USA > Ohio > Lucas County > Toledo > Memoirs of Lucas County and the City of Toledo > Part 11
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THOMAS JEFFERSON CRONISE
Thomas Jefferson Cronise, M. D., deceased, late a prominent physician of Toledo, was born in Tiffin, Ohio, Feb. 25, 1830, the son of Henry and Susanna (Fundenburg) Cronise, both of whom were natives of Frederickstown, Md., where the father was born March 15, 1789, and the mother Oct. 21, 1795. The paternal grandfather, whose name was also Henry Cronise, was a Revolutionary soldier, having enlisted, Aug. 1, 1776, in the Second company of the German regiment of the Continental forces, under the command of Lieut .- Col. Ludwick Weltner. He served valiantly with this regiment for a period of three years and received an honorable discharge from the service, July 24, 1779. Henry Cronise, the father of Dr. Cronise, came to Tiffin, Ohio, in 1827, and engaged in the mercantile business as a dealer in dry goods. As the city grew to larger proportions, his establishment became the leading store in the place, and in the late forties he retired from its active management and trans- ferred the business to his sons. He was one of the leaders of the Democratic party in that section of the State, and in recognition of his ability was elected first to the lower house of the State legis- lature and afterward to the Senate. Both he and his wife died in Tiffin, and of the nine children born to them Dr. Cronise was the eighth in order of birth. Thomas Jefferson Cronise received such preparatory scholastic training as the schools of that day afforded, and when he had completed these preliminary courses, he went to Cincinnati and matriculated in the Ohio State Medical College, where, after he had completed the required work, he was granted the degree of Doctor of Medicine by the trustees of the institution. Immediately afterward he removed to Texas, Ohio, and began the practice of his profession, but the environment there not being con- genial, he removed to Waterville, Lucas county. While still a resident of Waterville, the Civil war broke out and President Lin- coln issued his call for volunteers. Among the first to respond was Dr. Cronise, who became a private in what later was known as
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Company I, Fourteenth Ohio infantry. With his regiment he saw service in Kentucky, and in October went into quarters at Camp Dick Robinson. About this time rumors were rife that the Federal forces stationed at or near Wild Cat were surrounded by the Con- federates. The Fourteenth, with Barnet's First Ohio artillery, started at once for that place, making forced marches through the deep mud and driving rain, and reached there on the morning of Oct. 21. On nearing the battle-field the crash of musketry and artillery was heard. This spurred the excited troops and they double-quicked to the point of attack. The enemy shortly aban- doned the field and retreated. In the charge which carried the works at Mill Springs the Fourteenth was the first regiment to enter, and pushing on after the flying enemy it reached the bank of the river in time to fire into the rear of the retreating column as it was board- ing the steamer. Dr. Cronise was with his regiment and shared in the slow advance upon Corinth. He was in the march from Nash- ville to Louisville, but on Oct. 9 the brigade with which his regi- ment was acting was detailed to guard headquarters and the ammu- nition train, and hence did not participate in the battle of Perryville. The following winter was spent at Gallatin and other points in Middle Tennessee, and in June, 1863, the regiment formed a portion of Rosecrans' advance on Tullahoma and Chattanooga. At Hoover's Gap a brisk engagement ensued, in which the regiment participated, and on Sept. 19 it marched upon the field at Chickamauga and was immediately deployed in line of battle. The regiment was engaged in hot and close contest with the enemy from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m., and then being relieved, it replenished its ammunition boxes and again entered the fight, continuing until sunset. In the brilliant assault on Missionary Ridge the regiment bore a gallant part, charging and capturing a Confederate battery of three guns, which General Hardee in person was superintending. Dr. Cronise par- ticipated in the long, fatiguing campaign for the possession of Atlanta, the "gate city" of the South. In all the marches and the almost incessant skirmishes and flanking movements of that cam- paign, he did his full duty. In that heroic charge of Jonesboro the Fourteenth took nearly as many prisoners as the regiment num- bered men, capturing a battery of four guns, several stands of
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colors, and two lines of trenches full of Confederates. On Sept. 12, 1864, his term of enlistment having expired, Dr. Cronise received an honorable discharge from the service. He had been with his regi- ment in all the engagements in which it took part, with the excep- tion of some months when he had charge of Hospital No. 1 at Bowling Green, Ky., and while engaged at another time in similar duties at Nashville, Tenn. His professional knowledge was called into service and he was made assistant surgeon, a position he held until he received his final discharge. After the close of his military career, Dr. Cronise settled in Peru, Ill., where he had purchased a successful drug business. He remained in Peru successfully man- aging this business for about five years, and then, being desirous of resuming his professional work, disposed of the store and re- turned to his birthplace, Tiffin, Ohio, to again become active as a physician. Seven years later he removed to Toledo, which was one of the rapidly growing cities of the State, and started in his practice there. For nine years he was active in his work, but by the end of that time the exposure and strain, due to his army service, began to tell upon his physical condition, and it became necessary for him to retire. In the hope of regaining his lost vitality, he removed to Riverside, Cal., but the change did not affect the desired result, and on May 25, 1896, he answered the summons of his Maker. Dr. Cronise was a Democrat in his political belief, but never aspired to hold public office of any nature. He always had a love for the military, however, and on June 30, 1886, Gov. Joseph B. Foraker commissioned him major and surgeon of the First Regiment of Light Artillery, Ohio National Guard, a position that he held for a period of five years. On Nov. 16, 1864, was sol- emnized the marriage of Dr. Cronise and Miss Elizabeth Moore, the daughter of John A. and Almira (Post) Moore, of Maumee, Ohio. Of this union there were born two daughters, of whom it is fitting that mention be made in this connection. Grace Almira Cronise was born Nov. 6, 1865, and was married to Henry H. Rug- gles, Feb. 24, 1885. A daughter, Helen Rose Ruggles, was born of this union, July 8, 1888, in Toledo, Ohio, and the father, Henry H. Ruggles, died July 8, 1890, at Riverside, Cal. On April 21, 1903, the widow, Grace Almira Ruggles, was married to Clinton W.
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Hickok, and resides in Toledo. Gertrude Elizabeth Cronise was born Feb. 22, 1870, and on May 17, 1893, was married to Charles Willard Griffin, and now resides in Alameda, Cal. She is the mother of two children-Willard Cronise Griffin, born May 14, 1897, and Charles Willard Griffin, Jr., born March 21, 1901. Mrs. Cronise re- turned to Toledo after her husband's demise and lives in the beau- tiful family residence at 2137 Robinwood avenue. John A. Moore, her father, was born in Lynn, Conn., and her mother in Westbrook, in the same State. The former was a merchant who came to Mau- mee, in 1830, and from there later removed to Toledo, where he was engaged for many years in the dry goods business and built the block where Milner's store is now located. He was an influential Republican and a devout member of the First Congregational Church. Some years before his death, which occurred Dec. 27, 1900, he retired from active participation in the affairs of the business world. His widow passed away Oct. 18, 1903.
Onhow R. Ceny-
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JOSHUA ROBERT SENEY
Joshua Robert Seney, one of the ablest judges that ever graced the Ohio bench and one of the most eloquent and convincing lawyers that ever practiced at the bar, came from a family noted for their legal attainments. His father's people came to this country from England, though they were originally of Norman- French stock. John Seney, his great-grandfather, was a lawyer by profession and was for many years a member of the Maryland Assembly and chairman of what is now known as the Committee on Judiciary. He was also a member of the convention that ratified the Federal Constitution, in 1787, and of the Electoral College which unanimously chose General Washington for President. He entered the Revolutionary war as a captain of Maryland volunteers and, after nearly seven long years of service, was mustered out as colonel. Joshua Seney, the grandfather of the subject of this memoir, was graduated in the Literary Department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, in 1773, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. On his diploma are the names of Benjamin Rush, Professor of Chemistry and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; and Doctors Morgan and Shippen, the latter not only distinguished as a great scholar, but as the father-in-law of Benedict Arnold. Joshua Seney afterward served as a member of the Maryland Assembly, with his father, and was for four years a member of the Continental Congress, having, as a colleague, his old instructor, Benjamin Rush. He served upon the judicial bench as Chief Justice of his native State, having Will, Russell, Will, and Owens, as his associates. He was a member of the First congress after the Government was formed, and was re-elected to the Second congress, serving from March 4, 1789, to May 1, 1792, when he resigned. He was a presidential elector in 1792, voting for Washington and Adams. In 1798, he was again elected to Congress, defeating Hon. William Hindman, but he did not live to take his seat. He is buried in Queen Anne's county, Maryland,
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where a stone is erected to his memory bearing the following simple but sincere inscription :
"Beneath this Stone are interred the remains of JOSHUA SENEY, Who was born near the spot which now contains his ashes, March 4th, 1756, and died October 20, 1798. From the commencement of the American Revolution, at various periods of his life, he filled with ability some of the highest stations, and discharged with integrity some of the most important duties to which his native State could appoint him; Preserving through the whole a character, both private and public, untainted by a single vice. In 1776, a Whig, a Democrat in 1798, he zealously and unceasingly maintained the liberties of his country, and died as he lived An Honest Man and A Christian."
The paternal grandmother of Joshua Robert Seney was the daughter of Commodore Nicholson, who, at one period of the Revolution, had chief command of the Navy. His father, also Joshua Seney by name, was born in New York, in 1793, and was graduated at Columbia College, in the Classical Course, and also in the University Law School. He was private secretary to Albert
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Gallatin (his uncle by marriage) while the latter was Secretary of the Treasury, under President Jefferson. After practicing law for ten years in Uniontown, Pa., he came to Tiffin, Ohio. He was elected Clerk of the Supreme Court, and President Jackson appointed him United States District Judge for Pennsylvania, which position he subsequently resigned, preferring the freedom of the practice to the exactions of the bench. In 1840, he was one of the Presidential electors. He died in 1854. Anna (Ebbert) Seney, the mother of the subject of this memoir, was born in 1803, of Holland extraction, her grandfather, William Wood, having been one of those Dutch merchants who early migrated to America; her father, George Ebbert, was also a merchant and Mr. Wood's business associate. She was graduated at Browns- ville Female College and shortly afterward met her husband, at Uniontown, Pa., where he came with Albert Gallatin on a business mission. After a short courtship they were married. She was a woman noted for her charitable and kindly acts. She died in 1879. Joshua Robert Seney attended Antioch College during the presi- dency of Horace Mann, and later graduated at Union College, receiving the honors in languages out of a class of 150 members, in 1860. He was master of seven languages and had the scholastic honor of belonging to the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity. Early in the Civil war, he offered himself as a private and, though of an early age, was recommended for a major's commission, but being in poor health at the time, the Government refused to consider his services. He was one of the organizers of the One Hundred and First infantry and served a short time as a sutler. Judge Seney studied law with Judge Pillars, of Tiffin, Ohio, and upon being admitted to the bar came to Toledo to practice his profession. He formed a law partnership with Hon. R. C. Lemmon, which partnership was dissolved when he was elected judge of the dis- trict-or Common Pleas-bench, when but twenty-nine years of age, and in a Republican stronghold. As a judge he made an envi- able record. He was careful, painstaking and just. He was the first judge in the State and one of the first in the Nation, to permit a negro to sit on a jury ; and in one of many trying cases that came before him he decided "that a clerkship is not an office within the
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meaning of the Constitution, and that a woman is eligible to fill it." This decision was sustained by the Supreme Court and threw open the doors to the employment of women in clerical capacities, in State, county and city offices. The brilliant career of Judge Seney was cut short by ill health, which originally resulted from la grippe, and for over ten years prior to his death he was deprived of those privileges that health gives; but he bore his affliction uncomplainingly and with patience, resignation and fortitude-he was great in his misfortune. Before his illness, friends frequently endeavored to induce Judge Seney to run for office, and several times he was nominated by acclamation for important trusts, but he always refused these honors, as his highest aim was to excel in his profession. He had an exhaustless generosity-his greatest fault, if it can be called a fault. He was endowed with a sterling integrity, broad-minded and public-spirited, and he was absolutely fearless in doing what he thought was right. While Judge Seney was known as a classical scholar, a graceful writer, and a good attorney in the general field of law, yet his strongest forte was at the trial table. His logical arguments, couched in eloquent and forceful rhetoric, made him a peer in the conduct of court work, and in the examination of witnesses he would be hard to excel. While in politics he was a Democrat, yet he was an enemy to any set, no matter in what party, who opposed the fundamental principles of liberty and constitutional law. He was one of the three men, then young lawyers, who laid the foundation for the splendid law library of Toledo. Soon after locating in Toledo, he was married to Miss Julia Rice, of Ottawa, Ohio, daughter of Hon. C. H. Rice, president of the Ottawa Banking House, and a sister of the late Gen. Americus V. Rice, member of Congress and United States pension agent under President Cleveland. Judge Seney was a brother of the late Judge George E. Seney, of Tiffin, Ohio; of the late Judge Henry W. Seney, of Toledo, Ohio; of Mrs. Harvey Reddick, and of Mrs. Frances Crum, the well known and accom- plished artist, of Toledo. He was a cousin of George I. Seney, of New York, financier, philanthropist and art connoisseur. When Judge Seney was taken ill, by reason of his sickness he became financially involved and the support and maintenance of his
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family devolved upon his wife. Mrs. Seney, who is a graduate of Vermillion College, prior to her husband's illness, had achieved recognition by reason of her meritorious literary productions, and she immediately turned her efforts in that direction, doing magazine and special newspaper work. On the recommendation of Gov. James E. Campbell, the Ohio World's Fair Commission appointed Mrs. Seney hostess for Ohio at the Chicago World's Fair, which position she gracefully and ably filled. After the fair, she was associate editor on Toledo newspapers. During the Cleveland ad- ministration, she was appointed superintendent of the registry divi- sion of the Toledo postoffice, being the only woman to hold such a position in a first-class postoffice. This position she ably filled for five years, and then resigned it. The inspectors in their reports placed Mrs. Seney's office "at the top" on account of its marked efficiency. Mrs. Seney is also known as an accomplished Shakes- perean scholar. Since leaving the postoffice she has devoted herself largely to business interests and home duties, pausing occasionally to favor her friends with some products of her pen. George E. Seney, Jr., the son and only living issue of the above Joshua R. and Julia (Rice) Seney, is a native of Toledo, Ohio. He was graduated at the Toledo High School and Manual Training School, in both courses, in 1897. He attended the literary departments of the Ohio State University and the University of Michigan, after which he entered and was graduated in the College of Law of the Ohio State University. He was admitted to the bar in 1900, and thereupon entered upon the practice of law. In 1902, he was the Democratic nominee for prosecuting attorney of Lucas county and, while defeated, he ran markedly ahead of his ticket, against a strong opponent. When Judge Wachenheimer was elected county prosecutor, he offered Mr. Seney the position of first assistant, which position he declined, as it would necessitate his leaving a well established practice. For seven years preceding the death of Capt. Wesley S. Thurstin, he was engaged with that distinguished lawyer and his son, Wesley S. Thurstin, Jr., in the practice of law. At present he is a member of the firm of Seney & Thurstin, which firm is composed of George E. Seney, Wesley S. Thurstin, Jr., and I. E. Austin. George E. Seney married Miss Adah B. Kuhlthau, a
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woman of high accomplishments as a musician, poet and linguist, and the daughter of C. E. Kuhlthau, now residing in Delaware, Ohio. A daughter, Julia Rice Seney, Jr., is their only living child.
Mm Stabilt.
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MANFRED MILTON STOPHLET
Manfred Milton Stophlet, one of Toledo's well known archi- tects, with offices at 606-8 Nasby Building, was born June 20, 1877, at Ft. Wayne, Ind., which city had been the home of his father and grandfather. His father, John Walpole Stophlet, was the second son of Samuel Stophlet and Mary (McMaken) Stophlet, and was born at Ft. Wayne, Ind., April 25, 1845. His early life was passed in his native city, where he received his education and where, in 1872, he married Miss Lizzie Underhill, a daughter of Phineas Strong Underhill and Harriet Boynton Underhill. Five children were born of this union, four of whom are living: Alonzo B., Manfred M., Mark B. and Harry S. Stophlet, all residents of Toledo. In July, 1886, J. W. Stophlet, with his family, removed to Toledo, where for nearly a quarter of a century he was one of the best known of Ohio's traveling salesmen. He was a mem- ber of the Toledo Traveling Men's Association, being president for one term. He served as a private in the Civil war, in the One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio infantry, one of the "Hundred-Day" regiments called out in 1864. He was a member of Rubicon Lodge, No. 237, Free & Accepted Masons, which organization had charge of his funeral, escorting the remains to Ft. Wayne for burial after his death, which occurred at his home on Maplewood avenue, Jan. 20, 1905. The earliest record of the Stophlet family is found in the history of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, which were for many years in dispute between the governments of France and Germany. Samuel Stophlet, the paternal grand- father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Pennsylvania and came to Ft. Wayne very early in the history of that city, where he filled many positions of honor and trust. He was post- master at Ft. Wayne for many years and also a member of the State legislature. "Judge Stophlet," as he was called, was married to Mary McMaken, a daughter of a pioneer resident of Ft. Wayne, whose early recollections extended back to a residence
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in the old block house of the fort, built by Anthony Wayne in 1794. Phineas Strong Underhill and Harriet Boynton Underhill came from New England and were associated with the early history of Ft. Wayne. Mr. Underhill was a prominent business man of that city at the time of his death, and Mrs. Underhill lived there for more than half a century. Manfred M. Stophlet received his early education in the public schools of Ft. Wayne and Toledo. After three years in the Toledo High and Manual Training schools, he entered the office of Harry Wachter, spending three years in practical work, preparatory to a special course in archi- tecture in Columbia University, at New York City. In the year of 1901, he returned to Toledo and has since been successively with Harry C. Wachter, E. O. Fallis, Bacon & Huber, and George S. Mills, architects of Toledo, remaining in the office of the last named for six years. While thus employed, Mr. Stophlet designed a number of the large public and commercial buildings of Toledo and surrounding territory. In May, 1909, he opened an office of his own at 606-8 Nasby Building, and, in the short time he has been in business, he has received a number important commissions. He is the architect for the Flower Hospital of Toledo, including the entire group of buildings contemplated as a part of that institution, and is in charge of their construction. Other buildings planned by him are the Masonic Temple, at Defiance, Ohio; and a number of churches, commercial buildings and residences in Toledo. He holds the commission for designing the group plan and buildings for the Defiance College, at Defiance, Ohio, and the passenger station at Cadillac, Mich., for the Ann Arbor rail- road. Mr. Stophlet belongs to the Toledo Traveling Men's Asso- ciation, the Business Men's Club, the Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a life member of the Maumee River Yacht Club. He is prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of Rubicon Lodge, No. 237, Free & Accepted Masons; Fort Meigs Chapter No. 29, Royal Arch Masons; and Toledo Council No. 33, Royal & Select Masters. On July 3, 1902, Mr. Stophlet married Miss Agnes Ruth Tower, a native of Toledo and a daughter of the late Benjamin Tower, who for many years was connected with the Wabash railroad. Mrs. Stophlet is a graduate of the Toledo
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Normal Training School and, prior to her marriage, was for eight years a teacher in the city schools, having been the principal of the Broadway School at the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Stophlet have two sons: Robert Tower, born in 1904, and Richard Boynton, born in 1906. Mr. Stophlet resides at 2537 Fulton street.
Str
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STIMPSON G. HARVEY
Stimpson G. Harvey, one of the best known railroad men in the city of Toledo, was born on a "farm in the woods," at Palmyra, Lenawee county, Michigan, Oct. 20, 1836. His early life was spent there, working on the farm during the crop seasons and attending the district schools for three months each winter. In the spring of 1857, he joined the tide of immigration to Kansas, then a terri- tory, but upon arriving there he failed to find employment to his liking, and he hired out to the United States government to assist in driving a herd of 600 cattle to the army in the Salt Lake valley, Utah. The party left Fort Leavenworth, Kan., April 16, and arrived at Salt Lake, Sept. 28, having been more than five months on the road. Not caring to remain among the Mormons, Mr. Harvey joined a party going to California and, Nov. 5, 1857, he reached Sacramento. He remained in California until June, 1859, driving a stage a portion of the time, and engaging in various other occupations, and then started on the homeward trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama. In September, he arrived home, was married in March, 1860, and continued on the farm until July 13, 1862, when he enlisted in Company I, Eighteenth Michigan infantry, for three years. With this regiment he left the State, Sept. 4, reported at Cincinnati, and was stationed at Lexington, Ky., from Nov. 1, 1862, until Feb. 21, 1863. It then moved to Danville and was with the forces that retreated from that place on the 24th, skirmishing with those of Pegram as they left. On the 28th the regiment joined in pursuit of Pegram, making a long, rough march to Buck creek. It returned to Stanford, then moved to Lebanon, and thence to Nashville, where it was employed as provost guard from Nov. 1, 1863, to June 11, 1864. During this time Mr. Harvey served as chief clerk in the provost-marshal's office, at Nashville. Ordered south, the regiment reached Decatur, Ala., in June, and was placed on garrison and scouting duty. It was a part of the force which surprised Patterson's brigade
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