Cleveland Past and Present: Its Representative Men Part 9

Mr. Bradburn was in 1839 elected to the City Council from the Third ward.

As chairman of the Committee on Fire and Water he reorganized the Fire Department, which was then in a wretched condition, and, with the a.s.sistance of Mr. J. L. Weatherly, who was made Chief Engineer, and the aid of new laws, made it one of the most efficient of any at that time existing in the country. As chairman of the Committee on Streets, at that time an office of much responsibility and labor, he rendered the city valuable service.

In 1841, he was elected a member and made chairman of the Board of School Managers. This body was merged into the Board of Education, and for several years he filled the office of president. For thirteen consecutive years he served as member of the Board of School Managers and of the Board of Education, during much of which time he had almost unaided control of the educational affairs of the city. Mr. Bradburn succeeded in getting through the Legislature a bill authorizing the establishment of a High School, the first inst.i.tution of the kind, connected with the public schools, in the State of Ohio. A school of this character was started in June, 1846, and maintained in spite of fierce opposition. But there was no building to receive it, and its earlier years were spent in the bas.e.m.e.nt of a church on Prospect street, the room being fitted up by Mr. Bradburn and rented by the city for fifty dollars per annum.

Feeling strongly that he could render better service to the cause of popular education in the City Council than he could in the Board of Education, in 1853 he resigned his seat in the latter body and was elected to the City Council. When Ohio City was united with Cleveland, he was chosen president of the united Councils.

Having, on taking his seat in the Council, been appointed to a position on the Committee on Schools, his first and continuous efforts were directed to bringing the Council to provide suitable buildings, not only for the High School, but for all the schools of the city. In consequence of his earnest and persistent labors an ordinance was pa.s.sed authorizing a loan for school purposes of $30,000. The loan was negotiated at par without expense to the city. Mr. Bradburn, and the Building Committee, of which he was chairman, immediately made plans for the Central High School, and the Mayflower, Eagle and Alabama street Grammar schools, all of which were put under contract without delay, and finished under their supervision to the entire satisfaction of the Council and Board of Education. The teachers of the public schools in grat.i.tude for his services in the cause of education, induced Mr. Bradburn to sit to Allen Smith, Jr., for his picture, which was then hung in the hall of the Central High School. At a subsequent date the High School teachers presented him with a ma.s.sive gold-headed cane, engraved with a complimentary inscription, but this highly prized token was unfortunately lost, together with a number of other cherished mementoes and all the family pictures, in a fire which destroyed his residence in February, 1868. In the fire also perished a valuable library of over four hundred volumes, the result of a lifetime's collection, and Mr. Bradburn barely escaped with his own life from a third story window, being badly injured in the descent.

In public matters he has done but little during the past few years, devoting himself entirely to his business, but he may be seen on all occasions where the cause of popular education can be benefited by his presence. In 1848, he was the Whig candidate for Mayor, but, being ill at the time, gave the canva.s.s no personal attention, and was defeated by a few votes, the opponents of the High School, of whatever party, voting against him.

To Mr. Bradburn the credit belongs of procuring, after a hard battle against parsimony and prejudice, the establishment of the first free High School in the West.

Samuel Raymond.

Samuel Raymond was born in Bethlem, Connecticut, March 19, 1805. Like most of the sons of New England, his boyhood was pa.s.sed in plowing among the rocks on one of the stony farms of that rocky and hilly State. At the age of sixteen he commenced teaching the village school, and continued teaching for six years, a portion of that time being spent in New York State, in one of the many pretty towns that are scattered along on either side of the Hudson. Returning to Connecticut at the end of his six years'

trial of teaching, he was employed to keep the books of the old and wealthy firm of Messrs. A. & C. Day, dry goods commission merchants, at Hartford. The late Governor Morgan, of New York, was, at the same time, a salesman in the house.

In 1833, Mr. Raymond married Mary North, daughter of James North, of New Britain, Conn.

In the Spring of 1835, he determined to try his fortune in the Far West, away out in Ohio. With Kansas as the present geographical centre of the Union, it is difficult for us to conceive of the New Englanders' idea of the West at that time. It was something of an undertaking. It was a journey of weeks, not a ride of twenty-three hours in a sleeping coach or palace car. It meant long and tedious days of staging--a monotonous ride along the Erie ca.n.a.l from Schenectady to some point a little farther west, and finally, when the lake was not frozen over, the perils of lake navigation. In 1835, Cleveland, Erie and Sandusky were all struggling for supremacy. When Mr. Raymond got as far west as Erie, he thought that might be a good place for him "to drive a stake," but the number of newly made graves suggested to him, on second thought, the propriety of getting out of the place as speedily as possible. Cleveland at that time was beginning to put on city airs--Kellogg's great hotel (the American) was slowly going up. The only vacant store to be had by Mr. R. was a little wooden building on the site of the present Rouse block--a location at that time about as far out of town as it would be safe for a prudent merchant to venture.

Henry W. and Marvin Clark were a.s.sociated with him in business, under the firm name of Raymond & Clark.

Mr. Raymond was a merchant of more than ordinary business ability, a man of scrupulous exactness in his business dealings. His extreme conservatism in business management carried him safely through every commercial crisis.

Like most business men Mr. Raymond had but little time to devote to political discussions. He voted the Whig ticket as long as the old Whig party had an existence. In religions principles he was a Presbyterian, and united with the First Presbyterian Church in 1840, at that time under the pastoral charge of Rev. Dr. S. C. Aiken.

In the Winter of 1866, in compliance with his physician's advice, he took a journey south for the benefit of his health, which had been impaired by his unremitting devotion to business. In company with a party of friends from Cincinnati, he and his wife left Louisville for Havana, in January.

On the 2d of February a telegram was received by the remaining members of his family in Cleveland, informing them that Mr. Raymond was among the missing on the ill-fated steamer Carter, which was burned when within a few miles of Vicksburg.

When the alarm was given, Mr. Raymond and his wife were asleep. Hastily dressing themselves and providing themselves with life-preservers, they jumped through the cabin window, Mr. Raymond having a state-room door which he had wrenched from its hinges. Mrs. Raymond clung to a floating bale of hay and was saved after an hour of peril and suffering in the icy water. Nothing was seen of Mr. Raymond after he floated away from the wreck, clinging to the door. His death was mourned by a large circle of friends who appreciated his worth.

By diligence and economy he acc.u.mulated a valuable estate, leaving to his family property valued at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Richard T. Lyon.

The first secretary of the Cleveland Board of Trade, and its president for the year 1869, Richard T. Lyon, is probably the oldest established merchant now doing business on the river. He arrived here in 1823, when there were but a few hundred people in the village, and for some time resided with his father-in-law, n.o.ble H. Merwin, on the lot now occupied by Bishop's Block, about where M. Heisel's confectionary store now stands.

In 1838, he entered as clerk in the forwarding house of Griffith, Standart & Co., at the foot of Superior street, continuing in that position until the Spring of 1841, when he formed a partnership with I. L. Hewitt, and carried on a forwarding and commission business on River street, under the firm name of Hewitt & Lyon. The partnership continued until 1847, when Mr.

Hewitt retired, and Mr. Lyon continued the business in his own name at 67 Merwin street, where he has remained until the present time. In the Spring of 1868, his son, R. S. Lyon, was taken into partnership, the firm name being changed to R. T. Lyon & Son. For a number of years Mr. Lyon has been the largest dealer of salt in the city, having had the agency of the salt works in western New York.

Mr. Lyon has held, from his first entry into commercial life to the present time, the esteem and confidence of the business men of Cleveland, and that confidence has been shown by the fact, that for many years he was the treasurer of the Board of Trade, having been elected to that position on the organisation of the Board; was subsequently made vice-president, and in the Spring of 1869, was elected president. This compliment was well merited, for he is now one of the very few remaining members of the Board who took part in its organization, and has never flagged in his interest in its affairs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Yours Truly, H. M. Chapin]

H. M. Chapin.

In the commercial, political, patriotic, and literary history of Cleveland for the past fifteen or twenty years, the name of H. M. Chapin will always have honorable prominence. In all these departments his persistent energy and unshaken faith, even in the darkest hours, have been potent for good.

Mr. Chapin was born in Walpole, N. H., July 29th, 1823, and received a good common school education. When fifteen years old, he removed to Boston, and entered a dry goods importing house, in which he remained nearly ten years. In the Spring of 1848, he left Boston for Cleveland, where he became a partner in the wholesale grocery warehouse of Charles Bradburn & Co., with whom he remained four years. In 1852, he commenced business as a provision dealer and packer of pork and beef. For a time it was up-hill work, but his native perseverance overcame all difficulties, and in the season of 1862-3, his business had grown to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. From that time there was a steady decline in the amount of packing done in Cleveland, the supply of cattle and hogs decreasing until but a very small quant.i.ty, in proportion to the facilities for packing, could be depended on. The slaughter-houses of Chicago arrested the great stream of live stock, and what escaped them went forward to the Atlantic cities for immediate consumption. In the Winter of 1867-8, Mr.

Chapin, therefore, resolved to remove his packing business to Chicago, and commenced operations there with gratifying success. He intended abandoning Cleveland altogether as a packing point, but, contrary to his expectations, he has been able to resume the business here to a moderate extent. From 1862 to 1867, he carried on, in connection with the packing business, a very extensive coopering establishment, employing about fifty men, besides a large amount of machinery. Over a hundred and twenty-five men were at the same time employed in slaughtering and packing.

In addition to his ordinary business, and partly in connection with it, Mr. Chapin turned his attention to the question of insurance. It was a favorite maxim with him that the West was able to do its own insurance, and with this idea ever present, he was favorable to the establishment of home insurance companies. Of the Sun Fire Insurance Company, of Cleveland, he was for some years the vice-president, and labored earnestly for its success. Being a thorough believer in the principles of h.o.m.oeopathy, as well as an enthusiast on the subject of western insurance, he was a willing co-worker with a number of prominent citizens engaged in the organization of the Hahnemann Life Insurance Company, of Cleveland.

The novel character of this company--it being the first of the kind in the United States--is sufficient warrant for a brief statement of its history.

It was established in 1865, and numbered among its stockholders such leading business men and substantial capitalists as Wm. A. Otis, George Worthington, William Bingham, Stillman Witt, Selah Chamberlain, Dudley Baldwin, D. P. Eells, M. G. Younglove, and the Hon. B. F. Wade. The leading feature was the offer to insure those whose medical belief and practice were exclusively h.o.m.oeopathic, at lower rates than those subjecting themselves to Allopathic treatment. The theory on which this offer is based is, that all the evidence goes to show a lower rate of mortality under h.o.m.oeopathic than under Allopathic treatment. The Honorable William Baines, Insurance Commissioner of New York, in speaking of this company in his report, says: "The Hahnemann Life Insurance Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, is the first western company admitted into this State. It starts with a paid up capital of $200,000, one-half of which is deposited with the State Treasurer of Ohio, for the protection of policy holders. The company is organized on a basis of strength and capital, even larger than that required of New York corporations; it reduces the rate of premium to h.o.m.oeopathic members."

Of this company Mr. Chapin was made president, and in the management of this, as in everything which he undertakes, he infused a large amount of his energy, and made the company a complete success. During the present year his almost undivided attention has been given to the company's affairs, with marked effect on its rapidly increasing business.

In 1865, Mr. Chapin was elected Mayor of the city of Cleveland. The honor was not only unsought, but he was in entire ignorance of the whole affair until after his election. His name had not been mentioned in connection with that or any other office when he left the city on a business trip that kept him absent for several days. In the meantime the nominating convention of the Union Republican party was held, and there was some difficulty as to a choice between the persons named for the nomination as Mayor. In casting around for a way out of the difficulty, the name of Mr.

Chapin was mentioned and instantly met with favor. He was nominated, elected by a strong majority, and the first intimation he received of the movement was reading the election returns in the Cleveland Herald, on his homeward journey.

He accepted the office in the spirit in which it had been conferred upon him. He understood that the people believed he was disposed and able to manage the affairs of the city vigorously and honestly, and he was not disposed to evade the responsibilities of the office. His time was devoted to the duties of his position, the different departments under his charge were carefully scrutinized, and whilst his strictness and vigorous execution of the laws made the offenders complain of his severity, there was no question raised as to his ability, integrity, or honest zeal for the city's interest. He discharged the duties of his office with scrupulous exactness, and he endeavored to make others do the same. During his administration it was no longer a reproach that the ordinances of the city stood

"Like the forfeits in a barbers shop, As much in mock as mark."

At the breaking out of the war, Mr. Chapin took an early and active part in stirring up the people to defend the Government of the Union. Wherever his money, influence, or active energy could be made serviceable, there he was always to be found. Having obtained the appropriation for the Twenty-Ninth Regiment, he worked diligently in raising, equipping, and sending it to the field, and spent much of his own time at the front in various capacities. The ladies who worked diligently for the comfort of the soldiers and the care of the sick and wounded, through the medium of the Ladies' Aid a.s.sociation, found in Mr. Chapin an indefatigable a.s.sistant. He was ever ready with suggestion, active aid, and money, laboring day and night, either at the front, in the hospitals, or at home, in behalf of the soldier.

The Cleveland Library a.s.sociation was another field in which Mr. Chapin's energy and business tact were manifested. In 1854, he was elected president of the a.s.sociation, which had struggled along, a feeble organization, contending against numerous difficulties. Under his vigorous management the a.s.sociation was brought to a higher degree of prosperity then it had ever witnessed; the income was largely increased, the number of books increased one-half, and a lively interest excited in the public mind concerning it. Mr. Chapin retired at the close of his term of office, and the affairs of the a.s.sociation gradually lapsed into their former unsatisfactory condition. In 1858, an attempt was made to save it by revolutionizing its const.i.tution and management. A new const.i.tution was adopted, and under it Mr. Chapin was again elected president. The result was even more marked than in the previous instance. The number of members was nearly doubled, a load of debt that had acc.u.mulated through a number of years was removed, a large number of books added to the library, and the reading-room enlarged and improved. Again, after the lapse of ten years, Mr. Chapin has been called to the presidency of the a.s.sociation, under circ.u.mstances precisely similar to those under which he had twice before a.s.sumed the duties of the position.

Mr. Chapin was married October 15th, 1849, to Matilda, daughter of John Fenno, of Boston. Of this marriage have been born six children, the oldest of whom, a son now nineteen years of age, is in the wholesale grocery of Edwards, Townsend & Co.; the others are all attending school.

Moses White.

Moses White, now one of the very few remaining early citizens of Cleveland, was born at Warwick, Hampshire county, Ma.s.s., February 25th, 1791. His father's name was Jacob White, a native of Menden, Ma.s.s., who traces back his ancestors as natives of that town, to as early a date as 1665.

Moses White, the subject of this memoir, being deprived, at a very early age, of his mother, by death, went to live in Mendon, with his maternal grandfather, Peter Penninian. Afterwards he went to Boston, where he learned the merchant tailor business, with one John Willson. From Boston he went to Providence, R. I., where he remained about two years, and where he became acquainted with Miss Mary Andrews, whom he afterwards married.

In 1813, being desirons of settling further west, he first went to Utica, N. Y., and after remaining there a few months, he proceeded, with a horse and buggy, to Cleveland, where he arrived in October, 1816, the population of the place then being only about 150.