USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Memorial record of the county of Cuyahoga and city of Cleveland, Ohio, pt 2 > Part 27
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Mr. Schneider was married in Tonawanda, New York, September 4, 1851, to Louisa Ack- erman, by whom he had eleven children, six of whom are living, namely: William II., John W., Edward F., Franklin IL., Charles A. and Kingsley C. T.
Mrs. Lonisa Schneider died in Berea, Ohio, January 30, 1876. Mr. Schneider was again married in Toledo, Ohio, to Mrs. Mary C. Bohrbaser, by whom he has two children, Es- tella C. and Arthur L.
R EV. J. C. GRIMMELL, editor of Der Sendbote, Wegweiser, Der Muntere Sao- mann, Unsere Kleinen and Lesson Leaves, - all monthly periodicals except the first, which is weekly,-was born in the city of Mar- burg, Germany, May 30, 1817, a son of Jere- miah and Margaret Grimmell, who were among
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the first Baptists in Germany. llis father, as a layman, was very active in missionary work. lle organized a Baptist church in Marburg, and also in this country, one in Williamsburg, and one in Wilmington, Delaware. After suffering persecution and imprisomnent in the Father- land, and losing all his property, for being a Baptist, he came to America in 1851, and died in 1871, at Wilmington, Delaware, while on a visit there, at the age of sixty-two years. ITis wife, an honored resident of Cleveland, resides with her son, the subject of this sketch, and is now aged seventy-five years. Jeremiah Grim- mell and wife had thirteen children, seven of whom are still living, -- all in this country.
Rev. J. C. Grimmnell, whose name introduces this sketch, was the fifth in the above family. HIe was educated at Rochester, New York, and Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1867, when he became pastor of the First German Baptist Church at Buffalo, New York. In 1873 he became pastor of the First German Baptist Church of Brooklyn, same State, in which he remained for twenty years, with an intermis- sion of two years spent as general missionary and corresponding secretary of the German Baptist Home Missionary Society, whose office is in New York city.
When Mr. Grimmell went to Brooklyn in 1873 he found but seventy-two members there, without a church home; at the end of his pas- torate there were 350 members owning valuable church property free from debt. They also have two flourishing missions, which he founded, besides having sent out two flourishing churches. Mr. Grimmell was editor and publisher of the " Mitarbeiter" (Co-worker), an illustrated month- ly journal, from 1874 to 1879. Ile is the wri- ter of several well known hymns. A collection of hymns which he compiled and published under the name of Die Weekstimme had seven editions. He was unanimously elceted to his present position as editor, etc., in 1893, by the General Convention of the German Baptists held in Chicago, in September, 1892. He is also a platform lecturer, both in the German
and English languages. Hle is talented and eloquent, and has been the means of leading many souls to Christ. In his personal manner he is genial, showing in his conversation that he is a scholar and every way worthy of his high and responsible position. He is one of the leading ministers of his denomination. He is chairman of the Educational Board of the Rochester Theological Seminary, German de- partment.
In 1870 Mr. Grimmell married Miss Helen L. Weimar, of Buffalo, New York, a daughter of John G. and Agnes Weimar, of that city, and they have six children, namely: Bertha R. and Edith Martha, teachers in the public schools of Cleveland, and are graduates of the high school and of the State Normal of New York; Row- land W., at present attending the University of Rochester, New York, and in the freshman year; Helen, Walter and Clara, in the public schools of Cleveland. The wife and children are also members of the German Baptist Church. Mr. Grimmell has been a Republican, and dur- ing the last war, when Lee invaded Pennsylva- nia, he, at the age of seventeen, served in the army of the United States during that emer- geney.
R EV. S. P. SPRENG, editor of the Evan- gelieal Messenger, the English organ of the Evangelical Association, at No. 265 Woodland avenue, Cleveland, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, February 11, 1853. Ilis parents, Christian and Julia (Grimm) Spreng, were natives respectively of France and Bavaria. IIis father was a farmer all his life, excelling in that voeation; but his chief activity, other than farming, was his religious work as an official in his church. Ile came to America in 1831, settling in Wayne county, Ohio, and is now seventy-eight years of age, retired, an hon- ored resident of Cleveland, whither he moved in 1892. His wife, now aged seventy years, is a devoted member of the same church, and has
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consistently sustained this relation for over fifty years. They celebrated their " golden wedding" in 1892. Their children are: John E., a manu- facturer of agricultural implements at Ashland, Ohio; Emma, the wife of Rev. S. J. Gamerts- felder, assistant editor of the Messenger; and Rov. S. P., whose sketch we proceed now to give further in detail.
After attending college several years at Na- perville, Illinois, he began in the ministry, in 1875, at Bellevue, Ohio, where he served eight months, receiving fifty persons into the church; next he was pastor of the Calvary Church on Woodland avenne and Perry street, Cleveland, for three years; then for a time at Napoleon, Ohio; next he was sent to Columbus, this State, and then to Circleville, also this State. In 1883 he was elected Presiding Elder of the Columbus district, in which position he served until the antumin of 1886, when he came to Cleveland as pastor of Trinity Church on East Madison ave- ne, where he served but one year, his pastorate terminating in the fall of 1887, by his election, at the General Conference of this church at Buffalo, New York, to the editorship of the Evangelical Messenger. In 1891 was re-elected, at Indianapolis, for a second term, expiring in 1895.
In 1885 he wrote a book entitled Rays of Light, and in 1888 the Life of Bishop John Seypert, besides editing a number of other works, and he has been an extensive contributor to the periodical press.
In 1883 he was elected a delegate to the Gen- eral Conference of the church at Allentown, Pennsylvania, and served as the English secre- tary of the conference. Again, in 1887, he was again elected and served in the same capacity. In 1891 he was ex-officio member of the Gene- ral Conference. In 1883 he was elected by that body a fraternal delegato to the General Con- ference of the United Brethren Church at Fos- toria, Ohio, sitting there in 1885. Besides, Mr. Spreng has had the honor of being one of the editors of the Standard Dictionary now in proc- ess of publication; and he is the author of the
Ilistory of the Evangelical Association, issued by the American Society of Church Ilistory of New York city, under the general editorship of the late Dr. Philip Schaff.
Mr. Spreng was married in September, 1878, to Miss Maggie Beck, daughter of George and Margaret Beck, old settlers of Cleveland, first residing on the south side. Mr. Beck was a grape-grower, and died about 1874, aged abont fifty years; and his widow survived until 1891, dying at the age of eighty-two. Both were life-long, devout members of the Evangelical Church. They were well known as early and worthy settlers on the south side.
Mr. and Mrs. Spreng have had five children, namely: Edmund G. C., Harrison N., Lillian Ethel, Ralph Waldo Emerson and George B. All the family are members of the Evangelical Association, and take much interest in moral questions and the enterprises that promise any amelioration of the human family.
This brief review of the eventful life of Mr. Spreng should conclude with at least some fur- ther notice of his personal characteristics, as in the following paragraphs, gleaned from those who have long been acquainted with him.
The appearance of Mr. Spreng, whether in the social circle, the office or the pulpit, indi- cates a man of culture and dignity, not however of the austere type, for he is as pre-eminent for kindliness as for culture, having a warm heart in happy combination with superior intellect. Naturally and easily he draws to himself ad- miring friends, of whose confidence he proves himself increasingly worthy. He brings light and life to every gathering graced by his pres- ence.
In the pulpit he is mighty and magnetic. His voice is clear, strong and musical, and al- ways under perfect control, which adds emphasis to a forceful delivery. The skill with which he manages his voice and places his emphasis ena- bles him to give peculiar effectiveness to every part of his pulpit work. When once warmed with the progress of his subject he becomes sometimes dramatic, animated and surpassingly
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eloquent. As a writer he is distinguished for vigor of thought and a nervous energy and beauty of style.
From the very beginning his rise in the min- istry was rapid, as shown by his appointment to the most important churches, his early election to the presiding eldership and subsequent ele- vation to the editorship of the English organ of the church, the Evangelical Messenger, one of the best and most influential Christian family weekly papers in the land. At the last General Conference his practically unanimous re-election was the best possible evidence of the wide ap- preciation of his eminent ability as a writer and ecclesiastical leader, aside from the flattering vote given him for the office of Bishop.
Erect, of medium height, fair complexion and a decidedly intellectual cast of countenance, hie is a man of attractive presence, while his genial spirit and brilliant ministerial and editorial career has made his name a household word throughout the church.
A I. TRUESDELL, who occupies a eon- spicuous position as secretary of the Cleveland F'ire Underwriters' Association, has been a resident of the Forest City fer thirty years, having come hither from the State of New York in 1864. Ile was born near Binghamton, Broome county, New York, Sep- tember 9, 1842, and was there reared to mature years, receiving a thorough common school and academic education. Early in life he became a teaeller, devoting his attention to pedagogie labors for some time prior to his emigration to the West. Coming to Cleveland in 1864, as already noted, he sceured an engagement as a solicitor for the State Fire Insurance Company, later scouring the preferment as secretary of the Midas Insurance Company, which subsequently was merged into the Forest City Fire Insurance Company. With this association he remained for two years, after which he resigned to engage in business for himself, opening a local office as an insurance agent.
In 1878 he became secretary of the Cleveland Board of Underwriters, and since that time has continned in the tenure of the office, having been re-elected from year to year as his own successor and having discharged the exacting duties of the position to the satisfaction of his associates, who have thus manifested their ap- preciation of his discriminating technical ability and their approval of his methods. For about one year Mr. Truesdell was engaged in other business, having resigned his position for the purpose; but, after a brief interim, was again called to the position in which he had proved so capable and acceptable an executive. That he enjoys the confidence and esteem of the members of the association is beyond cavil, while during a long residence in the city he has not failed of gaining a marked general popularity.
Ile has been actively identified with the Meth- odist Episcopal Church since fourteen years of age. llis membership is with the Epworth Memorial Church, in which he has served in all the official capacities to which a layman is eligible.
Mr. Truesdell's marriage to Miss Louise M. Wellsted was consummated in 1866, she being a daughter of the late Joseph Wellsted, of Cleve- land, Ohio. She died in 1869, leaving one child, Clara L., who became the wife of Samuel G. MeClure, now on the editorial staff of the Cleve- land Leader. In the year 1872 Mr. Truesdell was united in marriage to his present wife, who was Miss Carrie Patton, a daughter of William Patton, Esq., of Medina, Ohio.
Our subject's parents were Harvey and Sarah (Parker) Truesdell, both of whom were natives of the Empire State and descendants of promi- nent old New England families, the father be- ing of English and the mother of Scotch extrac- tion. Harvey Trucsdell was a farmer by occu- pation and was one of the earliest and most ardent abolitionists. For many years he was a steadfast worker in the cause of freeing our nation from the blot of slavery, and successfully operated a station of the famous "underground railroad," by which so many slaves were assisted
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to freedom. Ile and his wife were devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They had twelve children, of whom the subject of this review was the sixth in order of birth. Eight of the family are living, three having died in childhood, and one later in life.
The paternal grandfather of our subject par- tieipated in the war of 1812, and Emery P., a brother of the latter, served as a private in Gen- eral Custer's cavalry during the late civil war, enlisting in 1862 and remaining in the ranks until the elose of thie sanguinary struggle, hav- ing been only sixteen years of age at the time he enlisted. He is now a travelling represent- ative for the well known and extensive agrienl- tural implement concern of the Warder, Bush- nell & Glessner Company. His twin brother, Emri II., entered the Methodist Episcopal Conference in New York, early in life, subse- quently retiring by reason of impaired health. The other surviving members of the family are concerned in agricultural pursuits.
Lı EVI E. MEACHIAM, formerly Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for Cuya- hoga county, was born in Parma town- ship, this county, September 5, 1846. ITis parents were Levi E. and Lucinna B. (Emerson) Meacham, the former a native of New York and a son of Isaac and Sophia Meacham, who moved from that State to Ohio in 1820, settling in Parma township. At that date the father of the subject of this mention was a mere child. The name of the parent tree of the Meacham family in America is not known, but there is well founded reason for the statement that he was of the Mayflower crew; and it is anthenti- cally stated that the paternal great-grandmother of Levi E., Jr., was a granddaughter of the cel- ebrated Miles Standish.
Lueinna B., nee Emerson, mother of Levi E., was one of the first white children born in Parma township, Cuyahoga county, where her
parents, Asa and Sallie (Small) Emerson, set- tled in 1818. The father was a native of Maine and she a native of Massachusettes, both being of Puritan stock. Both the paternal and ina- ternal grandparents of the subject of this sketch were early and well known, as well as prominent and respected, pioneer settlers of Parma town- ship. When Levi E. Meacham, the senior, married Lueinna B. Emerson, she was the widow of Charles Nicholas, by whom she had had two children; and to her second husband she bore one child, whose name introduces this personal sketch.
The latter was but two months old when his father died; but his mother, being a woman of of sterling qualities, remained upon the old homestead in Parma township, where she still resides, being seventy-three years of age, and there brought up her children, giving them the advantage of such schooling as afforded in the distriet schools. For a third husband she mar- aried Joshua Whitney, now deceased. In re- ligious faith she is a consistent member of the Baptist Church.
This good woman deserves more than a pass- ing notice. In November, 1861, her sons, Os- car Nicholas and Levi E. Meacham (the latter being then but fifteen years of age), enlisted as privates in Company G, Sixty-seventh Regi- ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Oscar re- mained in the army service till 1864, after which time he was disabled by a severe wound re- ceived in battle. Levi E. remained in the ser- vice to the close of the war. We now wish to speak of the noble part the mother took in the struggle of the civil war. The company in which her sons enlisted was made up largely of young men and lads from Parma township. In the spring of 1862 much sickness distressed the camp of this company, who sent home for aid. Mrs. Meacham at once set out for the camp, which she reached during the latter part of that spring, and thereafter till the elose of the war she remained upon the battlefield and in the hospital, doing all that kind and motherly hands could do in nursing the sick and wounded.
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Levi E. Meacham, the immediate subject of this personal mention, after the war attended and taught school alternately for a period of four years, upon the close of which he (his health failing him) bought a small farm and began farming, in which he continued until 1880, when he became a deputy in the office of the 'clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, where he was promoted from less important desks to that of chief clerk, or first deputy. In the fall of 1887, as the Republican candidate, he was elected Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, two which office he was re-elected in the fall of 1890.
Mr. Meacham is a member of the Army and Navy Post, G. A. R .; he was originally a mem- ber of the Memorial Post. He is also a thirty- sceond degree Mason, a member of the I. O. O. F. and K. of P.
In 1873 he was united in marriage with Miss Lina Biddulph, and they have a son and a daughter, Roland and Florence.
F RANK II. BILLMAN, one of the pro- gressive members of the bar of Cuyahoga county, has been engaged in legal prac- tice in the city of Cleveland sinee 1891, and has already attained enviable prominence. His par- ents, Alexander and Elizabeth Billman, are of Seotch ancestry; the father is a resident of Cuyahoga Falls, retired from active business; the mother is deceased. Frank HI. was born March 31, 1866, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and there passed his boyhood and youth. He was educated in the University at Wooster. In 1888 he began the preparations for his profes- sional career, entering the law oflice of Judge Rufus P. Ranney and the Hon. Henry MeKin- ney, as a student. Ile read under the direction of these experienced practitioners until 1891, when he was admitted to the bar of Cuyahoga county. In 1891 he opened an ollice in Cleve- land, and is surely gaining a permanent place among the able lawyers of the county. He is
retained as counsel for several corporations in and near the city. He gives his support to the Republican party, taking an active interest in the leading political events of the day. He is a highly esteemed member of the Presbyterian Church, his efforts in behalf of that society having met with gratifying results.
K ARL RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Ph. D .- A well known and prosperous institution of learning is the German- Wallace Col- lege, located at Berea, Ohio, and occu- pying a position of importance and honor as the chief executive of the same, stands the sub. ject of this sketch, the able President of the college. Dr. Riemenschneider is a man of scholarly attainments and broad intelligence, and he has directed the destinies of the institu- tion over which he presides to the goal of maxi- mmm excellence as applied to the full exercise of the functions in its province of accomplish- ment and opportunity.
Dr. Riemenschneider was born in Louisville, Kentucky, May 14, 1844, the son of Rev. Engelhardt Riemenschneider, who was sent as a missionary to Germany when our subject was seven years of age. The latter was thus reared to manhood in Germany and there received his education, which was one of a most comprehen- sive order. Ile prosecuted his studies at Bre- men, Frankfort-on-the- Main, Zurich (Switzer- land), and at the University of Tübingen. ' He was an instructor in the theological seminary at Bremen for a year and a half, after which he returned to the University of Tübingen, where he completed his collegiate course at the age of twenty-two years. His marked capabilities had already secured him prominent recognition and soon he received a call to return to his native land and accept a professorship in the German- Wallace College at Berea, Ohio. This proposi- tion he accepted, returning to America in 1868. Subsequent preferments in the institution came as the natural result of his erudition and pro-
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nounced excentive ability. About 1881 he was chosen as Vice-President of the college, and in 1892 he was made its official head, becoming President of the same.
The college was founded in the year 1864, from which year Dr. William Nast held the presidency until he was succeeded by Dr. Riemenschneider, in 1892. The college is in a flourishing condition, has an excellent corps of instructors in all technical and special branches, and its particular province is defined in the pre- paring of young men for the ministry. Special attention is devoted to the teaching of the Ger- man language, and the institution affords an exceptional opportunity for the thorough ac- quirement of the same. The college has an averige enrollment of 150 students, the majority of whom are Germans.
Dr. Riemenschneider was united in marriage, at Manchester, Iowa, July 7, 1870, to Miss Amelia Smith, They have five children, namely: Ernest, Albert, Oscar, Karl, and Clara.
M E. COZAD was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1846, a son of Andrew Cozad, one of the early settlers of this county. The father emigrated with his family from Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1807, and located upon land which is now cov- ered by the prosperous city of Cleveland; then there were not a dozen families living in this locality. Ile became prominently identified with all the progressive movements that were inaugurated as the country became more thickly settled, and held many of the local offices. Ed. neation and temperance reform were matters of equal moment in his estimation and commanded his most carnest consideration. In him were combined many qualities of rare excellence, and his name was held in the highest esteem. He died at the age of seventy-two years. IFis wife, whose maiden name was Sally Simmons, bore him nine children, five of whom grew to ma-
turity: Justice L., Dudley A., deceased, Henry I., deceased, Sarah L., and M. E., the subject of this notice.
Mr. Cozad enjoyed the educational advan- tages afforded by the Western Reserve College, being graduated from that institution in 1870. lle afterward studied law in the office of Otis & Adams, Cleveland, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1872. Ile practiced his profession in this city four years and then turned his at- tention to the abstraet business, organizing the firm of Cozad, Beltz & Bates. He also estab- lished the first abstract office in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, removing to Pittsburg in 1876, where he had charge of the business eleven years. He organized the Title Insurance Com- pany of Pittsburg, and afterward sold his other interests to this company. Somewhat broken in health he became identified with a life insurance company; through the outdoor exercise his health was regained and he was also very suc- cessful from a business standpoint. He has since represented different large and important companies, and till recently was in charge of the interests of the New York Life in Ohio. He is at present supervisor of agents in Ohio and Indiana for the National Life Insurance Com- pany of Vermont.
During the inflation times of 1869, 1870-'73, he had large investments in real estate in this city, losing heavily in the transaction. Although he has had many business cares he has found time to devote to the work of the church and Sabbath-school. For a number of years he was a member of the Board of Education, laboring earnestly to improve the facilities whereby the youth of this city were fitted for the battle of life. A Republican in politics he has repre- sented that body in convention where his opin- ious have been given due weight.
Mr. Cozad was married in 1872 to Miss Mag- gie S. Wagner, a daughter of John Wagner of Ravenna, Ohio. They have two children, Henry (. and Ellen.
In the first convention of Life Underwriters held in Boston Mr. Cozad was a delegate from
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Cleveland, and in the second convention held in Detroit he performed the same duty. His wide experience, ready speech and genial manner assure him a welcome in all gatherings of a so- cial character, and his presence is especially prized where a response is ealled by the toast- master.
H ENRY II. LYON, a well-known Demo- eratie politician of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, is a resident of Strongsville town- ship. He was born in this township, June 10, 1838.
Mr. Lyon's father, Danforth S. Lyon, who was born in Stafford, Connecticut, in 1806, eame at the age of twelve years to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, with his father, Liakim Lyon, and settled in Strongsville township. That was in 1818. Here the elder Lyon died at the age of seventy- five years. Danforth S. Lyon also spent the rest of his life and died here, his death occurring December 20, 1878. The latter was married in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1835, to Miss Caroline Lewis, who was born in Shoreham, Vermont, in 1809. After their marriage they settled on a farm, and he was interested in agrienltural pnr- suits all his life. He held varions township offices, and during the administration of James K. Polk was Postmaster of Strongsville Center. Mr. Caroline Lyon died in this township in April, 1870. They had four children who reached adult age, namely: Henry HI., whose name appears at the head of this article; Lewis C., a member of Company E, Sixty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, died of disease at Cumberland, Maryland; Delia A., wife of Fred- erick J. Brennis, died at. Mitchell, Dakota; Edwin E., a farmer of this township.
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