SEVERANCE, SOLON LEWIS (8 Sept. 1834-8 May 1915), banker and philanthropist, was born in Cleveland, the son of SOLOMON LEWIS and Mary Long Severance and grandson of Dr. DAVID LONG; was educated in district and private Cleveland schools; and became an office boy in a banking firm at 14. He rose in the firm and later organized Euclid Ave. Natl. Bank with several other investors. That bank merged with Euclid Park Bank, and later became part of First Natl. Bank. He was a director of the latter bank and also of First Trust & Savings Bank. Severance's great interests were in religion and philanthropic work and in travel. He was a charter member of Woodland Ave. Presbyterian Church and one of the first directors of the Fresh Air Camp.
He married Emily Allen, the younger sister of Dr. DUDLEY P. ALLEN, on 10 Oct. 1860. One child was born, Julia Severance, who later married Dr. Benjamin L. Millikin. Like his brother, LOUIS, Solon Severance tried to encourage sympathy for foreign missions. A world traveler, he made illustrated lectures of his journeys and presented them to friends and groups in Cleveland. Severance died in Cleveland and was buried in LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.
