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Biographies
Source:
Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and
Cleveland, Ohio
ILLUSTRATED
Publ. Chicago:
The Lewis Publishing Company
1894
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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES FOR CUYAHOGA COUNTY >
J. H. Wade
pg. 491 |
JEPTHA H. WADE
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 491 |
R. Wade
pg. 59 |
RANDALL PALMER WADE
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 59
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A. M.
Wager
pg. 563 |
ADAM M. WAGER
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 563 |
Israel D. Wager
pg. 571 |
ISRAEL D. WAGER
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 571 |
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SAMUEL WALLACE,
deceased, formerly of Brecksville, township, was born in 1806,
in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and came to Brecksville in
1816 or 1817, and of course was brought up as a pioneer; was
employed for a time on the construction of the Ohio canal, and
saved some money, which he invested in a boat, that he ran for a
time on that water-way. In the fall of 1838 he married
Miss Emily Moses, who was born Oct. 30, 1819, in the
township of Victor, Ontario county, New York, a daughter of
William and Phoebe (Minor) Moses, who emigrated to
Independence in 1837, by way of the Erie canal, Lake Erie and
the Ohio canal. Mr. Moses was a farmer by vocation.
After marriage Mr. Wallace, our subject, located
on River Road, in Brecksville township, where he owned a farm.
He also owned the canal-boat Florida, which he ran that season,
and spent the winters on the farm. About 1844 he abandoned
boating and resorted to farming along the river road, where he
owned 160 acres and lived there till his death, from
consumption, in October, 1850, and was buried in Center
cemetery. In politics he was a Whig, and in religion
Congregationalist. Was a thorough business man. By
his death he left a widow and five children, in very comfortable
circumstances. After his death Mrs. Wallace took
charge of affairs and continued to reside on the old place till
1884, when she removed to her present farm. At that time
it consisted of 150 acres; now there are 175 acres. Her
capacity as a business woman has been tested, and she has proven
entirely capable. She now owns altogether 330 acres of
land, which she manages in a successful manner. But she
has had a great deal of trouble in the loss of children, etc.
One of the children lay fourteen months practically helpless.
She is every way worthy of the beautiful home she occupies, and
of the high esteem in which she is regarded by all who know
her.... She is a member of the Congregational Church.
Her children have been: Mary, who died at the
age of eighteen years; Susanna, now Mrs. Ed McCreery,
of this township; William, who died aged thirty years;
Eleanora, who died at the age of nineteen years; and
Samuel W., deceased when thirty years old.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 434 |
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CHARLES E. WARNER,
one of the representative liverymen of the city of Cleveland, is
the proprietor of the feed and sale stable at 120 Woodland
avenue. He was born in Huron county, Ohio, in 1846, and is
a son of Lorenzo and Serena (Daily) Warner, natives of
the state of New York. They had one other child, a
daughter. Charles E. was reared and educated in
Lorain county. At the age of sixteen years he had the
misfortune to lose his left leg; two years later he engaged in
business for himself. He drifted into buying and selling
horses for the home market, making his home at Elyria until
1890, when he came to Cleveland. During the period from
1883 to 1886 he was interested in the grain business, operating
in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, hut aside from this has given
his entire attention to dealing in horse-flesh.
Mr. Warner was married in 1867 to Miss
Jennie Koppelberger, who died leaving two children:
Edward, bookkeeper in a savings bank in this city, was
married Dec. 12, 1889, to Miss Minnie Stansbury;
Ella is the wife of Orin Cook, of Elyria,
and is the mother of three children, two sons and a daughter.
Mr. Warner was married again, the second union
being with Delia Gleason; they have one child.
Our worthy subject is actively interested in the leading
political events of the day and is thoroughly well posted upon
current topics. He is a man of excellent business
qualifications, employing only the most honorable methods, and
commands the respect of all with whom he has dealings.
 Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 835 |
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FRANK W. WARNER, an employee
of the Valley Railroad, is a representative of an old and well
known family of Cleveland. His grandfather, W. J.
Warner, was born in Massachusetts, in 1804. He came to
Cleveland, locating in a log house on Prospect street.
He was a prominent contractor and builder, and, among other
buildings, erected the Forest City Hotel, and post-office
building and the old stone church on the square. His
labors yielded him a profit sufficient to retire from active
work soon after the close of the war, and his death occurred at
83 Prospect street, in 1882. Mr. Warner
married a Miss Morris, and they had live children:
Elvira, widow of John Ruse; C. H., father
of our subject; T. M., engaged with the Society for
Savings; Fred, in the insurance business; and one whose
name is unknown.
C. H. Warner was born in Cleveland, in 1839.
He spent several years in Independence, Kansas, where he was
first engaged in the boot and shoe business, next in the
hardware trade, and lastly was proprietor of a hotel. He
then returned to this city, and secured the position of
Post-master. He was united in marriage with Catherine,
a daughter of Captain Robert Moore, a
native of the Isle of Man; he came to Cleveland, where he was
engaged in the lake trade many years. Mr. and
Mrs. Warner had five children, four now living: Frank W.,
our subject; William, a traveling salesman; Albert,
and Jennie. Mr. Warner is deceased.
Frank W. was born Aug. 5, 1862, and attended the
Cleveland public schools until fifteen years of age. He
then began his railroad career as fireman, on the Cleveland &
Pittsburg Railroad, under passenger conductor Thomas
Carlisle. This crew brought the Garfield
funeral train from Pittsburg to Cleveland, with engine No. 27.
In 1884, Mr. Warner was promoted to the position
of engineer, but soon afterward left that road, and has since
remained with the Valley Railroad. In his social relations, he
is a member of the B. of L. E., and for the past five years has
been chairman of the adjustment committee of the order.
Mr. Warner was married in this city, Feb.
21, 1888, to Carrie Caldwell. Her father,
Charles S. Caldwell, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in
1844, was proprietor of a hotel at Mineral Point, this State,
and his death occurred in 1883. He married Martha
Sheldon, a native also of Trumbull county, who now
resides in Cleveland. Mr. and Mrs.
Caldwell had two children,—Bert, of Canton, Ohio, and
Mrs. Warner. Our subject and wife have one
son, Charles C., born Jan. 19, 1889.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 697 |
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FREDERICK SPERRY WARNER,
son of Wareham J. Warner, deceased, was born in
Cleveland, Mar. 6, 1846, ended his school days at Humiston's
Institute, then on the South Side, and in1861 entered the Forest
City Bank as collection clerk, and remained there until it
closed business. He was next employed by Orville B.
Skinner at the old Merwin street depot of the Cleveland,
Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad for several years,
and then was in Toledo a year, clerking in the Cincinnati,
Hamilton & Dayton Railroad office. Returning to Cleveland,
he was engaged by the old Lake Shore Railroad Company as clerk
at the old pier depot until 1865, when he became bookkeeper for
Corning & Company, remaining with them some nine years, and on
account of ill health, in 1874, he went West and located in
Independence, Kansas, engaging in hotel business as proprietor
of the Caldwell House. Closing there in 1877 he
returned again to Cleveland, which city he has since made his
home. For some weeks after his return he was occupied in
renewing old acquaintances. April 6, 1878, he engaged in
the wholesale and retail grocery trade extensively at 163
Ontario street, succeeding by purchase the firm of Pope &
Hammer, until Apr. 1, 1883, when he quit the business and
for some years attended to the settlement of the estate of his
father, who died Dec. 1, 1883. Since that date he has
devoted his time to Fire, Life and Accident Insurance business
as a solicitor.
He is a veteran member of Tyrian Lodge, A. F. & A. M.,
and a member of Cleveland Lodge, B. P. O. E.
June 9, 1880, he was married, in Cleveland, to Miss
Agnes A. Morris, whose father, John W. Morris, is a
pioneer of this city, and for many years was a prominent ship
builder. He was born in Rhyl, North Wales, Feb. 14, 1814,
and came to Cleveland June 5, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Warner's
children are: Edith Morris, Rosalind Morse,
Lillian, deceased, and John Morris.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 70 |
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THEODORE
M. WARNER, accountant for the Society for Savings, is a
son of the late Wareham J. Warner, a prominent man in the
history of Cleveland. He was born in this city, Feb. 10,
1844, given an education in the city schools, and at fifteen
began work for Huntington & Brooks, queensware merchants on
Water street. On leaving this firm he entered the
Government service, as purser in the Quartermaster's Department,
on the steamer Mustang, plying the Rio Grande river to furnish
supplies, etc., to the Federal troops in that desert country.
In 1864 Mr. Warner quit his service, after being
out a year, returned to Cleveland and entered the service of
George Sprague & Company, wholesale grocers on Merwin
street, and remained with them five years. Next he
was employed by the Worswick Manufacturing Company, and had
charge of their office until 1877. That year he accepted a
position with the Society for Savings, as bookkeeper. In
1883 he was promoted to the position of accountant, which he now
holds.
In politics Mr. Warner is a radical Republican,
made more zealously so by the panic of 1893. He never
fails to give loyal and hearty support to the nominees of his
party, and does much good work in a quiet way. In 1876 he
was elected to the City Council, which body was dubbed the
"Centennial Council." He represented the First ward, and
was three times re-elected, which fact alone speaks volumes as
to the value of his services. He was chairman of the
committee on Fire and Water, and in consequence was ex-officio a
member of the Fire Board. He retired in 1884, voluntarily,
with a consciousness of having performed his duty as he saw it,
and having repeatedly received the plaudits and public approval
of his constituents.
He is a member of To Kalon Council, No. 524, Royal
Arcanum; Washington Lodge, No. 10, K. of P., and of Cuyahoga
Council, No. 523, National Union.
Jan. 1, 1868, is the date of Mr. Warner's
marriage, in Cleveland, to Miss Alice C. Kennedy, of
Jackson, Michigan, a daughter of Thompson Kennedy, and
lives in a fine residence at No. 258 Bolton avenue.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 437 |
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WAREHAM J. WARNER, deceased,
a gentleman who was for many years most prominently identified
with Cleveland's growth and development, and who was widely
known and universally respected, was born in Burlington,
Vermont, Jan. 25, 1808. He was a son of Justus
Warner, born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, in 1774, who was a
cabinet maker by trade, emigrated to Burlington, Vermont, but
died in his native place, in 1866. Justus Warner
was twice married , for his first wife wedding Lovey Lane,
and they had two children: Franklin, deceased; and
Emily now Mrs. Curtiss, of Hazelgreen, Wisconsin,
the only surviving child. For his second wife he married
Polly Sperry and they have had four children, viz:
the late Mrs. Jane Giffin, of this city; the late Mary
A. Warner, of Painesville, who left a donation of $5,000
toward a fine-art gallery in Cleveland; the late John F.
Warner, of the old firm of Warner & Handy, one of the
first commission houses in the city and the man who sent the
first vessel, the John F. Warner, from Cleveland to
England, and the man who bought the first canal-boat load of
coal into the city, on which occasion it is stated he wheeled a
barrow load up Superior street in celebration of the event; and
the fourth and last child was Wareham J. Warner, our
worthy subject.
The last named obtained sufficient knowledge of books
to enable him to engage in the business of teaching, which he
did on one or two occasions as a livelihood during the long New
England winter months. He was apprenticed to learn the
mason's trade and served his three years, becoming an efficient
and reliable workman Becoming possessed of a desire to see
the West, he started hither and in 1830 got as far as Black Rock
near Buffalo, New York, where he was appointed superintendent of
a glass works; and while there he met Elisha Sterling,
who prevailed on him to come to Cleveland and erect a building
for him. He consented, and in 1831 came hither, and as a
result the Cleveland and Sterling Block, where the National Bank
Building now stands, came into existence. In 1832 he
married Miss Jane A. Morse, born Jan. 18, 1812, a
daughter of Benoni Morse, of Burlington. They
returned to Cleveland, Mr. Warner became a permanent
resident here, and his career as a builder began in earnest.
From then until 1866, when he retired, Mr. Warner pursued
his vocation uninterruptedly and with marked success. Much
of his work still stands, and at this late date many of his
buildings are among the important ones of the city. The
custom house, erected in 1856; the First Presbyterian Church, in
1853; the Case Block, in 1854; the Oviatt Block,
in 1835; the American House, in 1836; the Kennard House,
the Old Stone Church, the Lyman and Perkins Block,
and the residences of Younglove, Shelly, Hickox, Perkins
and Payne, on Euclid avenue, all attest to his skill as a
mechanic and a master builder.
He could submit estimates with accuracy on excavations,
woodwork, finishing, painting, glazing, etc., as well as on
mason work, and could execute the plans for all these
departments without the assistance of a boss workman, if
necessary. During the twenty-five years of his operations
he was a member of the firm of Warner & Eldridge,
Warner & Witheral and Warner & Hurd, the last firm
being the most prominent, and will be the best remembered of
them all.
Mr. Warner came to Cleveland with very little
means. His contracts yielded him good profits and his
capital grew into large figures rapidly, so that at his death
his estate was estimated at $150,000. He found time to
devote to matters not connected with his private interests.
He was for many years a member of the Discount Board for the
Society for Savings. He was an officer in the volunteer
fire department of Cleveland when water in buckets was passed
down a line of men to the burning building and empty buckets
came back by the same means. He was one of the first
members of the Cleveland Grays,1
now a prominent military organization. Politically he was
an ardent Whig and later a radical Republican. He was elected
once Street Commissioner of the city, was two terms Infirmary
Director, by popular vote, and in 1841 was elected to the Common
Council from the Second ward, when Thomas Bolton
was president of the council.
By nature Mr. Warner was a sympathetic
and and charitable man. He was generous with his means
toward all worthy objects. During the severe winter of
1858, when the financial condition of the country forced the
laboring man to apply for public aid, he was active in
organizing a relief society and in establishing a "Poor Store,"
where supplies were dealt out after the manner of 1893-'94.
He was one of the founders of St. Paul's Episcopal church,
erected in 1845, at the corner of Seneca and St. Clair streets,
and was for many years a church Warden.
It was Mr. Warner's good fortune during
his eventful life to meet and shake hands with many prominent
men, among whom was General Lafayette, whom he
assisted in laying the corner stone of the Vermont University at
Burlington, during his visit to this country in 1824-'25, which
ceremony Mr. Warner again participated in nearly
fifty years afterward; and he was also personally acquainted
with Daniel Webster, Henry Clay,
Charles Sumner, Abraham Lincoln,
General Grant and especially his own fellow townsman,
the lamented President Garfield.
Mr. Warner was a powerful, robust, blunt,
outspoken man. He had opinions on matters of public
moment and expressed them without fear or favor when occasion
demanded. His integrity was of such undoubted character as
to justify financiers in advancing him large sums with which to
complete contracts without the formality of security or personal
indorsement. His nature was exceedingly domestic.
His greatest personal loss was occasioned by the death of his
wife, Aug. 6, 1882, who had been an invalid for seven years.
She was a devout Christian, and had been an active church
worker; was the mother of ten children, only three of whom
survive, namely: Mrs. Lydia Elvira Rees,
who was born in 1834, and Feb. 7, 1855, married J. H. Rees,
and became the mother of three children; Ella, the wife
of Charles P. Scoville, son of Oliver and
Adaline (Clark) Scoville: their two children
are Olive and Kate; William F. Rees, born
Mar. 22, 1858, was educated in Cleveland's public schools and in
Brooks' military, and afterward read law with M. B.
Keith, but never applied for admission. In 1880 he
went West to Colorado, and was engaged in the cattle business at
River Bend, being associated with Captain J. E.Wetzel,
secretary of the Colorado Cattle Grower's Association.
He returned to Cleveland in July, 1881, and entered the Society
for Savings as a book-keeper, and is now a teller of the
institution. He married, in 1883, in this city, Miss
Abbie Champney, a daughter of Mrs. Julia
Champney. His two children are Julia E. and
Mildred D. Mr. Rees has been for a number of
years actively and prominently identified with the Cleveland
Grays, and has served in every official capacity except as
Captain. He was one of the organizers of the Philharmonic
Orchestra and of the Cleveland Mandolin Club. Fraternally
he affiliates with the Royal Arcanum.
Mrs. Rees' third child was James W.,
who died Feb. 15, 1890, aged twenty-four years. .Others
sons of Mr. Warner are Theodore M. and
Fred S., whose sketches are given elsewhere; and Dr. E.
S. and Charles H., both deceased.
Wareham J. Warner married for his second wife,
Dec. 20, 1882, Mrs. L. Mott, who still survives. He
spent most of the following year traveling in the East, visiting
his old home and other interesting points, and on his return
home was called on to be present and act as pallbearer
at the obsequies of an old friend and pioneer banker, Mr.
Hartness. He did so and contracted a cold, from the
effects of which he died, Dec. 1, 1883, after a brief illness.
He was laid to rest in Lake View cemetery.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 206
1 NOTE: Click
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for photos of Cleveland Grays Museum |
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A. J. WEBB,
freight, station and express agent for the Cleveland, Canton &
Southern Railroad Company at Bedford, has held this responsible
position since 1892, giving excellent satisfaction to the
officials and patrons of the road. He has had an experience of
thirteen years in the railroad business, and six years of that
time has been in the employ the C. C. & S. Railway Company.
He was born at Coshocton, Coshocton county, Ohio, June 20, 1859,
a son of Henry D. and Elizabeth (Hinton) Webb; the father
was born in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, and the mother
was a native of Guernsey county, Ohio. Both are deceased,
and our subject was left an orphan at an early age. He
received a fair education, and at the age of sixteen years
secured a position in the Steel Works at Coshocton. This
occupation not being entirely to his liking he learned
telegraphy, and for eleven years was a successful operator.
Mr. Webb was united in marriage June 15, 1882,
to Laura E. Sbepler at Coshocton, Ohio. Mrs.
Webb's parents are A. J. and Nancy (Gray) Shepler,
who belong to old families in Coshocton county. The
paternal grandfather was one of the earliest settlers in that
locality. Mr. and Mrs. Webb have one child, a son
named Harry B.
In politics Mr. Webb supports the
measures of the Democratic party. He is a member of the
Masonic order, belonging to Summit Lodge No. 239, A. F. & A. M.,
and to Summit Chapter No. 74, R. A. M.; be has belonged to the
fraternity since 1891. He is a man of strict integrity,
capable and prompt in the discharge of his duties, and worthy of
the many warm friends be has in this community.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 839 |
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DR. G. F. WEBB,
E. M., was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio,
in 1852. After receiving a liberal common-school education
in Ashtabula county he went to New York city, where he completed
a thorough literary course. Later he studied medicine in
Chicago, under the direction of several eminent physicians of
that city, meanwhile being engaged in hospital work. He
graduated at the Homeopathic College of that city, and to-day he
is the only physician in Cleveland holding the diploma of a
medical electrician. This diploma he received in 1889.
In 189 he located in the city of Cleveland, where as a medical
electrician he has gained an enviable reputation and
accomplished wonderful work, built up a remunerative practice
and established for himself the reputation of one thoroughly
well prepared for his chosen field of labor. He has taken
electricity as his special study with reference to its curative
powers applied to mankind. In no branch of science has
there been a more wonderful advance than in the manipulation of
electricity and its application to disease. Some almost
marvelous cures have been wrought. He holds that Science,
the modern fairy godmother, in opening up the great field of
electricity has done more to help mankind than all the richest
men of the world that ever lived.
From boyhood Dr. Webb has studied
electricity. He has invented electrical appliances hich
are endorsed by scores of the medical profession, and he has
found his greatest sphere of usefulness in the cure of nervous
diseases of men, women and children. He has stated his
theory of practice and his belief in remedial electro-galvanic
body appliances, and has proved his theory by living examples
transformed from invalidism to health. He has made a
national name by the "Dr. G. F. Webb Improved
Electro-Galvanic Medical Body Batteries and Appliances."
He uses no medicine whatsoever, but confines his practice
entirely to electricity, and he has been very successful.
He was the first to invent an electro-medical device that has
been successful in curing deafness. Of this appliance he
is patentee, and for his patent he has refused the handsome sum
of $60,000. The sale of this appliance during the first
two years it was on the market was double the above named sum.
Dr. Webb is the inventor of several electro- medical
appliances, and retains full control of all his inventions,
manufacturing all of the same. These mechanisms are such
as can be used not only in the physician's office, but may be
used at the home of the patient, who may receive his
instructions even by mail from Dr. Webb. One
of his most valuable inventions is that of an electro-medical
body battery, which has performed some remarkable cures.
This invention is for the treatment of impaired nerves.
Dr. Webb's electro-medical appliances are used
throughout the United States, and have found their way to Europe
and to other foreign countries. At the recent
international exhibition at Tasmania his electrical devices, in
competition with the best equipments of this country and Europe,
received the highest premium and a gold medal. Having
gained fame as an inventor of electro-medical apparatus and as a
medical electrician, Dr. Webb was made an honorary
member of "The Society of Royal Arts and Sciences of France."
His appliances in the Columbian Exposition attracted
considerable attention.
He is a writer of ability and has furnished some very
valuable articles upon the application of electricity in the
treatment of nervous diseases. Among these treatises the
most important is that under the title of "Electro-Medical
Theory and Practice," a practical treatise on the treatment of
diseases with electro-galvanic body batteries and appliances.
His experience has been successful in making electrical
treatment practical.
Dr. Webb is scarcely past forty years of age and
is in the noonday of life, and having accomplished such good
success already it is but reasonable to suppose that much in his
line he will yet accomplish. His success is another living
example of that law known as "the survival of the fittest."
Notwithstanding the fact that Dr. Webb has gained
all of his fame and has received honors after honors, it has
made but little difference in his daily life with others.
He is a pleasant and instructive gentleman to know, and in his
daily intercourse with his fellow-men he is homelike, pleasant
and courteous, always taking into due consideration the rights
and privileges of others.
In 1887 Dr. Webb was united in marriage with
Miss N. Hill, of Ashtabula county. She is a daughter
of one of the oldest and best known families of that section of
the State. She comes of old New England stock of
respectability and refinement. Dr. and Mrs. Webb
have three children, namely: Leroy A., Pearl E.
and Faith E. The Doctor and his wife are leading
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and both do active
and valuable service in the interests of the church and its
societies.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 118 |
Wheelock, W. H.
pg. 779 |
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W. J. White |
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FRANK
NELSON WILCOX, an attorney and counselor at law, was born
in Brecksville, this county, July 17, 1855, a son of the late
Stephen Miller and Margaret (Coates) Wilcox. He
received his early education in the district schools, which he
left in 1871 to enter Oberlin College, and the following five
years were spent in attending the higher schools and teaching
country schools. At Oberlin College he took a special
course in Greek, Latin and Mathematics, and finished his course
there in 1875, at which date he came to Cleveland and worked in
an abstract office until 1876, when he began the study of law in
the office of Prentiss, Baldwin & Ford, later in that of
S. M. Eddy, with whom he remained until 1878, at which
time he was admitted to the bar, having studied law after coming
to Cleveland. Upon being admitted to the bar Mr. Wilcox
opened an office with S. S. Wheeler, with whom he
remained about one year.
About this time Mr. Wilcox entered the Sheriff's
office as a secretary, and remained there for two years, after
which he resumed the practice of law alone, and so continued
until the summer of 1883. At this date he and F. M.
Chandler became partners in the practice of law, and
remained as such until 1885, when Mr. Chandler accepted
the position of deputy county recorder. Thereafter until
1887 Mr. Wilcox practiced law without a partner, at this
date entering into partnership with Mr. T. L. Stromple
This partnership lasted about three years. Thereafter the
law firm of Wilcox & Collister was formed, and
this firm still exists, and has a remunerative and successful
general practice. For the last two years Mr. Wilcox
has been largely absorbed in that practice and that business
relating to street railways, in Cleveland and other cities.
He is interested as attorney and stockholder in several
companies of industrial importance.
He was married Dec. 25, 1878, to Miss Jessie F.,
daughter of H. H. Snow, of Brecksville, Ohio, and they
bare three children, Owen N., Frank N. and Ruth.
Mr. Wilcox's father, Stephen Miller Wilcox,
was born in 1817, at Brecksville, Ohio, while his mother,
Margaret Coates, was born in 1813, near the present site of
Rochester, N. Y. Her ancestors were of English origin,
coming from England about the year 1800 and settling first in
New York, but removing to Royalton, Ohio, about 1816. The
paternal great-grand-father of Mr. Wilcox was a graduate
of Oxford University, and brought with him to America a library
of many hundred volumes of standard works. From the
Connecticut Land Company he purchased 3,000 acres of land at
Royalton, where he lived many years and reared a large family
and his descendants are living yet in that locality.
In the year 1842 our subject's parents were married at
Brecksville, where the parents were married at Brecksville,
where the parents of both had settled about 1816. It i
said that the Wilcox family is also of English origin and
came to New York about 1700, and Josiah Wilcox, the
great-grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the
Revolutionary war.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 333 |
Thos. Wilson
pg. 376 |
THOMAS WILSON -
Among the many prominent and representative citizens of
Cleveland few are more favorably or widely known than Captain
Thomas Wilson, who for years has been one of the leading and
most successful navigators and vessel builders and owners of the
city, and has been most closely identified with the
ship-building industry and shipping interests of the Great
Lakes.
Captain Wilson was born on Oct. 42, 2848, at
Fifeshire, Scotland. He comes from a seafaring family, his
father and both grandfathers having been sea captains. His
father, Captain Thomas Wilson, Sr., was appointed as a
customhouse officer at Gwedore, inthe north of Ireland, when our
subject was a child, and thither the family was removed and
resided for several years. In 1854 the family came to the
United States and located in Philadelphia. At Gwedore,
where the early boyhood days of our subject were spent, the
educational advantages were not of the best, and his
opportunities of acquiring an education were limited. Yet
by close application, led on by an ambition to gain knowledge,
the young fellow became proficient in the common English
branches, which was sufficient for all practical purposes, and
this, added to his sturdy, sterling character, which had been
fostered and nourished by good and devoted Christian parents,
gave him a fair start in life, though not possessed of means.
Immediately following the removal of the family to
America young Wilson, then but sixteen years of age,
following the natural bent of his inclination, adopted the life
of a sailor, thus following in the footsteps of his ancestors.
For three years he sailed the seas, beginning as a "ship boy."
During this time he gained a thorough knowledge of seafaring,
and his stock of general information was largely increased by a
visit to numerous foreign ports. After three years'
service upon the high seas young Wilson came to the Great
Lakes, first as a wheelman, and soon advanced to mate and
captain, and in the latter capacity commanded quite a number of
lake steamers. Among navigators he was considered a safe
and perfectly responsible captain, and his services were
consequently always in demand. For as many as twenty-five
years Captain Wilson's home, it might be said, was
upon the lakes, and during all that time he was recognized by
navigators and those interested in shipping as one of the most
cautious and reliable captains on those waters, and his genial
and hearty nature made him a general favorite among owners,
sailors and the traveling public.
Having been successful in accumulating some capital,
and growing tired of continuous sailing, in 1872 Captain
Wilson built an excellent freight steamer, which he named
D. M. Wilson, a name given to a son, whose birth at about
that time had so gladdened the home of the Captain and his most
estimable wife. The building of the D. M. Wilson
proved a successful venture, and stimulated the Captain's
ambition to become more largely interested as a vessel owner,
and he built next the steamer Hiawatha and her consort the
Minnehaha. Then followed the building of the Tacoma,
Wallula and Kesota, and in 1886 the George Spencer. Later
he built the Wadena, Missoula, Spokain, Yakima, the names of the
vessels being suggested by a trip the Captain made through the
great Northwest and Pacific coast country several years ago.
Each of the foregoing vessels were large and especially adapted
for service on the Great Lakes. As a navigator and vessel
owner Captain Wilson has met with marked success,
and his success may be solely attributed to his fidelity, his
integrity and his perseverance.
Besides his interests as a builder and owner he is, and
has been since its organization, president of the Ship Owners'
Dry Dock Company, president in 1893 of the Lake Carriers'
Association, president of the Huron Dock Company, director of
the American Steel Barge Company, and vice-president of the
Central National Bank of Cleveland. He is also largely
interested in Lake Superior iron mines.
Among all of Captain Wilson's business associates,
friends and acquaintances he is regarded as a man of remarkable
force of character, and one glance at his robust physical
proportions, his clear and intelligent eyes and rugged face, is
sufficient to stamp him, even among strangers, as a man endowed
with more than ordinary abilities, and one who has properly used
the talents and faculties bestowed upon him by a generous
Providence. The influence of the moral and religious
training given him while a boy by his parents, added to the
sterling worth imparted to him by his Scotch ancestors, caused
Captain Wilson to grow up as a manly,
conscientious youth, scoring everything low and mean, and early
in life commanding the confidence of all who knew him. And
these traits of character grew and expanded as he developed into
a man, and with years were amplified to the broadest degree, and
to-day his word is regarded as good as his bond, and in all
matters, whether pertaining to business, religious, social or
political affairs, he is looked upon as a man of vigorous and
healthy opinions, and as possessed of the necessary courage to
express and maintain his convictions. He is fair, just and
kind, yet determined. He abhors hypocrisy, his belief and
feeling being to picture and represent everything in its true
colors, be they bright and pleasant or dark and gloomy. No
principle he holds should be compromised, and no stop be made at
an intermediate point. In taking a stand on any important
question, be it moral, religious, social or business, he
invariably reasons it from all directions and deliberately and
calmly arrives at his conclusion, and from these conclusions it
is difficult to shake him; yet at the same time he is not
bigoted or self-important, but on the contrary is always open to
conviction, and is unpretentious and modest in his bearing.
Among the rich and influential he is respected for these
sterling qualities, and among the poor he is loved for his
charity.
With all of his various and pressing business cares
Captain Wilson has found time and opportunity to
discharge the religious and social duties of a man of his
position in life. He is a firm and active friend of
temperance, and has done much to promote that good and worthy
cause. He has always been a friend to education, and has
been for years a supporter of Christianity. He has been
for years an official member of the Euclid Avenue Congregational
Church, of which he has been a firm and valuable friend.
His charity is unbounded and yet unostentatious.
For a long time it has been his plan to place a liberal sum in
the hands of his pastor at Thanksgiving and Christmas-tide for
the purpose of purchasing delicacies for distribution among the
poor of his church, strictly enjoining on his pastor that the
source of these gifts should not be made known. In behalf
of several benevolent organizations of this city he has rendered
active assistance and given liberal contributions. Among
these organizations may be mentioned the Seaman's Floating
Bethel, of which he is president. In fact. Captain
Wilson is always ready and willing to improve each and every
opportunity of doing good unto his fellow man, and few exercise
better judgment in rendering aid to the needy and distressed,
both in bodily and spiritual comfort.
Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order, being
a Royal Arch Mason.
In September, 1870, Captain Wilson married the
daughter of Honorable David Morris, of Cleveland, and
located in what is known as the "East End." Here he has
ever since resided. One son and two daughters have been
born in his family. In January, 1886, however, the son,
when just budding into a noble and promising youth, possessing
the sterling character of his race, passed away in death, at the
age of thirteen years, sadly and irreparably breaking the happy
family circle.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 376 |
| |
THOMAS WOOLDRIDGE,
a farmer of Middleburg township, was born in Devonshire,
England, Feb. 25, 1822, where he grew to manhood and took up the
business of farming. When he was twenty-five years old he
left England and came to America, settling first in Cleveland
and then for a time in Ravenna, Ohio. After a lapse of
five and a half years he returned to England, remaining eighteen
months, and while there, in February, 1854, he was married to
Mrs. Susanna Geary, whose maiden name was Westlake.
In the spring of 1854 he returned to America and lived in
Cleveland about two years, and then bought a tract of land in
Middleburg township, where he has since been a resident.
Mrs. Susanna Wooldridge died May 9, 1891, aged seventy
years, one month and thirteen days. They had six children:
William who married Mary A. Luck; Edmund H.,
who married Almeda Gray; Susanna A., the wife of
J. M. Gray; Harlan, who died when sixteen months
old; Harlan Edward, who married Rose A. Bell and
John, who married Florence G. Gray.
Mr. Wooldridge is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, of which church his wife also was a member.
He has held some of the minor offices in the township.
Mr. Wooldridge owns seventy-five acres of land,
upon which he has made improvements.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 570 |
| |
JAMES WRIGHT, of
Cleveland, was born in Scotland, Feb. 6, 1820, an only son, and
the only member of the Wright family who ever left
Scotland. His father died in 1819, and in 1886, at the age
of seventy years, his mother died, and both lie side by side in
the cemetery at Berwickshire, Scotland, with their many
ancestors.
Mr. Wright started from home at the early
age of ten years, traveling through Scotland, England and
Ireland. In 1837 he came to this country and located in
Cleveland. His first employment was in steamboat painting,
and while thus engaged he sailed on all the principal rivers of
the United States. At one time he was assistant foreman in
Eage Company, No. 1, of Volunteer Firemen; later he purchased
several acres of land, where he engaged in gardening; then was
proprietor of a paint and paper store, which business is now
carried on by one of his sons.
Mr. Wright was first married Nov. 5, 1845, and
to this union were born five children, two now living,—John
J. and Walter E. Wright. One son, A. F.,
died in 1892.
In 1861 Mr. Wright was united in marriage with
Mary E. Goodsell, of New York city, and they have two
children,—Helen and Louis.
Politically Mr. Wright is a stanch Republican.
He is one of two charter members of the St. Andrews society now
living, and is a worthy representative of the business men of
the early days, also a highly esteemed and valued citizen.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 373 |
| |
NORMAN E. WRIGHT, M. D.,
Berea, was born in Copley, Summit county, Ohio, Mar. 18, 1834.
His father, the late Orris C. Wright, was a farmer and
also a miller by occupation, and died at Johnson's Corners, that
county, when sixty-seven years of age, from the effects of an
injury which he had received some time previously.
Norman E. remained on his father's farm till he
was seventeen years of age, afterward assisting his father in a
flouring mill at different periods for some ten years, and then
engaged in wood turning and other occupations till he began the
study of medicine at Olmsted Falls. In 1874 he graduated
at the Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College, where he received
his diploma. Previous to his graduation, however, in 1871,
he located in Berea, where he has since followed his chosen
calling.
Dr. Wright is one who takes a fairly
active part in local affairs, and especially in religious work,
and for many years he has been a devoted member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church of Berea, Ohio, although for eighteen years
previous he was connected with the Congregational Church at
Olmsted Falls, in which body he was for nine years the
Sunday-school Superintendent, and filled various other offices.
He has been a member of the Board of Education of Berea, is an
active worker in the cause of temperance, and is universally
respected and esteemed by his fellow-townsmen.
He was married to Miss Julia Bradford,
of Olmsted Falls, who died May 17, 1873. For his present
wife he married Mrs. Lizzie A. Smith, at Berea, Apr, 9,
1876. Dr. Wright's children are as follows:
Willis N., who is a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana;
Myron T., Cora E., Orris C. and Minnie I.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 635 |
| |
PHINEUS P. WRIGHT,
Assistant General Manager of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
Railway, was born in Herkimer county, New York, Feb. 12, 1824.
His father, a native of Keene, New Hampshire, was a saddler and
harness-maker by trade; he died when Phineas P. was a
mere lad. The mother, whose parents emigrated from
Scotland to America, was married a second time, to Elias L.
Rose of Niagara county, New York. The two families
thus connected removed to the Territory of Michigan, and settled
at Bronson, Branch county; there the children were reared upon a
farm, enjoying such educational privileges as were afforded by
the three months' session of the district school. This was
the extent of Mr. Wright's opportunities, excepting the
six months spent as a student in the La Grange Collegiate
Institute, Ontario, La Grange county, Indiana.
Arriving at the age of maturity he secured a position
in the dry-goods store of Asa T. Groendyke at Coldwater,
Michigan, where he continued until his election to the office of
County Clerk of Branch county; he filled this office, as well as
that of Clerk of the courts of Record and Register in Chancery,
for six years, retiring Jan. 1, 1855. He then resumed
farming, and at the end of the next three years removed with his
family to Linn county, Missouri. There he prepared a set
of abstracts of title for the county, and embarked in the
real-estate business, which he conducted until the commencement
of the war of the Rebellion. He immediately thereafter
resigned the office of Mayor of the town of Linneus to which he
had been elected, and returned to Michigan, where he became the
agent of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad
Company at Coldwater. In the fall of 1865 he took the
position of track master of the La Porte division of said
railroad. In the autumn of 1866 he was transferred to the
agency of the same company at Detroit. In January, 1870,
he was promoted to the position of Superintendent of the
Kalamazoo division of the Lake Shore et Michigan Southern
Railway. June 1, 1871, he was transferred to the
superintendency of the Buffalo division of the same railway.
Sept. 1, 1873, he accepted the position of Superintendent of
Transportation of the Erie Railway, with headquarters in New
York city, serving in this capacity until October, 1881; he then
returned to the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway as
General Superintendent, a position he held until Jan. 1, 1892,
when he was promoted to the position of Assistant General
Manager, which he still fills. He has been in continuous
railroad service for thirty-three years, a record in itself that
needs no commentary.
Mr. Wright was united in marriage at
Coldwater, Michigan, Jan. 1, 1852, to Miss Lovina A.
Warner, whose father, Judge Harvey Warner, was
a pioneer of Branch county, having emigrated from Penfield, New
York. Mrs. Wright was the second white child
born in that county. This marriage has been blessed with
the birth of four children: Homer, the eldest, died at
the age of nineteen years; Lorene, the wife of Charles
H. Dickinson, resides at Coldwater, Michigan; May is
the wife of William Canby, and resides in St. Paul,
Minnesota; Charles, a youth of sixteen years, is now a
student in the Harvard School for Boys, at Chicago. Mr.
and Mrs. Wright also reared from infancy an adopted
daughter, May Warner Conger, an only child of Mrs.
Wright's deceased sister; she is now the wife of Asa A.
Davidson and lives in Chicago.
Source: Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of
Cleveland, Ohio - Publ. Chicago - The Lewis Publishing Company - 1894
- Page 586 |
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