USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, (Vol. 3) > Part 24
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Of General Garretson the following has been written: "In a military sense he stood for a great deal in Northern Ohio-no one was held in higher esteem or looked to with more confidence than was General Garret- son. Always kind, just and loyal, he was admired by everyone connected with the national or state military service in this part of the country. Always taking a large and earnest interest in military affairs, he was a thorough believer in military preparation and discipline. The record of his services to his home city would be incomplete without a reference to his work in connection with the National Guard organization of Cleve- land, through his organization of the military committee of the Chamber of Commerce in 1897. As chairman of this committee several years and as a member thereof for a still longer period, and as its wise counsellor at all times, he rendered a valuable service." General Garretson was a mem- ber of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and in 1899 he was elected senior vice commander through the commandery of the State of Ohio. He had membership also in the Military Order of Foreign Wars, and served as commander of its Ohio Commandery. He was an honored member of Garretson Camp No. 4, United Spanish- American War Veterans, which was named in his honor, and he served as a member of the first corps of officers of the national organization of the Society of the Porto Rican Expedition. He had membership in the Army and Navy Club at the national capital, the Ohio Society of New York, the University Club of New York City, and in his home city was a member of the Union, Country, University and Roadside Clubs, besides having been an active member of the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club.
General Garretson was a stalwart republican, but never sought political preferment. His fine sense of personal stewardship was shown in his punctilious observance of all civic duties and also in his earnest support of charitable and benevolent agencies. . His philanthropies were many and ever of unostentatious order. He was active in advancing Red Cross service, was for years vice president of the Board of the Children's Fresh Air Camp, a trustee of Lakeside Hospital and also of the Cleveland Orphan Asylum, the Old Stone Church (Presbyterian), and Adelbert College.
The first marriage of General Garretson occurred in 1870, when Miss Anna Scowden, of Cleveland, became his wife. The death of Mrs. Garretson occurred in 1886, and she was not survived by children. In the autumn of the year 1888 was solemnized the marriage of General Garretson and Miss Emma R. Ely, daughter of the late George H. Ely, an honored citizen to whom a memoir is dedicated in the following sketch, so that further review of the family history is not here required. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Garretson has continued her residence in Cleveland, where she has long been active in representative social and cultural circles, and here also remain the three children: Margaret (Mrs. Henry A. Raymond), George Ely and Hiram.
GEORGE H. ELY. A student and reader of rare appreciation, a man of broad intellectual ken and high ideals, there is reason to believe that the late George H. Ely, long one of Cleveland's most honored and influential citizens, made much of personal sacrifice of his inherent tastes and inclina- tion in giving for many years the greater part of his time and attention to
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the regulation of large business interests, rather than to the enjoyment of the more purely intellectual phases of life. In his self-denial, however, he gave evidence of his distinct appreciation of his individual stewardship, and made his influence constructive and benignant along every line of endeavor. He was loved for his cultured and gracious personality, and was admired for his large and worthy achievement in connection with industrial and commercial enterprises of broad scope and importance.
George H. Ely was born at Rochester, New York, October 18, 1825, and his sudden death occurred January 24, 1894, in the City of Washing- ton, District of Columbia, whither he had gone to lend his influence in a protest against the proposed congressional abolition of the duty on iron ore, a matter which he considered one of grave industrial and economic importance, as he had been long and prominently identified with the inter- ests involved in this purposed legislation.
Elisha Ely, father of the subject of this memoir, was one of the founders and builders of the City of Rochester, New York, and it was there that George H. Ely passed the period of his childhood and youth, the while he was given the advantages of a cultured home and the best available educational facilities. In 1848 he was graduated from Williams College, in which he completed in two years the prescribed four years' course and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, his alma mater having conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts in the year 1851. As a young man he was called upon to devote about two years to supervising the interests of the large landed estate and flour-mill property which had been accumulated by his brother, Alexander L., in and near the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and upon his return to his native city he there became largely interested in the manufacturing of flour. About three years later he became concerned in the development of the great mineral resources of the Lake Superior region, and on the upper peninsula of Michigan he was associated with his brothers, Samuel P. and Heman B. in the constructing of a private railroad for the transporta- tion of iron ore, this line eventually becoming a part of the Duluth, South Shire & Atlantic Railroad. This pioneer line was completed in 1857 by George H. and Samuel P. Ely, the brother Heman B. having died in the preceding year. Samuel P. Ely made large investments in iron-ore lands, and was one of the founders of the Lake Superior Iron Company. The Ely brothers were pioneers in opening up and developing the great iron- producing districts of both Michigan and Minnesota, and it was his experi- ence in this connection that eventually made George H. Ely an authority in matters pertaining to the iron industry. In 1863 he established his permanent home in Cleveland, as a partner in the firm of H. B. Tuttle & Company, and he continued to his death his active association with the iron industry, in which his capitalistic interests were large and varied and through the medium of which he did much to advance Cleveland as one of the leading lake ports in the reception of iron ore from the great ranges in the north. He gave his influence to the project that resulted in the construction of the fine locks and ship canal at Sault Ste. Marie, and was called into consultation frequently when national consideration of the iron industry was under way. His loyalty in protecting and advancing the
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interests of this great industry has become a very part of its history. As a member of the firm of George H. & S. P. Ely, with headquarters in Cleveland, he played a large part in the development of the iron business. In 1890 he became one of the organizers of the Central National Bank of Cleveland, and upon its incorporation was elected its president, an office which he retained until his death. He was a loyal member and supporter of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, and served as a director of this organization. He was a member of the four executive committees of the American Protective Tariff League, and in this connection gave valuable service. He was called also to the office of president of the Western Iron Ore Association. From an editorial that appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer at the time of the death of Mr. Ely are taken the following extracts : "From the beginning of his active life, he was intimately connected with the iron interests, having large holdings in iron mines in the Lake Superior country. No man had a more thorough knowledge of that branch of the iron industry, or commanded more attention when setting forth its import- ance and explaining its needs. It was for this reason, as well as from knowledge of the influential value of his reputation for sincerity, that he was so frequently chosen to represent the business interests of Cleveland- manufacturing, commercial and marine-that are so greatly dependent on the prosperity of the iron industry. He labored unceasingly, and unspar- ingly of himself, in the faithful discharge of such trusts."
Mr. Ely had in the most significant sense the faith that makes faithful in all things, and to him duty was the veritable canopy of life. He was liberal, progressive and public-spirited, and did much to advance the civic and material welfare of his loved home city. His charities and benevo- lences were large and found varied avenues of concrete expression. He served as president of Lakeside Hospital, and was a trustee of Adelbert College, and of Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Humane Society, the Industrial Home and other benevolent institutions. He was for thirty years an elder and trustee of the Old Stone First Presbyterian Church. His political allegiance was given to the republican party, and he gave two terms of characteristically loyal and effective service as a member of the Ohio State Senate, his first election having occurred in 1883, and he having been returned by a still larger majority in the election of 1885.
The sudden death of Mr. Ely brought sorrow to the community in which he had so long maintained his home, and from manifold sources came tributes of appreciation and of sorrow, these including formal resolu- tions by business, civic and social organizations, the church of which he had long been a member, and countless friends having marked their sense of loss and bereavement.
The home life of Mr. Ely was one of ideal order, and in this con- nection his noble and lovable nature best manifested itself. His wife, whose maiden name was Amelia Ripka, of Philadelphia, survived him. The one surviving child, Emma R., still maintains her home in Cleveland and is the widow of Gen. George A. Garretson, a review of whose career is given in the preceding sketch. The son, Montague, died in Prince- ton College in 1880, and Laura died in 1877, aged thirteen years. Two children died in infancy.
3 L Marble.
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BARZILLA L. MARBLE, who for many eventful years has resided at Bedford, Ohio, was born on the historic Libby Road, near Bedford, on the 6th of February, 1851, and is the son of Levi and Mary (Richardson) Marble, who became prominent citizens and most desirable neighbors in this section of the state. The grandfather of Barzilla L. was Thomas Marble, who, away back in 1832, came westward from New York State in the old fashioned way of traveling and settled on an attractive stretch of land on what is now Broadway and Maple Heights, about two miles from the present site of Bedford. Though this region was then populated with a scattered white population, all this portion of the state was wild and rugged and here and there could be seen camps of Indians who were steadily being driven westward to the prairies of the now "Great West." It was in this vicinity that Thomas Marble secured a rich tract of land and began the Herculean task of clearing off the timber and raising crops of grain and herds of live stock. Here he passed the remainder of his life, building up a fine farm and an enviable reputation as a superior citizen.
When Levi Marble, father of subject, was a lad of twelve years, he was brought to Cuyahoga County and worked for some twelve years for a farmer named Billings, whose farm is now a part of Garfield Park, learning the arts and angles of successful agriculture. In early manhood he engaged in the butchering business which enabled him to get a start in the financial world of the West. Still later he engaged in the occupation of making monuments, and engaged in other profitable business pursuits from time to time. He became one of the leading citizens and took an active part in the uplift of the community. He served as treasurer of Bedford Township, which fact proves his high standing among his neighbors. He was both industrious and successful. He passed away at the age of sixty-nine years.
Barzilla L., during his adolescent period, received only a common school education, but managed to supplement this standing by outside reading and study. During the Civil war and for many years thereafter times were hard, money scarce and evasive and all people were destitute of means to advance in industry and literature. However, he managed to attend the night schools for a time and there revealed his superior aptitude for mathe- matics. At the very early age of thirteen years he began work in the old Purdy Chair Factory under the ownership and management of Chester Purdy and was there engaged for some time. Succeeding this experience he managed to secure a position with the Wheelock Chair Factory Company and was there employed during his early manhood. About the year 1871 he was given a position with the Taylor Chair Factory Company and was quickly promoted step by step until he occupied the important post of super- intendent in 1880. In that capacity he mastered the problems of successful industry and gained the utmost confidence and esteem of his employers and his neighbors.
In 1885 he became one of the founders of the Marble & Shattuck Chair Company, which concern began at once active operations and continued with success until about 1895, when Mr. Marble disposed of his interests in the company and with others organized and established the B. L. Marble Chair Company, which is still in active existence. Under the directions and management of Mr. Marble the company grew and expanded until in
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1901 it was duly incorporated with a capital of $50,000 and is now one of the most important and conspicuous industrial concerns of Bedford and even of this part of the state. It has a wide patronage over a thickly popu- lated region, and its products are shipped to all parts of the Union. In 1913 Mr. Marble sold his interests in the company and has since lived practically a retired life in the same old town among his acquaintances and friends.
In 1873 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary A., daughter of Joseph and Martha (White) Matthews, and to this wedding three children were born: Bessie Lou, who became Mrs. I. G. Walling; Lloyd J., who was called by death on July 2, 1907 ; and Lynn L. Their mother was given a good education in girlhood, loved her home, but died in 1901. Mr. Marble selected for his second wife Mrs. Ellen A. (Nelson) Hamilton, who by her first husband was the mother of two children: Lucius E. and Clark N. She passed away on February 20, 1920. Mr. Marble is a member of the Masonic order, is a Knight Templar, York Rite and a thirty-second degree Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He has firmly established his enviable reputation as a superior citizen and as an enterprising and successful business leader.
HARVEY DRUCKER. One of the well-known citizens of Cleveland who has won success in business and prominence in public affairs is Harvey Drucker, public accountant and consulting tax expert, who has been a resident of Cleveland for over twenty years. He received his early educa- tion in the public schools of Boston, Massachusetts. Coming to Cleveland in 1900, he attended the Cleveland Law School for a time, and then became a salesman for the H. C. Christy wholesale grocery company, and while thus employed he studied law and accounting in night schools. In 1916 he engaged in business as an expert accountant, and a while later began specializing in tax service, assisting large concerns in making out income and other tax reports, and has developed one of the largest clien- teles in the city, his abilities being in constant demand in that special service.
Mr. Drucker has been active and prominent in republican party affairs since the presidential campaign of 1916, in which year he served as secre- tary of the Charles E. Hughes League of Cuyahoga County, and as manager of Mr. Hughes' campaign in the county. In 1918 he was active in behalf of the candidacy of Frank B. Willis for governor, and in 1920 he was secretary of the Leonard Wood League of this county. He also had charge in this county of the campaigns of Ralph D. Cole for governor and of Simeon D. Fess for United States senator. He was an alternate Coolidge delegate from the Twentieth Congressional District to the Republican National Convention. in Cleveland in 1924. His abilities and services to the party were recognized in the republican primaries in August, 1924, by his nomination as a candidate for Congress for the Twentieth Congressional District.
Mr. Drucker is a member of the Tippecanoe and the Western Reserve Clubs, the Twenty-fifth Ward Republican Club and a former vice presi- dent of the League of Republican Clubs of Cuyahoga County and a mem- ber of the Republican County Executive Committee. He is popular both as a successful business man and as a progressive citizen, and has a wide
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circle of friends and acquaintances who esteem him for his qualities of both heart and mind.
Mr. Drucker married Miss Evelyn R. Markowitz, who was born in Cleveland, and they are the parents of three children : Eugene, Gwendolyn and Alvina.
MAURICE FRANCIS HANNING, who for the past six years has been engaged in the practice of law at Cleveland, is a native of Ohio, and earned a favorable record as a public-spirited young citizen near the old university town of Delaware prior to coming to Cleveland.
He was born at Delaware, Ohio, February 8, 1894, the son of Jerry S. and Nellie A. (Kelly) Hanning. His parents were born at Delaware, while the paternal grandparents, Maurice and Margaret Hanning, were natives of County Kerry, Ireland. Maurice Hanning came to Ohio when a young man, and was long and favorably known in Delaware. Jerry S. Hanning and wife, who reside at Delaware, have spent most of their lives in that community, where the father is engaged in business.
Maurice Francis Hanning attended parochial schools and the public high school at Delaware, and continued his education in Ohio Wesleyan Academy, Ohio University and Ohio Wesleyan University, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1916, and in Ohio State University and Western Reserve University Law School. He was graduated from the last named with the Bachelor of Laws degree in 1919. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in December of 1918, and since this date he has been engaged in private practice at Cleveland.
While a young man at Delaware, Mr. Hanning served five years as clerk of the Board of Elections and three years as chairman of the Dela- ware Civil Service Commission. He was one of the brilliant debators of Ohio Wesleyan University. He is a member of the Cleveland Bar Asso- ciation, Delaware Lodge No. 76, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Gilmour Council, Knights of Columbus, and Phi Delta Phi and Delta Sigma Rho college fraternities.
Mr. Hanning married, June 9, 1920, Miss Mary M. Miller, of Colum- bus, Ohio, daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth (O'Hara) Miller. They have one daughter, Mary Geraldine, born August 31, 1923.
CHARLES THEODORE PRESTIEN, vice president of the Joseph Laronge Company, is a former county auditor of Cuyahoga County, and has long been favorably known in business as well as in politics in Cleveland.
He was born May 18, 1870, on the west side of the city, on old Mechanic Street, now West Thirty-eighth Street. His parents, Frederick and Minnie (Rhode) Prestien, were natives of Germany, his father born in 1835 and his mother in 1836. They were married in the old country and, coming to the United States, settled in Cleveland in 1854. Frederick Prestien during the greater part of his residence in Cleveland was in the service of the Lake Shore Railway Company. He was with that company in the depot service when the old passenger station was built. Frederick Prestien died in 1901 and his wife in 1898.
Charles T. Prestien was educated in the public schools on the west side of Cleveland. He was engaged in the provision business for a period of
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ten years before his entrance into official affairs. He was appointed deputy clerk of the Police Court in 1897 and served until 1909, when he resigned, having been elected on the republican ticket in 1908 as county auditor. He was reelected in 1910 and in 1912 was renominated for the third time, but in that year the entire county republican ticket went down to defeat. Mr. Prestien after leaving the office of county auditor joined the organiza- tion of the Joseph Laronge Company, one of Cleveland's best known real estate organizations.
His personal aspirations for public office have been fully satisfied, but he is still active in the republican party, working for its success and the interest of his friends. He is a member of the Cleveland Real Estate Board, the City and Tippecanoe clubs and the Knights of Pythias and Elks.
Mr. Prestien married Miss Johanna Muehlhauser, daughter of the late John Muehlhauser, of Cleveland. Mrs. Prestien died April 2, 1924. Three children were born to their marriage: Carl Frederick, who died when five and a half years of age; Ruth Johanna, who died at the age of ten years ; and the surviving child is Miss Grace Theodora, who was born in 1907.
SAMUEL HARMSWORTH VOLK, M. D. One of the talented younger physicians and surgeons of Cleveland, Doctor Volk was brought to this city as a small boy and was reared and educated in its environs.
He was born in Southern Poland, February 16, 1894, son of Benjamin and Rose (Sloyer) Volk. His parents were of well to do families with permanent business connections in their section of Poland. In 1901 Benjamin Volk, father of Doctor Volk, came to the United States and located in Cleveland, and was joined by his family here on January 1, 1902. He established a bakery on the East Side, and build up a large and pros- perous business.
Samuel Harmsworth Volk was eight years of age when brought to Cleveland, and had previously been schooled under private tutors in the old country. He attended public schools in Cleveland, graduated from the Central High School in 1912, and then entered Adelbert College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1916. He next entered the medical department of Western Reserve University, finishing his course and receiving his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1920. Before graduating he was an interne in St. Alexis Hospital during 1919-20. Since graduating he has conducted a general practice, with offices at 7804 Broadway. Much of his work has been done in hospitals, including the St. Alexis, the East Seventy-ninth Street, St. Clair's, and St. Anne's hospitals.
Doctor Volk is a member of the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State and American Medical associations, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. He married in 1920 Miss Jessie Lefkowitz, daughter of Herman Lefkowitz, a Cleveland business man.
WILLIAM AMHERST KNOWLTON, M. D. One of the prominent physi- cians and surgeons of Cleveland, with home on Warner Road, Doctor Knowlton is a native of Cuyahoga County, and represents a family that has supplied a number of names to the medical profession in Northern Ohio.
His grandfather, Dr. W. A. Knowlton, came from New Brunswick to Ohio, and was a pioneer physician at Brecksville. He did his practice in
Williamf. astrup,
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the early days, and performed much of his riding about the country on horseback. He remained a resident of Brecksville until his death. His wife was a Miss Haskell, and they reared six children, named Augustus, William A., Albert, Ellen, Caroline and Charlotte. Augustus practiced medicine at Royalton and later at Berea, Ohio, until his death, and Wil- liam A. also followed the profession of medicine, but is now retired and spends his winters in Florida. He is a veteran of the Civil war.
Rev. Albert W. Knowlton, father of Dr. William Amherst Knowlton, graduated from Adelbert College at Cleveland, later from the Lane Theo- logical Seminary of New York, and was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry in that city. He subsequently located at Strongville in Cuyahoga County, where he built a beautiful home, occupied by the family for some years. He died at the age of eighty-one. His wife was Jemina Hawes Wight, a lineal descendant of Lord Sanderson Wight, of the well known family of that name on the Isle of Wight. She reached the age of eighty- seven. The children of Rev. Albert W. Knowlton and wife were: Janet, Albert, William Amherst, Edgar H., Naomi and Jessie. The daughter Janet has made a notable record in educational circles. She graduated from the Woman's College at Zanesville, and for ten years taught in Tuskegee College, and from there went west to the Pacific Coast. The daughter Jessie married A. B. Strong, of Los Angeles.
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