USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume II > Part 18
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five feet eight inches in height, of medium build, weighing about one hundred and forty-five pounds, erect in figure, and brisk in his movements. His abilities as a lawyer are con- spicuous. In the court-room he is regarded as one of the most skillful examiners and powerful advocates in North- western Ohio. No scandal has ever been breathed against his good name. His moral character is not only pure, but it is above suspicion ; and no man has a troop of warmer per- sonal friends. Men of all political parties acknowledge his worth and give him credit for incorruptible integrity and straight-forwardness of character. He is a man of method, research, generous impulses, stability of purpose, and neigh- borly kindness.
WHITE, THOMAS H., president of the White Sew- ing-machine Company, of Cleveland, was born at Phillips- ton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, April 26th, 1836. His parents were Windsor and Betsy White. His father be- ing a manufacturer, he from early boyhood entertained a strong liking for mechanics and mechanical devices ; this trait of his mental character developed more fully as he ad- vanced in years, and to it must be largely attributed his later achievements in the various devices and improvements he has made in the particular branch of mechanics that he chose as his own-the improvement and perfecting of the sewing-machine. After receiving a sound common school and academical education, he devoted himself to his mechan- ical studies, and with such success that in 1858, at the early age of twenty-two, he was in the business of manufacturing sewing-machines on his own account, at Templeton, Massa- chusetts. There, from a small beginning, he speedily acquired considerable business, which increased so rapidly that in three years he had outgrown the facilities afforded, and conse- quently removed to Orange, Massachusetts, where he remained nearly five years. Here his business further developed, and still greater facilities were needed to enable him to supply the constantly increasing demand. This led to his removal to Cleveland, in 1866, where increased success rewarded him, and in 1876 the White Sewing-machine Company was organ- ized. As a company it started with a capacity for turning out two hundred machines per week. At present writing, 1882, its capacity is two thousand machines per week, giving employ- ment to about one thousand men, and being one of the great manufacturing enterprises of the city of Cleveland. In 1880 they established a branch office in London, England, where they are meeting with flattering success, and from which point they supply all the European countries. They also ship largely to Australia, South America, Mexico, and Egypt. The White sewing-machine was first placed on the market in Au- gust, 1876. Although but the short period of six years has elapsed since their introduction, the number placed in the market has exceeded three hundred and fifty thousand. Such is the immense outcome of the small manufacturing business started by Mr. White at Templeton, Massachusetts, in 1858; and to Mr. White personally must be largely attributed this development. His associates who comprise the company are men alive to improvements, and have themselves taken no small part in the development of a wider field of labor for the sewing-machine of to-day. The very fact that they are the owners of no less than thirty-eight patents upon sewing- machines and attachments, is in itself evidence of their de- termination to keep in the front rank in the march of im- provement. Mr. White has been president of the company
from its organization. He is a man of a positive nature, and excellent business judgment ; withal modest, conservative, and of few words. He considers well every subject or project in all its bearings before deciding upon them. His business transactions are the result of careful thought and keen perception, being decidedly practical and not specu- lative. To his natural mechanical ability and his keen ap- preciation of an improvement, with a spirit to lead rather than follow, together with his reliable business character, may be ascribed the high commercial standing of the com- pany. Its success has been steadily increasing from its for- mation. The machine which Mr. White so largely developed, was not perfected at once, but is the result of twenty years' study and practical experience of sewing-machine mechanism. As a private citizen he is highly esteemed. He is a man alive to all that benefits humanity. A man of generous im- pulses, and liberal in his charities, educational institutions and worthy benevolent objects ever find in him a warm friend and helper. In 1875 and 1876 he was a member of the Cleve- land City Council. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and also of the Unitarian Church. He was married Novem- ber 2d, 1858, to Miss Almira L., daughter of Charles W. Greenleaf, Esq., of Boston. They have six children-four boys, and two girls.
WADDLE, WILLIAM, physician, was born at Chilli- cothe, Ohio, September 19th, 1811. His grandfather was a native of Ireland, and emigrated, with his wife, to America in 1787, bringing with him a daughter and three sons. They settled first in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and afterward removed to Brooke County, Virginia. John, his second son, was one of the early merchants of Chillicothe, and the father of the subject of this sketch. He came to reside in Ross County in the year 1800, entered into business in the then small town of Chillicothe, and was married a few years later to Nancy Mann, of Lexington, Kentucky. William Waddle commenced his education at the Chillicothe Academy, and from there went to the Ohio University, but left that institution at the age of eighteen. After leaving the university he worked on his father's farm, in Clarke County, until the year 1834, when he returned to Chillicothe, and commenced the study of medicine, as a pupil of Dr. Fuller- ton, who was at that time the leading physician of the town. He attended the lectures of the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, and graduated there in 1836. After travel- ing a year in the South, he established himself in the practice of medicine in his native town, and proudly desirous of winning his way unaided in the profession, did not seek a partnership with any elderly practitioner, though at first he found some difficulty in gaining the confidence of the com- munity on account of his youthful appearance-being at that time but twenty-six years of age. As in many a similar instance, the poor and friendless were his first patients, yet for them he worked faithfully, giving them the best of his professional skill and the devotion of his time. This experi- ence, if not remunerative, became valuable as a practice, and in course of time, by his assiduity and expertness, he succeeded in conquering the prejudice that almost every young physician has to contend with, namely, that of being thought too young. He practiced alone and with increasing success until the year 1865, when, finding that his practice was growing too large for one person to attend to, he asso- ciated with him Jefferson B. Scearce, and they have now the
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largest and most lucrative practice ever enjoyed by any members of the profession in Ross County. In the year 1863 Dr. Waddle was appointed trustee of the Oliio Uni- versity, and in 1868 was also appointed trustee of the Athens Lunatic Asylum, and held that position until the year 1878, when he resigned. Two years later he accepted the appoint- ment of trustee of the Central Lunatic Asylum, at Columbus, which appointment, together with the trusteeship of the Ohio University, he still holds. As a physician he ranks high, possessing those qualities without which success in no pur- suit of life is achieved-indefatigability, self-reliance, and steady, persevering industry. Possessed of a remarkably robust constitution, he has been enabled to perform an un- usual amount of work requiring patience and endurance. In the early days of his practice, with almost impassable roads to travel, it required the exercise, in a high degree, of those virtues. Of good personal appearance and pleasant demeanor, Dr. Waddle commands the respect of the com- munity where he has lived so long. And though now over seventy-two years of age, he has apparently lost none of his youthful vigor, and still gives his personal attention to his many patients, some of whom live in adjoining counties. In 1845 he married Jane S. McCoy, the daughter of a prominent merchant of Chillicothe, who has borne him nine children, of whom eight are living. The eldest daughter is married to Mr. Alexander Renick.
BARNETT, GENERAL JAMES, banker and mer- chant, of Cleveland, was born, June 21st, 1821, at Cherry Valley, Otsego County, New York, the son of Melancthon and Mary Barnett, who removed from New York State and settled in Cleveland in 1826, where Melancthon Barnett, then a merchant and afterwards a banker, died July Ist, 1881, at the advanced age of ninety-two, honored and respected by all. At the time when the family arrived in Cleveland James Barnett was a boy of about five years of age, and Cleveland was a village of some seven hundred souls. Here he attended the common schools, and after a due course he entered the hardware store of Potter & Clark, where he remained three years. He then entered the house of George Worthington, and in due course was admitted as a member of the firm of George Worthington & Co. This relation has continued ever since. On the death of Mr. Worthington Mr. Barnett became the senior partner. In 1840 an independent com- pany of artillery was organized, of which he became a mem- ber ; eighteen years later it developed into the first regiment of Ohio volunteer light artillery, known as the "Cleveland Light Artillery," he receiving his commission as colonel in 1859. In the winter of 1860, the attitude of the Southern States becoming threatening, the regiment tendered their services to the State authorities in case of difficulty, as the rebels in West Virginia were assuming a menacing attitude. The offer was accepted, but the opinion expressed in the accept- ance that the proffered services would probably not be needed. Five days after the fall of Fort Sumter the order came from Governor Dennison: "Report with your six guns, horses, and caissons at Columbus ; you retain colonel's rank." This they did at once, and two days later were encamped at Marietta, where they were on duty for a month, with their guns in position to defend the place. The time while at Marietta was occupied in organizing a camp, of which the subject of this sketch was post commandant; and when the 14th and 18th Ohio Infantry reported for first duty there came
the order to cross the river into Virginia, where an action was soon brought on at Philippi. The guns of Colonel Bar- nett's command, in this action, were the first artillery opened on the Union side in the great rebellion. They then took part in the attack on the rebels at Laurel Hill, where the enemy precipitately fled, and were closely pursued, making a stand at Carrick's Ford, where, after a sharp engagement, the enemy were defeated and utterly routed, with the loss of their entire train and munitions of war. Of their artillery captured by the command, one gun was returned to Cleve- land as a trophy. The campaign over, they were mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, and returned to Cleveland, where they met with a brilliant reception by the citizens of that city, who heartily welcomed them on their return, and con- gratulated them on their successful campaign. In the mean time the battle of Bull Run was fought, and the necessity for more federal troops became urgent. In August, 1861, he was commissioned by Governor Dennison to raise a twelve- battery regiment of artillery, which Governor Dennison had prevailed on the general government to authorize. Colonel Barnett at once began the work of recruiting and equipping, the batteries being sent into the field as rapidly as possible. Upon the organization of the regiment he was commissioned its colonel, September 3d, 1861. Company B and Company C reported to General Thomas in time to participate in the battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky, the other batteries being sent to different commands in West Virginia and Kentucky. This work completed, he reported to General Buell at Louis- ville with a portion of his command in the spring of 1862. On the arrival of the army at Nashville in March, he was placed in command of the artillery reserve of the Army of the Ohio, and participated in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and other minor engagements up to the time of the occupation of Huntsville by Buell's army. In July, 1862, he was ordered to Ohio on recruiting service. Speedily raising the requisite number of men for his regiment he was assigned to duty in September upon the staff of General C. C. Gilbert, then commanding the center corps of the Army of the Ohio. After the battle of Perryville he was transferred to the staff of Major-general McCook, as chief of artillery. This position he held until November 24th, 1862, when he was appointed by General Rosecrans chief of artillery of the Army of the Cum- berland. With that grand old army he took part in the bat- tle of Stone River. During the hottest of the fighting the gen- eral commanding and his entire staff were in the thickest of the fight, with two batteries of twelve-pound guns of the enemy in their immediate front, from which they received constant salvos. Then came Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and numerous other battles. For his conduct in these actions he received special commendation from General Rosecrans. General Thomas, his successor, also held him in high esteem, and placed implicit confidence in his military skill, judgment, and bravery. At the close of operations around Chattanooga he was given command of the artillery requiring reorganiza- tion and remounting. Two divisions, of six batteries each, were formed, the first division composed of batteries of the 4th and 5th United States Artillery, and the second of Ohio volunteer batteries, chiefly composed of the Ist Ohio Artillery Regiment. These were camped near Nashville, thoroughly drilled, reorganized, and equipped, and held in readiness for the field. This command he maintained until the 20th of October, 1864, when the need of his services having ceased he was, on application, mustered out. After he had left the
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service, but before he had quitted Nashville, the battle at that place was fought, and he rendered valuable aid, though acting merely in an independent capacity, as aide to General Thomas, commanding. Subsequently he was awarded a brevet brigadier-generalship in consideration of his eminent abilities and the valuable services he had performed. On his return home he resumed his position in the firm, having, by the generosity of his partners, been allowed to retain his interest, without detriment, during the whole time of his service. At the commencement of the war soldiers in the field all felt the importance of the government providing for the widows and orphans of those who should fall. Strong efforts were made in Ohio in this direction, but nothing was done until the close of hostilities, when, under the auspices of the Grand Army of the Republic organization, the Sol- diers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home was established at Xenia, Ohio, and General Barnett was appointed one of the directors on the organization of the board. The control finally as- sumed by the State, he was appointed one of the trustees by the Governor in 1870, and so acted for four years. Later he was appointed by Governor Allen as one of the directors of the Cleveland Asylum for the Insane, of which he served as trustee during different administrations for seven years. In 1865 the police of the city of Cleveland were reorganized under the new metropolitan police system ; he was appointed one of the commissioners by Governor Hayes, on May Ist, 1865. Under this board new rules and regulations had to be established, and an entire new police force appointed. In 1872 he was elected a director of the First National Bank of Cleveland; and in January, 1876, he was elected its president, which po- sition he still retains. In March, 1875, he was elected a director of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Indian- apolis Railway Company. In May, 1882, he was elected a director of the Merchants' National Bank, of Cleveland. In March, 1873, he was elected a member of the City Council, and served two years. He has been a life member and trustee of the Case Library for some eight years, and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic since its organ- ization, in which he has held the position of post com- mandant. He has been a director of the Cleveland Iron Mining Company from its organization. This company, which has now come to be one of the largest iron mining com- panies of the State, commenced operations in the Lake Su- perior region long before the building of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, at a time when the ore was carted across the portage and shipped to Cleveland in pork barrels as samples. On General Rosecrans's staff he was a comrade of General Garfield. In June, 1880, he was a delegate to the Republi- can National Convention held at Chicago, which nominated General Garfield, whom he had known from boyhood, for the Presidency. The general was an old friend, and with him he had messed on the field of war for over a year. During the funeral services of President Garfield General Barnett was the marshal-in-chief. He received the highest commenda- tions from General Sherman and others for its orderly and systematic management. In his business career he has been chiefly identified in the iron 'manufacturing interests, bank- ing, and the wholesale hardware trade. The firm of George Worthington & Co., of which he is now the senior member, is among the oldest and most extensive in the State-it was established in 1835, and has grown to be of great magnitude. The same ability displayed in his military operations has been brought to bear on his commercial pursuits. In the
Republican Convention of 1882 for the nomination for Con- gress from the 21st District, General Barnett's was a strong name. Under the law of Congress passed in 1882, ap- pointing a commission to revise the tariff, General Barnett was proposed by his friend, Amos Townsend, member of Congress from his district, as one of the commissioners. His nomination was approved of by the Republicans of the Ohio delegation in Congress, but he declined the appointment. As a private citizen he is held in high respect by men of all political opinions for his unquestioned honor and probity in all matters, social, business, and political, for his public spirit and patriotism, and for his distinguished services in the de- fense of his country ; whilst his genial disposition, courteous manner, and kindness of heart render him a general favorite. In benevolent enterprises he has, for some years, been an active worker in the Bethel Union, in the Relief Department, having been chairman of the Relief Committee for several years. He was married June 12th, 1845, to Miss Maria H., daughter of Dr. Samuel Underhill, of Granville, Illinois. They have three daughters: Mary C., the wife of Major Thomas Goodwillie; Laura, the wife of Charles J. Sheffield ; and Carrie M., the wife of Alexander Brown, Esq.
MCCLYMONDS, JOHN, president of the Ohio National Bank, of Cleveland, Ohio, was born in Darlington, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, April 29th, 1808. His father was a captain in the War of 1812, and his paternal grandfather was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, enduring the hardships and privations incident to Washington's army in the marches and battles of those perilous times. After receiving a com- mon school education, Mr. McClymonds commenced the ac- tivities of a long and busy life, at the age of sixteen, as a school teacher ; later he was engaged as a clerk in a dry- goods store in his native town. In 1826 he removed to Unity, a small town in Columbiana County, Ohio, where, for several years, he conducted a general store, and at the same time discharged the duties of post-master under the adminis- tration of General Jackson. This was at a time when money was scarce and produce plenty. A quotation of the then prices would contrast strangely with those of the present. For instance, eggs were three cents a dozen, butter six cents a pound, oats ten cents a bushel, corn sixteen, rye twenty, and wheat twenty-five cents, or in barter one bushel of wheat for one pound of coffee or two yards of brown muslin. In 1834 Mr. McClymonds married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Thomas Kincaid, who then resided in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, a union that lasted forty-seven years, until the death of Mrs. McClymonds in 1881. In 1835 he removed to New Lisbon, and in 1836 he became a director of the Columbiana Bank of New Lisbon. In 1838 he became more intimately connected with the man- agement of the bank, and on the expiration of its charter he and Dr. B. W. Snodgrass purchased the entire assets, and assumed all liabilities, including outstanding circulation, and formed a partnership in banking, under the name and style of B. W. Snodgrass & Co. At that time there was not an- other bank, either private or State, in the county ; now they can not be counted on the fingers of both hands. This part- nership continued until the death of Dr. Snodgrass, in Jan- uary, 1852, and the bank was afterward conducted by Mr. McClymonds individually. During a residence of twenty- five years in New Lisbon, Mr. McClymonds's life was a very active one, as he was interested, in addition to his bank (either as partner or sole owner), in a wholesale grocery, a
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dry-goods store, a shoe, a book, a hardware, and a drug store. He was also engaged in the manufacture of Kentucky jeans, a mixture of wool and cotton, very popular at that time, and in a full suit of which the eloquent Thomas Corwin was clothed when he "stumped " the State, as a candidate for Governor, in 1840. During these years Mr. McClymonds was a large purchaser of wool, wheat, and flour, shipping the latter to New Orleans, and spending some winters in that city and on the coast, purchasing sugar and molasses. He also served three or four consecutive years as Mayor of the town of New Lisbon, to which town-one of the oldest and handsomest in the State-he made an addition which still bears his name, and a goodly number of houses still stand as monuments of his enterprise. During a portion of these busy years he found time to edit a weekly newspaper, The Western Palladium, the only Whig paper then published in the county. In the mean time his partner devoted his time to the details of the bank. In 1859 Mr. McClymonds was elected cashier of the Union Bank of Massillon, a branch of the State Bank of Ohio, and at the expiration of its charter he and General Kent Jarvis and Thomas Mccullough, Esq., purchased the entire stock and assets of the bank, settled its affairs, and organized the Union National Bank of Massillon, of which Mr. Mccullough was elected president, and Mr. McClymonds cashier. When Mr. McClymonds took charge of the Union Branch, its stock was at twenty-five per cent discount, caused by injudicious loans; eight years after, it was wound up with the stock worth seventy-five per cent pre- mium. During Mr. McClymonds' residence in Massillon he and Mr. Mccullough purchased a large tract of land west of and adjoining the town of Massillon, which they subdivided, calling it "the River-side addition to the town of Massillon," now well improved with comfortable homes. In 1869 Mr. Mc- Clymonds, in company with Robert Hanna (now deceased), organized the Ohio National Bank, of Cleveland, and was elected its cashier, which position he held until Mr. Hanna retired from the presidency, in 1876, when he was elected pres- ident of the institution; and, as cashier or president, has given it his undivided personal attention, from the day of its organiza- tion down to the present time (November, 1882), and he now has the pleasure of presiding over one of the most conservative and prosperous institutions in the State-his life as a banker covering forty-six consecutive years. Mr. McClymonds is also president of the Cleveland Rubber Company, of which his son Louis K. is principal stockholder, treasurer, and superintend- ent, the largest manufactory of rubber goods west of the Alle- gheny Mountains. He is also a director in the Chicago Rub- ber Works, of which his son is president. He also has a son, J. Walter, who is treasurer and manager of the great agricul- tural works of Russell & Co., in Massillon, Ohio, and another son, Edward D., a lawyer, who died in 1873. In religion Mr. McClymonds is a Methodist, and in politics a republican. Though not a politician, in the common acceptation of that term, he perhaps should be classed as an independent voter, as he never hesitates to substitute a good Democrat for a bad Republican, if the respective tickets furnish the material and necessity for such an exchange or substitution. Mr. McCly- monds is a man who has been eminently successful in all he has undertaken. Possessed of an enterprising spirit and a · keen perception, he has not only seized opportunities when they have presented themselves, but he has also made oppor- tunities. His business experience has been large and varied. His career has been marked by judicious and able manage- 9-B
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