USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Cleveland, Ohio, pictorial and biographical. De luxe supplement, Volume I > Part 4
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In 1874 Mr. Bishop married Mary E. Marsh, of Hartford, Con- necticut, a charming lady, who is the comfort and solace of her hus- band. He is a member of the Union Club, is a thirty-second degree Mason, and is connected with Halcyon Lodge and Holyrood Commandery, K. T., having served two terms as commander. Ever since the inception of the Chamber of Commerce he has been one of its members. Mrs. Bishop is a member of Euclid Avenue Presby- terian church.
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Horace A. Bishop
In the twilight of the retrospect Mr. Bishop has nothing to re- gret and the elevating principles which have animated his life re- main with him. He has been a man who has attained to more than ordinary success and yet only through the most honorable of methods. However, the stress of heavy responsibilities and the details of the various positions of trust he held told upon him, so that the business world lost prematurely one of its prime factors when he retired from active life, although his friends still have the pleasure of his pres- ence and profit by the kindly advice he is so able to give.
acob Bolson Cox
J ACOB DOLSON COX is now living retired but was formerly manager of the Cleveland Twist Drill Com- pany and is still financially interested in the enter- prise, his official connection therewith being that of director and vice president. He comes of a promi- nent and well known family of this part of the state, but it has been his individual merit that has gained for him the en- viable regard in which he is uniformly held. He was born in War- ren, Ohio, May 15, 1852, and is a son of the Hon. Jacob D. Cox, a native of New York city. Coming to Ohio in early life, Hon. J. D. Cox pursued his education in Oberlin College and later settled in Warren, where he engaged in the practice of law. He soon became recognized as one of the most learned lawyers before the Ohio bar, and his intellectual force and ability carried him into important re- lations outside the strict path of his profession. At the time of the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union and served in the army with the rank of major general. He became an influencing factor in the political circles of Ohio, first representing his district in the state senate, while later he was honored by election to the governor- ship of this commonwealth. National honors later came to him in his appointment as secretary of the interior in President Grant's cabinet. The latter portion of his life was spent as dean in the Cin- cinnati Law School. He married Helen Finney, whose father, Charles G. Finney, was the dominating spirit of Oberlin College until his death. The demise of Hon. J. D. Cox occurred August 4, 1900, at Magnolia, Massachusetts, but his widow is still living at the age of seventy-eight years.
Jacob Dolson Cox of this review pursued his early education in the public schools of Warren, Ohio, and at the age of seventeen years came to Cleveland. Here he entered the employ of the Cleveland Iron Company to learn the rolling mill business. He worked in every capacity, including that of machinist, roll turner, roller, pud- dler, etc., and was thus employed until the fall of 1875. He also spent some time as a machinist with the old Cuyahoga Steam Fur- nace Company on marine engine work and was employed on the twin
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Jacob Dolson Cox
screw steamer Amazon, which was the first of the kind on the lakes. He returned home in 1875 and took up the study of mechanical draw- ing and kindred branches. In June, 1876, he embarked in business on his own account, purchasing a half interest in the business of C. C. Newton of Dunkirk, New York, who was making twist drills and tools. The firm then became Newton & Cox and a removal was made to Cleveland in September, 1876. In June, 1880, Mr. Cox pur- chased his partner's interest. The success of this venture was imme- diate from the start. At the time of removal to Cleveland the firm had but one man and one boy in their employ and something of the rapidity and wonderful growth of the business is indicated in the fact that in September, 1907, the company's employes numbered eleven hundred men. The drill manufactured is used in machine shops throughout the world, being one of the most successful imple- ments of this character ever placed upon the market. Its sale, there- fore, has covered every civilized country and the volume of business makes this one of the most important industries of Cleveland and the middle west. While Mr. Cox is now retired from the active manage- ment to which he formerly devoted many years, he is still one of the directors and the vice president of the company and his connection therewith insures him a most gratifying and substantial annual income. He is also a director of the Cleveland Trust Company and a member of its executive committee. He retired from active business on the Ist of January, 1904. In the fall of 1880 F. F. Prentiss had been admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Cox & Prentiss and when Mr. Cox retired from active management in January, 1904, the business was incorporated under the name of the Cleveland Twist Drill Company.
In 1878 occurred the marriage of J. D. Cox and Miss Ellen Pren- tiss, daughter of Judge S. B. Prentiss. Their children were : Samuel Houghton, who was born in 1879 and is now with the Cleveland Twist Drill Company; Jacob D., born in 1881 ; and Jeanette Prentiss.
Mr. Cox is very fond of golf, boating and motoring and has also spent considerable time in travel. He likewise finds keen interest in photography and microscopic studies. His interests, however, have been by no means confined to those things which relate only to his own success, pleasure or welfare. He has been a cooperant factor in various plans for the city's good, has always been active in the Cham- ber of Commerce, becoming one of its original members, and was at one time its first vice president. In 1892 he was a member of the Committee on the Promotion of Industry, which committee in 1893 was merged with the old Board of Trade, forming the present Cham- ber of Commerce. In all public as well as private connections Mr.
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Jacob Dolson Cox
Cox has looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possi- bilities of the future and has labored for continuous as well as tem- porary progress and advancement. He is a trustee of the Case School and is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He likewise belongs to the Engineers Club of Cleveland and the Engineers Club of New York city, is a member of the Loyal Legion and of the Society of Mayflower Descendants of Ohio and New York, while his appreciation of social amenities is indicated in his connec- tion with the Union, Euclid and Country Clubs. His labors through- out his entire life have been of far-reaching effect, the entire com- munity feeling the stimulus of his efforts, for his nature has ever been too broad to exclude that service which every individual owes to his city and that interest which he should feel in every movement or plan promulgated for the public good.
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Andrew & Upson
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Andrew Seth Mpson
ITH the rapid commercial development of the coun- W try there have come to the front men capable of di- recting mammoth concerns and who by reason of this quality are today the leaders in their particular field of activity. Such has been the record of Andrew Seth Upson, president of the Upson Nut Company and the Union Rolling Mills Company, who stands now at the head of the most extensive nut manufactory of the country. Mr. Upson was born at Burlington, Connecticut, June 16, 1835, and is a representa- tive of one of the old New England families, tracing his ancestry back to Thomas Upson, whose name appears as one of the first settlers and property holders of Farmington, Connecticut. Seth Upson, his grandfather, founded the family at Wolcott, Connecticut, where many of his descendants still reside. Seth Upson, the father, was a farmer by occupation and followed that pursuit in Connecticut until his death, which occurred about 1837. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha Brooks, was also a native of Burlington, Connecticut, and died in 1889. One of the members of the family served as mayor of Baltimore and others were prominent in public life. The family of Seth and Martha Upson numbered four daugh- ters and two sons, Andrew S. being the fifth in order of birth. His brother Dennis, becoming a resident of Unionville, was engaged in business with the subject of this review until his death in 1859.
On the home farm at Burlington, Connecticut, Andrew S. Up- son spent his youthful days, pursuing his education in public and private schools there. In a rural environment he developed a sturdy physique, while his educational advantages brought a mental devel- opment that has constituted the foundation of his success in later life. At nineteen years of age he entered the bolt and nut works owned by his brother-in-law, Dwight Langdon, at Farmington, Connecti- cut, and after being employed in the factory for one year was sent upon the road as a traveling salesman, thus representing the house until the death of Mr. Langdon in 1860, when he formed a partner- ship with George Dunham and took over the business under the name of Upson & Dunham. At that time between thirty and forty
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operatives were employed in the factory. The business had been established in 1854 at Unionville, Connecticut, by Mr. Langdon, who manufactured carriage bolts from square iron, having four hand headers, a furnace with a home-made blower and five lathes of va- rious kinds. The plant was valued at ten thousand dollars and had a capacity of three thousand bolts per day. During his early con- nection with the business Mr. Upson's work consisted of making bolts in the shop a part of the time and driving through the country with a wagon load of bolts and nuts, which he sold to blacksmiths and wagon-makers. Upon becoming head of the firm he instituted various improvements in methods of manufacture and from time to time the business underwent various changes, constantly growing in volume and importance and in time absorbing many large and val- uable plants in various parts of the country. Today there is a plant conducted at Unionville and another large plant at Cleveland, and the enterprise is one of the mammoth concerns of its kind in the world. Since the incorporation of the business, July 14, 1864, Mr. Upson has been its president and has been the guiding spirit in its progress, expansion and improvement. The Cleveland factory was opened in 1872 and today there are fourteen hundred employes of the company in their two establishments, while their sales extend not only to every state in the Union but also to Mexico, South America, Europe and Australia. The success which Mr. Upson has attained in manufacturing lines has led to his cooperation being sought in other fields and he is now a member of the advisory board of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company of Cleveland, a director in the Union National Bank, vice president and director of the State Bank- ing & Trust Company and a director in the Western Reserve Insur- ance Company and the Bankers' Surety Company.
Mr. Upson was married in Unionville township, Farmington, Connecticut, October 2, 1859, to Miss Chloe M. Moses, a daughter of Orrin Moses, of Burlington, Connecticut. She was a lady of most benevolent spirit, taking an active part in church and charitable work, the poor and needy finding in her a warm friend. She died January 26, 1907, and her loss was deeply deplored by all who knew her. Six children had been born of this marriage, of whom three are yet living: Dennis Andrew and William Jewell, who are asso- ciated with their father in business; and Mary Chloe, the wife of Frederick H. Rose, a son of ex-Mayor Rose and assistant treasurer of the Upson Nut Company. Since 1889 Mr. Upson has spent the larger part of his time in Cleveland but maintained his home in Unionville until the death of his wife, when he removed to this city. He had, however, in the meantime maintained an elegant home at
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No. 7208 Euclid avenue, having purchased the property in 1890. Both were members of the Congregational church at Unionville. Mr. Upson is one of the trustees of the New England Society. He is also a member of the Colonial, Euclid and Union Clubs. In politics always a stalwart republican, he has never sought political office except at the solicitation of friends. He served several terms as an assessor and as a member of the board of revision of taxation in Farmington. In 1872 he was elected as a republican to the legis- lature of his native state and the following year was reelected and in 1879, although resident of a democratic district, he was chosen for the state senate and once more in 1881. In 1880 he was a member of the national convention which nominated James A. Garfield for the presidency. His political allegiance is always a matter of principle and nothing could induce him to vote for a candidate whom he thought would abuse the powers of office. In all his life he has stood for a progressive, honorable citizenship and his influence has been a steady, moving force in that direction. In manner unostentatious and free from display, his modest deportment, his social nature and his genial disposition render him a favorite with all. He has the entire respect of those in his employ, the good will of his colleagues and contemporaries and wherever known he is honored not alone by rea- son of the splendid success he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward business methods he has ever followed.
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Edward Servis
Edward Lewis
T HE history of any community resolves itself into the lives of the men whose activities have been responsible for its upbuilding, and in a city the magnitude of Cleveland this fact is doubly true. Her remarkable growth is largely due to the varied and extensive in- dustrial institutions, foremost among which is the iron and steel industry. No history of this city would be complete without prominent mention of those men whose careers are insepar- ably a part of the history of that industry. Such a man was Edward Lewis, who came to Cleveland in 1841. He was born in Malms- bury, Wiltshire, England, in 1819, a son of a worthy market gar- dener, whose family of eleven children typified in a small way the crowded condition of the United Kingdom. Believing the new world offered better opportunities for a young man, whose sole capi- tal was his energy and ambition, Edward Lewis set sail for the United States.
Alone but confident, he left the classic precincts of the little English town whose pavements had been more than once vocal with the tread of royalty, and whose abbey walls to this day bear the marks of Cromwell's cannon balls, and sought the greater advan- tages of America. Taking passage on a sailing vessel that after a stormy voyage of six weeks landed him in New York, he made up his mind to locate in a smaller town and came to Cleveland.
This was at that time the terminus of the stage route and navi- gation had closed for the season. Thus being forced to remain or proceed elsewhere by other methods of travel, his location in this city was much by force of circumstances.
Having made up his mind to remain here Mr. Lewis sought em- ployment and soon found it in the iron and hardware store of W. A. Otis on what was then Merwin street, thus beginning a connection with the iron business that was continued for more than a half cen- tury. He was a sturdy young man, full of energy and ambition, and was paid the munificent sum of one dollar per day and boarded himself. His habits of industry, his willingness and the ready man- ner with which he learned the business attracted the attention of
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Mr. Otis and he was advanced to positions of trust. Mr. Otis fur- nished the capital for the building of a small rolling mill at New- castle, Pennsylvania, to make iron nails which were sold in the Cleveland market, and in connection with this enterprise, as his representative, Mr. Lewis acquired valuable information in the iron- making business. This was an early period in the development of the iron industry in this section of the country and he stood among the foremost who were active in the line of business to which Cleve- land largely owes her present progress and prosperity. He be- came the owner of a third interest in the business of the firm of Ford & Otis, afterward reorganized under the name of the Otis Iron Company. The plant and its equipments, although very small in comparison with those of the present time, constituted a mammoth enterprise for those days. The firm started with two furnaces and two hammers, employing about fifteen men. A year later two more hammers were installed and in 1859 an eighteen inch and an eight inch mill were added to the plant, the daily product being about eight or nine tons-a large amount for that day. However, the iron business was somewhat discouraging and uncertain at that time, the mills being entirely idle during twenty-one months of the forty-eight months in which James Buchanan was president of the United States. The war and the Morrill tariff, however, infused life into the en- terprise, which from that time enjoyed rapid and substantial growth. In 1872 Mr. Otis retired from the firm and the Lake Erie Iron Company succeeded to the business, W. C. Scofield and Mr. Lewis purchasing the interests of Mr. Otis and E. B. Thomas. Gradually a mammoth undertaking was built up and in this great establishment, which included mills, furnaces, forges and one of the most exten- sive bolt and nut works in the country, Mr. Lewis became one of the extensive stockholders. The business grew until it was necessary to employ one thousand men in its conduct and from 1861 until 1893 work in the plant was never stopped except for repairs. With the gradual expansion of the business Mr. Lewis was closely identified, carefully formulating his plans, executing them with decision, while over every detail of the business he watched carefully that its best interests might be conserved and that maximum results might be ob- tained at a minimum expenditure of time, labor and material, which is the source of all success in the industrial world.
Mr. Lewis was a man of great physical energy and when long past three score and ten, was able to perform an amount of work more becoming of one twenty years his junior. The advancing years seemed to have little or no effect on his vigorous frame and none whatever upon his capacity for business. He accumulated a
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large property, the possession of which never changed the man in his manner toward acquaintances of his early struggles in life.
No citizen of his time in Cleveland enjoyed any higher reputa- tion for business foresight and ability, for progressive energy and sterling integrity. His word was his bond, and that was always at a premium. Before the war Mr. Lewis was one of the most ac- tive conductors of the "underground" railway in this city. The fugitive slaves were usually shipped across the lake on Canadian lumber vessels, and he could relate many stirring incidents of those troublous days in which he took a leading part. The slavery ques- tion entered prominently into church discussions until after the emancipation, and Mr. Lewis affiliated with the Wesleyan Metho- dists on that account, the Methodist Episcopal church being divided on the issue. In 1872, however, he joined the First Methodist Epis- copal church and remained one of its pillars until his death.
In 1845, Edward Lewis married Mrs. Harriet Lowrie, who died in 1892. They were parents of five children, of whom only one, Mrs. Charles H. Weed, survives. The family residence was at the old No. 615 Euclid avenue in a home becoming a gentleman of Mr. Lewis' means, where his friends were always welcome.
He manifested a keen interest in municipal affairs, but never sought office. His political identification was with the republican party. He was ever mindful of his obligations to the public and his duties of citizenship. Firm in his convictions, his position upon any vital question was never an equivocal one. Mr. Lewis survived until February 16, 1904, when he was laid to rest in Lakeview cemetery.
M. A. Bradley
Morris A. Bradley
T O accumulate a fortune requires one kind of genius, to retain a fortune already acquired, to promote its growth so that it shall constitute a source of public benefit as well as of individual enjoyment requires quite another kind of genius. Morris A. Bradley be- longs to the younger generation of Cleveland's business men upon whom have devolved responsibilities very different from those which rested upon their predecessors. It is true that in his business career he had the benefit of entering into business activities instituted and promoted by his father, but in their control and en- largement he has had to solve difficult problems such as are the out- come of the conditions of modern life. In this he has displayed the strength of his character and his ability in the capable management of affairs of great magnitude, and is today recognized as one of the leading business men of the Forest city. He is a descendant of one of the oldest families of New England that for nearly seventy years has also been prominently identified with the vessel interests of the Great Lakes.
His father, Captain Alva Bradley, was born in Ellington, Tol- land county, Connecticut, November 27, 1814, his parents being Leonard and Roxianna Bradley, who left New England when their son Alva was nine years of age, seeking a more fertile soil than could be found among the rocky, sterile hills of New England. Their journey was made by wagon as far as Albany, New York, thence by canal to within fifty miles of Buffalo, at which point they em- barked on a sailing vessel which brought them to Cleveland. They then proceeded to Brownhelm, Lorain county, and settled on a farm. Here commenced the arduous toil inseparable from pioneer life, that section of the country being then almost an unbroken forest. Edu- cational advantages were extremely meager and hardships were to be endured, but they shrank not from their duties. With willing hearts and hands they subdued the forest and made for themselves a home. At this homestead Alva remained for ten years but, being inclined toward a marine life, he left the farm and with his worldly effects in a bundle started out to seek and make his fortune. On
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reaching port he shipped aboard the schooner Liberty, a Lake Erie vessel, and subsequently sailed successively on the Young Leopold, Edward Bancroft, Express and Commodore Lawrence, being master of the last named in 1839. He sailed as master of that vessel for two seasons and such was his prosperity that in 1841, in company with Ahira Cobb, he built the schooner South America of one hundred and four tons. Captain Bradley then took command and sailed her for three seasons. Disposing of that vessel in 1844, he built the Bing- ham of one hundred and thirty-five tons; in 1848 the Ellington of one hundred and eighty-five tons; the following year the Indiana of three hundred and fifty tons. The last named sailed between Buf- falo and Chicago. Three years later he built the schooner Oregon of one hundred and ninety tons. All these vessels Captain Bradley commanded, covering a period of fifteen years, after which he re- tired from a seafaring life and employed others to command his crafts. He then settled at his home in Vermilion, where he con- tinued to build new vessels for the lake trade, sometimes by himself and sometimes in connection with others. In 1853 he built the Chal- lenge of two hundred and thirty-eight tons; in 1854 the Bay City of one hundred and ninety tons; in 1855 the C. C. Griswold, three hundred and fifty-nine tons; in 1856 the schooners Queen City and Wellington, of three hundred and sixty-eight and three hundred tons respectively ; and in 1858 the schooner Exchange, three hundred and ninety tons. He then rested for three years before again resuming. active work.
In 1859 Captain Bradley changed his residence to Cleveland but continued his shipbuilding on the Vermilion river until 1868, when he removed his shipyards to this city. In 1861, in company with others, he built the S. H. Kimball, of four hundred and eighteen tons; in 1863 the Wagstaff, four hundred and twelve tons; in 1864 the J. F. Card, three hundred and seventy tons; in 1865 the schooner Escanaba, five hundred and sixty-eight tons; and in 1866-7 the schooner Nagannee, eight hundred and fifty tons. This splendid vessel cost over fifty-two thousand dollars. From the time of his removal to Cleveland in 1868 until 1882 Mr. Bradley built eighteen vessels, constantly increasing their tonnage. He continued to build and float lake vessels at the rate of one each season until his fleet be- came formidable both in the number and size of the ships, so much so that he deemed it economy to carry his own insurance and never insured a vessel. He was remarkably fortunate in the matter of casualties, losing but five vessels in his entire career.
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