General Notes

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SYNOPSIS OF GRANT WILSON DEMING
Born November 6, 1872 in Ruthven, Ontario, Canada. 5th son, 1 of ten ch
il dren, of Hubert Vilender Deming. At age 16, having graduated from hi
gh sch ool, Grant went to Cleveland, Ohio, following his brother Huber
t. He was e mployed and learned pattern-making, then was salesman and sal
es manager f or Pitsburgh Plate Glass Co. He started G. W. Deming Grocerti
es Co. in 189 6. He purchased land in East Cleveland, developed and nam
ed Drexel Driv e, Pasadena Avenue and Grantwood Avenue in early 1900'
s. In 1908 he purcha sed a number of farm properties, bounded by Cedar Ro
ad on the south, Mayfi eld Road on the north, Coventry Road on the west, a
nd Lee Road on the eas t, where he developed and built the area to establi
sh most of Cleveland He ights.
Additional purchases followed to Taylor Road on the east, and were l
at er known as Minor Heights and University Heights. This kept him occu
pi ed as Deming Realty Co. until 1924. At that time, he purchased 365 a
cr es on South Miles Avenue, Solon, Ohio, with the Erie Railroad running t
hro ugh it so as to establish a commuters' village. He built and maintain
ed Gr antwood Golf Club which currently operates 18 holes for this are
a. It w as sold to the City of Solon in 1933.
Mr. Deming retired to do personal property lease activity. He died Oct
ob er 6, 1936. It should be mentioned that during the active years of deve
lop ing Cleveland Heights, his brother, Barton R. Deming, opened up, devel
ope d, and built most of the mansions on Fairmount Boulevard, Demington Dr
iv e, and other streets near Coventry Road. Buffering was Shaker Height
s, th en being developed by O. P. and M. J. Van Swearingen who later own
ed and d eveloped nationally the Erie Railroad and its many complexes.
Barton Deming also represented John D. Rockefeller Sr. for 40 years fol
lo wing Rockefeller's move from his Forest Hills estate in Cleveland, abo
ut 1 925, to New York City, where he expanded Standard Oil of Ohio and fou
nd ed Standard Oil of New Jersey. Barton built and occupied, for 25 year
s, th at distinctive stone residence at the corner of Fairmount Bouleva
rd and Ce dar Avenue - the first house on Fairmount Boulevard. He also bui
lt the Alc azar Hotel nearby. Barton later established and owned for abo
ut 15 year s, Deming Ironing Co., where he manufactured and shipped nation
ally, gas-e lectric ironing machines.
He died, after a broad career, in 1956. (Compiled by Grant W. Deming 12
/2 1/1992) Grant W. Deming, Realty Dealer, Dies Grant W. Deming, 63, wide
ly k nown real estate operator here for many years, died yesterday at h
is ho me in Chagrin Falls, where he had been living since retiring from ac
tive b usiness not long ago. Acting at times with several brothers a
nd at other t imes independently, Mr. Deming carried on extensive operatio
ns througho ut the county. He was one of the first real estate men to beco
me interest ed in the section between Superior Avenue and St. Clair Aven
ue N. E., ea st of E. 105th Street and laid out Grantwood Avenue and Pasad
ena Avenue am ong others. Later he transferred his activities to Clevela
nd Heights, deve loping what is known as Minor Heights and a large secti
on east of Covent ry Road and south of Euclid Heights Boulevard. He was t
he founder and one- time owner of the Grantwood Golf Club in Solon and al
so dealt with othe rs quite extensively in Prospect Avenue leases. Survivi
ng are four sons, D ouglas D., Barton R., Clifford L. and Grant W., Jr.; f
ive brothers, O. G ., B. R., C. C., H. V. and E. R. Deming and a sister Mi
ss Millie E. Demin g.
The funeral will be tomorrow at 2:30  at the Brewster & Stroud Funer
al Ho me in Chagrin Falls. Obituary from insert in "The Deming Genealogy"