|
Biographies
Source:
History
of Cuyahoga Co., Ohio
Published by D. W. Ensign & Co.,
1879
< BACK TO BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX FOR 1879 >
< BACK TO ALL
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES FOR CUYAHOGA COUNTY >
J. H. Devereux |
JOHN HENRY DEVEREUX.
John Henry Devereux, son of Captain John Devereux,
of the merchant marine, was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, Apr. 5, 1832. His ancestors were among the
first settlers of the colony of Massachusetts Bay. He has
also a long ancestry in the aristocracy of the Old World, being
of the twenty-sixth generation in England and of the seventh in
this country, in direct lineal descent from Robert de
Ebroicis, or Robert D'Evreux, known in history as one
of the Norman conquerors of England in 1066.
He was educated at Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Academy,
and, early in 1848, left his home in Massachusetts and came to
Ohio in the capacity of a civil engineer.
At that time he was but sixteen years old, a very
independent and high-spirited boy, possessed of undaunted
courage and unbounded enterprise On arriving at Cleveland,
he was at once employed as a constructing engineer on the
Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati railroad. After its
completion he found similar employment on the Cleveland,
Painesville and Ashtabula railroad.
In 1852 he went south, and, until 1861, was engaged as
civil engineer in the construction of railroads in Tennessee.
He was prominently connected with the internal improvements of
that State and section, and was referee in several important
cases, as to location and construction. He became the
leading spirit in railroad affairs, and had determined upon
residing there the remainder of his life, but on the breaking
out of the war he left Tennessee - regretfully and regretted.
IN the spring of 1862, after having made a
reconnaissance for a military railroad in the Shenandoah valley,
he received the appointment of superintendent of military
railroads in Virginia, and under it had charge of all railroads
out of Alexandria, and connected therewith. It was early
in the spring of 1862 that the forward movements of the Federal
armies in Virginia called for active operation, by the
government, of the railroad lines centering in Alexandria and
connecting with Washington. These lines of railroads were
in the most deplorable condition, and in the midst of chaos, and
of imperative demands for endless transportationto and from the
advancing armies, General McCallum was suddenly called to
the head of the department of railroads and in turn summoned
Colonel Devereux to act as the controller and chief of the
Virginia lines.
The work was herculean, and its difficulties were well
nigh insurmountable; the constant assaults of the enemy upon the
roads being almost equaled in injurious effect by the
intolerance and ignorance of Federal officers, whose ambition by
turns extended to the special ownership and direction of every
mile of track, and every car and locomotive. No definite
line was drawn between the jurisdiction of the chiefs of the
road management, of the War department, and of the army, but the
unwritten law was none the less exacting as laid down by
quartermaster's and commissaries' departments, by ordnance and
hospital departments, by the chiefs in command in the field.
Through the whole ran the demands necessitated by the movement
of large bodies of troops, of batteries and pontoon trains, and
the carriage of the sick and wounded.
The roads were infested with suspicious characters and
peddlers, and the trains swarmed with these, to the injury of
every interest in the service. There was no time for
preparation. Colonel Devereux plunged into the
chaotic mass, and, meeting unmoved each obstacle, laid at once
the foundation of discipline and brought the strictest order and
obedience into almost instant action. He filled the
reconstructed shops with tools, and the roads with adequate
equipments; quietly and patiently but persistently developed the
system of military railroad law, and made it harmonize with the
regulations of each department. He swept away with a
single stroke every peddler, and leech, and spy. and thief from
the trains, which now became in reality "through trains of
government supplies," as the orders required, and were manned
and officered with the most rigid discipline. He organized
a corps of inspection and detection which swept away all that
was bad or suspicious, and made his eye eye the chief
sentinel of the army, before which everything and everybody had
to pass for recognition and approval.
With strong practical sense he avoided clashing between
the departments by litting the vast machine of
transportation to their wants, and thus aided greatly all the
plans of General Haupt, as of his predecessor,
General McCallum. With unwearied energy he
developed the resources of the same ponderous machine until
Alexandria became the center of a great system, that worked with
the precision of a chronometer in the distribution, under his
hand, of countless stores, munitions, and troops. It
mattered but little how many roadways or bridges were destroyed
by the enemy, the railroad trains were never behind.
Major General Meade particularly was supplied
with rations and forage "so magnificently," as he expressed it,
under all circumstances, that his repeatedly expressed
appreciation removed the last obstacle that might have remained
to cause friction to the system.
It was a gallant thing, with Pope's army driven back
and scattered in confusion, to bring into Alexandria every car
and engine in saftey—in some cases working the cars up
the grades by hand while the ground trembled with the shock of
battle. Such work as this he repeatedly performed.
It was a noble labor, that of caring for the sick and wounded,
which was made a part of the military railroad work, and the
United States Sanitary Commission gratefully acknowledged his
constant and valuable aid in this direction. No officer
stood better with the War Secretary nor with the President, and,
holding a position which could have been turned into a source of
immense personal gain, his integrity was beyond doubt—no man
dared even attempt to bribe him. He directed and moved men
and machines by a thorough system, and the result was great
smoothness in operation and precision in management; hence the
promptness of movement and immunity from serious accident which
marked the working of these military railroads.
In the spring of 1864 the military railroad work was
drawing to a close, and Col. Devereux felt at liberty to
heed the calls made for his services in civil life. During
his connection with the Army of the Potomac he had won the good
will and respect of all, and the entire confidence of the
leading men in the army and the government with whom his
position brought him in contact. His resignation was
received with sincere regret, and he bore with him to Ohio the
hearty good wishes of those with whom he had been associated.
Accepting the management of the Cleveland and Pittsburg
railroad, he was its vice president and general superintendent
for five years, and under his control it was one of the most
judiciously managed roads in the State.
In 1866 he was invited to become vice president of the
Lake Shore railroad company, and soon after accepting that
position he was elected to the presidency. When the
consolidation of the Lake Shore road with the connecting lines
between Buffalo and Chicago was effected, under the name of the
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad company, he was
appointed general manager, and had executive control of this
great line with all its connections and branches. During
his government the line was very successful, and its reputation
among railroads for safety and accommodation to the public, and
prudent and economical management in the interests of the
stockholders, stood deservedly high.
The estimate placed upon his ability as a railway
manager was so high that in June, 1873, he received overtures
from the Atlantic and Great Western and the Cleveland, Columbus,
Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad companies of such a
character that he could not in justice to his own interests
refuse the offer. He accepted and held, at the same time,
the position of president of both the companies. At the
same time he was president of minor railroad corporations, whose
lines formed part of the system of the larger companies under
his direction.
When the assumed control of the Atlantic and Great
Western railroad its fortunes were at a low ebb. Laboring
under the most discouraging odds, he succeeded in putting the
line in the best condition under the circumstances, but at the
close of the year 1874 it was deemed useless to continue the
struggle, until a change in its financial condition had been
effected. He was accordingly made receiver, and shortly
afterwards resigned his position as president and director, as
incompatible with that of receiver appointed by the courts.
His appointment to the position just named was received with
satisfaction by all concerned, who knew that their clashing
interests were in safe and honorable hands.
Although never a politician, Col. Devereux has
always manifested an active interest in public affairs.
Twice he was tendered a nomination to Congress, but declined.
He is a man of large brain, great capacity for work, generous
impulses and a benevolent heart. He is a member of the
Episcopal Church, and very active in its affairs, particularly
in missionary and Sunday-school work, laboring zealously and
giving freely to aid the cause of religion. In the Masonic
order he ranks high, and in 1860 was elected Thrice Illustrious
Grand Master of the Grand Council of Tennessee.
He was married in 1851 to Miss Antoinette C. Kelsey,
daughter of Hon. Lorenzo A. Kelsey formerly mayor of
Cleveland. They have four children.
Source: History of Cuyahoga Co., Ohio -
Published by D. W. Ensign & Co., - 1879 - Page 348 - Chapter
LXVI |
 |
WILLIAM H. DOAN
Source: History of Cuyahoga Co., Ohio -
Published by D. W. Ensign & Co., - 1879 - Page 350
Portrait Source: History of Cuyahoga Co., Ohio - Published by D.
W. Ensign & Co., - 1879 - Page 284a |
|
