SIFLEET, WILLIAM J. (1860-8 May 1932) is remembered as "the father of BROOK PARK" for his pivotal role in the formation of that Cleveland suburb. The son of Thomas and Elizabeth Sifleet, he was born on their farm on Smith Rd., in what was then Middleburg Twp. Sifleet inherited and worked the family farm, marrying his wife Alice c. 1887.
SIGN OF RAINBOW was a club for deaf and hard-of-hearing members of the LGBTQ community in Cleveland that operated from 1993 to 1997.
SIHLER, CHRISTIAN, MD (2 Oct. 1848-22 Aug. 1919), physician, researcher and writer, and founder of WINDSOR HOSPITAL and LUTHERAN HOSPITAL (1896), was among the first physicians in Cleveland to promote HYDROTHERAPY.
SILBERT, SAMUEL H. (15 Apr. 1883-18 Feb. 1976), lawyer and long-time common pleas court judge, was born in Kiev, Ukraine, to Joseph and Nurious (Brook) Silbert. He came to Newark, N.J. at 6 with his widowed mother and worked selling newspapers and in an ink factory. By 16, Silbert was a state champion amateur boxer. Moving to Denver, he worked as a train news butcher before coming to Cleveland in 1902.
SILHOUETTE was the newsletter of the CLEVELAND SOCIETY OF ARTISTS. It made its debut in March 1925 under the editorship of Robb Beebe.
SILVER, ABBA HILLEL (28 Jan. 1893-28 Nov. 1963), religious leader, Zionist, and social-welfare activist, was born Abraham Silver in Neinstadt, Schirwindt, Lithuania to Moses and Dinah Seaman Silver. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all been rabbis. Silver and his family emigrated to America and settled in New York City in 1902.
SILVER, DON (16 Nov. 1923 - 13 Oct. 1997) was a reporter and editorial writer for the CLEVELAND PRESS who drove efforts to establish the Regional Transit Authority and the passage of a sales tax to fund its operation.
SINCLAIR, JO (1 July 1913-3 April 1995) was the pen name Ruth B. Seid used to write award-winning fiction. Sinclair won the biennial Harper publishing prize of $10,000 in 1946 for Wasteland, her first novel. Sinclair was born in Brooklyn, NY, the fifth child and third daughter of Ida Kravetsky Seid and Nathan Seid, Russian-Jewish immigrants. The family moved to Cleveland when Sinclair was 3.
The SINGERS CLUB, a male chorus, was begun informally in 1891 at the Central YMCA by Homer B. Hatch and Carroll B. Ellinwood. Both men were active in local music and choral activities. The club rehearsed at the YMCA and offered Sunday afternoon programs in exchange for use of its space.
The SINGING ANGELS are a world-famous singing group composed of children ages 8-18 from all over northeastern Ohio. The group performs under the auspices of the nonprofit Northeast Ohio Children's Performing Music Foundation, Inc., and its repertoire includes spiritual music, classicals, show tunes, pop songs, and barbershop harmony.
SINITO, THOMAS J. (18 Sep. 1938-21 Dec. 1997) was a Cleveland mobster who once was accused of plotting to kill Mayor Dennis J. Kucinich. He was born in Cleveland to Lena (Longo) and Frank Sinito, who ran Sinito Brothers fruit market on Woodland Ave.
SISSLE, NOBLE (10 Aug. 1889-17 Dec. 1975), black composer, bandleader, and vocalist, was born in Indianapolis, son of Rev. George A. and Martha (Scott) Sissle. He moved with his family to Cleveland in 1909, graduated from CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL in 1911, and studied at DePauw University (1913) and Butler University (1914-15).
The SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE were organized in Cleveland as a diocesan religious community in 1852 by Bp. AMADEUS RAPPE to care for the sick. Originally 2 Augustinian nuns and 2 young women had come to Cleveland to carry out this work. The 2 nuns returned to France, and Bp.
The SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME in Cleveland, who arrived in 1874, represent the first U.S. location of this international Roman Catholic religious order. Once the motherhouse for the order, this province spawned provincial centers in Covington, KY (1924), Toledo, OH (1924) and Thousand Oaks, CA (1961).
The SISTERS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, part of a worldwide Roman Catholic order (which includes the contemplative Sisters of the Cross and the active Religious of the Good Shepherd), have worked among homeless and delinquent WOMEN and girls in Cleveland since 1869.
SKEEL, ARTHUR J. (1874-7 Dec. 1942) was nationally known for advancing obstetrics and serving as director of the Obstetric Div. of ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL from 1910-38. Born in Augusta, Michigan, son of Frances Adelbert and Hettie (Butler) Skeel, he attended Cleveland schools and studied medicine at the University of Michigan.
SLAUGHTER, FLEET, (24 July 1919-23 Aug. 1975), an AFRICAN AMERICAN business and civic leader, was born in New Orleans, La. After graduating from McDonogh No.
SLAUGHTER, HOWARD SILAS, SR. (19 Oct. 1890-15 June 1936) was a funeral director, embalmer, founder and president of Slaughter Funeral Home, Inc., one of the earliest African-American funeral businesses established in Cleveland.
The SLOVAK INSTITUTE, a resource center (archives and library) for the study of Slovak culture and literature, was founded 15 Sept. 1952 at ST. ANDREW ABBEY on East Blvd. (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr.) in Cleveland.
SLOVAKS. At one time in the early 1900s, Cleveland was reputedly the city with the largest number of Slovaks in the world. As of 1970 an estimated 48,000 persons of Slovak birth or ancestry resided in Greater Cleveland, making Slovaks one of the city's major immigrant groups.
The SLOVENE HOME FOR THE AGED, est. 1962, is a nursing home for elderly Slovenian-American women and men, the second nursing facility in the U.S. specifically built to serve this population (the first was located in California). Efforts to establish the home began in the local Slovenian-American community in the late 1950s. By June 1958, a board of directors had organized with Blas Novak as president.
SLOVENES, a South Slav people whose homeland, Slovenia, declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, began settling in Cleveland in the 1880s, with immigration heaviest in the periods 1890-1914, 1919-24, and 1949-60. Prior to WORLD WAR II, most emigrants were peasants from the economically underdeveloped rural areas of Slovenia, looking for economic betterment.
The SLOVENIAN AMERICAN NATIONAL COUNCIL (Slovenski Ameriski Narodni Svet) attempted to unite Americans of Slovenian heritage to assist the occupied homeland during WORLD WAR II.
The SLOVENIAN NATIONAL HOME, in the 6400 block of St. Clair Ave., is the largest and most significant social and cultural center for local Slovenian Americans. Ideas for a national hall were discussed as early as 1903, when the Slovenian sokols sought to build a gymnasium and library. The opening of Knaus' Hall that year, followed by other privately owned halls, slowed the plans for a publicly held center.
The SLY-FANNER MURDER CASE occupies a significant place in the annals of Cleveland-area police work, testimony to the importance of persistence. The crime occurred 31 Dec. 1920. On that day Wilfred C. Sly and George K. Fanner, principals in the Sly-Fanner Manufacturing Co., were gunned down in cold blood during a robbery. Sly and Fanner had gone to the bank to collect the cash for that afternoon's payroll.
SMALL AND ROWLEY was an architectural partnership that specialized in traditional Colonial and English architecture in the 1920s. Both PHILIP LINDSLEY SMALL (18 July 1890-18 May 1963) and CHAS. BACON ROWLEY (1890-17 Dec. 1984) were raised in Springfield, OH, and graduated from MIT.
SMALL, PHILIP LINDSLEY (18 July 1890-16 May 1963) was a Cleveland-based architect best known for his work with CHARLES ROWLEY.
SMEAD, TIMOTHY (1811-3 Jan. 1890), one of Cleveland's pioneer printers, brought the first newspaper to what later became the city's west side. The son of a printer, he was born in Bennington, Vt., and raised in Bath, N.Y.
SMETONA, ANTANAS (10 Aug. 1874-9 Jan. 1944), who came to Cleveland in Apr. 1942 as the exiled president of Lithuania, was born of peasant parents in Uzulenents, became an ardent promoter of Lithuanian nationalism as a youth, and as a result was expelled from college and later from law school in St. Petersburg, where he was also jailed.
SMITH FOUNDATION. See KELVIN & ELEANOR SMITH FOUNDATION.
SMITH, ALBERT KELVIN (5 Jan. 1899 - 15 Nov. 1984), a founder of LUBRIZOL CORP. and philanthropist, was born in Cleveland to Mary Wilkinson and ALBERT W. SMITH, who with HERBERT DOW founded Dow Chemical Co.
SMITH, ALBERT W. (4 Oct. 1862 - 4 Mar. 1927), chemist, professor, and a founder of Dow Chemical Co., was born in Newark, Ohio to Geo. H. and Mary Smith, graduated from the University of Michigan in chemistry (1885), received a B.S. from Case School of Applied Science (1887) (see CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY), and his Ph.D.
SMITH, ALLEN, JR. (1810-11 Sept. 1890), portrait and landscape painter, was born in Dighton, Mass., to Allen and Lydia (Wardwell) Smith. He worked in Detroit for 6 years before moving to Cleveland in 1841, where he practiced for over 40 years. Smith embarked on his artistic career as a youth by copying prints and drawings.
SMITH, CHARLES HENRY (23 Nov. 1837-13 Aug. 1912), attorney, merchant, banker, and volunteer Civil War officer, was born in Taunton, Mass. to Thomas and Ann Clark Smith. He lived in Fall River, Mass. (1845-50) and Jamestown, N.Y. (1850-56) before moving to Cleveland in 1856 and going into the furniture business. When the CIVIL WAR broke out, he enlisted in Co.
SMITH, DOROTHY (26 Apr. 1892-30 Dec. 1976) was a prominent social worker born in Springfield, Mo. to James H. and Emily G. (Russell) Smith. She attended Vassar College, and entered social work upon her graduation in 1914, assuming a position with the YWCA in Pawtucket, R.I.
SMITH, ELMER JOHN (21 Sept. 1892-3 Aug. 1984), who hit the first grand slam home run in World Series history, was born at Sandusky, Ohio, the son of George C. and Mary Lentz Smith. His baseball career began in Cleveland, playing with the Naps in 1914.
SMITH, FRANK A. (1 May 1894-8 Aug. 1992) was a long-time pastor in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and a charter member of Lane C.M.E. Church in Cleveland.
One of eight children of the Reverend Anthony T. and Caroline Smith, Frank was born in Monticello, GA, where he early learned the role of the circuit preacher.
SMITH, GEORGE HORATIO (July 1848-8 Apr. 1924) was a Cleveland architect best known as a collaborator in designing the ARCADE. Little is known of Smith's upbringing, training, family, and early career. He began his architecture practice in Ohio between 1879 and 1880 with LUCAS ALLEN HEARD under the name Heard & Smith.
SMITH, HARRY CLAY (28 Jan. 1863-10 Dec. 1941), a pioneer of the black press, was brought to Cleveland at 2 after his birth in Clarksburg, W.Va., to John and Sarah Smith. Shortly after graduating from CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, he and 3 associates founded the CLEVELAND GAZETTE in 1883.
SMITH, HERALD LEONYDUS (20 April 1909-20 July 1992), printer, pastor, and organist, edited and published The Herald (1959-80) for members of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination and served as assistant minister at ST.
SMITH, KENT H. (9 Apr. 1894-26 Mar. 1980), a founder of LUBRIZOL CORP., was born in Cleveland to Mary Wilkinson and ALBERT W. SMITH.
SMITH, WILLIAM T. (WEE WILLIE) (22 Apr. 1911 - 14 Mar. 1992) outstanding professional basketball player in the 1930s and member of the National Basketball Hall of Fame, was born in Montgomery, Ala., the son of Isaac and Mary Wheeler Smith. His family moved to Cleveland, and as a youth, he learned to play basketball at HIRAM HOUSE.
SMITH, WILSON G. (19 Aug. 1856-27 Feb. 1929), composer, writer, and major music critic, was born in Elyria to George T. and Calista M. Smith. He graduated from WEST HIGH SCHOOL but health problems prevented him from attending college until 1876.
SMITHKNIGHT, LOUIS (16 Dec. 1834-27 Mar. 1915), volunteer artillery officer during the CIVIL WAR and a postwar militia artillery officer, was born in Saxony to Frederick and Auralia Smithknight. He came to the U.S. in 1845, and lived in Columbus, Ohio before arriving in Cleveland in 1850.
SMYTH, ANSON (1 Jan. 1812-2 May 1887), "the Father of the Cleveland Public Library" and an educator and Presbyterian minister, was born in Franklin, Pa., attended Milan Academy and Williams College, and after teaching a few years, graduated from Yale Theological Seminary.
SNAJDR, VACLAV (26 Sept.1847-4 Sept. 1920) was a prominent Czech-American journalist and publisher who was active in Cleveland business and politics. Snajdr was born in Ceska Budejovice, Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), the son of John and Appolonice Snajdr. Educated at the Gymnasium School at Mlada and the College of Neuhaus in Prague, Snajdr was forced to flee to Berlin during student demonstrations in 1867-68.
SNOW, DORCAS LAVINA (27 July 1902-13 April 1994) was a nationally known piano and music teacher as well as a local historian of the BRECKSVILLE area.
SNOW, JANE ELLIOT (14 June 1837-27 Aug. 1922), Cleveland lecturer, editor and writer, promoted woman's suffrage, dress reform and the accomplishments of other women. At age 84, she was the editor-in-chief of the women's section of the Cleveland Enterprise and special correspondent to publications such as the Cuyahogan.