USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Cleveland, Ohio, pictorial and biographical. De luxe supplement, Volume II > Part 23
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Henry Dammersley
facturers, all of which accounts were in his charge. He was warned by his former chief that it was too big an enterprise for him to handle, but this determined him more than ever to fill the position. He not only had to keep the current work up but had to check back a half mil- lion dollars' worth of work to effect the balance. Putting system into his task, he handled it with ease, being a rapid writer and quick at figures. He has still in his possession an excellent recommendation from this firm, couched in very complimentary terms. After two years with the house the principal stockholder, who was the president of the Citizens National Bank, withdrew and the firm was dissolved.
Mr. Hammersley was then offered a position with the German American National Bank of Paducah, Kentucky, at a still further advance in salary, but he decided to accept a position with the firm of H. M. Sweeter & Company, wholesale dry-goods merchants, as chief accountant and credit man. It was predicted by one of their confiden- tial men that Mr. Hammersley would hold the position but a short time as they never had a man who filled the position longer than eighteen months, so strenuous were the demands made upon the in- cumbent. Mr. Hammersley, however, was a worker and held the place for seven years, working seventeen hours each day during six months of the busy season. He resigned much against the wishes of the company and he now has in his possession a valuable testimonial from them as well as a most complimentary recommendation. In the meantime his reputation for ability, diligence and business capacity was spreading abroad and when he left that place he was offered five different position all at an advance over his former salary. He did not waste any time but accepted a position with the celebrated railroad construction company of Brown, Howard & Company as auditor and cashier in the building of the extension of the Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Railway and also the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad. He handled fourteen million dollars for this firm without bond and on the completion of the latter road in October, 1882, he was made its assistant treasurer and has remained as such until the present time. He has signed every check issued by this company at Cleveland since it opened for business. His record is a splendid example of the fact that ability will come to the front and that energy and determination win their just rewards.
Mr. Hammersley was married in Evansville, Indiana, to Miss Matilda Graham, a daughter of Dr. David Moore Graham, a noted physician and former Mississippi planter, whom he first met on a steamer when, accompanied by his daughter, he was returning to his home in the south from a trip to Saratoga. Her grandfather, William Graham, was born in Pennsylvania and was a soldier of the Revolu-
448
Denry Dammersley
tionary war. He had seven sons and three daughters, some of whom settled in the Carolinas, Missouri and other southern states. The fam- ily is distantly related to the families of General T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson and D. H. Hill, noted Confederate leaders. Mrs. Ham- mersley is also related to the royal family of Holland through Baron Otto, who was her mother's uncle. The family tree which was in possession of Aunt Katy Emrich, who guarded it jealousy when alive, has disappeared since her death and the family have been unable to locate it. Mr. and Mrs. Hammersley have one child, a daughter Grace, now the wife of H. T. Rice, of Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Hammersley reside at No. 1601 Twenty-first street in Cleveland.
If he has any fads athletics is one of them and, like his father, he has always been fond of horses, spending much time in riding and driving previous to his coming north. Formerly he was a member of the Colonial and Transportation Clubs but at present holds mem- bership with the Cleveland Athletic Club only. He is a man of force- ful character, a typical representative of the enterprising American and stands also as a high type of manhood and chivalry.
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David Long
Dr. Dabid Long
T HE first physician to settle in Cleveland was Dr. David Long, a son of a physician and Revolutionary soldier. Born at Hebron, Washington county, New York, Sep- tember 29, 1787, he studied in Massachusetts with an uncle, Dr. John Long, and afterward graduated from a medical school in New York city. The village of Cleveland presented in 1810 only a prospect to a physician, a proph- ecy of development, with sufficient physical ills to engross the time of a practitioner. In seeking to attract such professional skill into their midst, leading citizens showed how a young man, equipped for medical practice, might teach school or till a piece of ground for partial support.
Dr. David Long came to Cleveland in June, 1810, and at once identified himself with the interests of the place. The following year he married the daughter of Judge John Walworth, whose earlier home had been in Aurora, New York. Judge Walworth had come to Cleve- land as a civil engineer employed by the state of Connecticut to lay out northern Ohio into counties. The young physician and wife were in full sympathy with the struggles of the early settlers, and their home was a refuge for the suffering, for whom no hospital existed. He was a surgeon in the army during the war of 1812 and the battle of Lake Erie brought wounded soldiers and sailors to their doors, and the gratitude of the convalescents was quite as much for the gentle nurs- ing of Mrs. Long as for the surgical skill of her patriotic husband. At the time of Hull's surrender, the doughty Doctor brought the good news from Black river to Cleveland, a distance of twenty-eight miles, in two hours and fourteen minutes. The news was most welcome, there having been fear of an Indian uprising at British instigation.
Dr. Long's medical practice extended over a territory of fifty miles, professional calls taking him by day and by night, with saddlebags on horseback, over almost impassable roads. Upon one occasion, after midnight, he crossed the deep gorge of Rocky river in response to a
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Dr. David Long
call. In 1823 Dr. Long and a Mr. Sears drove from Sandusky in a one-horse sleigh. A heavy rain caused the sudden disappearance of the snow, and so the travelers started homeward on the ice of Lake Erie. After many thrilling experiences, the sixty miles were traversed and the sleigh entered safely the mouth of the Cuyahoga river.
The first home of this pioneer physician was on Water street near the site of the old lighthouse, but soon residence was taken in a double log house back of the present American House. This log structure had been erected by Governor Huntington. At that time Dr. Long was also proprietor of a dry goods and notions store on Superior street, John P. Walworth managing the business.
Later Dr. Long built a brick house on that site and afterward a stone house at the southeast corner of Superior and Seneca streets, where he had his residence and office. In 1836 he removed to what was Kinsman Road, but afterward Woodland avenue, where at the cor- ner of Linden street, he had constructed a stone residence, afterward occupied by Erastus Gaylord, Esq., but at the present time a carriage- shop. The final residence of Dr. Long was on Woodland, corner of Longwood avenue, now East Thirty-fifth street.
Dr. Long was a public-spirited citizen. His election as county commissioner brought the county courthouse to Cleveland instead of the proposed site in Newburg. Like many other citizens, he suffered financial reverses in constructing a section of the Ohio canal, an enter- prise of considerable benefit to Cleveland. Hon. Harvey Rice said of this pioneer physician: " He was a generous, kind man and a friend to every one. He was a leading business man and his position in the community and church was an influential one."
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Latterof Cooley
Reb. Lathrop Cooley
I N the death of the Rev. Lathrop Cooley, on the 2d of January, 1910, not only the city of Cleveland but northern Ohio as well lost a man who by common con- sent stood for years as a representative of the very best in Ohio citizenship. He was dean of the ministers of the Disciples faith and a man whose influence for good was immeasurable. A native of Genesee county, New York, he was born October 25, 1821, of New England parentage. His ancestors were among the founders of Massachusetts in the colonial days and one of them, Major Lathrop, served as an officer in the French and Indian war.
Lathrop Cooley was one of a family of nine children, all of whom grew to manhood or womanhood, reared families and were most use- ful and influential citizens in the communities in which they lived. He was but a lad of eight years when his parents removed to what was then the far west and settled in Portage county, Ohio. This was in 1829 and in the midst of frontier life and vicissitudes the boy grew to manhood. Work was plentiful and, as was the custom in those days, a few months' schooling in winter followed a long summer of hard labor on the farm, the fields having to be developed from a forest tract. Later the family removed to Lorain county. Lathrop Cooley acquired his preliminary education in the district schools of his locality and later attended what was then the Brooklyn Academy, his educational training being concluded at Bethany, West Virginia. In early man- hood he taught school and at the age of twenty-two began preaching, delivering his first sermon at his home church-a log cabin in the woods at North Eaton, Lorain county, his pulpit being a huge block of wood. Around him stood a dozen men and a few women who had braved the dangers of the frontier. As the country became more thickly settled the log cabins disappeared and in their places were built houses from lumber. sawed at their very doors. Each year brought new neighbors. It was finally decided to build a church at North Eaton. A little sawmill was erected near the site of the pro-
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Reb. Lathrop Cooley
posed church and the lumber was cut there. The church was soon dedicated, the members of the congregation contributing nearly every- thing toward its construction. The young pastor had a difficult task for the first few years. He lived here and there among the members of his congregation, often helping in the fields at harvest time, and at other times when he could leave his religious studies. Many a time he completed his Sunday sermon by the dim rays of a tallow candle or the light from the old open fireplace.
For many years it had been Dr. Cooley's custom to visit the North Eaton church on the second Sunday of July, the anniversary of his first sermon. This year would have been his sixty-sixth anniversary. At the age of twenty-four he was called to the pastorate of the Frank- lin Circle church, being its first regular pastor. With the exception of a year spent in and around Chicago, Dr. Cooley's life work was on the Western Reserve. For more than sixty years he had been in active service in the ministry of the Disciple church. He was the first pastor of the Franklin Circle Disciple church, his salary the first year being one hundred dollars. He had long pastorates in Cleveland, Akron, Painesville, North Royalton and North Eaton. In 1877 he started the Disciples mission, which met at old Erie street and Hamilton avenue. In 1883 this became the Cedar Avenue church, which re- cently moved to Crawford Road. In 1880 Dr. Cooley became super- intendent and chaplain of the Bethel. For a number of years he was the financial agent of Hiram College and for over thirty years had been a trustee of that institution. He was a director of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company for more than twenty years and was closely identified with many other business enterprises.
In his chosen calling as a minister of the gospel, Dr. Cooley was widely known outside of his denominational affiliation, having taken an active part in general religious work. Lathrop Cooley was prob- ably in the active service of the church more years than any other man in Cleveland. He officiated at more than five hundred weddings and conducted more than two thousand funerals. He was widely known outside the ministry. In 1910 Hiram College conferred the degree of A. M. upon Mr. Cooley and the same year Baldwin University conferred upon him the degree of D. D.
Rev. Cooley's life was one of great usefulness in many spheres. Courteous in his bearing toward all, he was gentle in spirit, firm in principle, indefatigable in toil and unwearying in his service to all good causes. He reverently found God's work in nature and in his- tory, and obedient to God's voice in his own soul, enjoyed the work of seeking to lead other men to the same obedience. His reverently beautiful face and fine physique made him a striking personality, and
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Reb. Lathrop Cooley
his intelligence and mental alertness and widespread interest in the work of the world as manifested in his later years, were unusual in a man of his age. He was a true friend in his interest and generosity, ever ready with encouragement and aid, and his uniformly kind and courteous manner marked him a true gentleman of the old school. As he advanced in years to a venerable age, he retained not only the physical but also the intellectual vigor of a much younger man. His noble life, rounded out in years, and his good example could not fail to leave a broad impress on those about him.
An acquaintance of more than forty years said of him : "As a man Dr. Cooley was distinguished for his energy and decision of character. The circumstances in which he obtained his education illustrate this -- meager as were his opportunities for this, he was determined to secure an education and with little to depend upon but his own ex- ertions he persevered until the end. So in his ministry, whatever he did was done heartily and with a will, and the momentum of his own determination carried others along with him. He was a man of great industry. 'One duty follows another,' was his motto, and he was ready for each duty as it came round. He accomplished a greater amount of labor than many others because he kept doing while other men were resting or deciding what to do. His working power was in- creased by his remarkable cheerfulness of spirit, the result both of his native temperament and of his Christian faith. He was a man of sound judgment, discreet in dealing with men, possessing much of that common sense which is often worth more than learning or elo- quence, and very skillful in estimating men and things at their true value. A man whose social affections never wore out, and rarely has a very aged minister lived who, having buried his generation, could be so social, so happy and so useful among survivors."
As a preacher Dr. Cooley has been thus described by one who at- tended his church for years and knew him well. "His sermons were marked by great simplicity of thought and style and were devoted to the inculcation of the great doctrines and duties of religion. He had a quick and strong sense, an imagination of sufficient power to illus- trate his thoughts often by bold figures, and a tenderness and fervor of feeling that gave them a deep impression on his hearers. He never indulged in abstruse speculation nor wasted his efforts on trifles. In the pulpit he was grave, dignified, earnest and impressive and had eminently the air of an ambassador of God. In prayer he was simple, pertinent and fervid, and he read the Scriptures with unusual pro- priety and force."
For almost fifteen years Dr. Cooley resided in Medina, Ohio, during the summer months and in Cleveland during the winter sea-
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Reb. Lathrop Cooley
sons. The Medina County Gazette said of him editorially: "The death of Rev. Lathrop Cooley has removed from this community and from the much wider community of all northern Ohio, a remarkable figure. Medina county was his adopted home in the later years of his life, but his residence in and around Medina for a number of years had made his very notable personal presence familiar to us all. While he was first and foremost an eloquent and forceful preacher, he was more than that. He was a man of affairs with a decided talent for business. His judgment was exceptionally good in all the affairs of life. His range of acquaintance was very large and on his list of friends were many 'big' men, including men of every hon- orable walk in life. His bright mind was a storehouse of remi- niscences from which the history of northern Ohio might have been written. Personally it was our loss not to have close acquaintance with this notable man that his residence in our community should have assured, for no more affable nor more genial man ever became a part of our community. We share the feeling expressed by a friend of Dr. Cooley since his death when that friend said: 'The kind face and the high bearing of the man ever as you passed him on the street exerted a good influence on you that you might not be able to explain but yet was real.' Truly a patriarch of northern Ohio has fallen."
Dr. Cooley was a man of extensive private interests and of large charity and often his many gifts were known only to the recipients thereof. He had often expressed the wish that his work of preach- ing the Gospel and of relieving the suffering and needy might con- tinue after him, and to that end his widow and family are about to erect the Cooley Memorial Hospital in Cleveland, which will be one of the most modern institutions of its kind in the country. The Cooley Memorial Fountain at Medina was erected in his memory.
Dr. Cooley was first married on the 20th of May, 1848, to Miss Laura Reid, of Granger, Ohio, who died February 6, 1893. Five children were born of that marriage, of whom two are now living: Almon B., of Bloomingdale, Michigan; and the Rev. Harris R. Cooley, who was head of the department of city charities in Cleve- land under Mayor Johnson. On the 20th of June, 1895, Dr. Cooley wedded Miss Letta E. Searles, who was for years principal of the Landon school of Cleveland and who survives him. Dr. Cooley was laid to rest in Woodland cemetery. The memory of such a man can never die while living monuments remain upon which were im- printed the touch of his noble soul.
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Jeremiah J. Sullivan
T O plan and to perform seem but a pastime to Jere- miah J. Sullivan, for apparently with the utmost ease he manipulates mammoth financial enterprises or in- stitutes new undertakings, many of which have brought him wealth while others, founded in the spirit of philanthropy, have been of widespread bene- fit to his fellowmen. He stands as a central figure in the banking circles of Cleveland and his name is known and honored among the leading financiers of the country. Viewed from the standpoint of the present his career partakes of the marvelous, and yet careful in- vestigation will bring to light the fact that there has been no esoteric or unusual phase in his record. It is that of a man who has labored -labored long and diligently, never heedlessly passing by the least opportunity or neglecting the slightest advantage. Earnest, dis- criminating study of each duty that has devolved upon him and of each situation in which he has been placed has brought him the keen and discriminating knowledge that now enables him to bring ready and correct solution to the mammoth financial problems which are presented to him.
Mr. Sullivan was born November 16, 1845, and the free and happy, if busy, life of the farm was his in his youthful days, the family home being near the village of Fulton, Stark county, Ohio. He was a pupil in the village schools and his environment was that of the great majority of Ohio boys, who enjoyed the advantages of public instruction but had little else to aid them in starting out in life. He was seventeen years of age when, constrained by the spirit of patriotism, he joined the Third Ohio Independent Battery for service in the Civil war, continuing in that command from 1862 until the close of hostilities. Valorous service in many hard-fought battles won him the rank of captain and he held that command when, in July, 1865, he was mustered out, although it was not until the fol- lowing November that he attained his majority.
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Jeremiah 3. Sullivan
It is a notable fact in the life of Mr. Sullivan that he has never been in another's employ. Desiring to engage in business, in 1867 he purchased with a partner a general store in Nashville, Ohio, and his impressive personality was soon felt in the conduct of the en- terprise. While always dignified, he yet has a manner that wins re- gard and friendship and the local neighborhood found it a pleasure to trade with him. The business of the store increased rapidly and at the end of two years he purchased his partner's interest. His suc- cess in Nashville prompted him to seek a broader field of labor and in March, 1878, he sold his store and removed to Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, where he conducted a general hardware busi- ness for ten years, enjoying increasing success throughout that period. His personal popularity is also indicated in the fact that his fellow townsmen during that period urged him to become a candidate for the general assembly. He acceeded to this request in 1879 in accept- ing the democratic nomination for senator from his district, which included the counties of Wayne, Knox, Holmes and Morrow. When the votes were counted he was found to be the successful candidate and for a two years' term he gave serious attention to the problems of state government. At the end of that time he declined a renomi- nation. The public, however, demanded his further service in a legislative capacity and in 1885 he was again elected state senator, his nomination being without opposition in the convention and his election without opposition at the polls. During his legislative ca- reer Mr. Sullivan took high grounds on all moral questions and was looked upon as a leader in all movements which concerned the bet- terment of the condition of the state institutions for the care of the unfortunates. He was the champion of the bill in the senate for the establishment of the Soldiers' Home at Sandusky and has been equally effective in his labor to promote the interests of that insti- tution in later days, serving as one of its trustees, a position which he now occupies. In 1887 President Cleveland appointed him na- tional bank examiner for the state of Ohio and during the three years of his service, terminated by his resignation in 1890, he suc- ceeded in bringing to justice some who were infringing upon the national banking laws of the country and in causing adherence to high standards those who were connected with the banking interests of Ohio. He was endorsed by the voters of Holmes county as its candidate for congress in the years 1882, 1886 and again in 1888.
In April, 1889, a year prior to his retirement from office, Mr. Sullivan disposed of his business and property at Millersburg and removed to Cleveland. In March, 1890, he organized the Central National Bank and was chosen treasurer and managing director of
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Jeremiah J. Sullivan
that institution. He has had charge thereof since the bank opened its doors in May, 1890, holding successively the positions of cashier, vice president and president, his election to the office of chief exec- utive having occurred in April, 1900. This by no means represents the extent of his business associations, for in various connections he has demonstrated his ability to handle perplexing problems and to coordinate forces until the utmost possibility for success has been reached. In 1898, he purchased a controlling interest in the First National Bank of Canton, Ohio, and is president of that institution. In 1905 he was the leading spirit in the organization of the Superior Savings & Trust Company and was the unanimous choice of the directors for its president.
Mr. Sullivan's splendid business and executive ability have been called forth in connection with the public service. He has been president of the Ohio State Bankers' Association and that he speaks authoritatively upon financial questions is indicated in the fact that he is often called upon to address bankers' conventions in various parts of the country. He has been a generous supporter and faithful member of the Merchant Marine League, being its treasurer since its organization, and has served as United States jury commissioner for the northern district of Ohio for more than twenty years. He was elected to the colonelcy of the Fifth Regiment of the National Guard of Ohio in 1884 by unanimous vote. Mr. Sullivan is largely inter- ested in lake shipping, being president of the Superior Steamship Company, president of the Ohio Steamship Company, vice president of the Pioneer Steamship Company. He has also been president of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and president of the National Board of Trade.
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