John D. Marshall to Charles W. Chesnutt, 18 November 1921
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CITY OF CLEVELAND
DEPARTMENT OF LAW1
November 18, 1921.
Charles W. Chestnut, Esq,
Williamson Bldg, C i t y,
Dear Sir:
I discover, in checking over the papers that the releases covering the property on W 77th Street2 have not yet been executed. I hand you herewith three copies which should be executed before a notary public by the persons named, after which they should be returned to me and I will O.K. them and forward them to the Nickel Plate Railway Company for further attention.3
I was of the opinion that this had already been done. However, this need delay the matter only a few days.
Very truly yours, John D. Marshall Assistant Director of Law Enc- JDM-HHCorrespondent: John D. Marshall (1885–1961) was a White Republican lawyer from Ohio who received his law degree from Western Reserve University in 1914 and from 1917 to 1921 was an assistant director of the City of Cleveland’s Department of Law, founded to represent the city and provide legal advice to the mayor, city council, and other city departments. Marshall became Commissioner of Franchises and a member of the City Council in 1921, and later served city council president and as mayor of Cleveland (1925–1933). He retired from politics at the end of his last term.
1. For readability, the remainder of the City of Cleveland Department of Law letterhead is not transcribed at the top of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. This portion of the letterhead can be seen in its entirety in the accompanying image of the letter. The text of the remainder of the letterhead is as follows: "Wm. B. Woods, Director of Law Alfred Clum, Assistant Director John D. Marshall, Commissioner of Franchises W. D. Cole, Assistant Director J. Clark Mansfield, Assistant Director T. J. Herbert, Assistant Director Oscar C. Bell, Chief Prosecutor Edward J. Russick, Assistant Prosecutor John A. Novario, Assistant Prosecutor Sam Rosenberg, Assistant Prosecutor Alex L. Kreisberg, Assistant Prosecutor M. L. Sammon, Assistant Prosecutor J. M. Crawford, Chief Clerk." [back]
2. The letter refers to a municipal property damage case involving Chesnutt's brothers Lewis (1860–1933) and Andrew (1862–1934), along with Andrew's wife Celeste (1864–1934). They jointly owned properties at 1927–1929 and 1931–1933 W. 77th St. that were damaged by the 1921 construction of a bridge over the Nickel Plate Road railroad tracks at the end of their block. Chesnutt presumably used his legal expertise to file his brothers' claim. On November 2, 1921, the city council was first asked to approve an emergency city ordinance so that they would be compensated. Once the requested papers were filed, the ordinance was granted on December 18, ordering the city and the railroad to pay Lewis, Andrew, and Celeste Chesnutt $1650.00 in damages. See Ord. No. 56183 in Cleveland's weekly City Record, (November 2, 1921): 9, (December 14, 1921): 10, and (December 28, 1921): 21–22. [back]
3. The Nickel Plate Road (officially the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company after reorganization in 1887) was a Cleveland-based railroad primarily providing long-distance transportation from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, although the company also operated Cleveland's earliest suburban railroad. Founded in 1881, it had many owners and underwent multiple mergers. Chesnutt worked in its legal department when he first came to Cleveland (1883–1887). [back]
