Finding aid for the Devereux Family Photographs

Biography of the Devereux Family

John Devereux (1802-1881) was born in the Devereux manor house in Marblehead, Massachusetts, in April 1802, the eldest son of John Devereux. For a century and a half his Devereux ancestors had been born and died there. Young John was the sixth generation directly descended from an ancestor who came to Salem, Massachusetts, from England in the early seventeenth century. The latter had much to do with the purchase, founding, and governing of Marblehead in the middle and latter part of the seventeenth century.

The War of 1812 disrupted the Devereux estate and altered john Devereux's father's plans for a college education and subsequent pursuit of a professional career for young John. When his father died at an early age, John was left to his own resources. In 1818, he elected to go to sea, making his initial voyage from Marblehead to Java. He advanced rapidly as a young seaman, becoming master of his own vessel at the age of 19. John Devereux married Matilda Burton, of New Orleans, in 1830. Matilda accompanied her husband on many of his voyages. The couple had one child, John Henry Devereux. One source notes John Devereux's permanent retirement from sailing in 1863 while another notes that his final voyage was made from New York to Gloucester, England in 1868. His ships' logs in this collection run through 1864.

In 1865, John Devereux ran for the Massachusetts state legislature as a Democrat. One source states that he had previously been a Whig; another, that he was a Jacksonian Democrat and had contributed to the local Democrat party for many years. John Devereux died in Marblehead in February 1881, survived by his wife and son. At the time of his death it was said that he was the oldest living member of the Boston Marine Society.

John Henry Devereux (1832-1886) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of John and Matilda (Burton Devereux. He was educated in the Portsmouth Academy in New Hampshire as a civil engineer. He came to Cleveland, Ohio, as a youth while the railroad industry was in its infancy to apprentice as a civil engineer on the city-financed Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad. In 1851 while working on the cleveland, Painseville & Ashtabula Railroad as a construction engineer, John Henry Devereux married Antoinette Kelsey, daughter of Lorenzo A. Kelsey, a former mayor of Cleveland. The couple had two sons and two daughters, including Henry Kelsey Devereux.

In 1852, construction on the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Railroad was completed, and John Henry Devereux moved to Tennessee to become Division and Resident Engineer of the Tennessee and Alabama Railroad. He held that job for eight years, and was a prominent resident of Nashville, eventually becoming that city's Civil Engineer.

In 1861, John Henry Devereux made several public speeches sympathetic to the Union cause. At the outbreak of the Civil War he terminated his affairs and returned to Ohio. When the federal government took over the operation of the war, Devereux's knowledge of the South and Southern railroads led to his appointment as United States Military Engineer for the Shenandoah Valley in April 1862. In May 1862 he was given the job of Superintendent, with military rank, of Virginia railroads. He accomplished the arduous task of rebuilding the Virginia railroads, previously in unsatisfactory condition, for military use. Logistically, his organizational abilities played a major role in supporting the Army of the Potomac, bringing special notice from President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.

John Henry Devereux resigned his official position with the Union Army in March 1864 and returned to Cleveland, Ohio, to serve as Superintendent of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. He was quickly promoted to vice president, and resigned in 1868 to accept a comparable position with the Lake Shore Railroad. He was soon appointed President of Lake Shore, and remained in that capacity until all railroad lines between Buffalo and Chicago were consolidated into the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. Devereux became General Manager of this new railroad system in May 1870, a position he held until June 1873 when he accepted the presidency of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railroad, a position he held until his death. He also accepted presidency of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, the "Bee Line," succeeding ex-Union General George B. McClellan in that position. He moved into other railroad executive positions as well. He was a director of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad and vice president of the Pittsburgh, McKeesport & Youghiogheny Railroad. He also served as a director of the Dayton and Union Railroad and the Cleveland and Mahoning Railroad.

In 1873, John Henry Devereux built a mansion along Cleveland's "Millionaire's Row" on Euclid Avenue. The home later became the Cleveland Fine Arts Building. He was one of the incorporators of the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, was a member of the Cleveland Humane Society, and contributed to many Cleveland charities. He was an Episcopalian and held high rank in the Masonic Order. He twice refused a nomination to the United States Congress.

When the Atlantic & Great Western railroad went into receivership in December 1874, John Henry Devereux was appointed receiver. He re-organized the line as the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad in January 1880, and became the President of the new company until his retirement in November 1881.

John Henry Devereux was a friend and confidant of William K. Vanderbilt. In 1882, he served as Vanderbilt's agent in negotiations through which the Vanderbilt railroad system acquired the Nickel Plate line.

In June 1885, John Henry Devereux appeared before the Untied States Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce. During his appearance, he advocated government control to protect railroad investments and the establishment of an interstate commerce commission to maintain fair rates.

John Henry Devereux died of cancer in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 17, 1886.

Sources are indefinate with respect to the exact year of birth for Henry Kelsey Devereux. He was born in the Cleveland mansion of his railroad magnate father, John Henry Devereux and Antoinette Cecilia (Kelsey) Devereux on October 10, 1859 or 1860. He received his early education in Brooks Military Academy of Cleveland, where he was selected by noted Ohio artist Archibald MacNeal Willard to pose for "The Spirit of '76" painting. This painting was being prepared for the Philadelphia Centennial commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Henry Kelsey Devereux graduated with distinction from Yale in 1883, having prepared for a career in engineering. He became a division engineer with one of his father's railroad enterprises, the "Big 4," and eventually its real estate agent. he became an official of the Winslow Car Roofing Company (later known as the Chicago-Cleveland Car Roofing Company).

Henry Kelsey Devereux married Mildred Abeel French in 1885, and the couple had three children. In 1889 he became treasurer of the Paige Car Wheel Company,. This company became part f the Steel Tire Wheel Company in 1897, and Devereux served as a director and Western Representative for this firm. Additionally, he served as treasurer for the Cleveland Railway Supply Company; vice president and director of the Brady metal Company of New York; Cleveland Representative for the Franklin Castings Company; sales agent and Cleveland manager for the Chicago-Cleveland Car Roofing Company; director of the Railway Steel Spring Company of New York; and a director of the Paterson-Sargent Paint Company.

On June 1, 1895, Henry Kelsey Devereux was one of the organizers of the Gentlemen's Driving Club of Cleveland. In 1908 he organized (and served as lifetime president) the Forest City Live Stock and Fair Company. This firm built the North Randall race track for harness horses. Devereux was an avid promoter of the fine harness horse, having been interested in trotting races while in his youth. In a day when wealthy sportsmen drove their own trotting horses at race tracks, he won many races and accumulated countless trophies and ribbons in competition with other gentlemen amateur contemporaries. He was president of a chain of race tracks known as the Grand Circuit Racing Association, President of the League of Amateur Driving Clubs, and the Gentlemen's Driving Club of Cleveland. he served as secretary and president of the American Association of Trotting Horse Breeders, and was a member of the review board of the National Trotting Association. In company with others, he formed the Cleveland Pastime Stable. Aside from being an internationally known horse fancier and philanthropist, he belonged to several clubs. He was a member of the Delta Psi fraternity, "Troop A" of the Ohio National Guard, and the Episcopal Church.

Henry Kelsey Devereux retired from business in 1911 to devote full time to the breeding and racing of trotting horses. He established a winter residence in Thomasville, Georgia, that developed into a winter colony for several other prominent Cleveland families. His Ohio estate was at Nutwood Farm in Wickliffe, not far from Cleveland. Devereux died at his Thomasville estate on May 2, 1932, due to a heart condition.

Scope and Content

The Devereux Family Photographs, 1860-1920 and undated, consist of five albums, unmounted photographs, and stereographs relating to the life and interests of various Devereux family members of Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to many individual portraits of Devereux family members and friends, the collection includes group portraits of the Cleveland Gatling Gun Battery; various coaching groups; gatherings at North Randall and Wickliffe, Ohio; and horses, drivers, and harness racing. Included are stereographs (ca. 1890-1910) of the Devereux farm in the South, the Medina County, Ohio, fair (1910), and the North Randall, Ohio race track.

The first card photograph album contains 42 cabinet card photographs and measures 9.5 x 11.75 inches.

The second card photograph album contains 92 carte de visite and cabinet card photographs and measures 8.5 x 11 inches.

The third card photograph album contains 41 cabinet card photographs and measures 8 x 10.5 inches.

The fourth card photograph album contains 37 cabinet card photographs and measures 8 x 10.5 inches.

The fifth card photograph album contains 72 carte de visite and cabinet card photographs and measures 9 x 11.5 inches.

The collection also includes 100 loose photographs and 196 stereographs.

All of the photographs are black and white.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 2415 Devereux Family Papers.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 61 Devereux Family Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

These photographs were removed from MS 2415 Devereux Family Papers. A portion of the Devereux Family Papers was acquired by the Western Reserve Historical Society, presumably after the death of Henry Kelsey Devereux in 1932. Another collection of the Papers came to the Western Reserve Historical Society in 1952 from Mrs. Edwin M. Ashcraft III (nee Mildred Winslow) and Mrs. A. Winslow Powell (nee Aileen D. Winslow), two sisters, daughters of Aileen V. (Devereux) Winslow, and granddaughters of Henry Kelsey Devereux. The two groups have been combined to form the Papers. A special grouping within the Papers consists of the "records" (specifically, scrapbooks of mounted and unmounted material) of the Gentlemen's Riding Club of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1895-1916. These have been kept in their original leather cases.

Detailed Description of The Collection