Whilst the Commercial Branch Bank was having such uninterrupted success, the Merchants Branch of the State Bank of Ohio, on the same street, was experiencing a run of bad fortune. The failure of the Ohio Life and Trust Company embarrassed it for a time, and other causes conspired with this to cripple its resources. In 1861, the stockholders invited Mr. Handy to take charge of its affairs as president, and he accepted the trust. His usual success followed him to his new position, and the affairs of the bank were suddenly and permanently improved.
In February, 1865, in common with most of the State banking institutions, the Merchants Branch Bank stockholders decided to wind up the concern as a State institution, and avail themselves of the provisions of the National Banking Act. The Merchants National Bank was organized with an authorized capital of one million of dollars, of which six hundred thousand dollars was paid in, Mr. Handy assuming the presidency, and having associated with him in the management, Messrs. T. M. Kelley, M. Barnett, William Collins, James F. Clark, Samuel L. Mather, and William Bingham. Under this management the bank has thus far had an uninterrupted tide of prosperity, with every prospect of its continuance.
It is not alone as a banker that Mr. Handy has made himself prominent among the citizens of Cleveland, He has been intimately connected with other enterprises tending to increase the prosperity of the city, and it is remarkable that all the undertakings he has been connected with have proved profitable, to himself to a greater or less extent, as might be expected, but in a far greater degree to others, the stockholders, for whose interests he was laboring. Few, if any, men in Cleveland have made more money for others than has Mr. Handy.
In addition to his banking duties, he filled the position from 1850 to 1860, of treasurer of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati railroad, and managed its finances with that skill and ability which were peculiarly needed in the earlier portion of that period, when the road was an experiment, carried on under the heaviest difficulties. In 1860, he resigned his position as treasurer, and is now a director in that company. He has also been interested in other railroads centering in Cleveland.
In 1856, a Cleveland built schooner left the lakes for the ocean, and crossed the Atlantic to Liverpool, thus commencing the direct trade between the lakes and European ports. In 1857, another Cleveland built vessel was sent across, loaded with staves and lumber, and returned with crockery and iron. The success of these Tentures attracted the attention of the enterprising business men of the lakes, and in the Spring of 1858, a fleet of ten vessels left Cleveland, all but one loaded with staves and lumber, for European ports. Their departure was marked by demonstrations on the part of the authorities and leading men of business, and with a fair breeze and good wishes the fleet bore away for salt water. Of the ten vessels, three were sent by Mr. Handy, the R. H. Harmon, bound for Liverpool, the D. B. Sexton, for London, and the J. F. Warner, for Glasgow. All of the vessels made quick and profitable trips, and the trade thus begun has been carried on with profit to the present time, although at the breaking out of the war American vessels were compelled to withdraw from it, leaving the enterprise wholly in the hands of English parties, who purchased vessels for the trade.
Whilst his vessels were in Europe, Mr. Handy availed himself of the opportunity to visit Great Britain and the Continent, to attend to his interests, and at the same time to study some of the institutions of the old world, especially the financial, religious and educational. In educational matters he had always taken a deep interest, having watched with a careful eye the growth of the public schools of Cleveland, and for some time was associated with Mr. Charles Bradburn in their management, as members of the Board of Education. And this, which was wholly a labor of love, with no remuneration but the consciousness of having done some good by hard work, was the only public office ever held by Mr. Handy, or ever desired by him. At the same time he was deeply interested in the growth and management of the Sunday schools of the city, and for many years has taken a leading part in all movements calculated to extend their field of usefulness and increase their efficiency. In Great Britain he visited the Sunday schools and was warmly welcomed by teachers and scholars, who were greatly interested in his account of the working of Sunday schools here, whilst the narration of his experiences on that side of the Atlantic frequently delighted the scholars at home on his return.
Although rapidly approaching the period allotted by the psalmist to man as his term of life, Mr. Handy is still as full of vigor and business energy as much younger men, and is as earnest as of old in managing large financial undertakings, or in teaching his class in Sunday school. His heart is as young at sixty-two, as at twenty-seven, and the secret of his continued health and vigor undoubtedly lies in his temperate and upright life, his kindly disposition, and that simple cheerfulness of spirit that makes him thoroughly at home in the society of children, who, in their turn, are thoroughly at home with him. One of the most energetic and successful of business men, he has never allowed business to so engross his time and attention as to leave no opportunity for religions or social duties or enjoyments. In this way he has won the confidence and esteem of all classes of citizens as a successful financier, a good citizen, a man of the strictest probity, a warm friend, and a genial acquaintance.
Mr. Handy has but one child living, a daughter, now the wife of Mr. John S. Newberry, of Detroit. His only other child, a boy, died in infancy.
[Illustration: C. Bradburn]