USA > Ohio > Representative citizens of Ohio : memorial-genealogical > Part 49
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"To his afflicted sister (Mrs. Mary S. Moore), the sole sur- vivor of a distinguished family, we offer the sincere sympathy of his brethren of the bar and join with her in this her hour of sad bereavement.
"Resolved, That the members of the bar attend the funeral of our deceased brother in a body.
"That this memorial be offered and submitted to the several courts of this county, and be spread upon their records, and that a copy be engrossed and presented to his relatives and that these proceedings be published in the local papers of the city."
A large number of attorneys were present and after the adoption of the resolution short eulogistic remarks were made by many of those who had been associated with him, the speakers alluding to his fairness in all dealings, high regard for the truth and gentlemanly deportment.
One of the thoughts which dominated Mr. Stone's mind as much as any other was his unfaltering allegiance to the princi- ples of our country, the preservation of good order and property. As such, he early entered the ranks in the capacity of a private in the National Guard of his native State, was rapidly advanced until at the riots and scenes of bloodshed at Wheeling Creek, he studied the conditions before him, not only as a military officer, but as a citizen, and had he been enabled to have given his views upon the subject, being too modest to do so, it would have gone down in the history of labor troubles of this country as one of the shortest and most concise expositions of the struggle be- tween capital and labor.
The following is self explanatory:
"Attention, Members Company B.
"Headquarters Sixteenth Regiment, Infantry, O. N. G., Henry B. Bunker, Colonel Commanding, Toledo, Ohio, June 6, 1896.
"Order No. 16.
"The colonel commanding learns with regret of the death of Walter H. Stone, late second lieutenant and adjutant First Battalion, who departed this life June 5, 1896.
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"As a gentleman he was admired by all, and as a soldier en- joyed the confidence and respect of the commanding officer and each and every member of the Sixteenth Regiment. It was his desire that Company B, should act as an escort to his remains when they were conveyed to their last resting place, and in com- pliance with this well-known desire of his, and in keeping with what the colonel commanding deems to be in line with the re- spect that should be shown to a soldier whose record is with- out a blemish, the commanding officer of Company B will assem- ble his command on the day of the funeral of the late Lieutenant Stone and report to Major E. B. King and render such services as may be ordered by Major King.
"By order of Colonel H. S. Bunker.
"W. H. Porter, First Lieutenant and Adjutant."
In his after life, Walter H. Stone showed himself to be one of Sandusky's most enterprising and public-sprited citizens. It was through his efforts that one of the most magnificent blocks was erected and is an ornament to the city of his lifelong resi- dence. He was, perhaps, the most unselfish of men who lived in this locality, giving his charity "Where his left hand knew not what his right hand did." All this was done without ostenta- tion even his immediate friends not knowing of the facts of any of the circumstances.
In the practice of his profession he was known to the bar of Erie County, of the district and of the State as of stainless reputation and but for the fact of his ill health would certainly have obtained one of the highest ranks in that profession. "Take it all in all he was a man the like of whom we shall ne'er see again."
Leon D. Houston
EON H. HOUSTON, who had the reputation of being one of the shrewdest and most capable and success- ful business men of central Ohio as a merchant, banker, and farmer, was born in South Charleston, Clark County, Ohio, March 1, 1842, a son of Thomas F. Houston. His paternal grandparents, Joseph Houston and wife, Nancy (Fisher) Houston, were among the early settlers of Clark County. They were born and married in Sussex County in the State of Delaware, lived a short time in Kentucky and came to Ohio in 1812, settling about three miles northeast of Springfield near what is now Lagonda.
There was a large family of children who married and had homes in Clark and adjoining counties of Ohio and other States. Thomas Fisher Houston was the youngest son of Joseph and Nancy Houston and was born October 7, 1818, in their pioneer home. He was married to Rachael A. DeLashnutt, December 25, 1839, in South Charleston, where they lived many years, and after five years spent on their farm in Pleasant Township, Clark County, they moved to Springfield. Thomas Houston died June 28, 1874, and his wife Rachael, died in November, 1886. Their family consisted of ten children; namely, Catherine, William L., Charles, Thornton, Mary, Emma, Leonidas Hamlin (subject of this sketch), Edwin DeLashnutt, Foster B., and Elissa J.
Leon H. Houston was their oldest son. Edwin D. Houston was their fourth son and was married to Ethel A. Jones. Foster B. Houston was their youngest son and was married to Ida Rose Abogast. William Laws Houston was their second son and was one of the progressive farmers of Clark County. He died in London, Madison County, leaving a wife, two sons and a daughter.
On April 1, 1859, Leon H. Houston commenced his business career with the firm of Houston & Brother, composed of Henry Clay Houston and John R. Houston, at a salary of $50.00 per year and board for the first year. He continued as a clerk until January 1, 1863, when he was admitted as a partner in the firm of Houston & Company, composed of H. C. Houston, J. R. Houston, and Leon H. Houston, which partnership lasted until January 1, 1867. John R. and Henry C. Houston then retired
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and the firm of Houston & Murray was organized and continued until January 1, 1875, with Leon H. Houston and Peter Murray as partners, when Peter Murray retired and the firm of Houston & Brother was organized by Leon H. Houston and Edwin D. Houston. This firm continued until January 1, 1893, when Foster B. Houston was admitted under the firm name of Houston Brothers and . Company, this co-partnership continuing until January 1, 1904, when the business was incorporated under the name of The Houston Company, with Edwin D. Houston as president, Foster B. Houston, vice-president, and Leon H. Houston, secretary. The business conducted from the beginning was the selling of general merchandise to farmers and others and the operation of grain elevators, lumber, and coal yards, in- cluding also extensive wool dealings.
Mr. Leon H. Houston was actively engaged in said general business from April 1, 1859, to his death, August 28, 1909, which occurred at South Charleston. In 1892, the Citizens' Bank of South Charleston, Ohio, was organized, Leon H. Houston and Edwin D. Houston owning more than three-fourths of the in- stitution, Leon H. Houston acting as president and Edwin D. Houston, as vice-president, and William A. Malsbary, as cashier. This was regarded as the strongest bank in Clark County, as it was a co-partnership, and all the property of each and every co- partner was bound for liabilities of the bank.
Mr. Leon H. Houston was several times elected to the vil- lage council and had taken much interest in beautifying the vil- lage of South Charleston. He served with credit as county com- missioner from 1878 to 1881, was a member of the State Board of Equalization in 1890 and 1891, and was accredited with ac- complishing great good for farming and other interests of the State.
Leon H. Houston was one of the foremost and respected citi- zens in the section in which he lived. He was known for his liberality and helpfulness to all worthy causes and contributed largely to the benefit and welfare of the community by aiding private and public interests.
John D. Phleger
T IS with a great degree of satisfaction when we avert to the life of one who has made the rough path of human existence smooth by untiring perseverance, attaining success in any vocation requiring definite- ness of purpose and determined action. Such a life, whether it be one of calm, consecutive endeavor, or of sudden meteoric ac- complishments, must abound both in lesson and incentive and prove a guide to the young men whose fortunes are still matters for the future to determine. For a number of years the late John D. Phleger directed his efforts toward the goal of success in Springfield, Ohio, and by patient continuance won pronounced prestige. But it is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of this review a man who led an active and eminently useful life and by his own exertions reached a position of honor and trust in the line of industries with which his interests were allied. But biography and memorial history find justification, nevertheless, in tracing and recording such a life record, as the public claims a certain property interest in the career of every individual, and the time invariably arrives when it becomes ad- visable to give the right publicity. It is, then with a certain de- gree of satisfaction that the chronicler essays the task of touching briefly upon such a record as has been that of the honored subject of this memoir, who deserved the material success and social esteem in which he was universally held.
Mr. Phleger was born in Frederick County, Maryland, on January 28, 1832. He was a scion of a fine old family of the Oriole State, the Phlegers having been prominent in the affairs of Maryland for a number of generations. He was a son of John and Jennie (Gilbert) Phleger, natives of that State, and they lived and died in Maryland, the mother passing away when in middle life, and the father when quite advanced in years. He had married his second wife who had borne him a large family. He was the father of four children by his first wife; namely, Jacob, Edward, John D. (our subject), and Mary, all now passed away. The three sons were married and had families of their own. John Phleger, the father, was a successful miller, an in- dustrious and honest man, who established a good home for his family and gave his children proper educational and other ad- vantages.
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John D. Phleger
John D. Phleger, of this memoir, grew to manhood in his native State and received a good common school education, and when a young man he learned the miller's trade under his father and subsequently went to Baltimore where he did clerical work in a commission house, and from there he came to Ohio when he was twenty-two years of age, and locating in the city of Spring- field, found employment in the mill of William Vance, for whom he kept books, finally becoming manager. He then went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he worked in the office of a railroad company, with which he remained during the Civil War, giving the company eminent satisfaction as he had his former 'em- plovers, always faithful and honest service, and was at the same time industrious, persistent, and courteous. Upon leaving Nash- ville he returned to the Vance mills in Springfield. Later he engaged in the commission business, but returned to the railroad field, taking a position with the Erie Company as ticket and freight agent, and he at one time had the agency of the Wells Fargo Company and the White Star Steamship Company. He gave each of these the same eminent satisfaction, winning the implicit confidence and trust of his employers. He became owner of a commodious and cozy home on East High Street and two acres of valuable land there. He was a man of genial, sociable nature and was much liked by everybody. Politically, he was an ardent Republican and was more or less active in the ranks of the party.
In Urbana, Ohio, Mr. Phleger was united in marriage to Louise C. Crain, who was born in Champaign County, Ohio, January 28, 1832, the same date upon which Mr. Phleger was born. She was reared and educated in her native county, and is a woman of rare intelligence and strong mental faculties. She has retained to a remarkable degree her strength of mind and body, and although now eighty-one years of age appears to be much younger. She is well abreast of the times in current events and is a brilliant conversationalist, especially when en- gaging in reminiscences of the long ago, comparing pioneer con- ditions in the Buckeye State with those of the present. She is as active and full of business as most women are at fifty and she is held in the highest esteem by the circles in which she moves, be- ing widely known. She is an artist of no mean ability, and has painted more than one thousand pieces of china, many of which have been greatly admired and show unmistakably the presence of the artistic temperament. During the last few years she has made over thirty handsome quilts which she has given to her favored friends and which are greatly appreciated and highly
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prized by those fortunate enough to be the recipients of them. Her sons seem also to have inherited this artistic taste from her. She attends personally to all her business affairs, and she is proficient in many subjects, being an avid reader and familiar with the classics as well as the best literature of modern days.
Mrs. Phleger is a representative of two worthy and sterling old families, being a daughter of Louis F. and Clara (Phifer) Crain. The father came from Flemmings County, Kentucky, to Ohio, when a young man and located in Madison County. He was of Welch ancestry and his people were Kentucky and Vir- ginia farmers. He and Clara Phifer were married in London, Madison County, this State. She was born in Greenbriar County, Virginia, of German parents, being a daughter of Jacob Phifer, and when she was a small girl her parents brought her from the Old Dominion to Madison County, Ohio, where Jacob Phifer became a prosperous and extensive farmer, owning a fine large farm, becoming quite well-to-do for those days, and there he spent the rest of his life.
The Crains were people who did things, and Louis Crain, father of Mrs. Phleger, after his marriage purchased land, in Champaign County, and there got a good start, rapidly attaining a place in the first rank of agriculturists and stock men in this section of the State. He was one of the first to bring fine blooded horses into Ohio, the best, in fact, in the State, and they found a very ready market owing to their superior quality. He made a business trip to Illinois and there his untimely death occurred when he was in the prime of life. His widow subsequently married Col. William Vance, a well-known citizen of Champaign County and this section of Ohio, prominent in business, military, and public affairs, in fact, he was an influential politician, being a leader of his party in Champaign County, and was regarded by a wide circle of acquaintances as a grand old man. They were stanch Presbyterians. The union of Mrs. Phleger's mother with Col. Vance was without issue.
Mrs. Phleger is the youngest of three children born to Louis F. and Clara (Phifer) Crain; her sister, now Mrs. Lucinda J. Espy, lives with her daughter at Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is eighty-five years of age and is still very active mentally and physically. The brother, James L. Crain, became a wealthy farmer and stock raiser of Champaign County, Ohio. He is now deceased; he had married and left a family.
Four sons were born to John D. Phleger; namely, Gilbert, an artist and advertiser of Springfield, married Emma H. Haz-
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John D. Phleger
zard, of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and they have one son, Kenneth Crain Phleger. The second child of our subject was John Bald- win Phleger, also an artist and advertiser, and, like his brother, widely known and successful, is in business in Springfield. The third child, Clarissa, died in infancy, as did also the youngest of the children, Louis C.
Mrs. Phleger is a devout and worthy member of the Presby- terian Church. She is charitably inclined and scores have been helped by her in many ways, but her giving is always out of a kind heart and never in a manner to attract public attention.
John D. Phleger, the immediate subject of this memoir, was summoned to his eternal rest April, 1899, and he is still greatly missed from his accustomed circles where he was greatly es- teemed.
Talilliam Comin Harris
N THE largest and best sense of the term, the late William Edwin Harris, of Niles, Ohio, was distinctive- ly one of the notable men of his day and generation, and as such his life record is entitled to a conspicuous place in the annals of the State of Ohio. His life was one of un- tiring activity and was crowned with a degree of success fully com- mensurate with his efforts. He was of the highest type of pro- gressive citizen, and none more than he deserved a fitting recog- nition among those whose enterprise and ability have achieved results that awaken the wonder and admiration of those who knew them. Starting in life a poor boy, bereft at a tender age of a father's protection and counsel; deprived of the educational advantages that should have been his; coming to a strange land and here, through his own efforts and ability, amassing a fortune, only to lose it all just when he seemed to have reached the zenith of his hopes; then to begin again at the bottom of the ladder and to again mount it, step by step, until once more he stood at the summit-such was the remarkable career of this man who, more than to any other one man, was due the establishment and won- derful growth of one of the greatest industries in America. Mr. Harris gave to the world the best of an essentially virile, loyal, and noble nature and his standard of integrity and honor was ever inflexible, winning a reputation not only as a captain of in- dustry and a leader in large business affairs, but as a citizen who was well worthy of the unqualified confidence and esteem in which he was universally held. He was the architect of his own fortune and upon his entire career there rests no blemish, for he was true to the highest ideals in business, civic and social life and was one of the world's noble army of productive workers. He lived and labored to worthy ends and as one of the sterling citizens and representative men of his country his memory merits a tribute of honor on the pages of history.
William Edwin Harris was born in Worchestershire, Eng- land, on May 22, 1835, and early in his childhood he was deprived by death of a father's protection and counsel. Owing to the family's limited resources, he was not permitted to attend school to any great extent, and at the age of fourteen years he entered upon the actual battle of life as a workman in a rolling mill. In
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William Comin Barris
choosing this line of work he followed in the footsteps of his ancestors, for his paternal grandfather was one of the pioneer workmen in the iron industry in England, eventually becoming the owner of a water-power mill. His son, the father of the sub- ject, also followed the same line of work, and thus the grandson's predilection for this vocation was but natural. At the age of twenty-one years he had become a master iron and tin roller and that year, 1856, he came to the United States at the request of Phillips & Jordan, of Covington, Kentucky, as a boss sheet roller and was in the employ of that company for several years. He then accepted a more lucrative position with the Globe Iron and Steel Company, but shortly after the close of the Civil War, he went to Newport, Kentucky, and entered the employ of Alexander Swift. Mr. Harris next went to Cincinnati, where he superintended the erection of one of the largest mills in America. It was during that period that boss rollers were mak- ing as high as one hundred dollars a day, and as Mr. Harris was known to be one of the most expert rollers in the business he made big money. He was looking to the future, however, for he had the sagacity to see that the iron and tin industry was really but then in its infancy, and carefully husbanding his earn- ings, he went to Chicago and, with others, built a rolling mill, of which he was third owner and general manager, the business being capitalized at sixty-five thousand dollars. They were very successful in this enterprise and Mr. Harris was on the point of selling his interests and retiring, when the great Chicago fire of 1871 wiped out their plant and cast their financial interests into such a condition that, after settlement was made, but little was realized by the owners.
The indomitable spirit of the man was revealed now in the hour of his apparent defeat, for he immediately cast about for an- other opening, determined to again make a fight for success. Dur- ing these years he had worked out several valuable patents and he now went to England where he succeeded in placing one of his inventions on the market, for which he received a round sum of money. He was employed for awhile to manage a mill there, but a year later he returned to the United States and for three months was employed as a roller in the old Falcon mill, at Niles, Ohio. He then went to St. Louis, in the interest of Neidringhaus Brothers, and erected the Granite Iron and Steel Rolling Mills, of which he became general superintendent, retaining the posi- tion for about thirteen years. During this engagement with Neidringhaus Brothers, Mr. Harris crossed the ocean twice, buy-
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ing up machinery and engaging workmen for the first tin-plate mill in America, which was opened by this firm in 1891, and in September of that year he himself rolled the first piece of tin- plate ever manufactured in this country, thus refuting the claim that had been made that tin-plate could not be successfully made in this country. The first sheet he afterwards had made into a cane, which be presented to William Mckinley, who, shortly af- terwards, was nominated for the Presidency.
Mr. Harris' fame as a manufacturer of tin plate and as a mill superintendent came to the notice of Warner Arms and several other Youngstown capitalists and the Falson Iron and Tin Plate Company was formed and a mill built in Niles in 1892. Mr. Harris became a stockholder in the company and superin- tended the construction of what was then acknowledged to be the finest tin-plate mill in the world and producing the highest grade tin plate made. Before the construction of this mill Mr. Harris made a tour of inspection through England, Wales, France, Belgium, and Germany, and with these and his own origi- nal ideas he built the Niles mill, which, in 1899, was purchased by the American Tin Plate Company. When he was engaged as general superintendent of the Falson Iron and Tin Plate Com- pany he received the largest salary ever paid a mill manager up to that time, as well as receiving a royalty on many of his patents. He was a man of superior mechanical ability, which he culti- vated to good use. He was the inventor of a dozen valuable patents and gave the tin plate industry many appliances which are now found to be indispensable. With a practical knowledge of every detail of his business, he was unequaled during his ac- tive years as a manufacturer of tin plate and was known in trade circles as the "Father of American Tin Plate." In 1899, Mr. Harris retired from active business and lived at Niles until his death, which occurred on November 17, 1911.
Mr. Harris, though deprived of early opportunities for edu- cational training, was, nevertheless, a cultured man, for he early cultivated a taste for reading, which he pursued all his life. He was a deep thinker and a profound student on a variety of themes, so that as a conversationalist he was very interesting and instructive. The Bible was his favorite book and with it he be- come very familiar, looking upon it as the priceless pearl of all literature. Of music, he was also passionately fond and in many ways the esthetic side of his nature was cultivated to an extent not often found in a busy man of affairs. He had been an ex- tensive traveler, having crossed the Atlantic Ocean thirteen times
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and becoming familiar with all parts of the old country. He was a favorite with young people, for whom he had a marked fond- ness, being never happier than when in their company, and many a deserving young man has been helped by Mr. Harris both with counsel and financial aid. These things he did for the sake of the good, thinking not of the applause of the throng, for his was a temperament that avoided rather than courted publicity of any sort. Distinctively domestic in his tastes, no place possessed as great an attraction for him as his home, and there he spent his happiest hours, delighting not only in the companionship of those dear to him, but being ever solicitous for their comfort and pleasure.
A number of years ago Mr. Harris purchased the present family home at No. 1022 Robbins Avenue, Niles, purchasing at the same time a considerable tract of land surrounding it, and which has since become very valuable real estate. Here he built a large and attractive residence, where the genuine spirit of old-fashioned hospitality has ever been in evidence.
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