ROCKEFELLER, JOHN D. (8 July 1839-23 May 1937), industrialist and philanthropist, rose from his position as an assistant bookkeeper for a Cleveland commission merchant to become one of the wealthiest men in the U.S. through his efforts in developing the STANDARD OIL CO. Born on a farm near Richford, NY. Rockefeller was the son of Wm. A. and Eliza Davison Rockefeller.
Category: Business and Industry
ROEDIGER, STANLEY I. (9 Nov. 1910-1 Jan. 1998) formed Roediger Construction Inc. and played a role in helping to build some of Greater Cleveland's most prominent structures. Roediger was born in Ohio to William A., a building contractor, and Mary (Doyle) Roediger. He graduated from Shaw High School in EAST CLEVELAND and began a carpenter apprenticeship with his father.
The ROOT & MCBRIDE CO. was one of the leading pioneer wholesale dry goods firms in the Midwest. The A.M. Perry & Co., a partnership of 2 local merchants, Ashbel M. Perry and Ralph R. Root, founded the City Mills general store in 1849 on the corner of Superior and Seneca (W. 3rd) streets. In 1857 Root and another local retailer, Edmund P.
The ROSE IRON WORKS, INC., custom fabricators of art and industrial metals, is one of the oldest firms of its kind in the U.S. It was founded by Martin Rose in Cleveland in 1904. Rose (1870-1955) was born in Hungary and studied and apprenticed in Budapest and Vienna. He emigrated to Cleveland in 1903 with his wife and a son.
ROSE, WILLIAM GREY (23 Sept. 1829-15 Sept. 1899), businessman, real estate developer, and Republican mayor of Cleveland (1877-78, 1891-92), was born in Mercer County, Pa. to James and Martha McKinley Rose. He attended Austinburg Grand River Institute in Ohio and Beaver Academy, studied law in Mercer, and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1855, practicing law there.
The ROYAL APPLIANCE MANUFACTURING CO. had its beginnings in 1905 in the P.A. Geier Co. on E. 105th St. In 1912 the punch press manufacturer decided to launch a new line of vacuum cleaners which it marketed under the "Royal" trademark.
RUETENIK GARDENS has been an innovative leader in northeastern Ohio's greenhouse vegetable-growing industry since its founding in the 1880s. Martin L. Ruetenik, son of Rev. HERMAN J. RUETENIK, was a young truck farmer on Schaaf Rd. when he built Cleveland's first greenhouse there in 1885 and began raising leaf lettuce and tomatoes.
S. BRAINARD'S SONS was Cleveland's leading 19th-century musical-instrument dealer and music publisher. SILAS BRAINARD founded the company in 1836 and opened a piano store in the American House hotel on Superior Ave., selling Chickering pianos shipped from the factory in Boston. In 1845 he purchased Watson's Hall, which had been built in 1840, and renamed it Melodeon Hall.
S. K. WELLMAN CO. See BRUSH-WELLMAN, INC.
SALT MINES. See AKZO NOBEL SALT, INC.
SAPIRSTEIN, JACOB J. (30 Oct. 1884-24 June 1987) founder of AMERICAN GREETINGS CORP. and Jewish philanthropist, was born in Wasosz, Poland, the son of Rabbi Isaac and Molly Sapirstein and grew up in Grajeyvo, Poland.
SAUER, AUGUSTA (GUSTIE) VCELA (8 Sept. 1893-3 Nov. 1985) was a licensed funeral director and co-founder, with her husband, Carl Henry Sauer, of Sauer funeral homes on Cleveland's West Side.
SAVINGS AND LOANS. See BANKING.
SAYLE, WALTER DANIEL (10 September, 1860-5 September 1941) was a prominent industrialist affiliated with several successful businesses, including the Cleveland Punch and Shear Works. A native Clevelander, Sayle was one of six children born to Thomas Henry Sayle and Jane Clark. Sayle graduated from CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL in 1880.
SCHAEFER BODY, INC., initially specializing in custom-made wagons and carriages, grew with the AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, building auto and truck bodies and supplying related services.
SCHOENFELD, FRANK K. (7 Dec. 1904-29 Dec. 1984), chemical engineer and director of the research center of the B. F. Goodrich Co. in the 1960s (see B. F. GOODRICH CO. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT), was born in Pittsburgh to George and Rose Koch Schoenfeld.
The SCOTT AND FETZER CO., a major diversified conglomerate, began in 1914 when George H. Scott and Carl S. Fetzer organized the George H. Scott Machine Co. located at 118 Noble Ct. The firm incorporated on 30 Nov. 1917 as the Scott & Fetzer Machine Co. and then moved to the corner of Locust Ave. and W. 114th St. Two years later, it shortened the name to Scott & Fetzer Co.
SCOTT, FRANK A. (22 Mar. 1873-15 Apr. 1949), businessman and civic leader, was born in Cleveland to Robert Crozier and Sarah Ann Warr Scott. At 18 he began working for a railroad company, moving into increasingly responsible positions. From 1899-1905 he was secretary of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, and from 1905-09, secretary and treasurer of Superior Savings & Trust Co.
SCOVILL, PHILO (30 Nov. 1791-5 June 1875), pioneer, contractor, and merchant, was born in Salisbury, Conn., to Timothy and Chloe (Kelsey) Scovill. The family moved several times during his youth, and in 1816 came to Cleveland. Scovill established himself as a merchant in the drug and grocery business. Disenchanted with this line of work, he moved into a lumber venture with Thos. O. Young.
SEARS, LESTER MERRIAM (13 May 1888-20 Feb. 1967) was an engineer who invented the gasoline-powered industrial tractor, the forklift industrial truck and founded the Towmotor Corporation of Cleveland.
SEAVER, JOHN WRIGHT (8 Jan. 1855-14 Jan. 1911) designer and builder of large industrial and transportation structures, was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of Daniel M. and Charlotte Ann (Cook) Seaver. Educated in the public schools of Buffalo, New York, he also studied practical mathematics and mechanics with inventor Robert Stevenson.
SEAWAY FOODS, INC., is a major wholesaler of food and grocery products in northern Ohio. A consolidation of 4 Cleveland wholesale grocery companies, it was formed on 6 Jan. 1956 as the Seaway Wholesale Co. by the Eagle Wholesale Grocery Co., the J. F. Sansons & Son Co., the Economy Cash & Carry Co., and the David Lombardy Co. (1928). They continued to operate individually until 17 Aug.
SELDEN, GEORGE G. (13 Oct. 1915-18 Dec.
SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER, hailed as Ohio's first indoor shopping center, was erected at the corner of Mayfield and S. Taylor roads in CLEVELAND HTS. on the former site of the 161-acre estate of JOHN L. SEVERANCE (1863-1936) and later the residence of his nephew, Severance Millikin, who lived on the property until 1960.