USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, (Vol. 2) > Part 17
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42
He married, in 1900, Mrs. Mary (Adams) Rauch, a native of Cleve- land, daughter of James and Mary Adams and widow of Charles Rauch. They are the parents of four children : Helen, James Edward, Marion E. and Dorothy. Helen is a graduate of high school, and is now taking the nurses' course in the Cleveland City Hospital. James and Marion are students in the East High School, and Dorothy is a grammar school student. Mr. Durbin was for a number of years active in the Presbyterian Church, being an elder, but now has his membership in the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Cleveland. He is affiliated with Washington Lodge of Knights of Pythias, and is a member of the Aviation and Athletic clubs.
123
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
WILLIAM H. VALWAY, D. V. S., is one of the able and popular repre- sentatives of his profession in the City of Cleveland, and is specially well known as a lover of nature, in which connection it is to be noted that at one time he had one of the largest and finest collections of well mounted birds and animals to be found in the State of Ohio. He has made a close study of the national fauna, as well as of bird life, and from the specimens he has collected he has made valuable contributions to the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, and to other public collections.
Mr. Valway was born on a farm two miles distant from Vergennes, Vermont, and the date of his nativity was June 9, 1855. His father, Joseph Valway, was born in France, and was young at the time of the family immigration to the United States, his parents having established a home in Addison County, Vermont, where his father passed the re- mainder of his life, the widowed mother having been a resident there at the time of her death. Joseph Valway became the owner of a fine valley farm near Vergennes, Vermont, and there he continued for many years his successful operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower. He was one of the venerable and honored citizens of that section of the Green Mountain State at the time of his death, when eighty-seven years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Lansing, was born in Hol- land, of pure Dutch ancestry, and she came with her parents to the United States when she was a girl, the family home having been established near Glens Falls, Warren County, New York. The death of Mrs. Valway occurred in 1891, and of her twelve children seven are living at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1924.
The early discipline of Dr. William H. Valway was that gained in connection with the activities of the old home farm in Vermont, and in the local schools he acquired his youthful education. His fondness for domestic animals had much to do with his selection of a vocation, and after carefully formulating his plans for a future career he went to the national metropolis and entered the New York Veterinary College and School of Comparative Medicine. In this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1890 and with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Surgery. Since that year he has been continuously and suc- cessfully established in practice at Cleveland, and his professional services find demand far outside as well as within the borders of Cuyahoga County.
Doctor Valway is affiliated with the Lodge and Encampment bodies of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as is he also with the Junior Order United American Mechanics. He is a zealous and valued mem- ber of the Cleveland Humane Society, and has been for the past fourteen years the leader or scoutmaster of the local organization of Boy Scouts.
In the year 1890 Doctor Valway wedded Miss Harriet Lynch, who was born in Ireland, and who was six years of age when she accompanied her parents to the United States, her father having become the owner of an excellent farm near Vergennes, Vermont. Doctor and Mrs. Valway have one son, Harry, who gave two and one-half years of service in the United States Army in the World war period, and who is still a resident of Cleveland. Harry Valway married Miss Frances Davis, and they have one daughter, Ella.
Prior to leaving the old Green Mountain State Doctor Valway had the privilege and distinction, in 1888, of taking personal charge of the
124
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
first cargo of horses ever shipped from the United States to South Amer- ica. These horses, raised in Vermont, he unloaded in the Port of Buenos Aires, and before his return home he visited the leading cities of Europe and also visited a number of places in Africa.
FRANK GARFIELD CARPENTER has practiced law in Cleveland for thir- teen years. He has his offices in the Cleveland Discount Building. Mr. Carpenter is a native of Indiana, but his father was born in Ohio, and on his mother's side his ancestors were among the pioneers of this state.
Mr. Carpenter was born at Wabash, Indiana. His grandfather, Wil- liam Carpenter, was born in England, but came to America as a young man; settling in Summit County, Ohio. He engaged in farming there the rest of his life.
Rev. Leewell Carpenter, father of the Cleveland attorney, was born on a farm in Summit County, Ohio, and became one of the distinguished ministers of his day. He attended the common schools and afterward entered Bethany College in West Virginia, the school founded by Alex- ander Campbell of the Church of Christ or the Disciples. After gradu- ating at Bethany he was ordained a minister in the Christian Church, and held many pastorates. He was possessed of unusual power, both as an eloquent preacher and as a constructive leader in church work. He traveled and founded churches in many localities, and altogether dedicated 753 churches in the United States and Canada. He raised over $3,000,000 to pay the indebtedness of these churches. The last forty years of his life were spent at Wabash, Indiana, and he died at the age of seventy- seven. Rev. Leewell Carpenter married Mary Funk. She was born in Wayne County, Ohio. Her father, Jacob Funk, a native of Pennsylvania, and of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry, moved to Wayne County, Ohio, and bought a tract of timbered land near Wooster. He cleared a portion of this land, and on selling out moved to Fulton County, Ohio, where he bought another tract of timbered land near Wauseon. During the rest of his life he partially cleared and improved two or three farms in that sec- tion of the state. Jacob Funk married Rachael Wells, a native of Penn- sylvania, who died in Fulton County, Ohio.
Mrs. Leewell Carpenter died at the age of eighty years. She and her husband reared six children: Willard H., Inez, Errett, Arthur, Rhea and Frank G.
Frank G. Carpenter was educated in public schools at Wabash, and after graduating from high school worked as reporter on a daily paper for a year and a half. He then entered Hiram College in Ohio, completed the course and received his Bachelor's degree, and then enrolled as a student in the law department of the University of Indianapolis. He was graduated Bachelor of Laws in 1902, and for nearly ten years enjoyed an active practice as an attorney at Wabash. While there he served two terms as prosecuting attorney of Wabash County. Mr. Carpenter re- moved to Cleveland in 1911, and has since built up a large general prac- tice here. He is a republican in politics, member of the Euclid Avenue Christian Church, and in Masonry is affiliated with Windermere Lodge No. 627, Windermere Chapter No. 113, Royal Arch Masons, Oriental Commandery No. 12, Knights Templar, Al Koran Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and is grand commander of the Knights of Malta for the State of
O
Frank Juta MA.
125
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
Ohio. He is also a member of the Cleveland Bar Association and the Ohio State and American Bar associations.
In 1905 he married Miss Florence Hathaway. She was born at Cleveland, daughter of Milo N. and Lucy (Shute) Hathaway. Her grandfather, Zephenia Hathaway, was born in Vermont, and came to Ohio in 1817, making the journey with ox teams. He bought land in the Western Reserve from the State of Connecticut, in what is now the Garfield Heights section, and he built a home at what is now the corner of Turner and Rockside streets. This home is still owned by his descend- ants, and has been in the family for over a century. Mr. and Mrs. Car- penter have three children: Lucille, Margaret and Priscilla.
FRANK JOHN KUTA, M. D. One of the largest racial groups repre- sented in Cleveland are the Polish section in the southwestern quarter of the city. In that district and among his people Doctor Kuta has achieved a notable leadership not only as a professional man, but in business affairs.
He was born in Poland, September 8, 1875, but since early childhood has been an American by residence, by education and in spirit. His parents, John and Regina (Pierrog) Kuta, were born in Poland, and, accompanied by their three children, immigrated to the United States in 1880. They settled at Buffalo, New York, where the father met an accidental death in 1882. The widowed mother in 1888 brought her three children to Berea, Cuyahoga County, and she died at the home of her son in Toledo in 1905. Her oldest child is Dr. Frank J. The second son, Joseph Lawrence, born in November, 1879, was educated in the common schools at Berea, in Detroit University, in Cleveland Seminary, and was ordained to priesthood in Cleveland in 1903. He was pastor of Saint Stanislaus Parish in Toledo until 1920, and since then has been pastor of the Polish congregation of Grafton and Elyria in Lorain County, Ohio. The youngest child, Anna, died in Berea, at the age of eighteen.
Doctor Kuta was educated in public schools, beginning at Buffalo, and for five years attended Baldwin College, now Baldwin-Wallace University, at Berea. He was graduated with the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1907 from the Cleveland College of Physicians and Surgeons. Doctor Kuta, owing to the early death of his father, had his own way to make from childhood. His ambition, his industry, his steadfast determination have won him the good things he has enjoyed and made him an instrument of substantial service to his people. During the five years he attended Baldwin College he paid his way by working in the stone quarries at Berea, and also operated an office for handling foreign exchange, steamship tickets and fire insurance. While in medical school he acted as deputy in the office of Charles Salem, then county clerk of Cuyahoga County.
After graduating Doctor Kuta was an interne for three months in St. Alexis Hospital, for nine months at St. John's Hospital and a year at St. Ann's Hospital. With that thorough training and experience he began general practice at his residence at 7326 Broadway, and has had a busy professional career in that section of the city ever since. He is a member of the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State and American Medical associations.
Doctor Kuta is a member of St. Stanislaus Parish, and belongs to a number of Polish societies. He was one of the organizers and incor-
126
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
porators of the White Eagle Savings and Loan Association, serving it on the board of directors, and was one of the incorporators and is president of the Leading Home and Investment Company.
August 23, 1909, Doctor Kuta married Stella Kocinski, a native of Poland, and daughter of the late Dr. Valentine Kocinski, who was a well known physician in Cleveland. Doctor and Mrs. Kuta have four children: Regina, born in 1912; Jane, born in 1917 ; Helen, born in 1918, and Frank John, Jr., born September 22, 1922.
MRS. MARY GRESMUCK, who resides at 7508 Star Avenue in the City of Cleveland, and who is an active and popular member of the Early Set- tlers Association of Cuyahoga County, was born on a farm that is now included in the City of Cleveland and is a daughter of Patrick and Bridget Higgins, both of whom were honored pioneer citizens of Cuyahoga County at the time of their deaths. Patrick Higgins was born and reared in County Kildare, Ireland, and his daughter Mary, subject of this review, has no information indicating that any other member of the family than he ever came from the Emerald Isle to the United States. The schools of his native land afforded Patrick Higgins his early education, and he was a youth when he severed the ties that bound him to home and native land and set forth to seek his fortunes in the United States, he having, with a number of friends from Ireland, made the voyage across the Atlantic on a sailing vessel of the type common to that day. After re- maining for a time in New York, Mr. Higgins made his way to Cleve- land, much of the land now included in the city limits having then been farms and unimproved tracts, and Ohio had not yet gained any railroad facilities. Farmers, distant from Cleveland many miles, brought their farm produce to this city with wagons and teams, and from Cleveland the products were shipped by boat on the canals and the Great Lakes to distant markets. When railroad construction was instituted Mr. Higgins found employment in such construction work. He purchased a small farm somewhat more than two miles distant from the shore of Lake Erie, in Cuyahoga County, and this land, on which the family home was main- tained many years, is now in the City of Cleveland and is well built up with houses and business blocks. Mr. Higgins continued his active asso- ciation with railroad work during the remainder of his life, besides im- proving his farm and giving his supervision to its cultivation. He passed the closing period of his life in Cleveland, and both he and his wife were earnest communicants of the Catholic Church. Of the children, Mary, Mrs. Gresmuck, of this sketch, is the only daughter, and her brothers, Patrick, John, James and Thomas, are deceased.
Mary Higgins gained her early education in the parochial and public schools, and in Cleveland was solemnized her marriage to William Gres- muck, who was born in Germany, a son of Adam Gresmuck, and who was but two years old at the time of the family immigration to the United States, the home having been established in New York State, where he was reared to manhood and where he received his youthful education. When the Civil war was precipitated on a divided nation, Mr. Gresmuck promptly showed his loyalty to the Union by enlisting in Company F, Eleventh United States Infantry, and with this regiment of the Regular Army he participated in many engagements, including a number of the
127
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
most important battles marking the progress of the great conflict between the states of the North and the South. He continued in service until the close of the war, and within a short time after receiving his honorable discharge he came to Cleveland and entered the United States postal serv- ice, in the capacity of city mail carrier. In this service he continued until his death, at the age of sixty-nine years, and in his semi-public service he formed a wide circle of acquaintances, among whom his popularity was unqualified. His religious faith was that of the Catholic Church, and he guided and guarded his life according to the Christian faith he thus professed. He marked his abiding interest in his old comrades by main- taining affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic.
The memory of Mrs. Mary Gresmuck compasses much of the develop- ment and growth of Cleveland. Here she has always maintained her home, and here her circle of friends is limited only by that of her acquaintances. She is a devout communicant of St. Thomas Catholic Church, and is affili- ated with the local organization of the Soldiers and Sailors Union. Her only surviving child, Frank, was reared and educated in Cleveland, and here he still resides. He served as a member of an Ohio volunteer regi- ment in the Spanish-American war.
DAVID R. HAWLEY. The distinctive feature of the career of David R. Hawley, so well known in Cleveland, was his fifty years of active associa- tion with the hotel business. For the greater part of that time he was in Cleveland, and since retiring from the hotel business, has continued active in local business affairs as a real estate man. Of all the hotel men in Cleveland in 1866 he is the only one now living. Mr. Hawley has seen many hotels come and go in this city.
He was born in Thurlow Township, Hastings County, Ontario, Can- ada. His father, Davis Hawley, was born in the Township of Fredericks- burg, Ontario. David R. Hawley was reared on a farm in Canada. He was educated in the public schools, shared in the labors of the home, and at the age of sixteen began an apprenticeship to learn the trade of harness and saddle maker. He served four years, but did not follow his trade, finding a more congenial opportunity at Rochester, New York, as inside steward in the Clinton Hotel. The duties of the inside steward were to have charge of the store rooms and supplies. From Rochester Mr. Hawley went to Chicago in the fall of 1865, and served as inside steward at the old Briggs House, then one of the most popular hotels of that city. In January, 1866, he went to the Huff, which later became known as the Transit House. In the spring of 1866 Mr. Hawley came to Cleveland, and has now been a resident of this city ever since.
His first connection in Cleveland was with the Weddell House, then the leading hotel of the city, under landlord Kirkwood. After a short time he went with the City Hotel, of which H. C. Brockway was pro- prietor. Five years later he formed a partnership with A. M. Lowe to operate the Clinton Hotel, at the corner of Seneca and Champlain streets, now West Third and Columbia streets. In 1879 Mr. Hawley bought the City Hotel, at the corner of Seneca and Rockwell streets, but in July, 1880, sold out to H. B. West and on January 1, 1881, took charge of the Streibenger House on Michigan Street. In October, 1881, he sold this to John B. White, and early in 1882 formed a partnership with his
128
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
brother, Davis Hawley, and Mr. John Langton. On April 1, 1882, this new firm started the building of the Hawley House at the corner of St. Clair Avenue and Seneca Street. It became one of the very pros- perous and popular hotels of the city. At the death of Mr. Langton the brothers bought his interest, and in 1901 David R. Hawley bought his brother's interest and became sole proprietor and continued the Hawley House under his individual management until 1912. He then leased the hotel for ten years, and at the expiration of the lease sold it to the Bolton estate.
Since 1912 Mr. Hawley has devoted his time to a successful business as a realtor. He is a member of the Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Asso- ciation of the United States and Canada, and has served as vice president and president of the Ohio State Hotel Men's Association. He is an asso- ciate member of the Cleveland Real Estate Board and is a charter member of the Hawley Family Association, whose headquarters are at Bridgeport, Connecticut. He is a member of the old Board of Trade, now the Chamber of Commerce, and he and his wife attend the Second Presbyterian Church.
In 1867 Mr. Hawley married Miss Mary Morey, a native of New York State, who passed away May 14, 1880. In December, 1891, he married Miss Ellen R. Rouse, who was born at Richfield in Summit County, Ohio.
The only living son of Mr. Hawley is Frank M. Hawley, by his first marriage. He was educated in the public schools of Cleveland, in the Kenyon Military Academy and Kenyon College, and for five years was employed by the Euclid Avenue Trust and Savings Company. He then became associated with his father in the hotel business and since then in the real estate business. The son joined the Cleveland Grays as a private in 1901, and in 1908 was promoted to captain and was in service with that famous military organization until 1912. Frank M. Hawley married Miss Marian Geiger, daughter of David and Ruth Geiger. They have a daughter, Ruth G. Hawley.
NATHANIEL MOORE JONES, M. D., one of the eminent members of the medical profession at Cleveland, is now specializing in surgery, and is a veteran of the World war, in which he served with the rank of major. He is a native son of Cleveland, having been born at 166 Taylor Street, December 1, 1877. His father, Dr. Nathaniel M. Jones, was born in Stowe Township, Summit County, Ohio, in 1840, and although still a young man, served as army surgeon from 1862 to 1865, in the One Hun- dred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under General Thomas, in the Army of the Cumberland. After receiving his honorable discharge, in 1865, he located at Cleveland, and was there engaged in a general prac- tice until his death, which occurred in 1901. He was particularly fond of hunting and fishing. For many years he was a Mason, and he be- longed to the Grand Army of the Republic.
Dr. Nathaniel M. Jones married Miss Fanny Shepard, who was born at Cleveland, in a house occupying the present site of the store of May Company, on the south side of the Public Square. Her grandfather, Amos Pierson. was born at Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1803, and about 1830 came to Ohio City, Ohio, and was one of the first physicians of Cuya-
129
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
hoga County. The elder Doctor Jones and his wife had two children born to them.
Dr. Nathaniel M. Jones of this notice was graduated from the Uni- versity School, Adelbert College, class of 1899, and the Medical School of the Western Reserve, class of 1902, with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. During 1902 and 1903 Doctor Jones was interne at the Charity Hospital, Cleveland, and in the latter year studied in Berlin, Germany. While there he married Miss Elizabeth Shafer, of Findley, Ohio. Re- turning to the United States in 1904, he entered upon a general practice at Cleveland. In 1912 he abandoned a general practice and took up surgery as a specialty.
With this country's entrance into the World war Doctor Jones offered his services to the Government, and was commissioned a captain of the Medical Reserve Corps of the army in January, 1918. In August, 1918, he was commissioned a major in the Medical Corps, and in Octo- ber, 1918, was ordered overseas as chief surgeon of Base Hospital No. 107. From February, 1919, to May, 1919, he served as commanding officer of that hospital, and was honorably discharged June 4, 1919, and com- missioned lieutenant colonel in the Reserves.
Returning to Cleveland, he resumed his surgical practice. He is visiting surgeon to the Lutheran Hospital. Doctor Jones belongs to the American Legion, and is much interested in its development. He is a Mason, and zealous in behalf of his fraternity. The Union, University and Country clubs hold his membership. In every respect 'Doctor Jones measures up to the highest ideals of his profession and American citizen- ship. The same patriotic urge which sent his father into the war of the '60s prompted him to leave a large and lucrative practice to render his Government a valuable service in its time of need, and if the occasion again arises he will act in the same public-spirited manner, for such is the character of the man.
WILLIAM EDWIN MINSHALL has practiced law in Cleveland since 1900, and is a member of one of the law firms of highest repute in North- ern Ohio, that of Payer, Winch, Minshall & Karsh. Mr. Minshall is one of the sons of the late Thaddeus A. Minshall, who for sixteen years was a justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Thaddeus A. Minshall was born in Ross County, January 19, 1834, and died at Chillicothe November 22, 1908. The Minshall family came from England, the ancestor being one of the Quaker followers of William Penn. Ellis Minshall, grandfather of Judge Minshall, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and settled in Ohio from Virginia about 1800. The father of Judge Minshall was William Gilmore Minshall, a farmer who spent his life in Ross County.
Thaddeus A. Minshall as a youth was thrown on his own resources, and it was his thirst for knowledge and determined ambition that de- termined him to educate himself while working in a woolen mill and in other occupations. He also taught school. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in April, 1861. He served three years in the Union Army, being captain of a company in the Thirty-third Ohio Infantry. Soon after his return home he was elected prosecuting attorney of Ross County, also built up an extensive private practice, and in 1876 was elected judge of
Vol. II-9
130
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
the Court of Common Pleas and in 1878 reelected and again in 1883. In 1885 he was elected a justice of the Supreme Court, and was reelected in 1890 and again in 1896. After leaving the bench in 1902 he resumed practice at Chillicothe. His published opinions while judge or chief jus- tice are found in volumes 44 to 65, both inclusive. Many of these opinions in important cases exhibit great learning, logical reasoning, and remarkable powers of keen and discriminating judgment. The ripest fruit of his learning and wisdom are recorded among the decisions of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
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.