USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Cleveland, Ohio, pictorial and biographical. De luxe supplement, Volume I > Part 10
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Yours Truly
Thomas R. Morgan
A LTHOUGH a native of South Wales, his birth hav- ing there occurred February 7, 1859, Thomas R. Morgan was but six years of age when he came to the United States and in spirit and interests was always a loyal American. The family home was established in Pennsylvania and his father, Thomas R. Morgan, Sr., organized the Pittsburg Steam Hammer Works in the early '70s. The son, who obtained his education in the public schools, was also trained to the iron business in his youthful days. The family re- moved from Pennsylvania to Alliance, Ohio, and the Morgan En- gineering Company was organized.
Thomas R. Morgan completed his studies in Mount Union Col- lege. He entered his father's employ at an early age and learned the details of the business so that at eighteen years of age he was general manager of a plant employing six hundred men. He added to the knowledge of the iron trade which he had already obtained by prac- tical and extended experience, which acquainted him with all parts of the business both in principle and detail. His thoroughness and capability enabled him to make steady progress and later the duties of secretary of the company were also entrusted to him. The extent and importance of his connections as a representative of the iron industry made him well known, while his keen business discernment and unfaltering diligence brought to him a substantial measure of success. In 1897 he became associated with the Wellman-Seaver Engineering Company, as it was then known, and in 1902 he was elected its secretary and made manager of the works. In that year the business was reorganized under the name of the Wellman, Seaver & Morgan Engineering Company, and the corporation has since en- joyed a world-wide reputation. Its ramifying trade interests have reached out to various portions of the civilized country, where its products have been utilized and its manufactured output has largely set the standard for this branch of the iron trade.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Morgan was married in Alliance, Ohio, October 7, 1883, to Miss Anna Schilling, daughter of Lewis Schilling, of Salem, Ohio, a prominent merchant, and
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unto them were born three children: Helen, the wife of William Andrews, a resident of Youngstown, Ohio; Elizabeth, the wife of Walter C. Runyon, of Cleveland; and Lewis. Mr. Morgan pur- chased a beautiful home for his family in Clifton Park and found his greatest happiness in providing for the welfare and interests of his wife and children.
He was a popular and prominent member of the Hermit, the Century, the Union, and the Clifton Clubs and attained high rank in Masonry, becoming a Knight Templar and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. While in Alliance he took active part in politics and was always thoroughly conversant with the leading questions and issues of the day and the attitude of the two parties on all essential phases of government. A warm personal friend of Major William Mckinley, during the Major's campaigns Mr. Morgan took his men from the factory, about six hundred in number, and held meetings to promote the interests of the party's standard bearer. Death came to him on the 21st of June, 1905, in the wreck of the Twentieth Century Limited, at Mentor, Ohio, at which time Mr. Wellman, an officer of the Wellman, Seaver & Morgan Engineering Company, was also killed and a double funeral was held. In a review of the history of Mr. Morgan it must be seen that he was a natural leader of men. He seemed to know intuitively how to secure the cooperation of those with whom he came in contact and to coordinate forces into a unified and harmonious whole. Thoroughness characterized him in all that he did and led to his mastery of every department of the line of work to which he directed his energies. As the years passed he made steady progress and at length became one of the recognized leaders in a field of labor which has had important effect upon the iron trade of the country.
Por . Harris.
Brougham E. Harris
B ROUGHAM E. HARRIS, who in his seventieth year passed away, his death occurring at his Cleveland home, October 31, 1907, was born on Frankfort street in this city, August 20, 1838. He therefore lived to witness Cleveland's development from villagehood to a metropolitan center of large trade and commercial interests and with advanced facilities for intellectual and aesthetic culture. His parents were Josiah A. and Esther M. (Race) Harris. The paternal grandfather, Judge Harris, coming from Brecket, Massachusetts, settled at Amherst about 1800. He was one of the founders of that town and its first postmaster, filling the position for half a century. He was also chosen several times to represent his district in the state legislature, making the journey to and from Amherst to Columbus on horseback, for it was before the period of railroad building and travel. His son, Josiah A. Harris, became the founder and editor of the Cleveland Herald, one of the first news- papers of the city. He was a prominent man of his day, closely asso- ciated with the upbuilding and welfare of Cleveland in the years of its pioneer struggles.
Brougham E. Harris, reared in the Forest city, pursued his edu- cation in the old academy on St. Clair avenue, then under the prin- cipalship of Professor Fry. He completed the work of the grammar grades and entered business life as an employe in the Pittsburg office of the railroad company, under W. W. Chandler. Subsequently he became connected with the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Com- pany, having charge at Cleveland of the freight department, with which he was associated for seventeen years, or until 1876. He then entered the undertaking business in connection with J. P. Hogan, occupying his father's building on Bank street. This partnership was maintained until 1894, after which Mr. Harris was alone in busi- ness until 1905, when he sold out and retired. For almost thirty years he was one of the prominent undertakers of the city, having been accorded an extensive patronage, which made his business a profitable investment. He spent the last two years of his life in his country home on Lake avenue in Lakewood and during that time failed to recuperate his impaired health.
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Brougham C. Darris
On the 5th of November, 1860, Mr. Harris was united in mar- riage to Miss Martha Wall, his wedding night being that on which President Lincoln was first elected. Mrs. Harris is a daughter of Edward and Eliza (Lord) Wall, who came from Hay, Brecknock- shire, Wales, and established their home in Cleveland in 1832, Mr. Wall being a shoemaker of this city. He also cleared land and built a homestead on the present site of the Huron Road Hospital. Mrs. Harris was born where the May Drug Company is now conducting business in the heart of Cleveland's business center. The family home was a little frame residence which there stood, and her natal day was November 14, 1840. She has resided all her life in this city and now occupies a beautiful country home on Lake avenue, where she is living with her only grandson, Harland Harris Newell, all the other members of the family having passed away. She had four children: Lizzie E., Fannie M., Edward A. and Mattie B.
Mr. Harris was a republican in his political views. In manner he was very quiet and unostentatious but was a keen and sagacious business man. He was no less noted for his charitable spirit and was a liberal donor to the poor. He lived to witness remarkable changes in Cleveland as the city cast off the evidences of villagehood and took on all the indications of a modern and progressive civilization, such as are found in the leading cities of the country. Events which were to others matters of history were to him matters of personal knowledge and experience, and he spoke with authority on many subjects concerning the annals of Cleveland and its upbuilding.
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Edgar Cugene Strong
E DGAR E. STRONG, president of the Strong, Car- lisle & Hammond Company, is one of the best known men in the supply and machine tool line in this coun- try. He represents one of the old American families, his ancestors having come from England in 1636 and settled in Northampton, Massachusetts. They were among the founders of that town and prominent in the affairs of the Massachusetts colony. Caleb Strong was governor of Massachu- setts for twelve years, filling the position for five successive terms of one year each, and later for seven consecutive years, when he refused to accept the office again. He was also first United States senator from Massachusetts and took an active part in that state's acceptance of the Declaration of Independence. New England was the home of the family for eight generations.
Mr. Strong was born in Manchester, Connecticut, in 1841. He was graduated from the Providence Conference Seminary, a boarding school at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and also from the Man- chester Academy. It was his wish to become a surgeon but the Civil war shaped another course. In response to further call for troops, in August, 1862, Mr. Strong was enlisted in the Union Army,-a private of Company H, Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He saw active service with the Army of the Potomac under Generals McClellan, Burnside and Hooker. He was honorably discharged in July, 1865, at Washington, D. C., with the rank of first lieutenant.
In August of the same year, Mr. Strong came to Cleveland for a temporary visit but being offered a situation with William Bing- ham & Company accepted it. He was made manager later of their retail department. He continued in this position for six years, when he was given the management of the wholesale department. In 1883 Mr. Strong felt the necessity of out-door employment and with M. G. Browne established the lumber firm of Browne, Strong & Com- pany. The yards of this firm, located on the flats, were destroyed in one of the worst fires the city has ever known. This fire left Mr. Strong with nothing but a family and the necessity to begin again. He at once reentered the employ of William Bingham & Company,
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continuing there until March 1, 1887, when the partnership was formed of Strong, Carlisle & Turney. This partnership agreement was terminated February 1, 1893, when with no change in the per- sonnel, the business was incorporated as The Strong, Carlisle & Turney Company. Later Mr. Turney retired and in 1898 the cor- poration became The Strong, Carlisle & Hammond Company, which today operates one of the most extensive business concerns in Cleve- land and occupies a 'foremost position in the supply and machine tool trade. At the organization of the original partnership the three partners managed the business and did all the work, having a small store at 82 Water street. They remained there two years, when in- creasing trade necessitated removal. For nine succeeding years they were situated near the corner of Bank and Frankfort streets, from where they removed to their present location, 326 to 344 Frankfort avenue. The development of the business is indicated by the fact that at the present time the firm employes one hundred and fifty men and women, with twenty-five traveling salesmen, who represent the company in the United States and Canada. Mr. Strong has been president of the company since its organization and is also president of the Clark Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of steam spe- cialties. He was chosen president of the National Supply and Ma- chinery Dealers' Association, serving for the first two years after its organization in 1905, since which time he has been a member of the advisory board.
In 1869 Mr. Strong was married to Miss Mary Ella Clarke, of Cleveland, a daughter of Aaron Clarke of this city. They had four children: Clinton Eugene, the eldest, was drowned at the age of twenty-two, while a senior in Cornell University. Herbert William, the second, is a graduate of Cornell University, class of 1894. He has been associated with his father in business since graduation and . since 1897 has been secretary of the Strong, Carlisle & Hammond Company. He married Miss Gladys Mosher, daughter of Dr. George C. Mosher, of Kansas City. Edith, the elder daughter; died in childhood. Elizabeth, the second daughter, is a graduate of Smith College. In 1906 she married Warren Sherman Hayden, senior partner of the bond house of Hayden, Miller & Company of Cleve- land. They have one son, Sherman Strong Hayden. Mr. Strong is a veteran member of Tyrian Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and of Cleve- land Chapter, R. A. M. He is also a member of Memorial Post, G. A. R., and the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion.
H & Morgan
Herman L. Morgan
O history of Cuyahoga county would be complete with- N out mention of Herman L. Morgan, who was a rep- resentative of one of its oldest families and was him- self for many years prominently connected with farm- ing and stock-dealing interests. The residence which his family still occupy was at one time in the midst of the Morgan farm, but the growth of the city and the extension of its boundaries have brought it within the corporation limits. It was in that home that Herman L. Morgan was born November 4, 1832, his parents being Youngs L. and Caroline (Thomas) Morgan, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. The family is an old one in New England and is of Welsh lineage. The first of the name in this country was James Morgan, who left the little rock-ribbed country of Wales in 1640 and established his home in Connecticut. Youngs L. Morgan, Sr., the grandfather of Herman L. Morgan, and Major Minor Spicer, the grandfather of Mrs. Morgan, were from the same locality in Connecticut and the two families, together with the Fish family, made the journey westward to Ohio in covered wagons in 1811, being thirty-six days on the road. Youngs Morgan purchased three hundred acres of land, one hundred acres covering the district now enclosed by Broadway and Fifty-fifth street, one hun- dred acres at Aetna Road and Broadway and one hundred acres at No. 7093 Union avenue. He and his sons, Youngs, Jr., Caleb and Ashbel, cleared up most of the land themselves. It was covered with a native forest growth, not a clearing having been made or an im- provement upon it. With characteristic energy the father and sons resolutely took up the task of transforming the forest district into cultivated fields. Youngs Morgan, Sr., departed this life April 7, 1843, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Betsey Jones, died October 5, 1827. The land which was secured by the family was purchased from General Perkins, the agent of the Connecticut Land Company, which originally owned much of the land in this part of the state.
Youngs L. Morgan, Jr., the father of Herman L. Morgan, was born in Connecticut, October 3, 1797, and was therefore a youth
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of about fourteen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio. He took up his abode on a farm which is now the home of Mrs. H. L. Morgan and there occasionally, from 1814 until 1818, he cut and sold wood from the district now bordered by Long and Michigan streets. This he exchanged for boots, shoes and cloth- ing. He assisted in clearing what is now the Broadway property and also acted as foreman of a force of two hundred men during the building of the Ohio canal. In 1822 he engaged in the fur trade in connection with John Jacob Astor and went to Lake of the Woods, where their sleds were drawn by dogs. The party also traveled five hundred miles on snowshoes without seeing a white man and they were obliged to kill their dogs for food and afterward gave fifty dollars for a bushel of corn. Thus with the early pioneer develop- ment of the middle west Youngs Morgan, Jr., was closely associated and aided in planting the seeds of civilization in various districts, but most of all was closely and helpfully associated with the development and progress of Cuyahoga county. He was greatly interested in the political, intellectual and moral progress of the community. It was his cousin, Senator Edwin Morgan, who went to the rescue of Sena- tor Charles Sumner when he was attacked by Senator Brooks of South Carolina on the floor of the senate while speaking against slavery. Y. L. Morgan was also a warm personal friend of General Garfield, whom he often entertained at his home during the two years that the latter was preaching at the Miles avenue church in Newburg.
On the 25th of September, 1828, Youngs Morgan was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Thomas, a daughter of Anthony and Mary Thomas. Her father died in New York, while her mother passed away in Cleveland. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan became the par- ents of five children, three of whom died in early life, while C. C. and Herman L. Morgan reached years of maturity. The father passed away June 22, 1888, at the venerable age of ninety-one years. Almost his entire life had been spent in Cleveland and he had been a witness of the growth and progress of the city from its foundation, for it was a mere hamlet when the family came from Connecticut to the Western Reserve. He availed himself of every opportunity for promoting the best interests of the city and county and was a man of marked influence, his genuine worth and ability making him a leader of public thought and opinion.
Herman L. Morgan, whose name introduces this record, was reared on the home farm and supplemented his early education by study in Hiram College. When his college days were over he re- turned to the old home and devoted his attention to general agri-
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cultural pursuits. He remained upon the farm until it became a part of the city of Cleveland and after that time he subdivided the land and engaged in a real-estate business.
On the 30th of September, 1857, Mr. Morgan was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah H. Smith, who was born in Akron, Ohio, No- vember 28, 1838, and was a daughter of Warren H. and Lydia Smith, members of old Connecticut families. The father was a native of that state and came to Ohio with his parents, Moses and Sarah Smith, in 1826. Mr. and Mrs. Warren H. Smith have two children : Harrison D., a well known wholesale confectionery manufacturer of Cincinnati; and Mrs. Morgan. Unto her marriage there were born five children, of whom three are living: Cora M., now the wife of Noyes P. Gallup; Alice M., the wife of W. Guenther; and Julia Katherine, now Mrs. W. H. Marlatt.
In his political views Mr. Morgan was a stalwart republican and his position upon any vital question was never an equivocal one. He held membership in the Christian church, in which he and his father were for a long time elders. For six years he was a trustee of Hiram College, a school conducted under the auspices of the Christian church, and he was also a member of the Cleveland Disciples Union, which assists in the establishment and care of churches not self-sup- porting. Throughout his life he never centered his activities upon his business affairs to the exclusion of other interests but viewed life from a broader outlook and sought progress in intellectual and moral as well as material lines, both for himself and for the community at large.
I.G. Colore
Henry Chisholm Osborn
T HIS is preeminently the age of invention and Amer- ica has been the foremost representative of the spirit of the age. Men of keen discernment, marked en- terprise and mechanical ingenuity have not only met the needs of the world in perfected machinery and labor-saving devices but have anticipated the needs and have been ready at the moment to supply the demands of the hour. One is led to this train of reflection in investigating the enter- prise with which Henry Chisholm Osborn is connected and which is conducted under the name of the American Multigraph Company. As its president he is bending his efforts to effective control and his executive ability and administrative powers are constituting a most potent element in the successful management of this concern.
A native of Cleveland, Mr. Osborn was born May 10, 1878, and is a son of Alanson T. and Katherine (Chisholm) Osborn. The lat- ter was a daughter of Henry and Jean (Allen) Chisholm, who are mentioned elsewhere in this volume as are Mr. and Mrs. Alanson T. Osborn. The public university and schools of Cleveland afforded Henry C. Osborn his preliminary educational privileges, and later he attended the Case School of Applied Science, where he pursued a special course in mechanical engineering. Leaving college he be- came connected with the Amstutz-Osborn Company, later the Osborn-Morgan Company, and soon became actively interested in developing and perfecting the Gammeter multigraph. At length the business of the Osborn-Morgan Company was taken over by a new company-the American Multigraph Company, of which Mr. Osborn was chosen president. The manufacture of the multigraph was begun. This remarkable and ingenious device, a multiple type- writing and office printing-press, met with instantaneous approval and acceptance on the part of the commercial world, with the result that the growth of the business has been little less than phenom- enal. It is today one of the city's most important manufacturing industries, the trade having reached mammoth proportions. The company maintains sales departments in over sixty of the largest cities of the United States, Canada and Europe and employs over
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three hundred expert workmen in its manufacturing plant, which is one of the most important and complete in the country. There are at present nearly ten thousand of the machines in use, shipments having been made to every part of the civilized world. In March, 1909, the American Multigraph Company took over the business of the Universal Folding Machine Company, which is now owned and conducted by the former corporation. The remarkable success which has attended the Multigraph Company is in large part due to the skill, business energy and keen insight of the president. He has de- veloped the enterprise along modern business lines, employing ju- dicious advertising to place the product on the market and, having an article of practical value, which is manufactured along lines of thoroughness, a ready sale has been secured.
On the 25th of April, 1905, Mr. Osborn was married to Miss Marion DeWolf, a native of Escanaba, Michigan, and a daughter of Dr. James Horace and Marion (DeWolf) Tracy. Mrs. Osborn was educated at Miss Pebbles' school of New York city and is greatly interested in the various charities of her church and is secretary of the Sunbeam circle. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are prominent socially, their home at No. IIIOI Magnolia Drive being the scene of many attrac- tive social functions, as is their country place-Nottingham-on Lake Shore boulevard. Mr. Osborn holds membership in the Euclid Avenue Baptist church, and belongs to the Union, Mayfield and Country Clubs and finds recreation in tennis, golf and fishing. He was also one of Cleveland's early motorists and he takes delight also in the best literature and works of art. Progressive in his citizen- ship and at all times public spirited, his cooperation in matters of municipal progress is largely through the activities of the Chamber of Commerce, of which he is a member. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but the extent of his business would pre- clude active service in political office even had he ambition in that direction. He prefers, however, to concentrate his energies upon other interests and is a splendid type of the American business man, who is alert, energetic and successful, and yet finds time and oppor- tunity for participation in other interests of life.
Ears
Arthur Adelbert Stearns
A RTHUR ADELBERT STEARNS, who for almost three decades has figured in a position of prominence in connection with the Cleveland bar, has also been an active factor in various fields which have been contributory to the city's substantial develop- ment and growth in lines of general progress. Num- bered among Cuyahoga county's native sons, Arthur Adelbert Stearns was born July 18, 1858, and after mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools, he became a student in Buchtel College, at Akron, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1879, the degree of Bachelor of Arts being at that time con- ferred upon him. He supplemented his classical course by prepara- tion for the practice of law in the law school of Harvard University.
Mr. Stearns was admitted to the bar in Ohio in 1881 and in the intervening years has made continuous progress in his profession, long occupying a position of distinction in the ranks of the legal fra- ternity of this city. As few men have done, he seems to realize the importance of the profession to which he has devoted his energies and the fact that he often holds in his hands justice and the higher attribute of mercy. His reputation as a lawyer has been won through earnest, honest labor and his standing at the bar is a merited tribute to his ability. He has had conferred upon him the honorary de- grees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Laws. In his practice he was for six years, from 1884 to 1890, associated with Herman A. Kelley, under the firm name of Stearns & Kelley, since that time has been associated in practice with John A. Chamberlain, under the name of Stearns & Chamberlain and later with William F. Carr and Joseph C. Royon under the name of Carr, Stearns, Chamberlain & Royon. Since the death of Mr. Carr in September, 1909, the firm name has been changed to Stearns, Chamberlain & Royon. His position at the bar is indicated by the large and distinctively representative clien- tage accorded him. From 1894 until 1909 he was professor of the law of suretyship and mortgages and of bills and notes in the Western Reserve University Law School. He is a frequent contributor to the Western Reserve Law Journal and other legal publications, and
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