History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 83

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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Mr. Wood was married, in 1816, to Mary A. Hutchinson. In 1822 they removed to Cincinnati, where he was ever after, until his death, identified with all its subse- quent growth and development. Soon after coming to Cincinnati, Mr. Wood pur- chased a frame building and a large lot on the corner of Fifth and Race street. There was a stock of groceries in the building, which was also included in the pur- chase, and a Mr. Weaver was employed to manage the grocery, while Mr. Wood gave his attention to buying and selling stock. He erected a large brick building and conducted a livery in connection with stock dealing, and for many years his sale and livery stable was one of the live enterprises of Cincinnati. In time he became possessed of a considerable fortune, which was largely invested in real estate. In 1865 he retired from active business, and spent the remainder of his life in the enjoyment of his well- earned competency, dying October 5, 1880. He was a public-spirited man, a Dem- ocrat in politics, and, during the latter portion of his life, a member of the Method- ist Episcopal Church. A man of strong character and much individuality, he was

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

quick to decide upon any question presented to him, and outspoken in the announce- ment of his position concerning it. He was the father of five children, one of whom is Mrs. Rebecca R. Gordon, of Cincinnati.

WILLIAM MCCAMMON, JR., was born in Cincinnati, September 30, 1831. His father, William McCammon, was born in 1805, in Banbridge, Ireland, where his grandfather, John McCammon, was proprietor of a linen bleachery. The elder William came to this country when a boy, learned the trade of carpenter in Wheel- ing, W. Va., and then located in Cincinnati, establishing a steamboat building bus- iness, in which he was engaged for twenty-five years. For a number of years there- after, he was one of the extensive dealers in lumber in the city. He was one of the originators of the Little Miami railroad, of which he was for a time superintendent, and subsequently, for a number of years, one of its board of directors. He was at one time trustee of the city water works, then an elective office, and served several terms in the city council. Among the buildings which lie erected were the original Masonic Temple. and the House of Refuge. He married a Miss Ellen McGinnis, whom he survived a number of years; he died at the "Grand Hotel," in March, 1891. Four sons were born of this marriage, but one of whom survives. The deceased sons were James McCammon, of the firm of Ashcraft & McCammon, of Cin- cinnati, and of the firm of James McCammon & Company, of Cleveland; John Mc- Cammon, a stair builder, and George McCammon, a broker, of Cincinnati.

The surviving son, William McCammon, received a public-school education, learned the harness making trade, and in 1853 went to Marysville, Cal., where he established, and for eight years conducted, a harness-manufacturing establishment. He then entered the employ, as purser, of the Pacific Steamboat Company, with whom he remained for five years. During Lincoln's administration he was inspector of foreign vessels at San Francisco. In 1865 he returned to Cincinnati, and pur- chased a stock farm near South Lebanon, which he still owns, and where he resided until 1891, when he again came to Cincinnati, and took up his residence at No. 132 Broadway, where he now lives. He was married in Sacramento in 1857, to Ann Burk, daughter of John Burk, a merchant of New Orleans, and two sons born of this marriage survive; they are William P., a farmer near Miamiville, Clermont county, who edits and publishes a periodical known as The Pointer, and George, who conducts the South Lebanon farm. The former has five children, Ellen, Arthur, Hazel, Cora, and an infant; and the latter two, George and William.

BARTHOLOMEW CAVAGNA was born near Genoa, Italy, December 25, 1799, and . died in Cincinnati April 17, 1889. He came to this country in early manliood, and was for several years engaged in handling fruits between Havana and New Orleans. In 1828 he located in Cincinnati, and engaged for two years in selling confectionery in a small store on Fifth street, between Walnut and Vine, in 1830 establishing the grocery business on the opposite side of the same street, between Main and Walnut, where it has ever since been and is still located. In 1847 his eldest son, Peter, entered into business with his father, subsequently becoming his partner, and finally, at his death, his successor. From its inception "Cavagna's" was known as an absolutely reliable house; no adulterated goods were ever sold over its counters, and if, by misrepresentation, any such goods were purchased by them and could not be returned, they were at once destroyed. It was upon this solid founda- tion that the present extensive patronage of the house was obtained. Bartholomew Cavagna was married in Cincinnati to Rebecca, daughter of Michael Wise, a dis- tinguished soldier and field marshal under Napoleon Bonaparte. Of the children born of this marriage but two survive: Peter and Anthony B. The former and elder is, as has been stated, the proprietor of the business established by his father. He was born April 29, 1835, and entered his father's store when twelve years of age; on April 28, 1859, he was married to Juliette De Puis, daughter of William Cas- well, banker of Philadelphia, and has six children: Lelia, Bartholomew G., Charles,

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

Pierre, Julian and Leo. Bartholomew G. Cavagna is receiving teller at the National Lafayette Bank, this city; he married Jennie Shaw Brown, daughter of a merchant of Pittsburgh, Penn. Charles Cavagna represents a number of manufacturers of electric motors and appliances; he married Stella Bates, a descendant of the pioneer Bates family, of Hamilton county. Pierre Cavagna is in business with his father. Julian Cavagna is a Doctor of Medicine and Dental Surgery. Leo Cavagna is a student at Woodward High School. The family reside at No. 135 Eighth street, , and are members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Mr. Cavagna is a 32° Mason.

ELLIOTT HUNT PENDLETON was born in Cincinnati, December 19, 1828. The Pendleton family, of which the subject of this sketch was a member, has not only been intimately connected with the history and development of Cincinnati and Ham- ilton county, but prominent in the history of our country. The Pendleton's deduce descent from Henry Pendleton, of Norwich, England, whose two sons, Nathaniel (minister of the Established Church of England, died without issue) and Philip immigrated to this country in 1674, and settled in that portion of New Kent county, Va., which now forms Caroline county. Philip married, and among his issue were Henry, who was the father of Nathaniel Pendleton and Edmund Pendleton. Edmund Pendleton was one of the most prominent figures in the early history of Virginia. For more than half a century, from 1752 to the time of his death, he held high pub- lic offices. He became eminent as a public speaker in the House of Burgesses. In 1764 he was a member of the committee which prepared the Memorials to the House of Commons, to the House of Lords and to the King. He was appointed in 1773 one of the Committee of Correspondence, in 1774 a delegate to Congress, and was chosen again in 1775, when he declined. He was a member of all the Virginian Conventions, and presided over the Convention of 1775 and the Convention of May, 1776. The great confidence reposed in his ability was shown by his unanimous election by the Convention of 1775 as head of the Committee of Safety. As presi- dent of the Conventions of 1775 and 1776, and as president of the Committee of Safety, in which was vested the executive power, Edmund Pendleton was the head of the Colony of Virginia during the interval between the downfall of the British rule in 1775 and the creation by the Convention of 1776 of the Colonial Constitu- tion and Government. He was a lawyer of the greatest ability and a most able' jurist, and for twenty-five years was presiding judge of the court of appeals of Vir- ginia. Jefferson, who was his chief opponent, remarked of him: "Taken all in all, he was the ablest man in debate I have ever met with."

Elliott H. Pendleton's grandfather, Nathaniel Pendleton, son of the Nathaniel last above named, was born in Virginia, 1746, entered the Revolutionary army in 1775, served as aid-de-camp to Gen. Nathaniel Greene through the war of the Rev- olution, and enjoyed in a special degree the confidence of that officer. When the Federal Government was organized, he was appointed, by President Washington, judge of the United States District Court for the State of Georgia, the first United States Court ever held in that State. In 1796, Judge Nathaniel Pendleton removed with his family to the city of New York, where he engaged in the practice of the law. He was an adherent of the Federal party, and a strong personal as well as political friend of Alexander Hamilton, its leader and exponent. When Alexander Hamilton became involved, in 1804, in the difficulty with Aaron Burr, which ter- minated in a fatal duel, he applied to Nathaniel Pendleton to be his second in that tragic affair. The latter accepted and accompanied Hamilton on that memorable 11th of July, 1804, to Hoboken Heights. It was during the period of Judge Pen- dleton's stay in Savannah, Ga., in the year 1793, when Nathaniel Greene Pendle- ton, the father of Elliott, was born. He was so named as a compliment to the hero to whose military family his father had been so long attached. Nathaniel Greene Pendleton was an aid to Gen. Gaines during the years 1813 to 1816. In 1818 he removed from New York to Cincinnati, then but an inconsiderable village, and began

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

the practice of the law. In 1819 he was elected prosecuting attorney. He was married to Jane Frances Hunt, daughter of Jesse Hunt, in 1820. The latter was one of the earliest pioneers in the Western country, coming to Cincinnati as early as 1791, when it was protected from Indian incursions by the guns of Fort Washing- ton. Nathaniel Greene Pendleton was a member of the Ohio Senate in 1825, and was elected to Congress in 1840, but after serving one term, having but little taste for political life, he gladly declined a re-election. He was always on the most inti- mate social terms with Gen. Harrison, and the only political meeting which Gen. Harrison addressed during his campaign was held in "Pendleton Woods," at the corner of Hunt street and Broadway, Cincinnati, in the rear of the old Pendleton

mansion. Mr. Elliott H. Pendleton's mother was at once a lovely and strong char- acter, as the following words of another concerning her clearly indicate: "She was possessed of sound judgment, strong will and unbending purpose, and, at the same time, of such sweet temper, and gentle manners and considerate delicacy for the feelings of others, that she was universally beloved. She was a devout and humble Christian, and of her life it may be truly said, even when she was in the last stages of fatal disease, ' she went about doing good.'"'

Elliott Hunt Pendleton received his edneation at Woodward High School, the old Cincinnati College, and through private instruction at home. At the age of nineteen he went abroad with his intimate friend, Dr. Nathaniel Foster, the eminent physician, and a few years later made a second trip to Europe. Mr. Pendleton's business career began in 1848 when he became associated with Charles B. Foote in the cordage trade. Subsequently he engaged in business with his brother-in-law, Robert B. Bowler, a sagacious and enterprising man who was at the head of one of the largest wholesale houses in the city. When Mr. Bowler became president of the Kentucky Central Railroad Company, Mr. Pendleton succeeded him as head of the firm which was then conducted under the name of Pendleton, Swift & Company. Mr. Pendleton was married November 7, 1850, to Miss Emma Gaylord, daughter of Thomas G. Gaylord, the founder of the Gaylord Rolling Mill Company and the Gay- lord Iron & Pipe Company. Mr. Gaylord was a prominent member of the Second Presbyterian Church and Society of Cincinnati to which his daughter also belonged. Mr. Pendleton, although brought up an Episcopalian, united himself with the Sec- ond Presbyterian Church June 23, 1858. In 1860 he was elected a ruling elder of the church, and remained actively engaged in the duties of this office until his death. His religious convictions were clear, strong and abiding, and his religion has been described as having been "the very atmosphere surrounding him." During his entire life he was greatly interested in mission and Sabbath-school work. In Decem- ber, 1848, Dr. Fisher, of the Second Church, organized the Young Men's Home Missionary Society, which at first sustained a missionary in the then frontier State of Iowa; but in a year or two began the work of home missions in Cincinnati, and pushed it vigorously. Mr. Pendleton was a director of this society from its organi- zation, and for many years was its first vice president. The society was greatly interested in Mission Sabbath-schools. The Church Sabbath-school was the center, but nine others were established in the city. Mr. Pendleton was superintendent of the Pilgrim Mission School on Mount Adams.

During the war Mr. Pendleton was a very active member of the Sanitary Com- mission. The situation of Cincinnati on the frontier of the seceded and sympa- thizing States, and its vicinity to the great battlefields of the South and Southwest, rendered the work of this branch of the Commission very arduous and exceedingly important. The president, the now venerable Robert W. Burnet, had in Mr. Pen- dleton a most valuable colleague. An immense amount of medical stores and an army of nurses and physicians were sent from Cincinnati. The funds were raised by private contributions, and many Cincinnatians of the present day remember the great Sanitary Fair held in a temporary building erected' on Fifth street Market

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space, which yielded more than a hundred thousand dollars. In 1866 Mr. Pendle- ton went with his family to Europe, where they remained four years, three winters having been spent in Paris, and one winter in Dresden, the summers having been devoted to traveling. During that period he was an active member and trustee of the American Chapel in Paris, and was for a time superintendent of the Sabbath- school connected therewith. Whilst in Dresden Mr. Pendleton organized a Sab- bath-school of which he was also superintendent. It has been remarked that "he set an example to Americans resident abroad, who sometimes think their religion should not be taken traveling, but should be carefully reserved for home consump- tion." Mr. Pendleton visited Spain during the struggle for religious liberty, attended many of the meetings of the reformers at considerable personal risk, and identified himself so closely with their work that his reminiscences of the time were always interesting and instructive. Mr. Pendleton fled from Paris with his family just in time to escape the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war, and in 1870 returned to Cincinnati. Shortly after his return he became president of the Commercial Bank, with which institution he was connected as director until within a few years of his death. About the year 1871 Mr. Pendleton was appointed, by the mayor of Cincinnati, president of the board of park commissioners, and gave the work much time and care. This was the only public office he ever consented to accept, and his labor in it was purely " a labor of love." He was also for many years one of the trustees of the Art Museum. but it was in the Church and Church work that he was most conspicuous. The Home Missionary Society, in Dr. Fisher's time, had bought and with the assistance of L. H. Sargent paid for the Poplar Street Presbyterian Church. It maintained the pastor for several years, and finally pre- sented the church, without any debt, to the congregation worshiping there. During Dr. Skinner's pastorate, the society was reorganized after a brief interregnum with Mr. Pendleton as first vice-president, a position which he held during the remainder of his life. Many of the churches of the city were assisted in rebuilding and extend- ing their accommodations and several were freed entirely from debt through the offices of this society. In all this work Mr. Pendleton bore a conspicuous part, aid- ing greatly with his advice, good business judgment, and very liberal subscriptions. When the "Irwin Mission " was established on Sixth street, he threw his whole soul into the work, and more than any other member of the board he labored constantly for its welfare. For several years prior to his death he had charge of the Mission regularly on Saturday evening, and assisted Dr. David Judkins on Sunday evening. Speaking of his leadership in these meetings William Howard Neff has said: "He was very eloquent. His soul was filled with the great theme of the Savior's love, and as he presented to the poor stricken wanderer, and the wayward ones there assembled, the riches of grace in Jesus Christ our Lord, his form would dilate, his eyes flash and his voice reach every heart. Many of these poor ones acknowledged him as the human instrument in their salvation." It is in the session of the Second Presbyterian Church of which he was the senior member that his loss is most keenly felt outside of his own family circle. Mr. Pendleton died October 14, 1892, from the effects of a paralytic stroke, leaving a widow and the following children: Elliott H. Pendleton, Jr , Nathaniel G. Pendleton, Lena G. Pendleton, Lucy Pendleton White and Susan Pendleton Powell.

Mr. Pendleton's brothers and sisters are dead. They were Hon. George H. Pendleton, ex-senator and minister to Germany; Nathaniel Pendleton; Mrs. Rob- ert B. Bowler; Mrs. Dr. A. S. Dandridge, wife of the noted physician, and Mrs. Noah Hunt Schenck, wife of the Rev. Dr. Schenck, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Mr. Pen- dleton left surviving him a half-brother, Edmund Pendleton, of Bar Harbor, Maine, the novelist, and a half-sister, Charlotte Pendleton, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Pendleton's death was a public loss, and he was universally mourned. His charities were unostentatious, but they flowed in full and deep currents. His exam-

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ple was impressive and winning. There will be many who will learn from it the charm of virtue, the beauty of piety, and the honor of genuine excellence. Pos- sessed of true refinement, he everywhere evinced an exceptionally honorable code of morals, and an uncommon appreciation of the rights and wants of his fellow-men. He was versed in polite learning, was of most courtly manner, endowed with finan- cial ability, and favored by a large experience in business affairs. He was truly " a gentleman of the old school," and an admirable representative of the highest grade of the business, social and religious life of Cincinnati.

CHARLES TAYLOR DICKSON, son of James M. Dickson and grandson of Griffin Taylor, was born in Cincinnati October 13, 1847, in the fine old family mansion at the corner of Third and Vine streets, opposite the present site of the "Burnet House." This location was then one of fine residences, and only the oldest citizens can now recall the stately homes with their large grounds which have long since given place to commercial mansions and the demands of business. These had already asserted their claims in Mr. Dickson's early boyhood, and his family removed to the beautiful suburb of Clifton, his parents owning and occupying for- many years the fine estate of "Scarlet Oaks," afterward sold to George R. Shoenberger. Mr. Dickson is of proud lineage on all sides. His mother was Caroline Taylor, a woman gifted in mind and beautiful in person, youngest daughter of Griffin Taylor, one of Cincinnati's most prominent citizens, the first president of her Chamber of Com- merce, the founder and promoter of some of her most permanent interests, and a man of rare character and business acumen. On his father's side, Mr. Dickson came from a Virginia family, but of Scotch-English origin, the motto of the family coat of arms-" cubo sed curo" ("I sleep but I watch ")-having been conferred upon a Scotch ancestor for his faithful services to his king.

Mr. Dickson was educated at Kenyon College, graduated afterward at the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, and from there entered the junior year at Yale College in the class of 1870. After traveling extensively in Europe and the Holy Land with his younger brother and tutor, he returned to Cincinnati, and was graduated later from her Law school. He was an earnest student, fond of books and remarkably well read. A man reserved in character but completely devoted to his family, in which he was greatly beloved and honored. He had inherited from his grandfather a con- siderable fortune, which by his good management and care was greatly augmented. He was deeply interested in Cincinnati and her future, and in politics was an earnest Republican. Had Mr. Dickson lived he would undoubtedly have been identified personally with many interests for the promotion of Cincinnati's welfare and pros- perity; but death came in the very prime of his life (he having just completed his forty-fifth year), darkening a happy, beautiful home, and ending a life already suc- cessful and full of promise.

In his early manhood Mr. Dickson married Miss Fanny Judkins, a daughter of Dr. David Judkins, who, with a daughter and three sons, survives him.

COLONEL LEOPOLD MARKBREIT, president of the Cincinnati Volksblatt Company, was born in Vienna, Austria, March 13, 1842, and is a son of Leopold and Jane (Abele) Markbreit. The family came to America in 1848, and located in Cincinnati where the father died in 1849; the mother of our subject survived until March 30, 1890. Of the children three survive: Leopold, Mrs. Gen. Kautz, and J. Markbreit.

Col. Markbreit received his education in the public schools of Philadelphia, San- dusky, Ohio, and Cincinnati, after which he read law with his brother-in-law, Hon. Frederick Hassaurek. After being admitted to the Bar, he became a member of the law firm of R. B. Hayes (afterward President of the United States) & Markbreit, located in Debolt Exchange building, at the southwest corner of Court and Main streets. The firm was dissolved by both members entering the army soon after the outbreak of the Rebellion. Col. Markbreit served at first as sergeant-major of the Twenty-eighth Ohio Regiment, and immediately after the battle at Carnifex Ferry

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was promoted, for bravery on the field, to the rank of second lieutenant; he advanced rapidly to the position of first lieutenant, adjutant, and assistant adjutant-general, with the rank of captain. He served under Gens. Moore, Crook, Roberts, Cox, and Averell; took part in the battle of South Mountain and many other engagements, and was always a favorite with his superior officers and comrades. Unfortunately, in December, 1863, his military career was brought to a sudden close by Averell's so-called Salem raid into Confederate territory for the purpose of destroying rail- roads, bridges, etc., during which Col. Markbreit was captured and sent to Libby prison in Richmond. And now began the story of his sufferings through which he attained sad celebrity. After five months of ordinary imprisonment, he and three other victims were selected as hostages, and placed in close confinement, to prevent the execution of four rebels who were charged with recruiting within the Union lines in Kentucky (which charge was of a rather doubtful nature as that part of Ken- tucky could be considered as disputed ground), and had been sentenced to death as spies by a military court convened by Gen. Burnside. The four hostages were placed in a subterranean dungeon of the Libby prison where they had hardly room enough to lie down at night. For months they were living buried in this hole, receiving only one meal a day, and even this meal was insufficient to appease their hunger, for it consisted generally of only a handful of corn meal (into which the cobs had been ground), a little piece of rotten bacon and rice or beans. This food was not enough for life, and too much for absolute starvation. The unfortunate men were soon reduced to skeletons, and would doubtless have died if the negroes employed in the Libby prison had not from time to time smuggled in some food to them-the rats which the prisoners killed with pieces of wood in their dungeon were cooked for them by the kind-hearted negroes and taken back to their cells. The sufferings the prisoners had to endure were beyond all comprehension, and only when they were transferred to Salisbury, N. C., did a change for the better take place. From Salisbury Col. Markbreit was taken to Danville, Va., and from there back to the Libby, till at last on February 5, 1865, Col. Markbreit's half-brother, F. Hassaurek, succeeded in having him liberated. He had been imprisoned for more than thirteen months, and his health had been injured by these sufferings to such a degree that he never fully recovered. The winter following his release he suffered from hemor- rhage of the lungs, and had to take a trip to Havana for his health, but was after- ward very delicate, and this was one of the reasons why Gen. Grant gave him a chance to reside in a temperate and uniform climate.

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 83

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592