USA > Ohio > Lucas County > Toledo > Memoirs of Lucas County and the City of Toledo > Part 7
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of his profession by himself. He became established in his present suite of offices, in the Ohio Building, of which he was the architect, upon the completion of that structure, in June, 1907. Mr. Mills also designed and supervised many of the other large buildings of Toledo, among which are "The Secor," "The Michigan," Berdan's wholesale grocery block, the "Dow-Snell Block," the Bostwick- Braun Building, Burt's Theater, The First National Bank, and the Nearing Building, all located in Toledo. Also the Masonic Temple at Lima, Ohio; the Students' Building and those of the Agricul- tural College of the Ohio State University, at Columbus, and numerous others, all of which stand as monuments to his genius and professional skill. Mr. Mills is affiliated with the American Institute of Architects, and is well known in fraternal and club circles, being a prominent figure in York and Scottish Rite Masonry, in which he has attained the Thirty-second degree. He was a leader in the popular "King Wamba" festivities and the Mardi Gras of the North, which attracted thousands of visitors to Toledo during the last week of August, 1909. He enjoys a large circle of friends, gained by his optimism, good nature and square dealings, and since coming to Toledo he has been an active force in its com- mercial development. He is a "good mixer," one who makes friends easily, and his genial and companionable nature make him an important factor in the social life of the city. Mr. Mills was mar- ried in Toledo, Nov. 4, 1895, to Miss Alice Baker, a young woman of culture and refinement and a daughter of George and Fidelia (Latimer) Baker, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Mills was born and brought up in Toledo, received her early education in the Toledo public schools and later attended Rye Seminary, at Rye, Westchester county, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Mills have two children, viz., Fidelia Latimer and Elizabeth Mary, both of whom were born in Toledo. The family resides in a pleasant home at 2268 Scottwood avenue.
1
Damit to Shaw
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BIOGRAPHICAL
DANIEL COFFIN SHAW
Daniel Coffin Shaw, who is now living quietly retired in To- ledo, after a life of varied experience in many lines of endeavor and adventure, was born in Newport, Me., April 2, 1839. He is the son of Caleb and Mary (Hill) Shaw, the former of whom was born in Maine and the latter in Massachusetts. The father served a successful apprenticeship in the trade of carpenter while a youth, and for several years earned his livelihood at that trade and in farming operations. While his son was still an infant, Caleb Shaw removed, with his family, to Chicago, and there established him- self in the grocery business, carrying general merchandise as a side line. Success attended his efforts as a tradesman for several years, but later the firm became insolvent and Caleb Shaw, after straightening up his affairs, returned to his former trade to furnish him a livelihood. He was thus engaged at the time of his demise, which occurred in 1863, while his son was away at the front in the Civil war. His wife survived him a number of years, until 1869, when she, too, answered the summons of death. To these parents were born three daughters and one son, of whom the subject of this review is the only one living. Daniel C. Shaw's educational advantages were exceedingly limited, being only those afforded by the public schools of the day. The building where he attended classes was on Madison street, between Clark and Dearborn, oppo- site the present home of McVicker's Theatre, and now one of the most thickly populated business districts of Chicago. At the time of his attendance this building was the only public school structure in the city. Mr. Shaw's first labors after leaving school were as a printers' "devil" in the composing room of the old "Chi- cago Journal," when the edition was run off by hand, before the days of machine presses. After he had done his stint of the unde- sirable work found about a newspaper office, he was given a "case" that he might learn to "pick" or "set" type, and another "devil" was installed. Either the new "devil" considered that his
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predecessor was too much elated over his elevation to the "case," or the predecessor considered that the new "devil" did not show enough humility in his position-whatever it was, they "went to the mat together," "pied a form," and both found themselves rather forcibly requested to leave the employ of the "Journal." Finding himself out of employment at the end of his first year's job, Mr. Shaw determined to learn the trade of watchmaker and jeweler, and served a formal apprenticeship in the vocation. For five years altogether, including his term as an apprentice and his work as a journeyman, he labored at the trade. When he left it it was to assist his father in the carpenters' trade. Like many youths, he considered that he knew much more than his parent about the latter's work, and not being convinced to the contrary, he determined to strike out for himself. From Chicago he made his way to St. Louis, thence to Fort Leavenworth, Kan. At the latter post the three men-Majors, Waddell and Russell-were preparing an expedition to carry supplies to the regular army forces, in Salt Lake City, Utah, then fighting what is known in history as the Mormon war. Having the natural desire of youth to see the world, Mr. Shaw enlisted in the expedition and, with the train of twenty-five wagons, drawn by six yoke of oxen, he made the trip across the prairie and the mountains to Salt Lake City. When the supply train arrived the trouble was settled. The regi- ment, however, had been ordered to California, and, joining this expedition, Mr. Shaw drove a mule team to the Golden Gate State. There he was assigned to the quartermaster's department as forage master, having charge of all the feed provided for the regi- ment. It was in 1857 that he reached the extreme West. About this time the Indian uprising was spreading terror among the new settlers in what is now the State of Washington, and a requisition was sent to the California post for mules and supplies. Upon load- ing up, young Shaw was assigned to take charge of the stock. The trip from Benecia, Cal., to Vancouver was made by water and consumed twenty-eight days. Before the journey was completed the mules had become so covered with mange that they lost all their hair, and presented an extremely ludicrous sight when they were landed. When the uprising was finally suppressed, Mr. Shaw
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remained at the post, and the following year, under Lieutenant Mullen, he joined a surveying expedition to the land near the Canadian boundary line, north of the Snake river. This party was the one that cut the first wagon road through that region. Learn- ing that a party was about to return to the East, Mr. Shaw deter- mined to join it. Leaving Fort Walla Walla, the expedition set out for Fort Benton. The trip was one of the most hazardous ever undertaken across the country and consumed eighteen months in its completion. For several weeks the party was held snow- bound in the mountains, and through cold, starvation and disease, lost 500 head of stock. When spring came they found they had just enough stock left to complete the journey to Fort Benton. There boat transportation was supplied and the expedition came 2,200 miles down the Missouri river to Sioux City, Iowa, the boat being what was known as a Mackinac boat. From there Mr. Shaw took a stage across the country to St. Joseph, Mo., and thence went to Chicago by rail, via St. Louis. He arrived in Chicago just as the first troops were leaving the State to go to the front in defense of the Union. When he had learned the cause of the war, no more than whisperings of which had reached him in his western seclusion, he, too, became enthused with patriotic ardor, and en- listed as a private, in the regiment which became known as the Thirteenth Illinois infantry, on the morning of May 24, 1861. This was the first volunteer regiment raised for the three years' service, and it was mustered into the United States army at Dixon, Il1. From there it was sent to St. Louis, and thence to Rolla, Mo. Learning of his western experience, his superiors detailed him as wagon master in the quartermaster's department. His first taste of battle was at Pea Ridge, Mo., and later at Springfield, under the peerless General Lyons. Subsequently he was assigned to an expedition under General Curtis, which was sent to Arkansas to subdue the Confederate forces in that State and cut off Memphis from getting assistance from the Southwest, and took some two months to the trip. From Arkansas he went to Helena, Ark., and from there went by boat down the Mississippi to the rear of Vicks- burg, which the Union army was then besieging. In the imme- diate vicinity of Vicksburg the regiment saw many pitched battles
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and numerous skirmishes, among them Arkansas Post, where 7,000 Confederates were captured. In the spring the Thirteenth Illinois joined General Grant in the expedition which captured Jackson, Miss., and at Champion's Hill and Black River Bridge drove the Southerners back into Vicksburg. After the fall of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863, Mr. Shaw was given a furlough and he returned to Chicago for a time, rejoining his regiment at Memphis, Tenn. From there it was sent to participate in the Chattanooga campaign; was with Hooker when he made his famous charge up Lookout Mountain; saw hot fighting at Missionary Ridge, Tenn., and Ringgold, Ga., and then was sent to Madison Station, Ala. There the regiment was besieged by the Confederate forces from the South, near the Tennessee river. While the siege was in progress, Mr. Shaw was sent to Huntsville for assistance (re- inforcements), which arrived on the scene in nine hours, and drove the Confederate forces back across the Tennessee river to the South. By this time the Thirteenth Illinois had fulfilled its term of service and was ordered back to Springfield, Ill., where its members received honorable discharges. Returning to Chicago, Mr. Shaw accepted employment of John Davis & Co., steam fitting and machine works. In 1869, Mr. Davis, desiring to start a branch shop in Toledo, offered Mr. Shaw a partnership in the concern if he would undertake the management of the Toledo branch. Agree- ing to this proposition, Mr. Shaw came to Toledo, and the branch was started, under the firm name of Davis & Shaw. At the time of the Chicago fire, Cornelius Kendall, whose sketch appears else- where in this work, and who had been employed by Mr. Davis, pur- chased the latter's interest in the Toledo branch, thus severing it from the Chicago concern, and the firm became known as Shaw & Kendall. Subsequently, William Hardee purchased an interest in the business and the firm name was changed to Shaw, Kendall & Com- pany, which remained the same, even after Joseph L. Wolcott had taken an interest in it. Still later, when W. C. Hillman came into the firm, which had taken up dealing in oil, the latter phase of the business was organized as the Buckeye Supply Company. As the time passed it was determined that the two concerns mentioned above should combine under the name of the National Supply
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Company, and this is the company which is operating in Toledo today. In order to give employment to the many employes who had stood so faithfully by the firm, the Shaw-Kendall Engineering Company, of which Mr. Shaw is president, was organized, in 1898. Mr. Kendall was its vice-president and general manager up to the time of his death, which occurred Aug. 15, 1909; William L. Brown is secretary, and William M. Bellman is treasurer, and latterly has acted as its manager. Mr. Shaw was also the moving spirit in the organization of the Marine Boiler Works plant on the East Side, and is now its vice-president; and he was instrumental in the establishment of the Dixon Engineering & Construction Company, of which he is the incumbent of the office of president. His other business relations include a directorship in the Ohio Savings Bank & Trust Company. In a social and fraternal way he is allied with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Country Club, and his wide reputation as a philanthropist has won him election as a trustee of the Humane Society. In the matter of politics he is a Republican, but has never sought elective office of any nature, although he served the community as trustee of the waterworks for two terms, and for twelve years was a member of the manual training school board. In religious matters he is allied with the Congregational Church. On June 9, 1869, Mr. Shaw was united in marriage with Miss Cornelia Dean, of Chicago, who was born near Pekin, Ill., and was a graduate of the Northwestern Uni- - versity, at Evanston, Ill. Mrs. Shaw departed this life, Nov. 13, 1905. A few months ago Mr. Shaw withdrew from active partici- pation in the affairs of the business world, and now lives quietly retired at his home, 2038 Parkwood avenue.
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FRED EUGENE McCASKEY
Fred Eugene McCaskey, deceased, whose untimely death by drowning occurred Sept. 28, 1904, near Walbridge Park, was the son of the late Robert McCaskey, who, for many years prior to his death, May 2, 1898, was one of the most prominent and influential business men of Toledo. Fred E. McCaskey was born in Napoleon, Henry county, Ohio, Sept. 16, 1871, and grew to manhood amid the surroundings of an ideal home. His early education was acquired in his native town of Napoleon, and at the age of fourteen, at which time the family removed to Toledo, the father having already engaged in many Toledo interests, he entered the city schools. He was graduated with the class of 1891, in the high school, and immediately entered his father's real-estate office to assist in carry- ing on the business. After spending some six months in a clerical capacity he was admitted as a partner, the name of the firm being Robert McCaskey & Son. Soon after entering his father's office he gained prominence among the business and professional men of the city by his integrity, ability and scrupulous honesty. During the many years in which he was connected with his father in business, all his energies were devoted to managing the numerous real-estate, insurance and loan branches, which he had helped to establish, in addition to which he served as manager in Toledo for the Waterville Cement Post & Stone Company. In his political affiliations, Mr. McCaskey was allied with the Republican party, but in local matters he never allowed his party fealty to influence his best judgment, exercising his right of franchise for what he considered the best interests of the community. Mr. McCaskey's death came suddenly and as a great shock to his family and many friends. While canoeing on the river on the evening of Sept. 28, 1904, he was suddenly thrown into the water and, before assistance could reach him, was drowned. The memory of the loved one is cherished by the fatherless children and the widowed mother as one of the treasures of their lives. He was a good
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father and husband, and gave much of his time and attention to his family, being of a home-loving disposition and caring little for lodges, clubs and social orders. On Feb. 15, 1893, Mr. McCaskey was united in marriage to Miss Marietta Allen, a sister of Theo- dore B., and Willard E. Allen, of Toledo, and with his wife and two children, Robert Allen McCaskey and Ruth Allen McCaskey, he lived most happily at 2012 School place. The son is now a student in the public schools of Toledo, while the daughter is receiving her educational advantages at a private school in the city. Mrs. McCaskey's home was formerly at Erie, Mich., a short distance from Toledo. She is a prominent member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, her ancestors having taken a brilliant part in that great struggle for independence. The widow and two children are now residing in their new home, but recently com- pleted, at 2252 Parkwood avenue, Toledo.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
GEORGE TAIT
George Tait, whose death occurred at his home, 2243 Ashland avenue, Toledo, May 21, 1904, was for more than a quarter of a century intimately identified with the commercial interests and charitable work of that city. He was born in Edinburg, Scotland, in 1847, and there learned the bakers' trade under his father. In 1875 he came to Toledo and established a bakery, which he con- tinued to conduct for the remainder of his life. For many years prior to his death his place of business was at 514 Adams street, and few business men in Toledo were more widely or more favor- ably known than George Tait. Mr. Tait was brought up in the stern faith of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, with which he united while still in his boyhood, when to him it was known as the "Kirk." The lessons taught him by his earliest "dominie" proved to be seed sown in good soil, for they made a lasting impression on the boy and formed the foundation for a character that was irreproachable. His word was never questioned as to its veracity, and he possessed the moral courage to rebuke wrong whenever or wherever it came beneath his notice. Upon coming to Toledo, he became a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and for years was one of its officers. Mr. Tait's distinguishing trait was his charity, and it has been said of him that "his charity was broader than his dogma." He took an active interest in the affairs and sup- port of the Adams Street Mission, of which he was treasurer of the board of trustees at the time of his death. He was also a great friend to the St. Vincent Orphanage, to which he contributed, and the Salvation Army and the Bethel Mission both numbered him among their supporters. As a mark of respect, the children of the orphanage visited his residence in a body and took a last look at the lifeless face of their friend and unselfish benefactor. During the twenty-nine years of his life in Toledo he never turned a deaf ear to the call of the hungry, and instances might be repeated by the score when his generosity was made manifest in supplying their
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needs. Mr. Tait was a charter member of Charles Sumner Lodge, Knights of Pythias; a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and. Royal Arcanum; belonged to the Ideal Council of the National Union, and for many years was an officer and member of the Burns Curling Club. His death came suddenly, as the day before that sad event he was at his place of business attending to his duties as usual. The cause of his death was angina pectoris. He left a widow and five children, viz .: Dr. P. George Tait, who graduated in the Toledo High School with the class of 1896, and in the Medical Department of the University of Michigan with the class of 1900, and, after serving one year as house physician in St. Vincent's Hospital, in Toledo, and some time in the New York Hospital, began practice in Toledo; Mary D .; Belle lives at home with her mother; Grace, the youngest of the daughters, was mar- ried Aug. 18, 1909, to Ransom Ansted, of Toledo; and Harold lives at home with his mother. Dr. P. George Tait is one of the progressive physicians of Toledo, having recently spent eight months in the hospitals of London, England, in order to equip himself more thoroughly for the practice of his profession, and since his return has opened an office at 342 Nicholas Building. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church; belongs to Sanford Collins Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons, and the Toledo Chamber of Commerce; is unmarried and resides with his mother, brother and sisters at the family residence, 2243 Ashland avenue.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
JOSIAH DAVIS COOK
Josiah Davis Cook, deceased, for more than forty years a highly respected citizen of Toledo, was one of the prominent civil engineers of America, and few Toledo citizens were better known throughout the United States. He was interested in the upbuilding of various enterprises of great magnitude, and during his business career he constructed sixty-three water-works plants in as many cities, among them being the plants in Toledo, Sandusky, Galves- ton, Tex., and Quincy, Ill. Mr. Cook was born in Warren county, Ohio, April 26, 1830, and came of good old Quaker stock, his ancestors having come from England and Wales and settled in North Carolina, late in the Eighteenth century. His paternal grandfather, Wright Cook, was a Quaker preacher who migrated from Virginia to Warren county, Ohio, and, in about the year 1816, he removed to Indiana. One of his sons, Thomas P. Cook, who was born in Virginia in 1802, made Warren county, Ohio, his home, and there the subject of this memoir was born, as before stated, he being the third of a family of five children. The mother was drowned in the Mississinewa river, in Indiana, together with her youngest son, in 1843, and the father died as the result of an accident, in 1881, at the age of seventy-seven years. The great- grandmother of Josiah D. Cook was Charity Pearson, a noted Quaker preacher, who lived in the early part of the Eighteenth century, and made several trips to England on preaching tours. His grandmother's maiden name was Davis and his mother's was Kester. The maternal grandfather was descended from English colonists who were among the settlers in Jamestown, Va., in 1607, and his grandmother Kester traced her ancestry to the Davis family, who came from England at about the same time. John Davis, her uncle, left a large fortune which has been accumulating for many years in the Bank of England and amounts at present to many thousand pounds. The Cook family is of great antiquity and importance in Great Britain, and in Ireland it is said that no
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less than twelve Cooks served as bailiffs and mayors, from 1684 to 1854. Some of the same have been mayors of London, notably one Thomas Cooke, who was knighted at the coronation of Eliza- beth, Queen of Edward IV. Sir Anthony Cooke, called the "Eng- lish Scholar," was chosen tutor to young King Edward VI, on account of his great learning. Artists and musicians abound in the family, and the drawings of Richard Cook are preserved in the British Museum. After the usual preliminary preparations for the duties of life, in the way of scholastic training, Josiah Davis Cook became interested in the newspaper business, and at Marion, Ind., for a time he published the "Western Union," a weekly paper. Succeeding this, he turned his attention to the law. His tastes, however, were neither for law nor journalism, and deserting Marion after a period of prosperity, he became an engineer, taking up the work with a party of railroad engineers surveying through Indiana. He first became employed in this line of endeavor for an engineer corps that was surveying a route between Peru and Indianapolis, in 1851, and he kept at the work until he had mastered it thor- oughly. In 1852, he was engaged upon the Fort Wayne & South- ern road, between Fort Wayne and Cincinnati, and the following year he assisted in the survey of the Marion & Mississinewa Valley road, between Marion and Logansport, now a part of the Pan- handle. In 1854, he was appointed chief engineer of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, then being built from Cincinnati to Mackinaw, and gave the road the name by which it has been known so long. While engaged upon this enterprise, in the winter of 1854-5, he removed to Sturgis, Mich., at which place he resided during the ensuing six years; the final surveys for the Grand Rapids & Indiana Road being made in 1857. In March, 1861, Mr. Cook removed from Sturgis to the city of Toledo and became en- gaged in the commission business, in partnership with W. H. Osbon and Vincent Hamilton, gentlemen who had also removed to Toledo from Sturgis. Perry Crabbs and W. H. Bellman were later associated with the firm and the business was continued until 1870, when Mr. Cook again engaged in railroad construction as a civil engineer. He was appointed chief engineer of the Mansfield, Coldwater & Lake Michigan railroad and had charge of surveys
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and of the construction of the present Toledo division of the Penn- sylvania Lines, and was also engaged in bridge building with R. W. Smith, as chief engineer of the Smith Bridge Co., at that time one of the most important manufacturing concerns in the city. In 1872, he engaged in water works, sewerage and municipal engineer- ing and was appointed chief engineer of the Toledo water works, and designed and began the construction of the Toledo plant, which he later remodeled. He was tendered the position of consulting engineer, when the new and larger engines were installed at the plant, and at the same time the buildings were remodeled and en- larged, and the Toledo water works pumping station now stands as a monument of his work in the city, it having been erected under his supervision. The standpipe designed and built by him was, at the time of its erection, the highest pipe in the world. Mr. Cook also served as superintendent of the city water works from 1873 to 1879, and he was to have been a member of the pure water com- mission of the city, having been asked to take the position and had given his consent, some time prior to his death. The appoint- ment had not yet been made public, but was to have been as soon as Mr. Cook could have had another consultation with the remain- ing members of that commission. From the time that he retired from the position of superintendent of the Toledo water works, in March, 1879, until 1902, he was engaged in building water works in other cities, and in that time he constructed more plants than any other engineer in the United States. He designed and built the first large standpipe in the world, at Sandusky, Ohio, a type or design which has been very generally used since in all parts of the world. A partial list of the cities in which he installed water works plants are as follows: In Ohio, Bellefontaine, Bellevue, Clyde, Fremont, Hicksville, Lima, Milan, Newark, Troy, Toronto, Norwalk, Prairie Depot, Ravenna, Sandusky, Springfield, Toledo, and Youngstown; in Kentucky, Lexington and Lebanon; in Ten- nessee, Jackson and Nashville; in Kansas, Emporia; in Missouri, St. Joseph ; in Michigan, Coldwater, Grand Rapids, Hillsdale, Hud- son, Jackson, Jonesville, Monroe, Pontiac, Wyandotte, and West Bay City; in Indiana, Anderson, Decatur, Fort Wayne, Kendall- ville, Marion, Newcastle, Noblesville, Peru, and Wabash; in Illi-
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