A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

continued to do up to the present time. We had at this time one of the largest and best chair factories inthe country and could turn out chairs on as short notice as any other concern in the United States. 8 Aboutthis time we were able to secure a contract from B. J. Montgomery of New Orleans for twelve thousandchairs, as we were the only bidders that would bind themselves to deliver them in two months, at whichtime there was to be had a political convention. It would be a great undertaking even for the immensefactories that are operating today. We had to fill this contract besides taking care of our regular trade.These chairs were to be made of ash, which made it more difficult as ash was not being used at that timein making chairs. We had some trouble to secure enough dry ash suitable for the purpose, but we were inspite of drawbacks able to make delivery. Up to this time this order was the largest ever filled in thiscountry and was the talk of the trade everywhere. 9There was little change in business conditions up to 1893 when the most severe panic struck thecountry ever experienced by the generation. It went all over the country from east to west; it was as badon the pacific coast as in the east and continued until half the people were bankrupted. Had we not hadseveral good years previously it would have gone very hard with us...In 1889 we had partiallydiscontinued manufacturing and had changed the factory to fit it for retailing...During the years of thepanic many factories found it impossible to prevent failure and were forced into liquidation. At any ratewe averted anything of that kind...Fortunately our trade began to revive in 1898...Our dear brother, Edward, died July 17th, 1902 at the house of his daughter Alice in West Croydonnear London, England...on November 30th, 1902 our brother, Henry, died quite unexpectedly...BrotherHenry had been with us during all of our business career, having been in the position of foreman over thechair makers and machinery department. He was an expert machine worker, and he invented andimproved many of our machines and in many ways contributed to our success...Our sister, Anne, Mrs. G.W. Harris, died at Holly Hill, Florida Sept. 29th, 1907, leaving at this date, March 1st, 1908, but three ofour family of eight. They are George, Sarah, and William.”George Henshaw March 2nd, 1911George Henshaw was very civic minded. In 1901 10 he was a member of the Cincinnati Board ofPolice Commissioners. A brief biography about him says: “...He was appointed to the Police Board byGovernor McKinley, and gave such satisfaction as a public official that he is convinced that he wasreappointed a short time ago by Governor Bushnell. Mr. Henshaw is kind-hearted, and stands by anofficer when he is convinced that the latter has done his duty. He is fair-minded to a degree, however, andinsists that all members of the local force treat people courteously at all times. Mr. Henshaw takes anactive interest in matters pertaining to the department, and is responsible for many valuable innovations inthe service...Some of the new stations and patrol houses of Cincinnati were built under the personalsupervision of Mr. Henshaw...”George Henshaw, Sr. and his wife Ann (Oldenberg) bought the property at 5831 Glenview Avenuein 1866 for $3,500 from Norris Knight. Their son, Edward Henshaw, had a builder make him a lovelyhouse from a former barn on their property. It was large enough for his family of 10 children. Since hewas a furniture manufacturer, only one cupboard was built and chests and wardrobes provided the muchneeded storage. 11 A story about the property is that is was part of the Underground Railroad, connected bya tunnel to The Oaks. This house was sold in 1920 to Ethel Stuart Snell and the property was separatedfrom the empty adjoining lot. The house is named “ Glenwood.”.8 Industries of Cincinnati, 1888. ...walnut and cherry used 1,250,000 feet. Has New York branch, sales in Mexico, Cuba andthroughout the Midwest9 Leading Manufacturers and Merchants, City of Cincinnati, G. Henshaw & Sons is mentioned ...as one of the foremost establishmentsof its kind in the U. S. Their capacity was 12,000 dozen chairs a year.10 Police and Municipal Guide, Cincinnati, 19011952.11 Community Resources for Enriching the 5th Grade Social Studies Program in the College Hill Schools, Marion Dinkelaker, thesis,171