USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, (Vol. 3) > Part 16
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William J. Semple first attended school in Cincinnati, and completed his education in Cleveland. After leaving school he continued his studies, and has been an interested student of political science and commercial affairs all his years. Soon after leaving school he was given employment in the Cleveland offices of the Standard Oil Company as an office boy, was advanced to a clerkship, and left that corporation in 1906 to become asso- ciated with the Youghiogheny and Ohio Coal Company. He resigned in 1913 and for ten years was with the Cleveland and Western Coal Company, resigning his work with that corporation in 1923 to become city finance director.
Mr. Semple married, in October, 1916, Miss Mary Pendergast, a native of Cleveland and daughter of Thomas Pendergast.
WILLIAM WISCHMEIER: The late William Wischmeier was one of the well known citizens and successful business men of Cleveland, and by his death the South Side of the city lost a leader in all community affairs, one who was always ready to give freely of his time and means to all move- ments having for their object the welfare of the community.
Mr. Wischmeier was born in Cleveland (then Brooklyn Village) on June 16, 1866, the son of Frederick Wischmeier, a native of Germany, who was one of the early merchant tailors of the South Side. He attended the Lutheran parochial schools, and while yet a boy began an apprentice- ship to learn the upholstering business, working for his brother-in-law, Edward Blawse. After he had mastered that business he formed a part- nership with John Linderman, another brother-in-law, and the firm of Wischmeier & Linderman established a furniture store and upholstering and undertaking business. Mr. Wischmeier bought his partner's interest in the business March 5, 1895, and continued it under his own name until 1920, in which year he admitted his son, Elmer, as a partner, the firm then becoming William· Wischmeier & Son, as it continues at the present time, with a business ranking among the leading and successful furniture, up- holstering and undertaking houses of the city.
Mr. Wischmeier had other important interests. A number of years ago he became a member of the board of directors of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Company, and when that institution was absorbed by the Pearl Street Savings and Banking Company he continued as a director in that bank. He was also president of the Hal-Fur Motor Truck Company.
Civic and church affairs lay close to Mr. Wischmeier's heart, and he gave much of his time to them, always willingly and always cheerfully. He was treasurer of Lutheran Hospital, treasurer of Lutheran Cemetery Association and a member of the board of trustees of Emanuel Lutheran Church, and treasurer of the church for fifteen years.
His splendid traits of character, his personality and the upright life he led won the respect of all who came in contact with Mr. Wischmeier, while
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his circle of warm friends was very large, all of whom mourned his death as a personal loss.
Mr. Wischmeier was united in marriage with Emma Bennhoff, who was born in Cleveland, the daughter of the late William Bennhoff, pioneer blacksmith and wagonmaker of the West Side. To their marriage a daughter and son were born: Clara L., who married Julius Gerlach, and has a son, Julius, Jr., born July 16, 1920 ; and Elmer Wischmeier.
Julius Gerlach was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 2, 1889, son of the late Alfred F. Gerlach, who for twenty years was a teacher in Saint Matthews Lutheran Parochial School of Cleveland, who died in 1918, his widow surviving. Julius Gerlach came to Cleveland with his parents, at- tended Saint Matthews Parochial School, graduated from Western Reserve University School of Pharmacy in 1911, and is now a member of the drug company of Flandemeyer & Gerlach, corner of Trowbridge and West Twenty-fifth streets, Cleveland.
William Wischmeier passed away on January 30, 1922, his wife having preceded him to the grave on November 15, 1919.
Elmer Wischmeier was born on May 27, 1893. He was educated in the Lutheran parochial schools and at business college. On leaving school he entered his father's store, and soon developed into a good business man. He took the prescribed course in embalming and received his certificate from the state, and from that time on he was active in all the departments of the business, to which he succeeded at the death of his father, and which he is carrying on along the lines taught him by his father, under the old firm name, and continuing the success begun by its founder.
The World war interrupted his business career for a time while he was in the service of his country in France. On May 25, 1918, he entered the United States Army, and was sent to Camp Gordon, Georgia, and was assigned to the Infantry Replacement Troops. Thence he was ordered to Camp Mills, and on July 10, 1918, he sailed for overseas duty with the Sixteenth Replacement Regiment. The regiment landed in England, and thence went to France, in which country Elmer was on duty until the signing of the armistice, after which he returned to the United States and was mustered out of the service and given his honorable discharge on May 14, 1919, at Camp Sherman. Leaving the service, he at once returned home and resumed his place in the store.
He is a member of Elsworth Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Olive Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Forest City Commandery, Knights Templar; Lake Erie Consistory, Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree; Al Koran Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Al Sirat Grotto and Cleveland Forest of Tall Cedars. He is a member of the advisory board of the Pearl Street Savings and Trust Company, a director in the Lincoln Savings and Loan Company, and a director in the Hal-Fur Motor Truck Company.
GEORGE E. ASLING. The Asling family is one that has for many years been well known in the Berea community of Cuyahoga County, both in a business way and in connection with public affairs. George E. Asling has given over thirty years of service to the County of Cuyahoga in the auditor's office.
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He was born at Berea, son of John E. Asling and a grandson of Edward Asling. Edward Asling was born in Ontario, Canada, of English ancestry, was a farmer, and spent his last years at Saint Field in Ontario. John E. Asling was born at Saint Field, Ontario, in 1850, was educated in public schools, and when thirteen years of age began an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade. He had great natural talent as a mechanic, and in a short time had become known as an expert horseshoer and worker in iron. He was twenty years of age when he came to Ohio and located at Berea, where he soon opened a blacksmith shop. The class of work performed attracted the owners of fine horses, and he did a flourishing business. He had an expert judgment on all the points of a horse, and this talent led him into dealing in high class driving horses. He trained many trotters and pacers, and in his dealings in draft horses imported Clydesdales direct from Scotland. He was one of the best known horsemen in Northern Ohio, and his death, in July, 1923, occurred while he was at the race track. He was prominent in public affairs, serving as a member of the Board of Education and City Council at Berea, as township treasurer, as deputy sheriff, and as a member of the Board of County Commissioners.
John E. Asling married Cora Lane, who is still living at Berea, where she was born. Her father, Warren Lane, was a native of Connecticut and an early settler in Cuyahoga County, being for many years engaged in the mercantile business at Berea. John E. Asling and wife reared five chil- dren: George E .; Eva B .; Mayme, wife of Rev. George Schaibly, of Kansas City, Missouri; Dorothy, wife of A. W. Oatman, of Medina, Ohio; and Leland S., who is secretary of the Ford McCaslin Company of Cleveland.
George E. Asling was reared in Berea, finished the course of the . grammar and high schools there, and had some employment as an account- ant with different firms. In 1893 he was appointed deputy auditor for Cuyahoga County, and has ever since given quiet, efficient and thorough service to that department of the county government.
He married, in 1902, Miss Louise Klink, a native of Berea and a daugh- ter of John G. Klink. They have two daughters, named Ruth and Maxine. Mr. Asling is affiliated with the Berea Lodge of Masons, Berea Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, is a member of the Cleveland Real Estate Board, the Cleveland City Club, the Citizens League and the Ohio Tax Association.
GEORGE. ARMSTRONG NEWMAN. The Newman family has been in Cleveland over eighty years. It is one of the old and honored names of influence and prestige, both in the early days and later times. George Arm- strong Newman, of the third generation of the family in Cleveland, is identified with the county government, and in former years was active in the real estate business.
He was born at the old home on Newman Avenue in Lakewood. His father, James T. Newman, and his grandfather, Rev. John Newman, were born in London, England. Rev. John Newman became a preacher of the Swedenborgian Church, and in 1842 brought his family to America, making the voyage in a sailing vessel. He was the second minister of the Swedenborgian Church in this section of Northern Ohio. His home was
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in Ohio City, as the locality west of the river was known, remaining in that locality until his death. He and his wife, Mary, reared three children : James, Thomas and Ann.
James T. Newman was born in London, England, in 1831, and was eleven years of age when brought to the United States. He grew up on the West Side, made use of his limited opportunities to obtain a good edu- cation, and as a youth showed commendable habits of industry. He fre- quently rowed people across the river for a few cents fare. Most of the land included in the modern City of Cleveland was when the Newman family located there either forest or farm, and James T. Newman had as one of his regular occupations the duty of chopping firewood used for fuel. He served an apprenticeship at the printer's trade, and was associated with the Edward Cowles newspaper, which finally merged with the Leader. After retiring from the newspaper business he moved to Ithaca, New York, and for nineteen years was a merchant selling musical goods there. He then returned to Cleveland, where during his former residence he had invested his means in a large tract of land designated by the modern streets of Detroit at Newman and Franklin avenues. He plotted this land, built sidewalks and laid out streets. Much of this has been sold and built upon, and his children still own other parts of it. He was one of the progressive men of his day, possessed good business ability, had implicit faith in Cleve- land's future, and eventually achieved prosperous circumstances. He died at the age of seventy-four years. James T. Newman married Elizabeth Armstrong, who was born at Ogdensburg, New York, of pure Scotch ancestry. Her father, Allan Armstrong, was born in Scotland, came to the United States when a young man, and at Ogdensburg, New York, was engaged in the civil engineering profession until his death. Edward Arm- strong, brother of Elizabeth Armstrong, commanded a company of cavalry in the Union Army, and died in the service. Mrs. Elizabeth Armstrong Newman died in 1901, having reared three sons, Edward, James Thomas and George A.
George Armstrong Newman lives in a home that is about a hundred yards from his birthplace. He first attended the school now known as the Garfield School, and continued his education in a private school known as Devereaux Hall and in the Kentucky Public School and the West High School. He finally completed his education with a course in Caton's Business College. For several years he was associated with his brothers in the management and sale of their father's real estate interests. Later he entered the service of the People's Gas Company, in charge of the appliance department, and continued in that position with the first company and its successor, the East Ohio Gas Company, until 1921. After many years of faithful and efficient service to this public utility he resigned and in 1921 was appointed purchasing agent for Cuyahoga County.
Mr. Newman married, in 1908. Mary M. Tryak, who was born in Bremen, Germany, daughter of Frank and Anna (Younge) Tryak, her father being of German and her mother of French ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Newman have two sons, George Armstrong and Robert Whittaker Newman. Mr. Newman cast his first presidential vote for William McKinley, and has been staunchly aligned with the republican party ever since. He is affiliated with Halcyon Lodge No. 498 of the Masonic Order,
Herman@/Faster.
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Thatcher Chapter No. 101, Royal Arch Masons, Forest City Lodge No. 40 of the Knights Templar, of which he is past commander and past captain general, and is also a member of Lake Erie Consistory of the Scottish Rite and Al Koran Temple of the Mystic Shrine.
HARRY HOWARD WARD, D. C., Ph. C., is an able and successful exponent of the benignant science of chiropractics as applied to the alleviation of human suffering, and in his chosen profession he has a substantial and representative practice in his native City of Cleveland, his offices being in suite number one of the Mery Apartments, 3616 West Twenty-fifth Street.
Doctor Ward was born in a house at 1552 East Forty-third Street, this city, on the 26th of May, 1892, and it is interesting to record that his mother, whose maiden name was Emma Schultz and who is a daughter of the late John Schultz, an early settler of Cleveland, was born in the house next door to that in which her son was born. The Schultz family has been one of prominence in Cleveland and, of German lineage, has represented the most loyal of American citizenship. George W. Ward, father of the doctor, was born in the City of Nashville, Tennessee, in 1862, a son of George Ward, who was a wealthy manufacturer in that city prior to the Civil war, which brought financial reverses to him. George W. Ward learned in his father's factory the trade of toolmaker, and this trade he con- tinued to follow in the South until he came to Cleveland, about thirty years ago. Here he has since maintained his residence, and here he held for eight years the position of superintendent of the Glauber Brass Manufac- turing Company. His wife has been a resident of Cleveland from the time of her birth to the present. Of the three children Harry Howard and Howard Harry were twins, the latter being deceased, and the youngest of the children is Howard Chester.
Doctor Ward gained his early education in the public schools of Cleve- land, including the East High School, and thereafter he took a course in the pharmacal department of Western Reserve University. For four years thereafter he followed pharmaceutical work in Cleveland, and he then entered the Palmer School of Chiropractic at Davenport, Iowa, where he completed the full three years' course and was graduated with the degrees of Doctor of Chiropractics and Pharmaceutical Chemist. He has since been successfully engaged in practice in his native city, is a member of the Universal Chiropractic Association, and of the Ohio State Alumni Chiro- practic Association, of which latter he has served as president. He is also a life member of the Trowel Club of the Palmer School of Chiropractic, and served as president (1922) of the Alumni Presidents' Association of that institution. The Doctor is affiliated with Ionic Lodge No. 474, Free and Accepted Masons, with the Masonic Grotto of Shadu Kiam at Detroit, Michigan, and with the Knights of Malta, Cleveland.
July 28, 1918, recorded the marriage of Doctor Ward and Miss Elsie Gottschalk, who likewise was born and reared in Cleveland and who is a daughter of John and Augusta Gottschalk. They have one daughter, Dorothy Louise.
HERMAN C. BAEHR, former mayor of Cleveland, and the first citizen of Cuyahoga County ever elected three consecutive terms to the office of
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county recorder, has numerous substantial achievements in business and public life to his credit.
Cleveland also holds in high esteem the memory of his father, the late Jacob Baehr, and his mother, Mrs. Magdalena Baehr. Jacob Baehr was born in Heidelberg, Germany, March 13, 1824, and he and his brother Henry were the only members of the family to come to America. Henry settled at Cleveland, where for many years he conducted a bakery. Jacob Baehr was left an orphan by death of his parents when he was six years of age, and was reared among strangers. He secured a good education, and served an apprenticeship at the trade of brewer. He secured a certifi- cate as master brewer, malster and cooper. He became identified with the revolution in the German states in 1848, and upon the failure of that liberal movement, he, like thousands of others, expatriated himself and came to America. He made the journey in a sailing vessel that was seventy-four days on the ocean before it landed its passengers at New York. He came at once to Cleveland, where a classmate, named John Burkholder, was living, and it was upon Mr. Burkholder's advice that Cleveland was destined to become a large city that Jacob Baehr was attracted here. He arrived in Cleveland without money, but with a knowl- edge of a good trade. His first employment was as a cooper making barrels for the then thriving pork packing industry. In 1856 he moved out to Keokuk, Iowa. That was the year the first railroad crossed the Mississippi River, and still much of the State of Iowa was an unbroken wilderness. At Keokuk Jacob Baehr formed a partnership with another brewer and engaged in the brewery business until 1866, when he returned to Cleveland and established a brewery on West Twenty-fifth Street. In connection he operated a restaurant, and continued this business until his death on February 18, 1873. Jacob Baehr was reared in the Mennonite Church, and held to that faith until his death. He was deeply religious and would not employ anyone not an attendant at some church, and refused to sell the product of his brewery to one whom it was known drank too freely. He would not permit lewd talk on his premises. However, he was not bigoted, and as there was no Mennonite Church in Cleveland his family attended Saint John's Episcopal Church and the Protestant Evangelical Church, and his children were all confirmed by a minister of the latter denomination.
Jacob Baehr married Magdalena Zipf, who was born in Friesenhein, Baden, and came to America at the age of seventeen, accompanying her sister Salome, who married Jacob Wieber. Mrs. Magdalena Baehr upon the death of her husband took the active management of the business, and conducted it with all the energy and wisdom that she had previously dis- played in the management of her household. Mrs. Magdalena Baehr was one of Cleveland's noted women. She gave liberally of her means to many worthy causes. She was founder and president of the Altenheim Society, being the head of that institution until her death. In founding this home for aged couples she stipulated that man and wife should not be separated and this was the first home for the aged that admitted married couples. Mrs. Magdalena Baehr died March 30, 1909, at the age of seventy-four. She was the mother of nine children, but only two are now living : Katherine, widow of Jacob Killins, of Cleveland ; and Herman C.
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Herman C. Baehr was born in Keokuk, Iowa, March 16, 1866, and the family soon afterward returned to Cleveland. He attended the public schools of this city to the age of fourteen, and then went to work in his father's brewery. In order to master the brewer's trade he went abroad and attended Lehman's Scientific Academy at Worms, on the Rhine, where he was graduated with the degree Doctor of Medicine. He was one of the first if not the first in Cleveland to employ completely scientific principles in the manufacture of beer. At the age of twenty-one he took charge of the Baehr Brewing Company, and when it was consolidated with the Cleveland-Sandusky Brewing Company he became secretary and treasurer of that corporation, and continued an active official therein until 1903.
Mr. Baehr was a staunch friend and admirer of the late Mark Hanna, and wielded much influence in behalf of that famous Ohio citizen during his remarkable political career. It is said that his affiliation with Mark Hanna was largely responsible for Mr. Baehr entering politics. In 1903 his friends insisted that he accept the republican nomination for county recorder. He was elected and twice reelected, the last time by 28,000 majority. He also served as a member of the Cleveland Park Board. In 1909 he was asked to become a candidate for mayor, but refused until 45,000 people signed and presented to him a petition demanding his candi- dacy. He was elected and served as mayor from January 1, 1910, to January 1, 1912.
Mr. Baehr was formerly president of the Forest City Savings and Trust Company, and since its consolidation with the Cleveland Trust Com- pany has been a director of the latter institution. A number of years ago he was elected president of the West Side Chamber of Industry. He took charge at a critical time in the fortunes of this organization, and revived it and gave it a vigorous influence in the affairs of that section of Cleveland. He was twice elected president and served about a year and a half. He is a member of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and many civic organiza- tions. He is affiliated with Bigelow Lodge No. 657, Free and Accepted Masons; Thatcher Chapter No. 101, Royal Arch Masons; Forest City Commandery No. 30, Knights Templar; Lake Erie Consistory of the Scottish Rite, Al Koran Temple of the Mystic Shrine, Al Sirat Grotto and is past master of Lake Shore Lodge No. 6, Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Baehr married, April 21, 1898, Miss Rose Schulte, who was born at Rochester, Pennsylvania, daughter of August and Lucy Schulte. Her father for many years was a prominent provision merchant in Cincinnati and was the inventor of "boneless ham."
GREENWOOD AND GREENWOOD. The firm of Greenwood and Greenwood has for a number of years been closely identified with the handling of busi- ness property in Cleveland, primarily in the downtown section. The firm is composed of two brothers, Ivan A. Greenwood and Walter P. Greenwood.
Ivan A. Greenwood was born August 20, 1883, at Columbus, Ohio, and is a son of John H. and Christine Anderson Greenwood. and is of English and Scotch descent. His father, who was a mechanical engineer, died in 1901.
Mr. Greenwood was but a child when he was taken by his parents to Cleveland, where he obtained his early education in the public schools.
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After graduating from high school he entered Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts as a member of the class of 1907. At that time he took up civil engineering, and subse- quently was road engineer for Cuyahoga County and engineer in charge of sewer construction for the City of Cleveland.
In 1912 he received his introduction to practical real estate matters when he joined the Greenlund Kennerdell Company of Cleveland. A few years later he became manager of the A. B. Smythe Company. On April 1, 1917, the present firm of Greenwood and Greenwood was organized. He is a member of the University Club, the Canterbury Golf Club and the Cleveland Real Estate Board.
Walter P. Greenwood was born in Columbus, Ohio, November 17, 1885. When he was one year old his parents moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he received a public school education. After graduating from high school he entered Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science as a member of the class of 1911.
Mr. Greenwood entered the real estate business a few months after he graduated from college. He has been associated with the Greenlund Kenner- dell Company, the A. B. Smythe Company and V. C. Taylor & Son. He is a member of the Cleveland Athletic Club, University Club, Canterbury Golf Club, Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and the Cleveland Real Estate Board.
JOHN NELSON STOCKWELL. In the death of Prof. John Nelson Stock- well of Cleveland, May 18, 1920, America has lost one of her foremost philosophers and the dean of her astronomers. Professor Stockwell was the contemporary of Gould, Hall, Newcomb and Hill and outlived them all by a considerable period of years. Fortunately his health enabled him to be active to the very end; so that as in the case of the elder Herschel, some of his notable advances were made at a great age. Accordingly, his devotion to science extends from 1850 to 1920, fully seventy years.
He was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, April 10, 1822, and in the autumn of the following year his parents moved to Ohio and nearly the whole of his life was spent in the region of Cleveland. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather all bore the name William, first of that name being born at Thompson, Connecticut, in 1744. The mother of Doctor Stockwell was Clarissa Whittemore, whose brother, Amos Whitte- more, was inventor of the machine for carding wool and cotton. At the age of eight years, John Nelson Stockwell was taken to live with an elderly aunt and uncle in Brecksville Township, near Cleveland. As the years passed by he became so attached to his foster parents that he did not care to leave them. He attended school at an early age but his interest in books was slight until he reached the age of twelve.
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