The Sowden Family

George Gavazzi Sowden

Birth: 16 May 1853, in Port Hope, Northumberland county, Ontario, Canada

Baptism: 1853, in Ontario, Canada

Father: Thomas Musgrave Sowden

Mother: Harriet Mary (Newton) Sowden

Education: Trinity Preparatory College

Married: Mary Estelle Houtz on 12 May 1880, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States
Mary was born on 25 March 1859, in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Henry Houtz and Betsy Ann Kenegy. She died on 10 March 1929, at 2645 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, of atheromas and mitral stenosis, and was buried on 12 March 1929, in Woodlawn cemetery, Cleveland.
Census & Addresses:
1880: Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1900: 393 East Prospect St, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1910: Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1920: Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1929: 2645 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (death certificate)

Children:
Occupation: Lawyer, Broker and Mine Owner
Leading manufacturers and merchants of the City of Cleveland and environs p191 (1886)
American Mercantile Agency, Ferrell & Sowden, Proprietors, No. 158 Superior Street. - This agency was established in 1878 by Messrs. Charles E. Ferrell, notary public and manager of the bureau, and George G. Sowden, attorney-at-law, since which period they have built up a liberal and influential patronage from our merchants, manufacturers, and business men. They transact legal business of all kinds, and make collections through trustworthy attorneys in all parts of the country, and are the Cleveland agents for Ealy's Blue Book, and that of the American Shoe and Leather Trade Association, and the local office for Lyons' Furniture Agency Book, for which they have three hundred subscribers in this city and vicinity. The American Mercantile Agency possesses efficient means of procuring the financial standing of persons in any portion of the civilized world through their numerous connections, and their manner of doing business differs somewhat from other agencies, in this, that where a small subscription price is charged to cover the cost of daily sheets and actual expenses incurred on claims returned worthless, the rest of the service performed under the contract is paid for in proportion to the amount of service rendered. Messrs. Ferrell & Sowden think this the only equitable way of operating a mercantile agency. Messrs. Ferrell & Sowden execute articles of incorporation, mortgages, deeds, leases, assignment papers, and everything in the legal line, and no claim is allowed on any account to sleep, so that when the firm reports a claim uncollectible, it can implicitly be relied on that every possible means has been exhausted. The following are a few of the firms that have employed Messrs. Ferrell & Sowden in the collections of accounts and for commercial reports with great success and who highly commend them, viz.: Fuller, Warren & Co., stoves; Cleveland Stove Company; Garry Iron Roofing Company; Brush, Moore & Co., hardware; Lord, Bowler & Co., machinery; J. H. Morley & Co., white lead works; Bohm & Stuhr, lumber; Chaffer & Becker, steam heating; Cleveland City Forge and Iron Company; Lowman & Co., carriages; Root & McBride Bros., dry goods; Edward Townsend & Co., wholesale grocers; A. J. Wenham & Son, wholesale grocers; Smith & Curtiss, wholesale grocers; A. B. Williams & Co., commission merchants; D. W. Loud & Co., wholesale liquors; Jones Brothers & Grimshaw, wholesale liquors; Isaac Leisy & Co., brewers; Dennison Brothers, hides, etc.; Borden, Selleck & Co., scales; Gaensallen Brothers, wholesale leather; Seaman & Smith, boots and shoes; Globe Oil Company; Cleveland Linseed Oil Company; Forest City Oil and Naphtha Company; Strong, Cobb & Co., wholesale drugs, and hundreds of others. Mr. Ferrell is a native of Ohio, and Mr. Sowden of Canada. Few houses, in any department of business, can refer to so creditable a list of representative concerns as those above given.

Notes: George emigrated to the United States in October 1872, settling in Cleveland, Ohio.

Biography:
The bench and bar of Cleveland p334 (James Kennedy, Wilson Day, 1889)
  G. G. Sowden was born at Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, on May 16, 1855. He came to the United States in 1872; was educated in the public schools and Trinity Preparatory College; and commenced the study of law in 1877, in the office of J. P. Dawley, Esq. Mr. Sowden was admitted in 1881.

A History of Cleveland, Ohio: Biographical pp935-6 (Samuel Orth, 1910)
GEORGE GAVAZZI SOWDEN.
  George Gavazzi Sowden, of the firm of George G. Sowden & Company, stock and bonds, possesses the alertness and ready resource so necessary in one who deals in stocks and bonds or other commercial paper liable to fluctuation, so that the investor must anticipate a rise or fall in the market and make his purchases and sales at the opportune time. Mr. Sowden has become well known as a representative of financial interests and is now operating quite extensively in mining properties.
  Born at Port Hope, Canada, on the 16th of May, 1855, he was educated in private and public schools of that city and in October, 1872, crossed the border into the United States and established his home in Cleveland. Here he became associated with J. W. Carson & Company, clothiers, and pursued his law studies under the direction of Jay P. Dawley. He had been educated in classics in a private school and his broad literary learning served as an excellent foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional knowledge.
  In 1881 Mr. Sowden was admitted to the bar and at once entered upon active practice, having a large commercial law and collection business. He continued as an active attorney before the Cleveland bar for twenty years and was alone during the greater part of that time, although he was associated at one time with Charles E. Ferrell in the collection business as the Ferrell-Sowden Company, and later with George R. Miller, Jr. as Sowden & Miller, for three years. Since 1901 he has been engaged largely in the operation of gold and silver mines in the west and deals some in stocks and bonds. He became senior partner in the firm of Sowden, Cody & Company and did a good brokerage business, publishing daily quotations. Later he became interested in cobalt mining in Canada. Formerly when in the collection business as the Ferrell-Sowden Company he published a small sheet showing judgments, etc., which was known as the Daily Trade Record and was afterward consolidated with the Court Record and is now the Commercial Bulletin, afterwards a publication of considerable importance in business circles, showing court calendars, judgments, transfers. He now operates quite extensively in mining on his own account holding valuable properties in the west and in Canada, and his sound judgment and keen discrimination are evidenced in the success attending his efforts.
  On the 12th of May, 1880, Mr. Sowden was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Houtz, a daughter of Dr. Henry and Betsy Ann (Kenegy) Houtz. Their children were five in number: Marion Kenegy; Henry Newton, deceased; Irene; Ralph H.; and Richard Musgrave.
  Mr. Sowden is a member of the Euclid and Athletic Clubs and is well known socially in the city, while his business prominence is widely recognized. He made his start in Cleveland in a humble capacity but through orderly progression has become well known as a leading representative of financial interests here.

Death: 30 March 1912 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States, of atrophic cirrhosis of the liver

Buried: 1 April 1912, in Woodland cemetery, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States

Census & Addresses:
1861: Cavan, Durham county, Ontario
1880: Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1900: 393 East Prospect St, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1910: Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1912: 7403 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (death certificate)

Sources:

Henry M. Sowden

Birth: 1849/50, in Millbrook, Durham county, Ontario, Canada

Baptism: 1850, in Ontario, Canada

Father: Thomas Musgrave Sowden

Mother: Harriet Mary (Newton) Sowden

Buried: 1869, in Ontario, Canada

Census:
1861: Cavan, Durham county, Ontario

Sources:

Henry Newton Sowden

Birth: 4 November 1883, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States

Father: George Gavazzi Sowden

Mother: Mary Estelle (Houtz) Souden

Death: 6 February 1888 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States, aged 4

Sources:

Irene Adelaide Sowden

Birth: 14 May 1889, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States

Father: George Gavazzi Sowden

Mother: Mary Estelle (Houtz) Souden

Death: 19 May 1889 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States, aged 0

Sources:

Marion Kenegy (Sowden) Kinney

Birth: 22 June 1881, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States

Father: George Gavazzi Sowden

Mother: Mary Estelle (Houtz) Souden

Married: Brewster Pelton Kinney on 29 June 1909, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States.
Brewster P. Kinney is recorded as unmarried, aged 31, born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Geo. W. Kinney and Theresa J. Pelton. He is a salesman, resident at 2130 E 105th St. Marion K. Sowden is recorded as unmarried, aged 27, born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Geo. G. Sowden and Mary E. Houtz. Her residence is 7403 Carnegie Ave.

Brewster was born on 26 September 1877, at 104 Kenilworth St., Cleveland, Ohio, the son of George William Kinney and Thirza Jeanette Pelton. He was educated at Cornell University and was a member of Zeta Psi franternity. He graduated as an electrical engineer, and worked as salesman and merchant.
New York Times 26 August 1908
YOUNG E. H. MORSE HELD FOR LARCENY
Charged with Taking Gold  Medals,  Trophies of Athletic Success, from Brewster P. Kinney.
HE ADMITS PAWNING THEM
Tells of Quarrel with His Father, New York Financier, Which He Holds Responsible for His Present Plight
Special to The New York Times
  PITTSBURG, Penn., Aug. 25. - In a cell at Central Station is Ethol Hyne Morse, aged 30 years, son of J. R. Morse of New York and Englewood, President of the American Trading Company, with offices in the Broad Exchange Building, 25 Broad Street. Young Morse is charged with grand larceny, the charge having been preferred by Brewster P. Kinney, a wealthy man who lives at 2,130 East 105th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. According to information received by the police from the Cleveland authorities Morse took from Mr. Kinney five gold medals, which he had won as a champion shot putter, a Colt's revolver, two suits of pink silk underwear, two silk undershirts, and one pair of silk pajamas. ...

In 1905 Brewster was one of the incorporators of the Cleveland Stone Company, and in 1942 he was employed by the Austin Co., Noble Rd. and Euclid Ave., East Cleveland. Brewster was awarded a patent for a "Holder for Kintting or Crochet Needles" in 1920, and another patent for a dispensing device in 1935.
Brewster died on 7 February 1944, at 2696 St James Parkway, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, from a coronoary thrombisis due to arteriosclerosis, and was buried on 8 February 1944, in Lakeview cemetery, Cleveland.
Census & Addresses:
1880: Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1900: 104 Kenilworth St., Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1908: 2130 E 105th Street, Cleveland, Ohio   (New York Times 26 August 1908)
1910: East Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1912: 60 Wadena St., Cleveland, Ohio   (death certificate of father-in-law, George Sowden)
1920: Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1942: 2696 St James Parkway, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (World War II Draft Registration card)
1944: 2696 St James Parkway, Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (death certificate)

Death: 2 March 1968 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States, of congestive heart failure

Buried: in Kinney family crypt, Lakeview cemetery, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States

Census & Addresses:
1900: 393 East Prospect St, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1909: 7403 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (marriage certificate)
1910: East Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1920: Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1929: 2096 St James Parkway, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (death certificate of mother, Mary) (the house number is originally written as 2196, it is amended to 2096)
1942: 2096 St James Parkway, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (World War II Draft Registration card of husband, Brewster)  (the house number is originally written as 2196, it is amended to 2096), On the World War II draft registration card of Marion's brother, Ralph, her address is written as 2196 St James Parkway, and not amended.

Sources:

Ralph Houtz Sowden

Birth: 18 July 1895, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States

Father: George Gavazzi Sowden

Mother: Mary Estelle (Houtz) Souden

Education: International Correspondence School.
Ralph was one of small percentage of students who successfully completed a course in Engineering offered by the then famous International Correspondence Schools.

Married (1st): Hazel R. Turner on 29 November 1916 in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States
Ralph H. Sowden is recorded as unmarried, aged 21 on 7-18-16, born in Cleveland, the son of George C. Sowden and Mary E. Houtz. He is a Time Keeper and resident at 15 Knowles St. Hazel R. Turner is recorded as unmarried, aged 18 on 5-25-16, born in Cleveland, the daughter of Wm. J. and Bertha Salamon. She is resident at 5710 Gough Ave.

Hazel was born on 25 May 1898, in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of William J. Turner and Bertha Solomon. She died on 10 June 1926, at Charity Hospital, Cleveland, of streptococcus meningitis, and was buried on 12 June 1926 in Lake View cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio, in Section 5 lot 793-0
Census & Addresses:
1916: 5710 Gough Ave, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (marriage certificate)
1920: Trumbull county, Ohio
1926: 4561 Telhurst Rd., Cleveland, Ohio   (death certificate)

Married (2nd): Myrtle L. Cunnington.
Myrtle was born on 1 December 1896, in Cleveland, the daughter of Henry A. Cunnington and Jennie Hollowell. She died on 16 December 1982 and is buried in Lake View cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio, in Section 43 lot 1579-0.
Census & Addresses:
1910: Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1920: Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1945: 1585 Hawthorne Dr., Euclid, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (death certificate of husband Ralph)
1982: Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (U.S. Social Security Death Index)

Occupation: Time Keeper (1916); Structural Engineer. Ralph was employed as engineer at Jones & Laughlin Steel Co., and later at Samuel Austin Structural Engineering Co.

Death: 30 May 1945 at 1585 Hawthorne Dr., Euclid, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States. from a cerebral hemorrhage or coronary occlusion.
Death notice transcribed at Rootsweb WorldConnect (25618)
Sowden: Ralph H., beloved husband of Myrtle (nee Cunnington), father of Jane H. and Alyce J., brother of Mrs. Brewster Kinney and Richard M. Friends may call at Merle Owen Funeral Home, 16049 Euclid, at Noble rd., where services will be held Friday, June 1, at 3 p. m.

Burial: 1 June 1945, in Lake View cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio, in Section 43 lot 1579-0

Notes: Rootsweb WorldConnect (chambers) states that Ralph was born with the middle name Gavazzi but adopted the name Houtz instead due to prejudice against Italians. The birth record shows neither a first or middle name, and A History of Cleveland, Ohio: Biographical pp935-6, published in 1910, and his marriage certificate in 1916 both show his middle initial as H.

Census & Addresses:
1900: 393 East Prospect St, Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1910: Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1916: 15 Knowles Street, East Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (marriage certificate)
1920: Trumbull county, Ohio
1926: 3229 Sylvanhurst Rd., Cleveland Heights, Ohio   (death certificate of wife Hazel)
1942: 1585 Hawthorne Dr., Euclid, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (World War II draft registration card)
1945: 1585 Hawthorne Dr., Euclid, Cuyahoga county, Ohio   (death certificate)

Sources:

Richard Musgrave Sowden

Birth: 8 September 1900, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States

Father: George Gavazzi Sowden

Mother: Mary Estelle (Houtz) Souden

Mrs. John S. Foley and Mrs. Richard M. Sowden
 MRS. JOHN S. FOLEY, left, and MRS. RICHARD M. SOWDEN make a final inspection of antique glass to be sold at the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church Holly Fair on Thursday, November 10, on the church grounds, E. Jefferson at Rivard. Mrs. Foley is holding a very rare ruby glass kerosene lamp, collected with the other pieces, in New England.
image from Grosse Pointe News 3 November 1955 p13
Married: Rosa H. Thiele
Rosa was born on 26 May 1900, in Ohio, the daughter of Oscar H. Thiele and Hildegard C. Thiele.

In 1954 and 1955, Rosa was elected president of the Women's Alliance of the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church in Grosse Point, Michigan (Grosse Point News 21 April 1955 p14).
She wrote this letter to the Grosse Point News, opposing flouridation of the municipal water:
Grosse Point News 23 June 1960 pp8-9
To the Editor:
The recent action of the Grosse Pointe Woods council in deciding to inform the Detroit Water Board that there is "No objections" to have FLUORIDES added to the Grosse Pointe Woods water supply seems cause for alarm. Alarm over the realization that a small group of our elected city officers seem to have the idea that they can usurp the rlght of every individual citizen to decide by vote what he wants for himself in regard to anything so vital as individual health principles.
  In my opinion the FLUORIDATION of our water involves individual health principles and and the citizens of a democratic community (and nation) have the right (and duty) to decide for themselves whether or not they wish to submit themselves and their children to the cumulatlve poisoning of FLUORIDES, especially at this time, when so many of us are aware of the serious pollution problem already existing in our national water supply.
    Rose Sowden
    Mrs. Richard M. Sowden

and in 1966, contributed this recipe to the local newspaper:
Grosse Point News 7 April 1966 p24
Good Taste
Favorite Recipes of People in The Know
CRUNCHY CELERY CASSEROLE
Contributed By Mrs. Richard M. Sowden
 4 C. chopped celery
 1 can cream of celery soup
½ C. milk
½ C. chopped pecans
½ C. melted butter
 2 C. crushed round butter crackers (Ritz)
  Cook celery in boiling salted water until just fork tender. Drain. Blend soup, milk. Mix celery, pecans in greased ½ qt. casserole. Combine melted butter or mergerine with crushed crackers. Spread over casserole and bake at 350º about one hour. Serves four to six.

Rosa died in April 1983, in Medina, Ohio.
Census & Addresses:
1900: Eddy Road, Glenville village, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1910: Parma, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1920: Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1956: 1850 Hunt Club Road, Grosse Point Woods, Wayne county, Michigan   (Grosse Point News 17 May 1956 p13)

Death: 5 March 1979, aged 79, in Bradenton, Florida, United States

Census & Addresses:
1910: Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio
1920: Cuyahoga county, Ohio

Sources:

Samuel Sowden

Baptism: 1855, in Ontario, Canada

Father: Thomas Musgrave Sowden

Mother: Harriet Mary (Newton) Sowden

Buried: 1855, in Ontario, Canada

Sources:

Thomas Musgrave Sowden

Birth: 17 November 1816, in Rothwell, Yorkshire, England

Father: William Sowden

Mother: Maria Louisa (Varley) Sowden

Married (1st): Ellen _____

Children:
 Married (2nd): Harriet Mary Newton in Port Hope, Northumberland county, Ontario, Canada
Rootsweb WorldConnect (leoniemcgaw) gives the marriage date as 1852, but I think it was more likely between the baptisms of Rebecca to Thomas and Ellen in 1848 and Henry to Thomas and Harriet in 1850. I assume that Ellen died at or shortly after Rebecca's birth and Thomas, a widower with an infant, remarried quickly.

Children:
 Occupation: Wheat buyer

Notes: Thomas emigrated to the United States in 1887.

Death: 19 April 1890, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, United States, aged 75

Census:
1861: Cavan, Durham county, Ontario
 1881: Millbrook, Durham county, Ontario

Sources:
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