USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > History of the city of Cleveland : its settlement, rise and progress > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
In his inaugural address before the city council, Mr. Rose sounded the key-note of his entire administration. He said : "The enormous amount of municipal debt, the present low rate of wages the vast number of men and women out of employment . and the difficulty ex- perienced by many of our most substantial citizens in meeting their tax obligations and providing the comforts and even the necessaries of life, all combine. to impress upon those in authority the necessity of scrupu- lous care and fidelity in the economical management of every department of our municipal government." Re- trenchment, where retrenchment was possible, careful at- tention to every municipal function, and the thorough
420
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
cooperation of all departments-these were the consistent aims of Mayor Rose's administration. As a worthy and influential citizen, Mr. Rose needs no recognition in this place. During his residence in Cleveland he has gained the respect and confidence of all classes by the faithful per- formance of the many duties, both public and private, that have devolved upon him.
STEPHEN BUHRER.
E X-MAYOR STEPHEN BUHRER of Cleveland is of German descent, and a native of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where he was born, in the township of Lawrence, on the twenty-sixth of December, 1825. At the age of four years his father died, leaving him and a sister six years older dependent for support upon a widowed mother.
Mr. Buhrer left school when only ten years old to take his first lessons in life's work. His education, therefore, is, principally, the toilsome acquisition of first-hand con- tact with the world.
He came to Cleveland in 1844 and commenced business here as a cooper. Mr. Buhrer is now the proprietor and manager of an extensive distilling and refining establish- ment, with headquarters on Merwin street.
His public services have been many and varied. Having a lively interest in all that tended to build up and advance the welfare of the city, he has been frequently called upon
421
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
to serve the people in important official positions. He was first elected a member of the city council in 1855, and subsequently served in that body from 1862 to 1866 in- clusive of the spring of '65, there being no competitor. In 1867 he was chosen mayor of the city, as the candidate of the Democratic party, having by personal popularity Overcome a large Republican majority. He was re- elected to this office in 1869, this time by a largely increased majority-reaching nearly three thousand, a number which, it should be remembered, represented a far larger ratio to the whole vote than it would with our present increased population.
Without prejudice to others, it must be conceded that Mr. Buhrer's administration of public trusts has been especially marked by scrupulous fidelity to the interests of all. As chief executive officer, he conducted the department of the municipal government with a degree of care and firmness seldom equaled in the city's his- tory. Lawless rings and combinations were not merely discouraged, but, so far as possible, suppressed. The man- agement of police, for which he was compelled to assume the entire responsibility, was of the most thorough and painstaking sort, thus securing a service of the greatest possible efficiency. The municipal machinery was, in gen- eral, so managed as to secure the proper performance of all its functions.
Mr. Buhrer was always a zealous friend of all reform- atory institutions, believing that the best way to prevent crime was to care for, correct and educate petty offenders, incorrigible children and youth. To him more than to
422
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
almost any other citizen is Cleveland indebted for its efficient Work-house and House of Refuge and Correction. While in the council, he was untiring in his efforts to secure authority to undertake the enterprise, and when he became mayor, the whole influence of his official position was constantly used for the consummation of the work. Before he completed his second term he had the satisfaction of seeing suitable buildings erected, an excellent board of managers organized and the institution on its way to sure success. He has been for several years one of the most valuable members of the board of management of this in- valuable institution.
Every important permanent public improvement received Mr. Buhrer's sanction and active support. He was among the very first projectors of the stone Viaduct, and without his valuable advice and effective work the city might still be separated by that gulf which is now so happily spanned by a splendid highway.
For several years past Mr. Buhrer has devoted the greater part of his energies to the management of his ex- tensive private interests. He is a prominent member of several important societies and organizations, among these the order of Free Masons.
In April, 1847, Mr. Buhrer was married to Miss Eva Mary Schneider. Of this union there are three children-one son and two daughters.
423
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
ELROY M. AVERY, PH. D.
I N the foremost ranks of scientific authors of this coun- try, stands Elroy M. Avery, probably the most suc- cessful littérateur of Cleveland. His "Physical Science Series," consisting now of eight volumes, has made his name known in countless schools and homes from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Ontario to Mexico.
Of his achievements in his chosen field, no adequate ac- count can be given in this brief sketch. Fuller mention thereof is made in another department of this book.
The subject of this sketch is a self-made man in all that such a term implies. His early life was wanting in all that is derived from wealth, and his every upward step has been made by his own unaided efforts. Elroy M. Avery was born at Erie, Monroe county, Michigan, July 14, 1844. His father, Caspar H. Avery, was of Puritan ancestry, his progenitor, Christopher Avery, having come to America in 1630, crossing the Atlantic in company with Governor John Winthrop, of Connecticut. His mother, whose maiden name was Dorothy Putnam, was born in Central New York. She was a lineal descendant of General Israel Putnam, of Revolutionary fame. Elroy attended the public schools of Monroe, at the same time contribut- ing to his own support by posting bills, distributing newspapers and "dodgers" and assisting in the local printing offices. At the age of sixteen, he began his peda- gogic career by teaching a winter school at Frenchtown, Monroe county, and "boarding around." While teaching in this place, the civil war broke out and he dropped the
-
424
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
ferule to take upa musket. He served in the Fourth Mich- igan Infantry and the Eleventh Michigan Cavalry, and, when his services were no longer needed, was mustered out as sergeant-major. While at the front, young Avery could not suppress his impulses to write concerning the stirring scenes around him. His correspondence, published in the Detroit Tribune, evinced much literary power and was widely quoted.
At the close of the war, Mr. Avery devoted two years to accumulating funds and "brushing up" his scholarship, two necessary steps preliminary to admission at Michi- gan University, where he matriculated in September, 1867. During his course at the university, he was the Ann Arbor correspondent of the Detroit Tribune, and city editor of the Ann Arbor Courier.
The "bread and butter question" made imperative de- mands for time and effort, in spite of which he took high rank in recitation room and society hall. In the fall of 1869, he became principal of the high school of Battle Creek, Mich- igan. Early in 1870 he was enabled by a friendly loan to resign this profitable, successful and enjoyable work to regain his footing in his college class. He was graduated in 1871, having had not a "condition" during his whole course. During his senior year he was also a mem- ber of the editorial staff of the Detroit Daily Tribune, the leading Republican paper of the state. He carried this double load, perhaps not easily but successfully. In September, 1871, soon after his graduation, he left the Tribune sanctum to become superintendent of the public schools of East Cleveland.
425
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
On the annexation of that village, he became a part of our city and principal of the East High School. When the East and Central High Schools were consolidated in 1878, he became principal of the City Normal School, then the apex of Cleveland's public school system. In 1880 he entered the "Scientific Lecture " field with an object lesson on the then new "Electric Light." In mining phrase, he struck "pay dirt." After two years of success in this field, he began the organization of Brush Electric Light and Power Companies-a work for which teaching, authorship and lecturing had given him peculiar qualifications. His suc- cess here was quick and complete. Dr. Avery has organ- ized more electric lighting companies, and with a greater aggregate of capital, than any other man in America. This work has made his name as familiar to solid business men as his text-books have to their children.
In 1878 his "Elements of Natural Philosophy" was published by Sheldon & Co. of New York City. Since that time their continued call for "copy " has brought forth a volume nearly every year. The results of this and his other literary activities are given in the article to which reference has been already made. Dr. Avery is a pleasing and effective public speaker as well as a successful writer. As such, his services are much sought and his voice is often heard in the public discussion of moral, scientific, educational, literary and political topics. Humani nihil alienum.
In July, 1870, Mr. Avery married Catharine, the daugh- ter of the Hon. Junius Tilden, one of the most prominent lawyers of Southern Michigan. For several years she
1
426
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
was his able assistant in the school-room. Dr. Avery never fails to ascribe to her a great part of the success of life "thus jointly won."
GEORGE H. ELY.
A MAN who has for years occupied a most prominent position in the important relations of Lake Supe- rior iron ore to the growth and advancement of our city, deserves a more extended testimonial than the limits of this article will permit.
Mr. George H. Ely was born in Rochester, New York, and enjoyed the advantages of a thorough classical education at his home academy and at Williams College. After gradua- tion, and while engaged in flour manufacture in his native city, his attention was called to the Lake Superior iron ore regions. To the opening and development of this then wilderness, by the construction of a railroad and the opening of mines, he devoted his energy and money, in company with his brothers, S. P. Ely and the late Heman B. Ely. Having thus become extensively interested in the iron ore business he came, in 1863, to Cleveland, the great distributing point of the iron ore production of the north- west. These relations to the iron business have remained unchanged to the present time. But they now include, also, in association with his brother, S. P. Ely, in the firm of George H. & S. P. Ely, prominent identification with the latest northwest ore development-the opening
-
427
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
of the Vermilion district in Minnesota by the Minnesota Iron company. Mr. Ely's business interests have ex- panded and prospered under his judicious management until heranks as one of the leading iron men of the country. He has ever been an ardent friend of the commercial inter- ests of our lakes. Before many important government commissions and congressional committees he has been delegated to discuss the subject of lake and harbor im- provements, questions of tariff, and other matters of National importance. Mr. Ely has always been astalwart friend of Cleveland's varied interests and industries. He is an able and enthusiastic advocate of protective tariff and is now one of the executive committee and a manager of the American Protective Tariff League.
In November, 1879, Mr. Ely was chairman of a com- mittee of the Cleveland Board of Trade sent to Detroit to oppose before a government commission of engineers the bridging of the Detroit river. He showed so conclusively, both in Detroit and before the joint congressional com- mittee on commerce in Washington, in the following winter, the damage to marine interests that such a struc- ture would work, that the scheme was killed. In De- cember, 1878, Mr. Ely was president of the Lake Im- provement Convention, called at St. Paul, mainly in the in- terest of the improvements on the St. Mary's river, and was appointed chairman of its committee to urge the necessary appropriations before Congress. This move- ment was highly successful, and gave a new impulse to the work on that great water outlet of the Northwest. Again he represented our city in theconvention at Sault Ste. Marie
428
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
in July, 1887, called in the interest of the St. Mary's river. The memorial adopted by it to congress, urging the imme- diate completion of the new lock and Hay Lake channel was from his pen, and he was made chairman of an execu- tive committee of thirteen appointed to urge immediate appropriations. These improvements-one of which con- templates the building of the new lock and the other the opening of the Hay Lake channel, involving the expendi- ture of seven millions of dollars-will give four feet addi- tional depth of water for the commerce of Lake Superior. These relations are National, but they include vast advan- tages to our city and State.
Mr. Ely is a man of broad and liberal views, and has found time outside of his busy business life to become identified with various charitable and educational institu- tions. Though for many years he invariably declined office, he, however, consented to be a candidate on the Republican ticket for State senator in 1883; and, repre- senting his county in that capacity for two years, was then, in 1885, reëlected by a large vote and served a second term to the satisfaction of his constituency and of the State.
CAPTAIN ALVA BRADLEY.
NSEPARABLY identified with the marine interests and history of the chain of lakes was the life of the late Captain Alva Bradley, of Cleveland. He entered on his
429
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
career as a sailor when a boy, and as a result of his industry handed down to his children a business the magnitude of which is second to few if any in the sameline. Alva Brad- ley was born in Tolland County, Connecticut, November 27, 1814, and came to Ohio with his father when nine years of age. The schooner which brought the family from Buffalo landed her passengers and cargo at the mouth of the Cuyahoga, for in those days vessels could not sail into the harbor. The elder Bradley located on a farm at Brownhelm, Lorain County, and for ten years Alva worked with him at the plow and in the fields. Then, yielding to his long felt wish for a sailor's life, he went to the Port of Huron, Ohio, and engaged in a humble capacity on the , Schooner Libertv. He was then nineteen, hardy and ener- getic. For two years he followed the fortunes of this ves- sel and continued this congenial avocation on various other boats until 1839, when, through his industry and honesty, he found himself in command of a schooner, the Commo- dore Lawrence, which sailed between this port and Buffalo. From this time young Bradley caught glimpses of the future opening up before him, and began to lay up for him- self a business that was destined to immense success. He had already become well known and well liked by lake men. He early evinced that characteristic which marked his whole life-of making firm and lasting friends. In 1841, in company with the late Ahira Cobb, he built the schooner South America, a vessel of one hundred and four tons. He personally commanded the South America, with much financial success, for three seasons, and during several suc- ceeding years he sailed the various vessels which his firm
430
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
constructed. His business grew and prospered. In 1852 he gave up his active lake service and confined himself to the conduct of his vessel building and shipping from the home office. The Bradley fleet soon became one of the largest and finest on the lakes and is so acknowledged to-day.
Captain Bradley owed his success entirely to his own efforts, to his Yankee grit and shrewd business sense. He accumulated great wealth but remained the same plain, simple, generous man that had won his friends when in active service.
Captain Bradley was married in 1851 to Miss Hellen M. Burgess of Milan, Ohio, and at his death in 1885 left a family of three daughters and one son, the latter being entrusted to the management of the immense interests of his honored father.
J. MILTON CURTISS.
A S a projector and promoter of beneficent public en- terprises, Cleveland contains no more eminent or worthy citizen than J. Milton Curtiss. He was born in Medina county in 1840, his ancestors being among the staunchest of the early New England people. Young Cur- tiss spent his boyhood in Brooklyn village, a suburb of Cleveland, having theeducational advantages of Brooklyn Academy and the Cleveland Institute. He began the vo- cation of a school teacher, but gave it up for the nursery
J. M Curtin
431
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
business in connection with his brother, in which enter- prise he was unusually successful. As the city grew or gave evidence of growth about him, he laid out and sold hisland for residence building, and gave encouragement to many to own their little homes by projecting and carrying out the installment plan of paying for lots and homes.
It was his love for improvement and his wish to see Cleveland develop her opportunities that led him into pub- lic life. He had helped to organize and had been one of the trustees of Brooklyn village, which office he resigned in 1867, when he took up his residence within the corporate limits of Cleveland. In 1876 he was elected to the city council, to which he was reelected for six successive years. He was a prominent and influential member from the start, sustaining himself handsomely in all public discussion, and largely promoted the welfare of the city by faithful and constant devotion to important public business. He was called to the Board of Park Commissioners shortly after, where for two years he gave his best consideration to the improvement of the parks of Cleveland, contributing very much to their attractiveness and beauty by the knowledge gained and experience acquired in his European travels.
The public enterprises of which Mr. Curtiss has been the moving spirit, and often the projector, can not be fully stated herein; but among the many may be enumerated the Riverside Cemetery, one of the most attractive and lovely abodes of the dead of which any city can boast. The South-side Park is mainly the result of his long and persistent labors. His last great public enterprise was the great Central Viaduct or Belt-line Bridge, spanning the
-
432
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
upper Cuyahoga Valley, and uniting the southwest and east sides of the city. Another important enterprise originated by Mr. Curtiss, and now occupying his atten- tion, is the Euclid Arcade, the greatest private improve- ment ever undertaken in Cleveland. He was also the pro- jector and is now vice-president of the Edgewood Club, whose summer hotel and spacious grounds are among the most costly and ornate of the Thousand Islands. To Mr. Curtiss' influence in carrying out this organization is largely due its great success. He spends his summers there and is an active manager of the association.
He is an honorable and upright gentleman, charitable in his deeds, and exemplary in his life and character.
RICHARD C. PARSONS.
H ON. R. C. PARSONS was born in New London, Con- necticut, October 10, 1826. His ancestors were among the oldest and most distinguished Puritan fami- lies of New England. His education was classical and legal. He was admitted to the Cleveland bar October, 1851. He was elected to the Common Council in 1852, and in the year following was president of that body. He was a partner with the late Judge Spalding, and the legal firm of Spalding & Parsons was, during its continuance of several years, one of the most eminent in the State. In 1857 Mr. Parsons was elected a member of the Ohio Legis- lature and reëlected in 1859, serving the last two years as
433
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1861 he was appointed Minister to Chili by President Lincoln, but declined the position. He however accepted the place of Consul to Rio Janeiro the same year, but resigned the office in 1862 and returned home, having accepted the position of Collector of Internal Revenue at Cleveland, at the request of his life-long friend, Salmon P. Chase, who was then Secretary of the Treasury. In 1866 he was made Marshal of the Supreme Court of the United States, which office he resigned in 1872, having been elected a member of Congress. He served two years in Congress with honorable distinction and greatly to the advantage of his district. He was tendered by President Johnson the Governorship of Montana or the place of Assistant Sec- retary of the Treasury, both of which he declined.
The opportunities of Mr. Parson's life have been remark- able, and he has ever availed himself thereof to the ad- vancement of his country, his constituents and the munici- pality. Among the first measures of his legislative activity was the bill organizing the Ohio State Volunteers, and pro- viding for the maintenance of the organization. Hecarried through the Legislature a bill for introducing the study of German in the public schools of Cleveland. He specially distinguished himself during his first legislative term by a speech on the bill repealing the ten per cent. interest law. But it was in subsequent years when in Congress that he was enabled to render his district and the city the most sub- stantial service. Not the least among the benefits conferred upon the city was the bill he proposed and carried through which secured to a charitable institution of the city a long
434
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
lease of the Marine Hospital and its extensive grounds at the nominal rent of one dollar per year. He secured an appropriation of thirty thousand dollars for the improve- ment of the harbor and for a pier light-house, and also the passage of a bill establishing a life-saving service in Cleve- land, the benefits of which have been demonstrated in the saving of more than fifty lives and much property up to this date. The measure contemplating the expenditure of more than a million and a half dollars for the Cleveland break- water is chief among his official acts which have re- dounded to the commercial prosperity of the city and the mercantile marine of the lakes. He carried through the bill making an appropriation for the improvement of the harbor, and a pier at Rocky River, in this district. He was largely influential in cooperating with others in the passage of a bill relieving Cleveland and Marquette mining companies of taxes of upwards of a million dollars, and many special pension bills for soldiers and sailors.
In 1876 Mr. Parsons became principal owner, and for three years editor-in-chief, of the Cleveland Herald. His last public service was that of National Bank Examiner for Ohio, which position he held for two years, resigning in 1887. He has made several visits to Europe and enriched his mind by travel and study. He is a thorough literary man and a clear, direct and forcible speaker, and his essays and addresses, which have been many, are elegant in diction and rich in substance.
Mr. Parsons married the only daughter of the late Judge Starkweather, and his home has ever been one of happiness and hospitality.
435
HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
GENERAL J. H. DEVEREUX.
N ATURAL endowments and the best of ancestry com. bined to give J. H. Devereux a splendid mental and physical equipment for the great work he was destined to do in the world. He was born in Boston, April 5, 1832, and his family line is traced directly to the hardy Norman Conquerors. The boy early gave promise of great brain force, an independence of character and an upright mind .. He fitted himself with a good education at the Ports- mouth, New Hampshire, Academy, and in 1848 he came to Cleveland. Though but sixteen years of age he had cour- age, energy and ambition beyond his years. He began life as a railroad surveyor and civil engineer, a profession in which he was to attain high distinction. He never undertook any enterprise the requirements of which he did not fill. He first obtained employment as one of the con- structing engineers of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincin- nati railroad, where he was engaged until the comple- tion of the road, when he secured similar work on the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula road, then seeking to give Cleveland an eastern outlet. He finished his contract on this line before he was twenty-one, and in 1852 turned toward the South. For nine years he was a busy con- struction engineer, nearly all of the time as resident engineer of the Tennessee & Alabama railroad. He became civil engineer of Nashville with the determination of locating there permanently, when the war broke out and his career was changed. He closed up his business and offered his services to the government and was quickly placed in impor-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.