ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERIES are integral to the religion's practice. Under canon law, Catholics should be buried in cemeteries established by a parish or the diocese. Lacking that, the consecrated section of a non-Catholic one may suffice, or each grave may be blessed at entombment.
ROMANI (or ROMA) are a people with origins in northern India, and later, Europe, historically known for being a nomadic itinerant group.
ROMANIANS. Among the new Southern and East European immigrants coming to Cleveland in the late 1800s were an increasing number of ethnic Romanians, most from the province of Transylvania, at that time part of Austria-Hungary. Other Cleveland Romanians came from the province of Bucovina on the Polish and Russian borders, also part of Austria-Hungary before WORLD WAR I.
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.
RORIMER, LOUIS (12 Sept. 1872-30 Nov. 1939) was born in Cleveland, the son of Minnie (Iglauer) and Jacob Rorimer, a wealthy tobacco dealer. He was educated under sculptor Henry Matzen at Manual Training School, and at 16 went to Europe to study, attending the Kunstgewerbeschule in Munich and Académie Julian in Paris for decorative arts.
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 METAL INDUSTRIES one of the area’s most noted metal fabricators, was established in Cleveland in 1904 by Martin Rose (1870-1955).
ROSE, BENJAMIN (13 Mar 1828-28 June 1908), businessman noted particularly for his philanthropic interest in the care of the aged, was born in Warwickshire, England, son of George and Mary Rose. He came to the U.S. at 10 and settled in Cincinnati with his family. At 12 he got his first job as a laborer in a Cincinnati slaughterhouse.
ROSE, H. (HORACE) CHAPMAN (11 Feb. 1907-17 Feb. 1990), attorney and civic leader, clerked with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and served as assistant undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury (1953-55) and undersecretary of the Treasury (1955-56) under President Dwight Eisenhower. A staunch Republican, he represented President Richard Nixon in income tax matters during the Watergate era.
ROSE, IRVING S. "NIG" (7 Feb. 1893-6 Aug. 1972), a leader in promoting amateur baseball, was born Isadore Rosenstein, in Cleveland, the son of Maurice and Ida Mirlavitze Rosenstein. While attending St. Edward High School he won medals as a sprinter in 1910.
ROSE, WILLIAM GANSON (29 Oct. 1878-16 Aug. 1957), author, advertising executive, and civic promoter, was born in Cleveland to William R. and Eliza F. Ganson Rose.
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 ROSE-MARY CENTER, which began in 1922 as a home for crippled children, has provided residential evaluation and treatment for physically disabled children ages 3-12. Before 1922 Catholic disabled children were cared for at the Episcopal HOLY CROSS HOUSE.
ROSEN, ALBERT LEONARD "AL" (29 February 1924-13 March 2015) was a slugging third baseman for the CLEVELAND INDIANS who later became a Major League Baseball executive.
ROSENBLUM, MAX (5 Dec. 1877-5 Sept. 1953), owner of the Rosenblum-Celtics professional BASKETBALL team, was born in Austria-Hungary to Adolph and Esther Rosenblum. He came with his family to the U.S. when he was 6, and settled in Cleveland ca. 1885. Rosenblum left school after the 6th grade, but later enrolled in Canton Business College to study bookkeeping.
ROSENTHAL, RUDOLPH M. (7 May 1906-19 June 1979), rabbi and rabbi emeritus at Temple on the Heights 46 years, was born in Cleveland, the son of Harry and Dora (Kober) Rosenthal. He studied at Hebrew Union College and the University of Cincinnati, where he received a B.A.
ROSENTHAL, SAMUEL (15 Mar. 1885-11 May 1957) founded and presided over the Cleveland Overall Co. (1915, see the WORK WEAR CORPORATION) and created the Buckeye Garment Rental Co. in 1941. His unique approach to work clothes—renting standardized uniforms to INDUSTRY—permanently altered the market.
ROSENWASSER, MARCUS (4 Oct. 1846-4 Sept. 1910), physician and teacher, was born in Bohemia, son of Herman and Rosalia Rosenwasser. He came to Cleveland with his family in 1852, graduated from CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL in 1864, then returned to Europe to study medicine at the universities of Prague and Wurzburg.
The ROTARY CLUB OF CLEVELAND is a civic-service club formed by 25 charter members on 1 Dec. 1910. By 1935 the club had 400 members and was second in size only to the 550-member original club in Chicago (est. 1905).
ROUDEBUSH, GEORGE MILTON (25 Jan. 1894-29 Feb. 1992), athlete and Cleveland lawyer for 73 years, was born in Newtonville, Ohio, the son of George Milton and Rose Patchel Roudebush. He attended Denison University where he was all-Ohio Conference in football and lettered in basketball, baseball, and tennis. He graduated in 1915 with a BPh. degree, followed by an LLB degree from the University of Cincinnati.
ROUSE, BENJAMIN (23 Mar. 1795-5 July 1871), a pioneer philanthropist, was born in Boston, Mass., son of Joseph and Mahitable Corbet Rouse. He lost both parents at age 6, and, unable to secure a formal education, compensated through common sense and fanatical determination. At 17 he served in the WAR OF 1812, after the war becoming a building contractor. On 12 Aug.
ROUSE, REBECCA CROMWELL (30 Oct. 1799-23 Dec. 1887), leading social-services organizer and reformer, was born in Salem, Mass., to John and Rebecca Elliot Cromwell. Rouse was educated in religion and the classics and acquired worldly knowledge through her extensive travels abroad.
The ROWFANT CLUB (1892), located at 3028 Prospect Ave. is an association founded 29 Feb. 1892, whose members are interested in "primarily the critical study of books in their various capacities to please the mind of man." Membership is by invitation. The club was named for Rowfant, the home of Frederick Locker-Lampson (1821-95), near Crawley, Sussex, England.
ROWLAND, AMY FARLEY (30 May 1872-10 March 1953), editor and teacher, served with the LAKESIDE UNIT, WORLD WAR I, edited a number of publications by Dr. GEORGE W. CRILE, SR., and advocated for women and girls. She was born in Saratoga Springs, NY, to Tace Wardwell Rowland and Rev. Lyman S. Rowland.
ROWLEY, CHARLES BACON (2 Apr. 1890-17 Dec. 1984), "Carl," was an architect best known for his work with Philip Small in the 1920s. Rowley was born in Springfield, Ohio, and attended high school in Jackson, Michigan. He continued his education at MIT, where he graduated in 1912.
The ROXY THEATER was the best-known burlesque house in Cleveland. Its roots date from 1906, when Truman M. Swetland leased the property, located at 1882 E. 9th St., from Levi E. Meachum for 99 years. In 1907 the Family Theater opened at that location. A movie house by 1909, it was renamed the Orpheum Theater in 1913 and, following a 2-yr. shutdown, the Roxy in 1931. By 1933, under new owner Geo.
ROY, KLAUS GEORGE (24 Jan. 1924 - 28 May 2010) was a writer, composer, music critic, record annotator, radio interviewer, concert narrator, teacher and lecturer.
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.
ROYALTON TOWNSHIP, called North Royalton Twp. after 1881, was formed on 27 October 1818 and voted into existence on 6 Nov. 1818, as part of Brecksville Twp. in Twp. 5, Range 13, of the WESTERN RESERVE.
The RUBINSTEIN CLUB was a local women's chorus. Organized in Feb. 1899, the club was led by Mrs. Royce Day Fry, who had studied voice and conducting with Carl Zerrahn in Boston. It gave its first public performance at Plymouth Church in May 1899 with a chorus of 16 voices. Under Fry's direction, the club developed into a fine choral group and joined the Natl. Fed. of Music Clubs.
RUBINSTEIN, BERYL (26 Oct. 1898-29 Dec. 1952), pianist, composer, teacher, and director of the CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC from 1932-52, was born in Athens, Ga., son of Isaac and Matilda (Abrahams) Rubinstein. He began his pianist career as a child performer touring the U.S. from 1905-11 making his debut with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 1911.
JUDAH RUBINSTEIN (July 23, 1921-February 9, 2003) was an archivist, historian, author, and research associate for the JEWISH COMMUNITY FEDERATION of Cleveland (JCF), but he was best known as an authority on Cleveland Jewish history. His parents, Israel (died 1966) and Sonia (1900-1982) were born in Poland and came to the United States early in the twentieth century.
The RUDD-ROCKEFELLER HOUSE, located at 13204 (formerly 13176) Euclid Ave., is a Tudor Revival three-story, 7200 sq. ft. mansion built in 1901 by Windermere Realty in EAST CLEVELAND.
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.
RUETENIK, HERMAN J. (20 Sept. 1826-22 Feb. 1914), leader in the local German Reformed church, was born in Demerthin, Brandenburg, Germany to Karl A. and Charlotte Woldman Ruetenik. He graduated from Joachimsthal Gymnasium, Berlin; and studied divinity at the University of Halle (1846-48). After the 1848 revolution failed, he came to the U.S. as a political refugee.
RUFFIN, BERNIECE WORTHINGTON (18 Mar. 1916-26 June 1998) became the first African-American supervisor at the Cleveland Board of Education's downtown administration building in 1964. She was born in Wren, Ohio, to Louis W. and Leona Worthington. Her father was a farmer. In 1938, Ruffin graduated from Wilberforce University, where she joined the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
RUMBOLD, CHARLOTTE MARGARET (28 Dec. 1869-2 July 1960), was active in urban planning in 2 cities, St. Louis, Mo., and Cleveland. Daughter of Thomas Frazier and Charlotte Rumbold, she was born in Belleville, Illinois, graduated from Columbia University and studied social work in Europe. Rumbold worked in St.
RUSSELL, JACK PAUL (2 Feb. 1915-7 June 1979), 16th ward councilman from 1943-71, was born Paul Ruschak in the Buckeye Rd. area of Cleveland to Stephen and Mary Ruschak, immigrants from Austria-Hungary. He began in politics by managing Joseph Stearns's council campaign in 1933, and built his influence in the neighborhood by publishing newspapers, including the Buckeye Press.
RUSSELL, RALPH (1789-28 Dec. 1866) founder of the North Union Shaker colony, was born in Winsor Locks, Connecticut, the son of Jacob and Esther Dunham Russell. In 1811, Ralph and his brother Elijah traveled to the Warrensville area to inspect land their father had bought from the CONNECTICUT LAND CO.
RUSSIAN RELIEF COMMITTEE. See JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSN.
RUSSIANS. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian community of Greater Cleveland and Cuyahoga County has grown substantially.
RUSYNS. Cleveland's Rusyns trace their heritage to the Carpathian Mountains, a large mountain chain extending from central to eastern Europe and across modern-day Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, and Romania.
RUTHENBERG, CHARLES (9 July 1882-3 Mar. 1927), prominent in the Cleveland Socialist and, later, Communist parties, was born in the CUDELL neighborhood of Cleveland to German immigrants August and Wilhelmenia (Lau) Ruthenberg.
RYCHLIK, CHARLES VACLAV (26 June 1875-6 Dec. 1962), Cleveland-born composer and violinist, son of Vaclav and Karoline Cermack Rychlik, was, at 14, the youngest member of the Cleveland Musicians Union. In 1891 he began studies at the Prague Conservatory, joining the Bohemian String Quartet, performing throughout Europe and meeting Brahms and Bruckner in Vienna.
RYCHTARIK, WASLAV RICHARD (20 July 1894-10 July 1982) worked in Cleveland as an artist and scenic designer from 1922 to 1944. Born in Chocen, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), Rychtarik studied painting and architecture in Prague, where he designed sets for plays and operas at the National Theater. He emigrated with his wife Charlotte to the United States in 1924 and settled in Cleveland, where he had already
RYDER, JAMES F. (7 Apr. 1826-2 June 1904), photographer locally best known for encouraging ARCHIBALD WILLARD to paint The SPIRIT OF '76 and popularizing it through chromolithography, was born in Ithaca, N.Y.
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.
The S. LIVINGSTON MATHER CHARITABLE TRUST was founded in 1953 in Cleveland by CLEVELAND-CLIFFS IRON CO. vice-pres. SAMUEL LIVINGSTON MATHER.