USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. II, Pt. 2 > Part 37
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Dr. Howe was an exceedingly active man, always at work with the scalpel or pen. As a teacher, he was unsurpassed and always instilled cour- age and confidence into his pupils; as a surgeon, he was most conspicuous in Eclecticism and was the peer of any in the rival school. Gifted with a
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wonderful insight into surgical matters, he possessed the rare ability to know just when to operate. Despite the fact that he largely ignored the present aseptic methods and derided Listerism he was wonderfully fortunate in having a minimum of fatal issues. He was quick, bold (but not rash) and dexterous in operations, to perform which he visited nearly every State in the Union, never refusing an appeal whether it promised a large or small monetary consideration. He was a rare medico-legal expert, and was often called as a witness in behalf of physicians. He always discouraged mal- practice suits and steadfastly refused to testify against his competitors, whether of his own or another school of medicine .. In fact, he numbered among his close friends some of the most distinguished physicians and sur- geons of the opposite faith. As a speaker, he was ever ready and enter- taining.
Dr. Howe was a prolific writer. His journal articles were always in- structive and well written, in a style so characteristic that they could be easily recognized even if the well known "H" were not subjoined. He wrote standard text-books, among which may be mentioned the following : "A Treatise on Fractures and Dislocations," 1873; "Manual of Eye Sur- gery," 1874; "Art and Science of Surgery," 1876; and "Operative Gyne- cology," 1890. He also wrote a book for the young entitled, "Conversa- tions on Animal Life." After his death, Mrs. Howe issued a volume en- titled, "Miscellaneous Papers of Andrew Jackson Howe," 1894. Outside of medicine, his favorite topic was comparative anatomy. He dissected and studied the organic peculiarities of many of the animals dying at the Cin- cinnati Zoologcal Garden. He dissected a whale, a lion, a tiger and an ele- phant and published autopsies on each of them. The most widely read of these autopsies was his "Autopsy of an Elephant."
Dr. Howe made rare and extensive collections, and was an invaluable member of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History. He was also a mem- ber of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Cuvier Society of Natural History of Cincinnati, the Ohio Eclectic Medical Asso- ciation, the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical Society and the National Eclectic Medical Association, of which he was elected, against his will, president, in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882. Many State and local societies elected him to honorary membership.
On February 2, 1858, Dr. Howe was married to Georgiana Lakin, of
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Paxton, Massachusetts. They had no children. Dr Howe was of portly figure and impressive manner and always attracted attention to himself- a born leader of men. Of him, Professor Lloyd wrote: "He has taught thousands of physicians who remember him with constant gratitude. Words are inadequate to describe the veneration of the Eclectic profession for this man. He stood before them as a leader, censuring, quieting, soothing them, taking upon himself responsibilities others shirked or could not bear. * His deep fund of information, derived from his extensive reading, made him a good conversationist. He had traveled much in America in the interests of his profession, and in 1886 he made a tour of Europe. He could tell a story with piquancy, or converse on graver topics with divines. He joked and laughed with children and comforted the aged. As a companion, none stood higher in the esteem of his acquaintances; as a citizen and neighbor, none was better beloved. It was a high tribute that Dr. Cooper paid to his memory by saying, when his death was announced, that the children in the neighborhood wept upon the street." Dr. Howe's body lies in Paxton, Massachusetts.
THOMAS WILLIAMS, M. D.
THOMAS WILLIAMS, M. D., for many years a well known physician and an influential citizen of Cincinnati, passed out of life on May 18, 1902, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Charles Lee Mills, at No. 3036 Fairfield avenue. He was born in Chester England, in 1809. His father was rector in the historic old cathedral of that city, and was one of the honored clergy of his day. On the walls of the old cathedral may yet be deciphered the name of our subject, carved there when he was a choir boy of 10 years. His parents had a family of nine children, and he was the seventh son. His mother died during his infancy, and during the first years of his life he was cared for by his grandmother, who at her death left him to his sister, who also died shortly afterward. He was then sent to Liverpool to live with an aunt.
Had not the study of medicine attracted him more, Dr. Williams would have probably become distinguished in the musical world. In his early youth he was so passionately fond of music that, after attending some celebrated
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concert, he made himself a violin and picked out without assistance several long and difficult pieces. Before he was 21, he brought a young friend with him and came to America, settling in Poughkeepsie, New York, which he made his starting point, and visited most of our cities of prominence. While in Newburgh, New York, he met Mary Lee Atkinson, a young English girl born in Leeds, England, and a granddaughter of Sir Roger Williams, of Wales. They were mutually attracted and were soon after married; their home in Newburgh was next door to what had been George Washington's headquarters in the Revolution. Five girls were born to them, all of whom are now dead, excepting Mrs. Charles Lee Mills, and are buried in New- burgh beside their mother. (Since the original preparation of this article, Mrs. Charles Lee Mills died December 10, 1903.)
Dr. Williams was educated for the life of a physician, but he found the practice of the profession entailed too great a strain on his nerves and sympathetic nature for him to continue in it. He also studied law and gradu- ated in that profession ; being possessed of plenty of means, he finally drifted into private banking. Always fond of roving and interested in seeing our country, he at one time invited four friends to go with him to San Francisco in a sailing vessel. They started from New York, had a most interesting voy- age around Cape Horn to Southern California, and came home overland. Becoming interested in Cincinnati through the taking of a lot of land on West Seventh street, in payment of a bad debt, he brought his family to this city and took steps to improve the property, building seven houses thereon. He resided in that locality until his daughter Harriet was married. Mrs. Williams passed away in 1880, all but one daughter having previously died, and from then until the time of his death, Dr. Williams resided with his beloved surviving daughter and her husband, Charles Lee Mills, who is one of the prominent real estate men of Cincinnati. He was taken to Newburgh, New York, for burial, his grandchildren-Mr. and Mrs. J. Warren Harden- burg, of Jersey City, New Jersey, and Brownley K. Wilson-and Mr. and Mrs. Mills accompanying the remains.
From the date of his wife's death, Dr. Williams had been an invalid, but so sunny and cheery was his nature that care for him resolved itself into the greatest pleasure; so intelligent and bright was his conversation that one instinctively felt instructed after having been in his presence. So loving and gentle was his disposition as to leave behind him only the sweetest and dear-
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est recollections, and the place left in his absence will be filled with the tenderest memories; so peaceful and quiet were his last days that no thought of his suffering will mar the memory of a well-spent, happy life. His favorite lines were those written by Isaac Watts :
Were I so tall to reach the pole, Or grasp the ocean with my span; I must be measured by my soul ; The mind's the standard of the man.
GEN. HENRY M. CIST.
GEN. HENRY M. CIST, a citizen of Cincinnati, a distinguished soldier and a prominent member of the bar, passed out of life December 17, 1902. at Rome, Italy. General Cist was born in Cincinnati, February 20, 1838, and was a son of Charles and Jenette (White) Cist, the former of whom was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was also the author of the standard history of Cincinnati. His grandfather was a member of the patriot army in 1776. For 10 generations his family have been Americans, and it is a matter of comment that there have been military men in almost every gen- eration.
General Cist's military record was brilliant. At the outbreak of the Rebellion, he enlisted in the "Guthrie Greys" as a private, and for gallantry was advanced through the various stages until he was brevetted brigadier- general at the close of the war. As a conspicuous member of General Thomas' staff, he participated in the battles of Perryville, Stone River, Mur- freesboro and Chickamauga. He was a highly esteemed member of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, and was its secretary for many years. The reading public will recall his contributions on the Army of the Cumberland, to the "Scribner War Series," as being among the best in that remarkable collection of fact and reminiscence, while his biographies of the "Generals of the War of 1861-1865," for the "Britannica Encyclo- pedia," gave him a high place in contemporary literature. For many years he was a leading lawyer at the Hamilton County bar, but retired from prac- tice some years prior to his death, on account of an accident which im- paired his sight. He was one of the largest owners of real estate on College
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Hill, where he resided through the greater part of his long and useful life.
General Cist was twice married. His first union was with Mary Morris (daughter of Benjamin Morris), who died in the summer of 1876, leaving four daughters. His second marriage was to Jennie Bare, daughter of Martin Bare. The daughter of this union, Letitia, and her mother were with him in his last moments in a foreign land. During the later years of his life he was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was a man of great personal courage and settled convictions, and impressed his personality on all with whom he came in contact.
Owing to delays, such as stringent sanitary laws, and the grounding in the Mediterranean Sea, near Gibraltar, of the steamer "Lahn," on which his remains were shipped, the body of General Cist did not reach his old home until February 2, 1903. The last sad rites were performed at his former residence on Belmont avenue, College Hill, the services being con- ducted by Rev. John H. Ely, rector of the Grace Protestant Episcopal Church. The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Grand Army of the Republic, Sons of the American Revolution, the Cin- cinnati Bar Association and other organizations , were represented, while a great concourse assembled at Spring Grove Cemetery to show tokens of respect. The pall-bearers were selected from old and valued friends: Maj. W. H. Chamberlain, William Strunk, Prof. P. V. N. Meyers, J. Lane Reed of Dayton, J. Gordon Taylor and Stephen Coles.
General Cist is survived by his widow and five daughters: Gertrude, Bertha, Helen, Mrs. Charles L. La Boiteaux, and Letitia.
MAJ. FRANK J. JONES.
MAJ. FRANK J. JONES, president of the Little Miami Railroad Com- pany, a distinguished survivor of the Civil War and a representative men- ber of the Hamilton County bar, was born in Cincinnati, April 22, 1838, in a house which occupied the site of his present office on Fourth street. He is a son of the late John D. and Elizabeth (Johnston) Jones.
John D. Jones was a native of Berks County, Pennsylvania, to which State his ancestor, John Jones, came in 1703. John D. Jones came to Cin- cinnati in 1819, in the capacity of a clerk, and died in this city at the age
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of 81 years, in August, 1878. His widow died at the age of 71 years. She was a daughter of John Johnston, who was born March 17, 1775, in the North of Ireland, but of Huguenot extraction. John Johnston came to America in 1793 and was found with life extinct, probably from old age, at the Clay Hotel, in Washington, on February 18, 1861, his age being 86 years. The mother of our subject was born in 1807 at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The only surviving children of the family of 13 born to John D. Jones and wife are our subject, and Walter St. John Jones, who is president of the Miami Valley Insurance Company of Cincinnati.
Major Jones was educated at the classical school of E. S. Brooks and at Yale College, graduating from the latter in 1859. He then entered the law office of Hon. Rufus King, in Cincinnati, and in September, 1860, be- came a student at the Harvard Law School. The outbreak of the Civil War interrupted his studies, for with youthful enthusiasm and aroused patriotism he returned to Cincinnati and enlisted for service in Company A, 6th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., as a private, but in June, 1861, he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in the 13th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., and took an active part in the West Virginia campaign during that year. His regiment was a part of General Hill's command at Cheat. Mountain, and it crossed the mountains and took part in the battle at Gauley Bridge, under General Rosecrans. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville and Chickamauga. In Au- gust, 1864, he resigned his command and returned to Cincinnati, with the rank of major. Two of his brothers were sacrifices to the Rebellion, one, Lieut. Charles D. Jones, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, died in the service; and the other, William G. Jones, colonel commanding the 36th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., a graduate of the United States Military Acad- emy, was killed in the battle of Chickamauga.
After the war, Major Jones married Frances D. Fosdick, who is a daughter of Samuel and Sarah A. (.Wood) Fosdick, the former a native of New London, Connecticut, and the latter of Cincinnati, Ohio. The five children born to this marriage are: Anna F., who.married E. H. Ernst, secretary and treasurer of the Cincinnati Equitable Insurance Company : Charles Davies, a graduate of Yale, now an attorney-at-law ; Samuel F., a physician in New York City; Frances L'Hommedieu; and Edmund Law- rence. The religious connection of the family is with Christ Protestant Episcopal Church.
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Major Jones is fraternally connected with the Ohio Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. In politics he is a stanch and prominent Republican. He is president of the Little Miami Railroad Company; director of the Dayton & Michigan Railroad Company; director of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad Company; di- rector of the Cincinnati Equitable Insurance Company ; director of the Colum- bia Life Insurance Company; president of the board of directors of the University of Cincinnati: trustee of the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum; and trustee of the Spring Grove Cemetery Association.
ROBERT M. KUERZE.
ROBERT M. KUERZE was born March 15, 1847, in Einsiedeln, Switzer- land, his parents being Meinrad Kuerze and Kathryn Kaelin. He had no brothers and but two sisters are living, the others having died in infancy.
Although descended from one of the first families of the town, his father was neverthless poor, due to the fact that he had been left an orphan at the age of six years, and all of his inheritance had been consumed by litigation before he gained his majority: His son, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools of his birth place until his 12th year.
At this early age he sought employment in the large book manufacturing concern of Bensinger Brothers, and being a bright and sturdy lad was readily accepted. He worked in the bookbindery for not quite a month, when one of the firm who had noticed the boy's intelligence and energy gave him a place in the counting room at better pay. There he remained until October, 1864, and, being of a studious nature, devoted his evenings to study and reading. During the latter part of this time he had given a great deal of thought to the question of leaving the land of his birth and seeking his fortune in America. He was finally confirmed in his decision, not as so many of the best citizens of our country have been by monarchial restrictions and op- pression; for his ancestors had enjoyed the benefits of a republican form of government for over 500 years (Switzerland being the oldest republic ex- tant) ; but because he felt certain that in the young and rapidly growing re- public of the United States, there were greater opportunities for a young
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man to achieve success. Accordingly, having procured his passage and with but a small sum of money, in addition to his passport, letters of introduction and an exceedingly fine recommendation from the Bensinger Brothers Com- pany (which papers, now yellowed with age, are among his family's most cherished possessions), he bade farewell to his parents and sisters and the snowy Alps of his native land.
He landed in New York on the 8th of December, 1864, after a stormy 24-day voyage on the steamship "Bavaria," on which he had taken passage at Hamburg. He arrived in Cincinnati three days later, where he was warmly welcomed by his uncle Nicolas Kaelin. He was so well pleased with his reception and environment that he resolved to remain in Cincinnati and learn the art of engraving. Accordingly he entered the employ of Ehr- gott & Frobriger, but after a short time was forced to relinquish this pur- suit on the advice of his physician, his eyesight having been weakened by his studies at night. Shortly after this he' obtained a position with Edward Heun, the druggist, at Fifth and Vine streets. He signed a contract of ap- prenticeship with Heun, by the terms of which he was to receive $12 per month with free board and lodging. He advanced very quickly and Heun voluntarily increased his pay from time to time so that before the end of the year he was receiving $25 per month. He then received an offer from C. H. Bode, of Hopkins and Linn streets, of $35 with free board and lodg- ing, with whom he remained five months during the height of the cholera epidemic, from October, 1866, to March, 1867, when he left for Indianapolis, Indiana, to accept a position with H. Gerhardt, of Meridian street and Bluff road.
In the course of a short time he changed to a similar position with H. Mueller on Washington street, leaving after eight months to accept a position with the wholesale drug house of Frizell & Shakspeare in Dayton, Ohio. While employed with this firm he received such a flattering offer from Aug. Stephan of Cincinnati that he returned to this city, and remained with Mr. Stephan from August, 1868, to January, 1873. During this time he had also been attending the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy and in March, 1874, he graduated with high honors and received his degree of Ph. G. He then resolved to go into business for himself and bought the pharmacy at Sixth street and Freeman avenue from Henry Steinecke, in which location he con- ducted a very prosperous business.
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In February, 1873, Mr. Kuerze was married to Elizabeth Gerke, the daughter of John Gerke, a prominent pioneer of Cincinnati and at that time the treasurer of Hamilton County.
In 1876 Mr. Kuerze, with that foresight which brought him success so frequently in after years, purchased the northwest corner of Eighth and Depot streets and erected thereon a three-story brick building. There he es- tablished a second pharmacy. At that time Eighth street was just being extended across the Bottoms and Mr. Kuerze's was the fifth building between the Incline Plane and the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway bridge. Within three years the business at the new location improved to such an extent that he resolved to devote his entire time to it, and disposed of his business at Sixth street and Freeman avenue to Samuel Hayden at a good profit.
In September, 1881, the heirs of the then recently deceased John Gerke bought of Joseph Schaller his half interest in the partnership of Schaller & Gerke, known as the Eagle Brewery. The heirs of the Gerke estate then formed a stock company, incorporated as The Gerke Brewing Company, which assumed the old Eagle Brewery. In November, 1881, Mr. Kuerze was elected secretary and treasurer of the new company, and sold his pharmacy at Eighth and Depot streets to George W. Voss in order to take up the duties of his new position.
In March, 1887, the Swiss government appointed Mr. Kuerze consul of that republic for Ohio and Indiana, his portfolio being countersigned by Grover Cleveland, who was at that time serving his first term in the presi- dency of the United States. This position he fulfilled to the eminent satisfac- tion of the Swiss government as well as the resident Swiss within his con- . sulate, until the increasing pressure of his business affairs compelled him to resign the office. His appointment to this position of honor and trust demon- strates the high esteem in which Mr. Kuerze was held not only by the citizens of Cincinnati but by his countrymen in the States of Ohio and Indiana, as such appointments are made only after careful consideration by the Swiss government and with the indorsement of the most prominent among the citizens of the consulate in question.
In February, 1889, Mr. Kuerze purchased of George Gerke at its par value the latter's control in The Gerke Brewing Company, represented by 3,050 shares out of a total capitalization of 6,000 shares, whose par value was
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$600,000. Mr. Kuerze thereupon became president of the company, a posi- tion he held to the time of his death. The great financial panic of 1893, com- ing so soon after Mr. Kuerze had assumed this heavy burden, came very near carrying him down with the thousands of others that were brought to ruin in those troublesome times, but by exercise of his wonderful executive ability and foresight he managed to safely weather the storm.
Mr. Kuerze was very prominently connected with many successful busi- ness enterprises of Cincinnati, was a director of The Western German Bank and of the German Mutual Insurance Conipany of Cincinnati, and was one of the prime movers in the building up of the beautiful hill-top suburb of the city, Price Hill, his own magnificent residence being one of its chief orna- ments.
Our subject had for many years been a valuable member of the Chamber of Commerce, which body mourned with deepest regret the loss of one of its most able and conscientious members. He was also one of the charter members of the Young Men's Business Club, now known by the name of the Business Men's Club. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks throughout the country, and Cincinnati Lodge, No. 5, particularly, mourned in him the loss of one of their dearest brethren. He was a great lover of good music and contributed liberally to the advancement of both music and art in his home city. His charity was boundless and although he personally professed the Catholic faith, it knew neither sect nor creed.
Mr. Kuerze passed out of this life on Friday, June 19, 1903, at his beautiful home on Mount Hope road at the age of 56 years. His last illness, which was due to appendicitis, was of a brief three days' duration. The immediate cause of his death was collapse after an operation, which had been performed by the most eminent surgeons in the city.
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He was a consistent member of Holy Family parish, and was attended in his last moments by Rev. Albert E. Drufner, his friend and rector of the church. The funeral sermon delivered by Rev. A. M. Quatman, who assisted . at the solemn requiem and who had been an intimate friend of the deceased for nearly 40 years, was such an eloquent and sincere tribute to the noble life that his departed friend had led, that there was scarce an eye that was not dimmed by tears, among the large concourse of men and women of all creeds that filled the church to overflowing. His body was attended to its last resting place by honorary pall-bearers from 32 organizations, social,
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business and fraternal, with which he had been affiliated in life. He is sur- vived by his widow and four children : Edward J., Robert G., Florence and Cecilia.
The career of Robert M. Kuerze is but another illustration of the suc- cess which attends honest and persevering effort in any direction. He pos- sessed characteristics and attributes which will make him long remembered in business and social circles. Through his wise foresight and strict integrity- the great business enterprise with which he was so long connected continued a prosperous career. He earned respect in public life and affection from those with whom he was most closely associated.
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