BROWN, JERE A. (1841-28 Mar. 1913), a black Republican politician, was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., attended Avery College in Allegheny, Pa., and lived in Canada and St. Louis before arriving in Cleveland in 1870 or 1871, becoming active in politics here to improve his status. He was appointed bailiff for Judge Daniel R.
Category: Politics and Government
BROWNELL, ABNER (1813-1857), a member of the city council and mayor of Cleveland from 1852-55, was born in Massachusetts, the son of Nathan C. and Elizabeth Adams Smith Brownell. He was educated in local schools, and came to Cleveland in the 1840s while in the employ (1846-49) of the W. A. Otis Co. as a dealer in iron and glass. From 1849-53 he was a partner in the banking firm of Wick, Otis, & Brownell.
BUHRER, STEPHEN (25 Dec. 1825-8 Dec. 1907), Democratic mayor of Cleveland from 1867-71 and 4-term city councilman (1855-57, 1863-67, 1874-76), was born to Johann Casper and Anna Maria Miller Buhrer on the Zoar farm in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. When his father died in 1829, he was bound to the Society of Separatists, who operated the communal farm at Zoar, until he came of age.
BULKLEY, ROBERT JOHNS (8 Oct. 1880-21 July 1965), a prominent banker and businessman, was a Democratic U.S. Representative from 1910-14 and U.S. senator from 1930-39. Born in Cleveland, to Charles Henry and Roberta Johns Bulkley, he received an A.B. (1902) and M.A. (1906) from Harvard, and studied law for a year. Bulkley was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1907.
BURKE, LILLIAN W. (2 August 1915 – 27 March 2012) was a pioneer, the first black woman judge in Ohio and the first to sit on the Ohio Industrial Commission, the highest state position ever held by a black woman at that time. She was born in Thomaston, Georgia; her parents were George P. and Ozella (Davidson) Walker. Her family moved to Pittsburgh where she was educated in its public schools.
BURKE, THOMAS A. (ALOYSIUS) (30 Oct. 1898-5 Dec. 1971) served as Cleveland law director and mayor. Born in Cleveland to Thomas A. and Lillian McNeil Burke, he received his B.A. from Holy Cross College (1920), and his LL.B. from Western Reserve University School of Law (1923). He was assistant county prosecutor from 1930-36; and in 1937, the state attorney general appointed him special counsel to prosecute vote fraud.
BURNHAM, THOMAS (18 June 1808-7 Apr. 1898), a founder of the malleable iron business west of the Allegheny Mts and mayor of OHIO CITY from 1849-50, was born in Moreau, N.Y., son of James and Miriam Burnham. He was master of a freight boat on the Champlain Canal before settling in Brooklyn Twp., Ohio, in 1833.
BURTON, COURTNEY, JR. (29 Oct. 1912-19 Aug. 1992), chairman of OGLEBAY NORTON CO. for 35 years and active in national Republican Party affairs, was born in Cleveland, the son of Courtney Burton, Sr. and Sarita Oglebay Burton. He attended Hawken School and from 1932-34 studied at the Michigan College of Mining and Engineering in Houghton, Michigan.
BURTON, THEODORE ELIJAH (20 Dec. 1851-28 Oct. 1929) served as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives (1889-91, 1895-1909, 1921-28) and U.S. Senate (1909-15, 1928-29). Born in Jefferson, Ohio, to Rev. Wm. and Elizabeth Grant Burton, he attended Grinnell Academy & College in Iowa 2 years before returning to Ohio, earning an A.B.
CADWELL, DARIUS (13 Apr. 1821-26 Nov. 1905), an attorney, state legislator, Union Army officer, and judge, was born in Andover, Ohio, in Ashtabula County, son of Roger and Caroline Darius. He attended county and select schools, and completed 1 year at Allegheny College in 1841. After teaching county schools for several years, he studied law under Benjamin Wade (later U.S.
CASTLE, WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE (30 Nov. 1814-28 Feb. 1872), a businessman and mayor, was born in Essex, Vt., moved to Toronto in 1815, and settled in Cleveland in 1827 (one source indicates 1832). Later that year, Castle, his father, and Chas. Giddings opened Cleveland's first lumberyard.
CERMAK, ALBINA (4 Apr. 1904-22 Dec. 1978) was a lifelong Republican and the first woman to run for mayor of Cleveland. Born in Cleveland to Frank J. and Rose Cermak, she dropped out of nursing school to become bookkeeper-secretary-buyer in the family Cermak Dry Goods Co. In 1933 she became a bookkeeper for the city public utilities department; within 2 years, she was supervisor.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. See GREATER CLEVELAND GROWTH ASSN.
CITIZENS BUREAU. See INTERNATIONAL SERVICES CENTER.
The CITY CLUB OF CLEVELAND, often referred to as "Cleveland's Citadel of Free Speech," provides a central meeting place for members of diverse beliefs and opinions to participate in free and open discussions on the social, political, and economic problems of the city, the state, the nation, and the world. The idea of a city club for Cleveland was formulated at an organizational luncheon on 14 June 1912.
CITY PLANNING. Like most American cities, Cleveland began as a speculative venture in real estate. Conceived as the capital of New Connecticut, the city was laid out in 1796 by surveyors with the original Moses Cleaveland expedition. The plat, a faithful reproduction of a New England town, with its characteristic commons, failed to treat either river or lakefront as a public amenity.
The CITY RECORD is the official publication of the city of Cleveland and contains the proceedings of Cleveland City Council. The first City Record appeared with the date of 7 Jan. 1914, and was indicative of the change in city government that year. The premier issue indicated the aims of its compilers: it was to be a public document with no news matter or editorial comment.
CIVIL DEFENSE IN GREATER CLEVELAND can be divided into two distinct periods. It was first activated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 to protect the local area from enemy air raids, although it was not probable that German or Japanese bombers would reach America's industrial heartland.
CLAPP, NETTIE MACKENZIE, (22 Aug. 1858-30 July 1935) became the first woman elected to the Ohio house of representatives from Cuyahoga County in 1922, two years after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. She was born and attended schools in Cincinnati, including the Cincinnati School of Art, and became an interior designer and illustrator of children’s books. In 1891, she married Dr. Harold T.
CLEAVELAND, MOSES (29 Jan. 1754-16 Nov. 1806), founder of the city of Cleveland, was born in Canterbury, Conn. In 1777, Cleaveland began service in the Revolutionary War in a Connecticut Continental Regiment, and graduated from Yale. Resigning his commission in 1781, he practiced law in Canterbury, and on 2 Mar. 1794 married Esther Champion and had four children.
The CLEVELAND 1914 MARCH FOR SUFFRAGE brought together women and men, native-born and immigrant, black and white, working-class and socially prominent, seasoned politicos and political newcomers from 64 Ohio counties in pursuit of a single goal: passage of an amendment to the Ohio constitution that would give Ohio women the right to vote.
CLEVELAND BOARD OF ELECTIONS. See CUYAHOGA COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS.
CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL grew in both size and responsibility to meet the needs of the expanding metropolis. Traditionally Cleveland has favored a large council to represent the interests of its diverse population. The community's legislative body began with 3 trustees chosen to make laws for the township (1802) and later for the village (1814).
CLEVELAND CITY GOVERNMENT. Cleveland's city government took its present shape in Jan. 1914 with implementation of a new Home Rule Charter (see HOME RULE) which increased the city's powers of self-government so that it could deal with modern, complex urban affairs.