USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. II, Pt. 1 > Part 17
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the Jews of the whole world. The next year appeared a German weekly, Die Deborah, with the motto, 'Forward, my soul, with strength.' American Judaism had now fearless organs, and the seeds of reform scattered broad- cast over the land soon bore fruit.
"During the ensuing quarter of a century, Dr. Wise visited all the im- portant cities of the country, from New York to San Francisco, advocating his views. His own congregation at Cincinnati aided him in every manner.
"He had three principal objects in view, the union of Jewish congrega- tions to care for the common interests of American Israel, the founding of a college where young Americans could be prepared for the Jewish pulpit, and the establishment of a synod. As early as 1848 Dr. Wise had issued a call for a meeting of delegates from various congregations, but nothing came of the movement. But in 1873 he had the pleasure of seeing his hopes realized, for in that year, in response to a call issued by his congregation, Bene Yeshurun, a convention of delegates from many reform congregations met at Cincinnati, organized the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and established the Hebrew Union College, from which the first class was graduated in 1883. To-day the total number of graduates of this institution is 55. Strange to say, the East, which was the seat of bitterest opposition to Dr. Wise and his plans, is the field of usefulness of many of these young American rabbis, one of whom, Dr. Joseph Silverman, is rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, of New York City. The establishment of the Hebrew Union College has undoubtedly preserved Judaism in America.
"After vain efforts in 1856, 1869, 1871, and 1885 to establish a synod, Dr. Wise finally succeeded, in 1889, in organizing the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which meets annually. This body has succeeded in publishing uniform prayer books, in use in most of the reform congregations.
"Dr. Wise, in addition to his work as president of the Hebrew Union Col- lege, president of the Conference, editor of The American Israelite and Dic Deborah, and rabbi of Bene Yeshurun Congregation, which has 360 members, has been a busy author. In 1860 he published his 'Essence of Judaism,' which in 1862 appeared with the title 'Judaism: Its Doctrine and Duties.'
"In 1868 appeared his 'Prayer Book and Book of Hymns.' Then fol- lowed 'The Origin of Christianity,' 'Judaism and Christianity : Their Agree- ments and Disagreements,' 'The Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth,' 'The Cosmic God,' 'The History of the Hebrews' Second Commonwealth,' 'A De-
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fense of Judaism versus Proselytizing Christianity,' and 'Pranoas to Holy Writ.' "
In 1876, Dr. Wise, who several years before had lost his wife, married Selma Bondi, daughter of the late Dr. Jonah Bondi, of New York. There are living II children, eight of the first marriage and three of the second. In addition to his manifold duties, he was a faithful member of the board of directors of the University of Cincinnati. He was easy of approach, amiable, genial, modest and full of humor; his greatest merit, however, was his thor- ough simplicity, in which he out-Jeffersoned Jefferson, of whose political faith he had been a stanch admirer.
Dr. Wise, who had been aptly called the "Moses of America," and by his enemies the "Jewish Pope," had been honored on many occasions. In 1889, his 70th birthday was made the occasion of a national celebration by Amer- ican Israel. In commemoration of that event and in appreciation of his serv- ices to the cause, he was presented with a large house on Mound street, oppo- site George street, in which he spent the winter months. In summer he lived on his farm near College Hill, which he purchased in 1860. His country life and his strict adherence to the laws of nature preserved all his faculties, and despite his years he did as much work as he did a quarter of a century ago. He worked in his library nearly every night until after midnight, and his pen and his voice were as ever ready to champion the cause of Israel as in the days when he visited President Buchanan to protest against Switzerland's treatment of the Jews, or when he called on President Lincoln to object to the tone of General Grant's Order No. 11, or when at the head of a delegation he asked President Hayes to protect the rights of American Jews in Russia.
The most important work of Dr. Wise's life was undoubtedly the Jew- ish reform movement. What this really meant it is almost impossible for the non-Jewishi reader to conceive. The Jew of 50 years ago in the synagogue sat with his head covered and his shoulders wrapped in a prayer mantle; the men and women separated, the latter being in a screened gallery; per- mitted no choirs and celebrated all holidays except the Day of Atonement in duplicate. Outside of his place of worship he wore an amulet, bound his arms and head with phylacteries for morning and evening prayers, eschewed the food not only forbidden by Mosaic laws, but in addition observed a 1111111- ber of ridiculous dietary restrictions as to eating milk and meat together, using the same dishes for these different foods, or those in common use
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during Passover. These and dozens of other observances, which were held so sacred that the non-observance of the least of them marked the sinner a's an apostate in the eyes of the pious, Dr. Wise succeeded in eliminating from American Judaism. In addition he admitted girls to confirmation, a custom which has since been generally adopted, and as far as taking part in all religious services were concerned placed women on an equal footing with men1.
In politics, Dr. Wise, starting with Whig proclivities, developed into an ardent State's Rights Democrat. A strong Anti-Slavery man and a Union War Democrat, he was one of the faithful few who had the courage of their convictions and dared to raise his voice in Southern Ohio for the preserva- tion of the constitutional rights of the people in the dark days of 1863. He never held a political office, except in connection with the public school sys- tem, of which he is an enthusiastic advocate, and in whose interests he was a tireless worker. In his prime he was a man of fine physique, of the blonde type, and about five feet, ten inches, in height. At 80 years of age he was still active and powerful, and as capable as ever of effective work. He was easily the foremost of the representative Jews of the United States, and after a stormy career had reached a point where all men who knew him did him honor, Jew, Christian and Free Thinker alike. Among his own people his popularity knew no bounds. He was often in affectionate jest called the "Jewish Pope of America."
He had a gloriously successful career, and these were the qualities that earned it: He feared no man; he was quick in decision and determined in action; he was no respecter of persons, never cringing to the rich or power- ful; he held the poor as made sacred by their poverty. Compassionate to the weak and erring, he was ever stern when occasion demanded it, and throughi- out his whole long, eventful life, Isaac M. Wise never forgot or abandoned any man or woman who had once been his friend.
Dr. Wise spent his last Sabbath in his usual way, preaching in the Pluim Street Temple in the morning and teaching his classes at the Hebrew Union College in the afternoon. He was leaving the classroom just after completing the day's work when he was stricken. He had just got to the door and was leaning on the arm of his son, Jonah, who was one of the students at the college, when he was overcome by faintness. He was carried to his office and placed upon a conch, and later removed to his home. He was given the
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best of medical attention, but notwithstanding continued to decline until relieved by death. His congregation and also the citizens of Cincinnati in general were greatly shocked by his death. In speaking of his death, Rabbi L. Grossmann paid him the following tribute: " It was a beautiful life, and I should like to say much about it. But grief lames the tongue and the few inadequate words I have at command will not do it justice I know. All that I can say now is terse, but intense. We have lost the one man among us who was the greatest, truest, purest. That body of his which now lies at his home in solemn silence was the vestment of a great soul, and I thank God that it was sturdy and strong so long. I grieve that he has been taken from us, and I know that we have become poor through his absence, but I am proud in my grief. He was great in the sight of men, and he is also great in the sight of God."
THEODORE HORSTMAN.
THEODORE HORSTMAN, a well known member of the Hamilton County bar, was born in the city of Cincinnati, which is now his home, October I, 1856. He attended the public schools and Woodward High School, after which he pursued a course in stenography. At the age of 19 years he was a reporter in the courts, and this led him to take up the study of the law in the office of Judge John W. Okey, afterward a justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio. He began his law reading in 1875, and when 20 years of age was graduated from the Cincinnati Law School. In the spring of 1877, Mr. Horstman was admitted to the bar, and licensed to practice in the Court of Common Pleas and all the State courts. Four years later, he was admitted to practice in the United States courts. In 1886, he was a member of the Republican State Central Committee. In the year in which he attained his majority, he was chosen a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education from the 11th Ward, having been nominated by the Republicans and endorsed by the Democrats. Two years later he was elected to the Board of Education by the city at large, and during that time served on the Union Board of Cincinnati High Schools.
For several years after his admission to the bar, Mr. Horstman divided his time between his professional labors and newspaper work. In 1887, he was elected corporation counsel for a term of two years, and in 1889 was re-
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CAPT. ELIAS RIGGS MONFORT, A. M., LL. D.
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elected. On the expiration of the second term, he was a third time elected, for a three-years term, by a majority of over 9,000, running about 7,000 votes ahead of his ticket. He held the office until May, 1894. In 1893, he was offered the nomination for judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati, but declined the honor. In May, 1894, he was nominated, on the Citizens' ticket, for the mayoralty, and received in the following election 20,000 votes, run- ning 5,000 votes ahead of his ticket. Since that time he has engaged in the private practice of the law. In 1896, he declined a nomination to the bench of the Court of Common Pleas, tendered him by the Hamilton County Bar Association committee, and endorsed by the Democratic convention. In the spring of 1897, Mr. Horstman acted as chairman of the Citizens' Republican Campaign Committee, which supported a fusion ticket, which was elected by a large majority. While he served as corporation counsel, Governor McKin- ley appointed him a member of the Anti-Trust League, which met in Chicago in 1892. He has been connected with some of the most important litigation that has been heard in the courts of this section of the State.
Mr. Horstman was married in 1878 to Emma F. Garrette, daughter of the late eminent physician, Rollin J. Garrette, of Cincinnati. They had two children : Horace and Florence. The family attend the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mr. Horstman is a 32nd degree Mason, and is a member of Syrian Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
CAPT. ELIAS RIGGS MONFORT, A. M., LL. D.
CAPT. ELIAS RIGGS MONFORT, A. M., LL. D., whose portrait accompanies this sketch, is now serving his second term as postmaster of Cincinnati. For a number of years a successful lawyer, he relinquished the practice of his pro- fession because of the wounds he received in the Civil War and became associ- ate editor of the Herald and Presbyter, a paper which exerts a great influence in the Presbyterian body, which it represents. He has since been one of the editors of this publication, and his work in connection with Presbyterian assemblies has been such as to gain for him national prominence.
Captain Monfort comes of a distinguished line of ancestry, which with its collateral branches contained many faithful and prominent ministers and many soldiers of the Revolutionary War. His grandfather had two brothers,
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four sons and one son-in-law who were ministers. Three at least of our subject's ancestors served in the War of Independence. His great-grandfather, Lawrence Monfort, with two brothers, served in Capt. Hugh Campbell's Com- pany from York County, in the Pennsylvania Line; Joseph Glass, in the Virginia Light Horse Troop, and Francis Cassatt, in Colonel Fisher's New York Troop. Lawrence Monfort was also a member of the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania, a member of the war committee for York County, Pennsylvania, and was appointed to move the Pennsylvania militia into New Jersey during Washington's winter campaign.
On the paternal side, Captain Monfort is descended from that Huguenot stock which fled from France to Holland and England, sacrificing home and country for their religious convictions. Through the same line comes a strong infusion of the sturdy liberty-loving Scotch-Irish blood. Through the ma- ternal line, Welsh, English and Scotch elements have furnished their vigorous vitality to his blood. He is a son of Rev. J. G. Monfort, D. D., LL. D., who came to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1855, and the year following became president of the Glendale Female Seminary. Rev. Dr. Monfort married Hannah Riggs. who was a daughter of Rev. Elias Riggs, one of the pioneers of the New Jersey ministry. She was a sister of the venerable Christian missionary, Rev. Elias Riggs, D. D., LL. D., who for more than 60 years was missionary in Turkey of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.
Capt. Elias Riggs Monfort was born at Greensburg, Indiana, March 2, 1842, and at the age of 14 years became a resident of Ohio. He attended the best schools in Cincinnati and Glendale, and in 1859 entered Hanover College, in which he studied until the outbreak of the Civil War. He was among the first to forsake his college to go to the front, enlisting June 18, 1861, as a private in Company A, 6th Reg., Ohio. Vol. Inf. On October 8th of the same year he was promoted to be 2nd lieutenant and assigned to the 75th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf. He was made Ist lieutenant May 15, 1862, and was commis- sioned captain on January 12, 1863. He was with the regiment continuously from its organization until he was disabled at Gettsyburg, July 1, 1863, hav- ing participated in over 20 battles. He received a severe wound in the hip, which it was feared would prove fatal, but after a long siege of sickness he recovered. He was incapacitated for further service on the battle-field and so returned home. His demeanor while under fire and at critical moments in the
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engagements gained for him high praise from superior officers. Maj. B. G. Fox wrote of him: "At Gettysburg, Captain Monfort's bearing was admira. ble, the hotter the fire the braver and cooler the man. Conscious of the danger that surrounded him, his sense of duty was so strong that every service was performed regardless of personal peril." Col. Ben. Morgan, of the same regiment, reported : "As an officer and a soldier he was all that I could wish, being intelligent, faithful and brave-one in whom I could place at all times implicit confidence in carrying out and obeying orders. On the battle-field amidst carnage and death, he was ever active and zealous in the discharge of his duties, fully realizing the glorious cause in which he was enlisted, and which called forth man's noblest ambitions and energies." Of his soldierly qualities the gallant Colonel Reilly, who fell at Chancellorsville, writing from Stafford Court House, Virginia, January 13, 1863, said: "He is one of the very few officers of the regiment who can be said to have always been at their post. I regard the company to which he is attached as one of the best drilled. and disciplined companies of the regiment. No company, I believe, has been better held together throughout our hard marches, hard fighting and hard fare, than Company F."
On his return home from the war, our subject resumed his studies in Han- over College, from which he was graduated in 1865. He prepared himself for the legal profession at the Cincinnati Law School, graduating in 1867, and was admitted to practice in the Ohio courts the same 'year. However, he returned to his natal city, Greensburg, Indiana, to enter upon his professional career. He soon established an enviable reputation as a practitioner and at the end of two years time was elected by his fellow citizens to the office of dis- trict attorney for the Twenty-second District of Indiana, which he filled until 1872. In the latter year he was elected prosecuting attorney for the Fourthi Judicial District of Indiana, and in 1874 was admitted to practice in the Su- preme Court of Indiana. In consequence of the wound he had received while in the army the duties of his practice proved too arduous for him, and at the solicitation of his father he became an associate editor of the Herald and Pres- byter. For many years he has been an active and influential elder in the Pres- byterian Church of Walnut Hills, and has occupied many offices of honor and trust in the gift of the church at large. In 1869 Hanover College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts, and in 1885 Highland University con- ferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws. For many years he has been
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a trustee of Hanover College and of Lane Theological Seminary, of which latter institution he was treasurer for eight years. Twice he has been a member of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and in 1888, through ap- pointment by that body, was one of its representatives at the meeting of the alliance of the Reformed churches throughout the world holding the Presby- terian system, held in London, England. He has also served upon many of its important committees, notably upon that of Christian unity. He is also a member of the General Assembly's committee on German theological semi- naries, and a member of the committee of conference with the Southern Pres- byterian Church on the question of the freedmen. He was appointed by the General Assembly in session at Omaha, with Dr. Marquis, of Chicago, to carry the greetings of the Assembly to the convention of the Protestant Episco- pal Church then in session. Captain Monfort was county clerk of Hamilton County in 1896-97. On March 2, 1899, he was appointed by President Mc- Kinley as postmaster of the city of Cincinnati, and on the expiration of his term in 1903 was reappointed by President Roosevelt. In 1900 he was elected commander of the Department of Ohio, G. A. R. He was appointed by the Governor in 1902 a member of the board of trustees that has in charge the erecting of a building to the memory of the soldiers, sailors and marines that served in the various wars of the United States from Hamilton County. He is a public spirited citizen, active in promoting good government, inter- ested in important public improvements, and zealous for the maintenance of law and order. . He was a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education for seven years, during three years of which period he was president; and was instru- mental in securing the Walnut Hills High School, one of the finest and best equipped school buildings in Southern Ohio.
Captain Monfort was married to Emma Taylor, a daughter of Eli Taylor, and sister of Capt. J. G. Taylor, of Cincinnati, who served with distinction . during the war on the staff of Gen. Gordon Granger. They have three chil- dren : Joseph Taylor; Hannah Louise; and Marguerite Morehead.
HON. WILLIAM S. GROESBECK.
HON. WILLIAM S. GROESBECK, deceased, was one of the most able attor- neys of the city of Cincinnati in the century just completed. As a statesman,
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the value of his services to his country was beyond measure. As an orator and public speaker in the halls of Congress and elsewhere, hie ranked among the greatest of his day. As a public spirited citizen of the Queen City, none ever did more good or was more highly esteemed.
Mr. Groesbeck was born in Rensselaer County, New York. July 24. 1815, and was a son of John H. and Mary ( Slocum) Groesbeck, of Kinder- hook, New York, who were early settlers of Cincinnati. The Groesbeck family came originally from Amsterdam, Holland, where they were people of much consequence. In 1816 the family moved to Cincinnati, taking up their residence on Front street near Race. The father engaged in the commission business. At the time the United States Bank sold its assets in Cincinnati, John H. Groesbeck became one of the purchasers, and during the remainder of his life was a banker. The family residence changed in 1832 to the present site of the Pike Theater, and subsequently to West Seventh street.
William S. Groesbeck received his early education at Augusta College, Kentucky, where he remained a year; at the expiration of that period, he with his brother Herman entered the Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1835, having as class- mates, among others, Governor Dennison, Hon. John A. Smith, Hon. Samuel F. Cary, Governor John McRea. At both institutions he was known as a painstaking and close student, and at the end of his term of study received the highest honors of his class. He immediately entered the law office of Vachel Worthington of Cincinnati, and began that thorough study of the law which, after his admission to the Hamilton County bar in 1836. placed him in a very short time among the leading young members of the profession. He was a student of great industry and thoroughness and in his early days at the bar laid the solid foundation of legal learning for which he afterward became so distinguished.
His prominence at that time was greater as a lawyer and counsellor than as an advocate, though his speeches showed the same precision and force which afterward placed him among the first orators of the land. His first law partner was Charles Telford. After Mr. Telford's death, Mr. Groes- beck formed a partnership with Samuel J. Thompson, which continued until 1857, at which time his success had been such as to enable him to give up the active practice of the profession. In 1851 he became a member of the State Constitutional Convention and took an active part in that body, subsequently
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giving to the public a series of articles that explained the provisions of the new Constitution. In the following year he was a member of the commission to codify the State Code of Civil Procedure. Upon the establishment of a new Superior Court in Cincinnati in 1854, a public letter signed by some of the most prominent citizens was addressed to Mr. Groesbeck, asking him with W. Y. Gholson and Bellamy Storer to constitute the new court, but he declined the nomination.
In 1854, Mr. Groesbeck was a Democratic candidate for Congress from the Second Congressional District of Ohio, George H. Pendleton being asso- ciated with him on the ticket as a candidate from the First District; botlı were defeated. At the following election the two candidates from these dis- tricts were more successful, Mr. Groesbeck defeating John A. Gurley and J. Scott Harrison, the latter having been his antagonist at the previous election. In the same year Mr. Groesbeck was the orator on the occasion of the visit of Gen. Louis Kossuth to Cincinnati. Mr. Groesbeck was a member of the committee on foreign affairs while in Congress. His speeches were few in number, but one of them delivered quite early in his term of service won for him considerable reputation. The occasion was a debate with Alexander H. Stephens on the subject of the Walker expedition. Mr. Groesbeck gave a lawyer's interpretation of the neutrality laws, basing his argument on the fundamental proposition that, " The sea is no sanctuary for crime." Other Ohio members who were with Mr. Groesbeck in Congress were Lewis D. Campbell, S. S. Cox, John A. Bingham, John Sherman, George E. Pugh, Benjamin F. Wade, Joshua R. Giddings and William Lawrence. Mr. Groes- beck did not succeed in his contest for reelection, his defeat being due to his position with regard to one of the phases of the Kansas-Nebraska controversy.
He again came into public life in 1861, when, with Salmon P. Chase and Thomas Ewing, he represented Ohio at the Peace Convention held at Washington, D. C. This body, called at the invitation of the State of Vir- ginia, for the purpose of devising a means of averting the impending war. contained some of the most distinguished men of the country, among them ex-President Tyler, Erastus Corning, Reverdy Johnson, David W. Field, John M. Palmer, and Senators Fessenden, Morrill and Frelinghuysen.
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