USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. II, Pt. 2 > Part 2
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Judge Pfleger was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati, read law under the preceptorship of Judge Alphonso Taft, and was graduated from the Cincinnati Law School with the class of 1883. During the Garfield presidential campaign he did political reportorial work for the Commercial
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Gazette. In the practice of the law he met with great success and gained high favor at the bar. He was made judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1898, was reelected in 1903, and is now presiding judge of his court. In the dis- charge of his duties he has displayed the same ability that has characterized his entire professional career.
October 27, 1886, Judge Pfleger was married to Margaret Fox, a daugh- ter of Frederick Fox, who is a farmer of Highland County, Ohio. They have three children, -- Lucie B., Marguerite and Robert Otto,-and reside in Clifton.
CHAUNCEY D. PALMER, M. D.
Few members of the medical profession in Cincinnati stand higher in public esteem and in private life than does the eminent physician and surgeon whose well known name opens this brief sketch of his life.
Dr. Palmer was born September 18th, 1839, at Zanesville, Ohio, and is the younger son of Micah and Harriet (Sherman) Palmer, both of whom were natives of New York State. He comes of illustrious ancestry ; on his father's side he is descended from the older Dutch stock of New York; on his mother's side, his ancestry dates back to Revolutionary forebears, even to Roger Sherman, in a direct line.
Dr. Palmer, when a youth, accompanied his parents to Cincinnati and entered the public schools. He graduated from Woodward High School in 1857, and then became an educator himself for the two succeeding years. During this pediod of teaching in our public schools, he managed to save suf- ficient money to pay for his medical instruction in medical college and hos- pitals. His medical education was commenced in the office of Dr. John Davis of Cincinnati, and continued until he graduated with credit from the Medical College of Ohio, in 1862. He took private instruction, also, from Dr. W. H. Mussey and Dr. William Clendenin, of Cincinnati. As resident physician at the Good Samaritan Hospital, in the following year, he enjoyed a wide and varied experience, which was much increased subsequently during two years, as assistant surgeon, at the general army hospital, at Camp Den- nison, near Cincinnati, during the last years of the Civil War.
On his return to private practice in Cincinnati, Dr. Palmer soon be- came actively engaged, especially in obstetrical service. In 1869, seven years
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after graduation, he was appointed to the chair of obstetrics and the diseases of women in his alma mater,-the Medical College of Ohio,-a position formerly occupied conjointly by Profs. M. B. Wright and Theophilus Parvin, and he has filled that position in some capacity ever since, now 33 years. During this same interval, he has been a member of the gynecological staff of the Good Samaritan Hospital for five years; of the Cincinnati Hospital as obstetrician and gynecologist for some twenty years; and of the Presby- terian Hospital and the German Protestant Deaconess' Hospital for several years. He is now consulting gynecologist and obstetrician of these institu- tions.
Fond of medical composition, he has contributed numerous papers and essays in medicine and surgery, based on his personal experiences, among which may be mentioned : "Intra-Uterine Medication;" "Tapping for Ova- rian Cysts,-its Dangers ;" "Papilloma of the Female Bladder ;" "An Unusual Case of Puerperal Septicaemia and Pyaemia, with Complete Recovery ;" "The Unity of Medicine;" "The Present Status of Gynecology,-its Rela- tions to General Medicine;" "The Obstetrical and Gynecological Uses of Electricity ;" "The Early Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer ;" "Laparotomy and Laparo-Hysterectomy for Uterine Fibroids;" "Dysmenorrhoea,-its Essen- tial Nature and Treatment;" "What is the Best Management of Occipito- Posterior Positions of the Vertex;" "Inter-Menstrual Pain,-its Nature;" "The Urinary Secretion, in its Obstetrical and Gynecological Relations ;" and "The Relation and Co-Relation of Gynecological and Nervous Diseases." The "American System of Gynecology" ( 1880) contains a lengthy contri- bution from him on "The Acute and Chronic Inflammatory Affections of the Uterus." Jewitt's "Text Book of Obstetrics," and the "American Text Book of Obstetrics" have his contributions, especially on the "Differential Diagnosis of Pregnancy and Abdominal Tumors." Keating and Coe's work on clinical gynecology has from him articles on the "Functional Diseases of the Uterus;" on the "Diseases of the Nervous System, Dependent on Dis- orders of the Pelvic Organs;" and on the "Remote Effects of Oophorectomy," etc. His studies and experiences have also led him to design a number of obstetrical and gynecological instruments, for special use in diagnosis and treatment.
Dr. Palmer has aimed to combine with his scientific knowledge and in- vestigation the humanitarian sympathy of the tender, careful physician and
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healer, an attribute which has made his services particularly grateful to his patients during an arduous, responsible life. Whatever properties he has accumulated in these years have come from his individual efforts as a physician and surgeon.
He is a valued member of all the city, county and State medical societies. He has been an earnest member of the American Gynecological Society since 1879. He has served as president of the Cincinnati Obstetrical Society, and of the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine. He is still in active professional and professorial work in his profession.
Dr. and Mrs. Palmer are members of the Presbyterian Church in Avon- dale, in which delightful suburb their beautiful home is located, on the northwest corner of the Main and Forest avenues. They have been blessed with two sons. Elliott B. Palmer, born December 27th, 1870, graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1893, and from the Medical College of Ohio, in 1896. He was interne of the Cincinnati Hospital for 18 months, after which he spent one year in study in Goettingen, Berlin and Vienna. He had been in practice in Cincinnati for nearly two years, with excellent prospects for a brilliant future career in medicine, when he died. Dudley W. Palmer graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1899, and is now a member of the junior class in the Medical College of Ohio,-the Medical Department of the University of Cincinnati.
BROOKS JOHNSON.
BROOKS JOHNSON, who was long identified with the pork industry of Cincinnati and one of the city's largest dealers, as also one of her most char- itable and highly esteemed citizens, died April 2, 1900, at the home of his son, Charles S. Johnson. The birth of Brooks Johnson occurred on August 3, 1817, in Greene County, Ohio, and he was a son of John and Judith ( Faulk- ner) Johnson.
The Johnson family is of English extraction, descending on a maternal line from Sir Ashly Cooper, and it was founded in America by two brothers who settled in South Carolina. The ancestors of Brooks Johnson removed to Virginia prior to 1700, and in that State the name has been borne by many distinguished citizens. In 1806, the paternal grandmother of Mr. Johnson,
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a widow with six little children, the youngest of whom was born six weeks after the death of his father, left Virginia and moved to Waynesville, War- ren County, Ohio. A few years later, she removed to Greene County, where she entered land in the vicinity of the present town of Jamestown, which, with the assistance of her sons, she cleared, improved and later brought to a high state of cultivation. She was a woman of great force of character and, under hard conditions, reared her family to be intelligent, useful members of society. Six years before Mrs. Johnson had left Virginia, a Slave State, to find a home in Ohio, a Free State, David Faulkner, the maternal grand- father of Mr. Johnson, had also removed to Waynesville, Ohio, and for the same reason. They all belonged to the Society of Friends and were un- alterably opposed to human slavery. From such upright ancestry came Brooks Johnson. He was the eldest born of his parents' seven children, the only survivor being Mrs. Charles F. Coffin, of Chicago, Illinois. Mrs. Coffin was born in 1825 and has devoted her long and beautiful life to phil- anthropic labors. Through the persevering efforts of herself and husband, most remarkable improvements have been made in the management of prisons and insane asylums, both in the United States and in Europe, Mrs. Coffin in many cases having been the first woman ever admitted across the thresholds of penal institutions. Laws have been passed through her inter- vention, and her beautiful theory that "there is no human being who will not respond to real sympathy" is being more and more recognized in the attempted reformation of criminals ..
Mr. Johnson grew up a farmer boy, obtained his education in the local schools, and, like his brothers, became an excellent farmer. About 1850 he decided to locate in Cincinnati, where he had for a long time disposed of large amounts of live stock. He had the business foresight which led him to engage in what was then a comparatively small industry, the packing of pork, establishing the firm of Johnson & Pence. From small beginnings the business increased until his products found a market all over the land, and for years as packer, trader and later, as broker, he was very prominently known in Cincinnati. For more than a half century he was a valued mem- ber of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Johnson's enterprise and quick conception of business possibilities made him unusually successful, the temporary financial embarrassments which meet every large speculator not bringing to him any dismay or even
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discouragement. He took pleasure in business pursuits and the large and important enterprises which developed from his small beginnings stand as monuments to his energy, industry and solid business qualities. Of a particu- larly genial nature, he was both respected and beloved, and for many years was known to his coworkers as "Uncle Brooks," a term of affection he appreciated. He was one of the most charitable of men, giving to those in need without ostentation, and with no thought of reward. Like other mem- bers of his family, he retained his birthright membership in the Society of Friends.
In 1842 Mr. Johnson was married to Lydia Burson, who died in 1850, leaving one son who died in early manhood, and one daughter, who is now Mrs. B. J. Goodin, of Delhi, Olio. In 1853 Mr. Johnson was married to Mary Stroud, who died in 1893, leaving one son, Charles S. Jolinson, a prominent citizen and business man of this city, a member of the firm of N. B. Thompson & Company, sugar brokers.
Mr. Johnson's remains were interred in the beautiful Spring Grove · Cemetery.
HON. JOHN ALEXANDER CALDWELL.
HON. JOHN ALEXANDER CALDWELL, formerly mayor of Cincinnati and late a Member of Congress from the Second Congressional District of Ohio, is now judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County. He was born at Fair Haven, Preble County, Ohio, April 21, 1852, and is a son of Alexander P. and Sarah ( Pinkerton) Caldwell, both of whom were natives of Preble County, the former of Scotch and the latter of Scotch-Irish descent.
Judge Caldwell received a common school education at Fair Haven, and was for a time thereafter engaged in school teaching. He read law under the preceptorship of the late Col. C. W. Moulton, of the law firm of Moulton, Johnson & Levy, and matriculated at the Cincinnati Law School. from which institution he was graduated in 1876, and then taught public school in Green township for two years. In 1878 he began the practice of the law in the office of Moulton, Johnson & Levy, and in 1881 was elected city prose- cutor on the Republican ticket, an office to which he was reelected in 1883, being one of the three men on the Republican ticket saved from defeat. In
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1885 he ran for Police judge against Judge Fitzgerald and suffered the only defeat he has ever known. In 1887 he measured strength with the same opponent and was elected Police judge by a handsome majority. In 1886 he was chosen a delegate from Ohio to the first convention of National Re- publican Clubs, and was appointed a member of the executive committee. A year later he was unanimously chosen president of the Ohio League of Republican Clubs, and in 1888 was elected to the United States Congress from the Second Congressional District of Ohio. He was reelected to that office by a greatly increased majority in 1890, and again in 1892. His con- stituency has never been more ably represented in that body. He was an untiring worker for all that would benefit his district as well as his country. One of his most laudable achievements was the rescue from the committee of the various anti-lottery bills, which he united into one containing the best provisions of all, and secured the passage of the bill after a long, hard fight. He was a member of the committee on post offices and postroads, and on railways and canals. He presented a bill to prevent desecration of the American flag and revived the enterprise of building the Miami and Erie Ship Canal. In 1894 he was elected mayor of Cincinnati, resigning his office in Congress in order to accept. He proved one of the best executives the city has ever had, every department of the municipality being stimulated and benefited by his wise administration. After the expiration of his term in office, he resumed the practice of the law and continued until 1901, when he was elected to the Common Pleas bench. 1
Judge Caldwell was married in December, 1876, to Anna Eversull, a daughter of John Eversull of Mount Airy, and they have three children : John A., Jr .; Bessie; and Robert. Judge Caldwell is a 32nd degree Mason ; a member of the K. of P .; I. O. O. F. ; A. O. U. W .; K. of H. ; and National Union. He and his family reside on Hamilton pike in the 25th Ward.
GIDEON CAMDEN WILSON.
A leading member of the Cincinnati bar, a man prominent in public affairs and an influential citizen is to be found in Gideon Camden Wilson.
Mr. Wilson was born February 15, 1854, in Licking County, Ohio, and is a son of Daniel D. and Susan (O'Bannon) Wilson, both natives of Vir-
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ginia, where their ancestors had established themselves in colonial days. In 1851 Daniel D. Wilson, the father, located in Licking County, Ohio, where for many years he followed farming and was one of the substantial and emi- nently respected citizens of that county.
The education of Gideon Camden Wilson was begun in the common schools of Licking County and Newark, Ohio, and finished at Marietta Col- lege, Marietta, Ohio. Deciding to adopt the profession of the law, he entered upon its study under Judge Charles H. Kibler, a noted jurist, in the city of Newark, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar of the State of Ohio in December, 1875. One year was spent in the practice of the law at Newark, after which, in January, 1877, Mr. Wilson came to Cincinnati, where, since that time, he has pursued the practice of his chosen profession with marked ability and success.
In 1879 Mr. Wilson was elected a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education, of which he proved a valuable member. Mr. Wilson soon became prominent in politics and early became influential in the councils of the Democratic party. Many offices have been urged for his acceptance and in November, 1899, without solicitation on his part, he was elected county solicitor on the Democratic ticket, defeating the Republican candidate, Hon. William Rendigs, who had entered the field for a second term. On account of Mr. Wilson's personal popularity, this election was most satisfactory to both parties, and his services to the county have proved the propriety of such a choice. Mr. Wilson is connected in a legal way with many of the large city corporations and is consulting counsel for many large estates. He has been for a long period the attorney for the Tax Payers' Association of Cincinnati.
In 1875 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Louisa A. Rissler, a daughter of Dr. S. D. Rissler, of Newark, Ohio, and four children have been born to this union, namely: Robert R., who is associated with his father in the practice of the law; Ruth E., Mary L. and Susan J. Mr. Wilson and family are devoted Episcopalians, being members of St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral, of which parish he has been a member of the vestry for the past 12 years. Although his life has been filled with business cares and great responsibilities, Mr. Wilson has found time to turn aside and efficiently serve the Protestant Episcopal Church as one of its trustees for the Diocese of Southern Ohio and as president of the Episcopal Church Club of Cincinnati. , His fraternal
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connection is with the Knights of Pythias, while socially he belongs to the Duckworth Club and Sons of the American Revolution, both of which he has efficiently served as president. He is a man of versatile gifts, a sound lawyer, a believer in old-time integrity of character, a first class citizen and a valued member of Cincinnati's social life.
ERWIN O. STRAEHLEY, M. D.
Few physicians and surgeons of Cincinnati entered upon the practice of their noble profession with such éclat as did Dr. Erwin O. Strachley, who, with the admiration of his fellow students, and to the delight of his instructors, carried off the leading prizes at his graduation March 7, 1889, at the Med- ical College of Ohio. These coveted prizes included the Gold Medal (Faculty prize), Prof. P. S. Conner's prize on surgery and Prof. Joseph Ransohoff's prize on anatomy. In his subsequent career; Dr. Straehley has not disappointed his friends, being considered one of the eminent men of his profession in this city.
Dr. Strachley was born September 25, 1868, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a son of John and Regina (Oesper) Straehley, the former of whom was born in 1838 in Germany, and the latter in 1840, in Cincinnati. For many years John Strachley has been engaged in the mercantile business in this city and is one of the old and honored residents. The mother of Dr. Straehley died in 1892. There were nine children in the parental family.
A bright student in the common schools, Erwin Straehley became a marked one in the Woodward High School and graduated with great credit from its classical department on June 5, 1886. Three years of close study at the Medical College of Ohio resulted in his brilliant graduation there, after which he took up various lines of city work where he would be enabled to closely study general diseases, and an appointment as resident physician at the City Work House was accepted, but was later resigned after plans were made for extended study in Europe. For 10 months he was permitted to be the assistant to Professor Matterstock's polyclinic in the University of Wurz- burg. He then went to Strasburg and attended the lectures of eminent scientists there for four months, and then went to Vienna, visiting also Paris, Brussels and Cologne, and spent a year in the famous Austrian city.
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Prior to returning to Cincinnati, he visited Kiel on the Baltic Sea, London and different parts of Ireland, carrying with him the keen perceptions and the educated eye of the trained physician. Thus equipped by nature, study and travel, it is not remarkable that Dr. Strachley enjoys a large and lucra- tive practice. He belongs to the various leading medical organizations of city, county and State, has served as assistant health officer and is exam- ining physician for some of the largest insurance companies and fraternal orders.
On September 21, 1892, Dr. Straehley was married to Carrie L. Miller, who is a daughter of William and Caroline Miller, both of whom were born in Germany. Both the Doctor and wife belong to the German Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, he is a Republican. Dr. Strachley resides at No. 812 Dayton street, Cincinnati, where he also has his office.
HON. GEORGE F. OSLER.
HON. GEORGE F. OSLER, president of the Hamilton County League of Villages, formerly mayor of Hyde Park, and a member of the well known law firm of Archer & Osler, is one of the prominent men of the county. Mr. Osler was born in 1863 on his father's farm in Muskingum County, Ohio, and is a son of Eli and Nancy Osler, natives of Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, Pennsylvania, respectively.
Mr. Osler completed his early studies under Dr. W. O. Thompson, now president of the Ohio State University, at the age of 17 years, and began life as a teacher. Two years later he attended the Lebanon Normal School, and had as classmate C. B. Hill, Secretary of State of Kentucky, and Frank Milligan, auditor of Logan County, Ohio. He then entered Muskingum College and was there graduated in 1885. After a few more years of teach- ing, Mr. Osler entered the Cincinnati Law School, completed the two years' course in one year, and gained immediate admission to the bar, where he was very soon recognized as a brilliant young advocate. Until the election of Judge Aaron McNeill to the Insolvency Court, Mr. Osler was associated with the firm of Archer & McNeill, later becoming the junior member of the firm of Archer & Osler, whose offices are very pleasantly situated in the Atlas Bank Building.
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Mr. Osler owns a handsome residence on Berry avenue, Hyde Park, and two years ago he was honored by an election to the office of mayor of the village. As a politician he stands very high. Both professionally and politi- cally he has a wide circle of adherents and admirers. Mr. Osler's wife died in 1896, leaving one son, Archer F., who resides with his father.
In the fall of 1903 Mr. Osler was nominated on the Republican ticket from Columbia township to the State House of Representatives. He is in every sense of the word a self made man, having worked his way up from a lowly station to one of wealth, responsibility and influence.
HON. HENRY HAACKE.
HON. HENRY HAACKE, the eminent editor and proprietor of the Cin- cinnati Volksfreund, who was equally distinguished as journalist, lawyer and linguist, succumbed to an attack of pneumonia and passed out of life December 22, 1903, at his beautiful home, No. 2922 Reading road, Avondale. Mr. Haacke was born in Schwerin-Mecklenburg, Germany, in 1832.
An accomplished scholar at the age of 18 years, Mr. Haacke made his way to Hamburg and demonstrated there his ability as a writer on current events in the leading newspapers of that city. Of brilliant natural mental endowment, all intellectual work attracted him, and in a surprisingly short time he mastered the professions of law and medicine. He seemed particu- larly gifted in the study of languages and acquired a knowledge of the Ger- man, English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Swedish tongues so that he was capable of speaking and conversing as well as reading these languages, while of almost every other he had a partial understanding. In 1851 he removed to Canada, and for several years filled the position of Parliamentary writer on the Montreal Star, his gifts as a French scholar making him a valuable acquisition. Coming to Cincinnati in 1856, he first taught the French and German classes at the old Woodward High School, and subsequently gradu- ated in this city with high honors from the Medical College of Ohio. Later he became a partner of Judge Alphonso Taft in the practice of the law.
Although uniformly successful in every direction in which he applied his talents, journalism always retained its fascination for him, and in 1872 he took advantage of the opportunity to purchase the great German news-
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paper which he so ably edited until his death. In politics he was in accord with the principles of the Democratic party, but was of a type far removed from the ordinary politician, his only public service being one term as a member of the Board of Supervisors. He was for several years a member of the board of directors of the University of Cincinnati.
One daughter, Tillie, is the survivor of Mr. Haacke's first marriage, to Elizabeth Otte. His second marriage was to Mary O'Hearn, who is sur- vived by two sons and two daughters : Raymond H., Amandus O., Augusta M. and Marie C. The third marriage of Mr. Haacke was to Catherine Tepker, who is a daughter of Antonio and Elizabeth (Wibold) Tepker, natives of Germany. Mrs. Haacke still survives, with three daughters: Agnes C., Helen C. and Elizabeth A. In the disposition of his extensive estate, Mr. Haacke displayed much wisdom, and confidence in the judgment and ability of his widow, who was named his executrix.
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