A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut, Part 11

Author: Avery, Elroy McKendree, 1844-1935; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, New York The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 904

USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut > Part 11

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Before coming to Cleveland Mr. Brockett had a long and thorough experience and train- ing as a student and lawyer at Washington, D. C. He was born at Baltimore, Maryland, July 28, 1877, a son of Benjamin F. and Car- oline (Hunter) Brockett. His father was born at Carmi, Illinois, and his mother in Louisville, Kentucky. They were married at Shawneetown, Illinois, in 1868. Benjamin F. Brockett is also a lawyer by profession, having been admitted to the Illinois bar and having practiced at Shawneetown before he removed to Washington, D. C., where for many years he has been in the Government service, a member of the office force of the auditor of the War Department. When a youth he served in an Illinois regiment during the Civil war. He and his wife are still living and for thirty-eight years have had their home at Chevy Chase, Maryland, a suburb of Wash- ington. Their five children, two sons and three daughters, are all living, but Bluford W. is the only member of the family in Ohio.

Mr. Brockett acquired his early education in the public schools of Washington and at the age of nineteen, in 1896, he entered the office of Whitaker & Prevost, patent attorneys at Washington. He was with that firm until 1901 and while there carried on his studies in Columbian University, now the George Washington University. This institution gave him the following degrees: LL. B. in 1899; LL. M. in 1900; and Master of Patent Laws in 1901. Mr. Brockett was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia in 1900, and for a few months continued his work with the firm of Whitaker & Prevost.

On removing to Cleveland in 1901, Mr. Brockett was connected with the firm of pat- ent attorneys Thurston & Bates from May, 1901, to December, 1904. About the latter date he engaged in practice as a patent law-

CLEVELAND AND ITS ENVIRONS

yer on his own account in the Arcade, where he has been located ever since. From 1907 to 1909 he was a partner with Arthur F. Kwis under the name Brockett & Kwis. From 1909 to May, 1916, he was again alone in practice and in May, 1916, formed his pres- ent partnership with Elbert L. Hyde, under the name Brockett & Hyde.

Mr. Brockett was admitted to practice in the United States courts at the same time as his admission to the bar in the District of Columbia, and on removing to Cleveland he was admitted to the Federal courts. He is regarded as an expert in all branches of patent law and has had practically twenty years of active experience in that field. Mr. Brockett is a member of the Cleveland Athletic Club, the Cleveland Automobile Club and the Eu- clid Avenue Presbyterian Church.

April 10, 1907, he married Frances Jea- nette Miller, of Washington, where Mrs. Brockett was born and educated. She is a graduate of the public schools of Washing- ton, and in Cleveland has become active in church and charity work and is a member of the Hospital Club. of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Brockett reside at 2824 Corydon Road.

FRANK CLARK CAIN has long been a well known figure in grain circles at Cleveland and is partner and an active factor in the grain and feed business conducted under the name E. I. Bailey, with offices in The Arcade. ·

In a public way Mr. Cain has come into spe- cial prominence because of his valued services as mayor of Cleveland Heights. He became mayor of that village in 1914, and not because he desired especially the official honor but for the opportunity it gave him to serve the pub- lic welfare. At the urging of the best citizens and leading civic organizations of the village, he became a candidate for reelection in the fall of 1915, and again consented to be a can- didate in 1917 on account of the almost unani- mous demand. He received a vote which was little less than a unanimous endorsement of the splendid work he had done in the preced- ing four years. Even so, Mr. Cain would hardly qualify for mention among the leading men in politics either in his village or in Cuya- hoga County. His spirit and attitude through- out has been that of a man conscientiously de- voted to the central purpose of the general public welfare, without regard to his personal reputation or any subsequent honors which might come from his present incumbency. From 1910 to 1914 Mr. Cain was a member of

the village council, and from that was pro- moted to the office of mayor.

In 1914, when he took the office of mayor, Cleveland Heights had a population of 3,000. The population today is 11,000, and that means that a tremendous amount of develop- ment has been necessary in the municipal facilities to keep pace with this growing pop- ulation. The chief credit for all this has been assigned to Mayor Cain. He is personally fearless, does what he thinks is best for all the people, and his term of office has been charac- terized by a steadfast devotion to the principle of general rather than particular welfare. The right kind of paving has been used, the right kind of improvements have been made, and improvements have been planned and carried out for the benefit of all and not some few. The tone and spirit of his official administra- tion was well described by a resident of the vil- lage: "Mr. Cain has made a real mayor of the Heights and the voters of the village real- ize it. He has made his presence felt in the village and has done much for its advance- ment. You will never find him unreasonable but always ready and willing to hear argu- ments for or against improvements or for other matters pertaining to the municipality. His watchword is advancement. He is never look- ing backward, and for those reasons he is just the kind of mayor we want in Cleveland Heights." During the very first year of his administration Mr. Cain introduced the ele- ment of efficiency into every department of the village government. His appointments brought men of thorough qualifications to the law department, the tax department, he gave the Heights a real police department, improved local transportation facilities, gave a new em- phasis to the matter of street and road repair and improvement, and in addition to one or two definite improvements, such as removing the obstacle of accessibility to the village in the road over Cedar Glen Hill, he set the forces of the village government to work upon a gen- eral plan of park and street development. Throughout his first and only thought has been for the benefit of Cleveland Heights, and with that aim in view and with a council operating in unison with him, everything has moved along in perfect harmony and with results that completely justify Mr. Cain's reelection for the second and the third term.

Mayor Cain was born at Springfield, Ohio, May 6, 1877, a son of Edward A. and Alice F. (Rogers) Cain. His parents are now living retired at Cleveland. The old home of the

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CLEVELAND AND ITS ENVIRONS

Cains was at Dayton, where the family settled in pioneer times, coming overland from New Jersey in wagons. Mayor Cain's father's grandmother lived in the second house built in Dayton, and was a member of one of the first families to settle there. The Rogers were early settlers of Springfield, Ohio, and Grand- father Rogers for many years was the leading shoe merchant in the city. His name was James Rogers. The paternal grandfather of Mayor Cain was John Clark Cain, who lived at Dayton and was proprietor of a wholesale dry goods business in that city. This whole- sale business was conducted in a day when goods were distributed to the retail merchants over the country in wagons. Edward A. Cain when fourteen years of age went to Cincinnati. for the purpose of enlisting as a soldier in the Civil war. It was not his fault that he did not become a soldier and take part in that great struggle for freedom. He had gone to Cincin- nati without his parents' permission, and the authorities would not gratify his ardent desire to shoulder arms. Mayor Cain is a republican in the expression of his political views, but inheritance probably has no part in his choice of party affiliations, since his father was an ardent democrat and his grandfather Rogers a republican. The grandparents on both sides were very active Methodists, and did much to support and build up the church in their lo- calities.

Frank C. Cain was third in a family of nine children. Seven of them grew up, and one died at the age of twenty-one and the other at twenty-four. Three daughters and two sons are still living: Mrs. George N. Clark, of Cleveland Heights; Frank C .; Grace B., of Cleveland ; Allen Brooks Cain, who is con- nected with the Indiana Harbor Belt Railway and lives at Chicago; and Mrs. Charles P. Da- vis, of Springfield, Ohio.

Frank C. Cain received his early educational advantages in Springfield. As a boy he was working for a mercantile agency, and also studied law for a short time. He has been a resident of Cleveland since 1895. In this city he was with Corrigan & Mckinney a short time and for eight years was with the Goff- Kirby Coal Company, beginning as a clerk and attaining some of the important responsibili- ties of the business before he left.

Since then Mr. Cain has been a partner and an active associate of E. I. Bailey in the grain and feed business. While he is a silent part- ner so far as the title of the business is con-

cerned, lie handles a large share of the respon- sibilities. The firm are members of the Cleve- land Chamber of Commerce, Grain Dealers National Association, Ohio Shippers Associa- tion, and Ohio Feed Dealers Association.

Mr. Cain is interested in Cleveland Heights real estate and in 1916 he built the Forest Hill Block, comprising twelve stores and a garage on Mayfield Road between Superior and Ridge- field streets, the stores all having living apart- ments above. Mr. Cain is a charter member of Heights Lodge No. 623, Free and Accepted Masons, a charter member of Heights Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons, and has been first and foremost in the civic activities carried on by the Cleveland Heights Civic Club. He is fond of outdoor life and is one of the best tennis players in the city. He is identified with the Cleveland Heights Tennis Club, and won the club championship, represented by a gold medal, in 1912, and in 1916 was again the club champion, and has a cup as a trophy of that achievement.

In the opinion of his friends and contempo- raries Mr. Cain is one of the successful men of Cleveland. He personally disclaims any particular credit or reason for any success he has won, but such as it is he finds its main- spring and source largely in the splendid woman whom he married eighteen years ago and who lias literally been associated with him in practically every interest and experience since that date. Mr. Cain and Alma D. Lam- bert were married August 1, 1900, and they have lived continuously at Cleveland Heights since the day of their marriage. Mrs. Cain was born and educated in Cuyahoga County. From early girlhood slie has been a reader and student, and in each succeeding year has added something to her activities and attainments in practical living, home making, and those cul- tural interests which are the adornment of community life. Her home, her husband, her children, have always been first in her thought and plans, but with all the cares and respon- sibilities of real home making she has kept her mind fresh and her spirit alive and has joined with zest in several of the best known women's organizations. She is a member of the Wom- an's Civic Club, The Cleveland Literary Guild, the Cleveland Federation of Women's Clubs, and the Cleveland Red Cross. Mr. and Mrs. Cain reside at 1769 Radnor Road. Their three children were all born at Cleveland IIeights and their names and respective ages are : Dor- othy Alice, sixteen ; Donald Lambert, eleven ;

CLEVELAND AND ITS ENVIRONS

and Lucile Hayward, six. Dorothy is now be- ginning her senior year in the Cleveland Heights High School.

THOMAS H. GARRY has been a member of the Ohio bar since 1895, and has practiced in Cleveland for the past twenty years. As member of the firm Goulder, White & Garry, he is doing his part in handling the practice of a firm which has long been regarded as one of the strongest in the State of Ohio. His senior partners are Harvey D. Goulder, loug pre-eminent in admiralty law, and Wil- liam W. White.

Mr. Garry was born at Stratford, Ontario, March 18, 1868, son of Albert J. and Mar- garet A. Garry. His father was of English stock and his mother of Irish extraction. His parents are now living retired at Leeds, North Dakota. Thomas H. Garry graduated in 1893 from the University of Wisconsin, and in 1895 was admitted to the Ohio bar. For about a year he practiced at Warren, Ohio, and came to Cleveland in 1897. He was assistant United States attorney for the Northern Dis- trict of Ohio from 1904 to 1910. Since leav- ing that office he has been a member of the firm of Goulder, White & Garry.

Mr. Garry is a republican, a member of the American, Ohio State and Cleveland Bar associations, and is active in the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and the University and Athletic clubs of Cleveland. His church is the First Methodist at Cleveland. Mr. Garry married Jessie G. Graham, daughter of Thompson and Phoebe Graham. They have one daughter, Margaret Garry.

JAMES ALVAH CURTIS, member of the Cleve- land bar since 1899, is one of the very suc- cessful lawyers of the city and has also ac- quired a number of influential business con- nections.

Mr. Curtis has spent practically all his life in Cuyahoga County. He was born on his father's farm at Warrensville September 16, 1875. His parents are Henry and Helen (Tuthill) Curtis and he is their only child. His paternal grandparents came to Ohio from England, while the maternal ancestry is of New England and Massachusetts stock. Henry Curtis was born at Newburg, Ohio, and his wife, who died in 1913, at the age of sixty- eight, was a native of Warrensville. Henry Curtis was one of the young men who volun- teered at the time of the Civil war to defend

the Union. He was a member of the First Ohio Light Artillery, Battery D, enlisting for three years and seeing active service for about nineteen months. His career since the war has been identified with farmiug in the vi- cinity of Warrensville, and while now retired from active work and spending his winters with his son in Cleveland, he needs only the invitation of spring to call him back to the farm, where he finds pleasant activities to engage him throughout the summer. He has never been content to follow a life of idle- ness, and at the age of sixty-nine is growing old gracefully.

Since James A. Curtis was six years of age his parents spent their winters in Cleveland and the summers on the farm at Warrensville, which is just ten miles from the public square in Cleveland. James A. Curtis, there- fore, had the advantages of the city schools and from them he entered the Western Re- serve University Law School, where he was graduated LL. B. with the class of 1899. Mr. Curtis was admitted to the Ohio bar in Octo- ber, 1899, and on November first of the same year opened an office for practice in the Cuy- ahoga Building. He subsequently was asso- ciated in practice with the late Mayor MeKis- son and the late Judge J. P. Dawley. In the spring of 1901 he and Mayor McKisson formed a law partnership under the name Me- Kisson and Curtis. This continued five years, their offices being in the Williamson Build- ing. Since then Mr. Curtis has practiced alone and has found his time and talents en- gaged in a constantly increasing general prac- tice and in looking after varied business inter- ests. His offices now are in the Schofield Building. Mr. Curtis is a director in The Morland Company of Cleveland, is secretary and treasurer of The Northern Kentucky Coal Mining Company; secretary and treasurer of The Cleveland-Birmingham Ore Company, director of The Standard Equipment Com- pany of Cleveland, director of The Kentucky- Henderson Coal Company.

In politics he is a republican. For three months he was assistant prosecuting attorney of Cuyahoga County under T. J. Ross, who was appointed to fill out an unexpired term of that length as prosecutor and appointed Mr. Curtis as his assistant. Fraternally Mr. Curtis gives his chief affiliation to Masonry. He is a member of Euclid Lodge No. 599, Free and Accepted Masons ; Mckinley Chapter No. 181, Royal Arch Masons; Coeur de Lion

CLEVELAND AND ITS ENVIRONS

Commandery No. 64, Knights Templar; Lake Erie Consistory of the Scottish Rite and Al Koran Temple of the Mystic Shrine.

In February, 1908, he married Miss Eliza- beth L. Scanlon, of Cleveland. Mrs. Curtis was born and educated in Cleveland, being a graduate of the Central High School. She is a member of the Woman's City Club. They have one son, Edward James, born in Cleve- land.

JUDGE JOHN CORYDON HUTCHINS is one of the oldest active members of the Cleveland bar, having been in practice in this city al- most continuously since 1868, nearly half a century ago. He still appears almost daily in his offices in the Williamson Building, and with all the success that has come to him as a lawyer he has never sought the life of ease and dignity which his position would justify.

Judge Hutchins' family goes back to a very early period in the history of the Western Reserve. His grandfather, Samuel Hutchins, grew up in the home of Uriel Holmes, who was one of the original owners in Vienna Township, Trumbull County. It is said that Mr. Holmes came out to the Western Reserve with a party in 1798 and Samuel Hutchins, who came out with him, assisted in surveying the township and for his services was given 100 acres of land. He chose what is now known as "Payne's Corners," and this farm was probably the first to which any man had a deed in Vienna. In January, 1803, he mar- ried Freelove Flower. Their children were: Solomon, Amoretta, Mary, John, Serena, Lu- cia and Betsey.

Hon. John Hutchins, father of John C., was born in 1812. As a young man he moved from Vienna to Warren, where he studied law with Governor Tod. Subsequently he practiced as a member of the firm of Tod, Hoffman & Hutchins. He attained high rank as a lawyer in the old Western Reserve, and was one of the distinguished citizens of the state. He served several terms in the Legis- lature, was clerk of the Trumbull County Court five years, and in 1858 he succeeded R. Giddings in Congress, serving two terms, be- ing a member of Congress at the outbreak of the Civil war. After 1868 he made his home in Cleveland.

John Corydon Hutchins was born at War- ren, Ohio, May 8, 1840. His mother's maiden name was Rhoda M. Andrews. He attended the public schools, subsequently Oberlin Col- lege, and at the age of twenty-one in the

summer of 1861, enlisted in the Second Ohio Cavalry. His service with that regiment con- tinned for 212 years, and he rose from the ranks to the grades of second and first lieu- tenant and subsequently was connected with the pay department at Washington. As a result of an accident he resigned his commis- sion in 1863, later began the study of law in his father's office at Warren, and in 1865 en- tered the Albany Law School, where he was graduated in the following year. He was admitted to the New York Court of Appeals, and on returning to Ohio was admitted to the bar at Canfield and began practice at Youngs- town, as partner of General Sanderson.

On locating at Cleveland in 1868 Mr. Hut- chins formed a partnership with his father and Judge J. E. Ingersoll, under the name Hutchins & Ingersoll. Subsequently he was the junior member of the firm of Jolin and J. C. Hutchins.

In the private practice of his profession and its incidental duties Judge Hutchins has found every incentive to work and every honor that would satisfy his quiet ambition. The only offices to which he has aspired have been those which are the prerogative of mem- bers of the bar. In 1877 he was elected prose- cuting attorney of Cuyahoga County. He served two years and then became senior mem- ber of the firm Hutchins, Campbell & Jolin- son. In 1880 he consented to take a place on the democratic ticket as candidate for Con- gress, but was defeated by Amos Townsend. He was elected police judge of Cleveland in 1883 and was re-elected in 1885. In 1887 he resumed private practice and the following year was nnsuccessful democratie candidate for the Common Pleas bench. In 1892 Mr. Hutchins was elected judge of the Common Pleas Court of Cuyahoga County, and gave to its administration the ability and experi- ence accumulated through his long career as a successful lawyer. He resigned from the bench in the spring of 1895 to accept the ap- pointment of postmaster at Cleveland, tend- ered him by President Cleveland. When his term in that office expired in the fall of 1899 he resumed a general practice which has since then been uninterrupted.

Judge Hutchins has long ranked as one of the ablest advocates and counselors of the Cleveland bar. Outside of his profession and in his quiet and efficient way he has exerted a large and worthy influence in the affairs of his home city. For fourteen years he was a member of the Cleveland Public Library

CLEVELAND AND ITS ENVIRONS

Board and for eight years president of the board. He has also been a member of the board of education. He is a member of the Loyal Legion and in 1897 was junior vice commander of the Ohio Commandery.

ANSEL B. CURTISS. In the field of real es- tate and corporation law one of the most prominent firms of Cleveland is that of White, Brewer & Curtiss. The membership of this concern inelndes Ansel B. Curtiss, of whom, however guardedly one must speak on the score of youth, it may be stated unhesitatingly and beyond fear of question that no young lawyer today in Cleveland gives nobler prom- ise of future great achievement, not alone in the ranks of his profession, but in the broad field of politics and public service.

Mr. Curtiss was born at Charlestown, Por- tage County, Ohio, January 18, 1883, and is a son of Alfred Barnes and Mary (Hinman) Curtiss, and a member of the family which produced the real pioneers of that county. The Curtiss family originated in Connecticut, as did also the Hinman family, and Mr. Cur- tiss' great-grandparents on both sides made the journey overland from New England to the Western Reserve of Ohio in the ox-carts which served as the style of conveyance for the first settlers at a time when no timber had been cut in that part of the country. Charlestown Township in Portage County was named after Charles Curtiss, who, if tradition is true, secured the changing of the name from Hinkle Township by the donation of a barrel of whiskey at the time of the raising of the old Congregational Church, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in the Western Reserve. This early edifice was destroyed by fire about the time of the birth of Ansel B. Curtiss, and the present Congregational Church was erected on the same ground. One of Mr. Cur- tiss' uncles on his mother's side, Edward Hin- man, fought as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war, subsequently became treasurer of Portage County, and later went to West Virginia, where he entered the lumber busi- ness and was elected sheriff of Fayette County. Alfred B. and Mary (Hinman) Cur- tiss were both born in Portage County, the former on the same old family farm as his son. Their active years were passed in agri- cultural pursuits, and about the year 1911 they both retired and now live at Kent, Ohio. Honorable, God-fearing and industrious peo- ple, they have always commanded and re- ceived the respect of their neighbors and fel-

low-townspeople, and their work in the Con- gregational Church has been of a character that has been both useful and practical. Their six children, all born on the farm in Portage County and all of whom lived to grow to ma- turity, were as follows: Laura, who died at the age of thirty-five years; C. H., one of the prominent lawyers of Kent, Ohio, and at this time prosecuting attorney of Portage County ; Emma, who died at Sextonville, Wisconsin, April 29, 1917, as Mrs. M. O. Carter; Ansel B., of this notice; William H., who died at the age of nineteen years while a sophomore at Hiram College, Ohio; and Edward G., who is assistant city chemist of the City of Cleve- land.

Ansel B. Curtiss was sent to the public schools of Ravenna, Ohio, and after his grad- uation from the high school there in 1900, entered Hiram College, where with the class of 1904 he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. His professional studies were prose- cuted at the University of Michigan, which in- stitution gave him his degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1907, and, being admitted to the Cleveland bar in June of that year, com- menced practice in September. Almost imme- diately Mr. Curtiss took rank as one of the forceful young attorneys of the city, and con- tinned to practice alone with gratifying suc- cess until April, 1914, when he became a mem- ber of the firm of White, Crosser & Curtiss. In 1916, when the voters elected Mr. Crosser as a member of Congress, he left the firm and since April, 1917, the concern has borne the style of White, Brewer & Curtiss, main- taining offices in the Union National Bank Building. While a general business is car- ried on, the firm is best known for its activi- ties and successes in the field of real estate and corporation law. Its clients include some of the largest business interests of the city, and the court records show that this strong legal force has been returned the victor in a number of cases of important litigation.

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A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut, Part 11

Author: Avery, Elroy McKendree, 1844-1935; Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago, New York The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 904

Author: Avery, Elroy McKendree, 1844-1935; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, New York The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 904