USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Cleveland, Ohio, pictorial and biographical. De luxe supplement, Volume I > Part 20
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Harry J. Collier began his education in the schools of New York and was twelve years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Illinois, where he continued his studies. The periods of vacation were devoted to the work of the fields and he was his father's assist- ant and associate in farming operations until about seventeen years of age when, aroused by the call of the country for military aid, he abandoned the plow and joined the Union Army as a member of Company F, One Hundred and Fortieth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry. His youth had precluded his previous enlistment but he joined the army in 1864 and was mustered out in Chicago just prior to the close of the war.
When the country no longer needed his aid Mr. Collier returned to the home farm whereon he continued for two years, but feeling 1
that his opportunities were limited in agricultural life he turned his attention to other pursuits. Beginning work at the carpenter's trade, he followed it for a brief period in Illinois and then went to Michigan, spending three years at carpentering in Benton Har- bor and St. Joe. Ere he left that state be began contracting on his own account. Later he worked at carpentering in Missouri until 1889 when he went to Tennessee and also to Kentucky and to differ- ent points in the south, being engaged on railroad contract work and
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Harry . Collier
bridge construction until 1893. In that year he returned to Indiana, having been awarded the contract for construction of the belt line at Bedford. While thus engaged he made his headquarters at Louisville, Kentucky, until 1895, and then went to the West Indies, where he erected buildings for the Jamaica Railroad. He spent fourteen months in that tropical country, after which he returned to New York city and for two years was engaged on building con- struction in the eastern metropolis. He afterward spent a year in railroad work in Richmond, Virginia, and subsequently was in Chi- cago until 1902. He then went to Pittsburg, having been awarded the contract for the building of the Wabash terminal, which in- cluded the construction of sixty thousand yards of masonry. Com- ing to Cleveland he built the masonry of the Newburg & South Shore Railroad and later in Indianapolis constructed the masonry and bridge work in the Indianapolis Southern Railway. At the same time he was engaged on bridge work for the Illinois, Iowa & Minnesota Railroad between Rockford and De Kalb, Illinois, and also on the bridge work between Lorain and Berea, Ohio, on the Lake Erie & Pittsburg Railway Company. Other evidence of his skill is found in the Cincinnati terminal building, which is con- structed of concrete. He erected the Herbivora building at the zoological gardens of that city and did much work for the Big Four Railroad Company on the St. Louis division, erecting the concrete bridge at Marshall, Illinois, containing thirteen thousand yards.
In August, 1906, Mr. Collier returned to Cleveland for the execution of a contract for work on the Lake Erie & Pittsburg Rail- way Company, now a part of the Lake Shore Railway, building thirty-seven thousand yards of masonry. He also did the masonry work on the bridge at Asheville, North Carolina, and is now en- gaged on bridge work at Spartanburg, South Carolina. He began some large masonry contracts at Winston Salem, North Carolina, in August, 1909, in which twelve thousand yards were involved. He has ever made a specialty of railroad and bridge work and in the execution of important contracts has been called to all sections of the country. In 1909 he constructed and completed the largest wooden bridge in Cleveland, at East Sixty-fifth and Kingsbury Run, as an evidence of local work. The foregoing record will indicate much of the extent of his business and the superior ability which he displays. He has made steady advancement in his chosen field of labor and among the representatives of the field in which he has put forth his efforts he is recognized as a most skilled and efficient contractor. Mr. Collier is secretary, treasurer and director in the Cleveland Material Company, wholesale dealers in builders' and
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Harry y. Collier
contractors' materials. He was one of the charter members of the American Society of Engineering Contractors.
On the 18th of January, 1872, Mr. Collier was married to Miss Alice Jay, a native of Illinois, and unto them have been born two children: Mrs. Van R. Norred, of Chattanooga, Tennessee; and H. J. Collier, Jr., who married Myrtle Barber, of Cleveland, and is associated with his father in business. Mr. Collier is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Grand Army of the Re- public. His life has been an extremely busy one and knowledge which he has displayed in accomplishing various tasks and the ability with which he has adapted himself to the demands of the situation, constitute salient forces in the success which he has achieved and which places him in a prominent position among Cleveland's leading contractors.
Robert Erastus Ac kisson
OBERT ERASTUS McKISSON, whose name is R written large on the pages of Cleveland's history through the practical reforms and needed improve- ments which he instituted while serving as mayor, is now giving his time and attention strictly to the practice of the law and is regarded as one of the eminent representatives of the bar of this city. His birth occurred January 30, 1863, in Northfield, Summit county, Ohio, his parents being Martin Van Buren and Finette Adeline (Eldridge) McKis- son. The father was a farmer in early life and was afterward identi- fied with the commission business in Cleveland, in which place his death occurred October 8, 1891.
Robert Erastus McKisson acquired his early education in the public schools of Cleveland and later removed with the family to Lagrange, Ohio, where he attended the high school. He afterward became a student in Oberlin College, and all of the expenses con- nected with his collegiate course were paid by himself, as during his boyhood and youth he continuously provided for his own sup- port in various lines of labor, meeting with success in everything he undertook. His first occupation was that of messenger boy in Cleveland and later he became assistant in the law office of Web- ster & Angell, where he received originally a salary of but five dol- lars per week, which sum was increased, however, as he demon- strated the value of his services. At the age of nineteen years he engaged in teaching, following that profession in several places in Ohio through the winter seasons, while in the summer months he was employed in various capacities.
On the Ist of April, 1887, when he was twenty-four years of age, he returned to Cleveland and, practically unknown, entered the business circles of this city, securing employment in the office of Theodore E. Burton, now senator. It was after this that he was assistant in the law office of Webster & Angell. While thus engaged he devoted every leisure moment to the study of the law and in 1889 was admitted to practice in the state and in 1891 to the federal
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Robert Erastus Ac Risson
courts. He practiced alone for a brief period but in October of that year was admitted to partnership relations by his former pre- ceptors, the firm of Webster, Angell & McKisson being then or- ganized. This was unmistakable proof of the recognition of his ability on the part of those who had previously directed his reading. The partnership continued until May 1, 1895.
In the meantime Mr. McKisson has been called to public office. On the 3d of April, 1894, he was elected a member of the city coun- cil and on the 5th of April, 1895, he was chosen mayor of Cleveland, his administration of the affairs of the office being of such a prac- tical and progressive nature that he was recalled for a second term. His reelection was of a most complimentary character inasmuch as he is the only republican mayor who has served for two consecu- tive terms. Thus it will be seen that although he came to Cleveland practically penniless and unknown in 1887 eight years served to bring him into the most prominent position within the gift of his fellow citizens. He had come to be recognized as a leader and one worthy of a large following. His views in the policy which he enunciated were clearly defined and that he held to his election promises during his first term is proven in the fact that he was again chosen for the mayoralty. He sought for retrenchment in needless expenditure, yet did not favor a conservative policy that would hamper progressiveness. During his administration he was instru- mental in securing the adoption of various measures for the good of the city and in preventing the issuance of franchises of doubtful value, like those which the street railway companies attempted to secure. He also established and constructed the new water tunnel system and the greater part of the intercepting sewer system. He increased the park area from one hundred and twenty-three acres to fourteen hundred acres and also appointed the present commis- sion for the building of the new city hall, for which he left in gas funds over six hundred thousand dollars. He was the first mayor in the United States to flush the city streets and in many other ways promoted the city's benefit, improvement and adornment. Of the many tangible evidences given of his devotion to the public welfare none are more worthy of comment than the fact that it was Mr. McKisson who made all the river and harbor improvements at Cleveland and also made all the contracts for the making of the new land which the railroad company claimed but which now be- longs to the city and is valued at three millions. He was also in- strumental in having the first five miles of the river straightened and deepened so as to improve the steamer traffic and thereby augment- ing the trade of the city. He was the most progressive mayor Cleve-
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Robert Erastus Mckisson
land has ever had and made more improvements in every way than any other executive officer before him.
Mr. McKisson was at one time active in the Tippecanoe Club, drew up its charter and served as its vice president. He has now, however, resigned from all clubs and political organizations and devotes his entire time to his law practice and other private inter- ests. After his return to the private practice of law he was for a time associated with J. P. Dowley and W. H. Boyd, but was after- ward again alone. In January, 1905, he entered into his present partnership relations as a member of the firm of McKisson & Min- shall. They have a large law practice, connecting them with much important litigation, and Mr. McKisson is widely regarded as a learned and able lawyer.
On the 16th of January, 1901, Mr. McKisson was married to Miss Mamie Marie Langenau, a daughter of William C. Langenau, a prominent business man of Cleveland. He is a Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty-second degree and also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Knight Templar fraternity and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Vitally alive to the interests and questions of the day, he feels that he has given to this city that service which is his duty as a public-spirited citizen but now is confining his attention to private interests along professional lines for which natural talents and acquired ability have so well fitted him.
This Joling
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Thomas 3 opling
O N the honor roll of Cleveland appears the name of Thomas Jopling. In his life splendid business abil- ity and broad humanitarianism were well balanced features. He was one of those whose activity and enterprise were elements in pushing forward the wheels of progress but never were his attention and activities so self-centered that participation in movements for the public good found no place in his life. On the contrary organized charity received his ready assistance and his generous aid was given in hundreds of individual cases. His sympathy was quick and his heart and hand made ready response, nor was he lacking in that strength of purpose and firm resolve which are so essential in the business life.
He was born in Northumberland county, England, January 10, 1841. The death of his father, occasioned by an accident, left a family of seven young children without provision for their support but they were adopted by relatives and Thomas Jopling became a member of the family of his mother's brother, Thomas Halliday, a man of unusually fine character, who conducted an extensive and profitable business in connection with the coal and iron industries. He provided Thomas Jopling with opportunities for acquiring a good practical English education and then took him into his own office that he might receive there the business training necessary for the active affairs of life. After two years Mr. Halliday obtained for his nephew another position where he would have opportunities for acquiring a broad and varied experience and he entered the Sheepbridge Iron Works, then managed by the late William Fow- ler, M. P., a brother of Sir John Fowler, an eminent English civil engineer, who built the London underground railway. For four years Mr. Jopling continued in the office of the Sheepbridge Iron Works and his training and experience there constituted a splendid foundation upon which to build future success.
In the meantime he was looking over the business world and, believing that the United States offered excellent advantages, he resolved to come to the new world and sailed for this land in 1864.
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Thomas Jopling
Interested in agricultural pursuits, he purchased a small farm near Enon Valley in Pennsylvania, but as he had no practical knowledge concerning the work of tilling the fields it required but a brief ex- perience for him to become convinced that farming was not his vocation. It was well that he early came to a realization of this fact else Cleveland might have been denied the assistance and stimu- lus which he gave to her business circles. The future held in store for him larger opportunities than were offered in agricultural lines and his intelligent appreciation of advantages and chances was one of his strong and salient characteristics. On leaving the farm he secured a situation in the office of Freeman Butts, a coal operator in Pennsylvania, who was once a resident of Cleveland. In this con- nection Mr. Jopling bent every energy toward the mastery of the duties that devolved upon him and to the acquirement of knowledge that would serve him well in business circles. With a nature that could not be content with mediocrity and with laudable ambition which awakened in him the desire to one day engage in business on his own account, he put forth every effort to obtain the capital necessary to this end. As the result of his industry and careful ex- penditure he was at length enabled to join William A. Robinson of Cleveland in a partnership and they opened a coal mine near Pales- tine, Ohio.
While thus engaged Mr. Jopling formed the acquaintance of C. A. Otis, founder and proprietor of the Otis Iron Works of Cleve- land. Mr. Otis, notable as a judge of men, quickly recognized Mr. Jopling's fine business talents and capabilities and made him a proposition to come to Cleveland and take charge of his office. The offer was accepted and Cleveland gained a citizen whose worth was widely acknowledged, his abilities carrying him into business rela- tions, while his unswerving integrity and genial kindliness gained him the honor, respect and sincere affection of those with whom he came in contact.
Entering upon his duties in Cleveland, Mr. Jopling had charge of the office of the Otis Iron Works until they were sold, when he entered into partnership with Mr. Otis in the building of the Otis Steel & Iron Works, which were put into operation about 1874 with Mr. Jopling as financial manager. Later he was influential in suc- cessfully negotiating and completing the sale of this large concern to an English syndicate. He retained an interest in the works, how- ever, and was one of the managing directors of the new company --- a position which he held at the time of his death. A man of re- sourceful ability, quickly recognizing opportunities and coordinating forces into a harmonious whole, his worth and work made him a
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Thomas Jopling
valued factor in the industrial development of Cleveland, upon which the prosperity of the city has so largely rested. He became one of the founders and the president of the American Wire Works, also one of the city's mammoth and important manufacturing enter- prises. He was likewise the vice president of the East End Savings Bank and a director in the Citizens Savings & Loan Association, now the Citizens Savings & Trust Company. He was also largely interested in the Mutual and Orient lines of lake boats, likewise in the Cleveland street railways and various other enterprises in this and other cities. His wonderfully clear and direct business insight, his sound and experienced judgment as well as his well known dis- position to render aid and lend his influence to all worthy purposes, caused him to be frequently called upon for advice and assistance and also became the means by which he acquired various interests in many corporations and companies.
In 1864 Mr. Jopling was united in marriage to Miss Mary Clayton, a daughter of John Clayton, one of the prominent coal operators and highly respected citizens of the ancient town of Ches- terfield, England. Mrs. 'Jopling was born at Stone Middleton, which place is known as the Switzerland of England because of its beautiful scenery. Three children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Jopling, two sons and a daughter. Reginald F., the eldest, born October 27, 1866, was graduated from the Central high school of Cleveland with the class of 1885. He then entered the Columbia School of Mines in New York and was graduated with the class of 1889 with the degree of E. M. He afterward became identified with the Otis Steel Company and the American Wire Company- with the former as a chemist and the latter as president and general manager until the corporations were sold to the United States Steel Company. Since that time Mr. Jopling has been engaged as a con- sulting engineer. He is one of the organizers and a director and secretary of the Meridian Publishing Company, which publishes the Cleveland News. He is one of the organizers and the president of the Ingersoll Amusement Company, owning Luna Park, and an organizer and director of the Tavistock Building Company. He belongs to the Union and University Clubs and is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal church. He married Anna Mitchell, of Cleve- land, and they have three children : Catharine Heller, Thomas and Anita. Thomas Halliday, the second son, a man of excellent ability, has on account of ill health been compelled to relinquish business connections. He married Florence M. Dixon and with their son, Thomas Reginald, they reside at Willoughby. Florence M., the daughter, is the wife of Francisco Escobar, a Spanish South Ameri-
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Thomas Jopling
can, and they reside in New York. They have three children : Mary Mercides, Francisco Ennis and Florence Leonora.
For some years prior to his death, Mr. Jopling had in mind the development of an estate patterned after the English country homes and with that idea in view he purchased several hundred acres of land at Willoughby but death claimed him before he had oppor- tunity to begin the work of development there. The family carried out his plans, however, and Willoughby Hall is now one of the most beautiful places in this section of the state and is the family homestead.
The death of Mr. Jopling occurred February 18, 1894, his re- mains being interred in Lakeview cemetery. While he was a very successful man in his business ventures and established and promoted enterprises which grew to large proportions and became among the most important sources of revenue for Cleveland-in that the pros- perity of every city depends upon its business interests-it was not alone what he accomplished by reason of his initiative and executive ability that gained him a high place in the regard of his fellowmen. Many other traits of his character were equally pronounced and of equal value. He possessed a broad spirit of humanitarianism and no man ever more fully realized the obligations and responsibilities of wealth. He gave generous and ready assistance to all movements looking toward the upbuilding of the city and the enlargement of her industrial and commercial importance, his patriotic devotion to her welfare being manifest in many tangible ways but above and beyond this he possessed an eminently sympathetic and charitable nature, responding readily to every appeal that was made to him for the aid of the poor and needy and the discouraged and distressed. His benefactions were many and he made no distinctions in creeds or beliefs in his charity. He gave freely not from any sense of duty but from sincere interest in his fellowmen, and his charity was of a most quiet and unostentatious nature, many of his acts of kind- ness being known not even to the members of his family until after his death. While he did not formally unite with any religious or- ganization after coming to America he followed the teachings of his youth and the spirit of Christianity found embodiment in much that he did. In manner he was most genial, courteous and kindly, en- joying life and its opportunities, his friends and their companion- ship. He was a valued member of the Union, Roadside and Coun- try Clubs and delighted in meeting the members of those organiza- tions in social converse, but his greatest interest centered in his home. He never regarded it as beneath his dignity to join his chil- dren in any game of childhood and he stood as a high type of the
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Thomas Jopling
devoted husband and loving father. He also held friendship in- violable and his loyalty to a friend was never questioned. He found his chief recreation in travel, usually spending his vacations with his family in Europe, where he did not follow the paths us- ually taken by the tourist but wandered from place to place as fancy and inclination dictated. He was a man of broad, general culture, of marked strength in business connections, of high purposes and lofty ideals, and the influence which he exerted upon the world's work was no inconsiderable one.
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Chas, B Bernard
Charles B. Bernard
T HE name of Charles B. Bernard appears upon public records in connection with various important duties in Cleveland and at all times his official record is without shadow of wrong as his private life is with- out dishonor. He stood as a high type of manhood and citizenship, honored by all who knew him and most of all by those who came into intimate relations with him through the social interests or professional and official connections of life. He was born at Warsaw, New York, May 22, 1828. His father, the Rev. David Bernard, was born at Utica, New York, De- cember 24, 1798, and was widely known throughout the entire state and elsewhere as a minister of the gospel and a speaker of marked evangelical eloquence. His mother, Mrs. Harriet Bernard, born February 20, 1806, was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elihu Bil- lings, of Saratoga, New York. With her ability and sympathetic nature she filled exceptionally well the position of pastor's wife.
Charles B. Bernard was educated in public and private schools of New York and Pennsylvania and even in his boyhood days dis- played the versatility which marked his mature years, Mathe- matics was perhaps the branch of study in which he most greatly excelled, the discipline of this giving him an accuracy for which he was always noted. He was gifted by nature with a tenor voice of rare sweetness, a correct ear for music and a refined musical taste. At Norristown, Pennsylvania, he was a schoolmate of Major Gen- eral W. S. Hancock. Although he had great fondness for the sports of youth, nevertheless he had a fitness for the work of life which few at the age of seventeen possess. He came to Ohio in 1845 and in 1846 began teaching in Avon. Later he taught in Brunswick and Middlebury, now East Akron. The summer months were de- voted to farm work. In March, 1849, he entered the auditor's office as deputy, serving for four years under N. W. Goodhue and two years under Henry Newberry. He was then elected auditor in 1854 and the capability and efficiency of his service was such that he was reelected in 1856 for a second term, his incumbency in the office therefore covering four years. He was the first railroad ticket agent
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Charles B. Bernard
in Akron, Ohio, but attracted to a professional life he entered the law office of Wolcott & Upson in 1859 and in 1861 was admitted to the bar, at which time he joined his former preceptors in a partner- ship relation. Upon the death of Mr. Wolcott in 1863 the firm name was changed to Upson & Bernard.
While engaged in the active practice of law Mr. Bernard was also active in community affairs, serving as city solicitor in 1862-3, while his connection with educational interests covered seven years as member, president, secretary and treasurer of the board of educa- tion. He was also treasurer of the Akron and Portage township sol- diers bounty fund during the war and in 1864 he served for one hundred days in front of Washington as adjutant of the One Hun- dred and Sixty-fourth Regiment of the Ohio National Guard, and as acting assistant adjutant general.
In April, 1867, Mr. Bernard came to Cleveland and while he continued in the practice of law here he also became secretary of the Cleveland Stove Company, with which he was associated for twenty years and actively for about two years. He was chief clerk of in- ternal revenue for two years and was the first appraiser of merchan- dise at the port of Cleveland, acting in that capacity for two years. His service in the city council and also on the board of education covered a similar period. On resigning his appraisership he re- sumed the practice of his profession. In a case referred to him he wrote out an original opinion as to the liability of stockholders un- der the Ohio law which the Ohio supreme court in another case sus- tained in every particular, so that it is now the law. He was director and legal adviser in several corporations and financial insti- tutions and because of his ability and integrity won high regard from his colleagues and associates. In insurance business, which in later years occupied his time, he was regarded as a man of sound judg- ment, of genuine uprightness and noble independence. No loss to himself deterred him from following the convictions of conscience, and all these qualities gained for him the confidence and esteem of his coworkers.
On the 27th of October, 1858, Mr. Bernard was married at Ak- ron, Ohio, to Miss Mary Eleanor Gardiner, a daughter of William Capwell and Maria (Smith) Gardiner. They became parents of two daughters: Grace Bernard, the wife of Frederick W. Warner, of Hartford, Connecticut; and Bell Bernard, of Cleveland.
The death of the husband and father occurred March 24, 1893, and thus passed from the scene of earthly activities one who has oc- cupied a conspicuous and honorable place in the public life of Cleveland for many years. He considered Christianity the only
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Charles B. Bernard
true religion and applied its principles to all the affairs of life, ever attempting to obviate the sin and ameliorate the sorrow around him. The son of a Baptist minister, he early embraced his father's faith and held it to the end. He was an honored and efficient member of the First Baptist church of. Akron and of the First Baptist church of Cleveland. He loved his church and denomination and was in- telligently acquainted with its history and principles.
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INDEX
Allen, Luther 315
Axworthy, Thomas 189
Lewis, Edward 77
Little, H. H. 301
Babcock, P. H. 433
Baker, W. C.
.101
McAllister, Arthur 137
McAllister, W. B. 133
Benes, W. D.
407
McKisson, R. E. 445
Bernard, C. B. 459
Bidwell, J. A. 171
Bishop, H. A. 61
Boynton, F. L.
143
Morgan, T. R. 207
Murray, W. P. 395
Bradley, M. A.
83
Brooks, S. C. 129
Bruch, F. W. .233
Bulkeley, W. F. 199
Otis, C. A., Sr.
35
Burke, Stevenson 5
Otis, C. A., Jr. 113
Otis, W. A.
41
Cattrall, R. P. 265
Ciarlo, M. A. 287
Cogswell, J. H.
.119
Collier, H. J. 439
Cox, J. D. 65
Darby, J. E. 369
Dawley, J. P. 165
Devereux, J. H.
13
Dickenson, John
345
Dille, C. W.
357
Ernne, A. D. 105
Field, A. S. 413
Fish, Abel 321
Fisher, N. D. 159
Ford, H. C.
383
Fuhrman, Adam
185
Fuller, C. W. 203
Harris, B. E. 211
Hills, Addison
95
Holden, L. E. 401
Huntington, John 55
Hyman, H. H. 269
Jones, G. J. .325
Jopling, Thomas 451
Kittredge, L. H. 153
Latimer, J. E.
365
Lawrence, M. J.
349
Taft, F. L. .391
Theobald, Jacob, Sr. 379
Tisdale, G. A. 283
Tracy, J. J.
21
Upson, A. S. 71
Weddell, H. P. 275
Weddell, P. M. .277
Weideman, H. W. .417
Whitacre, W. W.
375
Worthington, G. H.
49
2
243
Schneider, Nathaniel 179
Spangler, G. M., Sr. 251
Squire, Andrew 421
Stearns, A. A. .229
Stewart, J. W. 257
Strong, E. E.
215
Summers, D. O.
297
Price, J. H. 89
Raymond, H. N. 261
Reaugh, E. W. 311
Riddle, J. Q.
427
Sanders, J. A. 361
Saunders, A. C.
Pankhurst, J. F. 237
Parkhurst, E. H. 195
Pettee, H. F. 331
Pickands, James 335
Possons, N. S. 291
Nicholson, Ezra 147
Osborn, H. C. 225
Morgan, H. L.
219
Mather, Samuel 25
Miller, Otto 109
Boynton, S. A. 247
Butler, C. R. 123
Lawrence, M. L. 341
Barker, Benajah
305
3851
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