History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Part 84

Author: Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott & Co.
Number of Pages: 716

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chief officer. He then settled in Montreal, Canada, where he remained five years, carrying on the busi- ness of a builder and contractor. At the expiration of that time he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and thence to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Returning to Cleveland in 1857, he has since then been engaged there as a contractor in building railroads, bridges, doeks, etc.

In 1860 he built works and commenced the manu- facture of spikes, bolts, rivets, horseshoes, etc., and in 1871 organized what is known as the Union Steel Screw Company, now in operation. He has also re- cently engaged, in connection with his sons. in the manufacture of steel shovels, spades, seoops and forks. For the last quarter of a century he has been largely interested and actively engaged in coal and iron mines, and in the manufacture of the products of the latter.

In 1876 and '27 Mr. Chisholm traveled extensively in Europe. revisiting his native town in Scotland after an absence of thirty-seven years. His life has been distingu shed by a varied experience such as is allot- ted to bnt few, and from early youth he has been com- pelled to depend upon his own exertions, to which, with the aid of a kind Providence, he owes his suc- cess.

He has not been entirely absorbed in the care of his extensive business, but has ever been ready to lend a helping hand to the needy and suffering, and, as a member of the Baptist Church. has contributed lib- erally to the support of that society, as well as to other religions institutions and to charitable objects. Ile was married in 1848 to Catharine Allan, a native of Dumferline, Scotland, daughter of Wilson B. Allan. By this union he has had seven children. Of this family only four are now living, three sons and one danghter.

AHIRA COBB.

Ahira Cobb, whose name is associated with many of the important commercial interests of Cleveland and vicinity, is a son of Jeduthan Cobb, Jr., one of the early settlers of Ohio, and was born at Tolland, Connecticut, on the 12th of October, 1814.

Many thrilling stories are told of the adventures of those who removed to Ohio in early days. They came into a wilderness where yet the red man lingered, and where the howling of wolves. the panther's ery and the crack of the trusty rifle alone disturbed the solitude of the night. In many a case, their covered wagon was their only shield from wind and storm while the log-cabin was being ereeted, which was to be their only habitation for many years.

Among those early pioneers came Jeduthan Cobb, Jr., a descendant of Dr. Samuel Cobb, who, we find by referring to Hon. L. P. Waldo's valuable Early History of Tolland, came to that place about the year 1743. Dr. Cobb bought the farm on the Willimantic river, now familiarly known as the Cobb farm. In the

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work above referred to, Dr. Cobb is mentioned as having been a gentleman of education, and one of the most prominent citizens that ever resided in Tolland. Jeduthan Cobb, Jr., married a daughter of Stephen Griggs, an ensign in the Continental army, who died at New Rochelle. New York, in 1:26.

Ile left Tolland with his family in 1819. Upon his arrival in Ohio he bought a farm in Eldridge town- ship, Huron county, afterwards Berlin, Erie county. Mr. Cobb died on this farm in 1822. Like most who seek to make a home in a new and undeveloped coun- try, he had a hard struggle with adverse fortune, and at the time of his death there was an incumbrance of three hundred dollars on the farm. A tax of seven dollars was due on it, and must be paid. There was no money in the house: something must be done. Something was done-something which throws a strong light on the energetic character of the subject of this sketch.

Ahira Cobb, son of the deceased, then a lad of thir- teen years of age, yoked the oxen, gathered a eart- load of peaches and apples, and trudged along beside his slow-going team to Sandusky City, twenty-five miles away, where he hoped to dispose of his load to raise the tax-money. His success exceeded his ex- pectation. The tax-money was raised and three dol- lars more, as the result of his venture.

The prospects of the family, however, wore a very unfavorable aspect after the death of the husband and father, and the year following they all returned to Tolland. During that year Ahira went to school to Alfred Newton, who afterwards. for a period of twen- ty-five years, was pastor of a Presbyterian church at Norwalk, Ohio, His evenings were spent in learning the tailoring trade in the establishment of Solomon freggs and Luther Eaton. He covered buttons, sewed sleeve linings, and was obliged to keep the old stone pitcher filled with water for the benefit of the dozen or more sewing girls employed in the shop. During this year spent at Tolland he was the room- mate of William W. Eaton, the eldest son of his em- ployer. Little did those young men imagine at that time that one of them was destined to become a leading member of the legal profession, and bear the honorable title of a United States senator, while the other was to gain a conspicuous and honorable success in the departments of trade and commerce, near the scene of his youthful venture before mentioned. Young Cobb soon got heartily sick of the tailoring business, and the year following returned to Ohio and entered the store of John Buckingham, of Norwalk, as a clerk. This position he retained for six years. In the spring of 1836 be formed a partnership with Mr. Bucking- ham and B. L. Hill, under the firm name of Cobb, Hill & Co., and opened a store at Birmingham, Erie county. He was a member of this firm for twenty- three years.

The town of Birmingham was incorporated by a company of New Yorkers. They had erected, at a cost of $25,000 a flouring mill, also a hotel valued at

$5,000, a sawmill, a forge, and a large number of pri- vate dwellings. In 1832 this company failed, and in 1844 Mr. Cobb was a successful bidder for its prop- erty. Thus, at the age of thirty, he was the owner of nearly the entire town of Birmingham, and occupied as good a private residence as there was in that section. While operating thus extensively at Bir- mingham, he also had a large interest at Vermillion. a lake port located seven miles from the former place, in connection with Captain Alva Bradley. At this port they built, in 1841, their first schooner, the " South America." This venture proved a very protitable one, and, to use a nantical term, laid the keel of the extensive and profitable shipping interest which they have controlled during the past twenty- nine years: they having now some twenty steam and sail vessels afloat on the lakes.

In February, 1852, Mr. Cobb exchanged his Bir- mingham mill and residence for the Cleveland prop- erty known as the Forest City House. This house he has greatly enlarged, and it is now a very hand- some building, containing one hundred and fifty rooms, and has a wide reputation as a first class hotel in every respect.

After the transfer above mentioned, he removed his family to Cleveland, where he subsequently entered the extensive boot and shoe firm of Crowell & Childs as a special partner. At the same time he also took an interest in the erection of two blast furnaces; one at Youngstown, the other at Antwerp, Paulding county. The one at Youngstown, the Himroot fur- nace, has been in constant blast while the fires of hun- dreds of others have been extinguished by the hard times and the glut in the iron market. During the year 1852 Mr. Cobb bought property largely in Cleve- land.

In 18;4 he, with C'apt. Bradley, erected an elegant iron block on Superior street. One half of this great building is occupied by Strong, Cobb & Company, importers and wholesale dealers in drugs. ete., one of the largest and best appointed houses of the kind in the West. Mr. Cobb is also the owner of valuable property fronting on Euclid avenue -- an avenue said by Bayard Taylor to be the finest in the world. Upon this property he has erected an elegant mansion which he has fitted and adorned with every convenience and comfort.

Although Mr. Cobb is now nearing an age when most men, either from inclination or debility, retire from active business life, he still retains the undimin- ished energy of the man who bought out a town in his thirtieth year, and we may safely predict that if adverse fortune should sweep away his vast accumula- tions he would lose no time in setting about to repair the breach. It is somewhat remarkable that only one death-that of his father-has occurred in the family since the marriage of his parents. Ilis mother is still living and has reached the advanced age of eighty- eight years.

Mr. Cobb was married in 1839 to Miss Maria Briant,

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daughter of Jonathan Briant of Birmingham, by whom he has had nine children. He is a Republican in polities but has never been an office-seeker, though not neglecting any of the duties of a good citizen. Ile is not a member of any church, but is a liberal contributor to the aid of all worthy causes, and is especially interested in forwarding educational and charitable interests.

Mr. Cobb is a man of decided abilities. of great courage, of untiring industry, of marked integrity. of large experience in the affairs of the world, and is appreciated for his many sterling qualities both of mind and heart.

JAMES M COFFINBERRY.

James M. Coffinberry is a native of Mansfield, Ohio, | having been born in that town on the 16th day of May, 1818.

Ilis father, Andrew Coffinberry, was a man of rare endowments and decisive character, and was widely known as a distinguished lawyer. He was admitted to the bar as early as 1813, from which time he prac- ticed his profession until a few days before his death, which oceurred in May, 1856. This practice in several of the counties of northwestern Ohio began with their organization; his "chenit" (always traversed on horseback) extending from Mansfield north to Lake Erie, and west to the Indiana Ime. He was greatly esteemed for his pure and upright life. while his genial manners and quaint wit gave him ready access to the hearts of all classes.

Among the younger members of the profession he was known as " the good Count Coffinberry " in grate- ful recognition of the services rendered them by this veteran member of the bar. The sobriquet of "Count " was first given him playfully by his pro- fessional associates, from a real or supposed resem- blance to the illustrious German jurist, Count or Baron Puffendorf. The title was considered so ap- propriate that it remained with him throughont life, and many who knew him long and well never learned that it was not his real name.

Besides his legal ability he also possessed poetical talent of no mean order, and, about 1840, wrote the * Forest Rangers," a metrical tale in seven cantos, in which he vividly depicts many interesting incidents connected with the march of General Wayne's army, and its victory over the Indians, in 1794.

James M. Coffinberry, the subject of this sketch, received his education in the common schools of his native town, after which he studied law with his father, then residing at Perrysburg. Ile was admit- ted to the bar in 1841, and the same year opened an office in partnership with his father at Maumee City. Ilis superior abilities found an early recognition, and secured his eleetion as prosecuting attorney for Lucas county, which position he filled in a most satisfactory manner for several years. In 1845 he removed to

Hancock county, where for about ten years he prac- tieed his profession with great snecess, and in addition was the editor and proprietor of that staunch Whig journal, the Findlay Herald.

In 1855 Mr. Coffinberry removed to Cleveland and entered speedily into a good practice, devoting him- self exclusively to his profession and taking high rank at a bar which numbered among its members some of the ablest lawyers in the State. He was elected judge of the court of common pleas in 1861, and performed the duties of that position for the term of five years, with credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned. His charges to juries were always clear, forcible and logical, and in the course of his judicial service he delivered some very able opinions, both verbal and written. It has been said that no decision of his has ever been reversed on review by higher courts. ITis charge to the jury on the trial of Dr. John W. Hughes for the murder of Tamzen Parsons of Bedford, which took place in December, 1865, was acknowledged to be one of the ablest ever delivered from the bench of Cuyahoga county.

Judge Coffinberry possesses an apparently intuitive perception of legal truths, a peenhar faculty for seiz- ing the strong points of a case, and great power to present his arguments in an original and foreible man- ner. While appreciating the learning of the profes- sion, and ever mindful of its nicest distinctions, he has made them subservient to his own broad and lib- eral views.

After retiring from the bench he returned to the practice of law, but was soon obliged to retire from its activities on account of failing health. He has devoted considerable time to scientific reading and in- vestigation, in which he takes a great interest. He has been prominetly connected with many of the most important publie enterprises of the city, and has been appointed to many offices of trust. He was one of the originators of the Cleveland viaduct, and one who most earnestly advocated that it should be a free bridge.

In politics he was formerly a Whig, but in the Fre- mont and Buchanan canvass he allied himself with the Democrats, and has since uniformly supported the candidates and politics of that party. At the breaking out of the rebellion he was chairman of the Democratic central committee of Cuyahoga county, but at once espoused the cause of the Union, and was largely instrumental in rallying the Democratic party of northern Ohio to the zealous support of the war.

He was the principal secretary of the great Union convention of Ohio, presided over by ex-United States Senator Thomas Ewing, which nominated David Tod for governor. Throughout the war he remained a conservative Union man, but privately disapproved some of the more radical war-measures as being un- constitutional and of dangerous precedent. For sev- eral years he was the regular candidate of his party for representative in Congress and for judge of the common pleas, but was in no sense a politician; it is believed that he never attended more than one nom-

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inating convention, and never sought a nomination for office.

Mr. Coffinberry and his wife met with a most dis- tressing accident on the Sth of April, 1825. They were returning from Mt. Vernon, where they had at- tended the marriage of their son. After they reached the city, and were being driven across the railway track near the Union depot, the carriage was struck by a freight train. They were both severely injured, Mr. Coffinberry suffering the loss of a leg. His wife, although terribly bruised and mangled, was restored to comparative health.

Mr. Coffinberry was married in January, 1841 to Anna M. Gleason, of Lucas county, Ohio, by whom he has two children. llis son, Henry D., served hon- orably through the war as an officer in the Mississippi gunboat flotilla. He is now a partner in the Globe Iron Works and the Cleveland Dry Dock Company. and is also one of the fire commissioners of Cleveland. His daughter, Mary E., is the wife of S. E. Brooks, a prominent young business man of the eity.

WILLIAM COLLINS

The Hon. William Collins was descended in the ninth generation from Lewis Collins, who came from England in the year, 1630, and as the records of those days say, " with ample means." His son, Nathan, was a graduate of Cambridge University, England, and had two sons, John, who lived in Boston, and Edward, who was a deacon of the church at Cam- bridge, Massachusetts. John Collins, the second, re- sided in Saybrook, Connecticut, and also at Middle- town and Guilford, in that State, in which last named town he is recorded as a freeman and planter. Rob- ert, son of John, the second, married Lois Burnett, of Southampton, Long Island.

Jonathan, son of Robert, born April 26, 1698. dwelt in Middletown and Wallingford, Connecticut. Ile married Agnes Lynn for his second wife, and had eleven children. Oliver, one of his sons enlisted in a company of Massachusetts troops during the Revolutionary war, at the age of sixteen. Ile served as a company officer till the close of the war. He married Lois Cowles, of Wallingford, Connecticut. and removed to New Hartford, New York. In the war of 1812 he was commissioned a brigadier general, and commanded a brigade of New York militia at Sackett's Harbor. He died August 14, 1838.

Ela Collins, son of Oliver and Lois Collins, was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, February 14, 1786. He married Maria Clinton, daughter of Rev. Isaac Clinton, of New Haven. They moved to Lowville, New York, where Mr. Collins became a distinguished lawyer, a member of Congress, and the occupant of other important offices.

partnership with his father, and they continued in active and successful practice until the death of the elder Mr. Collins, in November, 1848. Ile succeeded his father as district attorney, but resigned this office when he was elected a member of the national House of Representatives, in November. 1846, from the dis- triet composed of Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

Mr. Collins was in Congress during the first agita- tion of the question of extending slavery to free territory, and opposed the extension with great zeal and ability. Among his speeches will be found one, delivered July 28, 1848. on the bill to establish the Territorial government of Oregon, advocating the ex- clusion of slavery from that Territory. It was com- mended not only for the sounduess of its logie, but, as a brilliant literary production. The contest was a close one, but the slavery extensionists were defeated, owing largely to the vigilant and industrious efforts of Mr. Collins and a few associates. Ile was tendered the renomination to the thirty-first Congress, but having determined to remove west, he declined, and .

was succeeded by Preston King.

Mr. Collins came to Cleveland in 1853 and opened a law office, fully sustaining here the reputation as a lawyer which he had gained in New York. He was soon cleeted a director of the Merchants' Bank of Cleveland. and of the Lake Shore railway company. Subsequently he became a director of the Bellefontaine railway company: the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincin- nati and Indianapolis railway company: the James- town and Franklin railway company, of Pennsylva- nia; the East Cleveland street-railroad company; the Mercer Iron and Coal company of Pennsylvania, and the Merchants' National Bank of Cleveland. The active duties of these positions absorbed much of his time and attention.

The sympathies of Mr. Collins being always on the side of freedom, he joined the Republican party on its organization and remained faithful to its principles. When the rebellion broke out he threw himself heart- ily into the cause of the Union, and contributed freely with money and labor in every way to its sup- port. He was a member of various local committees for the promotion of the national cause, and gave largely for the support of the sick and wounded. Whenever an effort was needed his voice was heard exhorting the people to action, and he was never be- hindhand in personal example.

Mr. Collins married Jane, second daughter of Al- fred and Mary S. Kelley. at Columbus, on the 22d day of November, 1847. They had five children; Francis, born January 19, 1850, who died February 10, 1850; Frederic Kelley, born in Columbus, Ohio, June 4. 1851: Walter Stow. born in Cleveland, July 12, 1854: Mary, born in Cleveland, June 2, 1857, who died March 1, 1860; and Alice, born in Cleveland, June 26, 1859, who died August 20, 1859.

His son, William Collins, the subject of this me- moir, was born February 22, 1818. He read law with Mr. Collins died suddenly on the 18th day of June, 1878. At a meeting of the bar, held on the occasion his father, and was admitted to the bar in September, 1843, at Rochester, New York. He then entered into ; of his decease, llon. Sherlock J. Andrews was called

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to the chair and Il. B. De Wolf acted as secretary. The committee on resolutions consisted of Messrs. F. J. Diekman, James Mason, 11. B. De Wolf, and Judges Bishop and Prentiss. Resolutions were adopted highly and truly extolling the character and abilities of the deceased, copies of which were presented to the fam- ily, to the court of common pleas of Cuyahoga county, and to the circuit and district courts of the United States for the Northern district of Ohio. Mr. Diek- man and Judge Bishop spoke in enlogy of Mr. Collins, and the former quoted a remark made by the deceased, worthy of enduring record. In speaking of certain political action Mr. Collins said :

"Snecess is something, but to be right is every- thing."

This terse expression is a model statement of the value of principle, and was also an epitome of the life- long creed of William Collins.

EDWIN WEED COWLES.

Edwin W. Cowles, a physician, born in Bristol, Con- nectient, in 1794, removed to Anstinburg with his father, the Rev. Dr. Giles Hooker Cowles, in the year 1811. Ilis ancestors were all of Puritan descent, ex- cept one line, which traced its origin to the Huguenots. He was educated in the academy, at Farmington, Conectient, and was imbued by his father and mother with the highest principles of the Christian religion and love for his fellow-beings. Ile studied medicine with the late Dr. O. K. Hawley, of Austin- burg, and after receiving his degree he practiced his profession in Mantna, Portage county, Ohio, and in 1832 he removed with his family to Cleveland.

In 1834 he removed to Detroit, and practiced there till 1838, when he returned to Cleveland, where he spent the remainder of his professional life, and made himself a high reputation both as a physician and a valuable citizen. His leading traits as a physician were the exercise of benevolence and fearlessness in the performance of his professional duties. These noble qualities were thoroughly illustrated when that great scourge, the Asiatie cholera, made its first ap- pearance in Cleveland the first year he settled there. This disease was introduced by the arrival of the steamer " Henry Clay," which sailed np to the land- ing at the foot of Superior street. As usual in those early days, when there were no railroads and tele- graphs, the crowd assembled at the landing to hear the news and see who had come. As the boat neared the wharf the captain appeared on the deck, and ex- claimed that " the cholera had broken out among his passengers and crew; that several were dead and a number more were down with it, and for God's sake to send a doctor aboard!" This announcement ere- ated a panic in the crowd. They all seattered and fled in every direction,-many taking their horses and fleeing into the country. A messenger went hurried- ly to the office of Dr. Cowles, and with a frightened

expression of countenance informed him that his services were needed,-that " the boat was filled with the dead and sick." The doctor promptly started for the boat, and exerted himself immediately with all his power to alleviate the sufferings of the sick. At a meeting held previously by the citizens of the then vil- lage of Cleveland it had been voted, with only two dis- sentient votes, that no boat having the cholera aboard should be allowed to come into port or land its pas- sengers, for fear of contagion. The two who opposed this resolution were the late Thomas P. May and Dr. Cowles. Under this action of the citizens the "Henry Clay" was obliged to leave. Dr. Cowles vol- unteered to accompany the sick and look after them, and in spite of the remonstrances of his friends, who believed he never would get through alive, he went on that charnel-ship to Detroit, and remained on it until everything possible had been done to relieve the sick and to light down the death-dealing scourge.

llis predominating trait was his love of justice to all-the high and low, rich and poor. This sense was strongly developed in his hatred of the system of slavery, which, as he expressed it, "violated every commandment in the decalogne, every principle of justice, all laws of human nature, and destroyed the foundation of a common humanity." He was one of the first who came out publicly and avowed them- selves "abolitionists," at a time when it was consid- ered disgraceful to be called by that term. Ile was one of the first members of the "old Liberty Guard," and many a poor fugitive slave has he aided to free- dom rie the underground railroad. As a politician he was somewhat prominent. Ile supported the old Whig party down to the time he voted for General Harrison, in 1840. In 1841 he jomed the " Liberty party " the germ of the present Republican party.

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History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Part 84

Author: Johnson, Crisfield Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott & Co. Number of Pages: 716

Author: Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott & Co.
Number of Pages: 716