USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. II, Pt. 2 > Part 38
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HIRAM COX, M. D.
HIRAM Cox, M. D., one of the pioneers of the medical profession in Cincinnati and the founder of one of the most prominent families of this city, was born at Bath, Berkeley County, Virginia, November 25, 1798. His ancestors, who were English, after going to Holland came to America. His father became a pioneer of Western Virginia, served in the American Rev- olution and took part in the Indian wars that followed. He met his death through the premature falling of a tree. He left a large family, among whom was the subject of this sketch, who was at that time 13 years of age.
Upon the death of his father, Hiram Cox was thrown upon his own . resources, and worked successively upon a farm, as an apprentice to a saddler and at other laborious occupations. These, though but poorly remunerative, merely furnishing him subsistence, strengthened and invigorated him for the severe bodily and mental endurance which he afterward put to good use. At the age of 16 years he began to study day and night, and all spare hours from work were devoted to the securing of a good education, his schooling up to that time having been almost wholly neglected. In order that he might supply himself with books, he economized in every possible way. It must be remembered that an education was not easily obtained at that day without great privations and sacrifices. Long study hours and close application brought on a dangerous illness; but the strong constitution and carly tem- perate habits sustained him through it. He began teaching school soon afterward, and, marrying Margaret Edwards, in 1818, he opened a school in
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Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which soon developed into an academy. He was then 21 years of age, and he successfully conducted the school 10 years. During the intervals between school hours, he applied himself to the study of higher mathematics and the languages, which he later taught with much success. For two years he studied law, but abandoned it for the more con- genial study of medicine, which he began in 1825 while still carrying on the academy. Upon discontinuing his relations with that institution, he removed to Cincinnati and in 1829 to Dayton, Ohio, where he opened a drug store and practiced his new profession for two years and then returned to Cin- cinnati. Entering the Medical College of Ohio, he graduated in 1832 with high honors. After taking his degree he practiced in Clermont County for four years, and then returned to Hamilton County, where he remained in practice at various points for more than a quarter of a century.
Dr. Cox was a laborious and diligent student, always well read in matters of medical progress, and his medical ideas were in advance of his times. His genius evidently lay in the path of a reformer, for he vigor- ously combated calomel and the lancet, which, of course, brought upon his head the maledictions of his medical brethren. Becoming dissatisfied with the old school, he allied himself with the Eclectics, and was appointed, in 1844, to the chair of surgery and medical jurisprudence in the Eclectic Medical Institute. There he continued during the sessions of 1845 and 1846, fill- ing the position with ability, until an active practice and his impaired health compelled him to resign. During the cholera epidemic of 1849 he was appointed physician to several German wards, for he spoke German fluently, and in this position his heroic work met with unprecedented success. In 1855, Probate Judge John Burgoyne appointed Dr. Cox to the post of chemical inspector of liquors, a difficult position on account of the opposition it called forth from the moneyed influence of the liquor traffic, which was determined "to thwart the object comtemplated in the law-the detection and punishment of fraud in the manufacture of liquors." Dr. Cox fearlessly and conscien- tiously performed his duty. Of his efficiency as an expert, Dr. Wilson of Dickinson College declared that Dr. Cox understood as much about "the adulterations and detection of adulterations as any man living." Dr. Cox's sympathy was with the enslaved colored race, and during the days of the "Underground Railway," he secretly attended the fugitives in sickness at the Van Zandt house, in Glendale. His was a commanding personage, six feet
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two inches in height and broad shouldered. Though not making great pre- tensions as a lecturer, he always interested popular audiences, to whom he often lectured concerning adulterants in liquors and other favorite topics. He was finely educated, quite a linguist, and able to pursue his studies in various languages. Dr. Cox died at Miamitown, Hamilton County, Ohio, March 5, 1867, and was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati.
PHILIP HINKLE.
Those who were permitted to come into close acquaintance with the late Philip Hinkle, the founder of the great lumber firm of Hinkle & Com- pany. and its business head for many years, could not fail to recognize in him those sterling qualities of character that assured his success early in life. Mr. Hinkle was a son of Anthony and Elizabeth Hinkle, and was born October 24, 1811, in Hinkletown, Pennsylvania, where so many of his kindred resided as to give the name to the settlement.
Deprived of his father at the age of five years, Philip Hinkle soon after went to live with his grandmother and aunt Hinkle, and those good women had much to do with forming his early character and habits. He attended school in his native place, working on a farm between times, until he was nearly 17 years old, when he went to Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to learn the carpenter's trade. He was bound as an apprentice for the term of three years to Samuel Kachline, a worthy member of the Society of Friends. As compensation he was given his board and lodging and everyday clothes and had two weeks of his own each year in which to earn by extra jobs his Sunday clothes. When his apprenticeship expired, in 1831, he went to Phil- adelphia to work at his trade, having then as stock in trade some few tools and 25 cents in money. While there, he was robbed of his tools, but after seven months of hard work had saved enough money to pay his passage on the ship "John Sergent" to New Orleans, where he landed, after a stormy voyage of 26 days, on December 4th. On shipboard, his trunk was broken open and $20 in notes stolen, leaving him, when he landed, a stranger in a strange city, with only 50 cents in his pocket. He remained in New Or- leans about five months, working industriously at his trade, and then came up the river on a steamer to Cincinnati, where he landed in the spring of
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1832, an entire stranger, the owner at that time of a trunk of clothes, a chest of tools and $150 in cash. This money was used judiciously and four months later his business career was commenced in a shop of his own. By 1840 his skill had become so recognized that his services were in demand upon every side and he was encouraged to purchase land and erect a planing mill. Mr. Hinkle continued to occupy the site of his first mill for a number of years. but finally was obliged, in order to make room for modern machinery and to provide facilities for filling great contracts, to erect other buildings. These were built on the bank of the Ohio River and acres of land were in- cluded to accommodate his lumber yards. Mr. Hinkle's name was carried to the frontier pioneer settlements by his invention of the ready-built house. The settler was able, by this invention, to ship his house along with his goods and chattels, and, when he arrived at his destination, very little me- chanical skill was required to put the prepared timbers in place. At various times Mr. Hinkle had partners; for a number of years prior to 1870 the bus- iness was known as Hinkle & Company. In 1870 Mr. Hinkle retired and sold the land of his business site to The Cincinnati Gas Light & Coke Com- pany. He then took advantage of this leisure to fulfill a long cherished desire to travel and visit various points of interest in other lands. His death occurred October 26, 1880.
Mr. Hinkle was actively concerned with all charitable and humane move- ments in this city and took an especial interest in the Union Bethel phil- anthropic work, to which he gave many thousands of dollars and a great deal of his time. There he found the poor, and with that class he delighted to labor, looking after both their temporary and spiritual wants. To him was due, perhaps, more than to anyone else, the success in raising the large amount of money necessary to secure the property that the Union Bethel now holds in its own right. He also gave liberally to Lane Theological Seminary. In 1836 he united with the Third Presbyterian Church, then located on Second street near Vine, and became a very active member of that denomination, serving for a long period as ruling elder and taking a great interest in Sun- day-school work. In 1864 his church relations changed, and he and his family united with the Second Presbyterian Church, of which he was a member at the time of his death. He was also devoted to the Western Fe- male Seminary, at Oxford, Ohio, now the Western Oxford College, of which he was a trustee many years.
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Mr. Hinkle was first married, in 1834, to Frances Quinn, of Maysville, Kentucky. Mrs. Hinkle died in June, 1849, a victim to that awful scourge, Asiatic cholera. The second marriage of our subject took place December 19, 1850, to Martha Gaither, of Washington, D. C. Of the five children born to the first union, two are now living; Thornton M., a prominent attorney of Cincinnati, and Elizabeth, who on October 28, 1856, was married to Henry W. Sage, a son of Rev. Orrin N. and Elizabeth (Berry) Sage, both of whom were of New England extraction. Henry W. Sage came to Cincinnati when a young man, and for many years has been regarded as one of the most substantial business men of the city. For the 30 years past he has been secretary of The Cincinnati Gas Light & Coke Company, now The Cincin- nati Gas & Electric Company. Mr. and Mrs. Sage have three children : Flora, who married Rev. Francis A. Wilber, of Mount Vernon, Ohio, and has two children,-Margaret and Allen Sage; Henry Judson, who married Clara Fry, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and Pauline, who resides at home with her parents on McGregor avenue, Mount Auburn.
Mr. Hinkle deserves a prominent place among those who built up the material prosperity of Cincinnati. He was not only a representative citizen, but was an example of the success which attends persevering effort and the reward of esteem granted those who show to the world a manly type of Christian integrity.
ALEXANDER McDONALD.
ALEXANDER McDONALD, one of the wealthiest captains of industry produced in the Middle West, now retired from much active participation in business affairs, is one of the best known and most honored citizens of Cincinnati, of which he is a leading capitalist. He was born September 25, 1833, at Forres, Morayshire, Scotland, and was the fourth child in the family born to his parents, Alexander and Jeanette ( McKensie) McDonald, both of whose ancestral lines can be traced back to old and historic Scot- tish families. Our subject's parents came to the United States in 1851, and located in Chillicothe, Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives.
Alexander McDonald had received an excellent educational training in his native land and was thus prepared to enter into business. The be-
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ginning of his career was as a partner of his uncle, who was a merchant and manufacturer in Chillicothe. In 1857 he located in Cincinnati and. with his brothers, embarked in the same pursuits, but very soon, on account of the success that met their efforts, they found it advisable to associate themselves with others in order to carry on the extensive enterprises which their ability enabled them to organize. For many years the name of Alexander Mc- Donald has been prominently identified with many of the leading business concerns in this city, section and State, and his conservative methods have characterized their management. Among these concerns may be mentioned : The Standard Oil Company of Kentucky, of which he was president until 1902; The Consolidated Coal & Mining Company, of which he is presi- dent; the Commercial Club of Cincinnati, of which he was formerly presi- dent ; and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis and the Cincin- nati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific railway companies, of which he is a stockholder and director. He is also a director of the Third National Bank of Cincinnati and of The Equitable Fire Assurance Society of Cincinnati.
In 1862 Mr. McDonald was married to Laura Palmer, a daughter of Thomas Palmer, and a daughter was born to them, Laura, who married Edmund K. Stallo, a prominent lawyer of Cincinnati, and at her death left two little girls, Laura and Helena. Laura (Palmer) McDonald, the beloved wife of our subject, died on Monday, December 28, 1903, at the Waldorf- Astoria Hotel in New York City, which the McDonalds have made their winter home for some years past. She had been a confirmed invalid, with brief intervals of hope of improvement, ever since the death of her daughter, Mrs. Stallo. In 1896 Mrs. McDonald established in memory of her daughter the Laura Memorial Woman's Medical College in connection with the Pres- byterian Hospital, of which latter institution she was president and one of the founders. The pleasant old mansion adjoining the Presbyterian Hos- pital on West Sixth street was purchased and fitted up for the training of young women for the medical profession. The graduates of the Laura Memorial and their friends were always entertained by Mrs. McDonald each year at the close of the exercises, and for years she personally presented the diplomas. One of the city's noblest institutions is the Presbyterian Hos- pital building on Kenyon avenue, which was built and equipped with every modern appliance by Mr. and Mrs. McDonald, at a cost of about $100,000. It is called The McDonald and stands as a memorial to the beloved daughter
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and to the mother who has joined her in that unknown country where part- ing shall be no more forever. As a memorial, it will enshrine the names of its donors in the hearts and grateful remembrance of untold thousands who may be brought to its shelter for relief and for restoration to health. Mrs. McDonald by no means confined her charitable work to the Presby- terian Church, of which she was a devout member, and of which Mr. Mc- Donald was both trustee and elder for many years. She was for years presi- dent of the Ladies' Board of Managers of the Widows' Home, and gave gen- erously to the Young Men's Christian Association that owed so much to Mr. McDonald's constant generosity, and also to the Young Women's Chris- tian Association. Besides her husband and two granddaughters, Mrs. Mc- Donald left four sisters, residing in Cincinnati : Mrs. William Brown, Mrs. George Crary, Mrs. Lewis Wetzel and Miss Carrie Palmer. The funeral services were held on December 31st, in Spring Grove Chapel, and inter- ment was made in Spring Grove Cemetery.
The McDonald mansion in Clifton, a gray, stone palace built almost 25 years ago and named Dalvay, after the McDonald home in Scotland, is one of the most beautiful estates in Ohio and was the scene for many years of a constant and lavish hospitality, not alone to Mrs. McDonald's special friends, but to the entire circle embraced by her interests and acquaintance- ship. Mr. McDonald and family moved to New York City in 1900, and he is quite prominent in financial institutions of the metropolis. He still owns his Clifton home, and spends months there every year. The McDonalds also have a lovely summer home, Trac-a-die, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia.
Mr. McDonald is very charitable and public spirited, and many deserv- ing organizations have been benefited by his liberality. He is a trustee of the Children's Home of Cincinnati and of the College of Music of Cin- cinnati. For many years he was trustee of the Cincinnati Museum Asso- ciation, of the May Festival Association, of Spring Grove Cemetery and of Lane Theological Seminary. For a number of years he was a director of the Young Men's Christian Association. He has always taken a deep in- terest in the work of the association, and recently made a contribution of $5,000 to the Y. M. C. A. Law School. In recognition of his many con- tributions to its support, the educational branch of the Young Men's Chiris- tian Association has been named the McDonald Educational Institution, an
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honor wholly unsought by him. He is also greatly interested in the Winona Assembly and Sunday School, to the support of which he has largely con- tributed, and is a director of the School, of which Rev. Sol. C. Dickey, D. D., of Indianapolis, Indiana, is president and the leading spirit. Although a Republican in political sentiment, Mr. McDonald has never been a politician.
LOUIS TRAUB.
LOUIS TRAUB, president of Traub's Cincinnati Business College and School of Telegraphy, located on the southwest corner of Fourth and Race streets, Cincinnati, and president of The Boston Telegraph Institute and New England Commercial College, No. 18 Boylston street, Boston, Massa- chusetts, is one of the most expert typists and stenographers in the country. He has held numerous important positions in this line with the government and in court work, and has had wide experience as a teacher, the institution of which he is the head ranking among the foremost institutions of the kind in the State.
Louis Traub was born October 26, 1859, in Thann, a town in Alsace. Hle left for France soon after the Franco-Prussian War, in 1870-71, and became a student in l'Ecole Normale Spéciale de Cluny, in the department of Soane et Loire, where he completed the prescribed studies, which in- cluded very thorough courses in German and Latin. Subsequently at the age of 18 years he joined the Legion Etrangere of the French Army in Algiers and for a year and a half was with the force under Col. De Négrier that made the campaign against Bou Amama, the redoubtable Arab chief. His time of service expired in 1882; leaving Africa, he came direct to this country and located in Cincinnati where he has since resided. Ilis first year in this city was a struggle under difficulties. Before its close, however, he began the study of shorthand ( Benn Pitman system) and with the intense application that is characteristic of Mr. Traub in all his undertakings, he was able after one month's study, to write roo words a minute of ordinary matter. His limited knowledge of the English lan- guage, however, disqualified him for a position, and to correct this defi- ciency he applied himself at once to a thorough study of English, and in three months accepted a position with J. W. Biles & Company. Subse-
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quently he was with Joseph Brigel & Company, and finally for two years with the American Export & Warehouse Company. At the Cincinnati Ex- position of 1886 and the Indiana State Fair of 1887 at - Indianapolis, Mr. Traub operated a Caligraph with a blank key-board, and as early as 1889 was teaching the touch method of typewriting. On November 1, 1888, he opened Traub's Cincinnati Business College, and after a three-years' struggle firmly established a school that has the reputation of being one of the largest and best in Cincinnati. In addition to his college duties, he has acted as law and general reporter for some of the best law firms and railroad cor- porations in Cincinnati, and he numbers among his many endorsers such men as Senator Joseph B. Foraker and Bishop Joyce. He is also an expert ac- countant and mathematician with few equals, two excellent accomplishments for a business college proprietor. . After using the Benn Pitman system of shorthand for two years, he became convinced that the Graham system had some advantages, and in a comparatively short time changed to that sys- tem, which he wrote with great success until May, 1900. Like a great many shorthand writers, he had never been. entirely satisfied with the Pitmanic system which he had written and taught so many years, and was ever on the alert to find his ideal. With a keen eye for opportunities he decided to introduce and teach the "McKee New Standard" system in his college, learning it himself in the remarkably short time of eight days. He has ever since been enthusiastic in his support of that system, and has delivered a lecture on its superiority over other systems, substantiating his arguments with figures that were astonishing and could not be disproved. This sys- tem enables him to teach shorthand to his students in a much shorter period than other systems, and by use of the vowels in shorthand work they have become more accurate and of greater service to their employers. Although of foreign birth and notwithstanding many obstacles, Mr. Traub has won a place at the head of the profession both in typewriting and shorthand, and is hield in highest esteem by his fellow citizens.
LUKE A. STALEY.
LUKE A. STALEY, formerly county commissioner and also county treas- urer of Hamilton County, Ohio, is one of the many successful business men
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of Cincinnati. Mr. Staley was born August 1, 1840, at Dayton, Ohio, and is one of the four survivors of the family of six children born to Henry and Rebecca (Connor) Staley.
Like nine in ten of the successful men of the business world, Mr. Staley was educated in the public schools. His business interests have always been centered in Cincinnati; his greatest period of activity was that included be- tween the years 1880 and 1894, during which time he was prominently identified with large and important real estate dealings. In 1879 and in 1880 he served as county treasurer, and in 1886 was elected county com- missioner, in which honorable office he served two terms.
In 1866 Mr. Staley was married to Lucretia E. Kessler, who is a daughter of the late Henry Kessler, of whom a sketch appears in this volume, and four children have been born to them, namely: Henry K. Staley, Luke A. Staley, Jr., Mrs. Laura R. Raine and Mrs. Ida K. Sturges. The beautiful family residence is one of the handsomest in the suburb of Pleasant Ridge, where the members of the family are socially prominent. Mr. Staley was reared in the German Reformed Church, but now, with his family, belongs to the Presbyterian Church.
HON. HENRY KESSLER.
HON. HENRY KESSLER, deceased, ex-sheriff of Hamilton County, was born July 13, 1811, in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, and was a son of Christian and Elizabeth (Miller) Kessler. The family is of German ex- traction.
Mr. Kessler's early educational advantages were very limited, for at the age of 10 years he was apprenticed to Christian Seaman, a tanner of Frederick, Maryland. Although denied schooling during the day time, he could not be prevented from study at night, and thus he kept apace with other lads more fortunate than himself. His industry with Mr. Seaman caused the latter to place such confidence in him that after the end of liis apprenticeship he was entrusted with the management of the business. Thus he gained practical knowledge that was serviceable when, in 1831, he com- inenced in a small way for himself. In 1835 Mr. Kessler sold his business and removed to Cincinnati, engaging in business here as a leather dresser
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and fur dealer, at the corner of Third and Sycamore streets, on Deer creek. . In 1841 he added dealing in leather, both wholesale and retail. In 1856 he began the tanning of heavy leather and in the same year opened a general leather and saddlery hardware store at St. Paul, Minnesota. This venture proved very successful and he continued the business for nearly 14 years. Mr. Kessler was interested in other enterprises, one of these being the Eagle Insurance Company, of which he was one of the incorporators in 1850. He served as its president for 15 years and his connection with it had much to do with its prosperity.
Mr. Kessler early became interested in politics, first as a Whig, and he was ready to identify himself with the Republican party upon its forma- . tion. In 1858 he was first elected to office, as sheriff of Hamilton County, the important public issues making the offices of county and State officials of grave importance. During the succeeding time of civil strife, he was a strong upholder of the Federal power and in 1866 was elected on the Re- publican ticket as Representative from Hamilton County to the State Legis- lature. In 1868 he was chosen State Senator; his courageous and upright course brought about his reelection in 1874. His public spirit was continually shown in Cincinnati. In 1862 he was chosen one of the trustees of the City Water Works for three years, and on the expiration of that term was re- elected for three years more. While occupying that position, he was authorized by the City Council to close the bargain with Hon. Joseph Long- worth, by the terms of which the city became possessed of the beautiful property known as the "Garden of Eden," which has lost none of its beauty by the use made of it by the city.
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