Cleveland's Colorful Characters

By Kit Whipple

Cleveland's Colorful Character's tells many interesting and unknown stories about Cleveland and some of its more interesting citizens. Many of these citizens helped create some of Cleveland's and the country's finest institutions. Unfortunately, many of these stories are unknown to those living in the Cleveland area, and even fewer outside the area. With insights on how Clevelanders were the basis for the book, The Great Gatsby, having the first municipal airport in the country, the first automobile capital in the country, real life ghost stories, or a few previously unreported differences between men and women, there is something for everyone in this book. Especially for those with an interest in learning something new and different. If you're an automobile enthusiast, you'll enjoy the last 3 chapters as they detail over 125 automobile manufacturers in Cleveland. There is even a listing of everyone who owned a vehicle in 1904 in Cleveland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645593287

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Acknowledgments

About the Front Cover

Chapter 1: Brothers of a Different Mother

Chapter 2: The Railroad Kings and Their Queen

Chapter 3: Mr. Magoo Was from Cleveland

Chapter 4: Schweinfurth—Cleveland's Castle Creator

Chapter 5: University Height's Camp Cleveland

Chapter 6: Ghost Stories and the Story of the Best Man

Chapter 7: Cleveland Cars

Chapter 8: Larger and More Influential Cleveland Automobile Manufacturers

Chapter 9: 1904 Vest Pocket Automobile Directory

Chapter 10: A Few Differences

Note

About the Author

cover.jpg

Cleveland's Colorful Characters

Kit Whipple

ISBN 978-1-64559-326-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64559-327-0 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-64559-328-7 (Digital)

Copyright © 2019 Kit Whipple

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

To: Krista M and Chandler H

For all their support and love…

Acknowledgments

The primary motivation behind this book was Ted McMillan. He asked me to write a book on the influential and important Cleveland area Mather family. He was instrumental in the first chapters as he lent me over a half dozen books on various aspects of the Mather family. Most of these books were on the Mather family business dealings. What was missing and tried to be addressed in this writing were insights into the family's personal lives. Fortunately, Ted and Judith assisted by answering any family questions which came up. Lucy and Chuck Weller were also most kind to share the Ireland family information and their insights into William Mather and their families.

George Landis was a kind soul who assisted me with this book over 30 years ago. When George met this young Gehring family descendant, he told me many stories of old Clevelanders and Cleveland's glorified past. George had wonderful insights into Jim Backus, Van Sweringens, Mathers and Hanna's. Somehow; he might have known I'd be writing this book, or at least helped inspired me to do so.

Ann Sindelar and the staff at the Western Reserve Historical Society are treasured gems to the Cleveland area and to all Clevelanders. Many of these never before published images came from their assistance at the historical society. The Mather family (most Katherine Mather) donated these images decades ago and the WRHS held them in safe storage until they were needed. William Mather was another individual who it was said there were no known photographs of him. Fortunately, quite a few images were found at their library. Ann provided great insights into the different families and was also helpful with my difficulties in understanding a new story or set of images. She was always willing and able to assist.

My mother and father who both passed away before this book was written were most helpful in encouraging me throughout my life. Want to also thank countless cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives and friends who also assisted me. Jump family members were more of brothers and sisters, than cousins as we were all roughly the same age and we spent much time growing up together. Also, the Whipple side of the family who were focused on education and history and helped motivate me to write this book.

Ted Luntz for his friendship and contributions to this book. Hopefully his insights and fun stores will be enjoyed by many. Also, to Idarose for permitting this chapter to be published.

Peter and Judy Holmes are special people and deserve a special ‘shout out'. They introduced my wife and I to many who assisted with this book. Without these introductions this book would not have been possible.

Members of my book club who were also most motivational and helpful. For example, when it was mentioned, the Mathers wintered in Wittier California, Paul Williams immediately shared, that's where Richard Nixon grew up. Adding this insight to the story it is hoped the readers find it of value and interest. There were also many random persons who when it was mentioned this book was being written, provided their insights into the Mathers, Van Sweringen's, Jim Backus or any other persons listed in this piece. Everyone's assistance and interest were truly appreciated and helpful.

Bob Lester was a classic car collector as was his father. He was kind individual and introduced me to the book, Standard Catalogue of American Cars 1805 – 1942 by Kimes and Clark. This allowed the Cleveland car chapters to be written. Also, Jim Jaworski and Dave Hendricks for assisting me with my 1910 Sparrow automobile and also providing me many first-hand stories on early Cleveland car manufacturing.

Writing the car chapters led to an interesting story. Was scheduled to fly to California on a business trip. Understanding there would be hours of uninterrupted time; it was time to write the Cleveland Cars chapters. Getting on the plane found my seat was next to one of the most beautiful and gracious women had ever seen. No time to strike up a conversation or even say hello, as I had work to do. For the next 2 to 3 hours wrote page after page of information nonstop. Finally, she had to ask… What are you doing? I laughed and responded, am writing a book and knew would have some quiet time to write. As the flight emanated out of Cleveland, asked her what brought her to Cleveland. Her response was she was at the World Series Baseball game. Not sure why, but something told me to ask her where she sat. Her response was in a loge… Not surprised due to her beauty and grace, but had to ask the follow up question, Who do you know? Her response was Jason Kipnis. Imagined she was Jason's fiancée and hope she and Jason are doing well and still together. A memorable interaction for me and hopefully for her.

Richard Pogue for providing this first-time author a confidence boost by providing his thorough insights of this book shown in the Foreword. His accurate and succinct description of the book contents, assists future readers of the book's content and value.

Cindy Williams Pitera a good friend and a good one to bounce stories off of. She is always willing to offer solid and helpful advice. Carol Mikofalvy who in our running together for so many years was good at listening and giving good advice on burgeoning chapter thoughts. Elizabeth Bell for her amazingly supportive insights and advice.

Jeff Slater of FridgeArt Creative for his wonderful and professional work on the cover. He encouraged me to remove the old first edition cover provided by the publisher. He created a new and much more colorful and enticing cover. Always appreciated.

Rebecca and Melissa Riemenschneider are two of the most gregarious and positive individuals you'll ever meet. Their assistance in book selling and in other positive ways are always greatly appreciated. Their Gioninos Pizza in Solon is the best pizza in a 30-mile radius.

Covenant books was good enough to publish this book and Michele Holmes was as wonderful a production assistant anyone could hope for. She was always patient with this first-time author.

Thanks to anyone and everyone who may have assisted me. Without so many of you this book would not have been possible.

Thanks lastly to Krista and Chandler for their patience as I wrote this book. Their insights and helpful hints were always appreciated.

About the Front Cover

The woman in the right most photograph is Catharine L. Mather in an 1880's regal outfit. When researching the book, Mather family members told me there were no known photographs of her. Needless to say, she enjoyed being photographed.

The second image is Jim Backus' creation, Mr. Magoo. Mr. Magoo was an international television favorite in the late 1960's to early 1970's. This character was created by Jim Backus who grew up in the Cleveland area and created this character from his impression of one of his high school teachers.

The third image is Louise Daisy Jenks who was a friend of the family was a good friend and mentor to the Van Sweringen brothers. It was also learned she was most likely the basis for the Daisy character in the book, The Great Gatsby

Cover art work and design was created by Jeff Slater and Fridge Art Creative.

C leveland's Colorful Characters is a delightful recall of some of the most important individuals in Cleveland's history, particularly in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is packed full of interesting and surprising facts about people such as the Mathers, Amasa Stone, the Irelands, John D. Rockefeller, the Van Sweringen Brothers, Charles F. Schweinfurth (Cleveland's Castle Creator) and, much later on, Jim Backus, the inventor of Mr. Magoo.

Much of the intriguing information in the fact-packed book is based on brand new information which the author derived from conversations with family descendants of those depicted in the book.

It also has a wonderful description of the (relatively brief) days when Cleveland was the automotive capital of the world, producing gasoline, steam, and electric road vehicles; the book contains thumbnail sketches or references to over 120 producers.

Throughout the book there is an absolute wealth of marvelous photography of individuals and related architecture and related subsets going back to the 1840s, when Cleveland's population was only slightly more than 6,000.

The book is written in conversational style, and is hard to put down for anyone with any interest at all in Cleveland history.

Richard W. Pogue

Senior Advisor Jones Day

The story of a city can be told in many ways. Events can be described and retold. The creation and evolution of institutions, cultural, corporate and civic, can be enlightening. The ebb and flow of political fortunes, and the achievements of its citizens can form a telling picture. There are other ways to accomplish it.

It takes a special eye and sensitivity to realize all these components of a city's story are not really distinct. Rather, they are all interrelated (after all, they were not unfolding each in their own cubicle). And when one not only realizes that but finds a way to tell the story this way, what will emerge is not so much a story of a city, but rather the story of a community.

This is precisely what Kit Whipple has accomplished with the book you now hold. His subject, the Cleveland community, is perhaps as well suited to his approach as a city could be. For all of the historical events that occurred here, all of the institutions that have risen, fallen or endured, are inextricably linked not just to the men and women who have lived here, but in a very real way to each other.

Anyone who makes greater Cleveland their home soon senses this without really knowing it. The places, their names, the legends and the myths are everywhere. In this book, Kit Whipple takes us on a journey to where and when much of what we know as the fabric of Greater Cleveland was first woven. And, while he writes of Cleveland's Colorful Characters, he really is telling the story of a community, and telling it with the love and pride that we all share in it.

John Eklund

Ohio State Senator, 18th District

Chapter 1

Brothers of a Different Mother

The Samuel and William Mather Stories

Growing up in the Cleveland area from an old Cleveland family, our region's rich and culturally full history has always played an important role in our family's upbringing. When speaking with other Clevelanders, it's surprising how few Clevelanders understand and fully appreciate the rich, important, and influential history of Cleveland and its residents. As my wiser-than-his-years son once said, It's hard to understand the current day without understanding our history.

If you wondered why our wonderful northeast Ohio hometown enclave possesses such world-class venues as the Art Museum, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Natural History Museum, the large theater district, a wonderful expansive park system, and many more unique and special areas, a number of families helped create the Cleveland we know and love today.

The Mather family has played an important role in creating this culturally rich area. Unfortunately except for the William G. Mather ship, few in the area recognize the name and even more importantly understand the role this family played in creating a world-class city on the shores of Lake Erie from its origins as a sleepy, pioneer town. The Mathers were instrumental in creating Cleveland's religious, cultural, educational and industrial foundations. Almost 200 years later, much of what they helped create is still in existence and thriving. The family continues its efforts to improve the city and the life of its citizens. One can say that no other single family had more influence in helping create the greater Cleveland region and its world-class institutions.

Their interest and involvement were so greatly varied that it is difficult to capture all their accomplishments in a few short pages, since their family members were highly entangled in various businesses.

The Mather family history extends back to the earliest days of this country and to some of its earliest institutions. Increase Mather was the sixth president of Harvard University, and his son Cotton was also asked to be president. However, Ted McMillan, who is a direct descendant of the Mather family and until recently the family historian, has been quoted as saying, Harvard was becoming too liberal, so they helped create Yale University. Furthermore, when Yale became too liberal, the Mather family helped found Princeton University."

Mather Family Tree image from a 1925 Dinner party invitation. Party put on by William and Katherine Mather at their Gwinn home in Bratenahl.

The first Samuel Mather to be mentioned in the Cleveland story was born in 1745 in Connecticut, and in 1795, he was one of the original forty-nine investors in the Connecticut Land Company. His investment of $18,461 was for a 1.5% ownership stake in this new venture. When he passed away nine years later in 1804 at the age of fifty-nine, he bequeathed the land to his son Samuel Mather, Jr. (b. 1771). Sam Mather, Jr. continued to live in Connecticut. Ohio had just become a state the year before his father's passing, and he eventually gave the responsibility of the management of the land to his son, Samuel Livingston Mather, who was born in 1817 in Middleton, Connecticut. The young Samuel L. Mather started the Cleveland Mather line when at the age of twenty-six, he emigrated from Middleton to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1843. Samuel Livingston wanted to assist his sixty-nine-year-old father accelerate the sale of the Western Reserve Lands—the same lands his father had inherited from his father in 1804. By the time his father had passed away in 1854, Samuel Livingston had sold the land and invested in iron ore lands in the Marquette Range in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. As an attorney from New England, Samuel Livingston Mather's training would help him in disposing of the lands and also purchasing the mining lands in Michigan. Samuel then started Cleveland Mining Company, which would later become Cleveland Cliffs. Samuel was also well connected to the East Coast. These relationships would later assist him in raising funds during the early boom-and-bust years of iron ore mining and shipping. Sam Livingston's second son would assume control as chairman of Cleveland Cliffs in 1890 and hold onto it until his death in 1951. For almost a hundred years, these mines and this company would be owned and managed by the father and then the younger son.

When Samuel Livingston moved to Cleveland at the age of twenty-six, the city's population was slightly more than 6,000. Shortly after moving to Cleveland, Samuel Livingston was married to Georgiana Pomeroy Woolson (1831–1853). She was from a good family who had come to Cleveland from the Claremont, New Hampshire, area. The Woolsons moved to Cleveland in the 1840s, and Georgiana was the eldest of their nine children.

The Woolson clan was a literary family related to well-known author James Fenimore Cooper. Georgiana's sister Constance Fenimore Woolson would go on to become a renowned author and an expatriate.

Georgina Woolson Mather this is the only known photograph image of Sam and Katherine's mother. Sadly she passed away 2 months after Katherine was born in 1853. This image was taken by daguerreotype process and later re-taken on carte de visite (aka CDV). Photograph Property of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Samuel Livingston and Georgiana would have two children—Samuel was born in 1851, and Katherine in 1853. Unfortunately, Georgiana passed away two months after Katherine was born. She died of tuberculosis, or as it was then known consumption. This means Georgiana was terminally ill when she was pregnant with Katie. Since tuberculosis is contagious, it also means once her daughter was born, Georgiana would sadly not have been permitted to spend much time or hold her newborn daughter. Georgiana was twenty-two years old at the time of her passing.

In 1853, there were two east side cemeteries, and Georgiana was buried at the new, modern Woodland Cemetery, which had been established just two years earlier. She was buried in the Woolson plot, which also contains her father Charles Jarvis (1869) and her mother Hanna (1879). The cemetery is said to have been laid out in New England-style or park-style cemetery. Whereas previous cemeteries were simply set up with rows and rows of graves, Woodland was set up similar to a park. It was created with walking trails and more attention paid to planting trees, bushes, and flowers. Ornamental plantings became more of a part of cemeteries. It is possible Samuel and Georgiana Mather helped create this new cemetery. Neither could have imagined it to be used by a family member so quickly.

Burial site of Georgina Woolson Mather at Woodland Cemetery on Woodland Ave. Woodland Cemetery was opened in June 1853 and Georgina would have been one of the first to be interned at this new modern cemetery.

Young Samuel L. Mather which was taken when he was an early resident of Cleveland, Ohio. This was Sam, Kate and William's father. Even today many times he is confused with his son Samuel Mather. Photograph Property of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

In 1856, three years after the death of Georgiana, Samuel Livingston married the thirty-two-year-old Elizabeth Lucy Gwinn.