USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Memorial record of the county of Cuyahoga and city of Cleveland, Ohio, Pt.1 > Part 26
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Mr. Spriggs is not only one of the most thoroughily informed men in the country on railway matters, but also possesses literary abil- ity of a high order. He is a delightful enter- tainer, both with material hospitality and a never failing supply of ready wit and linmor, and has an accumulated fund of information, gained by years of extensive travel, varied read- ing and keen observation. Ile is a firm believer in and advocate of civil service in railway ad- ministration, and many men holding advanced positions to-day thank Mr. Spriggs for a friendly lift on the road to success.
R E. SKEEL, M. D., a practicing physi- cian with an office on Pearl, street, this city, was born February 9, 1869, in the city of New York. Ilis father, F. A. Skeel, of this city, is a builder by trade.
When Dr. Skeel was in his youth his parents removed to the city of Cleveland, and in the schools of this city Dr. Skeel received his liter- ary education, and he completed his scholastic training here in 1885. Ile immediately took np the study of medicine, at Ann Arbor, Mieli- igan, where he graduated in 1890. At college, he gave special attention to obstetrics, and in
Inos Joursund
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his practice he has been deservingly successful as an obstetrician, and as a general practitioner he holds a very appropriate rank in his profes- sion.
He was married July 12, 1893, to Alva Boep- ple, of this city. He is a member of the Cuy- ahoga County, Ohio State, and Cleveland Med- ical Societies, and has contributed articles to medical journals.
H ON. AMOS TOWNSEND .- The HIon- orable Amos Townsend, ex-Member of Congress from the Cleveland District, occupies a prominent place among that city's representative business men and citizens.
He was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1831. llis ancestors were in the main farmers by vocation, and those on his mother's side were distinguished in the American Revolution. Aaron Townsend, his father, was born in Pen- sylvania, and his ancestors were Quakers who settled at Germantown, Pennsylvania, when they first came to America, during the time of William Penn.
Mr. Amos Townsend was given a liberal edu- cation, and at the age of fifteen years, after leav- ing school, began life for himself by taking a position as clerk in a store at Brownsville, in his native State. Here he remained during four years, and then came to Mansfield, Ohio, where he formed a partnership with N. B. Hogg, and under the firm name of A. Townsend & Com- pany engaged in general merchandising.
During the trouble in Kansas, Congress ap- pointed a committee to investigate and make report on the condition of affairs in that Terri- tory, and the HIon. John Sherman secured the appointment of Mr. Townsend as Marshal of the Committee, and with the same he visited Kansas. The position was fraught with delicate duties and responsibilities, but he performed them in sneh a manner as to merit the approval of the contending factions.
In 1858 Mr. Townsend removed to Cleveland and took a position as salesman in the wholesale
grocery house of Gordon, McMillan & Company, where he remained until 1862, when he be- caine a member of the firm of Edward, Iddings & Company, which was engaged in the same business. The following year the death of Mr. Iddings occurred, and the firm became that of Edwards, Townsend & Company. This firm underwent changes in its personnel a few years later, and in 1887 the name of it became that of William Edwards & Company, Mr. Townsend retaining his interest in it, and is at present one of the senior members. The firm of William Edwards & Company is one of the largest whole- sale grocery houses in the West, its history hav- ing been one of uniform progress and success. Mr. Townsend's other business interests are va- ried and important. He is a member of the board of directors of the Mercantile Bank and the Citizens' Savings and Loan Association, two of Cleveland's well known financial institutions.
Mr. Townsend's political career began in the spring of 1865, when he was elected on the Re- publican ticket to a seat in the City Council of Cleveland, a position to which he was re elected five consecutive terms, making a service of ten years continuously, seven of which he was Pres- ident of that body. Ile was a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention in 1873, where he served with credit, and in October, 1876, he was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fifth Congress from the Cleveland District, which at that time included all of Cuyahoga county, giv- ing him a constituency of a quarter of a million of people. During that session of Congress he was a member of several important committees, and introduced a number of bills which became laws largely through his efforts. . His services as a member of Congress were indorsed in 1878 and 1880 by re-election by largely increased majorities. In the Forty-fifth Congress, as a member of the committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, he introduced a bill regulating the postal railway mail service, fixing the salaries and defining the duties of clerks, and also intro- duced another and similar bill in relation to the letter carriers, both of which became laws, and
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their provisions are substantially the law on those subjects at the present time. During his terms he served as a member of the committee on Commerce, and also as chairman of the com- mittee on Railroads and Canals.
In behalf of appropriations for his distriet he was most tireless and uniformly successful. He secured continuous liberal appropriations for the Cleveland breakwater and harbor, and for the enlargement and improvement of the Govern- meut buildings at Cleveland, and for the im- provement of the public service of this distriet. In the Forty-sixth Congress a very able report adverse to the bridging of the Detroit river was made by Mr. Townsend, which was a most in- portant doeminent, and which defeated the meas- ure, and to him is navigation greatly indebted for the present freedom of that great water highway from obstruction. Ile presented a bill from the committee on Commerce on the Life-Saving Service, which was passed, and also introduced two bills on Inter-State Commerce, and one on Merchant Marine. He introduced and secured the passage of the "Steamboat Bill," a measure modifying the general law governing the bridging of the Ohio river, and presented an adverse report on the building of the Hennepin canal, also contributing largely to the defeat of that proposed measure. Ile was a warm friend of the Union Veterans, and many of them are now enjoying pensions which he labored zeal- onsly to secure, many of which were special aets of Congress.
Mr. Townsend was known in Congress as a "working member." Early and late he was to be found at his desk on the floor or in the com- mittee room, and his capacity for work was fre- quently a subject of remark among the mem- bers. Ilis reports and speeches were prepared with much eare and labor, and were always in- telligent and to the point, exhibiting a thorough knowledge of the subject in hand. They were uniformly received with high favor by the ablest members, and were given wide circulation.
In the fall of 1882 Mr. Townsend was nr- gently solicited to stand for re-nomination and
re-election, and although success was almost if not quite a foregone conclusion, he declined, setting forth his reasons for so doing in an able public letter.
Mr. Townsend is a polished, scholarly gentle- man, of good personal appearance, and easy of approach. He is possessed of strong convictions, clear foresight and keen and unerring judgment, and is a thorough business man. He is warm- hearted and generous, a fine conversationalist, and a most pleasant and agreeable companion. Ile has a wide eircle of friends and business acquaintances, and is highly esteemed both as a man and citizen. As a member of Cleveland's Park Commission, a position he holds at the present time, lie has given ample evidence of his progressiveness in the matter of improving and beantifying the Forest City and perpetnat- ing lier claim to being one of the most beautiful eities in the Union. He is a member of the Union Club, and of Webb Chapter and Oriental Commandery of the Masonic order.
D R. GEORGE F. LEICK, the jovial Health Officer of the City of Cleveland, was born in this city, March 9, 1856. Ilis primary and preparatory education was ob- tained in the grammar and high schools. At sixteen years of age he went abroad to Switzer- land and entered the Polytechnic School at Zurich, and when properly prepared entered the University of Zurich, completing his four-years conrse and graduating in 1877. Upon return to Cleveland the Doctor engaged in business with the American Wood Preserving Company, being superintendent and treasurer of the com- pany. After two years he severed his conec- tion with this concern and executed a pre-ar- ranged plan by entering the Western Reserve Medical College, where he graduated in 1885, and he afterward took a post-graduate course in Now York city, being connected with the hospital service of the surgical department of the Ger- man Dispensary, and attending lectures at dif-
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ferent colleges. Ilis first experience as a prac- ticing physician was in New York city, whero he opened an office and remained a year and a half.
Upon his return to Cleveland he opened -an office in this city, and has since been activoly engaged in the practice of his profession. He is a member of the County, Cleveland and Ohio State Medical Societies.
For three years Dr. Leick was demonstrator of anatomy and lecturer on chemistry in the Western Reserve Medical College. For sevon years he was visiting surgeon for St. Alexis' Hospital, and the past year he has been a mem- ber of the staff as consulting surgeon.
Dr. Leick has for many years been an active worker in behalf of the Democracy in Cuya- haga county, serving on the city and county ex- contive committees. He was appointed to his prevent office by Director of Police Pollner in the spring of 1593, entering upon the duties of his office in May. He was one of the incorpo- rators of the German American Bank and was a director, is president of the Cremation Society of Cleveland, president of the United German Societies, and is a life member of Corps Tignr- inia, of Zurich, Switzerland.
Dr. Leick is a son of George and Christine (Ilege) Leick, born in the Palatinate, Germany, in 1827 and 1883, respectively. The father came to Cleveland in 1849, being a political refugee, and died December 21, 1881. He had two sons,-Dr. Leiek (still unmarried) and William S.
A ROLIBALD MOLAREN, who is at this date Deputy Collector of Internal Reve- me, and who is president of the Stand- ard Wire & Iron Company, has been a resident of the city of Cleveland since 1880. Scotland is his native land. He was born there in 1845, s son of James and Janet McLaren. He lived in Scotland until thirteen years of age, and was educated at Oxford University,
England. At the age of twenty years he came to this country and soon thereafter became an employe of the Atlantic & Great Western and later of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad, with which latter company he re- mained as an employe for a period of twenty- three years. Ile was then appointed to the position of Deputy Internal Revenue Collector. HIe has always been an active member of the Republican party and for ten years he was treasurer of the county central committee.
He was married in Pennsylvania to Miss Jennio E. Sergeant, by whom he has a family of four children living, viz .: Wallace, Guy, Archie and Charles.
Mr. McLaren is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is Past Grand Regent of the Royal Areanum, of Ohio. He was Supreme Representative of the order of Knights of Honor, and for nine years he served as Royal Treasurer of the order of Scottish Clans of America and Canada, and is still Treasurer. He is very prominently identified with all the Scottish societies.
A UGUST BECKER, manager of the Ger- man Publishing House of the Reformed Church of the United States, was born in Germany, February 13, 1841, a son of A. and Amelia Becker. The father dying in Germany, the mother came to this country with her only son, Mr. Becker of this sketch. Of his two sisters one remains in Germany, and the other, Amelia, was the wife of Rev. Kluge, who was sent as a missionary to Wisconsin in 1856, and at that time they and Mr. Becker, our subject, came to America, settling at New- ton, Wisconsin. Mrs. Becker died in 1861, aged fifty-six years.
Mr. August Becker, whose name introduces this brief memoir, completed his school life in a seminary of the Reformed Church near Franklin, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, taught school three or four years, and in 1871, in
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Milwaukee, he was ordained a minister. His first charge was at Waukegan, Illinois, eight years; next, at New Berlin, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, two years; Waukegan, Illinois, again for two years; and then, in 1882, ho came to Cleveland and took his present posi- tion. The office in 1882 was at 991 Seranton avenue, and in 1890 it was removed to its present locality, 1134-1138 Pearl street; but the publishing concern is of long standing. The publishing house has thirty-two persons on its pay-roll, and publishes several papers, besides doing all classes of job work.
Mr. Becker's life has been a busy and event- ful one. He has done great good in the chureli of his choice, in the various positions he has been called to fill. For many years ho has been able to give the establishment of which he is manager his personal attention, and he has ever proved himself to be the right man in the right place, in every way a worthy citizen,-such as gives character to any business in which he might engage.
Mr. Becker was married in 1866, to Miss Augusta Ballhorn, a daughter of John Ball- horn, of Wisconsin, and they have one child, Henry, who is at present a physician of Charity Hospital, Cleveland. He graduated in the medical department of the Western Reserve University. Mrs. Becker and her son Henry also are members of the Reformed Church of the United States.
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H ON. DAVID A. DANGLER. - A man who, most conspicuously identified with the industrial life of the Forest City, enjoying a marked esteem and popular- ity, has been honored with such high prefer- ments as stand in evidence of his ability and unblemished character, most certainly be designated as a representative citizen of Cleve- land, and as such be accorded due attention in a comparative way in a volume whose province is defined as touching the biographical history of Cuyahoga county. David A. Dangler, presi-
dent of the Dangler Stove & Manufacturing Company, is a native of tho old Koystone State, having been born in Lebanon county, Pennsy- Ivania, December, 1826, the son and one of the seven children of Samuel and Sarah Dangler, honored and esteomed residents of their com- munity, where they passed long and useful lives. The former was of German, the latter of Welsh, extraction. The father participated actively in the war of 1812.
When quite young our subject came with his parents to Stark county, Ohio, and upon the parental farmstead he passed his boyhood days, learning those lessons of sturdy integrity and self-reliance which have been such significant factors in insuring his success in life. He received a good common-school education, and at the age of fifteen years, entered the general country store of Isaac Harter, at Canton, Ohio, where he served as a clerk for some time. In 1842, he located at Massillon, Ohio, and in 1853 came to Cleveland, where he entered into partnership with John Tennis, in the hardware business. At the outbreak of the late war of the Rebellion he became identified with the Quartermaster's Department, in which he served until the end of that memorable struggle.
In 1864 he was elected to the Cleveland City Council by the Republicans of the Fourth Ward, and in 1865 he was elected as a representative in the lower house of the State Legislature. This position he filled with much ability and to the satisfaction of his constituents, as is manifest from the fact that upon the expiration of his term in the house he was elected to the State Senate, becoming one of the leaders and most prominent members of that body and accomplishing much for the good of the peoplo of the State. Since leaving the Senate Mr. Dangler has ever maintained a lively interest in political issues, and has contributed much aid to his party, lending his influence to the advance- ment of public measures and improvements.
As a business man he oeenpies a distinguished position among the many able men identified with the city's growth and stable prosperity
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along commercial and industrial lines. He has been connected with several very important local enterprises whose field of operations has far transcended the local limitations. Among these may be mentioned the Dangler Vapor Stove & Manufacturing Company, of which he is president; the Standard Carbon Company and the Domestic Manufacturing Company, of both of which latter concerns he was chosen presi- dent. ITo held for the past seven years the presidency of the Vapor Stove Association, and at the present time is president of the Elwood Steel Company and of the First National Bank of Elwood. That these important associations have placed heavy responsibilities upon the hands of our subject is prima facie, but such is the breadth of his intellectuality, his execu- tive ability and his comprehensive grasp upon multitudinous details that he has been enabled to avert the flagging of any enterprise which has been conducted under his direction or with which he has been concerned.
Among the manifold industries of the Forest City there is perhaps not one that has had more pertinent bearing as contributing to the comfort and convenience of the public at large, and not one that has been more ably and successfully conducted than that of the Dangler Stove & Manufacturing Company, whose famous Dangler vapor and gas stoves and ranges have practically superseded all other designs in public favor and utilization, as combining in a maximum degree the elements of safety, economy, cleanliness, efficiency and incidental comfort to the busy housewife. The enormous development of the business of the company stands as the most effective voucher for the superiority of the prod- lets of its factories. The enterprise was estab- lished in 1880, by the Dangler Vapor Stove & Refining Company, and in 1886 the important interests involved were brought under the most effective control and direction by the organiza- tion and incorporation of the present company, with a paid up capital stock of $100,000.
Subsequently, in order to keep pace with the constantly increasing demands placed upon
them by the rapid extension of the business, the company increased their manufacturing facilities and orected, in 1890, a plant which is one of the largest and most thoroughly equipped of the sort in the world. The exigencies of the busi- ness necessitate the constant retaining of a corps of 300 skilled operatives. The executive direc- tion of the magnificent enterprise is in the hands of our subject and his two sons, as as- sociated in a corporation, with the first named as president.
Ilon. David A. Dangler enjoys a distinctive popularity in the social circles of the city with whose interests he lias so long been identified. In his fraternal relations we note that he is a member of the Masonic order and also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Dangler was married in 1847 to Miss Judith Clark, daughter of James HI. Clark, a prominent resident of Massillon. They have two sons and one danghter. Charles J. is vice- president of the Danglor Stove & Manufactur- ing Company; and the second son, D. Edward, is secretary and treasurer of the same corpora- tion.
R EV. HENRY MATTILL, junior agent of the Publishing House of the Evan- gelical Association, Nos. 265 to 275 Woodland avenne, Cleveland, Ohio, was born in Ripley county, Indiana, March 2, 1849.
His parents are Andrew and Barbara (Planalp) Mattill, natives respectively of Palatine on the Rhine and of Switzerland, the father born in 1818, and the mother in 1825. They were married in Indiana in 1846. Andrew Mattill came to this country in 1829, with his parents, their first location being in New York city. Subsequently they removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where for several years he worked at the trade of cooper. Their next move was to Ripley county, Indiana, and their settlement was on a pioneer farm, their nearest post office being Cin- cinnati. That was in 1838. Ile had the first
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contract for bridge timber awarded to him by the railroad company which built the railroad from Cincinnati to Indianapolis-now a part of the Big Four system. IIe also sold cord wood, at seventy-five cents per cord, to the same company. From Ripley county, Indiana, Mr. Mattill and his family removed, in 1858, to lowa, and from there in 1866 to Denver, Mis- souri, where he and his wife are still living. Ile has been engaged in farming all this time, with the exception of four years spent in the milling business. That was immediately after his removal to Missouri. They have had seven children, only two of whom are now living. The others, excepting Peter, the youngest, who died at the age of twenty years, all passed away in early life. Those living are our subject and Andrew, the latter being a residont of Falls City, Nebraska, and married to Lizzie IIess, of Denver, Missouri.
Henry Mattill received his early education in the public schools and has all his life been an earnest student. When a young man he taught school in Kansas, and later was professor of Ger- man literature in Lewis College, Glasgow, Mis- sonri, three years, during which time he brought the department up to a place where it more than paid expenses. Prof. 11. C. Pritchett, of St. Louis, Missouri and I1. Tillman, Chief Engi- neer of the Great Northern Railroad, were among his pupils. Mr. Mattill was in the min- istry at the time, and was elected Presiding Elder in his Conference, -Kansas Conferonce of the Evangelical Association, which necessi- tated his resignation in the college. Ile was Presiding Elder from 1875 to 1887, when he was elected by the General Conference of the Evangelical Association to his present position, which he has filled with great acceptability ever since, he having been re-elected in 1891. He did pioneer work for four years on the frontier settlements in Kansas, and is familiar with every phase of border life, his work frequently taking him among Indian camps and where cowboys were the chief inhabitants. For four years, he was a trustee of the Northwestern Col-
lege and Biblical Institute at Naperville, Illi- nois. During this time, the school passed through a severe crisis, in which its existenco was actually in danger. By an amendment to the incorporated laws of the State of Illinois for educational institutions, the school was not only passed on a safe basis but in excellent condition. This legislation proved as beneficial to other educational institutes of the State which were supported by a large constituency and depending on the State of Illinois. In these matters, Mr. Mattill was not only deeply inter- ested, but took an active part, and by his posi- tive and decided position and influence added much in bringing about happy results.
Mr. Mattill was married, June 18, 1874, to Miss Emma Fryhofer, daughter of Jacob and Snsannah Fryhofer, of Randolph, Kansas. Her parents were among the original twelve German Methodists of Indiana, and her father is still living at Randolph, having attained his eighty-eighth year. Her mother long since passed away. They had eight children, namely: Jacob, deceased; John; Susan, wife of Theodore Hanning; Mary, wife of Elrich Schoeder; Rev. Wesley, a minister of the Central German Con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Henry, who died of typhoid fever while in the Union army; William, an ex-member of the Kansas Legislature; and Mrs. Mattill. Mr. and Mrs. Mattill have an only child, Henry A., a pupil in the Cleveland Publie Schools. Mrs. Mattill is a graduate of the Agrienltural Col- lego at Manhattan, Kansas, and has been a teacher in the public schools for several years.
Of Mr. Mattill, we furthor state that he is one of the self-made men. IIo is a little above medium height, with broad shoulders and full chest showing unusual vitality and powers of endurance. He has a large and finely shaped head, indicating an endowment of mental power and energy above that which falls to the com- mon lot of mortals. His face bears the impress of a wide-awake mind and of a firm resolution in the carrying ont of a purpose, mixed with a disposition of kindness and benevolence.
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Mr. Mattill is an able preacher. Ilis ser- mons show careful preparation, and are delivered with a great deal of feeling, energy and pur- poso. Ile has the faculty of securing the atten- tion and sympathy of a congregation in the be- ginning of a discourse, and of holding it to the end. Whonever the people hear him preach they are anxious to hear him again.
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