge. A. F. & A. M .; Webb Chapter, R. A. M .; Holyrood Commandery, K. T .; the Scottish Rite Consistory, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree; and Al Koran Temple of the Mystic Shrine. In a review of his life it will be found that his success is due at least in part to the fact that he has always continued in the line of business in which he em- barked as a young tradesman. His growing powers resulting from experience and study, coupled with his laudable ambition, secured his advance until he came to rank with the well known representatives of manufacturing and industrial interests in Cleveland. There has been no esoteric phase in his career nor any secret method for the achievement of success. On the contrary he has advanced in the legitimate lines of trade and that he has gone beyond others who perhaps started out on life's journey more advantageously equipped is due to the fact that he has wisely and conscientiously utilized the opportunities and the talents with which nature endowed him.

SAMUEL W. WHITMORE.

Samuel W. Whitmore, president of the Whitmore Manufacturing Company. whose inventions have been a notable contribution to mechanics, is now gathering the harvest of his labors in the substantial success which is attending the man- agement of the manufacturing concern which bears his name. He was born at Orange, New Jersey, a son of Samuel McCrady and Levina A. (Cappus) Whit- more, both of whom were of English birth. The father came to America forty- five years ago and died at the age of sixty-nine years. The mother resides with her son Samuel in Cleveland at the age of seventy-one years.

The son pursued his early education in the public schools of Geneva, New York, continuing his studies to the age of nineteen, when he felt that he should take his place in the business world and entered a retail drug store, where he was

942

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

employed for five years. On the expiration of that period he became a resident of Painesville, Ohio, and an employe of W. F. Smith. He afterward came to Cleveland and entered the wholesale drug house of Keeler & Smith on South Water street, as assistant in the laboratory. Later he went upon the road as traveling salesman, spending a year and a half in that way, after which he be- came connected with the Cleveland Refining Company, for which he traveled for four years. He was next associated financially with the old Eagle Refining Company, of Lima, Ohio, from 1886 until 1892, and since that time has given his attention largely to invention and the management of the productive industry carried on under the name of the Whitmore Manufacturing Company, his thor- ough understanding of mechanical devices and the scientific principles underlying them and his recognition of certain needs in the business world has led to ex- perimentation on his part resulting in the production of Whitmore's Improved Belt Dressing, Whitmore's Gear Protective Composition, Chain Composition, Anti Friction Composition, and Journal Composition. The company of which he is the president is now engaged in the manufacture of these preparations which are finding a ready sale on the market as much needed elements in me- chanical lines. He was for sixteen years the president of the Plomo Specialty Manufacturing Company and was the inventor of the Plomo specialty.

In 1888 Mr. Whitmore was married to Miss Ethlinda Stuckenholt, a daugh- ter of Henry Stuckenholt, who was engaged in the cooperage business and made barrels for the Standard Oil Company. Her parents are now deceased. Mr. Whitmore is an adept with horses and also with the motor car and in driving both finds his chief source of pleasure and recreation. He is a veteran member of Iris Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Cleveland Chapter, R. A. M .; Holyrood Comman- dery of this city; and the Mystic Shrine. His allegiance to the teachings of the craft makes him one of its exemplary representatives. He is a member of the Episcopal church and his political faith is that of the republican party. He has made steady and substantial progress in the business world since he entered commercial circles as a drug clerk, gaining in that position the nucleus of the knowledge which, increasing with laboratory and experimental work, has resulted in valuable contributions to manufacturing circles.

CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON.

Few, if any, men of his time were better known in the Forest city than Cap- tain Thomas Wilson. He was not only one of Cleveland's foremost citizens but a man who for more than a third of a century had been prominently identified with the growth and development of the shipping interests of the Great Lakes. He was the founder and managing owner of Wilson's Transit Line, and at the time of his death was the president of the Wilson Transit Company.

Captain Wilson was born in Fifeshire, Scotland, on the 3d of October, 1838. His father, Thomas Wilson, Sr., and his grandfather were sea captains, as also were the father and grandfathers of his mother. The Captain himself was thus a

natural born sailor and fond of the sea from his earliest youth. When he was three years of age his father was appointed a customs house officer at Gwedore, Donegal county, in the north of Ireland. Thither he removed with his family and there they lived for several years, enjoying the confidence and high respect of the community and of the government. Young Wilson had few educational advantages, attending only such schools as were accessible to him in Gwedore and vicinity, which were not of the highest type. Being, however, thoughtful and ambitious, he became somewhat proficient in the common branches of an English education, sufficiently so as to qualify himself for any business enter- prise upon which he might embark. Trained as he was in a home of high mor- ality and Godliness, he grew up to be a conscientious, manly boy, scorning any-

THOMAS WILSON

945

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

thing low and mean. When yet in his teens his father with his family removed to America. On their arrival at New York, Thomas Wilson immediately "shipped before the mast" and spent three years in ocean sailing, visiting nu- merous distant ports and becoming thoroughly conversant with seafaring life. By ready acquaintance with the duties of the sailor, prompt obedience to his commanding officer and strict attention to all details of his service, he rapidly rose from ship boy to mate and then to master. At the end of those three years of ocean life he began service on the lakes, was first mate, then captain on one lake steamer after another, being always sought for responsible posi- tions and always implicitly trusted with property and life. For about twenty- five years his home was on the lakes, he commanding the finest steamers on that great Transit Line. His employers as well as the public recognized him as one of the most careful captains and he became exceedingly popular with vessel owners and with the traveling public.

Captain Wilson, however, began to grow tired of the sea and, having pros- pered in business, in 1872 he built a boat of his own. This was a fine freight steamer and was named D. M. Wilson, after the beloved boy then just born to him. The D. M. Wilson proved a good venture and the Captain grew ambitious to become more extensively a vessel owner. He therefore soon built another steamer, the Hiawatha, and her consort, the Minnehaha. Not long afterward he built the Tacoma, later Wallula and Kesota and in 1886 built the George Spencer, each of these being large, fine steamers and peculiarly adapted for the lake service. With increasing demand for lake carriers other vessels were con- structed from time to time. The last boat he built was the Henry M. Oliver, one of the modern vessels of her day. The Wilson fleet at that time comprised, among other and well known steamers, the Andrew Carnegie, W. D. Rees, Yuma, Sitka, Wallula, C. Tower, Jr., and the Volunteer ; also the schooners D. Z. Nor- ton and Yukon.

Captain Wilson, was, as well, a man of extensive and diversified interests and prominently identified with financial affairs of Cleveland. He was presi- dent of the Central National Bank, chairman of the board of trustees of the old Music Hall Association, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association and a valued member of the Chamber of Commerce. In all business transactions and social relations he was regarded as the soul of honor. No suspicion of lack of honesty or integrity has ever been cast upon him; nor has ever a doubt been uttered regarding loyalty to his convictions. His word by all was con- sidered as good as his bond. On all matters, political and religious, public or private, he expressed his opinions, if called upon, graciously and fearlessly. He was void of all temporizing, of time-serving plans. He believed in calling everything by its right name and abhorred all compromise of principle for the sake of policy. The sturdy old Scotch characteristics of frankness and fearless- ness in him predominated. No man on leaving him was at a loss to know what he thought of the case in hand or how he would deal with matters up for discussion. Captain Wilson had an enviable reputation for honorable success in business and for unfaltering devotion to principle. His friends were numerous among all classes of citizens, he having won his friendship among the rich by the sterling qualities of his character and among the poor by his abounding charities. Being a member of the Masonic fraternity, he was a firm believer in the general freemasonry of man to man. Yet in all of his benefactions he was exceedingly unostentatious. His plan was to place a liberal sum in the hands of his pastor at Thanksgiving or Christmas time for the purchase of delicacies for distribution among the poor of his church, strictly enjoining his pastor that his name should not be associated with the gift. Captain Wilson had connection with several organizations of Cleveland and was a liberal supporter of the same, especially of the Seamen's Floating Bethel, of which he was president. He was identified with all local enterprises, especially with the temperance cause, in which he always had a deep interest and for which he gave liberally. Captain

946

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

Wilson was long an honored member and officer of the Euclid Avenue Congre- gational church and one of its most liberal supporters. No secular business, if it could be avoided or delayed, was ever allowed to interfere with his obliga- tions to the church or his attendance upon its meetings, either on week evenings or on the Sabbath. With all the pressure of care and labor upon him, he gave first place to his religious duties and looked on life's service as preparatory to the life hereafter.

In September, 1870, Captain Wilson was married to Mrs. Cannon, a daugh- ter of the Hon. David Morris, of Cleveland, and to them were born one son and two daughters. The son, D. M., died in January, 1886, at the age of thirteen years. The daughters are Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Stearns. The death of Cap- tain Wilson occurred March 22, 1900, in Jerusalem, while he was making a tour of the Holy Land with his wife and daughter Mabel. His remains were brought back to Cleveland for interment in Lake View cemetery, and thus was closed the life history of a prominent and honored Cleveland citizen, but his influence has not ceased to be felt by reason of the impetus which he gave to shipping interests and the active part which he took in humanitarian and benevolent work.

WALTER S. DOAN.

Walter S. Doan, who since 1905 has engaged in the real-estate business, han- dling only his own property, was born in Cleveland, August 29, 1860, a son of Norton Doan. His early education was acquired in the Cleveland public schools and was supplemented by study in the old Shaw Academy, now the Shaw high school He left school when about eighteen years of age and, turning his atten- tion to farming, devoted the succeeding ten years to the cultivation of crops. On the expiration of that decade he accepted a position as office man with the Goff Kirby Coal Company, with which he remained for about seven years. This concern disposed of its Windemere branch, with which Mr. Doan was con- nected, to the firm of Burton, Beidler & Phillips, and he remained three years in the employ of the latter firm. His efforts constituted an element in the suc- cessful management of the enterprise, with which he was associated until 1905, when he withdrew and turned his attention to the real-estate business, handling his own property exclusively. He owns considerable desirable realty and is thoroughly familiar with realty values in his section of the city, where his oper- ations have been confined.

On the 11th of October, 1893, occurred the marriage of Mr. Doan and Miss Ella Prentiss, who was born in Akron, Ohio, October 28, 1862, and is a daughter of Zacharia Prentiss. Their only child, Doris, was born February 14, 1895. They reside at No. 13649 Euclid avenue, in one of the more recently developed and most beautiful residence sections of the city.

JAMES CLYDE HEINTZ.

James Clyde Heintz, secretary and treasurer of the Cleveland Fireproof Con- struction Company, is a typical representative of the young business man who, alive to the opportunities of the present, is making steady advance in his chosen field of labor. He was born in Canton, Ohio, May 5, 1887, and has been a resi- dent of Cleveland since 1895, coming to this city with his parents, Michael and Bertha (Gibson) Heintz, the latter formerly a resident of Waynesburg, Ohio. The father is still engaged in the building and construction business here, in which connection he has contributed in substantial measure to the improvement and adornment of the city.

--- ------

-------

949

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

A youth of eight years when he came to Cleveland, J. Clyde Heintz entered the public schools, continuing his studies in the East high school of Cleveland and later the Woodward high school of Cincinnati, Ohio. He then started in business with the Cleveland Fireproof Construction Company, of which his father is man- ager. His position is that of secretary and treasurer and he resides with his par- ents at the Vera apartments on Cedar street. He is a young man of twenty-two years, with a bright future before him, for he is possessed of laudable ambition and earnest purpose. He has already given substantial proof of his business abil- ity, which will increase as experience carries him forward, bringing him a broader outlook and wider opportunities.

CHARLES H. PATTON.

Charles H. Patton, manager of the Cleveland Inspection Bureau, is an. im- portant figure in insurance circles and is well known in his profession. He was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1873, a son of John Wells and Sophia M. (Snyder) Patton. His maternal grandparents were Jacob and Catherine (Musser) Snyder, who were pioneers of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, having come to that locality from Philadelphia, where they had located on their arrival in the United States. They were from Scotland and crossed the Atlantic in the early part of the eighteenth century. Mr. Patton is descended from good old Revolutionary stock, among his ancestors being First Lieutenant James Wells of the Fourth Continental Artillery, who served from the 20th of April, 1777, to the Ist of March, 1778, and took part in the battles of Brandywine, German- town and Bound Brook. Another ancestor, Captain Richard Brown, also fought for the independence of the colonies and was taken prisoner at Long Island, August 27, 1776. One of our subject's great-grandfathers in the paternal line was John Wells, who was commissioned by the government to survey western Pennsylvania about 1783. His grandfather, John Patton, founded the "Patriot" at Somerset, Pennsylvania, in 1812, and this newspaper is still in existence, although now published under the name of the "Herald." It was sold by its founder in 1830 to Edward Scull, and for a great many years was known as the Somerset Whig, being devoted to the support of the principles of the party from which it took its name. John W. Patton, father of Charles H. Patton, was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania, in 1828, and died in 1891. For years he was one of the leading merchants of his native city and later became passenger agent for the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in which capacity he continued until his death.

Charles H. Patton, following the completion of a course in the Somerset high school, enjoyed the further advantage of two years' tutoring in Phila- delphia. It was his intention to fit himself for the legal profession but he was compelled to give up his studies on account of weak eyes and for two years he traveled, acting as secretary for a relative, Mrs. H. E. Monroe, who had large business interests. In 1893 Mr. Patton accepted a position with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company at Chillicothe, Ohio, and in 1894 went to Columbus, this state, as secretary to the general freight agent of the Norfolk & Western Railroad. He resigned that position the same year, however, in order to join J. W. Cochram in organizing the Ohio Insurance Rating Bureau. This business relation was maintained until 1899, when Mr. Patton came to Cleveland to es- tablish a branch department of the same institution. From the first, success attended the new venture and, encouraged at what he had accomplished, Mr. Patton in 1902 organized his present independent enterprise-the Cleveland In- spection Bureau, which is regarded by the insurance world as one of the larg- est and most reliably established concerns of its kind in the country. Mr. Patton

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume III, Part 93

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