History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Part 93

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

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which were capable of producing two thousand tons daily. His peddling steamboat business, too, of 1845 -50, had increased under the direction of the firm of which he was the founder, to a trade of two hundred and fifty thousand tons of coal yearly. In 1867 the firm of Rhodes & Card was dissolved, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Card retiring, and that of Rhodes & Co. was formed, consisting of George II. Warmington, Marcus A, Hanna, (Mr. Rhodes' son-in-law,) and his son, Robert R. Rhodes.

In the work of developing the great railway system of northern Ohio Mr. Rhodes had an honorable share. Ile took an active part in the construction of the northern division of the Cleveland and Toledo railroad, and was a member of the executive com- mitte of the company. Ile also bore a large part in causing the construction of the Massillon and Cleve- land and the Lake Shore and Tuscrawas Valley rail- ways. Mr. Rhodes' residence was on the west side of the Cuyahoga, and he did more than any other man to build up that portion of Cleveland. One great canse of contention between the two sections arose from the persistent efforts of the people on the west side to obtain improved means of communication with the more important region east of the river. In all these contests, from the time when a float bridge was the only means of passage, to the inception and partial completion of the splendid viaduct (for he died before it was finished), Mr. Rhodes was one of the foremost in urging the claims of his section of the city. IIe, in company with Mr. II. S. Stevens, constructed the West Side Street railroad; he was a zealous promoter of the building of the West Side Gas Works, and was the founder of the People's Sav- ings and Loan Association, of which he was the presi- dent at the time of his death. He was also one of of the builders and a large stockholder in the Rocky River railroad, which connected the West Side with the favorite resort at Rocky river. He had likewise various other interests, such as in Illinois coal land, Chicago real estate, and he was large real estate owner in his own city.

In politics he was a strict constructionist Demo- crat of the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian school, but though very active in his party he never asked nor cared for any office in its gift. He was a cousin of Stephen A. Douglas, and from the first entrance of the latter into public life until his death Mr. Rhodes was his earnest and steady supporter; being a delegate to both the Charleston and Baltimore Democratie na- tional conventions of 1860, at the latter of which Mr. Douglas was nominated for the presidency.

Mr. Rhodes died on the 5th day of August, 1875, and we close our article with two articles published by leading journals soon after that event. The first says:

"Among those men, whose efforts form the corner stone of Cleveland's prosperity, Mr. Rhodes was in the front rank; and for this reason his memory will always be honored by our people. But other traits will make his memory perennial. The kindness and

Cluse Robert,

324

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

sympathy of his manner endeared the deceased to all who came in contact with him. This manner was for the poor and lowly, as well as for the wealthy and ex- clusive. Wealth in his hands was not alone for per- sonal gratification, but was freely drawn upon to help the needy and unfortunate."

The second artiele reads as follows:

"Mr. Rhodes had the happy faculty of securing the genuine esteem and warm friendship of all with whom he came in contact, whatever their position in life, or however widely apart his views and theirs might be. Ile was a man of the people, a practical disbeliever in class distinctions and yet having a healthy contempt for demagogues of all descriptions. His bluff, hearty manner was not assumed, but was a genuine characteristic of the man. The wealth that came as the result of hard work and good business judgment made not the slightest difference in him. Ilis was one of those sterling characters that prosper- ity could not spoil. Warm-hearted, true-hearted, and thoroughly unselfish, his we Ith benefited others as well as himself, and the prosperity which brought ease and comfort to him was begrudged him by none."

ANSEL ROBERTS.

Ansel Roberts, the eldest son of Chauncey and Lydia (Albro) Roberts, was born in the town of Mendon, Ontario county, New York, on the 12th of October, 180%.

His father was of Welsh descent, but was a native of Vermont, having emigrated to western New York when a young man, where he engaged in farming. When about nineteen years of age he married Lydia Albro, a native of Newport, Rhode Island, by whom he had ten children. In I818 he removed, with his family, to Ohio, traveling overland to Buffalo, and from there by boat to Ashtabula, where he first set- tled. Soon afterward he engaged in the manufacture of boots, shoes and harness, employing a number of hands, in which business he continued until 1825. when he sold out. The following year be removed to Lower Sandusky, and purchased an interest in the stage-line running between Sandusky and Cincinnati, of which he became the superintendent. He re- mained in this employment until his death, which oeenrred in 1838. Ilis wife survived him several years, dying in 1844. He was a prominent person in the community where he resided; a man of great lib- erality and generous impulses, slow to anger, but im- placable when once aroused.

The subject of this notice had but few educational advantages, his father being in moderate circum- stances and obliged to make his way in a new country. Young Ansel remained at home until 1826, when he went to Monroe county, New York, where he re- mained until the fall of that year. He then returned to Ohio, and found employment at first in a ware- house, and afterward as elerk in the stores of II. J. Reese and William W. Reed.

In the spring of 1831 he left Mr. Reed's employ-

ment and removed to Rochester, New York, where he engaged in the dry goods business on his own ac- count. This business he carried on for fourteen years, meeting with varying success. At the end of that time, the business not proving satisfactory, he disposed of it and went to New York city, where he remained one year. Subsequently he spent some time as elerk in a large wool-dealer's establishment in Rochester.

In 1846 Mr. Roberts returned to Ohio, coming di- rectly to Cleveland, where he engaged in the fleece and full-wool business, which he carried on snecess- fully until his retirement in 1862.

During his residence in Cleveland Mr. Roberts has been prominently identified with the polities of the city and county. He is widely known as a staunch Republican, having invariably supported that party. In the spring of 1860 he was elected a member of the board of education, and was re-elected the following year, serving as secretary of that body and as a mem- ber of the committee on buildings and supplies.

In 1862 he was elected to the city council from the second ward for a term of two years, and was ap- pointed chairman of the finance committee. 1Ie was re- elected to the council in 1864 and again in 1866; hold- ing the same position throughout the three terms. In 1864 he was elected anditor of Cuyahoga county, and was re-elected to that office in 1866, serving with his usual vigor and ability. He was assistant assessor of internal revenue in 1823 for the eighteenth district of Ohio, and was appointed collector of that district by President Johnson, which appointment was confirmed by the Senate in 1867, but was declined by him. In 1868 he was elected sanitary trustee for one year; was re-elected in 1869 for three years, and at the end of his term was again re-elected for the same time. For seven years he occupied the position of secretary of the sanitary board.

In addition to these civil offices Mr. Roberts has been for several years a director of the Ohio National Bank, and is a trustee of the Cleveland Society for Savings and the president of the Cleveland Paper Company.

In his business relations, and throughout his official career, Mr. Roberts has maintained a high reputation for integrity and strictly honorable dealing. During the war for the Union he was active in support of the national canse and spent a great deal of time in procuring substitutes for those liable to draft.

Ile is a member of Trinity church (Episcopal) in which he has for twenty years held the office of senior warden. He was married on the 20th of October, 1836, to Miss Sarah JJ. Hatch, danghter of Orrin Hateh, of Genesee county, New York. By this union he had one child, Sarah Louisa, born July 30, 1836, and now the wife of John M. Sterling. Jr. Mrs. Rob- erts died in October, 1863. Mr. Roberts married his second wife, Miss Amanda Bartlett Cowan, in October, 1867.

348

THIE CITY OF CLEVELAND.

JOIIN P. ROBISON.

Dr. John P. Robison, one of ('leveland's promi- nent citizens, became a resident of Ohio, in 1832 and of Cleveland thirty years later. His grandfather, John Decker Robison, an American of Scotch descent, was a soldier under Braddock in his disastrous campaign against Fort Du Quesne, and fought throughout the Revolutionary war. His son, Peter Robison, the father of the subject of this sketeh, was a farmer in Western New York, and in Ontario county of that State John P. Robison was born, on the 23d day of January, 1811.

Until he reached his sixteenth year he lived upon his father's farm, passing his time in active agricul- tnral labors and at the village school. It being then determined to provide him with a good education, he was sent to Niffing's high school, at Vienna, New York, where he attained high rank as a student, and also imbibed a taste for medical science and the medi- eal profession. He was received as a private pupil of President Woodward, of the Vermont College of Medi- cine, from which institution he was graduated in 1831.

Eagerly ambitious to enter the bustling seenes of practical life, he migrated without delay to Ohio and settled as a medical practitioner at Bedford, Cuya- hoga county, in February, 1832. He pursued the practice of his profession at that place with gratifying success for eleven years, but in 1842 he decided to engage in the mercantile business at that point. Ac- cordingly, in company with Mr. W. B. Hillman, he carried on for some time thereafter an extensive busi- ness as a storekeeper, miller, provision dealer and land speculator; engaging in fact in almost any enterprise that promised a liberal return.

In November, 1832, Dr. Robison married a daugh- ter of Hezekiah Dunham, the founder of the village of Bedford. Of their children three survive; one son being engaged with his father in business, and another being upon the eve of entering the legal pro- fession.

During his busy experience at Bedford Dr. Robison was not unmindful of the high claims of religion, and as early as practicable founded at Bedford a congre- gation of Disciples, he being a close friend and as- sociate of the leader of that denomination, Alexander Campbell. He labored for the upbuilding of that cause "without money and without price." Such 1

was his energy, zeal and devotion that although at the beginning of his ministerial labors his congrega- tion numbered less than a dozen persons, yet he left it to his successor-at the close of a sixteen years' ministry, given withont fee or reward of any kind- swelled in membership to four hundred and forty. As a teacher of the Disciple doctrine he frequently journeyed with Alexander Campbell through the State, and with that eminent leader lifted up his voice before vast assemblages, while his purse yielded

freely and often of its wealth to prosper the cause of the Church.

In 1862 he took up his residence in Cleveland, hav- ing entered, in 1858, with General O. M. Oviatt, into the business of packing provisions at that city, on an extended seale. The firm held a conspicuous place as packers, and their " Buckeye" brand was known and highly lauded in all the great provision marts of America and England. After eontinning nntil 1867, the partnership between Dr. Robison and Gen. Oviatt was dissolved. The former continued the business a short time on his own account, and then took as a partner, Archibald Baxter, of New York, through whose failure in the latter city, in 1875, Dr. Robison suffered very heavy loss. In that year he formed a new partnership, with Dr. W. S. Streator and S. R. Streator, under the firm name of J. P. Robison & Co., which continnes to this day as one of the leading packing houses in the West. Previous to 1825 he had engaged largely in packing in Chicago, Illinois, and Lafayette, Indiana; returning permanently to Cleve- land, however, after a brief absence,

He has ever been active and generous in the pro- motion of public enterprises, and in schemes for the public good his heart and hand have always been freely enlisted. ITis serviees on behalf of the Union canse during the rebellion were of no slight valne and they were exercised moreover with untiring zeal and patriotism. Ile was among the most active workers in procuring volunteers for the Federal army, and in many other ways displayed in a sub- stantial and emphatie manner his devotion to his country. llis earliest political faith was that of a Clay Whig, and upon the dismemberment of that party he joined the ranks of the Democracy. In 1861 he was chosen to the State senate by a coalition of the War Democrats and Republicans, by the largest vote given to any senator from Cuyahoga, and after that event he cast his lot with the Republican party, to which he still remains a staunch adherent.

Since his retirement from the senate he has re- jected political honors, as being less in keeping with his desires and tastes than the duties pertaining to his own large and important business. In the eapa- city of director of public and private trusts he has always been watchful and capable in the administra- tion of his duties. For twenty years or more he has been a trustee of Bethany College in West Virginia, and for a long time filled a similar place in connee- tion with Hiram College in the Western Reserve. Ile is a director of the Second National Bank, of the People's Savings and Loan Association, and of the Lake View Cemetery; having been one of the earliest supporters of the last-named institution and one of the first subseribers to its stock. He has been closely identified with the Northern Ohio Fair Association from its formation and has been the president of that widely known and valuable organization for the past five years.

319

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

WILLIAM G. ROSE.

William G. Rose was born in Mercer county, Penn- sylvania, on the 23rd day of September, 1829, and is the youngest of eleven children, all of whom lived to be married and became heads of families. His parents were James and Martha (MeKenley) Rose, the former of English and the latter of Scotch-Irish descent. His paternal grandfather, Andrew Rose, was for many years manager of an iron furnace in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and removed with his family to Mercer county in 1799, flis maternal grandfather, David McKenley, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution.

His father, who with four brothers served in the war of 1812, had ten grandsons who enlisted in the Union armies at the commencement of the late rebel- lion; all serving three years and all re-enlisting except three, one of whom died in a rebel prison. William G. Rose also served as a private in a three months' regiment, in West Virginia.

The subject of this sketch labored on a farm in summer and attended school during the winter months until he was seventeen years of age, when, in order to provide means to obtain a more thorough education, he taught in the public schools part of each year and pursued his studies during the remainder. Hle pursued this course for six years, attending vari- ous academies, and at the expiration of that time had acquired a fair knowledge of Latin, Greek and the higher mathematics. At the age of twenty-three he commenced the study of law in the office of the Hon. Wm. Stewart, of Mercer, Pennsylvania, and was ad- mitted to the bar on the 12th day of April, 1855, when he immediately entered upon the duties of his profession in his native county.

Soon afterward, however, Mr. Rose became inter- ested in polities, and for a short time was one of the editors and proprietors of a weekly newspaper known as the Independent Democrat. Although his ante- eedents were Democratie, his opposition to the exten- sion of slavery in the Territories induced him to join the Republican party at its inception. In 185; he was elected to the Pennsylvania legislature, and was re-elected in 1858. In 1860 he was elected a delegate to the National Republican Convention at Chicago, which nominated Lincoln for the presidency, but on account of illness was unable to attend, his place being filled by an alternate. He was twice presented by the Republican party of his native county as a candidate for Congress; the last time, in 1864, unani- monsly. Ilis nomination in the district, which was composed of four counties, and at that time was largely Republican, was only prevented becanse, under the system then in vogue, in that portion of Penn- sylvania, other counties claimed a prior right to the nominec.

In 1865 Mr. Rose removed to Cleveland, where, after being admitted to the practice of the law, he engaged in the purchase and sale of real estate. He

continued this pursuit until 1824, when he retired from business and made an extensive tour through California, and the Western Territories.

In 1861 Mr. Rose was elected mayor of Cleveland, an office which he filled with entire satisfaction to his constituents. His administration was characterized by a wise and judicious management of municipal affairs generally, and an active support of all enter- prises calculated to develop the prosperity of the city.

Ile was married in 1858 to Martha E. Parmelee, a graduate of Oberlin College. Their family consists of four children, Alice E., Hudson P., Frederick II. and Willie K.

JAMES HENRY SALISBURY.

The subject of this sketch was born at " Evergreen Terrace," in the town of Scott, Cortland county, New York, on the 13th day of October, 1823. His earliest ancestor in this country came to America from North Wales, and settled in Rhode Island about the year 1640. His great-grandfather was born at War- wiek, Rhode Island, but early in life removed to Cranston, in the same State, where he married a Miss Pierce, by whom he had the following children: Peleg, (known as the " big man of Warwick "), Mar- tin, Job, Mial, Nathan, Rebecca and Phobe.

Nathan, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch was born December 1, 1:51. He was married on the 16th of July, 1361, to Abigail Stone. (born October 16, 1253, , only daughter of Joseph Stone, of Cranston, a descendant of Hugh Stone, the " stolen boy," and ancestor of the Stone family in America. The maiden name of Abigail Stone's mother's was Brown. She was a near relative of John Brown, the founder of Rhode Island College, afterward Brown University. Nathan Salisbury was lieutenant of the company under Captain Burgess that fired into the British frigate .. Gasper, " a short time before the Revo- Intionary war. He resided at Cranston until 1295, when he removed to Providence. In March, 1803. he removed to Hartford, Washington county, New York, where he remained till 1806, and then went to Cazenovia, in Madison county, in the same State. In March, 180;, he removed to lomer, now Cortland connty, and in the fall of the same year settled in Ilo- mer and purchased a farm lying on the waters of Cold brook, where he remained till his death, on the 14th of May, 1817. His children were Waity, Sally, John, Joseph Martin (who followed the sea, and died on a voyage returning from China), Anna, Mary, Lucinda, Ambrose, Cynthia, Nathan and Phobe,

Nathan, the father of James H. Salisbury, pur- chased, in 1815, a farm on lot ninety-five, in the town of Scott, which is the site of " Evergreen Terrace," the Salisbury homestead. On the 21st of Jannary, 1818, he was married to Incretia A. Babcock, (born September 30, 1992), daughter of James and Mary Gibbs Babcock, who moved from Blandford, Massa- chusetts, to Scott, New York, in 1815. Nathan

THE CITY OF CLEVELAND.

Salisbury and wife have resided at .. Evergreen Ter- rare" sixty-one years, and have reared the following Children: Amanda A .. Charles B .. James H., Milton L., Burdette J., Charlotte A .. William W. and Nathan, Jr.

James Il., the subject of this sketch. received his early education at Homer Academy, then presided over by Prof. Samuel Woolworth, now secretary of the board of regents of the University of the State of New York. He received the degree of Bachelor of Natural Sciences (B. N. S.) at the Polytechnic Insti- tute at Troy, New York, in 1844, previous to which he had been appointed assistant under Prof. Ebenezer Emmons, in the chemical department of the Geolog- ical Survey of the State of New York, which place he tilled till January 1, 1849, when he was made princi- pal of the same department. He remained principal. with his brother. Charles B., as assistant, until 1852.

Dr. Salisbury received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Albany Medical College in Janu- ary, 1850, and that of Master of Arts from Union College, Schenectady, in August, 1852. He was elected a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1848, and the same year was also made a member of the Albany Institute. In 1853 he was elected corresponding member of the Natural History Society of Montreal. In 1879 he was elected a member of the Philosophical Society of Great Britain. In 185; he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society, and in is26, was made vice president of the Western Reserve Histor- ical Society, which office he still holds.

In 1848 Dr. Salisbury received a gold medal from the Young Men's Association of Albany, New York. for the best essay on the " Anatomy and History of Plants." In 1849 he won the prize of three hundred dollars, offered by the State Agricultural Soe ety of New York for the best essay on the " chemical and physiological examinations of the maize plant during its various stages of growth." This made a work of over two hundred pages, and was published m the New York State Agricultural Reports for 1849, and subsequently copied entire in the State Agricultural Reports of Ohio. In 1851-52 he gave two courses of lectures on elementary and applied chemistry, in the New York State Normal School. He also conducted a series of interesting experiments. on different sub- jects, which were embodied in a paper read before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in 1851, and were published in their transae- tions, and also in the New York Journal of Medicine of a later date.

The following list of his published works and pa- pers will serve to give some idea of the extent and variety of his labors:

Analysis of Fruits, Vegetables and Grain: Chemi- val Investigations of the Maize Plant (prize essay, 206 pages); Chemical Analysis of Five Varieties of the Cabbage: Chemical examination of the various parts of the Plant Rheum Rhaponticum: Chemical Exam-

ination of Rumex Crispus: Experiments and Observa- tion on the Influence of Poisons and Medicinal Agents upon Plants: Chemical Examination of the Fruit of Five Varieties of Apples: Chemical Investigations con- neeted with the Tomato, the Fruit of the Egg Plant, and Pods of the Okra; History, Culture and Compo- sition of Apium Graveolens and Cichorium Intibos; Facts and Remarks on the Indigestibility of Food: Composition of Grains, Vegetables and Fruits; Mi- eroscopie Researches in the Cause of the so-called " Blight" in Apple. Pear and Quince Trees, etc. : Chronie Diarrhea and its Complications; Something about Cryptogams, Fermentation and Disease: Prob- able Source of the Steatorzoon Follienlorum; Investi- gations, Chemical and Microscopical, on the Spleen and Mesenteric and Lymphatic Glands; Defective Alimentation a Primary Cause of Disease: On the Cause of Intermittent and Remittent Fevers; Exper- iments on Poisoning with the Vegetable Alkaloids: Discovery of Cholesterine and Seroline as Seeretions of Various Glands: Remarks on Fungi; On Inoculating the Human System with Straw Fungi: Parasitic Forms Developed in the Parent Epithelial Cells, etc .; Remarks on the Structure, Functions and Classifica- tion of the Parent Gland Cells, etc .; Microscopic Re- searches relating to the Histology and Minute Anato- my of the Spleen, ete. : Description of two new Algoid Vegetations: Geologieal Report of the Mill Creek Canal Coal Field; Analysis, Organic and Inorganic. of the Cucumber: Experiments on the Capillary At- tractions of the Soil: A New Carbonie Aeid Appara- tus: Analysis of Dead Sea Water: Two Interesting Parasitie Diseases: Pus and Infection; Microscopie Examinations of Blood, ete. : Vegetations found in the Blood of Patients suffering from Erysipelas; Infusor- ial Catarrh and Asthma: Analysis, Organie and In- organie, of the White Sugar Beet; Analysis, Organic and Inorganie, of the Parsnip: Ancient Rock and Earth Writing and Inscriptions of the Mount-build- ers: Influence of the Position of the Body upon the Heart's Action: Material Application of Chemistry to Agriculture; Analysis, Organic and Inorganic, of the Several Kinds of Grains and Vegetables. Besides the foregoing. Dr. Salisbury is the author of nearly thirty unpublished works and papers of decided value, on similar subjects.

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History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Part 93

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