USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, (Vol. 3) > Part 38
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Robert H. York was an infant when the family settled in Cleveland, where his education was acquired in the city schools and in old Bridgeman Academy. He also graduated from the Phillips Academy of Andover, Massachusetts, one of the most exclusive preparatory schools in the East. After leaving that school he went to St. Augustine, Florida, and at a salary of five dollars a week became an employe of his uncle, Henry M. Flagler, who at that time, about 1885, was engaged in the building of Ponce de Leon Hotel, the first of the enterprises by which he did so much to develop the Florida east coast. Subsequently Mr. York had two years of travel abroad and spent two years in Colorado, and when he resumed his residence at Cleveland he entered the service of the Standard Oil Com- pany in the cooperage department, under Martin Snyder. Mr. York for fifteen years was in the brokerage business, and his later years were occupied in looking after his varied business interests.
He was one of the organizers and at the time of his death president of the Cleveland Heights Savings & Trust Company ; helped to organize and was president of the Berkshire Manufacturing Company; and was president of the Metropolitan Motor Insurance Company. He was also vice president of the Securities Company; vice president of the Sterling- Knight Motor Company, and a director in the Ritters Trust Company.
His interests brought him relationship with many of the prominent social organizations, including the Manhattan and Brook Club of New York City, the Union, Tavern, Roadside, Cleveland Country, Mayfield
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Country, Kirtland County, Chagrin Valley Hunt, and Pepper Pike Coun- try clubs, all at Cleveland.
Mr. York married Miss Clara Gordon, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. O. F. Gordon, of Cleveland. He is survived by Mrs. York, and there are three children : a daughter, Mrs. Thomas H. White, of Cleveland; a son, Barney H., a member of Hord, Curtiss & Company, attorneys at Cleve- land ; and Gordon F., a student in Yale University.
JAMES L. HOLAN, founder and president of the James Holan Manu- facturing Company, manufacturers of commercial automobile bodies (Plant No. 1) and of high grade flooring (Plant No. 2), has gained for himself success and prestige as one of the vigorous and progressive business men of Cleveland.
Mr. Holan was born at Velky-osek, Bohemia, on the 15th of June, 1885, and is a son of Michael and Mary (Rouny) Holan, both represen- tatives of old and sterling Bohemian families. Michael Holan learned in the establishment of his father the trade of cabinet-maker, and after the death of the father he assumed control of the business, with which he continued his active association fifty-four years. He is now living retired in his old home town in Bohemia, and is venerable in years. His wife died March 15, 1893.
In his native place James L. Holan gained his youthful education in the public schools, and thereafter he served a thorough apprenticeship to the trade of blacksmith and carriagemaker. He continued his resi- dence in his native land until 1906, when, about the time of attaining to his legal majority, he came to the United States and made Cleveland his destination. The day after his arrival in this city he went to work at his trade, and the success and advancement that have marked his course in the intervening years stand in evidence of his energy, ability and pro- gressiveness. In 1908 Mr. Holan engaged independently in business by opening a blacksmith and wagon shop at the corner of Clark Avenue and West Forty-first Street. Of the prosperity that attended this initial venture it is unnecessary to offer further evidence than that eight years later he had thirty men in his employ and was doing a large volume of business. He had no clerical or office force, but personally gave super- vision to all details of his successful enterprise.
In 1918 Mr. Holan organized the James Holan Manufacturing Com- pany, and erected a manufacturing plant at 3809 Clark Avenue. Here he engaged in the manufacturing of commercial automobile bodies, with an average of 100 employes. In 1920 the company erected and equipped what is conceded to be the most important plant in Northern Ohio devoted to the manufacturing of flooring, and this establishment is the central stage of a large and prosperous manufacturing business. As president of the company Mr. Holan has active charge of both of these modern manufacturing plants, and to him is primarily due the successful upbuild- ing of the two thriving enterprises. He is a valued member of the Cleveland Chamber of Industry, and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Holan married Miss Ella Beneda, who was born in Pilsen, Bohemia, a daughter of Joseph Beneda. Mrs. Holan came to Cleveland
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in the year 1906, and here her marriage was solemnized. Mr. and Mrs. Holan have two children, Ella Mary, aged ten years (1922), and Howard James, aged eight years.
WILLIAM JACOB BECKER. This distinguished citizen has lived his entire life thus far in this city, and was born in the old Becker home at 56 Mechanic Street (now 2100 West Thirty-eighth Street), on July 25, 1865. He is the son of John and Christina (Slaughter) Becker, both of whom were natives of Germany and crossed the Atlantic at an early date. They were married in Cleveland, where they became acquainted, and promptly began their duties as upright and industrious citizens.
While still in Germany. John Becker learned the butcher's trade, and not long after beginning operations in Cleveland he engaged in the wholesale butchering business. At this he was quite successful, and at the same time built up a desirable reputation. In 1875, hoping to expand his opportuni- ties, he entered the moving and trucking business, becoming the founder and owner of the large concern now owned and operated by his son Wil- liam. In early times the establishment was comparatively small, the entire outfit comprising only three head of horses and the equipment which they could haul. However, steadily and quite rapidly the business increased and at all times proved a profitable undertaking. John Becker, the father, passed away in 1898, at the age of sixty-eight years; his widow sur- vived him until 1912, dying at the age of seventy-one years. Both were eminent and upright citizens and were members of the First Reformed Church.
William Jacob Becker, now one of the leading and conspicuous citizens of the West Side, and one of the widely-known and prominent business men of the city, was educated at the parochial and the public schools here, and at the age of fifteen years began work for his father in the trucking business. In 1903 he took control of the entire business, and ever since then has steadily improved his facilities to meet the demands of an up-to- date, modern and swiftly-growing city. He is now probably the leader of this important branch of business on the West Side, with eleven auto trucks, doing exclusive trucking in the moving, packing and storage business at 2110 West Thirty-eighth Street.
In addition to his important business enterprises he has distinguished himself in other notable social and economic movements. For years he has been an active member of the Cleveland Chamber of Industry, has twice been a member of its board of directors, and has often served on various important committees. He is a member of Halcyon Lodge No. 498, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Thatcher Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Forest City Council, Forest City Commandery No. 40, Knights Templar ; Lake Erie Consistory, Valley of Cleveland, Scottish Rite, thirty- second degree; Al Koran Temple, Mvstic Shrine; and Al Sirat Grotto. He is also a member of the Cleveland Yacht Club, the Lakewood Country Club and the First Reformed Church, of which latter he was a former member of the executive committee.
On the 6th of July, 1893, Mr. Becker was united in marriage with Lydia M., daughter of George and Elizabeth Eichermiller, both natives of Germany. Her birth occurred on Clark Avenue, South Side, May 20,
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1867. Mr. Becker and wife have two children: Viola, now a teacher in the public schools of the city, and Walter, a student at Dartmouth College.
GEORGE JOHN BAUM. Out of a life of fifty-five years George John Baum has devoted forty-three to business in Cleveland. In all that time he has served just two of the large mercantile houses of the city, and is now buyer for Halle Brothers & Company.
Mr. Baum, who is also prominent in the civic and public life of Lakewood, his home town, was born in Cleveland, March 17, 1868, son of John J. and Margaret (Foltz) Baum. His parents were born . in Germany, married there, and with one child, then a year old, came to this country in 1863. They located at Cleveland, where John J. Baum for many years engaged in the meat business, and was active in that line until his death.
As a boy in Cleveland, George J. Baum attended public schools, reach- ing the eighth grade. At the age of twelve, leaving school in 1880, he began his career as a wage earner. His first service, and one that con- tinued with increasing promotions and responsibilities, was with the old dry goods house of Hower & Higbee, which later became the Higbee Company. He was with that firm forty-one years, beginning as cash boy, and for a number of years was buyer for the concern. He resigned August 1, 1921, and after a few weeks of rest and recuperation he became associated, on October 1, 1921, as buyer with Halle Brothers & Company, one of Cleveland's largest and most important department stores.
Mr. Baum became a pioneer of Lakewood. He took up his residence there when its population did not exceed 3,000. For twenty-five years he has been active in its affairs, and whatever has been deemed for the com- munity's best advantage has completely enlisted Mr. Baum's enthusiasm and cooperation. He served as a member for five years of Lakewood's first board of health, a member of the board of education for three and one-half years, and was a member of the charter commission. He is a charter member of Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, and twice a mem- ber of its board of directors, and is a charter member and director of the Lakewood Savings & Loan Company. He has served as an elder in the Lakewood Presbyterian Church, and is a member of the Lakewood lodge of Masons.
Mr. Baum married Miss Lena Brandt, daughter of Frederick Brandt, of Cleveland. They have two daughters, Margaret and Dorothy, both gradu- ates of the Lakewood High School. Margaret was a teacher in the kinder- garten department of the Lakewood public schools until her marriage to Mr. Arthur E. Meeker, of an old and prominent Cleveland family.
LAWRENCE ALONZO SUBERS, organizer, inventor, scientist and busi- ness man, is a Cleveland citizen who has added to the permanent assets of civilization and has done something to increase the control of man over the processes of nature. His is the creative mind, without which mankind could never have risen above the stage of barbarism.
Mr. Subers was born at Beach Haven, New Jersey, July 20, 1866, son of Thomas P. and Nettie M. (Dean) Subers. He was educated in public and private schools, and at an early age became interested in the development of mechanical devices and new inventions. He took out
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his first patent in 1886, and subsequently studied corporate and patent law as an aid to his work in establishing industrial corporations, and also to protect his inventions. He served as a special expert at the World's Fair at Chicago in 1893.
For many years he has been interested in various corporations, and early began an intensive study of rubber products wherein cotton is used as a basic element in conjunction with adhesive substances, and conceived the idea that the extensibility or movement of certain rubber products could and should be predetermined and controllable under pressure for the purpose for which it may be used, thereby equalizing its strength in all directions, and on this theory designed and perfected what is known as the L. C. I. tubular fabric. It has been demonstrated that this tubular fabric has a greater resistance to atmospheric conditions, and practically eliminates the separation of the various plies of fabric when under pres- sure or stress, due to the Subers L. C. I. method of construction, thereby eliminating extreme elongation, contortion, twist and expansion. It has been proven that such products, subjected to the usual mechanical tests, have passed all previous records for strength, wear, long life, and general utility. Also by this process many operations are eliminated which are necessary in the manufacture of the regular line of similar products.
During the many years required in the development and perfection of the L. C. I. tubular fabric and the processes, devices and machines for the manufacture of a certain line of mechanical rubber products there- from, a most valuable discovery was brought about, namely, that the L. C. I. principle of compiling fibrous material with adhesive compounds was adaptable for use in the manufacture of automobile tires, which was being earnestly contemplated and sought by Mr. Subers when the inception of the principle involved for mechanical goods was first con- ceived in his mind. It has been positively demonstrated by actual tests that for tire construction, the L. C. I. method is superior to any other known principle in the manufacture of tires, giving greater resiliency and mileage.
To give the public the benefit of these improvements, Mr. Subers in December, 1921, organized the Subers Rubber Products Company under the laws of Ohio, for the purpose of controlling the manufacture and distribution of the products developed under his patents, and became the president of this corporation. It is the opinion of those well versed in the rubber industry that the patents covering the products have unlim- ited possibilities, and the success of the company is based upon the intrinsic commercial value of the L. C. I. products.
Mr. Subers for many years has been active in civic, commercial and social organizations of Cleveland, including the Chamber of Commerce, Credit Men's Association, and the Automobile Club. He married, Decem- ber 14, 1893, Miss Blanche P. Dorris, of Massachusetts.
To conclude a brief sketch of one of the most interesting men in Cleveland's industrial affairs something should be said of his personality as viewed by a friend of long standing, who says: "I have never known a man who maintained so high a moral, not to say Christian level, day in and day out. I have seen him in circumstances where most men would have gone to pieces, as calm and steady as though children were playing at his knee. I have seen him in the midst of financial strain and stress
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maintain a cheerfulness and exhibit a hope that was more than remarkable. In the long, hard struggle he has had to bring to success a really valuable contribution to the world's progress, he has had my unflagging interest and my prayers."
HORACE ERVIN MITCHELL, M. D., who is established in the successful general practice of his profession at Lakewood, was born in the City of Muncie, Indiana, February 25, 1888, a son of Darius C. and Elmira (Newcomb) Mitchell. Though the doctor thus claims the Hoosier State as the place of his nativity, he is a representative of one of the old and honored families of Ohio, his father having been born at New Carlisle, Clark County, this state, a son of Joseph R. Mitchell, who was born in Miami County, Ohio. His great-grandfather was Samuel Mitchell, a pioneer settler in that county, to which he came from Pennsylvania. He was a gallant soldier in the War of the Revolution, in which he served on the staff of General Washington.
Joseph R. Mitchell was reared and educated in Ohio, and prior to the Civil war he established his residence in Muncie, Indiana, which state he represented as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. The mother of Doctor Mitchell was born in Delaware County, Indiana, a daughter of Lyons P. Newcomb, who came from Clinton County, Ohio, and became an early settler in Delaware County.
Darius C. Mitchell was a boy at the time of the family removal to Muncie, Indiana, where he was reared and educated and where he eventually became a successful construction engineer, a profession and business which he there followed many years-until his retirement from active business, he being still a resident of Muncie and being in his seventy-third year at the time of this writing, while his wife is in her seventy-second year.
In the public schools of his native city Doctor Mitchell continued his studies until his graduation from the Muncie High School as a member of the class of 1906. Thereafter he devoted one year to newspaper work at Muncie, and he then entered historic old Jefferson Medical College, in the City of Philadelphia, in which great institution he was graduated in 1912. After thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he passed two years in hospital work in various hospitals, and further fortified himself by six months of effective post-graduate work in Europe. In 1914 he established himself in practice at Lakewood, Ohio, and his unequivocal success here offers the best voucher for his professional ability and personal popularity. The doctor applied for enlistment in the Medical Corps of the United States Army when the nation became involved in the World war, but minor physical ineligibility led to his rejection. He is a member of the official staff of Lakewood Public Hos- pital and also of the Lutheran Hospital in the City of Cleveland. He is actively identified with the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. The Doctor is affiliated with Gaston G. Allen Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Cunningham Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Holy Grail Com- mandery of Knights Templar and Al Koran Shrine. He married, November 10, 1915, Miss Marcia Sommers, of Lakewood.
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JERRY R. ZMUNT. In the years of his professional activity as a member of the Cleveland bar Mr. Zmunt has gained the success and prestige that offer distinct evidence of ability and also of well earned claim upon popular confidence and esteem. He is now serving as a member of the board of county commissioners of Cuyahoga County, and through this and other official and civic mediums he has given definite expression to his loyalty and stewardship as a progressive and liberal citizen of the Ohio metropolis. Mr. Zmunt has here been active and influential in the local camp and campaign manœuvers of the republican party, and in 1918 he was his party's candidate for representative of the Twentieth Ohio District in the United States Congress. He has devel- oped a substantial and representative law business, and maintains his offices in the Engineers Building.
Mr. Zmunt claims the Hawkeye State as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Mitchell, Iowa, January 21, 1871. He is a son of Vincent and Mary (Zvoboda) Zmunt, both of whom were born and reared in Austria, where their marriage was solemnized and where their first child was born. In his native land Vincent Zmunt served a thorough apprenticeship to the trade of shoemaking, at a period when all shoes and boots were manufactured by hand and when exceptional skill was demanded of artisans in this line. Thus he fortified himself for the making of the highest grade of footwear, and his technical skill proved adequate reinforcement when he initiated his career in the United States, he having come with his wife and their one child, Frank, to this country in the year 1864, the other children, Vincent, Mary, Jerry R., Julius and Oscar, having been born after the family home had been established in the United States. Julius and Oscar are deceased. After living for a time in the city of New York, Vincent Zmunt moved with his family to the West and resided for an interval in the City of Chicago. He then established his residence at Mitchell. Iowa, where he thus gained a measure of pioneer prestige, and there he engaged in the boot and shoe business. In connection with his retail shoe business he maintained a department for the manufacturing of custom-made shoes, and this department became one of such importance as to require the employment of three or four skilled workmen. Mr. Zmunt built up a substantial and prosperous business at Mitchell, and was one of the honored citizens and . representative business men of that place at the time when he left Mitchell and moved with his family to Iowa City, in order to give to his children the advantages of the University of Iowa. In Iowa City he engaged in the grocery business, in which he continued until his death. His widow came to Cleveland and made her home with her daughter until her death.
In the public schools of his native place Jerry R. Zmunt continued his studies until his graduation from high school, and thereafter he made a record of four years of effective service as a teacher in the public schools, his pedagogic work having been done in Iowa and Minnesota. In the meanwhile he formulated definite plans for his future career, and in harmony with these plans he finally came to Cleveland, Ohio, and entered the law department of Western Reserve University, working his way through by doing janitor's work at the university. In this institu- tion he was graduated as a member of the class of 1896, and his reception
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of the degree of Bachelor of Laws was almost immediately followed by his admission to the Ohio bar. He has since been continuously and successfully engaged in the practice of his profession in Cleveland, and since 1899 has been eligible for practice in the Federal Courts of the Northern District of Ohio. He has proved his powers as a resourceful trial lawyer and able counselor, and has made the passing years count in ever broadening command of the intricacies of the involved science of jurisprudence, which ever challenges the ambitious student, no matter how broad has been his practical experience along professional lines.
In 1916 Mr. Zmunt was elected to the Cleveland City Council, as representative from the Seventh Ward, and in this office he continued his service until 1922. He was a member of the council during the period of American participation in the World war, when this and all other governmental bodies were called upon to assume far greater responsi- bilities and more exacting service, and he did his part in making the work of the municipal government efficient during this climateric period, besides being otherwise active and influential in the advancing of local patriotic service. In the council he was assigned to the streets, finance, the appro- priations and the judiciary committees. The estimate placed upon his service in this connection was shown in the loyal support of his con- stituents, and as a member of the board of county commissioners of Cuyahoga County, to which office he was elected in 1920, he finds oppor- tunity for further service of most loyal and appreciable order. As previously stated, Mr. Zmunt was a republican candidate for representative in Congress in the year 1918, and the general trend of political exigencies at the time compassed his defeat.
In the time-honored Masonic fraternity the basic affiliation of Mr. Zmunt is with Halcyon Lodge No. 498, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and his maximum York Rite affiliation is with Forest City Commandery No. 40, Knights Templar. His Masonic alliances are extended to Lake Erie Consistory of the Scottish Rite, Al Koran Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and Al Sirat Grotto. He is identified also with various social, professional and civic organizations of representative char- acter in his home city.
Mr. Zmunt married Miss Mary Schovanek in 1893 and the children of this union were four in number : Esther, Vera (who died in 1907, aged five and one-half years), Vernon J. and Althea N. Esther is the wife of Walter Breymaier, a World's war soldier, and they have a son, Robert Walter.
THOMAS JOSEPH CARLIN, who for the past twenty years has been in the paint and varnish business, is a native of Cleveland, and his varied interests and activities make him one of the substantial men of the city.
He was born in Cleveland August 15, 1863, son of Eugene and Mary (Osborne) Carlin. His father was born in Ireland in 1823, and as a young man came to the United States and to Cleveland. In St. John's Cathedral at Cleveland he married Mary Osborne, also a native of Ireland, who came to this country when a young woman. Their marriage ceremony was performed by the late Bishop Rapp. Eugene Carlin for many years followed the trade of iron moulder. He died here in 1905
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