Banner image            Home    What's New    Articles    Images    Subjects    Corrections    Advanced Search    Timeline    Maps    Multimedia    About
The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

MASTERS, IRVINE U. - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

MASTERS, IRVINE U. (1823-13 Nov. 1865), OHIO CITY (CITY OF OHIO) politician and shipbuilder and Cleveland mayor, was born in New York and moved to Ohio in 1851 with his first wife, Naomi. He became a trustee of Ohio City and helped WM. B. CASTLE† negotiate the merger between Cleveland and OHIO CITY (CITY OF OHIO). Masters served on CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL (1854-63), 3 times as council president (1859-61, 1862-63), officially welcoming Abraham Lincoln to Cleveland when he visited in Feb. 1861. In 1863, Masters, a Republican, defeated incumbent mayor EDWARD S. FLINT†, supporting measures to improve business and showing support for the war effort, holding public meetings and ceremonies for soldiers. Masters had tuberculosis and resigned because of poor health in May 1864. Masters was also a businessman, as a partner with E. M. PECK† in Peck & Masters shipbuilding company: the firm's ships were among the larger on the Great Lakes. After resigning his mayoral office, Masters tried to maintain his business interests, but his declining health overwhelmed him, and he sold his interest in the business in 1865. Masters's first wife, Naomi, died in 1863, leaving him with 3 children: Willis, Harriet, and Main. He then married M. Augusta Prull on 27 Oct. 1863. After resigning from office, Masters went to New England and Nova Scotia in the summer of 1864 in hope of regaining his health; however, it did not improve. In 1865, Masters relocated to Pine Island, Minn. with his family, however his health continued to decline, and he died several months later.

Last Modified: 18 Jul 1997 03:36:25 PM

Related Article(s)
This site maintained by Case Western Reserve University